The Battle Under: The Allies Fight Back

Post descriptions of your brilliant successes and unfortunate demises.

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tocaff
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RE: Final Approach

Post by tocaff »

December 12, 1942 The Rail Junction

Intel

5th Air Division is located at Rangoon.
Soya Fortress is located at Wakkanai.
15th Field Artillery Regiment is located at Homan.
2nd Mixed Regiment is located at Hangchow.
Karafuto Mixed Brigade is located at Shikka.
Botanko Hvy Gun Regiment is located at Tsitsihar.
8th Division is located at Heiho.
6th Construction Battalion is located at Heiho.
105th IJA Base Force is located at Mukden.
17th Army is located at Tulagi.
1738 men are based at Taichu.
1831 men are based at Haiphong.
Radio transmissions detected at Vancouver.

Recon

Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 7 X AK, 1 X AP, 2 X DE, 1 X APD,1 X PC, 1 X CA, 15 LCUs 56720/338/0

Combat

Allied planes struck Lashio inflicting moderate damage to the airbase, supply facilities and the runway. Ground loses were thought to be light. The raid was conducted by 12 X Wellington, 27 X Hudson, 64 X B-25C and 24 X P-38G, of which a Mitchell was lost to ground fire and a Hudson was damaged.

Things aboard the S-36 are finally looking up as great inroads have been made pumping water out of the boat. The men now have no doubts that they'll arrive safe and sound in Cairns, where further repairs will be made before they are sent off to a repair yard for the major work required.

The troops assigned to the attack on Wyndham have begun their final advance, cutting off all retreat lines except by sea. This means that the Japanese will be even more fanatical than they are noted for. The assault force is made up of:

2nd Australian Division
3rd Australian Division
2nd Australian Cav Division
6th Australian Cav Brigade
Americal Division
112th USA Cav Regiment
3rd Australian Tank Regiment
5th Australian Tank Regiment
193rd USA Tank Battalion
754th USA Tank Battalion
19th USA Engineer Regiment
40th USA Field Artillery Regiment
26th USA Field Artillery Brigade
SWPAC HQs

The Sparrow Force Battalion has moved into a Position to slow and warn of a Japanese advance out of Darwin towards Wyndham.

The 1st Australian Division is moving up to reinforce the attackers and is about 250 miles from Wyndham.

Meanwhile at the rail junction the following units are blocking a large Japanese force.

6th Australian Division
24th USA Division
32nd USA Division
2nd Australian AT Regiment
101st Australian AT Regiment
1st RAA Coastal Artillery Regiment, which is here due to a bug in the game as it's a static unit.
170th Australian I Corps HQs

The Gull Force Battalion and the Darwin Defense Brigade are defending the flanks.

Other units are heading from the coast to join in this fight and it's believed that the Japanese intentions are not to advance to far from their coastal bases.

Not far from Pearl Harbor a huge convoy has assembled, it's destination is the Operation Snowball staging base, Canton Island. Another convoy will follow shortly as will USN Naval TFs charged with the safe arrival of these vital convoys.

Ed has passed the command for the final run in for the USN forces that will hit Wake Island from the sea and air. It is hoped that this may distract the Japanese from the Operation Snowball area.

Bill hears the signalman as the flags and blinkers pass the orders from ship to ship. The increase in speed is nothing for the O'Bannon but Bill wonders what it would be like with the new fast BBs or a CV TF making a good speed in heavy weather. Maybe some time in the future he'll find out.

Pete is awaken by Sylvia knocking on his door. “Where were you after closing?,” she demands. “I was worried sick about you. You know that you aren't fully mended yet.” Pete explains where he was and what he did and she hugs him tightly, “I worry about you because I love you.”

A young Marine pilot by the name of Robert Irvine has finished his advanced flight training and has been assigned to a new squadron that is just being formed. VMF-222 will be getting the new F4U-1 Corsair and the men will train on the planes before being shipped out. This process will take months to accomplish but the men already in Portland are excited to be getting the new plane instead of Wildcats. Rumors abound that it's so fast it's not to be believed.

Another snow and Sandy looks out of the window marveling at nature's beauty and then her mood changes as the reality of closed roads and shoveling off the roof sets in. She finishes writing her letter to Bill and starts making lunch.

In Europe

Manstein attacked with 13 divisions, 3 Pz, in an effort to relieve the 6th Army.

Victory Points Japanese 17992 Allied 6485



Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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RE: Final Approach

Post by Capt. Harlock »

Rumors abound that it's so fast it's not to be believed.

Rumors are pretty accurate, in this case. So we could be seeing the "Whistling Death" in action in a couple of months?
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo
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RE: BOOM!

Post by tocaff »

Sadly I'm continuing to battle bugs in the game. Many subs that are assigned mine laying missions manage to revert to a sub patrol instead and only sometimes can I get them back to their intended purpose. Also in this entry you'll see how bombardment attack orders weren't carried out and instead a general attack took place by the troops at the rail junction.

December 13, 1942 Wake Island

Intel

217053 men are based at Ominato.
Peng Hu Fortress is located at Pescadores.
Ryojun Fortress is located at Port Arthur.
1st Army is planning for an attack on Sian.
Tsushima Fortress is located at Masan.
67th Construction Battalion is located at Toyama.
1st Fleet is located at Hiroshima/Kure.
16th Division is located at Tulagi.
5th Engineer Regiment is located at Port Moresby.
126th IJNAF Base Force is located at Iwo Jima.
Elements of the 51st Division are located at Canton.
6944 men are based at Shimuzu.

Recon

No reports

Combat

A snooping Betty is shadowing the fleet near Wake Island. The captains of the Vincennes and Hornet have no doubts that they have been spotted.

As the sun comes up the BBs open fire on Wake Island and just as suddenly a huge explosion virtually lifts the bow of the O'Bannon out of the water. Mines! The DDs screening the bombardment TF have run into a mine field with Dunlap hitting 2 of them, Lang has hit another and the O'Bannon has also hit one. The 3 stricken destroyers have been ordered to make for Midway Island as best they can. The Dunlop has suffered moderate systems damage, very heavy flooding and she is burning. Another DD will standby to take off the wounded. The Lang has moderate systems damage, moderate flooding and is burning. Wounded have already been transferred off of her and she's expected to make Midway.

Aboard the O'Bannon Bill has received the DC reports and has noted in his log that his ship has suffered moderate systems damage, moderate flooding and is burning. By some miracle there have been no fatalities and nobody was seriously injured when the mine went off. There are 17 wounded men aboard, but they will all recover. He expects to make Midway and transfer his wounded to shore once there. He has no doubts that his crew will extinguish the fires and bring the flooding under control. He does wonder about how long they will be out of the war while repairs are made.

The old battle wagons fired on the air base and did heavy damage to it and it's facilities. Many secondary explosions were noted and it was assumed that supplies had been hit and 16 X Betty were destroyed on the ground. The port suffered light damage and ground loses were thought to have been high.

On board the West Virginia, Ed has issued his orders and his TF will make for Pearl Harbor, less the 3 stricken DDs. It had been assumed that the Japanese had mined Wake Island, but it was thought that the BBs and cruisers could shell the island from outside of the minefield. The CVs never launched a strike as the rains that shielded the bombardment force from discovery kept the planes from flying. He reads the reports of the damaged DDs and wonders if the Dunlop can be saved. He knows that O'Bannon will be fine as he has boundless confidence in Bill's command abilities. All in all he suspects that the operation has managed to get the Japanese's attention. Now for the replenishment and long sail to the Operation Snowball staging area, where his command will double in size as more of the old BBs will be awaiting his arrival. The only thing that's really bothering him at the moment is that his request that an AR be placed at Midway Island was denied due to Snowball's demands. He sighs and wonders if any commander in the history of warfare has ever had enough assets to be fully satisfied.

On the flag bridge of the Hornet Admiral M Mitscher has decided to order that the CVs attack Wake Island in the morning and then they will retire to Pearl Harbor. Of course this depends on the weather, which is predicted to be marginal at best.

Japanese aircraft attacked the 32nd USA Division at the rail junction, inflicting light loses

More planes attacked the 112th USA Cav Regiment about 37 miles from Wyndham, loses were light.

The Allied forces attacked at the rail junction, inflicting moderate loses on the Japanese, but Allied formations have suffered very heavily. In Brisbane, at Allied HQs, the question being asked is who ordered this attack? Considering that this force was meant to defend and an artillery bombardment of the Japanese was ordered the staff is mystified.

The CV Lexington is the center of a TF that slips out of Pearl Harbor in the predawn darkness. She is responsible for providing cover for the Snowball convoys. Soon the old BBs will depart, to later be joined by Ed's TF. The final pieces of Snowball are slowly falling into place and it is hoped that even a major Japanese effort to stop it will be swept aside by the massive force being assembled. When Snowball was in it's early planning stages Sec. of the Navy Frank Knox, with Sec. of War Henry Stimson's support, had demanded that for the 1st naval thrust made by the USA against the Empire of Japan be of such force that a message would be sent to the Japanese. This message is that the USA would pay whatever was needed to win the war.

It's still snowing in the mountains in northern California and Sandy is back on the roof with a shovel again. Beautiful snow, yeah right for little kids, she mutters under her breath. Dave managed to clear the front porch of snow, but it's tough being one handed.

On the Palawan Red and Cookie sit idly soaking up the sun. Lucky is nearby in a shaded spot panting in the heat. “The ship is like an oven in this heat,” remarks Red who is wearing a pair of shorts and that's it. Cookie nods and pours some water over his head and sighs.

The huge convoy is making slow progress towards Canton Island and Orsini is busy writing a letter to his father. The other members of his squad are finding various things to do to kill the time. The gunner, Slim, is with a group of men shooting craps. Nobody knows his name as he goes by Slim. The assistant gunner, Jack is playing in a non-stop poker game. He claims that if he loses all of his money or wins it doesn't matter because he's a fatalist who believes that he'll never survive the war.

Robert Irvine has boarded a train that will eventually take him to Portland and as it travels north he watches the scenery go by. He´s wondering what it'll be like to fly a new, hot plane and wonders how he'll do when he's in combat. Clicky, clack goes the train and it lulls him to sleep.

North Africa

Rommel began a retreat from El Agheila. The British 8th Army advanced into Libya.


Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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RE: BOOM!

Post by tocaff »

December 14, 1942 Retiring from Wake Island

Intel

5th Army is located at Heiho.
3899 men are based at Nagato.
1818 men are based at Hungnam.
4th Reserve AA Regiment is located at Kagoshima.
40th Construction Battalion is located at Changchun.
1st Parachute Regiment is located at Singapore.
3rd Engineer Regiment is located at Lunga.
Radio transmissions detected at Vancouver.
53rd Construction Battalion is located at Lashio.
Maizuru Fortress is located at Maizuru.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Rangoon 2 X CL, 3 X AK, 109 fighters, 90 bombers, 195 aux, 19 LCUs 69340/671/198
PBY Catalina takes recon photos of Makin 5 LCUs 1200/4/0

Combat

Early in the morning 22 X F4F-4 roared in to attack on Wake Island. They came in low, strafing the base but doing negligible damage. Four of the Wildcats were damaged in the attack by ground fire.

About 18 minutes later Wake Island was attacked by 98 X SBD diving on the airfield and they destroyed 15 X Betty, did moderate damage to the base and inflicted light loses on the troops there. Many secondary explosions indicated that supply stocks were heavily hit. The 18 X F4F-4 that provided escort for the attack had a front row seat to the show as no Japanese planes were in the air. The USN lost 2 X SBD and 10 others were damaged by the ground fire.

The 23th USA Division, located at the rail junction, was attacked by Japanese planes and suffered no loses. The Japanese artillery bombarded the area with the defenders suffering light casualties.

The DD Dunlop's crew continues to struggle to save their ship, but it is looking more and more like the flooding has doomed her even though the fires are almost all out now.

The DD Lang's crew has managed to hold the flooding from getting worse and the fires have almost all been extinguished.

The situation aboard the DD O'Bannon is stable and Bill knows that though there are still some fires burning and flooding that they'll bring the ship safely to Midway. He and his crew are exhausted, but they are still crippled and in dangerous waters with much work to be done. Frank reported to Bill that the wounded men are doing “OK, all things considered”, though having a doctor on board would've been better for them. Bill consults his charts and thinks that the distance from Wake to Midway never seemed so far before.

Ed is still cursing to himself as he monitors the fate of the 3 DDs knowing that if the planners had listened to him an AR would be at Midway to assist them. Midway's facilities are going to be of limited value to the DDs, if they make it there. He can only hope for the best as his TF makes for Pearl Harbor.

Aboard the CV Hornet Admiral Mitscher has read all of the reports and is generally pleased with the results of the raid. He is glad that he decided to stay in range and launch a strike in the morning against Wake. Now the 2 CV TFs make for Pearl Harbor before moving on to their assigned base for Operation Snowball.

The struggle to bring the S-36 will come to an end with the sub expected to arrive at Cairns within the next 36 hours.

The HQs for India are closely watching the buildup taking place at Rangoon. They've known for a while now about intel that the Japanese appear to be planning an attack in the area of Madras. Plans have been made and troops are being shifted, though it is doubted that a large scale attack can be repulsed. The RN is still licking it's wounds from the attack the KB made and the Admiralty keeps demanding that valuable ships be sent to fight in the ETO.

Slim and Orsini are strolling around the ship as both of them are bored. They bump into Jack who looks like hell. “What happened to you?” asks Slim.

“I was gambling all night and was way ahead and then the bottom fell out. I can't even afford a butt now,” replies the forlorn Jack.*

“Come on then, let's go grab some chow and I'll give you a smoke later,” says Orsini.

FDR continues to try and get the Soviets to grant basing rights, but to no avail. The one thing that the State Department people are noticing is that the highly placed Communist Party officials are in a much better frame of mind as the Germans are being squeezed at Stalingrad and other places seem to be seeing a change in the fortunes of the war in favor of the Red Army.

A tank battle that will last for three days south of Stalingrad commenced today.

Victory Points Japan 18024 Allied 6556

* During the Great Depression cigarettes were sold individually because that's all people could afford.




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Hanging on the bulkhead of Ed's cabin.
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Todd

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RE: Poof

Post by tocaff »

December 15, 1942 Midway Island

Intel

6th Reserve Tank Regiment is located at Osaka/Kobe.
Yura Fortress is located at Takamatsu.
2nd Reserve AA Regiment is located at Tokyo.
62nd Construction Battalion is located at Lunga.
22433 men are based at Okayama.
Kitachishima Fortress is located at Paramushiro Jima.
2nd Hvy Gun Regiment is located at Tsitsihar.
4640 men are based at Wakkanai.
Kure Base Force is located at Hiroshima/Kure.
65th Brigade is located at Rabaul.
2498 men are based at Ikitsuki.
3915 men are based at Nagato.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Mandalay 87 fighters, 157 aux, 12 LCUs 14080/167/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 3 X CA, 2 X DE, 2 X AP, 7 X AK, 15 LCUs 102340/848/36

Combat

A B5N Kate attacked the submarine Grunion near Kwajalein after she was spotted by a Val. Grunion has just completed mining the area and suffered no damage. She will retire to Pearl and undergo a refit there or a yard in the US.

A Betty has been showing the US CV TF and the Yorktown has been spotted and reported as radio transmissions assumed to be from the plane were intercepted.

The 24th USA Division was attacked by Japanese planes at the rail junction. casualties were very light. A little while later Japanese bombardment attack on the Allied troops at the rail junction resulted in moderate loses. Allied artillery replied, but to no effect.

At Wyndham a Japanese bombardment attack was made and Allied forces suffered light loses. The Allies replied with their artillery and the Japanese were thought to have lost a moderate number of troops.

Operation Grinder is in a lot of trouble as it's now believed that the Japanese could have in excess of 250K troops facing them. The force at Wyndham isn't strong enough to attack, but a bombardment will commence while the Allied commanders decide what to do. The rail junction is also facing a superior force and something must be decided quickly before the Japanese crush the forces facing them.

O'Bannon ties up at a newly built dock at Midway Island. Her crew will now finish off the few small fires remaining and plug the leaks before they make for Pearl Harbor. Bill has granted some of his crew shore leave even though they are needed for the work parties. He believes that the men need some rest as much as the ship needs work and he's going to try and balance the two. He has had about 4 hours of sleep since the hours prior to the run in on Wake Island and now that he's issued his orders he takes a shower and falls into his bunk. Arrangements have been made to fly some of O'Bannon's wounded back to Pearl where they can be properly cared for much to the pharmacist mate's relief. Bill is dismayed that facilities are almost nonexistent and the only repairs to O'Bannon will be made by her crew. He wonders if they should stay here or try to make Pearl.

The Lang is struggling to make Midway, but the fires are well in hand and her skipper feels that they'll make it.

The Dunlop is a dying ship and though she's still in range of Wake's planes nothing attacked her today. A vessel is with her to take the crew of should her captain decide to give the abandon ship order.

Ed doesn't know if he should be relieved that the IJN didn't appear to contest his raid on Wake or be disappointed. No matter as Snowball will afford an even better chance of handing Tojo's boys their heads.

Bill Donovan says that, “When you arrive in England tell the Pirates that Pete, minus an arm, is doing fine for himself in Darwin. He's got a pretty little thing madly in love with him and he's become a part time bartender.” The man smiles and leaves the office. What Bill didn't say is that he's keeping Pete on the payroll as a token of his appreciation for all that he's done.

Orsini's squad are sitting on a cargo hatch looking at the stars and one of them says, “Joe you're the only one of us with any money left.”

Before he can continue Gunny magically appears and says, “Don't worry about money because where we're going it useless.”

Gunny drifts off and then men marvel at his ability to produce those now you see me, now you don't moments. “I tell you he's not human, the way he always seems to show up and poof, then he's gone again.

Today the convoy JW-51A sailed from Locke Ewe in Scotland with 16 merchantmen for the Kola Inlet.









Todd

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RE: Poof

Post by tocaff »

December 16, 1942 Midway Island

Intel

7888 men are based at Bonin.
Yongfung Bay Fortress is located at Wonsan.
51st AA Regiment is located at Rangoon.
5th Army is located at Heiho.
7886 men are based at Bonin.
Tsushima Fortress is located at Masan.
23rd Tank Regiment is located at Chiamussu.
65th Brigade is located at Rabaul.
12th Construction Battalion is located at Batan Island.
110 aircraft are based at Mutanchiang.
Yokosuka Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Tokyo.
Ponope Base Force is located at Ponape.
8th Ind. Brigade is located at Chengting.
4th Mixed Brigade is located at Myitkyina.
60th Construction Battalion is located at Tarakan.
Radio transmissions detected at Prince Rupert.

Recon

SB-2 takes recon photos of Heiho 9 LCUs 65100/745/30
R-12 takes recon photos of Tabun-Nur 1 LCU 1300/18/0
SB-2 takes recon photos of Chiamussu 6 LCUs 24560/301/9
R-12 takes recon photos of Changkufeng 9 LCUs 49900/392/3
R-12 takes recon photos of Hailar 7 LCUs 43000/342/7
Pe-2 takes recon photos of Fushan 1 LCU 2120/7/0
Pe-2 takes recon photos of Mutanchiang 10 LCUs 22180/326/158
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Mandalay 102 fighters, 147 aux, 12 LCUs 34180/315/17
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 15 LCUs 111040/887/32

Combat

IJN DDs and MSWs encountered a mine field at Kwajalein.

At the rail junction the 6th Australian Division was on the receiving end of Japanese planes making a ground attack. Allied loses were extremely light and a Tojo was observed going down to the cheers of the Aussies.

Not to be outdone the Japanese artillery at the rail junction shelled the Allied troops who had moderate loses. The counter battery fire caused light loses among the Japanese.

The Allied big guns at the rail junction later hit the Japanese causing light casualties.

At Wyndham the Allied troops were bombarded by the Japanese and suffered light casualties. The Allied artillery shelled Japanese positions causing light loses to the Japanese.

Operation Grinder is rapidly grinding to a halt. It is being hotly debated as to what the proper course of action should be now that it's clear that the Japanese appear to be much stronger than ever thought.

The DD Lang arrived at Midway Island and promptly tied up at the pier. Both the O'Bannon and Lang have extinguished their fires, but flooding continues to be a problem. The Lang is in much worse shape than the O'Bannon. Port facilities are very limited and the ships need an AR to assist, but there isn't one there. Bill demands that his ship be allowed to try her luck and make for Pearl rather than be left to sink at a wharf here.

The DD Dunlop was scuttled today and her crew is being carried to Pearl.

S-36 reached Cairns and immediately work parties swarm aboard her claiming that she'll be “dry as a whistle” before you know it. The crew is exhausted and happy to have reached a safe port.

It's only midweek and Pete is already looking forward to the weekend and his job. Sylvia is beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea, but doesn't say anything. Pete was contacted today by American authorities concerning his status and he'll meet with them tomorrow. Sylvia is more concerned about that than anything else.

Bob Irvine spent the day being checked out in an F4F-4 Wildcat and he asked the the other pilots in his squadron what this was all about and one of the men said, “The new guy is the last one to get a new plane. Be happy that it's a dash 4 and not a dash 3.”

“Hey, I liked the 3 more than the 4” says another Marine pilot.

Elaine helps her mother doing the laundry. After scrubbing the clothes on the wash board they are handed to Elaine who rinses and then puts the items through the wringer, cranking away and then repeating the process. Once all of the laundry is done the two women go outside and hang the items on the clothes lines. It's a cold day in Pittsburgh and it'll take a long time to dry, but there are no options and at least there is a breeze and the sun is out. This is so boring, she thinks, I need someone new in my life.

The Red Army attacked towards Rostov-On-Don to cut off the Germans in the Caucasus.

The Italian 8th Army's position is precarious and threatens the relief of Stalingrad being attempted by the Germans.
Todd

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RE: Stay & Pay

Post by tocaff »

December 17, 1942 Coral Sea

Intel

5th Fleet is located at Ominato.
6649 men are based at Saigon.
1850 men are based at Pagan.
Yokosuka 6th SNLF is located at Port Moresby.
5952 men are based at Arshaan.
3rd Tank Div is located at Peking.
3546 men are based at Seoul.
11th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Osaka/Kobe.
Yokosuka Reserve Coastal Artillery Regiment is located at Tokyo.
1837 men are based at Gumma.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Andaman Island 9 aux, 5 LCUs 15300/93/9
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Lunga 12 LCUs
The air raid on Tulagi revealed 10 LCUs 45520/363/4

Combat

IJN MSWs continued sweeping the mine field at Kwajalein.

The Allied air forces attacked Myitkyina with 27 X Hudson and 63 X B-25C with all planes safely returning home. It is believed that the attack caused moderate damage to the runway, airbase facilities and supply dumps. Japanese ground loses were thought to be light. The coordination of this attack was poor as the escorts never appeared, but luckily they weren't needed as no Japanese planes were aloft.

61 X B-17E and 68 X B-24D attacked Tulagi causing light damage to the port and it's facilities. All the planes left the target area, but 3 Fortresses and 4 Liberators were damaged by the weak ground fire. Ultimately one of each type of plane will be written off as a total loss, an acceptable loss rate.

11 X Wellington conducted an attack on the 4th Mixed Brigade located at Myitkyina, suffering no loses and reportedly inflicting light loses on the Japanese. Due to a lack of coordination another 8 X Wellington appeared 9 minutes later and also inflicted light casualties on the 4th at no cost to themselves. Allied commanders had hoped that all of these attacks would roll in on the Japanese at once, but the men are gaining the experience needed to become the killing machine that is called for.

An air attack on 32nd USA Division at the rail junction caused light casualties

The IJN conducted a bombardment of the Allied troops surrounding Wyndham causing moderate loses. Japanese artillery then opened up causing more moderate loses.

An Allied assault on Wyndham confirmed the Allied commanders worst fears. The Japanese have poured engineering units into Australia and they are firmly entrenched behind extensive defensive positions. The Japanese line held off the attack though their loses were placed at being moderate. The Allied troops lost heavily while the combat engineers managed to do some damage to the defensive positions themselves.

At Midway the DDs Lang and O'Bannon are continuing to be patched up and the prognosis for the flooding on both ships is good. Bill enters into his log that an AR is badly needed at the base and an MLE would work well in tandem with the AS already in place here. Bill manged to get some letters onto a plane bound for Pearl Harbor so at least Sandy will know that he's OK.

The DD Benham's charges approach Wallis Island, where they will add another empty AK to the convoy on the meandering route back to Pearl Harbor. Phil is tiring of the role of shepherd and hopes that the Benham's next assignment will be that of the wolf.

The submarine Tarpon continues her lonely, fruitless patrol in the Coral Sea waiting for Japanese ships that never appear. Her crew grumbles about the brass being stupid enough to believe that the Japanese would try to run a convoy into Port Moresby. Tarpon's skipper knows that assumptions of what can and can't be done in a war can lead to disaster. He remembers back to a class at Annapolis where the instructor had told them that those who dare can accomplish the unthinkable.

Sylvia went with Pete to his meeting and then sat outside of the office for over an hour. When Pete finally emerged he smiled at her and she threw her arms around him and kissed him. “I'm a lucky guy to have you,” he said, “Yep, really lucky because somebody in Washington likes me and is going to continue my pay even though I'm staying here and doing nothing.”

Sandy sits at the kitchen table and moans inwardly at the thought of going up on the roof of the house again to shovel it off. “Good morning,” she says as Dave joins her. “I left the shovel up there and it's a good thing because it's snowing again, heavily.” She wonders if she'll ever get any letters from Bill and shudders at the thought that something might have happened to him.

Today the British Parliament vowed to avenge Nazi crimes against the Jews. The United States also declared the same.
Todd

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RE: Grinder In Trouble

Post by tocaff »

December 18, 1942 Brisbane

Intel

6th Aviation Rgt is located at Changkufeng.
146th IJA Base Force is planning for an attack on Madras.
3265 men are based at Anshan.
15th AA Regiment is located at Nagoya.
4th AA Regiment is located at Toyama.
1st Heavy AA Battalion is located at Tokyo.
Maloelop Base Force is located at Maloelap.
Southern Area Army is located at Singapore.
2nd Army is located at Truk.
1725 men are based at Fushan.
34th Division is located at Changsha.
Botanko Hvy Gun Regiment is located at Tsitsihar.
27th Engineer Regiment is located at Mutanchiang.
8th Ind. Brigade is located at Chengting.

Recon

PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Lunga 33 fighters, 10 bombers, 51 aux, 12 LCUs 10260/61/0

Combat

SS Pollack attacks 3 X MSW near Darwin, but either the fish missed or were duds as entered in Pollack's log and the MSWs tried, but failed to nail the sub with depth charges. The Pollack having sown a mine field, heads back to port.

Three naval bombardments of the Allied troops ringing Wyndham caused light casualties.

Japanese artillery caused moderate loses among the Allied troops at Wyndham.

An air attack on the 24th USA Division, at the rail junction inflicted very light loses but as soon as the planes disappeared Japanese troops poured forward and attacked. Japanese loses were thought to be moderately heavy while the Allies casualties were heavy and they were forced to retreat.

Operation Grinder has fallen apart and Allied units are falling back in what their commanders are trying to keep as an orderly retreat.

The DD Lang leaves Midway in a desperate attempt to reach Pearl Harbor as her hull can't be patched at Midway and an AR that's on it's way is to far off to be of help.

Pete arrives at the pub a little earlier than his scheduled time as the owner has asked of him. They sit down and have a pint a talk about many things before the owner mentions that he'd like to sell the pub and wondered if Pete would be interested in buying it. “I would have to think this over and talk to Sylvia about it,” Pete replies, “Could I have some time to think about it?” He's told to take whatever time he feels he needs and the two of them start getting ready for the anticipated Friday night crowd.

No snow today and Sandy is pleased because she has muscles aching that she never even knew that she had. Besides she could never admit to her father that she couldn't do something. Dave's hand is healing well and the doctor expects that normalcy will return soon. That will be a huge relief as there's lots more winter to go in the mountains.

Bill Donovan is in a meeting at the White House and is being questioned about some of the people he working for him. He answers, “Sir, by keeping them on a string I have assets where I'll be needing them in the not so distant future. The world is a big place and I don't have that many reliable people so that when I do get somebody who's worth having I don't let him or her go.”














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RE: Damned Commanders

Post by tocaff »

December 19, 1942 Washington DC

Intel

22402 men are based at Okayama.
53rd Division is located at Osaka/Kobe.
34th Division is located at Changsha.
111th IJN Base Force is located at Shikka.
131st IJN Base Force is located at Jaluit.
21st Reserve Engineer Regiment is located at Shimuzu.
138th IJA Base Force is located at Truk.
Elements of the 17th Mixed Brigade are located at Shanghai.
53rd Division is located at Osaka/Kobe.
8th Area Army is located at Port Moresby.
43rd Construction Battalion is located at Rangoon.
53rd Construction Battalion is located at Lashio.
209033 men are based at Port Arthur.
15th Field Artillery Regiment is planning for an attack on Sian.

Recon

Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 15 LCUs 109/020/916/25

Combat

An IJN DD entered the mine field at Darwin and the resulting detonation when she hit one of them caused fires and heavy damage to the ship. Australians who witnessed the event and expressed their glee were beaten by Japanese troops sent to disperse the crowds.

A Japanese artillery bombardment attack at the rail junction caused moderate loses to the troops still there.

The O'Bannon had departed Midway and has been ordered to assist the Lang in her effort to reach Pearl Harbor. O'Bannon will also take the crew off of Lang if the situation becomes hopeless. Bill silently prays that there are no lurking Japanese subs as O'Bannon's sonar system is not operating and the slow speed of the Lang makes the 2 ships sitting ducks.

At a meeting in the White House FDR is cursing the Allied field commanders in Australia. “How the hell could they have been so stupid as to divide their force in the face of unknown enemy strength? Are there adequate troops left to hang on in Australia? Without weakening our defenses are there any troops available to send there? Do we even have the resources available to get some troops there with Snowball taking so much?”

General Marshall says, “Mr. President I'm afraid that the units that are still pretty much intact are either cut off or are retreating towards Derby. I seriously doubt if the plans we had for Papau New Guinea and the Dutch colonial territories will ever come to fruition now. We'll have to throw everything into Snowball. Is there any way that we can get the Soviets into the fight against Japan, either active or by allowing use of their bases? If we lose Australia and the Soviets lose Stalingrad our chances of winning this war will begin to evaporate.”

These are bleak days for the Allies. The was to Brisbane lies open to the Japanese at the moment. It is thought that Derby can be defended given enough time for the formations to rebuild their strength there. Units will retreat to Darwin where it is hoped that they will rebuild quickly enough to be able to mount a defense and Charter Towers, if the Japanese advance.

Pete sits in the pub reading the newspaper and is stunned by the course of events. He escaped the clutches of the Japanese and now all that he cares about could crumble. He decides that Sylvia and her parents should start making plans to stay with relatives in Sydney if the Japanese continue their advance and he'll talk to them about it tomorrow. He has also decided that he'll have to fight again for what he cares for. One arm is better than none.

German tanks are now only 30 miles from Stalingrad.


Todd

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RE: Grinder In Trouble

Post by Capt. Harlock »

An air attack on the 24th USA Division, at the rail junction inflicted very light loses but as soon as the planes disappeared Japanese troops poured forward and attacked. Japanese loses were thought to be moderately heavy while the Allies casualties were heavy and they were forced to retreat.

Operation Grinder has fallen apart and Allied units are falling back in what their commanders are trying to keep as an orderly retreat.

On the other hand, the situation isn't stalemated any more! [;)]
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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RE: Flee? Not Me!

Post by tocaff »

December 20, 1942 Brisbane

Intel

10553 men are based at Etorofo Jima.
16th Mixed Brigade is located at Changsha.
Burma Area Army is located at Rangoon.
3252 men are based at Anshan.
4306 men are based at Sakashima.
Tsushima Fortress is located at Masan.
7968 men are based at Bonin.
Chinhae Bay Fortress is located at Pusan.
4th Construction Battalion is located at Mukden.
48th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Rangoon.
20th Road Construction Battalion is located at Mandalay.
Kwantung Defense Brigade is located at Changchun.

Recon

No reports

Combat

A Betty attacked the Grunion 25 miles SW of Ndini. Luckily, though the plane wasn't detected until the last moment, no damage was done.

IJN MSWs continued sweeping the mine field at Darwin

Submarine Sailfish attacked a small convoy 120 miles from Singapore but either the fish missed or the were duds. The feeling of the officers and crew leaned towards the latter and morale suffered accordingly.

IJN MSWs detected a mine field at Fergusson Island and started sweeping it.

The ML Gouden Leeuwis was attacked by a Japanese sub, which put two torpedoes into her about 180 miles NW of Trimcomalee. The ship quickly succumbed as her back was broken and she's gone before more than a few rafts hit the water.

The Japanese attack at the rail junction forced the Gull Force Battalion to retreat with heavy casualties. The RAA Coastal Artillery Rgt, though a static unit from Sydney (bug), surrendered. The Japanese suffered light loses in the attack.

The O'Bannon continues to escort the Lang back to Pearl. Bill can't help but think that a single sub could move into their path and nail both DDs before they knew what even hit them. They are not zig zagging because Lang's condition doesn't allow for anything other than the most direct route. Of all the assignments Bill has been handed by the USN this one is by far the toughest to deal with. The Navy wouldn't send valuable assets to assist as two destroyers aren't worth the effort. This mission will succeed because Bill doesn't know how to fail in what he does. “Frank, is there anything else we can do to insure our safe arrival at Pearl? Have we missed anything? Surely there's a way for us to keep the subs away,” he says.

“Lang's sonar is back online and she'll break radio silence to let us know if she detects anything. Other than that I suppose we could pray,” responds the exec.

“I want you all to be safe,” says Pete, “If the Japanese move in this direction it's doubtful that the American and Australian troops can stop them after the way things seem to be going.”

“This is where we live and I'll not run away from my home,” says Milt. The two women nod in agreement and Pete knows that that's the end of the discussion.

As the nation prepares for the holidays it is muted as the war effort makes the primary demands on the country's economy and so many of her sons are off in distant lands defending democracy.

The bombing and navigation aid “Oboe” was used for the first time today by Bomber Command.

Victory Points Japanese 18252 Allied 6586



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RE: Send whiskey, beer and....

Post by tocaff »

December 21, 1942 The USS O'Bannon

Intel

5th Air Division is located at Rangoon.
1st Mortar Battalion is located at Changsha.
22nd Engineer Regiment is located at Mishan.
86126 men are based at Taan.
64th Construction Battalion is located at Nagasaki.
3rd Cavalry Brigade is located at Mishan.
18th Aviation Rgt is located at Mandalay.
4246 men are based at Pusan.
3127 men are based at Bangkok.

Recon

Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 11 LCUs 62180/393/13

Combat

6 IJN DDs attacked S-30 about 203 miles NE of Wyndham and she escaped in good shape.

IJN MSWs were spotted sweeping a mine field at Darwin.

The sub Tambor spotted an AK and attacked it at 42,81. One fish was reported to have hit and exploded leaving the AK on fire.

An air attack on Myitkyina was flown by 12 X Blenheim and 25 X Wellington. The escorts never arrived and the Japanese had 35 X Zero aloft. In the battle 3 X Blenheim were destroyed and 2 were damaged while the Wellingtons lost 9 planes and had 7 damaged. Light damage to the runway was reported and 5 X Zero were claimed as kills and another 7 were damaged.

S-36 has been patched up and she's been ordered to Auckland for repairs to be completed.

A convoy of 8 ships has been spotted and is assumed to be making for Port Moresby. Subs are lying in wait and planes have been alerted. What is surprising is that these ships are coming from the Darwin area.

A large Japanese force as moved out of Wyndham and the Allied troops prepare for a battle. Orders are given for them to attack behind a rolling barrage of artillery.

The huge convoy nears it's destination and the Marines of the 2nd Division can't wait to get ashore. Gunny has plans to keep his boys busy once they reach Canton Island.

The airbase at Portland is a large facility with almost no active squadrons there. The pilots of VMF-222 fly any single engine craft that they can lay their hands on just to have something to do while they await the arrival of their new planes. Bob went up today in an old P-43 Lancer and was forced to make an emergency landing when the engine quit. Luckily for Bob he was close to the field on his final approach. The other pilots kidded him and decided that he needed a nickname. They decided that Dead Stick would do. “No,” said one of the men, “That's to long and dead would be bad luck so why not Stick? Hell, look at Bob if he were any skinnier...well you guys have eyes.” So Bob is now to be known as Stick. He just hopes that the name will take on a new meaning because he intends on being on of the best pilots in the squadron.

The Lang's skipper signals O'Bannon that the flooding has increased. Bill worries that the distance might be to great for the stricken ship to cover. In the meantime his section chiefs have compiled a comprehensive list of everything that needs repair on his ship. The list is long and not all of it is related to the mine explosion. He sends a message to the Lang offering any assistance that they need and the reply is immediate, “Send whiskey, cold beer and young starlets.”

Hitler refused to let Paulus break out.


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RE: London Lies!

Post by tocaff »

December 22, 1942 Australia

Intel

1861 men are based at Naha.
187050 men are based at Saipan.
China Expeditionary Army is planning for an attack on Chungking.
18th Division is located at Rangoon.
Karafuto Mixed Brigade is located at Shikka.
8149 men are based at Toyohara.
236283 men are based at Osaka/Kobe.

Recon

SB-2 takes recon photos of Heiho 9 LCUs 83560/858/24
Pe-2 takes recon photos of Fushan 1 LCU 1800/10/0
R-12 takes recon photos of Arshaan 2 LCUs 5880/89/0
SB-2 takes recon photos of Chiamussu 6 LCUs 23760/269/74
Pe-2 takes recon photos of Mutanchiang 10 LCUs 28780/302/177
R-12 takes recon photos of Changkufeng 9 LCUs 50780/359/9
R-12 takes recon photos of Hailar 7 LCUs 42080/355/6
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 9 LCUs 37960/152/0

Combat

A Japanese bombardment attack near Wyndham resulted in moderate Allied loses. The Allies launched an attack on the Japanese troops and loses were reported to be: Japanese heavy casualties and the Allied forces moderately heavy casualties. Very little ground was gained in the attack. It is hoped that this will force the Japanese to retreat to Wyndham and the Allied troops will be able to extricate themselves from being cut off. The transfer of troops from Wyndham has been viewed as an opportunity to shift troops from the Derby area, but speed is of the essence.

The Lang continues to ship water and her pumps are slowly losing the battle against the sea. O'Bannon transferred additional pumps to the Lang and Bill has offered to send any other assistance that could help, “But the booze and women will stay with the O'Bannon,” he says to the signal man. The man smiles and Bill adds, “Send that last part too.” With over 600 miles to go the situation remains in doubt.

Tonight Hanukkah started and Elaine's father lit the menorah's 2 candles. It will be a different holiday this year with her brother in the army posted to North Africa. She silently ponders how life has changed because of the war.

Pete won't be working this Friday night as it'll be Christmas. He goes out shopping looking for presents to buy. The pickings are slim but by the end of the day his mission has been accomplished. American dollars work well with the black market.

Red has found a cap that looks like the one Santa wears and he repeatedly tries to get Lucky to wear it. The dog is not sharing Red's enthusiasm and wants no part of the cap. Cookie watches and can't help but laugh at the proceedings.

In Canberra the Labor Party opposition is calling for the PM's head as they want a new war policy. “Australia for Australians” proclaims more than one newspaper around the country. “Bring our boys back to defend our homes” other newspapers demand. “London Lies!” trumpets yet another paper while the radio blares that Australians helped save the British and now the British don't want to know about Australians. This feeling towards Great Britain is exactly the opposite from how they feel about the Yanks. Americans are laying down their lives to defend Australia and this will not be forgotten.

Convoy JW-51B sailed from Lake Ewein, Scotland with 14 merchantmen, 6 destroyers and a mine sweeper.



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RE: Lang Might Make It!

Post by tocaff »

December 23, 1942 Australia

Intel

88233 men are based at Pescadores.
21st Mortar Battalion is located at Changsha.
15th Naval Construction Battalion is located at Lunga.
252268 men are based at Kagoshima.
10th Construction Battalion is located at Tsitsihar.
1st Engineer Regiment is located at Port Moresby.
10th Aviation Rgt is located at Changchun.
35th Brigade is located at Rangoon.
51st Heavy AA Battalion is located at Koepang.
Radio transmissions detected at Hungnam.
Elements of the 70th Division are located at Nanchang.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Myitkyina 4 LCUs 3980/39/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 9 LCUs 36880/133/0

Combat

The Americal USA Division was bombed and strafed 63 miles NE of Wyndham and casualties were reported to have been very light. The Japanese troops conducted an artillery bombardment not long after the planes had left the area and Allied forces had light loses from that. The Allied artillery responded with it's own bombardment and Japanese loses were thought to have been moderate.

O'Bannon and Lang passed near French Frigate Shoals and things are looking up for the Lang. Though she's still suffering from the flooding it's been stabilized. Bill has sent a Damage Control Party and materials over to the Lang to assist in the ongoing struggle to reinforce damaged bulkheads that if left unattended might give way.

The might of the USN that will be thrown into Operation Snowball is now at sea heading for the staging area. It is hoped that the IJN makes an appearance once it's to late to stop Snowball as there are just a few men in the US military that are itching to commence payback time.

Despite the Allied subs best efforts it's looking like the convoy bound for Port Moresby will get there unscathed. There is the hope that Allied LBA can get a punch in.

Ed has worked and reworked his plans for the bombardment prior to the invasion. He doesn't want to see any more ships striking mines.

Pete and Sylvia are still busily discussing the good and bad points of buying the pub. Sylvia's father is all for it and his wife, Jac, has mentioned that he'll not be a freeloader if Pete does decide to buy it.

Another night and another candle in the menorah. Elaine's family silently prays for the safety of their extended family that is still in Russia and Lithuania.

The Germans begin to withdraw towards Kotelnikovo. Stalingrad is still surrounded by the Red Army.

Victory Points Japan 18287 Allies 6607
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RE: Christmas Eve

Post by tocaff »

December 24, 1942 Christmas Eve

Intel

2646 men are based at Taejon.
12th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Nagoya.
Nagasaki Fortress is located at Nagasaki.
Saipan Coastal Gun Regiment is located at Saipan.
28th Division is located at Tsitsihar.
2479 men are based at Ikitsuki.
3264 men are based at Anshan.
3061 men are based at Kitakyushu.
Yura Fortress is located at Takamatsu.
11th AA Regiment is located at Osaka/Kobe.
3rd Reserve AA Regiment is located at Matsue.
6933 men are based at Shimuzu.
3459 men are based at Seoul.
4th Reserve AA Regiment is located at Kagoshima.
5th Reserve AA Regiment is located at Taejon.
17th Construction Battalion is located at Mutanchiang.
Southern Area Army is located at Singapore.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Mandalay 88 fighters, 115 aux, 12 LCUs 36420/305/9
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 9 LCUs 36800/150/0

Combat

IJN escort vessels detected a mine field at Balikpapan.

In the late morning Allied planes attacked Mandalay. 54 X B-25C, 24 X P-38G and 3 X F-5A swooped in and were met by 46 X Zero and 24 X Tony. The air combat was violent and the skies were filled with burning aircraft. The debriefings generated the following report. 9X Zero downed with another 8 damaged, 4 X Tony destroyed 8 more damaged, light damage to the airbase and runway and very light Japanese casualties. 9 X B-25C lost 17 more damaged, 10 X P-38G destroyed 1 other damaged, 1 X F-5A downed. It is believed that without larger numbers of fighter escorts these raids should be suspended as the loses are to high to sustain and the damage done to the enemy was minimal. It was further recommended that 4E bombers are needed for these attacks to succeed.

An air raid on the 26th USA FA Brigade not far from Wyndham caused very light loses. A Japanese artillery bombardment commenced soon after the raid was over and Allied loses from that were moderate. The Allied artillery in turn caused moderate loses to the Japanese.

Midway Island has reported an increase in the number of Japanese recon flights over the base.

Despite their best efforts the flooding on the Lang has worsened and if she can maintain her current speed they are still about 4-5 days from Pearl Harbor. The men are exhausted and the sea gives them no respite. Bill continues to worry about O'Bannon's sonar being nonfunctional. An IJN sub in their path would surely go undetected and with Lang's lack of speed and maneuverability she'd be a sitting duck. Not only is command lonely, but full of worries. No matter how hard you train and try to envision all possibilities, there's always the unexpected. The cooks aboard the O'Bannon have prepared a special meal for Christmas Eve and the men think of home and loved ones.

Aboard the Maryland, which flies Ed's flag, he makes final plans for the execution of Operation Snowball's bombardment TF. He's determined to succeed and is acutely aware of the threat presented by Japanese minefields and coastal artillery batteries. He can't remember which Civil War General said it, but he agrees. To be a commander one has to be willing to destroy the thing he values the most, his command. He thinks that it was McClellan, but isn't sure as Annapolis was so many years ago that it seems like a lifetime. The TF continues to steam towards it's staging base where it will refuel and await the “go” order.

The Palawan swings idly at anchor at Noumea. Cookie has been very busy preparing a holiday meal for the crew. He's spent almost as much time chasing Lucky out of the galley as actually cooking. Red has now been charged with keeping Lucky away from the food as the dog managed to eat 2 1/2 pounds of ham. Cookie has limited resources and the dog has an unlimited appetite.

Pete declines the offer to attend a church service and stays with Sylvia's family. They pray before their holiday meal for all those placed at risk by this horrible war.

The troops that are Operation Snowball attend religious services and consume a holiday meal as they are resting before being given the order to board their transports. The men know that something big is afoot as only a blind man would fail to see the gathering armada, but other than rumors they know nothing at this point in time. The airfield has undergone a rapid expansion lately and more and more planes have appeared on an almost daily basis. Whatever is in the works, it's big and Canton Island appears ready to sink it's so overloaded.

FDR addressed the nation in a Christmas Eve radio address in which he told the people that though things may seem bleak, the light is at the end of the tunnel and that the Allied cause will surely triumph as good will surely win over evil. He asked that the people of the United States do all that they can to help in the war effort by buying war bonds, working extra hours, driving less, making maximum use of the food that they buy and a number of other things. He closed with wishing everyone health and happiness and promised that their government was working as hard as it could to bring the war to a swift and successful conclusion, though the road ahead will be difficult and strewn with obstacles.

Admiral Darlan was assassinated in Algiers.

The Soviets attacked and broke through the 4th Romanian Army's lines towards Kotelnikovo.

Todd

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RE: Christmas Day

Post by tocaff »

December 25, 1942 Christmas Day

Intel

35th Brigade is located at Rangoon.
6th NLF is located at Thursday Island.
2659 men are based at Taejon.
7905 men are based at Sendai.
19th Division is located at Mishan.
37th Division is located at Changsha.
Radio transmissions detected at Nanning.
South Seas Det. is located at Gili Gili.
43rd Construction Battalion is located at Rangoon.
Elements of the 70th Division are located at Nanchang.
Elements of the 110th Division are located at Changsha.
28640 men are based at Tsitsihar.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Pagan 1 LCU 1420/0/0
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 9 LCUs 35700/109/0

Combat

S-36 spotted and attacked an AK 47 miles from Darwin. She scored 2 torpedo hits, causing the AK to break up and sink rapidly.

The submarine Searaven underwent an ASW attack near Brunei. She sustained some broken light bulbs and a ruptured gasket on a valve, but other than that and frayed nerves she continues towards her new home port.

110 X B-17E and 96 X B-24D attacked Tulagi in a mid morning raid. Four of each plane type were damaged and moderate damage was done to the port, it's facilities and supply dumps.

The Japanese attacked Dacca with 87 X Zero and 36 X Tony, which were challenged by the CAP consisting of 38 X Hurricane. The dog fighting was savage and 32 of the Hurricanes went down while the Japanese were thought to have lost 4 X Zero (1 damaged) and 4 X Tony destroyed. “How can we get more experience when our planes are inferior death traps?” asks a survivor at the debriefing.

A Japanese bombardment attack near Wyndham caused light Allied casualties while the Allied gunners found the mark and inflicted very heavy loses on the Japanese. Allied commanders are watching their supplies dwindle and hope that the three divisions approaching Wyndham from Derby will be able to retake the town and reopen the supply lines. Time is always in such short supply.

Baker Island reported a Betty having circled the base a few times before moving off. Another Betty appeared later in the day and followed the same routine.

Lang's crew, with an assist from the O'Bannon, has lowered the level of flooding and managed to increase her speed. It's now expected that late tomorrow or early on the 27th they will make Pearl Harbor. This news is better than any gift found under a Christmas Tree.

Patrol flights covering the Coral Sea have again spotted the Japanese convoy as it sprints towards safer waters. It's about 137 miles SW of Gili Gili, heading SE at 13 knots. It's doubtful if any Allied subs will be able to intercept, but LBA is on full alert. Tarpon increases speed in an effort to cut off the convoy. The feeling among the crew is electric as they anticipate action.

Ed scans the horizon marveling at the might of the TF that he commands. Just the thought of impending action invigorates him. This is what I was born to do, he thinks. His thought then turns towards Bill and he wonders if O'Bannon made it to Midway. He knows that the Navy finally released an AR to be stationed at Midway, but it won't help the DDs that struck the mines during the Wake Island bombardment. He wonders if there are plans to retake Wake as he feels that FDR wants something to feed the American people, and fast. A victory is what is needed and he intends to do his part to deliver it.

Pearl Harbor sees yet another convoy bound for Operation Snowball's staging area depart. A massive amount of men, machines, fuel and supplies are being gathered to throw at the Japanese. A victory must be had.

Another day, another candle for the menorah. “Your brother should be here lighting the candles,” Elaine's father says. She just nods in agreement and her mother starts to cry.

Pete, Sylvia, Jac and Milt have exchanged presents and hugs with each other. The two women are amazed that Pete has managed to get them stockings. “I thought there was no silk available for these,” says Jac.

“All of the silk is going for parachutes I was told,” adds Sylvia.

Pete smiles and says, “Where there's a will there's a way.”

Milt eyes his present, a bottle of single malt, and offers Pete a nip.

Dave and Sandy are alone for their holiday meal and before eating they pray for Bill's and all the other men off fighting the war safety. Sandy begins to cry and her father tries to comfort her.

The German 6th Army have now exhausted their supply of 12,000 horses and the hunger among the troops grows. There is heavy fighting around their perimeter.

Convoy JW-51A arrived at Murmansk with no loses.

Victory Points Japan 18354 Allied 6648
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RE: Christmas Day

Post by gladiatt »

ORIGINAL: tocaff


The German 6th Army have now exhausted their supply of 12,000 horses and the hunger among the troops grows. There is heavy fighting around their perimeter.


Victory Points Japan 18354 Allied 6648

Still not willing to highjack your AAR.

It seem to me that, in the same time (around Christmas 1942), the French civilian learn that the restriction (on food, on heating wood, on car tires, on clothing, on iron tools....) will get stronger to support the "volontary frenchs and europeans braves fighting the dreaded communism in the East" (This is not a Political debate, just a memory from a past time).
At the same time, the information (in France, it was Pathé wich delivered the movies in Cinemas) about Paulus 6th army never told that theses axis soldiers were lacking of anything....
My grand-mother had recipies to make bread with chesnut flour for example....
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RE: Lang Made It!

Post by tocaff »

gladiatt,

Don't worry as you comments, observations and input are welcomed. If I feel that anybody is violating my AAR then I'll let them know.

The populace of the European countries suffered many hardships that the Americans could never have imagined.

December 26, 1942 Pearl Harbor

Intel

28665 men are based at Tsitsihar.
10 ships are based at Kwajalein.
3rd Tank Div is located at Peking.
139th IJN Base Force is located at Darwin.
113th IJA Base Force is located at Nanking.
Kwantung Area Army is located at Changchun.
42857 men are based at Changchun.
5th Engineer Regiment is located at Port Moresby.
114th IJN Base Force is located at Hakodate.
18327 men are based at Shikka.
Nagasaki Fortress is located at Nagasaki.
144th IJA Base Force is planning for an attack on Madras.
North China Area Army is planning for an attack on Sian.
Burma Area Army is located at Rangoon.
164 aircraft are based at Mukden.
6th Reserve Tank Regiment is located at Osaka/Kobe.

Recon

PBY Catalina takes recon photos of Tarawa 4 LCUs 3940/13/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Lunga 12 LCUs 24340/182/2
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 8 LCUs 35480/120/0

Combat

An air raid on Kweiyang by the Japanese moderately damaged the airbase, runways and supply dump.

Sparrow Force Battalion was subjected to an attack by aircraft less than 50 miles from Wyndham causing light casualties. Not 30 minutes later more planes appeared and they attacked the Americal Division, which also had very light casualties. Not to be outdone the Japanese artillery then opened fire causing moderate loses among the Allied troops. Allied gunners replied and it's believed that the Japanese casualties were light.

Japanese artillery caused heavy Allied loses SE of the rail junction and the Allied response was ineffectual. It is expected that the Allies will lose the Brisbane Coastal Artillery Rgt tomorrow as this is another “static” LCU that left it's base and camped out elsewhere on it's own.*

A Betty took a look around at Baker Island in the AM and then another appeared in the PM. This marks 3 consecutive days of scrutiny there.

The Lang and O'Bannon entered Pearl Harbor late at night and Lang was immediately swarmed over by workers who within hours had her in dry dock and were pumping the water out of her. The O'Bannon, with a little less urgency, also got immediate attention and work on her will commence tomorrow. Bill is greatly relieved that they had the good fortune not to have run afoul of any Japanese during the long voyage from Midway to Pearl. He addresses the ship's company and gives them all a well done and then charges Frank with arranging shore leave for the crew. He plans on mailing his letters to Sandy tomorrow and going to visit members of his crew that are in the base hospital. The naval brass have taken note of Bill's and the O'Bannon's performance. An officer who does well under pressure in difficult situations is bound for bigger and better things, especially during a war in a rapidly expanding navy.

Pete has spent the afternoon and night working in the pub and he finds that he really does enjoy it. He plans on telling Sylvia that he wants to buy the pub and then he'll move into the small home attached to it.

The 2nd Marines are getting itchy and Gunny in particular doesn't appreciate this sitting around waiting for what everybody knows lies in the immediate future. Orsini shook off his holiday blues and spent the day watching some of his buddies hard at work with their still. It amazes him that these men manage to bring all of the parts with them no matter where they're sent and get set up and back in operation so quickly. Surely when they go into combat this won't be the case.

56,000 German POWs have been taken by the Red Army in the Don region.

* This bug is caused by setting all units at a base to accept replacements. If you select the individual units and don't select the coastal defense artillery then the “Static” units will remain where they belong. Once they move off on their own you can't move them because they're “static” until they lose the guns that are large enough to cause them to be “static”.
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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RE: Waiting

Post by tocaff »

December 27, 1942 Pearl Harbor

Intel

4591 men are based at Hanoi.
Ponope Coastal Gun Regiment is located at Ponape.
52nd Road Construction Battalion is planning for an attack on Chungking.
Yokosuka 4th SNLF is located at Pakhoi.
121st IJA Base Force is located at Lashio.
Kwantung Area Army is located at Changchun.
2492 men are based at Kyoto.
1834 men are based at Haiphong.
Yura Fortress is located at Takamatsu.
250137 men are based at Takao.
53rd Division is located at Osaka/Kobe.

Recon

PBY Catalina takes recon photos of Makin 3 LCUs 6620/17/0
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Tulagi 10 LCUs 46660/376/9
F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Mandalay 12 LCUs 23640/243/14
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 8 LCUs 35980/107/0

Combat

RN DDs attacked an IJN sub near Trimcomalee and reported multiple hits. Aircraft repeatedly sighted what was thought to have been two different subs and the planes made repeated attacks, though no claims of hits were made.

Sparrow Force Battalion was bombed by Japanese planes 42 miles from Wyndham, casualties were moderate and a Betty was believed to have been damaged.

A Japanese bombardment attack caused moderate Allied loses 40 miles from Wyndham. Allied guns replied and the Japanese were thought to have suffered moderate casualties as well.

A Japanese attack 37 miles from the rail junction caused heavy Allied casualties and the Gull Force Battalion retreated while the Brisbane Coastal Artillery Rgt surrendered.

A Betty took recon photos of Baker Island today.

Tarpon failed to intercept the convoy and the Japanese ships have made it safely to Gili Gili. Allied bombers never made the attempt to attack the ships.

Pete has told Sylvia of his plans and to his surprise she's happily supportive. “Mom and dad will miss having you around the house, but I'm sure they'll pop by the pub,” she says and then adds, “I also suspect that Jac's kitchen will continue to draw you for more than an occasional meal.”

Bill filed his reports, mailed the letters and upon his return to the O'Bannon has discovered a pile of mail from Sandy. Being an orderly person he sorts the letters by chronological order and begins to read. A little while late he's presented with a complete report on his ship's damage. “I'll be damned,” he mutters as Frank asks for permission to enter. “Come. Look at this Frank the sonar was out because the dome was crushed by the force of the explosion.” The two of them go over the list of repairs and wonder if it'll all be done at Pearl or if they'll get to go Stateside.

Canton Island is so crowded with men and material that exercise is a tough thing to do because of the lack of space. “Hey Joe if the Japs popped up here to bomb us they couldn't miss hitting something,” says Slim.

“Yeah, but you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside,” chuckles Jack. The men of the squad are all laughing, but they know that Slim is deadly with their machine gun.

Ed has finalized the bombardment plans and now all that separating the Japanese from a tranquil day and a rain of steel is a go order.

General Giraud became the leader of French Africa today.

Hitler OKed a retreat by Army Groups A and Don to a line 150 miles west of Stalingrad.



Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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RE: Things Are Changing

Post by tocaff »

December 28, 1942 Canton Island

Intel

6860 men are based at Inch'on.
42nd Naval Guard Unit is located at Port Moresby.
126th IJN Base Force is located at Wake Island.
18375 men are based at Shikka.
32nd Heavy AA Battalion is located at Aomori.
4642 men are based at Wakkanai.
51st Heavy AA Battalion is located at Koepang.
4969 men are based at Wonsan.
3123 men are based at Bangkok.
7th Division is located at Sapporo.
Yura Fortress is located at Takamatsu.
39th Division is located at Changsha.
58th Construction Battalion is located at Takamatsu.
50th Heavy AA Battalion is located at Rangoon.

Recon

F-5A Lightning takes recon photos of Mandalay 60 fighters, 81 aux, 12 LCUs 24820/244/6
PBY Catalina takes recon photos of Apamama nothing spotted
PB2Y Coronado takes recon photos of Tulagi 10 LCUs 46160/394/5
Catalina I takes recon photos of Wyndham 8 LCUs 34800/118/0
The raid on Pagan reported that there was 1 LCU 1560/0/0

Combat

RN DDs attacked an IJN sub near Trimcomalee. The sub surfaced, on fire and heavily damaged, and almost immediately slipped back beneath the waves. There were no survivors. Despite this there was continued IJN submarine activity in the Trimcomalee area.

Kweiyang was again attacked by Japanese planes which did light damage to the airbase. Casualties were also light among the troops.

Allied planes conducted an attack on Pagan with 23 X Blenheim, 27 X Wellington, 27 X Hudson and 61 X B-25C. The escorts never arrived and luckily the Japanese had no planes aloft. Damage to the base and it's facilities was reported to be light though damage to the resource centers appeared to be moderate. There were no Allied loses and not a single plane sustained any damage.

26 X Hudson and 45 X B-17E attacked the port at Gili Gili causing light damage and light casualties to the Japanese troops. 27 X Zero and 21 X Tony pounced on the raiders and downed 15 X Hudson and 8 X B-17E with another 24 of the big bombers damaged. The Japanese loses were put at 4 X Zero destroyed and an additional 5 were damaged while a single Tony was killed and 12 more were damaged.

The Japanese launched a banzai attack near Wyndham with about 70K troops hurling themselves at the defenders. Japanese loses were put at very heavy and the Allied casualties were heavy with the survivors being forced to retreat towards Derby.

At Wyndham Allied artillery bombarded the Japanese troops causing light loses.

A Betty overflew Baker Island in the morning and another appeared in the afternoon.

Another night and another candle in the menorah. Elaine misses her brother more than she thought she ever would. He always was a tease and joker, but now with him away things just aren't the same, empty even.

Pete and Sylvia have decided that buying the pub is a good idea as it will give Pete something to do that he enjoys. Pete has decided that he wants to marry Sylvia and as they are walking in the park he stops, turns to her and says, “Syl will you marry me?”

To say that she's been taken by surprise is an understatement. “You sure know how to surprise a girl. Yes, I'll marry you.” With that they embrace, kiss and continue their walk hand in hand.

Ed's fleet dropped anchor at Canton Island and he has the well done passed to the escorts.

Almost all of the troops, planes, ships and supplies are now in place for Operation Snowball. The late arrivals are less than a week away.

Orsini's squad is lying on the beach staring at the assembled might of the USA and one of them remarks that, “For all of this hardware,” as he waves his arm towards the ships, “It'll be us to win the day where we're going and it'll be our blood on the beaches.” A chilling thought to the men.

General De Gaulle welcomed General Giraud's appointment and called for French unity.

Army Group Don was ordered to withdraw the last of it's troops from the Caucasus.

Victory Points Japanese 18547 Allied 6685
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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