PBEM - Historical Limits: Thayne (allied) vs. SeaWolF K (Japan)

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Saturday, December 13, 1941

Henry:

I am not feeling much better, and the news I got today did not help.

I was not prepared for Hong Kong to surrender so quickly. I was sitting at my desk going through the intel on the battle at Yenen when a sergeant from Intelligence gave me the news. I wasted an hour having it double checked.

That frees up hoard of units for Japan to use elsewhere. One division, two gun battalions, three mortar battalions, we can expect all of them to be showing up again shortly.

Japan also has a huge task force heading west through the South China Sea . . . a transport task force. How much would you like to bet that they are going to put a division or two at Pakhoi and reinforce Nanning?

Anyway, back to the matter at hand:


Losses

Naval

• AP President Madison. It was hit earlier by the Japanese light carrier as it tried to flee the Philippines.

Air

• Another air attack on the Manila airfield. The 24th Fighter Group puts a fair number of P-40s in the air, but the pilots go up against the Zeros, turn and run, leaving the bombers to have free reign.

• Del Monte airfield shelled again. Still, three heavy bombers got repaired and shipped off to Diamond Harbor in India.

Territory

• Hong Kong
• Victoria Point (the southernmost part of Burma)
• Alor Star (another part of the northern border of Malaya)
• Miri. This is on the northeaster coast of Borneo. I did not even know there was a Jap army in the area.


Reinforcements for the Next Week

I decided that this is going to be a regular part of my Saturday report, specifying what I have been told will be released to me during the next 7 days.

Sunday, Dec. 14th

• No new units released on this day.

Monday, Dec. 15th

• TK Gulfgem, San Francisco

Tuesday, Dec. 16th

• AK Wallingford, San Francisco
• AK American Packer, San Francisco

Wednesday, Dec. 17th

• CA Australia, Sydney
• TK Solana, San Francisco
• TK Caliche, San Francisco
• MSW Bellachase, Vancouver

Thursday, Dec. 18th

• DD Nestor, Karachi
• AS Sperry, San Francisco
• TK Matinicock, San Francisco
• 84 Squadron (16x Blenheim), Karachi

Friday, Dec . 19th

• DMS Chandler, Pearl Harbor
• TK Chilbar, San Francisco
• MSW Bungaree, Sydney

Saturday, Dec. 20th

• TK H.D. Collier, San Francisco

As you can see, I get no ground units, and only one air squadron in the whole theater. That is not much to work with. I am certainly losing more than I am gaining.



Kuching Ambush

I decided to increase the number of planes there from 87 to 168 -- flying a lot of planes out of Singapore to add to the Dutch planes that have gathered at the two airports.

Singkawang actually has a decent sized airport -- large enough to handle all of the airplanes that I have sent there. Now, there isn't the ground crew one would like to keep all of the planes flying, but that is going to be one of the casualties of war.

I look at it this way . . . it is our factories versus their factories. We can produce more airplanes -- a lot more airplanes. If we play rough with them and burn a few up, then we can always get more.

What Japan cannot get (at least so easily) are new ships.

So, I am more than happy to risk a bit of wear and tear on a dozen or two planes from rough treatment in order to do some damage to a few Japanese ships.

Number 1 Worry

My main concern now is that poor leadership or bad weather will turn the mission into a failure. What has me concerned is that the planes sitting at Singapore had been set up to attack the Japanese fleet at Khota Bharu in northern Malaya. They sat at Singapore for three days without doing anything -- all of them. That is not what I want to see happen at Singkawang, but it is what I fear will happen.

The weather tomorrow is actually supposed to be good -- just about perfect for flying. A few scattered clouds should allow us to get close to our target without being seen, and then attack quickly. The winds will be low and the air calm. All is set.

Deployment

Here is what I have made available.

Swingkawang

• 31x Brewster 339D
• 27x Martin 139
• 26x Vildebeest IV
• 12x Hudson I
• 10x Blenheim IV
• 05x Swordfish

Pontianak

• 20x Martin 139
• 14x Blenheim I
• 11x T IVa
• 6x CW-21B Demon

I know that this is too much for the ground crews to handle. They will do their best. If I wanted to maintain this as a continual-use airbase, I would have to see about getting enough people there to do the job and the supplies to handle the missions as well. But, this is a one-shot deal. We attack, then we leave. Guerilla warfare from the air.

After the first turn, the planes fly away before the Japanese have a chance to swarm over and destroy them.

I double checked and I have been assured that Japanese fighters cannot reach Pontianak from any base in Indochina, so our fighters are gathered at Swingkawang.

Well, tomorrow will be a restless day.


New Jap Offensive in China

I remember being told, just before I started this job, that Japan was not expected to launch any major offensive except to clear the railroad from Shanghai to Hanoi.

Never trust an expert. Japan launched an attack on the northern province capital of Yenen. Speculation: Japan will march from Yenen to Kungchang to cut the soldiers off from the sources of food and peasants that are being grown in the rough western part of the country.

When I talked with Chang Kai Shek shortly after the start of the war I noticed the vulnerability at Kungchang and asked him to move some units back to cover the city. His answer to me: "It's not my problem. That's communist territory."

So, I talked with Mao Tse Tung. He did start some units heading back a while ago, but whether they can reach Kungchang in time, or hold it when they reach it, remains to be seen. Actually, I think that he got an early enough start that Japan will discover a greater strength at Kungchang than it anticipates.

The victory at Hong Kong will free some units that China can then throw into whatever offensive it wants.

I also mentioned tracking a Jap transport convoy heading west in the South China Sea. It will undoubtedly land at Pakhoi, on the southern shore of China, drop a few hundred units off, and reinforce Pakhoi and Nanning. This will be the first step in securing the rail line.


Burma

I said that the War for Burma was about to start. Japan took Victoria Point with a tank batallion, and is presently marching on Tavoy. We have nothing to stop them with.

I have ordered the frontier units in central Burma back to help in the inevitable defense of Rangoon. However, I expect that it will take them a while to get back out of that jungle. Why they had been placed in such a remote location, I cannot guess.


Subs

A Japanese submarine found our mercy ship AK Aldeberan, en route from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor with the first boatload of replacements and spare parts.

Quite a coincidence, that. The one ship we did not want them to find, and they find it. I am wondering if there is something more than coincidence at work here. It's not as if the ship took any of the standard routes.

Still, the AK Aldeberan's escort of destroyers chased the enemy submarine away. No damage was done. In fact, I do not even think the submarine actually saw the cargo ship. The escort found the submarine a fair distance away and forced it deep.

That worked out the way it should.


Negotiations

I am still spending the bulk of my day in negotiation between the different factions involved in this war. I believe that we have worked out a new war plan that treats seriously the factors that were not considered in the old Ranbow 5 -- such as the overwhelming advantage that Japan seems to be enjoying right now with air power.

As I understand it, the leaders of the different sections will be sending their orders out tomorrow for their units to move.

If I could give you a brief summary of the high points:

• Australia will donate the Fort Largs Coastal Artillery Regiment to the defense of Noumea. Transports are already at Hobart, Tasmania to pick up the cargo.

• The Dutch are going to set up fortresses on Bali and Aru Islands. Bali is in the central part of the Dutch East Indies, just east of Java; Aru is on the eastern edge, north of Darwin, Australia. These areas should be easier to defend than any of the larger land masses, and significantly hinder the Japanese advance until they can prepare to deal with it. They should serve as larger versions of Corrigadore in the Philippines.

• The U.S. will give first priority to securing trade routes. We will send units down to Panama. I know, Panama is not my responsibility. However, the plan that I worked out with them is consistent with this model of securing our most important infrastructure before preparing an attack. That infrastructure includes a string of islands in the South Pacific. In this, we will also be completing a series of airbases that have already been started from Christmas Island to Australia, and fortifying them. We will have to make sure that Japan cannot cut this line.

• With the fall of Victoria Point and Khota Bharu, Japan now controls a number of airbases from which it can block access into the Macassar Straight, the only route from India to Singapore. Singapore has been cut off from the west, and there is nothing east of there that can spare resources for its defense. Hopefully, Singapore can hold out for a while, but I fear it will become another Bataan. The British, then, are to use the time that Singapore buys them to fortify Ceylon and the eastern coast of India, as well as Burma, as much as possible.

I have a lot more to write about, but the hour is late and, as I said, I have a busy day tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

Thayne[/font]

[Captain Cruft]

Great stuff.

Just one thing, Pontianak is a size 1 airfield and therefore cannot fly offensive missions.

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Sunday, December 14, 1941

Henry:

I keep telling you, Henry, that we pessimists live happier lives. No matter what happens, it is always better than we expected. So, every event is a pleasant surprise. An optimist always discovers that things turned out worse than he expected, and thus faces perpetual disappointment.

The raid at Kuching went better than I expected. That’s not to say that we managed to destroy the Japanese navy, but we inflicted some damage.


Losses

Naval: Total ships lost to date: 12

• TK Manatawny attacked east of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, succumbed to its wounds near Sulawsea.
• PT-31 ambushed by Japanese surface fleet near Jolo
• PT-32 ambushed by Japanese surface fleet near Jolo
• PT-34 ambushed by Japanese surface fleet near Jolo

Air: Total planes lost to date, all causes, 341

• 13x Brewster 339D destroyed in dogfight at Singkawang, Borneo.
• 6x P-40E shot down at Manila, Philippines


The Land War

• China: The Japanese have four divisions attacking Yenen, in the north, and has started to advance against Ichang, in the central part of China.

• Burma: The Japanese are moving toward Tavoy, in southern Burma, on the border with Thailand.

• Malaya: Japanese units are advancing south of Khota Bhuru. Approximately 20,000 Japanese units are engaged against retreating British units north of Kuantan.

• British Borneo: Japan has landed at Kuching and Brunei.

• Philippines: Japan has landed at Davao on the southern island of Mindanao.


Losses Inflicted

• 24th Fighter Group at Malaya shot down 5x Zeros, 2x Lilys, 2x Nates at Manila

• 1x CL, 4x AP, 1x ML damaged at Kuching

• 1x CL, 3xAP, 2x PG damaged at Brunei


Kuching Ambush

The day started off with nothing but bad news.

Pontianik SNAFU. First, I got a message from a Captain Cruft informing me that the airbase at Pontanik was not able to support bombing missions against the Japanese fleet. Here, I had 50 attack planes there, and I was just now being told that there were no facilities there for loading bombs onto airplanes.

That did not make me happy. What made me even more unhappy is that I had units sitting on those airfields for a day, and none of their commanders thought to tell me about this. Did they think that the bombs were simply going to teleport themselves onto the planes? Do I evoke so much fear and trembling that nobody can speak to me?

I was not pleased.

Now, the fact is, Singkawang airbase was loaded up to its maximum number of planes, so we did not lose any attack ability with this SNAFU. We just ended up transferring a bunch of planes in and out for no reason.

Singkawang airbase attacked; 17 Brewster 339s lost Jap Air Raid[/u]. The next message that I received said that the Japanese had launched a huge air raid against Singkawang airbase. 50 Zeros escorting 80 bombers hit the base. The vision this created in my head was of this runway, with 100 airplanes on it, all lined up as hulks of burning wrecks. I imagined the mission completely ruined as cratered runways kept even the few surviving airplanes from flying.

The dogfight over Singkawang was fierce. At first I was told that the Japanese had destroyed fifty Brewster 339D fighters. Later, the number of planes actually reported as destroyed was given as 17. No Japanese airplanes were shot down in this attack.

I got some comfort from the fact that the Japanese airstrike came after our airplanes were already on their way to Kuching. None were caught on the ground. Furthermore, the damage to the runway was not so extensive that it would prevent a second strike.

Vildebeest fail to find the enemy. Even though the planes took off, my next message from Singkawang said that almost all of the torpedo planes came back, with their torpedoes. They got lost on their way to Kuching, and decided to come back before they ran out of fuel. Of all the planes that I wanted to have find the target, these were the most important. Yet, these were the ones that failed.

First Strike The first wave of bombers to hit the Japanese ships struck two transports that was already showing signs of damage from the coastal defenses at Kuching. They added to the damage by hitting one transport ship with a torpedo, and another with a bomb.

Second Strike In spite of the damage to the airfield at Singkawang, the crews there loaded up the airplanes for a second strike. This time the Vildebeests flew with the rest of the airplanes and all of them found Kuching. This strike hit a light cruiser and another transport ship.

Overall. I had convinced myself that this strike was doomed to failure. The first three messages, from Captain Cruft, the Japanese airstrike, and the lost Vildebeests, seemed to confirm the start of a miserable day. But, the next messages confirmed four ships hit – three transports and a light cruiser. So, I can’t really complain.


Next Steps at Singkawang

I told Lieutenant Colonel Kloppman, who was commander at the Singkawang base, that I wanted the airbase cleared of planes after the attack. There was no reason to doubt that Japan would leave the plane alone, or that the meager defenses that were there were enough to protect the base. So, the British planes back to Singapore, and the Dutch planes to Tarakan.

Even the fighters were removed. With 17 planes shot down the previous day, there were not very many fighters left, and none of them had much left to fight with. They went with the Dutch bombers to Tarakan.

Planning a Tarakan Ambush About 300 miles north of Tarakan, a Japanese task force consisting of nearly 20 ships had just done battle with 4 PT boats. They destroyed three of the PT boats without taking any damage; the fourth PT boat managed to escape and report the presence of the Japanese task force. Again, there was no sign of an enemy carrier.

Tarakan is a sufficiently large and well developed base for launching attacks against the Japanese fleet. We ended up with 70 airplanes at the Tarakan airstrips ready to hit any Japanese task force it might find in the area.

28 damaged airplanes left at Singkawang.The various air groups had to leave 28 damaged airplanes back on the field. No doubt, Japanese bombers are going to show up again tomorrow to destroy these planes. Plus, I fully expect a Japanese task force to come around the corner of Borneo and do some shelling. The damage that we inflicted today tells Japan that it needs to take this threat seriously. The ground crews are working to save as many of these planes as possible.[/u]

The Singkawang intercept fleet.In the mean time, the Prince of Wales and Repulse have joined up with the Dutch/American/British cruiser force to create a surface fleet with 1 battleship, 1 battlecruiser, 1 heavy cruiser, 5 light cruisers, and 17 destroyers. These ships will try to intercept the Japanese bombardment force that I suspect will be heading to Singkawang.

I also have three submarines lying in wait along the route from Kuching to Singkawang to harass any Japanese bombardment force.


Fiji Snafu

I have been meaning to tell you about this other incident for a couple of days now, but I keep forgetting. The Pescadores task force – which was delivering material from Hawaii to Australia – was ordered to Fiji to meet up with a minesweeper. We wanted to give the task force better protection from submarines.

While at Fiji, somebody got the idea that we wanted to unload the 26th USA Forward Artillery Regiment at Fiji. This regiment was bound for Australia (and, ultimately, to the Philippines). So, they unloaded the ships.

When I heard of this I said ‘Fine, leave them there.” I want some better defense for the South Pacific islands anyway. But, they are not where they are supposed to be.

The Australians are upset. I promised that they would continue to Australia as soon as the 2nd USMC Division arrives in the South Pacific.


Travel Plans

I should tell you that I am heading down to San Diego tonight. The 2nd USMC Division is loading up onto troop transports I sent down there, and is starting its trip to the South Pacific. The carrier Saratoga and battleship Colorado will be escorting them. I wanted to talk to some of the leaders of this group before they head out. I want to make sure that they understand, their principle mission is to make sure that they reach Noumea safely. They are not to take any unnecessary risks.

I’ll write to you from there.

Thayne.[/font]

[Raverdave]

[font="Courier New"]Dear Mr President,

Sir, first on behalf of the Australian people this government would like to forward it's most sincere sorrow at the loss of life suffered by your nation in the attack upon Pearl Harbour. The profound shock that the American people have suffered is felt just as deeply here as well.

The main reason for this communication is to raise with you the growing concern that is being felt here in Australia in regards to the rapid advances by the Japanese. Australia has now been at war for the last two years and our best Divisions are in the middle east, our best pilots and aircrews are in Britain and a large number of our naval units are currently supporting the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, all far beyond quick recall. Indeed even if we wanted to recall these units, it seems that the British government is unable to find the shipping required to bring the troops immediately home. It is this governments' view that aside from Singapore, Australia lays wide open to the threat of invasion from Japan, and while Mr Churchill continues to to say that Singapore will never fall, it has been this governments' experience over the last two years that what Mr Churchill says does not necessarily come to pass, Greece and Crete spring immediately to mind as an example.

Further, we have been asking for some months now for fighter aircraft to be sent to Australia to bolster our weakened defences ( we currently have no front line fighters) but so far this has met with a deafening silence from Whitehall, indeed Downing st has even suggested that we should increase the training of aircrew for deployment to Britain ! This situation is causing problems in parliament, with members of the opposition demanding that we even go so far as to demand the recall of our two brigades from Malaya, a suggestion that I am inclined to agree with.

I would therefore ask that you intercede with Mr Churchill on our behalf and seek to have a small increase of the lend lease aircraft diverted to Australia and also raise with him the possibility of releasing the two brigades currently stationed in Malaya at least until one of the AIF divisions in the middle east returns?

I trust that you will deal with the above in some haste.

Sincerely

John Curtin PM[/font]

[Speedysteve]

Excellent writing as per norm Thayne [:)]

[Thayne]

This should be a link to my opponent's AAR:

Historical Perspective: Japanese Commander's Daily Brief

However, somebody else is going to have to test it. I'm not supposed to look at it.

************************************

[font="Courier New"]Monday, December 15, 1941

Henry:

As you can tell from the fact that you are reading this, I have arrived safely in San Diego. We left San Francisco early and arrived at North Island Naval Air Station just as the sun was coming up.

I saw Saratoga as I came in. It was at North Island loading up airplanes, and we flew just past it as we landed. I received a report this morning that the ship is switching out its F4F-3 with F4F-4 – the newer planes have more machine guns. Of course, machine guns only work if you can get the enemy planes in front of them. From what I am starting to read in my reports, that’s not so easy to do, with the Japanese Zero.

After I landed, they loaded me up onto a PT-Boat to get me across the Bay to Eleventh Naval District headquarters. Four of these tiny things took on Japanese cruisers and destroyers at Jolo (Philippines)? That was pretty stupid. I admit, I used my authority to see how fast these things can go. They should have just run away, as fast as they could. There is bravery, but beyond that there is stupidity.


Losses

Ships: 13 Ships Total

• PG Ashville torpedoed by a submarine north of Batavia in Java. There were two torpedoes, as I understand it. There was no ship left after the second explosion – just a field of splinters and oil.


Planes: 353 Planes Total (102 since Dec. 7)

• Japanese attack on Clark AFB, Philippines cost 3x P-40, 1x P-35A, 1x P-26A

• British attacks on Japanese ships north of Singapore, escorted by Oscars, lost 3x Buffalo

*Note: I do not include in these reports the loss of every Allied airplane, only the largest groups of casualties for every day.


The Ground War

• North China: Fighting continues at Yenen. Communist partisans are moving to interfere with Japanese supply – cutting off the roads to Yenen. I suspect that it won’t work. I fear Japan will succeed in driving Mao into the deep interior.

• Central China: Fighting continues at Iching. Chang Kai Shek will undoubtedly give the defense of Chungking his greatest priority, He is already calling units back to the city. He cares nothing about strategy or tactics, only in saving his new palace.

• Burma: Japan is at Tavoy. The 107th RAF Base Force is putting up a token resistance. The 16th Indian Brigade is leaving Rangoon to shore up defenses at Moulmein (to the east). The 1st and 2nd Burma Rifles Brigades are trying to get un-stranded. I do not know why the British thought it was a good idea to have those units stranded in the jungle.

• Malaya: General (formerly Colonel) Wavell is retreating from Kuantan to Malacca (central Malaya). There is a serious risk of a Japanese division coming down the west coast cutting them off. I think that there is time for an orderly retreat.

• British Borneo: Kuching is under Japanese control. Brunei soon will be.

• Philippines (North): The bulk of the Philippine army is on Bataan digging in. Other units are retreating. I have worries about supplies. Personally, I wonder how these people can survive until February.

• Philippines (South): Japanese landings at Davao and Jolo

• Gilbert Islands: Japan occupies Apamama. (They bypassed Tarawa, for some strange reason).


Damage Inflicted

• Hinode Maru #20 hit a mine at Hong Kong and sank, according to Chinese observers in the city.

• 3 Jap troop transports each hit by a bomb in waters north of Brunei, the north end of British Borneo


PM John Curtin’s Letter

Yes, President Roosevelt had this letter sent to me. I guess, since this subject is the main reason why I am here in San Diego, it would be a good time to comment on it.

Australia's Vulnerability. Let's start by making sure that we do not overestimate Australia's capabilities. People seem to have a habit of thinking of Australia as a Pacific superpower, a country comparable to the United States and England sitting at the bottom of the Pacific.

Pennsylvania has a larger population than Australia does -- by a margin of over 2,000,000 people. Darwin, the port on the north end of Australia that we plan on using as a major base, is really to Australia what Nome, Alaska is to the United States – a small frontier trading post. It is no city.

Plus, as Mr. Curtin so bluntly stated, Australia has been stripped of much of its war machinery.

Priority to Supply Route. A couple of days ago I had a decision to make – to ask Nimitz to reinforce his forward bases on Midway and Johnson Islands, or to move south to protect the Australian supply route. I chose the latter option – moving the 3rd USMC Defense Battalion to Palyrma, and the 4th USMC Defense Battalion to Christmas Island. The defense of Midway will have to wait for a little while.

Trust me, this makes me very nervous. I expect to see a Jap invasion fleet off of the coast of Midway any minute now.

Australian Relief Force. Here at San Diego, I am pulling together an Australian Relief Force consisting of:

• The aircraft carrier Saratoga with our most modern fighters
• The battleship Colorado
• 12 destroyers
• 2nd USMC Division on 3 transports
• 2nd USMC Defense Battalion on 1 transport
• 39th Bomber Group
• 42nd Bomber Group
• VMF-221

Now, I grant that I intend to deposit these units on the supply line from Los Angeles to Australia, and none of them will likely reach Australia itself, but Australia’s future depends on that supply line.

I want to stress that we are still unwinding our logistics on the West Coast. I am devoting a considerable percentage of our current logistical capacity – presently, about 50% of it – to this operation. This does not include the efforts being made at Hawaii.

Australia and New Zealand Contributions In fact, as an emergency measure I need to ask for Australia and New Zealand to make a contribution to this effort. I have been assured that the Fort Largs Coastal Defense Regiment is on its way to Noumea, and I will likely be asking New Zealand to release a brigade for the defense of Fiji or some other island further north.

The Best Defense of Australia. I would remind Mr. Curtin that the best defense of Australia is not to fight Japan on Australian soil, but to prevent Japan from reaching Australian soil. Mr. Curtin himself has admitted that Singapore is a key to this defense. There is nothing that the two Australian brigades in Malaya can do to defend Australia that can be more effective than what they are doing at Malaya. Australia is a huge land – Japan can easily attack where these brigades are not. At Singapore, Japan cannot avoid them. He must fight through them to get to Australia itself.

I am certain that the members of the 27th and 22nd Australian Brigade are aware of the importance of their mission – not to England, but to Australia.

Dutch East Indies Also, I have no intention of handing the Dutch East Indies to the Japanese. I will like to boast that the Dutch have forced the Japanese navy to retreat from British Borneo with heavy losses. Though Japan has taken control of the cities along this coast, we have given Japan notice that their advance will be costly.

I will state that I hope Australia will live up to its promise to contribute to these efforts, and will not hinder the transport of the Sparrow and Gull Forces from Darwin, to Aru Island. (Note: I believe that Aru Island is more important than Timor in holding the eastern end of the Dutch East Indies. It is easier to defend, less subject to disease, and closer to the protection that can be afforded by Darwin’s airfields.)

Future Plans Mr. Roosevelt has informed me that he will be releasing the 8th and 35th Fighter Groups (flying P-39 Aircobras) to me, and that they will be ready to travel before the end of the year. I intend to load them onto transports and the earliest possible moment, and ship them to Australia – one of them to be used in the defense of North Australia, and the other in defense of the Northeast Territories.

However, my ability to honor this intention depends fully on whether the shipping lanes from the United States to Australia remain open.

You may also want to make it known to Mr. Curtin that I have secured the use of BC Repulse and BB Prince of Wales for the defense of the Dutch East Indies. This should offset, to some extent, the Australian contribution to the British naval operations in the Mediterranean.


Gilbert Islands

The Japanese move through the Gilbert Islands – their capture of Makin and Apamama – represent the most significant Japanese threat to these intentions. Baker Island, and Nanomea Atoll are presently at risk, and I cannot say at this point where Japan intends to stop, if they intend to stop at all.

In light of these movements, I believe it would be in the best interest of the Australian government to dedicate the bulk of its remaining surface fleet to obstructing the Japanese advance south, preventing the capture of Fiji, Pago Pago, or Canton Island, while the American fleet protects the Line Islands, and holding out until reinforcements arrive.


Line Islands Reinforcements

I received a report yesterday that a Japanese seaplane, probably submarine-based, spotted the Line Island reinforcement task force as it was heading south. It is quite possible that Japan intends to interfere with this effort, using its carrier forces.

Both American carrier groups are accompanying the reinforcement group. However, I do not intend the two American carriers to go up against the full weight of the Japanese carrier armada. Nimitz has ordered additional search planes to Johnson Island and Palmyra to help spot the Japanese carrier group if they should decide to interfere – effectively doubling the guard on these outposts.


Japan Retreats from British Borneo

The naval bombardment at Singkuwang and Pontianak Airbases that I expected did not come to pass. Instead, the Japanese forces retreated. I guess they took enough damage for one day. I suspect their plan is to wait until they have built up their air power on their newly captured bases, and then return in force when they have air cover. It sounds like a smart move.


Prince of Wales Moves East

The Prince of Wales task force has been ordered East. With a little luck, it may be able to interfere with the Japanese operations on Jolo and Davao in the southern Philippines. However, I suspect that they will not arrive here on time either.


That's all for today. I realize, I never got a chance to talk about today's meetings. Maybe tomorrow.

Thayne[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Tuesday, December 16, 1941

Henry:

Today, I went north to talk to some of the Marines at Camp Kearny – those that were waiting their turn to load up on the transports. This was not a tour. I simply wanted to look into the eyes of some of the people who will be heading out.

I could tell, in their eyes, that they wanted me to tell them what was going to happen to them after they left port. They wanted to know if the Saratoga and the Colorado were here for them, or if they would be going in some other direction. They knew that I had the answers. They also knew that I could not tell them what the answers were, at least not yet. So, they looked for any clue they could find.

They were loading up into five transports: Tasker H. Bliss, Wharton, Harris, President Monroe, and President Polk. We had originally planned for four transports, but they were getting packed. They were finding their cots and stowing their gear. Each soldier barely had room to lay down. That was all they needed.

It was going to be a long trip to New Caledonia for them.


Losses

Ships: 14 Ships Total

• AS Otus – hit earlier trying to flee the Philippines, succumbed to its wounds east of Sulawesi.

Planes: 360 Planes Total

• 1x P-40B Tomahawk, 1x P-26A at Clark AFB, Philippines to Japanese raid.


The Ground War

• China: Japan decided not to fight today, on either front. Perhaps they are regrouping – gathering their strength. Both Chang Kai Shek and Mao Tse Tung are using the opportunity to continue a peaceful withdraw into the country’s interior.

• Burma: The same is true here – Japan is not advancing. They are gathered up on the edge of town, but they are just sitting there. Perhaps they are having supply problems.

• Malaya: Japan took Taiping in north-western Malaya. With this, they have cut two units off at Georgetown, on the country’s far western coast. I think, with two units behind their lines, they will take the time to eliminate this pocket before they continue their drive south. This should give the forces marching from Kuantan to Malacca a chance to avoid being cut off.

• British Borneo: Brunei now belongs to the Japanese. However, it cost them another transport. TV-1A sank an AP in the port of Miri just south of Brunei. I think this was carrying supplies for the invasion.

• Philippines (North): Japan is moving south, attempting to occupy Lingayan Bay (on the west coast) and Tuguegarao (on the east coast). The allied withdraw has Tuguegarao largely open – I did not want to have units caught behind the lines.

• Philippines (South): Japanese now occupies Davao and Jolo


Damage Inflicted

• AP sunk at Miri, in British Borneo.

• 8x Nate, 2x So-Ann shot down north of Clark AFB.


Gilberts

Mr. Curtis’ letter made me aware of a vulnerability that I did not sufficiently appreciated earlier – the vulnerability around the area of Canton Island.

I had been looking at a Japanese drive to cut the allied supply lines at Noumea and Espritu Santo – closer to Australia. This would be a fairly extensive operation involving a drive through the Bismarck Archipelago, Solomons, and Santa Cruz Islands before the ultimate targets were even threatened.

What would it take for Japan to cut the supply line further east? Japan has already taken Makin and Apamama. Baker and Nanaomea Atolls are undefended.

Canton Island would likely be next. The 114 USN Base Force currently stationed there could be pushed aside more easily than the Marines on Wake Island. That would, in effect, cut the supply lines. If Japan places a few bombers there and our ships would have to take a pretty wide detour to get to Australia.

Well, I have been wondering about the best place to put the 2nd USMC Defense Battalion, and this might just be the place. I’ll arrange to have someone on the trip who can talk to Lieutenant Commander Pappas about this assignment.

The fact is, if Japan makes a move on this area, we will not be able to stop them. Their carriers are already in the area, and can easily sweep aside anything we may seek to offer in terms of resistance.

Predicting Japan’s Carrier Movements

Still, there is a good argument for Japan not to make a drive on Canton Island. Japan may want to send its carriers to the Dutch East Indies.

Its attack on British Borneo could not be said to be going as well as Japan would have liked. It has suffered a lot of damage to transport ships and light cruisers. I believe that Japan may decide that they want to sweep the area of allied air and naval forces in order to leave the way clear for its advance. It needs these resources.

The best move that we can make, I think, is to draw Japan’s forces into the Dutch East Indies, leaving us time to develop our other resources.


Tours

I made a mistake in San Francisco, not going on the tours. The tour is not for the purpose of looking over some installation. It is for the purpose of meeting the people, talking with them, and helping to ensure that they know the value of their contribution to the war effort.

I learned my lesson when I visited Camp Kearny and I actually saw the people. I could see how it was for them to get some official recognition for the important job they were doing. It seemed to bring a measure of peace. Though, how anybody could doubt the importance of this job is beyond me. I made sure they knew that.

I had thought that we would be done loading the transports today. Two of the five transports are loaded; the rest will take until tomorrow. So, I would say, on Thursday, our fleet heads out.

I believe that the first step will be Canton Island, now that I have a new appreciation for that particular base. That will be the disbursement point. From there, we will look at the possibilities of sending a regiment to Nanaomea Atoll and Wallis Island – all to protect this portion of the supply line to Australia.

The other half of this particular task force will leave San Francisco Harbor tonight – cargo ships, carrying a couple of the bomber groups and other supplies. These troops will be traveling pretty light. They will not have the full compliment of their supplies until the cargo ships arrive – which will be about 10 days later.


Flight Plans

I am going to stay here another day. If the fleet sails on Thursday, then so will I. After that, I will be off to Pearl Harbor. I am not looking forward to that part of the trip. I know that it is going to depress me to see. It will be my first experience with the destruction of war first hand. I’m not talking about the ships so much, but the 1400 soldiers and civilians wounded in the attack.

They will also be burying some of the dead. I suppose that I should attend one of those ceremonies as well.


I hope that the morning finds you well.

Thayne[/font]

[Raverdave]

[font="Courier New"]Dear Mr President,

Sir I am writing to you to confirm that all is in order for the movement of the Fort Largs Coastal Defence Regiment and am content at this point to place said unit under the command of the relevant US Officer that you may want to appoint. This is a fine example of Australia's commitment to our new alliance, and I wish that I could draw the same comfort from your commitments to Australia.

Mr Roosevelt, please allow me to articulate the root of my concerns, of which there are a number.

In the first place I was ecstatic to find a cable upon my desk out-lining the the newly named "Australian Relief Force" and a break down of what it consisted of, an Aircraft Carrier and Battleship, plus twelve attending Destroyers. A full division of US Marines and two bomber groups with one supporting fighter group. A first blush this seemed more that could have been hoped for at such short notice, and some how the press got a hold of the story and run with the headlines "The Yanks are coming !". I would quickly like to point out that no specifics or troop numbers were mentioned in the newspapers and my government is ordering an investigation as to how such information was leaked. But sir I digress, having read about the Marines and the carriers I was exasperated to learn that it is doubtful that any of these "Australian Relief Force" units will infact ever reach our shore. Is it not true that this "Australian Relief Force" will be used for little else but the defence of French Noumea ?? Sir this sounds much like the double talk and false promises that we have been getting from Whitehall for the last 20 years!



20 years you ask? Well sir that brings me to my second concern which, I fear, I failed to make clear to you in my last letter. For the last 20 years Australia has placed it's faith ( and not an inconsiderable amount of money) in the ability of the British fleet, based in Singapore, as a bulwark against possible Japanese aggression. The key words here Mr President, are British fleet. Indeed the naval base, and that is all it has ever been in both name and function, has been until recently a base without even a fleet, and it has only been at the strongest possible urgings that finally the Royal Navy, or should I say, the British Government agreed and sent the HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales.

Which brings me to another point, if it is felt by you that Singapore is such a fine defensive base why is it then that the two major British capitol ships are being tasked in the defence of Dutch East India ?

I am reliably informed by my military advisers that any planned defence of Singapore, by land, is doomed and this is because the very guns designed to defend Singapore and not able to be faced towards an enemy coming over land from the north ! Yet again I can foresee good Australian lives being sacrificed for little or no gain, this is Greece and Crete all over again, and if this does come to pass sir, you shall share the terrible responsibility of knowing that your inaction has caused the loss of many fine Australian men.

But having said that I must also report that my military advisors also point out that once battle is joined it would be very difficult if not impossible to disengage our troops. And so I must stress that it is of vital importance than both the 27th and 22nd Brigades of the Eighth Australian Division be released for service on Australian territory or at the very least in service within the ABDA, and this must take effect immediately before battle is joined.

In addition to the 27th and 22nd Brigades, it must also be requested that HMAS Vendetta and HMAS Vampire are required for escort duties in home waters while No 453 Squadron RAAF, currently based in Singapore, is needed for that Australian territories in New Britain.



It is our fervent hope that these requests are granted as soon as is practicable. There is no doubt in my mind that our two countries will gain in strength from the trial that is ahead of us, and that our alliance will become a model for other countries to look up to.



Sincerely

John Curtin PM[/font]

[Raverdave]

Guys just to let you all know what is happening, about a week ago I dropped Thayne a line and asked if i could add a political dimension to his game, by adding pressure that he does not need.

It is also in keeping with what was going on behind the scenes between Downing St, The White House and Canberra.

Thayne is not bound by nor does he has to listen to anything that Curtin "suggests", but if he wants access to or use of Aussie troops then he will have to talk his way around.

Also I am not reading his opponents AAR as I want to keep my part as reactionary as possible. And while I plan to contribute on a small basis maybe week to week, or even month to month, I think that it will enhance what everyone aggrees is an excellent AAR.

[Moquia]

He he, this just gets better and better. An WitP/RPG fusion, great stuff[8D].

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Wednesday, December 17, 1941

Henry:

Do you remember how I spent a week or so wondering where the Japanese air force was at? Well, I found it. There was a massive raid on Singapore airfields yesterday. Over 50 planes destroyed; nearly 20 in the air, and over 30 on the ground.

The airplanes showed up first thing in the morning at Singapore, while our planes were preparing for their own mission. This meant that the runways were packed with planes. As a result, the damage was extensive.

First, in the air, the Japanese Zeros shot down 17x Buffalo fighters and a few Wirraways. That is pretty much everything General Wavell had for combat air patrol. He got his planes into the sky (unlike McArther on December 8th), but they just did not stand up very well against the Japanese fighters.

Then came the attack on the airfield. We lost mostly Vildebeast and Blenheims. Either way, the damage was extensive.

Japan brought over 200 airplanes to Singapore. All of them were top-of-the-line airplanes; Zeros, Bettys, and Nells. It would be comparable to us flying a mission with 80x P-38s escorting 50x B-17s and 50x B-25s.

Singapore is down to less than 80 airplanes, all of them obsolete and older models.

I think that the Singapore airforce is just about done. I have given the authority for all squadrons that are down to one or two serviceable airplanes to go ahead and fly out of there – to get some rest either at Diamond Harbor (India) or Batavia (Java). From there, I gave them permission to retire to safer regions, at least until we can get some replacement airplanes to them.


Losses

Planes: 416 Planes Total

• 17x Buffalo, 13x Vildebeest, 12x Blenheim, 5x Swordfish, 2x Hudson, 1x Wirraway at Singapore from massive Japanese air raid


The Ground War:

The Ground War

• China (North): Japan is withdrawing from Yenen. I believe that we can thank the Partisans for this – that they are retreating in order to secure their lines of communication.

• China (Center): Japanese forces continue to sit on the outskirts of Ichang, but they seem content to sit back and watch while Chinese forces continue to occupy the city itself.

• Burma: Tavoy falls. Defenders are falling back to Moulmein

• Malaya: The Japanese seem to be enjoying a day of rest. Not much movement today – other than the massive raid on the Singapore airbases.

• Philippines (North): Here, too, the situation seems to have calmed down. Japan continues to fight for Lingayan Bay, but it does not seem like a full attempt. The 103rd USAAF Base Force is attempting to reach Clark AFB, but its movement is being slowed by bombers. On the east coast, Japan occupies Tuguegarao.

• Philippines (South): Japan is consolidating its acquisitions at Jolo and Davao. The Philippine defenders at Jolo are moving north.

• Gilbert Islands: Japan occupies Tarawa.


Damage Inflicted

• Jap bombardment force targeting Manila lose its escort. 24th Fighter Group take out 3x Betty, 10x Sally, and 5x Lily.

• ML in South China Sea – struck by bomb from Blenheim flying out of Singapore.


Japanese Subs Guard Line Islands

It appears as if Jap has at least one submarine guarding the Line Islands. SBD bombers from Lexington found it on a line directly between Christmas Island and Pearl Harbor, about 300 miles north of the latter.

This means that the submarine was unable to find our task forces. Nimitz had ordered his task forces to the east, which avoided the waters where the submarine was out. One of the transport task forces took an angle inward to get to Palmyra.

The result was that the four task forces heading south straddled the submarine, and it hit none of them. Still, I think we can rest assured that Japan knows of at least one carrier in these waters. The submarine likely reported following the actions of an SBD bomber – a type of plane that usually comes off of a carrier.

Yet, like I said, I do not think he knows where our carriers are, exactly.

The two transport task forces should reach Christmas Island and Palmyra tomorrow, and start to unload troops the next day. So far, there is no sign that Japan intends to send its carriers in to interfere with our development of these lands.


More Reinforcements for the Central Pacific

We are loading up a couple of troop transports at Seattle now. These ships hold reinforcements for the bases outside of Pearl Harbor.

• 183rd USA Field Artillery Regiment loaded onto AP Mount McKinley for Johnson Island.

• 144th USA Field Artillery Regiment loaded onto AP Zeilin for deliver to Midway Island.

These are just an attempt to build up the forward defenses for Pearl Harbor. In addition, Nimitz has sent a minesweeper task force capable of laying about 500 mines to Midway, and a transport taskforce with about 2,000 tons of ammunition carried on board AE Pyro.

Nimitz is also using transport planes to send supplies to French Frigate Shoals. With a little bit of work, one of the islands, Tern Island, can be enlarged to support a runway. This island will never be a major air station, but it can be a useful stopping point for planes having trouble going to or from Midway, or that do not have the range to make the trip on one tank of gas.

The main problem is that there simply is not enough supply at Hawaii to support any large-scale development. The first cargo ship, AK Aldeberan, is still two days out, with a risk that a Japanese submarine will find it and sink it. However, allied minesweepers have heavily patrolled the waters between it and Pearl Harbor. They have not seen a sign of a submarine.


Aru Island Defenses Started

Transports arrived at Aru Island, north of Darwin and started to unload the first of four military units destined for this island – the Australian “Sparrow Force”. Other units moving toward the island are A–II-Ld AA battalion and 7th Dutch Air Force Base Force from Timor due to arrive in a day, and Gull Force Battalion loading at Darwin.

Other units may be made available.

To the north, at Kendari, cargo ships that had fled the Philippines are picking up emergency food and ammunition from fairly substantial stockpiles at that base. They will deliver the cargo – about 15,000 tons -- to Aru Island on their way to safer waters further south.

Aru Island has the advantage of being the only land in the area relatively free from Malaria. It also fits underneath the air umbrella from Darwin. It is, in short, the best place north of Australia itself at which to wage a last ditch defense.

However, the power of the Japanese air force is beginning to bother me. The power of its attack on Singapore suggests that it could, if it wanted to, launch its 200-airplane raids against Darwin to destroy the airfield, then move in to take Aru Island. Still, it is better that they will have to fight for it, than that we hand to them a base well suited for attacking Australia.


Tomorrow, Pearl Harbor

I am told that a PBY can fly to Honolulu from San Francisco, if the weather is absolutely right. The PBY can travel 2500 miles; Honolulu is 2300 miles from San Francisco. With too much of a headwind, or a badly tuned engine, we may burn too much fuel and be may be stranded in the middle of the Pacific. But, this is a flying boat. If the weather is not too bad we can sit out in the middle of the ocean and wait for somebody to bring us some gasoline, I suspect.

I brought it up with my pilot. He just gave me a rather amused smile and sent me back to my cot.

Anyway, tomorrow, we find out.

Best Regards

Thayne[/font]

[denisonh]

Not only do you thrive on chaos, you seek to create it[:D]

ORIGINAL: Raverdave

Guys just to let you all know what is happening, about a week ago I dropped Thayne a line and asked if i could add a political dimension to his game, by adding pressure that he does not need.

It is also in keeping with what was going on behind the scenes between Downing St, The White House and Canberra.

Thayne is not bound by nor does he has to listen to anything that Curtin "suggests", but if he wants access to or use of Aussie troops then he will have to talk his way around.

Also I am not reading his opponents AAR as I want to keep my part as reactionary as possible. And while I plan to contribute on a small basis maybe week to week, or even month to month, I think that it will enhance what everyone aggrees is an excellent AAR.

[Thayne]

ORIGINAL: Moquia

He he, this just gets better and better. An WitP/RPG fusion, great stuff[8D].

This particular PBEM was actually designed from the start to be more roleplay than game play. SeaWolF K and I got together because of a shared preference for roleplaying participants in a historic war to massing victory points in a game.

Thus, the I invented Thayne, Assistant Secretary of War for the Pacific Theater -- and I present the conflict through his eyes.

Also, as I play theater commanders, I try to be faithful to the leader whose role I am playing.

As Mao Tse Tung, I divide my divisions up into small units of partisans to go running across the China countryside, controlling supply routes and denying them to the Japanese.

As Chang Kai Shek, I am more interested in fighting Mao Tse Tung than the Japanese.

As Percival (until I replaced him) I regarded the Japanese as a nuisance, rather than a credible threat.

Riverdave's contribution fits comfortably into the spirit of this game, and I hope that the readers find it to be an interesting addition. I have, in fact, changed orders on some units to accomodate Mr. Curtin's particular concerns.


Thayne


P.S. I believe that my honorable opponent, SeaWolF K, is seeking a similar affect.

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Thursday, December 18, 1941

Henry:

I arrived safely at Pearl Harbor, though it was not the smoothest flight I have ever taken. There were storms across much of the ocean, and the clouds at Pearl Harbor were very low indeed. Since we landed at the seaplane base on Ford Island, I was able to get a good view of Battleship Row from the air before I visited it in person.

It really is a mess. I don’t know if you have seen the pictures. There is still black sludge flowing from the gaping wounds in the side of the battleship, forming long streaks heading south to the mouth of the bay, like blood flowing down the gutter from the body of mobster’s innocent victim.

BB Maryland truly is in bad shape. I was afraid that if I leaned too heavily on a railing the whole ship would fall down around me like a house of cards. Flames scarred most of the upper deck. I dared not go inside.

But the most important casualties were not the ships, but the people. I visited the Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor and saw the wounded. Most of them were burned; bullet and shrapnel wounds made up a small percentage of the total. The hospital was dreadfully short of supplies. It would have given them some help and hope to know that AK Aldeberan was only a few hundred miles to the east and would be there in a day with new supplies, but I could not let that news leak out, even among this crowd.

All I could say was, “Help is on the way.”


Losses 14 ships lost total

• BB Prince of Wales, torpedoed by Betty bombers flying out of Kachang, in British Borneo, striking the ship at Balikpapan, on the eastern side of the island. Moderate damage.

• CL Danae, the stand-in for the Prince of Wales at Singapore, hit with two torpedoes. Severe damage. Its companion ship, DD Express, was told to run for the safety of Palembang as soon as it got dark.


Planes: 429 Planes lost since 12/7/1941

• 2x Warhawk, 2x Catalina in another Japanese raid on Manila.

• 5x Buffalo defending ships at Singapore


The Ground War

• China (North): Japan is challenging partisans west of Tatung. The partisans should will retreat and see how much damage they can do elsewhere.

• China (Center): Bombardment raids against Hengchow and Changsha, but Japan seems to be withdrawing from the ground war. This may have just been a reconnaissance en force to test the Chinese defenses.

• China (South): Now that Hong Kong is in Chinese hands, Japanese divisions are moving east, toward the Hanoi-Shanghai railroad. Chang Kai Shek gave orders for his armies to try to recapture the lightly held town of Nanning.

• Burma: Japanese units are still at Tavoy, probably regrouping. Japan has over 25,000 soldiers at Tavoy. That is more than England has in the whole country.

• Malaya: Japan is moving up to take Georgetown. This will give allied units a chance to retreat out of Kuantan and to get on the road to Singapore – the Georgetown attackers might have otherwise cut them off. Japanese units are also at Kuala Lumpur, which has been left undefended.

• Philippines (North): Japan continues to make weak attempts to take Lingayen Bay. The 54th PS Regiment and 194th USA Tank Battalion are holding Japan back. Units ordered out of Naga to the south before they get cut off. Heading to Bataan.

• Philippines (South): Envoys from Dadjangas, on the very southern tip of Mindanao, made a special trip to Davao just to surrender to the Japanese. Japan moved a token police force into the area and took over.


Damage Inflicted

• 4x Betty trying to hit the Prince of Wales at Balikpapan
• 3x Sally bombing Manila, Philippines


Mr. Curtin’s New Letter

Okay, let's deal with Mr. Curtin's most recent letter.

Just between you and me, Henry, I do not consider Singapore to be “such a find defensive base”. I will speak plainly, because the situation needs this.

Singapore is lost.

The events of the last two days make this plain.

(1) Japanese units in Khota Bharu, Victoria Point, and Tavoy block an access to Singapore from the west.

(2) The Japanese air units at Kachang can block any reinforcements and resupply from the east.

(3) One more air raid like the one yesterday, and Japan will have undisputed control of the air; it nearly does so already

(4) Sumatra prevents us from launching any operations directly out of the south.

If I had 100x P-38s and 200x B-17s, I could defend Singapore. Without this, Japan will soon subject the island fortress to an unrelenting bombardment from the air. Soldiers retreating the island will have to do so under the constant threat of Japanese air attack, and we cannot preent this. The island fortress will be in Japanese hands by the end of January.

I have had the urge to simply tell Mr. Curtin, "If you can get those units out of Malaya, they are yours.” If he tries, any ship he sends will make a quick detour to the bottom of the South China Sea. If they make it to Singapore first, they will be taking whatever passengers they load to the bottom with them.

This, of course, is just between you and me.

I can't tell Mr. Curtin that I have no hope for Singapore out of fear that the news would reach Churchill. The British Prime Minister will have me barbequed and served up on a spit if he heard my opinions on this matter. So, as far as Churchill is concerned, I must beg forgiveness for my inability to reach the island with reinforcements, but at least I have talked the Australians into staying.


Australian 6th and 7th Infantry Divisions

There was one item in Mr. Curtin's first letter that interested me. He reported that he wanted to recall the 6th and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions from the Middle East, but that Mr. Churchill was having difficulty coming up with ships.

I would like you to do the following for me.

(a) You are aware of Mr. Curtin's view that conscripted Australian soldiers should not fight anywhere except on Australian soil, and that he went to jail in defense of this position during World War I. However, this is a serious limit on our ability to conduct this war. Please try to secure a commitment from Mr. Curtin to support lifting this ban. It may be useful to remind him that he is demanding American conscripts to be sent overseas in defense of Australia. In light of this, his position on Australian conscripts seems somewhat hypocritical.

(b) In securing this promise, please inform Mr. Curtin and Mr. Churchill know that I can and will temporarily release whatever shipping is necessary to return the Australian 6th and 7th Infantry Divisions from the Middle East. I know that this goes against the "Hitler First" plan, but Hitler is not my responsibility, Japan is my responsibility, and I do not intend to allow Japan to possess any part of Australia.


The Carrot

With respect to Mr. Curtin's other concerns, please convey the following intentions:

(1) I intend to load three large tankers with surplus oil presently being stored at San Diego, and at least one tanker with fuel, and shipping that to Australia. Australia is going to need gasoline for its tanks and airplanes. Plus, she needs energy to keep her factories going, so she can manufacture her own Wirraway fighters and Beaufort bombers.

(2) I have talked to Lockheed about loading every spare part and spare plane they can for the Hudson bombers. As I understand it, Australia's bomber squadrons are down to about half strength, and it will take at least 40 planes to bring the squadrons up to full strength. This does not count replacement planes for operational losses and other accidents. I will be sending what I can from Lockheed.

(3) Inform Mr. Curtin that, if he can provide sufficient repair facilities, I will have the Prince of Wales repaired at an Australian port and capable of responding to any Japanese attack on Australia.

(4) Within the next couple of weeks, I will be willing to reassign No. 453 RAAF Squadron to the South Pacific and have the squadron assigned to the air defense at Rabaul. I will also see to it that transports from the West Coast contain whatever planes and parts can be spared.


The Stick

(1) Inform Mr. Curtin that the shipments of the oil and other supplies mentioned above may face substantial delays if the Japanese score any significant success in the South Pacific. We will have to take a long detour around any Japanese-controlled islands. We will seek to ensure the safe delivery of this cargo as far as Fiji. Mr. Curtin can take responsibility for making sure that a safe shipping route is maintained from Fiji to Australia.

(2) May I ask that you have the State Department identify an Australian opposition columnist to suggest that Curtin's "news leak" was a deliberate act on his part -- that Mr. Curtin is more interested in his own popularity than the lives of Allied soldiers. Have this columnist learn from "reliable sources" that the news leak will almost certainly lead to a delay in the arrival of American troops "until the security situation can be reassessed." Our official answer to these reports will be, "Certainly, you cannot expect us to comment on military matters of this kind." So, we will not contradict this columnist’s reports.

(3) We may try to find a discreet way to mention the Nimitz Plan to the Australians. The Nimitz Plan, as you know, calls for moving directly against Japan across the Central Pacific and ignoring, as an unnecessary diversion, all lands south of the Equator. Any Japanese forces south of the equator will be allowed to “rot on the vine”.



That's it for now.

Thayne

P.S., Just before dark, we take off and fly east. We find AK Aldeberan with its escort of five destroyers only 82 nautical miles away, to the west, moving at 11 knots. So, it will show up at Pearl Harbor a little after 0200 tomorrow. It will be such a relief to have that ship safe in port.[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Friday, December 19, 1941

Henry:

It was like Christmas here yesterday when AK Aldeberan pulled into port.

What most people around here were interested in was the airplanes. Using parts cannibalized off of the planes destroyed during the Japanese raid, they were able to put together 51 fighters and 38 bombers. But that is not a very large air force. There were crews from Hickam and Wheeler fields here waiting on the docks when the ship came in, eager to get their spare parts off of the ship and over to what was left of the hangers at the airbases.

They are going to be hugely disappointed when they find out how few spare parts and new planes we could actually get loaded onto AK Aldeberan. For all practical purposes, this is going to have only a meager effect on the strength of the Pearl Harbor air force.

P-26A planes are scarce, and so are their spare parts, so the 47th and 78th Fighter Squadrons will continue to have only a small portion of its compliment of planes for some time to come. These squadrons are ultimately supposed to get P-39A Aircobras. However, as I look over available supplies and shipping dates, I see that I will not be able to get any of these to Hawaii until well after the first of the year.

There are no P-36A fighters for the 45th Fighter Squadron, nor was I able to ship any P-40B Tomahawk fighters for the 46th Fighter Squadron or the 18th Fighter Group. I have shipped some P-40E Warhawk fighters in the hopes that I can introduce these to the 46th fighter squadron. This will release some Tomahawks for the 18th Fighter Group, but not nearly enough to bring the group up to full strength. Our F4F-3s and F4F-4’s are destined for the carriers, not for VMF-211.

We have had similar problems getting replacement bombers to Pearl Harbor as well. The 58th Bomber Squadron, which had all of its planes destroyed in the Japanese, will not start to see replacements until after the first of the year. The 11th Bomber Group. The 11th Bomber group will not discover any planes for them in this shipment, though future shipments will start to deliver a stream of replacements.

The squadrons around here, if fully fleshed out, would have 192 fighters and 144 bombers – not counting the seaplanes. Even with the arrival of AK Aldeberan, these units are going to remain at or below one third of their full compliment of airplanes.

It is, as they say, better than nothing.


Losses

Ships 14 ships total sunk.

• TK Gergrude Kellogg, trying to load oil at Palembang, hit by a torpedo. It is wounded, but not yet sunk.


Airplanes 432 planes total destroyed

• 1x Martin and 1x Brewster 339D trying to strike Japanese task force at Davao, in the southern Philippines

• There was a huge Japanese air raid on Mandalay in central Burma, where the American Volunteer Group was still training. The raid inflicted no losses or damage.


The Ground War

• China. The North and Central regions remain relatively quiet. In Southern China, however, Chang Kai Shek has moved an army into Nanning to try to take the city. One should not get the impression that the Chinese leader has suddenly adopted a new war ethic. Rather, going through Nanning is the best way to make these units available for the defense of Chang Kai Shek’s home at Chungking.

• Burma. Japanese invaders stay in Tavoy for another day.

• Malaya: Japanese units are moving ahead rapidly. They forced the surrender of nearly 9,000 allied soldiers at Georgetown, in the northwest corner of the region. They also took Kuala Lumpur, in the west-central part of the country, and Kuantan, in the east central portion. Malayan army units have been forced into a full scale retreat as they struggle to prevent being surrounded by the rapidly advancing Japanese army.

• Philippines: The only Japanese movement involves units moving from Lagespi (on the southern shore of the main island) north to Naga. They will arrive only to find the defending 51st Philippine Army Division moving out. With the bulk of the allies at Bataan, General Thompson has expressed concern with the possibility of the divisions south of Manila getting cut off. Fighting also continues at Lingayen Bay, in the northern part of the main island, but Japan does not seem to be pushing very hard.


Losses Inflicted

• The destroyer DD John D. Ford found and sank a Japanese submarine southeast of Balikpapan, while it was helping to escort the wounded BB Prince of Wales to safety.


The Malaya Campaign

I have had several conversations with General Wavall in Singapore. In them, he expresses his heartfelt desire to stand and fight the Japanese. However, whenever it appears as if he may have an opportunity to do so, there is a risk of getting his units cut off.

This already happened to two units who were defending Georgetown. The large coastal guns could not be moved quickly. Japan’s drive south along the mainland ended up cutting off this small segment of land. Then, Japan moved in and wiped out the defenders.

Attempting to stand at Kuantan would have run the risk that the Japanese units coming down the west coast would cut off their only route of escape – through Malacca.

If the units try to stand and fight at Malacca, then the Japanese coming up from Kuantan can get behind them and cut off the supply path back to Singapore. So, Malacca will have to be abandoned as well. It seems as if there is no good place to defend, other than Singapore itself.


Dutch Air Force under threat

As soon as the Dutch air force started to get set up at Menado, on the northeast corner of the island of Sulawesi, where they could attack Japanese ships at Davao, a Japanese fleet shows up at night and shells the airfield. They did little damage, other than to make it clear that the airfield is not a safe place to stay.


AVG moves to China

I was able to get in touch with the American Volunteer Group in China.

It appears that the Japanese were trying to get in touch with them as well. While I was talking to them, this huge flock of bombers and fighters flew over one of the air strips and pummeled it. Actually – maybe it was the weather – but they missed the airstrip by a wide margin. They did amazingly little damage, and none of the AVG airplanes were damaged in any way.

Still, after the attack, the AVG went on active duty. Immediately, Chang Kai Shek summoned them to China.

I would like to use them to protect the Burma Road. Japan has a full division heading into Burma. We are seeing what two divisions are accomplishing in Malaya. Burma has a fraction of Malaya’s army; one division should be able to do enough damage. What I cannot allow that division to do is block the Chinese divisions from getting to India.

So, I’m arguing with Chang Kai Shek for permission to bring those planes back to Burma to stop the Japanese. It’s in his interests too. The longer we can keep the Burma Road open, the more supplies Chang Kai Shek is going to receive, and the stronger he becomes.


Line Islands reinforced

Just to let you know, the 3rd USMC Defense Battalion made it to Palmyra Atoll in the Line Islands, and the 4th USMC Defense Battalion is now on Christmas Island. So, these units are reinforced. Japan can still have these islands if they come down with a large enough force, but they won’t be taking these islands with a measly little SNLF. Now, all I need to do is to find some planes for this place.


That’s all for today. Time for some sleep.

Thayne[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Saturday, December 20, 1941

Henry:

I have quite a few things that I think you need to know about today.


China

We can start with the ground war in China. It is heating up. There were battles yesterday at Nanning and on the outskirts of Canton in southern China.

Nanning is a major battle, with 15,000 Chinese trying to take the town back from 6,000 Japanese defenders. I think I mentioned before that this is not an example of Chang Kai Shek actually getting ambitious. It’s just that, the Japanese happen to be in the way of these units getting to where they can protect Chungking.

Canton, on the other hand, was a Japanese attempt to drive the Chinese away from the city, and perhaps to take control of another section of the Shanghai-Hanoi railroad. They succeeded. The Chinese dutifully abandoned this section of the track.

In central China, the 78th Chinese Corps got caught out in the open by a Japanese division. The Japanese might actually succeed in destroying this unit. They nearly have it surrounded. This was just another example of the famous Chinese ability to communicate. Chang Kai Shek ordered this unit to secure the left flank in the battle for iChang, and the soldiers went a bit too far

Further north, Japanese units took on Chinese Communist partisans outside of Tatung. The Japanese had the Chinese outnumbered by 15 to 1. But, the guerillas faded away into the wilderness with only slight losses. Meanwhile, they continue to roam the roads of northern China cutting Japanese supply routes and communication wherever possible.


Air Assault

I talked to the leaders in three command theaters yesterday and tried to organize joint strikes against the Japanese air force. Japan has the ability to destroy any air force in any theater of battle, but I am wondering if he has the ability to destroy all air forces in all theaters.

So, I have arranged to attack three Japanese air bases at once – focusing on those that I think are NOT defended by the infamous Japanese Zeros.

• The Dutch planes are gathering once again at Menado, on the northeast corner of the island of Sulawesi, targeting the Japanese airfields at Davao, in the southern Philippines.

• The Singapore air force will be targeting the Japanese air force at Khota Bharu

• The Chinese air force, including the American Volunteer Group, are gathering at Hengchow, in central China, to target the Japanese airbase at Wuhan.

Speaking of Singapore, I have started a program for cycling the airplanes out of the base. A few squadrons went to Diamond Harbor in India. There, they will be rebuilt with airplanes that are coming in through Karachi. Then, they will be sent back to Singapore and replace other squadrons there.

Churchill rather insists that I do more to protect Singapore. In fact, he is quite upset with me, according to reports that I have seen. These are just rumors at this point. All I know is that Roosevelt has said that he dare not forward to me the letters that Churchill has been writing about me – like he does for Prime Minister Curtin.

I do not know how long that will last, though. Each day I check the mail expecting to find a communication from Churchill sitting in it.


Japanese Carriers

We have been tracking some Japanese carriers that just recently entered Saigon. They have been sailing down the Indochina coast for a couple of days now. They may just be escorting Japanese transports, or they may be have something more sinister in mind.


Losses 14 ships lost total

No new ships lost, or even damaged, today, that I know about.


Planes: 429 Planes lost since 12/7/1941

• Japanese air raid on Manila base destroyed a hanger where 4 Warhawks were under repair. They were destroyed.


The Ground War

• China. I covered this region above.

• Philippines: Japan takes Naga, a fortified region in the southern Philippines, after the allies had abandoned it. Thompson is gathering his forces in the center of the island for a determined defense.


Damage Inflicted

• Allied Intelligence reports that a damaged minelayer reached Saigon Harbor. The Japanese let it sink.


Next Week’s Reinforcements

Finally, next week, I actually get something that I really need. The British have landed in India. They will be bringing with them replacement airplanes, guns, and soldiers to flesh out the units that are currently stationed in India.

They will also be arriving with an infantry division, and a fighter squadron – both of which are very badly needed.

Sunday, December 21, 1941

• CA Dorsetshire, Karachi
• AK Mormaclark, San Francisco
• AK Sawolda, San Francisco

Monday, December 22, 1941

• AO Guadalupe, San Francisco
• AK Makiki, San Francisco
• AK West Nilus, San Francisco
• TK Gulfbeeze, San Francisco

Tuesday, December 23, 1941

• AP West Point, Karachi
• AK Jeff Davis, San Francisco
• TK Tulsagas, San Francisco
• TK Halo, San Francisco
• TK Gulfdawn, San Francisco

Wednesday, December 24, 1941

• 18TH UK DIVISION, KARACHI
• CA Minneapolis, Pearl Harbor
• AK Corrales, San Francisco
• AK Silverado, San Francisco
• AK Empire Ranger, Karachi

Thursday, December 25, 1941

• 125th USA Regimental Combat Team, San Francisco
• TK Edward L. Shea, San Francisco
• TK Gulfbird, San Francisco
• TK Gulfland, San Francisco

Friday, December 26, 1941

• 232 SQUADRON, 16X HURRICANE II, DACCA
• 225 Group RAF, Karachi
• AP Crescent City, Los Angeles
• AK Admiral Gove, San Francisco
• AK Ernest Meyer, San Francisco

Saturday, December 27, 1941

• MSW Townsville, Cairns
• AK Manulani, San Francisco
• AK San Lucas, San Francisco
• AK San Rafael, San Francisco
• TK Pat Doheny, San Francisco
• TK Baldhill, San Francisco

Okay, that’s the status of the war today.

Tomorrow, I will get to tell you how well my plan to attack the Japanese air force went. Somehow, I expect huge clouds of Japanese airplanes to destroy these attacks before they even get off the ground.

But, that’s just the pessimist in me.

Thayne[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Sunday, December 21, 1941

Henry:

It has now been two weeks of war, and what do we have to show for it?

• Philippines Japan controls most of Luzon (northern Philippines). They are quickly approaching Manila and Bataan as the defenders gather in a small part of Bataan for maximum defense. Japan has also taken Davao in the southern Philippines. Japan also owns the island of Jolo.

• Burma Japan is invading, taking Victoria Point and Tavoy. The British are setting up defenses at Moulmein.

• Malaya Japan has taken about 2/3 of the country, forcing the allies back to Malacca. They have done this, not with actual battle, but by threatening to cut units off if they remained further forward. This seems the only safe place for defense.

• British Borneo This is in Japanese hands now.

• Gilbert Islands Japan has taken Makin, Tarawa, and Apamama.

Total Naval Losses: 14 Ships

• 1 Heavy Cruiser
• 1 Submarine
• 2 Submarine Tenders
• 1 Minesweeper
• 2 Patrol Gunboats
• 4 Patrol Torpedo Boats
• 1 Troop Transport
• 1 Tanker
• 1 Small Cargo Ship

Naval Damage: Out of Action

• 9 Battleships (8 at Pearl Harbor plus Prince of Wales)
• 1 Light Cruiser (at Singapore)
• 5 Destroyers
• 1 Tanker
• 4 Submarines
• 1 Minelayer

Total Air Losses: 473 Airplanes

In fighters alone we have lost:

• 82x P-40B Tomahawks
• 45x P-40E Warhawks
• 19x F4F-3 Wildcats
• 49x Buffalos
• 27x P-36A Mohawk
• 22x Brewster 339
• 19x P-26
• 12x P-35A


Today’s Losses

Naval

• SS KXVII damaged by Japanese ASW near Saigon
• DD Tucker torpedoed east of Pearl Harbor

Air

• 8x Blenheim, 4x Buffalo, and 3x Vildebeest in attack on Singapore
• 6x P-40 Warhawk and 3x B-17 Fortress in air strike on Manila

Ground War

• Recent losses; Japan took control of Lingayen Bay, north of Clark AFB, Philippines.


Damage Inflicted

• Enemy submarine hit, but not sunk, east of Pearl Harbor
• 2x Lily and 1x Sally in attack on Khota Bharu
• 1x Betty, 1x Nate, and 1x Sally defending Clark AFB


Pearl Harbor

In the last week, the mood here at Pearl Harbor has shifted quite a bit. We are no longer looking for survivors. Those who have friends and family missing, have given them up as lost – blown up in the hull of CA New Orleans or cremated in BB Maryland or the hangers at Wickam Field. People are now looking forward at what will happen, instead of back at what happened two weeks ago.

At Pearl Harbor itself, BB Tennessee and BB West Virginia are in dry dock. Five other battleships – all except BB Maryland – are being rigged for a trip to the ship yards on the USA West Coast. The destroyed hangers on Ford Island and Hickam Field are being bulldozed to the ground, making way for new construction. The contracts have already gone out to build replacements.

The runways and taxi ways are freshly paved. There are guards everywhere. I can’t go three blocks without having my ID checked.

Two more cargo ships – the large cargo ship AK Alabaman and the smaller AK Coast Trader came this afternoon. As soon as they pulled up to the dock, cranes started lifting material off the ship and onto the docks. I took the opportunity to walk down the deck of AK Alabaman. I passed a jeep, with a machinegun mounted on the back, packed full of welding equipment in the back. While I watched, a crane hooked up to it, lifted it off the ship and onto the dock. Then some corporal drove the jeep away over to the docks, where they are cutting the remains of CA New Orleans into small enough pieces to be hauled away.

Some people want to make CA New Orleans into some sort of memorial for the people who died here. But, it’s sitting at one of the piers that we will need for loading and unloading ships.

I went pack to CINCPAC headquarters, where I spend most of my time. I don’t think Admiral Nimitz likes me looking over his shoulder. For the most part, I try not to tell the theater commanders what to do. I let them make up their own minds. I did tell Nimitz, though, that he should appoint commanders to oversee the Northern and Southern Pacific. I am particularly interested in who he will pick for COMSOPAC, since that area is vital. I think he is leaning toward Vice Admiral Halsey.


Air War

I suppose I should get down to business. I told you about the plan to hit three Japanese airbases.

Well, we hit two of them, but the results were not impressive.

• At Khota Bharu, photo recon only shows 3 airplanes destroyed on the ground; 2x Lily and 1x Sally. We lost a Buffalo fighting through their CAP. However, Japan came back with an attack on Singapore. That coast us 8x Blenheim, 4x Buffalo, and 3x Vildebeest – without losing a single plane.

• In the Philippines, we found no enemy airplanes on the airstrip at Davao, and lost a Demon, Brewster, and Hudson in the attack. Japan, in turn, launched an air strike against Clark AFB. Our fighters and AA took out 1x Betty, 1x Nate, and 1x Sally. But, we lost 6x Warhawk and 3x Fortress in the attack.

• In China, our airplanes never left the field.

They have more airplanes than we do, and they have better airplanes than we do.

When can I expect reinforcements? Next week, I get a flock of Hurricanes. That’s it. Hardly enough to tip the balance in the war.

I’m sending the airplanes in for a second strike on the same targets, then they are going to retire for a short period of rest and recreation while Japan plasters the airfields they flew from.


Until tomorrow

Thayne[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Monday, December 22, 1941

Henry:

Well, it looked as if something worked.

I told you yesterday that we were going to try another day of attacks against the Japanese air force. The same three forces received orders to hit the same three targets -- Singapore to Khota Bharu, DEI out Menado, Sulawesa to Davao, Philippines, and the Chinese Air Force from Hengchow to Wuhan.

Singapore: Once again, only two of our three attacks took off. This time, the Singapore air force stayed grounded. That was a bit of a shame. General Pownall, commanding the Southeast Asia forces, reinforced the Singapore air force with a squadron of Buffalo fighters from Rangoon and a squadron of Blenheims that had recently arrived at the theater. The force was stronger than I think Japan expects us to have.

Dutch East Indies: Yesterday's air strike showed us that there were no planes at this field, except for a hand full of Zeros flying combat air patrol. Still, General <name> apparently wanted to make a show of strength. The same Zero fighters were flying CAP, and we put one or two more dents in the runway, but we did not accomplish much of anything else.

I received a report that the DEI air force at Menado is going to be withdrawn to a safer base temporarily. Chances are the Japanese are going to target this base in the near future to get rid of the threat. The plan is to have the planes return to a forward air force base at a location where the Japanese least expect them.


China

The AVG was ordered to clear out the Japanese fighter force at Wuhan. The pilots woke up before dawn and got their instructions. Then, with the sky just starting to show the first glimmer of dawn dark blue glow of dawn, the AVG pilots started up their engines and took off.

Above the airbase, they formed up into three squadrons of 18 planes each. Once everybody was in position, and the sky was quite a bit lighter, they headed north.

Intelligence reports said that there were no Japanese Zeros at Wuhan. For the group's first taste of blood, it was considered that the group took on some less dangerous foe, until they got their feet wet. Wuhan had Nates and Oscars -- planes that a Tomahawk can take on without much of a threat.

I don't think that the Japanese knew that the AVG was in the area. They had not scouted the base in a while, and Chang Kai Shek had moved in a lot of Chinese planes into the same airfields -- so any reports of a gathering air force might have only mentioned Chinese planes.

I can imagine the Japanese surprise. The Nate pilots have probably been flying their missions the same way for three years now. They got up, had breakfast, then took off for their regular patrol.

After three years, the routine probably got a bit boring. Instead of watching for enemy planes that never showed up, each pilot's thoughts were probably on what they would do when they got back to base -- a game, a favorite girl, a letter from or to home.

The Tomahawks flew in at 1000 feet, just above the ground. Tomahawks fight best at low altitude, and the plan was for them to catch whatever fighters the Japanese scrambled just as they cleared the deck, when they were most vulnerable. Against Zeros, this strategy would not have worked. Tomahawks have to dive on the Zero to have a chance. Against Nates and Oscars, low-level flying has an advantage.

After the flight leader confirmed that there were no Zeros present, he turned the pilots loose for a dogfight. We caught his message. "Let's clear these skies."

One squadron went on watch, circling the dogfight in case the enemy should bring in reinforcements. The other two went into battle.

I'm not talking about a general, wild melee. The AVG was better trained than that. A lead pilot picked an enemy plane to destroy, while a wingman covered each lead pilot's back.

I had this image in my mind of some senior Japanese officer who could not get into the fight because his plane was under repair. He scrambled with the rest of his squadron, but stayed on the ground -- probably angry, swearing at whatever gods they worship. He could do nothing but listen to the radio broadcasts.

"I'm hit! I'm Hit"

"He's behind me. Get him off me!"

"Yamato's down."

"Fuchiti too."

"There's too many of them!"

I can imagine his frustration as his friends died. Three . . . four . . . five of them. He pounds his fist on the table and says (in Japanese, of course), "Come on guys! Get it together!"

eight . . . nine friends lost. Somebody cheers that they shot down a P-40. There is hope -- a chance that this will be the start of a rally.

But his friends do not rally. Twelve . . . thirteen planes lost.

Does he even realize these are Americans? Or does he think that these are Chinese?

Either way, the attackers leave. The defenders return to their airfield. One or two are too badly shot up to land. The pilot slumps over on landing, pulling the stick to the left, and the plane cartwheels down the runway. Another skids to a stop and bursts into flame. A pilot might be able to land his plane safely, but die of his wounds as he shuts off the engine.

Later that day, this officer would go to the squadron commander's office, which is now his office since his superiors are all wounded or dead. He looks at the flight board and erases name after name after name.

A few, he learned, did parachute to safety.

The rest were people he had breakfast with earlier that morning. These were people he had plans with later that evening. Now . . . gone.

What would he feel? Would he be angry at the Emperor for creating this situation that got his friends killed?

Probably not. This Japanese officer will probably see us as some type of wild animal -- a predator who has just attacked and killed the members of his peaceful village. He will be demanding an opportunity to get a hunting party together and rid the village of this menace -- these "flying tigers" that have attacked his village.

I know, I think too much. Isn't that what you say?

Thinking is good. I do not plan to give it up.


Statistics

I know, Henry. You have no time for stories, and you want only to see a quick summary of the essential facts. That's exactly why I include this section in my reports.


Losses

Naval

None today.


Air

• Japanese naval bombardment of the Macassar airstrip, and the Allied attack on Davao, cost us 2x Hudson, 2x Brewster, and 1x Demon, with no Japanese losses.


Territory

• The Japanese have started shelling Malacca, but they are not attacking yet.


Losses Inflicted

• 17 Nate and Oscar fighters at Wuhan, China -- the first mission flown by the AVG.

• Another submarine east of Hawaii. The ASW war seems to be going well. Two confirmed kills east of Hawaii, and another possibly damaged. Two more confirmed kills in the Dutch East Indies.

• A military cargo ship near Truk. When they brought me this report, I had to ask them "How did we sink a military cargo ship near Truk?" It turns out that this was a casualty of the Wake Island invasion. Hit by guns at Wake, it was trying to reach Truk for repairs. Apparently, a patch of rough water was too much for the wounded ship to take.[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]Tuesday, December 23, 1941

Henry:

The Repulse

Yes, the Repulse is gone. The Japanese sank it at Menado, on the northeast corner of Sulawesi.

I am not going to hold anyone responsible but myself. I am supposed to be facilitating communication between the different commands, and I failed to do so in this case.

The Dutch, as you know, have been flying missions against the airfields in the Philippine town of Davao out of Menado. The Japanese responded to this by sending cruisers down from Davao to shell the airfield. To respond to the naval bombardment, a task force built around the battlecruiser Repulse was dispatched to Menado.

However, as the British task force arrived, the Dutch air force to prevent it from becoming the victim of a Japanese attack. The result is that the British ships had no air cover, and the torpedo bombers had a free run on the Repulse.

I cannot deny that I had all of the evidence that this was happening. I simply failed to put the different pieces of information together.

You can now officially add my voice to those who favor forming a unified command in the Dutch East Indies among the American, British, Dutch, and Australian forces fighting there.

Hopefully, it will help to prevent another tragedy such as this.


Losses

Naval

• BC Repulse sank, at Menado, on the Dutch island of Sulawesi.

• SS Porpoise badly damaged north of the Philippines. Nearest port for repairs would be Singapore.

Air

• 6x Buffalo at Singapore, defending from a Japanese air raid there.

• Of course, we also lost all of the seaplanes on the BC Repulse.

Losses Inflicted

• Singapore AA took down 6 enemy bombers.

• The Singapore airforce took out 4 airplanes at Khota Bharu


The Ground War

Burma

Lieutenant General Pownall had some worries that the Japanese may try to cut off the defenses at Moulmein in eastern Burma by sending units down the road from Rahaeng, Thailand. To explore this option, he had ordered the 16th Indian Bridage to Rahaeng. There, they encountered a Japanese advance.

We do not know the size of this advance – it may be a full division.

To respond to this maneuver, Pownall has ordered all of the units out of Moulmein, meaning that Japan will capture the town without a fight.

Pownall also informs me that he faces a problem with Rangoon. Because of the road structure in the area, it would be easy for the Japanese to trap units within Rangoon – surround them and eliminate them. As such, he is asking for permission to make Rangoon an open city.

As much as I hate to do so, I see no option but to say “yes” to this request, and to pull the defenses back. This is clearly not my first choice, but the road network around the town makes it virtually indefensible.

The problem is, if we pull back into the interior of Burma, we will have difficulty getting the units supplied. Burma is simply a bear to try to defend.

Should we pull back to India?

Malaya

Japan tried a full frontal charge against the defenses at Malacca, half way up the western coast from Singapore, and were decisively repulsed. Military intelligence in the area report over 1000 estimated Japanese casualties. The British casualties were very light.

I am wondering if Japan expected the British to run like they did before. They may not realize that the British pulled out of their other positions because of the danger that they would be outflanked. At Malacca, the British actually have a defensive line that they can hold, and they may intend to stay there for a while. I would certainly encourage them to do so.

Philippines

The Japanese have reached the outskirts of Manila. I have heard McArthur’s calls that Manila be made an open city – I do not understand the man’s thinking that, now that he is a civilian again, thinking that it makes any sense to offer military advice through the press. Anyway, General Thompson is not expecting to hold the city, but he is not planning to walk away from it either. The Japanese are going to have to take it, and Thompson plans on leaving nothing of value behind.


Enemy Movements: South China Sea

We have been tracking a small Japanese carrier down from Formosa to Saigon. It is now cutting across the South China Sea. At first I was worried that it was a transport force attempting to sail around Singapore and land at Johore Bahu – cutting off tens of thousands of units on the continent from supplies at Singapore. However, aerial recon says that this is a bombardment force.

Where would they want to bombard?

My first guess . . . the airfield at Singkawang – the airfield that the Dutch used to attack Japanese forces at Kuchang. Admittedly, the Dutch have been thinking about returning to that airfield to have another go at Japanese ships at Kuchang.

Another possibility is Palembang. I can only guess how hungrily Japan is looking at the oil fields there.


Additional Comments

I am still trying to decide on a format for these reports that works for you. What I am trying now is to pull the ground combat discussion out of statistical report of losses, since those discussions generally take a bit more typewriter ribbon. Of course, I will continue to list the statistical information separately, for those days when you do not have time to read the whole letter. If you have any suggestion for making these reports easier for you, let me know. I exist merely to serve.


Anyway, I have to go now. I promised to spend a couple hours with G2 going over some reports they received. I’ll get back with you tomorrow.

Thayne[/font]

[Thayne]

[font="Courier New"]ALERT

TO: ALL COMMANDERS, SOUTH PACIFIC, AUSTRALIA

INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS JAPANESE CARRIER FORCE NEAR BISMARCK ARCH. -- EAST OF RABAUL. SEEK VISUAL COFIRMATION. ENEMY CARRIER ATTACK EXPECTED: RABAUL, PORT MORESBY, EAST COAST AUSTRALIA, NOUMEA, ALL WATERS IN BETWEEN.[/font]