See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

[apbarog]

We can all agree that we certainly learn some geography playing AE. But that doesn't mean we have to learn spelling!

Walker may still be on his travels. I'm guessing that I could receive a turn over the weekend.

[Macclan5]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

27 May 43

I'm not sure if I will invade Dili directly or unload everything at Lautem and avoid the disruption. There is a trail between the bases, so movement wouldn't take too long. I'll decide tomorrow.

Recon shows about a division's worth of troops at Dili, so it will be a tougher fight.

Koepang, by the way, shows over 30,000 men.

Congrats Ser A ! Well managed.

I would tend to agree about bringing in the 32rd unload at Lautem and march them to Dili; its one hex with a road and you face a division. Further while your recon has been rock solid there could be heavy mortar, Japanese armor or something else there that would be nasty to unload on top of.

More bombardments at Koepang to keep the Oscars at bay and you away you go.

Well done.

--

Some questions about your strategic planning if I can bother you [:D]

As I recall looking back a thread you have the 2nd Marine going into Soemba and the 2nd British Division to go on the extreme left flank as part of the last phase; possibly you envision this as a base to leap frog / bomb into Soerabja.

Given that you have a Division at Dili and 30000 at Koepang are you considering shortening the line ?

I mean 1st Marine and 24th USArmy may end up engaging in a costly attrition war at Koepang. Not much room to land there except on top of the IJArmy.

Ser Walker is certain to have some bombers @ Kendari that will reach you and hit enough to cause disruption / supply fatigue. Further I suspect he is holding the BB/CA task force for a nightly bombardment run at full speed just to disrupt your invasion force. Therefore lots of "commitment" that requires in terms of CAP / convoy runs if it becomes a siege.

Has Koepang made you think about bypassing it and encirclement ? i.e. getting the 4 "side by side" bases behind to the north west i.e. Flores Island and Endeh?

Any plans to bypass and cut off?

Or is the so called "ABDA line" from Dobo to Soerabaja sort of the key to your long term plans to strike the insufferable empire down [8D]

<< Wavell's ABDA line was technically Singapore to Darwin but is in essence what you have achieved ! >>

[apbarog]

Good analysis Macclan5.

Lautem, Dili, and Wetar make a small, compact triangle of bases, each 1 hex from the others. They can become sizable airbases. That's my first objective. If I did nothing for the next year, which obviously is silly, but if I did nothing, B-29s from here can threaten a lot of oil production. But I will use these bases to support further landings.

I will probably bypass Koepang, at least initially, and land at Waingapoe (sp?) and Denpassar to the west. I would expect Walker to then start flying troops out of Koepang, as he has done elsewhere. At some point, I may do the Koepang landing. It's a very nice sized base to have.

As for long term plans, just about every division-sized unit is prepping for something. The downside for a broad advance is that I'm not prepping much for the phase after that advance. I have a division at Darwin that could be used when I feel that Darwin could not be threatened. Milne Bay has a division, but it needs to stay there and hold that critical base. I will be getting new units fairly soon. Then I'll be choosing an axis of advance beyond the "ABDA line", as you say.

I just like the idea of bases from Denpassar (Bali) to New Guinea. I can go every direction from there. Just threatening Java directly will probably tie down multiple enemy divisions. I know from SigInt that one of the enemy tank divisions is there.

Also, having the big Indian para LRP units in the theater will give me more options for some sizable paratroop drops. I'm prepping a few of those too. Should they occur, these would be deep drops, meant to give a new point of focus to Walker. I like to provide him an obvious point to attack, while the meaningful landings occur a bit closer to my lines. This strategy has kept my real invasion losses very low, so far. Of course, I did lose Taberfane and Dobo after taking them, but giving him those points to focus on drew KB away from Rabaul and let me take all of Southern New Guinea. So losses do occur.

In summary, yes, my "ABDA line" is my primary focus.

[apbarog]

28 May 43

Unloading continues at Lautem without interference.

Cruisers Pensacola and Louisville bombard Koepang, an it's an excellent bombardment. Over 600 casualties, 17 airbase hits and 47 runway hits, and combined with the daylight bombing, 10 TOnys and 10 Oscars were destroyed on the ground. Nothing flew from Koepang today.

Minewsweepers continue to clear mines at Lautem.

As the Koepang bombardment force withdrew towards Darwin, I-181 spots the ships, and gets a torpedo hit on Pensacola. Damage is not severe (SYS 16/FLOT 18-10), but is enough to force a trip for repairs.

Louisville was then also spotted by I-24, which got a torpedo hit on it, but it was a dud.

The ground assault at Lautem goes flawlessly, with the Allies overwhelming the 1st Sasebo SNLF Coy and the 35th Construction Co. Both units are eliminated. The Allies have the following at Lautem:

640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
18th British Division
3rd Heavy AA Regiment
II US Fighter Cmnd
41st MAG
11th US Naval Construction Battalion
I Marine Amphib Corps
12th USN Naval Construction Regiment

More units are about to arrive, including the full set of units prepped for Dili. They will land at Lautem and take the trail to Dili. I decided that the slight delay for the attack is more than offset by avoiding the contested landing.

Wetar, northwest of Lautem and northeast of Dili, will be invaded today.

No sign of KB for awhile. Not seen since Hiyo took a torpedo near Babeldaob. KB could be back in Japan by now, headed to the Aleutians, off to raid Pearl Harbor, who knows. I would have tried very hard to counter a landing on Timor, immediately. It's already too late, really. The airfield is operational (size 1), and I've moved 2 fighter squadrons there. If the surface group at Kendari comes south, hopefully my large Fletcher destroyer task force will protect the ongoing landings.

With my APAs headed back to Darwin, I am going to load them with big SW Pacific HQ and ship it to Lautem. The HQ has a range of 9, and is currently prepping for Dili. From Lautem, it can help with possible landings in a number of directions. After that, it will be about time for the next landing.

[apbarog]

I did note that I'll get a couple of non-restricted divisions soon. In 11 days, the 4th Marine Division arrives, and in 15 days, the 1st Cavalry Division.

Walker has said that we'll be exchanging daily turns for the next few days, but then he will be off traveling again, and his next trip is lengthy, with him returning in mid-August. I'll have about 4 weeks to go through my turn in every minute way.

[apbarog]

While invading Lautem, APA American Legion grounded on the rocks. Damage is very severe, with SYS 4/FLOT 96-87/ENG 7. The ship did completely unload its troops, and now the ship is disbanded in the size 1 port. It will take some luck for it to survive. Also, damaged sub S-39 has been limping south from the Ternate area. It is SYS 40/FLOT 75-31/ENG 15, and is 3 hexes from Lautem. It is 5 hexes from Babar, its original destination, but S-39 is now diverting to Lautem.

There are still mines at Lautem. 2 DMS are working on them. Walker uses multiple subs in task forces, loaded with mines and just waiting for the right time to drop. Like as the invasion shipping approaches. Minesweepers are necessary for landings, no doubt.

I did recon of Soerbaja yesterday. 675 vehicles were there. I suspect that the armored division mentioned on Java previously is now at Soerbaja.

[apbarog]

29 May 43

The last of the mines are swept at Lautem.

East of Saipan, sub Scamp runs across a very odd task force:

Japanese Ships
TK Nissan Maru
PB Kyo Maru #8
AS Jingei
AD Shintoku Maru
AV Panama Maru
AV Akitsushima
AG Mamiya
AKV Tonegawa Maru
AKE Tokai Maru
TK Kozui Maru
ACM Wa 5
xAK Toryu Maru
xAK Taizan Maru
xAK Naniwa Maru
xAK Iwashiro Maru
xAKL Turusima Maru
E W-10
E Hato
PB Sonan Maru #5

Looks like a task force formed from a base evacuated. Or maybe just ships headed to the front. This encounter was a few hexes southeast of Saipan, in an area that looks like a movement from Japan to Truk, or vice versa.

Anyhow, Scamp fired 2 torpedoes at a tiny TK, got one hit, and it was a dud.

2 hexes northeast of Kendari, sub Haddo finds a surface group with battleship Haruna and 3 cruisers, fires 4 torpedoes at DD Kazegumo, and misses.

Moa, an unoccupied dot base east of Lautem, is invaded.

Wetar, an unoccupied dot base northwest of Lautem, is invaded.

Heavy bombers hit Koepang, again, destroying 3 Oscars and 3 Tonys on the ground.

B-25s hit troops at Dili. The 11th Garrison Unit is found there.

DE Decoy gets a good attack on I-28 near Lautem, but not good enough to sink her.

Today, the US carriers will retire to Darwin. Unloading at Lautem should finish today. The ships at Wetar and Moa will leave also. Troops unloaded at Lautem will start marching to Dili tomorrow.

[apbarog]

30 May 43

2 enemy destroyers find my minefield at Namlea, adjacent to Ambon. Neither hit a mine. This task force continued on to Ambon, where it was spotted during the day as 7 ships with 3 light cruisers. Looks like a surface group ready to run into Lautem.

Northwest of Ambon a few hexes, sub Jack find a task force with an AD and an AKE. Jack fires on a subchaser and misses, then attacks again, and does the same thing.

Near Koepang, S-42 fires 4 torpedoes at I-181, and misses.

Koepang is bombed by a small number of B-24s. 2 more Tonys are destroyed.

Dili's airfield is bombed by B-25s.

Bettys from Nick fly from Rabaul, escorted by Zeros and Nicks. They attack PT boats at Finschhafen, but all bombs miss. Interesting. Bombs, not torpedoes. And they bombed at 17000 feet. Curious.

Wetar and Moa are taken. Building begins. Troops start to move from Lautem to Dili. All invasion shipping leaves Lautem today, having unloaded almost all of the troops. Some vehicles and bulkier items are still loaded. They will be reloaded on smaller ships later at Darwin.

US carriers retire to Normanton, to sit unobserved for awhile, waiting for the next round of invasions.

I expect one more turn from Walker sometime in the next week, then no turns until mid-August.

[Macclan5]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

30 May 43

2 enemy destroyers find my minefield at Namlea, adjacent to Ambon. Neither hit a mine. This task force continued on to Ambon, where it was spotted during the day as 7 ships with 3 light cruisers. Looks like a surface group ready to run into Lautem.


Bettys from Nick fly from Rabaul, escorted by Zeros and Nicks. They attack PT boats at Finschhafen, but all bombs miss. Interesting. Bombs, not torpedoes. And they bombed at 17000 feet. Curious.


I expect one more turn from Walker sometime in the next week, then no turns until mid-August.

1) Yep [8D]

About the only counter he has.

Your ABDA line invasion is very well executed! As you say with your bases built up you can strike in so many directions; he has to shorten his line sooner or later.

2) Yep [8D]

Perhaps that weird TF your sub ran across was troops (in AKs) and more importantly supplies for Buna. You may have missed the flotilla of APs on their way to liberate the trapped armies in New Guinea. Even direction-ally looks about right for the counter strike

3) [:(]

[8D]

[apbarog]

31 May 43

With my minefield at Namlea, adjacent to Ambon, discovered, a tiny enemy minesweeper moves in and starts to clear the field. The minefield claimed a patrol boat the other day.

Enemy cruisers and destroyers bombard Wetar. The ships came from Kendari and are returning there. Wetar is the dot base just north of Dili and Lautem. The bombardment is fairly good, causing almost 300 casualties, almost all of which are disruptions. The port is hit 37 times and port supply is hit 9 times. But I'm happy that Wetar was bombarded and not Lautem. Wetar will build up to a big airbase, and support Timor, but Lautem is where the action is, with lots of troops in movement mode on the trail to Dili. Wetar is the current forward point of interest for Walker and I'm happy with that.

Near Babar, destroyer Waller finds I-18 and gets a couple of minor hits. During the day, planes may have gotten a hit or two on this sub. I have SBDs and Bolos flying ASW in the area now. Lots of enemy subs being lit up.

In the shallow water, east of Soerbaja, destroyer Tachikaze finds Dutch sub KXVI, but gets no hits. The sub misses the destroyer with 4 torpedoes. With destroyers actively searching for subs here (it appears), it's time to move out of the shallows. I wanted to at least appear that I am willing to put subs in the shallows. Most of the time, this isn't wise. In my opinion.

Some bombers switch back to hitting Taberfane and Dobo's airfields, just to keep them damaged. No enemy flak is observed at either base, even with B-25s bombing at 6000 feet. Maybe no supply? There are divisional elements here, so there should be at least some flak.

Some bombers continue to hit Koepang's airfield, destroying a couple more Oscars and Tonys.

And near Palembang, enemy patrol boats find sub Pike, but get no hits. Again, it's time to move the sub out of the shallows.

Nothing else to report really. US carriers move to Normanton to hide for awhile. They're not needed right now. KB is still missing. I've increased PBY search in New Guinea, moving a squadron to Lae. I am now spotting ships north of Manus, but see just patrol boats. I'm more vulnerable to a surprise northeast of Guadalcanal and north of Ndeni. Less warning time.

This turn was the last I will receive for about a month. Walker is doing some extensive traveling. I will certainly take my time doing this turn. Over the next 4 weeks, I'll do a comprehensive summary of all of the regions of the map. Just to keep my sanity! I have to keep my head in the game. No, I WANT to keep my head in the game. It's just part of my daily routine, so it will be difficult to do without for so long. I'll give some thoughts as to what I'm planning, and probably list out units and objectives.

CV Essex and CV Victorious are still making their way to Australia, and it will be a few months until more Essex class start arriving. So, reinforcements are picking up, but we're not to the stage where we have carrier superiority.

So, it's time to hunker down and do OPR's on the leaders of all of the units, and lots of other detail in the game.

[apbarog]

31 May 43 (continued)

I spent several days working on this turn. I won't receive another turn from Walker until sometime in mid-August, so I could have taken longer. But I will be upgrading to Windows 10 shortly, and I didn't want to take any chances with upgrading mid-turn. Spent too much time on the turn and didn't want to lose my work. So now we wait...

As for today, the enemy task force that bombarded Wetar is returning to Kendari. All transports have left Wetar and Lautem and are returning to Darwin.

I spent a lot of time planning. With the beginning of June, many cargo ships have upgrades, and many will start those immediately. Various other ships will do the same. US subs have an upgrade now. They will do so as they return to base for fuel and torpedoes. Their upgrades can be done anywhere.

I planned out my next phase of invasions, and got shipping and units moving to make these happen.

I've circled in black all the bases on the map that I currently have units prepping for. I can't say that all of them will be invaded, but they could be. The order is to be determined but I have a pretty good idea what I am going to do.

Some paras will be involved. I've brought 2 small transport squadrons from India, C-87 transports. They are essentially B-24s. I don't know if they could have dropped paras in real life, but have about 12 planes total that I will use. They have very nice range, about double the C-47s. I hope to take a base or two that isn't even on the map with them.

Koepang will initally be bypassed. I have substantial forces prepping for Koepang, and they will continue to prep for that target. But if I land there, it will be later rather than sooner. I can keep the base suppressed. I expect Walker to eventually start ferrying troops out by air. At some point, it will become easier to invade and take the important base.

Darwin will be my primary point of embarkation. I am juggling units there. Some units, like most of those prepping for Koepang, are moving inland to Fenton to await further orders. With stacking limits, I have to be careful what is at Darwin and when. Units will stage there when it is their turn to embark.

I'll document all of the parts of the map sometime in the next few weeks, while we wait for a turn.

[Macclan5]

Thank you APB ~ very thorough and great update.

A very fine and detailed map. At a glance it would appear that Ser Walker has created 'fortress' Kendari is 'Rabul West'. Further there are no real roads as I recall into Kendari so supply shipping must come via Soerabaja or points north west around the horn so to speak. Your ring of bases around should be very effective in isolating the threat.

I assume after the rearm / refuel / update of the submarine corps you will shift deployment of them ? I note your dislike for shallows. Deep waters west of Maakasar could allow you to dash in and out into the shallows around Soerabaja for example...??

Good luck with a couple of weeks of relaxation and thank you for this AAR. Most educational.

[apbarog]

Thanks Macclan5.

There are a few really talented writers doing AARs. Not being one of them, I stick to the events of the day and my thoughts about them. A map always helps the summary. I hope that my postings are interesting enough. Before writing this AAR, I was a forum lurker, reading AARs every day but posting little. I can tell that there are many lurkers out there. Hopefully this is interesting enough, and may have a few pearls of wisdom here and there. I've played many games as the Japanese, but this is my first AE game as the Allies. There's always more to learn.

If I keep Koepang suppressed, it won't matter how many divisions he has there. I'll go around it and clear it out later.

I have started shifting some of my subs. I have a few west of Japan now, as well as a couple by Formosa, and several between Borneo and Thailand, hoping to pick off a tanker or two. Having Darwin as a sub base has made this possible. I'll get very serious about hunting merchants and tankers in October, when the final dud torpedo penalty goes away.

My subs recently near Soerbaja, Balikpapan, and Makassar were in the shallows, but Walker has a high level of aircraft ASW from Waingapoe to Makassar to Balikpapan to Soerbaja. Just not safe to be in those shallows.

[Macclan5]

Dont sell yourself short. [8D]

I 'lurk' and follow all the Allied AARs. Read many archived ones as well when Santa brought me the game. I try to minimize my being too much a contributor so PM me if I am bothering your flow.

--

Your AAR is very well written, forward looking, nice notes especially vis a vis Order of Battle. i.e. 1st Marine Div >> here...

Extended results of battles are fine mixed into the AAR ~ but Maps / OOB / Spotting ~ Search results really spice up the AAR as I can "see myself in your shoes".

In honesty your current time period helps generate my enthusiasm as the Allies and Axis are very finely balanced by mid 1943. This is the crucial period where decisions have consequences latter on.

[BBfanboy]

+1 - I read every update but you seem to have everything under control so I make no suggestions or comments most of the time. Keep up the good work!

[apbarog]

Still waiting for Walker to return from his around-the-world travels. He had said that he'd be back mid-August, so I'm guessing that he'll be back next week some time. It will be interesting looking at the turn after several weeks of being away from the game. I spent a great deal of time with the last turn. It will take some effort to get back into the game. Like, why is this task force heading here?

I do know that I'm preparing for the next round of invasions. I'm looking forward to that. I expect to be spotted moving into position for that, but then I will be making move that, I hope, will make it look like I'm doing something when I'm really doing something else. More to come.

[Macclan5]

I find it tough after one day away ! [8D]

It wasn't so bad in early 1942 but by 1943 the sheer amount of ships/squadrons/brigade began to overwhelm me.

I have recently taken to a plain old pencil and paper (note book) and I make notes on "strategic objectives" next 3 months. Note which troops are in transit for which objective. i.e. ships / air squadrons / LCU

Every month end I look at what I planned / how it progressed / or changed due to some unforseen event. Then I update it again.

Sort of rolling "fiscal quarter planning" ... a kind of Banker's typical tool.

[apbarog]

I've heard from Walker, and he is back from his trip. We hope to be resuming the war tomorrow. I'd thought about updating region by region, but to be honest, there's nothing going on anywhere except around Timor and New Guinea, and mostly around Timor. I do look forward to the daily turns again, but I have to be honest. After breaking my addiction after a week of no turns, I started to not mind the lack of turns so much. I'll need to spend some extra time on the first turn to reacquaint myself with what is going where, and why.

So, hopefully a turn tomorrow.

[IdahoNYer]

will be good to see the campaign back again!

[apbarog]

1 Jun 43

Back to the war!

Just west of Nagasaki, 6 destroyers are spotted. Not an ASW task force, too big. Escorting something,probably. A check of the Ops Report shows that CV Soryu was not sunk, and was spotted at 100,59. Just west of Nagasaki. Knowing that one carrier is near Japan is a good thing to know.

Enemy cruisers Tone, Atago, and Agano, with 3 destroyers, move quickly to Salamaua. They find a KV and 6 xAKLs, and sink them all. The ships were not loaded with men, thankfully. I think they were bringing in supply. The enemy then bombards the base causing over 200 casualties, and there were some squads lost. Minor damage was done to the airfield and port. Then, on the way home to Rabaul, the enemy runs into 6 PT boats at Finschhafen. The fight starts at 4,000 yards, despite being daylight, due to thunderstorms. Several PT boats launch torpedoes, but all miss. 4 of the 6 PT boats were sunk. It was a successful raid for these enemy ships.

At Koepang, 12 B-24s bomb the port, and hit an ACM there, sinking it.

A couple of heavy squadrons bombed Taberfane's airfield, doing minor damage.

Today, more shipping will arrive at Lautem, bring the SW Pacific HQ, and a big port support unit.

US carriers will arrive at Normanton, where they will wait for the ships carrying a Brit division, coming from Townsville. The Brits will arrive at Townsville today and will start loading tomorrow. Then it's off to Darwin to reload for a new invasion target.

It's good to be back in the game again. My Windows 10 conversion has been successful, so the war goes on.