Schlussel
Posts: 384
Joined: 5/21/2007 From: Sacramento, California Status: offline
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Week 53: December 9th – December 15th 1942 North Pacific: Base building continues at Amchitka, Umnak and Attu. Central Pacific: Sporadic IJA bomber raids hit Tabiteuea. CAP continues to be successful at preventing the enemy from reaching their targets. Southern Pacific: Theater is quiet. New Guinea/Solomons: On Bougainville, Allied troops are still marching towards Torokina. 4 engine bombers target the enemy held base, hopefully this will make the upcoming fight a little easier. Australian forces at Salamaua continue to bombard the base’s defenders. Artillery is taking longer than I hoped to arrive from Buna, the rough jungle terrain must be the culprit. Wave 1 of the assault on Finschafen is underway. Infantry, engineers and artillery hit the beaches and things were looking good. Then the next morning, the Japanese shock attacked with about 100 to 20 advantage in AV. Allied troops held on but the fight resulted in 22 disabled squads. In tandem with the ground assault, the Japanese air force sortied and targeted the American fleet covering the landings. Allied CAP took care of the Japanese escorts, but the Bettys came in low and slipped right by…putting two torpedoes into CVE Nassau. Damage was severe, but it looked like she might be able to limp to port. However that afternoon, another Betty raid slipped by my CAP and put a torp into Nassau, which finished her. The good news was that the amphibs were untouched and I was able to adjust CAP altitudes to effectively counter the Japanese tactics. As the week progressed, more Allied troops came ashore unmolested thanks to a more effective CAP. At the end of the week, the AV tally stands at 118 to 89 in favor of the Allies. The beachhead is secure, but any deliberate attacks will have to wait until next week when wave 2 arrives. At Woodlark Island, Allied forces landed and took the base rather quickly, aided by a timely BB bombardment that sent the Japanese defense into disarray. East of Lunga, I finally caught up to the 3 Japanese cruisers raiding my supply line. Dauntlesses and Avengers from the Lexington overwhelmed the enemy, sinking the CL Kuma, CL Yura, and damaging an escorting Destroyer. DEI/Philippines: In the Philippines, all my base are belong to Japan. In the DEI, Japan continues the Brunei bombings, but no sign of invasion. Nothing else of note in the region. SE Asia/China: The standoff at Akyab continues, I have a solid ground defensive position, but the Japanese control the air and have been using their bombers to maximum effect. One bright spot is the performance of my AA in the area, which has taken its toll on the Japanese bombers, but at the moment it doesn’t seem to affect the size or frequency of the enemy air attacks. In central Burma, the Chindit force at Myitkynia ousts the Japanese garrison. The enemy flees towards Katha with the elite British force in hot pursuit. I have a small reconnaissance force holding the road due west of Katha, so with no escape route, this may be a good opportunity to surround and destroy the Japanese. In China, the front has stabilized. The Japanese continue to bombard at Chengchow, but the rest of the theater is quiet. This is a welcome development, as less fighting means less supply consumption. IJN Watch: -3 BB’s are occasionally spotted anchored at Hollandia, but the Carriers are gone. No sight of the enemy flattops all week, it’s possible they retreated towards Truk. Notable Base Captures: -Woodlark Island [SWPAC] captured by Allies (12/12) -Myitkynia [Burma] captured by Allies (12/14) Campaign Overview: Aircraft Losses to date [change]: Allies: 2,886 [+58] Biggest Losses (#): SBD-3 Dauntless (244), P-40E Warhawk (204), F4F-4 Wildcat ( 181) Japanese: 6,764 [+141] Biggest Losses (#): G4M1 Betty (1,565), Ki-48 Lily (1,117), A6M2 Zero (669) Ship Losses to date [change]: Allies: 422 [+10] Notables: CV Enterprise, CVE Copahee, CVE Nassau, CA Astoria, CA Portland, CA Adelaide, CL Durban, CL Sumatra, CL Java Japanese: 686 [+11] Notables: CV Soryu, CVL Shoho, CVL Zuiho, CVE Taiyo, CVE Hosho, BB Kongo, BB Fuso, CA Mogami, CA Mikuma, CA Suzya, CA Adoba. Army Losses to date [change]: Allies: 8,857 [+21] Japanese: 3,920 [+53] A/J Ratio: 2.25 to 1 VP Totals [change]: Allies: 27,252 [+366] Japanese: 23,812 [+125] A/J Ratio: 1.14 to 1 Operation Cumberland -All incomplete objectives have been rolled into Operation Tropic Thunder, Cumberland is considered complete for all intents and purposes. Operation Tropic Thunder Phase 1A: Nov.1942 – Jan. 1943 -Capture Finschfen – IN PROGRESS [Wave 1 ashore, wave 2 in route] -Capture Umboi Island -Advance up Northern NG coast to Hansa Bay Phase 1B: Nov.1942 – Jan. 1943 -Capture Namantai -Capture Kavieng -Capture Massau Island -Capture Manus Phase 2: Jan. 1943 – Feb. 1943 -Capture/Neutralize Rabaul -Advance up Northern NG coast to Hollandia Other Notes: -The first LST’s arrive on the US west coast. They immediately depart for the Southwest Pacific, where their services (specifically their high unload rates) are sorely needed.
< Message edited by Schlussel -- 7/28/2016 10:23:45 PM >
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You say we're surrounded? Excellent! That means we can attack in any direction.
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