At dawn we slept...in the cab on the way back from Olongapo

[Cap Mandrake]

2 1/3rd divisions in Western Sumatra and 5+ divisions in Vietnam. These are troops that will not participate in the attack at Luzon. Of course, the Japanese have to fight where they can.


If Luzon holds and can be supplied and reinforced with heavy bombers after an attack at Guam then it will be the end for the Empire. Luzon and Mindanao will choke off oil from the DEI.

[Cap Mandrake]

Logistical Issues: In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras, I have moved 162,000 Allied troops to Rabaul. This is a level 7 Port now and a level 9 AF. Normally, this would not be a problem but the base is rated at 45,000 troops. Either it doesn't rain there enough or there it's really hard to dig a latrine in RabauL.


I have nearly 40,000 supply there but it's asking for 80,000.

[Cap Mandrake]

SouPac HQ, Rabaul:[/b}

FAM: Bottled water, you say? That seems silly.

Young man in fine linen slacks: Wait till you taste it! It's rushes from a mountain spring in Fiji!

FAM: FIJI!? Dude, that's like thousands of miles away from here!

Young man in fine linen slacks: Sir, have you heard about Spangler's spring at Gettysburg?

FAM: I'm listening.....

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

SouPac HQ, Rabaul:[/b}

FAM: Bottled water, you say? That seems silly.

Young man in fine linen slacks: Wait till you taste it! It's rushes from a mountain spring in Fiji!

FAM: FIJI!? Dude, that's like thousands of miles away from here!

Young man in fine linen slacks: Sir, have you heard about Spangler's spring at Gettysburg?

FAM: I'm listening.....

I know of a community that drilled 600 feet for water, the last 300 feet through solid granite. They claim that it tastes so good but why do they pee and poop in it more than they drink of it? [&:]

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Logistical Issues: In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras, I have moved 162,000 Allied troops to Rabaul. This is a level 7 Port now and a level 9 AF. Normally, this would not be a problem but the base is rated at 45,000 troops. Either it doesn't rain there enough or there it's really hard to dig a latrine in RabauL.


I have nearly 40,000 supply there but it's asking for 80,000.

This stacking limit is correct since the Japanese only had 100,000 troops there which is much less than the 45,000 rating.

In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras . . .

With pasta cooked el dente, lots of grated cheese topping, lots of garlic bread, and a good salad? Some nice lambrusco, a robust red table wine, as well?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Logistical Issues: In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras, I have moved 162,000 Allied troops to Rabaul. This is a level 7 Port now and a level 9 AF. Normally, this would not be a problem but the base is rated at 45,000 troops. Either it doesn't rain there enough or there it's really hard to dig a latrine in RabauL.
I have nearly 40,000 supply there but it's asking for 80,000.

Are you kidding? There are two active volcanos there to incinerate waste and sterilize your backside with heat and Sulphur Dioxide. Water isn't the only answer!

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Logistical Issues: In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras, I have moved 162,000 Allied troops to Rabaul. This is a level 7 Port now and a level 9 AF. Normally, this would not be a problem but the base is rated at 45,000 troops. Either it doesn't rain there enough or there it's really hard to dig a latrine in RabauL.
I have nearly 40,000 supply there but it's asking for 80,000.

Are you kidding? There are two active volcanos there to incinerate waste and sterilize your backside with heat and Sulphur Dioxide. Water isn't the only answer!

So the volcanoes can incinerate the waste, no need to dig latrines. But there is only one volcano and Simpson harbor is the caldera for it:

The Rabaul caldera, or Rabaul Volcano, is a large volcano on the tip of the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, and derives its name from the town of Rabaul inside the caldera. The caldera has many sub-vents, Tavurvur being the most well known for its devastating eruptions over Rabaul. The outer flanks of the highest peak, a 688-metre-high asymmetrical pyroclastic shield, are formed by thick pyroclastic flow deposits.[1] There is no sign of a pyroclastic shield along the rim of the caldera, making the location likely underwater, on the caldera's floor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabaul_caldera

. . . By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul.
.
.
.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabaul

Of course, with Simpson Harbor over a volcano, just think if it would have went off when the Japanese fleet was there? [X(]

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Logistical Issues: In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras, I have moved 162,000 Allied troops to Rabaul. This is a level 7 Port now and a level 9 AF. Normally, this would not be a problem but the base is rated at 45,000 troops. Either it doesn't rain there enough or there it's really hard to dig a latrine in RabauL.


I have nearly 40,000 supply there but it's asking for 80,000.

This stacking limit is correct since the Japanese only had 100,000 troops there which is much less than the 45,000 rating.

In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras . . .

With pasta cooked el dente, lots of grated cheese topping, lots of garlic bread, and a good salad? Some nice lambrusco, a robust red table wine, as well?

.
Wait, 100,000 is > 45,000

By ra way, if you are in San Diego and want a really good high end Italian restaurant I would recommend Baci. If you want a fatntastic grilled veal chop try Mahattan in La Jola

[Disco Duck]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Logistical Issues: In anticipation of the attack on the Marinaras, I have moved 162,000 Allied troops to Rabaul. This is a level 7 Port now and a level 9 AF. Normally, this would not be a problem but the base is rated at 45,000 troops. Either it doesn't rain there enough or there it's really hard to dig a latrine in RabauL.
I have nearly 40,000 supply there but it's asking for 80,000.

Are you kidding? There are two active volcanos there to incinerate waste and sterilize your backside with heat and Sulphur Dioxide. Water isn't the only answer!

So the volcanoes can incinerate the waste, no need to dig latrines. But there is only one volcano and Simpson harbor is the caldera for it:

The Rabaul caldera, or Rabaul Volcano, is a large volcano on the tip of the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, and derives its name from the town of Rabaul inside the caldera. The caldera has many sub-vents, Tavurvur being the most well known for its devastating eruptions over Rabaul. The outer flanks of the highest peak, a 688-metre-high asymmetrical pyroclastic shield, are formed by thick pyroclastic flow deposits.[1] There is no sign of a pyroclastic shield along the rim of the caldera, making the location likely underwater, on the caldera's floor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabaul_caldera

. . . By 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul.
.
.
.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabaul

Of course, with Simpson Harbor over a volcano, just think if it would have went off when the Japanese fleet was there? [X(]

A few years ago a category five storm hit Wake Island. Of course it was evacuated but it made wonder what would have happened during the way when it would have been a big surprise.[X(]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Disco Duck

A few years ago a category five storm hit Wake Island. Of course it was evacuated but it made wonder what would have happened during the way when it would have been a big surprise.[X(]

With all the shipping and subbing in the Pacific, I doubt a Cat 5 storm could be a complete surprise. Once seen forming, both Japanese and US would have kept subs nearby to track direction of movement for their own forces. Halsey tried to play footsie with a typhoon, cruising close to the expected track, when it veered and took Third Fleet into the heart of the storm.

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Disco Duck

A few years ago a category five storm hit Wake Island. Of course it was evacuated but it made wonder what would have happened during the way when it would have been a big surprise.[X(]

With all the shipping and subbing in the Pacific, I doubt a Cat 5 storm could be a complete surprise. Once seen forming, both Japanese and US would have kept subs nearby to track direction of movement for their own forces. Halsey tried to play footsie with a typhoon, cruising close to the expected track, when it veered and took Third Fleet into the heart of the storm.

Just finished "Halsey's Typhoon"...

It depends what you mean by "complete surprise"... In some cases, there were no ships or aircraft within hundreds of miles within major storms. In one case, a weather unit was told to produce a forecast about a major storm that might impinge on an operation and there were no units anywhere in the area that could give reliable data. The forecasters told their headquarters that the storm would affect the target area. Headquarters told them that they were wrong, ordered them to redo the forecast to show a different storm track. The forecasters complied, the mission went off, and there were heavy operational casualties and limited results... due to bad weather. [8|]

In the case of the typhoon that Halsey ran into ("Typhoon Cobra")- it had been detected by recon aircraft. The base from which they flew made a radio report to Pearl Harbor, and the reply was (i think exact wording) was "we do not believe you". The astonished recon folk tried to convince them without success.

After a considerable (several days at least) delay, the fleet sent an encoded radio message to Halsey. Weather reports were considered low priority, and it was not decoded for almost 2 more days. By this time, the fleet was in the thick of the storm. Yet Halsey and his staff refused to use the "t" word (Typhoon) for some time after that, and ships were already taking severe damage (they kept referring to it as a "tropical disturbance".) Halsey finally sent out a message for ships to break from their assigned positions and maneuver the best they could in the storm, but it was far too late.

[rtrapasso]

Here is a passage illustrating the above:

"Meteorology was not high on the U.S. Navy’s list of wartime priorities. It was, in essence, treated as small-bore intelligence. In the summer of 1944, to take one example, several army meteorological officers recently posted to Fleet Weather Central at Pearl were asked to provide a weather forecast for a carrier-based strike the following day against Marcus Island, an isolated speck of rock midway between Tokyo and Wake Island. They stared blankly at the weather map, at each other, and back at the weather map. There were seven areas on the map larger than the United States that contained no weather data whatsoever.

...they finally determined that a nearby storm system would curve north and collide with the carrier task force set to bombard Marcus Island, and so reported. Their senior commander, however, rejected the analysis. “Typhoons don’t recurve at that longitude at this season,” he told his weathermen. “They move straight west. Change that forecast!” The forecast was duly changed, and off the shores of Marcus Island the following morning planes were lost and brave men died when the cyclone struck the task force."

The book claims that weather forecasting was WORSE during the war, due to lack of cooperation between nations (for some reason, Japan wasn't giving the USA weather data), lack of independent ships that would provide data, radio silence of operational units, etc., etc.


From: Drury, Bob. Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue (pp. 103-104). Grove Atlantic. Kindle Edition.

[JohnnieX]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

Here is a passage illustrating the above:

"Meteorology was not high on the U.S. Navy’s list of wartime priorities. It was, in essence, treated as small-bore intelligence. In the summer of 1944, to take one example, several army meteorological officers recently posted to Fleet Weather Central at Pearl were asked to provide a weather forecast for a carrier-based strike the following day against Marcus Island, an isolated speck of rock midway between Tokyo and Wake Island. They stared blankly at the weather map, at each other, and back at the weather map. There were seven areas on the map larger than the United States that contained no weather data whatsoever.

...they finally determined that a nearby storm system would curve north and collide with the carrier task force set to bombard Marcus Island, and so reported. Their senior commander, however, rejected the analysis. “Typhoons don’t recurve at that longitude at this season,” he told his weathermen. “They move straight west. Change that forecast!” The forecast was duly changed, and off the shores of Marcus Island the following morning planes were lost and brave men died when the cyclone struck the task force."

The book claims that weather forecasting was WORSE during the war, due to lack of cooperation between nations (for some reason, Japan wasn't giving the USA weather data), lack of independent ships that would provide data, radio silence of operational units, etc., etc.


From: Drury, Bob. Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue (pp. 103-104). Grove Atlantic. Kindle Edition.

I read Down To The Sea by Bruce Henderson. I think it was a recommendation from an AAR a long time ago. It's the story of the four ships that sank in the typhoon. I enjoyed it whilst being horrified for the folk involved.

Weather information for the North Atlantic and Arctic was valued by both sides. Both Germans and Allies put a lot of effort into getting information. The density of ships and aircraft reporting in the North Atlantic would be far higher than in the Pacific.

[Disco Duck]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Disco Duck

A few years ago a category five storm hit Wake Island. Of course it was evacuated but it made wonder what would have happened during the way when it would have been a big surprise.[X(]

With all the shipping and subbing in the Pacific, I doubt a Cat 5 storm could be a complete surprise. Once seen forming, both Japanese and US would have kept subs nearby to track direction of movement for their own forces. Halsey tried to play footsie with a typhoon, cruising close to the expected track, when it veered and took Third Fleet into the heart of the storm.

Just finished "Halsey's Typhoon"...

It depends what you mean by "complete surprise"... In some cases, there were no ships or aircraft within hundreds of miles within major storms. In one case, a weather unit was told to produce a forecast about a major storm that might impinge on an operation and there were no units anywhere in the area that could give reliable data. The forecasters told their headquarters that the storm would affect the target area. Headquarters told them that they were wrong, ordered them to redo the forecast to show a different storm track. The forecasters complied, the mission went off, and there were heavy operational casualties and limited results... due to bad weather. [8|]

In the case of the typhoon that Halsey ran into ("Typhoon Cobra")- it had been detected by recon aircraft. The base from which they flew made a radio report to Pearl Harbor, and the reply was (i think exact wording) was "we do not believe you". The astonished recon folk tried to convince them without success.

After a considerable (several days at least) delay, the fleet sent an encoded radio message to Halsey. Weather reports were considered low priority, and it was not decoded for almost 2 more days. By this time, the fleet was in the thick of the storm. Yet Halsey and his staff refused to use the "t" word (Typhoon) for some time after that, and ships were already taking severe damage (they kept referring to it as a "tropical disturbance".) Halsey finally sent out a message for ships to break from their assigned positions and maneuver the best they could in the storm, but it was far too late.

And I bet the forecasters took the blame.[:@]

[Bif1961]

Monty didn't believe his intel folks, before Market Garden, even when they had pictures, so many good men died and Monty said he was 90% successful.

[Cap Mandrake]

****************May 3, 1943(e)********************

I think I missed a day or two. Oh well.[:D] I think on May 2nd, the Japs managed a 1:2 attack and had their best lost ratio in a month 2:1 in our favor though we lost many vehicles.

PI: The barges sitting in Bataan harbor make the LYB's angry. British infantry was able to get ashore

Morning Air attack on Bataan , at 78,77

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 32 NM, estimated altitude 25,560 feet.
Estimated time to target is 8 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 18

Allied aircraft
Kittyhawk III x 2
Hurricane XIIb x 3
Kittyhawk I x 1
P-40K Warhawk x 6
F4U-1 Corsair x 15

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 2 destroyed

Allied aircraft losses
Hurricane XIIb: 1 destroyed
Kittyhawk I: 1 destroyed
F4U-1 Corsair: 3 destroyed

[Cap Mandrake]

More bombardment at Clark. Supply is bad.

Ground combat at Clark Field (79,76)

Japanese Bombardment attack

Attacking force 1542 troops, 130 guns, 87 vehicles, Assault Value = 1451

Defending force 31304 troops, 493 guns, 325 vehicles, Assault Value = 655

Allied ground losses:
57 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled)

Assaulting units:
28th Division
16th Division
48th Division
33rd Division
8th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
3rd Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion
3rd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
1st Art.Mortar Regiment
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment
20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion
14th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion

Defending units:
4th Marine Regiment
31st Infantry Regiment
637th Tank Destroyer Battalion
54th British Brigade
57th PS Infantry Regiment
45th PS Infantry Regiment
91st PA Infantry Division
2nd PA Infantry Regiment
103rd PA Infantry Regiment
762nd Tank Battalion
2nd Constabulary Regiment
51st PA Infantry Division
4th Constabulary Regiment
Clark Field AAF Base Force
III/Prov'nl SPM Grp
86th PS Field Artillery Battalion
88th PS Field Artillery Regiment
501st Coast AA Regiment
24th PS FA Regiment
II/Prov'nl SPM Grp
200th & 515th Coast AA Regiment
I/Prov'nl SPM Grp
1st USMC AA Battalion
!/23rd PS FA Battalion
165th Field Artillery Battalion
301st PA Field Artillery Regiment

[Cap Mandrake]

Sumatra: All the aviation support at Batoe is disrupted and the AF is dinged badly. Anything flyable moves to Sinabong.

Morning Air attack on Batoe-eilanden , at 43,82

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 27,810 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 44

No Japanese losses

Aircraft Attacking:
44 x A6M3a Zero sweeping at 22810 feet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morning Air attack on Batoe-eilanden , at 43,82

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 18 NM, estimated altitude 7,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Japanese aircraft
A6M3a Zero x 45

No Japanese losses

This will not help matters.

Morning Air attack on Batoe-eilanden , at 43,82

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 12 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 36
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 10

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 2 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 6 damaged
PBY-5A Catalina: 5 damaged
PBY-5A Catalina: 1 destroyed on ground
Kittyhawk III: 4 damaged
PBY-5 Catalina: 1 damaged
Catalina I: 5 damaged
Catalina I: 1 destroyed on ground

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 10
Runway hits 42

or this

Morning Air attack on Batoe-eilanden , at 43,82

Weather in hex: Overcast

Raid spotted at 28 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 10 minutes

Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 35

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 1 damaged

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 3 damaged
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
PBY-5A Catalina: 2 damaged
Kittyhawk III: 1 damaged

Airbase hits 5
Airbase supply hits 7
Runway hits 16

[Cap Mandrake]

The C-87's at Mergui (in Burma) dropped some commandoes on Langawaki (off the coast of Malaysia). This had the effect of taking some of the heat off the Aussies still stuck in Western Sumatra

Morning Air attack on 111th LRP Brigade, at 49,72 (Langkawi)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 20 NM, estimated altitude 8,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 6 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-49-IIa Helen x 23

No Japanese losses

[Cap Mandrake]

There are two ground units at Sabang out in clear terrain. We start softening them up by air.

Morning Air attack on 91st Naval Guard Unit, at 44,70 (Sabang)

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 14 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
Liberator II x 5
B-24D Liberator x 4
B-24D1 Liberator x 4

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
100 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled


AND

Morning Air attack on 91st Naval Guard Unit, at 44,70 (Sabang)

Weather in hex: Light cloud

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 5 minutes

Allied aircraft
B-24D Liberator x 11
B-24D1 Liberator x 5

No Allied losses

Japanese ground losses:
106 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 3 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled