9 April 1942
Christmas Island liberated; Kido Butai retires from Java
Malaya
3 Destroyers came through the area outside Singapore and sank another pair of light ASW boats. These things are a dime a dozen and I keep getting more so I'm not concerned. I hope these guys are going to Tavoy, I have a welcoming party for the next surface group to do so. Also, I've deployed a 6-aircraft torpedo bomber squadron to Singapore, so by all means, keep sending ships here without fighter cover.
Hawaii and CENTPAC
3 BB bombarding Pearl today--but probably just 2 tomorrow, the Yamashiro took 4 hits from coastal artillery and I don't think the armor stopped it all.
I detached the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes from one of my task forces and bombarded Christmas Island with it in support of a push by my troops. It worked, we overran and wiped out all Japanese on the atoll. The 4th Tank Regiment, 45th Field AA Battalion, and 38th Road Construction Company are no more, and Christmas Island is back in our hands. By tomorrow it will be a fighter base.
My original plan was to take Palmyra at about the same time as Christmas, supported using some of the same forces, but my forces were worn down here by the unexpectedly presence of a whole damn regiment of tanks that managed to hide from my PBYs. So I'm going to hold off just a little. I should be able to get real recon planes here pretty soon to investigate Palmyra better than my PBYs did, and my land forces can use some time to recover.
Java
Surabaya suffered a bombardment from 2 BB and a CA, significantly degrading the airbase. The KB left the area, heading north up the Makassar Strait, but it gave Surabaya a strike as a kiss goodbye. Our meager CAP was only good for getting two fighters shot down, with no kills of our own. They damaged one transport and a destroyer tender, probably because that's all there is left to hit there.
4 Fulmar fighter-bombers attacked an enemy destroyer-transport off their western beachhead at Kalidjati and scored a bomb hit. 26 B-25s that had been rebased from Batavia to Palembang hit the port area at Kalidjati:
PB Heiei Maru #7, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Zenyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Okuni Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
AV Sanyo Maru, Bomb hits 1
PB Tatsumiya Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire
xAK Anzan Maru #2, Bomb hits 1, on fire
About friggin time my planes hit some ships.
Enemy troops have arrived in Batavia.
Thailand
We've now confirmed its two divisions moving north against my "northern prong." Definitely time to retreat to Raheng. My efforts to bomb his troops in the open went poorly this turn; we traded a Hurricane for an Oscar but a lot of Oscars got through and they brought down 5 more Blenheims. I'll be pausing my bombing raids for the time being. Also, a squadron of Wellingtons has arrived in Calcutta, they'll be in Rangoon and ready to join this party in probably 2 more days, so even if I can't give these squadrons more Blenheims to fly at least I'm restoring some strength.
This looks like it means he's ignoring my southern prong. They've rested up, and when he defeated them a week or so ago they didn't have their armor yet (it separated to chase enemy base forces down a coastal road while the infantry trekked through the mountains that armor can't cross efficiently; the armor doubled back and took roads the long way to meet up with the infantry.). I do have proper recon aircraft here, and they're reporting weak perimeter forces in 3 hexes outside Bangkok, and force levels in Bangkok itself consistent with 2 weakened RTA divisions. Also, no bombers in Bangkok. I probably can't beat them with the southern prong alone, but I probably can advance again while their main force is getting pulled away.
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