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Looks like the most of the new arrivals have placed themselves under French command again. Interesting...
I like Norway's thinking they did not want to make Japan look more belligerent and thus took it upon themselves to seal their doom.
I think the Italian's withdrew because they remembered what happened last time they were in Africa
I think the Italian's withdrew because they remembered what happened last time they were in Africa
A week and 273 pages later... I must say this is an excellent AAR.
Good job on... Well, just about everything.
Good job on... Well, just about everything.
Lurk, Lurk, switches light on.
Maybe an Italian General has been studying the Japanese tactic in the Vladivostok campaign. We all know what the outcome of that was.
Switches light off and retires into the darkness
Maybe an Italian General has been studying the Japanese tactic in the Vladivostok campaign. We all know what the outcome of that was.
Switches light off and retires into the darkness
Switches light on moves out of the shadows
Firstly Brilliant, congratulations, many applause.
Maybe some General has been studying the Japanese Vladivostok Campaign, we all know where those hit and run attacks led. Be careful, be very very careful.
Light goes out and I fade into the shadows once again.
Firstly Brilliant, congratulations, many applause.
Maybe some General has been studying the Japanese Vladivostok Campaign, we all know where those hit and run attacks led. Be careful, be very very careful
.Light goes out and I fade into the shadows once again.
I think the Italian's withdrew because they remembered what happened last time they were in Africa
It sounds like somebody shares my assessment.
Velko - Even funnier is the fact that the Norwegians can't even attack me on the ground as there is Soviet soil between them and Finland
genbrad - The only explaination I can give of the Italian behaviour is that the territory they landed on became British so they left.
UncleAlias - Indeed. A Swiss officer leading an attack is a rare sight
Beppo - Thank you. Spring is always a good campaigning month and frequently sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Sokraates - Winter is a time for upgrading and reinforcing. The rest of the year is for wholesale slaughter
Nathan Madien, EnglandWarrior - I am always partial to enemies that DoW me and save me the trouble. The Italians could indeed be remembering their last little fight in Africa.
Raaritsgozilla - I am looking for more troops that I can use and I even found some. They will take some time to get anywhere useful though.
serutan - I think that has something to do with the Norwegian DoW more than anything else. I got more puppet troops lent to me at the same time.
Avatar018, harezmi - DoWing Japan is almost suicidal but there are a lot of Allied troops around right now and believe me the Spring is not all sweetness and roses.
Boblekonvolutt - Thank you very much and welcome to both the boards and this little AAR
Mirmany - Thank you and welcome to the AAR and the boards, even if only form a brief unlurking I hope the AI wasn't watching the Vladivostok campaign or I might be in a little trouble.
Update to follow ...
genbrad - The only explaination I can give of the Italian behaviour is that the territory they landed on became British so they left.
UncleAlias - Indeed. A Swiss officer leading an attack is a rare sight
Beppo - Thank you. Spring is always a good campaigning month and frequently sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Sokraates - Winter is a time for upgrading and reinforcing. The rest of the year is for wholesale slaughter
Nathan Madien, EnglandWarrior - I am always partial to enemies that DoW me and save me the trouble. The Italians could indeed be remembering their last little fight in Africa.
Raaritsgozilla - I am looking for more troops that I can use and I even found some. They will take some time to get anywhere useful though.
serutan - I think that has something to do with the Norwegian DoW more than anything else. I got more puppet troops lent to me at the same time.
Avatar018, harezmi - DoWing Japan is almost suicidal but there are a lot of Allied troops around right now and believe me the Spring is not all sweetness and roses.
Boblekonvolutt - Thank you very much and welcome to both the boards and this little AAR
Mirmany - Thank you and welcome to the AAR and the boards, even if only form a brief unlurking
I hope the AI wasn't watching the Vladivostok campaign or I might be in a little trouble.Update to follow ...
Operation Influx
26
0000 April 8th 1949.
Industry Offices. Tokyo, Japan.
The production of new ships for the Imperial Japanese Navy had been stepped up during 1949 with smaller vessels being added to list of builds to suppliment the larger capital ships.
Two new Transport Flotillas were launched on April 8th with them being added to a new fleet which would also include some of the new Destroyers when they became available.
0800 April 8th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. Sevastopol, Soviet Union.
Hata was beginning to grow slightly uneasy as Allied troops began to materialise all along the front line with their numbers easily giving them numerical superiority in most areas. The only part of the line that Hata considered counter attacking through was opposite Kiev, but that door was soundly shut by the Allies on April 8th.
Eight more Allied divisions arrived in Stanislawow as well as at least another five to the north in Tarnopol. More enemy forces were still advancing and this area was quickly turning into a possible Allied offensive zone.
One attack would be ordered by Hata as he spotted a weakness in the Allied line. Lt. General Ushijima Mitsuru led six divisions towards Rowne where only two enemy divisions were defending. Air support from Nakajima made the victory swift but Hata would not order an advance.
0600 April 9th 1949.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, In Transit.
Enemy shipping was no longer common and most sightings involved small anti-Submarine fleets sailing around Africa. Ozawa had ships placed in strategic locations to halt most of these attempts to penetrate the rear lines.
Carrier Group C was covering Cape Vilanandro between Africa and Madagascar. Aircraft from the Carrier IJN Hiyo sank the British 21st Destroyer Flotilla.
1300 April 11th 1949.
Africa Army Headquarters. Abadan, Persia.
Higashikuni's forces in North Africa had not met much opposition since the Italians had inexplicably withdrawn from the Middle East after their invasion. This enabled some advances to take place.
By April 11th Japanese troops had advanced west a significant distance and were approaching Bengazi and Barca. The arrival of a Brazilian Infantry division stopped progress along the coast until Itabana could reduce the newley arrived enemy division to nothing.
Further south General Abe was leading the charge as he headed towards Fort-Lamy after capturing El Atrun. He would need more than a month to make the journey as the inhospitable desert slowed his progress.
0800 April 12th 1949.
The Skies Above Mazaribe.
Allied Fighters and Interceptors had begun to make more frequent appearances as the sun began to shine more often over the Western Front. On occasion they did not find Interceptor escorted Dive bombers.
Obata had managed to fight off British Fighters two weeks ago but he would have much more trouble with an Austrian Interceptor wing on April 12th. Losses were pretty much even but the encounters were beginning to place a toll on Obata's two wings as they were not given much time to repair between sorties. He would still keep his group in the air to support the ground troops for the time being.
0300 April 13th 1949.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, In Transit.
There had been some signs of an increase in activity in the northern Pacific of late as Japanese Naval patrols encountered Transport fleets occasionally. This usually meant that Andreanof Island would be threatened so Ozawa kept a close eye on the reports from the region.
Kondo found Admiral Spruance in charge of a moderate sized Transport fleet in the North Aleutian Trench in the early hours of April 13th. Spruance would not threaten Andreanof Island as another fleet had already slipped through the patrols.
The latest defence of the island began at 1000 hours, just seven hours after Kondo had been drawn to Spruances' fleet. A few weeks ago two enemy divisions would be a minor threat unless Calhoun was in support but now the snows had melted leaving the single division garrison a lot more vunerable. Kondo was alerted to the presence of the invasion fleet but he would need time to arrive after refueling on Attu Island.
1100 April 13th 1949.
The Skies Above the Coast of Alexandria.
Higashikuni had ordered his new Interceptor wing to rebase to Alexandria after the Canadian Naval bombers had halted their attacks along the Persian Gulf.
Umazu caught Bishop and his Naval bombers over the Coast of Alexandria where he managed to destroy the enemy squadron even though his own squadrons were still far from organised.
Meanwhile Shimoyama had moved further north to find mobile enemy forces after those in the south had dug in. He had a plentiful supply of targets as Allied divisions from many different Countries continued to pour towards the front line.
0200 April 14th 1949.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Fuso, In Transit.
The battle for Andreanof Island had altered little by 0200 hours on April 14th and there was hope when Kondo arrived to begin targetting the completely unescorted Transport ships.
Unfortunately he would not possess enough firepower to alter the battle before it was over. The Japanese defence failed on this occasion forcing another withdraw towards Kiska Island. As with the previous successful American invasions no troops would make it ashore before the Japanese bombers destroyed their Transports.
0700 April 15th 1949.
The Skies Above Jelgava.
Nakajima had been moved north to cover the Memel area after Obata's bombers had been forced to rest to recover losses from recent interceptions. Jelgava would be his target but his group too would be attacked by Allied aircraft as they tried to dispute air superiority once again.
Mj. General Balchen would regret intercepting Nakajima as he retained his two Interceptor wings as escorts. Balchen had been given the air superiority mission using his Naval bomber wing which was ill suited to the task of attacking superior numbers. He would disengage after only one hour with his wing suffering high losses and inflicting little in the way of casualties to Nakajima and his wings. This interception was the first by American aircraft for some time however, and it was a new development in this theater of operations.
1400 April 15th 1949.
Africa Army Headquarters. Abadan, Persia.
The large distances involved in Africa made Higashikuni's forces open to one particular problem not being faced elsewhere in combat zones.
His troops were almost always operating close to their organisational limits and any Allied troops that deployed in their path invariably caused a halt to their advances. Itabana could clean up the problem fairly quickly but it caused weeks if not months of delays on occasion.
2000 April 15th 1949.
Central Asia Army Headquarters. Sevastopol, Soviet Union.
Repeated ground attacks by Japanese bombers continued to supply Hata with intelligence as he monitored the Allied build up along the front. The snows had already mostly vanished and it would soon be time for the mud to also dissipate which would likely lead to more Allied ground attacks.
Shimoyama was still conducting missions in the center as he tried to harass any Allied troops moving along the line. Their numbers were making his life difficult but he was slowly causing casualties to the enemy.
A new phase to the air War began on April 16th as American Fighter squadrons were ordered into action for the first time in Europe. None of these aircraft had been seen for many many months if not years after they had sustained large losses in the Pacific from being caught on the ground during Japanese invasions of their island bases.
Nakajima would be targetted again as he launched another ground attack against Jelgava. Norstad's Fighter wing would manage to inflict heavier losses to the escorting Interceptors that prevented him from reaching the Dive bombers. One Japanese aquadron was put out of action but it had cost Norstad a significant number of his inexperienced pilots. Nakajima would continue his bombing run but would find himself needing to defend again soon afterwards.
Nakajima would be targetted again as he launched another ground attack against Jelgava. Norstad's Fighter wing would manage to inflict heavier losses to the escorting Interceptors that prevented him from reaching the Dive bombers. One Japanese aquadron was put out of action but it had cost Norstad a significant number of his inexperienced pilots. Nakajima would continue his bombing run but would find himself needing to defend again soon afterwards.
A second American Fighter wing was also close by and it too intercepted the bombers at 1100 hours. Whitehead would regret picking on the bombers as his Fighter wing was nowhere near as organised at it needed to be to conduct such a mission. His four squadrons caused very little damage before they were all rendered inoperative and forced to return to base after suffering large losses.
0000 April 17th 1949.
Intelligence Offices. Tokyo, Japan.
The most important research projects being conducted by Kuniaki's teams were for improved aircraft designs to assist in the air War raging in Europe.
Nakajima was at the forefront of such research and the completed project that made Improved Turbojet Interceptors available to the Imperial Japanese Airforce saw a massive shift in production. Ginjiro made enough factory output available to upgrade all existing Interceptor squadrons at the same time. This would still take several months to complete despite the massive resources. Nakajima was further tasked by Kuniaki to modify the current Fighter Escort design to improve the survivablity of Tactical bomber squadrons.
Yeesh those American and Austrian fighters could lead to alot of trouble. At least faster escorts will help combat that
I'd have to say those American fighters over Europe are the biggest threat facing the Japanese at this point. Overwhelming numbers of ground troops can be dealt with by Japanese Bombers, but those fighters can threaten control of the skies.
What in the heck is so important about the Aleutians that the Americans are willing to lose transport after transport (with divisions loaded therein) in order to attempt to regain them?
Good update. Looking forward to seeing how the upcoming Allied Spring Offensive shapes up. I know how it ends -- with Japanese soldiers drinking sake in Barcelona -- but I'm still vitally interested in seeing how we get there.
-- Beppo
What in the heck is so important about the Aleutians that the Americans are willing to lose transport after transport (with divisions loaded therein) in order to attempt to regain them?
Good update. Looking forward to seeing how the upcoming Allied Spring Offensive shapes up. I know how it ends -- with Japanese soldiers drinking sake in Barcelona -- but I'm still vitally interested in seeing how we get there.
-- Beppo
It seems the Allied majors have finally realized that their divisions in Europe are threatened more by air than by land. This ill make the coming months all the more interesting.
The Air War in Europe is on again. Besides America you biggest enemy in the Air seems to be Austria.
This will be a trying time for the front with the snows melted, but I know you will get through it.
This will be a trying time for the front with the snows melted, but I know you will get through it.
Too bad the Interceptor squadrons can't be upgraded quicker. With the air war heating up, new and improved planes on your sides will help out.
Great update as always Remble. Is the experience difference between yours and the enemies aircrews decisive? I know it will always go some way towards helping, but was wondering how you felt it contributed to mitigating against dated technology, and escort fighters against fighters etc.
Looking like some strategic withdrawals will be in order so that the bombers can properly pulverize the enemy.