Do you like WW2 grand strategy naval wargames?

[metadigital]

You must have Air Superiority.

[alanschu]

Quite a bit has happened since my last update. It's now August 1943, and most of my carriers are now using the significantly better Hellcat over the Wildcat.

 

 

First, some good news from New Guinea. My decision to build up the base on Hollandia has paid off immensely. LBA flying out from there were able to spot a carrier battlefleet. Dauntless' dropping 1000 lb AP bombs, Beauforts dropping 18" torpedoes, and B-25s dropping 2000 lb GP bombs all scored multiple hits. The IJN Shokaku was decimated in the attack, sinking the same night she was hit. Other hits were scored on some battleships on the fleet, but the bulk of the attack was wisely focused on the carrier itself.

 

The CV Bunker Hill (Essex class) was recently made available, and along with the CV Essex, and the CVL Independence, made way to the Kwalajein Atoll to knock out her airfield. While this was happening, the rest of the entire US Carrier fleet escorted a Battleship bombardment Task Force, as well as landing forces consisting of the 2nd USMC Division, 3rd USMC Division, 24th US Army Division, and 27th US Army Division. Also preparing were smaller task forces carrying the US III, US XIV, and US XI Army Corps, the 5th Air Force HQ, and the Central Pacific HQ directly. The 2nd USMC Paratrooper division, as well as the 4th USMC Raider division also loaded up. They made way for the Kwalajein Atoll, and arrived in about a week and a half. During this time, B-24 Liberators out of the Tarawa Atoll (conquered last year) performed port strikes, with support from the raiding CVTF (Essex, Bunker Hill, and Independence). As troops arrived, the rest of the carrier fleet focused on port and coastal defenses, hoping to reduce the number of coastal guns that could fire at the transports.

 

A battleship TF consisting of 13 battleships, including South Dakota class ships BB Indiana, Alabama, BB Massachusetts, in addition BB North Carolina, BB Washington, and a host of older battleships performed heavy shore bombardments on the Atoll. Casualty estimates exceeded 10,000 and troops from the 2nd and 3rd USMC Divisions began landing troops at night, with additional troops from the remaining combat divisions joining in the landings during the day. Initial fighting was exceptionally heavy, with the 3rd USMC Div taking heavy casualties. The Bombardment fleet made an additional, albeit less effective, bombardment, and all aircraft changed targets specifically to japanese combat troops, to aid in the fights. After two days of fighting, Allied forces were able to secure the base, and all that remains is to clean up the remaining pockets of Japanese resistance. 2 AA Divisions, the 10th USMC Coastal Battery Division, the 56th US Coastal Defense Unit, in addition the the 105th USN Base Force, 19th Engineer Aviation Brigade, and the 11th Navy Sea Bees (Engineers) will land in the next couple of days to repair infrastructure. One B-24 Liberator Flight Group is preparing to make the flight from Pearl Harbour, and cargo ships are beginning to load up USMC Corsairs, Avengers, and Dauntless' to provide aircover over the Marshall Islands. Currently there are only plans to occupy two other bases in the Marshall Islands, in order to bring Truk into range of land based bombers, as well as Guam and Saipan. I am content to leave the rest of the islands officially in Japanese control, and simply starve them out. Between holding Kwalajein, and a lesser extent the Tarawa Atoll, the remainder of the islands should be cutoff and suffer heavy attrition.

 

 

 

In Southeast Asia, things are also going splendidly. Moulmein and Tavoy fell a few days after Rangoon, and troops prepared an invasion of Bangkok. While preparations were being made, much of the heavy bomber divisions flew into Wuchow China, to assist in the second attack on Canton. With the China's west secure, and the Burma Road open, most Chinese divisions relocated to Canton, with the aim of actually capturing it this time. With the help of hundreds of Medium and Heavy Bombers, the Chinese were able to pummel Japanese forces, and had them retreat into Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is an island, they literally have no where to hide now. Before returning to Burma, the bomber divisions did heavy bombing runs over Hong Kong, decimating multiple ships inside the port. In fact, there were 104 confirmed hits on a light cruiser. It sunk

 

Now a few divisions of Hurricane Fighter Bombers, P-40N Warhawk Fighter bombers, and a USMC Corsair division are flying out of Canton, interdicting any ships en route to resupply Hong Kong. Hong Kong is able to provide a limited about of supplies, but for the most part its heavy industry will be cut off and rendered useless, affecting Japan's ability to wage war.

 

With Hong Kong cut off, and several Japanese Army Divisions effectively cut off from combat, my bomber divisions returned to Tavoy and Rangoon. From there, they performed heavy air and port strikes against Bangkok. 4 Tank Divisions blitzed into Bangkok to cut off the Malaya Penninsula from resupply via rail, and the siege of Bangkok had started. In a few days, the bulk of the Commonwealth Armies arrived and proceeded to pummel, with the help of air supremacy and numerous flights from heavy bombers, medium bombers, and even some dive bombers, Bangkok into submission. The strikes against the Ports and Airfields are done to reduce support troops, which in turn limit the effectiveness of restoring disabled combat troops to combat readiness. After a week or so of fighting, Bangkok fell.

 

 

It's mid-August 1943, and things are looking very up for the Allied counterattacks! With some luck, the war will hopefully be over sometime in 1944.

[Pidesco]

Will it be over without going nuclear?

[alanschu]

I think that that is a distinct possibility, but of course we'll have to see.

[metadigital]

Well, one of the main reasons cited for the nuclear attack was the seemingly suicidal devotion of the Japanese soldiers who would rather die than surrender; methinks you'd have to duplicate that sort of force (and attack the Japanese islands to help let the fascist government know that the Allies know that they are trying to keep the truth about the fate of Japan from her people, and that the Allies won't let the government get away with it, even and upto bombing the civilian population).

[Pidesco]

But are atomic bombs available in 1944?

[metadigital]

The Enola Gay is the B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped "Little Boy", the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare, when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) attacked Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945, just before the end of World War II.

clickie!

[Pidesco]

Yes, that's my whole point. My question was if atomic bombs are available in 1944, in the game.

 

I may be daft sometimes, but I do know my history.

[alanschu]

I'm pretty sure they aren't available until 1945.

 

However, if I reduce Japan to nothing more than its mainland, it's ability to wage war will effectively be neutered. Their desire to fight on with extreme devotion won't mean much if they are all starving to death with no military forces to speak of (nor the infrastructure to build more).

[metadigital]

Yes, that's my whole point. My question was if atomic bombs are available in 1944, in the game.

 

I may be daft sometimes, but I do know my history.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sometimes?

 

If the player can change the production rate of standard munitions I can't see why this wouldn't be true for atomic assets (including the research).

[alanschu]

My "changing of production rate of standard munitions" is changing Japan's by reducing the amount of resources they can feed into their industry.

 

 

As the Allies, you have no real input for your production. You get a standard supply rate of each type of planes, soldiers, guns, tanks, etc. Japan allows for the expansion of factories (and shutting down of factories) and so forth, but as far as I know they don't get the bomb.

[metadigital]

So you can't get Hellcats, for example, earlier than 1944?

[alanschu]

Yes I can, because they're available in 1943

 

But no, the American production system is set in stone. It'd make the American campaign far too easy as you already have an immense economical advantage. Powering through and getting Hellcats in 1942 and B-29s in 1943 would just tip the scales that much faster.

 

I'm also not sure how exactly I get the atomic bomb. THere doesn't seem to be any "atomic bomb" factories. I think I just get them at set intervals. If I drop more than two though, the victory score is automatically tipped one score in favour of Japan (so instead of Total Victory, I'd get Decisive victory. Instead of a Draw, I'd get Decisive Defeat, and stuff like that). Going into 1946 tips it 2 points in favour of Japan, so the best possible score the Allies can get is a Draw.

[metadigital]

I doubt they actually had a "factory": they barely had a prototype (the Hydrogen bomb test completely surprised them with its power, so it's not a big stretch to suppose that they cobbled it together from the spare parts lying around the Manhattan Engineering District).

 

Note to self: don't be lazy and look up details when using them in examples.

 

Hey, some competition for WW2 Pacific battles!

[Llyranor]

Hey, some competition for WW2 Pacific battles!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think that's an action/'strategy' hybrid, in which you can hop into planes and fly them in awesome cinematic mode. It's also coming out on 360 at the same time.

[metadigital]

Not so spreadsheet-interface, then?

[alanschu]

Hey, the spreadsheet interface is letting me refuel my carriers in the Marshall Islands to go and decimate more Japanese shipping!

 

Next goal is to conquer Truk, to cut off Rabaul, which recon has counted 33 (!) divisions at. I'd very much like to cut them off.

[metadigital]

I don't mind the spreadsheet interface; one of the earliest games I played was a precursor to Civilization and was text based (each turn giving the player a new screenful of updated status).

 

I meant that the spreadsheet-interface wasn't best suited to a console, television and control pad.

[alanschu]

Just curious, are people still reading (and more importantly enjoying) the AAR?

[Pidesco]

I know I am.

[metadigital]

Who cares about the weak and ignorant? (Rhetorical, of course.)

[Gfted1]

Im not sure what AAR is but for some reason I enjoy reading your updates.

[alanschu]

AAR = After Action Report.

 

 

As long as people find it interesting I'll keep it up. I've slowed down a bit on the updates, but I'll have a bit more time to play in the next couple of days.

[Llyranor]

I like to pretend I read this too.

[alanschu]

Hong Kong has been liberated! In addition, Victoria Point, along the West Coast of Siam on the Bay of Bengal has also been taken. I currently have my surface combat fleet, with 6 Battleships, 3 Light Cruisers, and 6 long range Bagley-class Destroyers zipping around the Philippines Sea. I have 2 CVs and 2 CVLs following it around, providing air support. This arrangement is nice because if anything enters the same hex as the Carrier Task Force, the Surface Fleet moves to intercept. Now normally this isn't a big issue, as it's not uncommon for my Air Combat fleet to not be engaged by enemy vessels in the same hex, as they are usually transports. Carrier Task Force commanders opt to never put the carriers in danger, and don't seem to ever engage, but their escort ships seem to do a decent enough job of dissuading all but larger/better equipped enemy forces from attacking. That, and air missions are typically flown before surface combat is initiated, anything in the same hex as my carriers is often blown to smithereens.

 

But! Sometimes weather sucks, or it is night time. While I don't usually get attacked, as it's frequently an enemy transport, I don't attack back either until the morning. So my Surface Combat Task Forces (with RADAR equipped ships) will instead pick them off. Numerous 14" and 16" guns, and an ungoldy number of 5" guns, make short work of anything I have encountered so far. It also protects my carriers from an unlucky encounter with an enemy Battleship fleet at night (which is possible, but has not happened to me yet). It also lets me save air missions, which I chew through like a maniac bombing every other ship in the neighbourhood. It's also a good way to "clean up" a damaged task force, so that my air units don't accidentally attack an already crippled ship if there are other targets nearby. It also seems to work nicely in term of baiting enemy naval bombers. Most of my Hellcats are set for CAP (Combat Air Patrol) to protect against enemy air attacks. They tend to protect the entire hex. So if they attack the battleship fleet, my Hellcats will protect it. Which means if by some fluke they haven't yet detected my Carrer Task Force, they may launch an attack against my Battleships. With every ship of mine having RADARs, including the very nice CPS-1 long range Air RADAR on my carriers, they can easily detect incoming bombers and scramble fighters. The end result is usually heavy losses (and sometimes total annihilation) of the enemy attack. The CAP of the Hellcats is very thick, especially since 4 squadrons (2x36 and 2x21 in size) from the 4 carriers can contribute. The only recent incident that had Japanese bombers even get torpedos away was when I faced a hundred or so planes off the coast of Tokyo. Most were shot down or buggered off, and only a handful of Betty's were able to drop the torpedoes, with no hits. One day, about 240 miles away from Tokyo, I faced a few raids from both Osaka and Tokyo, with no hits against. I shot down over 100 aircraft between air to air combat and FlaK fire that day. It was a good day. All this came a few days after I stumbled across BB Nagato steaming through the Philippine Sea by herself. 30 1000 lb bombs and 9 torpedoes hit in the airstrike against her, and she sunk.

Edited January 30, 2007 by alanschu