Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
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5/16/44 to 5/18/44 CenPac: I have been torn between the option of heading south to invade what appears to be a lightly held Solomons/New Britain/New Guinea region or back-filling to take what will be a stoutly defended Wake Island, I finally chose the latter; thus the rebirth of Operation Aurora. I am still awaiting arrival at Midway of the balance of 6th Marine Division, but all troops should be ready to embark on transports within a week. The defense seesm to be 40,000 troops in about 13 units (a division plus mixed brigade, or perhaps two mixed brigades?) The invasion force will consist of: 6th Marine Division; 31st Army Division; 98th Army Division; two RCT; 11th Combat Engineers; three Tank Destroyer units; two Tank units; two Marine Amphibious armor units; III Marine Artillery; 15th Marine CD; two Amphibious Force HQ units; and XI Corps HQ. The transport and supply ships will be escorted by three carrier TFs (each with a fleet carrier and CVL); CV Wasp's TF; several escort carrier TFs totalling 15 CVEs; and a stout bombardment TF probably to include BBs Massachusetts and Richelieu. The plan is to station the CVEs, bombardment TF, and MSW at Wake several days in advance of the invasion to reduce the defenses, clear mines, and in general to gauge the intensity of the Japanese response. If things look too hot, I may divert south and hit the Solomons region instead. NoPac/CenPac: On the 16th, the Allies tried a coordinated strike against the aircraft factories at Gumma with poor results. John has three good Tony squadrons flying CAP. They turned back the B-24s and B-17s from Iwo with little trouble, and then did the same with B-29s from Shikuka (and that surprised me, but I had them set too low - 25,000 feet). I lost 48 aircraft in the raids. Other 4EBs from Shikuka hit an undefended Aomori, destroying 50 resource points, so the day wasn't a total waste. John's email to me said simply: "Come on back and visit..." Okay, bub, I will... Meanwhile, the efforts to wipe out the isolated defenders at Attu Island and Paramushiro continue; the going is frustratingly slow, but the odds are increasing (both islands were 26:1 attacks yesterday). Australia: A recon squadorn transferred from Kiska to Eniwetok to Coen, Australia, over two days, rested a few days, and is now flying recon over Port Moresby. I think it will be tough for John to commit ships to defend this region/New Caledonia/the Socieities/Fiji/Pago Pago/Canton/Kwajalein etc. simply because the Japs "sea lane" is now very narrow, what with the Allies having bases at Ponape and Eniwetok to the north, and Australia to the south. John can send ships between Ponape and New Guinea, but even there he risks a raid by American carriers. It will be interesting to see what he does. The Allies can pick up alot of points at places like Noumea, Port Moresby, Suva, and Pago Pago. Malaya: On May 17, the Allies took a vacant Singora and a lightly defended Alor Star. The Allies now hold most of the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. John has a strong line across the peninsula with stout garrisons at Taiping (west side) and Khota Bharu (east side). I'm not sure which I'll hit, or whether I'll reinforce the beachead at Malacca, or both. Georgetown airfield is a level five about 80% to level six. As soon as it reaches level seven, I'll move B-29s in and commence a strategic bombing campaign. The Map: Over the past few days, especially following the fall of Eniwetok and Ponape, I've reflected on the overall situation and realized I am very satisfied with the Allied position. The Allies can bomb Japan, are safely advancing in Malaya (by safe I mean it's not a risky operation with a big threat to Allied carriers), and can backfill in CenPac/SWPac/SoPac without too much danger. In fact, the Allies don't anticipate any more high risk invasions in the game. Those were done in the second half of 1943 (Midway, Iwo Jima, Hokkaido, Port Blair, Sabang). The Japanese high water mark was just about a year ago, and had I been able to foresee where the Allies would be as we approach June 1944, I would have been most pleased.
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