All of this power and their national will seems to be stronger than ours

[SierraJuliet]

28 December 1942

CHINA

Kukong is bombed – 1 airbase supply hit and 8 runway hits.

Chungking is bombed – 3 airbase hits and 11 runway hits.

Kienko is bombed – 1 airbase hit and 15 runway hits.

Japanese bombard at Kukong.
Attacking force 6891 troops, 48 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 247
Defending force 45767 troops, 265 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1557

Japanese bombard at Sining.
Attacking force 5847 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 210
Defending force 11930 troops, 75 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 454

INDIA

6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion at Srinagar is bombed – 64 casualties (1 non-combat squad destroyed).

1st Mahzbi Sikh Battalion at Srinagar is bombed – 48 casualties.

Colombo is bombed.

Colombo Fortress at Colombo is bombed – 7 casualties.

That American sub is still at it. Shoots and misses agasint DMS W-6 at 28,48 near Colombo.

Japanese Ships

DMS W-6
DD Fuyo

Allied Ships

SS Haddock

Success at 38,6 near Karachi.

Japanese Ships

SS I-172, hits 3

Allied Ships

xAK Tricolor, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Jupiter

Japanese deliberate attack at Srinagar.
Attacking force 630 troops, 0 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 53
Defending force 744 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 21

Japanese adjusted assault: 48
Allied adjusted defense: 31

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), supply(-)
Attacker:

Allied ground losses:

30 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:

4th Tank Regiment

Defending units:

1st Mahzbi Sikh Battalion
6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion

AUSTRALIA

15th RAAF Base Force at 97,129 near Port Moresby is bombed – 14 casualties.




Repairs completed on DD Kiku at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Susuki at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Tsuta at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Asagao at Tokyo, ship returned to service.

Allied Level Bomber sighted over Heiho.

Temporary flotation repairs failing aboard SS I-168.

AK Awazisan Maru beginning refit in shipyard at Tokyo.

xAK Tricolor is reported to have been sunk near Karachi on Dec 28, 1942.

[SierraJuliet]

ORIGINAL: savelius2

How are things looking on the VP side? Any chance of some maps to show what's going on as 1942 draws to a close? It would help someone inexperienced like me contextualize the last bunch of updates.

Hi there savelius2. I'm just 2 days short of getting the AAR completely up to date again. We have one turn left to complete the year 1942. As of 30 December 1942 the Victory Points according to tracker stand at 4:444 to 1 in favour of Japan. Auto victory does indeed appear to be the order of the day. Todd, though, is one player who really does go in for the long haul. Even though he has had the rough end of the stick for over a year now he continues to look to the future. At the moment he has his sights set on seeing what shape he is in come June/July of '43. So for the foreseeable future this struggle will be continuing on... it should be interesting with the Allies growing in strength but also racing the clock to make up masses of lost ground and ocean.

I will get maps out for you in the next day or two. Family and shift work really makes keeping this AAR up to date in the manner in which I would like to do quite the demanding experience.

[SierraJuliet]

29 December 1942

INDIA

Japanese Night Naval bombardment of Colombo.

Japanese Ships

BB Ise
BB Fuso

Allied ground losses:

111 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (2 destroyed, 3 disabled)
Vehicles lost 6 (2 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Light Industry hits 1
Manpower hits 1
Fires 233
Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 38
Port hits 12
Port fuel hits 1

We lose one of our submarines at 38,7 near Karachi. Hunted down by the little British vessels.

Japanese Ships

SS RO-64, hits 12, heavy damage

Allied Ships

ML No. 245
ML No. 303
ML No. 269

6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion at Srinagar is bombed – 70 casualties.

1st Mahzbi Sikh Battalion at Srinagar is bombed – 33 casualties (2 combat squads destroyed).

Calcutta is bombed – 5 casualties and 1 port hit.

CHINA

Kukong is bombed – 5 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 17 runway hits.

Chengtu is bombed – 302 casualties (1 combat squad and 1 engineer squad destroyed), 1 airbase hit and 25 runway hits.

Kienko is bombed – 2 airbase hits and 15 runway hits.

Chungking is bombed – 6 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 39 runway hits.

Sining is bombed – 2 airbase hits and 4 runway hits.

Japanese bombard at Kukong.
Attacking force 6891 troops, 48 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 247
Defending force 45755 troops, 264 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1554

Japanese bombard at Sining.
Attacking force 5847 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 210
Defending force 11937 troops, 75 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 455

AUSTRALIA

15th RAAF Base Force at 97,129 near Port Moresby is bombed 14 casualties.



Repairs completed on DD Akigumo at Nagasaki/Sasebo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Takanami at Nagasaki/Sasebo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Sanae at Tokyo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Yugumo at Nagasaki/Sasebo, ship returned to service.

Allied Aircraft sighted over Seishin.
Allied Aircraft sighted over Heiho.

Ace pilot Uehara, S. of 251 Ku S-1 Det A is promoted to PO1.

DD Yugumo beginning refit in shipyard at Nagasaki/Sasebo.
DD Akigumo beginning refit in shipyard at Nagasaki/Sasebo.
DD Takanami beginning refit in shipyard at Nagasaki/Sasebo.

Previous report of sinking of BB Maryland incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service. Intel is now correctly reporting the BB Revenge is sunk.

Loss of SS RO-64 on Dec 29, 1942 is admitted.

xAKL Bust is reported to have been sunk near Singapore on Dec 23, 1941.

[SierraJuliet]

30 December 1942

INDIA

Japanese Night Naval bombardment of Colombo.

Japanese Ships

CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Myoko
CL Jintsu

Allied ground losses:

16 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Runway hits 6
Port hits 1

Colombo is bombed.

Colombo Fortress at Colombo is bombed.

6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion at Srinagar is bombed – 48 casualties (1 combat squad and 1 non-combat squad destroyed).

1st Mahzbi Sikh Battalion at Srinagar is bombed – 5 casualties.

Calcutta is bombed.

Japanese deliberate attack at Srinagar.

Attacking force 630 troops, 0 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value = 52
Defending force 568 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 4

Japanese adjusted assault: 49
Allied adjusted defense: 7

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Srinagar !!!

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

Allied ground losses:

166 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units retreated 2

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:

4th Tank Regiment

Defending units:

6/18th Royal Garwal Battalion
1st Mahzbi Sikh Battalion

CHINA

30th Chinese Corps at Chengtu is bombed – 410 casualties (3 combat squads and 3 non-combat squads destroyed), 3 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 26 runway hits.

Kienko is bombed – 7 airbase hits, 3 airbase hits and 21 runway hits.

Sining is bombed – 3 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 12 runway hits.

Tuyun is bombed – 4 runway hits.

Japanese bombard at Kukong.
Attacking force 6891 troops, 48 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 247
Defending force 45747 troops, 264 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1555

Japanese bombard at Sining.
Attacking force 5856 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 211
Defending force 11933 troops, 75 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 455



Repairs completed on DD Kuretake at Tokyo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on xAK Kano Maru at Tokyo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on xAK Kirishima Maru at Tokyo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on xAK Myoko Maru at Tokyo, ship returned to service.

Allied Aircraft sighted over Seishin.
Allied Aircraft sighted over Heiho.

DD Hayashio beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore.
DD Amatsukaze beginning refit in shipyard at Singapore.

[SierraJuliet]

31 December 1942

INDIA

Haddock continues to spray torpedoes at 28,48 near Colombo. One day she is going to score a hit.

Japanese Ships

DD Mutsuki
DD Ayanami

Allied Ships

SS Haddock

1st Mahzbi Sikh Battalion at 59,8 near Srinagar is bombed – 13 casualties.

Northern Command at 58,7 near Rawalpindi is bombed – 3 casualties.

Calcutta is bombed.

CHINA

Kukong is bombed – 5 runway hits.

Chengtu is bombed – 169 casualties (1 combat squad destroyed). 1 airbase hit and 22 runway hits.

Kienko is bombed – 2 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 24 runway hits.

71st Chinese Corps at Chengtu is bombed – 59 casualties.

Sining is bombed – 2 airbase hits and 7 runway hits.

Tuyun is bombed – 5 runway hits.

Japanese bombard at Kukong.
Attacking force 6900 troops, 48 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 248
Defending force 45752 troops, 264 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1563

Japanese bombard at Sining.
Attacking force 5856 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 211
Defending force 11921 troops, 75 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 454

AUSTRALIA

15th RAAF Base Force at 97,129 near Port Moresby is bombed.



Temporary flotation repairs failing aboard AV Kiyokawa Maru.

Repairs completed on AK Hirokawa Maru at Kobe, ship returned to service
Repairs completed on AK Sagami Maru at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on AK Kinka Maru at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on AK Kyushu Maru at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on AK Tosan Maru at Kobe, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Akizuki at Nagasaki/Sasebo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on DD Shigure at Singapore, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on TK Arima Maru #4 at Singapore, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on xAK Kagu Maru at Tokyo, ship returned to service.
Repairs completed on CVE Unyo at Trincomalee, ship returned to service.

Allied Aircraft sighted over Seishin.
Allied Aircraft sighted over Heiho.

67th Sentai arrives at Kushiro.

61st JNAF AF Unit arrives at Tokyo.

[SierraJuliet]

It is a fleeting thing but a short celebratory moment as the auto victory message flashes up on the screen.

1943 is upon me and the game moves into a dangerous new phase for my, so far, victorious forces. The Allied war machine is ramping up and stern tests await.

[SierraJuliet]

The current situation at Colombo sees 15 Allied units, centred on 18th British Division, holed up behind level 6 forts. They are being subject to regular naval bombardments from BBs Fuso, Yamashiro, Ise and Hyuga based at Cochin and CAs Myoko, Nachi, Suzuya and Kumano based at Trincomalee. On the ground we have 6 Divisions and a few engineer units (AV 2792) backed up by artillery and 25th Army HQ. Supply is very good with 83800 in reserve at Trincomalee. Bombing of Colombo is in the hands of 60th and 75th Sentai flying Ki-49-IIa Helens. Due the heavy flak they are bombing from above 20 000 feet resulting in sporadic hits and even the odd lost bomber.

We have almost sealed off all the hexes into Colombo but one is still open. This will be sealed off within the next week as 8th Tank Regiment moves in from Koggala. 4th Division bore the brunt of the first attack at Colombo and has been withdrawn and will soon make the transit to the Indian mainland. 1st Tank Division will arrive at Trincomalee on 2 January and within the next week 18th Division (currently at Surat in strat mode 466 AV 100% prepped for Colombo) will also arrive. I am weighing up whether to attack once 8th Tank Rgt arrives or to await the arrival of 1st Tank and 18th Div.

Carrier support based at Trincomalee is based around CVs Junyo and Hiyo, CVL Ryujo and CVEs Taiyo, Unyo and Hosho.

[SierraJuliet]

Addu has been regularly showing a couple of ships here recently. It is tempting to send the carriers out and see if they can whack them. This desire is tempered by the lack of knowledge I have as to exactly what is out there. Diego Garcia is completely off my radar. I expect that there has been reinforcements of these two islands since they were taken back and I cannot discount Allied carriers lurking (let alone LBA) and waiting to pounce as I over reach myself.

[SierraJuliet]

After Operation Comet was stonewalled at Multan and Jodphur all has gone quiet in this sector. Jodphur currently has 999AV in residing behind level 5.45 forts. Multan has 476AV behind level 5.12 forts. I’ve drawn down fairly heavily on the AV at both bases in order to support the assault on Colombo. I did so in the expectation that Todd would take some time here to recover from the treatment his divisions received during Comet. It is quite the risk though as he has a daunting amount of armour and I learnt during Comet just how fast that lot can move.

It does appear though that there has been some movement of units from Hyderabad (Sindh) back to Karachi… R & R perhaps. I can’t help thinking thought that there is planning going on here for an amphibious assault on one of the west coast Indian bases. I’m thin on the ground there and it must be an attractive option for Todd as he contemplates how to open up a new line of offensive in India. After Comet I think he will be unlikely to repeat an attempt to assault Jodphur and Multan. That is of course a direct assault. If he was to come at me with a view to bypassing these fortified bases I would have big issues. For the present time though I am inclined to think a west coast assault is a possibility. Then again Todd may be happy to bide his time here and look to other points on the bigger map… there is plenty of opportunity around.

Karachi is showing 33 units (98320 troops, 768 guns and 1066 AFV + 78 fighters, 175 bombers and 81 auxiliary).

Hyderabad (Sindh) shows 38 fighters, 7 bombers and 5 auxiliaries.

[SierraJuliet]

In the Himalayan region of India all bases have been captured. 5 British units (the survivors from Rawalpindi and Srinagar) have begun their attempt to extricate themselves and find safety. They will be further roughed up by aerial bombing and an armoured unit will move in to deal with them once they reach the road from Rawalpindi.

[SierraJuliet]

Central China is moving along and soon we hope to complete the capture of Chengtu. Supply, of course, is the big issue here. More so for the Chinese. Chengtu has only 1 avenue of escape and that is into the lonely mountains. I will be happy to see a retreat to this terrain as it will continue to give me a bomber crew training target. I’m confident that Chengtu will fall soon. We have 3623 AV on the ground with another 676 a few days away from arriveing. The Chinese have 24 units with a reported 131180 troops with 330 guns. AF damage is at 100% and forts are down to 0. The bombers will switch to a more concerted effort at bombing the land forces to bring up disablements before the next assault.

Chungking will be the next target and units are moving into place to eventually seal off all escape routes from this base. A tough nut with 71 reported units made of 351000 troops with 977 guns. Fort level unknown but AF damage is at 100%.

Kienko is the final target and it has 6 units with 82780 and 322 guns and AF damage at 94%.

Tienshui continues to tie down 42 Chinese units (176400 men with 92 guns). They have no valid route out of the hex and have long since given up attempts at a break out.

Tuyun, which was bypassed, has 11 units with 26460 men and 113 guns. AF damage here is at 100%.

I remain confident of ultimate success here and when I do the VP haul will help create a ratio buffer as Todd moves to reclaim lost territory elsewhere.

[SierraJuliet]

Here is the limits of the Empire as of 1 January 1943. Very much time to be pulling back in some areas. Suva is first up. I can't see how this can be sustained so far from home and a withdrawal of the units based here is under way.

If anyone would like a shot of any other areas on the map let me know.

[pws1225]

Just a quick congrats on earning enough VPs to earn an auto-victory. I am playing Todd in his other PBEM and can not claim such success. Well done!

[SierraJuliet]

ORIGINAL: pws1225

Just a quick congrats on earning enough VPs to earn an auto-victory. I am playing Todd in his other PBEM and can not claim such success. Well done!

Thanks Paul. I think Todd is glad he has your game going so that he has one successful venture to feel good about. Having said that he is in it for the long haul and I've got 3 years coming up of trying to blunt his response. He knows I like a good mid ocean intercept so he will have to mix caution with a large dash of adventure if he wants to get the job done in a timely manner.

[Bif1961]

What was the secret to your success? Invading India? Sinking a lot of Allied shipping? Killing many LCU, or all of the above?

[SierraJuliet]

Thanks for dropping by Bif1961.

I think a large measure goes to having played against Todd in a GC and learning his style of play coupled with copious amounts of reading AARs.

Todd plays a Brave Sir Robin style and the first time we played (also my first GC against a real person) I was at a loss as to what to do in the face of all these retreating Allied forces. This time around I prepared for the possibility that Todd may change but it was again wholesale retreat. For that I was prepared… namely go hunt down the bastions and knock them over coupled with a strong showing from the IJN. On 2 occasions over the past year Yamaguchi managed to savage fully laden troop convoys. Once near India and the more recent adventure in the Pacific. To some extent it was luck that the convoys were located but I think for the IJN it is a case of making your own luck by being prepared to put carrier assets in places where they stand a chance of locating convoys. The wild card, is of course, the location of the Allied carriers and on both occasions I was fairly certain of where they were and this allowed me to deploy Yamaguchi in a hunting fashion. For Todd my more aggressive stance came as a surprise and I don’t think he was prepared for this and was on the back foot for the whole of ’42.

Once those convoys full of troops had been savaged it lead to a fairly defensively minded posture from Todd and I think this allowed me the freedom to roam all over India. I think Todd should have had me scrambling in India a long time ago but the direct frontal attack on Jodphur during Operation Comet was not the way to go. Doing so only played to my strength behind forts and having air power relatively unmolested to bomb his troops.

China has been a complete disaster for Todd and I attribute that to his reliance on basing units inside bases. There was little in the way of blocking moves in good defensive terrain outside of the bases. This allowed me to take my time and mount one successful siege after another.

It was really a year of building on from one success to the next and thumping the Allied shipping whenever I could. The RAN probably bore the brunt of this in terms of warships. ’43 is going to a year of pulling back my lines in the Pacific and making Todd come to me. We will have parity in carrier numbers for some time until one of us slips up. I’m not quite sure how to deal with India as it will simply become too difficult to protect as the Allied power mounts… to some extent it might depend on what Todd does. I get the impression that there is a troop redeployment going on but whether that is for an amphib assault in India or a movement to the Pacific I cannot tell.

To really turn this into a mass brawl I am seriously considering opening up the Soviet theatre of operations. The Russians are being completely pesky in the inland sea and I think that that a realistic breaking point must be coming for the Japanese. Todd, would no doubt, welcome having his Russians in the fight. If I go it will be after the winter restrictions in the north have passed on by for another season. And if I am going to do so it has to be this year… ’44 will be far too late.

Stand by for some big battles as Todd looks to beat the clock and wrest back the initiative.

[Bif1961]

In my PBEM game with an opponent I have played now several times, it has devolved into a bloody knife fight by Nov 42. I have lost 4 CVs and 1 CVL, e has lost 5 CVs and 1 CVL. I have lost 3 BBs and he has lost 12 BBs, I have lost 3 CAs he has lost 9 CAs, I have 5,500 AC he has lost 53,00. I have 27,000 VPs and he has 16,000 and at minor victory. He has challenged almost every move since Feb 42 and he is conducting an invasion of Java, which I believe I can defeat with the troops I have and will move there. In our last game he surrender as the Americans in Sep 43, after losing several carrier battles and saying he wanted me to be the Japanese again so he can work on new tactics. His tactics have change and have become more aggressive which has limited my expansion after a few early carrier battles left us both bloody. I would say I made about as far as Japan had historically and I have a few more carriers than he does until the Essex class starts making themselves felt later in 43. We normally switch sides after each game, as each side has theuir own set of challenges tat are fun to tackle. I do read the AARs and rarely comment as I have little to contribute and it is better to be think a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[SierraJuliet]

Time to rescue myself from page 3 ignominy. The last months of 2016 swamped me with work, home renovations, a bout of illness and finally a trip to Japan. The AAR was a sad casualty.

I'm many months behind so I won't labour away attempting to do an intensive write up. I will however concentrate on a January battle which has coloured the progress of our match.

The below screen shot shows the search plane results at Marcus Island. Seems the Americans have settled on stirring up some action. My initial reaction is to suspect an full on invasion coming my way.

[SierraJuliet]

Hitting that button to send felt mighty good. It has been a long time since I posted in the forum. Kept up with some lurking though.

That sighting report got the mind racing. My carriers have been hiding out at Truk. I organise a couple of TFs and order them to sail off to the north east.

[SierraJuliet]

24 January and a little more information on that American fleet comes to light.