July 4, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
JAP CARRIERS SCOUT WAKE
(TN – Hawaii) A Japanese armada sailed up to Wake Island yesterday, on the heals of a storm that kept the air forces on both sides grounded throughout the day. Allied scout planes managed to find the Japanese fleet. However, the PBYs sent to investigate have still only located cruisers; the Japanese carriers remain hidden. However, sources on Wake Island report seeing Val bombers overhead during one short break in the weather. The enemy bombers flew low over the island, paying particular attention to the ships in the harbor. Wake hosts a squadron of PT boats and the seaplane tender Ballard
Admiral Kimmel, commander of allied forces in the Central Pacific, has recalled his carrier task force that had been attacking Paramushiro Jima, the northern most island in the chain extending north out of Japan. The task force had completed its mission anyways, which was to conduct three days worth of raids against the island, then withdraw. The task force encountered no air or naval opposition during the raids, suggesting that an allied attack on the region may be possible. However, the pilots reported encountering extremely heavy anti-aircraft fire. Yorktown had suffered 14 planes knocked out of action and Enterprise was down 12 airplanes.
Most of these planes were damaged and managed to make it back to the carriers for repair, or the pilots bailed out near the carriers and allowed their damaged planes to crash into the ocean.
Kimmel has ordered its southern task force, engaged in operations at Apamama Island and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, to continue their operations. Advisors at Central Pacific Command tell Thayne News that knowledge of the location of the enemy carriers means that this group is safe enough to continue. However, the battleships are running short of ammunition, and may have to withdraw to resupply.
Initial observations, confirmed by aerial reconnaissance, show that the third bombardment was particularly destructive. The dock facilities have been nearly obliterated, and the airfield has been severely damaged. No airplanes have yet been spotted at Tarawa. However, even if some were to show up, they would have difficulty using the air facilities on the island.
At Howland Island, 500 miles to the east, allied engineers completed the construction of a new airstrip. This new airstrip will allow the allies to launch more air strikes against these forward Japanese islands. Sources at Central Pacific Command say that the Gilberts will likely be the sight of the next allied offensive action, and that, in the mean time, they hope to prevent Japan from building up these islands through constant air strikes.
Once an air base is established at Apamama, fighters stationed there can take control of the air over the islands, and short-range dive bombers will seek to prevent the Japanese from bringing supplies to these forward bases. When the troops are sufficiently starved and suffering the effects of continual bombardment, sources say that Kimmel will give the order to take the islands.
The Japanese carriers are known to be somewhere in the waters north of Wake Island. Admiral Kimmel has ordered that all effort be made to find and destroy them in the morning. However, meteorologists report that the weather may not cooperate. They are predicting heavy cloud cover over the entire area for a second day.
Phase II Faces New Threat
(TN – Townsend) Shortly after General Thompson, commander of forces in the Southwest Pacific, launched Phase II, allied air reconnaissance revealed a new threat to the mission.
Phase II is the second part of a set of missions to boost the allied strength in eastern New Guinea and the Cook Islands. It involves shipping additional units to Port Moresby and Milne Bay, as well as to Goodenough Island and Kiriwina Island northeast of Milne Bay. The bases are intended to impose a barrier protecting Australia from the Japanese advance.
The submarine Shark, operating in the waters north of Buna on the island of New Guinea, reported sighting a battleship. The sighting could indicate the presence of a large Japanese surface force that could attack transports landing supplies at any of the these locations. However, the alleged battleship was said to be accompanied by four small patrol boats. One of the patrol boats chased Shark under the surface, but not before the crew of Shark was able to clearly identify this ship.
This unlikely combination of ships has caused some officials at Southwest Pacific Command to doubt whether the report of seeing a battleship is reliable. Military intelligence has reported that observers quite often exaggerate the sizes of the ships that they see; destroyers are routinely reported as being cruisers, and a cruiser could easily be confused for a battleship in the heat of battle. Military intelligence routinely gets reports of Japanese transport ships off the coast of Australia, that they have learned to mark down as a submarine sighting instead.
Thompson has ordered his air units to take a closer look at the new Japanese threat in the morning, but has not called back his missions to resupply the units at Milne Bay or to mine the harbor.
Those missions suffered one small setback yesterday when a Japanese sub sank the minesweeper Lark. Lark was one of three minesweepers escorting the mission to mine Milne Bay. The task force has orders to drop over 600 mines into the bay, then return. Two torpedoes struck Lark without warning at night. The second torpedo seems to have gone into the same hole left by the first torpedo. The ship sank within thirty seconds of the second explosion, taking all but four crewmen into the ocean with her.
Darwin Bombers Hit Tanker
(TN – Darwin) Bombers stationed at Darwin, Australia, told to be on the lookout for a Japanese carrier fleet known to be sailing into the area from the Coral Sea, found a pair of Japanese tanker ships yesterday, and attacked these. A B-17 bomber reported dropping one 500 pound bomb on one of the tankers, setting it on fire. This represents the second Japanese tanker that allied forces managed to hit this month. The second strike against a Japanese tanker occurred far to the north, where planes from the carrier Lexington struck a tanker near Paramushiro Jima.
Strategic command is starting to speculate about the possibility that these strikes may seriously weaken Japanese production capability. These tankers are probably taking much-need oil from the Dutch East Indies back to Japan. If Japan suffers a shortage of tankers, this could translate into a shortage of oil for the Japanese war machine.
Thayne News Campaign Reports
Moderators: wdolson, Don Bowen, mogami
AIR RAID: WAKE ISLAND
July 5, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
AIR RAID: WAKE ISLAND
(TN – Hawaii) Allied air units got a shot at a Japanese fleet carrier, and missed, in an exchange near Wake Island yesterday.
The Wake Island defenders have known about a Japanese carrier fleet nearby for two days. However, the weather had prevented either side from launching any strikes. The American force had not been able to find the carriers; they knew that Japanese carriers were nearby only because they saw carrier-based airplanes scouting the island. Reconnaissance airplanes also spotted several Japanese cruisers in the waters west and north of Wake Island. However, attempts to launch a strike against the cruisers met with heavy winds and rain that prevented the planes from launching.
Yesterday, the weather around Wake Island was clear.
The first task was to find the enemy carriers. PBY crews from VP-44 took off before dawn in all directions, since Japan could have taken advantage of the night to be anywhere.
Shortly after dawn, a pair of Val reconnaissance airplanes showed up at Wake Island. Anti-aircraft chased away one of the scout planes trailing smoke. The base was put on alert; clearly the carriers were close enough to send airplanes to Wake Island.
Shortly after dawn, a radio call came in saying that the enemy task force was 300 miles north of Wake Island. This time, the reconnaissance airplanes could see carriers, two of them. The range to the enemy meant that the Wake Island force could not use its sixteen SBD dive bombers belonging to VMSB-151. However, the carriers were within range of the B-25 bombers belonging to the 41st Bomber Group. 22 bombers took off toward the north, escorted by 16 P-40E Warhawks.
While the Wake Island attack force was heading out the Japanese carriers, the Japanese planes were heading toward Wake Island. When they arrived, they were met by 15 allied fighters; a mixture of F4F wildcats and P-40 Warhawks. Having heard of the skills of the Japanese pilots, the defenders of Wake Island worked out a trick. Most of the fighter CAP hid in the clouds, while a small number drew off the bomber’s escort in a dogfight.
With the Zero pilots distracted, the bulk of the American fighters were able to dive in among the bombers without any worry about the Japanese fighters. When the Japanese escort figured out that they had been tricked, they broke off their engagement and returned to the bombers. One American pilot was able to shoot down one of the Zero fighters as it broke away.
Two American pilots died creating the diversion. However, it resulted in the destruction of six Japanese ‘Kate” bombers. The bombers that remained did minimal damage to the airport and its facilities; the field was fully functional before sunset. The worst damage from the attack was the loss of two B-25 bombers and one Wildcat fighter on the ground.
Meanwhile, the allied B-25 bombers reached the Japanese task force. The Japanese CAP shot down three of the escorting Warhawks while suffering a loss of only one Zero. Then the enemy fighters went after the bombers. The lightly armed Japanese Zeros damaged approximately half of the allied bombers, but all 22 of them were able to reach their targets. Enemy flak destroyed two of the B-25 bombers. The rest dropped six 500 pound bombs on two Japanese carriers from an altitude of about one mile. However, every bomb missed its target.
According to reports from the pilots after the mission, one group of bombers dropped their bombs early. Their bombs missed the carrier they were aiming for, but one of the bombs struck a destroyer that was screening the carriers. It was the only damage recorded against the enemy ships.
Experts from the Gaschk School of Fighting assessed the results of the combat, and said that it amounted to an insignificant allied victory. The most important result was the loss of an estimated eight enemy carrier-based airplanes with their highly-skilled pilots. The allies lost 11 airplanes in the dual, but most of them can be more easily replaced.
China Chases Japan Across Border
(TN – Chungking) Chinese forces chased the remnants of a Japanese unit that infiltrated southern China earlier back into Indochina yesterday in a one-sided engagement. In June, the Japanese unit had managed to get to the very outskirts of Nanning without being detected. When it was detected, Chinese units tried to cut it off and drive it out of the country. The Japanese unit fled through the mountains on the Chinese side of the Indochina/China Border, just west of the rail line that once connected the two countries.
Yesterday, after an initial bombardment and attacks from several air squadrons serving in China, including the Warhawk squadron of the American Volunteer Group, the Chinese military launched their attack. In a one-sided battle in which the worst Chinese casualty was a sprained ankle, the Chinese drove the Japanese unit back across the border.
Under the orders of Chang Kai Shek, the Chinese units did not pursue the Japanese. They remained on the Chinese side of the border and began digging in against the possibility of another incursion.
Airfield at Apamama
(TN – Hawaii) Members of 40th USA Infantry Division succeeded yesterday in opening up a new airstrip on Apamama Island, on the southern end of the Gilbert Islands, yesterday. The success at building the strip came faster than allied leaders had expected; the island still has nobody on it skilled in maintaining an air squadron.
Admiral Kimmel has given orders for the 114th USN Base Force to be transported from Christmas Island to Apamama at the soonest possible instant. Troop transport ships have been dispatched, but are not expected to reach Christmas Island for at least another four days. It will then take approximately four days for the unit to transfer to Apamama.
Once that happens, Admiral Kimmel hopes to be able to establish a base that will isolate the Japanese islands of Tarawa and Makin, which are the next two targets in Kimmel’s planned offensive.
Allied reconnaissance airplanes have spotted a Japanese freighter trying to approach Makin island. The planes from the carrier Hornet have been put on alert to sink the freighter before it can deliver its cargo to the island.
B-17s Block Reinforcements for Babo, Papua
(TN – Darwin) B-17 bombers, looking for the carrier group that had harassed allied shipping in the Coral Sea the week earlier, found a pair of troop transports instead, and attacked them. According to the pilots’ reports, one stick of 500 lb bombs dropped as a cluster struck in rapid succession along the length of one of the Japanese transports. The transport immediately burst into flames along its entire length. Pilots reported seeing a large number of Japanese soldiers either diving directly into the ocean or scrambling for the lifeboats.
Military intelligence believes that the ship was delivering reinforcements for the Japanese held port of Babo. This lightly held port sits on the west end of the Papua/New Guinea island, approximately 250 miles northeast of allied-held Kai Island, north of Darwin, Australia. Babo may be an early target of General Thompson's plans to move back into the eastern Dutch East Indies. The recent attack will likely make Babo an easier target then it would have otherwise been.
The pilots reported seeing the Japanese carrier as they returned to Darwin, approximately 50 miles southeast of the port, between it and Kai Island. The Japanese, however, did not launch any strikes from the carrier against Kai Island.
Thayne's News Network
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.
AIR RAID: WAKE ISLAND
(TN – Hawaii) Allied air units got a shot at a Japanese fleet carrier, and missed, in an exchange near Wake Island yesterday.
The Wake Island defenders have known about a Japanese carrier fleet nearby for two days. However, the weather had prevented either side from launching any strikes. The American force had not been able to find the carriers; they knew that Japanese carriers were nearby only because they saw carrier-based airplanes scouting the island. Reconnaissance airplanes also spotted several Japanese cruisers in the waters west and north of Wake Island. However, attempts to launch a strike against the cruisers met with heavy winds and rain that prevented the planes from launching.
Yesterday, the weather around Wake Island was clear.
The first task was to find the enemy carriers. PBY crews from VP-44 took off before dawn in all directions, since Japan could have taken advantage of the night to be anywhere.
Shortly after dawn, a pair of Val reconnaissance airplanes showed up at Wake Island. Anti-aircraft chased away one of the scout planes trailing smoke. The base was put on alert; clearly the carriers were close enough to send airplanes to Wake Island.
Shortly after dawn, a radio call came in saying that the enemy task force was 300 miles north of Wake Island. This time, the reconnaissance airplanes could see carriers, two of them. The range to the enemy meant that the Wake Island force could not use its sixteen SBD dive bombers belonging to VMSB-151. However, the carriers were within range of the B-25 bombers belonging to the 41st Bomber Group. 22 bombers took off toward the north, escorted by 16 P-40E Warhawks.
While the Wake Island attack force was heading out the Japanese carriers, the Japanese planes were heading toward Wake Island. When they arrived, they were met by 15 allied fighters; a mixture of F4F wildcats and P-40 Warhawks. Having heard of the skills of the Japanese pilots, the defenders of Wake Island worked out a trick. Most of the fighter CAP hid in the clouds, while a small number drew off the bomber’s escort in a dogfight.
With the Zero pilots distracted, the bulk of the American fighters were able to dive in among the bombers without any worry about the Japanese fighters. When the Japanese escort figured out that they had been tricked, they broke off their engagement and returned to the bombers. One American pilot was able to shoot down one of the Zero fighters as it broke away.
Two American pilots died creating the diversion. However, it resulted in the destruction of six Japanese ‘Kate” bombers. The bombers that remained did minimal damage to the airport and its facilities; the field was fully functional before sunset. The worst damage from the attack was the loss of two B-25 bombers and one Wildcat fighter on the ground.
Meanwhile, the allied B-25 bombers reached the Japanese task force. The Japanese CAP shot down three of the escorting Warhawks while suffering a loss of only one Zero. Then the enemy fighters went after the bombers. The lightly armed Japanese Zeros damaged approximately half of the allied bombers, but all 22 of them were able to reach their targets. Enemy flak destroyed two of the B-25 bombers. The rest dropped six 500 pound bombs on two Japanese carriers from an altitude of about one mile. However, every bomb missed its target.
According to reports from the pilots after the mission, one group of bombers dropped their bombs early. Their bombs missed the carrier they were aiming for, but one of the bombs struck a destroyer that was screening the carriers. It was the only damage recorded against the enemy ships.
Experts from the Gaschk School of Fighting assessed the results of the combat, and said that it amounted to an insignificant allied victory. The most important result was the loss of an estimated eight enemy carrier-based airplanes with their highly-skilled pilots. The allies lost 11 airplanes in the dual, but most of them can be more easily replaced.
China Chases Japan Across Border
(TN – Chungking) Chinese forces chased the remnants of a Japanese unit that infiltrated southern China earlier back into Indochina yesterday in a one-sided engagement. In June, the Japanese unit had managed to get to the very outskirts of Nanning without being detected. When it was detected, Chinese units tried to cut it off and drive it out of the country. The Japanese unit fled through the mountains on the Chinese side of the Indochina/China Border, just west of the rail line that once connected the two countries.
Yesterday, after an initial bombardment and attacks from several air squadrons serving in China, including the Warhawk squadron of the American Volunteer Group, the Chinese military launched their attack. In a one-sided battle in which the worst Chinese casualty was a sprained ankle, the Chinese drove the Japanese unit back across the border.
Under the orders of Chang Kai Shek, the Chinese units did not pursue the Japanese. They remained on the Chinese side of the border and began digging in against the possibility of another incursion.
Airfield at Apamama
(TN – Hawaii) Members of 40th USA Infantry Division succeeded yesterday in opening up a new airstrip on Apamama Island, on the southern end of the Gilbert Islands, yesterday. The success at building the strip came faster than allied leaders had expected; the island still has nobody on it skilled in maintaining an air squadron.
Admiral Kimmel has given orders for the 114th USN Base Force to be transported from Christmas Island to Apamama at the soonest possible instant. Troop transport ships have been dispatched, but are not expected to reach Christmas Island for at least another four days. It will then take approximately four days for the unit to transfer to Apamama.
Once that happens, Admiral Kimmel hopes to be able to establish a base that will isolate the Japanese islands of Tarawa and Makin, which are the next two targets in Kimmel’s planned offensive.
Allied reconnaissance airplanes have spotted a Japanese freighter trying to approach Makin island. The planes from the carrier Hornet have been put on alert to sink the freighter before it can deliver its cargo to the island.
B-17s Block Reinforcements for Babo, Papua
(TN – Darwin) B-17 bombers, looking for the carrier group that had harassed allied shipping in the Coral Sea the week earlier, found a pair of troop transports instead, and attacked them. According to the pilots’ reports, one stick of 500 lb bombs dropped as a cluster struck in rapid succession along the length of one of the Japanese transports. The transport immediately burst into flames along its entire length. Pilots reported seeing a large number of Japanese soldiers either diving directly into the ocean or scrambling for the lifeboats.
Military intelligence believes that the ship was delivering reinforcements for the Japanese held port of Babo. This lightly held port sits on the west end of the Papua/New Guinea island, approximately 250 miles northeast of allied-held Kai Island, north of Darwin, Australia. Babo may be an early target of General Thompson's plans to move back into the eastern Dutch East Indies. The recent attack will likely make Babo an easier target then it would have otherwise been.
The pilots reported seeing the Japanese carrier as they returned to Darwin, approximately 50 miles southeast of the port, between it and Kai Island. The Japanese, however, did not launch any strikes from the carrier against Kai Island.
PHASE II PREPARES
July 6, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
PHASE II PREPARES
(TN – Townsend) Twenty-four troop transports sit in the harbor at Cairns, either pulled up in the docks on out at sea. Thirty-five thousand soldiers sit on those ships. They are preparing to make a three-day trip across the coral sea to allied strongholds at Port Moresby, Milne Bay (Gili Gili), Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island. If successful, the allies will have a solid foundation out there to challenge the Japanese for control of the seas and islands north and east of New Guinea. They will have a foundation from which they can eventually launch an attack to retake Rabaul.
The ships have been divided up into two groups.
Group 1 is the Southwest Pacific Group under General Thompson, which is responsible for Port Moresby. Nine transports hold elements of the 2nd and 6th Australian Infantry Divisions, the Australian 1st Army Headquarters, and the Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force. Combined, 16,000 soldiers will be traveling in this group to Port Moresby, where they will then prepare an attack across the Owen Stanley Ridge to Buna, on the north side of the peninsula.
Group 2 is the South Pacific Group under Admiral Nimitz. Its 14 transports hold Number 115 Royal Air Force, 30th Naval Base Force, and 2nd SeaBees Battalion bound for Milne Bay; the 116th US Naval Base Force, 2nd USMC Raiders Battalion, and 9th USMC Defense Battalion for Goodenough Island; and Number 114 Royal Air Force Base Force for Kiriwina Island. Combined, the ships hold 19,000 soldiers.
Previous attempts to get across the Coral Sea have had mixed success. Phase II, in June, got allied units to the same four locations, though units at Milne Bay were left without supplies. It also attracted a Japanese carrier fleet that then sank about 20 ships that it caught in the region. The Japanese success came in spite of the fact that General Thompson anticipated the Japanese arrival and ordered an early withdraw.
General Thompson hopes that by dividing the force among so many units and sending them at the same time, that Japan will not be able to block all of the moves. As a result, most of the units will reach their destination and the foundation for further actions in the area will be set.
The Marines at Milne Bay have nearly completed the construction of an airfield at Gili Gili. This airfield should be ready by the time the Phase II task force enters the area, and will be able to provide air cover for the operation. Fighter squadrons are standing by in northeastern Australia to transfer to the new base as soon as there is a place to land.
Because of the issue of air cover, the two operations are not scheduled to take place simultaneously. The Southwest Pacific Task Force will leave for Port Moresby first. Japanese attempts to interfere with this mission will have to deal with the heavy air protection over Port Moresby. The South Pacific Task Force will leave shortly after that, and will inherit some of the Port Moresby fighter squadrons.
General Pownall Eyes Andaman Island
(TN – Dacca) General Pownall, commander of allied forces in Southeast Asia, has been looking at the possibility of an invasion of Andaman Island recently.
Aerial reconnaissance of the island suggests that the Japanese may have abandoned this post after taking it, as it did with Milne May and Apamama. Military strategists believe that this may have been part of an attempt to push create a no-man’s zone between the new Japanese empire and the allies, a place that will draw allied attention and resources without cost to the Japanese. Admiral Kimmel, for example, ordered bombing missions against Apamama from Baker Island for a month before realizing that he was only attacking a small handful of Japanese stragglers.
According to senior officers in Southeast Asia Command, Pownall is looking at an option that will send scouts to the island to make sure that the Japanese have abandoned it. If they have, Pownall hopes to use the island the same way that General Thompson at Southwest Pacific Command is using Kai Island, north of Darwin. The island will be supplied by air, using Chadpur and Trimcomalee as embarkation bases. The purpose will be to build Andaman Island into an airbase that can then cover allied naval operations in the area.
An air base at Andaman Island may successfully block the flow of supplies into and out of Rangoon, Burma, by ship. Presently, Japanese supply ships sail the Macassar Straight southeast of Singapore, then travel up the Thailand and Burma coast to Rangoon. Air units operating out of Andaman Island would be able to spot and strike ships using this route. This will leave the Japanese no option but to use an overland route between Burma and Thailand over terrain that is very difficult to cross.
Thayne's News Network
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.
PHASE II PREPARES
(TN – Townsend) Twenty-four troop transports sit in the harbor at Cairns, either pulled up in the docks on out at sea. Thirty-five thousand soldiers sit on those ships. They are preparing to make a three-day trip across the coral sea to allied strongholds at Port Moresby, Milne Bay (Gili Gili), Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island. If successful, the allies will have a solid foundation out there to challenge the Japanese for control of the seas and islands north and east of New Guinea. They will have a foundation from which they can eventually launch an attack to retake Rabaul.
The ships have been divided up into two groups.
Group 1 is the Southwest Pacific Group under General Thompson, which is responsible for Port Moresby. Nine transports hold elements of the 2nd and 6th Australian Infantry Divisions, the Australian 1st Army Headquarters, and the Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force. Combined, 16,000 soldiers will be traveling in this group to Port Moresby, where they will then prepare an attack across the Owen Stanley Ridge to Buna, on the north side of the peninsula.
Group 2 is the South Pacific Group under Admiral Nimitz. Its 14 transports hold Number 115 Royal Air Force, 30th Naval Base Force, and 2nd SeaBees Battalion bound for Milne Bay; the 116th US Naval Base Force, 2nd USMC Raiders Battalion, and 9th USMC Defense Battalion for Goodenough Island; and Number 114 Royal Air Force Base Force for Kiriwina Island. Combined, the ships hold 19,000 soldiers.
Previous attempts to get across the Coral Sea have had mixed success. Phase II, in June, got allied units to the same four locations, though units at Milne Bay were left without supplies. It also attracted a Japanese carrier fleet that then sank about 20 ships that it caught in the region. The Japanese success came in spite of the fact that General Thompson anticipated the Japanese arrival and ordered an early withdraw.
General Thompson hopes that by dividing the force among so many units and sending them at the same time, that Japan will not be able to block all of the moves. As a result, most of the units will reach their destination and the foundation for further actions in the area will be set.
The Marines at Milne Bay have nearly completed the construction of an airfield at Gili Gili. This airfield should be ready by the time the Phase II task force enters the area, and will be able to provide air cover for the operation. Fighter squadrons are standing by in northeastern Australia to transfer to the new base as soon as there is a place to land.
Because of the issue of air cover, the two operations are not scheduled to take place simultaneously. The Southwest Pacific Task Force will leave for Port Moresby first. Japanese attempts to interfere with this mission will have to deal with the heavy air protection over Port Moresby. The South Pacific Task Force will leave shortly after that, and will inherit some of the Port Moresby fighter squadrons.
General Pownall Eyes Andaman Island
(TN – Dacca) General Pownall, commander of allied forces in Southeast Asia, has been looking at the possibility of an invasion of Andaman Island recently.
Aerial reconnaissance of the island suggests that the Japanese may have abandoned this post after taking it, as it did with Milne May and Apamama. Military strategists believe that this may have been part of an attempt to push create a no-man’s zone between the new Japanese empire and the allies, a place that will draw allied attention and resources without cost to the Japanese. Admiral Kimmel, for example, ordered bombing missions against Apamama from Baker Island for a month before realizing that he was only attacking a small handful of Japanese stragglers.
According to senior officers in Southeast Asia Command, Pownall is looking at an option that will send scouts to the island to make sure that the Japanese have abandoned it. If they have, Pownall hopes to use the island the same way that General Thompson at Southwest Pacific Command is using Kai Island, north of Darwin. The island will be supplied by air, using Chadpur and Trimcomalee as embarkation bases. The purpose will be to build Andaman Island into an airbase that can then cover allied naval operations in the area.
An air base at Andaman Island may successfully block the flow of supplies into and out of Rangoon, Burma, by ship. Presently, Japanese supply ships sail the Macassar Straight southeast of Singapore, then travel up the Thailand and Burma coast to Rangoon. Air units operating out of Andaman Island would be able to spot and strike ships using this route. This will leave the Japanese no option but to use an overland route between Burma and Thailand over terrain that is very difficult to cross.
ANDAMAN ASSAULT ORDERED
July 7, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
ANDAMAN ASSAULT ORDERED
(TN – Dacca) In a decision that some are criticizing as too hasty, General Pownall sent orders today for an attempt to recapture the Andman Islands from Japan.
The Andaman Islands lie at the mouth of the Macassar Straight, the thin path of water between Sumatra and Malaya capped on the far end by the port of Singapore. It is a strategically valuable because of its ability to help control the flow of ships into and out of the Bay of Bengal.
The orders called for the immediate formation of TF1076 at Diamond Harbor, India. This task force has been ordered to Chadpur to pick up elements of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Once loaded, the task force has orders to move to Trimcomalee on the east coast of Ceylon. Then, the task force is to move on Andaman Island.
Its orders are to drop the soldiers off and retreat before dawn. The soldiers will have orders to move to Point Blair. There, they will try to sieze the airstrip. If they succeed, C-47 transport planes at Chadpur will be ready to start airlifting in the rest of the brigade, and whatever support units may be useful. The aim is to quickly set up an allied air base on the island and to station at least three fighter squadrons there, then build the island into a bomber base that can attack Malaya and western Sumatra as well as ships trying to sail to and from Burma.
Among the concerns that senior officials are expressing is the fact that the unit is being given little time to prepare for the mission. Strategists are asking for at least a few weeks to find maps of the island, brief the soldiers who will be making the attack on the terrain, arranging for interpreters, and obtaining additional aerial reconnaissance of the island.
However, General Pownall is said to be impatient to get the operation completed. According to sources at Southeast Asia Headquarters, Pownall wants the flow of equipment to Rangoon by sea to end, so that his planned advance into northern Burma will have a greater chance of success.
A part of that attack into Burma has recently started to organize in India. Southeast Asia Command announced yesterday the first of several “long range penetration (LRP) battalions”. The LRP battalions are being formed under the theory that air power can be used to sustain friendly military units far in the jungle. The 14th Chindit Brigade, named after a mythical Burmese cross between a lion and an eagle, will be given additional training in jungle warfare and the terrain of central and northern Burma.
Gilbert Islands Raid Ends
(TN – Hawaii) At the discretion of Captain Mitscher, the Gilberts Island Raid came to an end and the remaining ships started home.
The raid had already been extended an extra day to allow the troop transports to unload their cargo at Apamama. Kimmel’s forces reclaimed the island from the Japanese in June and had been holding it with a token force pending the arrival of reinforcements. Now, there are nearly 10,000 allied soldiers holding the island, and more are on their way.
Additional elements of the 40th USA Infantry Division are coming to the island, as well as the 114th USAAF Base Force presently operating at Christmas Island.
The island at the southern end of the Gilbert chain,
Nimitz Carriers Uncrate TBF Bombers
(TN – Noumea) While the carriers Saratoga and Yorktown are getting fixed up, their torpedo squadrons are getting trained on a new type of bomber. Saratoga won the honor of being the first ship to go through the upgrade.
After breakfast, over 100 pilots, crew, and mechanics belonging to VT-3, Saratoga’s torpedo squadron, jumped into trucks and jeeps and made their way to Bankstown Aerodrome, about 20 kilometers east of Sydney. There, they went as a group into a hanger filled with crates. As a part of their training, the ground crew had to put the planes together. The pilots and crew went into a side room where they would learn how to use the planes.
By evening, the ground crew had their first TBF assembled and sitting in the hanger. The pilots and the crew then got their first look at the airplane. They were already impressed by what they had learned in class that morning. Longer range, faster, heavier payload, there was nothing about the plane to be disliked. In the morning, pilots would be allowed to sit in the plane and familiarize themselves with the aircraft. They would become accustomed to where the controls were, what buttons to push, and what buttons to avoid, during flight. Within a couple of days, the mechanics will have more planes built, and pilots can start to take them up for a spin. In about ten days, VT-3 was expected to be able to take off from Bankstown Aerodome and land their planes back on their carrier. Then, VT-2, from Lexington, would go through the same procedures.
Dutch Scouts Get First Use of F5
(TN – Darwin) Further north, at Darwin, Australia, Dutch pilots belonging to R6-VIG-VI Groep were getting a look at their new airplanes. It was an odd creature, with two engines, two tails, and a cockpit built into a second of wing that connected the two engines. The F5 was a modified version of the P-38 fighter, which is already seeing action in Europe, but not yet showing up in the Pacific Theater.
The F5 was as faster and more maneuverable than most allied fighters, and it could fly higher. Yet, at the same time, it had a range that could compete with the slower, far less maneuverable PBYs. From Darwin, pilots would be able to take pictures of Japanese bases anywhere in eastern Indonesia. If the pilots could get stationed at Kai Island, as the commanders hoped, they would be able to watch Japanese activities in the southern Philippine Islands.
However, the pilots found the F5 a difficult plane to learn, With two counter-rotating engines, the planes did not have the tendency to torque the way that single-engines plane did. The same power that causes the propeller to spin in one direction is constantly trying to spin the airplane in the opposite direction. Much a fighter-pilot’s skills centered on dealing with these forces – forces that the F5 pilot did not worry about.
The pilots also had to get used to the fact that the F5 did not have a stick like most planes, but something more like a small steering wheel.
Thayne's News Network
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.
ANDAMAN ASSAULT ORDERED
(TN – Dacca) In a decision that some are criticizing as too hasty, General Pownall sent orders today for an attempt to recapture the Andman Islands from Japan.
The Andaman Islands lie at the mouth of the Macassar Straight, the thin path of water between Sumatra and Malaya capped on the far end by the port of Singapore. It is a strategically valuable because of its ability to help control the flow of ships into and out of the Bay of Bengal.
The orders called for the immediate formation of TF1076 at Diamond Harbor, India. This task force has been ordered to Chadpur to pick up elements of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Once loaded, the task force has orders to move to Trimcomalee on the east coast of Ceylon. Then, the task force is to move on Andaman Island.
Its orders are to drop the soldiers off and retreat before dawn. The soldiers will have orders to move to Point Blair. There, they will try to sieze the airstrip. If they succeed, C-47 transport planes at Chadpur will be ready to start airlifting in the rest of the brigade, and whatever support units may be useful. The aim is to quickly set up an allied air base on the island and to station at least three fighter squadrons there, then build the island into a bomber base that can attack Malaya and western Sumatra as well as ships trying to sail to and from Burma.
Among the concerns that senior officials are expressing is the fact that the unit is being given little time to prepare for the mission. Strategists are asking for at least a few weeks to find maps of the island, brief the soldiers who will be making the attack on the terrain, arranging for interpreters, and obtaining additional aerial reconnaissance of the island.
However, General Pownall is said to be impatient to get the operation completed. According to sources at Southeast Asia Headquarters, Pownall wants the flow of equipment to Rangoon by sea to end, so that his planned advance into northern Burma will have a greater chance of success.
A part of that attack into Burma has recently started to organize in India. Southeast Asia Command announced yesterday the first of several “long range penetration (LRP) battalions”. The LRP battalions are being formed under the theory that air power can be used to sustain friendly military units far in the jungle. The 14th Chindit Brigade, named after a mythical Burmese cross between a lion and an eagle, will be given additional training in jungle warfare and the terrain of central and northern Burma.
Gilbert Islands Raid Ends
(TN – Hawaii) At the discretion of Captain Mitscher, the Gilberts Island Raid came to an end and the remaining ships started home.
The raid had already been extended an extra day to allow the troop transports to unload their cargo at Apamama. Kimmel’s forces reclaimed the island from the Japanese in June and had been holding it with a token force pending the arrival of reinforcements. Now, there are nearly 10,000 allied soldiers holding the island, and more are on their way.
Additional elements of the 40th USA Infantry Division are coming to the island, as well as the 114th USAAF Base Force presently operating at Christmas Island.
The island at the southern end of the Gilbert chain,
Nimitz Carriers Uncrate TBF Bombers
(TN – Noumea) While the carriers Saratoga and Yorktown are getting fixed up, their torpedo squadrons are getting trained on a new type of bomber. Saratoga won the honor of being the first ship to go through the upgrade.
After breakfast, over 100 pilots, crew, and mechanics belonging to VT-3, Saratoga’s torpedo squadron, jumped into trucks and jeeps and made their way to Bankstown Aerodrome, about 20 kilometers east of Sydney. There, they went as a group into a hanger filled with crates. As a part of their training, the ground crew had to put the planes together. The pilots and crew went into a side room where they would learn how to use the planes.
By evening, the ground crew had their first TBF assembled and sitting in the hanger. The pilots and the crew then got their first look at the airplane. They were already impressed by what they had learned in class that morning. Longer range, faster, heavier payload, there was nothing about the plane to be disliked. In the morning, pilots would be allowed to sit in the plane and familiarize themselves with the aircraft. They would become accustomed to where the controls were, what buttons to push, and what buttons to avoid, during flight. Within a couple of days, the mechanics will have more planes built, and pilots can start to take them up for a spin. In about ten days, VT-3 was expected to be able to take off from Bankstown Aerodome and land their planes back on their carrier. Then, VT-2, from Lexington, would go through the same procedures.
Dutch Scouts Get First Use of F5
(TN – Darwin) Further north, at Darwin, Australia, Dutch pilots belonging to R6-VIG-VI Groep were getting a look at their new airplanes. It was an odd creature, with two engines, two tails, and a cockpit built into a second of wing that connected the two engines. The F5 was a modified version of the P-38 fighter, which is already seeing action in Europe, but not yet showing up in the Pacific Theater.
The F5 was as faster and more maneuverable than most allied fighters, and it could fly higher. Yet, at the same time, it had a range that could compete with the slower, far less maneuverable PBYs. From Darwin, pilots would be able to take pictures of Japanese bases anywhere in eastern Indonesia. If the pilots could get stationed at Kai Island, as the commanders hoped, they would be able to watch Japanese activities in the southern Philippine Islands.
However, the pilots found the F5 a difficult plane to learn, With two counter-rotating engines, the planes did not have the tendency to torque the way that single-engines plane did. The same power that causes the propeller to spin in one direction is constantly trying to spin the airplane in the opposite direction. Much a fighter-pilot’s skills centered on dealing with these forces – forces that the F5 pilot did not worry about.
The pilots also had to get used to the fact that the F5 did not have a stick like most planes, but something more like a small steering wheel.
MILNE BAY SUPPLIED
July 8, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
MILNE BAY SUPPLIED
(TN – Townsend) With a cargo ship sitting at anchor, elements of the 1st USMC Division gorged themselves while helping to bring the cargo to shore.
The Marines had been left at Milne Bay without food or ammunition when Japanese carriers chased off their supply ships. Those ships were later sunk in the Coral Sea southwest of the bay. Since, C-47 transport planes and Sunderland seaplanes brought in supplies.
A fully loaded transport plane carried the equivalent of two pounds of material for each soldier stranded on Milne Bay. In addition to food, they needed fresh water, medicine, shelter, tools to build an airstrip and to construct defenses, and ammunition, with enough of a stockpile to hold out against a Japanese attack, Soldiers were forced to tighten their belts and put on limited rations. An evening meal typically consisted of a cup of beans and a biscuit – the same thing they had for lunch.
Then, two days ago, Regulus and Bordvick showed up in the harbor. Major General Vandergrift asked for volunteers to unload the ships, and had to be turned away. Both ships anchored in the harbor, and dispatched light boats to help get the cargo off of the ships and onto shore.
As the food came off, officers had the soldiers set some of it aside, then gave the command to “help yourself”. One lieutenant said, “I need these people to have enough energy to work, and it saves the time it would take to carry the food ashore and get it stored.” Then, the crew went to work unloading the remaining cargo.
The crew worked through the night. Early the next morning, a Betty bomber showed up to scout the island. There was no way to hide the ships in the harbor. In addition to the two cargo ships, the task force arrived with a half-dozen mine sweepers protecting the cargo from submarines. The task force made a sizable armada in Milne Bay.
Frantically, the crew struggled to get the cargo off of the ships and onto shore as quickly as possible.
Near noon, a third ship showed up at Milne Bay. Admiral Wiley was a much larger ship, carrying 7,000 tons of cargo. Additional crews were dispatched to begin the unloading process. Admiral Wiley dropped anchor, then dropped boats over the side and began loading.
Inland, engineers associated with the Marines detachment reported that their airstrip was ready for use. With the crude tools at their disposal, they had cleared a swath of grassland, leveled it out, and packed it, turning it into the airstrip.
Later that afternoon, workers heard aircraft engines overhead. Many remembered the Betty bombers scouting the bay earlier and feared for the worse, yet the air raid siren never blew. With a sudden roar, three Kittyhawk fighters buzzed the workers, followed by another formation, and yet another. They pealed off and landed, one at a time, on the crude airstrip.
As sun set, quartermasters estimated that the crews had taken 1,750 tons of supplies off of the island; over 500 pounds worth for each soldier encamped at Milne Bay. More would undoubtedly be unloaded during the night, and through as much of the next morning as possible, until the enemy planes showed up. However, even if the ships were sunk in the morning, the supply crisis at Milne Bay has ended. The supplies they needed have been offloaded and stored safely on shore.
The rest, as they say, is icing on the cake.
There is that, too – deep in the holds of one of the ships. Powdered sugar by the bag full, perfect for icing, or other sweet foods that can give the soldiers the energy they need when they need it most.
Air Reconnaissance Reports Approaching Battleship
Allied air reconnaissance has been tracking a Japanese task force north of Buna which a submarine earlier reported contained a Japanese battleship. The submarine Shark also reported being chased away by a patrol gunboat. Gunboats are an odd escort for a battleship, causing allied central command to dismiss the earlier report.
However, allied reconnaissance aircraft have been able to track the task force for several days now, and they report that one of the ships truly is a battleship. They have watched the task force enter Buna, leave and go to Lae, and then, late yesterday afternoon, leave Lae heading southeast.
Military strategists have expressed some concern that this truly is a battleship, and that it may try to conduct a raid of Milne Bay as supplies are being unloaded.
General Thompson has ordered the minesweepers that accompanied the cargo ship to form a picket line at the mouth of the bay and warn against any Japanese approach. If a Japanese surface fleet does appear, the minesweepers have been ordered to draw the enemy away from the cargo ships.
Bull Dozers Shipped to Aru Island
(TN – Darwin) General Thompson is taking advantage of the availability of a cargo ship to get engineering vehicles to Aru Island, north of Darwin.
When Thompson originally ordered the occupation of Aru Island, he had the 8,000 soldiers that now occupy the islands air-lifted in. However, the planes could not carry the units’ heavy equipment – bull dozers, front-end loaders, and graders. It remained behind at Darwin, and had been put to use expanding the airfields and constructing defenses against a possible Japanese attempt to capture Darwin.
Last week, the transport ship Coast Farmer managed to deliver over 3,000 tons of supplies to Kai and Aru Islands, then retire to Darwin.
Thompson then ordered the heavy equipment that stayed behind to be loaded onto the transport and sailed to Aru Island. Thompson wants the equipment to be put to use constructing an airfield on the island, which would help the allies take control of the air north of Darwin. Coast Farmer left Darwin yesterday with the heavy equipment belonging to the 22nd Dutch Air Force Base Force. It is due to arrive at the island in two days.
Thayne's News Network
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.
MILNE BAY SUPPLIED
(TN – Townsend) With a cargo ship sitting at anchor, elements of the 1st USMC Division gorged themselves while helping to bring the cargo to shore.
The Marines had been left at Milne Bay without food or ammunition when Japanese carriers chased off their supply ships. Those ships were later sunk in the Coral Sea southwest of the bay. Since, C-47 transport planes and Sunderland seaplanes brought in supplies.
A fully loaded transport plane carried the equivalent of two pounds of material for each soldier stranded on Milne Bay. In addition to food, they needed fresh water, medicine, shelter, tools to build an airstrip and to construct defenses, and ammunition, with enough of a stockpile to hold out against a Japanese attack, Soldiers were forced to tighten their belts and put on limited rations. An evening meal typically consisted of a cup of beans and a biscuit – the same thing they had for lunch.
Then, two days ago, Regulus and Bordvick showed up in the harbor. Major General Vandergrift asked for volunteers to unload the ships, and had to be turned away. Both ships anchored in the harbor, and dispatched light boats to help get the cargo off of the ships and onto shore.
As the food came off, officers had the soldiers set some of it aside, then gave the command to “help yourself”. One lieutenant said, “I need these people to have enough energy to work, and it saves the time it would take to carry the food ashore and get it stored.” Then, the crew went to work unloading the remaining cargo.
The crew worked through the night. Early the next morning, a Betty bomber showed up to scout the island. There was no way to hide the ships in the harbor. In addition to the two cargo ships, the task force arrived with a half-dozen mine sweepers protecting the cargo from submarines. The task force made a sizable armada in Milne Bay.
Frantically, the crew struggled to get the cargo off of the ships and onto shore as quickly as possible.
Near noon, a third ship showed up at Milne Bay. Admiral Wiley was a much larger ship, carrying 7,000 tons of cargo. Additional crews were dispatched to begin the unloading process. Admiral Wiley dropped anchor, then dropped boats over the side and began loading.
Inland, engineers associated with the Marines detachment reported that their airstrip was ready for use. With the crude tools at their disposal, they had cleared a swath of grassland, leveled it out, and packed it, turning it into the airstrip.
Later that afternoon, workers heard aircraft engines overhead. Many remembered the Betty bombers scouting the bay earlier and feared for the worse, yet the air raid siren never blew. With a sudden roar, three Kittyhawk fighters buzzed the workers, followed by another formation, and yet another. They pealed off and landed, one at a time, on the crude airstrip.
As sun set, quartermasters estimated that the crews had taken 1,750 tons of supplies off of the island; over 500 pounds worth for each soldier encamped at Milne Bay. More would undoubtedly be unloaded during the night, and through as much of the next morning as possible, until the enemy planes showed up. However, even if the ships were sunk in the morning, the supply crisis at Milne Bay has ended. The supplies they needed have been offloaded and stored safely on shore.
The rest, as they say, is icing on the cake.
There is that, too – deep in the holds of one of the ships. Powdered sugar by the bag full, perfect for icing, or other sweet foods that can give the soldiers the energy they need when they need it most.
Air Reconnaissance Reports Approaching Battleship
Allied air reconnaissance has been tracking a Japanese task force north of Buna which a submarine earlier reported contained a Japanese battleship. The submarine Shark also reported being chased away by a patrol gunboat. Gunboats are an odd escort for a battleship, causing allied central command to dismiss the earlier report.
However, allied reconnaissance aircraft have been able to track the task force for several days now, and they report that one of the ships truly is a battleship. They have watched the task force enter Buna, leave and go to Lae, and then, late yesterday afternoon, leave Lae heading southeast.
Military strategists have expressed some concern that this truly is a battleship, and that it may try to conduct a raid of Milne Bay as supplies are being unloaded.
General Thompson has ordered the minesweepers that accompanied the cargo ship to form a picket line at the mouth of the bay and warn against any Japanese approach. If a Japanese surface fleet does appear, the minesweepers have been ordered to draw the enemy away from the cargo ships.
Bull Dozers Shipped to Aru Island
(TN – Darwin) General Thompson is taking advantage of the availability of a cargo ship to get engineering vehicles to Aru Island, north of Darwin.
When Thompson originally ordered the occupation of Aru Island, he had the 8,000 soldiers that now occupy the islands air-lifted in. However, the planes could not carry the units’ heavy equipment – bull dozers, front-end loaders, and graders. It remained behind at Darwin, and had been put to use expanding the airfields and constructing defenses against a possible Japanese attempt to capture Darwin.
Last week, the transport ship Coast Farmer managed to deliver over 3,000 tons of supplies to Kai and Aru Islands, then retire to Darwin.
Thompson then ordered the heavy equipment that stayed behind to be loaded onto the transport and sailed to Aru Island. Thompson wants the equipment to be put to use constructing an airfield on the island, which would help the allies take control of the air north of Darwin. Coast Farmer left Darwin yesterday with the heavy equipment belonging to the 22nd Dutch Air Force Base Force. It is due to arrive at the island in two days.
SLAUGHTER AT MILNE BAY
July 9, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
SLAUGHTER AT MILNE BAY
(TN – Townsend) Japanese torpedo bombers were “shockingly accurate” in their attacks on the shipping at Milne Bay yesterday, sinking four ships and damaging a fifth. Among the casualties, the Japanese sank the cargo ship Regulus, carrying over 3,000 tons of supplies to the bottom of Milne Bay. Fortunately, the most important supplies had already been unloaded. Bordvik has also been very badly damaged and is at risk of sinking. Crews are frantically working to remove as much cargo as they can before the ship goes down.
The larger cargo ship Admiral Wiley was not damaged in the attack and continues to unload its cargo as well.
Over 3,500 tons of cargo have been unloaded at Milne Bay; more than enough to take care of the Marines until additional cargo can be brought in.
The other casualties at Milne Bay were the minesweepers Latrobe, Ipswitch, and Cessnock.
Allied military command had anticipated that the Japanese would attack the convoy after they had discovered it, but expected the level of damage that they were accustomed to seeing at Port Moresby. Japanese attacks on that base would often not score any significant damage against any ships. The score of 4 ships sunk and 1 badly damaged at Milne Bay give the Japanese a score greater than what they had accomplished at Port Moresby in a month.
A squadron of Kittyhawk fighters had been flown in to help protect the fleet, even though there is not yet any ground support available for the fighters. Pilots were forced to enlist the aid of marines in arming their own airplanes and refueling them from drums of aviation fuel rolled off of the cargo ships. The Japanese destroyed or damaged four of the fighters. Damaged fighters had to be pushed off of the runway and await service personnel before they will fly again.
Those service personnel are on their way. The Phase II: South Pacific task force for Milne Bay and the surrounding islands is due to leave Cairns, Australia today for the three-day drip across the Coral Sea. However, the success of the Japanese attacks against the cargo ships has Southwest Pacific Command fearing for the safety of the mission. There is some talk among the senior leaders for putting the mission off until the allied carriers can be made available.
Two of those carriers, Saratoga and Lexington, are presently at Sydney Harbor where air crews are learning how to fly their new TBF torpedo bombers. The third, Hornet, has recently completed operations against Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, and is on its way to Noumea.
The Phase II: Southwest Pacific task force left Cairns yesterday for Port Moresby.
TF1076 Starts Run to Andaman Island
(TN – Dacca) Task Force 1076, containing two companies of soldiers from the 16th Indian Brigade out of Chadpur, have turned toward Andaman Island and are preparing their move to retake the island. The task force has orders to stay as far away from Japanese air power as possible. It is to position itself so that it can make the run to Andaman Island at full speed, drop off the troops, and retreat before the Japanese can react.
The soldiers then have orders to try to capture the airfield at Port Blair. If successful, then C-47 transports and seaplanes at Chadpur will begin flying in the rest of the brigade, as well as elements of the 4th Indian Air Base Force, to turn the island into a forward base. As soon as the base force establishes control of the air over Andaman Island, additional heavy equipment and heavy guns will be shipped in to help defend the island.
If the Andaman Island operation is successful, General Pownall is said to considering a second operation against Japanese forces at Sabang, on the western tip of Sumatra. This base will help to block the flow of supplies to Rangoon, which will aid the eventual plan to attack northern Burma.
Nimitz Ponders Dobodura Raid
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, acting on reports from Military Intelligence, is considering an operation to capture the port of Dobodura, on the northern coast of New Guinea, from the Japanese in the near future.
Military intelligence is suggesting that the Japanese have abandoned this base.
Thayne News has contacted its experts at the Gaschk School of Fighting to ask them about this apparent Japanese strategy. Dr. Gaschk, who founded the school, gave us this response. “The Japanese probably took these bases to slow down the eventual allied counter-attack. While we were worrying about what we were going to do about these bases, Japan is building up its rear area defenses. Eventually, we will work our way up to the line that Japan has decided to defend. However, it will take time to scout out these buffer bases, move back in, and make them suitable for supporting future operations. Japan is hoping to use that time to its advantage.”
We asked Dr. Gaschk to comment about the fact that time is not on the side of the Japanese, given the productive capability of the United States.
“You forget, this is not the only war that is going on,” said Dr. Gaschk. “Japan has taken all that it truly needs. At this point, the Japanese can say, ‘Hey, look, it’s been fun, but I know you all have someplace else that you would rather be. If you don’t bother us, we will not bother you.”
Thayne News: “Would the allies accept such a deal?”
Dr. Gaschk: “Not on your life. We might have, if not for Pearl Harbor and the Philippines – if Japan had simply taken the European colonies. There would still have been a powerful faction in America saying, ‘This is not our war’. But it is our war, and Americans are going to demand retribution. Japan will have to suffer for what it has done.”
When asked about the specific plans to capture Dobodura, Dr. Gaschk had this to say: “If Japan has, in fact, abandoned it, then it will be an easy target. Nimitz can withdraw the paratroopers he has on Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands and drop them in on the base. However, I am not certain how important this base is going to be in the long run. We saw yesterday the power of the Japanese air force operating out of Rabaul. There are limits to how far the allies can proceed until they can do something about this threat.”
The next step to do something about this threat is now underway. Phase II: Southwest Pacific left Cairns for Port Moresby yesterday, and Phase II: South Pacific is due to leave Cairns for Milne Bay today.
Thayne's News Network
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.
SLAUGHTER AT MILNE BAY
(TN – Townsend) Japanese torpedo bombers were “shockingly accurate” in their attacks on the shipping at Milne Bay yesterday, sinking four ships and damaging a fifth. Among the casualties, the Japanese sank the cargo ship Regulus, carrying over 3,000 tons of supplies to the bottom of Milne Bay. Fortunately, the most important supplies had already been unloaded. Bordvik has also been very badly damaged and is at risk of sinking. Crews are frantically working to remove as much cargo as they can before the ship goes down.
The larger cargo ship Admiral Wiley was not damaged in the attack and continues to unload its cargo as well.
Over 3,500 tons of cargo have been unloaded at Milne Bay; more than enough to take care of the Marines until additional cargo can be brought in.
The other casualties at Milne Bay were the minesweepers Latrobe, Ipswitch, and Cessnock.
Allied military command had anticipated that the Japanese would attack the convoy after they had discovered it, but expected the level of damage that they were accustomed to seeing at Port Moresby. Japanese attacks on that base would often not score any significant damage against any ships. The score of 4 ships sunk and 1 badly damaged at Milne Bay give the Japanese a score greater than what they had accomplished at Port Moresby in a month.
A squadron of Kittyhawk fighters had been flown in to help protect the fleet, even though there is not yet any ground support available for the fighters. Pilots were forced to enlist the aid of marines in arming their own airplanes and refueling them from drums of aviation fuel rolled off of the cargo ships. The Japanese destroyed or damaged four of the fighters. Damaged fighters had to be pushed off of the runway and await service personnel before they will fly again.
Those service personnel are on their way. The Phase II: South Pacific task force for Milne Bay and the surrounding islands is due to leave Cairns, Australia today for the three-day drip across the Coral Sea. However, the success of the Japanese attacks against the cargo ships has Southwest Pacific Command fearing for the safety of the mission. There is some talk among the senior leaders for putting the mission off until the allied carriers can be made available.
Two of those carriers, Saratoga and Lexington, are presently at Sydney Harbor where air crews are learning how to fly their new TBF torpedo bombers. The third, Hornet, has recently completed operations against Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, and is on its way to Noumea.
The Phase II: Southwest Pacific task force left Cairns yesterday for Port Moresby.
TF1076 Starts Run to Andaman Island
(TN – Dacca) Task Force 1076, containing two companies of soldiers from the 16th Indian Brigade out of Chadpur, have turned toward Andaman Island and are preparing their move to retake the island. The task force has orders to stay as far away from Japanese air power as possible. It is to position itself so that it can make the run to Andaman Island at full speed, drop off the troops, and retreat before the Japanese can react.
The soldiers then have orders to try to capture the airfield at Port Blair. If successful, then C-47 transports and seaplanes at Chadpur will begin flying in the rest of the brigade, as well as elements of the 4th Indian Air Base Force, to turn the island into a forward base. As soon as the base force establishes control of the air over Andaman Island, additional heavy equipment and heavy guns will be shipped in to help defend the island.
If the Andaman Island operation is successful, General Pownall is said to considering a second operation against Japanese forces at Sabang, on the western tip of Sumatra. This base will help to block the flow of supplies to Rangoon, which will aid the eventual plan to attack northern Burma.
Nimitz Ponders Dobodura Raid
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, acting on reports from Military Intelligence, is considering an operation to capture the port of Dobodura, on the northern coast of New Guinea, from the Japanese in the near future.
Military intelligence is suggesting that the Japanese have abandoned this base.
Thayne News has contacted its experts at the Gaschk School of Fighting to ask them about this apparent Japanese strategy. Dr. Gaschk, who founded the school, gave us this response. “The Japanese probably took these bases to slow down the eventual allied counter-attack. While we were worrying about what we were going to do about these bases, Japan is building up its rear area defenses. Eventually, we will work our way up to the line that Japan has decided to defend. However, it will take time to scout out these buffer bases, move back in, and make them suitable for supporting future operations. Japan is hoping to use that time to its advantage.”
We asked Dr. Gaschk to comment about the fact that time is not on the side of the Japanese, given the productive capability of the United States.
“You forget, this is not the only war that is going on,” said Dr. Gaschk. “Japan has taken all that it truly needs. At this point, the Japanese can say, ‘Hey, look, it’s been fun, but I know you all have someplace else that you would rather be. If you don’t bother us, we will not bother you.”
Thayne News: “Would the allies accept such a deal?”
Dr. Gaschk: “Not on your life. We might have, if not for Pearl Harbor and the Philippines – if Japan had simply taken the European colonies. There would still have been a powerful faction in America saying, ‘This is not our war’. But it is our war, and Americans are going to demand retribution. Japan will have to suffer for what it has done.”
When asked about the specific plans to capture Dobodura, Dr. Gaschk had this to say: “If Japan has, in fact, abandoned it, then it will be an easy target. Nimitz can withdraw the paratroopers he has on Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands and drop them in on the base. However, I am not certain how important this base is going to be in the long run. We saw yesterday the power of the Japanese air force operating out of Rabaul. There are limits to how far the allies can proceed until they can do something about this threat.”
The next step to do something about this threat is now underway. Phase II: Southwest Pacific left Cairns for Port Moresby yesterday, and Phase II: South Pacific is due to leave Cairns for Milne Bay today.
PHASE II RECALLED
July 10, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
PHASE II RECALLED
(TN – Townsend) Another devastating attack on shipping at Milne Bay, and sightings of what may be carriers near north of Buna, has convinced Admiral Nimitz and General Thompson that the risk is too great to proceed with Phase II at this time. Both officers have recalled their fleets.
Yesterday’s attack on Milne Bay finished off the supply ship Bordvik, damaged Admiral Wiley, sank the mine layerGouden Leeuw and damaged the mine layers Ogalala and Sicard. Comparable raids against Phase II: South Pacific would threaten to sink half of the troop transports and damage the other half in just two days of Japanese air attacks.
Admiral Nimitz has ordered his task forth withdrawn and for alternative steps to be taken to provide Milne Bay with a viable air defense. Mechanics and other ground service personnel, as well as tools and spare parts, are to be flown in from Australia on the earliest possible transport. Fighters are also to be assembled. Nimitz is also reported to be reconsidering the option of executing both Phase II operations at the same time, instead allowing Thompson to complete his operation under the protection of the air force at Port Moresby, then moving some of those planes to Milne Bay to cover the second half of the operation.
General Thompson is said to be more concerned about reports from the submarine Trigger in the waters east of Lae, about 200 miles northeast of Port Moresby. The submarine reported being driven deep by a heavy escort consisting of minesweepers, gunboats, and destroyers. Allied reconnaissance airplanes flying over the region later in the day reported three heavy cruisers.
The last time that heavy cruisers were reported in these waters was just before Japan launched a carrier-based raid into the Coral Sea that sank over a dozen allied ships. Military intelligence suspects that Japan may have kept a couple of carriers in reserve to block any further attempt to reinforce Port Moresby and Milne Bay.
Allied commanders have been increasingly frustrated in their attempts to enforce this line. Phase I of the plan, launched in June, was given a 93 percent success rate for a program that was expected only to reach 75% success. Allied forces were able to substantially reinforce their units at Port Moresby, and occupy Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island, with minimal losses. Shortly after that operation ended, however, the Japanese navy sent a carrier force into the Coral Sea that sank over a dozen ships and successfully cut New Guinea off from Australia for nearly two weeks. That task force retired to the west only a week ago. Allied commanders are worried that a second carrier task force may be seeking to do the same thing.
Admiral Kimmel’s carriers are present unavailable in the Pacific. They are at Sydney undergoing refit while their crews are being trained to use a new longer-range torpedo bomber.
Phase II, originally scheduled to take place in the middle of July, may ultimately need to be postponed until later in the month.
Yet another concern is a Japanese battleship that seems to be making rounds from Buna to Lae on the north side of the New Guinea peninsula. Though the enemy ship has still not been positively identified or confirmed as a battleship, several independent reports from coast watchers to submarines to reconnaissance aircraft have now all sighted a battleship. The Japanese ship has the potential to suddenly sail into Milne Bay and destroy any task force stationed there.
A mine laying task force had been sent to Milne Bay to lay obstacles for the Japanese. However, Japanese torpedo bombers flying out of Rabaul destroyed this force as it was entering the bay, and before it had any chance to lay any mines.
Andaman Assault Ready
(TN – Dacca) TF1076 reported at sunset that it was ready to begin its run to Andaman Island. The destroyer squadron carrying elements of the 16th India Brigade stopped about 250 miles northeast of the island. At sunset, it will take off, traveling at nearly 35 knots, to deliver its cargo of troops on the shore of Andaman Island before dawn.
The soldiers involved in this operation have had very little time to prepare for this mission. They found out about it two days ago. Since then, military leaders have struggled just to give the soldiers enough maps of the region. There has been little time to organize a plan.
Reconnaissance aircraft have continued to report that the island is vacant. However, senior officials have reminded Thayne News that they once thought the enemy had abandoned Akyab. Just before the start of a mission to reoccupy the city, military intelligence discovered that a full Japanese division was still defending the port. The scouting mission would have likely been slaughtered before any type of rescue operation could have been mounted.
If military intelligence is wrong about Andaman Island, Pownall is at risk of suffering what he managed to avoid at Akyab.
Thayne's News Network
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.
PHASE II RECALLED
(TN – Townsend) Another devastating attack on shipping at Milne Bay, and sightings of what may be carriers near north of Buna, has convinced Admiral Nimitz and General Thompson that the risk is too great to proceed with Phase II at this time. Both officers have recalled their fleets.
Yesterday’s attack on Milne Bay finished off the supply ship Bordvik, damaged Admiral Wiley, sank the mine layerGouden Leeuw and damaged the mine layers Ogalala and Sicard. Comparable raids against Phase II: South Pacific would threaten to sink half of the troop transports and damage the other half in just two days of Japanese air attacks.
Admiral Nimitz has ordered his task forth withdrawn and for alternative steps to be taken to provide Milne Bay with a viable air defense. Mechanics and other ground service personnel, as well as tools and spare parts, are to be flown in from Australia on the earliest possible transport. Fighters are also to be assembled. Nimitz is also reported to be reconsidering the option of executing both Phase II operations at the same time, instead allowing Thompson to complete his operation under the protection of the air force at Port Moresby, then moving some of those planes to Milne Bay to cover the second half of the operation.
General Thompson is said to be more concerned about reports from the submarine Trigger in the waters east of Lae, about 200 miles northeast of Port Moresby. The submarine reported being driven deep by a heavy escort consisting of minesweepers, gunboats, and destroyers. Allied reconnaissance airplanes flying over the region later in the day reported three heavy cruisers.
The last time that heavy cruisers were reported in these waters was just before Japan launched a carrier-based raid into the Coral Sea that sank over a dozen allied ships. Military intelligence suspects that Japan may have kept a couple of carriers in reserve to block any further attempt to reinforce Port Moresby and Milne Bay.
Allied commanders have been increasingly frustrated in their attempts to enforce this line. Phase I of the plan, launched in June, was given a 93 percent success rate for a program that was expected only to reach 75% success. Allied forces were able to substantially reinforce their units at Port Moresby, and occupy Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island, with minimal losses. Shortly after that operation ended, however, the Japanese navy sent a carrier force into the Coral Sea that sank over a dozen ships and successfully cut New Guinea off from Australia for nearly two weeks. That task force retired to the west only a week ago. Allied commanders are worried that a second carrier task force may be seeking to do the same thing.
Admiral Kimmel’s carriers are present unavailable in the Pacific. They are at Sydney undergoing refit while their crews are being trained to use a new longer-range torpedo bomber.
Phase II, originally scheduled to take place in the middle of July, may ultimately need to be postponed until later in the month.
Yet another concern is a Japanese battleship that seems to be making rounds from Buna to Lae on the north side of the New Guinea peninsula. Though the enemy ship has still not been positively identified or confirmed as a battleship, several independent reports from coast watchers to submarines to reconnaissance aircraft have now all sighted a battleship. The Japanese ship has the potential to suddenly sail into Milne Bay and destroy any task force stationed there.
A mine laying task force had been sent to Milne Bay to lay obstacles for the Japanese. However, Japanese torpedo bombers flying out of Rabaul destroyed this force as it was entering the bay, and before it had any chance to lay any mines.
Andaman Assault Ready
(TN – Dacca) TF1076 reported at sunset that it was ready to begin its run to Andaman Island. The destroyer squadron carrying elements of the 16th India Brigade stopped about 250 miles northeast of the island. At sunset, it will take off, traveling at nearly 35 knots, to deliver its cargo of troops on the shore of Andaman Island before dawn.
The soldiers involved in this operation have had very little time to prepare for this mission. They found out about it two days ago. Since then, military leaders have struggled just to give the soldiers enough maps of the region. There has been little time to organize a plan.
Reconnaissance aircraft have continued to report that the island is vacant. However, senior officials have reminded Thayne News that they once thought the enemy had abandoned Akyab. Just before the start of a mission to reoccupy the city, military intelligence discovered that a full Japanese division was still defending the port. The scouting mission would have likely been slaughtered before any type of rescue operation could have been mounted.
If military intelligence is wrong about Andaman Island, Pownall is at risk of suffering what he managed to avoid at Akyab.
ANDAMAN RETAKEN
July 11, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
ANDAMAN RETAKEN
(TN – Dacca) General Pownall’s gamble to retake the Andaman Islands paid off as 1500 British soldiers took control of the city late last night.
The plan, which took less than a week to prepare and execute, involved transporting the soldiers to Andaman Island at night with orders to seize the Port Blair airport. They encountered no resistance as they unloaded and moved into position. At dawn, they launched their attack. They quickly overwhelmed the few defenders that remained and took control of the facility. From the radio tower, Major Kalamkar sent the phrase, “Clear to land.”
It was too late in the day for transport airplanes to make the trip from Chadpur, but ground crews immediately went to work to prepare the flights for the next morning. Soldiers from the 14th Indian Brigade and the 4th Indian Air Base Force were told to prepare for the trip.
General Pownall’s staff immediately discovered that they had a problem to contend with in the defense of the Andaman Islands. None of their Hurricane or Spitfire fighters were capable of flying to the islands from any airstrips presently in allied control. The carriers assigned to the Indian ocean were on their way to Australia to prepare to help the allies defend the Coral Sea and Darwin.
However, just two days earlier, a cargo ship from America had shown up with a cargo of twenty-four P-39 Aircobra airplanes from the United States. The planes belong to the 47th Fighter Squadron, which was sent to India to deal with India’s shortage of medium-range fighters. Pownell immediately ordered the cargo ship carrying the fighters to Trincomalee, where they are to be uncrated and flown to the Andaman Islands.
Pownall has also warned the commander of the 21st Fighter Squadron, a flight group that sought refuge in India when its home base in the Philippines was overrun, to prepare to relocate.
The 54th Fighter Group, also flying P-39 Aircobras, is also on its way to India. It is currently three days out of Perth, Australia. After refueling, it will need to make a two-week trip across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon.
Air Power Grows at Milne Bay
(TN – Milne Bay) Sunderland seaplanes touched down in Milne Bay and taxied up to the shore, where they unloaded dozens of mechanics and ordinance experts from the 8th Dutch Air Force Base Force. Translators struggled through the language barrier, but the Dutch soldiers knew what they needed. They watched a C-47 transport airplane land, then headed off in the same direction.
The C-47 held tools and spare parts for Kittyhawk airplanes. When they got to the airport, they recognized the the planes sitting on the side of the field; they were the same planes the crews had worked on at Cairns only three days earlier. They admonished the New Zealand pilots with protests of, “What have you done to my plane?” It was, perhaps, fortunate that the New Zealand pilots did not understand many of the words that the Dutch ground crews added to their protests.
The pilots were put to work unloading the transport, while the Dutch crews went to work repairing the fighters.
The Betty bombers showed up with their Zero escort later in the day, just as they had done in the past. The mechanics were only able to put two airplanes in the air. One of them got shot down and crashed into the mountains on the south side of the bay, leaving the Milne Bay air force with only one working plane.
The Betty bombers made use of their control of the sky, sinking the mine layer Ogalala. They also took aim at the cargo ship Admiral Wiley. However, this time, the allies got lucky, and the ship remained afloat. It was barely floating however; damage from an earlier torpedo hit had her deep in the water on the stern. The fires had been put out, and crews were back to focusing on getting its cargo onto the shore.
By the next morning, Admiral Nimitz promised the defenders at Milne Bay that they would have air cover. The mechanics were ordered to work throughout the night to get the airplanes set. In addition, Admiral Nimitz had ordered additional air reinforcements to Milne Bay now that it had a ground crew to maintain the airplanes. Nimitz’ goal was to have two dozen airplanes to meet the Japanese the next day. Then, he would reactivate Phase II: South Pacific
The ease with which the allies are putting together an air force at Milne Bay have caused some senior officials to ask why Admiral Nimitz had not ordered this done earlier. Sources close to Nimitz report that the Admiral is taking personal responsibility for the mistake. “The Admiral feels that he was lead into a false sense of security by a number of factors. Chief among these were the success of so many similar missions in the past, the fact that the Japanese carriers were known to be several thousand miles away, and that the Japanese at Rabaul had shown themselves in the past to be unable to inflict significant damage on an allied ships. Furthermore, many of the air units being sent to Milne Bay only became available within the past couple of days. Most of the planes for these air units are still in their crates at Brisbane and Townsend.” The advisors also added, “It will not happen again.”
Gen. Thompson Hesitates: Carrier Issue Remains In Doubt
(TN – Townsend) General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has ordered his intelligence staff to come up with a definitive answer to the question of whether there are Japanese carriers north of Buna.
The possibility was raised when allied submarines and reconnaissance airplanes spotted Japanese heavy cruisers. These ships typically accompany enemy carriers. Furthermore, the Japanese have had a habit of charging out as the allies conduct major operations in the area.
However, no actual evidence that there are Japanese carriers in the area have been found. In spite of the proximity of the enemy task force to Port Moresby, no carrier planes or capital-ship seaplanes have been spotted.
Barring actual evidence of Japanese carriers, General Townsend has ordered Phase II: Southwest Pacific to proceed cautiously to Port Moresby to unload its cargo of troops and supplies. However, he has told the task force commander, Captain Caughlin on the escort carrier Long Island, to be prepared to run if anybody finds evidence of Japanese carriers.
Thayne News has learned that Thompson’s decisions recently are causing concern in the higher levels of allied command. Unnamed sources say that Thompson’s apparent indecisiveness, “. . . has generated some frank words here in Washington.” Some officials have suggested that, perhaps, a more aggressive and less careful commander may be needed in the region. Said one senior official, “Thompson did a fine job when we were on the defensive, but we have yet to determine if he can carry the ball now that we are starting to go on the offense.”
Thayne's News Network
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.
ANDAMAN RETAKEN
(TN – Dacca) General Pownall’s gamble to retake the Andaman Islands paid off as 1500 British soldiers took control of the city late last night.
The plan, which took less than a week to prepare and execute, involved transporting the soldiers to Andaman Island at night with orders to seize the Port Blair airport. They encountered no resistance as they unloaded and moved into position. At dawn, they launched their attack. They quickly overwhelmed the few defenders that remained and took control of the facility. From the radio tower, Major Kalamkar sent the phrase, “Clear to land.”
It was too late in the day for transport airplanes to make the trip from Chadpur, but ground crews immediately went to work to prepare the flights for the next morning. Soldiers from the 14th Indian Brigade and the 4th Indian Air Base Force were told to prepare for the trip.
General Pownall’s staff immediately discovered that they had a problem to contend with in the defense of the Andaman Islands. None of their Hurricane or Spitfire fighters were capable of flying to the islands from any airstrips presently in allied control. The carriers assigned to the Indian ocean were on their way to Australia to prepare to help the allies defend the Coral Sea and Darwin.
However, just two days earlier, a cargo ship from America had shown up with a cargo of twenty-four P-39 Aircobra airplanes from the United States. The planes belong to the 47th Fighter Squadron, which was sent to India to deal with India’s shortage of medium-range fighters. Pownell immediately ordered the cargo ship carrying the fighters to Trincomalee, where they are to be uncrated and flown to the Andaman Islands.
Pownall has also warned the commander of the 21st Fighter Squadron, a flight group that sought refuge in India when its home base in the Philippines was overrun, to prepare to relocate.
The 54th Fighter Group, also flying P-39 Aircobras, is also on its way to India. It is currently three days out of Perth, Australia. After refueling, it will need to make a two-week trip across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon.
Air Power Grows at Milne Bay
(TN – Milne Bay) Sunderland seaplanes touched down in Milne Bay and taxied up to the shore, where they unloaded dozens of mechanics and ordinance experts from the 8th Dutch Air Force Base Force. Translators struggled through the language barrier, but the Dutch soldiers knew what they needed. They watched a C-47 transport airplane land, then headed off in the same direction.
The C-47 held tools and spare parts for Kittyhawk airplanes. When they got to the airport, they recognized the the planes sitting on the side of the field; they were the same planes the crews had worked on at Cairns only three days earlier. They admonished the New Zealand pilots with protests of, “What have you done to my plane?” It was, perhaps, fortunate that the New Zealand pilots did not understand many of the words that the Dutch ground crews added to their protests.
The pilots were put to work unloading the transport, while the Dutch crews went to work repairing the fighters.
The Betty bombers showed up with their Zero escort later in the day, just as they had done in the past. The mechanics were only able to put two airplanes in the air. One of them got shot down and crashed into the mountains on the south side of the bay, leaving the Milne Bay air force with only one working plane.
The Betty bombers made use of their control of the sky, sinking the mine layer Ogalala. They also took aim at the cargo ship Admiral Wiley. However, this time, the allies got lucky, and the ship remained afloat. It was barely floating however; damage from an earlier torpedo hit had her deep in the water on the stern. The fires had been put out, and crews were back to focusing on getting its cargo onto the shore.
By the next morning, Admiral Nimitz promised the defenders at Milne Bay that they would have air cover. The mechanics were ordered to work throughout the night to get the airplanes set. In addition, Admiral Nimitz had ordered additional air reinforcements to Milne Bay now that it had a ground crew to maintain the airplanes. Nimitz’ goal was to have two dozen airplanes to meet the Japanese the next day. Then, he would reactivate Phase II: South Pacific
The ease with which the allies are putting together an air force at Milne Bay have caused some senior officials to ask why Admiral Nimitz had not ordered this done earlier. Sources close to Nimitz report that the Admiral is taking personal responsibility for the mistake. “The Admiral feels that he was lead into a false sense of security by a number of factors. Chief among these were the success of so many similar missions in the past, the fact that the Japanese carriers were known to be several thousand miles away, and that the Japanese at Rabaul had shown themselves in the past to be unable to inflict significant damage on an allied ships. Furthermore, many of the air units being sent to Milne Bay only became available within the past couple of days. Most of the planes for these air units are still in their crates at Brisbane and Townsend.” The advisors also added, “It will not happen again.”
Gen. Thompson Hesitates: Carrier Issue Remains In Doubt
(TN – Townsend) General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has ordered his intelligence staff to come up with a definitive answer to the question of whether there are Japanese carriers north of Buna.
The possibility was raised when allied submarines and reconnaissance airplanes spotted Japanese heavy cruisers. These ships typically accompany enemy carriers. Furthermore, the Japanese have had a habit of charging out as the allies conduct major operations in the area.
However, no actual evidence that there are Japanese carriers in the area have been found. In spite of the proximity of the enemy task force to Port Moresby, no carrier planes or capital-ship seaplanes have been spotted.
Barring actual evidence of Japanese carriers, General Townsend has ordered Phase II: Southwest Pacific to proceed cautiously to Port Moresby to unload its cargo of troops and supplies. However, he has told the task force commander, Captain Caughlin on the escort carrier Long Island, to be prepared to run if anybody finds evidence of Japanese carriers.
Thayne News has learned that Thompson’s decisions recently are causing concern in the higher levels of allied command. Unnamed sources say that Thompson’s apparent indecisiveness, “. . . has generated some frank words here in Washington.” Some officials have suggested that, perhaps, a more aggressive and less careful commander may be needed in the region. Said one senior official, “Thompson did a fine job when we were on the defensive, but we have yet to determine if he can carry the ball now that we are starting to go on the offense.”
”NO ENEMY CARRIERS”
July 12, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
”NO ENEMY CARRIERS”
(TN – Townsend) Allied military intelligence for the office of General Thompson in the Southwest Pacific offered its formal opinion that “There are enemy carriers in the waters north and west of New Guinea.”
The assessment came after a day of attacks on Japanese units in the area and finding no carriers. Allied sources also reported no sightings of carrier-based airplanes, and no combat air patrol of any type over task forces or cities attacked in the region. “It is our opinion that, if there were carriers in the region, the planes that we sent would have caught sight of at least one enemy carrier airplane. We do not have a shred of evidence that there are any carriers in the region.”
With this, General Thompson ordered Phase II: Southwest Pacific back to Port Moresby.
The unit left Cairns four days ago, then was ordered to hold position in the Coral Sea when allied military sources picked up signs of heavy cruisers north of New Guinea. These types of contacts, in the past, have been a sign of Japanese carrier activity. After picking up a report of heavy cruisers in June, General Thompson ordered all ships to withdraw. The next day, Japanese carriers started sinking those ships that could not withdraw fast enough. The allies lost several ships to the Japanese, but everybody agrees that the carnage would have been greater if General Thompson had waited for evidence of carriers.
While doing so, they were able to sink a Japanese sub that shot at one of the troop transports. The torpedo shot almost wrecked the record of the escort carrier Long Island. Its crew has boasted that, in these hostile waters, they have never lost a ship under their umbrella to a Japanese submarine. Carrier planes from Long Island spotted the torpedo tracks as it headed for the troop transport Van Diamen. Shouting a warning to the ship, Van Diamen took evasive actions and avoided the computer. The air planes then directed the patrol gunboat Swan to the site. Swan hit the Japanese ship several times creating a debris field that qualified for marking the ship as ‘sunk’.
Allied military intelligence is still recording unusual enemy activity in the waters north of New Guinea. Among the contacts, the Australian military has been tracking a battleship for nearly a week. Two new task forces, each containing heavy cruisers, have been spotted north and west of Buna. In addition, task force with at least six troop transports recently pulled into Buna, where spies report a significant increase in the number of Japanese military personnel. Military intelligence officials believe that these units are reinforcements for a future attack on Port Moresby. General Thompson believes that these reports of a Japanese buildup argue for the allies to get their troops to Port Moresby sooner, rather than later.
All of these, plus Japan’s deadly attacks against allied units attempting to deliver supplies to Milne Bay, suggest that Japan is building up for a fight in this part of the Pacific.
Unless Japanese carriers show up, Phase II: Southwest Pacific should be able to substantially complete by July 15th, its original target date.
Phase II: South Pacific Also Back On
Admiral Nimitz has also ended the hold on Phase II: South Pacific. In the last day, Dutch mechanics and ground personnel airlifted to Milne Bay have reached their target of creating two dozen airworthy fighter airplanes to guard the bay. Admiral Nimitz has said that he wants Milne Bay and the Cook Islands built up before the Japanese unleash whatever they plan to unleash with the assets they are gathering southwest of Rabaul.
Pownall Puts Seaplanes to Work
(TN – Dacca) General Pownall, commander of allied forces in Southeast Asia, has put to work the extra seaplane squadrons he received from Canada earlier in the war to build up the Andaman Islands as a major allied base.
Pownall has ordered the squadrons to Chadpur, one of only two places where the planes can actually reach the Andaman Islands, and gave them orders to airlift supplies and reinforcements to the island. He has also diverted a transport squadron from Ledo to Chadpur to help carry supplies to the remote island.
According to sources in China, General Chang Kai Shek is furious over the diversion. Until recently, most of these squadrons had been delivering supplies into China, where Chang Kai Shek, the leader of China, then oversees their distribution among his armies. However, according to sources close to Chang Kai Shek, much of the material is being horded for a post-war conflict with Mao Tse Tung.
General Pownall insists that this is the best option for opening Burma Road. Pownall hopes to starve Burma of food and military equipment, which should make the region easier to capture. However, General Chang Kai Shek is dubious of the plan and reports that he would rather have the supplies in his warehouse where he knows about their welfare.
Bombers Making Mulch of Tyaung Gyi
(TN – Dacca) Allied high-level bombers are continuing to reduce the Burma city of Tyaung Gyi into a useless heap of rubble for the Japanese. In June, the British army diverted its heavy bombing campaign from Mandalay, which, they said, had been made useless to the Japanese. It then started to use those resources to make Tyaung Gyi into a waste land. So far, allied bombing has destroyed more than half of the railway and storage facilities available at the city.
With the destruction of Tyaung Gyi nearing completion, allied forces are looking for a new target. The two next closest targets would be the resources, oil, and manufacturing centers at Rangoon, or the resources at Moulmein about 60 miles east of Rangoon. However, these targets are covered by a thick cloud of fighter cover, which could mean significant losses inflicted on the bombers.
The bombers do have an ability to fly above most of the Japanese fighter types. However, this type of bombing makes it difficult for the bombers to hit their targets accurately.
Thayne's News Network
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.
”NO ENEMY CARRIERS”
(TN – Townsend) Allied military intelligence for the office of General Thompson in the Southwest Pacific offered its formal opinion that “There are enemy carriers in the waters north and west of New Guinea.”
The assessment came after a day of attacks on Japanese units in the area and finding no carriers. Allied sources also reported no sightings of carrier-based airplanes, and no combat air patrol of any type over task forces or cities attacked in the region. “It is our opinion that, if there were carriers in the region, the planes that we sent would have caught sight of at least one enemy carrier airplane. We do not have a shred of evidence that there are any carriers in the region.”
With this, General Thompson ordered Phase II: Southwest Pacific back to Port Moresby.
The unit left Cairns four days ago, then was ordered to hold position in the Coral Sea when allied military sources picked up signs of heavy cruisers north of New Guinea. These types of contacts, in the past, have been a sign of Japanese carrier activity. After picking up a report of heavy cruisers in June, General Thompson ordered all ships to withdraw. The next day, Japanese carriers started sinking those ships that could not withdraw fast enough. The allies lost several ships to the Japanese, but everybody agrees that the carnage would have been greater if General Thompson had waited for evidence of carriers.
While doing so, they were able to sink a Japanese sub that shot at one of the troop transports. The torpedo shot almost wrecked the record of the escort carrier Long Island. Its crew has boasted that, in these hostile waters, they have never lost a ship under their umbrella to a Japanese submarine. Carrier planes from Long Island spotted the torpedo tracks as it headed for the troop transport Van Diamen. Shouting a warning to the ship, Van Diamen took evasive actions and avoided the computer. The air planes then directed the patrol gunboat Swan to the site. Swan hit the Japanese ship several times creating a debris field that qualified for marking the ship as ‘sunk’.
Allied military intelligence is still recording unusual enemy activity in the waters north of New Guinea. Among the contacts, the Australian military has been tracking a battleship for nearly a week. Two new task forces, each containing heavy cruisers, have been spotted north and west of Buna. In addition, task force with at least six troop transports recently pulled into Buna, where spies report a significant increase in the number of Japanese military personnel. Military intelligence officials believe that these units are reinforcements for a future attack on Port Moresby. General Thompson believes that these reports of a Japanese buildup argue for the allies to get their troops to Port Moresby sooner, rather than later.
All of these, plus Japan’s deadly attacks against allied units attempting to deliver supplies to Milne Bay, suggest that Japan is building up for a fight in this part of the Pacific.
Unless Japanese carriers show up, Phase II: Southwest Pacific should be able to substantially complete by July 15th, its original target date.
Phase II: South Pacific Also Back On
Admiral Nimitz has also ended the hold on Phase II: South Pacific. In the last day, Dutch mechanics and ground personnel airlifted to Milne Bay have reached their target of creating two dozen airworthy fighter airplanes to guard the bay. Admiral Nimitz has said that he wants Milne Bay and the Cook Islands built up before the Japanese unleash whatever they plan to unleash with the assets they are gathering southwest of Rabaul.
Pownall Puts Seaplanes to Work
(TN – Dacca) General Pownall, commander of allied forces in Southeast Asia, has put to work the extra seaplane squadrons he received from Canada earlier in the war to build up the Andaman Islands as a major allied base.
Pownall has ordered the squadrons to Chadpur, one of only two places where the planes can actually reach the Andaman Islands, and gave them orders to airlift supplies and reinforcements to the island. He has also diverted a transport squadron from Ledo to Chadpur to help carry supplies to the remote island.
According to sources in China, General Chang Kai Shek is furious over the diversion. Until recently, most of these squadrons had been delivering supplies into China, where Chang Kai Shek, the leader of China, then oversees their distribution among his armies. However, according to sources close to Chang Kai Shek, much of the material is being horded for a post-war conflict with Mao Tse Tung.
General Pownall insists that this is the best option for opening Burma Road. Pownall hopes to starve Burma of food and military equipment, which should make the region easier to capture. However, General Chang Kai Shek is dubious of the plan and reports that he would rather have the supplies in his warehouse where he knows about their welfare.
Bombers Making Mulch of Tyaung Gyi
(TN – Dacca) Allied high-level bombers are continuing to reduce the Burma city of Tyaung Gyi into a useless heap of rubble for the Japanese. In June, the British army diverted its heavy bombing campaign from Mandalay, which, they said, had been made useless to the Japanese. It then started to use those resources to make Tyaung Gyi into a waste land. So far, allied bombing has destroyed more than half of the railway and storage facilities available at the city.
With the destruction of Tyaung Gyi nearing completion, allied forces are looking for a new target. The two next closest targets would be the resources, oil, and manufacturing centers at Rangoon, or the resources at Moulmein about 60 miles east of Rangoon. However, these targets are covered by a thick cloud of fighter cover, which could mean significant losses inflicted on the bombers.
The bombers do have an ability to fly above most of the Japanese fighter types. However, this type of bombing makes it difficult for the bombers to hit their targets accurately.
PHASE II REACHES PORT MORESBY
July 13, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
PHASE II REACHES PORT MORESBY
(TN – Townsend) Phase II: Southwest Pacific reached Port Moresby, New Guinea yesterday carrying 16,000 troops to reinforce the port. Reinforcements include elements of the 2nd and 6th Australian Infantry Divisions, Australian 1st Army Headquarters, and Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force.
The ships pulled into port shortly after sunset yesterday, which will give the crews the night to unload the ships without fear of an enemy air attack. The first priority will be to get the troops off of the ships with their basic equipment and supplies before the Japanese have an opportunity to sink the transports. The next priority will be to unload over 4,000 tons of additional equipment that the transport ships brought with them. The operation is expected to take several days, though the task force has the option of withdrawing the instant that the troops have been disembarked.
The arrival of the reinforcements will bring the number of allied troops at Port Moresby to over 60,000, and will bring the three divisions belonging to the newly formed Australian 1st Army virtually up to full strength. With these additional troops, General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has ordered the Australian 1st Army to take the offensive and march across the Owen Stanley Ridge into Buna – to do to the Japanese on the north side of the island what the Japanese failed to accomplish at Port Moresby.
Military intelligence suggests that the Japanese are anticipating this move and are moving significant numbers of reinforcements into the area. In the past week, Japanese naval traffic north of Port Moresby has been particularly heavy. Intelligence sources suggest have obtained reports suggesting that a dozen troop transports entered Buna recently, and that two more units of unknown type or size recently unloaded at Buna.
B-25 and Hudson bombers flying from Thursday Island attacked ships at Buna yesterday. Bomb assessment reports show two probable hits on two transports, plus a stick of four 500 lb bombs hitting the full length of a third ship. According to reports from the crew, there were two large explosions behind the ship, then four explosions in rapid succession from the stern up the length of the ship. The planes left the transport awash in smoke.
However, evaluation of the pictures brought back from the attack reveal that none of the ships hit were troop transports. All of them were cargo ships. No evidence of troop transports at Buna were brought back from the raid, though aerial reconnaissance crews insist that they saw over half a dozen troop transports at Buna earlier in the day.
Other signs of Japanese activity in the region include reports of 15 Japanese ships in Lae; including a Japanese battleship that has not yet been identified. Allied spies and reconnaissance airplanes report another ten troop transport ships at Rabaul. Furthermore, and submarines north of New Britain report sighting two task forces containing a total of four heavy cruisers. The submarines were not able to get close enough to determine any specific information about the enemy ships.
CVE Long Island Builds Reputation
The escort carrier Long Island continued to build on its reputation for being able to protect allied shipping from Japanese submarines. The escort carrier broke away from Phase II: South Pacific to prevent sailing too far under the Japanese air umbrella. Instead, it stayed in the waters off of Cairns and rendezvoused with surviving ships returning from Milne Bay. In the early morning, its planes spotted a Japanese submarine in the waters near the rendezvous location and directed a pack of minesweepers against the target. The minesweeper Benalla reported several hits on a contact before losing the signal. The minesweeper Outarde picked up a contact several minutes later in the same location and reported additional hits.
AVG Pilots Hear Friendly Voice
(TN – Chungking) Pilots belonging to the American Volunteer Group, stationed in China, received a long-awaited treat yesterday – people who spoke English. After a long trip that involved a plane flight over “the Hump” from Ledo, India to Yunan, China, and a road trip of over 1000 miles over crudely constructed and ill kept mountain trails, the 101st Base Force reached Nanning, China, yesterday.
The 101st Base Force was originally assigned to provide support for the AVG in China. While it made the trip, Chinese engineers have been largely responsible for maintaining the airplanes and the airfields that the AVG is using. The Chinese forces performed admirably; the AVG has been able to conduct repeated raids against Hanoi and helped to drive a Japanese incursion from southern China. However, the language barrier and the Chinese lack of experience handling the American P-40 Tomahawk and Warhawk airplanes has caused some inefficiencies.
With the arrival of the 101st Base Force, China Command intends to turn Nanning into a major air center. The Chinese units will begin to work on Chinese airplanes that will be based at Nanning, while the American unit takes over responsibility for the AVG airplanes. Before the end of the week, Nanning is expected to host nearly 200 fighters and bombers.
Chinese work gangs, consisting of thousands of peasants who break rocks for the landing strip and pull huge, heavy drums down the strips to pack the gravel, have already built the airstrip to a size that can handle the number of airplanes anticipated. In addition, the Japanese have provided invaluable assistance by staying away from the airstrip; though, if they did decide to bomb the airstrips, they would have to contend with the pilots of the AVG.
Milne Air Force Keeps Admiral Wiley Safe
(TN – Noumea) At Milne Bay, on the eastern tip of New Guinea, allied pilots kept Japanese airplanes away from the stricken cargo ship Admiral Wiley, while crews continued to work to get its cargo onto dry land.
Admiral Wiley is the only allied ship left in the bay out of three task forces that arrived to deliver cargo and mine the harbor. When the ships started to arrive, Japanese forces launched devastating attacks on the ships that sent two transports, three minesweepers, and three minelayers to the bottom of the harbor. The remaining, other than Admiral Wiley, escaped back to Australia. Admiral Wilen took two torpedo hits in two separate attacks and is considered too badly damaged to travel open waters. Instead, crews are working to unload its cargo before it sinks.
Admiral Wiley has lasted much longer than crews originally thought possible. Yesterday, salvage crews were able to start pumping water out of the ship and return some of its buoyancy. Japanese pilots tried twice yesterday to sink her. However, between the air cover and the anti-aircraft fire none were able to get off a successful shot.
Thayne's News Network
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.
PHASE II REACHES PORT MORESBY
(TN – Townsend) Phase II: Southwest Pacific reached Port Moresby, New Guinea yesterday carrying 16,000 troops to reinforce the port. Reinforcements include elements of the 2nd and 6th Australian Infantry Divisions, Australian 1st Army Headquarters, and Number 108 Royal Australian Air Force Base Force.
The ships pulled into port shortly after sunset yesterday, which will give the crews the night to unload the ships without fear of an enemy air attack. The first priority will be to get the troops off of the ships with their basic equipment and supplies before the Japanese have an opportunity to sink the transports. The next priority will be to unload over 4,000 tons of additional equipment that the transport ships brought with them. The operation is expected to take several days, though the task force has the option of withdrawing the instant that the troops have been disembarked.
The arrival of the reinforcements will bring the number of allied troops at Port Moresby to over 60,000, and will bring the three divisions belonging to the newly formed Australian 1st Army virtually up to full strength. With these additional troops, General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, has ordered the Australian 1st Army to take the offensive and march across the Owen Stanley Ridge into Buna – to do to the Japanese on the north side of the island what the Japanese failed to accomplish at Port Moresby.
Military intelligence suggests that the Japanese are anticipating this move and are moving significant numbers of reinforcements into the area. In the past week, Japanese naval traffic north of Port Moresby has been particularly heavy. Intelligence sources suggest have obtained reports suggesting that a dozen troop transports entered Buna recently, and that two more units of unknown type or size recently unloaded at Buna.
B-25 and Hudson bombers flying from Thursday Island attacked ships at Buna yesterday. Bomb assessment reports show two probable hits on two transports, plus a stick of four 500 lb bombs hitting the full length of a third ship. According to reports from the crew, there were two large explosions behind the ship, then four explosions in rapid succession from the stern up the length of the ship. The planes left the transport awash in smoke.
However, evaluation of the pictures brought back from the attack reveal that none of the ships hit were troop transports. All of them were cargo ships. No evidence of troop transports at Buna were brought back from the raid, though aerial reconnaissance crews insist that they saw over half a dozen troop transports at Buna earlier in the day.
Other signs of Japanese activity in the region include reports of 15 Japanese ships in Lae; including a Japanese battleship that has not yet been identified. Allied spies and reconnaissance airplanes report another ten troop transport ships at Rabaul. Furthermore, and submarines north of New Britain report sighting two task forces containing a total of four heavy cruisers. The submarines were not able to get close enough to determine any specific information about the enemy ships.
CVE Long Island Builds Reputation
The escort carrier Long Island continued to build on its reputation for being able to protect allied shipping from Japanese submarines. The escort carrier broke away from Phase II: South Pacific to prevent sailing too far under the Japanese air umbrella. Instead, it stayed in the waters off of Cairns and rendezvoused with surviving ships returning from Milne Bay. In the early morning, its planes spotted a Japanese submarine in the waters near the rendezvous location and directed a pack of minesweepers against the target. The minesweeper Benalla reported several hits on a contact before losing the signal. The minesweeper Outarde picked up a contact several minutes later in the same location and reported additional hits.
AVG Pilots Hear Friendly Voice
(TN – Chungking) Pilots belonging to the American Volunteer Group, stationed in China, received a long-awaited treat yesterday – people who spoke English. After a long trip that involved a plane flight over “the Hump” from Ledo, India to Yunan, China, and a road trip of over 1000 miles over crudely constructed and ill kept mountain trails, the 101st Base Force reached Nanning, China, yesterday.
The 101st Base Force was originally assigned to provide support for the AVG in China. While it made the trip, Chinese engineers have been largely responsible for maintaining the airplanes and the airfields that the AVG is using. The Chinese forces performed admirably; the AVG has been able to conduct repeated raids against Hanoi and helped to drive a Japanese incursion from southern China. However, the language barrier and the Chinese lack of experience handling the American P-40 Tomahawk and Warhawk airplanes has caused some inefficiencies.
With the arrival of the 101st Base Force, China Command intends to turn Nanning into a major air center. The Chinese units will begin to work on Chinese airplanes that will be based at Nanning, while the American unit takes over responsibility for the AVG airplanes. Before the end of the week, Nanning is expected to host nearly 200 fighters and bombers.
Chinese work gangs, consisting of thousands of peasants who break rocks for the landing strip and pull huge, heavy drums down the strips to pack the gravel, have already built the airstrip to a size that can handle the number of airplanes anticipated. In addition, the Japanese have provided invaluable assistance by staying away from the airstrip; though, if they did decide to bomb the airstrips, they would have to contend with the pilots of the AVG.
Milne Air Force Keeps Admiral Wiley Safe
(TN – Noumea) At Milne Bay, on the eastern tip of New Guinea, allied pilots kept Japanese airplanes away from the stricken cargo ship Admiral Wiley, while crews continued to work to get its cargo onto dry land.
Admiral Wiley is the only allied ship left in the bay out of three task forces that arrived to deliver cargo and mine the harbor. When the ships started to arrive, Japanese forces launched devastating attacks on the ships that sent two transports, three minesweepers, and three minelayers to the bottom of the harbor. The remaining, other than Admiral Wiley, escaped back to Australia. Admiral Wilen took two torpedo hits in two separate attacks and is considered too badly damaged to travel open waters. Instead, crews are working to unload its cargo before it sinks.
Admiral Wiley has lasted much longer than crews originally thought possible. Yesterday, salvage crews were able to start pumping water out of the ship and return some of its buoyancy. Japanese pilots tried twice yesterday to sink her. However, between the air cover and the anti-aircraft fire none were able to get off a successful shot.
PORT MORESBY: FULL STRENGTH
July 14, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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: FULL STRENGTH
(TN – Townsend) The Japanese air force made its attempt to disrupt the landings at Port Moresby yesterday. The attempt cost them 13 Betty bombers.
Allied fighters were able to get through the Japanese fighter escort and take on the bombers virtually unmolested. However, they did not do so using their normal tactics. The CAP was vectored into the oncoming flight, where the fighters immediately challenged the Japanese escort. The fighters charged, but peeled away before the Japanese could get a shot off. While the first group fled, a second group distracted the Japanese. As the second group taunted the Zero pilots, the first group returned to their position, allowing the second a chance to flee from the more nimble Zeros.
The air battle went on for several minutes with scarcely a shot being fired, Neither side lost any airplanes. However, by the time the game had ended, the Zero fighters had been drawn well away from the bombers. This gave the fighters an opportunity to attack.
Allied fighters bore straight in on the bombers, downing thirteen before the Japanese Zeros were able to get back into position. Other bombers dropped their payload, turned, and fled back to Rabaul. Only six bombers continued to Port Moresby to attack the ships in the bay; none of them scoring any hits.
By the end of the day almost all of the allied troops arriving on the transports were on shore.
Laverack Takes Charge
Lieutenant General Laverack summoned the leaders of the units under his command to an afternoon briefing. He informed them that the next step in the campaign will be to march over the Owen Stanley Ridge and attempt to take Buna. “The enemy is gathering his strength in the high ground and in the safe harbors on the other side. We will not wait here for them to attack us. There will be no “Second Battle for Port Moresby” for future historians to talk about. The next chapter in this war will be the called the Buna Campaign.”
Laverack then assigned the 2nd Australian Infantry Division the job of leading the attack, arguing that it was their turn. The 6th and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions bore more of the fighting for Port Moresby. Indeed, the 2nd Division still had units in Australia who had not yet made the crossing to Port Moresby. He gave the unit three days to gather supplies and determine its organization for the march.
Thompson Shifts Bombers for Buna Campaign
To support the attack over the mountains, General Thompson ordered the 5th Bomber Group to transfer its operations from Cairns, Australia to Cooktown. There, the bombers will be within easy reach of Buna, which it will then begin to subject to constant aerial bombardment.
Thompson has also ordered Blenheim bombers to be ready to transfer to Milne Bay as they get the airbase operational in order to deter shipping in the waters between there and New Britain. Thompson has been lending the South Pacific forces the use of several air squadrons until Admiral Nimitz can get units of his own into the area.
The Southwest Pacific force is also executing an operation to get fuel to Thursday Island and Port Moresby. Until recently, allied forces have had to go back to Cairns to refuel. With the arrival of tankers at these two forward ports, the allied navy will be better equipped to use these bases as forward staging areas.
Japan Also Strikes For Admiral Wiley
Japan also launched an air strike against Admiral Wiley, the stricken cargo ship at Milne Bay, and again failed to do her any damage. The bombers’ escort was able to shoot down two planes belonging to the defending air force, but the survivors drove most of the bombers away and shot down one Betty in exchange. The few remaining bombers missed their target. Another 750 tons of cargo was unloaded from the ship.
However, the stress of the earlier damage ripped open some of the repairs in the hull, causing the ship to take on more water. Even if the Japanese do not hit the ship again, there are doubts about how long it can remain afloat.
Chinese Air Force Drives Off Japanese Attack
(TN – Chungking) Chinese air units stationed at Changsha succeeded to drive off a Japanese air attack against the city. Lacking any kind of radar, the Chinese receive reports of Japanese air units by radio and telephone from spotters on the ground. When the reports came in of Japanese bombers approaching from the east, the fighters took to the air to intercept.
The Chinese pilots in their obsolete aircraft managed to destroy four of the Oscar fighters, then shoot down two of the bombers. The rest of the bombers turned around and headed back long before reaching their destination.
Combined with the air battles at Port Moresby and Milne Bay yesterday, the allies were able to shoot down twenty-one Japanese airplanes, at a loss of only two allied aircraft. However, allied pilots have had such lucky days in the past, only to be struck by a harsh reminder of Japanese air power in the near future.
Thayne's News Network
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: FULL STRENGTH
(TN – Townsend) The Japanese air force made its attempt to disrupt the landings at Port Moresby yesterday. The attempt cost them 13 Betty bombers.
Allied fighters were able to get through the Japanese fighter escort and take on the bombers virtually unmolested. However, they did not do so using their normal tactics. The CAP was vectored into the oncoming flight, where the fighters immediately challenged the Japanese escort. The fighters charged, but peeled away before the Japanese could get a shot off. While the first group fled, a second group distracted the Japanese. As the second group taunted the Zero pilots, the first group returned to their position, allowing the second a chance to flee from the more nimble Zeros.
The air battle went on for several minutes with scarcely a shot being fired, Neither side lost any airplanes. However, by the time the game had ended, the Zero fighters had been drawn well away from the bombers. This gave the fighters an opportunity to attack.
Allied fighters bore straight in on the bombers, downing thirteen before the Japanese Zeros were able to get back into position. Other bombers dropped their payload, turned, and fled back to Rabaul. Only six bombers continued to Port Moresby to attack the ships in the bay; none of them scoring any hits.
By the end of the day almost all of the allied troops arriving on the transports were on shore.
Laverack Takes Charge
Lieutenant General Laverack summoned the leaders of the units under his command to an afternoon briefing. He informed them that the next step in the campaign will be to march over the Owen Stanley Ridge and attempt to take Buna. “The enemy is gathering his strength in the high ground and in the safe harbors on the other side. We will not wait here for them to attack us. There will be no “Second Battle for Port Moresby” for future historians to talk about. The next chapter in this war will be the called the Buna Campaign.”
Laverack then assigned the 2nd Australian Infantry Division the job of leading the attack, arguing that it was their turn. The 6th and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions bore more of the fighting for Port Moresby. Indeed, the 2nd Division still had units in Australia who had not yet made the crossing to Port Moresby. He gave the unit three days to gather supplies and determine its organization for the march.
Thompson Shifts Bombers for Buna Campaign
To support the attack over the mountains, General Thompson ordered the 5th Bomber Group to transfer its operations from Cairns, Australia to Cooktown. There, the bombers will be within easy reach of Buna, which it will then begin to subject to constant aerial bombardment.
Thompson has also ordered Blenheim bombers to be ready to transfer to Milne Bay as they get the airbase operational in order to deter shipping in the waters between there and New Britain. Thompson has been lending the South Pacific forces the use of several air squadrons until Admiral Nimitz can get units of his own into the area.
The Southwest Pacific force is also executing an operation to get fuel to Thursday Island and Port Moresby. Until recently, allied forces have had to go back to Cairns to refuel. With the arrival of tankers at these two forward ports, the allied navy will be better equipped to use these bases as forward staging areas.
Japan Also Strikes For Admiral Wiley
Japan also launched an air strike against Admiral Wiley, the stricken cargo ship at Milne Bay, and again failed to do her any damage. The bombers’ escort was able to shoot down two planes belonging to the defending air force, but the survivors drove most of the bombers away and shot down one Betty in exchange. The few remaining bombers missed their target. Another 750 tons of cargo was unloaded from the ship.
However, the stress of the earlier damage ripped open some of the repairs in the hull, causing the ship to take on more water. Even if the Japanese do not hit the ship again, there are doubts about how long it can remain afloat.
Chinese Air Force Drives Off Japanese Attack
(TN – Chungking) Chinese air units stationed at Changsha succeeded to drive off a Japanese air attack against the city. Lacking any kind of radar, the Chinese receive reports of Japanese air units by radio and telephone from spotters on the ground. When the reports came in of Japanese bombers approaching from the east, the fighters took to the air to intercept.
The Chinese pilots in their obsolete aircraft managed to destroy four of the Oscar fighters, then shoot down two of the bombers. The rest of the bombers turned around and headed back long before reaching their destination.
Combined with the air battles at Port Moresby and Milne Bay yesterday, the allies were able to shoot down twenty-one Japanese airplanes, at a loss of only two allied aircraft. However, allied pilots have had such lucky days in the past, only to be struck by a harsh reminder of Japanese air power in the near future.
”TOMORROW COULD BE BAD”
July 15, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
”TOMORROW COULD BE BAD”
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, discussing the situation with Phase II: South Pacific, wore a smile of relief, but it was tempered with a expression of worry. Phase II: South Pacific had lived through a day of great luck, but Nimitz worried that it would not last.
The task force carrying the units for Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island, had reached the tip of New Guinea without suffering any damage. They had the good fortune of cloud cover during the morning. While they sailed, Japanese torpedo bombers struck Milne Bay, and managed to put another torpedo into the freighter Admiral Wiley. It should have been the end of the freighter, but the report said that the ship was still afloat, and its fires were under control. Crews would be able to get yet a few more tons of equipment off of it.
By the afternoon, the weather had cleared, and Phase II: South Pacific was open to the skies. Early in the afternoon, a Betty bomber flew overhead, getting a good look at the task force. Perhaps it had found the task force a little too late to change missions that were already being launched, or maybe the Japanese did not know what they had found, but they did not attack the task force. Instead, the Japanese launched their bombers against the airfields at Port Moresby.
The evening message from the Phase II: South Pacific task force said all was well.
During the night, the task force had orders to split into three parts – one part for each of the ports that they would drop units off at. The evening hours would give each task force time to reach their destination and to begin to disembark the troops they carried. Come what may, the Japanese now could not prevent the three bases from getting some reinforcements during the night.
Admiral Nimitz added, however, “Come daylight, tomorrow could be bad.”
Admiral Nimitz had given careful thought to postponing the mission. However, the question he kept coming back to was, “If not now, when?” The best time would be when the carriers were assembled and could provide additional air cover. However, that may not be for another month. Hornet had only recently reached New Caledonia, and the British carriers were still en route across the Indian ocean. At Sydney, the pilots from Lexington and Saratoga had not yet completed their training on how to fly the new TBF torpedo bombers.
Air cover at Port Moresby had protected its fleet from Japanese air attacks. Japan had not been able to damage a single ship, and all of the troops there had been unloaded. At Milne Bay, it took the Japanese three days to put one torpedo into a docked freighter, once the air cover was up. However, Phase II: South Pacific faced another obstacle; the ships would be split up across a 100 mile front, not packed underneath a convenient fighter squadron.
Nimitz had phoned General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, to ask for some extra fighter cover. Thompson rushed in a half dozen Kittyhawk fighters that were available on the mainland, but could offer nothing more.
Asked about the possibility of waiting until the carriers have been serviced, Nimitz answered, “I am sure that Japan would love for us to conduct operations only when our carriers were available. That’s the very reason we can’t do that.”
Dutch Underwater Railroad Still Sails
(TN – Darwin) When the Japanese took over the Dutch East Indies, many smaller units took to the hills rather than surrender to Japan. Since then, a fleet of allied submarines have been busy sailing around the Dutch islands, collecting soldiers and bringing them back to Darwin.
Yesterday, one of the largest submarine convoys of the operation arrived at Darwin, unloading over 200 soldiers from the 6th Dutch Naval Base Force. According to the refugees, about 500 more Dutch soldiers remain trapped in the mountains of Borneo, waiting for a chance to escape. The submarines arrived showing the strain of several months of continuous service, but the crews refused to put in for refit. As soon as their passengers had gone ashore and they were refueled, they closed the hatch and sailed back out into hostile waters to rescue some more.
Port authorities still insisted on inspecting the ships, and insisted that the submarine S-36 pull up for refit. Its engines were burning oil to the point that the submarine was filling up with dark smoke during the daylight hours, when the submarine was submerged. During the night, when the submarine surfaced and burned its diesel engines to recharge the batteries, the gasoline fumes forced many of the crew out of the submarine.
Ten other submarines, however, returned to the sea. They were expected back in two weeks with another group of survivors. And, if the Japanese had not found what was left in Borneo by then, they would go back for a few more.
Admiral Theobald Eyes Kurile Island
(TN – Dutch Harbor) Admiral Theobald, commander of allied forces in the North Pacific, reported yesterday that Attu and Kiska islands have been built up to formidable fortresses, and that he is looking for an opportunity to advance the war into Japanese territory.
According to sources in North Pacific Command, Theobald is considering an operation to occupy and hold at least a pair of small Kurile Islands, a chain of small islands extending from northern Japan, just to hold and give Japanese forces something to worry about. “I am not talking about an invasion of the Home Islands,” Theobald said. “All we need is something to attract their attention and, with the help of a few bomber squadrons, to close off shipping to the northern Kurile islands. It would eliminate the threat of a Japanese attack on Alaska.:
Allied Military Command has expressed the opinion that the mission may be too risky, but has promised to take the option under advisement.
Admiral Theobald ordered a squadron of patrol gunboats to go to the Kurile Islands to scout the area and determine if it would still be safe enough for troop transports to travel, under the appropriate escort.
Thayne's News Network
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.
”TOMORROW COULD BE BAD”
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, discussing the situation with Phase II: South Pacific, wore a smile of relief, but it was tempered with a expression of worry. Phase II: South Pacific had lived through a day of great luck, but Nimitz worried that it would not last.
The task force carrying the units for Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island, had reached the tip of New Guinea without suffering any damage. They had the good fortune of cloud cover during the morning. While they sailed, Japanese torpedo bombers struck Milne Bay, and managed to put another torpedo into the freighter Admiral Wiley. It should have been the end of the freighter, but the report said that the ship was still afloat, and its fires were under control. Crews would be able to get yet a few more tons of equipment off of it.
By the afternoon, the weather had cleared, and Phase II: South Pacific was open to the skies. Early in the afternoon, a Betty bomber flew overhead, getting a good look at the task force. Perhaps it had found the task force a little too late to change missions that were already being launched, or maybe the Japanese did not know what they had found, but they did not attack the task force. Instead, the Japanese launched their bombers against the airfields at Port Moresby.
The evening message from the Phase II: South Pacific task force said all was well.
During the night, the task force had orders to split into three parts – one part for each of the ports that they would drop units off at. The evening hours would give each task force time to reach their destination and to begin to disembark the troops they carried. Come what may, the Japanese now could not prevent the three bases from getting some reinforcements during the night.
Admiral Nimitz added, however, “Come daylight, tomorrow could be bad.”
Admiral Nimitz had given careful thought to postponing the mission. However, the question he kept coming back to was, “If not now, when?” The best time would be when the carriers were assembled and could provide additional air cover. However, that may not be for another month. Hornet had only recently reached New Caledonia, and the British carriers were still en route across the Indian ocean. At Sydney, the pilots from Lexington and Saratoga had not yet completed their training on how to fly the new TBF torpedo bombers.
Air cover at Port Moresby had protected its fleet from Japanese air attacks. Japan had not been able to damage a single ship, and all of the troops there had been unloaded. At Milne Bay, it took the Japanese three days to put one torpedo into a docked freighter, once the air cover was up. However, Phase II: South Pacific faced another obstacle; the ships would be split up across a 100 mile front, not packed underneath a convenient fighter squadron.
Nimitz had phoned General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, to ask for some extra fighter cover. Thompson rushed in a half dozen Kittyhawk fighters that were available on the mainland, but could offer nothing more.
Asked about the possibility of waiting until the carriers have been serviced, Nimitz answered, “I am sure that Japan would love for us to conduct operations only when our carriers were available. That’s the very reason we can’t do that.”
Dutch Underwater Railroad Still Sails
(TN – Darwin) When the Japanese took over the Dutch East Indies, many smaller units took to the hills rather than surrender to Japan. Since then, a fleet of allied submarines have been busy sailing around the Dutch islands, collecting soldiers and bringing them back to Darwin.
Yesterday, one of the largest submarine convoys of the operation arrived at Darwin, unloading over 200 soldiers from the 6th Dutch Naval Base Force. According to the refugees, about 500 more Dutch soldiers remain trapped in the mountains of Borneo, waiting for a chance to escape. The submarines arrived showing the strain of several months of continuous service, but the crews refused to put in for refit. As soon as their passengers had gone ashore and they were refueled, they closed the hatch and sailed back out into hostile waters to rescue some more.
Port authorities still insisted on inspecting the ships, and insisted that the submarine S-36 pull up for refit. Its engines were burning oil to the point that the submarine was filling up with dark smoke during the daylight hours, when the submarine was submerged. During the night, when the submarine surfaced and burned its diesel engines to recharge the batteries, the gasoline fumes forced many of the crew out of the submarine.
Ten other submarines, however, returned to the sea. They were expected back in two weeks with another group of survivors. And, if the Japanese had not found what was left in Borneo by then, they would go back for a few more.
Admiral Theobald Eyes Kurile Island
(TN – Dutch Harbor) Admiral Theobald, commander of allied forces in the North Pacific, reported yesterday that Attu and Kiska islands have been built up to formidable fortresses, and that he is looking for an opportunity to advance the war into Japanese territory.
According to sources in North Pacific Command, Theobald is considering an operation to occupy and hold at least a pair of small Kurile Islands, a chain of small islands extending from northern Japan, just to hold and give Japanese forces something to worry about. “I am not talking about an invasion of the Home Islands,” Theobald said. “All we need is something to attract their attention and, with the help of a few bomber squadrons, to close off shipping to the northern Kurile islands. It would eliminate the threat of a Japanese attack on Alaska.:
Allied Military Command has expressed the opinion that the mission may be too risky, but has promised to take the option under advisement.
Admiral Theobald ordered a squadron of patrol gunboats to go to the Kurile Islands to scout the area and determine if it would still be safe enough for troop transports to travel, under the appropriate escort.
WEATHER FAVORS NIMITZ
July 16, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
WEATHER FAVORS NIMITZ
Major Snafu Delivers Units to Wrong Islands
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz became the beneficiary of a favorable turn in the weather over the islands associated with Phase II: South Pacific as low clouds covered the landings at both Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands northwest of Milne Bay yesterday.
Japan did launch an attack to strike the one landing not under cloud cover; the landing at Milne Bay. However, over 30 allied fighters were able to take off from the airstrip there to challenge the Japanese. They drove off most of the fighters and bombers, destroying 12 enemy airplanes in the process, at a cost of only 1 Warhawk. The surviving bombers attacked three of the transports delivering reinforcements to Milne Bay, but were not able to inflict any damage.
In addition, Admiral Wilen remained floating for yet another day, allowing another 500 tons of cargo to be removed from the ship.
Phase II suffered one serious problem when a mixup in communication resulted in the wrong units to be delivered to the wrong islands. Goodenough Island received the reinforcements destined for Kiriwina Island, while their reinforcements ended up disembarking at Kiriwina Island. Senior officials did not become aware of the mistake until the units started to disembark and realized that the island they were stepping onto was nothing like the island they had been preparing to land on.
A quick investigation revealed that the commanders of each of the two task forces was handed the wrong envelope when the task force split up yesterday evening off of Milne Bay. Each task force commander followed the orders he had been given.
However, several operations officers and enlisted men were immediately demoted to Seaman Apprentice and ordered transferred to the 116th Base Force now serving on Kiriwina Island, being given 2 hours to gather their belongings before being dropped off on the shore.
Rather than reverse the process, reload the troops, and deliver each unit to the correct island, Admiral Nimitz gave the order to continue with the landings, ordering the ground units to improvise and adapt to their new situations.
Senior officials report that the mistake is not as serious as it may have first appeared. “Both islands are very similar, and the work that each unit was planning to do on one island can just as easy be done on the other,” said one advisor. The difference is that Kiriwina will become a major naval and air anchor for future operations in the South Pacific. Kiriwina has the disadvantage of being further from Buna, but the advantage of being closer to the Solomon chain, which is an expected target of future air and naval operations.”
GENERAL POWNALL RECALLED: ALEXANDER PUT IN CHARGE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
In a sudden and surprising move, Prime Minister Winston Churchill recalled General Pownall to London and placed General Alexander in charge of the allied forces in Southeast Asia.
Publicly, Churchill praised Pownall for his work in Southeast Asia, particularly on the recent recapture of the Andaman Islands. The public documents said that Churchill had more important duties for Pownall to perform in London.
However, Thayne News has learned that the change in leadership was prompted by protests from General Chang Kai Shek in China. The Chinese leader has been in frequent contact with both Churchill and President Roosevelt of the United States over what he has called “serious transgressions against the sovereignty of Japan and the authority of its leadership.”
Thayne News has acquired documents in which General Chang Kai Shek listed a number of grievances against General Pownall. These included:
• General Pownall’s insistence on including an attack on Hong Kong as a part of the Southeast Asia theater of operations, when such an attack, if it were to take place, fell properly under the authority of the Chinese army. “Hong Kong may be a British protectorate, but the fight to recapture it must be made on Chinese soil.”
• General Pownall diverted resources necessary for supplying China to operations further south; specifically, the recapture of the Andaman Islands, without even an attempt to consult with or warn the Chinese government that its supplies were about to be drastically curtailed.
• General Pownall has insisted and allowed no compromise in basing the AVG at Nanning in southern China, when it is central China that is suffering the most heavily from Japanese air attacks. Air bases in central China also would allow allied air units to strike at more lucrative targets in the Japanese-occupied regions of central China. Pownall has reportedly refused to allow the air units to go to central China because he did not want the units to be seen as a threat to Mao Tse Tung
• General Pownall has kept the Chinese units graciously sent to the defense of India through the most treacherous of paths across enemy occupied North Burma in training camps that have been described as worse than POW camps, where they have not been given even basic liberties, and where even the officers have been treated worse than common soldiers.
In this correspondence, Chang Kai Shek ordered that Pownall be replaced and that his grievances against Pownall be addressed.
England has responded by recalling Pownall and replacing him with General Alexander. In addition, the American 101st Base Force has been transferred to Chinese command, though the American military has insisted on final say regarding the disposition of the unit. Finally, the Chinese at Asansol, India, were placed under the Indian III Army now under General Haig, which will be responsible for making changes to the units’ routine “consistent with getting them ready for the attack on Myitkyina, which will re-open the supply route to China.”
South China Air Force Flies First Combined Mission
The combined air units of the American AVG fighter group and Chinese bombers operating out of Nanning flew their first mission yesterday. It was considered a practice mission against a soft target, hitting Japanese ground units south of the border in Indochina. Over 70 allied bombers escorted by 20 fighters participated in the attack that targeted enemy troop concentrations. Bomb assessments showed a successful raid that destroyed a number of enemy encampments, just as the soldiers were thought to be gathering for breakfast. American officers insisted that the training missions were to continue until they determined that the Chinese pilots could handle tougher targets such as airfields and ports protected by enemy combat air patrol.
Thayne's News Network
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.
WEATHER FAVORS NIMITZ
Major Snafu Delivers Units to Wrong Islands
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz became the beneficiary of a favorable turn in the weather over the islands associated with Phase II: South Pacific as low clouds covered the landings at both Goodenough and Kiriwina Islands northwest of Milne Bay yesterday.
Japan did launch an attack to strike the one landing not under cloud cover; the landing at Milne Bay. However, over 30 allied fighters were able to take off from the airstrip there to challenge the Japanese. They drove off most of the fighters and bombers, destroying 12 enemy airplanes in the process, at a cost of only 1 Warhawk. The surviving bombers attacked three of the transports delivering reinforcements to Milne Bay, but were not able to inflict any damage.
In addition, Admiral Wilen remained floating for yet another day, allowing another 500 tons of cargo to be removed from the ship.
Phase II suffered one serious problem when a mixup in communication resulted in the wrong units to be delivered to the wrong islands. Goodenough Island received the reinforcements destined for Kiriwina Island, while their reinforcements ended up disembarking at Kiriwina Island. Senior officials did not become aware of the mistake until the units started to disembark and realized that the island they were stepping onto was nothing like the island they had been preparing to land on.
A quick investigation revealed that the commanders of each of the two task forces was handed the wrong envelope when the task force split up yesterday evening off of Milne Bay. Each task force commander followed the orders he had been given.
However, several operations officers and enlisted men were immediately demoted to Seaman Apprentice and ordered transferred to the 116th Base Force now serving on Kiriwina Island, being given 2 hours to gather their belongings before being dropped off on the shore.
Rather than reverse the process, reload the troops, and deliver each unit to the correct island, Admiral Nimitz gave the order to continue with the landings, ordering the ground units to improvise and adapt to their new situations.
Senior officials report that the mistake is not as serious as it may have first appeared. “Both islands are very similar, and the work that each unit was planning to do on one island can just as easy be done on the other,” said one advisor. The difference is that Kiriwina will become a major naval and air anchor for future operations in the South Pacific. Kiriwina has the disadvantage of being further from Buna, but the advantage of being closer to the Solomon chain, which is an expected target of future air and naval operations.”
GENERAL POWNALL RECALLED: ALEXANDER PUT IN CHARGE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
In a sudden and surprising move, Prime Minister Winston Churchill recalled General Pownall to London and placed General Alexander in charge of the allied forces in Southeast Asia.
Publicly, Churchill praised Pownall for his work in Southeast Asia, particularly on the recent recapture of the Andaman Islands. The public documents said that Churchill had more important duties for Pownall to perform in London.
However, Thayne News has learned that the change in leadership was prompted by protests from General Chang Kai Shek in China. The Chinese leader has been in frequent contact with both Churchill and President Roosevelt of the United States over what he has called “serious transgressions against the sovereignty of Japan and the authority of its leadership.”
Thayne News has acquired documents in which General Chang Kai Shek listed a number of grievances against General Pownall. These included:
• General Pownall’s insistence on including an attack on Hong Kong as a part of the Southeast Asia theater of operations, when such an attack, if it were to take place, fell properly under the authority of the Chinese army. “Hong Kong may be a British protectorate, but the fight to recapture it must be made on Chinese soil.”
• General Pownall diverted resources necessary for supplying China to operations further south; specifically, the recapture of the Andaman Islands, without even an attempt to consult with or warn the Chinese government that its supplies were about to be drastically curtailed.
• General Pownall has insisted and allowed no compromise in basing the AVG at Nanning in southern China, when it is central China that is suffering the most heavily from Japanese air attacks. Air bases in central China also would allow allied air units to strike at more lucrative targets in the Japanese-occupied regions of central China. Pownall has reportedly refused to allow the air units to go to central China because he did not want the units to be seen as a threat to Mao Tse Tung
• General Pownall has kept the Chinese units graciously sent to the defense of India through the most treacherous of paths across enemy occupied North Burma in training camps that have been described as worse than POW camps, where they have not been given even basic liberties, and where even the officers have been treated worse than common soldiers.
In this correspondence, Chang Kai Shek ordered that Pownall be replaced and that his grievances against Pownall be addressed.
England has responded by recalling Pownall and replacing him with General Alexander. In addition, the American 101st Base Force has been transferred to Chinese command, though the American military has insisted on final say regarding the disposition of the unit. Finally, the Chinese at Asansol, India, were placed under the Indian III Army now under General Haig, which will be responsible for making changes to the units’ routine “consistent with getting them ready for the attack on Myitkyina, which will re-open the supply route to China.”
South China Air Force Flies First Combined Mission
The combined air units of the American AVG fighter group and Chinese bombers operating out of Nanning flew their first mission yesterday. It was considered a practice mission against a soft target, hitting Japanese ground units south of the border in Indochina. Over 70 allied bombers escorted by 20 fighters participated in the attack that targeted enemy troop concentrations. Bomb assessments showed a successful raid that destroyed a number of enemy encampments, just as the soldiers were thought to be gathering for breakfast. American officers insisted that the training missions were to continue until they determined that the Chinese pilots could handle tougher targets such as airfields and ports protected by enemy combat air patrol.
PAYBACK!
July 17, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
PAYBACK!
(TN – Port Moresby) In a near perfect reversal to the Japanese torpedo attack on Milne Bay, which sank 3 minesweepers, 3 mine layers, and 2 supply ships, allied torpedo bombers from Port Moresby destroyed a Japanese fleet outside of Buna, New Guinea yesterday.
Phase II: Southwest Pacific brought additional air support units to Port Moresby, which allowed the port to bring in Beaufort bombers that had been stationed in Australia. General Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, ordered that the Beuforts be set to carry torpedoes.
Yesterday morning, reconnaissance aircraft reported a small task force leaving Buna. Kenney ordered the Beauforts, escorted by Warhawk fighters, capture the task force before it escaped.
After taking off, the task force spent several minutes just gaining altitude. To clear the Owen Stanley Ridge, airplanes leaving Port Moresby have to reach an altitude of at least 13,000 feet. Then, after clearing the ridge, it is a steep drop down the other side.
The airplanes caught up with the Japanese task force approximately fourty miles north of Buna, heading north. The task force consisted of a destroyer, a minesweeper, and two transport ships.
Bombers from Thursday Island had reached the task force first. The destroyer and one of the transports were showing smoke.
The Beauforts decided to try to neutralize the destroyer first; it would have the heaviest anti-aircraft fire. The planes separated so that they could fire at the destroyer from opposite directions, making it more difficult for the destroyer to maneuver out of the way of the torpedoes. Six of the bombers participated in the attack. Two torpedoes hit. The destroyer slowed and started to settle in the water.
With the destroyer out of the way, the Beaufort pilots went for the cargo ships next. They went for the ship that had already been damaged. It was showing signs of multiple bomb hits. It was too heavily damaged to maneuver well, and the Beauforts managed to hit it with three torpedoes.
The pilots that were going after the other, undamaged transport ship had a tougher time of it. Furthermore, the Japanese minesweeper seemed eager to take a torpedo for the transport ship and put itself in the way of the attackers. It intercepted one of the torpedoes headed for the transport, which caused enough damage for the small ship to fall behind.
This left the transport in the clear. Beaufort bombes hit it twice; once on each side.
Anti-aircraft from the minesweeper was still a threat, so a flight of Beauforts lined up to take it out. The first attacker hit, and the minesweeper came to a dead stop. This made the ship a sitting duck for two other Beauforts, each of which scored another hit. The minesweeper settled quickly.
After expending all of their ammunition, the attack force returned to Port Moresby after sinking one ship and leaving three others burning.
That afternoon, the Thursday Island bombers that were the first to catch the convoy returned. The columns of smoke lead them back to the convoy. Both transport ships looked to be in very bad shape, though the destroyer appeared to be getting under way again. The B-25s focused on the destroyer, reportedly hitting it with five 500lb bombs. When they returned, they reported that the destroyer had once again come to a full stop, and that it appeared to be covered in flames for the entire length of the ship.
Reconnaissance planes sent to find out what happened to the task force report watching as the destroyer and one of the transports sank. As darkness fell, there was one lone transport sitting immobile in the water. Southwest Pacific Headquarters sent a note for any submarines in the area to try to finish the enemy ship off.
Phase II: South Pacific Enters Final Phase
(TN – Noumea) An aide to Admiral Nimitz informed Thayne News that Phase II: South Pacific had another day with no losses and is entering the final phase of unloading reinforcements and supplies at Milne Bay and the Cook Islands. The Goodenough Island task force unloaded the last of its troops yesterday and was ordered back to Milne Bay. The Kiriwina Island force still has some soldiers on board and will require another day to get the rest of them unloaded.
Yesterday, Japanese bombers attacked both the Milne Bay task force and the Kiriwina Task Force. However, they failed to meet with nearly the same success as they inflicted on the first supply task forces to reach Milne Bay. So far, not one ship has been hit.
Admiral Wiley also continues to remain above water, though higher waves will sometimes threaten to wash over the deck of the ship. Crews continue to work to remove whatever cargo is still salvageable from the ship.
Admiral Nimitz has cautioned Thayne News not to be too optimistic about the fate of Phase II. “Phase II was called a success with only one ship damaged on its last day. The next day, Japan started a spree of destruction that on the first day cost us 4 destroyers and 2 transports."
Nimitz added, "One thing I can say is that, by morning, all of the soldiers will be on shore, and the ships will only have to worry about saving themselves. The Japanese chance to turn this into a major bloodbath is over. Even a successful air attack, at this point, would be insignificant, compared to what could have happened earlier."
Trusty Sinks Another Troop Transport
(TN – Dacca) The submarine Trusty sank a transport with two torpedoes yesterday. This was the third troop transport Tursty has hit and the second one it is known to have sunk since it started its most recent patrol. Trusty is one of three submarines presently on patrol in the Macassar Straight that extends west from Singapore, and the only submarine that has scored any hits in the region. Submarine command reports that Trusty is responsible for most of the Japanese tonnage sank in the last two months.
Alexander Restores Cargo Service to China
(TN – Dacca) General Alexander, who recently took control of Southeast Asia from General Pownall, restored several squadrons of transport aircraft to flight status at Ledo yesterday.
Pownall had placed three of the six transport squadrons stationed at Ledo off of active duty out of concern over the effects that low morale and high fatigue was having on the pilots. Senior advisors to General Pownall report that he was concerned about the number of accidents and the number of airplanes being lost over the rugged mountains between Ledo and Yunan, China. According to some sources, the squadrons were due to return to active duty within the next day or two yesterday, and Alexander’s announced order was just “a show for the benefit of China.”
Alexander has informed Chang Kai Shek that, now that Andaman Island has been taken, he cannot simply abandon it as the Japanese had done. According to Alexander, “Andaman Islands has expanded our ability to look into a large and strategically valuable areas of the Chinese empire.” PBYs from the Andaman Island have been able to scout out Japanese positions nearly as far away as Singapore, and can detect any Japanese assault force coming down the Macassar Straight.
One of General Pownall’s orders as his command over the Southeast Asia force was coming to an end was to divert a transport ship to Andaman Island. Sailing without escort or air cover, the transport reached Andaman Island two days ago and has been unloading cargo since then. There has been no interference from Japanese submarine, surface, or air forces.
One senior intelligence officer commented, “I somewhat doubt that the Japanese even know we hare here, yet.”
Thayne's News Network
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.
PAYBACK!
(TN – Port Moresby) In a near perfect reversal to the Japanese torpedo attack on Milne Bay, which sank 3 minesweepers, 3 mine layers, and 2 supply ships, allied torpedo bombers from Port Moresby destroyed a Japanese fleet outside of Buna, New Guinea yesterday.
Phase II: Southwest Pacific brought additional air support units to Port Moresby, which allowed the port to bring in Beaufort bombers that had been stationed in Australia. General Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, ordered that the Beuforts be set to carry torpedoes.
Yesterday morning, reconnaissance aircraft reported a small task force leaving Buna. Kenney ordered the Beauforts, escorted by Warhawk fighters, capture the task force before it escaped.
After taking off, the task force spent several minutes just gaining altitude. To clear the Owen Stanley Ridge, airplanes leaving Port Moresby have to reach an altitude of at least 13,000 feet. Then, after clearing the ridge, it is a steep drop down the other side.
The airplanes caught up with the Japanese task force approximately fourty miles north of Buna, heading north. The task force consisted of a destroyer, a minesweeper, and two transport ships.
Bombers from Thursday Island had reached the task force first. The destroyer and one of the transports were showing smoke.
The Beauforts decided to try to neutralize the destroyer first; it would have the heaviest anti-aircraft fire. The planes separated so that they could fire at the destroyer from opposite directions, making it more difficult for the destroyer to maneuver out of the way of the torpedoes. Six of the bombers participated in the attack. Two torpedoes hit. The destroyer slowed and started to settle in the water.
With the destroyer out of the way, the Beaufort pilots went for the cargo ships next. They went for the ship that had already been damaged. It was showing signs of multiple bomb hits. It was too heavily damaged to maneuver well, and the Beauforts managed to hit it with three torpedoes.
The pilots that were going after the other, undamaged transport ship had a tougher time of it. Furthermore, the Japanese minesweeper seemed eager to take a torpedo for the transport ship and put itself in the way of the attackers. It intercepted one of the torpedoes headed for the transport, which caused enough damage for the small ship to fall behind.
This left the transport in the clear. Beaufort bombes hit it twice; once on each side.
Anti-aircraft from the minesweeper was still a threat, so a flight of Beauforts lined up to take it out. The first attacker hit, and the minesweeper came to a dead stop. This made the ship a sitting duck for two other Beauforts, each of which scored another hit. The minesweeper settled quickly.
After expending all of their ammunition, the attack force returned to Port Moresby after sinking one ship and leaving three others burning.
That afternoon, the Thursday Island bombers that were the first to catch the convoy returned. The columns of smoke lead them back to the convoy. Both transport ships looked to be in very bad shape, though the destroyer appeared to be getting under way again. The B-25s focused on the destroyer, reportedly hitting it with five 500lb bombs. When they returned, they reported that the destroyer had once again come to a full stop, and that it appeared to be covered in flames for the entire length of the ship.
Reconnaissance planes sent to find out what happened to the task force report watching as the destroyer and one of the transports sank. As darkness fell, there was one lone transport sitting immobile in the water. Southwest Pacific Headquarters sent a note for any submarines in the area to try to finish the enemy ship off.
Phase II: South Pacific Enters Final Phase
(TN – Noumea) An aide to Admiral Nimitz informed Thayne News that Phase II: South Pacific had another day with no losses and is entering the final phase of unloading reinforcements and supplies at Milne Bay and the Cook Islands. The Goodenough Island task force unloaded the last of its troops yesterday and was ordered back to Milne Bay. The Kiriwina Island force still has some soldiers on board and will require another day to get the rest of them unloaded.
Yesterday, Japanese bombers attacked both the Milne Bay task force and the Kiriwina Task Force. However, they failed to meet with nearly the same success as they inflicted on the first supply task forces to reach Milne Bay. So far, not one ship has been hit.
Admiral Wiley also continues to remain above water, though higher waves will sometimes threaten to wash over the deck of the ship. Crews continue to work to remove whatever cargo is still salvageable from the ship.
Admiral Nimitz has cautioned Thayne News not to be too optimistic about the fate of Phase II. “Phase II was called a success with only one ship damaged on its last day. The next day, Japan started a spree of destruction that on the first day cost us 4 destroyers and 2 transports."
Nimitz added, "One thing I can say is that, by morning, all of the soldiers will be on shore, and the ships will only have to worry about saving themselves. The Japanese chance to turn this into a major bloodbath is over. Even a successful air attack, at this point, would be insignificant, compared to what could have happened earlier."
Trusty Sinks Another Troop Transport
(TN – Dacca) The submarine Trusty sank a transport with two torpedoes yesterday. This was the third troop transport Tursty has hit and the second one it is known to have sunk since it started its most recent patrol. Trusty is one of three submarines presently on patrol in the Macassar Straight that extends west from Singapore, and the only submarine that has scored any hits in the region. Submarine command reports that Trusty is responsible for most of the Japanese tonnage sank in the last two months.
Alexander Restores Cargo Service to China
(TN – Dacca) General Alexander, who recently took control of Southeast Asia from General Pownall, restored several squadrons of transport aircraft to flight status at Ledo yesterday.
Pownall had placed three of the six transport squadrons stationed at Ledo off of active duty out of concern over the effects that low morale and high fatigue was having on the pilots. Senior advisors to General Pownall report that he was concerned about the number of accidents and the number of airplanes being lost over the rugged mountains between Ledo and Yunan, China. According to some sources, the squadrons were due to return to active duty within the next day or two yesterday, and Alexander’s announced order was just “a show for the benefit of China.”
Alexander has informed Chang Kai Shek that, now that Andaman Island has been taken, he cannot simply abandon it as the Japanese had done. According to Alexander, “Andaman Islands has expanded our ability to look into a large and strategically valuable areas of the Chinese empire.” PBYs from the Andaman Island have been able to scout out Japanese positions nearly as far away as Singapore, and can detect any Japanese assault force coming down the Macassar Straight.
One of General Pownall’s orders as his command over the Southeast Asia force was coming to an end was to divert a transport ship to Andaman Island. Sailing without escort or air cover, the transport reached Andaman Island two days ago and has been unloading cargo since then. There has been no interference from Japanese submarine, surface, or air forces.
One senior intelligence officer commented, “I somewhat doubt that the Japanese even know we hare here, yet.”
NIMITZ SENDS PRAISE
July 18, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
NIMITZ SENDS PRAISE
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, commander of allied forces in the South Pacific, sent praise yestersday to the sailors who participated in Phase II: South Pacific.
Yesterday, it was announced that the operation successfully completed its task of delivering over 20,000 allied troops to a defensive line including Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island. As evening fell, every one of those soldiers was standing on dry land. Not one boat has been damaged, and not one passenger lost his life at sea getting to his destination.
Japan, on the other hand, is reported to have lost over 20 airplanes in its attempts to stop Phase II: South Pacific; nine Zero fighters and thirteen Betty bombers.
Work has already begun on turning the line of bases into a foundation for further actions against the Japanese in the region. Engineers have constructed two airstrips at Milne Bay, and are working on creating airstrips on the two islands as well. Planes using these airstrips will then be used to gain air superiority over the Solomon Sea to the north.
Since early in the war, Japan has been able to sail these waters as if they were a private Japanese lake. However, allied forces are already starting to put an end to this. Within the last week, torpedo and level bombers flying from Port Moresby and Thursday Island destroyed a Japanese convoy north of Buna. Scout planes are looking for other Japanese ships in these waters to attack. A dive-bomber squadron, VMSB-241 is on its way to Milne Bay where it will provide an additional threat to any Japanese ship that happens to be found in the Solomon Sea.
At present, there are no other Japanese task forces in the Solomon Sea. An official from Military Intelligence commented, "I'm afraid that Japan sees the wisdom in evacuating these waters."
However, the same official was able to show Thayne News a recent photograph of Rangoon harbor. The photograph clearly identifies six huge ships that the officer identified as Japanese battleships in port. "Our troops on these islands might have a few sleepless nights on the horizon," he said.
Andaman Island Suffers Massive Bombardment
(TN – Dacca) In a show of force yesterday, Japan’s Rangoon air force showed that it had the ability to close down Andaman Island. A raid by over 50 Sally bombers hit the airstrip yesterday, nearly destroying the facility. The destruction caused to the landing strips and airport facilities was massive. Two C-47 Transport planes attempting to land on the island crashed on the runway. One of them was carrying a rifle squad with their equipment; six of the squad members were injured in the crash. The second transport brought pack howitzers and ammunition. Fire crews were able to quickly eliminate any danger of fire and get the 75mm guns and ammunition off of the airplane.
The bombing raid also inflicted over 50 casualities among the ground crew; particularly engineers and ground crews for the airplanes. After the raid had ended, one PBY sat as a broken and burning pile of scrap off one end of the runway, while a neear-miss peppered one wing and the left side of another airplane. More than half of the fourteen P-39 Aircobras charged with the defense of the island are also sitting off the runway in various states of disrepair.
PBYs bringing in equipment and crew were diverted to the port while the runway was under repair.
The 4th Indian Air Base Force immediately confronted the problem of how to keep the airbase running with such heavy casualties inflicted among its personnel and with no heavy equipment. Because Andaman Island has been occupied entirely by air or fast transport, there is no heavy equipment on the island, other than what the crew has been able to salvage from the city itself.
One enterprising engineer cut a 10’ length of heavy iron pipe lengthwise and chained them behind a truck. Bolting as much weight to the platform as he could find, he drove the contraption the length of the runway after the attack to smooth over the bomb craters and give the pilots ferrying in additional supplies something relatively smooth to land on. Other ground crew grabbed shovels and wheelbarrows to fill in the larger bomb craters.
The Japanese seem not to have noticed the cargo ship Jalamarang sitting in Port Blair. Since the ship arrived, crews have been able to unload 1,500 tons of supplies off of it, contributing significantly to the ability of the crew to hold the island. In addition, the occupation force has been able to find other vital materials, from food to gasoline, in the city.
General Alexander has issued a stern warning to the occupation force that there will be no looting, and that anything they need from the local population is to be purchased if possible. One senior advisor defended the policy. “We want these people to see that we are better than the Japanese, and that it is better if we win the war than that our enemy does,” he said.
Senior officials at Southeast Asia Command warn that the ground crews do not have the ability to keep up with this level of damage being inflicted every day. Continual bombing from the Japanese would risk shutting down the airport. This would not only end supply runs to the island using the larger C-47 transport aircraft, but would also end fighter cover over the island. Its occupants may become sitting ducks for the Japanese air force. Without fighter cover there would be no hope of supply ships visiting the island either.
An senior official at Southeast Asia Command said, “Some of us on General Alexander’s staff fear that Pownell may have overextended himself in taking these islands. He reached out his hand to grab something that was just barely within his grasp. If we are not careful, Japan may very well chop that hand off.”
The problem of holding the Andaman Islands has been compounded by the fact that, the week before the Andaman operation was launched, Pownall sent the British carriers to Australia in a bid to trap the Japanese carrier force in the South Pacific. This operation has been frustrated by the fact that Japan’s South Pacific carrier force was last seen heading toward the Philippines, and has been nowhere in sight during the entire Phase II operation to reinforce the New Guinea/Cook Islands line.
China Plans to Move Southern Air Force
(TN – Chungking) Now that Chang Kai Shek has been given authority to determine the operations for the AVG and other allied air units in China, he has given orders to prepare to move the air units from Nanning in southern China, to Changsha in central China. The towns around Changsha have been subject to the heaviest of the Japanese air raids, and is within range of key Japanese troop concentrations along the Yangtzee River.
General Pownall had placed the air units in southern China in a bid to close down Haiphong Harbor and weaken the Japanese forces in this area. Eventually, the air units were going to try to close down Hong Kong harbor as well in preparation for an offensive to retake the port. General Chang Kai Shek will move the air units too far north to carry out either of these two objectives.
There is widespread speculation that the move has nothing to do with central China offering better targets or an ability to gain control of the air over China from the Japanese. There are several rumors that the move is aimed at intimidating Mao Tse Tung, who is in command of the communist armies in northern China. President Roosevelt has allegedly told Chang Kai Shek that he will pull the American forces the instant he hears of any hostile operations being taken against any enemy other than Japan.
It is expected to take several weeks to give Changsha the ability to become the home of this concentration of Chinese air power. In the mean time, the AVG and its associated Chinese bomber divisions will continue to operate out of Nanning, gaining practice against safe targets in the area.
Thayne's News Network
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.
NIMITZ SENDS PRAISE
(TN – Noumea) Admiral Nimitz, commander of allied forces in the South Pacific, sent praise yestersday to the sailors who participated in Phase II: South Pacific.
Yesterday, it was announced that the operation successfully completed its task of delivering over 20,000 allied troops to a defensive line including Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, and Kiriwina Island. As evening fell, every one of those soldiers was standing on dry land. Not one boat has been damaged, and not one passenger lost his life at sea getting to his destination.
Japan, on the other hand, is reported to have lost over 20 airplanes in its attempts to stop Phase II: South Pacific; nine Zero fighters and thirteen Betty bombers.
Work has already begun on turning the line of bases into a foundation for further actions against the Japanese in the region. Engineers have constructed two airstrips at Milne Bay, and are working on creating airstrips on the two islands as well. Planes using these airstrips will then be used to gain air superiority over the Solomon Sea to the north.
Since early in the war, Japan has been able to sail these waters as if they were a private Japanese lake. However, allied forces are already starting to put an end to this. Within the last week, torpedo and level bombers flying from Port Moresby and Thursday Island destroyed a Japanese convoy north of Buna. Scout planes are looking for other Japanese ships in these waters to attack. A dive-bomber squadron, VMSB-241 is on its way to Milne Bay where it will provide an additional threat to any Japanese ship that happens to be found in the Solomon Sea.
At present, there are no other Japanese task forces in the Solomon Sea. An official from Military Intelligence commented, "I'm afraid that Japan sees the wisdom in evacuating these waters."
However, the same official was able to show Thayne News a recent photograph of Rangoon harbor. The photograph clearly identifies six huge ships that the officer identified as Japanese battleships in port. "Our troops on these islands might have a few sleepless nights on the horizon," he said.
Andaman Island Suffers Massive Bombardment
(TN – Dacca) In a show of force yesterday, Japan’s Rangoon air force showed that it had the ability to close down Andaman Island. A raid by over 50 Sally bombers hit the airstrip yesterday, nearly destroying the facility. The destruction caused to the landing strips and airport facilities was massive. Two C-47 Transport planes attempting to land on the island crashed on the runway. One of them was carrying a rifle squad with their equipment; six of the squad members were injured in the crash. The second transport brought pack howitzers and ammunition. Fire crews were able to quickly eliminate any danger of fire and get the 75mm guns and ammunition off of the airplane.
The bombing raid also inflicted over 50 casualities among the ground crew; particularly engineers and ground crews for the airplanes. After the raid had ended, one PBY sat as a broken and burning pile of scrap off one end of the runway, while a neear-miss peppered one wing and the left side of another airplane. More than half of the fourteen P-39 Aircobras charged with the defense of the island are also sitting off the runway in various states of disrepair.
PBYs bringing in equipment and crew were diverted to the port while the runway was under repair.
The 4th Indian Air Base Force immediately confronted the problem of how to keep the airbase running with such heavy casualties inflicted among its personnel and with no heavy equipment. Because Andaman Island has been occupied entirely by air or fast transport, there is no heavy equipment on the island, other than what the crew has been able to salvage from the city itself.
One enterprising engineer cut a 10’ length of heavy iron pipe lengthwise and chained them behind a truck. Bolting as much weight to the platform as he could find, he drove the contraption the length of the runway after the attack to smooth over the bomb craters and give the pilots ferrying in additional supplies something relatively smooth to land on. Other ground crew grabbed shovels and wheelbarrows to fill in the larger bomb craters.
The Japanese seem not to have noticed the cargo ship Jalamarang sitting in Port Blair. Since the ship arrived, crews have been able to unload 1,500 tons of supplies off of it, contributing significantly to the ability of the crew to hold the island. In addition, the occupation force has been able to find other vital materials, from food to gasoline, in the city.
General Alexander has issued a stern warning to the occupation force that there will be no looting, and that anything they need from the local population is to be purchased if possible. One senior advisor defended the policy. “We want these people to see that we are better than the Japanese, and that it is better if we win the war than that our enemy does,” he said.
Senior officials at Southeast Asia Command warn that the ground crews do not have the ability to keep up with this level of damage being inflicted every day. Continual bombing from the Japanese would risk shutting down the airport. This would not only end supply runs to the island using the larger C-47 transport aircraft, but would also end fighter cover over the island. Its occupants may become sitting ducks for the Japanese air force. Without fighter cover there would be no hope of supply ships visiting the island either.
An senior official at Southeast Asia Command said, “Some of us on General Alexander’s staff fear that Pownell may have overextended himself in taking these islands. He reached out his hand to grab something that was just barely within his grasp. If we are not careful, Japan may very well chop that hand off.”
The problem of holding the Andaman Islands has been compounded by the fact that, the week before the Andaman operation was launched, Pownall sent the British carriers to Australia in a bid to trap the Japanese carrier force in the South Pacific. This operation has been frustrated by the fact that Japan’s South Pacific carrier force was last seen heading toward the Philippines, and has been nowhere in sight during the entire Phase II operation to reinforce the New Guinea/Cook Islands line.
China Plans to Move Southern Air Force
(TN – Chungking) Now that Chang Kai Shek has been given authority to determine the operations for the AVG and other allied air units in China, he has given orders to prepare to move the air units from Nanning in southern China, to Changsha in central China. The towns around Changsha have been subject to the heaviest of the Japanese air raids, and is within range of key Japanese troop concentrations along the Yangtzee River.
General Pownall had placed the air units in southern China in a bid to close down Haiphong Harbor and weaken the Japanese forces in this area. Eventually, the air units were going to try to close down Hong Kong harbor as well in preparation for an offensive to retake the port. General Chang Kai Shek will move the air units too far north to carry out either of these two objectives.
There is widespread speculation that the move has nothing to do with central China offering better targets or an ability to gain control of the air over China from the Japanese. There are several rumors that the move is aimed at intimidating Mao Tse Tung, who is in command of the communist armies in northern China. President Roosevelt has allegedly told Chang Kai Shek that he will pull the American forces the instant he hears of any hostile operations being taken against any enemy other than Japan.
It is expected to take several weeks to give Changsha the ability to become the home of this concentration of Chinese air power. In the mean time, the AVG and its associated Chinese bomber divisions will continue to operate out of Nanning, gaining practice against safe targets in the area.
WASP AT PEARL
July 19, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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 clie nts 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.
WASP AT PEARL
(TN – Hawaii) The Central Pacific fleet, under the command of Admiral Kimmel, acquired a new carrier today when Wasp showed up at Pearl Harbor, , accompanied by 2 anti-aircraft cruisers and 5 newly upgraded destroyers.
Wasp is the sixth allied carrier to enter the Pacific Ocean. The power of the allied carrier force now virtually matches that of the Japanese. However, the three allied carriers in the Pacific Fleet are still carrying obsolete torpedo bombers – the three South Pacific carriers having been upgraded earlier in the month.
At the time of Wasp's arrival, Enterprise and Yorktown, the other two carriers of the Central Pacific Fleet, were undergoing repairs and upgrade at Pearl Harbor. Before this round of upgrades is through, both will also likely have new TBF Torpedo bombers as well. Wasp, too, may take advantage of the break to get its crews trained in the newer planes. As a result, Thayne News has been told not to expect any particularly heavy carrier action in the Central Pacific for a month or so.
On The Kokoda Trail
(TN – Port Moresby) Elements of the 2nd Australian Infantry Division began its push up the Kokoda Trail yesterday. Thayne News sent a reporter along who filed these first-hand observations of the struggle ahead.
Are they crazy?
Everything about trying to fight a war on this little mountain trail strikes me as insane.
We spent three long hours climbing today, straight up the side of this hill, with 50-pound packs holding all of our equipment, weapons, and ammunition. It was a heavy pack for what felt like an almost vertical climb. Then, after half a day, we look in amazement as our trail goes down a slope nearly as steep.
My first question is to ask what brand of insanity caused somebody to build a trail over this hill and down the other side, rather than go around it. I can only think that there must be something horrible off to our left that would make this first of several mountains our best route.
There were two batteries of pack howitzers up here pointing generally to the east. They had been hauled up by mule and assembled. In case Japan decides that it wants to launch another charge, there are fortified machinegun nests and trenches on the eastern slope of the hill, looking down. Yet, with all of the thick brush down there, the Japanese can get pretty close before the Australians would know they were there.
There is a patch of ground up here where nobody is allowed to go. From time to time a plane shows up. Often, it is a Blenheim bomber out of Port Moresby, even though it is only a few short miles away. They open their bomb bay doors, then release about 1000 pounds of food and ammunition over the target. Sometimes it is a C-47 from Australia. They push their equipment out the side door. It falls and bounces along the clearing. The C-47 has to make several passes over the drop zone. Each time, they drop another pile of equipment. With these types of tactics, the military hopes to keep those soldiers on the trail supplied.
It has been slow work clearing the trail this far. Naturally, the Japanese mined the trail and set up booby traps in the jungle on both sides. The jungle on both sides had to be patrolled for signs of snipers or a potential ambush. We, so far, had been able to stay on a cleared trail. I could only imagine what the day would be like for the patrol trying to climb that hill while walking through the untamed jungle.
Tomorrow, we will go down as far and as steep as we came up. Others who had already been on this part of the trip tell of a river down there, about 250 feet wide, yet no more than chest deep. Perhaps this is the reason the trail goes this way – it is the best way to get to the one place where we can cross the river.
On the other side, we will climb up and down a number of small ridgelines. Beyond that, there is another huge climb, as bad as yesterday’s. At that time, we will be the lead company. Our job is to clear the trail up to Imita Ridge. We will send platoons out to the left and right. Guides and interpreters will lead them to native villagers, where they will ask about the Japanese. We will bring presents, try to make friends, and try to hire laborers who can move our heavy equipment along the trail.
We will also try to find a clearing – some place where the transports can drop off supplies. Villagers – some people have taken to calling them “fuzzy wuzzies” -- will carry the equipment from the clearing to the trail.
One artillery shell for a 75mm pack howitzer weighs over 6 kilograms. A man can carry 4 of them. If you want 4 howitzers to deliver 20 rounds each on an enemy position, you have 10 porters making 8 trips each, just for the ammunition. Then, add a few more trips, or a few more porters, to bring food, water, a tent, blankets, rope (you can always use more rope), tools and equipment just to maintain the guns and keep them running.
Mules are a blessing on the hillside. One soldier commented that we should make the mule our national animal because, he said, “If we did not have mules, we would not have a nation.”
The next hill – the hill we have to clear – climbs about 500 meter, and it is steep. It is like climbing to the top of a 150-story building. Only, there are no stairs, There is a ramp spiraling up the outside of the building, exposed to the weather, made slippery with mud and rain, and vines and branches our only hand railing. The guides tell us that there will be times when we will be using our hands as we climb, as much as we use our feet.
One blessing is that it is the middle of winter down here. This means that the temperature, rather than being intolerable, is merely insufferable. There is the temperature, and then there is the humidity. Fifteen minutes of climbing and I am soaked in sweat. It does no good; it does not evaporate. The whole mountain side is coated with plants putting breathing their moisture into the air. It does not have any room for anything more.
The only thing the sweat does is draw flies, and mosquitoes. I think that the people back home imagining us worrying constantly about a Jap sniper or mine. No, those rank up there with accidents such as falling and breaking a leg. No, we have a bigger concern – an enemy who will kill or disable far more of us than the Japanese could hope to, the malaria-ridden mosquito. We try to kill as many of them as we can as fast as we can, but we know we will eventually lose. One of them will eventually get each of us. It is just a matter of time.
After we get to the peak, the next company will come along, using the trail we have cleared. They will rest for the night at a camp we have secured, then they will become the new lead company. They will clear the trail down the other side, into yet another valley. We will climb down as far as we have climbed.
Then there is yet another climb, this one rising 800 meters, and another decent. The guides tell us that the trail goes on like this – up and down, big hills and little hills, for several miles before we actually get to the Owen Stanley Ridge. We are not anywhere near the hard part yet.
Eventually, somebody will encounter the Japanese. Then the fun begins. Walking this trail is bad enough. Fighting on it will be a hell that I can scarcely even imagine.
Thayne's News Network
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 clie nts 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.
WASP AT PEARL
(TN – Hawaii) The Central Pacific fleet, under the command of Admiral Kimmel, acquired a new carrier today when Wasp showed up at Pearl Harbor, , accompanied by 2 anti-aircraft cruisers and 5 newly upgraded destroyers.
Wasp is the sixth allied carrier to enter the Pacific Ocean. The power of the allied carrier force now virtually matches that of the Japanese. However, the three allied carriers in the Pacific Fleet are still carrying obsolete torpedo bombers – the three South Pacific carriers having been upgraded earlier in the month.
At the time of Wasp's arrival, Enterprise and Yorktown, the other two carriers of the Central Pacific Fleet, were undergoing repairs and upgrade at Pearl Harbor. Before this round of upgrades is through, both will also likely have new TBF Torpedo bombers as well. Wasp, too, may take advantage of the break to get its crews trained in the newer planes. As a result, Thayne News has been told not to expect any particularly heavy carrier action in the Central Pacific for a month or so.
On The Kokoda Trail
(TN – Port Moresby) Elements of the 2nd Australian Infantry Division began its push up the Kokoda Trail yesterday. Thayne News sent a reporter along who filed these first-hand observations of the struggle ahead.
Are they crazy?
Everything about trying to fight a war on this little mountain trail strikes me as insane.
We spent three long hours climbing today, straight up the side of this hill, with 50-pound packs holding all of our equipment, weapons, and ammunition. It was a heavy pack for what felt like an almost vertical climb. Then, after half a day, we look in amazement as our trail goes down a slope nearly as steep.
My first question is to ask what brand of insanity caused somebody to build a trail over this hill and down the other side, rather than go around it. I can only think that there must be something horrible off to our left that would make this first of several mountains our best route.
There were two batteries of pack howitzers up here pointing generally to the east. They had been hauled up by mule and assembled. In case Japan decides that it wants to launch another charge, there are fortified machinegun nests and trenches on the eastern slope of the hill, looking down. Yet, with all of the thick brush down there, the Japanese can get pretty close before the Australians would know they were there.
There is a patch of ground up here where nobody is allowed to go. From time to time a plane shows up. Often, it is a Blenheim bomber out of Port Moresby, even though it is only a few short miles away. They open their bomb bay doors, then release about 1000 pounds of food and ammunition over the target. Sometimes it is a C-47 from Australia. They push their equipment out the side door. It falls and bounces along the clearing. The C-47 has to make several passes over the drop zone. Each time, they drop another pile of equipment. With these types of tactics, the military hopes to keep those soldiers on the trail supplied.
It has been slow work clearing the trail this far. Naturally, the Japanese mined the trail and set up booby traps in the jungle on both sides. The jungle on both sides had to be patrolled for signs of snipers or a potential ambush. We, so far, had been able to stay on a cleared trail. I could only imagine what the day would be like for the patrol trying to climb that hill while walking through the untamed jungle.
Tomorrow, we will go down as far and as steep as we came up. Others who had already been on this part of the trip tell of a river down there, about 250 feet wide, yet no more than chest deep. Perhaps this is the reason the trail goes this way – it is the best way to get to the one place where we can cross the river.
On the other side, we will climb up and down a number of small ridgelines. Beyond that, there is another huge climb, as bad as yesterday’s. At that time, we will be the lead company. Our job is to clear the trail up to Imita Ridge. We will send platoons out to the left and right. Guides and interpreters will lead them to native villagers, where they will ask about the Japanese. We will bring presents, try to make friends, and try to hire laborers who can move our heavy equipment along the trail.
We will also try to find a clearing – some place where the transports can drop off supplies. Villagers – some people have taken to calling them “fuzzy wuzzies” -- will carry the equipment from the clearing to the trail.
One artillery shell for a 75mm pack howitzer weighs over 6 kilograms. A man can carry 4 of them. If you want 4 howitzers to deliver 20 rounds each on an enemy position, you have 10 porters making 8 trips each, just for the ammunition. Then, add a few more trips, or a few more porters, to bring food, water, a tent, blankets, rope (you can always use more rope), tools and equipment just to maintain the guns and keep them running.
Mules are a blessing on the hillside. One soldier commented that we should make the mule our national animal because, he said, “If we did not have mules, we would not have a nation.”
The next hill – the hill we have to clear – climbs about 500 meter, and it is steep. It is like climbing to the top of a 150-story building. Only, there are no stairs, There is a ramp spiraling up the outside of the building, exposed to the weather, made slippery with mud and rain, and vines and branches our only hand railing. The guides tell us that there will be times when we will be using our hands as we climb, as much as we use our feet.
One blessing is that it is the middle of winter down here. This means that the temperature, rather than being intolerable, is merely insufferable. There is the temperature, and then there is the humidity. Fifteen minutes of climbing and I am soaked in sweat. It does no good; it does not evaporate. The whole mountain side is coated with plants putting breathing their moisture into the air. It does not have any room for anything more.
The only thing the sweat does is draw flies, and mosquitoes. I think that the people back home imagining us worrying constantly about a Jap sniper or mine. No, those rank up there with accidents such as falling and breaking a leg. No, we have a bigger concern – an enemy who will kill or disable far more of us than the Japanese could hope to, the malaria-ridden mosquito. We try to kill as many of them as we can as fast as we can, but we know we will eventually lose. One of them will eventually get each of us. It is just a matter of time.
After we get to the peak, the next company will come along, using the trail we have cleared. They will rest for the night at a camp we have secured, then they will become the new lead company. They will clear the trail down the other side, into yet another valley. We will climb down as far as we have climbed.
Then there is yet another climb, this one rising 800 meters, and another decent. The guides tell us that the trail goes on like this – up and down, big hills and little hills, for several miles before we actually get to the Owen Stanley Ridge. We are not anywhere near the hard part yet.
Eventually, somebody will encounter the Japanese. Then the fun begins. Walking this trail is bad enough. Fighting on it will be a hell that I can scarcely even imagine.
RE: WASP AT PEARL
Dear editor,
First let me thank you for all the effort you put in keeping us up to date with what is happening in the Pacific, it really helps us folk back home get a detailed picture of what our boys are doing out there.
The reason I'm writing this letter is to ask wether it is possible to get some sort of overview, a map, of how our troops, and those of the enemy, are positioned. I know I'm edging close to breaching operational securty by asking this, I understand that this might be highly sensitive material, but it would really help to place all those names we are reading in your paper. I must admit that geography was never one of my strong points.
With kind regards,
Smiffus
First let me thank you for all the effort you put in keeping us up to date with what is happening in the Pacific, it really helps us folk back home get a detailed picture of what our boys are doing out there.
The reason I'm writing this letter is to ask wether it is possible to get some sort of overview, a map, of how our troops, and those of the enemy, are positioned. I know I'm edging close to breaching operational securty by asking this, I understand that this might be highly sensitive material, but it would really help to place all those names we are reading in your paper. I must admit that geography was never one of my strong points.
With kind regards,
Smiffus
NIMITZ PREPARES TIGER
July 20, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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
Thayne News is constantly struggling to provide our readers with the best information possible on the struggle against Japan. We also listen to our readers comments. Toward this end, Thayne News has received permission to use the same strategic planning map that is used in the War Department in Washington DC to plot the course of the war.
We caution our readers that this map is a projection that covers a large part of the planet, and in which north is not always up. In India, for example, north leans sharply to the right, and on the west coast of the United States it leans sharply toward the left, both ends pointing to the North Pole which is slightly above the center of this map.
NIMITZ PREPARES TIGER
(TN – Noumea) With Phase II coming to a successful conclusion, Admiral Nimitz, commander of allied forces in the South Pacific, is making plans for the next phase of the offensive to take eastern New Guinea. The plan, called TIGER, will land the 2nd USMC Division, presently at Noumea, New Caledonia, at a small jungle port and airstrip called Dobodura.
When the 1st USMC Division completed the conquest of Milne Bay, on the eastern point of New Guinea, the 2nd USMC Division immediately started preparing for a naval assault on Dobodura, southeast of Buna. The purpose of the marine division is to secure a landing sight for the 37th USA Infantry Division (at Noumea, New Caledonia), and the 32nd USA Infantry Division (at Cairns, Australia). From Dobodura, the two infantry divisions have orders to march on Buna along the coast.
In the mean time, the 1st Australian Army, made up of the 1st, 6th, and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions, will be attacking along the Kokoda Trail, a harsh mountain walkway that starts at Port Moresby. The Japanese used the trail when they laid siege to Port Moresby. However, the allies were able to reinforce Port Moresby and, by putting constant pressure on the Japanese, broke the siege and force the Japanese back into the mountains on the end of June.
Combined, the allies plan to throw six divisions against Buna; three along the coast, and three over the mountains.
Yesterday, the 2nd Australian Infantry Division spearheaded the attack along the trail.
Military Intelligence reports that the units that besieged Port Moresby are manning defensive positions along the trail. Because of the jungle, Military Intelligence has been unable to determine if the units are still in retreat back to Buna, are trying to renew the offensive against Port Moresby, or attempting to build a static defense.
Military Intelligence has been able to determine that the Japanese have reinforced Buna. Recent information suggests that Japan now has five separate military units in Buna, though sources have been unable to confirm the identity or even the size of the units. Sources suggest that the Japanese strength at Buna is running at around 10,000 soldiers, so none of the five units are anything near division strength.
Meanwhile, air units flying out of Thursday Island, Port Moresby, and Milne Bay, have started work isolating the target by sea and air. Yesterday alone, Buna, and the Japanese units still on the Kokoda Trail, were subject to multiple air raids.
• 21 B-17s from the 5th Bomber Group at Buna hit the port at Buna. The B-17s were each loaded out with sixteen 250lb bombs for dropping in a stick along the port and in shore. Their purpose was to destroy buildings and equipment as well as damage whatever ships may have been docked at the time of the raid. The raid was reported a success, with multiple secondary explosions suggesting the destruction of ammunition and fuel caches.
• 24 Whirraway fighter bombers from the 5th and 24th Royal Australian Air Force flying out of Milne Bay attacked Japanese on the Kokoda Trail. W Flight RAF in Imphal, India, have been flying regular bombing missions against the Japanese infantry at Mandalay with impressive results. This suggested the possibility of moving the Wirraway airplanes up to the front line in New Guinea.
• 9 Beaufort torpedo bombers flying out of Port Moresby struck a transport ship 100 miles northeast of Buna, hitting it with one torpedo. The crew of the last plane brought back pictures of the Japanese ship as it sank, bow first, into the Solomon Sea.
• 5 Beaufort torpedo bombers put a torpedo into another Japanese transport at Buna itself, leaving it listing badly and on fire.
• 25 Beauforts fitted with bombs and 7 A-24 Dauntless dive bombers struck the port region. They had to fly through the smoke from fires started by the B-17s earlier in the day. They were given specific targets, destroying what Military Intelligence determined were key storage facilities.
• 8 Hudson bombers, 4 A-20B Boston bombers, and fifteen B-25 Mitchell bombers took off from Thursday Island for Buna, striking again at the port region in order to try to shut down the Japanese ability to supply its units.
Combined, the flights did extensive damage to the port, as well as sinking one supply ship and damaging another. Admiral Nimitz and General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, plan to keep up the pressure until they are able to capture Buna. They hope to be able to destroy the eight combat units that are now known to be in the area.
Once Buna is taken, Port Moresby will be considered safe from enemy attack. Admiral Nimitz plans to continue to move further north until he can take Rabaul, which he intends to use as a springboard for an eventual invasion of Truk Island to the North. Truk is Japan’s version of Pearl Harbor in the Pacific – a major fleet anchorage which serves as a focal point for all Japanese operations in the South Pacific.
In the mean time, General Thompson hopes to pull his 1st Australian Army for a brief rests before sending them on a task to take Timor, a large island northeast of Darwin. Bombers flying out of Timor hope to be able to shut down the Japanese ability to pillage the eastern half of the Dutch East Indies, closing off several sources of oil and other vital war materials.
Japan continued to try to respond to Phase II with air attacks against shipping units still unloading at Port Moresby and Gili Gili. In these raids, Japan lost 8 airplanes to a total loss of 5 Allied fighters. The few bombers that did get through were not able to do any damage to the allied ships.
Allied military intelligence continues to keep a close eye out for signs of the Japanese carrier force entering the region. During Phase II, the Japanese carriers showed up just as the allies were finishing up the unloading of their supplies. Even though General Thompson anticipated their arrival and called for an early withdrawal of the transport ships, the Japanese were able to sink over a dozen ships during their raid.
In anticipation of a potential Japanese raid, General Thompson called for those ships at Port Moresby that had completed their assignment to withdraw first to Thursday Island, then to Cairns. At Thursday Island, the task force leaving Port Moresby is to pick up a fleet of tankers that had been dropping fuel off at the base. Thursday Island has suffered recently from its ability to sustain fleets in its waters, forcing naval units to withdraw to Cairns or Darwin for refueling.
However, military intelligence recently placed one Japanese carrier group in waters southeast of the Philippine Islands. Another carrier group was last seen retiring to the northwest of Wake Island west of Midway. As long as the carriers do not seem to be a threat, General Thompson and Admiral Nimitz report that they are content to let the ships unload their cargo.
Thayne's News Network
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
Thayne News is constantly struggling to provide our readers with the best information possible on the struggle against Japan. We also listen to our readers comments. Toward this end, Thayne News has received permission to use the same strategic planning map that is used in the War Department in Washington DC to plot the course of the war.
We caution our readers that this map is a projection that covers a large part of the planet, and in which north is not always up. In India, for example, north leans sharply to the right, and on the west coast of the United States it leans sharply toward the left, both ends pointing to the North Pole which is slightly above the center of this map.
NIMITZ PREPARES TIGER
(TN – Noumea) With Phase II coming to a successful conclusion, Admiral Nimitz, commander of allied forces in the South Pacific, is making plans for the next phase of the offensive to take eastern New Guinea. The plan, called TIGER, will land the 2nd USMC Division, presently at Noumea, New Caledonia, at a small jungle port and airstrip called Dobodura.
When the 1st USMC Division completed the conquest of Milne Bay, on the eastern point of New Guinea, the 2nd USMC Division immediately started preparing for a naval assault on Dobodura, southeast of Buna. The purpose of the marine division is to secure a landing sight for the 37th USA Infantry Division (at Noumea, New Caledonia), and the 32nd USA Infantry Division (at Cairns, Australia). From Dobodura, the two infantry divisions have orders to march on Buna along the coast.
In the mean time, the 1st Australian Army, made up of the 1st, 6th, and 7th Australian Infantry Divisions, will be attacking along the Kokoda Trail, a harsh mountain walkway that starts at Port Moresby. The Japanese used the trail when they laid siege to Port Moresby. However, the allies were able to reinforce Port Moresby and, by putting constant pressure on the Japanese, broke the siege and force the Japanese back into the mountains on the end of June.
Combined, the allies plan to throw six divisions against Buna; three along the coast, and three over the mountains.
Yesterday, the 2nd Australian Infantry Division spearheaded the attack along the trail.
Military Intelligence reports that the units that besieged Port Moresby are manning defensive positions along the trail. Because of the jungle, Military Intelligence has been unable to determine if the units are still in retreat back to Buna, are trying to renew the offensive against Port Moresby, or attempting to build a static defense.
Military Intelligence has been able to determine that the Japanese have reinforced Buna. Recent information suggests that Japan now has five separate military units in Buna, though sources have been unable to confirm the identity or even the size of the units. Sources suggest that the Japanese strength at Buna is running at around 10,000 soldiers, so none of the five units are anything near division strength.
Meanwhile, air units flying out of Thursday Island, Port Moresby, and Milne Bay, have started work isolating the target by sea and air. Yesterday alone, Buna, and the Japanese units still on the Kokoda Trail, were subject to multiple air raids.
• 21 B-17s from the 5th Bomber Group at Buna hit the port at Buna. The B-17s were each loaded out with sixteen 250lb bombs for dropping in a stick along the port and in shore. Their purpose was to destroy buildings and equipment as well as damage whatever ships may have been docked at the time of the raid. The raid was reported a success, with multiple secondary explosions suggesting the destruction of ammunition and fuel caches.
• 24 Whirraway fighter bombers from the 5th and 24th Royal Australian Air Force flying out of Milne Bay attacked Japanese on the Kokoda Trail. W Flight RAF in Imphal, India, have been flying regular bombing missions against the Japanese infantry at Mandalay with impressive results. This suggested the possibility of moving the Wirraway airplanes up to the front line in New Guinea.
• 9 Beaufort torpedo bombers flying out of Port Moresby struck a transport ship 100 miles northeast of Buna, hitting it with one torpedo. The crew of the last plane brought back pictures of the Japanese ship as it sank, bow first, into the Solomon Sea.
• 5 Beaufort torpedo bombers put a torpedo into another Japanese transport at Buna itself, leaving it listing badly and on fire.
• 25 Beauforts fitted with bombs and 7 A-24 Dauntless dive bombers struck the port region. They had to fly through the smoke from fires started by the B-17s earlier in the day. They were given specific targets, destroying what Military Intelligence determined were key storage facilities.
• 8 Hudson bombers, 4 A-20B Boston bombers, and fifteen B-25 Mitchell bombers took off from Thursday Island for Buna, striking again at the port region in order to try to shut down the Japanese ability to supply its units.
Combined, the flights did extensive damage to the port, as well as sinking one supply ship and damaging another. Admiral Nimitz and General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, plan to keep up the pressure until they are able to capture Buna. They hope to be able to destroy the eight combat units that are now known to be in the area.
Once Buna is taken, Port Moresby will be considered safe from enemy attack. Admiral Nimitz plans to continue to move further north until he can take Rabaul, which he intends to use as a springboard for an eventual invasion of Truk Island to the North. Truk is Japan’s version of Pearl Harbor in the Pacific – a major fleet anchorage which serves as a focal point for all Japanese operations in the South Pacific.
In the mean time, General Thompson hopes to pull his 1st Australian Army for a brief rests before sending them on a task to take Timor, a large island northeast of Darwin. Bombers flying out of Timor hope to be able to shut down the Japanese ability to pillage the eastern half of the Dutch East Indies, closing off several sources of oil and other vital war materials.
Japan continued to try to respond to Phase II with air attacks against shipping units still unloading at Port Moresby and Gili Gili. In these raids, Japan lost 8 airplanes to a total loss of 5 Allied fighters. The few bombers that did get through were not able to do any damage to the allied ships.
Allied military intelligence continues to keep a close eye out for signs of the Japanese carrier force entering the region. During Phase II, the Japanese carriers showed up just as the allies were finishing up the unloading of their supplies. Even though General Thompson anticipated their arrival and called for an early withdrawal of the transport ships, the Japanese were able to sink over a dozen ships during their raid.
In anticipation of a potential Japanese raid, General Thompson called for those ships at Port Moresby that had completed their assignment to withdraw first to Thursday Island, then to Cairns. At Thursday Island, the task force leaving Port Moresby is to pick up a fleet of tankers that had been dropping fuel off at the base. Thursday Island has suffered recently from its ability to sustain fleets in its waters, forcing naval units to withdraw to Cairns or Darwin for refueling.
However, military intelligence recently placed one Japanese carrier group in waters southeast of the Philippine Islands. Another carrier group was last seen retiring to the northwest of Wake Island west of Midway. As long as the carriers do not seem to be a threat, General Thompson and Admiral Nimitz report that they are content to let the ships unload their cargo.
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CANADIAN GUNBOATS CHASE TANKER
July 21, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
CANADIAN GUNBOATS CHASE TANKER
(TN – Dutch Harbor) In the cold waters of the Kurile Islands, three Canadian patrol boats, Vancouver, Dawson and Moncton, came across a Japanese tanker ship and attacked it. The tanker turned away while the patrol boats gave chase. It is believed that Moncton hit the freighter once with a shell from a 4” gun, but that was the only damage scored on the freighter. The patrol ships turned away when scouts spotted a possible enemy plane overhead.
The patrol was the most recent operation authorized by Admiral Theobald, commander of allied forces in the North Pacific. Officials at North Pacific Command have reported that Theobald is anxious to do anything other than sit on his hands and build his defenses. Senior advisors who asked not to be identified report that they had serious difficulty talking Theobald out of a plan to send freighters to Russia to purchase some oil, as a way of precipitating a conflict with the Japanese navy.
According to these sources, Theobald argued that, because Russia is a neutral country, it should be allowed to sell its oil to whomever it pleases, including the United States. Any Japanese action to interfere with such a trade is violating Russia’s sovereignty, Theobald argued. However, senior diplomatic advisors informed Theobald that Japan may consider this a violation of their treaty with Russia and use this as a pretext to attack. These advisors further argued that Stalin is unlikely to allow us to pick up the oil. “A war with Japan is something that Russia seriously does not need until the German problem is taken care of,” said one official.
In this raid, the Canadian patrol boats picked up a number of fishermen and other Japanese officials sailing the cold waters of the Kurile Island. They report talking to visitors who had recently been to Paramushiro Jima. Several sources were able to provide very precise information on the Japanese on the island. Once distilled, military intelligence officers accompanying the raid concluded that the Japanese had less than 9,000 soldiers defending the island.
Admiral Theobald immediately asked for suggestions on how to take that island.
Officials in Washington have told Thayne News of comments that they need to find Theobald something to do “before he hurts somebody”. Thayne News has confirmed rumors that Theobald has considered sending minesweepers into the Kurile Island to investigate some of the smaller and less secure islands. In addition to sweeping for mines, their orders would be to investigate each island for signs that it may be useful as a forward allied base of operations.
“I think all that cold air is affecting his brain,” said one Washington official.
More Minelayers Sunk in South Pacific
(TN – Noumea) Japan has further reduced the allied ability to lay mines in the South Pacific with a successful strike that sank the mine layers Rigel and Krakatau. The two minelayers were part of a convoy that left Milne Bay shortly after dark, with plans on returning before morning. Dawn caught them still at Goodenough Island laying mines. Japanese torpedo bombers hit Krakatau once and Rigel twice in a raid that cost them three planes. Both ships sank immediately.
In addition, the Zero fighters accompanying the bombers were able to destroy five of the ten fighters that were flying CAP over the island.
Admiral Wiley also finally succumbed to its wounds last night and sank to the bottom of Milne Bay. Admiral Wiley was the largest of three transport ships that made the trip to Milne Bay to equip the marines that had been stranded there. It got hit early in the war, but sailors managed to keep the ship afloat as they unloaded the cargo. It appeared for a while as if Admiral Wiley may survive the operation, then another Japanese raid hit it with yet another torpedo.
Dock workers were able to salvage approximately 6,000 tons out of its 7,000 tons of cargo. The rest of the cargo was either in flooded compartments or too badly burned to be of any use. With 1000 tons of damaged cargo still on board, the Marines took the boat out into the deepest part of the harbor and let it sink.
Allied forces were able to exact some revenge for the sinking of Admiral Wiley when Blenheim torpedo bombers caught a Japanese tanker in the water south of Lae. A torpedo hit the freighter early in the encounter. While it was trying to dodge further torpedo attacks, the freighter suddenly slowed, then capsized and sank, according to the crew. Military intelligence is still waiting for independent confirmation before they will add the ship to the Sunk Ships list.
Reconnaissance airplanes also spotted a Japanese troop transport convoy at Buna. There was no indication whether the convoy was dropping off units or picking them up. However, according to the planes that visited Buna, there were approximately ten transports in or near the port. Allied military command tried to organize a strike against the troop transports, but the weather over the port city was too bad for such an operation.
General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, is anxious for the next day’s weather. He is hoping for a strike that will sink or badly damage many of the enemy transports.
Andaman Island Allowed to Rebuild
(TN – Dacca) Japanese Sally bombers from Rangoon has left Andaman Island alone for two days now. This has been enough time for the engineers and airport maintenance crews to completely repair the runway and the airplane service facilities. The break has allowed the 47th Fighter Squadron to build up its strength, both by repairing damaged airplanes that have already reached the island, and by getting P-39s that are being uncrated at Trincomalee, Ceylon and flown to the island.
Yesterday’s report from Andaman Island said that the squadron now has thirteen usable airplanes.
In addition, crews were able to unload another 1500 tons of cargo off of the supply ship Jalatarang. Jaltarang has been docked at Andaman Island for four days now without drawing any attention from the Japanese air force. In that time, it has unloaded 3300 tons out of its 4500 tons of cargo. A second supply ship, Derrymore is also on its way to Andaman Island to drop off additional supplies.
Officials at Southeast Asia headquarters are reportedly planning to send additional fighters to Andaman Island. The P-39s of the 47th Fighter Squadron are presently the island’s only defense, because the P-39s were the only fighters in the area that could cover the distance from Ceylon to Andaman. Additional airplanes would only be able to arrive via cargo ship.
Officials at Southeast Asia Command report that they were originally reluctant to do this because they did not think that the Japanese would allow a boat to reach Andaman Island. However, the recent success of one supply mission, and the near success of a second, are causing some to consider risking the shipment of a fighter squadron to Andaman Island.
The attack freighter that recently dropped off the 47th Fighter Squadron is presently at Columbo undergoing refit and repair. Once this is completed, Southeast Asia Command is considering loading 258 Squadron at Columbo onto the ship and sending it to Andaman Island. Because of the capture of Andaman Island, military strategists believe that there is no further threat of a Japanese landing at Columbo. If there were, patrol ships at Andaman Island would likely find out about the raid early, giving the allies plenty of time to respond. Advisors who are arguing for transferring the squadron say that these points argue in favor of moving the airplanes where they might actually be able to shoot at the Japanese.
Thayne's News Network
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.
CANADIAN GUNBOATS CHASE TANKER
(TN – Dutch Harbor) In the cold waters of the Kurile Islands, three Canadian patrol boats, Vancouver, Dawson and Moncton, came across a Japanese tanker ship and attacked it. The tanker turned away while the patrol boats gave chase. It is believed that Moncton hit the freighter once with a shell from a 4” gun, but that was the only damage scored on the freighter. The patrol ships turned away when scouts spotted a possible enemy plane overhead.
The patrol was the most recent operation authorized by Admiral Theobald, commander of allied forces in the North Pacific. Officials at North Pacific Command have reported that Theobald is anxious to do anything other than sit on his hands and build his defenses. Senior advisors who asked not to be identified report that they had serious difficulty talking Theobald out of a plan to send freighters to Russia to purchase some oil, as a way of precipitating a conflict with the Japanese navy.
According to these sources, Theobald argued that, because Russia is a neutral country, it should be allowed to sell its oil to whomever it pleases, including the United States. Any Japanese action to interfere with such a trade is violating Russia’s sovereignty, Theobald argued. However, senior diplomatic advisors informed Theobald that Japan may consider this a violation of their treaty with Russia and use this as a pretext to attack. These advisors further argued that Stalin is unlikely to allow us to pick up the oil. “A war with Japan is something that Russia seriously does not need until the German problem is taken care of,” said one official.
In this raid, the Canadian patrol boats picked up a number of fishermen and other Japanese officials sailing the cold waters of the Kurile Island. They report talking to visitors who had recently been to Paramushiro Jima. Several sources were able to provide very precise information on the Japanese on the island. Once distilled, military intelligence officers accompanying the raid concluded that the Japanese had less than 9,000 soldiers defending the island.
Admiral Theobald immediately asked for suggestions on how to take that island.
Officials in Washington have told Thayne News of comments that they need to find Theobald something to do “before he hurts somebody”. Thayne News has confirmed rumors that Theobald has considered sending minesweepers into the Kurile Island to investigate some of the smaller and less secure islands. In addition to sweeping for mines, their orders would be to investigate each island for signs that it may be useful as a forward allied base of operations.
“I think all that cold air is affecting his brain,” said one Washington official.
More Minelayers Sunk in South Pacific
(TN – Noumea) Japan has further reduced the allied ability to lay mines in the South Pacific with a successful strike that sank the mine layers Rigel and Krakatau. The two minelayers were part of a convoy that left Milne Bay shortly after dark, with plans on returning before morning. Dawn caught them still at Goodenough Island laying mines. Japanese torpedo bombers hit Krakatau once and Rigel twice in a raid that cost them three planes. Both ships sank immediately.
In addition, the Zero fighters accompanying the bombers were able to destroy five of the ten fighters that were flying CAP over the island.
Admiral Wiley also finally succumbed to its wounds last night and sank to the bottom of Milne Bay. Admiral Wiley was the largest of three transport ships that made the trip to Milne Bay to equip the marines that had been stranded there. It got hit early in the war, but sailors managed to keep the ship afloat as they unloaded the cargo. It appeared for a while as if Admiral Wiley may survive the operation, then another Japanese raid hit it with yet another torpedo.
Dock workers were able to salvage approximately 6,000 tons out of its 7,000 tons of cargo. The rest of the cargo was either in flooded compartments or too badly burned to be of any use. With 1000 tons of damaged cargo still on board, the Marines took the boat out into the deepest part of the harbor and let it sink.
Allied forces were able to exact some revenge for the sinking of Admiral Wiley when Blenheim torpedo bombers caught a Japanese tanker in the water south of Lae. A torpedo hit the freighter early in the encounter. While it was trying to dodge further torpedo attacks, the freighter suddenly slowed, then capsized and sank, according to the crew. Military intelligence is still waiting for independent confirmation before they will add the ship to the Sunk Ships list.
Reconnaissance airplanes also spotted a Japanese troop transport convoy at Buna. There was no indication whether the convoy was dropping off units or picking them up. However, according to the planes that visited Buna, there were approximately ten transports in or near the port. Allied military command tried to organize a strike against the troop transports, but the weather over the port city was too bad for such an operation.
General Thompson, commander of allied forces in the Southwest Pacific, is anxious for the next day’s weather. He is hoping for a strike that will sink or badly damage many of the enemy transports.
Andaman Island Allowed to Rebuild
(TN – Dacca) Japanese Sally bombers from Rangoon has left Andaman Island alone for two days now. This has been enough time for the engineers and airport maintenance crews to completely repair the runway and the airplane service facilities. The break has allowed the 47th Fighter Squadron to build up its strength, both by repairing damaged airplanes that have already reached the island, and by getting P-39s that are being uncrated at Trincomalee, Ceylon and flown to the island.
Yesterday’s report from Andaman Island said that the squadron now has thirteen usable airplanes.
In addition, crews were able to unload another 1500 tons of cargo off of the supply ship Jalatarang. Jaltarang has been docked at Andaman Island for four days now without drawing any attention from the Japanese air force. In that time, it has unloaded 3300 tons out of its 4500 tons of cargo. A second supply ship, Derrymore is also on its way to Andaman Island to drop off additional supplies.
Officials at Southeast Asia headquarters are reportedly planning to send additional fighters to Andaman Island. The P-39s of the 47th Fighter Squadron are presently the island’s only defense, because the P-39s were the only fighters in the area that could cover the distance from Ceylon to Andaman. Additional airplanes would only be able to arrive via cargo ship.
Officials at Southeast Asia Command report that they were originally reluctant to do this because they did not think that the Japanese would allow a boat to reach Andaman Island. However, the recent success of one supply mission, and the near success of a second, are causing some to consider risking the shipment of a fighter squadron to Andaman Island.
The attack freighter that recently dropped off the 47th Fighter Squadron is presently at Columbo undergoing refit and repair. Once this is completed, Southeast Asia Command is considering loading 258 Squadron at Columbo onto the ship and sending it to Andaman Island. Because of the capture of Andaman Island, military strategists believe that there is no further threat of a Japanese landing at Columbo. If there were, patrol ships at Andaman Island would likely find out about the raid early, giving the allies plenty of time to respond. Advisors who are arguing for transferring the squadron say that these points argue in favor of moving the airplanes where they might actually be able to shoot at the Japanese.
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JAP CARRIER DAMAGED
July 22, 1942
Thayne's News Network
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.
JAP CARRIER DAMAGED
Carrier Force Raids Wake Island
(TN – Hawaii) Allied bombers were able to damage one of Japan’s large fleet carriers yesterday in a battle at Wake Island.
The Japanese carrier force showed up unexpectedly at the islands yesterday morning. Well before dawn, PBY patrol boats left Wake Island for a routine patrol mission to Marcus Island. Coincidence had the patrol plane flying over the Japanese carrier force at dawn. The pilots radioed back, allowing the Wake defensive force to get a bombing mission into the air and heading for the carrier group.
The attack force consisted of 31 B-25 bombers along with 14 SBD dive bombers. They were escorted by a dozen P-40 Warhawk and a dozen F4F-4 Wildcat fighters.
The Japanese combat air patrol quickly added to the legend of the Japanese navy pilot. In the fight that followed, the Japanese destroyed over a dozen Allied fighters at a cost of only two of their own airplanes. They then went after the bombers, destroying another 5 dive bombers and damaging several of the B-25s. Still, most of the bombers made it through to the ships.
The level bombers reached the enemy task forces first. They flew over the fleet in small formations, dropping their bombs in a pattern from an altitude of 1 mile; a shotgun blast of bombs that they hoped would catch an enemy carrier in their spread. They flew against the enemy ships in eight waves, each wave dropping 16 500 lb bombs. Yet, the Japanese carries easily maneuvered out from underneath the bombers. Debriefings after the mission indicated that not one B-25 bomb hit its target.
The dive bombers divided their number between two of the carriers. One group of four dive bombers also scored no hits against its target. It was on the last run of the raid when the second to last dive bomber made its run, that it was able to put a 1000 lb bomb through the flight deck of a carrier, severely damaging it. The bomb went off deep within the ship.
Aerial photographs confirm that the bomber hit the Japanese carrier Zuikaku. The extent of the damage is unknown. Allied military intelligence considers that it is unlikely that they sank the enemy carrier, though they may have knocked it out of the war for several months and ended whatever plans the Japanese had at Wake Island.
However, the allied attack came after the Japanese had launched its own strike on Wake Island. They arrived with 2 dozen ‘Zero’ fighters escorting the dozen ‘Kate’ and ‘Val’ bombers. Allied combat air patrol challenged the attackers, destroying two Zero fighters and a Val.
The rest of the Japanese airplanes targeted the only ship at Wake Island, the seaplane tender Ballard. It had gotten up steam when it heard about the Japanese strike force so that it could maneuver at full speed in the open water. However, its maneuverability did not prevent the Japanese from hitting it with three torpedoes. The ship went down quickly with only a handful of survivors.
By the end of the day, the allies had lost 26 airplanes and the seaplane tender Ballard, while Japan lost only 5 airplanes and took damage to the carrier Zuikaku. Central Pacific headquarters was offering the exchange as an allied victory.
Independently, Allied Military Intelligence acquired additional information that the Japanese were still considering plans to invade Wake Island. However, no signs of an invasion fleet have yet been spotted. If there is an invasion fleet on the way, the damage to Zuikaku may convince the Japanese to change their mind.
By coincidence, Admiral Fletcher had ordered the bulk of his surface fleet to Midway Island, escorted by the carrier Wasp just two days earlier. The allied surface fleet was a little more than a day’s sailing away from Midway Island when news of the attack reached Central Pacific Command. Wasp is equipped with the new TBF torpedo bombers.
Admiral Kimmel of Central Pacific Command has ordered Wasp not to engage the enemy with inferior numbers, but suggested that the carrier may consider basing its airplanes off of either Midway or Wake to help to combat the Japanese. If severe damage is inflicted on the Japanese carriers, according to sources at Central Pacific Command, Wasp has orders to sail in and finish off the Japanese fleet.
China Isolates Japanese Insurgents
(TN – Chungking) The 28th Chinese Infantry Corps is preparing to move against Japanese insurgents in central China. The insurgents are remnants of the defensive force that retreated out of the port city of Pakhoi in southern China when the Chinese army retook the city. The enemy soldiers moved into the hills east of the city, where they have been setting up operations since then.
Recently, Chang Kai Shek decided to eliminate the enemy unit. He moved the 83rd Chinese Corps to the rail line northeast of the Japanese positions to block any retreat or reinforcements for the Japanese unit. Then he had the 28th Corps move into Pakhoi with orders to move into the hills. In preparation for the ground assault, Allied airplanes flying out of Nanning in southern China have been flying missions into the hills to weaken the ground force.
The Chinese military expects to eliminate the Japanese forces before the end of the month. The 28th Corps may remain in the region for several weeks cleaning up whatever stragglers may stay behind before finally returning to Pakhoi.
The Pakhoi operation will be the first clash of ground troops in the month of July. The last ground battle, the siege of Port Moresby, ended the last day of June when General Kenney was finally able to force the Japanese to retreat. Since then, there has been no place where the ground units of the opposing sides have come into conflict. All of the fighting for the first three weeks of July has been carried out by air and naval forces.
Allied forces are also preparing to challenge the Japanese ground army on the Kokoda trail northeast of Port Moresby, New Guinea. However, scouting missions suggest that they will not engage the Japanese army for at least a couple more weeks.
Thayne's News Network
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.
JAP CARRIER DAMAGED
Carrier Force Raids Wake Island
(TN – Hawaii) Allied bombers were able to damage one of Japan’s large fleet carriers yesterday in a battle at Wake Island.
The Japanese carrier force showed up unexpectedly at the islands yesterday morning. Well before dawn, PBY patrol boats left Wake Island for a routine patrol mission to Marcus Island. Coincidence had the patrol plane flying over the Japanese carrier force at dawn. The pilots radioed back, allowing the Wake defensive force to get a bombing mission into the air and heading for the carrier group.
The attack force consisted of 31 B-25 bombers along with 14 SBD dive bombers. They were escorted by a dozen P-40 Warhawk and a dozen F4F-4 Wildcat fighters.
The Japanese combat air patrol quickly added to the legend of the Japanese navy pilot. In the fight that followed, the Japanese destroyed over a dozen Allied fighters at a cost of only two of their own airplanes. They then went after the bombers, destroying another 5 dive bombers and damaging several of the B-25s. Still, most of the bombers made it through to the ships.
The level bombers reached the enemy task forces first. They flew over the fleet in small formations, dropping their bombs in a pattern from an altitude of 1 mile; a shotgun blast of bombs that they hoped would catch an enemy carrier in their spread. They flew against the enemy ships in eight waves, each wave dropping 16 500 lb bombs. Yet, the Japanese carries easily maneuvered out from underneath the bombers. Debriefings after the mission indicated that not one B-25 bomb hit its target.
The dive bombers divided their number between two of the carriers. One group of four dive bombers also scored no hits against its target. It was on the last run of the raid when the second to last dive bomber made its run, that it was able to put a 1000 lb bomb through the flight deck of a carrier, severely damaging it. The bomb went off deep within the ship.
Aerial photographs confirm that the bomber hit the Japanese carrier Zuikaku. The extent of the damage is unknown. Allied military intelligence considers that it is unlikely that they sank the enemy carrier, though they may have knocked it out of the war for several months and ended whatever plans the Japanese had at Wake Island.
However, the allied attack came after the Japanese had launched its own strike on Wake Island. They arrived with 2 dozen ‘Zero’ fighters escorting the dozen ‘Kate’ and ‘Val’ bombers. Allied combat air patrol challenged the attackers, destroying two Zero fighters and a Val.
The rest of the Japanese airplanes targeted the only ship at Wake Island, the seaplane tender Ballard. It had gotten up steam when it heard about the Japanese strike force so that it could maneuver at full speed in the open water. However, its maneuverability did not prevent the Japanese from hitting it with three torpedoes. The ship went down quickly with only a handful of survivors.
By the end of the day, the allies had lost 26 airplanes and the seaplane tender Ballard, while Japan lost only 5 airplanes and took damage to the carrier Zuikaku. Central Pacific headquarters was offering the exchange as an allied victory.
Independently, Allied Military Intelligence acquired additional information that the Japanese were still considering plans to invade Wake Island. However, no signs of an invasion fleet have yet been spotted. If there is an invasion fleet on the way, the damage to Zuikaku may convince the Japanese to change their mind.
By coincidence, Admiral Fletcher had ordered the bulk of his surface fleet to Midway Island, escorted by the carrier Wasp just two days earlier. The allied surface fleet was a little more than a day’s sailing away from Midway Island when news of the attack reached Central Pacific Command. Wasp is equipped with the new TBF torpedo bombers.
Admiral Kimmel of Central Pacific Command has ordered Wasp not to engage the enemy with inferior numbers, but suggested that the carrier may consider basing its airplanes off of either Midway or Wake to help to combat the Japanese. If severe damage is inflicted on the Japanese carriers, according to sources at Central Pacific Command, Wasp has orders to sail in and finish off the Japanese fleet.
China Isolates Japanese Insurgents
(TN – Chungking) The 28th Chinese Infantry Corps is preparing to move against Japanese insurgents in central China. The insurgents are remnants of the defensive force that retreated out of the port city of Pakhoi in southern China when the Chinese army retook the city. The enemy soldiers moved into the hills east of the city, where they have been setting up operations since then.
Recently, Chang Kai Shek decided to eliminate the enemy unit. He moved the 83rd Chinese Corps to the rail line northeast of the Japanese positions to block any retreat or reinforcements for the Japanese unit. Then he had the 28th Corps move into Pakhoi with orders to move into the hills. In preparation for the ground assault, Allied airplanes flying out of Nanning in southern China have been flying missions into the hills to weaken the ground force.
The Chinese military expects to eliminate the Japanese forces before the end of the month. The 28th Corps may remain in the region for several weeks cleaning up whatever stragglers may stay behind before finally returning to Pakhoi.
The Pakhoi operation will be the first clash of ground troops in the month of July. The last ground battle, the siege of Port Moresby, ended the last day of June when General Kenney was finally able to force the Japanese to retreat. Since then, there has been no place where the ground units of the opposing sides have come into conflict. All of the fighting for the first three weeks of July has been carried out by air and naval forces.
Allied forces are also preparing to challenge the Japanese ground army on the Kokoda trail northeast of Port Moresby, New Guinea. However, scouting missions suggest that they will not engage the Japanese army for at least a couple more weeks.
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