Schlussel
Posts: 384
Joined: 5/21/2007 From: Sacramento, California Status: offline
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Week 115: February 16th – February 22nd 1944 North Pacific: No IJN activity. Central Pacific: Allied offensive ops resume on Saipan on 2/17, the initial attack has minimal casualties on each side, but the forts are reduced from 3 to 1. The following day, the assault achieves a 3:1 result, and the island is captured…hurrah! Engineers have their work cut out for them, as all base facilities are at 100 damage. By the end of the week, the airfield is operational, but there is much work still to be done. Southern Pacific: No IJN activity. South-West Pacific: Allied forces make good progress in Celebes. Watampone and Kolaka get some support troops and ground forces advance towards their objectives. One goof on my part though, I forgot to have one of the armored units (766th tank battalion) follow the infantry heading to Makassar. What resulted was the tanks arrived at Makassar alone and got repulsed by the enemy (approx. 250AV). About 20 of the 60 Stuarts tanks got disabled. Luckily the unit retreated and was spared any further damage. Jolo remains a stalemate. The current plan is to blockade the sea approaches and continue with land/sea bombardments to draw down the enemy’s supply. Too many other (more important) ops are in motion, so reinforcement here will be delayed. Allied troops have a firm foothold and are well supplied, so the status quo is acceptable. Allied boots hit the ground at Tawi-Tawi and quickly take the island. First thing next week, support forces (AV support and engineers) will be unloaded to develop this base The last of the Japanese resistance outside Rabaul surrenders (or is annihilated) by the 1st Australian Brigade. The Rabaul campaign started on April 19th, 1943 with the Allied amphibious assault, and after months of tough fighting, the base was captured on June 11th, 1943, and the Japanese survivors (approx. 30K troops) retreated to the southwest. It took 8 more months to finally root out and destroy this pocket of resistance. SE Asia/China: The advance down the Malayan peninsula continues. The encircling movement is in motion. If this maneuver is successful, the 2nd Guards Division and 10+ support units will be encircled. The best part is, the enemy pocket will not hamper advancement or supply of units heading towards the main objective of Singapore. Oh, and keeping a whole division from retreating behind the Singapore fortress is welcomed as well. A British amphibious assault on northern Sumatra is in the works. A large enemy presence is detected at Sabang, so the assault will hit Langsa with 2 divisions (81st W. African & 11th E. African). One division will advance on Sabang, while the other will head south. In northern China, the Chinese maintain their defensive stance outside Kaoping, while an offensive opportunity looks to be developing in the Kaifeng area. Early in the week, the Japanese garrison at Kaifeng tries a deliberate attack, but they are surprised when about 1,000 AV arrives (doubling the Allied presence outside the city). The assault is repulsed with heavy casualties (415 squads destroyed). The Allies launch an attack of their own the next turn and send the Japanese fleeing to the southeast. If this advance can take Suchow, the central/southern parts of China will be cut off In southern China, Foochow is captured. To the West, approximately 2,600 AV arrived in Canton proper and began bombardments. They are currently facing 1,200 AV…almost certainly dug in behind level 9 forts. Canton and Hong Kong are already isolated from outside supply, so the goal will be to grind this down as much as possible. British infantry (and combat engineers) are inbound, and a general attack may be attempted once they arrive in Canton in about 2 weeks. Japanese pockets at Nanchang (18 units/113K troops) and west of Pucheng (3 units, 25K troops) continue to be worn down. IJN Watch: -No enemy capital ships sighted this week. Notable Base Captures: - Tsinkiang [China] captured by the Allies (2/16) - Siquijor [Philippines] occupied by the Allies (2/16) - Saipan [Marianas] captured by the Allies (2/18) - Kaifeng [China] captured by the Allies (2/19) - Foochow [China] captured by the Allies (2/19) - Pare Pare [Celebes] occupied by the Allied (2/21) - Damanquilas [Philippines] captured by the Allies (2/22) - Tawi-Tawi [Philippines] captured by the Allies (2/22) Campaign Overview: Aircraft Losses to date [change]: Allies: 9,095 [+93] Japanese: 26,332 [+160] Ship Losses to date [change]: Allies: 687 [+8] Notables: CV Enterprise, CV Victorious, CVE Copahee, CVE Corregidor, CVE Nassau, CVE St.Lo, 5 CA, 14 CL, 28 DD Japanese: 1,568 [+36] Notables: CV Akagi, CV Kaga, CV Hiryu, CV Hiyo, CV Junyo, CV Soryu, CV Shokaku, CV Zuikaku, CVL Shoho, CVL Ryuho, CVL Ryujo, CVL Zuiho, CVE Hosho, CVE Taiyo, BB Fuso, BB Haruna, BB Hiei, BB Kongo, BB Mutsu, BB Nagato, BB Yamato, 18 CA, 22 CL, 51 DD Army Losses to date [change]: Allies: 11,292 [+41] Japanese: 14,386 [+725] A/J Ratio: 0.78 to 1 VP Totals [change]: Allies: 74,740 [+1,630] Japanese: 34,308 [+122] A/J Ratio: 2.18 to 1 Operation Aperture: Phase 1: -Assault & Capture Guam [COMPLETE] -Assault & Capture Tinian [COMPLETE] -Assault & Capture Saipan [COMPLETE] Phase 2: -Assault & Capture Marcus [COMPLETE] Operation Chimera: Phase 1A: -Assault & Capture Cotabato [COMPLETE] -Secure Mindano [COMPLETE] Phase 1B: -Assault & Capture Balikpapan -Assault & Capture Jolo [IN PROGRESS - AV 515:421 Forts at 5] -Reinforce Brunei [IN PROGRESS - Forces en route from Rabaul] Phase 1C: -Assault & Capture Watampone [COMPLETE] -Assault & Capture Kolaka [COMPLETE] -Assault & Capture Makassar [IN PROGRESS – Forces marching overland from Watampone] -Assault & Capture Kendari [IN PROGRESS – Forces marching overland from Kolaka] Other Notes: -Sub picket lines in the South China Sea account for 7 ships this week [2-AK, 1-LST, 3-TK, 1-E] -In preparation of the upcoming Sumatra landings, the British CV fleet visits the Straits of Malacca and sinks 11-AKs near Langsa and Georgetown.
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You say we're surrounded? Excellent! That means we can attack in any direction.
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