18 September 1942
Akyab captured--but how will he supply his troops there?
Ceram Sea
There are at least 2 tankers in Boela right now, B-17s made another attempt on them and missed completely. I've got 2 subs there and a 3rd arriving but they haven't been able to get an attack in.
Burma and India
The troops the task force landed at Akyab put the paratroopers there over the top, the garrison surrendered and the base is theirs. But so what? I just don't get what this does for them. The main strategic value of this area is the Burma road providing supplies to China, and it's a long way across rivers and over mountains to get to the Road from Akyab. It's a bit of a pain in the ass for me because they're not quite in India so I can't use Indian troops without spending political points. Most of my Burmese/unrestricted troops are further east fighting on the Thailand front. But I can probably just let these guys sit here and starve, use them as target practice for my bomber pilots, and take them with relatively small forces at my leisure.
Speaking of Indian units, the first of the Indian troops responding to the paratroopers are now arriving in Cox's Bazaar.
A Hudson bomber bombed an enemy submarine lurking outside Rangoon.
Solomons
We'll hit the beaches on our two targets tomorrow. Resistance expected in the east but not in the west. I'll be shelling the eastern target (Ndeni) with cruisers and hitting them with B-17s to soften them up.
Reinforcements
SS Barb arrives at Balboa
No.27 Sqn RAF arrives at Howrah - Beaufighters, right next to Calcutta! They're in crates, though, so I need a day to move them to Calcutta airbase and then several days to bring them online--the task forces might be long gone by then.
331st Construction Regiment arrives at Seattle
23rd USN Naval Construction Battalion arrives at Port Hueneme
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