Pathos in the Pacific - Yubari`s Humiliation

[yubari]

We reach the 9th May, and my large convoy of base forces reaches a heavily damaged Cooktown Harbour. We manage to offload about 15000 men but unfortunately some 6000 men remain on the boats, necessitating the transport force to stay there for one more day.

The battles over Cooktown are large and bloody. Morning attack.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 82

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 12
B-17E Fortress x 22
LB-30 Liberator x 2
F-4 Lightning x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 24 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 12 destroyed
B-17E Fortress: 22 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 2 damaged
F-4 Lightning: 1 damaged

Afternoon attack.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 56

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 13
B-26B Marauder x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 10 destroyed
B-26B Marauder: 1 destroyed, 10 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsukaze
DD Hamakaze
DD Nowaki, Bomb hits 1, on fire

The Nowaki, A Kagero class destroyer will have to retire immediately for repairs. We lose 6 planes in the fighting, but only three pilots.

We have four more of these convoys inbound. The Guards division is at Port Moresby and should arrive in 5 days time, we have a large supply convoy due in three days time. The 48th Division which had been fighting at Manila is roughly two weeks away, and the 18th, from Soerabaja is about 12 days away. We will need the KB there to escort them in.

Heres a scene from the fighting, the B-17s proving far more danagerous to my Zeroes than the Kittyhawks had been.

[yubari]

In the last two days, the allies have sunk the Takayo Maru as our transport group inexplicably headed south after leaving Cooktown instead of heading the much safer north route. The Coral Reefs here sure are a nuisance. However, all of the troops were safely put down and we now have a much larger amount of flak, and a large number of engineers to help with the repair of our airfields. We also have 100 Zero fighters at Gili Gili and Port Moresby, just waiting for the airfields to become operational.
Our base forces and flak will head to Cairns, since it is a size four airfield, whereas Cooktown is only size two.

On the 11th, our KB launched a high altitude bombing attack against Townsville airifeld, and successful results were achieved.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
B5N2 Kate x 134

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 3 destroyed
B-26B Marauder: 3 destroyed
Beaufort V-IX: 2 destroyed
B-25C Mitchell: 2 destroyed
A-24 Dauntless: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
48 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 27
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 111

In reality, 20 planes were destroyed on the ground. We have a large cruiser group going in to shore bombard tomorrow, and the KB is scheduled to deliver a similar bombload tomorrow.

Here`s the situation in Burma. Jim`s excellent defence of Singapore, which held out until the 5th of April, plus our botched paratrooper mission against Taung Gyi has enabled him to defend far forward in Burma, with the result that Rangoon airfield is still under allied control, and still fully operational. Obviously I need to take the airfield, or else Saigon and Hanoi will be under threat by September 1942, but how should I go about it? My troops are at the moment heading slowly along tracks to Moulmein, and will be there maybe by early June.

[yubari]

We seem to have scored a major success today, as the allies have withdrawn their airforce from Townsville and Charter Towers. With any luck, we will be able to get Cairns operational within a week or so, and then be able to bring in a large number of Zero fighters to protect our incoming convoys containing more troops.

Maybe Jim is running low on airframes, but I would be putting every bomber I had into those two large airfields to try and keep Cairns closed.

My long term strategy is to get Cairns operational, and then retreat the KB to Kendari. From there, it will go raiding against any convoys heading from India to Australia. In particular, due to the respawning carriers, I want to avoid a carrier battle against the US fleet. In this mod, the Grace becomes available in February 44 as a torpedo bomber, and also as a dive bomber. They have an operational range of 10 hexes. If I put a lot of resources into research for these two planes, I can maybe get the KB converted to these by March 1944, and it will be then that I look to fight the major CV battle.

I guess me wanting to avoid fighting the US fleet goes completely against history. I would much rather 2by3 put the four addititonal US carriers into the OOB, and then took out respawning but hey, thats a whole new argument.

BB Yamato is just a few days away, so here are the IJN battlewagons. A pretty sorry collection I`m sure you`ll agree.

[yubari]

Three more deathly quiet days in the Pacific. Here is the entire combat report from the 15th May.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 05/15/42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Kwajalein at 81,84

Japanese Ships
AP Kashima Maru
PC Takunan Maru #7
PC Takunan Maru #6
PC Shonon Maru #11
PC Shonon Maru #10
PC Shonon Maru #3
PC Kyo Maru #7
PC Kyo Maru #6
PC Fumi Maru #3

Allied Ships
SS Narwhal, hits 5, on fire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Kwajalein at 81,84

Japanese Ships
ML Shirataka

Allied Ships
SS Narwhal, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 10th Group Army, at 48,38

Japanese aircraft
Ki-15 Babs x 1
No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on 10th Group Army, at 48,38

Japanese aircraft
Ki-15 Babs x 1
No Japanese losses

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 47,36

Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 83224 troops, 356 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 2888
Defending force 143872 troops, 698 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 4132

Allied ground losses:
26 casualties reported


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Nanchang

Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 10684 troops, 116 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2247
Defending force 65378 troops, 307 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1782

Allied ground losses:
128 casualties reported



Two of the 5 depth charge hits on the SS Narwhal were real hits, so Im fairly hopeful of it sinking. Its a long long way back from Kwajalein to Pearl Harbour. I am bringing more troops to Nanchang, so we may be able to attack the Chinese troops there and force them to retreat. They may be low on supply as they have stopped bombarding.

Here is a photo of the situation in Australia. Note the very interesting piece of information in the popup box over Sydney. If this is indeed true, Ive never seen such accurate information from spies. Pop another shrimp on his barbie! Wouldnt it be nice to catch the US fleet docked at Sydney![:D]

[yubari]

Its been a long time since an update. These have been 5 largely bad days for the Japanese empire.
Allied bombers suddenly appeared at Charters Towers and Townsville on the 17th May. They struck in both the morning and the afternoon against the KB fleet which was some 240 miles away to the North.
In the morning, CV Hiryu was hit by three bombs, one of which hit the belt armour and two of which penetrated the flight deck, setting her alight. In the afternoon, and to great good fortune, she was not hit again, although the BBs Haruna and Kongo each took a torpedo. Neither suffered any major damage, both are still under 20 system damage, with all fires and floods repaired

For the past four days, the Hiryu has been gently ambling back towards Port Moresby, and is now four hexes away. She will go in at Full speed and should arrive in Port the following morning. Just after the attack she was at 46 sys, 12 flood and 15 fire. She is now at 62 system damage and 36 flooding. Flooding damage is steadily increasing every day. Port Moresby is only a size 2 port, with an AR present, so it is fairly touch and go whether she actually survives. There is no Naval HQ present.

In Northern Australia, we have now three divisions at Cairns, and this turn we have brought in 3 Daitai of Zeroes and 2 small squadrons of Rufes. The size four airfield has had its runway completely repaired, but the repair facilities are still at 71 percent damage. The next day or two will be crucial in determining whether we continue with our offensive in Northern Australia, or immediately order a retreat back to Cooktown. Having three divisions trapped at Cooktown in range of two major allied airbases, is a truly horrible thought.

Here, with the aid of a line clumsily drawn in Microsoft Paint is the front line. Note the allies excellent position in Burma and our exposed and vulnerable troops in Cairns.

[yubari]

The three day from the 22nd to the 24th of May have been fairly quiet, but big things are set to be played out on the next week or so.

The Hiryu has made Port Moresby, and its flooding damage is slowly falling. From a high of 62 sys, 40 fld on the 23rd May, it fell to 62 sys, 37 fld today. We also have the Southeast Fleet naval command being transported in. It should arrive in three days time. It will help wont it?

Cairns airfield has been entirely unmolested. The runway is entirely operational, and airbase damage is falling quickly. It is now at just 32 percent damaged. We have around 120 Zeroes and 24 Rufes at the base now, and more are available at Rabaul and Port Moresby if needed. It appears that, for the first time, we have a relatively secure port to bring troops into. This is important because, just rounding Thursday Island are three divisions from the earlier sieges of Manila and Soerabaja. With the three divisions already there, this would make a total of 6 divisions available on the Australian east coast.

In Burma, we have four divisions tramping down the jungle track towards Moulmein. The two lead divisions are at 55 and 51 miles travelled. Jim has noticed this, and is sending large numbers of heavy bombers to attack. Around 120 attacked today. With that in mind, we have set four Oscar groups and two Zero groups to LRCAP over that hex. Will we get a massive ambush, or will Jim come in and close our airfields?

The next three or four days will be the most important since our carrier battle at the end of March.

[yubari]

Hiryu watch; Safely ensconced in Port Moresby, the Hiryu manages to get its flooding under control. It falls to 62 sys, 31 fld on the 25th, and 62 sys, 25 fld on the 26th. Hopefully, she should be able to leave Port Moresby by the end of the month, heading West towards Kendari and then North towards Japan. There are large concentrations of Allied subs near Gili Gili and Rabaul, presumably searching for her.

We now have three divisions on transports four hexes from Cairns, and so far they appear to be unspotted. They are slow, so wont arrive for 2 more days, so this leaves plenty of opportunities for allied bombers to attack them. Hopefully, we should have around 60 fighters flying LRCAP over them tomorrow, from our base at Cairns, and from the remainder of the KB. Cairns airbase is still unattacked, and is almost completely repaired.

Elsewhere, the empire continues to suffer death by 1000 cuts. I-8 is bombed and sunk by Dauntlesses near Christmas Island, AK Nojima Maru takes 2 torpedoes from SS KXVI, and SS Halibut torpedoes AP Taiho Maru.

[yubari]

Yet again, it has been a very long time since an update.

Here are the results of our attack at Townsville. Ouch!

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 83875 troops, 398 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1828
Defending force 62710 troops, 353 guns, 125 vehicles, Assault Value = 950
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 5
Japanese max assault: 1806 - adjusted assault: 260
Allied max defense: 991 - adjusted defense: 2096
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 5)

Japanese ground losses:
4829 casualties reported
Guns lost 82

Allied ground losses:
777 casualties reported
Guns lost 8
Vehicles lost 1

Below, you can see the situation in Northern Australia, to my mind the key theatre in the game at the moment. Two of my divisions have moved off the railway between Cairns and Townsville, and are currently at 25 miles. A weakened KB is providing a distant escort. It is there largely to be a visible presence, and not to do any actual fighting.
Of the carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku are in Japan, refurbishing and repairing resectively. Junyo is at Rabaul doing nothing, I dont dare sending lone carriers around the map like some of the players do here. Soryu and Hiryu are still at Port Moresby repairing the Hiryus floatation damage. She has been osciallating wildly between 25 and 35 damage, but is presently at 23 flt. Maybe, maybe maybe she will be repaired within the next week, and can then head back to Okayama.

[yubari]

I was again nervous opening this turn, as we are in game time just about at the time of the battle of Midway, and as I had done the previous turn at 4am after much drunken merriment and dancing. Looking back at the real Japanese plans for the battle of Midway, it seems that they were done with one hand on the whisky bottle, but that is another story.
Anyway, nothing particularly untoward happened.

The Hiryu finally seems to be OK. Her flooding fell to 15 on the 5th June, and 12 on the 6th June.

The past two days have seen large numbers of transport ships arriving into Cairns harbour, unloading and then heading north again. At no time have any of my ships been attacked by allied bombers, although SS S-39 has been ever present in the narrow coral island road between Thursday Island and Cairns. She was attacked three separate by ASW today, but managed to avoid all of them.

ASW attack at 49,98

Japanese Ships
PG Choan Maru #2
PG Uji
DD Arashi

Allied Ships
SS S-39

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack at 49,100

Japanese Ships
DD Hamakaze
DD Shiranuhi
DD Hatsukaze
DD Kagero
DD Akigumo

Allied Ships
SS S-39

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack at 49,100

Japanese Ships
DD Sazanami

Allied Ships
SS S-39

With the unloading almost complete, and Jims attention hopefully drawn to Australia, it is time for phase two of my grand plan. The Akagi, Kaga, Junyo plus light carrier support will head to Kendari. There is a large amount of fuel and supplies there, ideal for supporting a large fleet. We also have around 10 submarines patrolling the area between Christmas island south of Java, and the map edge. Should Jim send any juicy troop convoys from India, then hopefully we will be able to spot them, and maybe even sink them. All our other carriers will head back to Japan for repair and upgrade.

As more encouragement for Jim to send such a convoy, I have an invasion coming in against Wyndham which should hopefully arrive on the 8th June, and two divisions heading south from Darwin to Alice Springs. Again, it is my express wish to avoid battle with the USN until Jan 1944.

The situation in Burma is looking reasonable. Maybe Moulmein will fall in the next two weeks or so. With Moulmein gone, Rangoon will become untenable, and so Jim may withdraw. But really, I hate the Burma theatre.

Ground combat at Moulmein

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 78329 troops, 270 guns, 80 vehicles, Assault Value = 1684
Defending force 24194 troops, 199 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 621
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3
Japanese max assault: 1038 - adjusted assault: 907
Allied max defense: 536 - adjusted defense: 1365
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese ground losses:
1760 casualties reported
Guns lost 21
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
656 casualties reported
Guns lost 21

[yubari]

We are into a crucial point in the game now, as the allies are resisting the two major Japanese attacks, at Moulmein in the West, and Townsville in the east.

First, Moulmein.
For the first time in two months, the RAF Hurricanes arrive at Rangoon airfield and contest the skies in Southern Burma. They do a fine job of shooting down our lightly escorted dive bombers.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 6
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 12
Ki-51 Sonia x 18

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb x 62

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-51 Sonia: 2 destroyed, 8 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged

But they struggle when they encounter more substantial escorts. Where did the other 50 Hurricanes go?

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 19
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 37
Ki-21-II Sally x 46
Ki-49 Helen x 55

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb: 5 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
246 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

In the afternoon, more dive bombers come in with predictable results.

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 12
Ki-30 Ann x 19

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIb x 43

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-30 Ann: 7 destroyed, 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIb: 3 damaged

The relative AVs look favourable for us.

Ground combat at Moulmein
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 68134 troops, 240 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1572
Defending force 22451 troops, 151 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 579

Allied ground losses:
87 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

For tomorrow, we will have around 130 Sallys and Helens from Rangoon attacking Moulmein. We will also have around 80 Nells from bases in Vietnam attacking. Additionally, some 70 Zeroes will sweep Moulmein from Rahaeng, and around 60 Oscars will provide LRCAP over the hex. Finally, our troops there will launcha deliberate attack. Will the Hurricanes retreat?


Townsville. Repeated allied attacks come in throughout the day. We have no CAP there, but the AA performs creditably.

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 7
Beaufort V-IX x 3
B-26B Marauder x 16

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort V-IX: 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 9 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
51 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet

Day Air attack on 16th Division, at 46,105
Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 7
Beaufort V-IX x 3
B-26B Marauder x 12

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort V-IX: 3 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
62 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x B-26B Marauder bombing at 6000 feet

Day Air attack on 16th Division, at 46,105
Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 21
B-25C Mitchell x 12

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
70 casualties reported

Our deliberate attack there runs into a brick wall.

Ground combat at Townsville

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 98432 troops, 385 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2217
Defending force 61852 troops, 349 guns, 125 vehicles, Assault Value = 950
Japanese max assault: 999 - adjusted assault: 262
Allied max defense: 995 - adjusted defense: 1958
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 6)

Japanese ground losses:
2760 casualties reported
Guns lost 32

Allied ground losses:
1055 casualties reported
Guns lost 12
Vehicles lost 3

With still more convoys coming into Cairns, we cannot afford to provide LRCAP over Townsville yet. We will send one squadron of Helens to bomb Charter Towers airfield, the location of most of the enemy bombers, more as an irritation than an actual serious attack.

Our invasion of Wyndham went all wrong, as our troop convoy was one hex too far away, resulting in our bobmardment convoy going in on its own. Our ships will retreat again, as it seems likely that Dauntlesses will be at Wyndham tomorrow, and we shall maybe send it to attack again in about four days time.

Finally, Hiryu completed flooding repairs at Port Moresby, and is at 61 systems damage. She will head to Tokyo and will likely be out of action until 1943.

[yubari]

It`s an important stage of the war, so I will try to do daily reports for the foreseeable future.
At Moulmein, the British Hurricanes dissappeared, presumably to Mandalay. Our sweep was left floundering at thin air.

Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 30,34
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 29
A6M3 Zero x 22
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 26

Afterwards, our main bomber force arrives from Rangoon.

Day Air attack on 2nd Burma Brigade, at 30,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 21
Ki-21-II Sally x 60
Ki-49 Helen x 63

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
188 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x Ki-49 Helen bombing at 6000 feet

Later come the Nells from Kompong Som. Who forgot to send the escort? A whole Zero squadron was set to escort.

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 53

No Japanese losses

Allied ground losses:
112 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Aircraft Attacking:
17 x G3M Nell bombing at 6000 feet

Our deliberate attack takes the fortifications down to 2. We`re deliberately attacking again tomorrow. Surely the allied air force will try to intervene.

Ground combat at Moulmein
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 76356 troops, 249 guns, 77 vehicles, Assault Value = 1587
Defending force 21841 troops, 134 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 567
Japanese max assault: 1303 - adjusted assault: 694
Allied max defense: 432 - adjusted defense: 439
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 3)
Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 2

Japanese ground losses:
1311 casualties reported
Guns lost 13

Allied ground losses:
656 casualties reported
Guns lost 23

At Townsville, the enemy launches two small attacks during the day. Here is the first.

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 11
B-25C Mitchell x 6

Allied aircraft losses
Hudson I: 3 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 damaged

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet.

Our brave Helens go in against Charters Tower, and manage to destroy six planes (3 B-25s and 3 Kittyhawk I`s) on the ground. We have set three Zero squadrons to LRCAP over Townsville the next day, in an attempt to bag some 2E bombers.

Here is the bombardment attack, Not very impressive.

Ground combat at Townsville

Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 32174 troops, 128 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2431
Defending force 60456 troops, 324 guns, 122 vehicles, Assault Value = 934

[yubari]

Three days of triumph for the Imperial Japanese Army. On the 12th Moulmein falls, and four allied brigades are pushed backwards over the river towards Mandalay We get about 150 army points in the intelligence screen. The allies had already started retreating from Rangoon the day before.
On the 13th, around 90 2E and 80 4E bombers come in and flatten the airfield there. We havent even had time to bring in a base force.

At Wyndham, 3900 allied troops from 109th RAN base force surrender at Wyndham to the 65th Brigade, netting us a further 80 army points. Our troops immediately reload, and will retreat back to Soerabaja.

At Townsville, the allies are bringing more and more troops to bear in the area. Fortifications have already risen to level 6, and will probably be at level 7 within a few days. It is obvious that taking the town will require superhuman effort. If I cant manage it, then I will have self-created the worlds largest prison camp. We bombard today with limited effect.

Ground combat at Townsville
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 127747 troops, 467 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 2524
Defending force 61298 troops, 347 guns, 125 vehicles, Assault Value = 946
Allied ground losses:
25 casualties reported

It is time for us to start looking at our long-term options. If we cant take Townsville, then there will be no necessity for Jim to send units from India to Australia via Perth. Indeed, maybe he has no plans to do that at all. With the Shokaku and Zuikaku safely in Okayama with 5 and 10 sys damage respectively and upgrades due at the start of July, a large number of unoccupied units in Tokyo, and more airpower than we can use in or frontline bases , maybe it is time to start a small diversion in the Aleutians...........

[yubari]

Well, my determination to do daily reports didnt last long!

If we look at Moulmein, the Allied troops have retreated at high speed down the jungle railway for a presumed stand at Mandalay. This will be a very tough city to take, and I am thinking about not even trying to. Anyway, Japanese tanks should enter Rangoon tomorrow.

On the 16th, the American SS Seal put a torpedo into the BB Ise. The damage done was minimal, System damage increased a couple of percent to 15. What was bad was that the location of the CVL Zuiho was given away. This, and the lack of any convoys heading from India to Australia will force us to change plans. More details later.

At Townsville, the Allied forces are holding their own, there are level 6 forts there. Here is todays combat report.

Ground combat at Townsville
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 125086 troops, 432 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2383
Defending force 53273 troops, 292 guns, 271 vehicles, Assault Value = 987

Allied ground losses:
140 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

We have two more divisions, three tank regiments, and a lot of artillery at Cairns heading south for the battle.

Our future plans.
We will land at Wyndham and Broome on the north coast of Australia at about the 2nd of July. Zuiho will be shown to provide air cover. The Kaga, Akagi, Junyo, Soryu and Ryujo will strike against a major East coast Indian port a couple of days later, and then a couple of days later still, troops will land at Port Blair. In early July, we will land on two or three of the Western Aleutians islands. Recon is now underway to check that they are empty. Finally, in late July, the Shokaku, Zuikaku and Hiyo (due to arrive in about 30 days, under accelerated production) will search the northern pacific for targets of opportunity. After that, the Kaga, Akagi and Soryu will head back to Japan for repairs and upgrading, and will likely be unavaiable until the end of the year. Of course, a reappearance of the US Pacific fleet, which I now imagine to be on the West Coast now would change that schedule.

At Efate, the Americans are landing troops and will start base building. With Lunga reaching level 4 airfield status, the frontlines in the Pacific are gradually edging closer.

[yubari]

Three quiet days in the Pacific war, the main area of interest at the moment is the submarine war. The allies have been very aggressive for the past couple of months, with submarines in most of my major base hexes. This pays dividends on the 19th, as SS Grampus torpedoes AK Nansen Maru at Saipan in the morning. Launches a second attack later on in the morning, and then in the afternoon torpedoes PC Kyo Maru no.8. Its the first time I have ever seen a sub launch three attacks in one day. It also causes problems, such as when SS Trigger is hit by a land-based Val at Rabaul.

On the 20th, PC Shonan Maru #15 hits SS S-47 with a depth charge at Shortlands, and SS Seal torpedoes AO Toho Maru at Kendari. Toho Maru is one of the original Pearl Harbour fleet oilers, and has been running around following the KB the whole war so far. She is set on fire (49), but should survive at the large port at Kendari.

Preparation for our summer offensives continues. Base forces for the three Aleutian Islands are loaded up at Tokyo. All three bases appear to be empty. We note however that the island of Umak (sp?) has recently been built up to a level 1 airfield. Troops for the landings in Northern Australia are loading at Soerabaja. Troops to land at Port Blair are also loaded, and approaching Singapore. The KB waits fully fuelled at Kendari, and will set sail in a day or 2.

At Townsville, our newly arrived artillery pieces launch what appears to be a devastating bombardment. With all those allied guns there, why are they not firing back?

Ground combat at Townsville
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 139844 troops, 596 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3009
Defending force 68622 troops, 409 guns, 277 vehicles, Assault Value = 1341

Allied ground losses:
811 casualties reported
Guns lost 21
Vehicles lost 3

The Silent Menace, SS Grampus.

[yubari]

The past two days have seen more allied troops arriving at Townsville. 2 Australian AIF divisions are now present, and the allied assault value has correspondingly increased.

Ground combat at Townsville
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 145527 troops, 694 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 3562
Defending force 87722 troops, 530 guns, 279 vehicles, Assault Value = 1677

Allied ground losses:
522 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Those troops are now behind level 7 forts, and so it seems unlikely that Townsville will fall. While my troops are in a reasonable situation at the moment, they will need to be evacuated at some time in the next two or three months, or else they will become trapped and at the mercy of allied heavy bombers. I am looking to evacuate them sometime in September, with the whole KB providing support. With a level 5 and a level 7 airfield within 4 hexes of Cairns harbour, this will certainly be a dangerous operation.

In Burma, the allies have completely abandoned the south of the country, up to Mandalay, and a number of large resource areas fall under our control. Rangoon comes under heavy air attack on the 22nd, 70 B-17s attacking the airfield there.

The allied unlimited sub warfare continues. On the 21st, SS Sailfish torpedoes TK Nisshin Maru #2 at Balikpapan, and on the 22nd, SS S-38 torpedoes AP Shofuku Maru near Cairns, IIRC, the sixth ship that she has torpedoed. The AP is heavily damaged and is sure to sink next turn. The convoy she was sailing in had been delivering a headquarters unit to Cairns, but the convoy turns back as the situation at Townsville is developing not necessarily to Japanese advantage. Submarines are now in the base hexes of all out major resource and oil producing bases, and even with experienced bombers searching and dedicated ASW groups, we are able to hit them only rarely.

Here is the Japanese industrial base, production (stockpile). Reasonably healthy at the moment.

Supply 3348356, Fuel 3335681, Resources 16678 (1205148), Oil 2696 (3156490), Heavy Industry 12988 (139900)
Points Japan 16285, Allies 5775

[yubari]

On the surface, there is not much going on in the game, but behind the scenes, Japanese units are moving into position to conduct our final offensive of the war.

Only one major action of note has happened over the last three days. On the 23rd, a large Australian bomber force attacked Townsville. 7 Kittyhawks were show down, and 4 allied bombers, Hudsons and B-26s were lost to flak. For the Japanese, 3 Zeroes and pilots were destroyed. Experience remains a healthy mid-70s for the fighters.

At Okayama, the Shokaku and Zuikaku are at 2 and 3 systems damage respectively, and are ready to receive a healthy AA upgrade as soon as July starts. As soon as that is done, they will race into position ready to attack in the Aleutians. Three base forces are loaded on transports to land at the three eastern most islands of the Aleutians. All three appear to be empty.

Troops to attack Broome and Derby are loaded, and are currently lurking in the islands of the DEI. A baby KB consisting of Zuiho, Taiyo and Hosho, acombined total of 70 planes will provide air support. Recon suggests that there are only base forces at those two bases, both have just one unit.

We have a brigade and a tank regiment loaded on transports ready to land at Port Blair in the Indian Ocean. In support we apparently only have a cruiser task force. However, 600 miles or so behind will be the Kaga, Akagi, Soryu, Junyo and Ryujo, with a total of some 350 planes. With the landings simultaneously going on in Northern Australia and the Aleutians, will the Royal Navy fall for the bait and come in to attack?

[yubari]

We score a great success today, as a deliberate attack against Tennant Creek forces the Australian 1st Cavalry Division, which caused us so many problems at Darwin, and other minor units to retreat. This is a most surprising result, and dramatically opens up the Northeastern Australian front, as we can now paradrop units into Cloncurry, a base which is connected by rail to Charters Towers. We are reconning this turn to ensure that the base is empty, but hopefully we can drop on the 28th.

Ground combat at Tennant Creek

Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 43820 troops, 212 guns, 6 vehicles, Assault Value = 983
Defending force 12888 troops, 104 guns, 8 vehicles, Assault Value = 230
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese max assault: 852 - adjusted assault: 432
Allied max defense: 217 - adjusted defense: 105
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Tennant Creek base !!!

Japanese ground losses:
676 casualties reported
Guns lost 30
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
480 casualties reported
Guns lost 23

As Alice Springs is most likely well fortified, I probably will not move into the hex itself just yet. We know that there are a large number of Hudsons operating there, and these may well upgrade soon.

Elsewhere, we launch a small attack against Charters Towers airfield and destroy 3 planes on the ground. We shall keep this up for the foreseeable future. If and when Cairns airfield reaches level 6, more bombers will be brought into the area.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 42
Ki-49 Helen x 8
Ki-46-II Dinah x 2

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 damaged
Ki-49 Helen: 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 2 destroyed, 11 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 1 destroyed

PC Shumshu launches many Depth Charges against SS Porpoise, and gets one hit. The sub will probably survive. SS KXVII launches at and misses a troop transport at Singapore, merely refuelling before it heads to Port Blair, so the allies should now be aware that something is going on.

The fall of Tennant Creek gets me starting to think about Australia again. I have over 3000 political points, enough to "purchase" 2 divisions from Manchuria. Maybe a landing against Perth or Geraldtown is in order? With a large number of troops at Java, I could get at least 2000 AVs there. Another alternative would be to land those divisions at Darwin, and then drive against Alice Springs with 3000 AVs. So many options, and so little time until the allies start to get really strong.

We are roughly 10 days away from our Indian Ocean adventure, and Colombo seems to have some tasty targets.

[yubari]

The 27th was a quiet day. The most notable event being the expansion of airfields at Iwo Jima and Tarawa. An allied sub is spotted 2 hexes south of Milne Bay, and the elite group of 4 APD ships is sent to interdict.

On the 28th, the ASW ships encounter the ships, SS S-39 and APD 32 hits it with with three depth charges. It is the second sub sunk by APD 32. The Port Blair invasion is passing through the Straits of Malacca, and is spotted by a British sub. At about 15 hexes from Port Blair, it is roughly 5 days from landing.

There turn out to be 2 units based at Cloncurry, so it appears that a paradrop is out of the question. Drat. Elsewhere, Efate expands to a level 2 airfield.

Just a couple of days away from the invasions and I am starting to get cold feet about the idea. My two diversionary forces are fairly weak, and both could be defeated should Jim be able to get his carrier forces into position in time. Aditionally, Broome is a level four airfield, and could quickly stage 100 bombers to cripple my two invading task forces. Maybe I should just turn around.

Here is an update of the status of the Japanese carriers. Shokaku and Zuikaku are set to upgrade. Hiryu is returning to Okayama at slow speed. It should be back in about 10 days. The carriers of task force 51 are providing escort to the invasion of Northern Australia. Finally, TF 16 and TF 2 are heading through the Straits of Malacca, as yet undetected.

[yubari]

A very nerve-racking day, as I have 6 task forces all motoring towards their respective targets. The three in the Aleutians are all so far unspotted, and are around three days sailing from their respective targets.

The TF heading towards Derby is so far unspotted, and is 5 hexes away. She should be arriving in two days time. The TF heading towards Wyndham is 6 hexes away, and has been spotted. She was attacked in the morning.

Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 12

No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Hakone Maru
AP Baikal Maru
DD Fuyo
AP Takachiho Maru, Bomb hits 1

The bomb did little damage.

The invasion force for Port Blair is 9 hexes away, and should arrive in three days time. She is followed by a cruiser force as yet undetected. The KB is following a couple of hexes away in silent mode, with all naval search planes on deck.

At Cairns, a supply convoy is attacked by Allied bombers from Charters Towers, the first time that they have risked such an attack. A heavy air battle follows.

Japanese aircraft
A6M2-N Rufe x 10
A6M2 Zero x 51

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 36
Beaufort V-IX x 9
B-26B Marauder x 35

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2-N Rufe: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed, 7 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 11 destroyed, 14 damaged
Beaufort V-IX: 1 damaged
B-26B Marauder: 10 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Nansin Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AK Taibun Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Norway Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
AK Tone Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Minekaze
(other ships cut).

Tone Maru is crippled and will sink tomorrow probably, but the other ships all have fighting chances of returning to Port Moresby. More fighters are put on CAP for tomorrow, and the TF will stay in harbour.
For the allies, 11 fighters and 5 of the bombers didnt return home, and of our fighters, only one of the pilots was actually lost, and he was the Rufe pilot, but it is a worrying sign of the future of the Cairns Salient. Jim predicted a few weeks ago that it would become increasingly hard to supply.

[yubari]

The invasions have happened without major problems so far.

Aleutians.

Amchitka was invaded on the 30th June and fell on the 1st July. Landings happened at Kiska and Attu today, and both islands are empty. They will fall tomorrow. There is no sign as yet of any allied shipping in the area. We have 4 spotter submarines patrolling roughly 20 hexes ahead in the direction of the US West Coast.

Northern Australia.

Troops landed at Derby on the 30th under heavy fire from base force coastal guns. DD Sanae is hit by shells but isnt heavily damaged. Two PGs and four transport ships also come under fire, but none are heavily damaged. None of these ships should sink. Somehow, the base force then retreats, seemingly it had been firing at a position of 58 miles from the coast. Derby falls on the 1st of July. At Broome, Japanese troops, a brigade and a tank regiment have landed without loss so far. A deliberate attack will happen tomorrow. A small unit of Hudsons at the base has caused minor problems. AP Miike Maru was hit by a bomb, and AP Baikal Maru was hit by two, but actual damage done was small.

Port Blair.
The map below shows the situation. Our invasion TF has been spotted multiple times, and is now three hexes away, ready to land next turn. The KB is so far unspotted I think, and is ready to move at full speed to the west of the Andamans to strike at any allied shipping attempting to attack the Port Blair invasion force. However, bad weather has hit the area. The entire area is covered in Thunderstorms today. Darned weather system.

Elsewhere, I-30 was hit eight times by depth charges near Rockhampton, one of them directly. She has a small chance of survival, but Milne Bay is a long way to safety. Shokaku and Zuikaku upgraded as planned, and will move to Tokyo. Tojos began production today. Currently 108 can be produced per month.

The situation in India.