18 August 1943
Tonies massacred over Kendari as Boela launches its first P-38 sweep
SouthPAC
USS Raton penetrated the harbor at Ponape and surfaced to engage an AKL there. But it didn't press the attack, only moderately damaging the ship and setting a small fire. USS Skate followed up, firing a pair of Mk14s at the damaged ship, hitting with both and with one detonating, sinking the ship.
B-24s encountered 10 Tonies on CAP, and although we suffered no losses today, I am going to suspend these raids since we no longer have troops there to protect. Maybe I'll get a chance to get some transports if they try to leave. I'd really like to confirm their carrier strength first, though, especially since the Essex really needs its maintenance time.
DEI
20 P-38s from the base being built up at Boela swept Kendari (eastern Makassar), meeting 22 Tonies on CAP. But the Tonies were arriving peacemeal, so at any given time the fight was only 4-6 Tonies vs my 20 P-38s. We shot down 13 of them with no losses.
China
Enemy troops have moved to block the road between Canton and Hong Kong. I've been harassing these troops with bombers as they approached and I'm sending troops from Hong Kong to engage them.
Another group of troops has moved onto our base hex at Kiukang, in the central region near Wuchang (Japanese-held). This area doesn't yet have a lot of stategic importance; it could be part of cutting off Wuchang, but Wuchang has other routes so my controlling this doesn't put Wuchang in immediate danger. I have troops enroute from Changsha to reinforce.
In the northeastern region, enemy troops abandoned their positions staring down my units across the river west of Taiyuan. So we gladly filled in that space and marched on Taiyuan. We took it with minimal resistance today. I plan to also take Chenting, one hex east, before having about half this unit head back south to try to break the stalemate at Keifeng that seems to have existed since the US entered the war. This movement is being mirrored by my troops advancing south of Keifeng, crossing rivers with the intention of engaging enemy forces protecting Keifeng's flank.
I think a lot of the enemy's movements have to do with his taking massive casualties fighting me along the coast near Wenchow. I think he's conceding some territory while reinforcing the Shanghai area.
Burma
Having received reports of multiple ships docked in Rangoon, including a tanker, I attacked the port with Vengeance dive bombers. They found no ships and inflicted light damage on port facilities. Flak claimed 2 bombers, 2 more crashed on the return trip thanks to flak damage, and a fifth was scrapped after landing.
Reinforcements
BB Alabama arrives at Balboa
DD Bradford arrives at Los Angeles
SS Cod arrives at Balboa
SS Corvina arrives at Balboa
15th FG/6th NFS arrives at San Francisco (destroyed on Java, being reformed)
156th USA Base Force arrives at Eastern USA
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