cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

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CapAndGown
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cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

Post by CapAndGown »

I have started a scenario 1 game against witpqs. I am opening this thread because I need advice from all the JFBs out there.

Here is my basic plan for the opening phases of the war. I wish to prevent both Java and Australia from being reinforced. I want to isolate Java because I do not want my job of taking it to be any harder than necessary. I want to isolate Australia to prevent it from being used as a launching pad for an allied offensive, especially against the DEI, but also the Solomons.

To isolate Java, I will have two major thrusts: one towards Singapore and northern Borneo; the other towards Timor and northern Australia.

To isolate Australia, I wish to capture the following bases: Pago-Pago; Suva; and Noumea. Call this the south-sea thrust.

In order to execute the South-Seas thrust I have the following plans. First, use the 2nd and 56 divisions based in the home islands as well as the 65th brigade to take these objectives. I do not know what I will find when I get down there; I do not know how fast and where my opponent will reinforce these areas. I wish to take them either simultaneously or in quick succession. At any rate, I am going to bring a big hammer just in case. On the way down to Fiji/New Cal/Somoa, I will take Rabaul en-passant with the 146th regiment located at Badelbedoab. I will also take Canton/Baker with SNLF units based at Truk and Jailut.

The KB will obviously support this thrust. I have done the initial strike on PH and had mediocre results. The KB has now sailed 7 hexes directly west of PH and will do another port attack, this time using only Kates set at 9000 feet and set to use bombs rather than torps. From there, the KB will head west to support the invasion of Wake. It will then move to Truck to reload torps and to join up with the various invasion fleets. From there, the South-Seas force will move together, first towards Rabaul, and then further South. I am setting up a sub screen of Noumea on the west and Pago-Pago on the east to try to damage reinforcements going to these places and to alert me as to whether reinforcements are being sent. I have yet to decide whether to split the KB and go for Samoa and New Cal simultaneously or go from east to west as a group, i.e. Samoa->Fiji->New Cal. (Here is where I would like advice!)

For the Malayd thrust I am using the 25th Army. Because large elements of the 16th Army are now being used for the South Seas thrust, I will also add the following divisions to the Malay offensive: 38th division after the fall of Hong Kong and the 21st and 4th divisions, both attached to the Southern Army. This commitment is necessitated by the diversion of most of the 16th Army to the South Seas. This will give me 6 divisions to take Singapore.

Because the 21st and 4th divisions will be committed to Malaya, and the 65th brigade will be committed to the south seas thrust, this will mean the units available for taking Luzon will be rather weak. Basically, I will have two divisions from the 14th Army: 48th and 16th. This, in my estimation, will not be enough to secure Luzon. Instead, these two divisions will establish a beach head at Vigan where an airbase will be built in order to commence a continuous bombing campaign of Manila, Clark Field, and Bataan.

For the Timor thrust, I plan on using various SNLF units as well as the 41st infantry regiment based at Samah. The Timor thrust will be supported by LBA and large portions of the IJN surface fleet. Initial targets will be Jolo, Manando, Djadangas and Tenate. Air HQs from Takao will need to be brought down from Takao so that Netties can be stationed at these bases with torpedo ordinance. The first order target for this thrust is Timor, with a possible extension to northern Australia exclusive of Darwin (I do not feel I will have enough troops to take Darwin in the opening stages of this offensive.)

Likewise, the air HQ at Kampong Trach is moving to Victoria point so that I can base Netties there and prevent Malaya from being reinforced, resupplied, or evacuated.

So there it is: a plan built around isolating the major theaters of operations. Your thoughts would be appreciated.


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bklooste
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RE: cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

Post by bklooste »

Cutting Australia of to the NE is not such a big deal they can still go via the west or via NZ what are you hoping to achieve ?
 
I wouldnt even consider the South East without PM.  Look at the map he reinforces PM take Soloman and takes an island like Tarawa and you have a vulnerable huge over extended bubble.
 
Id rather send the 16th Army and secure  Burma before the allies can get decent air power. Getting Burma and especially Port Blair is kind of important in isolating the DEI and it is especially nice to do before the Allies get sufficient air to make it difficult.
 
 
Id.
1. Use part of 16th Army for an early strike into Burma , prepare Paras for Port Blair.
2. Use Imperial division prepare for PM buy it after a week use it and 44th Reg to capture Rabaul and PM.
3. Use spare forces to secure Southern Borneo up to Timor. This will require significant assets.
 
Use KB between 2 & 3 .
Once  PM and the DEI are surrounded you can go  after Fiji and New Cal while PI and Malaysia survivors prepare for Java.
 
What are your plans for Malaysia , Kendari and Sumatra ?
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RE: cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

Post by bklooste »

I probably shoould elaborate ..

If your strategic goal is to isolate the DEI and hence exact a maximum penalty on his forces then
- You need a plan for Burma /Port Blair ( You just do it with some Paratroopers and IJAAF)
- I dont think the full Isolate Australia operation is congruent with Isolating DEI at the same time as they both need significant resources.

Also since you dont really isolate AUstralia taking New Caladonia and Fiji what do you get out of it and can you achieve it with less ?
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RE: cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

Post by CapAndGown »

The 15th Army is tasked with taking Burma. That is two divisions. I don't know if that is enough, except there is a good chance that he will bug out towards Mandalay. Also, after the fall of Singapore, a division or two can be moved up to Burma.

Port Blair is high on my wish list. My raider battalion is already heading to Nagasaki to board some ships to head to the Kra Peninsula, plus my transport aircraft are heading to Indochina.

As to PM, I have thought about this and have considered a plan that will take the divisions used for the South Seas to take this objective. Basically, this plan is similar to a Blitzkrieg operation in that I initially plan on ignoring the flanks and going for the deep penetration. The flanks will be filled in later.

As to Tarawa, et. al., it is part of my overall goal here to make him come at me through the central pacific rather than from Australia. This way he must rely on his carriers rather than LBA.

Thank you for your comments.
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RE: cap_and_gown(j) v witpqs(a) - no witpqs

Post by bklooste »

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

The 15th Army is tasked with taking Burma. That is two divisions. I don't know if that is enough, except there is a good chance that he will bug out towards Mandalay. Also, after the fall of Singapore, a division or two can be moved up to Burma.

Port Blair is high on my wish list. My raider battalion is already heading to Nagasaki to board some ships to head to the Kra Peninsula, plus my transport aircraft are heading to Indochina.

As to PM, I have thought about this and have considered a plan that will take the divisions used for the South Seas to take this objective. Basically, this plan is similar to a Blitzkrieg operation in that I initially plan on ignoring the flanks and going for the deep penetration. The flanks will be filled in later.

As to Tarawa, et. al., it is part of my overall goal here to make him come at me through the central pacific rather than from Australia. This way he must rely on his carriers rather than LBA.

Thank you for your comments.

To me PM is a prerequisite for the SE operations. I saw this as a pentration but what if his 3 carriers show up you wont have any LBA support ? You going to split KB to do this ? To me it would seem better to focus on Isolating the DEI and use KB for this , SE of Borneo can get nasty ( and take Rabaul /PM durring this pahse) then in the 2nd phase use KB for the South East push.
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Good News/Bad News

Post by CapAndGown »

Turn 3, Dec 9, 1941

SUB ACTION

This turn was a nail biter. During the night there was a great deal of sub activity. The very first combat animation showed the U.S. Plunger firing on the Shikoku! [X(] Believe when I say I was holding my breath! Fortunately, the torps were duds. [&o]

After that, it was the Japanese turn. First up was a tanker south of Fiji. 3 torp hits, one dead tanker.
Next was a CMc, probably originating from Singapore and heading, probably, to lay some mines at Singkwang. Well, that plan was foiled.
Next, one of my subs surfaced and used up all its deck gun ammo blasting away an xAKL between Singapore and Borneo.
Finally, a Dutch sub tried to interfere with the landing at Miri but missed its shot at a DMS. According to the report, the sub then took two hits from DCs, though it is still hanging around in Miri harbor.

Daylight Raids

When Dawn finally broke, the KB was 7 hexes west of PH and launched a large raid of Kates escorted by Zero against the port. Unfortunately, airfield attacks, even with the first turn surprise, are not what they were in WitP. The allies fielded a deadly CAP of about 90 planes. I lost about 21 Kates A2A and another 4 to AAA. A few Zeros were shot down as well. At best the Zeros came out even. Oh my poor pilots! [:(] At least I sunk 3 of his BBs, though I am not sure which ones. The combat report indicates some BBs sinking that were not hit. Nevertheless, the plane loss statistics show that 6 Kingfishers were destroyed on the ground today, a sure sign the 3 BB did indeed sink. I guess that is a fair return for the loss of 25 Kates, but it still hurts.

Morning Air attack on Pearl Harbor , at 180,107
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 34 minutes
 
Japanese aircraft
      A6M2 Zero x 59
      B5N2 Kate x 129
 
Allied aircraft
      P-26A x 1
      P-36A Mohawk x 28
      P-40B Warhawk x 60
      F4F-3 Wildcat x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
      A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
      B5N2 Kate: 12 destroyed, 25 damaged
 
Allied aircraft losses
      P-36A Mohawk: 1 destroyed
      P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed
 
Allied Ships
      BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 4,  heavy damage
      BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 1,  heavy damage
      BB Maryland, Bomb hits 1,  heavy damage
      CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1,  on fire
      DD Litchfield, Bomb hits 1,  heavy fires
      CA Minneapolis, Bomb hits 1,  on fire
      BB Arizona, Bomb hits 1,  heavy damage
      BB Tennessee, and is sunk
      BB California, and is sunk
      BB Nevada, and is sunk

Next up were two sweeps over Luzon, one against Clark, the other against Manilla. Again, the Zeros were somewhat disappointing, achieve around a 1:1 loss ratio against the Warhawks. My goal was to wear down his fighter strength while the bombers rested a turn. That didn't work so well. Next turn we go back with both Zero sentais plus all the bombers at Takao against Clark field. No sense in dividing our forces. This time the Zeros and bombers are going to be staggered at various altitudes with the Zeros above 25000 feet. Hopefully, we will avoid the bounce, though this is difficult against allied radar.

Morning Air attack on Clark Field , at 79,76
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 22 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes
 ---------------------------
Japanese aircraft
      A6M2 Zero x 40
Allied aircraft
      P-35A x 8
      P-40B Warhawk x 15
      P-40E Warhawk x 19
Japanese aircraft losses
      A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
      P-35A: 3 destroyed
      P-40B Warhawk: 3 destroyed
      P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed
-------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Manila , at 79,77
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes
 
Japanese aircraft
      A6M2 Zero x 40
Allied aircraft
      P-26A x 3
      P-35A x 1
      P-40B Warhawk x 2
      P-40E Warhawk x 22
Japanese aircraft losses
      A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
      P-26A: 1 destroyed
      P-40B Warhawk: 1 destroyed
      P-40E Warhawk: 4 destroyed

At Malaya, we executed unopposed airfield attack against Khota Bahru and Alor Star. Tomorrow we go after Georgetown, which is were his planes seem to be parked right now. His troops in Alor Star appear to bugging out. Once I am done unloading next turn, my guess is we can march into Alor Star unopposed.

Miri was captured this turn, as was Makin. Next up are Manando, Jesselton, Jolo and Tenate, all in about 2 days. Kuching and Singkwang will follow that in 4 or 5 days. But first I am rushing at base force (TF speed set to full) from Cam Rahn to Miri so that I can base some Zeros at Miri to provide CAP for the Kuching and Singkwang invasions.

21 div at Shanghai loads for shipment to Malaya.
4 div at Osaka also loads for shipment to Malaya.
33 div at Nagasaki loads tomorrow for shipment to Bangkok and then onto Burma.
2 div (Sendai), 65 Brigade (Takao), and 146 Regiment (Badeldoab) all embark for the South Seas.

I spent a good deal of time today setting up a pilot training regime in Manchuria and the HI. I also found out I need to turn of repair of R&D factories for planes I don't want lest they eat my supply. I also checked in on engine production and made some adjustment.

Finally, there is China. This is something of a mystery to me, though the terrain and disposition of forces is easier to understand than in WitP. My initial goal is to clear the north China plain of enemy units and secure the rail lines to ensure the shipment of resources. In furtherance of this goal, I abandoned some outlying bases, such as Ichang. I have seen that Jap players like to hold Ichang. I am not sure why.


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China planning Map

Post by CapAndGown »

Here is my planning map for China.

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RE: China planning Map

Post by Mundy »

Looks like the radar operators on Oahu were taken seriously this time...
 
[:D]
 
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Dec 9

Post by CapAndGown »

Dec. 9

Luzon
Something of a snoozer of turn, even though there were ten gazillion sub attacks on my TFs landing a Vigan. No S-Boats, so lots of duds. Reportedly two subs were sunk, though I can only be sure of one. Amazingly, the SS Shark got hammered so bad it had to surface, but when it did, it opened fire with its deck gun and sank two PBs! [X(] Despite this gallantry, it will not be repeated as the crew of the SS Shark is being eaten by the real thing. RIP [:(] At any rate, Jap SCs are proving to be pretty good at ASW.

I have detected a flaw in my plans for Luzon. I had planned on holding a beach head with two divisions at Vigan where I would build up the airbase for continuous bombing of the Clark/Manila/Bataan complex. But after thinking about it, I decided that just one airfield was not enough because of the group overstacking that would occur. So now I am sending the other division to Appari. My plan now is to clear out northern Luzon with these two divisions while multiple air bases are built on the north end of the island. Anyway, Vigan will be captured tomorrow and airbase construction will begin.

One of the TFs landing at Vigan encountered the MTBs from Hong Kong and retreated out to open sea where it encountered another TF of PTs and again retreated. So now it is two hexes away from Vigan. We will try landing again tomorrow. I have three surface combat TFs covering the Vigan landings. I hope these guys can deal with the PTs and MTBs. Question: since these guys have such short legs, how long can they stay in action before they need to go to Manila to refuel?

Over at Guam I may have brought too few troops to take the place. I am not sure what the allies have there, but I only have 14 AV. This could be an embarassment. [:o]

DEI
Jesselton and Manado will be invaded tomorrow, Jolo the day after.

Malaya
Unloading done at Pattani. Troops now headed to Khota Bahru. Unloading almost done at Singora. Unloading finished at Champon. Troops headed to Victoria Point. Many other troops, including the Imperial division are heading by rail to Singora.

South Seas
Ocean Island to be invaded tomorrow. KB north of Johnston now, heading to Wake. Meanwhile, 2 divisions plus 65th Brigade are all on their way to Truk from when it is on to the South Seas with a first stop at Rabaul.




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RE: China planning Map

Post by Treznor »

OH CHINA! WOOT! This is quickly becoming my 'little' joy of planning in my game. Good luck with southern China, bring forces to bear effectively while maintaining HQ command integrity has cost me dearly with Political Points.
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"Something 'witty' inserted here"
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The easter parade

Post by CapAndGown »

Dec 11-12

Two turn have gone by now.

As I feared, I did not bring enough troops to Guam. How embarrassing. [:o] More are on the way.

Menado was taken this turn as was Jesselton. Kuching will be invaded next turn. I have a Zero Chutai at Miri to provide LRCAP over Kuching. Unfortunately, they don't have aviation support. The base force I was rushing to Miri was sunk by a Dutch sub. So I am sending another from Saigon as quickly as I can.

My invasion of Jolo was delayed by all the shipping that is fleeing From Manila. My cover force ran into the 3 DDs from Hong Kong and a long day battle took place. All my DDs were hit and the Fubuki was sunk. All the brit DDs were hit and one is reported sunk.

I have a spotting report of 3 CLs at Jolo, perhaps waiting to intercept and invasion. This may be the US cruisers, or it may be some DDs. One of the 4 stackers, either Pillsbury or Pope was bombed by Kates from the Ryujo in that area and is now reported sunk. At any rate, I am sending the CVL to attack this force. Also, a cruiser TF is heading in the Sulu Sea to act as a cover force for the Jolo invasion now that the original cover forced has been forced to retire. (picture attached)

I found one of the US CVs the hard way. 2 AMCs that I just found a turn or two ago got hit and sunk between Pago-Pago and Canton Island. Well, at least I know that one of the US CVs is apparently headed to Pago-Pago and probably next to Australia, and then maybe the DEI.

Ternate will be invaded tomorrow.

Witpqa has not bothered with escorts for many of his retreating ships. As a result, my subs are sinking numerous targets.

KB approaching Wake. Invasion in a couple of days.

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Picket Ships

Post by CapAndGown »

The loss of two AMCs to an US CV force last turn has given me an idea: Screen the HI with picket ships! Take some of the micro-xAKs and station them between Marcus and Paramashiro and see if they get hit. I know the Japanese did this, don't know why I didn't think of it before.
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A funny thing happened on the way to Kuching

Post by CapAndGown »

Dec 12, 1941

A funny thing happened on the way to Kuching. I had one BB TF and one CA TF (the ones that start out on the Malay coast) following the Kuching invasion force. Well, that was a mistake. Instead of covering the invasion force, the transports ran smack into CLs Danae, Dragon, and Durban.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kuching at 58,88, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Ayanami, Shell hits 5, on fire
APD Fuji
APD Hagi
TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 1
TB Hayabusa, Shell hits 2, on fire
AMc Toroshima Maru
PB Heiei Maru #7, Shell hits 1
xAK Syoka Maru
xAK Rokko Maru
xAK Atago Maru
xAK Meiyo Maru, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Santos Maru
xAK Igasa Maru, heavy damage
xAKL Ryoyu Maru #21
xAKL Sasago Maru, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
xAK Zyuyo Maru
xAKL Hidaka Maru
xAKL Raizan Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire

Allied Ships
Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
176 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)

Finally, the heavy hitters showed up. Turned out they didn't hit very heavy at all. [:(]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Kuching at 58,88, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna, Shell hits 2
CA Takao
CA Atago
CL Jintsu
DD Asashio
DD Oshio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio
DD Akatsuki
DD Hibiki
DD Isonami
DD Uranami
DD Shikinami

Allied Ships
CL Danae, Shell hits 4
CL Dragon, Shell hits 1
CL Durban, Shell hits 2

Then all the forces retreated. Well, I am going to try again this next turn. Not just and Kuching, but Singkwang as well. The BBs will cover the Singkwang invasion, and the CAs will cover Kuching. I think there is a good chance the PoW may show up as well. This time, however, the surface combat TFs will not be following, but moving directly to the target. Lesson learned.

Hard to say what will happen. Will he react into Kuching and hit my damaged frieghters before my Cruisers show up? Will the PoW show up? Will I get a mid-ocean intercept by the BBs who are set to travel the path his reaction force would need to take? Only time will tell.

More troops landed on Guam, so that should fall tomorrow, as should Ternate. Appari also fell. Hong Kong fell today. Transports are on the way to pick up the 38th division.

Alor Star has been abandoned. He is also bugging out of Khota Bahru.

The Wake invasion should happen tomorrow. KB will launch an all out strike to suppress the garrision. I hope it falls. The next stop for the KB is Truk where my forces are beginning to marshal.

I am going to try to invade Tarawa tomorrow. I am worried about his CV that was south of Canton Island. But a) they probably need to fuel at Pago-Pago, and b) my naval search coverage here is pretty good. I should spot him if he shows up.

Oh, and the Ryujo attack against the three four-stackers at Jolo failed to hit the targets. Ryujo will try again tomorrow. This will also be teamed up with an attack by the Cruiser force sitting in the Sulu Sea.
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A sticky situation

Post by CapAndGown »

Dec 13, 1941

An interesting turn, with something of a sticky situation.

DEI

witpqs did not return to either Kuching or Singkwang. I now have troops ashore in both places. The Singkwang invasion TF is retiring and Singkwang will be attack by two SNLF units tomorrow. I still have more troops to unload at Kuching. This TF will be covered by my Cruiser support group. Meanwhile, the fast BBs are heading for the Sulu Sea where interesting things are afoot.

The PoW turned up in the sights of one of my subs in the strait between Celebes and Borneo. The sub missed. Nevertheless, it was apparent that witpqs was trying to intercept my CVL. His ships hit the exact hex where it had been last turn, but it had moved one hex.

The day opened with a surface engagement at Jolo. I sank one US DD out of 3 and have run out of ammo after a lengthy engagement. The Cruisers supporting the Jolo invasion are now heading to Saigon to rearm. As a result, the Jolo invasion force is retiring to safety and to wait on developments in the Celebes Sea.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Time Surface Combat, near Jolo at 74,90, Range 25,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Shell hits 1
CA Ashigara
CL Kuma
DD Satsuki, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Minazuki, Shell hits 2
DD Asakaze
DD Matsukaze

Allied Ships
DD John D. Ford, Shell hits 1
DD Peary, Shell hits 11, and is sunk
DD Pope, Shell hits 1

During the remainder of the turn there were numerous air attack the CVL Ryujo, including an attack by allied float planes. They all missed. The Ryujo struck back with an attack on some US CAs and CLs. The Marblehead was reported hit and sunk.

The question now is what to do to make sure the allied surface forces do not intercept the Ryujo. I am sending it north in what I hope is an unexpected direction. Meanwhile, 2 Cruiser TF that I sent to raid the shipping fleeing down the Macasar strait are not retreating eastwards as are the invasion TFs from Menado and Ternate. (BTW, Ternate was captured this turn.) The Zuiho and 2 TFs of the IJN's slow BBs are now steaming from Badeldoab west to come to the relief of the Ryujo. If, as I suspect, the allied TFs head east, they are going to get hit by a torpedo attack from the Zuiho.

CentPac

Guam held out yet again after the arrival of a fresh SNLF unit. Crap. I will wait a turn or two for disruption to fall and shock attack with the forces there.

Wake held out against my invasion despite a heavy strike from the KB and Nells based at Roi/Namur.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Wake Island , at 136,98
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 21
G4M1 Betty x 2
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 2
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 1st Marine Defense Battalion, at 136,98 (Wake Island)
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 15 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 113
D3A1 Val x 124
Allied aircraft
F4F-3 Wildcat x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 7 damaged
D3A1 Val: 4 damaged
Allied ground losses:
137 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 14 (1 destroyed, 13 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Wake Island (136,98)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 1511 troops, 19 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 62
Defending force 957 troops, 24 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value = 22
Japanese adjusted assault: 9
Allied adjusted defense: 6

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

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

Japanese ground losses:
345 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 33 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (0 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 1 (0 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
58 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

I guess we try again. The KB will hit the island again tomorrow while supplies continue to unload. That will no doubt cause another shock attack, but so be it.

Tarawa was captured.

Luzon

Numerous air attacks, including Wildebeests, against the ships unloading at Vigan. The Zeros acquitted themselves well, downing numerous allied fighters and bombers.



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RE: A sticky situation

Post by PzB74 »

You can do mostly what you want this early on but the goal should also be to destroy as many Allied ground troops and ships as possible. As I see it you will be forced to leave Fiji / New Caledonia within mid 43 unless you want to loose your garrisons and Base Force units.

Australia won't become a true threat until last half of 43 and I think you need to take Perth as well to isolate it.
- Take Perth, Darwin and land in Port Moresby, New Caledonia and the area around Cairns and you should be in full control for quite some time to come [8D]

Doing something half way is half witted, so be a tad patient and take a big hammer and an ambitious plan with you when you leave!-)
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"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
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CapAndGown
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RE: A sticky situation

Post by CapAndGown »

ORIGINAL: PzB

You can do mostly what you want this early on but the goal should also be to destroy as many Allied ground troops and ships as possible. As I see it you will be forced to leave Fiji / New Caledonia within mid 43 unless you want to loose your garrisons and Base Force units.

Australia won't become a true threat until last half of 43 and I think you need to take Perth as well to isolate it.
- Take Perth, Darwin and land in Port Moresby, New Caledonia and the area around Cairns and you should be in full control for quite some time to come [8D]

Doing something half way is half witted, so be a tad patient and take a big hammer and an ambitious plan with you when you leave!-)

Thanks for the advice. I definitely want and need PM. I also want Darwin, though that may need to wait a bit. I am not so sure about Perth, and I don't like the idea of Cairns, though Thursday Island should probably be taken. Rather than Perth, I was thinking about Ceylon and Diego Garcia.

One more screen shot. Witpqs is bugging out in Luzon for Clark Field. This is what I expected. It will be a little while before he realizes I am not going to be attacking there for a while. This will give me time to set up a defensive line to shield my air bases in northern Luzon which can then go to work on round the clock bombing of the Manila/Clark/Bataan complex. The defensive line will consist of two divisions: 48th and 16th. Plus all the supporting troops.


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PzB74
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RE: A sticky situation

Post by PzB74 »

Think you can "lure" your opponent into Bataan with very few troops in Luzon.
As soon as you get closer to Manila in the south he is forced to make a difficult choice; Stay and defend both Manila and Clark ++ and risk getting cut of and eliminated in no time - OR do an orderly retreat into Manila / Bataan and settle down to wait for the storm.
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"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without"
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
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stldiver
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RE: A sticky situation

Post by stldiver »

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

ORIGINAL: PzB

You can do mostly what you want this early on but the goal should also be to destroy as many Allied ground troops and ships as possible. As I see it you will be forced to leave Fiji / New Caledonia within mid 43 unless you want to loose your garrisons and Base Force units.

Australia won't become a true threat until last half of 43 and I think you need to take Perth as well to isolate it.
- Take Perth, Darwin and land in Port Moresby, New Caledonia and the area around Cairns and you should be in full control for quite some time to come [8D]

Doing something half way is half witted, so be a tad patient and take a big hammer and an ambitious plan with you when you leave!-)

Thanks for the advice. I definitely want and need PM. I also want Darwin, though that may need to wait a bit. I am not so sure about Perth, and I don't like the idea of Cairns, though Thursday Island should probably be taken. Rather than Perth, I was thinking about Ceylon and Diego Garcia.

One more screen shot. Witpqs is bugging out in Luzon for Clark Field. This is what I expected. It will be a little while before he realizes I am not going to be attacking there for a while. This will give me time to set up a defensive line to shield my air bases in northern Luzon which can then go to work on round the clock bombing of the Manila/Clark/Bataan complex. The defensive line will consist of two divisions: 48th and 16th. Plus all the supporting troops.


Image


I agree with PZB, but so far in my experiance you need resources and they are found in India, not Australia. Definatly Darwin and North Australia, but as to Fiji it may be a bridge to far for no benefit (i.e. no resources and easily bypassed once taken then later retaken for free).

I am playing PBEM's for both sides and amazingly my attacks as Japan are almost duplicated by my opponent as Japan. What I have found is you can go to North Australia, Calcutta/Imphal India and Fiji but you will run out of fuel and troops to run all operations. Thus the decision becomes what do you need, buffer zone, or resources. Each player will make that decision based on his opponent, but I can say that I have drawn many resources from India that have kept my engine going. I am overextended yes, as I have already withdrawn from Fiji in Sept 42 due to realizing the growing allied airpower would make extraction difficult.

My feeling on Perth and Cairs/ Townsville, while nice territory wise, do not bring resources and easily circumvented. Good Luck and as once an allied fan boy turned JFB, good hunting our time in the sun is short lived.
Showa rules!
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CapAndGown
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RE: A sticky situation

Post by CapAndGown »

ORIGINAL: PzB

Think you can "lure" your opponent into Bataan with very few troops in Luzon.
As soon as you get closer to Manila in the south he is forced to make a difficult choice; Stay and defend both Manila and Clark ++ and risk getting cut of and eliminated in no time - OR do an orderly retreat into Manila / Bataan and settle down to wait for the storm.

Good idea. I was thinking about that. As you point out, this can be most likely achieved by invading from the south. So I will need to find some troops.
bklooste
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RE: Good News/Bad News

Post by bklooste »

ORIGINAL: cap_and_gown

Turn 3, Dec 9, 1941

How come the Pearl attack happened on turn3 ? Your certainly wouldnt get surprise.
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