War in the Pacific AAR Thread - ML vs JFranzen

[Molon Labe]

22 March 1942
Eastern group of IJA forces in Java defeated

Java
He took advantage of Batavia being disabled again and hit Bandoeng. I managed to get 2 Lillies but that left 22 getting through to bomb my troops. Fortunately the terrain is unfavorable to bombing and casualties were light. His troops attacked but were repulsed, casualties 120 to 350 favoring us.

At Soerakarta, we launched a shock attack on the 148th regiment and drove it out, casualties 750 to 270 favoring us. This effectively marks the defeat of their eastern group. I'm going to try to secure this half of the island and see if I can relieve the western half. As long as he's stalled in Bandoeng I have a chance.
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Not much else to say about this turn. My bombers flew unopposed over Luganville and in northern Thailand. A sub spotted a tanker convoy in the Celebes sea but missed its torpedo shot.


23 March 1942
Nanchang liberated

Java
A task force of 2 cruisers and 12 destroyers intercepted a 2-DD ASW task force of mine near Batavia and sank both.

We attempted an attack on enemy task forces using light bombers and torpedo bombers. There were Oscars protecting their ships.. We lost 2 Vildebeests and 4 P-40s. We got only one Oscar. A few planes got through but no one got any hits.

Thailand
An enemy force met my southern team. It includes the 5th Division, last known to be in Singapore. They attacked and we held them off, suffering 550 casualties to their 950. But they're clearly the superior force here. I'm going to pull back to the mountains and switch my bombing target to these guys. I might not be able to take Bangkok from the 5th Division, but they can't take Singapore while they're busy up here, which was always the most important strategic objective.

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We also lost a B-17 near Surabaya attacking a small detatchment, and three 139WH bombers and a Hurricane at Johore Barhu, while attempting strikes.

Borneo
The enemy lost a TB to a mine at Tarakan. So sad he doesn't have enough minesweepers to keep up.

New Hebrides
We had a close call as 4 Betties from (I assume) Guadalcanal attacked my landing forces. But just 4. And they missed. Lesson learned, these ships will have a long-range CAP from Efate starting tomorrow. Our land forces are now equal strength as my reinforcements are landing. I'll order an attack for tomorrow.

China
Nanchang is ours! The enemy is down 10,800 troops. Sadly we were hurt rather badly to with 6100 casualties. But this is a big get for us. After mopping up some stray enemy units I might have to use this force to tip the balance further east at Chusein, where we both have thousands up troops locked up in a stalemate. At the very least, I should be able to move fighters in and splash the bombers have have been beating the hell out of my troops there.

[Molon Labe]

24 March 1942


Western Australia
For the first time since the war began, Japanese submarines are prowling the Indian Ocean shipping lanes. We lost a cargo ship to a sub attack near Perth. I've moved ASW aircraft to Perth and will be consolidating convoys in response.

South China Sea
USS Sailfish may be the unluckiest sub in the fleet. It pressed a surface attack against a light cargo ship, firing and reloading torpedoes over and over. It scored a total of 7 hits against it. All duds. The sub managed to set the ship on fire with its deck gun before it disengaged.

Java
Surabaya suffered another naval bombardment by two heavy cruisers, disabling at least 12 planes. We attempted an airstrike on part of their eastern prong, costing a P-40 and causing light enemy casualties on the ground.

In the west, an enemy air raid on Bandoeng resulted in 9 Lillies shot down with a loss of 1 Hurricane and 1 P-40. We also swept their beachhead with Hurricanes, finding a swarm of 50 enemy fighters there. We shot down 6 Zeroes at the cost of 3 Hurricanes. Unfortunately, the enemy forces at Bandoeng were able to break through my lines, and with it my best hope for turning this campaign into a quagmire for him. My troops retreated to Tilapjap.

I'm going to order my reinforcements landing in Koepang to pack up again and put them in eastern Java. With any luck I'll be able to consolidate them with my Surabaya forces before the enemy finishes the western half and turns east.

Solomons and New Hebrides
S-23 damaged a cargo ship with a torpedo hit in the eastern Solomons. 9 Betties attempted an attack on my naval forces near Luganville, P-39s tried to intercept but only shot 2 down. The Betties missed. My marines attacked the enemy land forces but were turned away. It looks like even with the supporting regiment I'm not going to have enough here, or at least, it's going to be air and naval supporting fires that earns my troops a breakthrough. At the moment I have a squadron of B-26s and Havoc bombers hitting them daily. I'll try to add some B-17s to that soon.

Thailand
Nates tried to sweep Tavoy. Nates! He must be getting stretched thin on Oscars. We shot down 1. Our bombers hit the 5th division hard, causing nearly 200 casualties on the ground; we lost 1 Hudson to flak. Maybe it make a difference: the 5th Division attacked our southern group, but failed to achieve a breakthrough despite having superior numbers. Casualties were 1150 to 640 favoring us.

Celebes Sea
The Dutch sub O-21 scored two hits on a cargo ship, almost certainly sinking it.

[Molon Labe]

25 March 1942

Ceram Sea
The Dutch sub KXII torpedoed a troop-carrying cargo ship, causing severe damage. The ship might sink before it makes ports. Troops moving through this area would probably be bound for smaller islands in the Banda Sea.

Java
A battleship and two heavy cruisers shelled Batavia, disabling over 60 aircraft and destroying a minelayer in port.

Our bombers attacked their eastern troops with a loss of 3 139-WH bomers, 2 P-40s, and a Hurricane. The bombers caused significant enemy troop casualties.

We lost a B-26 bombing Raheng as the enemy had established a CAP to protect its troops there.

New Hebrides
I've moved additional fighters to Efate to intercept the Betties trying to intervene in Luganville. A submarine attempted an attack on the cruiser Concord (also the target of the Betties yesterday) but was detected and depth charged.

Thailand
Nates swept Tavoy again. Why bother? 6 were shot down with no losses on our side. Our bombers hitting the 5th Division hit firm resistance from Nates, Oscars, and flak. Escorting Hurricanes shot down 3 Nates and an Oscar, two of our bombers were lost to flak. Our bombers' performance was lackluster when they got on target compared to previous raids. I really have to wonder if the bombers have been the difference makers here, because today the 5th Division attacked again and pushed our troops back towards Tavoy. We took over 1400 casualties, and my southern prong is now for all practical purposes combat ineffective. I'm going to try to form a defensive line in the mountains and let the northern prong work its way south to maintain a credible threat against Bangkok.

China
We're starting to get AVG P-40s over Chusien, but they don't have enough playtime that far out to reliably intercept anything. A group of two managed to move in on an enemy air raid: 52 Nates and 40 Ann/Sonia light bombers. They splashed a Nate and RTBd.

I had 3 Hudson bombers take a break from bombing troop concentrations and head south to Hong Kong. They found the battleship Hyuga under repair there and hit it with a 250-pounder.

[Molon Labe]

26 March 1942
Surge coming? CV aircraft over Java, no carriers detected. Possible CV in Solomons. Luganville Betties now escorted by Zeroes

Malaya
A cruiser and destroyer patrolled near Singapore and sank 2 small ASW craft. Curious move--he needs the cruisers to hit my Java airfields and he's risking attack by light bombers. Is he trying to get subs to Rangoon?

We attacked Johore Barhu with our Singapore bombers. It was a bit of a ___-show, Oscars got 5 Hurricanes total. We managed 3 kills of our own, but damage to the airbase was only light. Not worth it.

New Hebrides and Solomons
The Betties here are now being escorted by Zeroes. This is very concerning. We lost 3 P-39s to the escorts and shot down only 1 Zero, no Betties. They didn't score any hits but we definitely need to get the ships away from Luganville.

Scouts claim to have spotted a single carrier in the Solomons. I would have expected the whole KB to head here after he spotted all 3 of my (then) active carriers in this area. If it's not the KB it's expect this is actually just a seaplane carrier. In any case, if it is a carrier, this makes the situation in Luganville all the more urgent. I'm running out of time for my marines to win this fight.

My troops at Luganville attacked but were held off. Maybe if I tried a more aggressive shock attack instead of a deliberate attack?

Java
We failed to duplicate the success of yesterdays raids outside of Surabaya. The air battle claimed an Oscar, a P-40 and two of our medium bombers. Intel claims that some of the Zeroes here were from the Hiryu, and they came from the south rather than from the north or east where they have known airbases. Did he detach a carrier to try to pursue the Hermes? Well, it looks like he's coming back into the Java Sea if he did.

I forgot to cancel the bomber raids on Raheng, which cost me 2 B-26s and 3 Hudsons. One of the B-26s shot down a Zero.

Borneo
HMS Trusty laid more mines at Balikpapan and then tried to attack a replenishment task force. It missed and sustained light damage from the following depth charge attack.

China
The enemy army near Nanchang is a whole division. My attack with 2 Corps wasn't enough and I took 2000 casualties for trying. I can either send my main force or leave them. Hmmm.

[Molon Labe]

27 March 1942
Disaster at Timor--KB hits troop transports

Borneo
An enemy cargo ship hit a mine at Balikpapan. Because it's in a port space it will probably survive.

Celebes Sea
Dutch sub KXV torpedoed and likely sank a loaded medium tanker in the Celebes Sea. It's slightly north of where I expected the lane to be so I'll be adjusting my subs' patrol areas here.

Malaya
Apparently completely unafraid of my bombers, the cruiser and destroyer stuck around Singapore and sank another 2 ASW patrol boats.

New Hebrides
I'm still disembarking troops and supplies at Luganville. At least 2 enemy subs are there now but our destroyers are holding them off.

The scale of enemy air attacks increased, and it would cost us. Our fighters began causing enemy losses but the bombers were still getting through. 6 Zeroes and 4 Nells were shot down for a loss of 2 P-40s and a P-39. The bombers hit USS Concord twice and sank her (light cruiser), along with a troop transport (fortunately an empty one).


Sumatra
19 Oscars swept Palembang, shooting down 3 Buffalos and a P-40 with no losses. Yes, I still have a few squadrons flying Buffalos.

Thailand
Our bombers targeted the 5th Division in the south. We traded 3 Blenheims for 3 Oscars and 3 Nates and about 200 enemy soldiers.

Timor
I'm not sure if my decision to try to load the troops landing here back up made this happen because the disembarking was painfully slow, but it might have. But the KB showed up here and tore that task force to pieces. (2nd instance of each ship is the 2nd wave)
xAP Empress ' Asia, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires
xAP Empress ' Australia, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
xAP Empress ' Australia, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Aquitania, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Aquitania, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Wakefield, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Wakefield, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
DD Tjerk Hiddes
DD Tjerk Hiddes, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP West Point, Bomb hits 4, on fire
xAP West Point, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Thanet
xAP Duchess of Bedford, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAP Duchess of Bedford, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Empress ' Scotland, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Empress ' Scotland, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Troop casualties were probably around 3000 and was concentrated in one of the 2 brigades being transported. It will probably be a long time before that brigade can be made useful again. These transports were also high value. Large and fast, these would have been better used to land troops at a nearby port than for amphibious ops in a contested area.

[Molon Labe]

28 March 1942

Timor
The enemy detached 3 destroyers and sent them into port at Koepang to finish off the Duchess of Bedford, the only surviving transport. The loss of that ship resulted in another 1100 casualties to our ground forces. The damaged destroyer Tjerk Hiddes attempted to clear the area but was finished off by a submarine.

The battleship Kirishima and 3 destroyers followed up to shell Koepang, disabling at least 20 planes, and underscoring a serious problem at this base: when I ordered the re-embarking of the partially disembarked troops, the ships also started taking supply from the base. Between that and the damage being dealt to the base, the supply here is depleted, and my planes won't be flying, including the light bombers that should be performing low level attacks against these ships shelling the base.

Java
An enemy heavy cruiser and destroyer hit mines attempting to shell Surabaya. The destroyer aborted its mission, but the cruiser and two others pushed on and shelled the base, disabling over 50 planes and damaging a destroyer under repair in port.

The battleship Haruna and 3 heavy cruisers shelled Batavia, disabling at least 30 planes.

The damage to airbases reduced the size of our raids. We lost a P-40 and a B-25 near Surabaya without inflicting significant damage on the ground. An attempted light bomber run on enemy ships at Tjepoe resulted in 1 Oscar shot down but no hits on anything, despite a the mine-damaged destroyer being targeted.

In a case of my failing to range-limit my bombers, I lost 4 139W bombers attempting to attack a tanker at Singkawang, which had a CAP and was beyond the reach of my own fighters. 2 bombers made it to the tanker but missed.

Thailand
Oscars attempted to sweep Tavoy but we beat them back. 6 Oscars shot down for a loss of 1 Hurricane and 1 P-40.

New Hebrides
The enemy bombers pursued my retreating ships from Luganville to Efate. We got 2 Betties and 8 Kates.

I ordered my troops to perform a shock attack on Luganville, hoping I could overcome their defenses before this operation becomes unrecoverable. They were pushed back with 275 casualties, only inflicting 12 on the enemy.

[Molon Labe]

29 March 1942
Mines everywhere!

Thailand and Burma
Remember my theory that they were trying to open the Strait of Malacca to submarines? A sub just hit a mine at Rangoon, probably sank.

Air raids over Pisanuloke (adjacent to Raheng airbase) resulted in an Oscar and a Hurricane going down, with our bombers inflicting moderate casualties. Our bombers are suddenly less effective here, not sure why.

Java
The IJN is now shelling our troops trying to take their eastern beachhead. Not good. We have the numbers, but if we're constantly bombed and shelled we might fail to take the hex. An transport in an enemy task force landing reinforcements hit a mine, suffering troop casualties, but not enough to bring the ship down. A torpedo boat in another task force hit a mine here as well, almost certainly sinking.

On the west side of the island, we had a rare successful ASUW attack as 3 Fulmars hit an AKL at low level, scoring 4 gun burst hits and 3 bomb hits, sinking it. Then they rearmed and went back, badly damaging a large cargo ship with 3 bomb hits.

Japan
USS Tautog sank a cargo ship between Kyushu and Okinawa with 2 torpedo hits.
USS Triton hit a mine near Tokyo, it seems the sub was crossing through the shallow water hexes south of Tokyo bay. I set their patrol zones to avoid these areas so I'm not sure what happened here. The sub is crippled and making less than 5 knots towards home. I am not hopeful.

New Hebrides
The enemy continued their attacks on Efate, costing them 3 Nells and 4 Betties as they exceeded the ability of their escorting Zeroes to provide support. But they also had at least one carrier launch a raid, which was escorted and managed to avoid our fighters in any case:

xAP Macdhui, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
xAP Macdhui, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage (2nd wave)
CL Perth, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CL Perth, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage (2nd wave)
xAP Kota Gede, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DM Pruitt
xAP Kota Radja, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
xAP Kota Radja, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage (2nd wave)
xAK Red Jacket, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk (by Nells)
xAP Macdhui, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

Our bombers got through and hit their troops pretty good without any fighters intercepting. They're landing supplies and reinforcements though, so it seems unlikely I can wear them down enough with bombers to pull a win out of this.

Timor
The KB bombed Koepang airbase, not that it matters much with the base out of supply. About 60 aircraft were disabled.

China
The LR CAP over Chusien is finally starting to pay off. AVG P-40s shot down 3 light bombers with no losses. These are just hit-and-run attacks really, this was 3 P-40s vs 46 nates and 27 light bombers. Superior airspeed is all that stops this from going badly for me.