Dec 14th, 1941
Today featured a series of running battles beginning with a CL lead TF and featuring a Maya lead TF battling a TF with CA Houston, CL Marblehead and the dreaded CL Boise,
Of note:
Japanese forces CAPTURE Hwaiyin !!!
Japanese forces CAPTURE Wake Island !!!
Japanese forces CAPTURE Naga !!!
Japanese forces CAPTURE Buin !!!
CL Yubari firing at Wake Island
DD Tachikaze firing at 100th Chinese Corps (Wenchow)
DD Samidare firing at Wenchow (Wenchow)
DD Yamagumo firing at 100th Chinese Corps (Wenchow)
First battle. Lots of torpedoes in the water but no hits.
000005 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 67,98 Donggala
Night Time Surface Combat, near Donggala at 67,98, Range 9,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CL Isuzu
CL Kiso, Shell hits 1
DD Kamikaze
DD Okikaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 3
CL Marblehead
CL Boise, Shell hits 1
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Stewart
DD Paul Jones
DD Parrott, Shell hits 1
CL Marblehead launches Torpedoes at CL Kiso at 9,000 yards
DD Parrott launches Torpedoes at DD Kamikaze at 9,000 yards
DD Stewart launches Torpedoes at DD Kamikaze at 9,000 yards
DD Bulmer launches Torpedoes at DD Kamikaze at 9,000 yards
The second has CA Maya reacting into the Houston lead TF. The 3 hits on Houston where all 20cm from Maya.
000006 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 67,97 Donggala
Night Time Surface Combat, near Donggala at 67,97, Range 9,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CL Natori
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze, Shell hits 1
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 3, on fire
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 1
CL Boise
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Stewart, Shell hits 3, on fire
DD Paul Jones
DD Parrott
DD Stewart collides with DD Parrott at 67 , 97
The third round was minus DD Stewart and DD Parrott. The damage must have been bad enough to cause them to drop out. This was again the TFs reacting and engaging. Torpedoes miss.
000007 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 67,98 Donggala
Night Time Surface Combat, near Donggala at 67,98, Range 7,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Shell hits 1
CL Natori, Shell hits 2
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, on fire
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 5
CL Boise
DD Barker, Shell hits 1
DD Bulmer
DD Paul Jones
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 7,000 yards
Japanese open fire on surprised Allied ships at 7,000 yards
CA Maya launches Long Lance Torpedoes at CL Marblehead at 7,000 yards
CL Natori launches Long Lance Torpedoes at CL Marblehead at 7,000 yards
The fourth round goes to the USN. Solid hits from Houston on Natori.
000008 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 67,98 Donggala
Night Time Surface Combat, near Donggala at 67,98, Range 7,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CL Natori, Shell hits 4, on fire
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, Shell hits 2, on fire
CL Marblehead
CL Boise
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Paul Jones
Dockery, L.R. crosses the 'T'
Dockery, L.R. orders Allied TF to disengage
Round 5 was a pillow fight. I think both sides must be out of ammo.
000009 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 66,98 Balikpapan
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 66,98, Range 11,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CL Natori, heavy fires
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, on fire
CL Marblehead
CL Boise
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Paul Jones
Round 6 see a react to a new target. I fully expected to find Prince of Wales and Repulse but instead get 2 AMs. They are dispatched.
000010 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 64,98 Balikpapan
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,98, Range 9,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya
CL Natori, heavy fires
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze
DD Hatakaze
Allied Ships
AM Whippoorwill, Shell hits 6, and is sunk
AM Finch, Shell hits 2
Round 7. Everyone must be tired and deaf from all the shooting. Another short pillow fight. CL Natori had disbanded from the TF.
000011 Night Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 66,98 Balikpapan
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 66,98, Range 12,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze
Allied Ships
CA Houston, on fire
CL Marblehead
CL Boise
DD Barker
DD Bulmer
DD Paul Jones
In the end, I am not sure any of the Allied ships were in sinking condition. Houston was hurt and needs yard time. Marblehead and Boise while dented a bit are probably just in need of ammo. There was a message about CL Natori flooding magazines or something. Then, “CL Natori sinks at sea”. Bummer. Not a good exchange. The gunnery on both sides was pretty weak.
But wait! There is more! Houston is detached now.
000018 Day Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 66,98 Balikpapan
Day Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 66,98, Range 22,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
CA Maya, Shell hits 2
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki
DD Fumizuki
DD Nagatsuki
DD Harukaze
Allied Ships
CL Marblehead, Shell hits 2
CL Boise
DD Barker, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Bulmer, Shell hits 1
Dockery, L.R. orders Allied TF to disengage (This happened almost immediately)
Sasaki, Seigo orders Japanese TF to disengage
And not to be out done, the Aussies get the TF that dropped guys off at Shortlands.
000019 Day Time Surface Combat 1941-12-14 114,125 Ontong Java
Day Time Surface Combat, near Ontong Java at 114,125, Range 21,000 Yards
Japanese Ships
PB Choko Maru #2, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
PB Kosin Maru #3, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAKL Katsuragisan Maru, Shell hits 9, and is sunk
Allied Ships
CA Canberra
CL Leander
CL Perth
The first sweeps of Singapore begin the attrition of the fighter defenses.
000023 Morning Air attack 1941-12-14 Singapore 50,84
Morning Air attack on Singapore , at 50,84
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 47 NM, estimated altitude 26,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 25
Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 42
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ib Oscar: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 4 destroyed
Another at Singapore.
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 4
Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 23
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 2 destroyed
AVG has bugged out of Wenchow. There are no moles to whack there today.
000028 Morning Air attack 1941-12-14 Wenchow 89,58
Morning Air attack on Wenchow , at 89,58
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 25,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
No Japanese losses
The AVG does show up at Bangkok again.
000047 Morning Air attack 1941-12-14 Bangkok 56,62
Morning Air attack on Bangkok , at 56,62
Weather in hex: Light rain
Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 23,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
Ki-27b Nate x 17
Allied aircraft
H81-A3 x 22
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-27b Nate: 2 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
H81-A3: 1 destroyed
Miri will get fighter coverage on the 15th.
000049 Morning Air attack 1941-12-14 Miri 64,87
Morning Air attack on Miri , at 64,87
Weather in hex: Partial cloud
Raid spotted at 12 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes
Allied aircraft
B-17D Fortress x 7
No Allied losses
Oil hits 5
Now here is what I have been looking for. Z-Force is at Balikpapan. I feared I would run into them during the running surface combats during the night. My reinforced Mini KB (Kaga added) attacks. Unfortunately, no torpedoes left in this part.
000051 Morning Air attack 1941-12-14 64,97 Balikpapan
Morning Air attack on TF, near Balikpapan at 64,97
Weather in hex: Clear sky
Raid spotted at 39 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 16 minutes
Japanese aircraft
B5N1 Kate x 10
B5N2 Kate x 13
Japanese aircraft losses
B5N1 Kate: 2 damaged
B5N1 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
B5N2 Kate: 1 destroyed by flak
Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Bomb hits 2
BC Repulse, Bomb hits 2
CA Houston, on fire, heavy damage
Another attack
Allied Ships
BC Repulse, Bomb hits 14
AM Eland Dubois, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Prince of Wales, Bomb hits 6
AM Abraham Crijnssen, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
Probably just some paint and some bondo. Neither looks to be badly damaged. Basically everything bounced. Still, 15 hits had to do some system damage.
On the ground, Hong Kong is a disappointment.
000061 Ground combat 1941-12-14 Hong Kong 77,61
Ground combat at Hong Kong (77,61)
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 19174 troops, 288 guns, 181 vehicles, Assault Value = 432
Defending force 7610 troops, 128 guns, 72 vehicles, Assault Value = 160
Japanese adjusted assault: 275
Allied adjusted defense: 277
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 1)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
744 casualties reported
Squads: 3 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 12 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 24 disabled
Allied ground losses:
334 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 22 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 9 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (3 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Zamboanga could be troublesome. I needed this base to fall.
000069 Ground combat 1941-12-14 Zamboanga 75,89
Ground combat at Zamboanga (75,89)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 2257 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 64
Defending force 630 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 26
Japanese adjusted assault: 21
Allied adjusted defense: 58
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 0)
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), leaders(+)
Attacker: shock(+)
Japanese ground losses:
148 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Allied ground losses:
67 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Wa
