Jun 44 Summary
Jun 44 Summary
Another outstandingly successful month in territorial gains! Securing bases in northern Borneo and outer islands of the Philippines without much ground fighting was surprising. Footholds secured in the Marianas at Rota and Pagan were contested, but not nearly as hard as anticipated. And finding Indochina pretty much abandoned was shocking - troops are now freed up for planning on Formosa. The Burma/Thailand/Malaya ground offensive has been slow, but more due to jungle terrain than bitter defensive stands. China has been stable and other than air activity over Kweilin, quiet. The occasional Kamikaze strikes have proven to be troublesome, and an omen of the challenges ahead. The IJN has pretty much stayed in port - Naval losses for the month were light to both sides; the IJN reportedly lost a CL, DD, 3SS, 1SSX and 26MTBs compared to the Allies losing 2DDs, 1SS and 1 PT. In the air, 552 for Jpn to 303 Allied.
INTEL: I expected more of a contested landing in the Marianas and I also anticipated hell in the approach to the PI - neither happened. Some brief responses, but nothing sustained. Luzon must be heavily defended, but intel is recently showing less than anticipated air based around Manila. I know lack of supply and fuel is severely hindering the Japanese defenses, but there has to be a inner perimeter established to try and hold before the Home Islands, no?
SUBWAR: Another month with a lack of targets for Allied subs. The occasional coastal convoy in PI waters, or a well defended run in the East China Sea, but they have been very rare. Jpn ASW efforts still remain a significant threat to Allied subs. IJN subs have largely disappeared.
West Coast/USA/Rear Areas: Fighter production drops to 735 in June with the F6F-3, P-47D25 and P-40N5 going out of production and only the F6F-5 coming on line. Losing the P-47D25 production is a big blow - no question the best fighter in the Allied arsenal at this point in the war - but I’ve managed to stock up 385 in the pools to keep squadrons flying until the P-47N comes around in ’45. Hopefully that will be enough. Pilot pools remain fair to good with the exception of US Navy and Marine fighters due to the influx of CVEs with their lackluster pilots needing training and expanding the fighter squadrons in the CVLs and CVs. The refit/upgrading continues for Essex CVs and CVLs, and that should wind down in Jul. APA and CL upgrades are also largely completed.
NOPAC. Have increase recon of the Kuriles using “commander’s discretion” to keep L_S_T guessing. Troops and increased supply/fuel have begun arriving in the Aleutians, but will not look at any landings in the Kuriles until August at the very earliest.
CENPAC. Rota and Pagan were taken with only one turn of heavy response - and that was limited to heavy MTB attacks which were unsuccessful. The minor islands near Pagan were garrisoned, so they will remain under IJA control. Troops will continue to prep for Guam and LBA will be used to keep remaining Jpn bases suppressed in the Marianas in Jul, but no major other actions are planned.
SOPAC. Troops were landed on Digos at the end of the month signifying the true beginning of the Philippines Campaign which will be jointly conducted by SOPAC and SWPAC troops. Mop-up landings will also continue as assault shipping permits to clean up the Moluccas and select remaining IJA holdings in the New Guinea area.
SWPAC. Was another very busy month for SWPAC, gaining Jesselton area Borneo, opening up the Sulu Sea by securing Jolo and Tawi-Tawi and taking Palawan. Will continue to be busy in Jul with the Philippine Campaign in full swing. SWPAC troops have a major role - the Australians working to secure outer islands starting with Panay and US troops landing on southern Luzon at Legaspi. The recently captured bases all need extensive improvements, so shuttling forward engineers will also be a major focus in July.
China. Other than the fixation on air battles over Kweilin, its been very quiet in China. Supplies in China have reached the 150k mark for the first time and continue to climb. With supplies on hand, infantry replacements have been totally exhausted - some Chinese corps are now quite robust. I don’t expect any major IJA offensive in China. As SE Asia troops (which include unrestricted Chinese troops) close on Indochina from the west, will look to see how remaining unrestricted Chinese troops in China can assist. Eventually, will look to link up SE Asia and China Theaters, but that is a few months away.
SE Asia. Wow! Never expected the IJA to abandon Indochina! Progress has been slow to encircle and reduce the Rahaeng and Bangkok pockets, but that will be accomplished in July. The slow drive into Malaya will also continue, and perhaps pick up some momentum. Terrain remains terrible in Malaya and western Thailand, and the Indian and British formations still fragile - few replacements are always a concern. With Indochina abandoned, large numbers of SE Asia troops in the DEI are available - some will be shipped across to link up with troops advancing from the Bangkok area in Indochina, some will be held and begin planning for landings on the island of Hainan. The focus in July will be liberating Indochina and advancing on Hanoi. Ultimately, the goal of SE Asia command now is to link up with China Theater troops and open up a direct supply line from Hanoi to Nanning. The one downside to SE Asia command is that due to the lack of Indochina defenses, the bulk of US ground forces - 4 divisions - will be pulled and begin planning for landings on Formosa.
