Olorin (J) vs Sdhundt (A) --- GC (No Sdhundt please)

[ny59giants]

Morning Air attack on Port Hedland , at 57,129
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 42

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 6
B-17F Fortress x 3
B-24D Liberator x 23

Looks like setting your CAP around 10k would be helpful as his last few attacks were lower than 10k. if he tries to fly above your CAP, he gets less damage. If you have your CAP too high (above 20K), many will not get into combat.

[Olorin]

Aye, I have set my Tojos at 8000ft, that way they are in good position to intercept incoming bombers and they might get a chance at diving against them. [:)]
But my interceptors don't seem to do a good job so far, they tend to lose morale pretty quickly against 4e bombers, I don't know why.

[Olorin]

Dec 30, 42

Australia
BatDiv1 (minus Yamato) bombarded Exmouth. Yamato managed to reduce its flotation damage by two points (now 10) as it sails back to Soerebaja.:

Night Naval bombardment of Exmouth at 50,129 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

9 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
BB Mutsu
BB Nagato
CA Atago
DD Yudachi
DD Shigure

Allied ground losses:
79 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for BB Mutsu
BB Mutsu firing at 14th NZ Brigade
E13A1 Jake acting as spotter for BB Nagato
BB Nagato firing at 5th Marine Defense Battalion
5th Marine Defense Battalion firing at BB Nagato
CA Atago firing at 5th Marine Defense Battalion
5th Marine Defense Battalion firing at CA Atago
DD Yudachi firing at 5th Marine Defense Battalion
5th Marine Defense Battalion firing at DD Yudachi
DD Shigure firing at 5th Marine Defense Battalion

The usual air attack by the 5th Air div. Despite having over 35 points of damage, Port Hedland's airfield can still put a lot of bombers in the air:

Morning Air attack on 34th Combat Engineer Regiment, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 46 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 4
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 7
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 59

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 9 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
74 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 15 (1 destroyed, 14 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 44th Australian Battalion, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 62 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 19 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 16
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 34

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 4 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
130 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)

SE Fleet
- KB moved to the southeast of Tulagi. The Coral Sea is littered with enemy subs and patrol boats chasing my carriers, so I have to move them around to avoid them.

- BatDiv8 is ordered to head to Ndeni to finish off the allied invasion fleet and its remaining cruisers (a battleships might also be there, probably damaged). On the way, it finds 4 PTs and two DDs, sinks everything but two PTs, but it ends its movement in Tulagi and is spotted by enemy search planes.

- My subs find the allied invasion fleet limping one hex off Ndeni:

Submarine attack near Ndeni at 119,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-18

Allied Ships
xAP Taroona, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submarine attack near Ndeni at 119,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-18

Allied Ships
xAP Van Riebeek, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

xAP Van Riebeek is sighted by SS I-18
SS I-18 attacking xAP Van Riebeek on the surface
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Ndeni at 119,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-18

Allied Ships
AP Zeilin, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
28 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

SS I-18 launches 2 torpedoes at AP Zeilin

Allied ground losses:
15 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

xAP Taroona is sighted by SS I-18
SS I-18 launches 2 torpedoes at xAP Taroona
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Ndeni at 119,142
Japanese Ships
SS I-18

Allied Ships
xAP Tabinta

SS I-18 launches 2 torpedoes at xAP Tabinta

KB launches these two separate small strikes. More pilots lost, but only two Zero pilots and they are the most valuable in my mind. I can replace them bomber pilots easily:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 119,142
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 18
B5N2 Kate x 13

Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 18
F4F-4 Wildcat x 25

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP Siberg, heavy damage
xAP Taroona, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 119,142
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 25
B5N2 Kate x 19

Allied aircraft
F4F-3A Wildcat x 9
F4F-4 Wildcat x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 3 destroyed
B5N2 Kate: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 2 destroyed
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP Taroona, on fire, heavy damage
AP Zeilin, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAP Morinda, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
3619 casualties reported
Squads: 162 destroyed, 129 disabled
Non Combat: 84 destroyed, 116 disabled
Engineers: 23 destroyed, 10 disabled
Guns lost 96 (91 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Vehicles lost 19 (14 destroyed, 5 disabled)

Burma
I bombard the enemy in cox'Bazar from sea, air and ground, but none of it seems to have much effect on them:

Night Naval bombardment of Cox's Bazar at 54,43
Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
CA Chokai
CA Maya
CA Takao
DD Fubuki
DD Natsugumo
DD Michishio
DD Asashio

Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Port hits 9
Port supply hits 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 13
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 27
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 112

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Cox's Bazar (54,43)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 2245 troops, 192 guns, 107 vehicles, Assault Value = 2941
Defending force 34029 troops, 384 guns, 789 vehicles, Assault Value = 1114

Japanese ground losses:
Vehicles lost 7 (3 destroyed, 4 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
35 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
21st Division
1st Mobile Infantry Regiment
5th Tank Regiment
1st Recon Battalion
15th Tank Regiment
138th Infantry Regiment
33rd Division
1st Tank Regiment
21st Ind.Mixed Brigade
2nd Mobile Infantry Regiment
58th Infantry Regiment
10th Tank Regiment
2nd Recon Battalion
24th Infantry Regiment
4th Division
7th Tank Regiment
19th Tank Regiment
18th Tank Regiment
148th Infantry Regiment
143rd Infantry Regiment
2nd Mobile Engineer Regiment
15th Army
5th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
2nd Field Artillery Regiment
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
55th Mountain Gun Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
1st Mobile Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Mobile AA Battalion
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
11th RF Gun Battalion

Defending units:
26th Indian Division
19th Indian Division
7th Indian Division
84th Indian Brigade
23rd Indian Division
254th Armoured Brigade
255th Armoured Brigade
77th Chindit Bde /1
75th Indian Brigade
Madras Police Battalion
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
3rd Assam Rifles Battalion
2/9th Field Regiment
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
70th British Division

[Olorin]

Dec 31, 42

Australia
I bomb Exmouth again. No enemy CAP. 5 BBs are spotted in Carnavon. What?!

SE Fleet
The allied invasion fleet is now at Ndeni, under the cover of 65 fighters. Still a lot of APs remain, some 6-7 cruisers and possibly a battleship.
I ordered two sweeps from Tulagi (using drop tanks), put 23 Nells and 22 Kates on naval attack mode and moved the KB 6 hexes north of Ndeni. I planned for the sweeps to occur before the naval attacks from Tulagi and KB. The sweeps worked as planned, but KB did not launch the strike I was hoping for:

Morning Air attack on Ndeni , at 120,143
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 18

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 6
P-38G Lightning x 11
F4F-3A Wildcat x 3
F4F-4 Wildcat x 32

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 2 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Ndeni , at 120,143
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 29,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 2

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 6
P-38G Lightning x 11
F4F-3A Wildcat x 3
F4F-4 Wildcat x 25

No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Ndeni , at 120,143
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 1 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 0 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 6
P-38G Lightning x 9
F4F-3A Wildcat x 2
F4F-4 Wildcat x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143 (22nd Air Flotilla flies from Tulagi)
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 20
G3M3 Nell x 15

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 5
P-38G Lightning x 8
F4F-3A Wildcat x 2
F4F-4 Wildcat x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 4 destroyed
G3M3 Nell: 2 destroyed, 6 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAP Rochambeau, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Mildura, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Bundaleer
AP U.S. Grant

Allied ground losses:
2315 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 83 destroyed, 138 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 83 (75 destroyed, 8 disabled)
Vehicles lost 8 (8 destroyed, 0 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Ndeni at 120,143(the KB strike...really Nagumo?)
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 30
D3A1 Val x 13

Allied aircraft
P-38F Lightning x 5
P-38G Lightning x 5
F4F-3A Wildcat x 2
F4F-4 Wildcat x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed
D3A1 Val: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 1 destroyed
F4F-3A Wildcat: 1 destroyed

Allied Ships
xAK Manukai, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Tabinta, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied ground losses:
3 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)

It could have been a real carnage if only Nagumo had launched a proper strike. He had 250 operational airplanes, his wings had excellent morale, low fatigue, his carriers had plenty of sorties and torpedoes available.
He might get the sack for this. Or maybe swap him with Yamaguchi and send Nagumo to KB2.

Burma
I bomb Cox'Bazar again with 112 Helens. No enemy CAP. 6 squads are disabled. Detection levels are 9/12, I don't know what is at fault here.

China
The 1st Army finally crosses the river and enters Kienko. The shock attack incurred pretty even losses to both sides. The 1st Army appears to be unable to make any further progress at this point:

Ground combat at Kienko (78,41)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 40343 troops, 328 guns, 341 vehicles, Assault Value = 1468
Defending force 43938 troops, 241 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1646

Japanese adjusted assault: 846
Allied adjusted defense: 835
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)

Japanese ground losses:
2586 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 449 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 42 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 62 disabled
Guns lost 42 (2 destroyed, 40 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
2417 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 231 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled

Assaulting units:
37th Division
3rd Mobile Infantry Regiment
8th Ind.Mixed Brigade
3rd Recon Battalion
41st Division
3rd Ind.Mixed Brigade
26th Engineer Regiment
1st Army

Defending units:
19th Chinese Corps
33rd Chinese Corps
88th Chinese Corps
64th Chinese Corps
67th Chinese Corps
17th Chinese Corps
100th Chinese Corps
42nd Chinese Corps
3rd Prov Chinese Corps
7th Group Army
8th Group Army
34th Group Army
Red Chinese Army
6th Group Army
6th Chinese Base Force
15th Chinese Base Force

[Olorin]

As we enter 1943, I thought I should post a few sreenshots to show the state of the Japanese economy, air losses and other stuff.

[PaxMondo]

Your economy looks really good except your Home Isle Oil/Fuel are both still dropping.  You should have the reversed by now.  Can you give some insight as to why this hasn't happened yet?

[Olorin]

Fuel:
I 've managed to stabilize my fuel reserve in the HI; for the past 4 months or so, it hasn't fallen bellow 1.800.000. However, I am unable to build a reserve and I suspect that my fleet consumes too much fuel.
I have also modestly expanded my HI base, by 150 points since the start of the game, mostly in China.

I have all of my fast tankers hauling fuel from Singapore, 182.000 per 22-25 days. That pretty much leaves just enough fuel in the DEI to support the fleet.
560.000 tons of fuel have flowed to Fusan,

Oil:
Yes, oil reserves are falling pretty fast[:(] I hoped that by now all the oil and resources would flow to Fusan or Port Arthur, but they stubbornly remain in Singapore. There are 300.000 tons of oil and over a million tons of resources there. Also, there are another 300.000 tons in Manila, 100.000 in Badeldaob, 50.000 in Rangoon and another 70.000 in north China, but I don't have any spare tankers to move it. I am assigning every new TK I get to form new oil convoys. The oil from north China refuses to flow to the south.

[Olorin]

Jan 01, 43

Australia
He tried to bomb a supply convoy, unsuccessfully:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Exmouth at 50,129
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 38 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 14 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 31

Allied aircraft
P-39D Airacobra x 22
SBD-3 Dauntless x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-39D Airacobra: 5 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Exmouth at 50,129
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 18 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 29

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 16
P-40K Warhawk x 22
SBD-3 Dauntless x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 1 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 3 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Isonami
DD Akizuki

Morning Air attack on 1st Marine Division, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 67 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 21 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 5
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 23
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 82

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 42 damaged

Allied ground losses:
173 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 23 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Port Hedland , at 57,129
Weather in hex: Thunderstorms
Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 2
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 24

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3
B-17F Fortress x 3
B-24D Liberator x 12

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 5 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 2 destroyed on ground
Ki-57-II Topsy: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-17F Fortress: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 6 damaged

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 19

SE Fleet
After encountering more patrol boats, BatDiv8 enters Ndeni. No enemy cruisers, no patrol boats. My battleships go directly to the allied troop transports, which were still unloading. It was fun to watch[:)]

Night Time Surface Combat, near Ndeni at 120,143, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Ise, Shell hits 1
BB Hyuga
CA Furutaka
CL Isuzu
DD Wakaba
DD Murakumo
DD Yugiri

Allied Ships
AP Harris, Shell hits 17, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AP U.S. Grant, Shell hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AP Barnett, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
xAP President Fillmore, Shell hits 8, and is sunk
xAP President Tyler, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
xAP Santa Maria, Shell hits 29, and is sunk
xAK Donald McKay, Shell hits 14, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Charles McCormick, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Timber Rush
xAK Cape Alava, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
xAK Cleveland Abbe
xAK George Vancouver, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK William C. Claiborne, Shell hits 1, heavy fires
xAK Silverteak, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Poelau Laut, Shell hits 26, and is sunk
xAP Van Landsberge, Shell hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Anna Odland, Shell hits 7, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tarifa, Shell hits 12, heavy fires
xAP Rangitiki, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
xAP Maori, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Neptuna, Shell hits 8, heavy fires
xAP Mildura, Shell hits 4, and is sunk
xAP Murada, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAK George Livanos, Shell hits 7, and is sunk

Allied ground losses:
6446 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 694 destroyed, 476 disabled
Engineers: 11 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 771 (657 destroyed, 114 disabled)
Vehicles lost 357 (199 destroyed, 158 disabled)

Banzai![:D]
I was right not to commit KB again today, since he massed 90 fighters at Ndeni, as expected. KB is heading back to Rabaul to upgrade its fighter wings to the A6M3a and replace its elite pilots with average ones.

Burma

Morning Air attack on Cox's Bazar , at 54,43
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 27
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 92

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
50 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

[Olorin]

Jan 02, 43

Australia
I bomb Exmouth again unopposed:

Morning Air attack on 44th Australian Battalion, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 23 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 5
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 6
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 59

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 25 damaged

Allied ground losses:
316 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled
Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 19 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Vehicles lost 14 (7 destroyed, 7 disabled)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 1st Marine Division, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 53 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 6
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 6 damaged

Allied ground losses:
90 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

DesDiv3 entered Exmouth to protect the minefield against allied small minesweepers, but it was a bad idea. Enemy dive bombers broke through my Tojos and sunk an Akitsuki class destroyer:

Morning Air attack on TF, near Exmouth at 50,129
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 16 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 28

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk IA x 14
P-39D Airacobra x 26
P-40K Warhawk x 9
SBD-3 Dauntless x 9

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IA: 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Kitakami
DD Akizuki, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage

Port Hedland is again visited by his 4e bombers, but this time my CAP fares well:

Afternoon Air attack on Port Hedland , at 57,129
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 4,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 2
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 18

Allied aircraft
B-17E Fortress x 3
B-17F Fortress x 2
B-24D Liberator x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 1 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 4 damaged
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed on ground
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 2 destroyed on ground

Allied aircraft losses
B-17F Fortress: 1 destroyed by flak
B-24D Liberator: 1 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
9 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 14

Burma
I bomb Cox'Bazar again.

China
I bomb his helpless Chinese units in Kienko and Changteh. Each bombing causes more than 250 casualties. I am waiting for a unit to move into the hex directly west of Changteh to prevent them from retreating in the marshes.

[Olorin]

Jan 03 - Jan 04, 43

Quiet turns.
- 5th Air Div bombs Exmouth constantly. I think the 1st US Amph. Corps is no longer dangerous.
- The damage to Port Hedland's airfield is 0.
- 3rd Air Div bombs cox'Bazar.
- Nothing else to report.

[Cap Mandrake]

Uggh..the Allied fighter and carrier losses are just painful.[:)]

[Olorin]

Jan 05, 43

Burma
I launched a deliberate attack on Cox'Bazar and it completely broke the allied troops. They have all surrendered to the might of the Imperial Japanese Army! I expected a longer siege to be honest:

Ground combat at Cox's Bazar (54,43)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 78020 troops, 794 guns, 1431 vehicles, Assault Value = 2963
Defending force 33734 troops, 382 guns, 780 vehicles, Assault Value = 1074

Japanese adjusted assault: 3642
Allied adjusted defense: 777
Japanese assault odds: 4 to 1 (fort level 2)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Cox's Bazar !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
5226 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 500 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 51 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 21 disabled
Guns lost 38 (2 destroyed, 36 disabled)
Vehicles lost 135 (15 destroyed, 120 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
29828 casualties reported
Squads: 1522 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 3069 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 216 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 408 (408 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 765 (765 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 15

Assaulting units:
7th Tank Regiment
148th Infantry Regiment
2nd Mobile Infantry Regiment
1st Tank Regiment
19th Tank Regiment
2nd Recon Battalion
138th Infantry Regiment
21st Division
33rd Division
24th Infantry Regiment
18th Tank Regiment
58th Infantry Regiment
21st Ind.Mixed Brigade
4th Division
143rd Infantry Regiment
15th Tank Regiment
1st Ind. Engineer Regiment
10th Tank Regiment
1st Recon Battalion
1st Mobile Infantry Regiment
5th Tank Regiment
2nd Mobile Engineer Regiment
55th Mountain Gun Regiment
5th Ind.Hvy.Art Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
15th Army
2nd Mobile AA Battalion
1st Mobile Field Artillery Regiment
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
1st Mobile AA Battalion
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
2nd Field Artillery Regiment
11th RF Gun Battalion

Defending units:
254th Armoured Brigade
23rd Indian Division
7th Indian Division
19th Indian Division
255th Armoured Brigade
84th Indian Brigade
26th Indian Division
77th Chindit Bde /1
3rd Assam Rifles Battalion
75th Indian Brigade
25th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment
2/9th Field Regiment
Madras Police Battalion
70th British Division

This battle brings Operation "Gandhi" to an end.
A brief assessment of the operation:
It was launched on the 3rd of August and it lasted three months longer than it was originally anticipated. One month was lost due to tactical blunders during the breakthrough phase, another two months for the destruction of the two allied pockets. I also had to fight off a weak but time consuming enemy attempt to relieve his surrounded soldiers.

Damage to the British and Indian forces:
45 destroyed units.
6 divisions and 8 brigades (including three armoured ones) were destroyed.
4 divisions and 4 brigades (including 2 armoured ones) were utterly trashed.
2700 combat squads, 1200 guns and 2700 AFV's were destroyed.

I now have 3000AV to use as I please. Troop transports are on their way to Chittagong, but the redeployment will probably last a month or so.

SE Fleet
A strong allied SAG is found near Sydney, but the torpedo hit was a dud:

Sub attack near Newcastle at 95,167

Japanese Ships
SS I-10

Allied Ships
BB Tennessee
BB Maryland
CL Achilles
CL Leander
CLAA San Diego
CLAA Juneau
DD Bailey
DD McCalla

SS I-10 launches 6 torpedoes at BB Tennessee
I-10 diving deep ....
DD Bailey fails to find sub and abandons search
DD McCalla fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD McCalla fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD McCalla fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD McCalla fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD McCalla fails to find sub, continues to search...
DD McCalla fails to find sub, continues to search...
Escort abandons search for sub

[Olorin]

Jan 06, 43

My opponent announced in his email that night raids are permitted as of tomorrow.

India
Now that Op.Gandhi is over, the 3rd Air Division is assigned the mission of destroying the Indian industrial bas in the area of Calcutta. (Our house rule forbid strategic bombing in 1942).

The good thing is that the enemy has moved his fighters from the area to Madras and Tanjore in southern India, probably to conduct air operations over Ceylon. It suits me fine, as I want to test how strategic bombing works for Japan.

First, I am going to close allied airfields. 3AD has 200 level bombers and 250 fighters in its disposal to complete its mission.
Calcutta (lvl 8) and Diamond Harbor (lvl 7) are the first targets:

Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 35
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 53

Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 11

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 3 destroyed
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 3 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIc Trop: 2 destroyed

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

Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 68

Australia
As usual, my bombers attack the I US Amphib.Corps in Exmouth.

[Olorin]

Jan 07, 43

India
Diamond Harbor's airfield is raided:

Morning Air attack on Diamond Harbour , at 52,38
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid detected at 118 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 37 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 2
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 95

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 3 damaged

Airbase hits 15
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 61

Rangpur (lvl8) is also attacked by a bomber Sentai, but the damage is negligible:

Morning Air attack on Rangpur , at 58,34
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 5
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 25

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Audax I: 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
10 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9

SE Fleet
A strong allied SAG appeared near Horn Island. I had two destroyers covering some troop transports and a small fuel convoy to Port Moresby. The two taskforces made contact during the night. I lost a destroyer but at least my APs escaped:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Horn Island at 93,130, Range 5,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
DD Oite, Shell hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Hayate, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships
BB New Mexico, Shell hits 12
CA San Francisco
CL Raleigh
DD Grayson
DD Gillespie
DD Morris
DD Clark, Shell hits 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Horn Island at 93,129
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 71 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 26 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 9

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 19
F4F-4 Wildcat x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 4 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB New Mexico
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on TF, near Horn Island at 93,129
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 60 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 22 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 40
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 23

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 11
F4F-4 Wildcat x 3

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 12 damaged
D3A1 Val: 1 destroyed by flak
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 4 destroyed

No Allied losses

Allied Ships
BB New Mexico, Bomb hits 9, on fire
DD Gillespie

I doubt the Val can significantly hurt a battleship, but I hope they will scare the enemy TF away.

Ceylon
The first night raid did almost no damage to Trincomalee:

Night Air attack on Trincomalee , at 31,47
Weather in hex: Severe storms
Raid detected at 39 NM, estimated altitude 2,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 17

Allied aircraft
Blenheim VD x 15
Liberator II x 5
Wellington Ic x 5
B-25C Mitchell x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Blenheim VD: 3 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 2 damaged
B-25C Mitchell: 1 destroyed by flak

Airbase hits 1
Runway hits 2

Australia
My two destroyers in Exmouth attract enemy dive bombers from Carnavon. My CAP slaughters them, but they manage to score a few bomb hits. Back to Soerebaja for repairs.

A good ground attack by 5AD:

Morning Air attack on 1st Marine Division, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid detected at 78 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 24 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 9
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 93

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 24 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
310 casualties reported
Squads: 4 destroyed, 16 disabled
Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 13 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled

[Olorin]

Jan 08, 43

India
The first raids against the Indian industry occurred today and they went relatively well. Very few enemy fighters in the area:

Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 30 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 22
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 63

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 5 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Heavy Industry hits 54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Calcutta , at 52,37
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 38 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 9
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 damaged

Heavy Industry hits 17

Ceylon
Enemy bombers conduct successful night raids over Trincomalee. I have 30 Zeros on night CAP duty, but they are too high and too late to even engage the allied bombers. 25 aircraft are destroyed on the ground, 3 bombers are shot down and 40 points of damage are inflicted on the airfield, which in the morning is down to 15.

[Olorin]

Jan 09 1943

Ceylon
I tried a bit of night raiding myself, which turned out to be a mistake. Flak shot down 9 bombers and I destroyed 2 P-40s on the ground. I won't be engaging in offensive night actions any time soon.

His own night raids were a bit lighter in this turn. I set my CAP at 3000 feet and it was less useless than yesterday. Combined with my flak, my fighters I shot down 7 bombers, while I lost 3 aircraft on the ground. Damage to the airfield was very light.

India
Asansol and Calcutta were raided today. Heavy industry hits totaled 156.

[Olorin]

Jan 10, 43

We have agreed to use only air units that are specifically trained for night flying. He has 3 such units in India, I have none at this point. I think it's fair. The patch seems to have nerfed night raids.

Ceylon
I opted for a day airfield raid on Tanjore, where he keeps half of his airforce n southern India (the rest is in Madras):

Morning Air attack on Tanjore , at 32,42
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 10 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 27

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 16
P-40K Warhawk x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 4 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 3 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Tanjore , at 32,42
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 54 NM, estimated altitude 9,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 31
G3M3 Nell x 61

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 10
P-40K Warhawk x 13

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 6 destroyed
G3M3 Nell: 21 damaged
G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Sea Hurricane Ib: 1 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed
Martlet II: 1 destroyed on ground
Wellington Ic: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Tanjore , at 32,42
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid detected at 40 NM, estimated altitude 5,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 29

Allied aircraft
Sea Hurricane Ib x 1
P-40K Warhawk x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 17 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Martlet II: 2 destroyed on ground
Wellington Ic: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 9

India
Another day of strategic bombing for 3AD. Still no enemy fighters around.
Today we hit 155 factories.
The strange thing is that I don't seem to be awarded any victory points for it, which was kind of the point.
VPs or not, if I destroy his industry around Calcutta, which is about 1000 points, it will perhaps make a potential allied offensive in India more difficult to sustain.

Australia

Morning Air attack on 3rd Australian Division, at 50,129 (Exmouth)
Weather in hex: Heavy rain
Raid detected at 66 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 20 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 27
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 102

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk IA x 4
P-39D Airacobra x 12
P-40K Warhawk x 6
P-43A-1 Lancer x 2

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 2 destroyed
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 36 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IA: 1 destroyed
P-39D Airacobra: 2 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed
P-43A-1 Lancer: 1 destroyed

Allied ground losses:
115 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)

China
I launched a deliberate attack on Changteh. The base was taken and 50.000 Chinese are now PoWs:

Ground combat at Changteh (81,50)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 91981 troops, 849 guns, 657 vehicles, Assault Value = 3352
Defending force 43574 troops, 280 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1248
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 1

Japanese adjusted assault: 3587
Allied adjusted defense: 323
Japanese assault odds: 11 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Changteh !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), preparation(-), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
4847 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 198 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 37 disabled
Engineers: 3 destroyed, 53 disabled
Guns lost 36 (1 destroyed, 35 disabled)


Allied ground losses:
52724 casualties reported
Squads: 1843 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1393 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 157 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 344 (344 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 22

Assaulting units:
17th Ind.Mixed Brigade
17th Division
12th Ind.Mixed Brigade
9th Tank Regiment
13th Division
110th Division
3rd Division
13th Tank Regiment
12th Tank Regiment
22nd Division
57th Division
11th Tank Regiment
13th Army
14th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
North China Area Army
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
4th Mortar Battalion
2nd Hvy.Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
4th Chinese Corps
8th Chinese Corps
1st Chinese Cavalry Corps
44th Chinese Corps
58th Chinese Corps
50th Chinese Corps
3rd Chinese Cavalry Corps
3rd New Chinese Corps
78th Chinese Corps
6th War Area
27th Group Army
6th Construction Regiment
29th Group Army
17th Chinese Base Force
30th Group Army
25th Group Army
9th War Area
17th Construction Regiment
23rd Group Army
20th Group Army
19th Group Army
14th Construction Regiment

There are still 6 Chinese Corps' pinned in a hex SW of Changteh. It will take two weeks to move my army there and attack them. Once that stack is no more, I will have an additional 3000 AV to throw at Chungking/Chengtu/Kienko.

4th Fleet
A bit of news after a long period of inactivity. I've got 4 intelligence reports that indicate a possible allied attack. Two messages of "Heavy Volume of Radio transmissions detected at Pearl Harbor" in the same turn. One message of "Heavy Volume of Radio transmissions detected at 150,128, which is some 20 hexes SE of the Gilbert Islands. And a spotted submarine off Jaluit, the first submarine spotted in the area since the beginning of the war.

I am sending KB there, along with 7 subs and two small destroyer TFs, just in case these reports are real.

[Olorin]

Well, I looked at the manual and found my answer:

"Points will only be scored by the Allies for bombing industry in mainland Japan, and by the
Japanese for bombing industry in North America, Australia, and/or Hawaii"

Pfff. Why not India?
If I knew this earlier, I wouldn't have launched the air offensive. Now my opponent knows that I do not plan to advance in this theater. [:(]

[Olorin]

Jan 11 - Jan 14

Ceylon
Trincomalee is attacked every night by Liberators. I lose 3-4 airplanes each night. I will put a small Tojo detachment on night CAP duty to reduce effectiveness of enemy night raids.

India
- Well, I hope I did not signal my intention regarding my stance in this theater, by my recent strategic bombing. In any case, the industry of Calcutta and Asansol (over 600 HI) is completely destroyed.

- Troop transports are on the way to Chittagong to carry the 4th and the 21st Divisions to the DEI.

Australia
Quiet turns. Both airforces are resting. The 1st US Amphib. Corps has stopped its daily bombardments.

SE Fleet
Disaster. BatDiv8 was covering a large troop convoy to Terapo, but nothing was covering BatDiv8. 7 Catalinas spotted and attacked my TF at Milne Nay, putting 2 torpedoes into BB Hyuga, which sunk outright. A shame...a perfectly avoidable accident. Only a few fighters over it would be enough to prevent this. [:(]

China
Kienko is bombed daily, 30 Chinese squads are disabled every day.
11th and 13th Armies still resting in Changteh.

4 Fleet
It seems that the previous SigInt reports are accurate.
On the 12th of January, SigInt reports another TF 6-7 hexes SW of Pearl Harbor.
On the 13th, my naval search confirms SigInt, by spotting two enemy TFs 16 east of Tarawa, heading directly west.
Today, my search planes report three allied TFs 8 hexes east of Tarawa. One of them seems to be carrying troops (8 DDs, 2 APs), the other two seem to be carrier TFs (4 CVs, 1 CVL, 2 CVEs, 1 BB, 1 CL between the two). These reports are of course highly exaggerated, but there is no doubt that the enemy intents to invade Tarawa.

The Kido Buttai reacted on Jan 10, when SigInt first indicated there might be a problem, and it's now in perfect position to strike, unspotted, 1 hex north of Makin.
6 subs are positioned directly east of Tarawa. 1 more is on its way there.
I also have 5 DDs, split in two small taskforces, which will try to engage the enemy at night.
The 24th Air Flotilla has 27 Nells, 31 Zeros and 9 Rufes at Roi-Namur, Kwajalein and Tarawa respectively, hopefully it will launch a strike before the KB.

I am a little uneasy about the fact that I changed KB's elite pilots with pilots who have just completed their training in the Home Islands (~50exp, ~70air). i wish I hadn't done that, but it's too late to do anything about it now.

5 Fleet
- The 1st Air Division HQ arrived at Sapporo, along with a dozen aviation support battalions and base forces. Two of them will go to the Kurille Islands, the rest will start building up Hokkaido.

- 20.000 tons of supply were delivered yesterday to Amchitka and Adak.

Other news
CVE Chuyo enters service in the IJN.

[obvert]

Wow. You two are certainly not pulling any punches with each other. Very aggressive on both sides. Looking forward to a CV battle soon![8D]