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Hi, guys – I’m still at it…..

Another little break but have now caught up with the scenario in my writing. That is, I made a little twist – I moved the book from
the end of January situation and picked it up again in April – the same game has been going. The pick-up chapters eventually sum up
what happened in-between (not to make it so boring..).

I have attached a map of the general situation in the Philippines, April 30th 1942 - and the “Intelligence” page. As you see there
is a defensive line from Busunga in the north till Cotabato in the south. Landings have just been made in Davao to retake that
town. In the south Menado, Ternate, Sorong, Ambon, Kendari, Bali and Timor are in my hands. They are trying to take Sorong but
their force east of the city is getting weaker and weaker with no supplies or reinforcements getting through. I was thrown out of
Bataan and Lucena – too little, too late. The four TF's out in the Philippine Sea have just chased battleship Haruna with cohorts
back home

The Japanese have tried for Port Moresby several times, and have been thrown out or crushed along their way – recently they have
crossed the Kokoda “hump” and are being held at arm-lengths distance. They have Milne Bay, The Solomons and Deboyne Islands.

Shortly I shall put up some different book chapters on the Issuu reader that should illustrate how the game helps me keep track of
places, units and people. For now, these chapters are basic, much to create the “historic” line – persons are “representatives” of
positions – units are like they have developed, and survived, in the game.

For those new to this thread I recommend you to read up a little of the beginning – and end – of the thread, before you start
telling me how things could not be like they are….

I shall inform when chapters are put up at Issuu. Kick, swing and beat me! Enjoy!

Fred

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o129 ... hvx4xu.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o129 ... 9ia72n.jpg

OK, here is my first (preliminary) book chapter installment for your perusal. This is the last chapter in the "first" period -
end of January - Chapter 20 - Book II

http://issuu.com/leandros1945/docs/chap ... are_coming


Fred

.....and here is the first chapter - no. 21 - Book II - after the long intermission in description of operations.
It's necessarily somewhat dull as I had to do a little summing up.

Fred

http://issuu.com/leandros1945/docs/chap ... ial_meetin

Situation in the Moluccans May 1st 1942 - the Japanese are falling behind Schedule:

May 3rd 1942

I must say the AI sometimes impresses me. For a long period my small but effective destroyer flotillas have made life miserable
for the poorly escorted enemy convoys landing forces around Milne Bay and The Deboynes, operating from Port Moresby and harvesting
some PB’s and transports every day. Only yesterday two transports were sunk in that area and the day before that one large
transport with almost 2.000 troops onboard.

Last night they were off again, one three-ship unit and a pair, plus Monaghan coming direct from the shipyard in Brisbane. But the
enemy was waiting for them. Through the night they bumped into no less than three different enemy battle groups - battleship Hyuga
with two light cruisers and four destroyers, battleship Yamashiro with one heavy cruiser and two destroyers and heavy cruiser Aoba
with two light cruisers and three destroyers.

Needless to say the USN destroyers were easy meat for them. The more so as they had all expended their torpedoes in previous
engagements. When the sun rose Monaghan, Decoy and Allen were all gone to the bottom of the sea. They took with them DD Uzuki –
probably given the death blow by a torpedo from SS Pompano. Only DD Morris got away from it without a scratch.

Question now is – why this sudden heavy naval concentration down there – are they trying for Port Moresby again? If so, they just
missed the train because today they Japanese force outside PM was finally chased away, the remnants are now withdrawing eastwards
after heavy losses during the days’ shock attack by the Aussie - and some US – forces.

If another invasion force is coming I have very little to meet it with except to concentrate bombers around the approach route. I
have quite a few B-17E’s which have been idle in Darwin for some time. And there is always the four carriers which have replenished
in Darwin for a few days. Rush them down? There is little enemy air activity in the Torres Strait except for some Bettys flying
out of Rabaul against Horn Island on a regular basis.

Fred

May 5th 1942

Oh, yes – that battle group went all the way up to Port Moresby – plastered the airfield and withdrew again. Lots of destroyed and
damaged aircraft. I was lucky in that a convoy with a Marine regiment onboard that had strayed near the action only barely got
away.

As expected my bombers achieved little. The enemy is outside Port Moresby again, a CV has been reported among them today. Not
unreasonable as Petes have been observed, too. Enterprise and Saratoga are steaming down from Darwin, just north of The Torres
Strait now – tomorrow they shall be within range.

The enemy has been busy landing forces on Espiritu Santo the last days. The new Zealanders are sending a force to garrison Efate.
I have been overlooking that problem for too long. The French are cooperating nicely, too. Their large destroyer Triomphant sped
up from Noumea and caught several transports outside Espiritu. Two transports and a PB were sunk. Triomphant withdrew to Efate
where it is waiting for a tanker coming from Auckland before it can get into action again.

Oh, yes – the attack on Port Moresby was revenged. East of Palawan, and east of the Surigao Strait, a dozen transports, one
PB and one large CM were sunk by two destroyer forces and the 3rd PT boat squadron. Most were obviously in ballast as there was
reported few people in the sea. The 3rd has moved over to TayTay and shall stay there till our landing force arrives at Puerto
Princesa. An advance party is onboard six APD’s now north of Zamboanga.

The enemy seems to have got a second breath now. Wonder what happens when his forces on Sumatra and Java are released for other
operations?

Fred

July 20th 1942.

It is now two weeks till MacArthur’s set date for returning to Luzon. The landing shall take place in Iba and south of Iba. The intention: To establish airfields to cover landings further north, ultimately to jump over to Formosa. The intention is not to retake the whole of Luzon. Main forces available are the 32nd Infantry Division and the better part of two Marine divisions with support units. I Amphib Corps has set up its HQ in Cagayan, 32nd is in Davao. There are ample ground forces north of Darwin to reinforce and, eventually, relieve the forces going in first. With the landings shall follow AA and BF units and two Marine Raider BN’s.

The last couple of weeks, after disastrous attempts to invade Timor and Port Moresby, the enemy has been quite passive. He has lost more than 400 vessels since the start of the war, mainly transports and mainly by the hand of own naval surface forces.

There are more than 200 fighters in the Philippines ready to move in on retaken airfields. Presently a landing operation is taking place on Morotai, east of Halmahera/Ternate. That occupied island has been left alone for some time, only the occasional destroyer raid when enemy transports have been sighted in the area. This was more like an exercise, using the 18th Australian Brigade that participated in breaking the enemy’s Sorong invasion attempt. That took two months of hard work. After that, the units in Sorong, mainly Australian, have become available for future operations in the Philippines.

Many repaired naval vessels are now coming out of the Australian wharfs again. Inclusive of CVE Long Island there are now six US carriers in the Southwest Pacific. Two of them are supporting the landings on Morotai. They have shown to be most effective against land targets and as fighter cover for transports. Very little has been achieved against enemy naval targets.

There are three old battlewagons prepared to give bombardment support for the landings. They shall only be used if there is proper air coverage.
A problem that was discovered only recently, when the detail planning started, was the lack of large army and navy transports. Some, on their way to the States, have been recalled. That should solve it.

The submarine net that has been thrown across the South China Sea, between Luzon and Cam Rahn Bay, is starting to take effect together with the bombers and PBY’s flying from Puerto Princesa and TayTay. More than 30 submarines are participating, there are several hits, if not sinkings, every day.

Yesterday, a combined operation was performed by the Australian Sparrow Force and our 2nd Marine Para BN. They took Lubang, close to the Manila Bay approaches within the day. The paras were lifted out of Puerto Princesa. They had been there since their participation in evicting a Japanese surprise landing. The Sparrow Force has been with us from the start when they were based on Ambon and were transferred to Menado to defend that base together with US units from the Pensacola convoy and a battalion rushed over from Hawaii on a fast transport together with Enterprise. She transported P-36 fighters to the same place. It was the defense of Menado that stopped the enemy dead in the Moluccas. With Sparrow was also the Gull BN. Both of these units have rested in Dadjangas the last couple of months after destroying the Japanese units that were driven out of Davao.

The British have initiated an offensive in Burma, they are reinforcing Akyab with the purpose of holding it as a flank threat towards the enemy. They have also reinforced Port Blair in the Andamans and were able to inject their forces in time to prohibit the Dutch loss of Sabang. That base has grown quite strong. The enemy is trying to push them out of there with their Imperial Division. Are they getting down to their reserves? The main British unit defending Sabang is the 65th Indian Brigade. The last part of the 63rd Indian Brigade, it is being transferred to Sabang, too, was on a ship torpedoed by an enemy sub outside Sabang only the other day. It turned around to go back to Colombo only to be ordered to continue to Sabang – two escorts were sent out to follow her in. The enemy sub then torpedoed both one of the escorts and the transport – again. It sank.

Unfortunately, this has also necessitated the British to withdraw a naval force that did a very good job for us during the enemy invasion attempt of Timor. In one day they sunk 18 enemy transports in the Banda Sea. This Royal Navy force originally came down as escorts for convoys taking the Aussies home from the Middle East and stayed on for some weeks. Some of them are still in Australian wharfs. A couple were sunk, too.

I shall post again on the morning of August 4th.

Fred

Picture: Today’s situation map of the Philippines

Sitrap, July 25th, 1942

Time is getting short – only ten days till the BIG show is on – Operation LUZON. There has been some change in plans. Instead of going in at two places simultaneously we shall start with Iba and continue with San Fernando as soon as the fighter field in Iba is up and going on our behalf. The reason for picking these sites are that they both have airfields as well as restricted approaches from the land side, delaying the eventual enemy response. The purpose of the landings is to establish powerful air bases for the jump over to Formosa and the strangling of the enemy supply route through the South China Sea. To make consecutive landings instead of two simultaneous shall also make it possible to use only amphib-prepared transports in the first waves. They are getting scarce.

There has also been a change in which units to be used where and when. Originally, the two Marine Raider BN’s were planned used in each of the two landings. Instead both shall be used together in the first one. To make it a mostly Marines event, instead of a regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division, a Marine regiment shall do the job. I have, among four available, picked the 7th Marines, considering training, morale and physical constitution. Also, because the Marine units are based in Cagayan, whereas the 32nd ID is in Davao. This shall save us a day’s sailing time. The landings in Iba are thus to be constituted – landing in that order - by:

2nd and 3rd Marine Raider BN’s – presently loading in Butuan and Surigao
7th Marines loading in Cagayan
95th Cst. AA Regt. loading on Namlea
176th Base Force loading in TayTay. Palawan

Naval support is by, among others, two of the old battlewagons, they are presently loading up in Darwin and Menado. Naval bombardment shall be restricted, not to damage the airfield facilities too much. There are two carriers supplying and preparing in Menado and four in Brisbane. CVE Long Island has just left Ambon for Menado, she has switched her biplane Helldivers for new Avengers. There shall probably be another switch for her to solely carry fighters. The same shall be arranged for with a couple of the forward carriers. Two dozen light and heavy cruisers and destroyers are available for close-in support. A submarine screen is arranged for north and west of the landing areas. There are presently more than thirty spread across the South China Sea. Three destroyer-mine-sweepers shall proceed the invasion fleet.

All possible US medium and heavy bombers are moved up to the Philippines, main bases are Davao, Cagayan and TayTay. There are about 200 US Hudson, A-20, B-26, B-25, B-24 and B-17E’s available. Presently, quite large fighter forces are flying long-range CAP over the ships now continually landing forces and equipment on Busuanga and Lubang. They are doing a fine job. Busuanga shall certainly have a fighter-strip up and going within the next ten days, Lubang probably not. There is a heavy influx of engineering units going ashore. There have been some losses in ships, one by submarine, two by Betty torpedo-bombers, luckily after most of the unloading has been done.

It is hoped that all those ships shall have withdrawn so that there shall be a couple of days’ rest for the flyboys before the balloon goes up. The plan is that the bombers shall start plastering the enemy airfields around Manila two days before the landings start.

There has been one unfortunate incident since last time. The USMC Para BN that jumped over Lubang was lost when it was retracted by ship after its successful operation together with the Aussie Sparrow BN. Their ship was torpedoed by an enemy submarine, only about 170 men survived. Sadly, this unit was planned to take part in the Iba landings, which is why it was picked up to go back to Puerta Princesa from where they flew to Lubang.

Fred

Sitrap July 31st 1942

Situation is developing almost as planned, the loading of the 7th Marines in Cagayan has been a little slower than hoped for. The other first wave units – the two Marine Raider BN’s, the 176th Base Force, are all aboard in their respective departure ports. The 97th Cst. AA Regt. is on its way from Namlea.

The carriers Hornet and Enterprise and Lexington and Wasp, with half a day’s separation, are just passing through the Torres Strait on their way north. Yorktown and Saratoga are two days out of Brisbane, southbound. They need to go to Brisbane for replenishment and shall miss the landings on Luzon They shall get their chance later.

The 8th Marines are being prepared for load-up in Cagayan in case of the need of a back-up for the 7th. The 32nd Infantry division in Davao is preparing for the next jump up the west coast of Luzon.

The Busuanga airfield is now up and going, the 23rd Fighter Group with 30 P-40’s is already operative there. The transport Glenorchy with the last part of the 197th Cst. AA Regt. is just unloading on Lubang. That should finish the preparations for Lubang.

It has been decided to postpone the Iba landings for three days – till August 7th. This is mainly to get the Lubang fighter strip operative and to get the two available carrier groups in position without too much problems.

To cover the landings and the carrier groups are available:

Iloilo: Cruisers Louisville, Indianapolis, Helena, Nashville and 11 destroyers.
San Juan: Four APD’s.
TayTay: Four destroyers, 20 PT’s (supported by a PT tender). Shall be moved to Lubang. Two days ago a PT division entered the Bay of Manila and sunk two transports. An enemy CVE with weak escort is reported to be entering the bay tomorrow. The PT's are ready for it.
Puerta Princesa: Five submarines (35 in the South China Sea covering the landing area).
Cagayan: Battleship Mississippi and four destroyers. Three DMS’s are one day out.
Menado: Battleships North Carolina (new) and West Virginia, cruiser Quincy and AA cruiser Atlanta with 11 destroyers.
Northbound in the Moluccan Sea: Escort carrier Long Island with two destroyers, escorting the 95th Cst. AA Regt. on three transports, part of the first wave landings.

Naval forces south of this have other responsibilities - excepting the carriers.

The approaching carrier task forces have their escort – in all: three light cruisers, two of them AA, and 11 destroyers.

Air support for the landings: Excluding the carrier air forces, approximately 200 each USAAC bombers and fighters.

A closer analysis has shown a possible future problem, that of fuel and provision supplies. Too much transport facilities have been used in moving more than necessary army forces to the front. Much more supplies shall be needed in the near future and there is now a lack of available transports for this immediate purpose. This is expected to sort itself out as soon as Operation Luzon starts. All available transports are now being cleared out of the Philippines and Moluccans. In about six weeks the situation shall have stabilized.

The enemy has been quite active the last week. Two naval task forces have created havoc, respectively in the Coral Sea and the Bay of Bengal with very little there to resist them. Their Coral Sea task force left the area when four US carriers steamed out of Brisbane on their way north. Enemy submarines have also had some successes. No doubt because of the increase in unescorted transports due to the upcoming offensive on Luzon.

The British are fighting for their lives in Akyab and Sabang. In Sabang the Japanese Imperial Guard Division is pressing on hard, it is supplied via Langsa from where it is a railway connection up to Sabang. The allied situation is difficult - their forces being provided over sea from Colombo.
Equally large enemy formations are attacking Akyab every day. The situation is better there as own reinforcements are still arriving by road from Chittagong, as well as by sea. Both places have adequate air support.
A recent invasion attempt on Port Blair has been largely averted but a little enemy force is ashore. They are expected to be taken care of within the next days as a Royal Navy battleship task force that just arrived from Australia are now interfering with their supply lines. The Royal Navy also has four carriers in the area.

The remains of the Marines Para BN are back in Puerta Princesa. It is being reinforced by support personnel and, organized in two companies, shall get its chance at Iba. A second Marine Para BN should be able to participate, too, now that the operation is postponed three days. It’s not far out.

Fred

Now that the BIG day is approaching – the second attempt at establishing a foothold on Luzon –I would like to ponder a little on the game’s amphibious technique. Yes, I have been ashore on Luzon once before – was it April or May? Anyway, it failed as I made several mistakes I have learnt about now.

Firstly, I wasn’t aware that xAK’s or xAP’s do not gain anything being used in “amphibious” mode – they are “civilian” ships. One needs to have AK’s or AP’s to make use of the faster amphibious reloading. At Lucena, which is where I was ashore for a week or two, the transports used were either not loaded amphibiously – or being “x” versions. I sent in too many ships at the same time, the unloading stalled completely. The other serious mistake was that of not landing a good air support BF early. The consequence was that most of my fighter cover soon became unserviceable. It didn’t help how many fighters I poured in. A good AA unit is also necessary at an early stage, to off-load the fighter force and protect against nightly bombing raids and ships off-loading in the port.

The consequence was that the force build-up went too slow – the landing force was evicted with the loss of some dozen fighters on the airfield.

The chosen landing site was also a strategic failure (even if Bataan was invaded at the same time – that one failed immediately), it would have resulted in a slug-fest to expand and would probably have influenced little on the strategic situation. The present choice of landing sites shall evolve on the idea of strangling the South China Sea for supplies to the Homeland and the progress to jump over to Formosa. To hinder this the enemy has to draw forces from other areas – or starve to death.

Fred

In addition to the air support, you should consider landing some naval support to speed the unloading. Some of the heavier equipment you need does not come off the ships in the first batch of unloading. Heavy AA guns for example.
I use USN BFs and Port Service Units early on, and the amphibious truck units when they show up later in the game.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

In addition to the air support, you should consider landing some naval support to speed the unloading. Some of the heavier equipment you need does not come off the ships in the first batch of unloading. Heavy AA guns for example.
I use USN BFs and Port Service Units early on, and the amphibious truck units when they show up later in the game.

Thank you - a little too short notice now - the show is on in two days. I shall try to arrange for it in the next
landing - about two weeks from now. The margins should be enough for this time. I hope....[:)]

Fred

Sitrap Aug. 6th 1943, afternoon.

Two two-carrier and two battleship task forces are now positioned just south of Busuanga under fighter cover from the airfields there and at TayTay, waiting for their assault orders. Just north of them is the invasion fleet with its dedicated escorts and a bombardment group with, among others, an old battleship. Included in this assembly is also the escort carrier Long Island with its own destroyer escorts. It carries 18 Wildcats. Some of the ships/task forces shall be released for independent operations up and down the coast as soon as the landing force is safely ashore.

The destroyer mine-sweepers Hopkins and Long started off on the right foot by sinking the enemy transport Nisso Maru on their way north to Iba, resulting in more than 300 Japanese casualties. Hopkins and Long were covered by four other destroyers. Three PT divisions, operating from Lubang during the morning, discovered several enemy mini-subs in the Manila Bay approaches.

The most important this day was the softening-up of the enemy air defences. In two consecutive waves 101 bombing (Hudson, A-20, B-17, B-24 and B-25’s) and 56 fighter (escort) sorties were flown against Clark and Nichols field from TayTay, Busuanga, Cagayan and Davao. The enemy response was prolific, only against the morning attack did the enemy rise to defend himself in any force to speak of. There were no own losses even if quite a few planes were damaged by enemy AA. Hits were reported on workshops, stores and runways. The carrier bombers were saved for tomorrow’s landings.

The invasion force is loaded amphibiously on seven large transports. Two more shall unload the last part of the 7th Marines two days later. Two companies of USMC paras in Puerto Princesa are ready to jump over Iba. The 1st and 3rd Para BN’s are on ships a week out and shall be used in the next landing further up the coast.

Fred

Sitrap August 7th 1942, afternoon.

What a glorious day!

Before the long-planned landings at Iba could start around noon on Aug. 7th, a couple of incidents shook the British and US HQ’s. Once again a Japanese cruiser force sped up along the Burmese coast to Akyab, entered the ports of Akyab and Cox’s Bazaar and sank several medium transports before it turned south again only to visit Port Blair the next day with almost similar results. At the same time Betty bombers attacked shipping in the port of Port Blair.

Retribution followed later in the day when the British light cruisers Emerald and Newcastle carried out a raid from Sabang to Langsa, the port used by the enemy for landing reinforcements to the Imperial Guards division that beleaguered Sabang on the northern tip of Sumatra. Transport Kinugawa Maru was sunk by gunfire.

Similar incidents took place outside Bataan. The enemy submarine I-165 managed to penetrate the heavy destroyer screen of the invasion convoy and put two torpedoes into Henry T. Allen, one of the large army transports. It sank and took with it some of the 3rd Marine Defense BN, an important part of the invasion force. While most of the Marines were saved, all its equipment went to the bottom. Other enemy submarines and mini-submarines were chased away by the escorts. I-165 tried again later but with less luck.

At almost the same time the USN PT boats 31, 32, 33 and 35 hit upon enemy transports Meiten Maru and Ueizuru Maru as they were entering Subic Bay at Bataan. Both were torpedoed and went down, resulting in around 3.700 casualties. A second PT division in the area damaged transport Yuki Maru. The same ship received additional damage as the invasion fleet’s main carrier covering force, Enterprise and Hornet with a substantial escort of cruisers and destroyers, streaked by her.

The first bomber support was given by 59 x SBD’s and 18 x Avengers from Enterprise and Hornet, attacking Vigan. They met with no fighter opposition but nine planes were damaged by AA fire. The next attack, against Nichols Field outside Manila, was performed by 15 x B-17 and 20 x B-26 flying from TayTay, escorted by 14 x P-36 and 12 x P-40’s. This was the only occasion when enemy fighters appeared in force - 21 x Ki-27 Nate. The next wave, six unescorted B-17 also flying from TayTay, were only met by two Nates. After that followed several unopposed bomber raids originating in Cagayan and Davao and from the second two-carrier force. Most raids were directed at Clark and Nichols Field but also on ground forces around Iba.

The Iba landings started at noon after a quite effective bombardment by battleships Mississippi and West Virginia and heavy cruiser Quincy. Fighter cover was given by Wildcats flying from the escort carrier Long Island and the new airfield at Busuanga. Lubang airfield is promised operational tomorrow. Not unexpectedly, there were quite a few unloading accidents, and losses to enemy action, but the first assault was so over-whelming that a beachhead was quickly secured. At the same time two reduced companies of the USMC 2nd Para BN jumped inland of the airfield. A concerted attack by the first 7th Marine company ashore, and the para BN, quickly brushed the enemy defenders aside. They withdrew into the back-woods. Before the sun set in his back General MacArthur could wade ashore at the beach alongside Iba airfield and stroll the fifty yards up to the strip that was so badly mauled by the enemy on December 8th. He had returned.

Fred

Picture: Ships sunk list per August 7th.

Sitrap August 9th 1942 – afternoon.

As the consolidation of the Iba beachhead continues there are continuous activities on the three hotspots: Sabang, Port Moresby and Akyab. The Japanese are making headlong attacks every day with ever diminishing returns, the allies have built up their defences too quickly for them. It can be seen clearly in their responses to the allied artillery offensives, less and less counter-battery fire is launched by the enemy. On the 8th, a concerted frontal attack on Sabang resulted in more than 1.300 enemy casualties.

The British are assembling a battleship/carrier task force in the Bay of Bengal. They hope to have it ready in a few days. Ever the optimists.

An enemy light cruiser (Naka-class) with two destroyers are patrolling south of Timor without any significant pattern. They have been attacked every day by USN Kingfishers and PBY’s flying out of Koepang, two squadrons of each are based there, and B-17’s flying from Darwin. No decisive results yet. Admiral Purnell in Davao is arranging for a cruiser force to destroy them or chase them off.

The bombing offensive against targets on Luzon is continuing along the same pattern, a small enemy fighter force shows up in the morning – then nothing. More and more enemy planes are destroyed on the ground.

On the morning of the 8th a series of bombardment raids were set in motion by three battleship and heavy cruiser flotillas, among them Mississippi, Indianapolis, Louisville and Quincy. Vigan, San Fernando and Bataan were attacked. On their way along the coast the raiders surprised and sunk several enemy transports and support vessels. PT’s 27, 39 and 42 sunk the transport Yuki Maru outside Bataan. The allied submarines that were called in to cover the landing area were ordered back to their original patrol locations in the South China Sea.

On the morning of the 9th the new battleship North Carolina was also sent north along the coast to try out a new concept, that of patrolling the South China Sea with a powerful surface flotilla. With it was the new AA cruiser Atlanta. While passing west of Bataan it was intercepted by the mini-sub Ha-26 but it was driven away by the destroyer escort. Outside Vigan TB Tomozuru was quickly dispatched of. It seems as if little warning of the allied naval activity has been transmitted to Japanese ships at sea.

Royal Navy carrier Indomitable was attacked by 13 torpedo-carrying Betties while in Akyab. Indomitable and the local fighter force was warned in good time - 17 Hurricanes went up to meet the bombers and Indomitable and her two destroyer escorts were able to out-maneuver the bombers. Three were shot down and two damaged without own losses.

Fred

Picture: Ships sunk list included August 9th 1942.

Sitrap Aug. 11th 1942 – afternoon

The main event on Aug. 10th was that a strong Japanese cruiser force, led by Mikuma, hit the coast north of Vigan and proceeded south along the western coast of Luzon. It met the USN destroyers Hatfield and Rathburne outside Vigan where they were positioned as submarine pickets. Hatfield was sunk while Rathburne was able to sneak away in the dark, moon-less night. The Japanese flotilla continued down the coast. Approaching Iba, where there were some fat targets, among them CVE Long Island, it bumped into light cruiser Honolulu and four destroyers, all old four-stackers. They gave them a good fight, hits were registered on two heavy cruisers, one of them Mikuma, the destroyer Mikazuki was set afire. USS Kane had to absorb most of the enemy’s anger, it was sunk. The threat to the Iba anchorage was averted, the Japanese continued south in hot pursuit of Honolulu and the three old destroyers.

But Mikuma and her consorts were only a covering force for the enemy CVE task force Taiyo. As the Honolulu task force closed the Manila Bay approaches they unknowingly intercepted Taiyo and her escorts, about to enter Manila Bay. Taiyo and her two escorts were properly shot up, Taiyo to the extent that she was later unable to launch any fighters, seemingly her purpose for going to Manila in the first place. She escaped into the Bay, the USN ships had to keep on going south with the powerful enemy cruiser force on their tails. As it were, Mikuma and her cohorts also set course for Manila. So it was that during the day a large enemy naval force was anchored outside Manila while all US bombers had their missions set on land targets. Would they get their chance the next day?

The next day they there were no ships in Manila except TB Manazura, damaged during the previous day’s fight. She was sunk in a row of devastating bombing raids. The Japanese, having lost the air protection of Taiyo and with most land-based fighters grounded, understood that Manila would be a death-trap in daylight and decided to leave before the morning. Escorted by the heavy cruisers Taiyo departed Manila in the dark evening. Patrolling the approaches were the old destroyers Hopkins, Long and Breeze. They were able to evade the powerful enemy force but not before they had given, and received, a few shell hits, one on Taiyo. More importantly, they transmitted the news of the fleeing enemy flotilla to friendly units. This was picked up by PT’s 28, 30, 45 and 46, on their way from Lubang to Subic Bay. They caught up with the enemy flotilla and put four torpedoes into Taiyo and one into the destroyer Yayoi. Both went down within a few minutes. At this stage, the Japanese flotilla commander had become extremely worried, he wanted to get out of this bee-hive!

Not much luck with that. As they left the Bay and turned north, they bumped into battleship North Carolina with cruiser Atlanta and six powerful destroyers, Mikuma and another heavy cruiser was further damaged. Only the happy ship Amatsukaze got away unscathed. Mikuma is considered sunk. As if that wasn’t enough a second PT division showed up, there were, in all, four of them out that night. This time the PT’s weren’t able to get within torpedo firing range.

Warned by all this activity another powerful USN task force arrived in the area – heavy cruiser Indianapolis with three other cruisers and four destroyers. But now the birds had flown, only a sub-chaser and a transport was left in Subic Bay. Both were promptly dispatched of. Indianapolis and her friends continued north and with that the naval action in and around Manila Bay quietened down.

There were things going on in other places, too. On Aug. 9th the carriers Saratoga and Yorktown were on their way north of the Torres Strait to join the other carriers in the Philippines when suddenly there was an explosion aboard Yorktown. Fires broke out and she was not able to launch her planes. As the fire was brought under control she had to return to the wharf in Brisbane, only escorted by two destroyers. Saratoga continued on her journey but was soon instructed to transfer to a position south of Lautem to participate in the hunt for the enemy cruiser flotilla that had been strolling around there for some days. On the 10th her scouts found the enemy and attacked with 13 SBD’s. Hits were reported on a Naka-class light cruiser, she had two destroyers with her. A second raid, later in the day, also reported hits on the cruiser. A PBY-attack flown from Koepang yielded no results. While not confirmed officially the enemy cruiser is probably sunk.

Another successful destroyer operation took place outside Dinagat in the Philippines. Three destroyers led by Mugford, based in Iloilo, hit upon a reported four-ship enemy supply convoy escorted by a PB and two troop-carrying APD’s. The three escorts and APD’s were engaged first, the transports were set afire and later sunk or damaged by PBY’s and land-based Avengers flying from Cagayan.

Finally, there was an engagement south-west of kendari, a transport convoy was reported on an easterly course the day before. Destroyers Schley, Ward and Lawrence, based in Kendari, were sent to investigate. Instead they hit a cruiser force led by IJN OI and Tatsuta. In a surprise attack they were able to put a torpedo into Tatsuta and damage OI with gun fire. The US ships withdrew after USS Lawrence developed a fire aboard. The enemy flotilla turned back.

Fred

Picture: Ships sunk list included Aug. 11th 1942

Sitrap Aug. 13th 1942 – afternoon.

Aug. 12th was a relatively quiet day for the allied naval forces around the Philippines except for a clash between the heavy cruiser Ashigara and battleship North Carolina. Ashigara was acting as a covering force for carrier Taiyo that was sunk the day before outside Manila, she was now speeding south, accompanied by destroyer Shiokaze, to deal out revenge. On her way north was battleship North Carolina with a strong cruiser and destroyer following. Her mission was to sweep up the coast, then to turn west and south to try out a new concept - that of interfering with the Japanese supply traffic through the South China Sea with naval surface forces in daylight. Naval units with the best AA equipment were picked for the purpose. The two enemies met just south of Iba. In the dark night the Japanese ships were able to fire a full fan of torpedoes before they were taken under fire by the powerful opposition. North Carolina got off two full salvoes before she was hit by one of the Long Lances. Luckily, all the other torpedoes went astray. The result was inevitable, Ashigara went down in a cloud of fire and explosions. North Carolina was not seriously damaged, but Shiokaze was able to get away relatively unscathed in the dark night.

But, not for long. Following the North Carolina task force were light cruisers Helena and Nashville with four destroyers. They picked up the limping Shiokaze on their radars and finished her off. The sinkings of Ashigara and Shiokaze have not yet been confirmed.

Other events: East of Cam Rahn Bay, SS Gato put a torpedo into the Patrol Boat Kyo Maru #8. She was escorting a south-bound convoy. Gato had to evade before the sinking could be confirmed. Three PBY’s attacked an enemy transport with 500 lbs. bombs east of Cam Rahn Bay. No hits were observed. This sortie was the first of future long-range missions flying from Puerto Princesa on Palawan to further block off the South China Sea. Most of the submarines in the area has now been redirected back to their stations there.

Allied transport Engadine was sunk east of Portland roads by nine Betty bombers flying out of Rabaul. She was hit by three torpedoes. Later in the day the small transport Island Mail was sunk by four Betties outside Cooktown.

The constant frontal attacks by the Japanese outside Port Moresby, Sabang and Akyab are slowly wearing the attackers down with increasing losses each time. On this day their attack along the Kokoda Trail cost them more than 300 casualties with a tenth of that in allied losses. They are getting nowhere.

The 13th, on the other hand, was quite eventful – ten enemy transports and four escort and support vessels were sunk during the night and the day. Some of them were part of a new Japanese attempt at getting through the island chain south of Kendari, heading for an unknown destination. In two actions they were intercepted by light cruiser Glasgow and the Dutch destroyers Isaac Sweers and Tjerk Hiddes, and the four-stackers Schley and Ward. The enemy suffered more than 700 casualties among the troops aboard.

The others were victims of the cruiser force, now led by Indianapolis, North Carolina had withdrawn to Iloilo to make repairs on the torpedo damage. On their south-bound foray through the South China Sea they hit upon two transport convoys. Several of the transports were sunk, but in the dark night some still managed to get away. Indianapolis finished the job by sinking tanker Hakko Maru just before she crossed back into the Jolo Sea.

In a violent attack by 90 SBD’s and 10 TBD’s on Subic Bay the minisubs Ha-15 and Ha-26 were sunk at the pier. 23 SBD’s were damaged by AA fire but all got back safely. There were also numerous hits on port and store installations.

Determined attacks were pressed through by six Sonia bombers in two consecutive attacks towards the British carrier Indomitable and her task force west of Bassein. The bombers were escorted by, in all, 35 Oscar fighters. The task force was defended by the carrier fighters, mainly 26 Martlets. Three Sonias and four Oscars were shot down. No damage was done to the ships, but at the cost of two Fulmars and one Martlet.

An all-out ground attack on Akyab on the 13th cost the Japanese more than 800 casualties. The British had six casualties. The main enemy ground forces outside Akyab are the 14th Tank Regiment, the 146th IR, the 21st Mixed Brigade and the 55th Mountain Gun Regiment. All under the auspices of the 15th Army.
Defending Akyab are: 14th and 23rd British Brigades, 26th Indian Brigade and the main part of the Indian 23rd Division. In addition, a large array of support units of all kinds.

South of Sabang the Japanese Imperial Guards Division has been reinforced by the 77th IR.

Fred

Picture: Ships lost list per Aug. 13th 1942.

Sitrap aug. 28th 1942 – afternoon

The **** has hit the fan! While, for a period, the situation has been relatively static there has been a development towards new enemy offensives. It seems new forces are getting available as they are finishing their various occupation operations.

But, first an update on Operation Luzon. The Iba landings met weaker opposition than expected, the US forces have been able to scout inland and there are little enemy forces in the vicinity. For this reason, the 8th Marines were not sent in to reinforce the 7th. Instead it was decided to immediately go for Vigan. In much the same way as was done in Iba the 8th Marines went in together with a cst. art. AA regt. and naval and air base support forces the day before yesterday. The opposition has been much stronger than it was at Iba and the operation has been complicated by the fact that the planes (C-47’s) of three Para battalions planned flown in from Puerto Princesa had a too short range to make Vigan. Instead they were dropped over San Fernando, south of Vigan. This worked nicely, the airfield was taken intact, one of the Para battalions are now on its march north to join the Marines in Vigan. In the mean-time supplies have been flown in and a supply ship originally destined for Vigan is presently unloading in San Fernando. There have been several attempts by the enemy to interdict the operations up and down the western coast of Luzon but own naval forces in this area are so strong that he has been more or less frustrated each time he has tried.

In other places the situation has suddenly turned very serious. The constant enemy naval interdiction has complicated the supply transports to Denpasar on Bali and the British advanced bases in Southeast Asia, Sabang and Akyab. This concerns general supplies as well as oil fuel for the naval units. The enemy has had some setbacks, though. Light cruiser Kashima was bombed south-east of Sabang, it sank, a quite rare incident these days, and light cruisers Tenryu and Akuma were dispatched by the 15 in. guns of RN battleship Royal Sovereign south of Akyab.

At the same time, only yesterday, renewed landings were made close to Sabang, supplementing the already strong enemy forces there, and near Denpasar, Bali. This follow Japanese successes in the Bengal Bay, partly caused by the fuel constraint. Carrier Formidable was sunk by an enemy battleship/cruiser task force, consisting of two battleships and two heavy cruisers with destroyer supports, while waiting for fuel in Akyab, and two other carriers were damaged for a similar reason in Sabang. They got away, but only barely. RN heavy cruiser Essex was sunk outside Akyab trying to intervene with the enemy force. That situation is still not cleared up but a (relatively) strong Royal Navy battleship/cruiser task force is planned to hit the beaches outside Sabang the coming night and emergency supply transports have been organized for Sabang and Akyab. The question is, shall they get through? The enemy forces outside Akyab also seem to be increasing gradually in size. On the brighter side, much of the British forces chased out of Rangoon have managed to withdraw up the coast and have now assembled south of the enemy force concentration east of Akyab. Some have even come through to Akyab.

Denpasar, Bali, is the most critical point for now. This base was meant to be the point of the last withdrawal from Sumatra and Java. There are many Dutch units, both those originally based there, as well as some withdrawn from other Dutch areas. The central units are an Aussie infantry brigade and a US coast. art. AA regt. In all, more than 15.000 troops. As such, the enemy shall have problems taking Denpasar in the short term but they have almost unlimited numbers to take from the relieved troops in Java. They can also effectively bar the allied supply transports, being so close to the large air base complex of Soerebaja. At the moment the real problem is supplies, the Dutch have run out of aviation fuel. Consequently, the relatively strong fighter force there, which has done a fine job till now, is being destroyed on the ground. It is as if the enemy has sniffed this out because they are sending in large unescorted bomber forces every day. The nearest supply ship is two/three days out and there is no guarantee that it will get through the enemy screen. The nearest allied naval forces to speak of are two days away, too.

What to do? As cross-ocean supplies cannot be guaranteed a large air supply operation has been set in motion. The four C-47 squadrons in Puerto Princesa, originally positioned there to fly and support the three Marine Para battalions, have been transferred to Kendari. They shall start flying supplies into Denpasar from there tomorrow. Also, one C-47 squadron has been transferred from Darwin to Koepang for the same purpose. As much of the fighter defense in Denpasar has already been destroyed on the ground a Marine Wildcat squadron under training in Darwin has also been transferred to Koepang to immediately move to Denpasar when supplies have arrived there. The light cruiser Achilles and two Dutch destroyers shall move to a position west of Koepang to start interdicting the Japanese landings in Denpasar. Light cruiser Hobart with two destroyers is ordered down from Menado and carrier Saratoga in Zamboanga, original meant to join her sisters on Luzon, shall turn south again. Saratoga’s problem is that she had no fighters aboard. Seven Buffalos, based in Cebu, shall join her as she departs Zamboanga. Also an Avenger squadron from Cagayan. As she reaches the operational area it can be decided if the Marines Wildcat squadron shall join her or remain in Koepang or Denpasar. Much of the problem in similar operations against multiple invasion convoys has been the replenishment of the active destroyer forces. For that purpose, another destroyer tender is transferred to Koepang.

There are ominous signs that something is going on in the Bismarck Sea, too. A large carrier force has been detected there and it has made several raids on Port Moresby the last days – if with tragic results for the attackers, the fighter defense in Port Moresby has grown quite strong. Let them come! The first Aussie Spitfire squadrons are now coming on line, if only in small numbers so far. Another Beaufighter squadron has been transferred to PM. Problem is there are very little allied naval forces in the Coral Sea area, the Australian wharfs are working round-the-clock to finish all the repairs. Battleship Nevada was on her way north after repairs but had to turn around after a torpedo hit. Carrier Yorktown, after her mysterious explosion north of Torres Strait, have to spend 120 days in the wharf. Interesting times!

Fred

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Sitrap September 2nd 1942 – afternoon

Suddenly the air went out of the Japanese balloon. The attempt to attack Sabang directly from the sea was averted by the sinking of their transports outside the beaches. What was left of the landed forces re-embarked. They have, however, been reinforced over land by a heavy artillery regiment. Their latest frontal attacks have resulted in extreme losses for them. 700 in their latest attempt. The situation at Sabang is balanced again for now but own reinforcements are needed from India if the enemy continues his build-up. I fear he shall.

The problems at Denpasar, Bali, also seems to come to a reasonable conclusion even if the airlift from Koepang and Kendari hasn’t come off yet, the airfield hasn’t been usable for landings – too damaged. Two diverted supply ships managed to get through two days ago, but one was sunk in the harbour by bombers flying from Java the day after. Some aviation fuel came ashore, though, so that some fighter sorties could be flown in spite of the damaged runways. With carrier Saratoga having arrived east of the neighbour island the fighter defense has developed such that enemy bombings of the airfield have been stopped almost completely – more fighters were scrounged for Saratoga on her way down from Menado. Tomorrow, another supply ship is due in, it shall be properly escorted on its final leg by the local naval forces which now number three light cruisers and five destroyers. As soon as the airfield is reasonably repaired the Wildcat squadron at Koepang shall be flown in. In the mean-time B-17’s transferred to Kendari and Koepang have flown missions against the airfields around Soerebaja, as have the SBD’s from Saratoga. There have been some losses. The Japanese landing attempt at Denpasar was also frustrated, only a small part of the landing forces came ashore before their transports were destroyed by the allied naval forces. A concerted land attack on the second day drove the rest of them into the sea.

Operation Luzon has developed admirably. More than 8.000 troops are ashore both in Iba and Vigan. The Vigan defenders held up for two days before they withdrew north, up the coastal road.

The three Para battalions that landed in San Fernando have joined up with the Vigan forces, marching up the coastal road. The first of them participated in the final battle that threw the enemy out of Vigan. The first fighter elements are now operating from Vigan airfield.

The enemy continues to try to get through to Bataan and Manila, his ships are intercepted almost every night by the six PT divisions scuttling between Lubang, Subic Bay, Manila and Iba. The PT’s have been quite successful up till now. Only last night a freighter was sunk while on its way to Subic Bay. Its escort managed to escape north but was soon intercepted by a destroyer division sent south from Iba. It sank.

Preparations are well under way for the next step. This shall be a larger and riskier operation. 1st Marines shall be at the core of it together with the now well-known assembly of ancillary units. At first, the 32nd Infantry Division in Davao was meant to have been used by now but it is being saved for the final push, the decisive twist of the “supply denial-screw”. The main part of the submarine fleet is now being positioned between Formosa and the Chinese mainland. They have obtained some results recently but considering the effort and concentration it is somewhat disappointing.

A second escort carrier is two days out of Brisbane, hopefully available for the “next step”. This one is larger than Long Island, with triple the a/c complement.

Fred

Picture: The lost ships list. The losses have been balanced somewhat the last few days.

I'm posting the a/c loss figures just to show the extreme Betty losses. See total losses.

Fred