A Good Place to Start - Matthew (A) v Fokko (J) - Bottlenecks Mod

[M Peaston]

Thanks guys!

[M Peaston]

7th May 1942



ABDA

Japanese reinforcements land at Bandjermasin



SWPAC

Another reinforcement convoy arrives at Melbourne. There are no major units on this one, but lots of useful bits and pieces:

12th, 13th and 14th Marine Air Groups,
96th AA Rgt
1/30th Coastal Artillery Bn
2nd Marine Amphtrac Bn
641st Towed Tank Destroyer Bn
97th Field Art Bn
Banshee Squadrons x2
Airacobra Squadrons x2

Oh, and Ersatz MacArthur, or perhaps we should call him ‘I can’t believe it’s not MacArthur’. Anyway, he’ll spend a couple of days in Melbourne before heading off to Sydney and a meeting with Blamey.

Zeros sweep over Milne Bay. There’s no Allied fighter opposition; there’s no need to oppose them at the moment.



NOPAC

At Adak, Rear-Admiral Theobold is expecting replacements for NOPAC’S picket submarines which were assigned to NEPTUNE and never returned. They don’t seem to have arrived yet; all he can see in the harbour are about half-a-dozen trawlers. His staff are engaged in rock, paper, scissors to decide who is to tell him that these are the reinforcements……



SUBMARINE WARFARE

S-36 torpedoes and sinks xAK Nagisan Maru at Kendari.
I-158 manages to avoid two motor launches at Colombo
O-16 detects what appears to be an invasion force assembling at Manado: xAP x2, AMCx2, AKx4, xAKx2. O-16 took 6 hits from the escorts, forcing her back for repairs.

[M Peaston]

8th May 1942



INDIA/BURMA

Japanese capture Yamethin

RAF Blenheims and RAAF Hudsons based at Chittagong bomb the advancing Japanese 18th Division at Taungdwingyi.

There are no signs of any Japanese ships in the Bay of Bengal or the Indian Ocean; Vice-Admiral Layton orders the RN carriers and battleships back to port. RAF reconnaissance flights show approximately 25 Japanese ships at Rangoon, mostly sloops and small to medium sized transports. Cleary Eastern Fleet’s control of the sea isn’t quite as complete as Layton claims it to be.


ABDA

The Japanese 21st Division bombards the defenders at Bandoeng.

A Deliberate Assault at Soerabaja is beaten back:


Ground combat at Soerabaja (56,104)

Japanese Deliberate attack

Attacking force 11711 troops, 139 guns, 147 vehicles, Assault Value = 565

Defending force 14238 troops, 182 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 334

Japanese adjusted assault: 295

Allied adjusted defense: 1669

Japanese assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 3)

Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), experience(-)
Attacker:

Japanese ground losses:
473 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 43 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 16 disabled
Vehicles lost 20 (1 destroyed, 19 disabled)

Allied ground losses:
265 casualties reported
Squads: 1 destroyed, 47 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled

Assaulting units:
4th Tank Regiment
Imperial Guards' Division
15th Ind Engineer Regiment
2ID 16th Infantry Regiment
43rd Ind.AA Gun Co
3rd Medium Field Artillery Regiment

Defending units:
6th KNIL Regiment
Lijfwacht Cav Sqn
4th KNIL Regiment
Roodenburg Cdo
Marinier Battalion
Tjepoe Cdo
Madoeng Defenses
Soerabaja Defenses
Soerabaja KM Base Force
4th Avn Sup Groep
2nd Avn Sup Groep
KNI Leger
Teloekbetoeng Base Force
KNI Zeemacht /1


How long can the Dutch hold out?



SWPAC/SOPAC

Again, Zeros sweep over Milne Bay unopposed.

Marine Vindicators find some Japanese troop transports still at Cape Gloucester as they were two or three days ago. xAP Hake Maru, APD Shimakaze and E-Yuago were all hit. One of the Vindicators crashed on landing at Port Moresby.

A convoy carrying the 24th Separate Rgt arrives at Suva.