Canoerebel
Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002 From: Northwestern Georgia, USA Status: offline
|
3/3/44 Third Ring: Gove falls to the Allies, bringing Operation Third Ring to a conclusion. Third Ring was the operation to clear an LOC between the DEI and the Coral Sea. The major targets were Merauke, Horn Island, and Gove. Losses were negligible. The operation strung out, mainly because it was a lower priority than the others, so forces were committed when available. Big Tent and Third Ring commenced with the landing at Satawal Island on November 9, 1943. So the two ops took nearly four months. In addition to the Third Ring targets, major Big Tent targets were Morotai, Sorong, Manokwari, Boela, and Ambon. There were many secondary (inc. Babar, Dobo, Saumlaki, Babo, Biak) and tertiary (dot hex) targets. Operation Carousel was a spin-off of the other two, when KB remained stationed near the Solomons. Carousel is ongoing, but has thus far netted Watampone, Polapo, Makassar and Salajar Island. As discussed in detail previously, the largest ship lost by the Allies over these four months, while penetrating deeply into Japan's heartland and fighting for months, was CLAA Richmond. Japanese losses were much heavier even though John showed a marked reluctance to engage, especially since mid December. These operations succeeded in seizing bases in the enemy heartland, building them large, providing them with supply, and in attritioning the Kaigun. But a key question going forward is whether John has a decent handle on what might happen next. Has he properly allocated resources or has he spent too much time misconstruing the map? At the moment, I feel pretty good about Fun House, mainly because I like what I'm seing on the map and in SigInt reports. We'll see what happens as Fun House begins to unfold over the next four or five weeks.
Attachment (1)
|