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Bleak, but far from hopeless.
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23 June 1942
The Silent Service and US Army Air Corps strike back... a little. Hawaii and the Line Islands S-32 torpedoed a cargo ship near Pearl, which appears will survive. I have a cargo ship docked and unloading now. I have another that could arrive tomorrow, but I'm having it hold off because there are two enemy task forces at Oahu right now... a pair of merchants and a flotilla of landing barges. Not sure if he's landing troops or removing them but I don't want my cargo ships spotted if I can avoid it. Our airfield is now big enough to support level bombers, and today B-26s began raiding Palmyra. Coral Sea/Solomon Sea The KB followed the predicted exfiltration route near Milne. USS Grampus was first to attack, striking one of the KB escorting destroyers. The stricken destroyer was left behind by the KB, so Grampus tried to finish it off but missed. Further along, the KB was attacked by the S-39, which scored a hit on the Akagi. The damage does not appear to be serious. Not only does the Akagi look OK, but it also appears that the Kaga and Shoho have resumed flight operations. The KB launched raids against shipping near Port Moresby and the airbase Milne. At PM, the CAP clobbered the raid, shooting down 7 of 9 Zeroes and 17 of 22 Vals with no losses. At Milne, with a cost of 1 P-40, we shot down 10 Zeroes. The bombers got through and caused significant facility damage, but nothing we can't repair. Their dive bombers are nearly all shot down anyway, so reducing this base doesn't do much. I'm moving CVW-6 to Port Moresby and sending level bombers out to make room. I don't expect the KB to stick around, but Junyo might pass through here before it meets up with the KB (it turned back around and is headed north). There are also several detachments--he may be trying to pick up those troops at Normanby island again. A PBY bombed a cargo ship near there this turn. Burma and Thailand Two fighters each side down over Rangoon. We lost one more Hurricane around Raheng. The Nells that attacked port Blair made a run at cargo ships near Rangoon and found Rangoon's CAP protecting them. 4 of the 5 Nells were shot down, 1 made an attack but missed. China Looks like we made it. My "flank guards" main force will reinforce Chengchow tomorrow. The attack hasn't come yet, so we look on-time. We'll still be outnumbered but we'll be behind Level 5 forts. He attempted a bombardment attack with the substantial forces he already has there, but I took no casualties thanks to the forts, while counterbattery fire disabled several of his units. Zeroes tried to stop our bombers and managed to shoot down 4 obsolete I-16s trying to protect them, but the Lancers took care of business--8 Zeroes down with no Lancers lost. I'm also attacking an enemy army in the southeast near Chusein. We outnumber then 4-to-1 there, inflicting 1598 to 201 casualties. N. Australia We lost a Kittyhawk to a sweep; this squadron is already beaten down. Japan USS Pampano torpedoed and sank a PB that was apparently on an ASW patrol. ---- Air losses today were 62 to 19, with 27 of the Japanese losses taken by Zeroes. I'm hoping the silver lining in all this is that next time we see the KB, their pilots won't be as good. The North Carolina has arrived on the West Coast. |
24 June 1942
Pearl cargo run detected...now what? Hawaii USS Tarpon found one of the enemy merchants near Oahu and sank it. It was carrying troops. It later found a landing barge and gunned it down, then attempted a gun attack on another cargo ship before return fire changed their mind. Recon is showing Lahaina troop numbers briefly went up, then down again to lower than when I started watching a few days ago. My guess is he's not moving anything in or out of Hawaii, he's moving exhausted troops off the front and replacing them with fresh reserves. While my cargo ship on the way in was standing off, the one in port finished unloading and departed. It ran into an enemy PB. The PB's contact report led to a submarine finding and sinking the cargo shortly after. But more important, now he knows I'm running supply with single ships--just days before a large convoy is set to arrive. Will the Betties come back? Solomon Sea S-39 torpedoed a cargo ship at Normanby Island that had troops aboard. The KB has moved out of view towards Truk. Junyo still appears to be lagging behind but is also headed that way. Sumatra Fulmars escorted by Hurricanes attempted to stop a cruiser group from bombarding Palembang, but Zeroes fought them off. One Zero was shot down along with a Hurricane and 2 Fulmars. The bombardment disabled a few aircraft and caused light facility damage. China An enemy bombardment at Chenchow once again hurt him more than me. The troop numbers look pretty even, except he also has tanks. Doesn't look like enough to overcome the fortifications. I attacked again at Chusein, but this time he did more damage to us, I need to rest and resupply my troops. Reinforcements YMS-100 arrives at Astoria China Air TaskForce arrives at Kunming 22nd Marine Regiment arrives at San Diego 267th Armoured Brigade arrives at Madras 4th British Brigade arrives at Aden ---- This turn was another Mulligan for the enemy...the settings on the cruisers attacking Palembang were incorrect and they ended up further north than he wanted, resulting in a torpedo bomber attack from Singapore. The error really wasn't all that different from mine with Enterprise so I gave it to him. In the original turn, he actually attacked Chengchow and reduced the forts to level 4. I also remembered--the first time--to stop my cargo ship leaving Pearl in addition to stopping the one about to arrive. Also, the attack at Normanby Island was done by PTs instead of a sub. |
25 June 1942
Sumatra The cruisers that hit Palembang yesterday arrived late enough in the day that they hadn't gone far, so my opponent ordered them to shell Palembang again with the ammo they had in reserve. They didn't do much damage this time, and one of the heavy cruisers hit a mine. On the way out, they were attacked by the KXII, which scored a hit on one of their destroyers (a likely kill). The KXII--caught in shallow water--took severe damage from depth charges. It's headed to Singapore for emergency repairs. Thailand My fighter-to-bomber coordination problems really never went away, and today that cost me 3 Blenhiems that had few or no escorts. We also lost a Hurricane. China We splashed a Zero trying to interdict our bombers at Chengchow. Another enemy artillery attack hurt him more than me. I'm moving the I-16s here off the frontline, they're just getting killed but would be useful as trainers. We have enough P-43s and P-40s that we don't need them. Hawaii There is still too much activity to move my waiting cargo ship into Pearl. A second is now arriving--and the big convoy isn't far behind. |
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Is that a problem the game simulates or is this more a problem of (not) giving the perfect orders? |
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26 June 1942
Hawaii We continue to build on the number of submarines patroling near Pearl. USS Sturgeon gunned down a landing barge. The two cargo ships outside Pearl are still holding due to enemy surface traffic. My sub patrols prompted him to switch is Mary bombers from bombing Pearl to ASW duty. S-31 was hit by one but wasn't seriously damaged--and the repair yard at Pearl is operational thanks to the cargo ships that got through. N. Australia Looks like sweeps/raids at Darwin are going to become a regular thing. Each side lost 2 fighters today. I'll have US P-39s backing up the Aussie P-40s (and their inadequately trained pilots) soon. Sumatra Unescorted enemy bomber raids got too close to Palembang--the only remaining fighter base I have here. We got 7 Sallies and 3 Anns as the CAP diverted to intercept. Sabang has been captured. Thailand A Blenheim raid got bounced by Oscars, 2 Hurricanes and 1 Blenheim down with no kills of our own. China I attacked the enemy army at Chusien again but couldn't budge it. Even casualties. |
27 June 1942
Enemy blunder at Chenghow results in mass army casualties Japan Our sub patrols near Toyohara spotted a major convoy and a large tanker. We didn't hit anything--but there's clearly an increase in traffic here that will make this convoy route a priority now. Hawaii USS Thresher got a landing barge, Sturgeon another. Sturgeon's had troops on board. The Marys on ASW patrol spotted my large cargo ship convoy. Hopefully it's too late for them to do anything about it, they weren't attacked today and they'll be docked tomorrow. Maybe bombed dockside? Makassar Strait The O23 torpedoed and sank a light cargo ship near Balikpapan. Thailand He's reinforced Bangkok with a lot of Zeroes. They swept Rahang, claiming 7 of our P-40s while we managed 5 of them. I noticed my pilot quality here isn't what it should be, so I'm sending some of these guys back to training squadrons. One of the replacements assigned was Boyington, who was freed up when I disbanded AVG-1 awhile back (no replacement aircraft available to get them back online). He'll be active in 5 days. Sumatra They swept the area near Palembang that they were bombing yesterday, drawing our our CAP and shooting down a Hurricane. Then they did it again, but we had the only kill, a Zero. Now that I know he's avoiding getting within torpedo bomber range of Singapore, that leaves the only route to Palembang through a very narrow channel between Sumatra proper and a coastal island. I had the O20 drop a full load of 40 mines in the channel. Hopefully that will pay off soon. China Despite having originally moved troops across the river at our flanks and entering Chenchow overland, today he sent reinforcements directly across the river at the battlefield. This resulted in a disorganized, desperate shock attack that utterly failed against our fortified base. Casualties were 12,236 to 0. In terms of victory points, his destroyed squads were worth as much as two carriers. This probably marks the end of his counterattack. |
28 June 1942
Hickam AFB operational Luzon Strait USS Pickerel torpedoed and likely sank a troop-carrying cargo ship in a convoy at appears to only have minelayers as escorts--minelayers that apparently did not have ASW capability. Thailand Our US Army squadrons in Thailand are wearing down. 3 Zeroes down to 3 P-40s, but there are a lot more Zeroes (and Oscars) and not many more P-40s here. N. Australia Getting the P-39s to Darwin helped. 3 Oscars down to 2 Aussie P-40s. Sumatra 6 Hurricanes on CAP attempted to interdict a massive enemy air raid--54 bombers and 43 fighters. We got one Zero, losing 5 Hurricanes. This British squadron is just about done for, although we do have a few replacement aircraft of this type and more on the way. Hawaii The large cargo ship convoy docked and unloaded overnight, the two solo ships also docked and will unload next. Our resupplied artillery units made a probing bombardment attack, which shows the enemy forces here to be more than 3 divisions worth, but weakened to the approximate power of 1 division. I might be able to push them into the sea with the armies I already have here. I'm not going to take that risk just yet. The resupply of Oahu means Hickam AFB is now fully operational. I've moved in Wildcat squadrons and even a few spare Buffalos, a Dauntless squadron, PBYs, and 2 B-17 squadrons. I'm going to attempt to control or at least monitor the surrounding seas. I should have the planes online in a day or two. Anticipating the success of the convoy, I already have a battleship group and phibs headed for Lahaina. As long as he doesn't move Betties in, they'll keep going. USS Thresher got attacked by a pair of Marys, but damaged them both with its AA and forced them to retreat. Not bad for a 20mm and a few .50 cals. China The enemy is retreating from Chengchow, at least in part. I attacked the army near Chusien again, this time forcing the enemy to retreat. Casualties 3089 to 495 favoring me. I'm going to give chase for now--I think I'll turn these guys towards the coast after that. |
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That's one hell of a blunder. |
29 Jun 1942
Yellow Sea USS Salmon picked off a full-size cargo ship in a convoy of mostly AKLs headed for Shanghai and slipped away before the escorting PB could retaliate. A good result, but I'm keeping a close eye on this. It's only the second ship we've sunk in the Yellow Sea despite the enemy's increased supply need in China and this water is shallow enough for non-upgraded enemy depth charges to be very effective. Two cargo ships in a week isn't worth losing a boat for. Hawaii An enemy sub picked off one of my singleton cargo ships as it left Pearl. My earlier estimate that the new aircraft at Hickam would be online in 2 days was too optimistic...it'll be more like a week. That's cause for concern, especially with the PBYs not online yet. I did some maths...assuming the KB only does a gas-n-go at Truk and then heads for Hawaii at cruising speed, it would arrive on July 4. Oh, and SIGINT reports enemy transmissions at a spot in the ocean in near the Marshalls that's on the lane between Truk and Hawaii. If that was the KB, it's arrival would be July 5--that by itself is scary because it looks like it matches. My likely date of arrival at Lahaina is July 6. Setting that aside for a moment, the KB has been running at high speed for a good chunk of its last deployment, so they need maintenance, and they're due for refits. On top of that, if my cargo runs concerned him, the most efficient solution would be to bring the Betties back--he hasn't done that. So, I think a KB deployment to Hawaii right now is unlikely. But not something I can ignore. For now, I'm going to continue, but I'm probably going to stand off instead of going right in. Thailand 2 more P-40s down at Raheng. But more important, no enemy bomber activity. I'm going to stand my fighters down for a couple days to let them repair planes and just not give the enemy anyone to play with. Meanwhile, I've been gradually moving in more reinforcements to this region. I can now drive to Bangkok with the equivalent of about 3 divisions while still keeping enough in reserve that they can't bypass me and threaten Rangoon. Recon says I'm stronger than what they have in Bangkok and Tavoy combined. So in a few more days I'll start heading south again, all the more reason to keep my fighters healthy so that I can keep enemy bombers off the troops if they ever show up. N. Australia Another bad day at Darwin, 3 of ours down to 1 of his. I'm tempted to move in more fighters, but... I think with the surge of enemy fighters in Thailand and Sumatra, his numbers here are less than they were when I last tried to carpet bomb Koepang airbase. I'm short on fighters, but good on B-17s. And B-17s chew up enemy fighters pretty good. So, Offensive Counter Air is the call to deal with the threat to Darwin. China He now has armies leaving Chengchow in two directions, back across the river and to the south, the way the main force came in. I now have reinforcements arriving on the southern route, and he's also got more troops entering that space from the east, so my guys are caught between the two. I don't have good intel on numbers. |
30 June 1942
Hawaii Our subs at Pearl took out another 3 landing barges, a Kingfisher bombed a small minelayer. Ceram Sea S-36 torpedoed a troop-carrying cargo ship in the narrow sea lanes here. There was a massive secondary explosion, so we're confident this one went down. E. Australia There are enemy subs all over the coast right now. Minesweepers damaged two slightly, Wirraways bombed another. A heavy cruiser from each of the two former CVBG are being escorted through here to Sydney for repairs. N. Australia Using B-17s on Koepang isn't going to work, the true fighters have left but the Nick fighter-bombers remain, and they're great bomber interceptors. 3 B-17s lost today, including the ones crashing on the way back. Plus another P-39 at Darwin. Sumatra The British Hurricanes at Sumatra got the better of a Zero sweep, shooting down 3 without loss. Reinforcements 43rd BG/65th BS arrives at Los Angeles 43rd BG/403rd BS arrives at Eastern USA --these are both unrestricted B-17 squadrons, because I sent 16 airframes to Pearl I only have enough aircraft to outfit one of them. 142nd USA Base Force arrives at Fort Ord 5th British Brigade arrives at Aden |
1 July 1942
HMS Revenge torpedoed leaving Columbo Bay of Bengal After several days of maintenance, I reassembled a heavy surface task force and a CVBG to provide air cover and ordered them to Tavoy. The heavy task force was immediately attacked by a submarine a few hexes outside of port, scoring 2 hits on HMS Revenge. She's limping back to port and will survive, but will likely be out of action for months. Hawaii and Line Islands USS Pollack sank one of the coastal minelayers operating near Pearl. With all the minelayers I'm seeing I'm surprised none of my cargo ships or subs have hit a mine. In the absence of a detected minefield, I have no idea what these guys are doing. I have enough PBYs online now that my concerns about the KB showing up unannounced are somewhat alleviated. But only a little, because he's penetrated my search areas before. This is also a good time to mention another collection of task forces is headed to Palmyra to take it back. That is is happening at the same time as the Hawaii op is pure coincidence, it's been in motion for awhile in terms of just moving assets in place over a thousand miles of ocean after several of my key hubs were bombed by the KB. A smaller bombardment force is headed to Johnston as a recon-in-force, looking for a fast-reaction force of aircraft that might be moved to Pearl in a hurry. Thailand Even though I'm resting my Raheng CAP, the enemy still got fighters of mine to play with because they diverted from Moulmein. One fighter down on each side. Sumatra The Palembang CAP diverted to engage a sweep to the south, shooting down a Zero. But, they wore themselves out on the sweep so that when the raid came we had nothing to throw at it...66 bombers in that group with few fighters. Oh well. These bombers are just attacking a small delaying force at a river crossing adjacent to Palembang. I'm not actually concerned about it. China It got a little ugly in the skies over Chengchow as the enemy withdraws. 4 Lancers and 2 SBIII bombers down for us, 7 Zeroes down for him. Strait of Malacca The lone surviving cargo ship of the former Palembang-Singapore route was sunk by a sub trying to run supplies from Colombo to Singapore. A long shot mission anyway, but one worth attempting. Caroline Island USS Plunger came under attack by a Kate and a Dave floatplane outside Truk. The presence of the Kate suggests to me at at least one carrier stopped at Truk for maintenance/repairs. Reinforcements 2nd Recce Regiment arrives at Aden - unrestricted armored unit--straight to Burma We also got a pair of destroyed Dutch squadrons back, but we have no aircraft to outfit them with and I don't think we'll ever get more. |
2 July 1942
Air campaign over Singapore resuming? 11 Oscars shot down there... E. Australia A corvette engaged an enemy sub near Koggala and scored a single critical hit with a depth charge pattern. The sub might be fatally damaged, but we did confirm that it didn't immediately sink as we briefly regained contact after it gave us the slip. N. Australia Things turning around here? One enemy Oscar down with no losses of our own. Our B-17s are on ASUW duty now, staying away from the Nicks at Koepang. China A single Zero was shot down in the Chengchow area. For now, we both have armies giving each other leave to retreat in an orderly fashion around the bridge south of Chengchow. Malaya There were 4 sweeps of Singapore today, all by Oscars. Our airpower here is somewhat reduced from its peak, but we still have the expert New Zealand squadrons and British Mohawks. We splashed 11 of the Oscars at a cost of 3 Mohawks, strongly suggesting the Japanese have a pilot attrition problem. Sumatra We managed to pounce on 2 Sallies that lagged behind their escorts. There's also a task force detected on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra that appears to be composed of a seaplane carrier and large surface combattants---that's a commerce raider task force. I currently have one tanker convoy in that area--I'm turning it to pass wide of them. I'm also recalling my task forces headed for Tavoy, my next convoy headed south to Perth is going to have quite an escort. Speaking of the heavies headed to Tavoy, repairs on the Revenge are estimated to take 6 months. I'm going to reassess every week or so to figure out if its practical to send it to Cape Town instead of repairing at the relatively small Columbo shipyard. At a cruising speed of 6 knots right now, that's not practical. Hawaii Enemy forces on Lahaina are significantly greater than they've been the last week or two, there's at least a division there. This is concerning. I'm halting the phibs for now. The bombardment of Lahaina will proceed. I'm also noting that my raid on Johnston is going to arrive too late to hit them before I reach Lahaina. I'm ordering another probing attack on Oahu to try to confirm they've reduced the troop levels there. I'm still waiting for aircraft at Hickam to come online--I have fighters, a reduced-strength dive bomber squadron, a few PBYs, and a few bombers. The PBYs and bombers will be very helpful in the immediate future. Reinforcements CL Birmingham arrives at Cape Town ML No. 246 arrives at Karachi VMF-214 arrives at Pearl Harbor (2 Buffalos) No.155 Sqn RAF arrives at Rawalpindi (16 Mohawks, unrestricted--headed to Burma/Thailand) 222nd USN Base Force arrives at San Diego (unrestricted, half strength) |
3 July 1942
Bay of Bengal 2 enemy submarines were detected on the track of the CVBG-escorted tanker convoy, one in close enough proxmity to be engaged by destroyers, causing moderate damage. Meanwhile the enemy heavies are moving northwest up the Indian Ocean coast of Sumatra--looking more like a bombardment group than commerce raiders now. I'm doglegging everyone involved to avoid the subs. The CVBG is going to break off from the tankers to see if they can get a shot at the heavies. The tanker convoy is aborting their transit--no need to push this. China Our air forces are getting worn down while the enemy is reinforcing. 50 Zeroes swept Chengchow today, shooting down 1 Lancer. When my bombers came, they broke through and shot down 4 SBIII bombers. AVG squadrons 2 and 3 are withdrawing as scheduled, and 2 US Army P-40s are taking their place. AVG3's aircraft went to the Chinese Air Force, AVG2's to the U.S. The enemy death star at Chengchow made another push despite their earlier losses. Casualties 21631 to 6767 favoring us. Forts held. Burma and Thailand The 2 P-40 squadrons headed to China are the two that were resting at Raheng. The Mohawks on their way will help balance that out. Zeroes swept Raheng, kiting P-40s from Moulmein and shooting down 3. N. Australia Darwin: 2 P-39s and 1 AUS P-40 down, no kills for us. Sumatra This time we got at the unescorted Sallies. 14 shot down. Malaya More sweeps at Singapore--4 Oscars down vs 1 Mohawk and 1 Hurricane. Maybe these planes should be escorting those Sallies? Hawaii Our probing attack shows one of the divisions in Oahu is a hollow unit, so it looks to me like he hasn't reinforced, he's moved troops from Oahu to Lahaina. Also, he's moved in another fighter squadron to Lahaina, which is concerning. Finally, there is a 4-ship task force approaching from the southwest that includes a destroyer. The shelling of Lahaina will proceed, I'll try to attack from long enough range that a likely substantial minefield won't be a huge threat--I have 3 DMSs in company to help with that. Fighters from Hickam to provide air cover. I'm also activating my dive bomber squadron to perform some ASUW. |
4 July 1942
USMC provides occupied citizens of Lahaina with fireworks; IJN Nagato & transports sunk by Brit torpedo bombers off Sumatra Sumatra & Singapore The force I originally classified as commerce raiders and than reassessed as a bombardment group is in fact an amphibious group. They landed at Padang on the Indian Ocean side of Sumatra, transporting a third of the 1st Division, destroying a minesweeper on duty there as they approached. At sunrise they were spotted and referred to Singapore for a strike package. The Oscar sweeps on Singapore continued, which may have interfered with the strike--it appears fighters ordered to escort my bombers were scrambled to fight the Oscars. 7 Oscars were shot down with a loss of 3 Mohawks and 2 Hurricanes over the course of several sweeps throughout the day. The Albacore torpedo bombers flew 2 unescorted sorties against the enemy ARG at Sabang. My lack of escorting fighters was mitigated by the weather--he had Zeroes on a high-altitude CAP over the target, but my bombers approached low in a thunderstorm. The CAP did not engage either sortie. The first wave of 16 bombers hit the battleship Nagato twice and a troop-carrying cargo ship twice. The second wave hit the Nagato 4 more times, another cargo ship twice, and another once. Nagato went down while still under observation. Enemy troop casualties were about 900. Hawaii The S-47 torpedoed a cargo ship south of Pearl. S-33 followed up the attack, trading gun hits with it. Thresher followed that up, bouncing a Mk14 dud off its hull. My bombardment task force has yet to arrive at Lahaina, so the occupied citizens will have to wait until after midnight on July 5 for that fireworks show. But we did give them a preview as my reactivated USMC dive bombers attacked ships at port. Enemy Zeroes and Oscars defended--the Zeroes appear to be from Kaga, more or less confirming she's under repair right now. We flew two sorties, the first resulted in 4 Wildcats shot down for me and 4 Oscars and a Zero for them. The SBDs all missed. The second sortie saw one more F4F and Zero go down, and 2 more Oscars. One SBD hit the light cruiser Kuma, causing severe damage and starting a major fire. China My AVG replacements failed to escort my bombers to Chengchoon. 3 SB-IIIs and A-29s were lost, only one Lancer on nearby CAP was available to defend them--it shot down one Zero. EDIT: Australia We have a squadron of Anson light bombers that just came online in Sydney yesterday. These guys are radar-equipped so I expect them to be good ASW assets. Yesterday I moved ASW-qualified Wirraway pilots to this squadron and put them on ASW duty, and today they've already scored a hit on one of the several subs operating here. Bay of Bengal Despite doglegging, there is a wolfpack of 6 subs in the path of the Brit CVBG. We prosecuted one that was close with no hits. It would seem that at least a secondary objective of the raid on Sabang was to bait my carriers again, and it more less worked. Time to leave. EDIT2: The last Zero shot down (or more likely, scrapped at base) today was the 1000th Zero lost in the campaign. |
5 July 1942
The real Indendence Day fireworks show was after midnight Hawaii, Johnston Island, and Line Islands My heavy surface group--including Pearl Harbor raid survivors Arizona and Nevada--finally hit Lahaina. The small task force our dive bombers hit yesterday (1 CL, 3 DD) was there to greet us: https://i.ibb.co/5rWNcw4/1942-July-5-Lahaina.png The already damaged (and still on fire) Kuma was hit 4 times, at least one time by the North Carolina's main battery. I would guess she's done for. An enemy destroyer took a torpedo and is confirmed sunk, a second destroyer was damaged. The enemy withdrew and got out of our way. Troop casualties were reported from this battle, so it appears these ships were acting as fast transports, bringing troops from Oahu to Lahaina. North Carolina took 2 non-penetrating hits. At Johnston island, our bombardment group of one light cruiser and 3 destroyers intercepted two cargo ships (one that I recognized as one that escaped a submarine attack a few days ago) as they approached, sinking both with gunfire and torpedoes. They then bombarded their objective, damaging 6 Mavis seaplanes and moderately damaging the airbase. Well, at least we probably know there aren't a bunch of Betties hiding here. My heavies hit Lahaina next, standing off at long range to mitigate the risk of likely minefields here. We destroyed 16 aircraft on the ground and probably disabled the rest, sank a light cargo ship in port, and caused heavy damage to the airbase facilities. But we weren't done yet, we had 6 operational B-17s and they all hit the port at Lahaina with smashing success: ACM Shintohoku Maru, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk AS Rio de Janiero Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires AG Soya, Bomb hits 1, on fire ACM Kyo Maru #5, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk xAKL Tokuwa Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage AGP Banshu Maru, Bomb hits 2, on fire ACM Toshi Maru #7, Bomb hits 1, and is sunk The three mine tenders going down is huge--minefields gradually dissipate without tenders to maintain them, so that problem is going to solve itself. The enemy CAP shot down two USMC Wildcats escorting the B-17s. USS Lexington's SBDs bombed Palmyra along with the usual B-26 raid from Christmas Island that's been softening these guys up. We land troops tomorrow. Another massive supply convoy will arrive at Pearl and unload overnight. As for invading Lahaina, I'm still standing off for now, but I think in the absence of a KB sighting, I'm going to postpone the op. Just seems like too big a risk when I can just get Pearl/Hickam back online and bomb/shell them as their mines dissipate and supplies dwindle. Hmmm. I'll decide "tomorrow." Japan USS Searaven got into a surface battle with an oil-carrying cargo ship near Kobe. The improvised tanker was hit with two detonating torpedoes (and several duds) and a little gunfire; it burned and sank. Searaven was hit twice but damage was minimal. China In the Kaifeng/Chengchow area, they swept while we tried to bomb; we lost a Lancer and a Wellington, them 4 Zeroes. Boyington got one of them for his 3rd kill, maybe he'll be an ace before I transfer him to VMF-214 in a month or so. The enemy's success today came from the army near Chusein, I had run down the routed enemy army and tried to attack again, but it had been reinforced by another division. Casualties 500 to 2000 favoring them. I'm pulling back. N. Australia Two of ours, none of theirs. E. Australia A Wirraway bombed a sub. Bay of Bengal We disengaged from the wolfpack without further incident, disaster averted. Malaya Just one Oscar down today, both sides are wearing down. Reinforcements BB Valiant arrives at Cape Town 21st Marine Regiment arrives at San Diego (unrestricted, near full strength) |
The 200 days of fuel you've mentioned a couple of times (Japan's initial fuel reserves) have passed by now, and he must have burned through his fuel reserves like crazy. Even though he has conquered some oil producing areas (DEI, Borneo, if I remember correctly) his fuel situation must be dramatic by now. He might not (yet) be running on fumes, but the danger of running out of fuel must be a constant threat.
His Hawaiian operation has definitely faltered. You seem to be only a very few steps away from permanently securing Pearl Harbor (it sounds as if it is about to become too dangerous even for the KB). “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” |
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Yesterday I mentioned that I had to make a final decision on landing on Lahaina--I'm going to put those troops on Pearl instead. I'm doing that because he has a lot more troops on Lahaina now then when the operation began, probably more than a division. He also had a ton of engineers there, maybe still does, so the fortifications there are probably scary good, which means I need to outnumber him by a lot and I'm still taking heavy casualties. So for now my focus is going to be on eliminating the two divisions or so still on Oahu and rebuilding Pearl/Hickam into a major base. The KB can still ruin that. If I use the Yorktown's airgroup plus enough Air Corps and USMC squadrons, I might be able to build up Hickam into a base that could defeat the KB, but that's going to take time. I can do what he did in reverse, and battleship the hell out of Lahaina and rearm them at neighboring Pearl, but if the KB shows up my battleships are done for. So he probably gets to have a functioning airbase for now, which means Pearl is probably still subject to an aerial blockade and bombings, depending on his willingness to deploy bombers there. I do share some of your optimism but the situation is very fluid right now. -------------- 6 July 1942 Amphibious landing on Palmyra Hawaii and Line Islands I hate to admit I knew this would happen, but enemy submarines attacked my supply convoy arriving at Pearl, which was unescorted. I wasn't willing to decrease my ASW protection for my battleship group. One submarine torpedoed one of the ships, then surfaced to attack another on the surface--both my ships sank. But the others made it and dropped off about another huge delivery of supply, ensuring that I have the stocks to continue to build up Hickam again, and to sustain my ground forces there. Our phibs landed at Palmyra, supported by a heavy cruiser, four destroyers, and 13 B-26s from Christmas Island. The constant bombing of the island over the last week or more (and a battleship shelling two days ago) softened them up a bit. Casualties were 90 to 1259 favoring them, but most of my squads were disabled, not destroyed, while his were more destroyed than disabled--also, a lot of his defense are tanks, not infantry. Japanese ground losses: 90 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled Non Combat: 33 destroyed, 5 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 11 disabled Guns lost 13 (11 destroyed, 2 disabled) Vehicles lost 131 (127 destroyed, 4 disabled) Units destroyed 1 Allied ground losses: 1259 casualties reported Squads: 9 destroyed, 84 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 18 disabled Engineers: 4 destroyed, 9 disabled Guns lost 34 (1 destroyed, 33 disabled) Forts were reduced from 2 to 1. This is a good result, I expect to have the island secured in 2 days. Our 6 operational B-17s and 11 SBDs at Hickam hit Lahaina harbor again, sinking an ammunition ship and a light cargo ship, and damaging a general tender and submarine tender. Recon is still reporting tankers and subs here I'd like to get. The bombardment group arrived at Pearl next, having been delayed by needing to refuel one of the destroyer-minesweepers at sea. They suffered a submarine attack, but the destroyers screened it successfully--the torps were fired at an escort and missed. The sub was lightly to moderately damaged before it got away. The task force then dumped the rest of its ammo into the enemy troops outside Pearl, then docked to rearm. I've reassigned two stateside unrestricted heavy bomber squadrons from training duty to combat and flew them directly to Hickam, so we should have a much bigger raid on Lahaina in a day or two. I'm also sending a B-26 squadron to Christmas Island, intending to replace the one there which will also move to Hickam as soon as Palmyra is secured. A paratrooper unit is also headed to Pearl, I intend to use them to try to get solid recon on the fortification level on Lahaina. My phibs standing off Lahaina are ordered to Pearl, I'm going to wipe out those troops first, then wear down Lahaina before trying to take it back by force. Sumatra Our Fulmar squadron attempted an attack on ships, but the Australian Kittyhawks assigned to escort them did not, so they ended up in a fight against Zeroes. 4 Fulmars and 2 Zeroes were shot down; the Fulmars turned back. 4 more Zeroes were shot down near Palembang. China One Zero and one Wellington down. The same thing that happened at Chusien yesterday happened at Chengchow, I ordered an attack against a weak unit but by the time the order was carried out the unit had been reinforced. Casualties 1310 to 7800 favoring them. Darwin One more P-39 down. I'm sitting these guys for awhile, I'm not too worried about bombers showing up, I kind of wish they would since I now have 2 heavy AA units here. Malaya Sweeps at Singapore continued, 2 Oscars and 2 Hurricanes down. |
7 July 1942
Lahaina airbase wrecked New Hebrides I already had two heavy cruisers and two destroyers headed to Luganville to remind the enemy troops there I haven't forgiven them for slaughtering our marines here in the early months of the war. They had the good courtesy to have a cargo ship and a PB escort there when we arrived, so we sank those too. Looks like it was a supply run. Hawaii I'm not sure why, but my heavy task force wasn't able to transit 2 hexes--80 miles-- to bombard Lahaina today, so that will happen tomorrow. They're leaving the area after that as I'm expecting KB interference at this point. One of my tripwire submarines in the Marshalls was spotted by an "aircraft" although the report didn't bother to specify what kind of aircraft so it's rather ambiguous. Certainly could be Kates/Vals on patrol from a CVBG moving through. Our heavy bombers are in business, though, and we hit Lahaina with 14 B-17s and 7 B-24s, splitting them between the port and the airbase. We hit and likely sank a sub tender, a patrol boat tender, and a general tender (probably the same one I thought I sank yesterday). We also destroyed two fighters and a bomber on the ground. Aside from one scoutplane that made a flight today and found my withdrawing cargo convoy, it doesn't appear they have any operational aircraft left, and the airbase itself has severe facility damage. If I can keep it damaged this badly he shouldn't be able to move in more planes without most of them wrecking on the runway. I had my marines attack the enemy encampment on Oahu in force today instead of just an artillery bombardment. Casualties were 1113 to 283 favoring me, and the enemy was reported to have a supply shortage. Ooo rah! China They swept Chengchow, I only managed one Lancer in the air to oppose; it shot down one Zero and bugged out. Malaya Oscars are still sweeping Singapore, they got one Hurricane today without loss. Sumatra We got another shot at 46 unescorted Sallies just outside of Palembang--we shot down 9. Reinforcements AM Katoomba arrives at Sydney xAK John Page arrives at Alameda 118th RAF Base Force arrives at Aden - full strength, unrestricted -- immediately shipping to Colombo US 1942 AA Pool arrives at Eastern USA - I think this unit is going to immediately disband, placing a whole bunch of new AA guns in the pool to be distributed to AA units. |
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