A Good Place to Start - Matthew (A) v Fokko (J) - Bottlenecks Mod

[CaptBeefheart]

Did you manage to get all of the 147th on the Queen Mary, or did the dockside quartermaster find better uses for some of the motorized support?

Cheers,
CB

[M Peaston]

Did you manage to get all of the 147th on the Queen Mary, or did the dockside quartermaster find better uses for some of the motorized support?

Cheers,
CB

Queen Mary hasn’t finished loading up yet, but on past experience I expect that the US Army will be making its usual ‘voluntary’ contribution towards Sergeant Bilko’s burgeoning haulage business.

[M Peaston]

13th April 1942




INDIA/BURMA

The Light Cruisers Mauritius and Caledon return from their patrol of the Andaman Sea, reporting no Japanese activity other than an encounter with a submarine off of Port Blair. At India HQ Wavell tries to reconcile this information with the intelligence from aerial reconnaissance showing Japanese troopships at Rangoon and Japanese reinforcements heading towards Toungoo. Wavell cabled Vice-Admiral Layton at Colombo, would he mind sending a couple of cruisers back to the Andaman Sea for another little look? He thought about adding that perhaps they could take some binoculars this time, but decided against it; after all, he rather needs Eastern Fleet's cooperation at the moment.

With more Japanese forces heading towards Toungoo, and possibly trying to outflank the position, 17th Indian Division, 13th Indian Bde and 27th Indian Mountain Gun Rgt are ordered to begin the long retreat to Shwebo.



ABDA

Another bad day for the Allied air forces, 6 P400 Airacobras, 4 Hurricanes and a Warhawk are lost over Semarang in return for 4 Zeros claimed. I’m reluctant to let up at Semarang, but the Allied fighters need a break. Indomitable and Formidable will be in position to strike on the 15th, so for maximum effort then the Allied fighters will stand down tomorrow.

164th Rgt starts disembarking at Darwin. Allied ground forces at Darwin now include:

Australian 4th Division (2nd, 3rd and 6th Australian Bdes)
19th MG Bn
US 125th (Sep) Rgt
164th Rgt (Americal Div)
223rd Field Art Bn,
1st HK&S Heavy AA Rgt
3rd HK&S Light AA Rgt
'A' Battery Heavy Coastal Art.
Plus engineers and support units.



SWPAC

Things at Milne Bay are not quite going to plan. A Japanese 3-ship TF, including the Heavy Cruiser Izumo, unexpectedly turned up at Milne Bay. More worrying was that attacking Marauders were met with Zuikaku’s Zeros. There is also an unidentified 8-ship TF just SW of Rabaul. Are the Japanese undertaking their own landing at Milne bay, or are they just probing Allied defences? Are the Zeros operating from land, or from Zuikaku? If Zuikaku, is she alone or with other carriers? Is this a trap, with KB lurking in the Solomon Sea?

Blamey makes his decision: the 2nd Marine Rgt shall return to Townsville. This is the mid twentieth century, and fighting at sea is no longer considered the optimum use for marines. However, the cruisers Chicago, San Francisco and Adelaide will continue on to Milne Bay and see what’s what. They’ll be covered by fighters from Port Moresby. Fireworks are expected tomorrow!



SUBMARINE WARFARE

Off of Uruppu-jima Gudgeon torpedoes xAKL Shino Maru. Typical! Allied subs only fire dud torpedoes at any kind of high value target, but somehow manage to find a working torpedo for an already crippled xAKL. Still, a sinking is a sinking.

Trusty tries to attack a troop convoy (possibly empty and returning to Singapore) but takes 5 nasty depth-charges for her pains and is returning to port.

Tambor comes off worst in a tussle with two Japanese sloops at Wake Island, and is also returning to port for repairs.

I-30 sinks two small sailing ships attempting to resupply Tulagi.

[M Peaston]

14th April 1942




INDIA/BURMA

Six B17Es raided the airbase at Rangoon; 3 B17s suffered minimal damage and didn’t do much damage either.

AVG intercepted a Sally/Oscar raid at Toungoo. Seven Sally IIa’s were claimed to have been shot down in return of the loss of one H81-A3.



ABDA

Dutch motor launches from Cheribon attacked towards Semarang, sacrificing themselves in order to distract the covering Japanese SAG and allowing the MTBs from Soerabaja a free run at the Japanese shipping. All went exactly to plan until the MTB flotilla commander decided to break contact before a shot was fired.

The Imperial Guards Division occupied Soerakarta.



SWPAC

Fireworks at Milne Bay all right! Things worked out well as Chicago, San Francisco, Adelaide and two Destroyers encountered CA Izumo and four Destroyers escorting a small invasion force. Cue obliteration of the Japanese forces! Only it didn’t quite work out that way…….

….The USN heavy cruisers stood off and offered moral support from the sidelines while Adelaide and Izumo engaged in a brutal gun duel. Adelaide took a beating but barring some unforeseen catastrophe will make port okay. Izumo also took a beating but the Japanese invasion force landed unhindered at Milne Bay. Marauders from Port Moresby carried out over 30 sorties against the Japanese ships, but failed to register a single hit. Luckily they didn’t suffer any losses either, despite the best efforts of the Zeros. The day wasn’t a disaster by any means, but it could and perhaps should have gone a lot better than what it did.

1st Marine Tank Bn and 2nd Marine Field Art Bn begin unloading at Melbourne.



SOPAC

A convoy carrying the 6th Marine Rgt from Australia arrives at Suva. 6th Marine Rgt will act as the SOPAC reserve for now.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

Grayling sinks xAKL P122 approximately 240 miles south of Etorofu.



PANIC HQ

Blackadder questions Dai Station about the cable he’s just received from Nimitz. Operation Neptune has to be postponed. Yorktown and Hornet are all ready to go, the problem is that the oilers aren’t ready. According to Nimitz it’s Dai Station’s fault. Dai Station explained that it is all to do with building up fuel stocks at Pearl Harbor. Rather than dipping into these stocks for Neptune, it made far more sense to send to the oilers to the USA to pick up fuel, refuel the Carrier Group where necessary, then unload any surplus fuel at Pearl. This way the operation would increase, rather than deplete, fuel stocks at Pearl Harbor. Admittedly the oilers are still two days out from Seattle and won’t be in position for about a week, but this way is a far more efficient use of the oilers’ valuable time rather than just tramping around after a bunch of fuel-thirsty Aircraft Carriers for days on end.

Blackadder had to explain to Dai Station that sometimes efficiency has to give way to military necessity, but he is not sure that Dai Station really understands.

[M Peaston]

15th April 1942




INDIA/BURMA

AVG is in action over Toungoo again, claiming 8 Sally IIas and 5 Tojos for the loss of one H81-A3, though I’m doubtful about the number of Tojos downed. Boyington cements his position as the leading Ace in theatre with his 10th and 11th ‘kills’.



ABDA

The Dutch torpedo boats press home their attack at Semarang this time. Unfortunately they didn’t hit anything in the confused night-fighting but they did manage to get away with the loss of just one of their own.

The ‘Day of Maximum Effort’ at Semarang proved anything but. The controllers at Soerabaja airbase are just not used to dealing with such a large and diverse number of aircraft. “Sixteen B17s! I was expecting eight; where are we going to put them?” “What do you mean you haven’t enough bombs for them? Well, if they’re still at the docks get them brought up!” “What’s that Stringbag doing in the middle of the runway?” I can see it’s aborted takeoff, but get it moved. Bulldoze it off if you have to”. Well, if it’s carrying a live torpedo then bulldoze it off very carefully!” “We are going to have to land the Hurricanes, Sir - they’ve been circling for two hours waiting to form up with the bombers , they won’t be able to reach Semarang without refuelling.” "Why did you let the Hurricanes take off first?" "We had to make room for the B25s and Warhawks, sir." And so on and so on…. In the end not a single sortie flew against Semarang. Not one!

“How on earth are we going to explain this to HQ?”

That evening AHQ Far East at Darwin received the following message: “Poor weather prevented Air Operations at Soerabaja; no flights possible”.

Fleet Air Arm had to go it alone. In the end, losses were very light, but the results were disappointing. The escorts were able to get all 28 Albacores to their target, but only one ship, xAP Tachibana Maru, was damaged by a torpedo. Total air losses were 1 Martlet, 7 Fulmars and 1 Albacore. Two Zero pilots suffered the ignominy of being shot down by Fulmars.

A handful of Liberators and B17Ds bombed Manokwari. No damage was caused but the bombers were met by Claudes of Ryujo-1, and ships were reported in harbour, confirming Allied suspicions that the Japanese are up to something at Manokwari. Allied Intelligence suspects that Manokwari might be used as an airbase to support operations in the eastern DEI. USS Argonaut has been ordered to mine the harbour and another sub tasked with making a nuisance of itself there.



SWPAC

Milne Bay was captured by the Japanese 65th Naval Guard unit. Blamey suspects this might be a diversion, or perhaps an opportunistic move by the Japanese. Dammit, just one more day and the US Marines would have been there first!

Blamey’s first thoughts are to let the Japanese have Milne Bay. He’s not been there himself, but by all accounts there’s not much there. However, his orders are to keep the sea lanes open for Allied shipping between Sydney and Darwin, and if the Japanese are allowed to build upon their presence this could be problematic. Blamey considers the forces he has at hand: the 2nd Marine Rgt still aboard the transports at Townsville, and also available at Townsville is 2/7 Commando Bn. There’s the 1st Marine Tk Bn and 2nd Marine Field Artillery Bn newly-arrived at Melbourne. Port Moresby is probably over-garrisoned; he could spare a couple of infantry brigades from there. There is fighter cover and medium bombers at Port Moresby, and Townsville is within B17 range of Milne Bay. The weaknesses are that surface warships to protect any troop movements are a bit thin on the ground, and the absence any aircraft carriers in theatre to cover any landing. Blamey’s ADC interjected with what he thought was a very important point, namely that ships can’t actually be thin on the ground, they’d have to be thin on the water. Blamey said he didn’t think this comment very helpful, or words to that effect.

Blamey thinks he could counter-attack swiftly and retake Milne Bay, and without weakening Australia’s defences anywhere else. Another good reason to react quickly is the formation of the new SWPAC HQ in Australia. MacArthur is slated as the new commander, with Blamey to be in charge of land forces, but if Blamey can pull of a successful combined operation at Milne Bay before then, well who knows……

The question is, how much are the Japanese willing to invest in holding their new-found possession?



SUBMARINE WARFARE

Shark sinks a landing barge off of Izu Oshima

I-30 sinks xAKL Dalu off of Rennell Island. Dalu was the last of three sailing ships attempting to get through to resupply Tulagi.

Bass torpedoed and damaged xAKL Bison Maru in the straits between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, and somewhere managed to find another working torpedo to finish her off.

S-43 sank three landing barges at Wide Bay, New Britain.

While monitoring Davao for Mini-KB, Skipjack was attacked by DD Usugumo and is now heading to Darwin for repairs.

[M Peaston]

In wartime it is amazing how quickly a small skirmish can become a major confrontation. This is exactly what happened when Blackadder received a cable from Alexander at ABDA HQ enquiring about the supply (or rather lack of said supply) he’d been receiving via Perth. Blackadder knew nothing of this, and in turn, asked Dai Station about this at the evening conference. Dai Station tried to explain some of the realities to Blackadder, albeit perhaps in too condescending a tone. There just is not enough supply going through Cape Town to send to both India and Australia; it really has to be one or the other. There is enough supply available, the fundamental problem is a lack of shipping capacity. Shipping supply to both India and Australia soon exhausts Cape Town’s supply depots. There is more than enough supply in the UK/USA, but diverting shipping to bring it to Cape Town in sufficient quantities means there are not enough ships to transport stuff to both India and Australia. Either way, it means supplying India, or Australia, but not both.

For a couple of weeks now Dai Station has diverted shipping to bring in supply from the UK to Cape Town, and using it to keep India supplied, suspending the Cape Town to Perth convoys. Dai Station didn’t tell anyone, because, as Australia receives plenty of supply from the trans-Pacific route, and ABDA was receiving enough supply from Sydney by sea through the Torres strait, he didn’t think anyone needed to know. (“He means he didn’t think anyone would find out” whispered Captain Mainwaring to Striker just a bit too loudly).

What has thrown a spanner in the works is the rumour going around that the Japanese have landed at Milne Bay. It was at this point that things started to turn a tad unpleasant. “If the route from Sydney becomes too dangerous” asked Blackadder, “and if there aren’t enough ships for the Cape Town-Perth-ABDA route, then how exactly is ABDA meant to stay in the fight?” Dai Station replied, “Well, what it is, you see, in view of the difficulties in getting enough supply into the area it might be better not to fight in the Southern DEI and Northern Australia at all”. Blackadder was enraged. “We can't keep allowing the supply tail to wag the strategic dog just because you can't organise your ships properly!” he shouted. “Well” replied Dai Station “a plan that takes no account of the difficulties of shipping vital war supplies from one side of the world to the other doesn’t really deserve to be described by the term ‘strategy’.” “Take that up with Churchill” retorted Blackadder, forgetting about Roosevelt for a moment, “it’s his strategy”. “Isn’t it your job to point out to our political masters that their wishes aren’t military feasible?” asked Dai Station.

Blackadder paused. He may not be losing this argument, but he wasn’t exactly winning it either.

“If I go back and tell them I can’t implement their strategy” sighed Blackadder, “there is a very real risk that they would simply dismiss me and appoint someone who says he can. Then you would be in exactly the same position”.

It was Dai Station’s turn to pause. He would indeed be in the same position. In fact, if Roosevelt and Churchill appointed someone with sufficient competence to start asking awkward questions, Dai Station might find himself in a much worse position than now.

“Hmmm…..well……there might be an answer” muttered Dai Station, looking through his papers even though he knew jolly well there was nothing amongst them about this situation. “It might be possible to ship enough supplies overland from Melbourne to Perth, and so keep ABDA supplied from there”.

It might be possible, thought Dai Station to himself after the meeting, but it it won’t be easy. There were too many changes in gauge; Australian railways were built to transport goods locally, not across a continent. It’ll need a railway expert to go and sort it out. He (Dai Station) was of course the world’s leading expert on narrow gauge railways, but he was far too busy (and important) to go himself. However, there is Jones the Steam; he also knows a thing or two about trains.

[M Peaston]

16th April 1942


CHINA

A tiny little directional arrow indicates more Japanese may be withdrawing from Ningisa - either that or there's a speck of dust on the screen.



INDIA/BURMA

While retreating the 17th Indian division skilfully fends off a deliberate Japanese assault from 18th Division, 10th Tank Rgt and 112th Rgt. 1st AVG at Mandalay stood down today; very few of their fighters are airworthy at the moment.



ABDA

The by now infamous ‘Day of Maximum Effort’ at Semarang has spluttered over three days (counting that the torpedo boats originally attacked a day early). At last, today everything came together as planned, even if it didn’t exactly go like clockwork. The Motor-Torpedo boats attacked Japanese shipping (they were supposed to have retired to Soerabaja, but never mind), although they didn’t hit anything they again lost only one of their own. The Allied air forces attacked at Semarang relentlessly, and were met by Tojos rather than Zeros this time. First the Falcons and Hawks attacked, and suffered badly. Secondly the B25s went in to attack the airfield, doing little damage but proving they could survive unescorted against the Japanese. Thirdly the B17s bulldozed their way past the CAP, claiming to have shot down a Tojo. Fourthly it was the Hurricanes’ turn. They took a beating (9 lost), but in turn claimed to have downed 14 Tojos. Then in went the Warhawks. Just two Tojos rose to meet them, and both were shot down. And finally, the whole point of the exercise, the Fleet Air Arm’s torpedo bombers attacked, and exactly as planned, the CAP had been so worn down that they were completely unopposed as they made their torpedo runs against the Japanese ships. It worked! It worked! Well, yes….it worked….but….

Thunderstorms meant that most of the torpedo bombers lost their way, and those that did find Semarang….it’s that saying about a banjo and a cow’s backside again….no hits. Not one! Well, as one famous British general might say, it was 90% successful……

The process of evacuating air groups from Java is now beginning, most will go to Darwin or elsewhere in northern Australia (via Koepang and/or Makassar). A small convoy is approaching Soerabaja to bring out 223 Group HQ, and air transports at Makassar might be able to fly out some of the Dutch Aviation Support units.

At Bacolod the 73rd PA Rgt and Negros Constabulary Bn repelled an assault by 41st Rgt and Sasebo 8th SNLF.

At Sibolga the Tapanoeli Commando held its ground against 56th Recon Rgt.



SWPAC

B17Es from Townsville and Marauders from Port Moresby bombed Milne Bay. There was no Japanese fighter opposition.

A small convoy carrying the 2nd Marine Tank Bn reached Melbourne.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

At Kavieng S-47 encountered a small convoy of an xAP, xAK and two AKs. What was particularly of note is that there were 7 escorts identified, suggesting that what was being conveyed was rather important.

O23 torpedoed and sank CM Yaeyama off of Davao.

S-43 shot up and destroyed a landing barge at Wide Bay, New Britain.

[M Peaston]

17th April 1942

One of ‘quiet on the surface but bubbling up underneath’ sort of turns.


CHINA

20th Army Group reaches Ji’an on its long approach march as part of the upcoming Chinese offensive in the 3rd and 9th War Areas.


INDIA/BURMA

1st AVG Squadron flies out of Mandalay for some well-earned R&R in India, their place taken by 2nd AVG and their P40Es. It seems there are no drop tanks available at Mandalay, curtailing the P40E’s range in comparison to the H81-A3 - something no-one seems to have thought of until now. This might be awkward…



ABDA

The Japanese take Djokjakarta, cutting the Dutch defences on Java in two. Many of the Dutch defenders digging in around Soerabaja have noted that many Allied aircraft taking off from the airfields now seem to be heading out in the opposite direction to Semarang…..

Bandoeng was bombed by the Japanese for the first time, just after the last Allied aircraft flew out.

Zeros sweep over Kendari. No-one reacted, as Kendari was abandoned long ago.



USA

At Alameda Vice-Admiral Mitscher gives his ships the order to raise steam. He’s received the go-ahead: operation Neptune is finally on! Hornet, Yorktown and their escorts will sail after midnight.



SUBMARINE WARFARE

KXVIII torpedoed and sank xAKL Bichu Maru near Amami Oshima

[M Peaston]

Commonwealth forces on the retreat in Burma.

Untitled.png (2.23 MiB) Viewed 380 times

[M Peaston]

18th April 1942


CHINA

After months of bombing Japanese positions at Ningsia two to three days a week, the Chinese Air Force has decided not to push its luck any further, particularly as there are indications the Japanese might be establishing an airbase within fighter range.


INDIA/BURMA

17th Indian Div, 13th Indian Bde and 27th Indian Mountain Gun Rgt retire from Toungoo in good order. How hard and fast can the Japanese pursue?

Mandalay was bombed for the first time by Sallys, catching 2nd AVG squadron by surprise. They had only just arrived and had not organised any CAP. Luckily for the AVG the Japanese bombed 1st Gloucestershire Bn rather than the airfield. Phew! Of course, it wasn’t particularly lucky for the Glosters…..


ABDA

HMAS Australia, along with the Destroyers Alden, Vampire and Electra arrive at Perth. All are in need of repairs. The Destroyers will be repaired at Perth but Australia is off to Cape Town to have her gun turrets replaced.

Six Liberators and 3 B17Ds attempt to bomb the port at Manokwari and are again met by Ryujo’s Claudes. No damage to the port was reported, and a Liberator was lost on the way home.

For the second day running Zeros sweep over Kendari.


SWPAC/SOPAC

Allied intelligence believes that an invasion force is assembling at Rabaul, with the likely target being Lae.

Marauders bomb Japanese positions at Milne Bay for no observable results. B17Es from Townsville have more success against the port facilities.


CENPAC

A decision is made to refit Enterprise at Pearl Harbor now rather than send her to the West Coast later. Saratoga, currently at Alameda having just finished her refit, was due to join Enterprise at Pearl; however, there aren’t any suitable escorts available for Saratoga, so Enterprise’s escorts have been sent to collect her from Alameda. By the time they all return to Pearl Harbor Enterprise’s refit should be finished, and as she can’t do anything useful without any escorting warships it made sense. The repair yard director isn’t happy though. West Virginia and California are taking up much of the repair capacity, there’s half-a-dozen Destroyers being repaired or refitted, and with the second tranche of submarine upgrades now taking place plus various other odds and ends, the repair yards are pretty overworked. At least Northampton is due to be ready in a day or so (she’s been there since December), that would take some of the pressure off, but now he’s got to find capacity for Enterprise! Captain Birdseye wonders what he’s moaning about. He’s only got bolt on a handful of AA guns to Enterprise; how hard can it be?


USA

In the dead of night Hornet, Yorktown and their escorts finally slip out of San Francisco Bay. Vice-Admiral Mitscher is both thrilled and concerned. It is an exciting mission, but Hornet will be completely reliant on Yorktown for CAP, air search, and ASW patrols. Basically, Hornet is helpless. It’s a strange way for an aircraft carrier to go to war.

[LargeSlowTarget]

No worries, as long as Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker are on Hornet's pilot roster, all is well.

[M Peaston]

Ah, LST you had me fooled for a moment.

I had to look up who Walker and MaCawley were, and then I had to look up to see if you had actually put them on the pilot roster. You hadn’t; phew!

I’m pleased you didn’t as I’m trying to keep my AAR as historical as possible, and I didn’t want to have to deal with fictional characters. I admit I might have used a little bit of poetic licence here or there, but there are limits…..

[M Peaston]

19th April 1942


CHINA

Intelligence indicates that the Japanese have completed an airstrip at Ningsia, vindicating the Chinese decision to halt bombing missions there. Is it a defensive move, or is it intended to support an offensive towards Lanchow?



INDIA/BURMA

The Japanese finally capture Toungoo. The 17th Indian Division was able to hold them up there for three weeks before retiring in good order. Lysanders ineffectively bombed Japanese positions at Toungoo and somehow made it home unscathed despite the attention of some Oscars.

2nd AVG Squadron broke up an air attack on the 45th Indian Bde at Taung Le, claiming 7 Sallys and a Tojo without loss. (In fact the Allies didn’t lose any aircraft at all this turn).



ABDA

A small convoy has arrived at Soerabaja to evacuate 223 Group HQ. Allied aircraft continue to fly out of Java to Darwin and Katherine, where the Allied air forces will reorganise for the next fight. Buffalo squadrons and other Dutch squadrons with obsolete aircraft are being withdrawn from frontline service. The Dutch are in the process of being reequipped with Mitchells, Havocs, Warhawks and Hurricanes - those squadrons that can’t be reequipped for whatever reason will be used for ASW patrols in Northern and Eastern Australia.

A squadron of P400 Airacobras, a NZ Hurricane Squadron and a Dutch squadron of Demon fighters will temporarily remain behind at Soerabaja to provide air cover, along with a flight of Wirraways ordered to make a nuisance of themselves. Transport aircraft are taking Dutch Aviation Support units from Bandoeng to Soerabaja with the idea of being able to evacuate as many as these useful units from Java as possible.

Again, Zeros swept over long-abandoned Kendari.



SWPAC

All air attacks against Milne Bay were cancelled due to the weather.



SOPAC

SOPAC HQ has been activated at Suva under Rear-Admiral Ghormley. Despite the presence of a squadron of Hudson IIILRs on Naval Search, another flight of Hudsons IIILRs on ASW patrol, and a flight of Vincents also on ASW patrol, not to mention 3 sloops also on patrol, the captain of SS I-18 decided to bring his submarine into Suva harbour to honour Ghormely in person. Quite frankly, it’s very embarrassing.



CENPAC

After having been hit by two torpedoes in the second week of December, USS Northampton has finally left the repair yards and rejoined the fleet at Pearl Harbor.



NORPAC

There’s been a cock-up somewhere. 503rd AA Rgt arrived at Prince Rupert with orders to embark for Adak, only to find that 501st AA Rgt was also at Prince Rupert and about to embark for Adak on very ships the 503rd were meant to take. There was only one way to resolve this: Rock-Paper-Scissors (best of three). Major Franklin of the 503rd won, and his AA Rgt is now back on the train and heading for warmer climes.



OPERATION NEPTUNE

The Neptune task force spent the day steaming towards Hawaii. When darkness fell the task force turned to the northwest. Vice-Admiral Mitscher strolled onto the bridge. The waxing crescent moon had dipped below the horizon, and Mitscher peered out into the clear, starry night. Without turning, he said to the Officer of the Watch “Such a vast ocean, such a long way to go…I wonder what awaits us out there?” The officer gave Mitscher a puzzled look and hesitantly said - “Well, I would have thought the oilers would be waiting for us sir - we are due to meet them tomorrow”. “Umm…yes, the oilers” replied Mitscher somewhat tetchily “but apart from the oilers I wonder what awaits us out there?” (“Of course the oilers are waiting for us” thought Mitscher to himself, “that’s obviously not what I meant. Why does this pointless pedant have to go and spoil my moment of historic contemplation? Dammit! When it comes to my autobiography I’m going to have to completely rephrase this conversation.”)



SUBMARINE WARFARE

KXVI missed a juicy target off Palawan; a spread of 4 torpedoes failed to make contact with TK Kuremente Maru.

Surcouf did better, torpedoing and sinking DMS W-12 off of Taihoku, Formosa. Viva la France!

[M Peaston]

Java.png (1.34 MiB) Viewed 146 times

[M Peaston]

In Canberra, Prime Minister Curtin is becoming worried; very worried. The Japanese are advancing on Australia from both north and east, and no-one seems able to stop them. He asked General Alexander to fly in and confer with himself and Blamey about better co-ordination of Australia’s defence.

After the conference Curtin felt a little better, but not much. Alexander at least seemed confident enough. His assessment was that it would take the Japanese at least three weeks, probably four, to clear up on Java, as the landing at Semarang indicates an emphasis on economy of force, not speed. Assuming the Japanese use this time to also occupy Kendari and Ambon, and assuming they spend a week preparing for the next assault, Alexander doesn’t expect a Japanese assault on his Main Line of Resistance (Koepang-Babar-Saumlaki) for at least 4-5 weeks. In addition, Alexander expects to hold the line for a month. Therefore the Japanese won’t be in a position to invade Northern Australia until late June at the very earliest – sufficient time to provide for a decent defence. Alexander doesn’t expect to be able to stop the Japanese completely, though. The problem is that Allied light cruisers can’t stand up to Japanese battleships, and Allied airpower, even Eastern Fleet’s carriers ("especially Eastern Fleet’s carriers" thought Curtin to himself) haven’t proven terribly effective against Japanese ships either. However, if ABDA Command had battleships then he could stop the Japanese dead. If Curtin could persuade Churchill to send to ABDA the battlefleet that is currently rusting away at Colombo, then all would be well.

Blamey seemed less sure of himself. He expects the Japanese to occupy Lae and Buna, and try and choke off Port Moresby’s supply. He doesn’t think they’ll even attempt an invasion of Australia from the east unless they have Port Moresby. He should be able to retake Milne Bay. The problem is going to be keeping Port Moresby and Milne Bay resupplied should the Japanese make serious moves in this direction. Blamey thinks he can do this, but securing naval dominance of the Coral Sea would make sure. If Curtin could persuade Roosevelt to send the US carrier fleet to Australia, then all would be well.

Curtin ponders what to do about Blamey. Blamey can bemoan his bad luck all he wants about the Japanese getting to Milne Bay just one day before he did, but let’s face it, it wasn’t bad luck, was it? He over-invested in Port Moresby and left himself with insufficient reserves. He dithered about reoccupying Milne Bay, and even when he made a decision he was too slow in implementing it. Now he is dithering about whether to take a brigade from Port Moresby to reinforce the proposed Milne Bay landing. Curtin knows he should sack him, but that would be tantamount to admitting that Blackadder was right in wanting to sack him earlier. Curtin does not want to admit that Blackadder might have been right about anything. If Blackadder believes he was right about something, he might start to think that he could be right about other things too, and that could have serious consequences for the Allied war effort.

[M Peaston]

At PANIC HQ there is a feeling that the war isn’t going as badly as it might have done, but also a growing unease that this could change. Blackadder is aware of Alexander’s assessment of the DEI; however, he can’t help feeling that this is based too much on how the Japanese have operated up to now, and hasn’t considered that the Japanese might, and perhaps should, change tack.

This possible change of Japan’s approach is the main topic of the PANIC HQ evening meeting.

Allied analysts believe that Japan’s advance has been a careful, measured and step-by-step approach designed to conquer territory with the minimum of loss. Analysts also believe that the Japanese feel that their conquests are way behind schedule, not just in the DEI but on multiple fronts, and are in danger of falling even further behind. It must be expected therefore that the Japanese will be considering changing their approach.

The Japanese may not have sufficient resources to push harder and faster on all fronts, but they might try a high-risk, hard, fast, deep thrust in one area to unbalance the Allies and focus the Allies’ attention on this area and so indirectly facilitate advances on other fronts. The Japanese do have one razor-sharp weapon to spearhead such a thrust that hitherto they have barely used…

If the Japanese were to take such an approach, where would they strike?

India? Ted Striker pointed out that given Britain’s somewhat marginal contribution to the Pacific War so far he thought the Japanese would feel that knocking India out of the war wouldn’t make much difference one way or the other. Mainwaring glared at him…..

DEI? A carrier strike on Darwin followed by simultaneous landings at Kendari, Ambon, Timor and Saumlaki without waiting for the fall of Java. The Japanese carriers could provide the air cover necessary without needing to capture and build up airbases first. This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for the Allies in the medium term, as the whole point of the ‘Timor Strategy’ was to try and draw Japanese forces into this area.

South Pacific? A thrust towards Luganville/Fiji/New Caledonia to threaten communications between the US and Australia? It would have been easier for the Japanese to do this earlier, but still plausible. Such an approach would hinder any Allied buildup in Australia, and force the Allies to take steps to secure the South Pacific first, and would therefore facilitate Japanese progress in the DEI and New Guinea as well. There is some evidence that this might be on the cards, as increased Japanese reconnaissance of Luganville and Suva has been noticed, and there seems to be some buildup at Rabaul.

Perth/Western Australia? A move like this in conjunction with a South Pacific drive would isolate Australia and make life very difficult for the Allies. However, are the Japanese in a position, and do they have the forces, to push on both simultaneously at this stage? A move on Perth would likely be supported from Java, which the Japanese have not yet secured.

Perth/Western Australia in conjunction with sealing off the Torres Strait? More plausible. They still have to secure Java first, and it’s a long way from there to Perth, but isolating Allied forces in Northern Australia and the DEI rather than directly confronting them is possible.

Central Pacific - Line Islands, Phoenix Islands, Society Islands? A long shot for the Japanese; a South Pacific offensive would be easier to support, further away from a US counterattack and probably have the same potential gains. Not very likely.

Hawaii? Blackadder is never likely to be so lucky!

North Pacific? Would be a big nuisance but wouldn’t really fundamentally change anything.

The consensus was that the Japanese are likely to change their approach. How, it is not known, but all Commands should be prepared for surprise Japanese moves.

Of possible Japanese options, should they go for a hard, fast, deep strike, the most likely are considered to be either a strike towards Darwin or a South Pacific drive.

Until Japanese intentions becomes clearer PANIC HQ will not be reallocating any reinforcements, but the affected Commands should make contingency plans of their own.

It’s Marcel Marceau’s job to ensure that PANIC HQ’s assessment is communicated to all Commands….

[M Peaston]

20th April 1942



INDIA/BURMA

Someone’s really got it in for the Glosters. When they were at Mandalay one day they were the sole target of the only Japanese bombing raid on the entire front. Now they’ve just arrived at Shwebo and the same thing has happened again.

SS KVII has spotted a Japanese Light Cruiser force off of Phuket, the composition of which is similar to the one that escorted reinforcements to Rangoon. If it is the same one now returning from Rangoon then it shows that Eastern Fleet’s efforts to interdict the Andaman Sea are proving ineffective.

On the subject of ineffectiveness, 6 B17s bombed Rangoon Port. One of the bombers was lost on landing. There are more B17Es due to arrive at Bombay tomorrow, but they won’t show themselves until the Japanese forces break out into the open ground on the way to Mandalay. It won’t hurt for the Japanese to think that there is only one B17 squadron in theatre and that it doesn’t appear to be achieving anything.

Japanese advance units arrive at Prome, which has already been abandoned by the British.



ABDA

Sampit on Borneo falls to the Japanese.

A Japanese aircraft carrier has appeared between Toboali and Billiton, with its Vals sinking two motor launches off of Cheribon. From the aircraft markings Allied Intelligence think the carrier might be the new Junyo, about which little is known at present.

Three Wirraways were shot down while attempting to bomb Semarang - none made it through to target.


SWPAC

197th AA Rgt has arrived at Port Moresby aboard a small convoy escorted by HMAS Perth. Nells attacked, escorted by just 3 Zeros, and proved easy meat for the Allied CAP. The P38E Lightning made its combat debut here (not counting escorting unopposed bombing raids), claiming 1 Zero and 4 Nells. In total the Allied Lightnings, Warhawks and Kittyhawks claimed 8 Nells and all 3 Zeros without loss.

Wirraways, Marauders and B17s bombed 65th Naval Guard Unit and the port at Milne Bay.


SOPAC

That Japanese submarine is still sitting at Suva.

A small convoy reached Nukufetau to resupply the garrison there. The convoy will also escort xAP Wahine back to Aukland. Wahine has been stuck at Nukufetau since being torpedoed there on 3rd April, and can make only six knots.


SUBMARINE WARFARE

S-43 sinks two landing barges of off Wide Bay


PANIC HQ

Blackadder glances through the Operational Reports, and wonders who writes some of this drivel. A Wapiti burst a tyre while landing at Delhi, a Wildcat is showing signs of metal fatigue, some snotty-nosed Pilot Officer sprained his ankle whilst horsing around in the officer’s mess, and so it goes on….Yet curiously, something Important, something that might actually be useful to know, something like ‘Japanese forces have entered Prome’, somehow gets omitted from these otherwise detailed reports. Oh well.

[CaptBeefheart]

Quinton McHale in the PT boat leader database and Rockwell Torrey in the regular ship leader database make fine leaders in the same vein as Ted Striker and Blackadder. As a bonus, I just found that all four seasons of McHale's Navy are on YouTube. I haven't watched that show since the 70s. Time to see if it holds up.

I know it wouldn't be wise to rest on your laurels, but what if your opponent plans to simply take a couple of bases here and there on the edges and then dig in? It wouldn't surprise me.

Cheers,
CB