17 January 1942
Major surge of activity in the Solomons and Dutch East Indies
CVL Ryujo claimed sunk
Hawaii
No air strike on Pearl/Hickam today, just BB bombardments. My airbases are so wrecked I can't even get recon in the air to see if the KB left.
He sent 2 heavy cruisers, the light cruiser Oi, and 3 DD to bombard Palmyra, hoping to give his troops a chance. The SBDs that had escaped Pearl went after them. We got one hit on each heavy cruiser and two hits on the Oi. None of the ships appear heavily damaged, but they're going to need air cover to keep this up. His soldiers attacked and did fairly well, but couldn't overcome the fortifications. I'm getting a little nervous that he might actually have enough.
Dutch East Indies
After a bit of a lull in activity here, the invasion is back in full swing. Troops have landed in Morotai. A new carrier group has shown up way east in the Banda Sea, I would guess that's the Zuiho coming back after getting her torpedo damage repaired. The CVLBG is moving back west.
My PTs completed their trip to Kendari and found transports to sink. They got torpedo hits on 3 ships, but one took a direct hit from a deck gun and was destroyed. No troops on board these when I hit them. The PTs ran into the CVLBG on the return trip and lost another boat to their escorts.
As the CVLBG approached Makassar, the Dutch sub O24 penetrated the screens and hit the Ryujo with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. Unlike when we hit the Zuiho, these were full-sized heavyweight torps. The ship is definitely knocked out of action--the O24 is claiming a kill.
Malaya
More IJA units crossing the channel. Casualties 2687 to 7. Still looks like his forces that made it are 1-division strong, we're not in any real danger yet. Sweeps shot down 2 Buffalos, the bombers stayed north.
Japan
USS Sargo torpedoed (and likely sank) a cargo ship off Okinawa while she was on her way back to Surabaya to replenish.
SouthPAC
Even though my CVBG revealed itself in the Santa Cruz islands yesterday, he has a pair of large task forces that appear to be advancing towards Milne. It looks like he's committed enough to overcome this fledgling base, so I'm a bit annoyed by this development. But, these look like great targets. They're close enough to Rabaul to enjoy a long-range CAP, and his Betties can potentially reach my carriers if I move them in, but I think he's spread pretty thin on those right now. Port Moresby has army Banshee dive bombers and Airacobra fighters to escort them, plus Hudson level bombers. Looks like the stage is set for a battle tomorrow.