John 3rd
Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
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Combat Report
February 12-28, 1944
Overview:
I have not done a comprehensive region-by-region update of the Japanese Empire in ages so I have decided to do exactly that with this AAR update. It is my intention to narrate events in each theatre, state major forces in the theatre, and plans for the future.
The action is centering around Sumatra and Malaya. I have concentrated nearly the entire Japanese Fleet there and have given battle to the British Eastern Fleet. There have been good results for the effort but things hang in the balance.
Dan gets a massive convoy through the Pacific and he is now free to do anything he wants at Sakhalin. I couldn’t give battle because the Fleet would have been lost for no real chance of success. The next Allied attack in the Pacific will meet strictly LBA and ground units. With this being the reality, I have moved troops to reinforce Okinawa and Formosa. Neither target will be easy for the Americans to take.
When this event appears to be happening I will initiate the Divine Wind with everything I can…
It should be simply stated that the war is already over. When Dan gets B-29s he can place them at Iwo Jima and Sakhalin and pound my industry into dust. Conversely, if I lose much more of Sumatra/Malaya, my major resource centers will be in deep trouble. I’ve opted to fight for the resource centers…
North Pacific
I still hold Dutch Harbor, Umnak, Kodiak, Amchitka, and Attu. There are minimal ground forces present. I still fly recon out of these bases to watch Allied convoys but that is about it. There are about 20-30 Transports at Dutch Harbor ferrying a Brigade to Amchatka where it is then flown to Paramushiro Jima.
These bases will fall if Dan wants them. Once that Brigade is flown out then I will shift to Base Forces and Aviation units.
Central Pacific
I have strong garrisons at Wake, Marcus, the Marianas, and Kwajalein. These bases are still decently supplied I can move aircraft between them without issue. There are aerial recon units at Wake and Marcus plus a few bombers.
The 20th Infantry Division at Kwajalein has begun prepping for an invasion of Rarotonga.
I am gathering shipping at that base for the move southwards.
South Pacific
Over the last 4-6 weeks I have been moving supplies and fuel to Truk, Rabaul, Lunga and Suva. Dan has initiated a number of small—CHEAP—landings in this area and I have moved by 4 CVE into the area to cause some chaos. Traveling with the CVEs is 1 CA, 2 CL, and 5 DD. A small STF of 1 CL and 5 DD has arrived at Rabaul and is now headed to Noumea.
Dan landed at Shortlands (2/12), Buin (2/16), and Espiritu Santo (2/08). He took the first two bases because nothing was defending them. ES had enough troops to hold off the Allied attack. I moved 2 Daitai of Betty 2 and a Daitai of Frances into the area and they raised a little Hell. As that occurred my CVEs moved into the area and added to the excitement.
I pick-up troops and move them onto each target. I recapture Shortlands (2/17), Buin (2/19), and resistance ends at ES (2/19). I take a total of 2,800 POW from the 40th Infantry Division and about 600 POW from a Tank Battalion. While this is happening I manage to sink about 10 AK/AP and damage another 8-10 ships during the fighting.
My CVEs are moving SW from Suva right now hunting Allied shipping that departed from Rarotonga. The CVEs carry about 120 planes of very good quality pilots who can do some good work if given the opportunity. This force will support the 20th Inf Division when it lands at Rarotonga.
Dan reinforced his little garrison there with an Engineer unit. I have 1 Daitai of Betty 2 bombing the AF and another Daitai of Frances set to Naval Attack operating from the Society Islands. Since I am keeping the Forts from being built by my AF attacks, I HOPE to take the island back, force the surrender of about 6,000 US Troops and then retire the 20th ID back to Kwajalein. Don’t know if it will work by WHY NOT!
Australia
Dan continues a relentless drive pushing the Japanese towards the NW Coast. Currently I hold Tennant Creek but have lost Perth and all the cities in western Australia. I was greatly stressed because the 56th Brigade was hung up one hex SE of Tennant Creek and I feared that it would be cutoff by the Aussies retaking Tennant Creek.
Thankfully, the Brigade made it to Tennant Creek so I could pull my troops out. I had ordered all units out about February 15th with the exception the 10th and 18th (??) Infantry Divisions. There are nearly 40 Aussie units pursuing me and I am RUNNING to Darwin as fast as possible.
As quickly as troops reach Darwin they are being lifted off and sent to Amboina, Lautem, Koepang, Dili Dili, and Kendari. Engineers have been digging in each location since November 1943 and Forts are in very good shape. My last convoys from Perth delivered 20,000 supply to Koepang and 15,000 supply to Lautem.
I’ve ordered more supplies and some minor units (Con Bat and small Base Force) from Okinawa and Formosa to strengthen my lines by landing at Makassar, Bali, Menado, and Balikpapan. Prior Proper Planning is the rule-of-thumb here.
Combat units from Australia will be divided in the following manner:
1. Amboina—56th Inf Brigade, 2 SNLF, an Artillery Regiment, and an Engineering Regiment.
2. Lautem—an Infantry Division and an Artillery Regiment
3. Koepang—An Infantry Division and an Artillery Regiment
4. Dili-Dili—Army HQ and several minor units
5. Kendari—A new Infantry Brigade from Japan, an Artillery Regiment, and an Aviation Regiment.
Aerial Units:
1. Tennant Creek—48 Army Fighters and 63 Helens
2. Amboina—3 full Sentai (108 planes) of Army Fighters and 40 CV Torpedo Bombers training on a lost Allied ground unit.
Malaya/Sumatra/Indochina
The situation here is grave for the Japanese. I’ll recap by area:
1. Hanoi has fallen to the Chinese Hordes. I have 100,000 troops trapped at Haiphong where they have managed to hold off nearly 3 times their number. Dan isn’t attacking the AF so I have managed to fly out (using about 60 Transports) significant portions of all the units there. The road south from Hanoi is being held by 3 beat-up Inf Div and an Artillery Regiment. Engineers are digging in at each of the Vietnamese towns going south to Saigon.
2. All of eastern Sumatra from Sabang to Bankha is gone. Dan is moving troops around but there is no road from here to Palembang so it is a dead-end for the Allies.
3. The Allies landed at Padang near the start of the month and took this town. They have it but I have managed to take control of the air and have been hitting the base with LBA every few days. I transferred two full strength Infantry Brigades to Benkolen and linked them up to another 6 units I pulled from Perth when I evacuated it 8 weeks ago. An Army HQ is here and there are the 2 Inf Brig, an Armored Regiment, and several smaller Infantry units. These troops are advancing along the western coast of Sumatra.
4. The Invasion of Malacca—the Allies land here on February 24th. I will wager that Dan didn’t have his troops prepped for here because they have no offensive punch. When he began landing I was certain that the base would fall immediately because I only had an AS of about 125 and Forts were only at ONE! Luckily I had nearly 800 AS of strength at Kuala Lumpur. Those troops got to Malacca on the 25th! Their timely arrival enabled me to barely hold the town. More troops have arrived in the following 4 days and I now have enough to—hopefully—hold the city.
I say this due to the massive effort put forth by Japanese LBA and Carrier Aviation as well as the damaged BB Yamato. The 24th to 28th sees a massive aerial struggle over the area as repeated waves of Japanese Fighters and Bombers fight to attack the massed Allied Task Forces. In the middle of that is a BRILLIANT attack by my STF! I’ll detail each day:
Febraury 24th
A total of 3 Japanese Strikes hit the Allied Fleet: 230 Fighters, 60 Betty/Frances, 65 Dive Bombers, and 92 Torpedo Bombers fight it out with an Allied CAP of 70+ Fighters. At the end of the day the Japanese lose a staggering 121 F, 44 DB, 64 TB, and 6 Betty/Frances in exchange for a respectable 77 Allied Fighters.
The bombers do get through each strike and hit the following ships:
CA Exeter 4 B—1 TT
CL Kenya 2 TT
CL DeRuyter 3 B
2 DD are hit
3 AP—2 AK
It is a costly day but it sets up a major victory for the 25th. Adm. Tanaka Raizo ordered anchors lifted for BB Yamato, 3 CA, 1 CL, 9 DD to sortie for Malacca at full speed…
February 25th
The damage done to the Allied STF leads the British to withdraw their STF to Bankha. The transports at Malacca are totally exposed for the Japanese attack! Tanaka’s TF engages two of the Allied Invasion Forces and do massive damage. It becomes a 1944 version of the Battle of Balikpapan. Facing minor opposition the Japanese drive Allied shipping from the beaches and manage to sink: DDs Napier and Vendetta, a MSW, an AP, and 9 AK while inflicting damage on at least 11 more AP/AK. Nearly 1,100 Allied soldiers are killed during the attack. With no damage done to his force, Tanaka returns to Singapore to reprovision.
Japanese planes elect to attack the remaining Allied Surface ships at Bankha. A force of only 25 Allied Fighters defend these ships as the Japanese attack with 140 F, 59 Betty/Frances, 88 TB, 36 DB! When the attack waves leave, they see the following sight:
BC Renown SUNK after 8 TT hits!
CA Cornwall 2 TT
CL Enterprise 2 TT
3 DD Damaged
Naturally about 60 Japanese planes attacked Renown AFTER she sank! If they had diverted the victory would have even been better. Oh, well…
While that force struck from Singapore, bombers from Palembang went after the transports forced away from Malacaa by Tanaka’s attack. Another 2 MSW, 2 AP, and 6 AK are hit by the bombers.
Total aerial losses for the day are: 59 F, 6 Betty/Frances, and 4 TB. The Allies lose 33 Fighters.
The Allied Force launches a Deliberate Attack and NEARLY get a 2-1 (737 to 1471). Instead it falls as a 1-1 and I HOLD the town. Reinforcements are moving to this location as fast as they can march.
Nagasaki, Japan A freshly repaired STF of BB Ise/Hyuga, 1 CA, 2 CL, and 8 DD depart for Singapore.
February 26th
The landings at Malacca are done as the Invasion TFs move back to Bankha. Continuing the attack, four separate waves of Japanese planes hit Bankha. Allied CAP is around 40 Fighters with each attack. By the end of the day, the Japanese lose 126 Fighters and 23 TB in exchange for 46 Allied Fighters. While this brawl occurs, numerous bombers attack the TF. A total of 1 MSW, 3 AP, and 11 AK are hit.
The Allies try another Deliberate Attack and are stomped with a 0-1 result (1509—583). The town holds again.
From AF throughout China 400 Japanese Fighters and 200 Helens/Betty fly to Formosa to change out their planes and then head for Singapore and Palembang.
Having lost 50% of their strength, the Japanese CV raise anchors at Singapore and retire towards Soerabaja for fuel and planes replacements. 6 CV and 6 CVL are escorted with a minimal complement of 8 DD.
Admiral Tanaka weighs anchor for a bombardment attack.
February 27th
No Allied opposition materializes as BB Yamato, 3 CA, 1 CL, and 9 DD bombard Allied positions at Malacca. Though disappointing, the bombardment yields 1,372 Casualties and 39 Guns.
A day of respite as I rotate my Fighters and Bombers between Palembang, Singapore, Batavia, and Soerabaja.
February 28th
With no CAP over Malacca, nearly 200 LB Bombers hit Allied positions causing over 400 casualties.
BB Warspite is spotted at Bankha.
Tanaka raises anchor to hit the beachhead again though this time two TF are sent. BB Yamato, 3 CA, 1 CL, 7 DD are to bombard and 3 CA, 2 CL, and 8 DD sweep ahead as escorts…
As the clock strikes midnight and we move into March 1944, the Allies are socked with a 2600 Political Point penalty for not withdrawing a CV and 2 DD. That has got to hurt…
Malacca Situation:
The forces at Malacca as of February 28th are:
Allies: 3 China Corps, 5 Art Regiments, 1 Indian Div, 1 Indian TK Brigade, the 2nd and 18th UK Inf Div, and 33rd Corps HQ. Not all of these units were fully unloaded so there are fragments. My cursor tells me that there are about 50,000 troops ashore.
Japan: 2 Inf Div, 3 Regiments/Brigades, 2 Engineering Reg, 1 Aviation Reg, and 2 small BF. I have another Inf Div, 2 Brigades, 1 TK Reg, and 4 Engineering units due to arrive over the next day or two. My Fort level is zero but is climbing at a rate of 8-10% per day.
China
I am quietly moving troops back into southern China. Dan has moved so damned many Chinese troops into Hanoi/Haiphong, Sumatra, and Malaya; I think I may try a serious offensive down here. I am not too excited at the prospects but will see what happens.
As stated, I pull about 40% of the aircraft based in China training missions to Formosa. There are still about 500 Fighters and 200 Bombers in theatre. I have to be careful since Dan has started basing fighters in China to slow my training program. With him losing so many fighters in the actions of the last week I hope to see some of these units move back to Burma and Sumatra.
Home Islands
I have a bunch of reinforcements arriving right now and feel pretty good about troops strength within Japan. After his taking of Hokkaido and Sakhalin, I feared another attack on the mainland because I was quite vulnerable. With Hokkaido back in my hands, I have dispersed the troops around Japan for protective measure and everything looks pretty good.
I have about 700 Fighters flying CAP throughout the Home Isles. There are periodic raids from Iwo Jima and Sakhalin by Liberators but I tend to shot a decent number down. This is good but I know it won’t last when the B-29s arrive.
The Home Islands landed a huge convoy last month of nearly 400,000 oil and 150,000 resources. An additional convoy of nearly the same amounts is getting ready to sortie from Brunei in about 4-5 days.
Summation
While things are grim and will only get worse, I am happy to know that at this late juncture I am still inflicting massed harm on the Allied Fleet. I copied from my Industrial Report and current sinkings list for last month and game-to-date:
Ships Sunk
Japan 738—7,671 VP (up 739)—I lost 69 ships and 13 barges during February. For the most part, the losses remain in are of support shipping. These were my losses: 20 AK, 18 AP, 9 MSW, 9 PC, 1 AR, 2 PT, 6 DD, CV Katsuragi and 3 SS.
Major Japanese Vessels Sunk to Date---CV Junyo, Hiyo, Hiryu, and Katsuragi, BB Fuso, Yamashiro, Mutsu, Nagato, and Musashi, BC Kirishima and Haruna, 5 CA , 12 CL, 94 DD, and 39 SS.
Allies 1,174---13,525 VP (up 828)---Dan lost 71 ships for the month of February. Exact Losses are: 48 AK, 7 AP, 4 MSW, 1 PG, 1 TK, 1 LCT, 5 DD, 3 SS, and BC Renown
Major Allied Vessels Sunk---CVs Enterprise, Lexington, Hornet, Wasp and Intrepid, CVL Langley, 5 CVE, BBs Colorado, West Virginia, Idaho, Tennessee, Arizona, Prince of Wales, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Mississippi, BC Renown, 15 CA, 8 CL, 71 DD, and 44 SS.
Japanese Navy
CV—My Carriers are operational but I just took heavy losses in the actions around Singapore. There are about 75 Zeros and 150 TB/DB in Japan that are moving south to re-equip my carriers.
I have the following CVs around Java: Shokaku, Zuikaku, Taiho, Amagi, Kaga, and Akagi. CVLs/CVE there are: Ryuho, Ryujo, Shoho, Zuiho, Chitose, and Hosho. There are 4 CVEs operating southwest of Suva. CV Unryu is nearly repaired at Nagasaki and will head SE towards Suva. CV Soryu is heavily damaged but being repaired in Kyoto.
I should note that 3 CV and a CVL will be finished in Tokyo about July 1st.
BB--My Battlefleet has been mauled and I have only a few operational BBs. Ise/Hyuga are fully repaired while Yamato is operating against the British with SYS Dam of 25. My remaining BC are all under serious repair in the Home Islands.
CA/CL—I have a decent number of cruisers operational at the moment. The majority are around Singapore. I have a CA and 3 CL with my CVEs. There are 3 CA and 2 CL under repair in the Home Islands.
DD—I’ve taken crippling losses in DDs. Since I have concentrated the Fleet, the DD situation isn’t too bad. There are about 25 DD around Singapore and 10 DD with the CVEs. About 12-15 DD are being repaired in the Home Islands. I will have about 8-10 new DDs finished within the next 1-2 months.
SS—Nearly 2/3 of my SS are being repaired at Tokyo and/or Sendai. I’ve ordered about half-a-dozen to Singapore with a like amount near Suva.
AK/AK/TK/AO—My merchant fleet has taken significant losses in the last several months but I still have plenty of lift and carrying capacity for the moment. I currently have a large amount of AK/TK/AO moving fuel and supplies from Japan to the DEI, Truk, Rabaul, and Suva.
THAT is the whole story. Does anyone have any questions? I will welcome any advice too…
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RE: February 1944 Production and VP - 
There is a new version of Tracker coming out shortly, I hope ... it has some interesting new features. 
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