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War Report 12/16/41
More submarines spotted near PI. The Porpoise was located and confirmed sunk.[center][/center][center]USS Porpoise, sunk 12/16/41. [/center]
The Shark fired and missed. The Tarpon hit the Hawaii Maru, and then escaped the escorts.[center][/center][center]The Hawaii Maru, seen here listing after a torpedo attack from SS Tarpon.[/center]
The S-39 first hit the Yasukawa Maru with a torpedo, then later surfaced and attacked with its deck gun.
Fortunately the Yasukawa Maru was able to hit the sub with its own 3in gun and drive it off, but not before taking some hits from the sub. [center][/center][center]S-39 opens up with its deck gun.[/center]

Enemy destroyers near Brunei (the Thanet and Scout) attempted to interdict our invasion forces, however escorting Destroyers easily pounded the enemy well before they were in range of the transports. The enemy managed to get off one shot into a transport, but both DD's are severly damaged and will likely not return to safe port in time to be saved. No hits were landed on our destroyers.


Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
P-40E - 8
Buffalo - 2
PBY Catalina - 4
Blenheim IV - 3

Imperial Air Forces
G4M1 Betty - 4
A6M2 Zero - 1
Ki-46-II Dinah - 1
C5M Babs - 1

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Wake island persists. The 5th NLF landed after enemy positions were shelled, but the enemy is resilent and 5th NLF was destroyed. The much larger South Seas Detachment has been instructed to alter course and seize Wake. A battleship has also been requested from High Command to assist in bombardment activities. [center][/center][center]Casaulties of 5th NLF, results of 2nd failed attempt to capture Wake Island.[/center]
KB sailing to Juluit to take on more fuel, and be on station to attack any enemy ships spotted in the region.
Forces landed on Admiralty, Emirau and bases in New Guinea. Hudson's attacked at Admiralty, so Zeros in Wewak have been order to cover the area with CAP tomorrow while the island is secured.
Gilbert Islands invasion forces order to land at their targets.


Sub Ops:
All quiet, subs moving to avoid escorts west of USA, getting into more strategic positions to monitor shipping lanes with float planes. Weather has hindered patrols to some extent.

Damaged Ship Report
AP Hawaii Maru 53/59/36 (PI)
AK Yasukawa Maru 18/30/30 (PI)
DD Shirayuki 9/0/0 (Wake)
AK Kongo Maru 40/0/0 (Wake)
CA Furutake 10/0/0 (Wake)
CL Tenryu 5/0/0 (Wake)
CVL Ryujo 53/39/0 (PI)

Wake island persists. The 5th NLF landed after enemy positions were shelled, but the enemy is resilent and 5th NLF was destroyed. The much larger South Seas Detachment has been instructed to alter course and seize Wake. A battleship has also been requested from High Command to assist in bombardment activities.

I empathize with you.. I've got the 61st NLF at 0 assault points and the Maizuru SNLF at 4. Bringing in the South Seas Detachment myself from Guam.

War Report 12/17/41
Several attempts to hit enemy subs, but no luck today.
KXIV hits the Koki Maru, but it is at port in Taan so will hopefully be okay.
The Shark fired and hit with dud torpedos on two different targets.
KXVII hits the Hakutetsu Maru #13 with two torpedos, sinking her rapidly.
AP Tutukami Maru hit by B-17 near Vigan.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
P-40B - 1
Buffalo - 1
Blenheim IV - 1
Blenheim IF - 1

Imperial Air Force
Ki-51 Sonia - 5
Ki-48 Lily - 2
Ki-15 Babs - 1
C5M Babs - 1


Feurer Krieg Area Report
Per my request, BB Ise has been dispatched to assist with Wake operations.
New Guinea bases Hansa, Noemfoor, Manokwari captured.
Rabual operations proceed, Emirau and Admiralty Island both captured.
Gilberts atolls Nauru, Apamama, Tarawa, and Makin captured.[center][/center][center]Tarawa Atoll in the Southeast Pacific. [/center]
Weather is terrible over New Guinea and Rabual allowing our Zero's to rest and allowing the transports unfettered operations. Expecting to land in Rabaul within 4-8 days.[center][/center][center]Rain in New Guinea - A mixed blessing. [/center]

Sub Ops:
Task Force spotted south of Pearl Harbor moving south, attack subs will assume positions to intercept.

Damaged Ship Report
AP Hawaii Maru 60/72/13 (PI)
AK Yasukawa Maru 35/31/15 (PI)
AP Tutukami Maru 15/0/7 (PI)
DD Shirayuki 9/0/0 (Wake)
CA Furutake 10/0/0 (Wake)
CL Tenryu 5/0/0 (Wake)
CVL Ryujo 53/39/0 (PI)
AK Kongo Maru in port at Saipan.

War Report 12/18/41
More empty handed sub searches.
Another AP (the Kasima Maru) hit by B-17 near Vigan.
Enemy Cruisers Durban and Dragon attack AP Kashi Maru northeast of Brunei, ship is severly damaged, but hasn't yet sunk. It was empty on its way home anyways, so not a devestating loss.
Overzealous Kates fly some bombing missions over Hong Kong and get a bit banged up by flak, only one destroyed plane at least.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Blenheim I - 2
I-16c - 1
Vildebeest IV - 1

Imperial Air Force
Ki-27 Nate - 2
Ki-51 Sonia - 2
B5N Kate - 1
Ki-21 Sally - 1


Feurer Krieg Area Report
Baker Island captured. Minelayers will begin covering Baker, Tarawa and Makin.
Units will prep for Canton Island while waiting for Rabual to be captured. After that cruisers assisting with Rabaul will move to Makin to assist with taking Canton.


Sub Ops:
I-170 dodges some Destroyers south of Pearl. Spotters say there are Cruisers present, but looks like too many destroyers to me. Subs will hang back and try to stay alive. It's going to be a long war and we don't want to lose them early.

Damaged Ship Report
AP Kashi Maru 99/62/49 (Borneo)
AP Hawaii Maru 65/75/3 (PI)
AK Yasukawa Maru 42/29/7 (PI)
AP Kasima Maru 56/22/22 (PI)
AP Tutukami Maru 14/0/0 (PI)
CVL Ryujo made it to the repair yards in Osaka.
Furutake, Tenryu, Shirayuki will replenish at Marcus, not in any danger of sinking so I'll pull them from this list.[center] [/center][center]Ryujo pulls into port for repairs.[/center]

War Report 12/19/41
Relatively quiet today. Very little air action.
US Sub, S-37 depth charged and will likely sink soon.[center][/center][center]S-37 dives in this prewar photo.[/center]
A couple ships hit mines while unloading at Kuching, including the light cruiser Natori which took some damage.
B-17's continue to do well near the Phillipines, one manages to hit a subchaser with 2 500lb bombs. While amazing enough that they were able to hit such a small ship at all, also surprising is that the ship was not obliterated, at about 50% float, it may still make it into port. The surface of the boat is a wreck though, at 99 system damage.
An AP was also hit by B-17's.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
None!

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Weather cleared up near New Guinea and Rabaul and almost all of my TF's were spotted. Gathering up all TF's into one hex so that Zero's in Wewak can cover them with cap in case the weather stays clear.
Certainly Allies must expect imminent attack on Rabaul, if they attempt reinforcement there are some RO Subs in the area that will attempt to interdict.
Baker has plenty of mines (700+) on it, NLF forces gathering up and waiting for fuel and larger support ships before attempting to take Canton.
Landings at Tulagi, it will fall tomorrow.[center][/center][center]Tulagi harbor, quiet for now.[/center]
Madang was captured today.
KB remains unspotted near Makin, hopefully Allies will attempt to reinforce Canton in which case KB can bag some loaded ships. Sub with a Glen watching the approaches to Canton for Allied ships.


Sub Ops:
No activity to report.


At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
AP Kashi Maru 99/96/25 (Borneo)
AP Hawaii Maru 65/79/0 (PI)
PC Shonan Maru #2 99/56/33 (PI)
CL Natori 27/33/0 (Borneo)
AK Yasukawa Maru 44/28/2 (PI)
AP Kasima Maru 68/34/6 (PI)
AP Surabaya Maru 13/1/9 (PI)

War Report 12/20/41
Some heavy ground fighting in Alor Star and Changsa, but no captured bases yet. Fortifications knocked down at both places.
Even facing a difficult landing, mines, and sub attacks, our forces at Kuching prevailed and captured the base today. The SS-O19 did manage to sink the Yamato Maru there however, putting two fish into the transport.[center][/center][center]Kuching circa 1937. Current plans for the area include using the buildings to house enemy POW's.[/center]
Also, the Kashi Maru expired while trying to reach Saigon.
Night bombing on Khota Bharu managed to hit the airfield and destroyed 1 Ki-51 Sonia.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Buffalo I - 2

Imperial Air Force
Ki-51 Sonies - 3
Ki-15 Babs - 1


Feurer Krieg Area Report
Clear weather continues over the Rabaul area. Ship movements are being limited while the weather is clear in order to prevent unnecessary losses.
The current plan for Rabaul is to spend at most two more days gathering up landing forces in the hex northwest of Admiralty Island. If the weather forecast gets worse tomorrow or the next day, the task force will sail immediately for Rabaul. In the meantime, Zero's at Wewak will stand down for those two days in order to rest up. The air attacks from Rabaul have so far been light, 2 Hudson's at a time and they have been focused on Admiralty or Emirau as opposed to the larger fleet assembling in the open ocean. Hopefully this will continue.
Bad weather or not, three days from now, the task force will sail for Rabaul and the by-then rested Zero's in Wewak will cover the TF since air attacks will likely get stronger and more accurate closer to Rabaul. The Allied fighter escort is of little concern as it consists only of Wirraway's, which my air force HQ leaders insist are vastly inferior to our Zero fighters. If the full 3 days is spent waiting, the landing force will consist of the 65th Bde, and 3 NLF groups. If it leaves ealier, one NLF group may miss the landing, in which case it will be diverted to Kavieng to secure that location.
Airfield expansions continue rapidly in Wewak, Admiralty, and Emirau. It is hoped that having several size 4 airfields will allow our airforces the ability to overlap defenses, as well as giving air units the ability to do an organized fall back if the Allied counterattacks have more sucess than we expect.
Also, Tulagi was captured today, those forces will continue on to secure Lunga.
Forces have landed in Sansapor and will secure the area tomorrow. From here forces in Manokwari and Sansapor will take to the trails, as allied air cover is still a risk on the west side of the island. They will proceed on foot to Sorong. If the air situation allows, additional forces will be brought in via sea transport to Sorong.

Sub Ops:
No activity to report.


At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
AP Hawaii Maru 65/86/0 (PI)
PC Shonan Maru #2 99/84/14 (PI)
CL Natori 27/36/0 (Borneo)
AK Yasukawa Maru 44/27/0 (PI)
AP Kasima Maru 70/39/1 (PI)
AP Surabaya Maru 23/0/6 (PI)
AP Kashi Maru and Yamato Maru sunk today.

War Report 12/21/41
A busy day in the war.
Several Allied planes destroyed in raids on Manilla.
An Allied sub, SS Shark was reportedly hit by air attack from a Sonia near the PI.
Air raids coninue in Malaya, it appears that Alor Star has been evacuated so it will likely fall tomorrow.
B-17's continue to be exceptionally accurate in the PI area, hitting the PG Kanko Maru and the AP Humburugu Maru today.
The real action of the day occured at Wake Island, detailed below.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
PBY Cataline - 15
P-40E Warhawk - 6
Buffalo I - 1
Catalina I - 1
SBD Dauntless - 1

Imperial Air Force
Ki-51 Sonia - 4

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Operations in most of the area continue as planned. Forces prepping for Canton at Baker, TF forming northeast of Admiralty Island for the assualt on Rabual.
Nanomea Atoll and Sansapor catpured today, landings at Lunga which should fall tomorrow.

[center]Wake Island Post Action Report[/center]
At approximately 1:20am, Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto's Surface Fleet began shelling the defenders of Wake Island with Ise, four Furataka heavy cruisers and four light cruisers. A significant amount of damage was caused. With no Allied threat believed to be in the area, Goto stayed near and continued shelling throughout the night while L.Cdr Hirano's fleet carrying the South Seas Detachment began unloading. The landing fleet found that many of the Wake island guns were still operating and shells began falling around the landing craft. Having been ordered to take Wake Island at all costs, Hirano ordered his small escort ships and subchasers to close with the coast and fire on any spotted gun blast coming from the shore.
The small ships bravely moved into range and were moderately successful in silencing several coastal guns. Several of the subchasers took hits, but most caused little damage. A shell damaged the PC Ch24's antenna array, so the ship was believed lost until dawn, as the crew did not want to use signal lights for fear of presenting a better target. The PC Ch 30 took a shell near the waterline and withdrew as it began taking on water rapidly.
The action was a success however as the AP Tafuku Maru was they only transport hit, and even then little damage was done. The South Seas Detachment gained a beachhead and began forming up for a morning assault while support personnel, engineers and supplies continued to be unloaded.
As dawn broke, Goto received a distressing radio message from Naval HQ - an American Carrier task force had been spotted by Mavis patrol out of Marcus Island, approximately 110 miles northeast of Wake island, steaming west at high velocity.
Goto realized that if he retreated at this point, the surface fleet would be completely unprotected from air attack, but Goto had no aircover himself. Deciding it would be more honorable to defend the transport fleet, which still had a large portion of the South Seas Detachment on board, Goto began to steam northeast directly toward the carriers, in order to present himself as a target, hopefully allowing the transport fleet more time to unload.
The morning passed without incident, and Goto was out of sight of Wake at 1336hrs, when Allied aircraft were finally spotted. Seeing the surface fleet they dove to attack. The battlefleet put up a significant amount of flak. The level of flak made it very difficult for the torpedo bombers to drop on target, with many veering off, or dropping too soon or too high. As a result, not a single torpedo struck its target. [center][/center][center]Intense Flak prevented US Torpedo Bombers from proper delivery at the Battle of Wake Island.[/center]
The dive bombers however landed several hits with 1000lb GP bombs. Thankfully, the superior armor of the larger ships prevented the bombs from doing much damage, however the light cruisers did not fair as well. Once the allied planes had departed, all four light cruisers were reported to be taking water, although Tatsuta and Kitakami were in the worst shape.
Ise took the most hits (three 1000lb bombs), but other than a damaged turret suffered very little damage. As evening fell, Goto received radio communications that an allied sub had been spotted southwest of Wake bearing northwest.
[center][/center][center]Ise, although smoking slightly, deflected all bombs that landed with its heavy WWI era armor.[/center]
Receiving word that things were going well on the island, Goto decided to try and save the surface ships from further attack. With the carriers to the northeast, and the allied sub heading northwest, Goto believed that the allies would be expecting him to head straight to Tokyo for repairs. Instead, as darkness fell, Goto began steaming south for Kwajalein in order to stabilize the ships for a longer trip home for long overdue repairs.
Nell's in Kawjalein and Tokyo were put on alert in case the US Carriers pursued south or west. It is unclear if one or two carriers are present at Wake, as only aircraft from the Enterprise were seen in the attack on Goto's surface fleet.
Meanwhile, on Wake Island itself, the South Seas Detachment fervently attacked the USMC postions on Wake. The entire southwest corner of the island was secured by 0900, and forces continued east along the island towards the airfield. Although the USMC fought viscously, they were severely outnumbered and outgunned this time around, and by 1135, Japanese forces were on the outskirts of the airfield. An hour later, after intense machine gun fire was brought down on the remaining defensive positions across the airfield, Japanese forces charged across and pushed the last defenders off the field. Around 1500 the ranking US officer signaled a surrender, and all US Forces present laid down their arms. 15 PBY Catalina's were captured as well. After two failed invasions, Wake Island was finally secured as a Japanese airbase, although the final cost has yet to be determined, as the cruisers are not safe at home yet.[center][/center][center]Civilian POW contractors will be used to assist in repairs at Wake.[/center]
[center][/center] [center]Current situation at Wake.[/center]

Sub Ops:
I-169 encountered a large group of DM south of Pearl, so far has evaded detection though.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
AP Hawaii Maru 65/96/0 (PI)
PC Shonan Maru #2 99/95/5 (PI)
PC Ch 30 99/71/49 (Wake)
AP Humburugu Maru 96/46/49 (PI)
CL Natori 27/31/0 (Borneo)
AK Yasukawa Maru 44/25/0 (PI)
AP Kasima Maru 70/44/0 (PI)
PG Kanko Maru 51/6/17 (PI)
CL Tatsuta 68/30/35 (Wake)
CL Kitakami 43/30/15 (Wake)
CL Yubari 65/19/24 (Wake)
CA Kinugasa 31/9/3 (Wake)
CL Tenryu 42/8/12 (Wake)

War Report 12/22/41
A day that saw further expansion of the empire.
Laoag, Lunga, Alor Star, Hong Kong, Moulmein, Nukufetau all captured today.
The enemy ship, TK William Berg, which was hit back on 12/15/41 was reported sunk today.
The SS S-40 was reportedly hit by a Jake floatplane.
The PC Shonan Maru #2, and AP Hawaii Maru, both victim's of B-17's in recent days both expired today as well.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
P-40B Tomahawk - 1

Imperial Air Force
Ki-15 Babs - 1

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Weather helped us a bit today, preventing any morning missions from flying from the Enterprise (or at least it would seem so). My suspicions regarding the direction of the US Carrier TF seemed correct, as it headed west. Thus all the cruisers at Wake put some significant distance between them and the carriers. Only a couple of the most damaged light cruisers remain out of LRCAP range of the Zero's at Kwaj. The Zero's have been ordered to cover the slowest cruisers regardless, as they should be in range by tomorrow in case the carrier force heads south.
As expected though, the transports unloading the S. Seas Detachment took plenty of damage in airstrikes in the afternoon today. With the lower level's of flak, US torp bombers had little trouble hitting their targets. Altogether, 3 APs, 2 PCs, 1 PG, and 1 MSW were heavily damaged, although only the MSW has sunk so far. Nearly all of the S. Seas Detachment was successfully unloaded however, so overall things could be worse. One remaining ship has some of the LCU onboard, but it should be empty by morning. Most of the other APs and escorts have been paired up by speed and sent south. Hopefully some of the ships will make it since they will be quite strung out, and may be more targets than the Enterprise can hit.[center][/center][center]Light Cruiser Tenryu still smolders as it moves full speed for safer waters. [/center]
In other areas, Zero's at Wewak are rested up and ready to provide LRCAP for the completed Rabaul invasion force. The invasion force consists of one brigade, and three naval landing forces. Three fast heavy cruisers will begin making nightly bombardment runs starting tonight to soften things up at Rabaul. Once the tranports get closer, or if the weather gets bad, daylight bombardments might be ordered.
Lastly, troops landed at Finschafen, should fall tomorrow.

Sub Ops:
I-156 put three torpedos into a loaded Tanker (TK Merula) just southeast of Tjilitjap. The cargo of the ship ignited, and the ship rapidly went down.
With the Enterprise lingering near Wake, four RO subs continue to close in for some attempts at the valuable target. These subs may become victims of the escorts, but the chance to damage a US CV with a sub cannot be passed up.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
PC Ch 30 99/92/17 (Wake)
AP Tafuku Maru 86/78/40 (Wake)
PC Takunan Maru #10 88/74/49 (Wake)
AP Humburugu Maru 99/69/14 (PI)
AP Miyako Maru 89/53/0 (Wake)
CL Natori 26/25/0 (Borneo)
AP Kasima Maru 69/45/0 (PI)
AP Nichiai Maru 70/43/49 (Wake)
PG Shoei Maru 53/41/35 (Wake)
PC Ch 24 81/37/31 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 64/33/33 (Wake)
PG Kanko Maru 52/0/2 (PI)
CL Tatsuta 67/48/12 (Wake)
CL Kitakami 50/37/8 (Wake)
CL Yubari 74/36/15 (Wake)
CA Kinugasa 31/4/0 (Wake)
CL Tenryu 48/11/6 (Wake)

AP Hawaii Maru, PC Shonan Maru #2, and MSW Asashi Maru all sunk today.
AK Yasukawa Maru, in port at Palau.

War Report 12/23/41
A busy night as the Allies engage our force in two surface battles.
The major battle occurred at Kuching between a IJN convoy and the British Force Z. Although our fleet was heavily out gunned and out classed (2 CL's and 4 DD's versus POW, Repulse, 2 CL's and 5 DD's) our ships inflicted a significant amount of damage to the enemy. Although most shells bounced off the heavily armored POW and Repulse, one torpedo managed to hit each ship and inflict heavy damage. It may now be possible to sink the heavies before they make it back to a friendly port, and at worst, they will be out of action for some time. Unfortunately a CL and a DD were sunk, and more ships may follow. Thankfully the escorts worked as a solid screen and only one AP took a minor hit. Details:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kuching at 28,56
Japanese Ships
CL Naka, Shell hits 11, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
CL Natori, Shell hits 5
DD Yudachi, Shell hits 1
DD Samidare, Shell hits 19, and is sunk
DD Ikazuchi
DD Inazuma
AP Teiyo Maru
AP Tsunushima Maru
AP Ume Maru
AP Yoshinogawa Maru
AP Yuzan Maru
AP Meikai Maru, Shell hits 2
AP Tamatsu Maru
AP Amakusa Maru

Allied Ships
BB Prince of Wales, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BC Repulse, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CL Danae, Shell hits 1
CL Mauritius, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
DD Stronghold, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Tenedos, Shell hits 1, on fire
DD Electra
DD Express
DD Jupiter
-------------------------------[center][/center][center]Gunfire lights the night off Kuching.[/center]Other activity mainly involved B-17's hitting more cargo ships in the PI, Changsha was evacuated by the allies, Rangoon was captured by an airdropped SNLF group. One other interesting engagement occurred near Mersing. The SS Swordfish attacked and hit a DD with a torp, but apparently it was on the surface as it took some shell hits from the other destroyers in the group. Hopefully another allied sub is out of action for a while.
A Dutch sub (KXIV) hit a MSW near Taan, sinking it instantly.

Changsha, Miri, Finschafen, and Rangoon captured today.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Wirraway - 4
P-40B Tomahawk - 2
Blenheim IV - 1
Vildebeest IV - 1
Buffalo - 1

Imperial Air Force
Ki-27 Nate - 4
Ki-51 Sonia - 1

Feurer Krieg Area Report
No attacks from the Enterprise today. Didn't spot any ships near Wake at all, and given the weather was only partly cloudy, I suspect they retreated their CV, maybe for fear of KB. With the apparent departure of the Allied threat at Wake, a base force has been sent to provide AV support for a Mavis patrol unit. Nearly all the damaged cruisers are within range of the Zero's at Kwaj. The main fleet, consisting of Ise, three CA's and some DD's is now safely in port in Kwaj. They will wait there until the other cruisers catch up, and then they will all head for Truk, then on to the home islands for some major repairs. Some of these cruisers have been operating nearly nonstop since 12/7, and several AA guns and turrets are inoperable and need repairs.
An allied surface fleet consisting of the CA Austalia, CA Canberra, CL Perth and two DD's came in to bombard Lunga, first attacking the small transport fleet docked at the island. The PG boats sacrificed themselves and drew plenty of hits and torpedoes, allowing the AP's to disengage with only minor damage. The PG's were obliterated however. The AP's will stay on station, hopefully to bait the Cruisers back for another run, KB is moving towards Lunga full speed and will be there in two days. If the cruisers come back, we can bag them in short order. [center][/center]
Finschafen was captured, and the transports for that group attacked from PM. The main Rabaul invasion fleet is now out of Zero range from Wewak, so the Zero's will cover this group instead as it moves to capture Lae.
Fuel has finally reached Makin, some will be dropped there, the rest will go to Baker to fuel up the Canton Island invasion TF escorts.

Sub Ops:
RO subs moving northeast to cover any move by allied CV to Midway.
I-154 was attacked by Destroyers near Trincomalee, hit by two depth charges, has 60 flood, but no fires. Will make for Rangoon.
I-157 took a shot at another tanker south of Tjilitjap, but the torpedos missed.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
PC Takunan Maru #10 99/93/20 (Wake)
DD Oshio 52/65/14 (Borneo, Kuching)
SS I-154 48/60/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 28/35/3 (Borneo)
AP Kasima Maru 69/45/0 (PI)
AP Nichiai Maru 77/48/15 (Wake)
PG Shoei Maru 70/48/15 (Wake)
PC Ch 24 96/56/17 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 73/35/11 (Wake)
CL Tatsuta 72/54/5 (Wake)
CL Kitakami 51/46/2 (Wake)
CL Yubari 75/37/4 (Wake)
CL Tenryu 49/7/2 (Wake)
AP Jinshu Maru 29/6/3 (PI)
AP Kowa Maru 4/4/2 (Lunga)

The CL Naka and DD Samidare were lost in the battle at Kuching.
The PG's Keijo Maru and Heijo Maru were lost in the battle at Lunga.
AP Tafuku Maru and PC CH30 both expired about 180 miles from Wake island.
The Humburugu Maru sunk in the PI from B-17 hits.
MSW Banshu Maru #51 sunk by Dutch sub near Taan.
AP Miyako Maru in port at Saigon.
CA Kinugasa and PG Kanko Maru are down to 0 float & fires.

War Report 12/24/41
Christmas Eve was a quiet day in the war, largely due to bad weather nearly everywhere. A few sporadic air missions went through, but mostly things were quiet.
Naga captured.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
SB-2c - 1
Hudson I - 1

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Most operations proceeding as planned. Another cruiser made it to Kwaj, another PC expired south of Wake. It should be very clear to the Allies that the ships escaped south, if the CV's come hunting again, Zeros and Nells will try to greet them.
Nearly all attack forces successfully landed on Rabaul, although casulties were slightly higher than we would have liked. Will spend another day unloading supplied and organizing for the assault, but based on the initial allied bombardment attack, forces present should be able to capture the area. Hudsons from Rabaul managed to hit the MSW Wa 14, which has been ordered back to Truk, although it is unlikely to make it, having raging fires on board. Bombardment forces have been ordered to stay on station now that ground forces have been landed.
4 Zeros cover the TF heading for Lae, killing one Hudson, the other 5 Hudson planes thankfully missed.
Also, Funafuti Atoll was captured.

Sub Ops:
I-124 gets credit for its second kill today. Back on Dec 12, the AK Taurus hit mines at Tarankan placed by the I-124. Today that ship finally sank in port at Tarakan.[center][/center][center]Lt Commander Kishigami, captain of the I-124.[/center]
Convoy spotted off of west coast USA heading for Pearl, two subs will move to intercept.
The I-154 continues to take on water, not looking good for that boat.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
DD Oshio 56/81/7 (Borneo, Kuching)
SS I-154 48/70/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 29/39/1 (Borneo)
AP Kasima Maru 69/49/0 (PI)
AP Nichiai Maru 81/59/5 (Wake)
PG Shoei Maru 88/67/13 (Wake)
MSW Wa 14 78/56/43 (Rabaul)
PC Ch 24 99/68/10 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 76/43/4 (Wake)
CL Tatsuta 78/65/3 (Wake)
CL Kitakami 51/49/0 (Wake)
CL Yubari 75/40/1 (Wake)
AP Jinshu Maru 29/1/0 (PI)

PC Takunan Maru #10 expired south of Wake.
CL Tenryu at Kwaj, now with 0 flt, 0 fires.
AP Kowa Maru at 0 flt, 0 fire.

Weekly Assessment of Operations on Mainland Asia: 6th Dec to 23rd Dec, 1941

General mantill


With the greatest repects I submit my assessment of operations on mainland Asia for approval by the high command

Malaya: Our troops have made steady progess through the peninsula. The allied troops gave way at Alor Star before a mixed army under the command of Lt General Ymashita of the 25th Army. The capture of this large airbase now provides a staging post for our larger bombers and with the arrival of the 12th Aviation Regiment our bombers will relocate hence. In the eastern prong of the attack on the peninsula the 18th Div entered Kuantan. Kuantan has seen extensive naval bonbardment and when Lt General Mataguchi has disposed of his troops as he sees fit the attack will commence.

Submarine activity around the peninsula has yet again been been negligible with one destroyer being damaged by torpedo.

Burma: Our forces have made excellent progress with the capture of Victoria Point, Tavoy, Moulmein and in a daring airborne raid Rangoon. The allied troops have so far refused to engage though currently 2 Indian divisions defend the Sittang bridge north of Rangoon. While the 55th Div prepares to assault the bridge elements of the 33rd division are being air transported to Rangoon in order to out flank the allied forces. In addition, the 1st Tank regiment has been ordered North to cut the route between Rangoon and Mandalay which should force the Indian division to retreat North to Akyab.

China: Momentous events in China. Owing to the brave actions of the 1st Paras the withdrawl of 10 chinese infantry corps attacking Canton was delayed suifficnetly to allow our forces to take Changsha. The Chinese eventually withdrew from Changsha in the face of overwhelming odds and in order to avoid encirclement. The eventual withdrawl of the forces from Canton allowed our assault engineers to move into Hong Kong and the battle was quickly brought to a close, with the city falling on the 22nd.

In order to reduce enemy effectiveness the reduction of the enemy resource production centres in Chungking has been ordered. Air units of the IJA have begun this process by staging night bombing raids. With the capture of Changsha, the prospect of cutting the Burma road within the next month, the immenent investiture of Yenen and Wuchow and the destruction of resource production at Chungking the supply situation of the Chinese corps will soon beccome critical.

Our forces in China have now been ordered to neutralise the airbases at Hengchow and Ichang and to prepare to enter the cities of Wuchow and Yenen

With the capture of Alor star, Rangoon, Hong Kong and Changsha all of our immediate objectives have been realised. Our armies will now concentrate on achieving there second stage objectives in all theatres. It should be noted our forces have still to bring the allies to battle in any theatre, something which will need to be done in ordre to allow the enemy to be destroyed in detail. However, their refusal to fight means all our forces are still operating at near peak effiency

Finally, the heavy mauling of the AVG in the first week of the campaign paid dividends this week as AVG activity in all theatres has been negligible, though elements of the AVG/B have been encountered in Ichang within the last few days. We assume the majority of the AVG has been withdrawn to allow it to rebuild.

War Report 12/25/41
Merry Christmas 1941!
Many Allies subs were attacked but none were hit. A few ground combats, but no bases captured this turn.
The DD Oshio expired today, less than 200 miles from Saipan.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Wirraway - 2

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
The last ground troops were landed on Rabaul. We were planning to cautiosly attack tomorrow, but the Allies at the base surprisingly charged our beachhead today! Apparently they underestimated the amount of forces landed and paid heavily for the attack. 20 Japanese casulties versus 600+ for the Allies. Caution has been tossed, and a shock attack ordered for tomorrow to take advantage of the high distrubtion the Allied forces likely possess.[center][/center][center]Allies firing a 75mm gun towards Japanese beachhead prior to a futile charge.[/center]
The forces at Lunga will move by boat to the western end of Guadacanal to see if the Allied surface ships wish to come back.
The PG Shoei Maru was scuttled south of Wake, and another Cruiser arrive safely at Kwaj. On a side note, Kwajalein is crawling with Allied subs and several ASW TF's have taken shots, but not dead subs yet.
Other areas are busy with logistical work, but no major offensives launched yet. All CS's and several AV's, ML's, and CA's have had their float planes upgraded to Alfs.

Sub Ops:
I-153 was very active today, attacking the AK Ngow Hok on the surface, in the broad daylight, near Mannargudi. Apparently the captain of the I-153 had no intention of letting the ship escape, firing several spreads of torps and deck gun shots. The ship was hit by three torps and two deck gun shells and sunk rapidly. The I-153, out of ammo will head for Saipan to reload.
Also, radio signals were detected in some areas of the DEI, subs nearby have moved to cover possible routes these ships may take. Convoy sighted by Glen south of Pearl Harbor.
I-154 continues to take on water, unlikely to make it to Rangoon, but will stay on course and cross our fingers.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
SS I-154 48/80/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 29/35/0 (Borneo)
AP Nichiai Maru 83/65/1 (Wake)
MSW Wa 14 88/76/19 (Rabaul)
PC Ch 24 99/86/5 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 76/53/1 (Wake)
CL Tatsuta 80/76/1 (Wake)
CL Kitakami 51/44/0 (Wake)
CL Yubari 75/42/0 (Wake)
AP Jinshu Maru 29/1/0 (PI)

DD Oshio expired.
PG Shoei Maru scuttled.
AP Kasima Maru in port at Pesadores.

Sorry for the delay, but we are back with more action!

War Report 12/26/41
Small air battles here and there, Hurricanes engaged over Singapore, but experienced Zero's took no losses in that air battle.
SS KXIV hit by depth charge near Taan, but damage seems minor.
Kuantan was captured in a well executed attack today.
B-17's over Miri had amazing accuracy, three B-17 put three bombs into the AP Koan Maru.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Hudson I - 3
Hurricane II - 3

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Ground forces in Rabaul easily swept the Allies out of the base today and captured it. The heavy cruisers at Rabaul will now take an NLF force on a high speed dash to grab Gasmata before any allied units can retreat there. Other NLF units will now scatter to grab the remaining bases in the Solomons and New Guinea. The 65th Bde will rest in Rabaul and prep for Port Moresby in case High Command orders us to attack that base. Base forces and engineers should arrive within a week to Rabaul and start building it up into a strong base.
Fuel has finally arrived to Baker Island and units will start to get organized for the assault on Canton Island.
We had a scare near Kwaj. As mentioned lots of enemy subs there. The SS Cachalot took aim at a tanker fully loaded with fuel (part of a large fuel convoy of 5 full tankers and 1 AO). Thankfully the torps missed and the tanker made it into port at Kwajelein.
The valuable radar-equiped Kitakami cruiser safely made it into port at Kwaj today along with the Kashima. The only remaining cruisers at sea are the Yubari which is less than 60 miles from Kwaj and will make it in. The other is the Tatsuta which could possibly sink, as it has a lot of damage and attempts at stopping flooding have thus far been unsuccessful. It is about 100 miles from port, it will be a close call.[center][/center][center]Light Cruiser Kashima pulls into port at Kwajelein and takes on repair personnel.[/center]

Sub Ops:
I-154 only took on a bit of water today.
Radio intel at Lautem yesterday was correct. I-165 intercept a convoy which included an AS and AD ship. Unfortunately no targets were hit as the escorts made short work of the I-165, sinking the sub with multiple depth charge hits.
Convoy spotted south of Pearl, but based on its high speed, likely a destroyer group, so we will not intercept.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
SS I-154 48/82/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 29/33/0 (Borneo)
AP Nichiai Maru 83/75/0 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 76/60/0 (Wake)
CL Tatsuta 80/90/0 (Wake)
CL Yubari 75/49/0 (Wake)
AP Koan Maru 81/34/33 (Borneo)

I-165 was sunk today.
The Pc24 expired south of Wake, and the MSW Wa14 expired in port at Emirau Island.
AP Jinshu Maru has stopped all flooding.
Kitakami in port at Kwajelein.

War Report 12/27/41
Zeros over Singapore again encountered some Hurricanes and again suffered no losses.[center][/center][center]Although the Hurricane is well designed, experienced Japanese pilots in Zeros easily outperform their British rivals.[/center]
The SS KXIV was sunk near Taan, and the SS Permit was hit by deptch charge off of Aparri, not sunk yet though.
A couple airstrikes on the mini-KB near Borneo were unsuccessful.
Several Naval strikes in the slot near the Malayan Penisula, lots of Lilys and Sallys attack three AK's, with two of them (AK Empire Bond and AK Solviken) recieving several bomb hits. The Empire Bond was confirmed sunk, and the other ship will likely be scuttled or sink.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Buffalo I - 5
Hurricane II - 4
Martin 139 - 1

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
A USN CV showed up south of Baker Island today and damaged some ships, most notably the CL Katori. Based on the squadrons spotted it is likely the CV Saratoga. KB is only 2 days away and will sail east to intercept. If the enemy carrier lingers it will possible finish off the Katori, but then is more likely to get caught by KB. There is also at risk a tanker unloading fuel at Baker. It will try to offload as much as possible rather than head for open water. The only other targets in the area are PG, PC, MSW and AP boats.
Wallis Island was captured today, and troops landed on Gasmata for an assault tomorrow.[center][/center][center]Wallis Island contains a central lagoon excellent for parking float planes.[/center]

The CL Tatsuta pulled into Kwajelain at 80 sys, 94 float. Hopefully the facilities there will be able to keep the ship afloat.
The cruisers near Rabaul will head to Truk and rendezvous with other cruisers, CS's and such to form an offensive surface/air fleet to support the assault on Canton Island, likely before the middle of January.

Sub Ops:
Some convoys spotted but other than that little activity today. I-154 continues towards Rangoon.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
SS I-154 48/83/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 29/33/0 (Borneo)
CL Katori 61/41/33 (Baker)
AP Nichiai Maru 83/77/0 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 76/64/0 (Wake)
AP Kashima Maru 99/55/26 (Baker)
AP Koan Maru 98/50/22 (Borneo)
AP Kaito Maru 61/28/24 (Baker)
PC Kyo Maru #6 25/7/16 (Baker)

CL Tatsuta and Yubari safe at Kwajalein.

War Report 12/28/41
Zeros continue to punish the Hurricanes over Singaport, again with no A2A losses.
Lilys attack shipping near Malaya, but no major hits.


Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
Hurricane II - 3

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Plenty of action in my area today.
The Lexington moved even closer to Tarawa/Makin, now located northwest of Baker Island. As predicted they finished off the CL Katori and several troop transports (all empty). A few strike planes aimed for the tanker, but thankfully they missed. It continues to unload fuel as fast as possible.
Along with the Lexington, the Saratoga showed up near Wallis and sunk an empty troop tranport as well as a minesweeper.
Although it is never fun to lose a cruiser, both US carriers are nearly in range of KB. If they move west we may be able to hit them tomorrow. OTherwise, KB will be in a position tomorrow to either go north after the Saratoga, or south after the Lexington. The weather is forecast to be clear so the next 2-3 days could prove to be interesting.
In other news, AP's are loading up at Rabaul for the Solomons blitz, and Tassafaronga and Gasmata were captured today.[center][/center][center]Fleet movements in the Southeast Pacific.[/center]

Sub Ops:
I-154 still floats.
RO-67 attacked the AK Adelong in near Cairns (near the break in the reef) and hit with one torpedo. The ship did not sink outright, but was on fire. It is a fairly obvious place to patrol, so the RO-67 will move off for a few days in case Allied ASW TF's are sent to the area.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
SS I-154 48/85/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 29/35/0 (Borneo)
AP Nichiai Maru 83/84/0 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 76/72/0 (Wake)
AP Koan Maru 99/87/20 (Borneo)
PC Kyo Maru #6 99/57/49 (Baker)
DD Kuroshio 99/77/49 (Baker)
AK Canton Maru 47/76/49 (Baker)
AP Chifuku Maru 81/44/35 (Baker)
PG Hakkaisan Maru 58/42/22 (Wallis)
AK Hirokawa Maru 68/38/49 (Baker)
PG Ikunta Maru 74/34/21 (Baker)
AP Tatuharu Maru 56/32/40 (Baker)
AK Yasukawa Maru 41/12/0 (Baker)

CL Katori, MSW Shonan Maru #7, and AP's Aratamu,Kaito, Kashima, and Kotobuki Marus all sunk at Baker and Wallis Island.

War Report 12/29/41
Some very large and well coordinated IJAAF/IJNAF strikes in China and the PI today, each having nearly 150 aircraft involved![center][/center][center]Ki-21 Sallys prepare to takeoff from Wuhan to bomb Hengchow. 105 Sallys and 45 Nates took part in the raid.[/center]
A notable incident occured today - 4 lonely Nates on CAP over some IJA units in rural China were attacked and outnumbered by the AVG. Not only did the Nates survive, they destroyed 1 P-40B! Clearly experience is winning the day in China at the moment since the AVG was depleted early on by General Mantill's actions. (See scoreboard below for screenshot)
No Hurricanes over Singapore today, they are likely licking their wounds.
A Martin 139 managed to put a bomb into the Zuiho. Not in danger of sinking, but when combined with the hit to Ryujo, we certainly aren't catching any breaks with our CVL's.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
I-16c - 3
P-40B Tomahawk - 2
Martin 139 - 1
Brewster 339D - 1

Imperial Air Force
G4M1 Betty - 1

Feurer Krieg Area Report
The Lexington stayed just east of Baker today, hitting more of our small ships and finally locating the Tanker Gen'yo Maru. The tanker was hit, and although not in danger of sinking yet, its remaining fuel cargo was lost (around 7000-8000 fuel). Several PCs were hit and sunk, the DD Kurosio and PC Takuna Maru were scuttled. The Lexington has been going hard for nearly a month, hopefully it is getting low on sorties and any strikes against KB will be less effective for that.
Saratoga has vanished from the Wallis Island area and the remainging ships there should be able to make it back to Makin Island for repairs.
KB is now withing strike range of the present Lexington location. If Lexington heads east though, it will get away. If it goes any other direction we should get a shot at it. Weather forcast in the area is clear for tomorrow.
IJN troops landed on Russell island, three various landing forces leaving port tomorrow to mop up the Solomons and New Britain area.
Base force arrived on Wake today. Mavis and Alf patrols have been put in place there. The South Seas Detachment will rest a bit longer while waiting for a replacement garrison force and transports. Still early planning but the Detachment will be used either to attack Canton Island or Milne Bay.
At Kwajelein, with a Fleet HQ, an AR and plenty of supplies and fuel now present, repairs are proceeding well on all the cruisers damaged at Wake. The more damaged ships will head to home island yards soon, the lesser damaged ships will be included in the OOB for Canton Island operations. Many of the ships at Kwaj came into port with several damaged guns, all of these (except for the Yubari) have been fixed.

Sub Ops:
I-154 actually reduced its flooding today! It is very near to Rangoon now.
The AK Adelong, hit yesterday by the RO-67, sunk, providing the RO-67 its first credited kill.
Some subs are being arranged to picket Guadalcanal until garrisons arrive, other are moving to picket Port Moresby to prevent possible reinforcement.
I-122 leaving Saigon to mine Akyab per Gen. Mantill's request.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
SS I-154 48/82/0 (Trincomalee)
CL Natori 29/27/0 (Borneo)
AP Nichiai Maru 83/90/0 (Wake)
AP Marsue Maru 76/89/0 (Wake)
AP Koan Maru 99/87/20 (Borneo)
PC Kyo Maru #6 99/86/20 (Baker)
AK Canton Maru 61/82/22 (Baker)
AP Chifuku Maru 93/49/7 (Baker)
PG Hakkaisan Maru 62/51/10 (Wallis)
AP Katsura Maru 97/54/33 (Baker)
AK Hirokawa Maru 78/68/10 (Baker)
PG Ikunta Maru 79/39/4 (Baker)
AP Tatuharu Maru 56/32/40 (Baker)
AK Yasukawa Maru 41/12/0 (Baker)
PG Chokai Maru 44/17/5 (Baker)
PG Fukui Maru 38/16/5 (Wallis)
CVL Zuiho 31/4/2 (Borneo)
TK Gen'yo Maru 54/2/33 (Baker)

PC Takuna Maru #2, PC Fumi Maru #3 sunk in action at Baker.
DD Kuroshio, PC Takuna Maru scuttled off Baker.
AP Koan Maru expired while enroute to Saigon from Borneo.

War Report 12/30/41
Relatively quiet today. Some heavy airstrikes on Allied airfields in China were successful.
Another AK was plastered by Lilys in Malaya.
Ground forces are in Manilla fighting against a very large Allied ground force.
Air attacks on miniKB were unsuccessful, although a 250lb bomb did take out an AA gun onboard the BB Yamashiro.[center][/center][center]Heavy armor protects the Yamashiro from a bomb hit near Tarakan.[/center]

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
I-16c - 1
Martin 139 - 1

Imperial Air Force
Ki-27 Nate - 2
Ki-51 Sonia - 2
Ki-46-II Dinah - 1

Feurer Krieg Area Report
The Emperor was not pleased today as the US CV's slipped away. The Lexington was spotted just east of Canton Island, and subs may get a chance to hit it if the group goes back to Pearl Harbor.
KB is very low on fuel after the sprint and will now head up to Kwajelein to refuel and repair some system damage. It will be on station for any CV appearances near Wake or Baker again. It will remain there until Canton Island Operations have concluded.
US B-17's are now on station at Canton and are bombing Baker Island. Based on the targeting, it appears the allies may think we wish to use it as an airfield, but that is not the case. Canton Island will serve as a much better airfield if the offensive suceeds.
All available assets have been examined and the OOB is being prepared for the Canton Island attack - Operation ENRAI (hopefully I got the translation right). Details will be posted once planning is complete. So far two light cruisers have been request from Tann and Saigon, and General Mantill has okayed their departure. All other needed assets are under my command already.
Two AP's that had managed to sail all the way to Kwaj pulled into port today, only to expire just as repair ships were closing in. The AP Marsue Maru and Nichiai Maru both sunk in shallow waters near Kwajelein.
Near Baker, the PC Kyo Maru #6 expired, and the AP Katsure Maru and AK Hirokawa Maru were both evacuated and scuttled.
Landings in Kavieng and Buka.
Russell Island captured.
[center][/center][center]Russell Island natives, future beneficiaries of 'Asian Prosperity'.[/center]

Sub Ops:
I-154 will enter Rangoon tomorrow. Stuck between a rock and hard place - there are many enemy mines at Rangoon, but flooding is still dangerously high and no other ports are near enough. With any luck, I-154 will dodge the mines and make it safely into port. Any mine hits will easily sink the heavily damaged ship.
All quite in other areas.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
SS I-154 48/86/0 (Trincomalee)
AK Canton Maru 72/82/9 (Baker)
AP Chifuku Maru 93/53/1 (Baker)
PG Hakkaisan Maru 66/65/4 (Wallis)
PG Ikunta Maru 79/52/1 (Baker)
AP Tatuharu Maru 62/47/3 (Baker)
AK Yasukawa Maru 41/6/0 (Baker)
PG Chokai Maru 45/20/2 (Baker)
PG Fukui Maru 38/23/1 (Wallis)
CVL Zuiho 31/6/0 (Borneo)
TK Gen'yo Maru 86/17/22 (Baker)

AP Katsure Maru, AK Hirokawa Maru scuttled near Baker Island.
PC Kyo Maru#6 expired near Baker.
AP Marsue Maru, AP Nichiai Maru expired in port at Kwajelein.
CL Natori in port at Taan.

Weekly Assessment of Operations on Mainland Asia: 24th Dec to 31st Dec, 1941

General mantill


With the greatest repects I submit my assessment of operations on mainland Asia for approval by the high command

In general, progress in the theatre has been slow this week while support troops race into positions captured by our combat troops last week. Progress last week was so rapid in all theatres a pause was called to allow support personel to get into positions. This has allowed our troops time to prepare for new offensives across Asia

Malaya: The 18th Div easily swept aside opposition in Kuantuan which fled towards Malacca. The 18th Div gives pursuit, with the aim of encircling troops in Taiping and Kuala Lumpa. The combined army under Lt General Yamshita is trying to hold three Indian Div in Taiping untill the encirclement is complete.

Bad weather across the peninsulas has hampered flight operations this week but there were some noticable succeses. British Hurricane fighter-bombers were encountered in the war for the first time, over Singapore. These paid a heavy price against our Zero's with the Hurricane squadron all but wiped out with no losses to our Zero's. In addition, the British had sent a number of cargo vessels to try to rescue troops cut off on the peninsula. All ships spotted so far have been sunk.

Burma: On the final day of the year troops of the 55th Div stormed the Sittang bridges capturing them intact. They were supported by elements of the 33rd Div from the South, which had been airlifted from Tavoy to Rangoon. Combined with the highly experienced shock troops of the 22nd SNLF overall losses were minor. A dash across country by the first tank regiment has ensured troops fleeing the battle will not be able to reach Mandalay, but must follow the Malarial invested coast road to Akyab. Battle still rages on the west bank of the Sittang but victory is expected soon.

China: While several divisions secured the major gain of Changsha this week others were redeployed to the Homan area were the next major offensive is set to begin. The majority of the southern Chinese army is now bottled up between Kweilin and Hengchow. In addition, this week troops also entered the cities of Wuchow and Yenen, brining supply production in these centres to a halt. In order to put more pressure on the already crippled chinese economy extensive bombing of various locations was undertaken.

I will put up some monthly statistics when I get the chance, as well as some screenies of the major areas of fighting to show how things are going. I'll try to continue doing so once a month. For now though, here is the 12/31 report.

War Report 12/31/41
The last day of 1941 has been a good one for the empire. Our holdings have increased in several areas, and more expansion is to come!
Some minor airstrikes here and there but mostly quite. A group of 6 enemy PT boats made a profitable (for them) attack on our fleet at Tarakan. The PT boats put a torpedo into one destroy and one AP, and only lost one of their own in the exchange. A B-17 also hit an AP near Tarakan.
Lily's finished off the AK Herstein off Malacca.

Non-Ops Air Losses
Allies
PBY catalina - 1

Imperial Air Force
None!

Feurer Krieg Area Report
Today was notable for the first Allied counterattack in the Pacific. Allied forces landed at Lunga, and took a fair amount of casulties consider the island only had only a few men stationed on the island (no LCU was present). Spotters report a pair of AP's still offshore. Several submarines that were moving to block the route to Lunga anyway were ordered in to sink the offending Allied transports.
Also, aviation support is at Rabaul and will be unloading through the night for morning flights. A Chutai of Zeros, a Datai of Nells and a Mavis Chutai have all landed safely (although one Zero was lost due a landing miscommunication). The Nells are easily in range of the ships at Lunga also and will attempt to sink them.[center][/center][center]A Daitai of Nell torpedo bombers on their way to a new home at Rabaul.[/center]
One or two US CV groups were spotted moving east away from Canton Island, and Mavis Recon on Canton shows several small TFs gathered at Canton Island.
Buka and Kavieng were captured, landings occured at Sag Sag and Talasea.
Operation Enrai preparations continue, and initial plans have been approved by GHQ.
Also, The CL's Kitakami, Tenryu and Kingasa, along with the DDs Uzuki, Oboro, and Yuzuki, all of which were heavily damaged at Wake, will leave Kwajalein tomorrow with a pair of escorting DD's to enter the repair yards at Mainzuru.
Claudes and Nells at Kwajalein have been upgraded to Zeros and Betties.


Sub Ops:
A couple convoys spotted, some attacks will be attempted.
I-17 managed to escape detection by 6 Allied DD's.
I-154 has safely arrive in port at Rangoon. The ship avoided all mines on its way into the dock, flooding will be addressed and then the sub will being repairs either at Rangoon, or if Singapore has been captured it may sail to the repair yards there.

At-Risk Damaged Ship Report
AK Canton Maru 81/86/6 (Baker)
AP Chifuku Maru 93/59/0 (Baker)
PG Hakkaisan Maru 66/64/1 (Wallis)
PG Ikunta Maru 79/67/0 (Baker)
AP Tatuharu Maru 62/51/1 (Baker)
PG Chokai Maru 45/26/0 (Baker)
PG Fukui Maru 38/25/0 (Wallis)
TK Gen'yo Maru 99/29/19 (Baker)
DD Yukikaze 24/65/13 (Tarakan)
AP Ryujo Maru 7/8/7 (Tarakan)
AP Tatumiya Maru 34/7/23 (Tarakan)

I-154 in port at Rangoon.
CVL Zuiho no longer flooding.
AK Yasukawa Maru in port at Saipan.

In case anyone else is a numbers hound like me, here are some stats from our game. I'll post these each month, maybe five years from now I can do some graphs comparing monthly losses. [:D]
[center]Imperial Top Guns[/center]
[center][/center]
[center]All Air Losses for December[/center]
[center][/center]
[center]Classes and Points of ships lost[/center]
[center][/center]
[center]Imperial Submarine Honor Roll[/center]
[center][/center]
[center]Ratio of points killed by subs, versus points lost from sunk submarines.[/center]
[center][/center]
[center]Production snapshot, this is Alex's area, so I won't be able to answer questions, but he might.[/center]
[center][/center]