Here We Go Again

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Taxcutter -> Here We Go Again (7/27/2021 3:28:32 AM)
Having polished off the AI by Jan. 1, 1945 I stopped playing but began jonesing for WitPAE so I started a new one. Allies against the AI but this time I used Hakku Ichiu scenario in the stock game. For some reason I cannot get DaBabes and SeaBee to play nice. At any rate I embraced Sardauker's house rules: "- Restricted units must pay PP to cross national borders (permanently restricted of course cannot ever), this is mainly for SE Asia and China. - No Fortress Sumatra or Java (Java can be reinforced only with supplies or HQs, Air HQ from Singapore allowed). Otherwise can only be defended with units in hand. - No Fortress Rangoon, withdrawal from Burma in orderly fashion to India. No reinforcing Burma in 1942, diverting units in TFs destined to Singapore only to India. - No 4E bomber Naval attacks below 6000 ft before 1943 and then 1000 ft (while skip bombing was invented using B-17s, it can be too powerful). - No 2E bomber Naval attacks below 1000 ft, 100 ft skip bombing/strafing restricted to Attack Bombers only and (some) Fighter Bombers in Naval attacks. Fighters can strafe in land attacks." ...and off we go. AI kinda dropped the ball at Pearl Harbor. All eight of my Standards survived and only one will take more than three months to repair (Maryland eight months). Most of them should be in CONUS by the first of the year. I got Enterprise and Saratoga away with minor damage to Saratoga (FLT=8) by an I boat. I stopped the CVs in Pearl to refuel and put their air wings on the beach. That way I can train the dickens out of them. The CVs will go to San Diego and embark USMC squadrons to build up some carrier trained backup. I really don't see coming out of port til May or June. I'm assuming a more robust KB. Basically no "Fortress" anyplaces. That sound you hear is the Allies doing Brave Sir Robin big time. Burma Army is bugging out for the Imphal ridge line and the Chinese are climbing every jungly mountain they can find. I will fight it out for Canton Island. I have a CD regiment en route and a Marine defense battalion is right behind. I have lots of mines and non-Gato subs. Let's hope I can get a BF and some planes in there. Hakko Ichiu may get it but he'll have to pay. Any rate I back in the Pacific...

BBfanboy -> RE: Here We Go Again (7/27/2021 3:21:37 PM)
Off to a good start and a good plan (Sir Robin is acceptable when part of your goal is to let the AI do the historic expansion). [sm=scared0018.gif] Only advice I have is to expect subs between PH and the WC USA. Roundabout routing is recommended. Hoping to see your AAR. I hope you can manage at least weekly game time posts and enough graphics for us to easily follow what is happening in key areas. [:)]

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/3/2021 3:59:44 PM)
Sitrep: New Year's Day 1942 No surprises. The war proceeded like everyone else's December 1941. Japanese kicked butt. I did execute the original plan for Luzon. Everybody ran for Bataan and I transferred as much supply (~50,000) into Bataan as I could. I saved two PBY squadrons and all the B-17Ds (great search planes even if I have to withdraw them by November.) I got all the fighters into Bataan with support, but I'm down to about a dozen fighters by the end of the month. I thought I played them as well as I could but AI put good zeros and clouds of Nates out and ground them down. I manage to generate exactly ONE TRACOM pilot. One other is sorta close. If I have any fighters left at Bataan by the 15th, I'll be surprised. I got all the naval shipping out of the PI and most of the xAKLs. Malaya and the DEI have gone as usual. The ground troops (askaris) don't put up much of a fight. The British and Dutch Buffalos melt like butter in a blast furnace. In this scenario the Dutch do have a lot of mines available and I've mined everything in sight. No joy so far. KB just swept down the Makassar Strait and into the Banda Sea and are not withdrawing. They have to be out of ordnance. They bombed everything in sight - mostly short-legged Dutch auxiliaries that would be a nightmare to get to Darwin or Perth and not much use if they got there. I anticipate AI will have Soerabaja by the 21st or so. Not "Fortress Palembang" (I've never made that work anyway) or "Fortress Rangoon." I couldn't save more than a battalion of the Australian 8th Division. All I could save were a couple squadrons of semi-useless aircraft. I have gotten a fairly decent garrison into Port Moresby. I got a squadron of USAAF A-24s into PM and they have been devilling the marus unloading at Finchaven. Gotta get engineers into PM. That dinky level 1 port makes unloading even the smallest unit miserable. Lots of supply and fuel are on the move. I'm ahead of you on sub-dodging on the PH-SF routes. I have the first real challenge here: an escort TF with Maryland and the WeeVee heading for Bremerton. Maryland can only make 6 knots. This may take three weeks. I have this TF heavily escorted. I have another dozen DD heading for Pearl and I hope to have anther couple Standards at Mare Island. I also do a fair amount of sub-dodging on the east coast of Australia. My trans-oceanic routes are way out of AI sub range and I vary the routes. I'll try to bring weekly AARs. Like to see a response or two. Hate to post into a vacuum.

RangerJoe -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/3/2021 4:05:45 PM)
You are not posting in a vacuum.

Andy Mac -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/3/2021 7:54:29 PM)
Which version of scen 2 are you using ?

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/3/2021 11:12:30 PM)
The game refers to it as Hakku Ichiu. That's all I know of it.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/6/2021 1:43:06 AM)
As requested weekly (WitP time) update Sitrep January 8, 1942 Not much we all haven't seen before. AI is gobbling up undefended or poorly defended bases in Malaya and the DEI. He has a fragment of KB camped in the Makassar area and anything that moves east of Soerabaja get hammered. AI has failed to take either Tarakan or Balikpapan so far. AI tried to cheap-Charlie Tarakan and finds his ground forces badly out numbered by the stock game garrison. He'll have to bring up a couple of real battalions it looks like. At Balikpapen he can't get ashore as I left ten British MTBs I saved from Hong Kong and AI keeps trying to, bull by with just marus. Best defense I've ever seen from either MTBs, PTs, or MGBs. All AI has to, send is a couple DD's and these MTBs would be mowed down. In both cases I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually. A lot of stuff is trapped at Soerabaja but not much worth crying over. Lots and lots of dinky little Dutch auxiliaries. Subs can get away at their leisure. Doorman's Dutch/US surface fore could get away by sailing west to the Sunda Strait and bugging out for Perth. They'll have to eventually. A dozen Dutch B339s won't hold off KB-quality planes for long. I am building up Port Moresby. A brigade and two battalions so far, but I have a Australian division I can move up a brigade at a time. AI is moving slowly in the Lae/Finchaven area as he is trying to advance on the cheap. I may be able to get an Australian fighter squadron I extracted from the DEI to PM and bash his IJAAF bombers. That'll force him to bring Zeros. Sallies at 10,000 feet are hard pressed to hit the Coral Sea. AI will get there sooner of later but I may have a tough nut for him to crack. Hopefully I can get the 49th PG built up to toughen the nut a little more. Operation Brave Sir Robin in Burma is going well. I have the entire Burma Army (except for a battalion and a BF I left at Myitkyina) across the Irrawaddy at Prome and slogging up the mud road toward the ford above Akyab. I already have a solid garrison at Chittagong and Imphal. Hurricanes beginning to arrive. Tenth USAAF starting to stand up in the CONUS but they are at least two to three months out. My 6 knot Escort TF (Maryland and WeeVee) is about halfway to Bremerton. My 8 knot TF (Oklahoma and Arizona just departed Pearl for the Bay Area. Seems odd talking about saving those two ships with less than 150 days to return to service. Once I get my horde of DDs back, I'll be able to make a 10 ton run for the Bay Area. Three of the other four BBs are <90 days in a shipyard and will stay in Pearl til the escort situation is right. I could easily have 12 Standards in serve by June. Rascally AI beat me to Canton Island. He'll have a rough time defending it. He doesn't have a 2+ AF south of Makin. Even Zeros have a limit on endurance. I'll probably be able to pummel him with CA based bombardment. But it still imposes a longer detour around him. I have gathered up 11 and 13 knot AOs to let my shorter legged xAKs sail out of range of trouble. Once Liberty ships with their 19,000 mile endurance show up this becomes less and less of a problem. All my CVs are at San Diego with their air wings training at land bases. I have 53 USMC planes doing their C-Qual training. They are about three weeks done. I have plenty of empty decks to make carrier pilots out of Marines. I'm sure this scenario has a surprise in it. Maybe an attack of Ceylon or India proper. We shall see. The unpreparedness is still monumental.

RangerJoe -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/6/2021 3:42:29 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Taxcutter As requested weekly (WitP time) update Sitrep January 8, 1942 Not much we all haven't seen before. AI is gobbling up undefended or poorly defended bases in Malaya and the DEI. He has a fragment of KB camped in the Makassar area and anything that moves east of Soerabaja get hammered. AI has failed to take either Tarakan or Balikpapan so far. AI tried to cheap-Charlie Tarakan and finds his ground forces badly out numbered by the stock game garrison. He'll have to bring up a couple of real battalions it looks like. At Balikpapen he can't get ashore as I left ten British MTBs I saved from Hong Kong and AI keeps trying to, bull by with just marus. Best defense I've ever seen from either MTBs, PTs, or MGBs. All AI has to, send is a couple DD's and these MTBs would be mowed down. In both cases I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually. A lot of stuff is trapped at Soerabaja but not much worth crying over. Lots and lots of dinky little Dutch auxiliaries. Subs can get away at their leisure. Doorman's Dutch/US surface fore could get away by sailing west to the Sunda Strait and bugging out for Perth. They'll have to eventually. A dozen Dutch B339s won't hold off KB-quality planes for long. I am building up Port Moresby. A brigade and two battalions so far, but I have a Australian division I can move up a brigade at a time. AI is moving slowly in the Lae/Finchaven area as he is trying to advance on the cheap. I may be able to get an Australian fighter squadron I extracted from the DEI to PM and bash his IJAAF bombers. That'll force him to bring Zeros. Sallies at 10,000 feet are hard pressed to hit the Coral Sea. AI will get there sooner of later but I may have a tough nut for him to crack. Hopefully I can get the 49th PG built up to toughen the nut a little more. Operation Brave Sir Robin in Burma is going well. I have the entire Burma Army (except for a battalion and a BF I left at Myitkyina) across the Irrawaddy at Prome and slogging up the mud road toward the ford above Akyab. I already have a solid garrison at Chittagong and Imphal. Hurricanes beginning to arrive. Tenth USAAF starting to stand up in the CONUS but they are at least two to three months out. My 6 knot Escort TF (Maryland and WeeVee) is about halfway to Bremerton. My 8 knot TF (Oklahoma and Arizona just departed Pearl for the Bay Area. Seems odd talking about saving those two ships with less than 150 days to return to service. Once I get my horde of DDs back, I'll be able to make a 10 ton run for the Bay Area. Three of the other four BBs are <90 days in a shipyard and will stay in Pearl til the escort situation is right. I could easily have 12 Standards in serve by June. Rascally AI beat me to Canton Island. He'll have a rough time defending it. He doesn't have a 2+ AF south of Makin. Even Zeros have a limit on endurance. I'll probably be able to pummel him with CA based bombardment. But it still imposes a longer detour around him. I have gathered up 11 and 13 knot AOs to let my shorter legged xAKs sail out of range of trouble. Once Liberty ships with their 19,000 mile endurance show up this becomes less and less of a problem. All my CVs are at San Diego with their air wings training at land bases. I have 53 USMC planes doing their C-Qual training. They are about three weeks done. I have plenty of empty decks to make carrier pilots out of Marines. I'm sure this scenario has a surprise in it. Maybe an attack of Ceylon or India proper. We shall see. The unpreparedness is still monumental. I actually would not rush with the old BBs. They take a lot of fuel, they are slow, and if you have combat with a SC TF they can't run away. A lot of them will have long upgrades sooner rather than later which will improve their AA performance.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/6/2021 8:44:55 PM)
I'm not really in too much of a rush with the Standards, but I want them out of PH as that is my "first responder" shipyard for the Central Pacific and three of them fill up the yards. They don't impress Bremerton, Alameda, or Mare Island. I do know some of the Standards have very long refits. With my carriers sitting in San Diego training air crew, my active war will be mostly with CAs and CLs. Sub war is a bit more balanced than the stock Scen 1. AI has somewhat dangerous ASW but they don't do much damage and I'm shooting Mk. 14s of course. I won't get too aggressive with subs til I get Midway where I want it. So far a large chunk of KB is busy in the DEI, so I'm racing to build up Midway. I'm trying to disengage my old four-pipers that can be converted to DEs in April. With ASW = 8 they'll be my best ASW for a while.

BBfanboy -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/6/2021 11:05:47 PM)
One of the most frustrating parts of the early Allied ASW is the pitiful number of depth charges the ASW vessels carry. They can make a few passes on a sub and then run out of ammo before doing significant damage. Look carefully at the amount of ammo those DE conversions can carry before deciding between DE and APD. If you plan to use them as local escorts that only operate a few hexes from a port that can rearm them, a poor number for the magazine capacity is probably OK. Note that the US bird class AMs have a poor ASW number but a good magazine capacity for d/c's.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/9/2021 2:09:19 AM)
Sitrep Jan. 16, 1942 Situation normal...Japanese kicking butt. Dutch and British askaris and mercenaries melt at the sight of the Rising Sun. AI took Kendari and everything north of it. Balikpapan held out OK for a week. Their CD guns bashed a lot of marus, but eventually they came unglued. Tarakan has held out for a while mostly because AI underestimated them. Just a matter of a regiment or two. Bataan holding out well. I still have about 30 fighters still active. 30,000 supply on Bataan. Again AI underestimated Bataan. He has one big division and a brigade. I outnumber him but the Philippino forces have nearly zero offensive punch. Otherwise he is running wild in the PI. AI is pressing aggressively in the Solomons but now after taking Guadalcanal he is out of land-based air range. It is getting time to think about bugging out of the DEI. Most of Borneo is gone and many of the minor bases. Sumatra only get night harrassment bombing. Java untouched for now but 40 Buffaloes with poorly trained aircrew won't hold him long once he get organized. I got the Houston, Boise and some four-pipers out of the PI but it's time to move to the East Coast of Australia. Doorman can make a demonstration but about all his fleet is good for in defending Perth and that only because it is the far end of nowhere. I've made good progress on Operation Brave Sir Robin. AI is not pressing the retreat. I should be able to set up a stout defense along the Imphal ridge. Many the board wisdom is right. The British (Indian) army has poor offensive punch, and it bombers are mostly useless. And most of all Burma is excellent defensive terrain - both ways. The Burma Road is not as effective at perking up the Chinese as Malta Convoys but I doubt if I'll get lucky again opening up Hong Kong and Canton. If all goes well, next sitrep will have four Standards in West Coast shipyards. Then all I have to get out of Pearl are my four least-damaged ships. Not like I'm gonna do anything with them until I get built up enough to go on the offensive. Maybe fourth quarter 1942. I've been going through PP like Keith Richard going through a kilo of good weed. Mostly putting up roadblocks. Midwayand Port Moresby will be tough nuts for AI to crack. I sure do miss the 5"/51 deck guns on my Tambor-class subs. All this scenario allows them is 3"/50s.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/12/2021 7:46:54 PM)
Sitrep Jan. 27, 1942 Had to decline a small naval battle at Espiritu Santo. I was unloading an Australian brigade (AV=78) and some supply. AI had made a pass at ES earlier but I chased him off with two Kiwi CLs. I landed the troops OK but it was worth your life to unload a few hundred tons of supply. My xAPs were <6,000 tons so I could dock one at a time. But even docked these ships couldn't unload more than 800 tons before AI came back with a CA/CVE force I couldn't beat, so I retired but their Kates caught my APs and sank them. So far AI has been taking dots with very small forces, so my Aussies may hold them off. Conquering much with not much force is AI's plan so far. He did not press me in the PI, so I moved in every combat unit I could find and 50,000 tons of supply into Bataan and have it fortified to nearly level four. I outnumber him 3:1 at Bataan. Likewise at Singapore. I have nearly 60,000 tons of supply there and may more AV than he has in all of Malaya. I even saw a first - a Wildebeest out of Singers actually sank a maru. He has just now gotten to Pegu in Burma and Operation Brave Sir Robin is 300 miles ahead of him. I should have the Imphal ridge occupied before he gets to Prome. AI has bombed the daylights out of Rangoon. His engineers will be busy for a while. Now I realize AI will take Burma, Malaya and Bataan, but it will take a while and require quite a few more troops than what he has allocated so far. AI has taken everything worth having on Borneo and Celebes and the Moluccas. The Dutch were so weak a couple troops of transgender Girl Scouts could take those islands. There is no "Fortress Palembang" so taking Sumatra is just a matter of touching the bases. Java will be more of a fight but if AI doesn't take it by March 1, I'll be surprised. AI has made no move toward India. I have Ceylon fairly well garrisoned and Hurricanes are beginning to show up. China is going as I would expect for December 1942. Like all AI, this one seems obsessed with bashing Chairman Mao. Looks like his main thrust is down the Solomons. To take ES or Noumea or Suva he'll have to commit at least a sizeable piece of KB. Even A2M2 Zeros have range limitations.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/12/2021 8:04:20 PM)
P.S. In two days, my last four Standards can make mission speed (all FLT<10) to Frisco - actually Mare island and Alameda. That will clear the Pearl harbor yard for "first responder" work and will free up some of my ASW assets. Imagine: By June 1 (subject to upgrade refits) I'll have eleven Standards plus Warspite at Frisco, ready for the revenge offensive. Washington, the Showboat, and the SoDaks will draw CV escort duty for now. I beached all my trained carrier planes and concentrated on training. I have some USMC planes getting C-Qualed at San Diego.

BBfanboy -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/12/2021 8:11:00 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Taxcutter Imagine: By June 1 (subject to upgrade refits) I'll have eleven Standards plus Warspite at Frisco, ready for the revenge offensive. Washington, the Showboat, and the SoDaks will draw CV escort duty for now. I beached all my trained carrier planes and concentrated on training. I have some USMC planes getting C-Qualed at San Diego. No, no! BB Revenge comes in at Cape Town; you should name your offensive after one of the ships that will be in it! [;)]

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/15/2021 2:07:13 AM)
Sitrep Feb. 1, 1942 Things have slowed down a bit. AI has all of Borneo and Celebes but hasn't begun to move against Sumatra or Java. He has run up on reefs at Singapore and Bataan. AI has pretty much wrecked his 14th Army, although it has cost the Bataan garrison about 60% of their supply. Singapore has lots of supply but when the two brigades of the 8th Aus are gone the rest of the units are brittle and fragile. AI is raiding around the edges. He's sunk a few xAKLs at the price of a cruiser shot to pieces at Midway. His raid have slowed up my development at Noumea and Espirtu Santo. Operation Brave Sir Robin is going well. I'm about to rebuild the 1st Burma Division as the keystone of a defense of Chittagong.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/20/2021 4:00:11 PM)
Sitrep Feb. 8, 1942 Well, my half-strength Aussie brigade could not hold Espiritu Santo. AI tried once with his usual formula for ungarrisoned posts (two SNLF companies) and the Australians repulsed them. I tried to reinforce but AI came in with cruisers and a CVE and chased off my two Omahas, and dropped off about half a Naval Guard brigade. No contest. I don't have much at Noumea (Free French) but I do have more reinforcements close and two regiments of the Americal Division en route. Also some small xAKLs to not flood Noumea (port level 2). I've reinforced Suva but it still ain't very intimidating. The agony of the Standards from Pearl Harbor is diminishing. They are all in West Coast shipyards. Including upgrade refits they'll be available by June. whether I sortie them is still a question. My CV air wings are training like mad and the ships are refitted (at least til April). Problem is I still have Buffalo fighter squadrons and my best pilots are at most "experienced. Port Moresby is as fortified as I can make it in the short term. Australian I Corps is beginning to dribble in to Aden, and the 6th Division is en route to Perth. Long trip, though. Singapore and Bataan are still holding out. A Singapore I still have a decent amount of supply but the units (other than the two Australian 8th Division brigades) are starting to get shaky and AI has beaten down their fortifications. Despite a weak IJA assault force it will be a miracle if Singers holds out til March. At Bataan the situation is the opposite. The defenses are stout (AI is trying to take it on the cheap) but they burned through 80% of the supply repulsing repeated (if weak attacks). Fortifications are still level 3. Prognosis: Maybe Bataan holds out to April. I am running in about 600 tons of supply by sub every other week. May as well. With Mk. 14 torps the US fleet boats aren't much of a tactical danger to the IJN. To their credit, the little Dutch subs are sinking some marus. AI holds all of Celebes, Borneo, and the Moluccas, but so far has shown little interest in Sumatra or Java. Just a few air raids by dinky little SE IJAAF bombers on Medan and we had a small surface action at the Sunda Strait. CLs and DDs. Nobody hit anything and both TFs ran away. Operation Brave Sir Robin is almost complete. Meanwhile AI hasn't made any attempt to take Rangoon (held by 1 battalion). Even unopposed it will take AI ten weeks just to March across Burma and by then I'll be well dig in on the Imphal ridge with a fair-sized mobile reserve in India. Question is: What is it I am not seeing? I know AI has more assets than what I'm seeing.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/23/2021 2:16:19 AM)
Sitrep Feb, 16, 1942 Historical disaster. Singapore fell - well supplied - on St. Valentine's Day. AI reinforced his assault units and kept banging away with shock attacks. The two Australian brigades were reduced by 50% and they were all that was left. The Indiana Army units frittered away like bacon grease. Two days later Doorman was trying to jump some marus at the Sunda Strait and suddenly all of KB appeared and wrecked the Dutch naval forces. Looks like KB - with their six covered by the fall of Singapore are headed for the Indian Ocean. I'll have to take the RN surface forces and run for Aden. At least one thing: I know where KB is and now I can reinforce Noumea to stop the southern offensive.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/28/2021 9:15:01 PM)
Sitrep Feb. 28, 1942 Sorry guys action came fast and furious and I wanted to wait til I could summarize the action. Once Singers fell the Japanese turned to western Java and Timor. KB swept along Java wrecking things - that's what they do. I managed to get A Dutch CL and 4 x DD away to Perth. Now to figure out something to do with this weak and short-legged force. Once they had trashed Java, KB disappeared. They has a sub-force including TK south of Java. They may be out in the IO or they may have gone back to refit air groups. The Dutch certainly didn't hurt their ships. What is more useless than a Mk.14 torpedo against ships. Dutch strike planes. Every now and then a hapless maru will bumble into a Mk. 14 that goes off. None of the Dutch strike planes (I observe house rules) have hit ANYTHING. But to their credit the Buffaloes at Batavia have been shooting down some planes. Dutch mines have hit a couple ships which is 100% more than their worthless bombers. I have (for all practical purposes) bugged out of DEI. Their askaris melt like a snowball in a blast furnace. The Japanese are assaulting Palembang, western Java, and Timor. All I can do is run like hell. The Burma Army (such as it is) has completely escaped Burma and is now digging in on the Imphal Ridge. Maybe this terrific defensive terrain (most Burma Army position are in jungly mountains behind a river. AI has just taken Rangoon after bombing it to bits. I had just left a small battalion to defend it. So far all AI holds is Rangoon, Pergo, and Youngoo. It will take him a mon or six weeks just to march across Burma and another six weeks to traverse the jungle in front of the Imphal Ridge. If KB comes to the IO they'll have to sail all the way to Aden to find ships. Lack of ground or air action has allowed me to stock India up with supply. Bataan is finally out of supply but for now I have enough residual AV to make AI pay for Bataan. I have stocked up Darwin with supply but forces there are thin. I have PM occupied is moderate strength but need to get in engineers and base forces. With KB running wild in the DEI, I at least knew where they were and am trying to my best to fortify Noumea. II Fighter Command will be shipping out of SF tomorrow. I'd sure like to train those P-39s some more by time won't allow it. Bataan and Singapore have attrited IJA assault divisions down to 25% strength. I'm sure AI doesn't care.

RangerJoe -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/28/2021 10:12:17 PM)
Move some supplies to Bataan by US subs, then have them return by giving them a patrol zone at their home base with a react of "1" so they will return but attack anything that they come across. Dutch pilots need to be trained. If you want to save the squadrons and pilots for later use, then consider disbanding them and if the DEI capital is captured, they should return at Aden.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (8/31/2021 6:54:16 PM)
(More or less) weekly Sitrep March 7 AI has gotten serious about the Batavia area. I'm salvaging what I can. AI is kicking butt in western Java but continues to underestimate Palembang. AI has taken all of Timor. Bataan still holds out but supply and forts are gone and now my Philippino units are starting to fritter down. May hold on til April. I am using sub transport to haul in about 600 tons of supply every two weeks. Ain't enough. IJN DDs on the warpath in the Coral Sea. One measly DD mauled the Adelaide and a PG with no collateral damage. Maybe I can save those two. Another DD came in with no recon at Noumea. Different results. Eight US cruisers made an artificial reef out of the mighty Wakataki. The 35 PG and the II Fighter Command are en route to Noumea. At Noumea things remain fouled up by a half dozen trucks. But I do haven engineer regiment landed and am starting to offload the 132nd Infantry regiment. Three major logistics convoys are unloading at Brisbane. Otherwise, not much happening. India and China are comatose.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/2/2021 7:13:23 PM)
Sitrep March 15, 1942 AI continues to rampage through undefended bases but is a (smaller) struggle at Batavia and (larger) one at Bataan. For some reason AI seems to have abandoned previously untaken bases. Airedale recon shows no Japanese at Luganville. Odd. Luganville is a place I fight like a wildcat for. If AI holds it Noumea and Suva are in question and without those my USA-Australia link is in serious question. I look to have Red Mike and the 1st Raiders hit it within a week or so. This time I have defensive units to follow up. A few days earlier a weak IJN cruiser force tried to find my transports unloading at Noumea. Not a bad idea as I am building up at Noumea as fast as I can. Before longer it will beyond taking without committing KB (currently no place to be seen.) They found a force of seven US cruisers. The weak force got shot to bits but some of my sinks ran down their ammo. I have a replenishment TF (AO and AE) sitting in Pago Pago so I sent these three ships to Pago Pago to rearm. They are now on their way back with a couple more cruisers that had just arrived at Pago. Before that reinforcement, AI sent in cruiser force based on one CA, two DDs, and a CL. Although the US force was stronger the engagement was indecisive. Their CA took couple hits and bugged out. I expect the IJN to return in greater force but Noumea is a long damn way from Tokyo. Sure wish I had the Showboat to deal with a Kongo. That is pretty much what AI has to send. I have a bunch of Treaty cruisers and Brooklyns there to mess up his day. II Fighter Command and the 35th PG are approaching Pago Pago and I intend to put a strong fighter force there even if they have almost no offensive punch. They are not ready for KB but can hold their own against anything else and Noumea is out of range of even long range Zeros from Guadalcanal. Could be a big Betty-bash that will run up the training level of these weak fighters. Problem is I'll have to kick II fighter to the Port Moresby area. AI nabbed Milne Bay and landed at PM. AI's problem is that I had stationed force of ANZAC cruisers, and they massacred his transports. Now an attenuated and out of supply regiment is there with a bunch of angry Diggers. My Aussies outnumber him 7:1 an AI (typically) didn't land much supply. I think I have a chance to kill off this unit before AI sends help. AI will send help. PM is worth a bunch of VP. I have a bomber group of B-17Es working its way toward Brisbane to pound his positions in Papua NG. I have a number of B-17D fugitives from the PI to recon and search. I like B-17Ds for this work. By staying at high altitude, even Zeros are struggling to bring them down, but I have to balance Zeros and OP losses. I don't have a lot of B-17Ds and some are due to be withdrawn before long. I have a lightweight (nothing but aviation support) that can be airlifted into PM from Cairns. I'll have a strong base force and can support a whole PG of fighters. Trick is getting P-39s from Cairns to PM. P-39s are short-legged. Gotta develop Cooktown. Gonna be a lot of xAKLs sacrificed in the short term. Aussies are beginning to show up but even the mighty No. 75 Squadron of the RAAF is still green as grass. It is March 1942 and my forces are still an unprepared mish-mosh. My carriers still have a lot of Buffaloes and biplane dive bombers. They all are sitting at San Diego. Two CV are getting upgrade refits and the other three will be eligible next month. On the 14th, the last of the Burma Army took up defensive positions on the the Imphal ridge and Chittagong is already at fort level four with two Indian engineer units beavering away. AI finally got off his duff and took Rangoon and has rampaged up the central Burma valley taking undefended bases. I still sorta hold Myitkynia. Now we stare at each other across a hundred miles of impenetrable jungle. My sub campaign has not been aggressive. AIs escorts are better than stock but at least they don't have those thermonuclear depth charges.

RangerJoe -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/2/2021 9:02:53 PM)
Using drop tanks, the P-39s should be able to make it to PM.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/5/2021 8:03:06 PM)
Absolutely right, RJ. 6 hexes Cairns to PM. P-39s and P-400s make it from Cairns but have to have drop tanks. Occasional minor problem, supply is not overwhelming at Cairn - about 22,000. Gotta keep it over 20,000 to have drops tanks. I'll have to be rotating squadrons once AI gets serious about PM. My pilots are still green and the P-39 is still the P-39.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/6/2021 5:18:16 PM)
Sitrep March 23, 1942 Batavia fell yesterday. Reinforces my usual contempt for Dutch mercenaries and askaris. They were doing pretty well. They still had level 2 forts and over 5,000 supply. AI wasn't exactly pressing them with a shot-up division and a solid regiment. I figured even the dutch had a good week left in them but they suddenly just collapsed. Well, I hope they like bridge building. Madoeng and Tjilitjap are hanging on but I really doubt they'll be holding out to next report. I got all the Dutch naval assets I could out - even six local minesweepers. Anybody got any idea what to do with Tromp? Fragile and short-legged. At least those four Dutch DD can do local ASW. Feeling OK about Noumea. 132nd Infantry is unloaded complete and the 182nd is unloading. Plenty of supply. Fighters should arrive in a week or so. Port Moresby is holding out. The militia-based 4th Aus is stomping the remnants of the IJA 144th Rgt. Not bad but a reinforced and fairly well supplied division in a fort should handle an isolated fragment of a regiment regardless of initial quality. I have a lightweight (wrench turners only) BF moving by rail in Australia toward Cairns. Logistical situation slightly better. My last US SS transport ops may be headed toward Bataan. I still have 45,000+ supply in Soerabaja but with Dutch troops being what they are... I continue to harden Midway. I have 60+ fighters there. Can't hold off KB by themselves but nuisance attacks can be repulsed.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/7/2021 2:58:37 PM)
I feel pretty good about the early months. Despite strictly adhering to house rules: 1. My Singapore outlasted historical Singapore by a few days. 2. My Soerabaja has already outlasted historical Singapore. (under initial probing now) 3. Never discount a collapse, particularly in a supply starved garrison, but I only need about ten days to have outlasted historical Bataan. Could be close. (Key units are frittering away like bacon fat.) 4. AI has not raided the Indian Ocean nor bombed Darwin (although the latter could happen soon) Beware of hubris, Taxcutter AI has run a number of "Morgan's Raid operations" Distant and ephemeral raids on places he cannot hold (Canton, Luganville, Normanton, Bora Bora). My war machine at this point reacts too slowly to be pulled off the main plan by these raids. AI rode KB hard in December and February but I haven't seen it since mid-February. AI is using CVLs, CVEs, and their small, less trained air groups to support ops in the DEI. I'd do the same. Train up those inexperienced units in an environment where they have a good chance to survive and at little risk to their CVs. Dutch B-10s are less dangerous to the Japanese than Mk. 14 torpedoes. As always, my early 1942 US subs (beyond the occasional lucky shot) are worthless. I shamelessly use them to supply Bataan, with just a token force in Japanese home waters. AI escorts nearly everything, and his escorts are better than the stock scenarios although he doesn't have the nuclear depth charges - - yet. My escorts are nearly worthless, although that may change shortly. April is the first great upgrade month for my ASW, AAW, and radar. Without radar my cruisers are vulnerable at night, but AI's emphasis on nuisance raids often mean a lot of his outmatch surface groups don't come back. Note to AI: Don't let two Brooklyns see one of your DD or CL. Historically, the Japanese didn't give a rip about land unit casualties, and this scenario is no exception. Singapore and Bataan have, have mangled nine of his divisions. His divisions (when fresh) are equipment-light and manpower-heavy so I expect he can replace losses quickly. Effect on quality yet to be seen. AI's land aggressiveness is non-existent. His army sat at Pergo and looked at Fortress Rangoon (one shot-up Burma rifle battalion) for two weeks. His efforts in China are comatose. Without supply all Chiang and Mao can do is camp on good defensive terrain and hold on, but AI make no attempt to move them off when he can. Changsha is at a Level 5 fort and with three engineer units there and the Japanese not within 150 miles, I'm expending precious supply to reach the unicorn level 6. My big problem is lack of land units. One regiment of the Americal Division is stuck in Frisco attached to the West Coat demand and needs 800 PP to chop over to South Pacific. Also five BFs are stuck there at half strength. The first real Liberty ship showed up at Portland (no antifa?). Amazing what those things do for my logistics with their 600 to cargo capacity and enormous endurance. Strange days, indeed.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/8/2021 5:11:07 PM)
Sitrep: April 3, 1942 No surprise, Tjilitjap fell yesterday. IJA on Java now have nothing better to do than assault Soerabaja. Bataan hangs on but things are getting shaky. The great refit orgy is underway. Within 20 days the aether will be full of SD and SJ radiation, IJN subs will have to withstand double the depth-charging, and Japanese aircraft will be a little more circumspect about Allied escorts. New Caledonia is firmly in hand. Two infantry regiments reinforced by two tank battalions. In a couple of days I'll have fighter cover. Port Moresby is looking OK. Ground attack was crushed. I now have plenty of wrench-turners at PM and the 35th FG is unloading at Brisbane. I have 30,000+ supply at PM. The 6th Aus Infantry is unloading at Perth. AI did do an amphibious landing at Akyab. A whole infantry division. Now it gets to fight through the jungle and two divisions before it really gets near Chittagong. The Flying Tigers are covering Chittagong while the RAF builds up and trains unmolested in India. I'll be a bit less active til my escorts come out of refit. No sight of KB.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/12/2021 12:27:15 AM)
FLASH Sitrep April 12, 1942 Soerabaja fell today. The mercenaries and askaris threw in the towel and shuffled off into prison camps. This pretty much ends to sub resupply of Bataan. I have 10 loaded subs headed for Bataan but whether the Allies will hold out is very questionable. I may try to run supplies out of Darwin but the entire PA 2nd Corps has been wiped out and the 1st Corp is down to two weak formations.

RangerJoe -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/12/2021 1:31:49 AM)
Darwin has a hard time getting supplies if the Japanese is determined to deny them the supplies - unless they are for their own troops.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/12/2021 10:27:13 PM)
More FLASH traffic, March 13, 1942 Bataan surrendered. It was inevitable but at least they lasted a few days longer than historical and they reduce four full-strength IJA infantry divisions to battalions. IJA divisions are more manpower than firepower so they can replace their losses easily enough although a lot of experience is now lower. AI tried a cruise raid off Pearl but ran into four CAs. Neither side did much. Yeah Darwin can be a bear this time of the war.

Taxcutter -> RE: Here We Go Again (9/16/2021 7:26:58 PM)
Sitrep: April 30, 1942 A little long since my last sitrep but basically nothing dramatic has happened since the last one. At this point in game time that is the way I like it. For some reason AI is bombing the bejeebers out of undefended bases in the PI and DEI. He can keep doing that for all I care. I have New Caledonia built up, receiving a regiment of the 1st USMC Division. I have some fighters present. Naval support is a little thin as I work through the 4/42 refit schedule. PM is looking good. I'm halfway through the second changing of the guard of fighters. Half of the 35th FG is back in Cairns fleshing back up and half of the green 8th FG is in PM. (Both groups P-39D) My P-39 FGs are holding up pretty well despite numerous fights with Zero escorts. But I'm totally defensive - range = 0. Numbers help. AI is trying another CL raid on the PH convoy route. I see him coming this time and have a fair solid response waiting. China is comatose - both sides. India is not real active AI send a solid division out of Akyab but it ran into three divisions in good defensive terrain. I have reserves in Chittagong and Calcutta. The Hump is beginning with three 9 x C-47 squadrons. US Tenth AF HQ is at Aden and should be in place shortly. I'll send a FG of P-39s from Eastern US in the next week. The Flying Tigers will be withdrawn about the Fourth of July. I'm trying to get the RAF trained up to carry the load of a completely defensive campaign in this theater. Midway is being a really tough nut to crack. Fuel is a problem. Its moving OK but not enough tankers yet.

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