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11 December 1941

PACIFIC

Action commences at Guam. Kako bombards – 10 casualties and 4 port fuel hits and 14 casualties in the day time bombardment. Shortly after the troops go ashore. The ground assault is ordered for 12 December.

After KB failed to make an impression on AVD William B. Preston, on 10 December, Nagara and her destroyers were ordered to patrol and be on the lookout for this loner. They found her but it seems she was not in the mood for playing around. The range closed to 9000 yards before action ceased. Between them the Japanese warships managed to land 5 hits on the AVD.

MALAYA AND DEI

One of the mines in that minefield laid at Balikpapan is reported to have hit DD Thanet causing heavy damage.

8th Indian Brigade, near Kota Bharu, is bombed – 37 casualties.

In one of several oversights this turn I forget to provide LRCAP for the ships approaching Singkawang. First raid sees 3 Blenheim IV, 2 B-339D and 9 Hudson I attacking – no hits. Second raid is made up of 6 Blenheim IV – no hits.

Next, and major oversight (I forget to check the secondary mission for the Saigon based Nells – left it set for AF attack on Singapore!!!) sees a number of unescorted raids by Nells on Singapore. First raid is 50 Nell against 17 Buffalo – 4 reported destroyed and 1 lost to flak for 1 runway hit. Second raid is 6 Nell with 3 reported lost. Third raid another 6 Nell and another 3 reported lost. Wasteful!

Carrier Div 5 launches a raid against Singkawang. 39 Kate and 30 Val escorted by 14 Zero with 2 B-339D on hand. 11 casualties reported.

One of my transport TFs returning to Saigon is located. No CAP on hand and the 3 Blenheim IF have a free hand. 2 bombs hit xAK Kyokusei Maru. Lucky they are only 40lb bombs but they do cause a fire which is 10 at the end of the turn. It will take 2 turns to make a port… wonder how good the crew and captain of this ship will turn out to be in fire-fighting.

My lack of CAP regardless the troops make it ashore at Singkawang and no ships are hit. The defenders will be tested by land assault tomorrow.

CHINA

62nd Chinese Corps, near Canton is bombed – no reports of damage… severe storms can’t have helped. A second raid causes 7 casualties. A third raid reports 9 casualties. Hopefully enough damage to delay this unit for 1 more day as ground forces from Hong Kong have arrived in the hex and I want to attack it before it reaches the safety of Wuchow.

Hong Kong is bombed by Sally bombers – 2 Walrus II damaged, 3 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 16 runway hits.

30th Chinese Corps, near Sinyang, is bombed – 18 casualties reported.

3rd Prov Chinese Corps, near Kweisui, is bombed – 34 casualties. It appears that this unit may have stopped moving towards Kweisui.

3rd New Chinese Corps, near Nanchang, is bombed – 11 casualties.

A Bombardment attack is ordered at Hong Kong. 17 Japanese casualties against 25 Allied casualties. I am considering ordering the first deliberate attack next turn.

Final oversight for the day. I forget the order the TF loading at Nauru to stop loading supply so now I must wait one extra day for this lot to get themselves over to Ocean Island and add that to my collection.

Todd pulled a quick one and has vacated Chengchow. I almost missed this amongst the clutter on the board... but there it was a vacant town. Unexpected and something of a nuisance as I now need to rustle up 80 VP to garrison the place. The nasty resistance has already struck and caused AF damage of 18 plus AF Service Damage of 2. Looks very much like a general policy of withdraw and hole up in better defensive ground for China.

Haruna update. She has made it to Cam Ranh Bay and will spend 5 days fixing up damage before she sails onto a decent repair yard to fix damage which currently stands at 5 13(13) 33(25) 0. Hong Kong is looking like a possibility once it has been captured.

December 12, 1941

PACIFIC

Troops go ashore at Guam. 144th Infantry Regiment and 15th Base Force (154 cas. total) attack and destroy Guam USN Base Force (437 cas.) at 24-1 odds. The facilities are devastated with AF 60% damage and Port 100% damage.

Troops go ashore at Ocean Island. Heron Det. is destroyed and the base falls.

MALAYA AND DEI

Supplies continue to be offloaded at Singkawang.

The sounds of a mine doing its job. Combat reports indicate that xAP Van Overstraten has stumbled into the submarine laid minefield near Merak.

Near Soerabaja SS I-158 shoots and misses at AG Albatros.

8th Indian Brigade, near Kota Bharu, is bombed – 48 casualties. 2 Buffalo are on CAP and 1 is destroyed by the escorting Zeros.

Shipping at Singkawang are targeted by 9 Blenheim IV, 2 B-339D and 9 Hudson. 9 Zero are on hand and don’t report any downed planes although flak accounts for 1 B-339 and 1 Hudson. Cruisers, Mogami, Haguro and Suzuya sail through the bomb splashes. A second raid by 3 Hudson I meets 6 Zero and 1 bomber is destroyed and no hits on the cruisers.

During the afternoon 3 Vildebeest III escorted by 7 Buffalo take on a CAP of 3 Zero and 12 Ki-43-Ib Oscar. 1 Oscar is traded for 2 Buffalo and the little bi planes get the opportunity to make a run on an ASW TF. PB Sozan Maru doesn’t manage to avoid the path of a torpedo and quickly sinks. Yikes… 10 VP for these Ansyu-C patrol boats.

TK British Judge is located on heavy fire at Singapore. 12 Val from Carrier Div 5 can’t resist and throw caution to the wind and 7 happy Buffalo I pilots. 6 Val are reported down and the TK is missed by the 4 Val which did attack.

Near Bengkalis 20 Kate from Carrier Div 5 descend upon HDML 1062 and 1063. 1 Baffalo is roaming around and claims a Kate as destroyed. Both of the launches are obliterated from bomb blast.

The ground troops at Singkawang are subjected to bombardment from 19 Kate and 17 Val. The 5 Zero escort destroyed the sole B-339D that turns up. 28 ground casualties are reported.

At Singkawang I/124th Infantry Battalion (no cas.) achieves 2-1 assault odds and reduces the forts to 0 against West Borneo KNIL Battalion and Singkawang Base Force (116 cas. total). Bombardement attack by the defenders is brushed off. Deliberate attack will be ordered again tomorrow and hopefully this base will fall.

Kyokusei Maru is down to 9 6(6) 3 1 damage and 1 days sailing from Saigon. Looks like the crew got that fire under control.

PHILIPPINES

During the night time, near Peleliu, Nagara and her destroyers finally catch up with an end the days of AVD William B. Preston with 11 shell hits and a torpedo.

Near Laoag SS S-36 is located and the escort do lots of attacking for no result but at least the American must keep his head down.

9 unescorted Betty make a run on 2 MTB of all things near Clark Field. 8 Warhawk and 2 P-35A greet them and 6 Betty are reported destroyed.

CHINA

30th Chinese Corps, near Sinyang, is bombed – 9 casualties.

3rd New Chinese Corps, near Nanchang, is bombed – 14 casualties.

17th Group Army, near Kweisui, is bombed – 14 casualties.

Sally bombers attack Hong Kong AF and score 8 runway hits.

Bombardment at Hong Kong results in 12 Japanese casualties and 5 Allied casualties. The supply was down this turn so deliberate attack will be tomorrow.

At Kaifeng 35th Division (33 cas.) attacks 8th New Chinese Corps (563 cas.) 50-1 odds and the Chinese unit retreats over the river.

The Chinese forces have arrived. I expect attacks on both locations. I will not be surprised if Paotow is lost but hold out hope that the horsemen on the mountain might stand firm. The bombers have been ordered to make life difficult for the Chinese in this hex.

As for Kweisui I am relying upon the level 4 forts to do the job until reinforcements down the road arrive. As long as I hold onto Kweisui I feel that I can win back Paotow should it be lost.

As an aside every now and then I shall post a picture from a little publication I picked up in Japan. It has photos of wonderful card models of Japanese merchantmen made by Hiroyuki Osawa.

First up is Kamo Maru. And what has this ship been up to during the first week of the war... well, actually, nothing. Being one of my xAPs I'm looking to use them for troop movement in bases out of the main zones of conflict. So for now she has been idling away at Pescadores.

13 December 1941

HOME ISLANDS

SS Seawolf attacks PB Tonon Maru near Tokara Retto and misses.

SS Sailfish surfaces and attacks xAP Ukishima Maru near Nagasaki. The xAP takes 1 shell hit for 1 sys damage before Voge, R.G. decides to submerge SS Sailfish due to damage! Dodged a bullet there.

SS Saury sails into Nagasaki harbour and shoots at TK Nissyo Maru and misses… certainly dodged a bullet with this attack.

PACIFIC

SS RO-67 locates xAK Suva near Ocean Island, attacks on the surface, and sinks her with 3 torpedoes. I wonder why Todd has this lone xAK operating up here… she started out at Suva.

Troops come ashore at Manus.

Troops are ashore at Hollandia.

Troops are ashore at Aitape.

Troops are ashore at Wewak.

PHILIPPINES

A long, long way off shore from Legaspi AM Quail stumbles across one of my invasion TFs awaiting KB to support more Philippine landings. Both TFs hurry to disappear from view.

A sweep by 15 Zero at Clark Field meets 2 P-35A, 3 P-40B and 6 P-40E. 1 P-35A reported destroyed as well as 6 of the Warhawks.

KB locates xAK Ethel Edwards at 96,82 and 9 Val dispatch her with 7 bomb hits.

KB locates AM Quail at 93,84 and 7 Kate sink her with a single torpedo. Quail was already on fire so reports from scouting planes having hit her must have been correct.

Calayan is occupied by the Japanese.

MALAYA/DEI

SS I-166 operating near Batavia takes a shot at the passing DD Thracian and misses.

Carrier Div 5 launches 36 Kate and 21 Val against the ground forces at Singkawang. 1 Zero is lost to the sole B-339D. 35 casualties reported on the ground.

8th Indian Brigade, near Kota Bharu, is bombed for 21 casualties. 1 Sally is lost to the 4 Buffalo on CAP.

Shipping near Mersing is attacked by 3 Vildebeest III and 3 Hudson I escorted by 9 Buffalo I. 21 Zero are on hand and report 3 Buffalo and 1 Vildebeest shot down. A lone Vildebeest makes a hurried torpedo run on xAK Kuroshio Maru and misses.

Second Mersing raid by 9 Vildebeest and 3 Hudson escorted by 7 Buffalo against a CAP of 19 Zero. 3 Buffalo and 5 Vildebeest reported as destroyed. 2 Vildebeest and 3 Hudson fight their way through to unsuccessfully attack xAKs Hokuriku Maru and Ayato Maru.

11th Air Fleet HQ is ashore at Khota Bharu… time to get some serious work done with all this air support now available.

Japanese deliberate attack at Singkawang achieves 11-1 odds and captures the base. 2 B-339D are destroyed on the ground. I/124th Infantry Battalion reports 30 casualties with no squads lost so all is good here. 22nd Air Flotilla is also at the base to time to start flying in Miss Nell and Betty. 721 Allied casualties with 1 unit destroyed and 1 unit retreating (West Borneo KNIL Battalion and Singkawang Base Force).

CHINA

The AF at Wuchow is bombed for 2 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 11 runway hits.

30th Chinese Corps, near Sinyang, is bombed for 7 casualties.

11th Chinese Corps, at Paotow, is bombed for 60 casualties.

Japanese Deliberate attack at Hong Kong reduces forts to 2 and achieves 1-2 odds. 432 Japanese casualties to 398 Allied casualties. Of the squads Japanese stands at 1 destroyed, 22 disabled against the Allies 1 squad destroyed and 51 disabled. A day or two of rest and resupply and then at it again.

Japanese forces bombard the retreating Chinese at Tsiaotso. Fairly even AV… perhaps an attack is in order before the Chinese vacate the field.

At Paotow the Japanese bombard for no discernible effect. I do find that AV are nearly equal with Japanese at 111 to the Allied 121. No assault here today by the Chinese but I feel confident that when it comes the defenders will hold.

Likewise at Kweisui the Japanese bombard for no effect. AV is very bad here though with only 46 Japanese against 162 Chinese. No allied attack today but I stand a very real risk of losing this town although reinforcements are only a day or two away.

LT Kaneko, T. of Shokaku-1 is credited with kill number 5 and 6. First Japanese Ace.

The sinking of Suva got me searching for any reference to this ship. Scarce information located but the following interesting snippet of what I take to be the same ship came to light. It is a tragic story and in a way far removed from war and touches on the perils of simply living and staying alive.

About 18 months ago, (from 2015) a Merchant Navy memorial was built outside the old Isolation Hospital that is located within the grounds of the former Quarantine Station. The memorial is dedicated to the memory of the Chief Officer and few crew members of the ss Suva who died of smallpox in April 1943. They were all cremated and their ashes buried at the Woodman Point Quarantine Station.

The Chief Officer, Arthur David Waters – Discharge Number: R177, was born in Dover in 1906. The Pacific trading vessel, ss Suva, arrived off the Western Australian coast in March 1943, while most of the 28 crew were developing varying degrees of smallpox. One crewman, Sakusa Veiwili, had died on the 19th March on the voyage to Fremantle, and was buried at sea, and the remainder of the crew were landed at Woodman Point on 26th March 1943.

The more serious cases had been tended to by the 38 year old Chief Officer AD Waters (who had not been vaccinated against smallpox) whilst on passage to Fremantle. He in turn contracted smallpox before arrival at Fremantle and he died of the disease at the Woodman Point Quarantine Station on 1st April 1943 (for information, due to wartime security, all records stated that all the crew members died from typhoid, but it was definitely smallpox). Waters and the other deceased crewmen were all cremated and their ashes buried at the Quarantine Station.

After months of researching this incident, Mr Seubert made contact with Chief Officer Water’s niece, Ms Janet Napolitano and she sadly advised that the family were under the impression that Mr Waters had died in the Pacific and they had no knowledge of Woodman Point whatsoever – they all assumed he had gone to war and never came back.

The Pacific Ocean is one very wide expanse of ocean. So wide that two lone ships should have no trouble disappearing from prying eyes.

Two ships. Two captains. Each one given command of a merchant ship with some teeth; otherwise known as an armed merchant cruiser. Neither Captain is naive enough to think that even the two ships combined would do much against a purpose built enemy warship. Hunters of merchant shipping is what they were…. Anything else and they would be doomed.

The commencement of hostilities one week ago had found them deep in the South Pacific… a very, very long way from their northern homes. A long way from home and deep inside enemy waters.

Orders: Return to the Home Islands by best speed. Avoid exposure to enemy. Destroy enemy shipping encountered.

For a week now the two ships had been cruising steadily westwards and now the time had come to sail north. The plan was to skirt the islands of Fiji, avoid the enemy and eventually arrive at Truk.

The calm telegraphing of masts sighted on the horizon meant that avoiding the enemy had become distinctly untenable. Within a short time confirmation that the masts belonged to merchant ships… enemy merchant ships… no Japanese surface ships where to be found this far from Japan. It soon became evidence that there were no escorting warships. Cargo ships only; no shepherd to protect them. Now for the game of cat and mouse… could the two Japanese ships capitalize on their merchantman heritage, play on their innocent looks long enough, and eat up the distance to close the range. Aikoku Maru trailing astern would have a hard time making up the distance but Hokoku Maru was steaming with purpose and the enemy ships were dallying instead of turning and running.

Before long the closest ships were in range. Down came the covers and the muzzles of her 5.5 inch guns were exposed; already aimed and primed to fire. Once the first salvo had been fired a nasty reality dawned on the surprised American ships. They scattered. Hokoku Maru now had a job to land shells on as many of those ships as was possible. Soon the hits began to register. Explosions could be seen and angry red yellow flames took hold on a couple of the ships. The action went quickly; so quickly that in hardly any time at all the forward magazines had become satisfyingly empty. The point of breaking off action had arrived. Time to break off and slink away before the hunter became the hunted.

There was still such a long way to go and Truk was such a long way off. To the west lay ANZAC warships. Not too far away French warships were likely…. As for the Americans… well they could be anywhere.

14 December 1941

PHILIPPINES

With darker nights the little boats try their hand near Iba. 8 MTB make a run for the Philippine beaches and run into Naka and her destroyers. Torpedoes lash the water but no hits. DDs Harusame and Yudachi are each hit by 1 shell whilst MTB 8 is sunk from 2 shells.

Clark Field is bombed - 19 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 29 runway hits.

16 Zero sweep Manila against 2 P-35A and 9 Warhawk. 2 Warhawk reported destroyed.

Near San Fernando 2 B-17 make an unsuccessful attack on DD Hatakaze. The 4 Zero on CAP are mere nuisance value.

HOME ISLANDS

SS Sargo is trying the defences at Kobe and is struck by a mine.

The Americans must have orders to be very aggressive with their submarines. SS Swordfish make a daylight attack near Yokohama/Yokosuka. She surfaces and duels with xAK Toyotu Maru. The Maru takes 8 shell hits and scores 3 hits on the attacking submarine. Damage is not too bad with fires at 13. Disband straight away to fight those fires and I’ll take that result any day.

PACIFIC

As previously mentioned AMCs Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru were trying to sneak home until they met an unexpected gift near Kandavu Island. 7 unescorted xAKs and the action is on. It appears that it was something of a chase as Hokoku Maru only depleted her forward magazines. At the end of the action the following was reported.

xAK Steel Mariner
xAK Steel Scientist, Shell hits 5, heavy fires
xAK Steel Worker, Shell hits 1
xAK Lewis Luckenbach, Shell hits 13, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Lillian Luckenbach, Shell hits 2
xAK Asphalion, Shell hits 6, heavy fires
xAK Rona, Shell hits 2

Maximum visibility in Partly Cloudy Conditions: 28,000 yards
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 20,000 yards
Japanese open fire on surprised Allied ships at 10,000 yards

Then when everything has settled they manage to find more ships but already alerted this lot manage to flee before the Japanese can find the range.

Allied Ships
xAK Iron Baron
xAK Iron Chieftan
xAK Iron Knight
xAK Evi Livanos
xAK Theofano Livanos

It would be very good to see these two make it home… especially as Hokoku Maru now has daytime crew rating of 60! The location of these two Allied convoys confirms that Todd is using a line due east of Sydney to run his ships. I shall have to send some subs here and see if Todd sticks to this route or changes it.

Aitape is occupied by the Japanese

Hollandia is captured.

Manus is captured.

Wewak is captured.

MALAYA/DEI

28 Oscar sweep Georgetown against 6 Buffalo. 1 Buffalo reported downed.

8th Indian Brigade, near Kota Bharu, is bombed – 90 casualties.

Near Kota Bharu 3 Blenheim IF escorted by 10 Buffalo I meet 1 Zero and 8 Oscar. 1 Blenheim is destroyed and the attack is broken up.

Near Muntok 4 Nell locate AMC Kanimbla and score 2 torpedo hits. 45 casualties reported and this confirms that enemy forces have been sneaking off the Malay peninsula.

At Kuantan, 22nd Indian Brigade is bombed by Carrier Div 5 aircraft. 1 Val lost for 7 casualties.

CHINA

Wuchow is bombed – 5 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 7 runway hits.

Hong Kong is bombed – 14 airbase hits, 4 airbase supply hits and 24 runway hits.

48th Chinese Corps, near Hwainan, is bombed – 9 casualties.

3rd New Chinese Corps, near Nanchang, is bombed – 13 casualties.

3rd Prov Chinese Corps, at Kweisui, is bombed – 15 casualties.

Japanese bombardment attack at Hong Kong causes 58 Allied casualties.

Japanese deliberate attack at Kweiteh obtains 32-1 odds and the base is captured. 36 Japanese casualties to 1432 Allied casualties.

Japanese bombardment at Paotow causes 9 casualties.

Japanese bombardment at Kweisui causes no casualties. No attacks from the Chinese at these two locations. I think they have been sent here to be a nuisance.

Near Hwainan Japanese deliberate attack achieves 1-2 odds and results in 119 Japanese casualties and 464 Allied casualties.

15 December 1941

HOME ISLANDS

SS Sargo is still floundering around at Kobe. So much so that she hits another mine. She turns up on the sunk ships list… hopefully this is true. If she is not done for it is a long voyage to safety for a Submarine with 2 mine strikes.

PHILIPPINES

Nagara and her brood of destroyers have their work cut out for them east of the Philippines.

Night time combat.
xAKL Dos Hermanos, Shell hits 5, and is sunk
xAKL Elcano, Shell hits 12, and is sunk
xAKL Sarangami, Shell hits 6, and is sunk

Night time combat – round two
TK Gertrude Kellogg, Shell hits 10, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Day time combat – round three
AV Langley, Shell hits 25, and is sunk

Day time combat – round four
xAP President Madison, Shell hits 42, and is sunk

This surface combat task force has been very busy since the beginning. 6 more ships to add to their list of easy victories.

Clark Field is bombed – 10 airbase hits, 6 airbase hits and 79 runway hits.

8 Zero sweep Manila and meet 7 Warhawk with 1 Warhawk destroyed.

Lingayen is occupied by the Japanese.

PACIFIC

SS I-10 provides a postscript to the armed merchant cruiser action from the day before. Near Late Island she finds xAK Barwon and scores 1 torpedo with reports of heavy damage.

CHINA

At Wenchow Yamashiro and Fuso get in some bombardment practice - 12 casualties.

Wuchow is bombed – 6 airbase hits, 6 airbase supply hits and 42 runway hits.

Hong Kong is bombed – 1 Walrus II destroyed, 7 airbase hits, 3 airbase supply hits and 34 runway hits.

Deliberate Japanese attack at Hwainan achieves 2-1 odds and the Chinese retreat. 203 Japanese casualties to 1306 Allied casualties (64 squads and 55 non-combat squads destroyed)

Bombardment attack at Hong Kong – 49 Allied casualties.

Japanese forces continue their bombardments at Paotow and Kweisui for no observed effect.

MALAYA/DEI

Sweep of Georgetown by 28 Ki-43-Ib Oscar against 5 Buffalo I. I Buffalo destroyed.

Near Billiton Miss Nell finds the struggling AMC Kanimbla. 2 more fish are added to the 2 from the day before and she sinks taking with her:

597 casualties reported
Squads: 19 destroyed, 30 disabled
Non Combat: 13 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 8 (6 destroyed, 2 disabled)

78th Chinese Corps, near Nanchang, is bombed – 22 casualties.

Alor Star is bombed – 1 Blenheim I destroyed on the ground, 6 airbase hits and 20 runway hits.

6 Blenheim IV plus 3 Vildebeest III escorted by 6 Buffalo I attempt to penetrate the CAP of 6 Claude and 10 Zero at Mersing. 1 Blenheim, 1 Vildebeest and 2 Buffalo reported destroyed. A second raid of 2 Vildebeest and 3 Buffalo run into CAP of 3 Claude and 6 Zero – 1 Vildebeest and 1 Buffalo destroyed. They are brave these Allied airmen… 6 Blenheim IV try to slip past 3 Claude and 4 Zero – 1 Blenheim destroyed.

22nd Indian Brigade, near Kuantan, is bombed – 5 casualties. I had forgot to turn off Carrier Div 5 orders to perform ground attacks.

Mersing expands airfield to size 1. I can now start bombing Johore Bharu and Carrier Div 5 can look forward to a break. Kota Bharu expands fortifications to size 2. Time to make sure those forts progress no further.

The last turn revealed a couple of merchant ships heading southwest from the west coast of the USA. They were located by a bunch of Glen Boats moving towards the USA. A little bit of tinkering with their patrol zones and hopefully some I Boat Commanders should see some big fat merchantmen through their scopes. It should happen if the ships keep to their heading and as they appear to have drawn a direct heading from the southern ports. I expect the only reason for them to change is if Todd picks up on the sighting report and errs on the side of caution. The green hex outlines represent the positions I want the subs to take up… hopefully a big enough patrol zone to at least catch any minor course alteration.

The latest convoy sighting by the I-Boats coupled with the Armed Cruiser Action has given me good reports on what I expect is Todd’s preferred US to Oz convoy route. It seems that, for the time being at least, Todd is using the most direct route and simply going direct. This is supported by an action during our last GC when KB fell upon an eastbound convoy from Sydney.

If my submarines do score against this latest convoy Todd should be awake to Japanese interest in his backwaters and change accordingly. If the subs do intercept I will be interested to see if this convoy has any escorts…. a good result should encourage Todd to spread his escort assets around.

In my last game I failed to make any lasting impact on the back road convoy routes. The last couple of turns has given me a good foundation so let’s see if I can capitalize on this intel information.

16 December 1941

PHILIPPINES

Near Laoag SS S-36 launches 2 torpedoes at SS I-123 and misses.

6 Zero sweep Manila against 1 P-35A and 1 P-40B Warhawk… both planes reported destroyed.

Near Polillo 1 B-17 makes a lone run against the carrier TF protecting incoming invasions forces. 10 Claude and 14 Zero make life tough and the bomber is reported as shot down.

Clark Field is bombed – 8 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits, 38 runway hits.

CHINA

Wuchow is bombed – 4 airbase hit, 8 airbase supply hits and 39 runway hits.

Hong Kong is bombed – 1 Betty lost to flak – 1 airbase supply hit, 9 runway hits.

78th Chinese Corps, near Nanchang, is bombed – 4 casualties.

Near Nanchang 39th Division engages in a shock attack against 78th Chinese Corps and 30th Group Army. Assault odds of 4-1 achieved with 604 Japanese casualties (1 squad destroyed) and 2527 Chinese casualties (85 squads and 31 non-combat squads destroyed). The Chinese retreat.

Japanese bombardment attack at Hong Kong – 41 Allied casualties.

Japanese bombardment attack at Kweisui – 8 Chinese casualties. All the component units of 26th Division have arrived. We shall rebuild the division and order an assault next for tomorrow.

MALAYA/DEI

Alor Star is bombed – 4 airbase supply hits, 16 runway hits.

At Singkawang 6 Blenheim IV brush aside the 6 Oscar CAP and make unsuccessful attacks on Haguro.

Carrier Div 5 has left a day earlier than I had planned…. Bad orders checking going on. The fleets offshore of Malaya have precious little air cover available to them. Near Terempa 6 Blenheim IV escorted by 2 Buffalo I brush past 1 Alf and 3 Pete on CAP. Takao and Kongo are in their sights but all bombs miss. In the afternoon 7 Blenheim I come a visiting. 1 lone Pete to hinder them and of course that will not do it. They aim at Kongo and DD Shiratsuyu and only achieve a report of 1 bomber destroyed by flak. 2 Hudson I also try their luck with the sky to themselves. They target Kongo without effect.

Japanese bombardment attack at Johore Bahru. The following Allied units are located behind level 2 forts.

2nd Argylls Battalion started out at Tenuloh 24 AV
5/14th Punjab Battalion started out at Georgetown 19 AV
3/16th Punjab Battalion started out at Malacca 28 AV
6th Indian Brigade started out at Alor Star 105 AV
15th Indian Brigade started out at Alor Star 104 AV
5/2nd Punjab Battalion started out at Malacca 28 AV
2/215th Bty 80th AT Gun Regiment started at Taiping
30 Battery/3 HAA started out at Mersing
III Indian Corps started out at Johore Bahru
111th RAF Base Force started out at Johore Bahru 9 AV
272/273rd Bty 80th AT Gun Regiment-started at Malacca

Wow… The Allies sure did pull out of Malaya quickly. Singapore has 29 units lurking there. The combat result at Johore Bahru reports a total of 354 AV defending which accounts for these units improving on their starting AV value of 308 in the last 10 days. I intend keeping the forts here down to level 2 and really have to start a proper aerial bombing campaign to keep the forts at Singers from growing any larger. 18th Division is about to come ashore this turn. The Imperial Guards will start boarding at Singora this turn for a quick sea run to Mersing… or even Johore if it falls quickly. 4th Division has just past Cam Ranh Bay on the way to Mersing. So within the week we should have 4 Divisions ready to move in unison on the approaches to Singapore. This turn 5th Division will mount a deliberate assault on the Johore Bahru forces as a preliminary. This one division has greater AV and superior experience and morale ratings than the defenders so results should be good even with the level 2 forts in place…. That is assuming that I don’t get caught by a sudden influx of defenders from Singapore!

And as for the submarine trap in the Pacific… not a thing happened. Todd was awake to the pitfall or the convoy sailed on by without mishap.

17 December 1941

PHILIPPINES

Near Dadjangas Nagara and her destroyers locate a bunch of PT boats that had been spotted lurking in the area the day before. An invasion task force is about to land at Davao and stopping these venomous wasps is a priority. 0% moonlight. 6 PTs are located and eventually PT-41 is hit by 3 shells and is sunk. DD Suzukaze is hit twice by the small calibre weapons on these little boats.

The day before DD Sagiri was ordered to break off from the invasion TF with specific orders to be look out for torpedo boats. The remaining 5 boats from the Nagara action run straight into the waiting Sagiri; cloaked in darkness. The action is swift and at the end of it Sagiri has accounted for PTs 32, 33, 34 and 35. PT-31 is the sole survivor and during the day she manages to locate the invasion TF but both TFs attempt to withdraw and subsequently each side evades the other.

Troops come ashore at Davao.

Troops come ashore at Atimonan.

13 Zero sweep Manila and find it empty of fighter cover.

Clark Field is bombed – 6 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 29 runway hits. The airfield is now 100% damaged.

3 B-17D make an attack on the mini carrier TF near Tuguegarao. 1 B-17 is reported shot down and the other two take aim at Nagato without effect.

MALAYA/DEI

Troops come ashore at Kuching. 15 coastal guns fire 6”Mk V/VII shells in defence and home in on xAK Iwaki Maru. She is hit by 3 shells and by the end of the day is at a precarious 68 28(12) 15(3) 30. I expect to lose her to the fires but will do what I can to save her. 2 reports come in of temporary flotation repairs failing. xAK Midori Maru is hit by 1 shell and only suffers 6 0 0 1 in damage.

SS I-164 attacks CM Gouden Leeuw near Bandjermasin. The Dutch ship sinks from 1 torpedo hit.

At Mersing 2 Vildebeest III and 3 Hudson I escorted by 4 Buffalo I attempt to break through to the follow-up convoys disgorging troops and supply. 5 Zero and 4 Oscar are on CAP and shot down 1 Buffalo and 1 Vildebeest. xAK Kenyo Maru is missed by the bombers that make it through. A second raid by 6 Blenheim IV is repulsed. A third raid by 3 Blenheim IF is no more successful. During the afternoon another 5 Blenheim and 3 Hudson make it past the CAP and drop bombs without hitting a single ship.

Alor Star is bombed – 1 airbase hit and 6 runway hits.

Near Terempa 4 Blenheim I make an attack on a homeward bound transport convoy during severe storms. xAK Nissyu Maru is the target and is missed.

3 Wirraway bomb 5th Division at Johore Bahru – no loses reported.

Near Billiton 16 Nell locate and sink TK Pinna with 2 torpedo hits during moderate rain.

2 Blenheim IF attempt an attack at Kota Bharu and break off the attack when confronted by the CAP.

Deliberate attack at Johore Bahru reduces forts to 1 and achieves odds of 1-1 by a mere 3 adjusted assault points (210 to 207). The defenders received a positive bonus for terrain and forts but preparation and experience are against them. Japanese casualties were 313 to Allied 483. We shall rest and bombard and await 18th Division to join 5th Division.

Troops are ashore at Kuching.

Malacca is occupied by the Japanese.

CHINA

Wuchow is bombed – 9 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hit and 16 runway hits.

At Hong Kong 6 Walrus II make an attack on the besieging Japanese forces. CAP knocks down 1 of these planes.

Deliberate attack at Wuchow at 1-2 odds results in 750 Japanese casualties to 243 Allied casualties.

Deliberate attack at Hong Kong at 1-2 odds reduces forts to 1 and results in 571 Japanese casualties to 439 Allied casualties.

Deliberate attack at Kweisui at 8-1 odds results in 241 Japanese casualties to 1750 Chinese casualties and 3rd Prov Chinese Corps retreats. 26th Division will move onto Paotow to clear out the Chinese blocking the mountain pass.

LT Sugiyama M. of Yamada Det S-1/C is credited with kill number 4 and 5 to become ace number 2.

18 December 1941

PHILIPPINES

Near Davao DD Sagiri and PT-31 happen upon each other in the inky blackness of a moonless night. At 1000 yards Sugioka, Koushichi crosses the T but after some haphazard shooting from both sides the action is broken off and the PT lives for another day.

Near Dadjangas SS S-38 lauches 2 torpedoes at DD Yukikaze in the Nagara group. They miss and so does the counter attack.

Near Laoag SS S-36 launches 2 torpedoes at DD Murasame in the Naka group. Another action of misses from both sides.

Sweep of Manila by 13 Zero finds 1 P-35A which avoids the nimble Japanese fighter.

KB is back in action and despatches xAKL Sagoland, near Donggala, with 6 bombs.

Near Bataan AM Tanager escapes the attention of 9 Betty whilst 9 other Betty attempt to put a stop to an escape run being made by xAKLs Corregidor and Paz near San Jose. They miss with their bombs… perhaps KB will make amends tomorrow.

29 Nell bomb Manila and apart from 3 airbase hits, 4 airbase supply hits and 29 runway hits the following hits are recorded on shipping still in the harbour. I am pleased to see 3 submarines on the list.

SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1
AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage

At Atimonan 2 B-17D turn up and find 12 Zero awaiting. 1 of the bombers is claimed as destroyed.

Davao is captured after a deliberate attack achieves 60-1 odds. 27 Japanese casualties to 232 Allied casuatlies. 2 P-40B Warhawk are reported destroyed.

Atimonan is captured.

B5N2 Kate from Kaga-3 has spotted PT-31 at 74,91. PT-31 is reported HIT. D3A1 Val from Hiryu-2 has spotted PT-31 at 74,91. PT-31 is reported HIT. I suspect that this plucky survivor may not really be a goner just yet… let’s see if she turns up some place else.

B5N2 Kate from Akagi-3 has spotted xAKL Palawan at 71,92. B5N2 Kate from Akagi-3 has spotted xAKL Palawan at 71,92. xAKL Palawan is reported HIT. D3A1 Val from Soryu-2 has spotted xAKL Palawan at 71,92. xAKL Palawan is reported HIT. Everyone seems to be claiming a hit!

MALAYA/DEI

Stung into action after Iwaki Maru was roughly handled Nachi and Myoko bombard Kuching – 61 casualties, 1 runway hit, 1 port hit and 1 port fuel hit.

The bombers arrive again at Mersing. 6 Blenheim IV and 3 Hudson I escorted by 2 Buffalo I take on 14 Oscar and 1 Alf. After the destruction of 1 Hudson the raid is abandoned. A second raid by 8 unescorted Blenheim I is also rebuffed after 1 bomber is splashed. During the afternoon Blenheim I x 3 mix with Oscar and 2 bombers are shot down.

At Johore Bahru 23 Sally bomb the Allied positions. 2 Buffalo are present and shot down 1 Sally. 4 casualties reported alongside 4 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit and 19 runway hits. 22 Sally then add another 3 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 13 runway hits. 3 Wirraway also make a run at the Japanese troops. During the afternoon 18 Betty turn up, as do 3 Buffalo. 1 Betty is lost.

3 Blenheim IV attack Singkawang. 5 Oscar on patrol keep them at bay.

Japanese bombardment at Johore Bahru causes 32 Allied casualties.

Japanese deliberate attack at Kuching achieves 8-1 odds and the base is captured. 253 Japanese casualties to 874 Allied casualties.

Pumps having difficulty controlling flooding aboard xAK Iwaki Maru. Pumps fail aboard xAK Iwaki Maru, flooding increases... Pumps fail aboard xAK Iwaki Maru, flooding increases... Pumps fail aboard xAK Iwaki Maru, flooding increases...

Surviving Damage Control Parties abandon xAK Iwaki Maru. It appears that flooding and not fires would be the nemesis of Iwaki Maru. At the end of the day she slipped under the water as the flag of the rising sun was raised at the newly acquired base of Kuching.

CHINA

Wuchow is bombed – 9 airbase hits, 4 airbase supply hits and 37 runway hits.

Hong Kong is bombed – 1 Betty lost to flak, 5 casualties, 1 airbase hit, 3 airbase supply hits and 5 runway hits.

72nd Chinese Corps, near Wuchang, is bombed.

3rd New Chinese Corps, near Pingsiang, is bombed – 6 casualties.

8th New Chinese Corps, near Chengchow, is bombed – 85 casualties.

78th Chinese Corps, near Wuchang, is bombed.

4 Walrus II pay another visit to the Japanese forces at Hong Kong. 3 Nate and 3 Tojo are on hand to destroy another one of these unexpected meddlers.

Japanese bombardment attack at Hong Kong cause 14 casualties.

Just because I like her name... here is Sagiri.

19 December 1941

Tacoma expands port to size 6.

CHINA

Yamashiro and Fuso bombard Wenchow – 113 casualties + 1 light industry hit, 4 airbase hits, 1 airbase supply hit, 12 runway hits, 8 port hits and 1 port supply hit.

Wuchow is bombed – 2 airbase hits, 3 airbase supply hits and 21 runway hits.

Hong Kong is bombed – 1 Betty lost to flak, 3 airbase hits, 7 runway hits.

30th Group Army, near Wuchang, is bombed – 10 casualties.

3rd New Chinese Corps, at 82,55 near Pingsiang, is bombed.

8th New Chinese Corps, at 87,45 near Chengchow, is bombed – 33 casualties.

78th Chinese Corps, at 83,53 near Wuchang, is bombed.

3 Walrus II attempt to bomb the ground troops at Hong Kong. 3 Nate and 1 Tojo, on hand, and the raid is aborted after 1 Walrus is shot down.

At 85,47 near Sinyang 9th Armored Car Co and 1st Ind.Mixed Brigade achieve 16-1 odds over 2nd Group Army (476 casualties) and the Chinese vacate the forest hex.
Japanese bombardment at Wuchow causes 35 Japanese casualties.

Japanese bombardment at Hong Kong causes 37 Allied casualties.

Canton expands fortifications to size 3.

PHILIPPINES

Near Iba Maya, Ashigara, CL Kuma and destroyers Asakze and Matsukaze locate 7 MTB. At the end of the action MTB 7, 12 and 27 are nothing more than splinters. Maya and company then fall upon 4 more MTB and sink MTB 11 and MTB 26. A short time later MTB 9 and 10 are hunted down and also sunk.

AM Bittern, near Bataan, is set upon by 9 Betty. The bombers report heavy fires and heavy damage.

Morning sweep at Manila comes up blank.

Near Baybay xAK Governor Wright is sunk by 3 torpedo hits from carrier aircraft.

Manila is bombed – 1 Warhawk destroyed on the ground, 2 airbase hits, 1 port supply hit and 16 runway hits.

Naga is occupied by the Japanese.

Vigan expands airfield to size 3.

MALAYA/DEI

Johore Bahru is bombed – 3 Sally lost to the 9 Buffalo awaiting – 8 ground casualties, 3 airbase hits and 9 runway hits.

3 Blenheim I make an attack on a returning transport convoy at 58,79 near Groot Natoena. They score a 250lb bomb hit on xAK Taibun Maru… a fire starts. It is a lethal fire and Taibun Maru is no more.

At Mersing 7 assorted Blenheim escorted by 7 Buffalo break through the CAP of 2 Zero and 9 Oscar. They target CL Sendai and xAP Ural Maru but miss.

Troops are ashore at Miri.

Japanese bombardment at Johore Bahru causes 6 Allied casualties.

PACIFIC

SS I-10 score two torpedo hits on CA Achilles near Suva. Achilles is reported to be on fire and suffering heavy damage. I expect she will be lost. New Zealand hearts will be heavy.

At 215,76, near San Francisco, SS I-26 locates at convoy containing;

DD Cushing
AVP Thrush
TK H. M. Storey
TK Pat Doheny
TK Mobilfuel
xAK Agwimonte
DD Preston
DD Smith
DD Perkins

DD Cushing is lined up in the sights and 1 of 2 torpedoes scores – on fire and heavy damage reported. The escort fails to locate the sub. Not too much to hope for that this destroyer has been removed from the list although surely the tankers would have been the target of choice. The sunk ships register list DD Hughes as sunk in this location from an unknown cause – mistaken identity perhaps.

The location of the convoy heading out from San Francisco has potential. Following on from my prior interest in where Todd would be running his convoys I have all these subs in the general area. Here is where they currently lie. Will the convoy continue on minus 1 destroyer?

20 December 1941

CHINA

Wuchow is bombed – 5 airbase supply hits, 2 airbase hits and 18 runway hits.

Hong Kong is bombed – 7 airbase hits and 12 runway hits.

78th and 72nd Chinese Corps, at 83,53 near Wuchang is bombed.

Deliberate attack at Hong Kong achieves Ground combat at Hong Kong achieves 1-1 odds and reduces forts to 0. 246 Japanese casualties to 569 Allied casualties (51 squads destroyed).

Japanese forces continue to bombard Allied forces at Wuchow and Paotow.

Kwangchowan is occupied by the Japanese.

PHILLIPINES

Davao is bombed by 4 B-17D – 1 airbase supply hit and 7 runway hits.

Near Ternate 22 Kate and 15 Val jump on CM Prins van Oranje and sink her with 3 bombs hits. I think the enemy has or is attempting to mine some of my targets in this area. Minesweepers are ordered in from Babeldaob.
Taiyuan expands fortifications to size 3.

San Fernando expands fortifications to size 2.

MALAYA/DEI

2 Zero and 12 Oscar repulse an attack at Mersing by 3 Blenheim I.

Near Georgetown 8 Betty sink AMC Manoora with 3 torpedo hits. 1115 casualties with 60 squads, 1 non-combat squad, 7 engineer squads, 30 guns and 1 vehicle destroyed. Troops fleeing Singapore?

Near Tandjoengbalai 8 Betty sink xAK Zannis Cambanis – 9 casualties reported.

5 Blenheim IV are rebuffed from their attempt to attack a TF near Serasan by 1 Oscar.

Deliberate attack at Alor Star achieves 12-1 odds and the base is captured. 1 Blenheim I destroyed on the ground. 10 Japanese casualties to 209 Allied casualties and 109th RAF Base Force retreats.

Deliberate attack at Johore Bahru achieves 3-1 odds and forts are reduced to 0 and the base is captured! 306 Japanese casualties (1 combat squad destroyed) to 4188 Allied casualties (115 combat squads, 272 non combat, 48 engineers, 41 guns and 70 vehicles are destroyed). 7 Allied units retreat and 2 others are destroyed.

Deliberate attack at Miri achieves 39-1 odds and the base is captured. 14 Japanese casualties to 73 Allied casualties and 100th RN Base Force is destroyed. Oil and Refinery are both at (151) x 149.

64th Sentai Det at Singora converting from Nate to Ki-43-Ic Oscar.

Pilot Suganami, M. is reported as having been found. Nice… he is a Soryu pilot with 84 experience and 1 kill to his credit. A good pilot to have returned.

AMC Kiyosumi Maru arrives at Osaka/Kyoto.

The convoy situation offshore from the west coast continues to develop. 2 convoys now and both still heading on a southwest bearing.

21 December 1941

PACIFIC

SS I-5 locates a convoy but can’t take advantage and no attack. The following ships are reported though.

AVP Pelican
TK Connecticut
TK California Standard
TK Alfred Clegg
xAK Alcoa Prospector
xAK Shooting Star
DD Preston
DD Smith
DD Perkins

SS I-3 also finds a convoy but like I-5 can’t get orchestrate an attack. These ships she identifies.

AS Fulton
AVD Ballard
AO Kaskaskia
AK Arcturus
xAP Santa Inez
xAK Examiner
DD Humphreys
DD Brooks

PHILIPPINES

Near Vigan S-36 fires off 2 torpedoes at DD Inazuma and misses. She dives well below the ability of the destroyers to touch her.

Near Manila 9 Betty try their hand at attacking 3 PT Boats. No success and they lose one of their number to a lone P-35A on patrol.

21 Nell and 18 Betty bomb Manila and score the following on shipping still stuck there. 1 Nell lost to flak.

SS Sealion, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk
DD Peary, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
DD John D. Ford, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
SS Seadragon, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
SS Snapper, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAP Rochambeau, Bomb hits 1
xAK Si Kiang, Bomb hits 1, on fire
SS S-41, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
SS Permit, Bomb hits 1

Airbase hits 3, Airbase supply hits 1, Runway hits 17, Port hits 4.

SS-36 then launches 2 torpedos against DD Minegumo and misses and again escapes. Naka’s destroyers have a go at SS-36 and miss.

Near Davao at 79,92 146th Infantry Regiment (11 casualties) achieves 124-1 odds over 1st /101st PA Battalion (241 casualties) and this unit is destroyed.
Lucena is occupied by the Japanese

CHINA

Wuchow is bombed – 8 airbase hits, 3 airbase supply hits and 32 runway hits.

86th and 70th Chinese Corps, at Pucheng, is bombed – 7 casualties.

Japanese bombardment at Changsha causes 5 Japanese casualties and 9 Allied casualties.

Japanese forces at Wenchow commencement bombardment.

Japanese bombardment at Wuchow causes 5 Allied casualties.

Japanese deliberate attack at Tsiaotso achieves 1-2 odds with 59 Japanese casualties and 64 Chinese casualties.

Japanese bombardment at Hong Kong causes 12 Allied casualties.

MALAY/DEI

3 Blenheim I attack at Mersing and lose 1 to 2 Zero and 14 Oscar on CAP.

Near Tandjoengpinang 11 Nell brush past 1 Buffalo I and score 3 torpedo hits on xAK Silverbeech (8 casualties – 1 engineer squad destroyed) and the ship sinks.

15 Sally escorted by 3 Oscar bomb Kuantan for the loss of 1 Sally to flak and 1 Blenheim I destroyed on the ground, 6 casualties, 3 airbase hits, 3 airbase supply hits and 26 runway hits. 31 Sally follow up and cause a further 2 airbase hits, 2 airbase supply hits and 23 runway hits.

At Kota Bharu 5 Oscar deter 3 Blenheim I.

At Mersing 4 Blenheim I escorted by 7 Buffalo I get past 2 Zero and 14 Oscar on CAP after losing 2 Buffalo. Haguro is attacked but no hits scored.

At Mersing 3 Wirraway sneak past 1 Zero and 4 Oscar to attack 5th Division.

PO2 Kurihara M. of Yamada Det S-1/B is credited with kill number 5 and attains ace status!!

Those 2 convoys managed to pass on by although one is t still in the thick of it with submarines. 2 subs did manage to get a look asome of the make-up of both convoys. It seems that we have a 14 knot convoy and an 18 knot convoy. That should equate to the 14 knot convoy moving at about 7 hexes a day and the 18 knot at about 9 hexes a day. I have a mix of subs in the area… J 1s, 2s and 3s plus A1 with the bulk of the 11 subs being B1/B2 class. The subs should be able to cover either 10 or 8 hexes at mission speed. The subs should from here be in a good position to maintain contact with the 14 knot convoy and may catch up to the faster convoy. I’ll work on the theory that these two convoys are long haul to Australia. They may of course execute a snappy turn soon and head off to Pearl Harbour in which case I will probably loose contact with them. If they maintain course it should be an interesting chase. Todd is still mystified why there are no subs lurking around Pearl. About half are here and most of the rest went west to create a picket line should his carriers move into the central Pacific while KB is busy. A couple have moved north near Dutch Harbour and the midgets are redeploying.

Here is the current situation in Malaya.