The US carriers raid into the Marianas on the 10th, but the raid doesn't go particularly well, partly due to a unit of Zeroes which fights particularly well and partly due to poor US bombing against destroyers which proved to be particularly difficult to hit. Dauntlesses on naval attack manage to sink a fleet oiler, a large patrol boat and a coastal minelayer and put a large bomb into an old destroyer.
The port attack in the afternoon was particularly disappointing, with just 1 bomb hits scored, a 1000lber against the CL Tatsuta. An airfield attack in the afternoon by the Torpedo bombers is more successful, getting about 70 hits on Maloelap and hopefully putting it out of action.
I expect the Japanese carriers to be around Rabaul or Truk, FatR mentioned in his email about them so I dont expect him to try and attack with them.
Total losses; 10 Zeroes, 3 Petes (on CAP), 3 Mavises, AO Endo, PB Taian Maru, 1 Amc, CL Tatsuta and 1 old DD damaged
8 fighters, 10 Dive bombers, 1 torpedo bomber. CL Trenton suffers damage
For tomorrow, 4 CAs will bombard Kwajalein port, recon shows there to be 48 ships in port. The rest of the US force will retreat back towards Pearl Harbour, a lot of the ships are in need of repair after two months at sea.
DEI.
I sent the Dutch airforce to attack yesterday and a feeble effort it was. Zeroes over the Japanese landing base shot down about 8 fighters and of the bombers that got through, not a single hit was scored. I shall try to send the bombers in on night attack but don't expect anything, there are now just 5 operational Dutch fighters on the map and so attacking in the day will be mere suicide. The three Dutch regiments I sent to Loemadjang are all forced back and are now at the mountain fortress of Malang. There looks to be another transport fleet heading to Java, and Dutch coastal gun units are in strategic mode trying to guess where it will land.
There are still no bombing attacks at Singapore and only 1 Japanese bombardment. Forts are at level 3 and another Japanese unit is approaching from Johore Bahru. Cagayan in the Philippines also still holds out.
Burma.
The allied force has managed to evacuate to Katha, there is about 440 AV there and another 20 at Myitkyina. A total disaster has been avoided but the Japanese have still managed to take nearly all of Burma in double quick time.
Aleutians.
Preparations are continuing for a large convoy to Adak, it will be about a week before the xAPs are ready to load at Seattle and another 10 days or so of sailing. Forts are at level 3 now at Dutch Harbour, Cold Bay and Umnak Island. I will probably land the regiments of the Americal Division there in mid April if the Japanese show no signs of interest in these islands. By that stage, it would take the full KB and a multi-division landing force to take these islands.
Japanese airforce.
From a position where I thought I was putting pressure on the IJAAF a few days ago, the number of planes on attack seems to be actually increasing. On the 10th, there were over 140 Oscars sighted on attack all over the map. With the estimated 50 or so already shot down, that suggests that Japanese production has been rapidly expanded to at least 150 a month. With the decreased starting pile of supply and the greatly increased demands on Japanese industry in this mod, the Japanese economy must be coming under great pressure already. In many ways it feels like being in a Zombie film, no matter how many of them you kill, they keep on coming in ever greater numbers; the number of combat sorties in China on the 10th February alone was 516.
