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[Zrk2]

*Taps* So long, sweet prince.

Anyway. So we have no chance of outright victory. How about a crazy land-shit-in-India style plan?

[Hanzoku]

*Taps* So long, sweet prince.

Anyway. So we have no chance of outright victory. How about a crazy land-shit-in-India style plan?

Except it'd be a surefire method to losing, I would be amused if you took Smeulder's hesitation to take losses and invaded Continental US with it.  Probably too much !!FUN!! however.

[Zrk2]

A rifle behind every blade of grass...

[Erkki]

Erkki, just wanted to pop by and thank you for all the good time I had reading your LPs. I won't be following this thread anymore (I spent too much time on Bay12, so I decided to quit) so this is a goodbye of sort.

Thanks again for all the good read!

But you'll be back!

*Taps* So long, sweet prince.

Anyway. So we have no chance of outright victory. How about a crazy land-shit-in-India style plan?

Except it'd be a surefire method to losing, I would be amused if you took Smeulder's hesitation to take losses and invaded Continental US with it.  Probably too much !!FUN!! however.

Yeah. You remember all the US troops that never left WC, all the volunteer guard units and training units? From airforce, army and navy. They're all there. Like 3 armored divisions or so in CAL alone and should WC get invaded, a lot more are sent from East Coast that would otherwise go to Europe or Northern Africa. West Coast invasion is suicidal and logistics is even greater issue than the enemy troop numbers.


May 31st, June 1st

Nothing to mention happened on 31st.

On 1st, the USN CVs arrived to Pearl: as I half thought, they were lurking there and sortied when KB was sighted. At least 3 have now returned to their nest, and the 4th is probably nearby. 2/3 of Kido Butai is at Truk, and needs 13-15 days to be fully refit. It could be ready sooner than that but I want to the alertness and security as high as possible to be able to sortie immediately. Zeros are moved to land bases at the atoll and cover the fleet now. The replenishment tankers are unloading the fuel for a day or 2 and will then relocate to East Indies well ahead of the KB.

In the meanwhile, the preparations of our next invasions are in schedule and we are ready within 2,5 weeks. The actual combat elements are ready but we are still waiting for airfields to be built up on Timor and the supplies from Home Islands as well as fuel from Balikpapan and Java for the fleet to use. The main logistical base for the operation is SOEREBAJA on Java with its large airfield, port and drydock(that is being expanded at the moment). Forward support bases will be Makassar and Koepang. We will be fighting close to oil fields and refineries as well as Java's industry so logistically this should fairly straightforward. And yeah, we're going to surf in AUS. 

[Hanzoku]

Yeah. You remember all the US troops that never left WC, all the volunteer guard units and training units? From airforce, army and navy. They're all there. Like 3 armored divisions or so in CAL alone and should WC get invaded, a lot more are sent from East Coast that would otherwise go to Europe or Northern Africa. West Coast invasion is suicidal and logistics is even greater issue than the enemy troop numbers.

You know, if you get points for screwing up the course of history in Europe, a series of landings and holding until the US starts to commit divisions slated for Europe and North Africa before pulling out would throw all sorts of timetables in Europe out of whack. Granted, those units would probably stay on the West Coast and be available for invading Japan, but you can't have everything.

[Erkki]

Yeah. You remember all the US troops that never left WC, all the volunteer guard units and training units? From airforce, army and navy. They're all there. Like 3 armored divisions or so in CAL alone and should WC get invaded, a lot more are sent from East Coast that would otherwise go to Europe or Northern Africa. West Coast invasion is suicidal and logistics is even greater issue than the enemy troop numbers.

You know, if you get points for screwing up the course of history in Europe, a series of landings and holding until the US starts to commit divisions slated for Europe and North Africa before pulling out would throw all sorts of timetables in Europe out of whack. Granted, those units would probably stay on the West Coast and be available for invading Japan, but you can't have everything.

Yeah... But first we'd need Pearl. And before we can take Pearl we need the Allied CVs, or they'd be all over the supply lines. And its not looking like Bart is trying to get them killed. 


June 2nd

Only thing to mention today is that the Allies have finally moved bombers to Burma front: there are 18 spotted by Japanese aerial reconnaissance at Calcutta. The 13th Sentai/A with its 14 Ki-45 heavy fighters is still assembling its planes at Bangkok with about half of them ready to fly, but as soon as they're ready they'll transfer to Magwe to counter those bombers. Allies have apparently also moved another squadron of reconnaissance aircraft either to Chittacong or Calcutta as a Beaufort was sighted above Akyab today - so far the Allied recce planes have been ID'd as Lysanders.

[Erkki]

It looks like my opponent is currently engaged in his other PBEM, which is probably about to come to an end soon. This game is likely to speed up soon!


Now a question to all you armchair generals - as we know the enemy is keeping his CV force hidden and safe. Thats OK. But in the meanwhile, Japan's counter to its threat, the Kido Butai, has literally 2/3 of the IJNAF's best pilots while the pools are nearly dry and some of the land-based units that suffered losses during the East Indies campaign have received only mediocre to not that good at all replacements.

IJAAF has enough training capacity to keep rolling out on average about 10 fresh graduates 4-5 well trained pilots from operational training units each day but the IJNAF really cant match that. What we could do is strip the KB, at least the fighter and dive bombers units, of their best pilots and put those guys

A) in the training command to speed up graduating of pilots, saving industry,
B) in land-based units that have suffered losses(only fighter units) and
C)those good at teaching to operational training units to speed up graduating the actually skilled pilots we so much need everywhere, as well as help building reserve of them for future needs.

The KB would still retain its living-hero squadron leaders, but the very good pilots would be removed and more mediocre pilots put in. No rookies would be put on the CVs, but I think Japan's finest men have better things to do than sit on their thumbs at Truk for the coming half a year, or so.

[Hanzoku]

Sounds like its safe enough to do a combination of A and C - get the teachers out of the units and getting more high-quality pilots across the whole of the air force. Given Smeulder's caution, it seems sensible to use the time to build up the general quality and reserve of the air forces, and doing so will eventually trickle back to Kido Butai as replacement pilots become higher quality.

[Erkki]

Sounds like its safe enough to do a combination of A and C - get the teachers out of the units and getting more high-quality pilots across the whole of the air force. Given Smeulder's caution, it seems sensible to use the time to build up the general quality and reserve of the air forces, and doing so will eventually trickle back to Kido Butai as replacement pilots become higher quality.

I'll probably agree but havent decided yet. Also the pilots can always be rotated back to KB with a 7-day delay. Not quick enough for them to take part to reactionary ops but its an option that can be used if the spidey senses start tingling me.

Another pro for A and C would be that the high exp pilots would be "safe" until IJNAF starts to receive the high performance land-based fighters J2M Raiden and N1K Shiden by mid 1943 and later possibly even the CV fighter A7M Reppu. Even good pilots tend to die easy in Zeros... Good plane with good range but only if the pilots are also good, and when they start taking losses they usually suffer very badly, especially on CVs where they fly only CAP and bomber escort, where they suffer more accidents and where they might also go down with a ship.

[Delta Foxtrot]

Definitely C. Let's build up our reserve while it's still possible to do so. We can't match the US in quantity so our best bet is to get as good quality warmachine as possible.

[Erkki]

June 3rd

Today 3 commando submarines reach their far out patrol zones near Karachi, Bombay and in the Southern Ocean.  These submarines are some of the subs I've for now dedicated to scouting, mainly for trying to find the Allied convoy routes.

Something is caught right away: far from nearest land, 480 nautical miles SOUTH of the SW corner of Australia(hex 042,163 for those with the game), I-165 attacks a lone xAK in full fuel load in a brutal surface attack. 4 torpedo hits(+2 duds) and 12 shell hits is overkill for the 5500-ton transport. I-165 still has torpedoes left so shes ordered to remain on station.

An insignificant event perhaps, but the latest kill by a submarine was 3 weeks ago, and it looks like the direct Cape Town - Adelaine is still being used and can, if wanted, be raided again.

Across the Australia, there is some increased activity: a destroyer squadron sails from Brisbane but submarine RO-60 misses its torpedoes. Just East of Sydney, another small force of warships is sighted. At Suva, Fiji, another Allied destroyer squadron arrives to port and is sighted by submarine based E14Y. Radio activity reported at Noumea in New Caledonia and looks like there are finally some patrol aircraft operating from a base somewhere in the New Hebrides.

[Erkki]

June 4th, June 5th, June 6th, June 7th


Kido Butai: CV Shokaku, CV Zuikaku, CA Chokai and 5 destroyers leave Truk, heading to Kobe where they will go through major upgrades. The carriers will receive air search radar sets and more AAA batteries while the Chokai will go swap its secondary armament to dual-purpose weapons and the destroyers get more AA guns and depth charges. This force will be unavailable to frontline use for nearly 2 months.

SigInt: 3 CVEs reported at Los Angeles. These cannot be the same 3 "CVs" reported at Pearl only half a week before.

[Anvilfolk]

Really nice to see this AAR going again!

Since those carriers are being upgraded, you might as well have at least their air groups training the others or moved to other units, as you suggested a while back.

[Erkki]

June 8th

Submarines: I-16 was tasked to go help I-165 South of Australia. Near Adelaine, it catches a convoy of fuel-laden ships and sinks 2 Dominion L 6100-tonners that burn up nicely! Only 6 torpedoes were used so there are more 14 left. I-16 is now ordered to follow this convoy towards Adelaine, and with some luck it'll make contact again. Once again, there were no escort ships sighted.

I'm going to exploit this convoy route as much as I can until Smeulders adds some escorts or reroutes his convoys. 

Really nice to see this AAR going again!

Since those carriers are being upgraded, you might as well have at least their air groups training the others or moved to other units, as you suggested a while back.

Yeah I'll do that, Zuikaku and Shokaku will have their air groups given some training and pilots rotated as soon as they reach Kobe, in 7 or so days.

[BishopX]

Just a quick note, remain on station will adversely impact a subs ability to hunt ships. Try using a range 0 patrol order instead.