Are you confident that the enemy mines at Iki Shima and Tsushima have been cleared? The map doesn't show any but I don't recall a concerted effort to clear them. You will need at least one of those cleared to pass the TFs you will need for a landing on the North Coast of Japan. Also be aware that if you let the AI plot the TF paths going east and west through the Straits of Tsushima, it will normally use one hex row for east and another hex row for west. If you only have one of Iki Shima or Tsushima cleared, you have to use a waypoint at the cleared hex to ensure your TFs avoid the still-mined hex. When I first took Tsushima and tried to pass ships through, they would go eastbound through Tsushima, but westbound they routed themselves through Fusan, which had enemy mines and naval forts/CD units. [:(]
There are mines at Iki Shima. I placed them there during the initial landings. Tsushima had mines earlier in the war. A US sub hit one there. I assume there are more now. I hope to take Tsushima with more paras in the next couple of weeks. Otherwise, I'll carefully route shipping through Iki Shima, which I hope to clear sometime. If I do land further east, it won't be for awhile. At least several weeks. I want to clear Kyushu completely and build it up. A massive bombing campaign will follow. That may be enough to get a surrender.
Allied battleships bombarded Kumamoto and Kagoshima. British destroyer Rocket hit a mine. It will survive. The ship, that is. Not the mine.
P-38s swept Truk and found the same Zero unit that has been there. 6 Zeros lost for the cost of 2 P-38s.
A huge carrier fighter sweep of 191 Hellcats swept Yokohama, finding 18 Rufes, 36 Zeros and 9 J1N1-S Irvings. There were many other fighters there, mostly Zeros, and they showed up in the replay but were not engaged. Could have been in training. I wonder if they would show up that way, and not be engaged, if they were fighter units training for kamikaze. Anyhow, the CAP was far less than anticipated when the mouseover had been showing 200+ fighters there. But all didn't go as planned. The B-29s that were supposed to hit Yokohama's airfield at night didn't fly. The 100+ P-47s at Oita that were supposed to sweep Yokohama didn't fly. The carrier bombers didn't attack the enemy battleships at Yokohama due to weather. They did attack sub chasers and minesweepers to the south. B-24s did hit Yokohama's port.
Total air losses were 26 Zeros, 14 Rufes, 5 Irvings and 3 Franks for the cost of 3 Hellcats, 3 B-24Js, 2 P-38Gs and a F4U-1.
DD Hatsushima, Bomb hits 1
DD Hatakaze, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS I-179, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD Hatsuharu, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Noshiro, Bomb hits 2
PB Toko Maru #4, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Shiokaze, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
CMc Kuroshima, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CMc Ashizaki, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CMc Kurokami, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
PB Kinsyo Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, on fire
ACM Tamozono Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
DD Minekaze, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
DD Nenohi, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
PB Shinkyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
DD Hatsushima, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Kamikaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CMc Kuroshima, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
The enemy continued to get destroyed at Kumamoto.
Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 93021 troops, 1426 guns, 1610 vehicles, Assault Value = 2862
Defending force 34553 troops, 235 guns, 25 vehicles, Assault Value = 645
US subs moved to Tsushima to drop off some supply for the paratroopers there. They also started sweeping mines there.
SST Nautilus, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
SST Argonaut, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
Nautilus sank later in the day. Argonaut immediately moved to adjacent Fukuoka, a size 10 port. It will repair there.
P47s swept Hiroshima, finding 18 Irvings, 25 Georges, 43 Tonys and 49 Franks. The Thunderbolts did well, coming in very high at 35000 feet. 17 P-47D25s were lost. The enemy lost 24 Tonys, 19 Franks, 10 Georges and 8 Irvings.
Allied bombers hit Ayuthia and Bangkok, damaging the airfields. There are no enemy fighters here at the moment. This has been a quiet sector for awhile. Thought I'd stir it up a bit and see if fighters return. Allied troops are slowly advancing from the direction of Singapore. Victoria Point and the adjacent rail line base have been captured. The enemy continues to retreat towards Bangkok. Not a priority for me, but I'll advance as far as I can. Indian and Commonwealth troops lead the way here. The British were sent to China, for the most part.
First attack at Kagoshima goes ok. The enemy continues to show movement to Kagoshima from the north, but no units have arrived yet. They may, any day. I have just one division here, so no more attacks until reinforcements arrive.
Ground combat at Kagoshima (102,60)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 12796 troops, 206 guns, 287 vehicles, Assault Value = 433
Defending force 12072 troops, 132 guns, 81 vehicles, Assault Value = 134
Assaulting units:
25th Infantry Division
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
4th USMC Tank Battalion
Defending units:
64th Naval Guard Unit
63rd Construction Battalion
64th Construction Battalion
2nd Medium Mortar Battalion
36th JNAF AF Unit
20th AA Regiment
34th Ind.AA Gun Co
140th JAAF AF Bn
Kagoshima Fortress
2nd Port Unit
11th JAAF AF Bn
74th JAAF AF Bn
54th JNAF AF Unit /1
175th JAAF AF Bn
21th JNAF AF Unit
27th JAAF AF Bn /1
66th JAAF AF Bn /1
Second big attack at Nagasaki. Good progress. Fatigue and disruption are now high for the US troops, with values around 50 and 70. A few days of rest are in order, then the base may fall.
Ground combat at Nagasaki/Sasebo (102,58)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 64173 troops, 1131 guns, 925 vehicles, Assault Value = 1891
Defending force 37045 troops, 437 guns, 313 vehicles, Assault Value = 502
The enemy continues to lose huge numbers of troops at Kumamoto. US divisions are now alternating attacks, with some resting and some attacking. It's a massacre, with huge enemy losses days in a row.
Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 55513 troops, 855 guns, 1227 vehicles, Assault Value = 2739
Defending force 25094 troops, 175 guns, 16 vehicles, Assault Value = 245
With the Allied carriers sweeping Yokohama yesterday, the enemy battleships there now moved to Kobe. Allied CVs are moving to Naha for rearming. Allied CVEs are moving to near Amami Oshima to meet up with some AOs. From Kobe, the enemy BBs threaten Oita, so the 100+ P-47s there are moved back to Kurume.
B-29s will try to hit the city of Hiroshima at night. My B-29 pilots are trained to around 70 in ground bombing, but are green, with experience below 50. I'm contemplating replacing them with experienced pilots. Just not sure that the B-29s are more important than the B-24s, considering that I have bases on Kyushu now. Thinking about it. The low experience level is undoubtedly affecting the effectiveness of the B-29s, or even whether they fly at all, particularly at night.
Nice progress at Kumamoto - looks like he has no vehicles left and you knocked out half of his guns last time. Should not take long now. Any unit not heavily disrupted could continue to attack to slow down the movement to Kagoshima. As you noted earlier, their getting there will mean you have to fight them on more favourable defensive terrain.
For clarity, I will mention that Yamamoto probably should be Yokohama/Yokosuka. His BBs must have fled to Kobe at flank speed, using a lot of fuel up. That is all good right now! [:)]
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
Nice progress at Kumamoto - looks like he has no vehicles left and you knocked out half of his guns last time. Should not take long now. Any unit not heavily disrupted could continue to attack to slow down the movement to Kagoshima. As you noted earlier, their getting there will mean you have to fight them on more favourable defensive terrain.
For clarity, I will mention that Yamamoto probably should be Yokohama/Yokosuka. His BBs must have fled to Kobe at flank speed, using a lot of fuel up. That is all good right now! [:)]
Good catch! Yamamoto... It's an honor to be recognized for an such an egregious misnaming, following in the footsteps of some famous AARs from the past.
Enemy ships show up at Oita, as I thought might happen. I had pulled out the 100+ P-47s there, so no aircraft were lost. First, a task force with MTBs, SCs and an AMc appears.
MTB G-543, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
MTB G-538, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
TF 175 encounters mine field at Oita (104,59) - Coastal Guns Fire Back!
12 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
AMc Hino Maru #4, Shell hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
18th Marine Defense Battalion firing at AMc Hino Maru #4
Then the enemy task force with 6 battleships arrived. They ran into PT-219, with 2 combats taking place, but the single PT boat evaded and escaped. Then the big enemy task force found more than a few mines. There were just about 320 mines there. Best mining result I've seen in a long time.
BB Ise, Mine hits 3, heavy damage
BB Fuso, Mine hits 3, on fire
BB Nagato, Mine hits 2
BB Mutsu, Mine hits 1
DD Suzukaze, Mine hits 1
DD Yamakaze, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Samidare, Mine hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Yudachi, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Murasame, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
BB Hyuga, Mine hits 1
CL Kitakami, Mine hits 1
DD Kawakaze, Mine hits 1, heavy damage
PT-219 then engaged 3 battleships and a destroyer at night, at 2000 yards. The PT boat missed Hyuga with a torpedo, and Hyuga promptly destroyed the PT boat. These 3 battleships then bombarded, sinking the 2 ACMs in port and causing moderate base damage.
B-29s arrived in a fragmented fashion over Hiroshima at night. 5871 fires. I've decided to replace all the B-29 pilots with experienced pilots. Culling other bomber unit pilots now, with replacement to start tomorrow.
Sub Lapon sank AMc Heizan Maru just west of Truk.
I went back to Truk with P-38s to kill more Zeros, but found that Georges had arrived. Bad news for the Lightnings. 11 P-38s lost, downing 2 Zeros and 1 George. Rather see Georges at Truk than at Japan though.
Bettys from Rabaul bombed Milne Bay. Some Boomerangs there, with no CAP, so a target of opportunity. I move the C-12s to Port Moresby.
Sub Plaice sank E-boat No.12 near Oki Shoto.
Most of the enemy moved out of Kumamoto, moving south into Kagoshima. Two units didn't make it out today. Thousands more casualties. Kagoshima is now cleared of the enemy. Allied troops head south.
Ground combat at Kumamoto (102,59)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 65939 troops, 1061 guns, 1348 vehicles, Assault Value = 2772
Defending force 4503 troops, 35 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 28
Japanese ground losses:
5493 casualties reported
Squads: 188 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 300 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 16 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 39 (39 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units destroyed 2
Assaulting units:
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
3rd Marine Division
5th USMC Tank Battalion
6th Infantry Division
40th Infantry Division
1st USMC Tank Battalion
193rd Tank Battalion
18th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
43rd Infantry Division
2nd Marine Division
1st Marine Division
33rd Infantry Division
754th Tank Battalion
110th Cmbt Engineer Battalion
34th Cmbt Engineer Regiment
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
2/5th Armoured Regiment
147th Field Artillery Battalion
225th Field Artillery Battalion
223rd Field Artillery Battalion
1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion
I US Corps
2/533rd Boat&Shore Engineer Battalion
V Amphib Corps
4th AmphTrac Engineer Battalion
III Amphib Corps
602nd Field Artillery Battalion
601st Field Artillery Battalion
249th Field Artillery Battalion
57th Aus Lt AA Regiment
Defending units:
6th Depot Division
Waifu JAAF Base Force
A US tank destroyer battalion was inadvertently left with orders to continue the attack at Nagasaki, while the rest of the army rested. It took heavy losses. The rest will be ready to attack again in a day or two.
I could put more mines at Oita, but after today's many mine hits on Japanese battleships, I don't think they'll come back. I'll save the mines in case I need to do another landing next month.
Sallys bombed Fukuoka's port at night. They were going after a handful of ships in port. The sub Nautilus is there too, repairing. Just some scratches to the port itself, easily repaired by the end of the day. Night fighters are moved here.
Blackfish sank sub chaser CHa-25 near Nagoya.
Light cruisers Hobart, De Ruyter and Sumatra bombarded Tokara Retto, a bypassed island southwest of Kyushu. 2 vehicles were hit. I wonder if everything that could be picked up by sub or aircraft has left the island, since all that was hit was vehicles.
I don't mention it, but the big British cruiser force has continued to bombard Canton every night. No flak is noted any longer. I think supply has finally run out. Too bad that the Chinese took huge disablements in their attack a couple of weeks ago.
OPilot is resorting to bombing places that show no Allied fighters. Places that don't matter, but are easy targets. The war is almost over, and there isn't much the Japanese can really do about it. 32 Frances bombed Ternate. 27 Peggys bombed Kanhsien. 27 Peggys bombed Changteh.
27 Helens bombed Tanegashima. I should have had fighters there. It's a size 4 airfield just south of Kyushu, and I'm basing recon and search aircraft there. A couple of planes were destroyed.
A first attack at Kanoya shows that one division may not be enough with the defensible terrain. Forts were reduced, and the odds weren't bad, but casualties were in favor of the Japanese.
Ground combat at Kanoya (102,61)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 11837 troops, 202 guns, 135 vehicles, Assault Value = 346
Defending force 5948 troops, 46 guns, 29 vehicles, Assault Value = 66
Defending units:
16th Naval Guard Unit
72nd Air Flotilla
57th Construction Battalion
23rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Kanoya JNAF Base Force
64th JNAF AF Unit /1
Nagasaki will be attacked today. Many carrier and escort carrier task forces will move in range of Tshushima and hit the ground units there. There had been just the big fortress unit there when I dropped paras. Now there are 2 units there, and the enemy troop strength is increasing by about 100 troops per day. Subs are spotted there every day. He's reinforcing. I'm bombing it today and dropping the rest of the para unit today. Rolling the dice. If I take it good. If not, I'll sit there and wait. Not a priority, as I have a naval path through the area now.
You might want to toss in another para battalion or two if you have the troops and C-47s handy. I usually drop 11th Airborne on Tsushima (which probably doesn't come until later).
You might want to toss in another para battalion or two if you have the troops and C-47s handy. I usually drop 11th Airborne on Tsushima (which probably doesn't come until later).
Cheers,
CB
The 11th Airborne recently left San Francisco. The half-of-a-regiment that I dropped on Tsushima is the biggest non-Indian para unit that I have. My limiting factor was that the regiment, and 2 smaller Australian para units, were on Amami Oshima, which is just a size 4 airfield and could use more air HQ support. I was limited in how many C-47s I could fly at once.
You might want to toss in another para battalion or two if you have the troops and C-47s handy. I usually drop 11th Airborne on Tsushima (which probably doesn't come until later).
Cheers,
CB
The 11th Airborne recently left San Francisco. The half-of-a-regiment that I dropped on Tsushima is the biggest non-Indian para unit that I have. My limiting factor was that the regiment, and 2 smaller Australian para units, were on Amami Oshima, which is just a size 4 airfield and could use more air HQ support. I was limited in how many C-47s I could fly at once.
For a one-time operation you can overstack and have more aircraft than air support. It just means some un-coordination of the arrivals at the drop site and maintenance getting backlogged when the aircraft return. Easily fixed by flying the excess aircraft out after the op.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
You might want to toss in another para battalion or two if you have the troops and C-47s handy. I usually drop 11th Airborne on Tsushima (which probably doesn't come until later).
Cheers,
CB
The 11th Airborne recently left San Francisco. The half-of-a-regiment that I dropped on Tsushima is the biggest non-Indian para unit that I have. My limiting factor was that the regiment, and 2 smaller Australian para units, were on Amami Oshima, which is just a size 4 airfield and could use more air HQ support. I was limited in how many C-47s I could fly at once.
For a one-time operation you can overstack and have more aircraft than air support. It just means some un-coordination of the arrivals at the drop site and maintenance getting backlogged when the aircraft return. Easily fixed by flying the excess aircraft out after the op.
Not worried about the maintenance. Just worried about the overstacking. When I'm dropping paras, I want to know how many will drop. And that they will drop, without a doubt.
The 11th Airborne recently left San Francisco. The half-of-a-regiment that I dropped on Tsushima is the biggest non-Indian para unit that I have. My limiting factor was that the regiment, and 2 smaller Australian para units, were on Amami Oshima, which is just a size 4 airfield and could use more air HQ support. I was limited in how many C-47s I could fly at once.
For a one-time operation you can overstack and have more aircraft than air support. It just means some un-coordination of the arrivals at the drop site and maintenance getting backlogged when the aircraft return. Easily fixed by flying the excess aircraft out after the op.
Not worried about the maintenance. Just worried about the overstacking. When I'm dropping paras, I want to know how many will drop. And that they will drop, without a doubt.
Hmmm - I have never observed that overstacking completely obviates any units from flying, but then I haven't done it that much. I did one drop on Paramushiro Jima from three of the Kurile islands, all overstacked with transports. I was surprised how much of the para units was left behind, but the four units dropped (three Marine paras, one Aussie Commando/Para unit) had a lot of AV and easily took the island. There were no units that did not fly and no ops losses.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
Battleship West Virginia was the surviving battleship of the US task force of 3 battleships that tangled with 6 enemy battleships at Oita. It made it back to Manila for some minor repairs. I decided to send it back to Singapore for major repairs. It was a risk, particularly with damage at SYS 65/FLOT 5-5/ENG 33-0/FIRE 0.
Sub attack near Jolo at 72,87
Japanese Ships
SS RO-37, hits 12, heavy damage
Allied Ships
BB West Virginia, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
DE Harold C. Thomas
SS RO-37 launches 4 torpedoes at BB West Virginia
DE Harold C. Thomas attacking submerged sub ....
DE Harold C. Thomas fails to find sub, continues to search...
DE Harold C. Thomas attacking submerged sub ....
Debris floats to surface in area of attack!
West Virginia is now SYS 89/FLOT 45-30/ENG 35-0/FIRE 17, and is 3 hexes northwest of Jolo. Jolo is a size 4 port. Travel time to Jolo is 1 or 2 days, probably 2, at cruise speed. It could make it there in 1 day at full speed, but I don't like the odds of that working out. As it is, I give it a 50-50 chance to make it to port. If the fire gets out of hand, it may not matter if it makes it that far or not.
P-47s swept Tsushima, again finding Franks and Jacks, but this time, it was almost like the enemy wasn't the same as before. The Thunderbolts shot down 18 Franks and 14 Jacks, for the loss of just 3 of their own. It's possible that the enemy has been on LRCAP over Tsushima since I had dropped paras, and they got tired out.
B-24s hit the airfield and port, sinking an ACM there. Every naval bomber on my carriers and escort carriers was ordered to hit the ground troops on Tsushima, but none flew. Bad weather over the carriers.
Most of the rest of the 503rd Parachute Regiment dropped, supporting those already there which also shock attacked. We discovered that the enemy 3rd Raiding Regiment had recently been brought in.
Ground combat at Tsushima (103,56)
Allied Shock attack
Attacking force 1271 troops, 12 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 74
Defending force 2763 troops, 37 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 76
Tsushima isn't that important, but now it's important to me. 6 slow US battleships will bombard, braving the big guns of Tsushima. C-47s will drop supply which the paras need. P-47s will again sweep. Carrier naval bombers keep their orders to hit enemy ground troops on Tsushima. 3 units at Manila that had been prepping for Tsushima but weren't going to be used, will now be used. They will board APAs and also take their chances against the big guns. I hope to have worn down the fortress unit by the time they get there from Manila. For now, I'll try to keep the paras alive.
Another US attack at Nagasaki. Some US divisions rest, others attack, then they alternate. The base should fall today.
Ground combat at Nagasaki/Sasebo (102,58)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 39492 troops, 659 guns, 614 vehicles, Assault Value = 2307
Defending force 34859 troops, 419 guns, 317 vehicles, Assault Value = 321
Assaulting units:
193rd Tank Battalion
3rd Arm Amphib Battalion
93rd Infantry Division
4th Marine Division
41st Infantry Division
819th Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion
2nd Arm Amphib Battalion
102nd Cmbt Engineer Regiment
Americal Infantry Division
31st Infantry Division
37th Infantry Division
640th Tank Destroyer Battalion
XI US Corps
205th Field Artillery Battalion
154th Field Artillery Battalion
97th Field Artillery Battalion
98th Field Artillery Battalion
Defending units:
Sasebo 3rd SNLF
62nd Naval Guard Unit
9th Tank Regiment
57th Division
Sasebo 6th SNLF
Nagasaki Fortress
208th Ship Eng Coy
Sasebo Naval Fortress
21st Medium Field Artillery Battalion
12th RF Gun Battalion
25th Air Defense AA Regiment
18th Ship Engineer Regiment
61st Air Flotilla
29th JNAF AF Unit
21st Ind.AA Gun Co
206th Ship Eng Coy
15th Ship Engineer Regiment
Kogetsu JAAF Base Force
306th Ship Eng Coy
23rd Field Construction Battalion
21st Air Defense AA Regiment
21st Air Defense AA Battalion
Western Army
63rd JNAF AF Unit
16th Ship Engineer Regiment
106th Ship Eng Coy
1st Mortar Regiment
3rd FF Const Unit
7th Port Unit
109th Ship Eng Coy
309th Ship Eng Coy
6th Ship Engineer Regiment
308th Ship Eng Coy
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
108th Ship Eng Coy
Sasebo Naval Base Force
209th Ship Eng Coy
188th JAAF AF Bn /1
It was a rotten day for the good guys. Battleship West Virginia, damaged by the fight at Oita awhile back, and recently torpedoed northwest of Jolo, on the way to Singapore, did make it the three hexes to Jolo but sank during the turn.
xAKL Hatsu Maru hit a mine south of Yokohama. I'm surprised the mines are still there.
A British task force went to Tsushima to bombard. They did, but with poor results. The big US task force with 6 slow battleships pulled up short and didn't arrive. Probably a good thing.
TF 690 encounters mine field at Tsushima (103,56)
Allied Ships
BB Queen Elizabeth, Mine hits 1
BB Valiant, Mine hits 1
CL Caradoc, Mine hits 1
CL Ceylon, Mine hits 1
DD Penn, Mine hits 1, on fire
DD Quickmatch, Mine hits 1, on fire
Caradoc was then hit by a torpedo from I-53 at Tsushima. The battleships were barely scratched, with SYS damage of 3 and 4. Caradoc is SYS 27/FLOT 64-59/ENG 13-8/FIRE 0. Quickmatch is SYS 34/FLOT 32-29/ENG 6-5/FIRE 0. Penn is SYS 16/FLOT 22-22/ENG 0/FIRE 0. All ships made it safely to the size 10 port at Fukuoka, just one hex from Tsushima.
P-47s swept Tsushima, but there was no enemy LRCAP. B-24s hit the airfield and the port, doing minor damage. Poor weather. Hundreds and hundreds of naval bombers from the carriers hit the troops on Tsushima, but the results were very poor. In one strike, 350 bombers caused 29 casualties. The weather was a factor. The fortress unit is difficult to hit, and the terrain is woods. As it turned out, the enemy ground troops did not attack. C-47s flew in adequate supply for the paras, who should be able to hold out now. A further increase of enemy troops is noted, with a sub there. I've had LRCAP over the base, so the troops aren't flying in.
Good results at Nagoya during the night. B-29s hit the city. Mouse-over shows damage of 14 HI and 23 LI, and possibly some aircraft factory damage. Terrible results at Nagoya during the day. Many B-25s attacked the port but ran into 38 Franks. The P-38s swept the base, but after all the B-25s had arrived, and by that point, there were no Franks still flying. 44 B-25s were shot down. They downed 12 Franks. An ACM was sunk in port, but nothing else. The enemy battleships apparently did not disband into port, but continued on to Yokohama. The B-25 pilots had just been replaced before the mission with low experience but adequately trained in ground bombing pilots. The experienced pilots were sent to the B-29s.
Better news on Kyushu. Kagoshima and Nagasaki are both close to being captured.
Ground combat at Kagoshima (102,60)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 43366 troops, 755 guns, 1139 vehicles, Assault Value = 1431
Defending force 23672 troops, 219 guns, 99 vehicles, Assault Value = 141
Mississippi was damaged at Namlea, hit by 3 torpedoes dropped by Bettys, on 7 Nov 43. It made its way to Sydney, and has been repairing in a large ARD for months. Cpt Rockwell W. Torrey has been sidelined from the war all this time, stuck in Sydney. Torrey was recovering from a fluke injury to his hand when the wheel spun wildly out of control during the attack. Some say that a Zero's bullet hit the wheel, but no fighters were spotted at Namlea. Regardless, it's been all nurses and no enemy for Torrey in Australia.
Will he get into the fight before the war is over?
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Battleship Hiei and 3 cruisers were spotted just west of Ominato. Now we have at least one enemy battleship on the "north" side of Japan. The fight at Tsushima is probably drawing the attention. US big carriers will move just NW of Tsushima, to have a chance at hitting the enemy before it gets to Tsushima. B-24s will mine Tsushima at night. This will keep me from invading by sea for awhile, but it may also keep the enemy battleships away. I'll settle for a stalemate on the island.
Sub Pintado spotted an E boat in a separate task force in the same hex as Hiei. Pintado missed E Chiburi with 2 torpedoes, but later in the night, Pintado attacked again and sank Chiburi. Pintado sank another E boat just yesterday in the same area.
B-29s went back to Nagoya for a second night in a row. This is the first time that I did not rest extensively after a raid. They did good work. Mouse-over suggests another 16 HI damaged and an additional 78 LI damaged.
B-24s hit Tsushima, but the carrier bombers did not fly. Their orders remain, with naval strike primary and ground strike at Tsushima secondary. Range is limited to 4 today, to avoid going to Hiroshima.
Progress at Kagoshima and Nagasaki. Capture is near. Divisions continue to cycle in and out of the attack at Nagasaki. The 2 divisions that just attacked are now badly fatigued and disrupted, and will need almost a week of rest to recover. It's up to the other divisions to take Nagasaki now, or we'll have to rest for awhile.
Ground combat at Kagoshima (102,60)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 42522 troops, 751 guns, 1127 vehicles, Assault Value = 1387
Defending force 22244 troops, 224 guns, 103 vehicles, Assault Value = 90
