PzB74
Posts: 5076
Joined: 10/3/2000 From: No(r)way Status: offline
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I indicated to Ken that I would take it easy for a few turns until we got started again. He obviously got other plans! The invasion convoy to Buna has been accelerated and more fighters put on CAP. I dispatched a cruiser force under Tanaka to intercept this convoy, but this only happened after the bulk of the 2nd Australian Division had been unloaded. 2 enemy TFs successfully managed to retreat before Tanaka moved in - strange, they didn't get much warning and the fast ships should have been able to overtake the slow invasion convoys. Anyway, Tanaka didn't move quickly enough back towards Rabaul and a light cruiser and destroyer were hit by bombs. Several transports from the dispersed convoys were hit by Jap naval bombers. Ken was lucky that much of his 2nd Div didn't end up on the bottom of the sea! Another Allied battleship, the brand new North Carolina was hit by a torpedo off Munda. There can't be many operational Allied bb's left for bombardment duties now Another tf with heavy Allied ships was observed heading west south of Woodlark island. There is a lot of enemy traffic in this area but no size 4 airfields to cover it, so I've dispatched Nagumo and the 3rd Carrier Division including the carrier Junyo and 3 light carriers. This force will try to catch a few enemy ships that thinks they own the ocean, cause that's a misconception altogether! It's pretty difficult to reinforce bases like Buna and Lae as hundreds of enemy bombers have pounded the bases to rubble and left them without much supplies and operational equippment. A campaign by land will be a slow one though and soon I can ship a full division to New Guinea. AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/06/43 Surface Combat My subs are mostly used as minelayers these days... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 1015 encounters mine field at Goodenough island (56,93) Allied Ships AK Arkansan, Mine hits 1, on fire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 1030 encounters mine field at Dobodura (55,91) Allied Ships DD Van Galen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Invasions Coastal Guns at Buna, 55,90, firing at TF 1030 TF 1030 troops unloading over beach at Buna, 55,90 Allied Ships DD Monssen Allied ground losses: 365 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Buna, 55,90, firing at TF 1030 TF 1030 troops unloading over beach at Buna, 55,90 3 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships DD Russell Allied ground losses: 297 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Combat Day Air attack on TF, near Fergusson Island at 57,94 Japanese aircraft G4M1 Betty x 3 Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged Allied Ships - DMS's are valuable ships...good shot captein! DMS Dorsey, Torpedo hits 1, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Buna at 55,90 Japanese aircraft G4M1 Betty x 4 Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 26 - ah, forgot to turn down the range of these Oscars! Expensive... Allied aircraft P-38G Lightning x 45 Japanese aircraft losses G4M1 Betty: 4 damaged Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 12 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38G Lightning: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged Allied Ships DD Russell Aircraft Attacking: 4 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat The 2nd Australian Division is unloading at Buna...and this force is vastly superior to the SNLF unit there. Ground combat at Buna Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 924 troops, 7 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 4530 troops, 42 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 2 casualties reported AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR 01/07/43 Surface Combat Invasions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coastal Guns at Buna, 55,90, firing at TF 1030 TF 1030 troops unloading over beach at Buna, 55,90 15 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Japanese ground losses: 2 casualties reported Guns lost 1 Allied ground losses: 324 casualties reported -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Combat The air offensive in China moves on to Kunming! Day Air attack on Kunming , at 39,33 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 14 A6M3 Zero x 18 Ki-21 Sally x 48 Ki-48 Lily x 5 Ki-49 Helen x 6 Ki-46-II Dinah x 1 Allied aircraft I-153c x 10 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses I-153c: 3 destroyed, 1 damaged Hudson I: 1 destroyed Airbase hits 6 Runway hits 24 Aircraft Attacking: All bombers bombing at 15000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on Taung Gyi , at 33,32 - moved some trained Zeros here to clip the Allied intruders! Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 13 Allied aircraft Blenheim IV x 10 Wellington III x 9 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Blenheim IV: 2 damaged Wellington III: 1 destroyed, 4 damaged Japanese ground losses: 44 casualties reported Airbase hits 1 Airbase supply hits 2 Runway hits 7 Aircraft Attacking: All bombers bombing at 6000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 56,89 - Tanaka's TF runs into trouble but the Oscar CAP fights back! Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 10 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 16 SBD Dauntless x 14 Hudson I x 9 Beaufort V-IX x 6 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 3 destroyed, 4 damaged SBD Dauntless: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged Hudson I: 2 damaged Beaufort V-IX: 1 damaged Japanese Ships - both the Kuma and the damaged destroyer should reach Rabaul. Mostly superstructure damage! CA Myoko CL Kuma, Bomb hits 4, on fire DD Tachikaze, Bomb hits 2, on fire, heavy damage CA Furutaka Aircraft Attacking: 2 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet 1 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet 1 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet 4 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet 4 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet 4 x Hudson I bombing at 6000 feet 4 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet 4 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet 4 x SBD Dauntless bombing at 2000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 56,91 - the retreating enemy ships are hit by my naval bombers! Japanese aircraft G3M Nell x 15 G4M1 Betty x 6 Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 33 Japanese aircraft losses G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged G4M1 Betty: 1 damaged Allied Ships AK Mauna Ala, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AK Hatterlock, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage AK Enggano, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage Aircraft Attacking: 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 2 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF, near Munda at 64,95 - but another large strike is sent against the battleship North Carolina which is hit by 2 torps inc 1 dud! Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 32 G4M1 Betty x 21 Allied aircraft P-40B Tomahawk x 9 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 1 destroyed G4M1 Betty: 5 destroyed, 11 damaged Allied aircraft losses P-40B Tomahawk: 6 destroyed Allied Ships BB North Carolina, Torpedo hits 1 Aircraft Attacking: 1 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet 3 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 56,89 Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 13 Allied aircraft CW-21B Demon x 2 Beaufort V-IX x 11 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 3 damaged Allied aircraft losses CW-21B Demon: 1 destroyed Beaufort V-IX: 3 damaged Japanese Ships CL Kuma, on fire Aircraft Attacking: 4 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet 3 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet 4 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 56,89 - a last strike against Tanaka is a failure Japanese aircraft Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 13 Allied aircraft F4F-4 Wildcat x 11 Beaufort V-IX x 12 P-38G Lightning x 5 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4F-4 Wildcat: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged Beaufort V-IX: 6 damaged P-38G Lightning: 1 destroyed Japanese Ships CL Yura DD Hibiki CA Furutaka Aircraft Attacking: 4 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet 4 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet 4 x Beaufort V-IX bombing at 6000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 57,91 Japanese aircraft A6M2 Zero x 22 G4M1 Betty x 2 Ki-44-IIb Tojo x 3 Allied aircraft - a heavy CAP for a single DM P-38G Lightning x 28 Japanese aircraft losses A6M2 Zero: 7 destroyed G4M1 Betty: 1 destroyed Ki-44-IIb Tojo: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38G Lightning: 4 destroyed, 5 damaged Allied Ships DM Breese Aircraft Attacking: 1 x G4M1 Betty launching torpedoes at 200 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day Air attack on TF at 57,91 Japanese aircraft G3M Nell x 3 Ki-43-IIa Oscar x 32 Allied aircraft P-38G Lightning x 12 Japanese aircraft losses G3M Nell: 1 destroyed, 1 damaged Ki-43-IIa Oscar: 8 destroyed Allied aircraft losses - hey..this is great work Oscar! P-38G Lightning: 9 destroyed Allied Ships AP William Ward Burrows Aircraft Attacking: 2 x G3M Nell launching torpedoes at 200 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground Combat Ground combat at Buna Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 916 troops, 5 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 7188 troops, 74 guns, 0 vehicles Japanese ground losses: 6 casualties reported Guns lost 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Buna Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 7188 troops, 74 guns, 0 vehicles Defending force 964 troops, 2 guns, 0 vehicles Allied assault odds: 123 to 1 (fort level 2) Allied forces CAPTURE Buna base !!! Japanese ground losses: 65 casualties reported Allied ground losses: 24 casualties reported Defeated Japanese Units Retreating! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Situation Map: The Solomons January 1943
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"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without" - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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