Matrix Games Forums

10 Jan 42

The British have had two Task Forces based around the battleships Prince of Wales and Revenge and the light carrier Hermes waiting off the north end of Sumatra for most of a week now. Since it no longer appears that the IJN carriers will be transiting the Malacca Strait they are being ordered to bombard Tavoy in an attempt to relieve pressure on Rangoon. This is a risky move considering the amount of aircraft the enemy has proven he has in the area but the situation in Burma/Malaya is becoming desparate. Godspeed.

The Australian government has given permission for their 3rd Brigade to be moved out of country. They are now boarding transports for Lunga on the island of Guadalcanal.

We have lost contact with one of the three known enemy carrier groups. A second group has been spotted heading east from the South China Sea towards the northern Philippines. The third group continues their slow rotation around Borneo and are now in the northern Celebes Sea. As the carriers appear to be leaving the area, freighters are once again leaving Darwin for ports in the DEI to pick up oil and other raw materials. Also some of the subs currently in the channels of the Philippines have been ordered to the Sulu Sea. They may be able to get a torpedo shot in on one of the carriers.

The Chinese are apparently feeling flush with their successes over the last month. They report three of their corps under the command of the 3rd War Area are moving from Nanning towards Pakhoi. Also, as further forces have arrived in Hanoi, 7th Group Army with three more corps is moving from there on Haiphong. Even if they cannot capture them with direct assaults they may be able to lay siege, if IJN shipping can be kept busy elsewhere or sunk.

And Intelligence was able to confirm that the 11th NLF has retreated from Cagayan towards Butuan. The 101st Philippine division is unfortunately not in condition to pursue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it appears the Japanese have stolen a play from us. The convoy unloading at Rabaul was attacked overnight by Japanese surface elements. All they saw were a few destroyers before they fled under cover of darkness. No ships were lost but three were hit, igniting fires onboard two of them. The enemy task force then proceeded to shell Rabaul itself. From the damage and casualties it looks like a couple of battleships were involved.

Our own shore bombardment at Menado was ineffective.

Sub activity picked up today. Allied subs fired on but missed enemy shipping near Singapore, Wenchow and Wake. The Wake sighting was a troop transport, which worries me since we can't determine if it was picking up or dropping off. The Permit was able to hit a freighter outside Camrahn Bay, leaving it on fire and low in the water.

Dutch and British pilots kept up operations in Malaya and the Malacca Strait. Hudsons bombed enemy troops attacking Singapore. Vildebeests again followed up on friendly submarine attacks in the waters nearby, torpedoing a freighter and setting it on fire. In the Strait itself a transport was also set ablaze by an airborne torpedo hit. Vildebeests and Blenheims again visited Mersing but were apparently unable to score hits today. A separate strike by Blenheims in the Strait was able able to score a bomb hit on a transport, possibly the same one torpedoed earlier. Another transport was torpedoed as it approached Mersing. A couple of other attacks in the region were unsuccessful.

Brunei based Martins again suffered from heavy AAA fire when they attacked a cruiser in the South China Sea. The unit is being stood down for a while for repairs to their aircraft.

Enemy air activity was relatively light today. They attempted to follow up their night-time attack on the Rabaul reinforcement convoy with bombings by Betty bombers but the ships were able to avoid being hit. The remaining troops of 7th Brigade will have to unload at Gasmata and march overland. The one active enemy carrier force attacked Tarakan again, damaging the airbase there. An air raid was launched on the defenders at Clark Field. The Zero fighters shot down much of the defending CAP, clearing the way for the Bettys to do maximum damage. Rangoon and Akyab were spared today, probably due to the poor weather conditions over both.

The mission against Tavoy ended almost before it began. Escorting Zeros tore thru the Hermes' Sea Gladiators like wet tissue paper. Only heavy AAA fire from the CLAAs and desparate evasive maneuvers prevented the Bettys from scoring any bomb hits. The Royal Navy ships are already steaming for Ceylon.

The Mixed Force reached Shortlands but was unable to find the enemy transports because of heavy weather. They will restock with as much of the supplies and fuel there as they can grab and shell the enemy troops before falling back to Gasmata themselves.

The attacks on Clark Field and Singapore eased today, but artillery fire and light harrassing attacks continue at both locations. The Aussies used the break to slip thru enemy lines into Singapore. Contact was maintained with enemy forces at Rabaul and Menado.

More reports to follow.

(Not a single comment on the TV show "Grigsby's Grunts"? Darn, I thought it was worth at least one giggle.)


11 Jan 42

Sub activity today was concentrated in the waters around Singapore, with one exception. The Dutch KXV tried but failed to hit an escorted tanker outside Saigon. The Truant was able to hit a freighter and reports ground troops of some sort on board. Later in the day she was able to torpedo another freighter, starting a fire before being forced to evade an escorting destroyer. There were several spotting reports by other subs, but no further attacks.

Down near Gili Gili, a Japanese sub hit one of the two minesweepers on ASW patrol. The other ship's captain is claiming multiple hits on the sub in return. Hopefully the damaged ship will be able to make the 50 miles to Gili Gili.

I am becoming worried about enemy intelligence being far too good. Bataan was visited overnight by a large cruiser and destroyer force. The defending PT Boats were caught totally by surprise and two of the four were sunk without any of them firing a shot. This was not enough of a warning for the freighter Taurus, which was unable to evade in time and also sunk. Fortunately she had unloaded most of her cargo before being lost. The enemy then proceeded to bombard Bataan itself. The defending coastal guns did better, with reports of five destroyers and a heavy cruiser set on fire and hits on several other ships.

Our own attempts at bombardment did not fair much better. The cruiser Marblehead continued to shell elusive enemy troops in support of the Menado garrison. The Boise and Houston shelled the port and airfield at Butuan. While the Mixed Force got a very unpleasant shock when they attacked recently unloaded enemy troops at Shortlands. The Pensacola was badly damaged and the Le Triomphant was sunk by enemy return fire. Apparently the enemy unloaded some heavy artillery on the island.

Bataan was also subjected to air attacks on the airfield, although the damage was quickly repaired. One of the raids came from an enemy carrier group to the northwest, further firming up our intelligence.

Heavy weather limited air operations around the Malacca Strait and Burma. Some Vildebeest attempted an attack on some freighters near Georgetown but were unable to hit. We also received evidence that the Anglo-Dutch attacks on shipping are a cause for enemy concern when a flight of Martin 139s out of Batavia were forced to evade intercepting Oscar fighters when they attacked a destroyer near Singapore.

Several of the ships unloading at Akyab finished and left. The remaining ships were subjected to an ineffective bombing attack. But that was the only enemy air attack in the region.

Gasmata was also raided, with about 25 enemy Betty bombers hitting an unloading freighter and transport with a torpedo each. The ships had already finished unloading their passengers before the attack. They will unload the last of the supplies onboard while patching some of the hull damage before retreating.

The Chinese moves on Haiphong and Pakhoi have apparently caused concern in the Japanese command. The Chinese units forming up around Pakhoi were subjected to several air attacks. Unpleasant for our ally's troops, but at least an indication that they are drawing attention and forces away from the enemy's offensives in Malaya and Burma.

The attack on Clark Field resumed. Casualties were again heavy, if somewhat less than previously. Enemy forces continue to shell Singapore. British defenders returned the favor and believe that they did much better at it. The defenders at Haiphong launched a pre-emptive attack on the Chinese units approaching the city, driving them back towards Hanoi. While probes and artillery attacks show the enemy garrison at Pakhoi to be small and weak. The Chinese there are now pushing forward to take advantage of this. Aussie and Dutch forces continue to probe and harass weak enemy forces around Rabaul and Menado.

More reports to follow.

12 Jan 42

It was a busy day for Sub Command. The Seal conducted a pair of surface attacks near Formosa on a freighter and then a transport, severely damaging both. The Spearfish, which was one of the subs sent to try and attack the "Borneo Tour" carrier group, is believed to have been sunk. Flying boat spotting reports put that force as haved moved directly thru the Spearfish's assigned patrol area and she has missed her last two radio checks. The KXVII spotted a burning, heavily damaged freighter near Singapore but felt it wasn't worth wasting any torpedoes on. The O20 made a pair of unsuccessful attacks on another freighter a distance to the north. The Snapper failed in her attack on a transport east of Taipei and Wenchow. The Pompano was forced to evade heavy escort of another transport in the waters surrounding Makin. The Sargo set ablaze a freighter near Legaspi in a surface attack, but had her own deck gun destroyed by a lucky shot from the Japanese ship's gun crew.

The enemy is increasing pressure in the New Guinea region. Troops were spotted unloading at Kevieng, north of Rabaul. And they surprised the Rabaul defenders with a nighttime air raid. The MSW Mildura, torpedoed by a Japanese submarine yesterday, sank short of Gili Gili.

B-17s from Batavia launched a weak attack on Mersing, but are believed to have had minimal effect. Hudsons tried to assist the defenders of Singapore but also had minimal impact, due mostly to their own low numbers. Singapore's defending fighters did better, claiming some enemy recon aircraft attempting to scout the defenses. Vildebeests continued to perform well. They were able to torpedo a troop transport off Bankha. Other missions proved that the combat around Singapore is turning into a two level game of cat-n-mouse. Allied pilots hunt evading Japanese shipping while trying to evade the enemy's hunting fighters. A pair of Vildebeests evaded Oscars to put a torpedo into a freighter in the Malacca Strait. Another pair torpedoed a second freighter east of Johore Bahru while a larger group failed to hit a minelayer near the port itself. A second group managed to hit an IJN destroyer in the port with a pair of torpedoes, leaving it on fire and settling.

And in one of the most unusual incidents of the war to date, Rangoon based AVG pilots fought a day long air-to-air battle over the Indian Ocean against nearly 100 enemy fighters escorting 30 bombers as they attempted to attack ... a single minelayer. The ML Pro Patria managed to avoid every single bomb dropped. The entire incident would be hilarious if it didn't involve good men dieing. The battle did draw the AVG fighters away from Rangoon, leaving it defended by only a few Buffaloes. They proved unable to protect the port from a smaller raid.

Bataan was again subject to air attack centered on the airfield. The enemy force believed responsible for the presumed loss of the Spearfish also launched an attack on the unused airfield at Jolo. Another attack by Betty bombers attempted to bomb the cruiser Houston as her task force resupplied at Davao. Fortunately no hits were scored. The enemy continued their heavy air attacks on Chinese forces at Pakhoi. A daytime attack on Rabaul by a dozen Bettys and a slightly smaller escort of Zeroes didn't even bother firing as they simply flew past the defending Wirraways on their way to bombing the Australian defenders.

Hudson bombers recently moved to Ambiona made a bombing run on the Japanese forces near Menado. Their poor performance highlites a widespread lack of experience among Allied pilots.

Clark Field was the center of another bloody day of combat. Despite this the engineers there succeeded in expanding the defensive works while under fire. The enemy forces around Singapore continued to trade artillery fire with the defenders. The Chinese attack at Pakhoi failed due to the disruption caused by enemy air attacks. Small scale actions continued around Menado and Rabaul.

Additional troops have been assigned to the PTO. Australia and New Zealand have each raised an infantry unit, the Chinese have a new Cavalry division and the British RAF have deployed some engineering units and an additional HQ to India. The bulk of the new forces, however, are American engineering and base support units. Transport is available in Karachi and Australia but the units in San Francisco will have to wait until tomorrow, when I am promised a very large number of freighters and tankers will come off the slipways of the Kaiser yards.

More reports to follow.

13 Jan 42

The sub KXVII again spotted an already heavily damaged transport and felt it wasn't worth wasting any torpedoes on.

After a prolonged absence, Japanese submarines made their presence felt again. A tanker in the Banda Sea was sunk by a torpedo attack. Another sub attacked and missed the cruiser Australia just outside the Great Barrier Reef near Townsville. More subs have been spotted to the east of the Reef. Hopefully the various air units assigned to ASW patrol along this coast will be effective. The minesweeper Bunbury spent the day in an inconclusive but potentially deadly game of hide-n-seek with an enemy sub in the same area as her compatriate was sunk.

The Japanese Navy attacked Bataan again. The last two torpedo boats there was both sunk when they attempted to intercept the enemy ships. Heavy casualties are reported among the defenders while fires were seen on five enemy destroyers after they were hit by the coastal forts. Several hits were also reported on the battleship at the core of the enemy force. The nighttime bombardment failed to reduce the defending CAP's abilities the following day, as they shot down many of the enemy aircraft attacking in a followup raid. I am becoming impressed with the capabilities of the various models of P-40 fighters based on their performance in the Philippines, China and Burma.

A new enemy troop convoy has begun reinforcing the attackers at Rabaul. In support of that, Betty bombers attacked the Mixed Force at Gasmata. Fortunately these aircraft are not as good with bombs as they are with torpedoes and all of the cruisers were unhurt.

Another episode of Grigsby's Grunts today. This time the fighters stayed to fight while some of the bombers turned back when the defenders broke thru the escort cover. The top ranking Allied fighter pilot is currently one of the Chinese pilots here, a CPT D. Teh, credited with eight kills.

Akyab was attacked. The only ship left unloading here is the already heavily damaged freighter Illinoian, which is slowly settling lower and lower as she finishes unloading. The Japanese concentrated their efforts on the minimal airfield here.

Allied pilots continue to maintain a high tempo of operations around Malaya. The B-17s bombed Mersing again. And Vildebeests made several attacks on a convoy in the Malacca Strait. This enemy convoy is not following the western Malaya coast as would be expected if it was heading for the captured bases there. Instead it seems to be headed towards the northern end of Sumatra and there appear to be at least 10 freighters and transports in it. The bombers succeeded in torpedoeing one of the freighters. Martins were unable to hit the battleship Mutsu in the South China Sea. A strike by more Vildebeests on a minelayer near Johore Bahru was forced to tangle with some Oscar fighters. Only one of the 'Beests was lost and apparently one of the enemy fighters was damaged. More Oscars tried to intercept a flight of Martin 139s as they attacked an already damaged destroyer. Despite the interference and damage to almost all the airplanes they managed to land three bombs on the ship and all the aircrews confirm an apparent magazine explosion.

The Chinese forces around Pakhoi were only subjected to one air raid today. They continued their shelling of the enemy forces there. While to the west a second force of Chinese troops approaching Haiphong was also thrown back by attacking Japanese defenders.

In response to the spotting of enemy transports at Wake Island, I have ordered the US 25th Army Division loaded at Pearl Harbor as reinforcements for the Marines already enroute. Just as I received word they were about to sail I was informed that the Saratoga and Lexington had struck the first blows of Operation Alarm Clock. While still out of range for their torpedo bombers, the Dauntless dive bombers were just able to reach the island. They caught a convoy of three transports and severely mauled all of them, with confirmed hits ranging from eight to twelve on each ship. The captain of the submarine Triton was able to observe the attack and reports that one stick of four divebombers managed to walk all four of their 500lb bombs down the length of one unlucky ship.

One of the Philippine divisions that had been at San Marcelino moved to reinforce Clark Field. They arrived just in time as Japanese forces continued their attack. It is just as well that engineers had finished their defensive works as this attack destroyed some of the pre-existing defenses.

Singapore continued to be the center of large artillery duels. Low level operations continue at Menado and Rabaul, with another bombing of enemy troops around Menado by supporting Hudson bombers. The Japanese troops unloading at Kavieng took control of the empty facility there. But surprisingly the enemy has still not done likewise at Shortlands, despite having been there longer.

More reinforcements arrived in the PTO. The Royal Navy at Karachi welcomed the battleship Royal Sovereign along with the cruiser Dorsetshire, the AAA cruiser Caledon and escorting destroyers. The Dutch report several more submarines and another destroyer at Java. The Australians have a new light cruiser and some patrol and minesweepers at Sydney. A large squadron of P-39s is available at Seattle as well as a group of Stranraer flying boats in San Diego. Several squadrons of Hurricane fighter-bombers have arrived in India. The carrier Yorktown and five escorting destroyers have arrived in San Francisco. And a huge number of freighters and tankers off the slipways of the West Coast were finally released for service after being gathered at San Francisco also.

More reports to follow.

And in one of the most unusual incidents of the war to date, Rangoon based AVG pilots fought a day long air-to-air battle over the Indian Ocean against nearly 100 enemy fighters escorting 30 bombers as they attempted to attack ... a single minelayer. The ML Pro Patria managed to avoid every single bomb dropped. The entire incident would be hilarious if it didn't involve good men dieing. The battle did draw the AVG fighters away from Rangoon, leaving it defended by only a few Buffaloes. They proved unable to protect the port from a smaller raid.

[:D]
Must've suspected Nimitz of being on that minelayer.

Keep up the updates! I want to read more of Grigsby's Grunts adventures!

A READER! Be still my heart! My kingdom for a reader! Or at least a few PT boats. [:D]

More reports are coming. I just have limited time for playing right now, so they are a bit slow.

14 Jan 42

Another busy day for submarines. One would think the captain of the Sargo would have learned after losing his deck gun to one freighter. He made another surface attack, this time getting his boat shot up by the freighter's AAA crew. He is now heading for Balikpapan to patch her up. Another Dutch sub spotted but did not fire on a Japanese freighter, this time the KXIII at the southern end of the Malacca Strait and the ship was undamaged. The Permit fired on but missed a tanker near Camranh Bay. The Porpoise was able to provide valuable intelligence, reporting that she sighted the CV Soryu heading east from the vicinity of Aparri at the northern end of Luzon.

A Japanese sub torpedoed the tender Black Hawk near Banjarmasin as she was headed for Palembang. The Black Hawk is diverting to Banjarmasin to get the flooding under control. To the north, in the strait between Borneo and Belitung, a minesweeper on ASW patrol reports locating and depth charging another Nip sub.

The Boise and Houston shelled Butuan again. The lack of response to this combined with the recon flights by some nearby Catalinas would indicate that the enemy forces here are extremely weak. Probably they consist of nothing but the forces defeated at Cagayan. The 101st PA division, despite its weakened condition, is moving on Butuan now. It would be a substantial victory to be able to kick the Japs off of Mindanao.

Rabaul was busy today. Two IJN battleships shelled the Australian defenders overnight. Wirraway's there spent the morning bombing the Japanese troops in the jungle and the afternoon ineffectively attempting to intercept Japanese Zeroes and Bettys as they made a bombing run against the recently arrived Mixed Force. While that task force's luck held again, suffering no hits, the situation here has become untenable for them. After being so effective in defending the island to date, they will have to pull back towards Gili Gili to avoid the increasingly heavy enemy attacks.

Heavy weather in Malaya and the South China Sea prevented most of the Dutch aircraft from finding their targets. B-17s again failed to do any damage to the port at Mersing. They are being re-tasked to attack the airfield at Johore Bahru as that is becoming a substantial base for enemy air activity. Vildebeests hit a subchaser at Kuantan, setting off a "massive explosion" onboard the small ship. Other Vildebeests, along with Hurricane IIs and Blenheim IVs used the cloud cover to attack Johore Bahru. Combined with their dividing into multiple small strikes they kept the defending Oscars from being effective. One Vildebeest was lost to flak but an enemy minelayer was hit multiple times, leaving is on fire and heavily damaged.

Clark Field was bombed and suffered heavy damage. The few remaining fighters here are moving to Bataan. The Chinese at Pakhoi continue to be bombed.

Hudson bombers at Amboina continue to bomb the weakening Japanese forces around Menado. Others launched a raid on the attackers at Singapore.

The bombardment element of Alarm Clock reached Wake and began shelling the troops and facilities there. Intelligence reports substantial casualties among the defenders and heavy damage to the airfield and port.

IJA troops continued to attack Clark Field and casualties on both side continue to mount. Shelling by both sides continued around Singapore and Pakhoi. Commonwealth forces from Rangoon moving to re-establish that city's supply lines were subjected to a Japanese Banzai attack. They are reporting almost no losses of their own and massive enemy casualties, around 2700 troops, and over 50 artillery pieces destroyed. It is hard to tell how much of that is real and how much is over enthuasism, but it is still heartening. Defenders at Menado and Rabaul continued to probe at and harass the enemy forces threatening those bases.

More reports to follow.

15 Jan 42

Illinoian finished unloading at Akyab. The captain insisted on heading to another port for repairs and the ship promptly sank just outside the harbor.

The earlier reported aerial battle over one minelayer may have discouraged it, but that apparently served as enough of a distraction that a second ship was able to lay mines in the approaches to Alor Star.

Dutch patrols have reported sighting three CVs heading west in the South China Sea. This is obviously a different group than the Porpoise reported yesterday.

The submarine KXIV was forced to evade attack from a destroyer as it reached station near Camranh Bay. The KX fired on but missed a freighter in the Singapore region. Speaking of the Porpoise, she missed a freighter and was forced to evade several small ASW ships in her patrol zone. A Japanese sub torpedoed and sank the minesweeper near Pontianak but we have no way of telling if it was the same sub engaged yesterday.

The Japanese bombarded Kuching during the night. The last torpedo boat there, already damaged, was sunk still tied up to the dock. But that seems to have been enough for the IJN commander, as the task force retired after firing only a few rounds beyond that.

The weather in Burma cleared some and Japanese aircraft launched an attack on Rangoon. In addition to the odd Buffalo and the AVG contingent, two squadrons of Hurricane IIs that are recently arrived in theatre had just finished flying in. Unfortunately, while they were adequate against the escorting Nates they were mauled by the Zeroes.

The B-17s at Port Morseby finally flew, bombing the newly captured field at Kavieng. Hudson bombers continued to bomb Japanese troops near Menado and Singapore. Half of the Hurricanes at Rangoon were bombing the Japanese troops to the northeast while their comrades were dogfighting over the city itself. Wirraways continued to provide close air support at Rabaul. Most Allied aircraft in the Malaya area didn't fly, but Swordfish out of Singapore attacked a pair of minelayers, putting a torpedo into one and setting it ablaze. Dutch Martins tried to bomb a destroyer in the South China Sea but missed. And Chinese bombers joined the war, bombing the Japanese garrison at Pakhoi in the morning.

The Japanese returned the favor, launching almost half-a-dozen bombing attacks on the Chinese forces at Pakhoi during the afternoon. At Rabaul, the attacking Zero and Betty force once again simply flew past the Wirraways on CAP on their way to bomb the Australians.

The battleships Colorado and Maryland continued to pound Wake, concentrating on the runways this time. While divebombers from the Lexington and Saratoga bombed the last survivor of those three transports hit earlier. They scored several hits and report leaving the ship afire.

Clark Field came under attack again, with some of the defensive works destroyed. For the first time in some time, the Japanese troops around Rabaul stood and fought, trading mortar fire with the defenders. The enemy continued to shell Singapore but the forces near Rangoon avoided combat today. The Chinese continued to bombard Pakhoi, but they are going to have to either make a real attack or pull back soon. They cannot continue to stand up under the very heavy aerial attacks they are being subjected to. And the Dutch at Menado continued to aggressively patrol while considering an attack.

More reports to follow.

16 Jan 42

A US minelayer managed to sneak in and lay a minefield near Makin. This should hopefully prove to be an unpleasant surprise for the next Japanese ship to visit the atoll.

The convoy that I was worried earlier in the Malacca Strait is now heading north along the western Malaya coast. They appear to be headed for Victoria Point, Tavoy or Moulmein. And the carrier group spotted by the Dutch in the South China Sea now appears to be heading for Saigon, presumably to resupply.

With the last of the ships unloading at Akyab having finished, it seems unlikely that it will be a target for major Japanese air attack, at least for now. The AVG contingent here is being moved to Rangoon. This will allow the Hurricane IIs there to concentrate on close air support since they are not up to dogfighting with the Japanese fighter escorts.

During the night, the submarine S-38 torpedoed a light cruiser escorting the carriers Soryu and Shokaku. What is critical about this is that it took place west of Vigan, indicating that this force turned around after being spotted by the Porpoise and is now heading either west or southwest. The KX fired on but missed another freighter near Singapore.

A patrol boat was hit by a Japanese torpedo on the Australian coast some 300 miles south of Brisbane. This is troubling, it appears that the Japanese submarine force appears to be massing to isolate Australia. The two minesweepers that were with the gunboat attempted to destroy the sub but were unable to do so.

The new AVG pilots arrived in Rangoon just in time. The Japanese launched a morning raid on the airfield. 80 to 90 fighters escorted 30 or so bombers. The P-40s acquitted themselves very well against the Nate and Oscar fighters but were not quite able to equal the Zeroes. However, while not quite equal to the Zeroes yet, the P-40s are still performing much better than any other Allied fighter and the AVG pilots are reported to be working on tactics intended to counter the extreme maneuvability of the Zero.

Singapore was also attacked by around 70 Nates escorting little more than a dozen Sallys. Unfortunately all this is available for defense here are more Hurricane IIs and a few Buffaloes. They were unable to protect the airfield here from being bombed.

A pair of Philippine P-35s on Mindanao helped to confirm the weakness of the Japanese forces on the island when they met no resistance during a sweep over Butuan. Meanwhile the Japanese continued to bomb the now empty Clark Field.

B-17s continued to bomb Kavieng in small numbers. Wirraways at Rabaul also continued to bomb the Japanese there. The Rangoon Hurricanes, freed from flying CAP, threw their strength into attacking the Japanese forces cutting off the city's supply lines. Chinese IL-4c bombers continued their attacks on Pakhoi. Vildebeests bombed a transport at Johore Bahru, followed up by a larger attack by more Vildebeests and Swordfish which put a pair of torpedoes each into another freighter and a gunboat.

A trio of US destroyer-conversion minelayers headed for Eniwetok were spotted and attacked by Nell bombers twice during the day. They managed to avoid all the bombs and the task force commander intends to continue his mission to lay mines under cover of the Enterprise's attacks on the atoll.

The enemy carrier group near Luzon attacked Bataan. The twenty-one defending P-40s intercepted a like number of Zeroes, some Claudes and two dozen Kates. Discounting the usual inflated kill claims, it appears that the defenders managed a near parity with the escorts.

The battleships continued their bombardment of Wake. The carriers followed up on this with a full strike, damaging the port and plastering the airfield. I think its time for them to avoid damaging the airfield any further. There are obviously no enemy air assets here and we are going to want to use it ourselves.

The Japanese continued to bomb the Chinese forces around Pakhoi. Australian defenders at Rabaul were attacked again, this time by only three Bettys with four escorting Zeroes. The Wirraways had been pulled off of CAP duties since they were obviously not doing any good at it. The raid seemed more intended to remind the defenders they are there than to do any real damage.

The attack on Clark Field continued. The attackers appear to have gained the advantage here and the defenders are losing ground. Singapore was also attacked and the British are quietly reporting over 1800 casualties while the enemy appears to have suffered only about half that number. The Japanese outside Rangoon took up the fight again, trading fire with the Commonwealth forces. The Chinese attacked Pakhoi, inflicting some casualties but gaining little ground. Fighting continues around Rabaul and Menado.

More reports to follow.

17 Jan 42

Intelligence has confirmed the sinkings of two small enemy ships in the waters between Malaya and Indochina, a subchaser and a gunboat.

An enemy submarine torpedoed and sank a freighter near Sampit. This despite numerous ASW patrols by Dutch air squadrons in the area. Obviously our airborne ASW procedures require improvement. To underline this, the RAN cruiser Hobart was forced to evade Japanese sub launched torpedoes about two hundred miles east of Rockville.

The Trout made a pair of attacks, each on a tanker near Shanghai. Unfortunately both attacks failed to hit. The Sealion missed a transport outside Singapore, one of the numerous Japanese ships plying the Strait. The Sealion was more successful later, putting a torpedo into another freighter. The Perch was forced to evade an ASW attack as she patrolled near Camranh Bay. In the Strait itself the Dutch O21 made a very successful surface attack on yet another freighter, shelling the ship and hitting with two torpedoes. She reports seeing uniformed army troops helping to fight the fires.

A Nip convoy managed to evade the minefields and batteries guarding the entrance to Manila Bay during the night. No one spotted them until one of the transports hit a mine in the inner minefields. A second mine detonation was confirmed as they ships began unloading near Manila itself. The batteries at Manila heavily damage two of the four transports unloading, causing heavy casualties among the troops.

The Boise/Houston task force bombarded Butuan again. And the Marblehead continued to provide fire support at Menado.

Another air raid on Rangoon, some twenty Nates escorting about thirty Sallys. The attacks are taking a toll of the AVG pilots and only half-a-dozen fighters were able to scramble to contest air control. Pagan was attacked for the first time by a similarly sized raid of Oscars and Sallys but suffered only minor damage.

B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and appear to have managed to catch a few enemy aircraft on the ground. In the south a flight of B-17s continued harrassing Kavieng. Amboina based Hudsons continued bombing Japanese troops at Menado. Likewise, Rangoon Hurricanes and Rabaul Wirraways continued their attacks on the enemy near their bases.

Allied aircraft continue to make passage of the Malacca Strait an expensive endeavor for the Japanese merchant marine. A three ship flight of Borneo based Martin 139s hammered an enemy minelayer with each aircraft reporting a bomb hit. Another flight attacked but failed to hit a freighter nearby. Near Georgetown Vildebeests bombed a freighter. Shipping at Johore Bahru was again the center of much attention. Multiple raids hit a minelayer with multiple torpedoes and two freighters received a metal fish each.

Bataan was attacked. Many of the enemy fighters and bombers aborted their attack in the face of the fierce resistance of the defending P-40s. Clark Field was again bombed, despite the lack of aircraft targets at the airfield. Japanese bombers continued their heavy attacks on the Chinese around Pakhoi. Its obvious that this attack is not going to succeed and the Chinese are going to have to pull back and regroup. The enemy also continued to bomb the Australians at Rabaul.

The carrier group near Wake bombed the Japanese defenders there in preparation for the soon to arrive Marines. The enemy finally began to respond to the attacks with a flight of Nells, probably from Kwajalein, made an unsuccessful attack on one of the cruisers escorting the battleship task force. Nell torpedo bombers launched a pair of attacks on the DMs as they were retreating after laying their mines around Eniwetok. One of the ships was hit by two torpedoes and sank, while the remaining two picked up what survivors they could before continueing their retreat.

The attacks on Clark Field continue to gain ground and inflict heavy casualties on the defenders. Singapore is also attacked with very heavy casualties among the British there. Low level combat continues at all the same places, Rabaul and outside Rangoon. The Dutch launch a more serious attack at Menado but have trouble pinning down the remaining Japanese forces. The PA 101st has reached the outskirts of Butuan and will launch an attack on the base tomorrow.

Another Australian squadron, this one equipped with Beaufort V-IX bombers, has reached combat readiness in Brisbane.

More reports to follow.

Nell torpedo bombers launched a pair of attacks on the DMs as they were retreating after laying their mines around Eniwetok. One of the ships was hit by two torpedoes and sank, while the remaining two picked up what survivors they could before continueing their retreat.

Wow, you sent a minelaying mission into Eniwetok? Courageous!

Fun AAR. Keep 'em coming.

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Nell torpedo bombers launched a pair of attacks on the DMs as they were retreating after laying their mines around Eniwetok. One of the ships was hit by two torpedoes and sank, while the remaining two picked up what survivors they could before continueing their retreat.

Wow, you sent a minelaying mission into Eniwetok? Courageous!

Fun AAR. Keep 'em coming.

No garrison or aircraft there and little in the rest of the island group. If the Japs (AI) are going to give me an opportunity like that, I see no reason to not take advantage of it if I can. I've also dropped mines at a couple of the captured bases on the west coast of Malaya and one field in the narrowest part of the Malacca Strait. The three biggest killers of Japanese shipping AFAICT so far are 1) Subs, 2) Vildebeests and 3) mines.

18 Jan 42

One of the four transports unloading at Manila was sunk by defending artillery fire, the other three were all hit multiple times and set ablaze. Many of the troops onboard will never get off now.

The O24 put two torpedoes into a freighter between Bankha and Malacca, leaving it on fire and low in the water. To the north, the O23 was unable to hit another freighter. The KXIV missed a tanker leaving Camranh Bay, but followed up with multiple torpedo hits on a troop carrying freighter.

A Japanese sub played a deadly game of tag with a minesweeper in the straits between the South China and Java seas, but apparently neither ship was damaged.

Kuching was bombarded by half-a-dozen enemy cruisers and somewhat more destroyers, causing over a hundred casualties among the Dutch garrison. Two IJN battleships paid a similar call on Rabaul, causing almost as many losses among the Aussies there.

On our side, the Marblehead spent the entire day providing fire support against elusive Japanese troops at Menado. While the Colorado and Maryland task force suppressed the Japanese batteries at Wake.

Rangoon was attacked. Some 60 fighters of various types and 50 Sally bombers. The defending AVG pilots suffered from the nearly 10:1 odds against them. The last contingent of AVG not at Rangoon, "Grigsby's Grunts" at Yenen, were recently re-equipped with P-40E fighters. With the lack of enemy attacks there over the last several days, they will be transferred to Rangoon as soon as more of their aircraft have finished prepping after being shipped. The convoy carrying supplies for the city has reached the strait between India and Ceylon and should be arriving at the city in a few days. The additional fighters will be needed to protect those ships as they unload badly needed supplies.

The British and Dutch pilots in Malaya and Sumatra have certainly learned from their on the job training, with Johore Bahru becoming a favorite place for them to show off their new found skills. While B-17s from Batavia bombed the airfield, catching a number of enemy bombers on the ground there, multiple attacks by Vildebeests, Blenheims and Swordfish hammered at the large number of ships in the harbor. 5 separate raids managed the following:
1 transport hit by one bomb;
3 freighters hit by multiple bombs, fires started;
1 freighter torpedoed;
1 freighter torpedoed multiple times and on fire.

Another strike to the east of Singapore put four torpedoes into a troop transport. Vildebeests were unable to hit a freighter outside Mersing. And Swordfish torpedoed a freighter in the same area as the sub O23's attack.

The Dutch forces on Borneo managed to co-ordinate attacks on enemy ships in the South China Sea twice, with units from both Kuching and Brunei arriving on target at the same time. The first of these attacked a convoy, scoring a fire setting bomb hit on a freighter. The second was against Japanese battleships northeast of Kuching by about two hundred miles. The Martins suffered heavily from the enemy ships' flak and don't seem to have scored any hits. A second attack by more Martins from Singkawang was met by a flight of Zeroes and two of the three aircraft were lost. We are not sure where the Zeroes came from. The closest known enemy carrier is several hundred miles to the east, northeast of Jesselton. More likely they are based off an unsighted carrier closer by.

Flights of Martins from other bases on Borneo attacked but missed an already damaged freighter near Singapore and hit another in the same area.

Outside Singapore, Hudson bombers continued to try to help stem the rising tide of Japanese troops. The defenders have identified at least four enemy divisions, a tank regiment and (possibly) an independant brigade attacking the city. Rangoon Hurricanes continued their attacks on the Japanese division astride the overland route to that city. The Chinese IL-4c bombers did their part to help cover the retreat of the troops from Pakhoi, bombing the Japanese garrison. The Port Moresby based B-17s continued their light attacks on Kavieng.

Japanese bombers continued their heavy attacks on the now retreating Chinese forces at Pakhoi. But casualties were lighter than on previous days. More Bettys, around twenty this time, bombed Rabaul's defenders again. Two air raids attacked the Philippine defenders of Manila, the first by Ann divebombers, the second stronger one by Bettys.

Clark Field fell to the enemy. Weakened by many days of attacks and low on supplies, the defenders were forced to retreat towards Bataan. However, the supply situation there is no better. The engineers there were forced to discontinue building further defensive works after completing the current course by the lack of supplies. This also cuts off the Manila defenders from the bulk of the remaining Allied forces on Luzon. These troops attempted to throw the landing Japanese forces back, but made no progress.

The attack on Singapore continued. While Commonwealth casualties today were lighter than on previous days, they were still heavy. Singapore is also running low on supplies and morale is even lower amongst the defenders. It is uncertain how long they can continue to hold out.

There was little fighting outside Rangoon or in the area of Pakhoi. The Dutch at Menado continued to try to pin down and destroy the remaining Japanese troops there but are still having problems doing so. The Philippine division on Mandanao recaptured Butuan, clearing the enemy from that island. Combined with the failure of the Japanese attack on Menado, this may give us the opportunity to at least ship supplies in to Davao. Additional troops to go with those supplies would be even better but I don't know where I could get any from in time.

The Marines began landing at Wake, suffering relatively light casualties in the initial landing. However, their immediate attempt to expand the beachhead did not go as well. Around 600 dead and wounded are reported from that. The 2nd USMC Division and the 34th Engineer Regiment continue to unload and the 25th Army Division is enroute. Intelligence places the enemy forces at about 9,000 all told, so I still believe that we can retake the island.

More reports to follow.

19 Jan 42

The Dutch sub KXIV performed a night surface attack on a freighter east of Camranh Bay, putting one torpedo in to it and hitting it with her 88mm deck gun. The Permit fired on a cruiser south of Camranh Bay but her torpedoes were duds. The sub was damaged by the escorting destroyers but they believe they will make it back to base for repairs. The KXI put a torpedo into an enemy minelayer near Saigon. Trout attacked but missed a tanker east of Shanghai. Swordfish put a torpedo into a troop transport north of Butuan. Although happening after the actions of the Houston and Boise (see below), it does not appear to have been the same transport. Further to the east of Camranh Bay from the Dutch boat, the Perch evaded an enemy ASW group. The British sub Trusty helped to line the bottom of the Malacca Strait with steel from Japanese shipping, putting two torpedoes into a freighter there near the end of the day.

The Japanese sub near Pontanak was detected by a five destroyer ASW hunter-killer group but they were unable to track it to make an attack.

The tender Black Hawk, after many days of effort, was unable to control the flooding caused by being torpedoed and sank in Banjarmasin harbor.

The cruisers Houston and Boise continue to perform. During the night they intercepted an escorted troop transport near Butuan. We don't know if it was there to evacuate the troops or unload reinforcements, but whatever it was it failed in its mission. The transport itself was hit along with three small escorts (gunboats or subchasers) with fires being spotted on one of the escorts before they managed to break contact. Later in the day this task force ran across the transport damaged earlier by the Swordfish and scored several hits, leaving it burning and settling in the water.

The Marblehead and her escorts continued to fire on enemy troops at Menado, but it appears that they are too scattered now for this to have much effect.

It would appear I may have spoke too soon regarding Yenen. Roughly equal numbers of Nates and Sonias totaling around thirty aircraft came to visit Grigsby's Grunts again. The Chinese pilots took the lead as most of the AVG aircraft were still being prepped. The enemy held his course this time despite losses and managed to bomb the airfield. Despite this, enough of this AVG contingent's aircraft are ready and they are to begin their transfer to Rangoon.

And speaking of Rangoon, it was subjected to another raid today. Of roughly equal size to the previous attack here, they succeeded in damaging the airfield. The supports personnel and engineers are beginning to fall behind, not being able to repair the damage as quickly as it is being caused. For now, what fighters are otherwise able to fly can still continue to operate. However, there are fewer and fewer of them. The last contingent of the AVG to still be equipped with P-40Bs is being ordered out to Akyab where they can be re-equipped with the improved E model. They can rejoin the fighting over Rangoon after that. The Hurricanes here continue to attack the Japanese division to the northeast.

Operations in Malaya continue. The Japanese have apparently become annoyed with the photo recon flights being flown out of Kuala (I know I'm tired of their constant recon flights) and some forty or so Oscars and Lilys attacked the airfield there. They were not able to do much damage though. While they were off visiting the Dutch, some B-17s of the 19th Bomb Group paid their base at Johore Bahru a return visit. Damage assessment believes that they destroyed five enemy aircraft while they were there. Hudsons from southern Sumatra continue to bomb the enemy troops attacking Singapore. Shipping in Johore Bahru harbor was again hit many times. First a flight of Vildebeests put a pair of torpedoes into a troop transport, setting it on fire. Next, Blenheim IV bombers scored hits on the damaged transport and a freighter, leaving both ships aflame. Then a flight of Swordfish torpedoed another freighter, twice. Followed by more Blenheims scoring multiple bomb hits on two more freighters.

To the east of Singapore in the South China Sea, a flight of Swordfish put a torpedo into a freighter. A larger group of Swordfish and Vildebeests hit the same patch of ocean shortly thereafter, finding a minelayer escorting yet another freighter. Two bomb hits set the freighter on fire. And in the Malacca Strait more Vildebeests put a pair of torpedoes into the side of a troop loaded freighter. At the southern end of the Strait Vildebeests hit a freighter with one torpedo, followed by some Swordfish who repeated the feat on a second. A short distance to the north, another enemy freighter caught yet another Vildebeest torpedo. Even the flying boats are joining in the slaughter, with one Dutch Do 24K-2 reported to have dropped a bomb on a freighter to the northeast of Singapore. How much longer do the Japanese plan to keep feeding shipping into this zone of destruction?

Rabaul Wirraways continue to hit enemy troops spotted by the ground troops there. The Chinese air force did their best to help cover the retreat from Pakhoi while the Japanese continued to bomb the rear guard units of that same retreat. Japanese bombers also attacked the defenders at Manila with a pair of raids as well as a raid on Rabaul

There was tragedy and triumph at Wake. The tragedy was the sinking of the destroyer King. Friendly minelayers put down a minefield to protect the invasion force and one of the mines broke free and drifted into the landing zone, where the DD King hit it. (Out Of Character: Oops, well, this will teach me to lay mines in the same hex I'm invading. Won't do that again.) The triumph was that the Marines took control of the port and airfield. They did this when they counter-attacked after the enemy garrison attacked the beachhead. While both facilities are heavily damaged this is a great victory and should speed gaining control of the rest of the atoll. With this, the carriers Lexington and Saratoga are retiring to Midway to replenish their aircraft ammo stores. The Enterprise will continue to provide the Marines with close air support, having just arrived after not finding anything to bomb at Eniwetok. The Japanese command seems to have finally noticed the attack on Wake. There were a series of attacks by very small numbers of enemy Betty bombers, none of which scored any hits. They do serve to underscore the need to repair the airfield and unload the Marine fighters due to arrive on board ship in a few days though.

Fighting continued at Rabaul and outside Rangoon. The attack on Singapore continues with further heavy casualties on both sides. Dutch forces continue in their efforts to track down the scattered Japanese troops around Menado. And fighting continues in Manila with the defenders trying to shell and harass the enemy as they prep for their attack.

The British report a tanker arrived at Karachi and has been put into service. The shipping of oil and other raw materials out of the DEI area continues. The bulk of this is going to Australia but other ships are loading for return trips to India. Many of the Liberty ships received at San Fransicso are at sea on route to Australia and various islands in between. There are also a number of fuel loaded tankers that headed to Australia at the beginning of the war and have reached the seas around Pago Pago. A small number of freighters have been assigned to pick up supplies and fuel from empty bases in the DEI. Most of those will bring their cargo back to Darwin but a few will try to unload at Davao. Better to get the supplies where they might be of some use than leave them lieing around undefended for the enemy to nab.

One of the enemy carriers has been spotted just north of Jesselton and it is likely there is a second in the same group. Otherwise we have lost contact with the rest of the IJN carriers.

More reports to follow.

20 Jan 42

Over the last several days, some of the regional HQs have been moving forward in order to better control the fighting in their areas of responsibility. SEASIA is enroute to Diamond Harbor from Ceylon. NORPAC is unloading at Dutch Harbor while SWPAC will take up residence at Port Morseby.

Other troop movements are the boarding at Pearl Harbor of the 206th Coastal AA Regiment and the 3rd USMC Defense Bn, both headed for Wake. Combined with the 25th Infantry Division already closing and the 2nd Marine Division and the 34th Engineer Battalion this should provide a strong defense against any Japanese counter-attack.

Intelligence reports that one of the damaged freighters at Johore Bharu sank and a light cruiser sinking in the South China Sea east of Camranh Bay.

The day started with a message from the freighter Empire Selwyn, returning to Brisbane from the Rabaul combat zone. She was attacked by a Japanese sub and hit by two torpedoes. She is crippled and limping back towards Rockhampton, but it is uncertain if she can make the port. The attack took place about 200 miles east of the Barrier Reef, equidistant with Townville and Rockhampton.

The Salmon had her attack on a troop transport two hundred miles east of Legaspi interrupted by an escorting gunboat, but was not hit. The Trout failed, again, to hit a tanker outside Shanghai. Near Hong Kong the Grayling attacked another tanker on the surface. She opened the attack with a hit on the tanker's bridge with her 5' deck gun, scoring several more gun hits along with one torpedo to leave the ship burning in the water. Near Boac in the Philippines, the S-36 puts three torpedoes into a transport. The Pike was forced to take evasive actions to avoid a large number of enemy destroyers apparently escorting larger ships, possibly some battleships, to the east of Camranh Bay.

During the night, the Houston and Boise found one of the troop transports damaged in yesterday's actions and finished it off quickly.

Another attack on Rangoon by basically the same aircraft as before. With the reduced number of defending fighters there was little to stop them. Nevertheless, the few AVG fighters available did shot down several of the attackers. In the afternoon the enemy launched an even larger attack aimed at the minelayer Pro Patria which had just arrived to strengthen the Rangoon minefield. The AVG pilots did their best, but the ship was sunk by a torpedo hit from one of the attacking Bettys. Hopefully the situation will improve as the first aircraft of the /C contingent of AVG are due to arrive today.

The Japanese attacked Kuala again, but since they are bombing from almost 20,000 feet did little damage. In the Philippines the Japanese bombed the troops defending Manila in two raids. The first was barely ten Nells and Bettys. The second was hardly any larger, something more than a dozen bombers.

Hudsons returned to bomb outside Menado. We have identified the invasion force there as the Sasebo 8th SNLF. Hurricanes continued to hit the Japanese division near Rangoon, while more Hudsons bombed outside Singapore.

While not as frantic as on previous days, the attacks on Japanese shipping around Malaya continued. Borneo based Martins attacked and missed a freighter near Singapore. Blenheims, Swordfish and Vildebeests continued to hit Johore Bahru and ships in the Malacca Strait. (I am told that some of the pilots there have taken to calling it "Dead Jap Strait".) Today's toll was two freighers and a minelayer hit by bombs and torpedoes.

A flight of Martins escorted by a flight of Brewsters made a brave but suicidal attack on the Japanese carrier group in the South China Sea. Almost all of them were shot down the by the CAP Zeroes and the survivors didn't get close enough to even see their targets.

The Wake battleship group continued to bombard the remaining Japanese forces there as the Enterprise's air complement hit them from the air. There were more attacks by Japanese aircraft from the Marshall Islands. Despite several attacks they only managed to hit the CA Minneapolis with one bomb which failed to do significant damage. VMF-211, equipped with F4F-4's, should begin unloading today. If the engineers can just repair the airfield enough they should help blunt further aerial attacks on the numerous ships we have here. Vicious fighting continues on Wake itself as the Japanese try to recapture or at least further damage the airfield and port, but the Marines have the upper hand and suffer few casualties in return for a few hundred enemy losses.

The forces that captured Clark Field turned north and quickly recaptured San Marcelino from the defending Philippine division. However, an American engineering unit had recently moved there and was able to lay demolition charges among the facilities there as they retreated towards Bataan. The Japanese keep up the pressure on Singapore. There are more heavy casualties on both sides and the enemies attack begins to reduce the extensive fortifications. There are more skirmishes near Rangoon, around Rabaul and in Manila. The Dutch continue their efforts to finish off the Japanese forces at Menado.

The carrier Yorktown has reached Pearl. In addition to the destroyers already escorting her, she will pick up two light cruisers and then head south. Eventually she will reach the Solomons and support the defenses there. Four more destroyers along with the battleships New Mexico and Mississippi have arrived on the west coast and will head for Pearl. We will see what the situation is when they get here before I make any decisions on where to deploy them.

More reports to follow.

21 Jan 42

The KXI made a pair of attacks on an already damaged freighter outside Saigon. She trailed the ship after the second torpedo started fires and confirms that it sank. The S-36 continued to make Philippine waters dangerous for enemy shipping, setting fires on board a tanker with a torpedo hit. The O24, patrolling in "Dead Jap Strait", hit an IJN destroyer with one torpedo, leaving it burning and heavily damaged.

The Empire Selwyn, damaged yesterday by a submarine attack, sank this morning. An ASW group of five minesweepers arrived in the vicinity shortly thereafter and prosecuted attacks on two sub contacts. They report indications of multiple hits on one of those.

A pair of IJN battleships bombarded Rabaul during the night. The US battleships at Wake returned the favor there.

Chinese bombers attacked Chengting. They overflew the defending CAP but did little damage as a result. Another squadron bombed a Japanese division between Changsha and Wuhan. In other Chinese Air Force news, one of their fighter squadrons was shipped into Hanoi. Once it is fully operational again it can provide cover for another attempt to take Haiphong.

The effort to resupply Rangoon met with disaster. There were two raids on the city itself which caught some of the defending fighters on the ground. And the convoy, while still outside the range at which the AVG could provide cover, was attacked. Of the four ships, one was sunk and two more heavily damaged by Betty launched torpedoes. The survivors are attempting to make it to Diamond Harbor. This makes re-opening the land route imperative and to accomplish that most of the infantry units there have been ordered out to attack the enemy division blocking that route. This unit hasn't made any serious attempts to dislodge the three brigades already engaging it since its first disasterous banzai charge. It has also been subjected to nearly constant attack by the Rangoon based Hurricane squadrons for almost a week now. In the meantime another relief convoy will be formed at Diamond Harbor, which has recently received a small mountain of supplies from Karachi. This time the Royal Navy can damn well come out and protect it!

Another enemy raid on Kuala again did effectively no damage. Singapore was also attacked. The defenders put up a heavy barrage of flak and damaged or destroyed a number of the bombers. Bataan was attacked, sort of. Over a dozen carrier based Zeroes escorted a single Val and a single Kate. The Val was shot down by defending ground troops. Manila was subjected to air raids all day long, strangely including one attack by a single Zero escorting a single Val and a single Kate, also carrier based it appears. Intelligence is driving themselves nuts trying to figure this out and I'm beginning to suspect that is the whole purpose. Rabaul was again visited by Bettys.

The Japanese troops at Menado and Rabaul were attacked again by the aircraft tasked to those jobs. Allied pilots continued to make the region around Singapore live up to their nickname for it. A freighter at Johore Bahru was hit by multiple torpedoes. Another, already damaged, ship was hit by another torp and then by a bomb. Two more freighers were hit by bombs, setting them on fire. At sea outside Singapore a Japanese minelayer was torpedoed. The B-17s have been quiet recently. The 93rd BS at Port Moresby was re-equipped with the E model and the Batavia based 19th BG has stood down to rest and repair their aircraft. The torpedo bombers to the north appear to be doing sufficient damage on their own and they may be able to also upgrade to the E model soon.

The attack on Singapore continued. There continue to be heavy casualties on both sides and the British engineers apparently managed to repair the damaged defense installations. Forces outside Rangoon and Rabaul continue to trade long range fire. The defenders at Manila continue to shell the Japanese forces there, who are curiously quiet. The Dutch continue to clear pockets of enemy troops at Menado. And on Wake, the last enemy forces appear to have destroyed themselves in a suicide charge on the Marines. While the Enterprise will remain on station nearby, the battleship bombardment group will now retire to Midway to refuel and reload. The Marine fighters and divebombers began unloading but uncrating them will have to wait until some dedicated airfield support can reach the island and the airfield repaired. The 71st AV Reg, which was approaching Pearl from the West Coast, has been diverted to Wake for this.

More reports to follow.

22 Jan 42

It would appear that we have the IJN's attention. Spotting reports in the South China Sea indicate movements east of multiple battleship and carrier task forces. We also get intelligence that a troop transport has been damaged by a mine hit at Makin. This is balanced against the loss of one of the damaged freighters that had been headed for Rangoon.

The submarine KX evaded an ASW patrol and then torpedoed an escorted freighter near Singapore, getting away unharmed. In the Malacca Strait the Trusty puts a full spread of torpedoes into a freighter as it maneuvers thru the minefield laid some weeks prior. Near Taipei the Seadragon failed to score on a heavily escorted freighter. The Perch has similar difficulties east of Indochina. The S-36, however, continues to perform well. She causes heavy damage and fires on a freighter with a pair of torpedoes off Naga. Off the northern end of Luzon the S-37 was forced to evade a large number of enemy destroyers, likely escorting other ships unseen.

Japanese subs also strike. Near Belitung one torpedoes a destroyer in the ASW group patrolling the strait, leaving it heavily damaged and fighting fires as she headed for Pontianak to bring the flooding under control. In the ocean near Townville and Rockhampton one of the Japanese subs attacks the minesweeper ASW group, sinking one of them. Even more troubling is the sightings of Japanese float planes in the area. If we have identified them correctly, they are very far outside their range from any known enemy controlled base. Is there an enemy surface force closing on the eastern Australia coast?

The Chinese continue to bomb Chengting, the Japanese Nates defending it proving ineffective. The Chinese fighter pilots at Yenen proved that they don't need the AVG's help. In an equal numbers fight against the escorting Nates they shot down or drove off the entire Japanese fighter force before attacking the Sonia bombers. The Chinese also launched a fighter sweep and air raid on Hsinyang, as much to ascertain the size of the defenses as anything else. The bombing of the enemy force near Changsha continued.

Pagan was bombed by some 70 enemy Sally bombers but damage was minimal considering the number of bombers. Kuala was also bombed again.

The Japanese troops still around Menado were bombed again by Ambiona based Hudsons and the Rangoon Hurricane squadrons continued their attacks on the Japanese there. Wirraways continue to hit the enemy at Rabaul.

In the Malaya area more enemy shipping is hit. The number of attacks are high enough that many of the ships being hit, especially at Johore Bahru, are already damaged from earlier days' attacks. One freigher is hammered by half-a-dozen bombs and sunk. Two more freighters, identified as either loading or unloading troops, were hit by two bombs each leaving them on fire. Another raid by Blenheim IVs hit two more ships, one multiple times.

The tempo of enemy air operations picked up. They made more than a dozen attacks in the Philippines. On Mindanao the Houston/Boise task force was attacked as they restocked at Davao. After numerous attacks the end result was three bomb hits on the Houston, destroying one of her 5" gun turrets and causing some other damage. With the apparent lull in the threat to the southern Philippines for now, the group will pull back to Balikpapan to make repairs. The other ships in the group are beginning to experience problems as a result of their earlier high speed runs and need the time in port also.

Manila suffered another day of air raids. At least one of the attacks came from a carrier group to the west. Thankfully for the sanity of my intelligence staff it was not one of the 1 Val-1 Kate attacks.

Rangoon was attacked again. The AVG pilots are being simply overwhelmed by massive numbers of enemy escorts. Unfortunately I can't think of any way to help them. With the Hurricane II not being up to even attempting to fight the Zero there is literally no other fighter unit within a thousand miles.

The bloody fighting at Singapore continues. Outside Rangoon the reinforcing infantry arrives, joining the existing brigades. They will attack immediately. There is more scattered fighting around Rabaul. Japanese forces at Manila finally begin probing the defenses, causing more scattered fighting there. After a few days rest, the Philippine troops at Butuan began hunting down the remaining Japanese troops on Mindanao. And in a bit of good news, the Dutch at Menado found and destroyed or captured the final concentration of Japanese forces there.

More reports to follow.

23 Jan 42

The last of the freighters damaged attempting to resupply Rangoon sank.

The sub KX evaded an IJN ASW group near Singapore. Off Shanghai the Tuna was pursued by a very tenacious ASW force but managed to evade them. The Tarpon carried out a night surface attack on a freighter near Kuantan. She reports multiple deck gun and a torpedo hit, leaving the ship blazing. The S-38 spotted a fleet oiler near Vigan but was unable to hit it. Near Camranh Bay the Pickerel failed to hit a freighter. To the west, near Saigon the KXI made a torpedo hit on an already damaged freighter. The O23 torpedoed a freighter south of Georgetown.

The surviving four minesweepers of the ASW group off the Australian east coast found and attacked a Japanese sub. The sub was damaged and, given the distance it must travel to reach a friendly base, will hopefully sink if it hasn't already.

The base at Kuching was attacked again. A Nip battleship, several cruisers and escorting destroyers shelled the Dutch, causing several hundred casualties.

The Chinese attacked Chengting again to little effect. They also bombed Hsinyang again just to confirm the lack of defenses. At Yenen the defending Chinese fighters quickly drove off the escort Nates and shot down most of the now unprotected Sonias. And the Japanese 3rd Division between Changsha and Wuhan was bombed again.

Kuala was bombed again. Singapore also, although there the enemy bombers came in unescorted and the few defending Hurricanes and Buffalo were able to make several passes thru their formation. About half-a-dozen are damaged or shot down. There were fewer raids on Manila, only three. The first was able to attack unopposed. For the second the pair of P-40s that were the only defenders able to fly were able to slip past the defending Zeroes and attack the Bettys. They claimed to shoot down almost a quarter of the nearly forty bombers. On the other hand this drew them out of position to intercept the third raid of twenty or so Betty and Nell aircraft. And a small attack was made on the defenders of Rabaul again.

Hurricanes continued their ground pounding against the Japanese forces outside Rangoon. And Hudsons continued to support the Singapore defenses.

Dead Jap Strait. A minesweeper torpedoed, a freighter torpedoed, another freighter torpedoed, a destroyer bombed (two hits), a freighter torpedoed (two hits), a freighter bombed, a freighter bombed (four hits), a gunboat torpedoed, a freighter bombed. I really wish we had reliable intelligence on the size of the enemy's merchant marine at the start of the war, because we must have damaged or sunk a significant percentage of it here.

In the South China Sea Dutch Martins tried to bomb a battleship identified as the Mutsu. But most of them were damaged by the ships' AAA and they were not able to make any hits.

The Japanese continued to press their attack on Singapore, reducing the fortifications today. The Commonwealth forces launched their attack outside Rangoon but it is hard to determine if they made any progress. There is more skirmishing around Rabaul and the Japanese continued to trade artillery fire with the Philippinos at Manila. On Mindanao the 101st PA Division continued their hunt of the few remaining Japanese troops near Butuan.

At Wake, the 25th Division is unloading and repairs are now proceeding quickly on the airfield. The Saratoga and Lexington are enroute back after replenishing at Midway. Once we can get some aircraft mechanics in to refurbish the aircraft already unloaded in a few days we should be in excellent shape.

I'm not sure how we are doing, only six weeks into this war. In some areas we are doing very well. The recapture of Wake is significant as are the successful defenses of Menado and Mindanao. The enemy's attack on Rabaul appears to be stalled. The enemy's transport and sealift capacity must be taking a serious beating from the attacks in the Singapore/Malacca Strait region. After several years of losing ground, the Chinese now appear to be, however slowly, regaining ground and gaining in strength. And the intelligence division tells me that they believe the Japanese have actually lost more aircraft to date than we have.

On the other hand it appears that Luzon and Malaya will be lost. The defenses of Manila, Bataan and Singapore will delay this conquest but realistically we cannot prevent it. Rangoon is taking a beating and is still in danger, for if Singapore falls the enemy may be able to move those forces north. And we have not touched the core of the enemy's navy, his carriers.

I cannot shake the feeling that another wave of enemy attacks is just over the horizon.

More reports to follow.

24 Jan 42

The Japanese began landing more troops at Manila. Again they managed to slip past the Bataan/Corrigedor fortresses without being spotted. Fortunately the troops and artillery in the city itself were a little more attentive and responded to the mine explosion by opening fire on the transports. Several ships were hit, one sinking later in the day, and heavy enemy troop casualties were inflicted.

The Sealion, patrolling just inside the southern end of Dead Jap Strait, was forced to abort her attack on a damaged freighter by a number of small escorts. Her captain reports that at least one escorting gunboat was already heavily damaged. The Seadragon conducted a surface attack near Formosa. While the enemy transport was heavily damaged by a torpedo hit along with .50 cal and deck gun fire, her rear torpedo tubes were damaged by a hit from the enemy ship's return fire. As she has used almost all her torpedoes anyways she is now retiring to Balikpapan for repairs. Near Camranh Bay the Pickerel tried to attack an freighter but was unable to due to the escorts. The captain reports that it was an odd group of ships, a freighter, a gunboat, a minesweeper, a subchaser and a troop transport modified destroyer.

The destroyer group guarding the primary northern entrance to the Java Sea was able to confirm sinking a Japanese sub. A pair of enemy ships of unknown type have been spotted east of Townville while what is reported as a transport has been seen heading northeast near Deboyne Island (south of Gili Gili). These are both troubling and confusing, hopefully the large number of aircraft on the Australian east coast patrolling the seas will be able to provide better information today.

The Chinese Air Force continued their offensive. They lost one of their SB-2c bombers to Nate interceptors in a raid on Chengting but pressed thru to attack the airfield. The Chinese switched their attention from Hsinyang to Wuhan, catching the Japanese by surprise. Photos taken during the bombing indicate that some of the enemy's recon aircraft based there were damaged or destroyed.

Rangoon was attacked again. Some fifty Zeroes, Nates and Oscars escorted an equal number of Sally bombers. Once again the defending AVG suffered casualties almost entirely at the hands of the Zero pilots. The six freighters for the second attempt to supply Rangoon are formed up and loaded at Diamond Harbor. The bulk of the Royal Navy in the region has just arrived and is topping off their fuel bunkers. They will closely follow the freighters in an attempt to protect them from enemy air attack. In addition, two of the British AAA cruisers and a destroyer will be in amongst the convoy itself.

Oscar and Lily came to visit Kuala again. Proper forms were observed, resulting in several of the Lilys shot down by flak.

Hurricanes again bombed the IJA 55th Division outside Rangoon. Hudsons from the DEI continued their runs against enemy troops attacking Singapore. And Wirraways bombed the enemy in the jungles around Rabaul.

"Swordfish, Vildebeests, Blenheims and Martins. Oh my!" Three freighters torpedoed. A minesweeper torpedoed. A damaged destroyer hit by multiple bombs. A freighter bombed.

Bataan was attacked from the air by some thirty each of Zeroes and Bettys. Once again defending P-40s suffered in dogfights with the Zero. Despite the casualties, some of them did manage to punch thru the escorts and make some passes on the bombers, disrupting their attack.

Two raids attacked Singapore's defenders. The first was a bit under twenty Nells and Bettys, the second about ten Bettys. Neither group had any escorts and the few Hurricanes and Buffalo that are still flying here were able to damage or destroy several of the attacking aircraft.

Another small raid (half-a-dozen each of Zeroes and Bettys) bombed the Australians at Rabaul. While an enemy carrier seems to be directly offshore of Manila. Nearly thirty-five Kates and a dozen Zeroes attacked the defenders there.

The enemy opened their assault on Bataan with an artillery barrage. The defenders place the attacking force at two divisions supported by two tank regiments and some additional brigade or regiment sized units. The Japanese continue to press on Singapore, causing very heavy casualties among the defenders. The attacking force at Manila seems content to shell the city for the moment, probably waiting for more reinforcements to be unloaded. The Allied attack near Rangoon ran up against stiffened resistance and may need to be called off. The Japanese did not respond to patrols and mortar fire by the Australians at Rabaul while the Philippinos continued to hunt down the last enemy forces around Butuan.

More reports to follow.

Holy c**p , how do you do it ? .. [&o] time machine ? holiay ? where do you get the time to write this great AAR ? [:D]

Great reading , even though it takes some eye strain to keep up , better than cut n paste combat reports ,, good work. BTW whats you opinion of the AI so far ?