27 November 1943
DEI
A night raid on Salajar cost the enemy two Sallies this time, as I had stationed F4U-2 night fighters there.
The enemy garrison at Ambon attacked US!!! It didn't go well...casualties 776 to 226 favoring us.
Somehow, part of my amphibious group turned around instead of merging with the main force, so I'll have to order them back. For now, we're outnumbered, so I'd rather wait a bit even though the enemy is bombed out and starving.
Our airbase on Salajar is now large enough to support offensive operations.
Truk
I'm cycling one CV and one CVL out of the Yankee Butai to replenish aircraft sorties. Meanwhile, a few of those ships that still have plenty remaining are hitting Truk again to try to cause supply-sucking base damage.
USS Narwhal was bombed near Truk, but damage was slight and she's remaining on station. Probably just a floatplane, or one of the baby bombs carried by a Betty.
Burma
I made a probing bombardment attack to reveal the enemy troop strength at Rangoon as my last few units I need for the assault worked their way into position. It's 50k against 28k, and we're the side with supplies and air support. This is going to be a slaughter.
28 November 1943
Rangoon recaptured in a single day of combat
Marianas
West of Guam, USS Bowfin hit a former-minesweeper-turned-Kaibokan with two torpedoes, sinking it.
Truk
My bombers are back to 20k feet... the flak guns are definitely back in business. Which means so are the coastal batteries, so inbound supplies and reinforcements will probably have to wait.
Burma
The enemy resisted as well as they could, but even that plus their fortifications couldn't hold us off. Rangoon is ours. A few enemy units retreated to the river delta swamplands, but most of them are still in the base hex. A few more were destroyed. Casualties 5460 to 3983 favoring us... a great result for taking a fortified major base. And remember those tanks giving me so much trouble? Of 700 defending vehicles, 626 were destroyed! And of course, the enemy is eventually going to lose all 50k troops, so consider that the totals will be 50,000 to a little over 4,000 overall by the time this is over.
The enemy got a small measure of revenge, putting an airborne assault of much greater size than mine together and retaking Raheng.
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