AAR: Operation Z 'The First Cut is the deepest'

[Didz]

Wow! thanks for all the supportive comments and advice (on other threads) guys.

I didn't think I was doing anything that special to be honest, just what I would normally do for an AAR on the Totalwar forum, screenshots are more or less expected there and most are annotated with notes etc. I just reasoned that a picture paints a thousand words so its easier to explain what happened with an annotated screen shot than trying to explain it in words.

Hopefully, I'll get some time today to do a bit more. I got delayed when I realised I didn't understand some of the things were happening, but you've helped me sort all that out for now, and my daughter went home yesterday, so I'm not going to be dragged round the shops for a while.

Hopefully, I should have the time to get a least one more turn today in if I don't waste too much time on todays RL chores.

[Didz]

6th May 1942 For Better or Worse?

Grim news from both China and Burma, and hard decisions to be made.

Kweilin Has Fallen

Though not unpredicted the sudden loss of Kweilin took General Xue by surprise. Having extracted the poorly equipped 44th Army from the city sucessfully, Xue had expected the better equipped 10th Army to at least hold the city for a few weeks, but in fact, the 10th had hardly occupied their new positions when the Japanese stormed into the city with three Army groups and completely overrun the town destroying the 10th Army in the process.

As a consequence the rail link between Manchuria and Burma was now open and in Japanese hands, and accepting that there was no hope of driving the Japanese back out of the city, and that the forward defence line he originally established was now pointless, General Xue ordered his remaining Army Groups to fall back, to what would hopefully be a stronger, or at least shorter line, in defence of Kweiyang.

The fortification of Kweiyang was still far from complete and so Xue hoped to use the natural mountain defences surrounding the city to buy the engineers more time to complete their task.

The planned extraction of the 44th was put on hold once again as the destruction of the 10th had left it in the most exposed section of the front once again. Whether it could survive yet another pounding by the Japanese remained to be seen.

Meanwhile, the newly arrived 22nd Army was moved into the mountains south of the city. Whilst Xues headquarters and the rest of the army fell back into the mountains overlooking the road to Kweiyang.

The only offensive operation was a bombing mission by the 2nd Tactical Bomber Group on the exposed Japanese 35th Army as it tried to re-organise after crossing the Nanpan river.

Further north, the anticipated Japanese advance into the Yangtze valley has not yet materialised although the threat was enough to persuade General Yen Hsi-Shan to mobilise his personal army ready to defend Taiyuan.

General Xue is now even more concerned about his ability to defend China's resource area's.

Mandalay Falls - General Hutton Captured

In Burma more bad news as Japanese troops from the 4th Yokosuka SNLF storm into Mandalay and capture both the city and General Hutton.

The fall of the city and the elimination of its defenders has left a gaping hole in the planned Burma defence line, and the British forces leaderless. There is now nothing to prevent the Japanese crossing the Irrawaddy River and moving on the Chindwin.

Stillwell Takes a Gamble

With the right flank of his defence line on the Salween River now turned by the capture of Mandlay, Stillwell is left with the stark choice of falling back to defend Wanting to the east and thus widening the gap between his forces and the British or taking a gamble and trying to move to restrict it.

In the end, he decides to take a gamble and orders his 6th Army to leave its positions on the Salween and take up new defences in the mountains east of Mandalay. This will leave the 6th dangerously exposed, but may keep the Japanese busy long enough for the British to form a second defence line along the Chindwin River.

The British and Australians take to the hills

Discovering that the Japanese already have armour across the Irrawaddy River, the 7th Armoured and 1st Australian Corps fall back and begin to dig in amongst the hills and mountains south of Chittagong. The Australians left flank is resting on the Chindwin River, which it is hoped, will be enough to deter any assault from that direction until the East African Corps can be brought up in support.

The biggest concern at present is that the capture of General Hutton and his staff has left the British with no logistical and planning capacity and as a consequence the supply and readiness of all its formations is very low.

The Far Eastern Fleet steams into the Gulf of Martaban

At sea the Far Eastern Fleet has sailed into the Gulf of Martaban. The battleships Royal Sovereign and Prince of Wales shelled Rangoon destroying the supply facilities established there by the Japanese, whilst the destroyers and cruisers have moved to screen the entrance to the Gulf of Malacca sinking the Japanese destroyer 'Inazuma' in the process.

Whilst unable to launch any aircraft due to the weather, Indomitable has conformed to this movement and is now positioned off Port Blair to provide air cover for the battleships if needed.

Kanga Force arrives at Port Moresby

After a nerve racking naval voyage Kanga Force has been landed at Port Moresby. Upon their safe arrival they were immediately joined by the fighters of the Dutch East Indies Air Force from Darwin in the hope that they will be able to provide some degree of air cover against Japanese bombers. The cruiser HMAS Perth and the destroyer USS John D Ford are also offshore to intercept any attempted amphibious assault. Whilst, the entire area is under the air umbrella of the USAF 1st Bomber Wing at Cairns.

Hopefully, if the Japanese do try and land on New Guinea this will be enough to make them regret it.

US Fleet sails from Pearl

The US fleet at Pearl Harbour has put to sea. The Task Force consisting of the carrier's Saratoga and Enterprise plus the battleship Nevada and the Cruiser San Francisco plans to sail south with the intention of trying to arrest any further expansion of Japanese island bases towards Fiji and Samoa. However, at the moment they are carefully skirting the edge of the storm front which has moved in over this area, as they don't want to risk meeting a Japanese naval force whilst unable to fly any air missions.

This fleet will be joined by the carrier Hornet currently under refit at San Fransico and the battleships Idaho and Colorado that are already en-route.

Summary

Not a good turn. The loss of Kweiling, Mandalay, General Hutton and the 10th Army was nasty, even if predictable, and left some awkard situations to resolve. However, the landing of Kanga force on New Guinea and the sinking of a Japanese destroyer was some consolation. I'm still feeling my way into the mechanic's of this game, so I suspect some of these moves are probably laughable to those of you who understand it better. Most of what I'm doing is more intuitive than mathematically sound.

The suggested bombardment of Rangoon went well, I just hope I don't lose a BB in some unexpected Japanese counter move, and that it does give the Japanese in Burma a suitable logstical headache. I'm sort of expecting a sudden surge of Japanese shipping down the Malacca straits as a consequence, but whether the Far Eastern Fleet is up to meeting such a challenge remains to be seen.

[Didz]

Intelligence Reports from the Makassar Straits

Coastwatchers in both Borneo and Celebes report considerable Japanese naval activity in the Makassar Strait between the Java and Celebes Sea. At least one carrier has been spotted, together with two battleships and two cruisers. What is less clear is why they are there.

The reports claim that they are not sailing in company and that if anything they seem to be patrolled back and forth through the straits independantly. Whether this is merely routine traffic to and from their newly captured ports on the Phillipines, or whether these ships are keeping the area clear in readiness for another invasion once the weather clears only time will tell.

In the meantime, the US fleet which sailed from Pearl a few weeks ago with no clear mission has now been directed south towards the Coral Sea and the north coast of Australia. If these intelligence reports are the herald of another wave of Japanese invasions then the Australian's will need all the support they can get.

General Robert L. Eichelberger has been appointed commander of all forces in New Guinea and Northern Australia. US Forces have also been mobilised in Samoa and at Noumea on New Caledonia.

[Didz]

26th May 1942 'Tit for Tat' in China

The Battle for Kwieyang begins.

Emboldened by their success in capturing Kweilin Japanese troops surge across the Nanpan River and up the slopes of the mountains north of the town. The Chinese 44th Army is heavily bombed and finally overrun by a three pronged attack by Japanese Armies.

However, their sacrifice bought time for the rest of General's Xues troops to reach the high ground overlooking the Japanese positions and turning at bay the Chinese now pour fire down into the Japanese troops below them destroying the exposed Japanese 35th Army and inflicting severe casualties on the 2nd. The Battle for Kwieyang has begun in earnest.

Japanese forces attack in the Yangtze Valley

Further north Japanese forces have appeared once more at the mouth of the Yantze valley attacking the position of the Chinese 2nd Army.

Communist forces join the fight.

The appearance of Japanese troops at the mouth of the Yellow River valley has finally convinced the Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-Tung to join the allies in the defence of China. His forces immediately moved south into the Yellow River, displacing the Nationalist 93rd Army in the defence of Sian and launching an immediate strike against the Japanese 13th Army on the west bank of the river. The Shansi Army of General Yen Hsi-Shan has also moved south. With Chinese Red Army now defending Sian, the Nationalist 93rd Army is moving to join General Xues army in the battle to defend Kweiyang.

The Defence of Burma

In Burma, Stillwells 6th Army has successfully prevented the Japanese taking the high ground east of Mandalay, despite heavy losses. Its place on the Salween River line has been taken by the newly arrived 66th Army from Kunming.

The British, African and Australian forces are now in position on the Chindwin River, though their supply position is extremely poor and it is dubious if they will hold this line for long in their current state. The Far Eastern Fleet is providing what support it can by bombarding Japanese forces near the coast and destroying Japanese supplies in the port of Rangoon. Meanwhile, the USAF 7th Bombardment Wing has arrived in India and has deployed to a base just west of Dacca ready to assist.

Preparations to defend Port Moresby

The decision having been taken to defend Port Moresby, the troops of Kanga Force supported by the Dutch fighters of the FEAF have taken station in the town. Whilst the Cruisers Perth and Achilles and the US destroyer John D Ford guard the sea approaches to the port.

Further east the US Pacific Fleet is heading south towards Samoa with the intention of entering the Coral Sea as soon as the weather improves. At the moment the fleet is escorting a convoy carrying the 1st USMC to Samoa to bolster the garrison on the island.

In the USA the carrier USS Hornet is taking delivery of the latest new aircraft design before sailing to join the fleet.

[Didz]

15th June 1942 - So Far, So Good!

Japanese attack on Kweiyang blunted

Following the destruction of their 35th Army, and with a lack of air support due to the heavy rain, the Japanese pressure on the Kweiyung defence line has reduced significantly. Limited counter-attacks were made by the General Xue's 4th Army in the mountains overlooking the Japanese 2nd Army, but the Japanese seem content to wait for better weather and re-organise.

Chen's Chinese Communists destroy the Japanese 13th Army.

Further north in the Yellow River Valley, Chen Yi commander of the 'New 4th Army' has led his troops and those of the 8th Route Army in a sudden attack on the Japanese 13th Army south of the river. Completely overrunning the Japanese positions and destroying it in detail before retiring back into the mountains overlooking Sian. The Shansi Army of General Yen Hsi-Shan has also moved south but took no active part in the attack.

Heavy Fighting in Burma

The weather having cleared in Burma the Japanese made a concerted attempt to force their way north along the coast towards Chittagong. The Japanese 3rd Tank Group supported by the 2nd Yokosuka SNLF assaulted the positions of the British East African Corps on the Chindwin River. However, the East Africa Corps held its positions despite heavy losses and subsequent bombarments by the Far Eastern Fleet, together with strikes by planes from the carrier HMS Imdomitable were able to blunt the enemy advance.

Further to the east, Stillwells 6th Chinese Army resisted Japanese attempts to dislodge it from its mountain positions overlooking Mandalay, whilst on the Salween River line, the Japanese forces have fallen back allowing the newly arrived 66th Army to cross the river and advance threatening the Japanese Artillery positions on the heights beyond.

In the meanwhile 'The Flying Tigers' are continuing to provide are cover by flying interdiction and strafing runs on Japanese airfields.

General Slim appointed Commander 14th Army Burma.

General Slim has been ordered to assume command of all British land forces in Burma. Unfortunately, it could be up to three months before he arrives in India, in the meantime the British must struggle on as best they can.

[Hubert Cater]

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief at just how detailed and well put together this AAR is, fantastic stuff Didz

[Didz]

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief at just how detailed and well put together this AAR is, fantastic stuff Didz

Cheers, glad you like it. I'm still sort of feeling my way into the period, although I did own Gary Grigsby's Pacific War, and have always wanted to replay the war in the Pacific. One of the advantages of doing an AAR is of course that it motivates you to delve a bit further into the background and history of the period, so I'm leanring a lot about things like the Second Sino-Japanese War as I'm doing this, not to mention improving my geographic knowledge:D

[Didz]

15th June 1942 Tarakan Oil Fields Bombarded by Japanese Fleet

The Tarakan Oil Fields on Borneo were bombarded by elements of the Japanese Navy causing minor damage and loss of production.

However, so far no Japanese troops have been landed on Boneo. Though intelligence continues to report a large number of Japanese naval assets in the area.

The Japanese are also reported to have mobilised their garrison on the Kurities and reinforced their garrison on Saipan.

[Didz]

15th June 1942 (cont'd) US mobilisation increases.

US industrial capacity has increased still further this quarter, reaching 210% of normal output.

This compares with a current level of 20% Allied, 75% China and 100% USSR.

[Note: The Allied IC level seems strangely low, I collected 195 MPP's for them this quarter which seems a lot higher than this 20% figure would indicate. As far as I can tell there are 140 MPP's worth of cities in India, so 195 would seem more like 140%, but I may be confused as to how the system works.]

Its research commitment is also approaching full capacity with only one 100 MPP investment outstanding that it can make.

Deployment of US Assets

The 1st USMC have been ordered to Samoa, with the intention of using this island as a door stop on any further eastward expansion of the the Japanese Island hopping campaign in the South Pacific.

The 2nd USMC will hold Hawaii.

The US Fleet continues to steam towards the Coral Sea and is currently approaching Samoa, the carrier USS Hornet is taking a more direct route via French Polynesia and will join them there, whilst the battleships Idaho and Colorado are currently east of Hawaii and following in their wake.

The overall US aim is to blunt the Japanese expansion eastwards across the Pacific and protect the north coast of Australia. However, the number of assets available is still low and the US is wary of risking what little it has in risky adventures, preferring to bide its time, conserve its forces and let its production capacity counter the imbalances.

The first of the new heavy bombers was a welcome addition to the US arsenal and have already been deployed in India to support the British defence of Burma.