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Molon Labe · 01-24-22, 02:41 PM

12 November 1942
Japan appears "all in" for Rangoon - commitment of 6 divisions; another CVBG spotted near the Solomons

Banda Sea
Two destroyers detached from the amphibious group and ran down an AKL and minesweeper that were on a supply run to Babar. They had aborted their mission and were trying to get back to Darwin, fueling up some PTs on the way. Well that didn't happen, the AKL was sunk, the AM damaged and aborting the rendevoux. The PTs made it to Babar but were driven off by the amphibious groups escorts, with 3 boats being lost. They're now lurking just outside the base with very low fuel.

To my surprise, the convoy didn't turn around despite the damage it took. Perhaps partly because the convoy is huge--12 cargo ships currently there, none of them burning or otherwise overly damaged. 3 ships that were hit yesterday weren't there anymore, so sunk or aborted. They dropped off nominally a third of the 18th Division and a third of the 12th Division, but the actual number of troops on the island is only about 4000 and their current strength is about equivalent to 1/3 of a division. The rest of these units are in or around Rangoon right now (or in the damaged ships that aborted the mission).

We shot down 1 Oscar that was trying to provide cover to the landings. But our attacks didn't amount to much. B-17s and Hudson bombers all missed. The Beaufighters got some strafing hits on one AK and a bomb hit on another, but no casualties were reported so they'd probably already finished unloading troops and were only dropping supplies.

Battle of Rangoon
2 CLs and 2 DDs made their way to Rangoon harbor to shell our base. Fortunately no CAs, damage was minimal.

The enemy land unit in Rangoon is none other than the Imperial Guards Division, which is a new unit detected in this area. By my count we're up to 6 divisions now. More on that at the end... We started hitting this enemy force with Blenheim and B-24 bombers, coming in at 10k or lower to increase our accuracy, expecting (correctly) that most of the AA had stayed behind to protect the airbase. We probably managed around 350 casualties altogether.

The enemy CVBG launched a major strike on Rangoon again, this one cost them 5 Zeroes, 7 Kates, and 4 Vals, and us a Hurricane. They came in lower this time and were more successful:
DD John D. Edwards, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
PG Hindustan, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Empire Grenfell, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAK Elmdale, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage
xAP Poelau Telo, Bomb hits 1
Over Moulmein, they lost 2 Oscars and us a P-40.
Moulmein was captured, we took 411 casualties to their 390. It looks like most of the victorious troops are headed back to participate in the attack on Rangoon itself.

To the east, the enemy has already reached Pisanuloke so I probably can't protect it. The Vengence bombers kicked their asses pretty good though, about 140 casualties and they look like they're in bad shape for fighting.

In the northwest, we eliminated the additional enemy troops that landed in Akyab via the now-sunk APDs.

Solomons Area
Nicks raided Rossel with Oscar escorts and we owned them, 7 Nicks shot down by the CAP with just 1 P-38 lost. 4 more Nicks shot down by AA, minimal damage to the base.

Another CVBG is approaching the area from the Gilberts/Marshalls (or maybe the same one coming back).

China
We began our assault on the surrounded enemy at Foochow. They've still got some fight left in them, we only had a slight edge in casualty numbers, about 1300 to 1400. But between the bombings and supplies being cut off, these guys are going to break soon.

Big Picture
It looks like all of the victorious units from Singapore and Palembang went to Burma. The major units not in Burma I believe are:
48th Division - still in Sumatra
33rd Division - last spotted in Babeldoab (Palaus)
21st Division - Marshalls
4th Division - mostly defeated at Lahaina, what's left went to the Marshalls, some in Manilla
56th Division - Java
2nd Division - Truk

So it's looking to me like it's not going to be hard to find that "soft underbelly", because it's pretty much everywhere except the Marshalls and Guadalcanal. If I could get to, say, Java or Sumatra with 3 Divisions before his armies in Burma return, I'd probably win that battle. I don't think Burma is worth a 6-division offensive. It's main value is getting supply into China, the blockade needed to accomplish that can be done just by fully utilizing his base at Port Blair, backed up by bases near Rangoon such as Moulmein, which he just took. If he's able to eliminate my forces between Rangoon and Bangkok (which he keeps bragging to be via email that he's going to), that's going to suck, but what that really means is that the Brits won't be able to take Burma back anytime soon, and may even suffer an incursion into India. Meanwhile the southern resource areas are probably vulnerable to the US.

I don't have everything in place to make another major move to take advantage right now, but transports are making their way west. Until then, I'm going to see what I can do to eliminate the substantial troop commitment he's made to Ndeni and Babar, and hopefully get some warships while I'm at it. In Burma, the most important thing is to keep my troops alive, because his troops aren't going to be able to leave as long as I have a large army there as well.

Reinforcements
CA Wichita arrives at Balboa
CL Columbia arrives at Balboa
^--these guys will relieve the cruisers at Pago so they can get their October upgrades.
38th USN Naval Construction Battalion arrives at Port Hueneme

01-24-22, 02:41 PM	#476
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	12 November 1942 Japan appears "all in" for Rangoon - commitment of 6 divisions; another CVBG spotted near the Solomons Banda Sea Two destroyers detached from the amphibious group and ran down an AKL and minesweeper that were on a supply run to Babar. They had aborted their mission and were trying to get back to Darwin, fueling up some PTs on the way. Well that didn't happen, the AKL was sunk, the AM damaged and aborting the rendevoux. The PTs made it to Babar but were driven off by the amphibious groups escorts, with 3 boats being lost. They're now lurking just outside the base with very low fuel. To my surprise, the convoy didn't turn around despite the damage it took. Perhaps partly because the convoy is huge--12 cargo ships currently there, none of them burning or otherwise overly damaged. 3 ships that were hit yesterday weren't there anymore, so sunk or aborted. They dropped off nominally a third of the 18th Division and a third of the 12th Division, but the actual number of troops on the island is only about 4000 and their current strength is about equivalent to 1/3 of a division. The rest of these units are in or around Rangoon right now (or in the damaged ships that aborted the mission). We shot down 1 Oscar that was trying to provide cover to the landings. But our attacks didn't amount to much. B-17s and Hudson bombers all missed. The Beaufighters got some strafing hits on one AK and a bomb hit on another, but no casualties were reported so they'd probably already finished unloading troops and were only dropping supplies. Battle of Rangoon 2 CLs and 2 DDs made their way to Rangoon harbor to shell our base. Fortunately no CAs, damage was minimal. The enemy land unit in Rangoon is none other than the Imperial Guards Division, which is a new unit detected in this area. By my count we're up to 6 divisions now. More on that at the end... We started hitting this enemy force with Blenheim and B-24 bombers, coming in at 10k or lower to increase our accuracy, expecting (correctly) that most of the AA had stayed behind to protect the airbase. We probably managed around 350 casualties altogether. The enemy CVBG launched a major strike on Rangoon again, this one cost them 5 Zeroes, 7 Kates, and 4 Vals, and us a Hurricane. They came in lower this time and were more successful: DD John D. Edwards, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage PG Hindustan, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Empire Grenfell, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Elmdale, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAP Poelau Telo, Bomb hits 1 Over Moulmein, they lost 2 Oscars and us a P-40. Moulmein was captured, we took 411 casualties to their 390. It looks like most of the victorious troops are headed back to participate in the attack on Rangoon itself. To the east, the enemy has already reached Pisanuloke so I probably can't protect it. The Vengence bombers kicked their asses pretty good though, about 140 casualties and they look like they're in bad shape for fighting. In the northwest, we eliminated the additional enemy troops that landed in Akyab via the now-sunk APDs. Solomons Area Nicks raided Rossel with Oscar escorts and we owned them, 7 Nicks shot down by the CAP with just 1 P-38 lost. 4 more Nicks shot down by AA, minimal damage to the base. Another CVBG is approaching the area from the Gilberts/Marshalls (or maybe the same one coming back). China We began our assault on the surrounded enemy at Foochow. They've still got some fight left in them, we only had a slight edge in casualty numbers, about 1300 to 1400. But between the bombings and supplies being cut off, these guys are going to break soon. Big Picture It looks like all of the victorious units from Singapore and Palembang went to Burma. The major units not in Burma I believe are: 48th Division - still in Sumatra 33rd Division - last spotted in Babeldoab (Palaus) 21st Division - Marshalls 4th Division - mostly defeated at Lahaina, what's left went to the Marshalls, some in Manilla 56th Division - Java 2nd Division - Truk So it's looking to me like it's not going to be hard to find that "soft underbelly", because it's pretty much everywhere except the Marshalls and Guadalcanal. If I could get to, say, Java or Sumatra with 3 Divisions before his armies in Burma return, I'd probably win that battle. I don't think Burma is worth a 6-division offensive. It's main value is getting supply into China, the blockade needed to accomplish that can be done just by fully utilizing his base at Port Blair, backed up by bases near Rangoon such as Moulmein, which he just took. If he's able to eliminate my forces between Rangoon and Bangkok (which he keeps bragging to be via email that he's going to), that's going to suck, but what that really means is that the Brits won't be able to take Burma back anytime soon, and may even suffer an incursion into India. Meanwhile the southern resource areas are probably vulnerable to the US. I don't have everything in place to make another major move to take advantage right now, but transports are making their way west. Until then, I'm going to see what I can do to eliminate the substantial troop commitment he's made to Ndeni and Babar, and hopefully get some warships while I'm at it. In Burma, the most important thing is to keep my troops alive, because his troops aren't going to be able to leave as long as I have a large army there as well. Reinforcements CA Wichita arrives at Balboa CL Columbia arrives at Balboa ^--these guys will relieve the cruisers at Pago so they can get their October upgrades. 38th USN Naval Construction Battalion arrives at Port Hueneme __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 01-24-22 at 02:51 PM.