RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J) DBB-B

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RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/15/2018 3:34:53 PM

BBfanboy

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Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
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That first strike was detected at 115 miles and only four fighters went up to meet it???! What happened there?

As per RL Guadalcanal, the strategic game here is to bleed the best Japanese pilots from their inventory by making them fight over your base, so keeping up CAP and repairing the airfield are extremely important. And the USN et al should make a show once in a while when reinforcements and supply are brought in but basing ships there is too dangerous. IMO CL St. Louis was too valuable a ship to leave at Noumea for KB's strike, which would have gone for any old bomb fodder.

As it stands, CL Durban is doomed with 98 float damage so I would scuttle it to save any port repair points for St. Louis. Or as an alternative to scuttling put Durban in a TF and send it toward KB (so it does not auto-disband again) to try and get KB to send another naval strike instead of port strike.

Meanwhile, you are getting a heavy punch with your carriers so with a bit more training and experience you can have your own field day! Good Luck!

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to apbarog)

Post #: 331

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/15/2018 4:08:03 PM

apbarog

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There was an Oscar sweep in the morning before the naval strike intercept. St. Louis was with a combat TF, prepared for a bombardment that didn't come.

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Post #: 332

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/16/2018 2:02:07 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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2 May 42

I-24 takes some damage from US APDs at Norfolk Island. Messages seemed to indicate that it may have dropped a midget sub. The APDs later attack again, doing more minor damage to the sub.

At Noumea, battleships Kongo, Haruna, and Hiei, with cruiser Maya and 8 destroyers show up at night. They find already burning xAK Don Isidro, which moved from adjacent Isle of Pine and didn't quite get disbanded into port. A few big shells sink the cargo ship quickly. Surprisingly, the enemy task force does not bombard.

Northeast of Darwin, sub Pollack spots 2 xAPs, 2 APDs, and 2 DDs. Escorts do very minor damage to the sub.

The enemy battleship task force retired to Koumac. KB is not seen. Allied carrier aircraft sortie, and find a huge CAP at Koumac.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Koumac at 113,156

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 109

Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 71
SBD-3 Dauntless x 48

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3 Wildcat: 12 destroyed
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 destroyed by flak
SBD-3 Dauntless: 15 destroyed, 19 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna
BB Hiei
CA Aoba
CA Furutaka

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
8 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
3 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb
4 x SBD-3 Dauntless releasing from 4000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 1000 lb SAP Bomb

It was not pretty to watch. Total air losses for the day were somewhat less than I expected from the replay. I lost 28 F4F-3s and 26 SBD-3s. 23 Zeros were downed, half of which from ops. Not a single bomb hit, and most targeted battleships anyhow.

I was actually happy how this turn played out. I did not have to engage KB. I lost some F4F-3s, but I've been saving up the new F4F-4s, with over 50 in the pool. So fighters won't be a problem. The SBD pool is rather low though, but I do have other squadrons that could be used.

All in all, mission accomplished. I risked the carriers to save 30 or so cargo ships, and did so without ship loss. I'll leave the area for the time being. Noumea is somewhat safe from ground attack. The enemy has air superiority, but I'll keep some fighters there to appear to have some strength. At least, I need to CAP the damaged light cruisers in Noumea's port. Probably a hopeless cause, but I have to try. St. Louis can only move 1 hex a day right now, so it's pointless to leave, but if I can get the flotation damage down some, maybe I can make a run to safety and hope for bad weather.

Aurorus seems to have kept KB near Luganville, possibly pulling it back a bit. I expected a bold move to the south to chase the Allied carriers. He's being careful. He is a careful player. He tries to maximize his odds in any given situation. I haven't seen what I'd call a bold move yet. His opening in the game was strategically bold, but his implementation was careful. He is constantly minimizing losses while hunting down every possible squad to kill, i.e. Borneo, Java, Samatra. I don't know if this is a desire to maximize victory points, or just his style. Regardless, he is risk averse.

In other news, battleship Prince of Wales has finished repairs at Pearl Harbor, and has been joined by 4 US light cruisers just out of refit. They start to head to the South Pacific to augment the carriers.

SigInt says that the 30th Infantry Regiment in planning an attack for Clark, and the 1st Independent Field Artillery is planning for Bataan. 33 Division is at Soerabaja. It was just victorious at Bandoeng. A US sub will be patrolling east of Soerabaja soon, hoping to catch transports with troops aboard.

In summary, no carrier battle, some carrier planes lost, but the reinforcement of Noumea is complete. More supply will be needed in the future, but not immediately.

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 333

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/16/2018 5:16:29 PM

zuluhour

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Joined: 1/20/2011
From: Maryland
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This is exciting. I like the white knuckle times.

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Post #: 334

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/17/2018 4:45:26 AM

apbarog

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3 May 42

Sub Sailfish is spotted by an AK and DMS near Tavoy in the Indian Ocean. Sailfish escapes unscathed in the shallow water.

With an enemy light cruiser having hit a mine at Balep Island near Koumac, enemy minesweepers arrive to clean the remaining ones up. It only works once, but I'm happy that it did work this time.

At Norfolk Island sub I-16 spots an xAK and a DMS. The sub fires 2 torpedoes at xAK Johanne Justesen, hitting the ship once. The ship doesn't sink immediately, but does sink later in the day. It was unloading an anti-aircraft unit at Norfolk. Most of the unit had unloaded, but some guns were lost. This wasn't listed on the combat report as the ship sank later in the day. I-16 is hit once with a depth charge. Messages indicate that a midget sub may have been launched at Norfolk also.

I-172 is hit with a depth charge, also at Norfolk Island. PC Onondaga is on ASW duty there.

I-174 fires 2 torpedoes at APD John D. Edwards well south-east of Noumea, but misses. The APDs are on a fast transport mission carrying supply for Noumea. Having been spotted, and still just out of range for a fast run-in to the base, I abort the intended mission and redirect the task force to unload at Norfolk Island, and then retire to Auckland. The dozen or so APDs are not worth risking for the small amount of supply they carry, given that they were spotted.

13 B-26s bomb the 40th Division near Ichang, which is in clear terrain. 180 casualties. Just a nuisance raid.

Cargo ships that are being escorted from Noumea by the carriers will now head toward Sydney. The Allied carriers will break off and head to Auckland. I've grounded all of their search planes to try to get to New Zealand unseen. The previous routing looked like all of the Allied ships were headed to Sydney.

More new SigInt for Luzon. 1st Infantry Regiment is planning for Manila, as is the 57th Infantry Regiment. Still no divisions planning for Luzon, or for Australia, for that matter. 65th Brigade is at Cagayan, which I knew. I knew it was going to Butuan, which it did, and unloaded. It's heading to the inland mountain base that is still holding out.

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Post #: 335

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/17/2018 9:14:20 PM

apbarog

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4 May 42

The enemy clears the rest of the mines at Belep Islands.

SE of Noumea, APDs do minor damage to I-174 after the sub fires 4 torpedoes at APD Bulmer, but misses.

Near Lord Howe Island, I-21 fires 4 torpedoes at DD Van Ghent, but misses. The destroyers are escorting cargo ships to Sydney from Noumea. In a followup attack, I-21 is damaged a bit more from the DDs.

Some minor enemy bombing in China. I have few Chinese units still in clear terrain.

Allied carriers broke from escorting cargo ships to Sydney, and are now headed to Auckland. A task force of US cruisers arrived at Auckland after finishing refit at Pearl Harbor. They will augment the carrier defenses.

In Burma, with all bases in enemy hands except for Akyab and Cox Bazar, the enemy does not appear to be moving north in the jungle. The enemy is doing extensive recon of the Allied line forming near the Indian border. The division that feinted toward Chittagong headed SW toward Akyab. More recon will tell if it is continuing that way. Akyab is held by a very minor unit, and will be evacuated if the division approaches. The line is just south of Chittagong.

From detection levels, it appears that KB has continued to the north, and is now west of Nauru Island, possibly heading to Truk. I may want to force more supply into Noumea sooner rather than later.

Turns were completed earlier in the day than usual. There's a chance of another.

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Post #: 336

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/19/2018 4:26:12 AM

apbarog

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5 May 42

Near Rekata Bay, NW of Tulagi, Dutch sub O23 spots a big task force with CA Tone and 2 CS, and many DDs. Could be one of the CV task forces. 4 torpedoes are fired at DD Kazegumo but miss.

Just NE of Balep Islands, sub Swordfish spots a mixed task force, with CA Kako and CL Jintsu, 2 DMS, and 5 DDs. 2 torpedoes miss DD Hayate. This task force is notable because CL Jintsu is reported to be heavily damaged. It is the ship that hit a mine at Balep last week. The task force is undoubtedly north bound.

SW of Kwajalein, sub Grayback spots an xAK and a PB. 2 torpedoes are fired at PB Nanrei Maru, getting a hit, but it's a dud.

Reduced strength squadrons of P-40Es and P-39s sweep La Foa for the first time. No CAP is spotted. B-26s from Norfolk Island hit the airfield, as does B-17s from Suva. Moderate damage is done.

Enemy carriers are suspected to be NW of Tulagi and/or SW of Tulagi. My gut feeling is that they are moving for some kind of offensive operation, something other than New Caledonia. They were used little recently, and shouldn't need to rearm or refuel. Allied carriers are known to be in the South Pacific, and yet the enemy carriers have gone north.

Maybe we'll see if the SigInt for attacks in NE Australia are true. Or if there are serious plans in the Indian Ocean, the enemy carriers would have to go there. Just speculation on my part. Their movement north has helped make up my mind to force more supply into Noumea soon, and possibly move in the parts of Americal division that didn't land already. Supply is priority one though. I've restarted building forts, airbase, and port at Noumea. The port will soon become level 4, which will help with unloading.

The 2 slow US battleships are back at Sydney. The 2 slow Brit battleships each took a sub torpedo in recent operations. Their only contribution was guarding the armada at Noumea for a turn, then doing a weak bombardment of enemy troops there. One battleship is already on the way to the West Coast for repairs. The other made it safely to Auckland, where it will do some repairs in preparation of following the other battleship east.

US carriers make it to Auckland today. We're about to get the first US CLAA in Panama.

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Post #: 337

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/19/2018 6:07:35 AM

apbarog

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It's quite possible that Aurorus could leave those CS's there, causing high detection level, while the carriers go off to some other operation. I can't rule this out. Not to mention, I don't think I saw all of KB in my last "almost" carrier battle.

Imperial Guard Division has been at Singapore for a long time. Then 3 divisions were freed up when Bandoeng, Java fell. One may have already come to Koumac, but I don't know. So there's a number of divisions unaccounted for, with a good deal of SigInt for NE Australia and for Luzon. However, no divisions were mentioned in any of that SigInt.

I'm not seeing a rush through the Burma/India border. Quite the opposite. Burma was conquered and the divisions stopped and/or went south. It's that part of the war where we see if there is going to be a big step beyond historical moves. (Of course, Luganville and New Caledonia is already beyond. Skipping Luzon allowed that.

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Post #: 338

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/20/2018 2:20:25 AM

apbarog

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6 May 42

Dutch sub KXVIII fires 2 torpedoes at DD Mikazuki but misses. Also spotted are 3 heavy cruisers, a light cruiser, and other destroyers. This is near Lunga.

LB-30s and B-17s again bomb La Foa's airfield. I'd intended to rest them after bombing yesterday, but forgot. Luckily, no CAP. Very minor damage to the airfield in the rain.

Minor enemy bombing in China near Kweilin.

High sub detection levels today near Munda and south of Guadalcanal. Either carriers lurking or seaplane carriers lighting up everything they can on search.

Something to note from the recent activity around Noumea: Aurorus makes heavy use of night naval search, definitely from ships, and possibly from land. My task forces were lit up well at night. This can really help subs find a night target, or help with combat ships set up to patrol and react. Something to remember.

Sigint for today: Etorofu has the 63rd Infantry Group. Maybe defensive. Etorofu has had some heavy activity recently. There's been absolutely no activity in the Kuriles or Aleutians for either side so far. That may change.

The first CLAA appeared in Panama. BB Warspite is about to arrive in Panama from Capetown. The CLAA (I think San Diego) will join Warspite on a trip to the South Pacific.

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Post #: 339

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/20/2018 2:33:15 AM

zuluhour

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Joined: 1/20/2011
From: Maryland
Status: offline

Kido Butai can only dominate so long and that amphibious bonus should be gone now. I hope you can keep your lodgement and his attention. It could
cost him if you get enough ground based naval air and sandwich him with your carriers here. Bagging a division or two in the late summer or fall here
could slingshot you on the offensive. I fought my best carrier battles in late '42 with ample naval air land based supporting the fast TFs. I think I made
out 3:2. Never saw KB again.

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Post #: 340

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/21/2018 5:08:59 AM

apbarog

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Joined: 5/23/2002
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7 May 42

AM Muritai went on a lone patrol SW of Christmas Island looking for subs reportedly in the area. It found one. I-5 sinks the small ship.

B-26s bomb Ichang's airfield, doing minor damage. A nuisance raid, picking a target probably not protected. Zeros are busy covering troops closing the pocket in the south near Kweilin.

Lots of enemy air at Koumac. Even more than before. I'm risking a few cargo ships coming into Noumea from the south. I'll try to LRCAP them on the way in, but with so many fighters and bombers at Koumac, it probably won't work.

See the map for possible enemy carrier movement.

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 341

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/22/2018 2:42:31 AM

apbarog

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8 May 42

I-22 is spotted by DMS Long south of Noumea. Long is escorting a few cargo ships into Noumea. Hopefully some supply will get unloaded tonight. There are combat ships at Koumac, so it isn't a sure thing. Extra fighters are deployed to Noumea to protect the ships during the day.

S-36 fires 2 torpedoes at PB Okuyo Maru SE of Soerabaja, but misses. The sub was waiting for shipping leaving Java for the Coral Sea, and I think it found one, but no hits achieved. The sub will retire to Perth for rearming and refitting.

28 Zeros from carriers sweep Townsville, finding a similar number of P-40Es. 24 P40s are downed, for the loss of 8 Zeros. That's about a month's production of P-40Es. An example of why the Allies cannot fight an attritional air war in 1942.

KB (at least a number of carriers) raids Townsville's port.

Afternoon Air attack on Townsville , at 92,144

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 63 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 63
B5N1 Kate x 11
B5N2 Kate x 50

Allied aircraft
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
AVP Reiger, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AG Bonwin, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AS Janssens, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Anshun, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 12000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
16 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
25 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 12000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
17 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
11 x B5N1 Kate bombing from 12000 feet
Port Attack: 1 x 800 kg AP Bomb
9 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet
13 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 12000 feet

Not a huge strike, but not a lot of targets in port. A followup stike had 11 more Kates. The intention of the enemy carriers is not known. They could be clearing the area for an invasion of NE Australia. (No other task forces spotted) They could be just doing something rather than nothing. I'm hoping that Aurorus is encouraged by this strike and moves a bit south to give Rockhampton the same treatment. I've moved 5 fighter squadrons to Rockhampton. That would be a rude surprise.

I decided not to react by forming up the Allied carriers. They will stick to my plan of reinforcing Noumea. Task forces are forming at Auckland, loading the odds and ends of the ground units recently landed at Noumea. All task forces will be small enough to dock at Noumea's size 4 port. Carriers will cover this. More supply will also be inbound. This is more important than chasing down KB, and engaging in a fight that is, in most cases, not wanted yet.

The enemy tries again at Malaybalay, finally, after being reinforced by the 65th Brigade. The brave defenders on Mindanao hold once again. This makes 4 attacks that have been defeated, with many more enemy losses than friendly. I know of another enemy infantry regiment inbound, so the defense will not last forever, but I am certainly happy with the defense here.

Ground combat at Malaybalay (80,90)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16573 troops, 101 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 516

Defending force 6429 troops, 25 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 226

Japanese adjusted assault: 325

Allied adjusted defense: 334

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
1572 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 147 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled

Allied ground losses:
432 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 37 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
143rd Infantry Regiment
65th Brigade
144th Infantry Regiment

Defending units:
101st PA Infantry Division
3rd Constabulary Regiment
Agusan Constab Battalion
Mindanao Force
Del Monte AAF Base Force

Attachment (1)

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Post #: 342

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/23/2018 2:33:11 AM

apbarog

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9 May 42

45 Zeros do the daily sweep of the last contested hex holding open the pocket in southern China. I don't bother fighting them. I don't have the numbers to make a difference. My troops are trying to leave the hex, slowly, and this will doom the 5 corps to the south in the woods. I already know they are doomed. I'm showing movement with those corp, making Aurorus wait to finish encircling where he thinks they'll end up. In reality, they'll be right where they are. It will take a bit of time to eliminate them, moving into the woods in 3 different hexes. Time is the only contribution they can now make.

KB is not spotted, but the high detection levels have moved SE toward Koumac, and further north closer to Rennell Island. 3 big cargo ships unloaded supply at Noumea today, unmolested. I'll keep unloading until they are empty or they are destroyed. I have several fighter squadrons protecting Noumea, but they are no match for over 100 Zeros at Koumac. And at least 45 Oscars at Luganville.

Task forces are loading at Auckland. The bits and pieces of the units already at Noumea are being loaded. The biggest chunk is all of the artillery, support, and vehicles for the Americal Division. The task forces are formed into groups that can dock at Noumea to unload. So unloading will be staggered. Carriers will protect. More supply will unload, last, if that is still possible. All of this assumes that the enemy will do nothing, which is most likely not going to be the case.

Will more cruisers having arrived from refit at Pearl Harbor, I have some extra for combat task forces, as well as protecting the carriers. I may engage at Koumac if the ships don't have to engage defensively at Noumea.

Where will KB be when I get there? Time will tell.

Lots of reinforcement task forces are on the move from the West Coast to the South Pacific. A new division is en route, as well as a couple of regiments. Another new division will be loading up soon. Right now, I'm thinking that the 2 divisions will go to Australia, and the regiments will go to Auckland. All of these units are completely unprepped, and since units don't prepare while embarked, they'll be assigned prep locations when they get to their destinations. Early plans are that the 2 divisions will prep for Koumac.

Important SigInt today:
Imperial Guard Division is loaded on ships headed to Rangoon. Got 2 messages on this. Definitely loaded, maybe going to Rangoon. Why Rangoon? Burma is in enemy hands. 3 infantry divisions already in Burma, not advancing to the front right now. If the Imperial Guard is really headed into the Indian Ocean, it isn't for Burma.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 343

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/24/2018 2:46:48 AM

apbarog

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Aurorus is running a bit late tonight, but I should get a turn later.

Here's some current reinforcement rates for planes that matter:

P40E---35
F4F-4---45
P38E---24 (started May 1942)
TBF-1---35 (started May 1942)

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 344

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/24/2018 8:55:59 PM

apbarog

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10 May 42

Dutch sub O23 spots 2 patrol boats and a tiny yard oiler, but there is no engagement.

The daily sweeps and bombing of hexes and troops in the southern China pocket.

B-26s from Chungking hit Liuchow in SW China, hitting the airfield for moderate damage. The base was recently lost, and is a size 1 airbase with no CAP. For today. Just a nuisance bombing.

4 hexes SE of Truk, sub Tambor fires 2 torpedoes at xAK Nako Maru. A torpedo hits but it is a dud. 4 xAKs are spotted.

There's a wide range of high detection levels today, from SE of Milne Bay to S of Tulagi to W of Ndeni. There's more than one TF causing these detection levels. It would appear that enemy carriers continued E or SE from yesterday, moving away from Australia.

My 3 xAK cargo TF continues to unload, slowly, at Noumea. Supply is over 11,000 now. Many fighters provide cover but not enough to stand up to the enemy strength in the area. The armada has reformed at Auckland and is heading back to Noumea with the rest of the ground units already there, and more supply. Carriers will support, as will combat TFs. A port support unit is earmarked to go to Noumea soon. It will get to Vava'u in a few days. The unloading is just too slow at Noumea's size 4 base, having no naval support there. This is a long-term holding action, and I need to get supply in more quickly.

There's a big xAK TF at Rangoon now. Could very well be the TF in yesterday's SigInt carrying the Imperial Guard Division.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 345

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/25/2018 3:59:57 AM

apbarog

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11 May 42

Near the northern tip of New Zealand, DD Napier spots I-26, and hits it with several minor hits. Allied TFs did show up nearby during the night, but weren't observed during the day.

Best guess for enemy carriers for today is near Milne Bay. Lots of my subs are in bad weather, however, so the guess is based on fewer points of detection.

SigInt for today says that the 26th Field Artillery is planning for Bataan, as is the 14th Infantry Division. This is the first division mentioned planning for Luzon. There's a good chance that if Luzon is invaded, Aurorus doesn't have plans for a big Phase 3. He'd be pushing Australia or India first, I think.

I'm trying to decide whether to keep my carriers near Noumea after it is sufficiently reinforced and supplied, or think of operations elsewhere. Right now, I think New Caledonia is most important. But Aururos has drawn down troops at Noumea and La Foa, leaving enough for defense. They've gone to Koumac, and may be pulled out entirely. He may have determined that he's not taking Noumea. Not directly, anyhow. So he may be thinking elsewhere. And maybe, then, so should I.

All ground units that were to be involved in the first aborted Marshalls invasions are still at Pearl Harbor. 2 tank units have since joined in on the preparations. What's missing is the shipping, escorts, and carriers, which are now all in the South Pacific.

Aurorus will be out of town this weekend. I'll take my time with the turn then, think about some longer range plans, and do some updates region by region.

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 346

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/26/2018 8:39:49 PM

apbarog

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12 May 42

For the first time, Japanese planes appear over western China, flying from Burma. 42 Oscars swept Paoshan, finding no CAP. They were followed by 54 Sallys with 30 Oscars. The airfield was hit, doing moderate damage, and a Lysander II recon plane was destroyed on the ground. It's possible that Aurorus could send troops into China from Burma. Maybe that's why the Imperial Guard Division is landing at Rangoon now. Too soon to say. Western China isn't strongly defended, but the mountains would help with defense.

The enemy does kick a Chinese Corps to the west into Yenan.

Ground combat at 89,37 (near Yenan)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 21158 troops, 158 guns, 24 vehicles, Assault Value = 682

Defending force 2749 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 116

Japanese adjusted assault: 503

Allied adjusted defense: 229

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
550 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 59 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1212 casualties reported
Squads: 33 destroyed, 36 disabled
Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
11th Indpt Infantry Regiment
27th Division
12th Indpt Infantry Regiment

Defending units:
23rd Chinese Corps

Aurorus is traveling this weekend, so I have all weekend to work on the turn. I'll be taking my time, doing all of the little things that don't get looked at every day. I will also post a region by region update.

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Post #: 347

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/28/2018 2:28:22 AM

apbarog

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Region Update - Marshalls and Gilberts

Little activity here. Tarawa was lost. Increased enemy activity following the aborted Marshalls invasion.

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RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/28/2018 2:31:37 AM

apbarog

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Region Update - Northern Australia

There's an increased enemy presence south of Darwin, but no indication of an overland move. Could just be defensive. NE Australia gets regular recon though. Normanton is always a possible invasion point.

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Post #: 349

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/28/2018 2:34:06 AM

apbarog

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Region Update - New Caledonia

I want a stalemate here. We'll see if that is what is developing. KB may have left the area. Allied transports are approaching Noumea from the south, escorted by carriers and several combat task forces. Troops and supply to be unloaded.

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Post #: 350

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/28/2018 2:39:23 AM

apbarog

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Region Update - Burma and China

In Burma, the enemy is not headed north. There are now 3 big groups in the north. The western group moved to the SE to get to its current position, and other units have joined with it there. It doesn't seem to be moving at the moment. Imperial Guard Division is believed to be unloading at Rangoon now.

In China, when Changsha was being approached by the enemy, I started a general withdrawal of all units south of Changsha, pivoting to the north, headed for the wooded terrain. Lots of enemy bombing helped me to decide to move off-road in the far south, and that was a mistake. Enemy movement on the roads was too fast for these units to get to the other side of the wooded area, and now there's a pocket of Chinese waiting to be eliminated. Aurorus had a good plan here and I didn't recognize the threat in time. I avoided getting a lot of Chinese pocketed around Changsha, but caused others to get pocketed further south.

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RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/29/2018 1:08:06 AM

apbarog

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Some Planning

Here are a few notable units, either moving to the front, or about to:

40 Infantry Division - moving to SF, 47 Prep for Koumac
41 Infantry Division - at SF, needs many PP to buy out, 100 Prep for Tarawa
32 Infantry Division - in the South Pacific, moving to Sydney
5 US CB - near Christmas, moving to Auckland
2 US CB - near Christmas, moving to Auckland
148 Infantry Regiment - moving to Auckland; part of 37 Infantry Division
5 Marine Regiment - moving to Suva to join another regiment of 1 Marine Division already there
4 US CB - at SF

I'm moving division to Australia to bolster the defense there, but prepping them for other targets. Regiments are going to New Zealand, with the same logic.

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Post #: 352

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/29/2018 11:19:39 AM

zuluhour

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surprisingly good supply for China, especially with the Ledo road closed. Ankang, Sian, supplied? NICE!

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Post #: 353

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/29/2018 9:59:26 PM

apbarog

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I've been surprised with the supply situation in China so far also. I've been very selective in building forts and taking reinforcements. I did remove all of the Chinese air units from China as fast as I could. Some were bought out and sent to India for training. Others were disbanded. That probably helped reduce some supply drain.

I have a theory, but it's only a theory. I pulled a lot of units out of Burma into India early on. This included all of the pieces that formed a Burma division. When southern Burma was minimally manned, it didn't have a need for a lot of supply, and my theory is that some of that flowed into China. It just seemed to me that China had more supply early in the game than I remember in my last game.

Things aren't quite as rosy right now. Chungking has about 25,000 supply. There isn't a lot of extra supply any longer. Transports do fly the Hump with supply during good weather, but only 2 small squadrons so far. The first C-47s are moving to Ledo now, and the pace will increase some.

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Post #: 354

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/31/2018 2:21:37 AM

apbarog

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13 May 42

Sallys bomb Malaybalay on Mindanao, something that hasn't happened in a long while. Most of the attackers have withdrawn, leaving just an infantry regiment. That is enough to keep the defenders from attacking. The rest of the enemy went to Cagayan. Maybe to go somewhere else.

The usual enemy bombing in China. 13 B-26s, escorted by 12 P-43s for the first time, try to bomb a unit near Kweilin, but get no hits in the woods. The P-43s have longer range than most other Allied fighters at this time.

Important action around Noumea today. An enemy TF is SW of Luganville, possibly headed to Koumac or even Noumea. The most important thing for today was that none of the Allied TFs in the armada approaching Noumea were spotted.

The plan is to have 2 task forces bombard Koumac, hopefully damaging lots of enemy fighters. Koumac is reported to have 138 fighters and 25 bombers. 2 P-39 squadrons from Noumea will sweep Koumac. A lot of P-39s will be lost. More so if the bombardments don't work. I'm sending all of my B-17s in Australia to Koumac to hit the airfield and port. Allied carriers will range CAP Noumea and Isle of Pines. I do not assign any carrier strikes to Koumac. Can't risk the planes at this time. I may do so if the bombardments do well today.

Battleship Prince of Wales will meet the carriers today, to aid in support. Remember damaged light cruisers St. Louis and Durban at Noumea? They been there, quietly and slowly repairing damage. Today they leave, and will start to head south, under cover of carrier CAP. Durban is worse off than St. Louis, but I have hopes for both of them.

The cargo TF that has been unloading at Noumea is about half unloaded. It will leave Noumea and head south, making room at the docks for incoming transports carrying men and support.

There's risk today. I'm counting on my bombardment forces moving 9 hexes to Koumac and bombarding at night, then retiring to Noumea. Their maximum movement is 9 hexes. We all know that bombardments can go wrong. They could run into enemy ships or subs on the way, slowing the ingress. Or hit mines at Koumac, which most certainly are there. The light cruisers I'm risking are New Zealand, Dutch, and British. The destroyers are all US.

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RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/31/2018 9:21:42 PM

zuluhour

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watching with interest.

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Post #: 356

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/31/2018 9:43:13 PM

apbarog

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I'm anxiously awaiting the turn. And considering sending the fleet back to Pearl and trying the ambitious Marshalls landings again. I need a good deal of time to be ready for a Koumac landing. A couple of months needed, for prep time. I'm deciding whether I think that Noumea is now safe, and weighing the odds of an enemy landing in NE Australia.

I'm still thinking that KB is headed off to another mission. Maybe the long awaited Luzon landings. Or maybe something in the Indian Ocean. Aurorus could have gone completely defensive already, but I just don't think so. Not yet.

The Marshalls is risky. Landing an infantry regiment, armor, and combat engineers on an island with a 6,000 men stacking limit is risky. If they find mainly base support, they'll take the island. But if they find an enemy regiment, with forts, the landing is in for a tough time. All of the landings would incur a shock attack due to the size of the islands.

Still thinking about this.

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Post #: 357

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 1/31/2018 10:28:06 PM

ericv

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thamk you for this AAR

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Post #: 358

RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 2/1/2018 8:23:14 AM

apbarog

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14 May 42

One of those days with lots of action. Very little went as planned. Some good, some not good. All in all, I'm happy with the result.

Things didn't start out well.

Sub attack near Noumea at 114,161

Japanese Ships
SS RO-65, hits 1

Allied Ships
CV Yorktown, Torpedo hits 1 (SYS 7/FLOT 38-37/ENG 0/FIRE 0)
CA Chester
CA Houston
CL Phoenix
DD Tucker
DD Downes
DD Cushing

SS RO-65 launches 6 torpedoes at CV Yorktown

Then the US destroyer TF stormed into Koumac. A short engagement, with minimal damage, except for Monaghan taking a torpedo. The best part of this engagement was the enemy launching torpedoes at destroyers and (mostly) missing. This would be important for later engagements. One of the enemy destroyers was hit by a torpedo, but it was a dud.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Koumac at 113,156, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Yura
CL Abukuma
CL Kuma
DD Kamikaze
DD Asakaze, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Asanagi, Shell hits 1
DD Yunagi

Allied Ships
DD Farragut
DD Aylwin
DD Monaghan, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Dale
DD Worden
DD MacDonough, Shell hits 3 (SYS 17/FLOT 0/ENG 0/FIRE 0)
DD Dewey, Shell hits 1

Low visibility due to Rain with 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Rain and 0% moonlight: 2,000 yards

Still at night, the ABDA light cruiser TF engages.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Koumac at 113,156, Range 1,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E7K2 Alf: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Yura, Shell hits 10, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
CL Abukuma
CL Kuma
DD Kamikaze, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
DD Asakaze, on fire
DD Asanagi
DD Yunagi

Allied Ships
CL Leander, Shell hits 1
CL Achilles
CL De Ruyter
CL Tromp
CL Emerald, Shell hits 6
DD Gwin
DD Grayson
DD O'Brien, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Walke
DD Benham

Reduced visibility due to Rain with 0% moonlight
Maximum visibility in Rain and 0% moonlight: 2,000 yards

CL Leander got 2 torpedo hits on CL Yura. Leander was a hero in an earlier battle in the war, getting torpedo hits on an enemy ship when other ships, including Boise and Houston, did little. Leander does it again.

The enemy TF then retreated to Belep Islands to the north, only to run into a minesweeper that was checking Belep for mines. DMS Long was hit with 3 shells, but took very little damage SYS 3/FLOT 1-0/ENG 0/FIRE 0.

The ABDA TF then ran into 6 motor torpedo boats at Koumac, engaged again at 2,000 yards, and neither side landed a single shot.

During the daylight,the enemy TF that had retreated to Belep then reappeared at Koumac to fight another round, finding that the ABDA TF was still there.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Koumac at 113,156, Range 14,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Abukuma, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Kuma, Shell hits 24, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Kamikaze, Shell hits 4
DD Asakaze, Shell hits 14, and is sunk
DD Asanagi, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Yunagi, Shell hits 4, on fire

Allied Ships
CL Leander, Shell hits 1, on fire (SYS 17/FLOT 2/ENG 6/FIRE 0)
CL Achilles, Shell hits 1, on fire (SYS 20/FLOT 0/ENG 8-1/ FIRE 0)
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1 (SYS 16/FLOT 7-2/ENG 0/FIRE 0)
CL Tromp
CL Emerald, Shell hits 6 (SYS 9/FLOT 1-0/ENG 0/FIRE 0)
DD Gwin, Shell hits 1 (SYS 14/FLOT 0/ENG 3-0/FIRE 0)
DD Grayson
DD O'Brien (SYS 5/FLOT 9-4/ENG 6/FIRE 0)
DD Walke, Shell hits 3, on fire (SYS 27/FLOT 11-2/ENG 4/FIRE 0)
DD Benham

Poor visibility due to Rain
Maximum visibility in Rain: 15,000 yards

It was a very long fight, starting at 15,000 yards, moving slowly down to 6,000 yards, then up to 13,000 yards, then down to 9,000, then up to 11,000 yards, then back down to 5,000 yards, up to 6,000 yards, back down to 4,000 yards, then 11,000 and 16,000 and finally at 23,000 yards. A long and incredibly interesting fight to watch. It didn't hurt that the truly ABDA force did well. It may have paid off that I had replaced the TF leader captain with an excellent captain. I don't recall seeing such a mixed nationality force do so well for me before.

2 P-39 squadrons from Noumea swept Koumac, and it went very poorly. Both combat TFs that I sent to Koumac were engaged and neither performed the assigned bombardment mission, so the 100+ enemy fighters were all ready to go. The P-39s paid the price, losing 28 of them, for the loss of 3 Oscars and 3 Zeros. I knew that this could happen, and it was still worth it. By luck, the weather appeared to prevent an Allied carrier strike on enemy ships at Koumac and Belep. I needed those P-39 sweeps to soften up the enemy, so that I wouldn't lose as many carrier planes. I'd also assigned multiple B-17 squadrons in Australia to hit Koumac, and they didn't fly either. B-26s from Norfolk Island hit La Foa's airfield, doing minor damage in bad weather. 8 LB-30s from Australia did hit Belep's port, doing minor damage, but not hitting any ships in port.

Near Luganville, Dutch sub KXVI got a torpedo hit on xAK Sinsyu Maru, sinking her. Sub Tambor missed an xAK near Truk.

Paoshan in Western China got fighter sweeps and multiple bomber groups hitting the airfield. I moved a bunch of fighters in today.

Quite a day. A lot of fun to watch, even if it wasn't all good. The worst part of the day was Yorktown getting hit with a torpedo. This is the 2nd torpedo hit for Yorktown in the war. The first was when US carriers made their first appearance in the South Pacific, and moved east of Luganville trying to flank the enemy to the west. Yorktown is just under 20,000 tons, and can be repaired at Sydney. I flew its fighters to Noumea to help the fight there. The SBDs will be used at various land bases in the South Pacific, lighting up enemy subs on ASW duty, and maybe highlighting where my carriers are when they aren't really there.

The other development was that Tanna was invaded. Tanna is ENE of Noumea, and south of Luganville. It appears that a small unit is unloading there. Incredibly, on the same day, I started to fly in a small NZ unit from Suva. One of the small Fiji units. I am using Catalinas for this, as Tanna has no airfield. I'll use more of them today, with others bringing in supply. If I lose Tanna, I'm not too worried, because I think I can keep bombing the size 1 port to prevent the airfield from ever being built. Tanna is a good distance from Koumac and Luganville, and within B-17 range from Suva. I will also bring in supply using APDs using fast transport mode, and am preparing to bring in a raider unit the same way.

A very, very interesting turn.

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RE: Wedge Donovan Wins the War: Apbarog(A) vs Aurorus(J... - 2/2/2018 1:33:03 AM

apbarog

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15 May 42

US ships bombard enemy troops at Tanna, discovering that the enemy is just an engineer company. A good bombardment, considering the size of the unit. Ships retired to Noumea and will head south today.

Night Naval bombardment of Tanna at 120,157

Allied Ships
CA Vincennes
CA Astoria
CA Louisville
DD Dunlap
DD Maury
DD McCall
DD Gridley

Japanese ground losses:
112 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled

Near Norfolk Island, I-8 fires 4 destroyers at DD Worden but misses. With the carriers flying a lot of ASW today, many subs are spotted.

The usual bombing in China in the area of the pocket. My trap at Paoshan failed. The enemy didn't appear today, but did recon Paoshan and surely spotted all of my fighters that had moved in.

16 Blens did bomb Myitkyina's airfield, doing almost no damage in the bad weather. No CAP. Just a nuisance.

B-26s from Norfolk Island bombed enemy troops at Noumea, not hitting at thing, but did identify some of the units still there: 56 Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Division, and 8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment. I think there's another unit there also.

B-17s from Suva bombed the enemy engineer company on Tanna, doing minor damage.

See the map for movements in the South Pacific today.

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