RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)

RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (Full Version)

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apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/23/2021 5:41:34 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: adarbrauner Was the tanker escorted? Are you running your supply shipping in escorted convoys? Yes, the tanker had an escort. All of my supply ships are running with escorts. I do recall losing an xAK somewhere at a size 1 port, where the ship had to separate from the task force to be able to dock. It was then torpedoed, not having an escort at the time. But generally, yes, I use escorts as a rule.

Lowpe -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/23/2021 12:29:40 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: apbarog 27 Jan 42 In a month and a half of war, the displayed ships have been sunk by Allied subs. Note the number of ships sunk by subs with "defective" torpedoes. A good number of those ships sunk were carrying troops too. It's felt brutal. I don't know if he's over-achieving or if I am just being too sensitive to the losses. I feel, as the Japanese, that my early game needs to be flawless, and every loss hurts. I expect to lose everything later in the war, but not now. [EDIT: Forgot to mention that damaged xAP Kashima Maru made it to Rabaul and was unloading troops when it sank there. It had made it to safety, and would have survived if it could have disbanded into port, but it needed to unload troops first. The ship had been torpedoed at or near Port Moresby.] [image]local://upfiles/6549/4BA3CF1275CF48E1A45D554110CE3DB1.gif[/image] That is probably a bit above normal losses...any ship that has supplies when hit is likely to go down to one torpedo eventually. Fighting Allied subs is an ever present struggle and you have to do it holistically, with night and day naval and asw patrols, ASW task forces, decoy task forces, I even use short range subs. It is one great DL struggle early on till you get decent pilots across the board. Early on, I often create one really good ASW squadron with hand picked pilots in Lilly, or Helen or Sally. Then fly it to hotspots. Eventually one good squadron becomes two and then three etc. If you get a large squadron of Jakes flying night naval search to support the bombers you can really tamp down on Allied subs. Of course it is hard to protect those amphibious invasions early on...

Bif1961 -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/23/2021 4:25:34 PM)
The S-Boats MK-10 torps were also defective but to a lesser degree as the problem was they were running too deeply, not as deep as the MK-14. If your vessels were heavy laden they would be lower in the water and more prone to being hit by the MK-10. You did mention the damaged ones not on the sunk list, by the MK-14s but a true dud rate would include them as well. The MK-14 dud rate can only be counted against those that hit their targets and did not explode, a major problem was that they ran too deep and the magnetic trigger, meant to explode when the torpedo was under the vessel didn't work either. When the torpedo actually hits a vessel and doesn't explode is only one of the 3 causes why the MK-14 failed. So many of the misses are also do to the MK-14 torpedo's many and varies short comings.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/23/2021 9:58:43 PM)
28 Jan 42 Yamashiro and Mutsu bombarded Noumea, damaging a couple of Catalinas and doing very minor base damage. Another fiasco over Singapore. I sweep and sweep and sweep here, and the enemy keeps their fighters on the ground. I try to bomb them and the bombing is incredibly ineffectual, having to fly very high to avoid very heavy flak, and have weather interfere often. I switched to putting CAP over my forces over Johore Baru, as the troops are about to cross into Singapore, and my Sallys get massacred over Singapore as the enemy finally puts CAP up. Very frustrating. I've never seen Buffalos perform so well as OPilot has used them. 22 Buffalos and 8 Hurricanes were on CAP. 46 Sallys with 30 Oscars arrived at 20000 feet. Many bombers lost and an Oscar lost. No enemy planes downed. Barely scratched the runway. Then 18 more Sallys arrived unescorted, with predictable results. Overall, 26 Sallys and an Oscar were lost. To Buffalos. I have 45 Zeros at Johore Baru, but almost every time I swept with them, the enemy sat on the ground. Hats off to OPilot for frustrating the heck out of me. He's played the same game at Bataan, sitting the fighters almost every day. But at Bataan, my bombers get a little more damage on the airbase, and the flak isn't as heavy as Singapore. LB-30s from Darwin, most probably, flew to Sorong to bomb the port. Nothing there. The LB-30s had hit Koumac before this. They are moving around looking for long-range targets of opportunity. The crossing into Singapore will occur next. This is a very average approach to Singapore, getting there at the end of January. Landing at Kuantan didn't speed up the process like a landing at Mersing would have. [image]local://upfiles/6549/9C886FE01D634A56A2CCCC1DDEBBA3DD.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/25/2021 3:00:29 AM)
29 Jan 42 Japanese cruiser force bombarded Tanna, but none of the enemy ships seen there yesterday were there. The port was damaged, but nothing else. No ships in port, no planes. No troops hit. Nothing appeared to be there. On the way back to Koumac, S-40 hit light cruiser Sendai with a torpedo, causing heavy damage. Then S-40 attacked again, hitting heavy cruiser Kumano with a torpedo. In the same hex, S-27 attacked, hit Sendai with 2 more torpedoes, sinking the ship. The S-boats have been incredibly effective for OPilot. Then the worst. Enemy carriers appeared south of Noumea. They hit Japanese ships at Koumac. Koumac doesn't have an airfield yet, so no CAP. BB Kongo, Bomb hits 7, on fire CA Kumano, Bomb hits 2, on fire CA Suzuya BB Haruna, Bomb hits 2 CL Jintsu, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Mikuma, Bomb hits 2, on fire DD Nowaki, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage and CA Mikuma, Bomb hits 1, on fire and CA Kumano, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires CA Suzuya, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires CA Mikuma, on fire In the afternoon, they came again. BB Kongo, Bomb hits 2 BB Mutsu, Bomb hits 4 xAK China Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Mikuma, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage CA Takao BB Yamashiro, Bomb hits 4 xAK Anzan Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire xAK Mitu Maru, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage DD Maikaze BB Haruna and DD Akikaze xAK Syokyu Maru, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk TK Nihon Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Ryoka Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires Days ago I made the call to send the Japanese carriers back to Truk for fuel and more importantly, torpedoes and mission sorties. I knew there was risk keeping ships at Koumac, but after my carriers damaged enemy cruisers south of Noumea about a week ago, I didn't think OPilot would risk running into them again. I was wrong. My early plan in the South Pacific was to push hard early and force a fight with the carriers. I got what I wanted and wasn't ready for it. 2 light cruisers, a heavy cruiser, a destroyer, a tanker and 3 xAKs were sunk. The surviving ships have a chance to escape. Most are heading northwest, and will move 6 hexes away from Koumac. The AKEs are going with them. Will OPilot press his advantage or not? All 6 big Japanese carriers are arriving at Truk today: 3 from the Midway operation, 3 from Noumea. They will rearm and refuel and head back south. I will hunt down the US carriers. I may go to Auckland to do so. Japanese troops cross into Singapore. It was bloody. Ground combat at Singapore (50,84) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 66779 troops, 710 guns, 465 vehicles, Assault Value = 2056 Defending force 50616 troops, 586 guns, 341 vehicles, Assault Value = 876 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese adjusted assault: 1819 Allied adjusted defense: 1563 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 8257 casualties reported Squads: 19 destroyed, 304 disabled Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 89 disabled Engineers: 38 destroyed, 86 disabled Guns lost 64 (1 destroyed, 63 disabled) Vehicles lost 81 (13 destroyed, 68 disabled) Allied ground losses: 3065 casualties reported Squads: 40 destroyed, 177 disabled Non Combat: 9 destroyed, 131 disabled Engineers: 17 destroyed, 28 disabled Guns lost 114 (40 destroyed, 74 disabled) Vehicles lost 22 (6 destroyed, 16 disabled) Assaulting units: 18th Division 15th Ind Engineer Regiment 23rd Ind Engineer Regiment 5th Division 1st Tank Regiment 14th Tank Regiment 4th Ind Engineer Regiment Imperial Guards Division 41st Infantry Regiment 2nd Division 3rd Mortar Battalion 5th Mortar Battalion 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 20th AA Regiment 1st RF Gun Battalion 25th Army 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 31st Field AA Battalion Defending units: 8th Indian Brigade 2nd Gordons Battalion 1st Mysore Battalion 5/14th Punjab Battalion 3rd Cavalry Regiment 22nd Australian Brigade 2/17 Dogra Battalion 1st Manchester Battalion 11th Indian Division 2nd Loyal Battalion 22nd Indian Brigade 27th Australian Brigade 2nd Malay Battalion 3rd SSVF Battalion SSVF Brigade 1st Malay Battalion 12th Indian Brigade 109th RN Base Force Singapore Base Force 1st HK&S Heavy AA Regiment 113th RAF Adv Base Force AHQ Far East 3rd Heavy AA Regiment Malayan Air Wing Singapore Fortress 24th NZ Pioneer Coy 2nd ISF Base Force 111th RAF Adv Base Force 1st Indian Heavy AA Regiment 22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment III Indian Corps 2nd HK&S Heavy AA Regiment 109th RAF Adv Base Force 112th RAF Adv Base Force 110th RAF Adv Base Force Malaya Army 5th Field Regiment Troops will rest a few days and then continue the attack. OPilot reported having the synch bug with this turn. His replay showed far less damage to Japanese ships at Koumac and far fewer Japanese troops lost at Singapore. Needless to say, he was happy to see the actual results. No one knows for sure what causes the synch bug. We've noticed it a few times in a few years. When we've had it, it was always with a "big" turn. During the replay, I never hit the escape key, but I frequently hit the Done button to speed up the replay. OPilot said that his replay matched the combat report until the first naval air strike. I know that I hit the Done button when I saw the massacre that was about to take place. My new hypothesis is that the synch bug can occur in this situation. I've hit the Done button all the time for bombardments and air strikes on land targets. No synch bugs spotted with that. Could it be that the Done button on a naval air strike is a cause? Maybe. It's also possible that we have the synch bug more often on less significant turns, and it just isn't noticed. But that's my current theory. I will not be hitting the Done button during naval air strikes for the rest of the game. We'll see if and when the bug occurs again. Rough turn. Discouraging. Things have just been working out for OPilot. He had decent weather for his strikes today. My earlier carrier strike did not. His subs are doing incredible work. He's on a hot streak. He's had good luck, and he's been bold at the right times. I need to change the tempo and put the hurt on the US carriers while I have superiority. I plan to do so very soon.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/25/2021 3:41:58 AM)
Thinking about things, I think I may have misjudged my opponent. In the past 2 years, if I had to describe OPilot's play as the Japanese, I'd say it was solid but tentative. I figured that his play as the Allies, early in the war, would be at least as tentative as his play as the Japanese. I think that was wrong. OPilot had much more experience as an Allied player than as a Japanese player. I think his play has been, and will be, much more aggressive as the Allies, based on what I've seen so far. Bringing his 2 or 3 or 4 carriers to Noumea this early in the war isn't tentative. Not when the Japanese carriers had just been there. Even if he was willing to trade carriers, which I think is a valid Allied approach, that is not a tentative move. I will try to make this work for me when I have all 6 Japanese carriers together. My whole South Pacific plan was not to conquer specific bases, but to draw in the Allied carriers for an early carrier battle. I think that will still happen.

Bif1961 -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/25/2021 2:50:53 PM)
To increase your odds some you can add the Ryujo to your mix bringing it up to 7 carriers, since it has 48 planes and speed at least equal to the Kaga. So you don't slow down and you gain 2/3rds of a Japanese fleet carrier. The more torpedo planes you can bring to the fight the better and also more fighters and sorties. I also think including the four fast Japanese BBs would be wise to be a bomb magnet and additional AAA and fast surface threat. A hunting you want to go so add arrows to your quiver.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/25/2021 8:36:11 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Bif1961 To increase your odds some you can add the Ryujo to your mix bringing it up to 7 carriers, since it has 48 planes and speed at least equal to the Kaga. So you don't slow down and you gain 2/3rds of a Japanese fleet carrier. The more torpedo planes you can bring to the fight the better and also more fighters and sorties. I also think including the four fast Japanese BBs would be wise to be a bomb magnet and additional AAA and fast surface threat. A hunting you want to go so add arrows to your quiver. I will use Ryujo in this manner, but not quite yet. I sent its trained fighter pilots to the reserves at the beginning of the war, and I'm training new fighter pilots on it now at Saipan. Once they have acceptable air-to-air skill, Ryujo will join the fast carriers. The new pilots will gain experience flying daily CAP. 30 Jan 42 S-boats near Koumac don't hit anything today. That is notable. The valuable ships went northwest, while some patrol boats went northeast towards Luganville. The S-boats were northeast. Playing the Allies now instead of the Japanese, it's my turn to be on the other side of the heavy bomber stick. Morning Air attack on Koumac , at 113,156 Weather in hex: Partial cloud Raid spotted at 8 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 2 minutes Allied aircraft LB-30 Liberator x 3 No Allied losses Japanese Ships DD Shiokaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage AG Mamiya, Bomb hits 1 ACM Fumi Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk TK Toa Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires TK Gen'yo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires Japanese ground losses: 20 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Port hits 3 Just 3 old bombers pretty much cleared out the port. Shiokaze had to be scuttled. One tanker will limp away to the northwest. The other tanker is joining up with a few surviving ships, including 2 ACMs, and will make decent speed to the northwest. Seeing an ACM sunk isn't terrible. I had 3 of them there, and they could only be there for one reason: to tend a minefield there. OPilot knows that when he sees them, there are mines. In this game, however, I converted more small ships to ACMs than I really need, and I'm using them as dummys. No mines at Koumac, but OPilot hasn't tried to bombard there yet, so maybe the ruse is working. There is a heavily guarded enemy transport force at Noumea now. No increase of the number of enemy units or troops yet. If anything, there's a decrease. It would be a nasty trick to pick up a unit and land it at La Foa, cutting off my units from Koumac. I have a naval guard unit headed to Noumea and it just got to La Foa. I will leave it there until it can be replaced by another, smaller unit. Cutting off my troops at Noumea would be a brilliant move. Can't have that. No sign of the enemy carriers today, and no enemy bombardment of Noumea. Could the enemy be evacuating troops instead of reinforcing? Japanese artillery bombardments continue at Bataan and Singapore. They'll continue at Bataan until the enemy runs out of supply. They'll continue at Singapore until troop fatigue and disruption come down, which should be a few more days. 6 Japanese carriers have rearmed and refueled at Truk. They head south.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/26/2021 6:00:19 AM)
31 Jan 42 Pickerel had a dud hit on tanker San Luis Maru near Rabaul. Japanese bombers hit Kweilin but found 3 H81s there. Must have been a LRCAP going on nearby. 4 Lilys, 2 Sonias and 2 Idas shot down. An H-81 destroyed on the ground and some moderate airbase damage done. 3 LB-30s again hit Koumac's port, but found nothing there today. Tanker Genyo Maru was the most damaged ship to leave, and it added 36 FLOT damage today. It'll probably sink in the next turn or two. Japanese attacked at Kaifeng in China, getting 1 to 1 odds. 498 Japanese lost and 1531 Chinese lost. This hex will be won soon. There is no retreat available. Japanese forces crossed the river into Pegu and it was rough. I don't remember what starts in Burma but OPilot may have reinforced Burma from Ceylon or India. This was tougher than expected. Ground combat at Pegu (55,53) Japanese Shock attack Attacking force 20958 troops, 210 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 610 Defending force 22596 troops, 166 guns, 141 vehicles, Assault Value = 784 Japanese adjusted assault: 261 Allied adjusted defense: 321 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2) Combat modifiers Defender: forts(+), fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: shock(+) Japanese ground losses: 2551 casualties reported Squads: 115 destroyed, 78 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 21 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Guns lost 24 (12 destroyed, 12 disabled) Allied ground losses: 668 casualties reported Squads: 21 destroyed, 85 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled Assaulting units: 112th Infantry Regiment 33rd Division 7th RTA Division 15th Army 55th Mountain Gun Regiment 21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion Defending units: 45th Indian Brigade 46th Indian Brigade 44th Indian Brigade 1st Burma Division 17th Indian Division A fresh regiment has left Bangkok and will reinforce Pegu eventually. The Japanese troops are sure to get pounded in the clear terrain, and may get bombarded by sea. Lots of enemy fighters spotted at Rangoon now. Going to be a bit ugly at Pegu I'm afraid, until Singapore is conquered.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/26/2021 9:42:42 PM)
1 Feb 42 Cuttlefish missed DD Sazanami near Yokohama. Finally have some air ASW at Yokohama. Multiple enemy subs south. Sturgeon missed DMS W-8 at Tulagi. DD Yugao hit Sturgeon with a couple of depth charges in the shallow water. Sallys bombed Sian's heavy industry and got a few hits. No CAP. Keeping the enemy honest and having to defend more locations. Bataan is bombed every day. Minor base damage. Burning enemy supply. Same for Malaybalay on Mindanao. The enemy has moved all of its surviving units to the mountain hex of Malaybalay. I think they are already out of supply. As I don't want to commit major units to Mindanao, I will surround Malaybalay and close all of the hex sides and just pin the enemy there. It will become a bomber training target. OPilot will use the mountain hexes as I did against him last game. I have reason to believe that he's already preparing Bandoeng on Java, and I'm nowhere close to going there yet. That will be another surround and isolate operation for me. About a dozen Blens tried to bomb Japanese troops at Singapore for the first time. I had just put some Oscars on LRCAP over Singapore from Johore Baru. 12 Blens were shot down. Japanese ground forces will attack today, and hope for a better result than the river crossing. Continuing to win the fight near Kaifeng. 3 to 1 odds and twice the enemy casualties. [image]local://upfiles/6549/8E15F6758D0C4CA18ECF68CB7ADFBFF8.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/27/2021 8:13:37 PM)
2 Feb 42 Blens attacked the Thailand division northeast of Pegu in clear terrain. No escorts. I'd moved a big Oscar unit up north and had LRCAP over the Thai unit. 30 Blens were shot down. Those Blen units will take awhile to recover. Hurricanes did sweep the hex after the Blens, but found just a handful of Oscars still there. 5 Oscars were lost, 3 to the Hurricanes and 2 to ops. A good day in the air. OPilot has many fighters at Rangoon but most appeared to be protecting a big convoy there. Sallys tried to come down to 15,000 feet to bomb Singapore, but got trashed by the flak again. Back to 20,000 feet. Just so much flak there, and in DBB, flak is more deadly. Japanese troops tried a deliberate attack. It was bloody, again, but progress is being made. Need a couple of days of rest. Ground combat at Singapore (50,84) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 62473 troops, 705 guns, 530 vehicles, Assault Value = 1644 Defending force 48786 troops, 585 guns, 358 vehicles, Assault Value = 742 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1 Japanese adjusted assault: 1409 Allied adjusted defense: 1057 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 4165 casualties reported Squads: 97 destroyed, 160 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 69 disabled Engineers: 16 destroyed, 37 disabled Guns lost 45 (5 destroyed, 40 disabled) Vehicles lost 77 (11 destroyed, 66 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2380 casualties reported Squads: 60 destroyed, 91 disabled Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 105 disabled Engineers: 6 destroyed, 22 disabled Guns lost 64 (21 destroyed, 43 disabled) Vehicles lost 32 (2 destroyed, 30 disabled)

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/28/2021 4:23:33 AM)
3 Feb 42 3 LB-30s returned to Koumac, but again found no ships in port. 1 port hit. Allied troops tried an artillery attack at Noumea, seeing exactly what I have there. The transports that had been spotted there when the US carriers were south of Noumea apparently unloaded the 164th Infantry Regiment. Now Allied troops are stronger than the Japanese. I have the 4th Infantry Division, minus most of its support troops, on ships headed to Koumac from Rabaul. 6 Japanese carriers are passing through the Solomons and will meet up with 2 AOs well to the northwest of Koumac. The carriers may cover the landing of the division at Koumac. Probably a good idea. But I'd also like to not be seen and try to slip south of Noumea, possibly to raid Auckland. To be determined. Japanese attack at Wuchow, north of Canton in China. Almost had enough. Will attack again today and should capture Wuchow. The enemy has been showing movement out of town. Ground combat at Wuchow (76,57) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 16075 troops, 163 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 467 Defending force 12410 troops, 86 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 347 Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese adjusted assault: 164 Allied adjusted defense: 85 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: leaders(+), fatigue(-), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1062 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 114 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled Allied ground losses: 793 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 54 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled Assaulting units: 51st Division 21st Mortar Battalion Defending units: 62nd Chinese Corps 2nd Prov Chinese Corps 16th Group Army

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (2/28/2021 9:59:54 PM)
4 Feb 42 xAK Sumiyoshi Maru was hit by 2 torpedoes fired by Nautilus near Roi-Namur. Both torpedoes worked and the ship was sunk, carrying part of a small airbase support company. Not sure if Nautilus carried Mk. 14's or not, but these worked. The convoy is recalled to unload and rebuild the small unit completely. The ships were headed to the small island southeast of Midway and northwest of French Frigate Shoals. Grayling spotted the Haruna task force moving south from Rabaul. Wuchow was captured, wrecking 3 Chinese units. Japanese ground losses: 183 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled Allied ground losses: 5948 casualties reported Squads: 132 destroyed, 18 disabled Non Combat: 195 destroyed, 19 disabled Engineers: 20 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 15 (11 destroyed, 4 disabled) Units retreated 3 Units at Singapore continue to rest. Another attack in a day or so. Japanese carrier task force got 1/1 D/L well to the northwest of Koumac. Probably not identified. They'll continue southwest and meet up with 2 AOs. They'll top of the tanks and either support the reinforcement of Koumac or try to slip unseen to the south.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/1/2021 7:02:14 PM)
5 Feb 42 Salmon hit xAKL Kosho Maru with a torpedo near Davao. It was a dud. OPilot's torpedo performance is still way above expected. Tarawa is invaded by the 53rd Naval Guard. No defenders. Ocean Island and Nauru are next in the area. Need another day of rest at Singapore, so the artillery will bombard again. There's a chance that we take the base tomorrow. Considering the date, this is not a stellar Malayan campaign. Very average. Japanese carriers move further south, now between New Caledonia and Australia. The fuel tanks have been topped off by 2 AOs there. The 4th Infantry Division is on fast xAPs heading towards Koumac. They'll arrive in 2 days. The carriers may cover that. I wish that Koumac had built its airfield. It's about 80% to a level 1 airfield. No Seabees for the Japanese. They are slow. Not enough vehicle help. [image]local://upfiles/6549/DBEC563B7A794081A0ADFA9D21C2B3BC.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/2/2021 6:58:27 PM)
6 Feb 42 - What To Do? [image]local://upfiles/6549/17A0463FE4324DCA9215866321902714.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/2/2021 8:29:42 PM)
6 Feb 42 I decided to move my transports back to the north and move the carriers south to near Norfolk Island. If my raid is spotted, the carriers will move back towards Koumac and cover the troop reinforcement landing. If not, we may go to Auckland. Undefended Makin was invaded and taken. Pegu was captured. Troops start to move to Rangoon. The enemy is showing movement out of Rangoon to the north. I welcome that.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/3/2021 12:05:49 AM)
With the US carriers spotted at Auckland, and the enemy spotting my transports north of Koumac, OPilot may send his carriers north. If he does so, with my carriers moving adjacent to Norfolk Island, there's a decent chance of being exactly 8 hexes away from each other. So this next turn could be very interesting.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/3/2021 5:48:44 PM)
7 Feb 42 No carrier fight today. Now a choice. [image]local://upfiles/6549/8E521FB7B0E24B6DB758B199D4691DEC.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/3/2021 9:01:53 PM)
7 Feb 42 AMc Showa Maru was sunk by S-41 at Luganville. There's 150 mines at Luganville but the enemy subs haven't found them yet. xAK Fukoku Maru was hit by a working torpedo from Salmon west of Babeldaob. The ship had unloaded infantry at Davao, and will probably sink before making it to port. There were a few dud torpedo hits today. Singapore attack did ok. Was bloody, again. I need to keep the forts from rebuilding but I'm finding it impossible. The flak is incredible there, and the Sallys can't do enough damage from high altitude. Another few days of rest is needed, as the troops have high fatigue and disruption. The fall of Singapore is delayed further. It looked like it would be around 1 Feb. Now it's looking to be around mid-February. Disappointing, and the Japanese troops will need quite a bit of time to recover afterwards. Ground combat at Singapore (50,84) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 51035 troops, 583 guns, 482 vehicles, Assault Value = 1541 Defending force 48442 troops, 581 guns, 379 vehicles, Assault Value = 685 Japanese adjusted assault: 1801 Allied adjusted defense: 891 Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 2016 casualties reported Squads: 4 destroyed, 119 disabled Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 49 disabled Engineers: 7 destroyed, 21 disabled Vehicles lost 59 (26 destroyed, 33 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2311 casualties reported Squads: 63 destroyed, 101 disabled Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 46 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 43 disabled Guns lost 45 (7 destroyed, 38 disabled) Vehicles lost 55 (8 destroyed, 47 disabled) As far as the carriers, I decided to move them mostly eastward to engage anything northbound towards Noumea or Suva from Auckland. If nothing is found, there's a better chance of not being spotted by Catalinas in this area. But they still will probably be seen. They've been lucky hiding in bad weather for 3 days in row.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/4/2021 2:17:09 AM)
8 Feb 42 Big Oscar sweep of Toungoo, with planes lost on both sides. The Oscar Ic's have such weak guns. The story is down near New Zealand. [image]local://upfiles/6549/FD57836FA50842508B216A2819F66D3D.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/4/2021 5:24:10 AM)
8 Feb 42 - Continued [image]local://upfiles/6549/C7DF09AAEADA4450B92138BA397C35B4.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/4/2021 7:04:48 PM)
9 Feb 42 - Auckland Now what to do... [image]local://upfiles/6549/E68A091A232D453295A9B1E12406E4F5.gif[/image]

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/4/2021 9:55:03 PM)
9 Feb 42 - KB Movement [image]local://upfiles/6549/2C9EAF2379444038B4605E5501E5FA3E.gif[/image]

Evoken -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/5/2021 3:06:12 PM)
Its a big shame weather prevented strikes , it would be really hard to catch US CV's now but good luck!

Wuffer -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/5/2021 9:17:48 PM)
tense! really tricky, especially for the Allies. This is a much tougher fight than expected, Opilot seems to be much more comfortable with the good boys. Interesting AAR!

Bif1961 -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/6/2021 2:49:43 PM)
The weather that allowed you to sneak up on him has turned and now stopped you from attacking them. However, being so close you have now presented him with a number of options that may not be desirable. How many fighters does he have at Auckland? If he has enough and with his carrier not docked in Port he might combine them to for a large CAP and risk protecting everything there, with AAA as well from ships and port. That way if anything is damaged and not sunk, he can disband them in port, resupply his AAA, replace some loses and fight another day. If he flees with the carriers and gets away you might return and slaughter his ships in port which would be far less protected without the carrier air groups.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/7/2021 7:18:48 PM)
One thing that I hadn't considered is that he could have major ships, maybe even a carrier, in pier mode repairing. I show up unexpectedly and those ships are stuck there. That would make it more likely that OPilot would stack Auckland to defend it. Real life has interfered with our usual daily turns. I expect the next turn from OPilot within hours.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/8/2021 3:00:05 AM)
10 Feb 42 The British cruiser force came back to Malaya, this time to bombard Johore Bahru. I was aware that this could happen, moving through Singapore, but I had feared a bombardment during the buildup to the Singapore crossing, not afterwards. It hit today, and keeping with the theme of this war, good luck for the Allies, it was a nuclear bombardment. Night Naval bombardment of Johore Bahru at 50,83 Japanese aircraft no flights Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 45 damaged A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed on ground Ki-43-Ia Oscar: 24 damaged Ki-21-IIa Sally: 64 damaged Ki-21-IIa Sally: 2 destroyed on ground Allied Ships CA Exeter CA Cornwall CL Glasgow CL Mauritius DD Jupiter DD Isis DD Express DD Encounter DD Electra DD Thanet DD Tenedos DD Scout Japanese ground losses: 1475 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 82 disabled Engineers: 2 destroyed, 22 disabled Guns lost 34 (4 destroyed, 30 disabled) Vehicles lost 20 (5 destroyed, 15 disabled) Resources hits 1 Airbase hits 47 Airbase supply hits 13 Runway hits 80 Port hits 35 Port fuel hits 10 Port supply hits 5 This wasn't a battleship bombardment, but it sure looked like one. A very good one. Lots of casualties for lots of support units. And lots of planes damaged. 6 Zeros and 5 Sallys destroyed. Most damaged. Morale in the 20s and 30s, so recovery will take some time. Not that the Sallys have been able to accomplish much bombing Singapore, but they certainly cannot now. KB moved west of New Zealand, guessing that the enemy would flee Auckland and hug the coast headed towards Wellington. Well, the ships did flee Auckland, and hugged the coast down to the bend, but kept going southeast, out into the open ocean. The slower ships were spotted by a Glen near the bend. More valuable shipping, like ADs, had moved further to the southeast, out towards nowhere. The US carriers were not spotted. They could have move almost anywhere, but considering the ant trail of everything else, they fled southeast and quickly. At the bend, in shallow water, Glen equipped sub I-26 spotted 2 xAPs and an AP with a destroyer. One torpedo hit big transport xAP Mataroa. This was during the night. Part of the Auckland exodus to the southeast. KB did send some strikes. AM Mruritai was sunk near Wellington. AM Cessnock was sunk by torpedoes near Auckland. AMc's Futurish and South Sea were sunk near Wellington. 27 Kates and 18 Vals, with no escorts, flew to Auckland, but luckily found no CAP. They sunk AMc Humphrey with a torpedo and damaged tanker Gulfland with a bomb. Flak was heavy at Auckland, shooting down 4 Vals. Fairly out of position to chase the enemy to the southeast, being on the western side of New Zealand, KB is ordered to the northwest to support the push on Noumea. The 4th Infantry Division is unloading at Koumac now. Sending the 4th to Port Moresby initially instead of to Singapore could be blamed for the problems at Singapore. KB's move to Auckland almost changed the war, catching the US carriers, and many other ships there. But weather prevented the strikes and surprise was lost. Singapore is in danger of becoming a quagmire. It looks like having 4 divisions plus support isn't going to be enough. Ground combat at Singapore (50,84) Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 60544 troops, 707 guns, 456 vehicles, Assault Value = 1526 Defending force 47494 troops, 579 guns, 386 vehicles, Assault Value = 588 Japanese adjusted assault: 1075 Allied adjusted defense: 885 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), experience(-) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1818 casualties reported Squads: 6 destroyed, 128 disabled Non Combat: 49 destroyed, 32 disabled Engineers: 30 destroyed, 19 disabled Vehicles lost 44 (14 destroyed, 30 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Allied ground losses: 2279 casualties reported Squads: 63 destroyed, 69 disabled Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 153 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 18 disabled Guns lost 46 (12 destroyed, 34 disabled) Vehicles lost 39 (4 destroyed, 35 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Assaulting units: 23rd Ind Engineer Regiment 5th Division 14th Tank Regiment Imperial Guards Division 2nd Division 18th Division 41st Infantry Regiment 4th Ind Engineer Regiment 1st Tank Regiment 15th Ind Engineer Regiment 6th Tank Regiment 3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment 5th Mortar Battalion 14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 1st RF Gun Battalion 3rd Mortar Battalion 25th Army 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment 20th AA Regiment 31st Field AA Battalion Defending units: 1st Mysore Battalion SSVF Brigade 8th Indian Brigade 2/17 Dogra Battalion 27th Australian Brigade 1st Manchester Battalion 22nd Indian Brigade 5/14th Punjab Battalion 22nd Australian Brigade 2nd Gordons Battalion 2nd Loyal Battalion 11th Indian Division 2nd Malay Battalion 1st Malay Battalion 3rd Cavalry Regiment 12th Indian Brigade 1st HK&S Heavy AA Regiment 109th RAF Adv Base Force 109th RN Base Force /1 Malayan Air Wing 3rd Heavy AA Regiment Singapore Base Force 113th RAF Adv Base Force 111th RAF Adv Base Force AHQ Far East 2nd HK&S Heavy AA Regiment 3rd SSVF Battalion Malaya Army 5th Field Regiment 2nd ISF Base Force 24th NZ Pioneer Coy 22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 112th RAF Adv Base Force III Indian Corps Singapore Fortress 1st Indian Heavy AA Regiment 110th RAF Adv Base Force /1 One division is trashed. Another is half trashed. Disruption is over 70 and will require about 3 days of rest. In the mean time, the forts get rebuilt to level 1. No way that my force will get a 3 to 1 attack. We'll keep trying, but I don't think it's going to happen. My average taking of Singapore in early February is going to become a poor campaign ending around the end of February, I'm afraid. I've summoned a division at Manila to move to Batangas. A task force of very big fast transports is moving to Batangas from Cam Ranh Bay to get the troops. Then it's off to Bangkok to unload, a rail trip down to Johore Baru, changing from Strat mode to Move mode, and movement into Singapore. It's going to take about 3 weeks. Terrible. I've not been this discouraged as the Japanese this early in the war before. The only thing that makes this not a complete disaster is that I have had modest plans for expansion, taking the usual places like Java and Sumatra and Timor, probably Darwin, but nothing like going to the rest of Australia or India. I considered a spoiling invasion of Ceylon, but that probably won't happen. My plans were modest because I want to move a lot to China after the perimeter is set, and really do a thorough cutting off of Burma from China. My slowness at Singapore won't make much difference to that effort. Rangoon flipped to the Japanese today as troops entered the city. The enemy had fled. Over 30,000 oil captured. And with no combat, the refinery is undamaged.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/9/2021 2:01:27 AM)
11 Feb 42 I-26 hit unescorted xAKL Kailua with 3 shells southeast of Auckland. I-26 had some minor damage from previous action and chose to break off the fight early. S-27 hit huge transport xAP Haruna Maru with a torpedo at Koumac. Massive explosion reported. Damage is SYS 8/FLT 25-14/ENG 4-0/FIRE 5. Unloading of it and a few other very large transports will continue. So will the torpedo hits, the way things are going. 2 destroyers have broken off of the Haruna task force at Koumac to hunt for S-27. Most of the 4th Infantry Division has unloaded, and it begins to march down to Noumea. Snapper hit patrol boat Fukui Maru with a working torpedo near Milne Bay. The PB is escorting a single xAK, one that carries the single leftover vehicle of the 4th Infantry Division that is now mostly at Koumac, but has a fragment at Rabaul also. A support fragment is at Port Moresby and is being flown to Rabaul on Tinas. Nauru Island is invaded and captured. KB was not spotted northwest of New Zealand. It will continue north to go west of Noumea and support its capture.

apbarog -> RE: Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A) (3/9/2021 8:13:58 PM)
12 Feb 42 Narwhal had a dud torpedo hit on xAKL Heiwa Maru. OPilot has been more unlucky with torpedo dud hits on small ships like SCs and xAKLs, and plenty of good luck with fighting ships and big xAPs. Two Japanese infantry divisions have moved from Manila to Clark. One will continue to move to Bataan. The other will stay at Clark and be the reserve division to be called in if needed. I want to keep under the stacking limit at Bataan while the enemy is still way over stacked. Enemy losses to artillery have been brutal every day. I keep bombing, with little results, but it does tell me if flak is still firing, and therefore if the units with flak still have supply. They still do. I may end up attacking before supply is exhausted. I need to get things moving faster. These troops need to move on to Borneo and Java. [image]local://upfiles/6549/C8F20863659D46AD8F2724D5C9C97238.gif[/image]

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