Climb Mt. Basset! Japanese Witp:AE AAR

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Mt. Basset looming in the dying light of day

We are playing the Reluctant Admiral (RA) scenario, version 5.5.  The website has a full description of the mod.  It should make for an interesting mid-war fight, assuming I don't fuck up 1942.   I'm going to discuss my overall plans for the first few months here, the give updates as interesting things happen.  That will probably be every couple turns for the first few weeks of the war, slowing down to weekly or even bi-monthly as we get towards the dig-in phase.

The Plan(tm)

Central Pacific

The plan begins, naturally, with a KB strike on Pearl Harbor.  I plan to have two days of strikes, though if I get really lucky on the first day I may scrub the second to preserve pilots.  After this, things get interesting.  KB is actually formed into two CVBGs in this scenario; I will refer to them as KB-1 (Shokaku, Zuikaku, Hiryu, and Soryu) and KB-2 (Akagi and Kaga) until I decide to reorganize them.  The flexibility this provides led to my initial plan after Pearl Harbor.



Lexington starts in a different position in this scenario, down near Pago Pago.  The yellow X on the map shows approximately where she starts this game; the red X shows approximately where she starts the stock scenario.  This gives Drakken a better option to attack the lightly-screened invasion forces headed for the Solomon Sea if he chooses to move Lexington west instead of northeast.  Enterprise is somewhere in the green circle.

It also makes Midway more vulnerable to an early landing.  As such, I have diverted a follow-up invasion force currently in Tokyo but bound for Kuching to assault Midway.  KB-2 will move northwest, conduct a drive-by of Midway, followed by a drive-by of Wake, then head for Truk.  The four battleships of the Main Battle Fleet currently in Kure harbor will sortie to provide fire support for the Midway landing.

Meanwhile, I have diverted the Makin landing force to Baker Island.  KB-1 will move southwest, conduct a drive-by of Johnston Island while trying to sink as many roving ships as possible, then move west to cover the Baker invasion.  Once Baker is secure, KB-1 heads for Truk to rejoin KB-2.  In the event Lexington shows up in the Solomon or Coral Seas, KB-1 will divert and attempt to sink her.

Once the carriers reunite at Truk, what they do next depends on Allied reactions.  If the American carriers are actively harassing landings, they will move to react.  Otherwise, they will probably move west to help roll up the DEI, with mini-KB transferring east to Truk to cover the Central and South Pacific operating areas.  I may also split the fast battleships off the KB screens so they can cover landings.

South Pacific

I'm going to try to be aggressive early down here to disrupt Australian supply lines as much as possible.  My goal is to have Port Moresby, the Solomons, and Ndeni under control by March.  This would allow me to threaten shipping lanes anywhere along the Australian coast from the Brisbane/Noumea line north.  These bases will also make a good anchor for the southeast corner of the Empire.



I expect mini-KB to be capable of handling any Allied opposition in the area for the first few months.  Lexington could be a problem, and the other two coming down could be an even bigger problem.  With luck, though, the December assault on Midway and uncertainty over what KB will do will stay the American carriers long enough to grab the key bases around the Coral Sea.  Even better if my KB pincer can catch and sink Enterprise.

Southern Resource Area

For the most part, I'm going to follow the historical assaults.  The biggest wrench I plan to throw into the works is to land the Khota Bharu third wave at Mersing instead.  I believe that force has enough firepower to march on Johore Bharu and cut Singapore off from the rest of the British forces in Malaya, making a long-term stand in Singapore less tenable.  I will have a follow-up task force with reinforcements and supplies ready to drop off in Johore Bharu as soon as it falls.  I think taking Singapore in early January is reasonable if this maneuver works.  (Note: the red Xes on the map mark bases that are in the extended map we are using but not on the planning map.)



The biggest threat here will be the ABDA fleet.  Drakken can assemble a powerful SAG with Force Z, the Asiatic Fleet, and the scattered British and Dutch cruisers.  Landing so close to Singapore will allow the fighter contingent there to protect the SAG from becoming Netty Snacks.  Thus, I may need to shift LBA around to suppress the airfield a few days before the landing force gets there.  I could put my own SAG together, but I won't be able to get the odds much better than 1:1, and quite honestly I would take Prince of Wales and Repulse in an even fight with Fuso and Yamashiro.

China

My long term plan is to roll up the north, then open the main rail line connecting Indochina to China.

First, though, I need to stabilize what I have.  The Chinese have a decent size pocket of troops in the southeast near Wenchow.  For the next couple weeks I am going to work on herding them and taking Chuhsien, but once I have IJN support Wenchow is going down.  After that I will let the survivors wither at the dot base for a while before I finish them off.  I also need to roll up the troops of the Lusu War Area, who are effectively behind my lines and threaten the railway connecting Hankow and Kaifeng.  This railway needs to be opened and held to give me a good land connection to the Yangtze.



After this is secure I will launch an offensive aimed at Sian and Tienshui.  This will cut off the small number of Chinese troops in the north and provide me room to work.  It also gives me time to collect all the armored units from Manchukuo and elsewhere in the Pacific.  Since I do not currently plan to invade Australia or India, the few tanks I have will not have anything better to do, so they might as well play Banzai Blitzkrieg in the Gobi.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

As already alluded to in the joint thread, the Pearl Harbor attack did not go so well.  The only ships sunk were a DD and minesweeper.  Lots of bomb hits on the battleships, but it was mostly Vals.   The midget subs actually scored a hit, though.  I launched a follow up the next turn that put more 800kg bombs into four battleships.  In both raids my Kates seemed more interested in bombing Honolulu than the fucking harbor.   Also, Kaga's fighter squadron was gutted while strafing the Pearl Harbor airfields.  To add insult to injury, the Manila strike by mini-KB never launched.

I think I am still on pace to trap Enterprise, though.  Drakken also sent out a bunch of ASW task forces during turn two, one of which ran into KB-1 during the night and probably lost a DMS for its trouble.

My submarines are active already, with an AKL and a tanker to their credit.

The Asiatic fleet appears to be making a run for the Japanese landings in north Luzon.  I don't expect the surface assets to survive very long, especially with mini-KB passing south of Takao right now.

[Ideologue]

One DD?  That's a redo.

Is splitting up the KB necessary for SRA operations?  I would advise against splitting them up any longer than you absolutely have to.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I knew you were going to say something about this.  My plan does not call for KB to be divided operationally, except for the brief period during the pincer I described above.  I will not, however, form the six-ship stack, nor any other CVBG with more than four flight decks.  I'm going with the task group concept from the beginning, because I think that fits the situation and game engine best.  KB is a task group composed of two task forces, and I plan to keep it that way.  Mini-KB will transition to a task group of two task forces once the shadow carriers are done.

[Neil]

And now that airpower is discredited, you can finally use proper Japanese doctrine, which is to say using subs, cruisers and destroyers to harrass the US battleline while they cross the Pacific, and then engage them in a decisive gun duel with your battleships.

[Ideologue]

I knew you were going to say something about this.  My plan does not call for KB to be divided operationally, except for the brief period during the pincer I described above.  I will not, however, form the six-ship stack, nor any other CVBG with more than four flight decks.  I'm going with the task group concept from the beginning, because I think that fits the situation and game engine best.  KB is a task group composed of two task forces, and I plan to keep it that way.  Mini-KB will transition to a task group of two task forces once the shadow carriers are done.

Of course I would.  The KB must not be compromised without dealing a crippling blow--and it can be compromised by something as innocuous as a B-17 if it does not have adequate CAP, let alone blundering into an Allied CV TF.  Without the fleet-in-being that is the full KB, against the continued existence of significant Allied CVs, any landing operations outside of the cover of Betty/Nell LBA cannot be undertaken without great risk.  The best way to minimize this possibility is to keep all your flattops within mutually supporting distance of each other.  So long as the six CVs can assist one another, they are invincible until late 1943 at the earliest, and even then a stand-up fight favors the IJN.  Only by separating them--as the Japanese wound up having to do in real life--can the Allies achieve their early historical dominance.

That said, your operational tempo and strategic requirements are far different from our games' '42 scenario.  In that, the KB can be run into the ground (along with all other assets) because the Allies must retain Moresby, Noumea, and the Oz SLOC they control.

I also understand from grumbler that there are some historicity issues with the old '42 scenario viz. the operability of the 'Yus and Kags.  It's a game, not a simula--wait, wrong company.

Neil has a point though.  Going by the results of Pearl, your KB has been thoroughly dishonored.  I think they should commit seppuku.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Third turn is done.  Drakken tried sending the four Asiatic Fleet destroyers north to screw with the landings in Luzon.  All four were sunk by the destroyer groups screening the landings with only minor damage.  Well, except for Yudachi, which looks like this after one shell hit:



I decided to detach the fast battleships from KB's screen and run them down the middle of the pincer.  They ended up reacting to and beating the snot out of one of Drakken's ASW groups.  Gunnery was shit, though.  They should have four confirmed kills from that engagement, but I think I will be lucky to see one ship show up in the sunk reports.

My subs claimed two more British tankers, bringing their total to three tankers and an AKL.

My air losses continue to be unacceptably high, and Drakken's unacceptably low.

[Neil]

One 5" hit?  Must have hit the magazine.

[Ideologue]

"Armor Belt/Deck/Tower 0/0/0"

Well there's your problem.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Brief update (more to come later):

• Yudachi sank.
• The Baker Island grab ran straight into Enterprise and got mauled.  A few ships and a cadre of the 51st Naval Guards survived due to the arrival of KB-1.
• Neil's predictions about air power continue to bear out.   Fuso, Yamashiro, Kongo, and Haruna have endured multiple air attacks with basically paint-scraping damage.

[Ideologue]

What was the likelihood of intercepting Enterprise with the KB and eliminating it?

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

"Was"? None.  I know basically where she is now, though.  It will take two days for KB-2 to get into position, at which point I can move south and try to catch them.  I suspect Drakken is trying to put up an early, stiff defense of the South Pacific.  I do not remember what KB's fuel sit is, though.  I could send out some AOs from Truk if necessary, but that risks some valuable tanker tonnage.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Detailed update (12DEC41):

The Baker Island force lost a medium AK and a large AK to dive bombers from Enterprise about two hexes out from Baker.  A CM and PB are limping home with heavy damage.  Its going to be dicey, but I think I can get them back to Tarawa for emergency repairs, then on to Truk for full repairs.  A second CM escaped without damage and is well on its way home with a cadre of the 51st Naval Guards.  Enterprise split once KB-1 got close.  KB-1 has 129 hexes of fuel and about 60% of max sorties remaining; KB-2 has 189 hexes of fuel and about 85% of max sorties remaining.  That should give me a few days worth of carrier hunting.  KB-2 is about 4 days from rendezvous with KB-1, which is going to move NNW of Baker, under the Mavis umbrella, to wait.

Today I captured Nauru Island.  Tomorrow I should capture Ocean Island as well.  Further north, the Wake Island invasion lands tomorrow, and the Midway Island invasion lands in 5 days.  The nice thing about the action around Baker is that it will prevent the American carriers from intervening at Midway.  Saratoga could pop up, but it will take her 10 days just to get from the West Coast to Pearl to pick up a proper escort.  Even if she left on the 8th, the landing will take place before she even gets that far.

In the South China Sea, the CVEs have joined little KB, which now has 93 fighters and 60 strike aircraft.  Thus, it is time to begin the Mersing operation.  The heavy cruisers that covered the Kota Bharu landings have resupplied and rearmed at Cam Ranh Bay and will proceed to a patrol line just off the southern Malay peninsula.  Little KB will take up a patrol line 3 hexes NNE of the cruiser line.  The transports will follow behind in one large group.  Fuso and Yamashiro arrive at Cam Ranh Bay tomorrow, where they will resupply, rearm, and head to Mersing to provide gunfire support and heavy cover.

If Drakken really thinks he has done significant damage to my battleships, I may be able to draw out the British battleships with this maneuver.  In a couple of days I plan to switch my Nettys from airfield suppression to naval attack.  The combination of air and surface assets should easily deal with anything the Allies can muster in the area right now.

Everything else is pretty quiet.  My troops have arrived and Hong Kong and will start bombarding today.  The invasions of Luzon and New Guinea are proceeding.  The American submarines are being a pain in the ass, but damage has been limited so far.  China is still shuffling around.

[Ideologue]

Don't American subs basically shoot blanks?  I only ever used them as recon assets.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

The fleet boats are, mostly.  The S-boats are not, nor are the non-American subs ("American" really should have been "Allied").

I read a thread on the Matrix forums that advocated using American fleet boats more aggressively.  They do not have a 100% dud rate, and Japanese ASW blows right now (), so a strong sub campaign can net some results early.