Sqz stands down. The AAR is now concluded. Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post descriptions of your brilliant victories and unfortunate defeats here.

Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition

User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

May 13/44:

Quiet turn with no air combat whatsoever, as both sides rest after the previous days action.

I'm waiting a few days for damaged airframes to repair before I conduct another supply run to Ramree Island.

The CV Bunker Hill has fully repaired, so the navy will begin preparations for the Ponape amphibious assault. The amphibious forces will begin staging at Shortlands.

Groote Eylandt has expanded to a level 2 airbase and once it reaches level four, I will move against Gove. I'd like to draw KB's attention here so my operations against Ponape will just face Japanese LBA.

The action should pick up in a few weeks, as I attempt to move forward once again.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

Game date May 25/44.

Not much to report game wise. Japan has been quiet, especially now that I'm deploying Allied CAP forward and in numbers. The last few Japanese sweeps have resulted in heavy air losses for Erik. Moving forward, I will continue my tactic of deploying CAP and force Erik to use his fighters offensively. As long as I'm not sweeping against low Japanese CAP, the Allied fighters perform extremely well in a defensive role. So much so, that I've been able to supply forward airbases with large transport taskforces without Japanese air interdiction.

I've been spending the month of May moving fuel and supply forward, completing LCU preparation and reorganizing the fleet. The first of the U.S. divisions withdrawn from Burma will arrive on the East Coast in two weeks. They will rail for San Francisco and then deploy to the Pacific. I've also transferred a number of bomber squadrons from India to the U.S., and they are now en route to Pearl from San Francisco. I've received a number of squadrons of B-29's and they will deploy to Australia and New Guinea. I may try a strategic strike against Boela to knock out the oil, if the base looks weakly defended.

Immediate plans are the capture of Nauru and Ocean Islands. An amphibious TF will set sail from Tabiteuea tomorrow bound for Ocean Island. I'll be moving against the Marshall's soon. The Japanese defence is token at best, but I'm not in a hurry here and only committing a few assets.

I'm prepared to move against Gove, but want to try and draw KB to the area first. I'm going to posture around Horn Island until I'm spotted and if KB reacts, I will then move against Ponape. The Allied carriers will support the operation against Ponape to prevent naval air strikes from Truk. I'm committing all my carriers except a few CVE's and CVL's (bait to draw KB to defend Gove) just in case KB makes an appearance near Ponape. Once Ponape is captured, I'll quickly expand the airbase and start to neutralize Truk. I'd sure like to secure Truk to use as a forward air and naval base, but it will be a tough nut to crack. I'm going to attack Truk when ready in an effort to draw out KB and defeat it, or at least sink a few enemy carriers. If I can take Truk, my next move will be to bypass both the Marianas and New Guinea, and strike for Babeldoab and the Philippines. I'll be going ahead with operations against Aitape, Dagua, Wewak and Vanimo soon, but will now bypass Hollandia, Sarmi and Biak. The airbases on New Guinea have almost completed their expansions, and I can begin my air offensive to gain total local air superiority prior to amphibious landings against Aitape, Dagua and Wewak.

In Burma, the British and Commonwealth forces are almost ready to move. Supply at Ramree Island has reached 34k. I'm still a few weeks away though, as the upgraded armour brigades haven't arrived yet. A fair number of my divisions now sport 43 and 44 TOE's, so the extra firepower will come in handy. I've read about Eriks trick to get Japanese divisions to reach higher non-base fort levels than 2, so I'm anticipating slow going. Providing I don't get slaughtered, a slow grind is fine with me as the purpose is to keep Japanese forces in Burma.

The Allied plan is a massive landing against the Philippines to split the Japanese in two later this year. Everything I am doing right now is an effort to make that possible, especially trying to draw out KB and defeat it defending single islands where it can't be heavily supported by LBA. That's the plan at least, whether it will work has yet to be determined. [8D]
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

I've been experimenting with different combinations of sweeps, escorts and bombers. I'm sure Erik is thinking some of my air actions of late are complete overkill, but I'm trying to figure out how to reduce my losses when conducting offensive missions. I'm choosing undefended targets to see how my squadrons are committed, the true test will be against enemy CAP. Right now I seem to be able to get much more LRCAP support for sweeping squadrons than before, perhaps it's just the bigger forward airbases that are providing me the numbers now.

I've also experimented with sending smaller strike packages of bombers, usually one bomber group of four squadrons. I'm finding the number of fragments is less, resulting in one large raid followed by one or two smaller raids of stragglers. When I sent large raids of twelve or more squadrons, my planes were so spread out that losses were extremely high, almost 40-50% of the aircraft were committed in single groups with no escorts and consequently slaughtered.

Right now the smaller strike packages seem to be just as effective at causing damage, but against lightly defended targets. The true test will be the major Japanese airbases.

I'm optimistic that employing these tactics may reduce my overall losses.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

May 26/44:

Allied Mitchell's target Gove today. The defence consists of a Naval Guard unit and aviation support battalion. Previous raids have caused few casualties, but today a large number of squads were disabled and a few destroyed. I've been flying low, at 7k to cause defensive AA fire, so I suspect the base is now out of supply and contributing to the losses.

The Ponape amphibious forces will begin loading on transports and staging at Shortlands. The fleet is ready to provide support and is currently marshaling at Munda. There are seven enemy units indicated at Ponape, but troop numbers are less than 8k. I suspect these are fragments being evac'd from the Marshall's to Truk. I have a regiment prepped for Ponape and a division in reserve. I may land both to take the base quickly. I'll be landing large numbers of air and engineer support squads to turn Ponape into a level 6 airbase as quickly as possible. At least 75k of supply will be unloaded. I want the landings concluded within two days. The base is already a level 3 airbase, so sweeps of Truk will commence immediately upon capture.

In Burma, I've amassed 6k AV one hex southwest of Magwe. There is another 2k yet to arrive, including the armour which is now southeast of Akyab. With Ramree stockpiling supply and the interior bases all expanding, the supply situation has improved. There are still days where supply is in the red, but I should be able to attack every few days fully supplied. The question now is where. Initially I was thinking the hex between Prome and Toungoo, but I really want to eliminate the threat of Taung Gyi. I may send my entire force to clear the hex southwest of the base, which appears to be occupied by only one Japanese division. I control all other hex sides, so if I can clear this hex, Erik has to withdraw or risk 21 units being isolated. I'm sure he'll reinforce the hex, but 8k AV should be able to handle capturing the hex. I caught on recon last turn that a Japanese tank division may be moving through the hex, I'm going to throw every bomber I can to try and catch it in move or strat mode tomorrow.

Just a note. I don't like having to mass 8000 AV to clear one hex, but that is the nature of a non-stacking limits game. I prefer the realism stacking limits brings to the game, but in stock massing is the only way to clear a hex at times. Considering my opponent has massed his forces in all the key hexes and has interior lines, I can only respond in kind by targeting a single location and hitting it with everything I have. Even then, with the insane defensive benefits of rough terrain and non-destructible forts in non-base hexes, I still might barely have enough to do the job.

Anyway, the game is about to heat up with numerous operations finally ready to commence and the Allied fleet fully repaired once again.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

May 27/44:

Bombing results against the IJA 2nd Tank Division moving southwest of Taung Gyi were extremely poor. For the loss of five B-25's to FLAK, only one enemy tank was destroyed. I know the terrain is a big factor, but considering almost 100 bombers were used at 6-8k, I did expect to see more ground losses especially when the unit is moving along a main road. Good idea, but the results don't justify conducting attacks of this nature in 3x terrain. I heavily swept the target hex with fighters and encountered no CAP. Erik is keeping his fighters over base hexes at zero range. Erik tries the same tactic against me one hex west of Ramree Island, but my fighters on CAP are set to zero range as well. [:D]

It appears Erik has gotten some recon on my ground forces massing northwest of Toungoo. It appears more units are moving out from Taung Gyi and other movement ticks indicate possible reinforcement of Prome. I'm going to try and outmaneuver Erik and isolate Taung Gyi. If I can gain control of the hex southwest of the base and close the hex side, I'm in business. I'll post a screenshot soon to make my dispositions and intentions clear.

Amphibious transports at Tabiteuea are still loading my landing force meant for Ocean Island. It should sail tomorrow.

Ponape invasion forces begin loading at Shortlands. The entire amphibious force should be ready to sail in a few days. I've decided to land the division meant for reserve in the first wave. I want a quick capture of the base. Supporting aviation and engineer units will also unload in the first wave.

June will be a busy and eventful month for the Allies.

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

Situation in Burma as of 1 Jun 44.

Image
Attachments
Burma060144.jpg
Burma060144.jpg (239.95 KiB) Viewed 52 times
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

New Guinea and the Ponape invasion forces. Apologies for the poor spelling. I rushed the screenshots.

Image
Attachments
NewGuinea060144.jpg
NewGuinea060144.jpg (305.54 KiB) Viewed 52 times
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
Lokasenna
Posts: 9303
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:57 am
Location: Iowan in MD/DC

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by Lokasenna »

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

New Guinea and the Ponape invasion forces. Apologies for the poor spelling. I rushed the screenshots.

Image

Use Hollandia/Vanimo as bomber training targets while you land at Yap and Sorong when your navy's repaired. That's what I'd do, anyway.
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Use Hollandia/Vanimo as bomber training targets while you land at Yap and Sorong when your navy's repaired. That's what I'd do, anyway.

The bombers will be involved quite a bit over the next few weeks. Funny that you mention Yap and Sorong. I was thinking of going straight for Babeldoab, Pelelie, Woleai and Yap.

I'm getting lots of intelligence about the Marianas and Moluccas being reinforced, so I want to bypass them as well...for now.

The fleet is only absent BB Massachusetts and CV Lexington right now.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

June 3/44:

Allied amphibious forces land at Ponape. Japanese CD guns are active and damage a number of ships, but nothing has sunk yet. The combat replay looked worse than actual damage sustained indicates. One xAP and two LST's are the heaviest damaged and may sink tomorrow. A few destroyers are banged up, but overall the supporting naval units are in good shape.

Allied strength ashore amounts to roughly 400 AV. The amphibious transports will withdraw with whatever unit fragments are still aboard, and only a few dedicated supply taskforces will stay and continue to unload. The Japanese defence consists of a Naval Guard unit and various base forces withdrawn from the Marshall Islands totaling around 92 AV.

There are two Japanese submarines near Ponape, but further Japanese plans for defence are unknown. Truk indicates 120+ fighters and 20 bombers present, so it's unlikely there will be any LBA naval strikes. I have no idea if KB will be sent in, but there were a large number of enemy surface taskforces spotted near Biak.

I'll rest a day to recover disruption and then the ground assaults will begin. Japanese resistance will depend on the level of fortifications.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

June 4/44:

Most amphibious taskforces withdraw from Ponape heading southwest. Being unsure whether KB could/would be committed, I also withdrew the covering CVE taskforces. As a result, Judy's from Truk sank a couple of xAP's and three LST's. Two more LST's were sunk at sea three hexes from Ponape. I don't like losing the LST's, but the strike packages could have made it past my CAP and hit the CVE's instead. I don't want to lose any more carriers until I engage KB.

I never deployed my CV's to support the landings, just the CVE's. I don't believe my main carrier force was spotted and I decided to keep it back in case KB deployed. As much as I want to take on KB right now, it's imperative I spot the enemy CV's first so I don't get ambushed.

I did not launch a deliberate assault against the base today, but rested to bring down disruption. A ground assault is ordered for tomorrow. I was able to unload 13k of supply, so if I can destroy the defenders quickly I'll be able to mount effective CAP operations.

Next up for the Allies is to reorganize the amphibious shipping for operations against Wewak, Dagua and Aitape. Events will kick off with Allied air attacks to neutralize Hollandia's airbase. There are 200+ enemy fighters at the base, so the initial sweeps will be costly.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

June 5/44:

Ponape falls easily. A reduction in Japanese AV from 92 to 13 clearly indicates Erik used the 60+ Auxiliary aircraft at Truk to pull out as much as he could before the Allied assault. Meh, I'll bag some troops one of these days. I lose a PF, xAP and a few more LST's to submarines though, so the number of ships lost for this objective reach a level I'm not comfortable with. I chose to withdraw my carrier CAP and ASW patrols so the losses are on me. I've deployed Ventura ASW and PBY search capability to Ponape. I'll wait to see what Erik does before deploying fighters. I'm going to organize a large supply mission to Ponape and bring the stockpile to roughly 40-50k.

Now to reorganize my transports and move against New Guinea once again.

I've begun recon missions against as many Japanese bases as I can reach in the DEI, New Guinea and Central Pacific.possible. Those with light air defences will be bombed to reduce the number of LBA bases available.

Two more U.S. divisions withdrawn from Burma have arrived at Balboa. They'll deploy forward immediately.

My CV's will perform their June AA upgrades and be ready in two weeks. The upcoming operations against New Guinea will be an all LBA show.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

June 10/44:

New Guinea:

A-20G Havoc's target enemy troops at Wewak and get good results. Over 200 casualties are inflicted on two Naval Guard units for the loss of one Havoc to Ops.

Dagua was also targeted by Havoc's, but only 10 casualties were caused against the defenders.


Australia:

It appears the Japanese have begun withdrawing troops from Darwin. I've moved some forces to just southwest of Darwin to see if Erik reacts. I won't contest Darwin, because I don't want to subject my forces to naval bombardments. Until I can provide adequate LBA coverage that allows naval air strikes against Japanese surface forces Darwin will remain in Japanese hands.

Gove also looks like it's being abandoned, so I'll land troops shortly to take it over.


Burma:

Allied armour has almost reached position after upgrading its TOE and making the long journey along the coast. It will require another week or so to link up with the rest of my forces. Once my force has consolidated, it will move to the hex northeast of Toungoo. I'll use movement ticks to try and conceal my true intentions and see if I can catch Erik out of position for my planned move against Taung Gyi. I have no allusions, whatever I try will be a real grind and my biggest problem will be to replenish ground losses. Supply will still be the limiting factor until I can pry open a direct supply path from Ramree Island.


Thoughts:

It's been a monotonous grind waiting to recover from the last naval setback and wait for airbase expansions to reach levels that can sustain a proper air offensive against New Guinea. However, the time has come to unleash my forces once again. The last week of turns has been spent redirecting fuel and supply routes to forward bases. Pearl Harbor and Suva will no longer be the primary destinations for stockpiling material. Pearl Harbor has 1.5 million fuel and 4 million supply. Suva has 250k of fuel and 800k of supply. Fuel and supply will now be sent directly to Lae, Milne Bay and Rabaul.

The air re-organization is almost complete and I've slowly been moving squadrons into position. I hope to simply overwhelm the Japanese air defences in New Guinea and start to target rear bases for destruction.

The biggest Allied push of the war is about to begin.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

The navy is upgrading. The submarine arm in particular is preforming its June upgrades.

CVE aircraft are being upgraded to F6F Hellcats and better pilots. Some CV's are performing upgrades. CV Lexington is currently upgrading and conducting repairs. I'm not sure how long the upgrade will take, but damage repair is still listed at 26 days. She's out for a least another month and change. CV Hancock is upgrading at Suva. A number of other CV's have been withdrawn to Australia to perform two week upgrades.

While the carriers upgrade, the surface forces are massing at Milne Bay. I will implement new naval tactics against KB, a real combined arms approach of submarines, surface forces and carriers to break up Japanese cohesion and get to their ships. I expect heavy losses, but the time to husband my forces is over. It's time to find red things on the map and destroy them.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
BBfanboy
Posts: 19686
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:36 pm
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Contact:

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by BBfanboy »

That's the spirit! Force him into attrition he can't afford!
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

June 11/44:

The first supply transport run made it to Ponape unmolested. An Allied DE ASW taskforce is vectored to a Japanese sub spotted southwest of Ponape. Two direct DC and 14 near miss hits heavily damage the sub. Unfortunately, only one DE attacked and used up all its charges. Had a second DE engaged, the sub might have been destroyed outright.

Sweeps precede more A-20G bombing of Wewak. No enemy CAP, but bombing results aren't as good as the day before. Still, the defenders are starting to degrade nicely.

Allied amphibious taskforce will land at Ocean Island tomorrow. An Australian Bde. should be sufficient, but it's less than 60% prepped. I'm not too worried and will deal with the situation, if the landing goes badly.

U.S. carriers assigned to conduct upgrades arrive at Brisbane and Sydney.


Air Operations:

Tomorrow will be a busy day in the air. Recon of Bangkok indicates 18 fighters, 73 bombers and 30 auxiliary aircraft present. I've ordered two bomber groups to hit the city and airbase. Targets are the HI and Refinery.

Chang Mai shows 78 fighters. Two squadrons of Wellingtons are ordered on a night bombing mission against the airbase.

Fighter sweeps will begin against Hollandia.

There are four proposed targets in the DEI, including Babo and Boela. The first B-29 raids of the war may occur tomorrow.

Time to get busy.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

The June 12/44 turn is away.

Bomber strikes against Bangkok, Chang Mai and Prome in the far east. Prome is getting the brunt of the attention, as I want to sell a move against the base and try to draw Japanese troops away from Taung Gyi.

Babo, Boela and Taberfane will be targeted in the DEI. The first B-29 strikes are ordered against Boela with three squadrons taking part.

Ground troops will be bombed at Wewak and Dagua.

Five squadrons of P-47's will sweep Hollandia. Seven squadrons consisting of Corsairs, P-38's and Hellcats will provide LRCAP.

This is the Allied version of Germany's "Eagle Day" that started off the battle of Britain proper. I hope it goes well for me today.
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
Canoerebel
Posts: 21099
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2002 11:21 pm
Location: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Contact:

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by Canoerebel »

Glad you're posting.

You keep posting, I'll keep reading. It will be fun to see how you orchestrate your counterattack as '44 wears on. Good luck and good hunting!
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

Thanks CR. I'll keep muddling my way through this. [:D]
Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
User avatar
SqzMyLemon
Posts: 4239
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Location: Alberta, Canada

RE: A pick up game and it's not Lowpe! Sqz (A) vs. obvert (J)

Post by SqzMyLemon »

June 12/44:

Mixed results on the day where weather had more of an impact on the results than the Japanese.

The Bangkok raid of B-17E's faced a small CAP of Irving NF's (it was a daylight raid) and shot down four of the fighters for no loss. Poor weather over Bangkok limited the damage to only 2 HI and 1 Refinery hits. I believe I was bombing at 12k. Unfortunately, the bomber group assigned to hit the airbase packed full of bombers didn't fly.

The B24 raid against Babo went well. No Japanese CAP and 2/3's of the oil production is destroyed.

The B24 strike against Taberfane's airbase caused heavy damage and there was no Japanese CAP.

The B-29's scheduled to hit Boela did not fly due to weather.

A night bombing mission against Hollandia's airbase was a huge disappointment. The B24's were fragmented into small groups and not a single hit was recorded. Altitude was set to 15k. This is the second night bombing mission I've tried and in both cases no hits were recorded. Allied fighters sweeps against Hollandia did not fly due to weather. Unfortunately, apparently my LRCAP did and fatigue is now in the 20-30 range. I will have to rest the squadrons before I try again.

Enemy ground troops were hit at Dagua and Wewak.

The amphibious invasion of Nauru Island is successful. All Japanese troops had been pulled out. Disablements were high because the Australian Bde. was only 41% prepped, not in the 60's like I first stated. It doesn't matter as the base was undefended, but I do find it funny that there were so many considering the landing was uncontested.

On the day only one B24 was lost to FLAK. Considering the overall number of aircraft that flew today, I'm pleased to suffer only one bomber loss. By no means was the day crippling to Japan, but my ultimate goal is to apply pressure wherever I can now without degrading my forces too much in the process. I don't care whether I take empty bases or bomb undefended targets. It will all add up in the end.

I'll see how Erik reacts and plan accordingly. I feinted towards Darwin with my ground forces to see if Erik would send in a bombardment TF, he did. I am looking at ways to counter Erik's aggressiveness. He almost always reacts and if I can get things set up properly, I hope to spring a few traps in the near future.

Luck is the residue of design - John Milton

Don't mistake lack of talent for genius - Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Post Reply

Return to “After Action Reports”