Did You Know I Used to Drive a Rollercoaster?: Apbarog(A) vs OPilot(J)

[CaptBeefheart]

Nice beginning. Good luck!

Cheers,
CC

[apbarog]

OPilot reports that he should be finished with the opening Japanese turn in our non-historical start tomorrow. My turn will be short. I'll be allowed to move existing task forces but not create new ones. I may or may not move Chinese units; that is still undecided and one turn won't make much difference anyhow. So my turn will be quick, with my second turn being very time consuming.

[apbarog]

I completed the first turn for our game. I did cover the Chinese area in detail, except for the air units. I'll decide what to do with them with the next turn. For the 2 US carriers that start west of Hawaii, I moved them south for the turn. Sometimes I move one towards Wake to evacuate the fighters there. In this game, I did not.

In the Philippines, I will have the 2 heavy cruisers disband in ports around Mindanao. With the teleporting enemy carriers, there is no safe spot really. I can run them at full speed to safety in future turns.

OPilot says that I will have the combat replay in an hour or two.

[MakeeLearn]

So Sorry, My Island Now!

[apbarog]

Watched the Dec 7 replay. KB went to Singapore, much like Aurorus did in my last game. And similar to then, Prince of Wales and Repulse went SW from Singapore, and ended up 7 hexes from KB. Looked like Repulse got hit by one torpedo and Prince of Wales got hit by 4. It didn't appear to sink immediately. It did look like a number of Kates were lost attacking them.

Ships in Singapore's port were hit hard. Unlike the last game, the enemy landed on Luzon, landing at Legaspi. No sign of enemy activity around Hawaii, except for the many, many subs. I learned in the last game that not having Pearl Harbor attacked means that there are many more Catalinas available, and this can be important in the first six months in the South Pacific, and elsewhere. Used with small AVPs to support them at tiny ports, the Allies can keep a good watch on the enemy. We'll see if this develops in this game.

Clark AFB was hit hard, as was Manila's airfield. Ships and subs in Manila's port didn't appear to be hit too badly by Bettys/Nells.

I don't expect the actual turn tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

[apbarog]

7 Dec 41 - Part One

I've completed part of my first big turn. Started at Hawaii, did the South Pacific, New Zealand, New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines, Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. China was done on my small first turn, as I was allowed to move ground units there on the first non-historical turn. Tomorrow I'll do Singapore and Malaysia, Burma, and India, then Canada and the US.

Let's go over what I can so far. First, here's the combat summary for December 7th, a day that won't live in quite so much infamy. There was no Pearl Harbor attack.

Zeros swept Singapore. Nates swept Alor Star. Bettys with Zeros hit Clark Field hard. Nells with Zeros hit Manila's airfield, moderately.

KB appeared east of Singapore. 27 Kates, 36 Vals, and 36 Zeros attacked the port and the airfield. Planes damaged on the ground, little damage to the airfield, and a few ships hit:

DD Encounter, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AMC Manoora, Bomb hits 1
CM Kung Wo, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Mauritius, Bomb hits 2
xAK Silverbeech, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Sallys and Lilys with Oscars hit Alor Star's airfield, doing much damage.

In the morning, 13 Kates with 18 Zeros went after Force Z at range 7.

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 2 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 4 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales
BC Repulse, Torpedo hits 1

In the afternoon, the big strike hit Force Z. 66 Kates with 18 Zeros:

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 26 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Torpedo hits 4
BC Repulse
DD Electra

To my surprise, Prince of Wales' damage is only SYS 12/FLOT 15/ENG 2/FIRE 0. Repulse's damage is SYS 15/FLOT 12/ENG 0/FIRE 0. The TF can make 12 hexes at full speed, and with KB so close (and smelling blood), I decide to run them full speed towards Soerabaja. This was the highlight of the day: seeing Force Z in such good shape.

In the afternoon, 63 Nells and 27 Bettys with 18 Zeros hit Singapore's airfield and port. Minor airfield damage, but a bunch of ships were hit:

AG Vyner Brooke, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AMC Kanimlba, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAKL Kuala, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DM Stronghold, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Mauritius, Bomb hits 3
PG Herald, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
AMC Manoora, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Jupiter, Bomb hits 1
TK Spirilla, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAP Dominion Monarch, Bomb hits 1, on fire

18 Vals with 18 Zeros then hit CL Danae with 3 bombs, the only ship in a task force at Singapore.

As I haven't done Singapore yet, I can't say what has sunk so far there.

In the afternoon, 9 Nells with 27 Zeros hit Manila's port, hitting sub Seadragon once. Nothing else in Manila's port was hit today. Seadragon only needs a few days of undisturbed repair there.

12 Kates from a CVL south of Mindanao hit Davao's port:

AVD William B. Preston, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage (sunk)
xAKL Mauban, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires

4 Hudsons on Borneo went after BB Kongo to the north, but missed.

Ida's and Sonia's target the Hong Kong Fortress. In at least most of my games, bombing this unit results in no damage. This happened again this game.

Legaspi was the only base on Luzon invaded today. Nothing seen at Mindanao yet. From the map, it looks like Mersing is about to get invaded, and probably a base or two on the northern coast of Borneo.

I'll make another update tomorrow, after I finish the areas not done so far.

[apbarog]

Ship Losses 7 Dec 41

Just 3 ships lost so far: an AVD at Davao, an xAKL at Singapore, and an xAKL near Kuantan. Shown below are the damaged ships at Singapore. Not that bad, considering. Lots of undamaged xAPs there still. Just about everything will make a run for it today, with some ships ducking into bases on the way out, disbanding there and disappearing for a day.

[apbarog]

The Philippines - 7 Dec 41

With a CVL to the south of Mindanao, and probably carriers near Legaspi, the door is already closed for ships wanting to flee from Manila. It's a more difficult situation with a non-historical start. The trap can be set and the Allied ships are stuck in port until 8 Dec.

So I'm trying something different. Instead of releasing the horde and shotgunning them every which direction, I am moving ships from base to base, being careful to note how far a ship will move during the night phase, and then disband them. So they are moving half the distance possible, but will disappear into obscure bases on the way out.

The hope is that eventually an opportunity will open up for them to make a run for it.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

The Philippines - 7 Dec 41

With a CVL to the south of Mindanao, and probably carriers near Legaspi, the door is already closed for ships wanting to flee from Manila. It's a more difficult situation with a non-historical start. The trap can be set and the Allied ships are stuck in port until 8 Dec.

So I'm trying something different. Instead of releasing the horde and shotgunning them every which direction, I am moving ships from base to base, being careful to note how far a ship will move during the night phase, and then disband them. So they are moving half the distance possible, but will disappear into obscure bases on the way out.

The hope is that eventually an opportunity will open up for them to make a run for it.

If he has all his strength to the south and southeast, take the northern route and pass just north of the Bonins before heading south east.

[apbarog]

Most of my ships are creeping south toward Leyte. I'll hopefully break out to the east or toward the south when an opportunity arises.

The turn is complete and sent. Other notes:

I like to evacuate Rabaul if possible. If I'm able to, I'm going to do something different and send a unit to Tulagi. Every Japanese player knows what is needed to take Rabaul. Without reinforcement, Rabaul is always going to fall. The Solomons, however, are known to be empty, and it's common to take bases on the cheap, with small engineer units with litte combat value. I'll try to set a surprise there.

Most shipping at Pearl Harbor is going to stay until the many enemy subs leave the area. There's usually a flood passing by back toward the west, with some staying to the east.

I'm sending more US air units to Capetown destined for India, more than my previous game.

All of those subs at Manila that didn't get bombed? I'm loading them all up with supply and sending them to China. I may be able to get a few thousand supply in this way.

[apbarog]

Also, I'm sending in a Brit TF of 2 CLs and 2 DDs to Singkawang on the NW of Borneo, full speed in and out. I'm guessing that an invasion TF is inbound. Hopefully one without a big surface group escorting.

I want to show aggressiveness now and then, to appear more agressive than I really am. The goal is to keep the enemy a bit more cautious than they'd be otherwise. Delay and defend is always the early Allied motto.

[apbarog]

7 Dec 41 - Air Losses

I've never been involved in a game that had the Japanese take more air losses than the Allies on December 7th. This is a result of no PH attack, not outrageously high Buffalo losses over Singapore, and lots of Kates lost attacking Prince of Wales and Repulse.

[jwolf]

I have to admit this seems like a weak opening by Japan. Maybe he's trying to set things up to trap a lot of stuff a bit later, but if so, he had better do so amazingly well to make up for lost opportunity Dec 7. In fairness, it also looked like he got some bad luck and mediocre results where he did strike. Maybe most of the time his strategy would yield much better results.

[apbarog]

7 Dec 41 - Analysis of Singapore and Luzon Strikes

Here's the air activity over Singapore and Luzon for December 7th:

Singapore - 18 Zeros sweep
Singapore - 27 Kates and 36 Vals with 36 Zeros hit the airfield and the port
Singapore - 63 Nells and 27 Bettys with 18 Zeros hit the airfield and the port (10k)

Clark Field - 54 Bettys with 45 Zeros
Clark Field - 9 Zeros sweep

Manila - 27 Nells with 27 Zeros hit the airfield (10k)
Manila - 9 Zeros sweep
Manila - 9 Nells with 27 Zeros hit the port (hitting one sub)

Other strikes hit Force Z: many Kates and some Vals.

The Singapore results were weak. It could be that too many bombers were allocated to the airfield instead of the port. If all of KB is really there, more bombers could have hit the port. A guess would be that the strikes were not set up with a primary mission of naval strike and a secondary of port strike, or there probably would have been more strikes on the port in the afternoon.

The Manila port results were terrible, with just one sub somewhat damaged. Only 9 Nells hit the port. Huge missed opportunity.

[apbarog]

8 Dec 41

Enemy mines were detected at Bataan, and quickly swept by a bunch of US AMs.

At Mersing, a couple of tiny British ships, HDMLs, engaged battleships Kongo and Haruna and escorts. Results were quick and predictable. The same for 2 British MLs that then moved into the hex.

S-39 moved into Legaspi, and fired 4 torpedoes at DD Yamakaze, but missed. The sub then went through a heavy depth charge attack, and came out of it with moderate damage. It will make the long trip to Australia now.

Makin was invaded by the enemy 51st Naval Guard.

More troops unloaded at Legaspi.

During the day, light cruisers Dragon and Durban arrived at Singkawang:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Singkawang at 56,88, Range 16,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Ikazuchi, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Inazuma, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
DMS W-17
DMS W-18
DMS W-19, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
PB Kamitsu Maru
PB Taiko Maru, Shell hits 2, on fire
PB Kyo Maru #12
PB Kyo Maru #13, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
SC Ch 13, Shell hits 1, on fire
SC Ch 14, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
SC Ch 15
SC Ch 16, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
SC Ch 17
SC Ch 18, Shell hits 1
xAK Brisbane Maru
xAK Hawaii Maru
xAK Arizona Maru
xAK Akiura Maru
xAK Kazuura Maru
xAK Keiyo Maru
xAK Sanko Maru
xAK Matsukawa Maru
xAK Takao Maru
xAK Bunzan Maru
xAK Shinko Maru, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Ohio Maru
xAK Yuzan Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Anzan Maru #2
xAKL Kurama Maru, Shell hits 2
xAK Oigawa Maru

Allied Ships
CL Dragon, Shell hits 2
CL Durban, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
316 casualties reported
Squads: 5 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

The many small enemy escorts did well sacrificing themselves against the cruisers, saving most of the invasion shipping. Durban got hit by a torpedo, and is badly damaged. It will limp towards Soerabaja, and may or may not make it. The invasion task force did not unload and was not spotted at the base at the end of the day. It will probably return tomorrow.

I-122 sand TK Iris as it was fleeing from Palembang.
I-154 sank CM Kung Wo near Singapore.
Dutch sub KXI got a torpedo hit on xAP Koan Maru at Singora.

Bettys and Nells with Zeros hit Manila again, but found 35 P-40Es today. A few losses on both sides. Sub Seadragon is hit again. The ARD there is hit also.

Bettys with Zeros hit Clark Field, doing minor damage.

30 Vals with Zeros hit Singapore's airfield, damaging some planes.

Vals and Kates hit Kuantan's airfield, damaging some Hudsons.

57 Sallys hit Georgetown's airfield hard again.

Then it got really interesting.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 52,82

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18

Allied aircraft
Blenheim IV x 6
Buffalo I x 50
Hudson I x 4
Wirraway x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim IV: 1 damaged
Buffalo I: 7 destroyed
Hudson I: 1 damaged
Wirraway: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CA Chikuma
CV Zuikaku
CV Hiryu

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Hudson I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
7 x Buffalo I sweeping at 6000 feet
6 x Blenheim IV bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb GP Bomb
5 x Buffalo I sweeping at 6000 feet
4 x Wirraway bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 2 x 100 lb GP Bomb
5 x Buffalo I sweeping at 6000 feet
3 x Buffalo I sweeping at 6000 feet

Morning Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 51,82

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 3
Hudson I x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 2 destroyed
Hudson I: 2 destroyed

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Hudson I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb
3 x Blenheim I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

Morning Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 52,82

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 7

Allied aircraft
Vildebeest III x 27

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Vildebeest III: 3 destroyed, 6 damaged
Vildebeest III: 3 destroyed by flak

Japanese Ships
CV Zuikaku
CV Shokaku
BB Hiei
CV Kaga
CV Soryu

Aircraft Attacking:
8 x Vildebeest III launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo
3 x Vildebeest III launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo
3 x Vildebeest III launching torpedoes at 200 feet
Naval Attack: 1 x 18in Mk XII Torpedo

Morning Air attack on TF, near Mersing at 51,82

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
Blenheim I x 4

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim I: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x Blenheim I bombing from 6000 feet
Naval Attack: 4 x 250 lb SAP Bomb

Carriers were targetted with bombs and torpedoes, but not a single hit. The plan worked, getting enough Buffaloes to fly as escorts to get some bombers through. But bad luck, and no hits.

Then another plan failed. I wanted to move my ships out of Singapore, going base to base, slowly moving during the night and then disbanding after just the night phase move. But this didn't happen. Most task forces did not disband, and were spotted during the day in easy range of KB. Some were hit, and then disbanded, or were somehow hit in port by naval strikes. Something with this that I don't understand. Anyhow, it was a bit ugly.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Malacca at 49,81

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 21 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
B5N2 Kate x 38
D3A1 Val x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 5 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAP Matang, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Klang, Bomb hits 5, and is sunk
AM Ballarat, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAP Hong Kheng, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Kepong, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
TK Spirilla, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Marudu, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Kinta, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Silverbeech
xAP Sin Kheng Seng, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAKL Larut, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Lyemun, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

Morning Air attack on TF, near Port Dickson at 49,80

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 1 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 0 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
CL Danae, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Malacca at 49,81

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
B5N2 Kate x 23
D3A1 Val x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 3 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AG Ban Hong Liong, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
xAKL Tatung
AG Pangkor, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk
xAK Silverbeech, Bomb hits 8, heavy fires, heavy damage
AM Toowoomba

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Tandjoengbalai at 47,77

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9
B5N2 Kate x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
HDML Pennigat, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
HDML Pahalwan, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

The same plan was implemented in the Philippines, and failed there also, in some spots.

Morning Air attack on TF, near Siargao at 82,88

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 12

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAP Legaspi, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Kanlaon II, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Isla Filipinas, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
xAKL Surigao, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near San Fernando at 80,74

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 3 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
G3M2 Nell x 3

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAP Rochambeau, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

B-17s from Mindanao hit Babeldaob's port, hitting 2 CMs and an xAKL. The bombers were then bought out and sent to Calcutta.

Mersing was then invaded. Makin and Legaspi were lost.

The most notable ship lost was CL Danae. Other losses were an AM, and AMC, a CM, 2 ML, 4 HDML, 1 YMS, 2 TKs, 8 xAPs, 1 xAK, 6 xAKLs, and 2 AGs. Considering KB showed up unannounced just to the east of Singapore, losses were to be expected. I thought I might sneak some ships out sneakily by disbanding in ports, and some are escaping.

Some float planes on Java start to fly out fragments of units on Borneo and Singapore, ones that are unrestricted. Dutch air transports at Palembang are flying out a bit more of one of the Indian units.

[apbarog]

Air losses on the day:
26 Buffalo
12 P-40E
9 Hudsons
9 Vildebeests
3 Blens

18 Vals
7 Zeros
2 Bettys
2 Nells
2 Kates

A noble sacrifice by the Buffalo pilots. Bombs dropped and torpedoes launched at 5 Japanese carriers on December 8, 1941. But no hits.

[DOCUP]

Yay another game. Will read from the lurker side.

[apbarog]

9 Dec 41

More enemy lands at Mersing. It's a huge landing, with more than 20 units. Singapore will be cut off in 2 days. Withdrawing what I can into Singapore. What I can't is either defending good terrain, or moving to a port so that seaplanes can extract a fragment, if the unit is unrestricted or can be cheaply bought out.

Near Lubang, not far from Bataan, I-124 hits xAKL Don Jose with 2 torpedoes and sinks the ship.

3 Philippine PT boats move into Legaspi and engage cruisers Ashigara and Kuma, with 4 destroyers, but there are no hits for either side and the fight ends quickly with the range getting no closer than 11,000 yards. They will try again tomorrow.

The Singkawang invasion that was delayed yesterday occurred today.

Dutch sub KXVII moved into the shallow water at Mersing and found a big transport task force. 2 torpedoes hits xAK Kyokko Maru, and the sub escapes unscathed.

West of Borneo, I-166 spots CMc Pro Patria and sinks her with one torpedo.

In the Malaysian straits, I-154 hits AMC Kanimlba with a torpedo. The ship is damaged but still in decent shape, and will try to make it to Ceylon.

Manila's airfield and port are hit by 75 Bettys with 66 Zeros. I was resting the fighter squadrons, and some planes were damaged. Not many ships still in the port, but what was there, was hit today. Not worried about them. I'll still try to keep repairing Seadragon. The bombings will stop when there appears to be few if any ships left.

ACM Colonel Harrison, Bomb hits 1
YO-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
TK La Estrella Caltex, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 1
ARD YFD-1 Dewey, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Singapore's airfield is hit by Nells and Bettys.

12 Kates from a CVL hit Cagayan's airfield. P-40s will defend tomorrow.

Kuantan is hit hard again by 58 Sallys. Just a couple of Hudsons left there.

At Legaspi, S-37 risks the shallows and finds AO Hayamoto. One torpedo hits and sets the ship on fire, along with the fuel. It will burn and sink. Scratch one nice AO.

Tarawa is invaded and lost. CA Louisville is escorting transports, and is within full speed range of Tarawa. It will split off and race to Tarawa today.

Artillery attack at Hong Kong. Some xAKs and xAKLs are loading fuel to extract and supply which will be unloaded to the west on the China coast.

Mersing is lost.

Enemy ships are at Kavieng and adjacent to it. CL Adelaide will move to Kavieng from Rabaul at night and engage what it finds.

2 destroyers, the ones from Hong Kong, will race to Miri to engage whatever is there today. 2 enemy ships were spotted there today, but there was no landing.

Prince of Wales and Repulse are at Soerabaja and will repair some damage before leaving the area.

[apbarog]

10 Dec 41

Landings continue at Singkawang, Mersing, and Legaspi.

CL Adelaide runs into CMc Kurosaki and CM Takashima between Rabaul and Kavieng. Kurosaki is sunk.

In the Malacca strait, I-154 sinks xAK Demodocus. Later, it sinks xAK Wulin.

North of Puerto Princesa, destroyers Scout and Thanet were plotted to move at full speed to Miri. On the way, they find a battle:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Puerto Princesa at 71,78, Range 10,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
APD Fuji
TB Hiyodori, Shell hits 1
PB Heiei Maru #7
xAK Syoka Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Rokko Maru
xAK Igasa Maru, Shell hits 1
xAKL Ryoyu Maru #21, Shell hits 1
xAKL Sasago Maru

Allied Ships
DD Scout
DD Thanet

Japanese ground losses:
21 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Not conclusive, but some hits were achieved. Scout and Thanet continued on. During the day, the destroyers find shipping near Miri:

Day Time Surface Combat, near Miri at 64,87, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
APD Aoi, Shell hits 2
TB Kasasagi, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
AMc Wa 19, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Hokko Maru, Shell hits 2
xAK Zinzan Maru
xAK Kinkasan Maru
xAK Giyu Maru
xAKL Kembu Maru, Shell hits 1
xAKL Kiko Maru, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Anbo Maru
xAP Kobe Maru

Allied Ships
DD Scout
DD Thanet

Near Balabac, an enemy TF appears, finding DM Thracian. Thracian gets a single hit on CA Chokai, and escapes. The enemy, however, had more work to do. They find my valuable ships from Manila. The ugliness that was avoided with no port bombing of Manila initially appears today:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Balabac at 70,83, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai
DD Fubuki
DD Shirayuki
DD Hatsuyuki
DD Asagiri
DD Sagiri
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
AS Holland, Shell hits 17, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AS Otus, Shell hits 21, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AV Langley, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AM Lark, Shell hits 7, and is sunk
PG Asheville, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
PG Tulsa, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Shell hits 20, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
TK Mindanao, Shell hits 17, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AO Pecos, Shell hits 2, on fire
AO Trinity, Shell hits 19, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP President Madison, Shell hits 3
xAP Don Esteban, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tantalus, Shell hits 4, on fire
xAK Yu Sang, Shell hits 1, on fire
xAK Cape Fairweather
xAK Capillo
xAK Ethel Edwards
xAK American Leader, Shell hits 3, on fire
xAK Si Kiang, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas
xAKL Dos Hermanos, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
***********
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balabac at 71,82, Range 11,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai
DD Fubuki
DD Shirayuki
DD Hatsuyuki
DD Asagiri
DD Sagiri
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
TK Hai Kwang, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAKL Sagoland, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Paz, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Anakan, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
xAKL Bisayas, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Corregidor
xAKL Dona Nati, Shell hits 5, on fire
xAKL Palawan, Shell hits 3, heavy fires

Then the enemy finds DM Thracian again, and this time sinks it. And then xAKL Corregidor, moving alone. Then 3 more xAKLs. In the same area, I-123 sinks xAP Candesa.

Light cruisers Detroit and Raleigh left Pearl Harbor with 5 destroyers. I-168 finds them and hits Detroit with a torpedo. SYS 30/FLOT 48-37/ENG 2/FIRE 1. Back to Pearl Harbor.

Dutch subs do good work today. KXI hits AK Kyushu Maru at Patani with 3 torpedoes. KXII hits xAK Yahiko Maru with a torpedo at Mersing. Both subs take minor damage and will return to Singapore.

KB planes sink a few small ships fleeing in the Malacca strait. 12 Kates from the CVL sink xAK American Leader.

Singkawang is lost.

Indianapolis didn't make it all the way to Tarawa. It will abort that run and join up with the nearby carriers. Enemy ships appear to be heading to either Shortlands or Tulagi. An intercept is prepared. Also, nothing was found at Sorong when the Dutch TF got there. No invasion yet either.

[apbarog]

11 Dec 41

I-157 sinks xAK Ethel Edwards at the NE tip of Borneo. The cargo ships was with others, heading to ports to duck into and hide.

Guam, Davao, Sorong and Nauru Island are invaded during the night phase.

During the day, 4 US destroyers get to Sorong. 2 days ago, there were enemy ships adjacent to Sorong. Yesterday, a Dutch CL task force arrived, but found nothing. Today the enemy arrived.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Sorong at 82,107, Range 16,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
PB Hakata Maru #2, Shell hits 16, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Nittai Maru, Shell hits 21, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Ujigawa Maru, Shell hits 29, and is sunk
xAKL Genmei Maru, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAKL Daitei Maru, Shell hits 11, heavy fires, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD John D. Ford
DD Peary
DD Pillsbury
DD Pope

Enemy carrier planes hit Singapore's port and airfield. I think that this is a costly mistake due to heavy flak.

Morning Air attack on Singapore , at 50,84

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
D3A1 Val x 74

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 20 damaged
D3A1 Val: 5 destroyed by flak

Allied Ships
PG Herald, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
AG Vyner Brooke, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
HDML P 10, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
25 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Port hits 5
********
Afternoon Air attack on Singapore , at 50,84

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 35
B5N2 Kate x 24
D3A1 Val x 27

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 9 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 5 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 10 damaged
D3A1 Val: 4 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled

Airbase hits 5
Runway hits 15

A total of 29 Vals are lost, and 13 Kates also. Most importantly, good carrier pilots.


P-26As from Cagayan hit the enemy TB task force to the northeast. TB Tomozuru is hit by 4 bombs and sunk.

The Dutch subs continue their good work. O20 hits xAK Ryuyo Maru with a torpedo south of Cam Ranh Bay. There are troops on board.

Aitape and Wewak are invaded. Miri and Nauru Island are lost.

I'm pulling out fragments of units from Malaysia. Many units, but just tiny fragments. My plan is to get them to India and use them as guards in bases behind the lines. Good for preventing para attacks as the units rebuild.

Part of Lark force will arrive at Tulagi today, with an Allied CA and DD. No sign of the enemy TF nearby but it could arrive also. The damaged US light cruiser made it safely back to Pearl Harbor today. There's an enemy sub snooping around San Francisco. It spotted ships at Mare, so I know that it is within 3 hexes of San Franscisco. 2 ASW TFs are out looking for it.