Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
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7/10/44 and 7/11/44 A very good two-day turn for the Allies: Samarinda: This base falls without any real opposition. The Allies can move most of these troops over to Balikpan, have an operational airfield, and can land future Balik-bound troops at a friendly port. Carriers: No clash between the two forces. The KB approached the scene from the south (Java Sea). Allied ASW hammered several Japanese subs, none of which scored any hits. The Allied carriers finished the turn a few hexes south of Makassar. I don't think Miller dares venture any further east due to Allied LBA - too, the Allied carriers put up a CAP of about 500 Hellcats and 200+ other fighters, so it's still a potent force despite the damage incurred by Intrepid, Saratoga, and Constellation (speaking of which, Constellation is ten days away from Capetown, Saratoga is about a week from Perth, and Intrepid is disbanded at Makassar waiting for the area to quiet down a bit). LBA: Alot of Japanese LBA sortied. Raids targeting Allied shipping around Manado and Makassar got chewed up by overwhelming CAP. Raids targeting lightly protected "low-value" transports at Donggala scored and probably sank a dozen ships. Overall, the Japanese probably lost more points on aircraft than the Allies did on ships. Strategic Situation: The past month has seen rather marked progress for the Allies in the DEI as Kendari, Makassar, and Samarinda have fallen and stout armies have been landed at Balikpan and Sampit. These were accomplished at very acceptable cost. The Allies have suffered enough carrier attrition that they won't chance any "forward thrusts" in the near future, but will be content to work on Balikpan along with considering further action against Sampit, Banjermasin and possibly the Java bases east of Soerabaja if the KB isn't lurking. In SEAC, the Allies will continue to press their advantages in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam until they run up against bases to strong to take. I think the Allies will be threatening some of the "middle" Vietnam cities in the next month or so.
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