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And here's Luzon.

And here's what's going on in the Mindanao and Celebes area.

And here are all of those ships from Truk and Kwajalein fleeing to Saipan. Once I can get the Claudes in this area upgraded to Zeros, everyone will move back home.

Dec 9th 1941

KB

The carriers continued towards their rendevous point with the tankers and the CAs from Chichijima. I'm a bit worried here. I've been searching with my Vals and they've been getting some pretty serious sounding sightings (6 and 8 ships) not far (3 or 4 hexes) from the position of KB. But for some reason, my Vals and Kates set on naval attack are not attacking. I'm hoping this means that the sightings are just subs being wildly blown out of proportion or are just complete bogus FOW reports. However, I just did the math and he could have run some of the CLs and DDs out of Pearl at full speed and been in the area in question (just NE of Midway) by now. Alternatively, he could have detached some of the CAs and DDs from his CV TFs that start the game between Wake and Pearl. Am I just being paranoid, or should I be afraid, very afraid? [:(]

Force Z

A SCTF centered around the Hiei and Kirishima found the battered POW and finished her off. The Akebono took a couple of shell hits and will need some repairs. I found no trace of the Repulse. I hope that means she went down somewhere too.

Malaya

Elements of the 18th Division are marching toward Georgetown from Kota Bharu and elements of the 5th Division are marching toward Temuloh from Kuantan.

Port Dickson fell to a paradrop by elements of the 1st Yokosuka SNLF which had been transported to Cam Ranh Bay. Hopefully this will mess up his retreat to Singapore a bit. I kind of view this paradrop as something akin to the van der Heydte airdrop at the start of the Batte of the Bulge. The troops weren't meant to really hold any ground. They were just supposed to mess with American reinforcement efforts and cause general confusion. That's my goal here.

The 11th SBF offloaded at Chumphon. It will march to Victoria Point and take it (hopefully).

Singkawang

The base fell to a deliberate attack by the 124th Rgt and the 2 sections of the 81st NG. The 22nd Air Flotilla, aviation support and engineers will unload tomorrow.

Philippines

Lingayen fell to the 48th Division elements and the 65th Bde and Jolo fell to a paradropped detachment from the 3rd Yokosuka SNLF based at Vigan. Follow up troops for the capture of Davao, Cotobato and Dadjangas are offloading at Digos.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

Ternate fell to a deliberate attack by the 1st JAAF Coy. I will follow up with lots of naval support units as this will be my primary frontline rearming base for this theater. The Namlea and Ambon invasion TFs are at Namlea. They will land tomorrow.

Allied B-17s

They struck again, this time I was ready for them and had some CAP up. Nates over Takao damaged quite a few and a 32 plane Zero squadron that I transferred to Babeldoab really got in some licks. Five B-17s showed up as lost to A2A on the aircraft losses screen. Flak got another one. Six B-17s lost in one turn. That makes me quite happy.

Central Pacific

Dauntless DBs hit Maleolap and Kwajalein. It looks like I was right to move those ships to Saipan. [:)] Mavis patrols spotted two TFs 3 hexes south of Taong, just out of escort reach of my Claudes at Roi Namur. Luckily, I set my Nells at Roi Namur to only a six hex range so they wouldn't fly out unescorted. I think he planned it that way. I have two groups of subs forming a pincer to the North and South of his CVs. I also have all of the subs that started out around Pearl at his back. Hopefully, one (or more) or them will get lucky and put a torpedo into one of them.

Since I already saw these CVs approaching the day before, I have transferred some Bettys and Zeros from Takao to Truk and Saipan respectively. If I can get these planes to Roi Namur, I might be able to give him a black eye before he heads for home.

Here's the situation in the Central Pacific.

Dec 10th 1941

KB

KB, the cruiser force and the tankers are separated by one day's sail. They should link up and refuel tomorrow.

Force Z

No sightings of the Repulse. Hopefully that means she's with the POW.

Malaya

Elements of the 18th Division and 5th Divsion continue their march toward Georgetown and Temuloh respectively. The 22nd Recon Rgt has actually reached the hex between Alor Star and Temuloh, thereby isolating the Indian Brigades at Alor Star. The Imperial Gds Div is on the railroad heading toward Singora. They will march overland to take Alor Star (probably with some assistance from a couple of regiments of the 18th Div).

A small detachment of the 41st Guard Bn at Saigon will be airlifted to Port Dickson tomorrow to prevent it from autoswitching while the detachment of the 1st Yokosuka SNLF that took the base marches toward Port Swettenham (one hex to the NW).

The 11th SBF is marching toward Victoria Point from Chumphon. The 15th and 17th JAAF Bns are on the railroad heading towards Chumphon. They will march overland to join the 11th SBF at Victoria Point.

Singkawang

The 22nd Air Flotilla, aviation support and engineers have unloaded. The base will be expanded to a level 4 airfield so it can operate torpedo-armed Netties.

Philippines

The detachment from the 24th JAAF Bn is two hexes off of Baler. It will land tomorrow and be followed by the 9th Rgt. I separated out the fastest ship carrying the 20th Rgt (xAP Takatiho Maru) from the TF that starts the game at Amami Oshima. It is being joined by two DDs that have sailed from Japan to meet up with her. This fast TF will proceed ahead of the main body of the 16th Division and land at Mauban (again, I am trying to keep Bill in the dark about what LCUs are where). Zuiho, Hosho, Ise and Hyuga are covering the 4th, 16th, 21st and 33rd Divisions as they proceed to Mauban.

Follow up troops for the capture of Davao, Cotobato and Dadjangas have offloaded at Digos and are heading towards their destinations.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The 2nd Fleet, 2nd BF, 2nd Port Unit, 2nd Shipping Eng Rgt and the 102nd, 202nd and 302nd Shipping Eng Coys offloaded at Ternate. (Can you tell I like to keep similarly numbered units together?) They will provide enough naval support to rearm the main guns of my CAs in this theater. The Namlea and Ambon invasion TFs landed at their respective destinations without serious incident. Three APDs and a couple xAKs in the Ambon TF took a beating, but should survive. The boys bound for Makassar drank saki while watching the Ambon landings from aboard their transports. In a couple of days, they will head out towards Watampone. The base should already be held by the 3rd Yokosuka SNLF by the time they get there as a detachment from the unit will be airdropped from Jolo in a couple of days.

Hong Kong

The 104th Division has joined the normal force slated to take this place. The 66th Rgt which normally is with this force has been diverted to Canton to allow garrison requirements to be met in the absence of the 104th. For the last couple of days, Netties, Lilys and Sallys from Formosa have been bombing the port and the ground troops. Light bombers from Canton have been doing likewise.

Now that the entire assault force is ready and situated, I will do a deliberate attack.

Allied B-17s

Two flights of B-17s struck at Vigan. One targeted ground troops, the other targeted an amphibious TF unloading supply. The B-17s were hit hard again as were their escorts (some P-35As). For no losses, my two 9-plane Zero detachments destroyed 3 P-35As and damaged most of the B-17s.

Central Pacific

Bill's CVs launched more ineffective strikes. Dauntless DBs hit Kwajalein and Devastator TBs hit Jaluit causing very little damage. Right now, they are between Maleolap and Jaluit. They've slipped through my screen of subs. Drat!

I've relocated about 100 Bettys and 50 Zeros to Truk and Saipan. Hopefully, they can get in a long-range strike on his carriers.

Other stuff

I-122 hit a mine at Palembang and isn't looking good. I didn't mean to set her to patrol at Palembang - I wanted her in the hex just outside the base. I've got to be more careful in the future.

Dec 11th 1941

KB

KB, the cruiser force and the tankers have linked up and refueled. They will head toward Truk to either go after Bill's carriers in the Central Pacific, or cover the invasion of Wake if the carriers have fled the area.

Malaya

The 22nd Recon Rgt has been joined by the 114th Rgt in the hex between Alor Star and Temuloh. The 55th and 56th Rgts and various 25th Army artillery units are 2 to 3 days behind them. The Imperial Gds Div is almost to Singora. The 14th Tank Rgt is already there and unpacking.

The 1st Yokosuka SNLF fragment that took Port Dickson has reached Port Swettenham.

The 11th SBF and 15th and 17th JAAF Bns are at Chumphon and heading toward Victoria Point.

Singkawang

The airfield is already 25% to level 4. Soon I'll have torpedo-armed Netties within striking distance of Batavia. Part of the 124th Rgt landed at Pontianak. It will do a deliberate attack tomorrow.

Philippines

The detachment from the 24th JAAF Bn landed at Baler. The rest of the 16th Division is another couple of days out of Baler and Mauban. The 4th, 21st and 33rd Divisions also enroute.

Troops at Digos are still plodding along towards Cotobato, Dadjangas and Davao.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

Ambon fell to a deliberate attack by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 8th Sasebo SNLFs and the 15th and 16th NGs. The 21st and 23rd Air Flotillas are offloading. This will give me a level four airfield with torpedo capability. The 23rd's xAK was damaged by an attack by Dutch bombers. That is the only reason it is unloading. Otherwise it would have stayed loaded to follow a couple of the SNLFs to Koepang.

Hong Kong

The deliberate attack didn't go so well. 1:2 odds, but the forts were reduced to level 2. I'll bombard with the artillery for a couple of days while the infantry rests up.

Allied B-17s

Seven Zeros tangled with 13 Warhawks and 7 B-17s in the skies above Vigan. For no loss, the Zeros shot down 3 Warhawks and a B-17. Plus, most of the other B-17s were damaged.

Central Pacific

Some of the Dauntless DBs from Bill's carriers hit Jaluit again causing virtually no damage. He seems to be moving westward south of Kusaie island. Hopefully next turn the Zeros and Netties from Roi Namur can hit them. If not, if he continues westward, I've got some Zeros and Bettys at Truk. Hopefully they can get him.

Other stuff

The I-122 sank off Palembang. But her loss was avenged by the 4 CA force that starts the game off of Malaya. This TF intercepted a couple of British CLs (Dragon and Durban) and sank them. Unfortunately, the Kumano took heavy damage from a torpedo. I think she'll safely make it to Singkawang. Hopefully the naval support units I have there can make up for the fact that it's only a level one port.

Dec 12th 1941

KB

Bill's carriers look to be heading west toward Rabaul. I'm suspecting he'll then move them to the SRA. If he lingers in the Central Pacific, I'll send KB after them. If he heads west to the SRA, I'll use KB to cover an invasions pf Wake, Rabaul and the Gilberts just in case Saratoga decides to show up.

Malaya

Elements of the 5th and 18th Division continue to march toward Temuloh and Georgetown respectively. The Imperial Gds Div arrived at Singora. It will unpack and march toward Alor Star along with the 14th Tank Rgt. Its looking like everything in Malaya is in full retreat into Singapore. I think my airborne operation at Port Dickson really complicated his retreat. There are several units marching south that I just might be able to keep from reaching Singapore if I can pull off a shoestring Mersing gambit. I have the 124th Rgt in SW Borneo (Singkawang and Pontianak). If I can load it onto my fastest transports available and get it adequate surface cover, I believe I will try it.

The 1st Yokosuka SNLF fragment that took Port Dickson has reached Port Swettenham.

The 11th SBF and 15th and 17th JAAF Bns at Chumphon have been joined by the 1st Royal Thai Div. All of these units are heading toward Victoria Point.

Singkawang

The airfield expansion is up to 42%. I transferred a recon unit and a small group of Nates here. One of the battalions of the 124th Rgt took Pontianak with a deliberate attack.

Philippines

I forgot to set the detachment from the 24th JAAF Bn at Baler to deliberate attack. That has been fixed. It will take the dot hex tomorrow. The rest of the 16th Division as well as the 4th, 21st and 33rd Divisions inched closer to Baler and Mauban.

Troops at Digos are still plodding along towards Cotobato, Dadjangas and Davao.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The 21st and 23rd Air Flotillas have completed unloading at Ambon. The base is moderately damaged (airfield around 20%), so I decided to offload the engineers I had slated for Makassar. Once they complete repairs, they will load back up and follow the Makassar invasion TF.

I am hoping to get some Zeros and Netties to Ambon as soon as I can. Bill's carriers are near Rabaul and heading westward. I suspect he is sending them to help defend the SRA. If he gets too close to Ambon, maybe I can take down a CV.

Hong Kong

I bombarded with the artillery and rested up the infantry who recoverd rather nicely. There will be a deliberate attack tomorrow.

Allied B-17s

Two B-17s managed to hit 3 xAKs in Ambon harbor. Either those bomber crews are magicians, or my ships were moored too closely. I didn't have anything for CAP available, so I transferred some Petes from Ternate. I know they won't be able to bring any down if they show up again, but at least they'll harrass them a bit and throw off their aim. I have a small squadron of Claudes at Ternate. I chose to leave them there and use the Petes at Ambon because the damaged APDs from the Ambon invasion have been sent to Ternate for repairs. These ships are moderately damaged and I fear a bomb from a B-17 might just finish them off.

Six B-17s escorted by 13 P-40Es hit Lingayen. They were met by 6 Zeros flying CAP out of Vigan. Again, the Zeros chewed up the escorting fighters and put a hurting on the bombers for no loss. The combat report only said one P-40E was destroyed, but the combat replay showed at least five or six being shot down.

Central Pacific

Bill's carriers moved further west. If they keep moving due west, they should be 14 hexes from Truk. I hope that's the case. I have some Zeros and Bettys at Truk. Zeros with drop tanks have a range of 14, so I might be able to take a shot at them.

Other stuff

Kaga and Ryujo have paired up and taken a position one hex east of Banka Island. A SCTF with two Kongos and two CAs is in the hex with them, as is the amphibious TF with my troops loaded for the invasion of Sumatra and a mine laying TF consisting of 2 CMs and 8 PBs (total of 120 mines loaded).

Today, the foolish British and Dutch air commanders sent several flights of escorted bombers at them. The Zeros up on CAP absolutely shredded them. Not a single Zero was lost and, according to the aircraft lost screan, a total of 28 bombers and 23 escorts were shot down. Not a bad day considering the TF only has 48 Zeros in all and only 50% were set to CAP. I'll call it the Bangka Island Turkey Shoot.

ORIGINAL: Icedawg


Two B-17s managed to hit 3 xAKs in Ambon harbor. Either those bomber crews are magicians, or my ships were moored too closely. I didn't have anything for CAP available, so I transferred some Petes from Ternate. I know they won't be able to bring any down if they show up again, but at least they'll harrass them a bit and throw off their aim. I have a small squadron of Claudes at Ternate. I chose to leave them there and use the Petes at Ambon because the damaged APDs from the Ambon invasion have been sent to Ternate for repairs. These ships are moderately damaged and I fear a bomb from a B-17 might just finish them off.

This is the danger you evil imperialists have penetrating deep int the DEI early in the war. I've managed to hit a couple of xAKs disbanded in ports just captured.... Be careful, capturing a base within range of the level four airfield at Batavia, Soerbaja, Balikipan, etc... the Dutch might not be able to hit ships, but they can tear up resources, airfields, planes, and unloading ships. If I was playing the Japanese I would land a BF with the invasion troops and land fighters the day after capturing the base.


Where is the AVG at?

ORIGINAL: jb123

ORIGINAL: Icedawg


Two B-17s managed to hit 3 xAKs in Ambon harbor. Either those bomber crews are magicians, or my ships were moored too closely. I didn't have anything for CAP available, so I transferred some Petes from Ternate. I know they won't be able to bring any down if they show up again, but at least they'll harrass them a bit and throw off their aim. I have a small squadron of Claudes at Ternate. I chose to leave them there and use the Petes at Ambon because the damaged APDs from the Ambon invasion have been sent to Ternate for repairs. These ships are moderately damaged and I fear a bomb from a B-17 might just finish them off.

This is the danger you evil imperialists have penetrating deep int the DEI early in the war. I've managed to hit a couple of xAKs disbanded in ports just captured.... Be careful, capturing a base within range of the level four airfield at Batavia, Soerbaja, Balikipan, etc... the Dutch might not be able to hit ships, but they can tear up resources, airfields, planes, and unloading ships. If I was playing the Japanese I would land a BF with the invasion troops and land fighters the day after capturing the base.


Where is the AVG at?

Hey, someone is actually reading this AAR! I had been getting discouraged by the fact that I'm pretty much the only person posting on this thread. (In fact, I was about to call it quits.)

I usually bring the aviation support units along in a separate TF when possible. Once the base is taken, they offload the next turn. I was just surprised at how aggressively he is using his B-17s. Now that he has hit a few ports with docked ships, I have small fighter units CAPing any such base.

The AVG has only shown up escorting a couple of small raids on empty airfields in Thailand. We have a house rule about units operating only in historical (or semi-historical) locations, so the AVG shouldn't be seen in the SRA.

Dont call it quits! There are at least two of us reading.

I am currently the other side of Rumble in the Southwest (or whatever the name is) with witqps. I tend to lurk on the Japanese side of DBBs games.

Do not discount China. Opening the land route from Singapore to Korea has some major advantages in this mod since shipping capacity is reduced. Work out the garrisons, herd the cats in the south and take Wuchow (or whatever that city on the coast is) fairly early. Watch the stacking because if he stacks near the limit in favorable terrain, it will be hard to move him.

Any sign of the USN cruisers around Borneo? I hate those guys ...

Wa

Dec 13th 1941

KB

Bill's carriers still look to be heading west toward Rabaul. Currently, they are 4 hexes east of Kavieng. KB is about 6 or 7 hexes SE of Wake. They'll head in the general direction of Kwajalein.

Malaya

My mini Mersing gambit had a wrench thrown into it. The two battalions from the 124th Rgt that I loaded up from Singkawang unloaded on Serasan Island. I had set the amphibious TF carrying them to follow a SCTF centered around a couple of Kongos and used Serasan as on of the patrol zone hexes for the SCTF. Apparently, if you set an amphibious TF to follow a SCTF it will unload at the waypoints/patrol zone hexes you set for the SCTF. This is going to cause a couple days delay on getting these guys to Mersing. I think this means I'm going to have to paradrop the 1st Yokosuka SNLF from Soc Trang onto Mersing. This will save a day.

He is bailing out everywhere along the peninsula. Recon shows that many of the bases are empty. After the 1st Yokosuka SNLF takes Mersing, I'll have it take these empty bases as well. This will speed up my pursuit of his units fleeing to Singapore.

The 11th SBF has arrived at Victoria Point. The 15th and 17th JAAF Bns and the 1st Royal Thai Division are all on the way as well.

Singkawang

The airfield expansion is up to 58%. I moved a JAAF Coy to Pontianak to keep that base from possibly autoswitching. I'm marching the two detachments from the 81st NG along the road to the SE of Singkawang. The base force at Pontianak retreated there. I hope that if I hit it again, I can get it to retreat to Sambas. Down the road I'm going to take Kuching and get the garrison there to also retreat to Sambas.

Philippines

The 48th Division elements and 65th Bde are still marching toward Clark. The Tanaka Detachment is marching from Vigan toward Tuguegarao.

The detachment from the 24th JAAF Bn took Baler and the 9th Rgt started unloading there. It will march west to take Cabanatuan. The rest of the 16th Division as well as the 4th and 33rd Divisions unloaded at Mauban. The 21st Division is also enroute.

The Miura Detachment arrived at Davao. It will perform a deliberate attack tomorrow.

Zeros from Vigan swept Clark and shot down 11 P-40s for a loss of 2 Zeros.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

Bill showed up off Ambon with a huge SCTF. Houston, Boise, Marblehead, Java, De Ruyter and Tromp plus a large number of DDs engaged the Myoko, Haguro and Nagara plus 4 DDs. In a wid night action followed by another round during the day, both sides sustained moderate damage. The Houston got roughed up pretty badly and will probably sink. More importantly, the Boise got hit by a couple of 20cm shells. She'll be at reduced effectiveness for a bit! [:D] The Myoko and Osashio sustained a good deal of damage. I think the Osashio is probably going to sink. The Myoko will be fine but will be out of commission for a month or so. Overall, I'd consider it a victory. Bill didn't get at the troopships, and since one of his moderately damaged ships is the Boise, I'd say the IJN won the day.

Hong Kong

The base fell today to a deliberate attack by the 104th Division and 38th Division.

Allied B-17s

B-17s hit Lingayen and Takao for no damage and no loss.

Central Pacific

Bill's carriers moved further west and are now four hexes east of Kavieng.

Dec 14th 1941

KB

Bill's carriers turned south and are one hex SE of Shortlands. Unfortunately, my search planes only spotted one TF, and it apparently contains seven CVs! [X(] Can you say "fog of war"? I'm not quite sure what Bill is planning to do with these two carriers. Is he going to sail along the southern coast of New Guinea to the SRA? Or is he going to double back and try to disrupt landings he is anticipating at Makin and/or Wake? I'm going to try to cover both contingencies by eventually splitting off Akagi from KB and sending her west to join up with Kaga and Ryujo. Should Bill try anything in the SRA, I'm hoping that some LBA Zeros and Netties at either Singkawang or Ambon can assist them in any tangle with Bill's carriers. The other four CVs will remain in the Central Pacific and support landings at Wake and in the Gilberts. Four CVs vs two sounds like pretty good odds to me.

Malaya

Mersing was taken by a paradrop by a fragment of the 1st Yokosuka SNLF at Soc Trang.

Georgetown was taken by a deliberate attack by the 114th Rgt and the 22nd Recon Rgt. The only defending unit there was the CD unit that starts the game there. Bill is definitely in all out retreat toward Singapore.

Victoria Point was taken by the 11th SBF. The 15th and 17th JAAF Bns and the 1st Royal Thai Division arrived there as well. There was a slight problem though. I thought that the base force that the allies have there would have surrendered. However, it retreated toward Mergui. I figured that since Victoria Point and Mergui are separated by four jungle hexes, there would be no valid supply path, and hence no retreat would be possible. With each hex at a supply value of 25, I figured the total value of 100 would reduce the supply path to zero. I guess I don't understand supply paths. [:(] The 1st Royal Thai Division will be tasked with cleaning up this unit.

Singkawang

The airfield expansion is up to 74%. The two detachments from the 81st NG continue moving toward the allied base force displaced from Pontianak one hex SE of Singkawang.

Philippines

Aparri fell to the row boat corps.

The 48th Division elements and 65th Bde are getting very close to Clark. The Tanaka Detachment is getting closer to Tuguegarao.

The 9th Rgt finished unloading at Baler and will march west to take Cabanatuan. The rest of the 16th Division as well as the 4th, 21st and 33rd Divisions are unloading at Mauban.

The Miura Detachment took Davao and the 1st Kure SNLF took Cotobato with a deliberate attack that caused the defending battaliion to surrender. That should help speed my advance toward Cagayan and Oroquieta.

The 2nd Kure SNLF arrived at Dadjangas. It will perform a deliberate attack tomorrow.

Zeros from Vigan swept Clark and shot down 2 P-40s for no loss.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

Ambon was pretty quiet today. I was hoping Bill would press his attack as I had brought two more 2-CA TFs from the general area to Ambon. I figured Bill's guns would be running low on ammo. Combined this with the damage to several of his ships, and I would expect that my fresh CAs would have been able to do some damage in any surface engagement that may have ensued. No such luck. It looks like he fell back to whatever port he is using to resupply his ships. I had some Netties at Ambon set to naval search and naval attack. I hoped that maybe they'd spot and hit any damaged ships that may have detached from the main body of Bill's main SCTF. Again no such luck. I didn't even get any spotting reports in the area (except for two subs SW of Ambon). I hope this lack of sightings may mean that some of the damaged ships in that TF sank. I suspect I'm being overly optimistic about this though.

Hong Kong

The 104th Division is heading back to Canton and the 38th Division is waiting for transports to arrive to take them to Cam Ranh Bay where they will join the 21st Bde prepping for an invasion of Java.

Allied B-17s

B-17s hit Vigan and caused moderate damage to the airfield, destroying 4 Topsys and a Val on the ground. I made a mistake and forgot to set my Zeros based here to CAP. They performed a sweep at Clark, but I didn't set any CAP percentage. I won't make that mistake again. Well, actually, it's a long game, so I bet I will.

Central Pacific

As mentioned above, Bill's carriers have moved south and are now located one hex SE of Shortlands.

Guam fell to a deliberate attack by the 144th Rgt. It will load back up and head toward Rabaul eventually.

Now that Bill's carriers are safely out of the picture, the two AMCs that started out in the SE Pacific are closing in on Kwajalein. The 53rd NG was dropped off here when I was in retreat mode after spotting Bill's carriers early on. The AMCs will pick this unit up and join up with ships carrying the Maizuru 2nd SNLF which is currently at Saipan. This will be my force slated for taking Wake.

Edit

Palembang

I have changed my mind about passing through Merak and landing in Benkoelen. Instead, I landed the 21st, 42nd and 143rd Rgts along with the 2nd and 4th Yokosuka SNLFs and the 91st NG at Palembang. I led with a minesweeping TF and had a few DMS vessels in the amphibious TF just in case Bill mined heavily. No mines were found and the troops landed uneventfully.

Offshore is another amphibious TF with support troops. In particular, I brought 5 AA units with a total of about 100 8cm AA guns. I'm anticipating Bill trying to hit the oil wells and refineries with whatever aircraft he has within range.

Dec 15th 1941

KB

Bill's carriers disappeared this turn. I think I'll just send KB to Truk to refuel before covering the invasions of Wake and the Gilberts.

Malaya

A couple of allied units were detected by recon at Johore Bharu. I'm thinking this means one of two things. Either Bill is sallying forth from Singapore to take the rail line back so the rest of his troops trapped in the north can make it to Singapore, or he is trying to set up a working level four airfield in the area as Singapore is pretty well shot.

Other than that, a sweep of Singapore by some Oscars and Zeros from Kuantan met no opposition. It looks like Bill has pulled his aircraft out of the demolished airfield at Singapore.

The debacle with the 124th Rgt just got worse! I reloaded them onto their transports at Serasan and set them to follow a SCTF containing two Kongos and they promptly unloaded themselves at Serasan AGAIN! I don't know what's going on here. I did not set Serasan as a patrol zone hex for the Kongos. They started at Serasan with one patrol zone located a few hexes NW and a second patrol zone at Mersing. I was hoping the amphibious TF with the 124th Rgt embarked would follow them to Mersing and unload THERE, not at Serasan. I've set amphibous TFs to follow SCTFs to their desired unloading location like this several times without incident. I don't know what the difference is in this case. If at first, you don't succeed, try, try again. Right?

Singkawang

The airfield expansion is up to 90%. It should be at level four by tomorrow. The two detachments from the 81st NG are still marching SE to engage the base force displaced from Pontianak.

Philippines

The 48th Division elements and 65th Bde arrived at Clark. Clark is overstacked with allied troops (if recon values can be trusted), so I'm just going to sit there for now and let him pile up fatigue and disruption while his supplies get drained away by the overstack penalty. The Tanaka Detachment arrived at Tuguegarao. It will take the base tomorrow.

The 9th Rgt continues marching toward Cabanatuan. The rest of the 16th Division finished unloading at Mauban and will march toward Batangas. The 4th, 21st and 33rd Divisions are still unloading.

The 1st Kure SNLF is marching toward Cagayan along with the Kimura detachment. The 1st Sasebo SNLF Coy is marching toward Oroquieta.

The 2nd Kure SNLF captured Dadjangas. It will march toward Cagayan to help take that base if it is needed.

Zeros at Vigan intercepted a raid from Clark and shot down 8 P-40s and 1 B-17 and damaged several other B-17s for a loss of one Zero.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

Pretty quiet again today. It looks like Bill has withdrawn his SCTF that tried to disrupt the landing at Ambon a couple turns ago and left a couple subs two hexes W and SW of Ambon. I diverted the Makassar invasion TF temporarily to Ternate. If Bill stays fixed on Ambon, he's only going to hit a 2-CA SCTF and some transports unloading supplies.

Allied B-17s

As mentioned above, B-17s hit Vigan and caused minimal damage for the loss of one of their number (plus several damaged) and the loss of 8 escorting P-40s.

Central Pacific

With Bill's carriers gone (or apparently so), I feel a bit more comfortable about heading to Wake. The AMCs that started in the SE Pacific have arrived at Kwajalein. They will load up the 53rd NG and move NW to meet up with the bulk of the invasion fleet sailing out of Saipan. The Maizuru 2nd SNLF is loading onto transports here and, together with the 53rd NG, should be enough to take the base. I hope.

Edit

Palembang

I performed a bombardment attack just to confirm that my recon planes based at Singkawang had been accurate when they reported only two allied LCUs present and only a total of about 2k troops. They were correct. Bill just has the original garrison there. I'll do a deliberate attack tomorrow.

Dec 16th 1941

Palembang

I took Palembang with a deliberate attack at 356:1 odds. The only damage to the infrastructure was 9 damaged oil wells and 10 damaged refineries. For only 19k supplies, I'll have the fuel pumping out at maximum capacity! Nice. I will land the support troops and get those AA guns in place. I will also transfer a couple of Oscar squadrons and a Zero squadron to provide CAP against the inevitable 4E retaliation.

A couple of Swordfish from Batavia put a bomb into the Nojima Maru off of Palembang. She had already unloaded the troops and supplies she was carrying and the damage wasn't too severe.

SS-020 tried hitting the transports unloading at Palembang and was chased away by a couple of escorting DDs.

KB

Bill's carriers have not reappeared. Nagumo is on the way to Truk to refuel.

Malaya

Since the two battalions of the 124th Rgt that I had hoped would be at Mersing right now are still playing in the surf at Serasan, I moved a ton of transport aircraft to Singkawang and airlifted the bulk of the third battalion to Kluong in case Bill tries to reopen the rail line to Singapore. I'll transport the rest today. In addition, I'll start airlifting the 42nd Rgt from Palembang to Kluong. I really want to get some troops there just in case he is trying to open a path for his troops trapped in the north. In addition, I am forming up a small cargo TF and a small fast transport TF at Singkawang to bring some supply to Mersing.

The transports for the 124th Rgt returned to Serasan and are reloading the two battalions there. This time, I am not doing anything as far as having the amphibious TF follow the SCTF with the Kongos. Instead, I will just set the Kongos to patrol near where I anticipate the amphibious TF ending its turn. The amphibious TF will just move to Mersing - nothing fancy with its orders. We'll see if that does the trick and actually gets them to Mersing.

Singkawang

The airfield has reached level four. Currently the field is loaded with transports lifting the remaining battalion of the 124th Rgt to Kluong, so there's no room for Netties. Once the transports are done, I'll get them out of there and get some Netties and Zeros in there. From here, I will hit Bill's level four airfields within B-17 range of Palembang.

Philippines

The 48th Division elements and 65th Bde are sitting patiently at Clark. The Tanaka Detachment tookTuguegarao with a deliberate attack. It is heading to Clark along with the Kanno detachment which is currently at Lingayen.

The 9th Rgt arrived at Cabanatuan. It will take the base tomorrow with a deliberate attack. The rest of the 16th Division is marching toward Batangas. The 4th, 21st and 33rd Divisions finished unloading and are on there way there too.

Troops continue marching toward Cagayan and Oroquieta.

The 2nd Kure SNLF captured Dadjangas. It will march toward Cagayan to help take that base if it is needed.

Netties from Takao and Anns and Sonias from San Fernando hit Clark and caused moderate damage. I'm not too interested in disabling the airfield. Instead, I just want to keep his engineers busy repairing a cratered runway so they can't build fortifications.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

Pretty quiet again today. Other than an ineffective attack on the supply transports unloading by SS-41, not much happened. The Makassar invasion TF moved out and is now located five hexes to the east of Ternate escorted by a 2-CA SCTF.

An amphibious TF from Babeldoab carrying three of the small SNLF Coys of the SE Area Fleet is on its way to Dili. These guys will secure Dili and Lautem so that once I take Koepang, the garrison will have no retreat path and will be forced to surrender. These troopships are being covered by a SCTF based on the Fuso and Yamashiro.

Allied B-17s

Three Zeros intercepted 8 unescorted B-17s over Haiphong. One B-17 was shot down and several more were damaged. No Zeros were lost.

Central Pacific

The 53rd NG is loaded on its AMCs and will head NW to link up with the rest of the invasion TF bound for Wake. Again, no sight of Bill's carriers.

Other Stuff

Kaga and Ryujo caught a couple of TFs off the south coast of Java. They were located a couple hexes off the north coast near Kalidjati. Vals and Kates sank the xAP Hong Peng and put a bomb into the AVP Pollux. A fair number of Vals were shot down or damaged, but the sinking of the Hong Peng made the losses worth it. Based on the combat report, he lost a good chunk of some LCU. A few turns earlier, I had spotted a TF off the south/west coast of Sumatra in the area of Benkoelen. I'm guessing he loaded the Zuid Knil Battalion that starts out at Benkoelen and was trying to reinforce Java.

Kaga and Ryujos Zeros feasted again on Dutch and British bombers and their escorts. For the loss of one Zero, seven bombers and nine escorts were shot down.

Palembang - don't forget the need to expand the AF to size 5 so the total Port + AF = 9 and eliminate spoilage of your Fuel. Thus, some engineers will be need over there ASAP.

Malaya - I was able to rail in my troops from the north into Kluong and then move them south into Singapore eventually. I got the 11th Indian Division back from Alor Star and Taiping this way. You will need to get control of another hexside of Kluong other than the one to Mersing to halt this movement.

Nice to get an AP with troops aboard. Any AP sunk in that area is a plus.

Nice your only restriction on strategic bombing is no light industry, Zeros will be required at Palembang for a long time. The good news is it looks like the Dutch are thrashing themselves against CV CAP. I would expect B-17s over Palembang pretty soon.

Wa

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Palembang - don't forget the need to expand the AF to size 5 so the total Port + AF = 9 and eliminate spoilage of your Fuel. Thus, some engineers will be need over there ASAP.

Malaya - I was able to rail in my troops from the north into Kluong and then move them south into Singapore eventually. I got the 11th Indian Division back from Alor Star and Taiping this way. You will need to get control of another hexside of Kluong other than the one to Mersing to halt this movement.

Thanks for the reminder of the AF increase. I probably would have completely forgotten.

As for Malaya, I'll give you a screenshot so you can see what's going on. The 1st Yokosuka SNLF has been busy taking vacated hexes all along the peninsula.

ORIGINAL: Andav



Nice to get an AP with troops aboard. Any AP sunk in that area is a plus.

Nice your only restriction on strategic bombing is no light industry, Zeros will be required at Palembang for a long time. The good news is it looks like the Dutch are thrashing themselves against CV CAP. I would expect B-17s over Palembang pretty soon.

Wa

Yeah, it was nice to see that xAP sinking, especially with troops aboard.

I agree about the B-17s. I think it's just a matter of time before they show up.

Dec 17th 1941

Palembang

The support troops started unloading today. Included in this follow up TF are the 1st and 6th Tank Rgts. They will pursue the Palembang garrison and drive toward Oosthaven.

The Nojima Maru sank off Palembang. I guess the damage was worse than I thought.

SS-020 hit one of my ASW TFs at Palembang and sank DD Nowaki.

KB

KB is refueled and will cover the invasion of Wake

Malaya

Another paradrop by the 1st Yokosuka SNLF took Batu Pahat. I did this to free up another retreat path if Bill ends up doing some sort of counterattack with the allied units that have sallied forth from Singapore at Johore Bahru.

The transports for the 124th Rgt finally loaded the troops and kept them loaded long enough to be underway and heading toward Mersing. I don't know what the deal was with this TF. A lot of time was lost. I hope it doesn't end up costing me.

Singkawang

The two detachments from the 81st NG hit the base force displaced from Pontianak and sent it packing to Sambas.

Philippines

The 9th Rgt took Cabanatuan and the 16th Recon Rgt took Batangas. The 9th Rgt is marching toward Manila where it will meet the 20th Rgt and the 16th Engineer Rgt. The 16th Recon Rgt is heading south east to take the bases on the southern end of the peninsula.

Netties and Sallies from Takao hit Clark and Anns and Sonias from San Fernando hit Batan and caused slight damage.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The Makassar invasion TF is one hex SE of Kendari. The 3rd Yokosuka SNLF is going to land at Watampone today. The troops slated to take Makassar are slated to land here the following turn. Again, the purpose of this sequence is to keep Bill guessing as to what LCUs are where.

Allied B-17s

Nothing to report. Since they didn't show up anywhere, I assume that means Bill is sending them somewhere where they can hit Palembang. I noticed the sig int screen showed radio transmissions at Madioen, the level four airfield near Soerabaja. I wonder if the radio transmissions are the B-17s landing here via transfer mission. Kaga and Ryujo are in the area. If B-17s show up over Palembang this turn, perhaps their Vals and Kates will pay that airfield a visit.

Central Pacific

TFs from Kwajalein and Saipan are moving to link up northeast of Truk and then to Wake. KB and a surface TF centered around the Nagato and the Mutsu will cover this operation.