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Molon Labe · 11-21-22, 10:53 AM

10 August 1943

Banda Sea

An enemy minesweeper is dealing with a sub-laid minefield at Kendari. Our original Mk10 mine stores are depleted, but we have a small number of submarines that are now upgraded to carry Mk12 mines, which we have a couple hundred of. The minefield here has claimed at least one enemy cargo ship.

Aside from a few enemy recon aircraft shot down, there was no air to air combat here--or anywhere else--today. B-24s from Darwin continued to pound Ambon's port and airfield to hamper any future evacuation attempt and to drain their supplies.

We have additional aviation support moving to Boela. Right now there's only enough there to support the 16 fighters protecting that base, the next aircraft to move there will be maritime patrol assets, followed by Beaufighters. This will hopefully allow interdiction of merchant traffic as for north as the Celebes Sea.

That's just a paratroop unit over on Timor. It won't be enough to take that base, and the enemy has reinforcements moving overland. I'm in the process of loading up some tanks from Babar to break that stalemate.

EDIT: I don't know how I forgot this... but the KXVIII had been hit by a Japanese patrol aircraft in the Celebes sea yesterday and was attempting to limp home to port. Today, they lost control of the flooding and the boat went down.

Burma

We're mopping up the last remaining enemy forces northwest of Rangoon by assaulting Tuang Gyi. Additional forces have arrived on our side, we'll probably overrun the enemy base tomorrow.

There is an enemy convoy at Moulmein--I don't know if they're evacuating or reinforcing. For now, I'm having the British CVBG back off because the enemy knows they're there and could have moved in a bunch of Betties by now. I have base forces approaching in phibs, the CVBG will cover them instead.

Japan
USS Guardfish torpedoed and sank a troop-carrying cargo ship near Iwo Jima.

SouthPAC
The 9th Marine Regiment is grateful for the supplies we landed and is recovering its strength. The enemy definitely landed some reinforcements though, and we won't have enough to beat them. So we're going to have to go back, either to pull the 9th our, or maybe to supplement them with some of the tanks that helped take Rabaul. For now, I'm going to let it breathe--the Essex CVBG needs maintenance (and their battleships need repairs from Ponape's shore batteries), and it'll take a little bit of time for our other carriers to arrive in theatre from Pearl. I'm expecting more enemy reinforcements to arrive at some point, although I'm sure he's stretched thin on available mobile ground forces. I have a few subs looking to interdict, but my best hope is that I have sufficient maritime patrol in the area to accurately assess the strength of any carrier escort such forces may have, so I can make an informed choice about whether to contest that reinforcement with my own carriers. He's been keeping a relatively small carrier task force operating near the Marianas--the ones that took out the Wasp--so if that's all he sends I may be able to deal with them with 2 CVs and 3 CVLs. Maybe.

11-21-22, 10:53 AM	#625
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	10 August 1943 Banda Sea An enemy minesweeper is dealing with a sub-laid minefield at Kendari. Our original Mk10 mine stores are depleted, but we have a small number of submarines that are now upgraded to carry Mk12 mines, which we have a couple hundred of. The minefield here has claimed at least one enemy cargo ship. Aside from a few enemy recon aircraft shot down, there was no air to air combat here--or anywhere else--today. B-24s from Darwin continued to pound Ambon's port and airfield to hamper any future evacuation attempt and to drain their supplies. We have additional aviation support moving to Boela. Right now there's only enough there to support the 16 fighters protecting that base, the next aircraft to move there will be maritime patrol assets, followed by Beaufighters. This will hopefully allow interdiction of merchant traffic as for north as the Celebes Sea. That's just a paratroop unit over on Timor. It won't be enough to take that base, and the enemy has reinforcements moving overland. I'm in the process of loading up some tanks from Babar to break that stalemate. EDIT: I don't know how I forgot this... but the KXVIII had been hit by a Japanese patrol aircraft in the Celebes sea yesterday and was attempting to limp home to port. Today, they lost control of the flooding and the boat went down. Burma We're mopping up the last remaining enemy forces northwest of Rangoon by assaulting Tuang Gyi. Additional forces have arrived on our side, we'll probably overrun the enemy base tomorrow. There is an enemy convoy at Moulmein--I don't know if they're evacuating or reinforcing. For now, I'm having the British CVBG back off because the enemy knows they're there and could have moved in a bunch of Betties by now. I have base forces approaching in phibs, the CVBG will cover them instead. Japan USS Guardfish torpedoed and sank a troop-carrying cargo ship near Iwo Jima. SouthPAC The 9th Marine Regiment is grateful for the supplies we landed and is recovering its strength. The enemy definitely landed some reinforcements though, and we won't have enough to beat them. So we're going to have to go back, either to pull the 9th our, or maybe to supplement them with some of the tanks that helped take Rabaul. For now, I'm going to let it breathe--the Essex CVBG needs maintenance (and their battleships need repairs from Ponape's shore batteries), and it'll take a little bit of time for our other carriers to arrive in theatre from Pearl. I'm expecting more enemy reinforcements to arrive at some point, although I'm sure he's stretched thin on available mobile ground forces. I have a few subs looking to interdict, but my best hope is that I have sufficient maritime patrol in the area to accurately assess the strength of any carrier escort such forces may have, so I can make an informed choice about whether to contest that reinforcement with my own carriers. He's been keeping a relatively small carrier task force operating near the Marianas--the ones that took out the Wasp--so if that's all he sends I may be able to deal with them with 2 CVs and 3 CVLs. Maybe. __________________ Last edited by Molon Labe; 11-21-22 at 05:29 PM.