Western Citadel - June 10, 1926

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engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

Western Citadel - June 10, 1926

Post by engineer »

Late Beta Playtest Summary:

Background:
This is another War Plan Orange scenario. After the Washington Naval Talks broke down both the UK and USA embarked on a naval holiday but the Japanese Empire continued to lay down warships as fast as they could. Plans to fortify Guam proceeded and by 1926 Guam's defenses were largely complete and Pearl Harbor's channel had been straightened and widened. After the Chanak Crisis with Turkey, Britain revoked the 10 Year Rule and began naval construction in response to Japan. After Coolidge succeeded Harding, US naval re-armament was started to sustain US naval advantage in the Pacific against the Japanese drive for Naval Parity. In early 1926, the Emperor Taisho Tenno died and Crown Prince Hirohito assumed the throne. Hirohito had already survived one assassination attempt from the ultra-militarists and had come to terms with them as the price of their acceptance of his rule. In early May, a Japanese diplomatic demarche demanded that western forces should evacuate China immediately or face grave consquences. The British attempted diplomacy to ameliorate Japanese concerns while the Coolidge Administration elected to publicly commit to the KMT government and announced reinforcements for the Philippines and other US positions in the Pacific. On May 30, all Japanese merchant ships in US and UK ports were contacted by their consulates and directed to make for sea. In Tokyo and Osaka, the harbors were nearly deserted as merchant shipping had been contracted by the Imperial Government and directed to Formosa and the Mariana's. On the 31st of May, Japan declared war on the USA and announced an exclusion zone in China and adjoining waters. Foreign flag vessels and assets within the exclusion zone were subject to attack by the Imperial armed forces.

Guam:
On 31st of May, a Japanese fighter squadron conducted an offensive sweep over Guam and engaged two US fighters that were on combat air patrol. These were the first shots of the war, but the US planes evaded the Japanese ambush and disengaged. The US defenders were already on high alert and despatched air strikes immediately upon invasion task forces that were completing loading at Saipan. One merchant was bombed. That night, Guam was bombarded by battleships of Japanese Fleet. Over a half dozen aircraft were destroyed and troops of the 30th Infantry Brigade and 5th Engineer Regiment were landed. US forces bombarded the Japanese landings. Submarines sortied from Apra Harbor to begin raiding shipping lanes off Japan and to snipe at Japanese forces in the Marianas. The heavy guns of Fort Dewey and Fort Gridley exacted a harsh price on Japanese transports that were attempting to land troops on the island. The 1st and 7th Infantry Brigades were also landed, but overall casualities of close to 20% were exacted on the invading forces by the big guns and shore defenses. US submarines played hide and seek with a Japanese ASW task force. The Navy and Marines flew air strikes as possible from Guam. Additional Japanese warships arrived and bombarded the field, shutting down operations. By June 10, the airship USS Los Angeles, ZR3, arrived over the island, after flying from the USA via Pearl Harbor. The next day, she spotted Japanese battlecruisers and their escorts cruising off Guam, conducting close blockade operations. Air strikes led by Commander "Buck" Rogers of VT20 succeeded in putting two torpedos into the Kongo. The following day, the submarine R-10, conducting operations off Saipan, succeeding in putting another torpedo into the Kongo as she withdrew toward Japan. On the island, the Japanese and US forces are in a stalemate. The Japanese have three hard-used brigades of infantry that are unable to make progress against a reinforced and dug-in brigade of US troops. The US troops aren't numerous enough to drive the Japanese into the sea so the question will turn on who can sufficiently reinforce and resupply their respective forces on Guam.

The Philippines:
Japanese forces overwhelmed the constabulary that policed the small island of Batan in the Luzon Channel. Then the Japanese stormed ashore ot Aparri, the northernmost tip of Luzon. US fast transports, modified destroyers, laid a defensive minefield in the Lingayen Gulf while US forces moved out of Manila to assume central positions around Clark Field and secure Bataan against a coup de main. Reports from Batavia in the Indies suggested that a Japanese tanker had cleared port on the 30th of May and was now steaming across the South China Sea. Three destroyers were despatched from Cavite to set up a picket line and intercept the tanker. However, DH-4's scouting from Clark Field spotted three pre-dreadnought battleships with escort sailing into the Lingayen Gulf. The destroyers set course for Lingayen and intercepted the Japanese in three separate night actions in the Gulf. The Japanese proceeded to sink or wreck all three of the destroyers, but the American skippers managed to put two torpedos into the Katori. The Japanese did bombard Lingayen and disrupt the defending Philippine Regiment, but the damage to the Katori was serious enough that the whole Japanese force withdrew. The S-34 then put a third torpedo into the Katori off Laong and the old battleship went down. In the Lingayen Gulf, a large invasion force put the 1st Guards Brigade ashore. Massive airstrikes from Clark (over 20 planes including P1A Hawks, DH4 bombers, and DT3 torpedo bombers) managed to damage one freighter and second freighter hit a mine. Reinforcements were despatched from Clark Field for Lingayen after aerial recon established that only one brigade and a mortar battalion were ashore. The Japanese were unable to fight their way far from the beaches. However, a Japanese squadron appeared off of Legaspi and landed the Imperial Guards Division at the southern tip of Luzon. In Mindano, Japanese forces landed at Davao, Dadjangas, and Zamboanga. After several days of hard fighting, the Philippine Reserve Division was thrown out of Davao. An American sub patrolling off of Zamboanga managed to sink a transport.

Hong Kong:
The British forces in Hong Kong were surprised to find Japanese battleships and minesweepers off the harbor by the 1st of June. Additional forces landed a brigade in Canton and seized the Chinese city which did not have any garrison. Under the guns of three pre-dreadnoughts, forces from two Japanese divisions and SNLF regiment established themselves ashore and began reducing the brigade sized defending force. Additional minesweepers showed up and cleared lanes around the British colony. However, this did not stop the remaining mines and coast batteries from sinking or fatally damaging well over ten additional freighters and transports. Several destroyers and minesweepers were also sunk. A heavy Japanese battleship force including the Fuso, Yamashiro, Ise, and Hyuga bombarded the defenders and allowed the Japanese to move off the beach. In the wake of that bombardment, the French Far East Squadron arrived off Hong Kong and attempted to penetrate the harbor to break up the invasion. They were intercepted by a Japanese squadron led by the Settsu and all were sunk after sinking a Japanese destroyer and damaging the Japanese pre-dreadnoughts that blocked their way. After a week of heavy fighting, the Rising Sun flew from Victoria Peak and the British defenders found themselves compelled to surrender. (Note in one play-test, the French cruisers did maul an invasion TF and force them to withdraw before finishing their unload. The weakened Japanese forces were unable to successfully advance against the garrison).

Shanghai:
After the western forces recieved news of the fighting at Hong Kong and the Philippines, the western community launched a deliberate attack on the Japanese Zone. In a matter of 48 hours, the SNLF regiment that was part of the foreign community had been destroyed. Elements of the KMT navy and the US Asiatic Fleet are fitting out in Shanghai harbor. Three US submarines in Tsing-tao sortied and are operating off Kyushu.

Wake:
A Japanese battleship division bombarded the US Coast Guard station on Wake and landed a division of troops to raise the Rising Sun over the atoll.

Guerre de Course:
While the Japanese took care to bring most of their merchant shipping home before declaring war, several Allied merchant ships had the misfortune to find themselves in Japanese ports at the outset of the war. While a few managed to scuttle their vessels, about a half dozen were captured and put into service by the Japanese. The most valuable was the P&O liner RMS Ranpu, a large transport.

Japanese subs begin the game on patrol off Hawaii and in the South China Sea. Off Hawaii, they've had no luck, but a sub lurking off Indochina torpedod and sank the PG Elcano that was heading west out of the Philippines.

The US Navy sortied several cruisers to sweep the eastern Pacific and try to catch some of Japanese merchant ships that left port just prior to the declaration of war. The Pacific is big. The USN didn't find anything. The RAN also sortied to chase a freighter than left Sydney. The freighter had tacked east and was northwest of the tip of New Zealand when she ran into the RNZN New Zealand. The battlecruiser finished her off quickly. A Japanese freighter in the Strait of Malacca has succeeded in skirting Singapore and is making it's way northeast across the South China Sea.

Allied merchantmen are still at risk. In East Asia, Allied vessels in Canton and Hong Kong sailed immediately for Singapore and got out of port before the Japanese arrived. A few British-flagged small AK's are bottled up in Chinese ports on the mainland side of the Formosa Strait. In north China, merchant ships are making for Shanghai where a squadron of US destroyers and the KMT navy is concentrating under the guns of the powerful foreign community garrison. US and Philippine merchant ships split. Some are running for Pearl, either sailing north of the Marianas or taking a long detour to the northern coast of New Guinea before turning decisively east. Others have made for Indochina to load supplies to stock up Manila and Corregidor. So far the Japanese have been unlucky and failed to bring any Allied merchants to ground, but there are a tremendous number of task forces going back and forth from the Mariana's and out to Wake.

US Subs from Guam are on station off Honshu and have already sank a number of tankers and merchant ships. Japanese destroyer and minesweeper task forces are conducting ASW operations. So far, these have been unsuccessful.

Reinforcements:
There are two main threads here: East from Karachi and West from North America.

British and Commonwealth shipping is still getting organized. About half the merchants are taking supplies to Singapore while the other half complete upgrades for AA defenses. The Far East Fleet has sortied from Columbo and is en-route to Singapore.

British and Imperial ground forces are concentrating on Rangoon and Bengal from the interior of Burma and India. Transports are beginning to convoy base forces from there to Singapore. Two of the Burma Brigades have already crossed Thailand are en route to Hanoi by land. An overland expedition through southern China to Canton and Hong Kong is being studied.

In the Antipodes, shipping is upgrading. However, some of the freighters and tankers in the Indies are ferrying fuel from Java to Australia.

In the USA, the pitched battle on Guam has disrupted the pre-war plans for a patient advance into the Pacific. Passenger ships are being pressed into hasty service to transfer the 2nd Marine Brigade to Oahu. US military transports are being concentrated at Pearl for the relief squadron. Langley is en-route to Pearl with a new captain, Marc Mitscher. She is escorted by a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships, a cruiser, and several destroyers. The US Capital Cruiser force and the modern light cruisers are also sailing nearby. The battleline of the Pacific Fleet is a few hundred miles behind the carriers. Although Guam is well supplied, the magazines at Pearl are low so very few supplies are available to haul forward from that base. Lots of merchants are in refit and as they complete the armament, they are being filled with supplies or attack squadrons and shipped out to Hawaii. There was a wholesale reshuffle of battleship captaincies. Many of the US battleships had recklessly inspiring captains (administration skills of 36 or less). The expeditionary campaign that is before the USN will require captains who can fight their ships well and keep them at sea without breaking them in the process. Consequently, all the US dreadnoughts and capital cruisers have captains with naval skills in the upper 50s or better and admin skills of the upper 40s or better. The Scouting Fleet has concentrated and sailed from Norfolk for Panama. The hope is that they will pass through the Panama Canal and join the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor by the beginning of July.

The pre-dreadnoughts on the West Coast are nearly ready to sortie for Pearl Harbor. On the US east coast, the pre-dreadnoughts are still finishing their fitting out. The USS Florida and USS Arkansas are both in shipyards for major overhaul that will include conversion from coal to oil fuel, torpedo blisters, updated fire control and main gun elevation changes, and rearranged secondary armament.

US Submarines from the West Coast are sailing for Pearl with supplies. The subs already in Pearl have been despatched in two directions. One group is rebasing to Guam and carrying supplies. Another group is heading for Wake to establish a picket line north and west of the island to begin an anti-commerce campaign.

Midway is being fortified. An engineer regiment has arrived at the atoll and is being off-loaded. Supplies and fuel are being built up on the island, too. Minelayers are sailing from Mare Island to lay defensive minefields around the atoll in the aftermath of the fall of Wake. The ML in Pearl has already laid it's mines around Midway and is en-route back to Mare for more mines. (Pearl Harbor will require a few months of construction before it is complete enough to serve as a minelayer base). ONI believes that the next Japanese attack is likely to fall on Midway, and it is unclear, given the reckless abandon of the initial Japanese offensive that the Japanese will wait until either Luzon or Guam will fall until they attack Midway.

US Minesweepers are sailing defensive ASW patrols along the west coast to build up their experience.

Diplomacy:
The attack on Hong Kong and seizure of merchant shipping has resulted in Great Britain declaring war on the Empire of Japan. However, the Royal Navy is not at all ready for war and some time will pass before a squadron can be assembled and sent east of Suez. The USA has reciprocated with a declaration of war on Japan. The other signatories of the 8 Power Treaty are in various levels of a bother about the prospect of war in east Asia. The French government has fallen but officials in Indochina have issued orders to shoot Japanese ships and aircraft on sight and are allowing Allied warships and merchants to operate from their ports. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have declared their solidarity with the mother country, but South Africa's Afrikaaner population has mobilized to keep their nation neutral in this "Englishman's War". The Soviet Union has issued a statement condeming "feudal and capitalist warmongering" while asserting their neutrality. The Dutch are moving submarines and their Far East Squadron to Balikpapan to block any moves by the Japanese toward Java. Dutch merchants are sailing to India to receive war-time armaments.

Comments:
There is action everywhere which is intentional. The loss of the Katori and the likely loss of the Kongo is at the high end of Allied effectiveness in the play-testing. Typically, several pre-dreadnoughts are mauled and one or two modern battleships will be damaged. Occasionally, poor damage control will lead to the loss of a modern battleship before it can return to the Home Islands for repair. The slaughter of the AKs and APs at Guam and Hong Kong is typical, but these are most advanced Allied shipyard facilities so capture of these is a major blow to the Allies. The AI never attacks Hong Kong (at least in my experience). A human Japanese player should have no trouble in overwhelming Guam, but putting a pitched battle on the island invites a human Allied player to move west at the double to keep those shipyards out of Japanese hands.

engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

Western Citadel - June 23, 1926

Post by engineer »

Guam:[/align]US aircraft continued to fly missions against the Japanese off Guam until they departed the area during the 3rd week of June.  Then the American fighters started flying offensive sweeps over Tinian.  On the 22nd of June, "Wild Bill" Garrett of the Guam Aero Fighter Squadron (USMC) shot down a Japanese fighter and scored the first air to air kill of the war.  The ground battle on the island has settled down to a Great War Western Front stalemate.  Neither side has enough of an edge to score success on the other.  Guam is an active submarine base for a commerce campaign against Japan. [/align]Corrections:  VT-20 is on Luzon.  VT-2 is on Guam.  "Buck" Rodgers is a fighter pilot on the Langley.  The leader of the attack on the Kongo was J. Gilbert.    [/align] [/align]The Philippines:[/align]The battle here has seen ups and downs.  The US reinforced the troops opposite the Lingayen landing.  The Japanese brigade staged a Banzai charge to break out of the beachhead into three regiments of Americans and Philippinos, supported by a battalion of 155 mm guns.  The US counterattack rolled the Japanese back into the sea.  However, on Mindanao, the Japanese launched a vigorous pursuit of the US forces there and ended up taking the surrender of the Philippine Reserve Division and a USN base force at Butuan in the third week of June.  Another USN base force is in the jungle peninsula east of Zamboanga.  Command in Manila is planning on staging an evacuation, but the Allied player has to budget the political points to shift the unit to a non-restricted headquarters so they can embark. Finally, the Japanese ran a transport task force into Dadjangas to start to take off some troops for other operations.  A US/Dutch surface action task force (one US DD, the four Dutch coastal battleships and eight torpedo boats) stormed the port in mid-load, managing to sink two transports and damaged the rest of the transports.  Dutch subs are thick off Davao, too.      [/align] [/align]Hong Kong:  [/align]The  British are getting regular coast watcher reports of activities in Canton and Hong Kong.  It's unclear if the Japanese are doing anything more than consolidating their position and clearing the remaining British minefields.[/align] [/align]Shanghai:  [/align]The Asiatic Squadron is nearly complete with their fitting out.  Sorties into the sea lanes between Japan and Formosa should start soon.  [/align] [/align]Wake:[/align]Action has heated up around the atoll.  US submarines have reached the waters around the island and have sunk several merchant ships.  The Japanese responded by putting several ASW task forces into the waters northwest of the island.  One sub was lightly damaged.  The USS Langley just arrived off the island and has launched air strikes at the island.  Several freighters have been hit.  An American sub slipped into the shipping around the island (the port is still only rated as a 1) and put a torpedo in the battleship Aki.    [/align] [/align]Guerre de Course:  [/align]The US patrols in the eastern Pacific came up empty so those cruisers sailed on to Pearl Harbor.  The Japanese were also unsuccessful in catching the various Allied vessels transiting the Central Pacific.  This sort of invisibility on the high seas is probably one of the biggest differences between WPO and WiTP.  [/align] [/align]US subs off Japan remain a threat to merchant shipping.  The Japanse ASW assets managed to damage one boat badly enough to force it to return to Guam.  But several more merchants have been sunk.  The US boats from Tsing-tao found nothing at sea off Kyushu.  One enterprising US skipper has taken his boat into the Inland Sea and sank a tanker off Kure.  Another is taking his boat into the Tsushima Straits to hunt off Pusan.    [/align] [/align]Japanese subs remain off Hawaii and in the South China Sea.  A couple of subs have also reached the Coral Sea.     [/align] [/align]The British Far East Fleet has advanced to Singapore.  The cruisers and battleships are remaining in port while the destroyers sortie on ASW missins in the shallow western part of the South China Sea.   [/align] [/align]The Infernal Device:[/align]The principal units of the Scouting Fleet were on Gatun Lake when Japanese agents succeeded in scuttling ships owned by Japanese front companies in locks at both ends of the canal.  Agents also placed explosive charges that jammed the lock gates.  International press reports suggest that the canal may be out of service for months if not years.  Meanwhile the battleships of the Scouting Fleet are marooned inland.  The pre-dreadnought battleships that are finishing their refits on the US East Coast will need to reverse the course of the Captain C. E. Clark's USS Oregon, who had to sail around South America to reach Cuban waters from the Pacific Northwest back in 1898.  [/align] [/align]The Guam Relief Fleet: [/align]With the news that Scouting Fleet is indefinately out of action, the commander of the Pacific Fleet determined that it was pointless to wait any longer in getting reinforcements to Guam.  The Pacific Fleet is still short of destroyers and tankers at Pearl so the plan involves using the main elements of the fleet to stage a diversionary raid on Wake while a small force of transports and freighters, screened by the capital cruisers makes a run for Guam.  The immediate reinforcements for Guam will be the 2nd Marine Brigade, a squadron of DH-4 attack planes, and about 20,000 tons of supplies.  If the whole fleet sails for Guam, they'll drain the fuel supplies on the island in topping off their bunker oil.   That part of the defense of Guam (a 250,000 point tank farm) wasn't scheduled to be completed until 1927.  [/align] [/align]Reinforcements:[/align]There are two main threads here:  East from Karachi and West from North America.[/align] [/align]The first big convoy from Karachi has arrived at Singapore carrying supplies and a squadron of aircraft.  Additional convoys have arrived or are en route to Colombo and Chandapur.  The yards in Diamond Harbor, Colombo, and Bombay are getting close to finishing the refits on the first batch of merchant ships.  Transports are bringing troops out of Rangoon and Chandapur to Singapore.  Two brigades have arrived at Hanoi after traveling overland from Burma.  [/align] [/align]In the USA, the shipping upgrades on the West Coast are about 70% complete.  Tankers and freighters are taking fuel and supplies to Hawaii.  So far four squadrons of planes have shipped out.  An engineer regiment, the 4th Marines, and two artillery battalions are in transit. The pre-war tensions had already led to orders being cut for several units to move into the Pacific so not all of the units required expenditure of fresh political points. A trickle of upgraded destroyers is at sea heading to Pearl.  Most of the balance will complete their repairs within 7 - 10 days.  Elsewhere in the USA, the USS Willamette, a near sister to the dirigible USS Los Angeles, is making its way cross country. US Army Air Corps squadrons in Michigan, New York, Louisiana, Illinois and Texas and preparing to ship out for the West Coast.[/align] [/align]In the Antipodes, shipping is upgrading.  However, some of the freighters and tankers in the Indies are ferrying fuel from Java to Australia.   Two battalions have shipped out from Darwin for Rabaul.  One transport is en route to Pearl Harbor to join the Pacific Fleet.      [/align] [/align]Midway is being fortified.   The minefield is up to 140 mines.  A National Guard regiment from Oahu will join the garrison as soon as the 4th Marines arrive in Hawaii to replace them.  [/align] [/align]Diplomacy  & Off Map :  [/align]The attack on the Panama Canal threw British war planning into chaos.  The Grand Fleet was ordered to Scapa Flow instead of finishing fitting out in dockyards in the south of England.  Security forces in Egypt and Palestine were put on alert against a possible plot to sabotage the Suez Canal.  Civilians on the Channel Ferry reported seeing the periscopes of Japanese submarines off Dover.  [/align] [/align]In Geneva, the League of Nations was unable to reach consensus on a position with respect to the Japanese  aggression.  Germany, central European, and the Scandanavian countries signalled no intent to support war in Asia to implement collective security for a British colonial possession.  Likewise, South American nations were reluctant to intervene largely on behalf of the USA, who wasn't even a League member.  Japan announced that it was withdrawing from the League when the topic came up for debate.  [/align] [/align]
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

Western Citadel - July 13, 1926

Post by engineer »

Guam:
The Great War lives on in the fighting here.  The ground war is artillery barrages back and forth over the trench lines.  So far, the casualty rate has been about 5:1 in favor of the USA, but the attrition on the Japanese has been very slow.  In the air, US aircraft continue to operate over Tinian and Saipan.  A convoy arrived at Saipan and several ships were damaged by the torpedo bombers of VT-2 operating at extreme range.

The Guam Relief Fleet arrived on the 11th of July.  An attack squadron of DH-4's is forming up at the airfield.  The 2nd Marine Brigade is being fed into the line.  The Capital Cruisers switched their mission to bombardment at the very end of the voyage and plastered the Japanese bridgehead, inflicting several hundred casualties. 

A new relief task force is fitting out in Pearl to bring over a battalion of 155's, an air group base force, and three more squadrons of planes.  The Capital Cruisers will run at least one more bombardment mission and then swing past Wake to raid the shipping there on their way home. 

The Philippines:
The Japanses AI remains sluggish.  The Japanese have gone to ground at Aparri and Legaspi.  The Japanese have been moving shipping to Mindanao to take off troops.  The Asiatic Fleet raided and succeeded in breaking up one task force.  The Dutch are sortieing again to operate off southern Mindanao. The Navy base force was successfully evacuated to Balikpapan.  It's been switched to taking replacements and the merchants will load with supplies before returning to Manila.  Other US/Philippine merchants are replenishing Indochina's supplies from Thailand and Singapore in preparation for more runs to the Philippines.

Mainland China:
Nothing to report

Shanghai:
The Asiatic and Chinese Fleets have sortied into the Formosa/Kyushu shipping lanes.  The Japanese lost three destroyers and about a half dozen merchants to these squadrons before a US force ran into the Kongo with an escorting minesweeper.  Evidentally, three torpedo's weren't enough to sink her.  In the subsequent action, the US destroyers put another torpedo into her and plastered her upper works with 4" hits that bounced off like so many spitballs.  Two US destroyers were badly damaged and a third was crippled.  A Japanese submarine put three torpedo's into the cripple.

Wake:
The submarine screen continues to wage a campaign of attrition on the merchant ships passing to and fro.  The Japanese are aggressively running large ASW task forces of six to eight destroyers among their freighters to suppress the subs. 

1st Battle of Wake: The Langley reached position in late June to start striking the vessels at Wake.  Follow-up attacks on the island resulted in more torpedo hits on the Aki.  When she sank, this represented the first successful wartime destruction of a capital ship by carrier air-power.  Morale of the Langley's air groups is sky high and the pilots are rapidly becoming very skilled. 

2nd Battle of Wake:  The Pacific Fleet launched a main force effort on Wake to serve as a diversion for the Guam Relief Fleet and in the hope they could catch a division of Japanese battleships, isolated against overwhelming odds.  The US OOB was five surface action task forces, all following a lead task force.  Four, including the leader, were battleship squadrons four dreadnoughts and two to four destroyers, but one task force had three older dreadnoughts and two late pre-dreadnoughts.  The fifth task force had three CA's, 3 CL's, and four destroyers.  Two Replenishment task forces had rendezvoused with the battle squadrons just short of Wake and topped off the destroyer fuel oil.  Over a dozen subs were on hand to pick off stragglers.  The Langley had exhausted her av-gas capacity was en-route back to Pearl.  What the Pacific Fleet found off Wake where six Japanese battlewagons operating in two ship divisions.  Ise and Kaga were sailing alone.  Fuso and Yamashiro were sailing alone, and Amagi and Akagi were in company with six cruisers and six destroyers.  The subsequent action was the biggest surface battle ever in the Pacific Ocean and largest clash of dreadnoughts since Jutland.  In the initial actions, the US cruiser force was mauled badly by the Japanese battle cruisers.  Two CA's and three destroyers were sunk at a cost of only one destroyer.  The subsequent battleship actions resulted in heavy damage to the Fuso, and few hits scattered across the US dreadnoughts.  In a night action, the solo Yamashiro encountered a US squadron led by the Arizona.  The US ships subsequenly sank the Yamashiro, but not before the Yamashiro placed three 14" shells into the Nevada, including a critical hit that detonated in her engineering spaces.  A half dozen Japanese transports, oilers, and tankers ended up on the bottom thanks to the US battlegroups and more were damaged. 

Subsequent to the battle, the Japanese fled the field and the US ships also made for Pearl.  The Nevada and another badly damaged destroyer were making for Midway, but the Nevada foundered a couple hundred miles east of Wake.  It's questionable whether some of the damaged cruisers will make it back to Pearl, too.  Several badly damaged destroyers and merchants have also foundered.  On points, the battle was draw with both sides gaining about 250 points for sunken ships.  Against the expectations, the US is a loser since they should have done better with a 2:1 advantage in dreadnoughts. 

Guerre de Course:
The US sub, the S-41, in the Inland Sea was cornered and badly damaged by Japanese destroyers.  The skipper managed to get her to sea and nursed her most of the way back to Guam before she foundered several hundred miles northwest of Guam. 

The subs off Japan are continuing to attrit the Japanese merchant shipping going into and out of Tokyo. Guam is serving as a good base.  With a tender to service the subs and good yards to quickly repair routine wear and tear, about half the subs deployed from Guam are managing to stay on station at a time. 

Reinforcements:
Most of the initial US shipping has completed upgrade and now the emergency transports are being cycled back to the west coast for formal conversion to troop ships.  A batch of transports arrived from Panama (they had cleared the Canal ahead of the Scouting Fleet) and these are being upgraded. 

USAAC squadrons are beginning to arrive on the west coast from further east.  The USS Willamette, ZR4, has arrived and taken a position on Midway to begin scouting to Japanese ships operating around Wake.  An attack squadron from Hawaii was also shipped out to Midway. 

Given the early US success in damaging the Kongo and sinking the Aki, Congress has voted funds for several of the new Wasp-class of carrier. These will be somewhat slow versions of WW2 light carriers, with a top speed of 25 knots to keep up with the battle line and a aircraft complement of 40-50 planes. However, it will be years before these join the fleet. The new Yorktown was commissioned on July 4 and is now working up in the Atlantic

Pearl is up to about 250,000 fuel and 75,000 supplies.  Another 30,000 supplies are being stored in place on AK's so they can be packaged into supply convoys for Guam.

Freighters from Oz are being routed to LA to pick-up supplies and fuel as soon as they finish refit. 

The British are still refitting their freighters but about 60 peace-time impressments are hauling troops and supplies forward to Singapore.  A few of the Dutch transports are getting upgraded to troop ships, but most of the freighter and tanker shipping just has a couple of AA machine guns welded to some stanchions by way of armament.   

Diplomacy & Off-map: 
Sandy Arbuthnot, an associate of Richard Hannay, discovered and destroyed a Japanese plot to sabotage the Suez Canal and strand the Home Fleet in the desert.  However, it is uncertain if more plots are afoot. It appears that the Royal Navy will use the Canal for merchant shipping and light units.  Rail connections between Suez and Port Said are being expanded. But capital ships will take the Cape route from Britain to the East to keep them secure from saboage. 

A socialist government has formed in France.  The platform is homeland security first.  A replacement squadron of more modern ships will be despatched to Indochina along with more foreign legion elements, but the main elements of the French Fleet and French Army will not be going east of Suez. (Developer's Note:  That's a different Scenario that is even more un-balanced against the Japanese).  French colonial authorities may coordinate with the allied powers, but the implicit caution is that French arms should remain unblemished. 
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

Western Citadel - August 13, 1926

Post by engineer »

The Allied counter-offensive has begun.
 
Guam:  The 2nd Brigade US Marines is in the fight.  A squadron of USAAC attack planes (DH-4's) also joined the garrison.  Several missions were flown against the Japanese lodgement.  Two planes were downed by flak, several dozen casualties were inflicted on the defenders.  On about the 7th, a second relief convoy arrived with more supplies, the 40th Field Artillery Battalion (36 155's), an aviation group base force, and three more USAAC squadrons, one fighter squadron and two attack squadrons.   The combination of the extra brigade and artillery has whittled the Japanese force down from about 22,000 troops and 150 guns to 18,000 troops and 80 guns with bombardment attacks.  The Capital Cruisers sortied back to Pearl via Wake.  The transport elements of the relief fleet made a direct trip.
 
Philippines:  The Japanese remain in place on Luzon.  There is merchant shipping moving around troops on Mindanao.  The raids by the US and Dutch squadrons provoked the Japanese to aggressively patrolling with surface action groups.  A Dutch sub managed to put a torpedo into the Aoba.  The Japanese CV TF came within range of Clark Field.  The US planes sortied and the Japanese CAP protected their carriers.  The Japanese went on to sweep the South China Sea, but did not get as far as Singapore.  The Second Battle of Manila Bay was fought when an IJN destroyer managed to sneak past Corregidor and penetrate Manila Bay.  The destroyer had been damaged the previous day during air strikes will approaching Luzon.  Three US destroyers sortied from Cavite and sank the intruder. 
 
Mainland China: The 1st and 2nd Burma Brigades are marching from Haiphong to Nanning.  The British are planning on putting together a convoy in Singapore to take some artillery, another couple of brigades, and some RAF base force units into southern China.  The plan is to move fighters in to provide cover, then march on Canton which is believed to be held in only regiment strength.  After Canton falls, it can be reinforced and then siege laid to Hong Kong.
 
Shanghai:  The Allies have been continuing to sortie from Shanghai.  Since Shanghai is not a level 9 port, the US destroyers were running out of torpedos. The CO decided to raid to Manila, reload on torpedo's and sail back to Shanghai in a grand navalized version of Grierson's Raid in the American Civil War.  However, the US destroyers ran into the Nagato and a half-dozen escorting destroyers after sinking a pair of tankers.  In the Battle of the Luzon Strait, two US destroyers were sunk outright and several more were damaged.  The task force was ordered to scatter. The most heavily damaged destroyers made it back to Shanghai.  The remaining destroyers limped around the east coast of Luzon to reach Manila.  This battle was rightly celebrated as a victory in Japan.   Ashore, the American Regiment and a British unit are marching for Canton to link up with the Burma Brigades.   
 
Wake:  The siege of Wake is in full swing.  The US has been running major convoys to Midway to build it up as a "cruiser nest".  As many as five surface action groups have been shuttling back and forth from Midway to Wake and wreaking havoc on the merchant shipping.  The 3rd Battle of Wake did occur as the USS Detroit led a squadron of destroyers against an IJN CL and a pair of destroyers.  That battle was inconclusive with no ships sunk on either side.  The surface action groups typically have a core of two to three battleships or cruisers and six to eight destroyers.  Langley is also operating from Midway with her escorts and raiding the shipping.  US and Canadian subs are operating in great numbers around Wake and collecting a number of hits on IJN merchant ships.
 
2nd Wake fall-out:  The USS Pennsylvania foundered almost within sight of Kauai.  The USS Raleigh and the USS Birmingham also foundered en route back to Pearl. The Mississippi was badly damaged and is en-route to Mare Island.  She'll be out of action for months.  The New Mexico made it to Pearl Harbor and still has not stabilized and repaired its flotation damage a month after the battle.  She will probably be out of action for at least eight months.  The "Nevada Commission" will investigate the poor damage control on US warships that led to the loss of so many vessels days subsequent to the end of action.  Washington insiders say that the knives are already out for Navy Secretary Curtis Wilbur.   
 
The Central Pacific Counter-offensive:  Another artillery battalion and supplies are en-route to Guam.  Meanwhile, two USN base forces are en-route to Johnston Island.  A primitive base will be developed there to support further attacks into the Marshall Islands. The 1st Cavalry has arrived at Pearl is training for an attack on Wotje.  The Hawaiian Division is training for an assault on Eniwetok.  Pearl is up to about 250,000 fuel and 110,000 supplies, and the logistical support for the landings (especially fuel for a large number of battleship sorties) is probably the most critical factor at this juncture. 
 
Guerre de Course:  The Japanese are getting better at tracking and attacking US subs.  The US subs are getting better at solving firing solutions and getting fewer misses.  Two more subs have successfully penetrated the Inland Sea and are sinking big tankers that are carrying fuel back and forth from the Home Islands to Korea.  Most of the US subs are still cruising off Tokyo.  US ASW forces operating off Pearl found and damaged a former German U-boat operating in the Japanese Navy.
 
Reinforcements:
Some RAF squadrons are beginning to reach India.  These are redeployments from the Northwest Frontier and Iraq.  The planes from Britain are still in transit.  In August, the supply convoys from India to Malaya have finally kicked into high gear and Singapore will be stocking up on supplies very quickly now. 
 
Three freighters have left Los Angeles for Auckland to stock up the Kiwi's supplies.  Tankers from Java have reach Brisbane and provided 24,000 sorely needed tons of fuel oil.  This is leading the RAN and RNZN to concentrate their warships at Brisbane and begin patrol activities in the Coral Sea. 
 
In the US, troops are beginning to show up.  The 1st Air Corps (three attack squadrons, six pursuit squadrons, and three observation squadrons) is on map after the round out squadrons arrived from the eastern part of the USA.  At this point their planes are scattered from Los Angeles to Guam. 1st Air Corp is the Pacific Department air force.  4th Squadron, C1C transport planes, have arrived on Oahu from the Rockwell Aviation Depot and are being used to ferry supplies to Lanai.  The first elements of the 2nd Air Corps for the Southwest Pacific front are just beginning to arrive in California.  The US merchant shipping is fitted out with self-defense armament and running larger and larger convoys to Pearl Harbor.   
 
In Europe, the Grand Fleet has left Scapa Flow for the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
Diplomacy and Off-Map:  The US state militias were federalized just prior to the Great War but the memory of armed bodies of troops at the command of the state governors was still fresh.  The governors of western states were alarmed at the emphasis in the war department on raising expeditionary armies to fight outside the USA before assuring that all critical points on the US naval frontier were adequately garrisoned.  Consequently, the governors met and decided to raise militias for use in the USA.  The War Department was upset and wanted to federalize the troops.  A mini-scandal erupted in Congress and when the dust settled the agreement was that the units would be in the Western Department under federal control, but no unit would be transferred outside the country without the express permission of the governor.  In game terms, the US Volunteer squads that man these units have about 10x a realistic load weight in order to make the transfer of forces outside the USA dubious in game terms.  The states participating in the call-up included California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.  In addition, the 1st Arizona Volunteer Cavalry (the Rough Riders) is recruiting nationally and has requested overseas deployment (they are regular cavalry).  Kermit Roosevelt, one of TR's sons and a veteran of fighting in Iraq and the Western Front in the Great War, abandoned his business career to become commanding officer of the unit.  The fighting capability of the typical Volunteer units is similar to Landwehr to territorial units in Europe.    Troops are expected to be available for deployment later in the fall and the coming winter. 
 
Points Breakdown (As of 1 August 1926)
 
Total Points:
  Allies   8864
  Japan  9271
 
Bases:
  Allies  6649
  Japan 7985
 
Planes:
  Allies    15
  Japan   25
 
Troops:
  Allies    90
  Japan  567
 
Ships:
  Allies 2110
  Japan  694
 
Allied Naval Losses:  Nevada, Pennsylvania, 5 CA, 2 CL, 13 DD, 1 PG, 1 SS
Japanese Naval Losses:  Fuso, Yamashiro, Aki, Katori, 2 CA, 25 DD, 22 MSW, 136 assorted merchant ships.
 
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Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by engineer »

Guam:  The additional troops and airpower are grinding down the Japanese.  The continuous artillery and aerial bombardment has whittled the Japanese lodgement down to about 14,000 troops while the USA now has 30,000 men on Guam.  The two US pursuit squadrons are conducting sweeps over Tinian and have shot down two more planes at a cost of one of their own. 
 
Philippines:  The Japanese are aggressivly prowling around the islands.  The CV TF led by Hosho is conducting regular sweeps into the South China Sea, but so far they have not managed to contact any of the supply convoys that are running into Manila.  Surface action groups are prowling off Mindanao.  The Dutch squadron narrowly avoided a battle with a superior Japanese task force led by the Tosa, but a Dutch sub managed to put a torpedo into the Tosa.  A British expeditionary force has embarked from Singapore for Manila.  The Japanese ground forces remain dug in at Legaspi and Aparri.
 
Mainland China:  The Canton Expedition is underway.  A large task force has arrived at Pakhoi and unloaded two brigades, a base force, an artillery unit, and a Brisfit squadron.  The two Burma Brigades are at Nanning, and a French regiment is arriving to secure the line of communications back to Indochina.  A Sussex battalion and the US 15th Regiment are taking positions along the railway that leads northwest into China from Canton. 
 
Shanghai:  The US destroyers have been repairing their damage.  Two destroyers are still laid up while three are ready for sea.  No action since the Luzon Straights, but a sortie in company with the Chinese cruisers will take place soon. 
 
Wake:  The USN is starting to have significant success around Wake.  In the 4th Battle of Wake, the Japanese had put the Mutsu amongst the transports.  The USS Willamette, operating from Midway, managed to spot the transports, and a sub intercepted the Mutsu, putting a pair of torpedos into the battlewagon.  The following day, the Langley's veteran air groups struck and put three torpedos and a bomb into the crippled battleship.  The Mutsu soon sank. Langley is en-route back to Pearl Harbor for some refit.  She'll also exchange her air wing with other squadrons in Hawaii to build up a broader base of experienced pilots. Surface action groups began to notice sub attacks while carrying out their close blockade of Wake so a six destroyer ASW task force sortied from Midway.  Upon arrival at Wake they encountered the Amagi with a single escorting destroyer in the 5th Battle of Wake.  In the subsequent night action, they put three torpedos into the Amagi, crippled the escorting destroyer, and suffered two badly damaged destroyers in return.  One destroyer is likely to founder on the way back to Midway, but the second has safely made port  The USS Washington task force was operating 200 miles northwest of Wake and mauled a transport force, sinking a Japanese destroyer.  However, the capital cruiser force (Lexington, Saratoga, and United States) is just over the horizon near Wake.  They are steaming for the island to try and deliver the coup d'grace to the Amagi. 
 
Central Pacific Counter-offensive:  The Wotje Invasion Fleet is about 200 miles east of the Atoll.  The 1st Cavalry Division is embarked on the transports.  An ASW tf is sweeping around the transports and a bombardment tf (two pre-dreadnoughts) is also following the TF to the atoll.
 
Guerre d'Course:  The Japanese are getting better at ASW.  Where the subs could regularly evade the Japanese escorts, the Japanese are now beginning to damage the US subs.  The extra damage means that the USN is not able to maintain as many subs on patrol off Honshu.  However, the USA is continuing to attrit the Japanese merchant marine. 
 
Reinforcements:  Pearl Harbor is now a major port so tenders are no longer necessary for servicing destroyers and subs and mine layers may operating directly from Pearl instead of the west coast.  With the US merchants pretty well upgraded to troopship/war time armaments, the supply convoys and reinforcement convoys from the USA to Pearl are starting to hum.   
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by Anthropoid »

The stock scenario you're working from is the 1926-1930 Super Dreadnoughts Scenario? If so, it soundsl like you've made a tremendous, and commendably well-advise amount of change to the scenario.
 
As you know from my Anthropoid's Third Try thread, I have been trying the stock Super Dreadnoughts scenario myself for a couple weeks. I'd played it up to Jan 1927. My initial goal was to complete it, as I have never finished one of the long WiTP or WPO scenarios against the AI. IIRC, did finish the Pacific Jutland once a year or more ago.
 
Despite playing on Hard difficulty (maybe I need to jack it up to Very Hard [&:] ) I seem to have either (a) fought the IJN to a standstill, or (b) encountered the passive-scripting of the IJN PO in this scenario? I'm a bit surprised because, in the multi-year WiTP scenarios I've played (always as allies) I have found the Japanese PO to be quite a handful of aggressive onslaught. In this one, they took Mindanao, Wake, and northern Luzon all the way down to Manila, but have yet to take Lingayen. I have Bataan so heavily garrisoned that they probably could never take it short of tactical nukes!
 
So I'm curious whether the passive IJN PO in my game with the stock Super Dreadnought scenario is liable to be explained as (a) or (b), and related to that, I'm curious if your reason's for making this Western Citadel mod were to improve on the Super Dreadnoughts scenario and fashion a scenario that accounted for the "what if the Washington Treaty broke down" scenario which did not suffer from (b)?  I almost get the idea that the stock scenario was left a bit vague as a way to allow players to either play their own house rules games against the AI or to make mods as you have done.
 
Have not read all four of your posts, and I'm certainly no expert on this historical period. I like overall idea of making the beginning more active, and also I find the basic diplomatic changes to be more realistic than those in the stock scenario. The idea that the Brits and Dutch would remain neutral in the face of an IJN rejection of the Wash Conference and also an IJN invasion of PI and Wake seems hard to swallow. I realize there were some pacifists in power in Britain in the interwar years, but even so it just seems less believable than them taking at least some kind of solidary stance with the U.S.
 
I suppose your scripting of the AI to invade Hong Kong settles the question of what would the UK do if IJN invaded PI only, as seems to be the case in the stock scenario. You seem to have a reasonable grasp of the sociopolitical side of things in Japan at this period, so I can accept the idea that Hirohito has reconciled with the ultra-militarists and Japanese Imperialism is simply rearing its head against the Western Powers in general at an earlier phase. Did you beef up IJN starting order of battle at all to reflect a more resolute militarism in the late 1920s building up to the beginning of the scenario? Do you reckon the IJN have any fighting chance at all? How will victory be established, and what are the strategic objectives?
 
In the stock scenario, without production on, Borneo, Java, Malaya, etc., do not seem to have the strategic significance that they clearly had in motivating the "Greater Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere." So I'm just left to wonder, WHAT would Japan be out to accomplish? Being the aggressive initiators of a war against three (and from a hypothetical standpoint FIVE including the French and Soviets) major world powers (US, UK, Holland) not to mention China, I guess the main question I have is WHAT would these ultra-militarists who have hijacked Japanese Crown politics THINK that they were going to accomplish? While being a bit reckless and impetuous yes, that I can accept, I do think they would have SOME sort of "plan" and that the distribution of Victory Points at bases, as well as potentially the victory value of various units or ships should somehow reflect such an hypothetical Japanese cassus belli.
 
I think what you're doing is a great project, and I'd like to help if I can. My own game against the stock scenario has got so boring what with the passive IJN PO that I'm not feeling too motivated to finish it. So maybe I could be of help to you in beta-testing this one? Are you playing only as US so far?
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by Anthropoid »

The US patrols in the eastern Pacific came up empty so those cruisers sailed on to Pearl Harbor.  The Japanese were also unsuccessful in catching the various Allied vessels transiting the Central Pacific.  This sort of invisibility on the high seas is probably one of the biggest differences between WPO and WiTP.   
 
I had noticed this very same thing. I have generally sent most of my small freighter groups unescourted in my game, and over the span of about 240 days of game time (Jun 26 to Jan 27) I had only had about two freighters sunk by Japanese subs and both near coasts. I suppose it is a function of the detection capabilities of vessels in WPO being lower?
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by engineer »

Thanks:
The stock scenario you're working from is the 1926-1930 Super Dreadnoughts Scenario?
Yes
 
Despite playing on Hard difficulty (maybe I need to jack it up to Very Hard [&:] ) I seem to have either (a) fought the IJN to a standstill, or (b) encountered the passive-scripting of the IJN PO in this scenario?
I've been playing on Very Hard, and the Japanese are a little more clever with their naval movements, but the AI does seem to be pretty passive.  Other people in the forum have reported the same thing. 
 
your reason's for making this Western Citadel mod . . . 
The thing I found the most frustrating was that apart from some of the capital ships, stock WPO keeps very closely to the historical delivery of light forces and cruisers.  War would result in the same sort of massive mobilization of US industrial might that happened in WW2 and the USA wouldn't be distracted by the war in Europe.  Furthermore, by moving this to the late scenario, a considerable number of vessels could plausibly be postulated in the construction pipeline for both sides during the interval between the collapse of the Naval Talks in 1921 and the outbreak of war in 1926.  I'm a big LTA fan, so I could kludge together some airship units.  Historically, the Navy had almost persuaded Congress to fortify Guam shortly after the Great War, but that was forestalled by the Washington Treaty.  No treaty/Guam becomes the Western Citadel namesake of the scenario.  Finally, I could add some chrome of my own like drydocks, expanded west coast bases, etc.  Western Citadel is WW2 in the 1920s.  Eventually, I'll tweak Western Citadel to eliminate the fortification of Guam, add some fleet train back to USN and have a sister scenario that takes the fork that the US didn't fortify Guam.  I recognize that all this hurts play balance, but that didn't have a high priority in the design scheme. 
 
The idea that the Brits and Dutch would remain neutral in the face of an IJN rejection of the Wash Conference and also an IJN invasion of PI and Wake seems hard to swallow.  
This was actually more of a near run thing.  When the Anglo-Japanese Naval Treaty came up for renewal, some of the Dominions, specifically Canada, lobbied hard to get Great Britain to jettison the treaty.  This tended to give them more clout within the Commonwealth since Britain was then more dependent on their manpower and was hoped would provide them more military aid.  In stock WPO, the assumption is that the Anglo-Japanese Naval Treaty remains in force and Scouting Fleet has to remain in the Atlantic until it is clear that Britain does not regard the war as US aggression against Japan and bound to enter on the Japanese side.  The PBEM house rules do provide a more balanced human on human game.  Western Citadel follows the path of the historical abrogation of the treaty.
 
Did you beef up IJN starting order of battle at all to reflect a more resolute militarism in the late 1920s building up to the beginning of the scenario?  
Yes, but not much.  During the period in question the Japanese economy was roughly 1/6 the size of the US economy.  Great Britain is about four times the size of Japan's economy and even India's economy is as large of Japan's.  With the superdreadnoughts that are being laid down and in construction, my own estimate is that there isn't a lot of capacity left to squeeze out of the Japanese economy.  The initial OOB is expanded by more than a dozen minesweepers for attack on Hong Kong, the merchant marine is also expanded by a few dozen ships with accelerated deployments for sea lift in all the invasions plus the half dozen or so captured merchants that the Japanese seize at the beginning of the war.  Japanese fuel stocks are increased by about 1,000,000 to reflect stockpiling for years before the war.  The Japanese do get more destroyers and PG's added to the reinforcement queue to represent a wartime emergency building program for light forces.  Some extra battleships are also in the late game queue to represent keels laid before the war started. 
 
Do you reckon the IJN have any fighting chance at all? 
Human on Japanese AI, no.  Human on Human - long shot.  Human on Allied AI - it may be a challenging game for a human Japanese player.
 
How will victory be established, and what are the strategic objectives?  
I see human vs. human games being decided when a player decides the balance is too far gone to be recovered.  For a human on AI game, I think about the only thing you can do is conquer the other side or run out the clock.  The historical expectation in US war plans was that the USA would conquer all the Pacific Islands, the Ryukus, Tsushima, and destroy the Japanese Navy.  At that time a blockade of the Home Islands would compel negotiations on favorable terms.  I'm not sure about the plans with respect to Formosa.  If you get that far as the Allied Player, you can call it a wrap unless you want to get a lot of your own infantry killed attaking the home islands. 
 
In the stock scenario, without production on, Borneo, Java, Malaya, etc., do not seem to have the strategic significance that they clearly had in motivating the "Greater Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere." So I'm just left to wonder, WHAT would Japan be out to accomplish? 
Japan's fuel production is very small.  There is a lot of fuel production and some supply production in the NEI and Malaya.  The Japanese still need to capture Java, Borneo, and Malaya to prevent a crisis in 1928 when peacetime fuel stock are exhausted.  The other political point is that the renewed naval arms race in the mid-1920s would mean that the Japanese would be outclassed by the USA and Britain by 1930 just as the naval construction in the late 1930s would have led to an eclipse of Japanese local superiority by the mid-1940s.  The Japanese have to use their advantages now or see them evaporate.  With the civil war raging, China is prostrate.  So the Japanese are thinking that they can replace the western powers as the local imperialists and estimate that the Allies will sooner sue for peace than spend the blood to reverse Japanese conquests.  Like Napoleon, they assess the moral as far more important in war than the physical.  It seems to me that war termination in WPO is pretty weak so I don't believe there are any "capture this base and the war ends" easter eggs or reach a magic victory point ratio and the AI calls the game. 
 
I suppose it is a function of the detection capabilities of vessels in WPO being lower?
There are three things:  no radar, short-ranged airpower, and sub doctrine.  In the Great War, the German raiding cruisers operated for months before being run to ground.  Surface search on the high seas is tough without radar and search plans to extend the horizon for the look-outs.  The stock sub doctrine for both sides is to go after warships and largely ignore merchants.  The toggel in WC is set for ahistorical Allied doctrine so the US skippers are eagerly torpedoing whatever they can see through their periscopes.    
 
I'd like to help if I can. 
 
Send me a PM with your e-mail on an account with at least 10 MB of free space and I'll send you the package.  I've made a few tweaks since I started the one that's listed above (the New Rough Riders have some armored cars as well as cavalry and a few data base errors have been corrected).  I'm busy this weekend, but I can get to it early next week. 
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by Anthropoid »

Wow. It sounds like you really know this period. It is a fascinating era. It'll be fun to play around with it [:)]
The thing I found the most frustrating was that apart from some of the capital ships, stock WPO keeps very closely to the historical delivery of light forces and cruisers. War would result in the same sort of massive mobilization of US industrial might that happened in WW2 and the USA wouldn't be distracted by the war in Europe. Furthermore, by moving this to the late scenario, a considerable number of vessels could plausibly be postulated in the construction pipeline for both sides during the interval between the collapse of the Naval Talks in 1921 and the outbreak of war in 1926. . . I recognize that all this hurts play balance, but that didn't have a high priority in the design scheme.

All sounds like very logical and good reasons for the mod. It is interesting to read your stuff since you are obviously a knowledgeable fan of this period in history. Any recommendations on the single best book about the era as far as Pacific geopolitics and military strategy?
In stock WPO, the assumption is that the Anglo-Japanese Naval Treaty remains in force and Scouting Fleet has to remain in the Atlantic until it is clear that Britain does not regard the war as US aggression against Japan and bound to enter on the Japanese side. The PBEM house rules do provide a more balanced human on human game. Western Citadel follows the path of the historical abrogation of the treaty.

So it sounds like, for the time being, the mod you’ve created is pretty much intended for human vs. AI play? PBEM might pose a pretty unbalanced challenge against the Japanese unless there are some caveats about Britain, Holland, and France entering the war?

I messed around with WiTP quite a bit, but never really played anything but a short scenario to completion. One thing I found frustrating was just how HISTORICAL the whole thing was obviously set up to be. I know a lot of guys like that, and I see from the copious house rules that fellows compile that a lot of players really enjoy replaying history in the broad silhouette as closely as possible evidently to see what subtle differences might cause in terms of final outcomes.

As a Civ player I guess I tend to gravitate more toward the big what if questions like the Super Dreadnoughts scenario presents, and which your Western Citadel seems to even amplify.
During the period in question the Japanese economy was roughly 1/6 the size of the US economy. Great Britain is about four times the size of Japan's economy and even India's economy is as large of Japan's. With the superdreadnoughts that are being laid down and in construction, my own estimate is that there isn't a lot of capacity left to squeeze out of the Japanese economy. The initial OOB is expanded by . . .

All sounds imminently reasonable.
I see human vs. human games being decided when a player decides the balance is too far gone to be recovered. For a human on AI game, I think about the only thing you can do is conquer the other side or run out the clock. The historical expectation in US war plans was that the USA would conquer all the Pacific Islands, the Ryukus, Tsushima, and destroy the Japanese Navy. At that time a blockade of the Home Islands would compel negotiations on favorable terms. I'm not sure about the plans with respect to Formosa. If you get that far as the Allied Player, you can call it a wrap unless you want to get a lot of your own infantry killed attaking the home islands.

That sounds very reasonable. So basically, much like WWI didn’t really have any true “objective” like _removing the fascists by accomplishing unconditional surrender_ or _expanding the fatherlands by achieving favorable cease fire terms_ these hypothetical 1920s Pacific Naval Wars would have been more straightforward slug matches to see who flinched and backed down first. That makes sense.
Japan's fuel production is very small. There is a lot of fuel production and some supply production in the NEI and Malaya. The Japanese still need to capture Java, Borneo, and Malaya to prevent a crisis in 1928 when peacetime fuel stock are exhausted.

If there is any sort of doc that will explain the scenario a bit to a naïve DLer / player, you might wanna include a couple sentences more or less exactly saying the above. It sounds like it is a best suited as a Japan human vs Allied AI scenario, so giving a slight hint about what the player faces long term is probably useful.
The other political point is that the renewed naval arms race in the mid-1920s would mean that the Japanese would be outclassed by the USA and Britain by 1930 just as the naval construction in the late 1930s would have led to an eclipse of Japanese local superiority by the mid-1940s. The Japanese have to use their advantages now or see them evaporate. With the civil war raging, China is prostrate.

One thing that I’m wondering about here is, how the AI will handle the Brits and Dutch? I suppose if I playtest Japan for you, that will be something I’ll figure out eh? But the main thing I’d want to clarify: playing Japan, the point is to hold out against all possible antagonists, including Britain, Holland, France, and US, correct? Meaning, it MIGHT be the best strategy to adopt a policy of early aggression against the Commonwealth?
So the Japanese are thinking that they can replace the western powers as the local imperialists and estimate that the Allies will sooner sue for peace than spend the blood to reverse Japanese conquests. Like Napoleon, they assess the moral as far more important in war than the physical.

It sounds like an excellent scenario for a human to play as Japan. Would you say that, part of the rationale of the scenario would be: what if Japan had acted to preserve its naval power parity in the 1920s by refusing to the Washington Treaties?
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by engineer »

Any recommendations on the single best book about the era as far as Pacific geopolitics and military strategy?
 
Uggh!  So much that has been written about the period has the shadow of WW2 on it so it's hard to dig back into the 1920s.  A short list:
[blockquote]
War Plan Orange by Edward Miller (very dry but tackles things from the US side)
Military Innovation in the Interwar Period by Williamson Murray (this is technical with chapters on subs, carriers, strategic airpower, radar, etc. and compares how three of the great power tackled the topics differently in the interwar period and what the consequences were in WW2.  It's really useful in a technical sense on the topics that touched wW2, but it's too narrow for your question)
Japan's War:  The Great Pacific Conflict 1853-1952 by Edwin Hoyt (I don't have this but Hoyt has done well in other histories I do have and this one covers the topic)
Nihon Kaigun:  This is another book I don't have, but it's been recommended highly by others in the forum that tackles a lot of military topics from the Japanese perspective.[/blockquote]
So it sounds like, for the time being, the mod you’ve created is pretty much intended for human vs. AI play?
I've mostly played it that way so far, but given that humans tend to outplay the AI in WPO, it might be better as a Japanese player vs Allied AI.
 
If there is any sort of doc that will explain the scenario a bit to a naïve DLer / player
Actually, the scenario files include a pair of PDF's that have a review of the changes from stock WPO and the alternate history timeline that leads up to the scenario in more detail than the After Action reports have.  However, you have a good idea that a supply/fuel chart could be added to tally where these arrive as a planning aid for the human players.
 
One thing that I’m wondering about here is, how the AI will handle the Brits and Dutch? 
What I've observed from the AI in my playtesting is that Japanese carriers will often carry out a raid on Singapore in the opening weeks of the game and then move a cloud of subs into the South China Sea and the Coral Sea.  Heavy patrols around the Philippines will bloody the nose of whoever tries to intervene, but an aggressive campaign to conquer Indochina, Malaya, or the NEI doesn't seem to be in the cards. 
 
Would you say that, part of the rationale of the scenario would be: what if Japan had acted to preserve its naval power parity in the 1920s by refusing to the Washington Treaties?
Sort of, Japan really didn't have parity historically, so the scenario examines the "what-if" when the Japanese resort to arms at a moment of relatively less dis-advantage.  The ultimate strategic problem for Japan that is outside the scope of WPO is that neither the USA or UK would be distracted in the 1926-1930 scenario whereas Hitler was trying to conquer Europe in 1941. 
 
If I took the view from Tokyo it seems to me that there is an initial issue of neutralizing the potential offensive bases that are close to Japan:  Guam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.  This gives me some fuel and supplies from Shanghai and some additional repair yards in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the ahistorically fortified Guam. Then the Japanese are in exactly the same strategic situation as they were in 1941, except that the weapons are different.  They need the fuel from the south in the long run, but the USN in the east is the major threat.  It is a good question whether the better strategy against an Allied AI would be to strike south to get the fuel right away or try to defeat the USN first, then turn to the south.  
engineer
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by engineer »

October 1, 1926:

Guam:  The Battle for Guam is over.  US troops went over onto the offensive and started staging deliberate attacks under large air strikes, averaging over 40 planes per day.  The organization of the Japanese, not reinforced since the initial landings, melted away.  Eventually, shock attacks that results in high odds (10+ to 1) results started dissolving the Japanese beachhead.  By mid-September, the Americans had pushed the last of the invaders into the surf.  After conducting some rest and refit, the US air armada started a bombing campaign against Tinian.  Most of the fighters defending the island have been shot down, but the US planes have had to rise above 10,000 feet to avoid deadly flak.  Wiley Post has four kills, the only near-ace in the US forces.  Several other pilots have one each. 

Philippines:  The Japanese carriers are conducting sorties off Luzon and strong surface action groups led by the Akagi have been active off Mindanao.  The Dutch have withdrawn to Java to refit their armored cruisers.  The Japanese have moved dozens of subs into the South China Sea.  In the Luzon Straights, hunter-killer groups of as many as eight destroyers, are beginning to make life much more dangerous for the US sub patrols. 

Mainland China:  The Canton Expedition has successfully reconquered this city.  The Allies attacked with nearl 30,000 men and forced the Shuzen Naval Infantry to retreat to Hong Kong.  Now the Allies have moved up a RN and RAF base force each to the city and four squadron wing (two Brisfit, a Grebe, and Southhampton Mk. 2 Flying Boat) are setting up operations in Canton.  The flying boats will scout, the Brisfits will bomb, and the Grebes will fly escort.   The British will tackle Hong Kong after they get another division forward and some more artillery. 

Shanghai:  The Sino-American squadron made a fruitless sortie toward the Ryuku's and then sailed north into the Tsushima Straits.  Surprisingly, the ample coastal defenses did not open fire on the passing Allied ships, and the raiding force got amongst the tanker convoys that serve Korea to the Home Islands.  Much success was had in the name of Chiang Kai Shek.

Wake:
[blockquote]
6th Battle of Wake:  The US capital cruisers swept the waters around Wake and sank a pair of destroyers, then they encountered a transport task force with three destroyers in escort.  The Japanese fought well, protecting their AP's and putting a torpedo into the Lexington while peppering the US battle cruisers with light caliber hits.  One Japanese destroyer went down.  Lexington limped into Midway with 70% systems damage and 75% floatation damage. She remains crippled in harbor while repair parties try to stabilize the flotation damage. 

7th Battle of Wake:  A US ASW task force went in to sweep Wake and encountered two large IJN destroyer squadrons.  Two US destroyers were mortally wounded and a third was badly damaged.  The Japanese took only light damage.  This one was a clear win for the Empire.

8th Battle of Wake:  Two US battle squadrons arrived off Wake in the third week of September.  They found the Amagi trying to creep home and sent her to the bottom with at least 4 major caliber shell hits, three torpedo hits, and over 100 smaller caliber shell hits. 

Battle of the Wake Sea:  In early September, the USS Washington encountered a transport force with several escorting destroyers.  One destroyer was sunk, but the Japanese managed to put a torpedo into the US battleship.  She limped into Midway with 50% systems damage and 60% flotation damage. By the end of the month her flotation damage had been repaired and she was en route to San Diego for repairs.

Offensive Mining Operations:  The USN ran five DM's into Wake and laid mines that subsequently sank three merchants.  IJN minesweepers were on hand and cleared the minefield.  A second sortie by the DM's is in progress, but they have to stage from Pearl Harbor.

Siege of Wake:  The Langley returned to station and is launching raids on shipping.  In addition, a destroyer squadron was despatched to play havoc with the convoys several hundred miles from Wake. They successfully broke up returning convoys of tankers and freighters.  [/blockquote]
Central Pacific Counter-offensive:  Wotje fell to the 1st Cavalry.  Reinforcements and aircraft are en route to prepare for a campaign to take Kwajelein.  The Eniwetok Invasion Fleet is en route to that atoll. 

Guerre de Course:  The Japanese are getting observably better off of Honshu.  US subs are routinely being driven to dive deep in order to avoid IJN escorts.  The US commanders are shifting their patrol locations and running more raids into the Inland Sea to avoid the defenses near Tokyo.   The RAN submarines have moved up to Guam and are participating in the Siege of Wake.

Reinforcements:  In India, the British have received a couple of carriers, some Great War small tankers, more squadrons, and more brigades.  Most of the infantry is at low strength and is being transported to Singapore to refit to full strength.  The British have enough tankers so some large tankers will be moving from the Indies to Australia and out to Pearl since the critical need in moving the USN further west is tanker capacity.  Press reports from Cape Town indicate the Grand Fleet has passed the Cape of the Good Hope and should arrive in theater within a few days. 

On the US side, more ground formations have joined the fight.  The 1st Division is disembarking at Pearl and the 2nd Division is in LA. SS Leviathan, a former German super-liner and flagship of the US merchant marine has been converted back to her Great War role as a troop transport and rounded the Horn to arrive in San Diego.  Back in the early 1920's, almost 150 USN destroyers were mothballed as part of disarmament.  The first of the reconditioned destoyers have left the East Coast for the Pacific and will arrive in San Diego later in October. 

Off-Map & Politics:  There is a hue and cry for Navy Secretary Wilbur's resignation. The poor damage control of US capital ships is the direct reason.  The problems with the Lexington and Washington have come to the attention of the Nevada Commission and it appears that Wilbur's career will the price for the poor pre-war training and preparation.  The adminstration is already looking for a replacement.  Former Assistant Navy Secretary and one-time Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt has survived polio, but is now confined to a wheel chair.  He has been practicing law in New York and testing the political waters for a possible run at the governorship of New York.  However, now he has been invited to Washington for a visit with President Coolidge. 

Score:  October 1, 1926   

Total Points:
Allies   11827
Japan  9737

Bases:
Allies  7567
Japan 8296

Planes:
Allies    43
Japan   56

Troops:
Allies    306
Japan   656

Ships:
Allies 3911
Japan  729

Allied Naval Losses:  Nevada, Pennsylvania, 7 cruisers, 19 DD, 1 PG, 1 SS
Japanese Naval Losses:  Amagi, Mutsu, Fuso, Yamashiro, Aki, Katori, 5 cruisers, 38 DD, 29 MSW, 3 PG, 1 SS, 264 assorted merchant ships.
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RE: Western Citadel - September 1, 1926

Post by Anthropoid »

If I took the view from Tokyo it seems to me that there is an initial issue of neutralizing the potential offensive bases that are close to Japan:  Guam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.  This gives me some fuel and supplies from Shanghai and some additional repair yards in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and the ahistorically fortified Guam. Then the Japanese are in exactly the same strategic situation as they were in 1941, except that the weapons are different.  They need the fuel from the south in the long run, but the USN in the east is the major threat.  It is a good question whether the better strategy against an Allied AI would be to strike south to get the fuel right away or try to defeat the USN first, then turn to the south.   
 
Wow! This sounds like a REALLY fun scenario for a Japanese Human vs. AI game! Having just opened up the Super Dreadnoughts scenario as Japan last night just to actually get an overview of what IJ was made of (first time I ever looked at Japan at all in WiTP or WPO), I am absolutely salivating to try this scenario as Japan vs AI.
 
I'm absolutely bored with my game against the Japanese AI using the same scenario, but I learned a lot, so I could make this my ongoing game over the next few months. Might be useful as a playtest?
 
Send me the frickin' file already! [:D]
The x-ray is her siren song. My ship cannot resist her long. Nearer to my deadly goal. Until the black hole. Gains control...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkIIlkyZ ... playnext=3
engineer
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November 7, 1926

Post by engineer »

November 7, 1926

Guam:  The USAAC here has conducted several big raids on Tinian and taken out some of their supplies.  The US pursuit planes have shot down all the fighters on Tinian.  Another supply fleet arrived with fuel, supplies, and more pursuit planes.  At Battle Fleet HQ, the thinking has turned around so that Guam is no longer an embattled post to be saved, but a platform for new offensives against Japan.  The biggest gap here is that the 35000 points of fuel there are insufficient to support a capital fleet units so the US player will need to get fuel out there.

Philippines:  The Japanese have continued to launch patrols that sail south through the Philippine Sea, round Mindanao, and then pass Luzon off Bataan. The planes at Clark have been flying missions without much success and one cruiser sortie by the Huron managed to catch and sink a tanker.  The Dutch fleet pulled back to Java and arrived back at Tarakan in late October. The Dutch subs have had repeated contact with the Japanese off Mindanao, but they've had a string of misses and duds. The Dutch sortied and are sweeping off Zamboanga down to Dadjangas in early November, but the big news is the Battle of the Philippine Sea.  After raiding Wake, the Langley Task Force sailed west to Guam to refuel.  Upon arrival at Wake, the Oregon was put into the yards for some refit on her nearly 30 year old engines.  Mitscher led the Langley and three destroyers into the Philippine Sea to go hunting.  Scout planes from the carrier spotted a big Japanese surface action group led by the Tosa and Akagi.  A full strike followed and four torpedos hit the Tosa, sending her to the bottom.  The Akagi evaded her attackers, and the whole task off broke off to return north.  A cruiser force led by the Aoba was also spotted and pressed on with their sweep.  The following day, strikes from the Langley found this task force and put three torpedos into two each of older armored cruisers.  The level bombers contributed some 230 pound bomb hits.  Aoba, managed to conduct evasive maneuvers and elude the bombs and torpedo's sent her way. 

China:
The Hong Kong Expedition involved reinforcing the Canton Corps and building up the air base there.  The Dreadnought led a successful convoy to Canton so the Canton forces were reinforced with the 2nd Indian Division, more artillery, and III Corps as a headquarters element. Several units marched down from Shanghai.  Once the air base was improved to a 4 in Canton, then the fighter bombers started flying naval strike missions at the destroyer that the Japanese had in Hong Kong.  Not much was achieved until the UK went on the deck and started strafing the plane.  The game permits rail transfer of aircraft from Singapore to China via Siam and Indochina so a squadron of twin engine Virgina bombers joined the RAF in Canton.  The Battle of Kowloon started when roughly three divisions of Imperial troops advanced on the positions of the Japanese 8th Division.  The Japanese held their ground and the IJN sortied to bombard the attackers.  The RAF did not do well against the Japanese squadron.  A few planes were shot down and the only hit was a 20 lb Cooper bomb that scorched the belt armor of the Ise. The two British carriers also sortied and flew missions against the Japanese battleships to no effect.  However, a Japanese sub lurking near Hong Kong encountered the task force and managed to torpedo the escorting cruiser Dartmouth and a destroyer.  The destroyer made it to Pakho, but had to be scuttled.  The cruiser made for Cam Ranh Bay and foundered just off the coast of Indochina. After the Japanese battleships had withdrawn, 5 RN destroyers sortied and met the Japanese in the Battle of Lantau Island.  The British encountered a solitary destroyer and sank her.  Then the modern light cruiser Yura arrived on the scene after steaming from Hong Kong Harbor and engaged all five RN destroyers.  Though the Yura was plastered with small caliber hits, her guns mortally wounded one destroyer, crippled two more, and badly damaged a forth.  This was played as a victory for Japan in subsequent press reports on both sides.  Meanwhile, the British were getting their troops in better order and beginning bombardment attacks to prepare the battlefield.  The 2nd Indian Division joined the fighting and the Grand Fleet arrived to either engage the Japanese Fleet or pound the defenses.  The IJN was no where to be seen so they bombarded the 8th Division and Kowloon (along with most of the port facilities) fell to the British.  The 8th Division is still holding out on Hong Kong Island.  However, the HMS Benbow hit a mine and has withdrawn to Cam Ranh Bay for emergency repairs until the port damage can be repaired in Hong Kong.  The RAF bombers had conducted devastating raids on the city and reduced the port to rubble, with 77% damage when the Royal Army forces finally seized the ground. 
Up in Shanghai, the raiders there have operated off of Kyushu and managed to sink several freighters and an oiler.  A brief engagement with a damaged cruiser heading back to Japan led the Chinese to break off. 

Wake:  The Siege of Wake continues, although there was long interval in October where no Japanese vessels tried to break through.  Subs, Destroyer and surface action groups continue to conduct close and distant blockade of the island.  A Japanese sea plane managed to badly damage an R class sub, but well over a dozen freighters and transports were sunk in a renewed surge of traffic that started reaching Wake in early November.   The Lexington got most of her flotation damage repaired at Midway and successfully made a run for Pearl.  She will be out of action until well into 1927, but she's no longer in any immediate danger of sinking. 

Marshall Islands Campaign:  Troops have landed at Eniwetok, Bikini and Rongelap.  Troops are embarked and en route to Jaluit and Maleolap.  Eniwetok is upgrading.  Wotje is the primary base for the planned attack on Kwajelein.  The atoll has been transferred to SW Pacific HQ and the troops ashore include the 1st Cavalry, 1st Infantry, the AEF HQ, and an adhoc ANZAC division with one NZ brigade and one Australian brigade.  An LB-6 group is ashore and has reconned Kwajelein, but air strikes can't be flown until the airbase is upgraded to at least a 4.  Everything but Kwajelin should be under Allied control by the end of January, 1927. 

Guerre de course:  US subs nearly sank the Satsuma.  The pre-dreadnought took a torpedo from a sub that was lurking along the coast of Honshu and then an R class sub penetrated Tokyo Bay and managed to score two more hits on the battleship.   The initial flurries of activity are over and overall Japanese merchant traffic is much lower than it was during the summer.  With Japanese escort experience going up, US commerce warfare is starting to show much lower gain for the pain.  Subs returning from patrol now routinely show low to medium levels of damage from Japanese ASW and often still have torpedo's aboard.  British subs have moved their operational base to Cavite and are operating off Hong Kong and Formosa.  By early 1927 Hong Kong's harbor facilities should be repaired and the port improved to a "9" so the British subs can operatre from there. 

Reinforcements:  Large Transports and liners are beginning to feed into India and the US west coast as ships are activated from reserves laid up after the Great War or taken up from civilian service.  The Leviathan and one other large transport carried the entire 2nd Division from Los Angeles to Oahu.  The first of the US Volunteer Brigades has mustered in Sacramento and marched to Monterrey.  The 11th Cavalry Regiment has turned over the Presidio to them and marched to Mare Island where they'll be reassigned to join the Marshall Islands Offensive as soon as enough political points are available.  The Ontario Territorials have arrived at Winnipeg and are marching for Vancouver.  (Note: They're taking way too long to get out of Winnipeg so I need to check the WPOHex.Dat to verify that I've got the rail line hooked up correctly for Winnipeg).   Another round of UK brigades have mustered and are building up to full strength.  Pearl Harbor is built out so the non-civilian engineer units have been transferred to building out Midway, the Marshalls, or Maui.  Lahaina is being upgraded as a satellite base for Pearl that will specialize in destroyer repair.  Several tenders and AR's are scheduled to start deploying in December and January.  Many US capital ships are out of action for major repairs:  Lexington (Pearl, ~70% Systems), Arizona (Seattle, ~8% Systems), New Mexico (Mare Island, ~73% Systems), Idaho (Mare Island, ~23% Systems), Washington (Mare Island, ~46% Systems), United States (Mare Island, ~3%).  The New Mexico and Idaho had their damage inflicted at 2nd Wake back in early July!.  Reserve Fleet has transferred to Mare Island.   

Off-Map and Political:  The USS Florida has completed refit and is en route to the Pacific via Cape Horn.  Secretary Wilbur has resigned and Franklin Roosevelt has accepted the nomination to replace him.  The Senate vote in confirmation of Roosevelt was nearly unanimous.   In London, the First Lord is coming under criticism for the lackluster performance of the Royal Navy in the opening phases of the war.  The Government is responding that the Grand Fleet has only just arrived and ably assisted the Royal Army and Royal Air Force in retaking Hong Kong. 

Score (as of November 1, 1926 - prior to the Battle of the Philippine Sea)

Total Points:
Allies   12758
Japan  9927

Bases:
Allies  8151
Japan 8404

Planes:
Allies    47
Japan   71

Troops:
Allies    314
Japan   693

Ships:
Allies 4246
Japan  759 

Comment:  Putting a top CO on the Langley and using the freighters as training targets has turned this ship into a one vessel wrecking crew.  Her pilots have contributed significantly to the loss of the Mutsu, Amagi, and Tosa.  Increasing the load factor on the US Volunteer and Japanese Levy units creates a mis-read in the number of infantry.  The Load Factor for an infantry squad is also used as the number of troops in a squad so the extra high load factor used to discourage overseas deployment gives a false reading on the number of troops in the unit.  Otherwise, I've found a handful of minor database errors that need tweaking and the likely transport grid problem at Winnipeg highlighted above.  Boosting the Allied airpower is making this game much more of a mid-point between the negligable airpower of the 1922 scenario and the air dominance of WitP.  I almost certainly need to revisit the game for some additional mid-late game Japanese reinforcements to reflect the war-time experience and relatively inexpensive nature of 1920s airpower.       
engineer
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Battle of the Philippine Sea Update

Post by engineer »

Mitscher led Langley northeast in pursuit of the crippled armored cruisers and his scout planes ran into another surface action group of Ise & Hyuga heading south.  Repeated raids put one torpedo into the Ise and sank the Hyuga.  The fliers also finished off one of the crippled CA's.  Avgas and magazines depleted, Mitscher turned the Langley for Manila to reload.  The talley for six days of flight operations was staggering:  Tosa - sunk, Hyuga - sunk, Ise - damaged, one CA sunk, one CA damaged and likely to sink en transit back to Japan, and about five merchants from a convoy sunk.  At least three major surface action groups had turned around and were fleeing back to Japan, comprising a BB, a BC, at least six cruisers, and 10 destroyers. The cost to the USA was two pilots operating from a converted collier with three escorting destroyers who hadn't fired a shot in self-defense.
 
Comment:  This is human vs. AI.  If I was facing a human player, I'm certain that the Japanese player would have organized his assets into a 300 mile picket line of warships to run down the dowdy Langley. 
engineer
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December 28, 1926

Post by engineer »

December 28, 1926[/align] [/align]Guam:[/align]The USA is continuing to sweep the skies.  Joe Sullivan is the #2 pilot with 3 kills.  Eddie Rickenbacker, nominally the Wing Commander has flown missions and managed to score a kill, becoming the first pilot to get kills in both the Great War and the current conflict.  The USN is beginning to accumulate tankers at Pearl so they can start running big fuel convoys to Guam in advance of staging the Battle Fleet from Pearl Harbor to Apra Harbor.  [/align] [/align]The Philippines:  Lots of battles about the islands.[/align]
  • Battle of the South China Sea:  The British battle cruiser force sortied into the South China Sea to try and sweep up some Japanese cruisers that were operating off Luzon.  They turned to head back to Indochina when the Japanese battle force caught them in a night battle.  The Akagi and Nagato, with escorts, blew up the HMS Rapid with a magazine hit on the destroyer.  The Tiger was hit twice with 16 inch shells that ripped through her armor.  The Japanese were relatively unscathed, by the time the British broke off the action.
  • Battle of the Sulu Sea:  The Langley task force touched base on Leyte and got enough avgas to sortie for Cebu.  The Japanese battle force and swept south after the Battle of the South China Sea towards Palawan.  Mitscher hoped that if they came south to sail around the archipelago he could ambush the Japanese battlewagons in the Sulu Sea.  The Japanese turned north, but a cruiser force continued south.  The Americans sank a heavy cruiser and badly damaged a modern light cruiser.
  • Battle of Cape Balinao:  This was the first carrier vs. carrier battle of the war.  The USA sent a destroyer squadron into the Luzon Straits to chase a damaged destroyer that had taken some hits off Bataan.  They were attacked by Japanese carrier air.  Mitscher laid a trap for the Japanese.  He sortied with Langley into the South China Sea and got the British carriers to sortie from Cam Ranh Bay to rendezvous with him.  The hope was he could catch the Japanese between his carriers and the land-based air at Clark Field, using the fleeing US destroyers as bait to lure the Japanese carriers south.  However, his scout planes spotted the Japanese to the northeast while the British were still over 100 miles to the southwest.  Rather than wait for the rendezvous, he launched his Corsairs immediately.  Several of the bombers were damaged by the Japanese CAP and the strike suffered many damaged aircraft due to flak.  However, 230 lb bomb penetrated the flight deck of the Shokaku.  The Japanese withdrew.  As the Japanese withdrew it become apparant that the Japanese had planned this sortie with combined arms, too, as aerial recon revealed the Allied carriers were in a thicket of Japanese submarines.  HMS Hermes took a torpedo as the Allies withdrew to Manila. 
  • Battle of the Moro Gulf:  The Dutch sortied to sweep the western coast of Mindanao and encountered a destroyer and a light cruiser.  They managed to sink the destroyer and mortally wound the modern Japanese light cruiser, but the Japanese managed to sink a torpedo boat in the course of the engagement. 
  • Battle of Cavite Bay:  The Japanese sent in another solo destroyer scout.  This ship was incredibly effective in it's AA fire and managed to splash a half dozen DH-4 and torpedo bombers launched at it from Clark Field. However, when it penetrated Manila Bay, a four destroyer squadron intercepted it off Cavite and quickly sank the Japanese warship.
At least the geography of the Philippines save us from talking about the 12th Battle of the Philippines!  Elsewhere, the 1st Indian Division, the Philippine Division, and several batteries of artillery have marched to Naga and are preparing to assault the Japanese Imperial Guards at Legaspi.  Mitscher has led the Langley and HMS Argus through the archipelago to come out in the western Philippine Sea. He's cruising south to take a blocking position off the SE coast of Mindanao.  Doorman has sortied from Tarakan with his armored cruisers and torpedo boats.  A mixed bag of freighters and light forces have been contacted the Dutch sub pickets off Mindanao.  [/align] [/align]China:[/align]Hong Kong is almost up to a level 9 port.  The British forces are despatching lots of convoys to build up the supply and fuel at the port.  The capital ships are just staging up there.  The mine warfare ships will be going in, too.  With a Level 9 port close to Formosa, offensive mining operations are on the table.  [/align]The British has despatched base forces to Amoy and are using that area as an airbase.  Bombers attacked the Japanese carriers that were withdrawing from Cape Balinao and managed to put a second bomb hit on the Shokaku.  One attack on the port in the Pescadores found very heavy flak so the British have reverted to naval attacks.  The Japanese have switched their naval operations to the eastern side of Formosa and that is creating more opportunities for submarines operating in those waters.[/align] [/align]Wake:  The siege of Wake cotinues.[/align]- 9th Battle of Wake, a Japanese destroyer and mine sweeper ran into six US destroyers and proceeded to defeat them.  Though battered to a wreck, the Japanese managed to sink two destroyers and heavily damaged three more.  This was a clear Japanese victory.[/align]- Mine Warefare:  The Allies have been laying offensive minefields around the atoll.  These have been damaging merchant ships and taking casualties from the MSW forces.  However, there was a "friendly fire" incident where the USS Detroit hit a mine laid by the Canadian merchant cruiser Empress of Russia.  The Detroit contained the immediate damage and has transited back to North America for repairs.  [/align]- The Hosho swept to Wake after the Battle of Cape Balinoa with two battle cruisers in escort.  The submarines operating west of Wake spotted the incoming task force so the light forces conducting the blockade could evacuate.[/align]- Yorktown has moved northwest of Wake and is sweeping the sea lanes.  She has damaged several merchant ships as her green pilots get more experience.  She also spotted the CL Kiso heading for Wake.  Then she spotted the Haruna heading in a few days later.[/align]- 10th Battle of Wake, The US armored cruisers Charlotte and Frederick with s six destroyer escort dismantled the Japanese CL Kiso in a daylight gun battle off Wake.  Negligable damage was suffered by the US ships, who then withdrew to avoid action with the Haruna.  The American squadron subsequently laid into a number of ships that took advantage of the lifting of the siege of Wake to make a run for Japan, and managed to sink a light cruiser, some merchants, and numerous minesweepers.[/align]- The 2nd Division is embarked and en-route to Marcus Island to establish a raider base for US forces to harry a greater portion of the Wake Sea Line of Communication (SLOC).  This occasioned the Battle of Marcus Island where a Franco-Canadian surface force (1 CA, 2 CL, 2 DD) encountered a Japanese squadron of 1 CL and 3 DD.  The Japanese blew up a Canadian destroyer with a magazine hit, and the other DD was badly damaged, but the Allied force mauled the cruiser and a destroyer and sank two destroyers. [/align] [/align]Marshall Islands Offensive:[/align]US forces have taken all the islands except for Kwajalein.  Jaluit and Mili were pitched battles.  4th Marines participated in both.  In the former with the 1st Australian and in the latter the 11th Cavalry.  The remaining islands were unoccupied by regular formations.  Bases have been established on Rongelap, Bikini, and Maleolap.  Wotje is the main ground force base in the island chain, with 1st Infantry, 1st Cavalry, the Anzac Division, and 3rd Infantry ashore.  Two bomber groups of the Strike Wing are conducting port attacks on Kwajelin with the B1 Supercyclops and Keystone LB-6 twin engine bombers.  Japanese flak is heavy even with maximum altitude raids (15,000 feet for the B1's).  US losses are running about 2-3% per mission.  The USAAC switched to round the clock bombing as one group attacks by day and the other attacks by night. Eniwetok is being developed as a naval base.  Destroyer and sub tenders have arrived.  The Philippine Division on Eniwetok is preparing for Ulithi as their next objective.  The assault on Kwajelein will take place in January and pre-dreadnoughts have arrived at Wotje to serve as the bombardment force.[/align] [/align]Guerre de Course:[/align]The Allies have had a good couple of months.  A Dutch sub put two torpedos into the Nagato off Formosa.  The US has been slipping subs into Tokyo Bay and managed to put four torpedos into the Ise while doing so.  US subs have been moving around more to defeat the Japanese ASW and are scoring more hits.  [/align] [/align]Japanese subs are infesting the Marshalls.  US ASW task forces are operating in the islands.  Mostly, they've been unsuccessful, but one Japanese sub has fallen prey to the US forces.  The USS Gillis was badly damaged by a torpedo from a Jap sub while on an ASW mission.  [/align] [/align]Reinforcements:[/align]Two more brigades of troops have deployed in North America, the Western Territorials at Calgary and the 1st Washington Volunteers at Seattle.  The New Rough Riders have also deployed and are en route to Wotje aboard the SS Leviathan where they will participate in the planned assault on Kwajalein. Kermit Roosevelt, the CO, is in the owner's suite of the Leviathan - until a few months before he was on the board of the United States Line, the Leviathan's operator.  The 4th Infantry Division is en route to Pearl.  More liners and freighters are joining the fight.  The sub V-5 is in transit to Pearl.  The big slug of merchants and tankers that arrive in January will give the USA plenty of sea lift to move west and project force across the Pacfic.  [/align] [/align]Allied Strategy:  [/align]After the Marshalls, the Pacific Command will take over the Western Carolines and then build up Guam for an assault on the Marianas.  There will be a reconnaissance by fire on Truk to see if it is strongly held.  SW Pacific will either take Truk or bypass it for Mindanao.  Once the Marianas are taken, then the Bonin's will be taken.  The British will build up the bases in China and start a mining/airpower campaign on Formosa.  By the autumn of 1927, the Allies should be in a position to begin a close blockade of Japan.  At that time, the Allies will need to make decisions on landings for Formosa, Korea, and the Kuriles.  However, Shanghai will be an excellent base for offensive mining operation against the home islands.   [/align] [/align]Offmap & Political:[/align]In Japan, the newspaper Asahi Shimbun suspended publication for one day in late December.  The editor had learned of the heavy losses of the Japanese Navy (1/2 of its pre-war dreadnought strength) and loss of Marcus Island and the eastern Mandates. He was prepared to call for an armistice and negotiated peace, but police seized the presses to prevent the treasonous message and the next day's paper featured a black-trimmed front page to lament the editor's sudden death due to heart trouble. Below the fold, dispatches from the Admiralty described the sinking of a large American transport in the Central Pacific at the hands of an intrepid submarine skipper and the loss of a British aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.  [/align] [/align]Score:[/align] [/align]Total Points:
Allies   15936
Japan  10139

Bases:
Allies  9815
Japan 8447

Planes:
Allies    66    
Japan  135

Troops:
Allies    474
Japan   755

Ships:
Allies 5581
Japan  802[/align] [/align]Ship Details:   
Allied Losses:  Nevada, Pennsylvania, 8 cruisers, 28 destroyers, 1 TB, 1 PG, 1 SS[/align]Japanese Losses:  Tosa, Hyuga, Amagi, Mutsu, Fuso, Yamashiro, Aki, Katori, 12 cruisers, 60 DD, 40 MSW, 3 PG, 2 ML, 3 SS, 368 assorted merchant ships.[/align] [/align]
Comments:[/align]Strategically, the war is likely already lost for the Japanese.  They have eight of the pre-war modern capital ships left:  Kaga, Akagi, Nagato, Ise, and the four Kongo's.  Nagato and Ise are verified in Tokyo getting repair.  Haruna is sweeping Wake.  Kirishima has been spotted off Formosa leading a surface action group.  Typically, two other Kongo's have been escorting the Hosho.  That leaves Kaga and Akagi as the possible Allied fleet killing SAG.  The No. 13 BCs and Kii BB's are in the pipeline, but the Allies have the Royal Sovereigns, the Queen Elizabeths, the Hoods, the Montanas, the Tillmans, and the Ticonderogas joining the fray, not to mention a half dozen carriers and progressively better aircraft with higher build rates.  The question is time versus casualties for the Allies in approaching Japan and then making a decision on whether to make a landing on the home Islands or not.    [/align] [/align]Selfishly, I need to keep playing through to find keep looking for bugs.  I found a few more problems (a V-5 and V5 in the US sub OOB, two RADM W. R. Furlongs in the leader file, etc.)  The OOB for the subs is fixed.  I'll replace one Furlong with John S. McCain.  This is the original McCain.  He would go on to earn his wings in the 1930s, command the Ranger before the war and end the war commanding Halsey's carriers before dying of heart failure just after Japanese surrender in 1945.  In the 1920s he was a battleship officer so I'll make him an aggressive captain with non-descript air capability so he'll be more likely a major surface combatant CO.    [/align]
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

RE: December 28, 1926

Post by engineer »

February  3, 1927[/align] [/align]Guam:  Guam is now a forward operating base for the Pacific Fleet.  The carriers as well as submarines are basing here.  Two major supply convoys are in transit with over 100,000 points of fuel.  One battleship squadron has arrived to use Apra as a base.[/align] [/align]Philippines:  Lots of action continues.[/align]
  • The Battle of Legaspi:  Three Allied divisions attacked.  Half of the troops were Imperial (mostly the 1st Indian Division) and half were USAFFE.  A bombardment force of two CL's and a half dozen destroyers sortied from Cavite to batter the defending Imperial Guard Division and the ground troops shelled the Japanese in preparation to their assaults. After 7-10 days of hard fighting, the Japanese were driven into the sea and destroyed.
  • The Battle of Rena Point:  US airpower at Clark spotted the Akagi with two modern CA's an armored cruiser, and a light cruiser sailing south on a sweep to Mindanao.  The Grand Fleet sortied from Hong Kong to take blocking stations off Bataan.  There was a battleship squadron (3 Iron Duke class and the Dreadnought), and two battle cruiser squadrons.  One of the battle cruiser squadrons encountered and sank a light cruiser that was operating independently.  However, the Japanese had another cloud of submarines at sea.  The HMS Princess Royal took three torpedoes and barely made it back to Hong Kong.  The Akagi led her force north through the area at night and encountered the battleship squadron.  The Benbow and the Akagi exchanged hits and at night combat ranges, the armor of each ship was penetrated.  The escorting RN destroyers managed to put two torpedoes into the Akagi, but subsequent salvoes from the battle cruiser blew apart two destroyers (it was scaring watching a DD take a half dozen 41 cm hits in a single turn, twice).  The British attempted to pursue and run down the Akagi the following day, but despite the torpedo hits, she was easily able to outrun the British. 
  • Preparations for Aparri:  The last Japanese beachhead on Luzon is Aparri. The Legaspi expedition has withdrawn to the less malarial environs of Manila and is prepping for an attack to the north.  Southeast Asia Command (which has embarked from Columbo and is en route to set up a new HQ in Hong Kong), has released the 3rd Indian Division to join the attack, but they are still en route to Manila from Singapore. 
China:[/align]The dominant factor here is kicking off the Formosa campaign.  British troops have arrived at Wenchow and are building up the airfield there.  Once that is complete, aircraft there will be able to interdict shipping from Taichung and close the northern end of the Formosa Strait.  Hong Kong and Canton are being supplied so they have the fuel and stores operating the Grand Fleet and several divisions of troops.  Minelayers launched missions and mined both the Pescadores and Tainan.  After the successful operations at the southern end of the straits, the British decided to launch an operation against the northern end of the straights.  The mining force comprised three large commerce cruisers and two US fast transports.  A light cruiser and several RN destroyers were in the minelayer force. An escorting surface action group of three light cruisers and four destroyers followed the minelayer force.  The AI vetoed slipping past the Pescadores by night and going straight up the strait in favor of a circuitous route up the eastern coast of Formosa down from the north.  [/align]The Battle of Hualien:  A Japanese light cruiser encountered the surface force and was sunk, but not before alerting the Japanese high command of the British force and mauling both the light cruiser Yarmouth and a destroyer.  The British elected to press on.  Despite being ordered to follow the mining force, the AI aborted the surface action group and they retired to Hong Kong.  [/align]The Battle of Po-ka Point:  The Japanese sortied a cruiser force including the two brand new cruisers Aoba and Furutaka (both veterans of the Battle of Rena Point), an older armored cruiser and a pair of destroyers.  They encountered the mining force, now without a surface escort.  The Rajputana was badly damaged before breaking off.  Rather than scrap the whole mission, the British squadron laid an adhoc mine barrage in the waters of the northern Formosa Straight and laid a course for Shanghai.  The Rajputana made for Wenchow to repair immediate flotation and fire damage.  [/align] [/align]Wake:[/align]The Japanese off-loaded a squadron each of fighters and bombers here.  An American blockading force took air strikes while moving toward the island, but the aviators weren't too experienced and failed to score any hits on the US ships.  This changes the equation so that close blockade will be too risky.  The operations around Wake were deemphasized given the operations around Marcus Island.[/align] [/align]Marcus Island:  [/align]
  • The Japanese CL Nagara arrived off Wake and proceeded to bombard the 2nd Infantry Division.  Within 48 hours, the Saratoga and United States arrived with their escort and sank the Nagara.  The Japanese sent three more light cruisers and a pair of destroyers at Wake in a series of uncoordinated attacks.  The US ships sank all comers, but they were getting low on fuel. Fortunately some re-supply convoys arrived to replenish their bunker oil. 
  • Sink the Nagato!  Halsey's Yorktown moved to Marcus to support the capital cruisers, but scouts spotted the Nagato salted in with the transports heading to Wake. Halsey pursued and his fliers put several 230 lb bomb hits on the battleship.  The US also vectored a sub into the course of the Japanese BB and managed to put a pair torpedoes into the battlewagon.  The Nagato made Wake and proceeded to repair fire and flotation damage.  Then she sortied west to sail for the Home Islands.  Halsey again pursued and the US sortied about six submarines and Mitscher with the Langley and Argus to join the chase.  The V-2 spotted the task force, but was badly damaged by effective Japanese ASW. Halsey was furious that his pilots kept making hits on the battleship, but the ships deck armor was proof against the 230 lb pounds so damage was negligible.  He finally broke off after exhausting his avgas supplies. Upon arriving at Guam, he immediately off-loaded his fighters and took aboard the experienced torpedo bomber squadron VT-2. By that time, Langley was on hand to continue the attack.  In a day, her torpedo bombers had put five fish into the battleship and sent her to the bottom.
  • Sink the Hosho!  Following a couple of hundred miles behind the Nagato was a carrier task force of Hosho, Kirishima and Hiei.  Once that Nagato was badly enough damaged, the carriers started to close so they came into search plane range as Mitscher was finishing off the Nagato.  The Allies attacked and then sank the Hosho and put two bomb hits on the Kirishima.  A battleship squadron had arrived at Marcus from Pearl under Nimitz, who was flying his flag on the South Dakota.  Mitscher and Nimitz tried to bring the fleeing battle cruisers to battle, but the subsequent air strikes were unable to put more hits on the Japanese vessels and they eluded the Americans by zig-zagging off to the northwest instead of making a beeline north to Tokyo.  Mitscher and Nimitz then retired on Guam. 
  • Mine Warfare miscarry:  Two Canadian commerce cruisers were dispatched to Marcus to lay defensive minefields, but in making a course correction to avoid the Nagato, the cruisers sprinted to the target hex and laid their mines in mid-ocean in an administrative SNAFU.  On the way back to Pearl, they mixed it up with some supply convoys and bombarded Japanese merchant ships with their 6" battery. 
Marshall Islands:[/align]Mid January saw the Allies launch the invasion of Kwajalein in their biggest offensive of the war.  The invasion fleet comprised two bombardment forces (4 dreadnoughts and 5 pre-dreadnoughts), three ASW task forces, three invasion task forces (over 60 AP, AK, and escorts) with over 65,000 embarked troops, a supply task force, and a minesweeping task force.  Strike Wing had softened up the island with round the clock bombing by 100+ twin-engine biplane bombers for at least a week prior to the assault.  In 48 hours of hard fighting, the island fell to the Allies at a cost of about 6000 casualties.  Fortunately, the coastal guns did not badly batter the invasion fleet, only about six destroyers and one transport took damage.  At this point all of the Marshalls have been captured at the Allies are focusing on building out the good anchorages.  Wotje and Eniwetok are complete.  Rongelap, Maleolap, and Kwajalein are getting attention.  Level 0 islets are being ignored after a temporary landing clears any Japanese presence.  The "in-between" atolls will get a USN base-force garrison to provide an anchorage, an airstrip, and deny the atoll to the Japanese.   Strike Wing has embarked into a transport convoy to head to Guam.  [/align] [/align]Guerre de Course:[/align]Allied subs and surface raiders continue to snipe at Japanese merchant shipping around the Home Islands.  The USN has pulled back on it's deployments off Honshu and is typically keeping about six subs on station instead of 10 or 12 subs.  This gives the US a reserve of about 6-8 subs ready for sea at Apra.  Partly this in anticipation of putting a cordon around the Mariana's as the reinforcements start arriving for the spring offensive there, and also to have a reaction force read to attack targets of opportunity (as with the chase of the Nagato).[/align] [/align]Reinforcements:[/align]The US advance into the Western Pacific will really start rolling now that the mid-January influx of 100+ large AK and TK's has taken place.  In addition, the refitted USS Arkansas has sailed round the Horn to arrive in the Pacific along with three pre-dreadnoughts that were finishing fitting out on the East Coast and missed getting trapped with the Scouting Fleet in the wrecked Panama Canal.  Two of the pre-dreadnoughts arrived with a few points of systems damage due to wear and tear of the voyage.  The US is staggering the upgrades of their destroyers for better ASW so there was no pause in operations when that upgrade became available on 1/1/27.  Additional base forces and headquarters units are arriving on the West Coast.  In addition the US Volunteers are trickling in to garrison the coast so all of the field units may be released for overseas deployment (with sufficient political point expenditure).  The British are moving more shipping up to Singapore as a base and using that base as a depot for distribution of additional supplies to Manila and Hong Kong.  The British are holding back a few brigades to finish coming up to strength in India before moving them forward.  The engineers on those brigades are also helping finish upgrading Bombay and Karachi to Level 9 ports.  Once that is done, then Columbo will get reinforced so it is built out to a Level 9 port.  [/align] [/align]Off-Map:  [/align]In Britain, First Sea Lord Sir David Beatty, victor of the Dogger Bank and commander of Battle Cruiser force at Jutland, is taking criticism in Parliament for the spotty performance of the Royal Navy in the Far East.  While no disasters comparable to the Coronel have occurred the escape of the Akagi after the Battle of Rena Point is being likened to the escape of the German battle cruiser Goeben in the opening days of the Great War.  The mining expedition battles contrast poorly to the early Great War operations by the Royal Navy in the Heligoland Bight where a meeting engagement led to the destruction of German light cruisers. One faction of Tories is calling for the return of Winston Churchill to the Admiralty, others, recalling Gallipoli, are appalled by the prospect of Churchill's return to power.[/align]
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

March 17, 1927

Post by engineer »

March  17, 1927[/align] [/align]Guam:  Guam is now the forward operating base for the Pacific Fleet.  A squadron of pre-dreadnoughts has just dropped anchor. Another pre-dreadnought squadron is pounding Yap and will rebase to Guam from Eniwetok after this voyage. SS Leviathan has just arrived with the 3rd Marine Brigade after a non-stop transit from San Deigo.  A battle squadron of dreadnoughts has just weighed anchor for Marcus Island to join Carrier Fleet in the Battle of the Pacific (See Below).  The Army Air Corps is continuing to run fighter sweeps over Tinian.  General Rickenbacker added to his reputation by managing to shoot down two Mitsubishi's in a single mission during late February.  The Strike Wing has relocated to Guam from Wotje and 100+ plane raids are starting to hit Tinian now as LB-6 twin engine bombers along with DH-4 level bombers and swarms of escorting fighters start softening that island in preparation for an invasion.  Overall, Guam has 100,000+ troops and over 250 planes on the island.  [/align] [/align]Philippines:  Lots of action continues.[/align]
  • The Aparri Campaign:  Four Allied Divisions (the Philippine, 1st Indian, 3rd Indian, and a scratch division of Philippine regiments and Imperial Brigades) launched a two pronged attack on Aparri.  The predominantly Commonwealth force advaced to Tugerauo while the Philippine Division marched for Laong.  The plan called for a combined attack on Aparri, but the British Armored Car companies contacted Japanese outposts and triggered a spoiling attack by the Japanese.  Two infantry divisions moved south and hit the Commonwealth.  The Americans continued into Aparri and overran the construction battalion left garrisoning the Japanese base.  Now units of the garrison are being fed south where the two Japanese divisions are in a stalemate with the 2+ Commonwealth divisions.  The Royal Navy sent a battle cruiser squadron to sweep Aparri and sank a single destoyer that was off the coast.  Now a cruiser force from Hong Kong has taken a station of Tungerau and is bombarding the Japanese ground forces.  A battleship squadron also sortied and bombarded the Japanese.  They are outmatched by the Allied forces, but grimly hanging on.   
  • Empty Ambush:  The Asiatic Fleet has moved a cruiser/destroyer force to Palawan and is set up on "reaction" to interdict any Japanese elements that try to cross the Sulu Sea to Mindanao.  So far, they've not made contact.
  • US airpower did sink an older armored cruiser that conducted a sweep off western Luzon.   The American dirigibles continue to do good duty in spotting surface ships and submarines at ranges longer than the search planes can achieve.   
China:[/align]The HMS London was torpedoed while returning from a mining operation off Takao.  However, the southern barrage has managed to damage a cruiser, a destroyer and a submarine.  The Asiatic Fleet masterminded a successful extraction operation for the damaged light cruiser and auxiliary merchant cruiser in Wenchow.  Mine barrages has also been laid from Shanghai in the Tsushima Strait, Sasebo, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima. At least one tanker has taken a hit from the Tsushima barrage.  ASW operations from Hong Kong have sunken a Japanese sub, too.    [/align] [/align]The Battle of the Pacific:[/align]The fighting off Wake and Marcus Island appears to be reaching a crescendo of action as the Japanese desperately throw their last capital units into the fight in a series of engagements that have taken this moniker.  [/align]
  • Ise Prelude:  The battleship Ise was spotted by an "O" class sub on patrol north east of Wake.  She managed to put two 18" torpedos into this warship that had taken at least seven total torpedo hits during the course of 1926 and had still refused to sink.  At Battlefleet HQ, it was decided to send out the battleship killers, the carriers, and finish her off for good. From Guam, Admiral Towers hoisted his flag from Yorktown over the newly designated Carrier Fleet:  USS Yorktown, USS Langley, and HMS Argus.  The Sumatra, Omaha and four destroyers were in escort.
  • Sink the Atago!:  While steaming toward Wake, radio intercepts indicated that the Ise had finally foundered in the harbor at Wake.  However, a surface action group consisting of the Frederick, the Cincinnati, and several destroyers indicated that there was good hunting off Wake with a surge of merchant activity.  The Carrier Fleet continued north east and then recon reported that two large battlescruisers were spotted also heading towards Wake.  The three carriers launched a strike that proceeded to sink the Atago and damage the Takao with several 230 lb bomb hits.  The Takao then sprinted for Wake, leaving Carrier Fleet far behind since Langley could only make 14 knots.  Towers turned north to Marcus to rearm.
  • Sink the Takao!:  The US sub swarm was directed to try and intercept the Takao, but she slipped through to Wake.  She was then spotted moving northwest.  There was a question whether she was attacking Marcus or returning to the Home Islands for repair.  Towers bet on repair and positioned Carrier Fleet north of Marcus so he would be in position to attack at dawn if the Takao sprinted north.  However, the Takao made a bee-line for Marcus.  Carrier Fleet was too far north to launch her torpedo bombers, but the Corsairs could make extended range attacks and managed to put several hits on the un-escorted Takao, including disabling one battery of torpedo tubes.  In a daylight surface action, the Takao engaged the Saratoga and the United States and was rebuffed in her attempt to break through to Marcus Island.  A US destroyer was sunk, the Detroit also took a major caliber hit, and the United States suffered a shell hit that penetrated her armor, but the Takao took at least four major hits and a plethora of smaller caliber hits.  Carrier Fleet steamed south and launched air strikes the following morning that applied the coup de grace to the Takao as she remained on station, evidently waiting for a second go at the US forces around Marcus Island.  With the damage to the United States, a replacement battle squadron led by the West Virgina, sortied from Pearl to relieve the Capital Cruisers.
  • Sink the Shokaku!:  Within 24 hours of the loss of the Takao, an F5L sea plane from Marcus Island spotted the Shokaku sailing south with a minesweeper in escort.  Towers led the Carrier Fleet on an intercept course to the east and engaged two days latter after his own search planes re-acquired the carrier.  The CAP put up by the carrier was simply swept aside by the strike.  However, the Shokaku had gotten into a area thick with merchant shipping and many of the strike planes peeled off and hit merchants.  The Shokaku limped into Wake and a follow-up strike on the atoll finished her off despite heavy flak from the ground defenses. 
  • Fight the Kongo!  While Carrier Fleet was down by Wake, the Kongo stormed Marcus.  The mauled Capital Cruiser force fought off the Japanese battle cruiser, but the United States took another large caliber hit and a destroyer was badly mauled and had to be scuttled after the action.  The Kongo took at least 4 16" hits and withdrew back to Wake.  Following this, the Capital Cruiser force started to withdraw to east.
  • Sink the Akagi!:  A cruiser force west of Wake was spotted by the sub swarm.  The Carrier Fleet sailed west to engage from near Wake and sank an old armored cruiser and a light cruiser.  The fast modern heavy cruiser, the Furutaka, avoided all but one bomb thrown at her.  Before the Carrier Fleet could finish her off, search planes spotted the Akagi coming south east of Marcus.  The battle squadron from Pearl was close enough to try and intercept, but with only one task force, it was questionable if they would surely be able to force an intercept in mid-ocean.  The Carrier Fleet broke off action with the Furutaka and sailed to support the relieving Battle Squadron in their hunt for the Akagi.  Battlefleet despatched a squadron of destroyers from Guam at flank speed to take up a blocking position at Marcus.  They arrived just hours before the damaged Furutaka arrived.  The Furutaka badly damaged a destroyer and too bomb hits and some 4" hits in the surface action.   She withdrew to the north.  Meanwhile, the West Virginia's squadron failed to force a surface action, but the Carrier Fleet made a successful strike on the Akagi and put seven torpedos and several bomb hits on her.  She sank several hundred miles short of Wake. 
  • Sink the Kongo!  After completing emergency repairs at Wake, the Kongo steamed northwest to attack Marcus again.  The sub swarm spotted her moving north and so the Americans were ready for her with Carrier Fleet and two battle squadrons of American dreadnoughts.  The surface ships weren't necessary since strikes from Carrier Fleet put seven torpedoes and six bomb hits on the battle cruiser and sent her to the bottom.   
  • Carrier Fleet is making an offensive sweep of the Bonin Islands and will then return to Guam for refuel and refit.  The air operations only resulted in the loss of one pilot.  Langley and Argus have virtually no system damage and will ready to sortie again within a matter of 24 hours.  Yorktown has accumulated some systems damage and can sortie if necessary, but Towers wants to put her into the dry docks at Apra for a couple weeks of repairs.      
  • In looking at the battle in retrospect, American naval officers were puzzled by the reluctance or inability of the Japanese to concentrate for the attack.  With four battle cruisers, a battleship, a carrier, and many cruisers on hand, the Japanese could have swept the US Capital Cruiser division from Marcus and pummeled the island.  Instead, the superior force of the Japanese was committed piecemeal and defeated in detail by the USN.  Also, the performance of the Carrier Fleet silenced the last of the big-gun-only admirals in the Navy.  The new debate at the Naval War College was now whether a combined force of battleships and carriers could outfight a carrier-only fleet. 
Marshall Islands:[/align]This area is getting set up as a staging area.  A large number of base forces and engineer formations are improving the Kwajalein, Maleolap, Rongelap atolls.  Combat formations are staging forward.  Repair ships, destroyer tenders, and sub tenders are posted at Kwajalein and Eniwetok to handle some overflow if Guam get jammed up with too many ships requiring attention.   In a footnote to the Kwajalein invasion, the only merchant ship loss of the war so far was the SS Merula, a tanker that struck an Allied laid mine during the operations there and sank a short time later.  [/align] [/align]Western Mandates Campaign:[/align]The Hawaiian Division has taken Ulithi.  The 11th Cavalry has taken Woleia.  The 1st New Zealand Brigade is en route to Yap.  Yap will be built up as a Southwest Pacific Base and used to stage for an assault on Palau.  Once Palau is taken, then a summer campaign will take the 5+ divisions of Southwest Pacific back to Mindanao. Truk will be bypassed.  [/align] [/align]Guerre de Course:[/align]The Japanese have finally started a campaign against the US in the central Pacific.  US ASW TF's are regularly contacting subs along the Pearl/Guam SLOC.  A tanker task force en-route back to Pearl reported an attack where the torpedo's missed.  US subs are continuing to patrol off the home islands and harvest Japanese merchant shipping.  In addition, Dutch, British, and US subs are operaing off eastern Formosa and the Ryuku's and making some hits, but there is a very active IJN ASW campaign in this area so battle damage from near misses is fairly common. [/align] [/align]Reinforcements:[/align]The USS Washington and USS Idaho have completed their repairs and are en route back to the front.  The USS Indiana and USS Montana have arrived.  The USS New Mexico, USS Lexington, HMS Tiger, HMS Benbow, and HMS Princess Royal will be in the yards for some months.  HMS Marlborough is perhaps within a month of finishing her repairs.  The first mobile dry dock (the ABPD-1) has entered service in Los Angeles.  It's supplementing the yards there for now, but once all the merchant upgrades are finished off, it will be towed west to forward bases.  A couple of divisions of US troops with supporting units have arrived on the west coast.  Several more US volunteer brigades have arrived and each port on the coast now has at least a one brigade garrison.  In Hawaii, the bomber group there has traded in their old Martins for new B1's.  They will be transitting to Guam soon to join the rest of the Strike Wing.  .  [/align] [/align]Off-Map:  [/align]In Tokyo, Isokoru Yamamoto, a survivor of the sinking of the Shokaku and a former naval attache in Washington, briefs the leaders of the Combined Fleet on the potency of the Allied Carrier Fleet.  His assessment is grim, pointing out that the American and British torpedo bombers are deadly.  The level bombers can wreck a carrier, but the American bombs typically do not penetrate the deck armor of the Navy's capital ships. American military production will hit its stride over the next 12 to 18 months and only increase the material preponderancy of the Allies. His recommendation is that the Navy must abandon it's offensive doctrine and operate strictly under the fighter cover.  Production should be directed toward fighters and carriers (that will carry more fighters).  His conclusion is that the Allies have the material and doctrine to dominate the high seas so all overseas possessions, except Korea, are potentially forfeit to the Allies. The war, in it's original objective - to expel the West from East Asia and establish the regional hegemony of the Japanese Empire, is lost. This conclusion is unacceptable to many on the staff, but the chief of staff directs the critics to develop a rebuttal case and offer an alternative to Yamamoto's first hand observations and his conclusions.[/align] [/align]Score: [/align][/align]  [/align][/align]Total Points:
Allies   19306
Japan  10362

Bases:
Allies  10570
Japan 8470

Planes:
Allies   132   
Japan  178

Troops:
Allies    532
Japan   836

Ships:
Allies  8122
Japan  878 [/align][/align]  [/align][/align]Ship Details:   
Allied Losses:  Nevada, Pennsylvania, 8 cruisers, 40 destroyers, 1 TB, 1 PG, 2 SS, 1 TK [/align][/align]Japanese Losses:  Hosho, Shokaku, Tosa, Ise, Hyuga, Amagi, Mutsu, Fuso, Yamashiro, Akagi, Takao, Atago, Kongo, Aki, Katori, 26 cruisers, 83 DD, 41MSW, 4 PG, 2 ML, 6 SS, 435 assorted merchant ships.[/align] [/align]Comment:  The Allies have a 1.75:1 victory point ratio, but fighting Imperial Japan, the real question is the Japanese calculus whether further bloodshed will preserve the Empire or put the Empire at risk of utter destruction.  If the Allies tire of losing their people first, then a pyrrhic victory for the Empire can be claimed.  In my discussion above, the dialog between Yamamoto and the fire-eaters on the naval staff is utterly plausible and foreshadowed the discussions that would take place later in the historical WW2.  Play will continue for at least some time to continue to debug data base errors and play features.  (for instance, one tweak that will go in is using some of the spare ground devices to "upgrade" allied weapons simply to increase the production rates of tanks and some artillery in 1927 to reflect the industrial mobilization for the war).  This is already implicit in the aircraft models where the production rates of the war-time models are considerably greater than the planes in production at the outset of the war.[/align]
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

March 31, 1927

Post by engineer »

March 31, 1927
  • Yap has fallen.
  • Tinian has fallen to the Marines.  Several destroyers and transports were damaged by coastal defense fire.
  • The AEF is starting to move up to Ulithi/Yap.  Kwajalein port is almost built out to Level 9.
  • Asiatic Fleet has successfully mined Nagasaki/Kure. 
  • A series of ill-coordinated naval actions off Aparri (reminiscent of the response to the Marcus landings) has resulted in the sinking to two US PG's, two Japanese CL's, and two Japanese DD's.  The British have posted a cruiser force off Aparri and have a battle squadron supporting the fight around Tung. with shore fire. 
  • The ground fight around Tung. continues with the Japanese selling their lives dearly, but the Allies hold the upper hand. 

Comment: In some WITP bleed-over, Saipan and Tinian have really high victory point value. Pre-1940 I don't think that is justifiable given the short range of strategic bombers and the absence of good anchorages in the islands. That's a fix-it for the location file to make those values more appropriate for minor ports without a significant civilian population (the Japanese immigration to Saipan didn't take place until the 1930s). Maybe that idea - good anchorages matter more than big islands for airbases - suggests that the VP totals for the prime harbors in the Pacific should go up. Take 500 points for Saipan and Tinian and divvy that up between Ulithi, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Rongelap, Maleolap, and Truk. It might draw more Japanese forces out to the Mandates or tempt the Japanese player into fighting harder out there.
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

May 1, 1927

Post by engineer »

May  1, 1927[/align] [/align]Guam:  Guam continues as the forward operating base for the Pacific Fleet.  Supplies and fuel have been ferried forward.  Additional sub and destroyer tenders, as well as repair ships, are coming forward to expedite fitting out of the battlefleet.  Massive air raids have commenced to begin softening up Saipan.    A surface group of three Omaha class cruisers and four destroyers is sweeping the Bonin Islands and managed to sink several transports and damage the heavy cruiser Kurama.  Troops are embarking for the invasion of Saipan.  [/align] [/align]Philippines:  [/align]
  • The Aparri Campaign:  An additional Commonwealth division has reinforced the troops in the Aparri campaign. One Japanese division has shattered, the remaining division fought on for another 10 days until it finally collapsed.  A supply convoy of three AE's was intercepted and destroyed by the British battlecruiser force led by the Inflexible.  Now the troops with withdraw to Manila to refit and the UK forces will start prepping for a massive invasion of the Pescadores. (4 US divisions took Kwajalein from 10,000 Japanese so 8-10 Commonwealth divisions are being prepared for an invasion of the Pescadores).  This will probably take every AP in the Pacific so it will be sequenced after the Bonin, Mindanao, and Ryuku invasions.        
  • HMS Furious has joined HMS Hermes in Manila Bay.  The British plan to sortie into the Kyukus to disrupt commerce from Formosa to Japan. 
  • A Franco-American force has landed on Batan and retaken that island.  The US base force evacuated from Zamboanga and the Annamite Tiraillieurs made the landing.     
China:[/align]
  • An Anglo-American squadron raided Pusan and sank a tanker.
  • The original five fast transports of the Pacific Fleet sortied from Guam, laid mines at Okinawa and continued to Shanghai.  Together with the AMC's and the original two fast transports from the Philippines, the Asiatic Fleet has 10 mine capable ships on hand. 
  • Two base forces arrived at Wenchow and 30 planes are operating from there on maritime patrol over the northern end of the Formosa Straight.  So far only one 20 lb bomb hit ahs been made, but the British pilots are gaining valuable experience. 
Central Pacific:  [/align]
  • Wake Blockade:   US squadrons continue to blockade wake and interdict the arrival of troops, supply, and fuel.
  • The R-11 was hit by Japanese search planes and foundered before she could return to Midway. 
  • Supplies and engineering troops are en route to Marcus to finish out construction.  
Marshall Islands:  Troops have staged forward for the Western Mandates.  Rongelap is almost finished building out.[/align]  [/align] [/align]Western Mandates Campaign:[/align]
  • The Southwest Front divisions are staging at Ulithi. 
  • Yap has headquarters and a base force on it.  Aircraft will start arriving so they can begin bombarding Palua in advance of the invasion.
  • Shipping is concentrating at Ultithi to carry the Hawaiian Division up to Saipan.    
  • Shipping is loading a base force to take to Satawal and capture that atoll. 
  • Transport shippng is en route to Townsville to embark the Southwest HQ and the 5th Australian Division and transfer them to the Western Mandates for closer control of the pending campaigns. 
 [/align]Guerre de Course:[/align]
  • The Japanese have finally started a campaign against the US in the central Pacific.  USS Renshaw, a destroyer, was torpedoed and sunk in the Marshalls while enroute back to Pearl for repairs on battle damage suffered during the Tinian attack.  
  • The AD Mapele was torpedo'd and badly damaged off Eniwetok while in transit to Guam.  
  • US ASW TF's are sweeping the Marshals and the approaches to Guam and have sunk a pair of Japanese sub.  
  • US subs continue to operate off Honshu, but Japanese airpower is making close blockade of Tokyo increasingly risky.  Japanese merchant traffic is in overall decline so the absolute tonnage sunk is far less than in 1926.  
Reinforcements:[/align]More ships and planes and troops are beginnng to arrive on the West Coast as the US strarts to collect it's industrial might for the war effort.  Two floating drydock AR's are at Pearl, a third has arrived on the west coast.  Many more will be completing over the next few months.   [/align] [/align]Off-Map:  [/align]In Tokyo, the firebrands report back to the General Staff that the war is not lost.   The Allies are operating from dispersed bases across a wide arc of the sea.  The Combined Fleet should use any available fighter cover, but it can still combine and defeat in detail any Allied fleet approaching the Home Islands. The objective of the Combined Fleet will be to hold itself in readiness and then strike at the next opportunity when the Americans move against the Ryukus or the Bonin Islands.  The fighting on Luzon has been enlightening.  The Allies were  unable to press home attacks despite their numeric advatange so the Allies will be unable to displace the large garrisonis outside the home islands.    Furthermore, the Navy has deployed its submarine fleet in the Central Pacific and captains have confirmed several kills.  This will mean that the Americans will be operating on a logistical shoestring in the Western Pacific so any set-back will take months to recover from. Death and hardship will convert into war-weariness for the Americans.  That war-weariness is key since by prolonging the struggle into the 1928 election cycle and causing as many casualties as possible, the Americans will certainly vote in an accomodationist candidate from the Democratic Party who will sue for peace on Japanese terms to end the war.  By fighting hard and killing Americans, the Imperial Armed Forces will enable a peace where all pre-war Japanese possessions and conquests such as Wake and Mindanao will be held for the Emperor.  Yamamoto's critique of the rebuttal focuses on the assumption of Democratic defeatism.  The enormous "Second to None" Navy program was a Democratic initiative in the Wilson Administration, and there is no evidence of Democratic defeatism in the cables from Mexico City, where the Japanese Embassy is closely monitoring US affairs.  The new Navy Secretary, Franklin Roosevelt, is a prominent Democrat.  Yamamoto remains convinced that resistance is futile. Even if Coolidge is defeated in 1928, the United States will not turn away from the challenge posed by Japan. The Imperial Staff adjourns to consider the evidence and assertions.      In Panama, one set of gates in the Gatun locks has been repaired and engineers confidently report back to Washington that the Scoutting Fleet will be free.  It is no longer a matter of "If', but rather of "When".  The end of 1927 is nearly certain, barring further sabotage, and an earlier date is likely.    [/align] [/align]
engineer
Posts: 597
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm

RE: May 1, 1927

Post by engineer »

June 3, 1927[/align] [/align]Guam & Marianas:  Guam continues as the forward operating base for the Pacific Fleet.  Shipping is moving to Tinian to embark the 3rd Marine Brigade for a landing on Iwo Jima.  A second invasion force will follow with engineers, a baseforece, supplies, aircraft, and fuel.     [/align] [/align]Philippines:  [/align]
  • Manila:  The naval base at Manila is built out (Level 9 Port). 
  • British troops will be transferred back to Hong Kong to prepare for the Pescadores Invasion.
  • The British carrier division (HMS Furious and HMS Hermes) intercepted and sank the Idzumo.  A couple bomb hits were put on the Furutaka.
China:[/align]
  • The mining campaign is returning to lay another barrage in southern Japan. 
  • A cruiser force will sail in escort.
  • The French squadron has rebased to Shanghai along with a British force.  US Subs are also moving into Shanghai.  Over the summer, the Allied forces will lay down a thick net of surface raiders and subs to isolate Formosa from the home islands. 
  • The British cruiser force intercepted and sank the Furutaka on the way to Shanghai. 
Central Pacific:  [/align]
  • Wake Blockade:   US squadrons continue to blockade wake and interdict the arrival of troops, supply, and fuel.
  • Carrier Fleet is on another search and destroy mission to the northwest of Wake and has destroyed over a dozen merchant ships.  
  • The badly damaged destroyer USS Farenholt ran into a large convoy of Japanese merchant ships headed for Truk while transiting east for repairs at Pearl.  The transports fatally damaged the Farenholt, but BattleFleet sortied subs and surface action groups from Wake to blanket Truk and the Japanese were run down and sunk.    
Marshall Islands:  [/align]
  • Rongelap is built out.
  • Troops have staged forward for the Western Mandates and Mariana's.
  • Kwajelein and Einwetok are both major bases.  I'm thinking of cutting short further work on Maleolap and just moving those troops forward to Saipan.
[/align]Western Mandates Campaign:[/align]
  • The Southwest Front divisions are staging at Ulithi and starting to hit 100 preparation points for Palua. 
  • Initial raids from Yap resulted in heavy losses.  The air raids were temporarily suspended and more supplies are being rushed to the island so the planes will have reading access to replacement. 
  • Transports are beginning to accumulate at Ulithi.  Elements of Southwest Pacific HQ and the 5th Australian Division have also showned up.   
Guerre de Course:[/align]
  • US ASW TF's are sweeping the Marshals and the approaches to Guam and have sunk a pair of Japanese sub.  
  • US subs continue to operate off Honshu, but Japanese airpower is making close blockade of Tokyo increasingly risky.  Japanese merchant traffic is in overall decline so the absolute tonnage sunk is far less than in 1926.  
  • Japanese subs have finally torpedoed an American merchantman sailing in convoy from Pearl to Guam. 
Reinforcements:[/align]The US and UK received a large number of ground reinforcements.  These are staging forward.  A lot of UK troops are pausing at Columbo to build out that base to a Level 9 port.   The first of the US carrier dirigibles, the USS Akron has arrived in theater after expedited funding and completion given the pre-war tensions and unlimited overtime after the war started back in 1926.    The USS New Mexico has almost completed repairs that date back a year to the 2nd Battle of Wake.  Major warships in repair include HMS Tiger, HMS Benbow, HMS Princess Royal, USS United States, and USS Lexington.  The USA is also receiving a steady stream of AS, AD, and AR auxiliaries from new drydock construction and merchant ship conversions.  Pearl is a massive depot with nearly one million fuel and supply points each.  Guam is up to about 400,000 fuel and 250,000 supply.  Hong Kong is about 250,000 fuel and 400,000 supply.  The Philippines are also up to about 500,000 supply (mostly shipped from Indochina and Singapore).    [/align] [/align]Off-Map:  [/align]In Tokyo, the General Staff recommends that Japan continue the war.  Although modern war is a far more material enterprise that conflicts in the previous century, the utlimate measure of these struggles is the resolution of the nation.  The General Staff concurs with the "firebrands" that the next year's elections in the USA offer an opportunity for the Americans to reconsider the wisdom of the ongoing war so it will be the duty of Japanese soldiers to extract maximum casualities from the Allies in order to persuade them to sue for peace on favroable terms for the Empire.  The General Staff also sees the wisdom of Captain Yamamoto's recommendations about needlessly wasting Japanese resources by operating under un-opposed Allied airpower - the recent losses of the Furutaka, Idzumo, and merchant shipping to supply Wake and Truk only emphasize that point.  The Empire should focus on defensive operations for the Home Islands and Korea while overseas garrisons in Mindanao, Wake,Truk, and Formosa should be prepared to fight to the last man as required to achieve a favorable peace for the Empire.    [/align] [/align][font="arial narrow"]Allied Strategy:  The Allies will launch a brigade sized landing on Iwo Jima in June and the reinforce the island with coastal artillery and engineering units to have a base for further attacks on the Bonin Islands and a sub base on Tokyo's doorstep.  Imperial shipping will transport the UK and Imperial forces from Luzon to China in preparation for the Pescadore Invasion.  That shipping will then transit to Ulithi to help support the invasion of Palua.  A six division, 100+ thousand man effort is planned there that will include 1st Infantry, 1st Cavalry, 3rd Infantry, 7th Australian, the ad-hoc Anzac Division, and the 21st Cavalry could be mounted.  However, given that the intelligence suggests Palua has only half the garrison of Kwajelein, then a four division attack should be sufficient.  Heavy on-going naval and air bombardment will also be provided.  This invasion will take place in July.  At least a dozen transports are likely to be lost or damaged by defensive fire.  In order spread the fire, more merchant ships will be used to transport troops and supplies.  However, the shipping will then move China for an even larger August landing at the Pescadores that will probably total about ten UK & Commonwealth divisions.  If the shipping can be found, US forces will also take the Bonin's and Torishima in August, so that by September, the Ryukus will be targets.  By autumn, Formosa will be isolated, and Allied submarines will be operating all around the Home Islands.   The close siege of Japan will begin, and if the Japanese Navy is no longer a factor, the coastal cities of Japan will be pounded by Allied battlewagons. [/font][/align][font="arial narrow"][/font] [/align][font="arial narrow"]Designer Comment:    The last major mod that I haven't checked out is how the Japanese levee infantry work out.  I raised the load factor to make them hard to transport, but that also increases the troop count so I'm afraid that I may have created a monster that has almost no offensive capability, but may absorb weeks worth of combat from Allied formations as an artificially high number of casualties (because of my load factor tweak) have to be inflicted to knock out the levee.  So the Ryuku fighting will inform whether I have to adjust that or not.     [/font][/align]
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