apbarog
Posts: 3769
Joined: 5/23/2002
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15 Mar 43
A very busy day. My opponent commented on the many "amphibious task force unloading" displays in the replay. There were even more today, since I had split several of the big task forces to be able to get the more valuable APs out as soon as possible, since they unloaded the fastest. I really wanted to get them out of harm's way.
It goes without saying that unloading continued at Buna, Oro Bay, and Port Moresby. There was no interference at any, again. But the storm clouds are gathering.
There are still mines at Buna. The fields here and at Port Moresby are more sizable than I thought. 2 DMSs continue to clear Buna. Only an AM is at Port Moresby, and this isn't sufficient.
Near Hollandia, north of Manus, sub Pollack spots a big battleship task force, with Ise, Kongo, and Musashi, with cruiser Haguro, CS Chitose, and 7 destroyers. This looks like a carrier task force to me, just without spotting the carrier(s). I do believe that the enemy has been putting multiple battleships in carrier task forces to help absorb bombs. Which is a wise strategy, one that can make the difference in an evenly matched carrier battle.
Regardless of whether there are carriers here, this task force went to Manus, and is now in striking range of Buna.
Near Normanby Island, by Milne Bay, my subchasers track I-169 but aren't able to hit it decisively.
Near Kavieng, sub Sculpin tracks a cruiser task force, led by CA Mogami, fires on Magami, but misses. I believe that this task force went to Rabaul.
West of Taberfane, sub Seal fires on destroyer Hibiki, in a small task force with a couple of light cruisers. 4 torpedoes miss.
Near Horn Island, Fletcher class destroyer O'Bannon is escorting badly damaged destroyer Fletcher. O'Bannon spots I-164 in the shallow water here, and gets one solid hit with a depth charge.
Battleship Ramilles and escorts bombard Oro Bay during the night. Good damage on the troops, little damage to the port.
Near Deboyne Island, I-11 spots several APDs that just unloaded, but no engagement occurs.
These APDs are targeted by Bettys from Rabaul, escorted by Zeros. Strong ranged CAP protects the ships, downing a bunch of Zeros and Bettys. 8 Bettys launch torpedoes but none hit.
With Taberfane and Dobo both recaptured by the Japanese, the enemy has moved on to concentrate on Timoeka on the western New Guinea coast, east of Dobo. Bettys and Lilys hit the troops. It's not jungle here. (Have to check, might be rough terrain, not sure) Supply has been critical here all along for the Allies, as my invasion shipping couldn't stay long enough. I've been ferrying in supply on sub Argonaut and using big seaplanes to bring in some also. I'm sure that a counter-invasion is coming here also.
My one big mistake for today was screwing up the plotting for a 3 ship task force of Fletcher destroyers. They were at Milne Bay, and I gave them an ASW mission for the day, wanting them to move out northeast toward Rabaul during the night, looking for subs, then return. Something went wrong and they decided to stay out at sea, too close to Rabaul. Kates and Vals attacked, with a large number of escorts. I had no CAP out here. I was very fortunate that all torpedoes missed, and the only damage was a bomb hit on Taylor and DeHaven. Chevalier was not hit. This task force will retire to Brisbane for repairs. Damage is not high, but enough to warrant repairs.
At Timoeka, Lilys then hit the troops.
Isolated in the jungle by Taberfane and Dobo, my troops are bombed by Sallys.
I swept Lae and Finschafen today with F4F-4, but found that all working planes had left the area. No CAP. B-17s and B-24s then hit Lae, destroying a few planes, and some B-24s hit Finschafen, doing moderate damage to the field. Finschafen is just a level 1 airfield, but I know that Tojos were just here. But they are gone now.
B-25s hit the airfield at Port Moresby. B-26s hit the enemy troops there.
B-26s and B-25s hit the enemy troops at Oro Bay.
In the afternoon, 9 Kates take another shot at my wayward destroyers, but all miss.
At Buna, the enemy artillery attack caused by my landing shows combat values of 1293 for the Allies and 588 for the Japanese. Both Marine divisions are fully unloaded, but only half of the 43rd Infantry Division is on the beach.
The values at Port Moresby are 909 for the Allies, and 498 for the Japanese. Port Moresby is not going to fall quickly.
The Allies at Oro Bay attack, consisting mainly of the 2nd Australian Brigade. The attack goes at 9 to 1 with 1 fort level, and the base is taken! The enemy retreats into the mountains to Dobadura. Oro Bay is a dot base. The followup convoy has been waiting at Milne Bay and will now go to Oro Bay. Support units are the 41st CBs, the 43rd CBs, the 14th Base Maintenance unit, and the 73rd RAAF Base Wing.
As shown on the map, note that Oro Bay is not connected by land to Buna. You have to go inland to Dobadura first. My armor that is arriving soon from the south will do just that. It will take awhile, but the noose is tightening on Port Moresby. That, I think, will be the key to taking that base. The enemy may evacuate Port Moresby first, and I'd be ok with that too.
I usually make my daily post after I've finished my plots for the next turn, but today, I haven't finished yet. I do so to show my ongoing thought about what my carriers should be doing for the next turn.
I've marked 3 hexes on the map, with black X's, hexes that I've decided are potential moves for my carriers. #1 can range CAP Port Moresby and Buna, but I fear a possible range 7 carrier attack if KB were to move to the coast west of Rabaul. It has done so in the past. This hex also limits where my carriers can move on the next day, leaving my bases, including Milne Bay, more vulnerable.
Hex #2 is a purely defensive move, sitting next to Milne Bay. It doesn't protect any of my beach landings, but does protect Milne Bay, and Milne Bay protects my carriers. This move doesn't do much really, but keeps options more open for the next day.
Hex #3 is an aggressive move to the east of Oro Bay. I've drawn an orange line depicting the range of my strikes from this hex. I don't want to hit shipping at Rabaul, not with the huge numbers of fighters there. I don't rule out doing this in the near future, but it would have to be combined with heavy land-based sweeping and bombing, and I'm not ready to do that. My landings take priority. I think that carriers are approaching, and that they are at Manus right now. My opponent loves to keep the carriers as safe as possible, under the umbrella of heavy ranged CAP from nearby airbases. For this reason, I'm guessing that they would show up within the white circle.
I need to continue loading at Buna, at least for one more day. For this reason, I think that I will move to hex #3, but I'm still thinking about it, and won't complete my turn until tomorrow.
The other risk is that battleships run down to Buna directly. I have a battleship task force there, and I've mined Finschafen. It would be nice to have them hit a mine there and mess up the bombardment approach, and find my carriers nearby during the day.
Keep in mind that I do have troops fully prepped for Lae and Salamaua, the base southwest of Lae. Lae is less defended than Buna or Port Moresby, with troops having been sent from there to Buna recently. Another risky move, but one I'm considering. I could really cut off Port Moresby with that move, and that has been my long-term objective.
More work to do on this turn! What do you think? The enemy is surely coming, but will it be too late?
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-... - 
Heh. Anyway, looks like you got off to a good start, but the question is if and when you can close the deal at Buna and Moresby, both of which I am assuming are pretty well defended. Good luck!
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