AAR - WiTP:AE - Guadalcanal. CCIP(A) vs. Egan(J).

[CCIP]

(this is a sister thread to Egan's AAR of the same scenario on the other side - http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=190204 . Please be mindful of the fact that neither of us can read each other's threads until the scenario is over, so, sorry for any repetitions and please don't spoil anything! Should be interesting to follow these reports side by side)



INTRODUCTION

Morning, August 6, 1942 - Operation Watchtower

The Allied invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi is ready to begin. 57 ships slip from their final resupply stop at Luganville on Espiritu Santu, enroute to the Solomons: 21 destroyers, 6 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers and 28 transports, split into 5 task forces with orders to bombard and invade their objectives the following day. Aboard is the 1st Marine Division, with over 27,000 personnel standing by to be landed on the islands. They are supported by a support force of another 24 ships to the north, including 3 carriers providing air cover for the operation. The operation is expected to be a surprise, with IJN's heaviest units still recovering from the results of Midway and likely more than a week away. This leaves the road to Guadalcanal open.





The Japanese have started building an airfield at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal, and a naval base on Tulagi. Taking these will not be difficult - there are no large garrisons present, no big fortifications built, no substantial air cover in the immediate area. Still, we cannot linger for long - and to keep the landings short, the supplies being landed with the invasion troops are minimal. Once on Guadalcanal, the Marines will have to make do. At least the initial landings should be unopposed - and if the Japanese do send cruisers after the invasion force, we expect to make them pay with merciless air attacks!

However maintaining our position on the islands may be a different matter entirely. Once the Japanese reinforcements arrive, a bitter battle can be expected. Although seriously reduced by our victory at Midway, Japanese carrier strength is still greater than ours, and their air crews have more experience. This is probably another week away, so we have a brief window of time to take over the airfield, secure our positions, and prepare to fight back.



Meanwhile on the Kokoda Track in New Guinea, Australian troops prepare to face yet another assault by the Japanese. Having failed to invade Port Moresby during the Battle of Coral Sea, they now attempt to take it by land. One of the aims of the Solomons operation is to divert manpower from this operation - which cannot be allowed to succeed, because it would threaten the Allied supply network, and provide the Japanese with a launch pad for a future invasion into Australia itself. A long battle in the jungle looms ahead...



My plan of operations for this one is simple and conservative: to draw the Japanese into three battles of attrition on as favourable (for us) terms as possible. The first of these showdowns has already started on the Kokoda Track. The second, on the ground in the Solomons, is about to open. The third and most complex will be at sea across this theater. As long as we are able to hang on to Port Moresby, Tulagi and the Lunga airfield on Guadalcanal, and avoid major losses at sea, this operation will be a complete success. It is not in our interest to look for a decisive showdown with the Japanese here, but once our troops are on the ground in the Solomons, we cannot allow them to be cut off from supplies. So, chances are, that there will be battles and they will be bloody. But, for now, all of that is just ahead - there is a lull in fighting across the theater, a calm before the storm as the invasion force steams silently to the north...



Come back tomorrow for the first daily combat report of this saga