14 January 1942
Time to abandon Clark airbase?
Hawaii
USS Cuttlefish torpedoed a troop-carrying cargo ship off Lihue.
Taking advantage of the KB being focused on raiding the harbor, I formed another evacuation task force and ordered it north. These were slower ships, tenders and minesweepers, and it appears we got away with it. A sub tried to attack them but that's it so far.
The 3 DD that escaped to the south yesterday met an AP and a PB, probably intended to evacuate enemy troops from Palmyra. My destroyers left both ships ablaze and sinking.
Six BB attacked Hickam again. Damage appeared light because there isn't much left there to hit. 10 aircraft damaged, 1 destroyed. The KB followed that up with a surprisingly light attack, just 44 Vals (30 Zeroes escorting), which blew up 3 more planes on the ground but let my gunners take out 8 of them. I only had 6 fighters on CAP for this fight--they got one Zero.
Japan has a total of 10 BB at this time in the war. 6 of them we know are here. Two, the Kongo and Haruna, were deployed to Malaya and are probably still there--although I didn't see them this turn. The other two are the Ise and Hygua, both of which were damaged in the Battle of the Celebes Sea. So, provided I can verify the Kongo and Haruna are still covering Malaya, this probably means the commitment of 6 BB to Hawaii leaves literally everywhere else without any BB available to cover them.
The relatively light air raid at Hickam might have meant that carriers have been detached from the KB, but recon aircraft are still reporting a full carrier fleet hanging out at Lahaina.
Dutch East Indies
My ASW groups outside Surabaya had some minor success, lightly damaging a sub with a depth charge attack. Then that cruiser-destroyer task force (2 CA, 2DD) in the Makasar Strait yesterday raided the ASW groups. Both sides took light damage, my DDs retreated to port.
It's frustrating, I easily have superior numbers here right now, but he's inside my OODA loop. I didn't have a fix on their position yesterday, didn't realize they were already far south enough to get here, and now that they've shown up to attack, I once again don't have a fix on their position. Trying to chase them would be foolish, they have air cover whether they run east (Kendari, Ambon, the CVLBG) or west (Malaya).
My Falcon light bombers attacked Miri again, sinking a mine tender and setting an oil-laden tanker ablaze.
Philippines
He's pushing to take Clark again. Fortifications are reduced to zero and I have no supply. I'm considering a retreat to the Bataan peninsula, at least they have forts and supply there. But not enough to share with Clark. I'm trying to repair the planes at Clark to evacuate them but right now that's only arriving by sub. Maybe repair just isn't realistic anymore.
The central island base of Bacolod has been captured and paratroops are landing on the southern island.
China
Chaochow has been recaptured. Aggravating, our armies were of equal size and the advantage usually goes to the defender. But his troops are much more experienced, and his leaders better. I have to do better than match him man-for-man.
The air support I provided to the surrounded army in the riverlands proved meaningless as no air raid came. Their army doesn't need the help, my units are beginning to surrender.
SouthPAC
I know that damn sub is still at Noumea because his scoutplane keeps buzzing my ships. But I've let him disrupt me enough. Troop movements will proceed. We also spotted a large cruiser-destroyer TF at Rabaul.
West Coast
A sub's scoutplanes also got spotted snooping an ASW task force near Seattle. Looks like our guest from a few turns ago is sitting just outside my aircrafts' patrol range. There still isn't a whole lot of traffic here. A few ships coming back from dropping off troops or supplies, nothing unescorted.
