War in the Pacific - Admiral's Edition

[alanschu]

So I just downloaded the game here at work to play around with it for a bit. I like a lot of the details so far, and the first impressions are pretty good.

 

Some stuff I noticed out in the 15-30 mins of checking it out and playing the (automatic) first turn.

 

• Pearl Harbour seems much more devastating now than in the original game, where it wasn't uncommon for me to not permanently lose a single ship
  
• Air combat feedback is much more informative, including:
  • Detailed analysis of the status of CAP (out on patrol, recalled to help, scrambling)
    
  • Detection distance and estimated time to target (letting you know how likely you/they will be able intercept)
    
  • Notification whether a plane was lost on the ground or in the air
    
  • What type of ordinance planes are dropping on targets (handy for AARs!)
    

  [*]Greatly expanded repair model (more on this later...it seems to be a huge improvement!)

  [*]More fleshed out economic model (this will likely require manual reading haha...includes USA as well, but they are more automated than Japan)

  [*]The Prince of Wales and Repulse start out at sea on the first turn, making it muuuch more difficult for the Allied player to save these very valuable ships (historically they were sunk)

  [*]The ability to split your aircrew between certain tasks (some one CAP, some on training, and some on rest)

  [*]Air experience is split by mission type. No more air transport missions turning your bombers into precision naval bombers

  • Training can also be done in each field!
    

  [*]Inclusion of off-map cities/bases. So you can send ships to the East Coast for repairs for example. Done in neat abstractions of the map.

  [*]Rules for route generation: Normal, Safer, Safest, Direct.

 

 

Why does HOI3 have to come out so soon? Haha. This should keep me occupied, at which point I'll likely split between the two each with their own AAR

 

I'm still working OT this week, but I do hope to get in some time.

 

The only bad thing I can think of is that the map coverage got a lot larger, but there's no zoom ability so you're stuck looking at a much smaller part of the map than in the first game.

[alanschu]

It is time. I am thinking that the confusion of learning many of the systems will be satisfactory for the American confusion to start the war off

 

 

Off to go lose me some battleships!

[Gorth]

First salvo... B3 - C4 - D5!

 

Ok, maybe not

 

Dammit, I am getting more and more interested in this game, not at least after reading your previous threads. I really don't have the time, but... Eek!

 

Time to go shopping at Matrix Games I think.

[alanschu]

Unfortunately they game is pretty ridiculously expensive. The only reason why I could justify it is because I qualified for a discount due to owning the original game. That moved it from like $100 to $80.

[Gorth]

I am not exactly financially challenged, but I do worry about the time I am going to spend on it. Still having flashbacks to the time I bought EU III

 

It sounds exactly like the kind of game I would like. Need a replacement for War in Russia and War in the Pacific (old SSI dos games available for free from Matrix games website).

[alanschu]

Hmmm, Day One report will wait until tomorrow. Done mostly reading today.

 

The First Day attacks have a random element to them, and at work I outright lost 6 battleships (way beyond historical), but at home I didn't lose any and probably won't have any sink in the harbour. The Prince of Wales also survived with medium damage (but the Repulse was instantly sunk)

 

 

I'll give the AI any chance at it tomorrow, but tomorrow I go live

[Gorth]

"All your battleship are belong to us!"

 

Downloading at the moment. I wonder if I'll survive the game until the printed manual arrives (bought the download+physical box)...

[alanschu]

Haha the printed manual would actually be pretty nice. I alt-tab a lot

[alanschu]

We should try an MP game and watch as we have a calamity of errors making all sorts of mistakes

 

I'll even by Japan as their production model can really complicate first time players even more so!

[alanschu]

Day One Attack

 

 

So the Japanese were a bit more lucky this time around. Their initial attack was a bit more devastating. The day started off with observers spotting something moving underwater off the beaches near Pearl Harbour, followed by an explosions from one of the minefields nearby. After that it was a pretty intense air raid coming from Northwest.

 

Here's a quick snapshot of the first wave:

 

 

 

The results of the hit were fairly substantial. Most of the Battleship fleet is out of commission, with the Colorado-class BB Maryland being sunk right in the harbour (a bigger loss than the Arizona historically) as some smaller ships such as destroyers and transports. Here's a look at the ships in the biggest jeopardy of being lost due to progressive damage:

 

 

 

Outside of the big losses at Pearl Harbour, the British also lost the BC Repulse and the BB Prince of Wales is off the coast of Malaya suffering from 4 torpedo hits. She seems a few days out of Singapore at her current speed. There's some closer ports nearby, but they are small and the PoW is likely to not receive much assistance from them. The prognosis does not look good.

 

 

The Phillipines Island got hit hard from airstrikes that flew out of Japan. Fortunately there is RADAR present on the island so I do get decent early detection. The unfortunate thing is that I just didn't have sufficient cap the first day. All in all I lost over 130 planes on the ground alone. No real troops have landed yet, outside of Malaya. So far not much combat has happened there though.

 

 

 

The first turn sounds like it's a bit of a long one as there's a lot to get sorted out. Right now my first plan is to deal with the repair situation at Pearl Harbour:

 

 

Unfortunately BB Tennessee is not able to enter the port due to her large fires. Hopefully she can put those out and soon!

 

My main options for the repair yard are Pierside, Shipyard, Repair Boat, and Readiness.

 

Readiness keeps the boat at Readiness, meaning I can add her to a task force at any time. The other options have various effectiveness. The Shipyard is a repair yard found at Pearl Harbour. It has a finite capacity of 100,000 tonnage at the moment (I don't think it was damaged in the attack thank goodness), and I do have a repair ship there. The Shipyard has the longest delay to reactivate, but repairs damage much quicker, and is the only way to repair most of the major damage sustained to the engines and hull integrity (float damage).

 

 

For my next update, I'll discuss my repair plans!

[Gorth]

A submarine sunk after a torpedo hit... there is a certain irony in there somewhere

[alanschu]

I placed the BB West Virgina right into the Shipyard. I also put some smaller destroyer and cruiser type ships in there, as it greatly reduced the repair time to often 10-20 days (which I guess includes the preparations to make ready timer). I debated putting the Oklahoma in there as well, but I wanted to save some space for the Tennessee in case she can get her fire problems sorted out. On the plus side, it means the entire Shipyard can focus its efforts on the West Virginia.

 

 

The majority of ships I placed at Pierside, with only one assigned to the repair ship. Pearl Harbour has a large enough port, with enough Naval Support units, that the Pierside usually had significantly shorter estimated repair times.

 

Any ships that only had major damage (and not much of it....I use the term "major damage" as the game does: needing a shipyard to repair) were placed into a task force and will make their way to San Francisco. There's two repair yards in that area which should help my repair situation immensely. THere was also two Battleships in Seattle. The US BB Colorado, and the UK BB Warspite. Both had minor system damage from refits/whatever, and the Colorado also had minor engine repairs needed. I placed them both in the Shipyard there to get them up to speed as quickly as possible. America is at war now and we need to get every able ship in the region to PH.

 

 

There were a host of ships with minor damage. I tended to keep them set to Readiness as they aren't a threat to be sunk, and I don't want to completely handicap my Navy there by having all of my ships stand down.

 

 

Next up will be the mess of planes I will need to sort through at Pearl Harbour and the Philippines. There's a lot of details that have been added to them and that will be for another day (maybe even two!) as I am tired now.

[alanschu]

A submarine sunk after a torpedo hit... there is a certain irony in there somewhere

 

 

Well it was just chilling in the harbour.

 

 

I'm not sure, but I think Japanese minisubs were what got caught in my minefield.

 

 

This game is a lot to swallow, even for someone that pretty much knew how WITP worked! If you have any questions don't hesitate haha. I read the manual in my spare time at work!

[Gorth]

I'll give it a serious go on Sunday, probably the only day I have some peace and quiet. Really looking forward to have a go at it. Even if I get my butt handed to me in beginning

[alanschu]

The manual could be a bit better unfortunately :\

 

I find myself checking out their (super active right now) forums to get clarification on some things.

 

 

For some stuff it's pretty good, but I guess when it already weighs in at 300+ pages...

[alanschu]

With still much to do before the end of this day, I am looking at Pearl Harbour's airplane situation at the moment.

 

There are three things that I am looking at. First, I don't want a repeat of the first day. That is, planes coming through and bombing my ships. I suspect that there are submarines in the area, so I want to make sure I have some ASW searches going on, in addition to my Nav Searches. Finally, I want to see if I can get lucky and score a hit on the Kido Butai task force that scored its early hits on me December 7th.

 

 

To protect Hawaiian airspace, I have set 50% of all fighter wings to fly Combat Air Patrols (CAP) in and around Pearl Harbour. Those not flying CAP on a particular day will be split between training and resting. I have the CAP altitude set to 15000 feet, to help ensure that any airborne planes already have significant altitude to intercept planes. It's easier (and faster) to dive down rather than fly up. The risk here, is that my initially airborne planes will be separated from any planes taking off for a longer period of time. And if the enemy ends up flying in at a very low altitude, the diving planes still might not get there in time. I don't think this is that big of a concern for Pearl Harbour though, as I do have significant Radar stations, both on boats as well as on land, in the area. They'd have to come dangerously low to avoid early detection, which will leave them very vulnerable to the AA guns that will most definitely be manned now. 15000 feet is also a good number as much higher and the P-40B Warhawk tends to lose performance. There will be P-36 Mohawks and F4F-4 Wildcats that maintain maneuverability above 15k feet, so I am not too worried about it. If the Japanese come in that high, they'll be unlikely to hit very much before they get shot at. I did provide some of the fighter wings with some replacement fighters, but for now, they'll have to mostly make due with repairing what they can.

 

 

 

 

Next up is securing the waters around Hawaii. I have a lot of patrol wings in the area, mostly made up of the fairly long range PBY-5 Catalina. I am concerned about both submarines, as well as the Kido Butai carrier task force that just attacked. I know that attack came from the Northwest. Submarines I suspect are primarily to the West, but I am less certain. So what I have done is split the bulk of my patrol wings to search various arcs, with the ASW arc being slightly wider. The ASW search is one a wider arc, from 140 degrees all the way around to 20 degrees (clockwise). The Naval Search spans 230 degrees to 10 degrees. I did however, set one patrol wing to a full 360 arc for both Naval Searches and ASW, just to ensure total coverage. I have went with an even split of ASW and Naval Search, committing 80% of my patrol wings in that regard. The remaining 20% are split between training and resting.

 

 

The plus side is the Catalinas have airborne radar, which is very handy. Combined with decent payloads, hopefully I can catch some submarines and lay some hurt down on them. They are also float planes, and are unaffected by the significant runway damage at the airport.

 

 

 

The final aspect is setting up the bomber wings. Unfortunately my ability to launch and effective counter attack. Currently I only have 4 planes ready to fly! This might change by the time flight orders are coming around in the morning, as support personnel work to bring planes up to speed. However, extra planes on ASW searches won't hurt either. I'm also looking on returning planes detached from their primary air group. I have already brought some in from San Francisco. This is considered low priority however, and I don't expect any real results in the naval attacks.

 

 

As for the rest of Pearl Harbour, I have approved reinforcements for most of the land divisions in the area. Oahu Defense command would like to lay down additional Coastal Defense (CD) guns as well some additional AA guns. There's also 3 specific AA Regiments in the area, though they typically have their full Table of Elements (TOE), but some of their guns have been disabled. This should hopefully be rectified quickly. Any and all available engineers will immediately work on repairing the airfield (a crux to all of my flight plans in the area, and will likely keep all but my fighters grounded).

 

 

Next up will be assessing my two carrier task forces west of Pearl Harbour, and examining the Home Front, in addition to other forward bases such as Wake Island and Midway.

Edited July 31, 2009 by alanschu

[alanschu]

Currently my two carrier task forces (Lexington and Enterprise) are en route to guard Wake Island and Midway Island (respectively). Lexington has a wing of SBD-3 Dauntless Dive Bombers, and Enterprise has a wing of F2 Midway Island has been approved for personnel replacements, and the Catalinas on stations are set to 70% Naval Search.

 

 

A convoy is en route to Pearl Harbour from San Francisco, as well as one to Anchorage from Seattle. I have also set up 4 ASW patrols in and around the Pearl Harbour region. Each consist of a variety of ASW ships. The ship quality is nothing too special. Some Wickes class DDs, as well as some short range patrol craft and minesweepers. Hopefully we can find some submarines (assuming there are some to be found!)

 

 

I have done about all I can do for the American forces, and will now be transitioning to the Allied forces in the Dutch East Indies (DEI), Malaya, Burma, and Australia.

 

 

One neat thing I found out about today, was that there's a lot more flexibility in how you canperform conversions for your ships.

 

 

For example, the Clemson Destroyer (prewar destroyer) can be upgraded as a (not so good range) fleet destroyer with some improved AA, or I can convert it into a Escort Destroyer (smaller guns, a bit slower, but more depth charges, as well as radar), a Destroyer Minelayer, a Destroyer Minesweeper, and so forth. It's pretty neat!

 

I suspect I'll make them DE (Escort Destroyers) as the speed drop is minimal, but the smaller calibre guns comes with more guns, as well as more depth charges (less torpedoes too, but meh). This should help my ASW, as well as my AA effectiveness. The ASW will skyrocket up as it'll go from just two rear mounts, to 3 on each side as well (they get fired off the side of the boat, increasing the spread). It should help me ruin the days of many IJN submarines!

 

 

 

I'm getting anxious just to see another turn, and I'm starting to get comfortable with the system (airplanes is still a bit intimidating....so many squadrons!)

[alanschu]

Done one turn!

 

 

First off, some bad news. Not too surprisingly, but the blazing inferno that was the USS Tennessee was deemed not salvageable early December 8, 1941. The crew abandoned the ship early in the morning as she rolled over in the harbour. Reclamation efforts are unlikely.

 

 

Now for the rest of the day. It turns out that our assessment of submarines was, in fact, correct. Our ASW fleets detected 3 different submarines just west of Pearl Harbour. Unfortunately, one of the detections came when one of our patrol craft was hit starboard side by a torpedo. She exploded violently and sank quickly into the ocean. The two other patrol craft in the task force actively searched for the submarine, but were unable to find any sign of the submarine. However, another ASW task force in the area detected a submarine a little bit later. It is unknown whether or not this was the same submarine, but several attack runs were made by multiple destroyers. 8 attack runs in total were made, at which point the submarine suddenly disappeared from ASDIC contact. The sub was either able to dive deep, or hopefully sunk! A few hours later a different task force made an attack run on another submarine, but contact was lost.

 

 

Moving into the morning, things got a little bit worse near Hawaii. The quick ASW response did result in some attacks against submarines during the night, but resulted in some bad news in the morning. The quick response to send ships out to investigate submarines assumed the that Kido Butai would hastily retreat back to the Japanese Home Islands. While the task force is believed to be farther away, meaning Pearl Harbour is safe, the extreme range of the planes from that task force did result in attacks against several of our ships. One task force composed of 4 minesweepers saw 3 ships utterly destroyed, and one heavily crippled. Shots were fired against other task forces as well, with a total of 5 ASW ships being sunk or critically damaged. Another task force of the CA New Orleans escorted by several destroyers saw 2 destroyers get hit in an attack. AA fire in response did shoot down one plane, however. The only plus side of the situation is that one wing of 'Nate' Torpedo bombers did attempt to attack one of the task forces that was still close to Pearl Harbour. 2 P-36s and 6 P-40s were able to intercept the bombers. While they did get their torpedoes away, none were hits and 9 'Nate' TB were shot down. First Lieutenant Arnold scored 4 kills himself in the air combat from his P-40B Warhawk (in other news, his "exp" is green now, indicating that he has improved overall...nice feedback). Given the presence of the carrier task force, however, all fleets have been ordered immediately back to Pearl Harbour. Only submarines will be sent out on combat missions. In a desperate move however, I did set a Catalina air group to do some night patrols along a narrow band where I anticipate the Kido Butai to be. The rest of that air group is to attempt night attacks on the fleet. The hope here is that we can catch the Japanese without any CAP flying above the task force, and perhaps score a torpedo hit from one of the Catalinas. A risky venture, but one that could really pay off in the long term.

 

 

In Malaya that Japanese have landed troops along the border with Siam. British troops were routed into the woods as the Japanese seized control of the base. Several air raids occurred, but fortunately the damaged Prince of Wales was protected by heavy cloud cover. A group of Nells attempted to attack a small task force near Singapore but it was intercepted by 24 Buffalos. No hits were scored on the ships and significant losses were incurred to the Nell bombers. Here's some interesting feedback of the three flight groups based out of Singapore leading into the fight.

 

 

 

Wake Island saw it's first attack: a ground raid from some Nells based out of the Marshall Islands. the F3F-4 Wildcats have had their CAP strengthened as a result. The SBD-3 Dauntless bombers currently on board the Lexington will be arriving shortly, allowing the wildcats to focus on escorting and CAP. Midway Island is quiet, and should be getting reinforced in the next day or two.

 

 

Batan Island, just north of the Philippines was taken. We anticipate the Japanese will continue to press on to the main island and push towards Manila. Currently the B-17s out of Manila are attempting naval strikes. No hits were scored, but hopefully the continued experience will see more hits in the future. Any ship we can sink now will be critical in the coming months. Our ability to strike back at the Japanese right now is very limited, so any restrictions on their movements. Admiral Nimitz, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, has issued an order of unrestricted submarine warfare. Any Japanese ship is to be shot on sight. Target focus is the supply lines of the Japanese: cargo and tanker ships. A few submarines were ready to deploy out of Manila early Dec 8th, and most of them are gearing up operations right now to head out and begin hunting. The Silent Service stands the best chance of scoring hits on the IJN at this time. We wish them good luck and good hunting!

 

VADM Schumacher

[Calax]

I wouldn't convert all your DD"s in to DE's. If you mix them you'll get the guns and depth charges from the DE's as well as the torps and heavier weapons from the DD"s (which could be helpful in blowing a BB out of the water.

 

Admittedly you probably already know all of this, but your best bet is to take the CV groups out as your primary task force and then maybe have the Destroyer groups running around as wolf packs to hound enemy shipping and harass fleets to wear them out.

 

Maybe use DD groups to act as a trap for the enemy fleets (lure them into a direct confrontation with your CV group and then have a DD group or two appear and cut off the enemies fleet.

[Llyranor]

It sounds exactly like the kind of game I would like. Need a replacement for War in Russia and War in the Pacific (old SSI dos games available for free from Matrix games website).

Woooo, a convert! Well, this and War in Russia were both made by Gary Grisby (as well as the upcoming War in the East - 2010).

 

As for me, I'm holding out for now. It actually turns out to be cheaper than I thought given the standalone status, and I won't have to get WITP as well. The main obstacle is also one of time. For now, I'll be content just reading alanschu's AAR's, and maybe wait for some Matrix sale event. Plus, I'll be prioritizing HoI3! I'm literally buying a new PC for that game (which I've been procrastinating since forever).

 

I will, however, likely be working on an AAR thread as well once the new Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge comes out.

[Gorth]

It sounds exactly like the kind of game I would like. Need a replacement for War in Russia and War in the Pacific (old SSI dos games available for free from Matrix games website).

Woooo, a convert! Well, this and War in Russia were both made by Gary Grisby (as well as the upcoming War in the East - 2010).

I meant Pacific War of course

 

Yeah, started out by playing the old "Flat Top" board game from Avalon Hill. It went downhill from there. As for War in the East... (need a drooling icon), one of my most anticipated games in a long time. Has anybody by any chance played "War plan Orange"? I could use a review (sounds like an interesting game focussing on ship vs. ship action without air forces playing a major role).

 

Otherwise, I'll just sit here and lick the screen when Alan posts his AAR detail while trying to catch up with the game mechanics on my end

[alanschu]

I wouldn't convert all your DD"s in to DE's. If you mix them you'll get the guns and depth charges from the DE's as well as the torps and heavier weapons from the DD"s (which could be helpful in blowing a BB out of the water.

 

Admittedly you probably already know all of this, but your best bet is to take the CV groups out as your primary task force and then maybe have the Destroyer groups running around as wolf packs to hound enemy shipping and harass fleets to wear them out.

 

Maybe use DD groups to act as a trap for the enemy fleets (lure them into a direct confrontation with your CV group and then have a DD group or two appear and cut off the enemies fleet.

 

 

Well, these destroyers are older Clemson class destroyers. I have no intention (nor even the ability...it's not an option) of converting my other DDs such as the Bagley class DDs. The Bagleys have enough range that they are typically included in combat task forces with little issue. Same with Porters. The nice thing about the Clemson DE conversions is that they will maintain a lot of their speed (30 knots max) compared to the "as designed" DEs which are typically exclusively for convoy escorts as they only have a max speed of around 19 knots. They'd also work as an escort for the slower prewar battleships that typically only have a maximum speed of 20 knots too.

 

The only thing that scares me about using my DDs in more of an offensive role against combat task forces is the Japanese have the ridiculously overpowered (hax!!!) 24" Long Lance torpedo. The thing had ridiculous range AND ridiculous stopping power. Destroyers being used to interdict Japanese shipping is definitely an option however. We'll see how the submarine war goes however.

[alanschu]

Another day going by.

 

 

First, news off the coast of Indochina. It seems as though Dutch Submarine skippers are employing aggressive tactics by engaging Japanese shipping from the surface to get torpedo and gun attacks. Unfortunately the first attack of the early morning resulted in a cargo ship scoring a hit on dutch submarine KVXII. The damage was minimal, but the skipper decided to be safe and dove below the surface to regroup. Another sub attack off the coast of Cam Ran Bay did result in a torpedo hit.

 

 

In the Philippines a dire tragedy has occurred. With several more submarines leaving Manila to engaging Japanese shipping, the SS Snapper ended up hitting mines off the coast of the Bataan peninsula. Tragic, as they are friendly mines! All hands were lost.

 

Outside of some attempted (and unsuccessful) night raids on Clark Field and Hong Kong by Japan, the evening mostly went by without event.

 

 

 

Shifting into the morning, hostilities resumed. British bombers in Malaya attempted to score hits on Japanese planes with little to no success. A large wing of 20+ Nells attempted to bomb Singapore. No significant damage was caused by the bombing run, but 9 Nells were confirmed shot down by the CAP of F2A Buffalo fighters. Similar air raids occurred in the Philippines, but with the element of surprise no longer an issue, the P-36 Mohawks and P-40 Warhawks seem to be effective at minimizing the effectiveness of the bombing raids, while also scoring a few kills in the process.

 

 

The first major successes of the war came from CV Lexington near Midway. Sure enough the IJN was looking on landing troops to take Wake Island, but search planes from Lexington and its cruiser escorts were able to detect it before it could reach the Atoll. SBD Dauntless dive bombers and TBD Devastator torpedo bombers were dispatched with a mixed Wildcat/Buffalo escort to interdict the fleet. The main thing tipping the scales in favour of the US forces here is that the pilots station on Lexington are some of the US Navy's finest pilots. Several hits were scored in the morning, as well as in the follow up attack in the afternoon:

 

 

 

 

The attacks inflicted significant damage, with a fair mix of hits going to the ships carrying troops, as well as the escorting ships. One of the patrol boats has been confirmed sunk after sustaining 4 hits from 1000 lb bombs.

 

As the day progressed however, that task force did make it to Wake Island. 5" coastal guns opened fire on the ships, as the task force engaged in a coastal bombardment as landing ships approached. Several 5" shells were scored as hits, as guns split between engaging the landing forces, as well the ships 2000 yards out at sea. A small beachhead has been established on the island, however, and US forces will look to press them back into the ocean. CV Lexington will stay in the area to provide fire support on the fleet. CV Enterprise has turned towards Wake Island as well, and at full steam ahead should hopefully get there late in the day tomorrow.

 

[alanschu]

The following Day was a bit quieter. Outside of the usual air raids (and unsuccessful Naval bombing missions in Malaya and the Philippines ), not too much happened. Well, not to much that was good unfortunately.

 

 

Another submarine hit a mine in Bataan (/facepalm), and Admiral Halsey's Carrier Task Force (CV Enterprise) had an unfortunate run in of bad weather. During the bad weather, combined with their hasty movement, a collision happened between two ships, resulting on one destroyer taking heavy damage! To make matters better, poor weather near Wake Island grounded all air operations of Lexington. The best attack that could be mustered up was a small raid from Wildcats based directly out of Wake Island.

 

Speaking of Wake Island however, there is some good news. The amphibious task force seems to have called off its attack. After dropping a small contingent of soldiers and taking heavy damage from bombers and 5" guns the day before, the task force seems to be in retreat. USMC are preparing for an aggressive counterattack on the Japanese soldiers on the atoll, hoping to push them back into the ocean. Lexington will continue to standby and provide air support for the island, and the USMC Dive Bomber group currently stationed on Lexington will soon be disembarking directly onto Wake Island, allowing the Wildcats there to take up more escort duties rather than naval bombing.

 

 

Not much interaction west of Wake Island however. The only thing of any substance that seems to be happening is some submarine attacks. Most are uneventful, with the occasional surface skirmish, or a fire and disengage torpedo encounter. The Commander of the SS Shark, however, has been particularly aggressive. He engaged a single transport ship for a significant amount of time, as the two exchanged MG fire as well as deck gun shots. The transport ship was left with heavy damage and heavy fires. He encountered another vessel and exchanged some fire there, but ultimately disengaged due to ammo issues. Here is the feedback from his first encounter (not, a successful hit with a .50 MG attack still counts as a shell hit, hence the rather large number).

 

[alanschu]

As things have become a bit more "routine" I'm not breaking up the AARs into longer time increments. A week has passed and it is now December 19th, 1941.

 

 

Early in the week saw CV Lexington overextend herself. Following a Japanese task force towards the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Marshall Islands (and scoring several successful hits), the task force started to come under attack by air forces from the islands. Believing the carrier to be at risk, she pulled back and retreated to Wake Island, which had recently had an invasion force staved off and was looking on pushing the few forces that landed into the ocean.

 

Unfortunately tragedy struck! Unbeknown to Allied forces, the Japanese carrier fleet, Kido Butai, was heading to Wake Island after it's attack on Pearl Harbour. After-the-fact intelligence figures that, with talks of an unsuccessful initial landing, the Kido Butai was redirected there to engage American forces. The results were not pretty. Though the heavy cruisers escorting Lexington had detached themselves to attempt to interdict naval vessels in surface combat, the destroyer escorts were no match for the mass quantities of planes in the air. CV Lexington was hit by numerous bombs and torpedoes, and quickly capsized and sunk. All hands on deck were lost. The same can be said for destroyers escorting it, with them taking heavy casualties in the afternoon follow up attack. Two of the three heavy cruisers were also detected and sunk in the afternoon. In the aftermath, only the CA Portland was able to escape back to Pearl Harbour. Following the loss, all surface vessels in the central pacific have been recalled to Pearl Harbour. The convoy heading to Wake Island to resupply it has been diverted to Midway Island. Only submarine forces will be operating in the theater until further notice.

 

 

With Wake Island cutoff, massive air raids began from Kwajalein, and some heavy battleships came to bombard the tiny atoll. A few days later Japanese reinforcements arrived, and after very brief fighting, the disorganized and battered defenders surrendered. Wake Island is now in Japanese hands.

 

 

Additional bad news came from the Philippines, which saw Japanese forces land in the north, and further landings down the coastline. Some Japanese forces are as close as 40 miles away from Clark Field, the primary airfield on the island. A day after the North coast of the Philippines was taken, the south was attacked. The southern tip of the main island was quickly taken, and the base at Davao was blockaded. 3 American cruisers station in Soerabaja attempted to break the blockade, but ended up engaging larger battleships. While the fight valiantly went on, in the end they were outgunned and outarmored, and the three ships were lost. With bases established on the Island, the small port of Jolo, just east of Brunei was taken. Dutch submarines have moved to protect the corridor south of the island. Meanwhile, Manila and Clark Field CAP fighters are slowly being worn down by the excessive air strikes against the two bases. The situation appears to be dire in the Philippines.

 

Malaya is fairly quiet at the moment. Outside of the occasional airstrike, Japanese forces seem to be more interested with the reinforcements arriving in Rangoon, Burma. While many troops and supplies have landed, Nell bombers using torpedoes were able to inflict heavy losses on the ships in the harbour. Insufficient fighters are present to significantly affect the airstrikes. Singapore, however, has begun building fortifications in anticipation of the inevitable siege. Rangoon has also begun building fortifications, anticipating an eventual push north by the Japanese. The Prince of Wales did make it back to port, and is currently in drydock being repaired. The hopes were to repair the ship enough so she could be sent back to India, but with that area being threatened by Japanese aircraft, it seems as though a move southeast to Australia is more likely. From there she can head to the United Kingdom for repairs.

 

 

In a final bit of bad news, the small port of Rabaul was also lost, putting Port Moresby and even Australia at risk. Rabaul is a deep water port and will be a key staging area for any Japanese invasions in the area.

 

 

In a bittersweet scenario, it seems as though the Silent Service is doing a wonderful job of interdicting Japanese shipping. The unfortunate part, is that an overwhelming majority of the torpedoes have been duds! Frustrated sub skippers have taken to attacking while surfaced, utilizing their deck guns and small profile to make the attacks possible. The only American submarines that have had any real successes with their torpedoes have been the smaller S-Class submarines. These submarines use the 21" Mk 10 torpedo instead of the larger 21" Mk 14 torpedo. Reports have come back that sub skippers believe there is a problem with the firing pin, as well as depth running issues. BuOrd denies the allegations, stating that it's just as well that the torpedoes are suffering failures since crews are opening them up and tampering with them. An investigation on the issue has commenced.

 

Fortunately, the Dutch submarines seem to be doing well. Though many of them only use the smaller 45cm torpedoes, they are scoring hits with them and inflicting some losses on the IJN.

 

 

 

Away from the frontlines, forces in India have begun moving towards the Burmese border and Calcutta, while ships from the Middle East enter the theater. American cargo ships at the Panama Canal have been directed to Pearl Harbour. The entire air forces based on the Mainland USA have also begun extensive training.