25 April 1942
The fall of Surabaya
SouthPAC
Oh, I boxed in that sub at Efate all right. One small and one large sub hit mines there; the little guy hit two. I'm sure the small one is gone, the larger one might be able to limp to Truk.
Thailand
The Kako showed up to shell Tavoy again. I'm a little steamed that we managed not to see it coming with my improved air search routes. But we still have a CVBG in position that we didn't last time, and we did spot the Kako retreating towards the Strait of Malacca. So maybe we get her tomorrow at sunrise.
I let my bomber rest and had a fighter squadron sweep the skies over the retreating armies. We got 8 Oscars and 3 Nates at the cost of 2 Hurricanes--and a bunch more shot up and grounded. As much as I'd like to send the bombers back tomorrow, my fighters need time to recuperate now.
China
We got another non-penetrating hit on the Hyuga at Hong Kong. You would think by now he'd have a CAP there.
I've moved a mostly trained-up squadron of British B-25 long-range recon planes to central China and have started taking notes on enemy force levels.
Java
Surabaya was captured today with the surrender/loss of 5800 men. A destroyer tender at harbor was scuttled to prevent capture, also destroyed were 8 grounded planes that couldn't evacuate.
We have a few units scattered elsewhere on Java, but we hold no territory of strategic importance--it's just a mop-up operation for him now.
