Dixie (J) vs Yava (A) This AAR has no name...

[USSAmerica]

I like your plans for the 52nd at Canton Island.  [;)]

[Dixie]

ORIGINAL: USS America

I like your plans for the 52nd at Canton Island. [;)]

Time will tell if it works out, but I suspect it will. Anything that is prepping for Canton Is can't be used to attack my other bases. [8D]

BTW, Yava hasn't actually done anything to warrant the oh dear comments, but I bet he will at some point and until then he's (hopefully) going to keep questioning everything. Paranoia is a good weapon [:D] Plus, if he cocks up soon I'll look like a genius for spotting it coming [:D][:D][:D][;)]

[USSAmerica]

[:D]

[goodboyladdie]

I think this AAR needs a name! You are just too creative to be able to get away without one. [:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-] (Just returning some of the wagged fingers you gave me in case you need them...)

[Dixie]

14th January 1942

THE BURMA FRONT
Again things were fairly quiet, but it looks as though it will soon be heating up. American fighters launched a sweep over Rangoon, but the skies were empty Japanese fighters. The airfield at Tavoy is now packed with transport aircraft, the plan is to air transport the 1st Parachute Rgt to Moulmein and cut off the retreat of the Allied units moving northwards. The divebombers at Tavoy didn't fly today as the Brits had moved from the area they had been ordered to target, would a little initiative really hurt that much?


MALAYA & SINGAPORE
It was a succesful day here, as the last British garrison in Northern Malaya at Taiping fell to the 5th Division. Two base forces, an Indian anti-aircraft regiment and two Indian brigades surrenderd, resulting in the capture of almost 10,000 troops. The 5th Div is now moving south to Kuala Lumpur to push the British out of the area. Forces are also continuing to gather for the future assault on Singapore. The bomber units based in Northern Malaya will be resting up for a few days before resuming their assault on British forces.
The last major British bastion outside Singapore is now at Malacca where 9 seperate British formations have been identified, efforts will be made to reduce the effectiveness of the forces here before 5th Division, 4th Mixed Rgt and any other supporting units move in. There are still RAF Blenheim units left in Singapore which have been carrying out almost daily anti-shipping strikes, luckily they have been ineffective at best.


DUTCH EAST INDIES
SUMATRA
Today was a busy 24 hours for the Palembang based bomber units. Most of their efforts were directed against Batavia (see below), but G1/Kanoya Daitai also had a succesful day when they intercepted a Dutch convoy resulting in two troop ships were torpedoed and later sank.


JAVA
Apart from the major air-raid on Batavia which destroyed half a dozen aircraft there was nothing happening here. The Dutch air force is still a no-show, perhaps they are saving strength for the defence of Java? Haruna and her task force are sailing from Indo-China to bombard Batavia again.

BORNEO
All quiet here as well. Kongo is down to 11 flt level, if things go well she'll be moving to safer waters tomorrow and then onto the Home Islands. The light carrier Shoho is off the Eastern end of the island moving towards the Banda Sea where she will engage in strike operations against Dutch positions.


NEW GUINEA & THE SOLOMONS
The Buna invasion will commence landing operations tomorrow morning. Port Moresby was attacked by bombers from Rabaul but the attack was ineffective, but Rabaul is now up to level 4. The expansion will allow the operation of anti-shipping strikes should Yava try and reinforce New Guinea. The Australian garrison at Kavieng was finally defeated today, it's not many points but every little helps.
The Port Moresby invasion force is currently to the NW of the Marianas chain, heading to Truk for final preoperations.

CENTRAL & SOUTH PACIFIC
Not much happening here. I-17 sent it's aircraft to recon Pago Pago and although the results may be inaccurate there would appear to be only 1,000 or so Allied troops holding the island. I-17 is moving north to recon Canton Island.
The first troop convoy for the Fiji operation has left Japan, it will call in at Truk and await the rest of the invasion armada (should be 2-3 days behind) and pick up a heavier escort of surface combat vessels and the KB. 52nd Division has also been reassigned to South East fleet and will board transports as soon as there is enough lift capacity available.


CHINA AND HONG KONG
The deliberate attack at Hong Kong failed to achieve anything today, so further attacks are curently on hold whilst engineers and 2nd Division are moved in to assist. The Chinese forces at Canton took anothe rheavy beating, I'm not sure how much more Yava is willing to subject them to. I have approx a 3:1 difference in AV here, still not enough to shift the CHinese out though....

[Dixie]

BURMA Nothing much happening in the way of offensive operations from either side really, American fighters again made a sweep over Rangoon. Most of the 1st Parachute Rgt are now in position at Moulmein, the rest will be joining them this turn. Once that airlift is finished a base force will be flown into Rangoon followed by some fighters to knock down some P-40s

MALAYA & SINGAPORE Quiet here today as well, more ground forces moving about in preperation for future operations.

DUTCH EAST INDIES

SUMATRA The recon overflights are continuing over the Dutch positions, but that was the extent of the operations around the island for today. A small invasion force has been assembled at Samah to land at Toboali at the southern tip of Bangka island. This base has a large amount of resources and will be an excellent addition to the Japanese property portfolio...
JAVA Generally quiet here as well. A fighter sweep over Batavia resulting in Army and Navy pilots battling to engage a solitary Brewster fighter, with several pilots from both sides claiming they had shot the unfortunate Dutchman down.
BORNEO More of the same here, no action. The port at Kuching is still dominated by the battleship Kongo, but a transport is now tied up alongside the repair ship in the harbour. Yamabiko Maru will be remaining here for the rest of the DEI campaign to aid damaged ships before they return to the repair yards.
CELEBES Finally, some action. Torpedo boats sortied from Dutch territory to attack the landing forces at Makassar, but instead they unexpectedly ran into the surface forces assigned to protect the transports. In a series of sharp skirmishes five torpedo boats were sunk without any damage to the IJN. Of particular note was the performance of Nowaki, with the destroyer blasting apart TM-15 with 27 shells. The ground forces, no doubt boosted by the performance of the naval forces easily stormed through the Dutch positions, although Dutch sappers ensured the airfield and docks will need some repairs before they are usable again. A base force is en route from Palau to Makassar, with another heading for Kendari to make that base operational. With most of Celebes secured I now have 6-7 SNLF/NLF units available to capture Timor and the rest of the southern end of the DEI. A particular target will be Koepang, where RAAF Hudsons are operating, taking this base will also cut the escape route for the shorter ranged Allied aircraft when they try to flee from Java if they haven't already packed up and left...



NEW GUINEA & THE SOLOMONS
NEW GUINEA My forces are now ashore at Buna. There has been no interference from any Allied forces anywhere in the region. The lack of base forces in this area is a potentially crippling blow, luckily Yava does not seem to be making a fight for the area yet. Various support vessels are being moved into the region currently. In addition to three sub-tenders and a repair ship at Truk, there are four ammunition ships, an oiler and two repair ships 5 days out of Truk, and two repair ships at Saipan aiding the Kuma. There is another oiler on it’s way from Kwajelain and more coming from Japan as well as two destroyer tenders and seaplane tenders leaving Japan.
THE SOLOMONS Quiet in this region. Buin has been built up to a lvl 1 airfield but lacks the support to operate from here at the moment.

PHILLIPINES The inevitable not much here again. My lack of action here does mean that Yava will be well entrenched when I do finally come after him, but he should also be low on supplies.

CHINA & HONG KONG On the mainland it was the usual air attacks around Canton blasting the Chinese forces. Four divisions under the command of 13th Army have managed to move into position west of Canton and are planning to attack the Chinese forces guarding the road westwards. There were more forces put ashore at Hong Kong today, this time 21st Engineer Rgt. The coastal defences took a toll of the fleet though, with three MSW sunk and most of the rest of the fleet damaged. Yava is continuing to burn his supplies in Hong Kong with bombardment attacks, it’ll be interesting to see how much longer he can hold on here…

CENTRAL PACIFIC Not too much happening around here. P3/Yokohama Chutai have taken delivery of the brand new H8K flying boat. This aircraft almost has enough range to recon the area around Fiji from their base at Jaluit in the Southern Marshalls. It may be worthwhile moving a small amount of aviation support into the forward bases in the Gilberts which should allow me enough range to snoop on the region around Fiji.

[Dixie]

[align=center]16th January 1942
[/align]

BURMA FRONT
Still not much happening here. With the 1st Para Rgt in place the transports at Moulmein have now been assigned to move a base force into Rangoon. The Moulmein based divebombers were again in action attacking nearby British forces.


MALAYA & SINGAPORE
The only action in Malaya took place at Mersing where 18th Div achieved a 1:1 result. Enough forces have been gathered at Kuala Lumpur to mount an attack this turn.


DUTCH EAST INDIES
SUMATRA
Nothing happening here today. Forces are still being shipped in from elsewhere in order to push the Dutch forces back from the Palembang area.

JAVA
With Batavia airfield effectively out of action for the time being, the bombing effort has been assigned new targets. The bombers based at Palembang have been ordered to bomb the troops around Batavia, with a daitai of G4M based on Borneo assigned to bomb the port facilities. Three attacks developed over Batavia, resulting in heavy casualties and damage to several ships in port. There was still no real resistance against the raids, once again a solitary Brewster was shot down by the escorting fighters.
Troop convoys are still inbound, are were subjected to more ineffective attacks from Java based aircraft with only a single bomb hit suffered.

BORNEO
All quiet again here. 48th Division are all ashore now and marching on Samarinda. The light carrier Shoho is around the Southern Borneo coastline at the moment, although decent targets will probably be in short supply her presence will hopefully discourage any major efforts against the newly captured bases at Makassar.

CELEBES
With the major bases secured efforts here are being directed into mopping up the remaining Dutch resistance. Backup forces from the Makassar invasion are instead being ordered to land further up the coast at the small town of Pinrang. From here they will marcg back toward Makassar and surround the former defenders fleeing the base.


NEW GUINEA & THE SOLOMONS
Buna was captured easily by 5th NLF, opening (as far as the Allies are concerned) a potential overland route to Port Moresby, efforts will be made to convince Yava that this will be a major thrust towards PM.
The Lunga invasion is nearing it's destination with no indication that they have been spotted yet.


CENTRAL PACIFIC
Quiet around here again. Chitose has been ordered to move to a forward base to provide air search capability over the SOuthern Pacific.

[Dixie]

[align=center]17th to 21st January 1941
[/align]
This is a fairly large update, as I've been a bit too busy to update the AAR each day recently. If I can find the time then there will be maps added to better illustrate what has happened and where.

BURMA
With Rangoon secured, 124th IJA Base Force has been flown into the area. Shortly afterwards Yamada Daitai (Zeros) and 81st Rec. Chutai (Dinahs) moved in. Offensive fighter operations began on the 21st against AVG fighters over Mandalay, another AVG unit has been flying from Akyab performing missions against Rangoon.
The last fleeing survivors from the British defence of Tavoy were wiped out south of Moulemin by the 1st Para Rgt during this period, leaving the southern overland route into Rangoon free from Allied activity. I am considering another potential airborne drop against British positions in Burma, the possible candidates are either Meiktila for the resources there, or Lashio in order to close off the Burma road into China.

MALAYA & SINGAPORE
The Indian Bde that had been beseiging Kula Lumpur was easily pushed back on the 17th Jan, they retreated to Malacca where almost 20,000 troops are now waiting. Against this force I have 5th Div, 4th Mixed Rgt, 15th & 16th Naval Gd units, 14th Tank Rgt and 23rd Engineer Rgt plus around 180 bombers in Northern Malaya. Air operations are being targetted against the Brits now that the crews have rested for a few days.
The other British position left on the peninsula also fell on the 17th when Mersing was captured by 18th Division, there were two British units north of Mersing when the base fell, one has since marched into the base and should be destroyed tomorrow by my attack. The other unit will be destroyed by 2nd Para if the Brits do not also move into Mersing.
There hasn't been much action against Singapore, so I fully expect Yava to have been building up the forts here. Whilst this will cause a few issues when the attack comes, it also means his supplies will be low as he shares supplies between building work and feeding 14 units.


THE DUTCH EAST INDIES
SUMATRA
Reinforcements have been moved into Palembang and will attempt an attack against the Dutch units on the outskirts of the base.
The port here is slowly filling with damaged ships sheltering from the Allied submarine patrols in the area. British and Dutch subs have been taking a steady toll of my shipping, striking with impunity whilst the escorts do bugger all....

JAVA
More units have continued to flow into the northern beachhead in preparation for the march to Batavia. The initial move will consist of 2 divisions plus a brigade and supporting artillery units, pretty much all of the combat units at Merak. As the only route into Merak is from Batavia I feel secure enough to do this.
The problem now is that I cannot see where reinforcements can easily be pulled from. Whilst there are several units scattered around the DEI, particularly Celebes, the problem is shipping them to Java. With most of the fleet either damaged or assigned to support operations in the South Pacific opening a second beachhead on Java is too risky, which means everything has to be moved in via Merak at the moment.

BORNEO
This area recently saw the first major loss of a Japanese warship. Due to my own stupidity and inattention Shoho was moved too far west. As a result she ended up getting smashed up by Allied bombs over two days. With no repair ships or decent ports nearby I took the decision to scuttle her. Luckily most of the air groups were saved, these pilots and machines are almost full sized units (12 Zero piots and 12 Kate pilots), but the game has decided they are just fragments. As such they are going to be used to repace future losses in the KB.
In happier news, Samarinda was seized by 48th Division. The division will be heading to Java in the next week or so, but after the debacle with Shoho they will be heading around Borneo's northern coastline to get there....

CELEBES
There has not been much action in this area since the capture of Makassar.


NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLOMONS
Action in New Guinea will soon flare up again. The Port Moresby invasion force is currently around 400 miles from the Admiralty Islands, and a force destined for Milne Bay is moving to pick up supplies at Truk before heading to their destination.
South Seas Detachment will be moving from their current base into the Solomons chain to protect against an Allied counter-attack.
Lunga was easily captured, and work has begun on building an airfield here. Further units are being moved from Trul to provide aviation support. The KB is still lurking east of the Solomons and will remain in the region for a few days after the transports have left Lunga.


CENTRAL PACIFIC
There has been a steady, but slow reshuffling of unit fragments around here in readiness for future operations.


CHINA
Things are still at a stalemate in the country. There are 4 divisions at Yenan, with two more heading there, these forces could be just enough to tip the balance in my favour, although I doubt it. The Chinese force that had been surrounding Tatung has been pushed back and the base is now safe again.
The main area of action is still centered around Canton/Hong Kong. Heavy casualties are still being inflicted on Yava's forces in Canton but he is still hanging on. Meanwhile the effort to cram as much AV as possible into HK is continuing. Two divisions are expected soon, they are curently north of Formosa.

[Dixie]

[align=center]22nd-24th January 1941
[/align]
BURMA FRONT
Things have been fairly low-key around here.  Ongoing operations in the Dutch East Indies mean reinforcements are thin on the ground.  Several fighter sweeps have been flown from Rangoon against Allied bases around Mandalay.  During most of these missions my fighters have engaged the AVG 2nd Sqn, losses have been heavily stacked against the American mercenaries with an average kill ratio approaching 5:1 in my favour.
A recent development is the appearance of B-17 raids over Rangoon, a raid yesterday caused moderate damage to the runway at Rangoon, so the fighter sweeps have been reassigned to defensive patrols for a couple of days.


MALAYA & SINGAPORE
After three days (!) of fighting the Indian brigade that moved into Mersing was destroyed.  This leaves (IIRC) a base force to the NE of Mersing.  2nd Para Rgt are still moving south to engage them.  I feel that the forces at Kuala Lumpur are now rested enough to move out and attack the British stronghold at Malacca, whilst they are moving the base will be subjected to heavy aerial attacks.
Another base force and construction units are being moved from Indo-China to the Malay peninsula.  They will set up base at Mersing for the IJA dive-bombers currently on the Burmese border.  These bombers will then start the bombing campaign against Singapore.


DUTCH EAST INDIES
Things have been progressing slowly but steadily throughout the region.  There has not been much action against Allied forces, most of my efforts have been directed into consolidating the gains made so far and shuffling support units and supplies around, the only new gain has been the base at Toboali.  Allied submarines are a nuisance in the region at the moment, with Dutch subs in particular taking a steady toll on shipping.  Why are my ASW ships so rubbish, what I'd give for a flotilla of RN destroyers, or even USN flush-deckers...

SUMATRA
The Dutch forces outside Palembang were finally pushed back from the outskirts of the town.  With the base now secure oil production can resume, although I feel it's too risky to send tankers through at the moment.

JAVA
The forces on the Merak beachhead are now moving out to Batavia, recent days have seen a restart of the bombing against the airfield here to burn up supplies and deny the airfield as a usable base.  For the next few days the efforts are going to be directed against ground forces in the area.

THE REST OF THE DEI
Not much has been going on here.  Kendari is now usable and is home to G4M bombers and H6K seaplanes.  There are a few Allied TFs scattered around the southern DEI which should be easy pickings.  It will also (I hope) sink something valuable and kill off any hope of naval actions that Yava might have...


NEW GUINEA & THE SOLOMONS
More of the same around here really, not much action.  The raids against Port Moresby have continued but have cause little material damage.  The PM invasion force is now off the coast of the Admiralty Islands so there should be something happening soon.
The forces earmarked for the South Pacific operations are nearing Truk where they will replenish and pick up the heavy escort forces.  The KB is returning from the Guadalcanal support and will refuel and set sail for their next destination... 

[Dixie]

[center]25th January 1942[/center]


THE BURMA FRONT

Things are again quiet around Burma. A couple of recon flights were flown over Rangoon by RAF Hudsons, but efforts to intercept them failed. The American B-17s didn't show up today, so the Zeros and Oscars remained unsuccesful.


MALAYA & SINGAPORE

It was quiet here as well. The bombers in Northern Malaya decided not to fly. The British base force north of Mersing has marched cross country and is now north of Johore Bharu sitting across the supply lines to the units there. The two armoured regiments at J.B. have been ordered north to shift them.


THE DUTCH EAST INDIES

Air operations are continuing against Dutch positions around Batavia. There was a large raid on troops around the port (13th Australian Bde) which caused a decent amount of casualties. I suspect that Yava has moved other Australian (and possibly Dutch) units into Java from the small islands to the south, whilst this will make taking Java more difficult it should make the rest of the SRA easier to take.


NEW GUINEA & THE SOLOMONS

Things are gathering pace around here. The 1st Port Moresby force is now rounding the tip of New Britain, the 2nd Force is in the Solomon Sea after heading away from New Guinea in an effort to mislead any snooping patrol planes. A bombardment force of 5 battleships is currently between Woodlark Island and Milne Bay heading to PM. The plan is to have them bombard PM twice and then stay in the area as insurance against the Allied navies which may show up. There is a force assigned to take Milne Bay, 127th IJNAF is taking on supplies at Truk in preperation for the move.


CHINA & HONG KONG

There is now around 900 AV in Hong Kong, but putting the units ashore has cost me heavily in transports and MSWs. There are now 20+ transports and half a dozen escort ships (PG & DD) heavily damaged at Canton. For some reason the bombers ordered to attack HK are not taking off. I am going to assign most of the units at Canton to attack HK for a couple of turns, the AA will probably take a toll, but c'est la vie....

[Local Yokel]

ORIGINAL: Dixie

NEW GUINEA & THE SOLOMONS

Things are gathering pace around here. The 1st Port Moresby force is now rounding the tip of New Britain, the 2nd Force is in the Solomon Sea after heading away from New Guinea in an effort to mislead any snooping patrol planes. A bombardment force of 5 battleships is currently between Woodlark Island and Milne Bay heading to PM. The plan is to have them bombard PM twice and then stay in the area as insurance against the Allied navies which may show up. There is a force assigned to take Milne Bay, 127th IJNAF is taking on supplies at Truk in preperation for the move.

If you bombard with battleships they may well expend two-thirds of their main battery ammunition on a single bombardment run. If so there's a good chance that a second run without replenishment will have little effect and merely put the BB's at risk. Using them as bombardment ships is also liable to degrade their capacity to deal with the anticipated surface threat. You might consider splitting the group so you retain a dedicated sea control force with full magazines in the area - if circumstances warrant, you can later assign it a bombardment mission, by which time your 1st bombardment group may have had an opportunity to revictual. Have you a conveniently located ammunition ship you can deploy for this purpose?

The downside to such a split is that one of the resulting TF's will have to be commanded by the captain of one of the ships present, rather than a commander of your choice.

Have you considered the timing of the bombardment? Looks to me as though your nearest invasion group is about 6 days out, whilst the bombardment group may well hit in 2 days' time. He may get 4 days to recover, and perhaps supplement his defending air groups if you haven't shut down Moresby's airfields effectively.

[Dixie]

Taking your inputs on board, the new plan is to carry out a dummy run with the BBs to try and make him move any aircraft out of PM.  The actual bombardment will go in the day before the invasion.  I am not really expecting any involvement from the Allied navies, the distance from Brisbane and the fact Yava does not know where the KB is should limit his aggressiveness in opposing the invasion.  As for the Allied air forces, they have been a no show for a while now, although there is the chance this will change.

There is an ammo ship at Rabaul, and more at Truk. 

Yava knows the invasion is on it's way, and he also (I hope) knows he cannot defeat it so he may not try...

[Dixie]

[align=center]26th January 1942
[/align]

THE BURMA FRONT
It was another quiet day in Burma.  The only 'action' was the recon operations mounted by both sides.  Yava again sent Hudsons to recce Rangoon, whilst a single Dinah overflew Meiktila.


MALAYA AND SINGAPORE
Finally my bombers got off the ground.  Two raids were flown against SSVF Bde (95 bombers) and No.109 RN Base Force (32 bombers).  Casualties, particularly among the SSVF Bde were heavy.  Aside from that, there was nothing happening in country.


THE DUTCH EAST INDIES
Another day, and another sub attack.  Hakozake Maru was sunk by the Dutch sub O-20 NW of Singkawang.  There was a modicum of revenge as the escort vessel Uji hit the sub with a depth charge.  She didn't sink though.
Near Koepang I-22 carried out a surface attack on the unescorted transport Van Imhoff.  With any luck the ship will sink although she has only taken one torpedo.
Palembang based bombers flew against Dutch troops near Batavia (Mobiele Eenheid) causing heavy (160 troops, 5 vehicles) casualties.  Other air action over Java came in the form of a fighter sweep over Surubaya by A6M fighters from Makassar.  Losses were even at one apiece despite my fighters being heavily outnumbered.  The forces over Surubaya were 3x CW-21B, 14x Brewster (RAF + Dutch) and 11x P-40.     


NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLOMONS
All quiet here.  The total lack of Allied air activity continued, and for some reason the usual PM raid from Rabaul did not take off today.  Following the input from Lokel Yokel the bombardment TF has briefly switched it's heading to the east.  Once the invasion forces pass the battleships holding position the bombardment force will swing back towards PM.


SOUTH PACIFIC
Another quiet region as forces begin to build up at Truk.  There is a seaplane tender heading into the region which will probably be based in the Ellice Islands.  I will be using this ship to support operations by H8K aircraft for search operations over the invasion areas.
The Canton Island Force is still stuck in Japan as I am trying to scrape together enough ships to make the long trip in something approaching a reasonable time frame (10 kts min speed).  Whilst the delay is annoying it also gives me a chance to get some heavy combat ships ready for the invasion.  So far the Japan based Mutsu, Atago and Chokai are in decent enough condition to sail, and with any luck Maya will be repaired enough to make it to the invasion.


CHINA AND HONG KONG
Finally, some good news in China.  Hong Kong fell today, after heavy aerial bombardment my troops achieved a 4:1 ratio and finally overran the Brits.  In addition to the points gained the capture has given me a repair yard which might be able to save some of the heavily damaged ships at Canton.  The main decision here is where to send the LCUs, Malaya or Java.  56th Div took a bit of a kicking so they will be staying in HK for a while to rebuild.  Casualties in the other two divisions (2nd and 38th) were lighter so the units will be ready sooner.  A couple of SNLF forces were also quite badly mauled during the landings and assaults.
There were also aerial clashes over Kweilin, the action saw the first use of A6M fighters in China since the start of the war.  As a result the Chinese lost 4 fighters for no return.
Elsewhere in China the stalemate is continuing.  Troops north of Sinyang have become bogged down in fighting (4 days of 1:1 odds) with Chinese forces.  With 9 enemy units in Yenan more reinforcements will likely be needed to oust the Chinese defenders from this city.  The problem is that there aren't really many units left that are available for this.


I will post some maps tomorrow, and any other images that you want to see (assuming anyone is actually reading this [:D])

[USSAmerica]

Reading, enjoying, and looking forward to lots of pretty maps.  [8D]
 
Congratulations on finally taking HK. 

[Dixie]

Here is the latest situation in China.

With Hong Kong captured there is the possibility that Yava will withdraw from Canton. If not then I will move some troops NW of Canton and starve the Chinese forces here instead.
Near to the Wenchow there are two possibilities, either march south and attack Wenchow (2 Chinese units) or march west and attack the city there (5 units IIRC). Currently I am fovouring the Wenchow operation due to the smaller numbers of Chinese troops defening the city.

The road to Kaifeng has two Chinese guerilla units sitting blocking my supplies into the city, so I have sent a division to move them.

North of Hankow fighting is continuing along the Sian road. After four days of fighting I am still on an even footing with Yava's troops. Another day of fighting is scheduled for tomorrow....

[Dixie]

And the southern end of the DEI.

With the major bases on Celebes seized mopping up is now in operation. I have troops moving to attack Dutch forces outside of Makassar and Kendari. The Makassar area force should manage to force the Dutch forces to surrender, but near Kendari I expect the Dutch to retreat further into the jungle where they will starve.
For future operations there are 8 NLF/SNLF units readily available with a few more units scattered around the Amboina and Borneo bases. Currently I am leaning towards an initial attack in the Timor region. I can provide aerial cover in this region from Kendari although it will be a stretch. This has the advantage of being a safe distance from the airfields around Java and will cut off the escape route from the DEI.
There are potential reinforcement air units in the form of G3M units that had been involved in the attacks on Hong Kong. These will be sent to either the SRA or the Philippines, no decision has been reached yet.

[Dixie]

[align=center]27th & 28th January 1942
[/align]
THE BURMA FRONT
Things in Burma have been quiet again for the past few days.  There has been no sign of the Flying Fortresses for a while so I am going to risk sending the Zeros out over Mandalay to swat down more of the AVG.
Also, whilst it's not part of the Burma Front there was a naval action in the Bay of Bengal.  I-160 attacked a British convoy and torpedoed a merchant ship near Diamond Harbour.  In return my sub was hit by a depth charge from one of the escorts and will have to return to (probably) Hong Kong for repairs.


MALAYA AND SINGAPORE
Troops have arrived at Malacca in what should be sufficient numbers to overwhelm the garrison there.  Once Malacca has fallen then preperations will be entirely directed against Singapore.  The aerial campaign against the island fortress will be starting tomorrow led by the IJAAF heavy bombers in the North of Malaya.  The light bombers are still targetted against the Brits sheltering at Malacca.


THE DUTCH EAST INDIES
Japanese troops have arrived in Batavia as well.  The Java Invasion Army arrived near Batavia yesterday and spent today engaged in artillery attacks against the Dutch.  Tomorrow they will attempt an assault on the Dutch base.
Across the rest of the DEI my forces are consolidating, or in the case of several air units moving towards Java.  Makassar and Kendari airbases and ports are both fully operational again, with the airbases in particular demand.  More fighter sweeps have been flown over Java, but the results have been indecisive at best.


NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLOMONS
Not much happening here.  The Port Moresby invasion is 2-3 days out from the beaches.  There has been no Allied air activity over the convoys.  Has Yava withdrawn from NG?  Or have I just been lucky?
Hopefully there will be more to report in a few days.


THE SOUTH PACIFIC
I am still continuing to shuffle my forces around, but Yava has not been sitting back.  A small TF bombarded Baker Island.  Reports (my memory) are sketchy but it is believed that at least one CL was involved.


THINGS HAPPENING THIS TURN
Ground attack on Malacca
Ground attack on Batavia
Air attacks on Singapore
Fighter sweeps against AVG/Mandalay

THINGS HAPPENING IN THE NEXT WEEK
Attack on British forces N of Rangoon
Invasion of Port Moresby
Attack on Wenchow (depends on troops marching speed)

MID-LONG TERM PLANS
Finish taking Sumatra
Attack on Singapore
Capturing Java
Invasion of S.Pacific
Something in China

[Dixie]

[center]29th January 1942[/center]

THE BURMA FRONT
There was action in the skies over Mandalay today. Type 0 fighters from Yamada Daitai engaged fighters from the 1st AVG Sqn. The losses were even with 5 a/c from each side shot down although a damaged Zero was lost on landing.
Troops from Guards Div have reached British positions across the Magwe road and are prepped to attack tomorrow, I don't anticipate much resistance from the single unit in the area.


MALAYA AND SINGAPORE
A good day for the Empire today (the rising sun one, not the Brits...) as the last garrison on the Malayan peninsula capitulated today. 500 British, Indian and Malay troops were killed with 20,000 marching off to the newly constructed [s]PoW camps[/s] Holiday chalets. [;)]
The bombing campaign against Singapore also started today, but the results for the heavy bombers were not too good. 5 bombers were destroyed by AA fire and 32 damaged to some degree. It looks like future missions will have to head in at 15,000' to avoid the worst of the AA, this does not bode well for the divebomber units heading this way [:(]
With the Brits on the peninsula out of the way I can now fully concentrate on the preperations to take Singapore. I do not think that the forces in country will be anywhere near enough to be capable of the task. The options now are:
a) Reinforce the Malayan Army with divisions from Hong Kong
b) Leave Singapore to starve until after the Java campaign
c) Something else I haven't thought of
Any thoughts from the readers on this problem.


THE DUTCH EAST INDIES
Although there was not any headway really made today, there was a good omen. The troops at Batavia attacked the defenders and despite the presence of lvl 4 forts and fatigue the brave troops of Nippon managed to achieve 1:1 odds and reduce the forts down to lvl 3. A mixed rgt is already en route and I have three engineer rgts at Samah which will either head to Java or Singapore depending on the strategic decision.
Elsewhere in the SRA my bombers are scouring the region to find worthwhile targets. A few ships have been spotted near the western tip of Timor, it is possible that the Allies are preparing to defend this island as it is an important base so close to the Northern Australian ports. I have two units of G4M bombers ready to strike against any shipping spotted, or failing that they will fly against the airfield at Koepang.
Forces on Kendari are also being prepped to attack some of the more weakly held islands in the SRA. The first targets will be Maumere and Raba. Further forces are being readied for an invasion of Timor, the plan will involve a direct assault on what I suspect to be the main base at Koepang.


NEW GUINEA AND THE SOLOMONS
The South Seas Det will be ashore tomorrow near Port Moresby with the 2nd wave expected the following day. The initial landing will be covered by the battleship force's bombardment. There has still been no sign of Allied ships in the region, although the sub screens around the approaches to NG will be staying on station.
The daily air raids have achieved nothing, despite the lack of RAAF fighter activity. I am expecting some sort of Allied air activity tomorrow after the invasion fleet was spotted by an American submarine during the night. Fighters will be moved into Lae to provide LRCAP over the fleets in case of air attack.
In the Solomons chain a group of H6K seaplanes has been moved to Buin, from here I can provide search cover almost as far as the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. Upgrading this unit to H8K aircraft is a priority, they should have their new aircraft by the end of the month. Once there is a base force on Guadalcanal the search planes will move south to Lunga.


CHINA
Chinese forces have finally withdrawn from Canton and are in the open country north of the city. Hopefully the fact they are in the open now will mean that tomorrow's airstrikes will be more effective
Everywhere else things are as they were before with neither side able to gain the upper hand anywhere.

[rtrapasso]

With the Brits on the peninsula out of the way I can now fully concentrate on the preperations to take Singapore. I do not think that the forces in country will be anywhere near enough to be capable of the task. The options now are:
a) Reinforce the Malayan Army with divisions from Hong Kong
b) Leave Singapore to starve until after the Java campaign
c) Something else I haven't thought of
Any thoughts from the readers on this problem.

It depends how many units you have (and AV strength) and how many units Yava has (and their AV), as well as his supplies... any numbers available?

If you just let them sit there, it will be a loooonnngg time before they starve...

[Dixie]

IIRC there are now 15 units in SIngapore after a base force broke through to get into the fortress.  I am unsure how many troops are actually there, but I'll get an answer after I see the next turn.  They haven't been bothered too much by air raids yet but a few of the units escaped from fighting elsewhere and are not at full strength.

Actually in Malaya I have 2 Divisions, 3 Tank Rgt, 1 Mixed Rgt, 2 Nav Gd Units, 1 SNLF, 2 Engineer Rgt, 2 HQ and 1 Para Rgt.  Total AV is 1120
In Hong Kong I have available 3 Divisions and 3 NLF/SNLF but all are a bit bruised.  The total AV for these units is 794 but it is slowly rising, these units are moving to Canton to fully regain their strength.
Elsewhere I have 1 Tank Rgt, 5 NLF, 2 Engr Rgt, 1 Engr Btn plus various artillery.

My initial feeling is to ignore Singapore and take Java quickly with the excess forces available, and then turn on Singapore.  The problem is that by doing that Yava could have the forts up to some obscene level and Singers could hold until the Spring or even the Summer.
The alternative is to throw everything at Singapore and try to take it quickly, but I would run the risk of getting bogged down for too long and running out of resources and oil back in the Home Islands.  The other added factor is that the Dutch forces are not fighting well [;)] I may be wrong but I suspect that the most effective units on Java are a few Australian forces Yava has managed to ship in.