Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
|
3/16/43 Battle of Sumatra: Today is significant as John's plans begin to come into focus and the Allies get in a couple of punches. The Kongos return to Sabang, again hammering the airfield, damaging some of the ships in the harbor, and not touching the infantry or supply. At Langsa, Japanese bombers come in waves and tear up the airfield and a bit of supply. I had just loaded up the field with strike aircraft in hopes of catching John napping a bit. There were two TBF squadrons with torps set naval strike, a group of Bolos and two B25 squadrons set to hit Sinabang's port, and three B24D1 to hit Singers port. All but the Liberators flew. The Bolos sank an already damaged 10-point DD at Sinabang, the TBFs scored one hit on a troop-carrying xAK near Phuket, and the B25s did this: Morning Air attack on Sinabang , at 42,76 Weather in hex: Overcast Raid spotted at 33 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 9 minutes Allied aircraft B-25D1 Mitchell x 14 No Allied losses Japanese Ships xAK Juko Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Ginyo Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAKL Yosyu Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire, heavy damage xAK Macassar Maru, Bomb hits 1, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Matsukawa Maru, Bomb hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage xAK Tatukami Maru, Bomb hits 1, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 14 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 13000 feet Port Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb I debated whether this was a good idea and the best time to try this. It should ratchet up John's irritation with all things Sumatra (which is both good and bad) and now he'll work to close the airfield good. But the time seemed right to score some hits. KB remains posted close to Sabang, just to the NNW. DD Decoy made a successful escape from Sabang and is halfway to Ceylon. The most important event of the day is the appearance (finally!) of two Japanese ground units heading towards the west coast yellow road that leads to Sabang. I'm thinking John will commit at least three divisions to this endeavor. So the Allies will shift several hundred AV from Sabang to jungle-rough terrain on that road. The RCT is in place, of course, and serves as the first speed bump. To replace the AV in Sabang, several units will move there from Langsa. This stretches the defenses a bit. The danger is if John sends in a massive invasion. But he's got so many divisions tied down now - four over near Langsa, I think at least three heading for the yellow road, and four to six more in Burma, that the cupboard has to be a bit thin. I wouldn't sweat an three-division invasion of either port. I think it would take five or six to give John a chance - especially at Langsa. But if John isn't yet prepared to try an amphibious assault - if he's first willing to give a ground campaign a try - then he's just added a lot of time to the entire undertaking. It's March 16. Hellcats come online in two weeks. In two months, the Allies should have six to eight divisions available in Oz with which to proceed with the next big campaign. I've been asking for time to get my ducks in a row. Although the picture isn't complete yet, John may have seen fit to give a block of time.
< Message edited by Canoerebel -- 2/11/2016 7:13:43 AM >
|