Straight Into the Teeth: A Story of Logistics, Patience, and Firepower

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: jwolf
[X(][X(] What a bloody day!! Asking in ignorance here -- can the Japanese still mount any sort of air attack? More Kamikazes?

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Those attacking Japanese aircraft suffered losses but were by no means completely destroyed. He may not have as many kamikazes left but there are lots of aircraft left to threaten the Allied fleet.

It looks like a close run thing to me - stay and both sides suffer attrition to a huge degree, pull out and leave a lodgement to fend for itself until the Allied carriers can replenish and LBA can establish itself on Hokkaido. The new bases in the Kuriles will help with island-hopping aircraft in.

Well, I was of the opinion that as a percentage the Japanse lost more planes than I did. Many of my planes from the sunk carriers landed in Soviet territory and I promptly rebased the fighters back on the remaining carriers. I also sent the 6 CVEs protecting the Kurile landings to replace the damaged CVEs at Kushiro and the CV Lexington is joining the Death Star from Pearl Harbor. And lastly, I know the Japanse have some supply issues making replacing and repairing planes more difficult. Therefore, I was pretty confident the Japanese would not launch any more air strikes, and even if they did, I would be able to stop it. So I resolved to stay put at least a few more days.

On a related note, I have decided to decrease the number of bombers in CVE and CV groups and up the fighter count, especially with CVEs. Hard to find a use for those Avengers anymore with their 1000 lb bomb load and limited IJN targets left.

[Sangeli]

June 4th 1944

As I had expected, the Japanese did not launch any air attacks enabling my ships to unload more troops. In the Kuriles I continue to make slow progress:

Ground combat at Shimushiri-jima (132,51)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1472 troops, 27 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 30

Defending force 5272 troops, 95 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value = 223

Assaulting units:
1st Kurile Coastal Artillery Regiment
37th Const Co
55th JNAF AF Unit

Defending units:
Fiji Brigade
16th Canadian Brigade
7th Marine Def Bn /3


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Ground combat at Paramushiro-jima (137,47)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 9124 troops, 145 guns, 139 vehicles, Assault Value = 365

Defending force 5899 troops, 65 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 52

Allied adjusted assault: 25

Japanese adjusted defense: 117

Allied assault odds: 1 to 4 (fort level 5)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), experience(-)
Attacker: disruption(-)

Japanese ground losses:
429 casualties reported
Squads: 18 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 12 (10 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
101 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

Assaulting units:
18th Combat Engineer Regiment
53rd (Sep) Infantry Regiment
8th NZ Brigade
14th Canadian Brigade
10th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
I Corps Artillery

Defending units:
Nanking Naval Guard Unit
Kyuko Naval Guard Unit
13th Indpt SNLF Coy
3rd Naval Construction Battalion
Kitachishima Fortress
54th JNAF AF Unit

Mind you I already have Etorofu. Going to take a few more turns for the rest but I'm pretty happy in the fact I brought just enough to take each base but not too much as to be wasteful.

In Hokkaido itself I captured Kushiro:

Ground combat at Kushiro (123,53)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 62826 troops, 1323 guns, 1114 vehicles, Assault Value = 2295

Defending force 13259 troops, 136 guns, 42 vehicles, Assault Value = 394

Allied adjusted assault: 4129

Japanese adjusted defense: 239

Allied assault odds: 17 to 1 (fort level 3)

Allied forces CAPTURE Kushiro !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
6371 casualties reported
Squads: 104 destroyed, 166 disabled
Non Combat: 123 destroyed, 39 disabled
Engineers: 46 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 118 (96 destroyed, 22 disabled)
Vehicles lost 37 (37 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Allied ground losses:
1732 casualties reported
Squads: 37 destroyed, 163 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 39 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 11 disabled
Guns lost 42 (5 destroyed, 37 disabled)
Vehicles lost 13 (2 destroyed, 11 disabled)

Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
13th Canadian Brigade
38th Infantry Division
93rd Infantry Division
33rd Infantry Division
27th Infantry Division
I Corps Cmbt Engineer Regiment
31st Infantry Division
18th Canadian Brigade
Eighth US Army
47th Coastal Artillery Regiment
11th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
265th Coastal Artillery Regiment
XI US Corps
Pacific Ocean Areas
VII US Amphib Force
XI Corps Artillery

Defending units:
7th Division
73rd Field AA Battalion
177th JAAF AF Bn

You can thank the fact I have a corps, army, and theatre HQ here for the very high adjusted AV. These troops will march to take the rest of Hokkaido but I will need to find them targets in Japan for them to make landings. Though I may set some to take Hokadate in the far south of Hokkaido in order to gain control of the strait.

Something weird is going on in Bihoro. I have much less AV than I expected and I don't have any of my HQs aside from my theatre!

Ground combat at Bihoro (123,51)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 27933 troops, 610 guns, 225 vehicles, Assault Value = 1001

Defending force 10080 troops, 108 guns, 159 vehicles, Assault Value = 419

Allied adjusted assault: 584

Japanese adjusted defense: 595

Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 5)

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

Japanese ground losses:
904 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 122 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Guns lost 21 (2 destroyed, 19 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
563 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 66 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled

Assaulting units:
2nd Marine Division
3rd Motor Brigade
4th Marine Division
3rd NZ Armoured Sqn Regiment
148th Field Artillery Battalion
North Pacific
225th Field Artillery Battalion
41st Infantry Div /2
767th Tank Bn /3

Defending units:
91st Division
22nd Tank Regiment
24th Air Defense AA Regiment
27th JNAF AF Unit
73rd JAAF AF Bn

I could have sworn more units were supposed to land here. Might be one of my fleets was not set to unload. No matter, I already have 3k AV in Hokkaido. Should be enough to take the rest of the island.

[pontiouspilot]

I agree with your assessment to date. It takes big gonads not to be put off by that day! The key to overall success will be getting in quick LBA CAP. Without that the boys on the ground could get a bit hungry.

[Sangeli]

June 16th 1944

All the troops made it ashore but have slowed down because of lack of supply and Japanese air attacks. As I pulled back my fleet, the Japanese took control of the air over Hokkaido. I have yet to contest their fighters and bombers. It seems the entire Japanese air force is here. But with 5k AV already landed on the island, I am not concerned. At this moment I am consolidating the Kuriles getting engineers and base units into place. I also have a number of supply convoys coming this way. Given the success so far, I have decided to go "all in" for northern Japan. Planned invasions in the South Pacific have been called off and units given new destinations in Japan. No sense taking jungle bases when there are juicy Japanese bases in 1x terrain that have a 50x multiplier for the Allies. But due to a shortage of xAPs, its gonna take a long time to make this happen. I definitely have regrets about using xAPs so liberally in landings...I lost way too many to CD guns.

[KenchiSulla]

Are you able to use land based air to cover incoming supply ships? You do need most of them to come in and unload....

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: KenchiSulla
Are you able to use land based air to cover incoming supply ships? You do need most of them to come in and unload....

Not yet. The Japanese are hitting Etofuru which is my closest air base in the Kuriles. And I'm having to deal with sweeps like this:

Morning Air attack on Etorofu , at 128,52

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K1-J George x 36
N1K2-J George x 182

Allied aircraft
P-51B Mustang x 23
F4U-1 Corsair x 1
F4U-1A Corsair x 19
F6F-3 Hellcat x 183

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1A Corsair: 2 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 9 destroyed

Things are not going as well as I hoped in large part due to poor planning getting logistics and base units into place. I don't have enough engineers, aviation, an naval support to host large numbers of fighters in the Kuriles yet. And I don't want to risk my fleet covering mere supply convoys. I fear I will have to dig into the forests of Hokkaido for a few more weeks if not a month before I am ready to push forward again. I may send some small supply convoys in without air cover but only to stave off troop starvation. Right now the Japanese are building up a fortress at Hokadate to secure the strait but leaving the rest of the island to me (though I am not going to leave the forests to secure them for a while). I have a corps, army, and theatre HQ with a few divisions prepping for Hokadate because that base is very important. I think the wiser course is to take it slow, build up a secure base of operations, and rely heavily on LRCAP + destroyers to cover supply convoys in a few weeks. The Japanese can send 2000+ planes at me in a day...I can't afford a misstep with my main fleet.

[Bif1961]

If his sweep was only spotted 20 NM out it seems you have no radar there?

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961
If his sweep was only spotted 20 NM out it seems you have no radar there?

Ya, no radar. As I mentioned earlier I didn't get enough base units here. Some are on their way but it might be a few weeks until they are in place. In retrospect I should have brought fewer LCUs to make room for base units in the second wave.

[Sangeli]

June 21st 1944

Well I brought some P-47s to Etorofu to beef up their air defenses. There is a BIG difference between P-47s and F6F-3s:

Morning Air attack on Etorofu , at 128,52

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid detected at 25 NM, estimated altitude 23,276 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
N1K2-J George x 40

Allied aircraft
P-47D2 Thunderbolt x 25
P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 43
F4U-1 Corsair x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
N1K2-J George: 16 destroyed

Untouchable! Here was the final butchers bill:



Pretty clear LBA P-47s are what I need here. Building up bases in the Kuriles will allow me to deploy more of them to protect my reinforcements to Hokkaido.

[BBfanboy]

Great result - that should give him pause![:)]

[Capt. Harlock]

Well I brought some P-47s to Etorofu to beef up their air defenses. There is a BIG difference between P-47s and F6F-3s:

The P-47 was the most expensive fighter of WWII -- and it was still the most-produced American fighter. Evidently they were worth the cost. [:D]

[Bif1961]

According to the Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft there ere 3 more P-51s produced than P-47s, 15, 686 vice 15,683. I am a big fan of the Jug and it's only short coming compared to the P-51 was range to escort heavy bombers deep in to Germany. It might be why so many P-47s found themselves in the Pacific after the introduction of the P-51 in Europe.

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961
According to the Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft there ere 3 more P-51s produced than P-47s, 15, 686 vice 15,683. I am a big fan of the Jug and it's only short coming compared to the P-51 was range to escort heavy bombers deep in to Germany. It might be why so many P-47s found themselves in the Pacific after the introduction of the P-51 in Europe.

The P-47D-25 has really good range actually; 11/13 with drop tanks. Have to check what the P-51D is in comparison. I haven't really used the P-51 much yet. Once I get my airfields built up in the Kuriles you will see them in battle. I think there is a big gap in P-47 production so the P-51 will have to replace them.

[Capt. Harlock]

I am a big fan of the Jug and it's only short coming compared to the P-51 was range to escort heavy bombers deep in to Germany.

Have a look at the P-47N -- admittedly introduced too late to do much in the ETO.

[Bif1961]

Production of the P-51B/C started in the summer of 1943 at Inglewood, CA and were conducting long range escort of ETO bombers by late 43 early 44. That would be 14 months before the appearance of the P-47N, which you stated appeared too late to have any need to be deployed to ETO as the war was all but over by then. What was not sent to ETO was sent to the Pacific and to the benefit of those units there to have such a great weapon as the P-47s.

[Sangeli]

June 28th, 1944

Well, the KB disappeared a while ago. I suspected Japan might try to interdict my supply lines but I thought I would be able to detect a move early. I was wrong:





Ouch. But the appearance of the KB outside northern Japan presents an opportunity. LBA only cannot stop the Death Star. So I am sending it to bombard the coast of Japan and cover convoys to Hokkaido. Since the landings, I have beefed up the number of fighters considerably in my CV groups. I've also switched from 4 CV groups to 3. I have noticed that naval strikes often may target only a single fleet at a time so I decided to beef them up to increase their CAP. All in all, I expect to perform much better against Kamikazes than I did in the giant bloodbath which resulted in an nearly entire TF of the Death Star being sunk.

[pontiouspilot]

I hope there was only K-rations in those!!

[Sangeli]

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

I hope there was only K-rations in those!!

And some engineers. But I have plenty of those. It's the plane losses that really matter...took another beating this turn. 300 Allied planes for 500 Japanese planes in a series of suicidal naval strikes that failed to do much damage. Probably should only use naval strike when I think the KB is nearby.

[Sangeli]

June 28th, 1944

Another bloody day in the air. I sent my Death Star forward to draw Japanese air attacks. Overall my CAP did a very good job stopping the Japanese. Only a single Ki-48 Lilly got a hit on a ship: a 100 kg bomb on the CV Wasp. But on the other side, my CV strike planes went against some ships sitting in Ominato. Here are some combat snippets (but by no means are these all the strikes):

Morning Air attack on TF, near Shikotan at 125,55

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 39 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 10
A6M8 Zero x 33
D4Y3 Judy x 2
N1K2-J George x 30

Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 23
FM-2 Wildcat x 81
F4U-1A Corsair x 200
F6F-3 Hellcat x 335

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed
A6M8 Zero: 4 destroyed
D4Y3 Judy: 1 destroyed
N1K2-J George: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
FM-2 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 1 destroyed



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Morning Air attack on TF, near Shikotan at 125,55

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 35 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-IIb Lily x 24
Ki-48-IIc Lily x 27
Ki-84a Frank x 52

Allied aircraft
FM-1 Wildcat x 9
FM-2 Wildcat x 30
F4U-1A Corsair x 111
F6F-3 Hellcat x 117

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 11 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-48-IIb Lily: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-48-IIc Lily: 13 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-48-IIc Lily: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-84a Frank: 10 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
FM-2 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
CV Wasp, Bomb hits 1
BB Massachusetts
CVL Princeton
CV Saratoga

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-48-IIc Lily releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 4 x 100 kg SAP Bomb
1 x Ki-48-IIb Lily releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 4 x 100 kg SAP Bomb
2 x Ki-48-IIc Lily releasing from 10000'
Naval Attack: 4 x 100 kg SAP Bomb
1 x Ki-48-IIc Lily releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 4 x 100 kg SAP Bomb



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Morning Air attack on TF, near Hakodate at 119,53

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 35
A6M8 Zero x 6
A6M8-J Zero x 36
N1K1-J George x 10
N1K2-J George x 40
Ki-84a Frank x 33
Ki-100-I Tony x 2

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 55
SBD-5 Dauntless x 27
TBF-1 Avenger x 44
TBM-1C Avenger x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M8-J Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F6F-3 Hellcat: 11 destroyed
SBD-5 Dauntless: 3 destroyed, 9 damaged
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
TBF-1 Avenger: 16 destroyed, 7 damaged
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak
TBM-1C Avenger: 6 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Hikari
CA Kurama
CL Niyodo
DD Kagero



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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ominato at 119,54

Weather in hex: Moderate rain

Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M8 Zero x 1

Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 73
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 31
SBD-5 Dauntless x 54
TBM-1C Avenger x 48

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-5 Dauntless: 8 damaged
TBM-1C Avenger: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires
CM Asadori, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
CM Maeshima, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
CM Ajiro, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
CMc Kurosaki, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Kashi
DD Kuwa, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Nara, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Kaede, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires



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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ominato at 119,54

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 29 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zero x 32
A6M8 Zero x 2
N1K1-J George x 6
N1K2-J George x 19
Ki-84a Frank x 30
Ki-100-I Tony x 1

Allied aircraft
F4U-1A Corsair x 4
F6F-3 Hellcat x 85
SBD-5 Dauntless x 13
TBF-1 Avenger x 8
TBM-1C Avenger x 55

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1A Corsair: 1 destroyed
F6F-3 Hellcat: 5 destroyed
SBD-5 Dauntless: 1 destroyed
TBF-1 Avenger: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
TBM-1C Avenger: 12 destroyed, 2 damaged
TBM-1C Avenger: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Kuwa
DD Kaya
DD Kaede, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Nara

And the total butchers bill:



Pretty unfortunate day for pilots on both sides. I think I got pretty unlucky with the BB Fusu. I have sunk bigger battleships with less bombs; the BB Musashi went down in the Gilberts after 6 1000 lb bombs. My Hellcats continue to get obliterated and losses are hard to replace. I've been pressing FM-2 Wildcats into CVE CAP because of this shortage and they REALLY suck. They have a top speed of about 330 MPH which makes them worse than even the A6M2 Zero. Even in a CAP role they tend to get shot down a lot. But having upsized the number of fighters aboard my carriers and heavy Hellcat losses, they will continue to be used throughout 1944. USN fighter quality has similarly suffered. I'm putting <60 exp pilots on those worthless Wildcats and Hellcats are usually piloted by 60-70 exp crews. Much unlike the USAAF where I have about 500 >70 exp pilots in the pool or being used in rear area CAP in obsolete planes. The USAAF is really the superior air force in basically every way. The P-47s and P-51Bs have a 40 MPH advantage over both the N1K2-J and the Corsair and even my older P-38s have a 20 MPH advantage.

Yet the battle was a success in another measure in that it absorbed 1000+ Japanese planes on naval strike and shooting down 500 of them. Large convoys have been sent to unload supply at Kushiro in Hokkaido to try to rectify the horrible supply situation there. As a result, I have finally based fighters in the base with some cruiser and Fletcher fleets to guard the water. Between CAP and LRCAP I probably only have 250 fighters guarding Kushiro but I hope that after those severe Japanese losses they will call off air attacks for at least a few days. I've also pulled back my Death Star 3 hexes east of Kushiro with range 5 naval strike (Ominato is 7 hexes away). So if they do launch strikes, it won't be against ships in port protected by heavy CAP. I'm still fairly worried about bombardment of Kushiro, however. My surface fleets continue to underperform against the IJN. And even though the BB Fuso took 8 bombs, it still may be ready to sortie offensively this very turn. That being said, I predict the Japanese will go on the tactical defensive aside for fighter sweeps at Kushiro. But this time I have P-47s and P-51Bs guarding the air space and previous results indicate they are nearly untouchable. But even if my convoys do unload in Kushiro, I really doubt that will be the end of that fight. Rev Rico tends to go down swinging which means for heavy fighting for the air and sea around the base.

[Bif1961]

Oddly in WWI the naval aviators were the better trained, especially prior to the war and through most of it as well. Also Naval aviation was used primarily from carriers which engaged in short confrontations and then went back for rest and resupply. Unlike Army aviation which stayed in the area for much longer doing daily operations. Army Aviation did not use a tried and true unit replacement on par with the Navy or even the Marines. The massive expansion of Army aviation in 1942-43 also caused piltos to have far less flying hours then Naval aviators.