I regret to report that I am not a professional writer.
I would have liked to have been a professional writer, but it never happened.
Still, I have always enjoyed writing, as long as I have an audience to write to. So, I find this DAR to be rewarding. (So, to be honest, I check the number of hits each day on this thread to see if I still have an audience.)
I wish I had more time to do a better job at this. I devote a small slice of time each evening to playing the game and writing the next day's news, and I often do not have time to even proofread what I write. I regret the mistakes that result. What Thayne News Campaign Reports needs is to hire an editor, but it is a small publication that cannot afford much of a staff.
Anyway, that people continue to read this in spite of the errors pleases and surprises me.
I hope that I can keep this entertaining.
[Note: I respond well to criticism, I think. If there is room for improvement -- if you would like to see more of something and less of something else, I can accomodate reader recommendations.]
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PORT MORESBY BOMBARDED
(TN – Brisbane) The Port Moresby defensive force was bombarded yesterday by land, air, and sea. On the land, Japanese armed forces set up an estimated seventy artillery pieces and started firing on the defenses.
At the sea, the bombardment task force that had hit the port the night before returned and fired on the city, inflicting another 70 casualties on the defenders. A Japanese bombardment force also hit the down, attacking defensive units and hitting the airport. General Knox ordered a squadron of Vildebeest torpedo bombers stationed at Port Moresby against the ships. However, anti-aircraft fire from the ships, splashing four of them and sending seven back to the airfield in need of repairs.
The Japanese air attack came with an escort of over 60 zero fighters. These fighters cleared the skies of the few Kittyhawk defenders that were flying over the city, allowing the bombers to hit the airfield without interference. Immediately upon hearing the decimation of the Port Moresby fighter force, General Thompson, commander of the Southwest Pacific theater, ordered a second squadron of Kittyhawk fighters to the city from Thursday Island, and ordered additional fighter bombers to Thursday Island.
In addition, reconnaissance aircraft have spotted another task force moving on Port Moresby. At the time of this writing, allied military intelligence had conflicting information about the composition of this force. Some sources suggested that it was a small task force of capital ships. However, military strategists argued that this is unlikely, and suggest that there is some other composition and purpose behind the task force.
7th Australian Division En Route
The task force carrying the 7th Australian division began its trip to reinforce Port Moresby yesterday.
En route, it encountered a Japanese submarine. The submarine was spotted by a screening force of twelve destroyers before it could fire off a single torpedo. The escorts found a slick of oil and debris that confirms that the Japanese submarine was destroyed in a depth charge attack.
The reinforcement force presently consists of two task forces. An escort force of twelve destroyers accompanies four troop transports carrying the elements of the Australian 7th Division. A screening force of sixteen destroyers and a light cruiser sit in a separate task force to intercept the Japanese surface fleet now at Port Moresby.
The Southwest Pacific Command also has an air attack force at Thursday Island that, so far, due to poor weather, have not been able to participate in the battle of Port Moresby. The weather for the next day is forecast to be clear, so Southwest Pacific Command expects that the Japanese surface force will either retreat from Port Moresby, or will suffer the effects of an attack from Thursday Island.
Myitkyina Again In Chinese Hands
(TN – Dacca) The Burmese town has switched hands for the fourth time since the start of the war, when the 200th Chinese Division removed Japanese governors of the city.
A riot erupted in Myitkyina when the citizens noticed that the Chinese Division was making plans to leave the town, which would allow the Japanese to move in again. Major General Fang attempted to explain to the Burmese citizens of Myitkyina that the allies did not have the strength to hold the town at this time. The Chinese division was forced to regroup in order to hold off the angry mob.
As the Chinese division prepared to leave for Ledo, a company was left behind to gather any willing refugees wishing to travel to India to provide a rear guard for them during the march. General Fang also appointed a group of loyal citizens to escort supplies along the road back into western China.
I regret to report that I am not a professional writer.
I would have liked to have been a professional writer, but it never happened.
Still, I have always enjoyed writing, as long as I have an audience to write to. So, I find this DAR to be rewarding. (So, to be honest, I check the number of hits each day on this thread to see if I still have an audience.)
I wish I had more time to do a better job at this. I devote a small slice of time each evening to playing the game and writing the next day's news, and I often do not have time to even proofread what I write. I regret the mistakes that result. What Thayne News Campaign Reports needs is to hire an editor, but it is a small publication that cannot afford much of a staff.
Anyway, that people continue to read this in spite of the errors pleases and surprises me.
I hope that I can keep this entertaining.
[Note: I respond well to criticism, I think. If there is room for improvement -- if you would like to see more of something and less of something else, I can accomodate reader recommendations.]
Regarding the style. I like it. It is refreshing and a nice change to see an AAR in your fluid, descriptive style rather than a copy and paste of the action reports. You write well and create stories which add flesh to the bones of the combat report. Keep it up bud [:)]
One things I will ask - do you feel like you are achieving as well as you intended against the AI. Has it surprised you at all?
ORIGINAL: Speedy
One things I will ask - do you feel like you are achieving as well as you intended against the AI. Has it surprised you at all?
It would be more accurate to say that I am not quite doing as poorly as I expected.
For my style of play (which is more "war simulation" than "war gaming") the AI has not surprised me, but it has not let me down either. I am pleased with the way things have gone.
The AI made a couple of mistakes that I wish it would not have made -- which has cost it about 20 APs that it would otherwise have had. These involve an amphibious assault on Manila against its coastal defenses, and transports getting too close to Singapore. At the same time, twice now the Japanese carrier force has zigged when I -- assuming that the AI would think lineraly -- falsely predicted a zag. This has cost me over a dozen combat ships including a heavy cruiser and 6 ligh cruisers.
I do not know what to expect of the AI in the future. My future plans (as already announced in the DAR) is an evantual assault on Timor, and to get the American armor that comes to India to the wide open planes of central China. I do not know if the AI will be able to handle this. It has me somewhat concerned.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PORT MORESBY CUT OFF
(TN – Brisbane) A second Japanese task force, consisting of four heavy cruisers and a half-dozen destroyers, has effectively cut the port city off from relief by sea. General Thompson has declared that it would be futile to send the two relief task forces of destroyer squadrons into waters containing seven capital ships and over 15 destroyers. In addition, the Japanese have proven their ability to take command of the air with daily Betty bombing raids against the fort.
Thompson has ordered the convoy task force to go to Thursday Island instead, to help with the defenses there.
Sources in Southwest Pacific Command report that Thompson never was convinced of the ability to hold Thursday Island. However, he discovered recently that his decision had been largely based on a mistake. These sources provided documents given to General Thompson suggesting that cargo planes could not reach Port Moresby, making it impossible to supply a defensive force on the island by air. Believing that the port could be easily cut off, Thompson, in discussions with Lieutenant General Hazard of Australian Command, argued for abandoning the city. However, Hazard refused, asserting that his soldiers will not enter into any boat or plane for the purpose of abandoning a forward base.
Only within the last couple of weeks did Thompson learn that the previous reports were not entirely accurate. Even though Port Moresby was technically “beyond the extended range of the C-47”, it was still possible for the cargo planes to reach the islands. Thompson then ordered elements of the 7th Australian Infantry while other elements loaded onto landing barges. However, the orders came too late. The Japanese action to take the port started just a few days later.
Presently, the 7th Australian Infantry is sitting about 150 miles off of Port Moresby, but is unable to penetrate the naval blockade that the Japanese have created around the port. Bombers from Thursday Island were expected to provide some assistance against the ships in the harbor, but they have not done any damage to any Japanese ship. The sole source of damage to the blockade task force was the damage to one destroyer by a mine, and a torpedo delivered to a different destroyer by a Vildebeest torpedo bomber.
Shelling from the Japanese task force, and in particular the battleships and heavy cruisers, has all but closed the Port Moresby runway. Three squadrons of airplanes operating out of the airport have been set back from 40 operational airplanes to 15 in just two days.
On the ground, the Japanese are not yet pressing an attack against the city. Instead, they have focused on bombardment operations in order to weaken and disrupt the defenders. So far, those operations have claimed nearly 300 casualties, out of a defensive force of approximately 7,000 soldiers.
General Thompson is weighing options that include evacuating what people he can out of Port Moresby, or waiting for an opportunity to deliver the 7th Australian Infantry Division to the town. The shelling from the Japanese navy suggests the possibility that the ships could be running short of ammunition, which would make them less able to fight off an allied relief effort. Thompson has also considered asking General Hazard for use of the 2nd Australian Division to reinforce the Port Moresby garrison by air. However, no decisions had been reached by the time this issue has gone to press.
Japanese Transport Damaged at Manila
(TN – Darwin) Allied submarine commanders appear to be pressing their attacks against the Japanese to greater effect. A few days ago, a submarine found a transport on the South China Sea and inflicted significant damage on it. Yesterday, the submarine SS Grouper, operating off of the coast of Manila, encountered a transport. It surfaced, spraying the enemy ship with machinegun fire while it fired three torpedoes at the ship. The second torpedo set off an explosion that allegedly “lit up the coast of the Bataan Peninsula as if it were daylight”, according to the ship’s radio report.
Though the Patch Doctrine, asking Allied submarine commanders to limit the risks they were taking in pursuing the Japanese merchant fleet, remains in effect. However, both of the recent successful assaults were against unescorted cargo ships, allowing the submarine to aggressively pursue the transport.
Relief Force Nears Reef Island
(TN – Noumea) For several days now TF1219 has been forced to postpone its mission to deliver the 5th New Zealand Brigade to Reef Island because of the presence of a Japanese carrier fleet. However, that fleet has recently retired back to the Solomon Islands, allowing the task force to make the trip. As of this writing, the task force was just about to reach Reef Island and start to unload its cargo of soldiers.
Admiral Nimitz is setting up the Santa Cruz Islands as the line of first resistance to the Japanese expansion. The nearby port of Ndimi already holds the America1 Division and is in the process of constructing an airfield for dominating the area around the islands. Reef Island is being set up as a backup, constructing its own air field. The 5th New Zealand Brigade will be responsible for defending the island from a possible Japanese attack.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PURSUIT AT PORT MORESBY
(TN – Brisbane) As TF1107 was diverted from Port Moresby to deliver its 7th Australian Infantry Division to Thursday Island, one of the two Japanese task forces at Port Moresby charged out of the harbor in pursuit. Reconnaissance airplanes from Thursday Island found the enemy pursuit force shortly after dawn. The transports in TF1107 slowed its speed, allowing the Japanese force to gain. However, TH1107 had a head start, making the contest a race to reach Thursday Island.
The Japanese pursuit force contains the battleships Kirishima and Hiei, recently involved in shelling the Port Moresby airport. It is hoped that the bombardment of Port Moresby for two days has left the task force somewhat short of ammunition.
As afternoon approached, a line of thunderstorms crossed over Thursday Island. With the enemy task force only 20 nautical miles behind, this gave TF1107 a chance to continue on to Port Moresby in cover. However, it also prevented air units from leaving Thursday Island to challenge the Japanese task force.
At Thursday Island, TF1107 has two things that will work to its advantage. The approaches to Thursday Island are among the most heavily mined allied-controlled waters in the Pacific. General Thompson, in expecting that Port Moresby would fall to the Japanese and that Thursday Island would be the first serious line of defense, has run a number of mining operations to Thursday Island. If the Japanese pursuit force decides to continue the pursuit to Thursday Island, they will have to face the minefield.
Thursday Island also contains an air force of 100 airplanes that are all operational. However, poor weather over the island in recent days has prevented the Allies from running as many missions as they would have hoped. Yesterday, a squadron of Whirraway fighter bombers managed to take off from Thursday Island to attack the pursuing Japanese task force, but inflicted no damage against the ships. Several other planes were already on bombing runs against the Japanese invasion force at Port Moresby when news of the Japanese pursuit arrived.
However, General Thompson has ordered all planes at Thursday Island to arm for naval attack in order to help drive off the Japanese pursuit force.
All Quiet at Port Moresby
The battle at Port Moresby was relatively quiet yesterday. The Japanese ground forces attacking the city from the northeast reinforced their positions, but did not even fire artillery yesterday. General Knox has expressed concern that the Japanese are moving their guns to a better location, or attempting to outflank Knox’s first line of defense.
There was also no air attack against Port Moresby yesterday, giving the Allied combat air patrol a much needed rest.
The only action against Port Moresby yesterday was another naval bombardment by the second of two task forces sent to Port Moresby for that purpose. The heavy cruisers inflicted over 130 casualties and continued to do significant damage to the runway. The Japanese also destroyed three ammunition caches in the city, setting off huge explosions and towers of smoke.
In spite of the efforts, Southwest Pacific Command flew in nearly 200 soldiers belonging to the 2nd Australian Division. General Thompson’s has decided to try to reinforce Port Moresby by air until an opportunity arrived to put a number of units ashore with a troop convoy. Recent shipping runs to Port Moresby have left the port with a considerable amount of supply, which fees up airplanes to deliver troops. The destruction of the three ammunition caches barely put a dent in the Port Moresby supply situation, according to official sources.
Japan Controls Philippine Islands
(TN – Darwin) Japan invasion forces took over Roxas, in the central Philippines, yesterday, forcing the surrender of another 4,000 Philippine soldiers. Roxis was on one of the smaller islands that make up the heart of the Philippines, where the water gave it a measure of safety from Japanese ground attack. Japan landed in force yesterday, and the army unit – already chased out of Iloilo to the South by another Japanese invasion, quickly surrendered. There is no longer an organized military resistance in the Philippines, though small guerilla forces still operate throughout the islands.
Allied Air Commander, “We Had a Good Day.”
(TN – Washington) Allied air command report that yesterday was “a good day” for the allied forces. The good news came from the India/Burma front, where Japan decided to get aggressive and launch attacks on Imphal and Diamond Harbor.
The Imphal Combat Air Patrol gave the Japanese attack force a sound beating. It was a huge force, with nearly 20 Japanese Zeros escorting nearly 80 Sally bombers. The force was met by two dozen Hurricane and Mohawk fighters. The Imphal defenders tried to get around the Japanese Zeros to get to the bombers, but did not succeed. Therefore, they decided to take on the Zero fighters instead.
The 232 Squadron and 135 Squadron, both flying Hurricane fighters, had dealt with Zero fighters before in the past, and have acquired the habit of asking, “What’s the problem?” The first time the 135 squadron flew against Zeros, they shot down a half-dozen enemy fighters without a loss. They had been passing their secrets onto the newly arrived 146 Squadron using Mohawk fighters.
That morning, the Mohawk squadron had been ordered to participate in an attack on a Japanese troop convoy spotted on the road north of Mandalay, in Burma. Imphal had not experienced an air raid in several weeks, so it was thought to be safe to send the fighters on a ground attack mission. Still, half of the Mohawk fighters were still at Imphal when the raid occurred and were able to participate in its defense.
Two of the Mohawk fighter pilots, who were less experienced against Zeros, were shot down in the air battle. However, the remaining defenders managed to shoot down five enemy Zero fighters and eight Sally bombers. The remaining bombers did minimal damage to the Imphal airfield.
Raid on Diamond Harbor
Japan also launched an air attack on Diamond Harbor with a small attack force. That attack force not only found a squadron of Hurricane fighters and a squadron of Buffalo fighters defending the port. In addition, Fulmar and Sea Gladiator fighters from the aircraft carriers Formidible and Hermes were available. The defenders shot down one Zero escort and shot down or drove back all but one Betty bomber. One sole Betty pilot showed the determination to drive on to its target, launching a torpedo at the cargo ship Empire Wildebeeste. The torpedo missed.
Allies Suffer Losses On Southwest Pacific Front
As has been the norm in recent months, Allied success in the Burma/India front has been matched with Japanese success in the Southwest Pacific front. Cruisers firing on Port Moresby destroyed a hanger where damaged Vildebeest torpedo bombers were being repaired. Two of the planes were destroyed.
In addition, Japan launched another raid on Kai Island. The two dozen Zero fighters flying escort again had little trouble ridding the skies over the island of its Combat Air Patrol, shooting down four of the remaining six Kittyhawk fighters still active over the island. General Thompson withdrew the two survivors to Darwin, and ordered a squadron of Dutch Demon fighters to take its turn defending the island.
In the mean time, engineers struggle to complete an airfield on nearby Aru Island. The effort is proving to be difficult since it has so far been impossible to get engineering machines to the island. All of the work of building the runway is being done with hand tools.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
TF1107 REACHES SAFETY
(TN – Brisbane) Task Force 1107 made it to the refuge of Thursday Island yesterday, ahead of a Japanese pursuit force, which broke off the chase.
TF1107 was originally charged with the task of delivering the 7th Australian Infantry Division to Port Moresby. When it was within 200 miles of its destination, the Japanese had over two dozen ships in the port, including seven capital ships. Japan also had control of the air and was flying regular missions with a large number of Betty bombers to the port. General Thompson ordered TF1107 to drop the infantry division off at Thursday Island instead.
The Japanese spotted TF1107 and pursued them to Thursday Island, nearly catching up with them just before dusk a couple dozen miles away from the safety of Thursday Island harbor.
TF1107 sailed into the harbor shortly after dark, and immediately went to work unloading the infantry, expecting the Japanese pursuit force to follow them and attack the transports, if possible. However, the Japanese fleet did not show up.
At dawn, the Japanese ships were spotted about 250 miles west of Thursday Island, heading off toward Darwin. Thursday Island launched several strikes against the task force. However, the bombers did little damage. According to wing cameras from the planes that participated in the attack, the only planes to strike the enemy ships were Whirraway fighter bombers, which managed to successfully strafe a light cruiser and a heavy cruiser. The damage to the Japanese ships is thought to be minimal.
However, the Japanese sent their air force against TF1107 instead. At 1:00 in the afternoon, airplanes from Rabaul struck, finding almost no combat air cover over the fleet. One bomb struck one of the four troop transports, killing or wounding over 70 soldiers. A near miss on a different troop transport dented the hull and did some damage to the steering, but did little damage to the crew.
News then arrived from Port Moresby that the second Japanese task force had also left. General Thompson sent an immediate order to TF1107 to take those troops that had not yet unloaded and transport them to Port Moresby. This is an emergency order which, if successful, could add 5,500 Australian soldiers to the defense of Port Moresby.
Because there were no organized plans to split up the division, the numbers and types of soldiers ending up at each port was not planned. Port Moresby will be getting few of the larger pieces of artillery, which had already been unloaded at Thursday Island, and a relatively larger portion of the support units.
Meanwhile, Empire transport planes from Cairns continue to deliver soldiers belonging to the 2nd Australian Division to Port Moresby. With the completion of yesterday’s airlift, the 2nd Australian Division now has nearly 400 soldiers on the island, complimenting the defensive force that was already there.
Allied Military Intelligence reports that the Japanese also have plans to reinforce the units at Port Moresby. Using unidentified sources, Military Intelligence reports that the Japanese 21st Mixed Brigade is due to arrive at Port Moresby at some indefinite time in the future. Military intelligence last heard of this unit when it occupied Victoria Point, the southernmost part of Burma, on New Years Day. It has traveled a long ways since then.
General Thompson is also preparing the 6th Australian Division for transport to Port Moresby. The division is on its way to Brisbane from Sydney Australia, where it will intercept troop transports arriving from Noumea.
Southwest Command is also being forced to deal with a shortage of Kittyhawk fighter airplanes for its combat air patrol. The Japanese have been destroying the planes faster than they could be replaced. However, Thompson has recently received 150 new fighters from the United States. These units have been transported to Townsville and Charter Towers where the fighter groups will be assembled for use on the front.
Another six dozen P-40 fighters are on a transport less than a thousand miles from Brisbane to add their firepower to the defense of northeast Australia.
Base Force Reaches Howland Island
(TN – Hawaii) The 71st Base Force reached Howland Island in the central Pacific yesterday. Howland Island is located a short distance north of Baker Island, which has been used as a base for harassing Japanese forces in the Gilbert Islands. Establishing Howland Island as a second base will significantly increase the amount of harassment allied forces can do in the region. In addition, the two islands will be able to protect each other from any Japanese attempt to take the islands.
Both islands are very small, less than 1 mile in diameter, and very crowded with the units loaded on them. Central Pacific Command headquarters has stated that, however much they would like to, they will not be able to add to the defenses on these islands, and still be able to use them to support air operations.
Nimitz Pulls Carriers from New Zealand
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, commander of the South Pacific theater of operations, ordered his two carriers to sail back to Sydney Australia. The carriers had been sent to Aukland for repairs. However, those repairs had not yet been done. Nimitz had written several letters to his superiors complaining about the lack of cooperation he was getting from New Zealand.
When Lieutenant General Puttick was asked to explain himself, he answered, “I reported to Admiral Nimitz repeatedly that we did not have the facilities to handle carriers at Aukland. I can’t fit a ship where it does not fit.
Admiral Nimitz has offered the use of his carriers to General Thompson in a future operation to deliver the 6th Australian Infantry Division to Port Moresby.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
ANNOUNCEMENT
As a service to our new subscribers, Thayne News Campaign Reports will start each month with an overview of the Pacific War at that time, giving a summary of activities in each region of the conflict.
Tomorrow’s edition will contain the first of these monthly features.
AIR WAR: JAP REVENGE
(TN – Washington) Japan fought to even the score in the air war yesterday with an attack on Diamond Harbor that inflicted serious damage on the combat air patrol there.
In contrast to the battle two days ago, where the Allies shot down 14 Japanese planes without a loss, yesterday’s battles resulted in 17 Allied planes being shot down, at a loss of only 3 Japanese planes.
The fighters swooped into Diamond Harbor and were met, as before, with Buffalo, Hurricane, Fullmar, Sea Gladiator fighters. The first squadron to encounter the Japanese were the Buffalo fighters. Japan ripped through them. None of the pilots that took off returned to the airfield in their planes, though pilots returned to duty after parachuting to safety.
Every Sea Gladiator and Fulmar was also shot down. The only airplanes that were capable of standing up to the Japanese pilots were the Hurricanes, which shot down only one Zero airplane at a loss of three planes from their own squadron.
Diamond Harbor was the only site for air to air combat yesterday.
Reinforcements Continue on Four Forward Bases
(TN – Washington) Allied military forces are continuing their effort to build up five forward bases that are presently standing in the way of the Japanese advance.
Howland Island
In the Central Pacific, the 71st Base Force is continuing to disembark and make room for itself on Howland Island. This flat coral atoll is expected to serve as a base for air operations against the Japanese controlled Gilbert Islands. The islands of Apamama, Tarawa, and Makin are all within bomber range of this base. At the same time, the base fits under the air umbrella of Baker Island just a few dozen miles to the south. TF1211 has been undisturbed in two full days of unloading the Howland Island base force, though Betty bombers would be able to reach the task force if Japan knew about it. TF1211 is expected to complete its procedure in another two days. It will immediately begin work on an air strip to help provide fighter CAP over the local island group.
Reef Island
After a long delay made necessary by the patrol of a Japanese carrier force in the region, Reef Island is finally receiving reinforcements. The 5th New Zealand Brigade is digging in to provide for the island’s defense, while the 72nd USA Forward Artillery Regiment is sighting its guns on the landing beaches and other approaches to the main allied garrison. There is one more unit on its way to Reef Island, the 1st Naval Construction Battalion now leaving Christmas Island. In a couple of weeks, it will be on Reef Island helping in the construction of an airfield.
Port Moresby
The bulk of the 7th Australian Division unloaded on the port yesterday, significantly boosting the defensive capability of the island. There was some fear that the task force would come under air attack while it unloaded, but no Japanese attack has come to the city in two days. The destroyers that escorted the transports are setting up to take turns shelling Japanese positions on the far side of Port Moresby. The Allies are short of artillery pieces, and it is hoped that the destroyers can disrupt the enemy plans. Most of the Japanese are far inland from the port, where the Japanese destroyers are unable to reach them. Meanwhile, at Cairns, elements of the 2nd Australian Division are loading up on a dozen destroyers, including a fast transport destroyer, for a quick run to the island. The 6th Australian Division is heading to Brisbane, where an escort carrier and several troop transports will be waiting to run the division to Port Moresby.
Thursday Island
The troop transport President Fillmore was hit by a bomb while unloading at Thursday Island. While the three remaining transports made the run to Port Moresby, President Fillmore remained behind to unload its remaining passengers on Thursday Island. These soldiers join those that unloaded from TF1107 when it feared being pursued by a Japanese surface fleet just outside the harbor. Half of the soldiers still on the boat have since been unloaded. Another 2,400 support troops are still on the boat waiting their assignment.
Aru Island
Planes flying out of Darwin are delivering the last elements of the Molukken Garrison Battalion, and the 22nd Dutch Air Force Base Force to Aru Island, north of Darwin. The units are attempting to set up Aru Island as the second of two forward bases in the Dutch East Indies. Kai Island is the other forward base. Since the start of the operations, 7,000 soldiers have been flown to Aru Island to help in the establishment of a base there. However, allies have been unable to get any heavy construction equipment to the island, so all of the digging and other work that goes into constructing defenses for the island is being done by hand. This is proving to be slow work.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Like any newspaper, Thayne News Campaign Reports tries to cover each story in a way that presumes no previous knowledge of relevant events. We do not expect our readers to have read every previous edition of the Reports. However, from time to time, it may be useful to get a convenient summary of the overall state of the war, to better fit each story into its context.
Starting this month, Thayne News Campaign Reports will be starting each month with a war summary that explains what has happened so far in the war, and what is expected in the near future. Events are happening quickly in this war, and it is quite possible that events in one theater may overshadow events elsewhere, and our readers may miss important information from one source while following events somewhere else.
In addition, we will continue with our tradition of reporting the war statistics for the previous month as soon as the War Department makes them available to use.
THE WAR IN APRIL
Thayne News reporters stayed up late into the night at the War Department in order to bring you the combat statistics for the month of April as soon as they were made known.
April saw a significant change in the Pacific War. Japan, which had earlier been rushing to take stranded regions in Malaya, the Philippines, Burma, and the Dutch East Indies, in April started to run up against a wall of encirclement, while completing its conquest of the easier targets.
One of the symptoms of this shift is that the risk to Japanese shipping decreased significantly. Japan, which had been losing about 1 ship per day, lost significantly fewer ships in April. In the mean time, the Allies lost more combat worthy ships in April than in any month since December.
In the air war as well, Japan was able to close the gap with the allies, destroying more Allied planes than they lost, also for the first time since December.
In the ground war, however, the Japanese rate of advance slowed down. Japan found very few large units to surround and destroy, so had to content itself with taking smaller stranded units in the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies.
The Naval War
In April, the allies were not able to sink any Japanese combat ships. Japanese combat ship losses stand at three light cruisers and three destroyers. However, the allies were able to inflict losses on Japanese submarines. Japanese submarine losses climbed from 8 at the end of March, to 15 at the end of April. Most of these submarines were sunk off of the northeastern coast of Australia.
On the other hand, losses for the Allies have been significant. After the month of March, where the allies lost no naval combat units, April saw the sinking of 1 heavy cruiser, 4 light cruisers, and 3 destroyers. The total, since the start of the war, is 1 battleship, 2 heavy cruisers, 9 light cruisers, and 8 destroyers sunk for the allies. Allied submarine losses remain at 5 since the start of the war.
Among support ships, military intelligence reports the confirmed sinking of 4 minelayers, 8 mine sweepers, 5 patrol craft, and 5 patrol gunboats since the start of the war, for a total of 22 auxiliary ships sunk. The allies have lost 1 minelayer, 7 minesweepers, and a patrol gunboat, for a total of 10 auxiliary ships sunk.
The most important category of shipping continues to be the transport ships. Military intelligence now officially records 27 Japanese cargo ships as being sunk, compared to 7 for the allies. Japanese troop transport losses have climbed to 44, up from 41 at the end of March, while the allies have lost only one troop transport. Japan’s tanker losses stand at 5, compared to 2 for the allies. Both sides have lost one auxiliary oiler. In addition, Japan has lost two fast transport ships.
Combined, the number of Japanese ships sunk stands at 142, compared to 42 for the allies.
The Air War
At the end of March, Japan had lost 1000 airplanes compared to a loss of 850 for the allies. The spread between the two forces remained the same through April through a very bloody month. The end of the month saw approximately 1400 allied airplanes lost, compared to 1550 Japanese airplanes. This includes losses for all causes, including estimates of operational losses for the Japanese.
The Ground War
Japan was able to destroy large Allied divisions stranded on some of the smaller islands in the Philippines, as well as destroy a number of Dutch island garrisons throughout April. The Allies, on the other hand, were able to inflict significant casualties on Japanese forces in Burma using air bombardment. As a result, Japan maintains a 30 to 1 advantage in terms of the losses of Allied combat strength vs Japanese combat strength. There are a few more scattered military units caught behind Japanese lines for the Japanese to clean up, mostly in Sumatra and Borneo. Military strategists report that Japan can still maintain an advantage in the ground war if it can trap a sizable Allied force at such places as Kai Island, Thursday Island, or Wake Island, and defeat them where they have no avenue of escape.
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY: MAY 1, 1942
USA: The Home Front
The government has adopted the policy that the defense of Americans in America is always the prime duty of the government. Consequently, even as the government struggles to keep the war out in the Pacific Ocean, it continues to stand ready for defense in case the war comes home.
Air squadrons flying out of Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego keep a sharp eye out for enemy surface fleets and submarines, while the Army continues to build defenses around key areas in case of attack. San Francisco and Seattle are so heavily defended that General Bachurek reports that there is nothing he can do but continue training his troops and waiting for an assault.
Work continues at Los Angeles and San Diego to add to the security of these locations. Coastal artillery batteries are getting new homes of reinforced concrete, with mines planted along many of the best recreational beaches.
There has been some pressure to reassign units stated on the West Coast of the United States to forward bases in the Pacific. However, the War Department has categorically ruled that out. “We will not waver in our dedication to protecting our homeland,” said one official.
The only exception has been made to several air transportation squadrons stationed along the West Coast of the United States. With its network of rail and roadways, the War Department has decided that the cargo planes would do more good in India, where there is a need to deliver cargo over vast expanses of jungle, swamp, and mountains.
Canada
As a member of the British commonwealth, Canada continues to devote the bulk of its energy to the war in Europe, On the Pacific front, its contribution has been limited to providing a few small ships, which see service escorting supply ships to ports in the North Pacific. Canada also contributed several seaplanes that were included on a shipment that headed to India along with American air transport squadrons.
Canada is also working to increase its port facilities along the West Coast. Allied strategic planners are hoping to use Canadian ports to stockpile war materials that will be needed further west, particularly if Japan should launch a bid to take the Aleutian Islands.
North Pacific
Not one shot has been fired in anger in the North Pacific region. General Theobald, running operations out of his headquarters in Anchorage, is taking advantage of the quiet to push his units steadily westward toward the northern Japanese islands.
Since the start of the war, he has ordered the construction of a forward base at Adak Island, about 300 miles west of Dutch Harbor on the Aleutian chain of islands.
Next, he ordered an operation to land on one of the furthest islands in the chain, Kiska. Since the landings, approximately 9,000 soldiers have been digging in on the island to try to hold it against a Japanese invasion. The island also serves as a home base for a squadron of B-26 bombers.
At present, Task Force 1015 is just two days away from delivering an occupation force to Attu Island, the last sizable island in the Aleutian chain and the American territory closest to the Japanese home islands. The occupation force, consisting of the 108th USA Base Force and the 138th USA Regimental Combat Team, will set up home on the island, which will serve as a forward base for blocking Japanese advances along this chain of islands. Attu Island will become the home base for a squadron of P-40E Warhawks now stationed at Dutch Harbor. Sources in North Pacific Command report that General Theobold is looking to move seaplane tenders forward to Kiska and Attu and to give each island a seaplane squadron for watching Japanese movements in the North Pacific.
The War Department has also assigned General Theobold a submarine tender, and will be giving him control of six submarines to use against the Japanese northern flank. The War Department is seeking to spread out its submarine forces so that there are no waters in which Japan can feel safe.
Central Pacific
Perhaps the most significant item on this front is that the Allies still hold Wake Island. The units in charge of defending the island held off a Japanese attempt to take the island shortly after the start of the war. Then Admiral Kimmel ordered the island abandoned, choosing to focus on securing a safe route of travel from the west coast of the United States to Australia. When Japan had made no move to retake the island, and more troops became available, Admiral Kimmel ordered the reoccupation of the island in late January. Since then, there have been a number of intelligence reports suggesting that Japan will move again to take the island, but there has been no sign of such a mission being launched.
Because the key islands in the Central Pacific are small, it is impossible to put a sizable defensive group on any one island. Wake Island is being held solely by the 111th USA Regimental Combat Team, with the 101st USN Base Force operating the port and airfield facilities on the island. However, the island holds a fighter group of F$F Wildcats, and a bomber group of B-25C Mitchell bombers. It also has a seaplane base where PBYs scan a wide part of the ocean looking for Japanese ships. So far, the waters have been quiet.
Admiral Kimmel has conducted two raids in these waters. The first raid caught a tanker ship unescorted and sank it. The second raid hit Marcus Island, inflicting heavy damage, and helping to secure the operation that re-occupied Wake Island.
Since the original re-occupation, Wake Island has been busy building fortifications to protect itself from the impending Japanese attack. In addition, Admiral Kimmel has kept the island well supplied with stockpiles of food, water, and ammunition kept safe in underground bunkers.
Admiral Kimmel commands three aircraft carriers, Enterprise,Yorktown, and Hornet. The three carriers have recently finished upgrade and maintenance and have just arrived at Midway Island. Admiral Kimmel has received intelligence recently suggesting that the long anticipated attack on Wake Island may be just about due. Allied forces have noted two dozen ships, mostly troop transport ships, heading in the direction of Einwetok in the Marshall Islands, a likely launching point for an attack on Wake Island.
Further south, Kimmel has occupied Baker Island and is in the process of building up a second base on nearby Howland Island. Baker Island is the home of a squadron of PBYs that keep an eye on the Japanese in the Gilbert Islands to the west, and a squadron of B-17s that sometimes hit the Japanese bases.
Behind Baker Island, over a thousand miles to the east, Christmas Island serves as a major stopping point for war materials traveling to the South Pacific and on to New Zealand and Australia, and for ships returning to the United States in need of fuel.
Earlier in the year, Kimmel ordered a raid on the Gilbert Islands that involved several air attacks against the islands from aircraft carrier airplanes, as well as naval bombardment. The assault force also placed mines around one of the islands, Tarawa, though there is no sign that the mines have actually done any good.
South Pacific
April was a month of frustration and disappointment for Admiral Nimitz in the South Pacific. Nimitz’ primary goal was to occupy and reinforce the Santa Cruz Islands, the last set of islands before the Solomon chain. During April, Japan completed its conquest of the Solomon islands, meaning that Nimits is now toe to toe in the South Pacific against the Japanese advance.
The quest to occupy the Santa Cruz islands proved costly when Nimitz incorrectly anticipated the moves of a Japanese carrier force patrolling the waters around the islands. Nimitz ordered a supply ship to Ndimi, escorted by a heavy and three light cruisers. All four cruisers, plus the transport ship, were sunk when the Japanese carrier force unexpectedly reversed direction and returned to the waters around the islands.
Nimitz also faced frustration in getting his carrier force refit. He sent his carriers to Aukland, New Zealand, after they had been out at sea for a considerable amount of time. Nimitz grew increasingly angry and took several steps to force the carriers to the front of the maintenance waiting list. However, General Puttick, commander of the New Zealand forces, reported that his facilities were not large enough to handle work on American aircraft carriers, no matter what Nimitz did. Toward the end of April, Nimitz pulled his carriers out of the port and sent them to Sydney, Australia. The carriers are expected to arrive shortly.
Admiral Nimitz did succeed at getting reinforcements to the Santa Cruz islands. As April came to a close, the 72nd USA Field Artillery Regiment and the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade had been fully unloaded on Reef Island and were setting up defenses. Over 20,000 soldiers, including the America1 Infantry Division, presently occupy Ndimi Island. Ndimi is expected to have a serviceable runway within two weeks, which will be used to challenge the Japanese occupation of the Solomon Islands.
The main problem plaguing the Santa Cruz Islands forces is a shortage of supply. Attempts to bring supply to the islands in the past have proved disastrous. Presently, the forward bases are being supplied by airplanes from Noumea and Esprito Santo. However, if the islands are attacked, the lack of supply would be a serious drawback to holding out against a determined enemy.
Presently, several supply ships are congregating at Efate Island to the south of Esprito Santo. Sometime in early May Admiral Nimitz can be expected to use these ships to deliver supplies to the Santa Cruz Islands.
Southwest Pacific
General Thompson, commander of the Southwest Pacific, is fighting a two-front war. On one front, he is trying to hold on to Port Moresby, on the southern coast of New Guinea, and the last significant base that the Australian force commands outside of Australia itself. If Port Moresby falls, northeastern section of Australia will be within Japanese bomber range. An invasion of Northeastern Australia will become likely.
In the region between Australia and Port Moresby, General Thompson has two concerns. The first concern is to set up Thursday Island as a major point of resistance against a Japanese advance. Towards this end, Thompson has delivered nearly 20,000 soldiers to Thursday Island, including elements of the 7th Australian Division originally destined for Port Moresby. Thursday Island is also home to nearly 100 airplanes, including two squadrons of seaplanes and bombers capable of reaching Port Moresby.
Thompson’s second objective is to hold on to Port Moresby itself, an objective that is presently very much in doubt. Thompson has recently been successful in bringing the troop strength at Port Moresby up to 12,000 soldiers. Another 2,000 soldiers from the 2nd Australian Division are on their way. They are being transported by destroyers operating out of Cairns. Finally,
Recent aerial reconnaissance shows a Japanese convoy heading for Port Moresby as well. It is possible that the ships are carrying Japanese reinforcements, or combat ships to damage the Australian relief effort.
General Thompson has recently expressed a desire to boost the air force presence in northeastern Australia, but lacks the air support experts necessary for this operation. General Hazard, commander of the Australian forces, has refused to move units up from southern Australia to add to the northern garrison, arguing that the citizens of Sydney, Melbourne, and other southern cities are not to be left undefended. Consequently, Thompson has ordered Dutch units rebuilding at Darwin to take up duties on the airfields in northeastern Australia.
In the next few days, General Thompson has announced that he hopes to pull the Kittyhawk fighter squadrons out of Port Moresby, and replace them with American fighters presently assembling at Townsville and Charter Towers.
General Thompson’s largest planned operation for the near future is to deliver the 6th Australian Division to Port Moresby. The division is currently en route to Brisbane where troop transports are assembling for the mission.
Dutch East Indies[/b]
Though Southwest Pacific forces make up the bulk of the units fighting in northern Australia and the Dutch East Indies, the area has been nominally given to General Stuyvesant commander of the ABDA Forces. Ground units still remain substantially under the command of General Thompson.
The only operation presently underway out of North Australia is the occupation of Aru Island. Troop transport aircraft have delivered 7,000 soldiers to the island, comprising the 22nd Dutch Air Force Base Force, the Molukken Garrison, and the No. 107 Royal Australian Navy base force. The units on the island are working to construct an airfield. However, the lack of heavy construction machinery means that the project may take a considerable amount of time. In the mean time, Kai Island is working to build up its defenses.
Japan has recently started to occupy the island of Timor, north and west of the North Australian Coast. This has put Japanese units within range of air units operating out of Wyndham and Derby in northern Australia. General Thompson hopes to be able to invade Timor at some time in the future, and has expressed an interest in hindering the Japanese development of the island. Occupation of the island is expected to seriously hamper Japan’s ability to harvest oil out of the Dutch East Indies.
Southeast Asia
Since the fall of Burma, the battle in Southeast Asia has become almost routine. Each day, the allies fly about 150 airplanes on raids against Burma, focusing on ground units, airfields, and anything that they can hit of strategic importance. Heavy bombers have utterly destroyed the ability of Pagan to contribute to the war effort. Mandalay has also been hit, as well as Taung Gyi. By the end of may, Southeast Asia command says that it expects all of northern Burma to be useless to Japan. Allied forces say they will then focus their efforts on southern Burma.
While the heavy bombers focus on strategic targets, medium bombers and fighter bombers have focused on the airfields. The Akyab airfield remains useless, and the air bases at Pagan, Mandalay, and Myitkyina are all suffering significant damage.
General Pownall actually has over 300 airplanes in his service in northern India, including transport planes that fly supplies into China on a daily basis, and fighter squadrons flying combat air patrol over key cities such as Chadpur, Imphal, and Diamond Harbor. Pownall also has an additional 100 airplanes in and around Ceylon to protect the island from a possible Japanese invasion.
Other than strategic and tactical bombing, the Southeast Asia front remains quiet while British, Chinese, Commonwealth, and Philippine refugee armies rebuild and gather replacements for the units lost in the retreat from other lands.
General Pownall is taking action to head off a possible Japanese assault on Ceylon. Pownall is moving forces from Diamond Harbor to the southern Island, which was only lightly defended until recently.
A cargo ship carrying 50 Canadian and 50 American transport airplanes are due to arrive at Columbo, Ceylon, in just a few days. These planes will then ship to northern India, where they will largely be used to help ferry supply into western China. General Pownall’s ultimate objective, according to sources in Southwest Pacific Command, is to send his army across northern Burma into China and, from there, to capture Hong Kong.
Sources in Southeast Asia Command report that General Pownall is starting to be concerned with where to store all of the military supplies that reach India. Diamond Harbor and Chadpur each hold about as much supply as they are able, while Columbo also holds a large amount of supply. Pownall is starting to distribute supplies to a large number of smaller ports, and is considering missions to deliver supplies to Perth, Australia.
China
The China front remains quiet. Japan continues to send bombers into China, which China meets with fighter combat air patrol over most major cities. There is an air dual, the Japanese drop their bombs, and go home. The rest of the front remains quiet.
Allied military strategists assume that Japan is focusing its energy on other parts of the war and is trying to conserve supply in China. Meanwhile, the Chinese army does not have enough supply for a concentrated offensive.
China did execute one important military drive. It drove through the city of Nanning, east of Hong Kong, and then took the port city of Pakhoi. Pakhoi has served as a useful port for refueling Allied submarines patrolling the South China Sea. So far, Japan has made no move to retake the island. The Chinese also captured nearly 30,000 tons of supply at Pakhoi, which is slowly being shipped back to fuel China’s war industry. Other than this, the China/Japan front has been one of the quietest parts of the war.
China has managed to get four divisions across northern Burma and into India for training and supplies. Three of these units have reached Dacca, where they are in camps training for the eventual march back into Burma, to capture and hold the city of Myitkyina. China has promised five additional divisions for this operation, but the other five remain in China with little prospect of making the long and dangerous trip across India.
Expectations for May
Thayne News has talked once again to our senior military strategist, Dr. Kevin Gaschk of the Gaschk School of Fighting. We asked Dr. Gaschk what we can expect to see in the month of May,
Dr. Gaschk answered, “Japan is going to try to grow until it cannot grow any more. Port Moresby, Kai Island, the Santa Cruz Islands, Baker and Howland Islands, Wake, or Kiska and Attu in the Aleutian Islands, all are at risk. I suspect Japan will continue to throw resources at Port Moresby until it takes the city. Then, it will consolidate that part of the line, while it fights to expand elsewhere.”
When we asked Dr. Gaschk to tell us what he foresaw in the air war, Gaschk answered, “More of the same. The bombers will continue to suppress the Burma front. Japan has reached its limit there. However, Japan will continue to dominate the air war in Northern and Northeastern Australia, including Port Moresby. Washington had better be sending a steady stream of fighters to Australia because it is going to need them.”
On the subject of the naval war, Gaschk said, “The allies got their noze bloodied again at Santa Cruz and at Port Moresby. I am not counting out the possibility of Japan catching a few more fleets by surprise, but I expect that the next time that the allies advance under the Japanese air umbrella, they will do so in force. For Japan, along most of their supply routes, they have nothing to worry about by submarines. When they attack, they will move ahead in force as well, and they have the force to be largely invulnerable. The only thing that may tip the balance is a major naval battle – a battle I hate to say, the allies would almost certainly lose at this point in the war.”
We then asked Dr. Gaschk to go out on a limb. “Tell us, Dr. Gaschk, if you would, what you thing the Japanese should do, and what you think they will do.”
Dr Gaschk answered, “If I were commanding the Japanese forces, I would pick Baker and Howland islands. The islands are too small for a substantial defensive force, and bases operating from there can seriously threaten the Allied supply lines to Australia. Admiral Kimmel cannot add ground troops to the islands because they are already too crowded, meaning he would have to commit the navy if he wants to hold the islands. If Japan wants a naval showdown, and I am certain it does, that will be the place to have it.”
“As for what Japan will do,” Dr. Gaschk continued, “I expect that they will continue to throw resources at Port Moresby as I said, and my win another victory there. Other than that, look for a Japanese attack on Wake Island. Japan may also win that, but both fights will keep the Japanese occupied for the month, and time will always work to the advantage of the allies.”
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
Letter From the Editor
The staff of Thayne News Campaign Reports would like to thank those who sent letters of appreciation regarding yesterday's "Campaign Summary" special edition. We realize that our readers are busy and it is difficult to keep up with all aspects of the war. We were pleased to hear that our efforts to catch our readers up on the war were appreciated.
PORT MORESBY: ALL OUT WAR
(TN - Brisbane) Yesterday, at Port Moresby, air, naval, and ground units clashed in a battle that lasted all day. Through the course of 24 hours, observers at Port Moresby witnessed two naval battles, an air dual overhead, naval bombardment, coastal defense, and several air strikes against both land and naval targets.
By the end of the day, allied air power had been destroyed, and its navy suffered a severe beating, losing 2 destroyers and suffering damage to 5 others. The Allied air force was all but destroyed, and the Port Moresby airstrip effectively put out of action. In return, they sank one Japanese destroyer, damaged two others, shot down another handful of Japanese airplanes, and subjected the Japanese ground force to air and artillery bombardment.
The battle started shortly after midnight when a Japanese fleet of one light cruiser and 5 destroyers encountered an allied fleet of one light cruiser and 12 destroyers. Reconnaissance aircraft were tracking the Japanese task force east of Port Moresby at dusk. In spite of the warning, the Allied navy was not aware the Japanese had arrived until the enemy ships opened fire.
Within minutes, the Japanese had set fire to the destroyer Dewey. With the ship lit by the fires on board, it drew the fire of the bulk of the Japanese task force. The Japanese then fired a spread of torpedoes against the ship, one of which struck amidships. While the ship stalled, it illuminated other allied ships nearby, allowing the Japanese to refine their fire on the rest of the defending fleet. The destroyers Mustin, Shaw, John D. Edwards, Schley, and Voyager all took hits. However, a hit one of the Japanese ships lit up the harbor in a huge explosion that allowed ships on both sides to target the enemy.
Immediately after the fireball, another Japanese destroyer started taking hits, and the Japanese withdrew.
The allies gathered to help the crew of the sinking destroyer Dewey, when the Japanese fleet returned. This time, their fire targeted the destroyer Pillsbury, while also delivering shells to Mustin, Shaw, and Le Triomphant. Pillsbury also took a torpedo in the fight. During this battle, allied ships hit two Japanese destroyers, setting one of the ships on fire. As the other allied destroyers started to take aim on the burning Japanese ship, the enemy withdrew again. While leaving Walter Bay, they fired a few parting shots at Port Moresby itself, doing minimal damage to the airbase and port facilities.
Pillsbury also sank before morning.
The Japanese fleet had withdrawn so that it could stand guard to a pair of transport craft dropping soldiers off up the beach from Port Moresby. Unable to land at Port Moresby itself, because of the bombardment, the Japanese landing fleet moved into the bay just southeast of Port Moresby. Successfully navigating the minefield set up there, they started unloading their troops.
With dawn, the airplanes arrived.
The first raid of the day was an Allied attack against the Japanese attack force that came over the Owen Stanley Ridge. Targeting gun emplacements, Hudson and Mitchell bombers hit the Japanese emplacements, then turned and returned to their base on Thursday Island. Recon aircraft from Thursday Island arrived with the bombers to take pictures and make a bomb damage assessment, as well as to try to determine the disposition of the enemy troops.
Hudson bombers from Cairns, Australia arrived a short while later, dropped their bombs along the trail that Japan had been using to cross the mountains. It was not possible to determine how effective this strike was.
By this time, mechanics at Port Moresby airport managed to get a pair of Vildebeest torpedo bombers put together at the airstrip. The Vildebeest squadron had pulled out several days earlier, but mechanics were still working on putting damaged airplanes back together and sending them to join the rest of the fleet. These airplanes attacked the Japanese destroyers, but inflicted no damage.
Then came the Japanese turn in the air. An air strike of 8 Betty bombers escorted by nearly four dozen Japanese Zeros hit Port Moresby. The Zeros had the job of clearing the air over Port Moresby, and they performed this job quite well, destroying all but one of the Kittyhawk fighters flying patrol over the city. The Kittyhawks were able to shoot down two Zeros in the process. Then, Bettys targeted the troop transports, and hit Katoomba with a torpedo that cut a huge hole in the side of the ship. It split open the fuel tanks and spread burning oil around the slowly sinking ship.
By the time the next Japanese air attack arrived, the mechanics managed to patch together another 4 Kittyhawk fighters to put into the air. These five airplanes took on a Japanese force of over five dozen fighters. This time, there were no allied aircraft in the sky by the time the Zeros went through, and only one Zero was shot down in the battle. The Bettys that came with this flight had unrestricted access to the ships. They targeted the light cruiser Hobart, but were not able to hit it.
The next wave of aircraft to reach Port Moresby were Betty bombers which probably came from Truk. They came without fighter escort, but they did not need any. Staying above 3 miles to avoid the flak, they dropped their bombs in the vicinity of Hobart, but did not hit the ship.
The Port Moresby airport then came under attack from the four Japanese ships. Their attack was brutally accurate. Two of the Kittyhawk fighters still under repair were totally destroyed, and two others were damaged. More importantly, the naval bombardment put another array of craters in the runway, just as the engineers were starting to get the field repaired.
Throughout the day, Japanese and Allied artillery batteries fired on each other on the ground. Allied forces report that they suffered no damage as a result of Japanese artillery, but believe they hit several targets among the enemy defenses.
The Japanese clearly won the fight. Japanese losses included one destroyer and three Zero fighters. In exchange, the allies not only lost 2 destroyers and 11 Kittyhawk fighters, but lost their ability to challenge the Japanese for control of the air and the water around Port Moresby.
General Thompson has a second destroyer squadron approaching Port Moresby, this one carrying elements of the 2nd Australian Division to reinforce the defenses in the town. Whether they will be able to get their soldiers off the boats in the shadow of Japanese air and naval attacks remains to be seen.
British Fighter Pilots Given New Role
(TN - Dacca) The Royal Air Force began operations to upgrade its air force in India yesterday, upgrading air combat units at several locations across eastern India.
One of the air groups that received new airplanes was the 243 Squadron, a fighter squadron flying Buffalo fighters in defense of Diamond Harbor. At dawn, the pilots were lead out onto the runway to get a look at their new airplanes. Their route took them down a road with C-47 transport aircraft lined up on both sides.
The pilots looked around, puzzled, until one of them asked, "Where are the Hurricanes?" Other Buffalo squadrons in India were being upgraded to Hurricane fighters. The Hurricanes have shorter range, but were superior to the Buffalo in fighting combat air patrol over allied bases. The success of 232 Squadron and 135 Squadron in Imphal had spread through all of the fighter units. Between them, the two squadrons had chalked up nearly 100 kills, while 243 squadron still had no kills to its credit.
"We need to get supplies to China. We need you to fly cargo to China."
The announcement set of a near riot from the fighter pilots. Flight Officer Williamson, who had flown 15 missions in his Buffalo fighter without firing a shot, exclaimed, "I did not come here to fight a truck!".
The squadron was given one week to become accustomed to their new airplanes before they would fly off to Jorhat to join the other transport squadrons. Officials in Diamond Harbor report that, by sundown, all of the pilots had put in for a transfer. However, those same sources report that the pilots can expect to be flying transports for some time to come.
This was one of several units to receive upgrades in India on the first of the month. The light carrier Hermes traded in its Sea Gladiator fighters for Fulmar fighters. Lysander pilots in Dacca were learning to fly Hurricanes, while a squadron of Blenheim pilots were given one week to become familiar with their new Wellington bombers. These changes represent the first steps in a plan to modernize the aircraft throughout the India/Burma front. Once these squadrons are fully operational, other squadrons will see their old planes replaced with new squadrons.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PORT MORESBY REINFORCED
(TN - Brisbane) Port Moresby received vital reinforcements yesterday when a destroyer squadron sped 2,000 troops to the city during the night. The move was a part of a day in which the Port Moresby defenders regained some ground after the previous day's adventure.
Military strategists associated with the Southwest Pacific Command officially announced yesterday that the Battle for Port Moresby of May 1st was a Japanese victory. Southwest Pacific Command immediately reacted to the battle as good news and, perhaps, a minor strategic victory. However, a careful assessment of the battle revealed that, other than one lucky shot, almost no damage was inflicted on the enemy task force. "It is foolish to depend on luck," said one senior official. "Luck is something you should always hope for, but you should never count on," he said.
After the assessment, General Thompson sent new orders to the Allied task forces operating in the waters between Australia and New Guinea. Thompson originally planned to have the undamaged destroyers from the Battle of Port Moresby meet with a fast transport squadron arriving from Australia. These ships would unload their cargo and challenge the Japanese fleet in the waters around Port Moresby. The assessment suggested that a second battle may turn out worse than the first. The new orders commanded the destroyers to reinforce Port Moresby, but avoid a confrontation if possible.
TF1050, loaded with 2,000 soldiers from the 2nd Australian Division, moved at full speed to Port Moresby. They quickly docked, unloaded their cargo, and turned back to Cairns, Australia. The ships of the task force that had fought the Japanese invaders limped back home as well, rather than join in a second challenge of the Japanese.
The mission was successful, and Port Moresby received its reinforcements without the allies suffering a loss. In addition, the supply squadron found a Japanese submarine on its way back from Port Moresby, and the destroyer Van Nes dropped several depth charges on what was described as a "solid contact".
Meanwhile, the Japanese continued to unload their reinforcements in the bay southeast of Port Moresby, challenged only by the long range artillery firing from Port Moresby itself. No significant damage was inflicted on the landing force, which quickly moved inland to take two small villages, Gareka and Gwarumemase, that sit near the harbor.
The landing puts a sizable Japanese force behind the lines General Knox was seeking to establish overlooking the trail across the Owen Stanley Ridge.
To counter the Japanese landings, General Knox ordered the 2nd Australian Infantry units, with their newly arrived reinforcements, to block the Japanese line of advance.
General Knox's major concern has been with supply. The allied units have been going through food and ammunition at an alarming rate in order to keep the Japanese at bay. The major form of conflict has been artillery duals across the trench lines that are being built around the city.
Each day, over a dozen Empire transport aircraft arrive at Port Moresby with more supplies. However, even with this help, the Port Moresby's defenders are depleting their stockpiles. Present estimates suggest that current supplies will last no more than thirty days - less if the Japanese should manage to close the airport.
Even with the airstrip operational, Port Moresby is in need of airplanes to defend the city. The two Kittyhawk squadrons responsible for Port Moresby's defense have been virtually eliminated. General Thompson has no more Kittyhawk fighters to replaces his losses, so he ordered the two squadrons back to Australia to rebuild their strength.
In place of the Australian squadrons, General Thompson sent in elements of the American 49th Fighter Group with their P-40E aircraft, which had been training in Charter Towers. The American units are arriving before they could complete their training program. Given previous history, there are doubts as to whether the American pilots can stand up to even one large scale Japanese air assault.
The Japanese forces seem to recognize the importance of the airport and are making efforts to close it. The Japanese navy moved in and shelled the airstrip, and launched two air strikes against it. However, the attacks did little damage, and allied construction workers -- pulled off of the task of building entrenchments around the city -- nearly had the airstrip back in full working order.
The most devastating attack struck a barracks near the airport, killing or wounding 35 members of the 7th Australian Division, which is responsible for holding the defensive line near the airport. Much of the supply being burned up at Port Moresby has to do with keeping the airport operational as well as fortifying the city.
General Thompson continued to prepare his soldiers and the nation for defeat at Port Moresby, while he remains hopeful that the allies could hold the city. "We never expected to hold onto Port Moresby, but now we think we might be able to pull it off," he said in a statement to reporters.
News Briefs Around the Pacific
While the Battle for Port Moresby captured everybody's attention, the war continued elsewhere in the Pacific.
Operations to land reinforcements on Reef Island in the South Pacific, and Howland Island in the Central Pacific, were completed yesterday. The additional units continued to make themselves at home while operations went on to unload the supplies still remaining on the transport ships.
General Pownall announced that Diamond Harbor was as ready for a Japanese move against the city as it could become. Operations to fortify the city by building concrete gun emplacements and trenchworks around the city came to an end, and Southeast Asia Command considered other uses for the engineers involved in these projects.
Allied forces flew their third 100-plane raid against Mandalay, Burma yesterday. The bombing missions have all but destroyed the oil transportation and storage facilities in the city. According to sources within Southeast Asia Command, future operations will target the facilities that the Japanese are using to collect and transport other resources useful in executing its war effort. Meanwhile, continued reconnaissance over the city of Pagan show that the Japanese have made no effort to rebuild its facilities. Some members of Southeast Asia Air Command are concerned that the bombers may run out of strategic targets, though several advisors said that this attitude is "more wishful thinking than strategic planning".
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PORT MORESBY: JAPAN SUPPLIED
(TN - Brisbane) Military intelligence personnel associated with the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations report that Japan is supplying its attack force at Port Moresby by sea.
Japanese ships, sitting off shore at Gereka, about six miles down the coast from Port Moresby, are unloading a steady supply of food and ammunition onto the shore. Japanese army units that accompanied the supplies have been moving it inland to deliver it to the South Seas Detachment, the invasion force that came over the Owen Stanley Ridge. Between them, along a ridge line that separates the landing bay from the inland trail, Knox has placed his Port Moresby Defense Brigade.
Japanese troops are presently being forced to go far to the east in order to deliver the supplies. General Knox is expecting a major Japanese assault in order to shorten their supply lines. In the mean time, however, both sides have simply been sending artillery shells at each other.
The Japanese have been getting the worst of the artillery dual. Artillery spotters inflicted several dozen casualties on the units unloading and stockpiling supplies from the ships. A number of shells landed along a bucket brigade set up to deliver supplies from the landing boats to stockpiles inland. Elsewhere, allied artillery zeroed in on a Japanese gun battery, completely demolishing it and the gun crew. Allied bombers also participated in raining destruction on the enemy.
Still, the Japanese ships have been able to sit in the bay southeast of Port Moresby unmolested. Allied forces have not been able to muster enough air power to seriously threaten the Japanese task force.
At present, allied destroyers are congregating at Cairns. General Thompson may order them to make another run to Port Moresby to deliver supplies of their own. Meanwhile, a larger task force is gathering further south at Brisbane. That attack force includes two American aircraft carriers, Lexington and Saratoga, and enough troop transports to carry a substantial portion of the 6th Australian Infantry Division. This force is expected to land a significant number of reinforcements. These reinforcements are still two weeks away from reaching Port Moresby itself.
Esperance Bay Torpedoed; Sank
(TN - Brisbane) A Japanese submarine fired two torpedoes that hit the troop transport Esperence Bay while it was returning from Port Moresby. The ship sank almost instantly. However, the ship was returning from a mission that delivered elements of the 7th Infantry Division to Port Moresby and Thursday Island, and was empty at the time of the attack.
The sinking highlights the dangers of getting troops to Port Moresby, however. Of the four troop transports that took part in the mission, one was bombed at Thursday Island and left there to unload its cargo. Another was torpedoed in Port Moresby harbor and was left behind. The Esperance Bay represents the third ship to suffer significant damage, and the first of the transports to be sunk. However, the two other troop transports left behind are in danger of being sunk as well.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PORT MORESBY QUIETS
(TN - Brisbane) With the Allied fleet withdrawing to Australia, the region around Port Moresby has grown quiet in recent days. The ground battle continues to consist of artillery duels -- which the allies appear to be winning. Using the advantage of airborn spotters, allied gunnery hit and destroyed another enemy gun battery, and killed or wounded an estimated 150 men in attacks on three troop concentrations behind Japanese lines. In return, the allies suffered less than 15 casualties yesterday.
The Japanese forces are also thought to be suffering from malaria and other jungle illnesses. American forces have had the advantage of being located in a town where the population is less susceptible to jungle diseases. Japan, however, continues to fortify its position in the jungle itself, with no protection against its effects.
Allied forces also have numberic superiority in the area. However, Japan retains control of the air and waters allowing it to do a better job of bringing in supplies and reinforcements.
Allies Consider Offense
(TN - Washington) Allied commanders are considering the possibility that Japan is now contained, and that it is nearly time to consider offensive options.
The Southeast Asia front has fallen into a routine of air strikes across the India/Burma border. These strikes whittle down the enemy on both sides of the line, but do nothing to resolve the conflict one way or another. Japan is showing no signs of being ready to take the offensive. Allied forces are being positioned to answer any Japanese threat. The 'wink link' in the Allied defenses, Ceylon, has been reinforced by the 26th Infantry Division and 44th Indian Brigade in recent weeks, with additional reinforcements on the way.
The North Australia/Dutch East Indies front is also nearly stagnate. The Japanese may launch bids to take Kai and Aru Islands, but this would likely be a prolonged fight that will give the Allies time for a larger buildup.
Southwest Asia forces are still concerned about the possibility that Japan may win the Port Moresby battle. The garrison continues to hold out, but it is using up reinforcements faster than they can be supplied, and Japan has been more successful at building up its strength than the Allies. If Port Moresby falls, then Thursday Island or the Northeastern coast of Australia will become the front line. General Thompson believes he would have no trouble holding this line.
The capture of the Santa Cruz islands at this point would take a major Japanese commitment. With two bases under construction, each now heavily reinforced, and an airbase that will near completion in less than a week, the Santa Cruz Islands are more strongly held than Port Moresby.
The Gilbert Islands are in a state of stagnation. Japan has made no attempt to expand in this frontier. The only activity has been allied patrol planes taking pictures of Apamama, Tarawa, and Makin Islands.
The forces on Wake Island have had time to build a significant level of fortification on the island, and holds as many troops as can comfortably fit on the island. It has a sufficiently strong force to threaten any Japanese invasion fleet, with some of the best fighter planes available on any front.
North Pacific forces are continuing to build fortifications and bases on the westernmost Aleutian islands of Kiska and Attu. These islands have only recently been occupied and could use a significant amount of improvement, but it would take a sizable Japanese commitment to take these islands. If Kiska and Attu should fall, Adak Island and Dutch Harbor provide a strong second line of defense.
Allied commanders have noted, "It is easier to attack in one place, than to defend everywhere at once," so they are looking for a location where they can force the Japanese to defend themselves. The three targets that sit at the top of the Allied options list are:
(1) Apamama, in the Gilbert Islands. The capture of this island would set up a contest for air supremacy involving the Japanese use of Tarawa, Makin, and Nauru. It will also help to secure the supply lines from the United States to Australia.
(2) Gili Gili. If the allies can land a sizable force here, it will serve to relieve much of the pressure on Port Moresby. It's major drawback is that the Allied invasion force would have to sail into the teeth of the Japanese, who are already heavily committed in this region. They are expecting a fight here more so than in any other region.
(3) Myitkyina. The Southeast Asia Theater of Operations is about to receive three additional squadrons of transport aircraft and four squadrons of seaplanes. These forces may make it possible for the English to capture Myitkyina, Burma, and to hold the town against any Japanese attempt to retake it. This would open up supply lines into western China. Japan would have to certainly pull units from other fronts to deal with such a threat.
Allied military command has ordered that plans be drawn up for all three operations, and that at least one of them will be selected within the next few weeks.
Major Air Raid on Kai Island
(TN - Darwin) Kai Island suffered its largest bomber raid of the war yesterday. Previous Japanese raids against the island have involved a large number of fighters, with a few bombers. Military strategists believe that these missions were designed to clear the air over the island of Allied fighters. Yesterday's raid, however, had nearly four dozen Japanese fighters escorting an equal number of bombers.
Military strategists associated with Southwest Pacific Command are said to be considering the possibility of a Japanese invasion of the island. The size of the raid has caused some strategists to suspect that its mission was to soften up the island itself to receive a Japanese invasion.
Allied strategists have stressed that this is pure speculation and that Allied military intelligence has received no direct intelligence suggesting that Japan is preparing to occupy Kai Island.
This was the first air raid in which Japan's fighter escort was 100% successful, shooting down all 15 airplanes that rose to fight them. One of the most serious problems is that the Dutch air force simply does not have any more skilled pilots. General Thompson has commanded the withdraw of all Dutch fighter squadrons to Darwin, where a training base will be set up to get Dutch pilots back into fighting shape. Meanwhile, Thompson is ordering the American 35th Fighter Group forward to defend the island. This will be the first time that Americans have been trusted to this duty.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
NEW THREAT TO PORT MORESBY
(TN – Brisbane) Allied reconnaissance aircraft discovered a new threat for Port Moresby as a surface attack force approached the port. Allied military strategists have been expecting a Japanese move to take the hills overlooking the city to the east, and believe the big guns are there to support the operation. The heavy ships will also serve to set up a naval blockade around the island, to prevent the shipment of any more supplies by sea.
General Townsend, commander of the Southwest Pacific forces, has a destroyer force sitting in Cairns, Australia, preparing to load additional men and supplies to transport them to Port Moresby. The 101st Australian Anti-Tank Regiment has recently been loaded onto the troop transport Largs Bay, and supplies are being added to the ship’s stockpile. In addition, General Townsend has gathered a force of two dozen destroyers at the port to take additional men and materials to Port Moresby.
General Townsend has given the task force orders to temporarily postpone any mission to Port Moresby. According to members of General Townsend’s staff, the general is hoping that the task force will leave after a day or two of shelling allied positions, leaving an opportunity for the destroyers to transport in its men and supplies.
Another problem that General Townsend is facing is getting his air forces to participate in the battle. Hudson bombers from Thursday Island and Cooktown, Australia, have made frequent bombing runs to Port Moresby. However, General Townsend also has a large collection of Beaufort V-IX bombers on Thursday Island specifically for the purpose of aiding in the defense of Port Moresby. However, to date, he has not been able to get a single plane off of the ground to fly against the city. The bombers that have been making the trip, flying Hudson bombers, are among the least experienced pilots of any local air group, so they have not been able to inflict much damage against the enemy.
At Brisbane, elements of the 6th Australian Infantry Division are loading onto three troop transports. At the same time, General Townsend is assembling an escort fleet that consists of two carriers, a battleship, and several smaller escort ships.
Meanwhile, the fighting in and around Port Moresby remains relatively subdued. The artillery dual between the Allied and Japanese forces continues, this time with the Japanese doing a bit better than they had one in the past. The allies suffered more than 40 casualties and the loss of two guns in yesterday’s fighting, from both air and ground-based attack, while allied counter-battery fire is believed to have had only minimal effect yesterday.
The new air force flying over Port Moresby remained relative intact as well.
While fighting continues on Port Moresby, northeastern Australia continues to prepare for the possibility of a Japanese invasion. Cairns, yesterday, saw the dedication of a set of concrete gun emplacements overlooking the beaches to the city, while Charter Towers to the south celebrated the completion of a ring of tank traps and trench works around the city.
Attacks on Kai Island Contunue
(TN – Darwin) Japan launched another large-scale air attack against Kai Island yesterday, further raising suspicions that an invasion of the island is imminent. Again, over four dozen Japanese Zero fighters led the way, removing the American fighter escort as easily as it had dispatched earlier missions of British and Dutch fighters. Then the bombers focused on the airport. It inflicted minor damage, however.
Darwin Becomes Dutch Training Base
(TN – Darwin) General Thompson pulled six squadrons of Dutch fighters off of the lines yesterday and ordered them to flight school. The Dutch army, since its defeat in the Dutch East Indies, has been putting kids with as little experience as having flown the family airplane into fighters to fend off the Japanese. General Thompson declared that this practice must end, and set up a flight school in Darwin for the Dutch pilots. Training operations will also give the Dutch time to collect new planes to replace those that had been lost in battle.
The decision to pull the Dutch pilots off of the lines means that there will be limited fighter cover over Darwin until the pilots are declared to be ready for combat. However, General Thompson said that it is more foolish, not to mention wasteful of lives, to have untrained pilots deliver planes to Japanese gunners for target practice as it is to leave the skies over Darwin open for the bombers. “The bombers are going to get through anyway; the only question is whether we are going to allow them to also score several dead fighter pilots and destroyed airplanes as well,” said one senior official.
Transport Airplanes Reach Ceylon
(TN – Dacca) A convoy of transport ships that left the west coast of the United States nearly two months earlier, pulled into Ceylon yesterday with a cargo of nearly 100 float and transport aircraft. Workers in Ceylon immediately went to work uncrating the airplanes and preparing them to fly to northern India, where they will be used to ferry supplies and equipment to China. The seven air squadrons that arrived in Ceylon are to be given one week to organize their units and practice for the missions they will be flying, then they will fly off to northern India to start their new professions.
The planes will provide a significant boost to opening up a Chinese front. With the arrival of the supply airplanes, General Pownall, commander of the Southeast Asia theater of operations, is considering moving the American Volunteer Group to China to take on the Japanese air force there, for making a move to capture and hold Myitkyina in Burma, and to supply the base from the air.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
PORT MORESBY SHELLED
(TN - Brisbane) A Japanese bombardment force reached Port Moresby during the night, sinking one transport and then shelling Allied defenses inland. It appeared as if the task force's objective was to destroy a troop transport that had remained in Port Moresby harbor undergoing repairs. The transport ship Katoomba was damaged by torpedo planes while delivering elements of the 7th Australian Division to the city, and was considered too badly damaged to make the trip back to Australia. While the rest of the fleet returned, Katoomba remained in port with repair crews working on controlling the flooding.
A task force that included four heavy cruisers approached Port Moresby during the night and shelled the transport. It took only a few rounds to sink the badly damaged ship. The enemy fleet then turned its guns on the Port Moresby installations, inflicting nearly 100 casualties among the defenders, before starting its trip back toward Gili Gili.
Allied military intelligence, examining the reports of the bombardment, are asking questions about why Japan did not shell the airfield when it had an opportunity. It focused its bombardment on barracks and infantry concentrations within the city itself, leaving the airport in good enough condition to continue to fly combat air patrol over the city.
The departure of the Japanese capital ships leaves an opening for sending additional soldiers and supplies to the island. General Thompson has ordered the destroyers presently at Cairns to load additional units from the 2nd Australian Division to transport to Port Moresby.
According to sources within Southwest Pacific Command, General Thompson is looking for ways to boost the air strength over Port Moresby. According to these sources, Thompson is looking for ways to station not only fighters but dive or torpedo bombers at the city to threaten Japanese shipping.
Allied Navy Attacks Akyab
(TN - Dacca) Using a collection of mostly outdated destroyers, Southeast Asia Command yesterday launched a night-time destroyer bombardment of the Japanese held port of Akyab. The mission consisted of a quick run out of Chadpur, bombarding Akyab, and returning to Chadpur before dawn and before Japanese planes would have an opportunity to attack the fleet.
The mission is reported to have done minimal damage to the enemy, but proved that larger raids would be possible against the port. General Pownall has ordered his soldiers to prepare a larger raid against the Japanese held port.
Allied bombers have succeeded in keeping the airfield at Akyab suppressed since the Japan took control of the port. Each day, approximately three dozen B-18A Bolo bombers attack Akyab, focusing their efforts on the airbase. Recent aerial photographs of the airbases show them to be nothing but large fields of craters. The Bombers have been able to visit Akyab regularly without fighter escort since the Japanese are unable to operate combat air patrol from the base.
India Air Upgrade Continues
(TN - Dacca) The process of introducing more modern aircraft to the India campaign continued yesterday. Squadrons that exchanged older airplanes for newer planes last week were put back on active duty this week, while additional squadrons were given a week off to learn how to fly their new aircraft.
The squadrons returning to duty this week include the 28 Squadron at Dacca, which will be flying Hurricane II fighters instead of their older Lysander airplanes. As a part of the rotation, Southeast Asia Command pulled 11 Squadron off of active duty and gave it one week to learn how to fly their new Wellington III bombers.
No. 1 RAAF Squadron, were ordered to first fly their new Beaufort V-IX airplanes to Imphal before going off duty to practice with their new airplanes. The Beauforts have lower range than the airplanes these pilots were accustomed to, but are able to deliver a much larger payload. At Imphal, the squadron will be within range of Japanese bases at Mandalay, Pagan, Lashio, Myitkyina, and Akyab.
On the 15th of May, Southeast Asia Command plans to put these squadrons back on active duty, and introduce more modern aircraft elsewhere along the India front. At the same time, Southeast Asia Command expects to ship in nearly 100 seaplanes and transport airplanes presently unloading and training at Columbo, Ceylon.
P-38s to India?
General Pownall recently entered into negotiations with Allied Central Command to be one of the first units to receive the new P-38 Lightning fighters when they become available. According to sources within Southeast Asia headquarters, Pownall send letters to Allied Command Headquarters informing them that the India front gives them an excellent opportunity to make use of these airplanes. P-38 fighters flying out of Imphal will be able to reach enemy targets as far away as northern Siam and Indo China, and P-38s operating out of the Chinese city of Kweiyang will be able to attack targets in Hong Kong.
If Allied Command accepts the recommendation, it would involve turning over the 47th Fighter Squadron, presently at Pearl Harbor, and the 54th Fighter Group in San Francisco, to the Southeast Asia Command. The squadrons will fly their P-39D fighters until enough P-38s are available and can be shipped to the Southeast Asia theater of operations. The recommendation, however, violates promises made early in the war that prohibited weakening the defenses of the west coast of the United States.
When asked why Allied Command would consider such a move in violation of its earlier promise, a senior official at Allied Command Headquarters, who asked not to be named, said that, "The P-38 is such an exciting, new type of airplane, I just can't stand the idea of having a squadron of them sitting in quiet zones where they cannot be used." This senior official acknowledged that he may consider stationing P-40s or some other type of airplane on the West Coast of the United States so as to keep the promise not to weaken the U.S. West Coast defenses.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
CARRIERS CATCH JAP TRANSPORTS
(TN - Hawaii) A task force consisting of the American carriers Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet caught two Japanese troop transports in waters just northwest of Marcus Island yesterday. The carriers launched their SBD dive bombers against the two ships, hitting each with at least ten bombs according to the pilots.
The carriers had a difficult time coordinating their attacks, causing one of the SBD squadrons to arrive late. The columns of smoke rising as a result of the earlier raid directed the third squadron to the attack coordinates. Even though both ships were completely consumed by fire, the SBD squadron attacked anyway, calling the run "good practice". This squadron delivered 13 bombs to the two transports out of the 18 dive bombers participating in the raid.
The force's next target is Marcus Island. According to sources at Central Pacific Command, the carriers will move in closer to the island tonight and attack the island in the morning. The carrier force is then expected to sweep south around Wake Island in a plan to scout the approaches to the island and disrupt any Japanese movement in the region.
GENERAL THOMPSON VISITS THURSDAY ISLAND: HEADS ROLL
(TN - Batavia) General Thompson, commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations, paid a personal visit to Thursday Island yesterday to find out why the air force there was not contributing to the defense of Port Moresby. Within three hours of landing, he had dismissed a half dozen base personnel from their duties and reassigned at least a dozen others.
General Thompson needed only a few minutes talking to the commanders of the Beaufort V-IX bomber squadrons stationed on the island to discover the problem. There was no fuel and no bombs for the airplanes. Thursday Island has been supplied almost entirely by air, with cargo planes reaching the island from Cooktown. However, it has been all that the transport squadron could do to keep the soldiers fed and provide construction equipment for the Island's defenses. A full flight of C-47 transports would not be able to carry the armament and fuel for even one bombing run against the Japanese at Port Moresby.
General Thompson immediately sent orders back to Cairns that the troop transport Largs Bay and four destroyers specifically modified for the fast transport of supply, presently at Cairns, are to be equipped with supplies for Thursday Island, particularly bombs and airplane fuel.
Thompson also sent orders that the next transport bringing supplies for the Beaufort bombers and airplane fuel were to be escorted to Thursday Island directly in order to drop off their cargo.
Allies Prepare Multiple Resupply Missions for Port Moresby
Allied forces are presently preparing three missions to deliver additional war materials to Port Moresby.
TF1167, consisting of nearly two dozen destroyers, are finishing their loading operations for a mission to deliver over 2,500 soldiers and 750 tons of supply to Port Moresby. The mission is scheduled to leave Cairns this evening, and arrive at Port Moresby on the night of May 11th.
TF1004 will soon complete loading operations at Brisbane. This task force contains three troop transports holding over 6,000 soldiers from the 6th Australian Division and over 2,500 tons of supplies. It will be traveling under the air umbrella of the carriers Lexington and Saratoga. Its escort will include the battle ship Colorado and two heavy cruisers, as well as a number of support ships. This task force will pick up a convoy at Rockhampton that carries 30,000 tons of additional supply. It is expected to take 10 days to reach Port Moresby and unload its cargo. At the same time that TF1004 finishes its deliver, TF1167 is expected to make a second delivery as well.
TF1236 is sailing from the New Hebrides Islands with 16 cargo ships and tankers under the protection of the escort carrier Long Island. The task force is moving slowly across the sub-infested waters, and is expected to reach Australia within a week. General Thompson expects to use some of the transports to deliver additional supplies to Port Moresby. It is expected to also reach Port Moresby in approximately two weeks.
One major concern is the location of the Japanese aircraft carriers. The carriers were last seen in the waters around the Santa Cruz Islands approximately a week ago. There is some weak evidence that the carriers sailed on toward Kwajalein, but this information has not been confirmed. The arrival of a large Japanese carrier force could easily doom any mission to resupply Port Moresby.
General Thompson has given all fleets orders that, if they cannot reach Port Moresby, they are to deliver their men and supplies to Thursday Island instead, which is the next line of defense against the Japanese in this sector.
Editor's Note: In times of war, the news is likely to be filled with all sorts of rumor and exaggeration. The goal of the Thayne News Network is to cut through the fog of war, and provide you, our loyal readers, with as accurate a report of events on the front line as we can.
The Thayne News Network is a special service for the clients in the military industrial complex who need accurate information on the progress of the war. Any disclosure of the contents of these reports is punishable as treason.
HORNET SINKS 3RD TRANSPORT
(TN - Hawaii) Allied planes flying from the carrier Hornet found and sank a third transport ship near Marcus Island yesterday. TBD bombers from the ship hit the Japanese cargo ship with two torpedoes. According to reports, the ship capsized and sank so quickly that most of the attack planes were unable to deliver their ordinance. Many of the pilots reported seeing enemy military personnel attempting to flee the ship as well. It was impossible to determine how many soldiers, if any, got caught below deck.
At the same time, planes from Enterprise and Yorktown sent nearly 100 bombers against Marcus Island itself. The bombers inflicted significant damage on the airfield and port facilities. The bombers hit a fuel storage facility near the port that sent a fireball over 3,000 feet into the air, as well as two weapons caches that sent shock waves throughout the entire island.
Japan Rebuilds Port Moresby Blockade
(TN - Batavia) Japan has rebuilt the blockade around Port Moresby with a task force consisting of at least a half dozen capital ships. Unlike previous task forces that Japan has sent to Port Moresby, these ships are not participating in shelling the Allied defenses. Military strategists associated with Southwest Pacific Command believe that the ships are there specifically to intercept any mission to land reinforcements at the port.
Thayne News is following the progress of three missions designed to deliver supplies to Thursday Island.
TF1167 slipped out to sea from Cairns, Australia last night to deliver 2,500 men and 750 tons of supply to Port Moresby. When intelligence brought back information about the blockade, General Thompson ordered the task force to move ahead cautiously. The task force may have to hold off and wait for the protection of the two American aircraft carriers heading into the area.
TF1004 has moved north from Brisbane to Rockhampton. The task force will coordinate with two others, TF1004 and TF1068, to form a force to deliver nearly 35,000 tons of supplies and over 6,000 soldiers to Port Moresby. The carriers will rest at Rockhampton. TF1068 consists of five transport ships that have spent the last 24 hours removing supplies that would be of no use at Port Moresby, and replacing it with material vital to the defense of the city. TF1004, consisting of transports that move more slowly than the aircraft carriers, is expected to arrive at Rockhampton sometime this evening. The three task forces are then expected to head north to Townsville, where they will pick up additional support ships for the task force.
TF1236, with over a dozen cargo and tanker ships under the protection of the escort carrier Long Island, is continuing to approach Townsville, Australia. Planners expect TF1236 to reach Townsville the day after TF1004. Southwest Pacific Command is considering combining the missions into one large plan to resupply Port Moresby under the cover of two fleet and one escort carrier.
Nimitz Prepares to Activate Ndimi Airbase
(TN - Noumea) Admiral Nimitz announced that preparations are in their final stage for opening up Ndimi as a major forward airbase. Ndimi already contains the staff and support equipment required to operate at least four squadrons of airplanes out of the base.
Admiral Nimitz has given orders to VMF-111 with 24 F4F fighters, VMSB-241 with 16 SBD dive bombers, and at least one squadron from the 11th Bomber Group with 21 B-17 heavy bombers, to be ready to move forward to Ndimi. Destroyers are presently escorting the cargo ship Nisqually to Ndimi with fuel and ammunition for the airplanes.
B-17 bombers operating out of Ndimi will be able to reach all but the furthest islands in the Solomon Islands chain, in particular the government center at Tulagi.
At about the same time that the Ndimi Airbase becomes operational, a task force should be landing at nearby Reef Island delivering the 1st Naval Construction Battalion. This unit will work on creating a second airbase at Reef Island to support the unit at Ndimi.
Two Other Airbases Near Completion
In the Central Pacific, construction crews have nearly completed an airbase at Laysan island, southeast of Midway. Admiral Kimmel is establishing the base as an additional line of defense in case Japan makes a move to capture Midway Island. Laysan Island will be useful as a place that Midway planes can retreat to, and can be used to stage attacks on Midway to prevent the Japanese from becoming a threat.
In the North Pacific, Allied forces are within days of completing an airstrip at Attu Island at the end of the Aleutian Island chain. Rear Admiral Theobold plans to use one island as a bomber base to stand guard against the approach of a Japanese assault, and the other as a fighter base to cover both islands.
