Argentina vs. USA: Aurorus (J) vs. Apbarog (A)

[Aurorus]

June 14th 1942.

The 2nd and 3rd waves reached Nadi through a school of allied submarines. The PM portion of the Combat phase was 10 minutes of escorts and submarines battling. There were 11 different submarine engagements around Nadi in the PM phase. 1 allied submarine was able to fire on the CA Aoba; otherwise the escorts were able to spot the submarines or draw their attacks. I sent in an ASW TF with 4 Kamikaze class DDs ahead of the SCTF and the amphibious groups. The Kamikazes are not good ASW platforms at this stage of the war, with the old type 95 depth charges and only 4 ammo, but they are all that I had available. They did a remarkable job engaging 5 different allied subs until all 4 Kamikazes had depleted their entire stock of depth charges.

1 Allied sub was able to score a hit on an xAK near Tarawa returning to Nauri Island after supplying Tarawa.


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Sub attack near Ocean Island at 131,128

Japanese Ships
xAK Sinkyo Maru, Torpedo hits 1
PB Tsuneshima Maru

Allied Ships
SS S-42

There is a movement arrow on the allied stack at Nadi pointing towards Suva. Could the allies be retreating? This would make me very happy. Of course, Apbarog does not know that I mishandled this campaign and had prepped my units for Suva, thinking that there was only 1 allied regiment at Nadi instead of 2 regiments reinforced by New Zealand artillery and combat engineers. The number of disabled squads that I am suffering on landing is enormous, as I suspected. With most units switching their prep to Nadi en route, they fell to 25% prep or below; some as low as 10%, and a few at 0%. 60 vehicles were disabled in the tank regiments: 50% of their support and 25% of their tanks. Thankfully, half of the tanks are light tanks or the results would have been worse. Suprisingly, the 75mm gun artillery unit landed mostly intact with only 12% prep.

Despite the poor planning and bad landing, I will have about 500-550 AV in Nadi next turn, which is probably enough to take the base. It will be close and a hard-fought battle if Apbarog does not withdraw. If I am able to take Nadi in the next 3 or 4 days, I will feel much more confident about the entire Fiji campaign. It will still be a long campaign, however. If Nadi does fall, it will be 3 weeks to a month before these units have recovered enough devices to move on Suva: especially if there are 4 USMC regiments there as I suspect.

[Aurorus]

In the AM phase, the only action in Sopac were allied 2-Es sortieing from Noumea against some shipping. They sunk a CM that was one of 3 laying mines at Belep Islands to guard the entrance to Koumac. They also found 63 Oscars flying CAP over APs from the first wave at Luganville.

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Luganville at 120,150

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 63

Allied aircraft
Hudson III (LR) x 6

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson III (LR): 3 destroyed

[Aurorus]

I have been bombing the airfield at Paoshan, on the Burma-China border regularly, whenever the weather forecast is anything but "thunderstorms." I want to prevent fort-building here, but I was also hoping to draw allied fighters out of India and into China (where there is no radar). The plan worked, too well.

First a fighter sweep of A6M2s came in and catch the allied fighter pilots napping. Approximately 30 P-40s and H-81s were downed to 12 A6M2s.

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Afternoon Air attack on Paoshan , at 65,45

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 42 NM, estimated altitude 22,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 16
P-40E Warhawk x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
H81-A3: 3 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 9 destroyed

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 18000 feet


What remained of the CAP, however, was able to attack the bomber raid that followed, and the escorts failed to participate in the battle, with the allied fighters going straight into the bombers as if no escorts were present. I checked alitude settings and every other variable to try to understand why my escorts failed to participate, but could find no plausible reason. I sacked the commanders of both squadrons.

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Afternoon Air attack on Paoshan , at 65,45

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 10 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 20
Ki-43-Ia Oscar x 30

Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 5
P-40E Warhawk x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 10 destroyed, 1 damaged

No Allied losses

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
7 x Ki-21-IIa Sally bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 4 x 250 kg GP Bomb

11 allied fighters were able to destroy 24 bombers in a group escorted by 30 fighters. Very bad. Total air losses for the day show 36 allied planes lost to 35 Japanese. I. Hurosawa had 3 kills on the day and surpassed S. Imamura, who had only 1 kill for the day, as the leading Japanese ace. Hurosawa now has 10 kills and Imamura has 9.

[Aurorus]

The first Tojo IIa squadron will be ready to move to the front tomorrow. 36 of its 42 planes have been repaired. The Tojo IIa is the IJA plane until Frank arrives. The Oscar IIa and IIb are serviceable as 2nd tier fighters (unlike the Oscar Ic), but neither is as effective as the Tojo as an air superiority fighter. What makes the Tojo so effective is its combination of speed, manueverability, climb, and ceiling. Its very good climb rating makes it the best Japanese CAP fighter of the war (the IIc maintains these attributes as a later war fighter) because it can form in numbers at lower altitudes even with poor Japanese radar and detection times. It is 30 MPH faster than the 1st generation allied fighters: P-40s and P-39s. For those allied players who like to fly their P-40s and P-39s at maximum altitude, the Tojo can fly higher, always dive on sweeps, and catch allied fighters with effectively 1 manueverability (its speed advantage reduces the already-poor allied manueverability at high altitudes further), which means it always scores hits on its dives. The Tojo completely negates allied pilot quality and pilot defense ratings at higher altitudes. The only downside to the Tojo is its light armament, which makes it mostly ineffective against allied 4-Es. It is best used in combination with the Ki-45 at locations where 4-E strikes seem likely.

The Oscar IIa pool is up to 30 aircraft and the first Oscar IIa squadron will be available in a week or so. The first Ki-45 squadron is now on station at Koumac to guard against 4-Es from Australia. With the arrival of the Oscar IIa, the Tojo IIa, and the Ki-45, the IJA will now take over much of the air-war from the IJN. In July, Tainan and 3rd squadrons will donate most of their TRACOM eligible pilots to the CVs (assuming no disaster for 1st Air Fleet) as the A6M groups on the CVs expand from 18 to 27 and 36.

[Aurorus]

The push forward in southern China continues. A large Chinese stack had occupied the road hex just outside Tuyun in good terrain. To reduce that stack would have taken months of bombardments and high-casualty assaults. However, the fast pace of the Japanese advance along the whole front made it difficult for Chinese units to withdraw orderly into difficult terrain. There was a weak point in the Chinese line just to the east the Tuyun road. I made this hex the focus of my attack, to gain the flank of the large stack and force a withdrawal to Tuyun. The Chinese army has now withdrawn to Tuyun. They must hold Tuyun, however, in my opinion. If Tuyun falls, I will be 1 hex from better offensive terrain and 1 hex from cutting one of the only 2 major roads to Paoshan and Burma. Cutting off the interior of China from Burma is my objective.

What is the lesson here? Extensive recon is absolutely essential to the proper conduct of any campaign. In China, my offensive is being conducted properly and is well planned: on Fiji, not so much. The difference is recon, recon, recon.

[Aurorus]

Any time that you think that you have seen everything, something unique happens. The impossible...

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Kabara at 136,164

Weather in hex: Overcast

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

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
B5N2 Kate x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
PT-41
PT-39
PT-40, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PT-38

Aircraft Attacking:
13 x B5N2 Kate launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 45cm Type 91 Torp

Hitting a PT boat with a torpedo.

The pilot who achieved the impossible attack. Hirohito himself will present him with an award.

[Aurorus]

The build-up of Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean is nearing completion. I have an AKE, an AV, an AS, and a handful of Mavis on Cocos. The airfield on Cocos is nearly size 2 and fortification construction will commence.

If I am able to close the Pacific route to India, I want to be positioned to ambush any TK groups that move through this region from Cape Town. 5 submarines are now based at Cocos Islands, including 1 glen-carrying sub, which is patrolling 3 hexes from the map edge. I also have 2 AMCs patrolling near the map edge, and 4 more AMCs en route to Cocos Islands. 2 of these were spotted yesterday by an allied submarine as they moved through the straits between Batavia and Oosthaven. They were escorted by 3 PBs, which managed to draw the submarine attack. I hope that Apbarog thinks that these ships were transporting units or supplies and not moving to sortie as an SCTF from Cocos. They will not be escorted as an SCTF and are very vulnerable to submarine attacks.

[adarbrauner]

The purpose of the Auxiliary Armed Merchant or Cruisers is to draw enemy scarce naval resources. This you shall obtain, but after initial spottings and hopefully successes their fate shall be cast and , if kept at sea, short.

[Aurorus]

Shoho arrived safely in Luganville. She has 4 escorts and will now try to make the long journey to Honshu via Truk. Her A6M2s were offloaded at Luganville, and she was able to repair 2 more point of system damage at sea. There are allied subs patrolling around Tulagi, so she may try to move directly from Ndeni to Truk, where she will put in to repair any minor systems damage before returning to Honshu. She has survived the 1st leg of the journey, but there is a long way to go.

[Aurorus]

Apbarog made another bold move with his CL TF that narrowly avoided encountering Tanaka's BBs at Koumac and finished their move 1 hex out of KB's strike range a few days later. The CL TF moved at full speed into the slot directly between Luganville and Nadi. There they encountered the small amphibious group that had landed the armored regiments. The results of the battle were another Japanese CL and DD sunk along with an x-AKt.

This was very bold and incredibly fortunate. Not only did these CLs miss (somehow... see below) encountering or being trapped by 2 BB groups, they also somehow managed to finish their move 1 hex outside KBs search range once again.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Ambrym at 126,152, Range 20,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E7K2 Alf: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Nagara, Shell hits 14, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Oite, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Hayate, Shell hits 2
APD Shimakaze
AK Hirokawa Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire
AK Kinka Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
AK Kyushu Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CL Leander
CL Achilles, Shell hits 1
CL Trenton
CL Marblehead
DD Helm
DD Henley
DD Patterson, Shell hits 1
DD Jarvis
DD Benham
DD Ellet

[Aurorus]

This CL TF is the most charmed unit in the history of warfare. What I do not understand about this engagement is the process that allowed it to occur. Asakura's TF was at Nadi. Tanaka's TF was at Luganville. I decided, yesterday, to rotate the two. Asakura (who depleted some more ammunition engaging PT boats) was to withdraw to Luganville. Tanaka was to move down from Luganville to Nadi.

These two TFs should have crossed paths and finished their moves in almost the exact hex in which Apbarog's CLs engaged Nagara group. However, both TFs moved at full speed for no reason that I can discern. They were both set to mission speed, and there was no reason for either TF to move at full speed to their destination. So, instead of moving directly into the path of Apbarog's CL TF in the daylight, they passed through that area at night and missed the incredibly fortunate CL TF who somehow avoided being trapped by 2 BB groups. I have no idea what caused both these TFs to move at full speed. Any ideas?

Not only did this cause them to miss the CL TF. It also caused them to burn far more fuel than I intended and caused system damage that will force me to remove them from action earlier than I intended. This was very frustrating, because I was depending upon these 2 TFs to make 2 more bombardment runs at Nadi or Suva. Now I am short on fuel and have 4 BBs and 5 CAs that have accumulated signficant systems damage.

[Aurorus]

The IJN was able to extract some revenge on the allies by hitting several submarines. Operating in shallow water with a tight patrol zone that does not remove enough potential DL in the night phase near aerial search and ASW assets (from KB) results in submarines losses.

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ASW attack near Nadi at 131,160

Japanese Ships
CL Tama
DD Arare
APD Asagao
xAP Baikal Maru
xAP Ural Maru
DD Numakaze
DD Namikaze
DD Hokaze

Allied Ships
SS S-31, hits 4

One of these hits set fire to the bridge, another flooded the control room, and a third caused severe engine damage. This sub may be sunk.

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Sub attack near Nadi at 131,160

Japanese Ships
xAP Montevideo Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
CL Tama
DD Numakaze
DD Arare
APD Asagao
xAP Baikal Maru
xAP Ussuri Maru
DD Namikaze
DD Hokaze

Allied Ships
SS Grenadier, hits 4


6 First Air Fleet pilots also reported scoring bomb hits on submarines today.

B5N2 Kate attacking a Narwhal class SS at 131,161
:::::::: an Allied SS is reported HIT

D3A1 Val attacking SS Cuttlefish at 133,158
:::::::: SS Cuttlefish is reported HIT

D3A1 Val attacking a KVIII Class class SS at 130,157
:::::::: a Electric Boat S-42 class SS is reported HIT

D3A1 Val attacking a Barracuda class SS at 131,161
:::::::: an Allied SS is reported HIT

E13A1 Jake attacking SS Cuttlefish at 133,158
:::::::: SS Cuttlefish is reported HIT

E13A1 Jake attacking a KVIII Class class SS at 131,158
:::::::: a Grampus class SS is reported HIT

3 other submarines were reported as "attacked" from the air, but no hits were reported in these attacks. The Val pilots on the CVs now all have ASW ratings of 65+.

I expect that this flotilla of damaged submarines will head for Vava U. I may try to bomb that port in a few days. It is remarkable that I sailed 4 amphibious TFs, 2 BB TFs, a CA TF, and 2 CV TFs into a swarm of 20 submarines, operated there for days, took only 2 torpedo hits, and put many of the subs out of the action.

[Aurorus]

I reviewed supply and fuel levels in SoPac. There is little fuel at the front: 6k at Tulagi and 5k at Luganville. Rabaul has 56k fuel and Truk has 49k. There are 2 TKs at Kwajalein offloading 20k. There are 3 fast AOs at Rabaul now loading 30k for the SoPac fleet. A replenishment TF of 5 slow AOs (13-knot AOs) is loaded with 40k fuel near Rabaul. So, there is a total of 180k fuel in the theater. Supplies are ample. Rabaul has 63k. Truk has 70. Tulagi has 17k. Luganville has 21k. There is 10k ashore at Nadi. New Caledonia has dropped to 17k and will need resupplied soon. There is 100k between the Marshalls bases, Ponape, Nauri, and Kusai. So, there is approximately 350k supply in SoPac. 50K is loading on cargo ships at Tokyo now for tranport to SoPac.

[adarbrauner]

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

The IJN was able to extract some revenge on the allies by hitting several submarines. Operating in shallow water with a tight patrol zone that does not remove enough potential DL in the night phase near aerial search and ASW assets (from KB) results in submarines losses.

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ASW attack near Nadi at 131,160

Japanese Ships
CL Tama
DD Arare
APD Asagao
xAP Baikal Maru
xAP Ural Maru
DD Numakaze
DD Namikaze
DD Hokaze

Allied Ships
SS S-31, hits 4

One of these hits set fire to the bridge, another flooded the control room, and a third caused severe engine damage. This sub may be sunk.

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Sub attack near Nadi at 131,160

Japanese Ships
xAP Montevideo Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
CL Tama
DD Numakaze
DD Arare
APD Asagao
xAP Baikal Maru
xAP Ussuri Maru
DD Namikaze
DD Hokaze

Allied Ships
SS Grenadier, hits 4


6 First Air Fleet pilots also reported scoring bomb hits on submarines today.

B5N2 Kate attacking a Narwhal class SS at 131,161
:::::::: an Allied SS is reported HIT

D3A1 Val attacking SS Cuttlefish at 133,158
:::::::: SS Cuttlefish is reported HIT

D3A1 Val attacking a KVIII Class class SS at 130,157
:::::::: a Electric Boat S-42 class SS is reported HIT

D3A1 Val attacking a Barracuda class SS at 131,161
:::::::: an Allied SS is reported HIT

E13A1 Jake attacking SS Cuttlefish at 133,158
:::::::: SS Cuttlefish is reported HIT

E13A1 Jake attacking a KVIII Class class SS at 131,158
:::::::: a Grampus class SS is reported HIT

3 other submarines were reported as "attacked" from the air, but no hits were reported in these attacks. The Val pilots on the CVs now all have ASW ratings of 65+.

I expect that this flotilla of damaged submarines will head for Vava U. I may try to bomb that port in a few days. It is remarkable that I sailed 4 amphibious TFs, 2 BB TFs, a CA TF, and 2 CV TFs into a swarm of 20 submarines, operated there for days, took only 2 torpedo hits, and put many of the subs out of the action.

90% of the reported "hits" are false - you know it

[Aurorus]

I often find my subs damaged from aeriel ASW attacks after a phase in which no hits have been reported. So, I find that for every false report of a hit, there is also a hit that is not reported. With the high DLs on these subs, I suspect that they are taking some hits. They are building up DLs in the daylight with multiple sightings and not fully removing the potential DL at night, because subs remove a DL per phase and per hex moved. They are in a very tight patrol zone, so they are not moving many hexes at night to remove DL. In the daylight, once spotted again, they have a very high DL, which leads to aerial attacks and unusually accurate Japanese escort ASW.

[Aurorus]

I have my first set of Ann pilots fully trained for ASW warfare, and they are not on station in the DEI. A size-12 squadron of Maries is also flying ASW from Balikpapan. A 2nd Ann squadron will be divided into 3 join them shortly once their ASW and NavS skills exceed 65. It's 3 groups will station at Miri, Donggala, and Soerabaja.

In 2 or 3 weeks, I will bring a group of Anns, similiarly divided into 3 groups, down from Korea to Toyohara and Hokkaido to begin patrols there. Anns, Maries, and DBs are my primary ASW patrol craft for the moment.

[Aurorus]

Who has seen this? I have never seen this until tonight.

Cargo explodes during unloading of xAK Yodogawa Maru at Hong Kong
xAK Yodogawa Maru sinks....

The level of detail in this game is amazing. When I think that I have seen it all, something unique happens.

[ericv]

Looking at the Exe with a Hex editor reveals a load of messages I have never seen in the game. This game is amazing in every aspect.

[Platoonist]

ORIGINAL: Aurorus

Cargo explodes during unloading of xAK Yodogawa Maru at Hong Kong
xAK Yodogawa Maru sinks....

It least wasn't the Mutsu.

[FlyByKnight]

ORIGINAL: ericv

Looking at the Exe with a Hex editor reveals a load of messages I have never seen in the game. This game is amazing in every aspect.

What kind of data can one see?