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I didn’t watch that video previously, and never really understood just how painful making these updates must be. Thanks again for doing this and hope the battle goes well!
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Apr 27, 2024 12:59
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| # ? May 15, 2024 16:06 |
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What's the strike range on your carriers? Also, ominous: Alikchi posted:Hopefully nothing happens tomorrow! Alikchi posted:Anyhow, I haven't uploaded a turn to YouTube since the carrier battle in January 1943 but this next turn will require one. Otherwise it will take a week to screenshot and write everything I want to show and say.. Tuna-Fish fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Apr 27, 2024 |
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Apr 27, 2024 16:35
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HOpefully it has blood for the pixel god!
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Apr 27, 2024 18:14
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Depending how big the butchers bill is, with the way the Allies are starting to crap out ships and planes at a much better rate, even a 3:1 loss ratio might be a victory when they are starting to get replacements at 5:1
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Apr 27, 2024 18:29
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Cimber posted:Depending how big the butchers bill is, with the way the Allies are starting to crap out ships and planes at a much better rate, even a 3:1 loss ratio might be a victory when they are starting to get replacements at 5:1 Methinks for this mod they're not making the replacement ratio quite that bad. And still losing a lot of carriers hurts.
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Apr 27, 2024 18:34
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wedgekree posted:Methinks for this mod they're not making the replacement ratio quite that bad. And still losing a lot of carriers hurts. Oh, yeah. If Alikchi loses all his carriers and Pharn comes away without a scratch it'll be pretty disheartening, but recoverable.
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Apr 27, 2024 18:40
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Is there a discord server or a thread or something where we can talk about things that integrate knowledge from both LPs without the players seeing it?
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Apr 27, 2024 18:43
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I hope both Alikchi and Pharnakes coordinate and post their turns roughly at the same time
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Apr 27, 2024 20:53
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Cimber posted:Oh, yeah. If Alikchi loses all his carriers and Pharn comes away without a scratch it'll be pretty disheartening, but recoverable. Also Pharnakes has pretty much the entire Kido Butai parked in Singapore "repairing from sabotage" after the initial game was so lopsided, so an extra 4-6 IJN carriers are going to pop in sometime in the future.
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Apr 28, 2024 03:38
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Sorry to make you wait! June 5, 1943 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad4pMWTW_yI Turn replay! I’ll refer to timestamps below. South Pacific Carrier battle begins at 17:48. What can I say? He chased the assault transports and we were there to catch him. With a surprisingly small CAP. Where were Shokaku and Zuikaku’s Zeros? Wildcats and Hellcats push Taiho’s aside and the bombers descend (21:45). I think they’ve all sunk or been scuttled, though he might have a shot at saving Zuikaku. I had considered cutting the CVE loose so Scourge, Hamilton and Essex wouldn’t be limited by her speed. I’m very glad I didn’t - those Wildcats helped a lot.  Essex after the battle. What a start to the war for her! Neither side’s land-based aircraft had any appreciable impact on the battle outside of scouting: my B-25s and B-24s targeted Mili, the SBDs and TBDs based at Abemama were just out of range, and his Nells got shredded (28:52). Southwest Pacific Hellcat sweep straight into Rabaul today from Milne (10:37). It’s not a successful fight, but we know the scale of the effort necessary now. B-25s are now focusing on the naval guard unit at Lae as Australian infantry approach. Another squadron from Terapo keeps the pressure up on Umboi Island. An IJN-free New Guinea is possible.. In Australia, I keep bombing Gove, mostly with B-24s (26:40). He reaches out with lots of Helens and bombs Tennant Creek from Katherine. Just a few second-line aircraft there, except for a squadron of Dakotas. There isn’t much I can do to respond right now (that P-40 sweep over Katherine was my attempt at that, and that was a write-off). Well, two things I can do - use Wirraways and Boomerangs to provide CAP in these places, and earmark some P-47s for northern Australia. P-47s are coming! India Very sad to see the transports and HMS Cornwall sunk at the beginning of the turn (01:20). They had been bugged out in that hex for a couple of weeks now. I think this is my fault for doing a sloppy job expanding the map.. The P-40s pop up over Delhi again to counter Tojo sweeps (06:02), get a few kills, but are ground down over the course of the day. The airfield will be untenable soon.  His troops will reach Jodhpur any day now. Our bombers try to slow them down (25:48). Summary & Orders  Lots of dead Nells, but where are the ops losses? Did none of the three carriers actually sink? Well, all their aircraft probably diverted to Ailinglaplap or someplace. Maybe? code: Tomorrow, our carriers will race west a few hundred miles. Kumano, Tenryu and Tatsuta might be slow enough to finish off, if weather allows. If any of the three CVs remain afloat, we need to finish them off.  If the weather doesn’t allow for planes, maybe Admiral Scott can catch the enemy with his two modern battleships.
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May 2, 2024 18:27
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Can tell how happy you were with those mouse cursor squiggles in the carrier fight. It has to feel good to get a complete W finally.
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May 2, 2024 18:47
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Here's to hoping they stay down. Nice Attu fortress too.
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May 2, 2024 19:14
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WOOHOO I just absolutely love how you invade a completely strategically meaningless atoll that's too small to even put a real airfield on, but because Pharnakes felt like it merited a response you end up scoring your biggest victory of the war so far. This reads so much like so many real engagements from the war that it's not even funny.
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May 2, 2024 19:28
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Tuna-Fish posted:WOOHOO Yeah, that was precisely what I was thinking in the buildup to this moment watching both threads. Pharnakes has to be kicking himself to get into a fight over Ebon of all things.
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May 2, 2024 19:52
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Zurai posted:Can tell how happy you were with those mouse cursor squiggles in the carrier fight. It has to feel good to get a complete W finally. Yes! And exactly a year after Midway. Something about early June I guess, it'slikepoetryitrhymes Tuna-Fish posted:WOOHOO habeasdorkus posted:Yeah, that was precisely what I was thinking in the buildup to this moment watching both threads. Pharnakes has to be kicking himself to get into a fight over Ebon of all things. Yep! The best I'm going to get out of this is a level one airfield, and it will be weeks before it's operational. Look up "Ebon Atoll Airport" to see what the poor bastard engineers are dealing with. It could be important - a handy little airfield for fighters very close to the enemy, a lair for PT boats to menace the Marshalls - but it isn't yet. I imagine it was the specialized large amphibious stuff, AKAs, APAs, LSI(L)s, etc. I'm sure he knows they are a weak point for me. If the Marines had been stuck with xAP and xAKs invading Ebon we'd have been able to unload.. maybe a company of infantry, plus a few engineers with no vehicles and (most important) not nearly enough supplies. I am going to move right on to June 6, because things aren't quite finished around Ebon. June 6, 1943 South Pacific THUNDERSTORMS. The carriers are washed out and the battleships encounter nothing.  Our B-24s target Roi-Namur today. I think we will again tomorrow. Southwest Pacific  Several groups of B-24s target Darwin and get chewed up for their efforts. Not trying that again for a while.  We are applying more B-25s to the Gove problem.  Do not rebase air groups without checking their range settings. They were just following orders..  India  More grinding over Delhi. Today they clear the skies early and easily and dozens and dozens of Helens make free bombing runs. It’s time to leave..  There’s also a big focus on Jodhpur. The weather is our ally here. Some very large and coordinated airstrikes do much less damage than they might’ve thanks to the thunderstorms.   On the ground, we are being essentially herded by his tanks. It’s not very dignified.  I also mistime a counterattack that goes straight at his main body. Delhi is.. Days from being surrounded? Summary & Orders  That’s what a sunken carrier looks like. Our ratio would have been garbage today otherwise, look at all those SBD losses.  And our scouts report he still has one afloat. We will pursue. If I was him, I would’ve rebased the surviving carrier aircraft to Ailinglaplap, so this is dangerous. The weather looks good tomorrow, just overcast…
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May 2, 2024 20:36
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Good luck and good hunting!
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May 2, 2024 21:36
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How well setup is your garrison in Dehli? As far as numbers, supplies, fortifications, etc? And nice job catching a carrier!
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May 2, 2024 21:58
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June 7, 1943 Central Pacific .png) Poor Peto. Her first patrol, and she gets nailed by a Nell’s 250kg bomb. They fought the flooding for a couple of days. RIP. South Pacific  LCI-23, attempting to slip away alone from Ebon Island, is caught by I-169. .png) A couple things revealed here. One, the utility of Makin: we can send dozens of Corsairs and Hellcats ranging into the Marshalls without even needing drop tanks. Two, some of Taiho’s Zeroes at Ailinglaplap. Is Taiho still afloat? I assume they’re flying from the airfield; even if Taiho isn’t sunk I seriously doubt she can operate aircraft. .png) B-24s brush past the Corsair-mauled Zero CAP and score excellent hits on Ailinglaplap field. The B-25s nearby target Mili. .png) Ah! There’s one! SINK drat you. .png) God bless Spruance, he found another. .png) And an Avenger squadron finishes off a destroyer. Southwest Pacific The bombing of Gasmata, Umboi Island, and the Naval Guard garrison at Lae continues, using three or four B-25 squadrons. Thunderstorms over New Guinea/New Britain hamper our efforts there. Gove is bombed by B-24s. .png) B-25s too. I’m getting so many B-25s in several variants - it gives me great joy. Shattered B-26 squadrons, RAAF guys training in Ansons and Wirraways, they’re all upgrading or soon to upgrade to Mitchells. .png) RO-103 takes a potshot at my big minelaying group. It’s dangerous to group them all up like this, but I love being able to create a gigantic field of hundreds of mines in one go. In this case, at Kiriwina Island (2 hexes NE of Milne Bay). India .png) Today’s the last day we attempt to contest the air over Delhi, at least for some time. The Scythes, Hurricanes, and Warhawks have put up a brave fight. Further waves of Tojos grind them down as usual today. .png) By mid-morning, the Helens are bombing the airfield with impunity. (Another wave of 58 follows this one.) We will be flying out nearly all our serviceable aircraft tonight. A lot of damaged airframes will have to be shipped overland. And the escape route is about to close, I can’t keep Delhi from being encircled. .png) Another deep strike at Lahore. I’ve spread out my aircraft a bit more since the last raid. .png) We are still using what little bomber strength we have to delay the march on Jodhpur. These Canadian Venturas are astonishingly lucky to all make it home. .png) A follow-up. I expect Hyderabad to be bombed to poo poo tomorrow. .png) The main body of the IJA India Army - five infantry divisions, plus a hotde of tank regiments, engineers, artillery, AA and mortar units - pushes aside the remnants of the 10th Indian Div and are now in prime position to encircle Delhi. Two escape routes remain. The usual bombardments at Bangalore, Jubbulpore and Nander. I wonder if Delhi will last as long as Jubbulpore and Bangalore have. There’s plenty of supplies and nearly level 5 forts, but he has overwhelming numbers. Summary & Orders .png) Wow. That looks like Taiho and Shokaku’s aircraft to me. At least. Is Zuikaku still afloat somewhere? We did the least damage to her on the 5th, and haven’t spotted her since. .png) The Fun Police have been spotted charging east towards the Marshalls from the Palau area. With most of the CVLs off of India, and the heart of the Kido Butai damaged or sunk, this must be.. Tairyu and Donryu? Maybe more? Spruance will begin withdrawing back towards the relative security of the Gilberts, but I want to port-strike Kwajalein while I’m in range. Recon reports 40+ ships, mostly xAKs, patrol boats and so on. .jpg) And here’s Delhi. Supplies are getting sucked into building forts and repairing the airfield simultaneously. With the airfield untenable, base forces (particularly anything with aviation support) are loading onto railcars for their last-minute escape. With only ~500 AV to hold the place, a siege may not be necessary for the IJA.
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May 9, 2024 16:51
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Fun fact. IJN CV aircraft have unique names identifying what ship they are from. If you look closely at combat reports you can identify where they are flying from. Lots of CV aircraft coming from a base? That's a good sign.
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May 9, 2024 18:44
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Congrats on butchering the carriers and all the planes they had! Nice work. Your first major victory against the IJN in awhile! Looks like the Marshalls are going well so far.
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May 9, 2024 19:18
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So how are you going to fix India?
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May 10, 2024 04:02
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ChaosDragon posted:So how are you going to fix India? Japanese positions in India will become untenable when the Marines land in Indochina.  I mean, I assume. I don’t know what the Japanese supply lines are like with China being quiet.
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May 10, 2024 05:07
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wedgekree posted:Congrats on butchering the carriers and all the planes they had! Nice work. Your first major victory against the IJN in awhile! Looks like the Marshalls are going well so far. Yes! It's very heartening. I need to be a bit more methodical - I lost too many AKAs and APAs at Milne and Ebon - but we are picking up momentum. ChaosDragon posted:So how are you going to fix India? This is a good question. I expect maybe a few more months of mopping up. There just aren't enough Allied troops left to hold him back. The goal now is to occupy as much of the IJA as possible for as long as possible before he's shouting Banzai in Peshawar. Pirate Radar posted:Japanese positions in India will become untenable when the Marines land in Indochina. This is one answer to ChaosDragon's question: leave it be, force him to garrison the whole subcontinent and just beeline straight for Japan & China/Indochina. I might do this, if he cleans up India rapidly. Right now, I have an African brigade and (soon) an American infantry division garrisoning Diego Garcia - 24 hexes from Ceylon. Two British brigades garrison Socotra (26 hexes from Karachi), with more earmarked. These guys could form the core of a Ceylon landing force, but a serious invasion of mainland India needs to have something similar to the force he's wielding, 6 or 7 divisions - a full army. Plus clear naval superiority and lots of carrier support, naturally. Maybe I can accumulate such a force over the course of the next 9 months, with American help. But these are 1944 plans. On that note, an Allied re-invasion of India or (especially) Indochina next year could act as a starter gun for Nationalist China's re-entry into the war. President Wallace is very interested in supporting national liberation movements.. June 8, 1943 Central Pacific .png) HMCS Canso reports damaging an enemy submarine while escorting an empty convoy back to Pearl Harbor. SS Portmar is unscathed. .png) USS Hake, operating off Formosa, scores a hit. Liverpool Maru almost definitely won’t sink, but all functional Mark 14s should be celebrated. South Pacific .png) Massachusetts and SoDak lightly season Jaluit with 16 inch shells. The task force stays at ~15,000 yards to avoid fire from Jaluit Naval Fortress. With just the fortress, a Naval Guard unit and a small base force on the island, Jaluit looks more and more tempting. We have units planning for the invasion right now, as well as others set aside for Majuro and Maloelap. .png) Ailinglaplap, a level 4 airfield, is also a concern. The Makin Corsairs tangle with Taiho’s homeless Zeros. .png) Theater B-25s bomb Mili, with no opposition. The B-24s target Maloelap and are surprised by a combination of severe storms and A6M3s. The enemy is prevented from doing any serious damage by 50 cal turret fire. All thirteen Liberators drop their bombs on the airfield, but the Zeros and weather succeed in throwing off their aim. .png) Essex, Scourge, Hamilton and Prince William are smack in the middle of the Marshalls now, eager to pick off what they can before the fun police arrive. The Zeroes do well against our F6Fs, but not well enough. And once again, the CVE’s Wildcats overperform. Uji Maru and Yahada Maru are not built to withstand 1000lb SAP bombs. .png) The strike on Kwajalein isn’t the smashing blow I was hoping for, but Takashima and Jingei are important targets. .png) Nothing wrong with hitting destroyers at Jaluit, either! A shockingly successful few days for the barely-reconstituted Allied carrier fleet. Time to pull back. Southwest Pacific .png) RO-103 gets run over. .png) The bombing of Gasmata, Umboi Island, Lae’s garrison,Gove, and Shortlands continues. Good hits on Shortlands today, in particular. India .png) Fulmars .. you were too brave, too perfect, and too useless for it to end any other way.  Another 26 Nells follow this wave, but my remaining quality bombers escaped overnight..png) Heavy rain and a handful of fighters impede today’s Helen runs on Delhi. Most of the aircraft there have also escaped. (Or “escaped”, to primitive airfields on the Afghan border with zero support.) .png) A few shattered squadrons peck at the army advancing on Jodhpur, but his LRCAP takes many down. .png) Two more enemy divisions push across the river - the 37th Infantry and 2nd Guards. Now there is only one railroad out of Delhi. Summary & Orders .png) Solid! .png) DANGER. The enemy has spotted Hawkins and Frobisher, escorting a convoy of reinforcements for Diego Garcia. I’m sending them into port to avoid their sinking in open seas. If we’re lucky, the convoy will finish unloading its important cargo tomorrow and we can sprint the warships to safety at Cape Town or Mombasa before the hammer falls. .png) Another wave of refits. .png) Some notable intelligence today. Subs based at Soerabaja - or maybe she’s just using the small repair shipyard there? Either way, we should mine Soerabaja harbor. Plus, AA units and infantry heading for Truk. And a full division pointed at Tabiteuea. He is plotting out a response to my moves in the Gilberts & Marshalls, presumably. When he gets Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu back, he could do a lot. Maybe he’s thinking of retaking the Gilberts, going right for the throat at Tabiteuea. I will have to prepare for that. Alikchi fucked around with this message at 18:27 on May 11, 2024 |
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May 11, 2024 16:39
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Good intel reports there, but do you know where the Yokohama Fortress is located?!?
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May 11, 2024 17:44
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Cimber posted:Good intel reports there, but do you know where the Yokohama Fortress is located?!? I am going to have to go to Japan to make sure. Lots of disinformation out there. Let's keep moving right along! It's the weekend, we're cranking out turns. June 9, 1943 South Pacific .png) Mississippi, Idaho, New Mexico and Colorado go in for another nighttime bombardment of Jaluit. The fire from Jaluit Naval Fortress has slackened significantly, lots of busted guns. Our invasion isn’t imminent, exactly, but this and the SoDak/Massachusetts bombardment two days ago are about knocking out as many of those 12.7cm, 14cm and 15cm guns as possible while the opportunity presents itself. .png) Despite all the bombing, Mili’s coastal defense batteries remain Extremely Operational and score a few 14cm and 15cm hits on our two Brooklyn-class CLs. Nothing serious. .png) The Makin Corsairs fly out at sunrise and find no enemies over Ailinglaplap. We’ll have to put them to a different use. .png) Meanwhile, our Liberators can finish knocking out the field. .png) B-25s add to the Jaluit garrison’s misery. .png) HMS Victorious, having just joined the American carriers, is very frustrated at barely missing the battle with Taiho, Shokaku, and Zuikaku. The Brits take it out on Mili’s airfield. Southwest Pacific .png) If they don’t defend Shortlands, we will knock it out, too. .png) Gove remains a tough target. The weather is against us here today. .png) Well, I guess I’ll accept the one runway hit. All these Dauntlesses will fly back to Milne Bay or Horn Island tonight, btw. .png) Rare Aussie Vengeance sighting. .png) I’m also giving the more talented B-25 squadrons in this theater secondary naval bombing orders. Range-limited, so they don’t get sucked into Rabaul’s CAP woodchipper. India .png) This is worrisome. I can’t stop a landing at Karachi, I sent the half-strength brigade garrisoning it to shore up Jodhpur. .png) I need to scrape the fighters I have left in India together. One last CAP trap. Another 26 Helens follow up this wave. .png) He’s finally arrived at Jodhpur, and it’s not really a contest. We’re a little behind in numbers and a lot behind in quality. Let’s see how long we hold. Summary & Orders .png) A relatively quiet day.
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May 12, 2024 01:07
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| # ? May 15, 2024 16:06 |
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June 10, 1943 South Pacific  Torpedo hit on SoDak! Superficial damage, I think. B-24s focus on Ailinglaplap, destroying a few L2D2s on the ground, while B-25s hit Jaluit. Southwest Pacific HMAS Australia (ex-HMS Tiger) and HMNZS New Zealand (ex-HMS Lion) have not fired their weapons in anger for some time. Their 28 knot top speed is just a little too slow to be proper carrier escorts, and I’ve been avoiding sailing capital ships in this area since losing USS Oklahoma to Nells. But this is a good operation. Gove is thoroughly worked over, the BCs escape, and we have a little more intelligence on Gove. My question now is - has he pulled out everything except the 65th Brigade?  The Horn Island B-25s hit Gove a bit more, along with a few B-24s. After today, I think we can find some new targets. I have an idea, actually. The moonlight is getting better as we move through the month. Night bombing of Katherine?  The daily Gasmata bombing goes sour with a strong Rabaul-based CAP greeting the Aussies. Nasty losses, they’ll have to stand down for a few days at least. The Americans based at Terapo find no opposition over Umboi Island and bomb as usual.  You know, if I can knock out Shortlands and Guadalcanal, he’ll have no airfields at all in the Solomons. Not counting Tulagi’s smallish one.  A very good engagement. The Americans based at Normanton expected a counterstrike after yesterday, and they reap a bountiful Nell harvest.  More fighters are on-scene for the second wave. This should more than balance out our Mitchell losses today.  We also send in a silly, unescorted second wave, but the combination of bad weather and the B-25’s toughness rescues us from disaster.  Cabrilla is damaged enough to send back to Perth for some repairs. India  The bombing is intense, the trap is almost closed on Delhi, but the base forces and engineers that we needed to evacuate made it out on the last few trains. The RAF and friends in India are desperate for some time to rebuild (and build new airfields deep in Pakistan) but I doubt Japan will allow us a breather.  A successful shock attack at Jodhpur for the enemy. A few days left now? At least we’ll still have the longer rail connection through Hyderabad. Summary & Orders  Well. I didn’t think we’d shot down quite that many Nells. Also, all those A6M3a ops losses? Interesting stuff.  The IJN reinforcements? carriers? cruisers? are cruising slowly into the Marshalls while the Americans fade away south. Need better recon before I stick capital ship necks out again. Also, it's obvious, but the Gilberts are absolutely crawling with submarines right now.  USS Ambon, named in honor of the heroic Dutch defense in 1942, commissions.  America is experiencing a wave of Escort Carrier Fever. Children are asking "Mommy, can I be a CVE for Halloween?" They can’t get enough of the things.
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May 14, 2024 19:56
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