Jap invasion fleet moving toward Baker Island. Pacific fleet moving to give battle.

ACTION SUMMARY: The Pacific Fleet ordered up three seperate battlegroups in the Congo theatre up to steam as a Japanese invasion fleet was spotted moving toward Baker Island. CINCPAC, concerned that his lifeline to Australia is in danger, evacuated the Catalinas recently deployed at Baker. The U.S.S. Lexington, on station off Palmyra Atoll, was ordered in to intercept the enemy fleet. The battleship Colorado group, 100 miles north of Palmyra, was also ordered to move in to support the Lexington. The battleship Colorado, however, will continue to proceed to Canton Island with only a destroyer as escort. Her accompanying heavy cruisers and five destroyers will follow 100 miles behind the Lexington. A southern force of four destroyers based at Canton Island are also ordered to get up steam and move in to give contact to the enemy.

There is serious danger here as no Japanese carriers have been sighted in days, and not in strength since December 10th. Is it possible the KB is lurking off the Marshalls? As such, the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise were made ready to sail at a moment's notice from Pearl Harbor. It is possible that a decisive engagement is in the offing.

The United States Pacific Fleet is in no condition to fight a full-fledges carrier battle. The Yorktown will be leaving drydock in nine days. The Wasp is another 150 days out, still on station in the Atlantic theatre. I do have the advantage of recon aircraft based at Canton. I'll know where his carriers are before he sees mine. What I can hope for is that I sink his transports and withdraw before Japanese reinforcements arrive.



Meanwhile, five regiments recently disembarked at West Coast ports are loading aboard eight different transport groups, all bound for Congo. It looks like the United States Navy and Army are getting ready for action on this side of the Pacific.

Elsewhere, Japanese bombardment of Chinese positions at Hanoi have pinned my troops down. It is possible two corps may become trapped there as Japanese forces are also moving in from Siam. Fighting continued today at Alor Starr outside of Georgetown, and at Yenen where Chinese reinforcements of three corp arrived to aide in the city's defense.

Two major Japanese air raids on Bataan were met with a stiff curtain of flak that damaged 20+ bombers. Allied airstrikes included Chinese bombers striking Japanese positions outside of Changsha and Wuchow. The B-17's at Mindanao struck the Jolo airfield again today.