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RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/18/2004 4:27:11 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		31 Jul 42

The Nautilus spotted an IJN cruiser at the south end of the Philippine Sea before being forced to dive to avoid a large number of destroyers in escort. The KXVIII used her 88mm and 40mm guns to riddle a freighter near Singapore.

More night time bombing of Tavoy.

Various issues kept the heavy bombers from doing well today. Poor weather interfering with navigation was a major factor. Eighteen B-24s bombed Bangkok, doing only minor damage to the airfield. Only five B-17s made it to Singapore, hitting two transports. Eight Forts attacked Rabaul, having little problem with eight Zeroes on defense. They did good damage but one bomber was lost to flak.

Japanese troops in southern Burma continue to get hammered from the air. It was not entirely one-sided though, as they shot down a Hurricane.

The Akagi has set sail from Davao, again. A section of Hudsons missed her and the two Vals she sent against Menado missed the freighter there. This situation is beginning to become embaressing.

Beauforts hit the airfield at Singapore, destroying a dozen enemy aircraft. An attack on the base at Tarakan cost us a Beaufort to AAA fire. A couple of strikes against freighters around the Celebes Sea failed to score.

The bombing of Shortlands continues. Damage today appears to be very light for nearly a hundred bombers but Intelligence indicates heavy casualties among the garrison.

There were some more small clashes west of Hanoi today. Another assault on Canton did not do well, suffering over 2,000 casualties.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 211
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/19/2004 9:46:43 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		01 Aug 42

A couple hundred miles south of Kagoshima, the Guardfish attacked a troop transport. She hit with two torpedoes and several deck gun shots, but had her torpedo tubes damaged by a lucky shot from the Nip gun crew and has turned back for Pearl. The Trusty slammed three torpedoes into a freighter in the Malacca Strait. Her crew added insult to injury by surfacing and putting a single gun round into the ship.

The Blenheims continue to make overnight visits to Tavoy. The Liberators returned to bombing Tavoy in the morning. They did some serious damage to the airfield but report no sign of enemy aircraft on the ground.

The Royal Navy battleships spent the day standing off and bombarding Andaman Island. They were surprised by a pair of Bettys in the afternoon but the bombers stayed at high altitude and missed the ships. Strangly, the task force reports no sign of a Japanese garrison on the island.

Chinese bombers bombed Chengting.

Enemy shipping at Singapore continues to suffer. Twenty six B-17s had no trouble at all from the few Zeroes they spotted. Another decade of transports and a gunboat suffered bomb hits, with at least one sinking. A section of Beauforts hit a freighter at sea nearby.

Chinese bombers attacked Canton. Wellingtons and B-25s bombed enemy positions north of Rangoon.

ABDA's bombers were busy today. They launched a number of strikes on and around Tarakan. One tanker was torpedoed, a second hit with a pair of bombs.

Wellingtons and Hudsons also caught a pair of freighters near Singkawang, hitting both of them. The Australian B-25s hit a freighter and a transport docked at Pontianak. (I am becoming very confused by the Aussie bomber crews. With no enemy ships docked there, they have trouble even locating Pontianak. But as soon as a ship docks their navigation and accuracy shoot thru the roof. Very strange.)

The bombers at Lunga continue to blast away at Shortlands in strength.

The Edgar Allan Poe sank. But her entire cargo and crew were able to get off the ship at Menado before she went under.

The Chinese began regrouping again at Canton. Near Hanoi they were able to ambush an enemy company but still can't locate the main body.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

02 Aug 42

The KXIV torpedoed a freighter at sea northwest of Kuching. The Nautilus used her large deck guns on a small freighter in the approaches to Davao, setting the ship on fire. The Sturgeon missed a heavily escorted tanker near Tarakan.

Move explosions overnight at Tavoy.

The battleships North Carolina and New Mexico and their escorting cruisers attacked Shortlands during the night. Intelligence is that they inflicted a large number of casualties on the enemy. The Japanese return fire was enthusastic but not much else. The Adelaide had a small deck fire to deal with, but otherwise damage to our ships was neglible. We'll send them back to do it again.

Chinese bombers continue to attack Chengting. It looks like they managed to hit a fighter on the ground today.

Two dozen Liberators bombed Bangkok. Despite their numbers and the damage they did, it looks like only a few enemy aircraft were destroyed. Where are the Japanese planes?

The Chinese launched a couple of attacks on Japanese positions around Canton and Hanoi. We continue to bomb enemy forces around Rangoon.

A transport was torpedoed by a section of Beauforts outside Tarakan.

One Beaufort was destroyed by ground fire over Singapore. The attack destroyed several enemy bombers on the ground.

There was no serious action at Canton. West of Hanoi the Chinese may be closing in on the enemy forces. There was a large jump in the number of contacts today and they are claiming over a hundred enemy casualties in scattered fighting.

The USN 122 Base Force has arrived at San Francisco. We are in great need of these troops, which makes all the more disappointing that it showed up at only half strength. I'm not sure which is worse, not having them at all or having them sitting around unable to do anything while personnel trickle in to bring them up to strength.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

03 Aug 42

The Sturgeon had a busy day, first she missed a freighter outside Tarakan. Then she avoided a pair of small ships on ASW patrol before surfacing to shoot up a small freighter with her 20mm guns. The KXVIII got into a gun duel with a freighter near Singapore.

A group of destroyers on ASW patrol due east of Cairns were attacked by a sub. The torpedoes missed but the ships were unable to find the Jap.

The RN's battleships shelled Tavoy without opposition.

Forty B-17s bombed Singapore's port. They hit nine transports and a patrol boat. Several sections of Beauforts followed up with an attack on the airfield, destroying half-a-dozen enemy planes.

The Chinese sent several raids against Canton. They also bombed the Vietnamese near Hanoi. Hurricanes straffed the Japanese in Burma.

Attacks on Japanese shipping in the Celebes Sea continue. A freighter was hit by two torpedoes from a pair of Swordfish. A second suffered a bomb hit. A section of Beauforts also hit the airfield at Tarakan.

A pair of Bettys approached Balikpapan. The second one quickly ran when the P-40s shot down the first one.

The Japanese did better at Gili Gili. While the SeaBees have disembarked, the ships are still docked unloading supplies. Two raids attacked them, the first was almost twenty Bettys escorted by a dozen Zeroes. The defending Kittyhawks were able to shot down one of the Bettys and several of the Zeroes, losing two of their own in the process. However, the rest of the bombers were able to hit two of the freighters with torpedoes. A second raid was almost exactly half the strength, losing a fighter and a bomber to score two more torpedo hits.

The bombers at Guadalcanal continued hammering the port at Shortlands, again concentrating their efforts on the supply dumps.

Artillery fire was exchanged around Canton. The Chinese forces west of Hanoi continued to press the militia forces in the jungle. They must be getting close as a small group of the enemy launched a suicide charge in an attempt to drive the Chinese back.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

04 Aug 42

A large Japanese ASW force has moved into the Celebes Sea. The KX and S-39 had encounters with it east of Tarakan, but both subs were able to successfully evade. The Sculpin torpedoed an escorted tanker near Brunei. Her torpedoes missed when she attacked a lone second tanker. The KXVIII avoided a trio of subchasers near Singapore. She then got into a gun battle with a freighter. She was fortunate that the enemy's gun crew didn't hit anything critical. The S-39 put two torpedoes into a freighter east of Tarakan before her encounter with the ASW group.

The Blenheims continue their night work at Tavoy. (Time to start that pool on when I run out of ways to say this.)

(Extend that pool to cover the Chinese and Chengting, by the way.)

The Liberators bombed Bangkok again.

The Slaughter at Singapore continues. Nearly forty B-17s hit eight merchant ships and a patrol boat. Sources confirm that the patrol boat and two transports sank in the harbor.

The Chinese lost an IL-4 over Canton and a Hurricane was shot down near Rangoon in attacks on enemy troops. A raid also hit VM troops near Hanoi.

Two sections of Hudsons hit a freighter near Mindanao. Another freighter at Tarakan took a hits from half-a-dozen bombs and a torpedo. Two minesweepers took bomb hits and a third freighter was torpedoed in further strikes.

Another attack on the ships at Gili Gili failed to hit our freighters. The dogfight beforehand cost us a Kittyhawk and the enemy a Zero and a Betty.

The Royal Navy's carrier planes co-ordinated with the AVG in attacking Tavoy. They shot down all three of the Zeroes they met in the air and destroyed three more on the ground.

Two sections of Beauforts bombed Tarakan's air strip.

The enemy lost more supplies at Shortlands as the medium bombers on Guadalcanal continued their campaign.

More artillery fire was exchanged at Canton. The Chinese failed to follow up on their success near Hanoi yesterday.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 212
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/20/2004 8:29:08 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		05 Aug 42

The Nautilus shelled a freighter near Davao. The S-39 torpedoed a transport in the Sulu Sea. The Sturgeon hit a freighter outside Tarakan. The Guardfish shot up a freighter west of Marcus Island. In the Malacca Strait the Trusty hit a subchaser with a pair of torpedoes. The Skipjack used her guns on another freighter outside Canton. All in all, a busy day for Sub Command.

A destroyer group had an inconclusive skirmish with a sub in the Coral Sea.

The Blenheims committed nocturnal mayhem on Tavoy.

Twenty B-24s bombed Bangkok. They may have caught a plane on the ground.

More than fifty B-17s attacked Rabaul. A dozen Zeroes put up a fanatical defense, costing us several bombers. Many others were forced to abort, resulting in only half the planes reaching their target. The gunners did down several of the enemy fighters. Damage Assessment believes that several more aircraft were destroyed on the ground.

The Chinese launched several attacks on Canton's defenders. One Hurricane was lost in attacks on Japanese troops near Moulmein. The Vietnamese forces near Hanoi were bombed.

The British carriers launched a strike on the airfield at Moulmein.

Two sections of Beauforts attacked the airfield at Singapore. A pair of Zeroes shot one of them down, but the enemy lost several aircraft on the ground.

There were obviously no ships docked at Pontianak today, because the Australians couldn't hit the base.

Apparently there is an IJN carrier docked at Hong Kong, because several Kates and some naval Zeroes flew from there to attack the Chinese at Canton.

More ships at Tarakan and in the Celebes Sea were subjected to attack by our bombers. Two transports were torpedoed near the port. A section of Hudsons scored multiple bomb hits on a freighter near Cotabato. Another freighter was hit by a pair of Hudsons near Davao. And a damaged minesweeper was hit again outside Tarakan.

No action at Canton and the Chinese continue to slowly tighten the noose around the Vietnamese militia near Hanoi.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

06 Aug 42

The Nautilus continues to prey on shipping going into and out of Davao, putting a torpedo into a damaged freighter. The S-39 hit a freighter in the Sulu Sea with three torpedoes. The Sturgeon missed a transport east of Tarakan and was forced to evade a subchaser escorting it.

27 Squadron continues their night bombing of Tavoy.

The Japanese Navy caught us by surprise at Palembang. Several cruisers and their escorting destroyers started by sinking the three torpedo boats on patrol and the tanker Huguenot. They continued on to bombard the base. They were followed by at least two battleships and more cruisers, who did further damage. More than twenty aircraft were destroyed and the airfield is basically shut down due to the damage. The port also suffered heavy damage.

Twenty-five Liberators bombed Bangkok. They did some damage and destroyed under half-a-dozen enemy aircraft.

Forty B-17s bombed Singapore today. They only found one ship in port, a transport which they promptly sank.

Forty six Forts went after Rabaul again. They did much better today, not losing any aircraft. It helped that the enemy only had half as many fighters on defense. Bombs heavily cratered the runways and destroyed half-a-dozen enemy planes.

Japanese gunners claimed two Hurricanes during their attacks around Rangoon. Wellingtons and B-25s also bombed enemy forces in southern Burma. The Chinese bombed the Japanese at Canton and around Hanoi.

Tarakan was the focus of attention for our bombers around the Celebes Sea. Two freighters and two transports were torpedoed, and two freighters and two more transports were bombed during the course of the all day attacks.

The RN's carriers hit Tavoy again.

The Australian B-25s proved there are no enemy ships at Pontianak by hitting only jungle.

The port at Shortlands was hit again by Lunga's bombers.

More Japanese carrier aircraft from Hong Kong attacked the Chinese around Canton. Given that this attack has been by less than a decade of aircraft two days in a row, I think we know where the Akagi had ended up. A section of I-16s managed to slip past the Zeroes and shot down one of the Kates.

The Chinese found another company of the enemy forces west of Hanoi and destroyed it as fighting force. Another assault on Canton did relatively well. Losses were about 1600 casualties and they estimate enemy losses at around six hundred. This is better than most previous attacks have done.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

07 Aug 42

We have lost contact with the KXV. She was on patrol near Kuching. The Pickerel hit a freighter with two torpedoes. When she closed and used her .50 caliber machineguns on the ship she was able to verify that it was carrying troops.

Tavoy go boom in the night.

Wake has built up its airfield as large as possible, which is just large enough to handle B-17s. The 39th Bomb Group has flown in and launched their first mission, an attack on the air base on Marcus Island.

The B-17s at Port Moresby attacked Rabaul again, thirty-four of them today. They destroyed three aircraft on the ground without any losses. It doesn't look like there are many enemy aircraft remaining here.

Our attacks on enemy troops around Rangoon cost us three Hurricanes today. The Chinese continued to bomb west of Hanoi.

Attacks around the Celebes Sea netted bomb and torpedo hits on two freighter and two transport.

Nine Bettys attacked the ships docked at Gili Gili. The Kittyhawks shoot five of the unescorted bombers down, but the survivors manage to hit two of the freighters with torpedoes.

Royal Navy carrier planes bombed Rahaeng. It looks like we have achieved complete air superiority in the Burma theatre, at least temporarily. This bodes well for our ability to move the troops and supplies already enroute to Rangoon.

One hundred and forty bombers from the carriers Yorktown, Enterprise and Hornet bombed Shortlands. Given the apparent weakness of the enemy's air forces in the Solomons, the carriers will continue north to come within range to attack Rabaul. We already have a Regimental Combat Team boarding ships for Munda Point. Once they have secured the island we can move engineers in to build up the facilities.

The B-25s in the Solomons took a rest, but the B-26s continued bombing Shortlands.

Assuming it is the Akagi at Hong Kong, she is rebuilding her airgroup. Two raids, totalling about two dozen aircraft, attacked the Chinese at Canton.

The Japanese at Canton launched an attack. The Chinese were still routinely preparing for these sallies and hammered the Japanese hard. For under seven hundred casualties of their own it appears they inflicted over seven thousand on the enemy. It also looks like the Chinese have finally destroyed the Vietnamese unit west of Hanoi.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 213
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/21/2004 10:17:08 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		08 Aug 42

The KXVIII made an unsuccessful attack on a freighter near Singapore.

The nocturnal flights over Tavoy continue.

The US Navy battleships North Carolina and New Mexico shelled Shortlands, doing heavy damage to the airfield. At the same time the Royal Navy's Valiant and Warspite bombarded Victoria Point, although it appears there was less to hit there.

More than eighty B-17s bombed Singapore harbor. There were no ships docked but reports are that casualties among the garrison were heavy and a large amount of war materials were destroyed. Ah well, the slaughter was enjoyable while it lasted. Wake's heavy bombers targeted Eniwetok. Twenty-two B-17s did light damage to the air base. Kwajalein was hit by almost fifty bombers, doing some damage to the air base there and destroying maybe half-a-dozen aircraft.

The Hurricanes continued bombing enemy troops around Rangoon. The Chinese bombers at Haiphong shifted their attention to a Vietnamese attempt to force the northern Mekong crossings.

The RN carriers bombed Tavoy. Faced with 18 to 1 odds, the lone Zero in the air declined to engage the escorting Fulmars. The Swordfish did some additional damage to the field. The carriers are heading back to Ceylon now to restock their aircraft stores.

A dozen Beauforts bombed the air strip at Tarakan, destroying a pair of transport aircraft.

The Marauders addedsome craters to what the battleships did to the airfield on Shortlands.

Our pilots got their chance to try out their new TBF Avengers. The carriers in the Solomons launched attacks on enemy shipping around Rabaul. Eight Zeroes lead the fifty plus Wildcats in a prolonged aerial dance, keeping them engaged most of the morning. Only one fighter was lost on each side. Four freighters took multiple bomb and torpedo hits from the bombers.

Several days ago I approved a mass movement of tankers and some freighters from Darwin to Palmebang, Batavia and Balikpapan. It appeared that we had secured the Java Sea, at least for now, and there was no enemy air activity. By having each of the ships sail separately we hoped they would avoid notice or if any were spotted, that they would not draw undue attention. One of the tankers, the Samuel Q Brown, lost that bet today. She was blown apart by half-a-dozen torpedoes from a strike by Bettys just short of Palembang. I'm just glad that Japanese naval attack on Palembang took place before the the tankers began arriving. Five ships have already docked and more are due in the next day or two. The B-17s will be ordered to shift their attention from Singapore's harbor to its airfields to try and suppress the enemy aircraft. But even with some losses I feel this has to be done. There is nearly half a million tons of crude oil in storage at Palembang. We need to get as much of it out as possible, both for our own use and to deny it to the Japanese if they are planning an attack on the base. I don't think we're going to have a better opportunity in the near future.

A pair of Bettys also attacked our ships near Shortlands. The New Mexico was hit by a torpedo. But damage is light, a few compartments flooded and one minor fire, no threat to the ship. But the task force is returning to Lunga anyways, no reason to risk further losses just to shell an empty airfield.

Artillery fire at Canton while the Chinese regroup for another assault. They also threw the Indochinese forces back across the Mekong river when they tried to cross. It seems highly unlikely any survivors from the force they were probably trying to rescue, now identified as the VM 4th Division, made it to their lines.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

09 Aug 42

The Pickerel took a shot at a minesweeper near Saigon but missed. The Silversides hit a freighter near Tokyo.

As falls the sun over Tavoy, so falls the explosive ordinance.

Liberators bombed the airbase at Bangkok, doing seious damage and destroying a few aircraft.

Forty Flying Forts (say that quickly ten times) bombed airstrips around Singapore. They destroyed some two dozen enemy aircraft and did very heavy damage. Once again a lone Zero was spotted but did not engage.

Wake's bombers switched back to Marcus Island today, but report no significant damage. Forty B-17s hit Kwajalein, destroying a decade of enemy planes, mostly transports.

The Port Moresby Fortresses sortied against Rabaul. Thirty four of them were intercepted by half-a-dozen Zeroes. One bomber was lost and half-a-dozen enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground, along with substantial damage to the field.

The Chinese launched several raids on Canton. The Hurricanes were grounded by bad weather but the Mandalay bombers attacked enemy forces in south Burma.

It appears that a large convoy of troop transports has arrived at Rabaul. The carriers air wings pounded on them today. The Wildcat escort accounted for three of the six Zeroes on defense, but one SBD was lost. The hundred and thirty bombers hit almost twenty transports, which was still only about two-thirds of the convoy.

A section of Hudsons hit a tanker outside Tarakan. Nine Beauforts did trivial damage to the airfield there. A mixed Hudson and Swordfish strike scored torpedo hits on a tanker and a patrol boat.

The Aussie B-25s bombed the jungle around Pontianak.

Four Sallys tried to hit a freighter loading raw materials at Toboali but missed. A second strike by four more against a transport disembarking the 5th SeaBees also missed. Nell bombers bombed Morotai from high altitude, but missed the base completely. A pair of strikes against our ships at Palembang slipped past the CAP. One of them, a section of Sallys, scored three bomb hits on the tanker Agwiworld. I am very glad that one of the ships that has reached port is unloading the US 97th Coastal AA Regiment. Hopefully the additional anti-aircraft guns will help protect the ships.

The Wasp reached position and launched a strike against the airbase on Eniwetok. They did some damage but there don't appear to be any enemy aircraft based here. We'll send the group south and see if they can do some damage to the enemy on Kwajalein.

Shelling continued at Canton, but that was the extent of ground combat today.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 214
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/22/2004 12:29:06 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		10 Aug 42

The KX torpedoed an escorted freighter in the passages between the Celebes and Sulu Seas in two separate attacks, hitting both times. Near Shimizu the Pollack missed a damaged freighter. Near Hong Kong the KXIV hit a freighter. North of Rabaul the S-28 spent the day avoiding a stubbern IJN destroyer.

Due east of Cairns and almost due south of Gili Gili, a Jap sub torpedoed the destroyer Witte de With. The ship suffered heavy damage and is trying to make it to Townsville. The other four destroyers in the group did eventually track the offending sub down and report a large number of hits on it.

The B-24s bombed Bangkok. Only two enemy aircraft are believed to have been destroyed. Singapore's air field was hit by B-17s. Again, only a couple of enemy aircraft were caught on the ground. Two dozen B-17s bombed Kwajalein and nearly thirty bombed Rabaul. Only at Rabaul were there signs of enemy aircraft hit.

The Chinese continued to heavily bomb Canton. They added some insult to the Indochina militia by bombing the forces that were just forced back across the Mekong. We lost another Hurricane in attacks on IJA forces near Rangoon. Despite these losses among the fighter-bombers, I still feel that the air attacks on the Japanese troops here is worthwhile. It is, of course, hard to determine the full effect of such attacks on the enemy but circumstantial evidence is that his troops are suffering losses and are having at least some difficulty making headway against such concerted bombing.

The Japanese attacked our ships at Palembang again. Two small groups tried to slip past the CAP but failed. The Hawks shot down two Sallys and a Dinah while preventing any hits on the tankers below.

We were not as lucky at Gili Gili where the Kittyhawks only got one of six Bettys. One of the freighters was hit, again, by a torpedo.

RADM Fitch, in command of the Wasp task force, launched his aircraft against Wotje. One SBD and one TBF were lost to AAA. Still no evidence of enemy aircraft on the ground.

The Japanese carrier aircraft at Hong Kong continue to fly against the Chinese at Canton. Unfortunately for them, a section of I-16s from the Chinese 11th Fighter was overhead. The three fighters cost the enemy five Vals, a Kate and a pair of Zeroes with only minor damage to one of the Chinese fighters.

RADM Clark moved his carriers somewhat closer to Rabaul and it appears to have paid off. The morning strike's escorts tangled with the half-dozen Zeroes in the air, shooting two down but losing four Wildcats. They did however keep the Japs away from the hundred and fifty bombers who proceeded to hammer away at the transports in port. Debriefings indicate some twenty ships were hit, most by multiple bombs or bomb/torpedo combinations. The pilots also confirmed that there are troops on board the ships. The afternoon strike did not fair as well. The aircraft got separated and the bombers ended up going in without escort. This cost us several bombers, mitigated only by the very low number of Zeroes. They none the less did more heavy damage to enemy shipping. A destroyer appears to have suffered a magazine explosion after being hit by three 1,000 lb bombs and a dozen transports were hit again. Three ships were seen sinking in the harbor.

As twilight fell, a Japanese sub fired on the carrier group. The destroyer Bagley was hit by one torpedo and suffered very heavy damage. The rest of the screen dropped depth charges but there is no evidence they hit the sub. The Bagley will attempt to reach the nearest friendly port, Gili Gili.

No land combat to report today.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 215
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/22/2004 10:05:18 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		11 Aug 42

The S-28 scored two torpedo hits on a transport north of Rabaul. Off the south coast of Formosa the Pompano made a surface attack on a freighter. She hit with a torpedo and several gun rounds.

The Blenheims bombed Tavoy overnight.

SB-2s bombed Chengting.

Two dozen Liberators bombed the Bangkok airfield. They caught a lone transport with their bombs. I think its time to switch them to other targets for now. Maybe the Japs will move some more aircraft into range for us.

Maybe half-a-dozen aircraft were destroyed by the B-17s at Singapore. We lost one bomber to AAA fire. Two sections of Beauforts followed up with some more warheads for the Japanese. Only two sections of Wake's B-17s flew today, bombing the supply dump on Marcus Island. A dozen Forts hit Kwajalein. Thirty B-17s bombed Rabaul, meeting no opposition in the air. They did some heavy damage to the field and may have destroyed one enemy plane on the ground.

Chinese bombers continued dropping on Canton. Two Hurricanes were shot down near Rangoon. Ground fire also claimed a B-25 and a Falcon recon plane. We've moved another squadron of Wellingtons and a squadron of Blenheim IVs into the area, basing them at Pagan. They joined the bombers from Mandalay in attacking Japanese troops.

Our aircraft in the DEI launched a few strikes in the Celebes Sea, but targets have been lacking for the last few days. A squadron of Beauforts caught a couple of planes on the ground at Tarakan.

The Wasp bombed Kwajalein as well, but did much better than the Flying Forts. They added to the airfield's damage and bagged half-a-dozen aircraft. Having had a chance to blood its airgroup and finding little worth remaining in the area for, they will steam back to Pearl now.

The Chinese at Canton were bombed by a little over a dozen Vals and Kates.

A pair of Bettys tried to attack Lunga. One was shot down by the P-39s and the other chased off with damage.

With no enemy CAP to deal with over Rabaul, our carrier planes were able to spread out their attacks some. They hammered a pair of newly arrived freighters, hitting each with a torpedo and half-a-dozen 1,000 lb bombs. They continued bombing the transports, hitting nine of them, and attacked the warehouses. The pilots were reporting difficulties finding targets thru all the smoke from the burning ships, so the rest of the carriers' planes bombed Shortlands. Forty B-26s added to the damage there.

After dogging our carriers all day, including a failed attack on one of the cruisers early in the morning, the Jap sub snuck in close and hit the Hornet with a torpedo. However, this brought it in close enough that the destroyers were able to pounce on it. Debris and oil were spotted after depth charges were dropped. The Hornet was lucky, with minor damage and not much flooding. None the less, the group will have to pull back for a bit. They are almost out of munitions for their aircraft and need to restock.

The Chinese launched another assault on Canton. They suffered some 2200 casualties and may have inflicted 500 on the enemy. This attack is not working. Most of the forces will remain around the city and use their artillery but we need to think of something else to breach the defenses or bring in a great deal more troops. I don't know where the Chinese could pull more units from.

I mentioned a few days ago that a large number of troops are being moved around. While these are continueing, there are a few that are of particular note. The 808th EAB has been moved to Menado to build up the facilities there. The 32nd Naval Base Force is boarding ship at Darwin to follow them. We will also try to move some combat troops to add to the Dutch infantry already there. The US 37th is at Darwin but is still replacing its losses when two transports sank. There are three Australian divisions also at Darwin, we will just have to convince the Australian government to release one of them. This will allow us to base a great many more aircraft here, making life more difficult for the enemy around the Celebes Sea. It may also serve to support an eventual landing on Mindanao.

Ships are enroute to Wake to pick up the US 25th Division and take them back to Hawaii. A Regimental Combat Team has already arrived on Wake from the Aleutiens and it seems unlikely the enemy will make an attempt on the island. This move will give us three divisions at Pearl. I will have to think carefully about what to do with them, but the weakness the enemy is showing in the Marshall Islands is very tempting.

The 52nd Base Force is now passing Canton Island on their way to Rossel Island, south of New Guinea. Rossel is currently undeveloped and the engineers will begin construction on an airfield there. A base there will allow us to provide additional fighter cover for the convoys moving thru the northern Coral Sea enroute to Darwin or the DEI.

The US Navy's 121st Base Force is almost up to strength. We should be able to start shipping them from San Francisco to Guadalcanal soon. Some of the West Coast's transport aircraft are crated on a freighter making its way to Australia. They will eventually make their way to India to join the transports already flying supplies to the Chinese. There is another squadron of Dakotas in Hawaii that I am considering sending to India also.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12 Aug 42

The KXIII has finally dealt with her flooded compartments at Sinkep and will soon be setting sail for the sub base at Soerabaja.

Trees explode around Tavoy in the darkness.

Twenty-two B-24s bombed the industries at Bangkok.

Forty-five B-17s did heavy damage to the airfield at Singapore, destroying several aircraft. A section of Beauforts followed up, destroying another. Twenty Forts from Wake bombed Marcus Island. Fifteen of them hit Kwajalein, catching a pair of aircraft on the base.

The attacks on enemy troops around Rangoon continue.

A section of Hudsons hit a tanker at Davao. The runways at Tarakan were cratered by some Beauforts. A section of Beauforts going after a ship sighting in the Malacca Strait near Singapore were intercepted by a number of improved Zeroes. Two of them were lost, although the survivor reports that they managed to shoot down one of the fighters.

A pair of Bettys attacked our ships at Gili Gili. The Kittyhawks shot one down and the other missed. Despite this, one of the freighters damaged earlier succumbed and sank in port today.

The Chinese shelled Canton. They also report that they are moving forces from northern Indochina and bases in the rear areas of western China to Wuchow. From there they will make another attempt on Canton, but it will take some time for some of their units to arrive.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

13 Aug 42

The S-38 hit a troop carrying freighter with three torpedoes and a couple of rounds from her deck gun near Kuching.

Nocturnal ground contact fireworks were delivered to the Japanese at Tavoy via non-retarded air drop.

Only a section of SB-2s flew to bomb Chengting.

Eighteen B-17s bombed Marcus again. A decade of Forts bombed Kwajalein. Thirty-four of the heavy bombers attacked the port at Rabaul. While the five Zeroes on defense failed to shoot any of them down, two of the bombers were too heavily damaged upon landing to be repairable. However, even if the enemy was aware of this I doubt he would consider it a good trade. It looks like twenty ships, almost all of them troop transports, were hit in the attack.

The attacks on enemy troops outside Rangoon continue. A section of Beauforts bombed the airfield at Singapore. The Aussie B-25 crews hit two freighters and a transport at Pontianak.

Almost thirty carrier bombers attacked Chinese troops at Canton.

The Royal Navy bombarded Andaman Island again. Still no sign of a garrison or any defenses.

Chinese forces exchanged artillery fire with the Japanese at Canton.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 216
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/23/2004 6:32:32 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		Okay, I've lost my mind and its Christmas, so time for something completely different. I am (un)officially announcing the first WiTP AAR poetry contest! (Don't overthink it.) I am looking for a haiku describing the constant night time bombing of Tavoy by the 27 Squadron using Blenheim IFs. First prize gets ..., hmmmm, what does first prize get? Ah, I know! First prize is getting to put the fact that you won in your sig!

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 217
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/23/2004 9:18:56 AM   
Alikchi2

 

Posts: 1785
Joined: 5/14/2004
Status: offline
quote:

AAR poetry contest! (Don't overthink it.) I am looking for a haiku describing the constant night time bombing of Tavoy by the 27 Squadron using Blenheim IFs. First prize gets ..., hmmmm, what does first prize get? Ah, I know! First prize is getting to put the fact that you won in your sig!


First try!


Bombs over Tavoy
Darkness rended, skies aglow
Nipponese unbowed

(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 218
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/24/2004 7:10:38 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		Now this is just sad. Almost twenty-four hours and only one entry? I'd threaten to withhold further reports until there were more entries, but with only one entry obviously not enough people are paying attention for that to have an effect. *sigh* All right, I'll make it easier for all of you. It doesn't have to be a haiku. Any poetry will be accepted, as long as it isn't NC-17.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to Alikchi2)
Post #: 219
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/24/2004 7:15:12 AM   
Hornblower


Posts: 1361
Joined: 9/10/2003
From: New York'er relocated to Chicago
Status: offline 		Make it two..

(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 220
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/24/2004 9:52:37 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Hornblower

Make it two..















Yes.....? <waiting for the poem>

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to Hornblower)
Post #: 221
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/24/2004 9:50:03 PM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		14 Aug 42

The Swordfish missed a pair of freighters in the north end of the Sulu Sea, near Taytay in two separate attacks.

Nocturnal bombing of Tavoy.

Twenty-four Liberators bombed the factories at Bangkok. Forty-two B-17s bombed Singapore's airfield. They may have caught a new enemy unit or two transferring as the toll of enemy craft was over thirty destroyed and a like number damaged. Intelligence believes most of them were Sonia dive bombers. Twenty of the Warhawks from Gasmata met up with the Flying Forts from Port Moresby enroute to Rabaul. However, all they were able to do was act as target practice for the four Zeroes as two of them were shot down without even damaging a single enemy plane. The bombers hit ten transports in port and photos taken during the raid show a freighter already sunk before they arrived.

Chinese bombers continued dropping ordinance on Canton. Attrition continues to take its toll among our Hurricanes at Rangoon. Two more were lost during troop attack sorties. The higher flying Wellingtons and B-25s continue to only suffer light flak damage.

A section of Beauforts added some craters to Singapore's runways. B-25s continue clearing trees around Pontianak. Beauforts did some minor damage to the air base at Tarakan.

Some thirty Vals and Kates attacked the Chinese at Canton. Two sections of I-16s from the Chinese 11th Fighter caught the unescorted bombers and shot three of them down.

The Chinese maintain their cordon around Canton, occassionally getting into artillery duels with the Japanese garrison.

We have more troops to work with. The Indian 25th Division and the headquarters for the Indian IV Corp have formed up in Karachi. The Australians have a new Anti-Tank Regiment, the 2nd, and two Airfield Construction Regiments in Sydney. And three more SeaBee units arrived in San Francisco.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

15 Aug 42

The Pompano avoided a trio of minesweepers in the Philippine Sea while on its way back to Wake for more torpedoes. The Perch torpedoed a small freighter outside Davao.

Just before heading for Townsville to refill their bunkers, the destroyer group south of Gili Gili surprised a Jap sub. They quickly blew it apart with depth charges when it tried to dive away. East of Cooktown an patrol boat lead minesweeper group thought they had a Jap sub on sonar but couldn't close the net on it. The sub retaliated by torpedoing and sinking the minesweeper Bunbury.

Blenheims, bombs, <whistling sound>, Tavoy go boom!

The Royal Navy's battleships bombarded Tavoy, so more boom!

The Chinese bombers managed to destroy a couple of Jap recon aircraft on the ground at Chengting.

Twenty B-17s had little trouble getting past four Zeroes over Rabaul. They hit half-a-dozen transports in port.

The Hurricanes took a day off, but the other bombers in Burma continued to attack enemy troops.

It has been quiet around the Celebes Sea lately,mostly due to a lack of targets for the bombers. It looks like that's changing. A section of Hudsons planted three bombs on a freighter between the Celebes and Sulu Seas. A second attack hit another freighter in the same area. Another attack hit the freighter torpedoed by the Perch with two bombs.

Now that the engineers at Palembang have finally finished repairing the airfield, the Beauforts launched a pair of strikes against an enemy light cruiser north of Singkawang. Unfortunately both attacks missed.

More trees died around Pontianak.

After re-stocking, the carriers are heading north towards Rabaul again. While enroute they launched a strike on Shortlands.

The Japanese Navy lost another Val to the Chinese 11th Fighter over Canton.

More artillery fire around Canton.

Reinforcements continue to pour into the theatre. The Royal Navy in India received a destroyer. Three minesweepers finished construction at Sydney. But as usual, the bulk of new ships came from San Francisco. Three destroyers, three destroyer tenders, a repair ship, a minesweeper, three subs and almost a dozen subchasers are now available there. We also got two more understrength base forces. Another squadron of Wellingtons is in India. Two squadrons of Marine F4F fighters and a squadron of P-70 Havoc nightfighters are available on the West Coast.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

16 Aug 42

Information came in overnight about a Japanese Search and Rescue in the South China Sea. It appears that a freighter carrying elements of the IJA 2nd Division sank. This is interesting because the Dutch on Borneo have been taking aerial photos of the 2nd Division at Pontianak for some time. (They apparently love their new F-5A recons.) We also received a coastwatcher report that one of the transports at Rabaul has sunk.

The Stingray hit a tanker outside Brunei.

The Brits continue to bomb Tavoy during the night.

The Chinese continue bombing Chengting. They sent their IL-4s to bomb the port at Hong Kong.

Changsha came under attack. Nine Sonias with a six Tojo escort cost the Chinese one of their biplanes in the air. Damage to the airfield was light.

Forty B-17s did very heavy damage to the air base at Singapore. They also destroyed almost twenty enemy aircraft. The Beauforts followed the heavies again, adding a few craters and catching another Jap plane. Twenty-six B-17s bombed Marcus Island. Nothing there but at least its good training for the aircrews.

A dozen SB-2 bombers continued bombing Canton. Nearly eighty Hurricanes straffed and bombed Japanese forces outside Rangoon. The Aussie B-25s finally found the base at Pontianak, doing some trivial damage to the enemy's stores.

The carrier pilots continued to bomb Shortlands while on their way north.

The siege of Canton continues.

I am becoming concerned about the lack of information of the Japanese carriers. It has been some time since we last spotted them, long enough that they could have moved to pretty much anywhere in the theatre by now. But where? It seems unlikely they will brave the Java Sea again. The enemy commander can't be happy with the results of their last foray there and we've only gotten stronger since. Possibly the Solomons, the number of transports that have arrived at Rabaul and the increase in enemy troop strength visible in the recon flights by PBYs may indicate a planned resumption of his offensive here.

For that matter, except for the recent attack on Palembang, we have no reliable information on the locations of any IJN warships. We have a report from a submarine of possibly a battleship and carrier in Tokyo Bay. Even if accurate, its just a small fraction of his fleet. Where are his ships?

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17 Aug 42

The Stingray missed a tanker near Brunei.

The Brits continue to buzz Tavoy in the dark of the night.

The Royal Navy also shelled Tavoy during the night. They cratered the runways, destroyed some warehouses and caused some losses among the enemy's troops.

The North Carolina, New Mexico and their escort cruisers bombarded Rabaul overnight. The North Carolina had a few low caliber shells bounce off her deck, but no serious is reported. From the Intelligence reports, the ships did very well. Heavy damage was done to the facilities, nearly thirty ships were hit while docked and casualties among the defenders is believed to be high. Excellent work.

The Chinese continue to bomb Chengting. They also sent two raids targeting the port at Hong Kong. The light payload of the Chinese bombers unfortunately limits the damage they can do.

The Japs sent two unescorted raids by Sonias, one against Yenen and the other against Changsha. At Yenen they lost five of the seven dive bombers to the defending I-16s. Changsha's biplanes accounted for five of the eight bombers there, with AAA claiming another.

Only three sections of B-17s reached Singapore today. Still, it appears they destroyed half-a-dozen enemy aircraft. A dozen Beauforts claimed several more planes in the afternoon.

39th Bomb Group on Wake continues to use Marcus Island for live fire training.

The situation over Rabaul got confused today. We somehow ended up with B-17s from Port Moresby, P-40s from Gasmata and F4Fs from the carriers all arriving over the enemy base at the same time. However it happened, the Warhawks kept close escort on the bombers while the Wildcats tangled with the Zeroes. We lost four Wildcats to the heavily outnumbered Zeroes, shooting down either two or three of them. The bombers got thru without further incident and bombed the port, hitting ten ships.

Chinese bombers attacked Japanese troops at Canton. Bad weather in Burma kept most of the bombers there grounded, but the Pagan squadrons were able to launch a pair of strikes.

A strike against Tarakan scored a hit on a gunboat. A section of Hudsons hit a freighter at Davao.

A cloud front moving in in the afternoon kept the carriers' bombers away from Rabaul, so they bombed Shortlands again.

A patrol of the Chinese 11th Fighter cost the IJN a Zero and a Kate over Canton. A section of Bettys attacked Menado, apparently aiming for our ships unloading but missed.

Other than the artillery, Canton was quiet today.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

18 Aug 42

The Sturgeon made a couple of attacks outside Saigon. The first was on a transport and missed. The second was against an escorted freighter and failed due to dud warheads. The Trusty hit a freighter in the Malacca Strait with a pair of torpedoes and some deck gun rounds. The Perch shot up and torpedoed a freighter in the approaches to Davao.

More Blenheim bombing of Tavoy during the night.

Our battleships in the Solomons stopped at Shortlands to bombard it. It looks like they did heavy damage to the base.

The Chinese continued to bomb Chengting. They also bombed Canton, shifting their target from the troops to the port. They are hoping to cut down on the amount of supplies that the Japs are able to bring in to support the garrison. They also bombed Hong Kong, meeting no resistance from the lone Zero in the air. In the process they were able to confirm that the Akagi is docked there, claiming to have hit it in the raid.

Forty-seven Liberators bombed Tavoy, pounding the airbase and the warehouses. Damage assessment indicates that several enemy fighters were destroyed on the field.

The B-17s at Batavia bombed Singapore's airfield. They did heavy damage, destroyed half-a-dozen or more enemy planes and caused substantial casualties among the Japs. Beauforts added some more damage in the afternoon.

Two Hurricanes were lost in attacks on Japanese troops around Rangoon. The bomber squadrons also attacked the Nips.

Hudsons hit two freighters off the south coast of Mindanao. B-25s and B-26s on Java bombed the port at Pontianak. In addition to damaging the facilities they hit a freighter with several bombs. A dozen Beauforts bombed the airfield at Tarakan.

The Japanese launched a couple of attacks on the ships loading at Palembang. It appears that they came from Johore Bharu, so we will have to pay some attention to the base there. Somewhat more disturbing is that both groups were escorted by improved Zeroes, costing the defenders a Hawk. Fortunately none of the Sallys were able to hit our shipping.

A pair of Bettys also made an attempt on Menado. They were met by some of the P-35s that have just flown in to defend the base and failed to hit anything. They aren't our best fighters but it is going to be some time before the squadrons can be re-equipped with P-40s. In the meantime they should suffice to discourage enemy bombers while we build the base up.

The Royal Navy bombarded Andaman Island while the Burma 2nd Brigade landed. They quickly took control of the unoccupied island. We will have to put some engineers on the island to repair the damage eventually, but until we can push the enemy back from Rangoon we won't be able to do so.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

19 Aug 42

The S-45 had to evade an enemy ASW group near Kavieng. The Pollack torpedoed a freighter off the coast of Honshu. The O24 was briefly pursued by a pair of subchasers near Canton. The Stingray missed a tanker outside Brunei. The Sturgeon has missed her last two radio checks and is now considered MIA. She was on patrol near Saigon. The S-28 hit an escorted freighter north of Rabaul. The Silversides carried out a sunset surface attack on a freighter outside Tokyo, hitting with a torpedo and her 20mm cannons.

A Jap sub took a shot at our carrier group in the Solomons. All of the torpedoes missed and the destroyers quickly sank the offending boat. In the Coral Sea the DMS Hopkins was hit by a torpedo. The other four ships in the group found and quickly sank the Nip.

Night flying Blenheims bombed Tavoy.

IL-4s bombed Hong Kong. Forty B-17s bombed the airfield at Johore Bahru, destroying half-a-dozen enemy aircraft. Twenty-six B-17s bombed the port at Rabaul, hitting over a dozen transports.

Another Hurricane was lost to ground fire while straffing Japanese troops in southern Burma.

Strikes by B-26 and B-25 bombers from Java hit two transports and two freighters docked at Pontianak. Shortlands was hit again by the Solomon's medium bombers, suffering serious damage to the airfield.

Chinese troops suffered under attack from about thirty carrier aircraft.

A section of Hudsons planted a string of bombs on a freighter outside Davao.

The Chinese maintain their siege of Canton while additional forces prepare at Wuchow.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 Aug 42

The Porpoise missed a tanker near Saigon. She was able to successfully evade the escorts. The S-45 put two torpedoes into a freighter near Kavieng. The Tambor was unsuccessful in her attack on a freighter in the north Philippine Sea.

The Blenheims continue their nocturnal bombing of Tavoy.

Chinese bombers continue to peck away at Chengting. Their raid on Canton failed to do noticeable damage. The attack on Hong Kong claims to have scored two hits on the Akagi.

The B-24 attack on Bangkok did serious damage. Almost forty B-17s continued working on shutting down the air base at Johore Bahru, catching two enemy bombers on the ground.

One Hurricane was shot down near Rangoon, but the all day bombing is believed to have caused heavier than usual casualties among the enemy troops.

Two freighters at Pontianak were hit by B-25s. The port at Tarakan was bombed, but damage was minimal. Shortlands was hit again in a hundred plane raid.

Thirty bombers, almost certainly from the Akagi, bombed the Chinese at Canton.

A section of Hudsons hit a freighter near Tawi Tawi.

After finally clearing yesterday's weather front, our carriers were able to launch against Rabaul. The weather was still bad enough that many of the planes got lost enroute. A morning strike by the TBFs failed to hit any ships. An afternoon strike did better. The Wildcats with some P-40s from Gasmata bagged both the CAP Zeroes. The hundred SBDs and TBFs proceeded to sink a destroyer and hit a freighter and two minesweepers with bombs and torpedoes.

Artillery fire was exchanged around Canton.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 222
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/26/2004 11:41:15 PM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		21 Aug 42

The KXIV had to evade a pair of subchasers near Hong Kong. The S-47 torpedoed a freighter outside Manila harbor. Near Hamamatsu the Pollack hit another freighter.

Blenheims bombed Tavoy.

The Chinese continue to bomb Chengting. A section of SB-2s did little to Canton.

Thirty-seven B-17s bombed the airfield at Johore Bahru. While only two enemy planes were destroyed they did heavy damage to the base. Forty-three Forts bombed Kwajalein. They went after the port, losing one plane to flak. They are claiming to have scored a hit on an enemy light cruiser. The attack on Rabaul was by thirty-five B-17s. Both the airfield and the port were hit. Some fifteen ships were hit in port and reports are of heavy casualties among the Japanese troops.

The Japanese launched an attack on Samarinda's air strip. Almost forty-five enemy bombers, mostly Anns, cratered the runways and destroyed supplies. They also destroyed a Swordfish and a Beaufort V-IX on the ground. AAA shot down one of the Anns. A dozen improved Zeroes flew escort.

We lost several Hurricanes north of Rangoon.

A section of Bettys tried to torpedo the destroyer Bagley at Kiriwina Island. The ship had been lightly grounded here to patch up where she was hit by a Jap sub's torpedo. But with the enemy now aware of her situation, she will have to risk the passage to Gili Gili. Another section of Bettys tried to hit the Jupiter, escorting the convoy unloading at Munda. The destroyer was able to evade the torpedoes.

Two sections of Beauforts bombed the Japanese engineers trying to repair the Singapore airfield. They caused some casualties and replaced some of the runway craters they had removed, slowing repairs to the heavily damaged base.

Pontianak is becoming a minature version of Singapore and Rabaul for Japanese shipping. B-26 and B-25 bombers hit four ships multiple times as well as the supply dumps nearby.

We had an unpleasant surprise over Tarakan today. Twenty P-40s escorted a decade of Beauforts in an attack on the airfield. They were met by nine of the enemy's improved Zeroes. We lost five Warhawks to take down only one of these A6M3 version fighters. It appears the enemy is slowly increasing the number of these new Zeroes he has. This is not good news for our P-40 pilots in the DEI.

The carriers launched a full strike against Rabaul today. They met no enemy CAP but a Dauntless and an Avenger were lost to enemy flak. The rest of the hundred and twenty bombers concentrated on the ships docked in port. We think they hit some thirty transports with 500 and 1,000 lb bombs.

Only a dozen each of Mitchells and Marauders bombed the airfield at Shortlands today. I don't blame them, their previous raids have pretty much proven there isn't much here in the way of facilities for them to bomb. I'm sending orders for them to concentrate more on directly attacking the enemy garrison.

The enemy's position in the Solomons is more and more appearing to be weak. The Marine 2nd Division is already at Townsville and the Marine 1st Division is currently being relieved from duties at Port Moresby by the US 112th Cavalry Regiment (since there appears to be no serious threat to PM anymore). If I just had some more support units up to strength I'd very seriously consider a landing on Shortlands in the next month with those two divisions.

Japanese carrier planes from the Akagi continue to bomb the Chinese around Canton.

Another partisan attack near Moulmein and the resulting movement of enemy forces away from Rangoon has provided the opening we have been hoping for in Burma. SEASIA has ordered an attack out from Rangoon. Additional forces from Mandalay and Pagan are also setting out for Rangoon. The first goal of the operation is to restore overland contact with the city. After that they will move on Moulmein and possibly Rahaeng, but those options will depend on how the first battles go.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

22 Aug 42

The Silversides spotted a patrol boat outside Tokyo. The Porpoise evaded an ASW group near Saigon.

The nighttime bombing campaign of Tavoy continues.

The Chinese bombed Chengting and Hong Kong. They claim another hit on the Akagi.

Forty heavy bombers hit Johore Bahru. There was no evidence of enemy aircraft there but they cratered the airfield. Marcus Island was the target for more exercises. The port at Kwajalein was targeted again. The Forts hit the light cruiser docked there again. Twenty-four bombers hit Rabaul. One of them was lost to a lone Zero. Four transports caught bombs.

The Hurricanes chased the Japanese as they moved towards Moulmein. B-25s began bombing the Japanese garrison on Shortlands. A decade of Beauforts attacked the airfield at Singapore. Another freighter and transport were hit at Pontianak by B-26s.

The carriers hit Rabaul's shipping again. We lost a couple of TBFs to flak but hit almost two dozen ships, sinking at least four transports.

A pair of Bettys made an unsuccessful attack on the cruiser Astoria, escorting the battleships on their way back to Rabaul.

Two more British Base Forces arrived in Karachi today.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 Aug 42

The Pollack failed in an attack on a transport off the coast of Japan.

More night bombing of Tavoy.

A mixed cruiser and destroyer force shelled Shortlands. They received no fire in return, which just reinforces my belief in the weakness of Japanese forces here.

Chengting was bombed again. Raids were made on the ports at Canton and Hong Kong. Another hit on the Akagi is reported.

Changsha came under attack. The Chinese lost three I-153s to the Tojos, while their CAP and AAA claimed two of the Sonias.

Nearly thirty Liberators bombed the factories at Bangkok. More than sixty B-17s switched back to Singapore, destroying several enemy aircraft and causing heavy casualties. Nine Beauforts followed up later in the day, doing some more damage to the field. Twenty Forts bombed Marcus Island again. I think they have had enough practice, time to turn their attention south again. Twenty-two B-17s attacked Rabaul, escorted by a like number of P-40s from Gasmata. A lone enemy Zero shot down one of the P-40s before disengaging. The bombers hit half-a-dozen ships in the port.

The B-26s at Batavia bombed the port at Pontianak, while the Aussie B-25s have gone back to being unable to find the island of Borneo. Beauforts attacked Tarakan escorted by P-40s. One bomber was shot down by flak and one of the fighters was lost to the improved Zeroes on patrol. One Hudson was lost when two sections of them attacked a pair of tankers near Brunei.

While the Hurricanes attacked Japanese troops outside Rangoon, the two engine bombers attacked the enemy forces moving against the partisans at Moulmein. B-25s bombed the garrison on Shortlands.

The Chinese shelled Canton.

A new squadron of Dakotas arrived on the West Coast.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

24 Aug 42

Near Saigon the Porpoise fired on a group of destroyers. She missed and had to spend quite some time evading the enemy ships. The Tambor was hunted by a pair of patrol boats at the entrance to the Sea of Japan.

Poor weather grounded the night fighters at Rangoon.

The battleships North Carolina and New Mexico shelled Rabaul. The force closed in to allow the destroyers to fire as well as the cruisers and battlewagons. This allowed the Japs to fire back and our ships took some hits. Particularly hard hit was the destroyer Drayton. While the ship has fallen behind the rest of the force, it should be able to make it to Guadalcanal for temporary repairs before heading for a drydock.

The Chinese continued bombing Canton and Hong Kong, claiming another hit on the Akagi.

The Liberators continued bombing the industries of Bangkok. B-17s attacked Singapore, hitting both the airfield and industrial sector. Wake's B-17s dutifully shifted to bombing Eniwetok. Thirty-six Forts bombed Kwajalein. That same IJN light cruiser was hit several more times. Half-a-dozen ships were hit in the heavy bomber attack on Rabaul.

The Japanese launched another strong attack on Samarinda. Fifty bombers of three different types were escorted by a dozen Zeroes, mostly of the newer variety. They damaged the airfield and destroyed a Hudson and almost half-a-dozen Swordfish. We obviously need more fighters on southern Borneo. Fortunately a squadron of Marine Wildcats has just arrived at Darwin and can immediately be put on ship for Borneo. Unfortunately, we are overloading our aviation support capabilities. More engineering units are needed or the refitting of our existing understrength ones needs to go faster.

The bombers and fighter-bombers in Burma unleashed a full scale attack on the small Japanese force blocking Rangoon in support of the SEASIA offensive. B-25s bombed Jap troops on Shortlands.

Two sections of Hudsons hit a tanker near Brunei. No ships were spotted at Pontianak, just the sunken remains of two merchant vessels. The B-26s bombed the port. A mixed force of Swordfish, Hudsons and Beauforts braved the Tarakan CAP without escort. They got in and out quickly, only losing one Hudson to the improved Zeroes, but were unable to hit any ships. A second strike of a dozen Beauforts followed, escorted by fourteen P-40s. This time the Warhawks got the better of the M3 Zeroes, shooting three down and keeping the rest away from the bombers. This allowed the bombers to put two torpedoes into an APD.

The Chinese and Japanese forces at Canton exchanged sporadic artillery fire. The Brits launched their attack out of Rangoon. The UK 18th Division lead seven various independent infantry brigades and an armored brigade against what turned out to be a mortar battalion and an engineering unit. They were able to quickly drive the enemy back and clear the overland route from Rangoon to the rest of Burma. They are now pushing towards Moulmein with additional forces from the rest of Burma following.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

25 Aug 42

The Whale torpedoed a freighter in the northern Philippine Sea.

The weather over Rangoon cleared tonight, allowing the Blenheims to catch an enemy fighter on the ground at Tavoy.

The Chinese continue bombing Chengting and Canton. Attacks on Hong Kong are supposed to have scored three hits on the Akagi.

B-24s and B-17s bombed industry at Bangkok and Singapore. The airfield at Eniwetok and the port at Kwajalein were also hit, with two more hits claimed on the cruiser at Kwajalein. The attack on shipping at Rabaul scored hits a dozen ships and photo recon shows two more ships sunk.

In Burma, the bombers shifted their attention to the enemy troops moving north from Moulmein. B-25s in the Solomons hit the Nips on Shortlands.

Beauforts cratered the runways at Singapore, while B-26s bombed enemy supplies at Pontianak.

A section of Hudsons laid bombs the length of a freighter near Jolo. The Dutch T.IVa torpedo bombers have moved up to Menado from Timor to rejoin the fight. Half-a-dozen of them joined a section of Hudsons in bombing enemy shipping at Davao, scoring multiple hits on a freighter.

More artillery fire at Canton.

It would appear that the fighting around Borneo is only going to get tougher. I just received an Intelligence report that the Japanese are moving a Heavy AA unit via ship to Tarakan. It would seem that either the enemy has realized they are vulnerable here or we have a leak.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

26 Aug 42

The Dutch sub O24 has failed to report in. She was ordered to patrol off of Canton as part of the attempt at a blockade of the besieged city. Radio intercepts and decryption indicate that the escorts of a tanker there are claiming to have sunk a sub after the tanker was torpedoed.

The Sealion hit a freighter in the Sulu Sea. The KXIV avoided an ASW group near Hong Kong.

Nightfighters destroyed two enemy fighters at Tavoy overnight.

Chengting was bombed. A raid targeted Canton but appears to have missed the port. Two more hits are claimed on the Akagi at Hong Kong.

The Liberators and Fortresses continue to bomb enemy controlled industry at Bangkok and Singapore. The day's attack on Kwajalein appears to have scored two more hits on the Jap cruiser. The lone Zero over Rabaul cost us another P-40. Over a dozen transports were hit by the thirty-five B-17s.

SEASIA's bombers continue their attacks on Japanese troops in southern Burma. Guadalcanal's B-25s continued to soften up Shortlands.

The Japanese bombed Samarinda. Almost fifty bombers attacked the airfield, destroying a Swordfish, Beaufort and F-5A and damaging several more.

Our bombers on south Borneo and Sulawesi concentrated their attention on Tarakan. Unfortunately many of the strikes went in without escort, which was costly against the enemy's new Zeroes. We lost five Beauforts, three Swordfish, two Hudsons and a P-40 in the course of getting two torpedo hits on one of three IJN cruisers and two bomb hits on a tanker.

T.IVs and a section of Hudsons attacked Davao again, scoring multiple bomb hits on a freighter. Two sections of Beauforts bombed the enemy base at Dadjangas.

The small transport Mijer, part of a convoy on its way back to Darwin after delivering troops to Balikpapan, was hit by a torpedo from a pair of Bettys north of Macassar. The ship will stop there for emergency repairs. Another pair of Bettys missed the ships unloading the 118th USAAF BF at Munda. One they have disembarked we shouldn't have to risk anymore ships until after they have built a basic airstrip for some fighters.

B-25s and -26s continued bombing Pontianak.

No substantial change at Canton.

Since it looks like Palembang is not under immediate threat, I'm having the cruisers Detroit, Nashville and their destroyers move from Batavia to Balikpapan.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 223
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/27/2004 7:09:02 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Alikchi

First try!


Bombs over Tavoy
Darkness rended, skies aglow
Nipponese unbowed


Only try. Obviously no one else is going to participate. I'm not going to declare a "winner" with only one entry, but, Alikchi, you get to add to your signature "Only participant in the First WiTP AAR Poetry Contest". Enjoy.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to Alikchi2)
Post #: 224
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/27/2004 10:14:54 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		27 Aug 42

The night bombing of Tavoy continues.

Chinese bombers hit Chengting and Canton. Attacks on Hong Kong hit the Akagi again.

The Chinese lost three I-153s at Changsha when the base was attacked by Tojos and Sonias. AAA shot down one of the divebombers.

Thirty-five B-24s bombed Bangkok. Forty-one B-17s hit the airfield at Johore Bahru, destroying a couple of enemy bombers. Three sections of B-17s and one of Beauforts bombed Singapore. Eighteen Forts scored another hit on the cruiser at Kwajalein. Thirty-seven B-17s, twenty-two P-40s and two sections of F-5As went to Rabaul. The Bombers hit ten ships in port and the photo recon birds confirmed two more transports having sunk in the harbor. We finally got that lone Zero here that has been giving us so much trouble, but it cost us another Warhawk.

B-25s bombed Japanese troops on Shortlands.

Two sections of Hudsons went after a Japanese surface force near Ormoc in the Philippines but couldn't hit the battleship they were targeting.

Two Bettys attacked and missed a transport at Munda.

B-26s bombed Pontianak. A strike on Tarakan lost three P-40s and a Beaufort to the improved Zeroes while shooting one enemy fighter down. Beauforts bombed Dadjangas.

There was no real action at Canton. Near Rangoon four IJA divisions launched an attack on the SEASIA forces moving south. The British lead forces handled the assault. They lost about seven hundred and fifty casualties but inflicted an estimated twenty-seven hundred on the Japanese.

The core of the 123rd USAAF BF arrived in San Francisco to finish filling out.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

28 Aug 42

The KXVIII avoided a pair of patrol boats near Singapore. The Grayling shot a freighter north of Iwo Jima. The Pollack lost a gun duel with an enemy freighter near Tokyo and has been forced to turn back for Wake.

The night Blenheims bombed Tavoy.

Our cruiser group in the Solomons shelled Shortlands again.

Chengting was bombed. The IL-4s reported two more bomb strikes on the Akagi at Hong Kong. I have to wonder how many times that ship has been hit, having long since lost track of the number claimed.

The B-24s bombed Tavoy, destroying more than a dozen enemy aircraft. Thirty-seven Flying Fortresses plastered Johore Bahru. Sixteen B-17s bombed Kwajalein, hitting the cruiser there yet again.

The Japs at Tarakan shifted their attention to Balikpapan. The few P-40s in the air managed to avoid the M3 Zeroes and shot down a couple of the bombers. AAA claimed another as they bombed the airfield. Several Dakotas were lost on the ground. Other strikes by Bettys tried to hit ships docked in the port.

Enemy shipping has entered the Celebes Sea again. The bombers at Menado launched a concerted attack on an enemy convoy but were not able to score any hits. Swordfish made an attempt on a freighter near Tarakan. One Beaufort was shot down by AAA in an attack that scored a hit on one of the IJN cruisers at Tarakan. A Swordfish was likewise lost attacking another cruiser at sea nearby. A pair of Hudsons were lost to Zeroes bombing the port. And Intelligence reports a patrol boat sinking at Tarakan.

A section of Bettys attacked the AVD at Morotai, but all the torpedoes missed.

B-25s and B-26s attacked enemy troop concentrations on Shortlands.

The two sides exchanged artillery fire at Canton. Near Rangoon our offensive is going well. An attack against the Japanese forces engaged yesterday gained substantial ground, pushing two enemy divisions back to Moulmein.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

29 Aug 42

The Cachalot attacked a freighter off the coast of Honshu. Her torpedoes duded but she still scored a number of hits with her deck gun and anti-aircraft weapons.

In the Coral Sea, a group of DMS dodged sub launched torpedoes. They proceeded to depth charge the offending I-boat, reporting multiple hits.

More bombing of Tavoy by 27 Squadron.

Several more Chinese I-153s were lost over Changsha to Tojos escorting Sonias attacking the air base.

The Chinese say they scored another hit on the Akagi.

B-17s bombed Johore Bahru, doing more damage to the airfield. The dozen Forts bombing Kwajalein missed the cruiser. The same was not true at Rabaul, where forty B-17s hit ten ships in port. Recon aircraft report another transport sinking.

Heavy cloud cover over the battle east of Rangoon kept the bombers from providing direct support. Many of them instead bombed Japanese troops at Moulmein, including more than eighty Hurricanes from Rangoon.

A strike south of Mindanao scored a hit on a freighter. Intelligence reports a, certainly different, ship sinking near that island.

Two Bettys attacked shipping at Balikpapan, but both were shot down by the defending P-40s.

Fifteen Beauforts bombed the airfield at Singapore. One of them was shot down over the base by flak. B-26s bombed the airfield at Singkawang while B-25s hit the port's warehouses to the south at Pontianak. A section of Beauforts bombed Dadjangas. T.IVs and Hudsons attacked shipping at Davao, scoring a single hit on a freighter.

The battle for control of the air over southern Borneo rages on. Two strikes of P-40 escorted Beauforts attacked Tarakan. At the end of the day we had lost three Beauforts and two P-40s while only shooting down one model 3 Zero.

Our carriers in the South Pacific have reached position due east of Rabaul. From there they launched a strike on the port. One TBF was shot down by AAA fire, but ten enemy ships received anywhere from two to eight bomb hits each. The docks and nearby storehouses got their share of attention.

The shelling at Canton increased in intensity. The Chinese were preparing for the arrival of the additional forces now marching from Wuchow. The Japanese were probably simply responding to the Chinese.

In Burma the British have taken control of the battlefield north of Moulmein, driving the remaining two IJA divisions back. They will now leave a blocking force to prevent Japanese forces from Rahaeng from cutting them off while the bulk of our forces move on Moulmein itself.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 225
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/28/2004 5:38:18 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		30 Aug 42

The S-28 put two torpedoes into a freighter near Rabaul. The Silversides also hit a freighter with two torpedoes off Honshu. The Cachalot dodged a patrol boat to the west of the Silversides.

The Blenheims continue to add craters to Tavoy's runways. Artistically, or course.

Chinese bombers hit Chengting and Canton, losing an SB-2 over Chengting to flak. Attacks on Hong Kong report hits on the Akagi and a freighter.

Liberators hit Tavoy's airfield, doing very heavy damage. Similar damage was done by the Flying Fortresses to Johore Bahru. Other Forts bombed the petroleum facilities at Bankha. Forty B-17s bombing Rabaul hit three transports in port. The storage facilities were also hit.

Balikpapan came under attack. Thirty Anns, Sallys and Lilys escorted by half-a-dozen improved Zeroes were met by a dozen P-40s. We lost a P-40 in the dogfight and two Beauforts and two Dakotas on the ground. The fighters got two Anns and two Sallys. Fortunately, none of the Wildcats being unloaded were lost. We are obviously going to need them.

Guadalcanal's medium bombers caused heavy losses among the Japanese on Shortlands.

A number of strikes were launched against enemy shipping around southern Mindanao. Beauforts scored a pair of bomb hits on a freighter near Dadjangas.

A pair of Bettys failed to hit the destroyer Hughes at Balikpapan.

Beauforts destroyed a bomber on the ground at Singapore. Marauders bombed the airfield at Singkawang while Mitchells hit the port at Pontianak. Beauforts missed anything of importance at Dadjangas.

The carriers attacked Rabaul again, losing one Dauntless to AAA. The bombers hit three transports and the supply dumps.

There was more artillery fire around Canton as the Chinese continue moving more forces to the city.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

31 Aug 42

The Pickerel shelled a freighter outside Tarakan.

The Blenheims bombed Tavoy during the night.

The Chinese continue bombing Chengting. Their raid on Canton did no significant damage. The Akagi was supposed to have been hit again in a raid on Hong Kong.

Half-a-dozen Chinese biplanes were shot down over Changsha going up against the Tojos escorting a raid by Sonias on the airfield.

The Liberators bombed Tavoy again, destroying another couple of enemy planes as well as doing heavy damage to the base. Johore Bahru was hit by Fortresses. Two dozen bombers attacked Bankha.

Bombers continued attacking Japanese forces on Shortlands.

The battle in southern Borneo is heating up. A pair of enemy battleships was spotted at Tarakan and was the center of attention for our bombers. We may have scored one hit on one battleship and definitely hit a minesweeper but it was expensive. Four Beauforts, three Hudsons, three Swordfish and two P-40s were lost, mostly to the enemy ships' AAA.

The destroyer Barker took a torpedo hit from Bettys attacking Balikpapan. One of the improved Zeroes escorting the strike was downed by the P-40s on CAP. Half-a-dozen Bettys braved the Tomahawks at Munda in an attempt on a transport unloading there.

Two sections of Beauforts bombed Singapore. Sixty B-26s did some damage to the airfield at Singkawang. Two sections of B-25s made an attempt on the port at Pontianak. Beauforts bombed Dadjangas.

The carriers hit Rabaul again. Unable to find anymore shipping to attack they hammered the Japanese garrison and its supply dumps. I am seriously considering having them steam north to Darwin and then to the west end of the Makassar Strait. My concern is whether the Wildcats can protect them from enemy land-based air. Not to mention still not knowing where the IJN carriers are.

The Chinese continued to shell Canton.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 226
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/28/2004 9:36:05 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		01 Sep 42

The O21 managed to hit a tanker north of Brunei, sinking it, before suffering damage in the depth charge attack from the escorts. Shortly afterwards the Stingray, patrolling to the south, was damaged by what appears to have been the same escort group on their way to Brunei. Both subs are returning to Soerabaja.

The Blenheims are still bombing Tavoy.

A dozen B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Two dozen bombed Bankha, aiming at the oil tanks. Almost fifty B-17s bombed the port and airbase at Rabaul, destroying two Japanese flying boats.

Balikpapan was attacked. A dozen Zeroes of both types and a dozen each of Anns and Lilys attacked the airfield. Two Marine Wildcats were shot down by the escort but the P-40s managed to bag three of the new Zeroes. AAA downed one of the Anns and a Dakota was destroyed by bombs. Another new Zero was shot down escorting a pair of Bettys in a failed attack on the cruiser Detroit.

More than a hundred two-engine bombers attacked the Japanese on Shortlands.

We continue to attack enemy ships immediately around Tarakan. Two tankers and two minesweepers were hit with bombs and torpedoes. Two Beaufort and a Hudson were lost to flak.

T.IVs bombed a freighter near Davao. Half-a-dozen Beauforts cratered the runways at Singapore, along with some of the Japanese engineers.

The carrier group in the Solomons has set course for Brisbane. They launched a farewell attack on Rabaul. Another TBF was lost to AAA.

The Chinese launched their assault on Canton. Their losses were high in terms of sheer numbers, but were only about 1% of their total attack force. They may have inflicted almost six hundred losses on the Japanese. Our forces shelled Moulmein in preparation for their attack, causing heavy losses among the Japanese troops.

The Royal Navy is pulling another battleship and two more destroyers from the Indian Ocean for the Atlantic.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

02 Sep 42

More night bombing of Tavoy.

A cruiser group in the Solomons bombarded Shortlands. They received no return fire. However, a decade of Bettys attacked the force. Four of the enemy bombers were shot down by Tomahawks flying cover but the CA Salt Lake City was hit by a torpedo.

The Chinese bombed Canton and Hong Kong. The Akagi was hit multiple times and there is a report of a large secondary explosion onboard the enemy carrier.

The B-17s at Batavia continue to bomb Johore Bahru's airfield and Bankha's oil facilities. Forty-six B-17s bombed Rabaul, catching two enemy aircraft on the ground.

The Japanese continued to attack Balikpapan, although we are dealing with them better. The enemy lost an Ann and an Ida today, while we had no aircraft losses.

Only one strike was launched to support the Allied troops attacking Moulmein. Reports are that it was basically ineffective. This is in direct contrast to the results we were getting only a week or so ago. The bombers in the Solomons had trouble finding enemy troops for their bombs.

A freighter in the Celebes Sea caught three bombs from T.IVs and Beauforts. A second freighter was hit once.

Attacks on Tarakan continue, costing us two Beauforts, a Hudson and a Swordfish. A P-40 and a M3 Zero were shot down in dogfights over the port. The enemy battleship Yamato was hit by a torpedo and a tanker by a bomb.

Two Bettys attacked the Gamble, a destroyer converted minelayer, in the Makassar Strait. A number of these DMs arrived in Darwin a couple of weeks ago and supported by the two MLEs already there have been establishing minefields around some of our ports in the DEI.

The B-26s continued bombing the air base at Singkawang.

Half-a-dozen Nells from the direction of Palau carried out a high-altitude attack on Morotai. No damage is reported.

The Chinese are regrouping at Canton. The assault on Moulmein started very well. It appears that the Japs have not built any heavy defenses here, possibly because of the partisan activity.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 227
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/29/2004 9:30:21 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		03 Sep 42

The Pickerel torpedoed a freighter east of Tarakan.

Some more craters are planted at Tavoy during the night.

Our cruisers continued shelling Shortlands.

The Chinese continue small raids on Chengting and Canton. The attack on Hong Kong claims another hit on the Akagi.

A Jap raid on Changsha cost the Chinese a couple more of their I-153 biplanes.

B-17s bombed Singapore's airfield and shipyards. Several enemy aircraft were destroyed. Forty B-17s from Wake bombed Marcus Island. Thirty bombers attacked Rabaul, damaging the port and airfield.

There was another attack on Balikpapan. One of our defending F4Fs was shot down but our fighters claimed two Zeroes, an Ann and a pair of Lilys. Damage to the airfield was lighter than in previous attacks.

The bombers in Burma bombed the Japanese forces at Moulmein, the ninety Hurricanes especially providing close support for our attacking forces. One of the fighter-bombers was shot down by Jap fire.

The two-engine bombers continued bombing the Nips on Shortlands.

An attack on a Jap freighter in the Celebes Sea hit with two bombs.

We had warning, I just ignored it. It doesn't do to discount Japanese air power. Ten Bettys attacked the cruisers at Shortlands, scoring multiple torpedo hits. The Indianapolis was hit once for serious damage and the Chester three times for critical damage. The task force is pulling back to Lunga.

Two sections Beauforts bombed Singapore, catching an enemy bomber on the ground. Singkawang was hit by more than fifty Marauders. Some more Beauforts bombed Dadjangas.

The Chinese shelled Canton, causing some losses among the garrison. We captured Moulmein today, driving the Japs back towards Tavoy. We'll leave some troops and move up engineers to build up defenses while the most of the rest move on Rahaeng.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

04 Sep 42

The bombings of Tavoy, Chenting and Canton continue. IL-4s claim several more hits on the Akagi at Hong Kong.

Forty-five B-24s bomb the airfield at Bangkok, destroying several transports and a recon plane. The airfield and drydocks at Singapore were hit by two dozen B-17s.

Mitchells and Marauders continue bombing Japanese troops on Shortlands. More damage was done to Singkawang.

Attacks on Tarakan put two torpedoes in to one tanker and hit a second with bombs.

Over Balikpapan we lost two defending P-40s. The enemy lost two new Zeroes, two Bettys and a Lily. Their attack on the cruisers and destroyers missed.

The Chinese continue to exchange long range fire with the Japanese at Canton while prepping for another assault.

Intelligence has passed on a report of a Japanese minesweeper sinking in the southern Philippines.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

05 Sep 42

Blenheims bombed Tavoy while three Royal Navy battleships shelled the base.

Canton and Hong Kong were bombed by SB-2 aircraft.

Forty-five Liberators hammered the airfield at Bangkok. Thirty-three B-17s bombed Marcus Island. Nearly sixty bombed the airfield and port at Kwajalein. Twenty more did the same at Rabaul.

The Japs launched a raid of almost fifty aircraft against Balikpapan. One Dakota was lost on the ground but the enemy lost a M3 Zero, an Ann and two Lilys.

Guadalcanal's bombers attacked Shortlands but had trouble finding enemy troops. A section of Beauforts bombed Singapore. Marauders continued bombing the Singkawang air base.

We continued attacking Tarakan. Three Swordfish and two Beauforts were lost, but the Japs lost another Zero and a cruiser was torpedoed.

A tanker in the Celebes Sea was hit by Hudsons.

Nells bombed Morotai to no effect.

The cruiser Chester failed to make it to port, sinking before the group could reach Munda.

The Chinese continued shelling Canton.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

06 Sep 42

The Pickerel missed twice when attacking two freighters in the Celebes. The S-39 nearby missed an IJN oiler.

More night bombing of Tavoy.

The RN battleships moved south and bombarded Victoria Point.

Chinese IL-4s claimed another hit on the Akagi while bombing Hong Kong's port.

Forty B-24s continued the hammering of Bangkok, destroying two enemy aircraft. A lone Zero was spotted over Singapore by the B-17s bombing there. Several more aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Rabaul.

The B-25s and B-26s continue their attacks on Japanese troops on Shortlands. Beauforts caught another plane on the ground at Singapore. The airfield at Singkawang continued to suffer under the bombs of B-26s.

A section of Hudsons scored a hit on an APD east of Tarakan. A number of strikes went in against Tarakan, despite poor weather over south Borneo. Escorting P-40s of one raid shot down a new Zero on CAP but no hits were scored on enemy ships.

The Chinese launched another assault at Canton. The greater numbers of troops, over 300,000 now, seems to only increase their own casualties. They may be doing slightly more damage to the enemy's defenses but we can't tell.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 228
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/29/2004 9:41:18 AM   
Alikchi2

 

Posts: 1785
Joined: 5/14/2004
Status: offline 		Things seem to be going very well for you :)

Advancing in Burma.. Those Liberators are doing quite a lot of damage, too..

Chinese can't attack very well. :\ You'd think that with 300,000 screaming peasants you'd get somewhere..

(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 229
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/29/2004 9:53:49 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Alikchi

Things seem to be going very well for you :)

Advancing in Burma.. Those Liberators are doing quite a lot of damage, too..

Chinese can't attack very well. :\ You'd think that with 300,000 screaming peasants you'd get somewhere..


I'm doing ridiculously well. Not even a full year into the war and the Allies are ahead by almost 3,000 points.

As for Canton, the Japanese have a bit over 100,000 troops there with level 9 forts. I don't think the Chinese are going to make much progress until the Brits can spare some engineers from their Indochina offensive. (And then wait for them to get there.)

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to Alikchi2)
Post #: 230
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/30/2004 9:59:47 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		07 Sep 42

The Trout hit a freighter with her deck gun north of Taipei. A little east of Singapore the Seawolf missed when she fired torpedoes on a Jap cruiser. The Seadragon used her .50 caliber machineguns on a barge outside Camranh Bay. In the approaches to Davao the S-41 hit a freighter with two torpedoes. The S-47 put two torpedoes into a freighter outside Manila and then had to evade the very persistant minesweeper escorting it.

The night Blenheims continue bombing Tavoy.

Chinese bombers bombed the ports at Canton and Hong Kong. They are claiming another hit on the Akagi.

Thirty Liberators bombed Bangkok's airbase. Thirty Flying Fortresses hit Singapore, destroying half-a-dozen enemy aircraft and further damaging the drydocks. Forty-six B-17s bombed Eniwetok's airstrip. The same number of B-17s bombed Kwajalein, destroying one enemy aircraft. Forty-six was the magic number today, as that was also the number of B-17s bombing Rabaul.

The enemy surprised us with some small raids on Macassar, but none scored any damage to either the base or the already damaged ships docked there.

After some reshuffling, the bombers in Burma have resumed attacks on Japanese troops. Hudsons, Blenheim IVs and Wellingtons bombed IJA forces at Rahaeng. The Hurricanes targeted the Japs south of Moulmein. In the Solomons, our bombers are having more and more trouble finding Japanese forces to bomb on Shortlands.

Poor weather kept most of our bombers on south Borneo grounded but those based on Sulawesi continued their attacks on Tarakan. We seem to be gaining the upper hand in the battle here. We only lost one Beaufort V-IX to flak while five improved Zeroes were shot down over Tarakan and Balikpapan. AAA also claimed a Lily in a failed attack on the cruiser Nashville. One tanker was hit by three bombs from two sections of Hudsons. A coastal patrol boat was hit by a Swordfish strike. Another two sections of Hudsons hit a freighter and Beauforts hit a minesweeper. A single section of Hudsons hit another tanker.

The B-25s and B-26s from Java continue to bomb Singkawang and Pontianak.

The Chinese continue to re-group at Canton. Our lead forces shelled Rahaeng. With two infantry brigades, three armored brigades and two artillery regiments already in place, we shouldn't have too much trouble capturing the base from the single Japanese regiment and a base force holding it.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 231
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/30/2004 10:23:23 AM   
Marten


Posts: 336
Joined: 12/14/2004
From: Gdansk, Poland
Status: offline 		Is there anything in Tavoy? You are sending bombers night after night there, but did they actualy hit something?
BTW Akagi must be pain in your lower back...

Keep up good work!

< Message edited by Marten -- 12/30/2004 8:24:39 AM >

_____________________________


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 232
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 12/30/2004 8:38:19 PM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		There probably aren't many aircraft, if any, at Tavoy. The nightfighters keep bombing it because there isn't anything else worth bombing within range and I want to keep Tavoy suppressed. As SEASIA's offensive continues, I will move them to keep up.

Tavoy, Singapore and Rabaul all used to be major Japanese air bases and all three appear to have been bombed into uselessness by the heavies (B-17s and B-24s). I keep meaning to rotate the Liberators thru bombing Tavoy and Bangkok's airfields and city attacks but forgetting to check them. Rabaul keeps getting bombed because, frankly, there ain't anything else in range of Port Moresby and it is the one place the Japs would have to base planes if they want to stop my coming counter-attack in the Solomons. And the Forts at Batavia should be shifting more towards city attacks, but I also want to keep Singapore suppressed. I've also been considering moving one of the two Bomb Groups there east to bomb Tarakan, which seems to be the only current concentration of Japanese air power, but I have to get an airfield built up first.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to Marten)
Post #: 233
Japanese Hell is the drone of four-engine bombers - 12/31/2004 10:00:19 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		08 Sep 42

Some of you may remember No. 108 RAF managing to march from behind enemy lines to Rangoon early in the war. It appears that No. 106 RN has topped that. Ever since the fall of Brunei and Miri, the thousand survivors of this unit have been hacking their way across the center of Borneo, surviving on airdropped supplies delivered by C-47s at Balikpapan. Well, they have almost reached the road between Tarakan and Samarinda. They should be in Balikpapan in only a couple more weeks. This is an amazing accomplishment, almost beyond belief.

The 52nd Base Force has finished the first stage construction on an airstrip and a port at Rossel Island. A squadron of Kittyhawks and one of Wirraways have flown in to provide air defense and a squadron of Beaufort V-IXs are beginning ASW patrols from the island.

The nightfighters continue to help suppress Tavoy.

An Australian minesweeper group thinks they have located a Japanese sub in the Coral Sea.

Chengting and Canton continue to be bombed by the Chinese. Another hit was claimed on the Akagi.

Thirty B-24s bombed the airbase at Bangkok. Twenty Fortresses bombed Singapore. They did more damage to the ship repair facilities and destroyed three aircraft. Three sections of Beauforts followed this with another attack on the airfield, destroying another plane.

A Japanese attack on Samarinda did some damage to the airfield, but cost the enemy three Sallys to the defending P-40s despite the improved Zeroes on escort.

The two-engine bombers in Burma continued bombing Japanese troops at Rahaeng. They flew over eighty sorties against this target. Eighty-six Hurricanes attacked Japanese forces south of Moulmein.

Hudsons hit a tanker and an APD in the Celebes Sea. A number of strikes went after Jap ships at Tarakan, most concentrating on the battleship Yamato spotted in the port. While they failed to hit her, one strike pretty much blew apart a minesweeper with nearly half-a-dozen bomb hits.

Nells torpedoed the AVD William B. Preston at Morotai, crippling the ship. Outside Balikpapan a pair of Bettys torpedoed the transport Van Rees as it was heading for Darwin.

At Singkawang the B-26s bombed the airfield again. This time they caught one enemy plane on the ground. Interestingly, Intelligence identifies the enemy aircraft as a Val. If this evidence that the Jap carriers are nearby, or was it a survivor of the IJN carrier that we know sank in the area?

The Chinese continue shelling Canton. They also threw back another attempt by the Indochina militia to cross the Mekong. At Rahaeng we started reducing the enemy's defensive works, inflicting heavy losses on the Japs in the process.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interlude:
From the personal journal of the Chief of Operations, Allied Forces, Pacific Theatre of Operations:

"I remember the two thousand dead on the Tennessee. Singapore and the Luzon Death Marches. I remember the Anastasia, the Empire Scout, the Legazpi, Convoy 1169. I remember No. 108 RAF, what little was left of it, and No. 106 RN, forced to march across the heart of Borneo. The submarine KXII's radio man, cut off mid-word. The Siege of Rangoon. Despite everything, I remember it all.

We have learned hard lessons, hard lessons. The price.... But we learned.

I think it is time we showed our teacher how well we have learned."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

09 Sep 42

Before I give the daily after action report, some information on future plans. In addition to the British-lead offensive in south Burma and Siam already underway, I have given the go-ahead for two amphibious operations.

The first is Operation Cookout. The 1st and 2nd Marine divisions, under command of US I Corp, will land on Shortlands. They will board ship at Townsville. The RAF's No. 114 Base Force is boarding ship at Darwin for Townsville. From there they will follow the Marines to repair the base after it is captured. The carriers Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet and the battleships Mississippi and North Carolina will support the Marines and provide naval protection. This operation will place Rabaul within range of our medium bombers.

The second is Operation Devil's Delight. The US 24th, 25th and 40th Divisions from Pearl Harbor will invade Eniwetok. They will be covered by the carriers Wasp and Saratoga, with the battleships Maryland, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, West Virginia and Idaho providing gun support. The Marine 2nd Coastal Defense Battalion and the 72nd Base Force are tasked with immediate followup support. The 121st USAAF BF will follow. Several air units are also tasked for basing from Eniwetok once it is captured. VMF-221 (F4Fs), VMSB-231 (SBDs), VP-14 (PBYs) and the 41st Bomb Group (B-25s) will operate from the island. They should prove effective in interdicting Japanese supply to the rest of the Marshall Islands.

Cookout will be kicking off in the next couple of days. Devil's Delight will require some more time, as transports are still enroute to Pearl from San Francisco and the 25th Division is still a few days out of Pearl from Wake.


The Pike missed a freighter in the Celebes Sea.

The Chinese continue their attacks on Chengting and Canton.

Several I-153s were lost trying to defend Changsha. AAA claimed one of the Sonia divebombers.

The airfield at Bangkok continues to be bombed by the Liberators. Sixty B-17s hammered Singapore, destroying nearly a dozen enemy aircraft and heavily cratering the runways. Eniwetok was hit by more than forty B-17s while a like number bombed Rabaul.

P-40s over Samarinda shot down three M3 Zeroes and a pair of Sallys. The airbase's AAA claimed an Ann. One Swordfish was destroyed.

Burma's bombers continue their pounding of the IJA 4th Mixed Regiment at Rahaeng. The mediums on Guadalcanal continue to have difficulty finding Japanese troops on Shortlands.

Strikes in the Celebes Sea hit one tanker with a pair each of bombs and torpedoes. A second tanker was hit by one bomb, as was a Japanese cruiser. Intelligence has confirmed a minesweeper sunk at Tarakan.

We lost one Beaufort to flak over Singapore, while destroying one more enemy plane there. The strike on Singkawang failed to find any more Jap planes but they continued systematicly destroying the airbase.

A raid by Lilys targeted our cruisers at Balikpapan. Four Lilys were shot down by the CAP along with a Dinah. The surviving bombers failed to hit the ships.

There were more artillery exchanges at Canton. The attack on Rahaeng continues to gain ground, destroying enemy bunkers and inflicting heavy losses on the defenders.

The Australian 5th Division at Darwin has been placed under SWPAC command and is now boarding ship for Balikpapan.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 Sep 42

The S-18 missed a transport with her torpedoes but did manage to score a hit with her deck gun. The S-39 hit an escorted tanker outside Tarakan. The Searaven torpedoed a freighter outside Canton while straffing it with her machineguns. Near Taipei the Trout actually got suckered by a freighter and was lucky to escape without any real damage.

East-southeast of Townsville a Jap sub torpedoed the minesweeper Dubbo. The rest of the ASW group reports hitting the sub several times afterwards. The Dubbo is limping back to port but is unlikely to make it, she is already so low in the water and still fighting fires.

The Blenheims continue to hit Tavoy during the night. While they were doing that the Gouden Leeuw laid mines in the harbor.

More SB-2s bombed Chengting.

The Liberators shifted to bombing Tavoy, hitting both the airfield and port. They also caught a freighter docked, hitting it once. Wake's B-17s continued bombing Eniwetok, also hitting both the airfield and port. Only three sections of bombers were able to hit Rabaul today.

More sorties were flown in support of the attack on Rahaeng. The Hurricanes continued straffing the enemy south of Moulmein. The B-25s and B-26s blew away sections of the jungle on Shortlands trying to find the enemy garrison.

Two sections of Beauforts hit a freighter at Tarakan. A cruiser in port was hit by a Beaufort. Escorting P-40s shot down an improved Zero on the way in but AAA claimed one of the Swordfish in the strike. A P-40 was lost in an unsuccessful attack on a minesweeper and a Beaufort succumbed to flak in another attack on the enemy cruiser. In yet another strike, another Zero was claimed by the escort fighters but the BB Yamato's flak shot down one of the attacking Beauforts. A tanker near Jolo was hit three times by a section of Hudsons.

The cruiser Detroit suffered a near miss in an attack at Balikpapan that cost the enemy a Sally and two Lillys. A second unescorted Jap attack failed to even get that much and lost four more bombers.

The airfield at Singkawang suffered more damage from the B-26s. The Aussie B-25s have gone back to bombing trees in the general vicinity of Pontianak.

The Chinese launched another assault on Canton. It did about as well as the last one. We captured Rahaeng today.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11 Sep 42

The Grayback scored multiple torpedo and gun hits on a freighter off the south end of Formosa. The Swordfish torpedoed a freighter near Canton but was seriously damaged by an escorting destroyer. The Whale hit a freighter with two torpedoes and multiple gun rounds north of Sasebo.

The Blenheims bombed Tavoy again.

The Chinese missed the ports at both Canton and Hong Kong, although IL-4s are claiming to have hit the Akagi twice.

More than sixty B-17s bombed Singapore, destroying half-a-dozen enemy aircraft. Thirty-three Forts bombed Eniwetok, destroying a float plane.

The Hurricanes continue their attacks on Japanese forces near Moulmein. In the Solomons our bombers found a concentration of Jap troops on Shortlands.

Fighting continues around Tarakan. We lost a P-40 and a Beaufort scoring a hit on the enemy battleship Nagato. A tanker just east of the port was hit by Hudsons. More strikes in the afternoon failed to hit any warships but also didn't lose any aircraft, although a section of Hudsons did plant a line of bombs down the length of a tanker.

T.IVs and Beauforts attacked an enemy surface group in the Celebes Sea a good hundred miles farther south than the line from Tarakan to Davao. They scored a hit on one of two cruisers. We have only been able to spot three ships in the task force but I have to wonder where they are going. Their most likely target is Menado. We have no ships there currently but the US 40th Field Artillery Regiment is setting their 155mm howizters to cover likely approaches.

Our cruiser-destroyer group came under attack as they sailed from Balikpapan to Macassar but evaded being hit. A M3 Zero was shot down by the CAP when a section of Lilys tried to bomb the tanker Iris just arrived at Balikpapan.

Beauforts bombed the Singapore air base, doing relatively small amount of damage. Singkawang continues to be slowly ground away by the B-26s. More trees die around Pontianak.

In a surprising move the Japanese at Canton sallied against the Chinese. They promptly got their heads handed to them. The Chinese say they had less than four hundred casualties while inflicting more than twenty-one thousand Japanese casualties.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 234
RE: Japanese Hell is the drone of four-engine bombers - 12/31/2004 10:25:39 AM   
Alikchi2

 

Posts: 1785
Joined: 5/14/2004
Status: offline 		Very cool interlude, kudos. And ambitious operations! Can't wait to see how they turn out.. Allied victory by 44!

(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 235
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 1/2/2005 7:57:17 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		12 Sep 42

Outside Canton the Searaven took a shot at a Jap destroyer. She missed but was able to evade the counter-attack. The Trout missed a freighter near Wenchow.

A destroyer group assigned to clear Jap subs out of the way of Cookout found and quickly sank one in the straits near Rossel Island. A second sub has been spotted by the ASW patrols south of the island and a second destroyer group is moving to intercept it.

Tavoy continues to come under nighttime attack. The Valiant and Warspite shelled Tavoy shortly after the Blenheims finished. I am told that the Royal Navy crews are "disappointed" at the lack of substantial targets to shoot at.

The Chinese raid on Chengting netted two enemy aircraft today, identified as Ki-15 Babs recon planes. The Chinese also did some minor damage to the port at Hong Kong.

Several more I-153s were lost over Changsha. Chinese AAA shot down another Sonia. With the apparent destruction of Japanese air power in the Burma/Siam theatre I think it is time to end the AVG's vacation and move them back to China.

Forty-seven B-17s bombed Singapore. They destroyed another couple of enemy aircraft and report a cruiser docked in port. The thirty-four B-17s bombing Eniwetok report seeing a single enemy fighter but it didn't engage. We continue to plaster the Rabaul air base, today with thirty-three heavies.

The Hurricanes continue to soften up enemy forces south of Moulmein for the coming drive on Tavoy.

Singkawang was bombed some more.

There were few attacks in the Celebes today, with no hits scored.

A Japanese bombing of the cruiser Nashville at Macassar missed.

The Chinese launched another assault on Canton, trying to take advantage of the Japanese casualties of yesterday's fighting. While their own casualties remained high, around 3,500, the Jap garrison was very weak. They intend to continue to press the attack.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

13 Sep 42

The Sealion torpedoed a transport in the Sulu Sea. The Grayback missed a damaged freighter off southern Formosa. In the Celebes Sea the Pickerel scored a gun hit on a fleet oiler while the S-39 sank a tanker with two torpedoes.

The ASW group reached the waters south of Rossel Island and immediately found the reported sub. They report multiple DC hits and the TF CO doubts the sub will make it back to port.

Blenheims continue bombing Tavoy.

More bombings at Chengting. The IL-4s continue attacking Hong Kong harbor. No sign of the Akagi.

B-17s attacking Eniwetok report a lone Nate again refusing engagement. Thirty-four Forts destroyed a Jap plane on the ground at Rabaul.

The Chinese have shifted their SB-2s back to direct bombing of Japanese troops at Canton. The bombing of the Shortlands garrison continues.

Attacks on Tarakan cost us a Hudson and a P-40. One tanker was hit with a 500 lb bomb and the BB Nagato was hit by a bomb and a torpedo.

Four Bettys attacked the North Carolina at Shortlands, missing with all their torpedoes. Our destroyer group near Deboyne Island north of Rossel Island was attacked unsuccessfully by three more Bettys.

The bombardment group began shelling Shortlands, receiving no fire in return even though they closed in enough to allow the destroyers to engage.

Beauforts attacking Singapore destroyed a pair of enemy aircraft.

The Chinese continued their assault on Canton. Their report is confusing though. They say that Japanese resistance has stiffened but their own losses are down by almost two-thirds. Not quite sure what to make of that. They also confirm that they are going to continue the assault.

We have more troops to work with. The Australians have in Sydney the 1st and 2nd Anti-Tank Regiments and the 5th Tank Regiment. In San Francisco we have the 10th and 14th SeaBees, the 33rd Naval BF, the 43rd Division and I Amphib Corp HQ. I Amphib Corp will take command of Operation Devil's Delight as soon as it can be shipped to Pearl.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

14 Sep 42

*** FLASH MESSAGE: AUSCOM TO COPAF-PTO ***
*** COOKOUT HAS PACKED PICNIC BASKET AND WALKED OUT FRONT DOOR ***

The Porpoise was forced to avoid a pair of ASW ships near Saigon. The Flying Fish evaded a trio of ASW ships south of Shikoku. The Pike missed a tanker in the Celebes Sea. The Pickerel torpedoed an oiler east of Tarakan. The Saury reported avoiding a large destroyer group escorting at least one cruiser in the passages between the Celebes and Sulu Seas. But she has missed her subsequent radio checks and Intelligence has radio intercepts of a destroyer being torpedoed in that area.

Our destroyer group south of Rossel was kept busy by a pair of Jap subs. They report heavily damaging the first and confirmed sinking the second.

The Blenheims continue to bomb Tavoy during the night.

The surface group in the Solomons bombarded Shortlands again.

The Chinese bombed Chengting. IL-4s bombed Hong Kong, reporting two hits on the rediscovered Akagi.

Eniwetok and Rabaul were hit by Flying Forts, adding to the already extensive damage at both bases. One Zero was caught by bombs at Rabaul and a B-17 was shot down by AAA.

After shifting air assets forward in Burma, we are now basing the majority of our squadrons at the air complex at Rangoon. From there we launched a massive attack on the Japanese forces south of Moulmein. Nearly two hundred bombers and fighter-bombers blasted away at the enemy with only one Hurricane damaged by groundfire.

The Japanese are definitely making a major effort at Tarakan. PBYs and submarines have identified a whole string of Japanese shipping thru the Celebes Sea going to and from Tarakan. Airstrikes on this line of ships scored a torpedo hit on a damaged oiler, two bomb hits on a tanker, a bomb hit on a freighter, a bomb hit on a transport.

Four Bettys tried to attack our surface group at Shortlands. Three were shot down by P-40s from Munda and Wildcats from the carrier group. The one survivor missed with its torpedo.

Singkawang was hit by the B-26s again.

The carriers bombed the port at Shortlands, destroying some supply dumps.

The Chinese are continueing their attack on Canton. This constant attack appears to be paying off. They report only around 1300 casualties and estimate enemy losses at a thousand.

We have more forces to work with. The Australians have launched another minesweeper in Sydney. The Royal Navy heavy cruiser Hawkins arrived in Karachi. In San Francisco we have the battleships Washington and South Dakota, nine destroyers, two more minesweepers, seven submarines, a seaplane tender, a fleet oiler. There are also several more freighters and ten subchasers in ports along the West Coast.

Another squadron of Spitfires has arrived on Ceylon and a squadron of Catalinas in India. In the US we have three more Marine squadrons, one of F4F Wildcats and two of SBD Dauntlesses, in addition to a fighter group of P-40s and two bomber group, one of B-24s and one of B-25s.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

15 Sep 42

27 Squadron bombed Tavoy again. I've got to find something else for them to bomb.

Chinese bombers over Chengting. IL-4s claim two more hits on the Akagi.

Rebasing the Liberators to Rangoon gives us several new targets to choose from. A dozen B-24s bombed the industrial sector of Saigon. Eighteen bombed air and port facilities at Kompong Trach, catching a convoy in port. A gunboat and five freighters were hit. Only eight B-17s bombed Eniwetok today. Time to stand the 39th BG down for a few days. Twenty-five Forts bombed Rabaul, destroying a Zero on the ground.

We only got 175 sorties today against Japanese troops between Tavoy and Moulmein.

A section of Beauforts bombed Singapore.

The oiler hit earlier was spotted sinking in the Celebes Sea today. A section of Beauforts hit a tanker. T.IVa torpedo bombers bombed a freighter.

The battleships are holding position near Shortlands, waiting for the invasion force to arrive. In the meantime they are serving to draw out the enemy's Bettys. Eight of them attacked today, only two survived the Wildcats and Tomahawks. The Mississippi was able to dodge those torpedoes.

The Chinese are continueing to press the attack at Canton. Their own losses were around 1400 and Japanese losses are estimated at 1100. Considering that there are three times as many Chinese as Japanese at Canton, that is an acceptable result. I am urging them to continue.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

16 Sep 42

The S-45 hit a freighter near Kavieng with a torpedo and her deck gun. She then got into a gun duel with a troop transport. The Salmon engaged a freighter outside Hong Kong in a surface attack. The enemy merchant kept firing at the sub even after two torpedoes hit and the Salmon's captain stayed and fought until his own deck gun crew had silenced the freighter's gun.

More nocturnal bombing of Tavoy.

The I-16 pilots at Yenen broke their boredom by shooting down all seven of the Sonia divebombers that tried to attack their base today.

Two more hits are reported on the Akagi at Hong Kong.

The Liberators continued bombing Saigon and Kompong Trach. A transport and a coastal patrol boat were hit. After many days of poor weather the B-17s bombed Malaya again. At Johore Bahru they destroyed some thirty enemy aircraft. Rabaul lost another plane to twenty-seven Forts bombing the base. Beauforts added some more craters to Singapore airfield.

We had another hundred and seventy-five sorties from Rangoon against Japanese troops to the south. The medium bombers in the Solomons found some enemy troops on Shortlands to bomb.

A tanker was hit by two bombs in the Celebes Sea. Swordfish and Beauforts hit a freighter with a bomb and three torpedoes, sinking the vessel.

A pair of Bettys were shot down trying to engage our ships at Shortlands.

After patrolling near Andaman Island for some time, the RN carriers moved into position to launch a strike against the port at Tavoy. The Swordfish scored a bomb hit on a freighter docked there as well as damaging enemy stores.

The fighting at Canton continues. Casualties are on par with yesterday's. The Commonwealth forces are stepping off from Moulmein towards Tavoy.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17 Sep 42

The Salmon spotted a heavily damaged freighter near Canton but was unable to get into position to attack. The Seadragon evaded a destroyer near Camranh Bay. The Pickerel had her attack on a tanker in the Celebes fail when her torpedoes turned out to be duds. The Pike missed a tanker not far away.

The Royal Navy force lead by the Valiant and Warspite bombarded Japanese forces south of Moulmein.

Flak downed one of the Chinese SB-2s over Chengting. No damage was reported inflicted by the raid on Hong Kong.

Ten Liberators were not able to do much damage at Saigon. Fourteen more bombed Kompong Trach, hitting two freighters, a destroyer and a patrol boat. Half-a-dozen more enemy aircraft were destroyed at Johore Bahru by three dozen Flying Fortresses. Almost thirty B-17s bombed Singapore.

The bombers at Rangoon continued their attacks on Japanese forces to the south. In the Solomons the B-25s and B-26s worked at clearing some of the jungle around the planned landing sites for Cookout. A squadron of P-39s recently moved to Munda straffed what Japanese forces they could find.

Swordfish scored bomb hits on two freighters in the Celebes.

Two more Bettys were destroyed trying to attack our ships at Shortlands.

A mixed force of Wellingtons, Hudsons and B-26s from Batavia bombed Pontianak, hitting both the port and airfield. With the smoke from the prior raid to guide them, the Aussie B-25s were able to get one bomb to hit port.

Fighting at Canton was heavier today. The Chinese are reporting more than 2200 casualties. They believe they inflicted 1500 on the enemy.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 236
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 1/3/2005 3:26:31 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		18 Sep 42

The Gudgeon missed an escorted tanker outside Hong Kong.

In the Coral Sea one of our ASW groups pursued a sonar contact east-northeast of Townsville.

The Blenheims continue to bomb Tavoy.

Shortlands was shelled during the night by the North Carolina and Mississippi group. The Royal Navy's battleships conducted a pre-dawn bombardment of Japanese troops north of Tavoy.

SB-2s bombed Chengting again. Another hit was claimed on the Akagi at Hong Kong.

The Japanese received a surprise when they attempted another attack on Changsha. The squadron of I-153s previously based there has been replaced with a squadron from the AVG. Eight of the nine Sonias, sent in without escort, were shot down.

Thirty-six B-17s bombed Johore Bahru, destroying another half-dozen or more enemy aircraft. Twenty Forts bounced the rubble of Singapore's ship repair facilities. Tarawa's Flying Forts bombed Jaluit. It appears that a barge at the island was caught in the raid. Thirty-seven B-17s hit Rabaul, piling some more craters on the airfield and hitting a transport and freighter in port.

The Hurricanes, most having moved forward to Moulmein, provided close air support for the advancing ground forces in south Burma. P-39s, B-25s and B-26s kept a constant presence over Shortlands, bombing Japanese troops when they could find them and hitting likely defensive positions when they couldn't.

At Tarakan strikes hit a freighter and a coastal patrol boat, as well as sinking a tanker. The enemy's defending A6M3 Zeroes shot down one of the escorting P-40s.

Three out of four Bettys were shot down trying to torpedo the battleship Mississippi at Shortlands. Our battleship group heading for Eniwetok from Pearl Harbor was spotted. Three Bettys attacked the Nevada, all missing. AAA shot one of the attacking bombers down.

RN carriers struck Tavoy again, hitting a freighter, supply dumps and fuel tanks.

Two sections of Beauforts caught an enemy air transport on the ground when they bombed the airfield at Singapore. Pontianak continues to be bombed by bombers from Java.

The Chinese failed to continue the assault on Canton today. The Commonwealth forces in Burma pushed the Japanese forces back as the advanced on Tavoy.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

19 Sep 42

The Tambor missed a destroyer at the entrance to the Sea of Japan. In the Celebes Sea the Pike fired on a minesweeper, but her torpedoes failed to go off and the sub was hit by depth charges from a destroyer. They report heavy damage and serious flooding and are going to try to make it to Balikpapan. Near Hong Kong the Gudgeon missed a tanker.

The destroyers escorting the Cookout landing force spotted a Jap sub trying to set up for an attack on the transports. They hammered it with multiple depth charge runs, bringing up large amounts of debris and oil.

27 Squadron continued their night bombing attacks, shifting their attention to the port at Tavoy.

The surface group in the Solomons shelled Shortlands despite a gathering rain storm. That same storm kept aircraft from the carriers from flying and has delayed the landings by a day.

The Chinese destroyed a Nip plane on the ground at Chengting. The attack on Hong Kong doesn't appear to have caused any real damage.

Thirty B-17s bombed Johore Bahru, destroying two planes on the ground. Thirty more bombed the oil plants at Bankha. Jaluit was hit by fifty Forts bombing the port. One was lost to enemy flak. Thirty-five bombed Rabaul, hitting a freighter and further damaging the airfield.

Rangoon was socked in but the Hurricanes at Moulmein were able to attack the Japs at Tavoy.

A minesweeper at Tarakan was hit twice and a tanker once. Wildcats escorting one strike were able to bag two of the A6M3 Zeroes.

Pontianak continues to reduced to rubble by the bombers on Java.

The Chinese resumed their attack on Canton. They lost about 1900 troops with enemy casualties at about half that level. A Japanese force has been spotted approaching Samarinda along the road from Tarakan.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 Sep 42

The Flying Fish torpedoed a transport near Osaka. The Perch missed a tanker outside Brunei.

Blenheims continue bombing Tavoy.

Two sections of SB-2 bombers attacked Chengting. The Chinese IL-4s claim to have made another hit on the Akagi at Hong Kong.

The weather over Rangoon cleared, allowing thirty Liberators to bomb Kompong Trach. They destroyed a pair of enemy aircraft and hit five ships in the port, two AK, two AP and a PG. The enemy lost another dozen aircraft at Johore Bahru to the B-17s bombing that airfield. More damage was done to the oil facilities at Bankha. Thirty-three B-17s bombed Rabaul.

The medium bombers were also able to fly from Rangoon. They bombed enemy defensive positions around Tavoy. The RN carriers attacked the port, setting off some spectacular fires among the tank farms. Beauforts bombed Singapore, losing one aircraft to the enemy's flak. Pontianak was bombed by the Aussie B-25s, who may finally be discovering how to hit a target.

An attack on a Jap convoy near Tarakan by Swordfish and Beauforts resulting in a tanker torpedoed, a second tanker hit by a bomb and a minesweeper torpedoed.

A pair of Bettys tried to attack the landing force at Shortlands. One was shot down by Wildcats and the other turned back.

The Chinese continue their seige of Canton, suffering almost 1900 casualties. Reports of enemy losses are lower today, only about 650.

The Marines began landing on Shortlands under the guns of the North Carolina and Mississippi as well as nearly a dozen cruisers and more destroyers. They have met effectively no resistance, just some long-range harrasing fire.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 237
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 1/3/2005 9:25:59 PM   
munited18


Posts: 182
Joined: 9/5/2004
From: Texas
Status: offline 		Keep up the good word D, but how about giving the poor citizens of Tavoy a rest?:)

_____________________________

You are what you do, when it counts.

(in reply to dtravel)
Post #: 238
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 1/3/2005 9:40:04 PM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: munited18

Keep up the good word D, but how about giving the poor citizens of Tavoy a rest?:)


Just as soon as they are under British rule again. (Which won't be long, from the looks of things.)

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to munited18)
Post #: 239
RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) - 1/4/2005 9:12:45 AM   
dtravel


Posts: 4533
Joined: 7/7/2004
Status: offline 		21 Sep 42

The O23 arrived on station in the Celebes Sea and started her patrol by hitting two tankers with two torpedoes each.

Just outside the Great Barrier Reef between Cairns and Townsville one of our ASW groups was attacked by a sub. The targeted minesweeper was able to evade the torpedoes and the group reports hitting the sub afterwards.

Blenheims bombed the port at Tavoy.

The bombing of Hong Kong harbor continues, with two more hits claimed against the Akagi.

Another enemy plane was destroyed on the ground at Johore Bahru by B-17s. Further damage was done to the oil facilities at Bankha by twenty-six B-17s. Forty B-17s bombed Kwajalein, destroying more than half-a-dozen transport aircraft. Another forty Forts bombed Rabaul, hitting a transport in port a couple of times as well as blasting more craters in the airfield.

A lone improved Zero cost us a Marine Wildcat over Tarakan. Strikes on the harbor torpedoed a minesweeper. In the Celebes Sea Swordfish bombed and sank one freighter. A strike from Menado scored more than half-a-dozen hits on another freighter near Davao.

Beauforts continued bombing Singapore, destroying one enemy aircraft and inflicting casualties among the garrison repairing the airfield. Pontianak was bombed.

The fighting continues at Canton. Casualties reported are 1850 Chinese and 700 Japanese.

Hurricanes went after Japanese troops at Tavoy, supporting the advance on the base. The enemy troops tried to launch an attack on the spearhead of the offensive, the UK 7th Armored Brigade and the Indian 255th Tank Brigade. But the near constant air attack has apparently taken its toll and the attack was not strong. Combined with direct fire support from the battleships Valiant and Warspite just outside the port, the enemy attack was quickly stopped with massive losses. Estimates are there were more than three thousand enemy casualties. The RN ships also attacked an enemy freighter docked in the port.

The US Navy battleships spent the night bombarding Shortlands. During the day the planes from Munda and Lunga flew nearly a hundred and forty sorties, covering the continueing landings and searching for enemy forces. An enemy strike of six Bettys attacked the unloading ships. Our Wildcats and Tomahawks covering the landing shot four of them down and the cruiser St. Louis was able to dodge the two torpedoes launched. As more troops are disembarking Cookout's perimeter has expanded. They continue to meet only sporadic weak resistance.

The Marine 2nd Raider Battalion landed on and captured Green Island, east of Rabaul.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

22 Sep 42

The S-47 evaded a number of destroyers escorting unidentified surface ships near Manila. The Gudgeon hit a tanker outside Hong Kong before dodging the small escorts. The O23 hit a tanker in the Celebes Sea. The Searaven became engaged in a machinegun duel with a freighter outside Canton.

27 Squadron isn't doing as well targeting the port as they did against the airfield, but they continue to bomb Tavoy.

The AVG shredded another attack on Changsha, shooting down six out of seven attacking Sonias.

The IL-4s conducted an ineffective attack on Hong Kong.

Twenty B-17s bombed Johore Bahru, destroying several enemy planes and doing substantial damage to the field. Twenty-one Fortresses continued the bombing of Bankha. Thirty-eight bombers hit Kwajalein, destroying a few more enemy planes and adding heavy damage to the airbase. Thirty-five B-17s bombed Rabaul, hitting a transport in port several times and cratering the runways.

Another squadron of the AVG joined Chinese SB-2s in attacks on Japanese troops at Canton. Hurricanes straffed and bombed Japanese forces at Tavoy. B-25s, B-26s and P-39s continued hunting for the enemy on Shortlands.

Three sections of Beauforts attacked a pair of IJN battleships spotted at the south end of the Malacca Strait, but it doesn't appear that they scored any hits. A strike by T.IVs with a few Beauforts along hit one of three destroyers outside Davao. At Tarakan itself Beauforts hit a tanker. Outside the harbor a gunboat was hit by a Swordfish bomb.

A pair of Bettys slipped past the fighters covering Shortlands in the morning, attacking and missing the light cruiser Concord. Another pair tried to follow in the afternoon but the CAP caught and shot down both.

One Beaufort was shot down over Singapore in an attack on the airfield. Pontianak was bombed again.

Our battleships continue to bombard Tavoy and Shortlands in support of ground forces at both locations. The Japanese continued their efforts against the two armored brigades at Tavoy. From the more than 1200 enemy casualties our troops have identified four divisions, three tank regiments, three mortar battalions, a gun regiment, a mixed brigade, four engineering units and an air flotilla HQ among the enemy forces. But the enemy's attacks are so disjointed and uncoordinated that the tank crews are having no difficulty holding while they wait for the rest of the troops to catch up.

The Marines on Shortlands took control of the island's base, brushing aside the minimal defense the Japanese were able to offer. They report that the port and airbase are completely smashed and will take some time to repair. Captured records at the base also identified the enemy forces on the island as: the 82nd, 84th and 88th Naval Guards; Maizuru 4th and Kure 5th Special Naval Landing Forces; 12th and 13th Naval Construction Battalions and the 4th Coastal Gun Regiment.

Casualties at Canton today are 2300 Chinese and an estimated 1400 Japanese.

The enemy appears to be pulling back from Samarinda. Apparently a tank brigade, two divisions and elements of a third is more than they want to tangle with.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 Sep 42

The S-28 put two torpedoes into a transport north of Rabaul. The Perch missed a tanker near Brunei. The Gudgeon missed another tanker near Hong Kong. The Peto hit a freighter with a torpedo and more than half-a-dozen deck gun rounds at the southern end of the Philippine Sea.

Blenheims continues to bomb Tavoy during the night. The Royal Navy's ships bombarded Tavoy immediately afterwards.

I-16s had a dogfight with Nates over Yenen, trying to get to the Sonias. They shot down one of the enemy fighters but couldn't engage the bombers.

IL-4s claimed a hit on a freighter and four more on the Akagi at Hong Kong.

Liberators bombed Kompong Trach. They did little damage to the base but hit a destroyer, a freighter and a pair of gunboats in the harbor. Two more enemy aircraft were destroyed at Johore Bahru by the fifteen B-17s attacking. More damage was done to the oil fields at Bankha. Kwajalein lost half-a-dozen more planes to thirty-two B-17s. Fifteen Forts hit the already damaged transport at Rabaul again.

SB-2s bombed Canton. Rangoon's bombers hit Tavoy's defenders with a hundred aircraft. The bombers in the Solomons had better luck finding Japanese troops on Shortlands inside the shrinking area under their control.

An enemy gunboat was hit in the Celebes Sea. A Swordfish was lost to flak over Tarakan and an improved Zero was shot down by escort Wildcats. A freighter and two tankers were hit in port. Intelligence reports a Jap freighter sinking at Tarakan.

Ever since it was torpedoed some time ago, the AVD William B. Preston has been fighting flooding. A strike by Nells and Bettys put an end to that battle, sinking the ship with two more torpedo hits at Morotai.

Two sections of Beauforts bombed Singapore airfield. Pontianak continued to be pounded.

The Chinese took a more aggressive stance at Canton. They suffered four thousand casualties and inflicted between twelve and thirteen hundred on the Japs. The Japanese gave up on their attack against the spearhead of Allied forces at Tavoy, which is almost too bad as the UK 18th Division finally arrived to support the tanks. The Marines continue to consolidate their hold on Shortlands, overrunning and destroying several of the enemy formations on the island.

More reports to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

24 Sep 42

The Perch missed a tanker outside Brunei. The Sealion missed a freighter in the Sulu Sea. The Seadragon fired on a destroyer near Camranh Bay but her torpedoes failed. The Pike made it to Balikpapan but the flooding was too severe and the sub sank shortly after arriving. The crew was able to abandon ship successfully.

In the Solomons Sea not far from Shortlands, an ASW group from Lunga was attacked by a sub. None of the ships were hit but they were not able to find the enemy sub. Later in the day the carriers west of Shortlands were attacked. Torpedoes were fired at one of the escort cruisers but missed. Again the ASW ships were unable to find the sub.

More nocturnal bombing at Tavoy.

The battleships California, Nevada and Maryland raided Eniwetok during the night.

The Chinese continue to bomb Chengting. The Akagi was hit again at Hong Kong. A few SB-2s bombed Canton.

Yenen was attacked by half-a-dozen Sonias. None survived the defending I-16s. Escorting Tojos took on the AVG squadron at Changsha. Without losing any of their own, the P-40s shot down two of the Tojos and four of the Sonias.

Twenty-five B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Eighteen bombed oil facilities at Bankha.

Seventy-two Hurricanes attacked the Jap troops at Tavoy. The Royal Navy's carriers struck the port, destroying several fuel storage tanks.

Two sections of Beauforts evaded a lone Zero over Singapore, destroying a pair of Nates on the ground with their bombing of the airfield. Rubble was bounced at Pontianak.

An escorting P-40 was lost to a lone improved Zero over Tarakan. A tanker was bombed.

There was some kind of problem at Canton and the Chinese forces stood down today. Additional forces arrived at Tavoy and began setting up for an attack. The Marines on Shortlands worked on isolating and hemming in the remaining Japanese forces on the island.

More reports to follow.

_____________________________

This game does not have a learning curve. It has a learning cliff.

"Bomb early, bomb often, bomb everything." - Niceguy

Any bugs I report are always straight stock games.


(in reply to dtravel)
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