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Sitrap May 26th 1943 – afternoon

Yorktown never made it back to the wharf in Penghu. As the hope of her survival soared after three days of struggling east on 5 knots, an internal explosion finished her off, in spite of the assistance by several ships following her. She went down with her full aircraft complement, among it, two dozen valuable Hellcat fighters. To fill the cup, escort carrier Long Island was torpedoed later that day as she left Penghu for Shanghai to support the landings there. As a comfort, the new carrier Essex passed through the Panama Canal on the same day, heading for an intermediary stop in Pearl Harbor before she proceeds west.

The landing in Shanghai has developed into a costly business, still not finished. The original target was Nimbo, on the opposite side of the bay to Shanghai. However, before the advanced landing party reached its destination that town was captured by the 185th IR that had marched down from north, it was weakly defended. It was decided instead to go directly for Shanghai as the 100th Chinese Army Corps had already arrived there over land. Shanghai was heavily defended – and mined – heavy losses were inflicted on the landing forces and their landing crafts, some hit mines. First in was the 5th Marines and a Marine tank battalion.

It took several days before the defense was so reduced that landings could continue with relatively minor losses. Minesweeping was arranged for and some very heavy naval bombardments created more than 1.000 fires in the city. After more than a week's fighting, and more US and Chinese forces poured in, the enemy’s strength has slackened considerably. Two more Chinese Army Corps have arrived from north and two regiments of the 43rd IR division are ashore. Tomorrow the 185th IR shall board ships in Ningbo and take the jump across the bay, the third regiment of the 43rd is also on its way. Three naval bombardment groups, including the three battleships Washington, Oklahoma and West Virginia, are planned for tomorrow, on Penghu are 93 level bombers.

British forces have now crossed the border into Thailand, 254th and 267th Armoured Brigades have closed the city of Rahaeng. From there, there are good roads south to Bangkok. Behind those armoured units follow the 4th Gurkha Brigade and the 19th Indian Division. The 2nd RTR is only a two-day march from Tavoy.

Advancing south on the west side of Sumatra, approaching Padang, are 2nd and 45th Recce Regiments. That shall bring British air forces well within range of Singapore. On the Malaccan Peninsula the British forces are consolidating on the line Taiping-Patana.

The Australian preparations for the landings in Milne Bay are going slowly but according to plan. Some assistance shall be given by US air forces. Most of the invasion forces, centered around the 2nd Australian Division, are assembled on amphibious ships and landing craft in Cooktown. The Australian 1st Para Bn. is also there, at its disposal are 49 Marine R4Ds and C-47s. Two units are still missing – the 6th Australian Brigade is presently transferring from transports to landing craft in Townsville and an MG Bn. has just left Brisbane. Its ships shall have to refuel in Bundaberg as there was no fuel left in Brisbane.

More bombers and fighters are standing by to transfer to Port Moresby, a battleship bombardment group is made ready, too. The landings shall start within a week.

Fred

Sitrap June 3rd 1943 – afternoon.

Manila was captured by US forces today – one happy general! Even with the enemy forces split between the Bataan Peninsula and Manila, all US forces eventually had to be concentrated against Manila. The resistance was tougher than what was expected based on the preliminary information. More forces had to be brought in from TayTay, Lubang and Cagayan. In the end four Marine and two Army regiments, with numerous support units, participated in the storming. 503rd Para Regiment jumped over Mabaun, with orders to march on Manila from there. This movement had not started when Manila fell, paratroopers are instead redirected to Batangas where the beaten enemy forces have withdrawn from Manila.

There are now three enemy defense pockets on Luzon – Bataan, Basanga and a stray unit south-west of Aparri, from where they were ousted. How these shall be handled is under evaluation. Guard ships are positioned on the outside to warn of any relief attempts. First point now is to get Manila up and going as the Southwest pacific HQ, its staff is presently on ships destined for Davao but these have been re-directed to Manila. Manila port and airfields are in relatively good shape as a minimum of bombing and naval bombardments were used in this attack. Enemy air activity has been completely subdued for some time.

US carriers Enterprise and Wasp are hovering in the sea west of Luzon. Wasp is waiting for the Manila approaches to be cleared, she need to “see” the wharf there as she has been hit by a torpedo from an enemy submarine.

Sorry to say, the attack on Shanghai has not gone that well, even when, as in Manila, additional units have been poured in from the US-occupied ports along the southern Chinese coast. The enemy’s defences seem to have stabilized, no matter what is thrown at him. It has been a costly fight for the Allies, with much damage to ships, even if only a few have been sunk. There have been serious losses in many of the landing ground units and the wharf in Penghu is over-loaded with work. In conference with the Chinese it has been decided to change the allied strategy. Shanghai shall be besieged, but only with so much forces as is necessary. The most intact own units shall be pulled out and instead start an offensive over the Yang-Tse-Kiang river via Nanking in the north. This is also necessary to cut off the city of Hangkow where 300.000 Chinese and Japanese troops stand against each other in another stand-still. The railway line going north-east from Hangkow has been broken by own forces.

In south-west China the enemy resistance is more or less broken, stray units are being hunted down remorselessly. Chinese forces have even crossed into Indo-China and are only a couple of days’ march from Hanoi and Haiphong. Hong Kong, however, is still holding out. Until further, no major resources shall be used to change that.

The landings in Milne Bay have been going on for some days. No surprises but it’s going slow due to lack of dedicated amphibious vessels, even if some USN landing craft are participating. CVE Barnes, newly arrived from the US, has also assisted. The landings are organised around the 2nd, 6th and 10th Australian Brigades, with numerous ancillary units. It is expected that the enemy shall be driven out of Mine Bay tomorrow but to be sure all off-loaded ships are returning to Port Moresby to load up with reinforcements if need be.

The British leadership has executed a brilliant operation in Thailand. As the British were advancing on, and taking, the city of Rahaeng, right across the border in Thailand, with the intention of pressing on towards Pisanuloke further east, it was found that the small town of Ayuthia, only a day’s march north of Bangkok, was practically undefended. The 77th and 111th Chindits (paras), in Rangoon, were put on stand-by as transport planes were transferred to Rangoon. The purpose? To jump into Ayuthia to secure the railway line between Pisanuloke and Ayuthia. With that stretch in British hands the advance south to Bangkok can be shortened considerably. Ayuthia also has a small airfield.

The same day the attack was set to go in on Pisanuloke, 500 troops from the 111th Chindits jumped over Ayuthia – a gamble before Pisanuloke was captured. Both towns were immediately secured. The 16th Light Cavalry and 25th and 257th Armd. Brigades are presently loading up on trains in Pisanuloke. Right behind them is the whole 19th Indian Division.

Fred

Sitrap June 26th 1943 – afternoon

The Philippines and Burma are now totally cleansed of enemy forces. On Luzon, the 5th Marines have almost reached Legaspi in a thorough search for any stray enemy units and in Burma the last enemy force forces have withdrawn across the border, heading for Chiang Mai in central Thailand. Unfortunately for them the railway line to Bangkok is in allied hands. All Chinese forces have left Burma, the first ones returning have already joined the fighting in central China.

The British are now concentrating everything on a quick capture of Bangkok as their forces’ long supply line from Moulmein has drawn heavily on the supplies of the besieging forces which now consist of the two Chindit Para brigades and the 19th Indian Division, with ancillary units. To that effect, on the request of the British, a large force of B-24 bombers and transport planes have staged through Denpasar, Bali, on their way to bases within range of Bangkok - Sabang, Alor Star, Port Blair, Moulmein and Rangoon. Several hundred bombers and transports are now in place to assist in the attack on Bangkok. Three squadrons of P-38 Lightnings have also transferred there.

At the same time an amphibious force, destined for Tavoy, has loaded up in Madras. The attack on Tavoy shall be combined with a land-based attack by forces which with great difficulty have fought their way down from Rangoon. These are still a couple of days’ march from Tavoy. The four USN escort carriers are still there and shall participate in the attack on Tavoy, they have recently received a healthy volume of aircraft replenishments. Royal Navy’s carrier Illustrious is also present.

The advance on the Malaccan Peninsula is going quite well, British recce forces are almost in Kota Bahru. On Sumatra Padang is being feverishly prepared for a bombing offensive against Singapore by all available Vengeances in the Theatre, around 50 have been concentrated there. The expansion of the airfield has taken longer than hoped for.

The Chinese advance on Hanoi was broken but after a minor setback new, reinforced, forces are again on the march towards west. The Chinese leadership believes it important to take Hanoi and Haiphong, to cut off enemy supplies coming in that way, as well as receive own.

There’s still a standstill in Hong Kong and Shanghai but this is soon to change in Shanghai. Three separate amphibious regiment-sized forces are now ready to make a renewed effort to take the city from the sea-side. The 32nd Division is besieging Hong Kong.

Some of the forces that captured Milne Bay have since gone ashore on Goodenough and Ferguson islands. The enemy was quickly subdued on both locations. There are no immediate plans for a further advance along the north-eastern coast of Papua New Guinea, the Aussies have complete air superiority, as is the case in most areas of the various Theatres. The changing of the guards on the line Bali-Makassar-Kendari-Ambon-Port Moresby-Buna-Milne Bay is soon finished. The Aussies have taken over responsibility including and south of this line, but still have some US air support.

When Shanghai is captured preparations shall start for the first landings on the Japanese main-land. In the mean-time all possible carrier and bombardment forces shall be put in order. It should go off within a month. A large force of minesweepers has just left Pago Pago to participate in this operation.

Fred

Sitrap July 1st 1943 – afternoon

The IJN has probably made their last serious effort to pierce the allied defences of the Malacca Strait. A battleship force led by BB Nagato with two light cruisers and three destroyers of the Kagero-class was surprised by an allied destroyer force just after leaving Singapore on a northerly strike. This sortie followed several nightly bombardments by allied destroyers based in Tandjoengbalai. In an overcast moon-less night the Japanese were taken completely by surprise and given some very rough handling by the destroyers Saufley, Case, Nepal and Relentless. Nagato received an early torpedo hit, IJN Arashio received the first, concentrated shell barrages of the allied destroyer division. Hit by 25 x 5-inch shells she rolled over and sank within minutes. Light cruiser Noshiro was also more or less neutralized and has since been further damaged in Singapore harbour by several bomber strikes flown by the Padang Vengeances. The enemy task force withdrew to Singapore in confusion and Nagato was later reported to have gone down. Two USN destroyers were damaged, only USS Case of any importance, she received 5 x 12,7 cm. shell hits.

The British are keeping up the tempo on both sides of the Malaccan Strait. An armoured recce regiment has reached Kota Bahru and is making ready for an immediate attack, on Sumatra Djangi has been captured by the 2nd and 45th recce regiments. This last event puts Palembang within a couple of days’ march for these fast-moving units. However, little is known of the enemy defences in Palembang, probably the most important oil installations on Sumatra. Some very unconventional moves are necessary to keep up the momentum and take this important city before the enemy has time to respond. The best chance is probably to make use of the large US Air Corps’ transport force as it returns to eastern bases for the attack on Japan. The operation depends on how quickly Tavoy falls as that would free up the two Indian para brigades now participating in that attack.

Bangkok was captured on June 30th and these two units were immediately prepared to reinforce the attack on Tavoy, they have been dropped piecemeal through the last few days and the defenses of Tavoy is quickly getting weaker. Hanoi was captured on the same day as Bangkok! The Chinese forces got very little rest, they were immediately ordered to move south to take Haiphong, as well.

The fighting in the central parts of China have hardened considerably. Shanghai is still holding up even after the second amphibious operations started and the enemy is fighting just as stubbornly in Nanking and Hankow. These two cities both flank the important Yang-Tse-Kiang river and are important for supplies and replenishments of the enemy’s forces in the Chinese interior. The loss or gain of one of these cities shall probably be decisive for the whole Chinese Theatre.

Palau is held down by constant bomber strikes from Morotai. This base has been gradually expanded to accommodate a couple of hundred bombers, mainly B-25, B-24 and a couple of squadrons of the new SBD-5. Two P-38 squadrons are looking after the escort side. This has made it possible for the allied ships to travel freely on the eastern side of The Philippines. The generous airplane numbers and light “work-load” has made this an excellent training ground for newly arrived units. The combined force placed on Morotai is intended to move as a complete entity to whatever suitable base when the invasion of Japan starts.

The stubborn enemy stance in China has given the allied leaders much reason for thought on how he eventually shall defend his home-land – how shall this problem be tackled? Presently, the aim is for the Nagasaki/Sasebo area as the first invasion area.

Fred

Sitrap July 7th 1943 – afternoon

Tavoy in the north and Kota Bahru in the south on the Malaccan Peninsula have been captured and the major part of the attack force of Tavoy is already on the road south to Mergui, the bombing offensive is switched over from Tavoy and the eventual capture of Mergui shall end the northern southward advance on the peninsula. Now that Bangkok and Tavoy are captured the large US air transport fleet is stood down before it returns east. Its last important mission in the South-East Asia Theatre shall be the transport south of the two Indian para brigades planned for the capture of Palembang.

Two large enemy convoys have been spotted south of Saigon, course south-west. Two reduced B-24 squadrons have been ordered down from Port Blair to Kota Bahru to try to track, and eventually destroy, those convoys. Kota Bahru has good airfields and ground service personnel is transferred over by C-47’s from Tandjoengabalai.

Obviously out of naval forces to speak of in Singapore the enemy has now for the first time used MTB’s to inderdict sea transport in the northern part of the Strait. The first day he went as far north as Medan, fortunately nothing was to be found there. A destroyer force went out from Tandjoengbalai to look for them but they slipped past back to Singapore. The next night they didn’t and two of them were sunk in the Strait. Weather permitting, the Padang-based Vengeances bomb Singapore harbour every day, the light cruiser Noshiro has been hit repeatedly, a destroyer sunk.

Haiphong is captured, as well – the enemy is withdrawing south along the coast and the two recce regiments in Cambodia are fast approaching Pnom Penh. From there they shall advance against Saigon. Otherwise, the situation in China is looking bleaker and bleaker, it seems impossible to crush the Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nanking and Hankow defenders. Chinese supplies and morale is dwindling. Something’s soon got to give. More and more transports are assembling in Hengchow in expectance of the fall of Shanghai and the next big move, the jump over to Japan.

Battleship Mississippi, on her way to the wharf in Brisbane to repair previous damage, was torpedoed by an enemy submarine one day north of Brisbane. She avoided five torpedoes but the sixth was a hitter. The submarine was hunted down and sunk by her two escorting destroyers. Luckily, she was capable to continue to -Brisbane under own power.

The enemy submarine forces have had heavy losses the last week.

Fred

Sitrap July 11th 1943 – afternoon

The hope that the enemy had done his worst in the Malaccan Strait was in vain. Three days ago, another strike force, led by the heavy cruiser Aoba, moved north from Singapore. The main force, centered around Aoba hovered between Medan and Tandjoengbalai, speeding south before daybreak and going north again in the evenings. A light cruiser with two destroyers penetrated as far north as Port Blair where it was bombed the first day by Port Blair-based B-24’s. That force disappeared westwards during the day.

Aoba and her cohorts, however, had a couple of rough days, on the first night she was intercepted by the allied destroyers Barton, Meade, Nepal, Relentless and Rotherham. In the brisk change of fire DD Relentless received 11 shell hits, she sunk while trying to get back to Tandjoengbalai. The enemy force turned south with the allied destroyers in hot pursuit. During this chase the two enemy MTB’s of his original four-boat division crossed the course of the pursuing destroyers, one of the MTB’s were sunk in the running fight. In the morning, the four remaining allied destroyers bombarded Singapore. DD Minekaze, already severely damaged, was further damaged when hanging on to her mooring lines on the pier. CA Aoba was claimed sunk by a torpedo hit but was reported afloat in Singapore in the afternoon by a Padang-based Vengeance.

The next night the light cruiser HMS Enterprise and destroyer Lang, both fresh out of the wharf in Colombo, joined the allied force in Tandjoengbalai. In their first excursion that night the sole remaining enemy MTB was encountered, and consequently sunk. Heading south to bombard Singapore they had a surprise welcome party waiting for them. CA Aoba was out again, full of fight, if not fully fit. In a confused fight, Aoba and her two destroyer friends received more than they gave and withdrew to Singapore. Light cruiser Enterprise was supported by five powerful USN and RN destroyers. Before light she withdrew north again and the Japanese task force turned back on a northerly course, too, probably with any serious damage remedied in the meantime. Now only DD Okikaze followed Aoba. All through the day they were pestered by Catalinas and B-25’s flying out of Alor Star and Tandjoengbalai, but no serious damage was inflicted on them.

Next night the pattern pretty much repeated itself but with a second allied task force joining the meddle - the destroyers Abbot, Mahan, Griffin, Inconstant and Redoubt, some of these having become old veterans now. This time the enemy task force did not stay but retreated all the way to Singapore, just to be pestered all through the day by frequent bombing raids. Aoba was the recipient of further bomb hits. Before light Enterprise bombarded Singapore, scoring some hits on the airfield.

The next day, whatever was left of the enemy naval force stayed in Singapore port - Aoba was bombed again. An interesting development is that the allied carrier force, consisting of Illustrious and four USN escort carriers have now moved down the Strait, to well south of Tandjoengbalai, to participate in tomorrow’s air attacks on Singapore. The task force commander considers to have air superiority so he shall be able to defend himself against eventual enemy raids. Not unreasonable, we shall see how that works out. He is even considering to pass out the Singapore sound and return to the Pescadores that way. Actually that is not such a bad idea considering the large enemy ship assembly south of Saigon. He might give a shot at them when passing by.

There has been another interesting sighting, a north-east-bound enemy task force a day’s journey south-west of Sabang. This can be the unit that skirted Port Blair a few days ago. If it is intending to enter the Strait east of Sabang it might get a nasty surprise as battleship New Mexico with heavy cruiser Wichita and two light cruisers are just north of Sabang, arriving from Colombo after ammo refit. The allied task force commander has split up his unit, Wichita and one of the light cruisers shall seek for the enemy unit, New Mexico and the other light cruiser stays in her position north of Sabang.

There has been a change of strategy regarding southern Sumatra. Due to the distances involved the para operations shall necessarily take some days, if at all. There is probably necessary to make two fuel stops enroute with the complications that involve. Having seen how fast the two recce regiments approaching Palembang have moved, it has instead been decided not to push them towards Palembang, but rather turn them around and let them advance on Benkoelen on the west side of Sumatra. The reason for this is that the 11th African Rifles have arrived in Padang on ships from Mombasa. They are kept aboard awaiting the capture of Benkoelen so that they can unload there in an orderly fashion. From Bankoelen it is 4-5 days’ march to Palembang. The possible complication here is that the Benkoelen port has a very low capacity so the unloading shall take some time. In the mean-time the Paras are also being prepared for a south-bound move. They shall not be put in piecemeal if not necessary.

Not much news from China other than that some of the air attack resources have been switched over to Nanking as there are signs of an immediate break-through there. This has also been facilitated by using much of the light cruisers and destroyers in the area to bombard that city. They have sailed up the Yang-Tse-Kiang. This has been made possible because the cities on the western side of the river all the way up to Nanking have been captured. As a bonus a large cargo ship was intercepted in the river south of Nanking and sunk.

The last couple of days two enemy light cruisers have been torpedoed, respectively outside Cam Rahn Bay and Nagasaki/Sasebo. Both are claimed sunk.

Some interesting loss figures based on recently updated intelligence – Japan:

5 battleships – inclusive of Musashi
14 heavy cruisers
21 light cruisers
5 CV/CVL – only one “large” – Kaga. The others being Shoho, Zuiho, Chitose, Chiyoda
62 submarines – all types. 24 large and medium-sized.

Many of the enemy surface ships have gone down in the Malaccan Strait and the Andaman Sea. IOW, mostly scored by the British.

Fred

Sitrap July 17th 1943 – afternoon

The enemy definitively has problems in South-East Asia. On Sumatra’s south-west coast the 2nd Recce Regt. has reached the outskirts of Bengoelen, only 3-4 day’s march to Palembang, one of the most important oil facilities in the Dutch East Indies. With only symbolic enemy forces in Bengoelen, the 45th Recce Regt., only a day behind the 2nd, has been re-directed to proceed directly towards Palembang.

On ships in Padang is the 11th African Rifles Division. One of its ships is weighing anchor this evening to start landing an advanced party in Bengoelen tomorrow evening. This shall immediately start for Palembang, too. The other transports shall follow as the small port in Bengoelen can handle the traffic.

Airlift of a small aircraft handling group from Padang to Bengoelen starts tomorrow. Bombing attacks from Singapore on the ships in the port can be expected so a fighter defense shall be established immediately even if reconnaissance claims the Singapore airfields are quite paralyzed with only few, if any, airplanes of an offensive type. Today’s reconnaissance also reports an enemy heavy cruiser in Singapore so the bombing and bombardment program shall continue. So far, it has proven quite effective in keeping the enemy down.

The British forces in Pnom Penh, Indo-China, is gearing up for the advance on Saigon.

Today, for the first time, the enemy’s defences in Shanghai showed signs of weakening. This may be because the whole weight of the naval bombardments has been switched from Nanking to Shanghai.

Trials have shown that the Sasebo naval base area is out of range if the para transports are to fly from Ningpo. Ningpo is the Chinese base closest to Nagasaki/Sasebo. An alternative plan is set up for the paras. Shall come back on that.

USS Lexington is out of the wharf in Pearl Harbor, she is soon in Brisbane. Lexington II is about to pass through the Panama Canal as is Yorktown II and several “light” and escort carriers. An abundance of landing crafts and assault ships are in place on the Chinese coast ready for the jump over to Japan. First, however, Shanghai needs to be captured.

In San Francisco, the main part of the 35th Infantry Division has loaded up on the passenger liner Queen Elisabeth. The rest shall go on Queen Mary, due out of the wharf in three days.

Ships have also been assembled in SF to carry the 1st Cavalry Division west. It shall leave for the South-West Pacific in a couple of days.

Fred

Sitrap July 23rd 1943 – afternoon

The fight for Kompong Tach, on the south-western corner of Indo-China, has started with an attack by the British 267th Armd. Bde. It has a complement of 6.000 troops with 52 Stuart light tanks and 104 Lees. It is assisted by the 25th Armd. Bde. with 27 light AFV’s. 765 men of the 111th Chindits, flown over from Tavoy, have also been dropped outside the city. The city is expected to be captured within a day or two.

The main part of the 26th Indian Brigade is advancing fast from Pnom Penh towards Saigon, the 4th Gurkha Brigade is right behind.

On Southern Sumatra, the unloading of the 11th African rifles is going very slow. There has been a change of plans regarding the use of the 77th Chindits against Palembang as reconnaissance still reports the defense there to be quite weak. The ground forces presently advancing on Palembang are supposed to suffice. If not, parts of the 77th Chindits shall still be in reserve in Padang. Their transfer there has been delayed by the need to use air transport for the attack on Kompong Tach. Instead, an operation against Oosthaven, on the southern-most point of Sumatra is contemplated for the 77th. That would give control of the important strait between Sumatra and Java.

Shanghai was finally captured on the 20th – a great relief. All enemy air assets not destroyed on the airport in previous attacks got away. However, four mini-subs were captured in the port. The triangle Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo is now being stocked up with construction units working at airfields and port installations. These three bases shall be departure points for the first allied forces landing in Japan. Target date for that is August 7th.

Fred

I see you have both Lexingtons. You can rename the new one if you want to lessen the confusion. How about USS Incredible??[:'(]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I see you have both Lexingtons. You can rename the new one if you want to lessen the confusion. How about USS Incredible??[:'(]

Thank you for your suggestion but don't you think the enemy shall be more confused than me...[;)]....

Fred

Sitrap July 31st 1943 – afternoon.

The first British units have reached Saigon. No offensive action shall be undertaken until the arrival of reinforcements.

An amphibious task force with a British infantry brigade aboard is hovering outside Benkoelen on Sumatra’s west-side, awaiting the advance of the first parts of the 11th African Rifles south from Benkoelen, and the transfer of transport planes for the 77th Chindits in Padang. As it looks now these forces shall be used to take Oosthaven on the southern point of Sumatra. Palembang has probably been reinforced by the enemy as much naval traffic has been reported there.

Kuala Lumpur on the Malaccan Peninsula has been captured by British forces. Singapore next.

The first landings on the Japanese homeland is planned for August 7th. Landing site is the area of Nagasaki/Sasebo. Available forces explicit for this undertaking are:

Hengchow:

Ground forces:

7th, 21st and 22nd Marines
2nd USMC Tank Bn
16th, 17th and 18th Naval Construction Regts
11th and 39th USN Sea Bees
11th Marine Def. Bn
2nd USMC EAB and 131st CE Regt.

Naval units:

24 x Type II Class LST – 1.600 tons
9 x Class 6 LCI – 246 tons
2 x Amphibious (AKA) transports
4 x Amphibious (AP) transports
2 x Amphibious (AP) transports
2 x Empire Class Landing Ship, Dock – Infantry
12 x Amphibious (AK) transports

3 x APD, 4 x SC, 2 x YMS, 14 x DD, 2 x DM, 4 x CL, 1 x CLAA, 2 x BB, 5 x CA

Air:

3 x fighter squadrons of varying strength, 3 x SBD squadrons

Ningpo:

Ground forces:

175th and 177th Naval BFs
19th Combat Eng.Rgt.
1st, 2nd and 3rd USMC Para Bns, 503rd Para Rgt.

Naval units:

2 x amphibious transports (AK), 2 x Landing Ship, Dock (LSD)

Air:

2 x fighter squadrons (1 x P-38), 6 x C-47 squadrons

Shanghai:

Ground forces:

43rd Infantry Division,
145th Infantry Rgt..
6th, 9th and 23rd Marines
3rd USMC Tank Bn
HQ I US Amphib corps
97th FA Bn
102nd Combat engineer Rgt.

Naval units:

5 x YMS minesweepers,
3 x SC sub-chasers
12 x PT’s (tender in Hengchow)

Air:

1 x C-47 squadron

Penghu, The Pescadores

Ground forces:

NIL available

Naval units:

12 x 300 tons LCT
7 x 8 ton LCVP
5 x 27 tons LCM
14 x 1.600 tons LCT
3 x SC sub-chaser
15 x DD, 1 x CL, 2 x CLAA, 3 x CV, 3 x CVE, 1 x BB

Air:

14 x B-17 and B-24 sqdn. of varying strength,
2 x SBD sqdn., 2 x F4U Corsair sqdn., 1 x B-25 sqdn.

Batan Island:

Air:

1 x SBD and 2 x PBY sqdn. To be transferred Shanghai

Wengchow:

5 x B-25 sqdn. to be transferred Shanghai

Canton:

1 x P-47 sqdn. To be transferred Shanghai

Manila:

Naval units:

CV Lexington to move north with 5 DDs.

Air:

5 x B-25 sqdn. To be transferred to Shanghai

Morotai:

1 x B-25, 3 x SBD-5 and 1 x P38 sqdn. to move north


The Aussies are yearning to develop and increase their hold on the south-eastern coast of PNG, eventually also to go against Rabaul, but has been convinced by MacArthur to be patient as he needs all available bombers for another operation.

Allied offensives against the three main Japanese strongholds in China, Hong Kong, Nanking and Hankow, shall be scaled down till after the first part of the invasion of Japan is secured.

Fred

Sitrap August 6th 1943 – afternoon

Large US forces are now coiled up in the East China Sea, poised to invade Japan. Midway between Shanghai and Nagasaki/Sasebo, an important enemy naval base area, US task forces have assembled to make the first landings on Japanese soil. First ashore shall be the 9th Marines, followed by 3rd USMC Tank Bn, 97th FA Bn and 131st Combat engineer Regt. A TF with the 113th USAAF BF is hovering outside in the expectance of the capture of the first airfield. Pre-landing artillery support shall be given by a battleship force led by USS Oklahoma. With her are cruiser Quincy and destroyers Buchanan and Maury. Other bombardment group are on stand-by on the Chinese side.

Close-up air support is by the three escort carriers Anzio, Barnes and Copahee, as well as large light and heavy bomber forces flying from Shanghai, Hangchow and Ningpo. The 503rd Bde. (airborne), stationed in Ningpo, shall jump on the first day. It has seven squadrons at its disposal, in all 120 transport planes.

Carriers Lexington Hornet and Essex, on their way from Penghu, The Pescadores, shall reach the assault assembly point tomorrow morning. The airfields around Nagasaki have been softened up considerably but the enemy resistance has been rather feeble from the start. All available P-38 and P-47 squadrons are transferred to Shanghai to give maximum escort to the heavy bombers. In addition to this, fighters and light bombers from the carriers shall interdict enemy air, sea and ground activities. As can be seen from the previous sitrap there is an ample collection of ground reinforcement units available in China.

As the preparations for this operation developed the British have continued to reap new successes in Indo-China, Malacca and on Sumatra. The assault on Saigon has started in earnest, participating are the 254th and 267th Armoured Bdes and the 26th Indian and 48th Gurkha Bdes. The 111th Chindits (Airborne) are stand-by in Pnom Penh. They marched there overland after the fighting for Kompong Trach. Saigon is expected to fall within two or three days.

The 5th and 16th British Bdes. have taken the city of Malacca, just north of Singapore. Malacca has very good airfields and rail connection all the way up to Alor Star. Presently, a stray enemy unit is blocking that line at one place but measures have been taken to get rid of it. Fighters have already been transferred to Malacca airfield and air support units are flown in from Singora. That base is no longer needed as the enemy has been driven out of the Gulf of Siam.

Yesterday, the 23rd British Bde. started an amphibious landing outside Oosthaven, on the extreme southern tip of Sumatra, at the same time as the 45th Recce Rgt. reached the city from the land-side. 111th RN BF started to go ashore this morning. This landing operation is supported by the USN escort carriers Sangamon, Chenango, Suwannee, Nassau and Prince William. HMS Victorious with her escort is hovering farther out in the Indian Ocean. When this operation is finished most US naval and air units shall be withdrawn to be concentrated for the attack on Japan. One of the original six carriers sent to assist the British is still in the wharf in Calcutta and won’t be out for weeks. A proper air contingent shall be left behind for her when the others leave.

As soon as Oosthaven is captured the Bangka Strait between Sumatra and Java shall be closed, Oosthaven has a very good airfield. Proven by a lot of enemy naval traffic that was discovered as this area was first scouted, this route has probably been used to communicate with the Japanese homeland, by going around Australia, a suspicion upheld by various contacts with enemy traffic in the ocean area between Tasmania and New Zealand. This would explain the enemy lack of attempts to break the Formosan blockade. One scout even reported an enemy battleship with cruiser and destroyer escort heading south-east along the coast of Java. This could be damaged ships escaping from Singapore and Palembang. USN escort carriers Breton and Corregidor, newly arrived in the South-West Pacific and on their way to clean up the Java Sea have been ordered to cut through the Malayan Barrier east of Denpasar, Bali, to look for this enemy force out in the Indian Ocean.

There is a slight problem with the fuel and supply flow which has resulted in priority given to such transports rather than that of more fighting units. Also, a clean-up of previously important bases is necessary. Too much resources and personnel are lingering on places far removed from where the action is now. Even if Operation Japan has started, and because the British have done their worst, some admittance shall be made to the constant Australian requests for further advances in “their” territory, NPG, the Bismarck-archipelago and the Solomons.

Fred

Sitrap August 8th 1943 - afternoon

Yesterday morning the 9th Marines landed on the island of Fukue-Jima, 30 nautical miles west of Nagasaki, in the East China Sea. Much efforts had been spent to give the enemy the impression of a landing near Nagasaki. This hoax obviously succeeded as Fukue-Jima was only weakly defended, the only resistance during the landings was a couple of coastal artillery batteries which were quickly subdued. Recent reconnaissance of Nagasaki led to the decision to rather take Fukue-Jima first, and develop it as a support base for the next step. At noon, all resistance was quelled, when the 503rd (Airborne) jumped they could do so without any opposition. It was also time to break off the landings of the tank and artillery battalion assigned to the 9th Marines, they were diverted back to Shanghai to keep them intact for the next landing. In the afternoon, when two squadrons of Thunderbolts circled the Fukue-Jima airfield, and landed, they were met by their ground crews which had gone ashore in the wake of the 9th. The airfield was quite intact as very little bombing and shelling took place before the landings.

Oosthafen, on the south point of Sumatra, is also secured, the defenders withdrew towards the east coast. There has been an unfortunate setback near Palembang, the recce regiment that probed the defences of the city was surprised by a well-executed counter-attack by the defenders, resulting in its total annihilation in the best Japanese tradition. Nothing more shall be done about Palembang until the arrival of reinforcements, the 11th African Rifles are on the move from Benkoelen as well as going ashore from ships in Oosthafen. Those in Oosthafen shall go by rail to Praboemoelih before they advance on Palembang. It was planned to use the 77th Chindits (Airborne) in their primary fashion but it has since been decided that Palembang is too heavily defended. Instead, they shall support the ground forces in an attack overland. The air defenses on western Java has, for a large part, been subdued.

On the other, eastern part, of Java there is some important enemy activity. The battleship Musashi, claimed sunk on several occasions, has been reported by air reconnaissance together with a couple of destroyers. She is obviously heavy damaged and has taken cover in a port east of Soerebaja, probably intending to escape into the Indian Ocean. Several light carriers and surface forces are being directed towards her last known location. At the moment the allied combat capability is quite superior in this area

In Indo-China the 111th Chindits (Airborne) has joined the assault on Saigon, they were dropped over Saigon this morning.

The tough enemy opposition in Hankow and Nanking has triggered a couple of ingenious operations. It is suspected that these garrisons, closed off from most supply routes have possibly been supplied via the Yang-Tse-Kiang river. Therefore, two small naval task forces have been dispatched up the river to close it off. The USMC 1st Para Bn has been put down on a strategic cross-road north of Nanking. With this done both cities should be completely closed off from the outside world, except by air. This is also being taken care of.

Fred

Palembang is on the list of "must defend" places for Mr. AI. If there are tanks there, your infantry might not be able to knock them out yet. You need a tank Bn or A/T guns to support them. IIRC the African units look OK on paper but their experience is too low for combat against a difficult position. They need to attack some weak base forces to build up their experience first.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Palembang is on the list of "must defend" places for Mr. AI. If there are tanks there, your infantry might not be able to knock them out yet. You need a tank Bn or A/T guns to support them. IIRC the African units look OK on paper but their experience is too low for combat against a difficult position. They need to attack some weak base forces to build up their experience first.

Thank you, BB - there are some other British units involved, as well. We shall se how it works out. If at all....

Fred

Sitrap August 11th 1943 – afternoon

Nanking and Saigon were both captured yesterday.

The trap that was set for the battleship Musashi succeeded, not by the hands of the carriers or any of the heavy allied units but by a four-boat PT patrol sent out from Denpasar. They caught her in the anchorage of Pamekasan east of Soerebaja. The honor goes to PT-160 with a torpedo hit from 3.000 yards. With her down followed DD Shinonome, expedited by another four-boat PT patrol, credited to PT-143. Before that another of the enemy destroyers, DD Maikaze, was sunk by allied surface forces in the Java Sea led by battleship Nevada. Another went down not far from where Musashi was found, hit by B-25s flying from Denpasar and TBDs from a CVE TF hovering just south of Denpasar. The anchorage was defended by enemy Zero and Tojo fighters, in one attack seven of twelve TBDs were shot down but they claimed a destroyer, unknown ID, with a torpedo.

Thunderbolts, flying from Fukue-Jima have achieved air superiority over Nagasaki. More fighters are transferred there as the airfield is expanded and improved upon. Ground support units have arrived, too.

The US units destined for the next landing on Japanese soil are now aboard ships in Shanghai and Hanchow. The main unit is 6th Marines with the 2nd in reserve. The 503rd Bde (Airborne) shall support the assault, boarding their transport planes on Fukue-Jima.

The last night, battleship West Virginia with cruisers Louisville, Chester and Indianapolis performed a nightly bombardment of the Sasebo base area in Nagasaki. Multiple hits registered on the airfield and port installations with no losses to own units. Preparations for this operation started with mine-sweeping two days earlier in which no less than nine USN minesweeper were sunk by enemy coastal batteries - 127 and 150 mm. guns. Before that they had swept more than 200 mines.

Fred

Sitrap August 16th 1943 – afternoon

This has been quite an eventful week. The discovery of a large enemy fighter component on the Soerebaja airfields when hunting for the Musashi, with many of the modern “Tojo” fighters which, if own losses means anything, obviously were flown by well-trained pilots, triggered a campaign to destroy that force. To that purpose fighter and bomber units were moved west to Denpasar and Macassar and the two carrier groups in the area were positioned south of Denpasar. The first day can only be described as a disaster, our bombers’ escorts did not show up, resulting in heavy losses both in land-based and carrier dive-bombers. As the battle wore on through several days it can now be said that the enemy force is neutralized. One more day of airfield attacks and the carriers shall withdraw to Manila through the South China Sea, to make a contribution to the capture of Palembang on their way.

The first, four-ship tanker, convoy that went through the Malacca Strait some days ago has now reached its destination, if somewhat reduced - two made it. The passage through the South China Sea, escorted by two destroyers, went without incidents except a feeble attack by a couple of Bettys flying from the Singapore area. Unescorted from there, the voyage went well all the way to just west of Vigan, Luzon. There, two enemy escort destroyers caught up with them, this pair had been in the area for some time but was believed to have left the area when they suddenly re-appeared to sink one of the tankers. The remaining three withdrew to Vigan and a chase by PT’s were initiated to find the two “E”’s – without success. As the convoy continued the next day, the enemy came back and sunk another tanker, the two last ones escaped in the foul weather. After that, one of the enemy ships were sunk by patrol planes, the other escaped east south of Formosa.

After that, two small convoys have passed through the Strait, bound for Saigon and Rangoon with supplies to the garrisons there. The last of those two convoys was attacked by torpedo-bombers flying from the Singapore area, now there was five of them, indicating that the enemy had been able to build up his air force in Singapore again. A major effort to reduce the airfields there again is now under way and seems to be effective. Bombers flying from Tandjoengbalai, Malacca, Padang, Benkoelen and Oosthafen have participated in this. Another large tanker convoy is ready in Malacca City to proceed through the Strait to its destination in China – or Japan. This one shall be heavier escorted.

The main part of the 11th African Rifles, with supplementary units, have now reached Palembang, the first probing attacks shall start tomorrow.

At the same day as the air campaign against Soerebaja started, a similar campaign was initiated against the Fukuoka airfields on the north side of the Kyushu Island after the Nagasaki airfields have been neutralized. A large enemy fighter force was based there, again with a decent number of the enemy’s new “Tojo” fighter type. These have proved quite effective against our bombers and Wildcat fighters. As this force was being reduced, three days ago the 6th Marines landed in Shimonoseki, north and east of Nagasaki and Fukuoka. The reason for picking this as the next landing site in Japan is its position just east of the sound (and bridge) between the islands of Kyushu and Honshu, the largest Japanese island. From there, there are good roads along the northern and southern side of the island. Hiroshima, with Kure naval base, is only a couple of days’ march away. Shimonoseki, with its ancient fortress, was captured on the second day of the landings, the airfield is already in use. Following this was yesterday’s landings in Fukuoka by the 148th Infantry Regiment and ancillary units. The 6th Marines in Shimonoseki has already started west to support that landing if necessary. On ships in the East China Sea are also the 2nd and 7th Marines with support units.

As soon as those two cities are in our hands the offensive to roll up the Japanese island defenses can begin. Both cities have excellent airfield and port facilities. In Shimonoseki dozens of light vessels were captured in port. Three of our destroyers which were damaged by artillery fire and mines during the landings have secured at the local wharf for preliminary repairs. The wharf is reported to be fully intact. Nagasaki shall, for a large part, be left alone, it is too heavily defended to take it on at this stage. That shall be the work of the 43rd Infantry Division, just now boarding ships in Shanghai. They shall attack from the land-side. In the mean-time regular PT patrols shall keep the enemy on his toes and blockade the port.

Fred

Sitrap August 17th 1943 – afternoon

This morning the 148th US Infantry Regiment started their attack to clean the city, airfield and port facilities of Fukuoka. In the afternoon, the enemy was defeated and withdrew south-west towards Nagasaki. An enemy tank regiment, the 19th, was the main defender, only supported by some AA and service units.

Due to the city’s early fall other US units, called in from Shimonoseki could be stood down to prepare for the eastward advance on Honshu Island. Because of this the 2nd and 7th US Marines can also unload in Shimonoseki in peace-like conditions.

The loot of captured vessels in the port was overwhelming, even more so than in Shimonoseki.

The bombings of the Singapore airfields have been quite successful, reconnaissance after todays’ strikes showed many planes destroyed on the ground, among them the five Betty bombers that had attacked the first convoys going through the Malacca Strait. The second tanker convoy headed for the allied forces in the China/Japan Theatre has now left Malacca City, it is planned to join up with another convoy originating in Oosthaven, which is just now passing the sound between Singapore and south-western Borneo. Both are heavily escorted and shall continue to stay so. British naval ships shall be released midway in the South China Sea.

An enemy cruiser force, Kamano and Jintsu, that tried to infiltrate into the Celebes Sea has been annihilated south-east of Davao by TBM's flying from Davao. Planes from carrier Lexington escorted by destroyer escort Laffey has damaged several ships, among them the heavy cruiser Chikuma, of a convoy that managed to pass through the blockade south of Formosa, south-east of Okinawa. She was hurried up from Penghu and caught up with them on the second day out. She is now on her way back to Penghu. Destroyer Nagatsuki was also heavily damaged, if not sunk.

This day’s attempt to neutralize the enemy fighters in Soerebaja was a disappointment. He still has a considerable force there and the allied losses were heavy. It has been decided to leave them alone, not to spend more of the carrier squadrons. Those are the ones that have suffered the most. The more so as a westbound enemy CS force has been reported east of Davao. Reports say one heavy cruiser and two seaplane carriers. Probably carrying aircraft replenishments to Java and/or Singapore. It is organized for a trap in the Celebes Sea, among it the carriers used in the attack on Soerebaja the last few days. They were originally planned for the attack on Palembang but as their air complements have been seriously depleted they shall instead participate in the hunt for the westbound enemy CS task force. After that they shall replenish in Manila.

A strong allied cruiser force is also dispatched from Denpasar to cut off the enemy force in the Celebes Sea.

Fred

Below, the lists of ships captured or destroyed in Fukuoka port:

.....and these:

....and these: