Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
Since I'm staying put for the next six month, I'll take the invasion forces off the hair trigger.  I'm going to keep a fairly strong presence at Geraldton-Perth-Busselton, just because I've had prep warnings for the west coast.  The rest, I'll distribute mostly to the lesser bases on the east side.  If CF makes a move on Australia, I doubt he'll sail straight into one of the major bases.  He handles Suva in a similar fashion, so I don't see that changing here.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I'll run my amphibs back to Pearl for now.   Maybe my carriers too.  I'll keep my options open regarding targets of opportunity.  I'd like to get a camera equipped PB4Y squadron over to Australia.  On the face of it, CF probably has a lot of troops tied up between Port Moresby, Noumea and Suva.  PM has something like 28,000 troops there.  I know two full divisions are at Suva.  Noumea's a question mark.  My offhand guess is two divisions there, too.  Should KB decide to head to India or something, taking one of these back could be useful.  Likewise, I have couple divisions worth of troops at 100% prep for a Gilberts adventure.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

I'll have to get more troops to Christmas, as it's fairly lightly defended right now.  It's probably a better place to stage the Gilberts/Marshalls thing from anyway, though I'll have to watch the stacking limit.  I seem to recall it being in the 30,000 range.

I'm using my other game to take out my aggression on.

quote:

Morning Air attack on Exmouth , at 50,129

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 51
SBD-3 Dauntless x 73
TBF-1 Avenger x 53

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 20
Port hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
18 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
18 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
17 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb

---------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on Exmouth , at 50,129

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 9
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 10

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 9
Port hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Port Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

---------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on Exmouth , at 50,129

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 3

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Port Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

quote:

Morning Air attack on 11th Militia Regiment, at 50,129 (Exmouth)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 12

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 14th JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking 11th Militia Regiment ...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

30 March 1943

Back in action.

I'm working on getting Christmas Island better setup. The USA 43rd Division is on a 16 kt convoy to there. To compensate, I'll have to remove some of the base units to keep within stacking limits. I don't need over 1,000 air support anyway. I'd just been stashing units there anyway to relive Pearl Harbor's stacking situation. This should help ease my security concerns for Christmas.

Once Attu is dealt with, I'm toying with the idea of an adventure further west. Paramushiro-jima looks to be a level 5 airfield right now. To do this, I'd have to bank on the fact that he may have skimped a bit on home air defense, which may or may not be likely. I'd probably need my AKVs for instant air there. I have more than enough base forces to set something up quickly. I have 30 Seabee battalions alone in San Francisco.

Suva eats another bombardment, though combat unit casualties were quite light. Seadragon takes a shot at Hiei, but misses. She gets pounded badly in return, so she'll need serious drydock time. I'm watching that area closely. If I see any indication that KB is departing the area, I may send the USN BBs in

Two big tanker convoys are at Perth, unloading about 270,000 worth of fuel. My carriers are a day away. They'll join up with all the CVEs and head east. Yesterday, the carriers took a second swipe at Exmouth, with further raids by Mitchells today.

quote:

Morning Air attack on Exmouth , at 50,129

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 51
SBD-3 Dauntless x 73
TBF-1 Avenger x 53

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 3 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 20
Port hits 7

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
18 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
18 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
17 x TBF-1 Avenger bombing from 5000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 500 lb GP Bomb
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
7 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Airfield Attack: 1 x 1000 lb GP Bomb

---------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on Exmouth , at 50,129

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 9
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 10

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 9
Port hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Port Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

---------------------------------------------

Morning Air attack on Exmouth , at 50,129

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 3

No Allied losses

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Port Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

quote:

Morning Air attack on 11th Militia Regiment, at 50,129 (Exmouth)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 24 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 12

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
43 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Also attacking 14th JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking 11th Militia Regiment ...

That's cute... a militia regiment guarding Exmouth.

Regardless, I'm spreading my combat power around the east coast. There won't be a landing site without a credible amount of combat power waiting there.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I'm working on getting Christmas Island better setup. The USA 43rd Division is on a 16 kt convoy to there. To compensate, I'll have to remove some of the base units to keep within stacking limits. I don't need over 1,000 air support anyway. I'd just been stashing units there anyway to relive Pearl Harbor's stacking situation. This should help ease my security concerns for Christmas.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I have 30 Seabee battalions alone in San Francisco.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
Regardless, I'm spreading my combat power around the east coast. There won't be a landing site without a credible amount of combat power waiting there.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wargmr

My thoughts on Australia...

Australia is a continent and maneuver warfare is king.

If your opponent is attacking Australia it really extends his line of supply so this is a good thing.

The problem with defending western australia is the danger of being cut off at Port Augusta. If units get caught in the western half they cannot reinforce the east without amphibious movement.

You have no terrain bonuses on that half of the continent and other than VP points there is little gain for the Japanese player except the industry at Perth.

If VP's are off the table I would forget about western Australia and let him have it if he wants.

Concentrate forces near Sydney/Perth where the terrain is to your advantage and his supply lines are extended even further and you gain a lot of advantage.

You can see my game in progress where NJP attacked Australia and how I am getting out of it. It seems he has about 80K troops almost cut off but he still owns the rail lines to western Australia and there has been a lot of ship movement up there. The flip side is that any Japanese forces caught in the open are subject to murderous 4EB LBA from the allies.

One of the hardest things for an AFB IMO is patience. Let him overextend and then make him pay for it!!

quote:

Afternoon Air attack on 11th Militia Regiment, at 50,129 (Exmouth)

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 8

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb



---------------------------------------------

Afternoon Air attack on 11th Militia Regiment, at 50,129 (Exmouth)

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 37 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 9

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I haven't done much with the CBs, since most of my existing bases are fairly well developed. I could probably take a survey to see if there's any other new spots I'd like to fill out. I'm not comfortable with the Pago Pago area right now, for obvious reasons. I'm wondering if trying a massive buildup of the Tahiti area is feasible or even desirable. It could be a handy place to stage supply/fuel from, but it'll take a lot of work, and it could become a backwater again fairly quickly.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
9 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

quote:

orning Air attack on 2nd Ship Engineer Regiment, at 50,129 (Exmouth)

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 30

Allied aircraft
Mitchell II x 9
PB4Y-1 Liberator x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Mitchell II: 4 destroyed, 1 damaged
PB4Y-1 Liberator: 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
105 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 10000 feet
Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
5 x Mitchell II bombing from 6000 feet *
Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
282 Ku S-1 with A6M3a Zero (22 airborne, 8 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(22 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
22 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 13000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes

Also attacking 14th JAAF AF Bn ...
Also attacking 2nd Ship Engineer Regiment ...

quote:

1943-04-03 6/20th Division is loaded on a Std-D Cargo class xAK moving to Benkoelen -

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

The Intel Monkey had something strange to say today.

quote:

1943-04-03 6/20th Division is loaded on a Std-D Cargo class xAK moving to Benkoelen -

This seems rather timely. I was under the assumption that Japanese intel provided two things:

1) Jack
2) Crap

At least that's the impression from my other game. Has anyone else ever gotten some good concrete information (not a base) as the Japanese?

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wargmr

My thoughts on Australia...

Australia is a continent and maneuver warfare is king.

If your opponent is attacking Australia it really extends his line of supply so this is a good thing.

The problem with defending western australia is the danger of being cut off at Port Augusta. If units get caught in the western half they cannot reinforce the east without amphibious movement.

You have no terrain bonuses on that half of the continent and other than VP points there is little gain for the Japanese player except the industry at Perth.

If VP's are off the table I would forget about western Australia and let him have it if he wants.

Concentrate forces near Sydney/MELBOURNE where the terrain is to your advantage and his supply lines are extended even further and you gain a lot of advantage.

You can see my game in progress where NJP attacked Australia and how I am getting out of it. It seems he has about 80K troops almost cut off but he still owns the rail lines to western Australia and there has been a lot of ship movement up there. The flip side is that any Japanese forces caught in the open are subject to murderous 4EB LBA from the allies.

One of the hardest things for an AFB IMO is patience. Let him overextend and then make him pay for it!!

Did you mean Sydney/Melbourne there, Wargamr? Perth seems too far away for concentration of your forces, and it was Sydney/Melbourne that you had success in defending ...

quote:

Morning Air attack on 36th Division, at 131,160 (Nadi)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid detected at 30 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
J2M2 Jack x 8

Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 10

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D1 Liberator: 6 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet *
Ground Attack: 5 x 500 lb GP Bomb
2 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 15000 feet *
Ground Attack: 5 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
284 Ku S-1 with J2M2 Jack (8 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
(8 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.)
8 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 20000.
Raid is overhead

Also attacking 63rd Division ...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

I have an A-36 unit in the states with two more on the way. Kind of useless, since production doesn't start until October. Another CVE is due in 10 days, also.

quote:

Night Naval bombardment of Suva at 132,160 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Japanese Ships
BB Hiei
BB Kongo

Allied Ships
xAP Tjisadane, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
87 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 5 (3 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 6
Port hits 1

E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for BB Hiei
276th Coastal Artillery Battalion firing at BB Hiei
BB Hiei firing at 276th Coastal Artillery Battalion
E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for BB Kongo
BB Kongo firing at Suva

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
For all the fire in the sky, I've taken very few combat casualties. I wouldn't want to run any airplanes out of there, though. Supplies are at 235k, so that won't be a factor. I hate the thought of him pulling a lot of fuel out of there.

Carriers rounding Melbourne. I have a big tanker TF unloading at Sydney, with another on the way near New Zealand. Big supply convoy to Melbourne right behind that one. I've also kicked off a 50k supply convoy from Cape Town to Karachi.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy

Yeah, I can see a starting point, but to infer the destination like this isn't convincing. Benkoelen is sorta a random location. Unless a massive radio display at Perth makes it that obvious.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
My convoys are running way south, by New Zealand.  I can probably keep a LRCAP up while they're in range.  I think Suva's fort level was at 9.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jwolf

But how could he get any LCU there (Suva) now, with KB plus multiple enemy BB etc around? Air transport?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
Judging by my battleship ambush of KB earlier, I can't really bet the farm on my shooting.  I should probably conduct a Stalinist purge of my battlewagon captains.  I've always assumed they were competent by default, but I should double-check.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mundy
I'll see what I can do about Pago Pago to start with.  I can get a bunch of planes there fairly quickly form the hoards I have in New Zealand.  I'm trying to tread lightly in the process.