LoBaron
Posts: 4776
Joined: 1/26/2003 From: Vienna, Austria Status: offline
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Mar 18, 43 Munda will fall. Thats for sure. The last of the support troops debarked at night Pre-Invasion action off Munda 38 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships LCT-139 LCT-140 LCT-141 Allied ground losses: 12 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled LCT-139 fired at enemy troops LCT-140 fired at enemy troops LCT-141 fired at enemy troops LCT-139 fired at enemy troops Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 5,000 yards Defensive Guns fire at approaching troops in landing craft at 2,000 yards Two small Betty attacks on the landing group were thwarted by LRCAP from Guadalcanal, with 4 bombers claimed on 16th and and another downed by AA on 17th. Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 10,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 30 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M3 Nell x 3 Allied aircraft P-38F Lightning x 6 P-40K Warhawk x 6 F4F-3 Wildcat x 4 F4U-1 Corsair x 3 Japanese aircraft losses G3M3 Nell: 2 destroyed On 17th the CAP was out of position to intercept, but Nashville claimed an AAA kill. Severe storms made the attack run next to hopeless for the 3 bombers. Afternoon Air attack on TF, near Munda at 111,134 Weather in hex: Severe storms Raid detected at 120 NM, estimated altitude 14,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 45 minutes Japanese aircraft G3M3 Nell x 3 Allied aircraft P-38F Lightning x 6 P-40K Warhawk x 6 F4F-3 Wildcat x 4 F4U-1 Corsair x 3 Japanese aircraft losses G3M3 Nell: 1 destroyed Allied Ships CL Nashville Mike really should have attacked all out or not at all. Not that I have many high value assets involved, Nashville is the flagship of the op. Clean and fast, invasion is already on the return leg to Noumea. At night of 16th the Marines made a first move to test the Japanese defenses. Losses were low and it seems the bombing raids of the last days plus the long exposure to Malaria will make the task easier. Got a (-)fatigue against the defenders. And a (-) on prep?! Weird. Ground combat at Munda (111,134) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 3155 troops, 92 guns, 12 vehicles, Assault Value = 143 Defending force 1566 troops, 24 guns, 2 vehicles, Assault Value = 67 Allied engineers reduce fortifications to 4 Allied adjusted assault: 63 Japanese adjusted defense: 91 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 (fort level 4) Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+), forts(+), preparation(-), fatigue(-) Attacker: leaders(-) Japanese ground losses: 175 casualties reported Squads: 2 destroyed, 6 disabled Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 89 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 5 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 7 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Assaulting units: 6th Marine Regiment Defending units: Maizuru 1st SNLF 42nd Nav Gd /1 Another deliberate attack was ordered tonight. No need for shock, no way an exhausted SNLF and part of the 42nd Nav Gd can hold out for long, so I can conserve forces and reuse the Marines soon. Other news is we bagged an AK in the East China Sea, SS Whale was hit by the escorts and will retreat to Pearl for repairs. A Japanese SS killed an AK close to Perth, currently thats a dangerous area IMO. And Robs CI defense starts to work, the strong AA unit there is getting in shape. Estimated loss was 10 Helens shot down by flak over the last 2 days.
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