August 4th - A Day That Will Live In Infamy (No Khyberbill Please)

[Icedawg]

Edit

Double Post

[Andav]

It looks like you trapped a good number of units before they could get to Singapore. Very nice work there.

If Kaga and company have some CAs with float planes, using them to recon the level 4 airfields in Java could provide better intel. You just have to remember to switch them back once they are done. Nothing like realizing your float planes are "reconning Batavia" when you are hoping they will sport something while you cruise around the South Pacific.

Wa

[Icedawg]

Hopefully I can keep it that way.

I don't have much at Kluong (just a battalion from the 124th Rgt and about half of the 42nd Rgt which I am airlifting from Palembang) and Bill has moved a couple units out of Singapore to Johore Bahru. Is he planning a counterattack to reopen the rail line. I hope not - at least not until I can get a bit more friendly firepower here.

[Icedawg]

Dec 18th 1941

Overall, a pretty quiet day.

Palembang

The support troops are still unloading. The 2nd and 4th Yokosuka SNLFs that helped take the base are marching toward Praboemoelih, the base to the SW of Palembang. This is where the Palembang garrison retreated to. I don't want my tank regiments crossing that river and doing the shock attack. I'll let them take over the pursuit once the river is crossed and the base is taken. The three battalions of the 143rd Rgt are also in Palembang. They will march to Benkoelen. From there, I am thinking of loading them back up onto transports and sending them to take Port Blair. The 91st NG will garrison Palembang and the Yokosuka SNLFs will garrison Oosthaven and Benkoelen once it is taken.

Bill has been usiing his subs quite aggressively off of Palembang. I think its time for me to get some CMs and and an ACM or two down there and leave him some presents in the harbor.

KB

Moving to meet up with the Wake invasion TFs.

Malaya

I continued airlifting the 42nd Rgt to Kluong from Palembang. Once it is all there, the 21st Rgt will be airlifted there from Palembang as well.

The transports carrying the two battalions of the 124th Rgt arrived at Mersing. They will start unloading immediately. The other battalion is at Kluong after having been airlifted from Singkawang.

Singkawang

The two detachments from the 81st NG are marching back to Singkawang after having forced the displaced allied Pontianak garrison to retreat to Sambas.

Philippines

Not much to report.

Netties and Sallies from Takao hit Clark again and Anns and Sonias from San Fernando hit Batan again and caused slight to moderate damage.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

A detachment from the 3rd Yokosuka SNLF took Watampone today. The unit is based at Jolo and was airdropped using some Mavis transports. The 146th Rgt and the 2nd and 8th Tank Rgts are on transports just offshore. They will start unloading today. Then they will march to and take Makassar. Also included in this TF are the 5th and 6th JNAF Coys. One will stay and garrison Watampone and provide some aviation support for some floatplanes that will temporarily be based here and the other will march to Pare pare to cut the Makassar garrison's retreat path, hopefully forcing them to surrender.

The Dili invasion TF is four hexes out. The slowest ship in the TF moves at 12 knots, so they should be landing tomorrow. The amphibious TF is being covered by a SCTF consisting of Fuso, Yamashiro, a couple Cls and a half dozen DDs. DDs Yakaze and Yukaze are the only escorts actually in the TF. I sure hope they don't find any of Bill's subs.

Allied B-17s

5 of these guys hit the 13th Division in the open terrain one hex W of Sinyang causing moderate casualties. Other than that, nothing. I'm assuming Bill is moving them into position to hit Palembang. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it as that is what I would do if the roles were reversed.

Central Pacific

TFs are converging west of Wake for the invasion of that island. I hope Bill hasn't reinforced it with anything. I'm only bringing the 53rd NG and the 2nd Maizuru SNLF. If he hasn't reinforced, this should be enough. If he has, I'm in trouble. I doubt he has though. KB passed through the area a few days ago and didn't spot anything. I also have a dozen or so subs patroling around the island and they haven't spotted anything either.

SS I-26 likely sank two xAKs (the Ohioan and the Ensley City) a couple hexes SW of Pearl. She's the only sub I have still lingering in the area. I've sent the rest SW hoping to catch Bill's carriers. Right now they are moving in formation covering an area roughly five hexes wide and five hexes deep.

[Andav]

I bet you will be OK at Wake. Reinforcing Midway is one thing. Wake is pretty far out there and his troops are still pretty limited.

So how is the economy coming along? Probably only minor tweaks at this point I assume.

Wa

[Icedawg]

ORIGINAL: Andav


I bet you will be OK at Wake. Reinforcing Midway is one thing. Wake is pretty far out there and his troops are still pretty limited.

So how is the economy coming along? Probably only minor tweaks at this point I assume.

Wa

I hope you're right about Wake.

As for the economy, I've expanded every naval shipyard by one point each day so far. I'm up to 1554 naval shipyard points per day from an original of 1384. I'm going to keep expanding until each is expanded by 30 from its original value (so +390 in all). I'm doing this so I can accelerate all of the Unryus to the greatest extent possible while simultaneously completing both the Yamato and Musashi on schedule. I'm also thinking of accelerating the Taiyo, Hiryu and/or Soryu as well.

I expanded vehicle factories a bit. I'm up to 85 from an original of 72.

I've expanded 8 research factories to size 30 for the A6M2 Rufe. I'm not interested in the Rufe. I just want to get those factories repaired to the magic 30 mark and switch them over to A6M3s intact. I've also expanded 8 factories to size 30 for the Ki-44a Tojo, the D4Y1 Judy and the B6N1 Jill. I'll do more expanding for other, later-to-arrive aircraft a bit further down the road.

For aircraft currently being produced, I'm at 80 A6M2s, 12 B5N1s, 12 B5N2s, 10 C5M2s, 24 D3A1s, 27 E13A1s, 10 E14Y1s, 25 G3M2s, 25 G4M1s, 10 H6K4s, 10 Ki-15-IIs, 25 Ki-21-IIas, 12 Ki-32s, 56 Ki-43-Ics, 30 Ki-51s, 18 Ki-57-Is and 12 L3Y2s. I'm going to expand the A6M2s and the Ki-43-Ics to 120 each. The B5N2s and D3A1s will be expanded to 30 each and the Ki-57-Is and L3Y2s will be expanded to 20 each. Once the Topsys use up all of their available engines, I'm going to convert the factory over to Thalias. Once the H6K2-L becomes available, I'm switching the Tina factory over to these.

I haven't expanded any refineries or heavy industry, although I am entertaining thoughts of expanding some in the SRA just so I don't have to haul as much of the resources, oil and fuel back to Japan. (I can't take credit for this idea. It comes from the JFB Economy Guru, Mike Soli.)

Thanks for reading along and chiming in. It was getting a bit demoralizing going through all of the work for this AAR and getting no feedback.

[Icedawg]

While I'm waiting for the turn from Bill, here is a screenshot from the Ambon/Celebes/Timor theater.

[Icedawg]

And here's the Singkawang/Palembang area.

[Icedawg]

And here's what's going on in the Philippines.

[Icedawg]

Dec 19th 1941

Another rather quiet day.

Palembang

The support troops are still unloading (actually, just a detachment of the 20th AA Rgt remains on an xAP). The 2nd and 4th Yokosuka SNLFs have reached Praboemoelih. I had hoped the Palembang garrison would still be there to trigger a shock attack, but it had moved on - I assume toward Oosthaven. These SNLFs will take the base tomorrow with the two tank regiments hopefully catching up with them.

KB

Thirteen hexes west of Wake along with a couple SCTFs and the invasion TF carrying the Maizuru 2nd SNLF and the 53rd NG.

Malaya

Most of the 42nd Rgt has been airlifted to Kluong from Palembang. Another turn or two and they'll all be there.

The two battalions of the 124th Rgt unloaded at Mersing. They will move west to join the rest of the battalion at Kluong. Elements of the 2nd and 56th Division are nearing Mersing. They will be unloaded there to shore up the line I have from Mersing to Kluong to Batu Pahat. It's looking like I've got close to 20 of his units trapped in the northern part of the peninsula. Hopefully, this will make taking Singapore a bit easier.

Singkawang

Transports are airlifting elements of the 42nd Rgt from Palembang to Singkawang. From there they will go to Kluong. I know it's a bit inefficient doing it this way (using Singkawang as a stopover rather than sending them directly to Kluong), but Palembang's airfield is at capacity with the transports already there and about 100 fighters flying CAP.

Philippines

Not much to report.

Netties and Sallies from Takao continue to hit Clark and Anns and Sonias from San Fernando hit Batan again. Clark is sustaining a good amount of damage, but Batan is barely touched.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The 146th Rgt and the 2nd and 8th Tank Rgts are unloading at Watampone. The 5th, 6th and 8th JNAF Coys are also unloading. The 8th was dropped off by mistake. I had intended it to join the Dili invasion. Luckily, I can bring the Mavis transports from Jolo to Watampone to airlift them to Dili once it falls.

The Dili invasion TF is at Dili but hasn't started to unload yet.

Allied B-17s

Nothing from these guys this turn.

Central Pacific

Nothing to report. The last exciting thing going on here was Bill's mini carrier raid into the Marshalls. His CVs were last spotted off of Shortlands on the 14th. That means he has had five days to move them elsewhere. Where could that be?

I'm banking on him taking the southern coast of New Guinea and showing up near Ambon. I have Kaga, Ryujo, Zuiho and Hosho about to meet up near Ternate. In addition, I'll have about 50 Zeros, 12 Vals and 60 Netties based at Ambon. All told, I'll have about 125 Zeros, 25 Vals, 65 Kates, 30 Nells and 30 Bettys to about 35 Wildcats, 20 Buffalos, 70 Dauntlesses, 20 Vindicators and 25 Devastators. I like those odds. Alternatively, he could swing the two CVs back east and join them with Saratoga and try to interdict my invasion at Wake. In that case, it would be about 100 Zeros, 100 Vals and 120 Kates against 55 Wildcats, 20 Buffalos, 110 Dauntlesses, 20 Vindicators and 40 Devastators. I don't like that match-up at all. [:(]

[MAurelius]

very clear maps! - keep up the good word! [:)]

[Icedawg]

Dec 20th 1941

Still another rather quiet day.

Palembang

The 20th AA Rgt is STILL unloading. I guess those guys must have had first class cabins and don't want to give up their accomodations. The 2nd and 4th Yokosuka SNLFs captured Praboemoelih without opposition. The two tank regiments caught up with them. One will advance toward Oosthaven with the 2nd Yokosuka SNLF following them. The other will advance along with the 4th Yokosuka SNLF toward Benkoelen. Benkoelen has a decent sized garrison. I don't want those tanks meeting up with those guys in the jungle without infantry support. I think my fear of this garrison force may not be necessary though. I suspect it went down with the Dutch xAP I sank south of Java a couple days ago.

KB

Two hexes west of Wake along with the SCTFs and the invasion TF carrying the Maizuru 2nd SNLF and the 53rd NG. I think I will make one of these SCTFs (4 old CAs that start the game at Chichijima) a bombardment TF. The other will transfer one of its BBs to the amphibious TF to give it some extra CD suppression power. I have had a screen of nine subs four hexes east of Wake for a few days now and they haven't stumbled upon any allied shipping. I hope that means he has nothing in the area.

Burma

First noteworthy event to mention from this area - the 55th Cavalry Rgt captured Tavoy without opposition. I am marching elements of the Royal Thai Army and the 15th Army to Moulmein via Pisanuloke. In another day or so the 2nd Royal Thai Division will reach the coast one hex SW of Moulmein. The same day, the 112th Rgt should arrive at the hex SE of Moulmein (the hex the 2nd RT Div is currently in). This should effectively cut off a single allied unit I spotted on the road from Tavoy to Moulmein. It's probably just the Mergui garrison, but every little bit helps.

Malaya

Almost all of the 42nd Rgt has been airlifted to Kluong from Palembang. Another turn and it will all be there. Then I will start with the 21st Rgt.

The elements of the 5th Division that landed at Kuantan arrived at Temuloh. Unfortunately, the garrison has fled, so no shock attack was triggered. This will cost me a day as I will now have to take the base this turn.

Alor star fell to the land-based version of the row boat corps. The Imperial Gds Division and the 14 Tank Rgt are almost there. Bill moved the two Indian brigades that start the game there to the hex east of Georgetown. I have a couple of Rgts from the 18th Division there (55th and 56th) along with the 18th Mtn Gun Rgt. I will do a deliberate attack and see what happens.

The 2nd Division is starting to unload at Mersing.

Netties from Saigon put a serious hurting on the airfield at Johore Bahru. I want to make sure Bill won't be building any forts there. Unfortunately, I think I hit the place too hard. When I capture it, I bet there's going to be a ton of repair work to do to get it operational.

Singkawang

Airlift operations are about half done. I can't wait to finish and get those transports out of there so I can get the Netties based at Saigon here. From Singkawang, I hope they can start putting a hurting on some of his level four airfields in the area. I'm really worried about hordes of B-17s showing up over Palembang soon, so I really want these Netties at Singkawang.

Philippines

Bill hadn't been sending up any fighters over Luzon the last few days and I got a little too relaxed. I gave my Zeros at Vigan the day off from sweeping, so when some Sonias and Anns escorted by a handful of Oscars bombed Batan, they were met by 8 P-40Es. I lost 2 Oscars and had a bunch of Anns damaged without shooting down a single P-40E. To make matters worse, the airfield only sustained two hits.

Netties from Takao hit Clark again. For some reason, the Sallies there didn't fly today.

The Kimura Detachment and the 1st Kure SNLF took Cagayan today. The base was empty. The 1st Kure SNLF is marching toward Butuan. It looks like Bill is trying to make a stand at Malaybalay. That sounds fine with me. I have a JAAF Bn at Cagayan. I can transfer a couple light bomber units here and use Malaybalay as target practice to get their experience up.

The 1st Sasebo SNLF Coy is two miles SE of Oroquieta. They should arrive tomorrow and take the base the next day.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The 146th Rgt is still unloading at Watampone. The 2nd and 8th Tank Rgts are already unloaded. The JNAF Coys are also unloaded.

The Dili invasion TF unloaded and headed north. I had it set to "retirement allowed". I'm just waiting for Bill's carriers to show up here, so I wanted to try to get the transports as far out of harm's way as possible. I have Nells at Ambon heavily searching the Arafura sea as this is the path I expect Bill to take to get here, but nothing has been spotted yet. A small group of subs is patroling off of Saumlaki just in case the carriers sneak past the Nell patrols.

Allied B-17s

A couple of raids hit the 13th Division again causing a few casualties.

Central Pacific

Landings at Wake should commence tomorrow!

[Icedawg]

ORIGINAL: MAurelius

very clear maps! - keep up the good word! [:)]

Very nice avatar! I'd even say better than my maps! [:)]

[Icedawg]

Dec 21st 1941

A bit more exciting today.

Palembang

The 20th AA Rgt finally finished unloading. Another TF with the 96th JAAF Bn and the 36th Field AA Bn aboard just arrived and will begin unloading. The 6th Tank Rgt arrived at Lahat. It will take the base tomorrow. The 1st Tank Rgt moved one hex closer to Oosthaven. In three more days, it should be there. The SNLFs and the 91st NG are following closely.

DMS W-4 hit a mine and sank while sweeping the harbor. I also lost two PCs in a minesweeping TF a few days ago at Hong Kong. I think I have to get some AMcs down here quick. AMcs can be replaced by converting xAKLs and PBs. The DMS variety can’t.

KB

Uneventfully provided CAP for the Wake invasion.

Burma

Everyone’s still plodding along toward Moulmein.

Malaya

Just nine more squads of the 42nd Rgt have to be airlifted to Kluong from Palembang.

Elements of the 5th Division took Temuloh with no opposition.

The 11th Rgt is going to march one hex NE along the rail line to Kota Bharu as that is where the remnants of the Kota Bharu garrison are located. The rest will head directly west to the main north-south road that runs the length of the peninsula.

The 55th and 56th Rgts and the 18th Mtn Gun Rgt attacked the 6th and 15th Indian Brigades one hex SE of Alor Star. 5:1 odds brought about a slightly favorable casualty ratio, but did not cause a surrender. This is one of the few things that really irk me about the game engine. Why do troops only surrender at bases? If this had happened at Alor Star, they would all be in the bag and I could continue heading south. But no, I now have to sit here for several turns slowly whittling them down to zero. It’s a very time consuming process that really causes havoc with timing/plans.

The Imperial Gds and the 14th Tank Rgt arrived at Alor Star. They will move south to assist the 55th and 56th Rgts in their fight with the 6th and 15th Indian Brigades.

The 2nd Division is almost finished unloading at Mersing. The TF carrying the 56th Division arrived at Mersing and will begin unloading.

The AVG reared its ugly head for the first time today. Unescorted Netties from Saigon were intercepted over Johore Bharu by a couple of H81-A3s. Two Nells were shot down. I’m lucky it wasn’t more! I'm not sure if Bill is intending to keep these guys at Singapore, or move them to Java to assist in the defense there. I'll sweep Singapore tomorrow with about 20 Oscars and 8 Tojos just in case he is keeping them here.

Singkawang

Nine Zeros of the Yamada Detachment and a 27-plane Betty unit were transferred here. Once the 21st Rgt is completely airlifted to Kluong and the transports are relocated, I will bring in more Zeros and Netties and will start hitting the surrounding level 4 airfields.

The airfield is 70% of the way to level 5. That will allow more room for Netties and should help a bit with OPs losses.

Philippines

The Zeros at Vigan resumed hunting today. They swept Clark and shot down 5 P-40Es for no loss.

Sallies and Netties from Takao and the Sonias and Anns from San Fernando failed to launch today. I have no clue why.

The 1st Kure SNLF is on its way to Butuan.

The 1st Sasebo SNLF Coy arrived at Oroquieta. It will take the base tomorrow.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The 146th Rgt is STILL unloading at Watampone.

Dili fell to the 1st Independent and Bandasan SNLF Coys and the III/66th NG. The SNLF Coys will move to Lautem and the III/66th NG will move one hew NW of Dili to cut the retreat path to Koepang. The 8th JNAF Coy will be airlifted to Dili from Watampone to prevent any auto switching.

Allied B-17s

None showed up today.

Central Pacific

Wake fell to the 2nd Maizuru SNLF and the 53rd NG. I think bombarding with the four old CAs and placing the Mutsu in the invasion TF really helped as the landings produced practically no casualties or disruption.

[Andav]

You are correct about those DMS being tough to lose.

Looks like you are nearing the point where B-17 raids at Palembang will be at least contested. Hopefully that will be enough to keep the accuracy down. The crews must have been fatigued or something to keep them grounded this long.

Wa

[jeffk3510]

ORIGINAL: Icedawg

ORIGINAL: jb123

ORIGINAL: Icedawg


Two B-17s managed to hit 3 xAKs in Ambon harbor. Either those bomber crews are magicians, or my ships were moored too closely. I didn't have anything for CAP available, so I transferred some Petes from Ternate. I know they won't be able to bring any down if they show up again, but at least they'll harrass them a bit and throw off their aim. I have a small squadron of Claudes at Ternate. I chose to leave them there and use the Petes at Ambon because the damaged APDs from the Ambon invasion have been sent to Ternate for repairs. These ships are moderately damaged and I fear a bomb from a B-17 might just finish them off.

This is the danger you evil imperialists have penetrating deep int the DEI early in the war. I've managed to hit a couple of xAKs disbanded in ports just captured.... Be careful, capturing a base within range of the level four airfield at Batavia, Soerbaja, Balikipan, etc... the Dutch might not be able to hit ships, but they can tear up resources, airfields, planes, and unloading ships. If I was playing the Japanese I would land a BF with the invasion troops and land fighters the day after capturing the base.


Where is the AVG at?

Hey, someone is actually reading this AAR! I had been getting discouraged by the fact that I'm pretty much the only person posting on this thread. (In fact, I was about to call it quits.)

I usually bring the aviation support units along in a separate TF when possible. Once the base is taken, they offload the next turn. I was just surprised at how aggressively he is using his B-17s. Now that he has hit a few ports with docked ships, I have small fighter units CAPing any such base.

The AVG has only shown up escorting a couple of small raids on empty airfields in Thailand. We have a house rule about units operating only in historical (or semi-historical) locations, so the AVG shouldn't be seen in the SRA.

I follow it. Don't be discouraged. Peeps rarely post in mine other than team memebers..

[jeffk3510]

What is your plan for KB after Wake? Raids up and down Aus tend to produce juicy rewards..

[Icedawg]

ORIGINAL: jeffk3510

What is your plan for KB after Wake? Raids up and down Aus tend to produce juicy rewards..

Right now I'm leaning towards covering an invasion of Rabaul, then the Gilberts. A lot though will depend on what Bill does with his carriers. If he tries to interfere with operations in the SRA, I may divert them there.

[TheLoneGunman_MatrixForum]

Just popping in to say I'm also following, so please keep updating.

[Icedawg]

Good to know people are following along. For a while, I felt like I was just carrying on a pointless monologue.

Here's the next update.

Dec 22nd 1941

Palembang

The TF with the 96th JAAF Bn and the 36th Field AA Bn unloaded. This brings me to a total of 204x8 cm AA guns and 8x20 mm AA guns (plus a handful of the 13.2 mm AA MGs, but these are pretty much useless). I’m also thinking of spending a few PPs to bring down some 10 cm AA guns in those tiny AA units that start the game in Japan and Korea. They’re really cheap (5 PPs each) and based on their stats, they really pack a whallop. I’m almost hoping Bill decides to send his 4Es on a raid to Palembang. With all these AA guns in place, his bombers are going to get roughed up pretty good.

The 6th Tank Rgt took Lahat unopposed. The 1st Tank Rgt moved one hex further SE. ETA Oosthaven – two days.

KB

Still hanging out providing CAP for the transports unloading supply at Wake.

Burma

The 2nd RTA Division reached the coast one hex SW of Moulmein.

Malaya

The entire 42nd Rgt is in Kluong. It will now start marching toward Johore Bharu to join other troops from Mersing that are on there way there as well.

The 11th Rgt started its march NE from Temuloh along the rail line hit the old Kota Bharu garrison. The 41st Rgt, 5th Eng Rgt, 5th Recon Rgt and 5th FA Rgt are all heading west to get to the main road.

The 55th and 56th Rgts and the 18th Mtn Gun Rgt performed another attack against the 6th and 15th Indian Brigades one hex SE of Alor Star. This time the odds were 6:1and again brought about a slightly favorable casualty ratio. This is going to grind out for a long time I think.

The Imperial Gds and the 14th Tank Rgt are heading SE from Alor Star to help out the 55th and 56th Rgts.

The 2nd and 56th Divisions finished unloading at Mersing and are heading to Johore Bharu.

The AVG and some Oscars from Patani tangled in the skies above Singapore. No planes were lost by either side directly, but the aircraft losses screen shows that 2 H81-A3s were OPs losses.

Singkawang

Nine Zeros of the Yamada Detachment swept Batavia and shot down one of the Dutch Buffalos. It looks like Batavia is his main bomber staging area. Recon showed 67 bombers here, but only 5 fighters. Recon also shows that Merak now has three units there. I’m guessing these might be aviation support units as Palembang would just in range of H81-A3s if they were stationed there. With his bombers at Batavia, he could escort them with H81-A3s at Merak. Not a good thing for me.

I’m going to see if the AVG is still in Singapore by sweeping the place with some Oscars again. If they’re not there, I’m going to hit Merak and Batavia hard. I have a few SCTFs in the area that can have their mission changed to bombardment. These could bombard Merak (after the DMSs at Palembang get down there and gauge the mine threat). I can get Netties to Singkawang. From there, they can hit Batavia.

The airfield is 83% of the way to level 5. Two more turns and I can fit 50 more engines there.

Miri fell to the 4th Rgt. I forgot to mention this operation in my last couple of updates, so here it is in a nutshell. The 4th Rgt sailed with the TF carrying the 2nd Division to Mersing. About a day’s sail from Mersing, the transports carrying the 4th Rgt detached and headed to Miri. They landed yesterday without incident and took the base today with a deliberate attack.

Philippines

Manila fell to the 9th and 20th Rgts and the 16th Eng Rgt. The only damage incurred was one point to the light industry.

Sallies and Netties from Takao and the Sonias and Anns from San Fernando failed to launch again today, but at least now I know why. I had set their escorts to target Batan. I assume that with no escorts set to target Clark, they didn’t want to fly. That has been remedied. We’ll see if the fly now.

The 1st Kure SNLF is still marching to Butuan.

The 1st Sasebo SNLF Coy arrived at Oroquieta yesterday and the base fell to the land-based row boat corps (occupied before the attack actually commenced). From here, they will march to Dumanquilas.

Ambon/Celebes/Timor

The 146th Rgt is finally finished unloading at Watampone. It will march to Makassar along with the 2nd and 8th Tank Rgts.

The 1st Independent and Bandasan SNLF Coys are on there way to Lautem and the III/66th NG is on its way to the hex NW of Dili.

Allied B-17s

None showed up again today.

Central Pacific

Transports at Wake are unloading extra supply.

Up next, Rabaul. I am going to use the 144th Rgt and the Maizuru 1st SNLF to try to take the place. I hope this is enough. I doubt it though. I’m suspecting that Bill may have had his carriers down here earlier to cover a TF carrying reinforcements. If so, I’m thinking of buying out some units to assist. Right now, I’m leaning toward a couple of high-experience infantry Rgts from Manchukuo.

Java

Yes, I’m thinking about Java already. I was going to wait a bit, but with Bill massing his bombers at Batavia (presumably to hit Palembang), I’m getting nervous. The 38th Division is loaded up on transports and on its way to Cam Ranh Bay from Hong Kong. The 121st Bde is already there and also boarded onto ships waiting to join up once they arrive.

From here, I’m thinking of two landing sights – Kalidjati and Semarang. Kalidjati has a nice level four airfield and Semarang has a level five port. Also, a quick march to Djokjakarta from Semarang cuts the island in two.

I know I’m going to need more than just these troops, so here’s a list of what else may be available in the next few days: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Saseblo SNLFs (the 8th will garrison Koepang), 4th Rgt (currently at Miri), 124th Rgt (currently at Kluong), 91st NG (currently at Praboemoelih) and the 146th Rgt and 2nd and 8th Tank Rgts (currently on their way to take Makassar).