Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

....My opponent here was Erstad who is an expert in surface combat....

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

This thread will be primarily a strategy thread on WitP AE scenario 1. Id also like to use this thread to discuss tactics/operational plans that were involved in the AE tournament if anyone has any interest.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

12/17-12/18/41



CHINA....THE SOUTH


This is perhaps the quietest opening I have seen from Japan in over 30 games of stock WitP/CHS/Big B/AE. The Japanese army is most conspicuous by its absence.

Erstad finally takes Hong Kong this turn but there is no other action in the southern half of China. No offensive moves from Hankow/Wuchang/Nanchang. No assault on Changsha. No mopping up attacks on the scattered bastions of SE China such as Wenchow or Chuhsien. In fact....Erstad withdrew from Ichang before I could mount an attack. Now that Erstad has taken Hong Kong he has sent a recon mission over Wuchow....its almost undefended as I moved everything forward to invest Canton. Sinyang is also invested with 1500 Chinese AV. I normally take Sinyang as China early on but Erstad has reinforced it with troops and engineers and is building up the forts so I will be content to dig in here with heavily prepped troops in 2x terrain.

If Erstad does move on Wuchow, I have a strategic reserve in the south of aboiut 2500 AV around Ichang and another 2400 AV resting in the rail yards at Changsha and Hengchow...ready to redeploy anywhere in the south where China has the railroads and the mobility advantage.

Until Erstad shows his hand in the south.....Im content to sit back as the Chinese and rest the units to undisrupt the squads and gain morale and eventually experience.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

sbetsa....thanx for your comments!


Wirraway_Ace.....i will try to briefly give you some insight on the operational planning than went on in all 3 AE Tournament games. Then if you have other questions go ahead and fire away.

The 1st round was the Coral Sea scenario and I was playing Nomad. On paper.....it appeared that the USN and its 2 CVs were no match for the IJN with 2 CVs, 1 CVL, 3 land based squadrons of A6M2s and 2 squadrons of Betties. I figured the only US advantage was mobility....the USN starts with 2 AOs vs 1 IJN AO plus it has fuel stored up and down the eastern coast of Oz.

I left 1 AO out the the middle of the Coral Sea and 1 AO with the USN CV TFs off the coast of Oz. When Nomad tried an end around invasion of Efate/Luganville I was able to detach some cruisers for a high speed run from OZ....across the Coral Sea......and destroy the IJN invasion force. Then the cruisers were able to race back to Oz...refueling at the AO in the middle of the Coral Sea on the way. Meanwhile.....the USN CVs were manuevering back and forth between the east coast of Oz and the middle of the Coral Sea watching the IJN invasion force approach Port Moresby......just at the extreme range of IJN search AC.....topping off every turn from the escorting AO. When Nomad finally decided to send the IJN carriers after what he thought he had spotted in the middle of the Coral Sea....all he found was AO Neosho and a few escorts. Meanwhile, the USN CVs were topped off on the east coast of Oz just N of Townsville and they raced N at full speed to the Torres Straights.....NW Of Port Moresby. The USN CVs were able to hammer the IJN invasion transports and surface TFs while the IJN carriers flailed around in the middle of the Coral Sea. Nomad's CVs were low on fuel and wouldnt have been able to get into position to either protect his transports or attack my carriers for at least a couple more turns so he conceded.

When I played as Japan, I took the 1 IJN AO and kept it with my CV TFs/surface TFs/invasion TF stack and again topped off my CVs every turn. I sank the 2 USN AOs with my subs and now it was the USN that had the mobility problem. My invasion force made it ashore at Port Moresby in good order and I was about to take the base when Nomad sent the 2 USN CVs at me in a very short ranged bar room brawl. The USN CVs were both sunk and while Ryujo was sunk and Shokaku and Zuikaku were both heavily damaged....they were still just barely able to conduct flight ops and the remnants of the USN were forced to flee the field of battle.


The 2nd round of the AE Tournament was the 1000 mi War......I didnt know very much about this aspect of the Pacific War other than that the Allies recaptured Kiska and Attu. I was surprised to learn from the OOB that half way through the scenario Japan receives 2 CVs and a CVL vs a single Allied CVE. Japan also gets BB Yamato and BB Musashi and a horde of CAs ready for Adm Tanaka to command. Basically....the Allies have to capture both Attu and Kiska before the IJN carriers arrive and then all the USN fleet has to hide somewhere on a small map. So for the Allies to capture Attu and Kiska as quickly as possible....the key to the game is building up the forward Allied base at Adak. I sent every combat engineer regiment and battalion there ASAP. ADAK starts out as a 2/2 base but can be enlarged to a 5/5. Once the airfield is enlarged to level 4/5 you can bring up the medium and heavy bombers from Dutch Harbor and pound Attu and Kiska. However......FAR MORE IMPORTANT..... is to build up the port at Adak to level 5. The USN amphibious transports dont arrive until a few weeks into the scenario and there simply isnt enough time to run amphibious transports twice from Dutch Harbor to the Japanese held bases before KB shows up. So you need to move all you assault forces and supplies forward to Adak with xAPs and xAKs so that when the APAs/AKAs finally arrive you can quickly assault both islands.

My opponent Rader only tried to take Kiska...the closer island to the Allies. I took Attu and would have been able to also take Kiska but the CD unit at Attu shot up a couple of my assault transports.

Then the IJN carriers showed up. Rader made his last stand with all his Allied ships and AC at Adak. I had been planning all along as the Allies to make my final stand at Dutch Harbor with all its AA guns. As Rader moved his IJN carriers past Adak to hit me at Dutch Harbor I was able to stage bombers to Adak to hit him as he approached and also as he retreated. I had been training my medium bombers on naval attack for almost 2 months and scored repeated hits on Zuiho, Shokaku and Zuikaku.

When it was my turn to move the IJN carriers and BBs to Adak to finish off the Allies I was able to naval bombard Adak and destroy most of the Allies air force...over 150 AC.....on the ground and even though I also lost Zuiho the remaining American naval forces were pretty much hor's de combat.

The final round of the tournament was the Marianas Scenario and my opponent was Erstad. The Japanese have a pretty big navy in this scenario but they are hopelessly outclassed with both obsolete fighters and poorly trained pilots. On the other hand....the US has an extremely powerful navy with Hellcats and Avengers and good pilots....but they have to capture heavily fortified Saipan/Tinian/Guam with insufficient ground forces. The easiest island to take of the 3 is Tinian....and that is the first island that Erstad went after as the Allies.

Instead....my 1st assault objective was Pagan.....its lightly defended and has a level 5 AF and I think that the port can be expanded to level 5 also. I think Pagan is the key to this scenario.....read Captain Mandrakes AAR on the Marianas.... he too went after Pagan 1st with exactly the same reasoning and forces as I did. Once you take Pagan....you have an immediate level 5 AF with 250 land based AC.......naval bombers to keep KB at bay, recon platform for Iwo Jima....where most of the Japanese AC reinforcements enter from.... and a naval search PBY platform that can search up to the northern map edge and keep the IJN from going around your northern flank. Pagan also serves as a fuel/supply/LCU dump and I just kept dropping TKs/AKEs/AEs there for rearmament and refueling. I never once had to send the USN back to the Marshalls for rearm/refuel/replacements as Erstad did until he could take Tinian. Once I had defeated the Japanese navy I was able to bring up more medium and heavy bombers to Pagan to help wear down the defenses at Saipan/Tinian/Guam.

Erstad finally did take Tinian and then he was able to build up both the port and airfields there. By the time he did that, I was able to move the Japanese surface fleet around his northern flank and I was able to attack him in the rear in the Marianas. The IJN is at such aerial disadvantage that ......just as for the US in the Coral Sea Scenario...their only advantage is mobility....something very difficult to achieve when half their navy arrives on the map with no fuel. I think the IJN starts with 1 AO and 1 TK....I loaded these with fuel at Babeldaob and sent them up to Iwo Jima to support future ops. My ships were able to do high speed runs between Truk and Babeldaob...refueling at each base....and then between Babeldaob and iwo Jima. When Erstad sent the US carriers out to Babeldaob to try to force combat with the IJN....I sent half the carriers on a high speed run to hit unprotected USN surface TFs and transports in the Marianas behind the USN CVs while the other half of the IJN CVs quietly refueled at Iwo Jima and departed for Hawaiian waters. I detached CAs from the IJN CVs headed for Hawaii to conduct surface intercepts with USN convoys carrying reinforcements from Hawaii to the Marianas.

I apologize for rambling a bit here but to sum up....the operational plan to take Pagan was key to the Allied success in this scenario. As Japan....you are so outgunned that the only thing you can try to exploit in the Marianas scenario is speed and manuver....sort of the same thing as what I did with the out gunned USN CVs in the Coral Sea scenario.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance


THE PURSUIT OF FORCE Z


Erstad finally calls off the dogs as Force Z reaches Australia. DD Stewart and unscathed DD Balmer also make it out of harm's way but DD Tenedos and DD Barker were lost in action. Force Z will need some time in the repair yard from all the high speed runs its conducted over the last few days.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

Wirraway_Ace....I thought that I had an opportunity to not only sink 2 IJN CAs but also get shipping out of Manila that had been bottled up. If you would have told me before the operation started that I would lose a BC from Betties based at a level 3 AF at 15 hex range then I probably wouldnt have attempted it. Erstad thought that down the road the trade of a BC for an IJN CA was almost worth it. Personally, I think that its importanat for the Allies to have a "fleet in being" in the early war on the western side of the map.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance


CBI


I LRCAPed Lashio with 3 fighter squadrons last turn but Japan was still able to fly reinforcements with transport AC.....the size of Japan's garrison there was doubled from 500 troops to over 1000.

Erstad LRCAPed Tarakan and Balikpappan and I lost 6 extremely valuble transport AC last turn.....no more unit withdrawals by transport AC in the central DEI now. Japan will capture Balikpappan next turn and the turn after that Erstad will have Betties and A6M2s in range of Soerabaja.....I will have to empty the harbor at Soerabaja over the next couple of turns now.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

Wirraway_Ace.....here are the combat events from this turn:


AIR TRANSPORT PHASE
L3Y2 Tinas flying to Lashio intercepted
Ki-57-I Topsys flying to Lashio intercepted
Ki-57-I Topsys flying to Lashio intercepted
Ki-57-I Topsys flying to Lashio intercepted


AIR TRANSPORT PHASE
L3Y2 Tinas flying to Lashio intercepted
Ki-57-I Topsys flying to Lashio intercepted
Ki-57-I Topsys flying to Lashio intercepted


I shot down exactly zero transport AC this turn....the Buffalo I fighters are worthless. Meanwhile.....Erstad shot down 6 out of 6 C-33s from the ATAC squadron the turn before.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance




So the 112th Regiment is in Burma. That means that Erstad has split up th 55th Division with the 144th Regiment landed at Port Moresby. With the 4th Division heading to Truk and the 21st, 33rd and Imperial Guards divisions still unaccounted for....it makes me think that Erstad is planning for an additional operation with an as yet unknown objective.

Your intel officer would probably say with an insufferable smile , "we already knew that sir. The 144th is detached from the division and assigned to a different HQs as part of the standard task organization and is the only infantry regiment available to Japan in the Coral Sea Area of Operations at the beginning of the war. The remaining rgts of the division cannot be recombined, so we anticipate their use in Burma, with as much armor as can be found, to rout the weak commonwealth resistance or against other weakly held targets in the DEI where the resiliance of an entire formed division is not needed. Note sir, that the 56th Division also has a detached regiment (146th) somewhere in the Celebes unless he has made the effort to change its HQ and ship it to link up with the rest of the division. The remaining divisions we have not seen yet committed may be preparing for an early invasion of Sumatra (at Palembang) or Java. The key oil fields and the highly defensible nature of the terrain at Palembang make it a likely target. The enemy will not want to see us successfully reinforce. "

SOPAC


The IJA 144th Regiment is ashore at Port Moresby. So far there have been no followup invasions here and 1 IJA regiment is not enough to take the base. Evidently Erstad thought he could rush Port Moresby with a single regiment but with the Allied reinforcements he will need to bring more to the party. No additional IJN troop convoys are spotted in the area. KB hovers just offshore at Port Moresby.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

Japan capturws Muntok.

The IJA 9th Regiment is ID'ed at Balikpappan and the 20th Regiment was ID'ed at Samarinda...this means that Erstad has split up the 16th Division and only has the 48th Division and the 65th Brigade ashore on Luzon at full strength.....that only is not enough to take Luzon but its not even enough to bottle up the Allies at Clark/Manila.

He was probalby planning on using the 38th from Hong Kong, but your investure of Canton required the commitment of that division.

quote:

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

12/13-12/14/41



SUBS


SS I-122 sinks AK Fatshan off Hong Kong.

SS KXI puts a torpedo in AK Tihuku Maru near Patani.

SS I-122 sinks AKL Soochow off Hong Kong.

SS I-121 pumps 9 shells into AK Palawan near Donggala.

SS I-122 scores a hat trick by sinking its 3rd vessel this turn.....AKL Yat Shing.....off Hong Kong.

SS KXI lands a fish on AK Hukuyo Maru near patani.



NAVAL BATTLE OF BATAAN


The Allies have a lot of shipping trapped in port at Manila.....and some of the AKs in port have loaded elements of the Cavite Base Force. One of the most important ops for me in the Philippines at the start of the war is to extricate the Cavite and the Cebu base forces.....I use these units to help build up Noumea and usually Port Moresby and then as the Allies advance across the Pacific I move these 2 base forces forward into the Marianas and the Paulaus. Cadres of both units have already been flown out of harms way but I like to get as much of the parent unit out as possible. Meanwhile.....IJN bombers at Vigan are hammering the Allied shipping in port at Manila:

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 18 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 15
Ki-36 Ida x 9



Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 10


Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 3 destroyed
Ki-36 Ida: 1 destroyed


Allied Ships
xAKL Paz, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Yu Sang, Bomb hits 2, on fire
PG Asheville, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
PG Tulsa, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1
xAKL Princess of Negros, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Corregidor, Bomb hits 1, on fire



Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Ki-36 Ida bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 4 x 30 kg GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
24th PG/17th PS with P-40E Warhawk (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes
24th PG/3rd PS with P-40E Warhawk (9 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
9 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 15000
Raid is overhead



Somehow I have to get rid of the IJN blockade off Manila with 2 CAs and 2 CLs. The subs and PTs I have sent to hit the IJN blocking force have been ineffectual so far.


Force Z had just arrived at Balikpappan. I stripped away some of the lower endurance RN DDs and augmented the force with CA Houston, CL Boise, CL Marblehead and 4 longer ranged USN DDs. They are ordered to sail at full speed to Manila and hit the IJN cruiser blocking force off Bataan. P-40Es are flown in to Bataan and Batangas to LRCAP Force Z when it arrives at Manila. Force Z will refuel at Manila and then race back to Balikpappan. A fresh P-40B squadron at Tarakan will LRCAP Force Z on the return trip to Balikpappan. The only problem with this plan is I will have no LRCAP for Force Z on the end of the 1st day of the high speed run to Manila. Force Z should be in the southern Sulu Sea approximately 3 hexes NW of Zamboanga. Mini KB is currently in the Clebes Sea and should be out of range of Force Z at the end of the 1st day. The only other Japanese airfield that is within range of Force Z is the level 3 airfield at Vigan.

Well at the end of the 1st day of the run to Manila, Force Z is hit by Betties flying from the level 3 airifeld at Vigan....at the extreme range of 15 hexes no less.....and they are carrying torpedoes:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Zamboanga at 74,86

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 19,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
G4M1 Betty x 8



Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
BC Repulse, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
BB Prince of Wales



Aircraft Attacking:
7 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo



Unfortunately....after BC Repulse is hit by torpedoes it is detached from Force Z with DD Electra as an escort and is sent back towards Balikpappan.....right into the sights of the Kates from mini KB:


Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tawi Tawi at 71,89

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 39 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 5
B5N1 Kate x 4



Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BC Repulse, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk



Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B5N1 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Type 91 Torpedo



BC Repulse is lost with all hands. Bloodied but still undeterred, Force Z races up to Luzon and pummels the IJN blocking force off Bataan:


Night Time Surface Combat, near Lubang at 78,78, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
No Japanese losses

Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
CL Kuma, Shell hits 3
DD Asakaze
DD Matsukaze, Shell hits 4, on fire

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 3
CA Houston
CL Marblehead
CL Boise, Shell hits 2
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Stewart
DD Tenedos



Reduced visibility due to Rain with 17% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Rain and 17% moonlight: 2,000 yards
Range closes to 19,000 yards...
Range closes to 17,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 13,000 yards...
Range closes to 11,000 yards...
Range closes to 10,000 yards...
Range closes to 9,000 yards...
Range closes to 8,000 yards...
Range closes to 7,000 yards...
Range closes to 6,000 yards...
Range closes to 5,000 yards...
Range closes to 4,000 yards...
Range closes to 3,000 yards...
Range closes to 2,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 2,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 2,000 yards
CA Houston engages CA Ashigara at 2,000 yards
CA Maya engages BB Prince of Wales at 2,000 yards
CA Ashigara engages CL Boise at 2,000 yards
CL Marblehead engages DD Matsukaze at 2,000 yards
DD Tenedos engages DD Matsukaze at 2,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Stewart at 2,000 yards
DD Bulmer engages DD Matsukaze at 2,000 yards
CA Ashigara engages BB Prince of Wales at 2,000 yards
CA Houston engages CA Ashigara at 2,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CL Kuma at 2,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Tenedos at 2,000 yards
DD Asakaze engages DD Tenedos at 2,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Stewart at 2,000 yards
DD Bulmer engages DD Matsukaze at 2,000 yards
DD Barker engages DD Matsukaze at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 6,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CA Ashigara at 6,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CA Maya at 6,000 yards
CA Ashigara sunk by CL Boise at 6,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Tenedos at 6,000 yards
DD Asakaze engages DD Bulmer at 6,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Barker at 6,000 yards
Range increases to 7,000 yards
BB Prince of Wales engages CA Maya at 7,000 yards
CA Maya engages CA Houston at 7,000 yards
CL Boise engages CL Kuma at 7,000 yards
CL Marblehead engages DD Asakaze at 7,000 yards
DD Asakaze engages DD Tenedos at 7,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Bulmer at 7,000 yards
DD Matsukaze engages DD Barker at 7,000 yards
Task forces break off...



CA Ashigara is sunk and CL Kuma is damaged. Force Z arrives at Manila and is covered by USAAF P-40E LRCAP from the IJN bombers at Vigan.


Now its time for Force Z to go home....and for all the Allied shipping in port at Manila to get the hell out of Dodge. Not only is mini KB waiting back in the Celebes Sea......but Erstad has placed a surface TF with 4 BBs in the Celebes Sea to block any ship from exiting to the south.

So Force Z has 2 options:

1) Withdraw along the northern coast of Borneo under Allied fighter cover at Singkawang and then proceed to Batavia or...
2)Withdraw through the center of the Philippine archipelago.....through the San Bernadino Straights and into Leyte Gulf and then to a point 2 hexes NW of Sorong and thence into the Banda Sea.

I decided on the 2nd alternative......USAAF P-40Bs and P-40Es are staged into Mindanao to cover the withdrawal. BB PoW doesnt have quite enough fuel to reach Darwin so Force Z will sail from a point just NW of Sorong to Tamerfane Island......just north of Darwin...where there are some pre-positioned tankers waiting at anchor to refuel the thirsty capital ships.


As far as shipping in port at Manila.....I have some very high value targets including 3 AS ships and several AKs carrying the Cavite Baes Force. These will be sent through both the San Bernadino Straight and the Sulu/Celebes Seas back to safe harbor. As luck would have it....several AKLs are also just leaving Cebu with the Cebu Base Force. Mini KB will have a field day tomorrow. I staged 2 squadrons of Dutch medium bombers into Tarakan with B-339s and P-40Bs as escorts just to put a little caution into the Japanese. I will also flood the Celebes Sea and the Sulu Sea with a horde of low value AKLs and AKs just to keep mini KB busy.



MALAYA

IJA troops capture Alor Star and retreat the 15th Indian Brigade in the wrong direction.

Additional IJA troops advance along the Kota Bharo/Temuloh highway and hammer the former defenders of Kota Bharu yet again.



CBI

Erstad drops paratroopers at Lashio but is defeated by the defending base force. I bought a Chinese 11th Army Division that is a couple days out from Lashio so hopefully they arrive in time.

The Chinese capture Ichang as Japan withdraws from the town.

Japan merely bombards at Hong Kong.

The entire south of China is strangely quiet.



DEI


Japan captures Vanimo but is repulsed at Jesselton.

Additional IJA troops land at Manado.



SOPAC


IJN troops invade at Lunga. Now Im really starting to become concerned about the rapidity of the Japanese advance in the south Pacific but at this point there isnt very much I can do about it.