March-May 1943 - The Battle of the Pacific, Part I
March 5, 1943 : We have lost control over Monrovia, for a second time. Troops are once again ordered to reinvade.
March 8, 1943 : We have lost control over Martinique to USA. Something absolutely MUST be done about the rampaging US Navy. With 90 Divisions to throw around at my exposed beaches, and with no idea how far away they can land, this is becoming a real problem. Hitler therefore orders Goering to allocate all Tactical Bomber units to assist the Naval Bomber units in patrolling and targetting allied vessels. All German naval forces are also sent out on Combat Patrols to engage and destroy as many allied vessels as possible. It's a full court press.
March 11, 1943 : KMS Richthofen and KMS Otto Lilienthal are deployed. These two Heavy Advanced CVs are the first of the much improved carriers that will eventually replace the light carriers currently in service.
March 12, 1943 : Marines take in Weipa and land in Freetown from which they immediately attack Monrovia. We won a battle against USA in Blake Plateau, sinking the John Hancock Flotilla(TP), USS Juneau(CL), USS Flint(CL).
March 15, 1943 : We won a battle against USA in Monrovia. We also won battles in Australia at Newcastle and Brisbane.
March 16, 1943 : We won a battle against USA in Cape Byron, sinking USS Boston(CA), 52nd Destroyer Division(DD), USS Canberra(CA), USS Pittsburgh(CA), 65th Destroyer Division(DD), USS Northampton(CA), 64th Destroyer Division(DD). We also took Katherine, Australia.
March 18, 1943 : LXVI. Armeekorps has finished unloading in Darwin.
March 21, 1943 : The offensive on the mainland begins. Phase I is the drive into Yunnan. We quickly won battles in Baoshan, Kangding and Jinghong.
March 25, 1943 : Admiral Doenitz reports the entry into service of the first batch of 30 Type XXI Electric U-boats. These are deployed into the Pacific, where U-boat casualties have been a problem. Hopefully, these new boats will be able to defeat the US Navy's DDs. We won battles against Australia in Geraldton and Perth.
March 26, 1943 : II. Marine Corps has arrived in Sydney.
March 28, 1943 : III. Marine Corps has arrived in Townsville.
March 29, 1943 : We have lost control over Monrovia to USA, for the third time! This time, the Africa corps SRs an infantry corps to the area in the hopes of providing a permanent garrison for this invasion hot-spot. It will take some time before these troops arrive, so the Marines are called on to remove the immediate threat.
April 1, 1943 : We won a battle against Australia in Canberra.
April 3, 1943 : We won battles in Xiaguan and Yushu. We won a battle against USA in Lesser Antilles, sinking USS Nashville(CL), 14th Destroyer Division(DD), USS Baltimore(CA).
April 4, 1943 : Marines landed in Puerto Rico and Martinique.
April 5, 1943 : We won a battle against Yunnan in Xiaguan.
April 6, 1943 : We won a battle against Australia in Adelaide.
April 9, 1943 : We won battles in Kunming and Wenshan.
April 11, 1943 : We won a battle against Australia in Melbourne.
April 13, 1943 : A convoy in the Trinidad-Faro convoy at Sea of Azores South lost 5 transports and 0 escorts. The good news, a convoy attack tells us where to focus our air assets. We soon discover the offenders and begin to attack them. Monrovia is cleared out again, and at long last, Australia is annexed into the Reich! Now, with our rear area cleared, it is on to the Samoas and beyond. We are leaving the Philippines to the Japanese, who are attacking with gusto.
April 17, 1943 : Nationalist China annexed Yunnan to prevent our annexation of Yunnan.
April 19, 1943 : The USA scored a coup against the Japanese today, having launched a secret mission, they assassinated Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto . Admiral Raeder sends a personal letter to the Imperial High Command in regards to the loss of his respected associate.
April 20, 1943 : With the thawing of the Himalayas, troops march into Kashgar and Yushu.
April 21, 1943 : We won battles in Xining and Wenshan. The USA once again slipped into Monrovia. The Infantry Corps had not yet arrived.
April 24, 1943 : The Heer reports the Panzergrenadier Division "SS-Leibst. Adolf Hitler" has been upgraded to Mechanized Infantry '44.
April 25, 1943 : The Luftwaffe reports the introduction of its "pinnacle" fighter type. The fighter that should command the world's skies through the rest of the war. The Go-229. We also drove the US out of Monrovia again today as well as taking Guiyang.
April 26, 1943 : We won a battle against Sinkiang in Urumqi.
April 29, 1943 : We have lost control over Nhulunbuy to USA. Apparently they aren't so ready to give up on Australia. Naval Bombers and U-boats pounced on the area off shore and found the transport group, sending most of it to the bottom.
April 30, 1943 : I. Marine Army HQ has finished unloading in Samoa. Mountaineers arrive in Korla. We also won a battle in Qumul.
May 1, 1943 : We won a battle against Xibei San Ma in Golmud.
May 2, 1943 : We won battles against Nationalist China in Guiyang and Kangding.
May 3, 1943 : We won a battle against Nationalist China in Zunyi. Troops arrive in Aksu.
May 6, 1943 : We won a battle against USA in Colon. Hopefully closing the Canal will disrupt some of the US operations.
May 7, 1943 : XCIV. Armeekorps has arrived in Kashgar.
May 8, 1943 : Japan annexed Philippines! Hitler sends a congratulatory note to Emperor Hirohito on a job well done. Reports of action from the seas around the Philippines show that many bloody battles have been fought, with severe losses to both sides. The Japanese Navy is being bled in a naval war of attrition they cannot hope to win. It is up the the Kreigsmarine to make the US Navy bleed the worst and secure the seas for operations into the Americas. We also removed the US forces from Nhulunbuy today.
May 9, 1943 : Seeaufklärungsgruppe 130 has been upgraded to Junkers Ju-287 EF-140. The entry of these Jet Naval Bombers into service marks the completion of Luftwaffe research for the duration of the conflict. Their remaining project is a secret one relating to super weapons capable of bombing the United States from Europe. We also landed in the Maizel Islands.
May 11, 1943 : XXIX. Armeekorps has arrived in Taklimakan Desert.
May 13, 1943 : Nationalist China annexed Sinkiang in another attempt to prevent us from annexing it first.
May 14, 1943 : We won a battle against Nationalist China in Kaili.
May 15, 1943 : We won a battle against Nationalist China in Liuzhou.
May 16, 1943 : We have lost control over Belize City to USA. Clearly the US Navy isn't out of action yet. We also managed to beat the Nationalist Chinese to the heart of Xibei San Ma and have annexed this area as our own.
May 17, 1943 : We won a battle against Nationalist China in Lanzhou.
May 18, 1943 : We won battles against Nationalist China in Guilin, Ya'an, Huaihua and Shaoyang. The US landed forces in Barbados.
May 20, 1943 : XXXV. Armeekorps has arrived in Zigong. Battles were won in Fuling and Wuzhou.
May 26, 1943 : We won battles against USA in Palmyra and Jarvis Island. We are closing on Hawaii from the South West, but lack a base within range of these key islands. We shall have to build a new facility on one of these new islands from which to continue our offensive to drive the US Navy from the Pacific. The Japanese are on the move as well in the Central/North Pacific.
May 27, 1943 : We won a battle against USA in Barbados, reclaiming it for ourselves.
May 28, 1943 : We won a battle against USA in Central Line Islands, sinking USS New Orleans(CA), 44th Destroyer Division(DD), USS Astoria(CA), 12th Destroyer Division(DD), 40th Destroyer Division(DD).
May 29, 1943 : We won the second battle against USA in Central Line Islands, sinking USS San Francisco(CA), 60th Destroyer Division(DD), 7th Destroyer Division(DD), 67th Destroyer Division(DD).
May 30, 1943 : Admiral Raeder's report on the Naval War over the past 3 months(since his previous report) indicates a dramatic upswing in naval action as the Battle of the Pacific reaches epic proportions. In a series of dozens of battles over this period the Axis powers have lost no less than 50 vessels, including another Japanese CV, both a Japanese and an Italian BB, and many, many smaller vessels, including no less than 5 U-boat flottillas and one German DD flotilla. The cost to the allies, however, has been horrendous! The US Navy has lost 3 more aircraft carriers(Saratoga, Ranger, Yorktown) and 5 battleships, including the war-ace USS Arizona and their two newest battleships the South Dakota and Washington. The US, however, has commissioned two new CVs during this same period so that they still have 7 CVs and 10 BBs as well as 100 other vessels. They are bleeding, badly, but they are not out of it yet. The Japanese are down to 2 CV and 4 BB plus 50 other vessels.
The current list of Naval War Aces from all nations includes 13 vessels from 4 nations. In order of number of kills, they are:
Rank - Name - Class - #ofKills - Most Notable Kill
1. KMS Peter Strasser CV 34 HMS Barham(BB)/USS Mississippi(BB)
2. KMS Graff Zeppelin CV 25 USS Baltimore(CA)
3. KMS Clausewitz CV 18 USS New Mexico(BB)
4. KMS Tirpitz BB 18 HMS Argus(CV)/HMS Revenge(BB)
5. RN Andrea Doria BB 14 HMCS Kingston(CA)
6. KMS Bismarck BB 11 Duquesne(CA)
7. KMS Seelowe CV 10 Ocean(BB)
8. KMS Grossdeutschland BB 9 HMAS Brisbane(CL)
9. 35th U-boat flottila SS 9 HMS Diomede(CL)
10. RN Caio Duilio BB 6 DD's & TPT's
11. KMS Rheingold CV 5 HMS Warspite(BB)
12. IJN Hyuga BB 5 USS Pensacola(CA)
13. USS Arizona BB 5 IJN Kinu(CL)
Note that a large number of US vessels have 3 or 4 kills each, but don't quite make the list. We hope to sink them before they get the chance!
