Operation Zero Actual - a scenario based on a "true story" in a game of War in the Pacific against my older brother.

Warroom:


Situation: The Japanese have for the last week continued to reinforce its foothold on Guadalcanal with troops continually disembarking on the island. No Japanese vessels have been spotted in the area in the last week, though intelligence assures us there is frequent shipping activity operating between Rabaul and Guadalcanal. In the west, Beaufort bombers operating at the extremity of their range from Port Moresby routed an attempted Japanese landing at Buna after having sunk a light cruiser.

Allied Command has determined it critical to "seal-off" any Japanese advance around the cape and into the underbelly of New Guinea where they can threaten Port Moresby and, thus, Australia. Operation Zero Actual has opened with the sortie of four major task forces. The purpose of the operation is to land an engineering regiment at Gili Gili, under the nose of the Japanese main base at Rabaul, and at the critical chokepoint for any Japanese advance toward Australia. The strength, composition, and mission of the task forces are as follow:

Task Force Alpha: two aircraft carriers with three heavy cruisers and three destroyers; purpose is to screen the invasion fleet and provide air cover for the landings.

Task Force Beta: four transports carrying an engineer regiment escorted by three heavy cruisers and two destroyers; purpose is to land ground forces at Gili Gili and withdraw within one day's disembarkation time

Task Force Charlie: two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and two destroyers; purpose to screen the extreme right flank of Beta's operating area and approaches from Guadalcanal

Task Force Delta: one heavy cruiser and three destroyers; purpose is to launch a diversionary raid into the "Slot" by shelling Japanese forces on Guadalcanal by night.

The map currently displays the position of Allied forces at dusk on May 19th, 1942. TF Beta has dropped anchor off Gili Gili and is disembarking its contingent of engineers. At dawn, it will be within range and sight of Japanese Betty bombers operating from Rabaul. Landings will be finishing up by then, and the engineers will be unopposed. TF Delta is expected to arrive off Guadalcanal in the predawn darkness at high speed and commence its raid. TF Alpha and TF Charlie are steaming due east by southeast.

Intelligence is certain of a Japanese force (termed TF Xray) off south New Britain. Recon overflights report a mixed assortment of cruisers and transports. It is believed this is a second attempt to land at Buna. Absolutely no other sightings of Japanese warships have been reported, either by coastwatchers in the Solomons, recon flights from Port Moresby, or by subs operating throughout the Coral Sea. Two weeks ago, a large Japanese TF consisting of two CV's and BB's was sighted by coast watchers operating NW of Guadalcanal, evaluated as having screened landings on the island. The CV's have not been spotted since. Intelligence finally reports a steady buildup on Guadalcanal, including a growing concentration of aircraft. Common sense also dictates there may be strong naval forces operating around Guadalcanal.

The Japanese commander is known to be aggressive, and has shown in the past the tendency to concentrate major units and use them as a spearheaded blow. He is poor at guarding lines of supply, or consolidating positions behind any major advance.

Decision
Now that Operation Zero Actual has commenced, I am wondering what you, as a commander, would do, or would have done. What is your strategy? Do you have criticisms? What tactical adjustments would you make given this situation? I have criticisms of this operation, however well or poorly Zero Actual turned out. I just want to know what yours are. I have the benefit of hindsight, you do not.

Since, in WitP, this situation on the May 19th has come to pass already, I have the certain benefit of the results of any tactical changes you yourself may have taken.

To make this post more interesting, here are some choices as a commander you might have taken. The list is by no means exhaustive because you can make about any tactical choice you can. The key is what knowing that a decision must be made now, and that the consequences of that decision will unfold in the next 24 hours. For fun, I will post the results of some of your decisions later on. btw... I voted for "continue as is" since that's how it happened!

 

If it were me I would move TF Alpha at high speed to intercept TF X-Ray.  There are two schools of thought I am kind of following here.  Either I would catch this invasion force lightly guarded or I might chance and encounter with the larger Japanese Carrier Task Force.  Either way it's a win, win as I would be making every effort to keep Port Morseby in allied hands.  This is critical, and was, to keep the Japanese threat at arms length from Australia.  Also too if I'm reading your map correctly I would have TF Charlie come about on a NNE heading towards Rabul to further protect TF Alpha.

Stout Hearts
|RE|Warhawk

I love you armchair quarterbacks that sit on your ass and think you know what happened. Go hug a ######ing tree.-HatchetForce

Well anyway, this is how the operation turned out... leading to the very different Battle of the Coral Sea.  This also happens to be the link to my new AAR blog called (how original ) Kriegspiel.
 
http://peniten.blogspot.com/

 

Before I read the outcome, here's my solution.  My vote is for  Move TF Alpha at high speed north to screen against TF Xray.  However, withdrawing TF Delta isn't mutual exclusive of that, and I'd do that too.

Alpha can screen the landing at Gili Gili, and its airwing can offer some cover from the Zeros and Bettys at Rabaul, while contesting control of the seas against X Ray and whatever carriers the Japanese have in the area.  The flexibility of the carriers gives the Allied player multiple functions from choosing one main option.

Jim Werbaneth

OnLine of Departure

Wargames by Jim Werbaneth

You left out the scouting dirigibles! All alternative history must have zeppelins!
Lots of them! Especially ZRS's! Trapeze planes! Remember Moffit!
*scrambles over to bookshelf full of geeky LTA books*
(Wheres meh Rosendahl...)

SPOILER WARNING I think if you read my blog, you would see that TF Charlie encountered what I will call TF Zulu, the main Japanese carrier forces operating the Solomons.  In fact, Admiral Crace's TF Charlie intercepted TF Zulu in a night action!  And he actually landed some shells around the Zuikaku at around 6,000 yards at night!
 
There was no intelligence as to TF Zulu's location.  I did not think TF Xray actually had any carriers.  To have rounded New Britain from the east, it could only have been a second invasion attempt at Buna. 
 
In the end, Zero Actual was a total failure and a bad idea.  If I could not guarantee that I would have sufficient forces on Gili Gili to repel a counter-invasion, then it was a fruitless effort.  It would have been a bad idea to bring TF Alpha north to ensure the landings were carried out to the end seeing as I would have been pinned from TF Xray's heavy units from the west, TF Zulu's CV's from the east, and Betty's flying in from Rabaul to the north.  As such, I lost Crace's cruisers. 
 
I did, however, discover how easy it was to slip into the waters off Guadalcanal by night, shell the hell out of the shacks and sampans and slip back out of dive-bomber strike range.  Seeing as the enemy is now occupied with uprooting my precarious foothold on Gili Gili, perhaps it is time to strike Guadalcanal hard and keep him off balance.  So long as his forces remain concentrated, I am in trouble. 

 

I'd ignore Guadalcanal and anything in the Carolines altogether. Island hopping up the chain just allows him to concentrate his forces more, and Guadalcanal is too small and too far away from anything to be a real threat to the Allies as the japs.

Concentrate on building up PM and GG, and pound Rabaul to dust with B-17s out of Morseby. Once Rabaul is reduced, the remainder can be taken or ignored at your leisure. Short of hopping up NG, Rabaul is the gateway to Truk.

Concentrate on building up PM and GG, and pound Rabaul to dust with B-17s out of Morseby. Once Rabaul is reduced, the remainder can be taken or ignored at your leisure. Short of hopping up NG, Rabaul is the gateway to Truk.

 
I've got to concentrate first and foremost with defending New Caledonia.  Gili Gili is lost.  My engineers are pulling back into the jungles.  Working on new operational goals for the next week.