December 15th
I think we're finally reaching the end of the PI blood bath, with the last few transports meeting their demise against the Mini KB surface force.
Great day for the allies as well, as we finally scored our first sub hit of the campaign. Not a big victory, but at this stage everything counts. The ship hasn't been sunk though.
Sub attack near Talaud-eilanden at 79,96
Japanese Ships
AO Shinkoku Maru, Torpedo hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Tanikaze
Allied Ships
SS O16
My last convoy leaving Singapore has been under bomber attack 3 times; fortunatly, it was under air cover from Malaya and the Bufalos made a good meal of the bombers. However the very last torp hit the Danae; damages aren't too serious, but she'll be detached from the main force with a DD to not slow down the rest.
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 46,72
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 72 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 28 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 6
Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed by flak
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 46,72
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid spotted at 34 NM, estimated altitude 12,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 13 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 12
Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 7
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 7 destroyed, 1 damaged
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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Langsa at 46,72
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 45 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 17 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M2 Nell x 6
Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M2 Nell: 1 destroyed
No Allied losses
Allied Ships
CL Danae, Torpedo hits 1
I don't think we'll have a sweeping or escorted bombers next turn, as the fighters are busy defending Malaya.
Near Kuantan, currently under ground attack, the AA took a very good chunk of the attacking bombers.
Morning Air attack on Kuantan , at 51,79
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 15 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 28
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 21 damaged
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Morning Air attack on Kuantan , at 51,79
Weather in hex: Moderate rain
Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 4,200 feet.
Estimated time to target is 1 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-21-IIa Sally x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 2 damaged
Ki-21-IIa Sally: 1 destroyed by flak
Invasion of Celebes has officialy started with the invasion of Manado. Unfortunatly i can't really do much to intercept the transports, given the area is covered by the KB lurking in the Celebes Sea.
All the invaded areas are switched to Defend instead of Bombard to save some supplies and hold a bit longer, giving time to transport some units out (like the ENG out of Kuching).
Near India, i'm reinforcing Port Blair with the 45th Indian Brigade, and will ship there a Base force as soon as one is available.
In China, enemy units are gathering in the plains for what looks to be a push to the North/Northwest toward Sian and the mountains. Defense in the Changsha area are still building up (where the industry is also rebuilding). I'm trying to not disperse my troops too much to create choke points and hold back the advance. Soon the air bridge from Ledo will be established.
For now the biggest concentration of troops is in Sinyang, with some sen moving North. Given he hasn't attacked Chengshow yet and is starting by Nanyang, with troops heading there, i'd bet on the fact he'll try to split the country before going haywire. Though it would mean a very stark division of forces. I won't divert troops to Nanyang, some are moving to Ankang to cover the Eastern part of the capital area. Others are gathered around Sian in a Defense in depth formation.
In Fiji, a small TF has been assembled (2CL+1DD) and will patrol the norther waters, trying to intercept some sneaky invasions.
Near PH, the Enterprise is finally back home. I'll be waiting for her two sisters to be home, and we'll work around some squadrons before sortying and go poke some Japs (once the KB has been spoted).
I'm also preparing a forward base at Canton, at least to operate some planes from here to spot the advance. Christmas island remains the local fortress.
In the US, more units are sent to Eastern USA waiting to be bought up and sent to India. SO far we have some Wildcats and DBs, along with 2 ENG units, a full INF Division and some AA.
In Anchorage, all the elements of the 28th BG have been gathered, but i'm still waiting for the last element in 13 days; it will then be shipped to Dutch Harbor as a secondary base. Subs also start operating from Adak to overflow the Japanese northern waters (almost 10 subs so far). A Rather strong STF (3CLs+4 DD, soon reinforced by a CA once Adak is built up) has been sent to guard the Aleutians. The downside is none of those have radars for now.