Pistol Pete - Lam0ttePicquet (J) vs rook749 (A)

[Lam0ttePicquet]

New Caledonia sea battle

Whereas Kido Butai was still south of Tasmania, autralian cruisers attacked Noumea during the night. The allied task force was composed of:
CA Australia + CA Canberra
CL Perth + CL Adelaide
APD Edsall + APD John D. Edwards
DD Stuart + DD Voyager + DD Thracian
Several IJN ships were at anchor, unloading supply or reembarking resources.
A=> 2 PB were in ASW patrol outside the harbor. They were the first victims: PB Chosa Maru and PB Nako Maru were sunk but one patrol boat succeed in placing one shell on APD Edsall.
B=> Then, the ennemy fleet attacked a large amphibious task force - 24 ships - fortunately recently emptied. Few IJN ships were damaged and only AMC Akagi Maru was sunk. The fleet - protected by CL Kiso - managed to escape.
C=> However, the fate was tragic for a tanker almost full of fuel and 2 escorting ships: despite screen offered by DMS W-9 and E Ishigaki - which was fatal for them - TK Toa Maru didn't resist to CA Camberra shells.
D=> 2 more cargos were also sunk: xAK Terushima Maru and Kohoku Maru. But DD Asanagi and Yunagi forced the allied fleet to disengage.
E=> The retreating allied task force was spotted later during the day NW of Noumea by planes coming from Kaga and Akagi. Those carriers didn't take part of Melbourne raid and were left near Noumea. B5N2 and D3A1 didn't miss them:
CA Canberra, Bomb hits 2
DD Voyager, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CA Australia, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Perth, Torpedo hits 1
CL Adelaide, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

At Rangoon, allied planes disappeared ! Without opponent, it was easier for Ki-21 to hit the airfield:
Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane IIa Trop: 8 damaged
Hurricane IIa Trop: 1 destroyed on ground
H81-A3: 1 damaged
Buffalo I: 1 damaged
Buffalo I: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied ground losses: 11 casualties reported
Airbase hits 4
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 21

Another ground attack at Singapore failed. 3500 japanese caualties for 1300 british. Taking this fortress will take time...
Ressupplied by Daihatsu barges, troops at Tarakan resumed their assault but this day again it failed.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-14

Wake night naval bombardment: in order to support troops, CL Yura, Nagara and 2 DD fired on the island. It was apparently efficient but coastal gunds returned fire (2 shells hits on DD Tokitsukaze, one on Nagara).

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

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 4
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

Raider in Aleutians
Day time naval battle
AMC Hokoku Maru met a group of several small cargo escorted by AM Quatsino near Ulak Island. Without suffering any hit, she sank probable 3 xAKL and AM Quatsino.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-15

RO-68 caught up CL Adelaide West of New Caledonia, damaged 2 days ago. After 2 more torpedo hits, IJN concluded she was sunk.
However, xAK Kamikaze Maru was torpedoed by an allied sub North of this island.

Buffalo come back at Singapore: a squadron of allie dfighter surprised completely bomber groups over the fortress: 11 Ki-21 and 1 Ki-48 destroyed [:(]

Horn island was captured in few hours by Sasebo 1st and 3rd SNLF.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-16

Raider in Aleutians
A second raider - AMC Kiyosumi Maru - damaged 2 small cargo near Adak island: xAKL Kentuckian + xAKL Tennessean

At Singapore, 27 Ki-43 came also back to clear the sky. The squadron of 14 Buffalo was still here. 1 fighter was lost on each side.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-17

Buffalo disappeared from Singapore sky.

Near New Caledonia, a group of D3A1 was driven from Kido Butai to an isolated transport. xAP Elcano was sunk with 1 bomb.

An amphibious assault at Balikpapan was organised with 2 infantry battalions. These experienced 3000 mens should rapidly take the control of oilfields !

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-18

Big guns in Aleutians: BB Arizona + 4 DD bombarded Amchitka Island which was recently captured. Japaneses raiders were not far away but they stayed not detected by allied.

Balikpapan coastal defense was accurate. Until the capture of the last gun, the following IJN ships were damaged:
DD Wakaba, Shell hits 2, on fire
xAK Toho Maru, Shell hits 6
DMS W-16, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Koto Maru, Shell hits 2
xAP Tango Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire

Over Rangoon, ennemy fighters came back: 15 Hurricane + 25 P-40E intercepted 23 reisen. 6 of them were destroyed for 3 Hurricane and 1 P-40E. Hope to keep air superiority in this area vanished.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-19

Singapore: a new bloody day for IJA... Almost 50000 mens fighted on each side. 5600 japanese were lost against 2300 allied.

At Pago Pago, midget sub Ha-7 missed a tanker named Aldegonda, which was apparently not escorted.

No other noticeable sea actions on seas this day.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-20

Wake: 3 US DD bombarded Japanases trapped in a small portion of the atoll. 172 casualties.

Clark Field: another assault, but 32000 US troops were still entrenched in this area at the end of the day. 2500 casualties on japanese side, 870 on the other.

Tarakan: the dutch defense finally collapsed !

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42-02-21

Wake naval battle: the 3 destroyers were still near the atoll when an IJN amphibious TF, carrying reinforcements, was approaching. The fight was unequal: the amphibious TF was made by only 3 PB and 3 cargo. Unfortunaltely, 2 light cruisers were few miles behind and didn't take part of the battle. The japanese ships managed to escape but they suffered some hits:
PB Kohuku Maru
PB Aso Maru #7, Shell hits 1
PB Yodozo Maru, Shell hits 4
xAK Kinugawa Maru, Shell hits 2, heavy fires
xAK Lisbon Maru, Shell hits 1, on fire
xAK Yasukawa Maru, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1

Rangoon air combats: a lot of ennemy fighters in the air: 52 P-40E + 16 Hurricane. 13 Ki-43 on a total of 65 were lost, for 8 ennemy fighters claimed.

Over Mandalay also, 8 reisen versus 14 Hurricane. 2 A6M2 lost and 1 Hurricane destroyed.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-22

Wake: damaged japanese ships returned to the island to unload troops. However, a new banzai attack was immediatly launched after landing. In this butchery, 1276 japanese casualties were reported.

New Caledonia: free french forces were followed by 144th Infantry regiment to the north of the island. At Koumac, a small australian brigade was also in defense. The assault started this day.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-23

Wake: the IJN light cruisers Yura and Nagara (+2 DD) have finally bombarded the atoll. 95 ennemy casualties reported, but no coastal defense shell received: lack of supply ?

At Koumac, the second day of fight was the last for allied ground forces: more than 2000 mens captured.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-24

Noumea bombardment
An allied TF made of CA Pensacola, CL Leander, Achilles, Ceres, Caledon and DD Le Triomphant surprised (again) 3 cargo and 2 PB at anchor. PB Nanpo Maru, PB Syozui Maru, xAK Sanko Maru, xAK Arabia Maru and xAK Momokawa Maru were all sunk.

Noumea bombardment was effective:
Japanese aircraft losses
H6K4 Mavis: 11 damaged
Japanese Ships
xAK Tatutaki Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Koei Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Teiyo Maru, Shell hits 1
xAK Tatumiya Maru, Shell hits 1
Japanese ground losses:
286 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Light Industry hits 2
Resources hits 1
Airbase hits 17
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 55
Port hits 9
Port supply hits 2

Air / naval battle, North of Noumea
Several allied transports - loaded with troops - were spotted North of Noumea during morning. Unfortunately for them, japanese carriers were around.
A first wave of 26 B5N2 and 22 D3A1 sealed the fate of several ships: xAP Le Maire, Don Esteban, Klang and S'Jacob were sunk for sure. 3 other xAP were left damaged.
A second wave of 26 B5N2 and 43 D3A1 eliminated xAP Rooseboom, Perak, Ipoh and Pijnacker Hordijk.

Burma, Pegu combats: 15th Army tried to blow the lock thanks to heavy artillery arrival. However, the day finished with 1900 casualties on IJA side versus 600 on allied side.

Burma, Mandalay: I./143rd and III./143rd infantry battalions attacked the the town where 4500 british troop were entrenched: score of parity with 200 losses on each side.

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42-02-25

Sub attack near Balikpapan: CL Sendai has been torpedoed by an ennemy submarine. Damage was significant but the important parts were not affected.

Air / naval battle, North of Noumea - end
2 vessels sighted the day before were attacked by D3A1. They dived on their target and sank APD John D. Edwards and xAP Camphuys

In Banda Sea, TB Manzuru was also torpedoed. This ship sank into the waves.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-26

No major actions on sea to report.

In Burma, Mandalay, the 2 IJA battalions were under air attack - which started the previous day.
66 Blenheim and 23 Hudson, protected by some Hurricane, dropped their bombs over japanese troops, which suffered some losses in the open field. 3 A6M2 and 3 Ki-27 only were patrolling in this area. 1 Ki-27 was destroyed for 1 Blenheim and 1 Hudson.
IJA decided to air-lift one more battalion in central Burma.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-27

Burma, Mandalay, another morning attack of Blenheim and Hudson squadrons. Only 1 Hurricane on CAP shot down by japanese fighters. Several losses on IJA troops.

Wake naval bombardment: 3 CA (Chicago, Chester and Northampton) + 3 DD fired on the island. High number of japanese casualties (700), explained by the fact that they were attacking... IJN troops, completely disrupted, suffered also 640 other casualties during the attack.
Fortunately, allied troops didn't counter-attack. They would have probably pushed to sea the remaining forces.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-02-28

Noumea naval battle
A IJN cruiser fleet made of CA Myoko, Haguro and Nachi and 4 DD arrived close to the harbor few hour before the appearance of an ennemy fleet: 2CA (Houston and Canberra) and 1 DD.
Despite having T crossed by allied fleet, CA Myoko and DD Kuroshio managed to set fire on CA Canberra, which was sunk while trying to escape by all other japanese ships.

Near Suva, I-18 sank PC Caroo. This sub was located in the area in support of midgets operations in Fiji.

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42-03-01

Strategic status:

Burma:
# 15th Army is stopped near Rangoon. Reinforcements are needed in order to capture Rangoon. Some battalions sent to central Burma took control of the area but are still supplied by air.
# heavy losses taken by Ki-21 and Ki-43

Malaya:
# 25th Army is besieging Singapore. This should take about 6 weeks.

DEI:
# Palembang and Balikpapan landings in preparation
# Java landings not scheduled before April 42

Phillipines:
# 14th Army is fighting against US troops at Clark field. This Army could be available in one or two months for operations either in Java or Australia

Papua - New Guinea:
# Port Moresby has been captured. 16th Army is now preparing for landings in Australia.

South Pacific:
# Fiji invasion has been abandoned. New Caledonia was captured as fall back position.

Central Pacific:
# Wake is still not captured.

Aleutians:
# Amchitka island has been captured. It seems that it has triggered an important reaction

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Allied sub attack near Miri, xAK Azuchi Maru has been severely damaged by a torpedo.

Rangoon air combats: 25 A6M2 and 66 Ki-43 were engaged versus 12 H81-A3, 15 Hurricane and 26 P40-E. 2 A6M2 and 3 Ki-43 were lost on japanese side versus 10 ennemy fighters.

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42-03-02

Sub attack near Pago Pago: I-16 sank PC Hermes with a torpedo.

Wake naval battle
CL Nagara and Yura escorted by DD Yukikaze and Tokitsukaze head to Wake island for naval bombardment. They met 4 allied DD. Some shells were exchanged:
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara
CL Yura, Shell hits 1
DD Yukikaze, Shell hits 2
DD Tokitsukaze, Shell hits 2
Allied Ships
DD Anderson, Shell hits 1
DD Hammann, Shell hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
DD Cassin, Shell hits 2
DD Tucker, Shell hits 1

Few hours after this battle, 8 F4F-3 attacked japanese cruisers. CL Yura received one bomb.

Close to the island, DD Hammann and Tucker were engaged again:
Japanese Ships
CL Nagara
CL Yura
DD Yukikaze, Shell hits 1
DD Tokitsukaze, Shell hits 1
Allied Ships
DD Hammann, Shell hits 9, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Tucker, Shell hits 4, on fire

The naval bombardment didn't give any significant results.

[Lam0ttePicquet]

42-03-03

Tuvalu archipelago naval battle
A small IJN amphibious task force (2 TB + 2xAK) was sailing to Vaitupu when it was intercepted by a 4 battleships and 3 DD !
All japanese ship were sunk...

Over Rangoon, RAF deserted the sky. Ki-21 have had an opportunity to damage airfields and to destroy one Buffalo on ground.

Air attack near Batavia: 15 G4M1 flying at sea level attacked 2 CL Marblehead and Java. The second cruiser received one torpedo. Allied air cover (30 fighters !) was probably surprised and didn't do anything.

Ground combat at Singapore: 25th Army was still opposed to 54000 britsh troops. The assault ended at the end of the day with 2100 casualties for IJA and 831 for the besieged.