March 19, 20, 21, 22:
Shwebo back in Allied hands, but now without supplies.
Three days of quiet, followed by...
Key: TT = Torpedo; bb = ground bombardment; c = casualties; b = base hits; s = supply hits; r = runway hits; p = port hits; f = fuel hits; AV = Assault Value; DC = Depth Charged;
(*) = destroyed aircraft; If odds are underlined, they are the Allies; BG = Bomber Group of 48 planes (4 x 12 bomber squadrons)
Subs:
Pompon gets a TT hit on an xAK between Iwo Jima and Japan.
Sargo hits an xAKL off Geraldton with single TT.
CVs:
Mine are at Melbourne.
India/Burma:
Shwebo - An empty base comes back into Allied hands on 21st.
22nd - Massive sweeps by Tojo!![X(] 42, 54, & 42 find the skies empty. These are followed by Helen bombers with Oscar escorts. 44 Oscars with 53 Helens = 2b, 5s, 22r; 19 Oscars with 31 Helens = 3s, 6r; 37 Helens = 3b, 2s, 7r.
Akyab - 2 hexes to SE is my advancing troops which has Hurricanes on LRCAP. I lose 3 of 6 to a sweep by 42 Tojo. I stand down my fighters after this and give over the defense to my flak units. The same group of Tojo sweep the empty skies on 21st. I try another deliberate attack on the 22nd and get
161:187 odds. the Aussie combat engineers don't help enough.
China:
North -
Sian - AF is attacked by up to 12 Sonia daily.
Lanchow - Up to 9 Oscars with 82 Sally/Helen attack AF along with the troops daily.
Urumchi - Another attack on 21st gets 35:
45 odds.
South - [>:]
Australia:
Lord Howe Island - Up to 33 Mitchell II attack the troops daily while 10 A-29 Hudson and 36 B-17s continue to keep the base closed. No flak is seen. [:)]
Night Naval bombardment of Lord Howe Island at 100,169 (21st)
Allied Ships
CL Columbia
CL Cleveland
DD Preston
DD Fanning
DD Waller
DD Saufley
DD Radford
DD O'Bannon
Japanese ground losses:
134 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 15 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Airbase hits 6
Airbase supply hits 3
Runway hits 21
Port hits 18
Port supply hits 2
Cairns - On 21st
Ground combat at Cairns (92,140)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 3852 troops, 9 guns, 698 vehicles, Assault Value = 396
Defending force 199 troops, 3 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1
Allied adjusted assault: 223
Japanese adjusted defense: 1
Allied assault odds: 223 to 1 (fort level 3)
Allied forces CAPTURE Cairns !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(+), disruption(-)
preparation(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
236 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 17 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 3 (3 destroyed, 0 disabled)
Units retreated 1
Defeated Japanese Units Retreating!
Assaulting units:
2/8th Armoured Regiment
2/4th Armoured Regiment
2/9th Armoured Regiment
2/7th Armoured Regiment
754th Tank Battalion
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
2/10th Armoured Regiment
Defending units:
43rd JNAF AF Unit /3
South Pacific:
Norfolk Island - 3 Fletcher DDs are just off northern tip of NZ and go to full speed (38 knots with 11 hex movement) to hit the ships here on the night of the 22nd. A single xAK is sunk with 32 shell hits and 2 TT hits. They also inflict 633 casualties.
Noumea - I try out the air defenses on the 22nd with B-17/24s from Suva. The Zeros do well. 31 Zero vs 18 B-24s & 9 B-17s = 1:
1 losses and only 6r; 24 Zero vs 18 B-24s = 1:
2 & 6r; 11 Zero vs 9 B-17s = 3r; 4 Zeros vs 9 B-17s = 5r; 2 Zero vs 9 B-17s = 1b, 1s, 2r;
Central Pacific: [>:]
North Pacific: [>:]
Engineering: Buldir F3; Bowen AF3; Gisborne F4; Maryborough AF6; Roi-Namur F2; Rockhampton AF8; Ailinglaplap F3;
Recon/Intel:
Esperance - 10F, 9B, 19 Aux; 4 ships; 8 LCUs - 11620/143/15
Horn Island - 43F, 31B; 12 LCUs - 16540/108/75
Port Moresby - 35F, 0B, 7 Aux; 10 LCUS - 27940/224/129
Notes:
Burma - My progress here will come down to two factors - supply and PP. I have construction engineers marching from Dimapur to Warazup and should arrive in significant numbers in late April (Monsoons starts in mid-May). I now have Shwebo back in Allied hands, but I need supplies to expand the size 1 AF to allow fighters. I will not be able to LRCAP the AF from Katha and/or Kalemyo in sufficient numbers due to distance (3 hexes). Just too many Tojo to face right now. The Americans have 2 FGs (75 planes each) - one with P-40Ks and another with P-38s. I just got 4x USN fighter groups (18 planes each) at Bombay that are still training and will upgrade from Wildcats to Corsairs and/or Hellcats later. I need another 4 to 6 months worth of PP to buy out additional divisions.
Australia - I looked back in my notes and found its been only 2 months since I took an empty Bourke to start my break out from the southern part. I've just taken a lightly held Cairns. So far its been nothing but moving north and taking almost nothing but empty bases followed by moving troops by rail into those empty bases. I was just able to move F-4/5s into Townsville to do some recon. I WILL need to capture Horn Island, but I was already intending to avoid Port Moresby. I want to keep Nick's attention over here for the next 6 to 8 weeks while I prep for western Australia.
Two Wildcat groups are moved from training at Bombay to here. 
