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MARCH 9TH-12TH, 1942


AUSTRALIA:

Japan captures Albany on the SW coast and continues its attempts to mop up Allied troops outside of Perth.


PHILIPPINES:

Japan finally takes Bataan:

Ground combat at Bataan

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 24789 troops, 111 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 518

Defending force 2478 troops, 41 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 3

Japanese max assault: 537 - adjusted assault: 952

Allied max defense: 0 - adjusted defense: 5

Japanese assault odds: 190 to 1 (fort level 3)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Bataan base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
82 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

Allied ground losses:
3047 casualties reported
Guns lost 31


The Allies are left with only their fortified position at Manila in Luzon.



DEI:

Japan captures Miri and invades at Brunei.

Steve sends 10 LCUs to southern Sumatra to attack Palembang from the south....but the first attempt to cross the river into Palembang is repulsed with heavy casualties and the Japanese are forced to retreat:

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Ground combat at Palembang

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 1237 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 38

Defending force 29586 troops, 186 guns, 26 vehicles, Assault Value =
257

Japanese max assault: 32 - adjusted assault: 0

Allied max defense: 259 - adjusted defense: 652

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 7)


Japanese ground losses:
328 casualties reported
Guns lost 2

The Dutch adjusted AV here of 652 really surprised me.....Japan is going to have to bring a lot more to this party to take out Palembang!





CHINA:



Steve gets a good die roll and Hong Kong suddenly capitulates:

Ground combat at Hong Kong

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 17534 troops, 113 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 193

Defending force 13078 troops, 38 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 160

Japanese max assault: 189 - adjusted assault: 620

Allied max defense: 157 - adjusted defense: 295

Japanese assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Hong Kong base !!!



Allied aircraft
no flights


Allied aircraft losses
Do 24K-2: 3 destroyed
PBY Catalina: 4 destroyed

Japanese ground losses:
463 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Allied ground losses:
16741 casualties reported
Guns lost 28


The last several attacks failed to achieve even 1:1 odds so this one caught me by surprise....2 of my seaplane groups are destroyed on the ground in this fiasco.....as least they held out for 4 months here!



MALAYA:

All quiet here at Singapore....in fact too quiet. My recon shows only 15,000 IJA troops at Johore Bharu have my 1400 AV at Singapore boxed in. Im almost tempted to go on the offensive here but I dont want to use up my precious supply. If Japan commits ALL its SAA divisions to an "ALL or Nothing" assault on Australia I may attempt a breakout.

I will receive 6th AIF Division and 2nd UK Division at Aden tomorrow.....this will give me 4 full strength UK/Aussie Divisions in India plus the 7th Armored and the Gurkhas....maybe I can open up a second front on the Malay peninsula in conjunction with a breakout from Singapore.

Hmmmmm......

MARCH 13TH-20TH, 1942


The entire Pacific theatre seems to have quieted down a bit the last few days although Steve assures me that things will soon heat up again.


AUSTRALIA:

The Aussie brigade and base force that were cut off in the retreat from Perth have become guerillas in the "bush" country and will tie down some Japanese forces if they continue to pursue them. The Japanese advance continues down the Perth/Adelaide highway but now consists only of the IJA 18th Division and 3 tank regiments. No sign of the 5th and 48th Divisions now. Even with 14th Army and 16th Army HQ at Perth I dont see this advance as the main assault on Oz...in fact Im beginning to doubt that there will be a final offensive to take Oz. Ive massed nearly 10 subs around Rabaul and the port is nearly empty with almost no IJN activity in the area.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

Japan captures Salamaua and invades at Lae. Other than that, ther is almost no IJN fleet activity in the area.

Lunga has been enlarged to a level 2 airfield and Port Moresby is still a level 3 airfield.



BURMA:

Japan overruns Meiktila.

The nearly constant thunderstorms finally cleared yersterday a the USAAF get in a major city bombing attack at Meiktila:

Day Air attack on Meiktila , at 32,31


Allied aircraft
A-29 Hudson x 23
B-17E Fortress x 37
LB-30 Liberator x 22
IL-4c x 12


Allied aircraft losses
A-29 Hudson: 1 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged
IL-4c: 1 damaged

Resources hits 30

In one day, 52 out of 100 resource points are damaged.


CHINA:

This may sound crazy but I am almost wondering if the invasion of Australia is a feint and that Japan has committed some SAA divisions here in an attempt to overrun southern China.

I few weeks ago we spotted 12 LCUs in Hanoi with the airfield there enlaged to level 5 so I started reinforcing Nanning. Now there are 16 LCUs at Hanoi. The way Steve has been reinforcing hanoi has been sneaky also....not much convoy action here but the LCUs can be seen moving from Cam Ranh Bay along the coastal road.

Im switching over to a complete defensive mind set here in China. 4 corps will be pulled out of Ichang and another 4 corps out of nanchang to form a mobile reserve around Changsha.


PHILIPPINES:

Im having a little bit of fun here on Mindanao. My troops were near starvation at Cayagan so the 102nd Reserve Division captured Cotabato and force the Japanese garrison to retreat to Davao...we ended up capturing 2000 supply there.

The boys at Manila are close to starvation. AK Malama was sent as a blockade runner to bring some supply in....she made it all the way from SF to within 240 miles of Manila before she was sunk by a PG on the 19th.

MARCH 27TH-28TH, 1942



AUSTRALIA:

Six days of relative calm was shattered by the sudden appearance of KB in the Timor Sea.....a scant 240 miles from Darwin. With Cv Hiryu and CV Shokauku repairing in drydock, the other 4 CVs bolstered by 2 CVLs and a CVE launched the first aerial attack of the war on Darwin:

Day Air attack on Darwin , at 36,84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 45
D3A2 Val x 86
B5N2 Kate x 200

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 1 destroyed, 9 damaged

Allied aircraft losses


Allied ground losses:
62 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Vehicles lost 2

Airbase hits 42
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 208


Day Air attack on Darwin , at 36,84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 41
D3A2 Val x 64
B5N2 Kate x 128

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
D3A2 Val: 4 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Do 24K-2: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
13 casualties reported

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 116


Then Darwin was hit by 3 bombardment TFs....at least the minefield snagged one of the Jap DDs:

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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/28/42


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TF 71 encounters mine field at Darwin (36,84)

Japanese Ships
DD Minazuki, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage




Night Time Surface Combat, near Darwin at 36,84

Japanese Ships
CA Tone
CA Chikuma
CA Mogami
CA Mikuma
CA Suzuya
CA Kumano
DD Kawakaze
DD Kisaragi
DD Yayoi
DD Uzuki
DD Satsuki
DD Minazuki, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
PT PT-31, Shell hits 1, and is sunk
PT Q 113, Shell hits 1, and is sunk


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Darwin, at 36,84

Japanese Ships
BB Hyuga
BB Ise
BB Mutsu
BB Nagato


Allied ground losses:
587 casualties reported
Guns lost 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Darwin, at 36,84

Japanese Ships
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Mikuma
CA Mogami
CA Chikuma
CA Tone


Allied ground losses:
545 casualties reported
Guns lost 7

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 54
Port hits 9
Port fuel hits 7
Port supply hits 8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naval bombardment of Darwin, at 36,84

Japanese Ships
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba


Allied ground losses:
163 casualties reported
Guns lost 1

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 26
Port hits 5
Port fuel hits 2
Port supply hits 6


2 assault transport TFs approach Darwin from the NW.....IJA troops will probably start landing in 2 days.


COMMENTS:

At least the IJN CVs have been positively Identified and located..... so now Allied transport movements can continue unimpeded in the rest of the Pacific. Darwin is a lost cause for the Allies....all USN and RN naval strength will be held back for the defense of SE Australia. Darwin has level 5 forts and is defended by an Aussie division. Im sure that Japan will land with 3 -4 divisions here.....thats ok with me as it means they cant be causing trouble anywhere else....and its already almost April 1942. The clock is ticking on Japanese expansion in the Pacific. The Aussies will hold on as long as possible in Darwin and then retreat along the railroad towards Katherine.


Japan now has 17 LCUs in Hanoi.....Im sure that Steve will try a backdoor invasion of China against Nanning and Pakhoi....this will probably be the major Japanese offensive effort outside of northern and western Australia.

Over in Burma, Japan is making no effort towards Mandalay....however a thrust is being made against Lashio...I think Japan's only intention here is to cut the Burma Road. Japan will be feeling the full wrath of the Allied air forces in SE Asia by summer 1942 if they do not extend their boundries farther west here.

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

yet another japanese player who has failed to capture the entire point of the game -palembang and its oil and resources (especially recources in CHS) -and gone to have fun every where else.

If palembang is stuffed with engineers by now, when he finally captures it, it will be torched -game over by 1 jan 44 -at best

I don't know - those forts and troops didn't stop me capturing plenty of oil and resource facilities in Palembang from you!

MARCH 27TH- APRIL 1ST, 1942........INVASION OF DARWIN


Japan landed in force at Darwin....16th Division, 48th Division, 4 tank regiments, 5 engineer regiments and 6 artillery units storm ashore:

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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 03/30/42


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Sub attack near Darwin at 36,84

Japanese Ships
CA Mogami
DD Satsuki
DD Uzuki
DD Yayoi
DD Kisaragi
DD Kawakaze

Allied Ships
SS Swordfish

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Naval bombardment of Darwin, at 36,84

Japanese Ships
CA Kumano
CA Suzuya
CA Mikuma
CA Mogami
CA Chikuma
CA Tone


Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported

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Naval bombardment of Darwin, at 36,84

Japanese Ships
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
CA Aoba

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ASW attack at 32,80

Japanese Ships
PC Ch 23
PC Ch 6
PG Shinko Maru #5
PG Nanpo Maru
PG Busho Maru
DD Shirakumo

Allied Ships
SS Shark, hits 2

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Coastal Guns at Darwin, 36,84, firing at TF 25
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TF 25 encounters mine field at Darwin (36,84)

TF 25 troops unloading over beach at Darwin, 36,84


982 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 7, Shell hits 4
PC Ch 5

Japanese ground losses:
2763 casualties reported
Guns lost 15

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TF 3 troops unloading over beach at Brunei, 33,56


Japanese ground losses:
78 casualties reported

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastal Guns at Darwin, 36,84, firing at TF 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 25 encounters mine field at Darwin (36,84)

TF 25 troops unloading over beach at Darwin, 36,84


288 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese Ships
PC Ch 5, Shell hits 2
AK Kosho Maru, Shell hits 5, on fire
AK Meiu Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire
PG Kamitsu Maru
AK Shingo Maru, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
798 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TF 55 encounters mine field at Darwin (36,84)

TF 55 troops unloading over beach at Darwin, 36,84


Japanese Ships
DD Sagiri

Coastal Guns at Darwin, 36,84, firing at TF 55
44 Coastal gun shots fired in defense.
Japanese ground losses:
178 casualties reported

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TF 48 encounters mine field at Darwin (36,84)

Japanese Ships
MSW Mejima Maru
MSW Wa 19
MSW Wa 14

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASW attack near Darwin at 36,84

Japanese Ships
APD Patrol Boat No. 39
APD Patrol Boat No. 38
DD Umikaze
DD Amatsukaze

Allied Ships
SS KXV

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub attack near Darwin at 36,84

Japanese Ships
AK Ryuun Maru, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
PG Tosho Maru
PG Tamo Maru #7
PG Tamo Maru #6
PG Shosei Maru
MSW Mejima Maru
MSW Wa 19
MSW Wa 14

Allied Ships
SS KXV, hits 4, on fire

Japanese ground losses:
71 casualties reported



The Allies had enlarged the airfield at Katherine to level 2 and stationed A-24 divebombers and Beaufort torpedo bombers to defend against an invasion at Darwin. While the torpedo bombers inexplicably remained on the ground, the A-24s got in a few licks on the invasion forces:

Day Air attack on TF at 35,83


Allied aircraft
A-24 Dauntless x 14


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AV Kunikawa Maru
AP Teikei Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
49 casualties reported

Aircraft Attacking:
5 x A-24 Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
9 x A-24 Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF at 35,83


Allied aircraft
A-24 Dauntless x 2


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AO Goyo Maru


Day Air attack on TF, near Darwin at 36,84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8

Allied aircraft
A-24 Dauntless x 13

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
A-24 Dauntless: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
AK Tonan Maru
AP Chihaya Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire


Day Air attack on TF, near Darwin at 36,84

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 9

Allied aircraft
A-24 Dauntless x 2

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
A-24 Dauntless: 2 damaged

Japanese Ships
DD Hamakaze, Bomb hits 1, on fire





Japan responds by sending KB's bpmbers to close the airfield at Katherine:

Day Air attack on Katherine , at 35,87

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
B5N2 Kate x 178

Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort I: 1 destroyed


Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported

Airbase hits 13
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 42


Day Air attack on Katherine , at 35,87

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 3
B5N2 Kate x 173

Allied aircraft
no flights

No Japanese losses

Allied aircraft losses
Beaufort I: 1 destroyed

Airbase hits 1
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 31



Over in western Australia, Japan continues to advance east along the Perth/Adelaide railroad.

APRIL 2ND- 11TH, 1942


AUSTRALIA:

In northern Australia, Japan captures Darwin and advances on Katherine. Lots of transport action at Darwin...I wouldnt be surprised if Steve is already pulling troops out of the area....possibly for a limited attack on the NE tip of Oz or to assist in mopping up the SRA.

In western Australia, Japan captures Kalgoorlie. This offensive prong will eventually peter out...its down to one division and a couple tank regiments.


SWPAC command has started moving construction engineers and aviation personel up to NE Australia...eventually I want to build Coen and Thursday Island up into bomber bases to neutralize Port Moresby...but none of this can occur as long as the IJN threatens invasion here.



BURMA:

The Allied air forces have been having their way in Burma for the last week. First, the RAF and the USAAF heavies shut down the Japanese airfield at Rangoon leaving IJN fighters unable to operate in the area. Then the Allied bombers started a systematic demolition of Japanese oil and resources in the area.

At Magwe, 39 of 41 oil points were damaged; at Meiktila, 74 out of 101 resource points were damaged and at Rangoon 66 out of 101 resource points were damaged.

Mandalay has been enlarged to a level 4 airfield with a fort level of 8 for the Allies.....650 AV here total. Japane has only one division and one mixed regiment in the area....there is no way they can threaten Mandalay unless substantial reinforcements are commited.

Engineers were sent to Akyab to help with the construction projects there....want to get the airfield to level 5 here as well as at Mandalay.

P-38Fs became available at the start of April....35 per month. With a range of 9, as soon as we can convert a fighter group over to P-38Fs Rangoon, Tavoy and Rahaeng will all be in range of escorted B-17s.



CHINA:

The air war has quieted down here a bit. Japan now has 19 LCUs in Hanoi but hasnt started the offensive yet on Nanning...although they are flying recon on Nanning, Liuchow and Pakhoi every day. Japan also has 17 LCUs massed at Hankow....may eventually launch a 2 pronged offensive to isolate and capture Changsha.

I almost hope Japan has commited multiple SAA divisions to an attack on southern China....that would mean no more offensives in SE Australia or the South Pacific.....and Id almost give up 3 or 4 cities in southern China to limit Japanese expansion elsewhere.

If Japan launches an all-out offensive in the south, we will launch an offensive in the north both at Yangku and Sinyang.


DEI:

Palembang has 25,000 supply, nearly 300 AV and level 9 forts....still no movement by Japan here or at Toboali.


MALAYA:

Singapore supply is down to 10,000 but no Japanese activity in this area either.


PHILIPPINES:

3 small IJA units invest Manila....we wont attack them to force a retreat as the supply situation is now critical. Our AV is finally starting to drop at Manila. I had been using 28 A-29s to fly supply into Manila from Wuchow but Japan recently started intercepting these flights and the resupply operation had to be cancelled.....the boys at Manila are starving and are now on their own.

The troops at Cayagan are holding out with no Japanese activity here.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

Japan captures Buka and Lae. Recon now shows 91 ships in port at Rabaul...obviously a build up is occuring here but where will it go??

The Allies have been engineering a battlefield around the Coral Sea to create an environment for a war deciding carrier battle.....900 AC in SE Australia and another 400 AC in New Caledonia. New Caledonia has been converted into an unsinkable aircraft carrier....mutually supporting airfields at Noumea(level 6), Koumac(level 4) and La Foa(level 2).



When last spotted nearly a week ago, KB was heading NW away from Darwin towards the Indian Ocean....Ceylon has been put on alert with pickets and naval search and all non essential shipping has been evacuated. If KB had an eventual destination of the South Pacific then it has a lot of sailing to do....and the system damage points on the individual comabatant ships must be adding up.

APRIL 12TH-21ST, 1942


AUSTRALIA:

In northern OZ, Japan captures Katherine and advances on Daly Waters.

In western OZ, Japan adances east from Kalgoorlie along the railroad to Adelaide.



PHILIPPINES:


Japan invests Manila and launches daily bombardment attacks to reduce the Allied supply levels.


MALAYA:

No action at Singapore yet and the Allies hold out with over 8000 supply.



DEI:

Japan begins bombardment attacks at Palembang with 6 BBs.

A sub off Batavia is spotted by Vals....perhaps KB is resting off Batavia.


CHINA:

Fairly quiet...Japan is training her fighters on Allied ground units and the Allies are doing the same. No movement yet by the 19 LCUs at Hanoi.


Burma:

Mandalay is now level 4 on the way to 5 and Akyab is almost level 4. Chittagong is level 4 and Cox's Bazaar is level 2. In 5 turns the Blenheims can upgrade to Wellingtons with 3x bomb loads....we will be nuking every airfield within 13 hexes of Mandalay by July ....Japan cant stop it ...they have already lost the air war here. All the SEAC and CHINA fighter groups are training here...most are now into the 60's experience...when they hit 65 they will be staged into China and the Allies will fight their aerial war of attrition against Japan over Burma and China. In 5 turns all the RAF groups can upgrade....and in July all the Dutch groups can upgrade...hundreds of B-25s and Wellingtons stand by on reserve.

APRIL 22ND-MAY 3RD, 1942



AUSTRALIA:

Japan captures Daly Waters with overwhelming force:

Ground combat at Daly Waters

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 101282 troops, 525 guns, 291 vehicles, Assault Value = 2273

Defending force 12445 troops, 60 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 275

Japanese max assault: 1986 - adjusted assault: 1696

Allied max defense: 266 - adjusted defense: 82

Japanese assault odds: 20 to 1 (fort level 0)

Japanese forces CAPTURE Daly Waters base !!!


Japanese ground losses:
863 casualties reported
Guns lost 18
Vehicles lost 3

Allied ground losses:
2291 casualties reported
Guns lost 35


Defeated Allied Units Retreating!

I didnt realize that Japan had brought so much to the party in northern Oz......4th, 16th, 31st and 48th Divisions, 4 tank regiments and 4 engineer regiments. Well....at least I know where half the SAA is now.....with these troops in the middle of the Australian outback they cant be causing mischief elsewhere.

I had been loading up New Caledonia with massive ground forces fearing a major invasion by the SAA...now I can safely expand to Efate and Luganville and still pull some formations from Noumea to reinforce OZ. Today, we loaded 2 RCTs at Bremerton and 1 at Panama to reinforce Australia.

We finally hit May and now all the RAF Blenheims can be upgraded to Wellingtons.....in another 5-6 days we will launch a major air assault on Japanese bases throughout SE Asia.


MALAYA:

Singapore now has 1400 AV with 7000 supply...no Japanese action here yet.


DEI:

3 bombardment TFs are hitting Palembang every other day but no assault yet.


PHILIPPINES:

Daily bombardments at Manila have reduced Allied AV to 1400....our boys are starving here but should hold out through June at least.

MAY 4TH-15TH, 1942


AUSTRALIA:

Japan continues to advance east from Perth and south from Darwin towards the Whyalla/Adelaide road junction. It will be interesting to see if the 4 IJA divisions at Daly Waters continue their march south.....I will commit enough Allied troops to hold the Whyalla/Adelaide road junction but will keep most of the ground forces in Australia in a mobile reserve.

Off the north coast, Japan captures Aru and Tenimbar Islands.


DEI:

One of our subs was spotted by some Vals off Batavia about a week ago...probably was KB or a portion of it....no KB sightings since then.

On Sumatra, Bankha is captured and IJN troops close in on Medan. Continued Naval bombardments at Palembang but no assault yet.....SinInt says 25th Army HQ is planning for Palembang.


MALAYA:

1400 AV and 5000 supply still at Singapore...no assault yet and only 25,000 IJA troops at Johore Bharu box us in.


CHINA:

No offensive in southern China yet from the 19 IJA LCUs at Saigon. Chinese troops continue to dig in at Nanning at Liuchow. Japan is doing a large portion of their pilot training program bombing Chinese ground units here. Not much Alied air activity here as we are trying to conserve supply.


PHILIPPINES:

No JAP assaults at Cayagan or Manila. A mere 15,000 IJA troops bombard our 1400 AV at Manila but with the casualties we are suffering the garrison should hold at least until the end of summer.....UNLESS SUBSTANTIAL SAA REINFORCEMENTS are brought in.


US WEST COAST:

The 37th Infantry Division was loaded and sent to OZ while the 1st Marine Division was loaded and sent to New Caledonia. Im buying one RCT with PPs every 2 weeks and the majority are being sent to Oz. As soon as we receive some more aviation engineers we will be extending both our land perimeter and our air umbrella in SE OZ.


BURMA/INDIA:

This is the hot spot as far as the air war is concerned.

Japan was sending bombers from Bangkok, Hanoi and Rangoon to hit our airfield at Mandalay but was stopped by a combination of bad weather and heavy losses from Allied CAP.

Meanwhile, the Allies enlarged their airfields at Mandalay and Akyab to level 4 and the airfield at Chittagong to level 5. Weather permitting, the RAF has been hammering Rangoon from its bases at Mandalay and Akyab while the USAAF has been hitting Rangoon from its base at Chittagong.

The Allies have been using their new Wellington bombers and P-38F fighters in these strikes but the results have been less than spectacular. The P-38s do no better than hold their own against the A6M2s while the Wellingtons have been taking heavy losses from Jap AA as well as CAP.

Last turn Japan lost 47 AC vs 26 Allied AC including 29 A6M2s and 9 Oscars. The Allies however lost 9 P-40Es and 8 Wellingtons....both of which are unsustainable loss rates.

In 2 turns(4 days) the Wellington losses were 25 AC...nearly a month's production. Some of the Wellington bomber groups will now be retrofitted with Blenheim IVs to give us more operational reserves.

At least Rangoon has now suffered 57% damage and most Jap fighters have been withdrawn. Overall, Japanese AC losses have just exceeded Allied Ac losses.....1605 to 1576. A6M2 losses now total 315 in just over 5 months of combat.....nearly 60 A6M2s per month.

Japan has about 120 fighters at Hanoi....mostly A6M2s. The Allies dont have enough P-38Fs to cover a Hanoi strike from Mandalay but we have enlarged the airfield at Nanning, China to level 4 so perhaps we will need to stage substantial numbers of bombers and fighters into China in the near future.

On the ground Japan has 1 division and one mixed regiment sitting across the river from Mandalay...while the Allies have 650 AV in Mandalay between the SEAC Chinese divisions and the Burma brigades. Im considering moving the 2 Aussie AIF divisions along with 2nd and 18th UK Divisions from India into Burma for an offensive to capture Rangoon if....and only if.....Steve over commits his SAA divisions to Australia.

Allied offensive options in the south and central Pacific are almost nil as I commit all available US Army and Marine formations to New Caledonia and Australia. If Australia turns out to be the big meat grinder for both sides, then the Allied offensive option for late 1942 will be Burma/SE Asia.

MAY 16TH-21ST, 1942


BURMA:

USAAF heavy bombers and A-29s stage to the level 5 airfield at Mandalay and hammer the Japanese airfield at Bangkok:

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Day Air attack on Bangkok , at 29,39

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 12

Allied aircraft
A-29 Hudson x 27
B-17E Fortress x 40
LB-30 Liberator x 36

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged
Ki-21-II Sally: 7 destroyed
G5N Liz: 1 destroyed
Ki-57-II Topsy: 3 destroyed
G3M Nell: 1 destroyed
Ki-59 Theresa: 3 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
A-29 Hudson: 7 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 2 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 12 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
573 casualties reported
Guns lost 31

Airbase hits 11
Airbase supply hits 5
Runway hits 24


Altogether 43 Japanese AC are lost today vs 7 Allied AC.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

We were putting plans together to reinforce NE Australia and begin neutralizing the level 3 Japanese airfield at Port Moresby.

Suddenly, a transport TF shows up at Port Moresby escorted by what appears to be a small IJN carrier force.

The 5 USN CVs just recently completed all their April 1942 upgrades and have reassembled in the South Pacific. All the USN BBs, CAs, CLs and DDs have also completed their 4/42 upgrades and have rejoined the CVs.

Over 120 USAAF heavy bombers and A-29s stage to Cairns and are placed on Naval attack/Port Moresby airfield attack to hit the IJN ships reinforcing Port Moresby or the airfield there.

New Caledonia now has a level 5 airfield at Koumac,a level 6 airfield at Noumea and a level 4 airfield at La Foa....all mutually supporting with over 400 fighters and bombers. I feel that New Caledonia can now defend herself. The decision is made to not only reinforce NE Australia and build up the bases at Cooktown, Cairns, Coen and Thursday Island to neutralize Port Moresby....but to commit the combined USN and RN CVs to defend against a Japanese seabourne invasion here in what could be the deciding battle for supremacy in the Pacific.

The Allies also have nearly 900 fighters and bombers in eastern OZ.....I dont think that it would be possible for Japan to overrun all of Australia unless she can gain naval supremacy over the eastern coast of the continent.

Gosh!!! Looks as if Johnson really got serious in Australia. The one thing you may have going for you is the overland advances by Jap ground forces (going eastward from Perth and south from Darwin/Daly Waters) could both outrun their supplies and run out of steam. With all the Jap LCU's landed in Australia, there can only be so much supply, and that supply has to be spread thin.

Maybe Tennant Creek could hold, though the Allied supply line to there is rather precarious. With the Jap advance from Perth threatening Whyalla & Adelaide, the rail line from Whyalla to Tennant Creek cannot be considered a reliable supply route. While there is a trail between Cloncurry and Tennant Creek, this route is not going to supply Allied forces defending Tennant Creek anywhere near as well as supply line (from Darwin) for Japanese forces attacking Tennant Creek from the north. As likely than not, both Tennant Creek and Alice Springs are eventual death traps for Allied forces.

Cloncurry appears to be a defendable location against a Jap ground attack from the NW if sufficient Allied ground forces can be moved there - these forces could include Allied LCU's being pushed back southward from Darwin.

In the south, the problem may not be so much the Japanese advance overland from Perth as a landing by Jap forces in Whyalla, Adelaide, or even Melbourne. There appears to be little possibility of holding west of Whyalla unless you have bases in SE Australia (Whyalla, Adelaide, Melbourne) secure against Japanese landings.

Preserving your army may end up being the key thing. How much ground you can hold is going to depend on many combat-worthy LCU's you have available and whether you can get them to where they're needed in time. Not to mention the need to maintain adequate static defenses at all the coastal bases in eastern Australia.

On the bright side... you might be able to breathe a little easier in India, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific theater.

Actually what I dropped in to post for... this is in reference to shipping channels going into Aden and Panama City.

You may be interested in checking out my report for 11/22/42, especially in reference to the sinking of AK Martand by Jap CVL's in the Arabian Sea. Pay particular attention to the situation map in that report.

I saw your response. Thought I'd send that one to you as an FYI.

My thought on the attack the way it happened is that it was a coincidence - a matter of the game map's mechanics. Apparently the gray hexes turn out to be impassable to ships but transparent to aircraft. Just the way it works I guess. Pillager was there to ambush my shipping from Aden as it came out of the ship channels, he accomplished his mission, though likely in an unexpected manner. If it didn't happen the way it did, Pillager would have caught that AK 2-3 game turns later after it came out of the channel. No harm that wouldn't have been done later.

Pillager and I do have an agreement where Jap TF's would remain at least 4-5 hexes out from entrances to the Aden and Panama City ship channels. If you look at the map, the Baby KB TF's were well outside that distance from the channel entrance.

As I said... it was a combination of coincidence and unexpected game map mechanics. Actually it's just about the only location on the entire game map where something like this could be expected to happen. If I had CV's there at the time, I could have just as easily spotted and bagged the Baby KB from inside the ship channel.

wneumann....you are exactly correct...the Japanese drives from both Perth and Darwin appear to be running out of steam. In fact...Ive let the Jap advance east from Perth continue to within 8 hexes of Adelaide so I can bomb the bejesus out of it.


MAY 22ND-JUNE 2ND, 1942


THE AIR WAR:

Japan is using most of her AC to bomb the heck out of the Allies at Manila, Palembang, Singapore and in China. Even in Australia where the Allies are fighting for their lives their is no contact between opposing air forces....this of course will certainly change if Japan decides to conquer SE OZ.

The only place the opposing air forces are fighting is in SE Asia. The Japs have level 5 airfields at Bangkok, Hanoi and Rangoon. Opposing this, the Allies have level 5 airfields at Mandalay and Chittagong....and level 4 airfields at Cox's Bazaar and Akyab. We seem to be having the upper hand in the air war here.....we bombed out Rangoon twice and Bangkok for a few days in between. The AA has been lethal for both sides. Ive played stock scenario 15, CHS standard, CHS Nik Mod, CHS experimental and BB 1,4 and Ive never seen AA like this before. My F4 Lightning recon plane squadron was wiped out by AA...even when flying at the max altitude of 30,000 ft. The Wellingtons were suffering 25- 30% casualties at 15,000 ft so now Im flying them at max altitude at 19,000....cant seem to damage Rangoon much at this altitude but in conjunction
with the P-38F sweeps we are killing the Japs at a 2:1 ratio.....200 Jap AC destroyed in the last 10 days vs 100 Allied AC.

With June here, we now get 45 LiberatorIIIs and 75 B-24s per mo so the complexion of the air war should change radically.



THE SUB/ASW WAR

Japan seems to be going in for the final kill at Palembang and north Sumatra so I sent in a dozen subs to extricate cadres at Palembang. Japanese ASW air is unbelieveably lethal...Ive lost 4 subs to AC in the last 3 turns with 3 more close to sinking...feels like v1.4 now.

On the other hand, Steve had 15-20 Jap subs east of Hawaii the first 2 months of the war....probably sank 50 plus Allied ships as I was going all out to bring reinforcements/supplies/fuel to the theatre. I upgraded all the Wickes/Clemson class DDs on 1/1/42 and started sending huge coodinated convoys with intrinsic and extrinsic ASW assets and also CLs with ASW AC.....roughed up a half dozen Jap subs and I havent seen a single one since...have no idea what Steve is doing wioth his subs now...not even Glen recon. I wonder if he is planning a huge operation with them...hmmmm....


AUSTRALIA:

Japan is still moving south from Darwin and east from Pert. Tennent Creek was captured a few days ago.

Im a little upset....Steve had 2 Jap tank regiments spearheading his eastward advance from Perth and I reinforced an Aussie brigade that was defending the road with a US Army tank destroyer unit....well his damn tin clad tankettes whupped my M-10 tank destroyers so I dont kn ow what to say. Im letting him advance within 8 hexes of Adelaide and then he will catch hell from my B-25s.


SOUTH PACIFIC:

Japan captured Munda and Buna.

Im currently conducting a major reinforcement of Thursday Island that is covered by all the USN/RN CVs....Thursday Island is now a level 2 airfield with A-24 divebombers and T-IV torpedo bombers....Beaufort torpedo bombers will be flown in as soon as the airfield enlarges to level 4.

Coen has been enlarged to level 3 and has over 100 B-24s on naval strike in case Japan decides to naval bombard Thursday Island....will be level 4 in a couple turns. 2 PT groups are on the way to Thursday Island to help reduce the lethality of Jap naval bombardments.

To cover these ops, Port Moresby has been 92% damaged by the USAAF bombers in Cairns. My 4Es managed to damage a few ships when Steve reinforced Port Moresby....dont think he brought in any AA units....probably brought in engineers to enlarge the airfield.

Im now garrisoning and fortifying Luganville and Efate and will build their airfields up to the max allowed.

JUNE 3RD-12TH, 1942


AUSTRALIA;

Japan's drive east from Perth has been stopped by a combination of Allied air bombardments ands ground reinforcements.

Japan's drive south from Darwin continues....the Allies are digging in at Alice Springs....the Americal Division and a couple of RCTs are racing overland by railroad to reinforce....will they arrive in time?



After reinforcing Thursday Island off the NE tip of Oz, the USN/RN CVs were released from their escort duties. Suddenly, Jap transport Tfs are spotted at Munda and Lunga. The 5 USN CVs are split off and odered to do a 2 day fast run in to intercept the Jap transports:

Day Air attack on TF, near Munda at 65,98


Allied aircraft
F4F-4 Wildcat x 35
SBD-3 Dauntless x 153


Allied aircraft losses
SBD-3 Dauntless: 1 damaged

Japanese Ships
PG Edo Maru, Bomb hits 10, on fire, heavy damage
AK Reiyo Maru, Bomb hits 9, on fire, heavy damage
PG Kantori Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
AP Daijukyo Maru, Bomb hits 7, on fire, heavy damage
AK Shino Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Kunishima Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
MSW W.3, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
PC Shonon Maru #3, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AP Katsuragisan Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Milan Maru, Bomb hits 2

Japanese ground losses:
50 casualties reported


A large Japanese transport TF is annihilated off Munda. Unfortunately, there is no record of this in my opponents combat report....ie we are out of synch and this attack never happened.....sigh......

At least I will consider this a moral victory.


Japan is really building up in the Coral Sea area now, I think that my reinforcement ops at Thursday Island, Cooktown, Cairns, Efate and Luganville must have unnerved Steve. Japan now captures Milne Bay and Kiriwina Island. Normanby Island is invaded.


MALAYA:

The Allies are still holding on at Singapore with 1400 AV....no movement by Japan from Johore Bharu yet.


PHILIPPINES:

Constant ground and aerial bombardments at Manila have reduced our AV to 1100 at Manila...we should still be able to hold out for a couple more months here.


DEI:

Japan finally invades Palembang after weeks of aerial and naval bombardment. The first Japanese assault here is thrown back with heavy losses. Japan moves in reinforcements and gathers its strength for another assault. I think over half the IJN Imperial fleet is involved in the naval bombardments here.

Steve has a lot of strength at Batavia....136 ships and 29 LCUs.....wonder why these troops arent being used in Australia....or Singapore....or Manila?????

Im pretty sure KB(or at least a portion of it) is nearby...Ive had a few Val sightings over the last few weeks. Maybe after Palembang falls these troops could be headed somewhere else...certainly not India though...

JUNE 13TH-18TH, 1942


CBI:

I was wondering where all of Japan's SAA divisions were hiding.....there are only NLFs, SNLFs and naval guards surrounding the Allied strongpoints at Singapore and Manila. There are maybe 4-5 divisions in Australia and then there were the 29 LCUs at Batavia.....the Allies are still trying to figure out where the next Japanese blow will land.

Then 2 days ago, 2 large transport TFs arrive off Moulmein. 4E bombers are staged into Mandalay to level the Jap airfield at Rangoon while the RAF medium bombers stage into Akyab to hammer the IJN transports unloading at Moulmein:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 12
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 13

Allied aircraft
Liberator III x 15
A-29 Hudson x 27
B-17E Fortress x 43
LB-30 Liberator x 12
B-24D Liberator x 23

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Liberator III: 9 damaged
A-29 Hudson: 1 destroyed, 7 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 10 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 3 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 10 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
2194 casualties reported
Guns lost 51

Airbase hits 25
Airbase supply hits 4
Runway hits 83


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Moulmein at 30,34


Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 13
Blenheim IV x 7
Wellington III x 70
Hudson I x 26
P-38F Lightning x 21


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
PG Taiko Maru
AK Atago Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AK Hokusho Maru
AK Belgium Maru
AP Kinryu Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
MSW W.15
AK Denmark Maru
AK Yamabato Maru
AK Madras Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
AV Sanyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AP Kamo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Atlantic Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
PG Santo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Tatsuha Maru, Bomb hits 1
AK Melbourne Maru
AK Hofuku Maru
AK Sanko Maru
AK Nichiran Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
PG Nishho Maru
AP Miike Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
APD Patrol Boat No. 36, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Hokusho Maru, Bomb hits 1
AK Nankai Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage

Japanese ground losses:
45 casualties reported
Guns lost 3


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 8
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 8

Allied aircraft
Liberator III x 6
A-29 Hudson x 22
B-17E Fortress x 28
LB-30 Liberator x 10
B-24D Liberator x 17

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 7 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Liberator III: 3 damaged
A-29 Hudson: 6 damaged
B-17E Fortress: 1 destroyed, 16 damaged
LB-30 Liberator: 1 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 5 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
621 casualties reported
Guns lost 10

Airbase hits 10
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 36

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Moulmein at 30,34


Allied aircraft
Wellington III x 3
P-38F Lightning x 3


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Rakuyo Maru

Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Wellington III bombing at 6000 feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on TF, near Moulmein at 30,34


Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 16
Blenheim IV x 6
Wellington III x 65
Martin 139 x 6
Hudson I x 28
P-38F Lightning x 19


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
MSW W.15
AK Genkai Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Tazan Maru
AK Keizan Maru
AK Yamabato Maru
AP Kamo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Myoko Maru
AP Miike Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Atlantic Maru
AK Choko Maru
AK Hokusho Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
PG Kure Maru #5, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
APD Patrol Boat No. 36, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AV Sanyo Maru, Bomb hits 11, on fire, heavy damage
AK Nanka Maru
AK Kenshin Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Denmark Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Morioka Maru, Bomb hits 1
AK Atago Maru, heavy damage
AK Shinko Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Chohei Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AK Rakuto Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Nankai Maru #2, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Nichiryo Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire


Day Air attack on TF, near Moulmein at 30,34


Allied aircraft
Buffalo I x 12
Blenheim IV x 5
Wellington III x 60
Martin 139 x 5
Hudson I x 24
P-38F Lightning x 20


No Allied losses

Japanese Ships
AP Nichiryo Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
AK Sanko Maru
AV Sanyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Natisan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Batavia Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Hokusho Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire
PG Nishho Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AK Belgium Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire
AP Fukko Maru, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
AP Kamo Maru, Bomb hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
AK Hofuku Maru
AK Melbourne Maru
AK Nagano Maru
AK Genkai Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AK Tacoma Maru
PG Kure Maru #5, Bomb hits 6, on fire, heavy damage
AK Tazan Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire


All the RAF bombers at Akyab and the USAAF A-29s at Mandalay are placed on naval attack for tomorrow...the weather will be clear and we intend to sink quite a few Japanese transports.


Japan now has 3 LCUs ashore at Moulmein totaling 50,000 troops....probably at least 2 divisions were landed at Moulmein the last 2 turns. Japan also has 37,000 troops at Rangoon but most of these are base forces, construction engineers and AA units....my flak losses have been extraordinary over Rangoon....especially for the Allies. An entire F-4 recon squadron was destroyed by flak here....even flying at max altitude at 30,000 feet.

Japan has 30,000 troops at Meiktila....the 21st Division and 4th Mixed Regiment is making its way towards Lashio.

Perhaps Steve is making a belated effort to shore up his western flank.....still Im am concerned with all the LCUs and shipping that have concentrated at Batavia.

In China, Japan had 100,000 troops make a breakthrough 60 miles west of Hangchow on the Nanchang/Shanghai road. My 6 Chinese corps that were defending were forced to retreat SE along a secondary road to an out of supply position instead of retreating West down the main road towards Nanchang where their supply comes from......typical WitP silliness...now those 6 corps are isolated and will probably be destroyed.



AUSTRALIA:

In central Oz, the vanguard of the IJA force heading south from Darwin reaches the outskirts of Alice Springs. The Allies have about one and a half divisions in Alice Springs behind level 2(soon to be level 3) forts.....we will see if the entire 100,000 strong IJA force has moved south from Daly Waters in its entirety to assault Aice Springs.

In SW Oz, 2 Jap tank regiments beccame overextended on their advance from Perth to Adelaide....about 240 mi NW of Adelaide they were ambushed by an US Army division and 2 tank units after beeing pounded by A-29s for a week:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at 26,108

Allied Shock attack

Attacking force 43993 troops, 409 guns, 274 vehicles, Assault Value =
1017

Defending force 4524 troops, 0 guns, 115 vehicles, Assault Value = 117

Allied max assault: 1732 - adjusted assault: 1604

Japanese max defense: 61 - adjusted defense: 14

Allied assault odds: 114 to 1


Japanese ground losses:
374 casualties reported
Vehicles lost 15


Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 2 Jap tank regiments are now ruined and Allied armor and a RCT will pursue them back towards Perth.




DEI:

All Japan has at Palembang is 35th Brigade and some combat engineers....they get repulsed for the 3rd time:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Palembang

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 16674 troops, 26 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 223

Defending force 14684 troops, 78 guns, 1 vehicles, Assault Value = 243

Japanese max assault: 202 - adjusted assault: 62

Allied max defense: 254 - adjusted defense: 1576

Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 9)


Japanese ground losses:
584 casualties reported
Guns lost 4

Allied ground losses:
316 casualties reported
Guns lost 5


The IJA 25th Army HQ is foced to retreat from the hex...probably to commit hari kari. Dont know why Japan doesnt bring more to the party here....our supply is virtually unlimited.


Over at Batavia, the number of ships in port increaded from 136 to 172 in one turn while the number of LCUs decreased from 29-21 units. Meanwhile, SigInt informed us that the 6th Mountain Gun unit is loaded on an AK at Batavia....looks like Steve is loading up his ships at Batavia and then disbanding them into port so I dont see any naval movements.

Im really wondering what Steve has planned for all the ships and LCUs at Batavia.....reinforce Burma or western Oz.....or a new invasion on the SE coast of OZ hoping that I will overcommit my forces into the interior?



COMMENTS:

After saving up for a month and a half, I just purchased the 7th Infantry Division in SF and am loading it on fast APs for Australia. With the Japanese invasion of Oz, Ive been buying up all the US LCUs I can to reinforce SE Oz. The Allies are desperately short on aviation units for the central and south Pacific as these too have been sent to OZ to service the 1000 plus US AC sent there. I will need to acquire more aviation engineers and get them to NE Australia, the south and central Pacific before any USN counteroffensives can commence.

Im getting tired of worrying about Japans potential offensives...its almost time for Japan to begin worrying about mine......

JUNE 19TH-22ND, 1942


CBI:

The Allies end up sinking over a dozen IJN transports and escorts off Moulmein before they retire.

SEAC medium bombers continue to suppress the main Jap airfield at Rangoon:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 20
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 6

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 4
Buffalo I x 11
CW-22 Falcon x 4
Blenheim IV x 15
Wellington III x 89
Hudson I x 34
A-29 Hudson x 14
P-38F Lightning x 14

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 5 destroyed, 6 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 2 destroyed, 2 damaged
Ki-46-II Dinah: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Brewster 339D: 1 damaged
Buffalo I: 4 damaged
Blenheim IV: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged
Wellington III: 1 destroyed, 18 damaged
Hudson I: 2 destroyed, 7 damaged
A-29 Hudson: 1 damaged
P-38F Lightning: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
1064 casualties reported
Guns lost 14

Airbase hits 3
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 39


Day Air attack on Rangoon , at 29,33

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 10
Ki-43-Ic Oscar x 4

Allied aircraft
Brewster 339D x 4
Buffalo I x 9
CW-22 Falcon x 3
Blenheim IV x 11
Wellington III x 75
Hudson I x 31
A-29 Hudson x 13
P-38F Lightning x 7

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 destroyed, 4 damaged
Ki-43-Ic Oscar: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Buffalo I: 2 damaged
Blenheim IV: 4 damaged
Wellington III: 9 damaged
A-29 Hudson: 2 damaged
P-38F Lightning: 3 damaged

Japanese ground losses:
435 casualties reported
Guns lost 5

Airbase hits 4
Runway hits 17


Rangoon is now 79% neutralized. Japan loses 31 AC today(including 11 A6M2s) vs 20 Allied AC. The Allies are now getting the upper hand in the air war.....altogether Japan has lost 1971 AC during the war vs 1823 Allied AC.

Japan captures Nicobar Island and invades at Port Blair on Andaman Island.....tomorrow all the A-29s, Hudsons and Blenheim IVs at Akyab will be placed on naval attack to hit the Jap transports at Andaman....while the 4Es at Mandalay will continue the pounding of Rangoon airfield.



In China, Japan advances towards Wenchow....unfortunately our troops that retreated SE from the Nanchang/Shanghai road(instead of west) are now cut off and will be destroyed.....at least they will respawn in Chungking. Im going to try to get some of them into Wenchow if possible and hopefully Japan will force them to retreat into the forest NW of Wenchow.



AUSTRALIA:

Japan was bombing our troops in Alice Springs with Nells/Bettys from Darwin and flying sweeps over Alice Springs from Daly Waters...2 Kittyhawk squadrons were railed into Alice Springs a few days ago and they are putting up a heroic defense:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Alice Springs , at 31,100

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 5 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Alice Springs , at 31,100

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 25
G4M1 Betty x 25

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 20

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 2 destroyed, 13 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 2 destroyed, 18 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged

Airbase hits 2
Airbase supply hits 2
Runway hits 9


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Alice Springs , at 31,100

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 22
Ki-46-II Dinah x 1

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 19

Japanese aircraft losses
A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day Air attack on Alice Springs , at 31,100

Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 10
G4M1 Betty x 6

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk I x 18

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 7 damaged
G4M1 Betty: 5 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk I: 2 damaged


Allied ground losses:
11 casualties reported

Runway hits 6


Its only a matter of time before Japan brings overwhelming air power here...Im toying with the idea of commiting my precious P-38Fs to the battle when that happens.

On the ground, the Allies have around 800 AV with level 3 forts in Alice Springs:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Alice Springs

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 28379 troops, 305 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value = 873

Defending force 37466 troops, 122 guns, 372 vehicles, Assault Value =
909


Japanese ground losses:
19 casualties reported

Allied ground losses:
12 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


Meanwhile, Japan has 37,000 troops in Alice Springs and another 9 units adjacent to the hex....it will be interesting to see if the entire 100,000 troops from the initial Darwin invasion have bent commited here. On the bright side, I wouldnt mind seeing 4 SAA divisions and 5 tank regiments stuck out in the middle of the Australian Outback....on the other hand, Im sure that Steve will soon try to outflank me with his tanks in the desert terrain....I have 2 divisions and 2 tank battalions in reserve to fight the flanking movements.

On the southwestern flank, we have 2 Aussie brigades and some USA tank destroyers steadily pushing the Japs back towards Perth.

JUNE 23RD-26TH, 1942


AUSTRALIA:

Japan reinforces their army in Alice Springs with everything they have in central Oz save one unit....and they only have 76,000 troops......only the 4th and 48th Divisions, 5 armor regiments, 3 combat engineers and some SNLFs:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Alice Springs

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 28789 troops, 306 guns, 4 vehicles, Assault Value =
1456

Defending force 76624 troops, 261 guns, 371 vehicles, Assault Value =
1554


Japanese ground losses:
114 casualties reported
Guns lost 3

Allied ground losses:
29 casualties reported
Guns lost 1


The Allies have almost equal AV here and nearly level 4 forts....we will begin to withdraw some troops from Alice Springs to reinforce our coastal garrisons.

Over on the Perth/Adelaide road the Allies continue to push the Japanese back towards Perth.


CBI:

Rangoon is 80% damaged, SEAC bomber losses are acceptable.....but the AA at Rangoon has virtually destroyed 2 Allied recon units.....first a
F-4 recon unit was destroyed by flak even when flying at max altitude at 30,000 feet.....then a Falcon recon unit was destroyed at Rangoon flying at max altitude at 26,000 feet. In fact in one turn(2 days), 3 Falcons were destroyed in 4 movement phases....never seen anything like this before and Im not sure how to deal with this...Allied recon replacements are miniscule at this point in the war...maybe 2 planes of each type per month. Will need to recon with Cats I guess and save the dedicted recon AC for special occasions.


Here is a map of the situation in China....I have 5 Chinese Corps trapped east of Wenchow....if they can make it to Wenchow before they are pinned or Wenchow is captured then maybe I can avoid annihilation and retreat them eventually towards Pucheng.

JUNE 27TH-JULY 2ND, 1942


Well we finally reach July 1942....this begins the period of relative parity between Japan and the Allies.....and I think the next 12 months are the best part of playing WitP. We are still planning our first offensive moves but have been suffering from a shortage of aviation engineers...most of my aviation personel so far have been sent to Australia to counter the Japanese invasion. In 2 weeks we will receive 2 aviation regiments and 2 large base units in SF and we will finally have the ability to project air power into the central or south Pacific.




BURMA:

Japan crosses the Irrawaddy River and launches a huge shock attack at Mandalay:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Mandalay

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 128586 troops, 641 guns, 3 vehicles, Assault Value =
2881

Defending force 67917 troops, 658 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value =
828

Japanese max assault: 2320 - adjusted assault: 910

Allied max defense: 835 - adjusted defense: 655

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 9)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 8


Japanese ground losses:
8535 casualties reported
Guns lost 90
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
4147 casualties reported
Guns lost 114
Vehicles lost 1


I had started moving some reinforcements towards Mandalay a couple of weeks ago when I reconned all the ground forces being offloaded at Moulmein.....but still the size of Steve's offensive has caught me by surprise....I have a Chindit Brigade, an armored regiment and a corp and army HQ a couple of hexes out from Mandalay....dont know if they can make it before Japan reduces the fortifications here. All my SEAC transport AC will begin airlifting the 18th UK Division to Mandalay. All SEAC bombers will be put on ground attack against Mandalay.

On the bright side, at least I now have confirmation of where a significant portion of the SAA is located.




AUSTRALIA:

The opposing armies still appear to be deadlocked at Alice Springs:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ground combat at Alice Springs

Allied Bombardment attack

Attacking force 13560 troops, 123 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value =
1367

Defending force 66582 troops, 159 guns, 347 vehicles, Assault Value =
1221


Japanese ground losses:
40 casualties reported


Part of the Allied difficulty in defending Australia has been the presence of 7 IJA tank regiments. To counter this, early in the war I sent the CENTPAC 762nd Light Tank Battalion to Oz....and "purchased" the US 193rd Tank, US 754th Tank and the 641st Tank Destoyer Battalions and shipped everyone to Oz.

Well the 2 IJA tank regiments advancing from Perth roughed up my M-10 tank destroyers....I have only 28 effective out of the 36 TOE...but no replacements are available so the Tank Destroyer Battalion is kept on the line. In turn, the Allies have totally mauled the 2 IJA tank regiments advancing from Perth so Japan is reduced to 5 effective tank regiments....all at Alice Springs. The US 193rd Tank and 754th Tank are at full strength and wait in reserve behind Alice Springs in case Jap armor attempts a flanking movement. The Aussie 101st Antitank Regiment will reach Alice Springs tomorrow and hopefully they will attrition the Jap tanks a bit.

The problem for the Allies are the Aussie tank units....they start the war with no tanks and their replacements are limited...so for the most part they are useless and are being held in reserve until they can build up their TOE. The 1st Aussie Tank Battalion needs Matildas....currently has 36 out of 48 TOE.....but no Matildas are in production so it might as well be commited at partial strength. The 2nd Aussie Tank battalion has 41 ValentineIIIs out of 48 TOE.....with a replacement rate of 10 per month this unit can be commited to the front in 3 weeks at full strength. The 3rd Aussie Tank Battalion has 25 Vickers MarkVIs out of 48 TOE....with a replacement rate of 1/mo it might as well be sent to the front now.

The 2/6, 2/8 and 2/9 Aussie Tank regiments all need Grants.....we get 27 Grants /mo but the 2 SEAC Indian Tank brigades at Calcutta had been taking all the Grants so we shut off the replacements for the Indian tank regiments over a month ago. Now, the 2/8 Armored Regiment has 41 Grants out of 56 TOE...should be up to full TOE in a couple of weeks. The other 2 Aussie tank regiments have 2 and zero Grants respectively....so will be in resrve for several months.


I think that Japan has shot her bolt in OZ. Along the Perth/Adelaide highway the Allies continue to advance westward towards Perth. There appear to be additional Japanese forces located near Kalgoorlie.






CENTRAL/SOUTH PACIFIC:

The Allies now have a level 4 airfield at Luganville and a level 3 airfield at Efate. New Caledonia now is a virtual island fortress with 3 level 4 or larger airfields and hundreds of AC.


At least one IJN CV is spotted NE of Oahu.....apparently Steve was trying to sneak a CV or some CVs past our Oahu/Dutch harbor Catalina screen to raid Allied shipping in the eastern Pacific. Fortunately for us, the IJN CV(s) ran smack into a supply convoy heading to Midway:

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Day Air attack on TF at 115,52

Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 16
A6M3 Zero x 11
B5N2 Kate x 17

No Japanese losses

Allied Ships
AK Fort Alexandria, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
AK Fort La Maune, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage

JULY 3RD-6TH, 1942


BURMA:

Japan now has a telephone pole of 23 units at Mandalay...over 6 divisions. Two more deliberate attacks are launched at Mandalay and the forts are reduced to level 6:

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Ground combat at Mandalay

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 131131 troops, 590 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value =
2406

Defending force 64873 troops, 557 guns, 14 vehicles, Assault Value =
816

Japanese max assault: 2032 - adjusted assault: 1124

Allied max defense: 810 - adjusted defense: 1006

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

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 7


Japanese ground losses:
3577 casualties reported
Guns lost 40
Vehicles lost 2

Allied ground losses:
3358 casualties reported
Guns lost 46
Vehicles lost 2


Ground combat at Mandalay

Japanese Shock attack

Attacking force 147413 troops, 626 guns, 44 vehicles, Assault Value =
2585

Defending force 62846 troops, 492 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value =
816

Japanese engineers reduce fortifications to 6

Japanese max assault: 1970 - adjusted assault: 1152

Allied max defense: 774 - adjusted defense: 671

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 1 (fort level 6)

Japanese Assault reduces fortifications to 6


Japanese ground losses:
2251 casualties reported
Guns lost 44
Vehicles lost 8

Allied ground losses:
2599 casualties reported
Guns lost 88


I dont think that our reinforcements will arrive in time.....Mandalay will probably fall within the week and Japan will own most of Burma.....I hope Steve enjoys the nice airfield that I built for him there.



MALAYA:

We still have an AV over 1200 at Singapore....no Japanese activity here.


DEI:

Palembang is still holding with lots of supply...no Japan ese attacks or naval bombardments for over a week.

There are still 21 LCUs and 176 ships(including 2 BBs and 5 CAs) at Batavia.


PHILIPPINES:

We still have over 1000 AV at Manila....just the usual daily bombardments here.


AUSTRALIA:

We are breathing a little easier here now. Japan has withdrawn from Alice Springs and appears to be retreating north towards Darwin.

We are still driving west along the road to Perth.....with the threat to Alice Springs nearly gone, we will move several LCUs to support this drive...the recapture of Perth will be our first priority in Oz.