RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (Full Version)

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MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/12/2018 10:58:42 AM)
Jan 7, 1942 Wow, that wasn't anything like we expected. Let's approach it as it happened. First off, there's some night sub action. Mike has flooded the area around Ambon with subs, and there are several attacks. The most exciting, I'm sure for both sides, is this one. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Obi at 76,105 Japanese Ships CVL Kushiro CA Nachi CA Myoko DD Kuroshio DD Wakaba DD Nenohi DD Tokitsukaze DD Hayashio Allied Ships SS KXV, hits 1 SS KXV launches 4 torpedoes at CVL Kushiro No hits, which is a bummer. We have a few more attacks, but aren't able to penetrate the destroyer screen again. Then the SS I-5 pops up off San Francisco and puts two torpedoes into the xAP Perida, which was shifting there to do some troop loading. Luckily she hadn't loaded anything yet. The SS S-40 ripostes by putting two torpedoes into APD Fuji, whcih is escorting a bunch of transports heading towards Kendari. And to round off an active night, TK Gulf Dawn is torpedoed off Noumea. She has a full cargo of fuel and burns fiercely before going down. During the night we start getting desperate radio signals from the defenders of Ambon, reporting a massive Japanese transport group backed by two battle cruisers. The coastal guns lob a few shells and score a few hits, but the battle cruisers shrug it off. The Ambon garrison, for security reasons, has no idea that there is a major carrier group steaming to their support. Neither, apparently, do the Japanese. Day dawns with Dutch patrol planes converging from south, east and west to look for the Japanese TFs that the subs have been radioing in. To the surprise of the Allied commanders, the Japanese carriers have not moved forward -- they are still 4 hexes north of Ambon, putting them one hex outside the range of the Allied carrier TF now sitting 4 hexes south of Ambon. A substantial transport group is also spotted one hex off Kendari, which we were not expecting either. I was really thinking the Japanese carriers would close a bit to give their transports better cover, but it seems our wily opponent was being cautious. We have surprised him a couple of times, so he was planning for more surprises, even if he wasn't sure what form they would take. The first strikes of the day are by Manado-based Bettys on the Dutch CLs just north of Ambon. But the Bettys lack escorts and are met by P40s, which butcher them. Next up, a group of 5 Kates and 9 Vals finds our carriers. But again they are unescorted, and fail to break through a CAP of nearly 70 fighters. Then there is a port strike on Kendari by 12 Kates, that does a single port hit. Now our strikes start going in, with Dutch bombers escorted by P40s against the BC Kongo. They run into 18 Zeroes, and it is ugly. We expected this though -- the Dutch and P40s are only there to distract and thin out the CAP for the carriers. Here's our first big carrier attack of the day. It seems the strategy of wasting Dutch bombers has paid off, because only 8 Zeroes are around to oppose us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Ambon at 76,109 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 8 Allied aircraft Albacore I x 15 Fulmar II x 5 Swordfish I x 8 P-40E Warhawk x 8 F2A-3 Buffalo x 17 F4F-3A Wildcat x 13 F4F-3 Wildcat x 12 SB2U-3 Vindicator x 15 SBD-2 Dauntless x 36 SBD-3 Dauntless x 43 F2A-3 Buffalo x 4 Swordfish II x 6 F2A-3 Buffalo x 4 Swordfish II x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Fulmar II: 1 destroyed by flak SBD-2 Dauntless: 3 damaged SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed by flak Swordfish II: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships BC Haruna, Bomb hits 9, on fire BC Kongo, Bomb hits 9, on fire xAKL Nichiryo Maru, on fire xAK Tainichi Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Shozan Maru xAK Konan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Minryo Maru xAK Turusima Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAP Horai Maru xAP Takatiho Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire xAK Tofuku Maru, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk CL Yura, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires DD Mikazuki xAKL Fukkai Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk xAK Nanko Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk xAKL Totai Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAK Tosei Maru xAK Kofuku Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires DD Mochizuki, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage Interestingly there is not a single troop loss, so he must have got everything ashore in the overnight phase. Blooming unload bonus. Our Hudsons at Kendari have two runs at the transports approaching the base, scoring a single hit on the second run. Big ground losses reported, so these boys must be fully loaded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Kendari at 71,106 Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 1 Allied aircraft Hudson I x 6 No Japanese losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAK Syoka Maru xAK Ryoyu Maru #21, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires Japanese ground losses: 367 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Three more Kates wipe themselves out trying to get in against our carriers, and that is the end of the morning air phase. Afternoon air phase starts with some more Bettys dying at the hands of the P40s, and then 3 Kates and 6 Vals hitting the carriers and getting splashed by the CAP. The Dutch bombers die heroically to draw off more Zeroes. Then another Betty attack, the first where any planes make it through our now depleted CAP of just 3 P40s. The CL Eendracht is untouched though, and we are glad to see the Bettys are dropping bombs rather than launching torpedoes. Here's our second carrier strike. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ambon at 76,109 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 7 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 15 Allied aircraft Albacore I x 15 Fulmar II x 5 Swordfish I x 7 F2A-3 Buffalo x 17 F4F-3A Wildcat x 13 F4F-3 Wildcat x 11 SB2U-3 Vindicator x 15 SBD-2 Dauntless x 36 SBD-3 Dauntless x 44 F2A-3 Buffalo x 4 Swordfish II x 6 F2A-3 Buffalo x 3 Swordfish II x 6 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Albacore I: 1 destroyed by flak SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed SBD-2 Dauntless: 2 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed Swordfish II: 1 damaged Japanese Ships xAKL Ryuto Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Tainichi Maru, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk BC Kongo, Bomb hits 10, heavy fires CL Yura, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage BC Haruna, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, on fire PB Busho Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Kizan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Ashigara, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Horai Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires xAK Konan Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk DD Mikazuki xAKL Nichiryo Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Minryo Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk What was a bit annoying was that the Dauntless kept attacking the BCs and bouncing bombs off their armour, whereas the torpedo bombers kept going after transports. But after an angry dressing down between strikes, a few of the torpedo bombers pick tougher targets, and the Ashigara and Haruna both take a torpedo hit each. And that's it. The tropical sunset is given an extra red tinge by the smoke from all the burning transports, as the defenders of Ambon give thanks to high command for their deliverance. But perhaps their relief is premature, because a bombardment attack reveals that the bulk of the 1st Kure Assault Division seems to have made it ashore, despite the slaughter of the transports. There are 189 Japanese AV to 61 Dutch, which sounds like the sort of ratio that is going to turn out badly. There is another attack on Tarakan, the third in a row, and the third to be repulsed. The Tarakan garrison's morale is clearly bolstered by radioed reports of what happened over at Ambon. They're expecting a relief force to sail to them soon. Poor guys are going to be badly disappointed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 4005 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 96 Defending force 2439 troops, 40 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 28 Japanese adjusted assault: 36 Allied adjusted defense: 37 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 119 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 102 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: I/81st Naval Guard Unit 15th Naval Guard Unit II/81st Naval Guard Unit III/81st Naval Guard Unit 3rd JNAF Coy Defending units: VII KNIL Battalion Tarakan Defenses HQ TC Borneo Tarakan MLD Base Force

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/12/2018 11:38:05 AM)
So, the big carrier battle turns out not to be a carrier battle at all, but a transport group slaughter. While it would have been nice to get stuck into those CVLs, I'm not complaining about the day's action. We have put a lot of transports on the bottom, damaged and perhaps sunk some combat ships, and knocked down around 25 carrier aircraft (and their highly experienced crews). In return we have lost a lot of aircraft as well, but mostly ones we are not too worried about. More importantly we have given up the location of our carrier force. And we have failed to stop the landing at Ambon, and its likely imminent fall. Here are the aircraft losses for the day. [image]local://upfiles/32803/704D15354C064AE4AD885855BE8CCC34.jpg[/image]

ny59giants -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/12/2018 1:25:11 PM)
KUDOS!! [&o] He may now need to search for shipping to move towards Babeldoab to replace his losses, which takes time. Nice to see Japan lose 140 Zeros in just one month. They are his main fighters until the Tojo in summer.

obvert -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/12/2018 2:27:47 PM)
This is a great strike. Probably be glad the CVs were not in range. Surprising things can happen against the KB early, even if it's not the whole shebang. As it is you hurt him, the subs can pick off some wounded, and you lose nothing. Be careful for the next few and wait to see how aggressively he reacts before committing to chasing down these ships.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/12/2018 2:55:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: obvert Be careful for the next few and wait to see how aggressively he reacts before committing to chasing down these ships. Mike and I had a fairly intense debate about this. I am Spruance to his Halsey. We kind of compromised. So instead of chasing north, and rather than pulling south, the carriers will position to try catch some fleeing transports. I am already regretting the decision. Even if there is no disaster, it means another tense wait. After the last one, I am not sure how much more I can take. The one thing that swung it for me in pushing forward a bit was that the Bettys that did get through were dropping bombs, not torpedoes. Bomb dropping Bettys are a lot less scary than the torpedo dropping kind.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/12/2018 6:03:45 PM)
The outcome of the intense debate is the plan below. The carriers are going to move north so that they can catch any transports trying to funnel away. In the meantime the Dutch cruisers will continue their suicidal patrol in two groups north of Ambon, while the Renown, moving up from Soerebaja, goes to flank speed to head into Kendari in case the transports decide to keep pushing forward. We expect our opponent to pull back in the face of superior force. There really don't seem to be enough Japanese carriers out there to take us -- my estimate is that we outnumber him 2-1 just in carrier aircraft. [image]local://upfiles/32803/AD0C0757E06F4C92A9F5A07C70B30B20.jpg[/image]

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/13/2018 11:11:59 AM)
Jan 8, 1942 I take back everything unpleasant I have said about Dutch ships in this game. They may not be the best vessels, but those guys are fighters through and through. Another action packed turn where the heroics of our smallest complement some bashing by our biggest. The CA Ashigara, which took a couple of bombs and a torp the previous day, has a bad night. As she flees north she stumbles into the CL De Ruyter, a battle which is surprisingly one sided. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Namlea at 76,108, Range 11,000 Yards Japanese Ships CA Ashigara, Shell hits 20, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1 DD Piet Hein DD Kortenaer Sure, none of those hits are penetrating, but this is not going to help the crew douse the fires. It must be like one of those World of Warships games where those horrible US cruisers keep hitting you with HE rounds and setting you on fire. Then the SS Shark gets in on the action and puts a torp into the Ashigara. At this stage, I'm putting her survival chances at 'very low'. Now the real blow comes for the Japanese. I'd sprinted the Renown into Kendari on the off chance that the Japanese transports kept coming. She had sailed from Soerebaja last turn and was not spotted, so it appears that while our opponent was worrying about the threat from the south, he wasn't even aware of the threat from the west. This is the real body blow for the Japanese, turning what was a pretty bad two days into a disaster. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Kendari at 70,106, Range 8,000 Yards Japanese Ships TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 1 AMc Toroshima Maru, Shell hits 5, and is sunk PB Heiei Maru #7, Shell hits 7, on fire xAK Syoka Maru, Shell hits 3, and is sunk xAK Rokko Maru, Shell hits 9, and is sunk xAK Ansyu Maru, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Igasa Maru, Shell hits 23, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Ryoyu Maru #21, Shell hits 2, and is sunk xAK Sasago Maru, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk xAP Ussuri Maru, Shell hits 2, and is sunk xAP Kasado Maru, Shell hits 2, and is sunk Allied Ships BC Renown, Shell hits 4 CL Ceres DD Scout DD Thanet DM Thracian DD Electra Japanese ground losses: 7259 casualties reported Squads: 194 destroyed, 93 disabled Non Combat: 122 destroyed, 197 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Ouch. That looks like one of those assault divisions has been wiped out in its entirety. A Japanese TF had been sent south to hunt our carriers at night, but the De Ruyter flings herself in the way again. We lose one of the Dutch destroyers, but they have done a vital job of shielding the carriers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Bara at 75,106, Range 9,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Naka DD Harusame DD Yudachi DD Samidare DD Akatsuki DD Hibiki Allied Ships CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1 DD Piet Hein DD Kortenaer, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk Not content with watching her fellow cruiser take all the glory, the CL Eendracht now gets in on the action. A Dutch cruiser and two destroyers against two battle cruisers should be ugly. But these boys don't know the meaning of can't. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Namlea at 76,107, Range 25,000 Yards Japanese Ships BC Kongo, Shell hits 25, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage BC Haruna, Shell hits 12 PB Keiko Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Shozan Maru, Shell hits 4, and is sunk xAKL Bichu Maru, Shell hits 4, and is sunk Allied Ships CL Eendracht, Shell hits 6, on fire DD Witte de With DD Banckert That is some pretty slick fighting. Both transports sunk, a BC torpedoed, and hits handed out in profusion. Now the Naka, having fought through the Dutch forces, arrives in the same hex as our carriers. But it is too late, dawn has arrived and the force is spotted by some destroyers on detached ASW duty. It is time for the next round of heroics in a turn already replete with such examples. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Bara at 74,108, Range 15,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Naka DD Harusame, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Yudachi, Shell hits 1 DD Samidare, Shell hits 3 DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Hibiki, Shell hits 2, on fire Allied Ships DD Mayrant, Shell hits 4, heavy fires DD Stockton, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage And then, on the way back, Naka runs into the deadly De Ruyter again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Obi at 76,106, Range 15,000 Yards Japanese Ships CL Naka, Shell hits 1 DD Hibiki, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage Allied Ships CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 4 DD Piet Hein

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/13/2018 11:34:15 AM)
The enemy carrier force, rather than pull back, has moved west to cover the Kendari landing. This puts our carrier forces just 5 hexes apart. I have great respect for Japanese carriers, no matter how outmatched, because those Kates can really ruin your day. But over two separate attacks, just 15 Kates and 6 Vals fly at our carriers, with not a single Zero escorting. It's the great Kendari turkey shoot, because unsurprisingly not a single plane gets through for an attack run. I just can't work out why there was no fighter support. Our counterattack is better coordinated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Taliaboe at 73,103 Weather in hex: Thunderstorms Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 15 minutes Japanese aircraft A5M4 Claude x 15 A6M2 Zero x 29 Allied aircraft Fulmar II x 5 F2A-3 Buffalo x 14 F4F-3A Wildcat x 13 F4F-3 Wildcat x 5 SBD-2 Dauntless x 18 SBD-3 Dauntless x 26 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed SBD-2 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese Ships CVL Tokachi, Bomb hits 2, on fire CVL Kushiro CVE Hosho CVE Ibuki CVE Taiyo, Bomb hits 1, on fire Not sure where the rest of our strike went. Not a single Swordfish took part. Also, for two turns the 25 Avengers at Kendari have refused to attack, even though Hudsons flying from the same base did. In the last attack of the day, some Kates that failed to find the carriers instead stumble on the Eendracht, and pounce. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Namlea at 76,107 Weather in hex: Clear sky Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 4 minutes Japanese aircraft B5N2 Kate x 6 No Japanese losses Allied Ships CL Eendracht, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage The ground combat phase is unfortunately just what we expected. Despite the devastation to the supporting fleet, the Kure Assault Division easily overruns the defenders of Ambon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Ambon (76,109) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 5826 troops, 95 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 190 Defending force 2935 troops, 50 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 61 Japanese adjusted assault: 144 Allied adjusted defense: 37 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Ambon !!! Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses P-40E Warhawk: 8 destroyed PBY-5 Catalina: 1 destroyed Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), morale(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 122 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 3727 casualties reported Squads: 32 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 168 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 68 (68 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units destroyed 5 Assaulting units: 1st Kure Assault Division Defending units: Molukken KNIL Cdo Molukken Mil'ie Cdo Laha ML Base Force Amboina Defenses AP-VLG-IV Sup Afd Nauru and Ocean Island also both fall to amphibious invasion. We could have tried to stop one of these with a heavy cruiser force lurking in the area. But given KB was last spotted in the Marshalls it seemed too much risk. We'll be sad to lose our eyes in the area, they are pretty useful. The Thai army continues its rampage through Burma. While we are holding him at Pegu, it is not going to make a difference because these Thai units up north are going to cut the Rangoon railroad. He is not even going to need any Japanese to push us out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Taung Gyi (59,48) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 9201 troops, 68 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 289 Defending force 2838 troops, 16 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 59 Japanese adjusted assault: 158 Allied adjusted defense: 19 Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Taung Gyi !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), morale(-) experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 39 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 1197 casualties reported Squads: 52 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 68 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 11 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 7 (7 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 10 (10 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 2 Units destroyed 1 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 1st RTA Division 2nd RTA Division Defending units: BFF Brigade 13th Burma Rifles Battalion 107th RAF Base Force So much so expected, but it a battle in China that bothers me most. We were one turn away from reinforcing these guys with another 800 AV, but too late. With this battle the road to Sian has been blasted open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at 86,41 (near Loyang) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 22024 troops, 195 guns, 40 vehicles, Assault Value = 569 Defending force 11572 troops, 39 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 271 Japanese adjusted assault: 388 Allied adjusted defense: 101 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), morale(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 483 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 44 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Allied ground losses: 5682 casualties reported Squads: 156 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 100 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 7 disabled Guns lost 10 (4 destroyed, 6 disabled) Units retreated 1 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 37th Division 41st Division Defending units: 1st Chinese Corps

ny59giants -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/13/2018 11:48:20 AM)
quote: Japanese Ships CVL Tokachi, Bomb hits 2, on fire CVL Kushiro Keep an eye on these two CVLs as they are G6 Class. That means in 8/42 they can be converted to CVs with 60 plane capacity. I added mine to KB-4 with the two Junyo Class CVs (54 planes) and some CVLs. If you can sink them, do so!!

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/18/2018 5:14:16 PM)
Jan 9, 1942 The fuel situation for our carriers is starting to get critical and venturing further north would have put us in range of Bettys operating out of the southern Philippines, so we decided to hold the carriers back and try a little surface combat action. Especially as we still have no idea where KB might be. Three combat groups speed up the funnel that all the Ambon and Kendari evacuees have to use to escape. The area is also crawling with subs. First up is the SS Permit, which pops a torpedo into the DD Hibiki. The Hibiki was already damaged, so I'm writing her off. Then the Australia and Canberra run over the DD Akatsuki and put her under. The SS Shark puts a torpedo into the Kongo, unfortunately to no effect as it is a dud. Damn those duds, those battle cruisers have had charmed lives. The main excitement, at least for us, is when the a TF led by British CL Enterprise stumbles on his light carriers. Well, sort of. The Japanese lookouts spot the British ships at 10,000 yards in 53% moonlight, and the British ships see nothing as the carriers slip off quietly into the night. Perhaps the lookout on the lead ship was down below getting a nice cup of tea. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Time Surface Combat, near Ternate at 76,102, Range 10,000 Yards Japanese Ships CVE Taiyo CVL Tokachi CVL Kushiro CA Myoko DD Yukikaze DD Tokitsukaze DD Nenohi DD Wakaba Allied Ships CL Enterprise DD Encounter DD John Barry DD Kelvin Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 53% moonlight: 12,000 yards CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 10,000 yards Japanese TF attempts to evade combat Range increases to 11,000 yards... Range increases to 12,000 yards... Range increases to 12,000 yards... Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape Japanese Air Combat TF evades combat I wonder where the Taiyo and Hosho went. The Tokachi doesn't seem to show much ill effect from the 2 bombs it reportedly took last round. Then the deadly Dutch submariners strike, knocking out a loaded transport. We love sinking loaded transports, it's like a two for one special. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Sangi at 76,96 Japanese Ships xAK Nittai Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage xAK Macassar Maru DD Hatsuharu Allied Ships SS KXVIII Japanese ground losses: 33 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled The CL Enterprise, fresh from not even seeing the light carriers, runs into a small TF of escorts running away from Kendari. And somehow these manage to evade combat as well. I really need to look at the aggressiveness rating of the Enterprise commander. How useless can you get if a TB and a PB, one burning merrily, can get away from you. But the Australian CAs have no such problem, catching the same TF and putting it down hard. I reckon this was carrying the last survivors of whatever unit it was we butchered off Kendari. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Time Surface Combat, near Sidate at 75,102, Range 23,000 Yards Japanese Ships TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 13, and is sunk PB Heiei Maru #7, Shell hits 9, and is sunk Allied Ships CA Australia CA Canberra, Shell hits 2, on fire DD Fanning DD Porter DD Balch Japanese ground losses: 643 casualties reported Squads: 42 destroyed, 11 disabled Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 16 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled There is still a couple of DDs in the general area, and our Banshees at Kendari finally decide to get in on the act. But the chances of hitting a destroyer with naval bombing skills in the 30s are miniscule, and sure enough we lose one aircraft for no hits. With the fight in the area over, it looks like we have wrecked two transports groups, killed off a division, sunk at least two DDs, a CL and a CA, and damaged to some degree a CVL, CVE, and two BCs But now we see the consequences of the Japanese knowing where our core carrier striking force is, as the Catalina pilots stationed on outlying islands in the Solomons start radioing in frantic reports of incoming carriers. I imagine this is were Rabaul finally gets the hammer. The great evacuation starts of all the little task forces that had been hanging out in the area waiting to pick off some transports.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/18/2018 5:18:46 PM)
There's an interesting little footnote from the turn, which is that the air losses screen shows 4 Jakes lost to ground action. That normally means a ship has gone down suddenly. But we didn't hit any ships this turn, so I wonder where those Jakes found their watery grave.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/19/2018 9:02:22 AM)
And here it comes, the hammer descending on the Solomons. Not going to complain though, we got a good few weeks more out of the defence of Rabaul than we had any right to expect, and killed quite a few transports in the process. And we forced him to bring KB to finish the place off, which is a win in itself. [image]local://upfiles/32803/56611DC1D38A491093E51844D90A01F2.jpg[/image]

BBfanboy -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/19/2018 3:29:04 PM)
Hope you can get Achilles and Leander out of Rabaul before KB is in range! Those cruisers are very useful for interdiction when the Japanese have lost control of the air.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/19/2018 11:22:23 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BBfanboy Hope you can get Achilles and Leander out of Rabaul before KB is in range! Those cruisers are very useful for interdiction when the Japanese have lost control of the air. A high speed sprint did the trick.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/21/2018 10:38:21 PM)
Jan 10-12, 1942 It looks like the carriers north of Rabaul are covering the loading of the assault division at Manus. There is a reported surface combat task force at Manus and the carriers have been hanging out north of that for the last few turns. Further south, the carriers that were west of Rabaul in the last picture spend the next few turns sailing straight south, not stopping till they get to Luganville. Not sure if this is a temporary stop on the way to Noumea, or if he is planning to grab this to go with all the other forward bases in the chain down the Solomons. Just in case we have ceased unloading troops at Noumea and sent all the ships in the area out of harm's way. In the meantime we steam all the combat ships we do have in the area towards Noumea, but cautiously. Our carriers meanwhile have topped up fuel in Soerebaja, pretty much draining all of Java in the process, and are heading south to get them out of any danger. Need to think where we can go next to cause maximum trouble. Operation Steel Storm, the bombardment of Midway, is a storming success. Three of the slow BBs from Pearl Harbour, covered by Saratoga and Yorktown, sail in to give the place a good working over. Well, we kill a few of his infantry on the island,knock a few holes in the runway, and gain some valuable experience for our carrier pilots. I suppose that counts as a success. The situation in Burma continues to head steadily south. This must be the most inept defense of Burma ever. We are being pushed out of the place by a few Thai divisions. Taung Gyi falls, and the victorious and deadly Thai troops push on into Meiktila. With the road and rail links through the Irrawaddy valley about to be cut off, British high command realises the time has come to abandon the defense of southern Burma. Pegu falls easily once the combat troops have pulled out, with just a base force failing to get the order to abandon and getting overrun. Very sadly, we have to report that the heroic defenders of Tarakan have finally been defeated. A third round of reinforcements is shipped in, and despite more battering of the unloading transports, it just proves too much for the stalwart Dutch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 7653 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 211 Defending force 2361 troops, 38 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 29 Japanese adjusted assault: 117 Allied adjusted defense: 34 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Tarakan !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 38 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 770 casualties reported Squads: 8 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 12 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 26 (26 destroyed, 0 disabled) Vehicles lost 7 (6 destroyed, 1 disabled) Units retreated 4 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 15th Naval Guard Unit II/81st Naval Guard Unit I/81st Naval Guard Unit 16th Infantry Regiment III/81st Naval Guard Unit 3rd JNAF Coy Defending units: VII KNIL Battalion HQ TC Borneo Tarakan Defenses Tarakan MLD Base Force We knew it had to happen eventually, but it was pretty sad to see anyway. Their noble struggle will not be forgotten. Their sacrifice will be avenged! The Japanese are having a good cleanup in their backyard in China. Already two corps have joined the Chungking reinforcement list. He hasn't made a particularly hard push anywhere, and has had a few misjudged attacks like the one below. I imagine the pressure will mount as those units doing the fighting in the rear areas are now released to come take the fight to the front lines. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at 86,47 (near Sinyang) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 6812 troops, 50 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 431 Defending force 17383 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 486 Japanese adjusted assault: 58 Allied adjusted defense: 92 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: experience(-) Attacker: shock(+), disruption(-) Japanese ground losses: 1902 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 153 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Allied ground losses: 320 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 30 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 13th Tank Regiment 34th Division 1st Ind.Mixed Brigade Defending units: 12th Chinese Corps 85th Chinese Corps 3rd Group Army For now there is not all that much we can do to stop the Japanese doing whatever they want in the Solomons. Will be interesting to see how much he has brought to the party. We have managed to get most of a regiment ashore at Noumea, with level 3 fortifications and decent supply, so it's not going to be a walkover.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/23/2018 12:42:21 PM)
Jan 14, 1942 The deep push into SoPac is stopping at Luganville, at least for now. A bunch of troops are unloading there, covered by a substantial SCTF and some carriers. We're hovering with combat ships at a relatively safe distance, but it doesn't look like he is going to give us an easy kill this time. Looks like he is still loading at Manus, prior to what is likely to be a very short campaign at Rabaul. Again, with carriers hovering in the vicinity there is not all that much we can do about it. But the loading at Manus has left his carriers having to hover, and Mike's subs are quick to pounce. We don't get a carrier, but have served notice that the area is becoming hot with this lovely little hit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Mussau Island at 104,117 Japanese Ships CL Furutaka, Torpedo hits 1 CL Kako DD Kikuzuki DD Uzuki Allied Ships SS S-23, hits 1 SS S-23 launches 4 torpedoes at CL Furutaka S-23 diving deep .... DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Uzuki attacking submerged sub .... DD Kikuzuki attacking submerged sub .... DD Uzuki fails to find sub and abandons search DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search... DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search... Escort abandons search for sub And he has served notice that the clock is ticking for the defenders of Manila. For weeks about 100 bombers a day have been pounding the city. Now the massed Japanese artillery opens up as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Manila (79,77) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 50370 troops, 484 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 1575 Defending force 46908 troops, 415 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 1032 Japanese ground losses: 57 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 21 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Assaulting units: 3rd Ind Com Engineer Regiment 38th Division 21st Ind Com Engineer Regiment 9th Infantry Regiment 20th Infantry Regiment 1st Formosa Inf. Regiment 65th Brigade Tanaka 9th Tank Regiment 48th Engineer Regiment 4th Division 42nd Infantry Regiment 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 48th Field Artillery Regiment 16th Recon Regiment 56th Const Co 9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 3rd Construction Battalion 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 9th Field Construction Battalion 15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 47th Infantry Regiment 22nd Recon Regiment Defending units: 26th PS Cavalry Regiment 71st PA Infantry Division 57th PS Infantry Regiment 31st Infantry Regiment 21st PA Infantry Division 91st PA Infantry Division 41st PA Infantry Division 45th PS Infantry Regiment 192nd Tank Battalion 194th Tank Battalion 51st PA Infantry Division 1st Constabulary Regiment 27th Avn Sup 1st PA Infantry Division 4th Marine Regiment 2nd Constabulary Regiment I/Prov'nl SPM Grp 803rd Aviation Engineer Battalion Clark Field AAF Base Force 35th Avn Sup Cavite USN Base Force II/Prov'nl SPM Grp Nichols Field AAF Base Force !/23rd PS FA Battalion Far East USAAF 200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment II Corps Asiatic Fleet 11th PAAC Avn Sup 24th PS FA Regiment US Forces Far East 24th Avn Sup I Corps 88th PS Field Artillery Regiment 86th PS Field Artillery Battalion III/Prov'nl SPM Grp All we can hope for is that he kicks off an attack too early and batters his units. If he is smart he can keep up the pounding for another couple of weeks and then stroll in over the ruins. The all conquering Thais take Meiktila, severing the rail link from southern Burma. Oh dear, this is really not going very well. We've got the bulk of our combat troops rushing north from there, but will they be too late? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Meiktila (58,47) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 9012 troops, 68 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 262 Defending force 5442 troops, 28 guns, 40 vehicles, Assault Value = 48 Japanese adjusted assault: 59 Allied adjusted defense: 16 Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Meiktila !!! Combat modifiers Defender: preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-) Attacker: disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-) Japanese ground losses: 37 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 2561 casualties reported Squads: 91 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 123 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 29 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 17 (16 destroyed, 1 disabled) Vehicles lost 46 (46 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 6 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 1st RTA Division 2nd RTA Division Defending units: 1st Burma Brigade 104th RAF Base Force 106th RAF Base Force BFF Brigade 107th RAF Base Force 9th Burma Rifles Battalion The reinforcements at least are flowing. There are so many loaded transports sailing around, dropping troops in India, Australia, New Zealand and various islands, that I have no idea how Mike manages it all. All I can say is that I am very glad to have a logistics meister like him on hand. I drop a note in a google docs sheet saying xx unit in PH needs to get to Auckland, and it magically turns up there a few weeks later. Same with fuel and supplies. I say 'carriers will be operating out of Auckland for the foreseeable future' and soon there is a crowd of tankers offloading fuel in the port. It's like magic.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/25/2018 3:03:19 PM)
Jan 15, 1942 The SS Flying Fish picks up a transport convoy off Midway consisting of a couple of AMC and some xAKs, with 2 DDs as escorts. Unfortunately she is unable to get in an attack, and won't don't know if the convoy was heading towards Midway or away from it. Was it carrying troops, or going to pick up the assault division. Maybe a bit of both. What a pity our carriers weren't around for this. Most of the action in the air is the bombing of helpless ground targets. He is hitting our troops in Kuala Lumpur and Manila, and we're hitting his oil fields in Palembang and Balikpapan. We're also using Australian Hudsons to hammer away at Ambon. We don't want him turning it into a forward air base if we can help it. In Manila, we're still dug in with a substantial force, but our supply is dwindling. There is around 20,000 left, down 5,000 in a week. At this rate the troops will be cooking up their boots for dinner in about a month's time. Luganville falls to he 61st Naval Guard Unit. There is no sign of any air support or other such units, so perhaps he is doing this to get some air search planes in place. Will be interesting to see where he goes next. And the ships are still loading at Manus. I suppose it doesn't really have the infrastructure for loading a combat division, so it is going to be thankfully slow. Because his carriers are having to cover the loading, it might give us a chance to shoot the Horn Island gap with the carriers. What we really want is to be heading down the coast of Australia while he still thinks we are lurking south of the DEI.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/29/2018 8:56:57 AM)
Jan 16-17, 1942 The TF has arrived at Midway, and is either unloading some support troops or picking up the assault division for us elsewhere, or both. SS Cuttlefish has a try at the convoy but is given rough treatment by the escorts. She is left limping back to Pearl Harbor with more than 50 flotation damage. The real action though happens in ground combat. The Japanese launch their long awaited attack at Manila, and despite coming off worse in the odds manage to come out ahead in terms of casualties. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Manila (79,77) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 55288 troops, 487 guns, 207 vehicles, Assault Value = 1586 Defending force 47244 troops, 415 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 1033 Japanese adjusted assault: 682 Allied adjusted defense: 1069 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1941 casualties reported Squads: 81 destroyed, 254 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 36 disabled Engineers: 5 destroyed, 83 disabled Vehicles lost 18 (5 destroyed, 13 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2450 casualties reported Squads: 50 destroyed, 177 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 90 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled Guns lost 47 (3 destroyed, 44 disabled) Vehicles lost 32 (4 destroyed, 28 disabled) The Japanese are also clearing the path to Yennan, which will give them multiple points of attack against Sian. A blocker force holding a river crossing on the road is swept aside with ease. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at 89,39 (near Taiyuan) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 20018 troops, 114 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 633 Defending force 7947 troops, 45 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 197 Japanese adjusted assault: 715 Allied adjusted defense: 51 Japanese assault odds: 14 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), fatigue(-), experience(-) supply(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 386 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 48 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1940 casualties reported Squads: 110 destroyed, 71 disabled Non Combat: 167 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled Guns lost 16 (8 destroyed, 8 disabled) Units retreated 3 It looks like his main attack is coming in the north, because he also clears the defenders of Paotow. There is also a whole bunch of fighting in the plains south of Nanyang. The RGC Temp Division misjudges the opposition and launches an attack against the entire 22nd Group Army, being mostly roughly handled. Over the course of its attack and the Chinese counterattack it loses 1800 men to 9 losses for the Chinese. The most annoying fight is this one though, because I mistakenly left the guys in move mode and they got beaten badly because of it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at 87,46 (near Sinyang) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 12165 troops, 98 guns, 36 vehicles, Assault Value = 368 Defending force 17323 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 468 Japanese adjusted assault: 428 Allied adjusted defense: 84 Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: op mode(-), leaders(+), leaders(-), fatigue(-) experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 806 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 72 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled Allied ground losses: 4881 casualties reported Squads: 241 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 237 destroyed, 17 disabled Engineers: 5 destroyed, 7 disabled Guns lost 18 (9 destroyed, 9 disabled) Units retreated 3 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 32nd Division Defending units: 12th Chinese Corps 85th Chinese Corps 3rd Group Army Should have done better with equal AV defending a river crossing, even with all those negatives for leadership and experience one expects with Chinese units.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/29/2018 9:06:03 AM)
The best bit of the turn though is the air battle over Prome. Battle though is probably the wrong word, as a bunch of unescorted Ann bombers run into two squadrons of fighters based in Prome to cover the withdrawal. WO Fitzgibbons goes on a rampage in his Hurricane I, making ace in just one air combat. WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 2 WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 3 WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 4 WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 5 WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF attains ace status!! Tracker shows 14 Anns downed, so that lot won't be coming back for a while.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/30/2018 4:09:19 PM)
Ouch. [image]local://upfiles/32803/DE08E789478D42D894DEA199CEF4812B.jpg[/image]

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/30/2018 5:25:06 PM)
Jan 18-19, 1942 Been a rough few days for the Allies in terms of sub warfare. The Japanese subs have been eerily quiet, but suddenly they are back in the game. First off, they torpedo the fully laden AO Patoka just outside San Francisco. The canny captain of the SS I-5 seems to have watched a plethora of lesser targets sail past before slamming four torpedoes into the Patoka. Man, AOs are like gold dust, that really hurts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near San Francisco at 218,71 Japanese Ships SS I-5 Allied Ships AO Patoka, Torpedo hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage AO Patoka is sighted by SS I-5 SS I-5 launches 4 torpedoes Because we had seen so little of the Japanese subs recently, we'd both got a bit lazy. The AO sailed without an escort, and the patrolling Catalina group had been run down to provide aircraft for units based closer to the front line. All that will have to change. But the real hammer blow comes the following day, when our carriers shooting the Horn Island gap run into SS I-16. She lets fly with 8 torpedoes at CV Indomitable, but only one strikes home. The British carrier ends the turn with 28 flotation damage, but this could have been a whole lot worse. It also means our shift of the carriers has been spotted, negating the element of surprise we were hoping for. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Horn Island at 91,129 Japanese Ships SS I-16, hits 2 Allied Ships CV Indomitable, Torpedo hits 1 CL Belfast DD Jupiter DD Kipling DD Kimberly SS I-16 launches 8 torpedoes at CV Indomitable But in the air, and on the ground, things go a lot better. Our bombers working over Ambon are surprised to find DD Mikazuki in port, and celebrate by putting a bonb into her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Ambon , at 76,109 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 6 minutes Allied aircraft Hudson I x 10 No Allied losses Japanese Ships DD Mikazuki, Bomb hits 1, on fire Airbase hits 4 Runway hits 3 Port hits 2 Port supply hits 1 There is one annoying attack in China where we have left a unit in rest mode and not noticed the Japanese had arrived, leading to us getting hammered. Not a biggie, just a small unit, but we want every hit we can hand out. Even more annoying is when we launch an attack, but fail to take the unit out of rest mode. Sloppy. I didn't even realise you could attack while in rest mode. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Pucheng (86,57) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 20189 troops, 76 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 661 Defending force 4378 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 127 Allied adjusted assault: 241 Japanese adjusted defense: 157 Allied assault odds: 1 to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: op mode(-) Japanese ground losses: 112 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 459 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 44 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (1/31/2018 3:20:38 PM)
The second day of ground combats though is much better, once we actually got our guys into combat mode. The Japanese launch a second push into Manila, and this time the defenders are waiting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Manila (79,77) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 52962 troops, 487 guns, 201 vehicles, Assault Value = 1389 Defending force 47897 troops, 448 guns, 182 vehicles, Assault Value = 933 Japanese adjusted assault: 428 Allied adjusted defense: 1137 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4888 casualties reported Squads: 71 destroyed, 267 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 48 disabled Engineers: 22 destroyed, 42 disabled Guns lost 51 (1 destroyed, 50 disabled) Vehicles lost 27 (1 destroyed, 26 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1306 casualties reported Squads: 16 destroyed, 71 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 56 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Guns lost 33 (3 destroyed, 30 disabled) What the Japanese haven't managed with their two attacks is to reduce the fortress level. I imagine things will go back to exchanges of artillery fire for a few days while the Japanese units lick their wounds and let their bombers do a bit more work. In China, the Japanese attempt in the south to crack the outlying bases of fortress Wenchow don't go very well. Three divisions launch a combined assault on Chuhsien, but are bloodily repulsed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Chuhsien (88,56) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 39564 troops, 338 guns, 126 vehicles, Assault Value = 1201 Defending force 31560 troops, 166 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 929 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese adjusted assault: 727 Allied adjusted defense: 1720 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 2974 casualties reported Squads: 3 destroyed, 191 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled Guns lost 13 (1 destroyed, 12 disabled) Allied ground losses: 687 casualties reported Squads: 5 destroyed, 36 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled Guns lost 18 (1 destroyed, 17 disabled) Assaulting units: 19th Division 17th Division 22nd Division Defending units: 50th Chinese Corps 100th Chinese Corps 21st Chinese Corps 49th Chinese Corps 16th Construction Regiment 23rd Group Army 25th Group Army And at Pucheng, the third angle of the Wenchow triangle, the 32nd Group Army attacks a probing forces of the 115th Regiment and throws it back with heavy losses. What is particularly amazing about the China situation is that our supply situation is not collapsing. As you can see at Pucheng, it was the Japanese defenders who had the supply negative. A quick check in tracker shows that the overall supply in China now stands at 162,000, up 30,000 in the last couple of weeks. This is marvellous, because despite huge numbers, the Chinese generally are rubbish due to lack of supply.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/7/2018 1:33:06 PM)
Jan 20-21, 1942 Hmm, wonder where the Solomons push is going to stop. The carriers are still hanging around, and Effate is captured by the 61st Naval Guard Unit, recently spotted capturing Luganville. This must mean Luganville is no longer garrisoned. I am very tempted to fast transport in some troops. All we need now is troops, fast transports, and the Japanese carriers to go away. There's not much we can do at the moment, other than making sure none of our ships stray into harm's way. Transport groups that set out weeks ago from the west coast are just turning in SoPac now, and it's easy to forget one and find it unloading at Suva or Noumea just as the carriers get there. Speaking of carriers, ours are heading down the east coast of Australia. Where they go once they have topped up on fuel largely depends on where the Japanese carriers are. In Burma, we continue to bomb the Thai troops at Meiktila. Revenge for Manila. Our first group of ground troops, about 100 AV of them, have turned up. Another 75 AV will follow in a couple of days, during which the bombing campaign will continue relentlessly. Our secret weapon, if all this doesn't work, is that we have bough out a Chinese corps and this is currently advancing to Lashio, from where it will be able to rail into the Irrawaddy valley. It's a small corps, just 200 or AV, but that about doubles our fighting power in the theatre and will hopefully force him to commit some real troops if he wants to take Magwe anytime soon. His life will be made a lot easier though after Rangoon falls to a combined assault from Thai and Japanese troops. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Rangoon (54,53) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 8203 troops, 54 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 266 Defending force 1842 troops, 11 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 64 Japanese adjusted assault: 325 Allied adjusted defense: 31 Japanese assault odds: 10 to 1 (fort level 3) Japanese forces CAPTURE Rangoon !!! Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 151 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 19 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 332 casualties reported Squads: 15 destroyed, 20 disabled Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled Vehicles lost 13 (13 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 2 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! Assaulting units: 112th Infantry Regiment 4th RTA Division Defending units: 1st Gloucestershire Battalion 2nd King Own YLI Battalion Two rounds of bombardment at Manila have cost us 34 casualties and the Japanese around 250. This is helping make up for all the casualties we are taking from aerial bombing. Annoyingly, the Japanese also take Kure Island, just to the west of Midway. We had left a small group of Catalinas and an AVP to service them, in a suicidal attempt to keep our naval search pushed as far forward as possible for as long as possible. Both units are lost.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/12/2018 12:27:16 PM)
Jan 22-25 It's been a fairly quiet few turns in terms of air and sea action, with most of the activity taking place in ground combat. I'll break it up by theatres to make it a little more digestible for four days worth of combat. CHINA A Japanese attack at Paotow pushes aside the defenders holding the mountain passes, opening the route to the north. I still have a group controlling the main road, but the secondary road is now clear. Will he race all the way north and start cleaning up there, cut west, or go back and clean out the defenders on the main road? I'm betting on him heading west, as that would allow him to cut off the north from the rest of China without having to march all the way up there. With this in mind a army group currently defending Nanyang starts marching north. The defenders at the river crossing south of Yennan are roughly handled in a shock attack across the river. There are 600 AV heading on this route towards Sian, and another 800 or so AV on the more southerly road. Currently Sian has 900 AV worth of defenders. I have plans to try even this out a bit, as we need to hold Sian for as long as possible. The Japanese continue cleaning up all those units in the rear zones. Am not documenting those as they are pretty one-sided and inevitable. Don't mind though, as they die, they queue up to fight again. The Japanese attack at Wuchow, and despite 1-1 odds manage to lose 900 troops to our 10. I was quite surprised by this result. Not content to let the Japanese set the pace everywhere, have decided to try a few probing attacks where it looks like they have thinned themselves out. The first such attack kicks off just south of Pucheng, where the 115th infantry regiment is overrun by 32nd group army, losing 1,400 men to 200. There'll be more of these to keep our oppo honest. The Japanese switch their so far unsuccessful air campaign to the southwest, attempting to bomb the units holding the city of Liuchow. But once again the AVG is there to meet them, taking a heavy toll of the bombers and scattering those that survive so that not a single hit is scored. For the second time we get an ace in a day. The lack of air superiority for the Japanese is good training for our fighter pilots, and means that we have managed to keep fighting in some open ground we'd normally expect Japanese bombers to make uninhabitable. At some point he will have to bring some real fighters in and sweep away the AVG, but until then we are happy to keep knocking out bombers. PHILIPPINES After much air bombardment, and some artillery duels that heavily favour the Allies, the Japanese launch another deliberate assault, and again get repulsed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Manila (79,77) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 52824 troops, 487 guns, 200 vehicles, Assault Value = 1368 Defending force 47904 troops, 443 guns, 182 vehicles, Assault Value = 902 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese adjusted assault: 424 Allied adjusted defense: 1503 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 1) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4054 casualties reported Squads: 52 destroyed, 215 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 55 disabled Engineers: 3 destroyed, 48 disabled Guns lost 18 (4 destroyed, 14 disabled) Vehicles lost 31 (2 destroyed, 29 disabled) Allied ground losses: 1257 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 128 disabled Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 87 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled Guns lost 16 (4 destroyed, 12 disabled) Vehicles lost 60 (19 destroyed, 41 disabled) Manila is down to 13,000 supplies, and it is this number that is the death clock for the garrison. Probably the best thing the Japanese can do now is keep up the aerial bombardment, and just wait for the defenders to starve to death/run out of bullets. What annoys me is that the Manila defenders are still getting a negative for experience. Those guys are veterans by now! BURMA The situation looks much more stable in Burma, at least in the northern Irrawaddy. The troops fleeing the south turn up at Meiktila, which has been under sustained bombing for about a week, and thrust the RTA division from their blocking positions on the road. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Meiktila (58,47) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 8929 troops, 63 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 246 Defending force 4007 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 108 Allied adjusted assault: 80 Japanese adjusted defense: 13 Allied assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 0) Allied forces CAPTURE Meiktila !!! Combat modifiers Defender: leaders(-), preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-) Attacker: morale(-) Japanese ground losses: 2336 casualties reported Squads: 116 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 35 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 6 (6 destroyed, 0 disabled) Units retreated 1 Allied ground losses: 100 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! Maybe knowing this was their escape route gave the attackers a bit of extra incentive. With a Chinese corps approaching our AV at Meiktila will be close to 500, so the Japanese are going to have to send some real troops to push us out now. Speaking of which, the first Japanese column is spotted approaching Toungoo, which is extremely thinly garrisoned. Supply is our Achilles heel in Burma. We managed to get loads into Rangoon before it fell, but this must have all disappeared into China because Burma itself probably holds only 15,000 or so. DEI Very quiet. We continue to bomb the oilfields of Palembang and Balikpapan. Port bombing of Ambon finds the DD Mikazuki parked there, but she won't be for long after taking three 250 kg bombs. It looks like he has given up on advancing on here, because all the action seems to have switched to the south Pacific.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/12/2018 5:07:13 PM)
I mentioned that all the action is in SoPac, but it would be accurate to say that the action is about to kick off in SoPac. A second group of enemy carriers turned up off Effate, and now the whole lot is steaming south towards Suva. For a while Mike and I were convinced that Noumea was the target, but it appears the carriers were only over that side to cover lifting troops off Effate for their next mission. Busy chaps, this Naval Guard unit that has already captured Lunga and Effate. And we know what their next target is thanks to some loose chatter on Japanese radio. 5/III/66th Naval Guard Unit is loaded on a Japanese DD moving to Koumac This is why we were convinced that Noumea was the primary target, but that is not where the carriers are heading. Our carriers, which have been hovering at a relatively safe distance, are now closing on Koumac in the event that he sends a fast transport group to unload there and the carriers head off to cover a much bigger invasion of Suva. So far our carriers have been hanging about without being spotted, and we have a pretty good grasp on where the enemy carriers are thanks to the huge number of Catalinas buzzing around the area. It's a small shot, but it would be very nice to pull off. To make Noumea a bit more crunchy, we've dropped in three units of P40Es and two units of Banshees, so 70 fighters and 30 dive bombers. Saratoga and Yorktown are cruising towards Auckland for a fuel topup and then to head north, but it will probably be 4-5 days before they can get there, at which point the action is very likely to be over. Suva has 220 AV of mostly New Zealand troops, with 20,000 supplies and dug into level 3 forts. Wonder how long they will last if he brings everything.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/13/2018 8:49:06 AM)
Here's the current situation around Noumea/Suva. He seems to have combined two carrier groups, one of which had sailed down from covering the loading of the assault division at Manus, and the other which had covered the unloading at Effate and Lunga. To the southwest our carriers lurk, hoping that he will leave something uncovered for us to strike. To the southeast of Suva, and at a safe distance, the Saratoga and Yorktown are steaming towards the threatened sector. [image]local://upfiles/32803/9EB5B4830AAD4D63A586FFE333DCFC4D.jpg[/image]

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/13/2018 9:02:36 AM)
And here is the position in China, showing the apparent main lines of advance for the Japanese forces in the north. The south has been really quiet. Two big groups are moving on Sian, while one heads for Lanchow. Sian has about 900 AV and another 150 or so on the way. Lanchow is defended by just one corps, but an entire army group of about 700 AV is heading there to reinforce. We're also sending up some artillery, the first time that central reserve has been tapped. [image]local://upfiles/32803/5A37B0E7D26744DE8B828B10233EED9C.jpg[/image]

ny59giants -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/13/2018 10:26:40 AM)
Troop experience levels - Don't forget that most of your troops in play start off with experience levels below 50. That means their AV is cut in half. Besides deliberate attacks, ground bombardments will steadily raise it into the low 50s. You set your preps for the troops and allow it to get to 100% so both experience and morale improve for those troops.

MichaelU -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/13/2018 1:01:48 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ny59giants_MatrixForum Troop experience levels - Don't forget that most of your troops in play start off with experience levels below 50. That means their AV is cut in half. Besides deliberate attacks, ground bombardments will steadily raise it into the low 50s. You set your preps for the troops and allow it to get to 100% so both experience and morale improve for those troops. I am painfully aware of the low experience level of our troops. That Experience (-) on just about every combat report is always there. I wasn't aware that you could raise experience by getting into an artillery duel. And you imply that once prep hits 100 pct, troops will start to gain experience just from standing around doing nothing? I suppose they are going on route marches and doing pushups and that sort of thing.

ny59giants -> RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J) (2/13/2018 1:51:39 PM)
If Japan is doing ground bombardments, your experience levels go up. Not if you are the one doing them. Yes, the 100% prep level does aid in experience going up along with morale which is also needed for prolong combat.

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