Death of the Enterprise - Tarawa

[mciann]

Sorry this is so long, but the battle wound up being rather protracted.

Tarawa - Japanese - historical

Initial battle plan:

I am outnumbered in carriers. Bad weather dominates the sea just to the west of Tarawa. For these reasons, a direct attack on the invasion force from the west with my two fleet carriers, two middleweights, and 2 CVLs would be disastrous. I will counter the American numerical superiority in the following 2 ways:

-I will take advantage of my longer strike range to make standoff attacks at maximum range. This requires that I detect the target at long range, close in daylight, and attack around mid-morning or mid-day. Mornings are going to be harrowing, especially after the second day.

-Americans tend to disperse their large fleet carriers in groups of 1 or 2 embedded in independent task groups. If I can predict the vector of their advance, I can strike at the flanks, where only a single task group is in range at any one time.


November 19, 1943 21:00 hours...

Time to organize my land base air forces. The first thing I need is eyes. I transfer every long range floatplane in theater to Narau and Jaluit. The two closest useful bases to the target area are Milli and Maleolap. I transfer all my bettys to Maleolap, as many short range bombers to Milli as they can handle, then split the fighters between both bases.

All the ships travel together toward Enewitok at 25 knots.



November 20, 5:45...

My aircraft transfers are complete. I have 8 squadrons at Maleolap and 10 at Milli. The weather is clear just to the east of Tarawa, but I don't have any contacts yet. I set a search and strike and coordinate a full strike from both bases to arrive there at 8:45. Strike coordination was excellent. Despite clouds, I damage 3 battleships and sink a heavy cruiser. One of the BBs came off badly and might go down later.

11:05...

Milli is hit while my planes are in the air. Spot number is down to 24, but all my planes survived. Weather is not working for me. It has built up on both flanks. I need clear weather to perform a strike at range, and the only place to do that is right down the middle.

12:45...

Land planes are back. I set up another strike scheduled to hit at 15:45. I notice that one of the enemy captial groups is now heading Southeast. I wonder if he's had enough. Maybe I put that BB down after all.

14:55...

Milli takes another strike - it came just after the strike group got airborne. Best block - not be there. Good luck sinking the base.

17:45...

ARGGHH!! The strike was largely ineffective. I caught one of the major carrier groups but inflicted no damage on it. I caught a surface group, but it was under clouds. I sunk another CA and damaged a DD.



Nightfall, November 20...

The toll by the CAP on the carrier group I found wasn't as bad as I thought. I still have over half my original bettys. The weather is making my left hook plan on the northern flank a very bad idea. My plan is to steam eastward, bypassing the main fleet units and attacking the invasion directly with my carriers.

November 21, 2:55...

I set up another strike from the land bases. It's due at 5:30, but I know it will be late. By the time the planes are on target, the sun will be rising. The last sighting of one of the main carrier groups from the night before had it moving east. It may be moving against Milli, so I want at least one good shot out of my planes before it gets there.

6:30...

The strike mauled a SAG and hit several transports. I later picked up a minor group contact fleeing southeast.

7:00...

I just picked up a carrier sighting in range of my carrier group - to the southwest. I begin arming and fueling to prepare for a strike.

7:45...

Sighting update - he is out of range to the south. I am not hitting him - I'd be charging right into his teeth if I did. Continuing east.

9:10...

Land planes are back. I send out another strike - this time against one of the main carrier TFs. Due at 11:50.

9:40...

Damn - Milli got an air alert just as I was setting up the coordinated strike. All my fighters are now going up for emergency CAP. Because of this, and because the contact is pretty cold, I cancel the strike.

11:00...

Clouds cleared a bit, and I finally got fixes on the 3 carrier groups. They've shifted such that they are in a line from Northwest to Southeast. Continuing east will work against me. I need to head back to the west to try to catch the northernmost force.

12:00...

Milli's air warning finally expired and I got my fighters back. At least they held off the attack. New strike outbound - due to hit at 14:00

13:50...

North force now in range. Pulling down 50% of my CAP to launch strike.

14:40...
Strike outbound. Due to hit at 17:00, with a night landing to follow. When outnumbered, it is necessary to take risks.

15:50...

Land based air FINALLY finds a CV. Lexington takes two torpedo hits.

17:30...

Carrier strike catches the Enterprise task group in clear weather. Enterprise is damaged, and both CVLs are down. Most irritatingly, the strike group scores about 10 bomb hits on destroyers, sinking two.

Nightfall...

Luckily, the night landings weren't terribly costly. I only lost 4 planes to prangs on landing, but the strike casualties were enormous. I'm down to about 60% on the carrier air forces. Land forces are about the same. I think I'll try for a single coordinated dawn strike with everything, then get the carriers the hell out of here.

As I check through the last sightings of the day, I find that all the enemy units seem to have turned to the Southeast. The Enterprise group is only making 15 knots. If I swing back around to approach it from the Northwest, I might still be out of range of the other carriers by morning. I consider releasing the hounds (SAGs) to chase Enterprise down, but they likely won't get there until morning. That will entail chasing during daylight and getting hit by the other carriers. I decide to keep everybody together and chase the Enterprise for an airstrike.

Nov. 22 4:10...

I start arming and fueling planes on the carriers in case of an early morning surprise.

6:15...

Enterprise is right where she was supposed to be. Now she is going down. Alpha strike outbound - due at 8:40. Confident that the big E has enough death headed her way, I set the land based air up to hit anything near Makin

10:00...

ARRGGG - I watched attack after attack miss the Enterprise. She only took 2 bomb hits and will likely survive. My pilots can't hit anything.

12:05...

Enterprise has turned to the Northwest and is pursuing me at 10 knots. Milli's planes land, so I send them back out after Enterprise. That ship must die. Every other carrier unit is heading Northwest at 30 knots to try to find me.

15:25...

YES! Milli put 3 torpedoes and a bomb into the Enterprise. They also put 2 torpedoes into the South Dakota. I also got another strike in against the invasion force from Maleolap that sunk the BB Idaho.

6:45...

I catch what's left of the South Dakota's BB group heading southeast at 15 knots and alpha strike it from the land bases. Strike is due at 8:20. My carriers got away scot free in the night, and are proceeding east to see if I can make another play at the invasion force.

7:30...

A bit of luck - a submarine caught that same surface group and reports sinking a capital ship.

9:40...

My land based strike catches every enemy carrier still on the map, but with so few planes left, all I can manage is to torpedo the Princeton and the Cowpens before the CAP blows me out of the sky. All I've got left is about 40% of Milli's fighters. I set them on CAP, the plan being to pull them down and join a strike from my carriers if I get another shot.

14:05...

I don't know what the hell the AI is doing. The American carriers are now grouped in the middle. All my pecking around the edges must have made them finally circle the wagons. They are last reported heading southwest. I am going to skirt my carriers around the east edge of the map and look for fleeing stragglers. I will perform a very unrealistic exit of the map if I get caught.

Nightfall...

The clouds cleared again above the American forces, and last reports showed them headed back north again. Either they or my recon pilots are smoking crack.

Nov. 24...

I make it to the eastern edge, and work my way south. The American ships seem to be steaming around in circles just to the west of Makin.

Nightfall, Nov. 24...

I am 500 or so nm northeast of Makin. I can approach in the night, make a dawn search and strike against the American ships pinwheeling around out there, and get out before their search planes can get to me.

3:00, Nov. 25...

This is it. I am sending everything to a search and strike just barely within my maximum range in the direction of Makin. I will coordinate what is left of Milli's fighters to arrive at the same time. I don't hold anything back for CAP. If the Americans hit me now, CAP won't matter anyway.

7:55...

I put away 2 CVEs, a BB, and damaged several other ships. I've done as much as I can do with the resources I have. Now to escape...

Nightfall, Nov. 25...

My carriers have gotten away. Using Milli's fighters as bombers, I put 2 bombs on the CVL Independence during the course of the day.

3:40, Nov. 26...

Milli still has planes. The Americans still have ships. You know the drill.

7:30...

Milli's strike hits home, damaging the Lexington, the Bunker Hill, and a CVL. There's not much left of Milli's air power, however.


Result - Axis decisive -936
I sunk 7 carriers of varying sizes. I got 3 BBs and 6 other ships.

I found out that I got a ton of victory points for taking out large numbers of American planes in the air. Each land strike was escorted by up to 180 zekes. At least they did their jobs. Now if I can just find some bomber pilots that can hit anything other than a destroyer...