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[Kicior]

Where is my sub now?

[Erkki]

Where is my sub now?

RO-61 is now some 240nm NEE of Rabaul at open sea, heading SE towards Fiji. RO-61's orders are to join I-10 south of Suva on Fiji.

[Erkki]

March 27th


Indian Ocean: for 2nd day I-29 and I-27 recce sorties to Perth and canceled due to bad weather.

East Indies: Bandoeng deliberate attack raw AVs are 2860 vs. 930 against forts 2 and terrain - defenders dont have disruption, fatigue or supply issues yet. Forts lowered to 1, casualties 1:2 however all but 8 Japanese squad losses are just disabled vs. 150+ Allied destroyed and fatigue raises so little that we can attack again in 3 days - just need to get the regiment that took almost all the losses away first and a reinforcement coy in.

Philippines: Pegu invaded and captured, defending well-supplied PA units surrender!

South Pacific: first recon sorties flown over Australia, a Japanese transport carrying elements of a naval construction regiment gets torpedoed by a submarine and sunk. 135 men or about 1/2 of the men are rescued and it looks like most of the lost squads were just support...

Hanzoku: Genzan Ku S-1 formed today at Chiba. The unit gets railed to Tokyo where it'll receive its Zeros tomorrow - I'll pick one of the pilots (from trained reserve pool) for you!

[Hanzoku]

Hurrah! It'll be a while until they get into the war, but I'm hoping they make a good showing of themselves.

[Erkki]

Hurrah! It'll be a while until they get into the war, but I'm hoping they make a good showing of themselves.

Actually they will transfer to Marianas as soon as all planes are ready and pilots arrived(in 8-9 days I hope) and from there to Truk and Rabaul - I seriously need a new fighter unit there...

EDIT: I actually made the unit's commander himself Mitsuo Fuchida ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuo_Fuchida ), he starts the game in the leader pool as Akagi's B5N group already had a leader - the game doesn't do 2 leaders per unit or leaders for multiple groups and Kido Butai already had a commander, Nagumo...

[Anvilfolk]

I wonder if he also gets struck down by appendicitis at the worst possible time in the game. It should just wait until you REALLY need him, and then do that! Hehehehe

[Erkki]

I wonder if he also gets struck down by appendicitis at the worst possible time in the game. It should just wait until you REALLY need him, and then do that! Hehehehe

Yeah lol. Fortunately too Japan's best Navy CV commander Tamon Yamaguchi can be relieved from commanding Hiryu(he chose to go down with his ship at Midway) and given a full CVTF which he commands better than Nagumo...

[Erkki]

March 28th

Nothing happened.

Some British or Indian units seem to be moving from Calcutta - JAAF recon units keep monitoring all Allied bases between Burmese border and Calcutta so we should be able to keep track of them. Probably just support units but who knows... At Singapore, KB is again 100% ready for action. Timor invasion fleet ready, 3 days and we start loading troops aboard the ships. BB Hyuga TF arrives at Ominato where it'll refuel and do minor repairs before relocating to Paramushiro-Jima where it'll merge with BB Yamashiro TF.

Hanzoku, commissioned or uncommissioned? 

[Hanzoku]

officer or enlisted you mean? Officer please - better food and a chance to command later!

[Erkki]

officer or enlisted you mean? Officer please - better food and a chance to command later!

My bad again, failed to type "noncommissioned" - Japanese had a 3-5 year military service so everyone below Captain could be "non-commissioned" despite being officers - and actually still doing their mandatory service - such as Navy and Army pilots who'd get promoted to at least 2 lowest "officer" ranks if once they passed the school and another rank up if they passed with good grades. I can tell from first hand experience that rank and skill/position don't exactly go hand in hand. 

PO2 Yamazaki, I. EXP 77, AIR 79, DEFN 73 so this guy is extremely skilled especially considering he has no combat experience. His unit is Genzan Ku S-1, 27-plane fighter unit commanded by Commander Mitsui Fuchida, now being formed near Tokyo... Once everyone arrives from their vacations and planes are ready, the unit will transfer first to Pagan and then to Truk where it's first task is to simply protect the atoll and escort G3M2 bombers if they find anything worthwhile to attack that far behind the front. CVL Shoho TF is now at Truk so this is an important task.

BTW Genzan Ku S-1 doesnt have a single non-officer - the lowest pilot is an ensign and theres just one of them. Highest rank pilots that actually fly are General liutenants in some Army units, Navy's highest rank pilots seem to be just Commanders (colonels).


March 29th


Another silent day, nothing worth mentioning on any front, however:

Intel/SigInt:

Intel reports CL Dragon not sunk but being still in service, so the Type 95 torp didnt do its job.

Ki-49-IIa advanced by 1 month to 42/8, we should be able to get it into production by 42/7!

Japanese spies at Los Angeles let us peek the port, apparently there are no capital warships or tankers:



Tomorrow: Another deliberate attack ordered at Bandoeng. We have only 80 AV less than last try(which achieved 1:1 odds) and now with the lower forts I hope for another 1:1 and equal losses and forts reduction. Reinforcements arrive to Samarinda, I hope to keep the Dutch bombers at Balikpapan for another day attacking Japanese xAKLs so that those 20+ bombers can be captured by our troops. 

[Sheb]

Can you actually fly them if you capture them?

[Erkki]

Can you actually fly them if you capture them?

They'll get destroyed by the mechanics and aircrew to prevent capture. Not that I need nor want Martin 139WHs any way... The real loss is their aircrew.

[Erkki]

March 30th


Great Nicobar and some base in the Philippines captured.

East Indies:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ground combat at Bandoeng (50,100)
 
Japanese Deliberate attack
 
Attacking force 87585 troops, 931 guns, 305 vehicles, Assault Value = 2686
 
Defending force 35878 troops, 364 guns, 204 vehicles, Assault Value = 819
 
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 0
 
Japanese adjusted assault: 1686
 
Allied adjusted defense: 1132
 
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)
 
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0
 
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
 
Japanese ground losses:
      4730 casualties reported
         Squads: 8 destroyed, 239 disabled
         Non Combat: 52 destroyed, 127 disabled
         Engineers: 13 destroyed, 6 disabled
      Vehicles lost 24 (1 destroyed, 23 disabled)
 
 
Allied ground losses:
      2970 casualties reported
         Squads: 40 destroyed, 180 disabled
         Non Combat: 49 destroyed, 249 disabled
         Engineers: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
      Vehicles lost 95 (34 destroyed, 61 disabled)
      Units destroyed 1
 
 
Assaulting units:
    21st Infantry Regiment
    15th Ind Engineer Regiment
    113th Infantry Regiment
    41st Guard Battalion
    5th Recon Regiment
    Yokosuka 2nd SNLF
    5th Engineer Regiment
    24th Infantry Regiment
    55th Infantry Regiment
    56th Infantry Regiment
    33rd Division
    114th Infantry Regiment
    12th Engineer Regiment
    11th Infantry Regiment
    23rd Ind Engineer Regiment
    148th Infantry Regiment
    1st Tank Regiment
    41st Infantry Regiment
    46th Division
    53rd Division
    42nd Infantry Regiment
    I/81st Naval Guard Unit
    56th Field Artillery Regiment
    18th Mountain Gun Regiment
    14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
    5th Field Artillery Regiment
    3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    25th Army
    1st RF Gun Battalion
    3rd Mortar Battalion
    3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
    5th Mortar Battalion
    18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
    2nd Field Artillery Regiment
 
Defending units:
    1st KNIL Regiment
    2nd KNIL Landstorm Battalion
    Lijfwacht Cav Sqn
    Mobiele Eenheid Battalion
    4th KNIL Regiment
    6th KNIL Regiment
    Tjilatjap KNIL Battalion
    2nd KNIL Regiment
    1st Regt Cavalerie
    Marinier Battalion
    4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion
    Barisan KNIL Regiment
    3rd KNIL Landstorm Battalion
    Roodenburg Battalion
    1st KNIL AA Battalion
    1/4th Avn Sup Afd
    ML-KNIL
    ABDA
    KNI Zeemacht
    KNI Leger
    NI-MLD
    6th Avn Sup Afd
    2/4th Avn Sup Afd
    3rd KNIL AA Battalion
    Andir ML Base Force
    7th Avn Sup Afd

As you can see the Allies have massed quite a lot of troops around the DEI to Bandoeng, originally 1200+ AV(assault value, rough way to indicate a unit's ability to overwhelm the enemy for a breakthrough, does not always go 1:1 with firepower especially with artillery or tanks and anti-tank but with roughly similarly well equipped troops its comparable) but even that 1200+ included some units already hit at Batavia and Kalidjati. Some troops still left elsewhere on Java but they were on their way to Bandoeng when a Japanese armor unit cut cut off the railroad connection. We have now destroyed 2 units from this stack - must have been small support units or something. Forts now 0 and the Dutchmen lost another 100+ AV and they are probably soon out of supplies! One infantry regiment got hit pretty badly but great majority of losses were just disabled squads. I'm still moving it to rest at Batavia. Japanese AV fell from 2686 to ~2460 but fatigue and disruption are fairly low, so we can attack again in 2 or 3 days with 2550+ AV. Shock or deliberate? Allied AV remaining after 2 days rest will be 730 tops and terrain is mountains, no forts any more.

Soerebaja's airfield attacked by Ki-21s with Ki-43 escort - the Dutchment still arent flying! 2 B-339s are destroyed. Soerebaja now reported to have 15 fighters and 40 auxiliary, and airfield damage clearly isnt repairing. All Dutch aviation support is stuck at Bandoeng and theres no way to fly out those Brewsters? 

South Pacific: Tassafaronga hits airfield size 1. An Allied submarine (again) gets a shot at an xAK near Guadalcanal but this time its a miss.

Home Islands: Troops for Timor invasion start boarding ships. TF target is set to Kendari. Theres so many ships that I can afford to lose 2-3 to submarines... 1 DD escorting now but more will be joining near Mindanao and more distant cover will be given by KB and surface units. Koepang reported to have some bombers at the airfield and some 5000 troops.

[Erkki]

March 31st

Not much happened today.

East Indies: Japanese stack at Bandoeng gained over 100 AV from disabled squads so we're back at 2550+ even without the one unit that is marching out, so deliberate attack tomorrow! I dont want to retreat them quite yet because I have them surrounded from every direction but one(the mountain hex to SE), I have an SNLF unit moving there, will take a week. Enemy strength should be below 730-ish AV as they lost over 100 yesterday plus another 100+ as disabled.

Tomorrow: deliberate attack at Bandoeng, shock attack over river to Balikpapan(97 AV vs. unknown defenders), attack at Pare Pare (Makassar garrison remains vs. 56% of a Japanese regiment).


South Pacific: An American submarine hits another empty Aden-class xAK near Tulagi. I'd scuttle the ship if I could as it has no hope of getting to a port before sinking or burning to waterline but I suppose sys+floatation damage isnt enough so I cant. Damnit.

Home Islands: 2 new aircraft entered production today: A6M2-N float-fighter version of the Zero and the brand new Ki-49-I Donryu bomber. The first Ki-49 isnt any better than Ki-21 so the plane will enter proper mass production a couple of months later when the faster, longer range and armored Ki-49-IIa becomes available.


Anvilfolk: Chitose Ku S-1/B transferred from Rabaul to the just completed jungle strip at Buna. Across the Owen Stanleys to the SW is Rabaul. The unit is relieved from escorting bombers unless they will fly to a nearby target, but will simply patrol over their own base, protecting the 23rd Air Flotilla HQ, unloading transports and the ongoing constructions. Buna's airbase will be built larger to support Port Moresby - cant hurt to have more fields in the area...

Kicior: RO-61 will reach its station near Fiji late tomorrow. RO-61 and I-10 are patrolling the routes to Fiji's capital, Suva - RO-61 from the West and I-10 from the East.

[Sheb]

Do you have much use for float-Zero? I don't remember hearing about any units of those.