ADavidB -> The Asiatic Fleet Strikes Back!... (5/6/2006 6:18:35 PM)
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December 8, 1941 - The Blitzkrieg continued as Yank pressed everywhere possible at the same time. But Allied counter attacks did catch some of the Japanese attacks off guard. S-36 tried attacking ships at Vigan, but was sunk for its efforts. However, Seadragon followed and sank an AP in daylight with torpedoes and gunfire: Sub attack near Vigan at 44, 49 Japanese Ships AP Palao Maru, Shell hits 4, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage Allied Ships SS Seadragon, hits 1 Japanese ground losses: 133 casualties reported That's the first time I remember seeing a US sub do a surface attack. The Asiatic Fleet continued in action with an interception at Jolo by Houston: Night Time Surface Combat, near Jolo at 38, 59 Japanese Ships MSW Banshu Maru #52 MSW Banshu Maru #56, Shell hits 5, and is sunk AP Tsuyama Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire AP Ueizuru Maru, Shell hits 7, and is sunk AP Unkai Maru #6, Shell hits 2 Allied Ships CA Houston, Shell hits 2 That's quite good; I don't think that any US surface ships have sunk an enemy ship in action in my game against Treespider. And some of the US 4-Stackers came through at the landings at Tawi Tawi too: Night Time Surface Combat, near Tawi Tawi at 38, 60 Japanese Ships AP Hakka Maru, Shell hits 3, on fire AP Hakusika Maru, Shell hits 3 Allied Ships DD Alden DD Edsall DD John D. Edwards DD Whipple I'm trying to group the remnants of the Asiatic Fleet at Cagayan then move them out because there is no place for them to rearm. The Brits and Dutch air units tried attacking various Japanese TFs with the usual Allied lack of early success except for some Swordfish pilots who hit an AK and an AP off of Khota Bharu; so much for the efforts of the Allies. Now for the "real" action - the ongoing grab of everything in sight by Yank. Troops continued landing at Guam, Aparri, Lamon Bay, Khota Bharu, Vigan, Brunei, Kuching, Jolo and Tawi Tawi. Multiple TFs were offloading troops at each target, suggesting that Yank was trying to get base forces in along with the combat troops. In addition, troops started to land at Butuan, Davao and Rabaul. Japanese bombardment TFs hit many of the bases that were being invaded, even if the TF only consisted of a CL and a couple of DDs. Allied coastal guns didn't do much damage in return. In the air war, Yank committed his LBA to airfield attacks, particularly big attacks on Singapore and Clark. Surprisingly, the Singapore attack didn't do particularly well. I was also surprised because Zeros from the withdrawing KB hit the air field at Pearl again, causing more damage. Japanese naval attacks were limited to the Kates and Claudes from the Ryujo and the two CVEs in the Philippines. They were fairly ineffective against my combat ships, particularly when some P-26s provided LR CAP. However, the carrier planes took care of the poor old Langley and damaged an AO. Japanese surface combat was more successful as a TF with two BBs caught and sank one after another: the damaged AO, an MSW, another MSW, a TK and then another TK. The Japanese TF used a lot of shells and it appears that it also ran out of torpedoes because in each attack most if not all of the ships fired. The TKs, in particular, were tough to sink. I'm hoping that the Japanese TF now needs to go back for ammo. When all that was done the Japanese ended up taking Lamon Bay, Wewak, Guam, Brunei, Jolo, Tawi Tawi, Vigan and Kuching. Hong Kong withstood a shock attack as Yank brought a number of artillery units in along with the combat units. Japanese planes fly reconnaissance missions over dozens of targets. And things were reasonably quiet in China, in comparison to Treespider's immediate moves there. So, all-in-all, Yank has advanced the Japanese time table several weeks and still has some good chances to enjoy a "shooting gallery" in the Philippines. Dave Baranyi
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