Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

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MichaelU
Posts: 285
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 7, 1942

Wow, that wasn't anything like we expected. Let's approach it as it happened.

First off, there's some night sub action. Mike has flooded the area around Ambon with subs, and there are several attacks. The most exciting, I'm sure for both sides, is this one.

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Sub attack near Obi at 76,105

Japanese Ships
CVL Kushiro
CA Nachi
CA Myoko
DD Kuroshio
DD Wakaba
DD Nenohi
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Hayashio

Allied Ships
SS KXV, hits 1

SS KXV launches 4 torpedoes at CVL Kushiro


No hits, which is a bummer. We have a few more attacks, but aren't able to penetrate the destroyer screen again.

Then the SS I-5 pops up off San Francisco and puts two torpedoes into the xAP Perida, which was shifting there to do some troop loading. Luckily she hadn't loaded anything yet.
The SS S-40 ripostes by putting two torpedoes into APD Fuji, whcih is escorting a bunch of transports heading towards Kendari.
And to round off an active night, TK Gulf Dawn is torpedoed off Noumea. She has a full cargo of fuel and burns fiercely before going down.

During the night we start getting desperate radio signals from the defenders of Ambon, reporting a massive Japanese transport group backed by two battle cruisers. The coastal guns lob a few shells and score a few hits, but the battle cruisers shrug it off.
The Ambon garrison, for security reasons, has no idea that there is a major carrier group steaming to their support. Neither, apparently, do the Japanese.

Day dawns with Dutch patrol planes converging from south, east and west to look for the Japanese TFs that the subs have been radioing in. To the surprise of the Allied commanders, the Japanese carriers have not moved forward -- they are still 4 hexes north of Ambon, putting them one hex outside the range of the Allied carrier TF now sitting 4 hexes south of Ambon. A substantial transport group is also spotted one hex off Kendari, which we were not expecting either.
I was really thinking the Japanese carriers would close a bit to give their transports better cover, but it seems our wily opponent was being cautious. We have surprised him a couple of times, so he was planning for more surprises, even if he wasn't sure what form they would take.

The first strikes of the day are by Manado-based Bettys on the Dutch CLs just north of Ambon. But the Bettys lack escorts and are met by P40s, which butcher them.

Next up, a group of 5 Kates and 9 Vals finds our carriers. But again they are unescorted, and fail to break through a CAP of nearly 70 fighters.

Then there is a port strike on Kendari by 12 Kates, that does a single port hit.

Now our strikes start going in, with Dutch bombers escorted by P40s against the BC Kongo. They run into 18 Zeroes, and it is ugly. We expected this though -- the Dutch and P40s are only there to distract and thin out the CAP for the carriers.

Here's our first big carrier attack of the day. It seems the strategy of wasting Dutch bombers has paid off, because only 8 Zeroes are around to oppose us.

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Ambon at 76,109

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
Albacore I x 15
Fulmar II x 5
Swordfish I x 8
P-40E Warhawk x 8
F2A-3 Buffalo x 17
F4F-3A Wildcat x 13
F4F-3 Wildcat x 12
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 15
SBD-2 Dauntless x 36
SBD-3 Dauntless x 43
F2A-3 Buffalo x 4
Swordfish II x 6
F2A-3 Buffalo x 4
Swordfish II x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Fulmar II: 1 destroyed by flak
SBD-2 Dauntless: 3 damaged
SBD-2 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged
F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed by flak
Swordfish II: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
BC Haruna, Bomb hits 9, on fire
BC Kongo, Bomb hits 9, on fire
xAKL Nichiryo Maru, on fire
xAK Tainichi Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Shozan Maru
xAK Konan Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Minryo Maru
xAK Turusima Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Horai Maru
xAP Takatiho Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Tofuku Maru, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Yura, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Mikazuki
xAKL Fukkai Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Nanko Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Totai Maru, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tosei Maru
xAK Kofuku Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
DD Mochizuki, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage


Interestingly there is not a single troop loss, so he must have got everything ashore in the overnight phase. Blooming unload bonus.

Our Hudsons at Kendari have two runs at the transports approaching the base, scoring a single hit on the second run. Big ground losses reported, so these boys must be fully loaded.

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Kendari at 71,106

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 1

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 6

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Syoka Maru
xAK Ryoyu Maru #21, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

Japanese ground losses:
367 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 7 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Three more Kates wipe themselves out trying to get in against our carriers, and that is the end of the morning air phase.

Afternoon air phase starts with some more Bettys dying at the hands of the P40s, and then 3 Kates and 6 Vals hitting the carriers and getting splashed by the CAP. The Dutch bombers die heroically to draw off more Zeroes. Then another Betty attack, the first where any planes make it through our now depleted CAP of just 3 P40s. The CL Eendracht is untouched though, and we are glad to see the Bettys are dropping bombs rather than launching torpedoes.

Here's our second carrier strike.

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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ambon at 76,109

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15

Allied aircraft
Albacore I x 15
Fulmar II x 5
Swordfish I x 7
F2A-3 Buffalo x 17
F4F-3A Wildcat x 13
F4F-3 Wildcat x 11
SB2U-3 Vindicator x 15
SBD-2 Dauntless x 36
SBD-3 Dauntless x 44
F2A-3 Buffalo x 4
Swordfish II x 6
F2A-3 Buffalo x 3
Swordfish II x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Albacore I: 1 destroyed by flak
SB2U-3 Vindicator: 1 destroyed
SBD-2 Dauntless: 2 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged
F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed
Swordfish II: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
xAKL Ryuto Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tainichi Maru, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
BC Kongo, Bomb hits 10, heavy fires
CL Yura, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BC Haruna, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
PB Busho Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Kizan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CA Ashigara, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Horai Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
xAK Konan Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
DD Mikazuki
xAKL Nichiryo Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Minryo Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk


What was a bit annoying was that the Dauntless kept attacking the BCs and bouncing bombs off their armour, whereas the torpedo bombers kept going after transports. But after an angry dressing down between strikes, a few of the torpedo bombers pick tougher targets, and the Ashigara and Haruna both take a torpedo hit each.

And that's it. The tropical sunset is given an extra red tinge by the smoke from all the burning transports, as the defenders of Ambon give thanks to high command for their deliverance.

But perhaps their relief is premature, because a bombardment attack reveals that the bulk of the 1st Kure Assault Division seems to have made it ashore, despite the slaughter of the transports. There are 189 Japanese AV to 61 Dutch, which sounds like the sort of ratio that is going to turn out badly.

There is another attack on Tarakan, the third in a row, and the third to be repulsed. The Tarakan garrison's morale is clearly bolstered by radioed reports of what happened over at Ambon. They're expecting a relief force to sail to them soon. Poor guys are going to be badly disappointed.

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Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4005 troops, 19 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 96

Defending force 2439 troops, 40 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 28

Japanese adjusted assault: 36

Allied adjusted defense: 37

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

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

Japanese ground losses:
119 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
102 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
I/81st Naval Guard Unit
15th Naval Guard Unit
II/81st Naval Guard Unit
III/81st Naval Guard Unit
3rd JNAF Coy

Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
Tarakan Defenses
HQ TC Borneo
Tarakan MLD Base Force


MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

So, the big carrier battle turns out not to be a carrier battle at all, but a transport group slaughter. While it would have been nice to get stuck into those CVLs, I'm not complaining about the day's action. We have put a lot of transports on the bottom, damaged and perhaps sunk some combat ships, and knocked down around 25 carrier aircraft (and their highly experienced crews).

In return we have lost a lot of aircraft as well, but mostly ones we are not too worried about. More importantly we have given up the location of our carrier force. And we have failed to stop the landing at Ambon, and its likely imminent fall.

Here are the aircraft losses for the day.

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ny59giants
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by ny59giants »

KUDOS!! [&o]

He may now need to search for shipping to move towards Babeldoab to replace his losses, which takes time.

Nice to see Japan lose 140 Zeros in just one month. They are his main fighters until the Tojo in summer.
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by obvert »

This is a great strike. Probably be glad the CVs were not in range. Surprising things can happen against the KB early, even if it's not the whole shebang. As it is you hurt him, the subs can pick off some wounded, and you lose nothing.

Be careful for the next few and wait to see how aggressively he reacts before committing to chasing down these ships.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

ORIGINAL: obvert

Be careful for the next few and wait to see how aggressively he reacts before committing to chasing down these ships.

Mike and I had a fairly intense debate about this. I am Spruance to his Halsey. We kind of compromised. So instead of chasing north, and rather than pulling south, the carriers will position to try catch some fleeing transports.

I am already regretting the decision. Even if there is no disaster, it means another tense wait. After the last one, I am not sure how much more I can take.

The one thing that swung it for me in pushing forward a bit was that the Bettys that did get through were dropping bombs, not torpedoes. Bomb dropping Bettys are a lot less scary than the torpedo dropping kind.
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

The outcome of the intense debate is the plan below. The carriers are going to move north so that they can catch any transports trying to funnel away. In the meantime the Dutch cruisers will continue their suicidal patrol in two groups north of Ambon, while the Renown, moving up from Soerebaja, goes to flank speed to head into Kendari in case the transports decide to keep pushing forward.

We expect our opponent to pull back in the face of superior force. There really don't seem to be enough Japanese carriers out there to take us -- my estimate is that we outnumber him 2-1 just in carrier aircraft.

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MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 8, 1942

I take back everything unpleasant I have said about Dutch ships in this game. They may not be the best vessels, but those guys are fighters through and through. Another action packed turn where the heroics of our smallest complement some bashing by our biggest.

The CA Ashigara, which took a couple of bombs and a torp the previous day, has a bad night. As she flees north she stumbles into the CL De Ruyter, a battle which is surprisingly one sided.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Namlea at 76,108, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Ashigara, Shell hits 20, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
DD Piet Hein
DD Kortenaer


Sure, none of those hits are penetrating, but this is not going to help the crew douse the fires. It must be like one of those World of Warships games where those horrible US cruisers keep hitting you with HE rounds and setting you on fire.

Then the SS Shark gets in on the action and puts a torp into the Ashigara. At this stage, I'm putting her survival chances at 'very low'.

Now the real blow comes for the Japanese. I'd sprinted the Renown into Kendari on the off chance that the Japanese transports kept coming. She had sailed from Soerebaja last turn and was not spotted, so it appears that while our opponent was worrying about the threat from the south, he wasn't even aware of the threat from the west. This is the real body blow for the Japanese, turning what was a pretty bad two days into a disaster.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Kendari at 70,106, Range 8,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 1
AMc Toroshima Maru, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
PB Heiei Maru #7, Shell hits 7, on fire
xAK Syoka Maru, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
xAK Rokko Maru, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
xAK Ansyu Maru, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Igasa Maru, Shell hits 23, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Ryoyu Maru #21, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Sasago Maru, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Ussuri Maru, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Kasado Maru, Shell hits 2, and is sunk

Allied Ships
BC Renown, Shell hits 4
CL Ceres
DD Scout
DD Thanet
DM Thracian
DD Electra

Japanese ground losses:
7259 casualties reported
Squads: 194 destroyed, 93 disabled
Non Combat: 122 destroyed, 197 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Ouch. That looks like one of those assault divisions has been wiped out in its entirety.

A Japanese TF had been sent south to hunt our carriers at night, but the De Ruyter flings herself in the way again. We lose one of the Dutch destroyers, but they have done a vital job of shielding the carriers.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Bara at 75,106, Range 9,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Harusame
DD Yudachi
DD Samidare
DD Akatsuki
DD Hibiki

Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
DD Piet Hein
DD Kortenaer, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk


Not content with watching her fellow cruiser take all the glory, the CL Eendracht now gets in on the action. A Dutch cruiser and two destroyers against two battle cruisers should be ugly. But these boys don't know the meaning of can't.

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Day Time Surface Combat, near Namlea at 76,107, Range 25,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BC Kongo, Shell hits 25, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
BC Haruna, Shell hits 12
PB Keiko Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Shozan Maru, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
xAKL Bichu Maru, Shell hits 4, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CL Eendracht, Shell hits 6, on fire
DD Witte de With
DD Banckert


That is some pretty slick fighting. Both transports sunk, a BC torpedoed, and hits handed out in profusion.

Now the Naka, having fought through the Dutch forces, arrives in the same hex as our carriers. But it is too late, dawn has arrived and the force is spotted by some destroyers on detached ASW duty. It is time for the next round of heroics in a turn already replete with such examples.

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Day Time Surface Combat, near Bara at 74,108, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka
DD Harusame, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 1
DD Samidare, Shell hits 3
DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Hibiki, Shell hits 2, on fire

Allied Ships
DD Mayrant, Shell hits 4, heavy fires
DD Stockton, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage


And then, on the way back, Naka runs into the deadly De Ruyter again.

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Day Time Surface Combat, near Obi at 76,106, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CL Naka, Shell hits 1
DD Hibiki, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 4
DD Piet Hein
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

The enemy carrier force, rather than pull back, has moved west to cover the Kendari landing. This puts our carrier forces just 5 hexes apart. I have great respect for Japanese carriers, no matter how outmatched, because those Kates can really ruin your day.

But over two separate attacks, just 15 Kates and 6 Vals fly at our carriers, with not a single Zero escorting. It's the great Kendari turkey shoot, because unsurprisingly not a single plane gets through for an attack run. I just can't work out why there was no fighter support.

Our counterattack is better coordinated.


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Morning Air attack on TF, near Taliaboe at 73,103

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 15
A6M2 Zero x 29

Allied aircraft
Fulmar II x 5
F2A-3 Buffalo x 14
F4F-3A Wildcat x 13
F4F-3 Wildcat x 5
SBD-2 Dauntless x 18
SBD-3 Dauntless x 26

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F2A-3 Buffalo: 1 destroyed
F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed
SBD-2 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CVL Tokachi, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CVL Kushiro
CVE Hosho
CVE Ibuki
CVE Taiyo, Bomb hits 1, on fire


Not sure where the rest of our strike went. Not a single Swordfish took part. Also, for two turns the 25 Avengers at Kendari have refused to attack, even though Hudsons flying from the same base did.

In the last attack of the day, some Kates that failed to find the carriers instead stumble on the Eendracht, and pounce.

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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Namlea at 76,107

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Eendracht, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage


The ground combat phase is unfortunately just what we expected. Despite the devastation to the supporting fleet, the Kure Assault Division easily overruns the defenders of Ambon.

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Ground combat at Ambon (76,109)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 5826 troops, 95 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 190

Defending force 2935 troops, 50 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 61

Japanese adjusted assault: 144

Allied adjusted defense: 37

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Ambon !!!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 8 destroyed
PBY-5 Catalina: 1 destroyed

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

Japanese ground losses:
122 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
3727 casualties reported
Squads: 32 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 168 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 68 (68 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 5

Assaulting units:
1st Kure Assault Division

Defending units:
Molukken KNIL Cdo
Molukken Mil'ie Cdo
Laha ML Base Force
Amboina Defenses
AP-VLG-IV Sup Afd


Nauru and Ocean Island also both fall to amphibious invasion. We could have tried to stop one of these with a heavy cruiser force lurking in the area. But given KB was last spotted in the Marshalls it seemed too much risk. We'll be sad to lose our eyes in the area, they are pretty useful.

The Thai army continues its rampage through Burma. While we are holding him at Pegu, it is not going to make a difference because these Thai units up north are going to cut the Rangoon railroad. He is not even going to need any Japanese to push us out.

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Ground combat at Taung Gyi (59,48)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 9201 troops, 68 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 289

Defending force 2838 troops, 16 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 59

Japanese adjusted assault: 158

Allied adjusted defense: 19

Japanese assault odds: 8 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Taung Gyi !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
39 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
1197 casualties reported
Squads: 52 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 68 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 7 (7 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (10 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 2
Units destroyed 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
1st RTA Division
2nd RTA Division

Defending units:
BFF Brigade
13th Burma Rifles Battalion
107th RAF Base Force


So much so expected, but it a battle in China that bothers me most. We were one turn away from reinforcing these guys with another 800 AV, but too late. With this battle the road to Sian has been blasted open.

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Ground combat at 86,41 (near Loyang)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 22024 troops, 195 guns, 40 vehicles, Assault Value = 569

Defending force 11572 troops, 39 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 271

Japanese adjusted assault: 388

Allied adjusted defense: 101

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
483 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled

Allied ground losses:
5682 casualties reported
Squads: 156 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 100 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 4 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 10 (4 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Units retreated 1

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
37th Division
41st Division

Defending units:
1st Chinese Corps
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ny59giants
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by ny59giants »

Japanese Ships
CVL Tokachi, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CVL Kushiro

Keep an eye on these two CVLs as they are G6 Class. That means in 8/42 they can be converted to CVs with 60 plane capacity. I added mine to KB-4 with the two Junyo Class CVs (54 planes) and some CVLs. If you can sink them, do so!!
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 9, 1942

The fuel situation for our carriers is starting to get critical and venturing further north would have put us in range of Bettys operating out of the southern Philippines, so we decided to hold the carriers back and try a little surface combat action. Especially as we still have no idea where KB might be.

Three combat groups speed up the funnel that all the Ambon and Kendari evacuees have to use to escape. The area is also crawling with subs.

First up is the SS Permit, which pops a torpedo into the DD Hibiki. The Hibiki was already damaged, so I'm writing her off.

Then the Australia and Canberra run over the DD Akatsuki and put her under.

The SS Shark puts a torpedo into the Kongo, unfortunately to no effect as it is a dud. Damn those duds, those battle cruisers have had charmed lives.

The main excitement, at least for us, is when the a TF led by British CL Enterprise stumbles on his light carriers. Well, sort of. The Japanese lookouts spot the British ships at 10,000 yards in 53% moonlight, and the British ships see nothing as the carriers slip off quietly into the night. Perhaps the lookout on the lead ship was down below getting a nice cup of tea.

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Night Time Surface Combat, near Ternate at 76,102, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CVE Taiyo
CVL Tokachi
CVL Kushiro
CA Myoko
DD Yukikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Nenohi
DD Wakaba

Allied Ships
CL Enterprise
DD Encounter
DD John Barry
DD Kelvin


Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 53% moonlight: 12,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 10,000 yards
Japanese TF attempts to evade combat
Range increases to 11,000 yards...
Range increases to 12,000 yards...
Range increases to 12,000 yards...
Japanese Task Force Manages to Escape
Japanese Air Combat TF evades combat


I wonder where the Taiyo and Hosho went. The Tokachi doesn't seem to show much ill effect from the 2 bombs it reportedly took last round.

Then the deadly Dutch submariners strike, knocking out a loaded transport. We love sinking loaded transports, it's like a two for one special.

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Sub attack near Sangi at 76,96

Japanese Ships
xAK Nittai Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy damage
xAK Macassar Maru
DD Hatsuharu

Allied Ships
SS KXVIII

Japanese ground losses:
33 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


The CL Enterprise, fresh from not even seeing the light carriers, runs into a small TF of escorts running away from Kendari. And somehow these manage to evade combat as well. I really need to look at the aggressiveness rating of the Enterprise commander. How useless can you get if a TB and a PB, one burning merrily, can get away from you.

But the Australian CAs have no such problem, catching the same TF and putting it down hard. I reckon this was carrying the last survivors of whatever unit it was we butchered off Kendari.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Sidate at 75,102, Range 23,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
PB Heiei Maru #7, Shell hits 9, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Australia
CA Canberra, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Fanning
DD Porter
DD Balch

Japanese ground losses:
643 casualties reported
Squads: 42 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 16 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


There is still a couple of DDs in the general area, and our Banshees at Kendari finally decide to get in on the act. But the chances of hitting a destroyer with naval bombing skills in the 30s are miniscule, and sure enough we lose one aircraft for no hits.

With the fight in the area over, it looks like we have wrecked two transports groups, killed off a division, sunk at least two DDs, a CL and a CA, and damaged to some degree a CVL, CVE, and two BCs

But now we see the consequences of the Japanese knowing where our core carrier striking force is, as the Catalina pilots stationed on outlying islands in the Solomons start radioing in frantic reports of incoming carriers. I imagine this is were Rabaul finally gets the hammer. The great evacuation starts of all the little task forces that had been hanging out in the area waiting to pick off some transports.
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

There's an interesting little footnote from the turn, which is that the air losses screen shows 4 Jakes lost to ground action. That normally means a ship has gone down suddenly. But we didn't hit any ships this turn, so I wonder where those Jakes found their watery grave.
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

And here it comes, the hammer descending on the Solomons. Not going to complain though, we got a good few weeks more out of the defence of Rabaul than we had any right to expect, and killed quite a few transports in the process. And we forced him to bring KB to finish the place off, which is a win in itself.

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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by BBfanboy »

Hope you can get Achilles and Leander out of Rabaul before KB is in range! Those cruisers are very useful for interdiction when the Japanese have lost control of the air.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Hope you can get Achilles and Leander out of Rabaul before KB is in range! Those cruisers are very useful for interdiction when the Japanese have lost control of the air.

A high speed sprint did the trick.
MichaelU
Posts: 285
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 10-12, 1942

It looks like the carriers north of Rabaul are covering the loading of the assault division at Manus. There is a reported surface combat task force at Manus and the carriers have been hanging out north of that for the last few turns.

Further south, the carriers that were west of Rabaul in the last picture spend the next few turns sailing straight south, not stopping till they get to Luganville. Not sure if this is a temporary stop on the way to Noumea, or if he is planning to grab this to go with all the other forward bases in the chain down the Solomons. Just in case we have ceased unloading troops at Noumea and sent all the ships in the area out of harm's way. In the meantime we steam all the combat ships we do have in the area towards Noumea, but cautiously.

Our carriers meanwhile have topped up fuel in Soerebaja, pretty much draining all of Java in the process, and are heading south to get them out of any danger. Need to think where we can go next to cause maximum trouble.

Operation Steel Storm, the bombardment of Midway, is a storming success. Three of the slow BBs from Pearl Harbour, covered by Saratoga and Yorktown, sail in to give the place a good working over. Well, we kill a few of his infantry on the island,knock a few holes in the runway, and gain some valuable experience for our carrier pilots. I suppose that counts as a success.

The situation in Burma continues to head steadily south. This must be the most inept defense of Burma ever. We are being pushed out of the place by a few Thai divisions. Taung Gyi falls, and the victorious and deadly Thai troops push on into Meiktila. With the road and rail links through the Irrawaddy valley about to be cut off, British high command realises the time has come to abandon the defense of southern Burma. Pegu falls easily once the combat troops have pulled out, with just a base force failing to get the order to abandon and getting overrun.

Very sadly, we have to report that the heroic defenders of Tarakan have finally been defeated. A third round of reinforcements is shipped in, and despite more battering of the unloading transports, it just proves too much for the stalwart Dutch.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Tarakan (67,91)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 7653 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 211

Defending force 2361 troops, 38 guns, 7 vehicles, Assault Value = 29

Japanese adjusted assault: 117

Allied adjusted defense: 34

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Tarakan !!!

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

Japanese ground losses:
38 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
770 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 36 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 12 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 26 (26 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (6 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Units retreated 4

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
15th Naval Guard Unit
II/81st Naval Guard Unit
I/81st Naval Guard Unit
16th Infantry Regiment
III/81st Naval Guard Unit
3rd JNAF Coy

Defending units:
VII KNIL Battalion
HQ TC Borneo
Tarakan Defenses
Tarakan MLD Base Force


We knew it had to happen eventually, but it was pretty sad to see anyway. Their noble struggle will not be forgotten. Their sacrifice will be avenged!

The Japanese are having a good cleanup in their backyard in China. Already two corps have joined the Chungking reinforcement list. He hasn't made a particularly hard push anywhere, and has had a few misjudged attacks like the one below. I imagine the pressure will mount as those units doing the fighting in the rear areas are now released to come take the fight to the front lines.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 86,47 (near Sinyang)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 6812 troops, 50 guns, 11 vehicles, Assault Value = 431

Defending force 17383 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 486

Japanese adjusted assault: 58

Allied adjusted defense: 92

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2

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

Japanese ground losses:
1902 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 153 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled

Allied ground losses:
320 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
13th Tank Regiment
34th Division
1st Ind.Mixed Brigade

Defending units:
12th Chinese Corps
85th Chinese Corps
3rd Group Army


For now there is not all that much we can do to stop the Japanese doing whatever they want in the Solomons. Will be interesting to see how much he has brought to the party. We have managed to get most of a regiment ashore at Noumea, with level 3 fortifications and decent supply, so it's not going to be a walkover.
MichaelU
Posts: 285
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 14, 1942

The deep push into SoPac is stopping at Luganville, at least for now. A bunch of troops are unloading there, covered by a substantial SCTF and some carriers. We're hovering with combat ships at a relatively safe distance, but it doesn't look like he is going to give us an easy kill this time. Looks like he is still loading at Manus, prior to what is likely to be a very short campaign at Rabaul. Again, with carriers hovering in the vicinity there is not all that much we can do about it.

But the loading at Manus has left his carriers having to hover, and Mike's subs are quick to pounce. We don't get a carrier, but have served notice that the area is becoming hot with this lovely little hit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Mussau Island at 104,117

Japanese Ships
CL Furutaka, Torpedo hits 1
CL Kako
DD Kikuzuki
DD Uzuki

Allied Ships
SS S-23, hits 1

SS S-23 launches 4 torpedoes at CL Furutaka
S-23 diving deep ....
DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Uzuki attacking submerged sub ....
DD Kikuzuki attacking submerged sub ....
DD Uzuki fails to find sub and abandons search
DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD Kikuzuki fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub


And he has served notice that the clock is ticking for the defenders of Manila. For weeks about 100 bombers a day have been pounding the city. Now the massed Japanese artillery opens up as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Manila (79,77)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 50370 troops, 484 guns, 116 vehicles, Assault Value = 1575

Defending force 46908 troops, 415 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 1032

Japanese ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
21 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Assaulting units:
3rd Ind Com Engineer Regiment
38th Division
21st Ind Com Engineer Regiment
9th Infantry Regiment
20th Infantry Regiment
1st Formosa Inf. Regiment
65th Brigade
Tanaka
9th Tank Regiment
48th Engineer Regiment
4th Division
42nd Infantry Regiment
2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
48th Field Artillery Regiment
16th Recon Regiment
56th Const Co
9th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Construction Battalion
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
9th Field Construction Battalion
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
47th Infantry Regiment
22nd Recon Regiment

Defending units:
26th PS Cavalry Regiment
71st PA Infantry Division
57th PS Infantry Regiment
31st Infantry Regiment
21st PA Infantry Division
91st PA Infantry Division
41st PA Infantry Division
45th PS Infantry Regiment
192nd Tank Battalion
194th Tank Battalion
51st PA Infantry Division
1st Constabulary Regiment
27th Avn Sup
1st PA Infantry Division
4th Marine Regiment
2nd Constabulary Regiment
I/Prov'nl SPM Grp
803rd Aviation Engineer Battalion
Clark Field AAF Base Force
35th Avn Sup
Cavite USN Base Force
II/Prov'nl SPM Grp
Nichols Field AAF Base Force
!/23rd PS FA Battalion
Far East USAAF
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
II Corps
Asiatic Fleet
11th PAAC Avn Sup
24th PS FA Regiment
US Forces Far East
24th Avn Sup
I Corps
88th PS Field Artillery Regiment
86th PS Field Artillery Battalion
III/Prov'nl SPM Grp


All we can hope for is that he kicks off an attack too early and batters his units. If he is smart he can keep up the pounding for another couple of weeks and then stroll in over the ruins.

The all conquering Thais take Meiktila, severing the rail link from southern Burma. Oh dear, this is really not going very well. We've got the bulk of our combat troops rushing north from there, but will they be too late?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Meiktila (58,47)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 9012 troops, 68 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 262

Defending force 5442 troops, 28 guns, 40 vehicles, Assault Value = 48

Japanese adjusted assault: 59

Allied adjusted defense: 16

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Meiktila !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: preparation(-), morale(-), experience(-)
Attacker: disruption(-), fatigue(-), morale(-)

Japanese ground losses:
37 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
2561 casualties reported
Squads: 91 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 123 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 29 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 17 (16 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 46 (46 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 6

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
1st RTA Division
2nd RTA Division

Defending units:
1st Burma Brigade
104th RAF Base Force
106th RAF Base Force
BFF Brigade
107th RAF Base Force
9th Burma Rifles Battalion


The reinforcements at least are flowing. There are so many loaded transports sailing around, dropping troops in India, Australia, New Zealand and various islands, that I have no idea how Mike manages it all. All I can say is that I am very glad to have a logistics meister like him on hand. I drop a note in a google docs sheet saying xx unit in PH needs to get to Auckland, and it magically turns up there a few weeks later.

Same with fuel and supplies. I say 'carriers will be operating out of Auckland for the foreseeable future' and soon there is a crowd of tankers offloading fuel in the port. It's like magic.
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 15, 1942

The SS Flying Fish picks up a transport convoy off Midway consisting of a couple of AMC and some xAKs, with 2 DDs as escorts. Unfortunately she is unable to get in an attack, and won't don't know if the convoy was heading towards Midway or away from it. Was it carrying troops, or going to pick up the assault division. Maybe a bit of both. What a pity our carriers weren't around for this.

Most of the action in the air is the bombing of helpless ground targets. He is hitting our troops in Kuala Lumpur and Manila, and we're hitting his oil fields in Palembang and Balikpapan. We're also using Australian Hudsons to hammer away at Ambon. We don't want him turning it into a forward air base if we can help it.

In Manila, we're still dug in with a substantial force, but our supply is dwindling. There is around 20,000 left, down 5,000 in a week. At this rate the troops will be cooking up their boots for dinner in about a month's time.

Luganville falls to he 61st Naval Guard Unit. There is no sign of any air support or other such units, so perhaps he is doing this to get some air search planes in place. Will be interesting to see where he goes next. And the ships are still loading at Manus. I suppose it doesn't really have the infrastructure for loading a combat division, so it is going to be thankfully slow. Because his carriers are having to cover the loading, it might give us a chance to shoot the Horn Island gap with the carriers. What we really want is to be heading down the coast of Australia while he still thinks we are lurking south of the DEI.
MichaelU
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Jan 16-17, 1942

The TF has arrived at Midway, and is either unloading some support troops or picking up the assault division for us elsewhere, or both. SS Cuttlefish has a try at the convoy but is given rough treatment by the escorts. She is left limping back to Pearl Harbor with more than 50 flotation damage.

The real action though happens in ground combat. The Japanese launch their long awaited attack at Manila, and despite coming off worse in the odds manage to come out ahead in terms of casualties.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Manila (79,77)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 55288 troops, 487 guns, 207 vehicles, Assault Value = 1586

Defending force 47244 troops, 415 guns, 169 vehicles, Assault Value = 1033

Japanese adjusted assault: 682

Allied adjusted defense: 1069

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 2)

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

Japanese ground losses:
1941 casualties reported
Squads: 81 destroyed, 254 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 36 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 83 disabled
Vehicles lost 18 (5 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2450 casualties reported
Squads: 50 destroyed, 177 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 90 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 14 disabled
Guns lost 47 (3 destroyed, 44 disabled)
Vehicles lost 32 (4 destroyed, 28 disabled)


The Japanese are also clearing the path to Yennan, which will give them multiple points of attack against Sian. A blocker force holding a river crossing on the road is swept aside with ease.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 89,39 (near Taiyuan)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 20018 troops, 114 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 633

Defending force 7947 troops, 45 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 197

Japanese adjusted assault: 715

Allied adjusted defense: 51

Japanese assault odds: 14 to 1

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

Japanese ground losses:
386 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 48 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
1940 casualties reported
Squads: 110 destroyed, 71 disabled
Non Combat: 167 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 8 disabled
Guns lost 16 (8 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Units retreated 3


It looks like his main attack is coming in the north, because he also clears the defenders of Paotow.

There is also a whole bunch of fighting in the plains south of Nanyang. The RGC Temp Division misjudges the opposition and launches an attack against the entire 22nd Group Army, being mostly roughly handled. Over the course of its attack and the Chinese counterattack it loses 1800 men to 9 losses for the Chinese.
The most annoying fight is this one though, because I mistakenly left the guys in move mode and they got beaten badly because of it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at 87,46 (near Sinyang)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 12165 troops, 98 guns, 36 vehicles, Assault Value = 368

Defending force 17323 troops, 81 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 468

Japanese adjusted assault: 428

Allied adjusted defense: 84

Japanese assault odds: 5 to 1

Combat modifiers
Defender: op mode(-), leaders(+), leaders(-), fatigue(-)
experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
806 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 72 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled

Allied ground losses:
4881 casualties reported
Squads: 241 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 237 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 5 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 18 (9 destroyed, 9 disabled)
Units retreated 3

Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

Assaulting units:
32nd Division

Defending units:
12th Chinese Corps
85th Chinese Corps
3rd Group Army


Should have done better with equal AV defending a river crossing, even with all those negatives for leadership and experience one expects with Chinese units.
MichaelU
Posts: 285
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

The best bit of the turn though is the air battle over Prome. Battle though is probably the wrong word, as a bunch of unescorted Ann bombers run into two squadrons of fighters based in Prome to cover the withdrawal. WO Fitzgibbons goes on a rampage in his Hurricane I, making ace in just one air combat.

WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 2
WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 3
WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 4
WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF is credited with kill number 5
WO Fitzgibbon L. of No.67 Sqn RAF attains ace status!!


Tracker shows 14 Anns downed, so that lot won't be coming back for a while.
MichaelU
Posts: 285
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RE: Going The Distance: BTS 4.6 MichaelU/lb4269 (A) vs bristolduke (J)

Post by MichaelU »

Ouch.



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