RE: Fourth Week of War

RE: Fourth Week of War (Full Version)

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ADavidB -> RE: Fourth Week of War (8/15/2005 6:52:26 PM)
December 30 - It definitely is the KB out there to the northeast of Hawaii: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 121, 55, Speed 16, Moving Northeast D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 123, 58, Speed 17, Moving Northeast B5N Kate attacking S-34 at 121, 55 E13A1 Jake attacking S-34 at 121, 55 D3A Val attacking S-34 at 121, 55 S-34 is reported HIT B5N Kate attacking S-34 at 121, 55 B5N Kate attacking Narwhal at 123, 58 E13A1 Jake attacking S-34 at 121, 55 So I've got those subs "racing" (as much as "S" boats can "race"…) to crisscross that region in an attempt to find the actual location of the KB. And who knows, maybe one of those subs will actually find something to shoot at. [;)] Elsewhere, Tophat moved some transports off of Mersing to join those combat ships my subs and planes went after last time: Sub attack at 24,49 Japanese Ships AP Kashiwara Maru PG Sozan Maru PC Shonan Maru #7 PC Ch 9 PG Muro Maru MSW Ranzan Maru MSW W.3 Allied Ships SS KXVII And: Sub attack at 24, 49 Japanese Ships AP Fusemi Maru, Torpedo hits 1 PG Sozan Maru PC Shonan Maru #7 PC Ch 9 PG Muro Maru MSW Ranzan Maru MSW W.3 Allied Ships SS KXVII Japanese ground losses: 18 casualties reported SS KXVII used up all of its torpedoes and has to go back to base for a refill, but I have a bunch of other subs in the area waiting to see if they can get in a shot too. I'm guessing that those TFs are heading for Mersing, but if not they are going in a direction that has caught my attention. Therefore, I "gave in to temptation" [:D] and put those "Stringbags" back into Singapore, just in case they get off a couple of lucky shots. Hopefully, Tophat will be ignoring Singapore airfield again next turn. He did do sweeps at Singapore and Davao this turn but without any effect: Day Air attack on Singapore, at 23, 50 Japanese aircraft Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 9 No Japanese losses And: Day Air attack on Davao, at 41, 61 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 23 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged It's nice to see the mudsloggers in Davao get a few hits on those Zeros. On the ground front, Tophat used ground bombardments at Changsha and Alor Star again and also tried another deliberate attack at Yenen: Ground combat at Yenen Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 106800 troops, 1191 guns, 135 vehicles Defending force 25882 troops, 169 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 528 casualties reported Guns lost 16 Allied ground losses: 538 casualties reported Guns lost 6 Tophat has also been sending out a fair number of aerial bombing missions in the Philippines, China and Malaya, but it's nothing unusual. Otherwise, things are going along as planned, with the exception of the delays in shipping in the Eastern Pacific due to the presence of the KB. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: Fourth Week of War (8/15/2005 11:46:32 PM)
December 31, 1941 - Here are Tophat's comments on the general situation after I kidded him about him celebrating in Clark on January 1: "Nope. I really never expected to be at Clark on Jan 1st.....but I am ahead of schedule and things are seeming too easy......way too easy. So you have done a general pullout throughout the SRA................my boys are coming and Singapore will definitely fall by the end of the month. I can't see the PI holding for long either now, though I'm sure it'll be at least 2 more weeks........" Tophat may be a bit too optimistic - after all, the KB is still sitting there in the Blind Zone northeast of Hawaii: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 57, Speed 12, Moving West D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 120, 58, Speed 10, Moving West B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 52, Speed 13, Moving West B5N Kate attacking S-23 at 118, 52 D3A Val attacking S-34 at 118, 57 But in general Tophat's forces aren't doing too badly. He wiped out the PTs that I had sitting at Davao: Day Time Surface Combat, near Davao at 41, 61 Japanese Ships CL Nagara DD Yukikaze DD Tokitsukaze DD Yamakaze DD Kawakaze DD Umikaze DD Suzukaze DD Shiokaze Allied Ships PT PT-32, Shell hits 2, and is sunk PT PT-33, Shell hits 3, and is sunk PT PT-34, Shell hits 3, and is sunk Daylight is very bad for PT boats… And his forces started to land at Mersing, although my Vildebeests did get in one hit: Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49 Japanese aircraft Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 3 Allied aircraft Vildebeest IV x 2 No Japanese losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships DD Kamo, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage I've left the Vildebeests in Singapore for one more day, just in case they can get in any more shots. Tophat was satisfied to use ground bombardments again this turn at Changsha, Yenen and Alor Star. He still hasn't moved any troops against Clark Field, Bataan or Manila, and now all of the Luzon troops are in one of those three bases. I continue to build up the fortifications in each base, but I'm not allowing replacements for the troops. I don't want to use up supplies any faster than I need to do, and I don't want more troops to be caught in the fall of the Philippines than I need to either. BTW - One of my ASW ships finally did its job: ASW attack at 98, 96 Japanese Ships SS I-2, hits 2, on fire Allied Ships DD Cushing What was neat about this was that was a single ship ASW TF. BTW II - in my reply to Tophat I commented that "I am ahead of schedule too." [;)] Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> A New Year's Eve Nightmare... (8/16/2005 1:13:00 AM)
I was browsing some of the other AARs while waiting for Tophat to return the January 1 combat replay and January 2 turn, when I was stopped in my tracks by Admiral Laurent's "Bloody Pacific" AAR. There they are in late January and AL has invaded the Hawaiian Islands. Hmmm - Is Tophat thinking of trying the same thing? Is that why he has the KB sitting off to the Northeast of Hawaii, intercepting traffic? But wait a minute, his BBs are off in the PI and Malaya area - would he try such a thing without heavy surface combat presence? But it has been very odd that Tophat hasn't "done a bloody thing all day" in the South Pacific. I currently have a carrier TF prowling to the west of the Hawaiian Islands - that is starting to look like a very good idea to continue. And I've got that other carrier TF coming up from the south west. Maybe that second TF should join the patrol. And what about that third carrier on the West Coast? Maybe I need to start to move it into position too. I would love to intercept a transport fleet out at sea with the KB on the other side of Hawaii. Come on Tophat, send me my turn - I have moves to make... Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> A New Year of War... (8/16/2005 4:02:46 AM)
January 1, 1942 - The KB is still up to the Northeast of Hawaii, and while it has been finding my subs, I haven't found it yet: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 56, Speed 9, Moving Southeast B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 119, 55, Speed 13, Moving Southeast E7K2 Alf sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 120, 52, Speed 13, Moving Southwest What is more irritating, however, is the presence of a sub with a Glen down south: E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 137, 68, Speed 9, Moving Northeast Now, will the KB head south to go after that TF? What a pain! [sm=00000018.gif] Otherwise, there were no big surprises in the turn. Tophat did ground bombardment attacks at Yenen, Changsha and Alor Star again, and did aerial bombardments of a number of other places. He also sent a fighter sweep to Rangoon, but there was no one home. In the main area of action, Tophat's troops continued to land at Mersing and my bombers continued to fly in after the task forces: Day Air attack on TF at 24, 49 Allied aircraft Vildebeest IV x 6 Allied aircraft losses Vildebeest IV: 1 damaged Japanese Ships DD Fubuki, Torpedo hits 1, on fire DD Shirakumo And: Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 3 Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 6 Allied aircraft CW-21B Demon x 9 Martin 139 x 6 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses CW-21B Demon: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged Japanese Ships DD Kamo, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage were the two successful attacks. I'm leaving the remnants of the Vildebeest squadron in place for another shot next turn. But despite the aerial assault, Tophat's ships remained organized enough to whack one more of my subs: ASW attack at 24, 49 Japanese Ships DD Shirakumo DD Usugumo DD Shinonome DD Fubuki, on fire Allied Ships SS KXVI, hits 1 In any event, my main headache right now is to figure out a way to get the KB out of my hair in the Eastern Pacific. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/16/2005 6:48:57 AM)
January 2 - I still haven't located the KB exactly, but it isn't really moving very much - it just whacks my subs when they wander too close: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 53, Speed 17, Moving East D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 119, 53, Speed 14, Moving Northeast D3A Val attacking S-18 at 119, 53 D3A Val attacking S-35 at 118, 53 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 118, 53 I forgot to mention last post that Tophat took Victoria Point last turn by land. This turn he took Mersing. I tried to interfere with the landing with some PTs, but they were whacked by a small DD squadron and never got to close with the transports. Likewise, a number of my air units attacked the ships at Mersing, but they didn't have any luck this time. Elsewhere, Tophat's troops finally took Alor Star in a deliberate attack. That Indian unit fought well. But my Chinese units at Yenen are fighting even better: Ground combat at Yenen Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 107091 troops, 1198 guns, 139 vehicles Defending force 25266 troops, 167 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese ground losses: 858 casualties reported Guns lost 35 Vehicles lost 5 Allied ground losses: 590 casualties reported Guns lost 9 At the same time Tophat did another ground bombardment attack at Changsha. The one new thing that Tophat did was to send a bombardment fleet into Menado. It caused some damage, but there isn't a lot there to be damaged. I guess that an invasion fleet will follow sometime in the near future. The biggest change I did was to order the majority of my subs to move to picket positions in the Central Pacific in an attempt to detect any passing Japanese task forces. It's a low probability activity, but it beats just sticking with my current patrol capabilities. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/17/2005 12:08:26 AM)
January 3 - My hunt for the KB continues. I get the feeling that the TF moved a bit to the west, but I can't be totally certain: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 116, 53, Speed 13, Moving West D3A Val attacking S-35 at 116, 53 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 116, 53 E13A1 Jake sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 118, 51, Speed 13, Moving Northwest E7K2 Alf attacking S-35 at 116, 53 Fortunately, S-35 avoided all those attacks. That sub with the Glen is still south east of Hawaii: E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 135, 70, Speed 5, Moving Northeast What a pain it is not having a CS with float planes available as the Allies![:@] Otherwise, this was a fairly quiet turn. Tophat is licking his wounds at Yenen and so didn't do any sort of attack, although I did bombard him: Ground combat at Yenen Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 22760 troops, 140 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 110107 troops, 1164 guns, 135 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 25 casualties reported Vehicles lost 2 My bombardment attacks there usually don't accomplish anything, so this is a nice change of pace. The only other ground action was the two of us exchanging bombardments at Changsha. My planes attacked Tophat's ships at Mersing again, but he has brought a lot of planes in, so this wasn't too successful: Day Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 23, 49 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 15 Allied aircraft CW-21B Demon x 6 Martin 139 x 3 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged Allied aircraft losses CW-21B Demon: 2 destroyed Japanese Ships AP Ryugi Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire I've now pulled back the Vildebeests - they won't get through that CAP any more. Tophat can now bomb Singapore to his heart's content. He has also landed a lot of troops at Mersing, so he will be attacking Singapore soon. The big thing that I am waiting on now is the arrival of a lot of forces in 9 days. That will help me feel a lot happier in India and allow me to extend some force a bit forwards from the West Coast. I did notice from Sigint that Tophat is finally moving a base force to Wake. (I think that my subs near Japan spotted that TF.) I may be tempted to try to intercept it. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/17/2005 5:15:23 AM)
January 4 - Yes, it does look like the KB is very gradually moving westwards: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 115, 51, Speed 17, Moving Northwest D3A Val attacking S-35 at 115, 51 The poor crew of the S-35 must think that there is a big bull's-eye on their conning tower - they get attacked so often. That @#$%^ Japanese sub with the Glen is still tracking my TFs to the south: E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 10 Allied ships at 142, 58, Speed 12, Moving Northeast I did find and hit a number of other spy subs, so maybe it's just a matter of time for that one down south. First attack near Hawaii: ASW attack at 105, 72 Japanese Ships SS I-175, hits 1, on fire Allied Ships DMS Elliot DMS Dorsey The next crew comes in: ASW attack at 105, 72 Japanese Ships SS I-175, hits 1, heavy damage Allied Ships DD Phelps DD Ellet DD Cummings DD Dunlap The Dutch get in on the act in the DEI: Sub attack at 29, 66 Japanese Ships SS I-155, hits 1 Allied Ships DD Witte de With DD Kortenaer DD Banckert And have a second kick-at-the-cat later on: ASW attack at 29, 66 Japanese Ships SS I-155, hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Allied Ships DD Witte de with DD Kortenaer DD Banckert There is one more sub in the Hawaii/Palmyra/Johnson triangle that my planes have spotted, so I've sent ships after it too. I want to have some freedom of movement without having my every more reported back to Tokyo. Additionally, my picket line subs are getting into position so I am starting to feel a lot happier with what I know about the East-Central Pacific. Otherwise, things were fairly quiet. We took turns bombarding each other with our ground troops in Yenen and Changsha and Tophat did some aerial bombing in a few places. I'm waiting until I get that big mid-January delivery of reinforcements in a week or so before I begin to set up more organized traps and start to move forces and supplies forward. India, Australia and the West Coast are all developing nicely as planned and Tophat's rather leisurely approach to the Far East is allowing me to establish reasonable defenses in the DEI and China. Interestingly enough, Tophat hasn't gone after any of the fuel/resource bases in the DEI yet. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/17/2005 8:15:04 AM)
January 5 - Is the KB now moving southeast now? B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 116, 53, Speed 17, Moving Northwest B5N Kate attacking S-23 at 116, 53 S-23 was the furthest SE of the "pack" and the one that the KB's planes picked up on. I'm a bit concerned because of this: E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 6 Allied ships at 144, 54, Speed 7, Moving Northeast That's a TF that is returning to San Diego, just a couple of days steaming to the southwest. Would Tophat send the KB all the way down there? In any event, I've put all of my aircraft in the region on higher levels of patrol and sent out every ready combat ship out of San Diego and LA to cross the area out to the limits of they one-day-travel ring. I've even taken the chance and sent out a BB with escorts in order to get its patrol planes into the fray. I want to get that sub! In the meanwhile, my ASW in the Hawaii/Palmyra/Johnson triangle missed their chances at that one sub that was spotted the last time: ASW attack at 108, 74 Japanese Ships SS I-171 Allied Ships DD Humphreys The Humphreys missed a second time, and the other ships in the area missed altogether. But I'm just sending more ASW out this time. And at the same time my patrols spotted another sub closer to Palmyra: PBY Catalina sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 112, 80, Speed 5, Moving Southeast I'm sending more ASW after that one too. What is doubly irritating is that the sub that was hit twice the last time in the DEI is trying to limp away. Now I'll have to send the Dutch after it again. In other news, Georgetown surrendered to a single attack. The rest of Malaya is awaiting the eventual Japanese assault, as are Bataan, Clark Field and Manila. Tophat and I also exchanged barrages again in Yenen and Changsha. Tophat sounds a little bored with the way that things are progressing, but I find it very exciting to try to maneuver, hunt subs and save important units right under the nose of the Japanese forces. Maybe I can "bore" Tophat enough that he will take some dumb chances. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/18/2005 2:32:09 AM)
January 6 - Nuts!!! The KB has disappeared! I don't know if Tophat has finally "turned off" his patrols in order to avoid attacking my subs, or if the KB has dashed away from my turtle-slow S-boats in some direction that is still within the Blind Zone. He may be dashing towards the Southeast and those ships off of Southern California, but I decided that I don't care because I finally spotted that @#$%^ sub with the Glen: B-25C Mitchell sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 144, 57, Speed 7, Moving East I've got eight DDs in individual ASW TFs surrounding that sub, and they are all going after it at full speed. I intend to sink that s.o.b.! [sm=00000106.gif] Elsewhere my ASW was missing again, both in the Hawaiian waters and in the DEI. But Tophat's subs certainly aren't getting much of a chance to spy - they are too busy ducking depth charges. Sadly, another of my subs that was hit by the bombers off of the KB a couple of turns ago finally sank while on the way to the West Coast. In other news, Tophat's forces captured the abandoned base of Taiping in Malaya. I'm still pulling back troops for a final stand in the South. We also continued to exchange bombardments in Yenen and Changsha. And my first unit moved into the outskirts of Tabun-Nor this turn, with more to follow. I'll start a bombardment campaign there too. This will keep Tophat from pulling too many units out of Manchuria. Finally, my IL-4Cs continue to bomb Nanning airbase unopposed: Day Air attack on Nanning, at 40, 38 Allied aircraft IL-4c x 8 No Allied losses Runway hits 2 They aren't causing much damage but they are gaining experience. Once their experience level gets a bit higher I'll send them against City targets nearby. Oh yes, and one of my Chinese fighter squadrons tried a strafing attack on Tophat's troops besieging Changsha. It wasn't pretty - they were intercepted by Nates and ran into a lot of ack-ack. They won't try that again. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/18/2005 6:22:05 AM)
January 7, 1942 - Second Month of War - I wish that I knew what was really going on in the Central Pacific. My patrol planes just told me that there is a TF with 4 APs in it, sitting north of Hawaii and moving to the Southwest. Huh? Not bloody likely. And another sub just appeared halfway between that "ghost" TF and Hawaii. In the meanwhile, all my ASW outside of Southern Cal went deaf, dumb and blind and missed that sub, even though the sub launched its Glen again. Oh well, Tophat is up to something in the Eastern and Central Pacific and I'll find out sooner or later. Elsewhere things continue to be rather quiet, with small air raids and some land bombardments. We are getting really short combat reports. In any event, I may have amassed more fire power in the Central Pacific than Tophat thinks, so we'll see what happens. If he does happen to have invasion TFs sailing around, he had better be very willing to defend them in a big way. Dave Baranyi

wobbly -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/18/2005 6:51:42 AM)
I've noticed spurious reports of APs around the KB and it always gives me the willies. It usually turns out to be their tankers though.

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/18/2005 1:13:19 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: wobbly I've noticed spurious reports of APs around the KB and it always gives me the willies. It usually turns out to be their tankers though. That's what I'm hoping, but if they keep on going the same direction it won't make any sense. Never-the-less, I'd still love to make a dash at his refueling fleet. BTW - it looks as if Tophat is as nervous about his operation in the Philippines as I am about sightings in the Eastern Pacific. He seems to be expecting me to ambush him around Davao. I usually do that to everyone that I play, but this time I am trying something rather different. Unfortunately, a four letter word ("work") will get in the way of the Game until this evening...[;)] BTW - I am following your latest game with great interest. I like your strategy of trying to surprise his air units in China by alternating the AVG and Brit air units. I'll have to keep that in mind once I have enough aircraft in reserve to be able to afford some air confrontations. Thanks - Dave

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/18/2005 8:46:02 PM)
January 8 - I think I know where the KB is, and also its refuelling TF: B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 111, 56, Speed 15, Moving West That is a sub of mine that is following that ghost TF north of Hawaii. Now look at this: B-17E Fortress sighting report: 4 Japanese ships at 109, 56, Speed 12, Moving West B-17E Fortress has spotted Shinkoku Maru at 109, 56 That's the "Ghost TF" two hexes to the west of my sub. When I pass my cursor over that TF it says "5 AP", but I really doubt that. When the actual sighting occurred during the combat replay the message said that the B-17 spotted a "tanker". So it looks as if I have found both the KB and its refuelling TF, and they are northeast of Midway. This is good news, and I've decided to "celebrate" by sending all of the picket subs in the region into that area. It will be nice to be harassing Tophat's TFs for a change. [:D] Tophat's subs are certainly doing a good job of harassing my TFs. That sub off of Southern Cal disappeared again. I'm sending a bunch of ASW TFs out on sweeps, but I don't expect to have much luck. In the meanwhile Tophat has at least one and maybe two Glen-equipped subs in the Canton-to-Upolo area: E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 2 Allied ships at 97,109, Speed 4, Moving Southwest E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 100, 95, Speed 33, Moving Southwest I'm hoping that the second spotting confuses Tophat. It is actually a couple of DDs returning to Canton after having missed out on an ASW sweep last turn. It appears that Tophat still has two subs in the Hawaii region - the one to the north that my DD missed last turn: ASW attack at 110, 62 Japanese Ships SS I-19 Allied Ships DD Humphreys And a new one that was spotted by a patrol: PB2Y Coronado sighting report: 1 Japanese ship at 110, 73, Speed 7, Moving East I've sent ASW TFs after that second sub. Well, all that "cat and mouse" aside, there is a shooting war going on in the Far East as Tophat starts his invasion of Davao: Coastal Guns at Davao, 41, 61, firing at TF 89 TF 89 troops unloading over beach at Davao, 41, 61 44 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships PC Nichi Maru #1, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage PC Gamitsu Maru #1, Shell hits 2, on fire Japanese ground losses: 256 casualties reported Guns lost 1 And: Coastal Guns at Davao, 41, 61, firing at TF 89 TF 89 troops unloading over beach at Davao, 41, 61 60 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships PC Gamitsu Maru #1, Shell hits 4, on fire MSW Wa 19 Japanese ground losses: 276 casualties reported Tophat told me that he added a minesweeper to a bombardment TF which then turned itself into a surface combat TF, and thus my troops at Davao got away without a preliminary bombardment. That's cool; I'll take whatever "help" I can get. [;)] In other actions, one of my Dutch subs off of Mersing put a torpedo into a transport ship: Sub attack at 24, 49 Japanese Ships AP Teia Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire AP Kyushu Maru PC Shonan Maru #6 PG Eiko Maru PG Chosa Maru Allied Ships SS KXVI Japanese ground losses: 18 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Also, my Chinese bombers attacked Nanning unopposed again: Day Air attack on Nanning, at 40, 38 Allied aircraft IL-4c x 6 No Allied losses Airbase hits 1 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 1 But they suffered some operational damage so I've decided to rest them for a day or two. Those IL-4Cs are worth their weight in gold to me right now. Otherwise, Tophat's air units bombed a number of places in the Philippines, China and Malaya and we once again exchanged artillery bombardments in Yenen and Changsha. Tophat is moving more troops to support Tabun-Nor. This is working out quite nicely as Tophat is splitting his forces in China. Oh yes, one of my subs and some of my planes attacked a Japanese combat/bombardment TF just off of Menado. I guess he wants to attack there next. And I am looking forward to receiving my big January reinforcement contingent in only four more days. That will "cheer" things up a bit! [sm=00000436.gif] Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 2:13:22 AM)
January 9 - My patrols this time showed a Japanese TF to the north east of Midway steaming slowly westwards that contained cruisers and CVs: PBY Catalina sighting report: 2 Japanese ships at 107, 57, Speed 13, Moving West And my subs in the area got the usual "attention": B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 105, 55, Speed 10, Moving East B5N Kate attacking Trout at 105, 55 D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 109, 56, Speed 16, Moving West Is Tophat finally leaving the area? Is he planning a raid on Midway? Is he hoping to dupe me into trying to raid that TF? Or has he left some of the KB behind in the Blind Zone in the hopes of hitting more transport TFs? (Or all of the above?) In any event, I will continue to track his progress with patrol planes and subs, but I'm not committing to an attack at this time. At the same time Tophat is still tracking my movements along the West Coast and in the Canton Island area with sub-based Glens. I'm sending more ASW TFs out, but who knows if they can find anything. Elsewhere, Tophat finally bombarded Davao, but only after my land units got some parting shots off: Coastal Guns at Davao, 41, 61, firing at TF 89 TF 89 troops unloading over beach at Davao, 41, 61 28 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships MSW Wa 19, Shell hits 2 Japanese ground losses: 86 casualties reported The guns even got a few hits in on the bombardment TF: Naval bombardment of Davao, at 41, 61 - Coastal Guns Fire Back! 6 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships DD Shiokaze DD Suzukaze DD Umikaze DD Kawakaze, Shell hits 4, on fire DD Yamakaze DD Tokitsukaze DD Yukikaze CL Nagara Allied ground losses: 57 casualties reported Guns lost 2 Runway hits 4 Port hits 1 Port fuel hits 1 The second time he bombarded the guns were silent, and so in the end the result was as to be expected: Ground combat at Davao Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 4002 troops, 62 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 3814 troops, 36 guns, 1 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 21 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Davao base!!! Japanese ground losses: 91 casualties reported Guns lost 2 Allied ground losses: 65 casualties reported Guns lost 4 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! At the same time Tophat finally started his invasion of Kuching, but his task forces had to get by a sub: Sub attack at 28, 55 Japanese Ships AP Eihuku Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage MSW WA 3 MSW W.6 PG Eifuku Maru PG Sozan Maru PG Muro Maru Allied Ships SS O19 Japanese ground losses: 36 casualties reported Then by some planes: Day Air attack on TF, near Kuching at 28, 56 Allied aircraft Martin 139 x 7 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Giyu Maru AP Kaiko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AP Haguro Maru, Bomb hits 1 Japanese ground losses: 33 casualties reported Guns lost 5 And then they had to face a mine field and some well-manned coastal defense guns: TF 122 encounters mine field at Kuching (28, 56) TF 122 troops unloading over beach at Kuching, 28, 56 Japanese Ships MSW Wa 3 MSW W.6 PG Eifuku Maru PG Muro Maru Coastal Guns at Kuching, 28,56, firing at TF 122 67 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships PG Sozan Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire PG Muro Maru, Shell hits 5 AP Giyu Maru, Shell hits 1 PG Eifuku Maru, Shell hits 1 AP Kaihei Maru AP Hikade Maru, Shell hits 1 Japanese ground losses: 536 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 21 casualties reported Sure, they'll eventually take Kuching, but they will know that they were in a battle. Speaking of battles, Tophat's troops in Malaya finally ran into some troops during their march down the Malaccan coast: Ground combat at Kuala Lumpur Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 41501 troops, 494 guns, 124 vehicles Defending force 4733 troops, 43 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 3 Japanese ground losses: 187 casualties reported Guns lost 4 Allied ground losses: 381 casualties reported Guns lost 17 Those aren't bad results considering that the Indian troops there were outnumbered 10:1. And in China the artillery duels continue at Yenen and Changsha. BTW - Tophat did do something different - he sent out a daytime unescorted air attack on Palembang: Day Air attack on Palembang, at 20, 55 Japanese aircraft Ki-21 Sally x 24 Ki-46-II Dinah x 2 Allied aircraft CW-21B Demon x 6 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21 Sally: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged Allied aircraft losses CW-21B Demon: 1 damaged Martin 139: 1 destroyed Airbase hits 2 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 6 I'm not too happy with those results - those Demon pilots had better shape up soon or they will find themselves in a Japanese POW camp before their planes are due for their first oil change. BTW II - Tophat now has subs snooping around Rabaul and Tulagi. I wonder how long it will be before he realizes that both are empty?[:D] Dave Baranyi

PzB74 -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 3:23:15 AM)
Hi David, nice to see you back in action [8D] Seems like you got a good plan going! Much better with only 1-2 WitP games when you got a job - guess you're enjoying this game much more than your last 3-4! Don't withdraw too much too quickly though - that gives the Jap the opportunity of hitting you very hard somewhere else! A few spirited counter attacks will do wonders and keep your opponent 'honest'. (After reading your last AAR I saw that you used that word a lot:-) In my Allied game against Mike Hall the bugger has invaded and captured Colombia with 100k+ troops! He has also landed 2 div's in Trivandrium and another small coastal city not far from Madras. So I've got to taste my own medicin, but since it's almost June 42 I got some pretty hot curry to dish out myself....

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 4:52:44 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: PzB Hi David, nice to see you back in action [8D] Seems like you got a good plan going! Much better with only 1-2 WitP games when you got a job - guess you're enjoying this game much more than your last 3-4! Don't withdraw too much too quickly though - that gives the Jap the opportunity of hitting you very hard somewhere else! A few spirited counter attacks will do wonders and keep your opponent 'honest'. (After reading your last AAR I saw that you used that word a lot:-) In my Allied game against Mike Hall the bugger has invaded and captured Colombia with 100k+ troops! He has also landed 2 div's in Trivandrium and another small coastal city not far from Madras. So I've got to taste my own medicin, but since it's almost June 42 I got some pretty hot curry to dish out myself.... Hi John - it's nice to hear from you again. Yes, I'm only playing this one game against Tophat and I don't intend to start any others. This way I can give the Game as much attention as I want and enjoy it, while still having plenty of time to enjoy the other things in life that are important to me. I'm not actually withdrawing a lot, nor a long ways. But I am establishing the grounds for stopping Tophat and then for coming back - all under my terms. And I haven't withdrawn anything that can stand and fight, while at the same time I'm not letting Tophat have any "gimmes" that I don't have to let him have. What has happened to you is what I've been saying is the most dangerous move against the Allies - grab Ceylon then go right for Karachi and Bombay. Almost everything else can be ignored. Without Karachi the rest of India will wither on the vine. Now, if you opponent decides to go for Madras instead, then you ought to be able to make him regret that "big time". Good luck and have fun - Dave

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 4:55:23 AM)
January 10 - The KB certainly is in no hurry. It was at 107, 57 last turn and is at 106, 58 this turn. But that slow speed is no indication of it being out of fuel because it is still happily (and successfully) launching attacks at my subs: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 107, 57, Speed 16, Moving West D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 107, 59, Speed 10, Moving West B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 107, 57 D3A Val attacking S-35 at 107, 57 B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 107, 57 B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 106, 53, Speed 12, Moving Southwest D3A Val attacking S-35 at 107, 57 S-35 is reported HIT D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 104, 57, Speed 22, Moving East B5N Kate attacking S-35 at 107, 57 Poor old S-35 is unlikely to make it back to Pearl. Tophat's Glen-equipped sub is still spying on the waters off of Southern California: E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 6 Allied ships at 144, 63, Speed 12, Moving Northwest E14Y1 Glen sighting report: 2 Allied ships at 146, 59, Speed 11, Moving Northeast Unfortunately, I've lost track of it again. Once I start sending out supply transports I'll probably find it. Tophat also has a sub only one hex south of Johnson Island - talk about nerve! Of course I'm sending ASW TFs after it. Okay, off to the main battles - Tophat landed more troops at Kuching without a bombardment TF to soften things up, and so my boys got to be heroes again: TF 122 encounters mine field at Kuching (28, 56) TF 122 troops unloading over beach at Kuching, 28, 56 Japanese Ships MSW Wa 3 MSW W.6 PG Sozan Maru PG Muro Maru PG Eifuku Maru, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Coastal Guns at Kuching, 28, 56, firing at TF 122 86 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships PG Sozan Maru, Shell hits 6, on fire Japanese ground losses: 309 casualties reported And: Coastal Guns at Kuching, 28, 56, firing at TF 122 TF 122 troops unloading over beach at Kuching, 28, 56 78 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships PG Muro Maru, Shell hits 4 AP Josho Maru, Shell hits 1 AP Eihuku Maru, heavy damage Japanese ground losses: 196 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 8 casualties reported Despite this my troops in Kuching have been hit pretty hard too, so they won't stand up to much of an assault after this one: Ground combat at Kuching Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13495 troops, 169 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 2399 troops, 13 guns, 3 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Japanese ground losses: 114 casualties reported Guns lost 3 Allied ground losses: 167 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Tophat also started to land troops at the undefended island of San Jose. I'm surprised that he hasn't been doing this sort of thing sooner. His troops also got their acts together at Kuala Lumpur and ended the very short attempt at heroism by my troops there: Ground combat at Kuala Lumpur Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 41207 troops, 489 guns, 124 vehicles Defending force 4227 troops, 23 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2 Japanese assault odds: 21 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuala Lumpur base!!! Japanese ground losses: 283 casualties reported Guns lost 8 Vehicles lost 1 Allied ground losses: 209 casualties reported Guns lost 6 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! As I said at the beginning of this AAR, I don't expect to hold Malaya; I only want to slow down the Japanese. And Tophat now has to take the final two fortresses. Once again we exchanged artillery barrages at Yenen and Changsha, and I continued with mine at Tabun-Nor. We're starting a real "arms race" at that miserable little outpost in the middle of nowhere. I now have two units in it and Tophat has three. I have two more units on the doorstep and Tophat has two more units on the way. I'm hoping that Tophat pulls a few too many units out of Manchuria and the Russians get activated. I'd love to start another front! [sm=00000106.gif] BTW - I pulled a "fast one" on Tophat this past turn by sending my Chinese bombers on a port attack at Tann at 25K feet: Day Air attack on Taan, at 37, 41 Japanese aircraft Ki-27 Nate x 8 Allied aircraft IL-4c x 10 No Japanese losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Meiko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire Tophat's Nates couldn't climb fast enough to catch my bombers. Maybe he will send better planes there if I attack again. It's worth finding out. [:D] Speaking of better fighters - Tophat did the obvious thing after seeing how poorly my Demons faired against his unescorted bombers last turn - he sent in a fighter sweep: Day Air attack on Palembang, at 20, 55 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 24 Ki-46-II Dinah x 1 Allied aircraft CW-21B Demon x 6 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses CW-21B Demon: 6 destroyed I think that this is as good an example as is necessary to demonstrate why it isn't a good idea to send Allied fighters against Zeros in the first few months of the War. Why waste planes and points when you are bound to be crushed? Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 7:55:13 AM)
January 11 - The KB went into "Stealth Mode" again today, although its aircraft were very busy hunting my subs: B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 107, 59, Speed 3, Moving Southwest B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 106, 53, Speed 18, Moving Southwest D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 105, 59, Speed 11, Moving West D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 104, 58, Speed 17, Moving Southwest D3A Val attacking Tautog at 104, 58 B5N Kate attacking Narwhal at 105, 59 F1M2 Pete attacking Tautog at 104, 58 E8N Dave sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 106, 58, Speed 5, Moving Southeast D3A Val attacking Trout at 106, 58 B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 107, 55, Speed 10, Moving Southwest B5N Kate attacking S-18 at 107, 55 B5N Kate damaged by flak Notice that I even got the attention of a Pete and a Dave, in addition to the carrier planes. I moved my subs again to the West under the assumption that the KB will keep on moving that way. The number of sightings and attacks next turn ought to give me an indication if I am right or not. In the Far East, Tophat took San Jose and started to land some troops into Jesselton, which is undefended, so he ought to take it next turn. He also struggled around Kuching again. Whereas my coastal defense guns are out of commission, my aircraft aren't: Day Air attack on TF, near Kuching at 28, 56 Allied aircraft Brewster 339D x 4 Martin 139 x 5 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Hakka Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire AP Kaiko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage And his ground combat troops aren't having a very good time either: Ground combat at Kuching Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13235 troops, 163 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 2164 troops, 10 guns, 3 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 111 casualties reported Guns lost 3 Allied ground losses: 7 casualties reported This will teach him to skip naval bombardments. [;)] Tophat is obviously very interested in Palembang: Day Air attack on Palembang, at 20, 55 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 27 Ki-21 Sally x 21 Ki-46-II Dinah x 2 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-21 Sally: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged Allied ground losses: 8 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Airbase hits 4 Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 23 As you can see, I already pulled out my air units - there is no point in wasting them at this point. Anyway, the more Tophat bombs the airfields at Palembang the longer it will take him to repair them once he takes the base. In China the mutual barrages are continuing in Changsha and Yenen. Look at all the units he now has at each base: Ground combat at Changsha Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 36572 troops, 204 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 175895 troops, 1933 guns, 164 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 29 casualties reported And: Ground combat at Yenen Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 22875 troops, 139 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 113833 troops, 1228 guns, 145 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 20 casualties reported Meanwhile, at Tabun-Nur my second unit joined in on the "fun": Ground combat at Tabun-Nur Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 16625 troops, 127 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 15423 troops, 141 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 34 casualties reported I still have two more LCUs on the outskirts and Tophat has one. Oh, BTW - I started to bombard Tophat's LCU that moved into Clark Field: Ground combat at Clark Field Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 24375 troops, 251 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 22838 troops, 251 guns, 17 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 55 casualties reported Guns lost 2 Allied ground losses: 5 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Dave Baranyi

wobbly -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 8:15:51 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ADavidB BTW - I am following your latest game with great interest. I like your strategy of trying to surprise his air units in China by alternating the AVG and Brit air units. I'll have to keep that in mind once I have enough aircraft in reserve to be able to afford some air confrontations. Thanks - Dave The whole "pop up and surprise him" has actually tended to backfire on me a bit as so far he has managed to time his strikes with a hoard of zeros right when I deliver my own ambush - classic hunter becoming the hunted! However, as I pointed out to Herb, I have (or had) 212 british pilots all with a starting experience of 55%. While he may have curtailed the AVG especially he cannot continue to get lucky like he has, and while he continues to want to train in China he will have to leave a cadre of capable zero daitais there to escort the rookies. So in the end the sacrifice my pilots are making there when they meet the elite does mean they aren't elsewhere in possibly more advantageous areas for him. They are also above their own fields (which really does seem to mean they have a chance of surviving) and every so often they manage to knock down an ace. I have to admit I am enjoying this new battle of yours far more than when you took over from me. That was always a little painful to read.

frank1970 -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 1:37:43 PM)
Hi Adavid, nice to see you back! I hope you build up Australia with a little help with fuel and supplies from the DEI! I once managed to get almost 200000 oil out of the DEI before my opponent took it.

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 2:42:41 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: wobbly quote: ORIGINAL: ADavidB BTW - I am following your latest game with great interest. I like your strategy of trying to surprise his air units in China by alternating the AVG and Brit air units. I'll have to keep that in mind once I have enough aircraft in reserve to be able to afford some air confrontations. Thanks - Dave The whole "pop up and surprise him" has actually tended to backfire on me a bit as so far he has managed to time his strikes with a hoard of zeros right when I deliver my own ambush - classic hunter becoming the hunted! However, as I pointed out to Herb, I have (or had) 212 british pilots all with a starting experience of 55%. While he may have curtailed the AVG especially he cannot continue to get lucky like he has, and while he continues to want to train in China he will have to leave a cadre of capable zero daitais there to escort the rookies. So in the end the sacrifice my pilots are making there when they meet the elite does mean they aren't elsewhere in possibly more advantageous areas for him. They are also above their own fields (which really does seem to mean they have a chance of surviving) and every so often they manage to knock down an ace. I have to admit I am enjoying this new battle of yours far more than when you took over from me. That was always a little painful to read. You've had a bit of bad luck with your China air strategy, but the fact that you have forced your opponent to tie up a good Zero unit is important. I'm going to keep your strategy in mind for this game once I've got some planes in reserve other than Wirraways... [;)] As far as out game against John - well he outplayed both of us but I learned an awful lot from it. That's a big reason why I'm being very careful not to lose more forces than I need to early on, and to not get caught overextended. Good luck and have fun - Dave

ADavidB -> RE: A New Year of War... (8/19/2005 2:45:17 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Frank Hi Adavid, nice to see you back! I hope you build up Australia with a little help with fuel and supplies from the DEI! I once managed to get almost 200000 oil out of the DEI before my opponent took it. Yes, I was able to pull quite a lot out of the DEI because my opponent has waited before moving in. I am still redistributing forces there so that I have more capability in the important locations and fewer troops in isolated locations. We will see how well that goes. Thanks for the comments - Dave

ADavidB -> A Dumb Mistake... (8/19/2005 6:29:45 PM)
January 12 - I wonder if air patrols and air searches use up carrier flight points? As you can see, the KB is getting a lot of action from my subs: D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 102, 57, Speed 19, Moving West D3A Val attacking Trout at 102, 57 D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 105, 56, Speed 3, Moving West D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 104, 55, Speed 12, Moving West B5N Kate attacking Trout at 102, 57 D3A Val attacking S-18 at 104, 55 B5N Kate attacking S-18 at 104, 55 E8N Dave attacking S-23 at 105, 56 S-23 is reported HIT E13A1 Jake sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 102, 53, Speed 16, Moving West D3A Val attacking S-23 at 105, 56 D3A Val attacking Trout at 102, 57 B5N Kate attacking Trout at 102, 57 D3A Val attacking S-23 at 105, 56 D3A Val attacking S-18 at 104, 55 B5N Kate attacking S-18 at 104, 55 E8N Dave attacking Trout at 102, 57 Poor old S-23 is limping its way back home. But with all that action, and despite being well within Catalina patrol range of Midway, the KB remains in Stealth Mode. Go figure… [&:] This turn I also watched a really dumb mistake happen: Rangoon is occupied by the Japanese Yes, just the same as what happens to two-bit "dot" islands in the Philippines or elsewhere, Rangoon changed control without any Japanese troops being present. I pulled out the combat unit that I had there so that I wouldn't be stuck by the "fly-paper" land combat rule, but Tophat didn't bother to send any troops into Rangoon. Now he can march the weakest base force that he has and start to use Rangoon. [sm=00000734.gif] Elsewhere, Tophat is still having more trouble than he deserves at Kuching: Ground combat at Kuching Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 13107 troops, 158 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 1998 troops, 10 guns, 3 vehicles Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0 Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 171 casualties reported Guns lost 5 Allied ground losses: 103 casualties reported I can't believe that this can go on much longer, but it is funny to watch while it does. Tophat's raiding party in Jesselton was more successful and did capture the base against no defense. Tophat has started a fairly comprehensive aerial bombardment campaign throughout the Far East. I'm not too disturbed by it because I'm not contesting it (and thus not losing planes against Zeros) and he is damaging airbases that he will want to use some time in the future. But it makes me wonder - was the whole bit about having the KB in the Eastern Pacific just a ploy to keep me from trying to rush reinforcements to the Far East? And finally, in China we continue to have artillery duels in Yenen and Changsha, and I finally have all of my troops in Tabun-Nur and am starting to have some success with my bombardments there: Ground combat at Tabun-Nur Allied Bombardment attack Attacking force 16501 troops, 126 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 19598 troops, 174 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 15 casualties reported The nice thing about this is that I came around from the North rather than the West, so my troops are drawing supplies from the Soviet base across the border and thus are in full supply. [:D] Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> Short term pain... (8/19/2005 10:20:51 PM)
January 13 - Hmmm - maybe that isn't the "real" KB at all, maybe it is just a ASW TF with an attitude that Tophat dreamed up to get rid of my subs[&:] D3A Val sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 102, 56, Speed 17, Moving Northeast D3A Val attacking Tautog at 102, 56 B5N Kate sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 104, 53, Speed 15, Moving Northwest B5N Kate attacking S-27 at 104, 53 E13A1 Jake sighting report: 1 Allied ship at 105, 58, Speed 10, Moving Northeast E7K2 Alf attacking S-27 at 104, 53 D3A Val attacking Narwhal at 105, 58 Kidding aside, I wonder why Tophat has done this? It may not be all of the KB, but it does have Kates and Vals, so it isn't just one or two CVEs lumped together with a CS. If it weren't for the fact that CV TFs aren't supposed to be able to launch planes when they are out of fuel, I would suspect that indeed the KB was out of fuel and just limping westwards at one hex at a time. In any event, just to test out the chance that there might still be a few Japanese carriers sitting very quietly in the middle of the Blind Zone, I've sent the three new Gato-class subs from San Fran on three different courses designed to bracket the usual San Fran to Hawaii route. It will be interesting to see if anything "pops up". Tophat still has a Glen-equipped sub southwest of Southern California, but I can't get too worked up about it any more. I'm putting escorts in all of my TFs and I'll let them take responsibility for getting rid of that sub on the way. Another of Tophat's Glen-equipped subs is sitting in the far South Pacific near Pago-Pago, so I'm sending a couple of DDs after it too. Back in the main part of the war, Tophat landed troops at Menado and they did an initial unsuccessful attack, but I expect them to drive out the defenders within another turn or two. His forces also finally capturing Kuching: Ground combat at Kuching Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 12885 troops, 148 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 1709 troops, 11 guns, 2 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 12 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuching base!!! Japanese ground losses: 37 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 1280 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! My guys did a good job there and caused Tophat a lot of problems. Tophat's troops also did an initial assault on Malacca: Ground combat at Malacca Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 40554 troops, 465 guns, 125 vehicles Defending force 2360 troops, 25 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 3) Japanese ground losses: 38 casualties reported Guns lost 3 Allied ground losses: 245 casualties reported Guns lost 4 It won't take him long to drive me out with those sorts of odd. Otherwise, there were the usual artillery duels, Tophat sent out a lot of bombers all over the Far East, and the escorts in one of Tophat's transport TFs off of Malaya creamed one of my subs that was trying to simply "pass by": ASW attack at 25, 49 Japanese Ships AK Nako Maru PC Ch 7 PG Tatsumiya Maru MSW W.2 MSW W.1 PC Shimushu Allied Ships SS Seawolf, hits 8, on fire, heavy damage So all-in-all, it wasn't a good tactical day for me, although my strategic plans continue to come together very well. ("Short term pain for long term gain.") Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> RE: Short term pain... (8/20/2005 3:53:31 AM)
January 14 - Well, my questions over the KB and its actions became suddenly very simple to answer this turn - the KB is moving along with its refueling TF - that's why it is going so slowly! So I've now lined up my remaining subs in the region into a row stretching to the west to see if any of them get lucky and get a shot off. As long as it continues to travel westwards and stays to the north of Midway I'll limit my harassment to those subs. With this knowledge I've started to return to "Business as Usual" in the Eastern Pacific, albeit still with some care. There is still a Glen-equipped sub in the South Eastern Pacific, and probably a couple more without Glens, just waiting for some TFs to go by. There is also a Glen-equipped sub in the South Pacific that I am still chasing, and as well as a new sub that is heading down towards the shipping lanes to the East of New Caledonia. In addition, the spy sub that had checked out Rabaul is now gingerly going around the South Western tip of New Britain to check out the situation in PNG. I've still got an Australian Catalina on patrol out of PM, supported by an AVD that happens to be formed into an ASW TF. (This way I get a double benefit out of that AVD and can flee the region quickly if serious trouble shows up.) In other news, this wasn't a good day for Tophat's ground attacks. First off, after naval bombardments and air bombardments my troops at Menado not only got some lucky shots off on the landing party: Coastal Guns at Menado, 39, 67, firing at TF 20 TF 20 troops unloading over beach at Menado, 39, 67 17 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese Ships PG Edo Maru, Shell hits 3 Japanese ground losses: 54 casualties reported But also withstood the first assault: Ground combat at Menado Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 3422 troops, 22 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 1892 troops, 9 guns, 1 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1 Japanese ground losses: 22 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 25 casualties reported Guns lost 3 They'll fold soon enough, but it is still funny that they are holding up so well. BTW - Tophat was complaining about some advice he received to "speed up" his operations, with the end result that he didn't do as many naval bombardments as he wanted and thus ran into more troubles than he expected. [:-] In another funny ground conflict, my troops at Malacca are still holding out, despite the fact that two of the units have already been driven out of bases to the north: Ground combat at Malacca Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 40519 troops, 461 guns, 125 vehicles Defending force 2063 troops, 15 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 3) Japanese ground losses: 299 casualties reported Guns lost 11 Vehicles lost 1 Allied ground losses: 199 casualties reported Guns lost 4 And finally, to top things off - after a lot of artillery bombardments Tophat tried a deliberate assault at Yenen again: Ground combat at Yenen Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 111267 troops, 1252 guns, 153 vehicles Defending force 24621 troops, 158 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0 Japanese ground losses: 1496 casualties reported Guns lost 31 Vehicles lost 1 Allied ground losses: 423 casualties reported Guns lost 11 "Sorry Charlie". [:D] And one of my Dutch bombers even got a hit on a transport ship that was leaving Jesselton: Day Air attack on TF at 30, 54 Allied aircraft Martin 139 x 3 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Hakutetsu Maru #13, Bomb hits 1, on fire But it wasn't all "fun and games" for me - yet another of my subs was sunk by ASW. That makes seven so far, with as many badly damaged. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> A Strange Air Attack... (8/20/2005 2:59:54 PM)
January 15 - The KB went into Stealth Mode again this turn. There was no sign of it or its refueling TF. I have to guess that Tophat set-down his air patrols and took off at either to the north or backtracked to the East. I've scattered my subs again in response. I've also put my forces in Hawaii and the Eastern Pacific on "Orange Alert" until I get some idea of where the KB went to again. It's a pain, but I don't believe that I have anything in immediate danger of he is going back for another attempt to ambush my TFs - if he continues to travel with his tankers then I can avoid him, and if he abandons his tankers to chase after my TFs then I will chase after his tankers. Elsewhere, Tophat continues to scout the South Pacific with his subs and avoid my ASW. I may need to dedicate a combat TF down there in order to discourage him in a more serious manner. And he is continuing to be active in the Far East with lots of air attacks to complement his invasions. One rather odd naval attack occurred at Singkawang: Naval bombardment of Singkawang, at 25, 57 Allied aircraft no flights Allied aircraft losses No Allied losses Japanese Ships DD Hibiki DD Akatsuki DD Arashio DD Michishio DD Oshio DD Asashio CL Jintsu CA Atago CA Takao BB Haruna BB Kongo Allied ground losses: 268 casualties reported Guns lost 5 Vehicles lost 3 Airbase hits 7 Airbase supply hits 3 Runway hits 52 Port hits 2 Port supply hits 1 I'm not certain why he is: a) bothering with this base when there are more important/better bases to invade in the region; and B) bothering with such a big bombardment TF when the Dutch forces in all of those bases are so weak. I guess that he is "over-compensating" for the mess at Kuching. [;)] BTW - here is a very strange combat report: Day Air attack on TF, near Menado at 39, 67 Allied aircraft Brewster 339D x 9 Hudson I x 6 P-40B Tomahawk x 13 No Allied losses Japanese Ships AP Gyoko Maru AP Anrugu Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage I don't have any P-40s in the DEI, and the Combat Replay map showed a flight of planes going from Mandalay to wards Malaya when this attack was reported. I'm guessing that the AI is "ticked off" because I'm not using the AVG, and although I "appreciate the sentiment", I certainly hope that it doesn't do this again. [&:] In any event, despite "Divine Intervention", Tophat's forces captured Menado anyway: Ground combat at Menado Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 3396 troops, 22 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 1819 troops, 3 guns, 1 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 1) Japanese forces CAPTURE Menado base!!! Allied ground losses: 2976 casualties reported Guns lost 7 All of the other ground combats were artillery duels with the exception of another unsuccessful assault on Yenen by Tophat's forces: Ground combat at Yenen Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 109238 troops, 1192 guns, 154 vehicles Defending force 24211 troops, 136 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0) Japanese ground losses: 315 casualties reported Guns lost 12 Vehicles lost 2 Allied ground losses: 210 casualties reported Guns lost 5 I guess that he figured that after last turn's losses my forces might be "ripe" for a defeat, but it appears that his forces were more tired. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> Back to normal... (8/20/2005 10:25:05 PM)
January 16 - Things seem to be getting "back to normal" for this stage in the game. The KB has totally disappeared; Tophat's Glen-equipped subs have vanished except for the region around Pago-Pago, and the overall amount of Japanese recon has dropped about in half. Maybe that means that Tophat is getting ready for some imminent major move, but I don't really think so. So the bulk of the activity this turn was Tophat's continued aerial bombardments and artillery duels in the Far East. Tophat's forces did take Malacca finally: Ground combat at Malacca Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 40245 troops, 439 guns, 124 vehicles Defending force 1789 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 3) Japanese forces CAPTURE Malacca base!!! Japanese ground losses: 280 casualties reported Guns lost 10 Allied ground losses: 3995 casualties reported Guns lost 19 But he reverted to an artillery bombardment in Yenen. So I'll take any relative "respite" that I can get while I continue with my build-ups in the rear areas. I am continuously astounded at how long it takes to establish some useful numbers of aircraft for my air units - even the mediocre aircraft. Sure, I'm accumulating hundreds and hundreds of Dauntlesses and C-47s, but what am I supposed to do with them? I need fighters and decent level bombers. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> A quiet turn... (8/21/2005 6:19:29 AM)
January 17 - A quiet turn - even Tophat's bombers took it easy for the most part, while on the land he was content with simply doing artillery exchanges at all of our contested bases. He was able to whack yet another of my subs badly - this time off of Borneo. I don't know if that sub will make it back to base. But there is a bit of movement afoot - Tophat has sent ground units into both Pagan and Taung Gyi. I don't have any troops in either, but I will use the opportunity to bomb both locations from the air. This means that he will be advancing on Mandalay sometime in the near future, but I'm not ready to pull back from there yet. Soon enough the "joys" of the Burmese jungle will start to take their toll on Tophat's troops too. Elsewhere, Tophat's sub finally made it into position a few hexes East of Noumea - that's fine; I'll send a DD out there to get some ASW practice. And there is another Japanese sub moving towards the Hawaiian Islands from the Palmyra area. It just so happens that I have several combat fleets right near by so I will try a combination of dedicated ASW TFs with "run-overs" by the combat TFs to see what happens. Otherwise, my "slow and sure" build up continues. Next turn I ought to be able to upgrade yet another squadron of obsolete planes in Pearl, which will allow me to fill-out another obsolete group of planes back in the West Coast. It's a slow process, but as long as I don't waste my planes and Tophat doesn't deliberately go "plane hunting" with the KB, I will make progress. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> Le Triomphant Triumphs (8/21/2005 8:26:56 PM)
January 18 - I-16, sailing southwest of Hawaii, got away from my dedicated ASW this turn, but I-3 wasn't as lucky as it settled down into its location to the east of Noumea - Le Triomphant whacked it good: ASW attack at 73,113 Japanese Ships SS I-3, hits 2 Allied Ships DD Le Triomphant This is the first time that Sigint allowed me to prepare to attack a target. Tophat still has a Glen-equipped spy sub in the South Pacific to the west of Pago-Pago but I'm not worrying too much about it at this time - I don't have a lot of traffic done there and if I can spot it I'll just send some ASW after it. Tophat is picking up the pace in the Far East. His troops made landings at Morotai and Taytay. Both are undefended so he will grab them next attack. His forces captured Cotabato this turn: Ground combat at Cotabato Japanese Deliberate attack Attacking force 6790 troops, 90 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 3040 troops, 23 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 2) Japanese forces CAPTURE Cotabato base!!! Japanese ground losses: 106 casualties reported Guns lost 3 Allied ground losses: 37 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Defeated Allied Units Retreating! That was to be expected because those troops were very weak to start with and they were also already kicked out of two other bases, so they aren't up to fighting off a squad of Geishas. Elsewhere, Tophat's troops captured both Taung Gyi and Pagan. Unfortunately, my "sugar baby" pilots in Burma didn't fly because of rain ("…afraid that they'll melt in the rain"). Hopefully they'll fly this turn and hit those troops before base forces show up to allow CAP to fly. Elsewhere, all of the other ground combat was artillery exchanges. Tophat also resumed his heavy aerial bombardments throughout the Far East. His pilots don't seem to be bothered as much by rain. Dave Baranyi

ADavidB -> January 19 Summary (8/22/2005 6:44:11 AM)
January 19 - Tophat was ribbing me about our topsy-turvy sub records - one Japanese sub sunk and seven Allied subs sunk. But this is a result of having both sub doctrines set to "off". My subs are more aggressive and are paying for it, and his subs now attack transports but my ASW isn't skilled enough to do anything about it. But I keep on trying, and will go next turn after a sub near Upolu that just hit a transport going by, and after another sub south of Johnson Island. We actually "exchanged" transport hits this turn - I hit one of Tophat's APs off of Menado to match the one he hit off of Upolu. The only difference was that his transport was empty and mine had troops in it. (But that's why I use multiple ships to carry troops - there is a better chance that one ship will escape a sub attack.) Speaking of subs, another Glen-equipped sub has parked itself in the Blind Zone between Hawaii and San Fran. I wonder if this means that Tophat will send the KB back over? Never-the-less, I am sending a hunter-killer TF along that route to see if I can detect and attack that sub. As expected, Tophat's forces took Morotai and Taytay this turn. The rest of the ground combat was artillery duels again. Surprisingly, my troops in Clark are getting the best of the shoot-outs. Tophat intends to put an end to the stand at Johore Bharu soon - he has another 40K worth of troops on the way down there. I'm just pleased that the troops have lasted as long as they have. And my air units finally attacked Pagan and Taung Gyi. The Chinese attack on Taung Gyi didn't accomplish anything, nor did the strafing attack by the P-40Bs of the AVG on Pagan. But the Blenheim IVs out of Dacca, accompanied by more P-40Bs out of Mandalay on escort, whacked the troops at Pagan fairly well. So next turn I'm sending the bombers again, but at 20K instead of 6K (as they were this time) and I've set the AVG simply on escort at 20K. (I'm expecting Tophat to try some long-range CAP.) Dave Baranyi

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