Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

December 13th, 1941

Burma Campaign - The Tavoy field is attacked by 27 Ki-27s of the 77th Sentai, who destroy... a Yale Z-31 of the BVAS. One of the Japanese pilots, wounded by flak fire, brings his plane back but dies in hospital. The following days, Mergui and Moulmein ar also attacked.
At noon, the RAF units based in Moulmein launch a daylight raid against Bangkok to try to attempt to reduce the pressure on Malaya. The raid includes 18 Wellingtons from Sqn 40 and 104 of the RAF, escorted by 24 Hurricanes of Sqn 146 and 155. It is intercepted by 21 Japanese and Thai Ki-21s and the ensuing air battle sees the loss of one Wellington and four Hurricanes against eight Ki-21s (three of them under fire from the rear turrets of the Wellingtons). The effectiveness of the bombardment is average, but the morale of the population is severely shaken.

 

[Wings]

December 13th, 1941

Gulf of Siam, 00:20 - Admiral Phillips' squadron arrives in front of Singora and begins a 40-minute shelling, carried out mainly by the Prince of Wales, the Repulse and the heavy cruisers. Two Swordfish of the Formidable launch flares and adjust the fire, before landing at Khota Baru for the night to avoid risking a night landing. The naval bombardment hits the airfield, destroying 15 Ki-27 and 8 Ki-30, but also stores and material parks.
00:54 - An ammunition dump is hit and explodes, briefly lighting up the night.
01:10 - Phillips decides to withdraw at full speed towards the exit of the Gulf of Siam.
The Japanese command in Thailand is so stunned by the bombing that its reconnaissance planes did not even try to follow the squadron until 07:30. Only one raid can be launched, at 09:45, when the ships of Phillips had largely passed Khota Baru, and the attack was broken by the Formidable's fighters, which shoot down seven Ki-21s out of eighteen. Yvon Lagadec: "We did our job as in the exercise. The twin-engine Japs (as we started to say) were not escorted. We shot down seven of them, including one by yours truly - my first Hino Maru, the red Japanese "rising sun", on my fuselage! It was then that I realized that, contrary to what my father had moaned when I had joined the naval air force, I had made the right choice by abandoning the family tradition and the battleships. It was our little Martlets that protected the big guns down there, not the other way around!"
.........
South China Sea, 10:30 - The CL Primauguet reaches Miri (Sarawak, British Borneo), where she hastily refuels, before leaving at 13:30 for Singapore. It appears that the shaking caused by the bombs has damaged the right external drive shaft. Speed remains limited to 25 knots.

 

[Wings]

December 13th, 1941

Kedah Front - The ground fight appears stabilized. The Japanese forces regroup and attempt to make up for logistical losses suffered in the Singora bombardment.
Air activity near the front is limited to small harassing bombardments around Jitra.
The two usual raids on Kuala-Lumpur and Penang see only nine Ki-21s escorted by Ki-27s and Ki-43s. The RAAF fighters neglect the raid on Kuala Lumpur, not powerful enough to cause significant damage. The Dutch of ML-KNIL try to oppose the Penang attack and lose three B-339s in exchange for a bomber and two Ki-27.
Small formations of Ki-30s bomb Sungei Patani and Butterworth, but these small-scale raids are more like armed reconnaissance than real offensive actions. One Ki-30 is shot down and one damaged by Butterworth's flak.
.........
Singapore - During the night, 21 Japanese bombers attack Singapore, and the Defiant night fighters destroy three of them. The military installations do not suffer much, but the city is kept awake from 23:00 to 03:20, by the raid itself or by the flak fire, which continues long after the departure of the Japanese planes.

 

[Wings]

December 13th, 1941

Tonkin - The land battle is balanced. On the airfields of Bach Mai and Gia Lam, we are treating the wounds of the previous day's raid without wanting to think that it will soon be worse...
.........
Laos - If the situation is almost calm on the ground, it is not the same in the air. The presence of French gunboats prevent the Japanese forces from advancing, an air intervention is requested, and 15 Ki-51s escorted by 12 Ki-27s are actively hunting the ships on the Mekong. They are quickly intercepted by the two French protection patrols (12 aircraft). The 20 mm guns of the Moranes are merciless for the fragile Japanese machines and the attack is quickly disorganized, the dive-bombers dropping their projectiles at random to lighten their load. Three Type 99 Assault were shot down, as well as two fighters, at the cost of one MS-410 and two MS-406.
In the afternoon, the Japanese return in force. After having launched a bait of 4 Ki-27 in patrol, the other Nipponese, Ki-43 Hayabusa, engage the patrol of 4 MS-406.
One against five, the Morane pilots defend themselves with the energy of despair and succeed in shooting down four of their fragile opponents, but one MS-406, set on fire, crashes with its pilot and the three other planes, if they manage to break off the fight and to return, are riddled with bullets and unusable. This is the end of the MS-406 in Indochina, 14 months after their arrival.
.........
Cambodia - The French forces slowly retreat on both sides of the Tonle Sap lake in front of the Japanese-Thai attempts to force the passage. Protected by Hawk 75's which do not hesitate to empty their magazines on the ground troops at the end of the mission, Potez 63/11 and CAC-Wirraway harass the Japanese columns. But the latter demand air cover and at the end of the day, Ki-43s surprise a raid in progress and attack the French, their eyes turned towards the ground. Two H-75s, too low, crash into the jungle under the fire of the Japanese 12.7s. A furious battle ensues, but the light Hayabusas climb faster than the Curtisses, and in the hands of skilled and experienced pilots, they are the ones to rule.
Only the robustness of the American planes (and the reduced armament of the Ki-43s) allows them to hold on, but three of them are hit hard and barely make it back to Phnom Penh. A Potez is reported missing, and a Wirraway looks like a skimmer. Meager consolation: three Ki-43s (labeled Zero by the pilots, confusion is common) are certified, fallen under the eyes of the infantry.
.........
"Another hard day. No less than three missions, in protection of the Potez and the Wirraway ground attack aircraft. But it was exhilarating: as soon as our protégés were on their way back, empty, we would dive in turn to strafe the Japs on the ground. They were just coming out of the bushes and they quickly had to dive back in. The snag came on the third mission: the Japanese fighters intervened at that moment, and we got hit. As for me, with my ammunition exhausted, I had to pull out all the stops to escape from the Zeros, I had three of them on my ass! It was Roger who got me out of there by shooting one of them, which made the others run away, but my zinc is in bad shape, again. " (Pierre van Bielt, op. cit.)

Annam and Cochinchina - The situation is getting worse. The naval planes operating from Tourane join the IJAAF planes already present to pound the French forces.
At 0730 hours, 12 B5N1 Kate and 9 D3A1 Val attack Cam Ranh while 18 D3A1 escorted by as many A6M2 Zeros attack Tan-Son-Nhut (Saigon airfield).
At Cam Ranh, where no fighter aircraft oppose the attackers, new installations are demolished. The submarine Pégase, just back from patrol, is seriously damaged by two bombs and has to be beached. The oil tanker Garonne, already damaged on the 8th, is this time sent to the bottom. The two hydrographic ships armed as minesweepers La Pérouse and Astrolabe, as well as the barge Cam Ranh, are also on the list of hits of the Kate and the Val. More fortunately, the submarine supply ship Jules-Verne is only slightly damaged. Admiral Decoux decides to send it to Singapore*, as well as most of the ships still intact.
In addition to the Jules-Verne, which evacuates the crews of the submarines Pégase and Protée**, the large tug Valeureux and the minesweepers Armand Rousseau (AD347) and De Lanessan (AD304) leave during the night. The hydrographer Octant, twin of the Astrolabe, with boiler damage and unable to sail, is scuttled, as are the small tugs Cho Gao, Trian and Song Sau. The small tugs Donnaï, Nha Bé and Soirap, as well as the minesweeper Directeur Général Amé (AD319) - a 48-ton launch folded from Tourane - are sent to contribute to the defense of the Mekong.
The attack on Tan-Son-Nhut is even more deadly, as the allied fighters encounter, like the day before, the A6M2s, not only more agile, but faster than the Hawk-75A4 and even the Hurricane. Five Curtiss and four Hurricanes are shot down against only three Val and two Zero. Moreover, dive-bombing is much more accurate than horizontal bombing. Several aircraft were destroyed on the ground, including five Marylands from GB I/62. At 10:00, when the Lockheed 18 carrying the new High Commissioner lands at Tan-Son-Nhut, fires are still burning. "I see that it is time for political action to come to the rescue of military action," observes Jean Sainteny.
Before noon, Ki-51s and Ki-36s attack the coastal road several times to support the Japanese column on the march south.
...
Faced with the threat of the planes based in Tourane, Colonel Pijeaud, after a discussion with the chief of the French Air Force in Indochina, Colonel Devèze, decides to entrust the Martin 167s based in Hanoi to carry out an interdiction mission against this airfield. At 13:00, a raid of nine planes of the GB II/62 is launched - without escort, because at this time, all the P-40s of the AVG available in Tonkin are busy defending Hanoi. This surprise raid does not meet any opposition but its success is limited: five aircraft destroyed on the ground and another one (a Ki-36) returning from a ground support mission shot down by the machine guns of two Marylands, while only two bombers are slightly damaged by flak; but there had been far fewer aircraft than had been expected. Indeed, the 12th and 3rd Kokutai had launched another raid, this time against Bin Dinh, which is severely shelled, while the columns of refugees on the coastal road are bombed and machine-gunned without mercy.
Against Devèze's advice, Pijeaud decides to launch a new raid in the afternoon.
As his colleague objects that the Japanese, alerted by the first attack, would probably have set up a fighter cover, Pijeaud replies that the bombers based in Hanoi are the only force capable of striking Tourane and that only the bombing of this base could reduce the enemy's air activity. Devèze reluctantly agrees and cannot even prevent Pijeaud from boarding the lead aircraft.
Fifteen Martin 167s are assembled (6 from GB II/62 and 9 from III/62).
Unfortunately, when the bombers arrive on Tourane at 17:00, they are welcomed by 12 A6M2 and 6 Ki-27 in fixed patrol to protect the passage by Tourane of the 14th Kokutai (36 D3A1 and 12 B5N1), which was going from China to Bangkok - Dong-Muang via Hainan and Tourane, escorted by 20 A6M2 of the 3rd Kokutai. Some of these Zeros, refueling at the airfield, take off and join the patrol to chase the French bombers. If the lightly armed Ki-27s are not very effective against the fast Martin 167s, the A6M2 guns make a massacre in the French formation. Nine bombers are shot down and five, including Pijeaud's, are seriously damaged and have to make a crash landing in Hue. The only plane able to return to Hanoi is also damaged. While defending themselves, the Marylands manage to shoot down two A6M2s and two Ki-27s, and their bombs destroy three D3A1s and a B5N1 on the ground. Very seriously burned, Colonel Pijeaud is taken to Hue hospital, from where he is transferred to Hanoi on the 14th by a Potez-29 CASEVAC, before dying on the 21st.
...
At 18:30, the planes of the 14th and 3rd Kokutai take off from Tourane for Bangkok - Dong-Muang, where they land at 21:30.
...
That evening, the allied fighters in Indochina are mainly represented by the pilots of the AVG. There are only seven Hurricanes and eight Hawk-75A4s in Cochinchina (plus two unavailable), eleven Hawk-75A4s (and 3 unavailable) in Phnom-Penh and, in Laos, twelve Morane MS-410 (and 4 unavailable). The bombers are 30 Glenn-Martin (plus 10 unavailable), of which twelve with the GB I/62 in Cochinchina and the eighteen others in Hanoi. The tactical support squadrons still have eleven Potez-63/11 (3 unavailable) and seven Wirraway (1 unavailable), mostly based in Laos. Twenty-one antique Potez 25 biplanes complete this order of battle. Fortunately, the AVG is in much better shape with 54 aircraft, of which 41 in fighting condition.
...
At sunset, the Japanese enter the port of Binh Dinh, without any defense, and immediately continue their movement towards Qui Nhon. Rear Admiral Nishimura's squadron, which is heading towards Tourane, changes its route and enters the small port at 22:30.
The seaplane carriers Mizuho and Kamikawa Maru immediately start to unload equipment to transform the local civilian terrain (with a good grass runway of 1,500 meters, used before the war by D-338s and DC3s) into a temporary air base for the IJNAF. The two ships also land fuel and ammunition for a hydrobase for their 9 E13A1 Jake and 12 F1M2 Pete.
...
In Saigon, an important conference brings together Sainteny, Decoux and the local military authorities.

* From there, it will travel to Fremantle, Australia.
** The crew of the Protée was flown from Haiphong to Saigon by the few remaining transport planes available, flying at night.

 

[Wings]

December 13th, 1941

Philippine Campaign - The Japanese forces landed at Aparri and Vigan, consolidate their position and advance towards the south. The small airstrip at Aparri begins to receive Ki-51 cooperation aircraft while infantry units reach Baguio Field, near Vigan, late in the day.
Faced with the weakness of the USAAF in the Philippines, Admiral Hart orders the gunboats from China to head for Balikpapan and then Batavia.

 

[Wings]

December 13th, 1941

North of Pitcairn Island, 19:07- The 24th Japanese cruiser squadron, composed of the AMC Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru, which had come to the South Pacific even before the beginning of hostilities, attack the American freighter Vincent (6,210 GRT, going from Sydney to Panama with a load of rice). The Hokoku Maru fires eight 152 mm shells, igniting a fire on the Vincent, which its crew (9 officers and 27 sailors) abandons in three lifeboats. The Japanese then finish off the freighter with a torpedo before recovering the 36 shipwrecked men.

 

[Wings]

December 14th, 1941

Gibraltar - The Dutch submarine HNLMS O-21 (CC J.F. van Dulm) leaves the Rock for a last patrol in the Bay of Biscay, at the end of which it should reach Dundee to enter a major refit around mid-January 1942.

 

[Wings]

December 14th, 1941

The Barstow reports

Report on the situation in Kuantan at 04:30, 14 December 1941

To: Air Marshal Brooke-Popham, G.O.C. Far East Command

The 15th and 22nd Indian Brigades have reported no enemy activity.
Our forces are now deployed to defend the RAF field against attack by sea or by air. As our air strength appears to be diminishing, should the deployment of our ground forces, designed to protect the base for use, not be adjusted to prevent its use by the enemy? Indeed, defending the base in order to retain its use would entail a serious risk of encircling the entire 9th Division, for little gain, given the weakness of our air forces. Even a deployment simply designed to deny the air base to the enemy could be very dangerous.
Our position requires that we be alerted to the enemy's approach in order to adjust our deployment to meet the threat. We have a line of lookout posts to the north and south, but at sea and, ideally, along the north coast route, aerial reconnaissance is needed.
I ask these questions because, as you know, the division's communications are through a single route requiring the crossing of at least one major river by a slow vehicle ferry (or punt). Units deployed on the north side of Kuantan also have a river to cross, also by punt.

Yours truly,
Major General A.E. Barstow,
G.O.C. 9th Indian Division
.........

Report on the situation at Kota Bharu at 0430 hours, 14 December 1941

To: Air Marshal Brooke-Popham, G.O.C. Far East Command

The 13th and 16th Indian Brigades reported no enemy activity. This was a great surprise, but I don't think that will be the case for much longer, as I suspect the Japanese are up to no good.
The interdiction program was effectively completed at Kota Bharu. The port and railway facilities were completely destroyed. The Sultan, his family, members of the local government and their families, as well as the families of the Kelantan and Tengganu Volunteers have already been evacuated. Many civilians of all races have also already left, including non-combatants from the European community. Their evacuation was necessary for fear that the Japanese would retaliate against them because of their collaboration in the plantation interdiction program and other work. The contents of some RAF warehouses were also sent south. All the units were reduced to combat personnel and all non-combatants in the garrison were evacuated with the surplus RAF crews.
Unless the strategic situation requires it, I recommend the withdrawal of the brigade from Kota Bharu to Machang. Since both railway bridges from the Thai border have been destroyed, the border defense brigade should also withdraw to Machang. While the defense of Machang remains vital, the town must be held in force. Otherwise, it is better to withdraw now and not when we are attacked, because the withdrawal movement can only be done through a single-track railway, thanks to train relays and by using, where they exist, secondary maintenance tracks. I fear that even under favorable circumstances, our losses in material and equipment will be high.
What may save us is the fact that the Japanese, for logistical reasons, will need the railway in as good a condition as possible. So, if we damage the line lng enough to delay the pursuit, but not devastate it, their bombardment of our retreat route will be very limited. On the other hand, if they find that, in any event, we are prepared to render the line beyond repair, they will not restrict their bombardment. The clouds, rain, and the route through valleys deep in the mountains will be our only defense against cutting the line. If this one is unusable, it will be a very long walk on foot and on the back of a mule. To prepare for any eventuality, we have concealed supply depots to keep our forces operational, but in the absence of trains, the march will take weeks and our losses in men will be high.

Yours faithfully,
Major General A.E. Barstow,
G.O.C. 9th Indian Division

 

[Wings]

December 14th, 1941

Alger - Emergency meeting of the National Defense Council to evaluate the situation in Indochina. The CDN authorizes the new High Commissioner, Jean Sainteny, to decide on the "general mobilization" of both Asians and Europeans in Indochina.
Furthermore, the French government is informed by the American government that the US Navy had asked to recover the two light aircraft carriers being built on the hulls of
fleet supply tankers which were to be delivered to the French Navy. But Washington is offering in exchange four escort aircraft carriers under construction or about to be commissioned. The offer was made very politely - but it is obvious that a refusal is not an option. The two CVLs will go to war against the Japanese.

 

[Wings]

December 14th, 1941

Kedah - The Japanese air force is back. The fortress of Penang is attacked twice: during the day by the Val of the 14th Kokutai, which sink the workshop ship Platypus and the tug St. Giles, and in the evening by 18 Ki-21s. The Val are escorted by Zeros and three Dutch B-339s are destroyed, the others being put out of action. The situation at Georgetown is critical, as the city has no drinking water since the destruction of its water treatment plant, and multiple fires are raging.
In the early afternoon, the small light cruisers patrolling the Straits of Malacca are also attacked. The HMS Dragon receives a bomb on its bow. The old Dragon has to be beached, but could leave for Singapore the next day, hoping to be repaired there. The even older HMAS Adelaide, already hit several times, is hit by two 250 kg bombs, one in the middle and one behind the rear chimney. It is burned and ends up being beached. The ship is lost, but most of its crew is rescued; they will be busy the following days... repairing the water treatment system of Georgetown!
At the rear of the front, in the morning, two strong raids of 18 Ki-21 each hit Ipoh and Subang, obviously in an attempt to eradicate the remaining Hurricanes of Malaysia. The fighters now limit themselves to dive and candle attacks, but they lose three of theirs in exchange for the destruction of three Ki-21s and a Ki-43 escort. In the evening, 12 A6M2s execute a surprise strafing of the Ipoh airfield, destroying three Hurricanes and two Blenheims. The fighter squadron in charge of the coverage of central and northern Malaya now has only 15 Hurricanes, 11 of which are airworthy.
After a personal call from the Right Hon. Duff Cooper and Air Marshal Brooke-Popham to Vice Admiral Helfrich (Dutch Indonesia), ML-KNIL agrees to commit all its B-339s from the 2 and 3-VLG-V (21 aircraft) based at Mendan, with nine Martin 139 WH-3/3A bombers of the 1st Afdeling (1-VLG-III), to protect the western flank of Malaysia.
At Jitra and Kroh, the Japanese forces are surprisingly quiet, apart from some mortar harassment (see Barstow reports).

Dutch Air Force Martin 139, 1941

 

[Wings]

December 14th, 1941

Singapore - In the early morning, Admiral Phillips' squadron returns without a scratch. At noon, much less noticed and in a much worse condition, but no less happy to reach port, the Primauguet passes through the Straits of Johor in turn.

 

[Wings]

December 14th, 1941

Tonkin - The Japanese are still stopped at Bac Can by the DMT. The road from Cao Bang to Bac Can is regularly strafed and bombed with 50 kg bombs by P-40Cs of the AVG. At Lang Son, new Japanese attacks, with artillery support; without air support, the colonel commanding the defense of the place requests authorization to evacuate his forces in the next two days. Colonel Devèze's response is swift: nine M-167Fs attack the Japanese artillery positions, under the cover of 8 Flying Tigers. Although the shooting stops for a few hours, two twin-engine planes come back heavily damaged, one by a Ki-43 attack, the other by Japanese flak.
.........
Cambodia - French and local forces slowly retreat eastward, on either side of the Tonle Sap lake. In the afternoon, well supported by 52nd ACCS aircraft, a company of the GBMS counter-attacks to reduce the Japanese pressure, causing heavy losses to one of the regiments of the 23rd Japanese ID. However, four Sav-41 are put out of action by suicide teams.
The small gunboat Mytho is bombed three times, but escapes without damage. A Potez 63/11 comes back painfully on one engine.
.........
Cochinchina - The Val of the 12th Kokutai, escorted by Zeros, bomb the airfields around Saigon again. At noon, they attack the harbor, burned by the dive bombers. Nevertheless, in the evening, barges from the Mekong unload elements of the GBMS at Bien Hoa. On the coast, Japanese forces continue to advance south on the main road, the RC1. In the opposite direction, the three "temporary battalions" raised in emergency, two of Annamite riflemen and one of mobilized or volunteer Frenchmen, marches north in the midst of an incessant flow of refugees to try to establish a first line of defense at Son-Cau, south of Qui-Nhon.
On the political front, Jean Sainteny, without waiting (given the time difference) for the official green light from Algiers, announces, on the one hand, the mobilization of all French citizens of age to bear arms and, on the other hand, the closing of the prison of Poulo-Condor, of sad (and deserved) reputation.
.........
Tan-Son-Nhut airfield (Saigon) - The general mobilization reaches all the licensed civilian pilots, who will be evacuated to NAF in order to receive training in the EEP-EAP-EPP and CI, along with the students who had already been hired but had not finished their training.
The instructors who are not part of the Combat Squadrons accompany them. As for the aircraft, the NAA will be armed for ground support by adding machine gun gondolas under the wings and the Tiger Moths will be used for liaison.

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Nowhere, near Djidjelli (Kabylia) - Yugoslav and French officers are training in a secret base organized by the 2nd Bureau, where they receive training as radios and guerrilla instructors. The Yugoslavs chose a Kabyle village for training for street operations. They are indeed struck by the similarity between the Algerian villages in the interior, with their poor, low houses and alleys, and the villages of Macedonia or Kosovo.

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Alger, Beirut & Damascus - In the Levant, this seemed to be obvious to many for many weeks, or even since his arrival, according to some. General Georges Catroux is appointed High Commissioner for the Levant to replace Gabriel Puaux, called to... new functions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs*. The real surprise is the return of Pierre Viénot, the man who negotiated the 1936 treaties for Syria as well as for Lebanon, former Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for protectorates and the mandates of the Front Populaire. The SFIO deputy of the Ardennes is given a position with a somewhat vague name: representative of the French government in the Levant. Many interpret it as a maneuver by Léon Blum, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Reynaud cabinet, in order to have in the position a man capable of defusing the delicate Levantine issue, which threatens to degenerate at any moment.
Viénot and Catroux, far from seeing each other as competitors, are happy to work together. Indeed, they have an important point in common: despite their twenty years of difference, they were both part of Marshal Lyautey's cabinet (at different times, of course) and see his work as the example to follow in Syria and Lebanon. Proof of the two men's good understanding, if Catroux takes up residence in Beirut - at the Grand Serail, like his predecessors - Viénot moves to Damascus.
This change of head had become a necessity. Even though Reynaud had placed his confidence in Puaux in August, it was clear that the situation had become slightly more difficult and that it was necessary to react, if only in relation to the rest of the world. The U.S. State Department, which is always on the lookout for oil (a pipeline passes through Tripoli and oil was recently found in Upper Jezirae...) is beginning to be a burden. No doubt, he had other things to worry about for the past eight days, but it would not have taken long for him to show up again. And the United Kingdom is beginning to want to interfere in the situation in the Levant! The Prime Minister even went so far as to propose that his personal representative to the government in Algiers, General Spears, a well-known Francophile who has nevertheless been in Algiers since the Grand Déménagement, would be entrusted with a mediation mission, totally neutral it goes without saying! No, really, it was necessary for the Reynaud cabinet to regain control in the Levant, which it hopes to have done with this double appointment.

* After more than two years of penance, Puaux will be appointed ambassador in Lisbon.

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Brest - In the afternoon, 27 Halifax heavy bombers protected by a strong escort of Spitfires attack the two German battlecruisers anchored in the harbor. The Scharnhorst is severely damaged by two 1,000-pound bombs that narrowly miss it.

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Pearl Harbor - The seaplane supply ship USS Tangier, loaded with men and equipment bound for Wake, and the wing tanker Neches leave Pearl Harbor, escorted by a division of destroyers. The aircraft carrier Saratoga, the cruisers Minneapolis, Astoria and San Francisco and the 4th Destroyer Squadron (Desron 4) are to weigh anchor the following day to participate in the Wake relief operation.
.........
Liverpool - A fast convoy of ten merchant ships capable of 16 knots sets sail for Singapore. It is escorted across the North Atlantic by HMS Renown, the MN Dunkerque and Strasbourg, the British aircraft carriers Eagle (with 16 Sea Hurricane from Sqn 801 and 813 and 4 Fulmar II from Sqn 807) and Furious (with 12 Fulmar II from Sqn 809, 6 from Sqn 807 and 6 Swordfish anti-submarine patrol boats), the cruisers HMS Kenya, Manchester and Sheffield, the AA cruiser Charybdis and a screen of 15 destroyers: the HMS Antelope, Bedouin, Escapade, Icarus, Ithuriel, Maori, Matabele, Nestor, Onslow, Partridge, Somali, Westcott, Wishart, Wrestler and Zulu.
The convoy has to stop briefly in Gibraltar to meet a French squadron composed of the cruisers Colbert, Dupleix, La Galissonnière, the destroyers Cassard, Kersaint, Tartu and Vauquelin; Bordelais, Brestois, Forbin and Fougueux, before crossing the Mediterranean.
.........
Calcutta - In the evening, the French planes of the GC IV/40 and the GB IV/62 arrive at Dum-Dum airfield. After various accidents and mechanical incidents, they have 17 Hurricanes (two others are still in Karachi and must quickly join the main part of their Group) and 21 Martin 167.

 

[Look More Closely Later]

December 10th, 1941

The Brooke-Popham Report (sent to Europe by the British Commander-in-Chief in Southeast Asia on December 10th, 1941)

The Air Situation ...It is becomingapparent that the Japanese fighters are a little slower than the Hurricanes, but much more maneuverable…

Andaman, Nicobar and Sabang Islands
These areas are of vital importance for access to Penang and control of the approaches to the Strait of Malacca. They must be held but have only one field, at Sabang. Point Victoria, in Burma, is only a short distance from the Thai border and will soon be in Japanese hands, as it is untenable. It is our staging ground for the single-engine planes coming from India through Burma.

'becomingapparent' should be 'becoming apparent'? (missing space?)

'Point Victoria', in English, should be 'Victoria Point'. The word order of this place name needs reversing.

Sorry about that, the keyboard of the PC is getting a little old (6 years of good and loyal services!). Sometimes letters don't get typed, spaces are forgotten, and in long updates like these, they can be drowned during re-reading...
Thanks for correcting!

And in some really old keyboards, the letters may get worn off some keys too... I hope you do not have that difficulty.

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Malaya Campaign - The Japanese naval air force maintains its pressure on Penang and the northern part of the Strait of Malacca.
Ground-based D3A1 dive-bombers attack the small Allied squadron that is within range. ""Poor Adelaide, stranded on the shore of the Straits, was attracting the Val like a dead horse attracts flies," recalled Jack Vaughan, quartermaster aboard the old Australian cruiser. "We took three new 550-pound bombs, but our flak shot down two of the scavengers. In addition, the buddies who were wet in the area also took a beating for their troubles. The service ship Whang Pu and the small armed freighters Bingera and Wilcannia were sunk. The patrol boat V2 was also bludgeoned, but it did not go down without a fight, and it shot down another Val with its 20 mm Œrlikon. And during all this time we were taking bombs to the face, we were hoping to see these gentlemen from the RAF, but we neve saw one of 'em !"(Pascal N'Guyen-Minh, op. cit.).
In fact, Japanese air superiority is now so obvious that Admiral Phillips prohibits any naval presence by day north of the Kelang-Tanjungbalai line. At night, a naval group named "Malacca Strait Squadron" and formed by the old light cruisers Danae and the Hunt-class Atherstone, Cattistock, Garth and Holderness class DD's is charged with a naval interdiction mission.
On land, the front is still quiet in Kroh and Jitra. Only significant, but not very effective, air force activity is reported, but not very effective, of Japanese ground support aircraft.
However, the daily Ki-21 raids on Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur are very disturbing and begin to seriously affect the morale of the population. The flow of refugees to Singapore is continually increasing, to the point of hindering the movement of Commonwealth troops (see Spooner report).

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Indochina Campaign -The planes of the Japanese Army and Navy increase their attacks against the French forces in Cochinchina and Cambodia.
.........
Cochinchina - Tan-Son-Nhut is hit twice by D3A1 Val dive bombers, escorted by A6M2 Zero fighters. Exhausted and overwhelmed by the number and quality of their opponents, two Hurricanes and three H-75A4 are lost while trying to stop the attackers. The Japanese columns marching toward Cam Ranh are supported by ground support and cooperation aircraft, plus 12 new Ki-30 light bombers, which land in Tourane in the morning. The latter are not the only ones to use this field, which is becoming very crowded. Coming from Hainan, new units of the Navy air force arrive in the afternoon: 27 Mitsubishi B5M1*, 27 D3A1 Val and an additional Kokutai fighter with 21 A6M2 and 15 A5M4.
On the ground, on the coastal road, the three improvised French battalions try to stop the Japanese columns at Tuy Hoa. They are reinforced by another battalion, a little more experienced, organized by the instructors of the mountain units (Annamite Mountain Infantry) based at Pleiku. Six bombers of the GB I/62 come to attack the Japanese columns escorted by six H-75A4s from II and III/40, which have a hard time dealing with the A5M4s that engage them. They manage to shoot down two Mitsubishis, but cannot prevent a Glenn 167 from being shot down by flak. The pilots return home exhausted, as do the machines: two twin-engines are declared fit for being spare parts providers.
All day long, the battle rages in the small town invaded by refugees. The attackers suffer heavy losses, but the defenders are outnumbered and Tuy Hoa has to be evacuated during the night.
General Martin urges Colonel Schlesser to advance north as quickly as possible to block the Japanese advance before Ninh Hoa, where the road from Ban Me Thuot joins the coastal road.
.........
Cambodia - French and local forces suffer under Japanese attacks, now constantly supported by light bombers, as French fighters - or more precisely what remains of them - are kept to protect Phnom Penh and Saigon. The 7th Japanese D.I. begins to attack Pouthisat, on the south bank of the Tonle Sap, but have to redeploy to face a local counter-attack of the DMC (Detachement Motorisé du Cambodge). On the northern bank, the French armored troops retreat, preparing a new line of defense at Kompong Thom. On the other side, scalded by the hard fighting of the previous days, the Japanese 23rd D.I. advances only cautiously.
Having failed to move from Paksé, the Japanese and Thai troops open a new front to the north, attacking from Rovieng Tbong. What remains of the ground support units of the Armée de l'Air try to oppose this new attack, which threatens Kompong Thom and the front on the northern bank of the Tonle Sap, but a Potez and a CAC are lost in the affair.
The French gunboats, and in particular the most powerful one, the Francis Garnier, are ordered to the Tonle Sap to support the units on land and prevent Japanese infiltration on the banks of the lake.

* This aircraft, an unsuccessful competitor in the competition for a torpedo bomber won by Nakajima with its B5N1 Kate, saw only 125 built.

 

[Wings]

December 15th, 1941

Philippines Campaign - Following a long message from General MacArthur requesting 200 fighters and 50 dive bombers, the War Department notified the American forces in the Philippines that :
"Your messages (...) have been studied by the President with the greatest attention. The strategic importance of the Philippines is fully recognized. There is and will be no - I repeat, no wavering in our determination to support you. The problem of reinforcements is complicated by naval losses in the Pacific but, as you recommended in your transmission of December 14th, reinforcements of bombers and fighters are being sent to you on an emergency basis."
In fact, General Marshall orders two new freighters loaded with fighters and ammunition. Combined with the loading of the "Pensacola" convoy and another convoy leaving the West Coast of the United States on December 17th, 230 fighters are to be deployed in Australia during January 1942. The creation of a powerful air base in Darwin (Australia) is planned. From there, it is hoped that the planes can be transferred to Luzon or, if the Philippines are already blocked, sent to the Commonwealth forces in Malaysia.
The "Pensacola" convoy is to be joined by the cruisers USS Houston and Concord and by the DesDiv 71 (USS Abbot, Doran, Hopewell, Thomas) and 72 (USS Bailey, Meade, Shubrick, Swasey), diverted to Nouméa on the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The DesDiv 57 (USS Alden, Edsall, John D. Edwards, Whipple), under Commander E.M. Crouch, which had been sent to Balikpapan, must also join the "Pensacola" convoy in Darwin.