22-25 Jan 42
On Sumatra, an armor regiment is clearing the northeast coast toward Sabang while the 124th Inf Rgt takes Oosthaven in the south. The last enemy bases with an airfield (other than Sabang) is at Padang. The enemy has moved all his remaining patrol aircraft to that base, where they can continue to keep watch on our fleet at Singapore. Our bombers will continue to attack the Padang, while transports have moved to Oosthaven to pick up the 124th for an amphibious assault. This movement is exposed to potential interdiction by the Royal Navy in the Indian Ocean.
Two experienced DMSs swept the narrows at Merak then the port at Oosthaven ahead of the transports and found nothing. Then a destroyer squadron and I-156 blunder into mines at Merak. We may lose one DD.
We take Batavia on the 25th with almost no casualties, though the base is wrecked by his engineers.
Ground combat at Batavia (49,98)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 25973 troops, 280 guns, 213 vehicles, Assault Value = 1152
Defending force 6263 troops, 27 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value = 148
Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 2
Japanese adjusted assault: 669
Allied adjusted defense: 101
Japanese assault odds: 6 to 1 (fort level 2)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Batavia !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
204 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 13 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Units pursuing 1
Allied ground losses:
3024 casualties reported
Squads: 113 destroyed, 42 disabled
Non Combat: 116 destroyed, 31 disabled
Engineers: 35 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 21 (20 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Vehicles lost 2 (2 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 4
Units destroyed 1
Defeated Allied Units Retreating!
Assaulting units:
2nd Engineer Regiment
38th Division
16th Infantry Regiment
18th Division
6th Tank Regiment
2nd Field Artillery Regiment
Defending units:
1st KNIL Landstorm Battalion
Batavia Coastal Gun Battalion
4th KNIL Landstorm Battalion
1 ML-KNIL Aviation
Batavia Base Force
The enemy has a detachment of troops at Tjilatjap, some ash and trash at Soerabaja, and all his remaining combat power on Java is in the mountains at Badoeng.
Noumea falls, also on the 25th. Interesting that he committed a USAAF Base Force without any combat troops other than the a few Free French.
Ground combat at Noumea (115,160)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 6740 troops, 87 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 283
Defending force 1573 troops, 20 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 21
Japanese adjusted assault: 171
Allied adjusted defense: 43
Japanese assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 1)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Noumea !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(-), preparation(-)
experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
37 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
2265 casualties reported
Squads: 27 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 171 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 13 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 22 (22 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 4 (4 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
Assaulting units:
Maizuru 2nd SNLF
144th Infantry Regiment
52nd Naval Guard Unit
Kure 1st SNLF
Defending units:
New Caledonia Det
115th USAAF Base Force
In China, we continue to attack towards Sian and are battering at Wenchow.
; Julia Child
[:D]