AmiralLaurent
Posts: 3351
Joined: 3/11/2003 From: Near Paris, France Status: offline
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PzB, in my situation I don't need these pilots ASAP and will keep them in Japan for 3-4 months (the usual training time for my unit) before using them. In 1944 I don't know if I will do the same, Allied CAP is so awful that even crack pilots are slaugthered... 16-17 December 1942 With the end of the campaign of New Zealand (one month earlier than what was planned), Japan is again above 5 to 1 on the scoreboard. In the evening of the 17th, Japan has 43 356 points, the Allied have 8089. Northern Pacific On the 17th barges unload Japanese marines in Attu (83 casualties) and Kiska (120 casualties). In blizzard conditions communication problems and confusion won’t allow troops to do more than reorganize (in real life I forgot to give them orders to attack to take the islands). New Zealand Auckland was attacked on the 16th by the Southern Area Army (6 Inf Div and 1 Tk Rgt, with about twenty smaller units supporting them) and fell (fort 8 reduced to 7 by engineers, ratio was 10 to 1 with nominal ASS value 3567 to 581, modified ones 3322 to 324). Japanese losses were heavy (1429 men, 69 guns and 6 tanks) but the New Zealander lost 29 082 men, 74 guns and 1 vehicle. The New Zealand Command, Auckland Fortress, 1st, 2nd and 14th NZ Bde, Fiji Bde, 1st NZ Cav Bde and 101 RNZN Base Force surrendered, and 5 Kittyhawk I were found on the airfield. Japanese discovered that the New Zealander government, quite upset by the lack of support from his Allies, was still in Auckland and had ordered his troops to not fight on the streets of Auckland but only to defend the approaches of the cities. So Auckland was spared the fate of Manila, Yenen, Oahu and other cities devastated by weeks of battles… The base was taken intact with 12k fuel. 228 mines were reported around the base and 2 MSW TF sent from Wellington to deal with them. Japanese engineers began at once to build fortifications and expand the airfield (currently size 6). Christchurch held just one more day. On the afternoon of the 16th it was bombed by 2 BB, 4 CA and 3 CL that scored 11 hits on the airfield (3/1/7) and 11 on the port (8/0/3) and disabled 136 men and 4 guns. Japanese airmen were supposed to support the attack, but only recon flights were flown and a Pete was shot down by Allied AA fire. Then Japanese troops (18th and 53rd Div, 56th Bde, 2 Eng Rgt, 1 Tk Rgt, 1 HQ, 1 ART unit) attacked and reduced the forts of one level (to 6) but only achieved a ratio of 6 to 1 and the city held. Japanese losses were 191 men, 10 guns and 1 tank while the New Zealanders lost 851 men, 13 guns and 1 vehicle. The next night the other Japanese bombardment TF (3 BB, 4 CA and 1 CL) bombed the city, destroying 1 Hudson I on the ground, disabling 306 men, 3 guns and 2 vehicles and scoring 31 hits on the airfield and 26 on the port. After dawn the 3rd NZ Cav Bde, one of the units defending the city, was bombed by 84 Kates and 64 Vals launched by Japanese CV off the port and then by 13 Betties and 4 Nells from Wellington and lost 163 men and 1 gun. The defenders of Christchurch had the same orders as those of Auckland, not fight in the city itself, and when their lines were pierced on the second day of the attack (engineers reduced fort to 5, ratio was 20 to 1), they surrendered. That was the end of New Zealander Army, and more precisely of the 3rd NZ Bde, 3rd NZ Cav Bde, Christchurch Fort and 103 RNZN Base Force. Japanese losses were 307 men, 4 guns and 3 tanks, Allied ones were 12169 men and 39 guns. 15 Hudson I were captured on the airfield. It seems to me they had the range to flee to Noumea but were kept in NZ due to political reasons (my wild guess being that my opponent had a negative score in PP after keeping capital British ships in the game). Christchurch was not intact due to two days of bombing (damage 46/7/0). As I said one week ago, I expected the NZ campaign to last until mid-January, with operations against Australia, Noumea and Hebrides to start after this date. The plan will remain the same but one month earlier than planned. Not a problem as all forces that will be used in the operations are already in the area, and supplies and fuel to do them is on the way. So all units in New Zealand, except the garrison troops (56th Bde, several Naval Guard Units, 2 Eng Rgt, a big Base Force and 7 small ones), received orders to prepare for Luganville (2 Div and 1 Eng Rgt), Efate (1 Div and 1 Eng Rgt) and Noumea (all the other units). The base forces that were all in Wellington left for their garrison bases. The big Base Force will remain in Wellington, 4 small will march to Auckland, 2 will be shipped to Christchurch and 1 to Dunedin. All ships that supported the Christchurch attack will return to Wellington to refuel, and the Kido Butai fighter units will be upgraded to the A6M3a (that had been kept in reserve for it, except for the two best land-based Zero units). The CV TF that didn’t participate to this battle, but cruised some days ago off Auckland, had already reached Wellington and replaced all A6M2 with A6M3a. Two convoys left on the 17th Suva for Auckland, one carrying 2 Naval Guard Units, the other 42k of fuel. Three ML escorted the first and will be based in Auckland and lay defensive minefields around the contry. Bismarcks-Solomons-New Guinea. On the 16th, Rabaul was again attacked by 11 B-24D from Port Moresby that were intercepted by 13 Ki-61 of the 203 Sentai flying LRCAP from Kavieng. The Tonies shot down 3 Liberators for one loss to return fire and another to engine failure. The bombers scored 2 hits on the airbase, 2 on supplies and 3 on the runways, disabling 29 men and 1 gun. At the same time, 50 B-17E also coming from PM raided Kavieng. The 203 Sentai’s commander feared half of his fighters will be caught on the ground, as there was no CAP, but his unit escaped unscated (maybe due to bad Allied intelligence, as there had been no recon of Kavieng for a long time). The bombers scored 3 hits on supplies and 9 on runways and destroyed a Jake floatplane. Having fulfilled its role to draw Allied bombers to this area and shot down some, the 203 Sentai flew the same evening back to Truk, leaving 4 damaged machines in Kavieng. The next day, Rabaul was bombed by 48 B-17E and 8 B-24D from PM that scored 7 hits on the airbase, 8 on supplies and 25 on the runways. Japanese losses were 164 men and 1 gun. In Truk the 2nd Parachute Regiment received orders to prepare to attack Koumac, in New Caledonia. Timor-Amboina-Australia Darwin B-25C continued to bomb Lautem (25 aircraft on the 16th and 24 on the 17th with low results, scoring only 1 hit on a building, 1 on a supply dump and 1 on a runway and wounding 3 men in two days, while AA fire shot down one of them on the 16th. This same day seven Brewster 339D from Darwin attacked barges off Lautem and sank one. Japanese aircraft began to be active again in the area. On the 16th two Petes flew into Koepang (now down to damage 32 for services) just to check if Allied bombers will attack. If not Japanese aircraft will fly in. On the 17th Kendari Nells began to fly recon over Australian bases and reported two surface TF and a CAP of 25-30 Kittyhawk I and 30 P-40E at Darwin, 13 Hurricane flying CAP at Wyndham and a CAP of around 40 over Derby (evenly divided between Hurricane, Spitfire and Kittyhawk). Such defences were judged a bit too high to raid Derby or Darwin, but implied that SW Australia was probably defenceless and so may be raided by the Kido Butai without risk. Southern Resource Area Two convoys started to load in the period. One will carry 105k oil from Palembang to Japan, the other 14k resources from Soerabaja to Japan. Burma Air activity was reduced these two days. Only the 81st Naval Guard Unit was bombed twice SE of Imphal by Imphal airmen (total of 47 Vengeance I escorted by 81 P-40B and 12 Hurricane II sorties) and lost 76 men and 1 gun. One F-5A Lightning was shot down by Japanese AA fire over Rangoon on the 17th. China China was also rather quiet. In the north, Japanese troops near Lanchow were bombed twice by local Allied airmen (total of 82 Hurricane II and 20 Spitfire Vb) and lost 61 men and 2 guns while a Hurricane was lost in a crash. Japanese guns hit in two days 10 men and 1 gun in Lanchow and 144 men in Kungchang. Tomorrow Yenen airmen will attack with all available aircraft the RAF airfield at Lanchow. In the south, Chinese troops were bombarded at Kweilin by Japanese artillery (369 men and 1 gun hit in 2 days) and by Canton airmen (total of 125 Ki-48, 65 A6M2 and 24 Ki-51 all flying ground attack and hitting 120 men and 3 guns while losing a Ki-48 and a Zero in crashes). W of Kweilin, the 60th Div continued to bombard surrounded Chinese troops and hit 13 men in two days. The last unit planned to take part to the attack of Kweilin (half of the 18th Bde) reached the city on the 17th. But as most of the units had preparation under 50%, aerial support was thought to be mandatory to launch the offensive and so the Army will wait for a good weather day (thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow) and will continue to prepare in the mean time. Japan In the evening of the 17th, the SS USS Sunfish tried to attack a Japanese convoy 180 miles west of Tori Shima but was seen and chased by the escort (1 PG and 2 MSW).
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