GC Diary: L0ckAndL0ad (A) vs AI

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: L0ckAndL0ad

Well, yeah, but that's for a day bombing against medium fighter opposition. As soon as P-38s start flying offensive sweeps, I'll try lowering the altitude.

Another note. Kind of a geography question. Do I even need to land on the eastern hex at Guadalcanal? I'm pretty sure I can just land on the NW hex, and then attack from there over land. Won't be forced to Shock Attack this way. If the opposition is smaller there, then why not try it instead of landing at Lunga hex? Thoughts?

Landing at Tassafaronga is a possibility, but there are some problems:
1. it is usually mined
2. it takes a long time to march from Tassafaronga to Lunga
3. supply does not propagate well through the Jungle/Rough terrain
4. you have to go further into enemy bomber coverage to get to Tassafaronga
5. I don't have the SPS specs, but I am sure it cannot be built as high as Lunga and will not likely be able to provide much support to the ground troops (bombing and naval support against enemy bombardments)

I am not sure why you feel you have to rush to take Lunga. Bypass, isolate, reduce by bombing and bombardment and then take it on. You can afford time, the Japanese cannot.

[RangerJoe]

It will take a long time walking through a malarial jungle. That said, if it is unoccupied then take it with something small so there is no retreat hex from Lunga.

[L0ckAndL0ad]

These are really good points! Supply flow, especially! Thanks!
I'm not in a particular hurry to take anything, to be honest. Especially with Japanese still having carrier superiority over me. But with KB hiding behind the lines, there's not that much I can do anyway. I even fear that I broke the KB's AI and it's stuck forever in the "Strike Port Moresby from Bismarck Sea" mode. It happened more than a few times by now, like once each month. Also, I need to train for a possible PBEM game I may have in the future!

I do need more time to buy out infantry divisions from US West Coast, for SWPA operations (New Guinea campaign). But I already have enough troops to start the Solomons campaign, and to continue down the Gilberts/Marchalls route. Doing that at the same time is probably a bad idea, though. I don't want to spread out my main offensive naval forces anyway.

Jan 31, 1943

CBI

As expected, escorting bombers isn't always goes as planned. Despite high altitude, a group of bombers that somehow misplaced their escorting P-40s on the way to Mandalay lost 1x B-24D and 1x B-25C to enemy fighters. 11x P-38Es flew out on a sweep mission, but faced great opposition as well, losing 1x P-38, still claiming 2x Ki-43-Ic Oscars.

In other bad news, Mandalay isn't the only hot spot. Rangoon is also used to attack the units on the border. And it's much harder to reach from India. Oh well...

SoPac
A bit of good news... My fast BB group visited Baker Island before retiring to Pearl.

Night Naval bombardment of Baker Island at 149,136

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
H6K4 Mavis: 15 damaged
H6K4 Mavis: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-27b Nate: 12 damaged
Ki-27b Nate: 2 destroyed on ground
A6M3a Zero: 2 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied Ships
BB Indiana
BB South Dakota
BB Washington
CA Wichita
CA Vincennes
CA Quincy
CA San Francisco
CA Minneapolis

Japanese ground losses:
384 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 4 destroyed, 29 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Guns lost 9 (2 destroyed, 7 disabled)

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 13
Port hits 19
Port supply hits 2

BB Indiana firing at Baker Island
BB South Dakota firing at Baker Island
BB Washington firing at Baker Island
CA Wichita firing at Baker Island
CA Vincennes firing at 35th JAAF AF Bn
CA Quincy firing at Baker Island
CA San Francisco firing at Baker Island
CA Minneapolis firing at Baker Island

[RangerJoe]

At this time, you want to be aided by land based air. You won't be strong enough in carrier air to attack against the KB and land based air.

Use your 4Es to shut down enemy airfields close to the target. Use some fast bombardment groups covered by land base air. DDs will work and are hard to hit with torpedoes.

[L0ckAndL0ad]

Hi everyone. It's been a while. Despite the war and everything else that's going on, I still have some power left in me to carry on with what I love. And I still love WITP AE.

March 1, 1943

Today I'll tell you about what's been going on in my campaign over the last month. Current score:

01031943_intelligence.jpg (201.77 KiB) Viewed 445 times

Compared to my January 1943 report, Allied score is in the lead now. The most significant change is in the reported number of enemy aircraft destroyed on the airfields (250 a/c over two months). This is the work of the Tenth USAAF in Calcutta-Mandalay area. The airspace is heavily contested there and Japanese occasionally bomb allied airfields in return, with some effect, but we're clearly doing it better. Offensive sweeps by P-38s are also fruitful.

As with everything else, the data is based solely on numbers reported by the game and likely exaggerated.

Notable reports:

Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 22
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 1

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 12
B-25C Mitchell x 16
P-40K Warhawk x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 22 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 3 destroyed on ground
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-48-IIa Lily: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-51 Sonia: 3 destroyed on ground
Ki-27b Nate: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 2 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged

Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 14

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
15 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 6

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 22
B-25C Mitchell x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 6 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 6 destroyed on ground
Ki-48-IIa Lily: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 4 destroyed on ground
Ki-51 Sonia: 3 destroyed on ground
Ki-46-III Dinah: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 2 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 3 damaged

Airbase hits 11
Runway hits 19

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 10000 feet
Airfield Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Sucker punch in return:

Night Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 34 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 26

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M1 Betty: 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 4 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed on ground
Vengeance I: 3 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 10 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed on ground
Hurricane IIc Trop: 9 damaged
Hurricane IIc Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
Liberator II: 2 damaged
Hudson IIIa: 2 damaged
Hudson IIIa: 1 destroyed on ground
Wellington Ic: 1 damaged
Wellington Ic: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 11

Aircraft Attacking:
26 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 7000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb

Back and forth:

Morning Air attack on Akyab , at 54,45

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 21 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 19
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 8

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 7 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38F Lightning: 1 destroyed

CAP engaged:
11th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 8000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
25th Sentai with Ki-43-IIa Oscar (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling)
1 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 7000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 9 minutes
244th Sentai with Ki-27b Nate (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 8 scrambling)
15 plane(s) intercepting now.
Group patrol altitude is 8000
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 5 minutes

Morning Air attack on Mandalay , at 59,46

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 9 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 6
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 34
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 9

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed, 14 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 3 destroyed on ground
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-51 Sonia: 4 destroyed on ground
Ki-48-IIa Lily: 6 destroyed on ground
Ki-46-III Dinah: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 4 destroyed, 13 damaged

Airbase hits 20
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 55

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
8 x B-24D Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Airfield Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Coordination fails quite often in such a busy airspace and big fliers go unescorted, but still do their job.
Thank you all for your previous comments about the altitudes. I'm now much more comfortable with lowering it to achieve good results.

Recent ship losses.

Japanese subs and air raids on Darwin area are the main contributors to allied ships lost. Our subs do their job as well.

01031943_ships.jpg (352.06 KiB) Viewed 445 times

Notable reports:

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Cox's Bazar at 54,43

Weather in hex: Overcast

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

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 5
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 2

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 8
Hurricane IIc Trop x 7
Vengeance I x 16

No Japanese losses

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Nitiho Maru, Bomb hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Miyadono Maru, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Bengal Maru, Bomb hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage

Aircraft Attacking:
11 x Vengeance I releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
5 x Vengeance I releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

Morning Air attack on TF, near Cox's Bazar at 54,43

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27b Nate x 15
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 1

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb Trop x 8
Hurricane IIc Trop x 16
Vengeance I x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 3 destroyed

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Nitian Maru, Bomb hits 10, and is sunk
xAK Taizin Maru, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Celebes Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x Vengeance I releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
8 x Vengeance I releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 2 x 500 lb SAP Bomb, 2 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

Small raid in the Slot.

Night Time Surface Combat, near Tulagi at 114,137, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
xAK Kirishima Maru, Shell hits 18, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
PB Suyozai Maru, Shell hits 21, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Australia
CL Hobart
DD Voyager
DD Vampire
DD Vendetta
DD Le Triomphant

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 143 (139 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Japanese TF suspends loading operations and begins to get underway
Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions and 60% moonlight: 12,000 yards
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
Range closes to 10,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 10,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 10,000 yards
CA Australia engages PB Suyozai Maru at 10,000 yards
CL Hobart engages PB Suyozai Maru at 10,000 yards
DD Le Triomphant engages PB Suyozai Maru at 10,000 yards
DD Voyager engages PB Suyozai Maru at 10,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards
CA Australia engages PB Suyozai Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Le Triomphant engages PB Suyozai Maru at 5,000 yards
Range closes to 3,000 yards
PB Suyozai Maru sunk by CA Australia at 3,000 yards
DD Vendetta engages xAK Kirishima Maru at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
DD Le Triomphant engages xAK Kirishima Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Vampire engages xAK Kirishima Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Hobart engages xAK Kirishima Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Kirishima Maru sunk by CL Hobart at 2,000 yards
xAK Kirishima Maru sunk by CL Hobart at 2,000 yards
Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk...

Day Time Surface Combat, near Tulagi at 114,137, Range 20,000 Yards

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
E13A1 Jake: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
AMC Kiyosumi Maru, Shell hits 22, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CA Canberra
CL Achilles
DD Stuart
DD Arunta
DD Napier
DD Nestor

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 56 (38 destroyed, 18 disabled)

Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Japanese TF suspends loading operations and begins to get underway
Maximum visibility in Clear Conditions: 30,000 yards
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 20,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 20,000 yards
Range closes to 16,000 yards
DD Napier engages AMC Kiyosumi Maru at 16,000 yards
Range closes to 13,000 yards
CA Canberra engages AMC Kiyosumi Maru at 13,000 yards
DD Arunta engages AMC Kiyosumi Maru at 13,000 yards
Range closes to 10,000 yards
CA Canberra engages AMC Kiyosumi Maru at 10,000 yards
DD Arunta engages AMC Kiyosumi Maru at 10,000 yards
Range closes to 7,000 yards
AMC Kiyosumi Maru engages DD Arunta at 7,000 yards
CL Achilles engages AMC Kiyosumi Maru at 7,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards
AMC Kiyosumi Maru sunk by DD Arunta at 5,000 yards
Combat ends with last Japanese ship sunk...

NOPAC

USAAF aircraft continued to attack Attu and Kiska. Recon planes were unable to detect any Japanese ground units in the area in the second part of February. Have we bombed them into oblivion there by now? Northern climate is pretty harsh as is.

CENPAC/SOPAC

01031943_tarawa.jpg (172.49 KiB) Viewed 445 times

Baker Island invasion scrubbed. Solomon Islands invasion plans are on hold. Instead, USN/USMC will to focus on Tarawa.

INTELLIGENCE
TARAWA: 7900-13700 troops, 25-46 guns, 24-30 AFVs; 20-30 fighters 40-70 bombers + 8-14 aux

4/61st Naval Guard Unit is located at Tarawa(136,128).
64th Naval Guard Unit is located at Tarawa(136,128).
7th Base Force is located at Tarawa(136,128).
11th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion is located at Tarawa(136,128).

53rd Naval Guard Unit
1602 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 59

Expected total AV = ~150???

It will be a hard target to crack. Current plan is to establish two bases on unoccupied nearby islands of Abemama (136,130) and Tabiteuea (137,134). Not sure if that's what USN would've done in real life in my situation, because it would've spoiled my intentions to the enemy quite clearly. Landing just on Tarawa directly, without establishing nearby bases is probably doable. There's still time to decide.

Other operations

British ships sent to Cocos Islands (between Ceylon and Oz) with HMS Hermes to gauge enemy strength there. Cocos Islands, along with Christmas Island IO, need to be recaptured to prevent Japanese influence on this important supply line.

USN and New Zealand forces are contemplating retaking Tahiti. It's isolated and not really necessary to be dealt with, but 60 base points is 60 base points. 2 old CLs + DDs were sent to recon the area.

I'm also contemplating if it's a good idea to start the overland offensive on Papua New Guinea. Going over the mountains and suffering immense attrition seems very unappealing. Landing from ships is dangerous as well. Do I even need to retake the area?

[BBfanboy]

You should delay the overland offensive on P/NG until you have absolute air superiority and can attrite his troops while your troops make their trek. Letting them rest while still moving will keep fatigue and disruption down but the trade-off is time.

The question is, what will you do with P/NG north shore bases once you take them? Springboard for other invasions? For that you need local naval superiority. Bombing enemy islands? Can you get enough engineers and supplies there to build up the AFs and operate aircraft? Most players seem to find it easier to island hop around the end of NG and up the Solomons, slowly pushing the IJ air force and navy back. Once you can sink all his xAKs with your forces you can just isolate his garrisons and let them starve.

And if you get a bloody nose at some point, you can pause to gather strength while the IJ side cannot afford to replace their losses. Time is on your side.

[L0ckAndL0ad]

Roger that, BBf!

It's early March 43 now, and I've started landing troops on Ndeni. Marine Raiders and USN detachment are in. Engineers, coastal artillery/AA and supplies up next. USAAF and Marines will get a decent airfield there in time.

I can't really articulate what I need P/NG for. The overall goal of this campaign is to 1) take as many high VP bases away from Japan, 2) Get into position to airbomb Home Islands industry, 3) Cut supply lines and destroy as many enemy units in the process. It means getting back Philippines, Formosa, Marianas, Okinawa etc. This should shift VP score balance into allied favor and get me victory.

Rabaul and Truk are the most VP heavy in the area, right? Is there anything else around that's more than 100 VP worth?

Besides, this area was the most active of all others in terms of IJN capital ships movement over the last year. Last KB attacks came from Bismarck Sea and all that was in between me and KB was filled with IJN occupied airfields. So clearing it would take away homeplate advantage from KB in future confrontation in the area. I am afraid to send my capital ships into Coral Sea under current conditions.

[BBfanboy]

Truk only has a (1) multiplier for Japan but is (5) for the Allies. Rabaul is (20) for Japan. Port Moresby is (40), which is why game IJ computer opponent scripts always include it as an invasion target. Guam and Saipan are (25) for the Allies, (3) and (1) respectively for Japan. But the string of islands from Iwo Jima all the way to Tokyo Bay have multipliers of (20) for the Allies. So if you don't get bogged down in taking every base in NG and developing it for an air campaign, you could punch north faster than Japan can build those islands up.

You have to defeat KB at some point of course, but that is doable by mid 1943 if you still have your original CVs plus a couple of Essex and four or so CVLs. Your fast BBs provide much better AA protection than anything Japan has to protect KB. You also have enough CVEs to protect your invasion TFs from local IJ air power. So bomb the Northern NG airfields to impotence, take a few islands in the Solomons to get airfields to bomb the Japanese ones there, raid Truk and Rabaul to destroy their ports so KB cannot use them for repairs and drive north. A distraction in the Aleutians and Burma/Southeast Asia would also split Japanese defences. (Rangoon is (100) for the Allies!)

Okinawa is another prime target. The 2 bases there have (90) multipliers for the Allies. All the Formosa bases and Pescadores have (15) multipliers for the Allies. All the islands surrounding Japan's west and north flanks have (20) Allied multipliers except Tanegashima which for some reason is only (3).

[L0ckAndL0ad]

April 1, 1943

01041943_intelligence.jpg (203.48 KiB) Viewed 339 times

First things first, it's the Hellcats month, yay!

CBI

We've been pounding Japanese airfields in CBI almost non stop, and the reported numbers show +400 a/c destroyed since last month, resulting in very little enemy offensive activity along the frontline. British and Indian army is using this opportunity and starts advancing towards Cox's Bazar.

Cocos Islands recon mission came back empty handed. I think the islands are empty, but I'm not 100% sure.

SWPAC/SOPAC

Japanese submarine managed to sink Dutch sub SS KXI with a torpedo. US Navy submarine returned the favor in kind the following day, putting two torps into IJN's SS I-175.

Hornet and Wasp sortied out of Brisbane after coastwatchers reported enemy CV in eastern New Guinea area. The report turned out to be false. But some days later, our CVs sunk couple of transports near Guadalcanal. Enemy lost around 1200 troops and a few guns and vehicles sunk.

25031943_guadalcanal.jpg (343.27 KiB) Viewed 339 times

Intel suggests there are ~50 thousand troops on Lunga/Tulagi. We're not going to go there any time soon. In the meantime, Ndeni expands airfield to size 2.

25031943_truk.jpg (54.01 KiB) Viewed 339 times

Friendly submarines swarm Truk, reporting multiple CVLs there. Mini KB ignores our carrier raids in Coral Sea and remains at port.

CENPAC

I like BBf's idea of not bogging down. What about Wake? Taking back Wake Island and capturing Marcus Island can allow me interdict a lot of sealanes between Home Islands and SOPAC. Current intel on Wake Island:

WAKE ISLAND: 12000-14000 troops, 88 guns, 7 AFVs; ~110 fighters ~30 bombers ~10 aux

52nd Naval Guard Unit is located at Wake Island(136,98).
50th JNAF Coy is located at Wake Island(136,98).
Wake Coastal Gun Battalion is located at Wake Island(136,98).
Maizuru 2nd SNLF is located at Wake Island(136,98).

EXPECTED TOTAL AV = 70-120+???

25031943_wake.jpg (269.46 KiB) Viewed 339 times

Four USN destroyers paid a visit to Wake garrison on March 25th, bombarding the runway and port facilities, but causing little damage. 120mm and 200mm coastal defense guns returned fire, hitting one DD. Raiders returned to Pearl in good order.

[L0ckAndL0ad]

Between April 1st and 8th, a couple of important operations took place.

From Pearl Harbor, a major raid against Wake Island was launched. At the same time, two USN carriers on patrol in SoPac were sent to investigate a significant increase in Japanese naval traffic in the Coral Sea. Upon facing no opposition, a raid against Rabaul was undertaken. Both raids happened almost simultaneously, and neither of them caused any counterattacks. Mini KB at Truk hasn’t moved.

In the same week, the last hint of Japanese presence in the Aleutians was cleared, as Allied forces recaptured Attu island. Now, theoretically, we can launch an invasion of northern parts of Japan (Kurile Islands & Hokkaido) from here.

On April 5th, a SIGINT report came in about a troop convoy with IJA’s 21st Division moving to Guam. Several allied submarines in the area were redirected to ambush transports upon arrival. Two days later, submarines Blackfish and Trout made several successful attacks near Guam, scoring 5 torpedo hits against 3 xAKs, causing heavy damage to all. People and equipment were reported being thrown overboard, but no concrete number of enemy casualties was given. I pay much more attention to SIGINT these days compared to how I used to do my turns previously and it’s satisfying to see it pay off occasionally.

Wake Island Raid (April 1-8, 43)

Allied Forces:
Surface Action Group 357 (VADM Halsey on BB Massachusetts): 4 Fast BB, 3 CA, 1 CL, 10 DD
Carrier Task Force 372 (RADM Spruance on CV Enterprise): 2 CV, 3 CL, 3 CLAA, 12 DD
Support Group 373 (CDR Stokes on DD Wilson): 4 DD, 3 AO
Midway Island: 24 PBY-5A, 13 PB4Y-1P

Recon planes were flying from Midway to Wake every day since April 1st. All ships departed PH the same day. The plan was simple: heavy bombardment during the night, followed up with air attacks from carriers during the day.

Halsey’s SAG 357 reached Wake Island on the night of April 6th, launched its floatplanes while it was still dark and began shelling the shore installations. Combined fire of four battleships against a small island was brutal. Spotters from Kingfishers reported significant damage to the airfield (98 hits), but the port area wasn’t hit as badly (26 hits). During that night, almost a hundred Japanese aircraft were damaged on the field, eleven totally destroyed. 1191 casualties were reported, together with 28 guns and 1 vehicle destroyed. Return fire from Coastal Defense guns wasn’t effective at all and did absolutely nothing.

Subsequent air attacks from CTF 372 during the day caused some additional damage to the airfield and a/c on it, but the Japanese managed to get a couple of dozen fighters in the air and shot down 8 Wildcats.

There were no retaliatory strikes against USN ships in the area.

On April 7th, SAG 357 was ordered to make a second bombardment run, despite low ammo supply. The effect was similarly good. Morning air attack faced no opposition, and the resulting damage clearly showed there was no need for another attack. All USN groups were ordered back to base.

09041943_wake_island_airfield_destoyed.jpg (196.95 KiB) Viewed 294 times

Results
Japan: 139 a/c damaged, 48 a/c destroyed (mostly A6M3a/Ki-45 KAIc), 1270 casualties, 30 guns and 1 vehicle destroyed.
USN: 8 Wildcats destroyed, 2 SBD-3 damaged

Coral Sea/Rabaul Raid (April 1-9, 43)

Allied Forces:
Carrier Task Force 96 (VADM Mitscher on CV Hornet): 2 CV, 3 CA, 2 CLAA, 12 DD
Ndeni: 24 PBY-5A
Port Moresby: 34 Beaufighter VIc

From the first day of April, there was a noticeable increase in Japanese ship movements in northern and eastern parts of the Coral Sea. SIGINT suggested some troops and cargo movements, while Japanese CVLs were still sitting at Truk. CTF 96 made a move from the Ndeni area to hit Guadalcanal, attacking the port at Lunga on the morning of April 4th, but found no ships there.

Going around the western side of Guadalcanal and moving north, CTF 96 ran into a Japanese convoy near Russell Island on April 5th, with both fleets disengaging immediately upon contact. 2 x PB 6 xAK 2 x AP were spotted.

Several hours later, Hornet and Wasp launched an airstrike against this convoy. All but two enemy ships were hit multiple times with 1000lb SAP bombs and torpedoes, but only two ships were reported sunk. All ships that were hit were burning up heavily.

On the 6th, CTF 96 attacked Lunga again, this time scoring a hit on a submarine there, while also finding the stragglers from the previous day and sinking them. Dutch submarine SS KXIII found and torpedoed two more stragglers near Munda, props to LCDR Caspers.

At that point, USN carriers were pretty close to reaching Rabaul. Since there were no counterstrikes, and allied subs reported Japanese light carriers still being at Truk, it was decided to keep pushing north to reach Rabaul. Lae area was also looking like a good target, because of recent ship movements.

At Port Moresby, there was a supply shortage, and so P-38s and recon planes there were unable to help. Only Australian Beaufighters were able to attack Rabaul airfield, in an attempt to suppress it, while carriers moved into position.

Strangely, there was no CAP or significant number of aircraft at Rabaul, when allied airstrikes began on April 7th. But, at least, there were some ships in port: few xAK, PB/SC and two DD. All were hit at least once or twice with 1000lb SAP bombs. They were all unloaded, it seems.

08041943_rabaul_raid.jpg (549.4 KiB) Viewed 294 times

Next day, on the 8th, CTF 96 found only two subchasers at Rabaul, and nothing else. It was time to run away now, because there were no good targets available in the area.

I suspect that almost all ships that were hit were eventually sunk, because we were unable to spot them.

Results
Japan: 5 PB, 2 DD, 7 SC, 9 xAK, 1 xAKL, 2 xAP, 1 SS, 2 Ki-48-IIb, 4334 casualties, 84 guns and 31 vehicles (all presumed destroyed)
Allies: 7 TBF-1 damaged, 8 Beaufighter VIc damaged, 6 SBD-3 damaged

[L0ckAndL0ad]

April 15, 1943

British and Indian units capture Cox's Bazar! It was lightly defended, just a thousand men of the 108th JAAF AF Bn, who did not put up much resistance against several allied infantry divisions. I've gathered around 75K troops for this offensive: 4 infantry divisions + several armored and motorized brigades and regiments, reinforced with light and medium artillery/AA. Supply is the main factor in this advance, because it's all jungle along the coast. I'll try to offload some supplies via xAKs in amphibious mode, but there are occasional air raids and subs that make it difficult. Transporting supply by air is not giving much effect. Next target: Akyab. It's much better defended, with 22K Japanese troops, 190 guns, and 200+ AFVs.

April 17, 1943

USN Surface Action Group 309 sortied out of Brisbane with 1 CL 4 DD, for a quick and dirty raid against Rabaul area. Marvelous RADM Wagner, commanding from CL Honolulu, managed to sneak his force into the enemy harbor completely undetected. In night time surface combat his small task force sunk 9 xAK 2 xAKL 1x PC! They got out without a scratch as well! What a successful raid! I'm sending two more TFs for more attacks.

April 20, 1943

Hmmm.
I get a feeling that Japan evacuates Solomons/Rabaul area bases. I see a lot of transport ship movements from the front bases to the rear. Not much air activity. Intel (DL 9/10) on Guadalcanal says there's less than 10K troops now, with 7 units. There were definitely more before!

The number of ships at Rabaul port suddenly spiked from 5-25 to 175+. And I managed to get a sneak peak of KB moving somewhere between Rabaul and Truk.

007_18041943_KB_sighted.jpg (169.53 KiB) Viewed 243 times

Not sure what's going on. All my carriers are currently at Pearl, started receiving their F6Fs. I was hoping to mount a deep penetration raid with 4 CVs against Truk by suppressing Wake Island again with BBs and getting in range of Truk at full speed, but now I've lost track of where IJN carriers are.

[L0ckAndL0ad]

April 24, 1943

SIGINT intercept indicates that "a Hiryu class CV is moving to Osaka/Kyoto". I've sent two submarines that were on patrol nearby to that location. One hit a mine and sunk. The other one would be kept stationed there for a bit. It's a long shot, but why not try ambushing a carrier when I get such information.

We've recaptured Cocos Islands! No Japanese troops present, so it's an easy win. BB Revenge was escorting the amphibious task force and got hit 3 times with torpedoes by long range Betty strikes from Sumatra. The landing was lightly covered, with only HMS Hermes providing minimal CAP. BB Revenge was detached and sent to Africa for repairs. It needs to be withdrawn in ~100 days anyway, so no harm done, it did the job it was supposed to do.

008_24041943_bb_revenge_hit.jpg (270.63 KiB) Viewed 215 times

April 25, 1943

Another small night time surface raid against Rabaul, this time with 1 CA 4 DD. Three enemy ships sunk.

April 27, 1943

I've recently sent a few subs to Palembang. One of them torpedoed a large fleet oiler with 3 torps!

009_27041943_palembang.jpg (431.42 KiB) Viewed 215 times

I've sent two USAAF bombardment groups (B-25s and B-24s) to Port Moresby, along with 50K supplies, to start attacking Rabaul from the air. Oh my! THERE ARE SO MANY SHIPS AT RABAUL! More than 100 ships! And we're hitting them all!

Morning Air attack on Rabaul , at 106,125

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-24D1 Liberator x 38
B-25C Mitchell x 22

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
xAK Surakaruta Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Katsuriki, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Kuramasan Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
AG Noshima, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Kakoruta Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Chinkai Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Nichizui Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAKL Columbia Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SC Ch 32, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Yoshinogawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Teishun Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Satsuma Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Eiko Maru #2, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAKL Ganges Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Amakusa Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
xAK Mayasan Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Akitsushima Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Meiko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Kuwayama Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Tofuku Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Nissen Maru #2, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Teikin Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Kinkasan Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tokati Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Hukuyo Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Somedono Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Hokutai Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SC Ch 19, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Oridono Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Takegawa Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAKL Sunten Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Yubari Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Yamakuni Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Reiyo Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Nichiren Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Tokuwa Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Kirisima Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CM Saishu, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
SC Ch 9, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Hinode Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Sansho Maru, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Saiho Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Boko Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AMC Saigon Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Tempei Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Daifuku Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Unkai Maru #6, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Turusima Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Horai Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Kunitu Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires
xAKL Arizama Maru, Bomb hits 1
xAK Konsan Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Shoan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Katsukawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Tomitu Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Tainichi Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Yamura Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Daigen Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Hukko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
SC Ch 4, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CM Ishizaki, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Banshu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SC CHa-52, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Tientsin Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Mansei Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Hasuna Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Yomei Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Batavia Maru, Bomb hits 1
SC Ch 6, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Yanagigawa, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Nagaragawa Maru, Bomb hits 1
SC CHa-53, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SC Ch 30, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAKL Sasago Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Saiko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Fuyukawa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Hinko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Yamafuku Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Shun Yuan, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Hokuhi Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SC Ch 11, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Ina Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Genkai Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Eiwa Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Kanzaki Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Miyako Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Yamayuri Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Shozan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Uragami Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Jinsan Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Kuraido Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Samarang Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Hiyori Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Batopaha Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Shuko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Miiko Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Shingetsu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Tsuruha Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SC Ch 23, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SC CHa-55, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
CM Naryu, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Yuki Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Yosyu Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Kokuyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Utide Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SC CHa-7, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Nitiai Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAKL Kurama Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Port hits 36
Port supply hits 1

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
10 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
11 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
3 x B-24D1 Liberator bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-25C Mitchell bombing from 8000 feet
Port Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb

Another sighting of KB, this time with some battleships attached. Did they leave Rabaul, just in time to evade our attacks? Or is it patrolling the Bismarck Sea and waits for an opportunity to strike? Hmm. Our submarines fail to intercept them and they vanish the next day.

010_27041943_kb_moves.jpg (329.45 KiB) Viewed 215 times

[BBfanboy]

Very nice raids on Rabaul! Looks like all those small fry and xAK types disbanded in port to avoid your CL/CA/DD raids and your bombers had easy pickings. Judging by the Nates opposing your Lightnings, your bombers should make another call to finish off whatever is left tomorrow.
KB likely didn't want to take on heavy bombers that would reduce their CAP, so I would guess they went to Truk or Babeldaob.

[Yaab]

Ok, I know those ships are disbanded (at anchor), within the port or off the coast, and thus are static targets. However, this attack makes them look as if they were bundled together in packs to biggest xAKs. Ships at anchorages are spaced out. This hit rate is more reminiscent of a dive bombing or skip bombing attack than a box formation level bombing.

[BBfanboy]

Ok, I know those ships are disbanded (at anchor), within the port or off the coast, and thus are static targets. However, this attack makes them look as if they were bundled together in packs to biggest xAKs. Ships at anchorages are spaced out. This hit rate is more reminiscent of a dive bombing or skip bombing attack than a box formation level bombing.

Agreed - but I saw the same results when I was playing the Operation Olympic Scenario (forgot the name of it) for the invasion of Japan. The IJN warships had disappeared but I eventually found them at a port on the north shore of Japan. A night raid on the port by B-29s at 6K feet got hundreds of hits and essentially finished off the IJN that night. So I am not surprised at the result - it seems immobile ships are way too easy to hit.

[L0ckAndL0ad]

Ok, I know those ships are disbanded (at anchor), within the port or off the coast, and thus are static targets. However, this attack makes them look as if they were bundled together in packs to biggest xAKs. Ships at anchorages are spaced out. This hit rate is more reminiscent of a dive bombing or skip bombing attack than a box formation level bombing.

"Well, actually..."

I'm no mariner, but I think that, if all the ships were bundled up in a line or several lines a-la mothball fleet, then carpet bombing by 2E/4E in a straight line pattern would be far more effective than grouped attacks a-la SBD dives in flights of 3 a/c per target, that are more suited to bracket a single moving target.

Also, one hit may actually damage several ships at once, if they're side by side.

But I agree, it was a very unusual and lucky raid! I've counted 97 ships sunk at Rabaul with WITP Tracker during April 1943. All aerial port attacks by B-25s and B-24s were made from 8000 and 9000 feet, with great prior recon (DL 9/10), and the pilots are 50-60 exp 60-70 skill. And there was no air opposition. Squadron stats show "Bombin Acc: 48-54%"

Mothball-Fleet-in-1960-PIONEER-F1.jpg (271.61 KiB) Viewed 185 times

dispersal.jpg (107.73 KiB) Viewed 185 times

[L0ckAndL0ad]

May 1, 1943

Aaaaand, we've got a *Minor Victory* now! I do not think we're finished yet, but it's great to see the game finally recognizing my accomplishments, after 7 years of playing this campaign. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and hope to actually finish this playthrough by defeating the enemy! Well. Let's crack on.

Here are current stats:

01051943_intelligence.jpg (200.85 KiB) Viewed 177 times

Top list of ships sunk during April 1943, ranked by VP score:

01051943_ships_sunk_in_april_43_ranked_by_VP.jpg (123.19 KiB) Viewed 177 times

And here's an overall naval summary of this campaign so far. KB is still out there, and needs to be dealt with. I have 4 operational fleet carriers at Pearl right now, and want to stage a raid against Truk, but the main trick would be to catch the enemy carriers in port there. I've lost contact and intel on them, so patience is key. I think I got this!

Code: Select all

Naval Summary

              Ships sunk/active:       Sunk          Player
                                   Japan  Allies  Active  Total
                               CV :   2      2       5      32
                              CVL :   2      0       1      19
                              CVE :   0      0       9      90
                            BB/BC :   5      6      17      41
                            CA/CB :  11      4      21      44
                       CL/CLAA/CS :  10      4      34      91
                            DD/DE :  29     11     149     786
                       AM/DMS/YMS :   0     10     184     347
                              APD :   2      0      26     126
                       AV/AVD/AVP :   0      5      28      52
                        CM/DM/CMc :  15      4      15      34
                               AO :   8      2      31      72
                           SS/SST :  13      8     119     396
                              SSX :   9      0       0       0
                      PC/PG/SC/KV :  25     11     100     183
                  AP/xAP/xAPc/APc :  34     15     198     270
      AK/AKV/AKE/AKL/AKA/xAK/XAKL : 488    160     721     2008
           AMC/APA/LSIL/LSIM/LSIS :   6      1      46     165
                            TK/YO :  31     12     104     221
 PT/PB/MGB/PF/YP/TB/MTB/ML/HDML/E :  50     58      20     566
                    Landing craft :   1      0      69     1086
                        AS/AD/AGP :   0      1      36      65
                              ACM :   0      1      44      45
                        AR/ARD/AG :   2      2      44      66
                               AE :   0      0       6      14
                              AGC :   0      0       0      14

Strategic Map:

01051943_strategic_map.jpg (263.89 KiB) Viewed 174 times

[L0ckAndL0ad]

May 11, 1943

US Marines capture Tarawa!

Allied Forces:
I US Amphib Corps HQ
1st Marine Div
1st USMC Tank Battalion
1st USMC AA Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
22nd Marine Regiment
3rd USMC Tank Battalion

Carrier Task Force 386 (RADM Spruance on CV Enterprise): 2 CV, 2 BB, 2 CLAA, 8 DD
Surface Action Group 370 (VADM Halsey on BB Idaho): 2 BB, 3 CA, 5 DD
Tarawa Landing Force / TF 376 (RADM Hill on BB Pennsylvaniya): 3 BB, 2 CA, 1 CL, 10 DD, 14 APA, 2 AKA, 4 AP, 12 LST, 6 LCI
Tarawa Cover Group / TF 384 (RADM Sherman on CLAA Juneau): 3 CVE, 2 CLAA, 4 DD
Support ships: 5 AO, 4 DD, 6 AK, 4 AKE, 3 AG
Canton Island: 3 PB4Y-1P

012_11051943_tarawa_attack2.jpg (200.27 KiB) Viewed 99 times

013_11051943_tarawa_attack3.jpg (232.47 KiB) Viewed 99 times

I've messed up preliminary deployments and failed to bring patrol planes and base forces to the staging area, but ended up doing fine. Ground combat took only 1 day, and it was over. We've wiped them all out!

Allied losses:

866 troops, 2 guns, 5 vehicles destroyed

Enemy losses:

64th Naval Guard Unit
24th Nav Gsn Unit
11th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
7th Base Force

Total: ~9000 troops, 40 guns, 20 vehicles

May 19, 1943

Large group of Allied units engage Japanese Army at Akyab and face difficulties. I expected that it would be easier. Indian Ocean area lacks dedicated combat engineers, and average unit prep is ~60-70. I would halt the attack and wait for the prep to go higher, and will also use paratroopers in the next attack. Never used them before that.
I'd also get more tanks and infantry, but it'll take a while to get there. Supply... Mmmm... Supply would be the trickiest part, but I'm working on it. It's hard to gauge how many units I can sustain out there in the jungle.

014_akylab_fight.jpg (726.09 KiB) Viewed 99 times

Ground combat at Akyab (54,45)

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 27576 troops, 506 guns, 683 vehicles, Assault Value = 1960

Defending force 17312 troops, 190 guns, 216 vehicles, Assault Value = 528

Allied adjusted assault: 1061

Japanese adjusted defense: 3369

Allied assault odds: 1 to 3 (fort level 4)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
747 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 44 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 14 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Guns lost 15 (7 destroyed, 8 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
980 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 119 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 27 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 23 (2 destroyed, 21 disabled)
Vehicles lost 40 (2 destroyed, 38 disabled)

Assaulting units:
16th Light Cavalry Regiment
23rd Indian Division
75th IAC Regiment
2nd British Division
45th Recce Regiment
254th Armoured Brigade
14th Indian Division
26th Indian Division
17th Indian Light AA Regiment
21st Light AA Regiment
29th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
8th Medium Regiment
2nd Indian AA Bde
XXXIII Indian Corps
Eastern Army
2nd Indian Heavy AA Regiment
IV Indian Corps
12th Indian Heavy AA Regiment

Defending units:
33rd Division
11th Tank Regiment
29th Fld AA Gun Co
31st Field AA Battalion
34th Field AA Battalion
28th Fld AA Gun Co
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
32nd JAAF AF Coy

[L0ckAndL0ad]

May 21, 1943

New Zealand and USN forces liberate Tahiti, decisively defeating a thousand Japanese troops. Amphibious ships had to be borrowed from SWPAC, where KB recently showed up and hinted that we should be more careful there.

May 23, 1943

Allied forces capture Akyab. I figured out that I set several units to reserve previously and they were not used in combat, so this time I sent them to battle all at once and they've managed to take control of the area. Japanese troops still remain in the sector, but are cut off, and will be defeated completely in the following days or weeks.

I'm sending supplies to Akyab via jungle road, by air and sea, but it's still not enough. USAAF units in India need to take a break, and that means an increase in Japanese air attacks against our supply lines. Enemy submarines are nasty and sink cargo ships often in these contested waters. Not sure I'd be able to sustain the advance for long, unless I manage to secure airspace and get in more cargo ships without them being sunk.

May 30, 1943

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Kido Butai comes to Marshall Islands in full force, with battleships and everything. But they fail to find any target of value to attack, because my carriers and amphibious forces have retreated several days earlier to Pearl.

Now... I have ground units ready for Wake and Marcus Islands. I also would like to reinforce islands around Tarawa to make it a forward operating base. But I also wanted to raid Truk... I currently have 5 fleet carriers at Pearl ready to attack, and CV Essex is going to join them in several days as well. So many carriers to attack with, so many targets to choose from... Hmm..

015_kb_comes_to_marshall_islands.jpg (128.4 KiB) Viewed 65 times

What I would probably do is, I'm going to reinforce Gilberts/Tarawa with additional base assets and LBA, and try drawing attention of KB again. If that won't work and KB won't show up in my friendly territory where I have long range air assets, I would wait a bit and do a fast, deep raid against Truk.


June 1, 1943

I've lost quite a few ships and planes recently, but Japan suffers much more. No really major losses to note. I'm anxious about a possible carrier battles against KB. Need to hunt them down either in port or Midway-style, and don't want to screw up. AI acts very defensively, but that makes it even more interesting, actually. I enjoy my playthrough so far.

01061943_intelligence.jpg (114.36 KiB) Viewed 65 times

[BBfanboy]

IMO, getting F6Fs is more important than the the number of carriers per se. Lots of carriers are coming off the ways, but you need to keep the experienced pilots alive. So the strike on Truk should await the F6F upgrades and a bit of training to regain experience lost.