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Ok... after a rather long hiatus due to health reasons, I have come back to my favorite game ever (and the cheapest per hour too). I am as rusty as an old nail left in the middle of a wet field for a few years, so any and all comments are welcome. We are using the latest BtS version available, and there will be no Yamato or Musashi, which makes for a different, but interesting, start. Also, we will be doing 2-day turns, which makes games quite different (like having to order land units to combat mode when they have only traveled 30 miles, because otherwise next turn they will cross the river into enemy occupied terrain in travel mode.

Turn one has already been run. Results were... unexpected. One thing the Japanese player must realize about BtS is that quantity comes at a price, and that price is quality. The starting experience of the Japanese air arm has been lowered enough so that I did not expect to sink even one battleship in Pearl Harbor. So much so, that I was even tempted to leave the old battlewagons alone and send all three divisions of Kido Butai against Manila. In the end, I decided against it, but I did do something different due to the 2-day turns. I set all carrier attack planes to naval attack primary with port attack secondary. Especially in the Philippines I believe it is a wise course of action. Something else I did was to remain near Pearl for a second day of attacks. Unwise, I know, but I wanted to try something different.

Well the results were, as I wrote above, unexpected. First, my opponent was very conservative with his surface forces, and I found no carrier TFs (expected), and no cruiser TFs (unexpected). I did not even find Force Z! Still, what air attacks could not do, sub attacks kind of made up for. These are the combat results, by region:

Pearl Harbor:

- One midget sub sneaks in and scores a hit on BB Tennessee.
- BB Nevada hit by 2 torpedoes.
- BB Tennessee hit by an additional 5 torpedoes.
- BB Idaho hit by 1 torpedo, magazine explodes, and is reported as sunk.
- BB Arizona hit by 2 torpedoes.
- BB New Mexico hit by 4 torpedoes.
- BB California hit by 2 torpedoes.
- BB Oklahoma hit by 3 torpedoes.
- CA San Francisco hit by 2 torpedoes.
- CA Minneapolis hit by 2 torpedoes.
- CL Helena hit by 1 torpedo.
- CL St Louis hit by 1 torpedo.
- DD Ward hit by a total of 9 bombs and is sunk.
- 6 aircraft reported destroyed.
- Other minor units hit.

Interestingly, I see no report of Pearl Harbor being attacked on day 2 of the turn. I am not sure if I should be upset... or relieved!

Pacific

Little action here:
- BC Ranger hit by 1 torpedo. Reported sunk, but I don't believe it.
- Makin taken.
- 1st Sasebo Assault Div landed on Guam. Will assault next turn.

Philippines

Since the USN cruisers (2 CAs, 2 CLs, 1 CLV, plus escorts) did not seek battle, the Japanese naval air concentrated on Manila:
- SS S-38 hit by 2 bombs and reported sunk.
- SS Sargo hit by 2 bombs.
- SS Sturgeon hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Spearfish hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Sculpin hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Saury hit by 1 bomb.
- SS S-41 hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Seal hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Seadragon hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Spearfish hit by 1 bomb.
- SS Stingray hit by 1 bomb.
- DD Scout hit by 1 bomb and 1 torpedo, and reported sunk.
- DD Thanet hit by 1 bomb.
- A few transports hit but not sunk.
- Batan Island taken.
- Vigan taken, 65th Bde, 2x Tk Rgts, and elements of 48th Div landed.
- 18th Div on its way to southern Luzon.

Dutch East Indies

- Ternate taken by air assault by 1st Para Assault Div.

Malaya

- CL Durban hit by 1 torpedo near Muntok.
- Most of 5th Div landed in Singora. Rest will unload on turn 2... hopefully!
- 18th Div, engineers and artillery landed in Kota Bharu. Will assault on turn 2.
- 4th & 21st Div landed in Kuantan. Will assault on turn 2.
- Imperial Guards Div will start moving by rail next turn.
- Victoria Point taken by air assault by 1st raiding Rgt. Defenders eliminated.

Burma

- 55th Div will start moving by rail next turn.
- 2x Tk Rgts & 1 Arty unit waiting for 55th Div in Bangkok.

China

- Hong Kong forces arrived. Bombardment will start next turn.
- Pengpu assaulted and taken.
- Ichang evacuated.
- Tons of units moving to fulfill all garrisons, but maximizing front-line strength.

Losses:

Naval losses have been light so far. I can't complain in this respect.

- TK Kanze Maru sunk by submarine near Soc Trang.
- xAK Korei Maru sunk by submarine near Batan Island.

- xAK Teihoku Maru heavily damaged near Soc Trang.
- xAK Keihuku Maru heavily damaged near Takao.
- xAK Arimasan Maru heavily damaged near Takao.
- AD Gyoko Maru heavily damaged by a B-17 in Babeldaob.
- SS I-169 lightly damaged by DCs near Pago Pago.
- xAP Ural Maru lightly damaged near Kuantan.

Air losses, on the other hand, were unexpectedly heavy, probably because of the lower experience levels (I do escort my bombers). This rate of attrition cannot continue, or I will run out of planes very, very quickly.

- 28 B5N2
- 20 A6M2
- 17 G4M2
- 6 Ki-27b
- 8 D3A1
- 3 Ki-48-Ib

- 19 P-40E
- 18 P-40B
- 15 Vildebeest III
- 13 Buffalo I
- 5 PBY-5
- 5 F4F-3
- 5 P-36A
- 4 Blemheim IV
- 3 Do-24K-1

(I did not list other, minor losses)

All told, 650 TFs were active last turn. Some have arrived to their destinations, but there are literally hundreds moving everywhere right now.

I am not sure what to think of the turn. On the one hand I think my interior lines are somewhat secure. On the other, I did not sink as many enemy ships as I would have liked (if Tennessee goes down, I will call Pearl Harbor a Pyrrhic victory, though). PoW, Renown, and the USN cruisers in the Philippines / DEI area worry me. Yet, I damaged a lot of subs in Manila, and they will have to go through the gauntlet (Naval air against the port, and ASW assets waiting for them outside the bay) to get out of there. We will see if that works.

These are a few of the strategic decisions made before turn 1:

BB Repair Yards

Hiroshima & Nagasaki: 122 SY to repair 41cm rifles (4 ships).
Yokohama & Kobe: 102/100 SY to repair 40cm rifles (3 ships).
Shanghai & Tokyo: 63/62 SY to repair 36cm rifles (10 ships).
Later on:
Hong Kong & Singapore: 63 SY to repair 36cm rifles.

I am toying with the idea of stopping construction of a few SSs to accelerate some CVs and CVLs. I am not sure about this, though. Any thoughts on the matter would be welcome.

Aircraft research has been set, with a few plane types getting the main focus, and a few getting none. We will see what comes of this.


Thoughts?

Subscribed and welcome back!

Sorry to read about your health issues, happy to read that they are behind you!

Glad to see you're back and playing this mod. If you find any errors or have any questions about it drop John or me an email. Hopefully, we have only a few more left to discover.

Iboats are very useful, especially early in the game. In the latter half they are still very important, if used somewhat differently.

Welcome back.

Subscribed and BANZAI!

What Michael said is quite important. We have ventured far enough into our BTS-L that you are playing the cleaned up version of what we started.

You will note that the Japanese have started with two new 16" BBs in OPERATION and have another pair building. Originally the player started with the completed BBs but had no more after that. I quickly figured out that without several major vessels sucking off construction points then the Japanese player could accelerate ALL CVs without issue. That is not right so you now get to make CHOICES. Do you want another pair of spanking new BBs or do you want those CVs? Makes for a nice trade off set of choices...

Thank you all! [:)]

The only issue I have caught so far is the 21 upgrade for the Kitakami Class. I fixed it before starting the game. It comes about from the third (I think) upgrade pointing back to the second instead of pointing to itself.

I will post the turn 2 report soon, but in it the I-boats actually did quite well, so I am torn between accelerating CVs and completing the subs. Decisions, decisions...

Those BBs with 410cm rifles are awesome! I believe 4 of them will be more useful than Yamato and Musashi, especially since 2 of them are available at start. Their AAA suites are impressive too. None of them have seen action so far, but I am certain they will.

Once again, thanks for the welcome!

December 9th, 1941

Pearl Harbor playing in Warner Brother Latin America. Would have preferred Tora! Tora! Tora! But at least it gives a bit of ambiance.

Turn 2 has shown me what well-placed I-boats can do. In the past I had often set them to Computer Control, but this game I decided against it. The result? Well...
- xAP Malaita, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage (mines laid in Port Moresby by sub).
- AMC Manoora, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage.
- xAP Candesa, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage.
- xAKL Loa Koeloe, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage.
- xAP Hong Peng, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage.
- xAKL Cebu, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage.
- TK Augustina, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage.
- xAKL Larut, Shell hits 27, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- xAKL Latouche, Shell hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- xAP Camphuys, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage.
- CM Prins van Oranje, Mine hits 1, heavy damage (mines laid in 68,91 by sub).
- AG Albatros, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage.

Now, I know that most of them will not sink, and that not all turns will be like this one, but 12 ships hit by subs in the space of two days (one turn) is way above average for the Computer-controlled subs I have used in the past.

Pearl Harbor

My esteemed opponent has confirmed that Idaho went down, and that another BB (Tennessee according to my combat reports) still has fires and may go down too. That is not a bad PH attack, especially with lowered experience ratings on the bombers. I am glad I did not send those two CV divisions to Manila after all.

Pacific

I am being cautious here. Even though I put a fish in the Ranger last turn, there are to many additional Allied naval forces here, and I will not conduct operations unescorted by fleet carriers... well... not too many at least. Guam, Tarawa and Ocean Island have been captured. The Wake invasion force is leaving port soon.

Philippines

The one irksome Allied string of successes has been in Luzon. Those fat geese, better known as Catalinas, have been torpedoing not only xAKs. To top that off, the elderly S-40 hit a CL with a fish! I have now taken measures, but I must admit those planes are good at torpedoing slow, unescorted targets. On an unrelated note, all my youth I wanted to own and learn to fly one of those, perhaps inspired by watching too many episodes of Tales of the Gold Monkey on TV.

Laoag was captured.

My opponent tried to attack with his PT boats, but 6 have already been sunk, without any damage to show for it. One was even hit by a BB shell... I would have hated to be on that boat!

The Gauntlet. I call it that because getting out of Manila, if you are not in a sub, is like running the proverbial gauntlet. Surface forces waiting outside the bay, plus naval air hitting ships at port, do not paint a pretty picture for the Allies:
- xAKL Cetus, Shell hits 2, and is sunk.
- PG Tulsa, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- AM Quail, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires.
- AM Lark, Bomb hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- xAK Si Kiang, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- xAP Neptuna, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires.
- SS Seal, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk.
- DD Thanet, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage.
- PG Isabel, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- AM Tanager, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- TK Gertrude Kellogg, Bomb hits 1, on fire.
- xAK Capillo, Bomb hits 1, on fire.
- xAK Si Kiang, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage.
- AO Trinity, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires.
- SS Stingray, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage.

Dutch East Indies

Not much action here yet, with the exception of I-sub activity.

Malaya

Kota Bharu and Kuantan captured. Five infantry divisions plus other forces moving towards their targets here. My opponent seems to be evacuating forces from Alor Star, while I try to delay their departure with bomber ground attacks. Meanwhile my opponent has started clearing the mines in Singapore. He did not finish this turn though.

CVL-based Japanese naval aviators had a very good couple of days in the theater, sinking a number of Allied ships trying to escape to India:
- xAP Hong Siang, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAK Demosthenes, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk.
- xAP Kelantan, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAK Wing Sang, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk.
- xAKL Nam Yong, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- HDML Panglima, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAKL Raub, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- xAP Le Maire, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.

Again, I do not expect to continue with this success rate, but the sinking of the three xAPs is music to my ears.

Burma

Enemy pulling out of Tavoy. Japanese forces will get there very, very, late, but airfields and air units are being prepped for that front.

China

Hong Kong is being bombarded, both by land and by air. I have not played in so long, that I do not recall how soon to attack there. Any pointers?
Three other ground assaults took place, with a decent number of Chinese squads destroyed:
- Ground combat at 83,51 (near Wuchang):
--- Allied ground losses: 4791 casualties reported
--- Squads: 122 destroyed, 3 disabled
--- Non Combat: 118 destroyed, 0 disabled
--- Engineers: 6 destroyed, 8 disabled
--- Guns lost 26 (26 destroyed, 0 disabled)
--- Units retreated 1
- Ground combat at 88,45 (near Kaifeng)
--- Allied ground losses:
--- 782 casualties reported
--- Squads: 50 destroyed, 4 disabled
--- Non Combat: 16 destroyed, 0 disabled
--- Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
--- Units retreated 1
- Ground combat at 89,39 (near Taiyuan)
--- Allied ground losses:
--- 2283 casualties reported
--- Squads: 112 destroyed, 0 disabled
--- Non Combat: 62 destroyed, 1 disabled
--- Engineers: 2 destroyed, 2 disabled
--- Guns lost 10 (5 destroyed, 5 disabled)
--- Units retreated 2

I do not see much enemy movement in this theater. I may be ahistorically pushing harder than my opponent expected.

Losses

Naval losses continue to be light. Still, Catalinas and subs do pose a problem:
- xAKL Fukuei Maru sunk near Batan Island.
- xAK Tenzan Maru sunk near Vigan.
- xAK Arimasan Maru sunk near Laoag.

Air losses were as follows:
- 6 B5N2
- 6 A6M2
- 1 G4M1
- 3 Ki-27b
- 1 D3A1
- 2 Ki-48-Ib

- 15 P-40E
- 6 P-40B
- 20 Hudson I
- 12 Vildebeest III
- 7 Buffalo I
- 1 P-36A
- 6 Blemheim I
- 5 PBY-5 Catalina

A much better ratio than in turn 1, thankfully. The ratio in fighter planes, particularly, looks good now.

Well, that is it for now. I sent turn 2 to Revthought before starting this post, as to maximize the time he has to reply... perhaps I will get it back today

Cheers all!

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Iboats are very useful, especially early in the game. In the latter half they are still very important, if used somewhat differently.

Lowpe, can you please expound on how are I-boats best used in the latter half of the game, please? Thanks!

ORIGINAL: Kitakami

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Iboats are very useful, especially early in the game. In the latter half they are still very important, if used somewhat differently.

Lowpe, can you please expound on how are I-boats best used in the latter half of the game, please? Thanks!

Early on subs are very deadly against the unprepared Allies. You can really run riot.

In 43, the Allies start to get better and by then the aerial ASW is really tough, and by 44 even deep water is very dangerous for Japanese subs.

But subs can provide early warning, recon, minelaying, supply transit, pursuing cripples, and dilute enemy forces. They are still very valuable, just need to be used with care.

Find your Iboat funnies. The 14 knot minelaying subs; the Midget carrying subs; the subs that upgrade to Kaitens in early 45. Try to protect those and use them appropriately so you have them the whole game.

Find your Glen equipped Iboats. Let them become your eyes and ears. Get some pilots trained up on recon and naval search for them...they can sneak a peak of likely bases that will launch an invasion and also be the central sub of a hunting wolf pack.

Use your RO boats in coastal waters now, be very daring with them against Americans, less so the British and Aussies.

Always check your captains, quite a few of the sister's husband out there when they should be pushing paper back in Tokyo.

Lowpe, many thanks!

Within the first two weeks of the game I checked every SS commander and replace about 60% of them. As each I-Boat comes into service replace that leader as well. They will do incredibly well.

As to Lowpe's comments, I am beginning to agree and see the logic with him. My I-Boats and Ro- have done amazingly well when Dan is not actively using his escorts effectively; however, that is really beginning to change as we move into the Fall of 1943. Will Post my SS 'Kill' sheet sometime soon on the AAR and you'll be impressed.

I will make it a point to check all sub skippers and replace those that need replacing. I will also use the funnies for their intended use, not as fleet boats. Thanks for the tips!

I will make a complete report after I do turn 4 and send it to my esteemed opponent, but I wanted to whet your collective appetites:

The ugly: Among other things, air losses! Japan: 96. Allies: 127. That is a horrible attrition rate!
The bad: CVL Ryujo ate THREE fishes out of four launched by SS KXIII. The failed design did not sink, but she is damaged, badly.
The good: last turn my Jakes noticed the presence of an enemy CV at anchor in Palmyra. I decided to position my carriers between Palmyra and Pearl, 5 hexes from Palmyra. The result included this:
----- Day 1:
---------- CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 3, heavy damage
---------- CV Lexington, Bomb hits 2
---------- CV Lexington, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires
----- Day 2:
---------- CV Enterprise, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage

Lexington probably will get away, but the undamaged Shokaku, Zuikaku and Kushiro will pursue. I think I have a decent chance of bagging the Big E.

Wow, bagging the Big-E in the first week of the war. Someone has learned a few tricks since your last game ..... I am interesting in the air losses though... I don't remember us having that many losses in our last BtS game.... is this the new norm for v2.7?

ORIGINAL: Falken

Wow, bagging the Big-E in the first week of the war. Someone has learned a few tricks since your last game ..... I am interesting in the air losses though... I don't remember us having that many losses in our last BtS game.... is this the new norm for v2.7?

It was nothing but luck. I sent a CarDiv towards Midway and the other one towards Palmyra, hoping to catch one of the CV TFs. It so happened that CS Chiyoda was with the TF sent south... and I detected one CV (which seems to have been joined by the second one last turn).

As for plane losses, part of it is the 2-day turns. But even taking that into consideration, it has been a carnage. There is no way I can sustain these losses and keep groups full. We will see if the losses subside in a few turns.

With 2 day turns, it really pays to pick less aggressive air leaders that don't blindly fly all the time.

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

With 2 day turns, it really pays to pick less aggressive air leaders that don't blindly fly all the time.

I had not considered this. Thanks for the tip!

Ok... time for the full report for Dec 11-12, 1941.

The sub war

Submarines have been quite effective, on both sides. It is one of the reasons I am very happy at having sunk several USN subs in Manila. The more I get to sink, the less problems they will give me now... and later. Anyway:

- ML No. 311, Mine hits 1, heavy damage, at Singapore. The last damage done by turn-1 mines.
- SS KXI, hits 13, near Kota Bharu. If true, this makes me very happy.
- xAK Siantar, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage, near Toboali.
- xAK Jarapa, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, near Merak.
- xAP Mijer, Mine hits 1, on fire, heavy damage. Another sub-laid mine doing what it should.
- xAKL Princess of Negros, Shell hits 9, near Balikpapan.
- SS I-154, hits 2, on fire; xAK Doryssa, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, heavy fires, near Pamekasan.
- AM Mildura, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage, near Port Moresby.
- SS I-172, hits 6, near Johnston Island.
- CA Maya, Torpedo hits 1, near Bataan. Ouch!
- xAK Nagara Maru, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage, near Batan Island.
- SS I-170, hits 1 near Pearl Harbor.
- CVL Ryujo, Torpedo hits 3, heavy damage, near Kuantan. This one hurt! Ryujo will live, as long as she does not swallow another fish, but it is not a sure thing.
- xAKL Tatsuha Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire; SS Searaven, hits 1.

My esteemed opponent has been very good at ASW. I forgot to shift my subs, and I paid the price with several boats damaged. I am very, very rusty. It seems I have forgotten more things than I remember about how to play this game.

The Pacific

As I stated in a previous post, last turn my Jakes noticed the presence of an enemy CV at anchor in Palmyra. I decided to position my carriers between Palmyra and Pearl, 5 hexes from Palmyra. It was not one CV, but two, with their escorts. They tried to sail towards Pearl, and it was a rather bloody exchange:

- CV Enterprise, Torpedo hits 3, Bomb hits 5, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- CV Lexington, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires.
- CA Portland, Bomb hits 4, on fire.
- CA Astoria, Bomb hits 1.
- DD McCall, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires.
- CA Northampton, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- DD Balch, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires.

I will pursue. I am of the mind that bagging one CV for sure is better than dividing the TF and going for a long shot. The fate of Lexington depends on her speed, and since I hit her with bombs only, I don't think she is slow enough for me to give chase. We will see.

The Philippines

If the action in the Pacific was hair-raising, what developed in the Philippines almost gave me a heart attack. The cruiser force I had covering the entrance of Manila Bay was attacked by Houston, Chicago, and their escorts! But Ameterasu smiled upon the admiral in charge, and this was the result:

Round 1: daytime surface action

- CA Maya, Shell hits 1.
- CA Chokai, Shell hits 12, on fire.
- DD Sagiri, Shell hits 3, heavy fires.
- CL Minase, Shell hits 2, on fire.

- CA Houston, Shell hits 2.
- CA Chicago, Shell hits 9, on fire.
- CL Marblehead, Shell hits 2, on fire.
- DD Barker, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- DD Stewart, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- DD Paul Jones, Shell hits 2, heavy fires.

Round 2: afternoon carrier air strike

- CA Chicago, Bomb hits 4, on fire, heavy damage.
- DD Barker, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- DD Paul Jones, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage.

Round 3: daytime surface action

- CL Natori, Shell hits 1
- DD Fumizuki, Shell hits 2

- CA Chicago, Shell hits 22, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- DD Paul Jones, Shell hits 11, and is sunk.
- DD Peary, Shell hits 4, heavy fires.
- DD Pillsbury, Shell hits 1.

Round 4: daytime surface action

- DD Peary, Shell hits 13, and is sunk.
- DD Pillsbury, Shell hits 6, and is sunk.

All in all, I can't complain. One USN CA and three DDs sunk, while only suffering repairable damage (bar a sub or a Catalina torp hit). The rest of the action in the area was rather one-sided:

- xAKL Escalante, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- xAKL Sarangami, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAP Elcano, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk.
- TK Manatawny, Bomb hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- xAK Governor Wright, Bomb hits 9, and is sunk.
- xAK Ravnaas, Bomb hits 6, heavy fires, heavy damage.

In Manila port:

- AO Pecos, Bomb hits 1.
- xAK Yu Sang, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage.
- TK La Estrella Caltex, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk.
- xAK Ethel Edwards, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires.
- TK Hai Kwang, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- SS Sargo, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAKL Don Jose, Bomb hits 1, on fire.
- ACM Colonel Harrison, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk.
- SS Spearfish, Bomb hits 1, heavy damage.
- AS Otus, Bomb hits 2.
- AS Canopus, Bomb hits 1, on fire.

My Manila Bay covering forces are running low on ammo, but their purpose is being fulfilled. They have bottled up the port's exit, and the IJN air is chewing ships up.

Dutch East Indies

I need air and surface covering forces to advance here. Meanwhile, I am strengthening Ternate.

Malaya

Japanese land forces are slowly moving forward. Meanwhile the Brits seem to have evacuated Alor Star, and are in the process of leaving only the barest speed bump in Georgetown.
At sea, things are a little different:

- xAK GG Van Vollenhoven, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAK Neleus, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage.
- xAP Van Riebeek, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- AM Astrolabe, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- AM Octant, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- xAK Tai Sang, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- xAP Ipoh, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk.
- xAK Neleus, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk.
- xAK Laos, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage.
- xAK Silverbeech, Torpedo hits 1.
- xAP Kota Gede, Bomb hits 1.
- xAP Swartenhondt, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- CM Kung Wo, Bomb hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage.
- xAP Perak, Bomb hits 1, on fire.
- MMS-51, Bomb hits 2, and is sunk.

I have committed 5 divisions plus auxiliary units to this theater. I do not recall if this is enough or if I should commit a sixth division. Thoughts?

Burma

I made a grave mistake here. I sent two light bomber chutais to Bangkok to soften up Tavoy. Problem was, I did not send any escorts, so they were chewed up by Flying Tigers for two consecutive days. I lost about 10 planes in that one.

Besides that, I have one division plus auxiliary units moving towards Tavoy, plus an additional division en route from Japan towards Bangkok. No action yet.

China

Besides the air and artillery bombardment of Hong Kong, this is what happened:

Ground combat at 91,39 (near Chengting) - Japanese Shock attack
- Japanese ground losses:
--- 8 casualties reported
----- Squads: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
----- Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled
----- Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
- Allied ground losses:
--- 903 casualties reported
----- Squads: 47 destroyed, 11 disabled
----- Non Combat: 26 destroyed, 0 disabled
----- Engineers: 2 destroyed, 1 disabled
----- Units retreated 1

I am still shifting forces in the theater, and several of the big attacks have not started yet. Enemy forces have started to move towards defensive positions though.

Losses

Naval losses are still light (although damaged ships are beginning to mount up):

-xAP Takatiho Maru, (involuntarily) scuttled near Naga.

Air Losses continue to be huge:

- 18 B5N2
- 18 A6M2
- 13 Ki-30
- 10 Ki-32
- 9 G4M1
- 7 D3A1
- 4 Ki-48-Ib
- 2 Ki-57-I
- 2 Ki-43-Ib
- 2 E14Y1
- 2 E13A1
- 2 C5M2

- 36 SBD-2
- 30 F4F-3A
- 14 TBD-1
- 13 Hurricane IIb
- 9 SOC-1
- 9 F2A-3
- 8 Buffalo I
- 2 PBY-4
- 2 P-40E
- 2 B-17D
- 2 H81-A3

Plus single planes here and there. If I had not destroyed a carrier air group, the turn's balance would have been lousy.

Well, that is all for now. Any comments, suggestions, etc. are more than welcome