January 16 1943 - Final Report

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January 16 1943 - Final Report - 7/14/2011 1:55:40 AM

ADB123

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January 16, 1943 � Final Report -

Things didn't change too much once I got to look at the actual turn. The End of Day results for the Air Battle of Akyab were as follows:

Hurricane IIcs: 4 lost � 3 A-to-A, 1 Ops

Helens: 3 lost � 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Nicks: 2 lost � 1 A-to-A, 1 Ops

My bombers didn't catch any Japanese planes on the Ground at Magwe, although they did damage the Air Fields fairly well. My Main 4E Bomber Crews are still in fairly good shape so I ordered them to go after Myitkyina next turn because I haven't hit it for a while. The Secondary 4E Bombers will go after the troops at Kalemyo again.

I changed to Recon all of the 2Es that flew against the Japanese troops that are east of Akyab last turn. I don't want to have the 2Es caught in a Fighter Trap.

The 2-ship Supply TF is still unloading at Akyab. The Port damage has been repaired now, although the Air Fields are in pretty bad shape. Two more Allied LCUs reached Akyab this turn, including a big Indian Infantry Division that has Engineers and AA guns. The next Japanese Bomber attack on Akyab won't get away as easily.

With the 2Es set to Recon, more of my Fighters in the region should show up against Japanese Bomber attacks next turn. The Hurricane unit that had a hard time against the Nicks was set to fly LR CAP over the Supply TF, so it is no wonder that the pilots didn't do well.

I'm increasing the pressure in Burma with a push by Chinese troops towards Lashio. There is only one Japanese LCU on the road, so this ought to keep my opponent busy. I've also started to move a couple of Big British and Indian Infantry Divisions towards Kalemyo. They ought to let me capture the base readily once they get there.

Otherwise, things are quiet in the rest of the Pacific as I continue to build up forces.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 541

Burma = Rain - 7/18/2011 10:09:05 PM

ADB123

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January 17, 1943 �

There was no Night Action again.

Daylight brought swarms of Japanese bombers, escorted by Oscars, over the Chinese troops that are slowly marching westwards along the road out of Paoshan. These troops are a �nuisance/distraction� force � I don�t expect them to be able to dislodge the Japanese Infantry unit that is one hex to the west, but it is keeping my opponent occupied.

The Japanese air attacks caused little damage to the Chinese units, but the main effect was that those Japanese planes weren�t attacking anywhere else in Burma. So Akyab got another �breather day� as Allied troops continue to pile into the miserable little malarial hellhole. And the Supply Transport that is unloading at Akyab was ignored again this turn, which only makes things even better.

In any event, I moved three of my best Chinese Fighter units to a base nearby Paoshan, so with any luck they may well find some Japanese bombers flying in again next turn. It would be nice to spring another little surprise.

Most Allied Air Missions didn�t fly this turn due to Universal Bad Weather. But the main 4Es in India did fly to Myitkyina and found a nice little �bonus� on the ground. The mix of Forts and Libs hit the Air Base hard and found some Japanese bombers sitting around. Two Helens were reported destroyed on the ground afterwards. The 4Es caused a fair amount of Runway damage, but Recon reported that there are still Japanese bombers on the Tarp there, so I�ve ordered the 4Es to fly against Myitkyina again next turn.

Otherwise it was another build-up turn with some good reports of progress, including Charters Towers becoming a Level 9 Air Base. So I ordered the Engineers there to move on to the next base as the Allied effort continues to grow. I have enough Engineers in Australia, the Aleutians and India at this time that I will send the next big batch that arrives on the West Coast to the southeastern Pacific and start to build up some bases there just to keep my opponent watching over his shoulder in yet another area.

And finally, the 17th Corsair rolled off of the Assembly Line this turn, so with any luck I ought to be able to upgrade my first squadron of USMC Fighters to Corsairs next turn. Man, this has been a painful wait!

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Post #: 542

January 18 1943 - Preliminary Report - 7/19/2011 2:31:08 AM

ADB123

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January 18, 1943 � Preliminary Report -

My opponent was out this evening celebrating with colleagues, so he is waiting for a clearer head tomorrow before he does the turn. Never-the-less he sent the Combat Replay so that I could see what happened.

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought out Japanese Air Attacks in China again as various Japanese bombers and fighters attacked the Chinese LCU that is southeast of Liuchow. The attacks were scrambled because of weather, and for the most part did little.

Weather also scrambled the Air Attacks in Burma. The Japanese decided to attack a big Indian Infantry Division in Akyab and the weather-scattered incoming Japanese Air Attacks ran into a squadron of P-38Fs that was flying Hi Alt LR CAP over the Supply TF at Akyab.

First in were 18 Tojos which were met by 8 P-38Fs. The Lightning Aces easily bounced the Tojo pilots and shot one down while driving off the rest.

Then 3 Oscar Is flew in and were jumped by 5 more P-38Fs. The Lightning pilots shot down an Oscar and drove the rest off.

At this point the Main Attack flew in � 25 Helen Is, 25 Lily IIs, 31 Helen IIs and 30 Oscars. Only 3 P-38s were available to confront the enemy attack. The Lightning pilots tried to fight their way through the Oscars but couldn't. This left the AA on the ground to deal with the Japanese bombers. A number of Japanese bombers were damaged and the results of the attack were minimal.

Finally, 18 Helens and 21 Nicks flew in but the Allied CAP was done for the day. The Japanese planes attacked but again accomplished little against the Indian Troops.

Then the 2nd Line mixed Allied 4Es, escorted by an impressive, albeit unplanned, cadre of mixed Allied fighters, attacked the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo. There was no CAP, but the Allied 4Es missed their target. These guys need more practice.

The Air Battles in Burma ended with the 1st Line US 4Es hitting the Air Fields at Myitkyina again. There was no CAP, but there didn't appear to be any planes left on the Ground either. The big US bombers hammered the Runways nicely.

It appears that Japanese Attack Planes have moved back into Mandalay, so next turn the Ace 4Es and P-38s will visit the skies over that base again.

And my oppponent avoided my Air Trap near Paoshan. So the Chinese Fighter pilots got a break from Training, but didn't end up finding anything to attack.

Finally, the Skies cleared up enough over nothern Australia for the B-17s there to attack Katherine again. This time a handful of Tojos and Nicks were on CAP, but the 4Es blew past them to hit the Air Fields nicely. It looks like my opponent intends to increase his defensive efforts in northern Oz again. That's fine, I'll be causing him some grief from the northwest very soon.

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Post #: 543

January 18 1943 - Final Report - 7/20/2011 2:38:40 AM

ADB123

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January 18, 1943 � Final Report -

The End of Day report was as follows:

Tojo IIa � 7 lost: 4 A-to-A, 3 Ops
Nick Ia � 3 lost: 2 A-to-A, 1 Ops
Oscar Ic � 2 Lost: 1 A-to-A, 1 Ops
G4M1 Betty � 2 lost: 1 A-to-A, 1 Ops

I suspect that the Betty was shot down while doing a Fly-over Cairns.

The Allies lost a few planes, but nothing important. There was one new US Ace in a P-38.

Radio Reports suggest that Japanese subs are moving towards the US West Coast again, after a lengthy absence. I have few TFs in that region, and the TFs that are there have so many ASW ships that it's unlikely that there will be any successful Japanese sub attacks.

INTEL has alerted me to the presence of several Japanese TFs between Port Arthur and Nagasaki, so I've ordered some subs to move into that region and to pester some of the bases around there.

And it turns out that the Japanese bombers were flying out of Lashio, not Mandalay. So I've ordered P-38 Sweeps and 4E Bombing Runs on the Air Base at Lashio for next turn.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 544

More Burma Air Wars - 7/21/2011 2:45:34 AM

ADB123

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January 19, 1943 -

Once again there was no Night Action. My opponent has been skillfully avoiding my submarines. I'm trying to send more to bases where SIGINT tells me that Transport TFs will go.

Daylight started out with more Bettys on Naval Patrol over Cairns, where they checked out the PT TF that I've stationed there. My CAP didn't shoot down any Bettys this turn, but one was lost to Ops. I've ordered some Liberators to fly Recon over PNG in the hopes of finding the Air Base which is hosting the Bettys.

Most of the Air Action this turn occured between Lashio and Paoshan as both sides focussed more interest in the road in between the two outposts.

First off Oscars Swept the skies over the Chinese troops that are slowly moving westwards a hex to the west of Paoshan. I sat down my Chinese Fighters last turn so there were no planes in the Air for the Oscars to attack.

Then a Squadron of P-38s Swept the skies over Lashio, but there was no CAP there either.

Next, Japanese Bombers hit the Chinese troops near Paoshan, but caused little damage in the rough terrain.

Then it was the turn of the USAAF as 10 B-17Fs, 13 B-17Es, and 22 B-24Ds flew in to hammer the Air Base at Lashio. The 4Es caught some Oscars on the ground and generally roughed-up the place. This was finally followed by yet another P-38 Sweep over the smoking ruins of the Air Base.

The only other Air Action was in Australia as two 12-plane squadrons of B-24Ds hit the Air Base at Katherine again. There was no Japanese CAP this time so the Liberators were able to hit the base hard.

At the End-of-the-Day there were a couple of notible items in the Aircraft Losses Report:

Oscar Ics � 4 lost, all on the Ground
Topsys � 4 lost, all to Ops

Just where were those Topsys going?

And a Milestone was reached today as the first Marine Corsair Squadron started to prepare for action.

BTW � despite the continued good performance of my 4Es I decided to sit most of them down this turn, except for a couple of well-rested squadrons in northeastern Oz that were set to Recon. The Weather has been generally lousy most everywhere, and I don't want to accumulate significant Ops losses with non-stop Missions.

BTW II � Akyab escaped notice again this turn, so more old damage was repaired and more Supplies brought to the Base.

BTW III � A Japanese sub showed up off the northwest corner of Oz this turn for the first time in quite a long time. In response I set more planes to ASW/Search.

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Post #: 545

Fighter Reserves - 7/21/2011 2:16:15 PM

ADB123

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Here are my fighter reserves at this time. It isn't impossible for the Allies to have a strong fighter force and plenty of reserves. But you do need to chose your battles when you have the advantage of strength.

BTW - there is a mistake in what I wrote on the image - all non-active Front Line USAAF squadrons have P-40Ks. The squadrons that are actively fighting are using P-38s.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by ADB123 -- 7/21/2011 2:17:48 PM >

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Post #: 546

Give and Take over Akyab - 7/24/2011 5:11:06 AM

ADB123

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January 20, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw another Japanese �clean-up� invasion in the DEI as Japanese troops started to land at Mataram. I'm slowly diverting more subs to the DEI since more Japanese TFs are appearing there than elsewhere.

Daylight brought Japanese attacks on Akyab again � my opponent is mixing up his targets in an attempt to keep me from ambushing him.

The first attack was a sweep by a half dozen A6M2 Zeros that found Empty Skies over the base. Then another 6 A6M2s flew in, but this time 9 of the P-38Fs that were assigned to fly LR CAP over the Supply Transport in Akyab Harbor hit the Zeros hard, shooting down 2.

But the tables were turned as the next Japanese attack was made by 9 Tojos which were again met by 9 P-38Fs. But this time the P-38s were down near the �deck� after hunting the Zeros, so the Tojos jumped the Lightnings, shooting down 2 of them.

The main Japanese attack then flew in � 21 Helen Is, 5 Lilys, 73 Helen IIs, 21 Nicks, and 39 Oscars. No Allied planes met them so the bombers only had to get past the Flak. The attack targeted the Indian Infantry Division that is in Akyab and only caused minor casualties.

Finally, 20 more Lilies flew in late and were fortunate to not have any CAP in their way. These bombers hit the HQ at Akyab but again did little damage.

After this the British Liberators and the Second Line USAAF B-24Ds hit the Japanese Infantry at Kalemyo again, this time causing some casualties.

At the end of the day the results weren't pretty, but they could have been worse:

6 P-38F lost � 5 A-to-A, 1 Ops

3 A6M2 lost � all A-to-A
3 Topsys lost � all to Ops

No P-38 pilots were lost and two of them actually became Aces after the battle with the Zeros.

I still can't figure out where my opponent is flying those Transport Planes, but it has to be fairly far for consistant Ops losses like this. Just in case the Transports are flying to Kalemyo I assigned some P-38s to LR CAP over the base for next turn.

I'm sending my main 4E attack squadrons after the Air Fields at Mandalay again next turn. We'll see if they get lucky and get to play �whack-a-mole� on any Japanese planes that may get moved in.

I've also set some Chinese Fighters to Sweep over the Japanese troops that are on the road to Lashio. I'm betting that my opponent may send planes to attack the Chinese troops there next turn, just because he hasn't for a few turns.

And I've got lots of TFs steaming all over the place again as I move major quantities of troops, supplies and fuel forward in advance of my upcoming attacks. I should be in a position to make a move in northwestern Oz in a few days, once the Air Fields at Exmouth reach Level 2 and I can base P-38s there to provide LR CAP over my assault on Port Hedland.

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Post #: 547

Some Nice Little Milestones - 7/25/2011 1:51:42 AM

ADB123

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January 21, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw USS Sargo hit a mine while attempting to sneak into the harbor at Port Arthur. Sargo is now limping home, heavily damaged.

The only other Night activity was the continued landing of Japanese troops at Mataram.

Daylight brought a Sweep of 12 Tojos over Akyab. No Allied fighters were around, so the Tojo pilots got to enjoy the view and go home.

Next some Tojos and Oscars Swept over the Chinese troops that are two hexes west of Paoshan along the road to Lashio. I had set two squadrons of Chinese P-43-A-1s to Sweep over that same hex, so I was surprised that the two Forces didn't run into each other.

Then 9 of the Lancers showed up and found 2 Oscars flying around. The Lancers attacked the Oscars but weren't able to shoot them down.

This was followed by another attack by British Liberators and the Second Line USAAF Liberators on the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo. This time the Libs missed their target in Bad Weather.

Finally, 10 B-17Fs, 14 B-17Es and 19 B-24Ds attacked the Air Fields at Mandalay. They were met by 8 Tojos. The Bombers blew past the Tojos and hit the Air Fields nicely.

With all these Air Attacks going on the Supply TF at Akyab was ignored again. So it continues to slowly transfer Supply to the base. I've got an RN BF on its way to Akyab, so once it gets there the Naval Support Troops in the BF ought to speed up the unloading process.

The End-of-the-Day Report said that 2 Tojos were lost to Ops. It also said that 2 more Topsys were lost to Ops. That makes 8 in the past 3 days! I had some Lightnings on LR CAP over Kalemyo this turn and they didn't report seeing any Japanese Transport planes, so I don't have any idea of where they may be going. Never-the-less, I'm not going to complain because Enemy Ops losses are as good as any in my book.

The Ground Phase saw Mataram captured by a Japanese Independent Engineering Regiment. So my opponent is planning to build up the Base using the Invading troops.

The Big News this turn is that the Air Fields at Exmouth reached Level 2. So I sent in a P-38 Squadron and set them to LR CAP over Port Hedland. I then set my Transport Planes to fly in some US Paratroops to capture the base. I also started off a Fast Transport TF to bring in Engineers.

Finally, more Japanese troops have pulled back from Liuchow, so it appears that my opponent has given up on that attack too. It's turned out to be a poor idea on his part to attempt multiple sieges in China � he hasn't brought enough Force at any one place to be able to overcome my defences.

BTW � the first USMC Corsair Squadron has moved into position on the Front Line along the Indo-Burmese border.

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Post #: 548

Sub-Optimal Sub Warfare - 7/25/2011 9:27:33 PM

ADB123

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January 22, 1943 �

Allied subs got back into action this turn; unfortunately, not very successfully.

First off USS Seadragon attacked an SC near Tanegashima. Seadragon missed, but the SCs in the Japanese TF didn�t, and now Seadragon is limping home with heavy damage. The Japanese TF had 6 SCs in it, and no sign of any transport ships, so this was likely a Surface Combat TF sent out to hunt my subs.

Next USS Skipjack hit a PB with a dud torpedo at Sorong. There were lots of ASW ships in the Japanese TF (6 PBs, 2 SCs & 1 PC), but none of them could find Skipjack. At the end of the day Skipjack attempted another attack on the same TF, but once again the sub fired off a dud. But fortunate for the Skipjack the Escorts in that Japanese TF also couldn�t find Skipjack this time either.

Then USS Pollack shot at a PB in a big Tanker TF near Ranbutyo, but missed. Pollack got away, and at least now I know that my opponent is moving a lot of fuel into the South Pacific.

Finally, USS Sturgeon hit an APD with a dud torpedo near Rossel Island. Sturgeon got away from the APD and the two DDs that were with it.

So while the USN Silent Service couldn�t deliver this turn, the USAAF and Friends did.

First off the British Liberators, accompanied by the Second Line USAAF Liberators, hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo again. This time they found the target, although they didn�t do too much damage.

Then the Main Event flew as 19 B-24Ds and 10 B-17Fs flew in to hit the Air Fields at Magwe. The 4Es were met by 38 Tojos on CAP. The Tojos came in to attack in small groups so the Gunners on the 4Es had an easy time of it, shooting down a Tojo and damaging others while the 4Es received minor damage. The Bombing Run ran successfully, the Air Base was hit hard, and 2 Tojos were destroyed on the Ground.

Then 14 B-17Es flew in and faced 27 more Tojos. Once again another Tojo was shot down and the 4Es hit the Runways hard.

And the USMC got into the Act at the end of the day as Marine Paratroops dropped in on Port Hedland and captured the empty base.

The End-of-the-Day Air results were good:

Tojos: 6 lost, 3 A-to-A, 3 Ground

No 4Es were lost.

Akyab and the Supply TF there were left alone again, so all of the Base Damage at Akyab was repaired and the Fortifications were built up to Level 1. Now I�ve got my Engineers working on the Port there so that it will be easier to unload supplies.

One useful �by-product� of Skipjack�s efforts at Sorong is that I found out that there are a LOT of ships sitting in the Harbor at Sorong. I wonder why? Are they there to support a future pull-out of Japanese troops from Darwin, or to support Counter-Attacks in Northwestern Oz?

< Message edited by ADB123 -- 7/27/2011 3:12:16 AM >

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Post #: 549

Ramree Island Gets Captured by the Japanese - 7/27/2011 3:12:15 AM

ADB123

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January 23, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw an empty DEI base called Lomblen get occupied automatically by the Japanese. Otherwise there was no Night Action.

Daylight saw Stormy Weather show up over the entire Pacific and so few Air Missions flew. One mission that did fly to my surprise was an attack by a dozen Blenheim IVs against the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is in the jungle to the east of Akyab.

When I set up this turn I set all of the 2Es in the Indo-Burma region to attack those Japanese troops. But then I saw the number of Japanese Fighters sitting in nearby bases so I became worried that my opponent might send out some LR CAP over his troops. In light of that I called off the attack and set the Bombers to Naval Search and Recon. But I forgot to reset this particular group. (That's what comes from having many Air Units at many Bases in the same Theater.)

In any event, no Japanese Fighters showed up and the Blenheims actually hit the Japanese troops quite nicely. But I've set the Squadron back to Search/Recon again for the next turn because I'm sending some planes in that can better �care� for themselves next turn.

The only other Air Attack was the British and USAAF Liberators hitting the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo again. I've lowered the attack altitude of the Bombers to 8000 feet so they are being a little bit more consistant in hitting the target. But it will still take some time and plenty of Practice before these units become ready to go after tougher targets.

BTW � the Japanese Fighters in Burma pulled back again. I could send 4Es against them, but I would rather send my planes after �softer� targets.

I had planned 4E Air Raids on the Air Fields at Katherine in Australia for this turn, but the Missions were Rained Out. So they are scheduled to try again next turn.

And out of the Blue a Japanese Recon plane flew over Lanchow in the far northeast of China. I'm not sure what my opponent is planning, but I set the Fighters there to Max Alt and 100% CAP, just in case some Japanese Bombers visit next turn.

Speaking of China, the Siege of Liuchow is Over for now as all Japanese troops have pulled away. I'm amazed that my rather bluff-like defence actually held. My opponent doesn't appear to be threatening anything else in China right now, so maybe he will pull out some troops and send them elsewhere.

Finally, a Japanese SNLF unit captured Ramree Island along the coast of Burma. This dot base has remained empty since the start of the War, so I'm not sure why my opponent would bother capturing it now. I've read about the bloody battles that have occured at Ramree in other AARs, and I'm not certain why I would want to bother getting into a similar fight there. But if my opponent wants to base some troops in there I will be glad to bomb it from time-to-time.

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Post #: 550

KXVIII Strikes Twice! - 7/28/2011 2:53:33 AM

ADB123

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January 24, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw Dutch sub KXVIII try its luck against the multi-PB/SC/PC TF that is still sitting at Sorong. The Dutch sub was luckier than its US cousins and sank a PB with a torpedo, and then got away from the rest of the Japanese ships. At the end of the day KXVIII went back and sank another PB in the same TF. This time the other ships in the Japanese TF were able to get a few light hits on KXVIII so the sub is heading back to Port, but less for the light damage than to reload torpedoes.

One thing I can't figure out is why my opponent is leaving that TF sitting there. In any event, I'm now sending a British sub to try its luck at Sorong.

Daylight brought out the Big Bombers again as 10 B-17Fs, 14 B-17Es and 23 B-24Ds hit the Japanese Infantry Regiment that is east of Akyab fairly hard. This was later followed up by a dozen Mitchells which flew in and hit the Japanese troops too. Those Mitchells were suppose to fly Recon, but I forgot to re-set them when I did the �all bombers� setting for the 4Es.

The Japanese troops at Kalemyo weren't forgotten as 10 B-24Ds and 17 Liberator IIs hit them again. These Bomber units aren't improving their aim very quickly, but they eventually will with all of this practice.

And the USAAF 4Es in Australia flew against Katherine today. The first attack consisted of 6 B-17Fs, 36 B-17Es and 6 B-24Ds which were met by 7 Nicks and 4 Oscars on CAP. The 4Es blew by the Japanese Fighters and hit the Air Base nicely. Then 16 more B-24Ds flew in and blew past 3 Oscars and 3 Nicks before hitting the Air Base again. My opponent has something like 125 Fighters at Darwin so I'm not hitting that base at this time.

Once nice side-effect of the mass-grouping of Japanese Fighters at Darwin is that they aren't elsewhere to interfere with my build-up of bases and slow-but-steady push forward.

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Post #: 551

Sub vs Plane - again - 7/29/2011 1:23:17 AM

ADB123

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January 25, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought Air Action mainly from the Allies, with only Recon and one odd Tojo Sweep in China over a Chinese base that has no Aircraft for the Japanese.

The main Allied Air Attack was on the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo. This time, in addition to the usual Liberator IIs and B-24s a large number of British and USAAF 2Es also came along. In general the attacks were accurate and while not devestating by any means, did disrupt the Japanese troops and also sent a message to my opponent about Allied capabilities in the region.

A lot of Allied Recon also flew in the region and it appears that my opponent moved some Fighters back into Magwe. So I ordered the experienced 4Es and my P-38 Squadrons to hit the base again.

In other news in the Region, the RN Base Force reached Akyab this turn. In addition to bringing more engineers, more AA, and some anti-ship guns, the unit also brings 25 Naval Support to help in unloading supplies. The Port is also near Level 1, so things are looking good.

Elsewhere, USS Sunfish hit a pesky Kate with AA fire near Sendai. I like the AA guns on my US subs.

And the Australians got another squadron of Ansons. I'm not sure what these planes are supposed to be good for � they are too slow and weak to act as Combat Bombers � but they do have airborne radar. I wonder if that makes them better at ASW missions.

Otherwise, it's build, build, and build some more. Things are coming along nicely. For example, Perth is now a Level 7 Port.

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Post #: 552

Ambushed at Port Hedland - 7/30/2011 2:29:29 AM

ADB123

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January 26, 1943 -

Well, the Night Phase brought my casual approach to advancing in North Western Australia back to earth as a big Japanese Surface Combat TF caught one of my Fast Transport TFs at Port Hedland. It wasn't pretty as the Japanese CAs, CLs, and DDs hammered the AMC and 2 APDs in the TF. The only good part was that the Fast Transport TF had already unloaded its cargo. One thing for certain � AMCs don't do a lot against �real� combat ships.

I had a couple of PTs at Port Hedland too, but despite having a good commander and aggressive captains the 2-PT TF took one look at the big Japanese Combat TF and ran for the hills at full speed.

The Japanese TF then went in and bombarded Port Hedland fairly hard. I haven't been able to bring in any Shore Defense units yet, and the Forts are not up, so the units on the ground were roughed up a bit. Oh well, I shouldn't have been so cavalier about this.

It is also interesting that the Japanese TF has a CS in it, so the region was searched quite heavily. Therefore, I ordered the other TFs in the region to head back to base because I suspect that more Japanese forces are on the way.

However, it wasn't a clean-sweep for the Japanese forces as Australian Mitchells that have been training at low-altitude attacks flew in twice on the Japanese TF. The first time the Mitchells went after cruisers and missed, but the second time they went in after DDs and hit two.

I'm now moving subs towards Port Hedland and am moving some cruisers of my own towards the area. I'm not rushing in because I'm still suspicious that some Japanese CVs might show up.

You might ask � where are the US CVs? Well they had been sitting on the Australian West Coast for quite some time, but with the change in Dive Bomber units coming up I sent them to Sydney a little while ago so that they could expand their squadrons. I was planning to use them once I started to send some slower Transport TFs to Port Hedland, since I wasn't expecting my opponent to react to my Fast Transports quite so quickly.

The Action then shifted back to Burma where both sides sent out Air Attacks that seemed to pass each other in the skies, like the story of the opposing dive bombers at Midway.

First off mulitple groups of Japanese Fighters started to Sweep the empty skies over Akyab. Essentially anything Japanese that could fly was buzzing around, looking for some Allied Fighters to overwhelm. This was followed by multiple Japanese Bomber runs that were all escorted by numerous Japanese Fighters. However, the bombers had to fight their way through plenty of Flak this time as they attacked the empty Air Base.

At the same time the USMC Corsairs got their first Taste of Blood as they Swept into Magwe where they found 5 Tojos and 27 Oscars on CAP. Two Oscars were shot down while one Corsair was lost.

The Allied Main Event then followed as 11 B-17Fs, 16 B-17Es and 24 B-24Ds attacked the Air Fields at Magwe. They were met by 4 Tojos and 16 Oscars on CAP. The 4Es blasted their way through, shooting down a Tojo on the way, and hit the Air Base fairly hard.

This was followed by a Sweep by P-38Es which ran into 27 Oscars and 6 Tojos. The Lightning pilots did their job well and shot down 3 Oscars and 2 Tojos.

Finally, 25 P-38Gs Swept in and faced 9 Oscars and 3 Tojos. Three more Oscars were shot down.

The End-of-Day results were quite satisfying as 28 Japanese planes were lost against the loss of 10 Allied planes. The Air Combat results were as follows:

Oscars lost � 21, 16 A-to-A, 5 Ops
Tojo lost � 3, all A-to-A

Corsairs lost � 2, A-to-A
P-38Es lost � 1, A-to-A

Two more USAAF pilots became Aces. No experienced Allied pilots were lost.

The only unfortunate part was that no Japanese planes were caught on the ground.

At the end of the day HMS Truant attempted to sneak in on the Japanese SC/PC/PB TF that was still sitting at Sorong. The first time in Truant was spotted and chased off. The skipper of the Truant then tried again and got off some torpedoes at a PB, but missed. Once again Truant was chased off.

In other news, there may be a Japanese TF heading towards the Burmese coast and Akyab. (I suspect so because my opponent likes to do similar things in different regions.) I've ordered the RN cruisers and destroyers out of Calcutta and off to Cox's Bazaar just in case.

One thing that dismayed me was that as I checked over the captains of the RN combat ships I realized that most of the skippers are second-raters, as are their potential replacements. I thought that there were lots of good RN skippers, but maybe I let them go when the various RN ships were withdrawn to the UK. If the Japanese come with crack skippers any battle could be ugly.

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Post #: 553

Return of the Chickens of the Sea - 7/31/2011 2:19:38 AM

ADB123

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January 27, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw the 2 ship US PT TF sail back to Port Hedland, and back into contact with the big Japanese Surface Combat TF. The PTs spotted the Japanese TF first with their radar, but at 16K yards the US skippers decided to turn tail and Get Out of Dodge at full speed. Fortunately for my Chickens of the Sea the Japanese TF commander decided that enough was enough and sailed off into the vast unknown where I don't currently have sufficient Air Patrols to track Japanese TFs.

There was also sub action as HMS Truant tried to sneak in on the SC/PC/PB TF at Sorong again. Once again the British sub was spotted and chased off. But at the end of the day Truant snuck back once more and this time put a torpedo into a Japanese PB. However, the other Japanese ASW ships caught Truant afterwards and hit it a couple of times. Now Truant is on the long journey back to Port for repairs.

And there were two Japanese sub attacks. During the Night I-29 shot at a Dutch DD off of Carnavan but missed. The Dutch DDs missed I-29 in return. Then at the end of the day I-25 took a shot at a Dutch DD but missed again. This time the Dutch DDs were able to hit I-25 once.

Daylight Air Action started out with another Kate being hit by Flak from a US sub near Hokkaido. It's too bad that I can't use subs as Anti-Aircraft Escorts for my CVs.

Then a few Sonias, escorted by a few Tojos, hit the Air Base at Hengyang with a few bombs. I'm not sure what was the point of this raid, unless it was part of a larger planned raid that was rained out.

The Allied Bomber Force in India then got into action in a Big Way as large 4E and 2E Attacks hit the Japanese troops just east of Akyab hard. Several waves of Allied Bombers flew in, and with no LR CAP from the Japanese it was Target Practice Time.

Then the Old Pro 4Es hit the Air Base at Magwe again. First in were 11 B-24Ds and 15 B-17Es, which were faced by 12 Tojos and 4 Oscars. The 4Es blasted through, shooting down a Tojo on the way by, and hit the Air Base hard.

Next in were 11 B-24Ds and 9 B-17Fs which were faced with 7 Tojos and 4 Oscars. Again the 4Es blasted though and hit the Air Base hard.

There were no Japanese Air Attacks on Akyab, so the Engineers there fixed up most of the damage from the previous day's attacks.

At the End-of-the-Day 3 Tojos were lost due to the Raids on Magwe: 2 A-to-A and 1 to Ops.

Finally, a big Indian Infantry Division crossed the river to the east of Akyab and did the usual forced Shock attack against the two Japanese Infantry Regiments there. The Indian troops achieved a 1:2 result with roughly equal casualties. The Indians will now rest up a bit while they wait for an Armoured Regiment to join them.

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Post #: 554

Mitchell IIs on the Attack - 7/31/2011 7:12:22 PM

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January 28, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn.

Daylight brought something of a surprise as 6 Australian Mitchell IIs from Cooktown attacked a couple of Japanese heavy cruisers that were sailing south of Milne Bay. Three A6M2s were on LR CAP over the Japanese ships. The Mitchells blasted past the Zeros, shooting down one of them. The Bombers then made their run at the Japanese ships but missed from 5000 feet. One Mitchell was shot down by Flak.

The Action then moved to Burma where 15 Liberator IIs hit the Japanese Infantry Regiments that are east of Akyab. This was followed by 12 B-24Ds hitting the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo.

There were plenty of Japanese Recon and Air Patrol flights over all of the Fronts, but no Japanese Air Attacks. My opponent is now paying a lot of attention to the Allied bases in northwestern Oz, but I'm not sure from where because the Air Fields at Broome are still closed and there aren't any Japanese troops there. Perhaps he is supporting Floatplanes from CS and AV ships.

At the end of the day Dutch sub KIX missed a DMS in a big Japanese Transport TF that is heading to Rangoon. (This likely means what I saw the previous turn was not a Surface Combat TF.) SIGINT confirmed that a Japanese Infantry Regiment is on board the TF headed to Rangoon.

So while Reinforcements head towards Rangoon, Allied Recon reported that Japanese troops are pulling back from Warazup. If my opponent does pull out completely I'll move some troops forward to occupy the base.

BTW - the Indian Infantry Division that is face-to-face with the Japanese Infantry Regiments east of Akyab came out of last turn's Shock Attack in fairly good shape, so I should be able to start attacking properly with the unit soon.

Weather permitting, there ought to be a big Allied Air Attack on Mandalay next turn. I haven't hit the Air Fields there for a while and they are due for some fresh damage.

And as Advanced Notice, I will be going off for a couple of weeks holiday in a few days and I won't have my PC with me, and my opponent will be going off on three weeks holidays at the same time, so the match and this AAR will be on hiatus for most of August. We may get in a couple more turns before that, so stay tuned.

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Post #: 555

RE: Mitchell IIs on the Attack - 8/1/2011 3:02:54 PM

GreyJoy

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A quick question about the use of 4Es in this game:

How do you find them when facing zeros and Nicks? I read often that your 4Es seem to get through his CAP without many problems, while mines, even if they always get through, they always pay an heavy price in terms of damaged planes, shor down planes, or written off

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Post #: 556

RE: Mitchell IIs on the Attack - 8/1/2011 3:23:35 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

A quick question about the use of 4Es in this game:

How do you find them when facing zeros and Nicks? I read often that your 4Es seem to get through his CAP without many problems, while mines, even if they always get through, they always pay an heavy price in terms of damaged planes, shor down planes, or written off

I'm deliberately doing a handful things with my 4Es:

1 - I'm flying them on short-range missions most of the time. This way they don't suffer many Ops losses. (Ops damage is related to range.)

2 - I'm using experienced pilots when I'm flying against CAP. (I train up my 4E pilots on Search, Recon, and very short range CAP-safe ground attack missions, in that order, before sending them into strong CAP.)

3 - If I expect heavy CAP I also send in several P-38 Sweeps - either the P-38s go in first and wear down the CAP, or if the P-38s come in later they catch the CAP that has been worn down by the 4Es and so have an easier time. Either way I shoot down more enemy Fighters.

4 - I'm flying them from big bases with plenty of Air Support and Air HQs where the Air HQ and Air Support Base Forces all have commanders that have been specifically chose for high "Air" values

5 - I rest my 4Es often, sometimes for multiple days in a row.

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Post #: 557

RE: Mitchell IIs on the Attack - 8/1/2011 3:26:08 PM

GreyJoy

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Yes, i do see...exactly what i should do with mines...

Thanks mate, usefull infos as always!

Keep it up and have nice vacations!

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Post #: 558

A Failure of Naval Patrol Planning - the KB Strikes! - 8/2/2011 3:03:41 AM

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January 29, 1943 �

The Night Phase saw USS Sawfish hit a PB in a Japanese Tanker TF near Munda with a dud torpedo, and then hit it with a live torpedo. The PB went down and Sawfish got away. Unfortunately, this meant that the TKs got away too.

Daylight brought Japanese Carrier Search Planes over Exmouth and Carnarvon, which meant that my Long Range Search Scheme in northwestern Oz had failed completely. I had expected any Japanese CVs to come out of the east, but instead they came out of the north, which made sense afterwards when I considered that Soerabaja is north of Exmouth, and that is the best Port in the DEI. (It�s only too bad that Intel hadn�t given me any warning about ships or Radio Transmissions at Soerabaja.)

Despite the Air Recon, the action moved over to Burma where Allied bombers went on the attack again.

First off Mandalay was Swept by 25 P-38Gs, followed by 24 P-38Fs. Unfortunately no Japanese CAP was in the Air. Then the 4Es came in two waves, first 11 B-24Ds and 10 B-17Es, followed by 10 B-17Fs and 7 more B-24Ds. The Bombers hit their targets well. Much later 25 P-38Es Swept in over the empty skies.

The Japanese troops to the east of Akyab were attacked next by 16 Liberator IIs. Surprisingly, 3 Tojos showed up, but they never caught up with the British bombers. So the 4Es hit their target nicely and went home safely.

Finally, 12 B-24Ds hit the Japanese Troops at Akyab. There was no Japanese CAP and the bombers hit their target well.

At this point the KB went into action. First came an Air Attack on the Air Base at Exmouth. The Japanese sent 21 A6M3as, 32 A6M2s, 76 D3A1s Vals, and 48 B5N2 Kates, which were faced by 20 P-38Fs on 20K ft CAP. The P-38s tore into the Japanese Escorts, shooting down 7 A6M2s and 2 A6M3as. But there were too many Japanese planes and the Bombers got through to hit the Air Base. An F5A Recon Lightning was destroyed on the Ground. A number of Vals and Kates were damaged by Flak.

Next 10 B5N2 Kates, escorted by 8 A6M2s, attacked the Dutch CL/DD TF at Carnarvon. They were met by 8 P-40Ks on 20K CAP. The P-40Ks shot up the attack, shooting down 4 Zeros and a Kate. The Kates that got through missed their targets.

So things were looking pretty good in the Morning, but the Afternoon brought back the KB�s planes in a Big way. A Fast Transport that was unloading supplies, and an AM ASW TF, were caught in the Port by 57 Vals escorted by 33 A6M3s. The Japanese planes were met by 14 P-38Fs on 20K CAP, which again tore through the Escorts and the Dive Bombers, shooting down 3 Zeros and 3 Vals and damaging 17 more Vals. But again there were too many Japanese planes and the Dive Bombers got through and hit the ships hard, sinking a couple of the AMs on the spot.

Then 31 Kates, escorted by 19 A6M3as and 30 A6M2s, attacked a small Dutch Replenishment TF and another AM ASW TF at Carnarvon. There were 7 P-40Ks on 20K CAP, and they fought as best as they could, shooting down an A6M3a and 2 A6M2s, and damaging 4 Kates, but the rest of the bombers got through and sank another couple of AMs, while damaging 2 more AMs and one of the Dutch 3K AOs.

I�ve posted the End-of-the-Day Air Loss results below. Japanese losses were 2 � times as much as the Allied losses. But the Allied ship losses, also posted below, were the worse since the Retreat from Manila, some 13 months before.

The good news to come out of the day was that two new USAAF pilots became Aces, including one pilot who got his 5th and 6th Kills, tying him with the Chinese pilot for the overall Allied lead in Kills.

So I ordered all of the ships on the West Coast of Australia to head South, and re-directed Allied TFs in the Southwest. I�m not sure if the KB will move further south, or stick around the North Coast of Oz, but I�m not taking any chances.

So this mess has come about because of two factors:

1 � I captured Port Hedland before I had the Air Base at Coronna Downs operating, which got the Japanese counter-attack going before I was fully ready for it.

2 � I had minimal Naval Air Patrols in the Northwest of Oz because I was focussing upon the movement of Enemy TFs in the Northeast.

So, as usual, poor planning for Air Patrols caused wasted ships.

In any event, my opponent has become a bit gun-shy because of his Air Losses against so few Allied 2nd Generation Fighters, so maybe this will make him a bit more hesitant to chance the KB on offensive missions in the future.

In other news, the Port at Akyab reached Level 1 this turn, so Supplies are flowing in much more readily. But Japanese Fighters and Bombers have moved up again to the bases surrounding Rangoon, so I expect Akyab to be hit again in another turn or two. That�s okay, I�ve got plenty of Troops and Bases in the Region, and Akyab makes a fine �Tar Baby� to distract my opponent.

BTW - I believe that my opponent is going off on his vacation tomorrow, and in any event, I'll be going on mine soon afterwards, so this will likely be the last Turn posted here until much later in August.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by ADB123 -- 8/2/2011 3:05:30 AM >

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Post #: 559

Risking the Wrath of the Wife - 8/16/2011 9:45:43 PM

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January 30, 1943 �

I�m back from my holidays, but my opponent is still on his for another week. However, he has his laptop with him and is willing to risk the Wrath of the Wife, so he got a turn back to me.

The night phase started out with KXII missing a nice, big Japanese Tanker just off of Rangoon. Unfortunately, the Tanker�s Escorts didn�t miss KXII and the Dutch sub is now limping back to Port.

The action then shifted to the northwest corner of Australia as Japanese sub I-162 spotted some PTs at Exmouth, but as usual neither the sub nor the PTs engaged each other. (One would think that there would be some small chance of a Surface Engagement at night between a sub and a PT Boat.)

Then I-164 was spotted by AM Launceton, which was escorting a small Dutch 3K Ton AO halfway between Carnavan and Geraldton. Launceton�s crew hit the Japanese sub 4 times and drove it off temporarily. But later on at the end of the day I-164 attempted to attack Launceton and missed, which gave the crew on the Launceton another chance and they hit the sub twice more. Hopefully I-164 is now on its way back to Port.

Daylight showed the KB to be sitting halfway between Exmouth and Port Hedland, around 5 hexes north of the coast. Long Range Allied Patrol planes spotted the KB�s replenishment TF a further 5 or so hexes north.

The KB didn�t launch any Bomber attacks this turn but it did Sweep Exmouth with 22 A6M3as at Hi Alt. The Japanese planes found 9 P-38Fs at 20K and shot down 5 of the Allied fighters. I had the Lightnings at 20K to provide CAP over my retreating ships so the USAAF pilots were sitting ducks. Fortunately, I didn�t lose any pilots, and the remaining planes are now at their Max Alt.

This was followed by an attack by 33 Betties on the Air Base at Port Hedland. The Air Base received some damage but nothing critical.

The Action then returned to Burma where Allied 4Es continued to harass Japanese troops in the Jungle. First off 15 Liberator IIs hit the Japanese troops that are east of Akyab, then 13 B-24Ds hit the Japanese troops at Kalemyo.

So it appears that my opponent has allowed me to extricate most of my ships from the West Coast of Oz. I�ll have more Air Reinforcements showing up there in the next couple of days, so the window for the KB to rampage is closing quickly. All-in-all, it could have been much worse, and it won�t affect my schedule much so it has turned out reasonably, particularly since I now know where the KB is sitting which allows me a lot of Freedom of Movement elsewhere.

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Post #: 560

Back at it, for a while - 8/25/2011 1:59:46 AM

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January 31, 1943 �

My opponent is back, so we will attempt to do turns in a more regular manner for the next little while. However, I have already warned my opponent that I will be unavailable during the second week of September, so the Match won�t be moving forward much faster than it has been lately.

The last day of January 1943 started out with submarine action as an Allied AM attacked Japanese sub I-29 off of Geraldton. The sub was hit once and left without firing. But then I-25 spotted the already seriously damaged AMC Chitral and put a torpedo into the ship. Chitral didn�t go down, but it needs to reach Geraldton quickly. I-25 got away clean.

Then USS Pompon was spotted by an PB escort near Guam. Pompon got hit once and is now heading back to Pearl.

Daylight brought lots of Aerial Recon and Patrols. Allied planes spotted the KB to the north of Exmouth. This is where a Japanese Replenishment TF was spotted last turn, so the KB may be refuelling before getting into more mischief.

The only Air Attacks were in Burma where British Liberator IIs hit the Japanese troops to the east of Akyab and US B-24Ds hit the Japanese troops at Kalemyo.

And at the end of the day USS Sargo reported that its repairs are failing, so Sargo may not make it back to Port.

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Post #: 561

February 1943 - NW Oz - 8/25/2011 2:00:54 AM

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Here's the situation in northwestern Australia:

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Post #: 562

February 1943 - Indo-Burma - 8/25/2011 2:01:45 AM

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Here's the situation in the Indo-Burma region:

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Post #: 563

Sending Out the 4Es - 8/26/2011 2:33:15 AM

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February 1, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw US sub S-46 take a shot at an SC in the cold waters north of Uruppu-jima in the middle Kuriles. The torpedoes missed and the Escort Ships in the Japanese TF chased off the old US S-Boat, hitting it once but causing little damage. What was most interesting about this was that the SC was in a fairly large Transport TF that contains Freighters and Tankers. I wonder where it is going?

That TF caught my attention enough so that I am putting into action a plan to see if I can catch and surprise it. I've ordered more Subs into the area and I've put more Long-Range Search planes into action from my bases in the Western Aleutians. Currently my opponent has Search planes but no Bombers in the Eastern Kuriles, and his Search Planes aren't doing a very good job at finding my Subs in the Absolutely Lousy Winter Weather between the Kuriles and the Aleutians. So if that TF ends up at one of the Eastern Kuriles I may well have an opportunity to create some mayhem. We'll see over the next couple of turns.

The Other News of the Night wasn't as promising as both USS Seadragon and AMC Chital reported that their Temporary Floatation Repairs were failing. Eventually Chital made it to Port in Geraldton, but it only stayed afloat long enough for some of the crew to Abandon Ship before it went down. Seadragon remains barely afloat.

Daylight brought out numerous Japanese Naval Search Planes over Northwestern Australia as the KB moved closed to the Coast again, confirming my suspicions that it had been refueling last turn. There were no Japanese Air Attacks, but one Glen was shot down by CAP over Geraldton. My Air Defences in the Region continue to grow so if the KB does send out Bombers or Fighters again they will find some tough going. In the meanwhile I have no intention of sailing anything other than subs and PT Boats in the Region.

Once again this turn the Allies flew the only Air Attack Missions. First off British Liberator IIs hit the Japanese troops that are east of Akyab again. Then B-24s hit the Japanese troops at Akyab again. But then the Main Event struck � a full multi-sqaudron B-17/B-24 hammering of the Airfields at Myitkyina. There was no CAP and the 4Es had a field day. My opponent won't be basing any planes at Myitkyina for a while.

This was followed by multiple 4E attacks on the Air Base at Katherine in Northern Oz. Some Nicks and Tojos flew LR CAP from Darwin, but the Bombers got through and hit the Air Fields repeatedly.

And far away from the Front around 3 dozen US DDs got upgrades this turn. This is a very quick upgrade and the DDs will be back in action in a day or so.

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Post #: 564

A Turn to Grit Your Teeth and Shake Your Head - 8/27/2011 3:22:00 AM

ADB123

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February 2, 1943 -

The Night Phase brought some of those frustrating moments where the only response is to grit your teeth and shake your head.

First off, a single Japanese CL sailed into Exmouth on a Bombardment run. The two PTs that were on Patrol took one look and ran off as fast as their little engines could take them. These PT Boats had very good skippers, and a very good and aggressive leader, but the �tweaks� in the Game Engine to �tone down� PT Boats came into play and so the presence of a single CL was enough to cause the PT TF to avoid engagement at all costs.

This was followed by a larger Bombardment TF containing 3 CAs and 2 CLs. The Defensive Guns on Shore didn't fire at any of the ships in either TF and so the Japanese ships got to fire away at will. Fortunately the damage wasn't severe, and only one Recon plane was destroyed on the Ground. But it was a frustrating experience that was followed by one last bit of �insult over injury� as the Allied Anti-ship LBA found some excuse to not fly during the day either, despite spotting the retiring Japanese ships.

I'm still kicking myself over the entire mess in the northwest of Oz because it occured specifically because I jumped the gun and sent troops into Port Hedland too soon. Oh well, despite my continued lousy judgement and worse luck I am going to attempt to set another trap in the region. But I'll have to be careful because the KB is still hanging around and it is wearing plenty of Good Luck charms as it continues to avoid the even increasing number of Subs that I'm putting in the Region.

In Burma the Allied Air Forces almost received an unpleasant surprise as well as the Air Attacks on the Japanese troops that are east of Akyab found a few Tojos and Oscars on LR CAP. As luck would have it, I had decided to send in 2E bombers this turn along with 4Es, and of course the 2Es flew in first. However, the British Medium Bombers handled themselves well, losing only one Wellington while shooting down one Tojo and still hitting the Japanese troops. By the time the Liberator IIs arrived the Japanese CAP was finished for the day.

In an attempt to avoid being too predictable I sent my main 4 squadrons of 4Es out to hit the Air Base at Mandalay this turn, right after hitting Myitkyina last turn. But this time I sent out P-38s on Sweeps, so of course, there were no Japanese Fighters on CAP. The 4Es hit the base nicely and roughed up the Air Fields well.

Finally, the Secondary US 4Es hit the Japanese troops at Kalemyo again. But that is just a warm up because two Infantry Divisions moved into position to Attack at Kalemyo this turn, so I ordered all of the 4Es and 2Es in the Region to hit the Japanese troops there and ordered all of my Troops at Kalemyo to Assault the place. Unless I am exceptionally unlucky I ought to capture Kalemyo next turn.

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Post #: 565

A Long Awaited Milestone - 8/27/2011 11:12:59 PM

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February 3, 1943 -

The Night Phase saw the same PT boats from the previous day at Exmouth run into an even bigger Japanese Bombardment TF that contained a couple of BBs along with CAs. This time the PT Boat skippers were too close and had no where to run, so one of them fired a torpedo at a BB at 4K yards and amazingly enough hit the Battlewagon. But as Luck Would Have It Again, the torpedo was a near dud and did little or no damage. So the Japanese TF continued in to Bombard Exmouth.

Daylight brought some Nells out to hit the empty Air Field at Port Hedland, followed by an attack by the bombers from the KB. Port Hedland and Exmouth now are in great need of Supplies, but re-supply will have to wait until the IJN goes back north for replenishing and celebrations.

In the meanwhile the Allied Air Force in India attacked the Japanese Infantry Regiment at Kalemyo mercilessly. There was no Japanese CAP so all of the various 2Es and 4Es got in and dropped their bombs, albeit with varying degrees of accuracy and success.

Then Dutch Sub KIX attacked a DD in a big Japanese Transport TF off of Moulmein, but missed. The Escorts in the TF chased KIX away without hitting it. But obviously lots of Supply and likely more Troops are being sent into Burma by the Japanese.

Next, the Big Assault on Kalemyo occurred. The single Japanese Infantry Regiment was attacked by a British Infantry Division, an Indian Infantry Division, 2 Armoured Brigades, and two Artillery Regiments. The Allied assault easily captured the base, kicking out the Japanese while causing heavy casualties to the defenders. Now I'm moving up a Base Force and some Engineers in order to re-build the base and prepare for the next Allied move.

And finally, another Armoured Brigade crossed the River to the east of Akyab to join the Indian Infantry Division that is already there. Despite the Indian Division being much bigger and stronger than the two Japanese Infantry Regiments that are there, the Game Engine declared a Shock Attack must be performed, so both Allied units were disrupted by the attack. Fortunately, the Japanese suffered much larger casualties. I've got another Armoured Brigade on its way, along with an Artillery Regiment, so I ought to eventually drive those two Japanese Infantry Regiments out of that Blocking Position.

And there was another Milestone reached this turn, as USS Arizona came out of the Repair Yards at Pearl Harbor almost 14 months after the BB was nearly sunk during the Japanese Air Attack. Arizona is now on its way to the West Coast for Modernization, which means that it will be out of action for most of 1943 too.

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Post #: 566

Regrouping - 8/28/2011 9:41:35 PM

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February 4, 1943 -

There was no Night Action this turn for a change as the various Japanese Attack TFs vanished into the darkness. The only activity was a Japanese near Exmouth that danced around some PT Boats.

Daylight saw continued Allied Bombing action in Burma as British Liberator IIs hit the Japanese troops that are east of Akyab while US B-24s hit one of the several Japanese combat units in the jungle to the east of Kalemyo. In both cases Allied Escorts flew along but there was no Japanese LR CAP at either location.

So Japanese activity has gone stealthy again. I'll have to prepare better for the next time that the Japanese come out of hiding. Last time in northeastern Oz I attempted to Advance with a Shoe String operation, but I got Clotheslined instead.

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Post #: 567

Welcome Arrival - 8/29/2011 9:55:40 PM

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February 5, 1943 �

The Night Phase was quiet again, other than a PT TF spotting a Japanese sub at Carnarvon.

Daylight brought Rain most everywhere except for Lashio where the USAAF 4Es flew in to smash up the Air Base nicely. There was no CAP and as a bonus three Dinahs were destroyed on the ground.

Otherwise things are fairly quiet as I continue to build up my forces all around, and re-build them in northwestern Australia. The good news is that the B-24D1 has come on line at a rate of 48 planes per month. This almost feels miraculous.

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Post #: 568

Back to China Wars? - 8/30/2011 2:18:05 AM

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February 6, 1943 -

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought a return of the Japanese Army Air Force to active bombing in China as attacks flew against the Air Bases at Sian, Hengyang and Liuchow. I'm not sure what my opponent intends to accomplish with this, other than to increase his Ops losses.

Bad Weather interferred with most planned Allied Air Strikes in the Far East this turn other than 4E and 2E strikes on the Japanese troops to the east of Akyab. There was no Japanese CAP this time so it was good practice for the Allied Bombers.

US 4Es also flew against the Air Base at Katherine this turn. Again there was no Japanese CAP so the bombers had a good run and hammered the Base nicely.

With the KB and Japanese Bombardment TFs gone from northwestern Australia I set my LBA in the region to low altitude ASW and started to get some nice results. I'm sending in an ASW TF too, just in case they find some easy pickings. (In order to keep a certain amount of deception in play, I just used Dutch DDs in the ASW TF, despite their weak ASW ratings. I don't want to advertise how much of the USN is in the region.)

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Post #: 569

Weather Happens - 8/30/2011 10:06:57 PM

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February 7, 1943 �

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight started out in a promising manner as my low altitude ASW planes started to buzz Japanese subs all over the west coast of Australia. Some of the planes even attempted attacks. And eventually, even the little Dutch DD ASW TF got into the act and attacked a Japanese sub, achieving one hit.

Then it was purely a case of Weather Happens. In fact, the Bad Weather was so Bad that even my opponent commented upon it because it affected one of his attacks. But he didn�t realize how lucky he was that his planes attacked at all, and that once again my planes refused to fly against a Japanese base that actually had Japanese combat planes on the ground.

So a big, multi-base Japanese Air Attack hit Akyab. There were 125 bombers and 75 fighters. A handful of Hurricane IIcs wandered over from Cox�s Bazaar and tangled with the Japanese escorts a bit. Two Hurricanes were eventually lost, but no pilots. But thanks to the Weather the 125 Japanese bombers did negligible damage on Akyab.

The main Japanese attack was followed by a Sweep by 25 Tojos, but they found nothing in the Air. Then another 25 Helens flew in and missed their target.

But most importantly from my perspective, the main USAAF 4Es and the P-38s refused to fly once again against Magwe, and to add insult to injury, this time there were Japanese planes in Magwe. I�m getting really tired of constantly missing opportunities.

Two secondary 4E bomber squadrons did fly against secondary targets. The British Liberator IIs hit a Japanese Infantry Division that is closing in on the hex to the east of Akyab where I have been attacking the two Japanese Infantry Regiments. And the second string USAAF B-24D squadron hit another Japanese Infantry Division that is on the road between Mandalay and Myitkyina and is moving into the Jungle to block my advance past Kalemyo.

So thanks to the Japanese Internal Transportation Lines, the River Crossing Rules, and the Bad Weather my early advance in Burma is about to stall. Oh well, I�ll just keep on trying to bomb Japanese bases and positions, and be satisfied with tying down so many Japanese units.

Elsewhere, two second line B-24D squadrons in eastern Australia attacked the Air Fields at Port Moresby this turn. They were met by 14 Tojos and 4 Zeros, but it was the Weather that had the most important say in what transpired, and the Liberators caused minimal damage to the Air Fields.

So it looks as if I�ll just be back to building bases again for a while.

(in reply to ADB123)

Post #: 570