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1/4/42

Commerce raiders get a little action off of Panama

Uh oh.......

The first bad news of the war.

The results...

Looks she's out of the war for a few months...fortunately I am 3 days away from launching a new CVL so CarDiv 3's strength will only go down for a couple of weeks.

1/4/42

4TH FLT

Canton is going to be invaded tommorow. Today CarDiv 1 and 2 bombarded the coastal defenses and this will hopefully save me some AP's.

SE FLT

I desperately need infantry and aircraft here.

SAA

Moving along nicely. Now that the initial invasion waves are in I can use my transports to move in reinforcements from China and the Home Islands. I am going to commit a futher 3 Divisions to Singapore and try to take it quickly (late January). I can then move forward with my plans for the DEI.

The PI is going to turn into a long and drawn out battle. I am unwilling to expend my troops in desperate assaults when starvation will be just as effective. All the units that are involved in the PI now will become SAA's garrison and reserve formations, so I have several months before they will be needed. This time will be used to take out the Americans at our leisure.

BAA

1-2 miles per day through the Jungle [8|]

CHINA

I am going to wothdraw from Ichang. The place gives me nothing at all as far as resources go, and it is taking 2 and a half Divisions to (semi-)garrison it. These units will be better used in my attack on Homan, where I am trying to force a Cauldron Battle.

KWANGTUNG ARMY

I am moving aviation support troops and construction units to Jehol on the Manchurian/ Chinese border to enable some cross border air raids on Sian/ Lanchow.

The big picture.

The score card.

1st Deliberate Attack on Singapore

As you can see the results are good. Despite the AV being 0 to 1, the margin is narrow and we inflicted much heavier casualties than we received.

A continuation of bombardaments punctuated by attacks as disruption allows will bring about the rapid disintigration of British defenses here. I predict that within two weeks we will have favorable assault odds, and that from there the total collapse of the British position will be rapid.

1/14/42

4TH FLEET

Enduring a forced pause while reinforcements are scraped together. We need torpedo bombers and ground forces of all kind, we also need to get the airfields at Baker and Canton to level 4 ASAP.

Until these goals are reached, the attack on Pago Pago has to wait, I don't want my elite South Seas Detachment to be beyond support range and vulnerable.

SE FLEET

Progress here is slow due to a lack of ground strength. I need more reinforcements for these two theaters badly.

SAA

Work against Singapore proceeds on schedule. I need to be careful with my ground forces in this battle, as they will be moving directly into the attack on Java after Singapore falls. As always the key is to drain the enemy of supplies.

The battle in the PI has wound down for the most part. I have the Americans trapped in Bataan, and there is little reason to force the issue at this time, starvation works just as well, and costs far fewer Japanese lives.

BAA

Finally got my lead elements into Moulmein (33rd Div). This campaign should be complete within 2 months.

CHINA

I will put together a Sitrep on China next post. It is a mess, but my basic tactic of outflanking units to cut their supply off and then strangling the life out of them seems to be working (albeit slowly).

A Chinese Corp crosses the river and runs into well dug in Japanese troops [:-]


Elsewhere things are holding steady. Nothing new will break loose until the fall of Singapore I think...though forces are gathering in Burma for the push there, and I am moving units up to 4th Fleet and SE Fleet so I should start moving in those theaters again soon.

1/23/42

The final defenders at Clark Field were rounded up. This leaves all Allied LCU's left in Luzon in Bataan...where they can rot under heavy shelling for the next month or two.

Ops underway again in 4TH FLT area after reinforcement

Ops in the Solomons underway following reinforcement of SE FLT.

BAA is advancing slowly...many units are still moving into their jump off points.

A2A combat has been VERY light so far...the totals are 24 Allied to 3 Japanese AC lost in A2A combat. By way of comparison, ground (for the Allies) and Flak (for Japan) have consumed many, many times this (I have lost some 300 AC to Flak so far). The net result is that Japanese losses now exceed Allied losses...and most of his are ground kills that have a much lower pilot casualty rate.

Sent in another Deliberate Attack on Singapore and got good results...my Engineers knocked down some forts and we inflicted more casualties that we took. The 21st Division should be on site in ~2 weeks should I need it for the final lunge...but it seems that my strategy of heavy bombing and judicious attacks is working fairly well...the only thing that has really hurt has been the repeated shock attacks for crossing the causeway into the place.

I believe that I will be able to use a couple of Divisions to take Java and let the rest recover for the assault on W Aus.

The PI units are gaining booku xp by sieging the Americans in Bataan. These Units are going to form my SAA garrison forces and as such are not going to be needed for some time.

CHINA

I am rethinking my basic strategy here.

The placement of Chinese LCU's in the numerous wooded hexes makes multiple penetrations and a front wide advance extremely difficult to accomplish. I do believe that the other goal of forcing the Chinese into a high optempo to depelte supplies is working...but it is also depleting my supplies at a time when a lack of resources and industrial expansion are also draining me.

Therefore I am going to consolodate and reposition with the new goal of clearing my rear areas once and for all. After that I may let the Chinese Theater decay into a stalemate...or I may try for a single breakthrough towards resource generating areas.

First real surface clash so far this game.

Results follow:

Round 1

Night Time Surface Combat, near Norfolk Island at 60,123

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Shell hits 1
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya, Shell hits 1
CA Kumano
DD Maikaze, Shell hits 7, on fire All 20mm AAA
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 3, on fire A couple of 6" hits
DD Arashi
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 3

Allied Ships
CA Australia
CA Canberra, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage Takes 4! Torpedoes and goes down like a drunken prom date...
CL Leander, Shell hits 4
CL Achilles, Shell hits 3
CL Perth, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Hobart, Shell hits 1
CL Adelaide, Shell hits 1
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night Time Surface Combat, near Norfolk Island at 60,123


Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Walrus: 1 destroyed

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami, Shell hits 1
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano, Shell hits 1
DD Maikaze, on fire
DD Nowaki, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Arashi, Shell hits 1
DD Hagikaze, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
CA Australia
CA Canberra, and is sunk
CL Leander
CL Achilles, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Perth, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
CL Hobart, Shell hits 1
CL Adelaide
CL Marblehead, on fire, heavy damage

I call this a Japanese win...post battle pucs to follow, but the number of torp hits more than makes up for the couple of DD's that I had badly damaged.

20mm tears these tin cans up......

The rest of the fleet

Sitrep 1/31/42

4TH FLEET

Still sending in as many reinforcements as PP's allow (which is not many). I have South Seas Detach and some NLF's prepping for the next set of objectives (Samoa and Fiji). Recon shows that neither of these targets has been heavily reinforced...and my recon will tip my hand.

Therefore I am tasking the Mobile Force with patroling for reinforcement convoys going to these places...hopefully we can ambush some American LCU's and also devastate the American AP fleet (which is weak at this time).

SE FLEET

Many reinforcements are arriving for this theater and are being hurried south. Buna and Dobadura have been taken and will be developed into small airfields capable of handling tactical air...coupled with long range naval aviation from Rabaul/Gasmata I believe that PM cannot be easily reinforced (and I will LRCAP it with Zeros from Buna in a few days to prevent airlifting reinforcements to it).

With PM in hand I can take Meraluke and Thursday Is. and seal off the northern route to Darwin. The route from Perth is covered by naval air on Timor. This means that W Aus is effectively cut off from the world (excepting a narrow dirt trail...). Couple this with the sealing of the convoy routes to Aus from the US and India with CV's and strategically placed bases and I do not think Australia can support a large army in Darwin.

SAA

Recon indicates many LCU's moving to reinforce Darwin. Due to manuveurs in other theaters I think that I can trap these elite Divisions in an attritional battle where their lack of support will doom them. This is good for my defense of the DEI as it will make the Darwin-->Timor route untenable for a long time.

Today we launched a Deliberate attack on Singapore and achieved 3-1 odds (fort 3...now 2). I think this indicates that supplies are now critical there and I have ordered an immediate follow up attack (Deliberate by the Infantry, Shock by the Armor). With a spot of luck this one will be 4-1 and win outright....even without this, it is obvious that the game there is up and I can push hard now and win in a few days. My Divisions are in reasonably good shape after the siege (running from 75-85% I'd say) and will be fully ready to launch mop up operations on Java and the rest of the DEI as soon as Singers falls. The amphibious units are already in place to launch the invasions.

Resource levels in the Home Islands are becoming worrisome...I need to wrap up the DEI in a month or two at most.

PI

A Deliberate attack here today cost us heavily...I will resume my seige tactics here for now.

BAA

Three Divisions are now entering the Theater...Rangoon should fall in 3-4 days and from there it's North to Mandalay and, perhaps, E India.

CHINA

Walter is finally moving to isolate my penetrations...therefore I am withdrawing back to a stable front and massing my forces for a decicive breakthrough at some single point on the line. This point will have to be on a rail line for supply movement and will likely be in the direction of Changsa. I estimate 3 months before I am ready to kick this opffensive off.

Singapore falls 01/31/42.

Update 2/2/42

4TH FLEET

Submarines in the channels from Panama have detected a large convoy with multiple AP's and a strong air combat group (3 CV's reported...see attached screen shot).

I am betting that this is the 2nd Marines and, based on where they are now, their destination has to be SOPAC.

This is just what I have been waiting for...the KB has been patrolling the open convoy routes to SOPAC looking to ambush some reinforcements. These troops cannot be allowed to land...my forces in 4TH FLEET are incapable of taking on a Marine Division in a stand up fight.

Based on other intel (from Mavisis and from a naval bombardament) I believe that Palmyra has received reinforcements...the number of troops and the lack of CD fire leans me towards the belief that an RCT has made its home there. This officially strikes Palmyra from my target list for other than harassment raids.

SE FLEET

We continue in our preparations to take PM. Zeros are now on LRCAP over the base to intercept any airborne reinforcements and the port is well within the Betty "death zone" so sea-borne reinforcements are probably out as well.

Once we take PM I am going to go for Thursday Is. as well in order to cut off Darwin from the Northern resupply route.

SAA

Since I have decided that India is not in SAA's area of ops, my target list has been substantially reduced. The remainder of the DEI and the PI are doomed, obviously. More importantly I have detected a new division (I think) moving cross country towards Darwin (currently in Katherine).

If I can cut the northern and southern convoy routes to the area, these troops will have to be resupplied via a trail through the desert...while my own troops will have limitless resupply from the nearby DEI via ship.

In this light I have ordered the bombing of both Katherine and Darwin in order to slow the build up of supplies at Darwin (Katherine will have to rebuild the airfield every turn, leading to both the use of supplies there, and the demand for a large stockpile there as well...hopefully this will hurt Darwin's levels).

BAA

Now moving into Burma in strength...I am currently outflanking the Bde. in Rangoon so that I can completely destroy them when I take the city.

CHINA

Mess

PLANS

I forsee this game moving in the direction of a Solomons campaign. The Allies will have trouble attacking my barrier until they get superior carrier aircraft so I see the focus moving to where he can use LBA.

In order to stop that I am attempting to completely cut his links to Oz by a combination of Betty bases and aggresive CV/CVL/CVE/CS/AV patrols in both the Indian and S Pacific theaters.

We will see how this works.

CV's spotted on the move

2/13/42

My invasion convoy to Port Moresby was unpleasantly surprised by some A-24's and A-20's operating from PM.

losses are a CL heavily damaged from 2x1000# bombs and an AP moderately damaged by 1x1000# bomb.

Air Forces based at Rabaul have been ordered to attack the airfield at low altitude.

These Allied aircraft were moved in in the last day or so according to recon, so I cannot help but worry that this might finally be a target that the Allies are going to fight over. With that in mind, the following orders have been issued...the 2 light SCTF's that were escorting the convoy have been ordered to bombard in advance of the landings (hopefully killing the American bombers) and a heavy SCTF has been ordered up to cover the invasion TF's.

Airfields at Buna and Dobadura are insufficiently developed to handle attack aircraft at this time, but a flight of Mavises based in Dobadura have failed to detect enemy activity in the Coral Sea.

In other news

Multi-Divisional landings on Java are going in within the week. Dutch resistance is expected to be stiff, but we have them by the balls...we will use superior mobility and striking power to divide the island into two halves...Batavia and Soerbaja...and crush each piece in turn.

The bombardament of Port Moresby seems to have done the trick...75 runway hits, 5 destroyed AC (plus an indeterminant number of damaged ones) and not a Dauntless in sight all day.

My invasion forces will begin debarkation tomorrow under the cover of 6 cruisers in 3 TF's (4 light, 2 armored) plus escorts. This should be enough to forestall any interference from the surviving ANZAC cruisers, though if any of the Asiatic fleet or Force Z shows up it could be a different story. Against this I have been scouring the Coral Sea with search AC and have 3 Daitai of Betties on alert.

More of a worry would be the arrival of American CV's.

I have already confirmed the presence of American CV's escorting a (presumed) troop convoy moving from Panama to SOPAC or Australia and they have either slipped the net I have in the south pacific or have not yet reached it (which is more likely at a speed of 2 or 4 hexes per day). If this represents only a single CarDiv (which I doubt) then that would leave 2 or 3 CV's unaccounted for.

Against this I have 4 Chutai (Shotai? 9 AC each) of Zeros flying LRCAP over PM...they are currently shooting down Dakotas that are running the gauntlet, but would be equally helpful against a carrier raid of the landing zone.

All in all this is something of a shoestring operation and probably represents the farthest that SEFLT can push without building up it's perimeter airfields for the next push (or getting some carrier air).