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July 20, 1942 -

There was no Night Action, which meant that the KB had once more avoided the Allied subs in the Bay of Bengal.

But that didn't mean that the KB was gone, for with the first light a medium-sized air attack flew from the KB and hit the Airfields at Cuttack. The attack caused some damage, but it didn't destroy any Allied planes, and the Japanese took a fair number of Flak and Ops losses.

I can't figure out why my opponent had the KB attack Cuttack, unless the KB was just set to attack some Airfield “somewhere” and Cuttack happened to be nearby and available. I didn't have many planes there, so I'm not certain what was the objective of the attack. Cuttack is not a coastal base, so it isn't a candidate for Invasion, and every other base along or near to the Bay of Bengal also has built up Airfields and some sort of planes or another.

The KB ended up around 5 hexes SSE of Vizagapatnan, and apparently moving to the Northwest. If the KB moves too close (in this case 5 hexes) to Madras I might be able to spring a bit of a surprise – weather permitting. It will be interesting to see what happens next turn.

And just to remind my opponent, 13 B-17s from Calcutta flew over to Mandalay and attacked the Airfields there. There were 11 Oscars on CAP but the Forts blasted past the Japanese fighters. I also flew the Bombers in at 11K feet in order to minimize flak effects, so the attack ended up being reasonably successful, with some hits on the Air Base and Runways. It was also useful to find out that my opponent is flying his Oscars at Max Alt. (So it's not worthwhile sending in Hurricanes on Sweeps, but maybe P-38s.)

In other news, a Glen-equipped Japanese sub is hanging around Tahiti, but my Air Patrols haven't located it yet. There are almost alway a couple of Japanese subs off of the Aleutians, but they aren't catching my TFs while my Airborne ASW is doing a fairly good job of chasing the Japanese subs.

And finally, I'm starting to prepare to move more forces into Australia in anticipation of a Spring Campaign. Just to wake up my opponent I am sending the Australian-based 4Es out on Airfield Raids next turn. I can't wait until I have some significant numbers of 4Es so that I can cause real damage to the Japanese forces.

July 21, 1942 -

There was no Night Action again this turn.

Daylight brought out the usual Lily attack on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes.

The KB went into Stealth Mode again and nothing was attacked in the Bay of Bengal.

My 4E Attacks went off as planned. The first attack saw 16 B-17s hit the Airfields at Townsville. 20 Zeros were on CAP but the Forts at 11K blew past the Zeros and hit their target nicely. 2 Zeros were damaged in the air, and 1 Zero and 1 Dinah II were destroyed on the ground.

Then 6 more Forts and 6 B-24s flew in, this time facing 13 Zeros. One Zero was destroyed and the Air Base and Runways were hit.

Finally, 12 Forts hit Katherine, facing 34 Oscars on the way in. The Forts blew past the Oscars, shooting one down, and hitting their target.

I lost a few bombers one the way home due to damage, but all-in-all it was a good day with Japanse aircraft losses twice that of the Allies.

The Land Phase saw the Japanese Recon unit in the Celebes Shock Attack the Dutch Stragglers. Surprisingly, the Dutch were hammered, but not destroyed, and the survivors retreated into another hex along the way to yet another unoccupied base. I'll send an SST over to try to drop off more supplies in the next base so that the supplies will trickle over to the Survivors.

July 22, 1942 –

There was some cat-and-mouse sub/ASW action during the Night Phase. First off Japanese sub I-24 checked-out, but didn’t shoot at, a couple of AMs in a Transport TF that had just left Tahiti for Hawaii. The AMs weren’t as “peaceful” and attempted to depth charge the sub, but they missed.

Then USS Permit was chased by an SC near Lingga, while USS Pompano was chased by a couple of SCs near Hachijo-Jima. Both US subs got away without a scratch.

The Day Phase was very quiet, and the only action was the daily Lily Air Attack on the Dutch Survivors in the Celebes. There were no other Air Attacks and even the number of Recon Flights was down on both sides.

The KB remained out of sight.

The biggest news this turn was that another Japanese LCU was observed moving off-road in the general direction of Imphal. I’ve just reinforced Imphal, so I’m not too concerned.

Otherwise, things were going as per plan for me over all over the map.

July 23, 1942 –

Allied subs were busy again during the Night Phase. First off, USS Seadragon found a Japanese Replenishment TF just southeast of Port Blair, but the sub fired 4 torpedoes that missed one of the DD Escorts. The Japanese DDs chased Seadragon but didn’t find it.

The USS Pickerel then put a torpedo into an xAK just north of Truk. Pickerel got away from the Escorts in the TF, and then came back a while later to put another torpedo into the already damaged xAK.

Finally, USS Thresher was chased unsuccessfully by an SC near Ominato.

Daylight brought Japanese Bombers and Oscars out to hit the small Burmese Rifle unit that is sitting at Kalemyo. I didn’t have any CAP over the Burmese unit, so the Japanese planes flew in unmolested, but they still suffered a number of Ops and Flak losses.

Finally, the Daily Lily Bombardment of the Dutch Survivors in the Celebes continued. There are hardly any Dutch squads left in the LCU, so it shouldn’t take too many more Lily Attacks to wipe the unit out.

I thought that I spotted a report of a Radio signal in the middle of the North Pacific about halfway between the Kuriles and the Aleutians, but when I checked afterwards I didn’t see any sign of any sort of Japanese TF. Sometimes those Japanese Radio messages show up after the Screen has already switched locations, so there may well have been nothing there, but I’ve sent out some Combat TFs towards the Region, just in case my opponent has finally become interested in sending something other than submarines to check out my build-up of the Aleutians. With the KB way off in the Bay of Bengal, I’m more than happy to put some Teeth into my build-up. [;)]

July 24, 1942 –

Night time brought a cat-and-mouse game between an US DE and a Japanese sub off of Attu Island. IJN I-3 spotted USS King and fired some torpedoes at the DE, but missed. King then started to hunt the Japanese sub and fired off a number of depth charges, hitting the sub with one. The small US TF continued on in the dark towards its destination, leaving the Japanese sub to be hounded by Air Patrols once daylight arrived.

Other than Aircraft chasing Subs, the Day Phase was fairly quiet. There were only two air attacks – the usual Lily attack on the Dutch troops in the Celebes, and a small Sonia attack on a Chinese LCU in the southwest of China.

The KB remained out of sight.

Next turn I’m sending the 4Es in Oz out after the Airfields at Townsville again. Maybe they will knock down more Japanese fighters.

July 25, 1942 –

My opponent and I are both “sneaking in” the occasional turn while we spend the Holidays with In-Laws, so our usual slow pace has slowed down even more.

There was a fair amount of sub action during the Night Phase. First off USS Trout was chased by a couple of SCs off of Wakayama. Trout got away safely, but the SC skippers were persistent and later on they tried again, but were once again unsuccessful. However, Trout has run low on fuel so I set it on the long voyage back to Pearl.

Next, way down south at Tahiti Japanese sub I-4 shot four torpedoes at a DE but missed. The DEs in the TF then attacked the sub and hit it three times, so maybe that sub will be heading home for repairs for a bit.

Finally, USS Pickerel was chased unsuccessfully by an SC near Truk.

The Day Phase brought a change of pace as USS Heavy Bombers took the stage instead of the usual Japanese Air Attacks. I had all of the US Heavies in Australia attack the Airfields at Townsville.

First off a half dozen B-24s and 19 B-17s flew in at 11K feet and faced 14 Oscars and 15 Zeros. One Zero was shot down, one Fort was shot down, and the Bombers hit the Runways. This was followed by 6 more Forts which blasted past 11 Zeros and 11 Oscars, shooting down another Zero. Finally, 7 more Forts flew in, shooting down another Zero, and hitting the Runways again.

So the attack wasn’t bad, although End-of-the-World Weather affected the aim of the US Bombers. I was a bit surprised that my opponent has committed so many Fighters to Townsville, but that’s not too bad because it means that those planes aren’t elsewhere.
Surprisingly, that was it for Air Attacks.

So all-in-all, things appear to be fairly stable right now. There is no sign of any new Japanese advances, even in China or the Indian-Burmese border.

One thing that did surprise me was the report of a “torpedo bomber” over Tahiti. There are no Japanese Air Bases within Betty range of Tahiti, so unless it was a carrier plane it must have been a misidentified Glen. Never-the-less, I reformed the Wasp Battle Group and sent it out to sea, just in case my opponent has sent some sort of small nuisance TF (CVE or CS) to the region.

And finally, I was very surprised to find two New Zealand single-plane Walrus units show up at Pearl Harbor. I wasn’t expecting them, and I don’t understand why they would show up at Pearl. So I’ll just set them to ASW and figure out what to do with them later.

July 26, 1942 –

The only Night Action was Dutch sub O23 taking a shot at a Japanese DD in a CL/DD in the DEI near Sepandjang. The torpedoes were duds, but at least the Dutch sub got away. I wonder what that TF was doing in that region.

The Day Phase brought only one Air Attack – the Lilies hit the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes again. Otherwise, the only Air Missions were Recon flights.

The Wasp didn’t spot anything around Tahiti, so that Recon Plane last turn must have been a Glen.

The Japanese LCU that has been sitting in the road between Kalemyo and Imphal finally moved to Kalemyo this turn, but did not attack. I suspect that it will be difficult to keep the unit fully supplied.

Otherwise things were quiet, which is great while I am moving Force around.

July 27, 1942 –

There was only one action during the Night Phase, and USS Pickerel made the best of it. The Pickerel caught sight of a small Japanese TF just to the northeast of Truk and put a torpedo into an xAK. Pickerel got away from the Escort, and then came back shortly afterwards to finish off the Freighter with a second torpedo. The crew of the Pickerel was rewarded with orders to head back to Pearl for more torpedoes.

Daylight then brought the usual Lily attack on what is left of the Kendari Garrison in the Celebes. After today’s attack there is only one Squadron left in the unit, so one more successful Air Attack ought to put the miserable Dutch out of their suffering.

Then a late day surprise occurred as USS Searaven was ambushed in the shallows near Singkep by two E-class ASW vessels. One of the Japanese ships couldn’t find the sub, but the second ship fired off all of its ASW ammo and drove the sub into the mud. But the Searaven didn’t sink and is attempting to limp back to Colombo.

Finally, the Japanese Infantry unit that showed up at Kalemyo last turn launched a deliberate attack this turn, achieved a 2:1 result in the absence of any Fortifications, and drove the small Burmese LCU into the jungle. This Burmese unit will join all of its colleagues in exile in India.

So the Japanese invasion of Burma is complete. The question now is – will the Japanese now invade India?

July 28, 1942 –

My opponent got a look at one of my major TFs for the first time in a long, long time this turn as Japanese sub I-20 got run over by the Wasp TF just to the southwest of Tahiti. A couple of the DDs in the TF attacked the sub with depth charges and got one hit on it. Fortunately, the sub only saw the BB, CAs and DDs in the TF and not Wasp. But it caught my opponent’s attention anyway.

Daylight action was minimal, with only the Lily attack on the Dutch Stragglers in the Celebes to break the calm. There are now only two disabled Infantry Squads left in the Dutch LCU, so the next Air Attack ought to close the books on the Dutch.

And my opponent took the opportunity to expand his Empire ever so slightly as a small Japanese unit landed on Rossel Island at the far end of the Solomons. I guess that my opponent wants to build another Recon Base to try to keep an eye on my activities.

July 29, 1942 –

This was a quiet turn, even with small successes by the Japanese.

Nothing happened in the Night Phase.

The Lily Attack in the Celebes finished off the Kendari Garrison. After that there were no other Air Attacks.

Then Rossel Island was captured by a piece of a Japanese Naval Guard unit.

But more importantly, more Allied forces set out unmolested towards the Future Key Theatres of 1943.

So, unless my opponent gets bored and aggressive, the next few game-months ought to continue along the current lines.

July 30, 1942 –

This was another very quiet turn. USS Grayling shot a dud at an SC near Sendai, and then got away from the SCs.

And that was it for combat. There were plenty of Air Recon flights, including some sort of Japanese plane over a small Supply TF at Johnston Island, but no attacks.

So it looks as if we are both in a Battle to see who can “pour concrete” faster.

But that’s okay by me at this time. I received more LCUs today, and I’ve also got more Troops moving around, so things are going according to plan.

July 31, 1942 –

The Night Phase started with another of my large, well-escorted Air Combat TFs running over another Japanese sub. This time it was I-8 which received some ASW attention, just to the north of Christmas Island. The DDs in the AC TF hit the sub with 4 depth charges, and the sub only detected the CAs and DDs in the TF and not the CV. So my opponent knows that I am being busy, but he doesn’t know exactly how busy.

Then USS Grenadier fired 5 torpedoes at CL Katori, near Agrihan in the northern Marianas, and hit the CL with one of them. Katori was in a Transport TF with several xAKs and only some PBs as escorts. Grenadier got away nicely.

The only Daylight action consisted of several Sweeps of the empty skies over Sian by Oscars. I’ve got planes in Sian, but they are grounded due to a lack of spare parts. I get the occasional SIGINT report of various Japanese LCUs that are preparing to attack Sian, so I supposed that some Japanese bomber attacks will come soon.

The end of the turn brought a number of new-month events. Various Allied Air units changed sizes – some up and some down, More ships became eligible for upgrades, and for some reason, the 1st Burma Division was renamed the 39th Indian Division. The name doesn’t matter – the LCU is heading to Delhi for a long rest.

The Intel chart for August 1, 1942, along with the cumulative Air Losses are posted below.

The ratio of Japanese victory points to Allied victory points remains below 2.5:1.

Here's the situation at the Indo-Burmese border:

Here's the situtation in China:

And here is the situation in one of my more strategic regions - the Aleutians:

August 1, 1942 –

Not much happened this turn. USS Whale was chased unsuccessfully by a PB near Toyohara, and there were a large number of Recon flights, particularly in the Indo-Burma region. But otherwise, there was no Combat.

I keep on getting the feeling that my opponent is looking around to try to find an undefended railroad junction base in Calcutta Region where he can drop some Paratroops. I have working very hard to make certain that he finds no such thing.

My Air Recon capability was cut in half this turn as the last Mitchell PR-1 was lost to Flak over Mandalay. I am now sending the Recon unit back to Calcutta so I can “side grade” it to some other type of British Recon plane.

Otherwise, things continue to progress as planned. A USMC Tank unit is currently unloading in Oz, along with a USA Anti-tank unit. More Armoured units are on their way.

My opponent appears to have a couple of Infantry Divisions, along with some Armour in Northeastern Oz. However, Northwestern Oz is empty, and NorthCentral Oz appears to be lightly defended. So I am planning to start to move up into and develop the empty dot bases in the northwest over the next couple of months. There are a couple of inland, but rail-connected, bases in the region that are “0(6)” Airfields. B-24s in those bases ought to make life truly miserable for the Japanese on the North Coast.

August 2, 1942 –

There was no action during the Night Phase.

The Day Phase started out with quite the surprise – 37 Kates and 22 Vals hitting the Dutch troops in Benghali.

Huh??? Using Kates and Vals to hit ground troops in an isolated base?

The attack appeared to come from the Palembang area. What I don’t know is if those were land-based planes or CV-based planes.

The attack was followed up by a more normal Air Attack by some Helens that flew in from the north.

In any event, this only enhances my appreciation of the amount of Air Power that my opponent has put in the Malaya/Sumatra region. This is the only area where my subs are regularly spotted and attacked by Japanese LBA. (Oddly enough, there doesn’t appear to be any dedicated airborne ASW around Japan proper.)

So for now any idle musings about Sumatra will remain in the realm of fantasy.

Finally, at the end of the day USS Sturgeon took a shot at an xAK near Donggala, but missed. There was only one PB as an escort in the Transport TF and the Sturgeon got away easily.

August 3, 1942 –

There was no action during the Night Phase again.

The only action during the Day Phase was yet another Air Attack by Kates and Vals on the Dutch troops in Bengkalis. As with the previous day, this attack was followed by an attack by Helens.

Otherwise, I simply continue with my movement of Forces. The more I examine the upcoming availability of Allied Forces during the remainder of 1942, the more pessimistic I become about my ability to inflict any serious damage on the Japanese forces before 1943. I don’t want to simply “fight battles”; I want to “win battles”.

August 4, 1942 –

Once again there was no Night Action. My opponent must not be sailing many TFs around at this time. Although I have a number of subs heading back to base for upgrades, I still have half a hundred sailing around in harm’s way, and they aren’t spotting anything.

Daylight was also relatively quiet. The only Air Attack was on Bengkalis again, and once again Vals and Kates flew in, as well as some Helens. But this time a second Kate attack flew in from the direction of Singapore. I wonder if my opponent is upgrading some of his CVs and has moved his Carrier Planes to land bases for practice.

And there were lots of Recon flights flying around. I’m changing the locations of some of my Recon Units to see if there are any “easy” targets around anywhere.