Deja Vu All Over Again - apbarog(J) vs OPilot(A)

[apbarog]

ORIGINAL: IdahoNYer

Looking forward to keeping tabs on your progress here apbarog as Large Slow Target and I also reversed roles and just started last month or so.

Do you have any noteworthy house rules?

Also, curious why you chose to land at Kuantan - slow progress inland from there. Good 2nd PH strike - where's KB going after Truk?

In any case Good Luck to the Red Team!

Nothing noteworthy with the house rules. We don't use 4E bombers below 10k. Most of the other usual stuff.

Kuantan is slow, compared to Mersing, but faster than just coming down from the north. I want to at least apply pressure inland as quickly as possible. I also plan a para drop at Kuala Lumpur very soon, if it remains empty. I didn't do a Day 2 Mersing landing as I'm not using any carriers near Singapore. But honestly, I could have risked that. Not much difference between Mersing and Kuantan as far as what can hit you from Singapore.

I'm not doing anything crazy in the Philippines or Malaya. I plan on being very aggressive in the South Pacific early. I want to push the in the south as much as possible and maybe force an early carrier battle.

Good luck to you also.

[apbarog]

9 Dec 41

US subs become very active near the Luzon landing sites, and towards Formosa. No surprise. Japanese ships do next to nothing attacking the subs, hardly even finding them. A US sub hit an xAK near Laoag but it was a dud. Feels good to be on the other side of the dud torpedo situation! Skipjack did hit and sink xAKL Raizan Maru near Samah. Pickerel hit xAK Okiyu Maru near Calayan.

I-122 hit and sank AG Canopus near Merak. Canopus was loaded with fuel. I-122 dropped mines at Merak, but enemy minesweepers were already patrolling there. They swept every mine during the day. There wasn't a mine to be seen on the map later. I didn't know the mines had been dropped until reading the combat report. I was too predictable with the drop at Merak.

Nells attacked 2 AMc's in the Malacca straits west of Port Swettenham. Sub mines had been dropped there and were found quickly by the enemy. The Nells dropped bombs and all missed, in the morning and again in the afternoon. No success at all with my early mining. My overall mine strategy is to use them very sparingly from now on, saving them for the late-war defense. I think they are more effective used in places that the enemy has to go to. As we saw in the last war, combined with fortress units, mines are effective. OPilot knows me pretty well now. He knows that I like to use mines. So I'm not going to use them much for quite awhile. The threat is already known to him. He is careful and will take countermeasures.

Kates from a CVL sank xAKL Dai Lee east of Batan Island. It was fleeing east, taking the Dewey escape route.

Nells that had been moved to Saipan bombed AM Penguin west of Guam. One bomb hit heavily damaged the ship.

Japanese bombed Chinese bases and troops here and there. That will all go fine until the Flying Tigers show up and catch a raid. Just a matter of time.

Davao was captured. Japanese troops are ones originally prepped for Legaspi. I went for Davao instead. The enemy retreated southwest. OPilot probably wishes they had retreated northeast into the mountains. Japanese forces were enough to defeat the 101st PA Infantry Regiment, but aren't strong enough to push out of Davao. Reinforcements from Babeldaob will arrive with a week.

Japanese forces that had landed at Pakhoi attacked and almost took the base. They'll continue the attack.

Ground combat at Pakhoi (72,58)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 3578 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 132

Defending force 5086 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 140

Japanese adjusted assault: 25

Allied adjusted defense: 9

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 1)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 0

Combat modifiers
Defender: disruption(-), preparation(-), fatigue(-), experience(-)
Attacker: fatigue(-)

Japanese ground losses:
109 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 11 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Allied ground losses:
187 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 17 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
15th Naval Guard Unit
16th Naval Guard Unit
8th JNAF Coy

Defending units:
64th Chinese Corps

KB was spotted north of Johnston Island. It is moving to the Wake area.

[apbarog]

10 Dec 41

Lots of action.

I-123 sank xAKL Lepus just outside of Balikpapan. I-123 laid mines there in the shallows, but was spotted, so there's no surprise with this minefield either. There are lots of ships at Balikpapan, including warships, so the mines are an issue for the Allies.

3 Japanese patrol boats engaged 3 xAKLs east of Leyte. All cargo ships were left burning.

4 Japanese destroyers rushed towards Tarakan. On the way in, they sank 2 xAKLs. Arriving at Tarakan, they found 3 small HDMLs and sank them easily. 3 Dutch bombers tried to hit the destroyers but missed.

Cruiser Nachi and destroyer Oyashio moved to the straits between Borneo and the Celebes. They found valuable shipping fleeing from Manila. They sank AS Holland and AV Langley, then sank 2 AMs, xAP President Madison (a big ship), xAP Don Esteban, and left 2 xAK burning heavily.

Outside of Laoag, S-37 put 2 torpedoes into xAK Ryuun Maru, gravely damaging it. And it is loaded with troops. The ship may not make it the one hex to Laoag to unload.

9 Zeros swept Georgetown, finding 18 Buffalos and shooting down a bunch. The first Japanese fighter ace, PO1 K. Yoshimora, was made over Georgetown. 39 Zeros then swept Singapore finding 27 Buffalos and shooting down a bunch.

9 Nells again went after the 2 AMc's sweeping mines near Port Swettenham. One bomb hit and AMc Klias was sunk.

Bettys from Miri flew to Balikpapan and tried to hit CL Marblehead. 4 B-339Ds were on CAP and bombers were shot down. 3 Bettys missed Marblehead with bombs.

9 Bettys from Babeldaob hit 2 xAKLs north of the island, setting both on fire. 5 Bettys, I think from Davao, hit xAK Si Kiang near Tawi Tawi. There are a few enemy ships in this area reported to be dead in the water. Out of fuel. Not a good situation for them, with enemy destroyers at nearby Tarakan and the straits to Balikpapan blocked. Just for today. But the enemy doesn't know that.

Kates from the CVL torpedoed 3 xAKLs near Tawi Tawi. Too bad they went after small ships. More Bettys arrived near Tawi Tawi. xAP Candesa was sunk by a bomb, and AS Canopus was hit by a bomb.

Another attack from Bettys from Babeldaob. 2 more xAKLs to the north hit by bombs and heavily damaged and burning.

Then the surprise. Enemy carriers near Kwajalein. Just 3 hexes to the southeast. They either sprinted to the position or were hidden in bad weather yesterday. There's good search coverage here, but it failed today.

Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Kwajalein Island at 132,115

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A5M4 Claude x 14

Allied aircraft
F2A-3 Buffalo x 21
SBD-2 Dauntless x 54
SBD-3 Dauntless x 18
TBD-1 Devastator x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
A5M4 Claude: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
SBD-2 Dauntless: 9 damaged
SBD-3 Dauntless: 2 damaged
TBD-1 Devastator: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
CL Tenryu, Bomb hits 1, on fire (SYS 12/FLOT 22-11/ENG 6-0/FIRE 0)
CL Yubari, Bomb hits 1, on fire (SYS 33/FLOT 20-15/FLOT 2-0/FIRE 0)
AMC Kongo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage (SYS 67/FLOT 35-12/FLOT 11-0/FIRE 54)
DD Yayoi
CL Tatsuta, Bomb hits 1, on fire (SYS 34/FLOT 18-9/ENG 9-1/FIRE 2)
xAK Aratama Maru, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage (SYS 88/FLOT 38-21/ENG 7-4/FIRE 71)
AMC Kinryu Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage (SYS 80/fLOT 35-18/ENG 13-2/FIRE 86)
DD Hayate
DD Kisaragi
DD Mutsuki
xAKL Katsura Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (SYS 28/FLOT 57-40/ENG 1-0/FIRE 22)
xAKL Toyotsu Maru, Bomb hits 3, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
519 casualties reported
Squads: 11 destroyed, 19 disabled
Non Combat: 8 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 4 (2 destroyed, 2 disabled)

The Claudes were useless, shooting down nothing and losing one of their own.

The ships are all loaded with troops for the Wake invasion. They start the war that way, at Kwajalein. I thought that OPilot might send the US carriers to Wake to disrupt a predictable and unprotected invasion, so I kept the transports back at Kwajalein. And he hit Kwajalein. I should have sent the invasion shipping to Truk, when I sent the excess valuable shipping that was at Kwajalein. Bravo to my opponent for a nice strike. 3 of the big ships will most certainly sink immediately, drowning many more men. I split some of the ships into another TF, to move to Roi Namur to unload, trying to save a fragment of each unit. The enemy could send cruisers into Kwajalein to finish off the shipping. He could also stay within range for another strike. Or he could move away at normal speed, or sprint away at full speed. If he sprints, he escapes. If he doesn't, then there may be revenge.

2 Betty units are moved to Roi Namur. Torpedoes are available from a HQ on Kwajalein. KB is too far to the east to chase the enemy down, being about 2 days from Kwajalein at full speed. KB is too far to transfer any bombers to the islands, but the Zeros can carry drop tanks. 3 of the carrier's Zero squadrons are flown to Roi Namur. One will provide ranged CAP over Roi Namur and Kwajalein. The other 2 Zero squadrons will be on escort duty for the Bettys, set up for range 14.

It's a long way to a refueling point for the US carriers. If they sprinted to Kwajalein, they may not have the fuel to sprint away. I'd really like to get the Bettys and Zeros to the US carriers. It could turn a very bad day into a very good 2 days. We'll see tomorrow.

Guam was invaded. The first Japanese attack at Hong Kong went off at 1 to 1 odds and reduced the forts to 2. Fairly even casualties, around 500 each. They'll attack again. Pakhoi was captured, wrecking a Chinese corps. 2064 Chinese casualties and 72 Japanese.

The enemy pushed hard right away at Ichang and attacked. 2 weak Japanese divisions reinforced, in movement mode, just in time. It was bloody but the Japanese held. More reinforcements are on the way, but more Chinese are still coming out of the woods to the north.

The enemy lost 18 Buffalos. The Japanese lost 8 Bettys, 3 Zeros and a Claude.

3 things to learn from Kwajalein. First, I guessed wrong on holding back the Wake invasion force. If they had gone to Wake, the US carriers would have found nothing at Kwajalein. (Of course, the Wake landing would be taking place, and the invasion shipping would be out there unprotected.) Second, I had Nells on Roi Namur, but I had them on training. They could have attacked the US carriers, albeit without fighter escorts. Third, the air HQ on Kwajalein was not set up with torpedoes for the Nells that could have attacked.

I assumed that the multiple units set up searching the Marshalls would spot the carriers. That was wrong. That assumption made me complacent about leaving the shipping at Kwajalein.

Now let's see if the enemy is still within range today.

[Evoken]

I like the agression i am seeing from Opilot , althought i think you might be able to punish him. You just need 1 torpedo hit

[apbarog]

ORIGINAL: Evoken

I like the agression i am seeing from Opilot , althought i think you might be able to punish him. You just need 1 torpedo hit

I applaud his aggressiveness. OPilot is more experienced on the Allied side than the Japanese. I think he's going to give me a tough match. And he knows my tendencies now. Not to mention, I document most of them.

Now let's see if his raid turns out to be brilliant or foolish. All in the results.

[apbarog]

11 Dec 41

US destroyers ran through the newly laid mines near Balikpapan. They cleared a few but didn't hit any. Lots of US sub activity between Luzon and Formosa. Predictable, but little can be done. Sub chasers are out there but ineffective.

Tulagi is invaded by the 51st Naval Guard. It is undefended.

I-155 sank small xAP Ipoh near Palembang. I-26 missed tanker Pat Doheny with 2 torpedoes southwest of Los Angeles. I-155 then engaged xAKL Pahang at the same location, hitting it with 7 shells and probably sinking the ship. I-155 then engaged xAKL Circe, fired one round, and broke off from the engagement due to low gun ammo.

S-40 hit xAK Ryuxin Maru between Luzon and Formosa. It is loaded with men and it will sink.

I-165 spotted xAP Stagen and destroyer Van Nes near Pontianak. Don't know if troops are coming or going here.

30 Zeros swept Singapore but found no CAP. Sallys bombed Singapore's airfield, hitting some Blens, Buffalos and Hudsons. Oscars swept Rangoon and found Buffaloes. Sallys bombed Rangoon's airfield but were engaged by 8 Buffalos. Some Sallys lost.

Bettys from Davao hit AO Pecos and xAKL Palawan with bombs near Tawi Tawi. Lilys bombed Manila's airfield. No CAP.

Kates from a CVL sank xAKL Mauban at Manado. Kates from another CVL east of Luzon sank xAKL Cetus and xAKL Magallanes. Claudes from the same task force strafed xAKL Luzon, and hit it with 8 bombs. Hey, Claudes are good for something! 8 bomb hits with no bombing training. Tiny bombs but a tiny ship. It will sink.

Near Nanchang, a Chinese corps is decimated in a 2 to 1 attack. Hong Kong is attacked again. Another 1 to 1 attack, and forts are lowered to 1. More Allied losses than Japanese. Another attack is ordered.

Guam is captured.

Part of the Yokosuka 1st SNLF is dropped on an empty Port Dickson. This cuts the western rail line on Malaya, potentially keeping some Allied units from making it back to Singapore. They can maneuver around Port Dickson, but it would be on a poor road. I won't drop the rest of the paras today, figuring on some enemy fighters patrolling there looking for such a thing. The tired Tinas move to Laoag on Luzon to start ferrying an air HQ (with torpedoes) to Davao to support the Bettys there.

And nothing seen around Kwajalein. It's most likely that the US carriers sprinted out of the area. With long range search at Kwajalein, Jaluit and another base in the eastern Marshalls, nothing was seen. Could be hidden by weather, but no, they cashed in their winnings and ran. Truk is put on alert. It's highly unlikely that the US carriers would sprint towards Truk, but if they had enough fuel to do so and get to Australia, they might. Some of the KB Zeros are moved to Truk. Bombers are there also. I won't get burned again. That would be some aggressive move though. Kudos to OPilot for a successful raid on Kwajalein. I'll have to find out after the war if he sprinted into range or was covered by weather.

KB will continue to move at normal speed towards Kwajalein, and then continue on to Truk. Truk is still a size 6 port. An AKE is moving from Japan to Truk to support. KB needs airframes and pilots. Truk has plenty of fuel. I moved the big AO teleporting task force to Truk on 7 Dec, and they unloaded there.

[apbarog]

12 Dec 41

The gaggle of enemy ships that had fled Manila and were spotted at Tawi Tawi, some out of fuel, were at Tarakan. Bettys from Davao hit AM Lark there. Enemy cruisers and destroyers that were in the straits near Balikpapan weren't seen.

Brunei was invaded.

3 Japanese patrol boats found 4 xAKs well to the east of Leyte, and eastbound. xAK Tantalus and xAK Ethel Edwards were hit multiple times and set on fire. Nearby, xAK Capillo and xAK Yu Sang were hit by bombs from Bettys from Saipan.

Oscars from Bangkok swept Rangoon, and the Flying Tigers finally showed up in H81s. Planes were lost on both sides. Sallys and more Lilys bombed and the H81s didn't get to them.

Lilys went to Manila unescorted, and got massacred by 17 P-40Es. Then 40 Zeros went to Manila and massacred the same Warhawks.

Sallys bombed Singapore's airfield, hitting some planes. No CAP.

Major enemy bombing effort to hit the Japanese paras dropped at Port Dickson. Clear terrain, and the paras were almost wiped out. Just 4 disrupted para squads left, and 1 disrupted support. But as long as something is there, the rail line is blocked. With the enemy air effort, there was probably enemy fighters overhead, so I didn't try to drop more paras in. We'll sweep the hex for enemy planes and see. The Tinas that are needed for more paras to come in were moved to Laoag to ferry an air HQ to Davao. That work is ongoing.

Atimonan on Luzon is invaded. It is undefended.

A Chinese corps is routed near Kiukiang. Another is forced to retreat near Chengting. Another Japanese attack at Hong Kong doesn't do as well this time. 1095 Japanese to 400 Allied casualties. Still 1 to 1 and forts are reduced to 0. The many Japanese artillery units will bombard for a bit while the infantry recovers.

The big Japanese push in China is currently towards Sian from the south, and an advance from the southeast. I'm not using the trail to the east of Sian.

No sign of US carriers that hit Kwajalein 2 days ago. Since I just invaded Tulagi, they could be in that area any time. Fast Japanese ships sprinted east of Rabaul to return to Truk. Japanese destroyers were spotted near Kavieng. This may look like another inbound invasion, but it is not. A fast CM took this route also. The slow transports would be doomed with a predictable route back to Truk. I sent them southeast, towards Luganville, then east, in the hope of going east far enough, then turning north to Kwajalein. We'll see if the indirect route saves the few ships.

Total air losses were 13 P-40Es and 4 H81s for the cost of 12 Lilys and 5 Oscars.

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

12 Dec 41

Lilys went to Manila unescorted, and got massacred by 17 P-40Es. Then 40 Zeros went to Manila and massacred the same Warhawks.

Check that box on your Japanase to do list.[;)] Send those Lillys to ASW or training or China.

Still to come the surprise B17 raid on a port sinking tons of harbor shipping.[:D]

[apbarog]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: apbarog

12 Dec 41

Lilys went to Manila unescorted, and got massacred by 17 P-40Es. Then 40 Zeros went to Manila and massacred the same Warhawks.

Check that box on your Japanase to do list.[;)] Send those Lillys to ASW or training or China.

Still to come the surprise B17 raid on a port sinking tons of harbor shipping.[:D]

I do have ASW training taking place. This is another PDU-OFF game, so right now, I'm using everything I can. I want to prevent fort building at Clark and Manila. Successful at Clark so far, not at Manila.

[Bif1961]

Mines are a terrible thing to waste. I agree with you he may have used flank speed once or twice and may be short fuel so you might e able to catch him if you sprint as well knowing your are sprinting towards fuel in the Marshalls. I move my Wake amphibious TF to Eniwetok to gage what the Allied player is going to do with his carriers, to get them out of the way of an carrier strike in the Marshalls. You don't have to move them all the way to Truk to keep them out of harm's way.

[apbarog]

13 Dec 41

Chinese cargo ships that started at Hong Kong stayed at Hong Kong a few days, got bombed once, then left when the Japanese started the ground attack there. They traveled mid-ocean through the South China Sea, then started crossing towards Singapore between Borneo and Vietnam. Bettys spotted them and surface groups took care of them. CL Sendai and 2 destroyers damaged 3 xAKs and sank another. Cruiser Kumano found xAK Fatshan and sank the ship. Cruisers Maya, Ashigara and Kuma, with 2 DDs, sank an xAK and 3 xAKLs.

I-10 hit xAK Portmar at Pago Pago. The ship was unescorted, with an AM spotted just to the northeast, in the location that I-10 was spotted yesterday. I-10 then torpedoed xAK Ludington at Pago Pago.

S-38 hit xAK Enzyu Maru with a torpedo at Laoag, but it was a dud. Happens to the non-fleet boats occasionally.

Kuching was invaded. Dutch bombers tried to hit the covering cruiser force led by Mogami, but missed.

Nells bombed Port Blair's airfield. Task forces spotted there.

Japanese bombers hit Chinese troops at Ichang. The Chinese are now showing a retreat out of the city. The Japanese reinforced in time, and more is coming.

Zeros swept Port Dickson, finding Buffalos flying over the Japanese paratroopers. Other Zeros there found 8 Blens attacking the paras. Several Blens were downed. Then more Blens and some Wirraways downed. 2 more para squads were destroyed. Just 2 left.

Dutch sub KXVII hit xAK Zenyo Maru with a torpedo near Soc Trang. The ship will try to make it to Saigon.

4 B-17s bombed Davao's airfield, destroying a Betty.

Japanese artillery bombarded Hong Kong. Full deliberate attack ordered for today.

Undefended Antimonan was captured. Victoria Point was captured. Tulagi was captured.

[apbarog]

14 Dec 41

I-25 missed AG Kaula with 2 torpedoes near Palmyra. I-15 hit unescorted xAP Haleakala with 4 torpedoes and a gun hit directly southwest of San Francisco about 10 hexes. Figuring the OPilot may not be using the default pathing from SF, I-25 is patrolling northwest to southeast. It just happened to find a target on the default pathing. OPilot will now adjust to not use that pathing.

RO-66 hit AS Pelias just east of Midway Island. Pelias had 2 destroyers escorting. No damage is noted, but Pelias may need to go back to Pearl. OPilot was setting up Midway as a sub base.

2 Japanese patrol boats left xAK Ravnaas on fire near Chichi-jima. Ravnaas is one of just a few enemy ships left that fled Manila using the Dewey navigational system. xAK Governor Wright was also left burning later in the day.

Taytay was invaded.

Permit hit 2 Japanese cargo ships inbound to Cam Ranh Bay from the east. Both hits were duds.

Kuching was captured. Hong Kong was captured.

Ground combat at Hong Kong (77,61)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 18417 troops, 289 guns, 174 vehicles, Assault Value = 444

Defending force 7289 troops, 127 guns, 72 vehicles, Assault Value = 152

Japanese adjusted assault: 612

Allied adjusted defense: 273

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hong Kong !!!

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
842 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled

Allied ground losses:
9571 casualties reported
Squads: 211 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 530 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 29 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 153 (153 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Vehicles lost 83 (83 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 6

Assaulting units:
38th Division
66th Infantry Regiment
19th Ind Engineer Regiment
20th Ind Engineer Regiment
2nd Mortar Battalion
2nd RF Gun Battalion
1st Hvy.Artillery Regiment
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
2nd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
5th RF Gun Battalion
10th Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
23rd Army
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion

Defending units:
Winnipeg Grenadiers Battalion
Rifles of Canada Battalion
1st Middlesex Battalion
Kowloon Brigade
102nd RN Base Force
Hong Kong Fortress

Most of the Japanese now at Hong Kong are unrestricted and will now wait for transport to Luzon. Many DMS's are ordered to Hong Kong to sweep the mines.

[apbarog]

15 Dec 41

I-165 had just arrived on patrol near Soerabaja. It hit xAP Candioa with 2 torpedoes, sinking the ship. RO-65 moved to Midway and finished off AS Pelias with 2 torpedoes. Pelias had been hit with a torpedo on the eastern approach to Midway yesterday. I-2 is one of the subs in a long patrol line well to the east of Hawaii. It spotted a convoy of xAKs, probably inbound to Hawaii, but couldn't get a shot on them.

Japanese DMS's moved to Hong Kong and cleared 100 mines. More to clear.

Bettys at Davao now have torpedoes, with an air HQ having been flown in from Laoag on Tinas. The Bettys found targets at Tarakan.

TK La Estrella Caltex, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
AO Trinity, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
xAKL Compagnia Filipinas, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Dos Hermanos, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

The Bettys also found ships at Puerto Princesa. AM Finch was sunk with a torpedo hit.

More of the Japanese paras were flown in to reinforce the 2 remaining squads at Port Dickson. They won't last long though. The enemy is showing movement to there from the south, and units to the north are probably inbound as well. Just a delaying tactic. Landing at Kuantan doesn't allow a quick severing of the enemy retreat into Singapore. The road is just a trail. Mersing is a better option but I did my landing without carrier support and didn't want to get that close to Singapore. As it turned out, my ships were targeted by torpedo bombers from Singapore anyway, and I was just lucky they missed. I could have been just as lucky with a Day 2 Mersing landing.

Japanese medium and light bombers hit all over China. They've avoided enemy fighters for the most part, so far.

B-17s bombed Miri's airfield, destroying a Betty on the ground.

Submarine Pike had a dud torpedo hit at Cam Ranh Bay. Pike is braving the mines there, and did so successfully so far.

Japanese armor moving in from Kuantan shock attacked into Temuloh. I overlooked the small river there. The attack went ok, but the armor is disrupted. They'll wait for the slower infantry to arrive before continuing. The enemy shows a retreat to the west.

KB is nearing Truk.

[apbarog]

16 Dec 41

Japanese minesweepers sweep hundreds of mines at Hong Kong, clearing the port. Transports are inbound to pick up most of the troops for Luzon.

Light cruiser Kiso and 2 destroyers sortied from Tokyo to look for cargo ships fleeing Manila, now passing Iwo Jima. They sank 2 xAKLs during the night and an xAK during the day.

I-23 fired 2 torpedoes at xAK Tuscaloosa City northeast of Hawaii. I-23 is part of a long line of subs there. Torpedoes missed.

I-25 is at Palmyra. It fired 2 torpedoes at AVD McFarland but missed. Another AVD spotted there.

P-40s swept Davao, finding 18 Zeros had just moved in. 6 Warhawks were shot down. Fewer Zeros were shot down, but more were ops losses. B-17s hit the airfield and contributed to the Zeros ops losses. 10 Zeros lost in total.

Bettys from Davao sank 2 tiny YOs near Tarakan. Torpedo hits obliterated the targets.

Over 50 enemy fighters spotted at Rangoon, and lots of xAPs there. I figure that 2/3 of the Flying Tigers are there. I'm sending 45 Zeros on a sweep of Rangoon from Bangkok. Bettys with Oscar escorts may attack shipping. Let's hope the Zeros go in first.

Looks like an Australian unit has moved north from Singapore to attack the Japanese paras at Port Dickson. The paras will be defeated easily. 12 Blens were shot down trying to attack Japanese armor that moved inland from Kuantan.

[apbarog]

17 Dec 41

Battleships Hyuga, Ise, Fuso and Nagato bombarded Wenchow. I don't have troops approaching Wenchow, and won't for awhile, but it's good to keep down the fort building , destroy some supply and fuel, and hit the troops. The battleships will base out of Shanghai and repeat this mission daily for awhile. A minesweeper is already at Wenchow and checking for the inevitable countermeasure.

Speaking of battleships, 2 Japanese battleships and escorts have slipped around the northwestern tip of Borneo and headed south. They are now northeast of Batavia and will move in and bombard, and engage what they find. Spotter planes from the task force did spot small ships to the west, so it won't be a complete surprise when they show up. I don't know if there are mines at Batavia. I may find out.

Some indications of small task forces coming and going between Palembang and Singapore.

I-165 spotted a big task force near Soerabaja but missed DD Edsall with 4 torpedoes. I-165 will now move to the southeast, and to deeper water.

About 40 Zeros swept Rangoon and found 4 Buffaloes and 36 H81s. Even losses. 30 Nells with 28 Oscars then went after shipping at Rangoon. CAP was much reduced. Unfortunately, the Nells, carrying torpedoes, went after the HDMLs there. 3 of the tiny ships were sunk. At least one xAP task force is still at Rangoon but wasn't targeted.

28 Sallys with 23 Oscars bombed Singapore's airfield. Lots of enemy fighters, 3 Blen IFs and 47 Buffaloes. There weren't any recently. Sallys and Oscars were lost. Barely a scratch on the airfield.

Japanese troops are marching down the west side of Luzon. They captured San Fernando and will move to Lingayen next. It appears that the enemy will defend Clark more strongly than Manila. Lucena was captured south of Manila. 2 Japanese infantry regiments will move north, splitting up to move to the 2 bases just south of Manila. A weak enemy unit in each.

The Philippine infantry regiment that was defeated at Davao was defeated again at Digos.

Enemy troops recaptured Port Dickson, northwest of Singapore. The Japanese paras retreated east instead of being eliminated, as a supply route to Kuantan was traced. The rail line along the west coast down to Singapore is again open for the enemy.

Total air losses were 10 H81s, 2 B339Ds, 1 Buffalo and 1 Blen for the cost of 11 Sallys, 8 Oscars, 8 Zeros and 2 Nells.

KB is at Truk. Carriers have filled out their units with new planes. There were enough trained torpedo bomber pilots for KB, but not enough dive bomber pilots. I wonder if the additional pilot losses were worth hitting Pearl Harbor a second day.

Units at Truk and Tokyo are assigned future targets of Kavieng, Rabaul, Milne Bay, Lunga, Noumea, Koumac and Port Moresby.

[apbarog]

18 Dec 41

Battleships Kongo and Haruna, with cruisers Takao, Atago and Isuzu and 8 destroyers stormed into Batavia at night. With 0% moonlight, visibility was limited to just 3000 yards. They found there, as far as the eye could see, ships. Huge ships. Well, not exactly. They found 7 HDMLs and sank them, many with huge shells obliterating the small ships. Accuracy was very good. Destroyer Hatsukaze then hit a mine at Batavia. Damage was very minor, with SYS 12 and FLOT 9-6. Half of that damage was from the sprint in. The battleships then found light cruiser Java and destroyers Evertsen and Van Nes. The fight was very brief, with Kongo getting scratched by a shell and Java getting hit by 2 smaller shells. I'd hoped for more. So then the battleships bombarded, and did ok.

Night Naval bombardment of Batavia at 49,98 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Allied aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft losses
B-339D: 11 damaged
B-339D: 1 destroyed on ground
139WH-3: 37 damaged
139WH-3: 1 destroyed on ground
Hudson I: 8 damaged
Hudson I: 1 destroyed on ground
Catalina I: 1 damaged

35 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.

Japanese Ships
BB Haruna
BB Kongo
CA Atago
CA Takao
CL Isuzu, Shell hits 1
DD Arashio
DD Michishio
DD Oshio
DD Asashio
DD Amatsukaze
DD Hayashio
DD Natsushio
DD Hatsukaze

Allied Ships
CL Mauritius, Shell hits 1

Allied ground losses:
1093 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 12 destroyed, 87 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Guns lost 22 (7 destroyed, 15 disabled)

Airbase hits 18
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 59

Heading back towards Cam Rahn Bay, during the daylight, the battleships ran into AM Jan van Amstel near Toboali. A few shells were fired at very long range, but the ship escaped.

Light cruiser Naka and 4 destroyers sprinted into Cagayan to engage 8 MTBs there, in order to clear the way for a cruiser bombardment force. Naka's task force moved in but the enemy moved away quickly, getting out of the 2000 yard visibility here in thunderstorms. Cruiser Chokai and 4 destroyers then bombarded Cagayan, damaging a few P-40s and causing light to moderate base damage. The Naka task force then caught up to the enemy MTBs and sank 3 of them.

I-5 spotted a task force with an xAP in it east northeast of Hawaii. 2 torpedoes missed APD Waters.

I-25 spotted 2 US DMs at Palmyra. Time to stop patrolling the island itself. Mines likely there now.

Temuloh was captured in central Malaya. Naga was captured on Luzon.

[apbarog]

19 Dec 41

Japanese battleships bombarded Wenchow again. Consider this a daily occurrence.

Zeros from Davao attacked Philippine PT boats at Cebu. A few PTs were hit by cannon shells.

Sallys bombed Bataan for the first time. Little damage to the airfield.

B-17s from Java bombed Kuching's airfield, causing light damage. Kuching is in Japanese hands but no engineers or airbase support there, and none planned.

The Chinese have split some corps in the south, near the plains where they just get overrun. Some Chinese have moved into the woods. I made a major effort at the beginning of the war to identify bases in China that are held by the Japanese but have more troops in them than necessary for the garrison. I then identified smaller units that could more to those bases, freeing up the bigger units for combat. This will free up units at coastal bases east of Hong Kong, in particular, and those units can move north to help clear the plains area of Chinese. A split 1/3 of a Chinese corps was defeated today near Anking.

Georgetown was captured. Japanese troops continue to move slowly down the west side of Malaya. Some are waiting in Japanese held bases, in strat mode, for a faster transport once bases further south are taken.

Small invasion task forces approach Kavieng with 3 carriers supporting. After the landing, the task forces will move southeast to Lunga. Tulagi is already in Japanese hands. An AV is traveling with the task forces to go to Tulagi for seaplane support.

[apbarog]

20 Dec 41

18 Zeros swept Singapore, finding 42 Buffaloes. 8 Buffaloes shot down for the loss of 4 Zeros. This is a smaller Zero group. The bigger 40+ Zero group is at Bangkok, and will sweep Rangoon today.

Lingayen Gulf is evacuated by the enemy. It will be captured today, then we move to Clark. Another division for Clark will start loading at Shanghai tomorrow.

Kavieng will be invaded today.

[apbarog]

21 Dec 41

5 Japanese cruisers bombarded Cebu, doing moderate base damage. They were moving from Vietnam to Truk and the bombardment was on the way. Some US search planes damaged on Cebu.

Kavieng was invaded.

I-20 was spotted by destroyer Vendetta near Horn Island. I-20 took minor damage in the shallow water and missed Vendetta with 6 torpedoes.

I-162 sank AO Trinity in the shallow part of the straits near Balikpapan. Trinity had already been damaged and was traveling unescorted.

Zeros swept Rangoon and Singapore, and today, found no planes flying.

I-17 spotted a big xAK convoy approaching Christmas Island. 2 torpedoes missed xAK William Luckenbach. William alerted J.L. Luckenbach, also in the convoy. J.L. sent the message worldwide to the rest of the Luckenbach family.

A now empty Batangas was captured. Legaspi was captured. An empty Taiping in Malaya was captured.

[apbarog]

21 Dec 41 - Malaya and Borneo