Summer 1946

[joegrundman]

Japanese destroyers intercept supply to Manado, are themselves destroyed




The DD2 are attacked by 2 NAS before they can complete the attack

The air defense gunnery, with modern fire control systems, abort 1 NAS, but one gets through and rolls an 11! 2 hits, the DD2 are both destroyed by the American naval attack planes

[joegrundman]

Wake Invaded

Send us more Yanks, says the Japanese garrison commanderattacked by marines the garrison defense is a mere 4

attacking are 2 marines and 2 infantry, 12 CVEs and shorebombardment sufficent to make it a 6:1 attack

Wake is captured at no cost

Also Wotje, Majuro in the Marshalls and Attu in the Aleutians are invaded with small forces

[joegrundman]

Guadalcanal invaded




2 marines and 2 infantry, 3AAF and CVEs and shorebombardment total a 2:1 attack on Guadalcanal. The first wave gets bogged down with heavy losses(5 factors), but the second attack succeeds after further bloody fighting.

In total the Americans lost 8 factors in this battle against entrenched and desperate Japanese forces in this three month- long campaign to secure the island

[joegrundman]

Invasion of Kwajalein Atoll




After a massive shorebombardment and air strikes, British and American army units(this time without marines) land on Kwajalein at 2:1.

Nonetheless, without the well-practiced landing routines of the marines, many allied lives were lost as landing craft sink in the exceptionally strong surf. Others run aground on the reef, forcing the men to wade the last 100 m through waste high water where they were easy targets for surviving Japanese riflemen and machine gunners.

In the end, the island was taken for 6 factors lost.

[joegrundman]

Strategic Warfare

The allies play a submarine card, the Japanese play an ASW card: 8 submarines and 10 ASW at 0 mod

The submarines get 6 = 1/5
ASW get 8 = 2/5

1 submarine gets through to do sink an extra transport:
14 transports remain at sea, 2 sunk for 2 submarines.

Bombing of Palembang




8 Allied bombers bomb Palembang, which is defended by 2 AAF

The bombers roll 3, mod 2 for Japanese radar, no Japanese squadrons shot down

The Japanese roll 8, mod 9, a 1/2 result. 1 bomber shot down, 2 aborted

5 bombers face an air defense level of 4(fortified objective port)

the mod for the bombing is allies +5 for range and bombing tech, -4 for air defense =+1

Bombers roll 6, mod 7, a 1/2 result
defense rolls 9, mod 8, a 1/1 result, 1 bomber shot down, 1 aborted

3 bombers get through and inflict an additional 9 brps damage

total losses = 14brps: The oil refineries take 1 damage level

[joegrundman]

Russians and Chinese Communist forces under MAO liberate Peking

With Russian air support and some infantry, the communists attack Peking at 2:1. The attack is successful.

Mao Zedong sets up his headquarters in Peking, ready to unify the rest of the country under his command

Red Air Force counterairs Japanese air bases in Seoul and Sapporo (first air attacks over Japan)

Assault on Mukden

The fortfication worn down by siege, the strongly defended city is assaulted by 24 ground/air factors at 2:1, rolling a 4. The armour just north of Mukden is also eliminated in a 2:1 attack(rolling 5)

With that all Japanese forces in Manchuria are eliminated

Assault into Korea

The mountain defenders of Korea are attacked at 3:1, rolling a 2. 2 factors are lost, but Red Army tank columns pour through the mountain gap into Southern Korea, capturing the port of Fusan.

Assault on Sakhalin

A Heavy infantry assault on the mountain position in Sakhalin at 2:1, is initially repelled by Japan.

The second assault succeeds at great cost. The two defending factors inflict a total of 5 factors on the Russians

[joegrundman]

Tokyo Conference

Tokyo leaders discuss whether the time is right to offer the alllies a full surrender:

Japan surrenders if the Japanese resistance drops to 0

+20 - basic Japanese level ============================20
+1 - per pacific front objective under Japanese control
(Guam, Okinawa,Truk) = +3 =====23
+1 each for singapore,manila,
dacca, rangoon, calcutta, colombo= +6 =====================29
+1 for each aleutian island ==============0 =============29
+2 india surrenders============+2=====================31
-3 allies control tokyo =0==============================31
-2 each for allies in Kagoshima or Osaka = 0================31
-3 for first japanese hex under allied occupation,
-2 for second, -1 for each thereafter =0 ===================31
-1 allied control Peking, Mukden, Shanghai, Harbin,
Nanking, Okinawa, Seoul, Canton = -3 ====================28
-3 for first atom bomb on japan, -2 for second, -1 for each thereafter =28
-1 for each firestorm on japanese city =====================28
-1 for each oil effect = 0===============================28
-1 for each 10 unbuilt ground/army air factors = - 3 ============25

Net change since last turn: -7


The Japanese accept that the situation is worsening, and that the loss of Manchuria has rather defeated the entire raisen d'etre for the war in the first place, but the military government believes that holding out may yet yield a negotiated settlement