RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.)

RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (Full Version)

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dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/5/2005 9:03:11 AM)
25 Sep 42 The Searaven shot up a freighter out of Canton. Her torpedoes missed a second ship. The S-18 was fired upon by a freighter north of Rabaul. That quickly stopped when the first of two torpedoes set off what must have been munitions on board the ship. An ASW group in the Solomons Sea found an enemy sub. They do not believe it could have survived the depth charge attack. Bad weather kept the nightfighters grounded at Moulmein. The Chinese bombers did minor damage to Hong Kong. One B-24 was lost to flak over Kompong Trach. The remaining twenty-six bombed the airfield and port, hitting a patrol boat and a transport. Twenty-two B-17s bombed the airfield at Johore Bahru. Twenty-five bombed Bankha. Three enemy aircraft were destroyed on Kwajalein by thirty-one B-17s while they did heavy damage to the airfield. The airbase and port at Rabaul were bombed, further damaging the transport in harbor. The heavy air support for the attack on Tavoy continues. The Japs on Shortlands are running out of places to hide from the Airacobras, Mitchells and Marauders hunting them and suffered heavy losses. A freighter near Davao was hit by the T.IVs. We lost a F-5A recon plane over Tarakan. Intelligence reports that a Japanese tanker sank at Canton. Two pairs of Bettys tried to attack shipping at Shortlands. Wildcats shot three down and the fourth ran away. Two sections of Beauforts bombed Singapore. More rubble was bounced at Pontianak. The Chinese launched a bloody all-out attack on Canton. Casualties are reported at 5400 with estimated enemy losses at 1600. They may have been better off with the slow methodical attack they had going earlier. Forces at Tavoy shelled the base while making final preparations to attack. On Shortlands two more enemy formations were destroyed. One of them while it was making a suicidal charge against the Marines. Apparently the damage to the base was not as severe as first reported. The engineers attached to the Marine divisions have completed repairs before the RAF were able to arrive. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 26 Sep 42 The S-28 spotted a burning freighter north of Rabaul. The Porpoise missed a transport near Saigon. A second attack on another transport drew a response by a large number of small ASW ships, but the sub was able to escape. The Finback avoided a patrol boat off Honshu Island. The Perch hit an escorted tanker near Brunei. 27 Squadron has moved to Moulmein and begun a campaign of night bombings at Bangkok. Three sections of B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Singapore was bombed by twenty-nine B-17s, causing heavy damage among the storage facilities of the port. Another nineteen bombed Bankha. Twenty-four Forts bombed Kwajalein, destroying several more enemy aircraft. Forty-one B-17s bombed Rabaul, hammering the airstrip. Hurricanes attacked Japanese troops at Tavoy. Medium bombers and fighter-bombers attacked the Japanese trapped on Shortlands. A freighter was hit just outside Davao. One of two Bettys attacking the ship unloading at Shortlands was shot down by the Wildcats. The survivor dropped its bombs and ran. Two sections of Beauforts added a few craters to the runways at Singapore. We continue to blast away at Pontianak. RADM Shafroth's battleships of TF1035, the California, Nevada and Maryland, returned to Eniwetok and shelled it again. The destroyer Preston took a hit and is now dealing with a small fire, but that was the extent of the enemy's response. The Chinese continued their high-intensity attack on Canton but casualties are high, more than 6600. They estimate only a thousand enemy losses. This new strategy doesn't appear to be working. We began reducing the enemy's defenses at Tavoy. Despite our identifying at least four divisions among the defenders plus a dozen supporting units, their numbers appear to be less than 40,000 active troops. It appears that these Japs are pretty beat up. The Marines are reporting the end of organized resistance on Shortlands, overrunning the last part of the island under Japanese control. I've made a decision regarding Sub Command. Ever since we retook Wake we have been using it as one of our main submarine bases. But even with three sub tenders there the facilities of the island are just not up to handling the routine repairs and refits our subs need. So we'll leave one of the tenders here, pull the other two back to Pearl and operate our subs from Hawaii. They can use Wake as a refueling stop to extend their time on station. Hopefully the faster refit and maintenance cycle can make up for the longer sailing time to their patrol zones. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 27 Sep 42 A Jap sub took a shot at the transport carrying the No 114 RAF Engineers as it was approaching Shortlands. Fortunately the torpedoes missed. The Blenheim IFs bombed the resources at Bangkok. The battleships shelled Eniwetok again. This time the destroyer Monaghan took a single hit. Chengting was bombed. The Chinese at Yenen lost one I-16 defending against a raid. But they shot down two Nates and all six of the Sonias. A dozen Forts bombed Johore Bahru. Forty-three bombed Singapore, hitting the harbor, warehouses and raw material plants. They also report three hits on a cruiser docked. Forty-two B-17s bombed Eniwetok, concentrating on the port and supply dumps. Another forty-one B-17s bombed Rabaul, cratering the runways and hitting a freighter in port. Chinese bombers and AVG P-40s bombed Japanese troops at Canton. Beauforts continue to add their payloads to damaging the airbase at Singapore and disrupt the engineers trying to repair it. More rubble was moved around the port at Pontianak. The Chinese have shifted back to the slower more methodical approach at Canton, immediately doing much better. 1700 Allied casualties vs. 1300 to 1400 Japanese. The Japanese defenses at Tavoy continue to be ground down by the British lead forces. I swear sometimes, the Fates delight in driving us mortals insane. Intelligence passed on a report that the tanker Tarakan Maru sank at Tarakan today. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/6/2005 10:56:51 AM)
28 Sep 42 The Tuna made a close nighttime surface attack on a small freighter near Shanghai, hitting multiple times with both her deck gun and her 20mm anit-aircraft guns. The Porpoise survived a depth charge attack by a large number of IJN destroyers outside Saigon. The S-41 made a sunset surface attack on a tanker outside Davao, but took some damage when the ship hit her with a round from their own gun. She did leave the tanker ablaze before leaving. 27 Squadron's attack on Bangkok doesn't appear to have done much tonight. The battleships continue to shell Eniwetok. The Maryland had one enemy round bounce off her deck but that was all. Many of the SB-2 bombers attacking Chengting were damaged by flak today. A large secondary explosion is reported on board the Akagi after a section of IL-4s hit the carrier in Hong Kong. The AVG pilots at Changsha shot down three Tojos but didn't get to the bombers in time. Around a dozen each of B-24s bombed Saigon, Kompong Trach and Bangkok. At Kompong Trach they hit a destroyer and a freighter in port. One bomber was damaged over Bangkok when a dozen improved Zeroes briefly engaged the raid. Two sections of B-17s bombed Johore Bahru, destroying a couple of enemy fighters. Thirty-six B-17s bombed Singapore's port. Forty-five heavies hit Eniwetok. Thirty-six Forts attacked Kwajalein, destroying four planes on the ground and heavily damaging the airfield. One Wellington was shot down over Tavoy as the bombers out of Rangoon continue bombing enemy forces there. They can't hit the broadside of a major island, but a moving ship is no problem. The Aussie B-25s have been shifted to Menado, where they joined a strike on a convoy south of Mindanao and performed very well. One minesweeper was sunk, a second damaged, a destroyer hit and five bombs hit a freighter. T.IVs scored a pair of hits on a freighter at Davao. A section of Beauforts hit another to the south. Two sections of Beauforts attacked Singapore. Slow and methodical is definitely the way for the Chinese to go. Losses were down to 1800 today with estimated enemy losses at 1300. In Burma we have recaptured Tavoy. Despite the fighting the base fell with effectively no damage. It is tempting to have the troops continue pushing south, aiming for Bangkok or Victoria Point, but I'm not sure that is a good idea yet despite the enemy's apparent weak position. The UK 18th Division needs to pull back and make up losses and the rest of the troops need at least a couple days rest. The Indian 5th Division should arrive at Rahaeng in a day or two. Maybe they can spearhead a drive south along the rail line towards Bangkok. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 29 Sep 42 The Kingfish spotted a heavily damaged freighter a few hundred miles west of Saipan. The O23 missed a tanker in the Celebes Sea. Blenheims bombed Bangkok during the night. Another night was spent bombarding Eniwetok by the battleships. Chengting took some more hits to its airfield from Chinese bombers. The IL-4 bombers claimed three more hits on the Akagi, reporting that the carrier was heavily engulfed in flames. Nine B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Twenty-eight bombed Singapore, reporting multiple hits on a Japanese cruiser newly docked. Thirty-three B-17s bombed Kwajalein, doing heavy damage to the air base. SB-2s and P-40s attacked Japanese forces at Canton. Today's count in the Celebes is two freighters, a minesweeper and a burning destroyer hit. We also have a report of a freighter sinking south of Mindanao. Beauforts missed a pair of cruisers outside Singapore. The enemy is apparently making a naval response to our recent advances in Burma. The Royal Navy is as prepared as they can be. Their carrier group and the surface group have both restocked and are patrolling about a hundred miles east-southeast of Andaman Island and a squadron of Catalinas is patrolling out of Rangoon. They will move forward to Tavoy as soon as we can get some support for them in position. The port at Pontianak was bombed some more. Apparently the medium bomber crews at Batavia like using it for target practice since there are no Japanese ships in range for them. We need to get some more aviation support to Palembang so they can reach enemy shipping around Singapore. With Operation Cookout successfully completed, the carriers moved north and launched a strike against Rabaul before turning to return to Australia. Today's toll at Canton is 1800 Chinese and 1700 Japanese. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30 Sep 42 The Tambor missed a damaged freighter north of Sasebo. The Blenheims raided Bangkok again. TF1035 bombarded Eniwetok one more time. The Chinese raid on Hong Kong did only minimal damage today. Ten B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and destroyed another two enemy aircraft. Twenty-five B-17s bombed the port at Singapore, scoring another pair of bomb hits on a Japanese cruiser. Forty-one Forts bombed Rabaul, doing substantial damage to the airfield. Half-a-dozen Bettys attacked TF1035. The AAA crews shot one of them down and the battleships evaded the remaining torpedoes. A section of Beauforts bombed Singapore's airfield. More target practice at Pontianak. The weather over southern Borneo cleared, allowing strikes against Tarakan. Three tankers and a patrol cruiser were hit while docked at the port. Canton: 2800 Chinese and 1200 Japanese casualties. Another Marine parachute and raider battalion have arrived in San Francisco. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01 Oct 42 The AVG at Changsha took down a pair of Sonias, part of another attack on the base. The Chinese report multiple bomb hits on the Akagi at Hong Kong. Fifteen Liberators bombed Kompong Trach. A freighter, transport, destroyer and patrol boat were all hit in port. Twenty-eight more B-24s bombed Bangkok, going after the airfield. A dozen improved Zeroes damaged half-a-dozen of the bombers but all the aircraft returned to base. Four enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground and the airfield was further damaged. Eleven B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and twenty-six bombed Singapore. More attacks were made on the Japanese troops at Canton. Medium bombers in Burma bombed the Japanese troops south of Tavoy. A transport near Singapore was hit four times by Beauforts. In the Celebes Sea a tanker got hit twice. The usual half-dozen Beauforts added their efforts to cratering Singapore's airfield. The bombers of Batavia split their target practice between Singkawang and Pontianak today. A number of warehouses were hit at Singkawang. A tanker at Tarakan was hit and a transport was bombed near Jolo. A tanker near Davao was hit twice. Canton: 1200 Allied losses and 800 Japanese. Intelligence reports a number of enemy ships sinking. A freighter sank off the east coast of Mindanao. A destroyer went down in the Philippine Sea east of Mindanao. A tanker sank at Tarakan and a transport sank at Kompong Trach. The British report they need to withdraw another cruiser and two more destroyers from the Indian Ocean. On the West Coast we have another pair of subchasers and VMF-441, a Marine squadron of F4F-4 Wildcats. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/7/2005 8:57:55 AM)
02 Oct 42 The Seawolf missed a damaged transport east of Singapore. This apparently upset the patrol boat escorting it as that ship was persistent but ineffective in trying to track down the Seawolf. The Grouper shot up and sank a barge in a convoy east of Truk. 27 Squadron put a few craters in Bangkok's runways during the night. Chinese bombers hit Chengting. Several more bomb strikes are reported on the Akagi. The AVG squadron at Changsha bypassed the escort Tojos and went directly after the Sonias, shooting two down. Eleven Liberators bombed Kompong Trach, hitting a freighter in port. Twenty-five bombed Bangkok, destroying a pair of enemy planes on the ground. They were only opposed by half-a-dozen of the enemy's improved Zeroes. SB-2s bombed Canton. The Japanese south of Tavoy were bombed by the Burma two-engines. The Dutch T.IVs planted more than half-a-dozen bombs in a freighter near Davao. Singapore and Pontianak continue to be bombed. Strikes also continue to attack Tarakan. The day's casualty report from Canton is 1800 Chinese and 1700 Japanese. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 03 Oct 42 Another raid was launched by the Chinese against Chengting. Another bomb hit the Akagi at Hong Kong. The I-16s at Yenen shredded a Japanese raid. They shot down seven of the ten Nates and one of the five Sonias. Forty-four B-17s hit Eniwetok. P-40s and SB-2s attacked Jap troops at Canton. Fifteen Beauforts caused heavy casualties among the garrison at Singapore when they hit the airfield. A troop transport at Tarakan was hit by three torpedoes from a Beaufort-Swordfish strike and quickly sank in port. Canton: Chinese - 2200; Japanese - 1700. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 04 Oct 42 The Grouper shot up another barge east of Truk. 27 Squadron is settling into their new routine, bombing Bangkok each night when weather permits. The Japanese attacked Yenen again, losing all six escorting Nates to the defending Chinese. Forty Wellingtons joined forty Liberators in bombing Bangkok. The half-dozen improved Zeroes shot one of the Wellingtons down. The bombers destroyed more than half-a-dozen aircraft on the ground and did very heavy damage to the air base. Forty-one B-17s bombed Eniwetok. Thirty-six Forts raided Kwajalein, losing one bomber to flak but destroying several enemy planes on the ground and seriously damaging the airfield. Forty B-17s did heavy damage to Rabaul's runways. Chinese bombers and AVG fighters bombed Japanese troops at Canton. The enemy troops south of Tavoy were attacked by the bombers out of Rangoon. Hudsons hit two tankers at Brunei. B-25s spotted and attacked the enemy battleship Yamato near Jolo in the Philippines. Another B-25 strike hit a freighter not far away. Beauforts bombed a tanker at Tarakan, with a second larger strike hitting the same tanker and a patrol boat with two bombs each. Several warehouses in the port of Tarakan were also destroyed in the attacks. Beauforts bombed Singapore. Pontianak was hit by seventy-five bombers. Our troops advancing south from Rahaeng found only signs that the Japanese are retreating ahead of them towards Bangkok. Canton: 2700 Allied. 1000 Japanese. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 05 Oct 42 The Seawolf attacked a Jap light cruiser near Singapore but her torpedoes failed to detonate. She was able to evade the escorting destroyers' counter-attack. More nocturnal bombing of Bangkok. The Chinese continue bombing Chengting. The IL-4s report another hit on the Akagi. Forty B-24s and twenty-five Wellingtons bombed Bangkok. We lost one of the Wellingtons to a section of improved Zeroes. More heavy damage was done to the airfield and eight of the A6M3 Zeroes were caught by bombs. Six B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and forty-three bombed Singapore, hitting a cruiser. Forty-eight Forts were in today's raid on Kwajalein. While they destroyed two enemy aircraft we lost one of the B-17s and a PBY doing photo recon to flak. The airfield at Rabaul was heavily bombed by forty-four B-17s, destroying another enemy plane. More attacks on Japanese forces at Canton. Hurricanes in Burma attacked enemy troops south of Rahaeng, along with many of the medium bombers at Rangoon. Beauforts bombed Singapore again. Several strikes attacked IJN ships at Jolo but all missed. The enemy appears to have pulled his improved Zeroes out of Tarakan. One strike was engaged by a section of the original model Zeroes. Escorting P-40s shot two of them down. Flak downed one of the Swordfish and a Hudson from a later strike. A freighter was hit with three bombs along the west coast of Mindanao. Japanese Sallys attacked the Chinese at Canton. A section of the Chinese 11th Fighter intercepted and shot down four escorting Oscars. 2500 Chinese casualties at Canton to an estimated 1100 Japanese. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/8/2005 8:43:36 AM)
06 Oct 42 The Perch survived an ASW attack outside Brunei. 27 Squadron is no longer alone in the night. In addition to their attacks on Bangkok, the US 6th Night-Fighter Squadron using P-70A Havocs has begun operations out of Menado targeting the port facilities at Davao. The Flying Forts bombed Johore Bahru, keeping that airbase suppressed. Thirty-eight bombed Singapore, causing heavy casualties and hitting a cruiser at dock. Thirty-five B-17s bombed Eniwetok and twenty-four more destroyed a pair of enemy aircraft at Kwajalein. Further heavy damage was done to Rabaul by the forty B-17s bombing that base. More attacks on Japanese troops at Canton. A section of B-25s scored multiple bomb hits on a freighter near Dadjangas. Two more sections scored a hit on a cruiser docked at Davao as well as hitting a warehouse. Beauforts continue to add to the damage at Singapore. More supply dumps were hit at Pontianak. A lone Zero over Tarakan was quickly shot down by escort fighters. A tanker in port was hit and supply centers were targeted. Chinese losses at Canton were 2600. Estimated enemy losses were 1500. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 07 Oct 42 The Perch missed an oiler outside Brunei. The night fighters bombed Bangkok and Davao. The Chinese report another hit on the Akagi at Hong Kong. Liberators and Wellingtons bombed Bangkok. They destroyed two enemy aircraft on the ground and thoroughly hammered the airfield. Two sections of B-17s continued the bombing of Johore Bahru. Thirty-nine Forts bombed the port at Singapore, hitting the Jap cruiser several more times. Twenty-five B-17s bombed Kwajalein. They were intercepted by half-a-dozen Zeroes and one bomber and one PBY were shot down. One enemy aircraft was destroyed on the ground. Thirty-eight B-17s bombed Rabaul. The bombers at Rangoon bombed Japanese troops passing thru Krung Thep. A freighter was sunk at Davao by more than half-a-dozen bomb hits from B-25s and T.IVs. A section of Hudsons missed a destroyer at Brunei. Beauforts bombed Singapore. Batavia's bombers used Pontianak for more target practice. Fighters escorting a strike on Tarakan shot down one of the three Zeroes on CAP. The bombers hit the damaged tanker several more times, but one Beaufort was lost to AAA fire. Today's toll at Canton was 2000 Chinese casualties and 900 Japanese. I am beginning to lose faith in the Chinese's ability to take the city on their own. A disturbing fact has come out of the debriefing of the aircrews of the 11th Bomb Group regarding their attack on Kwajalein. As mentioned above, they were opposed by enemy Zeroes. From the descriptions, they were carrier fighters. And the surviving PBYs that accompanied the Forts report sighting at least one enemy carrier just outside the atoll. This is of particular concern because the landing force for Devil's Delight is 750 miles due east of Eniwetok. On their current course they will pass within range of the enemy's carrier based bombers. While we have no evidence that Devil's Delight has been spotted, we cannot assume that will remain true. With the B-17s bombing Kwajalein and Eniwetok I was willing to risk what land-based air the enemy might have left under the cover of the fighters of the Wasp and Saratoga. But I don't feel that those two carriers alone can stand up to the bulk of the IJN's carriers. For now at least the invasion force will have to divert towards Wake. Depending on what further information we can gain, they can either approach Eniwetok from the north or unload at Wake until the Jap carriers can be dealt with. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 08 Oct 42 The Narwhal spent the entire night evading a number of destroyers just north of Kwajalein. Her sonar also identified at least two cruisers. It appears the enemy's carriers are heading north. The Perch torpedoed a heavily escorted tanker outside Brunei. The night fighters continue to fly. A dozen B-17s bombed Johore Bahru, destroying an enemy transport plane on the ground. Nearly thirty Forts bombed Singapore, hitting a cruiser and causing serious casualties. Forty-three B-17s bombed Eniwetok and twenty-two bombed Kwajalein. Two more enemy aircraft were destroyed on Kwajalein and there was no sign of the enemy carriers. Several Japanese amphibious patrol aircraft were destroyed when thirty-eight B-17s bombed Rabaul. Only one raid was launched against Japanese troops at Canton. Pontianak was bombed some more. One Swordfish was lost to flak over Tarakan in an attack on the port. A B-25 was shot down in a strike on a pair of IJN battleships near Jolo. Canton reports 2300 Chinese casualties and about 900 Japanese. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/9/2005 12:50:25 AM)
09 Oct 42 The Grampus was forced to use her guns against a small freighter outside Shimuzu when her torpedoes failed to detonate. The S-18 shelled a small freighter north of Rabaul. Nighttime raids were launched against Bangkok and Davao. The Chinese continue to bomb Chengting. The AVG shot down two Tojos over Changsha but the Sonias destroyed a P-40 on the ground. A section of B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Still no sign of any enemy aircraft based there. Twenty-eight B-27s bombed Singapore. AAA shot one down, the rest report multiple bomb hits on the cruiser and the warehouses. Forty-two Forts hit Eniwetok. Nineteen bombed Kwajalein and thirty-three attacked Rabaul, destroying two planes at the latter base. Two sections of Beauforts bombed the airfield at Singapore. The Chinese at Canton appear to be losing the battle. They had 2000 casualties today to only 400 estimated Japanese. The Indian 5th Division took control of the unoccupied airfield at Krung Thep. Still no further sighting of Japanese ships in the Marshalls. The submarine Grouper does report a continuing large number of barges moving east from Truk, so the enemy appears to be doing something, we just don't know what. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10 Oct 42 The Finback spotted a freighter off the coast of Honshu. While not in position to attack she reports the ship was burning. The lull in the Coral Sea has ended. The freighter Murzim got off a SOS, reporting she was under torpedo and gun attack from a Jap sub just off the coast at the southern tip of New Guinea. Search planes from Gili Gili spotted life boats a short time later and will return in the morning to pick up survivors. Our night squadrons continue bombing Bangkok and Davao. A SB-2 was shot down over Chengting today by enemy flak. Two more hits on the Akagi are claimed in the raid on Hong Kong. Thirty-four Wellingtons and forty-seven Liberators bombed Bangkok. They spotted a lone enemy fighter but it did not attack. Intel reports two enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground and heavy damage to the airfield. Fifteen B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Thirty bombed Singapore. Another lone enemy fighter was seen over Kuching by the thirty B-17s attacking there, but as to the north it refused to engage. Four enemy planes were caught on the ground by the bombers. The B-17s from Wake continue to bomb the beach defenses at Eniwetok and Tarawa's Forts continue to suppress the airfield at Kwajalein. One PBY was shot down by AAA over Kwajalein. Thirty B-17s destroyed a pair of enemy aircraft at Rabaul. More attacks were made on the Japanese troops at Canton. The medium bombers at Rangoon bombed enemy forces at Bangkok, losing a Blenheim IV to AAA. Beauforts bombed Singapore and Pontianak was used for more live ammo practice. Attacks on Tarakan continue to go after the enemy's logistics. Lacking other targets, the B-25s at Menado bombed Dadjangas. 2300 friendly casualties are reported from Canton today with 1100 Japanese estimated. Still no further sign of the enemy's carriers. Devil's Delight has reached Wake. I think I will have them hold there for another day or two before giving the green light to resume the operation. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/10/2005 7:19:35 AM)
11 Oct 42 My staff has informed me that the Murzim was carrying the B-24s of 90th Bomb Group. It will take three months to rebuild the group and then we have to deal with getting to the combat zone, again. The Blenheims and Havocs continue their attacks. With the Japanese ships failing to show up in the Indian Ocean, the Royal Navy sent their ships to attack Victoria Point. The battleships Valiant, Warspite and Prince of Wales shelled the base throughout the day. The Chinese raids on Chengting and Hong Kong did no significant damage. A dozen B-17s bombed Johore Bahru. Twenty-seven B-17s bombed Singapore, causing casualties and hitting that Jap cruiser again. Twenty-two Forts bombing Kuching destroyed a couple of enemy aircraft and hit a freighter in port. We are maintaining the pressure on Eniwetok with an attack by thirty-nine B-17s. Twenty more bombed Kwajalein. Three enemy aircraft were destroyed in a thirty-three plane raid on Rabaul. The RAF has moved their Hurricanes up to Tavoy. From there they attacked Japanese troops outside the base to the south. AAA shot one of the fighter-bombers down. With almost no enemy shipping in the Celebes and the planned assault on Tarakan, our bombers on southern Borneo shifted their attention to bombing the Japanese garrison at Tarakan. Defensive fire cost us a Beaufort and a Swordfish. The Australian B-25s did find a freighter outside Davao, hitting it with two bombs. Beauforts continue to bomb Singapore. Pontianak was hit again. The Chinese have broken off their assault on Canton. They will pull some troops back to regroup and shell the city with the rest. Intelligence reports two enemy tankers sinking, one north of Brunei and the other at Jolo. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 Oct 42 Our sub activity is starting to drop off due to another round of refits. The US subs are replacing some of their 20mm AAA with 40mm and are getting radar. I am hoping that the radar especially will prove useful in hunting down enemy shipping. The night fighters continue their attacks on their targets. The RN's battleships bombarded Victoria Point some more. Chinese bombers attacked Chengting and Taan. Liberators and Wellingtons over Bangkok spotted three improved Zeroes but were not attacked by them. They did heavy damage to the airfield. Fourteen B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and twenty-three bombed Singapore, hitting the cruiser again. Fifteen B-17s over Kuching spotted a lone Zero in the air which declined to engage. The forty-one B-17s bombing Rabaul destroyed an aircraft on the ground, did heavy airfield damage and hit a freighter docked in port. Chinese bombers and AVG fighters attacked Japanese troops at Canton. Blenheims, Hudsons and B-25s bombed the garrison at Bangkok, also seeing but not fighting three improved Zeroes while there. A couple of strikes were launched against Nip troops at Tarakan. A small freighter south of Mindanao was hit by B-25s. A dozen Beauforts followed the Forts to Singapore, doing more damage to the field. Pontianak was bombed. A Swordfish was lost attacking the port at Tarakan and more B-25s bombed Davao. A section of Bettys bombed the Chinese at Canton. The first of their troops to be ordered back from the city began moving towards Wuchow. With still no confirmation of enemy carriers in the Marshalls, I have given the green light to Devil's Delight again. The invasion force, covered by the carriers, has set sail from Wake. The battleship bombardment group is moving ahead to do pre-landing bombardment and, quite frankly, to serve as a tripwire if the IJN carriers are in the area. I am begining to feel that this operation was a bit too aptly named. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 13 Oct 42 Poor weather scrubbed the Brits night mission, but the Havocs continued to bomb Davao. The Chinese appear to be doing some damage to Chengting. They also bombed Taan again. Nine B-17s bombed the rubber facilities at Johore Bahru. Twenty B-17s bombed Singapore, hitting the cruiser two more times. A lone Zero was seen over Kuching again. The two dozen Forts destroyed two enemy aircraft on the ground there. Three dozen B-17s bombed Eniwetok. Forty-five attacked Rabaul, destroying two more transport aircraft and hitting a freighter in addition to heavily damaging the airfield. And a section of Forts accompanied the recon of Kavieng to bomb that island. Hurricanes were able to resume their attacks on Japanese troops south of Tavoy. B-25s hit a freighter moving north along the east coast of Mindanao. T.IVs bombed one near Davao. Two sections of B-25s bombed Dadjangas. The Royal Navy's carriers were able to get within range of Bangkok by approaching the Burma/Malaya coast near Victoria Point. They launched a strike against IJN ships there. A lone improved Zero shot down one of the escort Fulmars and anti-aircraft from the ships cost them nine Swordfish out of thirty. But they report one torpedo hit on a battleship and three on a heavy cruiser. Our own battleships approaching Eniwetok succeeded in drawing enemy attention, although not their carriers. A dozen Bettys launched a torpedo attack on the bombardment group, hitting the battleships Idaho and Washington. The Washington is pulling back to Wake, but the Idaho is remaining on station. The bombardment went ahead, doing heavy damage to the base with almost no opposition from the garrison. The landing force and carriers continue to close under cover of heavy clouds today. The Chinese are settling in for an extended bombardment of Canton. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14 Oct 42 The KXI hit a freighter near Kuching with two torpedoes. The Tambor torpedoed a second freighter in the entrance to the Sea of Japan. The night bombing missions against Bangkok and Davao continue. The Chinese launched raids on Chengting and Hong Kong, reporting several more hits on the Akagi. Taan was also bombed. A Japanese attack on Changsha lost six of its nine Sonias to the AVG P-40s. They simply bypassed the escorting Tojos entirely. Bangkok continues to be hit by B-24s and Wellingtons. B-17s from Batavia continue to bomb Johore Bahru, Singapore and Kuching. Eniwetok was bombed by forty B-17s. One Flying Fort was destroyed by AAA in the continued suppression of Kwajalein's airfield. Three more enemy aircraft were destroyed at Rabaul and the freighter there finally sank after taking another bomb hit. Attacks on Japanese troops at Canton continue. One Hurricane was lost south of Tavoy in the attacks on enemy positions there. South Borneo's bombers continue to attack enemy troops holding Tarakan. Beauforts caused casualties among the engineers trying to repair Singapore's airstrip. A Swordfish was shot down in the attack on Tarakan's port. Two freighters were hit several times each south of Mindanao in separate strikes. TF1278 continues to bombard Eniwetok in preparation for the landings. Half-a-dozen Bettys attacked them today but the carriers have moved close enough that two sections of Wildcats were overhead. Half the enemy bombers were shot down and the survivors aborted their attack. One of three Bettys attacking Chinese troops at Canton was shot down by I-16s from the Chinese 11th Fighter Squadron. The artillery continues to fire at Canton. The next wave of reinforcements has begun. The Australians have two new regiments of AAA in Sydney. The 147th RCT and four SeaBee units, the 15th, 16th, 19th and 20th, have arrived in San Francisco. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 15 Oct 42 Bangkok and Davao were bombed during the night. The Chinese bombed Taan again. Singapore was bombed, with two more hits reported on the Jap cruiser. A small raid attacked Kuching. Forty Forts bombed Eniwetok and two dozen bombed Kwajalein. Nearly half-a-dozen enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Rabaul. Singapore and Dadjangas were both bombed by medium bombers. A freighter near Davao was hit by a section of B-25s. Several small strikes of Bettys attempted to attack our landing at Eniwetok. Wildcats shot six of them down and the few that made it to the ships to attack all missed. Chinese and Japanese artillery traded fire at Canton. Another round of bombardments by TF1278 supported the landings. Once ashore the lead elements quickly took control of the island, meeting no resistance from the starving and shell shocked 1800 construction workers they captured. A lone Nate fighter was also captured. A rather anti-climatic end to Devil's Delight, but very satisfying. Intelligence reports that an enemy freighter sank in the South China Sea north of Kuching. Naval reinforcements today include the RN CLAA Caradoc, arriving in Karachi. The Australians have launched another minesweeper. In San Francisco we have the CVE Nassau, carrying Wildcat and SBD replacement aircraft for our fleet carriers. We also have four destroyers, three minesweepers, four submarines, three subchasers plus two more in other West Coast ports, a minelayer as well as several support ships and a number of freighters. The New Zealanders have a new squadron of Kittyhawks. In India is another squadron of Catalinas and 42 Squadron, being re-equipped from the Blenheim IVs it arrived with to Wellingtons. Along the West Coast is the 318 and 347 Fighter Groups, both either equipped or being re-equipped with P-39s although we hope to upgrade them to the new P-38 Lightnings before too long, the 307 Bomb Group of B-24s, VMSB-131 equipped with TBF Avengers and VMSB-142 equipped with SBD Dauntlesses. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/11/2005 9:05:25 AM)
16 Oct 42 The Grayling shot up a freighter outside Shanghai. The Porpoise missed a transport near the Mekong River delta. The Trigger failed to hit a freighter off the south end of Mindanao. The night bombing campaign continues. Same targets. Chinese bombers did some fairly good damage to Chengting. The IL-4 bombers continue to concentrate on the Akagi at Hong Kong, reporting several more bomb hits. A third raid targeted Taan. P-40s defending Changsha shot down two Tojo fighters and a Sonia dive bomber. The attack on Singapore's port continues with seventeen B-17s bombing it today. A dozen B-17s bombed Kuching, losing one bomber to flak. Rabaul lost several more aircraft to the B-17s bombing that base. Hurricanes straffed and bombed enemy troops near Tavoy. Beauforts attacked the garrison of Tarakan. A lone freighter was hit by a section of Beauforts south of Mindanao. Two dozen bombers attacked a convoy near Davao, hitting three freighters and a gunboat, leaving all the ships on fire. A section of B-25s hit another lone freighter in the same area. A dozen Beauforts did significant damage to the airstrip at Singapore. Supply dumps at Pontianak were hit hard by mediums from Batavia. Half-a-dozen Swordfish bombed the port at Tarakan and a section of Mitchells harassed Dadjangas. Port Moresby's medium bombers deceided to resume operations, launching a heavy strike against Lae. Strangely, there was no sign of a garrison. We may have to put a raider battalion ashore here to investigate. The Chinese report getting the better of today's artillery duel at Canton. The 754th Tank Battalion, leading the forces moving on Tarakan, reports a force of several thousand Japs advancing toward them from the enemy base. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 17 Oct 42 The Trigger did not have a good day with her torpedoes. First they failed to detonate in a surface attack on a freighter south of Mindanao, restricting the damage to what her gun crews could do. A second attack on another freighter missed entirely. The Grampus put a pair of 5 inch rounds into a freighter outside Tokyo. Night time bombings of Bangkok and Davao continue. The Chinese continue their campaigns against Chengting, Taan and Hong Kong. Another hit on the Akagi was claimed. B-17s launched raids on Singapore, Kuching, Kwajalein and Rabaul. A few enemy aircraft were destroyed at the last two locations. AVG and Chinese planes continue to harry the Japanese at Canton. Air attacks on enemy forces at Tarakan also continue. One Hurricane was lost in attacks on the enemy south of Tavoy. Two more freighters were hit in the waters around Davao and southern Mindanao. The British carriers launched a strike over the Malaya pennisula against a pair of IJN cruisers near Bangkok. Two Swordfish were lost to AAA fire. One cruiser was hit once and the other three times by torpedoes. Our force of light cruisers and destroyers in the DEI set sail from Balikpapan towards Menado. It was hoped that from there they might be able to raid the concentration of enemy shipping that has been getting hit by the bombers. They were attacked in two waves by Ann and Lily bombers as they were rounding the north end of Sulawesi. The destroyer Piet Hein suffered heavily from two bomb hits and is withdrawing back towards Balikpapan to deal with fire and flooding. The cruisers Nashville and Sumatra report being hit, the Sumatra by over half-a-dozen bombs, but without any significant damage. Minus the Piet Hein, they are continueing to Menado. Beauforts destroyed a pair of Nates on the ground at Singapore. Pontianak was bombed some more. The bombers attacking Lae report still no sign of enemy troops at the base. The siege at Canton continues. The 754th launched a probing attack on the road to Tarakan. They didn't get far, running into stiff resistance from elements of the IJA 38th Division. Clearing the road will have to wait until more units catch up. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 18 Oct 42 The O16 missed a destroyer west of Singapore. Only the Havocs were able to fly tonight, bombing Davao. P-40s shot down three of six unescorted Sonias attacking Changsha. Taan was bombed by SB-2s. Nearly fifty B-24s and forty Wellingtons bombed Bangkok. Two cruisers in port are reported to have been hit, one more than half-a-dozen times, as well as extremely heavy damage to the airfield. A third enemy cruiser was hit at Singapore by the B-17s attacking there. Kuching was visited by a single section of B-17s. Kwajalein was bombed by thirty-five Forts, destroying a couple of enemy aircraft. Rabaul was not forgotten as two dozen B-17s destroyed another pair of planes there. Canton continues to be attacked by SB-2 and P-40 aircraft. A couple of Chinese SB-2 bombers were lost to AAA over Nanchang in an attack on enemy troops. Hurricanes continue to hit Japanese forces south of Tavoy. A freighter was hit by nearly ten bombs not far from Dadjangas and probably sunk. Intelligence does report another freighter sinking to the north among the Philippines. Eight Marine SBDs just arrived at Gasmata attacked and hit a freighter a short way north of Rabaul. The rest of the squadron will join them from Port Moresby as quickly as they can be prepped after having been unloaded from ship. Beauforts attacked but missed a surface group at the south end of the Malacca Strait. They spotted at least one cruiser and several destroyers. The RN carrier planes attacked enemy ships near Bangkok again. Three of the torpedo bombers were lost to heavy AAA. They hit one gunboat with a torpedo and a second with five fish. Another Swordfish was lost to flak in a raid on Tarakan. A fourth enemy cruiser was reported hit by a section of B-25s bombing the port at Davao. The Royal Navy's battleships have taken up position to bombard Japanese forces south of Tavoy. More artillery fire at Canton. The 754th Tank held off an enemy charge west of Tarakan, laying down heavy fire as they dug in. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 19 Oct 42 The Seawolf avoided a group of enemy destroyers east of Singapore. An ASW group tracked a Jap sub just south of Shortlands but couldn't make an attack. The Blenheims bombed Bangkok during the night. The Royal Navy performed another night time bombardment of Japanese forces near Tavoy. Chengting was bombed by the Chinese. Liberators and Wellingtons bombed Bangkok again. They report multiple hits on both enemy cruisers docked there. The airfield was very heavily bombed as well. An IJN cruiser at Singapore was hit as well by B-17s bombing that port. A freighter and several warehouses at Kuching were hit by two dozen Forts. A raid on Kwajalein cost the enemy several aircraft on the ground. Aircraft in China continue to attack the Japs at Canton. An attack on Nanchang was intercepted by five Tojos. The thirteen AVG P-40s escorting the strike quickly took four of them down. Attacks on the Japanese at Tarakan continue, although we have to shift their attention to the infantry opposing the Grants to the west. Hurricanes continue to chew up Jap soldiers south of Tavoy. The Marine SBDs on New Britian bombed the freighter they hit yesterday, hitting with half-a-dozen bombs and sinking it just outside Rabaul. Two strikes hit a Nip convoy near Jolo, hitting four troop transports with multiple bombs each. We also have a report of a freighter sinking near Tacloban in the Philippines. A dozen Beauforts bombed Singapore, adding some craters to the runways. Swordfish hit a fuel storage tank at Tarakan. A section of Bettys tried to attack ships unloading more troops at Shortlands. Tomahawks shot two down and drove the survivor off. The Chinese continue to shell Canton. The 754th Tank repelled another attack by the Japanese outside Tarakan. The various defensive and support units have begun unloading on Eniwetok. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20 Oct 42 The Porpoise missed an escorted freighter near Soc Trang. Bangkok and Davao received nocturnal visits. Another night of bombardment south of Tavoy by the Royal Navy. Chinese attacks on Chengting continue. Hong Kong was also bombed. A couple more hits were reported on the enemy cruiser at Singapore by the B-17s. Twenty-two Forts bombed Kuching, hitting a freighter in port. Kwajalein lost an aircraft to our B-17s and more than half-a-dozen were destroyed at Rabaul in an attack that did serious damage to the airfield. Another raid by the Chinese bombed the garrison at Nanchang. The medium bombers in Burma moved south to Tavoy, where they joined the Hurricanes in their attacks on the Japanese troops nearby. Intelligence believes that heavy casualties were inflicted. The Beauforts in south Borneo bombed the 38th Division to support the 754th Tank. Another attempt by Bettys to attack our ships at Shortlands cost them another aircraft. A baker's dozen of Beauforts bombed the airfield at Singapore, destroying an enemy plane. Enemy supply dumps at Pontianak were targeted by the two-engine bombers from Batavia. Swordfish bombed Tarakan. A dozen Hudsons and B-25s attacked an IJN surface group near Jolo, hitting a cruiser and missing a second and a battleship. The siege of Canton continues. The Chinese once again threw Indochina miltia back when they tried to cross the Mekong. Near Tarakan the Japs have given up trying to drive back the 754th, settling for a weak artillery bombardment. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editor's Note: For those readers interested in further information on the fighting at Canton, the editor recommends the following two books: 'And The Gods Wept: The Siege of Canton' by K. Fan (General, NCA (ret.)). As one of the senior commanders of the Chinese forces he provides a wealth of information on the Chinese order of battle and planning. The most faithful translation to English is widely considered to be that of the Sino-American Historical Society as published by Manhattan Press. 'Canton: Forge of an Army' by Bruce Greenwood (Lt. Col., US Army), US Military Press, West Point Academy. The Lt. Colonel traces how the battle for Canton has affected the evolution of the Chinese military all the way to the present day and traces the subsequent history of such leading units as the Chinese 93rd Corp. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mlees -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/11/2005 10:05:01 AM)
Could you post some screenie's of the map, and/or the scoreboard? It's hard for me to visualize how well you are doing from this text. Thanks! What "operation kick-in-the-pants" stuff do you have perculating in the back of your mind, at this point?

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/12/2005 12:16:40 AM)
Map (as of 20 Oct 42): [image]local://upfiles/12783/Ge941694624.jpg[/image]

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/12/2005 12:19:27 AM)
An offensive is currently underway to capture Tarakan. Other than that I expect there is going to be a couple of months of slower operations as a lot of my ships get refits (I suspect I'm going to need the extra AAA) and ground units continue to build up to full strength. [image]local://upfiles/12783/Qo412249738.jpg[/image]

mlees -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/12/2005 12:27:28 AM)
Thank you, sir. The map shot and score page helps put flesh on the bones of your combat debriefs.[:)]

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/12/2005 8:21:35 AM)
21 Oct 42 Bangkok and Davao were bombed during the night. The Royal Navy battleships continue to use the Japanese troops south of Tavoy for target practice. They will need to sail back to Rangoon for more ammunition. The destroyer Edsall and four DMS dropped the Marine 2nd Raider off at Lae during the night. The Marines report no sign of enemy forces and are approaching the base. The Chinese bombers seem to be doing better at bombing Chengting. Hong Kong port was bombed. A dozen Jap planes attacked Changsha. Two survived the AVG. Bangkok was hit during the day by Wellingtons and B-24s. They destroyed a plane on the ground, scored bomb hits on two cruisers, heavily cratered the runways and destroyed supply depots. Singapore's port was bombed by B-17s. Kuching had a freighter in port hit by a bomb by another B-17 raid. Forts destroyed two enemy aircraft on Kwajalein and half-a-dozen at Rabaul. AVG pilots escorting an attack on Japanese troops at Nanchang shot down two more Tojos. Canton was bombed. One hundred and sixty aircraft attacked enemy forces outside Tavoy, inflicting heavy casualties. SB-2 bombers chased the VM back across the Mekong. Beauforts bombed the IJA 38th Division facing the 754th Tank near Tarakan. The Royal Navy carriers launched another strike against the IJN around Bangkok. AAA claimed a Swordfish and a gunboat was hit by four torpedoes. Beauforts continue to bang away at Singapore's airfield. Pontianak was bombed, as was Tarakan and Dadjangas. The Chinese continue to shell Canton. Artillery rounds are becoming a significant part of the supplies being flown in to Hanoi and Nanning by the five squadrons of C-47s in Burma. While their forces continue to recover from the failed attack on Canton, the Chinese have informed us that they have selected another target: Nanchang. They believe that Jap forces are weaker there and capturing the city would threaten to outflank and surround the enemy at Wuhan as well as opening the way to Shanghai. We will have to see how this works out. The Japs launched another attack on the 754th Tank. But the Australian 5th Division has caught up with the tanks and the enemy lost a third of his nearly three thousand troops. Eniwetok Update: The engineers have finished repairing the airfield and port and are turning their attention to expanding both. PBYs have begun flying patrols, several Marine Wildcats and Dauntlesses have been unpacked and are ready to fly and some thirty-five B-25s have flown in from Wake. There are about 65,000 troops on the island with 20,000 tons of supplies unloaded to date. A good beginning. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 22 Oct 42 The Havocs were grounded by heavy rain but the Blenheims bombed Bangkok again. Chinese bombers attacked Chengting and Hong Kong. The airfield at Kiungahan on Hainan Island was bombed for the first time. More than seventy bombers hit Bangkok, adding more heavy damage to the airfield, destroying supplies and scoring several hits on a Jap cruiser. Four enemy aircraft were destroyed at Kwajalein and one at Rabaul by B-17s. With the capture of Eniwetok, the only enemy base within range of Wake's Flying Forts is Marcus Island. Forty-two of them hit the island today. Enemy troops at Canton were attacked by the Chinese and AVG. Enemy forces near Tavoy suffered under multiple strikes. The raid on Nanchang was unopposed. The Beauforts continued to strike enemy infantry near Tarakan. Pontianak was used for target practice some more. The carrier Swordfish lost two of their number to score two torpedo hits on a Jap cruiser near Bangkok. We have found the enemy carriers! They were spotted south on Mindanao in the same waters where Menado's bombers have been taking such a toll of enemy shipping. Unlike the battle of the Java Sea, this time we had no trouble getting strikes to fly. Two went in in the morning. They met a surprisingly weak CAP, only a little more than a dozen Zeroes. Beauforts report two torpedo hits on a large carrier, probably the Zuikaku, and the Dutch T.IVs got a torpedo into the side of a light carrier, believed to be the Zuiho. In the afternoon the enemy's CAP was even lighter, only a bit over half-a-dozen Zeroes. This cost the enemy a bomb hit on the large carrier torpedoed earlier. This isn't to say that our success wasn't without a price. Flak and the Zeroes claimed five T.IVs, two Kittyhawks, a P-35 and a Hudson. More artillery fire at Canton. The Marines at Lae moved into the empty base, still finding no sign of enemy troops. West of Tarakan, the Aussies of their 5th Division and the 754th Tank drove back the weakened elements of the IJA 38th Division. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 23 Oct 42 The attacks by the Chinese on Chengting, Hong Kong and Kiungahan continue. The Mohawks escorting the B-24/Wellington raid on Bangkok shot down the lone improved Zero over the city. The bombers scored several more hits on a Jap cruiser in the port and continued to do heavy damage to the airfield. Nine Wellingtons bombed the resources at Alor Star. Thirty-two B-17s bombed Singapore, causing heavy casualties and hitting a cruiser. Kuching was hit. Almost ten enemy aircraft were destroyed at Rabaul by the Fortress raid. Half-a-dozen Sallys bombed Jesselton. The Japanese at Canton continue to be bombed. Enemy forces near Tavoy were hit hard again. A dozen Beauforts destroyed one enemy plane on the ground at Singapore. The port at Pontianak was bombed again. Thirty-two Beauforts bombed the airfield at Tarakan, destroying more than half-a-dozen planes as well as hitting warehouses and cratering the airfield. The enemy's light carrier appears to have split off from the main group. It was seen and attacked about 300 miles east of Menado. The bombers, meeting no CAP, report almost a dozen bomb hits. Even if it survives it should be out of commission for some time. The main enemy carrier group has moved toward Davao for some reason. A strike against them cost us a Kittyhawk, a T.IV and a P-35 to the five Zeroes defending the ships. Only one bomb hit was claimed by the aircrews against one of the carriers. The RN battleships returned to shell the enemy forces near Tavoy. The two sides at Canton traded artillery fire. Intelligence reports that an enemy tanker sank at Jolo. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/13/2005 9:54:34 AM)
24 Oct 42 The Pickerel suffered from dud torpedoes when she attacked a tanker in the SCS. We lost a subchaser off Munda. It was torpedoed by an enemy sub. The others in the group dropped depth charges but can't report any success. Blenheims and Havocs continue to interrupt the enemy's sleep at Bangkok and Davao. The Royal Navy had trouble finding targets to bombard south of Tavoy. B-17s bombed Singapore, getting another hit on a cruiser. Kuching was hit again. More transport aircraft were blown apart at Rabaul. Marcus Island was bombed. Jap Sallys made a high altitude attack on Tomini. Beauforts continue to bomb Tarakan. The IJN carrier Zuikaku was spotted sailing around Dadjangas. The strike sent against her met no CAP and scored four more bomb hits on the ship. A section of B-25s went after the light carrier east of Menado. They were unable to find it, instead attacking a destroyer found in the carrier's expected location but missing. Canton remains under seige. Intelligence reports that an enemy cruiser at Bangkok was sunk. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 25 Oct 42 Night bombing at Bangkok and Davao continue. A second ASW group moved to support the subchasers attacked yesterday near Munda. They were able to locate an enemy sub and spent the day battling it. After dodging several torpedoes, it wasn't until the end of the day that they got any evidence of hurting the I-boat. The Chinese report hitting the Akagi again. Wellingtons bombed Alor Star. Two more Nip planes were destroyed at Rabaul by B-17s. Two weak raids were launched against the Japanese troops at Nanchang. One Hurricane was shot down near Tavoy during attacks on the Japs there. Beauforts continue to bomb the airfield at Tarakan, destroying half-a-dozen enemy aircraft today. The RN surface group moved south and bombarded Victoria Point. The siege at Canton continues. The enemy carriers were spotted early in the morning in the Celebes Sea just off the northern most point of Sulawesi, apparently heading for the Makassar Strait. But they were right on the edge of a rain storm and apparently retreated under it after being spotted, preventing any attacks. I'm confident we will do well if we have a second Java Sea battle. Our P-40 losses have been replaced, nearly half-a-dozen Marine Wildcat squadrons are now at bases lining the Makassar Strait and our bomber squadrons have gained experience and several have had their aircraft upgraded. Plus I believe we have nearly every enemy controlled port in the western South China Sea within range of our four-engine heavy bombers, forcing any damaged ships to retreat all the way to at least the Philippines. Even that will be within range once we can finish lengthening the runways at Menado and the ship carrying the B-24s of the 307th BG reachs Darwin. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 26 Oct 42 The Havocs were grounded by bad weather while the Blenheims bombed Bangkok. The Grayling torpedoed an escorted freighter outside Shanghai. Victoria Point was shelled by the Royal Navy. There is obviously no serious threat in this theatre at this time and the ships are showing signs of wear from recent operations, so they are going to retire to Diamond Harbor and Ceylon for refurbishment. The destroyers returned to Lae and transported the Marine raiders to Salamaua. They will sweep thru the base there and confirm that the enemy has completely evacuated New Guinea. The Chinese report two hits on the Akagi at Hong Kong. The Wellingtons and Liberators bombing Bangkok report no signs of enemy ships in port. A dozen Wellingtons bombed Alor Star. The Forts bombing Singapore claim a pair of hits on a cruiser there. A warehouse at Bankha was destroyed in the raid on that location and several more at Kuching. Flak cost us one bomber over Kuching. Thirty Forts bombed Marcus Island. The AVG lost a pilot over Canton in the attack on the Japanese troops there. Another raid targeted the defenses of Nanchang. Heavy AAA destroyed a Blenheim and a B-25 near Tavoy. Menado's bombers attacked a destroyer in the Celebes but were again unable to hit such a small maneuverable target. They did score nearly half-a-dozen hits on a freighter outside Davao. Three Bettys bombed the Chinese at Canton as the siege there continues. The enemy carriers turned north rather than entering the Makassar Strait. They have been spotted entering the SCS from the Sulu Sea. The next target for the SEASIA forces is going to be Bangkok. The bombers will continue their attacks against the enemy troops outside Tavoy to try and keep the enemy's attention there. But the two divisions currently at Tavoy will pull back and then move to Krung Thep, leaving Tavoy's defense mostly to six various brigades. The idea is the capture Bangkok will cut the Malaya pennisula off from the rest of the Japanese Empire. It should also allow the capture of Pisanuloke. That would give us a better overland route to China and hopefully allow us to send some engineers to aid the Chinese. Such is the basic outline of Operation Easy Rider. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 27 Oct 42 North of Truk the S-45 torpedoed and sank a small freighter. Near Munda the patrol boat Charleston was hit by a torpedo. The sub got away cleanly. Bangkok and Davao were bombed overnight. Two more hits were claimed on the Akagi by the IL-4 aircrews. Kiungahan was bombed. More heavy damage inflicted on the airbase at Bangkok by the Liberators and Wellingtons. Nine Wellingtons bombed Bandou. More raids by the Chinese against the Japanese in Canton and Nanchang. The heavy attacks on Japanese troops near Tavoy continue. With Eniwetok now secured and enough aircraft operating to be able to defend itself, the carriers were released to head northwest. The submarine Trigger, while returning to Pearl with empty torpedo tubes, reported spotting shipping to the southwest of the Mariana Islands. With the two carriers not having expended even a single piece of ordanence during Devil's Delight, RADM Fletcher was given permission to attempt a raid. It paid off. Scout planes spotted a troop convoy 250 miles east of Guam. In two strikes the ships were hammered. A freighter, two troop transports and a gunboat were hit. The freighter was confirmed sunk and we suspect at least one troop transport was also lost. One SBD was shot down by anti-aircraft. Beauforts bombed Singapore. Three Bettys tried to bomb the Chinese at Canton but a patrol of I-16s broke up the group, although they couldn't shoot down any of them down. A freighter outside Davao was hit multiple times by Menado's bombers. The siege at Canton continues. The Marines confirmed that Salamaua is empty. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/14/2005 8:59:09 AM)
28 Oct 42 The S-45 torpedoed and shelled a freighter near Truk. The Amberjack had two separate spreads of torpedoes fail to detonate during her surface attack on a freighter near Taipei. Bangkok and Davao were bombed during the night. Liberators bombed the airfield at Bangkok. A dozen Wellingtons bombed Bandou again. Another hit on the IJN cruiser at Singapore was claimed by the B-17 crews. The ports at Bankha and Kuching were both hit. Marcus Island was bombed. Wellingtons began bombing enemy troops at Bangkok. Heavy air attacks on Japanese forces south of Tavoy continue. The Chinese continue to harass the Japs at Nanchang. One Beaufort was shot down bombing the Singapore airfield. Enemy supplies at Pontianak were bombed. A Swordfish was lost in the attack on Tarakan and one enemy plane was destroyed on the ground. A couple of craters were planted in the runways at Dadjangas. A section of B-25s missed a freighter at Jolo. The siege of Canton continues. We have more reports of Japanese ships sinking. A freighter is reported to have gone down in the SCS near Hong Kong and another sank at Legaspi. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 29 Oct 42 S-45 was forced to evade an enemy ASW group near Truk. Night bombings at Bangkok and Davao continue. The B-17s continue to inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese at Singapore with their bombing of the port. Bankha suffered under another B-17 attack. The enemy appears to be putting together his air forces at Jolo, as evidenced by an attack on Jesselton. I can't wait for the B-24s to reach Menado. Enemy troops at Canton and Tarakan were bombed. The Dutch T.IVs attacked a transport convoy in the Celebes, hitting two ships. A B-25 was lost in one of the strikes on a Jap battleship near Jolo. A bomb hit on an escorting cruiser was claimed. Swordfish missed a light cruiser and some destroyers near Tarakan. It appears the Japs are attempting to either reinforce or evacuate Tarakan. Hopefully the minefield laid outside the harbor by the DMs operating from Darwin will be a surprise to them. P-38 Lightnings claimed their first kills by shooting down two out of six Bettys attacking our ships at Shortlands. Despite this our hold on the Solomons continues to tighten. Green Island has a basic airstrip and just received two squadrons of fighters. Munda and Shortlands are both receiving additional troops to expand and support the airfields on both islands so that more of our bombers will be within range of Rabaul. Beauforts bombed Singapore airfield. Pontianak received more attention from Batavia's mediums. The siege of Canton continues. Japanese shipping continues to dwindle. We got a report of another freighter sinking, this one in the ocean north of Truk. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30 Oct 42 We appear to have thrown up a ring of subs around Truk just in time. The Gar hit a freighter near there with two torpedoes and several deck gun rounds. The S-45 also hit a freighter near Truk with two torpedoes before dodging an ASW group. The Dolphin had dud torpedoes in the Celebes Sea when she tried to attack a transport. The KXVIII missed a freighter near Canton. A minesweeper group pursued a sonar contact near Russell Island but were unable to resolve it enough for an attack. The night bombing of Bangkok and Davao continue. The Chinese raid on Chengting was met by a pair of Tojos. The bombers were able to get thru without any losses. Another hit is claimed on the Akagi at Hong Kong. Some damage was done to the airfield at Kiungahan. Sixteen B-24s bombed Bangkok's port. Two hits are reported on the cruiser at Singapore by the B-17s. The enemy at Canton were raided by SB-2s and P-40s. Wellingtons bombed the Japs at Bangkok, losing one bomber to flak. The enemy forces near Tavoy put up heavy AAA fire, costing us two B-25s. An enemy surface group including at least two battleships was spotted in the Celebes Sea, apparently heading for Menado. The bombers launched in defense of their own base but suffered against the enemy's heavy flak. A T.IV and a Beaufort were lost without hitting any of the enemy ships. A dozen B-26s recently relocated to Shortlands bombed the airfield at Rabaul. Three Bettys bombed the Chinese at Canton. An IJN minesweeper was spotted only fifty miles from Eniwetok. It appears to have been alone, which is strange. In any event the SBDs and B-25s quickly sank it. Near Tarakan a section of Beauforts put a torpedo into a transport. A second strike by almost forty Beauforts lost one plane but scored torpedo hits on a light cruiser and a destroyer. The siege at Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 31 Oct 42 The Dolphin again had her torpedoes dud in an attack on a transport in the Celebes. The S-47 missed a transport with her torpedoes, also in the Celebes Sea. The night bombing of Bangkok and Davao continue. The battleships Maryland, Nevada and California were covering the transports unloading at Eniwetok. With most of the ships gone they were given permission to bombard Kwajalein. They bombarded the island, getting in close so the destroyers could fire as well. That turned out to be a mistake. The enemy's counterfire was heavy and the destroyer Reid was sunk and three more critically damaged. The main group is retiring to Pearl while the damaged tin cans will try to make it back to Eniwetok. The Chinese bombed Chengting and Hong Kong again. One hit is reported on the Akagi. Liberators and Wellingtons flew several strikes against Bangkok, bombing the port and troop defense positions. B-17s bombed Singapore. A dozen enemy aircraft were destroyed by sixty Forts bombing Rabaul. B-17s bombed Marcus Island. Wirraways have moved to Gasmata and bombed the Japanese at Rabaul. Chinese and AVG planes bombed Canton. A hundred and fifty sorties were flown against Japanese forces near Tavoy. Singapore was bombed by Beauforts. Pontianak was bombed by Wellingtons and B-26s. One Swordfish was shot down by AAA bombing the port at Tarakan, but they and the Beauforts did significant damage to the enemy's stores. Swordfish and Beauforts scored a pair of bomb hits on a destroyer east of Tarakan. The enemy's battleships surprised us. Instead of bombarding Menado as we expected, they sailed past the base, spotting and avoiding the base's minefield, to continue to a position about a hundred miles south. Menado's bombers flew several strikes. Without losing any planes they managed to drop a bomb on a battleship and hit a light cruiser with two torpedoes. There were a number of ships at Menado, including the cruisers Sumatra, Detroit and Nashville and their escort destroyers. Not wanting to throw light cruisers away fighting battleships, they were ordered to make for Kendari. Japanese Bettys and Nells tried to take advantage of this to attack them but the ships were able to avoid all the bombs. The 754th Tank once again has taken the lead in the advance on Tarakan, securing a bridgehead over the river. They fought off a desperate but weak attempt to drive them back. The siege at Canton continues. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/15/2005 9:25:41 AM)
01 Nov 42 The nighttime bombing of Bangkok and Davao continues. Chinese bombers attacked Chengting. Seven Sonias attacked Yenen. Chinese fighters shot five down and AAA shot down another. Singapore was bombed, hitting the cruiser again. Heavy air attacks on Japanese troops south of Tavoy continues. The IJN's surface group in the DEI appears to be heading back north. They were tracked to only fifty miles north of Menado. Many of the base's bombers are damaged from previous attacks but those that were able flew again. Two bomb hits were scored on the damaged light cruiser and two Beauforts was shot down by flak. Pontianak was bombed. Tarakan was the focus of air activity from both sides. Out Swordfish and Beauforts bombed the port and supply dumps. Japanese aircraft, including carrier Kates from the north, attacked the 754th Tank. This gave the enemy's infantry the edge they needed and they were able to drive our armor back across the river. The siege at Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 02 Nov 42 The Amberjack missed a freighter near Wenchow. Outside Brunei the KXIV torpedoed a tanker. Her attack was interrupted by the escorts but she was able to come back, putting a total of three torpedoes into the ship. Poor weather grounded the Blenheims but the Havocs bombed Davao again during the night. The Chinese bombed Kiungahan. Spitfires from Krung Thep tried to engage a lone improved Zero over Bangkok but the enemy fighter was able to get away. B-17s had two more bombs hit the cruiser Myoko at Singapore. Beauforts continue bombing the airfield. The port at Pontianak was hit again. Nearly fifty Beauforts bombed the port at Tarakan. B-26 Marauders began bombing the Japanese at Buka. The enemy surface group in the Celebes Sea are definitely heading back north, Menado's bombers chasing them. Two T.IV torpedo bombers were lost. The two battleships were hit, one by a bomb and the other by a torpedo. A section of B-25s hit a third battleship with a bomb at Jolo. The siege of Canton continues. The artillery fire on both sides was particularly heavy today. The destroyer Monaghan failed to make it to Eniwetok, sinking near Bikini Atoll. Intelligence reports an enemy transport sinking near Kompong Trach, probably one of the ships hit at Bangkok a while back. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 03 Nov 42 The night bombing of Bangkok and Davao continues. The Chinese bombed Chengting and Kiungahan. Sixty B-17s bombed Kwajalein, destroying a couple of enemy aircraft and doing heavy damage to the airfield. The lone improved Zero over Bangkok cost us a Mohawk IV fighter escorting the Wellingtons as they bombed the troops. The bombers at Tavoy continue to bomb enemy troops to the south. Twenty Sallys bombed our forces as they crossed the river at Tarakan. Beauforts continued bombing the port at Tarakan, doing heavy damage to the supply depots. The garrison at Tarakan tried to drive back our bridgehead again. However this time we have three divisions and a field artillery regiment across. The enemy attack quickly petered out but not before taking very heavy casualties. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 04 Nov 42 The Gar missed a freighter near Truk. The night bombing of Bangkok and Davao continues. More minor damage was done at Chengting by the Chinese bombers. Kiungahan was also bombed. A Jap raid on Yenen caught the CAP by surprise, allowing the enemy to get thru without loss. The Spitfires continue to try to bag the lone M3 Zero over Bangkok, but the pilot is proving to be very elusive. Two more hits on the CA Myoko are reported in the raid on Singapore. Extensive damage was done at Kwajalein in the process of destroying four more enemy aircraft. Rabaul was hit by sixty Forts, destroying three more planes on the ground and very heavily damaging that air base. Wirraways followed the B-17s to attack the Jap troops directly. The raids on Canton have been reduced to just the SB-2s. The squadron of the AVG that was participating in those attacks has moved to Hengchow to join the campaign against Nanchang. Unfortunately that attack cost us one of those P-40s and a SB-2. B-26s continue bombing Buka. Beauforts bombed Singapore airfield. SBDs operating from Green Island attacked the airfield at Rabaul. B-25s and Hudsons hit a destroyer near Jolo. Our forces at Tarakan shelled the Japs while they prepared to attack the base. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 05 Nov 42 The night bombing of Bangkok and Davao continues. The Chinese bombed Chengting. Two more hits on the Akagi were claimed by the raid on Hong Kong. One enemy plane was destroyed on the ground at Kiungahan. The Spitfires are still unable to get the Zero over Bangkok. B-17s report four bomb strikes on the Myoko at Singapore. Two more enemy planes were destroyed on Kwajalein by the Forts. Small groups of aircraft harried the Japanese garrison of Nanchang. Beauforts bombed the Japs at Tarakan. The bombing near Tavoy are believed to have caused heavy losses among the enemy today. Zeroes escorting Sallys bombing our troops attacking Tarakan shot down two of the P-40s that tried to intercept. We also lost a Wildcat over Menado intercepting Zeroes and Bettys bombing ships there. Fortunately there were only three bombers and they missed. We launched a couple of strikes against enemy ships at Jolo, including a battleship and heavy cruiser. Enemy AAA shot a Hudson down. The Australian and American troops at Tarakan continue to re-group from the river crossing before making their attack on the base. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/16/2005 9:40:26 AM)
06 Nov 42 Weather kept the Havocs on the ground but the Blenheims continue bombing Bangkok. The Chinese bomb Chengting. IL-4s claim another bomb hit on the Akagi. A dozen Japanese aircraft attacked Yenen. The Chinese fighters shot down four Nates and a Sonia. A dozen B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and fifty bombed Singapore, getting another hit on the Myoko. Half-a-dozen enemy planes were destroyed in a B-17 raid on Rabaul. Forts bombed Marcus Island. Wirraways made another attack on Japanese troops at Rabaul. The Japs outside Tavoy continue to be punished by hundred and fifty plus bombers. But they are still fighting back, claiming a Hurricane with AAA. In the Solomons, B-26s bombed the garrison of Buka. T.IVs from Menado caught a convoy outside Davao. They sank a minesweeper escort and hit two freighters with bombs. Beauforts continue to bomb Singapore's airfield. Pontianak was bombed again. B-25s bombed the supply depots at Buka. Our troops at Tarakan began reducing the extensive defensive works. We have been able to identify the defending units as two construction battalions, a base engineer unit, an aviation support unit, an air division headquarters, the Yokosuka 2nd SNLF and elements of the 38th Division. Part of the weakness of the defenders is explained by the fact that we've also been able to locate part of the IJA 38th Division at Dadjangas on Mindanao. The siege at Canton continues. We have a report of an enemy transport sinking in the Philippine Sea. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 07 Nov 42 The S-42 torpedoed a freighter outside Truk. The Kingfish missed a freighter in the Celebes Sea near Jolo and had to spend most of the day evading the escorts. East of Cooktown a minesweeper group found and attacked a Jap sub. They got an oil slick so believe they hit it. A half-dozen Havocs bombed Davao. Bad weather kept the Blenheims grounded during the night. The IJN surface group in the Celebes Sea came back and attacked Menado, where they encountered our cruiser-destroyer group. Our ships got the first shots off, apparently catching the enemy by surprise. The destroyer Stewart was lost when her magazines exploded and the cruiser Marblehead took a torpedo hit. The Japanese broke off and then returned later during the night. In the second round the Nashville took a torpedo hit and one Jap destroyer was sunk before both sides broke off. The CL Marblehead took critical damage, the CL Sumatra is seriously damaged and the CL Nashville is heavily damaged. Of the four cruisers only the CL Detroit escaped without being hit. The destroyer Isis is also heavily damaged and the Parrott and Thracian took hits as well. Despite this I believe we got the better of the exchange as hits were scored on at least three enemy cruisers, leaving one burning as well as all four surviving enemy destoyers. Also, while two battleships were spotted among the enemy ships, only one of them participated in the battle and even then it was only one of them with a single salvo. If the enemy's intention was to bombard Menado, the battle disuaded them from doing so. Debriefings also indicate that overall we may have scored more gun hits, although none of our torpedoes hit. We will send one of the two machine shop ships we have at Darwin to Menado to aid in patching the ships up enough to make it to a shipyard. The Chinese continue bombing Chengting and Kiungahan. One of three Sonias attacking Yenen was shot down by the I-16 CAP. The Rangoon B-24s stretched their legs and also bombed Kiungahan. Three enemy planes were destroyed at Johore Bahru by the B-17s. Three more bombs hit the Myoko and heavy damage was done to the airfield at Singapore. Kwajalein lost another plane and took severe damage from the fifty Forts targeting the island. A like number of B-17s bombed Rabaul, destroying another two enemy aircraft. Thirty B-17s bombed Marcus Island. Wirraways continue to divebomb enemy forces at Rabaul. One SB-2 was shot down over Canton. A section of Wellingtons bombed Bangkok. Two planes were lost near Tavoy, a Hurricane and a B-25. Beauforts attacked enemy forces at Tarakan. Twenty B-26s bombed Japanese troops on Buka. Half-a-dozen Sallys bombed our forces attacking Tarakan. Their escorting Zeroes shot down one of the P-40s that tried to intercept. Menado's bombers went after the retreating Jap ships in the morning. A heavily damaged destroyer a short distance to the east was hit by a Beaufort's torpedo. Not long afterwards a PBY spotted the destroyer sinking. Another strike hit a burning cruiser with three torpedoes, probably sinking it although we can't confirm that yet. Beauforts bombed Singapore airfield again. A section of B-25s missed a freighter not far from Jolo. A small Jap strike went after our ships at Menado. One Kittyhawk and one Zero were shot down in the dogfight. None of the bombs found a target. The enemy defense of Tarakan is rapidly weakening, losing more ground to our steadily advancing infantry. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 08 Nov 42 The ASW group near Cooktown continues to hunt the enemy sub. They believe they have scored more damage with another depth charge attack. The Blenheims continue their night bombing of Bangkok. The P-70 attack on Davao turned up something unexpected. The pilots report spotting and hitting a Jap fleet carrier in the port. This is disturbing news as all of our carriers are in port undergoing refits. We don't really have enough aviation support for them, but I'm going to have to move some of the B-17s from Batavia to Menado and hope that they can catch the carrier in port. Thankfully the airstrip is, just, large enough to handle them. B-17s bombed Johore Bahru and Singapore. Another three bomb hits on the cruiser were reported. Two enemy aircraft were destroyed at Rabaul by the Flying Forts. Marcus Island was bombed. Gasmata's Wirraways attacked the Rabaul garrison again. Chinese bombers attacked Canton. Air support for our attack on Tarakan continues. B-26s continue to bomb the Japs trapped on Buka. Strikes on a destroyer and a freighter at Jolo missed but one on a freighter in the southern Philippine Sea succeeded. One Beaufort was shot down during the raid on Singapore's airfield. The rubble of the port at Pontianak was bounced around some more. B-25s missed the port on Buka. Chinese I-16s turned back an attack on Canton by three Bettys by shooting one of them down. We continue to make progress at Tarakan. Our own losses are minimal and the enemy's casualties are increasing as we push forward. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/17/2005 2:36:16 AM)
09 Nov 42 The S-42 used sunset to make a surface attack on a barge south of Truk. Patrol aircraft yesterday reported a sub inside the Great Barrier Reef just outside Cairns. In response we sent half-a-dozen minesweepers from Townsville. Today that sub torpedoed and sank one of the minesweepers before escaping cleanly. Good news is that intelligence reports another enemy sub sinking just east of where another ASW group attacked one in the Coral Sea yesterday. Nothing significant to report from the night bombings at Bangkok and Davao. The Chinese continue to bomb Chengting, Kiungahan and Hong Kong. Four Sonias attacked Yenen. Fighters accounted for two and AAA shot down another. The Spitfires are still unable to pin down that lone M3 Zero over Bangkok. B-17s bombed Johore Bahru's airfield. Forty B-17s bombed the port and airfield at Singapore, claiming another hit on the CA Myoko. The fifty plus Forts bombing Kwajalein destroyed another enemy aircraft. Heavy damage was done to Rabaul by the Port Moresby based B-17s. Only one section of B-17s was able to strike Davao in the morning, joined by a section of Hudsons and a pair F-5s. One bomb hit was reported on the enemy carrier and the photos taken by the recon planes have allowed us to identify the ship as the Zuikaku. An afternoon strike by T.IVs, Hudsons and B-25s claimed two more hits. Harrasing attacks on the Japs at Nanchang continue. B-25s from the recently arrived 341 BG joined the Wellingtons in their attacks on the defenses of Bangkok. Heavy enemy losses are reported south of Tavoy but their AAA shot down a B-25. South Borneo's Beauforts continue to provide air support at Tarakan. While B-26s bomb the enemy troops on Buka in the Solomons, B-25s attacked their supply dumps. Twenty Sallys bombed our troops at Tarakan. The half-dozen P-40s flying cover were able to evade the escort Zeroes and quickly got in among the bombers, shooting four of them down. Beauforts bomb Singapore and Wellingtons and Marauders bomb Pontianak. We continue to make gains at Tarakan. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10 Nov 42 The Gato fired on and missed a cruiser outside Tokyo. Blenheims bombed the airfield at Bangkok. Bad weather during the night kept the Havocs grounded. The Chinese continue their bombing of Chengting, Hong Kong and Kiungahan, losing a SB-2 to flak over the last. Thirty Liberators followed the Chinese closely at Kiungahan. Johore Bahru and Singapore were both bombed by B-17s, with another hit on the Myoko. Eighteen Forts kept the enemy from gaining any ground in repairing the airfield at Rabaul. The Spitfires are still not able to force an engagement with Bangkok Bob. Another raid on Jap forces at Nanchang. The IJA south of Tavoy continues to be tied down by heavy air attack. B-26s bombed enemy troops on Buka. Beauforts continue to crater the runways at Singapore. Batavia's mediums have switched their attention from the port to the airfield at Pontianak. Menado's T.IVs, Hudsons and B-25s bounced a pair of small bombs off the Zuikaku at Davao. A section of B-25s missed a freighter in the approaches to Davao. Three Bettys and eight Zeroes attacked our ships at Menado. The fighters wore the markings of IJN carrier fighters and the raid appears to have originated from Jolo. One Wildcat, two Kittyhawks and two Zeroes were shot down in the ensuing dogfight and the Bettys were unable to hit anything from 15,000 feet. The siege of Canton continues. We captured Tarakan today, driving the Japanese forces into the jungle to the northeast. Let them walk across the heart of darkness. Half-a-dozen Nate fighters were captured when the base fell. The airfield isn't in too bad shape, but the port and the oil and resource sites are completely trashed. We can repair the port and airfield without too much trouble, but the industrial facilities will take some time. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/17/2005 8:39:38 AM)
11 Nov 42 The minesweepers outside Cairns found and sank that sub inside the Reef. The night Blenheims bombed Bangkok. A Japanese attack on Yenen lost two Nates and four Sonias to the I-16s. The IL-4s bombed Hong Kong again. Bangkok Bob got away from the Spitfires again. A raid on Davao reports almost half-a-dozen hits on the Zuikaku. Another enemy aircraft was destroyed at Rabaul by the B-17s. Wellingtons and B-25s bombed the Japanese at Bangkok. SB-2s and P-40s continued their attacks on the Japanese at Nanchang. It appears the Japanese have become aware of the pending attack on Bangkok or feel that their position there is weak. At least one enemy unit has begun pulling back from their positions near Tavoy and appears to be heading for Bangkok. Tavoy's bombers attacked this force on the road. A strike against shipping near Davao hit a destroyer and a freighter. Several strikes targeted enemy ships around Jolo but failed to hit. They did spot an enemy battleship there. A freighter off the coast of Mindanao was hit by T.IVs in a bombing attack. Two of our destroyer-minelayers returning to Soerabaja after laying mines at Menado were attacked by nearly twenty Bettys and Lilys in the Makassar Strait. The DM Ramsay was hit by one torpedo and is diverting to Balikpapan. Beauforts bombed Singapore again. The airfield at Pontianak was bombed again. One of four Bettys bombing the Chinese at Canton was shot down by a patrol of I-16s. Another attack on our ships at Menado failed. One Kittyhawk and one Dinah were shot down. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 Nov 42 The crew of the Kingfish got quite a surprise when they attacked a barge south of Jolo. The first burst from their 20mm cannon set off a massive explosion on the small ship. The night time bombing of Bangkok and Davao continue. The IL-4s claim another hit on the Akagi at Hong Kong. The Chinese continue bombing Kiungahan. B-17s bombed the airfields at Johore Bahru and Singapore. Sixty B-17s bombed Kwajalein. Marcus Island was bombed. Two raids on Davao report a hit on a cruiser and almost ten hits on the Zuikaku, leaving the carrier on fire. They also hit supply centers around the port. A third strike by T.IVs bombed a tanker just outside the harbor. The attacks on Nanchang continue. B-26s bombed Buka. A dozen Beauforts also bombed Singapore. More damage was done to Pontianak's airfield. The siege of Canton continues. More reports to follow.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/18/2005 9:46:38 AM)
13 Nov 42 The Searaven missed a tanker outside Brunei. The Grenadier missed a freighter between Batan Island and Formosa. Another Jap sub has moved inside the Barrier Reef. It sank a minesweeper outside Cairns before being hit by the rest of the ASW group. The night bombing of Bangkok continues. The Chinese and B-24s bombed Kiungahan airfield. Johore Bahru and Singapore were both bombed. Between half-a-dozen and a decade of enemy aircraft were destroyed on Kwajalein. A pair of planes were destroyed at Rabaul by the B-17s. Wirraways bombed the Japanese at Rabaul. Troops at Nanchang were bombed by SB-2s and P-40s. B-26s attacked the enemy on Buka. Bangkok Bob lives to taunt us another day. Beauforts added their payloads to the cratering of Singapore's runways. B-25s bombed the port on Buka. Two small groups of Bettys attacked the Chinese at Canton. The 11th Fighter's I-16s shot three of them down. Hudsons and B-25s missed two transports near Jolo. T.IVs scored five bomb hits on a tanker near Davao. The first forces to reach Bangkok launched a probing attack to feel out the defenses. The defensive works are extensive but the enemy forces manning them appear to be weak. The siege of Canton continues. More troops have arrived. The Australians have another AAA regiment. In San Francisco we have four more SeaBee units, two EABs and the 2nd MAW AV Rgt. More reports to follow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14 Nov 42 Blenheims bombed Bangkok again. The Chinese attack on Chengting continues. The IL-4 bombers claimed another hit on the Akagi at Hong Kong. Kiungahan was hit by a one-two punch again of SB-2s and B-24s. The Spitfires once again failed to corner Bangkok Bob. Two enemy planes were destroyed at Johore Bahru. The Myoko was hit again by the B-17s bombing Singapore. Kwajalein's airfield was heavily damaged by today's raid. Two more enemy fighters were destroyed in the hammering of Rabaul. The Japanese launched a ten Sally raid against the airfield at Tarakan, doing minor damage. B-25s and B-17s bombed Davao, hitting a tanker and a destroyer in port. Wirraways continued their attacks on the Rabaul garrison. Chinese SB-2s bombed Canton. Attacks on the forces at Nanchang also continue. The SBDs at Gasmata got a target. They scored multiple bomb hits on a small freighter near Rabaul, setting off something explosive on board the ship. B-25s from Shortlands attacked a second freighter approaching Rabaul, hitting it twice. T.IVs and B-25s put three bombs into a freighter off the south coast of Mindanao. The Zuikaku has left Davao, moving thru the Celebes apparently enroute to Jolo or the Sulu Sea. Two strikes went after her, the first hitting with one bomb, the second with two. Singapore's airfield was bombed by Beauforts again, as was Pontianak. The supply depots on Buka were hit by B-25s. A section of Bettys got past the I-16 CAP over Canton but missed the Chinese troops. Another trio of Bettys attacked Menado, escorted by half-a-dozen Zeroes. We lost two Kittyhawks, the enemy lost one Betty and the other two turned back. The Japanese forces at Bangkok tried a counter-attack. Allied losses were well under a hundred while we estimate the enemy's losses at well over four thousand. The siege of Canton continues. More forces arrive. The Brits have another squadron of Catalinas on Ceylon while a squadron of C-47s and two Marine SBD Dauntless squadrons arrived on the West Coast. The Royal Navy's CS Frobisher arrived at Karachi. In the US we have the battleship Indiana, two destroyers, two APDs, a minesweeper, five subchasers, three subs, a pair of fleet oilers and half-a-dozen more freighters. More reports to follow.

Alikchi2 -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/18/2005 3:29:44 PM)
Bangkok Bob is my hero. Also.. quote: The Zuikaku has left Davao, moving thru the Celebes apparently enroute to Jolo or the Sulu Sea. Two strikes went after her, the first hitting with one bomb, the second with two. Another AI problem this game reveals - sending carriers and other ships into LBA.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (1/18/2005 7:15:55 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Alikchi Bangkok Bob is my hero. Also.. quote: The Zuikaku has left Davao, moving thru the Celebes apparently enroute to Jolo or the Sulu Sea. Two strikes went after her, the first hitting with one bomb, the second with two. Another AI problem this game reveals - sending carriers and other ships into LBA. Ennhhh, yes and no. In the Zuikaku's case this is a good move. The carrier was getting bombed in port at Davao. Moving it to Jolo (or better, Manila or the Home Islands) is better than leaving it at Davao. Now, the Akagi .... [8\|]

munited18 -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (2/2/2005 2:00:06 AM)
Is the war over?

Marten -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (2/2/2005 1:05:45 PM)
[img]http://www.macksites.com/images/ve.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.macksites.com/images/rob_9.jpg[/img] Bring the boys back home. Bring the boys back home. Don't leave the children on their own, no, no. Bring the boys back home.

dtravel -> RE: Reports From the Front (AAR from a first time player.) (2/2/2005 8:01:17 PM)
I have stopped reading or posting to these forums because I could no longer deal with the poor customer relations of the company. The stated corporate policy of complete silence about bugs and tech support is extremely frustrating to their paying customers. Placing in charge of problem reports someone who takes obvious delight in giving misleading answers, is unable to answer the questions actually asked and by his own admission does not know how the program is supposed to work is indicative of a corporate policy of contempt for those same customers. The fact that six months after the game has been released for sale the job title for that position is �Head Beta Tester� is simply a final indication that the developers do not know what they are doing and the product was not ready for release. Attempting to characterize complaints about the poor support as promulgating a �witch hunt� simply shows the complete lack understanding on the part of the company and its representatives.

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