The Battle Under: Japan looks to the South

[SierraJuliet]

18 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 36 Zeros return. This time 1 Zero is traded for 2 out the 3 Hurricane II performing CAP.

China
Air: Near Ichang 13 Sonia bomb 3rd New Chinese Corps and cause 6 casualties.

DEI
Sea: 2 Martin 139 attacks a surface task force near Kendari and lose 1 bomber to flak with no damage caused to the warships.
Near Teloekbetoeng 3 Martin 139 locate a task force. A CAP of 11 Oscar is present and destroys 1 bomber and the attack breaks away.
Ground: Troops begin unloading at Pomala.
Air: At Medan 11 Sally and 19 Helen bomb Medan Coastal Gun Battalion and cause 33 casualties. A further attack by 9 Helen on 6th Dutch Naval Base Force causes 6 casualties and 1 gun lost. 18 Helen follows up against the same unit and cause 26 casualties.

South East Pacific
Air: At Port Moresby 23 Betty bomb 4th Dutch Regiment and cause 6 casualties. In a second attack 20 Nell bomb Port Moresby Defense Brigade and cause 33 casualties.
Ground: At Port Moresby Japanese shock attack achieves 22 to 1 odds (fort level reduced to 3) and the base is captured. Japanese loses reported as 367 casualties with 7 guns and 1 vehicle lost. 4th Dutch Regiment, Port Moresby Defense Brigade, Lark Force Battalion and No. 112 RAN Base Force surrender 6377 men with 61 guns and 1 vehicle lost.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Nice to achieve a quick capture of Port Moresby and eliminate the units there instead of seeing them flee into the jungle.

[SierraJuliet]

19 April 1942

China
Air: West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 67th Chinese Division causing 7 casualties.

DEI
Ground: Near Telokbetoeng 19 Sally bomb Zuid Garrison Battalion causing 25 casualties.
Air: Near Kendari 2 Martin 139 locate a surface task force and one manages to drop a bomb on board Fuso with little effect.
Ground: Japanese forces capture the undefended base at Pomala.

Subs
East of Gili Gili SS S-23 puts 2 torpedoes into AK Junpo Maru sinking the freighter.

Naval Losses for the Day
AK Junpo Maru

Comments
Allied submarine being a pain and picking off a freighter.

[SierraJuliet]

20 April 1942

Burma
Air: Imphal is raided by 54 Helen. Allied loses on the ground are 45 casualties, 1 vehicle lost, 7 airbase hits, 11 airbase supply hits and 24 runway hits.

China
Air: West of Hanoi 19 Sally bomb 67th Chinese Division causing 47 casualties.

DEI
Air: At Palembang 17 Sally escorted by 14 Oscar bomb 1st WS Garrison Battalion. 5 Hawk 75A and 1 Brewster 339D are on CAP. 3 Hawks and the Brewster are destroyed and on the ground the Battalion reports 73 casualties.
Near Teloekbetoeng 3 Martin 139 locate a transport task force and drop 2 bombs onto AP Yamakuni Maru. This ship is not in danger of sinking but will need time in the repair yards.

Subs
Near Gili Gili SS KVIII puts a single torpedo into AP Hinko Maru. The ship has serious system damage and limps off to find a port to effect better repairs.
Near Port Moresby SS KVIII puts 2 torpedoes into AP Kenzan Maru. She has heavy damage but should be saved although 61 casualties and 1 gun lost are reported.
An E7K2 Alf makes an attack on S-34 near Gili Gili and reports a hit on the submarine.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Confirmation today the DD Preston (torpedoed some time ago, by submarine I think, near Johnson Island) was scuttled by tocaff.

[SierraJuliet]

21 April 1942

Burma
Air: 45 Helen raid Imphal and cause 2 airbase hits, 3 airbase supply hits and 9 runway hits.
Ground: Japanese forces have arrived at Myitkyina and commence a bombardment attack causing 17 Japanese casualties and 5 guns lost to 4 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.

China
Air: West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 67th Chinese Division and cause 16 casualties.
Near Ichang 13 Sonia bomb 3rd New Chinese Corps and cause 10 casualties and 2 guns lost.

DEI
Air: 12 Oscar turn up over Palembang to find 1 Hawk 75A and 2 Brewster 339D. 1 Brewster is reported destroyed.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Imphal is on the list of targets requiring aerial attention now that Mandalay airfield is better able to support operations in this area. Securing Myitkyina is the next goal in Burma.

[SierraJuliet]

22 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Myitkyina 27 Helen bomb 16th Indian Brigade causing 91 casualties.

DEI
Air: At Medan 13 Helen bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force causing 19 casualties.

Subs
Quite a few contacts on Allied submarines but nothing significant arose from these sightings.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Nothing to say – next to no combat happening at all today.

[SierraJuliet]

23 April 1942

Burma
Air: Near Lashio 7 SB-2c bomb 2nd Tank Regiment causing 10 casualties.
Ground: At Myitkyina Japanese deliberate attack achieves assault odds of 2114 to 1 (fort level 2) and the base is captured.

DEI
Air: At Medan 6 Sally and 16 Helen bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force causing 19 casualties.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
It appears that with the approach of a strong force towards Myitkyina tocaff decided to pull out the forces present there resulting in the ridiculously high assault odds. In any event the base is captured far more easily than I expected.

[SierraJuliet]

24 April 1942

DEI
Ground: Japanese troops are unloading at Maumere.

Subs
Well offshore from Diamond Harbour in the Bay of Bengal SS I-160 reports 1 torpedo hit on ML Gouden Leeuw. She was reported to be on fire and suffering heavy damage.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Hmmm. My recollection of events has faded with the passage of time over the last month but it seems that we have hit upon a patch of little obvious activity to report.

[SierraJuliet]

25 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 22 unescorted Betty and 20 Helen bomb No. 104 RAF Base Force. The bombers are met by a CAP of 13 Hurricane II. For the loss of 1 Betty and 5 Helen the ground unit received 65 casualties, 1 gun lost and 1 vehicle lost.

China
Air: At Chungking 40 A6M2 Zero and 27 A6M3 Zero take on 11 P-40E Warhawk and 15 I-135c. 3 A6M2 and 2 A6M3 are destroyed for 8 Warhawk and 10 I-153 destroyed.
West of Hanoi 14 Sally bomb 21st Chinese Corps and cause 23 casualties.

DEI
Ground: The undefended base at Maumere is captured by Japanese forces. 7 Hawk 75A are destroyed on the ground.
Air: At Medan 16 Helen bomb Medan Coastal Gun Battalion causing 6 casualties. In a further raid 12 Sally and 17 Helen bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force causing 42 casualties.
At Palembang 23 Sally escorted by 18 Oscar take aim at So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion. The attack is met by 3 Hawk 75A and 4 Brewster 339D. All 3 Hawks and 1 Brewster are destroyed and the ground unit is reported to have received 6 casualties.

Subs
Near Port Moresby an ASW task force locates SS KXVIII and reports 2 hits on the submarine. The same sub waits out another 2 attacks without any further reports of damage inflicted on her.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
PO2 Sagara C. Of F2/Tainan Daitai, stationed at Ichang, is credited with kill no. 5 to reach ace status. LTJG Abe R. Of F2/Yamada Daitai, stationed at Ichang, is credited with kill no. 5 to reach ace status. After intelligence reports indicated that Allied fighters based at Chungking exceeded 70 the decision was made that something needed to be done about this concentration of force. Without a doubt this would have been one of the biggest dog fight days of our contest with 23 fighters from all sides falling from the skies. The day also marked the appearance of the A6M3 into the fray. The day also marked F2/Tainan Daitai, based at Ichang, passing the 50 kill mark (currently at 53 – up from 46).

As for the bomber effort over Imphal what can I say about bomber pilots happy to carry on with their attack without the benefit of fighter cover! Overall today the Japanese lost 17 planes to the Allies 35 planes.

[SierraJuliet]

26 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 35 A6M2 Zero turn up to play against 9 Hurricane II. All 9 Hurricanes are claimed as destroyed. The pain inflicted on my bombers the previous day has been redressed.

China
Air: At Chungking 72 A6M2 and 25 A6M3 Zeros fly against 9 P-40E Warhawk and 3 I-153. 2 A6M2 are destroyed while on the Allied side 9 Warhawk and 3 I-153 are claimed as destroyed.
In the land west of Ichang a Japanese force launches a bombardment attack against a Chinese force for 75 Japanese casualties and 10 guns lost to 3 Chinese casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Air: Near Palembang 3 Martin 139 visit 5th Division. 1 bomber falls to flak and the attack is beaten off.
At Palembang 22 Sally escorted by 18 Oscar meet a CAP of 1 Hawk 75A and 3 Brewster 339D. 1 Hawk is destroyed and the bombers release their cargo on So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion causing 23 casualties.

Subs
Near Port Moresby a Japanese ASW task force locates SS KXVIII and reports 1 hit on the sub.
A E13A1 Jake reports a hit on SS Grayling.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
PO2 Takagi H. Of F2/Tainan Daitai, operating out of Ichang, is credited with kill number 5 to achieve ace status. LTJG Katagi A. and LTJG Matsumura P. of F2/ Yamada Daitai, operating out of Ichang, are each credited with kill number 5 to achieve ace status. WO Uto, K. of F1/Tainan Daitai, operating out of Mandalay, is credited with kill numbers 5, 6 and 7 to achieve ace status.

Todd was surprised at the number of Zeros operating in China. I’m not sure how this tactic will work out but since he has started operating the AVG in China I’ve adopted a policy of attacking it where and when I can. I am taking loses doing this but so far my losses have been far less than the losses that Todd has been suffering. I’ve employed the same approach at Imphal with good results there as well. I figure that if these losses keep up Todd will have to do something about it or at the very best for me the experience level of the pilots replacing those lost will remain lower than he would like.

DD Naganami arrives at Tokyo.

[SierraJuliet]

27 April 1942

China
Air: At Chungking 63 A6M2 and 25 A6M3 take on 10 P-40E Warhawk and 3 I-153. 2 A6M2 are lost in exchange for 8 Warhawk and all 3 I-153 destroyed.
6th Division which has moved up to the T junction near Chunking is attacked by 9 SB-2c and reports 17 casualties and 3 guns lost.

DEI
Ground: Allied bombardment on Japanese forces menacing the town cause 2 Japanese casualties and 1 gun lost.
Air: At Palembang 6 Sally and 16 Helen bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force and cause 51 casualties. A second raid on the same unit by 21 Helen causes 22 casualties.

South East Pacific
Ground: Japanese forces land on Thursday Island.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
More success in the skies over Chunghing. Gili Gili expands the airfield to size 4.

[SierraJuliet]

28 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 36 A6M2 Zero confront 3 Hurricane II. All 3 Hurricanes are claimed as destroyed.

China
Air: Near Ichang 29 Ann bomb 58th Chinese Corps and cause 82 casualties and 1 gun lost.
Ground: 6th Division based near Chungking is attacked by 6SB-2c and reports 9 casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Ground: At Palembang Japanese bombardment causes 128 Allied casualties and 1 gun lost.
Air: At Palembang 12 Oscar take on 1 Hawk 75A and 3 Brewster 339D. This time no Allied planes are lost and 1 Oscar is shot from the skies.
At Medan 9 Helen bomb 1st NS Garrison Battalion and cause 13 casualties. A further attack by 8 Sally and 21 Helen on 6th Dutch Naval Base Force at the same location causes 13 casualties. Later in the day 9 Helen returns and inflicts another 41 casualties on the 6th Dutch Naval Base Force.
At Palembang 12 unescorted Sally are set upon by 1 Hawk 75A and 3 Brewster 339D. 2 Sally are destroyed but the other bombers press on their attack against So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion causing 15 casualties and 1 gun lost.

South East Pacific
Ground: The undefended base at Thursday Island is captured by Japanese forces.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Bombers going unescorted again.... those bomber pilots have been told but don’t seem to want to listen.

[SierraJuliet]

29 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 32 A6M2 Zero come across 2 Hurricane II and shoot 1 Hurricane out of the sky.

China
Air: At Chungking 60 A6M2 and 3 A6M3 Zero confront 10 P-40E Warhawk, 9 I-153c and 6 I-16c. 3 A6M2 are lost in a trade for 6 Warhawk, 8 I-153 and all 6 of the I-16c destroyed.
6th Division near Chungking is again subjected to air attack from 11 SB-2c and the division reports 26 casualties and 2 guns lost.
West of Hanoi 19 Sally bomb 29th Chinese Corps and cause 31 casualties.
Near Ichang 31 Ann bomb 58th Chinese Corps and cause 30 casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Ground: At Palembang Japanese bombardment attack causes 164 Allied casualties and 2 guns lost.
Air: At Medan 3 Sally and 9 Helen bomb 1st NS Garrison Battalion and cause 5 casualties. In a second raid by 10 Sally and 6 Helen 6th Dutch Naval Base Force is bombed causing 17 casualties. In a further attack by 21 Helen 5 casualties are reported lost by 6th Dutch Naval Base Force.

Subs
Near Masbate Island the Japanese destroyer screen of a cargo task force locates SS Argonaut and claims 3 hits on the submarine.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
LTJG Obayashi R. Of F2/Yamada Daitai, operating out of Ichang, is credited with kill number 5 to achieve ace status.

[SierraJuliet]

30 April 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 24 Betty and 46 Helen escorted by 36 A6M2 launch an attack on the base. 3 Hurricane II are present and 2 are lost while 1 Helen is knocked out of the skies. The Allies lose 30 casualties and the airbase sustains 3 hits and the runway 15 hits.

China
Air: Near Ichang 33 Ann bomb 58th Chinese Corps and cause 29 casualties and 2 guns lost.

DEI
Ground: Japanese bombardment attack at Palembang causes 95 casualties and 1 gun lost. The return fire from the Allied bombardment attack causes 16 Japanese casualties and 2 guns lost.
Air: At Palembang 4 Sally and 13 Helen bomb 1st NS Garrison Battalion and cause 22 casualties. A follow up raid by 9 Helen causes 16 casualties to the same unit. Another 9 Helen focus on 6th Dutch Naval Base Force and cause 5 casualties.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
From memory my troops must be just about ready to force the issue at Palembang.

[SierraJuliet]

01 May 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 23 Betty and 43 Helen bombs the airfield. There is no CAP to hinder the way today. 13 casualties and 1 gun lost is reported along with 2 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 21 runway hits.

China
Ground: Near Icahng Japanese bombardment attack causes 18 Chinese casualties and 1 gun lost.

DEI
Air: At Sinkep Island 11 Oscar locate 3 Hawk 75A and shot down 2.
At Medan 12 Sally and 20 Helen bomb Medan Coastal Gun Battalion causing 19 casualties.
At Palembang 22 Sally bomb So.Sumatra Garrison Battalion causing 42 casualties and 4 guns lost.
Ground: Japanese bombardment attack at Palembang causes 151 Allied casualties and 2 guns lost.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
The aerial assaults continue and with this my AAR is now up to date. Onwards we go!

[SierraJuliet]

02 May 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 6 Betty and 33 Helen bomb the base and cause 22 casualties, 1 vehicle lost, 2 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 11 runway hits.

China
Air: At Chungking 60 A6M2 and 3 A6M3 take on 10 P-40E Warhawk, 4 I-153c and 11 I-16c. For the loss of 2 A6M2 4 Warhawk, 4 I-153 and 5 I-16 are reported as destroyed.
West of Hanoi 19 Sally bomb 29th Chinese Corps and cause 28 casualties.
Near Homan 31 Ann bomb 58th Chinese Corps and cause 37 casualties and 1 gun lost.
Near Chungking 12 IL-4c and 10 SB-2c attack 6th Division and cause 88 casualties and 3 guns lost.

DEI
Ground: At Palembang Japanese bombardment causes 51 Allied casualties.
Air: At Medan 8 Sally and 18 Helen bomb 2nd NS Garrison Battalion and cause 28 casualties. Also at Medan 16 Helen bomb 6th Dutch Naval Base Force and cause 11 casualties.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Looks like it is time to withdraw the forces I have sitting at the T junction near Chungking. Even though I am getting good results hammering away at the planes based at Chungking it is another story to get decent CAP over these grounds units that are a long way from their nearest support at Ichang. I am refocussing my efforts on Homan.

[flaggelant]

could you post a china print screen?

Have you cut supply towards Homan, or would that mean endangering those units from encirclement?

any other mayor plans for north China, or is the rest of the front a draw?

[SierraJuliet]

Hi flaggelant

sorry for the lack of screen prints. I've been finding it a little hard of late just to keep up with the game.... even if it is only 1 turn a day at best. We are currently up to 18 May and for the Japanese there has been an interesting development near Norfolk Island!

Regarding China I have decided to make Homan my focus and have managed to sneak 1 division behind Homan and whilst the city isn't completely cut off supply should be a problem for the defenders. Tocaff has 3 units stationed outside the city on the road so I'm dealing with them first while I bring up more units to deal with the city. Apart from the aerial battles going on over Chungking there is not much else going on in China. My current thinking is that if I can prise Homan away from the Chinese I will try and roll up all the cities in the western part of China.

[SierraJuliet]

03 May 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 23 Betty and 47 Helen bomb the airfield causing 6 casualties and 1 gun lost as well as 5 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 16 runway hits.
Near Myitkyina 26 Betty bomb 55th Chinese Division causing 18 casualties.

China
Air: At Chungking 60 A6M2 and 8 A6M3 take on 9 P-40E Warhawk, 8 I-153c and 8 I-16c. 4 A6M2 are reported destroyed against 8 Warhawk, 2 I-153c and 2 I-16c.
Near Chungking 58th Division is attacked by 9 IL-4c and 9 SB-2c causing 15 Japanese casualties and 1 gun lost.
East of Yunan 21st Chinese Corps is bombed by 10 Sally with 13 Chinese casualties reported. At the same location 6 Sally bomb 67th Chinese Division causing 28 casualties.
Ground: Near Homan Japanese shock attack results in assault odds of 2 to 1, however, losses are recorded as Japanese 901 casualties and 20guns lost to 69 Chinese casualties and 3 guns lost.

DEI
Ground: At Palembang Japanese shock attack achieves assault odds of 11 to 1 (fort level 5) and the base is captured. Japanese losses reported as 272 casualties and 10 guns lost to 274 Allied casualties, 7 guns and 1 vehicle lost. Zuid Garrison Battalion, 1st WS Garrison Battalion, So.Sumatra Garrision Battalion and 5th Dutch Naval Base Force retreat towards Padang.
Air: At Medan 8 Sally and 13 Helen bomb Medan Coastal Battalion causing 56 casualties.
At Palembang 11 Sally bomb So.Sjumatra Garrison Battalion causing 22 casualties and 1 gun lost. 1 Sally is reported destroyed.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
Palembang in the bag at last (probably at lot later than most Japanese players I suspect). Manpower is at (0) x 2, Resources is at (35) x 865 and Oil is at (53) x 647. Not too bad and certainly far better than seeing the whole place reduced to rubble by the departing Dutch forces. Total allied air losses reached to 1 000 mark today. Air to air losses currently stand at Japan 151 to Allied 601.

[SierraJuliet]

04 May 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 24 Betty and 45 Helen bomb the airfield causing 1 casualty and 1 gun lost as well as 6 airbase hits, 5 airbase supply hits and 47runway hits.

China
Air: At the T junction near Chungking 6 IL-4c and 7SB-2c attempt to bomb 6th Division. 18 A6M2 are on LRCAP and report 3 IL-4c and 1 SB-2c as destroyed. A 2nd raid by 3 IL-4c and 3SB-2c attempting to bomb 58th Division is met by the CAP with 1 IL-4c claimed as destroyed. The ground forces gratefully accept a reprieve from the recent uncontested bombing from the Chinese air force.

DEI
Air: Enroute to Menado AK Dori Maru is hit by 1 bomb when attacked by 5 Martin 139. Damage is 36 27 18.

Subs
No action reported.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
LTJG Kubota E. and WO Nishiura O. both attached to F2/Yamada Daitai flying out of Ichang are credited with 5 kills to become aces. Today sees F2/Yamada Daitai record its 100th kill. This Daitai currently has 7 aces. Hopefully my LRCAP near Chungking came as a surprise to tocaff and might put those bombers back on the ground for a while.

[SierraJuliet]

05 May 1942

Burma
Air: At Imphal 35 A6M2, 12 Betty and 18 Helen are met by a CAP of 23 Tomahawk. 10 Zero, 2 Betty and 1 Helen are destroyed in exchange for 6 Tomahawk destroyed. The airbase supply sustains 1 hit and the runway is hit 8 times.
East of Myitkyina 93rd Chinese Division is bombed by 12 Betty with 21 casualties and 1 gun report as lost.

China
Air: East of Homan 58th Chinese Corps is bombed by 11 Ann causing 6 casualties.
West of Hanoi 29th Chinese Corps is bombed by 14 Sally with 6 casualties reported.

DEI
Ground: Troops are ashore at Sinkep Island.
Air: 11 Oscar fly CAP over Sinkep Island and encounter 2 Hawk 75A. 1 Hawk is reported shot down.
At Medan 1st NS Garrison Battalion is attacked by 6 Sally and 16 Helen which causes 17 casualties. In a second attack by 18 Helen on 6th Dutch Naval Base at Medan 11 casualties are reported.

Subs
Overnight SS I-121 is located by a bunch of Dutch destroyers off shore from Perth. The sub is subjected to depth charge attack without any damage being sustained. Contact during the day time is established and this time the sub suffers 1 hit causing system damage of 1.

Naval Losses for the Day
Nil

Comments
PO2 Sugiyama H. Of F1/Tainan Daitai is credited with his 5th kill. PO1 Mikami G. of F1/3rd Daitai is credited with kill # 5. Both pilots are flying out of Mandalay. The losses over Imphal were a rude shock. It appears that I didn’t lose any aces with those Zeros downed over Imphal and I now have 20 aces listed. I’ve also noted that recon flights originating out of Midway are targeting Wake Island – time to get some fighter coverage there.