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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> Terraforming Mars

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Terraforming Mars - 2/24/2011 12:49:35 AM

ADB123

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September 22, 1942 �

The Night Phase saw a couple of US DDs chase Japanese sub I-174 just south of Christmas Island (Pacific). The DDs got a couple of minor hits on the Japanese sub, but the sub did the real damage when it spotted the TF that the DDs were escorting � my Monster Transport TF.

Yes, almost all of the ships in the TF showed up - more than enough to catch my opponent�s attention in a big way. That has to look like an Invasion TF to my opponent. Oh well, I�ll keep the TF on its way, but I�ll also keep an eye out on what the KB does.

And speaking of the KB � it moved far away from the eastern Australian coast and is now in the middle of the Coral Sea, still due east of Bowen. I wonder why my opponent sent it out there � is he worried that a luckier sub will target the TF? In any event, even with the KB farther away I am not sending any TFs to try to interfere with the other Japanese TF at Cairns; I�ll just keep an eye on it and send more subs towards it.

Daylight brought Allied Air Attacks for a change as that Japanese Infantry Regiment on the Burma Road received much more attention that it deserved. First off Chinese Hudsons flew a bombing run over the unit, but the Chinese pilots, who have spent most of their time transporting supplies, missed the Japanese troops.

Then it was the turn of the US B-17s, and these battle-experienced squadrons did the job correctly. First off 26 B-17Es flew in and hit the Japanese troops, and then later on 16 B-17Fs flew in and hit the Japanese troops even harder.

There was no Japanese CAP, but I bet that my opponent will put a few of his local Fighters on LR CAP over that Infantry Unit next turn. In any event, I am resting my bombers again and will wait for more good opportunities.

In other news, Japanese troops landed at Singkep this turn. This is too bad because it will eliminate another of my good submarine way-stations. I wonder if any Japanese ships will hit the mines that my subs laid there?

And in more Australian-related news, the Airfields at Alice Springs maxed out at Level 7 this turn. That will make running 4Es out of there even easier.

And finally, with the KB busy in the South Seas I�ve got a massive fresh wave of Engineering troops on their way to join their colleagues who are already in the Aleutians. Pretty soon there will be enough US Engineers in the Region to Terraform Mars.

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Post #: 391

Slipping Away into the Night - 2/24/2011 10:27:05 PM

ADB123

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September 23, 1942 �

One of the things about the Combat Replay is how one can see enemy TFs and one�s own subs do a �dance� around the Japanese Home Islands during much of the Night Phase, but for the most part the TFs and subs don�t seem to find each other. And I�m also surprised how my subs that are given orders to sail into Cairns can�t find the big Japanese Transport TF that is there either. The submarine routines in the Game are quite odd at times.

In addition to the �Ghost Dance� of TFs and subs, the Night Phase saw more Japanese troops landing at Singkep. Those troops eventually captured the empty base later on during the turn. Afterwards, the sub-laid mines that I had put there showed up, but I don�t think that any Japanese ships hit any of those mines.

The most interesting part of the Night Phase was also the only Action, when USS Pike took on an unescorted xAK on the Surface near Nagasaki. Pike started out by firing some dud torpedoes, but then switched to the sub�s Deck Guns which didn�t miss. But the Japanese Freighter fired back and one shell penetrated the sub�s hull and caused some serious damage. Never-the-less, the skipper of the Pike kept on fighting and even eventually fired off two �live� torpedoes to finish off the Freighter after also hitting it with 5 shells from the sub�s 4� gun. Now the Pike has to limp the long way home for repairs.

So Daylight only brought Recon Flights. My increased Recon over Northeastern Oz shows that Japanese troops continue to pull out, apparently only leaving Base Forces behind. So Bowen and Charter Towers are empty and Townsville only has a couple of small Japanese units in it.

I�m not going to challenge the Japanese withdrawal, even though the KB is now further away to the East. I�m also not going to change my current Time Table for Advancing in the Northeast. My plan is a good one, and it has already caused my opponent to withdraw without a major fight, and I�m quite happy with that. The Japanese Australian Adventure cost me almost nothing, and kept a large number of Japanese Forces tied up far away from more important regions for around six months, and that was well worth the bother to me.

Speaking of the KB, it is now around 5 hexes northwest of Espirito Santo and is still heading eastwards. I�ve increased my Naval Search in the South Pacific, and I don�t have any shipping in the pathway of the KB, so I�m happy to just monitor its movements.

And another Milestone was reached today as the USMC 3rd Division was rebuilt and is in position. That now makes three full USMC Divisions built up and ready for eventual action.

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Post #: 392

Another Recon Day - 2/25/2011 1:37:25 AM

ADB123

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September 24, 1942 -

The Night Phase saw USS Silversides spot a lone Japanese SC near Tsu, but the skipper of the sub decided not to bother firing a torpedo at the little ship. The SC, in turn, couldn't find Silversides, so things pretty much evened out.

Daylight brought another Recon Day, but Bad Weather hindered a number of the Allied Recon Flights. Never-the-less, the INTEL my planes brought back showed that my opponent is not only stripping Townsville bare, but also Cairns and Cookstown. At least one and maybe two Japanese TFs are sitting at Cookstown. I'm guessing that one is pulling out troops and the other is a Surface Combat TF that is sitting there in case I send a PT TF northwards.

Dutch sub KXIV finally attempted to sneak in on the big Japanese Transport TF that is pulling troops out of Cairns, but the sub was caught by a couple of Japanese DDs and hammered hard. So it's back to Sydney for KXIV and another Allied sub will try its luck next turn.

The KB went �Stealth� this turn � likely it moved northwards out of range of my Naval Search planes. I wouldn't be surprised to find it nosing around the Tahiti region in a few days. If I were running that Japanese side that's what I would do.

So northeastern Oz is emptying out quickly. There are no Japanese troops at Bowen or Charter Towers, and only Support units at Townsville and Cookstown. I'm starting to get some Australian Divisions ready to move up there and take over the empty bases, but I'm going to continue to build up my Base-Infrastructure so that my move is supported all of the way. There is no use in running into a Trap at this late stage when everything ought to fall into my hands if I am patient.

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Post #: 393

SCs on the Attack - 2/25/2011 2:59:43 AM

ADB123

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September 25, 1942 �

Today was an unusual day for this pbem � my opponent and I actually got in three turns!
It was just as well, because action continues to be scarce while the two of us manoeuvre around.

Night Time saw USS Whale chased unsuccessfully by a couple of SCs near Wakkanai, and later on during the Day USS Tautog was chased unsuccessfully by another SC near Hamamatsu.

There were lots of Recon Flights again during the Daylight Hours, and the Japanese Transport TF vanished from Cairns. INTEL reports based upon Radio interceptions suggested that the TF had taken off towards the northwest, which means towards the DEI. That�s probably a smart move on the part of my opponent. It still appeared that a Japanese Surface Combat TF was hanging around Cookstown, and there are still plenty of Fighters at Townsville and Cairns, but for the most part the Japanese Occupation of North-eastern Oz has been abandoned other than �place keeper� forces.

So I gave orders for a number of back-water units to prepare to move forward towards what will become the new Front in a couple of weeks. It looks as if I will be on the Offensive in Oz three months sooner than I expected.

BTW � in a very odd piece of INTEL, my SIGINT told me that a piece of the Japanese 4th Division was on board an AMC �headed� towards Cairns. My bet is that this report was actually talking about the AMC that was loading troops in Cairns, and has now left for Points Unknown.

BTW II � The KB stayed out of sight.

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Post #: 394

A Busy But Unproductive Night - 2/25/2011 9:11:05 PM

ADB123

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September 26, 1942 �

This was a busy but fundamentally unproductive Night Phase for the Allied sub fleet. First off the skipper of USS Tautog finally got tired of holding back fire on SCs and actually did fire off four torpedoes at an SC near Hamamatsu. As luck would have it, the SC was hit by a Dud. Tautog was able to escape safely.

Next USS Perch was spotted by an SC near Hachijo-Jima, but escaped safely from the Enemy ship.

Finally, USS Grunion fired a half dozen torpedoes at an xAK near Fukue-Jima, but the torpedo that hit the Freighter was a Dud. Grunion was chased away by the Transport TF�s PB escort, but the sub�s skipper came back a little while later to try his luck again. This time the PB spotted the sub before the sub could fire any torpedoes and this time the Grunion�s skipper stayed away when he escaped.

And that was it for Action during the turn as the only Air Missions were Recon Flights again. Recon is telling me some very interesting stories. First of all, it appears that the last of the Japanese Troops at Townsville are pulling out to the North. I�m now caught a little flat-footed as it will still be some time before my units get into position to start to move forward and take the abandoned bases. One thing I don�t want to do is to send out Armoured units without Air Cover.

But the way, SIGINT told me that at least one part of the Japanese 4th Division is on its way to Rabaul. That�s quite good news if it is true because it means that my opponent is intending to keep plenty of troops in the South Pacific. I hope that they enjoy the Malaria, and that my opponent enjoys sending Supply TFs a Long, Long Ways to support those Troops.

Equally interesting � Recon has told me that there are at least two Japanese LCUs in the Road/Jungle hex that is across the river to the East of Akyab, although there aren�t any Japanese troops in Akyab. I wonder why he is keeping the troops in the jungle. Maybe he doesn�t want me to do Naval Bombardments on them, or else maybe he is hoping to surprise me if I were to try to capture Akyab with a Paratroop drop.

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Post #: 395

Tojos into the Fray - 2/26/2011 2:47:42 AM

ADB123

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September 27, 1942 �

This turn the Night Phase gave USS Thresher a turn to try its luck near Fukue-Jima. Thresher spotted an SC, fired some torpedoes, missed, was chased, and got away. That little Deep Water area just to the West of Nagasaki is getting a little too �hot� for my subs, so I�ll probably keep them away from it for a while.

My opponent isn�t keeping his subs away from Christmas Island. Right after the Thresher�s escapade IJN I-20 fired a half dozen torpedoes at a DE but missed. The two DEs in the TF then proceeded to hound the Japanese sub and actually hit it with one depth charge, so I-20 ought to be going back to Port for Repairs. This was only a small TF with two DEs escorting an empty AO back to Pearl, so my opponent no longer knows where my Monster Transport TF is headed.

Daylight brought my 4Es out from India again to hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is sitting just inside the Chinese border on the Burma Road. This time there was some Japanese CAP in the Air. The first round consisted of 12 B-24s and 16 B-17s against 3 Oscars and something new � 3 Tojos. The Tojos didn�t fare much better than the Oscars usually do and all of the Japanese fighters were roughed up by the Defensive guns on the 4Es. As usual, the US Bombers blew past the Japanese fighters and hit their target hard.

Then 16 more B-17s flew in and this time had to face only 1 Tojo. Again, the Tojo had the rough end of the deal and the 4Es got through to hit the Japanese Infantry again. At the end of the day a Tojo was lost due to 4E machine gun fire and the US Bombers were pretty much unscathed. As usual I�m resting my bombers for a few days before I use them again. What I don�t intend to do is spend them on the Fighter and Flak Traps that my opponent has set up at places like Mandalay and Magwe.

Instead, I may use them on the two Japanese Infantry regiments that are sitting in the bush inland from Akyab. I�ll Recon the LCUs for a few more days first, just to make certain that the target is well defined before the 4Es fly in.

Otherwise, things are still going along well. The Japanese withdrawal in north-eastern Oz continues unabated. I suspect that my opponent is planning a bit of a Fighter Trap out of Cairns, but I�m not in a hurry to move into that, so he can keep his fighters there as long as he wants � eventually he be facing Australian Ground Troops there.

And SIGINT told me that there is an unusually heavy amount of Radio Traffic at Kwajalein right now. I wonder if the KB stopped there for some fuel?

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Post #: 396

Urban Renewal - 2/26/2011 5:00:00 AM

ADB123

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September 28, 1942 �

The Night Phase saw the Automatic Occupation of Lingga by the Japanese. This is a pain because now I no longer have any Allied bases to use as safe Waypoints near Singapore.

The Skipper of USS Perch had a Really Bad Night. Perch spotted a Japanese TK off of Chiba and fired off 4 torpedoes at the Tanker. The torpedo that hit was a Dud. Perch easily got away from the Tanker�s Escort, and came back quickly to try again. But once more, the torpedo that hit the Tanker was a Dud. Fortunately for the sub, the skipper of the Japanese ASW ship was also a �dud� and so Perch got away safely again. But now the sub is on the long voyage home for replenishment.

Daylight brought out the Australian-based 4Es in one massed attack on the Airfields at Townsville. No Japanese Fighters attempted to intercept, and there was no Flak, so the Bombing run by the 42 B-17Es was as Perfect as Practice and the US Bombers hit the Target heavily. The US Bombers didn�t even suffer any Ops damage.

Unfortunately, it now looks as if Townsville has been totally abandoned by the Japanese, so the Allied Attack only created Damage that will need to be repaired once Australian troops march in and re-capture the base. Oh well, such is War.

And at the end of the Day, a small Japanese LCU appeared out of nowhere and captured the empty base of Gorontalo. So it looks as if my opponent is determined to capture all of the remaining Allied bases in the Philippines and DEI that he can get to.

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Post #: 397

Little Birdies - 2/27/2011 1:26:27 AM

ADB123

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September 29, 1942 �

There was no action during the Night Phase and no action during the Day Phase again this turn, so it looked as if this was going to be yet another day of moving forces and waiting to be in position. But a little birdie turned out to be telling the truth for a change, so things could start to liven up soon.

A lot of Allied LCUs showed up this turn. And one Australian Engineering unit, the 2nd RAAF M/W Squadron Engineering unit suddenly showed up two hexes northeast of Oodnadatta. I have no idea how they got there and I don�t think that they �fell off� of a rail line, but it will take a bit of time to move them back to Oodnadatta so that I can send them to where I want them. I�m never happy when the Game makes these sorts of irritating errors.

Then I went through all of my usual routines during a turn. Things were going fine until I was moving past Canton Island and my eye was caught by the totally unexpected sight of two Japanese TF symbols that were SSW of Baker Island and WNW of Canton Island.

I then remembered getting a Warning from a Naval Search plane about Japanese ships in that region, but there are so many false alarms every turn that I don�t pay attention to the so-called �sightings� any more.

Well, this isn�t �so called� any more, and when I moved my cursor over the TF marks I got a report of some Fighters, Bombers and Miscellaneous planes. So there is some sort of CV in one of the TFs.

Now, you may have guessed if you have followed my AAR closely, that my Grand Strategy in the South Pacific has been: Bluff, bluff, and bluff some more. The only place that I moved any troops was to Tahiti. When the Civilian Engineers went home from Canton Island I replaced them with an AVD and a few Catalinas.

So I flew out the Cats from Canton Island, set the AVD to �Surface Combat� mode, and set it to sail away at Full Speed. I then re-routed my other TFs that were converging on the Region, and also diverted the US subs that were passing by to head in the general direction of the Japanese TFs and where they appear to be going.

So what do we have there � a Scout TF, and Invasion TF, or part of the KB out on a Fishing Trip? This turn the Japanese TFs were sailing under �Stealth� rules so there weren�t any Japanese Search or Recon planes out, but I bet that changes next turn.

So the next turn ought to be interesting. Unfortunately, my opponent probably won�t be able to get out the next turn until Monday.

< Message edited by ADB123 -- 2/27/2011 1:32:19 AM >

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Post #: 398

Ineptitude Squared - 2/28/2011 1:35:39 AM

ADB123

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September 30, 1942 �

The Night Phase saw USS Finback send off 6 torpedoes against an SC near Sapporo. The torpedo that hit was a dud. The SC subsequently couldn�t find Finback. So the Unreliable met the Inept, and the result was Irrelevant.

Otherwise there was no Action during the turn. Even Air Recon was subdued. For some reason Japanese sub activity is very low right now. I wonder if the Japanese subs are being upgraded, or if my opponent simply keeping his subs where I don�t have Task Forces.

The Japanese TFs that were near Canton and Baker Islands last turn disappeared from sight, but that isn�t too surprising because I pulled out my Catalinas from Canton Island so there isn�t much in that area to spot the TFs other than subs. And since the Japanese TFs are operating in No Search mode, there is little chance that my subs will find them either.

The fact that neither Baker Island nor Canton Island was invaded this turn suggests strongly that the Japanese TFs are Raiders. Well, they can Raid to their Heart�s Content because there isn�t anything to raid in that region right now anyway. If they move further and end up in my Search Zones again I�ll simply move the few TFs I have around there even further away.

BTW � I�m guessing that the Japanese TFs are a CV/CS TF and a Replenishment TF.

SIGINT brought some interesting news this turn � a Japanese Artillery unit is Preparing for an attack on Imphal. That will be interesting if my opponent attempts to move further into the Jungle. I�ve got plenty of Forces at Imphal and nearby, so I�m not too worried. And of course, I�ve got my 4Es, so I�m worried even less.

BTW � I�m sending the 4Es against those two Japanese Infantry Regiments that are next to Akyab next turn.

And a lot of Ships came due for more Upgrades as of October 1. I�ve got most of those ships already in position for Safe Upgrade, so things will be busy at the Shipyards again in the month of October.

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Post #: 399

Yamato Makes its Debut - 3/1/2011 2:47:35 AM

ADB123

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October 1, 1942 �

October 1 brought a busy Night Phase. First off, Pentecost Island was occupied automatically. So that tells me that there are still Japanese troops in Luganville. Then more Sub Action than usual started.

First off USS Finback was chased unsuccessfully by a PB that was escorting a TF full of xAKLs near Ominato. But the PB was persistent enough that Finback didn�t get a chance to come back and fire at any of the Freighters.

Next, USS Halibut hit an xAK with a live torpedo near Terapo. The xAK ship was one of many Transport ships in a large TF, but there were no reports of Japanese Troops or equipment lost, so maybe this TF had already dropped off its latest load from Australia.

USS Shark had the next opportunity but it hit an SC near Sendai with a Dud. Shark got away unscathed.

Finally, USS Thresher hit an xAK with a live torpedo near Saisho To. There were Tankers in the TF too, but Thresher didn�t get a chance to go after them because the Escorts in the TF chased the sub away.

And then it was the Japanese turn for Night Action as a Bombardment TF hit Canton Island. This turned out to be the Combat Debut for Yamato, as the huge BB and BB Fuso bombarded the empty base from long distance. The two BBs caused substantial Property Damage, but since I didn�t have any troops, planes or ships there it didn�t really matter.

Afterwards I was waiting for a Japanese Landing, but nothing came. I guess that this was a Raid. My opponent didn�t Fly Long Range Recon over Canton prior to this Naval Bombardment, probably because he wanted to pull off a Surprise, but the Surprise ended up on him since there was no good reason to Bombard the base at all.

I don�t like Raiding for the Sake of Raiding, so my Attack this turn was preceded by plenty of Air Recon over several consecutive days. So the Japanese Infantry Regiments that are sitting on a jungle road just to the East of Akyab got to enjoy the full effects of Allied 4E bombing.

First off 15 Forts and 11 Liberators flew in and hit the Japanese troops hard. There was no CAP and no AA, so it was great Target Practice. Then another 16 Forts flew in and hit the Japanese troops successfully too. My opponent had better spread out his CAP better or I will have my 4Es flying Target Practice all the time.

There was some Ground Action for a change this turn, as one of the Japanese Columns that is locked in with a Chinese Column near Sian attempted an Artillery Bombardment. I don�t like Artillery Bombardments so I never have my troops try them. I suspect that my opponent will soon start to think this way too, as his attack resulted in 71 Japanese casualties and no Chinese casualties.

In other important news, a Japanese Air Combat TF appeared about 5 hexes to the Northeast of Noumea this turn. It almost looked like the same TF that had been near Canton a couple of turns ago, but if it wasn�t that means that my opponent has split his CVs a bit, In any event, I flew the Hudsons out of Noumea but I left the Catalinas there. Cats tend to be relatively immune to Air Attacks and I want to keep track of this TF.

So my opponent is showing a lot more interest in the South Pacific than he has for quite some time. I wonder if this was instigated by his sub-sighting of my big Transport TF a while ago.

In other news, I am continuing to bring Troops forward in Northeastern Oz. I am taking the �back door� approach to Charter Towers instead of marching up the Coast to Bowan. My Intel told me that my opponent has an AD at Buna, which suggests that he might want to send some Fast Cruiser TFs on Bombardment missions if he sees some Allied troops along the Coast. I�ll eventually re-take the Coastal Bases, but for now I want to grab the Inland Bases first.

BTW - Since this is the Beginning of October, I'll post some update Charts and maps, starting with the Intel Screen below:

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 400

October 42 Air Losses - 3/1/2011 2:48:31 AM

ADB123

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Here are the Air Losses as of October 2, 1942:

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Post #: 401

October 42 NE Oz - 3/1/2011 2:49:39 AM

ADB123

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Here's the map of northeastern Oz. As far as I can tell, the Japanese held bases are empty.

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Post #: 402

October 42 China - 3/1/2011 2:50:23 AM

ADB123

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Here's the situation in China:

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October 42 Indo-Burma - 3/1/2011 2:51:15 AM

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Here's the situation at the Indo-Burmese border:

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Post #: 404

October 42 - Mars - 3/1/2011 2:52:20 AM

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Here's the situation in the Aleutians:

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Post #: 405

Air Combat Over Imphal - 3/2/2011 2:56:45 AM

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October 2, 1942 �

The Night Phase brought multiple sightings of Japanese TFs around the South Pacific, including a TF near Cairns again. The Japanese CV TF that had been near Noumea moved northeast and appears to be heading further east. A small TF showed up at Luganville. Another TF showed up northeast of Guadalcanal. And there were multiple reports of named Japanese ships at various ports in the Solomons and PNG. (When coast watchers report the name of a ship there is a very good chance that there really is a ship there.)

And there was the usual Japanese Transport Traffic elsewhere, as evidenced by the xAKL that USS Tarpon hit with a live torpedo off of Donggala. That small freighter was part of a larger TF that was full of xAKLs. I wonder why my opponent is using so many small freighters instead of larger freighters?

As I was expecting given the increased Japanese interest in Imphal, Japanese Army Air Units attacked the base this turn. First off 12 Tojos and 19 Oscars swept in and faced 21 Hurricane IIcs. The Oscars were at 12K feet, so I bet that they were supposed to escort a Bombing Run but got split up. The Tojos were at Max Alt, so they were obviously on a deliberate Sweep mission.

The Brits did there jobs very well as 2 Oscars and 3 Tojos were shot down for the loss of 1 Hurricane. Next came the Main Event as 27 Lilies flew in with 33 Oscars for escorts. This time there were only 4 Hurricanes on CAP, but they fought well and damaged a number of enemy planes. The Lilies eventually got through, but they caused little damage to the Air Base and all of the damage was repaired by morning.

At the End of the Day the totals were: 5 Oscars lost: 4 A-to-A, 4 Tojos lost: all 4 A-to-A, and 3 Hurricanes lost: 2 A-to-A, but no pilots lost. If my opponent follows his normal pattern he will not fly again next turn, and may pull his bombers out of Mandalay in order to avoid my 4Es. But I�m not launching my 4Es at this time. I�ll wait until things are more promising.

Otherwise, things are continuing along as planned. I have decided, however, to use the Atlantic Route for a while to ship supplies and fuel to Oz because my opponent is showing too much interest in the South Pacific and my long detours are taking as long as going the �back route�.

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Post #: 406

Revisiting an Old Front - 3/3/2011 1:30:53 AM

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October 3, 1942 �

Once again this turn there was no Night Action and no Day Action. There were plenty of Recon flights and mine told me, as I expected, that my opponent had pulled his Bombers out of Mandalay and safely away from any retaliation by my Heavy Bombers.

But the story is just re-starting in the Indo-Burma border as SIGINT told me that a Japanese Infantry Regiment is preparing for an assault on Imphal in addition to the Artillery Unit that was mentioned some time back. I�ve been swapping out weaker units from Imphal and replacing them with fresher units, but now I�m starting to move up some reserves to defend the base in a serious manner.

BTW � Recon also told me that there are now two Japanese units at Kalemyo, and at least one more just to the east in the jungle. So I�m increasing the Recon for next turn, and also sending a message to my opponent - yes, the Heavies will be paying a visit next turn, along with P-38s on Sweep. I don�t intend to give up any more ground in the Region, and I�ve now got the Forces to duke it out in a serious manner.

Elsewhere, the Japanese CV TF is still sailing north of the Santa Cruz Islands. It appears to be headed back towards Truk for refuelling or whatever. In any case, I�ve ordered my TFs back to their business since my opponent doesn�t seem to be interested in going south of the Noumea-to-Pago Pago line.

BTW � I actually reminded my opponent about his misbegotten first Darwin Invasion in which he didn�t know how to re-load his Battleship ammo. I mentioned to him that he had better find a Big port and some Big AKEs in order to re-load the Yamato�s Big Guns. Sure, its fun to send the Yamato out to Bombard a Base, but getting those guns re-loaded can be a real pain. In any event, I wanted to make certain that we don�t get into a situation again where he gets all down because his ships don�t have ammo because he goofed up their replenishment.

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Post #: 407

Sequential Attacks - 3/4/2011 1:10:40 AM

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October 4, 1942 �

The Night Phase saw no action again. Then the Day Phase started and my plans were unveiled, although not quite as I had hoped.

The Weather was lousy, and my Air Attacks went in one at a time, one at a time, one at a time, and so on.

First off 23 P-38Es Swept in over Kalemyo and found only 3 Oscars there � probably on Leaking CAP. So, did we get a nice slaughter of the Oscars? No, they got away with their skins.

But where was the other squadron of P-38s? Well, it never showed.

Next came in 15 Wellingtons. They were supposed to be escorted by Hurricane IIcs, but the Hurricanes were no-shows too. The Wellingtons were met by 3 Oscars again, but this time, in the absence of any P-38s, the Oscars were real Tigers and shot down two Wellingtons. Never-the-less, the British pilots stuck with their attack and dropped their bombs on the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo.

Next in line were 16 B-17Es. They were met by 1 Oscar whose pilot wisely flew away as quickly as he could. So the Forts happily hammered the Japanese Troops again.

This was followed by 16 B-17Fs who were also met by a single Oscar that flew off in a hurry. This group of Forts also hit their target nicely.

Finally, 12 B-24Ds flew in, passed by the single Oscar on CAP, and hit the Japanese troops once more.

So from the point-of-view of bombing the Japanese troops at Kalemyo, the Attack was a Success, but I�m still not happy about losing those two Wellingtons when they should have been either escorted, or else the P-38s should have swept the skies clear.

Oh well, I�m putting the Wellingtons back on ASW Patrol and leaving the Bombing to the US 4Es. In any event, I sat everyone down again and increased Recon of the Region to make certain that more Japanese troops aren�t sneaking in through the jungle.

BTW � the Japanese troops that had been to the east of Kalemyo seem to have moved out, but I don�t trust my Recon that much and so I am flying more Recon next turn just to get a better idea of what is going on.

Elsewhere, my Recon told me that there are still a couple of Japanese LCUs at Cairns, despite earlier reports that the base was empty. I suspect that my opponent is hoping to fly in a Sneak Attack once I move my troops closer and also catch them in the open. So I�m not rushing in my troops until I have large enough Air Bases nearby in order to fly LR CAP over my troops in the region.

But that�s okay because I�m still 3 months ahead of my plan at this point, so there is no need to rush into ambushes.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 408

Goodbye CL Trump - 3/5/2011 12:56:09 AM

ADB123

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October 5, 1942 �

This was a Night for Japanese submarines, although it didn�t start out so well for them. First off, I-15 was caught sneaking up on a US Replenishment TF near Tahiti. One of the two DE escorts chased off the sub and the TF reached port safely.

Then on the other side of the South Pacific I-25 put a torpedo into the side of Dutch CL Trump, just outside of Perth, despite there being 8 Dutch DDs in the Surface Combat TF. One of the Dutch DDs chased off the sub temporarily with a near-miss, but a little while later I-25 came back and found the crippled Trump with only one Dutch DD as an escort. I-25 immediately put two more torpedoes into Trump and sent the old Dutch light cruiser to the bottom. The remaining Dutch DD never found the Japanese sub.

Afterwards I was trying to figure out how I-25 snuck in unobserved to the south of Perth, but I then realized that I had recently replaced the experienced Hudson squadron that had been there with an inexperienced Mitchell squadron. Oh well, live and learn.

In any event, I sent out some ASW TFs to see if they can catch I-25 and exact some revenge.

After that things went quiet during the Day Phase, other then Recon Flights. There were a number of Japanese Recon flights over Chittagong this turn. I�m suspecting more and more that my opponent intends to probe my Indian defences soon. In any event, I�m moving more reserves into the region, although for now I am leaving them in non-Malarial bases for the most part.

I also decided to send the 4Es out next turn against another small collection of Japanese troops in Burma. I�m trying to keep changing my targets so that my bombers face mainly Leaking CAP instead of Fighter Traps.

And in Other News, SIGINT informed me that a Japanese AD is sitting in Port at Shortlands. So it looks like my opponent is getting ready to battle me in the South Pacific. I certainly hope that he continues to send Forces there, because I want his Forces to be as spread out as possible. To help this, as soon as I get more supply to Noumea again I will move some Hudsons back and Recon and/or bomb Luganville again.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 409

RE: Goodbye CL Trump - 3/5/2011 1:00:04 AM

Canoerebel

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CL Tromp always seems to fight gamely, so it's a shame to see the little cruiser go under....

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Post #: 410

RE: Goodbye CL Trump - 3/5/2011 1:03:37 AM

ADB123

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

CL Tromp always seems to fight gamely, so it's a shame to see the little cruiser go under....

Particularly when it went down due to a sub ambush instead of in a fight.

(in reply to Canoerebel)

Post #: 411

Recon Flies, Bombers Sit - 3/5/2011 8:33:03 PM

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October 6, 1942 �

There was no Night Action, and then to my great surprise, there was no Day Action either. Plenty of Recon planes flew for both sides, but my bomber attack on the troops at Katha never materialized.

Afterwards I checked the 4E squadrons and yes � I had set them to attack, and they did have a proper range set. They just didn�t fly. I don�t remember seeing any notices during the Combat Replay, but obviously the Game decided that something wasn�t good enough. So I left those bombers set to attack and we�ll see what happens next turn.

Otherwise it was Business As Usual as my forces continued to move into position. One thing about the length of time that it takes to move substantial forces around Australia is that it does give plenty of time to check things out in advance. So, for example, more Recon flights told me that there is still a Japanese unit at Cooktown, in addition to the two units at Cairns. I�m not sure why my opponent has left them there, unless he intends to pull them out by air at some point before I attack.

In any event, my main Australian Assault Divisions are now in position and will start to move forward in a couple of days. My opponent is no longer flying Recon in Northeastern Oz so he won�t see much of what I am doing for a while yet.

BTW � my opponent hasn�t pulled out of Northern Oz yet and he still has troops and planes at Katherine, and likely Darwin. Japanese Recon flew over Tennant Creek today for the first time in a while. And also for the first time in a very long while the Supply situation in Tennant Creek went into the �black� this turn. So I�ve decided that I will march a good AA unit there to help discourage any more Japanese bombing campaigns.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 412

Voodoo - 3/6/2011 7:23:49 PM

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October 7, 1942 �

The Night Phase showed no Action. Then, to my chagrin, neither did the Day Phase.

Sometimes, for no reason that I can fathom, an Air Attack just won�t fly. The only bit of �voodoo� that seems to work is to stand down the Air Squadrons and try again a couple of turns later. I keep on thinking that it is one of those occasional database glitches that shows up from time to time. Oh well�

So I stood down my 4Es and I�ll try again with them in a few turns. It�s a very good thing that I don�t have a pressing need for their Attack Capabilities at this time.

The only News this turn was that a small Japanese Infantry regiment showed up and captured the empty base at Taytay. Since there was no report of a landing I�ll assume that the Japanese troops marched across the island. I suspect that my opponent marches his troops as often as he can in order to avoid Naval Landing losses.

Now, if my opponent would only capture Sandakan. I�ve had an �Observer Corps� fragment sitting in that base for most of the match. I pulled out the rest of the RN BF a couple of months ago via transport submarine and brought it to Australia, but the main BF won�t regenerate properly until the Observer Corps is finally destroyed by the Japanese. Unfortunately, Observer Corps fragments won�t �die� on their own, and they are too big to pull out on transport subs.

And my Big Move in NE Oz started today in a big way as I started a large number of LCUs out along the road from Hughenden to Charter Towers. The Air Base at Hughenden reached Level 1 today, so I moved a good Hurricane unit in there to discourage long range bombing.

The Air Base at Winton also reached Level 1 today so I moved a Fighter unit into that base too. I prefer to move forward under Air Cover and so these Base Improvements are meeting my requirements quite nicely.

Finally, I started a Cavalry Unit up the Road from Rockhampton to Bowen, so everything in the Region continues to progress nicely.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 413

Whale Watching - 3/7/2011 1:54:04 AM

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October 8, 1942 �

It appeared to be �Whale Watching� season in Northern Japan this turn. The Night Phase started out by USS Whale being spotted and chased unsuccessfully by a couple of SCs near Toyohara. But the skipper of the Whale wasn�t deterred and he came back to fire some torpedoes at one of the SCs. Unfortunately, the torpedo that hit was a dud. Fortunately, the Whale got away again.

However, this wasn�t the end of it as the Whale spotted and fired more torpedoes at yet another SC in a different 2-SC TF. But once again the torpedo that hit was a dud, so the Whale had to escape again. So after all this I sent the Whale back to Port for more fuel and more torpedoes.

Otherwise, it was a turn of Rain and Recon. I took the opportunity to fine tune more of my unit placements and Front Line Leaders. The Advance is well underway in Northeastern Australia and I�m hoping to have most of the region back under Australian control before the end of the month.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 414

International Union of Submarine Commanders - 3/8/2011 1:49:14 AM

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October 9, 1942 �

There must be a Union of submarine skippers that crosses national boundaries. The Night Phase saw Japanese sub I-2, which was hanging around Pago Pago, miss little old and slow ACM Planter with four torpedoes as the ship was slowly heading back to base. I had moved Planter away when the Japanese CV TF was cruising the Neighbourhood, but now that the Coast was Clear I sent the ship back to Pago Pago in order to keep up the miserable little mine field there.

The Day Phase brought lots of Recon and lots of Rain again. It turns out that the leftover Japanese LCUs at Cairns have now pulled out and are slowly marching North to Cooktown. I am going to ignore them and continue with my advance. In a few days Charter Towers should be Liberated!

And now that I�ve given the Random Garbage Generator a couple of turns to reset itself I have set my 4Es to try to bomb Kalemyo. It will be interesting to see what happens.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 415

Darkening the Sky - 3/9/2011 2:44:35 AM

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October 10, 1942 �

There was no Night Action again this turn, but things got back into gear during the Day Phase as the Allied Air Attack in Burma was finally on.

The Attack started out with full Sweeps by the two US P-38 squadrons over Kalemyo. Unfortunately, the Japanese Fighters stayed home so the US Flyboys got to admire the stormy weather and then fly home without using up any machine gun bullets.

Next came the 4Es, and it was quite a sight as the entire Attack arrived in unison. There were 16 B-17Es, 15 B-17Fs, 12 B-24Ds � all escorted by 16 British Hurricane IIcs. Again there was no Japanese CAP and no flak at 8000 feet, so the Bombers dropped their bombs unhindered.

And for all that Show, the end result was 12 casualties for the Japanese.

Oh well, I didn�t lose any planes, and only 1 was damaged. So I just sat everyone down again and set the Recon Boys to check out other targets for future attacks.

At the end of the day there was one of those rare Daylight submarine attacks as USS Grayback shot four torpedoes at a PB near Ocean Island, but the one torpedo that hit was a Dud. Grayback got away safely from the PB escorts in the small Transport TF.

But the End of the Day revealed something quite significant � an Australian Armoured Unit and an American Armoured Unit ended up at Charter Towers. The Base is empty, and the Allied Units will capture it next turn. And just to be certain, and to prevent any Bombing or Troop Drops, I set some P-38s on LR CAP over the base. Next turn the Score will swing nearly 90 points in my favour!

BTW � SIGINT brought an interesting bit of news � the Air Base at Etorofo finally reached Level 1 this turn. I wonder if my opponent is receiving Intel about the growth of my Bases in the Aleutians. He hasn�t been sending Glen-equipped subs to the Region for a while, likely because I�ve got plenty of Fighters on CAP over many of the Bases, and Glens are easy pickings for any CAP.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 416

Charter Towers is Liberated - 3/10/2011 1:47:58 AM

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October 11, 1942 �

The Night Phase saw USS Wahoo caught by a small Japanese PB/SC ASW TF near Ailinglaplap in the Marshalls. Wahoo got hit once fairly well and is now limping home.

There was no Air Action during the Day except for the usual flurry of Recon flights from both sides.

But the REALLY important action took place at the end of the day as the USA 763rd Tank Battalion and the Australian 2/6th Armoured Regiment liberated Charter Towers.

The base came under US control, which means that it will be a bit of a pain to bring Restricted Australian Air Squadrons there, but I�ll work it out. The Runways and Air Base are still somewhat wrecked from my earlier Bombing attacks, but they will be repaired quickly enough once Engineer units arrive. I have a LOT of LCUs on their way to Charter Towers.

So the Liberation of Northeastern Australia is three months ahead of schedule. That�s great, except for the fact that I still have a number of units that are still In Transit and so I will have to be a bit careful about moving forward for a while yet so that I don�t out-run my main forces.

In other News, SIGINT reported that yet another Japanese LCU is on its way to Java. It appears that my opponent intends to Fight It Out over Java in a Big Way.

In Strange News, another single plane Walrus squadron is due to arrive in Australia in a couple of days. I�m not sure what to do with these �things�. I don�t think that I can place them onto the Australian cruisers that don�t have Floatplanes. I guess that I�ll just put them on Search and ASW Patrol at small bases.

And finally, Months of Frustration have come to an end as the Air Fields at Dutch Harbor reached Level 2 this turn. I would have been better off abandoning Dutch Harbor all together and leaving it as a Trap for the Japanese, considering all of the effort that I�ve had to put in to have the Base reach AF 2.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 417

Back to Recon Wars - 3/11/2011 1:51:02 AM

ADB123

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October 12, 1942 �

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought lots of Recon but no other action. Oddly enough, there was still no Japanese Recon of northeastern Australia.

My opponent commented that his invasion of northeastern Australia was a �diversion�; but one has to ask, for him or for me?

In any event, my Forces continue to move into position for further �adventures� in the future. In the short term, I ordered the two armoured units that liberated Charters Towers to move to Townsville next.

Otherwise, I don�t have a lot going on. I don�t feel like flying Bombing attacks just for the sake of flying them because right now my opponent doesn�t have much in the way of good targets in the open. But I am increasing my Recon flights, and if some interesting targets do show up I�ll be sure to have my Bombers pay a visit or two.

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Post #: 418

Next Target - 3/11/2011 10:58:36 PM

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October 13, 1942 �

This was definitely a 13th sort of day.

The Night Phase started out poorly as TK Marina was hit by two torpedoes from I-15 just off of Tahiti. Marina�s escort fired off lots of depth charges but got no hits. So Marina went down and I-15 sailed off into the Night.

Then USS Kingfish wasted some torpedoes on an SC near Wakkanai. One of the torps actually hit the little patrol ship, but that torpedo was a dud.

Daylight brought lousy weather and plenty of Recon flights. My one attempt at an offensive operation flew but accomplished nothing. A squadron of Kiwi Hudsons flew out from Noumea to hit Luganville, but the Bombers missed their target, despite there being no opposition.

Finally, a Japanese Raider Regiment dropped in to capture Merauke on the south coast of New Guinea.

But next time will be Better, as my two lead armoured units moved into position to Liberate Townsville next turn.

BTW � another benefit of my opponent pulling out of northeastern Oz is that I can re-take the bases there while not showing most of the troops that I have moving into position. This way my opponent continues to be in the dark regarding my major troop dispositions.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 419

Townsville is Liberated! - 3/12/2011 3:58:14 PM

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October 14, 1942 �

Allied subs were busy being unsuccessful again this turn. First off USS Seadragon shot off four torpedoes at an SC near Chiba. The one torpedo that hit was a dud. Then Dutch sub KXVIII shot off four torpedoes at a DD near Woodlark Island, but missed. That DD was part of a very large, very heavily escorted transport TF that contained an AMC, an AV, and lots of various escort ships. I wonder what that TF is doing and where it is going.

Daylight brought lousy weather most everywhere, which even affected a number of Recon flights. Continuing the recent trend, there was absolutely no Japanese Recon of my operations in northeastern Oz. Oh well, I�m sure not going to remind my opponent about this.

The Big News this turn was that Townsville was Liberated!

Once again, the USA 763rd Tank Battalion and the Australian 2/6th Armoured Regiment did the job.

The Airfields and facilities at Townville Air Base are a total mess. I can see why my opponent didn�t want to bother to try to fight it out there. All-in-all I�m quite pleased with the effective job that my 4Es did, even though I didn�t have too many of them and I didn�t fly them too often.

So it will take me a while to fix things up at Townsville, and after that start to build things up the way that I want. But Charters Towers is almost back to full-operating condition and I intend to use it as my major Air Base anyway, so the situation at Townsville isn�t a show-stopper by any means.

In Other News, I got my first Level 7 Air Field in the Aleutians this turn. A number more are on the way. We�ll see how far we get before Winter sets in and slows everything down.

And I received a large number of new ships this turn. All of them are useful in their own ways; although I wish that the Bogue-class CVEs could do something other than just provide Replenishment services. Oh well, they will be Floating Training Bases for the next couple of years.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 420