Island Skipping in the South Pacific (week 2)

[Erik B]

OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW: Week 2

The first week had gone well. Our bombing raids, particularly those directed at Lae, had pounded the Jap forces pretty hard and our commitment of fighters had paid off with a number of splashes. The Seabees had successfully landed and Woodlark with no problems and they were well underway in setting up a small air strip. We had sighted a number of Jap ships but the planes from the either the Saratoga or ground bases hadn’t been able to keep contact long enough for our firepower to come to bear. As a consolation, the Saratoga’s planes sent a minesweeper to the bottom that they spotted near Munda.

This week we hope to land engineers at Kiriwina and begin developing that base. The Marines in of Lunda are also getting restless – the arrival of three additional escort carriers from Pearl suggests that it might be worth thinking about pushing up the timetable for operations in New Georgia. Also if we can get the supply issues ironed out, my commanders are pushing for a firm date for the attack on Lae. As they correctly point out, seizing that base will tremendously weaken the Japanese position and force resources away from New Georgia. I wonder if the success of the air operations last week haven’t gotten them a bit over confident. Finally I worry that the IJN seems more than willing to send out forces even though we outnumber him. Troop transport activity is picking up - perhaps an invasion sooner rather than later would work to our advantage.

[Erik B]

Implementation and Tactics: Week 2

We decided to move 2 more regiments up to forward positions in the interior of New Guinea as well as seize additional coastal assets at Nassua ay. To that end we readied a landing force out of Brisbane. My commanders don’t’ know how much readiness will suffer from having the men spend almost a week at sea – be interesting to find out. We successfully ran a supply convoy between Australia and Gini Gini. The supplies should come in handy and hopefully it will be the start of the build up we need in that theater. In other good news, a carrier group is steaming this way from Pearl. They are expected to be here by early July. Hopefully I can give them a shakedown cruise providing escort duty to the supply ships coming in from Brisbane, allowing them to get ready before we commit to getting the Japs out of New Georgia and getting Shortland in range of the dive bombers and torpedo bombers. Finally, I decided to get serious about bombardment raids, intending to organize a couple of groups for each front to put additional pressure on the Japs. The battleships I hope to keep in reserve for the Lea invasion but the Cruisers should bloody Yamato’s nose a bit.

[Erik B]

June 29, 1943

OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW: Week 3

Well, the IJN finally hurt us/ I had sent out an escort carrier group to provide support for the landing a Kirawina I. and a Japanese sub put a fish in 2 of my CVE’s. The Chenago and Suwanee both limped in the Lunda (I made sure to change their home ports, docked, and then disbanded the TF once they reached the relative safety of that area). I sunk the Jap. Sub but it was hit or miss on whether I would get those flattops safely in. That leaves me with 1 CV and 2CVE in the theater. Pearl has promised me support soon.

I am finding that the biggest constraint on my efforts is the lack of transpots to move men and materials to the front line. I have convoys operating out of Brisbane going on full bore and I am still finding the build up before the push on Lea to be slow going.

[Erik B]

June 29, 1943

Implementation and Tactics

I anticipate another week of attrition. Hopefully the men will make landing at Nassua this week. I also have decided to move forces up on the Japs’s western flank of NG. It hopefully that will add pressure and he will be forced to commit to resupplying that area. With my efforts to keep surface taskforces and the two new airbases operating on Kira and Wood, hopefully we will see if some fish swim into our trap. Finally, I think I have that air support worked out. HQ units seem to do the trick. I am so used to the lessons I learned from veterans of the Eastern Front about keeping HQ forces together but it seems less of an issue here. We are going to send one of the battleship groups up to Bombard Lea to as a way of keeping the pressure on. Meanwhile air operations continue. To make our goal of seizing Lea & Vila by the end of the month we are going to have to get cracking.