Cribtop -> RE: Wait, I can't read Cuttlefish's new AAR? - Cribtop (J) vs CF (A) (7/20/2011 7:49:28 PM)
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March 12, 1942 A painful day for the Sons of Nippon, but not a fatal one by any means. Subs I-17 misses a DD near Pearl Harbor. Odd as this appeared to be a one ship TF, i.e. neither ASW nor a convoy. Escorts of Celebes Sea Squadron DC a Dutch sub as our ships move from Balikpapan to Kendari in preparation for Operation WD. Once again CF gets good intel. A Nell from Denpasar reports a hit on a sub that has been lurking near that base. 4th Fleet Abemama invaded and taken by DBCL forces. We will soon be operating search planes out of TB, a harbinger of a more forceful IJNAF presence. SE Fleet We continue three separate DBCL TFs in operation, today seizing Hansa Bay. Three construction engineers load at Rabaul for Tulagi. 14th Army No change. 16th Army Pickets launch to safeguard the invasions of NW Oz and Java. Cribtop Intel doubts the enemy CVs are nearby, but that is just gut feeling. Plenty of time has elapsed for them to be anywhere by now. Of course, the same is true of MKB. The Operation WD force will load tomorrow at Kendari. Nells out of Timor, now torp enabled, spot but fail to attack a three ship TF that appears to be running supplies or troops to Darwin. If the enemy continues on course the Nells and an I-boat should have something to say in the matter. Denpasar is now fully supplied and we order sweeps of Madieon tomorrow. With recon all over the island and air attacks on the eastern half, we hope to confuse CF as to the ultimate targets at Palembang and Kalidjati. 25th Army The Palembang invasion loads at Singapore, which is now amply supplied with fuel and assault shipping. The first of two headaches today is that Soryu collides with DD Oshio as MKB sails to cover the attack and to suppress Batavia. Oshio will retire to Saigon for repairs. Soryu has 14 major flotation damage but no SYS damage and can still make 29 knots, so she will proceed for now. Very frustrating. We had upped ASW coverage to the max with 12 DDs in each Car Div, but split a few off from each TF as Cribtop HQ is concerned that TF size played a factor in the collision. Anyone know when you cross the line on TF size? We have plastered Palembang's airfield but plan to let up for a day or two to try to divert CF's attention. Estimate an attack by MKB on Batavia's full aerodrome within 48 hours and invasion timed to coincide. 15th Army Both sides bomb Akyab but the Allies do not attack again. We appear to be able to fly in about 8 AS per day plus support troops, so the window is closing unless CF can scrape together reinforcements. 33rd Division is over the river and marching on Schwebo, which is held by a tiny rearguard. Imperial Guards Division is back to 100% strength and rails out from Singapore tomorrow, transferring to 15th Army AO. Will the Brits try to stand at Katha or Myitkyina or are they falling all the way back to India? We will soon find out. Air recon indicates Katha empty and only 1 LCU at Myitkyina, so we assume the latter. Rangoon makes level 5 port. China Most AARs contain an ambush of the IJAAF in China at some point. Today is the day for this war. CF jumped the entire AVG to Sian and gets 42 planes in the air to oppose our daily airfield raid. Our 30 escorting Nates only allow one bomber to die on the way in, but the post air attack combat, plus a straggling group of 12 unescorted Lilys, ratchets the butcher's bill up. Total losses per the Intel screen are 49:2 against us for the day. Fortunately the reality is not that bad as we appear to have lost 26 aircraft of all types, with about 17 pilots killed or wounded. Ugly but not fatal. This effort tells Cribtop HQ two things about CF and one about Sian. First, CF places high importance on holding Sian. Second, by shifting AVG to China after initial efforts to defend Rangoon, our esteemed opponent arguably continues to follow a historical strategy. Regarding Sian, it unfortunately appears that the enemy had enough supply in the base to get a good number of fighters in the air, which bodes ill for a quick end to the siege. 5th Fleet Semisopochni Island occupied by rowboat. And I thought Dutch names were hard to spell.
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