IronMan Nasty!

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The Japanese use determined attacks to shut down Sumatra's airfields:

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April 8th, 1942

And they continue to attack the resupply convoy by air from Malaya while their carrier forces are attempting to save Japanese troops on southern Java.

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April 8th to 10th, 1942

Singapore

With the supply convoys enroute from Palembang, the Japanese launch hasty attacks on the starving defenders of Singapore. But the garrison holds!

The Japanese planes sortie to stop the convoys reaching Singapore harbor:

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Even in the bad weather the expert Japanese pilots strike hard in over a dozen raids. Again, and again, the fatigued American fighters attempt to protect the supply ships trying to reach Singapore harbor. But with each raid their numbers dwindle...

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The weather clears in the afternoon, and the Japanese planes bring death and destruction to the supply ships near Singapore. The harbor is littered with burning ships and the toll is truly terrible.

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Six freighters are sunk before they reach the harbor, but half make the harbor and begin unloading immediately to the desperate garrison.

However, the ships can expect more air raids on the morrow and Japanese have now had time to rearm their carrier task force and it is steaming north from Java...

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While in Java, the Dutch wipe out the 65th Infantry group in the south, but the Japanese have cut Java in half and isolated Java with carrier forces.

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April 10th, 1942

Pearl Harbor

Nimitz gathered the last of his papers from his desk for the meeting with Admiral King in San Francisco. He would be taking a PBY later for the long flight back to the west coast. A strategy conference, Admiral King wanted to outline the next several months’ potential actions in the Pacific. Nimitz could feel justifiably proud of his accomplishments since mid December of last year.

The Japanese had been stopped at Midway and Canton Islands. While several cruisers had been sunk, the Japanese had suffered a significant attrition of their ships and, more to the point, none of the carriers had been lost. Battleships were a different matter altogether.

What to do with battleships? It was a question Nimitz and his staff had gone round on since he had taken over. Offensive use of battleships without complete air superiority was counterproductive since the large slow ships were basically torpedo magnets. Nimitz had only to look at the latest dockyard reports to see that.

Shore bombardment offered one potential use, and escorting important convoys might be another good use given the aggressive raiding Japan did. Perhaps the best use was simply to keep them back as a force in being where they would not consume so much fuel.

Three carriers were in Australia recovering from the air losses suffered in defense of Port Moresby, while the Lexington was in Pearl and Yorktown was getting upgrades in San Francisco. So far this was proving a carrier war. It might have been a submarine war, but for the terrible performance of American torpedoes. Hopefully that would change soon.

What should the strategic focus be for the rest of 1942? Nimitz was uncertain, and somewhat afraid of matching his fleet carriers in a straight up fight with Japan’s large carriers. However, building bases for potential offensive actions needed to start now, but which bases?

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April 10, 1942

Rangoon

The 1st Burma Division fell back in disorder to the confines of Rangoon, and given several unexpected days to rally did just that.

Heavy Japanese air attacks caused all allied planes to be pulled back to Chittagong and north. Here, the Burma Army missed the fighters earmarked for Sumatra greatly.

And when the 2nd and 6th RTA Divisions eventually probed into Rangoon, all of their prodding attacks were met by a revitalized 1st Burma Division aided by the tough RM Viper Force and the 16th Indian Brigade.

Fighting house to house the Allies failed to yield the city through several attacks. Their line of retreat, if needed was held open by the 43rd Cavalry and 7th Armored to the north of Rangoon.

If the 1st Burma can hold the Japanese off for the rest of April, the monsoons should put a stop to the Japanese advance in Burma. However, the Japanese were massing troops in Pegu and Dacoits still posed a problem in the rear.

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April 12, 1942

Palembang

Singapore had been resupplied but what a cost. In air raids all but two of the freighters were sunk, and an entire squadron of fighters were chewed up trying to protect the freighters but now Singapore had supplies for another month of fighting.

Singapore was the key. It tied up a large amount of Japan's ground forces and restrained or at least slowed Japan's expansion elsewhere. Wavell also had to worry about where the veterans from Manila would go.

Intelligence had now warned that at least one unit was planning an assault on Geraldton, and Australia wanted to have her troops in Singapore air lifted out to help protect her Western coast.

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The 68th Pursuit Squadron saw heavy fighting over the skies of Singapore.

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The pilots:

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Singapore's supply level had hit rock bottom.

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The cost of resupplying Singapore was high.

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April 14th, 1942

Perth

Incompetence! That’s what it was. Incompetence! Damn professional soldiers and their hubris thought General Stanley Savige. Appointed to the III Australian Corp just yesterday, replacing that bootlicker Jackson, Savige was simply shocked at the lassitude given to the defense of Western Australia.

Here we were, several months into a new war with Japan who has shown a genius for launching amphibious attacks and the West Coast of Australia was lightly held.
Intelligence had warned that the Japanese might be fancying Geraldton and did Jackson do anything to prevent it?

And now, Australia’s worst fears were realized yesterday as the Japanese stormed ashore at Geraldton. Lucky for them the Japanese didn’t attack immediately because the Australian units there where training instead of defending. Well, by God that would change!

This was just like Lone Pine all over again, the men in the line needed leadership and Savige was determined to give it.

Savige had the makings of some good troops -- here in Perth were both the 3rd Division and the 13 Brigade were bivouacked. At Geraldton the 44th Battalion under Trayhorn, a solid fighting man, anchored the defense with several machine gun battalions and a coastal defense unit thrown in.

The 4th Division was entrained as was the 6th Cavalry Brigade and would be in Perth shortly. In addition, a few Yank units were due in Perth within a month, including the 7th Marine Regiment. But Savige could not wait for all these reinforcements, he would strike now with what he had at hand.

Air and naval support was weak and that needed to change and change fast. Intelligence was dodgy on exactly how much Japan invaded with, but Savige had already ordered the RAAF to bomb them on the morrow with the one squadron of Hudsons available.

By God, Australia invaded. General Savige was going to kick them back into the ocean or die trying.

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April 16th, 1942

Perth

The 4:15 normally left the station in clouds of smoke to make the long run to Adelaide carrying supplies from freighters. Not today. Savige had it turned in the roundhouse and today the run would be north towards fighting and Geraldton.

It had taken two days for the 3rd Division and 13th Brigade to pack for the trains, and during that delay the situation in Geraldton turned worse. Trayhorn’s brigade sized attack had been repulsed and the Japanese counter attacked with a savage assault that forced Geraldton’s defenders into the plains in full retreat with heavy losses. At least Savige found out the Japanese had a recon unit and the 21st Army here.

The Hudsons sent to bomb the invaders were stopped short by the presence of Rufe’s and Zeroes, which probably meant the presence of carriers. Not a single Hudson survived the mission. It just kept getting worse.

At least Savige had reinforcements on the way and now Wavell had sent the British Carriers south to help. No doubt he was worried about losing other Australian troops currently assigned to ABDA, but at this point Savige would take any help.

The train blared its whistle and slowly lurched forward, forward to battle.

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April 18th, 1942

Perth

Savige trembled with rage. He was ready to pull his service revolver and shoot the blasted engineer. Refused! Refused to take his train north because the train couldn't turn around. Well, Savige wasn't planning on turning around but going forward!

More delays, and these delays allowed the Japanese to dig in at Geraldton. He needed to hit them yesterday, not in two months.

With his fury mounting he wired instructions to the light cruiser Mauritius to bombard the port and airfield. Perhaps that would slow down the Japanese somewhat.

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April 26th, 1942

Palembang

It was midnight when Wavell got his first chance to visit the little destroyer; the last surface ship active in the Sumatra theater. All other ships had been pulled away with the carriers heading south to Australia and the heavy surface action group defending Calcutta.

The Piet Hein wasn’t much to look at damaged as she was. Funny, how such a small ship, she had only 4 real guns, could wreck such havoc on the Japanese shipping around Batavia. For the past two weeks, the little Piet Hein skillfully engaged the enemy ships, always looking for transports and avoiding larger capital ships. Her tally had been quite impressive with 1 destroyer, 1 torpedo boat, 5 patrol boats, 1 escort, 4 civilian freighters, 1 military freighter, and two troop transports left damaged, burning or sunk. She had done her country and ABDA proud.

That is until the Val’s finally caught her returning to Palembang yesterday and landed a 250 kilogram bomb on her. Still, the damage wasn’t that bad and now under fighter cover the Piet Hein should steam again in a week or so.

Wavell moved to the group of officers overseeing her repairs. He had to congratulate Captain Huijer on his ships performance and then send him back out there, most likely to his death. The ever present burden of command.

For even while the Piet Hein was running roughshod over the enemy ships near Batavia, the Japanese had launched a very successful four pronged invasion of Java. Striking first in southern Java, at Banjoewangi the Dutch acted quickly sending troops and stopping the Japanese on the beaches. However, while the Dutch were fighting there, the Japanese landed in strength at Semerang and quickly grew the beachhead against the weakened defenders. By the time the Banjoewangi landing was destroyed it was too late to stop the Japanese at Semerang. And then another invasion in northern Java at Merak and finally the last invasion at Soerabaja and Java seems doomed.

All the while Japanese capital ships roamed around and around Java preventing reinforcements. The Admiralty refused to contest the waters, since her strength was needed at both Calcutta and Perth.

Yes, the Japanese had paid for the conquests thanks to Wavell’s dwindling supply of bombers, submarines and the Piet Hein’s bravery, but there was no hiding the fact that Java would be conquered. And with Japan being aggressive in Burma, Rangoon had fallen four days ago in heavy fighting, and Australia, where Japan had seized Geraldton and was now marching on Perth, the survival of ABDA, Australia and even India were now in doubt.

Wavell pushed these dark thoughts away, and strode up swiftly to Captain Huijer and saluted and began to congratulate him, before asking for even more.

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Meanwhile in Burma, a few weary support units of the 1st Burma Division make their way into Prome. It will be a long time before the 1st Burma Division can fight again, if ever.

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The Piet Hein in action: