AmiralLaurent
Posts: 3351
Joined: 3/11/2003 From: Near Paris, France Status: offline
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26-27 May 1942 The Suva battle shoud start tomorrow.... while the end of the Java battle is expected for tomorrow too, and the Burma invasion in the next week. Northern Pacific Dutch Harbor airfield was expanded on the 26 by Allied engineers. Central Pacific On the 26, several Allied submarines were seen off Kona and one hit a Betty with AA fire. Japanese minesweepers found no mines this day but were active both off Kona and Lahaina the next one. The SS I-16 left PH to patrol the Pacific “gap” SE of PH, while the I-122 sailed to lay a minefield west of San Francisco. A convoy left PH with 2 Const Bns (forts are allready level 7 here and many more engineers are available) for Canton. They will leave the engineers here to build fortifications and load the South Seas Detachment that will go to Suva if needed and to Hawaii for garrison duties in other cases. Southern Pacific Tongatapu was bombed in the afternoon of the 26 by 10 B-25C from Suva that scored 2 runway hits. The next day only two B-25Cs flew over the atoll, for recon mission. Also on the 26, 30 LB-30 from Suva tried to attack Wallis Island but 21 get lost and the other didn’t hit anything. And one LB-30 was lost in a crash. The Kido Butai was reformed on the 26 in Pago-Pago and organized into four TF. The Light Force (CL Kuma and 5 DD, Adm Hashimoto) will scout ahead of the fleet (ie other TF will follow it in game terms). CarDiv 1 (Adm Nagumo, 3 CV, 1 CVL, 1 BB, 2 CA, 2 CL, 6 DD, 188 aircraft (90 Zeroes, 68 Vals, 30 Kates)) and CarDiv 2 (Adm Yamaguchi, 3 CV, 1 CVL, 1 CS, 1 BB, 2 CA, 1 CL, 6 DD, 199 aircraft (95 Zeroes, 59 Vals, 45 Kates) and 18 Rufes) will follow while a surface TF (Adm Nishimura, 3 BB, 3 CA, 2 CL, 7 DD) will escort them and bombard Suva. Reserves in Pago-Pago are 3 carrier units (16 Zeroes, 19 Vals and 12 Kates) and 40 carrier-capable Zeroes. The Yamato TF refueled in Kwajalein on the evening of the 26 and sailed S to join this fleet. Although a very poweful force in the paper, KB is not so strong at it may be. CV Kaga has 15 SYS, Soryu, Shokaku and Hiryu between 8 and 10, and Kate units are shadows of their former strength. On the other hand, all Japanese airgroups are above 75 exp, and often above 85 for Kates and Vals. After this operation, KB will be kept in reserve for two months, to upgrade, repair and train aircrews. The troops started to load in Pago-Pago on the 26. Troops that will be used for Fiji invasion are the 2nd, 4th, 16th and 48th Div, the 3rd, 21st and 24th Eng Rgt, 3 SNLF and a Special Base Force. More north a small convoy took all Japanese troops from Baker Island on the 26, as this island is no longer useful, and will carry them to Tarawa. On the 27, the KB moved 180 miles SW of Pago-Pago and remained apparently undetected. It will continue SE and reach tomorrow a point 300 miles E Suva, with all attack AC restricted to range 4. Solomons-New Guinea Saidor was unsuccessfuly bombed twice by Hudsons of Port Moresby (9 on the 26 and 8 on the 27). One of the raiders flew in a mountain on the second raid. Timor-Amboina-Australia On the 26, Lautem was bombarded during the night by 4 CA and 4 DD, that hit 172 men and 6 guns ands scored 47 hits on the airfield and 7 on the port. Later during the day around 50 Japanese transport aircraft dropped without loss 650 men of the 2nd Parachute Regiment on the airfield. It was not helf by a Base Force contrary to what I thought but by the Dutch A-II-Ld AA Bn, that surrendered after a short battle. 11 Japanese were hit, while 403 Dutch were killed or captured. Two unserviceable T.IVa were seized on the airfield in a poor state, having been left over there for months. The next day, transport AC were grounded, except 19 Ki-57 to fly supplies in the new base, because I wanted to wait for the Allied reaction. There was none on the 27 and in the evening more transport AC were ordeded to fly in the 136th IJN Base Force. Repeating the success of the day before, Darwin B-17E hit another Japanese submarine on the 26. The I-164 was damaged at 15/42/0 SE of Lautem and sailed too to Soerabaja for repairs. Darwin B-17E also continued their unopposed daily afternoon raids against Amboina, 41 bombers hitting it on the 26 and 43 on the 27 for a total of 271 Japanese casualties, 4 airbase hits, 1 on supplies and 35 on runways. Base is now badly damaged (70 service, 40 runways) and lacking supplies, but a convoy is sailing from Palau to bring 9000 supplies here. In the afternoon of the 26 42 B-25C from Derby bombed Koepang and hit 94 men and 2 guns, scoring 2 hits on the base, 2 on supplies and 33 on runways. AA shot down one of them and another was lost in a crash. Sumatra-Java The assault on Batavia continued, with support of Palembang-based Ki-21s. On the 25 they found no other target than an AA Bn, that lost 13 men when it was bombed by 35 Ki-21 but shot down one, and another crashed due to engine failure. On the 26, 56 Ki-21 bombed the 2nd and 4th Dutch Regiments, hitting only 6 men while losing two of their number to AA fire. Things went better on the ground, with two deliberate attacks at 4 to 1 and then 7 to 1, that reduced the forts from 8 to 6. Dutch casualties for both days were respectively 1708 and 2258, while only 920 and 459 Japanese fell. The city will be attacked again tomorrow and is expected to fall. Japanese AP have been ordered to sail to the are to be ready to carry troops to other theaters. More north ten 7000-ton AK left Singapore for Kuala Lumpur and will carry ressources from here to Japan. Burma Rangoon was bombed both nights, by 9 and 5 Blenheim IF from Akyab that hit nothing. On the 26 bad weather covered the country and no Allied raid was flown, while two Zeroes from Myitkyina flying LRACP over friendly troops get lost and crashed, a 9-victory ace being wounded. But the weather cleared in the afternoon, and was only overcast on the 27. So the long delayed Ledo raid was launched. 25 A6M2 flew from Rangoon to Myitkyina, while 68 IJNAF bombers flew from Bangkok to Rangoon (one Betty crashed but the crew was saved). The plan was that Zeroes will sweep Ledo skies and then bombers will bomb the transport aircraft based here (114 reported this day by the daily recon) on the ground. The raid was launched in the morning of the 27. First came 32 Zeroes from Myitkyina. They met 14 Hurricanes of 30 Sqn, that shot down a Zeroe from F1/Yamada but were then bounced by the F1/3rd and 6 Hurricanes were shot down, all by the leading Japanese ace, ENS Sugio S. (kills 19-24). Then 2 more Hurricanes were shot down by the F2/Genzan. Shortly later 18 Zeroes from F2/Tainan arrived from Taung Gyi and shot down 3 of the remaining Hurricanes without loss. But the bombers never came. Rather than ordering them to bomb Ledo, I set their target as … the Japanese airfield of Myitkyina…. Allied airmen were also active. 55 SB-2c (flying their first raid of the war IIRC), 15 Beaufort I, 6 Blenheim I and 12 Beaufort V-IX escorted by 16 Buffaloes from Chandpur attacked the 55th Div east of Akyab and hit 77 men, 1 gun and 1 tank. One Buffalo was lost in a crash. Japanese recon showed 11 Hurricanes flying CAP over Akyb, probably hoping to intercepted unescorted Ki-21 raids, but these were stopped precisely because I expected Allied fighters to show up there. In the evening of the 27, all A6M2 in Burma returned to Rangoon, where the F1/Yamada was disbanded (it had only 6 Zeros and 11 pilots) to reinforce the F1/3rd Daitai. Bombers remained in Rangoon but were ordered to not bomb Ledo before recons showed if Allied CAP was reinforced or not. NE of Lashio, the 23rd Bde and 4th Rgt joined the 21st Bde in the mountains on the 26 and launched with it the next day a deliberate attack against the surrounded Allied units, that achieved a 30 to 1 ratio. That was enough for the two RAF Base Forces (No 102 and 106) to surrender but the 4 Chinese Divisions (22nd, 28th, 29th and 38th) continued to fight. Japanese lost 242 men, the Allied 693. The atack will continue until all Chinese will have surrendered. More east the 33rd Div was ordered to return to Myitkyina. Philippines In the north, the 14th Army is still waiting reinforcements. 106 Ki-21, 47 Ki-49 and 20 Betties bombed Manila on the 27, hitting 64 men and 1 gun and scoring 8 airbase, 2 supplies and 26 runway hits for one loss, a Ki-21 hit by AA that crashed later in Japanese lines. Two days of Japanese artillery fire hit 21 men. In the south the 81st PA Div in Cebu was bombed each day by 31 Nates from Davao but lost only 7 men. One Nate crashed during these training flights. China Japanese artillery continued to pound Chinese lines in Kungchang, hitting 531 men and 5 guns on the 26 and 296 men on the 27. One more division arrived there on the 26, bringing the Japanese stength to 5 Div and 1 Bde. Chinese counterfire hit nothing. SIGINT revealed on the 26 that a Chinese unit was NW of Sian, probably moving north to reinforce Kungchang. I am wondering if the high Chinese casualties to artillery fire are a sign that the fort level is low. Anyway I will keep on with the plan, that is to try to seize Lanchow while the greatest part of the Chinese forces are in Kungchang. Two Tk Rgts are allready in the hex E of Lanchow and will be joined by a Rgt or two of the 27th Div and 2 Eng Rgt. Another Rgt, of the 59th Div, was orderd to march north from the road to engage the 1st Chinese Tk Rgt, the only remaining Chinese unit north of the Yenen-Kungchang road. It will be bombed tomorrow by all fighters based in Yenen (mainly operationnal training units). Tomorrow I will provide a map of this area, it will be easier to show what is going on. On the 27, 27 Zeroes from Wuhan flew CAP over Chungking, that was thought to be the destination of transport aircraft from Ledo but no Allied aircraft was seen and the mission was cancelled in the evening. In the south, artillery fire was not one-sided in Wuchow and casualties for the two days were 41 men and 1 gun on the Chinese side and 177 men and 5 guns on the Japanese side. In Shangai, the HQ 13th Army was reassigned to the 4th Fleet command and boarded ships to go to Luzon to provide support for the Manila battle. It will then be used in one of the main Japanese bases in the Pacific to help defend it. Japan Convoys continue to leave Japan. 28 000 supplies were sent from Sendai to Truk, 49 000 from Hiroshima to Miri to finish repairing the oilfields here. One of the Zero training units, the F1/Ominato, now with 43 exp, was sent to Yenen, China, to fly operationnal training.
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