John 3rd -> June 1942--KB Raid Sitka/Juneau (1/31/2006 6:32:30 PM)
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June 8, 1942 SS I now have 3 ASW TF sweeping the sea between Dutch Harbor and Anchorage There are 2 MSW TF doing the same thing between DH, Kodiak, and Anchorage Air Burma Akyab 11 Hudson and then 6 Beaufort strike base vs. 11Z Shot down 3 Hudson and 1 Beaufort for no losses. Myitkyina Two Raids come in 7 I-153 and 7 Lysander then the AVG with 35 P-40. 15 A3s meet them. For the day--I lose 8Z for 7 I-153/2 Lysander/3 P-40 Calcutta Try a raid on Calcutta from Akyab to see if I can hit his bombers. 16Z 35B vs. 33 Hurricane and 13 Buffalo--Lose 11Z and 13B for only 7F. I do hit the AF and destroy a bomber. BURMA Thoughts--He has toughened up a lot here and I am NOT willing to commit my airpower in an aerial slugfest until I have Tony/Tojo. I pull back all planes, except recon, from Akyab--Myitkyina--Mandalay. Will rebuild the 3 chewed up Zero Daitai and 2 Oscar Daitai by training missions in China. For the moment they stay in Rangoon until rebuilt planes and pilots wise. Once I move new Fighter Daitai there, then we will look at new options. China (45,35) 50F 143B Continue hitting his Chinese troops there! 389 Cas and 5 G Australia 9,94 30B 34 Cas and 1 Tank 37,90 29F 86B 87 Cas and 4 Guns Anchorage I have moved 5 Sally/Helen Daitai to Kodiak and they will starting attacking tomorrow or the day after. I have moved 3 Zero Daitai back to Midway for Central/South Pacific duty. This still leaves me with 4 Daitai in the theatre. There is 1 at Kodiak and 3 at Dutch Harbor. Have 2 Daitai of Bettys at Anchorage as well. Moved three Daitai of Betty back to Midway for rest and refit. Ground Anchorage Reinforcement Convoy almost done unloading troops and supplies. Some CD hits an AP for lite damage. US Bombardment hits and HURTS this round--572 Cas and 14 Guns! [&:] Disruption coming down. Will plan my first attack for tomorrow or day after. Got to see how bad things are... CAPTURE Hengchow, CH! 3rd Inf Div takes town and destroys one SB2c there! Does this mean the Railline is open? I have taken Changsha and Hengchow. He has troops at Wuchow and Kwelian (Sp??) but those are one hex off the RR line. Anyone know? MOSES??!! Sea KB RAIDS! Juneau--39Z, 48V, 59K No Losses Destroy 3 B-25/3 SBD/2 PBY, 8 Cas, and AF. Sitka--32Z, 39V, 46K Lose 1V, destroy 2 C-47, 98 Cas, 4 Guns, and AF. CONVOY SPOTTED! 14Z and 26V hit 4AK for lite damage. Nice results for only 1 plane loss. Decide to hunt the Convoy and leave AFs for a day. Bombard Anchorage: 2BB, 2CA 183 Cas and 6 Guns Wolfpack losses YET another TK from that raid near New Zealand three weeks ago. By my count, I have sunk 12 TK from that convoy... June 9, 1942 SS MSW at Kodiak and Dutch Harbor SS Searaven hit by LBA near Rangoon Air Burma Akyab 20Z vs. Three raids--6 Hudson, 11 Beaufort, 107 Brit Bombers and 34 B-17. When the bombs, planes, and dust settles, the tally for the day sits at: 12Z and 4B lost for 1 Hudson, 7 Brit Bombers, and 25 more damaged. OOOPPS! I missed a Zero Daitai during my withdrawal. STUPID mistake...MAKE SURE all possible planes north of Rangoon are pulled back. Myitkyina Hit but no resistance... China (45,35) 28F 70B 104 Cas and 3 Guns---22F 78B 114 Cas and 2 Guns Australia 9,94 23B 12 Cas 37,90 30F 84B 84 Cas Anchorage Two raids: 13Z 35B Lose 1B, 4 Cas, 1G and 7Z 40B Lose 1B, 46 Cas, and 1G Due to events listed below, shift 3 Daitai of Sally/Helen (Taken from Rangoon and Wuhan) to Hanoi to deal with Chinese Threat east of Lashio, Burma Ground Get a VERY RUDE surprise as I move an Inf Div slowly eastwards from Lashio. Cross the river at 37,30 and find 4 Chinese Divisions and 4 Corps! [X(] My Inf Div has to Shock Attack over the river and takes 2,215 Cas and loses 48G. All this for only 12 Chin Cas...my recon didn't see them at all! Move the LBA to help situation and order the Theatre Reserve Inf Div plus a Hv Art Regiment from Mandalay to Lashio... Deliberate Attack: Anchorage! 0-1 Forts 8 to 7 Japan 84,366 816G 16V Losses 2,382 87G 6V US/Can 69,635 715G 51V Losses 317 36G 2V I was pretty close in actual attack ratio. Nearly 1-1--VERY GOOD SIGN. Still managed to drop the Forts so that bodes well too... Attacking Units present: 2nd, 5th, 16th, and Imperial Guards Divisions plus 1st Mixed Brigade, 3 Hv Art Regiments, 1 Mortar Battalion, 2 Engineer Regiments, and an Army HQ. Will rest them a few days and hit again. With my Fleet bombarding every few days and constant Air Attacks, I HOPE this doesn't take TOO long--I predict 4-6 weeks. Sea I lose an AK from earlier damage at Anchorage. Norfolk Island--SURFACE ACTION! Wolfpack makes an actual attack!!! 2 poor Jap PT-Boats are attacked by 3CA, 6CL, 4DD. Needless to say, I lose both PTs. The TF does not bombard the Island which surprises me...indirect result of this is for me to know that there ARE targets down here worthy of hunting... DAMN! Juneau launches a strike at my Reinforcement Convoy dropping off troops and supplies between Sitka/Juneau and Anchorage: 8 B-25 and 3 SBD damage 3AK. Have a 'Nagumo-like' feeling. I want to cover those ships so they can off-load but also hunt the convoy... KB CONVOY ACTION! The KB flies a total of 342 sorties--with NO losses--and hits a total of 11 AP/AK at 129,36. I misjudged the rate of their movement and they were at range five so my TT Planes didn't attack. Will seek to swing a little west (Only 3 Hexes from Coast--TOO near some West Coast Bases) and try to get close enough to finish off the convoy. One AK immediately sinks. COMPOMISE---Decide to split off Junyo/Hiyo/Ryujo to support that convoy with LRCAP and hit Juneau again. Remaining CV--Akagi/Kaga/Hiryu/Soryu/Hosho--to deal with convoy.
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