CLIMB MT. NIITAKA: CHS SCEN 159, BOMBUR(A) vs SPRUANCE(J)

[Gen.Hoepner]

Adm.Spruance: now that you have Clark fields don't bother sieging Manila: just move into the urban hex with some 300 AVs and place an aviation regiment at Clark. Keep 200 bombers there, along with some oscars and simply bomb the hell out of Manila for 1 month. Every day. Port and AF every single day. Free up your units from Luzon and mop up an invasion of Java with the KB right now.
Well, probably those units from Luzon will first have to go to Malaya, but defenetly do it asap. Take the chance to keep your forces mobile. Don't waste time at Manila!

[racndoc]

Gen.Hoepner....

You remind me of a great member of the German General Staff in the late 19th century.....von Moltke the Elder....he spent most of his adult life planning for an eventual invasion of France.....his dying words were something like" make the right flank strong". Lol...Heopner if you had been a menber of the Japanese General Staff in the early 20th century your dying words would have been: "attack India early with strength."

Just kidding here, but actually you have finally gotten me to start analyzing India for future offensive operations. Ive previously never even seriously considered it and Im still working on my plans for Case Orange....the invasion of Java. But an invasion of India will take a lot of planning so I might as well start now.

In regards to Luzon, Im sending 2 divisions and 2 tank regiments from Clark to Bataan to mop up the 25,000 remnants of the original 38,000 troop Allied force that had been defending Clark. Another 14,000 Allied combat troops are pinned at Lamon Bay and around 50,000 are defending Manila. If I send 65th Brigade and a couple of naval guards to Manila I will have around 700-800 AV there with a lot of artillery. Bataan should be overrun in 3-4 days and then I need to make a decision....try to take Manila with 3 and a half divisions now or starve it out as Hoepner suggests and move the 2 divisons in Bataan to the DEI or points beyond. Just in case, I have a lot of AK/APs in transit to Bataan now. When I was about to capture Hong Kong I moved a lot of MSWs to Canton to be ready to clear out the mines at Hong Kong after it fell....and the CD guns at Hong Kong fired on the MSWs at Canton. It would be my luck to send MSWs to Bataan after it is captured and then have them fired on by the CD guns at Manila.

In Malaya, I have 6 divisions freed up after liquidating the Allied pocket at Kuala Lampu and they were ordered to join 2 other divisions already prepping at Johore Bharu for the assault on Singapore. In addition, 56th Division will be assaulting the Allied pocket 60 miles NE of Mersing today. With 7 Allied brigades destroyed yesterday at Kuala Lampur and another brigade to be assaulted today north of Mersing there are only 4 brigades left to defend Singapore. Singapore should be a "speedbump" for 8 IJA divisions unless its been reinforced with SEAC troops from India.

After Singapore falls, I will probably use 2 divisons for Palembang and 6 divisions for Java. If I pull out the 2 divisions from Bataan they could be used to assault Ceylon in preparation for the full assault on India. Hmmm....what to do?



JANUARY 5TH, 1942


MALAYA:

The major event today was the surrender of Allied troops at Kuala Lampur:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Kuala Lumpur

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 127625 troops, 644 guns, 192 vehicles, Assault Value =
2506

Defending force 31769 troops, 155 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 496

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2

Japanese max assault: 4718 - adjusted assault: 2347

Allied max defense: 475 - adjusted defense: 501

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Kuala Lumpur base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
4114 casualties reported
Guns lost 25
Vehicles lost 5

Allied ground losses:
53863 casualties reported
Guns lost 76
Vehicles lost 1

LOl....4 days ago I had 75,000 troops here and couldnt even get a 1:1 attack. Now I move 50,000 more troops here and get a 4:1 attack...it all comes down to the die rolls.

As mentioned before, everyone at Kuala Lampur is ordered to Johore Bharu for the assault on Singapore.

56th Division is oidered to assault the Allied pocket NE of Mersing today.


Bombur is using so many of his subs to evacuate troops from Malaya and Borneo that the ASW TFs now covering my shipping lanes have nothing to do.




DEI;

Bombvur had been hitting Balikpappan airfield and oil facilities with his 4Es and medium bombers but today he switched targets to Bandjarmasin:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Bandjermasin , at 27,64

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 15

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 8
Blenheim IV x 5
Martin 139 x 12
B-17D Fortress x 16
B-17E Fortress x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 damaged
H6K4 Mavis: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 5 destroyed
Martin 139: 2 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
60 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 13

Bombur may have realized that Bandjarmasin was to be one of my major airfields to support the Java operation. It was heavily damaged by my naval bombardments in the initial assault on it and even though Im sending lots of engineers to effect repairs the current damage to the airfield prevents me from massing lots of A6M2s there....dont want to have them killed on the ground.


Assault transports covered by mini KB and a bombardment TF will invade Koepang today. Sallys have been working over the ground and base units there.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

KB steams south from Rabaul to cover landings at Lunga and Luganville. After spending a week training the green Kate pilots at Wake we start to train the green Val pilots on hapless disrupted Australian engineers:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on No. 113 RAN Base Force, at 61,91

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
D3A2 Val x 102

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
118 casualties reported
Guns lost 1



One final note....Im having a problem with my AC production. On or about the first of the year, the Sally factory at Nagoya auto upgraded to Helens. In response, I switched a couple of smaller AC factories over to Sally production yesterday but by today they had also auto upgraded to Helens. Never seen this before and I dont have near enough Nagajima engines for this plus lots of Mitsu engines will go to waste. Dont know what to do about this.

[ctangus]

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

It would be my luck to send MSWs to Bataan after it is captured and then have them fired on by the CD guns at Manila.

Ooh - be careful of that. I did the exact same thing in one game and lost something like 10 of 12 MSWs to Manila's CD guns... [:(]

I found out after the fact that minesweeping TFs will sometimes, on their own initiative, sweep adjacent hexes.

Great & informative AAR as always, BTW.

[Local Yokel]

ORIGINAL: AdmSpruance

One final note....Im having a problem with my AC production. On or about the first of the year, the Sally factory at Nagoya auto upgraded to Helens. In response, I switched a couple of smaller AC factories over to Sally production yesterday but by today they had also auto upgraded to Helens. Never seen this before and I dont have near enough Nagajima engines for this plus lots of Mitsu engines will go to waste. Dont know what to do about this.

I hit this in our CHS + NikMod game (I assume this is what you're playing). It's a shortcoming of the scenario that the Ki-21's auto-upgrade to Donryu's in Dec 1941, and there's nothing you can do about it short of modifying the scenario before starting the game.

It's a problem but I think not a critical one. I have addressed it by progressively converting Mitsubishi engine factories to Nakajima, and recognising that the majority of Ki-21 sentai will have to convert to Ki-49 in the long run. 2 factors mitigate the impact: conversion to Ki-49's tends to increase the replacement pool of Ki-21's, and the fact that attrition in this variant is lower.

Your Mitsubishi engines will still be needed: your carrier bombers and attack planes need them, as do your E13A's and H8K's - the latter absorbing 4 at one go. If your Mitsubishi pool is still growing too fast, an alternative to factory conversion that saves the supplies used in repairs is to stop some Mitsubishi production. The effect should be increased growth of your HI reserve.

I thought this was going to be a big problem for me, but currently (end April 42) it looks as though it will be of little consequence.

[Gen.Hoepner]

Glad to made up your mind Spruance[:D]
However,now that Malaya is doomed (great job indeed there mate!), speed up the process. Take Singa ASAP and at the same time move out some units from Luzon and concentrate on Java.
BUT, remember to leave at least 200 bombers at Clark that MUST keep on pounding Manila every single day. Don't let those allies build any fort. Starve them. Burn their supplies. Burn their caves, bomb every single house, every recovery place, everything. Manila must be a desert of death and distruction. When you'll finally come back here en force, you have to look for an easy job.
Ah, remember to set a couple of Sallies sentais from Clark (better the crack ones) at 100 Naval search between 1000 and 3000 fts...we do not want to let him evacuate cadres with subs, right?[;)]

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: Gen.Hoepner
BUT, remember to leave at least 200 bombers at Clark that MUST keep on pounding Manila every single day.

I’m actually of a different mindset on how to defeat Luzon. If he follows your siege strategy he’ll have to keep a large airforce tied down bombing Manila round the clock. With about half the allies on Luzon destroyed once Bataan falls, Manila should go down pretty quickly if he uses 4+ divisions to reduce it.

At the least I think the situation merits at least one deliberate attack with all his ground forces to see how low the allied AV is before he leaves Luzon with sizable land forces. If he has a significant AV advantage then I’d say stick around an extra week or two to reduce Manila. That way when he goes into India he’ll have a much larger airforce at his disposal, thus guaranteeing a greater success.

As long as he’s ashore in India by mid to late February, he should still do quite well. Heck I’d even say go in March, since by then he’ll have everything reduced and 100% of his forces available for the assault on India.

Jim

[racndoc]

Gentlemen....as always thanx for your comments. Its now Friday and I havent had a turn since Tues. so the pace of the game has slowed down
to a crawl.

ctangus...thanks for the info on CD guns....I sent 8 MSWs to Canton to refuel for future minewarfare ops in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong CD guns fired on then when they reached port in Canton sinking 6 out of 8 MSWs and heavily damaging the other 2......guess I will need to move the troops from Bataan to Lingayen to have them re-embark without damage.


Local Yokel.....Im an unabashed AFB and am not very experienced with Japan's production. Having said that, I realize now that I cant stop the conversion of Sally factories to Helens. Ive pulled 250,000 supply out of China/Manchuria/Korea to fund my industrial expansion and war effort so far and now I guess that I have to waste another 80,000 supply to cover the Helens' Nakajima demand.

I now have 150,000 supply in Malaya and hopefully that along with what I capture in Singapore will cover the India offensive.


GH....you are the master Japanese strategist[&o]....I am definitely looking at throwing as much as possible at Java and then India ASAP. However due to the historical first turn Im a couple weeks behing an optimal Japanese timetable and I have to take Singapore(approximately 1 more week) and then Java and Palembang before attacking India so I have a couple of weeks to develop a plan.


Jim...based on what ctangus said, I will have to move my 2 divisions from Bataan to Lingayen anyway to re-embark. With my need to subdue Java and Sumatra first and with 9 divisions already in Malaya to finish the job I guess that I have at least a week to try an immediate assault on Manila as my troops make their way to Lingayen. Besides the 3 divisions and one brigade at Manila and Clark I have 3 naval guards , 4 tank regiments and 5 artillery regiments available for Manila and all have been prepping for Manila since Dec. 8th. In addition, 2 of the Philippine divisions in Manila were routed at both Naga and Lucena (and they werent prepped for Manila) so they may be fairly weak at this juncture. Otherwise if I pull out 2 divisions from Luzon immediately I still have the 31st Division at Shanghai(currently 86 squads are undisrupted and 240 are still disrupted) and could spend PPs to buy another Manchurian division to finish off Manila.


INDIA: Case Black

KB is totally out of position in the Coral Sea supporting invasions of Lunga, Luganville and then Port Moresby over the next week. After that I will need to stage KB to the Bay of Bengal to support a serious India operation. Just as GH is planning a counteroffensive against trollelite while KB is pre-occupied with India, I am doing a major land grab NOW so I have something to give back to Bombur while KB is involved in India ops for a couple of months. Ive never considered invading India as an AFB as I consider India to be pretty defensible. My India strategy as the Allies is to mass 18th UK, 7th AIF and 7th Armored in Karachi for 1000 AV with 550 intrinsic supply(assuming adequate levels of oil and resources). With level 9 forts you have 2000 AV and then urban hex gives you 8000 AV. Add a command and corps HQ fully prepped and you have 16,000 AV....a pretty tough nut for Japan to crack. The key here is to PREVENT 7th AIF and 7th Armored from reinforcing Karachi in late Feb. To do this, the entire KB will need to be commited to the Arabian Sea by mid Feb. so Ceylon will need to be aquired as a naval base. All my AOs are now loading fuel and moving to Kuching/Singapore to support future naval ops in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

As KB moves west to the Bay of Bengal they can cut off the escape of all remaining Allied shipping in the DEI. My defensive line in the eastern Pacific is currently Wake/Palmya/Canton. CD guns and SNLFs are all on the way to reinforce these important outposts. If Bombur takes back these islands or invades the Marshalls while KB is involved in India ops I will have the opportunity to counterinvade around June 1942 and destroy Allied formations in situ.

Im more of a "invade northern Australia to keep the 4Es away from the DEI" kind of Japanese player. Invading India will be a real throw of the dice.

Here is a screenshot of the current situation on Luzon:

[racndoc]

JANUARY 7TH, 1942

Interesting turn....several successes and a few failures.


MALAYA:

56TH Division launches its attack on the Allied pocket just NE of Mersing but it is not enough:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 23,49

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 8972 troops, 62 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 270

Defending force 4578 troops, 25 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 81

Japanese max assault: 494 - adjusted assault: 122

Allied max defense: 52 - adjusted defense: 25

Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
577 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


Strangely, Singapore may capitulate before this minor pocket is liquidated.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

Japan invades Buin and Finschafen and will land tomorrow at Luganville. KB stands by in a support role. Port Moresby assault forces form up in the Coral Sea.


PI:

This is what I deserve for putting my cart in front of the horses. My supposed mop up attack against the demoralized Allied remnants at Bataan is thrown back with heavy losses:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bataan

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 44100 troops, 166 guns, 94 vehicles, Assault Value =
983

Defending force 23326 troops, 119 guns, 27 vehicles, Assault Value =
434

Japanese max assault: 1860 - adjusted assault: 421

Allied max defense: 394 - adjusted defense: 553

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 4)


Japanese ground losses:
2515 casualties reported
Guns lost 29
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
243 casualties reported
Guns lost 9
Vehicles lost 1


Part of the cause of this debacle was poor weather grounding my air force for the last couple of days. With level 4 forts I will be reinforcing
Bataan with an engineer and some artillery. Looks like the Allies have 553 AV here.


A bombardment is ordered at Manila:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Manila

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 37377 troops, 238 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 887

Defending force 42812 troops, 365 guns, 170 vehicles, Assault Value =
603



Allied ground losses:
232 casualties reported
Guns lost 6




Looks like there is around 603 AV here.


DEI:

Weda, Boela, Sandakan and Lautem are captured.


Palembang is hit by 3 more bombardment TFs:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Palembang, at 20,55

Japanese Ships
CL Tama
CL Nagara
CA Atago
CA Takao
BB Haruna
BB Kongo


Allied ground losses:
276 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Vehicles lost 2

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 31
Port hits 3
Port fuel hits 1
Port supply hits 4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Palembang, at 20,55

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu
BB Ise
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Mikuma
CA Mogami


Allied ground losses:
185 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 27
Port supply hits 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Palembang, at 20,55

Japanese Ships
CA Chokai
CL Natori
CA Ashigara
CA Haguro
BB Yamashiro
BB Fuso


Allied ground losses:
87 casualties reported

Airbase hits 2
Runway hits 30
Port hits 4
Port fuel hits 6
Port supply hits 1


The effort to disrupt the Dutch engineers at Palembang continues.



Koepang is captured on the first assault:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Koepang

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 12433 troops, 46 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 239

Defending force 1291 troops, 1 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 23

Japanese max assault: 262 - adjusted assault: 156

Allied max defense: 21 - adjusted defense: 2

Japanese assault odds: 78 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Koepang base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
254 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 1


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!


A6M2s, Mavis and Bettys are flown in.


I had wanted to enlarge the airfield at Banjermasin to level 4 to allow Sallys to close the Allied airfield at Soerabaja but a lack of supplies is slowing this operation down. We are getting close to the invasion of Java and a sizeable Allied air force still exists....Bettys and Nells are ordered to begin reducing the Allied airfield at Soerabaja:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 23,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 19
G3M Nell x 76
G4M1 Betty x 24

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 4 destroyed, 25 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 3 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
T.IVa: 1 destroyed
Martin 139: 2 destroyed
B-17D Fortress: 2 destroyed
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed
Do 24K-2: 1 destroyed
Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 9
Runway hits 16


Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 23,66

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 7
G4M1 Betty x 27

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 5 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 2 damaged
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed

Runway hits 8

The Allied bomber force at Soerabaja is cut in half....23 bombers are lost out of 50 at a cost of 11 Bettys/Nells. Japan loses 9 AC to flak and 7 AC to ops in the Soerabaja attack. The cost is high for Japan but at this stage of the war its almost worth it to accept 1:1 air losses just to eliminate the Allied airforces in the SRA. 4 B-17Ds, 2 B-17Es and 2 T.IV4s are destroyed at Soerabaja.


The next objective here for Japan will be Bali.

[trollelite]

von Moltke the Elder....he spent most of his adult life planning for an eventual invasion of France.....his dying words were something like" make the right flank strong". Lol...Heopner if you had been a menber of the Japanese General Staff in the early 20th century your dying words would have been: "attack India early with strength."


00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

This was actually (rumored) said by Schlieffen.  Moltke himself advocated a pre-emptive strike against Russia first, since he thought new border forts built by french make her too difficult to be defeated in a short time (as 1870), so he wanted to try the luck this time in OST.... If Russia defeated then French would surely sue for peace.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 8th, 1942


My initial momentum seems to be slowing down a bit as its difficult to maintain the pace of operations. IJA level bombers continue to hammer the Allied pockets north of Mersing and at Bataan but it will be a few more days before additional assaults are ordered. Virtually the entire IJA 25th Army has reached Johore Bharu and an advance into Singapore will be ordered tomorrow.


DEI:

Maumere is captured and assault forces are 2 days out from Bali.

Recon is being flown over every town in Java and it appears Bombur has massed 29,000 troops in Batavia, 40,000 troops in Soerabaja and another 7 units in Djakarta with single units almost everywhere else.

More air attacks on launched on Soerabaja:

Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 23,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
G3M Nell x 59
G4M1 Betty x 21

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 12 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 3 destroyed
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed
B-17D Fortress: 1 destroyed
Martin 139: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 36


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 23,66

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 26
G3M Nell x 34
G4M1 Betty x 50

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 4 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 17 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed
T.IVa: 2 destroyed
Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed
B-25C Mitchell: 2 destroyed
Do 24K-2: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 42

The Allies lose 20 AC on the ground at Soerabaja and another 4 AC in A2A including 4 Martins, 5 B-25s, 2 B-17s and another 3 T.IVas. Bombur has now lost 9 T.VIas and 22 Vildebeests so the torpedo threat has been greatly reduced. 9 more Brewsters are destroyed today for a total of 52 so the Dutch are down to their Demons and Hawks. Soerabaja is now 36% damaged and the Dutch air force should be largely neutralized in another week or so. Japan loses 18 AC....all to flak and ops including 6 Nells/Bettys.




SOUTH PACIFIC:

KB refuels in the Coral Sea as it supports invasions of Luganville and Lunga.

Finschafen and Buin are captured.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 9TH, 1942


MALAYA:

The last brigade of 18th Division reaches Johore Bharu and the the division reforms. General Yamashita orders 25th Army to advance across the causeway into Singapore and 8 divisions, 3 tank regiments, 7 artillery regiments and 6 engineer regiments begin to move out of Johore Bharu......everyone is ordered to follow a fatigued heavy artillery regiment so it may take a few days to make Singapore.

56th Division is ordered to again attack the pocket NE of Mersing.



SOUTH PACIFIC:

Luganville, Lunga and Shortlands are captured.

Assault transports heading for Port Moresby cross the eastern tip of New Guinea.


DEI:

Maumere is captured.

IJN troops land at Dili and Jesselton.

A large invasion force covered by BBs and mini KB will assault Bali tomorrow.

CV Kaga will join up with mini KB tomorrow for the Bali operation and CV Shokaku will join up for the Java operation.


Nearly 150 Nells/Bettys are staged into Koepang for a major raid on Darwin harbor tomorrow.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 10th, 1942


The first big aerial assault from the southern DEI hits shipping in port at Darwin:

Day Air attack on Darwin , at 36,84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
G3M Nell x 41
G4M1 Betty x 11
H6K4 Mavis x 1

Allied aircraft
Wirraway x 5

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Wirraway: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
AP Van Imhoff, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AK Koolinda, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AVD Arend, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Valentijn, Torpedo hits 1



MALAYA:

25TH ARMY covers 22 miles on the march from Johore Bharu to Singapore...should reach Singapore in 2 more days.

Another assault is launched on the Allied pocket NE of Mersing:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 23,49

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8296 troops, 59 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 234

Defending force 3848 troops, 15 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 76

Japanese max assault: 207 - adjusted assault: 204

Allied max defense: 41 - adjusted defense: 15

Japanese assault odds: 13 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
26 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported


The odds increase from 4:1 to 13:1 but it will take ahile to reduce this pocket.




DEI:

Dili and Jesselton are captured.

Japanese bombers switch targets from Soerabaja to Batavia in the battle for air superiority over Java:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Batavia , at 20,60

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 24
G3M Nell x 74
G4M1 Betty x 32

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 4

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 4 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed
Martin 139: 1 destroyed
Swordfish: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 7
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 16


Every airfield in Java with Allied CAP is swept by A6M2s. The Allies lose 16 AC vs 10 Japanese including 7 Brewsters, 3 Demons, 4 Martins and a Swordfish.


Bali is hit hard by a naval bombardment as invasion forces storm ashore:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Bali, at 24,69


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed
Martin 139: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Kitakami
BB Nagato
CA Aoba
CA Maya
BB Hyuga
CA Myoko
CL Isuzu
CA Nachi


Allied ground losses:
498 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Vehicles lost 2

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 27
Port hits 12
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Bali, at 24,69


Allied aircraft
no flights


Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed
Martin 139: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Kitakami
BB Nagato
CA Aoba
CA Maya
BB Hyuga
CA Myoko
CL Isuzu
CA Nachi


Allied ground losses:
498 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Vehicles lost 2

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 27
Port hits 12
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Bali, 24,69, firing at TF 100
TF 100 troops unloading over beach at Bali, 24,69


Japanese ground losses:
98 casualties reported


Sorong is also invaded.



CHINA:

I have some egg on my face here. I have been pretty distracted with overrunning the SRA and Bombur managed to surround 2 IJA divisions just NW of Kiukiang. Ive called off the offensive to open the Shanghai/Nanchang road and over 6 divisions are on their way to rescue the 2 IJA divisions. Virtually all my aircraft in China are suppressing Allied troops in that area.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 11th-12th, 1942


MALAYA:

General Yamashita's 180,000 strong 25th Army storms Singapore in a battle that is over almost before it has begun:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Singapore

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 185479 troops, 830 guns, 210 vehicles, Assault Value =
3519

Defending force 37064 troops, 274 guns, 10 vehicles, Assault Value =
365

Japanese max assault: 3178 - adjusted assault: 1851

Allied max defense: 393 - adjusted defense: 147

Japanese assault odds: 12 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Singapore base !!!



Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Catalina I: 1 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
2944 casualties reported
Guns lost 35
Vehicles lost 10

Allied ground losses:
19261 casualties reported
Guns lost 227
Vehicles lost 2

General Percival accepts surrender terms and another 19,000 Allied troops are marched off into captivity. I didnt expect Singapore to fall so soon....the minesweepers are still a couple of days out. 25th Army will be given a few days of R&R as Singapore harbor is cleared and assault transports are assembled. 6 divisions are prepped for Soerabaja and 2 divisions are readied to assault Palembang.

56th Division is again ordered to assault the final Allied pocket in Malaya NE of Mersing tomorrow.

Im having trouble massing enough transports for the 9 Malayan divisions let alone the 3 and one half divisions on Luzon so I may just continue to reduce Bataan and Manila with the IJA formations in place there until more transports are available.


DEI:

Bali is overrun as 2000 Dutch troops surrender:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Bali

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 15002 troops, 49 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 327

Defending force 885 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 19

Japanese max assault: 590 - adjusted assault: 387

Allied max defense: 15 - adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 387 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Bali base !!!



Allied ground losses:
2195 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

This was the last main obstacle to over come before the assault on Java itself.....the DEI are now nearly isolated from Australia.

Malang, Sorong and Waigapu are also captured.

The IJNAF continues to sweep Dutch fighter bases on Java and pound Batavia. Another 16 Martins, 4 Vildebeests and 2 Swordfish are destroyed as the Dutch air force is slowly attrited away.



SOUTH PACIFIC:

The South Seas Detachment and friends are scheduled to storm ashore at Port Moesby tomorrow. The majority of KB.....4 CVs....is covering this operation and then will steam to the DEI.

KB's work has now been completed in the south and central Pacific and will be withdrawn for an extended peroid of time for the Java/India operations. The CVs need to go the shortest route.....through the Torrez Straight around the northern coast of Australia and not around the northern coast of New Guinea due to time constraints. Bombur will certainly be aware of their departure from the Pacific by my going the direct route but speed is of the essence.

Bombur will have at least a couple of months to operate in the Pacific without interference from IJN CVs. He may certainly be able to retake some of the islands but I think the tradeoff of trying to take out India makes this gambit worthwhile.

[Gen.Hoepner]

Yes, you're still in time Adm! Go for India! With so many divs Java will be doomed very soon...then the jewel of the crown will be yours[8D]

[racndoc]

Thanx General. I will definitely be open to some advice/opinions on the India operation as we near D-Day(probably mid-February).



JANUARY 13TH, 1942


Slow day today as poor weather across the PTO grounds most of our aircraft except those in China. Thought that it might be a good time to re-visit production.


PRODUCTION AS OF 1-13-42:

..............STOCK....................SCENARIO 159

SUPPLY:2,230,000...................2,130,000..............Lots of supply on the move now to Singapore for India ops
FUEL....:4,070,000...................3,810,000..............Ditto
HI........:13,532.......................13,061..........Reduced HI for Japan in this CHS scenario...very evident in HI reserves
HI res...:49,594.......................24,544.........Dangerously low level of reserves....will need to monitor this closely
Oil res..:1,540,000..................2,840,000.....Much higher oil reserves in CHS makes early capture of oil fields a bit less critical
Res res:1,660,000..................1,490,000.....This appears to be the choke point for the Japanese economy(along with HI)



AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION:

A6M2.......277/MO
OSCAR....206/MO
BETTY.....78/MO on the way to 90
HELEN.....79/MO on the way to 90.

With the Sally factories autoupgrading to Helens my need for Mitsu engines has dropped dramatically.....only 487 Mitsu/mo so I have turned off 300 Mitsu engine factory points.

My Nakajima engine production is currently at 612/mo on the way to 824/mo.




MALAYA:

The 56th Division is a pretty weak formation....I just cant get high enough odds to finish off the final Allied pocket in Malaya NE of Mersing:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 23,49

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 8309 troops, 58 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 235

Defending force 3324 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 64

Japanese max assault: 212 - adjusted assault: 101

Allied max defense: 33 - adjusted defense: 13

Japanese assault odds: 7 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
21 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


I may have to reinforce here to finish this pocket up.


MSWs will begin to arrive at Singapore tomorrow. Over 200 AKs/APs are on the way to Singapore.



SOUTH PACIFIC:

Port Moresby is hit the usual pre-invasion bombardment but no troops go ashore:

Naval bombardment of Port Moresby, at 54,93


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Catalina I: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari
CL Tatsuta
CL Tenryu
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Chikuma
CA Tone
BB Kirishima
BB Hiei


Allied ground losses:
227 casualties reported
Guns lost 6

Airbase hits 16
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 41
Port supply hits 1


Evidently one of the smaller ships in the assault TF disobeyed orders and refueled during the night. The troops will definitely swarm ashore tomorrow.



DEI:

Raba is captured.

Bombur has flooded the Java Sea and Makassar Straits with subs in an attempt to interdict my invasion forces....lots of Vals/Kats are put on search and ASW here.

Ive had 8 construction battalions at Bandjermasin for over a week but the level 4 airfield is only 43% built....cant wait for it to become operational before invading Java so I will have to go in without the benefit of Sallys carpet bombing.



CHINA:

As you can see on the attached map, China has been cleared of guerillas east and north of the Yellow River.


120 west of Hankow/Kiukiang, the IJA 6th and 40 th Divisions are isolated by the Chinese 78th Corps. The 78th Corps is being hit hard by the IJAAF every day:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 78th Chinese Corps, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-51 Sonia x 10

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
10 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 78th Chinese Corps, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-27 Nate x 17
Ki-51 Sonia x 9
Ki-15 Babs x 2

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Ki-27 Nate bombing at 2000 feet
9 x Ki-51 Sonia bombing at 2000 feet
8 x Ki-27 Nate bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 78th Chinese Corps, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-30 Ann x 24

No Japanese losses


Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
24 x Ki-30 Ann bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 78th Chinese Corps, at 48,36

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-I Lily x 15

No Japanese losses

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-48-I Lily bombing at 6000 feet

Over 100,000 IJA troops and artillery massed in Hankow and Kiukiang are in the process of crossing the Yangtze River to relieve the 2 surrounded IJA divisions.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 14TH, 1942


PRODUCTION REVISITED: SHIPBUILDING


I increased the naval production to 1242 per day to cover my naval ship acceleration. I currently have a naval reserve of 1351 and am running a deficit of 48/day. CVL Shoho will arrive in 9 days and this should virtually eliminate the deficit. CV Junyo will arrive in 25 days and since she was accelerated that will save me almost enough naval points to turn on BB Musashi production again.

Merchant ship production was left unchanged at 1005 per day. I currently have a reserve of 2460 with a deficit of 60/day so I am cutting back production on 1 AR and 2 MLEs from accelerated to normal. CVE Unyo was accelerated and will arrive in 57 days....then I can re-accelerate production of more ARs/MLEs.



SOUTH PACIFIC:

IJN troops storm ashore at Port Moresby today:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Port Moresby, 54,93, firing at TF 20
TF 20 troops unloading over beach at Port Moresby, 54,93


83 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PG Choko Maru #2

Japanese ground losses:
431 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Port Moresby, 54,93, firing at TF 20
TF 20 troops unloading over beach at Port Moresby, 54,93


81 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
CL Kashima, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
310 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported


KB continues the Kate training program at Port Moresby:

Day Air attack on Port Moresby , at 54,93

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 5
B5N2 Kate x 102

No Japanese losses

Port hits 2
Port supply hits 9


With more accurate recon, I now see that there are 7000 troops and 5 units at Port Moresby....Bombur has evidently reinforced Port Moresby with either a brigade from SE Australia or some of the battalions that start at Darwin. Another naval bombardment and then shock attack will be ordered for tomorrow.


Rabaul is enlarged to a level 4 airfield and Bettys are staged in.



CHINA:

The IJA 116th Division shock attacks it way across the Yangtze River in the effort to relieve the trapped 6th and 40th Infantry Divisions:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 48,36

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 21692 troops, 142 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 492

Defending force 8953 troops, 38 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 272

Japanese max assault: 560 - adjusted assault: 312

Allied max defense: 185 - adjusted defense: 109

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
432 casualties reported
Guns lost 6

Allied ground losses:
68 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


Several more infantry, armor and artillery units are on the way.



DEI:

Mini KB(2 CVs, 2 CVLs, 1 CVE) hit the airfield at Soerabaja:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Soerabaja , at 23,66

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 4
A6M2 Zero x 10
B5N2 Kate x 42

Allied aircraft
CW-21B Demon x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed
Martin 139: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
34 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 25


Japanese air suppression missions over Java net another 4 Brewsters, 3 Martins and 1 Demon and 1 Hawk. The Dutch have now lost 65 Brewsters and 45 Martins so air force has been severely mauled.

Here is a sreenshot of the current situation in the southern DEI. Raba was captured and the last Dutch outpost in the southern DEI at Lombok was invaded today. The final plans for CASE ORANGE.....the invasion of Java...are coming together.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 15TH, 1942


It is becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain the pace of operations as Japan becomes more extended.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

IJN troops continue to strom ashore under the cover of a bombardment TF:

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/15/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Port Moresby, 54,93, firing at TF 20
TF 20 troops unloading over beach at Port Moresby, 54,93


16 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Port Moresby, 54,93, firing at TF 305
TF 305 troops unloading over beach at Port Moresby, 54,93


Japanese ground losses:
45 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Port Moresby, 54,93, firing at TF 329
TF 329 troops unloading over beach at Port Moresby, 54,93


Japanese ground losses:
110 casualties reported


Naval bombardment of Port Moresby, at 54,93


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Empire: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CL Yubari
CL Tatsuta
CL Tenryu
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Chikuma
CA Tone
BB Kirishima
BB Hiei


Allied ground losses:
246 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 7
Port hits 4
Port supply hits 5




KB continues to pound Port Moresby from the skies(and train its Kate/Val pilots:

Day Air attack on 30th Australian Brigade, at 54,93

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
D3A2 Val x 70

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 10 damaged


Allied ground losses:
78 casualties reported
Guns lost 3


Day Air attack on Port Moresby , at 54,93

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 14
B5N2 Kate x 88
E8N Dave x 2

No Japanese losses

Port hits 2
Port supply hits 2


Bombur did indeed reinforce the garrison at Port Moresby.....there are now 4 LCUs there in addition to the base force. Still, the Japanese assault nearly captures Port Moresby on the first assault:

Ground combat at Port Moresby

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 13433 troops, 46 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 277

Defending force 5234 troops, 52 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 90

Japanese max assault: 398 - adjusted assault: 203

Allied max defense: 65 - adjusted defense: 87

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 1


Japanese ground losses:
383 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses:
119 casualties reported
Guns lost 5


We will wait a day to let the assault units take on more supplies and rest and then the final assault will be ordered.



DEI:

IJN troops invade Tomini in the Celebes.


IJNAF bombers continue to hammer away at the Java airfields:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Batavia , at 20,60

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 25
G3M Nell x 80
G4M1 Betty x 77

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 7 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 2 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
22 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 22


Japanese naval troops continue to storm ashore on Lombok. Japanese engineers continue to improve the airfields at Banjermasin and Kendari and repair the damage at Bali. Once the Bali airfield is operational the invasion of Java can proceed.


CBI:

Bombur has been strategic bombing my resources at Moulmein for several days and today Oscars are ordered to intercept:

Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 30,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 21

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 12
Blenheim I x 10
Hudson I x 10
P-39D Airacobra x 10
P-40E Warhawk x 8

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
Blenheim I: 4 damaged
Hudson I: 3 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 7 damaged

Resources hits 1

3 Oscars are lost in the effort.....next time I will need to bring more to the party.


In China, the relief attempt is successful for the entrapped 6th and 40th IJA Divisions west of Hankow:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 48,36

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 21068 troops, 135 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 460

Defending force 8845 troops, 37 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 268

Japanese max assault: 482 - adjusted assault: 161

Allied max defense: 151 - adjusted defense: 43

Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
278 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!


Now that My divisions are no longer isolated they will be withdrawn farther east....I dont like this avenue of advance for an assault on Changsha....its too easy for the Chinese to cut the supply lines. The troops involved in the relief effort will now be sent south to open the Shanghai-Nanchang road.



MALAYA:

Over 50 MSWs ply the waters off Singapore in a continuing effort to clear the minefields:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 286 encounters mine field at Singapore (22,51)

Japanese Ships
MSW W.15
MSW W.10
MSW W.9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 142 encounters mine field at Singapore (22,51)

Japanese Ships
MSW Toshi Maru #8
MSW Toshi Maru #5
MSW Toshi Maru #1
MSW Tokuho Maru #5
MSW Takashima Maru
MSW Senyu Maru #2
MSW Rikusen Maru
MSW Misago Maru #11
MSW Kongo Maru #2
MSW Kaiyo Maru #3
MSW Kaiyo Maru #1
MSW Hinode Maru #18
MSW Fuji Maru
MSW Eguchi Maru
MSW Chitose Maru
MSW Choun Maru #21
MSW Choun Maru #18
MSW Choun Maru #7
MSW Choun Maru #6
MSW Banshu Maru #52
MSW Aoi Maru

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 279 encounters mine field at Singapore (22,51)

Japanese Ships
MSW W.6


Meanwhile, hundreds of transports wait offshore for the harbor at Singapore to be cleared.

[racndoc]

JANUARY 16TH-17TH, 1942



CBI:

Largest air battle of the war to date as Oscars intercept a strategic bombing attack over Moulmein:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 30,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 47

Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 12
Blenheim I x 9
Blenheim IV x 12
Hudson I x 10
P-39D Airacobra x 6
P-40E Warhawk x 10

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 7 destroyed
Blenheim I: 2 damaged
Blenheim IV: 3 damaged
Hudson I: 2 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 4 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 8 destroyed

Resources hits 1


Japan loses 2 Oscars vs 19 Allied AC in A2A including 8 P-40Es, 7 Buffaloes and 4 P-39s.



DEI:

Lombok is captured:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Lombok

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 4403 troops, 21 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 124

Defending force 1167 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 19

Japanese max assault: 204 - adjusted assault: 90

Allied max defense: 9 - adjusted defense: 3

Japanese assault odds: 30 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Lombok base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
47 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
2410 casualties reported
Guns lost 2


Tomini and Manokwari are also overrun.


With the fall of Lombok, CASE ORANGE....the invasion of Java.... can now proceed. Detailed assault plans to be discussed in tomorrow's report.



MALAYA:

MSWs have finally cleared the minefields at Singapore and over 300 AKs/APs have assembled there to start loading the mighty Southern Area Army for Java, Sumatra and points beyond.



SOUTH PACIFIC:

Port Moresby is finally subdued:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Port Moresby

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 15473 troops, 48 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 260

Defending force 4848 troops, 40 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 76

Japanese max assault: 440 - adjusted assault: 168

Allied max defense: 53 - adjusted defense: 27

Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Port Moresby base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
316 casualties reported
Guns lost 6

Allied ground losses:
187 casualties reported
Guns lost 4


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!


Most of Bombur's unrestricted command troops in the area are forced to retreat from Moresby to rot away in the jungles of New Guinea.

KB and her oilers are now released for duty in the Indian Ocean.

[pauk]

Hi, I'm amazed with your smoothly executed blitzkrieg operations![&o]

Keep up the good work....

[racndoc]

Hey pauk....

Thanx for your comments. Im just trying follow in your footsteps.Its only January and my R&D programs for Tonys, Tojos and Jacks are going quite well.





January 18th, 1942


CASE ORANGE: THE INVASION OF JAVA


Japanese airfield counterair attacks on Java destroy another 5 Brewsters, 5 Swordfish and 3 Martins today. Recon now shows fewer than 20 fighters and 20 bombers left on Java.

Bombur knows that I have 9 divisions in Malaya and 3 divisions at Luzon so he is probably not expecting an immediate attack on Java. The Allies have 30,000 troops at Batavia, 42,000 troops at Java and garrisons at every city on Java save Kragen.

KB West.....2 CVs, 2 CVLs and a CVE are escorting assault transports on the west coast of Java to create a diversion. Meanwhile, the Yokosuka 1st SNLF will be paradropped on Kragen tomorrow and a fast transport TF carrying 35th Brigade and 56th Brigade will be sent from Bandjarmasin to Kragen. 6 SAA divisions, armor and artillery are loading at Singapore and will arrive at Java within a week.

The plan here will be to capture a level 4 airfield on Java(probably Madioen) and then a major assault will be launched on Soerabaja. Batavia will be mopped up last and then the troops will be re-embarked there for India.

Palembang and the rest of Sumatra will be captured concurrent with the Java operations and then a major assault will be launched on India.