John 3rd
Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005 From: La Salle, Colorado Status: offline
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Combat Report August 23-31, 1942 As many of you know, we had a massive reset of the campaign occur when I lost 4 CV/CVL/CVE along the western edge of the map board on August 26th. With a lot of conversation, and a bit of luck, we were able to go back to August 24th and start again. I have learned the valuable lesson to NEVER get close to the board edge! This log replaces the previous August 24-25 turns. There are several marked differences. Three areas of battle continue to dominate my attention. The 2nd Campaign to grab Perth in the SW, the 3rd Battle of Midway in the Central Pacific, and the area around Port Moresby. To the log… Northern Pacific Kiska Minesweeping Operations continue as I try to clear out what the Allies are sowing. Central Pacific Midway The 3rd Battle of Midway continues to gather steam. I had last left the reader with massive American forces on the atoll but the Japanese troops still hanging on to the base. Knowing that they were lost, I have worked to gather a counterstrike force to damage the American Fleet AND withdraw Japanese forces from the islands. August 24th The American attack crescendos with a new landing, B-17 air strike from Johnson, a CV+CVE Dauntless attack from the east, and an all-out Shock Attack by the American Forces. The Japanese garrison is driven from its base with a 10-1 attack and the Allies take possession of the island. With the airfield changing hands, I immediately fear HUGE numbers of planes moving there. Luckily, it appears that the Allies only have 1-2 F4F Squadrons, 1 Squadron of SBDs, and an A-20 Squadron. Decide to continue with my planned operation. August 25th No action on the atoll as the Americans rest some. Wake I now have a Sentai of Tony and a combined force of 80 Bettys here. The darned AF (45% to AF-4) is still only a 3 so I cannot carry TTs. There is nearly 30,000 Fuel here and I shall refuel my attack force on the 26th/27th. Total forces are: CVs Shokaku/Zuikaku (High Sys Dam 10/14 respectively), 2 BCs, 3 Old BBs (Ise, Hyuga, and Mutsu), 4 CA, 3 CL, and 14 DD. I break the TF into the following: Surface TF: Ise, Hyuga, and Mutsu, 1 CL plus 4 DD Rr-Adm Raizo Tanaka Fast Transport TF: 2 BC (Kirishima and Hiei), 2 CA, 1 CL, and 6 DD CarDiv 5: Shokaku, Zuikaku, 2 CA, 1 CL, and 4 DD Aerial Strike Force: 57 Zero, 48 Val, and 57 Kates—these CVs—for those who notice—carry an additional Chutai of Zero and Kate on board for additional striking power. Operational Plan: August 29th STF hits the island. August 30th CarDiv 5 moves to the NE of Midway to attack shipping and any cripples from the previous night. August 31st F-T TF moves in, attacks anything present, and picks up the Aviation Regiment that is there. This is a risky plan but I am counting on the Allies letting their guard down with them having captured Midway on the 24th… Reality: August 26th Allies launch an attack upon the Japanese survivors but are easily repulsed with a 0-1 result. Refuel and organize all 3 TF at Wake. Still have about 6,000 Fuel afterwards with another 32,000 in route. August 27th STF, under Tanaka, leaves Wake at full speed to hit Midway. August 28th Tanaka’s Force is spotted 4 hexes west of Midway and is attacked by 9 and then 5 SBD. The BBs sweep off the remains of several 500lb bomb hits while CL Abukuma takes 2 Bombs and has to retire back to Wake. Recon spots numerous Allied TF at Midway: 39 Betty attack through a CAP of 9 F4F—losing 4 bombers—and hit 2 AK with bombs and hit a CL (Raleigh) with a single bomb. Am not quite sure what I am getting into but figure ‘what the Hell’ and continue the operation. CarDiv 5 and F-T TF depart Wake for their part of the operation. I order ALL strike aircraft to naval attack and will rely upon my Floatplanes to do Recon. Don’t want to tip the Allies off a day early… August 29th Surface Battle at Midway! I am stunned—SHOCKED—to find a total of FIVE US BBs present (enemy TF is comprised of BBs Mississippi, Idaho, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Colorado, 1 CA, 2 CL, and 4 DD. Panic sets in with me as I expect to loss my entire force… This would be the case if it weren’t for Rr-Adm Tanaka! BANZAI!! Undaunted by the American Force he orders his 4 DD to attack while his old BBs prepare to open fire. The Americans are caught completely by surprise TWICE… Round 1 sees Tanaka’s DDs hit BB New Mexico with 2 TT and BB Idaho with a single TT. While the American formation falls apart, his BBs open fire and land several large-caliber rounds on each of the American BBs. Breaking away to quickly reload TTs, the Japanese get away with little to no damage… The Japanese swing back into the fray 30 minutes later and catches the Americans TRYING to reorganize their TF. Surprise is gained again and a TT slams into an American CL as well as DD. This time, with the fires from the American ships illuminating others, Tanaka lands salvo after salvo of 14- and 16- shells onto the American battleline. All American BBs are hit repeatedly and Idaho, West Virginia, and New Mexico are heavily damaged and stagger out of line. Two American DDs are sunk and the CL is also heavily damaged. There is a cost for this great success as 2 Japanese DDs are sunk outright, a third sinks later, and the fourth is sunk by SBDs in the morning. With no escorts and his BBs lightly damaged as well as running out of ammunition, Tanaka breaks off and heads west towards Wake leaving CHAOS in his Wake! BANZAI! Thoughts: This is an amazing fight where my TF SHOULD have been wiped out! I have to figure that it all revolved around Tanaka’s mastery of night fighting. Hyuga and Mutsu leave the battle with System Damage 20 and no other damage! Ise took a couple of heavy rounds and sits at Sys 31 and 17 Fires. NO FLOTATION DAMAGE! They shall live to fight again. August 30th My F-T TF cannot pick-up troops during the evening due to American warships in the area around the atoll. For some STUPID reason, they end up one hex SE of Midway when dawn comes… I watch—terrified—as bombers from Midway AND CV Wasp attack! For some reason (there is a theme here), my CVs fly LRCAP (when not ordered to) over the BCs and manage to blunt some of the attack. At a cost of 4 Zeros, I shoot down 2 F4F, 1 A-20, 4 SBD, and an Avenger. The only hits managed are 3 500 lb bombs on Hiei that do little damage. Got lucky here… An American CV lies for the TAKING 180 miles SW of Shokaku/Zuikaku position! During the morning, CarDiv5 (other then flying LRCAP) is covered in clouds and does nothing…GRRR… The afternoon yields better results. Adm. Ozawa turns his two CVs into the wind and launches full, deckload strikes! Unfortunately, they get separated in the clouds and attack separately. Planes from Shokaku start the assault—16Z, 24V, 24K—and tangle with 18 F4F. My Zeros hold off the Wildcats (6 Zeros for 2 F4F) but the attack planes run into MAELSTROM of AA fire! The American TF has Wasp and BB North Carolina and Prince of Wales—WHAT THE HECK IS SHE DOING HERE??—and many of my planes divert to attack the BBs. North Carolina takes 2 bombs and THAT IS IT! Nearly throwing the computer off the desk over this result (all pilots had a skill rating of 80 or higher), I watch the next attack develop. This attack, from Zuikaku, consists of 2Z, 24V, 24K. They take advantage of the earlier attack and get into attack position before the Americans can fully respond. Running the gauntlet of F4Fs and AA, these planes bore in and hit North Carolina with 2 more bombs while the Wasp gets slammed with 2 TT and 1 Bomb! The Wasp is left on fire and moderately damaged. Not to be outdone, a weak American counterstrike arrives over my CVs at about the same time. Wasp manages to launch 9 F4F, 7 SBD, and 5 Avengers before she is knocked out. This force is beset upon my 31 Zeros flying CAP. Nearly the entire American strike force is destroyed (8 F4F, 6 SBD, and all Avengers). One LONE SBD pushes over into its dive! Considering my poor raid results, all I need is a miss to have a complete victory tomorrow morning…what do I get???? A HIT! This brave pilot plants a 1,000 lb bomb right on the starboard center of the flight deck—luckily no planes are on board—and Shokaku is staggered. Summary: Wasp is certainly in trouble. Shokaku is heavily damaged (Sys 41, 0 Flot—THANK GOODNESS—and 13 Fires. I detach her with 2 DD and order a full speed—4/4—run due north to clear the action. Zuikaku moves SE towards Laysen Island in hopes of finishing Wasp. A risk but I WANT to sink this ship. Air Losses: Japan—6 Zero/12 Val/13 Kate—not TOO bad. American: 13 F4F/12 SBD/6 Avenger. Exactly identical losses—31 for 31. August 31st My F-T TF tries again to pick-up troops but runs into BBs Colorado and Mississippi with a single CA, CL, and DD versus BC Hiei and Kongo, 4 CL, and 5DD. A very laxadazical battle is fought with CL Tama sinking and 2 Japanese DDs being heavily damaged. Colorado is hit again and on Fire with CA Indianapolis and CL Concord damaged as well. Order Hiei to clear out and head for Kwajalein. My brave Zuikaku shocks the Americans by moving SE and launches two small strikes that hit a CL, 3 AP, and 2 AK without locating Wasp…keep her in the area for one last day… South Pacific Troops I am moving a large number of troops around in a LARGE redeployment. I have lifted 3 Brigades from Noumea and they are going to Wake, Baker, and Kwajalein. My 2 most battered Infantry Divisions at Port Moresby are moving to Rabaul where they can rest and re-equip. Port Moresby I move 3 Daitai of Zeros to PM on the 24th. On the 25th, a large strike of 35 B-24 arrives and faces off with 49 Zero! I lose 3 Zero in exchange for 6 B-24 and 16 Damaged. August 30th An enemy STF is spotted SW of Gili-Gili by my Recon. My Bettys, Vals, and Kates have been resting at Rabaul for the last 10 days and I order them into Lae, PM, and Gili-Gili. Nearly 200 strike aircraft move. Will the Allies close in? August 31st The Allies DO! The weather forecast was for Heavy Rain and I bet that is what my opponents were counting on. PM and Lae are closed by weather but G-G IS NOT! BANZAI! The AF launches a morning and afternoon strike (morning 12 Zero/49 Val/25 Kate/56 Sally—Helen and the afternoon sees 18 Zero/35 Val/18 Kate/53 Bombers) that yield great results! The TF is composed of nearly all CA/CL. By the end of the day, CAs Vincennes and Canberra are heavily damaged/sinking, CL Achilles is sunk, CL Nashville heavily damaged and CL Leander in sinking condition. This is done for the paltry cost of 3 Vals, 2 Kates, and 1 Helen! BANZAI! Will see if I can finish them tomorrow… SS Action: Aug 27th 55,95 SS Silversides hits and AK with 1TT Aug 28th 55,95 ASW Attack on SS Silversides—3 DC NW Australia The Battle for Perth RAGES on! August 24th Bad weather closes down Perth (YEA!) and a small raid in the afternoon does nothing. I do see 20 Zero flying CAP over my Invasion Force and THAT means my CVs didn’t disappear into a Black Hole at the edge of the map… 7,97 100-1 Attack and my Brigade STILL holds. August 25th Numerous attacks upon my unloading Invasion Force causes about 6 ships to be damaged while my Zeros (now 38 total) shot down numerous enemy planes. August 26th Same notes as the 26th with my Zeros exacting a high number of Allied plane losses. I have over a dozen AP/AK hit and damaged. Begin splitting my Invasion Force into numerous smaller TF to lesson the damage from the Allied air attacks. I have 5 DD engage and sink 4 PTs (10 total present) for 1TT hitting a DD. In an attempt to help my poor Brigade at 7,97, I have my CVs hit the land forces with 3 Zero, 19 Vals, and 64 Kate. August 27th LANDING AT PERTH! Here we go… CD Isn’t too bad. I don’t take too many hits at all. I’ve divided my landing TF into 5 smaller TF to limit the amount of damage the Allied LBA can do. I have 16 Zero flying CAP and they do very well…3 Fighters, 3 TB, and 2 Bombers fall for 5 Zero. Have only 4 ships hit by these airstrikes. My CVs attack 7,97 again to weaken the attackers in that location, August 28th Continue landing the troops. The aerial battle continues as I lose 12 Zero for 15 Fighters, 3 Floatplanes, 3 TB, and 3 Bombers. MY CV TF is OUT of fuel and must begin pulling back. About 5 AK/AP are hit at this time. Some AK/AP are already unloaded and ordered home. An Allied strike hits my Akagi/Kaga as it makes a final approach to Koepang. This attack of 23 Fighters and 9 TB are met by 54 Zero! Watch the enemy FALL! Down go 20 Fighters and 8 TB. NO DAMAGE! 7,97 is hit by a 43-1 attack. August 29th PT boats make another appearance and my 4 DD protecting the convoys sink all of them in exchange for a TT hit on one DD. All convoys are nearly unloaded and are aided by bad weather during the afternoon. With no CAP, life will get bad. More AP/AK head for Koepang. 7,97 gets another 43-1 attack. Order my first attack at Perth… August 30th Hard day to watch as Allied LBA REALLY pummels my ships. About 12-15 ships are all hit hard. My last troops are unloaded at this point and only supplies are left. Allied SS REALLY start hitting and sinking ships as they head up the Aussie coast towards Koepang. 1st Perth ATTACK! My troops attack and get nearly a 1-1 (806-986) for their first try! I do manage to drop the Forts down from 9 to 8 and will wait a couple of days to attack again. 7,97 gets a 278-1 assault but STILL holds… Spot an Allied TF approaching from southern Australia. Order still more AP/AK out. August 31st As seen, CA Dorsetshire, 2 CLs, and 2 DD raise HELL among the last of my ships. They sink 6 AP (all of them already damaged), 1 MSW, and 1 PC. More SS sinking Japanese stragglers… The Allies shift their Airpower to hitting my troops: 78 4EB and 31 2EB attack a division but don’t accomplish much. 7,97 takes a 182-1 attack… DEI I am having to do some MSW around Palembang and Muntok. Lose a TK and CVE Chuyo to SS Attack SW of Koepang. Was going to lose the CVE anyway but had HOPED to save her… Burma Allied planes hitting all bases from Mandalay northwards. Nate has troops move into 48,27 cutting the Burma Road. There are two Chinese Corps there and he attacks twice getting 2-1 results but no retreat. Another Japanese division will add its weight to this attack within days. There is a heavy aerial fight over this hex! Rangoon is struck on the 29th by 59 B-17 vs. 64 Fighters of various types. Losing 6 Zero for 12 B-17 and 35 damaged, the base takes minimal damage. Engineering: Andaman AF-3 China Things quiet down around Yenen. Nate pulls all of his Daitai and Sentai back to re-equip in planes and pilots. R&R is granted to all flyers… Combat Summation August 23-31, 1942 Japan Shipping Losses—38 total—2 CVE (Taiyo/Chuyo), CL Tama, 6 DD, 13 AK, 13 AP, 3 MSW, 1 TK, and 2 PG. Aerial Losses—109 Planes---59 Fighters, 20 Bombers, 15 DB, and 15 TB. Allies Shipping Losses—20 Total—CL Achilles, 2 DD, 9 PT, 5 AK, 1 AP, 1 PG, and 1 DMS Aerial Losses—199 Total—116 Fighters, 18 Bombers, 21 4EB, 12 DB, 29 TB, and 3 FP. 2-1 in the air YET AGAIN! I have got to be hurting Allied airpower! While serious, my air losses are not TOO grevious… This is one long report and my fingers are tired from typing! What do you think???
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