At dawn we slept...in the cab on the way back from Olongapo

[Cap Mandrake]

KB moves WNW and stumbles across an AK trying to run south.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Cocos Islands at 35,100

Weather in hex: Partial cloud

Raid spotted at 19 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
A6M3a Zero x 17
A6M5 Zero x 11
D3A1 Val x 29

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 5 damaged

Allied Ships
xAK Dorothy Philips, Bomb hits 6, and is sunk
AM Muritai, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk

[Cap Mandrake]

last RAF guys are gone before the Ronsons attack.

Ground combat at Benkoelen (45,91)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 384 troops, 0 guns, 71 vehicles, Assault Value = 40

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Japanese adjusted assault: 19

Allied adjusted defense: 1

Japanese assault odds: 19 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Benkoelen !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: leaders(-)

Assaulting units:
4th Tank Regiment

[Cap Mandrake]

Jap paras with funny leggings try to take the dot base E of Padang but run into a experienced Aussie Brigade and are massacred.

Ground combat at Sawahloento (45,85)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 104 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Defending force 2600 troops, 32 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 131

Japanese adjusted assault: 0

Allied adjusted defense: 70

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 99 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), fatigue(-)
experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
99 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Raiding Rgt /1

Defending units:
18th Australian Brigade
3rd Air Advn Base Force /3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Japanese Unit(s) Wiped Out at Sawahloento by attrition!!!

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Jap paras with funny leggings try to take the dot base E of Padang but run into a experienced Aussie Brigade and are massacred.

Ground combat at Sawahloento (45,85)

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 104 troops, 1 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Defending force 2600 troops, 32 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 131

Japanese adjusted assault: 0

Allied adjusted defense: 70

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 99 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), disruption(-), preparation(-), fatigue(-)
experience(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)

Japanese ground losses:
99 casualties reported
Squads: 8 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
3rd Raiding Rgt /1

Defending units:
18th Australian Brigade
3rd Air Advn Base Force /3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Japanese Unit(s) Wiped Out at Sawahloento by attrition!!!

I am guessing these IJ troops were dropped in - and managed to die by attrition in one day! [X(]

Do the funny legging somehow suck the life force from the paratroops? Inquiring minds want to know!! [:D]

[Cap Mandrake]

Pvt.Isuzu: "Haha! Rook Hata-san dress up rike Mummy foh Harroweeen! HAHAHAHAHAH"

Entire B Company, 1st Bn 1st Raiding Regminet: <everyone start raughing at joke. Nobody aburh stop raughing. Everyone die from raughing>

[Cap Mandrake]

************March 23, 1943(e)**********

Indian Ocean/Sumatra: Somebody forgot to tell Dellwood that the KB was moving south west of Krakatoa

Morning Air attack on TF, near Pagan at 109,87

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 24

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
xAK Dellwood, Bomb hits 12, and is sunk

[Cap Mandrake]

PI: Multi-division attack at Clark. We hold again. about 60-70 C-47/DC-3 flying in troops to Bataan from Mindanao in order to relieve the disrupted Allied units at Clark.

Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 38114 troops, 416 guns, 106 vehicles, Assault Value = 997

Defending force 41172 troops, 413 guns, 315 vehicles, Assault Value = 946

Japanese adjusted assault: 890

Allied adjusted defense: 2128

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
5099 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 461 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 40 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled
Guns lost 49 (3 destroyed, 46 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
666 casualties reported
Squads: 14 destroyed, 58 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 20 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 11 (4 destroyed, 7 disabled)
Vehicles lost 45 (6 destroyed, 39 disabled)

Assaulting units:
28th Division
68th Division
25th Division
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment

Defending units:
627th Tank Destroyer Battalion
21st PA Infantry Division
31st PA Infantry Division
4th Marine Regiment
57th PS Infantry Regiment
2nd PA Infantry Regiment
71st PA Infantry Division
11th PA Infantry Division
51st PA Infantry Division
632nd Tank Destroyer Battalion
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
2nd Constabulary Regiment
4th Constabulary Regiment
501st Coast AA Regiment
24th PS FA Regiment
4th PAAC Avn Sup
1st USMC AA Battalion
165th Field Artillery Battalion
III/Prov'nl SPM Grp
86th PS Field Artillery Battalion
I/Prov'nl SPM Grp
Clark Field AAF Base Force
35th Avn Sup
!/23rd PS FA Battalion
88th PS Field Artillery Regiment
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
II/Prov'nl SPM Grp
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment

[Cap Mandrake]

**************March 24, 1943(e)**********

Sundas: Jap CL force raids Dobo, sinks 4 PT boats but misses other shipping. We saw this coming and got the planes out and got the AGP's into port.

This is not to be confused with Babo in NG which gets absolutely flattened by 3 BB's

Naval bombardment of Babo at 83,111

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
DH-84 Dragon: 10 damaged
DH-84 Dragon: 4 destroyed on ground
PBY-5 Catalina: 45 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 3 destroyed on ground

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga
BB Ise
BB Fuso
DD Kikuzuki
DD Umikaze
DD Minegumo
DD Natsugumo
DD Arashi
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Maikaze
DD Makigumo

Allied Ships
AVP Pollux, Shell hits 1

Allied ground losses:
1142 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 34 destroyed, 61 disabled
Engineers: 34 destroyed, 23 disabled
Guns lost 2 (1 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 8 (7 destroyed, 1 disabled)

Airbase hits 44
Airbase supply hits 8
Runway hits 113
Port hits 3
Port supply hits 1

[Cap Mandrake]

I think there were only 4 or 5 Catalinas there so they must have been hit 10x each

[Cap Mandrake]

Sumatra and points North: We take Car Nicobar and Trinkiat to try to support Padang better by air.

Ground combat at Car Nicobar (44,62)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 95 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied adjusted assault: 9

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Car Nicobar !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(+), leaders(-)

Assaulting units:
111th LRP Bde /2


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ground combat at Trinkat (44,64)

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 105 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 9

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied adjusted assault: 9

Japanese adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 9 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Trinkat !!!

Combat modifiers
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(+), leaders(-)

Assaulting units:
111th LRP Bde /4

[Cap Mandrake]

Finally, JJ goes after Padang AF and it takes only one day to break everything.

Morning Air attack on Padang , at 44,85

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 36
D3A1 Val x 27

No Japanese losses

Runway hits 4

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x D3A1 Val bombing from 25000 feet
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Padang , at 44,85

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 29 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 10
G3M3 Nell x 25

Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 13 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed on ground
P-40K Warhawk: 4 damaged

Airbase hits 9
Airbase supply hits 11
Runway hits 35

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x G3M3 Nell bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
10 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

And

Morning Air attack on Padang , at 44,85

Weather in hex: Heavy cloud

Raid spotted at 35 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 10
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 21

Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
F4F-4 Wildcat: 4 damaged
F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40K Warhawk: 4 damaged
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
Kittyhawk III: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 13

[Cap Mandrake]

I have to get the pilots out and then scrap the damaged P-40's and Kittyhawks. Maybe they will feel pity and stop attacking....nah.

The retreating transports not diverted to the Andamans safely make Ceylon.

[Cap Mandrake]

****************March 25, 1943(e)**********


New Britain: As the KB is either in the IO or moving east toward Timor, we push ahead with a landing directly at Rabaul. About 30,000 troops in the first waves. 2 USMC Reg, 1 NZ Brigade, 1 Aussie Brigade, 1 Combat Engineer Rgt, 3 Bn US Army arty, some tanks.

2nd lift, 1 USMC Rgt, 3 US Army Rgt., 7th SA Armoured, more combat engineers and cooks and typists.
We have LST's but no APA's or AKA's in this attack yet. It appears JJ is not quite ready to give up.

They clearly don't have enough infantry to stand up to this kind of force but they will likely have significant fortifications.

Ground combat at Rabaul (106,125)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 5661 troops, 108 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 219

Defending force 7169 troops, 115 guns, 115 vehicles, Assault Value = 350

Japanese ground losses:
36 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 17 (3 destroyed, 14 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
38 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled

Assaulting units:
11th Garrison Unit
44th Field AA Battalion
103rd Ship Eng Coy
11th RF Gun Battalion
15th Base Force
5th Mortar Battalion
20th Port Unit
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
39th Field AA Battalion
38th Field AA Battalion
2nd JNAF AF Unit
3rd JNAF AF Unit
1st Ship Engineer Regiment
17th JAAF AF Bn

Defending units:
2nd Marine/A Div /1
1st USMC Tank Battalion
2nd Marine/C Div /1
131st Cmbt Engr Rgt /1
9th Australian/A Div /1
14th NZ Bde /4
1st Pion Bn /1
2nd Marine/B Div /1
225th Field Artillery Battalion
249th Field Artillery Battalion
226th Field Artillery Battalion
102nd Cmbt Engr Rgt /1

[Cap Mandrake]

Sundas: We send in some Zulus with Zebra shields to see what they have at Boela. It's the same BB's from last night's bombardment. They can't all be rearmed so quickly from such a small port.

Unit citation medals all around for the survivors.

Day Time Surface Combat, near Boela at 80,110, Range 19,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
BB Fuso
BB Ise
BB Hyuga
DD Makigumo
DD Maikaze
DD Tokitsukaze
DD Arashi
DD Natsugumo
DD Minegumo
DD Umikaze
DD Kikuzuki

Allied Ships
PT-76, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-143
PT-157
PT-158
PT-225
PT-226, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT-227, Shell hits 1, and is sunk

[Cap Mandrake]

Sumatra: All the planes at Padang except the F4F's went into the chipper/shredder. Might have been a bit premature but too late now.

Jap attack Padang not very effective once you unburden the runway.

Morning Air attack on Padang , at 44,85

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 28,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 36
D3A1 Val x 27

No Japanese losses

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x D3A1 Val bombing from 25000 feet
Airfield Attack: 1 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Padang , at 44,85

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
B5N2 Kate x 20
G3M3 Nell x 25

No Japanese losses

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 5

Aircraft Attacking:
25 x G3M3 Nell bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
10 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
10 x B5N2 Kate bombing from 11000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Padang , at 44,85

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 32 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 9 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 9 damaged
Ki-49-IIa Helen: 1 destroyed by flak

Aircraft Attacking:
15 x Ki-49-IIa Helen bombing from 6000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on 21st Australian Brigade, at 44,85 (Padang)

Weather in hex: Thunderstorms

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 16,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-48-IIa Lily x 21

No Japanese losses

Aircraft Attacking:
21 x Ki-48-IIa Lily bombing from 11000 feet

[Cap Mandrake]

Somebody loaded an "engineering vehicle" on to USS Argonaut (an SST). After about 3 days the chief engineer managed to get if off the boat. This likley involved many swear words.

[Cap Mandrake]

"Milk Run Special" B-17G

Delivered Cheyenne 16/6/44. Kearney 27/6/44. Grenier 9/7/44.
Assigned 423BS/306BG [RD-T] Thurleigh 23/7/44.

Lost in a midair with another B-17 in poor weather over Greenham Common after a raid over Kassel, Dec 1944. My mom's oldest brother, William Boyle was killed as were 7 others aboard (pilot and copilot survived). I don't think they used a trained artist for the nose art.

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/12025

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

"Milk Run Special" B-17G

Delivered Cheyenne 16/6/44. Kearney 27/6/44. Grenier 9/7/44.
Assigned 423BS/306BG [RD-T] Thurleigh 23/7/44.

Lost in a midair with another B-17 in poor weather over Greenham Common after a raid over Kassel, Dec 1944. My mom's oldest brother, William Boyle was killed as were 7 others aboard (pilot and copilot survived). I don't think they used a trained artist for the nose art.

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/12025

I think that it was the aircrew and/or the ground crew, they should bring back the nose art.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Somebody loaded an "engineering vehicle" on to USS Argonaut (an SST). After about 3 days the chief engineer managed to get if off the boat. This likley involved many swear words.

I have an uncle still on patrol with her. [:(]

[Cap Mandrake]

******Naval Auxiliary Air Facilities (Lighter Than Air and Seaplane) and Section Base, Eureka
(Murray Field, Eureka Auxiliary Field), March 26,1943(e)******:

Lt Cmdr. George Deval Harrington, CO, VS 48, Eureka, Calif.: This is Lt Cdr. Harrington. WE HAVE A CONFIRMED SIGHTING OF A JAP SUB 3 MILES OFF SHORE.

Cpt. Obvious, 12th Naval District, SF: Son, there aren't any Jap subs off Eureka. There is NOTHING off Eureka. There never has been.

Lt Cmdr. George Deval Harrington, CO, VS 48, Eureka, Calif.: But sir, why do we even have a base here then?

Cpt. Obvious, 12th Naval District, SF: That is because Eureka has a Congressman, son. Let me guess. Your daddy is rich. You want to be a Congressman some day. And then Senator and maybe even President so your figure you get yourself some medals and maybe have a movie made about you? Well, son, it ain't gonna happen in Eureka. Try to not get anyone killed and don't call me back unless you have a warm POW in our possession. <CLICK>