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

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

Post by BBfanboy »

Have you already bought out the Chinese units? How much did it cost ... and did you buy them before they became 829 AV super-Corps ?
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

Yes, I bought out the smaller units at the very beginning of the war. Most walked out of China before Burma was cut off. The last unit was airlifted to Ledo. These pieces became the 5th Chinese Corp. It has been my strategic reserve in India, but I figure that if I don't ramp up the war in Burma, there isn't going to be a war there. It has been building for a long time in India.

Chinese Inf Sqd 43 --- 819 (max 837)
Chinese Engineer Sqd --- 36
MMG(LL) Section --- 81
37mm AT Gun --- 36
81mm Mortar --- 54
75mm Field Gun --- 36
40mm M1 Bofors --- 36
Engineers --- 36
Support --- 687 (max 872)

Using this Corp so far from China is probably the most unrealistic thing I've done in the game. I'm justifying it to myself because I really do intend to amphibiously invade China with it, in the future.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

I don't recall the cost of the smaller components. It was in the hundreds, I think, total. A quick restart of the game to check would give us the answer. (DBB-B, of course)
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by BBfanboy »

ORIGINAL: apbarog

I don't recall the cost of the smaller components. It was in the hundreds, I think, total. A quick restart of the game to check would give us the answer. (DBB-B, of course)
Thanks - very impressed that you had the foresight to do that early. The sheer size of the filled-out corps makes them a real gorilla on the battlefield, even if their experience starts out somewhat low.
I thought their artillery could upgrade to M1 105 Howitzers?
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

There aren't many Chinese units that can be bought out. I did so with the intention to build it up in India. When I saw that all of the components of this corp could be bought out, I knew that I had to try to get this unit out. It was a challenge, another small game-within-the-game that came up.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

25 Jun 43

US troops continue to land at Dobo. No issues during the night.

Near Davao, sub Blackfish spots a big tanker convoy. It's heading around the east side of Mindanao. Direction of travel is unknown. 2 torpedoes miss a patrol boat. Blackfish takes some damage and will return to Darwin.

Near Balabac, east of Borneo (I think), sub Guardfish spots a destroyer and an APD. One torpedo hits APD Shimakaze, possibly sinking the ship. It doesn't have men on it.

During the AM turn at Dobo, 16 Bettys arrive, escorted by 18 A6M2 Zeros and 8 A6M5 Zeros, attacking my invasion shipping. 11 P-39s are flying LR CAP from Timoeka. The escort is too strong, and all of the Bettys launch torpedoes. All miss except one, and it is a dud. 2 xAPs, one AKA, and one DD were missed.

In the PM turn, the same squadrons return. This time there's 36 Zero escorts, and only 8 P-39s protecting. The escorts have an easy time of it, destroying most of the P-39s. 2 torpedoes hit xAP Jaladuta. It is badly damaged, but probably won't sink immediately. I detach it and leave it at Dobo to continue unloading. It will probably be finished off tomorrow. The rest of the task force is set to leave the area. About 75% of the troops were unloaded. I hope that I've unloaded enough to take the base. The ships will go to Gove and reload and come back with fewer ships.

I knew it was risky to go to Dobo so unprotected. All in all, the loss of one xAP to take Dobo is acceptable.

The Allied carrier task forces disband at Darwin to repair minor damage. Plane and pilot reinforcements are taken.

I spent a lot of time noting units available for future operations. I got a bunch of shipping moving in the right directions to get these units, particularly the Indian ones. I had already started prepping combat units, but I know have a list of support units available. Tomorrow I will go through the list and start prepping them for future targets.

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

Post by apbarog »

26 Jun 43

Unloading the damaged xAP at Dobo continued uninterrupted.

Roti is invaded by a small unit. Roti is an island adjacent to Koepang, Timor. It was unoccupied.

In the Solomons, the enemy wakes up for a day. Tojos and Tonys sweep Vangunu. Must have gotten Walker's attention with my artillery bombardments at adjacent Munda. The P-40Ks on CAP do well against the Tojos, but then poorly against the Tonys. 9 P-40Ks lost, for 5 Tojos and 5 Tonys.

A big chunk of the 37th Infantry Division attacks at Dobo. Defending is parts of the 8th Infantry Division, about 1/3 of it really. Odds are 1 to 2 with level 3 forts, but Japanese losses are 232 casualties, while the US unit loses only 9. We reattack today. An armor unit is approaching on ships, if needed. Looks like they probably won't be needed.

The fleet rests at Darwin. Lots of planning has taken place in the past 24 hours. Support units have been assigned to all targets in the Celebes. Ships are moving these units around to get ready.

Not seeing an enemy ship bigger than a patrol boat anywhere close to the front lines.

Heavy bombers move to Port Moresby. I may start hitting Rabaul or Torokina or Buna. Fewer enemy fighters here than earlier.

Fletcher class destroyers will upgrade on July 1. It's only an 8 day upgrade, doesn't require a shipyard, and the anti-air improvements are very nice. Also, cruiser Baltimore arrived on the East Coast today. Very nice AAA on this class.

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

Post by apbarog »

27 Jun 43

Sub Triton fired at xAKL Oridono Maru near Donggala, in the straits between the Celebes and Borneo. 2 torpedoes missed. But then Triton attacks again, and gets 2 torpedo hits. The small cargo ship is most certainly sunk. It was not loaded with men.

At Vangunu, the Tojos and Tonys tried their luck again sweeping. But I switched out P-40K squadrons, bringing in a fresh set of planes and pilots. 10 Tonys and 2 Tojos are lost. I lose 4 P-40Ks.

A squadron of A-24s flew from Babar to hit shipping at Boela. I had mistakenly set the range to include Boela. The bombers flew hoping to bomb some small insignificant ship, and found Zeros, Oscars, and Tojos. Only 2 bombers returned, losing 14.

The US 37th Infantry Division attacked again at Dobo, and captured the base, getting 5 to 1 odds with level 3 forts. The enemy retreated into the jungle, and is now headed to an adjacent Taberfane. I want to make Taberfane a POW camp.

Dobo is a size 1 airfield, so I flew in some fighters, and set them to range 1 CAP, hoping to catch any air transports going to Taberfane to pull out troops. Ships with support troops turn around and head back toward Dobo. It will take 2 days to get there. The armor unit that was on the way is not needed, and will go to Gove and be tasked with something else.

Roti, adjacent to Koepang, is captured. I plan on doing the same kind of thing that I'm doing at Dobo and Taberfane. Build the airfield, keep CAP over Koepang, keep the airfield damaged, and make it a big POW camp.

The infantry division that was 100% prepped for Taberfane is now assigned to Manado. I do still have 2 infantry divisions prepping for Koepang, but I'm keeping open the chance of invading there. Nice base to have, buildable to a size 9 airfield. We'll see. I have enough stuff planned already.

Back at Rabaul, very good reconnaisance shows 32420 men, 240 guns, 222 vehicles. This is a sizable increase to other recent looks there. I've consistently gotten SigInt that an infantry division is prepping for an attack at Milne Bay. I still don't think it will happen, but I can't completely rule it out. Milne Bay is the place to go, if the Japanese are willing to risk a big attack. It may be that I'm seeing more troops at Rabaul as they are being pulled out of other nearby bases. Or Rabaul may have been reinforced. Either way, I'll wait and see what happens. Hansa Bay has 17 units, which I find interesting. I do notice that Walker does leave lots of unit fragments all over the place. This could be intentional deception, or just an accident of moving so much stuff around.

Today, I do sweep Shortlands, hoping to catch the depleted Tojos and/or Tonys that had swept Vangunu. A squadron of heavies will bomb. I would have hit with a lot more from Port Moresby, but supply there is unexpectedly low after moving many heavies there, so I'll wait for a supply delivery.

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

Post by apbarog »

I forgot to mention that an enemy sub was scuttled when Roti was captured. My guess is that the sub was heavily damaged and hid there when Koepang became unsafe for shipping. A nice and unexpected bonus with the capture of this tiny base.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by Macclan5 »

ORIGINAL: apbarog


Back at Rabaul, very good reconnaisance shows 32420 men, 240 guns, 222 vehicles. This is a sizable increase to other recent looks there. I've consistently gotten SigInt that an infantry division is prepping for an attack at Milne Bay. I still don't think it will happen, but I can't completely rule it out. Milne Bay is the place to go, if the Japanese are willing to risk a big attack.

Today, I do sweep Shortlands...

Nice post A.

I agree I do not see Milne Bay as a target.

In fact I don't see Milne as the place to attack either if I were in Japan's shoes.

Your opponent is up to something ~ but what?

1) Either Buna / Lae / Finch.... would assist in the recovery of the starving fragments in the interior of New Guinea. Milne Bay would not. Further ports and airfields in Buna / Lae / Finch... threaten any planned attacks on the axis of New Guinea and or Guadalcanal / Munda / Shortlands... your opponent has no certainty if you have troops on the way from stateside for such an attack.

Finally good airfields from Buna / Lae could cause some disruption of supplies flowing north of Sydney / Brisbane to fuel your DEI / ABDA line axis of advance.

2) Munda / Guadalcanal also makes sense. Airfields and ports there help interdict supply from the stateside fueling the DEI ABDA advance earlier i.e. on the way to Sydney / Brisbane.

Your opponent must know that supplies do not flow well to Darwin albeit you seem to have developed Normantown to compensate.

Digging into Rabul would be a poor strategic move. Like the Allies in real life you can bypass Rabul and cut it off. Further building up defense posture cedes the initiative to you permanently.. something I would think a Imperial Japan player would not want to do in June 1943. Carriers or not any chance to make you back pedal should be seized.

Your opponent is planning something... but you seem well prepared for it.


A People that values its privileges above it's principles will soon loose both. Dwight D Eisenhower.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

Based on the movement of enemy units isolated in the interior of southern New Guinea, the breakout attempt is inland, to the northwest, between Wau and Terapo. There's been no movement indicated otherwise. All Walker has to do is bring a unit down from the north, with a long walk in the jungle, to open up a hexside where I have a regiment, and where he'll soon have more than a division coming from the south (without supply, I assume). It would take time, but be pretty much unstoppable. I'm not willing to move a division to this hex to stop this. Takes to long to move there, and move back to a port. I think that my divisions are best used pushing the front further away from Timor.

I have about 1/3 of a division at Finschhafen, Lae, Salamaua, and Buna. A division plus support at Milne Bay. He could land in force and probably take any one of the bases other than Milne Bay, but that wouldn't accomplish much. And I would have loaded up the airpower and made it costly. Walker won't do it. I've got him on the defensive. I think he's more worried about forming a line between me and the Philippines and reinforcing Java.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

28 Jun 43

Some routine daily bombings. Retreating enemy troops west of Dili. Lots of B-24s hit Taberfane's port, doing minimal damage. Heavy bombing and sweeping of Shortlands doesn't occur, due to weather. I try again.

In just one day, good recon at Rabaul shows a jump from 32420 men, 240 guns, and 222 vehicles to 39680 men, 260 guns, and 266 vehicles. Hard to say whether I should be concerned or not. Walker may just want to do something, anything, at this point. Or it just may be that he's reacting to what he thinks he is seeing in the area. I've had APs going up and down the coast of New Guinea, shuffling out 2 infantry divisions, taking bits to Milne Bay, where they are reloaded and shipped to Townsville. Maybe he is misreading my actions, thinking something big is coming to the Rabaul area.

Recon of Batavia shows 20700 men, 233 guns, and 473 vehicles. I've had intel of a new infantry division headed there. Kendari has 15880 men, 106 guns, and 8 vehicles. Manado has 12140 men, 84 guns, and 16 vehicles. None of this intel has me rethinking my plans.

My reinforcement convoy for Dobo should arrive tomorrow. I have smaller convoys going to Denpassar and Mataram, and so far, they haven't been interfered with. Mataram got an Indian para unit that is prepping for future action.

The remnant of a unit that got kicked out of Broome dissolved when it tried to move back to Broome. It was just a few vehicles left. Walker probably wanted it gone so he can rebuild the unit fully.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

29 Jun 43

Just south of Cam Ranh Bay, sub Barb finds a big tanker convoy, fires two torpedoes at huge tanker TK Tonan Maru #2, gets one hit, but it's a dud. As I start to increase the sub patrols on the oil routes, it's just a matter of time until more tankers are sunk.

Today's recon of Rabaul shows 40600 men, 257 guns, and 270 vehicles. A slight increase from yesterday, within daily variations. There's definitely more there than a week ago though. Lots of shipping too, something that wasn't the case for months.

At Dobo, I was forced to scuttle the xAP that had been torpedoed there. The ship did successfully unload all of its men and material, and then disbanded into the size 1 port. The port wasn't big enough to bring the fires and flooding under control. Timoeka is no bigger, and it's too far to get to anywhere else.

The big base support convoy starts to unload at Dobo. Ships going every which way, picking up units, mostly headed to Darwin for future operations. They are coming from every corner of the map. India to the Alaskan coast.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

30 Jun 43

Near Hong Kong, sub Guardfish spots a big tanker convoy, fires two torpedoes at TK Manju Maru, and gets one torpedo hit. It is not loaded with fuel, but is on fire and has heavy damage. Being just two hexes from Hong Kong, the tanker may survive.

2 P-40K squadrons from Vangunu sweep Shortlands. This had been planned for days, but bad weather kept the fighters on the ground. The results today are good. The Tonys and Tojos that were in the area are gone, replaced by Zeros and Rufes. Total losses are 14 Zeros and 2 Rufes for the loss of 4 P-40Ks. 12 heavy bombers do a great job on the airfield, causing over 40 damage the airfield.

I believe that an enemy cruiser force came from Rabaul and went somewhere on the east coast of New Guinea. During the night phase, I got a message that one of my task forces was reacting to enemy ships in that area. No combat occurred, and I didn't actually see any ships. I had xAPs at Salamaua, Buna, and Milne Bay. I had a cruiser task force at Salamaua.

The last of the Americal Division is to load at Salamaua today, and go to Milne Bay. All of the 3rd Marine Division has already been lifted out and is recovering at Townsville.

I'm sending more combat ships from Darwin to Milne Bay. There's a lull in activity now in the Timor Sea. US carriers move out of Darwin and move to Wyndham, just to the southwest. I want the carriers to disappear for awhile. They aren't needed for a bit. CV Victorious and escorts head toward Milne Bay. Just to show the flag and show carriers "there" instead of "here".

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

Post by apbarog »

30 Jun 43 South China Sea

I've been sending more subs from Darwin to the South China Sea. I've gotten a few tanker contacts, and an occasional torpedo hit that actually works. I'm trying to cover the entire sea with each sub covering a segment of the ocean. As the front gets closer, this will get easier. And in October, the torpedo dud rate finally goes to a minimum.

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

Post by apbarog »

30 Jun 43 New Guinea and the Solomons

Enemy units are still trapped in inland New Guinea. The bigger units are further northwest, and are still showing movement to the northwest. A US infantry regiment is waiting for them. A small US armor unit has started to move to this hex from Terapo, but this movement has just begun, and will take awhile.

I continue to fire artillery at Munda. A green US infantry regiment is prepping for Munda at Luganville. Too soon to send it in.

I see an enemy cruiser TF just south of Rabaul. This is the one that I believe went somewhere on the New Guinea coast last night, but didn't encounter anything.

Lots of heavy bombers at Port Moresby, waiting for a chance to pound Rabaul. Too many fighters there at the moment, and the base is just too far for me to send lots of reliable sweepers.

2 divisions are headed to Luganville, prepping for Torokina and Buin.

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

Post by BBfanboy »

Looks like Woodlark Island would be an easy capture, and it is a good position to help cover the central Solomons.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

It would be a good spot against enemy ships that stay in range. But so far, Walker has used just fast bombardments out of Rabaul, and they get back to Rabaul, or almost, by daylight. Woodlark was enemy occupied, but I believe it is empty now. It is 8 hexes from Rabaul. It would be much more useful if it were 7 hexes, to allow for navy bombers to base there. I have plenty of bases already that can base heavies to hit Rabaul.

Assuming no enemy invasions, I plan on securing Munda, then invading Buin and Torokina, and isolating Shortlands. That would give me bases close to Rabaul, where I'd start to encircle it and isolate it also. This area is of low priority for me, but I do want to keep some pressure on.

If Walker has offensive plans here, I'll flood my bases with bombers and make any landing costly.
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by Crackaces »

It would be much more useful if it were 7 hexes, to allow for navy bombers to base there

I think the 7 hex limit is only for carrier based aircraft. There are single engine platforms that can reach beyond 7 hexes.

Does it have to by Navy? One thing I like to do is train up some pilots that started with low nav scores in P39's that have a single 500 pound bomb
Devastating IMHO when used as a part of an overall strike (low nav and dive bombers)
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RE: See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

Post by apbarog »

No, it doesn't have to be Navy planes. That's just what I have a bunch of nearby in Australia. I have my B-25s at Timor. I do have a P-39 squadron in the islands off of Milne Bay trained for low naval and strafing. If I go to Rabaul, I want to go with a large number of sweepers, naval bombers for shipping, and heavy bombers for the airfield.
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