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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> Every Little Bit Counts

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Every Little Bit Counts - 10/30/2010 1:33:21 AM

ADB123

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June 11, 1942 -

The Night Phase started out with one of those �every little bit counts� sort of things as USS Gudgeon hit and sank a CMc off of Utsonomiya. The rest of the Night was quiet, but I'm happy whenever something Japanese gets sunk, no matter how small.

Daylight brought Glens out over the Eastern Aleutians. I don't have a lot of ships in the region right now, so there isn't a lot for the Japanese to see or hunt.

The main Japanese Air Attacks started next as both Sian and Changsha were swept by Oscars, followed by bombing raids with Oscar Escorts. My opponent took some Flak and Ops losses, but I'm betting that he will have the Bombers back again next turn, so I set the two Chinese P-43 squadrons on Hi Alt LR CAP over Sian and put two Chinese H81 squadrons at Hi Alt 100% CAP over Changsha and set another two squadrons on Hi Alt LR CAP over Changsha for good measure. We'll see if I catch anything next turn.

Then the Dutch Stragglers in Sumatra were bombed again. I've got an SST heading to Benkalis with supplies, so if the Troops can survive and reach there it will keep them going long enough for me to try to sneak some of them out in SSTs. Once again, I only wish that I had SSTs even two months earlier.

The Allies got the next two turns in the Air as 16 Forts from India attacked the Port at Rangoon. The CAP consisted of 3 Oscars and 8 Zeros. I got the feeling the pilots weren't cream-of-the-crop, as one fighter of each type was shot down by the 4Es, but they CAP did their job well enough and the Bombers didn't hit their targets. Afterwards I saw that the big Japanese Transport TF had gotten safely past the rest of my subs in the area and is now in Rangoon Harbor.

Next, Forgetfulness Begat Headaches as the Forts on the East Coast of Oz took off to hit Townsville again. Yes, I forgot to stand them down last turn. A number of Zeros met the bombers and although a Zero was shot down the Flak hit the Fatigued planes hard and I lost a couple of bombers. The Forts did hit their target, but it wasn't really worth the effort. Oh well, such is the cost of carelessness.

Finally, in a surprisingly late attack, 20 Oscars and 20 Sallys attacked the Airfields at Myitkyina. The Hurricanes there were on 30% CAP so only a handful were in the Air to meet the Japanese Raid. The Hurricanes did shoot down a couple of Oscars, but the Sallys got through to hit the Airfields. I've now put the Hurricanes on 100% CAP and set a nearby squadron on LR CAP over Myitkyina too. We'll see next turn if it is a case of �shutting the bard door after the horse ran away� or not.

So while I wasn't terribly happy about the Day's air battles, in the end the Japanese lost twice as many planes as the Allies, and if I had remembered to sit out the B-17s in Oz the ratio would have been even better.

Afterwards I noticed that the small Japanese Troop column that had been at Katha has now moved off into the jungle and is heading towards Kalemyo.

Huh? Why does my opponent want to send troops after yet another dot base? I've got a Base Force and a Burmese Rifle unit in Kalemyo, and the Forts are at Level 3 and rising, so it shouldn't be a push over, but even if it is, that base will be yet another place that is very hard to supply, so I'm suprised that my opponent is bothering.

In any event, it looks as if Katha is empty again, and since I already have the Viper Paratroops on their way to Calcutta I may as well use them as I originally intended and cut the Japanese supply line at Katha. This could turn into quite a fun little mess in Burma for the Japanese.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 271

Bad Night for Subs - 10/30/2010 1:25:24 PM

ADB123

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June 12, 1942 -

This was not a good night for Allied submarines. The Night Phase started out with USS Skipjack hitting a mine at Merak. I've known for some time that my opponent has placed mines at Merak, but unfortunately, the AI doesn't �know� that, so it decided that Skipjack was low enough on fuel to be sent back to Columbo. And the route past Merak was the �shortest� route as far as the AI could figure out.

I don't have any of my subs under AI control, and I check my subs each turn for fuel and damage, but the �magic line� must have been passed as far as the AI was concerned, so it sailed Skipjack into Harm's Way. The only good thing out of the mess was that Skipjack wasn't sunk, and it did make it into the Indian Ocean, so it will now limp back to Colombo for repairs.

USS Sealion wasn't so lucky off of Singhep. It was caught in the Shallows by three E-class ASW ships which found it, hit it hard, drove it to the bottom, and sank it.

Daylight brought a return of Japanese Air Attacks on Tennant Creek as a number of Oscars escorted Japanese Army bombers in to hit the Air Fields again. It's irritating, but there isn't anything I can do about it at this time, so I have to grit my teeth and take it.

China was a different case as 8 Oscars and 9 Lilies flew in to hit Changsha. It seemed at first that I got lucky as 38 Chinese H81s were in the skies to greet the Japanese planes. But my opponent must have had very good pilots in his Oscars because they fended off the Chinese attacks, shooting down 2 H81s. None of the Lilies were bothered and they hit their target and damaged the Runways at Changsha. So this was a case where Pilot Experience and Skill won out over numbers.

I ended up losing a handful of H81s due to A-to-A and Ops out of one Chinese squadrons that flew into Changsha on LR CAP, and the Fatigue of the second LR CAP squadron was up to 50, so I moved both of them away from the region via the Railroad. The two H81 squadrons that were actually flying 100% CAP over Changsha didn't take any losses and their Fatigue was still relatively low so I left them in place.

The Japanese didn't attack Sian, and the Fatigue of the two Chinese P-43 squadrons was still fairly low, so I left them on LR CAP over Sian for the next turn.

In other news, the Fortifications at Pearl Harbor reached Level 8 this turn. I don't really expect my opponent to attempt to invade the Hawaiian Islands any longer, but since I've got plenty of troops and supplies in the islands I'll continue to build up the Fortifications just for the �esthetics�.

And the Perils of Intel were painlessly brought to my attention as a fresh Recon flight over Katha showed that there are, in fact, still four Japanese units there. So although the Vipers reached Calcutta and are ready to go, I'll keep them in reserve until I spot a real opportunity to cut the Japanese lines. In the meanwhile, I'll just have to keep my Recon up-to-date.

BTW � it now appears that there is only one Japanese unit on the �slog� through the jungle towards Kalemyo. But that will probably be more than enough because I was suffering from Faulty Memory last turn and when I checked Kalemyo it turns out that I only have a single Burmese Rifle unit there, and since it doesn't have any engineers the Forts have never been built.

Oh well... It will still take a long time for the Japanese troops to get there and the Burmese rifles will just retreat down the road towards the next base in the Jungle/Mountains.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 272

Less Unlucky Subs - 10/31/2010 3:07:12 AM

ADB123

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June 13, 1942 -

The Night Phase was busy for Allied subs again, and while not terribly successful, at least it wasn't a disaster.

First off Cachalot was chased by an SC near Kochi, but got away. Later on Cachalot spotted an xAKL by itself, so the sub's skipper decided to surface and use the Deck Gun instead of torpedoes. This would have been a good idea, but the Deck Crew on the Freighter were wide awake and ready and got in the first shot and hit on Cachalot. Cachalot started to fire back, but under increasing fire from the Freighter and after two hits the skipper of the Cachalot decided that he had enough and the sub submerged and sailed off. Afterwards I looked and saw that there was very light damage to the Cachalot, so that looks like yet another sub that needs a skipper-change.

Next Porpoise was chased by PBs off of Muntok, but got away. Those shallows off of Sumatra are very dangerous for my subs.

Finally, Dolphin got off four torpedoes against an unescorted Tanker off of Shikuka, but the fish were duds. It's too bad that the skipper of the Dolphin didn't decide to attack on the surface instead. (Where's that French sub with the two 8� deck guns when you really need it?

)

Daylight started out with another large Japanese Air Attack on Tennant Creek. The Japanese keep on losing a few bombers to Flak and Ops each turn, but it isn't discouraging them. So I decided to send out the 4Es from Alice Springs next turn against the Air Fields at Katherine to see if I can create some discouragement on the Ground.

Myitkyina came under Air Attack again as 18 Helens and 19 Sallys, escorted by 34 Oscars, flew in. The British Air Defense was provided by 15 Hurricanes at Hi Alt. Despite the numerical disadvantage the Hurris got through the Oscars and actually shot up some of the Sallys. The main Japanese bombing effort got through, but they didn't cause a lot of damage. In the end the Japanese lost Oscars and Sallys while only two Hurricanes were lost.

I noticed afterwards that the quantities of Japanese planes at Mandalay have gone down again, while the quantities at Rangoon have gone up, so I set a big Air Attack for next turn on the Air Fields at Mandalay. I've got B-17Es and Blenheims coming in at low altitude to hit the Air Fields and Hurricanes coming in at Hi Alt to sweep. It will be interesting to see how it goes. But I've also set a fair number of Hurricanes to Hi Alt CAP over Myitkyina too, so the Japanese Air Force won't get a lot of rest next turn if the Weather cooperates.

BTW � a British Hurricane pilot joined the US Liberator pilot with 4 kills, so I now have two pilots almost reaching Ace status.

Finally, 20 Sallys, escorted by 7 Oscars, hit Sian. Only 6 Lancers showed up on Hi Alt CAP, and they shot down an Oscar, but the Sallys still hit the Air Fields at Sian. The Chinese P-43 pilots were all fatigued-out afterwards so I sat them down. I also sat down the Chinese H81 pilots at Changsha because they were also getting too fatigued to function. So if the Japanese fly in China next turn the only thing that will stop them will be Weather.

Otherwise, the Japanese Attack Column in Burma is still a hex away from Myitkyina. I'm not bothering to try to bomb it because Allied bombers can't seem to do much damage at all against Japanese Infantry units in the Field. I'd rather use my bombers to try to catch Japanese planes on the Tarmac.

And US sub S-36 arrived at Rangoon Harbor safely, but despite a clear report of the big Japanese Troop Transport still being in the Port, the US sub didn't find or attack it. I've got a Dutch sub on the way to see if they can do any better.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 273

Attacks on Mandalay - 11/1/2010 2:32:57 AM

ADB123

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June 14, 1942 -

This was another night phase that favoured the Japanese. First off IJN I-8 hit a destroyer in a Transport TF that was leaving Tahiti for Hawaii. The DD sank and the Japanese sub got away from the rest of the Escorts. Then USS Gudgeon shot at and missed an xAK off of Utsumomiya. Gudgeon now has to head back to Port for re-arming.

Daylight brought Japanese Air Raids on Tennant Creek despite horrifically bad weather all over Australia. The Allied bombing run to Townsville was scrubbed by the Bad Weather, but the 4Es at Alice Springs did manage to get off and attack the Airfields at Katherine despite End-of-the-World Weather. The 6 Forts and 6 Libs ran into 5 Oscars on CAP and were able to blast past them, shooting one down, but Japanese Flak shot up the Liberators. Never-the-less, the 4Es did manage to hit the Air Fields and destroyed another Oscar on the ground.

The Universal Bad Weather scrubbed most other Morning flights in all regions, except for some Japanese Recon in Burma. Then in the PM Allied planes started to attempt to find their way to Mandalay.

First in were 8 Hurricanes that ran into 14 Oscars, but there were no losses on either side. Then 15 Blenheim IVs and 3 B-17Es showed up unescorted. Another 14 Oscars were on CAP but the Allied bombers fought them off well, shooting down one, damaging 7 more, and even destroying a Helen on the Ground when the Air Fields were hit.

Then 14 more Blenheim IVs and 6 more B-17Es flew in, but this time they were accompanied by 29 Hurricanes that were on Sweep and not on Escort. Again there were 14 Oscars in the Air, but the Allied planes hit them pretty good on the way in and the way out. Two Oscars were shot down and seven more damaged in Air Battles, and another 5 Oscars were destroyed or damaged on the Ground, along with another Helen.

So all-in-all it was a good day in the Air for the Allies. The Japanese lost 26 planes compared to 14 losses for the Allies. Fourteen of the Japanese losses were Oscars, and four more were Helens. The British lost a few Hurricanes, but no key pilots. So I sat down my 4Es, redistributed my 2Es, and redistributed the Hurricanes again so that there is no single base where my opponent can catch a large number of Allied planes.

In additional news from the Indo/Burmese border, Japanese troops still haven't reached Myitkyina. I'm guessing that it is hard for my opponent to keep them supplied, even though I'm not bombing those troops themselves. Hitting Mandalay regularly has got to use up Japanese supply and keep it from moving further up the Trail.

In other news, the @#$%^ Air Field at Dutch Harbor FINALLY reached Level 1. That is such a crummy, uninviting and unpromising Base that I can't see why it was chosen as a major hub for Allied Forces in the region. Oh well, I'm stuck with it so I may as well make the best of it that I can.

In other news, I've been getting a number of useful and interesting Reinforcements recently and I have more coming along soon. I am feeling better every day about the Allied situation.

BTW � here's another strange observation � the pilots in Allied Air Squadrons will train up even if the Squadrons have no planes...

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 274

Japanese Troops at Myitkyina - 11/2/2010 10:03:11 PM

ADB123

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June 15, 1942 �

The Night Phase was quiet, other than the skipper of the USS Silversides taking a gander at an SC off of Hamamatsu and deciding not to try a shot. The SC then attempted to find Silversides but failed.

Daylight brought a Hi Alt Sweep of Myitkyina by 10 Oscars. The RAF put up 12 Hurricanes as CAP, but the Oscars must have had better Aces in their cockpits because the Hurries couldn't shoot down any Oscars and instead lost a couple of their own. Then a couple of Straggler Oscars flew in to be faced by one last Hurricane, with the Oscars damaging the RAF plane.

Next some lone Sallys flew in to hit the Air Fields at Tennant Creek again. But I was finally able to initiate my Plan to deter the Japanese Target Practice at Tennant Creek, and I'm hoping to get it going within a few more days.

And some Sallys and Oscars flew in to hit the Chinese troops that are on the road just to the South of Sian. The bombers did trivial damage to the entrenched Chinese. Right now my Chinese Fighter Squadrons are resting and training again while I wait for a reasonable opportunity to use them again.

The US 4Es didn't attack Townsville again, thanks to the Continuous Terrible Weather over Australia.

There's been another Japanese TF at Townsville for the past couple of days, but I didn't bother to try to Intercept it, because I assumed that my opponent would learn from the last time. Sure enough, my Naval Search and Recon Planes spotted a Japanese Surface Combat TF in the Townsville hex along with the Transport TF, and then I received reports of Japanese CVs some 5 or so hexes off shore. So I'll let my opponent use up Fuel and go about his business.

And the Japanese Interest in Northeastern Japan continued unabated as Japanese Paratroops captured the undefended Bowen at the end of this turn. But that's it as far as undefended Australian Coastal Bases go, if my opponent wants Rockhampton, for example, he is going to have to fight for it with something more than just a Paratroop Regiment.

And speaking of Fighting � the first Japanese troops arrived at Myitkyina at the end of this turn. It will be interesting to see how well the 1st Burma Division does. It has been sitting in Myitkyina for months, is 100% prepared, and is at 50% Experience and 50% Morale. I have the Burma Army HQ there too, along with the Burma Air HQ, an AA unit, and a miserable Base Force. (Like most of the Burmese Base Force Units, this one has a Morale Level of 10 thanks to the Malaria.)

The Forts are only at Level 4 at Myitkyina. This is one of those Bases that just doesn't want to build up for some unknown reason. I'm not planning to send more any more Troops into Myitkyina � as I wrote before, this is just a Holding Action. If I can tie up the Japanese, that will be good. If I can't, well, I've got more Jungle/Mountain bases in which to fight and where the Japanese Supply Lines keep on getting longer and longer.

I have ordered a 4E squadron to bomb the Japanese troops at Myitkyina from Low Altitude. I may still continue to bomb Mandalay because it appears to be low on Supply and only have few Troops. (This is suggested by the observation that the Air Field Damage at Mandalay is getting repaired very slowly.)

I am also bringing in Surprises to the Air War at the Indo/Burmese border which should come into play within a few days. One of those surprises ought to add a nice bit of confusion to my opponent's plans.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 275

CAs vs PTs - 11/3/2010 3:57:16 AM

ADB123

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June 16, 1942 -

The Night Phase brought some tentative Naval Action as the Japanese CA/DD Covering TF took off from Townsville to chase a two-PT TF that I had near Bowan. In the Storms the two TFs got within a 1000 years of each other before they started to try to fight. The PTs fired off their torpedoes, missed and pulled away. A DD in the Japanese TF fired a couple of shots at the departing PTs but also missed. So now I have to send those two PTs south for torpedoes and I'm moving another 2-PT TF up to Rockhampton. The Japanese TF appears to be continuing southwards � I wonder how far south it will go? (Can I hope that it comes within range of some of my LBA that can do Naval Attacks?)

Daylight brought the usual World-Wide Rain that washed out a lot of Japanese Air Attacks and half of the Allied Air Attacks. Some Oscars and Sallys attempted to hit the big Chinese column that is in the Rough just to the south of Sian, but the bombers couldn't find the target. Then some Lilies flew in but they couldn't find the target either, despite there being a dozen or so Chinese units in that hex. There were also a number of Japanese Recon flights over Sian itself, so I set the Chinese P-43s back to Hi Alt LR CAP over Sian just in case my opponent does get a bomber attack off at the base next turn. There were no other Japanese Air Attacks so Tennant Creek and the Dutch Stragglers in Sumatra got a break for a day.

The Allied Air Attack that was planned to hit the Japanese besiegers of Myitkyina didn't fly, but the B-17s at Toowanda finally flew against Bowen after three days of the mission being scrubbed. The Bad Weather did cause the Attack to split in two. The first attack consisted of 14 Forts that ran into 2 Zeros on LR CAP. One Zero was shot down and the Air Base was hit well. Then 8 more Forts flew in but this time they ran into 5 Zeros. One Fort was lost but more Zeros were lost too, and the Bombers did hit their target. So I sat down the Forts again and I'll keep an eye on just what my opponent is doing up in the Far Northeast.

In other news, there are now a LOT of Japanese Fighters, Bombers and Misc Planes at Rangoon. My opponent also brought more planes back to Mandalay, but not as many as are at Rangoon. I'm guessing that my opponent is planning to try to overwhelm my Air Defenses with massed Air Attacks.

In response I reached an Emotional Milestone as I withdrew the three AVG Squadrons. There is no point in keeping them around any longer since they have to be withdrawn in 2 weeks anyway, and P-40Es are not First Line Planes in that War Zone. So it will be up to the Brits and a couple of surprises that I am setting up.

The Japanese besiegers of Myitkyina did not attempt an Attack this turn. The sixth Japanese unit arrived at Myitkyina and there don't appear to be any more on the way right now. I'm guessing that my opponent is waiting for Supplies to catch up to his attacking units.

In other news, I'll be receiving a ton of Zombie Squadrons over the next couple of days as Air Units that I withdrew a couple of months ago come back, minus Aircraft. So I'll likely just pull out the better pilots and withdraw the empty squadrons once again. Some day I may have planes for these squadrons, but it looks like that day will be a couple of years off.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 276

Attack on Myitkyina - 11/4/2010 2:15:55 AM

ADB123

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June 17, 1942 -

There was no Night Action this turn. For some reason my subs are having difficulties spotting Japanese TFs, even though I have plenty of subs where the Japanese TFs are sailing.

Daylight was a different matter as the Battle of Myitkyina began in ernest. The Weather was Wet, which helped to split up the Japanese Air Attacks. First in were 13 Oscars which were met by 9 Hurricanes on Hi Alt LR CAP. I had good pilots in the Hurris, so they turned the tables on the Oscars and shot one down with no losses to themselves. Next 2 Oscar stragglers flew in and found 5 more Hurricanes waiting for them. Once again the British pilots did well and another Oscar was shot down with no British losses.

But then the main Japanese attack arrived as 35 Sallys and 23 Lilies flew in with 41 Oscars as Escorts. By this time most of the Hurricanes were damaged, out of fuel, or out of ammo, so there was only one British Fighter on CAP. The Brit Pilot had Balls of Steel and actually attacked the swarm of Oscars before being driven off. So the Japanese bombers got to do their bombing runs without Fighter interference, but there was plenty of Flak and several bombers were shot down. In the end the Japanese bombs damaged the Air Fields at Myitkyina fairly well, but that doesn't matter because I'm not flying CAP out of there anymore anyway.

The Allied Air Attack didn't fly in the Morning, but in the Afternoon 14 Forts flew out of Dacca and hit a Japanese Artillery Unit at Myitkyina fairly hard. Although there was some Flak no Forts were lost. There were no other Air Raids by either side.

So all-in-all it was quite an acceptable day. Four Oscars and several Japanese bombers were shot down, while no Hurricanes or B-17s were lost.

Then the First Japanese Attack on Myitkyina occurred, with the 9th and 33rd Infantry Divisions, accompanied by three Artillery Regiments, attempted a Deliberate Attack. The Japanese achieved a 1:2 result and lowered the Fortifications from L4 to L3. Casualties were roughly equal on both sides. I was surprised (and pleased) to see that there weren't any Combat Engineering Units in the Japanese Attack.

In other news, my retiring PT TF made it safely to Rockhampton, while the Japanese CA/DD TF disappeared off into the Rain somewhere in the Northeast of Australia. Allied Naval Search Planes did spot the KB around seven hexes to the East of Rockhampton. I'm actually very pleased that the KB (or at least a sizable portion of it) is hanging around the Coral Sea, because that opens up my Options for Naval Movement a lot elsewhere. I continue to be surprised that my opponent hasn't send at least part of his CV force to raid the Gulf of Alaska. Oh well, I'll just continue to be like a Mouse and Play while the KB is Away.

Speaking of �playing� - I am sending a LOT of planes into play at Mandalay next turn. First off, I am sending the B-17Es from Dacca because they didn't suffer much damage nor much Fatigue during their attack this turn on the Artillery Unit at Myitkyina. I am also adding in a half dozen British 2E bomber squadrons. But most importantly, I am sending in almost all of my Hurricane Squadrons on Hi Alt Sweep over Mandalay in the hopes of hitting the Japanese CAP hard.

I am also sending in the First of my Surprises � a USMC Wildcat Squadron. This Squadron was the one that showed up on Saratoga and so I offloaded them in India. They've been training ever since, and these are �-3� Wildcats that have a 37K feet ceiling. I wonder what my opponent will make of that?

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 277

Kicking Myself! - 11/5/2010 3:31:41 AM

ADB123

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June 18, 1942 -

The only Night Action concerned Dutch sub KXVIII which was spotted by the escorts of a Japanese Transport TF at Cairns and chased away. My opponent is certainly serious about building up his forces in north-eastern Oz.

Daylight brough action that was focussed upon Burma. First off, it was Myikyina's turn. A Sweep by 12 Oscars ran into some good Hurricane Pilots and the Japanese were chased off with one Oscar shot down and no British losses.

Then the RAF got into action over Mandalay. The first Hi Alt Sweep found 16 Hurricanes facing 1 Nick and 8 Oscars. The Brits had a good time, shooting down 3 Oscars for the loss of only 1 Hurricane. Then another British Sweep flew in and pitted 15 Hurricanes against another Nick and 3 Oscars. Another Oscar was shot down while there were no British losses. Then 15 more Hurricanes flew in and shot down the sole Oscar on CAP. Then 16 more Hurricanes flew in and faced 3 Oscars and 2 Nicks. The Brits shot down one of each Japanese Fighter. Finally, one last 16 plane Hurricane Squadron flew in but there were no more Japanese planes on CAP.

The reason for the light CAP was that a Big Japanese Air Attack was already in the Air and on its way to hit Myitkyina. There were 25 Lilies, 17 Sallys, 6 Tojos and 12 Oscars in the Attack. There was no CAP, but the Bombers missed their target. Then 20 more Sallys along with 29 Oscars showed up, again with no CAP in the Air and this time they hit a British Artillery Unit on the ground.

Then the USMC Wildcat squadron showed up over Mandalay, but there was no CAP. The Marines were followed by 29 Blenheims, which in the absence of CAP were able to hit the Air Fields, Air Supply and Airbase hard and destroyed 2 Oscars on the Ground. But the Main Allied Attack didn't fly.

The Afternoon finally brought out the Bomber raid from Dacca. The elapsed time had given the Japanese a chance to put a Nick and 6 Oscars into the Air for CAP, but the 12 Forts and 15 Blenheims blasted past the Defenders to their target. And when the bombers hit their target I went into a State of Shock � because the Bombers went after some lousy little Japanese Artillery unit.

Ah SH!T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had goofed up the orders. I had changed the Objective from Myitkyina to Mandalay, but I forgot to change the Target from Ground to Air Field! And to make things worse I used the �change all bombers� command, so all of the Bomber Squadrons that I had moved into Dacca got the same, wrong orders!

A final attack by 16 more Blenheims had to face a Nick and 2 Oscars, but it didn't really matter because those Bombers went after the @#$%^ Arty unit too.

What a wasted opportunity! And for the first time in Six months there had actually been non-stormy weather over my Indian Air Bases. Now the Usual Bad Weather has returned so I pulled back all of my Squadrons to their usual bases and set them to rest.

The Big Plan didn't go that badly overall � 23 Oscars and 2 Nicks were lost compared with 6 Hurricanes and a handful of Blenheims, but it could have been so much better if the Afternoon Air Strikes went after the Air Fields. Oh well...

There was little action after that. USS Salmon was chased by Japanese ASW ships off of Singkep, and the Japanese Troops at Myitkyina did another Deliberate Attack. The Japanese achieved a 1:2 result again, and once again the Fortifications went down a notch, this time to L2. Again, casualties were roughly equal, although lighter than the previous attack. I'm impressed that my opponent is able to keep his troops supplied for consecutive attacks.

In other news, the KB is still hanging around in the Coral Sea, roughly half-way between Rockhampton and the northern tip of New Caledonia. I'm not sure what my opponent intends, but there isn't anything more in the region around New Caledonia than there was four or five months ago when the KB last ventured into the area.

And in a bit of Good News, the 10th AF HQ arrived at Adelaide this turn. It was a pain to ship them from Aden all the way to Adelaide, but I have enough Air HQs in India and I need more in Oz, so I had them make the trip. Once the HQ is unloaded I will send it via Railroad to Alice Springs to support the Nuisance Bombing.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 278

A Rather Different Turn - 11/6/2010 2:15:19 AM

ADB123

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June 19, 1942 -

The Night Phase started out with USS Salmon being chased (unsuccessfully) by the Escorts in a Tanker TF near Tandjoengpinang. It's only too bad that the sub didn't get a shot at a Tanker. But Porpoise did get something almost as good a while later as the US sub found an unescorted xAP near Muntok and whacked it hard with a good torpedo.

Then Daylight came, and things were Very Different from usual. There were no Air Attacks in the Morning, and then no Air Attacks in the Afternoon. I can't remember another turn in which neither side sent out any Air Attacks. There were plenty of Recon flights from both sides, but nothing with �teeth� - no bombing, not sweeps, nothing.

Then the Ground Attack Phase started and the Japanese column that had moved up to my Chinese Troops on the road south of Sian attempted a Deliberate Attack. There were 4 Japanese Infantry Divisions, 1 Engineering Regiment, and 2 Artillery Regiments. The Chinese forces consisted of 7 Corps and 4 HQs. The Chinese troops had been in place long enough to build up 3 Local Forts, but they were a little low on Supplies.

The result was surprising and encouraging for the Chinese � the Japanese got a 1:4 result and took over three times the casualties that the Chinese took. The Chinese had the advantage of Rough Terrain, and there were roughly equal numbers of troops on both sides. These were also some of my better and bigger Chinese Corps. So maybe my opponent will step back a bit and reconsider his plans for Sian.

The situation at Myitkyina was also somewhat surprising as the Japanese besiegers simply attempted an Artillery Attack, which resulted in nothing. I assume from this that my opponent is trying to rest up his Infantry Divisions a bit and reduce their Disruption. But Artillery Attacks use up Supplies, so I'm hoping that I see a few more of those coming my way.

In other news, the KB disappeared again. However, SIGINT, in one of those ever-so-rare moments, actually gave me some interesting information � a Japanese Tank Regiment is being shipped to Cairns. So my opponent is getting more serious about his efforts in Australia. That's fine by me, because I want to see lots and lots of Japanese troops tied up in Oz and India over the next number of months.

In the meanwhile, the first US Infantry Division to head for the Aleutians has been loaded on ships and is sailing to the West from Prince Rupert. More will be going the same way.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 279

Recon Day - 11/7/2010 4:22:53 AM

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June 20, 1942 -

There was sort of a False Peace throughout the Pacific this turn. There was no action during the Night Phase, and no Air Attacks again during the Day Phase. There were plenty of Recon flights by both sides, but even they were hindered by bad weather.

The only event that broke the spell was a Deliberate Attack by the Japanese besiegers of Myitkyina. This time the Attackers got a 1:1 result and reduced the Fortifications down from Level 2 to Level 1. However, the Japanese suffered three times the casualties of the Defenders, so I'm betting that there will be another Artillery Attack next turn as the Japanese Infantry Troops are rested for a day. There is another Japanese LCU on the way to Myitkyina, but it won't get there for several days yet.

Recon, Intel, and snoopy subs let me know that Mandalay still has plenty of Fighters and a number of miscellaneous planes (likely Recon Squadrons), but no Bombers. Instead there are a Lot of Japanese bombers at Rangoon, along with more Fighters than at Mandalay. I wonder if my opponent is intending to send off a Massive Long Range Bombing Attack from Rangoon against Myitkyina. Given the Weather (Horrific as Usual), I'll welcome that because more Japanese Bombers will be lost from Ops than my Fighters could ever shoot down.

Despite the Weather, I am attempting to send off a Bomber Attack of my own next turn with the 4Es and British Semi-Heavy 2Es out of Dacca flying against the Air Fields at Mandalay. This time I made certain to make certain that my bombers were set to hit the Air Fields for certain!

In other news, USS Perch limped into Colombo Harbor with Floatation Damage of 87 this turn. I never expected it to make it to Port, so this is a major bonus for me.

And I also was able to pull a Dutch Base Force fragment out of the Celebes this turn with an SST. Most of the other Fragments that are left in the Philippines or DEI are either �Observer� what-evers that can't be loaded onto an SST, or else they are permanently Restricted and can't be changed to a �loadable� HQ. I'm sending the Dutch BF Fragment back to Australia and will let it rebuild in Sydney until it is big enough to take its place in the ever-growing maze of interlocking bases that I am setting up in Southern Oz.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 280

Hunting Oscars - 11/8/2010 3:39:43 AM

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June 21, 1942 -

There was no Night Action again this turn. I've got subs where I see Japanese TF marks, but my subs don't see the Japanese.

Daylight brought a lot of Recon flights from both sides again, but the only bombing attack came as US and British bombers flew out of Dacca under the clouds and attacked the Airfields at Mandalay again.

The first run consisted of 12 Forts that were met by 12 Oscars. The Forts blasted past the Oscars, shooting down one, damaging another half dozen in the air, and destroying another Oscar on the ground while hitting the Air Base and Runways. Then 9 Wellingtons flew in against another 12 Oscars. Five more Oscars were damaged in the Air and two more destroyed on the Ground and the Air Base and Runways were hit again, but one Wellington Squadron was hit hard by flak.

The end result was a total of 8 Oscars destroyed, but the Allies lost a handful of Wellingtons and a few B-17s. My leading �near-Ace�, R.B Pockstader, with 4 Kills in 4Es, was killed when his B-17E was lost. So my on-and-off Bombing Campaign of Mandalay has been successful in the sense of destroying Oscars and discouraging my opponent from basing too many planes at Mandalay, but my use of Low Altitude Bombing Runs has been moderately costly.

But I'm not discouraged, and next turn the Big British Wellington Squadron that didn't take part in the Air Raids on Mandalay today is being ordered to take a run at the Japanese troops at Myikyina.

The only Japanese Air Action was a Sweep by 8 Oscars over the Chinese troops that are south of Sian. I guess that my opponent figured that I might be setting Chinese Fighters on LR CAP over the Chinese troops, but I'm still resting my Chinese Fighter Squadrons.

The End of the Day was quiet as my opponent refrained from any Ground Attacks. As I suspected, he is having some difficulties keeping his Troops in Myitkyina in Supply. And as he sends more LCUs forward he will find that problem will grow.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 281

Troop Hunting - 11/9/2010 3:15:46 AM

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June 22, 1942 -

The Night Phase was quiet again, except for USS Dolphin being chased unsuccessfully by a couple of SCs near Toyohara.

Daylight brought Oscar Sweeps again over the Chinese troops on the road south from Sian. I presume that my opponent is trying to guess when I'll send Chinese Fighters back into the Air over those troops. But I'm having trouble getting the Chinese H-81s and P-43s repaired, so there isn't anything for the Oscars to find.

My opponent finally realized that I was up to something at Kolaka in the Celebes and send 48 (!) Lilies to hit the small Dutch Straggler unit that has been holed up there since it was kicked out of Kendari months and months ago. The Lilies weren't able to hit the target despite being at Low Altitude.

Then some Sallys, Lilies and Oscars flew in to hit Tennant Creek for the first time in several days. I then set up a potential Surprise for next turn in case my opponent decides to get back to his more usual daily bombing raids of Tennant Creek.

That was It for the Morning, but in the Afternoon the Wellington Squadron from Dacca flew in to hit the Japanese troops at Myikyina. Two Oscars were on High Alt LR CAP, so it took them some time to get down to the Wellingtons which were on a Low Alt Run. The Wellingtons blasted past the Oscars and hit the Japanese 33rd Division reasonably well.

Then the Japanese troops at Myitkyina attempted a Deliberate Attack. They only achieved a 1:3 result (perhaps thanks a bit to the bombing run) although the Forts were reduced from Level 1 to Level 0. The Japanese troops also took twice as many casualties as the British forces.

And Finally, a Japanese Recon Regiment easily kicked the Dutch Stragglers out of Kaloka. I suspect that the Dutch survived the attack because I had dropped off Supplies before taking out the Base Force. Now I've got that Dutch unit marching through the Jungle again towards another unoccupied base. If it makes it, I'll send in more Supplies via Sub again.

For next turn I've ordered the B-17s at Dacca to fly against the troops at Myitkyina while the Wellingtons rest. I expect my opponent to put more Fighters on LR CAP over Myitkyina and the Forts ought to hold up better.

However, I'm not ignoring Mandalay, and I've got a Surprise scheduled to fly in next turn just to see if I can shake up the Japanese Air Force a bit.

BTW � the British troops at Myitkyina rebuilt the Forts back up to Level 1 at the end of the Day, so things aren't getting any easier for the Japanese.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 282

A Grumpy Turn - 11/10/2010 2:41:24 AM

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June 23, 1942 -

The Night Phase went back to being totally quiet again as my subs once more couldn't find any targets.

Daylight brought Japanese bombers hitting the Dutch stragglers outside of Kolaka, but no other Japanese Air Attacks flew. This meant that my �surprise� at Tennant Creek had nothing to �surprise�, and instead I lost three P-38s to Operational damage for nothing. This was the start of a �grumpy� Air Phase for me.

My other �Surprise� - a planned P-38 Hi Alt Sweep of Mandalay � didn't fly, so while I didn't lose any planes there to Ops, I didn't get to fight it out with the Japanese planes at Mandalay either.

And finally, 10 B-17Es flew from Dacca to Myitkyina and were met by 4 Oscars. The Forts flew past the Oscars but they couldn't find their target on the Ground. Since the Forts didn't take any losses or damage, and their Fatigue is still low, I'm sending them right back out again next turn. I'm also sending the Lightnings back to Mandalay and also sending out a number of Hurricane Squadrons to Sweep over various Japanese LCUs in the region, just in case my opponent is using his Fighters to fly LR CAP over other LCUs as well as those at Myitkyina.

The Ground Phase brought an unexpected back-to-back Deliberate Attack by the Japanese troops at Myitkyina. Once again the Japanese got a 1:3 result and reduced the Fortifications from Level 1 to Level 0. This time the casualties on both sides were relatively even, perhaps because the Forts missed their target. But the Brits rebuilt the Fortifications back up to Level 1, so we'll see how things go next turn.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 283

Air Wars Over Burma - 11/11/2010 2:38:20 AM

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June 24, 1942 -

There was no Night Action again this turn. I'm wondering if my sub captains have started to trade for sake with the Japanese Transport ship captains and that's why I see subs in the same hexes as Japanese TFs, but there are no attacks.

Daylight brought out the Allied Far East Air Force, but a lot of the planned action ended up to be shadow boxing. Things started out well as a full British Hurricane Squadron swept Katha and caught a lone Oscar on CAP. The Oscar was shot down and the Brits went home feeling like Heroes.

Next 9 Oscars swept in on Myitkyina and faced 5 Hurricanes that wandered in on Leaking CAP. The Oscars returned the favor for Katha and shot down one Hurricanes with no losses to themselves.

This was then followed up by a big Japanese Air Attack on Myitkyina that had 45 Sallys escorted by 18 Oscars. Only one Hurricane was on Leaking CAP and its pilot wisely ran for cover. The bombers hit the Air Fields but not the British troops, which is fine with me.

The Allies got back into actionas a squadron of Blenheims hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is sitting in the Jungle just across the River from Kalemyo. Strangely enough the Blenheims were escorted by soem Fulmars which chose this time to fly in from their backwater base. I'm only glad that there weren't any Oscars on CAP over that Regiment.

Then the Main Action came as 7 B-17s hit the 33rd Infantry Division in Myitkyina. There was no Japanese CAP, but the bombers had difficulty in the Rain and didn't do a lot of damage to the Japanese Troops. Then the other B-17 squadron flew in, once again with no opposition, but they weren't even able to hit their target.

At this point I was about to give up on my planned Sweeps of Mandalay when 25 P-38s flew in at Max Alt against 14 Oscars. The P-38s shot down 3 Oscars before the rest of the Japanese planes fled the scene. One P-38 was lost. Then a full Hurricane squadron flew in and faced one lone Oscar. In this case the Oscar pilot realized his situation quickly and flew off to safety.

All-in-all, the Day's Action wasn't as good as I had hoped that it might be, but in the end the Japanese lost around 10 Oscars while the Allies only lost a couple of fighters. So I'm planning to try something similar again next turn, but with the Big Bombers heading back to Mandalay, more fighters Sweeping Mandalay, and Blenheims will get the job of hitting the Japanese troops in Myitkyina.

There was one other Air Attack this turn � as luck would have it, the Japanese flew against Tennant Creek this turn, and of course, my P-38s were sitting this one out. But now I've got an Air HQ in Alice Springs, so the P-38s are being repaired more quickly and will try their luck over Tennant Creek again next turn.

BTW � there were no Ground Attacks this turn. I guess that my opponent is resting up his troops at Myitkyina.

Finally, the Upcoming Big News is that the Australian 6th Division ought to dock at Adelaide next turn.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 284

Allied Air on the Attack! - 11/14/2010 1:18:00 AM

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June 25, 1942 -

A couple of Allied sub captains woke up a bit this turn during the Night Phase and actually saw a little action, although it wasn't successful action. First off, HMNS Truant was chased by a PB near Phuket. I only wish that the skipper of the sub had said to himself �Phuket� and at least tried a shot at the little Japanese escort ship. Then USS Seal shot off a bunch of torpedoes against a PB in a Tanker Transport TF near Singapore, but the torpedoes were duds.

Things were different during the Day Phase as Allied pilots decided that this was their day to shine, and so they did. First off the USMC Wildcats flew a Hi Alt Sweep over Mandalay. They were met by 11 Oscars and both sides lost one plane. Then 16 Hurricanes flew in on their Hi Alt Sweep and were met by only 4 Oscars. This Brit Squadron shot down an Oscar for no losses of their own.

Then 16 more Hurricanes Swept in and were met by 7 Oscars and 2 Nicks. The Hurricanes had no trouble with the Japanese planes and shot down another Oscar. The Brits weren't finished because 16 more Hurricanes flew in and met only 2 Oscars and 1 Nick, and the Brits shot down yet another Oscar. By the time that 23 P-38s flew in the sky was empty of Japanese CAP.

But the Allies weren't done with Mandalay because next a dozen B-17s flew in at Low Alt and hit the Airfields with no enemy opposition. An Oscar was destroyed on the Ground and Airbase Supply and the Runways were hit. Next 15 Blenheims flew in, again with no CAP in the air, and bombed the Airfields again, destroying 2 more Oscars on the Ground and hitting the Air Base, Air Supply and Runways again. Finally, 16 Wellingtons flew in and again hit the runways. Two more Oscars were destroyed on the Ground and once again all of the Air Facilities were hit.

And there was more to come. Sixteen Blenheims roared in at Low Alt and hit the Japanese besiegers at Myitkyina. There were two Oscars on LR CAP but the Blenheims blew past them and hit a Japanese Artillery Regiment.

But things weren't just busy in Indo/Burma. Allied planes flew in Australia too. First off 6 Forts and 6 Liberators hit the Airfields at Katherine at low altitude. There were 13 Oscars on CAP but the 4Es blew past them, shooting one down in the Air and damaging three more. And despite the CAP the Bombers found their target, destroying 2 more Oscars on the Ground and also a couple of Sallys. As a bonus the Air Base and Runways were hit nicely.

And in the Australian North East 20 Forts hit the Air Fields at Townsville. There were 8 Zeros on CAP but the 4Es blew past them and hit the Airbase, Air Base Supply and Runways and also destroyed three Zeros.

All-in-all, it was a good day in the Air for the Allies. Over thirty Japanese planes were destroyed, including 22 Oscars, with about half of the Oscars shot down and half destroyed on the Ground. Allied losses were a third of the Japanese losses.

Finally, to end the day the Japanese Troops at Myitkyina attempted another Deliberate attack, and once again they only achieved a 1:3 result. But this time the Fortifications weren't reduced.

BTW � what you need to understand is that I have a dozen Air Bases in the Indo/Burma border region, and three Air HQs spread amongst them. My main Airbases are in the Railine Bases, although I have Squadrons assigned to non-Rail bases too. So I am sending in multiple attacks from multiple bases, and moving back Air Units that get fatigued or lose morale and replacing them with fresh units. I've got my weaker Air Units in back bases to prevent Paradrops from cutting the Railines, and I've got plenty of troops at all of the bases too, just in case some Paratroops get past the CAP.

I've been building up this (Not a)-Defence-in-Depth for six months, so I have lots of options for Air Attacks. And Air Attacks are the Key here. I am not trying to stop the Enemy over my Air Fields � I am trying to destroy the Enemy over his Air Fields. And right now I am attacking one Enemy Air Field from a dozen friendly Air Fields. Sure, my opponent can attempt to send Long Range attacks from Rangoon, but I'll happily let him live with the Weather and Operational Losses. In the meanwhile I am flying most of my attacks from within �Normal� Air Range.

So, the question is � can I discourage my opponent from continuing to attack Myitkyina? Sure, if he continues to send in Units he will likely eventually overwhelm my troops, but for every unit he sends in the Supply Requirement increases, which means that it becomes harder to maintain his Troops at Full Supply and so his attacks are weaker. And if he moves bombers up to Mandalay they will suck up more supply too.

It will be interesting to see what he does. In China my opponent has pulled back from what he calls �Stalingrad� defences. Will he do the same here?

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 285

More Allied Air Attacks on Mandalay - 11/14/2010 10:31:11 PM

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June 26, 1942 -

The Night Phase was quiet except for USS Seawolf being chased by a Japanese DD near Madjene.

Daylight brought back the continuation of the Allied Air Assault on Mandalay. The first Allied Air Squadron in consisted of 15 Hurricanes. They ran into one Oscar which was shot up a bit but appeared to get away.

Then the US P-38squadron showed up and attracted more attention. Japanese CAP consisted of 10 Oscars and 3 Nicks this time, but the P-38 pilots had a good run and scattered the Japanese planes, shooting down one of each type without losing any of their own.

Allied bombers came in next as 28 Blenheims showed up for a Low Alt attack on the Airbase at Mandalay. A couple of Oscars showed up but the Blenheims blasted through them and hit the Airbase hard. Then another 9 Blenheims showed up, blasted past two more Oscars, and again hit the Airbase.

In contrast, the planned Allied Air Attacks on Myitkyina were scrubbed because of bad weather over the base. Never-the-less, it was good to see that 6 Oscars and 2 Nicks were reported destroyed by the end of the day, with no Allied fighters lost.

No Japanese Air Attacks showed up either. The only Japanese Air Attack this turn was some Lilys hitting the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes.

The effect of the Rain-Out of the Allied Air Attacks on Myitkyina showed up during the Ground Phase as the Japanese besiegers of the base attempted another Deliberate Attack and achieved a 1:2 result this time with roughly equal casualties on both sides. So I've re-prioritized my Air Attacks in the Region for the next turn in the hope of getting at least some Bombing Runs in on the Japanese troops at Myitkyina.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 286

The Action Shifts to the Skys over Myitkyina - 11/16/2010 2:42:21 AM

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June 27, 1942 -

Night Action consisted solely of USS Grayling being chased unsuccessfully by an SC near Hachinohe.

Daylight brought out the Japanese China Air Force as Oscars swept the sky over the Chinese Corps which has been sitting in the woods on a road to the west of Wuchow. Eventually, after several sweeps some Japanese bombers flew in too, but they didn't cause much damage. My Chinese fighters are still sitting in various bases, waiting for Parts, so I can't do anything at this time about the Japanese resurgence in the air in China.

In the Indo/Burma Theater the emphasis shifted over to Myitkyina. The first action consisted of 16 P-38s that swept in and caught a couple of Oscars on LR CAP. The Lightnings shot down one Oscar and chased off the other. Then two Oscars swept in and were challenged by a single Hurricane, but neither side could score a kill.

Next came a big Allied bomber raid on Myitkyina. Eleven Hurricanes escorted 30 Blenheims, 9 Wellingtons, 6 Forts and 11 Mitchells. There was no Japanese LR CAP and the bombers whacked the Japanese ground troops; hitting an Artillery Regiment fairly hard. Then 35 more Blenheims and 9 more Wellingtons flew in and whacked the same Japanese Artillery Regiment again. Finally, 6 more Forts flew in and hit the 15th Army HQ unit.

But that didn't end the Air Attacks because in the Afternoon some Lilys and Oscars flew in and hit the Runways at Myitkyina again. Only 1 Hurricane was on CAP and it was chased off before it could threaten the Japanese bombers.

So it appears that my opponent is using some other Air Base for bomber and fighter support instead of Mandalay, but I haven't figured out which one yet. I am going to check out a few other possible spots next turn to see what I might find.

There was no Japanese Assault on Myitkyina this turn. Instead a Japanese Infantry Battalion and a third of a Japanese Infantry Division attempted a Deliberate Attack on the Chinese Corp that had received the Air Attacks earlier. The Air Attacks didn't soften up the Chinese troops very much, because the Japanese only achieved a 1:3 result and suffered three times the casualties as the Chinese.

Otherwise, things are quiet everywhere. My opponent has not attempted to interfere with my build-up in the Gulf of Alaska, he has not probed the South Pacific, he has not moved into northwestern Oz, and he is digging-in in the northeast of Oz, rather than moving forward. This is fine by me and I continue to be able to build up my forces at will.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 287

RE: The Action Shifts to the Skys over Myitkyina - 11/17/2010 9:51:44 PM

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June 28, 1942 �

The @#$%^ AI sent not one but two of my subs into the Japanese minefield at Merak this turn. I check my subs every turn and there were none that were running low on fuel during the previous turn, but every so often the AI �decides� that it is time to send a sub back to Port, and in this case it decided to send Seal and Stingray back to Colombo while they were off of Batavia.

Seal hit a couple of mines and went down like a stone. Stingray survived the mine that it hit but then as it started on the long journey back to Colombo a couple of SCs from Oosthaven came over and hit it with some depth charges. So now Stingray is a cripple and unlikely to get back.

Elsewhere, Grayling missed a PB near Ominato and Porpoise missed another PB near Muntok, so all-in-all it was a lousy night phase for the US Silent Service.

Daylight brought out the Allied Air Attacks in Burma again. First off various Hurricane Squadrons swept Mandalay. The first squadron in ran into a Tojo, but the 14 Hurricanes drove it off. Then another squadron of Hurricanes swept in to meet 3 Tojos. This time one of the 14 Hurricane pilots shot down one of the Tojos before they drove the rest off. One final full Hurricane squadron flew in but there were no more Tojos or anything else on LR CAP over Mandalay. (My opponent has pulled his aircraft out of Mandalay because of the heavy damage to the airfields and my regular bombing runs.)

Next it was Myitkyina�s turn as 43 Hurricane IIs and 16 Hurricane Is flew in against 3 Oscars on LR CAP. The Hurricane Is flew away but the Hurricane II pilots shot down an Oscar and drove off the rest. Next, in a somewhat surprising move, 6 Oscars swept in and met 7 Hurricane Is and 13 Hurricane IIs on LR CAP. The Oscars were able to shoot down one Hurricane I.

Finally, the Allied bombers started to fly in to hit the Japanese troops at Myitkyina. First 7 Blenheim IVs flew in but they missed their target. Then 22 Wellingtons and 16 more Blenheims flew in and hit the 9th Japanese Infantry Division. Finally, 12 Mitchells flew in and hit the 15th Army HQ. For some reason the B-17s didn�t fly this turn.

There were two other Japanese Air Attacks. Some Oscars swept over the Chinese troops that are west of Wuchow, but no bombers showed up. Then some Lilys hit the Dutch stragglers in the Celebes again.

I was surprised when the Japanese troops at Myitkyina attempted a Shock Attack this turn. There are now 2 Infantry Divisions, 3 Artillery Regiments, 1 Cavalry Regiment, and 1 Armored Regiment in the Japanese stack. This time the Japanese achieved a 1:1 result and reduced the Fortifications back to Zero, but they took 3 times the casualties of the British defenders.

I�m hoping that the Japanese troops will be disrupted enough for my opponent to sit them out again for another couple of turns. In the meanwhile I�ve set even more Air Attacks for Myitkyina for next turn in the hopes of wearing down the Japanese forces and also using up their supplies.

In addition I�ve started to use Air Transport to fly supplies to nearby bases in the hope of improving the trickle that is reaching Myitkyina. I don�t want try to fly Supplies directly to Myitkyina because my opponent keeps on having Oscars on LR CAP there.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 288

One of Those Days - 11/18/2010 9:12:56 PM

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June 29, 1942 �

This was One of Those Turns�

The Night Phase started out with Japanese sub I-30 hitting xAK Panaman with two torpedoes off of Dutch Harbor. One of the Allied Escorts hit the Japanese sub with a depth charge, but it was too late and the freighter sank. Fortunately, this ship was empty and on a return trip, but I violated one of my normal procedures and allowed a small TF to head back to the West Coast instead of combining several small TFs into one larger TF that would be less likely to be attacked and better able to protect itself.

Next USS Trout spotted an SC near Kochi but the sub�s skipper decided not to fire a torpedo at the small target. Then Dutch sub KXIII fired four torpedoes at a CM in a big Transport TF near Phuket, but the torpedoes were duds. I think that the Japanese TF is heading back from Rangoon empty, but if it isn�t that means that my opponent is shipping more troops to Burma.

Daylight brought an Air Attack on Tennant Creek by some Sallys and Oscars. Of course, this was a turn in which I had the P-38s in Alice Springs resting. (�sigh�) Some Lilys also hit the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes.

Then I watched lots and lots and more and more Japanese Recon flights fly all over Eastern Australia, The Indo/Burma border bases, and China.

But what I didn�t see were any Allied planes flying from the dozen or so bases in India where I had set missions. (�Huh???...)

Yep � the Japanese besiegers of Myitkyina were left totally alone. No Bombers flew in, no Fighters flew CAP, nothing got Swept in the region � the skies were clear. I didn�t even see my Recon flights flying!

Sigh� Oh well, I guess that I used up my Weather Luck over the past few turns and it was time for Impossibly Bad Luck. (None of the various and sundry reports mentioned why nothing flew.)

So this was a break for my opponent, and the Japanese besiegers were able to do yet another Shock Attack at Myitkyina without having been disrupted by Air Attacks. But the Japanese still only achieved a 1:2 result and there were equal casualties on both sides.

So I reorganized my Air Strike Forces and I�m hoping for better luck next turn.

I also caused myself some needless problems this turn because although I had moved up Air Transport units to fly Supplies into Wazrup, I had left the Air Transport Squadrons on �100% Training�, so of course, not Supplies flew. Myitkyina is on the �wrong side� of the Supply Chain since there is no road to India, so it is a real pain to get supplies into the base. I have been shipping Supplies and Fuel into India like crazy, but it takes time for them to get through and reach the �Supply Hindered� bases like Myitkyina.

So unless I get some Weather Luck I don�t expect the Brave Boys at Myitkyina to hold out much longer. Oh well, they�ve done their jobs well and the next step for the Japanese towards India will be even harder for them to achieve.

That aside, since it is the End of June I thought that I would give a little update on what is going in the Bigger Picture here in this game of �Shipyard Tycoon�. First off, a large number of Allied LCUs showed up this turn. It was almost an �Embarrassment of Riches�, except for the fact that the majority of units were Soviet Artillery Units, which I just set to �Rest�.

There were some useful LCUs in the mix. For example, the 88th Indian Brigade arrived at Madras, which allowed me to rebuild the 14th Indian Division. I�m now sending the 14th Indian Division to Calcutta to bolster the overall defenses in the Bengal region.

I also got a USMC Tank Battalion at Cape Town which I will send to Australia. I have been directing US Armor and Anti-Armor units to Cape Town for shipment to Australia for some time now because there aren�t really any other useful places for them, and I will want a strong Armored presence in Australia in 1943.

The 4th British Brigade also arrived at Aden. I will send it to India and eventually reform the British 2nd Division. I may use the British 2nd Division to relieve the remaining Australian Division in India if the Japanese don�t attempt a more serious invasion of India.

Now that the Australian 6th Division is safely in Adelaide I am sending the Australian 4th Division over to Perth in order to start to make the defenses in Western Australia more serious. Right now I only have holding forces there in the event of a �nuisance� invasion. But I intend to build up Western Australia for the rest of the year in anticipation of a move into Northwestern Oz in Force in the Spring of 1943 in order to start to put pressure on the Timor and the DEI.

I also got an interesting �1942 AA� Convoy at the US East Coast. I presume that it will allow the upgrade of existing AA guns in existing units. Two British Convoys also arrived at Cape Town that will be offloading more Tanks as well as Supplies and Fuel. More Tanks is always a Good Thing � I want to be rid of those pseudo-tanks in my Australian, Kiwi and Indian units as soon as possible.

And of course, not everything is Rosy with the Reinforcements; I received an Indian Recce unit in Madras � the 267th Armored Brigade � which came in severely under-equipped and with an Experience of 45 and Morale of 5. Oh well, at least it isn�t as bad as the Indian unit that came in early in the War that had Experience 5 and Morale 5. Never-the-less, the 267th is going to be sitting in a back water base set to �Rest� for quite some time.

BTW � the first �Salvaged� Allied LCU arrived in Perth this turn as the Celebes Base Force unloaded off of an SST. There are only a couple of Support Troops left in the unit, but I am sending it to Sydney to rebuild. Eventually it will fill in another gap in my Australian defenses.

I am also hoping to rescue an RN BF fragment from Bengalis in the next turn or two. That poor unit has been driven all over Sumatra after originally being flown out of Borneo. If I can grab it I will send it to Madras for rebuilding in India.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 289

Bombing in the Rain - 11/20/2010 3:49:17 AM

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June 30, 1942 -

The Allied sub efforts were rewarded this turn for a change. The Night Phase started out well as RN sub Truant hit an APD in that big Japanese Troop Transport TF near Phuket. The APD likely went down and Truant got away from the Escorts.

Next USS Pompano was chased by a couple of SCs near Aogashima and USS Trout was chased by a couple more SCs near Nagoya, but both subs got away unscathed.

Finally, Dutch sub O19 hit an xAK with two torps off of Singkawang, and that ship likely went down too while O19 got away cleanly.

Daylight was Wet but a number of Air Attacks got off anyway. First off, Lilys hit the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes again. Those troops are likely to be wiped out before they can reach safety.

Then the action at the Indo/Burma border started. The first attack was promising as 29 Blenheims and 12 B-25s, accompanied by 20 Hurricanes, flew in and attacked the 9th Infantry Division. The Hurricanes drove off the 2 Oscars on CAP and shot one down, so the Bombers got through to their target, but they only caused light damage in the Bad Weather and Rough Terrain.

Then 9 Wellingtons, 12 more Blenheims and 11 Hurricanes flew in. This time there was no Japanese CAP but the Allied planes missed their target in the Rain anyway.

The Afternoon brought out a Hi Alt Sweep by 8 Oscars that caught 2 Hurricanes from Wazrup straying over Myitkyina. One of the Hurricanes was shot down. This was followed by a bombing run by 12 Lilys and 17 Oscars. Allied CAP over Myitkyina consisted of 6 Hurricanes, but the British pilots couldn't get past the Japanese fighters and two Hurricanes were shot down without the loss of any Japanese planes. In contrast to the Allied Air Attacks, the Japanese bombers found their target and hit the Airfields at Myitkyina again, preventing the Allied forces from rebuilding the Forts.

Finally, 10 more Wellingtons, 9 Blenheims and 8 Hurricanes flew in and ran into 2 Oscars. The Hurricane pilots on Escort were sitting ducks for the Oscars and another Hurricane was shot down. Once more, the Allied Bombers missed their targets.

In a disappointing, but somewhat expected manner, the B-17s in Dacca didn't fly again, even though the British 2Es at Dacca did fly.

So I'm remixing my Orders for next turn and sending the 4Es against Mandalay in the hopes of getting them off of the ground. I've also moved a number of my Hurricane Squadrons around because the Front Line pilots are getting badly fatigued.

In other news, USS Stingray sank from its damages off the Western Coast of Java. Score that one for the AI.

And the best part of the Day was that there were no Japanese Ground Attacks. Another Japanese LCU is on its way to Myitkyina, but this is now more a War of Supply than simple brute force. The one good thing is that my Transport planes started to move supplies to Wazrup and so are helping the situation in Myitkyina too.

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Post #: 290

July 42 - Intel and Ship Losses - 11/20/2010 9:05:45 PM

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Here is the Intel screen for July 1, 1942, along with the ship loss screen for the past month. The points ratio is still just under 1.5 to 1.

June wasn't a good month for US subs.

Attachment (1)

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July 42 - Air Losses & Aircraft Pools - 11/20/2010 9:08:20 PM

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Here are the total Air Losses to-date. Most of my P-40E losses came before I realized that they couldn't stand up to any sort of Sweep.

The Aircraft Pools are minus the Soviet, Dutch and Philippine planes, since they don't matter at this point.

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July 42 - Indo-Burma - 11/20/2010 9:09:50 PM

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Here's the current situation at the Indian-Burmese border area.

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< Message edited by ADB123 -- 11/20/2010 9:10:40 PM >

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July 42 - China - 11/20/2010 9:10:44 PM

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Here's the situation in China.

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July 42 - Northeastern Australia - 11/20/2010 9:11:51 PM

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Here's the situation in Northeastern Australia.

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July 42 - Top Secret! - 11/20/2010 9:12:49 PM

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Here's the situation in my favorite backwater...

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Bye-Bye Myitkyina - 11/21/2010 2:31:23 AM

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July 1, 1942 -

Lately my opponent has sent out more subs than usual around my bases so I decided to do something about it in southeastern Australia. Last turn I put together a Surface Combat TF consisting of 5 British DDs and 5 Dutch DDs, for a total ASW capability of 54. Sure, a Surface Combat TF isn't supposed to be as effective as an ASW TF, but 10 DDs are better than 4, regardless of the ASW setting or not.

This night phase my plan worked as the Hunter/Killer TF found sub I-170 off of the southeastern most point of Australia. The Allied DDs attacked the sub and scored a couple of hits before the sub's skipper was able to sneak off. But the sub commander must have been very aggressive because he came back to attempt an attack on the same DD TF. The Japanese torpedoes missed a Dutch DD at which point the Allied DDs came back to hit the Japanese sub another six times, before most of the DDs ran out of Depth Charges. So all-in-all it was a satisfyingly successful encounter for me.

Elsewhere during the Night, USS Tautog hit an xAK with a couple of dud torpedoes off of Utsonomiya while USS Porpoise hit a PB with a couple more dud torpedoes off near Groot Natoena. The two US subs got away without being attacked.

Daylight brought out the Lilys to attack the Dutch stragglers in the Celebes again, but this time the Japanese bombers missed their target.

The Air Action then moved to Oz where a dozen Forts hit the Airfields at Katherine. There were 9 Oscars on CAP and the B-17Es blasted past them. Five Oscars were damaged and another was destroyed on the Ground.

Then 22 more Forts hit the Airfields at Townsville. Ten Zeros met the 4Es, but the Bombers blasted past them, destroying one Zero in the Air and one on the Ground.

Next things started out in a promising manner in Burma as a 16 plane Hurricane squadron Swept in over Mandalay. Two Oscars were up on CAP and the Brits shot down one of them. Then 19 P-38s flew in on Hi Alt CAP, but this time 15 Oscars and 2 Tojos met them. One Oscar was shot down as was one P-38.

Then, as the Afternoon came, along came that Dreaded Message: Mandalay Attacks were Cancelled because of Bad Weather. But it wasn't just the Mandalay Bomber Attacks that were cancelled; none of the planned attacks on Myitkyina flew either.

So wouldn't you know it, with perfect timing my opponent picked this turn to have his besieging troops at Myitkyina attempt another Shock Attack, and this time the un-bombed Japanese troops were able to finally achieve a 2:1 result and kick the British defenders out of the no-longer fortified base. So the Battle for Myitkyina was finally over.

The defeated troops retreated to Wazrup, and I've decided to leave them there for now. I reorganized my Air Units in the region and moved most of the British bombers back to bases along the Bay of Bengal and back to Naval Search. I'm leaving the B-17s in Dacca to continue harassment raids of the Japanese bases, but I'm going to wait to see what my opponent does next before I resume a serious Air Campaign in the Region.

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Post #: 297

Catching Some Breath - 11/22/2010 1:25:40 AM

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July 2, 1942 -

This was a quiet turn, particularly in comparison with the drama of the loss of Myitkyina last turn.

The Night Phase was without action. The Day Phase started out with Lilys hitting the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes again. Then there was a lot of �nothing�, other than Recon flights from both sides. That was as I planned for the Allies, but then I got a surprise as a B-25 Squadron flew in to hit the 15th Army HQ at Myitkyina.

I hadn't planned that, but I had also forgotten to stand down that Bomber Squadron. There were no Japanese Fighters on CAP over Myitkyina so the Mitchells only had to deal with flak.

Then at the end of the Day, USS Porpoise put a torpedo into an xAK off of Singkawang. Despite the daylight and the shallow waters the Porpoise got away undetected.

So I spent more time redistributing my Air Units around the Bay of Bengal. I've left the two B-17E Squadrons in Dacca, but I sat them down again because of Heavy Thunderstorms all around the Region. Recon told me that Japanese Fighters are back at Mandalay, so I'll resume the Air Attacks on Mandalay soon enough.

Otherwise, things were going as planned. China has been quiet for a while, and I hope that it stays that way too. I don't have enough Supply there to mount any decent defence of any of my remaining perimeter bases.

Things are also quiet in Oz as my opponent continues to build up his defences. It appears that he has two Infantry Divisions in Townsville, and assorted smaller LCUs in the other bases that he has captured. I am continuing to build up my own network of bases in preparation for Offensive Action in 1943.

And my forces continue to develop the Aleutians. I've stopped sending units to the bases until the current units settle in and build up the bases a bit. If my opponent continues to leave me in peace I ought to have a very strong series of mutually-supporting bases there before Winter comes along again.

Other than that I am continuing to upgrade my Ships and am slowly replacing obsolete planes with up-to-date planes, so things are looking fairly sound right now.

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Post #: 298

Concrete Wars - 11/23/2010 2:52:06 AM

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July 3, 1942 -

This was another quiet turn. It appears that we are reaching a �concrete wars� stage in which we both build up fortifications in lieu of any offensives.

The Night Phase brought more Allied sub action as I continue to crowd the waters around Singapore with Allied subs. Dutch sub O19 took a shot at an E-class ship near Singapore but missed. The E-class ships in the little ASW TF couldn't find the Dutch sub afterwards.

Then USS Permit hit an already burning xAK off of Lingga. That freighter ought to go down this time.

Daylight brought two Lily attacks on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes. It looks like my opponent will wipe out the Dutch LCU before the unit can reach another empty base and some sub-borne supplies.

There were no other Air Attacks from either side this turn. Only Recon flights flew back and forth across the Fronts.

My opponent is being a bit more adventurous with his submarines. There appear to be more Japanese subs off of the Aleutians and off of Colombo now. So I'm increasing the Air ASW in both regions in order to discourage this effort.

And USS Nautilis successfully pulled out the remnants of the Base Force that was kicked all over Sumatra and finally reached Bengalis. It turned out to be a Dutch Base Force, not an RN Base Force. I guess that the RN BF that had been retreating in Sumatra finally dissapated in the jungle. Never-the-less I am more than happy to ship that Dutch fragment to Madras and let it rebuild in India.

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Post #: 299

Forts vs Oscars Again - 11/25/2010 2:21:17 AM

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July 4, 1942 -

Well, there weren't any big fireworks for the Americans this turn, but it wasn't a bad turn overall for the Allies.

The Night Phase saw USS Pompano spot an SC near Hamamatsu, but the sub's skipper decided not to fire. The USS Trout then shot a couple of duds at an xAK near Kenoya.

Japanese troops finally arrived at Puerto Princesa where there is nothing left of the Philippine Base Force but two Observation Towers. The Japanese invaders lost a couple of squads to the usual Landing Difficulties, but that won't stop them from taking the otherwise empty base next turn.

Daylight brought the usual Pacific-Wide Bad Weather. Even the Allied Recon Mission over Mandalay was washed-out.

Lilys hit the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes again, and Japanese Fighters and Bombers hit the Chinese Corps that is sitting in the woods due west of Wuchow.

Then a Rare Occurance Happened as the weather miraculously cleared over the Central Australian Desert and the two B-17E squadrons at Alice Springs actually took off and raided Katherine. There were 4 Oscars on CAP but the 12 Forts blasted past them and hit the Airfields nicely. In the end 1 Oscar was destroyed on the Ground and four more Oscars were damaged.

Finally, there came an indication that the Chinese Forces aren't the only ones who are having a tough time with Supplies in China. The Japanese column that has been besieging the Chinese Corp that is west of Wuchow attempted a Deliberate Attack. There are an Infantry Battalion, and Armored Regiment, and a third of an Infantry Division in the Japanese column. Together they achieved a 1:7 result and ended up taking 5 times the Chinese casualties, including 30 Infantry Squads destroyed.

The Chinese Corps has the advantage of being in Rough Terrain, has 4 local Forts, is In Supply, has reasonable Experience and Morale, and has a reasonable Commander. The Japanese forces suffered from a Negative Terrain Effect, a Negative Supply Effect, and a Negative Commander Effect. Hopefully this discourges my opponent a bit more in China.

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Post #: 300