June 20, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
”85% SUCCESS, SO FAR”
(TN – Noumea) Staff at South and Southwest Pacific Command Headquarters are breathing a little easier has their operation to reinforce Port Moresby and Cook Islands reached a 75% success rate “so far”. Nine of the ten task forces have reached their goal, though one of them took damage from a Japanese torpedo that allowed it to deliver only half of its cargo.
The only task that remains is the capture of Milne Bay, and that operation appears headed for success as well. Twenty-two marines, who went on shore early to scout out the area, say that Japan is maintaining only a token force at Gili Gili. The scouts probed the Japanese defense with a small guerilla raid on the town, supported by the team’s three mortars, and flushed out less than 100 enemy soldiers.
Admiral Nimitz, commander of allied forces in the South Pacific, told the commander of the 5th Marines Regiment with other elements of the 1st USMC Division that he still wants them “to treat this landing as the real thing”. According to Nimitz, “This will be a great opportunity to practice for what, in the future, will be a very dangerous type of operation. I want a full report of what went right, what went wrong, and how we can fix it.”
Intelligence Has Guess on Japanese Reinforcements
Upon hearing that Japanese reinforcements have been spotted on the trail to Port Moresby, an alert NCO at Military Intelligence pulled out an old report from late April that may have identified the unit. On April 26th, Military Intelligence picked up information indicating that the “21st Mixed Brigade” was preparing to join the fight at Port Moresby. Some officials dismissed the news at the time, saying that independent intelligence had the 21st Mixed Brigade in Burma. However, the brigade has not been seen there for several months.
General Thompson responded to the news by saying, “I would be happy with a brigade. The last thing I need to do is be fighting a reinforced Japanese division in that jungle.” He has ordered attacks along the trail to try to slow the arrival of the reinforcements.
Gen. Knox Prepares to Hand Over Port Moresby to Gen. Kenney
The arrival of the 5th Air Force to Port Moresby will make General Kenney the highest ranking military officer at Port Moresby, giving him the new responsibility of commanding the troops in the field. General Knox will go back to his original duties commanding the 6th Australian Infantry Division.
Kenney has given the units an order to continue with their previous assignments until further notice. This includes executing General Knox’s most recent orders to apply constant pressure to the Japanese forces surrounding in the city. The casualties in this fight have been high, with Allied military hospitals in the city treating an additional 300 casualties in the last twenty-four hours.
General Knox reported progress in weakening the enemy. The Japanese forces are said to be down to less than a half dozen artillery pieces, and their soldiers are being physically exhausted by the constant fighting. “We are getting fresh troops in every day,” said one advisor to General Knox. “Japan is not. We can keep this up until the enemy decides they have had enough.”
Allied Navy Makes Contribution
The Allied task force that recently delivered a thousand tons of new supplies to the island have contributed their guns to helping lift the siege of Port Moresby. Four cruisers and 13 destroyers sat off shore throwing artillery shells over the allied line and into Japanese positions far inland. Another cruiser and 4 destroyers arrived yesterday with the 5th Air Force Headquarters and will be adding their guns to the bombardment.
Sources at South Pacific command have confirmed that, as soon as the 5th Marines Regiment is safely on shore at Milne Bay, it will be sending its task force up to Port Moresby to assist in its defense, before retiring back to Noumea.
India to Lend Fighters to Australia
(TN – Dacca) Because Australian and American air forces have suffered such devastating losses at Port Moresby, Kai Island, and Darwin, and Japan has not been attacking India, General Pownall volunteered to send two Hurricane fighter squadrons to Australia to aid in its defense.
The Kittyhawks and Warhawks being used to defend northern Australia from the Japanese have grown to dangerously low supplies. General Thompson has had to divert the Kittyhawks to ground attack, since he had no replacements for planes that would be shot down in a dogfight. Japanese raiders earlier in the month were shooting down 30 Allied airplanes a day, several times more than the replacement rate rolling out of allied factories.
England had built a large stockpile of Hurricane fighters to use during the Battle of Britain, and promise that the new squadrons will come well stocked with spare machines and spare parts.
General Pownall has had the benefit recently of refugee bomber and fighter squadrons from the Philippines that might have otherwise gone to Australia. Those extra airplanes have given General Pownall secure control of the skies of India and Burma. He has been able to launch daily bombing raids into Burma, other than Rangoon, with no organized opposition.
Kimmel Sends Carriers to North Pacific
(TN – Hawaii) The success of the patrol gunboat Moncton in reaching the Sea of Okhotsk without being spotted has convinced Admiral Kimmel to lend two of his carriers to the North Pacific for a raid on these islands. Kimmel has ordered Yorktown and Enterprise north with a small escort.
Hornet is staying behind to repair damage caused to its flight deck when a Dauntless dive bomber crash landed during the Gilbert Islands raid. Kimmel also wants one aircraft carrier available in case he needs to respond to some Japanese activity in the central Pacific, such as the long-awaited invasion of Wake Island.
According to sources at South Pacific Command, Kimmel favors the mission largely because it will cause the Japanese to worry where the next blow will come from. “We have attacked Marcus Island twice, and the Gilbert Islands twice. We need to make Japan aware of the fact that these are not the only places we can hit.”
Senior advisors to Admiral Kimmel have been pressing him to attack the Marshall Islands. Kimmel, however, has expressed concern at the potential cost of such a raid. The attack would be sailing into the teeth of the Japanese air force, with a high likelihood of losing one or more carriers. The advisors have pointed out that Japan likely feels safe in the Marshall Islands and are probably taking undue risks as a result – such as shipping supplies and reinforcements without escort.
Kimmel has promised that he will consider an attack on Eniwetok after the carriers return from the North Atlantic. The waters off to the northwest of the Marshal Islands promise to be rich hunting grounds of transport ships making the trip from Japan to the Marshall Islands and back again.
Thayne News Campaign Reports
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
KENNEY REPRIMANDS KNOX
June 21, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
KENNEY REPRIMANDS KNOX
(TN – Port Moresby) After reviewing the situation at Port Moresby, General Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force and overall commander of the forces at Port Moresby, reprimanded and demoted his predecessor yesterday. He then asked the government of Australia to appoint a new commander for the 6th Australian Infantry Division.
Kenney delivered the reprimand after viewing the situation at the Port Moresby Airport. There, he discovered that the 112th Royal Australian Navy Base Force had been charged with maintaining far more planes then they could handle. To accomplish their attack, the air force mechanics have been working double shifts for almost two months now, keeping the fighters airborne, rearming the planes, and repairing battle damage.
Kenney also recommended the 112th for a unit citation for its performance during the two-month siege, and ordered immediately relief. After a brief conversation with General Townsend, Kenney was promised Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force, presently at Cairns. The base force, when it arrives, will also bring a heavy supply of anti-aircraft guns, engineers, and radar.
According to sources close to General Knox, he never received any information indicating that the unit was overworked and in need of reinforcements. He also said that, even if he had known, he could have done nothing about it, since there were no reinforcements. “General Knox has been calling for reinforcements since the siege started, and had them delivered in small bunches. None of the divisions fighting to defend the city is at full strength. It is only with the recent operation that reinforcements arrived in any significant numbers.”
Major General Vassey will now command the 6th Australian Infantry Division.
Military Intelligence Investigates Japanese Reinforcements
Military Intelligence sent scouts into the mountains and organized a number of reconnaissance flights into the Owen Stanley Ridge in order to identify the Japanese units coming over the hill. They discovered the identity of the unit spotted earlier; the Sasebo 5th Special Naval Landing Force. However, they also discovered that there is a second unit closely behind this one that remains unidentified.
Officials in Washington reported having intercepted an important military communication identifying one unit that has been ordered to attack Port Moresby. Officials rushed to decipher the intercept, only to discover that it named the South Seas Detachment as one of the units preparing for an attack on Port Moresby. The South Seas Attachment is the unit that General Knox had been fighting for nearly two months.
While military intelligence struggles to identify the units, the Australian air force has ordered harassment strikes to slow the enemy down as it tries to cross the Owen Stanley Ridge. The narrow mountain trail makes the Japanese an easy target. However, aircraft diverted to this task will not be able to fly close air support against the Japanese already surrounding the city.
Officials suspect that the 21st Mixed Brigade will show up at Port Moresby eventually.
Kenney Continues to Pressure Japanese
General Kenney ordered a continuation of the recent campaign to drive the Japanese from Port Moresby by putting constant pressure on the enemy. Yesterday’s attacks met with great success. Naval gunfire inflicted heavy damage on key Japanese positions, then the infantry overran several forward Japanese positions. The attack cost the enemy an estimated 350 casualties and a substantial percentage of its remaining artillery, while costing the Allies less than 150 casualties.
TF1125 will continue to stay on station to provide artillery support, while the infantry prepares for another day of attack.
Air Force Offers Effective Defense
The air force over Port Moresby offered effective defense against the Japanese attempts to support its ground forces. The pilots saw new types of aircraft thrown into the fight, with Helen and Sally bombers now flying out of Lae. Japan also flew two bombing missions against the city at night to avoid the allied fighters, which are starting to learn how to attack Japanese aircraft.
In yesterday’s air wars, Allied fighters shot down 16 Japanese airplanes, including five Zeros, with a loss of only two Warhawks.
Goodenough, Kiriwina Task Forces Draw Japanese Air Power
Some of the Japanese air power is being drawn off with attacks on the task forces attempting to land units and supplies on Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands. The Kiriwina Island force drew three attacks yesterday. However, none of the Japanese airplanes were able to score any hits against the naval forces. Those forces, lacking air cover, were not able to inflict any damage on the Japanese attackers either.
Another large Japanese attack force challenged the invasion fleet as it entered Milne Bay late yesterday. Targeting the heavy and light cruisers in the task force, the Japanese bombers did not succeed in scoring any hits against these targets either.
At last report, TF1253, the task force assigned the job of capturing Milne Bay, was on station and ready to begin its run. Within the next 24 hours, this task force is expected to successfully complete the last of the tasks on the list of objectives set for this operation.
Nimitz ‘Second Wave’ Gathers at Espritu Santo
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz is gathering the forces for his ‘second wave’ to Milne Bay and the Cook Islands at Espritu Santo. The force consists of base forces and engineering units from a half-dozen Pacific islands. Nimitz will also be making use of the escort carrier Long Island to help ensure that the troop transports survive the submarine-infested waters of the Coral Sea.
The group is expected to leave Esprito Santo before the end of the month, and will be on station at Milne Bay and the Cook Islands somewhere in the middle of July. One on station, they will begin to build airstrips and expand the ports, which will then become a staging area for an operation to take Buna later in the year.
AVG Targeting Japanese Facilities
(TN – Chungking) The American Volunteer Group, now operating out of southern China, has been making its presence known attacking Japanese infrastructure around the Gulf of Tonkin. It launched an attack on Taan, a port on a large island in the middle of the Gulf, that scored significant damage on several port facilities. The next day, it attacked the port at Haiphong, then the airstrip at Hanoi, both in northern Indochina.
The Warhawks fly in under the protection of a squadron of Tomahawks hoping that the Japanese will challenge them with combat air patrol. However, so far they have not seen any Japanese airplanes, except when Japan targets the AVG home base at Nanning.
The Japanese bases are outside of the range of the American Tomahawks, somewhere in the direction of Formosa.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
KENNEY REPRIMANDS KNOX
(TN – Port Moresby) After reviewing the situation at Port Moresby, General Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force and overall commander of the forces at Port Moresby, reprimanded and demoted his predecessor yesterday. He then asked the government of Australia to appoint a new commander for the 6th Australian Infantry Division.
Kenney delivered the reprimand after viewing the situation at the Port Moresby Airport. There, he discovered that the 112th Royal Australian Navy Base Force had been charged with maintaining far more planes then they could handle. To accomplish their attack, the air force mechanics have been working double shifts for almost two months now, keeping the fighters airborne, rearming the planes, and repairing battle damage.
Kenney also recommended the 112th for a unit citation for its performance during the two-month siege, and ordered immediately relief. After a brief conversation with General Townsend, Kenney was promised Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force, presently at Cairns. The base force, when it arrives, will also bring a heavy supply of anti-aircraft guns, engineers, and radar.
According to sources close to General Knox, he never received any information indicating that the unit was overworked and in need of reinforcements. He also said that, even if he had known, he could have done nothing about it, since there were no reinforcements. “General Knox has been calling for reinforcements since the siege started, and had them delivered in small bunches. None of the divisions fighting to defend the city is at full strength. It is only with the recent operation that reinforcements arrived in any significant numbers.”
Major General Vassey will now command the 6th Australian Infantry Division.
Military Intelligence Investigates Japanese Reinforcements
Military Intelligence sent scouts into the mountains and organized a number of reconnaissance flights into the Owen Stanley Ridge in order to identify the Japanese units coming over the hill. They discovered the identity of the unit spotted earlier; the Sasebo 5th Special Naval Landing Force. However, they also discovered that there is a second unit closely behind this one that remains unidentified.
Officials in Washington reported having intercepted an important military communication identifying one unit that has been ordered to attack Port Moresby. Officials rushed to decipher the intercept, only to discover that it named the South Seas Detachment as one of the units preparing for an attack on Port Moresby. The South Seas Attachment is the unit that General Knox had been fighting for nearly two months.
While military intelligence struggles to identify the units, the Australian air force has ordered harassment strikes to slow the enemy down as it tries to cross the Owen Stanley Ridge. The narrow mountain trail makes the Japanese an easy target. However, aircraft diverted to this task will not be able to fly close air support against the Japanese already surrounding the city.
Officials suspect that the 21st Mixed Brigade will show up at Port Moresby eventually.
Kenney Continues to Pressure Japanese
General Kenney ordered a continuation of the recent campaign to drive the Japanese from Port Moresby by putting constant pressure on the enemy. Yesterday’s attacks met with great success. Naval gunfire inflicted heavy damage on key Japanese positions, then the infantry overran several forward Japanese positions. The attack cost the enemy an estimated 350 casualties and a substantial percentage of its remaining artillery, while costing the Allies less than 150 casualties.
TF1125 will continue to stay on station to provide artillery support, while the infantry prepares for another day of attack.
Air Force Offers Effective Defense
The air force over Port Moresby offered effective defense against the Japanese attempts to support its ground forces. The pilots saw new types of aircraft thrown into the fight, with Helen and Sally bombers now flying out of Lae. Japan also flew two bombing missions against the city at night to avoid the allied fighters, which are starting to learn how to attack Japanese aircraft.
In yesterday’s air wars, Allied fighters shot down 16 Japanese airplanes, including five Zeros, with a loss of only two Warhawks.
Goodenough, Kiriwina Task Forces Draw Japanese Air Power
Some of the Japanese air power is being drawn off with attacks on the task forces attempting to land units and supplies on Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands. The Kiriwina Island force drew three attacks yesterday. However, none of the Japanese airplanes were able to score any hits against the naval forces. Those forces, lacking air cover, were not able to inflict any damage on the Japanese attackers either.
Another large Japanese attack force challenged the invasion fleet as it entered Milne Bay late yesterday. Targeting the heavy and light cruisers in the task force, the Japanese bombers did not succeed in scoring any hits against these targets either.
At last report, TF1253, the task force assigned the job of capturing Milne Bay, was on station and ready to begin its run. Within the next 24 hours, this task force is expected to successfully complete the last of the tasks on the list of objectives set for this operation.
Nimitz ‘Second Wave’ Gathers at Espritu Santo
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz is gathering the forces for his ‘second wave’ to Milne Bay and the Cook Islands at Espritu Santo. The force consists of base forces and engineering units from a half-dozen Pacific islands. Nimitz will also be making use of the escort carrier Long Island to help ensure that the troop transports survive the submarine-infested waters of the Coral Sea.
The group is expected to leave Esprito Santo before the end of the month, and will be on station at Milne Bay and the Cook Islands somewhere in the middle of July. One on station, they will begin to build airstrips and expand the ports, which will then become a staging area for an operation to take Buna later in the year.
AVG Targeting Japanese Facilities
(TN – Chungking) The American Volunteer Group, now operating out of southern China, has been making its presence known attacking Japanese infrastructure around the Gulf of Tonkin. It launched an attack on Taan, a port on a large island in the middle of the Gulf, that scored significant damage on several port facilities. The next day, it attacked the port at Haiphong, then the airstrip at Hanoi, both in northern Indochina.
The Warhawks fly in under the protection of a squadron of Tomahawks hoping that the Japanese will challenge them with combat air patrol. However, so far they have not seen any Japanese airplanes, except when Japan targets the AVG home base at Nanning.
The Japanese bases are outside of the range of the American Tomahawks, somewhere in the direction of Formosa.
THOMPSON WITHDRAWS FLEET
June 22, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
THOMPSON WITHDRAWS FLEET
Thompson calls 93% success called, “Much better than I had hoped for.”
(TN – Townsend) General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, ordered all naval units in the region from Port Moresby through the Cook Islands to withdraw yesterday.
The order came after the submarine Tambor reported two heavy cruisers sailing through Dampier Straight, between New Britain and New Guinea.
When asked to explain how two heavy cruisers could chase away the entire allied fleet, a spokesman for General Thompson answered, “We have been expecting Japanese carriers to show up since the operation began. For days, Japanese scout planes have been seeing dozens of ships in these waters – including two large surface combat fleets with heavy cruisers., and a number of landing crafts. Some of those landing crafts are seeking to take a Japanese outpost. We expect Japan to send out its carriers eventually. The heavy cruisers suggest that the carriers may be nearby.”
According to the spokesman, General Thompson believes that the task forces have obtained all of the objectives they can obtain, and there is nothing to be gained by putting ships at risk. “The only thing we have left to unload is supplies. Those units that are in combat have more than enough supplies, and those units that are short of supplies are not in combat and do not need a large stockpile just yet. If our ships stay, we will be putting lives and hardware at risk for no good reason.”
All task forces are to retreat to either Cairns, with a few retreating to Thursday Island. The Thursday Island force include troop transports that dropped off elements of the 2nd and 6th Australian Infantry Divisions and 5th Air Force at Port Moresby.
Some sources suggest that the troop transports have been ordered to pick up the remnants of the 7th Australian Infantry Division presently stationed on Thursday Island and to carry them to Port Moresby if the opportunity presents itself.
Kimmel Orders Fleet to Be Ready to Sail
(TN – Hawaii) On the other side of the Pacific, Admiral Kimmel, commander of Allied forces in the Central Pacific, sent an order to ships in Pearl Harbor to be ready to sail on four hours’ notice.
Rumors immediately started to spread that the Japanese are about to invade Pearl Harbor. However, Thayne News has learned that the orders were prompted by news that Japan has gathered a significant fleet at Tarawa. Intelligence reports tell of four capital ships, including one battleship, in port. According to sources in Central Pacific Command, if Kimmel hears that the Japanese carriers are at New Guinea, he will give his surface fleet orders to engage the Japanese at Tarawa.
Two of Kimmel’s three carriers are presently on assignment to conduct raids in the North Pacific. However, Hornet sustained unusually high operational damage during the second Gilbert Islands raids and stayed behind for repairs. Kimmel will likely use it to provide air defense for the battlegroup.
Kimmel has also sent a warning to Major Andrews, commander of the 1000-man force occupying Apamama, that the Japanese can be expected to shell the island at any moment, and that Japan may try to follow up the with a counter-invasion. According to sources at Central Pacific Command, reinforcements are on the way, but will likely be held back as long as Japan maintains a substantial surface fleet in the ara.
’Practice’ Invasion Exposes Gremlins
(TN – Noumea) The 5th Marines Regiment and other members of the 1st USMC Division attacking Milne Bay yesterday discovered a number of glitches in the techniques practiced for invading an enemy-held position. Even though there was only a token Japanese presence on the island, the invasion cost the Marines nearly 600 casualties – approximately ten percent of their force.
A number of incidents and accidents accounted for the losses. The most serious of these was a collision between a destroyer that was practicing maneuvers to provide naval support for the landings and two boats carrying Marines to the shore. Approximately 30 Marines died in the accident.
Weapons misfires, accidents getting into the boats – at least three Marines were known to have drowned when they fell overboard and sank in the bay, and accidents handling heavy equipment accounted for most of the losses.
Other problems encountered during the landing centered around coordination and communication difficulties that made the assault much less effective. Several units missed their planned landing assignments and ended up mixed in with other units, who had no idea what to do with them. Material ended up on the wrong part of the beach, and units attacked the wrong location when they could not recognize the right location from shore.
Attempts to move heavy equipment onto the shore and into position also lead to a number of accidents. A halftrack, one of six that landed with the Marines, ran over a gunnery crew on its way off the beach.
Most of the casualties were caused by “friendly fire” as confused Marines encountered each other in the thick jungle away from the beach.
After reading a preliminary report of the mock landings, Admiral Nimitz was heard to say, “I shudder to think what this would have been like if somebody was actually shooting at us.”
The lessons learned from the mock invasion will be used to perfect landing operations in the future. As one advisor noted, “We cannot expect the Japanese to politely leave our future landing sites. We can readily expect that, at the next beach assault, there will be serious bloodshed.”
Port Moresby Battle Shifts Again
(TN – Port Moresby) The Siege of Port Moresby shifted back to favoring the Japanese yesterday, in spite of the fact that the Allies have the Japanese outnumbered by a considerable margin. The Japanese launched a sizable offensive yesterday, reclaiming all ground lost the day before, and returning to their defensive locations. After two days of fighting, it is as if the battle lines have not moved at all.
Japan lost an estimated 200 soldiers in the battle while overrunning and eliminating over 400 soldiers. Particularly significant was the loss of four artillery batteries in the area of the Japanese assault.
Meanwhile, efforts continue on identifying and slowing down the Japanese reinforcements attempting to reach Port Moresby. Allied air forces have been having more success attacking the Japanese climbing through the Owen Stanley Ridge then they have had attacking the Japanese involved in the Siege of Port Moresby. Approximately 30 enemy soldiers were killed or wounded in yesterday’s attacks.
The Siege at Port Moresby has military strategic planners across the Pacific and in Washington considering the implications for the rest of the war. At present, approximately 7,000 Japanese soldiers trapped in the jungle are successfully holding back a force that has recently grown to over 35,000 men, counting headquarters and other support personnel. In recent days, the Allies have been able to bring naval and air power to bear on the battle. At Port Moresby, the allies fight within fortifications and sturdy defenses, while the Japanese are trapped in the jungle. Yet, the Japanese persist.
***************************
Author's Note: New House Rule
I have been reading comments concerning the effects of level bombing on ships in port, and am convinced that the numbers are a bit high. So, I will not adopt any hard-and-fast rules on this, but I am going to try to avoid bombing enemy ships in port.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
THOMPSON WITHDRAWS FLEET
Thompson calls 93% success called, “Much better than I had hoped for.”
(TN – Townsend) General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, ordered all naval units in the region from Port Moresby through the Cook Islands to withdraw yesterday.
The order came after the submarine Tambor reported two heavy cruisers sailing through Dampier Straight, between New Britain and New Guinea.
When asked to explain how two heavy cruisers could chase away the entire allied fleet, a spokesman for General Thompson answered, “We have been expecting Japanese carriers to show up since the operation began. For days, Japanese scout planes have been seeing dozens of ships in these waters – including two large surface combat fleets with heavy cruisers., and a number of landing crafts. Some of those landing crafts are seeking to take a Japanese outpost. We expect Japan to send out its carriers eventually. The heavy cruisers suggest that the carriers may be nearby.”
According to the spokesman, General Thompson believes that the task forces have obtained all of the objectives they can obtain, and there is nothing to be gained by putting ships at risk. “The only thing we have left to unload is supplies. Those units that are in combat have more than enough supplies, and those units that are short of supplies are not in combat and do not need a large stockpile just yet. If our ships stay, we will be putting lives and hardware at risk for no good reason.”
All task forces are to retreat to either Cairns, with a few retreating to Thursday Island. The Thursday Island force include troop transports that dropped off elements of the 2nd and 6th Australian Infantry Divisions and 5th Air Force at Port Moresby.
Some sources suggest that the troop transports have been ordered to pick up the remnants of the 7th Australian Infantry Division presently stationed on Thursday Island and to carry them to Port Moresby if the opportunity presents itself.
Kimmel Orders Fleet to Be Ready to Sail
(TN – Hawaii) On the other side of the Pacific, Admiral Kimmel, commander of Allied forces in the Central Pacific, sent an order to ships in Pearl Harbor to be ready to sail on four hours’ notice.
Rumors immediately started to spread that the Japanese are about to invade Pearl Harbor. However, Thayne News has learned that the orders were prompted by news that Japan has gathered a significant fleet at Tarawa. Intelligence reports tell of four capital ships, including one battleship, in port. According to sources in Central Pacific Command, if Kimmel hears that the Japanese carriers are at New Guinea, he will give his surface fleet orders to engage the Japanese at Tarawa.
Two of Kimmel’s three carriers are presently on assignment to conduct raids in the North Pacific. However, Hornet sustained unusually high operational damage during the second Gilbert Islands raids and stayed behind for repairs. Kimmel will likely use it to provide air defense for the battlegroup.
Kimmel has also sent a warning to Major Andrews, commander of the 1000-man force occupying Apamama, that the Japanese can be expected to shell the island at any moment, and that Japan may try to follow up the with a counter-invasion. According to sources at Central Pacific Command, reinforcements are on the way, but will likely be held back as long as Japan maintains a substantial surface fleet in the ara.
’Practice’ Invasion Exposes Gremlins
(TN – Noumea) The 5th Marines Regiment and other members of the 1st USMC Division attacking Milne Bay yesterday discovered a number of glitches in the techniques practiced for invading an enemy-held position. Even though there was only a token Japanese presence on the island, the invasion cost the Marines nearly 600 casualties – approximately ten percent of their force.
A number of incidents and accidents accounted for the losses. The most serious of these was a collision between a destroyer that was practicing maneuvers to provide naval support for the landings and two boats carrying Marines to the shore. Approximately 30 Marines died in the accident.
Weapons misfires, accidents getting into the boats – at least three Marines were known to have drowned when they fell overboard and sank in the bay, and accidents handling heavy equipment accounted for most of the losses.
Other problems encountered during the landing centered around coordination and communication difficulties that made the assault much less effective. Several units missed their planned landing assignments and ended up mixed in with other units, who had no idea what to do with them. Material ended up on the wrong part of the beach, and units attacked the wrong location when they could not recognize the right location from shore.
Attempts to move heavy equipment onto the shore and into position also lead to a number of accidents. A halftrack, one of six that landed with the Marines, ran over a gunnery crew on its way off the beach.
Most of the casualties were caused by “friendly fire” as confused Marines encountered each other in the thick jungle away from the beach.
After reading a preliminary report of the mock landings, Admiral Nimitz was heard to say, “I shudder to think what this would have been like if somebody was actually shooting at us.”
The lessons learned from the mock invasion will be used to perfect landing operations in the future. As one advisor noted, “We cannot expect the Japanese to politely leave our future landing sites. We can readily expect that, at the next beach assault, there will be serious bloodshed.”
Port Moresby Battle Shifts Again
(TN – Port Moresby) The Siege of Port Moresby shifted back to favoring the Japanese yesterday, in spite of the fact that the Allies have the Japanese outnumbered by a considerable margin. The Japanese launched a sizable offensive yesterday, reclaiming all ground lost the day before, and returning to their defensive locations. After two days of fighting, it is as if the battle lines have not moved at all.
Japan lost an estimated 200 soldiers in the battle while overrunning and eliminating over 400 soldiers. Particularly significant was the loss of four artillery batteries in the area of the Japanese assault.
Meanwhile, efforts continue on identifying and slowing down the Japanese reinforcements attempting to reach Port Moresby. Allied air forces have been having more success attacking the Japanese climbing through the Owen Stanley Ridge then they have had attacking the Japanese involved in the Siege of Port Moresby. Approximately 30 enemy soldiers were killed or wounded in yesterday’s attacks.
The Siege at Port Moresby has military strategic planners across the Pacific and in Washington considering the implications for the rest of the war. At present, approximately 7,000 Japanese soldiers trapped in the jungle are successfully holding back a force that has recently grown to over 35,000 men, counting headquarters and other support personnel. In recent days, the Allies have been able to bring naval and air power to bear on the battle. At Port Moresby, the allies fight within fortifications and sturdy defenses, while the Japanese are trapped in the jungle. Yet, the Japanese persist.
***************************
Author's Note: New House Rule
I have been reading comments concerning the effects of level bombing on ships in port, and am convinced that the numbers are a bit high. So, I will not adopt any hard-and-fast rules on this, but I am going to try to avoid bombing enemy ships in port.
TF1136 AMBUSHED, SANK
June 23, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
TF1136 AMBUSHED, SANK
(TN – Townsend) Japanese carriers ambushed and sank Task Force 1136 in the waters southeast of Milne Bay yesterday.
The task force, consisting on four destroyers and a troop transport, was retiring from its mission to deliver the 1st USMC Raiders Battalion to Kiriwina Island. They had succeeded in their mission and had unloaded all but 200 tons of cargo when they received orders to return to Australia. They had put 250 miles behind them when Japanese search planes spotted them. Two hours later, the first carrier-based Kate and Val bombers attacked.
By night fall, Japanese pilots had sunk four of the five ships. The sole survivor, the Dutch destroyer Tjerk Hiddes, limped into the darkness with a torpedo hit causing severe flooding, and fires from two bomb hits still burning.
The other ships listed as belonging to TF1136, now sunk, were the destroyers King, Everston and Peary, as well as the troop transport Ormiston.
TF1165 At Risk
Task Force 1135, consisting of three minesweepers and a cargo ship, is also at risk of being attacked. Crew members of this task force report that they could see the Japanese airplanes fly by on their way to destroy TF1136. Experts suggest that the Japanese were seeking to destroy the further task force to prevent it from escaping, and expect to deal with the slower task force in the morning at their leisure.
General Thompson has ordered TF1165 to scatter into the night.
Thompson Credited for Saving Fleet
In spite of the magnitude of the disaster, military strategists point out that the situation could have been much worse if General Thompson had not ordered a general withdraw the day before. Having seen a submarine report that it had seen two enemy cruisers in Dampier Straight, between New Guinea and New Britain near the city of Lae, Thompson ordered all ships to return to Australia. In an interview with Thayne News shortly after the decision, Thompson reported that all of the activity would attract the Japanese carriers, and that there were no missions left to accomplish that were worth the risk.
If the task forces had stayed on station one more day to unload additional supplies, TF1253, with 7 cruisers and 6 troop transports, would have been at Milne Bay, well within range of the Japanese airplanes. The task force obeyed Thompson’s order to withdraw even though it still held 7,000 tons of supply for the elements of the 1st Marine Division that it had placed at Milne Bay. They left the marines at Milne Bay with just enough food and water to survive.
General Thompson responded to the situation by ordering the C-47s of the Number 36 Royal Australian Air Force Squadron, and the Sunderland seaplanes of the Number 33 Royal Australian Air Force Squadron, to begin airlifting supplies to the Marines, until transportation becomes available.
Thompson Weighs Diverting Air Force
General Thompson was in discussions well into the evening over whether to divert airplanes to try to attack the Japanese carriers. The bulk of the Southwest Pacific Air Force in the region is presently involved in the Siege of Port Moresby. General Kenney has given an order to keep continual pressure on the Japanese until they retreat, and is starting to show significant progress. In addition, air units are also involved in interdicting reinforcements that Japan is sending over the Owen Stanley Ridge. A let up on either front could give Japan an opportunity to regroup.
Military advisors are also reported to have told General Thompson that it can expect allied airplanes to arrive piecemeal from four different bases in the region, making it possible for the Japanese Zero pilots to defeat each flight in detail. Recalling several battles over Port Moresby, where Japanese Zero pilots cut through three dozen Allied fighters with little damage, advisors suggested that such an attack would likely cost planes and do little damage.
General Thompson, however, answered that he will be unable to secure any operation until he has done something to eliminate the Japanese carriers.
The arrival of the Japanese carriers has already cancelled plans to subject the Japanese forces around Port Moresby to more naval bombardment.
Kimmel Orders Fleet to Sail
(TN – Hawaii) Having learned where the Japanese carrier fleet is at, Admiral Kimmel, commander of allied forces in the Central Pacific, ordered his battleships to sail south under the shelter of the carrier Hornet. The battleships are to rendezvous at Palmyra Atoll in the Line Islands, sail east to Baker Island, then shell Tarawa Atoll.
Allied reconnaissance airplanes report that Tarawa was just visited by a well-defended task force that spent a day at the island, then turned around and headed north. According to Kimmel, “We want to welcome whoever came on those ships to their new home.”
With news that the Japanese carriers are in the Coral Sea, Kimmel figures that this would be an opportunity to inflict some damage, and also help to secure Apamama from a possible Japanese counter-attack.
The battleships that will be participating in this mission are Mississippi, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Idaho, and California, along with several cruisers and destroyers. Until the task force can get into position, B-17 bombers flying from Baker Island (east of Tarawa) and Nanomea Atoll (south of Tarawa) will be flying continual bombing missions against the island.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
TF1136 AMBUSHED, SANK
(TN – Townsend) Japanese carriers ambushed and sank Task Force 1136 in the waters southeast of Milne Bay yesterday.
The task force, consisting on four destroyers and a troop transport, was retiring from its mission to deliver the 1st USMC Raiders Battalion to Kiriwina Island. They had succeeded in their mission and had unloaded all but 200 tons of cargo when they received orders to return to Australia. They had put 250 miles behind them when Japanese search planes spotted them. Two hours later, the first carrier-based Kate and Val bombers attacked.
By night fall, Japanese pilots had sunk four of the five ships. The sole survivor, the Dutch destroyer Tjerk Hiddes, limped into the darkness with a torpedo hit causing severe flooding, and fires from two bomb hits still burning.
The other ships listed as belonging to TF1136, now sunk, were the destroyers King, Everston and Peary, as well as the troop transport Ormiston.
TF1165 At Risk
Task Force 1135, consisting of three minesweepers and a cargo ship, is also at risk of being attacked. Crew members of this task force report that they could see the Japanese airplanes fly by on their way to destroy TF1136. Experts suggest that the Japanese were seeking to destroy the further task force to prevent it from escaping, and expect to deal with the slower task force in the morning at their leisure.
General Thompson has ordered TF1165 to scatter into the night.
Thompson Credited for Saving Fleet
In spite of the magnitude of the disaster, military strategists point out that the situation could have been much worse if General Thompson had not ordered a general withdraw the day before. Having seen a submarine report that it had seen two enemy cruisers in Dampier Straight, between New Guinea and New Britain near the city of Lae, Thompson ordered all ships to return to Australia. In an interview with Thayne News shortly after the decision, Thompson reported that all of the activity would attract the Japanese carriers, and that there were no missions left to accomplish that were worth the risk.
If the task forces had stayed on station one more day to unload additional supplies, TF1253, with 7 cruisers and 6 troop transports, would have been at Milne Bay, well within range of the Japanese airplanes. The task force obeyed Thompson’s order to withdraw even though it still held 7,000 tons of supply for the elements of the 1st Marine Division that it had placed at Milne Bay. They left the marines at Milne Bay with just enough food and water to survive.
General Thompson responded to the situation by ordering the C-47s of the Number 36 Royal Australian Air Force Squadron, and the Sunderland seaplanes of the Number 33 Royal Australian Air Force Squadron, to begin airlifting supplies to the Marines, until transportation becomes available.
Thompson Weighs Diverting Air Force
General Thompson was in discussions well into the evening over whether to divert airplanes to try to attack the Japanese carriers. The bulk of the Southwest Pacific Air Force in the region is presently involved in the Siege of Port Moresby. General Kenney has given an order to keep continual pressure on the Japanese until they retreat, and is starting to show significant progress. In addition, air units are also involved in interdicting reinforcements that Japan is sending over the Owen Stanley Ridge. A let up on either front could give Japan an opportunity to regroup.
Military advisors are also reported to have told General Thompson that it can expect allied airplanes to arrive piecemeal from four different bases in the region, making it possible for the Japanese Zero pilots to defeat each flight in detail. Recalling several battles over Port Moresby, where Japanese Zero pilots cut through three dozen Allied fighters with little damage, advisors suggested that such an attack would likely cost planes and do little damage.
General Thompson, however, answered that he will be unable to secure any operation until he has done something to eliminate the Japanese carriers.
The arrival of the Japanese carriers has already cancelled plans to subject the Japanese forces around Port Moresby to more naval bombardment.
Kimmel Orders Fleet to Sail
(TN – Hawaii) Having learned where the Japanese carrier fleet is at, Admiral Kimmel, commander of allied forces in the Central Pacific, ordered his battleships to sail south under the shelter of the carrier Hornet. The battleships are to rendezvous at Palmyra Atoll in the Line Islands, sail east to Baker Island, then shell Tarawa Atoll.
Allied reconnaissance airplanes report that Tarawa was just visited by a well-defended task force that spent a day at the island, then turned around and headed north. According to Kimmel, “We want to welcome whoever came on those ships to their new home.”
With news that the Japanese carriers are in the Coral Sea, Kimmel figures that this would be an opportunity to inflict some damage, and also help to secure Apamama from a possible Japanese counter-attack.
The battleships that will be participating in this mission are Mississippi, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Idaho, and California, along with several cruisers and destroyers. Until the task force can get into position, B-17 bombers flying from Baker Island (east of Tarawa) and Nanomea Atoll (south of Tarawa) will be flying continual bombing missions against the island.
ALLIED SHIPS TRAPPED
June 24, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ALLIED SHIPS TRAPPED
(TN – Townsend) The Japanese carrier fleet entered the Gulf of Papua yesterday, trapping over 20 allied ships in a dangerous situation at Thursday Island.
As darkness fell, allied reconnaissance aircraft were tracking the Japanese task force as it sailed approximately 100 miles southeast of New Guinea, heading northwest.
Military strategists suggest that the task force has three possible missions in these waters. They could be seeking to provide vital air support to the units involved in the Siege of Port Moresby. They could be accompanying vital supplies and reinforcements that the hope to land at Port Moresby. Or, they could be on a raid to destroy the air and naval power at Port Moresby and Thursday Island.
Yet, after moving into this position, the only action that the Japanese task force took was to track down and sink the transport Adelong. This transport was charged with the task of delivering vital war materials to the Marines on Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands, and managed to drop off 2500 tons of supplies before being recalled to Australia. While at Goodenough Island, it took a torpedo hit, but managed to control the damage and continue with its mission. The damage slowed the ship considerably and made it impossible for it to flee the battle zone quickly enough to avoid the carriers.
General Thompson’s present concern is with other ships that fled to Thursday Island. Over 20 ships – minesweepers, troop transports, attack cargo ships, destroyers, and gunboats – are now at the port, which could easily be within range of the Japanese carriers by morning.
Thompson has ordered the ships to stay put for the time being, hoping that the air base at Thursday Island can offer some protection. He has advised the captains of the several ships to be prepared to leave port and scatter in all directions if Japan attacks, and for each ship to make its way back south to Cairns or Townsend as well as possible. He moved a squadron of P-39 fighters to Thursday Island to help with its defense, and also recalled the 49th Fighter Group from Port Moresby.
At Port Moresby itself, General Thompson ordered the Kittyhawk fighters of the Number 75 and Number 77 Royal Australian Air Force to protect the base. According to sources in Southwest Pacific Command, General Thompson has been in discussions with General Kenney, and both agreed that it would be a mistake to give the units besieging Port Moresby time to rest and recover and to potentially gain reinforcements.
At both Thursday Island and Port Moresby, General Thompson has ordered the bomber forces to try to take out the Japanese carriers.
Reinforcements Identified
The Port Moresby defenders got some good news as Military Intelligence identified the two units coming across the Owen Stanley Ridge to reinforce the Japanese siege. Both of the units are Special Naval Landing Force units; the Yokosuka 5th SNLF and the Sasebo 5th SNLF. The combined strength of the two units is likely not to be more than 2,000 soldiers. However, they are as likely to be as tough as the units already surrounding the city.
In spite of the presence of the Japanese carrier force, General Kenney has decided to keep pressure on the Japanese surrounding the city. The attacks against the Japanese will continue.
Mandalay in Ruins
(TN – Dacca) “The enemy will not be getting anything of value out of Mandalay or the region around it.” This was the assessment of intelligence officials assigned to the Southeast Asia theater of operations. According to their bomb assessment, a month of bombing has completely destroyed the rail infrastructure, warehouse and factory districts, oil wells, and all other useful facilities in the city.
“The only thing we have not targeted are the homes of the people of Burma, where we could help it,” said the spokesman for Southeast Asia Command. “We will do what we can to avoid killing innocent civilians, particularly children.”
Military intelligence acknowledged to Thayne News that the Japanese are taking advantage of this, and moving manufacturing processes into rural areas, and forcing women and children to take up residence in factories providing vital war machinery.
“If we identify these types of facilities, we will take them out,” said the spokesman. “The deaths of those innocent people will not be on our hands, but will be charged to those who show no regard for innocent life. Let the world see the clear difference between us and our enemy. We go out of the way to avoid the death and suffering of innocent people; they go out of their way to put innocent people in harm’s way.”
Military intelligence reported that the militarily useful resources at Taung Gyi will be targeted next in a plan to systematically deprive the Japanese of the vital war materials they intended to steal from the nation of Burma.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ALLIED SHIPS TRAPPED
(TN – Townsend) The Japanese carrier fleet entered the Gulf of Papua yesterday, trapping over 20 allied ships in a dangerous situation at Thursday Island.
As darkness fell, allied reconnaissance aircraft were tracking the Japanese task force as it sailed approximately 100 miles southeast of New Guinea, heading northwest.
Military strategists suggest that the task force has three possible missions in these waters. They could be seeking to provide vital air support to the units involved in the Siege of Port Moresby. They could be accompanying vital supplies and reinforcements that the hope to land at Port Moresby. Or, they could be on a raid to destroy the air and naval power at Port Moresby and Thursday Island.
Yet, after moving into this position, the only action that the Japanese task force took was to track down and sink the transport Adelong. This transport was charged with the task of delivering vital war materials to the Marines on Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands, and managed to drop off 2500 tons of supplies before being recalled to Australia. While at Goodenough Island, it took a torpedo hit, but managed to control the damage and continue with its mission. The damage slowed the ship considerably and made it impossible for it to flee the battle zone quickly enough to avoid the carriers.
General Thompson’s present concern is with other ships that fled to Thursday Island. Over 20 ships – minesweepers, troop transports, attack cargo ships, destroyers, and gunboats – are now at the port, which could easily be within range of the Japanese carriers by morning.
Thompson has ordered the ships to stay put for the time being, hoping that the air base at Thursday Island can offer some protection. He has advised the captains of the several ships to be prepared to leave port and scatter in all directions if Japan attacks, and for each ship to make its way back south to Cairns or Townsend as well as possible. He moved a squadron of P-39 fighters to Thursday Island to help with its defense, and also recalled the 49th Fighter Group from Port Moresby.
At Port Moresby itself, General Thompson ordered the Kittyhawk fighters of the Number 75 and Number 77 Royal Australian Air Force to protect the base. According to sources in Southwest Pacific Command, General Thompson has been in discussions with General Kenney, and both agreed that it would be a mistake to give the units besieging Port Moresby time to rest and recover and to potentially gain reinforcements.
At both Thursday Island and Port Moresby, General Thompson has ordered the bomber forces to try to take out the Japanese carriers.
Reinforcements Identified
The Port Moresby defenders got some good news as Military Intelligence identified the two units coming across the Owen Stanley Ridge to reinforce the Japanese siege. Both of the units are Special Naval Landing Force units; the Yokosuka 5th SNLF and the Sasebo 5th SNLF. The combined strength of the two units is likely not to be more than 2,000 soldiers. However, they are as likely to be as tough as the units already surrounding the city.
In spite of the presence of the Japanese carrier force, General Kenney has decided to keep pressure on the Japanese surrounding the city. The attacks against the Japanese will continue.
Mandalay in Ruins
(TN – Dacca) “The enemy will not be getting anything of value out of Mandalay or the region around it.” This was the assessment of intelligence officials assigned to the Southeast Asia theater of operations. According to their bomb assessment, a month of bombing has completely destroyed the rail infrastructure, warehouse and factory districts, oil wells, and all other useful facilities in the city.
“The only thing we have not targeted are the homes of the people of Burma, where we could help it,” said the spokesman for Southeast Asia Command. “We will do what we can to avoid killing innocent civilians, particularly children.”
Military intelligence acknowledged to Thayne News that the Japanese are taking advantage of this, and moving manufacturing processes into rural areas, and forcing women and children to take up residence in factories providing vital war machinery.
“If we identify these types of facilities, we will take them out,” said the spokesman. “The deaths of those innocent people will not be on our hands, but will be charged to those who show no regard for innocent life. Let the world see the clear difference between us and our enemy. We go out of the way to avoid the death and suffering of innocent people; they go out of their way to put innocent people in harm’s way.”
Military intelligence reported that the militarily useful resources at Taung Gyi will be targeted next in a plan to systematically deprive the Japanese of the vital war materials they intended to steal from the nation of Burma.
"WE DIDN’T LOSE!"
June 25, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
”WE DIDN’T LOSE”
(TN – Port Moresby) It was a strange cause for celebration, but the pilots at Port Moresby were celebrating the fact that they did not lose an air battle to the crème of the Japanese fighter crop yesterday.
Japanese forces launched a raid against Port Moresby from carriers in the Gulf of Papua yesterday afternoon. Japanese carrier-based ‘zero’ pilots have had a history of wiping out entire squadrons in an afternoon. In fact, few of the pilots belonging to any of the squadrons defending Port Moresby had fought against a ‘zero’ before. They were replacement pilots – replacing those who had fought zeros in the past, and who died.
When news reached the airbase that the Japanese carriers were nearby, and that all pilots have been placed on combat air patrol duty to protect the town, many pilots wrote out their wills and wrote letters giving final farewells to their families back home. The day wore on. Morning passed, then noon came and went.
Late in the afternoon, the sirens blew, and the pilots took off.
Yet, the pilots held their own in the battle. The Japanese shot down 10 of the 27 allied airplanes that went into the air, but the allied pilots shot down 9 of the 36 attacking ‘zero’ fighters. Adding one Kate bomber to the list of planes shot down tied the score.
Alter that afternoon, a flight of Helen bombers flew towards Port Moresby. Japan was probably thinking that the Zeros would have taken care of the combat air patrol, since the Helens came in without escort. The Allied pilots added five more kills to their tally for the day, giving them a win for the day.
Ground Battle Picks Up Momentum
As if bolstered by the good news in the air, the ground war around Port Moresby shifted into the allies favor yesterday. This is in spite of the fact that several carrier-based bombers were able to deliver attacks against the allies, and all allied aircraft were put on duty to fight the carriers. The 2nd Australian Infantry Division pressed hard against the left flank, battling the South Seas Detachment, and managed to count approximately 150 dead or wounded Japanese soldiers, at a loss of only 50 of their own number. However, the Japanese bombers inflicted another 20 casualties.
One of the most significant measures of success was the destruction of one of two remaining Japanese artillery batteries that the allies know of. The 2nd Australian Infantry Division reached a collection of guns and managed to put them all out of action, before retreating back to the Allied lines. According to allied intelligence, the Japanese forces are down to just a hand full of large caliber weapons.
The Allies, on the other hand, can open up on the Japanese with over 150 artillery pieces.
General Kenney has expressed confidence that he can defeat the Japanese soldiers in short order. However, sources working for General Thompson at Southwest Pacific Command have reminded us that General Knox was predicting that he could run the Japanese off before the end of May.
’Phase II’ Gathers at Espritu Santo; Cairns
(TN – Noumea) Phase II of the occupation and reinforcement of the Milne Bay/Cook Island line is gathering at Esprito Santo today, under the watchful eye of the carrier Long Island. The units that will participate in this mission are already loaded onto their transport ships. Within 24 hours, they will be sailing away from Espritu Santo for Cairns, Australia, to meet up with the rest of the force.
Phase II will deliver a number of additional units to bases from Port Moresby to the Cook Islands. The assigned units include:
Port Moresby:
108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force
Australian 1st Army Command Headquarters
Elements of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Australian Divisions.
Milne Bay:
30th Naval Base Force
No. 115 Royal Air Force Base Force
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
Goodenough Island:
2nd USMC Raiders Battalion
9th USMC Defense Battalion
Elements of the 1st USMC Division
Kiriwina Island
No. 114 Royal Air Force Base Force
Elements of the 1st USMC Division
The purpose of the reinforcements is to strengthen the wall protecting Australia, and to provide a foundation for Nimitz’ plans to attack Buna later in the year.
As was done with Phase I, General Townsend and Admiral Nimitz hope to execute all of the operations at the same time, to prevent the Japanese from defeating the plans in detail. According to sources at Southwest Pacific Command, General Townsend is hoping that Kimmel’s planned battleship bombardment on Tarawa in five days, and Admiral Theobold’s plan for a carrier raid on the Kurile Islands northeast of Japan, will draw the Japanese carrier fleet away for a few days.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
”WE DIDN’T LOSE”
(TN – Port Moresby) It was a strange cause for celebration, but the pilots at Port Moresby were celebrating the fact that they did not lose an air battle to the crème of the Japanese fighter crop yesterday.
Japanese forces launched a raid against Port Moresby from carriers in the Gulf of Papua yesterday afternoon. Japanese carrier-based ‘zero’ pilots have had a history of wiping out entire squadrons in an afternoon. In fact, few of the pilots belonging to any of the squadrons defending Port Moresby had fought against a ‘zero’ before. They were replacement pilots – replacing those who had fought zeros in the past, and who died.
When news reached the airbase that the Japanese carriers were nearby, and that all pilots have been placed on combat air patrol duty to protect the town, many pilots wrote out their wills and wrote letters giving final farewells to their families back home. The day wore on. Morning passed, then noon came and went.
Late in the afternoon, the sirens blew, and the pilots took off.
Yet, the pilots held their own in the battle. The Japanese shot down 10 of the 27 allied airplanes that went into the air, but the allied pilots shot down 9 of the 36 attacking ‘zero’ fighters. Adding one Kate bomber to the list of planes shot down tied the score.
Alter that afternoon, a flight of Helen bombers flew towards Port Moresby. Japan was probably thinking that the Zeros would have taken care of the combat air patrol, since the Helens came in without escort. The Allied pilots added five more kills to their tally for the day, giving them a win for the day.
Ground Battle Picks Up Momentum
As if bolstered by the good news in the air, the ground war around Port Moresby shifted into the allies favor yesterday. This is in spite of the fact that several carrier-based bombers were able to deliver attacks against the allies, and all allied aircraft were put on duty to fight the carriers. The 2nd Australian Infantry Division pressed hard against the left flank, battling the South Seas Detachment, and managed to count approximately 150 dead or wounded Japanese soldiers, at a loss of only 50 of their own number. However, the Japanese bombers inflicted another 20 casualties.
One of the most significant measures of success was the destruction of one of two remaining Japanese artillery batteries that the allies know of. The 2nd Australian Infantry Division reached a collection of guns and managed to put them all out of action, before retreating back to the Allied lines. According to allied intelligence, the Japanese forces are down to just a hand full of large caliber weapons.
The Allies, on the other hand, can open up on the Japanese with over 150 artillery pieces.
General Kenney has expressed confidence that he can defeat the Japanese soldiers in short order. However, sources working for General Thompson at Southwest Pacific Command have reminded us that General Knox was predicting that he could run the Japanese off before the end of May.
’Phase II’ Gathers at Espritu Santo; Cairns
(TN – Noumea) Phase II of the occupation and reinforcement of the Milne Bay/Cook Island line is gathering at Esprito Santo today, under the watchful eye of the carrier Long Island. The units that will participate in this mission are already loaded onto their transport ships. Within 24 hours, they will be sailing away from Espritu Santo for Cairns, Australia, to meet up with the rest of the force.
Phase II will deliver a number of additional units to bases from Port Moresby to the Cook Islands. The assigned units include:
Port Moresby:
108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force
Australian 1st Army Command Headquarters
Elements of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Australian Divisions.
Milne Bay:
30th Naval Base Force
No. 115 Royal Air Force Base Force
2nd Naval Construction Battalion
Goodenough Island:
2nd USMC Raiders Battalion
9th USMC Defense Battalion
Elements of the 1st USMC Division
Kiriwina Island
No. 114 Royal Air Force Base Force
Elements of the 1st USMC Division
The purpose of the reinforcements is to strengthen the wall protecting Australia, and to provide a foundation for Nimitz’ plans to attack Buna later in the year.
As was done with Phase I, General Townsend and Admiral Nimitz hope to execute all of the operations at the same time, to prevent the Japanese from defeating the plans in detail. According to sources at Southwest Pacific Command, General Townsend is hoping that Kimmel’s planned battleship bombardment on Tarawa in five days, and Admiral Theobold’s plan for a carrier raid on the Kurile Islands northeast of Japan, will draw the Japanese carrier fleet away for a few days.
ARU SUPPLY SHIP SUNK
June 26, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ARU SUPPLY SHIP SUNK
(TN – Darwin) AK Haraldsvang, a small supply cargo delivering emergency supplies to Aru Island, north of Darwin, reached its destination yesterday, only to be struck down by Japanese torpedo planes. Haraldsvang arrived shortly after dark, and crews immediately went to work unloading the cargo. They had removed perhaps 10% of the ship’s contents when Japanese Zero fighters and Betty bombers showed up over the island, targeting the transport ship.
Ten P-39 fighters from the 35th Fighter Group at Kai Island challenged the attackers, shooting down 2 Zero fighters and 3 Betty bombers at the cost of two P-39s.
As the first Betty bombers started their approach on the ship, its captain and crew pulled away from the docks so that they would present a moving target to the enemy. Two torpedoes struck the ship, and she went down only a few hundred yards from shore, with all of her remaining supplies.
The 500 tons of supplies that were unloaded from Heraldsvang during the night still make a significant contribution to the stockpile of supplies available on the island. It has allowed the occupants of the island to go back on full rations, and will contribute significantly to work being done to construct an airfield on the island.
The Aru Island supply mission was being carried out in conjunction with another mission to deliver supplies to Kai Island further north. AK Coast Farmer reached Kai Island during the night as well, and was able to unload its cargo throughout the day.
Japanese Carriers Disappear
(TN Townsend) The Japanese carrier force, that struck Port Moresby two days ago, and sank a troop transport, a cargo ship, and three destroyers off of Milne Bay in the days before that, disappeared without a trace yesterday. Though search planes from Thursday Island and Australia were fully activated to search the Gulf of Papua, they had no luck finding the enemy ships. No coastwatcher or submarine spotted the enemy either.
General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has ordered maximum effort in finding the enemy task force. Among the options that concern Townsend is that the enemy task force is sailing south, where it might intercept Phase II sailing to Australia from Espritu Santo. It might also seek to hit the ships harbored along the east coast of Australia. These include the two cruiser fleets that participated in Phase I, as well as two task forces sailing for Townsend with units that will participate in Phase II.
It is also possible that the Japanese carriers sailed through the Cook Islands at night, where it was possible to slip through without any coastwatcher or spotter plane to see it.
While maintaining an alert against the Japanese carriers, General Thompson ordered all ships in his region to seek protection of land-based fighters, and to keep anti-aircraft guns manned at all times even while in port. General Thompson has also ordered them to continue with their plans for participating in Phase II.
Kenney Demands Air Force Support Before Phase II
(TN – Townsend) In conversations with General Townsend, General Kenney, commander of allied forces at Port Moresby, requested that the delivery of No. 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force not wait for Phase II. Kenney argued that air cover would be vital for the success of the mission, and that the air support units at Port Moresby have been worked beyond all limits of human endurance throughout the two-month siege.
Kenney has also asked that the seaplane tenders Mackinac and [/i]Childs[/i], presently at Thursday Island, be transferred to Port Moresby. This would allow the reach of the search planes to extend further to Rabaul and the rest of the Bismarck Archipelago, allowing him to better track the presence of the Japanese carrier fleet.
General Thompson has reportedly agreed to the request, ordering the seaplane tenders, as well as No 11 and No 20 Royal Australian Air Force squadrons, to Port Moresby as quickly as it can be arranged.
Minesweeper Quatsino Sunk at Cairns
(TN – Townsend) The minesweeper Quatsino was hit by a torpedo within sight of shore at Cairns yesterday, as it was returning from its mission to the Cook Island.
Quatsino is the sixth ship sunk among those that participated in Phase I of the operation to occupy and reinforce the line from Port Moresby through the Cook Islands. Its duty was to escort the supply ship Adelong to Goodenough Island and Kiriwina Island. When the Japanese carriers showed up, Quatsino and the other ships in the task force scattered to try to escape. The carriers found and sank Adelong. Quatsino was only fourty miles from safety when a Japanese submarine struck her with two torpedoes.
Quatsino actually made it to Cairns before the ship sank. The captain anchored the ship well of shore, then ordered the crew to abandon ship before the minesweeper slipped below the waves. The crew of Quatsino rowed to Cairns on their own power.
SS Trusty Hits Japanese Troop Transport
(TN – Dacca) The Allied submarine force also recorded a success yesterday, when British SS Trust torpedoed a Japanese troop transport in the Macassar Straight, southwest of Singapore. Commander Arbuthnott, captain of Trusty reported that the ship was one of two fully loaded troop transports heading west through the straight. They are thought to have been delivering reinforcements to Burma.
Trusty then surfaced to deliver the coup de gras against the enemy ship. However, Japanese gunners quickly got Trusty within range, and the second transport ship moved to add its firepower to the combat. Commander Arbuthnott ordered a retreat. There is no indication that the hits actually caused the enemy ship to sink.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ARU SUPPLY SHIP SUNK
(TN – Darwin) AK Haraldsvang, a small supply cargo delivering emergency supplies to Aru Island, north of Darwin, reached its destination yesterday, only to be struck down by Japanese torpedo planes. Haraldsvang arrived shortly after dark, and crews immediately went to work unloading the cargo. They had removed perhaps 10% of the ship’s contents when Japanese Zero fighters and Betty bombers showed up over the island, targeting the transport ship.
Ten P-39 fighters from the 35th Fighter Group at Kai Island challenged the attackers, shooting down 2 Zero fighters and 3 Betty bombers at the cost of two P-39s.
As the first Betty bombers started their approach on the ship, its captain and crew pulled away from the docks so that they would present a moving target to the enemy. Two torpedoes struck the ship, and she went down only a few hundred yards from shore, with all of her remaining supplies.
The 500 tons of supplies that were unloaded from Heraldsvang during the night still make a significant contribution to the stockpile of supplies available on the island. It has allowed the occupants of the island to go back on full rations, and will contribute significantly to work being done to construct an airfield on the island.
The Aru Island supply mission was being carried out in conjunction with another mission to deliver supplies to Kai Island further north. AK Coast Farmer reached Kai Island during the night as well, and was able to unload its cargo throughout the day.
Japanese Carriers Disappear
(TN Townsend) The Japanese carrier force, that struck Port Moresby two days ago, and sank a troop transport, a cargo ship, and three destroyers off of Milne Bay in the days before that, disappeared without a trace yesterday. Though search planes from Thursday Island and Australia were fully activated to search the Gulf of Papua, they had no luck finding the enemy ships. No coastwatcher or submarine spotted the enemy either.
General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has ordered maximum effort in finding the enemy task force. Among the options that concern Townsend is that the enemy task force is sailing south, where it might intercept Phase II sailing to Australia from Espritu Santo. It might also seek to hit the ships harbored along the east coast of Australia. These include the two cruiser fleets that participated in Phase I, as well as two task forces sailing for Townsend with units that will participate in Phase II.
It is also possible that the Japanese carriers sailed through the Cook Islands at night, where it was possible to slip through without any coastwatcher or spotter plane to see it.
While maintaining an alert against the Japanese carriers, General Thompson ordered all ships in his region to seek protection of land-based fighters, and to keep anti-aircraft guns manned at all times even while in port. General Thompson has also ordered them to continue with their plans for participating in Phase II.
Kenney Demands Air Force Support Before Phase II
(TN – Townsend) In conversations with General Townsend, General Kenney, commander of allied forces at Port Moresby, requested that the delivery of No. 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force not wait for Phase II. Kenney argued that air cover would be vital for the success of the mission, and that the air support units at Port Moresby have been worked beyond all limits of human endurance throughout the two-month siege.
Kenney has also asked that the seaplane tenders Mackinac and [/i]Childs[/i], presently at Thursday Island, be transferred to Port Moresby. This would allow the reach of the search planes to extend further to Rabaul and the rest of the Bismarck Archipelago, allowing him to better track the presence of the Japanese carrier fleet.
General Thompson has reportedly agreed to the request, ordering the seaplane tenders, as well as No 11 and No 20 Royal Australian Air Force squadrons, to Port Moresby as quickly as it can be arranged.
Minesweeper Quatsino Sunk at Cairns
(TN – Townsend) The minesweeper Quatsino was hit by a torpedo within sight of shore at Cairns yesterday, as it was returning from its mission to the Cook Island.
Quatsino is the sixth ship sunk among those that participated in Phase I of the operation to occupy and reinforce the line from Port Moresby through the Cook Islands. Its duty was to escort the supply ship Adelong to Goodenough Island and Kiriwina Island. When the Japanese carriers showed up, Quatsino and the other ships in the task force scattered to try to escape. The carriers found and sank Adelong. Quatsino was only fourty miles from safety when a Japanese submarine struck her with two torpedoes.
Quatsino actually made it to Cairns before the ship sank. The captain anchored the ship well of shore, then ordered the crew to abandon ship before the minesweeper slipped below the waves. The crew of Quatsino rowed to Cairns on their own power.
SS Trusty Hits Japanese Troop Transport
(TN – Dacca) The Allied submarine force also recorded a success yesterday, when British SS Trust torpedoed a Japanese troop transport in the Macassar Straight, southwest of Singapore. Commander Arbuthnott, captain of Trusty reported that the ship was one of two fully loaded troop transports heading west through the straight. They are thought to have been delivering reinforcements to Burma.
Trusty then surfaced to deliver the coup de gras against the enemy ship. However, Japanese gunners quickly got Trusty within range, and the second transport ship moved to add its firepower to the combat. Commander Arbuthnott ordered a retreat. There is no indication that the hits actually caused the enemy ship to sink.
PHASE II ORDERED SOUTH
June 27, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PHASE II ORDERED SOUTH
(TN – Noumea) Allied reconnaissance airplanes, coast watchers, and submarines were unable to find the Japanese carrier fleet for a second day yesterday, in spite of an intensive search.
The news is causing anxiety in both South Pacific and Southwest Pacific Command. Military analysts say that it would be difficult for the task force to withdraw to the Bismarck Archipelago without some coast watcher or reconnaissance airplane seeing it. The fear is that the carrier force is heading south toward Cairns and Townsville, or Southeast to intercept the Phase II Task force.
Nimitz ordered the Phase II Task Force to detour to the south, stopping off at Noumea in New Caledonia on its way to Australia. The detour would mean a three to four day delay in Phase II, but Admiral Nimitz has weighed this against the possibility of the Phase II task force being ambushed somewhere in open water on the way to Australia.
General Townsend, on the other hand, has ordered the ships in his command to prepare for further activity. He has ordered two transports loaded, one to carry supplies to Port Moresby and another to carry supplies to Milne Bay, and named minesweepers to escort these ships.
He has also organized a surface attack force of 12 cruisers and 12 destroyers to visit Thursday Island. From there, the task force will make nightly runs to Port Moresby, shell the Japanese positions inland, then retreat to Thursday Island.
The operation is similar to one being conducted by the Indian Ocean fleet, where combat ships routinely sail out of Chadpur at night, shell the Japanese base at Akyab, and return to Chadpur well before daylight. The air force at Chadpur as well as the anti-aircraft guns of the port then protect the ships form Japanese air assault.
Thursday Island is protected by the 8th Fighter Group, flying P-39 fighters.
General Thompson has also ordered his men to prepare a transport mission to Port Moresby for the Number 8 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force. The base force has already been loaded onto transports, and is now waiting for escort ships to reach Cairns from Townsend.
Another mission that General Thompson has ordered is a mine laying mission to Milne Bay. The mission will use all of the minelayers under General Thompson’s control, and will drop nearly 600 mines into Milne Bay to deter a Japanese counter attack.
General Townsend is also arranging for the transport of additional reinforcements to Port Moresby. A group of troop transport ships retreated to Thursday Island from Port Moresby when the Japanese carrier force showed up. General Thompson is hoping to use those troop ships to transport the last remnants of the 7th Australian Infantry Division to Port Moresby. Meanwhile, an emergency transport squadron is being sent to Cairns to carry the few remaining elements of the 6th Australian Infantry Division that have not yet made the trip to Port Moresby.
One of General Townsend’s leading concerns is the rate at which the land battle at Port Moresby is going through supplies. Port Moresby presently has a sufficiently large stockpile of supplies for only another 10 days of sustained combat before it will have to implement measures to conserve ammunition. If no other supply ships successfully reach Port Moresby, this will seriously hamper the ability to lift the siege of the city.
The transport aircraft that have been mitigating the drain at Port Moresby's supplies are presently flying supplies to Milne Bay, where elements of the 1st USMC Division were left with very little supplies. Following detection of a Japanese carrier force nearby, the supply ships for these units retreated to Townsend with nearly all of their food and ammunition. The soldiers have been living on half rations as supplies are flown in from Australia.
New Airbase at Reef Island
(TN – Noumea) Engineers at Reef Island, about 300 miles north of Espritu Santo, opened up a new airbase yesterday. Reef Island is a part of the Santa Cruz Islands, which are the closest allied bases to the Japanese held islands in the lower Solomons. Bombers from Reef Island should be able to reach several Japanese bases in the region, including those on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Admiral Nimitz has expressed concern that the Japanese may try to use the Southern Solomon Islands as a launching platform for an invasion of the Santa Cruz Islands. However, in anticipation of this move, Nimitz has moved a significant number of troops to the Santa Cruz Islands, including the America1 Division on Ndini Island, just a few miles west of Reef Island.
Ndini has served as a base for reconnaissance aircraft keeping track of Japanese activities in the southern Solomons. It hosts a squadron of F4F Fighters that have been flying CAP over the area since mid-May with the opening of the new airbase, Admiral Nimitz has also ordered the 18th Fighter Group, flying P-40E Warhawks, forward to the Santa Cruz Islands as well.
Engineers are currently working to expand the airbase to handle bombers as well. Once those improvements are made, Admiral Nimitz plans to use the bases to reduce the Japanese strongholds in the lower Solomons.
Crews Continue to Unload Supply at Kai Island
(TN – Darwin) The supply ship Coast Farmer at Kai Island seems to have escaped detection for another day, allowing crews to unload another 600 tons of supplies from the ship. The ship contains a large supply of food, ammunition, medicine, construction materials for continuing efforts to fortify the island, and spare parts and ammunition for the P-39 Aircobras that have been protecting the island from Japanese bombers.
So far, Japanese control of the air in the area have prohibited General Thompson from using the base as he had originally wanted, as a thorn in the side of Japan’s plans to control the eastern Dutch East Indies. The 35th Fighter Group, charged with protecting the island, have had its hands full simply protecting the island. The island has not been able to get enough supplies to take care of its own needs, let alone execute bombing raids against Japanese bases and shipping.
However, long range bombers from Darwin have been able to execute some of these missions. Bombers from Darwin have been visiting Lautem, on the eastern coast of Timor, on a regular basis. Lautem was captured by Japanese soldiers who were basically floating refugees from a dozen Japanese transport ships repeatedly bombed from Darwin. It is expected to hold a very small garrison, and will likely be the first target of General Thompson’s plans to originally retake Timor.
The 43rd Bomber Group, flying B-17 Flying Fortresses, have just recently started operating out of Darwin, and will be targeting bases further behind Japanese lines. The pilots will be gaining proficiency on easier targets such as Lautem, but will eventually be used to attack strategically more important targets such Amboina, Sorong, and Kendari, from which Japan is harvesting vital war materials.
*************************
Personal Note: Thayne News Campaign Reports will be suspended for about one week while I tend to my father, who is in the hospital and not expected to live. I will be gone until at least Sunday, January 9th.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PHASE II ORDERED SOUTH
(TN – Noumea) Allied reconnaissance airplanes, coast watchers, and submarines were unable to find the Japanese carrier fleet for a second day yesterday, in spite of an intensive search.
The news is causing anxiety in both South Pacific and Southwest Pacific Command. Military analysts say that it would be difficult for the task force to withdraw to the Bismarck Archipelago without some coast watcher or reconnaissance airplane seeing it. The fear is that the carrier force is heading south toward Cairns and Townsville, or Southeast to intercept the Phase II Task force.
Nimitz ordered the Phase II Task Force to detour to the south, stopping off at Noumea in New Caledonia on its way to Australia. The detour would mean a three to four day delay in Phase II, but Admiral Nimitz has weighed this against the possibility of the Phase II task force being ambushed somewhere in open water on the way to Australia.
General Townsend, on the other hand, has ordered the ships in his command to prepare for further activity. He has ordered two transports loaded, one to carry supplies to Port Moresby and another to carry supplies to Milne Bay, and named minesweepers to escort these ships.
He has also organized a surface attack force of 12 cruisers and 12 destroyers to visit Thursday Island. From there, the task force will make nightly runs to Port Moresby, shell the Japanese positions inland, then retreat to Thursday Island.
The operation is similar to one being conducted by the Indian Ocean fleet, where combat ships routinely sail out of Chadpur at night, shell the Japanese base at Akyab, and return to Chadpur well before daylight. The air force at Chadpur as well as the anti-aircraft guns of the port then protect the ships form Japanese air assault.
Thursday Island is protected by the 8th Fighter Group, flying P-39 fighters.
General Thompson has also ordered his men to prepare a transport mission to Port Moresby for the Number 8 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force. The base force has already been loaded onto transports, and is now waiting for escort ships to reach Cairns from Townsend.
Another mission that General Thompson has ordered is a mine laying mission to Milne Bay. The mission will use all of the minelayers under General Thompson’s control, and will drop nearly 600 mines into Milne Bay to deter a Japanese counter attack.
General Townsend is also arranging for the transport of additional reinforcements to Port Moresby. A group of troop transport ships retreated to Thursday Island from Port Moresby when the Japanese carrier force showed up. General Thompson is hoping to use those troop ships to transport the last remnants of the 7th Australian Infantry Division to Port Moresby. Meanwhile, an emergency transport squadron is being sent to Cairns to carry the few remaining elements of the 6th Australian Infantry Division that have not yet made the trip to Port Moresby.
One of General Townsend’s leading concerns is the rate at which the land battle at Port Moresby is going through supplies. Port Moresby presently has a sufficiently large stockpile of supplies for only another 10 days of sustained combat before it will have to implement measures to conserve ammunition. If no other supply ships successfully reach Port Moresby, this will seriously hamper the ability to lift the siege of the city.
The transport aircraft that have been mitigating the drain at Port Moresby's supplies are presently flying supplies to Milne Bay, where elements of the 1st USMC Division were left with very little supplies. Following detection of a Japanese carrier force nearby, the supply ships for these units retreated to Townsend with nearly all of their food and ammunition. The soldiers have been living on half rations as supplies are flown in from Australia.
New Airbase at Reef Island
(TN – Noumea) Engineers at Reef Island, about 300 miles north of Espritu Santo, opened up a new airbase yesterday. Reef Island is a part of the Santa Cruz Islands, which are the closest allied bases to the Japanese held islands in the lower Solomons. Bombers from Reef Island should be able to reach several Japanese bases in the region, including those on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Admiral Nimitz has expressed concern that the Japanese may try to use the Southern Solomon Islands as a launching platform for an invasion of the Santa Cruz Islands. However, in anticipation of this move, Nimitz has moved a significant number of troops to the Santa Cruz Islands, including the America1 Division on Ndini Island, just a few miles west of Reef Island.
Ndini has served as a base for reconnaissance aircraft keeping track of Japanese activities in the southern Solomons. It hosts a squadron of F4F Fighters that have been flying CAP over the area since mid-May with the opening of the new airbase, Admiral Nimitz has also ordered the 18th Fighter Group, flying P-40E Warhawks, forward to the Santa Cruz Islands as well.
Engineers are currently working to expand the airbase to handle bombers as well. Once those improvements are made, Admiral Nimitz plans to use the bases to reduce the Japanese strongholds in the lower Solomons.
Crews Continue to Unload Supply at Kai Island
(TN – Darwin) The supply ship Coast Farmer at Kai Island seems to have escaped detection for another day, allowing crews to unload another 600 tons of supplies from the ship. The ship contains a large supply of food, ammunition, medicine, construction materials for continuing efforts to fortify the island, and spare parts and ammunition for the P-39 Aircobras that have been protecting the island from Japanese bombers.
So far, Japanese control of the air in the area have prohibited General Thompson from using the base as he had originally wanted, as a thorn in the side of Japan’s plans to control the eastern Dutch East Indies. The 35th Fighter Group, charged with protecting the island, have had its hands full simply protecting the island. The island has not been able to get enough supplies to take care of its own needs, let alone execute bombing raids against Japanese bases and shipping.
However, long range bombers from Darwin have been able to execute some of these missions. Bombers from Darwin have been visiting Lautem, on the eastern coast of Timor, on a regular basis. Lautem was captured by Japanese soldiers who were basically floating refugees from a dozen Japanese transport ships repeatedly bombed from Darwin. It is expected to hold a very small garrison, and will likely be the first target of General Thompson’s plans to originally retake Timor.
The 43rd Bomber Group, flying B-17 Flying Fortresses, have just recently started operating out of Darwin, and will be targeting bases further behind Japanese lines. The pilots will be gaining proficiency on easier targets such as Lautem, but will eventually be used to attack strategically more important targets such Amboina, Sorong, and Kendari, from which Japan is harvesting vital war materials.
*************************
Personal Note: Thayne News Campaign Reports will be suspended for about one week while I tend to my father, who is in the hospital and not expected to live. I will be gone until at least Sunday, January 9th.
RE: PHASE II ORDERED SOUTH
ORIGINAL: Thayne
Personal Note: Thayne News Campaign Reports will be suspended for about one week while I tend to my father, who is in the hospital and not expected to live. I will be gone until at least Sunday, January 9th.
Thayne,
Sorry to hear about your father. God bless you and your family.
Gunner's Mate: A Boatswain's Mate with a hunting license.
RE: PHASE II ORDERED SOUTH
Thayne,
You do what you have to do. We will all be here when ever you get back.
You do what you have to do. We will all be here when ever you get back.
You are what you do, when it counts.
Personal Note
My father died Sunday afternoon (January 2, 2005).
He was a career military serviceman who considered his work in the armed forces to be the most important thing he could have done.
He was a veteran of World War II -- European theater, Army. He then transferred to the Air Force in 1949. He then served in Korea in the area of military intelligence. He was one of the crew who would brief and debrief the pilots as they went out on their missions.
As a part of Air Force intelligence, he earned a Silver Star during the Korean war for a mission behind enemy lines to gather information about the Mig fighter.
In 1958, he was a passenger in a military airplane flying to Japan that crashed on the runway. The injuries that he suffered resulted in his discharge from the service with 100% disability. Ultimately, it was these injuries that cut short his life.
Thayne News Campaign Reports will start again on January 9th, 2005. At that time, I cannot think of anything more appropriate than to dedicate this series of stories to him.
I will see you all then.
Thayne
He was a career military serviceman who considered his work in the armed forces to be the most important thing he could have done.
He was a veteran of World War II -- European theater, Army. He then transferred to the Air Force in 1949. He then served in Korea in the area of military intelligence. He was one of the crew who would brief and debrief the pilots as they went out on their missions.
As a part of Air Force intelligence, he earned a Silver Star during the Korean war for a mission behind enemy lines to gather information about the Mig fighter.
In 1958, he was a passenger in a military airplane flying to Japan that crashed on the runway. The injuries that he suffered resulted in his discharge from the service with 100% disability. Ultimately, it was these injuries that cut short his life.
Thayne News Campaign Reports will start again on January 9th, 2005. At that time, I cannot think of anything more appropriate than to dedicate this series of stories to him.
I will see you all then.
Thayne
RE: Personal Note
Thayne,
May I offer my condolances to yourself and family. I can tell that you were very proud of your father and his service. I hope the best for you and want to tell you that I love your story based AAR's and they are always the first ones I read.
May God bless you and your family.
Sadja
Steve Nicol.
May I offer my condolances to yourself and family. I can tell that you were very proud of your father and his service. I hope the best for you and want to tell you that I love your story based AAR's and they are always the first ones I read.
May God bless you and your family.
Sadja
Steve Nicol.
Your never Lost if you don't care where you are.
Tom Massie GPAA
Tom Massie GPAA
RE: Personal Note
Sorry for your loss Thayne. December 4th my grandfather passed away he was a WWII and korean war veteran. After that he worked for the ATF. His final position was in the secret service. In his last years in the SS he guarded president johnson. He would tell me stories about how in his duty he had to take a few tomatos during the vietnam war but that he was glad they were not bullets. I miss him greatly and i feel for your loss.
-Alpha Tester Carrier Force
-Beta Tester ATG
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's WAW mod
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's GPW mod
-Beta Tester WITE
-Alpha Tester WITW
-Alpha Tester WITE2
-Alpha Tester Wif
-Beta Tester Command
-Beta Tester ATG
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's WAW mod
- Mod Maintainer (past) for ATG's GPW mod
-Beta Tester WITE
-Alpha Tester WITW
-Alpha Tester WITE2
-Alpha Tester Wif
-Beta Tester Command
ALLIES EXPAND AIR WAR
June 28, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ALLIES EXPAND AIR WAR
(TN – Noumea) Across the Pacific Theater, the Army Air Corps has added new targets as new air units are activated on the front line.
On the Far Eastern Front, B-17 Flying Fortress from the 19th Bomber Group and 93rd Bomber Squadron, as well as LB-30 Liberator bombers of the 7th Bomber Group, flew their first missions against the Burma town of Taung Gui yesterday. They focused on manufacturing, mining, and transportation centers used to collect and distribute vital war materials to Japan. Most of those war materials come from the plantations around Tyung Gui, which are difficult targets. However, the equipment, storage, processing, and collection facilities are all on the list of future targets. Allied military command hopes to have the town’s infrastructure completely destroyed by the middle of August.
Since taking over the country, Japan has been systematically looting and pillaging the country of Burma, stripping it of all of the war materials it can carry and shipping those materials to Japan. Allied forces have been focusing their bombing missions on destroying the Japanese ability to accomplish this task. Transportation centers and other strategically important sights in western and central Burma have already been reduced to rubble, completely eliminating the Japanese ability to exploit these resources.
Air units in the Southwest Pacific Front have started to take steps to prevent the Japanese plunder of this region as well. The recently activated 43rd Bomber Group has started flying missions to Babo, on the western end of Papua. These missions are training missions for what will be far more dangerous missions to the Japanese-controlled oil fields at Sorong, Bulla, and Ambonia. Yesterday’s mission proved the need for these types of training flights. The bombing group sent fifteen B-17 bombers against the airfield at Babo. The post-bombing assessment showed that the bombs landed wide of their target, wiping out a strip of palm trees far to the north of the runway.
At Cairns, Australia, the 5th Bomber Group has started flying missions against Dobodura and Buna, on the northern coast of New Guinea. The missions are designed to prepare Dobodura for an impending invasion by units of the South Pacific Command, including the 2nd USMC Division. The missions against Buna are intended to indict the flow of supplies to the Japanese units besieging Port Moresby.
The 11th Bomber Group, which had originally been protecting the sea lanes across the South Pacific by patrolling for submarines and Japanese surface ships, were recently ordered to Espritu Santo to begin missions against Japanese facilities on Guadalcanal. The group’s mission is to help to ensure that the Japanese are unable to turn the islands in the southern Solomons into a base that they can use against the allies on the Santa Cruz islands. Sources at South Pacific Command state that the bombers at Espritu Santo will also help to deter any Japanese attempts to capture the Santa Cruz Islands.
The 39th Bomber Group has been stationed on Baker Island and Nanomea Atoll in the South Pacific, where they have been flying regular missions against the Japanese bases at Tarawa and Makin Islands. Because of the small size of these islands, the allies have not been able to get more than a half-dozen bombers in the air on any particular mission. For several weeks, those missions have not produced more than superficial damage to the defenses on the island. However, recent bomb damage assessments show that the pilots are improving in their ability to hit targets on the island. Yesterday’s mission against Tarawa destroyed a pier being constructed on the central part of the island and structures just off of the docks. Photographs show a bomb hit among a collection of vehicles that were likely being used to help haul cargo off of visiting transport ships.
In addition to these heavy bomber formations, a number of light and medium bomber groups continue to suppress the Japanese forward bases. Medium bombers continue to strike targets including Akyab, Mandalay, and Myitkyina in Burma, to Hanoi and Haiphong on the northern end of French Indochina, to Lautem on the island of Timor. They are also performing bombing missions against Japanese ground forces besieging Port Moresby, and interdicting Japanese forces attempting to cross the pass from Burma to Port Moresby.
Kai Island Supply Stockpile Continues to Grow
(TN – Darwin) The transport ship Coast Farmer continues to sit at the docks at Kai Island and unload its supplies, alleviating the severe shortage that had been threatening the occupants of the island group in recent weeks. Dutch soldiers stationed on the island have managed to unload nearly 2,000 tons of supplies in the oast several days. The success in getting these supplies unloaded and successfully disbursed around the island has allowed the Southwest Pacific Command to send its air supply units to Aru Island instead. Japanese torpedo bombers sank the supply ship destined for Aru Island within a day after the ship entered port, allowing the crew to unload only a few hundred tons of basic supplies. The rest of the supplies for Aru Island are now sitting at the bottom of the harbor.
Allies Score Continued Success at Port Moresby Siege
(TN – Port Moresby) Allied military intelligence reports that the Japanese units surrounding Port Moresby have almost no heavy weapons left to aid them in their mission. Last night’s bombardment mission against Port Moresby used only three artillery pieces secured deep in the valley northeast of Port Moresby. By morning, General Kenney, the commander of forces at Port Moresby, commanded the 7th Australian Infantry Division to attack that region. The attack is believed to have eliminated over 400 Japanese soldiers, and destroyed two of the three guns. The Japanese forces may not have any artillery pieces left to threaten the city, until replacements can be brought over the Owen Stanley Ridge.
Still, allied medical facilities at Port Moresby recorded approximately 300 allied casualties in the controntation yesterday, continuing a string a very bloody days in the battle to lift the siege of the island. General Kenney has refused to let the pressure up on the Japanese, since earlier decisions to rest the troops seem to have been tremendously benefited the Japanese.
Within a few days, the allied units may get help, as transport ships prepare to bring the last remnants of the 6th and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions to Port Moresby. An estimated 5,000 additional troops belonging to these two divisions are expected to land at Port Moresby within the next seven days. This is in addition to the 4,000 soldiers belonging to the Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force that is also due to arrive at Port Moresby during the same time period. The Number 108 RAAF Base Force will serve to improve the ability of the Allied air units at Port Moresby to protect the region from Japanese attacks.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ALLIES EXPAND AIR WAR
(TN – Noumea) Across the Pacific Theater, the Army Air Corps has added new targets as new air units are activated on the front line.
On the Far Eastern Front, B-17 Flying Fortress from the 19th Bomber Group and 93rd Bomber Squadron, as well as LB-30 Liberator bombers of the 7th Bomber Group, flew their first missions against the Burma town of Taung Gui yesterday. They focused on manufacturing, mining, and transportation centers used to collect and distribute vital war materials to Japan. Most of those war materials come from the plantations around Tyung Gui, which are difficult targets. However, the equipment, storage, processing, and collection facilities are all on the list of future targets. Allied military command hopes to have the town’s infrastructure completely destroyed by the middle of August.
Since taking over the country, Japan has been systematically looting and pillaging the country of Burma, stripping it of all of the war materials it can carry and shipping those materials to Japan. Allied forces have been focusing their bombing missions on destroying the Japanese ability to accomplish this task. Transportation centers and other strategically important sights in western and central Burma have already been reduced to rubble, completely eliminating the Japanese ability to exploit these resources.
Air units in the Southwest Pacific Front have started to take steps to prevent the Japanese plunder of this region as well. The recently activated 43rd Bomber Group has started flying missions to Babo, on the western end of Papua. These missions are training missions for what will be far more dangerous missions to the Japanese-controlled oil fields at Sorong, Bulla, and Ambonia. Yesterday’s mission proved the need for these types of training flights. The bombing group sent fifteen B-17 bombers against the airfield at Babo. The post-bombing assessment showed that the bombs landed wide of their target, wiping out a strip of palm trees far to the north of the runway.
At Cairns, Australia, the 5th Bomber Group has started flying missions against Dobodura and Buna, on the northern coast of New Guinea. The missions are designed to prepare Dobodura for an impending invasion by units of the South Pacific Command, including the 2nd USMC Division. The missions against Buna are intended to indict the flow of supplies to the Japanese units besieging Port Moresby.
The 11th Bomber Group, which had originally been protecting the sea lanes across the South Pacific by patrolling for submarines and Japanese surface ships, were recently ordered to Espritu Santo to begin missions against Japanese facilities on Guadalcanal. The group’s mission is to help to ensure that the Japanese are unable to turn the islands in the southern Solomons into a base that they can use against the allies on the Santa Cruz islands. Sources at South Pacific Command state that the bombers at Espritu Santo will also help to deter any Japanese attempts to capture the Santa Cruz Islands.
The 39th Bomber Group has been stationed on Baker Island and Nanomea Atoll in the South Pacific, where they have been flying regular missions against the Japanese bases at Tarawa and Makin Islands. Because of the small size of these islands, the allies have not been able to get more than a half-dozen bombers in the air on any particular mission. For several weeks, those missions have not produced more than superficial damage to the defenses on the island. However, recent bomb damage assessments show that the pilots are improving in their ability to hit targets on the island. Yesterday’s mission against Tarawa destroyed a pier being constructed on the central part of the island and structures just off of the docks. Photographs show a bomb hit among a collection of vehicles that were likely being used to help haul cargo off of visiting transport ships.
In addition to these heavy bomber formations, a number of light and medium bomber groups continue to suppress the Japanese forward bases. Medium bombers continue to strike targets including Akyab, Mandalay, and Myitkyina in Burma, to Hanoi and Haiphong on the northern end of French Indochina, to Lautem on the island of Timor. They are also performing bombing missions against Japanese ground forces besieging Port Moresby, and interdicting Japanese forces attempting to cross the pass from Burma to Port Moresby.
Kai Island Supply Stockpile Continues to Grow
(TN – Darwin) The transport ship Coast Farmer continues to sit at the docks at Kai Island and unload its supplies, alleviating the severe shortage that had been threatening the occupants of the island group in recent weeks. Dutch soldiers stationed on the island have managed to unload nearly 2,000 tons of supplies in the oast several days. The success in getting these supplies unloaded and successfully disbursed around the island has allowed the Southwest Pacific Command to send its air supply units to Aru Island instead. Japanese torpedo bombers sank the supply ship destined for Aru Island within a day after the ship entered port, allowing the crew to unload only a few hundred tons of basic supplies. The rest of the supplies for Aru Island are now sitting at the bottom of the harbor.
Allies Score Continued Success at Port Moresby Siege
(TN – Port Moresby) Allied military intelligence reports that the Japanese units surrounding Port Moresby have almost no heavy weapons left to aid them in their mission. Last night’s bombardment mission against Port Moresby used only three artillery pieces secured deep in the valley northeast of Port Moresby. By morning, General Kenney, the commander of forces at Port Moresby, commanded the 7th Australian Infantry Division to attack that region. The attack is believed to have eliminated over 400 Japanese soldiers, and destroyed two of the three guns. The Japanese forces may not have any artillery pieces left to threaten the city, until replacements can be brought over the Owen Stanley Ridge.
Still, allied medical facilities at Port Moresby recorded approximately 300 allied casualties in the controntation yesterday, continuing a string a very bloody days in the battle to lift the siege of the island. General Kenney has refused to let the pressure up on the Japanese, since earlier decisions to rest the troops seem to have been tremendously benefited the Japanese.
Within a few days, the allied units may get help, as transport ships prepare to bring the last remnants of the 6th and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions to Port Moresby. An estimated 5,000 additional troops belonging to these two divisions are expected to land at Port Moresby within the next seven days. This is in addition to the 4,000 soldiers belonging to the Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force that is also due to arrive at Port Moresby during the same time period. The Number 108 RAAF Base Force will serve to improve the ability of the Allied air units at Port Moresby to protect the region from Japanese attacks.
CORAL SEA AMBUSH
June 29, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
CORAL SEA AMBUSH
(TN – Townsend) Japanese carrier forces ambushed another allied task force in the Coral Sea yesterday, sinking one ship and damaging five others.
TF1171 was a scouting task force that left Cairns, Australia for Port Moresby three days ago. The task force had several objectives, one of which was to make sure that it was safe to travel to Port Moresby with more sensitive cargo. The Japanese carrier force was last seen in the Coral Sea three days ago, but had since damaged. Intense searching by air units, submarines, and coast watchers failed to detect the carrier force.
The Allied scout force completed its mission when the Japanese carrier group once again popped up about 250 miles southeast of Port Moresby. TF1171 originally reported being spotted by Jake float planes, suggesting that a Japanese task force with capital ships were nearby. Later in the day, Val and Kat bombers attacked, confirming the presence of a Japanese carrier force. The Japanese succeeded in sinking one destroyer, Banckert, while damaging two other destroyers, two destroyer mine sweepers, and a seaplane tender.
Allied reconnaissance airplanes then spotted the Japanese taskforce nearly 250 miles southeast of Port Moresby.
Another of the missions assigned to TF1171 was to deliver two seaplane tenders to Port Moresby. General Thompson was hoping to move two seaplane squadrons from Thursday Island to Port Moresby to aid in the search for the Japanese carrier force and other threats floating around the tip of Port Moresby.
Before encountering the Japanese carrier group, TF1171 had some success with another of its missions, which was to sweep the sea lanes from Australia to Port Moresby of submarines. During the night before the attack, the task force made contact with a Japanese sub. Banckert was one of three ships that rolled over the top of a solid contact and attacked it with depth charges. A debris field and oil slick discovered after the attack allowed Allied military intelligence to add another Japanese submarine to its sunk ship list.
As a result of finding the Japanese carrier force, General Townsend recalled two task forces in the Coral Sea that had only recently left Cairns. One of the missions was a surface attack force to go to Thursday Island, then use that base to launch bombardment missions against the Japanese units surrounding Port Moresby. Another task force that had just left was taking Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force to Port Moresby. Both will be returning to Cairns.
Another task force underway in the Coral Sea was given orders to try to complete its mission, since it had gone past the point of no return. TF1030 was delivering the last elements of the 7th Australian Infantry Division to Port Moresby. Yesterday, as it approached Port Moresby, it was attacked by a dozen Kate bombers from the carriers. The bombers scored no damage against the task force. Military strategists believe that the Kates were a part of the larger attack force aiming for TF1171, but got lost and took advantage of a target of opportunity.
TF1030 should be able to reach Port Moresby shortly after dark, and may get the bulk of the infantry units unloaded by daybreak, when the carrier force is expected to attack.
Thompson to Receive Help for Dealing with Japanese Carriers
Since the Japanese carriers seem to be focusing their efforts on the region from the Coral Sea to the Santa Cruz Islands, allied military command has decided to reinforce the allied carrier presence in these same waters. Three British carriers sailed out of Columbo, Ceylon yesterday headed for Australia. At the same time, allied high command has ordered that the carrier Hornet transfer to the South Pacific after completing its most recent mission in the Gilbert Island.
Admiral Kimmel will be compensated for the loss of Hornet when it obtains its sister ship Wasp, due to be ready for service in the Pacific Fleet in about 2 weeks.
Kimmel Gives Go Ahead for Attacks on Pacific Islands
(TN – Hawaii) Confirmation that the Japanese carrier fleet is still in the Coral Sea has given Admiral Kimmel, commander of allied forces in the Central Pacific, confidence to order missions in the Gilbert Islands to the south, and Kurile Islands to the north, to proceed as planned.
In the north, the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown were refueling at Kiska Island near the tip of the Aleutian Island chain, in preparation for an air assault against the northern Japanese island of Paramushiro Jima. Earlier in the month, an allied patrol gunboat was able to sail out and around the island without seeing any signs of Japanese patrol planes or ships, suggesting that it would be safe for a carrier force to sail the same waters.
The carriers have been ordered to park 100 miles northeast of the island and to subject it to at least two days’ worth of aerial attacks. The purpose of the mission is to let Japan know that there is no direction from which they should expect to feel safe. Admiral Kimmel hopes that Japan will respond to the attack by drawing resources north, leaving them unavailable to participate in missions along the main lines of attack further south.
In the south, several task forces preparing for missions in the Gilbert Islands are assembling at Baker Island. These include a transport task force holding reinforcements for the newly reclaimed island of Apamama in the Gilberts, a bombardment task force consisting of 7 battleships with orders to destroy facilities on the Japanese held island of Tarawa, and a carrier task force centered around Hornet to provide air support during the mission.
Both missions will start out at the same time for the purpose of hitting both locations on the same day, in order to have the strongest psychological effect on the Japanese.
In the mean time, a destroyer squadron recently delivered 500 tons of additional supplies to Apamama during the night, in preparation for the arrival of reinforcements.
Siege of Port Moresby Shows Signs of Japanese Weakness
(TN – Port Moresby) Constant pressure placed on the Japanese forces surrounding Port Moresby is starting to show signs of success. Yesterday, the 2nd Australian Infantry Division pressed an attack against Japanese forces north. The attack succeeded in pushing the Japanese back as far as five miles in some regions. The Japanese were still able to inflict over 90 casualties as they retreated. However, this was the first time that allied military commanders felt that they had a comfortable advantage over their Japanese counterparts.
However, General Thompson has recently sent out an order reassigning several air units in the region to the task of dealing with the Japanese carriers, meaning that they will not be available to use against the Japanese ground forces. Blenheim bombers operating out of Port Moresby have been flying interdiction missions into the mountains east of the city, where Japanese reinforcements are crossing over from Buna on the north coast. Thompson has ordered that they prepare to strike the Japanese carriers of they remain nearby.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
CORAL SEA AMBUSH
(TN – Townsend) Japanese carrier forces ambushed another allied task force in the Coral Sea yesterday, sinking one ship and damaging five others.
TF1171 was a scouting task force that left Cairns, Australia for Port Moresby three days ago. The task force had several objectives, one of which was to make sure that it was safe to travel to Port Moresby with more sensitive cargo. The Japanese carrier force was last seen in the Coral Sea three days ago, but had since damaged. Intense searching by air units, submarines, and coast watchers failed to detect the carrier force.
The Allied scout force completed its mission when the Japanese carrier group once again popped up about 250 miles southeast of Port Moresby. TF1171 originally reported being spotted by Jake float planes, suggesting that a Japanese task force with capital ships were nearby. Later in the day, Val and Kat bombers attacked, confirming the presence of a Japanese carrier force. The Japanese succeeded in sinking one destroyer, Banckert, while damaging two other destroyers, two destroyer mine sweepers, and a seaplane tender.
Allied reconnaissance airplanes then spotted the Japanese taskforce nearly 250 miles southeast of Port Moresby.
Another of the missions assigned to TF1171 was to deliver two seaplane tenders to Port Moresby. General Thompson was hoping to move two seaplane squadrons from Thursday Island to Port Moresby to aid in the search for the Japanese carrier force and other threats floating around the tip of Port Moresby.
Before encountering the Japanese carrier group, TF1171 had some success with another of its missions, which was to sweep the sea lanes from Australia to Port Moresby of submarines. During the night before the attack, the task force made contact with a Japanese sub. Banckert was one of three ships that rolled over the top of a solid contact and attacked it with depth charges. A debris field and oil slick discovered after the attack allowed Allied military intelligence to add another Japanese submarine to its sunk ship list.
As a result of finding the Japanese carrier force, General Townsend recalled two task forces in the Coral Sea that had only recently left Cairns. One of the missions was a surface attack force to go to Thursday Island, then use that base to launch bombardment missions against the Japanese units surrounding Port Moresby. Another task force that had just left was taking Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force to Port Moresby. Both will be returning to Cairns.
Another task force underway in the Coral Sea was given orders to try to complete its mission, since it had gone past the point of no return. TF1030 was delivering the last elements of the 7th Australian Infantry Division to Port Moresby. Yesterday, as it approached Port Moresby, it was attacked by a dozen Kate bombers from the carriers. The bombers scored no damage against the task force. Military strategists believe that the Kates were a part of the larger attack force aiming for TF1171, but got lost and took advantage of a target of opportunity.
TF1030 should be able to reach Port Moresby shortly after dark, and may get the bulk of the infantry units unloaded by daybreak, when the carrier force is expected to attack.
Thompson to Receive Help for Dealing with Japanese Carriers
Since the Japanese carriers seem to be focusing their efforts on the region from the Coral Sea to the Santa Cruz Islands, allied military command has decided to reinforce the allied carrier presence in these same waters. Three British carriers sailed out of Columbo, Ceylon yesterday headed for Australia. At the same time, allied high command has ordered that the carrier Hornet transfer to the South Pacific after completing its most recent mission in the Gilbert Island.
Admiral Kimmel will be compensated for the loss of Hornet when it obtains its sister ship Wasp, due to be ready for service in the Pacific Fleet in about 2 weeks.
Kimmel Gives Go Ahead for Attacks on Pacific Islands
(TN – Hawaii) Confirmation that the Japanese carrier fleet is still in the Coral Sea has given Admiral Kimmel, commander of allied forces in the Central Pacific, confidence to order missions in the Gilbert Islands to the south, and Kurile Islands to the north, to proceed as planned.
In the north, the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown were refueling at Kiska Island near the tip of the Aleutian Island chain, in preparation for an air assault against the northern Japanese island of Paramushiro Jima. Earlier in the month, an allied patrol gunboat was able to sail out and around the island without seeing any signs of Japanese patrol planes or ships, suggesting that it would be safe for a carrier force to sail the same waters.
The carriers have been ordered to park 100 miles northeast of the island and to subject it to at least two days’ worth of aerial attacks. The purpose of the mission is to let Japan know that there is no direction from which they should expect to feel safe. Admiral Kimmel hopes that Japan will respond to the attack by drawing resources north, leaving them unavailable to participate in missions along the main lines of attack further south.
In the south, several task forces preparing for missions in the Gilbert Islands are assembling at Baker Island. These include a transport task force holding reinforcements for the newly reclaimed island of Apamama in the Gilberts, a bombardment task force consisting of 7 battleships with orders to destroy facilities on the Japanese held island of Tarawa, and a carrier task force centered around Hornet to provide air support during the mission.
Both missions will start out at the same time for the purpose of hitting both locations on the same day, in order to have the strongest psychological effect on the Japanese.
In the mean time, a destroyer squadron recently delivered 500 tons of additional supplies to Apamama during the night, in preparation for the arrival of reinforcements.
Siege of Port Moresby Shows Signs of Japanese Weakness
(TN – Port Moresby) Constant pressure placed on the Japanese forces surrounding Port Moresby is starting to show signs of success. Yesterday, the 2nd Australian Infantry Division pressed an attack against Japanese forces north. The attack succeeded in pushing the Japanese back as far as five miles in some regions. The Japanese were still able to inflict over 90 casualties as they retreated. However, this was the first time that allied military commanders felt that they had a comfortable advantage over their Japanese counterparts.
However, General Thompson has recently sent out an order reassigning several air units in the region to the task of dealing with the Japanese carriers, meaning that they will not be available to use against the Japanese ground forces. Blenheim bombers operating out of Port Moresby have been flying interdiction missions into the mountains east of the city, where Japanese reinforcements are crossing over from Buna on the north coast. Thompson has ordered that they prepare to strike the Japanese carriers of they remain nearby.
THURSDAY IS. RAIDED
June 30, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
THURSDAY IS. RAIDED
(TN – Townsend) Japanese carriers moved deep enough into the Coral Sea yesterday to raid Thursday Island, destroying over two dozen allied fighters in the air and sinking four ships.
The attack came late in the morning as 150 Japanese airplanes attacked the base. Fifty pilots from the 8th Fighter Group took off to intercept the attackers. While the P-39 pilots tried to target the Japanese bombers, the enemy fighters had no difficulty blocking their way. An aerial dogfight began involving 50 fighters on each side. In the end, the Japanese shot down half of the allied pilots. However, the Americans managed to shoot down eleven Japanese Zeros. Some of the Aircobra pilots pushed through to intercept a squadron of Val bombers, bringing down five, for a total of seventeen enemy planes destroyed.
The Japanese then targeted the ships in the harbor. At Thursday Island, the Japanese managed to sink the destroyers Van Ghent, Lawrence and Hatfield as well as the destroyer mine sweeper Zane.
Ships not damaged in the attack include the fast attack transports Formalhaut and Athena. These ships are cargo ships that have been modified to move fast enough to participate in assault operations. They were originally intending to deliver cargo to Port Moresby, but the original arrival of the carrier force caused General Thompson to divert them to Thursday Island. Both attack transports came under attack during the raid, but neither of them suffered any damage.
Leaders at Southwest Pacific Command were in emergency meetings yesterday discussing what to do with the ships still at Thursday Island. In addition to the two attack transport, there are also two destroyers, a patrol gunboat, five mine sweepers, and a regular cargo ship in port, vulnerable to any new attacks. Southwest Pacific Command will likely order them to disburse during the night and make their way back to a safe Australian port as best they can.
Sources at Southwest Pacific Command have been quick to point out that there was one positive note to be sounded as a result of the raid. TF1030, carrying approximately one third of the 7th Australian Infantry Division, managed to reach Port Moresby and will be able to unload all of its soldiers. The full 7th Division will be able to participate in future operations against the Japanese who are besieging Port Moresby.
Questions Surround Absence of Allied Air Force
Yesterday, General Thompson gave several air units orders to try to attack the Japanese carrier force if they were spotted within range. The Japanese ships sailed almost directly between Cooktown, Australia, Thursday Island, and Port Moresby, where the squadrons ordered to attack are located. However, Thayne News has learned that no airplanes took off against the Japanese carrier force. At all three bases, the airplanes stayed on the ground rather than challenge the Japanese fleet.
General Thompson is reported to be furious over this, and has begun a formal investigation into the matter. Senior staff members have said that the investigation could easily lead to disciplinary actions against the leaders involved. At minimum, according to these sources, several allied air units serving in the region can be expected to have new leaders.
As a result of their refusal to fly, the Japanese carrier force remains intact.
Allied Command Considers Loss of Destroyers
Alllied strategic commanders are expressing concern over the alarming rate at which destroyers are being lost in the Pacific. Sources note that there are provisions for replacing cruisers and aircraft carriers that are lost, but that no provisions exist for replacing destroyers. General Thompson has said that he would gladly exchange a dozen cruisers for two dozen destroyers to replace those ships already lost.
Body Count Climbs at Port Moresby
The allies also suffered a defeat in yesterday’s battle on the outskirts of Port Moresby. Japanese forces apparently anticipated the direction of the allied attack and were able to catch two companies in a crossfire, inflicting nearly 200 casualties. However, the Japanese losses were heavy as well, with casualties estimated to be around 150.
Ground forces had to fight yesterday’s battle without benefit of air support, as allied bombers were diverted to address a threat posed by Japanese aircraft carriers. This allowed the Japanese to have a greater freedom of movement, enabling them to trap the Allied units.
Transport for NO 108 RAAF Base Force Torpedoed
After being ordered to withdraw back to Cairns, the troop transport George F. Elliot took a torpedo hit just a few miles away from the harbor yesterday. The torpedo hit nearly capsized the ship, which was carrying members of the Number 108 RAAF Base Force. The ship was a part of a convoy that left for Port Moresby two days ago, but which was recalled when it was discovered that Japanese carriers still roamed free in the Coral Sea.
General Kenney, commander of allied forces at Port Moresby, ordered the Number 108 RAAF to Port Moresby shortly after assuming command. Kenney discovered that the air base unit stationed at Port Moresby since the start of the siege had been trying to keep its air force flying in spite of severe shortages in manpower. He ordered No. 198 RAAF to Port Moresby to correct this shortage. However, since giving the order, allied attempts to deliver the unit to Port Moresby have all failed. With damage to George F. Elliot, General Townsend, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has had to order the unit to disembark. A new attempt to deliver the base force will take place as soon as adequate troop transports can be made available.
Ships escorting George F. Elliot were able to report that they had several hits against a strong contact immediately after the attack, though they were unable to report strong evidence that the submarine had been sunk.
Jap Sub Strikes Tanker
Japanese submarines operating off of Port Moresby also hit the tanker K.R. Kingsbury with two torpedoes yesterday off of the port of Townsend. The submarine that inflicted the damage apparently got away; destroyers escorting the tanker convoy were never able to establish contact with the submarine.
The tanker immediately turned around and headed for Townsend. It is reported to be taking on water quickly, and it is doubtful that it will make it to shore before sinking. Air/Sea Rescue is standing by to pick up the crew if they should be forced to abandon ship.
A troop transport ship, Empire Lamar apparently became lost during the fight with the submarine and was reported alone at sea in the same waters where K.R. Kingsbury was hit. Aerial reconnaissance was able to locate the ship shortly after dawn. It was continuing on its way to Brisbane, but had lost its escort. At least one Japanese submarine is known to be in these waters.
Sources at Southwest Pacific Command report that General Thompson has decided not to spend the effort to dispatch an escort for Empire Lamar. “We have other things going on to worry about. We hope for the crew, but right now we have no ships available to help them out. They will have to do the best they can.”
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
THURSDAY IS. RAIDED
(TN – Townsend) Japanese carriers moved deep enough into the Coral Sea yesterday to raid Thursday Island, destroying over two dozen allied fighters in the air and sinking four ships.
The attack came late in the morning as 150 Japanese airplanes attacked the base. Fifty pilots from the 8th Fighter Group took off to intercept the attackers. While the P-39 pilots tried to target the Japanese bombers, the enemy fighters had no difficulty blocking their way. An aerial dogfight began involving 50 fighters on each side. In the end, the Japanese shot down half of the allied pilots. However, the Americans managed to shoot down eleven Japanese Zeros. Some of the Aircobra pilots pushed through to intercept a squadron of Val bombers, bringing down five, for a total of seventeen enemy planes destroyed.
The Japanese then targeted the ships in the harbor. At Thursday Island, the Japanese managed to sink the destroyers Van Ghent, Lawrence and Hatfield as well as the destroyer mine sweeper Zane.
Ships not damaged in the attack include the fast attack transports Formalhaut and Athena. These ships are cargo ships that have been modified to move fast enough to participate in assault operations. They were originally intending to deliver cargo to Port Moresby, but the original arrival of the carrier force caused General Thompson to divert them to Thursday Island. Both attack transports came under attack during the raid, but neither of them suffered any damage.
Leaders at Southwest Pacific Command were in emergency meetings yesterday discussing what to do with the ships still at Thursday Island. In addition to the two attack transport, there are also two destroyers, a patrol gunboat, five mine sweepers, and a regular cargo ship in port, vulnerable to any new attacks. Southwest Pacific Command will likely order them to disburse during the night and make their way back to a safe Australian port as best they can.
Sources at Southwest Pacific Command have been quick to point out that there was one positive note to be sounded as a result of the raid. TF1030, carrying approximately one third of the 7th Australian Infantry Division, managed to reach Port Moresby and will be able to unload all of its soldiers. The full 7th Division will be able to participate in future operations against the Japanese who are besieging Port Moresby.
Questions Surround Absence of Allied Air Force
Yesterday, General Thompson gave several air units orders to try to attack the Japanese carrier force if they were spotted within range. The Japanese ships sailed almost directly between Cooktown, Australia, Thursday Island, and Port Moresby, where the squadrons ordered to attack are located. However, Thayne News has learned that no airplanes took off against the Japanese carrier force. At all three bases, the airplanes stayed on the ground rather than challenge the Japanese fleet.
General Thompson is reported to be furious over this, and has begun a formal investigation into the matter. Senior staff members have said that the investigation could easily lead to disciplinary actions against the leaders involved. At minimum, according to these sources, several allied air units serving in the region can be expected to have new leaders.
As a result of their refusal to fly, the Japanese carrier force remains intact.
Allied Command Considers Loss of Destroyers
Alllied strategic commanders are expressing concern over the alarming rate at which destroyers are being lost in the Pacific. Sources note that there are provisions for replacing cruisers and aircraft carriers that are lost, but that no provisions exist for replacing destroyers. General Thompson has said that he would gladly exchange a dozen cruisers for two dozen destroyers to replace those ships already lost.
Body Count Climbs at Port Moresby
The allies also suffered a defeat in yesterday’s battle on the outskirts of Port Moresby. Japanese forces apparently anticipated the direction of the allied attack and were able to catch two companies in a crossfire, inflicting nearly 200 casualties. However, the Japanese losses were heavy as well, with casualties estimated to be around 150.
Ground forces had to fight yesterday’s battle without benefit of air support, as allied bombers were diverted to address a threat posed by Japanese aircraft carriers. This allowed the Japanese to have a greater freedom of movement, enabling them to trap the Allied units.
Transport for NO 108 RAAF Base Force Torpedoed
After being ordered to withdraw back to Cairns, the troop transport George F. Elliot took a torpedo hit just a few miles away from the harbor yesterday. The torpedo hit nearly capsized the ship, which was carrying members of the Number 108 RAAF Base Force. The ship was a part of a convoy that left for Port Moresby two days ago, but which was recalled when it was discovered that Japanese carriers still roamed free in the Coral Sea.
General Kenney, commander of allied forces at Port Moresby, ordered the Number 108 RAAF to Port Moresby shortly after assuming command. Kenney discovered that the air base unit stationed at Port Moresby since the start of the siege had been trying to keep its air force flying in spite of severe shortages in manpower. He ordered No. 198 RAAF to Port Moresby to correct this shortage. However, since giving the order, allied attempts to deliver the unit to Port Moresby have all failed. With damage to George F. Elliot, General Townsend, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has had to order the unit to disembark. A new attempt to deliver the base force will take place as soon as adequate troop transports can be made available.
Ships escorting George F. Elliot were able to report that they had several hits against a strong contact immediately after the attack, though they were unable to report strong evidence that the submarine had been sunk.
Jap Sub Strikes Tanker
Japanese submarines operating off of Port Moresby also hit the tanker K.R. Kingsbury with two torpedoes yesterday off of the port of Townsend. The submarine that inflicted the damage apparently got away; destroyers escorting the tanker convoy were never able to establish contact with the submarine.
The tanker immediately turned around and headed for Townsend. It is reported to be taking on water quickly, and it is doubtful that it will make it to shore before sinking. Air/Sea Rescue is standing by to pick up the crew if they should be forced to abandon ship.
A troop transport ship, Empire Lamar apparently became lost during the fight with the submarine and was reported alone at sea in the same waters where K.R. Kingsbury was hit. Aerial reconnaissance was able to locate the ship shortly after dawn. It was continuing on its way to Brisbane, but had lost its escort. At least one Japanese submarine is known to be in these waters.
Sources at Southwest Pacific Command report that General Thompson has decided not to spend the effort to dispatch an escort for Empire Lamar. “We have other things going on to worry about. We hope for the crew, but right now we have no ships available to help them out. They will have to do the best they can.”
RE: Personal Note
May I also offer my condolences to you and your family on the loss of your father.
JUNE WRAPUP SPECIAL EDITION
July 1, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This is a special edition of the Thayne News Report. Thayne News reporters stayed up late last night working with war officials around the world to bring you a special summary of the war to date. Thayne News is aware of the fact that you, our readers, lead busy lives and do not have the time to pay attention to all of the everyday events in this war. So, once each month, we bring you a special summary of the most important events.
Before we get into the July Summary, Thayne News has a breaking story out of Port Moresby, New Guinea.
ALLIES BREAK SIEGE AT PORT MORESBY
(TN – Port Moresby) Allied forces under the leadership of General Kenney defeated that Japanese forces at Port Moresby yesterday, driving the remaining Japanese units back into the mountains. The victory ends a 2-month-long siege of the city and brings to a close the longest and deadliest engagement of the Pacific War to date.
General Kenney used his newly reinforced 7th Australian Infantry Division in a major drive up the valley at the center of the Japanese line. Military intelligence suggests that the Japanese may have run out of ammunition. “We simply did not see the type of strong resistance that we have seen in the past,” said one senior military official. “We kept pressing, and soon the Japanese were abandoning their forward lines and heading back up the trail.
Allied advances on what is called the Kocodo Trail, which connects Port Moresby with the Japanese held city of Buna on the northern coast of the island, threatened to isolate other Japanese units on the flanks. Without the use of the trail, it is virtually impossible to get supplies to units fighting in the jungle. Rather than face being cut off, the flanks also started to pull back. By evening, allied forces had pushed the Japanese back an additional 12 miles away from the city.
Japanese units are known to be retreating back onto their reinforcements, two Special Naval Landing Force units that have been traveling across the pass towards Port Moresby.
Allies Battle Japanese Carrier Force
In addition to the victory at Port Moresby, allied air units battled the Japanese air force over Thursday Island and Port Moresby for the second day. The Japanese carrier force closed to within 100 miles of Thursday Island before launching their attack this morning.
Allied radar noted two distinct flights approaching Thursday Island. Pilots from the 8th Fighter Group quickly discovered that one of the two groups was a flight of Kate bombers that had somehow become separated from the main attack force, and were flying without escort. They quickly closed on the Kates, quickly splashing many of the bombers. The Japanese ‘Zero’ fighters then engaged the Aircobras in a deadly dogfight, in which the Zeros showed their superiority once again over the allied airplanes.
These were the first two in a series of raids against Thursday Island. By the time the battles were over, the 8th Fighter Group had only 8 airplanes that were airworthy, out of 50 that they had started with the morning before. Still, today, they were credited with the destruction of 18 Japanese carrier-based airplanes.
In addition, the Japanese carrier launched an attack against allied ships at Port Moresby, and encountered the allied CAP flying there. These airplanes destroyed seven more Japanese carrier-based airplanes, suffering a loss of only three of their own ships.
The Japanese were also able to inflict significant damage against a transport ship and five minesweepers at Thursday Island, and a destroyer mine sweeper at Port Moresby.
Japan Sub Finishes Off Wounded Tanker
Allied forces also lost a tanker off of the coast of Townsend, Australia yesterday, when a Japanese submarine returned to finish the job it had started the day before. The tanker had taken two torpedoes the day before and was limping to Port Moresby for repairs. In the middle of the night, two more torpedoes struck the ship. It then quickly vanished below the waves. Most of the crew had been standing by ready to abandon ship because of the earlier damage. They were picked up by seaplanes operating out of Townsend at dawn.
THE WAR IN JUNE
June saw the Japanese empire actually start to shrink as allied forces reclaimed Gili Gili (a.k.a., Milne Bay) on the far eastern point of New Gunea and the atoll of Apamama in the Gilbert Islands. At the end of the month, allied forces were also able to lift the siege at Port Moresby that had gone on for two months, forcing the Japanese back into the hills. Admiral Kimmel said in a speech after the Apamama victory that Japan is now in a time of decline. The decline is expected to start slow, but will pick up steam until allied forces are fighting Japanese soldiers in the streets of Tokyo and bringing the home islands to their knees.
At the same time, Allied military leaders caution that the Japanese empire remains very dangerous. They illustrated in the last half of the month with a raid into the Coral Sea that has so far cost the allies over a dozen ships. As the month comes to a close, a Japanese carrier task force continues to threaten allied shipping in the Coral Sea,
The Naval War
As of the end of June, military intelligence had placed 171 names on the Japanese sunk ship list, and 70 names on the allied list.
By the end of May, Japan had lost eight significant combat ships, compared to a loss of 21 combat ships for the allies. During June, Japan lost no combat ships. Its losses since the war began stayed at 3 light cruisers and 5 destroyers. The allied navy, on the other hand, climbed to 30 with the addition of one light cruiser and 8 destroyers lost in June. The June losses have more than doubled the allied casualties with respect to destroyers. Since the start of the war, the allies have lost 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 10 light cruisers, and 16 destroyers. Allied high command is starting to take notice of the loss of destroyers and looking at the implications that a shortage of these ships may have on future war efforts.
In contrast, the submarine war continues to favor the allies. A total of 33 Japanese submarines have had their names placed on the sunk ship list; this is up from 23 at the end of May. The allies, on the other hand, are missing only five subs since the start of the war, with no submarines reported as missing in June. Still, the Japanese submarine force remains deadly; they were still sinking allied ships off of Australia’s coast as June came to an end.
In the area of lesser support ships, military intelligence was able to add only the names of two minesweepers in June. This brought the Japanese total losses of support ships to 4 mine layers, 11 mine sweepers, 4 patrol craft, and 4 patrol gunboats. The allies also lost two mine sweepers in June, bringing their losses up to 1 mine layer, 9 mine sweepers, and 2 patrol gunboats.
The allies are still focusing their major effort on eliminating Japanese cargo ships. In June, Japan lost 4 cargo ships and 14 troop transport ships, compared to the allied losses in June of 3 freighters and 1 troop transport. Since the start of the war, Japan has lost 32 cargo ships and 65 troop transports, while the allied losses sit at 12 cargo ships and 4 troop transports. Japan has not lost any additional tankers in June, and stays at 5 tankers and 1 oiler lost since the war began. The only allied loss in this category was a tanker sunk on the last day of June. The allies have now lost 3 tankers and 1 oiler.
The Air War
June proved to be a bloody month in the air war. However, the numbers suggest that the advantage is slowly shifting from Japan to the Allies. In June, both sides lost an estimated 350 air planes to all causes. For the allies, this was an improvement over the 400 airplanes it lost in May; while, for Japan, this was worse than the 250 air unit losses suffered in the previous month. Since the war began, the Japanese and the allies have each lost a little over 2150 airplanes to all causes. This represents a war of attrition that the allies can win in the long run.
The air war promises to shift more in favor of the allies in July, as the navy begins replacing its TBD torpedo bombers with new TBF bombers. The TBF has 25% more speed, twice the climbing rate, and 150% of the range of the TBD bomber, and can carry a payload that is more than 50% greater than that of the plane it is replacing. The U.S. Navy hopes to have all of the TBDs presently stationed on American carriers replaced with the new TBF bombers by the beginning of September.
Another benefit that the allies will realize in July is the activation of several new Dutch air units. As Java fell to the Japanese, Dutch air squadrons, depleted down to the level of only one or two planes, fled the Dutch East Indies for northern Australia. Since their arrival, the allies have been recruiting Dutch citizens to train in air combat to rebuild these air units. About three months ago, a Dutch training school was opened at Darwin, Australia, where new Dutch pilots were trained. Allied military command agreed to ship new airplanes for the Dutch pilots to use as they became available. Those new airplanes started arriving in Darwin right at the start of the month.
The Ground War
Japan suffered its first large-scale defeat of the war at Port Moresby yesterday, when allied soldiers forced Japan to lift its siege of the port city. Japan has been bleeding from a number of open wounds in this war. In addition to its losses at Port Moresby, Japanese soldiers continue to suffer death and injury in the forests of Burma from a regular routine of allied air assaults. Allied submarines also managed to hit loaded Japanese troop transports in the Macassar Straight southwest of Singapore, and off of the coast of Japan itself. Military intelligence reports that Japan is now listing abnormally high casualty rates. Still, it will be some time before Japan suffers losses comparable to those that the allies suffered at Manila, Singapore, and in Java.
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY: July 1, 1942
North Pacific
As of this writing, the allies are executing their first significant raid in the North Atlantic. The carriers Enterprise and Yorktown are on their way to a station 100 miles away from the Japanese island of Paramashiro Jima, the eastern-most of the Kurile Islands. These islands are a Japanese possession, and the raid will be the first significant attack on Japanese soil since the war began. Japan is known to have over 10,000 soldiers on the island with every intention of holding it against a possible Allied advance against Japan across the north. This route represents the shortest path to the Japanese homelands, but the harsh winters make it a particularly difficult climate in which to wage war.
In the mean time, General Theobold has been focusing on developing the allied infrastructure in this region. The westernmost islands in the Aleutian Island chain, Kiska and Attol, now boast a well fortified defensive force of approximately 10,000 soldiers each, with air fields for protection and port facilities to bring in supplies. The island of Attu, 250 miles to the east, offers these forward islands protection from its airfields. Bombers stationed at Attu will be able to provide air support to the allies on these islands if they should have to defend themselves from a Japanese attack.
Dutch Harbor, approximately 150 miles east of Attu, has become the cornerstone of this front. It now serves as headquarters for the North Pacific, and is also home of the 11th Air Force.
Central Pacific
In May’s campaign summary, we reported that Kimmel was considering an operation to reclaim the island of Apamama from the Japanese. In this month’s summary, we can announce that Kimmel approved the operation and executed it with complete success; an American flag now flies over the island of Apamama.
Members of the 40th USA Infantry Division rode up to Apamama on several destroyers, loaded up into rafts, and managed to land at night on an unoccupied section of the beach. They then launched a nighttime raid on Japanese positions, overrunning them in the course of just a few hours. Japan had left only a token defensive force on the island after conquering it in the opening weeks of the war.
Immediately after taking control of the island, allied forces started to construct an airfield. It is hoped that this airfield will provide support for future operatins against Tarawa and Makin Islands to the north. Sources at South Pacific Command report that they expect to have the runway operational by the middle of the month. This is considerably sooner than allied planners originally expected, since the crew that will be servicing the Apamama air force has not even been loaded up for transport yet. This unit, the 114th USAAF Air Force Base Force is presently stationed on Christmas Island.
At the end of the month, Admiral Kimmel had just launched a new mission to reinforce Apamama, and to destroy the Japanese facilities on Tarawa. Eight battleships are approaching Tarawa as we speak and will start bombarding the island within the next twenty four hours. The battleships are sailing under the protection of the aircraft carrier Hornet. The carrier is also protecting the reinforcements bound for Apamama; additional elements of the 40th USA Infantry Division.
South Pacific
Admiral Nimitz partnered with General Thompson, commander of the Southwest Pacific Force, to reclaim Milne Bay from the Japanese, as well as to occupy Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands in the Cook Island Chain. The victory at Milne Bay represents the second time that the allies had successfully reclaimed territory that had been annexed into the Japanese empire earlier in the war. The operation came to an abrupt end when the Japanese carriers suddenly appeared. The enemy carrier force was able to sink 4 destroyers a troop transport ship and a cargo ship that were unable to retreat fast enough.
The operation was successful at dropping elements of the 1st USMC Division at Milne Bay, the 2nd USMC Parachute Brigade at Goodenough island, and the 1st USMC Parachute Brigade and 1st USMC Raiders Brigade at Kiriwina Island.
Admiral Nimitz is now working on an operation to supplement these forces with base forces and engineers. His plan is to turn these bases into a platform for launching raids up the northern coast of New Guinea, focusing first on the ports of Dobodura and Buna. He has ordered a number of units forward to these locations. However, the Japanese carriers operating in these waters continue to be a threat.
Nimitz has been promised the use of the carrier Hornet as soon as it finishes its most recent mission in the Gilbert Islands, as well as the three British carriers Illustrious, Formidable, and Hermes, which are on their way from Ceylon to help deal with the Japanese carrier threat.
The most serious problem facing Admiral Nimitz on this front is the lack of supplies available for the elements of the 1st USMC Division at Milne Bay. When signs of a Japanese carrier force appeared, the task force was ordered to retreat, carrying almost all of the units stockpiles of ammunition and food with it. Allied forces have been trying to supply the Marines by air, but have not been able to airlift in enough supplies for so many soldiers. The troops at Milne Bay are working to create an emergency airstrip, which should make it easier to fly in cargo. In addition, Nimitz is planning a mission to send a cargo ship to Milne Bay. That ship is loading up presently at Townsend, Australia, and should be leaving as soon as the Japanese carriers are no longer a threat.
In case of failure, Nimitz has ordered a second ship to be loaded with exactly the same supplies for a second attempt to supply Milne Bay.
Southwest Pacific
The last day of June provided the allies with its first significant land victory of the war. For two months, Japan maintained a ring around Port Moresby, threatening allied units gathering in the city with constant harassment from guns placed in the mountains. However, in June, General Kenney took over the situation at Port Moresby and ordered that constant pressure be placed on the Japanese forces. By the end of the month, his tactics paid off as Japan abandoned its siege and retreated into the mountains. This will provide the units in Port Moresby with a much needed period of recovery and rest.
The battle for Port Moresby continued to remain one of the bloodiest confrontations in the Pacific War throughout the month of June. Japanese and Allies forces are each estimated to have suffered approximately 4300 casualties. In addition, allied forces are thought to have destroyed 70 Japanese heavy weapons, while suffering the loss of 120 of their own. The reason why the Japanese lost fewer guns is because it is thought that they had far fewer to lose. According to military intelligence, the Japanese had no heavy weapons during the last few days of fighting.
The most significant statistics from this battle concerns the air war. In contrast with May, where Japan virtually destroyed every allied fighter squadron, in June it was the Japanese turn to lose airplanes over Port Moresby. According to official estimates, Japan lost 45 ‘Zero’ fighters, 55 ‘Betty’, 20 ‘Helen’ and 10 ‘Sally’ bombers, as well as 10 ‘Val’ and 3 ‘Kate’ carrier-based airplanes. This represents a total loss of just over 140 airplanes. Over this same time period, allied forces lost an estimated 65 P-40 fighters; alternatively called either ‘Warhawk’ or ‘Kittyhawk’ depending on the nationality of the pilot.
Japanese forces scored their air success over other bases, such as Thursday Island and Kai Island. Over Thursday island, the 8th Fighter Group was nearly destroyed in two days of air combat against Japanese-based squadrons. Kai Island suffered far fewer raids in June than in May. However, the Japanese fighters significantly outscored the Allied defenders in these contests.
As June comes to a close, the forces at Thursday Island are continuing to fight for their survival as the Japanese carrier force lingers only 50 miles away from the islands.
Dutch East Indies
Allied forces succeeded in delivering several thousand tons of supplies to Kai and Attu islands by ship in June. Two transports were sent to these islands, with one transport carrying 4,500 tons of supplies for Kai Island, and the other carrying 4,500 tons of supplies for Aru Island. The Aru Island supply ship was sunk shortly after reaching port, with most of the supplies still on board. As a result, the Kai Island transport unloaded half of its supplies at Kai Island, then went south to Aru Island to unload the rest of the supplies. Approximately 3,500 tons of supplies had been unloaded by the end of the month onto both bases, enough to alleviate the supply shortage that the two islands were suffering.
A separate mission also delivered supplies to Merauke on the south coast of New Guinea. With Thursday Island, Merauke will help to ensure that the passageway between New Guinea and Australia remains under allied control.
Japanese forces conquered all of Timor in June, and allied forces answered with daily raids against the east Timor port of Lauem. Approximately 40 bombers have visited the port city daily to suppress air and port facilities in the region. General Thompson is looking at Lauem as the first step in a counter-offensive to recapture Port Moresby.
Longer-range bombers stationed at Darwin are targeting enemy facilities further inland, building up experience for the time that they will start to target strategic facilities that have fallen into Japanese hands.
Southeast Asia
The number of Chinese divisions entering India climbed from 6 to 8 in June, when 2 Chinese divisions managed to get past the Japanese division holding Myitkyina, in northern Burma. There is now only one more unit remaining attempting to escape into India. General Pownall is collecting the Chinese units at Ansanol, north of Calcutta, where they are training to return to Burma. At that time, their mission will be to capture and hold Myitkyina. At present, there are 25,000 troops at Myitkyina. General Pownall expects to bring the number up to 40,000 before the attack begins, including support units from other countries.
At the same time, General Pownall has gathered 40,000 troops at Jamshedpur, India that will also participate in the attack on northern Burma. General Pownall’s plan calls for the Chinese to push into Myitkyina from Ledo, while these units seek to enter Burma from Imphal. Their task will be to cut the rail line from Mandalay to Myitkyina, cutting off the Japanese units in the north that are fighting the Chinese. This force consists mostly of the survivors of the Mandalay and Akyab Defense Forces, which escaped from Burma in March and April. Since then, Southeast Asia Command has been working on building these units back up to their former combat strength and training them for their eventual return to Burma.
In the mean time, the war in Southeast Asia has been limited to bombardment missions aiming to destroy the infrastructure of western and northern Burma. Each day, planes fly from Chadpur, Dacca, Imphal, and Ledo, against targets in Akyab, Mandalay, Myitkyina, and Taung Gyi. The purpose of the missions is to keep pressure on the Japanese units, inhibiting their ability to reinforce and build up their defenses, while the allied forces prepare for their eventual return.
Rangoon, Burma, has remained off limits because of the fighter squadrons stationed there. General Pownall has decided that there are more fruitful targets elsewhere in Burma, and he need not worry about Rangoon until the ‘low hanging fruit’ of western and northern Burma has been harvested.
China
The AVG arrived in China in June, and has started flying missions out of Nanning in southern China. The AVG has been divided up into three groups. One group of P-40E Warhawks conducts attacks against ground targets such as the airfields at Hanoi. A squadron of P-40B Tomahawks flies escort on the mission, and a second squadron of P-40B Tomahawks remains behind to protect the air base from Japanese attacks.
The 101st Base Force is on its way to Nanning from India, and is expected to complete the journey before the middle of July. Those elements that could be transported by air were airlifted from Ledo, India to Yunan, China. It has since been marching from Yunan to Nanning, and has completed approximately two-thirds of that journey. Once at Nanning, Japanese bombers will join the AVG at Nanning to increase their effectiveness against Japanese targets in the area.
However, according to sources at Southeast Asia Command, a dispute has broken out between General Pownall and Chang Kai Shek, the leader of China, over the best use for these forces. Chang Kai Shek has proposed moving the units further north, closer to the border between his own forces and those following the Communist leader of North China, Mao Tse Tung. Allied leaders see this as an attempt to intimidate the communists, rather than the Chinese, and are insisting that the air units remain in southern China. Sources at Southeast Asia Command state that General Pownall continues to hope that he can get enough units through northern Burma into China to mount an offensive to retake Hong Kong.
Other than this small buildup of air forces, events in China remain relatively calm. A small Japanese unit of approximately 3,000 men infiltrated southern China and ended up on the outskirts of Nanning in the middle of June. However, once discovered, the Chinese, with the help of the AVG, had little trouble driving the Japanese unit back toward the border.
Expectations for July
Dr. Kevin Gaschk, president and CEO of the Gaschk School of Fighting, has once again agreed to give us his assessment of the situation in the Pacific, and his predictions of the future.
Dr. Gaschk told Thayne News that he was surprised by the allied success in the air war over Port Moresby. He expected the Japanese to continue to put the pressure on the allies. He is particularly surprised at reports that suggest that P-39 Aircobras and P-40 Warhawks and Kittyhawks are starting to hold their own against the Japanese pilots. “I looked at some official estimates from Military Intelligence, and they suggest that the allies have shot down about 900 airplanes; 750 in air-to-air combat, and 150 from flak. These losses not only represent lost planes, but lost pilots. Japan has been able to keep up with the number of airplanes being shot down, I think. However, the pilots flying those planes do not seem to have the skills as the pilots that were lost. As a result, the Japanese air force is becoming less effective over time.”
Dr. Gaschk reported that he thinks Admiral Kimmel is correct, that Japanese expansion is at an end, and that the Japanese empire will only shrink from this point on. “However,” said Dr. Gaschk, “They will not shrink in July. The allies have plucked the ripest fruit; the next base that the allies take will require a lot of effort and a lot of planning. It will not happen in the next month. It may not happen before the end of the year.”
According to Dr. Gashck, “As I see it, the major Allied push in July will be what we already know as Phase II, the buildup of eastern New Guinea and the Cook Islands. I think we can expect General Townsend to start his units across the Owen Stanley Ridge, and to do to the Japanese at Buna what Japan had been trying to do to the allies at Port Moresby for the last two months. There will be a second siege, this one with the allies on the outside, and this one will end up with Buna in the hands of the allies. But, it will be a very long, slow, bloody, fight in some of the worst terrain imaginable.”
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
This is a special edition of the Thayne News Report. Thayne News reporters stayed up late last night working with war officials around the world to bring you a special summary of the war to date. Thayne News is aware of the fact that you, our readers, lead busy lives and do not have the time to pay attention to all of the everyday events in this war. So, once each month, we bring you a special summary of the most important events.
Before we get into the July Summary, Thayne News has a breaking story out of Port Moresby, New Guinea.
ALLIES BREAK SIEGE AT PORT MORESBY
(TN – Port Moresby) Allied forces under the leadership of General Kenney defeated that Japanese forces at Port Moresby yesterday, driving the remaining Japanese units back into the mountains. The victory ends a 2-month-long siege of the city and brings to a close the longest and deadliest engagement of the Pacific War to date.
General Kenney used his newly reinforced 7th Australian Infantry Division in a major drive up the valley at the center of the Japanese line. Military intelligence suggests that the Japanese may have run out of ammunition. “We simply did not see the type of strong resistance that we have seen in the past,” said one senior military official. “We kept pressing, and soon the Japanese were abandoning their forward lines and heading back up the trail.
Allied advances on what is called the Kocodo Trail, which connects Port Moresby with the Japanese held city of Buna on the northern coast of the island, threatened to isolate other Japanese units on the flanks. Without the use of the trail, it is virtually impossible to get supplies to units fighting in the jungle. Rather than face being cut off, the flanks also started to pull back. By evening, allied forces had pushed the Japanese back an additional 12 miles away from the city.
Japanese units are known to be retreating back onto their reinforcements, two Special Naval Landing Force units that have been traveling across the pass towards Port Moresby.
Allies Battle Japanese Carrier Force
In addition to the victory at Port Moresby, allied air units battled the Japanese air force over Thursday Island and Port Moresby for the second day. The Japanese carrier force closed to within 100 miles of Thursday Island before launching their attack this morning.
Allied radar noted two distinct flights approaching Thursday Island. Pilots from the 8th Fighter Group quickly discovered that one of the two groups was a flight of Kate bombers that had somehow become separated from the main attack force, and were flying without escort. They quickly closed on the Kates, quickly splashing many of the bombers. The Japanese ‘Zero’ fighters then engaged the Aircobras in a deadly dogfight, in which the Zeros showed their superiority once again over the allied airplanes.
These were the first two in a series of raids against Thursday Island. By the time the battles were over, the 8th Fighter Group had only 8 airplanes that were airworthy, out of 50 that they had started with the morning before. Still, today, they were credited with the destruction of 18 Japanese carrier-based airplanes.
In addition, the Japanese carrier launched an attack against allied ships at Port Moresby, and encountered the allied CAP flying there. These airplanes destroyed seven more Japanese carrier-based airplanes, suffering a loss of only three of their own ships.
The Japanese were also able to inflict significant damage against a transport ship and five minesweepers at Thursday Island, and a destroyer mine sweeper at Port Moresby.
Japan Sub Finishes Off Wounded Tanker
Allied forces also lost a tanker off of the coast of Townsend, Australia yesterday, when a Japanese submarine returned to finish the job it had started the day before. The tanker had taken two torpedoes the day before and was limping to Port Moresby for repairs. In the middle of the night, two more torpedoes struck the ship. It then quickly vanished below the waves. Most of the crew had been standing by ready to abandon ship because of the earlier damage. They were picked up by seaplanes operating out of Townsend at dawn.
THE WAR IN JUNE
June saw the Japanese empire actually start to shrink as allied forces reclaimed Gili Gili (a.k.a., Milne Bay) on the far eastern point of New Gunea and the atoll of Apamama in the Gilbert Islands. At the end of the month, allied forces were also able to lift the siege at Port Moresby that had gone on for two months, forcing the Japanese back into the hills. Admiral Kimmel said in a speech after the Apamama victory that Japan is now in a time of decline. The decline is expected to start slow, but will pick up steam until allied forces are fighting Japanese soldiers in the streets of Tokyo and bringing the home islands to their knees.
At the same time, Allied military leaders caution that the Japanese empire remains very dangerous. They illustrated in the last half of the month with a raid into the Coral Sea that has so far cost the allies over a dozen ships. As the month comes to a close, a Japanese carrier task force continues to threaten allied shipping in the Coral Sea,
The Naval War
As of the end of June, military intelligence had placed 171 names on the Japanese sunk ship list, and 70 names on the allied list.
By the end of May, Japan had lost eight significant combat ships, compared to a loss of 21 combat ships for the allies. During June, Japan lost no combat ships. Its losses since the war began stayed at 3 light cruisers and 5 destroyers. The allied navy, on the other hand, climbed to 30 with the addition of one light cruiser and 8 destroyers lost in June. The June losses have more than doubled the allied casualties with respect to destroyers. Since the start of the war, the allies have lost 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 10 light cruisers, and 16 destroyers. Allied high command is starting to take notice of the loss of destroyers and looking at the implications that a shortage of these ships may have on future war efforts.
In contrast, the submarine war continues to favor the allies. A total of 33 Japanese submarines have had their names placed on the sunk ship list; this is up from 23 at the end of May. The allies, on the other hand, are missing only five subs since the start of the war, with no submarines reported as missing in June. Still, the Japanese submarine force remains deadly; they were still sinking allied ships off of Australia’s coast as June came to an end.
In the area of lesser support ships, military intelligence was able to add only the names of two minesweepers in June. This brought the Japanese total losses of support ships to 4 mine layers, 11 mine sweepers, 4 patrol craft, and 4 patrol gunboats. The allies also lost two mine sweepers in June, bringing their losses up to 1 mine layer, 9 mine sweepers, and 2 patrol gunboats.
The allies are still focusing their major effort on eliminating Japanese cargo ships. In June, Japan lost 4 cargo ships and 14 troop transport ships, compared to the allied losses in June of 3 freighters and 1 troop transport. Since the start of the war, Japan has lost 32 cargo ships and 65 troop transports, while the allied losses sit at 12 cargo ships and 4 troop transports. Japan has not lost any additional tankers in June, and stays at 5 tankers and 1 oiler lost since the war began. The only allied loss in this category was a tanker sunk on the last day of June. The allies have now lost 3 tankers and 1 oiler.
The Air War
June proved to be a bloody month in the air war. However, the numbers suggest that the advantage is slowly shifting from Japan to the Allies. In June, both sides lost an estimated 350 air planes to all causes. For the allies, this was an improvement over the 400 airplanes it lost in May; while, for Japan, this was worse than the 250 air unit losses suffered in the previous month. Since the war began, the Japanese and the allies have each lost a little over 2150 airplanes to all causes. This represents a war of attrition that the allies can win in the long run.
The air war promises to shift more in favor of the allies in July, as the navy begins replacing its TBD torpedo bombers with new TBF bombers. The TBF has 25% more speed, twice the climbing rate, and 150% of the range of the TBD bomber, and can carry a payload that is more than 50% greater than that of the plane it is replacing. The U.S. Navy hopes to have all of the TBDs presently stationed on American carriers replaced with the new TBF bombers by the beginning of September.
Another benefit that the allies will realize in July is the activation of several new Dutch air units. As Java fell to the Japanese, Dutch air squadrons, depleted down to the level of only one or two planes, fled the Dutch East Indies for northern Australia. Since their arrival, the allies have been recruiting Dutch citizens to train in air combat to rebuild these air units. About three months ago, a Dutch training school was opened at Darwin, Australia, where new Dutch pilots were trained. Allied military command agreed to ship new airplanes for the Dutch pilots to use as they became available. Those new airplanes started arriving in Darwin right at the start of the month.
The Ground War
Japan suffered its first large-scale defeat of the war at Port Moresby yesterday, when allied soldiers forced Japan to lift its siege of the port city. Japan has been bleeding from a number of open wounds in this war. In addition to its losses at Port Moresby, Japanese soldiers continue to suffer death and injury in the forests of Burma from a regular routine of allied air assaults. Allied submarines also managed to hit loaded Japanese troop transports in the Macassar Straight southwest of Singapore, and off of the coast of Japan itself. Military intelligence reports that Japan is now listing abnormally high casualty rates. Still, it will be some time before Japan suffers losses comparable to those that the allies suffered at Manila, Singapore, and in Java.
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY: July 1, 1942
North Pacific
As of this writing, the allies are executing their first significant raid in the North Atlantic. The carriers Enterprise and Yorktown are on their way to a station 100 miles away from the Japanese island of Paramashiro Jima, the eastern-most of the Kurile Islands. These islands are a Japanese possession, and the raid will be the first significant attack on Japanese soil since the war began. Japan is known to have over 10,000 soldiers on the island with every intention of holding it against a possible Allied advance against Japan across the north. This route represents the shortest path to the Japanese homelands, but the harsh winters make it a particularly difficult climate in which to wage war.
In the mean time, General Theobold has been focusing on developing the allied infrastructure in this region. The westernmost islands in the Aleutian Island chain, Kiska and Attol, now boast a well fortified defensive force of approximately 10,000 soldiers each, with air fields for protection and port facilities to bring in supplies. The island of Attu, 250 miles to the east, offers these forward islands protection from its airfields. Bombers stationed at Attu will be able to provide air support to the allies on these islands if they should have to defend themselves from a Japanese attack.
Dutch Harbor, approximately 150 miles east of Attu, has become the cornerstone of this front. It now serves as headquarters for the North Pacific, and is also home of the 11th Air Force.
Central Pacific
In May’s campaign summary, we reported that Kimmel was considering an operation to reclaim the island of Apamama from the Japanese. In this month’s summary, we can announce that Kimmel approved the operation and executed it with complete success; an American flag now flies over the island of Apamama.
Members of the 40th USA Infantry Division rode up to Apamama on several destroyers, loaded up into rafts, and managed to land at night on an unoccupied section of the beach. They then launched a nighttime raid on Japanese positions, overrunning them in the course of just a few hours. Japan had left only a token defensive force on the island after conquering it in the opening weeks of the war.
Immediately after taking control of the island, allied forces started to construct an airfield. It is hoped that this airfield will provide support for future operatins against Tarawa and Makin Islands to the north. Sources at South Pacific Command report that they expect to have the runway operational by the middle of the month. This is considerably sooner than allied planners originally expected, since the crew that will be servicing the Apamama air force has not even been loaded up for transport yet. This unit, the 114th USAAF Air Force Base Force is presently stationed on Christmas Island.
At the end of the month, Admiral Kimmel had just launched a new mission to reinforce Apamama, and to destroy the Japanese facilities on Tarawa. Eight battleships are approaching Tarawa as we speak and will start bombarding the island within the next twenty four hours. The battleships are sailing under the protection of the aircraft carrier Hornet. The carrier is also protecting the reinforcements bound for Apamama; additional elements of the 40th USA Infantry Division.
South Pacific
Admiral Nimitz partnered with General Thompson, commander of the Southwest Pacific Force, to reclaim Milne Bay from the Japanese, as well as to occupy Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands in the Cook Island Chain. The victory at Milne Bay represents the second time that the allies had successfully reclaimed territory that had been annexed into the Japanese empire earlier in the war. The operation came to an abrupt end when the Japanese carriers suddenly appeared. The enemy carrier force was able to sink 4 destroyers a troop transport ship and a cargo ship that were unable to retreat fast enough.
The operation was successful at dropping elements of the 1st USMC Division at Milne Bay, the 2nd USMC Parachute Brigade at Goodenough island, and the 1st USMC Parachute Brigade and 1st USMC Raiders Brigade at Kiriwina Island.
Admiral Nimitz is now working on an operation to supplement these forces with base forces and engineers. His plan is to turn these bases into a platform for launching raids up the northern coast of New Guinea, focusing first on the ports of Dobodura and Buna. He has ordered a number of units forward to these locations. However, the Japanese carriers operating in these waters continue to be a threat.
Nimitz has been promised the use of the carrier Hornet as soon as it finishes its most recent mission in the Gilbert Islands, as well as the three British carriers Illustrious, Formidable, and Hermes, which are on their way from Ceylon to help deal with the Japanese carrier threat.
The most serious problem facing Admiral Nimitz on this front is the lack of supplies available for the elements of the 1st USMC Division at Milne Bay. When signs of a Japanese carrier force appeared, the task force was ordered to retreat, carrying almost all of the units stockpiles of ammunition and food with it. Allied forces have been trying to supply the Marines by air, but have not been able to airlift in enough supplies for so many soldiers. The troops at Milne Bay are working to create an emergency airstrip, which should make it easier to fly in cargo. In addition, Nimitz is planning a mission to send a cargo ship to Milne Bay. That ship is loading up presently at Townsend, Australia, and should be leaving as soon as the Japanese carriers are no longer a threat.
In case of failure, Nimitz has ordered a second ship to be loaded with exactly the same supplies for a second attempt to supply Milne Bay.
Southwest Pacific
The last day of June provided the allies with its first significant land victory of the war. For two months, Japan maintained a ring around Port Moresby, threatening allied units gathering in the city with constant harassment from guns placed in the mountains. However, in June, General Kenney took over the situation at Port Moresby and ordered that constant pressure be placed on the Japanese forces. By the end of the month, his tactics paid off as Japan abandoned its siege and retreated into the mountains. This will provide the units in Port Moresby with a much needed period of recovery and rest.
The battle for Port Moresby continued to remain one of the bloodiest confrontations in the Pacific War throughout the month of June. Japanese and Allies forces are each estimated to have suffered approximately 4300 casualties. In addition, allied forces are thought to have destroyed 70 Japanese heavy weapons, while suffering the loss of 120 of their own. The reason why the Japanese lost fewer guns is because it is thought that they had far fewer to lose. According to military intelligence, the Japanese had no heavy weapons during the last few days of fighting.
The most significant statistics from this battle concerns the air war. In contrast with May, where Japan virtually destroyed every allied fighter squadron, in June it was the Japanese turn to lose airplanes over Port Moresby. According to official estimates, Japan lost 45 ‘Zero’ fighters, 55 ‘Betty’, 20 ‘Helen’ and 10 ‘Sally’ bombers, as well as 10 ‘Val’ and 3 ‘Kate’ carrier-based airplanes. This represents a total loss of just over 140 airplanes. Over this same time period, allied forces lost an estimated 65 P-40 fighters; alternatively called either ‘Warhawk’ or ‘Kittyhawk’ depending on the nationality of the pilot.
Japanese forces scored their air success over other bases, such as Thursday Island and Kai Island. Over Thursday island, the 8th Fighter Group was nearly destroyed in two days of air combat against Japanese-based squadrons. Kai Island suffered far fewer raids in June than in May. However, the Japanese fighters significantly outscored the Allied defenders in these contests.
As June comes to a close, the forces at Thursday Island are continuing to fight for their survival as the Japanese carrier force lingers only 50 miles away from the islands.
Dutch East Indies
Allied forces succeeded in delivering several thousand tons of supplies to Kai and Attu islands by ship in June. Two transports were sent to these islands, with one transport carrying 4,500 tons of supplies for Kai Island, and the other carrying 4,500 tons of supplies for Aru Island. The Aru Island supply ship was sunk shortly after reaching port, with most of the supplies still on board. As a result, the Kai Island transport unloaded half of its supplies at Kai Island, then went south to Aru Island to unload the rest of the supplies. Approximately 3,500 tons of supplies had been unloaded by the end of the month onto both bases, enough to alleviate the supply shortage that the two islands were suffering.
A separate mission also delivered supplies to Merauke on the south coast of New Guinea. With Thursday Island, Merauke will help to ensure that the passageway between New Guinea and Australia remains under allied control.
Japanese forces conquered all of Timor in June, and allied forces answered with daily raids against the east Timor port of Lauem. Approximately 40 bombers have visited the port city daily to suppress air and port facilities in the region. General Thompson is looking at Lauem as the first step in a counter-offensive to recapture Port Moresby.
Longer-range bombers stationed at Darwin are targeting enemy facilities further inland, building up experience for the time that they will start to target strategic facilities that have fallen into Japanese hands.
Southeast Asia
The number of Chinese divisions entering India climbed from 6 to 8 in June, when 2 Chinese divisions managed to get past the Japanese division holding Myitkyina, in northern Burma. There is now only one more unit remaining attempting to escape into India. General Pownall is collecting the Chinese units at Ansanol, north of Calcutta, where they are training to return to Burma. At that time, their mission will be to capture and hold Myitkyina. At present, there are 25,000 troops at Myitkyina. General Pownall expects to bring the number up to 40,000 before the attack begins, including support units from other countries.
At the same time, General Pownall has gathered 40,000 troops at Jamshedpur, India that will also participate in the attack on northern Burma. General Pownall’s plan calls for the Chinese to push into Myitkyina from Ledo, while these units seek to enter Burma from Imphal. Their task will be to cut the rail line from Mandalay to Myitkyina, cutting off the Japanese units in the north that are fighting the Chinese. This force consists mostly of the survivors of the Mandalay and Akyab Defense Forces, which escaped from Burma in March and April. Since then, Southeast Asia Command has been working on building these units back up to their former combat strength and training them for their eventual return to Burma.
In the mean time, the war in Southeast Asia has been limited to bombardment missions aiming to destroy the infrastructure of western and northern Burma. Each day, planes fly from Chadpur, Dacca, Imphal, and Ledo, against targets in Akyab, Mandalay, Myitkyina, and Taung Gyi. The purpose of the missions is to keep pressure on the Japanese units, inhibiting their ability to reinforce and build up their defenses, while the allied forces prepare for their eventual return.
Rangoon, Burma, has remained off limits because of the fighter squadrons stationed there. General Pownall has decided that there are more fruitful targets elsewhere in Burma, and he need not worry about Rangoon until the ‘low hanging fruit’ of western and northern Burma has been harvested.
China
The AVG arrived in China in June, and has started flying missions out of Nanning in southern China. The AVG has been divided up into three groups. One group of P-40E Warhawks conducts attacks against ground targets such as the airfields at Hanoi. A squadron of P-40B Tomahawks flies escort on the mission, and a second squadron of P-40B Tomahawks remains behind to protect the air base from Japanese attacks.
The 101st Base Force is on its way to Nanning from India, and is expected to complete the journey before the middle of July. Those elements that could be transported by air were airlifted from Ledo, India to Yunan, China. It has since been marching from Yunan to Nanning, and has completed approximately two-thirds of that journey. Once at Nanning, Japanese bombers will join the AVG at Nanning to increase their effectiveness against Japanese targets in the area.
However, according to sources at Southeast Asia Command, a dispute has broken out between General Pownall and Chang Kai Shek, the leader of China, over the best use for these forces. Chang Kai Shek has proposed moving the units further north, closer to the border between his own forces and those following the Communist leader of North China, Mao Tse Tung. Allied leaders see this as an attempt to intimidate the communists, rather than the Chinese, and are insisting that the air units remain in southern China. Sources at Southeast Asia Command state that General Pownall continues to hope that he can get enough units through northern Burma into China to mount an offensive to retake Hong Kong.
Other than this small buildup of air forces, events in China remain relatively calm. A small Japanese unit of approximately 3,000 men infiltrated southern China and ended up on the outskirts of Nanning in the middle of June. However, once discovered, the Chinese, with the help of the AVG, had little trouble driving the Japanese unit back toward the border.
Expectations for July
Dr. Kevin Gaschk, president and CEO of the Gaschk School of Fighting, has once again agreed to give us his assessment of the situation in the Pacific, and his predictions of the future.
Dr. Gaschk told Thayne News that he was surprised by the allied success in the air war over Port Moresby. He expected the Japanese to continue to put the pressure on the allies. He is particularly surprised at reports that suggest that P-39 Aircobras and P-40 Warhawks and Kittyhawks are starting to hold their own against the Japanese pilots. “I looked at some official estimates from Military Intelligence, and they suggest that the allies have shot down about 900 airplanes; 750 in air-to-air combat, and 150 from flak. These losses not only represent lost planes, but lost pilots. Japan has been able to keep up with the number of airplanes being shot down, I think. However, the pilots flying those planes do not seem to have the skills as the pilots that were lost. As a result, the Japanese air force is becoming less effective over time.”
Dr. Gaschk reported that he thinks Admiral Kimmel is correct, that Japanese expansion is at an end, and that the Japanese empire will only shrink from this point on. “However,” said Dr. Gaschk, “They will not shrink in July. The allies have plucked the ripest fruit; the next base that the allies take will require a lot of effort and a lot of planning. It will not happen in the next month. It may not happen before the end of the year.”
According to Dr. Gashck, “As I see it, the major Allied push in July will be what we already know as Phase II, the buildup of eastern New Guinea and the Cook Islands. I think we can expect General Townsend to start his units across the Owen Stanley Ridge, and to do to the Japanese at Buna what Japan had been trying to do to the allies at Port Moresby for the last two months. There will be a second siege, this one with the allies on the outside, and this one will end up with Buna in the hands of the allies. But, it will be a very long, slow, bloody, fight in some of the worst terrain imaginable.”
THURS. ISLAND WRECKED
July 2, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
THURS. ISLAND WRECKED
(TN – Townsend) A Japanese carrier force that has been sitting in the Coral Sea for several days launched another string of raids against Thursday Island yesterday. The most recent attacks sank the minesweepers Turkey and Pieter de Bitter. A Japanese torpedo struck the patrol gunboat Tui. Witnesses said that the explosion from the torpedo cut the boat in half and sent pieces flying off in two different directions. The attack transport ship Fomalhaut was also destroyed. It was one of only four attack transports that the allies had available in the Pacific Theater. Another attack transport, Alhena, remains at Thursday Island.
In exchange for these four ships, the Japanese lost three Kate bombers and one Val bomber to fighters belonging to the 8th Fighter Group stationed at Port Moresby. Japanese carrier-based fighters have all but destroyed this unit; the eight fighters still in service represent is all that remains of over 60 planes and pilots. The pilots have been able to put on an impressive show. In spite of the fact that they are flying outdated planes against the best pilots that Japan has available, they have been able to shoot down nearly 40 Japanese carrier-based airplanes since this attack began. This record stands against air units that, only a month previously, nearly obliterated four fighter units flying the P-40E Warhawk and Kittyhawk fighters.
As the pilots and planes are being shot down, they are being replaced with new men and equipment arriving daily from the United States. However, nothing can replace the experience of a skilled pilot. Particularly when flying against the Japanese ‘Zero’, pilots report that they have to know what the Zero is capable of and what to expect if they want to live. Seasoned pilots have been known to think of replacements as performing a vital war function of distracting the Japanese pilots long enough for them to get a shot in.
Thompson Fires Air Force Leaders
General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, yesterday put three Allied flight leaders on warning that they may be relieved of command, unless Thompson notices changes of their command. The three that were warned were Flight Leader Keyworth of the 2/24 Royal Australian Air Force Flight, Major Clark of the 89th Bomber Group, and Captain Krell of the 90th Bomber Group.
In spite of the fact that the Japanese carrier force has been sailing within 150 miles of Thursday Island for three days, the pilots in these units have not flown any missions against the Japanese carriers, arguing that the mission is suicidal and a waste of resources. Instead, they have taken these planes against targets on the north coast of New Guinea, such as Buna Harbor and Lae. In these attacks, they have inflicted only minor damage.
A review of their service record showed that Keyworth and Clark are well respected leaders. Interviews with their men and their superior officers resulted in each leader receiving evaluation marks that were among the top in their field. For this reason alone, General Thompson agreed to stay the execution of orders relieving them of their command.
However, he has warned them that if the Japanese carrier fleet is able to continue threatening the Coral Sea without an attempt being made to answer the challenge, they will be replaced with commanders more willing and able to fight.
Port Moresby Begins Cleanup
The citizens of Port Moresby, as well as the soldiers that have been stationed there, were out on the streets yesterday cleaning up the town. Shop owners near the city's ports manned brooms and shovels as they pushed aside the debris from dozens of Japanese bombardment missions.
When news first filtered through town that the Japanese were on the run, the citizens of Port Moresby waited for a more official announcement. When it came, the citizens felt that the news was worth celebrating, and spent the night in drunken celebration that resulted in the destruction of at least three more buildings. By morning, the town looked deserted. Then, before noon, people were on the street taking the first small steps to rebuild a community from the ashes of war.
General Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force and the commander of all units at Port Moresby, warned the citizens that the Japanese would likely come back. Kenney expressed the opinion that the Japanese only ran back to their reinforcements, where they will be rebuilding their strength in preparation for a new push. The citizens and soldiers hardly needed to be warned. Several times throughout the day the air raid siren sounded, though the Japanese seemed most interested in the ships in port.
Backlog Piles Up at Cairns
Units destined for Port Moresby, Milne Bay, and the Cook Islands continue to pile up at Cairns, waiting for the day that travel across the Coral Sea will be safe. Within a day, troop transports at Cairns will be holding Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian 1st Army Headquarters, both bound for Port Moresby. The 30th Naval Base Force has already been loaded onto troop transports and is bound for Milne Bay.
Kimmel Launches Raids North and South
(TN – Hawaii) The Allied Central Pacific Fleet under the leadership of Admiral Kimmel yesterday launched raids against two widely-separated Japanese-held islands. In the north, planes from the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown, hiding in the shadow of Russian territory, launched carrier-based air strikes against the Japanese units at Paramushiro Jima. The attack on the island represented the first allied attack on Japanese soil in the war so far.
The carriers also found a Japanese tanker approximately 200 miles south of Paramushiro Jima, and hit it with six bombs dropped from SBD Dive Bombers. The tanker was last reported on fire with heavy damage. Yet, by sundown, the Japanese ship was still afloat and has not yet been recorded as ‘sunk’.
In the south, eight battleships closed to shell the island of Tarawa. Since the last allied visit to these islands approximately one month earlier, Japan has added coastal guns to the island defense. Coastal guns inflicted moderate damage against three allied destroyers. The allied forces, on the other hand, were able to inflict significant damage. Secondary explosions suggest that the ships made several significant hits against Japanese stockpiles of ammunition and other supplies, and nearly put the airfield out of commission. Airplanes that were spotting for the battleships recorded massive damage among the tightly-packed troops that had nowhere to run on such a small island. Carrier planes followed up the bombardment strike after dawn, stirring up the ashes and scoring a half-dozen additional significant hits against key points on the island.,
While the American battleships attack Tarawa, transport ships are unloading additional members of the 40th USA Infantry Division onto Apamama. Within a few days, Apamama will also have a working airstrip, though there is at present no units trained in the care and maintenance of airplanes stationed on the island.
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
THURS. ISLAND WRECKED
(TN – Townsend) A Japanese carrier force that has been sitting in the Coral Sea for several days launched another string of raids against Thursday Island yesterday. The most recent attacks sank the minesweepers Turkey and Pieter de Bitter. A Japanese torpedo struck the patrol gunboat Tui. Witnesses said that the explosion from the torpedo cut the boat in half and sent pieces flying off in two different directions. The attack transport ship Fomalhaut was also destroyed. It was one of only four attack transports that the allies had available in the Pacific Theater. Another attack transport, Alhena, remains at Thursday Island.
In exchange for these four ships, the Japanese lost three Kate bombers and one Val bomber to fighters belonging to the 8th Fighter Group stationed at Port Moresby. Japanese carrier-based fighters have all but destroyed this unit; the eight fighters still in service represent is all that remains of over 60 planes and pilots. The pilots have been able to put on an impressive show. In spite of the fact that they are flying outdated planes against the best pilots that Japan has available, they have been able to shoot down nearly 40 Japanese carrier-based airplanes since this attack began. This record stands against air units that, only a month previously, nearly obliterated four fighter units flying the P-40E Warhawk and Kittyhawk fighters.
As the pilots and planes are being shot down, they are being replaced with new men and equipment arriving daily from the United States. However, nothing can replace the experience of a skilled pilot. Particularly when flying against the Japanese ‘Zero’, pilots report that they have to know what the Zero is capable of and what to expect if they want to live. Seasoned pilots have been known to think of replacements as performing a vital war function of distracting the Japanese pilots long enough for them to get a shot in.
Thompson Fires Air Force Leaders
General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, yesterday put three Allied flight leaders on warning that they may be relieved of command, unless Thompson notices changes of their command. The three that were warned were Flight Leader Keyworth of the 2/24 Royal Australian Air Force Flight, Major Clark of the 89th Bomber Group, and Captain Krell of the 90th Bomber Group.
In spite of the fact that the Japanese carrier force has been sailing within 150 miles of Thursday Island for three days, the pilots in these units have not flown any missions against the Japanese carriers, arguing that the mission is suicidal and a waste of resources. Instead, they have taken these planes against targets on the north coast of New Guinea, such as Buna Harbor and Lae. In these attacks, they have inflicted only minor damage.
A review of their service record showed that Keyworth and Clark are well respected leaders. Interviews with their men and their superior officers resulted in each leader receiving evaluation marks that were among the top in their field. For this reason alone, General Thompson agreed to stay the execution of orders relieving them of their command.
However, he has warned them that if the Japanese carrier fleet is able to continue threatening the Coral Sea without an attempt being made to answer the challenge, they will be replaced with commanders more willing and able to fight.
Port Moresby Begins Cleanup
The citizens of Port Moresby, as well as the soldiers that have been stationed there, were out on the streets yesterday cleaning up the town. Shop owners near the city's ports manned brooms and shovels as they pushed aside the debris from dozens of Japanese bombardment missions.
When news first filtered through town that the Japanese were on the run, the citizens of Port Moresby waited for a more official announcement. When it came, the citizens felt that the news was worth celebrating, and spent the night in drunken celebration that resulted in the destruction of at least three more buildings. By morning, the town looked deserted. Then, before noon, people were on the street taking the first small steps to rebuild a community from the ashes of war.
General Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force and the commander of all units at Port Moresby, warned the citizens that the Japanese would likely come back. Kenney expressed the opinion that the Japanese only ran back to their reinforcements, where they will be rebuilding their strength in preparation for a new push. The citizens and soldiers hardly needed to be warned. Several times throughout the day the air raid siren sounded, though the Japanese seemed most interested in the ships in port.
Backlog Piles Up at Cairns
Units destined for Port Moresby, Milne Bay, and the Cook Islands continue to pile up at Cairns, waiting for the day that travel across the Coral Sea will be safe. Within a day, troop transports at Cairns will be holding Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian 1st Army Headquarters, both bound for Port Moresby. The 30th Naval Base Force has already been loaded onto troop transports and is bound for Milne Bay.
Kimmel Launches Raids North and South
(TN – Hawaii) The Allied Central Pacific Fleet under the leadership of Admiral Kimmel yesterday launched raids against two widely-separated Japanese-held islands. In the north, planes from the carriers Enterprise and Yorktown, hiding in the shadow of Russian territory, launched carrier-based air strikes against the Japanese units at Paramushiro Jima. The attack on the island represented the first allied attack on Japanese soil in the war so far.
The carriers also found a Japanese tanker approximately 200 miles south of Paramushiro Jima, and hit it with six bombs dropped from SBD Dive Bombers. The tanker was last reported on fire with heavy damage. Yet, by sundown, the Japanese ship was still afloat and has not yet been recorded as ‘sunk’.
In the south, eight battleships closed to shell the island of Tarawa. Since the last allied visit to these islands approximately one month earlier, Japan has added coastal guns to the island defense. Coastal guns inflicted moderate damage against three allied destroyers. The allied forces, on the other hand, were able to inflict significant damage. Secondary explosions suggest that the ships made several significant hits against Japanese stockpiles of ammunition and other supplies, and nearly put the airfield out of commission. Airplanes that were spotting for the battleships recorded massive damage among the tightly-packed troops that had nowhere to run on such a small island. Carrier planes followed up the bombardment strike after dawn, stirring up the ashes and scoring a half-dozen additional significant hits against key points on the island.,
While the American battleships attack Tarawa, transport ships are unloading additional members of the 40th USA Infantry Division onto Apamama. Within a few days, Apamama will also have a working airstrip, though there is at present no units trained in the care and maintenance of airplanes stationed on the island.
ENEMY AT WAKE ISLAND
July 3, 1942
Thayne's News Network
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ENEMY AT WAKE ISLAND
(TN – Hawaii) “ENEMY CRUISERS INBOUND: WAKE ISLAND”. At 6:20 yesterday evening, Central Pacific Command received this priority communication. Admiral Kimmel immediately put his staff on alert, and gave priority to all communications coming from Wake Island. Within an hour, he had learned that Lieutenant Larry Dunsmore, flying a PBY belonging to VP-44 out of Wake Island, spotted a single Japanese cruiser southwest of Wake Island, heading straight toward the allied stronghold.
Dunsmore was at the end of a patrol that reached as far as 1,000 miles towards Japanese-controlled islands south of Wake. Though he was running short of fuel at the time, he hung around to take a closer look at the task force. He later reported seeing two more cruisers, before it got too dark for him to see anything. He also reported that the area was cloudy, making it difficult to make out how many ships there were. He reported seeing no carriers or any signs of enemy aircraft.
The task force could be a part of a bombardment force, intent to do to Wake Island what Admiral Kimmel has been doing to Tarawa. Last night, the eight battleships of TF1270 again sailed north out of Apamama to shell the island of Tarawa. This time, the battleships kept their distance, and the destroyer escort was kept out of the fight entirely. TF1270 had exchanged its damaged destroyers with those belonging to the carrier group accompanying the mission, which remained behind at Apamama.
The second day of shelling was not as destructive as the day before. Observers saw fewer secondary explosions. Military analysts have suggested that the second round did less damage because the first round was so destructive.
High winds for the rest of the day prevented the Hornet from following up the bombardment with any air attacks.
Observers with the task force report that they have not yet seen any signs of the Japanese air force. The Betty bombers that the Hornet was to protect against have not yet materialized.
Kimmel’s other carriers are also committed far from Wake Island, at the northernmost Japanese island of Paramushiro Jima. There, the carriers delivered a second round of punishing attacks, damaging port and air facilities on the island. Pilots making the run to Paramushiro Jima have reported that the island has no air defenses, but has been putting up a thick wall of flak. Enterprise has reported that eight of its bombers have been destroyed or damaged, while Yorktown is down 10 bombers.
At Wake Island, Kimmel has stationed 33 Wildcat and 24 Warhawk fighters. The base also holds 12 SBD Dive Bombers and over 50 B-26 level bombers to deal with the Japanese fleet. Central Pacific Command is now worried that they may lose many of the airplanes during the night if Japan should come in close and bombard the island.
A bombardment task force would have to face the guns of the 111th Regimental Combat Team, and the 101st USN Base Force.
Some military experts are questioning the fact that the Japanese task force decides to commit itself to this operation right when Kimmel has his fleet committed in battles far away from Wake Island. The enemy task force had to have left its home port long before Japan knew of the allied plans to attack Tarawa and Paramushiro Jima. However, Kimmel has asked that they withhold speculation until after the confrontation is over.
General Townsend Fires Captain Krell
Southwest Pacific Commander Thompson yesterday relieved Captain Krell, commander of the 90th Bomber Group on Thursday Island, of his command yesterday. A review of the leadership of several bomber groups in the Coral Sea region failed to discover any substantial reason to keep Krell at his current position. General Thompson recalled him to Townsend yesterday, and ordered Colonel Abe Meehan to take control of the squadron.
Krell’s command has been under review since his refusal to participate in raids against the Japanese carrier force as it sailed through the straight between Australia and New Guinea. Officers speaking on Krell’s behalf note that none of the officers, including several that have been allowed to keep their position, had agreed to fly against the Japanese carriers. According to several reports, the commanders thought that the mission would waste good airplanes and good pilots but accomplish nothing. General Thompson has always had a habit of giving his field commanders some discretion as to handle any engagement, but was extremely upset that so many offers refused to fight against the Japanese carrier force.
In response to these comments, a spokesman for General Thompson had this to say. “Captain Krell’s refusal to fly against the Japanese carrier force precipitated the review of his command, but was not the reason for his dismissal. Our review revealed that he lacked initiative and failed to command the respect of those serving under him. We need leaders that our men can look up to. Captain Krell may have many fine qualities, and we will try to use those qualities as best we can, but commanding a bomber squadron is not one of them.”
The carrier force that Krell and others had refused to fight is now sailing west towards Darwin and Kai and Aru Islands. In response to this new threat, General Thompson has ordered all ships except the PT boats to return to Darwin, and has placed the air units there on alert. Darwin represents the largest and best equipped Allied air base in the region, with enough planes to threaten the Japanese task force. General Thompson has ordered the planes to attack the Japanese ships if the opportunity presents itself.
An invasion of either Aru or Kai Island is not expected. If the Japanese force decides to attack Darwin, they will find over 80 fighters waiting for them, and 140 bombers ready to hammer the Japanese task force.
Townsend ‘Tests the Waters” with Supply Convoys
(TN – Townsend) With the Japanese carrier task force leaving the Coral Sea, General Thompson has ordered a convoy to leave Cairns carrying vital war materials for the marines stranded at Gili Gili. The marines landed in a mock assault that allowed them to capture the port from a token Japanese force. The landing still cost the allies over 600 soldiers due to accidents that occurred during the operation. Many of those soldiers have since healed their wounds and returned to duty.
W when a Japanese carrier force unexpectedly showed up, the ships that brought the marines had to leave Milne Bay with all of the food and extra ammunition still on board. Allied forces have since tried to keep the marines fed with daily airlifts of rations. However, the marines continue to be confined to half rations and no unnecessary expenditure of ammunition.
The supply task force will be carrying 9,000 tons of food and ammunition, as well as equipment for the construction of an airstrip, and will be escorted by six minesweepers. The Coral Sea has continued to be the main point of interest for the Japanese submarine force as they attempt to isolate New Guinea from any source of supply.
The marines at Milne Bay are attempting to build an airstrip that will allow the transport planes carrying the supplies to land, allowing them to bring more food into the bay.
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ENEMY AT WAKE ISLAND
(TN – Hawaii) “ENEMY CRUISERS INBOUND: WAKE ISLAND”. At 6:20 yesterday evening, Central Pacific Command received this priority communication. Admiral Kimmel immediately put his staff on alert, and gave priority to all communications coming from Wake Island. Within an hour, he had learned that Lieutenant Larry Dunsmore, flying a PBY belonging to VP-44 out of Wake Island, spotted a single Japanese cruiser southwest of Wake Island, heading straight toward the allied stronghold.
Dunsmore was at the end of a patrol that reached as far as 1,000 miles towards Japanese-controlled islands south of Wake. Though he was running short of fuel at the time, he hung around to take a closer look at the task force. He later reported seeing two more cruisers, before it got too dark for him to see anything. He also reported that the area was cloudy, making it difficult to make out how many ships there were. He reported seeing no carriers or any signs of enemy aircraft.
The task force could be a part of a bombardment force, intent to do to Wake Island what Admiral Kimmel has been doing to Tarawa. Last night, the eight battleships of TF1270 again sailed north out of Apamama to shell the island of Tarawa. This time, the battleships kept their distance, and the destroyer escort was kept out of the fight entirely. TF1270 had exchanged its damaged destroyers with those belonging to the carrier group accompanying the mission, which remained behind at Apamama.
The second day of shelling was not as destructive as the day before. Observers saw fewer secondary explosions. Military analysts have suggested that the second round did less damage because the first round was so destructive.
High winds for the rest of the day prevented the Hornet from following up the bombardment with any air attacks.
Observers with the task force report that they have not yet seen any signs of the Japanese air force. The Betty bombers that the Hornet was to protect against have not yet materialized.
Kimmel’s other carriers are also committed far from Wake Island, at the northernmost Japanese island of Paramushiro Jima. There, the carriers delivered a second round of punishing attacks, damaging port and air facilities on the island. Pilots making the run to Paramushiro Jima have reported that the island has no air defenses, but has been putting up a thick wall of flak. Enterprise has reported that eight of its bombers have been destroyed or damaged, while Yorktown is down 10 bombers.
At Wake Island, Kimmel has stationed 33 Wildcat and 24 Warhawk fighters. The base also holds 12 SBD Dive Bombers and over 50 B-26 level bombers to deal with the Japanese fleet. Central Pacific Command is now worried that they may lose many of the airplanes during the night if Japan should come in close and bombard the island.
A bombardment task force would have to face the guns of the 111th Regimental Combat Team, and the 101st USN Base Force.
Some military experts are questioning the fact that the Japanese task force decides to commit itself to this operation right when Kimmel has his fleet committed in battles far away from Wake Island. The enemy task force had to have left its home port long before Japan knew of the allied plans to attack Tarawa and Paramushiro Jima. However, Kimmel has asked that they withhold speculation until after the confrontation is over.
General Townsend Fires Captain Krell
Southwest Pacific Commander Thompson yesterday relieved Captain Krell, commander of the 90th Bomber Group on Thursday Island, of his command yesterday. A review of the leadership of several bomber groups in the Coral Sea region failed to discover any substantial reason to keep Krell at his current position. General Thompson recalled him to Townsend yesterday, and ordered Colonel Abe Meehan to take control of the squadron.
Krell’s command has been under review since his refusal to participate in raids against the Japanese carrier force as it sailed through the straight between Australia and New Guinea. Officers speaking on Krell’s behalf note that none of the officers, including several that have been allowed to keep their position, had agreed to fly against the Japanese carriers. According to several reports, the commanders thought that the mission would waste good airplanes and good pilots but accomplish nothing. General Thompson has always had a habit of giving his field commanders some discretion as to handle any engagement, but was extremely upset that so many offers refused to fight against the Japanese carrier force.
In response to these comments, a spokesman for General Thompson had this to say. “Captain Krell’s refusal to fly against the Japanese carrier force precipitated the review of his command, but was not the reason for his dismissal. Our review revealed that he lacked initiative and failed to command the respect of those serving under him. We need leaders that our men can look up to. Captain Krell may have many fine qualities, and we will try to use those qualities as best we can, but commanding a bomber squadron is not one of them.”
The carrier force that Krell and others had refused to fight is now sailing west towards Darwin and Kai and Aru Islands. In response to this new threat, General Thompson has ordered all ships except the PT boats to return to Darwin, and has placed the air units there on alert. Darwin represents the largest and best equipped Allied air base in the region, with enough planes to threaten the Japanese task force. General Thompson has ordered the planes to attack the Japanese ships if the opportunity presents itself.
An invasion of either Aru or Kai Island is not expected. If the Japanese force decides to attack Darwin, they will find over 80 fighters waiting for them, and 140 bombers ready to hammer the Japanese task force.
Townsend ‘Tests the Waters” with Supply Convoys
(TN – Townsend) With the Japanese carrier task force leaving the Coral Sea, General Thompson has ordered a convoy to leave Cairns carrying vital war materials for the marines stranded at Gili Gili. The marines landed in a mock assault that allowed them to capture the port from a token Japanese force. The landing still cost the allies over 600 soldiers due to accidents that occurred during the operation. Many of those soldiers have since healed their wounds and returned to duty.
W when a Japanese carrier force unexpectedly showed up, the ships that brought the marines had to leave Milne Bay with all of the food and extra ammunition still on board. Allied forces have since tried to keep the marines fed with daily airlifts of rations. However, the marines continue to be confined to half rations and no unnecessary expenditure of ammunition.
The supply task force will be carrying 9,000 tons of food and ammunition, as well as equipment for the construction of an airstrip, and will be escorted by six minesweepers. The Coral Sea has continued to be the main point of interest for the Japanese submarine force as they attempt to isolate New Guinea from any source of supply.
The marines at Milne Bay are attempting to build an airstrip that will allow the transport planes carrying the supplies to land, allowing them to bring more food into the bay.