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Molon Labe · 01-31-22, 01:29 PM

22 November 1942
48th Infantry Div and 2nd Tank Div land in Burma, Tavoy changes hands again

-Aside from the same repetitive bombing raids that happen every day, that's all that happened.

23 November 1942
Betties sink a troop transport at Babar; heavy enemy bomber losses in Thailand & Burma

Indian Ocean
For the first time in the war, an enemy submarine appeared off Karachi. We had a corvette spot it and depth charge it for light damage. This area has been so far from enemy patrol areas that some of my convoys here are unescorted. Guess that might have to change.

Burma and Thailand
Sweeps over Raheng cost the enemy 4 Oscars, with no enemy victories. Sally/Helen raids on Moulmein were inadequately escorted due to coorindation problems. We lost 3 Hurricanes there but got 2 Zeroes and 20 Sallies. The bombing doesn't appear to have done serious damage to the troops.

With all units between Moulmien and Tavoy headed north back to Tavoy, the enemy is moving right back in. Tavoy and Mergui have both been retaken by amphibious landing. I now estimate the enemy presence in Burma/Thailand to be in excess of 8 Divisions.

The supply situation continues to worsen. I'm almost certainly not going to try to hold Moulmein longer than I have to. Retreating through the mountain path to northern Burma looks like the best bet, and if they achieve a breakthrough to cut that off, as a backup plan I can trek through the mountains to China.

We hit Rangoon with our B-24s because recon said they had fighters there even though the base is mostly unoperational. We had 1 B-24 go down on the way home, but we got 9 enemy fighters on the ground and cratered up the runways some more to hopefully cause more losses when the CAP landed.

Banda Sea
We suffered two Betty raids today, the first was 15 Betties with 15 Zeroes escorting, taking on 13 P-39s and 7 P-38s. As frequently happens with naval raids, the Zeroes kept the bombers safe in spite of heavy losses. We shot down 9 Zeroes, but no air-to-air kills on the bombers. Flak shot down 1 Betty before it could drop its torpedo. The first raid went after the the cruisers Honolulu, Leander, and a transport; they all missed. The second raid was 30 Betties with 16 Zeroes and 31 Oscars, it got through unmolested by my CAP. They went after the heavy cruisers Canberra and Australia as well as a minesweeper and 3 transports. Flak took down 1, but they got 2 hits on the transport Koolinda, sinking it. It had been transporting a machine gun unit, but all that were left on board at the time were supply trucks, so that could have been worse.

Between the light infantry being airlifted, the addition of a heavy cruiser to maintain bombardments, and the mostly safe arrival of the machinegunners, I feel comfortable adding more aircraft and aviation support to Banda. So there are now 16 Australian P-40s operating from Banda in addition to the US P-39 unit (plus the P-38s flying from Darwin). In light of the number of attackers, though, I'm going to have my CVBG provide air cover to the light infantry batallion arriving in the area from Port Morseby instead of getting them out right away.

Strategic Picture
Just looking at large infantry units, here is what I think he has and where:

Burma: 1st Div, 48th Div, 16th Div, 38th Div, 33rd Div, Imp Guards Div, 18th Div, 5th Div (Bangkok), 4th Div

Java: 12 Div (but, reported moving to Sabang, his staging area for ampibious operations into Burma).

Manila: 2nd Div

Malaya: 8th Div

Sumatra: 90th Infantry Regiment, 56th Division

SIGINT is giving me enough hints to discern a pattern of a Naval Guard units being present in any of the various moderately important bases throughout the DEI. Small enough to handle with 2 regiments or a regiment + tank support. So, every time I see another division show up in Burma, it's telling me just how little resistance I'll probably see in the DEI. Java in particular looks really juicy right now. My troop surge to Australia hasn't finished yet, but it's getting there. I'll probably have 3 divisions available in a week. I'll be looking to push my way into Celebes with regimental-sized units first, but after that (establishing an air presence over nearby sea lanes, including getting recon to confirm enemy troop levels), I think it's time to head back to Surabaya. But I'll have opened the door to the southern Philippines and Borneo too, in case those areas look more vulnerable.

Reinforcements
SS Hake arrives at Eastern USA
SS Scamp arrives at Eastern USA
AO Tallulah arrives at Cristobal
AO Cache arrives at Balboa
VS-8D14 arrives at Alameda (Kingfisher training unit)

Yesterday:
No.3 PRU RAF T-Flt arrives at Aden (Spitfire recon, headed for Australia)
48th USN Naval Construction Battalion arrives at Port Hueneme

01-31-22, 01:29 PM	#492
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	22 November 1942 48th Infantry Div and 2nd Tank Div land in Burma, Tavoy changes hands again -Aside from the same repetitive bombing raids that happen every day, that's all that happened. 23 November 1942 Betties sink a troop transport at Babar; heavy enemy bomber losses in Thailand & Burma Indian Ocean For the first time in the war, an enemy submarine appeared off Karachi. We had a corvette spot it and depth charge it for light damage. This area has been so far from enemy patrol areas that some of my convoys here are unescorted. Guess that might have to change. Burma and Thailand Sweeps over Raheng cost the enemy 4 Oscars, with no enemy victories. Sally/Helen raids on Moulmein were inadequately escorted due to coorindation problems. We lost 3 Hurricanes there but got 2 Zeroes and 20 Sallies. The bombing doesn't appear to have done serious damage to the troops. With all units between Moulmien and Tavoy headed north back to Tavoy, the enemy is moving right back in. Tavoy and Mergui have both been retaken by amphibious landing. I now estimate the enemy presence in Burma/Thailand to be in excess of 8 Divisions. The supply situation continues to worsen. I'm almost certainly not going to try to hold Moulmein longer than I have to. Retreating through the mountain path to northern Burma looks like the best bet, and if they achieve a breakthrough to cut that off, as a backup plan I can trek through the mountains to China. We hit Rangoon with our B-24s because recon said they had fighters there even though the base is mostly unoperational. We had 1 B-24 go down on the way home, but we got 9 enemy fighters on the ground and cratered up the runways some more to hopefully cause more losses when the CAP landed. Banda Sea We suffered two Betty raids today, the first was 15 Betties with 15 Zeroes escorting, taking on 13 P-39s and 7 P-38s. As frequently happens with naval raids, the Zeroes kept the bombers safe in spite of heavy losses. We shot down 9 Zeroes, but no air-to-air kills on the bombers. Flak shot down 1 Betty before it could drop its torpedo. The first raid went after the the cruisers Honolulu, Leander, and a transport; they all missed. The second raid was 30 Betties with 16 Zeroes and 31 Oscars, it got through unmolested by my CAP. They went after the heavy cruisers Canberra and Australia as well as a minesweeper and 3 transports. Flak took down 1, but they got 2 hits on the transport Koolinda, sinking it. It had been transporting a machine gun unit, but all that were left on board at the time were supply trucks, so that could have been worse. Between the light infantry being airlifted, the addition of a heavy cruiser to maintain bombardments, and the mostly safe arrival of the machinegunners, I feel comfortable adding more aircraft and aviation support to Banda. So there are now 16 Australian P-40s operating from Banda in addition to the US P-39 unit (plus the P-38s flying from Darwin). In light of the number of attackers, though, I'm going to have my CVBG provide air cover to the light infantry batallion arriving in the area from Port Morseby instead of getting them out right away. Strategic Picture Just looking at large infantry units, here is what I think he has and where: Burma: 1st Div, 48th Div, 16th Div, 38th Div, 33rd Div, Imp Guards Div, 18th Div, 5th Div (Bangkok), 4th Div Java: 12 Div (but, reported moving to Sabang, his staging area for ampibious operations into Burma). Manila: 2nd Div Malaya: 8th Div Sumatra: 90th Infantry Regiment, 56th Division SIGINT is giving me enough hints to discern a pattern of a Naval Guard units being present in any of the various moderately important bases throughout the DEI. Small enough to handle with 2 regiments or a regiment + tank support. So, every time I see another division show up in Burma, it's telling me just how little resistance I'll probably see in the DEI. Java in particular looks really juicy right now. My troop surge to Australia hasn't finished yet, but it's getting there. I'll probably have 3 divisions available in a week. I'll be looking to push my way into Celebes with regimental-sized units first, but after that (establishing an air presence over nearby sea lanes, including getting recon to confirm enemy troop levels), I think it's time to head back to Surabaya. But I'll have opened the door to the southern Philippines and Borneo too, in case those areas look more vulnerable. Reinforcements SS Hake arrives at Eastern USA SS Scamp arrives at Eastern USA AO Tallulah arrives at Cristobal AO Cache arrives at Balboa VS-8D14 arrives at Alameda (Kingfisher training unit) Yesterday: No.3 PRU RAF T-Flt arrives at Aden (Spitfire recon, headed for Australia) 48th USN Naval Construction Battalion arrives at Port Hueneme __________________