Spotlight On The Philipines
The Japanese desicion to bypass the Philipines continues to bear bitter fruit for Japan. an additional 10,000 supplies have been unloaded at Legaspi in the last week, there are 10,000 more in ships at the port and 28,000 coming across the Pacific from Pearl in a 4 ship convoy that will soon pass South of Iowa Jima. If it gets through then the Philipines will recive 50,000 supply in February, enough to take the Islands into April 1942.
The Army is entrenched at Clark Field in a level 6 fortress that is about to go to Level 7, and they are sitting on 20,000 supply. I grabbed San Marcelino because Blackwatch was bombing Clark and Manila heavily and I needed a good airfield in the North, Australian Hudsons and US B25s are now flying anti shipping strikes from 5 different locations, and the Japanese have not been able to suppress more than 2 at one time.
Here is the map, some day by day results are below it.
On Feb 7th the Japanese moved into Clark Field for the third time and bombarded:
Ground combat at Clark Field
Japanese Bombardment attac
Attacking force 118388 troops, 1477 guns, 141 vehicles
Defending force 78325 troops, 826 guns, 271 vehicles
Allied ground losses:
725 casualties reported
Guns lost 4
Too strong to shock attack them out, this time they are here to stay.
Widespread air attacks failed to damage any Japanese shipping.
On the 8th a Japanese ASW group was attacking a US Sub off Vigan when this notable example of Army-Navy cooperation occurred:
Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 3
B-25C Mitchell x 19
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
PC Shonan Maru #1
PG Chohakusan Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PC Kyo Maru #13, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
PG Chiyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PC Kyo Maru #2
I am using Mitchells and Hudsons because they can get all the way to Darwin from Davao, on any given day I have 40-60 bombers with mission orders in the Philipines.
This is a typical raid, note the infanty casualties. Its doubtful this ship will sink, but it is traveling slower than before which messes up the Japanese time table.
Allied aircraft
Hudson I x 3
No Allied losses
Japanese Ships
AP Aikoku Maru, Bomb hits 1
Japanese ground losses:
4 casualties reported
Guns lost 1
Also on the 8th Japan switches from bombing Soerbaja to hitting Davao:
Day Air attack on Davao , at 41,61
Japanese aircraft
G3M Nell x 46
G4M1 Betty x 3
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M Nell: 5 damaged
Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Airbase hits 3
Runway hits 6
Since I have 5 bases they are often empty and, as we say here in New England, Blackwatch gets scrod.
This attack is actually a strategic success for the Allies, the Japanese are pulling efforts away from their main object of Java to deal with the bypassed but not neautralized Philipines.
The B25s visit the ASW TF again:
Japanese Ships
PG Chohakusan Maru, Bomb hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
She sinks at the end of the day.
So does this one:
Japanese Ships
PC Kyo Maru #13, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
Feb 8th was a good day for the US Army Airforce, the same bombers did nothing on the 7th. The game seems to go that way.
This time we both bombard:
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 118403 troops, 1477 guns, 143 vehicles
Defending force 77847 troops, 826 guns, 271 vehicles
Allied ground losses:
365 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 58560 troops, 765 guns, 6 vehicle
Defending force 135693 troops, 1477 guns, 307 vehicles
Japanese ground losses:
1613 casualties reported
Guns lost 50
Vehicles lost 6
On the 10th a couple of PCs get bombed but there is not nearly as much action as the day before. However the Japanese commander at Clark decides that the American and Philipine troops have been softened up enough and launches a deliberate attack:
Japanese Deliberate attack
Attacking force 122179 troops, 1413 guns, 137 vehicles
Defending force 77737 troops, 825 guns, 270 vehicles
Japanese assault odds: 0 to 1 (fort level 6)
Japanese ground losses:
2559 casualties reported
Guns lost 67
Vehicles lost 9
Allied ground losses:
155 casualties reported
Guns lost 6
Apperantly the Japanese commander was wrong.
Question for the group, if I shock attack on the 13th will I drive the Japanese out of the hex or are there too many of them?
On the 10th the Japanese hit San Marcelino
Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-Ib Oscar x 35
Ki-30 Ann x 30
Ki-21 Sally x 38
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-30 Ann: 2 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-25C Mitchell: 5 destroyed
Allied ground losses:
7 casualties reported
Airbase hits 12
Airbase supply hits 6
Runway hits 62
I have already moved to Clark, the B25 group has low moral and by the 11th it will be in Davao on its way to Darwin. Another B25 group is resting there, and may come North.
At sea 2 more PCs and A MSW get bombed, one of the PCs is hit 9 times. I get the feeling the Japanese are detouring around the Philipines now.
On the 11th 2 more escort vesseles eat a bomb each and an AP does as well. The bombardment attacks at Clark continue with the heavier casualties on the Japanese side. Of course the Philipines will fall eventually but so far they have caused the loss of maybe a dozen Japanese surface ships, inflicted between 10,000 and 20,000 casualties and they show no signs of weakening any time soon. Many of the ground units are at 100% strength and have 100% planning for Clark. I just want to see more of the airforce that has been fighting for Java flying over Manila.
And I want those 28,000 supplies to unload undetected.
So back to the Question, Shock attack at Clark? The enemy still looks pretty strong, this is the most recent round of bombardment attacks:
Ground combat at Clark Field
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 114025 troops, 1244 guns, 120 vehicles
Defending force 77944 troops, 827 guns, 271 vehicles
Allied ground losses:
204 casualties reported
Guns lost 2
Ground combat at Clark Field
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 59183 troops, 766 guns, 6 vehicles
Defending force 130609 troops, 1244 guns, 293 vehicles
Japanese ground losses:
830 casualties reported
Guns lost 32
Vehicles lost 2
If I can keep inflicting 4 to 1 casualties eventually the Japanese will run out of troops, but I doubt it will work that way in the end.