See you in Tokyo Bay - Apbarog(A) vs Walker(J) DBB-B Scen28

[apbarog]

20 Feb 43 (continued)

I've noted the dot base on the other side of New Guinea.

[jwolf]

Those little green dots in the jungle are really hard to see -- I never would have known the base was there!

[apbarog]

21 Feb 43

More unloading at Taberfane and Dobo, as well at Timoeka. No interference from the enemy.

Zeros sweep Nauru. I have no fighters there presently.

Nells bomb my troops again at Arorae. It's a nuclear bombing, causing 264 casualties, almost all disabled. Nothing I can do here. The airfield is still building.

All of my B-17s bomb Shortlands. Zeros are on CAP, but they aren't very effective. 3 B-17s are lost, with 2 being OPS losses, and could have been lost when I transferred the bombers back to Australia afterwards. Damage is light to the airfield.

some B-25s and B-26s hit Port Moresby's airfield. There is some flak this time, but still no CAP. Just a nuisance raid.

I attack again at Taberfane, and win an overwhelming victory this time. With Dobo already in allied hands, there's no enemy retreat. I'll reattack until the enemy is no more.

I continue to attack at Wessel Island, slowly destroying the isolated enemy.

Today, it's time to leave the Taberfane area. I was fortunate to be able to stay this long using big xAPs to unload and not be interfered with. Now Sorong has heavy activity on SigInt, and I see a task force with a battleship in it. My carriers and invasion shipping head south to safety.

Just north of Taberfane, sub Argonaut drops off a fragment of a raider unit onto an unoccupied enemy dot base.

My shipping at Timoeka is still not spotted.

As I had previously spotted, most shipping in Koepang's port has left, but I did see 4 AKE's in port today. Koepang is still a forward supply base.

[apbarog]

22 Feb 43

Not one but two sub versus sub encounters! O19 fires on I-19 but misses, and Searaven fires on I-166 and misses.

Near Ambon, sub Guardfish finds a task force with 4 destroyers and a patrol boat, fires on destroyer Hayashio and misses. Minor damage is done to the sub and it will return to Townsville for repairs.

I attack again at Taberfane and eliminate the remaining enemy in the jungle.

I also attack again at Wessel Island, destroying one enemy non-combat squad. It's slow going here. I captured the base, but my unit is weak, but still stronger than the very weak remnants of the 69th JAAF AF Company. The enemy should be destroyed soon. I do have more troops headed to Wessel.

My carriers and invasion shipping left Taberfane and Dobo and headed south. None of those task forces was seen today, which is nice. It may give some pause to my opponent as he's moving stuff around the fringes of the area.

My shipping at Timoeka was finally spotted today however. The big xAP task force will now leave, almost completely unloaded of troops but with supply. I'll unload the rest at Merauke and ferry in the few vehicles later. A small task force did arrive today, carrying an engineer unit. I start unloading it and hope that it isn't interfered with.

With the enemy seeing my troops at Timoeka, I expect that my dot base on the other side of New Guinea, Tabire, to be occupied soon. If it isn't, I will occupy it as planned.

I was transporting two engineer units from Coen in Australia to Merauke, minus the vehicles of course. I'm now flying one of these units into Taberfane.

More followup units for Taberfane and Dobo start to load at Townsville.

I got 3 SigInt messages of heavy activity at Truk. Probably where KB is.

Vangunu, my base adjacent to Munda, became a level 3 airfield. Milne Bay became a level 6 airfield.

It's a time of consolidation and waiting for an enemy reaction, which must be coming. My carriers are headed back to the east side of Australia with the SBD reorganizations coming up. Taberfane and Dobo are pretty much on their own for awhile. They could be bombed and bombarded. I only care about holding the bases.

My eyes are on Darwin next.

[BBfanboy]

Aren't you concerned about not being able to supply Tabire once you occupy it? Presumably it would have to come through Timoeka which is still a dot base with little supply, and I am not sure how well it will propagate through the jungle.

[apbarog]

Sure, it would be a problem until Timoeka is built up some. I would just want to hold Tabire to begin with, getting it minimal supply, either from flowing naturally or airlifting some in. I won't get serious about it as a base until Timoeka is bigger.

I do like the idea holding Tabire, even minimally. It would fit nicely into the plan of causing problems in as many areas as possible.

Once the summer of '43 comes around, the pace of reinforcements really picks up. Most importantly, the Wildcats start showing up, and in big numbers. I'll get much more aggressive with airpower then.

[apbarog]

23 Feb 43

Taberfane gets some attention today, finally. An Oscar unit and then a Tojo unit sweeps it from Boela. There are no fighters based there. Then 25 Sallys escorted by Oscars bomb the airfield. This strike came from Ambon. Damage to the airbase and runways is 20 and 18. It wouldn't have mattered much if I had moved in a fighter squadron. It would have been overwhelmed by the Tojos. And any air success I have here will just summon a visit from some battleships.

At Nauru Island, 22 Nells escorted by 25 Zeros target the port. A crack unit of P-40Ks are here, and they do a great job against the Zeros, but don't get to the bombers until after the bombs drop. Both ACMs are hit again. One is sunk, the other is very badly damaged and burning. The good news is that the P-40Ks did get to the bombers eventually. Total losses are 14 Zeros and 12 Nells, while only 1 P-40K is lost.

I'm betting that this victory will trigger a heavy sweep of Nauru tomorrow. I left the 20 or so operational P-40Ks there, and moved in one of my first 2 F4U Corsair units with 18 planes.

The enemy was completely cleared from Wessel Island.

Today my carriers will pass Horn Island and head south to Rockhampton. They were spotted, so it's clear that I've left the Taberfane area.

[apbarog]

24 Feb 43

Sub Gudgeon spots the cruiser task force that has been around Tarawa, fires on cruiser Mogami, gets one hit, but it is a dud. This task force continues to reposition often.

Near Manado, sub Tarpon spots an xAK with escorts, fires on destroyer Shikinami, but misses.

And near Ambon, KXIV spots a big cruiser group, fires on destroyer Hatsuyuki, and misses. Four heavy cruisers are spotted, with one light, and 5 destroyers. It looks like this group is inbound to Taberfane.

Another group, probably all destroyers, is seen between Timor and Darwin. It could also hit Taberfane, or raid the sea lanes south of Taberfane, or head all the way to Merauke at high speed. I have most of my Merauke shipping head south.

I made the decision not to stick around with my carriers. I still think this is the right choice, as I'll need to reorganize the SBD groups, but it's going to be rough on my Taberfane and Dobo troops. I do have reinforcement convoys heading north toward Horn Island, destined for my invasion sites, but without carriers, it may not be wise to go that far north.

A para unit is unloading at Merauke now. It will be available for Nabire, but it could also be used as emergency reinforcements where I need it.

I've formed a task force loading troops for Saumlaki, which is west of Taberfane. This task force will not do an invasion. It will unload at Gove to the south. It includes a big Indian para unit that could drop on Saumlaki from Gove, once the airfield is built up some.

The way I'm seeing things now, Taberfane and Dobo are to hold the enemy north. My next real objective in the area will be Darwin. When Gove and nearby island bases get airfields built up, Darwin will be an easier target for me. It has clear terrain. It has 10 or 15 thousand troops, and does have an armored unit of some kind.

Getting a big base on the north coast will help immensely, even if I have to ship the fuel and supply in.

Elsewhere, Normanby Island, adjacent to Milne Bay, became an airfield 1 today. It will help CAP Milne Bay when I start moving bombers in.

[apbarog]

25 Feb 43

At Taberfane, 4 enemy cruisers and 5 destroyers show up. 4 PT boats defend (actually TMs). The fight starts at 12000 yards, closes to 9000 yards, then extends back out to 11000 yards. No hits are achieved by the enemy, and the task forces disengage. The enemy then bombards Taberfane, and does quite well:

Allied ground losses:
278 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Guns lost 15 (1 destroyed, 14 disabled)
Vehicles lost 9 (1 destroyed, 8 disabled)

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 15
Runway hits 47
Port hits 41
Port fuel hits 5
Port supply hits 10

Lots of disabled engineers. The airbase is shut down. Looks like this base won't be building up any time soon. It looks like the ships retired toward Koepang.

Near Cooktown, 3 subchasers get a depth charge hit on I-157. Not enough to sink it though.

Near Mataram, southeast of Balikpapan, sub Greenling finds a task force with multiple CMs in it, probably headed to the front. 2 torpedoes hit CM Sarushima, probably sinking it. Greenling, however, takes 3 depth charge hits and is forced to fight it out on the surface. It then is spotted "sinking beneath the waves". However, I discovered that Greenling hadn't quite sank yet. But it's FLOT was 97 with SYS over 60. It wasn't going to make it another day, so it was scuttled. It was interesting to see the sinking message and then find that it hadn't really sank.

During the day, Taberfane got attention. Near the base, Bettys find tiny tankers Aletta and Petronella, fleeing south with half of their fuel cargo still onboard. Both tankers are sunk, and the escort AM Cowra was hit and sunk too. The Bettys with escort came from Sorong.

At Timoeka, 8 Vals from the east coast of New Guinea hit troops. Probably just a recon bombing. The 17th Australian Brigade is discovered there.

At Dobo, Vals with Oscar escorts find tiny local minesweeper AMc Uki. One bomb hits, and it is sunk. The strike came from Boela.

I hit Port Moresby's airfield again, with single units of B-25s, B-26s, and B-17s. Damage is moderate.

Finally, Taberfane is attacked by Nells with Zero escort. The airfield is hit and is slightly damaged. Cumulative damage is enough that I won't be moving planes in. This strike came from Ambon.

From the airstrikes and ships seen, Taberfane has finally become the center of attention. As is, I won't be able to get the airfields up and operational. But I'm happy that this is becoming the place to be for the enemy. I want to hold my bases. I may have to hold against a counter-invasion. My next step in this area is to build Gove and Wessel on the Australian coast and then threaten Darwin.

The big news of today is that I've changed my mind about Buna. I had decided to postpone any landing here until my APAs are converted. I've changed my mind. I'm going sooner, without the upgrades. I sense that the timing is right, with the area west of New Guinea heating up.

My plan is that my carriers continue south to Rockhampton. The SBD groups will reorganize in a few days. Once filled out again, I'll load for Buna and the dot base next to Buna, Oro Bay. Invasion shipping will move to Milne Bay and then jump to the landings. Carriers will cover from a spot on the west coast adjacent to Port Moresby. B-17s will finally hit Lae just prior. Some fighter sweeps will fly from Milne Bay to Lae, including the 2 P-38 groups that came from India. Corsairs will help too. I will use many combat ships for support at and around the landing sites. 3 divisions will be hitting Buna. A total of 16 units will land at Buna.

If the landing goes well, it will be interesting to see if there is a reaction from the troops at Port Moresby. I would think that they would have to start walking toward Buna, with the threat of getting cut off. My transports will return to base and immediately start loading for a Port Moresby invasion.

It will be quite a battle. I will be willing to risk slow battleships here. I will have 3 Brit and 1 US slow battleships available. I will have 6 US carriers, 6 CVEs, and CVL Hermes.

All of this assumes that I don't see KB show up at Rabaul.

[jwolf]

All of this assumes that I don't see KB show up at Rabaul.

But even if the KB is elsewhere, just about any plausible location is not that far away from the Solomon Sea area. He should be able to bring the KB to interfere with the operation -- if he wants to.

[apbarog]

Very true jwolf. It wouldn't be without risk. I'm hoping for 2 or 3 days without KB, just enough time to land the huge number of troops I have slated for Buna. It will be difficult enough with land-based air and surface forces within one days sailing from Rabaul.

KB could be refitting, for all I know. It's been gone for awhile, and hasn't shown up around Taberfane, yet.

If I get established on the Buna beach, and definitely take the adjacent dot base to aid supply worries, I'll immediately follow-up with landings at Port Moresby, to either take it outright or tie down the many troops there.

Remember, the Japanese essentially lost 2 infantry divisions at Diamond Harbour way back when. It takes them a long time to rebuild. Losing more would be costly.

[apbarog]

26 Feb 43

At Dobo, a big task force with battleship Kongo, 5 cruisers, and 7 destroyers runs into my 4 PT boats. The moonlight level is just too high for the PT boats to get a shot in. The range never gets closer than 10000 yards, and 2 PT boats are sunk.

Kongo and friends then bombards Dobo, hitting AGP Niagara in port, causing 371 casualties (mostly engineers), and doing moderate damage to the port. The airfield is not hit as one hasn't been built yet. I guess that's one way to keep the damage level lower. The enemy does see that I have a US infantry regiment here also.

During the day, my PT boats return to Dobo and fight again. No hits are achieved for either side. It is worth noting that destroyer Sagiri now shows "heavy damage" even though it never got hit. I have no mines here, but I do have some up by Sorong, and this task force diverted around that mined hex on the way home. I'd guess that Sagiri hit a mine on the way in, but it didn't show any damage during the first PT boat fight.

Taberfane then gets bombed by 35 Nells. Airbase damage is moderate, and increasing every day with the constant bombings.

At Makin, sub Drum made a visit to drop off some mines. While there, it spots an xAK task force and hits xAK Sugiyama Maru with a torpedo. I'll take it! Drum did take some minor depth charge damage, and is now heading to Ndeni for repairs and redeployment.

As for the big picture, remember destroyer O'Brien? It had been torpedoed near Nauru Island. In very bad damage, it dodged another set of torpedoes and made it to Nauru for emergency repairs. While in port, it took shell hits from a naval bombardment, and I think it got hit from an air raid or two. It was in bad shape. But then it was left alone, and the damage was bad but under control. It then traveled to Ndeni for more repair, then on to Noumea and then to Sydney. Today it was completely repaired at Sydney. Hurrah! I love the small stories in the game like this one.

My carriers are about to get to Rockhampton. Lexington and 6 CVEs are approaching from the east. Lots of transports are heading to Brisbane to prepare to load up for Buna. Taberfane and Dobo obviously has the enemy's attention right now, with battleships getting involved. Every one I see there is one that would take close to a week to get to Buna.

My talk about occupying Nabire, northeast of Dobo on the east coast of New Guinea, was just talk. With all of the enemy activity, I have to worry about trying to keep what I've taken already. Hopefully Taberfane and Dobo remains the point of focus while I'm about to go to Buna.

I do have an armored unit that left Milne Bay and is traveling through the jungle toward Oro Bay, just southeast of Buna. It is adjacent to Oro Bay now. I've set it to move to Oro Bay, just to see how many kilometers it will move in a day. Then it will reset and wait for my landings. I hope to coordinate landing at Oro Bay and moving that tank unit in to open up a hexside, giving me a supply route (however bad) from Milne Bay, and a possible escape route should my landing fail.

[apbarog]

27 Feb 43

Near Dobo, sub Seal spots cruiser Atago and destroyer Sagiri. Yesterday, Sagiri was reported to have heavy damage, and was presumed to have hit a mine near Sorong on the run-in to Dobo. Today, Seal launches 4 torpedoes at Sagiri, and gets one good hit. Sagiri is not seen sinking but is presumed to be sunk. Interesting that Atago was detached to escort the destroyer. Maybe I can get Atago on the way home.

During the day, 35 Bettys hit Dobo's port again, sinking AGP Niagara finally.

And Sallys hit Taberfane's airfield, keeping the airfield closed.

Today I see a big task force south of Timor. It is following the same path as the last Taberfane bombardment group that came from Koepang. There's also a group north of Dobo. Unknown if this is a new task force, or part of Atago/Sagiri's task force returning home. The 4 DDs or APDs that were at the enemy dot base northeast of Dobo is now a bit further north at Babo. Boela just became a size 3 airfield. West of Timor, just west of Waingapoe, one of my subs got a very high detection level. Something going between Soerbaja and Koepang, most probably.

All of the US carriers except Wasp made it to Rockhampton today. All SBD groups that withdraw in a day have been withdrawn. When the other SBD groups on the ships resize from 18 to 36 on March 1st, I will fill them out and then we'll be ready to start loading for Buna. The CVEs are here too. Lots of invasion shipping at Brisbane. Just a few days to wait.

Goodenough Island, 2 hexes northeast of Milne Bay and 2 hexes from Buna, becomes a size 1 airfield tomorrow or day after.

[poodlebrain]

Sagiri may have been damaged in a collision, or other type of accident.

[apbarog]

You are probably right poodlebrain. I suspected that it had hit a mine because it appeared that the enemy was going around the minefield near Sorong. But that's a good distance from Dobo, and the destroyer was showing damage at Dobo. So it probably was some other cause.

[apbarog]

28 Feb 43

My Aussie Armored Regiment in the jungle between Milne Bay and Oro Bay is spotted. Today the enemy makes 2 fighter sweeps over the unit, thinking I'd have CAP over them. I did not. 25 Zeros sweep and over 40 Tojos sweep, all from Lae. The unit is in combat mode, slowly moving toward Oro Bay, moving 2 km a day. It will take 20 more days to move in, which is what I want. I want to land at Oro Bay and Buna first. The enemy can bomb this unit. It's in the jungle, and won't change anything for me.

Sallys return to Taberfane, bombing the airfield, doing minor damage.

I see a big surface group leaving Darwin. It is in bombardment range of Taberfane, Wessel Island, and Gove. I think it is going to Wessel. It previously went to Taberfane from Timor. With my guess, I'm sending my 2 CA, 2 CL, and 3 DD task force at Merauke to Wessel Island at high speed, and with orders to stay during the day. This is a risk if there's bombers in Australia now. I want to fight the enemy here with ships if I can, and help buy some time for more construction. Neither Wessel or Gove has an airfield yet.

At Merauke, I have lots of transports, and they are spotted. I move them south a few hexes today, just in case the enemy makes a long range move to Merauke to get these ships.

My carrier SBD units reorganized. The search squadrons have been withdrawn, and the bomber squadrons have expanded their size from 18 to 36. I give each one 12 more planes, filling each to 30. It will take another week if I want to get them to 36. Also, each has 18 to 20 pilots. I call for veteran pilot reinforcements, and they will take up to a week to get to their new units.

The bottom line is that my bomber units are understrength. If I want them filled out, I need to wait another week to go to Buna. I haven't completely decided, but for today, I'm waiting. I'll probably start loading troops at Brisbane in about 4 days. Travel north near Rockhampton will take a couple of more days. About then the carriers will be ready.

[apbarog]

1 Mar 43

Another month complete. Good APs starting converting to APAs on the West Coast. Most of these ships, however, are in Australia preparing for Buna.

My cruiser task force stormed into friendly Wessel Island and found nothing, but was spotted by RO-60 on the way in. My ships were not seen at Wessel during the day. I will send them back to Merauke which could be a target.

Bettys, Sallys, and Lilys bomb my troops and the airfield at Taberfane.

The enemy cruiser force that was near Darwin did none of the things I predicted. Instead it moved to a spot south of Taberfane. Just patrolling or setting up a blocking force for something else. Today, 12 Kingfishers flew from Dobo and attacked enemy cruisers. There was no CAP, all floatplanes dropped bombs from 6000 feet, and all missed. Only cruisers were targeted. The enemy is fairly safe around Taberfane, as I have no airfields and it looks like I won't indefinitely, but at least they aren't completely safe.

I got SigInt today that the 16th Recon Tank unit is planning an attack at Horn Island. This is new information. This unit was never on Horn. I seriously doubt a counterinvasion here, with my Australian bases so big and so close. But the target has its advantages, and would cut off my sizable commitment at Merauke. Clear terrain, as we have seen, really hurts the defender. This could be part of a big commitment to the west side of New Guinea.

Meanwhile, I'll start loading for Buna very soon.

[apbarog]

2 Mar 43

The cruiser force that had been by Darwin, and then was south of Taberfane, went to Timoeka. My single xAK was predictably found and sunk, along with a patrol craft. Was worth trying to sneak some supply in. The enemy retired north to Boela.

And again predictably, my Kingfishers that flew unimpeded yesterday from Dobo, today found CAP over a task force by Boela. About a dozen OS2U-3s were lost.

Finally, Lilys hit Dobo's port, doing minor damage.

Looking at Brisbane, there's a couple of big xAP task forces arriving in the next couple of days. I'll unload those ships and then start loading for Buna.

SigInt for today shows that the 48th Division is loaded on shipping and headed to Soerbaja. Could be just that, or could be another sign of big activity coming for the area from Timor to the tip of New Guinea.

[apbarog]

3 Mar 43

At Taberfane, 8 Vals from Boela arrive and target my two remaining PT boats. Bombs miss. Then a bunch of Sallys target my troops, doing minor damage. I really think that a counter-invasion is coming here soon.

A dozen or so B-25s and B-26s bomb Port Moresby's airfield. There is no CAP, and damage is moderate. None of my B-17s fly to Buna today. I'll try again.

I spotted a big task force north of Ambon. I think that this could be carriers arriving. If Taberfane is counter-invaded, the enemy will probably support with carriers, as long as my carriers aren't seen in the area.

Australian brigades start to unload at Tulagi, Ndeni, and Kirakira. They are replacing a US infantry division that has been prepping for Darwin. I'll pick up that division and move it to Australia, so that it will be ready when it's time for Darwin.

I moved a Coronado squadron to northeast Australia. It is filling out now. I will use it to ferry supply to Timoeka, east of Dobo. The Coronado's long range and huge carrying capacity could be helpful here.

[apbarog]

4 Mar 43

I had dropped some mines next to Koepang, Java. A patrol boat spotted the minefield and started clearing it today.

Taberfane's troops and airfield are bombed again.

My B-17s flew to Buna today, and were not successful. Buna had been empty for quite awhile, and not been ranged capped from Lae, but today, Tojos and Oscars were at Buna and did a good job on the bombers. 8 bombers were lost, 6 of them to air-to-air. Damage to the airfield was minimal. I've noted that Buna and Port Moresby are repairing damage much faster now. More engineers and/or supply evidently.

I decided not to return to Buna immediately. The bombers need a week's rest and recovery now, and they'll be needed for the coming invasion.

Got an interesting SigInt notification today. There were 2 "heavy activity" messages for the hex 61,116. This is a few hexes southwest of Waingopoe, which is between Java and Timor. Something big is there, probably coming from Soerbaja. There are a number of possibilities, some more likely than others. Could hit Carnavon, could reinforce Port Headland or Broome, could be going to Timor by a more southerly route to avoid subs, or could be headed to Darwin, Taberfane, Horn Island, who knows.

Something is up here. With my upcoming op, I probably won't be reacting to it.