An Idiots Guide To Losing Your CV's Before 1942: WiTP:AE KyzBP vs UCG

[KyzBP]

The knock at the door startled the men seated around the table.  All conversation in the room stopped as if someone hit a pause button on some distant remote.  They had been expecting the knock but it was overdue.  These men were not the kind of men who were ever kept waiting.
"Helen, get the door on your way out please."  It was a polite command from the man seated at the head of the table.
Helen finished pouring the last coffee and made her way to the door.  Nearly every head turned as she purposefully strode toward the exit.  Helen was a great and competent secretary, which was probably just luck.  It was obvious to most of the men as to why Helen was hired.
Helen opened the door. Before her stood a Full Colonel in dress uniform.  In his left hand was a brown folder bursting with paper and what appeared to be edges of maps and photos.
"Mr. Stimson will see you now." Helen said as she stepped aside so the Colonel could pass.
"Thank you Helen." said the Colonel with a quick but forced grin.
As the Colonel passed Helen he found himself taking a quick glance at her.  As important as this moment was, the instincts of men can almost never be controlled.  Helen didn't miss the glance either.  She let out a small, slightly disgusted sigh and rolled her eyes to the door.  Once the Colonel passed, Helen made her way through the door, closing it behind her.

"Mr. Secretary, Gentlemen, I'm sorry I'm late." said Colonel Anderson as he presented a salute with his right hand.
Secretary Stimson quickly brushed off the apology and the salute.  Given the enormity of the situation by which these men were  being consumed, it seemed trivial to be upset with Anderson for being six minutes late.  It was clear that sleep was something he'd get once his body flicked the Off switch on its own.

"I should have everything.  Please ask questions as we go.  There may be things I've missed." Colonel Anderson said as he opened the file and began sorting the contents into neat piles on the table.

"I'll start with India and the areas around the Indian Ocean" Anderson confidently said as he grabbed the first stack.  He was now on auto pilot.  His sleep deprived mind was now clear and focused.
"India is quiet so far.  The British report they have some sizable naval assets in Colombo," said Anderson, pointing at the fold out map. 

"But they don't think their ships could stand up to any of Japanese carrier forces currently engaged with the Dutch near Java."
"Supplies and fuel seem to be moving freely around the area.  The British are confident that they can fortify India before any Japanese forces arrive, if they arrive at all."

"They were confident about Singapore and that fell in ONE DAY!" exclaimed Secretary Knox, the Secretary of the Navy.  The other men nodded ever so slightly but were in complete agreement with Knox.

"I agree Mr. Secretary.  They may have learned some lessons from Singapore though." Anderson said in an even, noncommittal tone.  His job was just to keep these men informed, not make excuses for anyone or try to speculate what other world leaders may be thinking.

"If you look here" Anderson pointed at the map again. "You'll see the British are planning on making a stand at Rangoon and Pegu.  The Japanese will have to attack across the Yangon River and the British believe they can hold them up there.  The Brits have moved a lot of ground units to Rangoon and are digging in.  They are also continuously mining the harbor in case the Japanese come by sea."

"Rangoon is still receiving troops and supplies by ship without disruption.  Port Blair however," pointing at the map again "is receiving daily reconnaissance flights by Japanese planes and it's supply convoys are being hunted by Japanese subs." continued Anderson until he was interrupted.

"General Bradley already informed us of Point Blair.  I think we're expecting new information Colonel." having finally contributed, Secretary of the Army, General Marshall, picked up his cup of coffee and began to slowly take a sip while staring over the rim at Anderson.

"I'm sorry General.  I'm not sure what General Bradley included last time so I thought it better if I just give you everything." Anderson suddenly felt a little flustered.

"You're doing fine Colonel, keep going." encouraged Stimson.

"OK, Mr. Secretary." Anderson was a bit relieved and caught Stimson giving General Marshall a slight look of admonishment.
"We have a report, through the British, that General Chennault has moved his American Volunteer Group out of China and possibly to Rangoon.  The British couldn't give us an exact location.  They said the report itself was second hand.  General Bradley suspects they British know exactly where they are but fear that we'll try to pull them out." Anderson made sure the last statement didn't sound like his opinion.

"The Chinese can't be too happy about that.  I doubt they'd just let the AVG leave." said Marshall, wiping the corners of his mouth.

"I don't know the answer to that, sir.  We aren't getting many reports out of China.  The most we know is they're engaging the Japanese on the ground but seem to be getting the worst of it.  Here's our latest map of China:" Anderson reached for a new, smaller pile.

"The Chinese can't meet the Japanese in the air either so it sounds like they've assigned all their aircraft to Ground Attack duties.  Once we get a more consistent line of information established, I'm sure General Bradley will update you."

"How is Omar?" asked Knox.

"He thinks German submarines launched those clams into our fishing nets.  He seems to be feeling better and promises to be here tomorrow." explained Anderson while remembering Bradley regurgitating his seafood dinner 36 hours ago.  He also remembered that, except for a couple of doughnuts, it was the last meal he'd had as well.

"Does anyone mind if we take a quick break?  The coffee's going right through me this morning." said Marshall.  He didn't wait for a response as he got out of his chair and headed for the door.

[OJsDad]

Nice work KyzBP.  Nice twist to the presentation style.

[KyzBP]

Nice work KyzBP.  Nice twist to the presentation style.

Thanks OJD.  I'll finish up when I get home from work.  Nice Flag.

[KyzBP]

"Alright.  Where were we?" asked General Marshall.

"The British are still operating a P.T. Boat base at Pakhoi with the only boats they could get out of Hong Kong." Anderson was rolling now.
"Now gentlemen, if you look on this map you can see the Japanese have control over Malaya." Anderson unfolded the largest map so far.


"I can't believe the Brits only lasted a day at Singapore." Knox said, just loud enough for everyone to hear but quiet enough to be thinking aloud.

"They took a heavy pounding by air, sir" explained Anderson, just in case Knox's comment was intended for him. "The rest of their forces on Malaya aren't faring any better I'm afraid.  What they have left there probably won't hold out for a month."  Anderson wasn't surprising anyone with that statement.

"If you'll look up here" said Anderson as he pointed to the Northern tip of Sumatra "you'll find Sabang." Anderson said as he made eye contact with Marshall, who seemed to be fighting back a boyish grin.  "The Dutch are planning to make a stand at Sabang.  They consolidated as many units as they could up there and are being supplied AND reinforced by the British.  Whatever RAF units the Brits salvaged from Malaya they sent to Sabang.  What Sabang doesn't have is engineers and aircraft mechanics.  Neither the Dutch nor the Brits think they can help in that department." Anderson paused as he looked around the room to make sure he still had everyone's interest.

"Do we know why they're not trying to pull them out?" asked Stimson.

"It's the Japanese subs, sir.  They're sinking everything in that area.  Some supply has made it in but it's usually in larger convoys.  The Dutch are afraid of losing all those men without a fight.  They said if the Japanese are tied up there then they can't be somewhere else."  Anderson was happy he had most of the answers so far.

"Now on this map..." Anderson got most of the map opened.

"Damn Colonel!  It looks like someone sneezed spaghetti sauce on your map." said Marshall.  The other men in the room smiled but it was gallow's humor.  There wasn't anything funny about what they were looking at.

"As you can see the Dutch haven't a chance against the Japanese in this area.  Java is being invaded and Borneo is lost.  There are still Dutch subs willing to fight and we're getting reports that Dutch air assets are damaging some of the Jap ships but the Japanese have carriers in the area and are thinning out what few fighters the Dutch have.  Unfortunately, that's all the information I have on the Dutch right now.  We were expecting an update this morning but the Dutch embassy was having communication problems.  General Bradley should have an update for you tomorrow." Anderson was relieved by Stimson's nodding in acceptance.

[KyzBP]

"Colonel, can we jump to the Philippines?  MacArthur has been requesting resupply and reinforcement daily.  Do you see a way to get that to him?" Marshall came across sincere and concerned.

"If you look at this map, you can see the Philippines are pretty much cut off."  Anderson unfolded yet another map, complete with a coffee stain.

"The good news is Manila is still functioning as a submarine base and the repair yard is intact." Anderson continued. "The Marine commander reports ample supply but would like reinforcements.  A small supply ship snuck out of Manila.  It arrived safely at Guam and it will then try to make it's way to Midway." Anderson paused in anticipation of the questions that were sure to follow.

"Does that mean we'll have a way in?" asked Knox.

"...or out?" added Stimson.

"Honestly, we're not sure.  We didn't even know about this until the ship docked in Guam.  The ship's captain, a civilian, has a son stationed on Guam.  Rumor got around about Guam's supply situation and he apparently took it upon himself to make the supply run.  The Filipino dock workers loaded him up so we didn't have any knowledge about it until yesterday when Colonel MacNaulty sent us a message thanking us for the supplies."  concluded Anderson.

"Damn it!" Knox shouted as he slammed a fist to the table in front of him. "I pulled SIX subs off the line just to get supplies to Guam." Knox was obviously angry but thankful that his men at Guam were now fully supplied.

"The Japanese have begun bombing Clark Field." said Anderson in an attempt to redirect the meeting back to the Philippines.  "We believe this is in response to the 34th Pursuit Squadron's harassment of any Japanese shipping that passes near the Philippines rather than a pre-invasion action." Anderson didn't feel comfortable presenting speculation instead of fact but in this case Bradley ordered Anderson to make sure this was brought up.

"How's the 34th weathering the bombings?" asked Marshall.

"That's the thing, sir, they're not there. Captain Boanin, who's now commanding the 34th, has the squadron rotating airfields.  They're never at the same airfield more than 2 days in a row."  Anderson finished but noticed he was starting to run out of whatever was keeping him going.  He knew he had to be more brief if he was going to make it through this meeting and be coherent at the same time.

"Smart kid." Marshall responded, nodding again.

"Let me take you to Australia and New Guinea." Anderson said.  "I have a few maps and photos of this area so if you gentlemen would like to take another break, I'll have them ready for you in a minute or two." Anderson needed a break as well.  This would buy him a minute to refocus.

The generals looked around at each other and to the aides, who had been furiously taking notes.
"Let's do that." said Stimson.  And with that, they headed out of the room.

[KyzBP]

"From here gentlemen, this briefing should go much quicker.  I'm going to gloss over most of it.  If you want me to go into detail about something just stop me.  I believe each of your offices are receiving regular updates." Anderson was ready to finish the briefing.  He had saved the Central and South Pacific for last, knowing there wouldn't be many questions.  But first, he had to brief the Secretaries about the area around Australia.

"If you look at this map, you'd hardly know that less than 500 miles away there was a major war going on" Anderson waited while the Generals and their Aides looked over the map of Northern Australia.


"Do we know if the Dutch have evacuated any units to build up Timor?" asked Stimson.

"No sir.  There's been some confusion among the Dutch commanders.  Some of the commanders prepared their troops to evacuate to Timor, as you said, but they were unable to secure transports.  Other units have decided to build fortifications and take on the Japanese when they arrive.  They haven't done so well.  In one case, a Base Force and an Infantry Brigade took it upon themselves to move to Batavia because they beleived it more defensible than their original location.  What they didn't know was transports were sent to move them to Lautem.  The transports found an empty base when they arrived.  Worse yet is the Dutch at Batavia haven't heard from these units in almost a week."  Anderson realized he just took the longest route possible to say "No".

"Just off the map to the North, Secretary Knox, there's a destroyer force sitting in Ambon Harbor with empty fuel tanks.  There are 2 Japanese task forces blockading Ambon.  We don't think the Japanese know the destroyers are out of fuel.  They should have attacked." Anderson could see the concern on Knox's face.

"Do the Brits or Aussies have anything that can break that blockade?" Knox had to at least ask.

"No sir.  There's a small carrier task force lurking around there.  Neither of those navies want to risk their ships up there." Anderson knew it wasn't the answer Knox wanted.

"Well where ARE their ships then, and please don't tell me in port."  Knox waited for an answer and no matter what that answer was he wouldn't be satisfied.

"They're here in Brisbane and Sydney.  The Aussies are worried that the Japanese are going to attack their East Coast."

"I guess you can't blame them" said Knox, coming to the realization that his destroyers at Ambon were probably lost.

"Hell Frank, we still have ships and planes guarding Pearl as if the Japs will be there tonight.  I understand them being cautious." Stimson threw in his two cents.

"May I continue, sir?" Anderson asked.

"Please do.  I meet with the President in an hour so lets get to the meat."  Stimson was all business now.

"Ok sir, well, the Japanese are working their way south towards the Solomon Islands.  The transports that were to establish bases in the Solomons have been delayed and diverted due to the presence of a large carrier force, most likely the one that hit Pearl." Anderson directed their attention to the next two maps.




"We're learning the hard way that, not only can their carrier based bombers cover a lot of ocean, but the task force itself is pretty nimble.  They sunk a major supply convoy off of Pago Pago.  There were no survivors.  The day before they had been sighted off the North side of Fiji."  Secretary Knox confirmed Anderson's report with a simple nod.

"We were expecting an invasion force at Baker Island but it never materialized.  There is a hodge podge of destroyers and patrol craft standing by Baker should that invasion force show up.  Canton Island is fully operational and fully defended."  Anderson hoped that would make someone happy.  If it did, none of them showed it.


"Does anyone need a brief on Pearl or Midway?" Anderson asked, the way a waitress would ask if anyone needed more coffee.

Stimson looked at the other men in the room.  Not seeing any reaction,he shook his head,  a signal for Anderson to continue.

"Well then I'll try to end on a good note.  As of yesterday evening we now have 4 carriers in San Diego.  They should all be ready for action in 72 hours."  Despite being exhausted,  Anderson knew he did well.  By tomorrow General Bradley would be well enough to take his rightful place and maybe Anderson could catch some well deserved sleep.

"If you have nothing more Colonel, you are dismissed.  And Colonel, thank you." Stimson didn't bother watching Anderson leave.  Strangely, neither did any of the men in the room.  Maybe if he was carrying a pot of coffee the way Helen had earlier...

[KyzBP]

Sorry about the delay.  I should be able to continue later this evening.

[Sir Slash]

Take your time man. Victory can bought but cannot be rushed.

[KyzBP]

Take your time man. Victory can bought but cannot be rushed.

Thanks for your patience Sir Slash.  The kids sport commitments take precedence unfortunately.

[Sir Slash]

But I thought WE were your children. Though the IRS might disagree.

[KyzBP]

So we are up to January 3rd, 1942 and I haven't lost any carriers.  I'm happy about that.  Here's an update as to where we stand.

There are still a butt load of subs around Hawaii.

He's either rotating them in and out or my ships and pilots just aren't doing any damage.  Only you guys know for sure.
I've redirected most of the convoys south of Hawaii to avoid these subs.

Would you like to know what happens when you reroute ships south of Hawaii?

Those ship that say "near Canton" are many of the rerouted ships.  His KB moved incredibly fast from the Pago Pago area
and got into the waters around Canton.  The good news was that his first wave of bombers were unescorted.  They were met
by a just deployed squadron of P-39s.  The Airacobras hacked them up pretty good.

Notice how many of the top pilots are P-39 drivers.  I only have 1 squadron of P-39's deployed.

I hope the loss of aprox. 50 of his bomber pilots is worth the loss of these troops:

I'm pretty sure any of the killed units assigned to the Pacific Fleet were killed by his carrier pilots.

We did manage to stop 2 invasion attempts at Baker Island.  Both times it was 4 lowly DDs who happened to be near by.  Three of the four DDs
have sustained some type of damage so they are off to be fixed.  I left a B.A. Patrol Craft and the undamaged destroyer to dissuade him she he consider further attempts but I have a feeling his CV's are going to clear the way at Baker.

[KyzBP]

But I thought WE were your children. Though the IRS might disagree.

Claiming you guys as dependents to the IRS means having to claim I know you guys.  Do you see the dilemma?  ;)

[KyzBP]

Here's the remaining ships running from the KB.

I'm not sure where that KB of his is going but I'm going to try not to be there.

I do have Torpedo Bombers at Canton and Johnston if he strays too close.  I make no promises that any of those planes would get through his fighters though.

I have managed to populate these bases:

I'm trying to get more troops and supplies to that area.  As soon as the KB finishes its destruction I'll resume sending stuff.  This time they may have an escort. 

I did learn, through experimentation, that I can use subs to refuel other ships.  That means I can send subs to Ambon and Salajar to refuel those dry ships.
The blockade at Ambon continues:

I've tried bombing and torpedoing these ships but I can't score any hits.  Maybe they'll run out of gas.  I'm not sure what he's waiting on.
Also, I put almost all of the DD's here into the shipyard.  The problem is I can't figure how to get them out.  When I do I'll use subs to refuel them and then confront the blockade.  I also have the CA's and CL's from Australia headed that way but they're probably a week out.

[Sir Slash]

Yeah, I could see that.

[KyzBP]

There will be another delay as I'm on vacation for the next week.