Part 48: Operational Report: 23/01/42

The Japanese Air Force attacks Singapore at night, but our flack has a good time of it and we get two confirmed kills.



There are two more raids, in which we bag a Lilly bomber to add to the total. When day breaks they bypass Singapore in favour of Singkep, and the Willem Van de Zaan anchored there.



They also begin to raid Sumatra, targeting Medan.



Singapore is continually bombed all day, with extremely high casualties.



We lose Tandjoengselor as the enemy smash through the token defence there.








Bataans battering continues, as the enemy seems to be fixated on softening up this target.



We lose our last defended base in Mindanao. The enemy attack with tanks can capture all of the defenders.








The S-39 puts a torpedo into the side of a Patrol Gunboat just south of Hong Kong. The target is reported on fire and heavily damaged.






The battle for Luganville is going to be a long slow one, we're winning, but the terrain and the fortifications of the enemy, with our boys apparent cautiousness, means that we're in this for the long slog.










Well, it seems like we're in a definite lull in the war. This can only be a good thing for us, as we are getting new ships all the time. Nothing has been sunk on either side in two days now, and air losses have been minimal.
We are loosing bases still though, and our score is dropping like a stone as the enemy finally break their way into the key positions after spending a month mopping up the outlying areas.

Todays new ship is another biggy.



The USS New Mexico is setting sail to Pearl Harbour to join the invasion task force. I've given her five destroyers as a escort.
I'm also moving out two new Marine units to Pearl. Both of which I had to wrangle to get under my command – their Marines for gods sake! Why should they be defending the West Coast?



Finally two more fighter squadrons have arrived at Australia, and are being sent to Port Moresby to support the one squadron we have there already.