War in the Pacific AAR Thread - ML vs JFranzen

[Molon Labe]

4 February 1944
O21 lost attacking tanker convoy


Philippines
Trying out some night attacks of my own...
Attacked Manila's airbase with 12 B-24s at night... 1 base hit. Which is basically nothing.

Switching from port raids to OCA, I hit Manila with a sweep of 37 P-38s, opposed by 25 Georges, 4 Franks, 2 Zeroes, and a Nick. We lost 3 Lightnings while downing 6 Georges, 2 Franks, and 2 Zeroes.

USS Devilfish was seriously damaged in a depth charge attack off the west coast of Luzon.

We've captured San Jose and Roxas with paratroopers, two bases adjacent to the enemy airbase at Ilolio, central Philippines.


South China Sea
Dutch sub O21 attacked a large tanker convoy near Singapore. It missed with its torpedo salvo and was then sunk by kaibokan and PB escorts.


DEI
Enemy Nicks swept Palopo, but we did not have a CAP there to play with them.

Allied air raids:
Koepang (ground forces): 15 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 9 casualties


China
6 Tojos swept Amoy, met by 6 P-40s.. 1 P-40 shot down.

Allied air raids:
near Hwainan (ground forces) 10 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 19 casualties


Thailand and Burma
east road (ground forces): 100 casualties
Ayuthia (ground forces): 49 casualties

ground combat:
east road, Allied deliberate attack, 20.6k troops vs 5.6k troops, 291(J) to 295(A) casualties. Our lackluster result appears to be the result of low supply. Moving too quickly I guess.


Reinforcements
DE Samuel S. Miles arrives at Eastern USA
PF Hutchinson arrives at Mare Island
No.230 Sqn RAF arrives at Koggala

[Molon Labe]

5 February 1944

China
-Enemy night raid on Kanhshien again, 13 Sallies, 6 Helens, 1 hit. I don't understand why he keeps bombing an empty airbase.

Allied air raids:
near Taiuyan (ground forces) 64 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 41 casualties
near Hankow (ground forces): 0 casualties

ground combat:
near Chengchow, Allied deliberate attack, 12k troops to 5k, casualties 294(J) to 188(A).

Another question for myself. When I played as Japan against the AI, I noticed that I had a lot more "spare" aircraft and pilots for the army than the navy. We had plenty of squadrons in China and Korea sitting around without much to do besides train. So, why is it that I've been bombing targets with impunity in China for weeks/months like this? Nearly all the fighter squadrons I've been up against in the Mariannas and my march through the DEI and now Philippines have been navy squadrons.


Philippines
I did another night raid on Manila's airbase; 15 B-24s, no hits.
I'm mostly building up my new base at Cebu right now, while moving massive amounts of supplies, troops, and equipment from Darwin to Cagayan for further expansion northward.



DEI
New Mexico and Arizona shelled Kendari, 120 casualties.

4 Nicks swept Makassar, running into 24 P-47s on CAP. Only one made it home.

I've decided it's time to take down Koepang. I've got troops that I'd allocated for this at 3 different locations in the DEI, so I'm sending ships to pick them up and consolidate around Dili.


Allied air raids:
Koepang (ground forces): 6 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties


Thailand and Burma
Air raids:
east road (ground forces) 62 casualties

ground combat:
east road, Allied deliberate attack, 48k to 1k troops, casualties 936(J) to 6(A), enemy survivors retreating.

Ayuthia (ground forces): 86 casualties


Reinforcements
DD Wilkes arrives at Balboa
APD Daniel T. Griffin arrives at Balboa
VP-54 arrives at San Diego
427th NFS arrives at Fresno
Tenth USAAF Eng Engineer Aviation Battalion arrives at Aden
188th USAAF Base Force arrives at Madras

[Molon Labe]

6 February 1944

China
Yep, he attacked Kanhsien overnight again. No damage.

Allied raids:
near Yaiyuan (ground forces): 256 casualties


Burma and Thailand
We've been sweeping Bangkok daily for awhile now with no joy. Today there were 20 Georges on patrol, meeting my 10 P-47s. We shot down 7 of the Georges, then a B-24 raid following that shot down another George. The B-24s caused 6 casualties and scored 15 airbase hits.

Other raids:
east road (ground forces): 73 casualties


DEI
Air raids:
Koepang (ground forces and airbase): 3 airbase hits, 0 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties

There's so much naval activity at Darwin that the base ran out of fuel, and without realizing it my CVBG replenishment group has been servicing all the ships coming through. I'm bringing in another replenishment group from Rabaul while also diverting tanker convoys headed to Sydney.


Reinforcements
CVE Hoggatt Bay arrives at Portland
DMS Hobson arrives at Eastern USA
47th Coastal Artillery Regiment arrives at Pearl Harbor

[Molon Labe]

7 February 1944
Daylight bombing run on Manila, enemy resistance increasing


China
-enemy night raid on Kanshein, 1 base hit

Allied air raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 42 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces) 152 casualties


DEI
One of our troop transport convoys bound for Makassar was attacked by a Japanese sub in the Banda Sea. Australian destroyer Nizam hunted it down and killed it.

Allied air raids:
Koepang (ground forces) 12 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 22 casualties


Burma and Thailand
We swept Bangkok with just 9 P-47s, meeting a CAP of 23 Georges. Despite being outnumbered, we came out ahead 7 to 1. Japanese pilot attrition must be awful.

Allied raids:
east road (ground forces): 90 casualties; Georges attempting to intercept but not arriving in time for most of the raids, except for one. 11 Georges vs 15 P-47s; 1 P-47 shot down. We got a bit lucky, the next raid after this was was 8 unescorted Blenheims with experienced pilots. Time to give them better planes!



Philippines
3 Nicks tried to attack the amphibious ships landing at Cebu. There were plenty of P-47s, Corsairs, and Hellcats providing cover. 1 Nick was shot down, the rest bolted.

Replacing the Beaufighter-strike and Hudson-patrol combo flying out of Ambon to try to interdict shipping in the Luzon Strait, PV-1 Venturas are now flying out of Amoy with Spitfire escorts. For today the PV-1s are doing both search and bombing duty with the Spitfires escorting. 4 Venturas tried to bomb a subchaser but missed.

Heavy bomber raid on Manila's airbase; 42 Liberators with 12 P-38s and 13 Corsair escorts. We lost 3 Corsairs, 1 P-38, and 2 B-24s to the 32 enemy fighters on CAP, while shooting down 3 Georges. We destroyed at least 2 aircraft on the ground while scoring 46 base hits. 1 B-24 was downed by flak.

A sweep by P-38s followed the bombing raid; 20 P-38s vs the remaining CAP of 9 Georges and 2 Franks; 1 P-38 lost while shooting down 2 Franks and 3 Georges.

In the Strait of Luzon, USS Grunion put 2 Mk14s into a 2900-ton tanker, sinking it.


Reinforcements
SS Pipefish arrives at Eastern USA
APA Herald of Morning arrives at Alameda
PF Pocatello arrives at Mare Island
PF Bisbee arrives at Mare Island

[Molon Labe]

8 February 1944
USS Darter lost in Japanese home waters

Japanese Home Waters
USS Darter was patrolling off Miyako-jima when it was spotted by an ASW group. They were as accurate as they needed to be with their depth charges.


China
-Another night raid on Kanshien, no damage

Allied raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 50 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces: 53 casualties

ground combat:
near Hankow, Allied Deliberate Attack, 37k troops vs 4k troops, 2639(J) to 141 (A) casualties, enemy units retreating. This is a mop-up attack.


DEI
Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 3 base hit, 1 Tony destroyed on the ground
Surabaya (sweep): 2 Corsairs lost, 3 Georges and 2 Tonies shot down
Koepang (ground forces and airbase): 17 casualties, 5 base hits
Kendari (ground forces) 12 casualties


Sumatra
A British heavy cruiser detachment approached Sabang to try to intercept a replenishment task force we'd spotted at harbor there. We failed to find the target, so they shelled the base instead. 195 casualties reported with an Irving destroyed in the airbase.


Burma and Thailand
A major B-24 raid on Bangkok was opposed by 16 Franks. So they're suddenly defending it now? 1 B-24 went down, but we still hit the base pretty hard, 32 hits plus a George destroyed on the ground. A sweep by 12 P-47s later shot down 5 Franks with no losses, so their resistance should collapse.

Other raids:
Ayuthia (ground forces) 307 casualties. I'm softening these guys up to minimize my casualties when my armies cross the river under fire.


Philippines
A second bombing attempt by the new Venturas based in Amoy failed to hit an AKL off Batan Island.

A B-24 raid on Manila resulted in 5 B-24s shot down by fighters and another by flak. Just 1 Frank and 2 Georges were tallied for our side, and just light damage on the ground, including a Frank and a George blown up on the ground. Gotta give the W to Japan over Manila today.

I moved the Yankee Butai to within range of Manila to try to get some airstrikes on the ASW patrols around Luzon. The carriers arrived, but they didn't launch any strikes. Apparently these little PBs and SCs don't register as important enough targets for SBDs and TBFs. One SC was bombed by a scout bomber, though.


Reinforcements
DD Tingey arrives at San Francisco
DD Ingraham arrives at Balboa
DE Coolbaugh arrives at Eastern USA
DE Wesson arrives at Eastern USA
DE Mitchell arrives at Seattle
Fifth USAAF Eng Engineer Aviation Battalion arrives at San Francisco
6th Ceylon Heavy AA Regiment arrives at Colombo





9 February 1944
Major attack against Yankee Butai mostly parried, USS Cabot hit by torpedo and disabled; US subs wreaking havoc in Strait of Luzon

Philippines
USS Archerfish put 2 fish into a laden 6400-ton tanker in the Strait of Luzon for a kill. The same convoy was then attacked by USS Gunard, which put 3 fish into a 9975-ton tanker, sending it to the bottom as well.

An enemy airstrike targeted the Yankee Butai (now withdrawing), probably mostly from Clark airbase, and it's the first time we've seen the Frances torpedo bomber used in large numbers. The first wave was 12 Frances following behind a wall of 41 Zeroes, 7 Georges and 3 Franks. Our CAP was supported by land based air, with 147 Hellcats, 3 Corsairs, 4 P-40s, 3 P-38s, and a single P-47. The massive furball resulted in 11 Zeroes, 2 Georges, 1 Frank, and 8 of the Frances going down, with a loss of just 5 Hellcats. But 4 Frances got through to attack the Intrepid and Langley--pretty frustrating given how badly we outnumber the enemy. These 4 bombers missed, and 2 were shot down by flak.

Probably as a result of bad coordination, a second package of 25 Frances escorted by only 2 Zeroes came in next, which were able to avoid much of the CAP. We got 10 of these before they got to the carriers. The 15 that got through attacked the light carrier Cabot along with the Lexington II, light cruiser Juneau and destroyer Charrette. Cabot took the only hit, but it was a nasty one, cooking off some of the ship's torpedo stores. She'll survive, but she's now limping at 6 knots back to Darwin. Flak took care of 3 more bombers after they dropped, and then fighters ran down the rest, scoring another 8 kills. So overall only 4 of these bombers survived. Since later attacks involved Betties, I don't think he has a lot of these planes.

A secondary airstrike then hit a CVE-led amphibious task force near Cagayan. This was just 9 Betties with 7 Georges; CAP strength was 40 fighters, mostly Hellcats. Only 3 of the Georges survived, the rest were shot down.

This task force also drew two more airstrike later afternoon, the first 12 Betties backed by 4 Zeroes and 3 Georges. Again, they were no match for the CAP, which was now up to 45 fighters. This group managed to shoot down 2 Hellcats, but they lost 2 Zeroes and all 12 Betties. The second was 9 more Betties with 5 Zeroes--once again the Betties were wiped out, with 1 Zero going with them.

Taking advantage of the massive number of fighters no longer protecting the ships near Luzon, 13 Helldivers (probably from Jolo) attacked an ASW group near Bataan and sank a pair of PBs. 2 Nicks tried to intervene but failed to arrive in time. Shortly after 18 Beaufighters from Jolo attacked another ASW group, sinking 2 more PBs and 2 SCs. A follow up raid by Beaufighters in the afternoon was less lucky, getting intercepted by 11 Nicks and 2 Tojos; 1 Nick and 1 Beaufighter were lost. Only 1 Beaufighter was able to score a hit on a ship, crippling and likely sinking an SC near Manila. 4 Beaufighers were dispatched against another group, these ran into no resistance and sank a kaibokan of Bataan with 3 500-lb bomb hits. (I'm fairly sure I remember that ship as a sub-killer--good riddance!)

Also off Bataan, USS Gudgeon torpedoed and crippled a PB. My guess is we'll end up finishing this one off in Manila's shipyard.

The B-24 raids on Manila continued in spite of this chaos. 30 fighters were still defending Manila, which wasn't enough to cause losses to the bombers. 1 Nick and 1 Tojo were shot down. Base damage was light, between pressure from the fighters and severe storms, accuracy was poor. We did get a Betty on the ground, though.

We had also ordered air strikes on Iloilo to soften them up for the paratroopers we landed around them. That cost us an land-based SBD to flak. 61 casualties on the ground. The paratroopers attacked but failed to take the base, 242(J) to 13(A) casualties.

We had 7 new USN and USMC aces today.


South China Sea
HMS Templar spotted the new CVE Shinyo in the southwestern South China Sea and missed her with a spread of 4 torpedoes. Templar sustained moderate damage from her escorts afterwards.


DEI
Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 2 hits
Koepang (ground forces): 0 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties




China
Allied raids:
Taiyuan (ground forces): 58 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 70 casualties

ground combat:
Near Sinyang, Allied deliberate attack, 26k troops vs 972 troops. Enemy unit wiped out.

Once I finish off those units north of Sinyang, I'll be looking to make a push in the direction of Shanghai. I'm hoping I've controlled Rangoon for long enough that the supplies coming in are making a big difference. I still have shortages in a few key areas, but the central area is doing pretty well.





Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
near Raheng (ground forces): 6 casualties
Bangkok (airbase): raid opposed by 5 Irvings and 2 Tonies, 1 Irving shot down. 3 casualties on ground, 37 base hits.
Ayuthia (ground forces) 124 casualties
east road (ground forces): 50 casualties


Reinforcements
DD Norman Scott arrives at Eastern USA
DD Uhlmann arrives at Balboa
DD Roe arrives at Balboa
81st FG/92nd FS arrives at Aden

[Molon Labe]

10 February 1944
Bangkok defenders sallying to engage our armies in the open


Japanese Home Waters
USS Trigger hit an AKL (1650 tons) with 2 torpedoes near Miyako-jima, plenty of overkill for that little boat.

USS Amberjack hit a tanker south of Okinawa, setting its fuel cargo alight. The torpedo damage appeared moderate but good chance the fire kills it. I thought this was the same convoy hit twice yesterday while playing, but now as I write the report it appears to be a different convoy.

USS Crevalle torpedoed and sank a PC (785 tons) near Amami Oshima.


Philippines
USS Scorpion finished off the PB (2780 tons) Gudgeon hit yesterday.
USS Guardfish torpedoed and sank another PB (2780 tons) near Batan Island. A kaibokan in the task force engaged Guardfish afterwards and lightly damaged it.

The Venturas flying from Amoy had their first success, hitting a PB with a bomb and setting it on fire. Zeroes and Nicks tried to intercept but were too late.

Allied raids:
Iloilo (airbase and ground forces): 74 casualties, 7 base hits; 1 Helldiver shot down by flak
Manila (airbase) -- NO CAP -- 1 George, 1 Judy destroyed on the ground, 11 base hits

The paratroopers on Iloilo attacked the enemy base but failed to overrun it. Casualties 63 (J) to 71 (A). Maybe I need more troops.


China
The enemy spread its night raids out tonight:
Amoy: 1 Sally shot down by nightfighters, no damage

Allied raids:
Taiyuan (ground forces) 37 casualties

Ground combat:
Taiyuan, Allied Deliberate attack, 20k troops vs 5k, 185 (J) to 1086 (A) casualties.
Ouch! This is an enemy unit that somehow slipped past our frontline and they're sitting in a mountain pass on the road supplying Taiyuan. It doesn't look like we can dislodge them, and reinforcements are a long way off. On the other hand, by going behind my lines, the enemy has also cut themselves off from supply, so this blocking force should be unsustainable.


South China Sea
USS Peto shelled and sank a landing barge near Cam Rahn Bay. It appears to have been empty.

An enemy CVBG (probably the KB) was spotted near Cam Rahn Bay.


DEI
New Mexico and Arizona bombarded Koepang, no apparent damage.


Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 1 hit
Surabaya (day, airbase): 23 hits, Judy-C destroyed on ground. 1 B-24 shot down by CAP.
Koepang (ground forces) 6 casualties


Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
Bangkok (airbase): Only 1 Irving tried to protect the base and the B-24 gunners shot it down. 21 base hits.
Ayuthia (ground forces) 169 casualties

In a move that leaves me wondering, 28,000 enemy troops left Bangkok on the "west road" to engage our army. We had ordered an attack here against a token-sized unit but instead got this. The enemy was just arriving, however, so they were arrayed for movement rather than combat when we hit them. Casualties 1883 (J) to 1937 (A). Our bombers are going to have a field day with this. Meanwhile we're about to cross into Ayuthia on the "east road". We'd be facing a lot more casualties if we had to cross into Bangkok to fight these guys, and they're going to take a lot more losses from our bombers in the open than they would inside their fortified base.


Sumatra
Well, we missed the replenishment group, but found a supply convoy. Barracuda II dive bombers made their combat debut flying from HMS Illustrious near Port Blair, sinking 3 AKLs at Sabang.


Reinforcements
DD Callaghan arrives at Los Angeles
DE George arrives at Eastern USA
APD Goldsborough arrives at Balboa
No.9 Sqn IAF arrives at Lahore
33rd FG/59th FS arrives at Aden

[Molon Labe]

11 February 1944

Philippines
USS Gudgeon torpedoed a PB near Batan Island in the Luzon strait, causing severe damage.

USS Harder was slightly damaged in a depth charge attack off the southern tip of Taiwan.

B-24 raid on Manila, escorted by Corsairs, netted 1 enemy Nick shot down, plus a Zero and two transports blown up on the ground and moderate airbase damage.

Dive bomber raids on Iloilo continue, moderate damage on the ground, 30 casualties


China
1 Helen was shot down in a night raid over Amoy, no damage to the base. A Sally was shot down by night fighters over Hong Kong.

Allied raids:
Taiyuan (ground forces): 68 casualties
near Chengchow: 49 casualties


DEI
Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 1 hit
Koepang (ground forces): 0 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 18 casualties


Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
near Rahaeng (ground forces): 6 casualties
Ayuthia (ground forces): 173 casualties
near Bangkok (west road, ground forces): 136 casualties


Reinforcements
CVE Kadashan Bay arrives at Portland
DD Twining arrives at San Francisco
DE Eichenberger arrives at Eastern USA
SS Hammerhead arrives at Balboa
SS Tantalus arrives at Aden
AKA Athene arrives at Eastern USA
LSD Oak Hill arrives at Los Angeles

[Molon Labe]

12 February 1944
Heavy bomber losses over Manila as B-24 flight loses P-38 escort

Philippines
USS Bang suffered a direct ASW mortar hit from a kaibokan east of Taiwan, but damage was light. Lancetfish was also damaged by depth charges near Batan Island.

With severe storms present, today's B-24 raid on Manila went without the P-38s assigned to escort, and without the Corsairs that hadn't really been assigned to be escorts but were often going anyway. The enemy CAP had balooned to 69 fighters, 42 of which were Georges (very good interceptors). We ended up losing 7 of the B-24s to the fighters, one more to flak, while shooting down just 2 Zeroes. 3 more B-24s succumbed to damage on the way home and 3 either crashed while landing or were scrapped afterwards, total loss of 14 bombers. Damage on the ground was light. The losses gave the enemy their first victory point gain on me for 16 turns.

other US raids:
Iloilo (airbase and ground forces): 93 casualties, 5 base hits


DEI
The amphibious task force that's been raising the flag along the coast of Papua-New Guinea arrived at the minor oil base of Babo, where it is encountering resistance, looks like 1 Naval Guard (marine) unit. I'll be looking for additional troops to bring in as it seems unlikely the small number of troops can do this on their own. Maybe some bombing support will be enough. At least 90 Allied casualties so far.

The amphibious task force for Koepang is 2/3 ready.

Allied raids:
Koepang (ground forces): 6 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 36 casualties


China
-No enemy night raids today!
Allied raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 70 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces) 31 casualties

ground combat:
near Hankow, Allied deliberate attack, 10k vs 4k, casualties 412 (J) to 87 (A).


Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
west road (ground forces): 160 casualties
Ayuthia (ground forces) 98 casualties


Reinforcements
APD Belknap arrives at Balboa
SS Pomfret arrives at Eastern USA
VMB-443 arrives at Eastern USA
33rd FG/60th FS arrives at Aden


Intel
Previous report of sinking of CV Kaga incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service

[Molon Labe]

13 February 1944

DEI
Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 4 hits (not bad for just 5 B-25s that managed to find the target)
Kendari (ground forces): 4 casualties

Landings continue at Babo.


China
Allied raids:
Taiyuan (ground forces): 31 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 85 casualties

ground combat:
near Hankow, Allied deliberate attack, 10k troops vs 4k troops, casualties 76(J) to 69(A).

I'm shifting supply transport flights to Taiyuan directly instead of trying to supply it through the road to its west due to it being cut off. This is suboptimal as the only transports I can get this far are B-24 variants and the airbase is basically stamped down grass--so I assume the supplies are being parachuted in.


Burma and Thailand
There is no longer any enemy CAP over Bangkok
The enemy units that sallied out of Bangkok are now trying to retreat to Ayuthia.

Allied raids:
west road (ground forces): 238 casualties
Ayuthia (ground forces) 460 casualties


Philippines
Allied raids:
Iloilo (ground forces): 32 casualties


Reinforcements
APD Barr arrives at Eastern USA
SS Lionfish arrives at Eastern USA
DE Kistna arrives at Aden
VB-102 arrives at San Diego
189th USAAF Base Force arrives at March Field

[Molon Labe]

14 February 1944

DEI
Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 1 hit
Surabaya (airbase): 25 hits
Koepang (airbase and ground forces): 10 base hits
Kendari (ground forces): 9 casualties

Surabaya appears to have been evacuated of aircraft.


Philippines
Enemy PBs are clearing a minefield I left for them at Aparri


China
Allied raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces) 76 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces) 49 casualties

ground combat:
near Chengchow, Allied Deliberate Attack, 12k troops vs 4.5k. Casualties 1252 (J) to 274 (A), enemy units retreating
near Hankow, Allied Shock Attack. A rematch of yesterday except I changed from deliberate to shock. 10k vs 4k; casualties 1326 (J) to 239(A), enemy units retreating


Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
west road (ground forces): 568 casualties

I attempted a deliberate attack against the road-blocking force outside Bangkok which did not go well, 527 casualties to 1958 favoring the enemy. A little surprising given how hard the bombers are hitting these guys.

This group is trying to break contact with us to shore up Ayuthia, which is about to be overrun by my much stronger "east road" force, but there's little chance they'll make it in time while they're moving under fire and off-road vs my troops moving unopposed on a major road. The defense of Bangkok is shaping up to be a disaster for Japan, as the river crossing is their best chance to cause losses on me, but by moving this force onto the other side of the river, they've mostly gotten out of my way. Then the enemy will have to cross the river under fire by me to get back into the fight, or else just stay out here in the open getting bombed for ~500 casualties per day.


Reinforcements
SS Taurus arrives at Aden
VMF-221 arrives at Santa Barbara
VP-20 arrives at Alameda
No.10 Sqn IAF arrives at Lahore
50th Coastal Artillery Regiment arrives at San Francisco

[Molon Labe]

15 February 1944
Payback for recent bomber losses over Manila
Ayuthia captured


Marianas
USS Nautilus stalked an enemy cargo ship convoy north of the Mariannas before getting spotted and driven off. It's at least 7 cargo ships with 1 escort. In response, I'm pushing recon assets to Truk to try to ascertain enemy air strength remaining here. I have a CVL hanging out at Wake, and I'd consider sending one of my main CVBGs (Halsey, Spruance) over here to intercept. Maybe it depends on whether this is just a resupply mission or a troop evacuation. The best way to tell will probably be to bomb them with B-24s while they're in port and see if casualties are reported.


Philippines
I swept Manila with P-38s from Cagayan and Corsairs from Cebu. The enemy was patrolling at high altitude, which mitigated some dive attacks from me, but left them squandering their maneuvering advantage they would have had if they'd forced my planes to come down to a lower altitude. It was a slaughter.
Enemy CAP: A6M3a Zero x 5, A6M5 Zero x 19, N1K1-J George x 66, Ki-84a Frank x 9

Wave 1: 13 Corsairs; Losses: 4 Zeroes, 3 Georges
Wave 2: 23 P-38s; Losses: 1 P-38, 3 Franks, 1 Zero, 6 Georges
Wave 3: 15 Corsairs; Losses: 1 Zero, 4 Georges
Wave 4: 13 P-38s; Losses: 4 Zeroes, 4 Georges
My actual losses were 6 P-38s, with 3 crashing on the way home and 2 being scrapped at base.


Other raids:
Iloilo (ground forces): 54 casualties


We're about to land tanks on Iloilo to break the stalemate there.



China
Recon is showing that the Shanghai area is lightly defended. I'm preparing an offensive against this area as well as Nanking. Taking the Shanghai area would give us a huge industry boost and would put enemy shipping under air threat throughout the East China Sea all the way to Nagasaki. Nanking is sort of a stretch goal, mostly I just want to keep him busy across the entire theatre to make it harder for him to pick an optimal place to defend.





Allied raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 13 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 51 casualties



DEI
Koepang operation is go. Task forces headed for rendezvous to rally before proceeding to target.


Allied raids:
Surabaya (airbase): 14 hits
Koepang (ground forces): 6 casualties



Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
Ayuthia (ground forces): 424 casualties
west road (ground forces): 346 casualties


Our east road force crossed the bridges into Ayuthia and went right into a shock attack. 48k troops vs 14k, they had no fortifications and folded like a cheap card table. Casualties 6177 (J) to 723(A) in spite of crossing the river under fire. Surviving enemy troops retreated to Bangkok.


We also attacked a small unit in the jungles near Mergui, wiping it out. I'll confirm that Mergui is vacant with recon flights, if it is I'll airdrop some troops in to cut off the rail lines from Bangkok down through the Malay peninsula. (It'll take weeks to get the troops through these jungles overland).


Reinforcements
DE Lovelace arrives at Eastern USA
AGP Orestes arrives at Cristobal
DMS Ellyson arrives at Eastern USA
SS Tilefish arrives at Mare Island

[Molon Labe]

16 February 1944

DEI
Allied raids:
Surabaya (night, airbase): 1 hit
Surabaya (airbase): 35 hits, 9 casualties


Philippines
USS Capelin torpedoed and sank a PB in the Strait of Luzon. Slightly east, USS Rock attempted an attack on a cargo ship convoy but ended up missing and sustaining moderate depth charge damage.

We are now landing tanks at Iloilo.

I cancelled the F4U sweeps of Manila but left the P-38 sweeps on by accident. Badly outnumbered, we lost 4 P-38s while shooting down 2 Georges and 3 Franks. I was going to say that's unsustainable, but P-38 production is now high enough that that's actually not so bad.

other raids:
Iloilo (ground forces): 54 casualties

Land combat:
Japanese bombardment attack at Iloilo, 54 Allied casualties, 8 Japanese casualties


China
Allied raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 11 casualties. This enemy unit is now attempting to retreat into the mountains.


Burma and Thailand
Allied raids:
Bangkok (ground forces): 0 casualties
west road (ground forces): 286

Prachuap Khiri Khan, the small base on the rail line from Bangkok down the Malay penninsula, reverted back to Allied control. So, it's empty, and I'm clear to send airborne troops.


Reinforcements

SS Barbel arrives at Balboa

[Molon Labe]

17 February 1944
Enemy convoy bombed in port at Saipan


DEI
Amphibious reinforcements to Babo are proceeding--landing 1 army regiment. Enemy artillery bombardment of the beachhead caused 24 Allied casualties.

Air raids:
Surabaya (night): no damage
Surabaya (airbase): 36 hits
Koepang (ground forces): 6 casualties


China
Air raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 32 casualties
near Chengchow: 17 casualties


Land combat
Allied bombardment attack near Taiyuan -- 20 allied casualties, 0 enemy


Burma and Thailand
Raids:
West road (ground forces):691 casualties


Philippines
Raids:
Iloilo (ground forces): 80 casualties, 1 SBD-5 lost to flak

Our troops attacked at Iloilo. Casualties 323 to 89 favoring us, but we have not yet taken the base.


Marianas
Recon flights confirmed the enemy convoys arrived in Saipan, so I tasked B-24s from Truk to hit them. We got 18 B-24s to target with P-38 escorts, scoring hits on 2 cargo ships with 81 enemy casualties reported.


Reinforcements
CVE Gambier Bay arrives at Portland
SS Manta arrives at Balboa
SS Piranha arrives at Balboa
VMF(CVS)-451 arrives at Mojave
VMF(CVS)-452 arrives at Mojave

[Molon Labe]

18 February 1944
Avengers sink two at Saipan


Strait of Malacca
HMS Clyde torpedoed and sank a minesweeper while transiting the Strait headed for Hong Kong.


DEI
We've commenced our landings at Koepang. Resistance is minimal--short range guns firing at landing craft, but nothing big enough to threaten any ships.

Raids:
Surabaya (night): no damage
Surabaya (airbase): 15 hits, 13 casualties
Koepang (ground forces): 25 casualties
Kendari (ground forces) 20 casualties

Our reinforced troops at Babo attacked, reducing enemy forts to 0, casualties 196(J) to 6 (A). We now outnumber them nearly 4 to 1.


China
Raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 49 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 15 casualties


Philippines
I've switched my attacks on Iloilo from dive bombers to heavy bombers. Hopefully this will push my troops over the top while my P-38 squadrons are recuperating. 304 enemy casualties today.


Marianas
The enemy moved fighters back to the Marianas to protect their convoy. Our first raid of 12 B-24s and 17 P-38s encountered 1 Zero, 4 Georges, and 1 Tony at Saipan. Due to being at lower altitude, the P-38 was at a disadvantage and we lost 4 aircraft with no kills. But the bombers still dot through, scoring three hits on two cargo ships, setting both on fire.

The B-24 raid was followed up by the USS Princeton, sprinting here from its patrol area near Wake. Princeton sent 9 Avengers with 11 Hellcats to Saipan. With a loss of 1 Hellcat, we again got the bombers through, scoring 2 torpedo hits (plus one dud impact) each on two ships (one of which was previously damaged by the B-24s). Both sank. There are at least 4 more ships in this convoy.


Burma and Thailand
The enemy put a CAP of 5 Franks over Bangkok, resulting in a fight with my P-47 sweep (15 aircraft). We shot down 3 with no losses.

Other raids:
West road (ground forces): 73 casualties

Land combat:
West road, Allied bombardment attack, casualties 166 (J) to 29 (A).



Reinforcements
No.7 Sqn IAF arrives at Gwalior
234th USN Base Force arrives at San Francisco

[Molon Labe]

19 February 1944
Reinvigorated air defense of Bangkok, Koepang captured


DEI
Amphibious landings continue in Koepang and Babo.

Our troops attacked in Koepang and easily overwhelmed the starving and bombed-out defenders. Casualties 2586 to 298. Enemy troops are still present in the hex and standing by to be mopped up in the coming days. The defenders included a nominal division and a third, plus a construction battalion that would typically include vehicles, but the enemy forces we fought included 0 artillery pieces and 0 vehicles--bombing and shelling had apparently eliminated all of these already.

We shock attacked Babo but still haven't taken it. Forts are back down to level 0. Casualties 153 (J) to 14 (A).

Air raids:
Surabaya (airbase): 13 hits, 5 casualties
Koepang (ground forces): 0 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 9 casualties


Japanese Home Waters
USS Steelhead hit an unescorted troop transport with a dud near Chichi-jima. I don't usually include these but this was frustrating because of how high-value it was and that it was unprotected.


China
Air raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 102 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 41 casualties


Burma and Thailand
Air raids:
west road (ground forces): 688 casualties
Bangkok (sweep): 14 P-47s intercepted by 20 Georges, 9 Tonies, 1 Frank. Lost 2 P-47s but shot down 3 Tonies and 6 Georges.

Land combat:
Allied bombardment attack on west road to Bangkok, 172 enemy casualties, no counterbattery casualties.


Japan used paratroopers to retake Ayuthia. This will slightly disrupt supply flows to my "east road" armies which have moved into to Bangkok's hex.



Philippines
Air raids:
Iloilo (ground forces) 169 casualties

We attempted a deliberate attack on Iloilo, reducing forts to 0 but failing to take the base. Casualties 141 to 0--the enemy is severely disrupted from the B-24 raids.


Marianas
Looks like weather kept the B-24s on the ground today. I also pulled back the Princeton as they could easily move bombers in here too.



Reinforcements
DD Wadleigh arrives at Balboa
DE Whitehurst arrives at San Francisco
33rd FG/58th FS arrives at Aden