AmiralLaurent
Posts: 3351
Joined: 3/11/2003
From: Near Paris, France
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4-7 September 1942
Hawaii is now Japanese again and more Allied troops were destroyed. Now four US divisions, 2 RCT, 1 Cav Rgt and 1 NZ Bde have been destroyed in the Pacific, not counting the minor units (Tk, CD, Base Forces) and added to the 2-4 Allied brigades surrounded and eliminated during the Burma campaign, that will probably allow Japan to enjoy a numerical superiority of mobile elements on the map until the spring of 1943.
The offensive in northern China has not gone as planned, but the paratroops are winning the war alone. If Sining fell tomorrow as expected, the whole Chinese position will then collapse.
Northern Pacific
Allied engineers expanded the port of Dutch Harbor to size 5. Troops, fuel and supplies continued to sail to Paramushiro Jima (and were the cause of the 3rd redone turn of this game. Fiest was when 60 000 Japanese landed in the ocean west of PH, second was when one of my TF attacked a convoy on the edge of the map and the whole convoy fell off the map, this one was not a bug: the Soviet are activated to allow them to move and my opponent has forgotten to change the orders of a new Il-2 unit. So they flew 100 sorties to destroy a small convoy sailing south of Vladivostok, sank 4 AP and 1 PG and destroyed the Eng Rgt being carried from Korea to Paramushiro…. We redid the turn without the Il-2 attack).
Central Pacific
During the night of the 3-4, Hilo was bombarded by 3 BB, 6 CA and 6 DD that disabled 783 men, 40 guns and 1 vehicle and scored 20 hits on the runway, 2 on the port, 6 on port supplies and 3 on fuel dumps without loss or damage, as there was no return fire. The Allied base was then bombed in the morning by PH airmen (40 Ki-21s and 23 Ki-49 escorted by 22 A6M2) who destroyed 1 PBY on the ground, hit 42 men and 1 gun and scored 2 hits on the airbase and 43 on the runways, and then bombarded by the guns of the 5 reinforced Japanese divisions that reached it the day before. 261 more men and 2 guns were hit by these shells, while American return fire hit 14 men, 1 gun and 1 tank. 103 000 able Japanese were facing 38 000 American and the situation seemed very good in Japan’s favor so an attack was ordered for the next day.
The night was quiet but on the morning of the 5th, the main Allied unit, the 40th US Div, was bombed by 62 Betties, 36 Ki-21, 28 Ki-51, 24 Ki-49, 16 Kates and 1 Nell from PH, escorted by 21 Zeroes, and lost 153 men and 8 guns, while one Betty was lost in a crash. In the afternoon the same TF as the day before, 3 BB, 6 CA and 6 DD, that had resplenished the evening before in PH, returned to Hilo and plastered the base. Allied losses were 3659 men, 38 guns and 3 vehicles, and 49 hits were scored on all parts of the base. Then the Japanese troops attacked and easily took the base (at 17 to 1) with minimal losses: 467 men, 22 guns and 5 tanks. The whole American expeditionary force (40th US Div, 26th and 102nd RCT, 112th Cav Rgt, 30th USA FA Rgt, HQ US I Corps and two Base Forces) surrendered. Allied losses were 56 276 men, 262 guns and 1 vehicle (+ 1250 troop points for Japanese score), and also two unserviceable aircraft (a P-39D and a B-26B) captured on the field. The base was totally wrecked (damage 100/100/36) but Japanese engineers began at once to repair it.
The days after the victory, Japanese MSW swept the Allied minefield off the base, some transports went to Lahaina to load a Const Bn and bring it to Hilo and Japanese troops received new orders. Two divisions (4th and 16th) will remain in Hawaii, mostly in Pearl, while the three other (2nd, 48th and 56th) all began to prepare for Auckland, New Zealand. The other troops (3 Naval Guard units, two ART units and two BF) will garrison Hilo, Kona and Lahaina. Tens of transport ships left PH on the 7 to move troops from Hilo to other islands in the archipelago.
More east, three of the five Japanese submarines patrolling off California were recalled to PH to refuel and do some repairs, while four other submarines with SYS damage 0 sailed from this base to replace them.
Southern Pacific
The aera was quiet, but things began to move on the 7th as the preparation of the New Zealand operation was started. Auxiliary ships (a MLE, an AR, an AS and an AD) in Pago-Pago left this base to sail to Suva. Twleve fast APs (3000- and 4500-ton) left the base for PH and 3 TK, 7 AK, 3 AP and 3 PC sailed to Japan to load fuel and supplies.
Solomons-New Guinea
Nothing to report
Timor-Amboina-Australia
The usual barge activity took place. Patrolling B-17E sank a barge off Lautem on the 4th and another off Aru Island on the 7th. Darwin Brewster 339D flew 18 sorties in 3 days against barges but without result.
On the 5th, the Allied airmen from Darwin restarted their attacks on Japanese bases after a pause of more than one week. 101 B-17E and 41 LB-30 attacked Amboina airfield, met no CAP, destroyed 2 Ki-46 on the ground, disabled 168 men and 5 guns and scored 6 hits on the airbase, 6 on supplies and 86 on the runways. The local Ki-46 Chutai left in the evening for Truk. One-ship TF continued to sail to and from Amboina and a small AK was bombed and hit on the 7th by a patrolling B-17E.
Given the lack of Allied activity, the Japanese local air commander began to plan a new attack on Australia, targeting the resources of Derby. Japanese engineers continued to work during these days and finished to repair the runways of Koepang. A fast transport TF of 3 CA, 2 CL and 2 DD left Kendari in the evening of the 5th and unloaded a new BF in Koepang during the night of the 6th-7th. The base now had 3200 supplies and 90 AS. Daily recon of Derby have shown that only 10-13 Kittyhawk (probably a single squadron) were flying CAP over the city.
Japanese engineers expanded the port of Soerabaja to size 9 on the 7th. The base will be used as a ML hub, and the first two MLs already there immediately began to lay minefields in the area (first will be off Bali). Another ML will arrive in some days from Balikpapan, and more from Japan in some weeks. Also the same days five submarines, one of them carrying a Glen, left Soerabaja to patrol off NW Australia (between Perth and India).
Another submarine, the RO-34, refuelled in Sorong and sailed to patrol off Thursday Island. A lonely 7000-ton AK was ordered to sail from Palau to Sorong with supplies to repair a part of the damaged oilfields there.
On the Allied side, engineers expanded the airfield of the Australian base of Wyndham to size 8.
Southern Ressource Area
The convoy leaving the area for Japan carried the following cargoes: 14 000 ressources from Batavia, 36 000 oil and 7 000 ressources from Soerabaja and 24 000 ressources from Kendari.
Burma
On the 4th, 48th Hurricanes from Imphal escorted by 19 P-40B attacked the 14th Tk Rgt in the jungle north of the railway and hit 29 men and 6 tanks. The same unit was attacked the next day by 22 Hurricanes escorted by 19 P-40B and lost 21 men and 1 gun but a Hurricane and a P-40 were lost in crashes. Then the last Japanese troops marched out of the jungle, except the 81st Naval Guard unit that will remain on the mountain SE of Imphal and keep an eye on Allied moves, and the raids stopped. The 21st Bde will march to Myitkyina, the 23rd to Mandalay and the three Tk Rgts will patrol the railway line.
Catalina I began to fly patrols reaching Rangoon and one was shot down on the 5th by an A6M2 ace.
On the 7th, Mandalay airfield was bombed by 30 Blenheim IV, 26 B-17E, 8 Wellington III and 7 Il-4c from Dacca, escorted by 38 P-40B. They only scored 20 hits (6 on airbase, 5 on supplies and 9 on runways) and missed all men and aircraft. Two P-40B collided and crashed in the target area.
The new Ki-44 Sentai arrived by train in Hanoi and began to reassemble its fighters. It will protect the base against Allied heavy bombers.
Allied engineers expanded the Imphal airfield to size 6.
Japanese recons reported on the 6th that there was no more CAP over Ledo (the Spitfire based here probably went to China) and 93 transport aircraft were counted on the airfield. This was confirmed the next day and in the evening of the 7th 27 A6M3 flew from Rangoon to Myitkyina and were ordered to sweep Ledo skies the next morning. The 56 Nells available in Rangoon will then bomb the airfield at 10 000 feet and blast as much as possible of the Allied transports.
Philippines
Troops continued to rest and recover in Manila.
China
On the morning of the 4th 39 Hurricanes from Sining and 26 Hurricanes and 10 P-40B from Lanchow were attacking the 6th and 35th Div near Lanchow, hitting 31 men and 5 guns, while Chinese artillery fire hit 29 men, 1 gun and 1 tank. But at the same time the new Japanese offensive in Northen China began, when 34 Ki-49 and 23 Ki-21 took off from Yenen to bomb Sining. They were joined by an escort of 48 Zeroes. During the flight 9 Ki-21s get lost and turned back. The rest of the formation reached the target and found 14 Hurricanes of 3 squadrons flying CAP. The Zeroes shot down 8 of them for two losses but were unable to stop them from reaching the bombers and two Ki-49s were also shot down. The other Japanese bombers bombed the airfield but only scored 2 runway hits. But the attack confused enough the Allied defenders that the transport aircraft arriving later suffered no loss and dropped more than 1000 men of the Yokosuka 1st, 2nd and 3rd SNLF on the airfield. They assaulted the Chinese Base Force holding the base and managed to achieve a 1 to 1 ratio, reducing the fort level from 6 to 5. 36 Japanese and 8 Chinese fell in the battle.
The Japanese Command was rather pleased with the result of the day and ordered for the next day the continuation of the air assault on Sining and a land offensive in Lanchow. There were two divisions (both with prep 60), 2 regiments of another Div, 2 Eng Rgt (with prep 100) and 2 Tk Rgt. But the day was not good.
In the morning, Yenen was closed by clouds and the ordered LRCAP over Sining was not flown, allowing 13 Hurricanes and 4 P-40B of Lanchow to bomb the Yokosuka 3rd SNLF there, hitting 7 men. In the afternoon 49 Ki-49 and 55 Zeroes flew from Yenen to attack the airfield of Sining. The goal of the operation was to open the way for the second wave of Japanese paratroopers. They met 18 Hurricane II and 14 P-40B flying CAP over the Chinese base and lost the battle. The Hurricanes shot down 12 Zeroes for 8 losses, the P-40B of the B squadron of the AVG destroyed 12 Zeroes and 2 Ki-49 for 4 losses. The bombers only scored one hit on the airbase, 1 on supplies and 2 on runways. Two more Zeroes were lost in operational accidents. And this time when the transports arrived Allied fighters attacked. 9 Zeroes were on LRCAP but were overwhelmed and the Allied pilots shot down 2 Zeroes, 2 MC-21, 1 Tina and 1 Tabby without loss. The Japanese transported anyway dropped 500-600 more men over the base and the shock attacks of the day reduced the fort level from 5 to 3 at the cost of 130 Japanese casualties, while the Chinese lost 13 men and 1 gun.
More south the Japanese troops attacking Lanchow had no air support and were bombed in the morning by 13 Hurricanes from the local airfield and lost 4 men and 1 gun. Their main problem was the lack of supplies, as they were too far away from Yenen to receive any, and their shock attack failed at 0 to 1. Even if 63 000 Japanese attacked 13 000 Chinese, the supply situation and the fort level of 7 were enough to repulse the assault. Casualties were 2094 men, 45 guns and 6 tanks on the Japanese side, and 252 men and 11 guns on the Chinese side.
In the evening a Zero Daitai was disbanded in Yenen due to the day’s losses. They were higher than planned but not unexpected. The failure in Lanchow was unexpected and left the Japanese Command in a bad situation. The main problem here was the lack of supply and the only way to get supply there was to take control of the northern road from Yenen to Sining but (given the home rule that each hex used to carry supplies should be held by at least 20 ASS points in China) that would need a lot of troops, that were not available immediately. The first troops (2 BF and 6 Const Bns) were ordered to march north from Yenen this evening and will be followed by other troops coming from other Chinese bases. As the air support in Yenen was reduced (another home rule: I ignore the 250 limit for AS), a Ki-21 Sentai and two transport units were transferred to Wuhan.
The offensive was stopped in Lanchow and now concentrated on Sining. Apparently Japanese paratroops should be able to take the airfield in some days and then reinforcements and supplies may be flown in. But Allied reinforcements should be stopped. A Chinese Corps was on the road between Sining and Lanchow and all available bombers in Yenen were ordered to bomb it to slow its march. The paradrop was stopped for one day.
On the 6th, the Allied CAP over Sining had been reinforced and recon reported 22 Hurricanes and 15 P-40B. This base was not attacked, but in the morning Yenen sent 112 unescorted bombers (71 Ki-48s, that had not the range to reach Sining and were not used before, and 41 Ki-49) to bomb the 69th Chinese Corps south of Sining. Two Hurricanes of 242 and 136 Sqn were in the target area and shot down 3 Lilies. The other bombers hit 67 men and 1 gun.
On the ground, the paratroops continue to launch shock attacks in Sining and again managed a 2 to 1 ratio, reducing forts to level 1. 54 Japanese and 47 Chinese fell. In Lanchow 127 Japanese men and 5 guns were hit by the Chinese artillery.
On the 7th, the Sining CAP was reinforced by 10 Spitfire Vb. The last part of a Yokosuka SNLF was paradropped on Sining by 12 Tabbies and 8 MC-21. They flew without escort and the CAP shot down 3 MC-21 and 1 Tabby. These reinforcements allowed the attack to continue and to reduce the fort to 0 (at 2 to 1). The Japanese lost 148 men and 4 guns, the Chinese 8 men and 1 gun. In Lanchow the Chinese artillery had another good day and hit 149 men, 8 guns and 1 tank.
During these four days, the frontline didn’t move in the nearby town of Kungchang, even if the Japanese command hesitated to launch a probe attack there. Japanese guns hit 132 men and 4 days.
In the south, the activity was reduced to Japanese artillery fire in Wuchow (142 men hit in 4 days) and to training missions from Canton against Chinese troops (45 Val sorties in 3 days, hitting 16 men). On the evening of the 6th, 18 Zeroes arrived from Japan to begin operational training here.
Tomorrow the Japanese paratroops will launch the final attack on Sining, hoping to strike before Chinese reinforcement arrive. Japanese airmen will continue to recover and won’t fly. The Allied air force has aerial superiority over the battlefield, for the first time of the war.
Japan
Several small convoys left Japan during these four days. One will bring 28 000 supplies to Suva, another 10 000 to PH, another 24 000 to SE Asia and the last and biggest one will bring 70 000 supplies to Suva too. Also 4 ML left Japanese ports and will sail to Java.
Two small Base Forces were formed in Tokyo and received orders to train for Wake Island and Luang Prabang. The idea of the last order is to provide a garrison to all bases in Indochina that may be reached by Allied paratroops from Burma or China.
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RE: 13-16 August 1942: not much to report - 
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