22 December 1941
Malaya
Mostly quiet. Sweeps over Singapore took down a Buffalo. His bombers are focusing on land forces near Johore Baru. The last of my Buffalos are out of Georgetown. There's nothing left for me up there, time to pull back to Kuala Lumpur.
An enemy sub hit a mine at Billion, an island south of Singapore that I'm using as a seaplane base. Was intended for troop ships but I'll take any hit I can get right now. This was a very recently laid minefield--I noticed that he isn't methodically advancing in the DEI area, he's targeting airbases specifically. Billiton looks due. The Dutch are pretty much out of surface-laid mines now, I've got one CM out on a mission right now and that's going to be the last for awhile.
Philippines
I've successfully evacuated the Cavite base force from Manila. They'll be setting up in Australian territory. I'm now declaring an evacuation of Cagayan, starting with the B-17 squadrons. The airfield is too bombed up to maintain operations. Operational B-17s are moving to Clark, others to follow as they repair.
Not much else to report here except a failed PT boat attack, one boat got shot up and returned to base.
Java
A crusier-destroyer group bombarded Kendari again, that airfield isn't going to last.
Hawaiian Island Chain
I had subs moving through the Midway area so I had them make an unscheduled stop to look for tenders. We did spot an AO there but surprisingly no AEs. The USS Gar was badly damaged in a depth charge attack in the shallows and is returning to base.
Nihau island was captured. Our forces are actively fighting on Lihue, we're outnumbered and losing.
USNS Neches (an AO) was torpedoed and sunk by a sub outside of Pearl. The KB is still lurking but did not launch any strikes today. My mechanics at Pearl are working overtime to get planes back on patrol there. I have two squadrons of Warhawks stateside ready to come over, but they won't be in time for operation "build towers on my base."
Elsewhere
-USS Thresher got a cargo ship near Aogoshima (small island along the approach to Tokyo harbor. I think that's 3 consecutive days of kills for the US sub fleet, in spite of the crap Mk14.
-He finally invaded Guam
-Enemy cruisers made belligerent port calls at Pago Pago and Canton Island. They found an AKL to blow up at Pago. They shelled both bases too, but there isn't much there to shoot up. I have a cruiser and 2 DMSs near Pago that might be able to respond.
-The AVG shot down a Nate and two Sonias near Nanchang. They are targeting one hex in particular to bomb, but I don't see any corresponding troop movements. I wish I had more recon planes in China.
-Japan has reinforced the garrison occupying Ichang.
-USS Lexington has suffered an engineering casualty and might remain in port for longer than intended. Not the end of the world, I'm struggling to find Wildcats to replace her Buffalos with anyway. (Historically, she embarked the Saratoga's VF-3 while her own VF-2 was changing aircraft. But my Saratoga wasn't torpedoed, so my VF-3...Thatch, O'Hare... stays.)
-Enterprise and Saratoga are about ready to head out. I haven't decided where they're going yet other than that it will not be Pearl or Midway. But I will find a way to make him pay a price for keeping the KB off Pearl, or at least force him to redeploy to prevent me from counterattacking.
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