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[Hanzoku]

I'd put the invasion on hold until you locate his fleet and find out where they seem to be going. It'd be rather painful to be in the middle of landing operations when a carrier taskforce with battleship escort moves into the area and starts shooting at those nice fully loaded transports.

[Sheb]

Yup. Moreover, with the CVs around, we don't need to invade Australia to have stuff to do. Sink them all!

P.S. I'm sad Smeulders gave up updating his side of the LP. Not fun. Also, e's Belgian, like me. :p

[Erkki]

We're on hold. We'll need to analyze the situation in the next 3 days and act accordingly. The "mKB" is ready to leave Singapore at any moment.

[Erkki]

Well, that's a bitch. How much time before they get in the DEI? Obviously, he either guessed you were going for Australia and decided to move, or he want to invade something.

Will you halt the Australian invasion? Send the Kido Butai to fight the Americans?

They're hopelessly out of position to intercept the landings if we start loading the troops NOW... They'll need 3 weeks at minimum. 2 if they'd use the Torrest Strait, but we own the Horn Island right in the middle of it and have in 1 day alert about 300 torpedo bombers and a similar number of Zeros. Night wouldnt be long enough and I doubt Bart will risk his CVs.

I'd put the invasion on hold until you locate his fleet and find out where they seem to be going. It'd be rather painful to be in the middle of landing operations when a carrier taskforce with battleship escort moves into the area and starts shooting at those nice fully loaded transports.

Bart could be trying an early invasion in the Marshalls, Gilberts, even New Guinea or the Marcus Island. It takes less than 48 hours for the Kido Butai to reach any of those places, so I would LOVE to see him try. We also have a heavy surface action Group in the Solomons, led by himself Tanaka. He may also try to invade Kuriles but he shouldnt need his CVs at Pearl to do that. Kuriles are now being entrenched, naval protection is provided by battleships Hyuga and Yamashiro and their escorts.

If he is indeed planning to invade some place, I guess I'd better hurry Shokaku and Zuikaku back to Truk.

[Erkki]

Major Imperial Japanese Navy assets:

Truk:
CV Akagi
CV Hiryu
CV Soryu
CVL Zuiho
CVL Shoho
BB Kirishima
BB Haruna
BB Mutsu
2 CAs
2 CL

Solomons:
CA Aoba
CA Kako
CA Furutaka
CA Kinugasa
1 very bad CL

Home Islands:
CV Shokaku
CV Zuikaku
BB Hyuga
BB Yamashiro
CA Chokai
CL Kitakami
(2 CL being converted)

Singapore & DEI:
CV Kaga
CV Junyo
CVL Ryujo
CVE Taiyo
CVE Unyo
CVE Hosho
BB Yamato
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
BB Fuso
BB Ise
BB Nagato
BB Mutsu
The rest of the CAs(11) and CLs(should be 22)

Fuel and support situation:

DEI: We have been transporting fuel everywhere and have lots of it as forward as Koepang. Not a problem here.
Truk: we have 40,000 tons of fuel which should be enough to sortie the full KB about twice.
Solomons: not much, we need to start shipping more to Rabaul at least. Will be done as soon as we finally have the route freed.
Fleet Oilers: Almost all of them are near Java now. If we are to commit KB in the Pacific properly, the oilers need to be moved to Truk again... Which will take time.

Shipyards: CV Hiyo will be fully ready in 20 days. Like her sister Junyo, shes also a converted passenger liner. For her size she has only a moderate plane capacity, bad protection(in both armor and AA guns) and top speed(only 25 knots). But nearly 60 aircraft, 30 torpedoes, 600 pieces of ordnance, even if with lacking protection, is still a major combatant and will rip apart anything that isnt a submarine at sea or cant be provided dozens of fighters for protection.


CA Kako and her sisters on maneuvers near Rabaul, New Britain.

[Erkki]

Yep, the USN CVs have arrived to Pearl. There is a good number of search aircraft sighted by our submarines daily.

I may need to move that submarine-line-of-death somewhere else... They havent achieved a thing in months.

[adwarf]

Any chance I can commandeer some of our ground forces?

[Erkki]

Any chance I can commandeer some of our ground forces?

Hello.

I may give you a ground unit, but I'm afraid you followers may have very little chance to effect the campaign. Those who have pilots may be reassigned to units and theaters of their choice, as that is easy for me to do and has marginal effect in the game. Pilots, especially fighter pilots, are also easiest to track.

As its War in the Pacific, the type of action ground units take part to tend to be relatively quick and brutal battles where either side gains the upper hand early or has it before the battle even begins, and where the losing side is destroyed to last man. Most of the ground units are just sitting somewhere, as currently there is no "frontline" anywhere but in China. We currently have no ground units in contact with the Enemy.

As you can see I havent really mentioned much about our heroes lately. That is partly because they havent been doing much, and partly because playing a turn already takes a lot of time, so checking out 12-odd in-game individual pilots, captains or other leaders would be a lot of job. All our guys are still alive, though.

One idea could be to put everyone willing in the same air unit and see how they'll do. I have several small and medium size fighter units about to transfer from Honshu to either South Pacific or Burma, for both Army and Navy. At earliest they can be send now but I'd like to give them a week or 2 more training each.

[Korbac]

One idea could be to put everyone willing in the same air unit and see how they'll do. I have several small and medium size fighter units about to transfer from Honshu to either South Pacific or Burma, for both Army and Navy. At earliest they can be send now but I'd like to give them a week or 2 more training each.

That sounds like a good idea, would be easier to manage then. Are you still going ahead with the Australia campaign or are you waiting to get some more info on the enemy's positioning? 

[Erkki]

One idea could be to put everyone willing in the same air unit and see how they'll do. I have several small and medium size fighter units about to transfer from Honshu to either South Pacific or Burma, for both Army and Navy. At earliest they can be send now but I'd like to give them a week or 2 more training each.

That sounds like a good idea, would be easier to manage then. Are you still going ahead with the Australia campaign or are you waiting to get some more info on the enemy's positioning? 

The operation is a go in 2 days, when the picket screen is in place. The screen is to be positioned from northern Sumatra to Timor a days' sail away from land. That should work as an early warning system against carriers and also enemy surface units. There will be a picket ship stationed every 150 nautical miles.

[Erkki]

I think we'll have to vote if we carry on with the current claims or start something different.

Do notice that IJN fighter units are pretty much stuck with the Zero for now. J2M2 and the great N1K1-J will become available before the summer of 1943, but neither is carrier capable. Army on the other hand has the now modern Ki-44, which is probably the best fighter that either side has, and soon the daimler-benz powered, armored Ki-61. However, through the war the Army fighters are either unarmored, weakly armed or have horrific service ratings so if Navy's Zeros are weak and the others cant use carriers, Army fighters arent without their problems either.

[Hanzoku]

I'm OK with being part of a Bay12 squadron to make it easier to track all of us.

[timferius]

I know I'd be ok with the switch, seeing as my pilot hasn't seen any action in ages.
Also, still reading, still engrossed as ever. Keep up the good work!

[Erkki]

July 12th


Burma: Japanese fighters sweep Chittacong in force. All clear. Tomorrow we will start a small operation to keep Chittacong shut down - 60 bombers, including brand new Ki-49s, are ordered to hit the airfield supported by massed fighter escorts and sweeps. The purpose behind this operation is to keep this important front line field shut down should the Allied not want to defend it. As long as Chittacong is shut down, the only airbase close enough to Magwe's oil fields for Hurricane and P-40 is Imphal, which does not have a rail connection out and is thus relatively easy to keep suppressed as supply flow is limited and planes cannot be moved in and out if the runway is cratered.

DEI: An Army regiment lands at Denpasar. This force is way overkill as the place is apparently garrisoned by about 50 men.

[Erkki]

July 13, 14


Burma: Japanese bombers hit Chittacong both days. Despite the very low bombing altitude of only 9000ft, relatively few bombs hit their target. Chittacong is now reportedly 25% damaged, this BAD considering its only size 2 and we had over 60 bombers hit it both days.

No sign of Allied fighters there, they're still at Calcutta. On 14th about 60 bombers were moved out of Calcutta and I cant find them any more. It could be that Bart just moved back some planes he is not intending to use to free aviation support and parking space.

DEI: Denpasar falls! Mataram and Manado invasion forces are on their way to their targets. ETAs are 1 and 5 days.

KB: Shokaku and Zuikaku leave Kobe. With the Allied CVs near or in Pearl, I dont think I will send more CVs to upgrade quite yet. All CV, CVL and CVE air groups have been resized to make best use of available deck space and torpedoes. CV Zero fighter groups have been expanded by on average maybe 1/3.

Australia invasion: on hold, still.

Economy: I like the new Tracker! Being able to see R&D progress sure does help... Looks like we'll be getting Zero M3a next month and both Ki-44-IIb and Ki-61-Ia in 1½.