Hairy Yankee Reports: Q-Ball (A) v Greyjoy (J)

[crsutton]

Did you hold Moa? If so then you have made a baby step forward. Combine that with killing a few Japanese and you are just fine. My experience is that any forward base grabed is a thorn in Japans side. Plus the focus of attention always becomes the most forward base, leaving Darwin a bit more secure.

[aphrochine]

The big issue with this battle area is that you have no area behind your lines to hide your forces so to achieve any margin of surprise. He can monitor major ship movements through Torres and anything that comes up from Perth. I'm sure he has fair to good detection on Darwin and your other major bases. Furthermore, all of the land bases behind Darwin (with possible exception to Katherine) do not make for good 'behind the line' staging areas. Meanwhile, the seas and bases behind his line are perfect for hiding forces and staging for counter attack. Basically, he's the one behind the tinted glass.

Despite that, the battle turned out pretty well for you. Nothing major lost for the Allies and more bleed visited on the IJ.


(I just started reading this AAR seriously last week...I've been enjoying it. Thank you for the AAR!!!)

[goran007]

Bases you tried to take are critical for GJ defense, so critical that he was ready to intervene with carriers. I can only criticize you for not bringing the Lady and rest for the party if for nothing more then only to soak some LB raids and few strikes on targets of opportunity.
With some cv help you would have taken those air fields.

Next time you'll have to bring everything and still there is a chance that because of stacking limits you won't be able to take those AF. Hm, next time maybe to land directly on sumatra where problems with over stacking like on saumlaki/babar would not exist and KB would need 5-6 turns to intervene(assuming its based in truk)
(reply to q-ball)

[JeffroK]

IMVHO,

I believe the DEI approach to be a very crowded one. There are so many potential bases for the defender that you need an overwhelming bomber force to keep them all closed. At the start you only have Bathurst, Darwin & Fenton available and they are at 6-9 hexes from your first targets.

Once you get a foothold on the outer ring of islands you have a more barriers to push through and while you may get a big enough base to hit Balikpapan or Tarakan, you will have a LOC running across the grain until Darwin and then Northwards into the islands.

If you had 4-6 CV helping, maybe.

I saw castor Troy try this approach in a game and while he got through, it was more like Flanders Fields than the open horizons of the Pacific.

I'd keep GJ interested in the area, and kNock on another door.

Havent seen any ACW similies recently, You are Grant against Lee, aim to be Sherman versus Johnston!

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: JeffK
I believe the DEI approach to be a very crowded one.

+1

OTOH, that also means he has the opportunity to get the IJ CV's to react into his LBA. Remember CF's game?

[goran007]

ORIGINAL: aphrochine
The big issue with this battle area is that you have no area behind your lines to hide your forces so to achieve any margin of surprise. He can monitor major ship movements through Torres and anything that comes up from Perth.

ORIGINAL: JeffK
I believe the DEI approach to be a very crowded one.

[/quote]

yep, good points... We have to assume that in month or two with all the free chinese troops he will have division+tank brigade in each of those key-close to darwin bases. With stacking limits i don't see how u can dislodge them without bombardments TF which are impossible or extremely risky.
Another aspect is huge amount of viable IJ AF tier 8-9 airfields that are packed with engineers and AA guns that actually deal damage. Also, capturing DEI when not holding Port Moresby/New Guinea brings more problems on its own...

I would suggest faking future assaults from Darwin so that he keeps building that area and invading with 4-5 divisions to some bigger land mass.

[Q-Ball]

5/8/43:

DEI:

Certainly, you guys raise good points on attacking in the DEI. Perhaps I need to reconsider. The biggest problem IMO is the surprise problem (or lack thereof), but there are others.

I picked this area mostly because I was there. I don't have the shipping to attack atolls and islands (YET....), and it's the one spot where I have some LBA cover.

This doesn't mean this is my main axis of advance. It's the axis I have right now with LBA support, so I'm staying busy here, while hopefully getting shipping together for a strike elsewhere.

If nothing else, I have his attention, and can use that later to my advantage. Regardless of what I do, I will make a major move out of Darwin.


Moa:

During the chaos of that last battle, I managed to fast transport some engineers to this base, which I had already captured via para. Subsequently, I managed to bring in a Seebee Bn, and had a Regt on the way to secure it.

Unfortunately, just a day or two late; Greyjoy apparently is counterinvading. I just needed another day or so, but sometimes that's the margin.

So, I'll lose the 4000 guys there, but there aren't any units I can't lose. The Marine Paras are almost going to disband anyway.

Attacks:

I thought about contesting the landing, but thought better of it. I would actually like a straight-up surface fight with the IJN right now, but the spot, Moa, was a bit far from my LBA and close to his. But the main factor was the presence of CVs; he could position them to clean-up any cripples the next day easily, which any ships I crippled could make port pretty easily. So, I took a pass on this.

I did put PTs, mines, and subs all over the place

Day:

I flooded the area with subs; alot of unsuccessful attacks, but one sub put a fish into KAGA, which exploded. (Unlike other hits). She isnt' burning or anything, but hopefully that's enough damage to cause her to be in port for awhile. She takes a long time to repair.

Other than that, I lost some DBs when they flew without escort (I hate that), and I am bombing the hell out of Selaroe to hopefully attract some attention there.

[aphrochine]

That's a lot of muscle. Any chance of moving forward in the Solomons as all this plays out??

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: aphrochine

That's a lot of muscle. Any chance of moving forward in the Solomons as all this plays out??

Yes...in fact I am doing so, just landed 5000 men at Thousand Ships Bay. 1 Rgt., plus enough engineers to get an airstrip going pretty quickly.

FYI, this game is temporarily on hold; Greyjoy has a huge case he is working on. He does bankruptcy work, which apparently is a growth industry in Italy these days.......

[Q-Ball]

5-11-43

We are finally back on track; Greyjoy was off for a week on a big case, and I had a pile of work anyway, so it worked out well.

Moa:

The counterinvasion at Moa worked, with 4000 of my guys surrendering. While not great, I knew that was a risk, and I took it. If he hadn't acted quickly, I would have had a division there, and eventually an airbase, but it was not to be.

Immediately after, the IJN withdrew CVs toward Soerbaya; certainly KAGA and a CVL need repairs. Intel reports HARUNA is headed to Kaveing, which means he is bringing more ships around New Guinea to the other side, for deployment in the Solomons.

This could open an opportunity for me to move again the DEI, this time with no IJN surprises. I only lost 2 transports and not that many troops, so I have everything I need to try again.

Decisions.....

Solomons:

While all that was going on, I did manage to get troops into Thousand Ships Bay. Unlike Moa, this includes combat troops who are 100% prepped for the base; I had been planning this. Kirakira is a size-4 airbase already, so I doubt he'll try a counterlanding. I hope he does, actually.

I have more troops prepped for spots further up. Given the intel above, and the presence of some CVs, I think the IJN is going to be sucked to this area for a bit. That's not a bad thing.

I've lost a couple ships getting into Thousand Ships, but nothing I cant' afford, and he's lost a whole lot of planes attacking it, mostly Zeros. Those are also very replaceable, particularly the A6M2; he's just clearing out old inventory there.

[ny59giants]

If you can get some force to the west over on Rossel Island, you can start to add more pressure to the southern part of NG. It would soon lead to making Port Moresby undefendable.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

If you can get some force to the west over on Rossel Island, you can start to add more pressure to the southern part of NG. It would soon lead to making Port Moresby undefendable.

Shhhh....that's part of the plan! Details to follow:

5/16/43

Sinking Transports:

Today we slipped a CV TF undetected to sink a whole bunch of transports around Buna and Torokina. While somewhat satisfying to sink a bunch of helpless ships, it's not that big a deal, other than what it will probably lead to. I was hoping for alot more, but one TF in particular evaded me.

None of the sunken ships was strategic, and there weren't any troops. The Empire has plenty of transports at this stage.

The main impacts will be:
1. Greyjoy will probably refine his airsearch; we were unspotted until the attack
2. I already had INTEL that HARUNA was moving toward Kaveing, which I suspect is the main base here, not Rabaul. I think he'll bring KB together there

I already see fewer planes in the DEI, so I think that big sucking sound is troops and stuff being moved to the Solomons.

Plans in the Solomons:

I hate the Solomons; I don't think they are very strategic, but it is a place you can advance using LBA mostly, and without alot of APAs or other valuable landing ships, so it's a good place to stay busy.

The plan out here is to bypass and starve major garrisons. A good example is Port Moresby; this place is garrisoned by 35,000 Japanese, including the 56th Division, one of the better ones. There is no way I'm landing directly on that!

So, we are soon landing at Terapo, which will close the Bismarck Strait. I have other units prepping for Milne, which will isolate PM by ship, though he hasn't docked anything there in 6-8 months, so they are drawing supply from Buna. But once I am in Milne Bay, and those nearby islands, he'll have to walk out of there or let them starve; either way is OK by me.

Otherwise, I think Greyjoy is abandoning the Lower Solomons below Shortlands; suddenly, there are high transport ops losses, so I think he's airlifting out some items. I am going to leave several spots alone, so the heavy equipment will rot.

The next moves are dot bases below Shortlands, easy takes that can be built up without a problem. Then, it's closer to Rabaul

I still don't know how far I'm going here, but I would rather the IJN be here than in the DEI.....

Naval Status:

I have 4 CVs operational now; YORK, HORNET, WASP, and VICTORIOUS. SARA and LEX are just leaving San Fran after repairs, and all are complete. ESSEX is coming shortly, then a bunch of CVs and CVLs in the summer. After that, we may take on KB, but not before.

I am finally getting BBs back as well; IDAHO is nearly repaired, along with INDIANA and WASHINGTON. NEVADA and OKLAHOMA should be complete in a month. Only CALIFORNIA, which suffered 80 major float damage in the Pearl Harbor attack, is more than 4 months out (She'll be done, though, in late 1943).

The IJN is pretty much intact; he's lost 2 CAs and 7 CLs and alot of DDs, but nothing big, nothing major. That's a problem.

[JohnDillworth]

We are finally back on track; Greyjoy was off for a week on a big case

Greyjoy posted this picture of his big case. Actually he did say he was busy but he had some additional best man duties

[goran007]

Why is he always posting pictures being drunk and in company of men?:-)

[Oliver Heindorf]

ORIGINAL: goran007

Why is he always posting pictures being drunk and in company of men?:-)

I asked this question myself a while ago. But maybe we just dont want to know it. And of course, we dont need to know it either.

QB: How is the situation in China ?

Gr8 AAR, really enjoying it ! [&o]

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: Oliver Heindorf

ORIGINAL: goran007

Why is he always posting pictures being drunk and in company of men?:-)

I asked this question myself a while ago. But maybe we just dont want to know it. And of course, we dont need to know it either.

QB: How is the situation in China ?

Gr8 AAR, really enjoying it ! [&o]

Actually, I haven't seen a picture of Greyjoy before. Always interesting to see opponents picture! He looks pretty loaded there, that's for sure! Greyjoy is a very gracious and excellent opponent for sure. Seems like he's living the swinging European life, while I am very boring here in the suburbs with a house, kids, dogs, etc. Yawn!

China:

Other than constant bombing, nothing is happening in China. I think Greyjoy has stopped.

I have a perimeter of lots of troops around Chungking; I have 6 hexes stacked to the max with troops. I actually need some to die or something, it's a bit of a problem finding room. Chungking is constantly overstacked until I move units out.

Kunming/Tsuyung/Paoshan is holding; I have a mountain redoubt here. While nice, he can bottle me up with a minimum of troops.

I think Greyjoy is done in China; I think he is moving units out for the Pacific, and why not. He can move 1/2 the China Army out no problem.

China is over.

5-22-43:

Interesing few days, mostly in the DEI above Darwin, and in the Solomons.

Darwin:

I have been bombarding airstrips with cruisers constantly. I am mostly hoping to burn his supplies and keep airbases closed. I have a number of ships out righ tnow as bait; so far, he isnt' buying, other than Zeros/Frances sortied a couple turns, and I shot down 50 planes or so. So that's nice.

I am planning a move here, but I want to do a couple things at once, so he has to spread his LBA out.

Solomons:

Thousand Ships Bay is secure. An IJN Fast Transport picked-up a unit at Munda; that's probably wise, because that base is untenable for him at this point. If he moves out the combat troops, I'll take it; if not, I'll bypass and isolate it.

My general plan is to mostly bypass and isolate garrisons. This is a way to tamp-down the size of the IJA, and also allows me to conqure with mostly engineers and LBA, two things I have alot of to spare.

I feel KB is out there somewhere around Kaveing, based on that intel report from a few days ago. I am being careful not to expose anything I can't lose.

We are going to land a division at Tulagi; mostly, I want the port for later uses, so we're going to take it.

[Sardaukar]

You could try to get Tagula and Rossel Islands, to put some pressure on GreyJoy. Also, some of those other dot-bases close by might become useful.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

You could try to get Tagula and Rossel Islands, to put some pressure on GreyJoy. Also, some of those other dot-bases close by might become useful.

Taluga and Rossel are actually garrisoned.......and I don't have troops prepped. I have 2 divisions prepping for Milne Bay, though, and another 2 for Torokina.

The other dot bases, Rekata Bay, and Vella Lavella, are empty, and next on the list. Just getting the troops moved up to plant on them. As much as possible I want to advance on empty bases; Thousand Ships and Kirakira were both empty when I landed. Not only is this easier, but it bypasses the garrisoned bases, making those units useless. They are better off to me starving in place then being destroyed, because destroyed units can be rebuilt.

As the Allies, you have so many engineers, it doesn't even matter if the base has ZERO port potential; you can bang out a lvl-1 port, enough to support an airbase. Allied Engineering is one of the best weapons they have.....

5-28-43

Solomons Fun:

We landed at Tulagi, the 7th US Infantry Div, and an Australian Tank Regt. The Garrison is 10th Garrison Unit (a light Brigade-sized unit), and an SNLF. These guys stopped the first assault at 1-2, but they suffered 40 disabled squads in the process, so I think the next attack will be able to knock the forts down. I am bombing it every day, and they are isolated, so it's only a matter of time.

We also got lucky off Thousand Ships; a couple DDs that were moving to intercept shipping at Munda were caught by IJN LBA. How is this lucky? Leaky Cap from Thousand Ships shot down 15 planes, and the DDs escaped without loss. Nice!

We are loading up men for Rekata Bay, which is undefended. I will land in about 3-4 days. After that's a size-1 or 2 airstrip, we'll land at Vella Lavella.

Again, the point here is to do all this without CV support. We can't take on KB right now.

Tabiteua:

This base is built-up enough to move out of it. This is real sideshow that I don't care about, but I have plenty of engineers, so why not land them somewhere to move the ball slightly? I might as well.

Abemama and Ocean Is are empty; we will land engineers there, and give is a couple months to build, before moving on.

DEI:

We also posted a couple DDs south of Babar; this time, instead of leakers, it was a genuine CAP-trap. We have shot down about 40 planes for little loss, as IJN Torpedo bombers attempted to sink the DDs. Torpedo bombers rarely hit DDs, so this is a futile task for sure.

We are trying to get him to pull his CAP in a bit, making it easier for the next move

PT Boats:

Greyjoy asked about the PT boats I have at Samlauki and Babar. I admit that's a bit far from home-base; I've been fueling them from DDs. I've agreed to stop doing that, and only use PTs within 6 hexes of a base, and refuel them from the base. Seems more realistic.

From Thousand Ships, though, Munda is within range, so I'm using them there......

[Q-Ball]

5-30-43:

Air Losses:

I screwed up air settings for my group of 4Es at Darwin, and accidently ran them into a buzzsaw over Boela. 38 of my bombers bit the dust! That was VERY bad. I am producing 48 a month, and not quite keeping up with losses.

On the bright side, we have inflicted alot of losses on the IJN Air, intentional and unintentional. We need to test the limits of Greyjoy's settings, so I am setting CAP traps with DDs and other ships. I also am sending out various TFs to confuse my intentions. One of the traps, though, was totally untintentional; the DDs ended up where I didn't want them, but leaky CAP from Thousand Ships protected them anyway. Sometimes, leakers work in your favor.

I had moved 2 CVEs to Darwin, to provide an advanced air platform for Hellcats. So far this is working, as the Hellcats have racked-up over 100 kills between them. These are two replenishment CVEs, I moved the DBs off of them to make them fighter-only platforms.

I have to be careful; if KB ever shows, they'll plaster these CVEs, so I need to keep them close to Darwin, and under an LBA LRCAP umbrella, which I am.

Landings:

I should be landing at Rekata Bay shortly. I don't see how Greyjoy can stop it without committing KB, and even then he'll lose a bunch of planes. He'll probably allow me to keep crawling up the Solomons like that, until I get close to Rabaul.

We are also planning a landing at Terapo, which should also go off without a hitch other than air opposition.

CVs

My carrier situation should improve within the next 3 months, allowing me to take-on KB.

SARA and LEX are approaching Noumea, and ESSEX is about to appear. I have 3 more CVEs headed west from the US Coast. More importantly, there is a big chunk of CVs that come in the summer of 1943. Those will tip the balance.

Tough decision, but I decided to send REPULSE in for a 3-month upgrade of AA. I hate to lose her for 3 months, but she'll come out with enough AA power to replace one of the fast USN BBs as a CV escort, and allow me to use the USN Fast BBs for bombardments.

Repairs on IDAHO are complete, and NEVADA/OKLAHOMA are finishing an AA upgrade within a month. WASHINGTON and INDIANA are 15 days from completion of repairs. Once all these are done, only CALIFORNIA will remain in the yards.

[Capt. Harlock]

I am producing 48 a month, and not quite keeping up with losses.

That seems a tad low for May '43. Do you mean you're producing 48 Liberators per month, and not counting Fortresses?