Requiem for Tomorrow Wirraway (J) v DesertWolf (A)

[Wirraway_Ace]

0830, 2 Dec 1942, somewhere over the Coral Sea

Petty Officer Nishiura led his understrength Datai of seven lumbering D3A1 dive bombers, nervously scanning the skies for enemy CAP as he approach reported enemy shipping off Tugula and Rossel Islands. At 13,000 feet he was above a broken layer of gray clouds with the sky a deep blue above. He looked all about, trying to detect the hint of movement or the glint of sunlight off metal or glass. He saw nothing other than his own Datai and that of two more following in a loose wedge. After a seeming eternity, time was so elastic while under stress, he found himself over Tagula Island and, as if protected by a Kami, there were still no enemy fighters.

He pushed over into a dive, picking out a transport crawling with ant-like figures. Through his bomb sight, he watched the ship grow to a fat commercial ocean liner that filled the reticle and the ants become men in olive green uniforms and wide-brimmed hats. Carefully, he reached out one hand and caressed the bomb release, pulling with as light a touch as he dared, then grabbed the joystick with both hands and yanked back. As his horizon changed from sea to sky, he heard above the sound of rushing wind and the straining engine, a thousand voices yelling then a thunderous crash.

Ninety nautical miles south, Lieutenant Commander Hansen, USN, was the FDO on duty aboard Yorktown. He overheard the report of enemy aircraft approaching the transports at Tagula, range 31 nautical miles, and calculated the heading to direct CAP. The order did not come, and he put his head in his hands. It was just like Wake Island and the attempted evacuation of the Marines. The carriers that were supposed to be covering the operation were too busy defending themselves. The old man would radio the amphibious taskforce, “Carrier support unable to supply air cover.”

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Morning Air attack on TF, near Tagula Island at 104,137

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid detected at 31 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 11 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 21

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 1 damaged

Allied Ships
xAP Lycaon, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Derrymore, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Trenton, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAK Steel Exporter, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Nils Moller, Bomb hits 2, on fire
xAP Dalgoma, Bomb hits 3, on fire

Allied ground losses:
134 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 16 destroyed, 30 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (1 destroyed, 2 disabled)
Vehicles lost 18 (6 destroyed, 12 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
6 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
5 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
10 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Lycaon
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Nils Moller
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAK Steel Exporter

[Wirraway_Ace]

1630, 2 Dec 42, somewhere over the Coral Sea.

With just enough daylight left in the long, summer day for the return flight, Petty Officer Nishiura found himself again over enemy transports, this time off Rossel Island, and again protected by a Kami (and graceful Ki-43 Army fighters) from the presence of enemy Grumman Wildcats.

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Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Rossel Island at 105,137

Weather in hex: Light rain

Raid detected at 74 NM, estimated altitude 20,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes

Japanese aircraft
D3A1 Val x 20
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 24

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A1 Val: 2 damaged

Allied Ships
xAP Sarpedonia, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAP Kota Tjandi, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Meigs, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD McCalla
xAP Nurmahal, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires
AP W.A. Holbrook, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires

Allied ground losses:
286 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 19 destroyed, 48 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
9 x D3A1 Val releasing from 2000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
9 x D3A1 Val releasing from 1000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb
2 x D3A1 Val releasing from 3000'
Naval Attack: 1 x 250 kg SAP Bomb

Carrier support unable to supply air cover..
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring xAP Nurmahal
Massive explosion on xAP Nurmahal
Heavy smoke from fires obscuring AP W.A. Holbrook

[Wirraway_Ace]

While PO Nishiura was piloting his obsolete D3A1 to glory for the Empire of Japan over Tugala and Rossel Islands, the frenetic Allied activity in the theatre was continuing a thousand miles to the east.

"Sir, patrol aircraft report a fast transport task force approaching Kusaie Island from the southeast, distance 180 miles!" a young lieutenant in the 4th Fleet staff called out over the din within the map room.

"Strength?" the duty officer called back.

"Nine APDs followed by a similar number of destroyers. Unknown if the destroyers are a covering force or part of the invasion force."

"Sir, enemy carriers sighted three hundred nautical miles northeast of Kusaie Island," another staff officer cried.

The duty officer notified the chief of staff and the admiral and the three reviewed the troop strength figures for Kusaie Island. The admiral grunted, then rubbed the back of his neck. " Well, I am just a simple naval officer and it seems clear Kusaie is the target, but I am not sure what has gotten into the water on the other side?"

"Me neither," the chief of staff replied. "Perhaps we are misreading the situation, but the bulk of two U.S. divisions wrecked on Nauru yesterday and the makings of a fine disaster for two Australian divisions in the 8th Army sector today...and the enemy wants to try for Kusaie too? Without setting any of the conditions for a successful invasion?"

"Well, he tried a similar coup de main at Wake back in August."

"Hai, Sir. He is certainly willing to take risks. Shall I tell the 8th Army that we cannot support their request for additional transport aircraft and alert the 54th Division for air transport to Kusaie?"

"No, but let's take a closer look at our forces on Ponape in case he is really bold."

[Wirraway_Ace]

4 Dec 42

So, the consequences of employing the Kido Butai in the Indian Ocean have become clearer. The Allied CENPAC and SOPAC commands conducted a mass of operations over the past week with a CV taskforce in each area of operations.

The enemy sent the 24th Inf Div with part of the 25th Inf Division to try and seize Nauru Island. They were rendered combat ineffective by the automatic shock attack.

Further north, he rushed 32nd Infantry Division, which does not appear to be fully prepped, to Kusaie Island [edit: he also delivered three tank battalions, naval support squads and a Marine Coastal Defense Bn]. They took losses going in and are unlikely to take the fortified island in the short run. I have local reserves and should be able to hold the island for many months.

In the Coral Sea, the 1st Australian Division landed at Tagula Island and, next door, the 2nd Australian Division hit undefended Rossel Island. Both divisions took significant casualties when their transports were bombed, but the 2nd on Rossel Island may have enough remaining combat power to overcome the paratroops dropped in defense. They have been fighting for a couple days, and it will be a close thing.

Meanwhile, in Burma, more difficult fighting and grim news for Australian Prime Minister John Curtin. He probably already believes MacArthur has it in for Aussie troops after the debacle of the landings at Tagula and Rossel, and now must be concerned about SEAC's Lord Mountbatten. The veteran 7th Australian Division suffered heavy losses as the lead division of a corps attack against dug-in Japanese troops in the jungle near Prome. The 7th Division's AV was down to 70 at the end of the fight. Two Indian divisions also suffered significant disablements. My losses were light. In weeks of fighting, with daily bombing by hundreds of medium and heavy bombers, I have lost fewer than 10 Japanese rifle squads destroyed with a couple hundred disabled and a few Thai squads also destroyed and eighty disabled. The units with significant disablements I have been able to rotate out and replace with fresh reserves, while three fresh divisions remain in local reserve. My only significant losses have been in tanks, losing 20 light and 25 medium tanks over the same period.

[Wirraway_Ace]

5 Dec 42

The look in the eyes of few flight crews who returned told the story. The enemy fleet carriers had moved into the shallow waters surrounding Rossel Island and swarms of Grumman fighters were waiting. Losses were very heavy among the patrol aircraft, transport aircraft and medium bombers that had been the lifeblood of the defense of the island over the past four days. There had been no sign of the Zero fighter cover that had been promised. Rossel Island was lost.

[Wirraway_Ace]

6 Dec 42

A quiet day, relatively.

My carriers arrive in theatre and the enemy carriers appear to be withdrawing, both off Kusaie Island and Tagula Island.

In the Coral Sea, U.S. Navy Wildcats sweep Tagula Island from carriers to the southwest and are roughly handled by zeros on CAP, losing 10 of their number shot down and 3 more to ops for 2 A6M5s and 2 A6M2s. Pilot loses will heavily favor the Japanese.

In Burma, his air force does not sortie anything other than recon flights for the first time in weeks. Yesterday was similar, except for two Chinese P66 squadrons that flew sweeps from Akyab over my main defensive line, their squadrons presumably not getting the word to stand down that was passed to the squadrons at Prome and the heavy bombers at Ledo. After the large enemy ground loses on the 4th, I anticipated the enemy might give his air force a break from their unrelenting optempo, and launched bombers against his shaken troops (with little effect due to bad weather, the jungle, and the light bomb loads carried by IJA bombers). Covering the bombers was a strong LRCAP of Ki-43IIb and Ki-44 fighters operating from Rangoon and Toungoo. The unfortunate Chinese were attempting to sweep the same hex. They lost 15 of their number for one Ki-44 (pilot WIA).

[Wirraway_Ace]

The Japanese High Command was conducting a covert operation to the ski slopes of Utah over the past week, so turns were slow, though no adults or children were injured in the successful op.

[Wirraway_Ace]

7- 11 Dec 42

CENPAC is the most active theatre. Japanese reinforcements arrive in time to Kusaie to turn the tide of the fight. The three U.S. Marine tank battalions had been inflicting one-side losses on the defending Naval Guard units while the U.S. 32nd Inf Div, getting unscrewed from its clumsy landing, watched on. While the loses in Naval Infantry squads to tanks were significant, the fortifications were not reduced by the enemy attacks, and the daily fighting gave time for AT gun battalions to be flown-in and and much of the 54th IJA Inf Div delivered. When the enemy did launch a deliberate attack with all units, they were soundly beaten (getting a bad 1:2 [almost 1:3]) and not reducing the forts.

Further to the south on Nauru, the 24th and 25th U.S. Inf Divisions can only muster 250AV between them against a similar amount of IJA combat power.

Allied P38s are are sweeping at high altitude daily over many bases in CENPAC and in India. Behind the sweeps, B24s are bombing airfields causing loses in Japanese aircraft and suppressing airfields. Aircraft loses have heavily favored the Allies over this period.

[Wirraway_Ace]

12 Dec 42

The Allies conduct deep operations in CENPAC with USMC paratroop battalions, dropping on undefended Ontong Java (west of the Solomon Islands) and Ailinglaplap (in the Marshalls). The enemy marines take Ontong Java destroying a detachment of 6 Jakes operating from the atoll. The two battalions dropped on Ailinglaplap surprise a Naval Guard unit in rest/training mode and some Korean laborers fortifying the undeveloped atoll but do not take the base on D-Day due to the forts. The loss of Ontong Java is not significant. The loss of Ailinglaplap is potentially more problematic. Although the base is ringed by Japanese airfields, it can be eventually built up to a level 5 airfield, the largest in the Marshalls.

B24s attempt to bomb Nauru Island while the P38 sweeps don't arrive until the afternoon. Twelve B24s are lost.

LB-30s operating from Northern Australia strike the small oil field at Babo for the first time in the war. Two are shot down by CAP while three oil are destroyed.

[Wirraway_Ace]

12 Dec 42
Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands

CDR Matsuo Kageuke, commanding officer of the 53rd Naval Guards, liked his sleep. It was an hour after dawn an he was still in his bunk, his mind just beginning the rise to consciousness. A few minutes passed. He could hear the quiet conversation of nearby naval guard troops as they heated their breakfast. Matsuo contemplated the training plan for today and reminded himself to check on the progress of the defenses being dug largely by two units of Korean laborers. War had yet to come to Ailinglaplap, but his orders were to be prepared by the end of the month.

The men outside his tent began chattering more loudly, and he heard, "bombers". This was not unusual. Enemy bombers were often seen passing to the east in great waves on their way to hit Maloelap, Wotje and Rio-Namur, the main IJNAF airfields in the Marshalls. Then he noted a sudden silence, followed by, "They're coming this way!" "Sir, sir," someone yelled, shaking his tent. "I think we are under attack."

CDR Kageuke grunted in annoyance, rolled out of his bunk, and without putting on his helmet or even buttoning his dun yellow top, he went outside. "Chikuso!" Kageuke blurted, and barely had time to dive for a trench before the first bomb fell. A half an hour later, the thudding of the bombs stopped, but not the drone of aircraft. Peering up over the edge of the trench, Kageuke saw long lines of transport aircraft approaching, and as he stared, the first parachutes began to blossom in the skies above. The war had come early to Ailinglaplap in the form of the 2nd and 3rd U.S. Marine Parachute Battalions.

[Wirraway_Ace]

13 Dec 42

Ailinglaplap, Marshall Islands

CDR Kageuke hid in the jungle with just a handful of men. In the distance, he could make out the rapid staccato of the enemies' semi-automatic Johnson rifles and the slower snap of Type 99 fire in return. He had no idea how many men he had left. Not many, he was sure. He had allowed his unit to be caught in their assembly area by the air attack and pinned there. Small knots of heavily armed enemy Marines had appeared all around them, and though here and there were a few bodies in their peculiar blotched camouflaged fatigues, most of the bodies were in dun.

[Wirraway_Ace]

14 Dec 42

Ailinglaplap, Marshall Islands

This is it, CDR Kageuke thought as he blew his whistle to signal the retreat while slamming another magazine into his pistol. Firing over his shoulder, he moved from tree to tree as bullets whizzed all around him. More of his men fell, blood and flesh spouting from their bodies in gory plumes from the high-velocity 30-06 bullets. The retreat became a rout, all semblance of order disappearing as Naval Guard soldiers, Korean laborers, and a few IJA engineers streamed through the jungle in small groups. Kageuke grabbed a nearby soldier, and pushed him to the ground, then another as he yelled at them to stop running and return fire. They stared at him seemingly without comprehension, eyes wide. He dodged for cover behind a thick palm tree and snapped off a few rounds in the direction he supposed the enemy to be, finally stopping to take a few deep breaths to calm himself. Dropping prone, Kageuke crawled over to where the pair of soldiers lay. Scanning for targets through the heavy undergrowth, he saw none. The small group waited, weapons pointed all about, not knowing if the enemy had already encircled them. They kept waiting, sure the enemy would soon pursue them to destruction. Finally, after more than an hour, he signaled men to get up and they made their way to the rally point located with one of their weapon caches.

The sun was setting as his exhausted men lay in their shallow fighting positions. In his make-shift command post, Kageuke huddled by the wireless set preparing a status report to 4th Fleet HQs. The wireless began chattering, and Kageuke waited while the operator finished recording the message. It was coded and took painful minutes to decipher. It read, "53rd relieved in place by 51st as of 2300, 14 December 1942. Unit guides meet at check point Snow Monkey. End of Message."

[Wirraway_Ace]

14 Dec 41

Ailinglaplap, Marshall Islands

CDR Kageuke stood beside LCDR Kawabata, both men staring through binoculars at the line of ships approaching from the northwest. "Those lead pair are Kongo class battleships or I'm a snow monkey," Kageuke said.

"Hai, Kageuke-sama," the junior officer said. "And that is Takao right behind her, and four Mogamis. It looks like the navy plans on some fireworks this afternoon as an appropriate send-off for you and your men."

"Or to celebrate your imminent victory, Kawabata?"

The younger man raised an eyebrow. "With two infantry companies?"

"Two more than I have left," Kageuke said under his breath. Still, his unit had held out and when he glanced at the growing number of enemy prisoners of the 2nd and 3rd Marine Parachute Battalions, he felt a brief surge of pride. He would leave the island tonight, having been surprised and outfought, but not defeated.

[Wirraway_Ace]

15 Dec 42

The enemy, presumably trying to salvage the airborne operation against Ailinglaplap, commits four squadrons of medium bombers with all his available P38s on LRCAP (at 8 hexes). It has little effect. The 2nd USMC Parachute Battalion is wiped out by attrition.

Meanwhile, B24s attempt to bomb Kusaie Island without the support of fighter sweeps. Twelve of 21 four-engine bombers are lost and Japanese engineers quickly repair the airfield.

[Wirraway_Ace]

16 Dec 42

No sign of the Allied carriers or battleships in the last few days. They all withdrew from CENPAC in the direction of Sydney, leaving the 32nd Inf Div and three tank battalions exposed on Kusaie Island and two USMC Parachute Battalions withering away on Ailinglaplap.

Fuel may be an issue, or a major operation in SWPAC, or they are shifting theatres, perhaps with a plan to make a move on Timor from Western Australia while the KB is in CENPAC.

[Wirraway_Ace]

17 Dec 42

The Allies continue their assaults in the Marshalls and Solomons with special operations forces (USMC Airborne and Raider units).

The enemy rushes two Marine Raider battalions to Ailinglaplap, just ahead of Japanese reinforcements coming from Truk. The enemy suffers heavy disablements making their way onto the beach from a fast transport taskforce. In the skies above, Japanese A6M5s from nearby bases shoot down three incoming B17s and sleek G4M bombers strike the Marines, but in the afternoon, P38s appear and tangle with the A6Ms while wave after wave of B25s and B26s bomb the few defenders in their shallow entrenchments. At the end of the day, the U.S. Marine Raiders storm the Japanese position. Ailinglaplap has fallen.

[The fall of Ailinglaplap was primarily due to my having left the Naval Guard Unit there in rest mode. Had I not done so, the initial airborne assault would likely not have reduced the fortifications from three to one and completely wrecking the unit. It is possible, however, the massed enemy bombers would still have so disrupted the single defending infantry unit enough, that the outcome would have been the same. I had 20 raw AV in two unit fragments on the atoll and the adjusted AV was reduced to 1! The lesson I learned from other atoll defenses that were successful is to have five or more units with more than one infantry unit to keep the Allied airpower (or naval bombardments) from disrupting all the defenders that can shoot back. A small base force unit with some coastal guns helps, soaking up naval bombardments, but does not tend to draw the aircraft in the same way. Now we are likely to have a protracted fight to keep the SeeBees away while killing as many of the disrupted and exposed Marines as I can. It is possible an opportunity to retake the atoll will present itself, but unlikely as I have no units prepared and am heavily outnumbered in this theatre as far as ground troops. Ailinglaplap is much less important than Kusaie Island.]

The enemy tries a small scale drop on Jaluit with what remains of the 3rd USMC Parachute Battalion without any preparatory naval bombardments or airstrikes. The assault collapses and an understrength company of Marine Paratroops are killed or captured.

In the Solomons, the 1st USMC Parachute Battalion drops on Rennell Island, supported by B17s from Espiritu Santo. They are met with withering fire from a well dug-in SNLF company and pinned on the beach (lots of disabled squads, but none destroyed). This Marine unit is the same one that dropped on Ontong Java just a few days before. The enemy appears to have extracted the unit by seaplanes while simultaneously flying in a company of New Zealand Pioneers. It is unclear if the enemy will double-down on the Rennell Island assault or extract the Marines. Meanwhile, Japanese bombers have been happily bombing the New Zealanders to oblivion on the barren atoll of Ontong Java, far from any friendly air cover.

[Wirraway_Ace]

Review of Enemy Intelligence Gathering Operations

A couple weeks ago (game time) I was puzzled by how well enemy patrol aircraft were able to follow the KB transit through the Java Sea. Initially I chalked it up to long-range float planes from Cocos Island, such as Coronados, and LB-30s from Australia combined with the DL bonus for carriers conducting flight operations. While this was theoretical possible, one sighting report bothered me. A tanker taskforce near Miri on the north side of Borneo reported being snooped by patrol aircraft. This was not possible from any known Allied base. I became suspicious. I still have not finished taking all the dot bases in the DEI. This is a mind-numbing task, particularly due to my own bias against using paratroopers for this purpose. I spent three years as a paratrooper and a jumpmaster, and cannot wrap my head around the idea of dropping troops without extensive prep. So I use SNLF companies, which takes forever! I started scrutinizing the remaining Allied bases in the DEI. Sampit, on the southwest coast of Borneo seemed the most likely culprit. Recon did find a very small fragment of the 106th RN Base Force there, but no sign of patrol aircraft. It does appear there may have been a few latent supplies, even a year after Borneo fell. This is difficult to judge, since I don't have an exact accounting of how many supplies my small amphibious taskforce delivered with the SNLF when they took the base a few days after the incident.

Perhaps the reason for the absence of the aircraft was because they were shot down; four Catalinas were downed by carrier CAP. Perhaps those that remained were able to fly out.

Another piece of the puzzle is his patrol aircraft ops losses spiked during this period.

While the tanker sighting could have been erroneous, my assessment at this point is the enemy flew in patrol aircraft to a dot base in the Java Sea to track if my carriers were transiting back to the Pacific and wrote-off (disbanded) any that were not flyable at the end of the operation.

Looking at the map, I have nine more dot bases in the Java, Celebes and Ceram Seas left to storm...

[BananaConvention]

Is there a chance for a final write-up from you regarding the events that led to the end of this campaign? We never did get to hear your side of the story and it would be interesting to hear your thought process behind the last turn move that brought the end about.