The Battle Under: The Allies Fight Back

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April 8, 1942

A PC hits a mine at Rabul and the Dutch bombers score 2 bomb hits on an AP at Batavia. This is just to quiet think Bill. He calls Ed's office and informs him of another quiet day. "The Japs have to be up to something big," he says, "Otherwise we'd have plenty of bad news from the small specs on the map. Ed concurs and they arrange to meet for lunch tomorrow, if nothing comes up.

Palawan and Castor have finished unloading their supplies at Midway and Phil is greatly relieved to be able to move the Benham out to sea with her charges. Palawan's crew are celebrating having beaten Castor's crew by finishing the unloading first, by a scant 34 minutes. They are really convinced that they work on a charmed ship and their talismans are very powerful. The skipper does nothing to dispel these thoughts and Red kind of likes being held in high regard by his shipmates. Lucky is happily visiting the galley for a handout for a change.

Harry Hopkins and General Marshall arrive in Britain to discuss a second front in Europe. FDR has sent them with the following proposal that the summer of 1943 they should conduct landings on the French coast with Antwerp as the initial objective.

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April 9, 1942

Bill is flipping through the mounds of comms that his staff has deemed worthy of his attention. He notes that the IJN has bombarded Macassar and the landed at Teloekbetoeng. Palembang was swept by 21 Zeros and 6 Hawks met them only to see 2 get destroyed and another damaged, all of the Zeros left the scene unharmed.

Palawan sails peacefully towards Pearl, her crew excited at the prospect of collecting on their bet with Castor's crew. Red is being kept busy by Lucky who has the runs.

Pearl Harbor's facilities are being taxed to the limit as many ships are being upgraded there.

In India Mahatma Ghandi was arrested by the British as they fear this man of peace and his campaign for India's freedom from their colonial masters.

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April 10, 1942

Ed is in Philadelphia to hear the Soviet ambassador give a speech and boy does he.  The ambassador demands an immediate second front in the European was be opened.  Ed's mission was to report back to FDR with his thoughts and Ed thinks that it's easy to tell that the Russians are in dire straights and need whatever support against the Germans they can get.  He doesn't blame them as they are carrying the heaviest load in the war to date.

Bill wonders if the intel about the engineers moving to Gili Gili is a sign of the Japanese starting to build a defensive line.  Maybe they're just going to expand the base to protect the flank of PM?  He also takes note that the landings at Teloekbetoeng continue.

Phil drinks a mug of coffee as he's currently OOD aboard the Benham when sonar detects a sub lurking in their path.  GQs are sounded and CDR Wallace arrives on the bridge quickly and is pleased at his crew's rapid readiness.  "Phil," he says, "You've whipped the crew into a well oiled machine.  Thank you."  Phil is obviously pleased that his efforts have been noticed and it certainly won't hurt towards a good fitness report that's so important if he's ever to get his own command.  The contact turns out to be a false contact and they sail on towards PH.

The AVG is licking it's wounds after the drubbings it's taken at the hands of the Japanese Zeros.  New planes and pilots have filled out their ranks again and now they await redeployment orders to exact their revenge for lost comrades.

2 RN CVs continue their long journey to Australia.  Brisbane is their ultimate destination where they will join with RAN and USN vessels.

Houston now sits at Pearl raring to get back into the fight, but the USN is holding back and planning an offensive op that'll require all of it's punch.

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April 11, 1942

Intel reports again that there are 217K troops at Ominato . This'll do nothing to ease the concerns for Alaska, thinks Bill. The Japanese assault Teloekbetoeng with a force that's 33.6K strong and they overwhelm the 2.1K defenders. Loses are 31/1/0 and 311/5/0, respectively with the Allied troops retreating towards Palembang. Palembang is swept by 21 Zeros and 5 Hawks rise greet them only to lose a plane. Landings at Macassar continue and the CGs hit a Jap AP. The Japanese assault the defenders with a force of 8.3K and suffer loses of 91/5/0 while the defenders, who number 1.7K lose 2511/9/0. The Macassar Garrison and the 9 DAF BF surrender and will now suffer the cruelty the Japanese show towards POWs. In Burma, 60 miles SE of Lashio the 1st and 2nd Burma Rifles Brigades surrender to the advancing Japanese. Bill thinks that this war has been going on for over 4 months now and the only news that crosses his desk is bad, excepting a minor something here and there. What the hell is going on and who is planning this debacle? He calls for a runner to take the important comms upstairs and calls Ed's office to see if he's free for dinner that night.

Word comes to FDR that there will be no forces available to send to the aid of PM. Ed tells him that the USN won't be sending the fleet to Australia until they feel that Alaska is fairly safe from attack and the ship undergoing upgrades are ready to sail. FDR says, "I suppose it's time for me to relax, or at least try to do so, and trust in my Admirals and Generals. I was always told that a good boss trusts and uses his staff so that's what I'll do. Now tell me more about that speech given by the Russian ambassador."

Stalin is in a rage as his generals want more time, more men and more of everything before punishing the Japanese for their breach of the uneasy peace between them. "They must and will be punished for their aggression! We will regain what the Czarist fools lost to the Japanese and will take more. I want you to push forward with the plans and launch an attack sooner than later." Uncle Joe then leaves his generals and walks into another meeting with his ministers. "What is happening with Churchill and Roosevelt? Why are they dragging their feet about the Second Front? Do they think that we will fight and bleed alone against the Germans? No they will pay for doing this to us! I want more pressure brought to bear on them." He storms out of the meeting before anyone can even think of a response. This alliance is a shaky thing and it is being said in many corners around the globe that this war has made for strange bedfellows.




Josef Stalin

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I wanted to inform those of you who are reading Steve's (SierraJuliet) AAR not to abandon him as he's on a night shift now (police work) and his life suffers and our game slows to a crawl as sleep deprivation takes it's toll.  That being said let's get back to the fight.

April 12, 1942

Intel pegs 288K Japanese troops at Palau (I wonder where they fit them?).  The Japs have landed at Kendari and the Dutch bombers have reported hitting an AP with a couple of bombs, leaving it ablaze, about 100 miles NE of Kendari.  Bill reflects on another day's news and figures it'll continue to be lousy for the immediate future.  At dinner with Ed last night the talk was of all the ships the USN has ordered and is planning.  The fleet will grow like never seen before.  Planes are starting to pour out of factories and new types are in development.  The industrial might of the USA will soon be felt by those who trifled with her.  Now all they need to do is buy more time.  The two men enjoyed the time together away from the stresses of their postings.

China continues to be quiet for the time being and the Chinese are taking advantage of this lull by beefing up their forces and redeploying in an effort to stall or at least slow the inevitable Japanese offensive that is expected to resume soon.

Burma is rapidly turning into a stalemate as Allied troops dig in and more arrive on the scene.  For the Japanese to advance a large force would be required or the IJN would have to enter the Indian Ocean to support amphib ops to flank the defenders.

Australia is rapidly growing in strength along her eastern coast.  Alice Springs is being fortified and reinforced while the northern coast will be sacrificed since it would be to easy to get cut off there by advancing troops.

The SWPAC is earmarked for troops, planes and supplies in the hopes of slowing the Japanese there if a move is made.

Alaska is getting another RCT sent to Dutch Harbor and it should arrive within 2 weeks time.  More reinforcements will be sent there as they arrive on the West Coast.

The current plan in the Central Pacific is to retake Wake Island as soon as the needed shipping can be gathered.

Submarines patrol but hunting has been poor.  A sub mining campaign has been underway for a while now and results a meager, though it must be a thorn in Steve's side as no port is safe from my efforts.







B-25 in development

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Good news for Steve's readers, His computer died and he's now back with a new one. We did a turn today so he should be posting again very soon.

April 13, 1942

The Japanese have again bombed PM and Bill now agrees with the popular consensus that it won't be long before it's assaulted. The Dutch sub KXVI puts a torpedo into an AP 60 miles SE of Singapore. The IJN bombards Amboina and the CGs return fire hitting a BB, CA and a CL. Ichang is assaulted by 146.2K Jap troops who suffer loses of 3832/78/2. The bad news is that the Chinese defenders, 31.5K strong surrender. Chinese loses are 47297/86/0 with the following units surrendering:
19 Group Army
49, 70, 78, and 79 Chinese Corps
Bill can't even to begin to imagine how the Chinese can seem to have unlimited manpower and thinks that they would become a truly huge power in the world if they had an effective government and a well supplied military.

The Palawan docks a Pearl and her crew rush to Castor to collect on their bet. Red takes off for the pet shop with Lucky and upon their arrival there the owner greets them. He tells Red that he's checked up about this breed of dog and says that Lucky will get to be around 60 pounds or so. Red thanks him for the information and leaves. He joins his shipmates at their favorite watering hole and they proceed to celebrate their good fortune. One of the men returns from a local butcher shop and gives Lucky a steak as his reward for bringing them so much luck.

Convoys are crisscrossing the Pacific carrying huge amounts of cargo, fuel, men and planes to various destinations. The USN has so far been lucky that the IJN's subs have been a non factor in the war and that no serious attempts have been made as of yet to disrupt this flow of life blood for the Allied war effort.

The DD Roper sinks the U-85.




USS Roper

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April 14, 1942

"Oh crap! The fit has really hit the shan this time. If we knew about it why the hell didn't we do something?" Bill is ranting to nobody but himself as he stalks around the office waving a comm that reports the Japanese are landing at PM. The IJN is supporting the landings with a naval bombardment and their CVs are lurking in the area to prevent any Allied naval intervention. Bill heads out of the office making a beeline for Bill's office only to be told that Bill is presently at the White House. A call to there is placed and Bill is handed the phone, "Ed, sorry sir, I meant Admiral, the Japs are landing at PM. Nope nothing concrete but it appears to be a major op as the IJN is out in force. Don't think that would be wise because their CVs are around. OK, will do."

Ed hangs up the phone and says, "Mr President the Japanese are landing at PM as we speak." FDR responds by asking the assembled parties if there's anything that could or should be done in response to this and the popular consensus is to sit back and wait for the IJN to feel the strain of the lengthy lines of supply. A strike can be made in the near future against weakened forces and this move was expected anyway.

Red sheepishly tells the skipper that Lucky will be a big dog and that he'll try to keep the dog under control. He hands Capt Demesa a new pair of slippers and the captain says, "Red, I thank you for the slippers but most of all you and Lucky just keep up the good work. The crew's morale has never been higher than it's been lately and if you lads want to believe in anything that means we're a charmed ship I can only say OK to it." Just as he says that Lucky jumps on the captain and playfully nips at his hands. Red pulls the dog off, scolding him and the skipper laughs.

Benham sits as she takes on stores for her next mission. Phil and LCDR Worthington have left the ship together in quest of blowing off some steam. They'll have dinner together and then find a quiet spot to have a couple of drinks and relax. Shore leave has been granted to as much of the crew as possible. They have been reminded that it's expected that none of the exploits of their last visit to Honolulu will be tolerated. Needless to say the sailors head off in their groups in search of booze and girls and this has all of the makings of trouble.




Aussie troops in the PM area.

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April 15, 1942

The Japanese have landed at Kendari and they continue to pour ashore at PM under the cover of artillery, air and naval bombardments. The defenders are already badly outnumbered and cut off as the last of the planes based there flew out yesterday. Bill continues to read through the comms on his desk and sees that the submarine Truant was attacked and sunk 30 miles E of Singapore. The last thing he reads of any interest is that the Dutch bombers have scored 2 hits on an AK near Toboali. This job is getting to me, he thinks to himself, it's like reading a newspaper. Maybe eventually he'll get out of the bowels of the Pentagon and get to sea again. Bill packs it in for the day and heads home, stopping for something to eat on the way. While eating his dinner a man approaches him and asks why Bill is safe and sound in the USA while his son died aboard the Enterprise. The man appears to have had some drinks so Bill just expresses his sympathy, give the waitress some money and leaves. He's feeling guilty that he's safe and sound while others are dying.

The sub mining campaign continues though results are sketchy.

Convoys continue unmolested to their destinations.

The people living in the northern part of Australia are scared that their homes are next on the Japanese list on conquest. It doesn't take a brilliant mind to see that the northern cities are only lightly defended and that no troops are on their way there.

[tocaff]

April 16, 1942

The Japanese landings at Kendari, where the situation is grave, and PM, also in deep stuff, continue. Dutch bombers hit an AP near Teloekbetoeng leaving it on fire. Bill wonders how long the Dutch can continue their heroic, if not lopsided, fight against the Japanese. If it weren't for the Chinese and Dutch and the Commonwealth troops the Japs would have free reign in the Pacific. Where is Uncle Sam? When do we get to strike back?

Ships of all types are under construction in the USA and until they are active there is a shortage of almost everything as reported by the brass.


Elco building PT boats

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April 17, 1942

Kendari fell to the first assault made by the Japanese. They used 6.9K troops and lost 19/1/0 while the Dutch had all of .4K troops opposing them. The Dutch lost 135/1/0 with the shattered remnants retreating towards Pomala. The Japanese troops continue to come ashore at PM and the news is all bad. Bill announces that he's leaving the office for the day and heads home.

Ed, in the meantime, is at the White House and is listening to a report on readiness concerning the defense of Australia. The news isn't good as the only troops on their way are support and one lonely tank battalion. Infantry will be heading to Brisbane in about a month's time as there just isn't enough transport to go around. The President asks where all of the APs are and he's told that some are currently at bases in California, while others are in Alaskan waters delivering troops to Dutch Harbor. The ships heading to DH will be ordered to PH once they've unloaded their cargo and the APs on the west coast will carry troops to PH in a large convoy that will be loading in a few days. A convoy of APs left Australia and is steaming for PH. All of these vessels, and more are going to be used in an attempt to retake Wake Island. The RN's CVs rest at anchor at Melbourne and the USN CVs will head to Australia to join them after the Wake Island operation. After time on station there consideration will be given to rotating them back to Pearl for upgrades. There is just to much area to cover with not enough of anything the President is told. "Until we gain the initiative it's just going to be sheer luck if we have enough to stop the Japs," says Ed. He continues with, "The Wake Island attack will serve notice to the Japanese that they can't have it all their way and the American public will get a morale boost, assuming that we succeed there. The real test lies ahead in protecting Australia and India as we believe that we will soon have the strength to start taking back some islands. Remember the plan is to cut Japan off from her conquests and starve her economy by strangling the flow of raw materials."




Aussies on patrol

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April 18, 1942

Intel has placed 213K Japanese troops at Changkufeng, 249K at Sasebo and 39.6K at Mutuanchiang. 36 Zeros sweep Imphal, suffering 1 downed and a Babs on recon is damaged by the CAP of 3 Hurricanes, 2 of which never return to base. There are landings at Pomala, which is assaulted and falls. The landings at PM continue. An aide enters Bill's office and hands him a comm, shakes his head and leaves without saying a word. Bill looks at the paper and his heart sinks. Port Moresby has been assaulted by 64.6K Japanese troops and the 8.6K Allied troops fight bravely but are swept aside and the base falls. The Japanese loses number 367/7/1 while the Allies lose 6377/61/1. The following units have surrendered:
4 Dutch Brigade
PM Defense Brigade
Lark Force Battalion
112RAN BF
Well, Bill thinks to himself, that cuts it. The big wigs certainly have got to draw the proverbial line in the sand now and turn the tide. He resumes his reviewing of the day's comms and discovers that the only speck of decent news has been supplied by S-23. The sub has attacked an AK and scored 2 torpedo hits and 1 shell hit. The AK sinks about 55 miles SE of Gili Gili. He calls an orderly and hands him the packet of comms to go upstairs. He asks that the orderly stop by Admiral Landy's office and let him see the packet before it gets to Amiral Leahy's office.

The Palawan is undergoing some light work to her plumbing system as it appears that some pipes are suffering from failures and nobody appreciates broken waste lines from the head. This problem was discovered by none other than Lucky, who was nosing around and was drawn to the odor. Cookie was looking for the dog to give him a snack and that's how the problem was discovered. The crew agrees that they are indeed a charmed ship as this problem surfaced in port and could easily be attended to.

Benham's crew is again tearing things up as some of them awoke this morning in the brig. It seems that some Army troops on leave and the crew members had some less than friendly words which led to a fight. Phil has told his buddy in SP to just let the men rot for a day or two and then to release them, at which time he will deal with them. Phil lays out his plan to his skipper and LCDR Worthington smiles and says, "If this doesn't reel in these trouble makers then nothing will. A couple of days in the brig and then to be released only to draw some paint chipping detail will make any sailor less than happy, especially when others are getting liberty. Those on liberty should also get the message and if not you and I will have some explaining to do to the powers that be why we can't control our crew. They're a good crew at sea, but in port they need to be shown the light."

The submarine Cuttlefish is readying for a patrol out of Anchorage.

AKs and TKs are loading in SD, LA and SF where they will form into one large convoy.

Troops will arrive at Dutch Harbor in a day or two.

The eastern seaboard of the United States has been ordered to blackout in an attempt to thwart the German subs.

[tocaff]

April 19, 1942

The Dutch sub KVIII stalks and then attacks 2 Japanese APs loaded with troops 50 miles SE of PM. She takes an overlapping shot at them and 1 torpedo slams home setting it's victim on fire while 2 others hit the other AP leaving her heavily damaged and burning. The KVIII wisely runs to evade the hornet's nest of escorts she has stirred up. Near Teloekbetoeng Dutch bombers score 2 bomb hits on an AP setting it ablaze. Bill decides that if he ever runs into any Dutch military men the drinks will be on him.

At the White House FDR is listening to various reports concerning the various plans in effect to deal with the many problems faced by the Allies in this war. "So what you all are telling me is that we need more ships, planes, tanks and just about everything else under the sun if we want to survive this war. I'll tell you this gentlemen, we will win this war as sure as I'm sitting here. Our factories are churning out all they can and new ones are being built. Ships are being built and the yards are expanding their facilities. You, gentlemen, are tasked with finding a way and a place to turn the tide using what you've got. We must survive this year without further major set backs. We must show the American people that we can and will win this damned war. I want you to go ahead with the Wake Island operation and build up the SWPAC as planned. Maybe we can get our Australian friends to join us in an operation that would utilize Timor to disrupt the Japanese plans. As for our screaming Russian friends..."

Stalin again asks about the readiness of his troops and when they'll attack the Japanese. The answers are not to his liking and he changes his attentions towards the fight against the Germans.

[tocaff]

April 20, 1942

A quiet day in the Pacific as the only thing of note was 12 Oscars were intercepted by a Hawk 75A and 2 Brewster 339Ds at Palembang. One of the Brewsters never got home. Bill leaves the office and gets home just as the telephone starts to ring. He answers and to his surprise it's Elaine. After a few minutes of idle chat she says that she'd like him to visit Pittsburgh again and that her parents would be more than happy to have him. It's one of those open ended invites with no particular time set so he says that he'll see what he can do, but with a war on and being in the Navy it's doubtful that he can get away any time soon.

Cookie is reading a book and everyone who sees this is keeping their shock to themselves as the first crewman to make a joke got cuffed. Red approaches and asks, "What cha reading Cookie?" Cookie looks up and shows Red that it's a book about dogs.

Cuttlefish is heading west on her dreary patrol.

A large convoy is heading for Brisbane and a smaller one will detach and make for Suva with troops and supplies.

Benham's rowdy crewmen are released from the brig and upon their arrival aboard the ship they assemble before the Chief. He reads them the riot act and informs the men that they've earned the honor of endless work details. The Chief adds that he will take it very poorly if any of the men repeat their dishonorable behavior. One of the sailors mutters that the Army boys had insulted the Benham and that started the fight. The Chief later relays this info to Phil who says, "Be that as it may Chief we just can't have our crew running around getting drunk and in fights all of the time." The Chief agrees and mutters something about his ship's honor as he leaves.

[tocaff]

April 21, 1942

Bill has seen the latest intel reports and wonders where the Japanese are getting all of these troops from. 71.3K troops at Heiho and 59K more at Harbin are the latest reports and this doesn't even take into account units spread across the Pacific in lonely locales such as the 7 NLF at Wake Island. The Wake report will be welcomed by the staff planers for the attack planned for there. In the meantime the Japanese have shelled a vacated Myitkyina, which should fall tomorrow. The Chinese are moving, very slowly, that way in the hopes of retaking it and dealing a sting to the IJA in Burma. There was a monthly report on the status of the Allied Pilot Pool in the Pacific that's going upstairs with the intel and comms today.

Palwan sits idly awaiting new orders to load and sail off to some far flung island. Meanwhile Lucky has managed to invade the crew's mess and is now sick to his stomach from eating to much. Red is lucky enough to be on a detail helping out in the engineering spaces so that cleaning up after the dog has fallen to someone else.

Benham is a marvel as she's become a beehive of activity as Phil keeps finding more ways to keep the troublemakers busy. The skipper jokes that maybe they should try for a dry dock so the men can scrape the keel. This of course won't be afforded to them as all repair facilities are working day and night to upgrade lots of the fleet before the Wake operation that they know nothing about.

A large convoy will sail from San Diego to Los Angeles, gather more ships and then make for San Francisco. From there a huge convoy will sail for Pearl Harbor and then plans call for the invasion of Wake Island and then possibly yet another island, yet to be determined, if all goes well at Wake. This op will serve the USN with the opportunity of live fire training.

Ed sits quietly on the sidelines of yet another White House meeting wondering why he's there. One General is talking about the situation on Malta and how the British delivered 46 Spitfires there yesterday and as of today almost all of them have been destroyed on the ground, never getting into the air. Another speaker, named Donovan, talks of German Jews being banned from using public transport. This Donovan guy impresses Ed and he's determined to talk to him when the meeting breaks up. Upon the end of the meeting Ed makes his way towards Mr Donovan and introduces himself and is told that there is no time to talk at the moment. Ed is ready to turn away and leave when he's invited to join Mr Donovan for a late meal. They leave the White House and climb into the back of a nondescript Hudson and are driven onto Pennsylvania Avenue. "To cut to the chase you can call me Bill and I'll be calling you Ed, if you don't mind," he says as he extends his hand. Ed takes it and replies, "OK Bill, sounds like you're mind kind of guy, no crap." The two men dine in a private room at a small eatery in the Georgetown section of DC. Over dinner they talk about the intel from their European Allies, the British. Ed admits to knowing little about what's going on in Europe as the USN has been busy with the Japanese. Donovan smiles and says that the two of them should touch base on a regular basis to share information, especially since Ed has the President's ear and even more important a nose for what's going on before it hits the fan. Ed agrees to this as he thinks that more information can't hurt, besides he's rapidly taking a liking to this man.

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April 22, 1942

Reports place the 48 Division at PM and Myitkyina has fallen. Bill yawns, calls for an orderly to take these scraps of info upstairs and announces that he's heading for home. It's been a long and uneventful day.

A couple of small convoys have or will soon reach Australia. A very large one in on the way there too.

Orders are being cut to send 2 RCTs and an artillery unit to Alaska within the week. It's doubtful that any more LCUs will be heading in that direction after this for a while.

Planners are casting their eyes around the Pacific wondering what dot on the map would make sense following the Wake op. One island in particular is geeting the eye, but troops ordered to prep for it are still in California. Transport, there's never enough to do all that you want.

Steve will be heading out in a few days with his family for a vacation that will last about 4 weeks so that his AAR will grind to a halt and this one will get sparse contributions from me as I'm only about a week behind the game. Thanks for reading and I'll try to keep it alive during our "truce".

[tocaff]

Steve has headed off to discover the interior of Australia with his family so our war won't resume until the beginning of October. I know for a fact that he's really a Japanese spy getting the lay of the land prior to his invasion.

I'd like to throw open this AAR and invite you guys to rip into me about my conduct of the war thus far. I've made rookie mistakes, but hopefully learned from them. I'd appreciate your thoughts or suggestions.

Tomorrow evening I'll be back with our installment covering the 23rd. Right now I've got to feed Lucky and take him for a walk as Red is at a bar getting himself in trouble.

[tocaff]

April 23, 1942

Bill looks at his map on the wall and mutters to himself, "We're gonna need more pins. Maumere, Maumere, Maumere there you are. Now you've been invaded too. Damn...." He knows that things have slowed down lately, but has a gut feeling that this is just the enemy catching his breath. An orderly places a few more comms on his desk and Bill leafs through them thinking that there's nothing of any great importance, but one does catch his eye. It seems that the ML Gouden Leeuw has been hit by a torpedo about 100 miles SW of Diamond Harbor and he wonders to himself if the crew can win their fight to save their ship.

Ed exits his staff car and a man approaches him and asks Ed to please come with him as Mr. Donovan would enjoy his company for dinner. Ed climbs into the back seat of a now familiar Hudson and off they go to a small restaurant where Bill Donovan is waiting. "Glad to see you Ed," he says and continues with, "I wanted to talk to you about all of these intel reports of Japanese troop concentrations. What do you make of them and how can we find out about the disposition of the IJN before they blindside us with it?" Their discussion goes on for hours as there doesn't seem to be anyone other than them in the establishment. The meeting ends with ideas exchanged and leads given to be explored. Ed leaves, again in the Hudson, and wonders to himself if FDR has tipped Donovan about him or someone else in the White House when it suddenly hits him that it's possible that his old pal Admiral Leahy could be working behind the scenes here.

Captain Riker, of the CA Houston, is getting antsy awaiting orders as his ship is ready to sail and the crew is getting soft with all of this time in port.

The submarine Cuttlefish sails westward on her patrol through the Aleutian Islands. CDR Hottel wouldn't mind new orders sending them south out of these frigid environs.

Capt Demesa passes the word for the crew to square things away on shore as sailing orders can be expected soon. Lucky seems to be growing by the day, his hunger never seeming to be satisfied.

Elaine is still enjoying working at the USO in Pittsburgh, because when you think of it the whole country is suffering from a shortage of young men to mingle with while she has hit a gold mine of them.




William J Donovan

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April 24, 1942

Bill has sent the day's comms and reports upstairs and he's just rolling things over in his mind and wonders, as usual, when things will improve. He starts ticking items off in his head:
187K troops at Saipan.

The Dutch sub KXVIII attacked by IJN ASW assets near PM.

Chungking swept by 67 Zeros, of which the CAP of 11 P-40Es and 15 I-153cs downed 5 and damaged 2 others that left smoking at the cost of 8 P-40s and 10 I-153s destroyed.

Maumere fell.

Imphal was attacked by 22 Bettys and 20 Helens and were met by a CAP of 13 Hurricanes. The Japs had no escorting fighters and lost a Betty and 5 Helens, while 5 more Helens were reported as damaged. 3 of the Hurricanes were damaged in the battle.

The Cuttlefish continues on her frigid westward course through the Aluetians.

Four USN CVs at PH are to undergo upgrades prior to the Wake op and should commence these refits in about a week.

The Russians are continuing to shift troops and planes prior to their planned attack on the Japanese. It is hoped that the IJA garrisons have been weakened in favor of Japan strengthening their China force, but no recon has been allowed for fear of alerting the Japanese.

[tocaff]

April 25, 1942

Bill scans the intel reports of Japanese troop dispositions and notes that there are supposed to be 86K men at Kiungahan. The 16th Division is reported to be at Rabul along with the 21st Engineer Regiment. Ed stops by and Bill relates the day's activites to him. "97 Zeros swept Chungking, lost 2, while the CAP of 9 P-40Es and 3 I-153cs never returned to base. Not 1 damned plane survived! 35 Zeros swept Imphal and were met by 9 Hurricanes. The Japs lost nothing and the Brits never got home. Again not a single airframe survived. The 153 USA RCT is ashore at Dutch Harbor and supplies are being unloaded there now." "How would you like to grab a bite to eat in Georgetown tonight?" asks Ed. Bill wonders why there as it's out of the way, but says OK. Ed tells him to swing by his office in about 2 hours and they'll leave then.

Cuttlefish slowly winds her way through the Aleutians. Her biggest enemy is the freezing ocean spray that encrusts the lookouts in ice. CDR Hottel has cut the length of time the men stand to their duties topside in an attempt to prevent any problems with these horrible conditions.

Troop transports continue to sail towards their destinations and once there are given orders to sail for Pearl Harbor as the planned attacks will need lots of lift capacity. The next problem will be executing recon without tipping our hand.

Bill and Ed leave the Pentagon and are met at the main entrance by a Hudson which whisks them away to a certain little restaurant in Georgetown. Upon entering Bill Donovan greets them and proceeds to ask about intel in the Pacific. Bill looks to Ed for a clue as to what's going on and Ed explains who the gentleman is and that it's OK to share the information. The meeting continues over their meal and then Donovan tells Bill that the car is waiting for him out front and that it'll take him anywhere that he'd like. Ed remains behind and the 2 men take a walk, shadowed by some of Donovan's people. Donovan says that Ed was right and that Bill would be a valuable addition to anything he's assigned to.

[Marc gto]

Nice aar Todd