Axe1999
Posts: 145
Joined: 2/14/2021 Status: offline
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Aug 7th Sitrep Invasion of Southern Solomons set of from Espirito Santu on July 20th, marking beginning of the first phase of Operation Wachtower. Lunga was secured after a week of fighting, while Tulagi proved to be quite a tough nut. I certainly didnt expect armor regiment there, so it took me more than two weeks of constant bombardment from land, sea and air to finally dislodge defenders there. A lot of lessons learned from my first invasion, for an example having reserve units prepped for reinforcement. Losses on Allied side were not that bad on land, on sea USS Wasp ate a torpedo from CV Junyo, and is sitting at 35 flt. I got my revenge though, and Dauntlesses and Avengers from Lexington sank Junyo in next two days of consecutive strikes. That is fourth Japanese CV sank and life will be much more easier for now, considering I havent lost any yet, despite few close calls. Some other dot bases were taken over by Allies, including Russel Island, Auki and Thousand Ships Bay. Goal of the second phase of the operation is secure Guadalcanal completely, and creep closer to Bougainville and Rabaul by capturing Vela Lavella, Munda, and Chouiseul Bay, planned for December. Future plans in the area consist of capturing Rossel Island, Woodwark, Deboyne, and capturing/isolating Rabaul/Bougainville. Other than SWPAC, Tarawa and Makin offensive is planned for fall of '43, but that requires previous capture of Baker and Canton Island. With KB crippled, much needed rest for my carrier force is coming, all of them are in dire need of refitting, rebuilding its air groups, and training new pilots. Crazy air battles rage over New Guinea and Akyab, with Japanese facing almost 100 losses daily.
< Message edited by Axe1999 -- 4/22/2021 9:03:21 PM >
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