Attack Condor
Posts: 425
Joined: 12/27/2002 From: Chicago Status: offline
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27 September 1942 Wx: Partly Cloudy Yesterday’s combat report, consisting of the two scheduled night raids: [I]AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 09/26/42 Weather: Partly Cloudy Air attack on Gili Gili , at 17,42 Allied aircraft B-17E Fortress x 18 B-24D Liberator x 4 no losses Japanese ground losses: Men lost 49 Port hits 2 Port fuel hits 2 Port supply hits 2 Attacking Level Bombers: 3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet 3 x B-17E Fortress at 20000 feet 3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet 4 x B-24D Liberator at 6000 feet 3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet 3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet 3 x B-17E Fortress at 6000 feet [B]Still have the 73rd BS at 20000 – corrected for tonight’s strike.[/B] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air attack on Irau , at 42,43 Allied aircraft B-25D Mitchell x 6 no losses Attacking Level Bombers: 6 x B-25D Mitchell at 6000 feet [B]No hits, no losses, just experience gained.[/B] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/I] The night raids on GG have caused 24 damage to his ports so far. With no engineers in sight, unloading supplies is going to be more of a chore now then ever. The raids press on, with two more B-17 squadrons added to the list of attackers. I have also transferred t P-40 squadrons to TV to assist with CAP. That many 4E bombers at one base has to put it high on Quark’s wish list. No AA response to speak of (no supplies, low morale, or just not as effectual at night?) His port at GG is a level 5, so even if his engineers get there, it’ll take some time to recover. GG has 4 x INF units and 2 x AA units there, they’ll get hungry soon, I hope. He has a large barge TF there – I may have to start using subs vs. barges, though I shudder at that thought. The raids on Irau are nowhere near as effective as the ones at GG. The B-25s are flying extended range, and there is only 6 of them. A second B-25 unit is at LV to join in with the raids, but I’ve assigned both of them to 20000 feet. I don’t expect much from them, an occasional hit, but mostly increased experience and keeping an eye on the forces there. Another IJN sub sighting near Noumea, this one 60 miles WSW of Tomo. TF 231 (SC x 13) cranks it up and heads out to investigate. Also, I have the MSW [I]Pursuit[/I] in Noumea, just in case he decides to send a few mines in via sub. The saga of S-44 continues, she is now 120 miles WNW of K’topo. She gained no more damage last turn, and holds steady at 68 SYS and 82 FLT. She may be out of the war for a long time, but she may actually survive the attack. 7000 fuel is being unloaded at EPV today. A small tanker TF (AO, TK, DD) is there now. 2 x DD will join them tomorrow to escort them back to Noumea. The DDs were escorting the DMS [I]Zane[/I] to LV, where she will join up with the battleships there in preparation for another night raid on the airfield at Irau. In SWPAC, Quark has built Dobadura up to a level 3 airfield, and planes are reportedly parked there. Time to take a peek. Known enemy troop dispositions: Lunga – 3 x INF, 5 x AA, 2 x CD, 1 x ENG {F5-A will recon} Irau – 4 x INF (3720 troops, 7 guns), 1 x ENG (1580 troops) {B-25 will raid} GG – 4 x INF, 2 x AA {B17 will raid, PBY will recon} PM – 3 x AA, 1 x CD {Hudson will recon} Woodlark – 1 x ENG, 1 x HQ Additionally, a PBY will recon Dobadura and a B-17 will recon Rossel. PM looks tempting, but I don’t have the ships necessary to supply it if I do take it. To that end, 4 APs of the Australian navy are being returned to Brisbane ([I]Manoora, Manuda, Wanganella, [/I]and [I]Ormiston[/I]) escorted by the destroyer [I]O’Brien[/I]. Elements of the 2nd Marine Division will begin arriving at Noumea within two weeks. One regiment is already in theater, at LV. Plans for the transfer of the 1st Marine division move to LV, bringing the Americal division and the 2nd Marine division regiment back to Noumea. I am still very cautious about under-estimating Quark. All of the auto victory bases in Oz have an assault strength of 500+. Noumea has 500+, and LV has 450+. Only EPV is relatively unguarded, with a single BF there. I’m now 5000 points down, but I have to be patient. We’re not even in October, and there are more than 15 months to go. I’m very happy about the results at GG. The strategic goal remains to starve his forward forces before any attack. More 4E bombers are due in, and the night attacks allow me to damage his facilities, improve bomber crew morale, incur less fatigue, and gain experience – all with little risk of enemy response. I have lost 2 B17s in the night raids, but they weren’t to enemy action. More to come…
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"Shouldn't we be leading the shark into shore...instead him leading us out to sea?"
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