43 - The Mouse bites back. Rob vs Littlejoe 43+

[aztez]

I would put those 3 divisions in use as soon as possible. You are gaining upperhand in Thailand and Malaya so just make the most of it! [;)]

..hopefully you wohn't get screwed by ZOC movement as I did againts FDR.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Thanks for your patience, we had a bit of a turn sending blip .. over now ..

Aztez- 1 spare div in rangoon 2 in chandpur, not 100% sure i need them in sumatra or even
if they'll make a differance in burma (now frontally anyway). prepping for tavoy at 30-40%.

VSWG- picyures paint 1000 words as it is said .. so :- sabang troops

[Rob Brennan UK]

Kuala troops :-

As you can see i dont have much over here at all, medan had 2 brigade size forces
besieging with one arty unit and another brigade 16 miles away .. todays attack was
pathetic , very disapointing.

anyhoo Kuala reserves , heavy on arty 2 prepping for medan 2 more for the one next south.
Looks like i'll need to invade medan from the sea , meanwhile I'm sailing for sabang with
an american para regiment , indian paras in madras awaiting transport (tomorrow).

anyway piccie .. need any more info ? i'll be happy to comply .

[Rob Brennan UK]

OK back to the combat report :-

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/06/43

Just to clarify how much churchill hates me i have -1500 political points.
It'll be some time before i can do anything with restricted command troops
or even change unit commanders (which i like tinkering with).

Japan has changed the target for some night attack nicks to rangoon , for all the good
it did him. flying from moulmein may prove a mistake as the bombers got new targets
for tomorrow.

Night Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,34

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 2 damaged

Meanwhile we shot 2 more down over Sabang, wonder if this is getting him decent intel ?

Night Air attack on Sabang , at 19,41

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 18

Allied aircraft
Beaufighter VIF x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 2 destroyed, 14 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufighter VIF: 2 damaged

Chinese AF now concentrated at wuuchow pick away at japanese resources in china


Day Air attack on Canton , at 43,41


Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 30
B-25J Mitchell x 76


Allied aircraft losses
B-25J Mitchell: 2 damaged

Resources hits 7

Noticed japanese held resources undamaged in malaya, sent the bombers out to finish it off.
The results were even less accurate than 42 british night bombing, looks like we never even
got close to 20 miles near the target, F5's and cats to do better recon before we go back
again.

Day Air attack on Bandou , at 25,41


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 27
P-40N Warhawk x 72
F-5A Lightning x 5
B-25J Mitchell x 116
B-17E Fortress x 53

NIL _MISSED COMPLETELY

Missed the following day too.

the usual allied bombing missions ran as per usual with this one being the most succesful.
Target is the retreated div hiding in buna , this unit must be a real mess. bombers from Gili
are stopping japan from building any forts here and with this head count the forts dont appear
to be very high at all.

Day Air attack on 56th Division, at 55,90


Allied aircraft
SBD Dauntless x 32
Hudson I x 7
Beaufort V-IX x 13
P-40E Warhawk x 36
A-20G Havoc x 8
B-25J Mitchell x 117


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
279 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

This next event was a real fly in the ointment type japanese attack. bombed the indians
just as they attacked Medan, definately contributing to the failed attack. Note the lack of
LR CAP on my part (to prevent transports) my a/c had morale and fatigue issues and had to be
relieved and medan is out of spitfire range from kuala. This is why i need medan as an air strip.
Basically the same logic applies to the SW Pacific. IE not enough bases to do anything well.

Day Air attack on 23rd Indian Division, at 20,45

Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 89
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 19

Allied aircraft
Spitfire Vb x 1

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 1 destroyed



Allied ground losses:
194 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

However the wisdom of hiding the barracuda bombers in kuala was finally rewarded today.
I had hoped to catch IJN survace vessels coming to the aid of medan. However 2 Minelayers
is a very valuable kill. ( one confirmed sunk as 2nd wave hit her 3 more times).

Day Air attack on TF at 22,48


Allied aircraft
Barracuda x 11
P-40N Warhawk x 8


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
ML Kamome
ML Hirashima, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
ML Natsushima, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

OK the medan assault :-

Ground combat at Medan

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16750 troops, 155 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 309

Defending force 7825 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 123

Allied max assault: 229 - adjusted assault: 170

Japanese max defense: 83 - adjusted defense: 211

Allied assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 0)


Japanese ground losses:
109 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
197 casualties reported
Guns lost 11

casualties are ok but that bomber attack mucked up the AV horrendously.

To finalise whats happening in SEAC, the RN heavies are moving down to Kuala while
the CV'(s) escort the paras to sabang. the 64 unit of dakotas i'd earmarked for para
assault decided to auto upgrade to commandos (useful but the timing sucked). When the
time to attack comes I'll need to evacuate the bombers from sabang to allow room for the
transports. also large P38 unit in andaman is upgrading to P38J's for even greater range .
Still have a unit of Mohawks back in chandpur that need Thunderbolt 2's after that i believe
all useless a/c will have been upgraded at long last. side note being the new F6 ? Recon planes,
finally got enough to upgrade my elite recons in Luganville and the spare F5's went to the last
dutch FK51 unit rusting away in Perth. Finally have recon for N australia now. However ALL dutch
recon have replacements turned off as i am not wasting valuable recon planes with useless
dutch semi trained chimps at the controls [;)]


Over in the solomons Rennel island is just too small to cover everything i need covering. the B25's
arent enough to hurt japanese airfields and not enough fighters for LR cap means that japan
is getting leakers into my transports.

e.g

Day Air attack on TF, near Tassafaronga at 66,97

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 38
G4M1 Betty x 14

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 6

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 5 destroyed
G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed, 11 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied Ships
LST LST-451
AK Barbara Olson
AK Tuscana
AK Zebra, Torpedo hits 1, on fire


Allied ground losses:
32 casualties reported AMERICAL DIV ..

Oh well tiem to specialise here for a bit .. B25's and torps planes to be shipped out and
LR 38J's flown in from noumea as this is now to be a fighter base untill i get tass built or
miracle of miracles take Lugna. Speaking of which the troops moving toward lunga ar all over
the place now , intead of following the slow aussie tanks 2 of the inf units are ahead by a
considerable margin, i just hope that Japan cant bounce me out as i arrive peacemeal.
BB's will shell lunga again (2 fleets) next turn. they are going in at full speed so as
to be back to rennel come dawn as they ont have LR CAP covering them for tomorrow.
AV's (3) now in Rennel so the Catalinas dont draw on renells limited a/c capacity.

Up in PH the american Cv's have mostly arrived so next turn or so i'll do a show and tell
on the wake island operation , More US CV's than i'd originally counted and the 1st use of
an AGC (amphibious command post) should in theory make it easier.

Heres the overall losses screen , I am pleased with the japanese land losses so far, almost
upto the mass surrenders in manilla and singapore, these ground missions must be doing something
right and of course japanes abortive attu attempt upped the count quite a bit too.

hopefully get thigs going quicker next week as Joe is on holiday all week [:D]

[Rob Brennan UK]

Overall past 2 days best described as bad ones for IJN DD's

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/08/43

Allied DD's on fast transport to get a combat element to woodlark is. were
jumped by 6 japanese DD's .. they even suprised us but thier long lances
seemed to be modelled on early war USN Torps .. whereas the allied ones
worked .

Special commendation to Strong who got both torpedo hits, and really suffered
the hail of shellfire only to return to gili gili to fight again (although much
later).

Night Time Surface Combat, near Woodlark Island at 59,94

Japanese Ships
DD Kazegumo, Shell hits 2
DD Asagumo, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Shigure, Shell hits 5, on fire
DD Oboro, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Matsukaze
DD Wakatake, Shell hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hayabusa, Shell hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
DD Aulick, Shell hits 7, on fire
DD Dashiell
DD Strong, Shell hits 14, on fire


Allied ground losses:
56 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Annoyingly the troops carried were brought back to GG and not dropped off as the
TF changed mission to surface combat, all 3 DD's shuld survive though.

The same can't be said for the japanese as 2 were caught by allied air power
trying to retire:-


Day Air attack on TF at 59,93


Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 30
SBD Dauntless x 55
TBM Avenger x 16
Avenger II x 7
Beaufighter Mk 21 x 7
Beaufort V-IX x 23


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
DD Wakatake, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
DD Asagumo, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage SUNK

The others made it back to Rabaul but i what condition i know not.

As for other DD's .. chinese bombed Pascadores with good results
although the cost in fighters was high :-

Day Air attack on Pescadores , at 47,43

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 36

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 83
B-25J Mitchell x 67

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 18 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40N Warhawk: 20 destroyed, 5 damaged
B-25J Mitchell: 3 destroyed, 11 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Tomozuru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
DD Chidori, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hatsukari, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Port fuel hits 2

day 2 :-

Day Air attack on Pescadores , at 47,43

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 22

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 62
B-25J Mitchell x 56

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 16 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-40N Warhawk: 6 destroyed, 2 damaged
B-25J Mitchell: 3 destroyed, 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Hatsukari, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
MSW Banshu Maru #52, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
PC Ch 17, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD Chidori, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
PC Ch 16, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Hayo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
37 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

Thats a good result by anyones standard i suspect a few more will succumb to wounds too.
CL Katori <sp> also sank from wounds at green island in the N solomons.

SS shad decided to whittle down the jap ASW in south borneo [:D]

Sub attack near Balikpapan at 31,64

Japanese Ships
PG Hayakafuku Maru, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
MSW Tomozono Maru #3
MSW W.3

Allied Ships
SS Shad

Sub attack near Balikpapan at 31,64

Japanese Ships
MSW Tomozono Maru #3, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
MSW W.3

Allied Ships
SS Shad

Good hunting !

Day 2 PM .. Port Moresby scouts report japanese transports heading to Lae so the commander
sent out all he had left to fight .. the Jugs on Naval attack to stop barges found bigger
prey:-


Day Air attack on TF at 55,88


Allied aircraft
P-47C Thunderbolt x 71


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Tsuruha Maru, Shell hits 20, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Yamatsuru Maru, Shell hits 16, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Ogashima, Shell hits 4
AK Noshiro Maru, Shell hits 8
AK Mito Maru, Shell hits 12, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Bisan Maru, Shell hits 4
AK Kaimei Maru, Shell hits 8, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Yasushima Maru, Shell hits 20
AK Kenan Maru, Shell hits 4, Bomb hits 1

No idea how much actual damage resulted so i've re set the 120 B25's to naval attack
for the next turn ,, hehe. should be a slaughter as Lae AF is completely closed.

Only other event of note is japan trying to break the chinese deadlock at Yenen ..



Ground combat at Yenen

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 503502 troops, 4919 guns, 854 vehicles, Assault Value = 9780

Defending force 143756 troops, 871 guns, 76 vehicles, Assault Value = 4355

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 8

Japanese max assault: 9889 - adjusted assault: 3811

Allied max defense: 4545 - adjusted defense: 12981

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 8)


Japanese ground losses:
11903 casualties reported
Guns lost 650
Vehicles lost 31

Allied ground losses:
2464 casualties reported
Guns lost 60
Vehicles lost 1

No worries here, by the time he recovers I'll have rebuilt the forts easily enough. given the
AV differance i'm suprised he's even bothering .

ok thats it ,, piccie from SW PAC naval engagement ..

[VSWG]

Have you considered shock attacks at Medan? Together with heavy air attacks (be sure to wait for good weather) and a strong naval bombardment this should do the trick.

You will go for the remaining small bases on Sumatra after that? Bankha, and maybe the small bases on the western side? This would clear the flank for a large invasion of Java from India.

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: VSWG

Have you considered shock attacks at Medan? Together with heavy air attacks (be sure to wait for good weather) and a strong naval bombardment this should do the trick.

You will go for the remaining small bases on Sumatra after that? Bankha, and maybe the small bases on the western side? This would clear the flank for a large invasion of Java from India.

I actually hadnt considered a shock attack to be honest, are they better than deliberate ? anyhoo the RN has moved to Kuala for just such a bombardment next turn ( had to refuel). I'll set one soon but i'd like to snatch the next base down with paras 1st before he flys in men ( i don't think he's considered allied Paras being used here). I do have units prepping for the south and west sumatran bases (small units mind you) and several for palembang too, as I would invade overland to get it.
the yankee paras are 100% for palembang so IF its lightly defended might be worth a rush attack.

With only CV Victorious and CVL Hermes i cant really invade west/south sumatra unless the weather gods are on my side. The rest of the UK CV's are passing by Java as we speak ,along with 3 US CVL's for extra fighter cover. Its a nice 'small' theatre so redeploying is quick compared to the pacific
and i should have decent CV coverage in about 10 days. With 3 divs in reserve (and prepping for Tavoy) i could easily pull them out and send them to sumatra) no point sending them into the grinder
in burma. I could easily pull a few divs back from there if needed as getting back to rangoon takes
about 4-6 days.

I am 1/2 tempted to stop where i am in burma and just leave a strong blocking force freeing up
lots of men for an amphib op on the coast of malaya/thailand. very short hop from sumatra to malaya
once i have better/more airfields on sumatra. Meanwhile using the heavy and medium bombers to
flatten any and all japanese resources and possibly HI. BUT i have mostly left the HI alone as it
sucks up the resources which i have wounded in theatre. with hind sight it might have made more
sense to kill off the heavy industry 1st but i wanted the free supplies out of the way as that might well cause some shortage in theatre. and with the south china sea flooded with subs and the chinese
bombers mostly on naval attack he's unlikey to send convoys from japan to here directly because
of the risk.

FYI i have 9 US CV's for the wake operation backed up by the re-supply CVE's , the 'real' CVE's escorting a convoy to gili gili and hopefully spoofing the japanese into keeping KB in Truk for
now. No idea where that beast is right now unfortunately and wake is a pile of rubble losing
about 15% of supply each day too as well as sporadic ground attacks to soften the defenders as
well as many port attacks to try and cripple any CD guns there. the place has been bombed for months
now [:D].

any attacks on the kuriles will have to wait for spring 44 (april ?) to avoid the awful winter invasion rules.

thaks for your comments too

turn later i hope , rugby 1st [:D] go ireland go .. beat the Fr**s [;)]

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/12/43

Ok not much happened this turn , so time for the plan for Wake;-

25th USA Div on 39 LCI
112th USA Cav div on 4AP's +LSD
43rd and 6th Inf Divs on 90 AK's (7000 size)
supply on 20 4.5 AK's
also along on 24 AK's :- 144th Arty regiment
1st USMC AMphib tank btn
193rd USA Tank Btn
250th CD gun Btn ( for defence)
3 Seebees
3 EAB's
133rd Aviation regiment (size 270)
Vth Amphib corps HQ on AGC + 4 DD Escort


Thats all i could fit in the avail transports and also trying to maximise the off load speed
for the infantry at least.

Covering are :-

TF's

CV Hornet + Lexington
CV Enterprise + Hornet
CV Saratoga + Intrepid
CV Wasp + Essex
3 CVL's
CVE Corregidor + CVE Long island [:'(]

All heavy carrier groups have fast BB and 2 CA + 2CL's + misc DD's

BB's Arizona + Penyslvania + California are to be swopped into the landing groups to draw
CD defensive gunfire. noth that i have no dedicated BB Bombardment TF's but i can and will
have a CA Based SC TF to cover the landings. Bombardment groups could be made up from the
escorting BB's but i'd prefer to have them defensively covering the CV's untill i know where
the japanese CV's are. Also note that only the fleet CV's have hellcats , Cls' and CVE's using
a mix of FM-2 and F4F's .

Replenishment TF have 5 CVE's along with 4 AO's .. forgot to send any AE's but as they don't
work till 45 , not really a problem [;)]

tomorrow the paras arrive in sabang and transports have been flown in ( 75 ish commandos)

All ships to rendesvous at midway for final refualling and to re-check the orders.
I'm also stuck with the computer generated Commanders for the air TF's as no PP's [:@]



Actually of note today was the beginning of the end for Medan :-

Naval bombardment of Medan, at 20,45 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

5 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
CL Achilles
CL Java, Shell hits 1
CL Sumatra
CL Enterprise
DD Express
DD Le Triomphant
CLAA Ceres
CLAA Capetown
DD Grayson
CL Leander
CA Exeter
CA Devonshire
CA Sussex
BB Ramilles
BB Valiant

Japanese ground losses:
403 casualties reported
Guns lost 11
Vehicles lost 1

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 24
Port hits 10
Port supply hits 8

BOOM

Ground combat at Medan

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 644 troops, 24 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 295

Defending force 6877 troops, 8 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 117


Japanese ground losses:
22 casualties reported

OK Now past 2-1 .. after i have para'd (is that a verb?)..the base south time to grab medan.

also ready at sabang is a canadian Bde ready to fly in to any captured bases, also about to
land at sabang is an INF Div which can be flown in too if japan does an agressive counterattack.

Next turn (actually the turn after) should be fun in sumatra.

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

I actually hadnt considered a shock attack to be honest, are they better than deliberate ?

You've never used shock attacks so far?

Your assault value will be doubled using shock attacks, so your (unadjusted) AV at Medan would be 590 instead of 295. However, defensive fire is also doubled, so you will have higher casualties even if you succeed. A failed shock attack results in A LOT of casualties, high disruption and a very low morale.

I am 1/2 tempted to stop where i am in burma and just leave a strong blocking force freeing up
lots of men for an amphib op on the coast of malaya/thailand. very short hop from sumatra to malaya
once i have better/more airfields on sumatra. Meanwhile using the heavy and medium bombers to
flatten any and all japanese resources and possibly HI.

Sounds good, you would avoid 'trench warfare' on the mainland, instead you can manouver off the coast. More flexibility for you... Regarding overland attacks on Sumatra: OK along roads, but I suggest avoiding them at all cost along trails, even if it is only a single hex. March a LCU in an area with malaria along a trail, and it will arrive in a really bad shape. Better to suffer the disruption of a naval landing IMO.

[aztez]

Good luck with the Wake Island operation! [&o]

I have learned the hard way how hard it can be to capture! [:(] ...Do you have reserve infantry units just in case you bogged down in the ground combat?

..and what do the latest intel reports reveale about Wake?

As ever good luck! [;)]

[KDonovan]

Hi Rob,

good luck on your Wake operation. Just finished taking Wake in my PBEM a couple months ago (against 600AV points and level 9 forts). Toughest thing was dealing with the 2 day turns and shock attack rules. If your sure you can land everything on day 1 of the turn, i would park that invasion TF one hex off of Wake Is and proceed from with the invasion from there. If you can't get everything off your boats, any remaing combat units will shock attack for a second time on the 2nd day, which will be devastating for you. In which case its best to estimate the arrival of your invasion TF on the 2nd day of the two day turn.

[Rob Brennan UK]

VSWG- i never knew shock doubled the attack value and i've been playing for years [8|]. no emoticon for being dumb unless

ME


OK Medan should easily fall to a shock attack as no forts present .. attack will be set for next turn .

I discovered the hard way about trails with the medan attack, hence the para attack on [&:], can't for the life of me remember that base name. aftre that i'm going to avoid trails like the plague. Well apart from the attack on Buna in south New Guinea ( i'm already comitted in the middle of the Owen Stanly mountain range, but i will send in supply via the sea once they arrive as i suspect that overland supply won't be enough for one aussie div,2 tank brigades and an independant artillery regiment which iirc are about 1/2 way to buna now ).

Aztez - I'm using every transport i can find from the North, Central and South Pacific and it still does not seem like enough , I'm also out numbered by a full KB too , worrying about this now as i 'could' lose a lot of shipping , already checked every CV's air group status and orders, mostly set for 60-80% CAP (esp the CVL's). however there is another large transport group about 4 days out from PH which will load up extra troops for a 2'nd wave, I'm toying with delaying untill i get this loaded BUT according to recon only 8000 japanese on wake, BUT last 2 turns ive spotted merchant shipping unloading at Wake, attacks from PB4Y's didnt cause any troop losses but the subs have been way too quiet. Wake damage is 90%+ on both port and airfield lots of port attacks have been done over the past 3 months , doing more ground attack missions and nothing larger than an SNFL has been hit so far. Based on that i should take wake easily , maybe a bit too easily and its a planned japanese ambush ? planes at PH for transfer to wake once its in allied hands (midway is full of Long range bombers right now).. P47's are the main ones to be flown in along with back up F4's and P40's.

No turn today (booo),, must send Joe a rude e-mail [;)]

thanks for the replies chaps

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/14/43

Bad day for the SS Batfish patrolling off marcus island , 1st allied sub sunk for quite a long
while, SS Unpronounceable did get a measure of revenge however.

ASW attack near Marcus Island at 75,56

Japanese Ships
PC Wakamiya
PC Mutsure
PC Tsushima
DD Shiokaze

Allied Ships
SS Batfish, hits 7, on fire, heavy damage SUNK

Sub attack near Marcus Island at 75,56

Japanese Ships
PC Mutsure, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
PC Wakamiya
PC Tsushima
DD Shiokaze

Allied Ships
SS Muskallunge, hits 1, on fire


Shame we didnt hit the Tsushima as she was the one who sunk the Batfish,Chinese bombers targetted a
lot of japanese AK's over the 2 days, enemy fighters at haiphong however killed a lot of
brave japanese pilots however, though they didnt disrupt the bombing runs that crippled a lot
of japanese merchantmen. Were they collecting resources ? i suspect so.

heres all the chinese attacks, as you can see several AK's sunk and many damaged.


Day Air attack on TF at 38,40


Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 65
B-25J Mitchell x 16


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Tenshin, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage SUNK
AK Norway Maru

Day Air attack on TF, near Haiphong at 37,38

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 14

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 58
B-25J Mitchell x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40N Warhawk: 6 destroyed, 4 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Bandoeng Maru
AK Jinju Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Cheribon Maru
AK Eikyo Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Tsukubasan Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage

Day Air attack on TF, near Kiungahan at 39,41


Allied aircraft
B-25J Mitchell x 3


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Norway Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Day Air attack on TF at 38,39


Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 8
B-25J Mitchell x 4


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Tsukubasan Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage SUNK

Aircraft Attacking:
4 x B-25J Mitchell bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Haiphong at 37,38

Japanese aircraft
A6M3 Zero x 12

Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 41
B-25J Mitchell x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3 Zero: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40N Warhawk: 7 destroyed

Japanese Ships
AK Kagu Maru
AK Shiga Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Genoa Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK England Maru
AK Hokko Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Meanwhile in PNG , looks like japan sent in some fighters to Lae and Buna , lord knows why as they
got slaughtered on the ground [&:]

Day Air attack on Lae , at 54,87

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 28
F-5A Lightning x 3
B-17E Fortress x 30
B-24D Liberator x 66

Japanese aircraft losses
MC-21 Sally: 6 destroyed
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 7 destroyed


Japanese ground losses:
399 casualties reported

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 144

Day Air attack on Buna , at 55,90

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 12
SBD Dauntless x 47
TBM Avenger x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 2 destroyed


Japanese ground losses:
72 casualties reported

Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 25

same the next day too, Lae was especially hard hit, and has been every day for a long time now
seems like an odd choice to send in planes now .. anyhoo i'm not complaining, also not complaining
about the latese 4BB bombardment of Lunga, the CD is still tough but the nukes went off this time [;)]

Naval bombardment of Lunga, at 67,97 - Coastal Guns Fire Back!

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
H8K Emily: 1 destroyed

65 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Allied Ships
CA Shropshire, Shell hits 9
CA Astoria
CA Indianapolis, Shell hits 11
CA Portland
BB Colorado, Shell hits 9
BB Nevada
BB Oklahoma
BB Idaho

Japanese ground losses:
4156 casualties reported
Guns lost 82

Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 41
Port hits 1
Port supply hits 1

Cant seem to get Port/CD Gun hits though, so i'm still relieved i never amphibed this place
from the start .. while tass took time at least i didnt get hammered on the beaches. CL De Reuter
is still in Rennel listing badly from an attack 2 weeks ago ! ..

RAF in burma finally put paid to the annoying night time nick attacks on rangoon with extreme
predjudice

Day Air attack on Moulmein , at 29,35

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
Spitfire Vb x 12
Thunderbolt II x 16
Wellington III x 18
P-40N Warhawk x 64
B-25J Mitchell x 50
B-17E Fortress x 30

Japanese aircraft losses
H8K Emily: 1 destroyed
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 5 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Wellington III: 1 damaged
B-25J Mitchell: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
113 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 141

Wake island again gets cratered badly

Day Air attack on Wake Island , at 82,63

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
PB2Y Coronado x 1
PB4Y Liberator x 121

Japanese aircraft losses
G4M2 Betty: 1 destroyed
H8K Emily: 1 destroyed


Japanese ground losses:
142 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 90


humm G4M2's , old ones left lying around or new arrived unit ? cannot say for certain

and todays piece de resistance (say with a french accent)[;)]. Japan made a serious attack on
shipping at Kuala (sumatra), he was aiming for yesterdays BB's which i had fortunately sent into the
port after replenishing,these are just topping up the supply levels and are completely expendable.
CAP was a bit rubbish, granted i had sent a larger than normal LR CAP over Medan (which incidentally
killed off a few L3Y Tina transports flying in supplies). but even with plenty of radar the CAP
was about 40% strength, guess i had some bad dice rolls here even with an Air HQ in range at
Sabang.

Day Air attack on TF, near Kuala at 20,43

Japanese aircraft
A6M5 Zeke x 8
D3A Val x 15
A6M3a Zero x 24
B5N Kate x 27
G4M1 Betty x 4
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 44
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 18
Ki-61 KAIc Tony x 18

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 6
Hurricane II x 14
Spitfire Vb x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M5 Zeke: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
D3A Val: 1 damaged
A6M3a Zero: 3 destroyed
B5N Kate: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 21 destroyed, 1 damaged
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 8 destroyed
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 8 destroyed, 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 3 destroyed
Hurricane II: 9 destroyed
Spitfire Vb: 11 destroyed

Allied Ships
AK S. Hall Young, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
MSW Patna
MSW Quail
AK William G. Fargo, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Betelgeuse, Bomb hits 1, on fire
MSW Lark, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

42-23, not good , goes to show numbers of even rubbish (oscar) fighters can overwhelm weak
CAP, and my flyboys are very very experienced , or rather were as actual pilots lost is unknown
as Joe only sent the combat replay, I'll have a look tomorrow when i get the full turn back
but i suspect that i have lost some ace's here too. Especially amongst the spitfire pilots.

also finally retake woodlark island off of South PNG, elements of the aussie 9th division
came in via DD transport as the engineers had no combat elements.


Ground combat at Woodlark Island

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 168 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied max assault: 3 - adjusted assault: 8

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 8 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Woodlark Island base !!!

Oddly they also atacked the following day too, even though as far as i could tell there are no
japanese left on the island [&:]
Ground combat at Woodlark Island

Allied Deliberate attack

Attacking force 144 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 8

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied max assault: 4 - adjusted assault: 3

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 [&:]

Wierd ! . OK .. Yenen is still a stale mate in china and allied artillery strikes in burma
have completely convinced me that i cannot even contemplate any further land advances along this
axis of approach, but where to think of landing ? victoria point is a nightmare for japan to
counterattack but it leaves me with a very slow (i.e trail) advance after its falling, also its
heavily defended with 22,000 japanese reported, in my estimate at least one full division.

I think i'll recon the west coast of malaya more thoroughly and there are 4 possible landing site
linked by rails so i will need a fast unload and lots of combat power to bear fast before Japan
can re-inforce the contested base/city. Georgetown looks the best but i wonder is Songika is
invadeable from the west ? looks unlikey from the map , but if possible i suspect this would really
unhinge japanese defences. so withdraw about 40% of the troops in burma to rangoon to rebuild
and prep for a landing , but i need a target to prep for. calling all recon, time to do your job
in malaya. such a shame the allies have so few recon sqdns avalable.

Ground combat at 30,34

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 202932 troops, 1704 guns, 1459 vehicles, Assault Value = 4294

Defending force 212441 troops, 2432 guns, 731 vehicles, Assault Value = 4226


Japanese ground losses:
305 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
21 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

when i get the turn to do orders the paras will attack in sumatra with a simultaneous shock
attack on medan (after another BB visit). In the SW Pac Gili gili made a level 6 airfield(300
planes) so more bombers to come over. Gasmata is looking to be a very empty juicy target
for now. 2 divs unloading at GG one at least prepping for gasmata , 2nd is i believe for
Lae. also SW Pacific has a lot of shipping (way more that central) as i havebeen planning a
lot of invasions to be covered with LBA. with the recent introuduction of the P38J the allie
now have a truly long range excellent fighter.

PS that base in sumatra (banka)still looks empty .. tomorrows para drop will continue. Japanese LR CAP
could pose a serious risk once its in my hands however. the risk is worth it imo as its
taken forever to get Medan and the next one isnt even on a trail ! .. time for the small
barges to start hauling supply.

Speaking of barges , off north australia there is a small island that i have been bombing for
quite some time , as i have only 3 AK's in darwin i may load up supply and create some barge
groups for a quick invasion, this i think would catch japan off balance. right now the Ak's
are replenising the 2 allied held islands the next one would allow fighters to patrol north
new guinea. So ill ponder that possibility soon.

bye

[ctangus]

ORIGINAL: VSWG

Can you give us quick rundown on your forces (LCUs, ships, air groups) on Sumatra? As you know, I'm a big fan of this operation. [:)]

Hmmm... Interesting... [;)]

Sorry for spamming your thread Rob. I'm still reading but haven't had anything worthwhile to say.

SS Unpronouncable can be shortened to "Muskie". It's named after a fish similiar to a pike that can put up a darn good fight.

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: ctangus

ORIGINAL: VSWG

Can you give us quick rundown on your forces (LCUs, ships, air groups) on Sumatra? As you know, I'm a big fan of this operation. [:)]

Hmmm... Interesting... [;)]

Sorry for spamming your thread Rob. I'm still reading but haven't had anything worthwhile to say.

SS Unpronouncable can be shortened to "Muskie". It's named after a fish similiar to a pike that can put up a darn good fight.

thanks i am now wiser for that [;)], such an odd name its almost 'australian' in its wierdness [:D]

Thanks for replying, and i really dont care what the hit count is anyway , else i wouldnt reply to all the spam[;)]

OK doing the turn leisurely this afternoon, and noticed quite a few units i'd dropped and some
rather basic errors , i.e brisbane has NO aviation support [:'(] . Luganville has a lot of
prepped troops for lunga , so ill collect em up for rennel if i need more men for lunga.

Todays piccie , the SW Pacific , notice woodlark and and goodenough island (what a great name) are
back in allied hands and have engineers building up the airfields. Also some troops made it
to lunga ! .. badly fatigued and im not sure i cn shift japan from here easily.Recon has 44,880
men on here .. yikes . loooks like i will need those RCT's after all. as i Really need that airfield
else i'd just let em rot. Japan must be short of supply here too.

OK turn sent .. tomorrow will be FUN FUN FUN , or a complete disaster[;)]

[aztez]

You need to bring in more fighters into Kuala or else you will be overwhelmed! [8|]
&nbsp;
Yeah.. naturally Wake can be an ambush but IF you can overwhelm the base quickly than you do have LBA base which Joe will not like at all.. and if he does commit KB than you do have both CV aircraft + LBA aircraft = should be the end of KB. Than again if you get bogged down... <- that spells trouble.

[Rob Brennan UK]

ORIGINAL: aztez

You need to bring in more fighters into Kuala or else you will be overwhelmed! [8|]

Yeah.. naturally Wake can be an ambush but IF you can overwhelm the base quickly than you do have LBA base which Joe will not like at all.. and if he does commit KB than you do have both CV aircraft + LBA aircraft = should be the end of KB. Than again if you get bogged down... <- that spells trouble.

I did, well i reduced the LR CAP for medan (stopping air transports), Joe forgot to stand down
all his bombers today too, death of the japanese fighter force ensued.

Day Air attack on TF, near Kuala at 20,43

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 9
A6M3a Zero x 28
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 22
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 18

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 9
Hurricane II x 18
Spitfire Vb x 46
P-40N Warhawk x 77

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 9 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 28 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 22 destroyed
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 18 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
F4U-1 Corsair: 1 damaged
Spitfire Vb: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged
P-40N Warhawk: 10 destroyed, 3 damaged

Day Air attack on TF, near Kuala at 20,43

Japanese aircraft
D3A Val x 4
A6M3a Zero x 9
Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 8
Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 7

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 9
Hurricane II x 18
Spitfire Vb x 45
P-40N Warhawk x 67

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A Val: 4 destroyed
A6M3a Zero: 9 destroyed
Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 6 destroyed
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 7 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane II: 1 destroyed
Spitfire Vb: 1 destroyed
P-40N Warhawk: 5 destroyed, 2 damaged

103 japanese for 11 allied , i'd classify that as a victory , the P40N's were LRCAP from sabang
where lots of spits cover the base quite adequately.

RE Wake- Japan sent in 1-2 AK's and a bunch of AP's to drop off the 5th independant infantry
regiment, we bombed it today and also sank an AK and damaged several AP's , which appear to
be unloading supply , the B24's should run him out soon enough, the extra regiment may be a
worry as i was confident with what i had before, I can always wait 6 days or so for more ships
to load up at PH , but i think I'll leave that as a 2nd wave if needed. As you stated i do have
plenty of LBA to fly in at a moments notice with the Aviation regiment and engineers moving in
the turn after i take it , or just unload them and accept the losses. All depends how the inital
shock attacks work out.

Day Air attack on 51st Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 82,63


Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 48


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
103 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Day Air attack on 51st Ind.Mixed Brigade, at 82,63


Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 44


No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
140 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Day Air attack on TF, near Wake Island at 82,63


Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 37


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Gotake Maru
AP Montevideo Maru
AP Kaisho Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Midori Maru
AP Yamagata Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Kashiwara Maru
AP Baikal Maru
AP Meiu Maru, Bomb hits 1

Day Air attack on TF, near Wake Island at 82,63


Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 12


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Sansho Maru, Bomb hits 12, on fire, heavy damage SUNK..

Instead of posting the many air attacks here is a list of a/c losses for 2 days. As you can see
the tony once again got clobbered at lae and buna , no idea what they are doing there at all.
The recon a/c (dinah) were at Raheng in SE Asia. The Sallies were also based at Lae, I'm guessing
Joe expected a window from allied bombing but i didnt stop as the range for the bombers
from thursday island pretty much allows continuous raids, if needed the 3 units can be rotated etc.

[Rob Brennan UK]

AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 10/16/43

Okay , Heres what happened to the rest of the pacific bar whats been reported earlier.

Lets start with the great success in sumatra, both attacks did very well and the allies now have
4 bases in the region. Transports are flying in the remains of the paras and base force and
engineers to Bankha (also some supply too). Barges tasked with supply from Sabang to Medan.

Both bases are NOT repairing any res/oil/manpower, and they need more supply badly. Japanese at
medan are still in the hex and can be dealt with at leisure later on. Bankha was as recon suggested
cmpletely empty so definately caught Joe off balance with that attack [;)]

Naval bombardment of Medan, at 20,45

Allied Ships
BB Valiant
BB Ramilles
CA Sussex
CA Devonshire
CA Exeter
CL Leander
CL Achilles
CL Java
CL Sumatra
CL Enterprise
CLAA Ceres
CLAA Capetown

Japanese ground losses:
924 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 46
Port hits 11
Port supply hits 12


Just to be sure of medan the RN returns with a great attack !

Ground combat at Medan

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 21587 troops, 193 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 416

Defending force 5992 troops, 9 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 111

Allied max assault: 810 - adjusted assault: 424

Japanese max defense: 90 - adjusted defense: 118

Allied assault odds: 3 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Medan base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
264 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Allied ground losses:
574 casualties reported
Guns lost 13

Huzzah ! ..

Ground combat at Bankha

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 1136 troops, 17 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 83

Defending force 0 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 0

Allied max assault: 84 - adjusted assault: 82

Japanese max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 1

Allied assault odds: 82 to 1 (fort level 0)

Allied forces CAPTURE Bankha base !!!


ALso no landing casualties either, odd. sems to be more dangerous stepping off a boat onto
an empty beach that para dropping on a target you havnt prepared for [&:]

Also got 6 tank batallion(us) and an american RCT in karachi, after the latest supply run to
rangoon (this place eats supply like candy) and sabang i'll load up for an invasion
of south sumatra. the new unit are already prepping 1/2 for palembang and 1/2 for Teleoekabatong(sp).

The units withdrawn from the burmese front line are prepping for tavoy now, no info at hand
for how much i have for this operation. But it'll go after the south sumatran invasion, lets
call this one "Tigers Tail" , as it could prove true. I now have 4 UK CV's 4 US CVL's and 2
UK CVE's for air cover, all updated with the latest model fighters and torpedo bombers. Should be
plenty of Transports available for this too.

Many Many sub attacks and they ALL Failed and attracted ASW like bees to pollen.
In a nutshell SS Gar was persecuted harshly off Taiwan and has 56 sys damage and 80 fires !
Yikes , doubt she'll get home at all. SS Amberjack was attacked heavily by ASW off the solomons
too, she is only slightly damaged but used up a lot of fuel evading and has to head back
to Lunga for a quick repair and more fuel. 3 dud torps 2 groups missing and several ASW
attacks made the subs a bit useless today, i have moved them all around a bit as it seems
japan weny into ASW with a vengence today.

Here is day 2 results (easier to compile )

ASW attack near Takao at 48,45

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 18
PC Ch 15
PC Shonan Maru #2
PC Kyo Maru #13
PC Kyo Maru #12

Allied Ships
SS Gar, hits 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Kendari at 33,71

Japanese Ships
AK Tihuku Maru
PG Hong Kong Maru

Allied Ships
SS KXII

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Takao at 48,45

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 18
PC Ch 15
PC Shonan Maru #2
PC Kyo Maru #13
PC Kyo Maru #12

Allied Ships
SS Gar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Takao at 48,45

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 18
PC Ch 15
PC Shonan Maru #2
PC Kyo Maru #13
PC Kyo Maru #12

Allied Ships
SS Gar, hits 3, on fire, heavy damage



Off of the chinese Coast the B25's sank 2 more AK's with 200lb bombs and damaged 2 more
with 500lb's.

EG

Day Air attack on TF, near Kiungahan at 39,41


Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 40
B-25J Mitchell x 11


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Jinju Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AK Eikyo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage SUNK



now for a chat about a much neglected theatre of North australia.

firstly some P38's were moved to Derby to clear the skies over timor and it worked too:-

Day Air attack on Koepang , at 28,77

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 15

Allied aircraft
Catalina I x 1
P-38G Lightning x 67

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 11 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged

Day 2 saw 2 more zero kills for no allied losses. Resting up next turn as fatigue is awful after
2 days of maximum range missions.

Also done here is activate all available barges in darwin (not a lot to be honest, and all rather
small) I was hopeing for several 1000 ton LST's but got a mix of 150 ton and 36 ton landing
craft. with only 5 AK's for miles and miles it'll be a shoestring invasion of Kai island .
Recon states 4000 men here , i think most are engineers. and allies have been bombing the place from
Darwin for weeks, With the arrival in theatre of the lightnings and the 'decoy' attack on
Timor he might not expect an invasion of Kai.both tenimbar and Aru island have been allied occupied
and are at level 1 airfields already so can provide air cover for the shorter legged righters
in theatre, while darwin is in easy range for the bombers. Should go off within 14 days as the
AK's are currently re-supplying the alled held islands to bump up the number of fighter
missions.

Heres an oddity :- allied signals intelligence dug this wee gem up

24th Division is planning for an attack on Anchorage. [&:]

This has got to be spoof info hasn't it ? might just move an RCT Back from attu, just in case [;)]

Also have a problem aith the 2nd aussie tank brigade moving from Tassaforonga to Lunga, they
re-set to 0 and now cant move due to conflicting ZOC problem ! Bah. the other tank unit and the
americal inf seem fine by comparison.

Did a whole pile of rear area juggling too with fragments and admin etc. has to be done even though
not very glamorous.



Bye ! .. phew that was a LONG turn to plan



P.S .. Wake island just jumped to 23,000 men from 8000. I think i will delay untill the new AP's
and AK's arrive in Pearl , meantime the other will offload at Midway and i'll disband the Cv's too
as they are a bit conspicuous. Only good news is that joe hasnt been running any flying boats from
wake for a while and no japanese subs with float planes seen for ages too. so AFAIK i'm still
undetected. and o lord are LCI's (size 150) SLOW ! .. move one hex/refuel/move one hex/ etc etc etc.

[tiger111]

Hi Rob

Good news in Madang etc.
The Jap AF really too a battering

Re Wake. The attack looks rather too risky to me. Why not use the forces gathered to attack elsewhere ? eg cent pac ? ..... orchestrating the Wake assault seems too complicated to me and likely to go off at hallf cock.

Why not do an assault on Lae ?

Just a few thoughts.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Oh bah . wrote a ton of stuff and then lost it all [&:]..GRRRR.

Synopsis .. augustus .. where else other than wake ? north weather is winter soon. Gilbert islands
and marshalls too well defended/not covered by recon in that order. and its not too tricky to
make a major invasion just takes a LOT of time,planning and luck (sea refuelling). the incoming AP's
and AK's will arrive in PH tomorrow and we should load up 2 more divs for the assault.
I am unloading the original troops at wake island as staying abord ships wrecks morale iirc.

anyway we clobbered the japanese AP's

Day Air attack on TF, near Wake Island at 82,63


Allied aircraft
PB4Y Liberator x 14
B-24D Liberator x 54


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Meiu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kaisho Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
AP Gokoku Maru, Bomb hits 1
AP Yamagata Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Gotake Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP Montevideo Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
AP Jouban Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
DD Kawakaze, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
AP Tachi Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Fusemi Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AP Mexico Maru
AP Koryu Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Baikal Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire

Im guessing they are unloading supply, the b24's also hit the airfields and port so they have
fatigue in the 30's and have to rest.

Over in sumatra 150 C48Commando transport a/c fly in engineers/base forces and supply to
medan and Bankha , both now have plenty of supply, a barge supply TF unloaded at meadan too
just to help. RN Battleships are also on reaction orders just in case japan comes to visit medan
at night.

china sank a few more merchants 1st of 5 attacks !



Day Air attack on TF at 41,42


Allied aircraft
P-40N Warhawk x 46
B-25J Mitchell x 14


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AK Shiga Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AK Hokko Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage


OK as this is a bit of a shortened post (doing this twice sucks).. Lae/BunaKai island and troops
in burma also got hit by the air force. Gasmata is still empty and a tempting target for paras
from GG. I am awaiting the aussie div at buna for good recon before comitting the the SW Pacific.
Plenty of transports are available at GG with several Divs etc for LAE/Finchhafen/Buna/sag sag
various planning units etc. Lae is a ruinous mess ..

Day Air attack on Lae , at 54,87

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
P-38G Lightning x 21
F-5A Lightning x 3
B-17E Fortress x 12
B-24D Liberator x 28

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-61 KAIc Tony: 4 destroyed MORE ?
MC-21 Sally: 2 destroyed


Japanese ground losses:
60 casualties reported

Runway hits 48

Day Air attack on Buna , at 55,90

Japanese aircraft
no flights

Allied aircraft
F4U-1 Corsair x 10
SBD Dauntless x 57
TBM Avenger x 16

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 6 destroyed AGAIN ?


Japanese ground losses:
11 casualties reported

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 37

not complaining about that , more ground attacks as well on the same listed island above.

any requests for screenies ?

bye . apologies for being truncated but not a lot actaully happened and i was wittering about future
plans. Too tedious to do it twice [;)]


bye