Wow...that's quite a sizable naval force...Rabaul is somewhat boned.

Yeah.....

Wait until you see what else he's doing.....working on the turn now.

16th Jan 42

Solomons/PNG/Rabaul

Cd guns at Rabaul chew up several ships including a destroyers and killing some men from an aviation support group but the landings aren't the worst of it. He's also landing troops at Lae on New Guinea and, even worse, at Port Moresby. This last one came as a massive shock to me. I expected landings but not so soon. I anticipated he would wait until he has Rabaul and some of the Solomons under his control. No such luck. None of these troop can be well prepped - not that it does me any good just now. He has some of the 4th division ashore at Moresby now with at least one cruiser in support.

DEI

And it gets worse:

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/7186/deidieedit2.jpg


Off the screenshot to the top are more TFs moving south. Ambon is pretty much gone, and the baby KB will be moving into position to block shipping east, west and north. Well, that's ok because there's nothing left for him to sink. Hopefully he'll move west to cover the entrance to the straits of Makassar in preparation of landings there. That should bring him into range of my torpedo bombers....

The Australian Question

Turns out I'm not so badly off for troops in Oz. I have the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5 division available and most of the 8th as well. on top of that I have 6 or 7 armoured units of various sizes so I'm not doing badly. Probably not enough to halt any full scale landings but at least enough to delay them until reinforcements arrive. All shipping in Darwin is running along the coast to the west and then down to Perth.

We're running low on fuel, though, thanks to the Australian heavy industry requirements. More should be arriving in a few days - along with fighters - but it's going to get hairy if I need to support naval ops on any scale. Not that I can whilst the death star is hanging around.

On a positive note, 30 odd B-17s based in Charter Towers and Townsville will hit The Japanese troops at Moresby tomorrow. Hopefully he has only a light CAP present.

CenPac

The carriers are still in transit. Aside from that, and some more convoys coming and going things are pretty quiet.

Thoughts

Taken me by surprise, so it has. Still, it's shaken me out of my Analyses and procrastination phase and now I have to do somethings.

OK: let's look at this properly. First, Japanese ships. If I take every sighting report from the Solomon sea and DEI on face value he will have about 60 heavy cruisers out there on operations. we know this isn't true because he simply doesn't have that many cruisers in total. Many of them have to be light cruisers and they are quite susceptible to torpedoes. The reports have also over estimated the amount of carriers he has. In total he has 6 heavies, 2 CVLs and 1 or two CVEs and they all seem to be committed. it's the same story for battleships. Even so, it's an impressive force he's sent out, but he can't have done it without leaving gaps elsewhere. I feel quite safe about Wake now. If I can secure it I doubt he'll be back.

The next point is this: how many troops has he committed? Has he pulled them from other theaters like Malaya or China or even the Philippines? When he lands in, say, Java, is he going to have enough to take the major bases of Batavia and Soerabaja? Or is he counting on shock and awe to cover the fact that he is landing small forces with low prep?

I am unsure whether or not he'll be able to carry out any more invasions in SWPac in the immediate future once these attacks are complete. I expect and increase in naval raids over the next few weeks, especially along the Australian coast. Once Lex and Enterprise complete their current task they'll go back to Pearl, refuel and head south.

When it comes to soldiers I've actually got enough to deal with him already, or I would have if I didn't have to buy them all out. That's putting a real block on my build up. But then, it's supposed too. Lovely.


If I'm learning anything in this game, though, it's that a human sure as heck ain't the AI. He's done well in many ways, but he's made mistake too. What I need to do now is to stop reacting and find a way to hurt him a bit. My timing has been crummy so far, and for the first half of 42 opportunities are limited, but I'm sensing he many have over stretched, even if it's just for the moment.

I'd be reinforcing Wake and maybe thinking about hitting somewhere he's weak that I'd be looking at. But the question is where is he weak?

One common ploy I've seen Allied players use at his point in events is a North Pacific raid. Send a few carriers backed up by replenishment tankers to hit the Japanese convoys carrying oil and resources from Sakhalin down to Honshu. Northern Japan, Hokkaido and the Kurile Islands are often poorly guarded with few dedicated aircraft and ships. The drawback is that it's a long trip there and back and those carriers will be unable to parry any threats elsewhere.

17th Jan 42

Not much to report, strangely. Lae fell quickly as there was only a company defending it. The landings at both Moresby and Ambon continued on but CD guns thumped a few of his ships. Unlikely any of them will sink but they'll need yard time.

Burma

Pegu, to the immediate east of Rangoon, fell on the first Japanese attack. I am furious about that because they should have held for three or four attacks before crumbling - they only had 100AV but were behind forts and a river. I put it down to the lousy quality of the Burmese soldiers.

The good news is Commonwealth forces along the Indian border continue to grow, with plenty more to come over the next few months.

Thoughts

Thanks for the suggestions, gents. Wake is indeed being reinforced - A Marine defence battalion is loading just now and I may add a base force so I can increase the number of aircraft there. I had been going to put a squadron of dive bombers there but it doesn't look like I'm going to have any spare for a while.

Once Lex and Enterprise have covered the resupply of Wake I am thinking of moving them down into the Marshals and Gilberts to hit his bases there. I don't think there is anything bigger than a couple of destroyers there but I'd like Juha to think he needs to start watching his flanks. I considered a raid up in NoPac but I can't spare the ships I'd need just now: At least two of my carriers will be heading to Auckland in the near future. I'm just waiting for the last regiment of the Americal Division to arrive in SF so I can buy it out and form it up. once than happens more troops will start heading south also.

18th Jan 42

Sub Wars

0-24 torpedoes a minesweeper north of Miri on Borneo. When the fish acrually hit the ship and exploded I nearly fell of my chair in amazement.

Landings

landings continue at Moresby, Rabual and Ambon. He's also started landing troops at Kendari. Evidence suggest he's kept his bigger units for SWPac as the ones in the DEI sappear to be quite small.

Malaya

A couple of raids over Singers didn't achieve much. I'm flying in supplies from several places which should help bolster them a little bit. I have some ships readying themselves for quick runs in backed up with fighters on LRCAP should he get frisky.

West Coast

A number of troops and engineers are loading just now. They will go to Auckland and Suva. More will follow as soon as I can scrounge the transports together. Yorktown, Saratoga, Warspite and Colorado will also head to the south seas. I have more battleships arriving within the week which should start giving me a nice edge. I don't lack for cruisers either, but the bulk of my destroyer fleet are currently on convoy duty.

CenPac

Troops and engineers are loading here too for the same destinations. Lex and Enterprise should start their attack on his troops a Wake tomorrow. It's been very quiet there so far over the last couple of days.

Oz

B-17s bombed Japanese troops at Moresby. They will fly again tomorrow.

PI

Juha launched a major attack on Manila but lost 1650 men. I couple more like that and he's gong to have to bring in reinforcements. There seemed less than he had before, and none of the stacks I can see on the island are gong to be able to take my bases through anything other than a long, protracted campaign. Now watch as someone leaves the front door open and the Japanese wonder into Clark field and take it over. Me and my big mouth.

Thoughts

I am overcome by a warm feeling. That might just be panic. I'm planning to use the RN carriers in the near future but am not sure where. I may run them down and start using them out of Perth.

The size of the detachments doing the fighting in the DEI lend more evidence to my feeling that he doesn't have quite enough troops to go around. The bigger available units appear to be in the PNG/New Britain area with the rest still tied up in the PI and Malaya. I'll be interested to see what he brings to Burma. I don't think he can take everywhere at once and be successful long term unless there is something going on I'm not seeing....

Hey thanks for the help acre more questions here.

What if anything can I do about supply in China? I have planes that can't get fuel to them.

As far as units in china if I turn replacements on do the replacements come from there? I'm assuming it's nationality based replacements?

Slyguy: I don't really know enough about China to give you solid advice one way or the other. The entire theater is a nightmare as far as I'm concerned, especially if a Japanese player decides to be aggressive there.

China had a number of cities that produce oil, fuel and supplies, although probably not enough to do you. If the game can trace an unbroken overland route from Rangoon you should also receive supplies from the Commonwealth but I would do a search over at Matrix for the details on that one.

As far as I know yes, replacements is nationality based.

TorpX:

Well, the problem I have with subs just now is down to three things: Unreliable torpedoes on the fleet boats; low quality, low aggression commanders, and dice rolls not going for me. The first two are historically correct, of course, and the third is just bad luck so far. Normally I would have expected my Dutch and S-boats to have done a bit more damage but they have a lot of misses. That's how it goes.

If you are meaning the late war Japanese Super-ASW then , yes, I think it is a problem. I don't think it's one to stop you from buying the game, however. It'll either be fixed in a patch or in a mod. Either way, people are looking at it right now. Buy the game. I don't think you could be disappointed with it.

19th Jan 42

CenPac

The carriers should be in range by tonight. I've already flown a squadron of Marine Dive bombers onto Wake from Enterprise in preparation. Away to the north west is a Japanese task force containing what looks like cruisers - two task forces in fact. What's the bets there are carriers there and my flat tops go the way of Davey Jones Locker? Naah, I'm pretty sure there aren't any carriers there......

The wake resupply and reinforcement convoys are already on their way from Pearl but it will be a few days until they arrive.

PNG/New Britain

Rabaul fell, which was no surprise. Moresby continues to hold out. The KB launched a strike at a convoy I was trying to sneak past into the Torres strait to feed Darwin. Only one ship actually sunk which isn't too bad.

DEI

The Baby KB has disappeared but several battleships have appeared at Tarakan. I expect they're getting ready to invade Balikpapen. Force Z are on their way back up from Northern Oz to Soerabaja. Haven't decided where to commit them yet but I do seem to have a plethora of options in the area just now.

Burma

The force that took Pegu appears to be at least partially moving away to the Northeast. If he leaves the place relativity undefended I might try and take it back, cutting his supply line.

Thoughts

I am wondering how long the KB has been out there? Since before it turned up at Wake? has it refueled since then? I doubt it's lost many aircraft. I would think it'll have to withdraw within a week, but the question is, where too? Truk or the Home Islands?

His forces on the Malay/Burmese border seem weak. I wonder whether he is leaving this theater on the back burner at the moment until his commitments in SWPac come to some sort of resolution.

Don't you just hate it when you know you can't decide on a course of action? It's especially bad when it involves huge lumps of metal floating around the sea.

I like this quote. Right at the moment it's my favourite:

Mark Jenkins. I'm not sure which Mark Jenkins though. Is it the artist, the actor or the climber?

I'm not entirely certain the battle for Wake Island was what he had in mind, however. :DL

It's all about the boldness. Juha has certainly been bold. I'd like to be bold but I can't afford the political points. :haha:

This is exactly like when your trying to sit down to write something and it's something you really need to write but you end up pairing your socks or fixing that drawer which has been broken for a year or so and suddenly seems really important.....OK, OK, I'm going.........

No, I'm not drunk. Just thinking things through.

Ok, well, what's got me all worried and indecisive?


20th Jan 42

Yesterday the Wake PBYs reported a SCTF moving down towards the islands. At dawn the Marine dive bombers took off and flew out to meet these mysterious warships. for a few damaged airframes they managed to land a single bomb on top of BB Mutsi. Due to a number of factors like rain, poor communications and so forth, none of the carrier airgroups participated. It wasn't the best result.

A little while later, A gaggle of Nells launched an air raid from their base in the Marshal islands and were ambushed by a strong CAP from the carriers, shooting down 5 of the Japanese bombers for no losses. Normally this would have delighted me but all it did today was warn him that there are carriers in the area. Although I haven't been able to verify that any float planes from the Japanese SCTF has snooped the carriers I'm reasonably certain he knows where they are. Here's the current picture:

http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/9...gedit99999.jpg

I had wanted to leave the CVs where they were for another turn but I am worried about his SCTF jumping in there during the night. So, as a compromise, they are moving to the east of Wake, at least for the next day. It means that they should hopefully be out the way of a grumpy battleships but probably won't be launching any attacks on them. As way of compensation I've ordered the 4 dauntless squadrons on board the flat tops to engage at maximum range (8 hexes,) They will be out of range of fighter support but shouldn't need it as there won't be any Japanese CAP.

As an added problem, the KB left the waters of the Solomon sea some time during the night. A TF is currently south of Truk and I'm guessing it's her. My fear is that she will head straight to Wake after she refuels. I don't want of my ships in the area if she does, which means I may have to pull back the little supply convoy and reroute the reinforcements which are a couple of days behind.

It's been a toss up between aggression and force preservation. I said from the start Wake isn't worth losing carriers over and I still believe that. At the same time I think it's probably time to upgrade this to a full scale Operation. Any suggestion for names greatly appreciated.

PNG

Moresby fell. No sign of him basing any aircraft there yet. when he does it will close off the route from Sydney to Darwin.

DEI

The Baby KB reappeared but seems to be keeping it's distance from any of the landing currently going ahead. Landings continue at Kendari. Torpedo boats from Makassar will head there tonight and hopefully scare some one. I think Juha's probably figured out I quite like torpedo boats.

Burma

Two supply convoys have reached Rangoon and are unloading. After this they will head back to Colombo, reload and try again. It slightly puzzles me that he hasn't tried to base a Betty squadron somewhere in order to stop me from doing this. Again, it's maybe an indication that he regards this theater as something on the back burner for the time being. That suits me fine.

Pacific Aces

We have a new ace! Step forward Squadron Leader W.F Allshorn of 21 SQn RAAF. This Australian pilot is based in Singers and has just shot down his 5 Japanese pilot in his Buffalo I.

Shipping news

Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nevada and Pennsylvania will all be sent back to the West Coast from Pearl within the next ten days to go into the big yards there. Hopefully they will all be available for action by the summer.

21st Jan 42

CenPac

First up, the battleships have disappeared which I don't like. I'm guessing the Dauntless attack either spooked him into thinking I've got a substantial carrier force present and he's pulled out just in case, or he's pulled back until his own carriers arrive.

His troops on Wake launched a deliberate attack which didn't do very much except kill a few seagulls.

The supply boat should arrive tomorrow. I say 'should' because he has ringed the island with subs.

PI

Another deliberate attack on Manila does not go well for him and he loses another 1588. my AV is actually about 100 higher than his now and, in fact, Juha's troops are the least of my problems as supply is finally running low. An xAKL beat the odds and arrived in the docks this morning carrying about 1800 tonnes but I'll need a lot more than that to survive.

He doesn't seem overly bothered about forcing the issue elsewhere in the Philippines. Maybe he's low on troops....

Malaya

The troops ships I'm hoping to use to evacuate some HQs out of Singers arrived and were promptly torpedoed by Nells. I have no functional CAP left in the city so I've transferred in a Hurri squadron from Batavia. I lost three ships but the ones I have left should be enough. I shall see how the hurris do with the inevitable follow up attack before I start loading.

More importantly. Japanese forces took Johore Bahru this morning. The Siege of Singapore has officially begun.

Sub Wars

I-165 surfaced and hit an xAKL with her deck guns near Palembang. As far as I know she went down. Between the various attacks over the last few days I've lost more ships this week than I have for a while.

22nd Jan 42

CenPac

A tale of screw ups. First, none of the Dauntless squads tasked with bombing the Japanese troops on Wake Island flew, and the supply convoy turned back because I had it set to 'Do not unload.' The reason for this is I had set all of them to do their thing but then discovered that the combat report had freaked out and not actually created any reports so I had to run the turn again. This time around I forgot to set anything....clever, huh?

Anyway, they're done now so we'll see what happens.

The Japanese attack again but didn't achieve anything. They're slowly grinding down their supply and damaging their unit coherence. My reinforcements - another Marine defence battalion - will be there in a couple of days. I also have some fleet oilers loading up at Pearl. They will be away in a day or so and will extend the carriers time on station should I choose to keep them there much longer.

West Coast

The final regiment of the Americal divsison was bought out leaving me with 59 political points but a full infantry division that will be heading south in a week or so.

I love this division; in my last game they had more battle honours than anyone else, leading the assaults into Guadalcanal, Shortlands, Rabaul, Timor, Kendari and Mindanao. When the Japanese surrendered they were prepping for Okinawa. I'll be following the actions of this unit closely.

Singers

Nothing. Nada, Nill. Very quiet....not even a bombing raid on the juicy shipping.

Burma

The supply ships got in and out of Rangoon without any problems. They'll go back to Ceylon and reload. I wonder how many aircraft Juha has up here. The bulk of his anti-shipping aircraft seems to be elsewhere. Is this an oversight or is he waiting more troops before he commits?

Oz

The aircraft convoy will arrive in Sydney tomorrow. It's carrying fighters, bombers and a couple of Marine squadrons. I'll sleep easier knowing that they are there. The tanker convoy will also be very much appreciated as Oz is running low.