Thinz2 vs Zuluhour

[zuluhour]

August 13th 1942:
SitReps:



Still no sign of enemy carriers or intent.

[zuluhour]

August 13th 1942:


KuKong Wuchow area.

[zuluhour]

August 13th 1942:



Chinese divisions pushed eastward yesterday.

[zuluhour]

August 14th 1942
China: Waiting for the fighting to begin at Paoshan, Wuchow and Kukong.
SoPac: Only a CATF?

[zuluhour]

Wasp and her escorts are between Brisbane and Sydney. She has been ordered north. Rear depot area is a mess with tankers trying to unload fuel, merchantmen their cargo, transports with troops and ac while three CVTFs wait for bunker fuel.

[zuluhour]

August 14th 1942
SoPac: IJN cruisers hit Port Morseby for a severe beating. Over 125 ac damaged with much associated infrastructure also. Ninety plus mines find no IJN ships on three raids. The pool is dry and the CD guns are ten plus days away. We lose 145 personel in the attack.
China: We order in what strikes we can on the IJA units on our western frontier. 66th Corp and 20th Army group ordered into the attack SE of Kukong. We hope we can open a hole and take some pressure off Wuchow.

[zuluhour]

August 16th 1942
SoPac: Air battle over Port Morseby. We take some pride in getting some of the CAP up at all and downing 5 Zekes to 1 P40. The Bettys do minimal damage after the two large Zero sweeps. Off Nadi, DD Trevor forces I-19 to the surface and reports multiple gun hits before losing her to the darkness or the sea. All CVTFs are refueled and on patrol.
DEI: Dutch boat puts a torp into a Maru off Georgetown.
China: 20th Army Group supported by 66th Corp routes the IJA 1st tank division SE of Kukong. Now what?

[zuluhour]

August 17th 1942
CenPac: The sea lanes are busy.
SoPac: I-19 surfaces at night several nm NE from last night. She is sited and layed in her grave by surface gunfire. Port Morseby swept by Zeros again, but even with poor moral we get the best of them. We have an ace in an airocobra.
China: We are pushed eastward from the western frontier. more tomorrow on the plan here. We have decided to try an exploit the Kukong breakthrough. The 66th will remain in the hole and 20th Army group fight west hoping to take pressure off Wuchow.

[zuluhour]

August 18th 1942
China: Wuchow got its first intel on the IJA surrounding the city. We face roughly 800av. 20th AG makes 15mi of the march west to relieve the pressure.
Burma: Large bombing raids on the Rangoon stragglers on the west coast.
SoPac: see below. Port Morseby braces for another bombardment. We have the groups to relieve the defenders but I do not want to commit them before the SCTF does its dirty work.

[zuluhour]

August 19th 1942
SoPac: Kido Butai in the deep water just off Buna. Naval and Land Air forces pound Port Morseby. Damage is severe. HQ orders Wasp, escorts, and oiler TF south with all haste. B17s and LBs on the Australian coast all ordered to Naval attack at the Sqn COs discretion.
Burma: stepped up bombing raids on the east coast around Akyab.
China: IJA units believed to have halted at Paoshan. Smaller, weakened Chinese divisions ordered SE to cut their supply off from Lashio. Recon at Lashio shows a functioning airfield and over 18000 more japs. Direct asssault by the weakened Chinese there is not feasable. IJA units appear to be reinforcing the (Div?+) at Wuchow which is being heavily bombarded from the air and the ground. 20th AG making thier way west.
CenPac: ASW TFs off Ohau report 3 hits on I-6. Sonar reports a hull breach.



The most damaging of multiple night, day and sweeps at Port Morseby
Afternoon Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid detected at 115 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 43 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 70
B5N1 Kate x 23
B5N2 Kate x 90
D3A1 Val x 72



Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 2 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 11 damaged
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
D3A1 Val: 6 damaged
D3A1 Val: 2 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 51 damaged
P-39D Airacobra: 4 destroyed on ground
Kittyhawk IA: 24 damaged
Kittyhawk IA: 3 destroyed on ground
P-40E Warhawk: 83 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 7 destroyed on ground
Catalina I: 14 damaged
Catalina I: 1 destroyed on ground
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 damaged


Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 52

[zuluhour]

August 20th 1942
All theaters: night bombings only and sub actions. BB Valient hit in the shallow water west of Columbo. She makes port with six months of damage. We order all 2E and 4E ac to raid on the 21st. KB disappears from Coral Sea again.

[zuluhour]

August 21st 1942
SoPac:
Heavy bombing at night over Port Morseby. Bombers come in smaller "packets" (thanks Michaelm) cause nuisance damage. We launch a B17 raid over Lae. It is a raid for moral out of frustration of the inability to hit back. The crews still need training and its time to train on the enemy more often. The Kido Butai vanishes.
Burma:
Chinese divisions, weakened from prior fighting and inherently weaker than the IJA units at Lashio, attempt to cut off the supply to IJA units to the east. Our BBTF was spotted and ordered to abort raid and return to blue water.
China:
20th AG marches west. The IJA 1st Tank Div has been reinforced south east of Kukong and also looks to be on the move.

[zuluhour]

SitRep:

[zuluhour]

Sitrep:

[zuluhour]

Only for moral:
Morning Air attack on Lae , at 99,126

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 36 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 62
B-17F Fortress x 12


Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 7 destroyed on ground

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
22 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled



Airbase hits 18
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 70

Aircraft Attacking:
12 x B-17F Fortress bombing from 18000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 4 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 18000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 18000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
12 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 18000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
10 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 18000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
9 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 18000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb
10 x B-17E Fortress bombing from 18000 feet
Airfield Attack: 8 x 500 lb GP Bomb

[zuluhour]

also for moral:

[DOCUP]

That wasn't a bad bombing raid.

[zuluhour]

August 22nd 1942
China:
Wuchow falls to a reinforced three division attack.

[zuluhour]

Elements of the 26th Army Group "Ichang" ordered to attack northeast to draw enemy units away from the southern Yangtze and Pearl river fronts.
20th Army Group ordered back to the 66th Corp positions SE of Kukong.
Central reserve organizing a relief effort at Chungking.

DOCUP: The bombing raid is a "local success" but has no strategic value other than a couple of airframes destroyed on the ground. Unfortunately IJAF fields which regularly threaten Port Morseby originate from Rabaul, Munda, and the field north east of Rabaul on the island there. I hope it helps train the crews and takes the Emporer's eyes off Port Morseby for a minute or two. I have decided to build Ndeni up. CDs are on the way as well as the last of US mines for quite a while. There is adequate ground support there for now but I will triple it in the coming weeks for large scale raids up the Solomons which will take some heat off New Guinea. Noumea and Suva are fully expanded, Suva has level 8 fortifications with two plus divisions while Noumea is also heavily defended.

[Crackaces]

Well this should increase morale ..[:D]

My strategy has been to bomb the units trying to organize at PM. The results from 30 - 50 B-17's range from 50 - 100 IJA troops per turn. Funny thing about the Solomon's, New Guinea, etc are those mosquitos .. his units are not recovering from being disabled and so it is a slow day by day attrition of not only disabled squads .. but the unit's morale, ... and no sweet things in hula hula skirts are going to resolve ...[;)]