A Canuck in the Pacific - ADavidB vs Treespider

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A Canuck in the Pacific - ADavidB vs Treespider - 4/27/2006 12:33:05 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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Version 1.80 is out and I'm back at WitP with a new start and a new opponent - Treespider. We are doing a "non-historic" start with the following settings:

PDU off, Allied Sub Doc - Off, Japanese Sub Doc - Off, Auto Sub - Off, Advanced Weather - On, Allied Damage Control - On, December 7 Surprise - On, 1-day turns.

Treespider agreed not to try to invade "everywhere" on the first turn. I agreed to leave my forces "asleep at dawn", with the exception of TFs already at sea. We both agreed to keep the usual minimum altitude for level bombers to over 9K feet, just in case there really is an AA "null zone" between 6K and 8K feet. We also both agreed not to use submarine-launched invasions.

While Treespider was setting up the Japanese side of the first turn I practiced a bit with the "non-historical" setting against the AI. This was useful because it reminded me of some of the limitations that I will have to work within during the early part of the game. While it is always tempting to try some very aggressive things as the Allies right off the bat when playing a non-historic start, even against the AI the benefits don't always match the risks.

For example, the AI sets the KB attack on Pearl without leaving any planes on Naval Attack. So if you put all your ships in Pearl into TFs and send the US Pacific fleet out to where the AI will place the KB, no ships will be attacked from the air and you will get a glimpse of every Allied Fanboy's hottest dream - eight US BBs lined up against the KB. But try as I may, and with various adjustments including removing "surprise", my BBs accomplished little against the KB in four tries and usually ended up with more damage and even ships sunk, compared to little damage to the ships of the KB. This reinforced my contention that the US should try to avoid surface combat involving US ships that don't have radar unless there is no other choice.

In those same trials I also sent the Enterprise TF toward the KB at full speed and with "reaction" set to 6. With "surprise off" a lot of the Army fighters at Pearl took off to intercept the incoming Japanese strike, but this didn't cause many Japanese losses while causing huge US losses. The Big E then got in a full strike of dive bombers with fighter escorts, but they ran into a CAP of 50 Zeros and ALL US planes were shot down with none getting to drop a bomb. The US land bombers then tried their luck, and despite the presence of US fighter escorts, only one bomber got through and missed with its bomb attack on a cruiser. Surprisingly, the Big E then did a reaction move so it was close enough to launch its torpedo bombers. Once again despite the presence of fighter escorts and with the number of Zeros down to 38, all US planes were shot down. This tells me quite clearly that I don't want to challenge the "Zero Bonus", even with the best US Navy pilots.

Therefore, while my intention in this game is to play more aggressively than I did in my last game, I don't intend to throw away my forces in attacks that are doomed to fail. I will try to make more stands in the Far East rather than try to pull everything out and I will see if I can make more surprises happen in areas where the KB is not particularly active. I will also let all of my combat units receive reinforcements this time. Last game I "starved" the troops at the front in order to build up the troops at the rear faster, and also to try to reduce the troop points that the Japanese side received. But this time I want to try to fight longer, so we'll see what this strategy does.

Dave Baranyi

Post #: 1

The Day After... - 4/27/2006 12:34:45 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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December 7, 1941 -

As Treespider put it, the first turn was pretty quiet, considering that a war started.

True to his commitment, Treespider stayed within a fairly conservative variation on the historic start and got some fairly good results from his moves. The Pearl Harbor attack was strong and effective. The Nevada was sunk outright and all of the other US BBs suffered serious damage, as did the airfields. Most of the Army Air Corp units in Pearl are out of action. I've tried to spread the survivors out so that they can track the KB as it moves and also try to track some of the subs in the area.

I've put all of the ships from Pearl Harbor into task forces. The badly damaged combat ships are all in one big TF that is set to stay at Pearl. Anti-aircraft fire works better from ships in a TF than those in port, so if Treespider tries another attack this should cost him even more. My undamaged ships will be racing off in different directions and will hopefully blow past the Japanese submarines. I've put my PT boats into three small combat TFs and directed them to nearby hexes, just in case Treespider tries to sit the KB next to Pearl.

Treespider sent his cruisers to hit Wake instead of Guam, so Wake fell on the first day, despite hitting several Japanese cruisers with shellfire. I almost always lose Wake on the first day, historical start or not, so this was a bit of overkill from my perspective.

But this also meant that the Mighty Penguin was left safe and sound at Guam, so I've formed it into a Combat TF and will send it against the Japanese transports that are offloading troops at Guam. I've set the Penguin's home port to one of the bases on the Northern Shore of New Guinea, so as long as the transports don�t shoot back too much, the Penguin ought to live to fight another day.

In the Philippines Treespider tried a couple of different things. He had his small AC TF attack the airfield at Cagayan and caused some damage, as well as destroying one B-17. So I've moved some US Army interceptors to Cagayan to discourage him from trying this again. The Japanese air attack on Clark Field went well, but wasn't overwhelming, so I was able to pull out the remnants of all the air units and place them elsewhere while they recover. The big change from the usual was that Treespider sent some troops into Lingayen via Fast Transport and captured the empty base. This cuts off the easy road from the North, and puts Japanese forces close to Clark Field earlier than usual. Japanese forces also took Batan Island and Laoag and landed in Legaspi as usual. I am starting to move my combat troops out of Bataan in order to fight for more valuable bases such as Clark and Manila.

The question now will be what does Treespider want to do in the Philippines and DEI? He does have a cruiser TF heading west into the Celebes Sea, so it will be interesting to see if he heads right for Borneo or goes after one of the weakly defended Southern Philippine airbases. There are also three Japanese TFs off of the North Shore of Borneo that are heading southwest. I'm certain that Treespider wants a level 4 airfield in the region very quickly in order to cut down on my freedom of movement.

In Malaya Tophat sent his bombers after Kuantan and not Singapore. That was a "happy surprise" for me and the attacks didn't even cause much damage. But those air attacks consisted of Japanese Army bombers only. Right now I don't know where the usual Japanese Naval LBA from Southeast Asia is sitting. Maybe they are set on Naval Attack and looking for the RN.

The usual troop landings occurred at Khota Bharu. Treespider has moved bombers into Songkhia without any fighters, so I've ordered all of my bombers in Malaya to hit that airfield in case they can get some "cheap" practice. I've also moved my torpedo bombers closer to Khota Bharu in case they can get some shots at the Japanese TFs. But unlike last game I'm not withdrawing right off the bat this time. Instead I'll see how well I can drag things out.

In China Treespider drove my troops out of Nanchang and grabbed the crossroads between Homan and Kaifeng. He also bombed a number of Chinese cities. I'm moving my Chinese fighters to the front to try to catch some of his weaker fighters and bombers. I'm also moving my troops back from their exposed positions in the field. Last game I left too many Chinese troops in the open for too long.

There is one other interesting area to keep an eye on - the Central Pacific. Treespider has moved a number of planes into various bases in the Marshalls and already has patrol planes in Wake. He obviously wants to know where my US carriers are sitting.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 2

RE: The Day After... - 4/27/2006 4:12:09 AM

Grotius

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From: The Imperial Palace.
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I'm looking forward to this one! I enjoyed reading one of your earlier AARs (was it the one with PzB?) because you write well and you have a sensible approach to playing the Allies. I'll be interested to see what you do with your forces in Malaya -- whether you will try to evacuate any troops at the last minute, for example.

quote:

He obviously wants to know where my US carriers are sitting.

And you quite understandably shouldn't let him (or us) know! Incidentally, is this thread off-limits to him? In any event, good luck to you both.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 3

RE: The Day After... - 4/27/2006 5:27:04 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I'm looking forward to this one! I enjoyed reading one of your earlier AARs (was it the one with PzB?) because you write well and you have a sensible approach to playing the Allies. I'll be interested to see what you do with your forces in Malaya -- whether you will try to evacuate any troops at the last minute, for example.

quote:

He obviously wants to know where my US carriers are sitting.

And you quite understandably shouldn't let him (or us) know! Incidentally, is this thread off-limits to him? In any event, good luck to you both.

Yes, we are both doing independant "secret" AARs - he's not looking at mine and I'm not looking at his.

This game is starting to get very interesting right off the bat. Treespider is using a lot of the techniques that I use on offense, and he is quite hard to stop!

I'm going to try to get in the report for December 8 a little while later this evening.

Thanks for your interest -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 4

Fast Transport TFs on the Attack - 4/27/2006 6:35:28 AM

ADavidB

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December 8, 1941 -

Treespider commented on this being another "quiet" turn. Of course, his Fast Transport TFs were "quietly" sneaking around my Surface Combat TFs and capturing more of my bases too, including Jolo, which is a real pain. Once Treespider gets a base force into Jolo he will be able to base Bettys and Nells there effectively shutting down my ability to send ships through the Celebes.

And Treespider has been quietly doing a lot of other things too. For example, he mined the harbor at Bataan, so my fleeing ships had to clear mines on the way out, slowing them down. And one AVD hit a mine and so had to be sent back to Manila because it is too badly damaged. Treespider also got a couple of subs off of the West Coast - one between San Diego and LA and the other off of Seattle/Vancouver. Fortunately I have all my West Coast bombers on naval search so they spotted those subs. Also an escorted TF ran over the sub off of San Diego, but missed it with depth charges. I have ASW ships in both locations and therefore I immediately sent hunter TFs off to try to get rid of those subs, which also happen to carry Glens.

My escorts also ran over and eventually sank I-3 off of Hawaii, giving the US Navy its first kill. The KB is off of French Frigate Shoals and heading west, so unless Treespider does an about face it should be safe to send ships back to Pearl in a few days. I already disbanded the TF of cripples that I had in Pearl.

In the mid-Pacific the Penguin fought bravely against four enemy escorts, but it couldn't stop the invasion of Guam and was heavily damaged in the battle. I doubt that Penguin will reach the relative safety of New Guinea, but it will try. Guam was captured at the end of the turn.

In the Philippines, in addition to the daring capture of Jolo under the noses of several of my cruisers, the Japanese forces also captured Legaspie. More of my cruisers and destroyers reached Davao in time to be hit by Kates from the Japanese CVL TF that moved further south. One DD was heavily damaged but I was able to disband it and it is currently in port. I now have fighters on CAP over Davao so that may discourage more attacks. Nells also made their appearance over Naga and hit some of the AKs that were filling up with fuel there. I would have left the ships there longer despite the Nells in order to grab more fuel, but there is what appears to be a Japanese bombardment TF rapidly approaching Naga so I ordered the ships to try their luck at heading south.

It doesn't appear that I will be able to pull out as many troops out of the Philippines as I did last game. Treespider has a lot of forces in the region and he is cutting me off rapidly. Fortunately there were no other air raids in the Philippines so my forces were able to start to clean up after the previous day's attacks.

A strong cruiser force hit Kuching on the northern coast of Borneo, causing significant damage, but no landings occurred because Treespider goofed up the loading of the troops onto the fast transport TF that went along. That's one of the risks inherent with trying multiple fast transport invasions, and I've done it myself numerous times. So Kuching is safe for a while yet. I would like to prevent Treespider from grabbing Kuching too quickly because Japanese Naval LBA at Kuching will really mess up my defense of Java and Sumatra.

In Malaya a number of Allied air attacks flew against both land and naval targets, but without any success. Fortunately, Treespider hasn't provided any CAP for his invasions yet or I would have high losses to go with the inaccuracy of my bomber crews. As is typical for me, my biplane torpedo bombers accomplished nothing. I stand in awe of those folks who somehow sink enemy battleships with the same planes.

In China Japanese planes bombed Changsha, getting through my Chinese CAP. Treespider is massing a huge force of land troops nearby. I hope that my forces will move into Changsha in time to be able to make a reasonable stand. I don't want to lose it quickly again this time.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 5

Chaos in the Celebes... - 4/27/2006 10:41:01 PM

ADavidB

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December 9, 1941 -

Treespider started to already comment upon the effect of weather on his plans. I told him so� Anyway, weather has been messing up my plans too. And it is always entertaining to see what is reported. ("Blizzard in Vancouver" - That serves those West Coast softies right!

The big news continues to be in the Philippines and DEI where Treespider has thrown a huge amount of effort in an attempt to isolate and destroy my forces. It has become obvious that I won't be getting much if anything out of the P.I. and I'll be lucky to even get much in the way of resources out of the Central DEI.

Treespider also has a very wide-reaching submarine reconnaissance campaign in place. In addition to the two Glen-equipped subs that are prowling off of the West Coast of North America and the unspotted Glen-equipped sub off of the Hawaiian Islands, a Glen scouted northern New Zealand this turn! Oh well, my ASW forces will get more practice and maybe they will find something to shoot at for a change.

The KB is still cruising at fuel-saving speed to the southwest of French Frigate Shoals. Treespider now knows roughly where at least one of my CV TFs is located because what appears to be a Japanese Fast Transport TF was spotted by Dauntlesses in the Gilberts. I will be bracketing Tarawa with two CV TFs this turn, and I have a cruiser heading for Tarawa too. So if the Japanese TF doesn't head for home one of my TFs ought to find them. I've also already sucked all the fuel out of Tarawa and will do the same to Makin next turn. I like to clean the fuel out of those bases on the way by because it is such a long haul for the Japanese to bring fresh fuel there.

I am also starting to get my submarine picket lines set up. Last game I didn't set up a proper picket line until after the KB attacked out of the "Blind Zone" in the North Pacific. This time I have no intention of being surprised again. Anyway, given the typically inept performance of the US subs during 1941 and 1942 there is little point in leaving them in the main combat areas around the Philippines or off of Japan.

My Dutch subs are another matter, as two of them mined Southeast Asian ports and another put a torpedo into an AP in a TF that was coming in to land troops at Kuching. The TF went in and started to unload anyway, but this slowed it down a bit. And I've got my "Dutch Blaster" PT boats on the way to see if they can break up the landing.

BTW - speaking of mining, Treespider mined Batavia Harbor too. It's a pain, but I've got plenty of minesweepers in the region, so hopefully I'll get it swept out soon enough.

In the air war Treespider sent strong air attacks against Manila and Clark, but fortunately neither attack caused much damage. I still have fighters in place to defend both bases. My B-17s are also still in the Philippines because I'm hoping to damage some of the new Japanese airbases in the region too.

Treespider also sent 76 Sallys against the airfield at Taiping but fortunately they didn't cause much damage. Nevertheless, I've moved my torpedo planes out to another base. I'm still hoping that the TBs will find a bit of clear weather next turn and attack some of the Japanese ships that are sitting so close by. My level bombers finally found the range at Songkhia this turn and caused a bit of damage. I don't want Treespider to get "complacent".

There was a fair amount of naval action this turn. Treespider sent a bombardment TF including BBs to hit Naga. On the way in they sank the three AKs that had been badly damaged from air attacks the day before. The TK that left Naga was equally unlucky and was sunk by a small cruiser and DD squadron that intercepted it at Catanduanes. The remaining AKs escaped to sea, but there are at least two small Japanese light carrier TFs in the region, along with at least one Japanese AV/CS TF that is flying float planes on search and attack missions, so I don't expect those AKs to escape. Treespider also has a number of surface TFs in the waters of the Southern Philippines, along with planes in Jolo now. I'm re-routing my TFs and trying to put air coverage in place, but I expect the next couple of game-days to be very rough for the Allies in the Philippines.

In China Treespider is moving everything that can move into Changsha. Unfortunately it appears that my troops won't get there in time to produce a stalemate. The initial Chinese fighter unit that I put in Changsha was accomplishing nothing against unescorted Japanese bombers, so I pulled it back and put in a fresh squadron with better morale ratings. I'm also trying some air attacks on the Japanese troops in Changsha. We'll see what happens.

BTW II - The AVD that hit a mine off of Bataan last turn sank in Manila Harbor. But the Penguin is still limping along unmolested.

And in the land war, the Japanese forces at Hong Kong tried a bombardment attack this turn with so-so results, while the Japanese forces at Khota Bharu tried a deliberate attack that didn't work out well for them at all. I subsequently spent a number of preparation points to change out most of the weak British leaders and replace them with useful leaders. As long as I intend to fight I may as well put up the best defense that I can.

So the next turn ought to be interesting, an in particular if the weather clears we could have a lot of action. Of course, it would be even nicer if some of that action could be with the Allies striking some blows, but one can't ask for too much at this stage.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 6

Chaos - the Screencap - 4/28/2006 12:22:27 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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Here's the current situation in the PI/DEI:

(Notice Jolo sitting there like a big red eye, right in the middle of my "running roaches"...)

Dave Baranyi

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by ADavidB -- 4/28/2006 12:23:48 AM >

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 7

A Chippy Turn... - 4/28/2006 4:58:26 AM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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December 10, 1941 -

Wow - what a chippy turn! I knew something was up when Treespider commented that the turn was "interesting", and for a while it appeared that all of the interest would be on Treespider's part, but in the end some of my forces came through. So much happened that I'm going to try to summarize it by region.

First off, the RCN played quite a game of cat and mouse with I-7 off of Vancouver with HMCS Wasaga getting two chances but missing. Then another ASW TF containing three MSWs found I-7 again the hard way as the sub put a fatal torpedo into one of the ships before the other two hit I-7 multiple times. I don't think I-7 will make it home, but there is now yet another report of a sub in the same region. So the ASW folks will be getting more practice next turn.

At the same time the Japanese sub in the south actually moved into the coastal waters of San Diego. Once again, ASW forces will be getting a work out. If only the entire West Coast were not socked in by bad weather maybe some airborne ASW could fly too. (BTW - Treespider also put the sub off of northern New Zealand into the coastal waters of Auckland. I wonder if he feels that it will be harder for me to hunt him right at the bases?)

In the Central Pacific the KB is still steaming slowly westwards, and is now northwest of Johnson Island. I guessed wrong and Treespider's troops unloaded on Makin Island instead of Tarawa, and for a while the continuous cloud cover and rain in the Gilberts made it appear that neither of my carrier TFs would have any luck finding the Japanese TF, but finally the Enterprise's planes found the fleeing Japanese TF late in the afternoon:

Day Air attack on TF at 85, 88

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 12
SBD Dauntless x 30
TBD Devastator x 15

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 4 damaged
TBD Devastator: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
ML Tsugaru
ML Okinoshima, Bomb hits 1
DD Asanagi, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Yunagi, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
ML Tokiwa, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Several of those ships ended up sinking. I'm now pulling my CVs away slowly as Treespider has put even more reconnaissance planes into the Marshalls.

The most action occurred in the Southern Philippines. A small Japanese combat TF consisting of a CL and three DDs reacted twice to my forces, first shooting up a TF containing the four DDs from Manila, then another TF containing the two PGs from Manila. My ships got only one shot in on the Japanese, but two US DDs and a PG were sunk.

Daylight brought more problems for the US forces as Japanese carrier planes fought their way through the CAP over Davao to hit another US DD on patrol. That is now two heavily damaged DDs disbanded in Davao harbor. So I've decided to send the remaining undamaged ships further south in the hopes of intercepting another Japanese transport TF that is nearing the DEI, as well as to try to get away from the carrier planes.

But the Japanese air units weren't through. Although clouds covered most bases in the Philippines and none of my bombers flew, Japanese bombers fly from Jolo and from Taiwan to attack Manila again. The P-40Es in Manila gave a good account of themselves and there wasn't much damage. But it's hard to keep up with so many Japanese air units in the region and thus Nells from Chinese coastal air bases flew to hit yet another US transport TF, heavily damaging a handful of ships. So I've split that TF and will try to get the undamaged ships out of harm's way. But unless the Japanese naval forces in the area start to run low on fuel or supplies my ships will continue to be wooden ducks in a shooting gallery.

But not all was in the Japanese favor in the Philippines as I received a totally unexpected bonus from one of my subs which was sailing towards a distant picket line position:

Sub attack at 44, 59

Japanese Ships
CA Myoko, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Natsushio
DD Hatsukaze
DD Oyashio
DD Kuroshio

Allied Ships
SS Pickerel

It felt so good to see that Jap cruiser take a torpedo!

BTW, the "Dutch Blasters" PT squadrons weren't able to get to Kuching in time to break up the Japanese landing, but they did sink one Japanese MSW with no losses to themselves.

In Malaya for the most part the Brit bombers refused to fly again despite the continued presence of plenty of targets. Japanese bombers, however, flew in large numbers, but fortunately did little damage.

In the ground war, the Japanese troops at Khota Bharu only did a bombardment. In Hong Kong the Japanese troops did a deliberate attack and lowered the fortifications, but only got a 1:1 result. Hong Kong won't last much longer, but at least it isn't folding too easily. Treespider did try an immediate deliberate attack on Changsha. The fortifications were reduced, but the Japanese got 0:1 odds and received three times as many casualties. Unfortunately it will be nearly impossible to bring enough troops quickly enough to Changsha to avoid losing it. One problem is that the Chinese air units are not accomplishing anything in the air over Changsha.

Elsewhere, a Japanese attack on Kuching surprisingly failed. But my troops are so badly outnumbered that the Japanese forces ought to capture the base on the next try. And the Japanese did capture Makin.

So all-in-all, it was a pretty good day for the Japanese, although the Allied forces succeeded in one planned operation and got very lucky in another unplanned action.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 8

RE: A Chippy Turn... - 4/28/2006 5:41:10 AM

Grotius

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From: The Imperial Palace.
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Fun stuff. I like his idea of snagging Jolo via Fast Transport. Can you bomb the heck out of it from Tarakan etc, though?

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 9

RE: A Chippy Turn... - 4/28/2006 6:02:36 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Fun stuff. I like his idea of snagging Jolo via Fast Transport. Can you bomb the heck out of it from Tarakan etc, though?

Yes, the FT grab of Jolo is what I usually do as the Japanese player. I forgot to leave some of my combat ships on "patrol" at Jolo instead of just having them sail in, look around and leave. FTs "wait" until after the normal night combat phase to unload and if they don't detect a nearby combat TF they will sneak in. I'm presuming that Treespider flew in a base force afterwards to support his planes.

I've been trying to get my B-17s to hit Jolo for the past two turns, but while a percentage will fly on naval search, none of them have been willing to fly an airfield attack mission. The problem is that none of my bomber crews have high enough experience to get past the take-off checks during rainy weather while most of the Japanese pilots do. The only answer is more experience and that takes time

So, for the most part Treespider is doing everything well and I'll have to work extra hard to slow him down unless he overextends himself. It's an interesting match so far. Right now I'm hoping that his offensives run out of steam because he is trying so much, so fast.

The one thing that really worries me is that it turns out that Treespider has put a huge number of troops in central Luzon. It appears that he intends to overwhelm Clark, then Manila and pick up the rest of the Philippines at his leisure. Once I saw that he had 13 units there already I started to pull back more troops to Manila. I may not be able to hang on to Manila for an extended period this game. It will be interesting to see what happens, and where else Treespider tries blitzkrieg attacks.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 10

RE: A Chippy Turn... - 4/28/2006 7:29:53 PM

denisonh

Posts: 2194
Joined: 12/21/2001
From: Upstate SC
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The Jolo tactic is extremely effective and difficult to prevent. I did it using an ABN assault and flew in AV support, with a supply fast transport a little later. Damn near impossible to prevent that way.

Dave, preparing your defenses in India?

_____________________________

"Life is tough, it's even tougher when you're stupid" -SGT John M. Stryker, USMC

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 11

RE: A Chippy Turn... - 4/28/2006 11:42:55 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: denisonh

The Jolo tactic is extremely effective and difficult to prevent. I did it using an ABN assault and flew in AV support, with a supply fast transport a little later. Damn near impossible to prevent that way.

Dave, preparing your defenses in India?

I'm starting to prepare India, but I'm not certain that India is Treespider's first interest. In any event, this time I'm going to try to delay the Japanese more in Malaya rather than try to pull everything out wholesale. And as the mess off of Victoria Point showed, Treespider is watching out for naval withdrawals.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to denisonh)

Post #: 12

Getting "Dinged..." - 4/28/2006 11:44:52 PM

ADavidB

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From: Toronto, Canada
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December 11, 1941 -

This was another tough day for the Allies as the Japanese forces successfully continued their blitzkrieg while most Allied forces were unable to make much out of their opportunities. The KB also disappeared, while a new mystery Japanese threat appeared. All-in-all Treespider is executing his plan very well and taking advantage of all of the Allied weaknesses while not suffering unduly from his own aggressive pace. At this point, any Allied hopes for a successful counterattack in the Philippines and DEI have been effectively crushed as the combination of land based air, naval air and surface combat task forces are projecting Japanese military might well past any possible defensive lines.

Looking at the regions, the skies over the West Coast of North America were shutdown yet again by bad weather from north to south, so airborne ASW didn't fly. A pair of destroyers did locate one Japanese sub that was moving from San Diego to LA, but they weren't able to get any hits. In the north the Japanese submarines that were off of Vancouver disappeared totally. However, a very strange and worrisome event occurred in the North Pacific. The Regulus, which had been slowly steaming north from Midway to Dutch Harbor, was suddenly attacked by two Jakes! The Jakes missed, but there is some sort of Japanese TF in the North Pacific, about halfway between Midway and Dutch Harbor. Fortunately I don't have any other TFs in that region, and I do have a number of submarines on the way. But I wonder; has Treespider tried to fool me by having part of the KB travel slowly and obviously to the West while the rest went quietly to the North? This deserves further investigation.

The rest of the Central Pacific and South Pacific was pretty quiet. The Indianapolis bombarded Makin Island but caused little damage. Then it joined the rest of the US forces that are slowly moving away from the Gilberts. There are still a couple of Japanese subs around the Hawaiian Islands, including one at Hilo, so I'm sending out more ASW TFs. BTW - that Japanese sub that was sitting at Auckland Harbor is still there. My Kiwi bombers don't seem to want to attack it.

A number of Allied bombers did try attacks in the Philippines, DEI and Malaya, but for the most part the missions were futile. So, for example, my B-17s finally attacked the airfield at Jolo, but caused trivial damage and hit no enemy planes. The Allied land based naval attacks did even less for most of the day with the exception of some late day torpedo bomber attacks on the transports that have been sitting in Songkhia for the past four days. Finally, two Japanese APs were hit. In contrast, Japanese naval and land based bombers readily hammered more US ships that were attempting to escape from the Philippines.

In China the Chinese air units tried multiple attacks that were generally unsuccessful. The Chinese CAP also continued to be useless, even against the mainly obsolete Japanese planes that are in China. On the other hand, Japanese bombers continued to hit their targets regularly. Japanese LBA even caught the AP that was trying to sneak the base force out of Victoria Point and sank it after multiple hits. Allied luck was definitely turned off this turn.

In the naval war, a Japanese battleship-lead bombardment force chanced upon a fleeing US transport TF at Menado and enjoyed some easy target practice. The Japanese TF then proceeded to do its bombardment and leave. Things could have been worse; my scouts had told me that the Japanese TF was a transport TF and so I had a small combat TF on its way to try to make an interception. If they had run into that Japanese TF I would have lost more combat ships instead of AKs.

In the other major naval action, more of my Dutch PTs attacked the Japanese TFs off of Kuching. The first encounter was against a Japanese ASW TF and the Dutch succeeded in sinking a Japanese PG. But the second encounter was against the main invasion TF and the escorts destroyed two of the Dutch PTs while only one Japanese PG was damaged. As would be expected, this feeble intervention didn't stop the invasion.

In the ground war, as expected, the overwhelming Japanese forces captured Kuching. Japanese LBA there will soon cause problems throughout the DEI. Japanese forces did a bombardment attack on Changsha this turn while recovering from last turn's failed deliberate attack. Meanwhile, Hong Kong, Naga and Khota Bharu all survived deliberate attacks, but only Khota Bharu appears to have any chance of lasting for much longer.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 13

RE: Getting "Dinged..." - 4/29/2006 2:10:18 AM

Grotius

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quote:

In any event, this time I'm going to try to delay the Japanese more in Malaya rather than try to pull everything out wholesale. And as the mess off of Victoria Point showed, Treespider is watching out for naval withdrawals.

I've already forgotten what happened off Victoria Point! But in any case, it will be interesting to see whether you can delay the IJA more in Malaya and *then* save some of your troops there. Tom Hunter managed it in the 3x3 game he was playing with Cap Mandrake, but jeesh, an evac force will have to run a gauntlet of Japanese air and sea power...

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 14

Getting "Ugly..." - 4/29/2006 4:53:57 AM

ADavidB

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December 12, 1941 -

Treespider wrote only the word "ugly" in the email when he sent this turn to me. I replied that it was "ugly for me" but "sweet" for him. Treespider is really "taking me to school" on this non-historic start. I totally underestimated the rate at which he could grab key bases in the Southern Philippines and also underestimated the jumpstart that his light carriers would get. Now I am also sitting in amazement at how uncannily he is placing his surface combat forces to intercept my fleeing ships. Between the Japanese naval air, land-based air and surface fleet Treespider looks to be coming close to wiping out everything that I sent out of Manila. And he still has plenty of forces left to bomb the Allied bases that were supposed to support an Allied "fighting" withdrawal. I've been outplayed extremely badly here and I won't try this sort of "aggressive defense" again. Next game I'm sending everything out immediately and not stopping to try to pick up anything.

The total debacle in the Philippines and DEI aside, there were a few tiny bright spots amongst the doom and gloom. DD Yunagi sank two days after being ambushed by the Enterprise air units in the Gilberts. I-2 was hit multiple times off of Lahina, although it wasn't reported sunk. KXVII put four torpedoes into a Japanese AP off of Malaya, sending the AP quickly to the bottom. A British torpedo bomber put a "fish" into a Japanese AK at Khota Bharu. And finally Dutch bombers hit an AK at Kuching with a bomb. The rest of the Allied bombers may as well have not flown.

Japanese Army Air bombing on Malayan targets increased significantly, as did the damage that they caused. The air war also picked up in China as some of my Chinese bombers finally found their bombsites and hit some Japanese troops at Changsha. As well, some of the Chinese fighter pilots finally found the range and shot down some incoming Japanese bombers.

In the ground war, a Japanese fast transport TF brought troops into Lamon Bay, which was captured the same turn. A similar fast transport attack on Singkawang landed troops but not enough to capture the base on the first try. The Japanese army bombarded Changsha again, and Japanese attacks on Honk Kong and Khota Bharu were repelled. But the attack on Khota Bharu was much stronger and the next attack may succeed in capturing the base.

So despite the lightening strikes in the Philippines and DEI I am still following my plans in the other theaters. My forces continue to chase Japanese submarines everywhere while my own subs continue on towards their assigned picket line locations. The mystery TF in the North Atlantic disappeared after having attacked Regulus last turn, but I've got plenty of subs heading for the general area to see if I can pick up some trace of what was there. I am still expecting to see some portion of the KB show up in the Eastern Pacific shipping lanes sooner or later so I am being cautious and not sending any TFs into the Blind Zone other than submarines. Hey, the game isn't yet a game-week old.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 15

RE: Getting "Ugly..." - 4/29/2006 8:00:19 AM

Grotius

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Well, it's a shame you're losing the shipping fleeing the Philippines, but aren't we mostly talking AKs and MSWs and whatnot? Likewise, his capture of Kuching hardly spells the end of the battle for the DEI. Or has he already taken more bases in Borneo?

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 16

RE: Getting "Ugly..." - 4/29/2006 2:41:43 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Well, it's a shame you're losing the shipping fleeing the Philippines, but aren't we mostly talking AKs and MSWs and whatnot? Likewise, his capture of Kuching hardly spells the end of the battle for the DEI. Or has he already taken more bases in Borneo?

I'm losing everything - the AVs, AVDs, DDs, PGs, AKs, AP, etc. You name it, he's nailed it!

Treespider has left his CVE TF in the middle of the Celebe Sea and his CVL TF just above Menado. Along with having Jolo and Kuching this allows Treespider to intercept everything. One always needs some luck to get ships out of Manila, particularly in a non-historic start, but even luck hasn't been enough here because Treespider has committed too much air power to wiping out my ships.

What this does mean is that he hasn't used any naval bombers to suppress the air base at Singapore. Nor has he hit Manila very often. And he is still fighting with his original planes in China. So it's a trade-off for him - he gets to sink the Asiatic Fleet and auxillaries while letting me prepare my defenses elsewhere.

The Japanese player is always relatively "weak" during the first few weeks of the game and that's when an Allied player should be able to sneak forces out of the Philippines and set up the defenses of the DEI. Treespider has been able to work around that potential barrier and because of a few good early moves has been able to devestate the forces that I usually pull out to safety.

Luck does play a part - I flooded the southern Philippines with subs and one of my subs did put a torpedo into a Japanese cruiser. If that had been one of the CVLs then Treespider's plan would have had a big gap in it. But he has been moving his light CV TFs around well and I haven't been able to intercept them with subs. That's how it goes. Right now I'm hoping that all this wear-and-tear on his ships causes Treespider to take a breather soon.

Take care -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 17

Still "Ugly..." - 4/29/2006 6:03:17 PM

ADavidB

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December 13, 1941 -

Things continue to be "ugly" as far as the Allies go. Sure, fewer Allied ships were sunk this turn, but that's because there aren't many left to sink�

And the first of many-to-come cases of "occupation" occurred at Aparri this turn.

There were a few minor bright spots for the Allies. A Japanese DD hit a mine that had been placed by one of the Dutch mine-carrying subs. Another Dutch sub put a torpedo into another Japanese AP off of Malaya. Several Japanese subs off of Hawaii were harassed by US ASW TFs, although no sinkings were reported. And finally a Brit torpedo plane put a torpedo into the side of BB Haruna at Khota Bharu, causing some unknown level of damage.

But otherwise most of the important actions went in the Japanese favor. Of particular concern was a Japanese sub off of Rabaul that torpedoed an incoming Allied AP, despite the presence of an escort and air cover. So Treespider now knows that I've got ships in the area. But what is worse is that my forces didn't spot the sub at all. In another case of bad luck, one of my CV TFs spotted a couple of Japanese subs around the islands that are south of the Gilberts. Now Treespider knows where one of my CVs is located.

And he will likely know where another one is next turn as a CV TF pulls into Pearl. There are at least three Japanese subs in around the Hawaiian Islands, including one with a Glen, so I have not doubt that one of them will be spotted by the CV or they will spot the CV in turn. I'm just hoping that all the ASW TFs that I've sent out will hit one or more of the subs.

More of the fleeing Manila ships were sunk this turn by Japanese air units. I suspect that Treespider's surface combat ships have empty magazines and are heading home to reload. I don't remember how many ADs are in the Japanese starting inventory, but I don't think that there are a lot.

In the land war the Allied troops repelled deliberate attacks at Changsha, Hong Kong and Khota Bharu again. The situation is looking a little better at Changsha, although Treespider is sending more troops into the battle. I am doing the same so with just a tiny bit of luck I may create a stalemate there. (I've got to be optimistic about something�

)

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 18

Uglier Yet... - 4/29/2006 7:25:51 PM

ADavidB

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December 14, 1941 -

Things are still looking quite "ugly" as Treespider continues to out think me. Sure enough, part of the KB was up in the North Pacific and Treespider sent them on a "fishing trip" to bomb Anchorage. And, of course, because I started out in this game to test out being a bit more "aggressive", what was sitting in Anchorage Harbor but the Colorado. But for once I had a little bit of luck and although Treespider's attacking planes blew past my CAP and hit Colorado with five bombs, all of the bombs hit armor and there was minimal damage. And surprisingly, my useless B-18s flew and tried a totally futile attack on the KB. So the KB's pilots got some target practice against the Army Air Corp and even got to sink poor old Regulus in the end because the AK happened to be in the "wrong place at the wrong time".

There was lots of action in the Far East too. Tuguegarao was occupied, undefended San Marcelino fell, and Japanese troops landed at Menado. There are dozens of Japanese ships off the East Coast of Malaya that are probably headed for Kuantan. For once, almost all of my British planes flew naval strikes, but none of them got any hits. And Japanese forces attacked and sank yet more ships in the continuation of the Manila Naval Massacre.

In the major land battles, Khota Bharu finally fell, the troops at Naga repelled a deliberate attack, and both Changsha and Hong Kong suffered artillery attacks. I also now have a number of troops in the Philippines stuck on "fly paper" at 59 miles, for no reason other than inept programming. (Just don't talk to me about troop movement in China�

)

There was a bit of positive news for the Allies. KXV hit an AK off of Kuching, and KXI hit an AK off of Malaya, but was depth charged in return. And two Japanese ships that had been attacked earlier, an AP and a PC, finally sank at port. It's not much, but I'll take what I get.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 19

Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 2:33:24 AM

ADavidB

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December 15, 1941 -

This turn we both were caught underestimating each other. The situation became more serious in the Alaskan theater for me as it appears that Treespider may well be invading Anchorage, and Treespider found himself in the unexpected position of having US Navy carrier bombers smash into his unprotected surface combat fleets in the Bismarck Sea. At the same time, the situation in the Far East continued to get nastier as both sides are fighting harder.

Treespider is very pleased with himself that his dive bombers have hit the Colorado repeatedly in Anchorage Harbor. But the actual damage to the ship is limited and mainly consists of knocked out obsolete AA-gun emplacements anyway. System Damage is minimal, and the main turrets are fine. Another second Japanese TF has been spotted south of Anchorage. I'm betting that it is an invasion TF. So I'm leaving the Colorado and its escorts docked and relying upon the AA of the base as well as the armor of the Colorado to keep it relatively safe for one more turn. Then I will form a surface combat TF in the Harbor and send out all the transport ships as individual decoys to confuse the targeting of the carrier planes. (Treespider has been only using dive bombers and is saving his torpedo planes for any task forces.) Now, if that second TF is a fast transport TF and it lands this turn, then I lose a chance, but I'm not too worried about the amount of troops that a fast transport TF could carry.

At the same time Treespider started to move his forces into the Bismarck Sea, initially landing at the Admiralty Islands. I knew that he had some surface forces around because my ships in Rabaul had been spotted by an Alf the turn before. But the Japanese TFs didn't reach Rabaul during the night and instead a number of Nells came in to attack the combined Australian/US/NZ TF. The Canberra took a torpedo but didn't suffer dangerous damage. None-the-less, I formed the Canberra into a TF with a PG that was in the port, sent them off to the South and reformed the remaining US/Oz/NZ combat ships into a new TF to await the potential onslaught.

But there may not be an "onslaught" after all, unless Treespider is really gutsy, because out of the blue, the planes of the Lexington hit two separate incoming combat TFs. The first wave of dive bombers hit a cruiser TF hard:

Day Air attack on TF at 61, 84

Allied aircraft
F2A Buffalo x 11
SBD Dauntless x 30

Allied aircraft losses
SBD Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsuharu, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
CA Kinugasa, Bomb hits 2
CA Aoba, Bomb hits 7, on fire

Then something that I have never seen before happened! Lexington's Devastators came in to put two torpedoes into the side of a Japanese battleship!!!

Day Air attack on TF at 60, 86

Allied aircraft
TBD Devastator x 12

Allied aircraft losses
TBD Devastator: 8 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Yamashiro, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Now, what will Treespider do? Will he attempt to run, will he send the survivors in anyway, or will he try to catch my CV TF with his surface combat ships? I believe that I have at least two days of freedom of action before the decoy KB can make it to the Bismarcks from the Marshalls. But who knows, if that second TF to the south of Anchorage is the decoy KB instead of an invasion TF then Treespider doesn't have any carriers within a week's sailing time of the South Pacific. And if Treespider flies more LBA into Truk then that will ease my pain in the Far East.

Speaking of the Far East, there was a lot of action there too. Brit and Dutch LBA attacked Japanese TFs everywhere and even got a few hits. The B-17s hit the freshly captured airfield at Khota Bharu, blasting through the Nates on CAP and hitting the field nicely. Treespider is also busy trying to sweep the mines that the Dutch subs put into Saigon and Camranh Bay.

But Treespider isn't being stopped by minor setbacks. Japanese troops landed at Kuantan, occupied Catanduanes, captured the unoccupied Victoria Point and defeated the Dutch at Menado, capturing the base. Japanese troops bombarded Naga and Changsha, while Japanese deliberate assaults at Hong Kong and Alor Star were repulsed. (I'm really surprised at Hong Kong holding out for so long.)

So the struggle hasn't eased off yet, and both of us are learning not to become too complaisant with our plans.

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 20

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 3:39:51 AM

denisonh

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A diamond in the rough. The Jap CVs can't be everywhere, so it was a good move. I beleive you can't be overly caustious against a very aggressive jap player. "Dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee".

Post a pic of the situation in Alaska, as I find that an intrigueing strategy for the Japs early.

_____________________________

"Life is tough, it's even tougher when you're stupid" -SGT John M. Stryker, USMC

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 21

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 4:00:04 AM

ADavidB

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quote:

ORIGINAL: denisonh

A diamond in the rough. The Jap CVs can't be everywhere, so it was a good move. I beleive you can't be overly caustious against a very aggressive jap player. "Dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee".

Post a pic of the situation in Alaska, as I find that an intrigueing strategy for the Japs early.

The Alaska screen cap is below. I just thought of something - that second TF to the south could be a replenishment TF. In any case, I've got all those subs racing towards the action. I also don't believe that Treespider is aware of that TF that is sneaking off to the East.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

Attachment (1)

(in reply to denisonh)

Post #: 22

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 4:51:58 AM

denisonh

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From: Upstate SC
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With all the options for the Japs early, I am curious why Alaska gets attention like this early.

Good reading Dave

_____________________________

"Life is tough, it's even tougher when you're stupid" -SGT John M. Stryker, USMC

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 23

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 5:08:04 AM

Grotius

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I'm also surprised about Alaska, though it sure makes for interesting reading. Not much in the way of resources there, and where does he go once has captured Anchorage?

Good going in the South Pacific. You have more guts than I do! I tend to hide my CVs, at least while they've still got those Devastators. You just proved that those things can be of use. :)

(in reply to denisonh)

Post #: 24

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 5:11:00 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: denisonh

With all the options for the Japs early, I am curious why Alaska gets attention like this early.

Good reading Dave

I wonder if he is going to try the "Kamikaze Dash" for the "United States" base that is worth so many points? I've suggested this in the past. The Japanese player:

- Grabs Anchorage early and builds it up to a level 9 port to support all types of naval re-arming
- Grabs one or more of the Alaskan Panhandle bases
- Invades Vancouver
- Drops paratroops into "United States" and takes it
- Flies infantry in to hold "United States"
- Sends armored units along the road to back up the invasion
- Sends infantry to tie up US troops in Seattle
- Grabs Prince Rupert at leisure to provide backup to Vancouver

Now, I've always assumed that this would be done after the US carriers were hunted down and destroyed, and once US forces had been spread out in the Pacific. Thus you do this late in 42 so that you don't have to hold on too long until autovictory in 1943.

Sure, this is a very low probability thing, but just in case, I leave that engineering unit in "United States" to build up the fortifications, and I also leave a Air Transport squadron in San Fran so that I can fly troops into the base in case I see this happening.

On the other hand, grabbing Anchorage does squash any Allied ideas of trying raids along the Northern Route. But then, I've been spanked while trying Northern Raids so many times that I am pretty gunshy about them.

In addition, Anchorage does provide a nice convenient base for resupplying the KB if you want to keep on raiding the West Coast on a regular basis in 1942.

And if Treespider is considering attacking the Soviets, then holding Anchorage does keep me from rushing aid via the Northern Route.

All-in-all, it does give me a lot to think about. But then, having the KB way up in the North-Eastern Pacific while US Fleet CVs are sailing along happily in the South Pacific should give Treespider something to think about too.

Just imagine three or four US fleet CVs in Northern Australia with nothing around but a couple of Japanese CVEs and CVLs...

Thanks again for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to denisonh)

Post #: 25

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 5:14:28 AM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
Joined: 9/17/2001
From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I'm also surprised about Alaska, though it sure makes for interesting reading. Not much in the way of resources there, and where does he go once has captured Anchorage?

Good going in the South Pacific. You have more guts than I do! I tend to hide my CVs, at least while they've still got those Devastators. You just proved that those things can be of use. :)

The US CVs can hold their own against anything except the full KB, so there is no point to hiding them if you know where the KB is at and you can be somewhere else. And the US CVs are particularly useful against a Fast Transport strategy where the Japanese player is trying to stretch beyond LBA coverage.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 26

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 5:20:00 AM

denisonh

Posts: 2194
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From: Upstate SC
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ADavidB

Spot on reference the US CVs.

I have raided Truk as the Allies with a 3 CV force while the KB was in the SRA (my opponent neglected tu put Zeros/Bombers at Truk, made him pay)

When the KB is somehwhere other than where he is trying to expand, perfect opportunity to employ your CVs and "ping em".

Just be careful to not drift too close to Truk after your presence is known, it could flip in a hurry......

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I'm also surprised about Alaska, though it sure makes for interesting reading. Not much in the way of resources there, and where does he go once has captured Anchorage?

Good going in the South Pacific. You have more guts than I do! I tend to hide my CVs, at least while they've still got those Devastators. You just proved that those things can be of use. :)

The US CVs can hold their own against anything except the full KB, so there is no point to hiding them if you know where the KB is at and you can be somewhere else. And the US CVs are particularly useful against a Fast Transport strategy where the Japanese player is trying to stretch beyond LBA coverage.

Thanks for the comments -

Dave Baranyi

quote:

Just imagine three or four US fleet CVs in Northern Australia with nothing around but a couple of Japanese CVEs and CVLs

_____________________________

"Life is tough, it's even tougher when you're stupid" -SGT John M. Stryker, USMC

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 27

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 7:13:03 AM

Grotius

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Ah, so you're sure it's the whole KB up in Alaska? In that case, sure, go hog-wild with your own CVs -- away from his LBA, of course. But maybe he split KB?

(in reply to denisonh)

Post #: 28

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 2:17:39 PM

ADavidB

Posts: 2464
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From: Toronto, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Ah, so you're sure it's the whole KB up in Alaska? In that case, sure, go hog-wild with your own CVs -- away from his LBA, of course. But maybe he split KB?

I'm pretty certain that the first group is only part of the KB. Treespider split the KB after the Pearl Harbor raid and had some part of it go slowly and very obviously westwards. So the odds are that he does have at least one and maybe two carriers in the Marshals. But there is also a chance that he sent them in support of his "Alaskan Adventure". I can't be certain because the second Japanese TF only gives info that there is "1" ship. I don't think that TF is a sub because I can't believe that my Catalina pilots in Dutch Harbor could spot a single sub at that distance. So until it gets closer I can't really tell what it is. But that the second Japanese TF in the Northern Pacific may also be the KB's replenishment TF. If so, I've got lots of subs heading for it. And if the replenishment TF can be sunk, Treespider's "Alaskan Adventure" could start to go wrong very fast.

The main thing holds me back at this time in the South Pacific is that there is little in the way of fuel or supplies in any of the bases. My ships have been sailing along, sucking up what is there. It allows me to cruise across and still not end up in the "red", but there isn't enough for my own "Adventuring" to go on too long.

We'll see what happens this evening.

Thanks again -

Dave Baranyi

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 29

RE: Devastators Devastating!?!?!? - 4/30/2006 2:30:56 PM

String

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I know I'm very fond of force concentration, but this doesn't prevent me liking those small 1-2CV battles and 1-2BB battlegroups in action. Much more like ww2 than the usual deathstars.

Very interesting AAR, I cant wait for the next update.

(in reply to ADavidB)

Post #: 30

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