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I am going to try an AAR again.

Changed the format to a top down allied point of view.

Full length scenario,Hakko Ichu.
PDU on
Human sub control
One day turns
Scott1964 plays Japan.

December 8 1941. WAR! The Pacific Ocean is no longer at peace. Japanese imperial forces struck yesterday a surprise blow to United States forces at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Manila in the Philippine Islands. Confused reports from the BBC speak of Japanese landings in Malaya.
The Department of the Navy confirms that 7 submarines were sunk yesterday in the attack on Manila harbor. Two S class submarines, S-38 and S-41 were sunk at their berths; what is worse, five modern submarines, Permit, Sargo, Saury, Seadragon and Sealion were also sunk by Japanese airplanes. Amphibious landings in Batan Island and in the north of the Philippines have been reported.

December 9 1941. Japanese aircraft carriers lurking near Oahu. Once more, Japanese naval aircraft raid Oahu. Unimpeded by the non-existent US fighters, a large number of Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor. The naval port, still reeling from the devastating attack of the 7th had to endure a repeat session. Fortunately this time no dive bombers were involved in this raid and the level bombers that did attack, carried no torpedoes. The naval liaison reports that California, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nevada, West Virginia, Arizona, Maryland and Pennsylvania were all hit by bombs. In addition the repair shipyard was hit by several bombs and suffered severe damage.
In Malaya, the Japanese forces that landed on the seventh at Mersing, Kuantan, and Khota Baru have shrugged off attempts by the British forces to repel their invasion. The BBC reports that a flight of Swordfish torpedo bombers achieved four hits on a Japanese transport. The ship, identified as AK Tosan Maru was reported to be on fire as the allied aircraft left the scene. Khota Baru was captured by the Japanese yesterday.
In the Pacific, Japanese forces invaded and captured the island of Makin.
The British battle cruiser Repulse who had, together with the battleship Prince of Wales left Singapore on the seventh, to confront the Japanese naval forces, has returned to port with heavy damage. To everyone’s surprise, it appears that the Repulse was damaged by air attack. No word on the status of Prince of Wales.

December 10 1941. Prince of Wales sunk!
Singapore, BBC. The BBC reported today that the battleship Prince of Wales, the most modern capital ship the United Kingdom had in the Southeast Asian theater, had been sunk today by enemy aircraft as it attempted to transit the Malacca straits. Twin engine bombers attacked it as it headed north east, off the coast of Georgetown.
South of Kure island, the Lexington task force stumbled upon a lone Japanese oiler, but the oiler managed to evade combat in low visibility conditions. Japanese forces have seized Tarawa and an invasion of Wake is in progress.

December 11 1941. Enterprise attacked.
The enemy carriers, presumably on their way back to Japan, have intercepted the Enterprise carrier force. 60 level bombers, with at least 80 escort fighters overwhelmed Enterprise’s fighters and scored two hits on the carrier. Heavy cruiser Northampton was also hit.
In the Philippines, Japanese forces land in Lingayen. The British colony of Hong Kong is under heavy attack by China based Japanese forces.
The Marine garrison at Wake Island has been overrun.

December 12 1941. Carrier Battle Near Laysan Is.
Sometimes in war, small, heroic forces achieve results out of proportion to their de-facto strength. Such was the case of the Lexington task force yesterday. CV Lexington, along with its escorts, heavy cruisers Astoria, Chicago and Portland, was steaming north of the island chain, trying to return to Hawaii, from its mission to Wake. The enemy carrier force that had attacked Enterprise on the 10th was lurking somewhere between Lexington and Oahu. Instead of heading directly east and presumably straight into the enemy carriers that were last reported south of the island chain, Lexington headed north. A scout plane identified enemy carriers north of the Laysan Island. Lexington launched all the attack aircraft it had at the enemy task force. Most of the fighters were held back, to protect the carrier against the inevitable Japanese strike to come. 36 dive bombers and 12 Devastator torpedo bombers were launched. The American fliers struck and struck well. Despite being outnumbered by the Japanese Combat Air Patrol, CAP for short, dive bombers hit the Japanese battleship Hiei with one bomb, Carriers Kaga and Soryu also received an egg apiece from our Dauntless dive bombers. Even better, two torpedoes from the Devastators found Kaga’s hull. Akagi, Hiryu and Shokaku, also present, escaped unharmed.
The Lexington task force however could not escape the Japanese retaliation. Lexington, hit by 9 bombs and at least 4 torpedoes was sunk, as were Astoria, Chicago, Portland, and the destroyers Flusser, Porter, Drayton, Lamson and Mahan. The entire task force went down in flames. What’s important to remember is that one American carrier faced five Japanese ones and sunk one and heavily damaged another.

December 13, 1941: Submarines everywhere.
An enemy submarine lurking near Oahu scored a hit on light cruiser Helena north of the island. In separate incidents, no less than three Japanese submarines prowl the northern approaches to the Hawaiian Islands. Available antisubmarine forces are being dispatched to deal with this threat.


Japanese invasions are in progress in Lingayen, Lae, Atimonan, Kuching, and Salamaua. The garrison in Guam surrendered yesterday in the face of overwhelming enemy forces. Legaspi and San Fernando were also seized by the enemy.
The Japanese forces continue to land at Kuantan in Malaya, although British pilots, flying 12 obsolete Wildebeeste bombers scored yesterday hits on four transport ships. One of them, tentatively identified as Kokai Maru received four bomb hits and is reported as sunk. Noto Maru hit twice is expected to sink. The other two ships received one bomb apiece and are on fire.

Welcome to the AAR honorable opponent.
You could post articles from Asahi Shimbum, or transcripts from Tokyo Rose[8|]

December 14 1941. Hurrah for the RAF.
The RAF continues to score success after success attacking enemy shipping at Kua Flying obsolete biplanes; RAF pilots scored several hits on enemy shipping landing supplies and troops.
Altimonan, Kuantan and Tuguererao fell yesterday to the Japanese invaders.

December 15th. The citizens of Pearl Harbor were happy yesterday to see BB California making steam. The naval office at Pearl informed us that most of the repairs have been completed and she is ready for service.
Salamaua and Kuching fell yesterday under the enemy assault.

Here is the situation in the Philippines.

December 18th 1941. Lingayen falls.
It is a bad day for the United States and Filipino forces. Yesterday, allied forces were forced to withdraw from Lingayen. The Japanese now control the harbor. As soon as repairs are made they now have an usable port near Manila and the strategically important Clark airfield. Naga was also captured on the same date.
Japanese forces have landed in Maubari and Mauban.

December 19th. Mauban and Lucena fell today.

December 20th. Our British allies announced today that their fortress at Hong Kong, after heroic resistance, had surrendered to the Japanese. Victoria Point at the northern end of the Malay Peninsula also fell.
In the Philippines, Cabanatuan feel and Japanese forces started an invasion of Davao in Mindanao Island.

December 21 1942. Heroism comes in many forms. Yesterday night, at the Philippine port of Davao, an enemy task force approached the harbor. It carried invading soldiers, aiming to occupy the strategically important city and harbor. They did not count with a small; even you might say tiny American ship. AM Penguin stood athwart the invasion task force’s track. The enemy turned around and fled. For at least another day, Davao enjoys its freedom and peace.
That cannot be said of Iba and Batangas that fell, later in the day, to the Japanese invader.

December 22 1942. Subs prowl Hawaiian waters. The British announced today that the small city and rail depot of Temuloh in central Indonesia has fallen to Japanese attack. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the Japanese invading forces have traded artillery fire with US and Philippino forces at Clark air field.
Nearer home, the waters around the archipelago teem with enemy subs. US Navy antisubmarine task forces that attempt to clear the waters are enjoying only limited success. Near Pearl, DD Balch was hit by an enemy torpedo. The stricken ship is returning to Pearl, with heavy damage. Despite a large escort of destroyers and minesweeping destroyers, xAK Florence D was hit by two torpedoes near Lahaina. The ship sunk. However it was not all a one sided battle. The asw TF composed of Bagley, Ralph Talbot and Mugford scored three hits on an enemy submarine. Although it was not reported as sunk, the road to the nearest Japanese base is going to be very long for the heavily damaged SSI-3.

December 23 1942. SouthEast Thrust.[/b] A big part of war planning and strategy is to outguess your enemy. The intentions of the Japanese were, up to now, clear. Seize the Philippines, to deny the US the use of the important naval base at Manila and the naval shipyards at Cavite. Seize Malaya and Singapore, again with its shipyards. Push into the Dutch East Indies and get the oil. Yesterday they did something, unexpected. An invasion fleet showed off Rabaul, at the northern end of the Solomon Islands. Is this an attempt to attack Australia? Or a distraction? Coastal defense scored quite a few hits as we shall see:         xAKL Hagoromo Maru, Shell hits 1 PB Takunan Maru #2, Shell hits 1,  on fire,  heavy damage PB Tama Maru #8, Shell hits 1       

December 24 1941: Gloomy Christmas Eve.
It is indeed a gloomy Christmas for the allied forces in the Pacific. No good news are forthcoming. Alor Star, Aparri and Nauru Island were captured by the Japanese yesterday. The invasion of Rabaul continues uninhibited except for the coastal defense guns that continue to score hits, at least until the ammunition runs out.

December 25 1941: Moulmein falls.
Merry Christmas to all our servicemen fighting the Japanese all over the Pacific. On the border with Burma, the allied outpost of Moulmein fell yesterday, with the defenders retreating towards Pegu.

December 25 1941: Rabaul holds. Jesselton invaded. A battle plan does not survive contact with the enemy. The battle plan for war against Japan called for the US and Philippino forces to entrench themselves at Bataan Island and the Corregidor fortress, thus holding the entrance to Manila harbor under their powerful rifles. It would not help the invader to hold the harbor and the Cavite naval yard if their ships cannot get to it. This part of the battle plan seems to go well as the allied troops retreat in good order to the Bataan peninsula. The second part calls for the US Navy to come charging to the rescue of the embattled allied forces. The same US Navy whose ships lie in the port at Pearl Harbor, riddled with holes. How soon can an operation against the enemy held Philippines be mounted is an open question. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, operations proceed as planned.

December 26 1941. A task force slips out of Singapore. Three warships slip out of Singapore harbor during the night. The morning will find them far far away. In the morning, the citizens of Singapore find the naval shipyard empty, of at least its most famous recent guest.

For anyone interested.

So that is where Repulse went off too. [X(][:-]

December 28, 1944. Three Hurrahs for the Dutch submarines!.
A Dutch submarine SS KXI patrols the narrows at the north entrance to the Makassar straits, between the island of Borneo and Celebes. The submarine is on the surface. In the dark, moonless tropical night, only the ship’s wake is lit by faint phosphorescence as microscopic organisms, disturbed by the ship’s passage light up for a few moments. A lookout spots something, only a dark bulge on the horizon that hides the stars behind. The hunt is on. The ship is identified as a troop transport. KXI fires and scores one hit on the troop carrier. As the escorts rush hither and yon seeking the sub, the radio operator dashes off a frenzied contact report. The submarine dives to reload, the escorts fail to establish contact and it re-surfaces, she and her crew are stoked, pumped up with adrenalin. In the cramped steel tube, the combined testosterone of its crew fuels their aggression. It must be a large convoy that is making its way through the back door into the Dutch East Indies. A cargo ship moves slowly in front of the ships tubes. She speaks again and a new torpedo finds its target. The submarine steals away in the night.
SS O-16 scores one hit on another Japanese Maru, near Tandjoengselor. Another ship that will not reach its destination.
Near Jolo, a small Japanese carrier task force, CVL Zuiho, CVE Hosho, CS Chiyoda, BB Nagato, BB Fuso, BB Ise, BB Hyuga meet an allied destroyer, Pope, escorting a single transport. In the night, both task forces evade, not before a signal is sent into the night sky. ABDA at Soerabaja knows what is coming.
In Malaya, Jesselton falls. Ocean Island also falls to Japanese amphibious attack.

December 28 1941: Manila falls.
Tokyo Rose announced today that Manila fell to the Japanese attack. The War department issued a press release that confirmed this, although they declared that most of the forces had already evacuated the city to Clark field and Bataan according to the pre-war plans.
In Malaya, Kuala Lumpur fell to the Japanese.
In the Celebes Sea, two enemy carrier task forces attacked allied shipping fleeing the Philippines. TK Gertrude Kellogg and DD Pillsbury were both sunk by enemy carrier borne level bombers.
We now know the destination of the enemy task force attacked yesterday by KXI. Today they landed in the important oil port Balikpapan. They were hindered slightly by its defensive minefield that apparently scored a hit on one of the invading ships.

December 29 1941: Japanese wipeout in Balikpapan.
Hooray and Huzzay! The Royal Navy scores its first victory in the Pacific war. Where the capital ships failed, the little warships could! Two light cruisers, Dragon and Durban, escorted by the destroyers Van Ghent, Scout, Thanet, Thracian, Encounter and Isis, dashed at full speed into the anchorage at Balikpapan and caught the Japanese invasion feet napping. The Japanese force was escorted only by two patrol boats, Busho Maru and Keiko Maru. They probably thought they had nothing to fear. There were no allied capital ships in the area, and the IJN controlled the airspace. The combat report transmitted to Soerabaja tells the story, in the laconic fashion traditional to the Royal Navy:
Night Time Surface Combat, near Balikpapan at 64,97, Range 12,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
PB Busho Maru, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
PB Keiko Maru, Shell hits 32, and is sunk
xAK Kizan Maru, Shell hits 21, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Kofuku Maru, Shell hits 17, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Konan Maru, Shell hits 30, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Nanko Maru, Shell hits 25, and is sunk
xAK Minryo Maru, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Turusima Maru, Shell hits 8, heavy fires
xAKL Tainichi Maru, Shell hits 10, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Tofuku Maru, Shell hits 25, and is sunk
xAK Tosei Maru, Shell hits 19, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAKL Nichiryo Maru, Shell hits 17, and is sunk
xAKL Fukkai Maru, Shell hits 10, and is sunk
xAKL Totai Maru, Shell hits 14, and is sunk
xAKL Bichu Maru, Shell hits 12, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAKL Ryuto Maru, Shell hits 6, on fire
xAP Rakuyo Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAP Horai Maru, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CL Dragon
CL Durban
DD Van Ghent
DD Scout
DD Thanet
DD Thracian
DD Encounter
DD Isis

Unfortunately it was not enough to save Balikpapan that fell to a determined Japanese attack in the morning.