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January 4th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
At Singapore our minesweepers set to work, today sweeping 45 mines.

Due to poor orders, our Nells hit Port Blair again, thankfully some Zero came along since 5 Buffaloes are in the air. No ships in port at this point so nothing major occurs except downing a few Buffaloes.

IJA bombers are redirected back to Temuloh where they help turn the tide of that fight. Our single brigade give the boot to 7 enemy units - finally.

In almost-Burma, the 14th Tank at Mergui forces the surrender of three enemy units - 108th RAF BF, a BAF Bn and the 6th Burma Rifles - and captures the base.

DEI
Today's free base is Siaoe near Manado.

Kendari is cleared as the last 8 mines are swept. Our troops there are loaded and will sail to Makassar next.

On Java the 38th Division and a pair of brigades capture Bandoeng (3:1). One brigade will follow and chase the units into Batavia with another attack. The other Brigade and the 38th Div will head to Tjilatjap, enroute to Soerabaja.

At Lautem, all our Bettys at Ambon join the fight and we nearly get the base (2:1, forts 1). We should capture tomorrow as the forts have been reduced to zero.

Philippines
We send three destroyers in to investigate ship sightings at Cagayan and we engage three small xAKLs. All three are sunk and Allied troop casualties are reported. We will another such 'investigation' at Cebu tomorrow.

[center]
And easy win for our DDs[/center]

Bombardments resume at Clark - today we get 184 enemy casualties to 10 of our own.

Pacific
KB and the PM invasion force move closer to Milne Bay. Our planes are able to find a couple targets. The first is against a couple AMs. 12 Zeros come along on escort, but the enemy Wildcats still drop three of our Vals. The remaining five all miss their targets. A bit further south, Kates attack xAK Mernoo, damaged by sub attack earlier, and finish off the ship with six 250kg bombs. They also put a bomb on the small PC Wilcannia which will hopefully sink. 400 Allied casualties are reported, and since most the ships are headed south I have to assume they are evacuating PM. But I don't know that for sure.

[center]
KB launches a couple small strike. Most fighters are held for TF CAP.[/center]

China
A couple more successful battles to keep the Chinese on the move to where I want them.

Submarines
Lots of submarine action today.

I-171 misses DD Talbot and then evades the counter attack. This TF also had CL Concord, so perhaps it was the surface cover for Sara before she was disabled. In any case, this attack is on the path to Brisbane. Another attack here is against CA Minneapolis, but I-4 is spotted before she can launched torps. I-4 then dodges the ASW effort. Also in this area, I-171 takes another shot but again misses - this time against AP Harris, a big AP for sure.

Closer to Port Moresby, I-168 misses xAK Mernoo. I-170 puts one torpedo into xAK Kauri, and then later comes back and puts two more torpedoes into the same xAK, sinking it. I-6 puts a torpedo into xAK Anhui, but it is unclear if the ship will sink.

January 5th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
At Singapore our minesweepers continue at their job. Today they clear out 153 mines.

At Taiping, our ground troops push back the enemy and continue their march down the peninsula. We also have a division coming north from Singapore so the vice is tightening on the last few enemy units on Malaya.

DEI
Near Tarakan we get a free base today - Tawau is occupied.

We unload a small SNLF Coy at Talaud-eilanden, a small island south of the Philippines today. They will take the base tomorrow and then load up and head on to continue mopping up DEI bases.

Dutch planes and B-17's hit us in a few places around the island of Java, slowing up our movement, but thankfully our units do still move a bit every turn.

On Timor, we finally capture Lautem and force two Dutch units to surrender. We also destroy several enemy planes on the ground.

Philippines
Our destroyer hunters find a couple xAKs but decide to retreat since they are low on ammo. Clearly they don't have the same feeling I do about using AA guns to sink ships. They retired to Legaspi and are now rearmed and will move to another sighting report to investigate. The goal here is to sink any little ships that are moving troops and supplies around the islands. We don't want the enemy to be doing anything on his terms.

Pacific
One of our amphib groups headed past Milne Bay, en route to PM, is attacked by SS Sturgeon. The sub gets a hit on an xAK. The transport will likely sink, but will attempt to make it back to Rabaul all the same. Hopefully we don't get too many more hits like this since these ships are all loaded up. 13 SNLF squads are on this ship - I hope we don't miss them too much at PM. Sturgeon also takes a shot at CL Katori and then DD Yugure, all missing. Hopefully this means the sub will be out of torpedoes soon.

SBD-3's escorted by F4F-3A's attack our battleship group near Port Moresby a couple times. Our Zero and Claude CAP is light, but mostly deals with the enemy planes. A couple SBDs do get through, but no hits are scored. In all, eight SBDs and five Wildcats are shot down for the loss of one Claude and five Zeros. We also take down five P-40E Warhawks during our offensive attacks on ships at Port Moresby, detailed below.

One attack in the morning is six Vals against two enemy DD's. No hits scored. Then we have thirteen Kates hit Port Moresby, and they manage to put two bombs on TK British Motorist and three bombs on xAP Marella. Later in the day, five Vals find AP President Jackson (no 'x' so this is a good one) - and they manage to hit with three bombs on the ship. The Kates also fly in the afternoon and hit xAP Koolama at Port Moresby with a bomb.

Tomorrow our battleship group will attempt to clear the path to Port Moresby while our transports and carriers continue to close in. If all goes well, the transports will be able to land the day after tomorrow.

China
Our Nates are again defending against SB-III's today. 35 Nates take down 3 SB-III's.

We finally destroy the 61st Chinese Corp unit at Tsiaotso.

Submarines
Another busy day for the underwater warriors.

On the Port Moresby death run, I-6 hits xAK Anhui, already damaged yesterday, and sinks the ship. Close to Port Moresby, I-172 managed to hit DD Preston with a torpedo, causing heavy damage to the ship. Hopefully this will make our battleships' job a but easier tomorrow.

At Noumea, our minisub fires at DD Dale but misses. It will be picked up and head north to rearm.

At Brisbane where the Enterprise has pulled in, another minisub tries to get into the harbor but strikes a mine and sinks.

[center]
A rare hit on an enemy destroyer[/center]

January 6th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
Minesweepers continue at Singapore. Today they clear 195. Not much else here, just moving around on the peninsula to wipe out the Brits. Also rebuilt a couple divisions in preparation to clear the east coast of Sumatra.

DEI
Today the 15th Nav Gd is unloaded at Makassar and will attack the base tomorrow with Betty support from Ambon and Manado.

Near Ambon, Dutch sub SS KVII gets a hit on an xAK that is carring an Air HQ. The HQ is spread over four ships so it should make it to Koepang safely. The damaged ship will try to reach Ambon.

Bettys from Manado attack the port at Balikpapan and sink 2 PT boats and damaged three other ships (AS, xAP and AG).

On Java, some of our Zeros interfere with Dutch attacks on our troops. 9 Zeros managed bring down 5x B-339Ds, 3x Buffalos, and 6x 139WH-3. Some bombers still get through, but hopefully they will think twice about attacking again.

The small base of Talaud-eilanden is captured by one of our SNLF Coys.

Philippines
Today our DD hunters find three PT boats but are unable to hit the nimble little targets in both a nighttime and daytime engagement.

Pacific
Near Kavieng, the base of Tabar Island is occupied by the Empire.

Our Battleship groups moves in on Port Moresby. En route they find an AM which is obliterated by a big shell from Yamashiro.

[center]
A brief encounter[/center]

In the daylight, lots of air attacks, with only minor results. 4 Nells from Rabaul miss DD Hull near Port Moresby. 7 Vals sink an AM and heavily damage a xAP at Port Moresby.

Next, we have big attacks on Destroyers that get ZERO hits. First is 14 Kates and 24 Vals missing two destroyers. In the afternoon, it is 12 Kates and 31 Vals that again, miss the two destroyers.

Three SBD-3's from PM attack our surface group but miss the heavy cruiser Furutaka.

The biggest problems of the day are:
1) our transports encounter a DD group that our BB's somehow missed and they retreat back two hexes, thus ending the turn where they started from. Tomorrow the BB's will rejoing the main fleet and hopefully prevent a reoccurance of that.
2) we have a sighting of 'two BB's' southeast of our invasion force. Could this be Lexington trying to make a daring run in thinking our carriers are low on planes? Just in case, I have flown out some Vals and flown in a high experience 45 plane Zero group onto the carriers. Tomorrow all fighters are on 100% CAP, about 110 Zeros and 20 Claudes, and the couple dozen attack planes that are remaining have been stood down. The goal is to get the invasion force to the hex next to Port Moresby for an unloading movement the next night. Transports and surface ships will all be under this CAP umbrella. Hopefully it holds if the enemy is up to something.

China
A successful attack moves us another hex further west on the road to Sian.

Submarines
I-172 chooses to not fire at some small ships near Port Moresby and also dodges an ASW counterattack. I-172 later fires at DD Hull but misses.

I-4 is hunted near Brisbane but manages to dodge escorts. CA Chester and CL Leander are spotted. Near Maryborough, I-24 fires at an xAK and misses. Later, I-24 takes a shot at DD Rathburne, but also misses that ship. A couple hexes away, I-18 fires at CA San Francisco but unfortunately misses.

Near Noumea, I-9 fails to ataack DD Schley but does evade the counterattack.
------------------------------------
The last bit of news is that CVL Shoho has arrived and after a day or two to fill out airgroups with planes and pilots, the carrier will head south to join the battle around Port Moresby.

[center]
Light carrier Shoho[/center]

January 7th, 1942
Good progress in the DEI - high tension near Port Moresby

Malaya/Indochina
Northern Sumatra starts to fall for free - today Tandjoengbalai is occupied at no charge. This is the base at the southern end of the rail line from Sabang down through Medan. Today we will load up a division and three tank regiments to land in the base in between Sabang and Medan. Depending on where the enemy is strongest, the division will go one way, the tanks the other. We want to have those bases captured quickly so we can move on Port Blair and prevent any spying eyes from seeing our armada heading to Ceylon.

Our sweepers clear the last of the mines from Singapore, so our own minelaying subs head in for some fuel before heading to India. The rest of our fleet leaves from Saigon as well. Lots of DDs, CLs and about 200 more transports on top of the 100 transports already at Singapore. Hoping to be loaded and sailing for Ceylon by the first week of February.

DEI
In a minor setback, Semarang, on Java, is a free occupation for the Allies. Thankfully our LCU's have enough supplies already that it won't hurt too much. Also, a third of the 84th NG was about to unload at Kalidjati, so it will unload at Semarang instead and recapture the base so our supplies keep flowing. Dutch planes and B-17's continue to harass our troops moving on Soerabaja.

In better news on Java, we capture Djokjakarta easily. Our troops capture twenty-two(!) CW-22 Falcons on the ground as Orphan Anne announces the victory. That is a few less planes that will slow our movement now. Also, our tank unit captures nearby Tjepoe. It will pause there while the infantry catch up.

At Ambon, our ASW boats chase off SS O20. However, SS KVIII near Kendari manages to get two hits on one of our transports and sinks the ship.

Minesweepers arrive at Koepang and clear out 69 mines. Hopefully they will all be clear before our air support transports arrive.

At Balikpapan our Betty's hit AS Canopus and xAP Rochambeau in port again. The ships are scuttled when our troops charge across the river and capture Balikpapan on the first go. Four Catalinas and four Kingfishers are captured in the water.

Finally, after the nice victories at Djokjakarta and Balikpapan, we nearly capture Makassar as well, achieving 2:1 odds on the first attack. The level 1 forts stymy us today, but tomorrow the base should fall for sure.

We will be landing on Denpasar tomorrow. The number of airbases bigger than size 2 that the Allies control in the DEI is dwindling rapidly.

Philippines
Our three DD hunters find a small xAKL at Cebu and sink the ship easily.

Pacific
Lots of interesting action here. First our carrier group is attacked by two destroyers - Dewey and Hull. They can't get close, although one shell hits Kaga, but bounces on Kaga's heavy armor. Kaga and Akagi both fire back lots of 8" shells, but none hit the targets. A couple hits on the destroyers from our escorts are enough to chase the DD's away though. The next day, our battleships find the two enemy destroyers and make quick work of them with a couple 40cm and 36cm shells landing on each destroyer.

[center]
Our battlewagons take down some destroyers[/center]

As our transports close in on Port Moresby, SS Sturgeon makes a few appearances and fires some more torpedoes. That sub has to be getting low on ammo by now. No hits are scored.

Situation picture is below. The two 'BB' sighted yesterday looks like much more today. Based on movement, I'm guessing these are the American battleships. If so, they are critically one hex short of reaching Port Moresby in the night phase. However, I expect that the enemy will make a go of wrecking out fleet in the daylight. If he comes in we will be outnumbered by 6-8 BBs to our three. It could get ugly. To prepare, we have rearranged some Kates on the carriers to make use of the last 30 odd torpedoes we still have. Plus we have dispatched three brave destroyers into the expected path of the enemy heavies. Hopefully it will slow them down enough that our own surface groups will be able to fight them off when the sail into Port Moresby. The good news is that we will get one night phase to unload and we are loaded thinly so we should be able to get a lot of troops off the ships before the enemy shows up. As if all that were not enough, there is another TF lingering west of our position but we don't know what it is made of. KB will be one hex off PM to provide local (not LR) cap to our transports and surface ships. We expect heavy dive bomber attacks from the airfields at Port Moresby. Tomorrow is a big day!

[center]
Port Moresby Situation Map[/center]

China
Some land combat victories today, but nothing major.


Submarines
I-171 takes a pass on a small xAKL near Brisbane. I-4 however, sinks an xAKL with her deck gun - also near Brisbane.

January 8th, 1942
After all the build up, today went much smoother than originally expected.

Malaya/Indochina
Nothing much to report here other than our ships are ready sail out for targets mentioned yesterday.

DEI
A few mines are cleared at Koepang which makes me think they have all been cleared. These sweepers will head on to the next possible mined base - Makassar. Makassar is attacked again today and as expected it is easily captured.

Near Jesselton we have been spotting a couple enemy ships and Nagato and Ise were nearby on the way to Cam Rahn, but we kept missing the enemy ships. Today we finally track them down and they are sunk easily. Turns out it was two xAKs.

On Java our troops are unloaded without incident at Semarang and they will re-secure the base tomorrow. South of Batavia, we try an attack against a stack of Dutch troops that had retreated from us a few days ago. Unfortunately they have been stiffened with reinforcements so we are unable to chase them back to Batavia.

Another pesky Dutch sub hits a transport near Ambon and sinks the ship. Some ASW Sallys are headed to Ambon and will hopefully help reduce these attacks.

We unload at Denpasar with no interference from the Dutch at Java, and we expect the base to fall tomorrow.

Philippines
The free base today is in the southern part of the Philippines, Dumanquilas to be specific. Given that the only other unit we have in the area is at Zamboanga, it wouldn't surprise me if that base flipped back to the Allies sometime.

Our DD hunters once again cross paths with the three PT boats still in the area, and once again are unable to sink them. The next day we find them again and manage to get a glancing blow on one, but it doesn't appear to sink.

Pacific
The events around Port Moresby start with SS Cuttlefish taking a shot (and missing) at the three destroyers we sent to intercept the enemy surface fleet. No surface fleet ever shows up, so the sacrificial destroyers live to sail another day. Our invasion fleets move in under cover of darkness and the light cruisers and patrol boats unload lots of ammo to cover the landings. They all go reasonably well with about 650 troops lost or wounded in the process. Destroyer Karukaya takes a couple hits from shore guns, but should be able to make it home if it can dodge enemy submarine attacks.

The next day, we do receive the expected enemy air attacks. The first wave consists of 16 SBD and 5 TBD, escorted by 12 Wildcats and Warhawks. Our CAP is a healthy 33 Zeros and 3 Claudes, but we still tangle to long with the fighters and all but one of the bombers gets through. Thankfully the TBDs all miss, but two cargo ships and one xAP take hits from the divebombers. One torpedo hits Mutsu, but thankfully it duds. A second attack of 18 Warhawks and 15 SB2U-3 Vindicators meets an even stronger CAP as more of our fighters arrive to the scene - 57 Zeros and 7 Claudes. This time, no enemy bombers get through to attack,and our soldiers on the beaches are thankful. A last attack of 10 Warhawks and 2 Vindicators is also deflected. In total, we shoot down 17 P-40E, 17 Vindicators, 1 F4F-3A Wildcat and 1 SBD for the loss of only a single Zero.

[center]
Air combat near Port Moresby[/center]

In the afternoon, with the enemy air threat seriously reduced, and no enemy battleships anywhere in sight, our carriers launch an attack on the mystery TF to the west. Morning air search had determined there were a pair of cruisers and had even hit CL St Louis with a bomb. The afternoon strikes go well, with three Kates hitting CA San Francisco with three torpedoes, and CL St. Louis taking two more 250kg bombs. It is unclear what this enemy TF is doing out here, but perhaps it was trying to intercept our carriers. San Fran is reported sunk, and we might catch St. Louis tomorrow, or our subs might get her.

We finally get a look at the troops at Port Moresby and there is a fair amount - recon estimates almost 16,000. We have about 20,000 by comparison, however almost all of our troops are our elite marines with 80-90 experience. Even our heavy unit - the 36th Inf Regiment - is 80 experience. We also have an Armor regiment which should help. It will be a tough fight I am sure, but we are going to bring in some more troops with some fast transports from Rabaul, and hopefully our battleships and Bettys can soon shut down the airfield at PM so they can help wear down the ground troops. Damaged and empty ships have been put into a TF and sent back to Rabaul, the rest of our ships will continue to unload supplies for what will probably be a long stay.

Ground combat at Port Moresby (98,130)

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 15610 troops, 183 guns, 97 vehicles, Assault Value = 486

Defending force 19891 troops, 136 guns, 152 vehicles, Assault Value = 532

Japanese ground losses:
145 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 9 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)


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


Assaulting units:
11th Australian Brigade
7th Australian Brigade
49th Australian Battalion
9th Australian Brigade
1st Australian Brigade
34th Infantry Regiment
Papuan Inf Battalion
13th Field Regiment
224 Group RAF
15th RAN Base Force

Defending units:
II/66th Naval Guard Unit
Maizuru 1st SNLF
II/84th Naval Guard Unit
Bandasan SNLF
I/84th Naval Guard Unit
Maizuru 2nd SNLF
8th Tank Regiment
I/66th Naval Guard Unit
Kure 2nd SNLF
36th Infantry Regiment
2nd Indpt SNLF Coy
Sasebo 1st SNLF
III/66th Naval Guard Unit
1st Indpt SNLF Coy
Sasebo 2nd SNLF
16th Army /1

And one last bit - our Glens spot the big surface fleet far to the south enroute back to Noumea presumably. Apparently the Allies did not want to risk the battle wagons in the daylight - if indeed the enemy group was battleships at all.

China
Some armor gets ahead of our infantry and cross the river into Loyang early. 32 tanks are knocked out (disabled), but the infantry will be crossing tomorrow so I'm not too worried about the tank unit.

At Wenchow the 17th Division arrived yesterday and today we try again. We only hit 1 to 2 odds, but forts come down to level 2 so I think we are getting closer.

Submarines
I-153, on patrol in the gap between Sumatra and Java, finds xAKL De Haan and hit the small ship with a torpedo, likely enough to sink it.

Near Brisbane, I-171 uses AA and deck gun fire to bring down the xAKL Carroo.

EDIT - Had the numbers backwards on the PM ground fight.

ORIGINAL: Feurer Krieg

Our Battleship groups moves in on Port Moresby. En route they find an AM which is obliterated by a big shell from Yamashiro.

Wow. Never actually seen that combat result before: obliterated. [:D]

I see it a lot for PT boats, but I guess the slightly bigger ships (that was a small AM) can still get obliterated when the shell is that big.

January 9th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
Mostly just resting or loading up or bringing in the navy to Singapore. An attack in the jungle south of Taiping forces back the beat up Allied stack.

DEI
The Allies unfortunately get another freebie today when Cheribon switches back. This one is a bother since it now means that when we attack Tjilitjap the Dutch units there will retreat instead of surrendering. Oh well, what can you do...

We do capture Semarang as planned. Denpasar also falls as expected. We send most of our ships to Makassar since we are well within range of enemy surface attack from Soerabaja. We leave two AK's to unload supplies, no attack and they will come home, otherwise their chances are slim.

Philippines
The free base today is Catbalogan on the Philippine Island of Samar.

Pacific
One of our small Nag Gd elements unloads at Shortlands and should secure the base tomorrow. Several base forces and support units are loading up in the Home Islands to head for various New Guinea and Solomon island bases - Lae, Wewak, Shortlands, Tulagi, Lunga, and a couple more. If the Port Moresby fight turns into a our Guadalcanal, we will be sure to make it pricey for the Allies to try and reinforce the base.

Our transports at Port Moresby unload nearly all of their supplies. All LCU's there now have about 20-30 times their required supply so we will send the transports home tomorrow rather than risk them one more day. With the troops rested from being unloaded yesterday, we will try an attack tomorrow. Average experience of the enemy should be about 40-45. Most of our units were set to prep for PM on Dec 7th, and checking the Allied roster none of the enemy units started with more than Zero prep points, so unless our enemy did the same and prepped everyone on day one, we should have an edge there. Going against us are forts and the jungle. We have the Engineer regiment from the 28th Division enroute but it isn't at PM yet, so this first attack may well not do anything to the forts. Hopefully they aren't higher than 3.

We will send in two battlships and some cruisers for bombardment from 12,000 yards. Hopefully knock out some bombers on the ground so we don't get a lot of attacks the next day. Bettys and Nells from Rabaul are also ordered to do ground attacks to see if we can get a good initial attack. It is definitely iffy, but the rest of the 28th Division is on the way, so if we are close, we should be able to get PM eventually - even if it takes a month. Shoho and two more battleships with cruisers and support are being sent to the theater so we can keep the sea lane to PM open. We will do out best to keep that airfield suppressed so we can keep the troops coming in safely while the enemy troops dwindle.

Rabaul hits AF 4 today - certainly good timing given we are about to enter this next phase of the Port Moresby fight. Bad news of the area, is that DD Okikaze hits a Mk10 mine at Rabaul and sinks. Our sweepers pull out of port and will clean up these mines tomorrow.

Off shore from Port Moresby, our carriers are still busy. They find CA San Francisco again and make sure to finish the ship today, putting 4 torpedoes into her. A Val hits DD Kilty with a 250kg bomb also. Later in the afternoon, Kates come back with 250kg bombs and put three on the Kilty, most likely sinking the enemy ship.

China
Several good attacks here today. First, on the road east of Nanchang, we bounce a Chinese Corp back into the jungle to keep our supply route open. Then, at Loyang, our two divisions come across the river and easyily take the base (9:1), pushing the defenders into Chengchow. Southwest of Chengchow, another attack pushes 5 corps and an HQ into Chengchow also. We now have Chengchow surrounds and there about 25-30 units in there. We will keep it surrounded and attempt to force the surrender of all these units so we can move on to Sian without lots of guerilla units in the backfield messing with our supply routes.

Submarines
Today, we get a very lucky attack. I-164, coming from Ambon towards Port Moresby, stumbles across AVP Trend near Merauke and hit the ship with one torpedo, sinking it.

At Brisbane, I-5 missed DD Chew.

January 10th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
We are starting to get into the Burma area a bit. Today in the morning, 3 Mabels attacked an xAKL near Rangoon. CAP was only 1 H81-A3 which the Mabels dodged, but they missed their target. Later in the day however, 5 Mabels attacked again and this time the CAP was 7 enemy planes which shot down 3 Mabels and sent the other two headed home. We will move in some fighters to Tavoy to provide some escort in the future.

An attack near Utan Melintang continues to push the British back to their last couple pockets on the Malayan peninsula.

DEI
Minesweepers work on the minefields at Balikpapan to make the area safe for our shipping traffic.

South of Timor, Bettys spot enemy ships sailing to Derby. They track down the CL Durban and put two torpedoes into the ship. It is unclear if it sunk or not. Our Bettys also attack destroyers near Wyndham, but miss.

[center]
Bettys from Koepang find some vulnerable targets[/center]

At Denpasar, as suspected, four enemy destroyers arrive and sink the two xAKs we left behind. We manage to get one small shell hit on one of the destroyers, but other than that, it is a one sided affair.

At Sumatra, our 2nd Division and three tank regiments successfully unload at the empty base of Langsa. They will seize the base tomorrow and then set out north and south on the roadway.

On Java we easily capture Tjilatjap today and the 38th Div and 4th Ind Regiment will jump on commandeered trains and head for Soerabaja.

Philippines
Another free base in this area today as Basilan is occupied.

In a bit of surprise today, the Allied forces at Clark launch a counterattack. They attain 1 to 4 odds, but do inflict heavier casualties on us than we do on them. Hopefully the 1 to 4 odds will discourage them from attacking again.

Pacific
Our AMc's get to work at Rabaul after we lost a destroyer yesterday. They quickly clear the mines from the port areas.

Near Port Moresby, SS Cachalot duds on one of our APDs as it leaves the enemy base and heads for Rabaul. BB's Mutsu and Kirishima open up their big guns along with their cruisers and destroyer escorts and wreck havoc on Port Moresby. Few enemy casualties are reported, although 4 vehicles and 6 guns are knocked out of action. The real damage is to the airfield and enemy supplies. 19 hits on the airfield, and a lot of enemy planes damaged and some destroyed. Results are below. We will rearrange our ships such that any heavy ship with ammo remaining will do another bombardment tomorrow, the rest will start on the way back to Rabaul and then Truk to rearm for another trip in in a few days.

Allied aircraft losses
PBY-5 Catalina: 14 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground
P-40E Warhawk: 17 damaged
P-40E Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground
F4F-3 Wildcat: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 19
Port hits 1

On the ground our troops launch their initial attack. While it isn't a victory, it is close enough to give us some cause for optimism. Our Bandasan SNLF is wiped out in the assault, but otherwise the attack gains 1 to 2 odds. The defender has penalties from Preparation and Experience which is good for us. We have more elements of the 28th Division on the way and that should help get us up to 1:1 so we can start wearing the defenders down. Also, after the next bombardment, the airbase there may be closed allowing us to start daily ground target bombing without interference. With two more battleships and some heavy cruisers headed to the area, we expect to keep up the bombardment routine as well.

In the Solomons, Shortlands is captured as planned.

Submarines
Near Brisbane, I-4 hits and sinks the xAKL Lorinna. Later in the day, I-4 also hits xAKL Darvel with torps and a deck gun shot and sinks that ship as well.

January 11th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
One of our xAKL is hit by SS Seawolf and sinks with a squad of an air support unit.

Our 1st Tank Regiment cross the river northwest of Kuantan and force the 5 Allied units there to retreat to Kuantan proper. Our tank unit will move on the base, but it might need some Infantry support to actually capture the place.

DEI
Minesweepers continue their efforts at Balikpapan. More AMc's are on the way from Makassar.

North of Koepang, the Dutch Sub KXVII put a torp into my AKE that was bound for Koepang. The next day the same sub gets another hit and sinks the big AKE. Bummer that, but I did make a bunch of these AKEs. Still, we'll need to get some air support to the east side of Timor so we can get some ASW flying north of Timor.

At Manado another Dutch sub, KXV sinks an xAKL. Near Kendari, we get a depth charge hit on S-36. We are also now getting many more sub sighting since we have two units of Sallys (1 at Ambon and 1 at Manado) patrolling the waters. Hopefully over time those will start to become hits as well as sightings.

Some good news, a Betty puts a torpedo into CL St. Louis off the north coast of Australia. Bettys attack CL Concord in the afternoon but no hits are scored. Another 27 Bettys have flown in and will be on patrol in the area tomorrow.

[center]
Another CL hit[/center]

At Bandjermasin, we unload the Yokosuka 2nd SNLF and we'll see if that is enough to take the base.

On Sumatra, Langsa is captured with no resistance. The 2nd Division will walk south, while the 3 tank regiments drive north.

Philippines
A very nice free base today, as Jolo is occupied. Now we can move in air support and the enemy won't know what we are landing there.

Bombardments continue, we are killing about 200 enemy troops a day with our artillery assaults.

Pacific
The bombardment at PM again damages lots of planes as well as the airfield. After that bombardment Yamashrio and Kirishima both head home, following all the transports that had already started to leave when the sun went down. The Car Div 2 will meet up with the TF carrying the Engineer unit of the 28th Division which is just east of Milne Bay. They are in faster transports, so they should be able to unload at PM in two more days.

Allied aircraft losses
P-40E Warhawk: 14 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 7 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 destroyed on ground

Allied ground losses:
42 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 17 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 5 (1 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Vehicles lost 10 (1 destroyed, 9 disabled)

Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 21

China
The enemy abandons Nanyang, probably because we are closing fast on Sian, and so we capture Nanchang with no resistance.

Submarines
We try sending a midget sub into Sydney but it hits a mine.

I-160 notices CL St.Louis heading west near Darwin. Although the sub is chased off by escorts it is interesting that the enemy surface fleet is moving from Port Moresby across the north coast of Australia. This might mean that our submarine saturation of near PM and the east coast of Australia is causing the enemy surface ships to take the long was around. Of course, now they have to run the Betty gauntlet when they go that way.

January 12th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
Minesweepers arrive at Georgetown and go to work, rapidly clearing mines. Reports are that all the mines there were cleared in one day.

Near Rangoon, Nells and Zeros take a shot at CL Enterpise and DD Isis. The Nells (dropping bombs) all miss.

DEI
Balikpapan is cleared of mines - yay! We have a fair amount of transports piling up there, thanks to the fuel stocks on hand there. Most of our initial offensive push through the area is done now so most of the larger units are staying put at important bases, although a couple are still cruising around slowly securing all the smaller bases as well.

Near Bandjermasin, three Duch DD's tangle with two of ours. We trade some shells, and DD Shigure is moderately damaged, but will make Balikpapan without trouble. All three enemy DD's take a hit, but only Witte de With is set afire. Our troop convoy at Bandjermasin is attacked by a pair of MTBs. One is sunk and the other is chased off.

Philippines
Masbate is our free base today.

Pacific
North or Tabi, CA Houston finds our troop convoy that is empty having just unloaded the 51rd Nav Gd to support the 1st JNAD AF unit that was already there on Tabi. Someone is snoozing on Houston as our task force manages to escape at 2000 yards. One bigger PB that took a couple shots falls back and is caught by Houston later and sunk.

[center]
We slip away in the night...[/center]

At the same time, CL Honolulu bombards Tabi island and we take about 400 hundred casualties. US Marines charge ashore and take about 120 casualties coming up the beach. It would seem they expected a weaker brigade because only 500 Marines are landed (2nd USMC Parachute Bn) and their atoll assault posts 1:99 odds. Hopefully there are not more troops coming. If the enemy doesn't pick up their troops we will try a counterattack in a couple days to kill off these invaders.

At Port Moresby, the 28th Engineers are within range to land tomorrow. Our carriers are sailing with this transport group, but all the major surface ships are headed to Truk to rearm and return. We now have six battleships in theater and CVL Shoho is on the way as well. Our damaged CVL and CVE are nearly to Truk and from there they will head home to yards in the home islands.

China
We try another attack on Wenchow and finally see some progress. Although odds are only 1:2 we manage to take down the forts a notch.

Near Sian our 37th and 41st Divisions continue to herd an enemy stack towards Sian. We are less than 100 miles away now.

Submarines
All quiet as the enemy does not seem to be attempting to reinforce Port Moresby yet.

January 13th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
Mines are cleared away at Georgetown. We will send a naval HQ here, and maybe a dry dock eventually and use it for emergency repairs when ships are damaged out in the Bay of Bengal.

Kuala Lumpur is captured today and the rail line from Indochina to Singapore is now officially open. This British stack heads towards Kuantan. Tomorrow the Imp Guard division will attack the base west of Kuala Lampur (the name eludes me). Once captured the only Allied base on the peninsula will be Kuantan.

DEI
The small 8th Indpt SNLF Coy lands at Ternate and will secure the base tomorrow before moving on to other bases in the Celebes area.

On Java the 65th Brigade captured Soerakarta and will now move on to Djokjakarta and then Soerabaja or Malang depending on how it goes at Soerabaja. The Soerabaja attack force is now at Tjepoe and switching from Strat mode. They will march in three days. A lot of Allied ships look to be at sea outside of Soerbaja so they may be preparing to evacuate. Also, we have some air support that should land at Kalidjati tomorrow which will finally allow us to put some CAP in the air to stop the Dutch planes from attacking our ground troops.

Philippines
Bombardments continue.

Pacific
We get a freebie in the Solomons today - Vella Lavella is occupied.

Our 28th Eng is landed at Port Moresby with a few casualties but otherwise in good order. The next two units coming are the 28th Cav and 30th Bge (both from the 28th Div). Those two units unloaded today at Rabaul, and will be reloaded tomorrow across more ships. They had came to Rabaul in fast xAPs but if one of those gets torpedoed it would be half the unit gone. Probably less than a week before we try attacking at Port Moresby again.

Also at Port Moresby, a few Zeros test the airspace and find only 1 P-40E rises to fight. They shoot down the Warhawk easily and later in the day Bettys and Nells from Rabaul hit the airfields to ensure they stay closed. Our next attack at Port Moresby will definitely have both naval and air bombardment support.

24 Vals from the carriers near PM find a small TF of three big xAPs: Dontroon, Nairana and Taroona heading northeast. Perhaps going for PM to evacuate? I'm not sure. In any case, two of the ships are hit with 250kg bombs, one is set afire but they are big ships so it is unlikely they will sink. Just in case they are trying to get to PM we have left a light cruiser and three destroyers on station at PM to chase away any transports that show up while our carriers head to Rabaul to refuel and rearm.

China
The 104th Division manages to capture Liuchow today on thier first attempt (7:1, forts 2, 6000 enemy casaulties). Kweilin appears to be more firmly held, but once the 4th Yokosuka SNLF captures Nanning we may move on Kweilin. One problem is getting some small units over to this area to garrison Nanning and Kweilin.

Submarines
I-9 misses DD Clark south of Noumea where it has been parked flying recon of the Allied base. I-9 will reposition to a new hex.

January 14th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
At Utan Melintang the Imp Guard division forces the surrender of 2500 British troops in six beatup LCUs. Now only Kuantan remains. Our 8th Tank regiment will take a crack at a solo attack their tomorrow.

DEI
Our free base is less than ideal today. It is Cheribon. The problem is that I had a unit there on deliberate attack anyway - so we would have captured that base regardless. Oh well - at least no bases flipped back to the Allies today.

Interestingly some enemy ships sortie into the Java Sea today. Our Nells from Singkawang find two DDs, two AMc and 1 AG and sink all but the AG. There is also a TF spotted between Makassar and Balikpapan that might have a cruiser in it. I'm not sure exactly what he's up to, but our heavy cruisers at Makassar will crank up their reaction and venture out into the water to see if we can bag some easy kills.

[center]
Enemy ship put under[/center]

The Yokosuka 2nd SNLF attacks at Bandjermasin, but only gets 1 to 2 against level 1 forts. Some air support will probably change the picture as we were only 4 points away from a 1:1 result.


Philippines
We bomb Bataan today just to mix things up a bit. Don't want to chance any enemy planes parking there and ambushing our Sallys.

Shelling at Clark is getting some good casualties now. About 250 enemies a day, plus 4-8 guns knocked out as well. A good 70% of those casualties are destroyed squads as well.

Pacific
The big cruiser Houston bombards Tabiteuea and appears to hang out at the island during the day. I'm not sure if this means there are additional landing forces on the way or not, the bombardment damage is light. Our engineers there rush to get forts built up to level 1 in case the enemy is coming with more troops.

Bettys and Nells hit Port Moresby again. Damage is lighter today, but should be enough to keep the airfield at less than optimal condition. More importantly, if the AF is damaged, no work is going into forts.

Enemy troops at Port Moresby are bombarding us, but we trade casualties pretty evenly. Our next landing group is loaded and will leave port from Rabaul tomorrow. That is another 80 experience brigade and a cavalry unit, both elements of the 28th Division from Manchuria.

China
The AVG jumps some Nates we had on CAP today. Thankfully only a couple pilots were lost, but clearly I need to be vigilant when using those Nates. No more than one day on CAP then stand down.

Our attack at Wenchow only gets 1 to 4 odds but it does knock forts down to zero. After a bit of a rest we will hopefully do better with the forts down. Our training Nells at Formosa will hit the airfield their to keep the forts from building up.

An attack on the road from Nanyang to Sian only gets 1:2, but another division is on the way.

Near Nanchang, we continue to push a Chinese Corp towards the river.

Our first assault on the surrounded Chengchow get 1 to 2 against level 3 forts. There are 60,000 enemy troops there so once we force a surrender here that will be a lot of troops out of the picture. We do have another couple divisions on the way so I think we will be able to take this base within a week or two at most.

Submarines
All quiet here.

Yikes - three days behind in updates!

January 15th, 1942
A rather quiet day today.

Malaya/Indochina
To support our armor as they assault Kuantan today we send in some Lily and Sally bombers - we lose several to flak. I think we'll leave it to the ground forces to finish off that base. The armor only manage to get 1 to 6 odds, and lose 2 tanks, but do manage to cause over 100 enemy casualties. Looks like we will need to wait for infantry support to finish off this base.

Our transports for Port Blair made a full speed run from Victoria Point to Port Blair so that they will have 3 full unload phases tomorrow. KB is parked one hex away from PB and out battleship surface cover is loitering in the PB hex itself. So far so good!

DEI
Bandoeng flips back to the Allies. This is rather annoying. Thankfully we have a Bge that is about to walk into that base tomorrow so we will have it back shortly.

The 8th SNLF Coy secured Ternate and finds a Do-24K-1 parked in the harbor. The Coy will load up tomorrow for its next unoccupied target.

Philippines

Pacific
Our free base is in the SW Pac today - Lihir, a dot east of Rabaul is absorbed by the Empire.

Houston takes some shots at Tabi again, but looks to be out of ammo. The cruiser heads off to the east according to our Mavis eyes in the sky.

Air attacks on Port Moresby keep the airfield damaged.

China
Lilys and Sonias bombing Kweilin fall victim to the AVG today. 20+ Sonias are lost and about 10 Lilys as well. I was surprised to see only about 20% of the pilots were lost. So although some old stock of airframes was used up, we didn't lose many pilots.

Submarines
I-165 torpedoes xAKL Mabella just outside of Rangoon today. The ship sinks. Given that we are sitting in the shallows we won't linger here much longer.

January 16th, 1942
Much busier day than yesterday.

Malaya/Indochina
Unloading at Port Blair goes without a hitch. No sign of enemy ships or planes, although recon says there are planes on the island base. It appears the enemy has attempted to reinforce the base. Along with the Port Blair Adv Base Force, three other units are present - the 44th & 45th Indian Brigades and the 5/2nd Punjab Battalion. Thankfully we brought a big hammer and we should be able to crush these troops tomorrow.

DEI
Off the north coast of Australia, our Bettys find a couple xAP's and manage to put 4 torps into xAP Mildura, sinking the ship.

On Sumatra, our three armor regiments capture Sabang easily. One reg will pursue the enemy units down the west side of the big island and head south to seize some of the coastal bases there. Another will head back down the east side to ensure no bases flip back to the Allies - at least until it is time for these armor to load up for Ceylon.

Also on Sumatra, the 2nd Division captures Medan and will head southeast to bounce the enemy units into the jungle before leaving Sumatra.

Philippines

Pacific
Another freebie in the Solomons today - Torokina is occupied.

The 4th SNLF Coy lands on Manus northwest of Rabaul and will seize the island base tomorrow.

An AV support unit with some embedded Marines lands at Lunga on Guadalcanal today. The 8th Base Force is on the way also, but I figure taking it with the smaller unit means the enemy might think it is held more lightly than it really is. Based on the attempt at Tabi, the Allies aren't afraid to try some landings here and there. Maybe we can catch them trying to take a base on the cheap again.

China
We launch our first serious assault on Pucheng today and get 1:2, but we do drop forts to level 2. Another brigade should arrive tomorrow so we will try again soon.

Near Sian our north force crosses the river east of Sian and bounces the units we had been chasing into Sian. Rather than attempt a river crossing right into the base, we will split our forces northwest and southwest and begin an attempt to surround Sian. With 20+ units/80,000 troops trapped in Chengchow, if we can trap another 30-40 units/100,000 troops in Sian, the route through Kienko might be doable for an early (pre-1943) attempt on Chungking.

Submarines
The southeastern Australian coast continues to be a target rich environment. Today I-2 puts a torpedo into xAK Wanaka, and then find xAK Steel Mariner and hits with 2 torpedoes and 3 deck gun shots, sinking the ship. Hopefully Wanaka will sink also which would give I-2 two kills in one day.

[center]
Two hits for I-2 today.[/center]

I-165, sees the retaliation coming from yesterday in the form of some motor launches out of Rangoon. Before leaving the area, I-165 puts a torpedo into one of the small HDMLs, destroying the ship instantly.

January 17th, 1942
Another busy day.

Malaya/Indochina
We see some Blens escorted by H-81-A3s attacking our ground forces that are approaching Moulmein. We might try CAP'ing here once our ships have returned to base from Port Blair.

Speaking of Port Blair, the attack here goes well. We get 7:1 odds and force the four units mentioned yesterday to surrender. 8050 troops of the Commonwealth are added to IJN POW camps. We also get a couple Blen I an Buffalos on the ground. The engineers from these two divisions will get some forts up and start on the airfield before handing off to a proper base force. We landed AV support with the assault, so Oscars and recon planes have already arrive to scan the Bay of Bengal for enemy vessels.

Ground combat at Port Blair (46,58)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Japanese ground losses:
511 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 53 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 5 disabled


Allied ground losses:
8050 casualties reported
Squads: 353 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 445 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 35 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 21 (21 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 88 (88 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 4


Assaulting units:
56th Division
33rd Division
27th JAAF AF Bn

Defending units:
44th Indian Brigade
45th Indian Brigade
5/2nd Punjab Battalion
Port Blair Adv Base Force

DEI
Djokjakarta annoyingly flips back to Allied control. The small unit at Semarang will move in to re-secure the base. Our 21st Mixed Brigade manages to re-secure Bandoeng today.

Our Sallys at Manado get a hit on one of the pesky, presumably Dutch subs that have bee giving us fits between the Celebes Sea and Banda Sea.

On Java, the 65th Brigade attacks at Madioen can captures the base. Two Dutch units surrender and the other two run for Soerabaja. We also destroy some B-339Ds and a handful of L-18 Lodestars on the ground.

Philippines

Pacific
Our freebie today is Lunga, just before our unit was going to attack. The one nice thing about that is the enemy has no idea what I landed there so far.

At Port Moresby, the 30th Regiment and 28th Cavalry are both unloaded in good order. Tomorrow we have two battleship TFs, for a total of 3 BBs, that will bombard the base and our ground troops will attempt an attack. Nells and Bettys from Rabaul will provide ground support as well weather permitting. Three more BB's are en route and should arrive to pound PM in about 3 days, just in time for a second attack (unless this attack goes better than expected).

As expected, Manus is successfully captured.

China
Our attack on Wenchow is making progress. Today we get 1:1 odds, even casualties and forts are dropped to zero. Hopefully we will capture this base soon so I can get the 21st Division shipped out and headed to Singapore.

On the road to Sian I forget to issue attack orders to both units in a hex and a brigade unit gets 1:42 odds. We'll try again tomorrow with the division attacking also.

Southwest of Nanchang, we continue to chase a Chinese Corp across the river.

Submarines
I-153, sitting on a long patrol near Oosthaven finally sees a target come by - the TK Aldegonda is hit by one of I-153's torpedoes. With fuel burning, we don't know yet if they ship will sink or not.

[center]
Another successful attack[/center]

January 18th, 1942

Malaya/Indochina
Quiet here, just organizing covering garrison requirements. Also have a couple brigades moving to finish the last couple British pockets.

DEI
The Dutch air force attacks Kalidjati directly today and although we get 20 Oscars (type A) and 6 A6M2 in the air, we only manage to engage a couple of the fighter escorts, while the bombers get through. We lose a Zero and an Oscar on the ground, but at least a couple B-339D's go down as well.

We secure Namlea today, although one of our ships had run aground yesterday so we will bring in some barges from Ambon to move on to the rest of the unoccupied bases we are targeting. I could use the last xAK to move the troops, but then one Dutch torpedo can take out the entire LCU.

An attack on Bandjermasin goes well, scoring 2:1 odds, and dropping forts to 0. I expect this base to fall tomorrow.

Northeast of Makassar, the 15th Nav Gd pursues the Makassar Garrison remnant, and captures the base of Watampone in the process.

Philippines

Pacific
A freebie in the Solomon Islands today - Choiseul Bay is occupied.

At Port Moresby we left one xAK that had a lot of supplies to unload. It gets hit a few times by shore guns as it is unloading so we will send it home tomorrow. Haruna, Kongo and some CA's and CL's take a cruise past PM and leave some shells as calling cards. Moderate damage on troops, the airfield and facilities there, but nothing to write home about. Hiei comes through as well and does more damage to the troops but less to the airfield. We have another group of three battleships that will arrive tomorrow and bombard the next day.

We launch another land assault on PM now that we have some reinforcements, but we still don't manage to do better than 1:2 against the fort level 2. Although we take more casualties, most of ours are disabled. On combat squads, we have 9 destroyed to the enemy's 50 destroyed. Hopefully that bodes well for our long run chances here. Reinforcements continue to load up from Manchuria and the Home Islands to head to PM, so eventually the weight of numbers should start to show.

China
We do an assault at Wenchow today, but also only get 1:2 odds there, although casualties are in our favor by about 1.5 to 1. We will switch the focus to Pucheng while our units here recover a bit.

Northwest of Nanyang we only get 1:2 as well. Another division arrives at this battle in two days and that should win it for sure.

The Yokosuka 4th SNLF captures the unoccupied Nanning, which opens a second supply like to Liuchow.

Submarines
No action today.

January 19th, 1942

DEI
I-153, being low on fuel, has to take a chance and sail through Merak to take the direct route to Singapore. Unfortunately it hits a mine. Chances are 50/50 on the ship returning to port.

The Dutch attack Kalidjati directly today and we get 20 Oscar-A's and 6 A6M2 in the air. We manage to take out about 10 of the Dutch fighters and bombers. Damage to our airfield is light.

With the support of some Nells, our Yokosuka 2nd SNLF unit captures Bandjermasin with 25:1 odds. We destroy at few P-40B's on the ground and send two more Dutch units into the jungle.

Near Derby, our Bettys from Timor find xAP Republic and xAP Chaumont headed west and put two fish into Republic and one in Chaumont - hopefully Republic will sink - the Allies will have way too many xAP's soon enough.

Some cleanup attacks on the north of Sumatra proceed as expected. Near Kendari, elements of the 81st Nav Gd again rout the Dutch Kendari defense units and capture Kolaka.

Tomorrow we will bombard Soerabaja to get a look before we lay on the heavy assault.

Pacific
Near Port Moresby, Allied subs Sturgeon and Cachalot are chased away by our escorts a few times each. Even though we don't have many of the Mod-2 DC's yet, just chasing away the subs before they can attack is still a good thing.

China
We attack Pucheng today and achieve 1:1 odds, dropping forts to 1. Casualties are not in our favor though and we will likely need a bit of rest before another assault.

Two thirds of the 104th Div cross the river near Nanning and hit an enemy Chinese unit that was still in decent shape. The enemy unit is shattered and retreats to the north missing about 30% of its unit.

Submarines
All quiet other than I-153 mentioned above.

I'm late, but: Subscribed
I was to tired yesterday to read through it, but now I did.
It's a very nice read.

I'm in no way an experienced player (most of the time I feel more like a "look-uper" then a player from the time I spend searching the forums and manuals and FAQs for this and that) but the way your allied opponent throws away his assets seems almost careless.
But then, it adds to the glory of the Empire.

BANZAI!

Welcome StK - glad to have another reader!

Yes, we won't complain about Allies throwing away assets. As far as the carrier fight went, it was a rather close run thing, and he said afterwards that his mouse over was telling him that there was 2 CVLs and 1 CVE present or something like that, so I think he was hoping to bag some easy light carrier kills. Thankfully Akagi and Kaga had something to say about that. [:)]