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Old 04-21-23, 09:44 PM   #826
Molon Labe
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20 February 1944
P-40 escorts bounced as Japanese air forces attempt to protect troops outside Bangkok from relentless bombing


Japanese Home Waters
Let another unescorted enemy transport escaped a US sub while taking a dud torpedo impact near Chichi-jima. This time the unlucky sub was USS Skate. The Skate then engaged yet another transport and missed completely.


DEI
Arizona and New Mexico shelled Koepang again, this time hitting displaced enemy troops as the base had been captured before they arrived.

Air raids:
Surabaya (airbase): 18 hits
Koepang (ground forces): 0 casualties
Kendari (ground forces and airbase): 0 casualties, 4 airbase hits

Land combat: Mop-up attacks inflicted 1330 enemy casualties at Koepang, while we sustained only 9.
Babo has been recaptured, 478 (J) to 22 (A) casualties in our attack.


Philippines
After being detected by float planes flying out of Jolo, an enemy sub was prosecuted in the Sulu Sea by a pair of US destroyers. The sub sustained heavy damage and was last seen limping back towards Manila.

Raids:
Iloilo (ground forces): 121 casualties

Land combat:
Deliberate attack at Iloilo, forts reduced to 0, casualties 56 to 0, but we still haven't overrun the enemy base.



Burma and Thailand
A P-47 sweep over Bangkok shot down 4 Georges.

But, most of the CAP put up by Bangkok wasn't protecting Bangkok itself, but the "west road" where an enemy troop concentration has been getting bombed by US and British aircraft. Our raids faced 10 Georges, 9 Tojos, and 1 Tony, which regretfully got the drop on the P-40Ks escorting the bombers. We ended up losing 11 P-40s and 4 Wellington medium bombers, without shooting any enemy aircraft down. Our bombers did still get through, causing 273 enemy casualties on the ground.

18 of my B-24s attacked enemy troops in Bangkok itself, causing 37 casualties with 1 B-24 shot down by flak.

Land combat:
Artillery exchanges in Bangkok and on the west road, light casualties on both sides.
The enemy has retaken Pisanuloke with a token paratrooper force. Again, this could disrupt my supply lines slightly but not much else. I have local forces available to wipe them out.


China
Air raids:
Near Taiyuan (ground forces): 164 casualties

Land combat:
near Sinyang: We defeated a 9k strong force with a 26k strong force, casualties 3488 to 826
near Hankow: This was 54k to 3k in our favor, casualties 1248 to 276 as this enemy force was also routed.


Marianas
The enemy convoy is still there. Two, actually. We attacked Tinian with 15 B-24Ds, scoring a pair of hits on an enemy cargo ship, setting it on fire. Saipan was attacked with 6 B-24s, which scored no hits. There were 13 enemy fighters on CAP at Tinian, and another 30 at Saipan, which were able to shoot down 5 bombers. The bombers got 1 Zero.


Reinforcements
DE Swearer arrives at Eastern USA
SS Bream arrives at Balboa
APA Storm King arrives at Alameda
AP Gen. W.M.Mitchell arrives at Cristobal
81st FG/93rd FS arrives at Aden
164th USA Base Force arrives at San Francisco
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Old 04-22-23, 12:58 PM   #827
Molon Labe
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21 February 1944
Enemy carriers supporting Bangkok


Thailand and Burma
The battleships Haruna and Kongo shelled Allied forces in Bangkok from the Gulf of Siam-16 casualties.

Enemy carriers, including Zuikaku, Shokaku, Unryu, and Hiyo were providing CAP over Bangkok. This led to a flight of 15 Blenheims and 10 B-24s getting jumped by Zeroes shortly while our fighter sweeps were focused on the western road approach. We lost 7 Blenhiems and as many as 9 B-24s, with the B-24s shooting down 1 Zero.

The bombers hitting the west road did not encounter resistance. 379 enemy casualties.

There were several attempted attacks on the enemy carrier and battleship task forces, but they were not more than the enemy CAP could handle. We ended up losing 21 Vengeance bombers, 98Beaufighter TFX torpedo bombers, 7 Beaufighter fighter-bombers, and 1 Spitfire. The mostly-Spitfire escorts for these flights managed to get 8 Zeroes. In one of the last raids, 8 of the Vengeance bombers managed to get through the CAP, attacking Hiyo, Unryu, and Zuikaku, scoring 1 hit on Hiyo and starting a fire. 2 of those bombers were shot down by flak.

We crushed the paratroopers in Ayuthia, restoring partial supply lines on the "east road."


Philippines
After a lot of arguing back and forth, I agreed to a rule change with my opponent--fighter aircraft can only operate as high as their 2nd best maneuver band. I implemented that rule for this turn... my opponent did not. (Maybe this was my fault because he'd already done his orders prior to the agreement)

At Manila, we lost 15 Corsairs in sweep missions over Manila, mostly to Georges flying in their 3rd-best manuever band (>32,000 ft). We shot down only 3 Georges in return.

Other raids:
Iloilo (ground forces): 111 casualties



Marianas
P-38 sweeps of Saipan got 3 Zeros and a George, 1 P-38 was shot down.

USS Princeton came back for another Avenger attack on the convoy at Tinian. They encountered no resistance, but all 9 Avengers missed the 3 cargo ships they launched torpedoes at.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (airbase): 12 hits
Koepang (ground forces): 0 casualties
Kendari (airbase): 25 hits, 4 casualties


China

My offensive against Shanghai and Nanking is well underway, as you can see here.

Air raids:
near Chengchow (ground forces): 55 casualties

land combat:
near Changchow, allied deliberate attack, 12k vs 3600; the enemy held their position, casualties 57 (J) to 261(A). Let's see how long they can hold out against such a superior force.
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Old 04-22-23, 04:41 PM   #828
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22 February 1944

Burma and Thailand
Mushashi, Haruna, and Kongo along with several other warships bombarded our troops in Bangkok again, this time pulling out after and heading south towards the South China Sea. 82 casualties.

They're also landing troops at Prachuap Khiri Khan, apparently unhappy that I cut off the rail link between Bangkok and Singapore.

I moved additional Vengeance squadrons to Tavoy to try to pressure the enemy task forces at Bangkok. One of them got lost and never found any targets, the other got split up. We ended up attacking the heavy surface group in one wave of 8 Spitfires with 2 Vengeances, and 6 Spitfires with 14 Vengeances. CAP strength was 54 Zeroes. We lost 1 Spitfire and 10 Vengeances while shooting down just one Zero. Another Vengeance was lost to flak while attacking Haruna and Mushashi. Mushashi was hit twice, but I'm sure it wasn't seriously hurt.

Other raids:
Bangkok (ground forces, port, and airbase): 8 port hits, 2 airbase hits, 12 casualties


South China Sea
USS Narwhal torpedoed and sank a PB in a tanker convoy off the Vietnamese coast.


Marianas
USS Pampanito damaged a large cargo ship with a torpedo north of the Marianas. Presumably this is the convoy departing.


China
I swept Takao with 12 Spitfires out of Amoy, they went up against a whopping 59 fighters. We ended up losing 2 while shooting down 1 George and 4 Zeroes. One of the George squadrons was flying in the 5th altitude band, in violation of the new house rule.

Other raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 23 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 140 casualties

Land combat:
We routed the enemy in our rematch against the shattered 34th Divsion near Chengchow, casualties 1032 to 35, enemy units retreating back to their side of the river.

Our southernmost prong in our advance eastward has captured Shaohing. There were only reported 1073 defenders, and enemy casualties were reported as 1533 (and allied 78). Yes, I know that should be impossible.


DEI
Raids:
Surabaya (airbase and port): 8 airbase hits, 1 port hit, 5 casualties
Kendari (ground forces) 17 casualties

Land combat:
The last of the enemy troops at Koepang have been eliminated. 1643 enemy casualties.
We've seized the empty island Mataram with paratroopers. This should be the last airbase we need to build before returning to Java.


Philippines
The heavy bombers returned to Manila. We faced 19 Georges and 10 Nicks on CAP. Due to poor coordination, some B-24s arrived without escort and got pounced. 5 B-24s lost to enemy aircraft, another to flak, and 2 F4U escorts were also shot down. The escorts got one George and one Nick, and a followup sweep by Hellcats got another Nick. The raid managed 21 airbase hits, a hit on the disabled cruiser Yura in port, and a Judy reportedly destroyed on the ground.

USS Scorpion was moderately damaged in a depth charge attack in the Luzon Strait and is headed to Hong Kong for repairs.

Iloilo's defenders held off another attack while sustaining 197 casualties. Pretty impressive.


Reinforcements
DE Riddle arrives at Eastern USA
DE Waterman arrives at Los Angeles
SS Sterlet arrives at Balboa
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Old 04-26-23, 06:47 PM   #829
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23 February 1944

Japanese Home Waters
USS Balao was depth charged for minor damage after a failed attack on a tanker convoy near Daito Shoto


Philippines
Southwest of Manila, the KXIV made a torpedo attack on a severely damaged enemy submarine on the surface, but missed.

USS Flounder torpedoed and sank a PB in the Strait of Luzon.
Just off the shore of Clark Airfield, USS Apogon made a surface gun and torpedo attack on an unescorted oiler, hitting it with four torpedoes for a confirmed kill. This oiler may have been evacuating Manila due to the B-24 strikes.

Hellcats swept Manila, shooting down 3 of 8 Georges on patrol with no losses. That was followed by a bombing raid of B-24s with Corsair escorts, which hit a patrol boat tender along with scoring 4 port hits, 27 airbase hits, and 12 casualties. 1 B-24 was shot down by Georges on CAP.

Iloilo held out against yet another attack from my tanks. 273 (J) to 28 (A) casualties.



DEI
I shelled Kendari with the Arizona and New Mexico, 299 casualties reported.

Air raids:
Surabaya (airbase and port): 6 airbase hits, 2 port hits
Kendari (ground forces): 34 casualties
Palopo (ground forces): 46 casualties

Land combat: Allied deliberate attack at Palopo, Celebes. Casualties 890 (J) to 17 (A), enemy unit retreating into the jungle.

The reinforcements that finished off Babo are now headed for Celebes to take care of Kendari and drive any remaining Japanese into the jungles.


Marianas
We swept Saipan with 13 P-38s with 38 enemy fighters on patrol. We got 7 Georges with a loss of just 2 P-38s.


China
Air raids:
near Taiyuan (ground forces): 36 casualties
near Chengchow (ground forces): 54 casualties

Land combat near Kiukang, Allied bombardment attack, casualties 23 (J) to 41 (A). This is an enemy unit camped in the woods along the road from Hankow to Nanking. The ground is 29k strong vs my 54k, but with the defensive bonus from the woods they can probably hold this position. Which is fine, then they're tied up here while I'm advancing elsewhere. We may get Shanghai. In the meantime I have a few more troops that can arrive here, and they're a sensible bombing target, so maybe I'll dislodge them later.


Burma and Thailand
Surprisingly quiet here after the last few days.
We attacked the small enemy force at Prachuap Khiri Khan, casualties 58 (J) to 8 (A).


Reinforcements
CVE Marcus Island arrives at Portland
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Old 04-27-23, 04:39 PM   #830
Molon Labe
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24 February 1944
USS Princeton's Avengers wiped out over Tinian


China
Air raids:
near Sinyang (ground forces): 93 casualties
near Kuikiang (ground forces): 28 casualties

Land combat:
near Sinyang, Allied deliberate attack, 37k vs 5k, casualties 4361(J) to 62(A), enemy units retreating east.
near Kuikiang, Allied bombardment attack, casualties 75(J) to 25(A).
near Kuukiang (just south of above),Allied deliberate attack, 25k vs 4k, casualties 2741(J) to 469(A), enemy units retreating


DEI
Air Raids:
Surabaya (airbase and port): 3 port hits, 12 airbase hits
Kendari (ground forces): 20 casualties
near Palopo (ground forces): 40 casualties


Thailand and Burma
Air raids:
Bangkok (ground forces, port): 0 casualties, 2 port hits

Enemy paratroopers attempted an asault on Moulmein, which was too well protected. 71 enemy casualties, attackers wiped out.

other land combat:
Prachuap Khiri Khan, allied deliberate attack, 1440 vs 276, casualties 77 to 6


Philippines
Air raids:
Manila (airbase and port): 5 casualties, CL Yura hit, 1 port hit, 29 airbase hits. 1 F4U shot down by Georges on patrol. Enemy CAP strength was just 9 aircraft.
Manila (sweep): 30 Hellcats vs 5 Georges; 4 Georges and 1 Hellcat shot down


Marinanas
We finally got got here. Princeton's Avengers got jumped by a CAP of 5 Zeroes, 14 Georges, and 2 Tonies, too much for the 11 Hellcat escorts to handle. We shot down 2 Zeroes and a George but lost 1 Hellcat and all 9 Avengers.

7 P-38s swept Saipan, shooting down 2 Georges with no losses (total CAP strength 20 aircraft)


Reinforcements
AS Euryale arrives at Cristobal
DMS Emmons arrives at Eastern USA
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Old 04-27-23, 05:42 PM   #831
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25 February 1944
Hangchow liberated. Shanghai next?


Philippines
Just 1 Nick on CAP over Manila today. A sweep of 30 Hellcats came by and shot it down. B-24s came in after to bomb the airbase and port, hitting an AGP for moderate damage, plus 2 port hits and 29 airbase hits.


Burma and Thailand
Sweep of Bangkok by 15 P-47s met 25 A6M5 Zeroes, presumably from the nearby carriers. We got 8 of them with no losses. A great example of the new house rule limiting altitudes not really addressing the tactical issue, which is that there isn't any point getting into an altitude race against an enemy that has a higher ceiling than you and also loses less performance at altitude than you.

Shortly after, a raid on enemy ground forces just outside Bangkok caused 124 casualties, with 6 Zeroes attempting to intercept but arriving too late.

In the afternoon, a large raid of 19 B-24s with 17 P-47 escorts arrived over Bangkok, with the enemy CAP partially re-established with 16 Zeroes. The resulting combat saw 1 P-47 go down along with 2 Zeroes. 1 B-24 was lost to flak. The raid reportedly only caused 14 casualties on the ground.

3 cruisers and 21 destroyers then shelled Allied positions around Bangkok, causing 4 casualties. Not exactly the right ships for the job.

We've retaken Pisanuloke from the enemy paratroopers. Casualties 289 to 12. Supply lines are now fully restored on both roads to Bangkok.

The enemy attempted a paratrooper attack on Mergui, which was adequately garrisoned. 10 enemy casualties.

We've caused another 61 enemy casualties at Prachuap Khiri Khan, which I didn't think would be enough, but the commanders are reporting that the enemy unit was wiped out.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (port and airbase): 11 airbase hits, 8 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 5 casualties
near Palopo (ground forces): 0 casualties

We've used paratroopers to capture Roti, next to Koepang. It was empty.


China
Air raids:
Kuikiang (ground forces): 19 casualties

Moving north along the east coastline, our advancing armies have taken Hangchow with minimal resistance (just 8712 troops defending against our army of 100k; casualties 3548(J) to 2045(A)). I'm not sure of enemy troop strength at Shanghai, but this was encouraging.

other land combat:
near Kiukang, bombardment attack, 14 (J) to 32(A) casualties


Marianas
I forgot to turn the P-38 sweeps off. Just 5 P-38s swept Saipan, meeting 16 enemy fighters. We got away with it, shooting down 1 Zero and 3 Georges while losing just 1 P-38.


Reinforcements
DD Halsey Powell arrives at Eastern USA
AP Gen. R.L.Howze arrives at San Francisco
547th NFS arrives at Fresno
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Old 04-27-23, 07:13 PM   #832
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26 February 1944
Bangkok defenders turn British away, heavy casualties on both sides


Philippines
USS Sargo hit a cargo ship with a Mk14 and nearly sank it. Good chance it still goes down before it gets to Manila or Cam Rhan Bay.

Finally, additional troops are landing on Iloilo. This should be over with tomorrow. The landings caused damage to an LCI and an LST, and another LST got absolutely shredded on the bottom and had to be scuttled.

The now-daily raid on Manila lost a B-24 to flak. 24 Airbase hits, 4 port hits.


Burma and Thailand
That 3 cruiser 21 destroyer task force shelled my troops at Bangkok again, 6 casualties. I really wish I could get an airstrike on these guys.

I decided to make a push for Bangkok since the troops weren't being subjected to any serious disruption from the light bombardment. This was 80k troops vs 50k, which didn't go well thanks to the enemy defending a fortified position. Casualties 3269 to 5395 favoring Japan, with forts being reduced to Level 3 (still pretty serious). We may have to resort to a long siege to pull this off.

Japan also made another airdrop on Mergui, a bit bigger than the last so it looks like enemy troops were able to survive the initial assault. It's going to take more than this to take it back from me, though.

Air raids:
east of Bangkok (ground forces): 171 casualties
Bangkok (ground forces): 33 casualties


Marianas
USS Grampus torpedoed and crippled a troop transport (7470 tons) northwest of the Marianas. And just when it looked like this ship might survive too, Grampus decided to "be more aggressive" and re-attacked, finishing the Maru off.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (airbase and port): 1 port hit, 10 airbase hits
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties


China
Land combat:
near Kiukiang, bombardment attack, casualties 54(J) to 14 (A)
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Old 04-28-23, 05:58 PM   #833
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27 February 1944
RAF loses another air battle against the Kido Butai


Philippines
USS Sargo managed to find the cargo ship (3675 tons) it damaged yesterday and put her out of her misery with 2 more Mk14 hits.

The daily B-24 raid hit the cruiser Yura with another bomb, I swear that ship is going to stay alive for the whole war at this rate. 29 airbase hits with 2 Judies destroyed on the ground, 5 port hits.

Despite the extra troops landed on Iloilo, we failed to take the base today. Casualties 330(J) to 45(A).

I'm not waiting for Iloilo to fall. The first units intended to take Luzon are now en route to Legaspi, the southernmost point of Luzon.


China
Air raids:
near Hwainan (ground forces): 67 casualties

Land combat:
near Hwainan, Allied deliberate attack, 37k vs 2255 troops, casualties 1914(J) to 21(A), enemy survivors retreating
Hangchow, Allied deliberate attack, 108k vs 4k, casualties 4074(J) vs 172(A). This unit just arrived and was probably intended to reinforce the enemy we defeated 2 days ago. Looks like my opponent forgot to turn them around after Hangchow fell. On the negative side, the supplies expended from this additional fight need to be replenished, so we need to pause our advance to Shanghai.
near Kiukang, Allied bombardment attack, casualties 35(J) to 64(A).


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (port and airbase): ACM hit and sunk, 4 casualties, 11 airbase hits, 2 port hits
Kendari (ground forces): 5 casualties


Burma and Thailand
The KB appeared along the eastern Malay coast, close enough to Tavoy to pull an airstrike. Coordination was a problem and we ended up attacking in 4 separate waves instead of en masse, which made the problem easier for the enemy to solve:
Wave 1: 10 Spitfires and 16 Vengeances vs 17 Zeroes. All 16 Vengeances shot down along with 2 Zeroes and 3 Spitfires. 2 bombers made attacks, 1 on Shinyo, 1 on Zuikaku, both missed.
Wave 2: 8 Spitfires and 13 Vengeances vs 15 Zeroes. 3 Zeroes and 10 Vengeances shot down, plus an 11th lost to flak. 3 bombers made attacks on Zuikaku, all missed.
Wave 3: 10 Spitfires with 16 Vengeances vs 1 Zero. Only one shootdown-a Vengeance by flak. Bombers attacked Hiyo, Kaiyo, Unryu, and Shokaku (and also heavy cruiser Maya). The only hit was on the Kaiyo, which appeared only moderately damaged.
Wave 4: 13 Spitfires and 9 Vengeances vs 16 Zeroes. 8 Vengeances shot down, the last one made a run for it.
It's interesting that despite the massive number of carriers present, the CAP was so weak. Were fighters being held in reserve for a long-range CAP, or for an airstrike?


Other air strikes:
Southeast of Bangkok (ground forces): 142 casualties


Reinforcements
PF Rockford arrives at Mare Island
RAF 231 Group Base Force arrives at Aden

Forgot to mention this "yesterday"--USS Yorktown CV-10 has completed its torpedo damage repairs at Alameda and is headed back to Pearl under heavy escort.
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Old 05-05-23, 04:55 PM   #834
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28 February 1944

Burma and Thailand
The Haruna and Kongo provided covering fire for enemy reinforcements landing at Prachuap Khiri Khan. I'd love to send another wave of dive bombers at these guys, but we haven't replenished our losses yet. A few more days.

13 P-47s swept Bangkok, opposed by 7 Georges and 5 Franks. With no losses, we bagged 5 Georges and 3 Franks. Not bad at all! 15 P-51s followed that up, but there were no enemy fighters left to play with.

B-24 raids caused 226 casualties outside Bangkok.

We've eliminated the remaining paratroopers at Mergui, 25 enemy casualties.


South China Sea
HMS Storm got caught transiting past Singapore towards Hong Kong and took moderate depth charge damage.


Japanese Home Waters
USS Sealion took light depth charge damaged after it got caught approaching an escorted cargo ship near Iwo Jima. Nearby, USS Sand Lance torpedoed a 3280-ton troop transport, very likely sinking it.


China
Air raids:
near Hwainan (ground forces): 70 casualties

Land combat:
near Kiukang, Allied deliberate attack, 77k vs. 29k troops, casualties 3742(J) to 2950(A). Lots more destroyed vs disabled units on our side though, so I'd call that a loss.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (port and airbase): 1 port hit, 14 airbase hits, 5 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 4 casualties


Philippines
Air raids:
Manila (port and airbase): 1 port hit, 1 hit on CL Yura, 17 airbase hits

Land combat:
We finally captured Iloilo. Casualties 485 to 50 favoring us. The enemy is still present but they no longer control the base.


Mariannas
I send the Yankee Butai to the seas northwest of the Mariannas, trying to time it to catch the convoys leaving and headed back towards Japan. As a plan B, I ordered a few squadrons to hit the ports in the Mariannas, hoping to catch a few stragglers or auxiliaries. We missed the convoys--they're gone. The port raids on Saipan and Tinian cost one SBD each and hit nothing of consequence. Avengers hit Guam, with a loss of one Avenger and slight damage to the port.
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Old 05-05-23, 05:37 PM   #835
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29 February 1944

Philippines
USS Sea Rover was engaged by an ASW group in the Strait of Luzon but got away with only light damage. USS Bowfin found an unescorted AKL in the Strait and put her down with a Mk14.

Air raids:
Manila (airbase, port): 41 airbase hits, 4 port hits, 2 hits on CL Yura.

Land combat:
Iloilo: 319 casualties to 20 as mop up operations proceed.


Japanese Home Waters
Near Chichi-jima, USS Dragonet put two fish into a 7450-ton troop transport ship, leaving it burning at it limped away. Dragonet then took at shot at another unescorted transport but missed. USS Tambor found yet another transport (7470 tons) and hit it with 3 Mk14s for another kill. Dragonet then tracked down the transport it wounded earlier and put 4 more torpedoes into it, sending it down with plenty of overkill.


Burma and Thailand
We swept Bangkok with 16 P-47s, which were met by 8 Georges and 8 Franks, shooting down 4 Franks and 2 of the Georges with no losses.

I also bombed the beachead at Prachuap Khiri Khan knowing that the KB would be providing cover there and I'd be able to wear it down a bit. The raid was 15 P-38s with 24 B-24s, and we were opposed by 74 Zeroes, 2 Georges, and 2 Franks. We lost 3 P-38s and 3 B-24s while shooting down 6 Zeroes and 1 George. 11 enemy casualties were reported on the ground.

I attacked Bangkok's airbase with 22 B-24s, scoring 15 hits and destroying a George on the ground.

The enemy troops attempted a shock attack at Prachuap Khiri Khan, suffering 432 casualties to our 82. They are highly disrupted from landing under fire and bombing and weren't organized enough for an effective attack.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (port and airbase): 2 port hits, 11 airbase hits
Kendari (ground forces) 55 casualties


Reinforcements
SS Plaice arrives at Balboa
VP-21 arrives at Eastern USA
VP-23 arrives at San Diego
I/14th Army RIASC Base Force arrives at Madras
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Old 05-05-23, 07:03 PM   #836
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1 March 1944

Burma and Thailand
Light cruisers and destroyers attempted to shell our troops in Bangkok; it was ineffective.

Enemy troops and/or equipment is still being landed at Prachuap Khiri Khan

Our sweep of Bangkok was less effective today; 16 P-47s took on 5 Georges and 3 Franks, we lost 1 P-47s while shooting down just 2 Georges. A port attack by Wellington bombers followed; there were still 3 enemy fighters on CAP, which managed to shoot down 1 Wellington. The bombers failed to do any damage.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (port and airbase): 1 port hit, 8 airbase hits
Kendari (ground forces): 4 casualties
near Palopo (ground forces) 43 casualties.

We have troops landing in Kolaka, which is nearby Kendari. Our troops have too many disabled units to appear all that combat effective though, so I'm waiting to bring some extra troops from the east side of Celebes before proceeding.


Philippines
Air raids:
Manila (airbase and port): 29 airbase hits, 1 hit on CL Yura.

Ground combat:
Iloilo mop-up deliberate attack; 156 (J) to 6(A) casualties


China
near Hwainan (ground forces) 10 casualties
near Kiukang (ground forces): 10 casualties--1 Wellington lost to flak

ground combat:
near Hwaianan, allied deliberate attack, 37k vs 455 troops, 371(J) to 26(A) casualties, enemy survivors retreating


Reinforcements
DE Weaver arrives at Los Angeles
AR Resource arrives at Aden
VB-137 arrives at Alameda
Thirteenth USAAF Engineer Aviation Battalion arrives at San Francisco
XIV Corps Artillery arrives at Pearl Harbor
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Old 05-05-23, 11:10 PM   #837
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2 March 1944
Failed air raids in Bangkok, but KB being worn down again

Japanese Home Waters
USS Amberjack missed a great opportunity for glory near Naha, coming across IJN Katori and two cargo ships. She fired 4 torpedoes at Katori and missed. The presence of Katori I assume deterred a surface attack.

Meanwhile near Torishima, USS Golet was able to make a night surface attack on a cargo ship (6840 tons), hitting it with a torpedo as well as gunfire and sinking it.


Thailand and Burma
The sweep of Bangkok that's becoming routine was done by 15 P-47s, this time facing 55 Zeroes from the KB as well as 8 native Georges. One P-47 was lost, while we scored 5 Zeroes and a George. A sweep of 17 P-51s followed that, getting one George with a loss of 3 aircraft.

Prachuap Khiri Khan was attacked by 32 Sallies, causing 22 Allied casualties and disrupting us in the face of the enemy landings. We hit the beachhead with 17 B-24s with 5 reported casualties.

This was followed by an attempted low-level attack on the battleships Kongo and Haruna at Bangkok harbor by 16 Beaufighters. The KB contributed 40 Zeroes to that fight, although they had problems responding in time. Only 1 Zero and 1 Beaufighter went down in the air-to-air fight. Another Beau was lost to flak while attacking, but probably due to the intensity of the flak none of the other planes were able to score any hits. 12 B-25D1s arrived next for a skipbombing run, with 15 P-47 escorts that probably should have been with B-24s, but it worked out. We traded 1 P-47 and 1 B-25 for 2 Zeroes. Once again, the flak made it hard for the bombers to hit anything, but one of the B-25s managed to hit a cargo ship in the formation, setting it on fire.

The B-24s arrived next, 27 of them with 7 P-47s escorting. The KBs Zeroes plus 2 Georges were able to take down 2 P-47s and a B-24 while taking just one loss. But the bombers still caused significant damage, with 20 base hits and 1 George blown up on the ground.

The Beaufighter squadron attempted a second sortie with just 6 aircraft... a bad idea. 5 were lost, with nothing to show for it.

Overall, this was a very good turn for us around Bangkok. Our Vengeance dive bombers are ready to fly again tomorrow, and the ability of the KB to maintain a CAP, for both itself and the landing area, is being pressured by the constant raids. Their losses should be adding up and a lot of planes are going to be down for repairs.



China
Air raids:
Hwainan (ground forces): 42 casualties

Land combat:
near Kiukang: allied bombardment attack, casualties 88(J) to 39(A). It appears that the enemy here has been ordered to fall back to the east, presumably to protect Nanking.


DEI
Air raids:
Surabaya (airbase and port): 2 port hits, 27 airbase hits, 5 casualties
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties
near Palopo (ground forces): 36 casualties


Philippines
Air raids:
Manila (port and airbase): 34 airbase hits, 1 port hit, 1 hit on CL Yura, 1 hit on an AGP--likely sunk.

Ground combat:
Iloilo - Allied deliberate attack, 130 enemy casualties, 0 losses. Mop up continues...


Reinforcments
CL Gambia arrives at Auckland
VMSB-454 arrives at Santa Ana
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Old 05-06-23, 05:33 PM   #838
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3 March 1944
USS Devilfish on eternal patrol; two enemy carriers disabled off Bangkok at the Kido Butai's fighters get overwhelmed by multiple attacks


Japanese Home Waters
USS Devilfish engaged a troop convoy passing between Okinawa and Daito Shoto, hitting a cargo ship with a single torpedo. The ship was badly damaged but looks like it will survive. After the attack, the convoy escorts managed to detect Devilfish. After connecting solidly with three depth charge patterns, Devilfish surfaced and ended up in a gun battle, during which it scored the first hit on a kaibokan. But eventually the escorts got dialed in and finished off Devilfish.

Devilfish's only confirmed kill during its career was the enemy submarine I-26, a sub previously damaged by US destroyers.


DEI
New Mexico and Arizona shelled Kendari, causing 58 casualties.
Air strikes:
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties
near Palopo (ground forces): 31 casualties


Strait of Malacca
HMS Clyde sustained moderate damage in a depth charge attack trying to transit back into the Indian Ocean.


Burma and Thailand
The enemy opened up today's air battles with a Sally raid on Prachuap Khiri Khan. We had 4 P-47s on CAP but they were overwhelmed by Zeroes that were also trying to secure that airspace. We took 46 casualties on the ground.

We hit Bangkok's troops with 16 Wellingtons next, which was unopposed but did no real damage. Next was a flight of 16 B-24s into Prachuap Khiri Khan with 4 P-47s escorting. 47 Zeroes were on patrol, and we lost 3 B-24s in the furball. 20 more B-24s then hit Bangkok's airbase, scoring 15 hits. Again, this was unopposed--the KB was only protecting Prachuap Khiri Khan at this point, where they were still landing troops.

And it was the KB that drew the next strikes. Coordination once again was an issue, with all 33 available Spitfire escorts from Tavoy escorting a single Vengeance squadron, and 2 other squadrons proceeding unescorted. Better than the other way around, I guess. Those 33 Spitfires took on 37 Zeroes and came out ahead, losing just 1 aircraft while shooting down 6 Zeroes. The bombers added a 7th. We suffered 6 bombers lost to the Zeroes with a 7th lost to flak. 10 bombers total made attacks split between Shokaku, Zuikaku, Hiyo, and Shinyo. The only hit was a smaller 250-pounder hitting Shinyo.
For the second wave, 17 Vengeances were met by 16 Zeroes. 6 of the bombers lost their nerve and turned around. The other 11 were splashed.
The third wave was 15 Vengeances facing 9 Zeroes. This raid suffered only 1 loss to the Zeroes and another lost to flak. But again, several gave up when they saw the Zeroes without friendly fighters around. Only 6 made attacks, and all missed.
The KBs luck at this point had run out. The next attack would come from 7 B-25Hs flying down from Moulmien making a low level attack. There were still 6 Zeroes left on patrol but they weren't in position to intercept this raid in time. Zuikaku took one hit, enough to start a fire. Shinyo took two, also starting fires and causing serious damage. And Hiyo took four, ending up severely damaged and becoming an inferno. Hiyo is almost certainly down. Shinyo is probably clinging to life.



Philippines
Air raids:
Manila (airbase and port): 4 port hits, 18 airbase hits, 1 Judy destroyed on the ground.


China
Land combat:
I sent a detachment of my Shanghai-bound armies to deal with troops on the road to Shanghai. That battle was 46k vs 7k, and we caused 3287 casualties vs 1138 taken... not great. Some, but not all, of the enemy retreated back to Shanghai.

near Kiukiang; allied bombardment attack, casualties 41(J) to 101(A)


Reinforcements
CV Hornet II arrives at Balboa
PF Barcoo arrives at Sydney
31st Infantry Division arrives at Eastern USA
XI Corps Artillery arrives at San Francisco
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Old 05-09-23, 05:09 PM   #839
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4 March 1944

DEI
Helens from Java made a low altitude attack on our recently-captured base at Denspar. We aren't building here yet so this is of no concern. At worst we'll have to repair the airbase here when we do move in.

Allied raids:
Surabaya (airbase and port): 25 airbase hits with 1 Helen destroyed, 1 port hit
near Palopo: 15 casualties


Philippines
In the Luzon Strait, USS Flounder put a pair of Mk14s into a large tanker. Despite 1 torpedo being enough in most cases, this one got away.

An enemy PT squadron intercepted an amphibous task force headed for Legaspi, but was driven off by the escorts before they could fire any torpedoes. Several transports collided in the resulting chaos, though. One AKA is in need of serious repairs, and an LST had to be scuttled due to severe damage.

The landings at Legaspi proceeded thereafter with no enemy ground forces resisting.


Burma and Thailand
32 Sallies attacked our troops at Prachuap Khiri Khan. We only had 4 P-47s nearby and they all failed to intercept. 15 casualties. We followed that up with B-24 raids of our own; no casualties reported.

Other raids:
Bangkok (airbase): 35 hits

Land combat:
The enemy troops at Prachuap Khiri Khan attacked; casualties 265(J) to 150(A). Surprised we're holding out, we're outnumbered about 2 to 1 and have no engineers to build fortifications with.
Allied bombardment attack, Bangkok, casualties 140(J) to 71(A).


China
Air raids:
near Kiukiang (ground forces): 23 casualties
Takao (sweep): 9 Spitfires from Amoy took on a CAP of a whopping 60 fighters. We lost 3, shooting down 1 Nick and 1 George.

Land combat: We've captured Hwainan. Casualties 1566(J) to 8(A). This is part of a flanking and encirclement of the enemy forces adjacent to Kiukiang, or they could go straight to Nanking. Encircling will likel make more sense.

We've forced the last of the enemy units on the road to Shanghai to retreat. Casualties 477 to 31.

Allied Bombardment attack near Kiukang, casualties 32(J) to 45(A).


Reinforcements
CVE Savo Island arrives at Portland
DD Yarnall arrives at San Francisco
APA John Land arrives at Alameda
12th BG/82nd BS arrives at Aden
Lushai Brigade arrives at Madras
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Old 05-09-23, 09:11 PM   #840
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5 March 1944
Kamikazes destroy CVE in massive air counteroffensive at Legaspi

Philippines
I had a surface combat task force of 1 CA and 9 DD patrolling between Cebu and Legaspi trying to prevent what happened yesterday. This morning, they spotted the enemy PTs before they could do any harm. 11 enemy boats were sunk with no damage to the US fleet.

PTs weren't the only small-ticket defense active around Legaspi. 4 enemy minisubs also approached the area, but all were spotted by destroyers screening the landing ships (or the surface combat task force) and easily sunk.

USS Rock was heavily damaged in a depth charge attack in the Luzon Strait and is headed to Hong Kong for repairs.

The major threat ended up being enemy air forces, which came as a little bit of a surprise because I had 2 of the 3 large airbases on Luzon under constant surveillance, and never detected an increase in present numbers of aircraft (and the day after this that 3rd one was also empty). Still, I wasn't caught completely unprepared, as the 'phibs had CVEs in company and land-based aircraft were providing additional cover. Altogether I had 78 Hellcats providing cover over the landing site when the first enemy raid hit us. It ended up being a turkey shoot, but we were eventually overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. It looks like altitude was a factor--none of the fighter squadrons that I had assigned to lower altitudes were covering the landing site.

Raid 1: High altitude, 8 Zeroes, 18 Georges, 14 Kates, 6 Jills. Losses: 7 Zeroes, 16 Georges, 14 Kates, 6 Jills; 0 Hellcats.

Raid 2: Low Altitude approach, 12 Zeroes, 8 Kates. Losses: 7 Zeroes, 8 Kates (2 to flak, the rest were kamikazes). All the Kates made it past the fighters. 1 Kate slammed into HMAS Canberra, and 2 more into the CVE USS Santee--triggering ammunition explosions and dooming the ship.

Raid 3: Low Altitude approach, 6 Kates. These planes slipped past the CAP. 1 was lost to flak, the rest made torpedo attacks against Canberra and Santee, putting two fish into Santee just to make absolutely sure it was going down.

Raid 4: Low Altitude approach, 9 Kates. 7 shot down by CAP, 2 attempted Kamikaze attacks on the CVE USS Corregidor but missed. How do you miss a ship that big? Probably due to flak damage sustained on the way, I'd guess.

Raid 5: High altitude, 9 Zeroes, 41 Georges, 5 Franks, 11 Frances. Losses: 2 Zeroes, 16 Georges, 3 Franks, and the first F6F Hellcat loss of the day (with the possible exception of any destroyed on the Santee's deck). All 11 Frances got through to make torpedo attacks, scoring a single hit on an LST, sinking it. 1 Frances was downed by flak after it released its torpedo.

Raid 6: High altitude, 19 Franks and 5 Judies. The CAP only shot down 3 Franks, while losing another 2 Hellcats. These Judies were kamizakes and tried to attack CVE Prince William and a transport, none hit.

Raid 7: 37 Judies, medium altitude. Our CAP should have torn these up, but we only had 19 planes in the air and they were all busy. 4 were shot down by flak. CVE Corregidor took 2 hits (enough to disable air ops) and an LSD took another.

Raid 8: 33 Georges with 12 Judies. Losses: 8 Georges, 3 F6Fs. 1 Judy lost to flak. Corregidor took another hit, and a cargo ship took two--enough to sink it.

Raid 9: 3 Kates, low altitude. Completely snuck in and fired 3 torpedoes at the burning Corregidor, but missed.

In the Sulu Sea, the Yankee Butai was spotted and drew some attention as well. 11 Zeroes and 7 Frances took on the CAP of 154 Hellcats. Only 2 Zeroes made it out of that fight, no Allied losses.




Other raids:
Manila (airbase): 11 Tojos and 3 Franks intercepted, but no air-to-air losses. 1 B-24 shot down by flak, 15 airbase hits with 1 George destroyed.

Land Combat:
Legaspi is officially in our hands. The enemy flew in a few troops but the resistance was token.



DEI
There was another Helen raid at Denpasar; 3 base hits.
Allied raids:
Kendari (ground forces): 0 casualties
near Palopo: 26 casualties
near Denpasar: 24 P-40N5s strafed a motor torpedo boat, causing moderate damage.


Burma and Thailand
Enemy raid on Prachuap Khiri Khan: 12 casualties. CAP again failed to intervene.
Allied raids
Prachuap Khiri Khan (ground forces): 6 casualties, 1 Tony shot down by B-24s.


Land combat:
Bangkok (ground forces) 7 casualties
Bangkok (airbase): 23 hits, 6 casualties



China
Air raids:
near Kiukiang (ground forces): 0 casualties
Land combat:
near Kiukiang, allied bombardment attack, casualties 24(J) to 72(A).

Land combat:
Prachuap Khiri Khan- Japanese deliberate attack, 4000 vs 2000 troops, casualties 114(J) vs 131(A).
Bangkok, allied bombardment attack, casualties 95(J) to 85(A)


Reinforcements
DE Darby arrives at Eastern USA
SS Queenfish arrives at Balboa
AO Nantahala arrives at Eastern USA
12th BG/81st BS arrives at Aden
462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion arrives at San Francisco
II/14th Army RIASC Base Force arrives at Calcutta
10th IAF Advanced Base Force arrives at Calcutta
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