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10/16/42 - The invasion TF should finish unloading supplies and then depart for home next turn. On the 16th, waves of US carrier planes attacked a single Jap AP at Madang. The AP sank, but the Allies lost 20+ Wildcats to only some 4 Zeros (some or all of these based at Wewak).

The new combat ships arrived Noumea and have been dispatched to Townsville. This force includes 2 BBs.

Some of the Allied troops at Lae are moving to other areas. One brigade will hopefully secure Finchs. The other, larger force will engage Jap units south of Lae. The Wau garrison will make its way to Lae and will then be sent to Australia for R & R.

Some medium bombers and fighters now based at Lae. Runway damage is down to 20, but service damage is still at 75.

10/16/42 - Lae airfield is operational. I had the medium bombers set to attack any available airfields (I meant to set them to attack shipping), and they made an ineffective strike (I think it was against Wewak). I've reset them.

The invasion fleet didn't quite finish unloading. A single AP had a few supplies left. This turn it will depart (it has remained exposed far too long for comfort).

Nevea's bombers hit a few Japs APs near Irau.

Long range plans: Get the invasion fleet back home. Form a large supply convoy to service PM and Lae. Possibly send combat TF escorted by CV TF to blockade Buna. I'm afraid the Japs will be able to extricate most of their units from Buna before I can set up the blockade. But I am satisfied with the seizure of Lae and the ability to use that as a forward airfield.

10/17-18/42 - The Allied invasion force is north of Buna, heading home to Townsville, except one transport TF that lagged behind and got hit by Vals based at Nadzab. Two merchants suffered moderately heavy damage and will try to limp back to Lae.

Betties sortied from Rabaul but bad weather thwarted their efforts.

I am a bit worried about Rossel Islands too as that is now a level 3 airbase. This turn the invasion fleet should near GG. Crossing my fingers.

The Allied mediums at Lae hit shipping at Rabaul (getting to the heart of matters now). Hit at least two TK, two PC and a PG.

John appears to be concentrating his forces at Nadzab. I've ordered most of the garrison at Lae to head that way.

10/19-20/42 - Very little action. The invasion TF is near GG. The two damaged APs made it back to Lae. 186th Regiment captures Hopei (between Lae and Finchs).

The next action will be Allied efforts to clear the area between Wau and Lae. This will take awhile.

The next major Allied operation will be (1) get the invasion TF home, refueld and rearmed; (2) load supplies and some reinforcements; (3) form major TF with CV escorts with destination Lae; (4) once that TF unloads, pick up the fatigued Wau garrison at Lae and bring it back to Australia for R & R. I will probably leave a sizeable surface fleet at Lae to protect the port from Jap bombardment runs.

At some point SOPAC will resume offensive operations, but right now there are very few ships in that section.

10/21/42 - The Allied and Jap infantry units between Lae and Wau are moving around in a haphazard dance. I can't get the Japs to sit still long enough to launch my attack. The Japs moved out of Marilinan just when the rest of the Allies showed up. The Japs seem to be concentrating at Nadzab. The bulk of the Allied invasion troops will arrive Nadzab in about 6 turns. Then we'll see what happens.

The US BB TF bombarded Rossel Island without appreciable affect. The frustrated TF will retire to Townsville.

The bulk of the invasion fleet will be halfway between GG and Townsville next turn - probably out of harm's way.

I am thinking about transporting the Marine paratroopers to SWPAC. I wish I had them there now to drop on Wewak or Madang.

10/22/42 - A few Allied accomplishments today. Bombers from PM struck Nadzab and destroyed 20 Zeros and Vals while the tired but proud veterans of the Wau campaign captured an undefended Marilinan.

The Allied invasion TF is dispersing to Cairns, Townsville and Brisbane to refuel and eventually to load supplies and reinforcements for delivery to Lae.

The Jap defenders of Wau and Lae are concentrating at Nadzab. I don't know whether there are additional troops there. If not, Nadzab should fall readily. I will find out in about six days.

The Japs never contested the Lae invasion which the Allies feel was a resounding success (only two APs damaged with perhaps 35 aircraft and essentially no infantry lost). John is probably relieved that I didn't invade Buna and take on the isolated Jap army there. But I am well satisfied to have taken the forward base at Lae and it's sizeable airfield and port (5 and 5).

John still has several CVs and capital ships and I am wary of a counteroffensive. I don't believe he poses a serious threat to SOPAC, Australia or PM, but he may lash out at the forces at Lae.

10/23-24/42 - The only action for two days are the air battles over Nadzab. The Japs give a little more than they get, knocking down some 30 Allied aircraft while losing only about 20. Heavy strikes by PM's mediums have shut down the Nadzab airfield according to recon.

A supply convoy formed at Townsville to make a quick delivery to PM with Long Island's TF serving as escort. This group should depart Townsville on 10/25 and return in time to join the big supply convoy destined for Lae. The other large navy TFs are refitting at Brisbane and Townsville. Estimated time of departure for Lae is 11/3.

The first P-38 squadron arrived Noumea 10/22. It moved to Townsville on 10/24 and after resting a day or two will proceed to Lae.

Major strike against GG (B-17s and -24s) to ensure that airfield remains closed. The heavies will take a day or two off.

The first two Allied brigades and an engineer unit arrived Nadzab. The remainder of the force will arrive in two or three days.

10/25/42 - My worthy opponent expressed low morale in his most recent email. The Jap's valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attack on PM apparently decimated the Jap fleet. We've all been there (I have anyhow). The game becomes a drudgery when you lose offensive capability. I understand how he feels and I don't know whether he'll decide to carry on or to call it a game.

In the meantime, the Allied forces in New Guinea are nearly in place. In two days, the Allies will launch attacks at Finchshafen, Nadzab and Salamaua. Stiff resistance is expected only at Nadzab.

PM's bombers indeed shut down Nadzab airfield.

Nevea's naval air squadrons hit a Jap transport fleet near Irau inflicting light to moderate damage on three ships.

If the game proceeds, I expect the Allies to control central New Guinea (the part in the game I should say) in a few turns. Then the Allies will turn their attention to Buna and Gili Gili. I will probably need to use SOPAC units in those efforts. I'll ignore Irau and Lunga and instead concentrate on New Guinea and eventually Gasmata and Rabaul.

10/26/42 - John has inquired about the possibility of a cease fire that will terminate the game. He'll need to make the call. He may decide to gut it out longer, or to call it off now. He probably prefers the latter course. I don't think he's enjoying the game at this point. I've never played this scenario this far nor have I played it on the Jap side, so I don't have a good feel for what he has to work with at this point in the game. But I undersand his ambivalence and won't mind if he calls it now. I appreciate the fact that he has kept going so long and has requested my input.

Meanwhile (and just in case we continue), all Allied forces in New Guinea will arrive at their destinations next turn. In two turns there will be a series of attacks.

Allied bombers from Lae thrashed two Jap convoys one hex SW of Kaeving, scoring mutliple hits on a number of transports and small combat ships. Air strikes that deep into Jap territory must be demoralizing in and of itself.

Japs are still up about 7000 to 5500, but the Allies appear to be in good shape.

10/27/42 - John has decided to continue the game for another month or so to see what the Japs can do, if anything.

The Allied forces are in place at Finchshafen, Salamaua, and Nadzab, so three attacks will take place tomorrow.

10/28/42 - The three attacks launched by the Allies succeed. Salamaua and Finchshafen fall without a fight and the relatively stout Jap force at Nadzab is readily routed (the numbers were nearly even - about 17,000 Japs and about 20,000 Allied troops, but the odds were 5-1 in favor of the Allies). 50 Jap planes (Zeros and Vals) were destroyed at the airfield.

That clears the Japs from the central section (in game terms) of New Guinea. The Jap army is retreating toward Wewak. I will follow a hex and try to engage in battle again.

The Allied units in the Lae vicinity appear sufficient to handle the area. Therefore, the large transport fleets at Townsville and Brisbane will send primarily supplies (and a few squads and support troops left behind in Australia during the invasion) to Lae. These two TFs are loading now and will be accompanied by both the CVs and Spruance's surface combat fleet. On the return trip, these ships will bring back to Australia the fatigued units that fought at Wau.

Two supply convoys are currently at PM unloading. This will bring PM's supply level up to 28,000. Since PM now requires 13,000 supplies, I will put both those TFs on convoy duty to PM until I raise the supply level considerably.

Once PM and Lae have sufficient supplies, the Allies will begin the next major offensive. Irau, Buna, GG and Rossel are likely targets, but I also like the idea of invading Gasmata.

10/29/42 - Japs sents a CV raiding force (Hiyo, two CVLs) to a point near Kourakouratopa and for reasons unknown the fleet failed to fly CAP or to launch any raids. Instead, the Japs allowed a mish-mash of Allied fighters and bombers from Wunpuko, Nevea, and Gavigama to attack unopposed. The results was at least medium damage to the Jap carriers.

This was a bitter pill for John after things had been going badly for the Japs anyhow. He isn't sure why his carriers didn't fly CAP. The only reason I can come up with is that perhaps the CVs were overloaded with planes (John is too experienced to permit that to happen, but I've done it a time or two after I had a few games under my belt).

This may finish the game in John's eyes. He may be ready to start fresh. I expect my next post to be the final one for this game.

John calls the game. I do not know what he had to work with (I've never played this scenario from the Jap side) so I don't know if he had any real chance of holding off the Allies. In general, the game isn't fun any longer if one side has a big (and permanent CV advantagek) over the other.

John did a couple of very effective things in this game: (1) His CV raids into the deep south kept me off balance and allowed him to retain the initiative for quite awhile (2) His invasion of PM nearly succeeded and would have been catastrophic for the Allies (isolating the Wau garrison and setting back the Allied timetable by a month or more).

Instead, my troops held and I was able to quickly seize a forward airbase at Lae. The game ends with the Japs up 7100 to 5750, but it looked to me like the Allies were going to be able to establish very strong bases at PM and Lae and launch repeated, heavy LBA strikes vs. Rabaul and Shortlands. The Jap bases at Buna and GG were untenable and would have fallen at my leisure.

Enjoyed the AAR. Outstanding defense of PM.