Bring me the head of Diego Garcia...and the Mayor of Addu Atoll too!

[Cap Mandrake]

*********Palm thatch office near Noumea Airfield, 18;40, May 21, 1942*****

IJN troops are going trough the airfield tossing grenades into buildings and breaking down doors. A hand reaches out from the door of the office and flips over a sign hanging near the door. The sign now reads, "The Major is IN". Seconds later, the back window opens and a man climbs quietly out of the window and disappears into the jungle.

[BrucePowers]

He needs to be very, very quiet.........[:D]

[Cap Mandrake]

**********Small building with porch, near ad hoc seaplane base, Nandi, Fiji, May 24, 1942*******


A stream of fatigued soldiers and Marines head up a small jetty as a dozen PBY's taxi in the harbor or stand by, taking on fuel. A hand-painted sign on the buidling reads "Operation Loved One". A man with green eye shades works on a ledger. A young man in fine linen slacks approaches.

Young man in fine linen slacks: Hey, what are the bids up to today?

Man with green eye shades: Oh, Mr. Minderbinder. $125 US. The Army families seems to be willing to pay more.

Young man in fine linen slacks: Hmmm. Probably draftees. You are verifying receipt?

Man with green eye shades: Yes sir. Western Union wire transfers to Suva.

Young man in fine linen slacks: Western Union? Make sure you don't use any "periods".

Man with green eye shades: Yes sir. No "periods" sir. Sir, I was thinking the bids will surely go up once the situation in La Foa gets a bit more tense.

Young man in fine linen slacks: <lights a cigar> You will go far son. You will go far.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

For months I wondered what the 60,000 "resource points" at New Edinburgh were.

CIA World Factbook

Natural resources:

nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper

...

New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources.

IIRC correctly in WWII the percentage might have been higher (regarding known world reserves), and was a major source of other strategic minerals.

A valuable place!

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

For months I wondered what the 60,000 "resource points" at New Edinburgh were.

CIA World Factbook

Natural resources:

nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper

...

New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources.

IIRC correctly in WWII the percentage might have been higher (regarding known world reserves), and was a major source of other strategic minerals.

A valuable place!

Oh, great, NOW you tell us.

We tricked the LYB's. They put all that effort into New Caledonia and we still hold Nauru and Ocean Is.[:'(]

[Cap Mandrake]

***Consolidated Aircraft Company, Office of Victor Emmanuel, President, San Diego, Calif., May 24, 1942***

Intercom Voice, Sexretary (probaby with ample bosom): It's Mr. Buffalo-Head to see you about the PBN project, sir.

Mr. Emmanuel: Ah, yes, send him in. <a 30-something engineer enters the room> Ah, Jim. I'm afraid I have some really bad news. The Navy just pulled the plug on the PBN project. Something about raw materials.

Mr. Buffalo-Head: <he looks crestfallen, his dream of a nickel-plated flying boat in tatters>

[Cap Mandrake]

I suppose it is pretty obvious I am waiting on the turn. The good thing about losing a big battle is then you can start planning for the next one.

[HMS Resolution]

Intercom Voice, Sexretary (probaby with ample bosom):

Quite the typo.

[Mynok]

Not a typo, I'm sure. [:D]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

*********Palm thatch office near Noumea Airfield, 18;40, May 21, 1942*****

IJN troops are going trough the airfield tossing grenades into buildings and breaking down doors. A hand reaches out from the door of the office and flips over a sign hanging near the door. The sign now reads, "The Major is IN". Seconds later, the back window opens and a man climbs quietly out of the window and disappears into the jungle.

Very clever subterfuge. I wonder if the LYBs will ever figure it out, or if they'll go on knocking on the door for hours?

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

***Consolidated Aircraft Company, Office of Victor Emmanuel, President, San Diego, Calif., May 24, 1942***

Intercom Voice, Sexretary (probaby with ample bosom): It's Mr. Buffalo-Head to see you about the PBN project, sir.

Mr. Emmanuel: Ah, yes, send him in. <a 30-something engineer enters the room> Ah, Jim. I'm afraid I have some really bad news. The Navy just pulled the plug on the PBN project. Something about raw materials.

Mr. Buffalo-Head: <he looks crestfallen, his dream of a nickel-plated flying boat in tatters>

Uh-oh. Better not tell Mr. Penny about the loss of the zinc mine either.

[Cap Mandrake]

You know when you have a vacation planned to the Sierras and you want to get there early for opening day of trout season so you get up early and check the oil and tire pressure and you have the fly poles ready and new tippet and some new caddis emergers and the whole deal and you start the french roast coffee and use the coffee grinder turn on CNN really loud ot wake everyone up and then you go back inside and nobody is packed?

You know that feeling? Well, the skipper of USS Boggs now knows that feeling.

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

***Consolidated Aircraft Company, Office of Victor Emmanuel, President, San Diego, Calif., May 24, 1942***

Us that a real name or is he a random relation of an Italian monarch? [&:]

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I suppose it is pretty obvious I am waiting on the turn. The good thing about losing a big battle is then you can start planning for the next one.

I beg to differ on you losing the battle. I think that you achieved your strategic objectives quite well. [:-]

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: HMS Resolution

Intercom Voice, Sexretary (probaby with ample bosom):

Quite the typo.

Very easily ecxused. The C and the X are right nect to eaxh other on the keyboard. [:-]

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I suppose it is pretty obvious I am waiting on the turn. The good thing about losing a big battle is then you can start planning for the next one.

I beg to differ on you losing the battle. I think that you achieved your strategic objectives quite well. [:-]

Delaying Jap advance in South Pacific.......+++

Air losses...............................................+/-
(Hard to say really. Both sides suffered heavy losses of airframes especially.
We loss quite few carrier capable aircraft but the Japs lost quite a few carrier pilots
and aircraft as well)

Surface naval losses................................+/-
(Very heavy cruiser and DD losses for the Allies but the Jap
apparently traded 3 BB's for Mississippi)

Carriers..................................................+++
(Shokaku confirmed, Soryu possibly, Zuikaku
badly hurt)

Ground losses.........................................--
(my guess it will be about 31,000 Allied to 12,000 LYB's)


If the boys at Noumea had held it would have been an epic loss for Japan, but we had to give up the field so, classically, that is a defeat.

[BrucePowers]

So what about the USS Boggs?

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I suppose it is pretty obvious I am waiting on the turn. The good thing about losing a big battle is then you can start planning for the next one.

I beg to differ on you losing the battle. I think that you achieved your strategic objectives quite well. [:-]

Delaying Jap advance in South Pacific.......+++

Air losses...............................................+/-
(Hard to say really. Both sides suffered heavy losses of airframes especially.
We loss quite few carrier capable aircraft but the Japs lost quite a few carrier pilots
and aircraft as well)

I'm certain that the action if not gutted their skilled pilots than significantly reduced their number. Also, do not discount the losses in LBA pilots. Those may be even harder to replace than naval pilots.

Surface naval losses................................+/-
(Very heavy cruiser and DD losses for the Allies but the Jap
apparently traded 3 BB's for Mississippi)

Sorry. Thats the price of doing business. I'm sure you would have loved to walk out of it with not a dent to a garbage scow, but given the imbalance in offensive capability at this stage of the war, you had to use what you had. Aside from a few silly die rolls, I think that it went pretty well all things considered.

Carriers..................................................+++
(Shokaku confirmed, Soryu possibly, Zuikaku
badly hurt)

Ground losses.........................................--
(my guess it will be about 31,000 Allied to 12,000 LYB's)


If the boys at Noumea had held it would have been an epic loss for Japan, but we had to give up the field so, classically, that is a defeat.

[stuman]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

My daughter got a ticket for using her cellphone while driving (and talking to one of her friends about nothing important, no doubt)...$196 fricken US dollars for a first offense. This is another one of those hidden taxes.


Anyway, so I make her stay at home and wash windows...so far, so good....well, anyway she must have been watching History Chanel or something....she calls me at work...


Are you busy?

Well, yeah. What's up?

I'm Working on the windows.

Good.

They are really dirty.

Good. Is that what you called about?

No, I thought you might know if Osma bin Ladin is still alive?

What? ...Probably, but nobody is sure. And the other thing? <now convinced this had to be an ice-breaker question>

Oh, I'll just ask you later. You're busy. See you daddy, bye.


<What the Hell? I am pretty sure there is a wild summer party at the house>

I was catching up on your AAR, I saw this and started laughing. My wife asked what was so funny, she read it over my shoulder, and started laughing as well.

We have three kids, all driving, all still in school so we can relate [:)]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo





I beg to differ on you losing the battle. I think that you achieved your strategic objectives quite well. [:-]

Delaying Jap advance in South Pacific.......+++

Air losses...............................................+/-
(Hard to say really. Both sides suffered heavy losses of airframes especially.
We loss quite few carrier capable aircraft but the Japs lost quite a few carrier pilots
and aircraft as well)

I'm certain that the action if not gutted their skilled pilots than significantly reduced their number. Also, do not discount the losses in LBA pilots. Those may be even harder to replace than naval pilots.

I disagree. In this game, the IJAAF LBA pilot losses are easily replaced. The naval pilots may take slightly longer, but only just.

Surface naval losses................................+/-
(Very heavy cruiser and DD losses for the Allies but the Jap
apparently traded 3 BB's for Mississippi)

Sorry. Thats the price of doing business. I'm sure you would have loved to walk out of it with not a dent to a garbage scow, but given the imbalance in offensive capability at this stage of the war, you had to use what you had. Aside from a few silly die rolls, I think that it went pretty well all things considered.

I agree with my red mouse colleague on this one. 3 IJN BBs for the Mississippi is a great deal. Sucks about your cruiser losses though.

Carriers..................................................+++
(Shokaku confirmed, Soryu possibly, Zuikaku
badly hurt)

Ground losses.........................................--
(my guess it will be about 31,000 Allied to 12,000 LYB's)


If the boys at Noumea had held it would have been an epic loss for Japan, but we had to give up the field so, classically, that is a defeat.

I agree, but a pyrrhic victory for Japan on this one.