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

[jwolf]

That was an expensive DD raid, but the losses for Japan will hurt more. Also the raid gets the message across -- at least I would think it does -- that Rabaul is no longer a safe harbor and that is a very important objective. Well done.

[apbarog]

Yes, it was a bit expensive. The damage done to the big cargo task forces could have been much worse, if more than 3 of the 9 destroyers would have engaged. Having 3 damaged to mines near the beginning hurt my chances. But I'm not complaining. Sank a light cruiser, even if it was just an old training one, a couple of AVs, and a couple of patrol boats.

It was worth it to me. I'll probably come out of it losing 2 destroyers. And we may not see huge cargo task forces there in the future. It certainly looked like Walker is moving stuff out of Rabaul. The whole area is of little importance to me. Just keeping some level of attention there. I'll take Torokina and Buin and then clear the skies over Rabaul. Then Rabaul is irrelevant. I may land at Kavieng and isolate it further. It matters little, in my opinion. The push is still to the South China Sea.

No turn from Walker today. There may be one tomorrow, on Thursday, or there may not be.

[apbarog]

4 Sep 43

Mostly good news, some bad news. First the bad:

Enemy cruisers Chikuma and Furutaka with 3 destroyers come one hex south of Rabaul and catch gravely damaged destroyer Dyson limping home. Dyson doesn't get off a shot and is sunk. Just south of there, destroyers Terry and Schroeder damage I-37.

Southwest of Formosa, sub Harder finds a tanker convoy, fires 2 torpedoes at an E boat, but both miss. Sub Sawfish then spots the same convoy, and does exactly the same thing. Fired on E boat and missed.

Battleship Resolution and escorts bombarded Akyab, and did well. Resolution can't get to Calcutta to rearm, so it has to go to Madras or Ceylon. With surprise lost, I won't risk the battleship again, not without CAP. Walker could send some naval forces this way, now that he's seen that I did so.

Again in the South China Sea, sub Sawfish then spots a huge tanker convoy. Doesn't look like it was the same convoy as earlier. Sawfish fires 2 torpedoes on tanker Otoriyama Maru, and both hit. The tanker is badly damaged and is on fire, but isn't carrying fuel.

Sub Seadragon then spots the convoy that Harder and Sawfish spotted earlier. 2 torpedo hits on TK Hoyo Maru. One is a dud. This can still happen, just less frequently. This tanker will probably survive as is.

A US deliberate attack at Manado captures the base. A handful of enemy planes are destroyed, having been damaged and stranded here. 2219 enemy casualties and 152 US. The enemy is now isolated here in the jungle. I'll rest a day or two and then continue to reduce the enemy. Support units for Manado are walking in from Sidate.

More good news from the Solomons. The US 1st Cavalry Division attacks at Torokina and easily takes the base. 3 enemy units retreat south to Buin. I won't rush support units here even though they are waiting to the south on ships. Too hot right now. I'll repair the airfield first, using the engineers in the cavalry division, then fly in some fighters, then move the shipping in. Invasion troops for Buin have left Luganville and are on the way.

Lots of Allied shipping near Makassar now. Lots of carriers and escorts, subchasers, and invasion shipping for Balikpapan, Samarind, and Tanjoe-something-or-another (further up the coast, see map). Shipping will move into position today and then move to the targets tomorrow.

I've also decided to do a big sweep of Soerbaja. No bombers this time. There's about 120 fighters there, with airfield damaging showing at about 20. Lots of good fighters on the way.

And there are more indications of Mindanao being built up by Walker. And SigInt shows that the 2nd Army HQ is now on ships and on the way to Manila. Walker is making the right moves. The problem for him is that I'm not going directly to Mindanao, I'm going around. Jolo is lightly held. Other potential targets appear empty. There's just too many places that I can go. An impossible situation for defending, strictly from a ground point of view. Of course, Walker's navy and air force may have something to say about things.

My goal is still free access to the South China Sea before 1944.

[apbarog]

5 Sep 43

Allied cruisers bombard Boela, doing minor damage.

Southwest of Hong Kong, sub Sawfish spots already damaged tanker Hoyo Maru, fires 2 torpedoes, but both miss.

Huge Allied fighter sweeps at Soerbaja. Heavy CAP, almost 100 Oscars and about 12 Tojos. I get a rare sweep with 3 squadrons flying together. P-38Gs, P-38Hs, and some P-47s. The enemy takes heavier losses. Total air losses for the day are 29 Oscars, 6 Zeros, and 4 Tojos. US losses are 12 F6Fs, 6 P-47s, and 4 P-38s. I send all of the fighters again today. I may send the bombers tomorrow, weather permitting.

US troops attack at Boela. Odds are 1 to 2, with forts dropping to 1. 389 enemy losses and 636 friendly. I've decided to pull out the badly disrupted 37th Infantry Division. They will go to Australia to recover. Who knows, they might go right back to Boela to finish it off.

Today 3 enemy bases will be invaded: Balikpapan, Samarinda, and Tanjoengselor (near Tarakan). I'm splitting my carriers and sending half further north for the Tanjoengselor landing. The rest support the other two landings.

I did get a good recon of Batavia today, and based on the number of vehicles seen, I'm pretty sure that the tank division that has been on Java is at Batavia.

[apbarog]

6 Sep 43

Samarinda, Balikpapan, and Tanjoengselor are invaded. Tanjoengselor is empty. The adjacent enemy base of Tarakan does have troops. I'll build my base for a bit first. All APAs have completely unloaded their troops. 3 APAs at Tanjoengselor still have supply on them, and I'll give them another day to unload that. That base is a bit far out, and the troops need the supply.

I do not use ship bombardments at Balikpapan and Samarinda, hoping to keep the facility damage to a minimum. All bases will be attacked today, with some B-25s hitting the troops. The terrain is clear, and I'm not anticipating much of a problem. Samarinda has just one unit, with just 1000 troops reported. Balikpapan has a garrison unit.

I sweep Soerbaja heavily again. Losses are 20 Oscars, 17 Zeros, and 6 Tojos, at the cost of 18 F6Fs, 7 F4Us, and 4 P-38s. Not great but not bad. My depleted squadrons will sweep again today, and lots of heavy bombers will hit the airfield. I suspect that Walker has railed out his damaged units and rotated in fresh ones.

In a first, Walker bombs Chinese units on the road just inside China, near Burma. I think it is a recon bombing, to see what is really there. I'm not leaving China with these units, as they are restricted.

Carriers will start the trip back to Darwin. Most of the units for the next round of invasions are there, and require the APAs, so there's time to refuel and rearm.

I wonder when Walker will contest an invasion. There's been no naval or air activity for quite awhile. I think he's digging in on Mindanao and Luzon, and Saipan and Guam, and Java. There's going to be a battle somewhere. I just don't know where. He's lost a few carriers, but one battleship at the most. We'll have to wait and see where he is going to fight.

[apbarog]

7 Sep 43

More supply unloads at the 3 invasion spots of Balikpapan, Samarind, and Tanjoengselor. AKA work well for this, topping off combat units.

At Balikpapan, a small US minesweeper finds a minefield and starts sweeping.

Near the northeastern corner of Borneo, sub Steelhead spots an interesting convoy with 3 AMCs, and APD, a CL, and E, and 2 DDs. The sub fires 4 torpedoes at the large ship AMC Kinryu Maru, and one hits causing fire and heavy damage. Troops are loaded on the ship. I don't know which direction these ships are heading. My best guess is that they are bringing troops to the north coast of Borneo.

The 4th Marine Division invades Buin. They need to rest a day before attacking. Buin has a bunch of units, but is rather weak in combat strength. I have lots of reinforcements on the way: combat engineers, artillery, armor. But I may not need them. I'm holding them at Vangunu, on ships, to wait and see if they are really needed. If not, they head to Darwin to join the masses.

East of the Philippines, sub Sturgeon spots an xAK task force, fires 2 torpedoes at xAK Kiso Maru, and gets one hit. No troops on this ship.

When I took Talaud-eilanden, just south of Mindanao, I expected this island to become a focal point for Walker. But he's done nothing here, and I've unloaded combat and support troops without issue. Today he finally paid some attention here, with Tojo and Zero sweeps out of Davao. I had no CAP here. The airfield isn't built yet. I did still have an xAP task force, slowly unloading support troops here. Walker may have plotted some naval strikes at Davao, but the weather was bad at Talaud-eilanden. I have some vehicles still loaded, but the ships will leave immediately, and unload at Ternate. I'll bring the few vehicles back in on smaller, less valuable ships.

Allied fighters sweep Soerabaja, followed by heavy bombers hitting the airfields. Heavy initial CAP of Zeros, Oscars, and Tojos. A luckless Kittyhawk squadron drew the short straw and went in first, and got wrecked. After that, the better planes did better. Good damage to the airfield. I'll rest my fighters and send in the bombers again today. I didn't note the air losses for the day. I'm still in the midst of the turn, knowing that Walker can't do a turn tomorrow. I'll post the losses tomorrow when I finish the turn.

At the Allied base of Manado, troops attack to try to clear the enemy out of the jungle. 2 to 1 odds, 1580 enemy casualties, and 444 friendly losses. Got to finish them off, then the 2nd Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division can start prepping for the next target.

At Balikpapan, the first attack goes at 1 to 1, and lowers the forts to 2. It was surprising to see that the Allies had a negative modifier for leaders. The 3rd Marine Division and the 762 Tank Battalion have excellent leaders. The only other unit is a Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion, and its leader is very poor. That must have mattered. Regardless, the enemy took over 1000 casualties, and the US troops only 146. The base will fall. I rest the engineer unit and will see if that affects the modifier.

At adjacent Samarind, the Indian 111th LRP Brigade easily routs the lone enemy unit, the 20th Port Unit. The enemy unit is destroyed without friendly loss. Support unit on ships are just to the south, and will now move in and unload. The oil facilities were partially damaged in the combat. The oil is now 80 undamaged and 20 damaged. Very little oil captured. That may be a different story when Balikpapan is captured.

[apbarog]

7 Sep 43 - Borneo

A look at the progress on Borneo.

[apbarog]

I had to laugh when I saw that some enemy company-sized unit was preparing to attack Port Hedland. I'm sure that this unit had been there at one time, and got evacuated, but I kind of wish that an attack was coming. I have over 2000 combat value at Port Hedland currently, with almost all of it prepped for Soerbaja. The time will come for them soon enough. They are #2 in order for the next upcoming invasions.

[apbarog]

8 Sep 43

Today was the first instance of the dreaded "synch bug". The combat replay showed the Allies taking Balikpapan, but the combat report and the turn showed that the enemy barely held and didn't retreat.

Here's what actually happened today:

YMS-281 continues to slowly sweep mines at Balikpapan.

Sub Skate fires 2 torpedoes at destroyer Tokitsukaze near Puerto Princesa. Both miss.

Dedicated subchasers find sub Harder south of Formosa, but can't hit it. Note that the Allies currently have 32 subs in the area from north of Borneo, west of the Philippines, and west of Formosa. Essentially the South China Sea, and then some.

Sub Mingo was just south of Japan heading east to west, and it hit a mine at the dot base Izu Oshima, south of Tokyo. This is a nice trick, putting mines there. I've done so when playing the Japanese side. Mingo is moderately damaged and should survive the trip back to the Aleutians.

Near the northwestern part of Mindanao, sub S-42 finds the big AMC convoy that was previously spotted north of Borneo. Then, an AMC was torpedoed and it had troops on it. Today, AMC Awata Maru is torpedoed once, and it has troops on it. I can draw the conclusion that troops are moving from Borneo, Singapore, or Sumatra, and headed to the Philippines. More confirmation of the buildup on Mindanao. Also, the enemy airbase at Surigao became size 2 today. It is on the north side of Mindanao. Big buildup going on here. It's looking more and more like Mindanao will be a place that I go around, except for Zamboanga.

Many heavy bombers hit Soerbaja, and every enemy plane had left. Significant damage is done to the airfield.

30 Tojos sweep Talaud-eilanden, again, and again find no CAP. No ships here either.

As I said, Balikpapan was not captured, but the enemy took 1680 casualties, and US troops took only 59. The base will fall today. The attackers are fatigued, but that shouldn't matter with the enemy losses and the forts being reduced to 1.

Isolated enemy troops at Manado will be attacked. And if I remembered to plot it, we'll attack at Buin today.

Allied carriers and APAs continue to return to Darwin. In a few days, we'll start loading for the next round of invasions.

[Macclan5]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

8 Sep 43

...I can draw the conclusion that troops are moving from Borneo, Singapore, or Sumatra, and headed to the Philippines. More confirmation of the buildup on Mindanao. Also, the enemy airbase at Surigao became size 2 today. It is on the north side of Mindanao. Big buildup going on here. It's looking more and more like Mindanao will be a place that I go around, except for Zamboanga.

Many heavy bombers hit Soerbaja, and every enemy plane had left. Significant damage is done to the airfield.

The ABDA Offensive marches on like water on a rock ! Cheers.

Thanks for the updates.

It would appear the Japanese build up is Mindanao and Java (may have left Soerabaja but Batavia is really only a stone throw away and an equally important base).

When you say "go around" or bypass - what are your thoughts on that APB ?

1) You want access to the South China Sea.

2) Bypassing one or both above

...means... Jesselton and Brunei ?

Curious as in my limited experience with the game I have never targeted those particular bases but I am certain the could be valuable once built up...

If / when you intend future action in Luzon for example you will need supporting bases closer than Balikpapan or Kendari...

PS thanks [8D]- until you invaded Balikpapan I had never really spent time analyzing the value of that base.

At least in stock game Scenario 1 it is a very very valuable base with oil / refinery / ample supply generation... not sure about your particular game..

[apbarog]

The enemy ground strength is still strong at Soerbaja, and at Batavia. Mindanao is certainly getting reinforcements. My thoughts on going around Mindanao is to land at Jolo and surrounding islands, and Zamboanga, which is Mindanao but is isolated enough that I think it won't be attacked by land. Then moving to the northeastern tip of Borneo, and the 2 bases on the island of Palawan. This gets me part of the way to Manila. Maybe take Busuanga after that. Then Luzon is a possibility. Skip Mindanao entirely, or land after Walker starts ferrying troops out to reinforce Luzon, which inevitably would happen. I do have some troops prepping for parts of Mindanao, and they will continue to do so.

Brunei and Miri would be icing on the cake of taking northeastern Borneo. Not an immediate target though. The oil will be denied just by being close to those bases. And denying the enemy oil is more important than taking the oil. Balikpapan will be nice to have, not having to ship in as much fuel. There's no supply generation at oil facilities. I can't remember if that is a DBB mod thing, or a change to the base game. But it's still an important base to have. And bombers from Balikpapan and Sarmarinda can shut down the oil at Brunei and Miri, and may be able to do so at Palembang also, at least for one big surprise strike. Of course, once the B-29s arrive, Walker has already lost his oil, just with the bases I already have.

[apbarog]

9 Sep 43

It was a good day.

AKAs continued to unload supply at Balikpapan. A YMS continues to sweep mines there.

Near Puerto Princesa, sub Skate spots destroyer Tokitsukaze, fires 2 torpedoes, and both miss. Later in the day, however, sub Whale spots the same ship, and hits it with a torpedo.

Sub Crevalle spots a xAK task force north of Ulithi. No engagement.

East of Aitape, on the east coast of New Guinea, sub Capelin spots a few APDs with an AMC, but 2 torpedoes miss an APD.

Buin, Boela, and Sorong are all bombarded by Allied cruiser task forces.

Midway between Thailand and Borneo, sub Cabrilla spots a big cargo task force, consisting of at least 2 xAKs and many xAKLs. The sub fires 4 torpedoes at xAK Meiu Maru. 2 torpedoes hit. The ship is loaded with fuel and is burning. Or was burning. Sinking sounds are heard later.

Some bombers attack Soerabaja's airfield again. There's are a handful of ranged CAP from somewhere else, but no planes based at Soerabaja.

Some heavies hit the oil field at Tjepoe, on Java. Results are poor. 6 oil are damaged, leaving 30 working. This isn't a priority for me. Just trying to move the targets around and maybe spread the enemy CAP out some. There's a lot more oil production at Soerabaja, but I will just capture that.

Allied troops attack enemy troops in the jungle at Manado. 1433 enemy casualties, 218 friendly. One unit is eliminated in combat. Three more evaporate from attrition afterwards.

US troops attack at Balikpapan and overwhelm the defenders. 2438 enemy losses. No US losses. The enemy retreats inland. I hope to sneak a commando unit into that inland base before the enemy gets there. I am happy to report that damage to Balikpapan's oil and refineries is minimal. Just 5 out of the 300 oil are damaged, and just 7 of the 400 of the refineries are damaged. The bonus is that over 216,000 fuel are captured. Now shipping carrying support units will move in and unload. Included is one of those huge naval support units. Balikpapan is going to become a hub of naval activity soon. And a huge airbase too. The two combat units here, the 3rd Marine Division and the 762nd Tank Battalion, are immediately retasked for a new objective.

The 4th Marine Division attacked at Buin, getting 2 to 1 odds, and reducing the forts to 3. 238 enemy losses and 57 friendly. I'll rest a day and repeat. It won't be necessary to land all of the other units that I intended to attack with here, including combat engineers, artillery, and tanks. These units, already loaded on ships and waiting to the south, will now head to Darwin.

Side notes:
Rabaul now has 193 enemy fighters. Cagayan has 102.
I see ground movement out of Soerabaja for the first time. I suspect that air support is moving out, with the heavy damage at the airfield. It would be nice to see combat troops move out. But I think that will happen later, when I invade the eastern tip of Java.
The Indian 111 LRP unit, at Samarinda, is now retasked for Miri. A big para drop is possible from Samarinda.
3 heavy bombers units are moved to Manado to bomb Taytay's port. I've consistently seen at least 2 AKE's there.
SigInt reports an AA unit at Butuan. Another indication of the enemy buildup on Mindanao. Many airbases are being expanded here.

[apbarog]

10 Sep 43

The small minesweeper YMS-281 completely sweeps the enemy mines at Balikpapan. Unloading of support troops continues there.

Brit cruisers bombarded Bandjermasin, southwest of Balikpapan. No invasion imminent here, but I do have an Commonwealth division prepping for it. Other tasks to attend to first.

Fulmars and Corsairs sweep Madang on New Guinea, finding some Tojos on ranged CAP. The Fulmars don't do well, losing a few. Just a sweep to show some interest here, where I really have none.

B-25s bomb enemy troops on Buin. Will deliberate attack today.

Heavy bombers hit Ambon's airfield, keeping it damaged.

Another deliberate attack today at Manado to clear out the isolated enemy in the jungle.

All of the Allied CV's and CVL's will be at Darwin today, and a task force with 12 CVE's and a CVL will arrive there also. There are only 2 other CVE's on the map, and they are nearing the east coast of Australia and headed to the front also.

A commando unit is unloading at Makassar, where it will combat load for a landing on the enemy base inland from Balikpapan. I hope to win the race with the enemy retreating from Balikpapan.

Support units continue to unload at Tanjoengselor, next to Tarakan. Fletchers continue to guard.

I noted that there are now 201 fighters at Rabaul. And the troop numbers have recently increased, not decreased, now up to about 35,000. Walker may think that my Buin and Torokina landings foreshadow a Rabaul landing soon.

On Java, Soerabaja still has 10 units, with 20940 men, 194 guns, and 218 vehicles. Adjacent Malang has 3 units with 17360 men, 104 guns, and 11 vehicles. My upcoming landing at the eastern tip of Java, with just one division, won't get far towards Soerabaja. And that's not counting if Walker moves something into the mountain hex. It will be interesting to see what I do with the 2 Indian divisions and the huge Chinese Corp that has prepped for Soerabaja.

But another operation comes first. And all APAs needed for it will get to Darwin today. Loading will begin, and then we're off to push further. Will Walker finally intervene? I have to think that the hammer will fall eventually, somewhere.

[apbarog]

11 Sep 43

Just north of Mindanao, sub S-42 spots tiny ACM Oi Maru, gets a torpedo hit, and undoubtedly sinks her.

West of Formosa, sub Tinosa spots a big tanker convoy, fires 2 torpedoes at big tanker Tonan Maru #3, and gets a hit. The sub then reattacks, and fires 2 more torpedoes at the now smoking tanker, but misses this time.

Allied troops attack again at Manado, and causes almost another 1000 casualties to the isolated defenders in the jungle.

Good news at Buin. The 4th Marine Division attacks and captures the base, getting 9 to 1 odds with level 3 forts. 528 enemy casualties, and only 18 friendly. The Marines will rest a day and then start reducing what is left.

2 bits of big news today. First, loading at Darwin begins for the next round of invasions. Allied carriers have refueled and start to move to staging areas.

And the first units begin prepping for Luzon. Landings on Luzon before 1944? That goal sounds good to me. Mindanao is being reinforced heavily by Walker, but I haven't seen the same attention to Luzon yet.

As shown on the map, I'm sending the 8 Fletchers that are near Tarakan out into the South China Sea. I'm hoping to intercept the big tanker convoy that is westbound near Formosa. Admiral Burke is leading the task force. Hoping for some fireworks. I'm doing a full speed run to get out into the open ocean. I'm hoping that they have enough fuel to get back, at mission speed.

[jwolf]

I am fearful when I do that kind of full speed run very far with a purely DD force. It's just too easy to get stranded. The alternative problem is that if your ships get into some hot water they won't be able to run away fast if they need to. Do you think Walker might change the convoy route now that it was spotted?

[Bif1961]

Why not include a large light cruiser with a lot of fuel to help them, it can keep up, give added firepower, provide a float plane or two and help them search and give them needed fuel.

[apbarog]

With the large number of subs in the South China Sea, I've been watching the tanker convoys go back and forth for quite awhile. I don't always get a tanker, but I see them frequently. Walker has been using a mid-ocean route from Formosa to Singapore. This won't change because of another sub attack, but if my destroyers engage, I expect convoys to start hugging the Vietnam coast. I've had subs there for awhile also, but no convoys there, yet.

A light cruiser would help with fuel, but would slow the task force down. I didn't plan on using these Fletchers for a South China Sea raid. Their mission was to protect the landing next to Tarakan. But when I spotted these tankers inbound, and had the Fletchers where they were, with almost full fuel tanks, I decided to go for it.

Looks like no turn today from Walker.

[Bif1961]

True on the speed a 6 knots difference, but wouldn't that be offset by having float planes fuel and heavy guns available? At flank speed what would be the range different 18 instead of 19?

[apbarog]

The Fletchers have a full speed of 11 per phase, so theoretically, they could move 22 in a day. I don't know if they really manage this though. Taking a light cruiser along can be a good idea though. I think we shall soon see if I wish I had one with them.

Sep 43

Southwest of Formosa, and southwest of yesterday's intercept, sub Seawolf spots the big tanker convoy, but misses with 2 torpedoes fired at the large tanker Omurosan Maru.

To the far west, and east of Singapore, an eastbound tanker convoy is spotted by sub Cabrilla. 4 torpedoes are fired at large tanker Teiyo Maru. One hits, the tanker is full of fuel, and it was left burning. Sinking sounds heard later.

Southeast of Mindanao, a US patrolling subchaser group finds RO-38, and probably sinks her. The subchasers were sent out a bit far. I wanted to show something approaching the southeastern area of Mindanao. Walker has subs deployed tactically, again, to guard future landing spots.

US troops at Manado continue to clear out the enemy in the jungle. 2 units destroyed and another evaporates from being surrounded. 2759 enemy casualties. I'll rest a day and repeat.

A fragment of the Indian 111th LRP Brigade, at Samarinda, paradrops into the inland base of Melak. Enemy troops retreating from Balikpapan are heading here, and since Melak is an airfield base of size 1, I didn't want these units escaping by air. I'll continue to ferry in more paratroops until the base isn't threatened any longer. Then I'll extract them.

Lots of shipping leaving Darwin for the next round of invasions.

I got SigInt of 1/32 Div/B is at Busuanga. This base is southwest of Manila and is a possible future target. No worries if just 32 Div/B is there, but if all of the division is there, I will bypass.

The fun part of the next turn is with the 8 Fletchers now out in the South China Sea. They are not spotted. See map.

[apbarog]

13 Sep 43

My 8 Fletchers in the South China Sea came up empty today. The westbound tanker convoy disappeared. The good news is that the Fletchers are still not spotted, and they have enough fuel to try to intercept an eastbound convoy today.

It was a good day for the submariners.

Southwest of Cam Ranh Bay, sub Drum spots a big tanker convoy, fires 2 torpedoes at tanker Palembang Maru, but both miss.

Sub Truant is spotted amidst the islands south of Manila, but evades depth charges from patrol boats in shallow water. Truant drops mines in a likely ship passage area from Manila.

South of Cam Ranh Bay, sub Guardfish spots a big tanker convoy, maybe the same one that Drum spotted. Guardfish fires 2 torpedoes at the large tanker Kyokuho Maru, and gets one hit. The tanker is loaded with fuel, and is burning. Sinking sounds heard later.

Sub Pargo spots another large tanker convoy south of Cam Ranh Bay. The ship names are different from the earlier task forces, but with fog of war, it could be the same ships. Pargo fires 4 torpedoes at tanker Tonan Maru #2, and gets 2 hits. The loaded fuel is burning, and sinking sounds are heard later.

(Does anyone know if a tanker that is loaded with oil says "oil burning" instead of "fuel burning" when it is hit? Seems like I've only ever seen "fuel burning", and some of these tankers have to be carrying oil.)

Cleanup at Buin continues with the 4th Marine Division attacking. One unit is destroyed, and others evaporate from being surrounded. Just one enemy unit left at Buin.

There are 3 enemy units left in the jungle at Manado. One unit evaporated by being surrounded today. Allied units will attack today to help speed up the process.

Lots of Allied shipping on the move for the next invasions. Fletchers still on the prowl in the South China Sea, for one more day, anyhow.