November 15th
The Japanese SCTF was spotted in the Gilberts again. The BB fleet that was going to bombard Tarawa was ordered to instead intercept at Tarawa to fight off the Japanese. As it would happen, the Japanese wouldn't even reach them:
Sub attack near Makin at 135,125
Japanese Ships
CA Nachi, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
BB Hiei
CB Kasuga
CA Haguro
CA Myoko
DD Fubuki
DD Amagiri
DD Yugiri
DD Asagiri
Allied Ships
SS Cabrilla
And if that wasn't enough:
Sub attack near Tarawa at 135,127
Japanese Ships
CA Nachi, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
CA Haguro
Allied Ships
SS Pargo, hits 1
After 3 torpedoes I'd say most likely the CA Nach is down for the count.
Meanwhile down near Singapore my subs go at it with Japanese E vessels:
Sub attack near Singapore at 51,84
Japanese Ships
E Yanagi, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage
E Karii
Allied Ships
SS Truant, hits 6
That was probably an interesting battle for both sides.
Dive bombers managed to catch a lone destroyer near Makin:
Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Makin at 135,125
Weather in hex: Overcast
Raid spotted at 6 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 2 minutes
Allied aircraft
F6F-3 Hellcat x 34
SB2C-1C Helldiver x 18
Allied aircraft losses
SB2C-1C Helldiver: 2 damaged
Japanese Ships
DD Yunagi, Bomb hits 4, and is sunk
The first attack at Koumac goes well enough:
Ground combat at Koumac (113,156)
Allied Deliberate attack
Attacking force 20606 troops, 317 guns, 292 vehicles, Assault Value = 815
Defending force 11144 troops, 96 guns, 34 vehicles, Assault Value = 198
Allied adjusted assault: 1111
Japanese adjusted defense: 413
Allied assault odds: 2 to 1 (fort level 6)
Allied Assault reduces fortifications to 5
Combat modifiers
Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), disruption(-), experience(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
1096 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 73 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 22 disabled
Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
189 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 35 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Assaulting units:
1st Cavalry (Spec) Cavalry Division
33rd Infantry Division
XI US Corps
148th USA Base Force
Defending units:
53rd/A Division
25th Air Flotilla
1st Art.Mortar Regiment
93rd Base Force
17th JNAF AF Unit
Fort level knocked down a level with 2 to 1 odds. At this rate I should have the base after two more deliberates.
I am debating if I should launch a deliberate at Tarawa tomorrow. I could have 5 BBs bombarding the base at night and 100 bombers dropping bombs during the day. Here is the latest bombardment:
Ground combat at Tarawa (136,128)
Allied Bombardment attack
Attacking force 12609 troops, 459 guns, 235 vehicles, Assault Value = 364
Defending force 10308 troops, 201 guns, 17 vehicles, Assault Value = 133
Japanese ground losses:
52 casualties reported
Squads: 2 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 6 (1 destroyed, 5 disabled)
Assaulting units:
762nd Tank Battalion
3rd Marine Regiment
34th Infantry Regiment
21st Marine Regiment
3rd USMC Tank Battalion
168th Field Artillery Regiment
2nd Marine Defense Battalion
7th USMC Field Artillery Battalion
198th Field Artillery Battalion
Defending units:
1st Sasebo Assault Division
85th Naval Guard Unit
24th Air Flotilla
7th JNAF Coy
5th Mortar Battalion
63rd Field AA Battalion
24th Special Base Force
1st ADU Coastal Gun Regiment
6th IJN AA Battalion
Is it too early to try to attack again? Keep in mind that the fort is level 6 and my infantry regiments still have large numbers of disabled rifle squads (everything else is in pretty good shape, however). I also have another fully prepped infantry regiment headed to Tarawa but I don't think it would be wise to land it until the fort is level 4 or below.