[font="Times New Roman"]16 December 1942 - 2 January 1943[/font]
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STRATEGIC SITUATION: [/font] The game continues with little movement by either side. This confirms my previous suspicion that the Allies will either wait for the Hellcat, more troops, and a build-up of pools before moving forward, or that they are waiting and shifting vectors to another theatre.
The small KB is at Singers but may move to the Pacific to see if we can pick off under-supported movess there soon. The Allied CVs were last seen retreating to Colombo, but recent recon at this base and Cochin revealed no sightings of them.
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SUBS: [/font] Only 5-10 Allied subs are working any of the sealanes and this is giving an ample opportunity to get a huge amount of fuel and resources moved quickly.
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ECONOMY: [/font] The economy has stabilized, and an increased amount of HI is being saved each turn now that I'm thinking more long term in this game. Additional resource convoys are moving to the HI, rectifying a slight shortage there and fuel/oil are moving back quickly and unhindered by Allied subs so far.
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CHINA: [/font] After continual blockages and stalemates in Central China, our forces have shifted using the rail system to (hopefully) overwhelm 7 units of 1300 AV blocking the gray road near Chikhiang. We've moved 5000 AV here and are attacking next turn. It'll be interesting if this breaks through. Chinese forces in the center may be forced to pick up forts and move out, thus opening new opportunities for advance in other areas as well. Fingers crossed.
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PACIFIC: [/font] There is significant interest in Port Moresby and the New Guinea area. The Allies continue to send in 120+ fighters to PM that we continue to try to whittle down while reconning deeply with our new Judy units to see what else is happening. A small contingent of 4E are here at Townsville and they have bombed sporadically at Buna, but only during the night. The Allies moved up with a small unit to take Lunga, but our forces para-dropped and took the base back. I'll not build anything or reinforce, but that was a good opportunity to take away a freebee and make the Allies commit more forces.
After noticing no fighters covering Townsville I sent two long-distance G3M3 units into Rabaul, and they with the two Betty units here already (moved forward into range) attacked both the port and the fields. Only 4 B-24 were destroyed, but a number of CA/CL were damaged in the port. The next day only 3 DD were listed in port. It's possible a few sank, but that seems unlikely for Allied ships that are disbanded, so it's possible they moved out, putting the most damaged into a perilous situation. None appearing on the sunk reports yet.
The most interesting thing though is that British ships are here! Even a Dutch DD was hit which makes me think there is a complete shift to this theatre for the British and Dutch naval assets. This may mean a shift in strategic planning to take advantage of the less built areas of New Guinea or the DEI. I'm serious if the CVs are near. This strike might have made the Allied shift more difficult taking out 3-4 CL, 2-3 CA and a couple of DDs for the future ops in the area.
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BURMA: [/font] Around 350 fighters are based at Chittagong, but only a few occasional P-38 sweeps have hit Burmese bases. A try at sweeping Chittagong yielded poor results, losing about 1:1.5 with a lot of pilots KIA or MIA.
The block near Ramree is continuing with no action and there is no sign of the Allied fleets. A recon mission recently (using Judys on a CVE) spotted 300k troops at Cochin, and there is continual sigint chatter rom this base, so it seems there is still a a focused interest in Burma, Malaya and Sumatra as potential invasion vectors.
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NO PAC:[/font] The North is building in the Aleutians, and I'm wary of but expecting some move here in the spring. The Marianas have first priority for troops, then Hokkaido, the Bonins and the Kuriles.
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR December 26, 42
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Ground combat at Lunga (114,138)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 279 troops, 4 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 22
Defending force 65 troops, 0 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 2
Japanese adjusted assault: 16
Allied adjusted defense: 1
Japanese assault odds: 16 to 1 (fort level 3)
Japanese forces CAPTURE Lunga !!!
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), leaders(-), preparation(-)
Attacker: shock(+), leaders(-)
Japanese ground losses:
24 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 1 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Allied ground losses:
96 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 6 destroyed, 0 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Units destroyed 1
Assaulting units:
Yokosuka 3rd SNLF /1
Defending units:
Samoa Det.
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR December 29, 42
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Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 11 NM, estimated altitude 35,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 27
Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 16
Beaufighter Ic x 2
Kittyhawk IA x 16
Spitfire Vc Trop x 16
P-40E Warhawk x 25
P-40K Warhawk x 66
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 5 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IA: 1 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed
Aircraft Attacking:
12 x Ki-45 KAIa Nick sweeping at 31000 feet
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Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 101 NM, estimated altitude 33,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 33 minutes
Japanese aircraft
A6M2 Zero x 33
A6M3a Zero x 25
A6M5 Zero x 52
Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 16
Beaufighter Ic x 1
Kittyhawk IA x 13
Spitfire Vc Trop x 14
P-40E Warhawk x 18
P-40K Warhawk x 60
Japanese aircraft losses
A6M3a Zero: 1 destroyed
A6M5 Zero: 4 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Kittyhawk IA: 2 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 2 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 4 destroyed
Aircraft Attacking:
32 x A6M2 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet
17 x A6M3a Zero sweeping at 31000 feet
18 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet
18 x A6M5 Zero sweeping at 31000 feet
7 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 37000 , scrambling fighters between 26000 and 30000.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes
No.60 Sqn RAF with Hurricane IIc Trop (0 airborne, 1 on standby, 2 scrambling)
0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 13 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact.
Group patrol altitude is 34000 , scrambling fighters between 29000 and 35600.
Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes
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Morning Air attack on Port Moresby , at 98,130
Weather in hex: Light cloud
Raid detected at 101 NM, estimated altitude 34,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 27 minutes
Japanese aircraft
Ki-44-IIa Tojo x 96
Allied aircraft
Hurricane IIc Trop x 12
Beaufighter Ic x 1
Kittyhawk IA x 7
Spitfire Vc Trop x 13
P-40E Warhawk x 9
P-40K Warhawk x 32
Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-44-IIa Tojo: 1 destroyed
Allied aircraft losses
Spitfire Vc Trop: 1 destroyed
P-40E Warhawk: 3 destroyed
P-40K Warhawk: 2 destroyed
Aircraft Attacking:
3 x Ki-44-IIa Tojo sweeping at 31000 feet
24 x Ki-44-IIa Tojo sweeping at 31000 feet
29 x Ki-44-IIa Tojo sweeping at 31000 feet
27 x Ki-44-IIa Tojo sweeping at 31000 feet
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Ground combat at 78,49 (near Chihkiang)
Japanese Shock attack
Attacking force 37470 troops, 422 guns, 1272 vehicles, Assault Value = 1427
Defending force 36940 troops, 162 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1448
Japanese adjusted assault: 802
Allied adjusted defense: 2098
Japanese assault odds: 1 to 2
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-), supply(-)
Attacker: shock(+)
Japanese ground losses:
5204 casualties reported
Squads: 13 destroyed, 164 disabled
Non Combat: 3 destroyed, 21 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 36 disabled
Vehicles lost 37 (3 destroyed, 34 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
715 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 122 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 6 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Assaulting units:
3rd Division
3rd Tank Division
55th Infantry Brigade
20th Recon Regiment
1st Tank Division
56th Recon Regiment
Defending units:
4th Chinese Corps
44th Chinese Corps
20th Chinese Corps
85th Chinese Corps
100th Chinese Corps
6th War Area
20th Group Army
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR January 1, 43
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Ground combat at 78,49 (near Chihkiang)
Japanese Bombardment attack
Attacking force 138440 troops, 1390 guns, 1448 vehicles, Assault Value = 4979
Defending force 35971 troops, 160 guns, 0 vehicles, Assault Value = 1341
Allied ground losses:
34 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Assaulting units:
1st Tank Division
35th Division
20th Recon Regiment
104th Division
41st Division
3rd Tank Division
40th Division
61st Infantry Brigade
36th Division
55th Infantry Brigade
32nd Division
6th Division
17th Division
3rd Division
56th Recon Regiment
2nd Ind. Mountain Gun Regiment
1st Mortar Battalion
12th Army
8th Ind. Engineer Regiment
1st Army
15th Ind.Medium Field Artillery Regiment
6th Medium Field Artillery Regiment
Defending units:
44th Chinese Corps
4th Chinese Corps
20th Chinese Corps
85th Chinese Corps
100th Chinese Corps
6th War Area
20th Group Army
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AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR January 2, 43
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Morning Air attack on Townsville , at 92,144
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 116 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 43 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G3M3 Nell x 61
G4M1 Betty x 17
Allied aircraft
no flights
Japanese aircraft losses
G3M3 Nell: 3 damaged
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 38 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed on ground
Hudson I: 3 damaged
Hudson I: 1 destroyed on ground
Wirraway: 1 damaged
Wirraway: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied Ships
DD Kortenaer, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
CL Perth, Bomb hits 2
CA Exeter, Bomb hits 1
CL Leander, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
CA Australia, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 3
CL Achilles, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CA Cornwall, Bomb hits 1
Airbase hits 7
Runway hits 17
Port hits 2
Port fuel hits 1
Aircraft Attacking:
29 x G3M3 Nell bombing from 9000 feet *
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
32 x G3M3 Nell bombing from 9000 feet *
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
9 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 9000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
8 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
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Morning Air attack on Townsville , at 92,144
Weather in hex: Heavy cloud
Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 11,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 42 minutes
Japanese aircraft
G4M1 Betty x 31
Allied aircraft
no flights
No Japanese losses
Allied aircraft losses
B-24D Liberator: 29 damaged
B-24D Liberator: 1 destroyed on ground
Hudson I: 11 damaged
Wirraway: 2 damaged
Wirraway: 1 destroyed on ground
Allied Ships
CA Exeter, Bomb hits 2
CA Indianapolis, Bomb hits 2, on fire
CL Trenton, Bomb hits 3, on fire
CA Australia, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
DD Fanning, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CL Perth, Bomb hits 1
CL Achilles, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA Cornwall, Bomb hits 3
CL Leander, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
Allied ground losses:
5 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Airbase hits 8
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 21
Port hits 6
Port fuel hits 1
Aircraft Attacking:
14 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 9000 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
17 x G4M1 Betty bombing from 9000 feet
Port Attack: 2 x 250 kg SAP Bomb, 4 x 60 kg GP Bomb
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[font="Trebuchet MS"]This shot of China shows the new area of interest near Chikhiang. There is nothing behind that all of t way to Chungking, but if there is a breakthrough, I'm sure some will fill in. Already there is movement in Kweiyang, and troops are trying to shift from Chikhiang itself into this hex, probably hoping they can make it before a decisive battle. Our troops need to win here quickly and if they do it will change the whole tenor of the theatre. In fact since we originally agreed to a Chinese safe zone should the whole theatre collapse, I might have to do something interesting here. I'd like to get the mountains cleared, the Chinese armies surrounded and destroyed for the VPs and then see about a ceasefire if my opponent wants that. I'll not stop going forward until I've achieved some real gains here though. [/font]
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"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill