February 10, 1942 - Bataan Defenders Near Collapse
The Thayne Reports are published by allied intelligence and distributed to senior officers serving in the Pacific Theater of Operation in order to give these officers an understanding of the overall military situation. These top secret reports contain the best and most up-to-date information available at the time of their writing.
The Battle for Burma - Day 10: A War Diary
Respite at Rangoon
(Rangoon - Burma) The Japanese gave us an unexpected reprieve today. I expected them to rush into Rangoon at the same breakneck speed they used in the capture of Pegu to the north, and which they used in the capture of Singapore.
Even though they are continuing to push down the road, they are not moving at the speed expected that would have had them occupying the city today.
One possible reason for this is that they might be suffering a shortage of supplies. Reports have reached us of nearly 50 B-17 bombers attacking Pegu, the town that Japan recently captured. This interdiction of the Japanese supply lines may be making it difficult for them to bring supplies forward.
Another possibility is that the Japanese forces have become disorganized in the charge so far, and they are taking the time to reorganize them before making the final push. Furthermore, the Japanese may not be aware how feeble the defenses of Rangoon really are at this point, though it would be easy enough for them to find out.
Less than 2500 soldiers of the British Empire continue to hold Rangoon.
It would be more honest to say that the British forces and their allies control a few key places in the city; the airport, the port itself, and some key government buildings. The rest of the city has descended into lawless chaos with British forces themselves finding it difficult to travel between strongholds.
Japan added to the chaos late in the afternoon by visiting us with over two dozen bombers. Experts tell me that these were Sally bombers, each coming with four 250kg bombs - the Japanese (and British) equivalent of the American 500 lb bomb. This is half of the bomb payload of a B-17 bomber operating from a sufficiently large airbase and within normal range of a landing strip.
We are not expecting this reprieve to be for more than 24 hours. By this time tomorrow, I am expecting Rangoon to be in Japanese hands.
Bataan Supplies Near Exhaustion
(Bataan - Philippines) Over 50,000 troops trapped on a peninsula in the Philippine Islands report that their reserves have dwindled to the last bullets and bags of rice.
The only supplies that remain are those that each unit has drawn from the general stores for their own use. Soldiers have been placed on one-third rations and told that the bullets they carry now are the last ones they will see. With these, they have been told to hold out as long as possible.
The Japanese have made no real attempt to dislodge the Allied soldiers yet. Instead, they have subjected the defenders to daily bombardment from the air and from the ground, but have not launched any deliberate attacks. It is thought that the moment the Japanese attackers find out how few supplies the defenders have left, that this will change and the defenders will be forced to give up quickly.
Some defenders are fearing that they may be forced to endure what the defenders at Guam endured - nearly two months of bombardment with little or no food, no ammunition, and little drinking water.
Once the defenders in the Philippines finally fall, Japan will have a number of resources that it could then contribute to another front. This includes bombers and fighters, as well as tens of thousands of ground soldiers.
Japanese Carriers Circle Java Like Sharks
(Soerabaja - Java) Japanese carrier aircraft continue to circle Java like a school of sharks, flying repeated missions against the Dutch defenders.
Their encirclement destroys any hope that the allies might be able to smuggle supplies or reinforcements into the island.
The Japanese carriers continue to concentrate their air assaults on the port of Soerabaja. Their efforts have nearly put the air bases out of service, forcing squadrons to relocate to other bases and leave this major port city undefended.
Two ships caught in port undergoing repairs - the destroyer Jupiter and submarine [/i]O24[/i] have suffered a number of hits from these raids. It is thought unlikely that they will survive to ever see battle again.
Meanwhile, the survivers of the joint Dutch-British fleet that the Japanese had probably hoped to sink near Java are continuing to make their way to Columbo. The combined fleet, consisting of three light cruisers and 12 destroyers will add their strength to the defense of India and Ceylon.
Fresh Troops Reinforce Fiji-Samoa
(Suva - Fiji) The American armed forces continue to reinforce the Fiji-Samoa region, which it has selected as the jumping-off point for its plan to defeat the Japanese.
Currently, the 182nd Infantry Regiment is setting up defenses on Hoorn Island, while the Bobcats USN Seabees, E Detachment USN Port Services, and I US Amphibious Corps work to turn Suva in the Fiji Islands into a viable hub for South Pacific operations.
Suvaii in the Samoa islands is also receiving reinforcements with landings from the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, 57th Coastal Artillery Regiment, and the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion.
The plan is to turn these islands into network of airbases, each capable of aiding the others if those others should fall under Japanese attack.
Additional reinforcements are also heading to Wallis Island and will land there in about three days.
Suva's own airfield has been expanded by engineers trying to make the fields large enough to handle bombers carrying a full load of bombs. The 22nd (Medium) Bomber Group has recently landed in American Samoa where the planes are being assembled for distribution to other bases in this mutually interdependent set of islands.
The 35th Pursuit Group and several New Zealand bomber squadrons are also setting up operations at Suva itself, and two transportation squadrons will soon arrive to aid the mutual support of the islands.
A problem still exists in that there are no ports in the region capable of handling the larger transport ships, or more than a small handful of the smaller transport ships. Construction crews have to make delicate decisions on whether to build fortifications, or build the facilities such as airfields and ports that risk falling into enemy hands.
