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-or-
Bugger that for a game of soldiers.


I've finally managed to get a game of AE as the Allied player, instead of the Japanese. My oppo is Goodboyladdie, a former regular on the forums and a long-time WPO opponent. This will be my first game as the Allied nations (unless playing the AI counts) and GBLs first game as Japan. The price of getting him to play as Japan is agreeing to play Scen 2. Still, it's probably worth it to have ships with sensible names like Repulse, Indomitable and er, Decoy.

HRs are limited, instead we're relying more on common sense:
Pay PPs to move restricted units across the Indian/Manchurian borders. Thai units are allowed to provide garrison forces in Southern Burma.
No invasions of the non-base hexes.
Both Manila and Pearl Harbor are valid targets on turn 1.
No ridiculous long range strikes into the midst of the DEI on turn 1.
No new TFs can be created by the Allies, the exception is Singapore (representing heightened British alert).
British air units can be given new orders, although the planes are terrible so it's not going to make a huge amount of difference unless the Vildebeest get loose...

The Allied Plan:
Is basically limited to trying to roll with the punches until mid-42. The intention is to try and prevent GBL from reaching a few key areas.

I am well aware that no plan survives contact with the enemy, but thoughts so far:

Malaya:
Pull back to Singers with as much strength as I can manage. Infantry forces are going to rest in an effort to get some strength and morale back before the Japanese Army arrives.
The RAF will do what they can to bring down Japanese aircraft. Probably not a great deal really. Torpedo bombers are going to redeploy to Singers, hopefully they will be able to cause damage to anyone trying to land on the NW tip of Borneo.
I want to withdraw the 2nd Argyles to India. Good British units are in short supply and an LCU with 70 Exp will be better used on the Indian border rather than falling in Malaya.
If circumstances allow I'd like to get the Aussie AIF forces out of Malaya. The problem is that they're restricted units and I'm not sure that I'll be able to get them out before Betty comes calling.

The Pacific:
Depends on the Pearl Harbor results. The plan is to secure the convoy/air routes from Hawaii to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. But there's a lot of territory and not a lot of soldiers available.
My first instinct is to send the 34th Infantry Rgt and 8th Marines to the Line Islands, along with some coastal artillery. Later reinforcements will be used to extend coverage down through Pago Pago to Fiji and Noumea.

The RAN heavy cruisers will be attached to USN carrier forces to increase the radar coverage in those forces. The lack of USN radar equipped ships could be a slight issue.

Dec 7th

Panicked reports are being received in Washington DC, unconfirmed so far these reports indicate that the Japanese have attacked US and British territory and forces. Japanese carrier based aircraft are reported to have attacked Pearl Harbor leaving the harbour and airfield in ruins and the USN Battleships are reported to have all been crippled or sunk. Initial indications are that USS Nevada and California are beyond saving after receiving multiple torpedo strikes. Further rumours from Hawaii indicate that explosions were detected from the defensive minefields covering the approach to PH.
Contact has been lost with USS Antares shortly after she sent SSS report to Pearl Harbor.

Japanese bombers also attacked Manila, home of the Asiatic Fleet submarines. Several reports indicate severe damage was sustained by several submarines. The USN oiler USS Trinity is believed to be badly damaged and burning out of control in the harbour. USS Childs is reported lost with all hands as she attempted to get underway.

Great Britain reports that Japanese forces have landed in Northern Malaya, near the Thai border. RAF forces have launched a series of heavy air attacks on Japanese shipping concentrations. Japanese air forces have countered with raids on British airfields in the northern regions of Malaya, repulsed with heavy casualties.
****

I've only seen the combat replay so far, GBL is sending the actual save file later. Until then I can only base my information on what was seen during the combat replay. I was expecting far worse than I seem to have got, especially at Pearl Harbor. No air raids on Singapore and only two landings at Kota Bharu and Batan Island, which suggests to me that instead there's going to be at least one landing in the South Pacific. Rabaul anyone?

Pearl Harbor
Allied Ships
CM Oglala
BB California, Bomb hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 9, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 4, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
xAKL Hirondelle
CL Phoenix, Bomb hits 1
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
AM Vireo, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
AVP Swan, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
CL Detroit, Bomb hits 1, on fire
CA New Orleans, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1
AO Neosho, Torpedo hits 1, on fire
CA San Francisco, Bomb hits 1

I'd guess that Nevada and probably California are doomed, but the rest of the BBs should be retrievable. Arizona, Maryland and Pennsylvania might even be ready to move back to the mainland for repairs fairly soon. 40 aircraft were also lost, including 15 PBYs. I had plans for those...


Manila/Philippines
Allied Ships
xAKL Anakan, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Sailfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Sealion, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
AO Trinity, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
SS Swordfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage
SS Salmon, Bomb hits 1
AVD Childs, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires
TK Mindanao, Bomb hits 1, on fire
PT-34, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk

The results of two air raids on the port. All 850kg bomb hits, so the subs are probably quite badly messed up right now. Even if I do lose them all it's only 5 out of the 27 Asiatic Fleet subs, so I feel that the US has escaped lightly there considering what the damage could have been.
Airfield attacks managed to destroy a few aircraft (3 in fact!), but they were all P-26 rather than B-17s or P-40s. Will the failure to kill my more effective fighters and heavy bombers come back to haunt the IJ forces?

Malaya (& Burma)
Mostly air raids here, as expected the RAF bombers got chewed up quite badly without actually hitting anything due to Japanese fighters. The Buffaloes did OK against a couple of unescorted raids, but got slapped about when they ran into Oscar.
56th Infantry Rgt with 12th Engineer Rgt and 5th JAAF Coy have landed at Kota Bharu. Not a big force but more than enough to overwhelm my Indian troops there. I'd expect overland advances from Thailand and further landings in the next few days.
A raid against Rangoon managed to swat down some more Buffs and slightly damage the airfield. A sweep by Navy Zeros achieved nothing as all my fighters were hiding by the time they arrived. I hope they crashed into the jungle on the way home!

Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

Despite the confusion and panic spreading throughout Washington and London, the situation is not as bad as was first feared. Japanese forces have only landed in two locations and the element of surprise has passed although Allied forces remain scattered across vast distances, and in the case of the British forces they are far from the quality that will be needed to throw back the Japanese advance.
Whilst the US Pacific Fleet's battleships are out of the war, it is expected that all of them will return to active service following extensive repairs. Even Nevada, hit by four torpedoes and multiple bombs should be retrievable.
The Royal Navy has escaped damage at the hands of the Japanese, leaving Prince of Wales and Repulse on the loose. Reinforced by further RN ships from Singapore an enlarged Force Z remains a potent weapon in the East Indies.

Pearl Harbor
Things here are actually far, far better than I expected. The battleships soaked up most of the damage and their numbers meant that the damage was spread around, whilst Nevada is the most badly damaged it is entirely possible she'll survive (flt 74/43). All of the burning ships have been extinguished and the repair yards were hardly touched.

The airfield is badly mauled, with heavy casualties amongst the various squadrons based there. Despite that, there are enough aircraft available to hopefully mount a decent defence of Hawaii. The damage suffered is likely to make offensive operations against the Japanese fleet unlikely for a few days.

Philippines
Again, not as bad as I expected. Most of the damaged subs will make it out of Manila, Seal is going to need some yard time to ensure her escape. The rest of the Asiatic Fleet is planning to bomb-burst out of Manila and head for safer areas in Java and Australia.

Malaya
The Royal Navy has escaped the worst of the carnage, unlike US bases the port of Singapore was not subjected to Japanese bombing raids. This has meant that a vast array of shipping is available for the Allied war effort, it also means I've got tons of the damn things to evacuate safely...
Force Z is heading to Java to meet up with the Dutch Fleet and the USN Asiatic Fleet cruisers and destroyers. Admiral Dixie has learned the lessons of Crete and does not believe in sending warships out under skies that are clearly enemy controlled.
Given the poor performances of Malaya Command in pre-war jungle warfare excercises the majority of the forces are pulling back to Singapore where hurried work is commencing to build serious fortifications on the inland side of the island.



1) Is it worth replacing Percival as head of Malaya Command? Will replacing him make a major difference to the ability of the British and Indian forces to resist the Japanese? I'm unsure if it's worth paying the large PP cost to replace him when his successor will probably just end up in a PoW camp. He also costs almost as much as buying out a US unit from the West Coast.
2) Reinforce the Line Islands? There are a few units available on the US West Coast (8th Marines and 34th Infantry) which could be used to garrison the islands preventing an attempt to take them on the cheap. With addition of coatal artillery and some forts they'll be a surprise for GBL.
OR do they get sent to the SOPAC area to shore up the defences around Fiji?
3) Do I buy out the Australian AIF forces in Malaya? They could be handy in either defending India, or more likely, heading to the SWPAC area. It'll cost a lot of PPs to do it and there's no guarantee of safe passage once I have saved the points.
4) Only two landings on turn 1, I suspect that this means several more are planned for prime locations. There aren't enough carriers to cover all these places and they're mostly out of LBA range. Committing the Allied navies to counter moves against these locations might be a worthwhile gamble, depending on the locations of IJN heavy cruisers and battleships. Several TFs have been spotted heading SW from Thailand.
-Kuching (surprised there was no landing here on turn 1)
-Tarakan
-Balikpapan
-Manado
-Ternate
-Rabaul
-Ambon
-Kuantan (unlikely due to proximity to Singapore)
5) What to do with the Allied navies, specifically Prince of Wales (and Repulse). Remain in the DEI? Back to Ceylon? Or link up with the USN in the Pacific to replace the BBs at Pearl Harbor?

I see another Thread War has broken out.

I will be following this.
Godspeed [:)]

8th December, 1941

We heard today that the Japanese have attacked Malaya and America! Rumours are spreading that the squadron is going to be diverted to the Far East to help out. Not sure if I like the idea of the jungle any more than the desert, but at least it won't be as hot out there. Smudge reckons that by the time we'll get there the whole thing will be over anyway and we're going to end up in Egypt anyway...

From the Diary of AC1 Reginald Shoe, 232 Sqn



Malaya
The Japanese are firmly ashore at Kota Bharu, strangely my elite Indian infantry with their experience of 40 weren't able to hold back the Japanese attack. And if these supermen can't defeat the Japanese what hope is there for a unit with 27 experience?...
Four Japanese cruisers bombarded Kuching, alas my cunning trap didn't work as the Vildebeest and Swordfish managed 1 bomb hit between them [:@] Poor show chaps! Most disappointing... A Dutch submarine is moving to intercept the force, assuming they take the most direct path back to where they came from. The two squadrons based there are out of action for a while, but hopefully they'll be back to some sort of strength soon.
Only 13 more days until the first Hurricanes arrive! Then Johnny Foreigner will be sorry. Perhaps.


Philippines
The USAAF (or is it still USAAC?) continue the Allied master plan of getting shot down in droves, thus causing the Japanese air force to become jaded and question the morality of their actions. 19 P-40s and 8 P-35s were downed today, guess they were at low power or something... On the credit side, the P-35s managed to shoot down 4 unescorted Sally bombers, thus making them the second highest scoring US squadron of the war so far. Somehow I suspect this situation will not be continuing...
A series of naval actions took place in the Sulu Sea, the action started when USS Boise ran into a Japanese carrier escorted by destroyers and a cruiser. The exchange of long range fire was generally inaccurate (lucky for Boise). the Japanese destroyers managed to land a couple of hits on Boise, in return she managed to hit the carrier twice. One hit ripped away the crow's nest (at least that's what GBL says) and the second bounced off the flight deck [:@] This attack was followed by an attempted torpedo attack by a group of Asiatic Fleet destroyers, whilst three of the destroyers drew the Japanese fire USS Pope worked into position to launch a torpedo attack. And missed. USS Houston missed the fun though, by about 40 miles.
The carrier spent the rest of the day throwing Kates at various ships and ports, luckily achieving very little. Betty and Nell however managed to put torpedoes into several ships fleeing Manila. The ships hit so far have all been civilian vessels.

South China Sea
British ships leaving Hong Kong have been bombed and torpedoed heavily today, none have been lost so far but it's likely that several will not make it to South Borneo. Rumours persist that several Canadian soldiers have managed to hitch a ride with ships leaving the British territory.


Pacific
Not much happening here on the face of it. The Japanese carriers are still NW of Hawaii and the islands are surrounded by Jap submarines. Once the carriers have cleared out it'll be time to put some destroyers to sea and get rid of some of the subs.
The first troop convoys have formed up on the US West Coast and set sail (even though they're using engines, never understood all this nautical stuff really). An infantry regiment and coastal artillery unit are moving to Palmyra, a USN patrol squadron is slated to be based either at Palmyra or nearby Christmas Island.
I'm wondering if it's worth swinging Lex and her TF in to the south of Kwajalein in an effort to catch any Japanese shipping there? Currently she's between Kwaj and Johnston Island avoiding being sunk by the KB. After that it's operation hide in the South Pacific for a few months.
In other news, I realised that the French destroyer Le Triomphant has a decent radar system fitted (in fact I just like having any radar system for a change). This has increased the pool of radar equipped vessels to 7 (Australia, Canberra, Perth, Hobart, Achilles, Leander and Le Triomphant). The addition of any oof those ships means my crews will get more warning that they're about to be sunk by Japanese aircraft.



I suspect that I've got a week, maybe two, in the Pacific before the Japanese make any major moves beyond Rabaul. The KB is still at sea and under observation, so any moves into the South Pacific are unlikely (but not impossible) for now, especially as GBL doesn't know where my carriers are (unless he's cheating and reading this...). Because of this there's a mad dash about to occur with ships trying to get to the US or NZ/Oz with supplies, fuel and the occasional group of angry men with guns. I want to reinforce several places but I don't have enough troops, Fiji for example. Whilst I could get at least two regiments there, plus various ANZAC troops I'm wary at having the island cut-off so instead it's a more gradual securing of the LoC to the South Pacific and Australia.

This is British territory. You're not invited. We don't want you here. I want you to go now and take all your men with you.
Governor Sir Rex Hunt

9th (Action) Dec

Philippines
Today's action amounted to carnage around the Philippine Islands. Japanese carrier aircraft and land-based aircraft have sunk seven ships, left four more sinking and damaged several others. The lack of US air cover is not helping, but I'm hoping that as the ships manage to get further south they will find the situation less dangerous as they leave Betty and Nell behind.
Back on the mainland the US fighters were, again, badly mauled by repeated Japanese fighter attacks. 18 US fighters are lost, against a claimed total of around 8 Zeroes. In addition four PBYs were lost to various causes.
Japanese forces have landed on the northern coast, despite the presence of US submarines. S-36 and Stingray both made contact with convoys near Aparri, Stingray even launched an attack only for the torpedoes to result in duds. Further submarines are making their way to the area along with a force of PT boats.


Malaya
The Japanese Navy put in an appearance above Singapore today, despite a strong CAP being mounted by Buffaloes from basically every squadron in Malaya, the results were not good. A handful of A6Ms brought down for the cost of 10 Buffs. Still, just 12 days until the Hurricanes arrive!
The Dutch sub K-XIII was sunk off the coast after attempting to attack Japanese landing forces near Kota Bharu.


Dutch East Indies (& Borneo)
Not a lot so far, but it looks like invasions are imminent. At least 1 TF is heading to Kuching, with a heavy cruiser (confirmed Chokai) escort. I'm in two minds now, either risk sending in Dragon and Durban or hold them back for later use.
Elsewhere Dutch and US forces are scrambling to meet several potential invasions, Jap convoys are showing up between the DEI and Babeldaob heading West. There are several bases under threat so it's a best guess as to where the blow will fall. I'm confident that the USN will be able to cause some damage if they meet in the daylight, especially Boise.


Pacific
Lexington has continued her long sweep Westwards from the Line Islands, hoping to catch any Japanese invasion forces trying to take the weakly held islands south of the Marshall Islands. In conjunction with Enterprise I feel some calculated aggression could slow down potential IJN operations until the KB has rearmed. Several US, Australian and Kiwi cruisers are loose in the (bloody vast) area as well as a French destroyer.
It looks like things are about to kick off around Rabaul and the Solomons with confirmed sighting of three Japanese forces moving south, suspected targets are Rabaul, Kavieng and either Shortlands/Lunga/Tulagi. Adelaide has been diverted from escorting a convoy to Brisbane and will head to Rabaul. Australia and Perth are heading towards the Solomons, hopefully they'll be fast enough to get there before the Japanese. Things could change if either of the two Japanese carriers that are unaccounted for turn up though.

Coming tomorrow (UK time):

Some planning stuff. And maybe some super secret ideas!

There’s a man with a gun over there,
Tellin’ me I got to beware
Buffalo Springfield

Do you think that it's plausible that he is not coming to Rabaul and surrounding area without any air support?
It's quite a risk you are running, is it not?

Good luck anyway [:)]

From the Diary of AC1 Reginald Shoe, 232 Sqn

Reginald Shoe, eh?

I heard reports that Reg died fighting in Sergeant-at-Arms John Keel's old outfit. I must have been misinformed.

"How do they rise up, rise up?"

[;)]

ORIGINAL: mc3744

Do you think that it's plausible that he is not coming to Rabaul and surrounding area without any air support?
It's quite a risk you are running, is it not?

Good luck anyway [:)]

It is a risk, yes. But I feel it's a worthwhile one for a couple of reasons:

1) Some aggressive defence may be enough to derail any plans he has in the South Pacific.
2) Unlike the East Indies, where I know I'll get bombed and torpedoed, there's a chance of escaping without air attacks.
3) Any air attacks will likely be limited in numbers.
4) In the worst case it will give me an idea where the remaining Japanese CVL/CVEs are.


Adelaide is not the most useful of my ships, little better than an oversized destroyer really. Seeing as I know where the KB is and where one of his CVLs and CVEs are and that the other CVL and CVE start the war in the Home Islands I'm fairly confident that air cover is limited to whatever is at Truk. I'm not going to needlessly sacrifice ships, but this is a risk that I feel is worth taking. Rabaul is also a good airfield, so stopping a major landing here makes my task a little easier around NG.
This is GBLs first time as Japan, so he's well aware of the Allied shortcomings in the region but he's a bit unsure as to what the IJ forces can manage. A short, sharp shock might well be enough to knock his schedule back a bit. The threat of Allied intervention will hopefully cause him to keep some (or all) carriers in the Pacific.

If you do decide to spend the PPs to get the two Aussie bdes out of Singers, just remember they only represent 2/3 of 8th AIF Div. The other third of the division is already attached to an unrestricted HQ so you might want to attach the Singers bdes to the same HQ with a view to constituting the division in the future.

Alfred

I'm still undecided on the fate of the two Aussie bdes, with Jap invasions pitching up on Borneo things are probably soon going to turn rough for the Brit ships. The two Bdes both cost a good chunk of PPs and I might be better served by buying out the far more experienced USMC regiment at San Diego. How much difference are those Oz bdes likely to make with their presence at Singapore?


Seeing as GBL has managed to rope in some support on Japanese policies, I think it's only fair that I get to ask questions of you lot (whoever that may be), only two so far:

Where should I be reinforcing?
I'm aware that Ceylon is impossible to hold if GBL really wants it so a large garrison is pointless there. Instead I'm focusing on shifting reinforcements to cover the Bengal coast and the Burma/India border.
The Line Islands are an attractive and easy place to garrison, close enough to Pearl Harbor to make it risky for the Japs to try and take without air cover and a long way to cart a division of troops to ensure their capture.

What to do with the Australian AIF divisions that come from the Middle East?
It seems that there won't be a lot of employment for them in SWPAC for a while and the obvious option is to keep them in India to bulk up the defences there and spread the casualties across three nations (Brit, Indian and Oz).

How about bringing the Australian divisions to Colombo?
With one of those and some "leftover" from Burma taking Ceylon would become very expensive for Japan. Maybe doable, but at a high price.
It is after all well within your LBA range and very far from his core.
And once you have some Hurricane's to cover on range 0 + a couple of BBs and some good British cruisers landing at Ceylon is not going to be a piece of cake for him.

Dixie, glad to see you lauching into a new game!  Thanks for keeping an AAR that promises to entertain us for a long time to come.
 
I remember GBL, but don't know much about him as a player.  If he's aggressive, organized, and good, then you should have a real challenge since this is Scenario Two.  Under those circumstances, Auto Victory is definately a possibility, so the stakes are high from the word go.  The tension will mount.  You will sweat.  Your readers will enjoy the ride!
 
I've completed one Scenario Two match as the Allies and am involved in two others (well, one of them may have died or may be soon resurrected in the form of a legendary opponent), so I tremble at the thought of Scenario Two in the hands of a strong Japanese player.  Best of luck! 

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Dixie, glad to see you lauching into a new game!  Thanks for keeping an AAR that promises to entertain us for a long time to come.

I remember GBL, but don't know much about him as a player.  If he's aggressive, organized, and good, then you should have a real challenge since this is Scenario Two.  Under those circumstances, Auto Victory is definately a possibility, so the stakes are high from the word go.  The tension will mount.  You will sweat.  Your readers will enjoy the ride!

I've completed one Scenario Two match as the Allies and am involved in two others (well, one of them may have died or may be soon resurrected in the form of a legendary opponent), so I tremble at the thought of Scenario Two in the hands of a strong Japanese player.  Best of luck! 

Aye, I'm expecting a tough game but tempered by the fact that it's GBLs first game as Japan. I'm sort of hoping he carries on as he has been doing so far, we're 5 days in and he's just noticed that his CVL that was tasked with hunting down fleeing ships from the Philippines was set to port attack [:'(] He can't be any worse than me as Japan, my other GC game is going badly, although that's partly through playing the Dec 8th Scen.

I'm hoping that some channeled aggression in the form of short sharp shocks will cause him to tread carefully. I think that I can either expect an amphibious invasion of India and Ceylon -or- an invasion of New Caledonia and Fiji. Just a gut feeling at the moment, but IJN carrier support won't stretch to both ends of the map in a meaningful time frame.

When I see the main turn I'll have a better idea of the lie of the land, but I've seen the replay and have a rough plan formulated.

This is how the situation looked during my last planning phase, Marblehead and Boise were both moving towards the spotted TFs, although Boise looks to have waited to dash in tomorrow and hit the Ternate TF.

If I operate beyond the AV support I can shift another 40+ Australian Hudsons and Dutch Martins into surrounding airfields giving me around 60 assorted bombers able to bomb Ternate. The only IJN heavy surface assets spotted so far has been a single CA escorting the CVL, so I'm confident that Boise at least will be the equal of anything she's likely to come across.

11th Dec 1941

More Allied ships were sunk during the action (13 today! 3* xAP, 3* xAK, 4* TK, 1* PG, 1* AS, 1* AV) by various means. Four tankers were sunk south of Sumatra trying to run the gauntlet of Japanese submarines. A freighter was sunk by the northern end of Sumatra by Nells, the rest were sunk by Japanese aircraft near the Philippines.

The air war continues. Badly for the Allies. Japanese fighter sweeps over the Philippines and Singapore result in the loss of 24 Allied fighters in return for 9 A6Ms brought down.

MALAYA & SINGAPORE
Not much to report aside from more burning Buffs over the island. British and Indian troops are continuing to reach position and dig in. The remaining ships in the port are escaping in small groups now, the liner Dominion Monarch will be leaving today escorted by the last two RN destroyers in the harbour. On her way out she's taking the 2nd Argyles with her. The final big ships left are the Australian merchant cruisers Kanimbla and Manoora along with a couple of Brit freighters waiting for some escort ships to guide them to safety.

EAST INDIES
Japanese forces have landed at Kuching and Miri, they have (so far) avoided the minefield at Kuching although a couple of ships were hit with 500lb bombs dropped by RAF Vildebeest bombers, including a penetrating hit on the cruiser Suzuya. The presence of heavy cruisers means I'm reluctant to risk any of the Allied CLs still able to reach the area for now.

Further south the Japanese landed troops at Ternate, USS Boise was unable to reach the location in time to intercept the invasion and will instead arrive during the night. She has orders to either enagage the enemy ships, or if they have left then she will provide some naval gunfire.
Australian and Dutch bombers are being moved to surrounding airfields as a temporary measure to try and sink some Japanese ships. Their stay will be limited due to the lack of AV support available in these bases.

Another Japanese force has been spotted slightly to the north of Sorong, Marblehead and several US destroyers are en route to try and block this thrust. Other naval forces in the area include three Brit destroyers and the Dutch fleet although the Dutch are probably too far away to play any part in the action today.


PHILIPPINES
Japanese forces now control Laong and Aparri, both taken without serious resistance. S-39 managed to sink a Japanese freighter, unfortunately she seems to have been an empty. Allied PT boats and MTBs are gathered at Aparri to attempt a night-time strike on shipping still clustered around the beach-heads. Japanese troops are also ashore at Legaspi, and following the sinking of Tulsa and Asheville's damage at the hands of Japanese aircraft there are no warships left here to oppose the landings.

There were more fighter sweeps here, with the result that fighter squadrons in the Philippines are down to a total of 51 aircraft. On the credit side, a morale boosting raid by B-17s managed to damage several IJN ships at Babeldaob as well as teaching the Japanese Navy a valuable lesson on flying CAP. After 5 days of flying to the Japanese base without seeing Jap fighters the latest attack went in a a lower altitude and scored some direct hits. The next raid is going in higher, and will laugh at eh Japanese fighters who are unable to reach their altitude. [:D]

PACIFIC
A Japanese cruiser bombarded Rabaul, presumably in preparation for an imminent amphibious landing. Lucky for me the 'cruiser' is Kashimi and she's now used most of her 6" ammo so I'm optimistic that Adelaide will stand a good chance of causing some havoc.
Australia, Perth and Louisville are proceeding towards the Solomons, but they are all unlikely to reach the predicted landings at Shortlands. Similarly there is nothing that can be done to alleviate the situation at Kavieng where the Japanese have also got troops ashore.
Penguin ran into an invasion TF in mid ocean, and managed to land a shot on a Japanese ship before making her escape to the east. I'd say, on the basis of guessing, that this TF is going to Wake.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, it's the continued theme of relocation, relocation, relocation. 8th Marines are boarding their transport for "somewhere in the Pacific". 161st Infantry are on their way to "somewhere else in the Pacific, but not where the Marines are going." Both of these forces are following in the path of 34th Infantry Regt are are going "somewhere, also in the Pacific, but not where either the Marines or other army unit are going."
Six S-boats are heading to Alaska, along with support elements to form a new submarine flotilla. Based around the tender Fulton they will form the first elements of the North Pacific fleet (Motto: It's bloody cold up here). Fuel and supplies are on their way along with whatever air units I can be bothered to spare for now. So that's 1 group of B-26 aircraft for now.


INDIA & BURMA
A bit like the US side of the Pacific, but with less things for me to click on. Allied merchant ships are being collected together at designated hubs, where they will be sorted and either sent to Africa, Aden or kept in theatre for local work. Inland it's yet more units moving as weaker forces are deployed to new locations to allow (theoretically) stronger or more mobile forces move to the South and East. Major reinforcements are on the horizon, I'd much prefer them on the subcontinent instead.


[s]CRIME[/s][font="Trebuchet MS"]KB[/font]WATCH
South of Midway, heading west towards Wake Island.


11 Days until the first Hurricanes arrive!

And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
-Queen

12th December

MALAYA
More fighter sweeps over Singapore and as a result, more Buffs brought down. Japanese aircraft bombed Brit troop positions, but the thick jungle in northern Malaya has prevented too much damage being caused. Dominion Monarch has safely left Singapore and helped by her fast speed and escort of destroyers, she has so far avoided submarine contact.

EAST INDIES
Kuching, Miri and Ternate all fell to the Japanese invasions [:(] The Kuching invasion was helped by a heavy bombardment, an action which has left the base unusable for (hopefully) some time, especially as there are no base forces reported amongst the Japanese troops. Unfortunately all of the Jap ships seem to have missed the minefield I laid there.
S-37 has claimed a Japanese freighter sunk at Miri, so in two days the S boats have claimed 66% of the ships sunk by the Allies in the entire campaign thus far. Which speaks volumes about the effectiveness of the other elements of the forces.
At Ternate the Jap invasion force escaped scot free as Boise either failed to make contact or couldn't locate the fleeing Japanese ships in the dark. Later reports from air patrols indicate that she was just 40 miles away from a Japanese escort carrier TF, as was a group of RN destroyers. The destroyers will make a quick nighttime dash towards the carrier before retreating back to Darwin with daylight.
More Japanese troops landed at Sorong, once again the US ships sent to intercept ended up just short of the target. Hopefully Marblehead will make contact tonight. Dutch cruisers and destroyers are working ther way to Ternate in order to lob some shells at the base.

PHILIPPINES
The presence of carrier-borne aircraft around the islands has made the evacuation of shipping a costly exercise so far, luckily the loss rate is starting to drop off now. Mostly because most of my ships are already sunk.
Japanese troops have taken Legaspi in the face of stiff opposition. At least according to Japanese radio.
Plus the obligatory fighter sweeps and destroyed P-40s. B-17s launched against Japanese ships, although no hits were scored.
Several British MTBs were sunk during a nighttime engagement at Laoag, a lack of leadership has probably been responsible there. After the first two were sunk the commander ordered the MTBs to withdraw, despite being close to the enemy. The resulting panic caused more casualties among the Brit forces.

INDIA & BURMA
The first combat was experienced by the AVG today over Rangoon. Operating in conjunction with the RAF Buffs (i.e. using them as bait) the AVG managed to shoot down three Oscars. Not brilliant, but it's a start.
Still moving troops around elsewhere.

PACIFIC
Kavieng has fallen. Hardly a great loss but it does add to the impression that the world is collapsing around me! Nothing turned up at Rabaul, so Adelaide either remains as a guard against Japanese action or she moves somewhere else. First opinion is that she stays, Rabaul is the key base for any attack on the Solomons and Port Moresby as the only built up airfield. Allied cruisers are still trekking towards the region.

Lexington and Enterprise are working their way towards Australia/New Zealand. Long term planning is based around Enterprise being based in the region as her first refits do not require shipyards unlike Lex/Saratoga. I don't expect her to achieve a great deal but if I don't keep something there then she definitely won't do anything useful.


10 days until the Hurricanes arrive!

great AAR dixie, i'm just now starting PBEM games 1 against AW1Steve and one against d0mbo, I enjoy reading ur AAR's and I am still learning how things work and looking for ways to imporve how I play before I take on a GC in pbem. Keep up the good work.

Tran ET1(SS)