Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: szmike

Thank you for the summary. I definitely need to be more strict when it comes to air operations. I've already checked all commanders (including air HQs) and I monitor fatigue/morale on daily basis.

quote:

What do people think of splitting KB? It is somewhat tempting, but I tend to think it is bad proposition if Allied carriers are alive and kicking somewhere and will probably appear in force soon.
I kind of expect at least one of them in DEI, so reinforcing CVLs with Kaga could work better in such case. On the other hand I'm going to push Rabaul/PM and KB here would likely prevent much of Allied interference. Then 3 CVs vs 5 is a fight Allied might go for.

quote:

ORIGINAL: szmike

What do people think of splitting KB? It is somewhat tempting, but I tend to think it is bad proposition if Allied carriers are alive and kicking somewhere and will probably appear in force soon.
I kind of expect at least one of them in DEI, so reinforcing CVLs with Kaga could work better in such case. On the other hand I'm going to push Rabaul/PM and KB here would likely prevent much of Allied interference. Then 3 CVs vs 5 is a fight Allied might go for.

quote:

Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
G4M1 Betty x 25

Allied aircraft
P-35A x 3
P-40B Warhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-35A: 1 destroyed
P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
AV Langley, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Sculpin, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
DD Pope, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
ARD YFD-1 Dewey, Bomb hits 6, on fire
AM Lark, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
ACM Colonel Harrison, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Bittern, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage

Port hits 11
Port fuel hits 3
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

quote:

Afternoon Air attack on Miri , at 64,87

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 6

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 4 damaged

Oil hits 6

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 4000 feet
City Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 4000 feet
City Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

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Morning Air attack on Miri , at 64,87

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-27b Nate x 10

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 3
B-17E Fortress x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 2 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged

Oil hits 20

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 4000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 4000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
4 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 4000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 4000 feet
City Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 4000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
77th Sentai/C with Ki-27b Nate (2 airborne, 4 on standby, 4 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 4000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 22 minutes
Yamada Det S-2 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 4 on standby, 2 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 7000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes

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Morning Air attack on Miri , at 64,87

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
Ki-27b Nate x 9

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 3
B-17E Fortress x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 3 damaged


Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 4000 feet
City Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 4000 feet *
City Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
77th Sentai/C with Ki-27b Nate (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
9 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 4000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 48 minutes
Yamada Det S-2 with A6M2 Zero (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters to 4000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes



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Morning Air attack on Miri , at 64,87

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 9

Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
B-17D Fortress: 2 damaged

Oil hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x B-17D Fortress bombing from 4000 feet
City Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
77th Sentai/C with Ki-27b Nate (6 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
6 plane(s) intercepting now.
3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 4000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes

quote:

Morning Air attack on Bangkok , at 56,62

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 40 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 7

Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 15

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 8 damaged

Heavy Industry hits 2

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Blenheim IV bombing from 7000 feet
City Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
77th Sentai/A with Ki-27b Nate (2 airborne, 5 on standby, 0 scrambling)
2 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 7000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 7 minutes

quote:

Pre-Invasion action off Singkawang (56,88)

23 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
TB Hayabusa
TB Otori
xAP Huso Maru
E Saga

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

TB Hayabusa fired at enemy troops
TB Otori fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards


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Amphibious Assault at Singkawang (56,88)

TF 18 troops unloading over beach at Singkawang, 56,88

Japanese ground losses:
17 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

15 Aviation Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 22nd Air Flotilla
15 Aviation Support troops lost from landing craft during unload of 22nd Air Flotilla
15 Aviation Support troops lost overboard during unload of 22nd Air Flotilla
17 troops of a SNLF Inf Squad 41 lost from landing craft during unload of Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
13.2mm T93 AAMG dropped into water during unload of Yokosuka 2nd SNLF


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Pre-Invasion action off Singkawang (56,88)
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

19 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
TB Kari
xAK Rokko Maru

Japanese ground losses:
8 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

TB Kari fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 1,000 yards


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Amphibious Assault at Singkawang (56,88)

TF 99 troops unloading over beach at Singkawang, 56,88

15 Support troops accidentally lost during unload of 23rd JAAF AF Bn


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Pre-Invasion action off Kuching (58,88) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force

20 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
CL Kashii
DD Yomogi
DD Tsuta
PB Heiei Maru #7
xAK Zyuyo Maru

Allied ground losses:
16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

CL Kashii firing at 106th RN Base Force
DD Yomogi firing at Sarawak Force
Sarawak Force firing at DD Yomogi
Sarawak Force firing at DD Tsuta
DD Tsuta firing at Sarawak Force
PB Heiei Maru #7 fired at enemy troops
DD Yomogi fired at enemy troops
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 4,000 yards
Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 2,000 yards


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Amphibious Assault at Kuching (58,88)

TF 185 troops unloading over beach at Kuching, 58,88

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

17 troops of a SNLF Inf Squad 41 accidentally lost during unload of Yokosuka 4th SNLF
17 troops of a SNLF Inf Squad 41 lost from landing craft during unload of Yokosuka 4th SNLF
17 troops of a IJA Inf Squad lost in surf during unload of II/124th Infantry Bn

quote:

Ground combat at Alor Star (49,73)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 20822 troops, 196 guns, 98 vehicles, Assault Value = 636

Defending force 5184 troops, 34 guns, 32 vehicles, Assault Value = 173

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 388

Allied adjusted defense: 61

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Alor Star !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
368 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled

Allied ground losses:
5672 casualties reported
Squads: 276 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 326 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 42 (42 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 34 (34 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 4

Assaulting units:
11th Infantry Regiment
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
42nd Infantry Regiment
5th Recon Regiment
4th Ind Engineer Regiment
5th Engineer Regiment
21st Infantry Regiment
41st Infantry Regiment
18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
25th Army
5th Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
6th Indian Brigade
15th Indian Brigade
109th RAF Adv Base Force
137/155th Field Regiment

quote:

Morning Air attack on 22nd Air Flotilla , at 56,88 (Singkawang)

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7

Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 10

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 5 destroyed, 1 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
2 x Blenheim I bombing from 4000 feet *
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 lb GP Bomb

CAP engaged:
Yamada Det S-2 with A6M2 Zero (7 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling)
7 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 7000 , scrambling fighters between 0 and 7000.
Raid is overhead

Also attacking Yokosuka 2nd SNLF ...

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Ground combat at Kuching (58,88)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3414 troops, 26 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 121

Defending force 1528 troops, 9 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 41

Japanese adjusted assault: 79

Allied adjusted defense: 7

Japanese assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuching !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(-), disruption(-), morale(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
55 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
888 casualties reported
Squads: 41 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 25 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Assaulting units:
II/124th Infantry Battalion
Yokosuka 4th SNLF

Defending units:
Sarawak Force
2/15 Punjab Battalion
106th RN Base Force


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Ground combat at Singkawang (56,88)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 5115 troops, 41 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value = 126

Defending force 2469 troops, 20 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 50

Japanese adjusted assault: 66

Allied adjusted defense: 19

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Singkawang !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
64 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Allied ground losses:
935 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 22 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 7 (4 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (7 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 5

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
III/124th Infantry Battalion
Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
23rd JAAF AF Bn
22nd Air Flotilla
97th JAAF AF Bn

Defending units:
W Borneo KNIL Battalion
W Borneo Mil'ie Cdo
Singkawang ML Base Force
2e-VLG-I Sup Afd
1e-VLG-V Sup Afd

quote:

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball


I personally think splitting KB is the BEST strategy for Japan early. But only early. It can potentially allow you to cover SW Pac, as well as cover something else.

It's Dec '41....he has 3 operational CVs at most (Lex, Ent, Sara) and Saratoga starts in San Diego, so it's going to take a bit to get anywhere useful. Those CVs are equipped with understrength air groups that include F2As and TBDs, planes that are near useless. A 3 on 3 fight with 3 KB CVs, I would take that in December '41 ANY TIME. That is a potential Allied disaster. A smart Allied player would steer clear of any piece of KB.

Therefore, splitting KB in two, you're still going to have plenty of CV power to fight off anything the US has

YORKTOWN appears in January, so by Feb 1 though you have to account for possibility of 4 CVs, and by the time he's got HORNET, you probably need to have everyone consolidated. But splitting now? No problem.