Val Divebomber

The Netherlands East Indies

January-March 1942

Kate Torpedo Bomber

A Down in Flames
Campaign for ZERO!
By Roger Horky
Development Note: Of the many historical
campaigns that were considered for inclusion in
ZERO! but were rejected, for whatever reason,
none was more difficult to omit than the
Netherlands East Indies (NEI) campaign.
Indeed, it was the last eliminated during the
selection process, and oddly, the decision was
made almost by accident. As many of you are
aware, the game was originally supposed to be
called "Flying Tigers." One of the playtesters
observed that it would be prettyy silly to publish
a game with that name if the AVG wasn't
represented. Thus, the Burma campaign went
into ZERO!, leaving the NEI for this issue of
C3i.
The Japanese attacked the Netherlands
lands
East Indies (NEI) primarily to secure its
rich natural resources.
urces. The growing
Japanese empire desperately needed
both rubber and oil, neither of which
were produced in the home islands. The
1941 Dutch embargo on petroleum
exports to Japan provided a suitable
reason for going to war.
The NEI was very vulnerable in 194142.
42.
Dutch regular troops numbered 25,000,
although an additional 45,000 poorlytrained territorial guardsmen could be
called upon in an emergency.
gency. The small
air force was equipped with an odd
assortment of second- and third-class
machines. The navy lacked
acked capital ships,
operating just a handful of older
submarines, destroyers and cruisers. No
additional forces could arrive from the
mother country, as the Netherlands had
been under German occupation since
May 1940.
However, the Dutch East Indies were
protected somewhat by geography. Both
Malaya and the Philippines lay between
Japan and the Dutch colony, so the
Japanese could not attack directly. They
had to neutralize the two intervening
territories before invading. Accordingly,
the Japanese attacked both regions in
early December 1941 in an attempt to

secure Malaya and the Philippines

before the scheduled attack on the NEI
in February 1942. However, the
campaigns went so well that the
Japanese were able to advance their
timetable for invading the NEI by four
weeks.

armies, the Dutch and their British,

armies
American and Australian allies held out
for nine days before surrendering.
surrender
The
capitulation marked the end of the NEI
campaign.

On January 11, 1942, Japanese forces

based in the Philippines invaded both
Celebes and Dutch Borneo (British
possessions on Borneo had been under
attack since December). Neither island
was very well defended, although the
Dutch, Australians and Americans all
contributed air units to the fight for
Borneo. Both islands fell to the Japanese
in less than a month.

The Netherlands East Indies campaign is

an especially interest
interesting subject for Down
in Flames (DiF). The wide variety of
aircraft that participated in the campaign
is particularly noteworthy. In addition to
the aircraft employed by the two main
belligerents, the NEI campaign also
involved British, Australian and
American airplanes (indeed
(indeed, players will
need almost every airplane card in
ZERO! for this campaign).

Shortly after taking Borneo and the

Celebes, the Japanese conquered Malaya,
which they then used as a base for the
conquest of Sumatra. That island, most
of it uninhabited, was even less well
defended than Borneo and the Celebes.
The Dutch had largely abandoned it,
leaving the British refugee air force from
Malaya to hold it. The fighting on
Sumatra lasted but two weeks.
At the time of the Sumatra invasion, the
Japanese attacked and occupied
Amboina, Timor, Lombok, Bali and
other islands in the eastern part of the
NEI. They were then ready for their
assault on Java, the central island of the
archipelago. Although it was the bestdefended and most- populous island in
the NEI, its downfall seemed assured.
The Japanese controlled the land, sea
and skies in every other part of the
region, and could attack Java from every
direction except the south.
The defenders of Java gave a good
account of themselves. The Japanese
landed troops on both the eastern and
western ends of the island on March 1,
1942. Caught between two

THE AIR WAR

The majority of the British and

American aircraft that served in the NEI
came from Malaya or the Philippines.
The Japanese captured thousands of
allied soldiers and sailors during their
conquest of these territories, but a large
number of British and American airmen
were able to escape to the NEI with
their aircraft. The British, flying
Lockheed Hudsons, Bristol Blenheims,
Hawker Hurricanes and Brewster
Buffaloes, fell back to Sumatra.
Sumat The
Americans, equipped with Curtiss P-40
P
Warhawks and Boeing B-17
B
Flying
Fortresses, withdrew to Java. A
shipment of Douglas A-24's
A
(the US
Army variant of the SBD Dauntless), in
Australia awaiting shipment to the
Philippines, went instead to Java. All
Al of
these machines were combined with the
Dutch air force to create ABDAIR, the
air arm of ABDA, the joint American
AmericanBritish
British-DutchAustralian
command
established to defend the NEI.
Surprisingly, the Dutch component of
ABDAIR employed very few DutchDutch
built aircraft. The NEI had been cut

Netherland East Indies: ZERO!

off from the mother country since the
spring of 1940 and the ML-KNIL
(Militaire Luchtvaart-Koniklijk Nederlands
Indisch Leger, the aviation branch of the
NEI Army) had to look elsewhere for
equipment in the subsequent eighteen
months. Great Britain, at the time was the
world's largest aircraft
craft producer, had been
at war since 1939 and could spare few
airplanes for foreign sales. The Dutch
thus had to acquire most of their aircraft
from the United States. The two most
common types of aircraft operated by the
ML-KNIL in early 1942 were the
Brewster B339D fighter (an export
version of the F2A Buffalo) and the
Martin 139WH bomber (a variant of the
B-10/B-12 series). The Dutch had
enough of both types to equip several
squadrons of each. They also possessed
one squadron of American-built
built Curtiss
CurtissWright CW21B Demons, a rather
disappointing fighter design, and a
slightly smaller number of Curtiss H-75A
75A
fighters, the export version of the P-36
Hawk. The NEI's naval air service, the
MLDKNIL (Marine Luchtvaart DienstKNIL), was equipped with Consolidated
ated
PBY Catalina and Dornier Do24K flying
boats.
The Australian contribution to ABDAIR
was fairly small. The largest part of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was
in North Africa, supplementing British
units in the struggle against the Germans.
So many Australian aircraft were
committed to the fighting in the
Mediterranean that when war came to the
Pacific, Australia was dangerously unprounpro
tected. The United States Army Air
Forces (USAAF)) took over much of the
responsibility for defending Australia.
Because they had so few aircraft to
spare, the Australians provided but a
handful of aircraft to the defense of the
NEI. These amounted to a couple of
squadrons of Lockheed Hudson
bombers and Commonwealth CA-1
Wirraways. This last type, a locallyproduced variant of the North American
T-6 Texan trainer, was originally
intended for the army cooperation role.
However, the situation in the NEI was
so desperate that Wirraways were used
as interceptors on occasion.

The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

(IJAAF) employed its usual assortment of
aircraft in the NEI campaign. The agile
Nakajima Ki-27 'Nate' was the primary
IJAAF fighter, but its equally nimble
successor, the Nakajima Ki-43 'Oscar,'
also served in large numbers. The
Mitsubishi Ki21 'Sally' and Kawasaki Ki48 'Lily' were the most common IJAAF
bombers used in the NEI. The Mitsubishi
Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance aircraft also
played a large role in the campaign.
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had, in
essence, two separate air forces during
World War II (one land- based, one
carrier-based) and both saw action during
the NEI campaign. Carrier-borne aircraft
such as the Mitsubishi A6M2 'Zeke'
(Zero) fighter, the Aichi D3A 'Val' dive
bomber and Nakajima B5N 'Kate'
torpedo- /level-bomber were employed
primarily against naval targets (although
they were used against targets on land as
well). The IJN's land-based air arm,
equipped primarily with G4M 'Betty' and
G3M 'Nell' medium bombers (both
Mitsubishi designs) was used both for
attacks against targets on land and raids
against shipping.
The IJN had a third air armits seaplane
force. Most Japanese invasion fleets
included a seaplane tender or two,
especially when no aircraft carriers were
available. These vessels carried such
aircraft as the Aichi E13A 'Jake' and the
Mitsubishi F1M2 'Pete' (both observation
floatplanes), and served as a base of
operations for the big Kawanishi H6K
'Mavis' flying boats. The highlymaneuverable 'Pete' saw a lot of action in
the NEI campaign. They were even
employed as fleet-defense fighters at
times.
The NEI campaign had other features
DiF players will enjoy besides the variety
of aircraft. The first of these actions was
the defense of Tarakan on the island of
Borneo. The Japanese landing at Tarakan
on January 11, 1942 signaled the
beginning of the NEI campaign.
Defenders on the ground were quickly
overwhelmed. The Dutch, Australians
and Americans had to rely on air power
to repel the invaders. Sadly, their efforts
were

not well coordinated and were usually

under strength. The invaders were able
to take Tarakan and controlled all of
Borneo
eo by the middle of February. This
action is represented by Mission #12 in the
NEI campaign.
On January 19, 1942, the Japanese
conducted a large-scale
large
air attack on the
city of Darwin (also called Port Darwin)
in northern Australia. Aircraft from the
carriers
ers Kaga, Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu (all
four lost at Midway the next June) struck
the airfield, a railyard, seaplanes at
anchor, the American destroyer Peary and
most of the forty-seven
forty
other ships in the
harbor. Some seven merchant vessels
were sunk, as was the Peary. All eleven of
the American P-40
P Warhawks defending
the city were destroyed. Later that same
day, a formation of Mitsubishi G4M
'Betty' bombers visited Darwin, their
primary target being the various airfields
in the area. Most of the facilities bombed
in the two raids were heavily damaged.
Casualties were high, numbering some
243 killed and 330 wounded. These battles
are represented by Mission B in the Java
campaign.
The exodus from Singapore took place in
the second week of February 1942. The
Japanese had pushed the British out of
Malaya by the end of January and began
preparing to invade Singapore, the island
fortress ("the Gibraltar of the Orient") at
the southern tip of the peninsula, to
which the British forces had withdrawn.
with
The desperate British began a hasty
evacuation of the city, employing
employ
merchant ships, fishing vessels, coasters
and any other seaworthy craft they could
find. The Japanese high command, not
wanting to make the same mistake the
Germans had in May 1940, vowed that
there will be no Dunkirk at Singapore.
Any vessel entering the Straits of Malacca
was subjected to air attack. Japanese landland
and ship-based
ship
aircraft sank as many as
70 vessels of all sizes in the waters south
of Singapore. Some two to five thousand
people,
eople, both service personnel and
civilians, were killed. The evacuation
ended when Singapore fell on February
15, 1942. This action is represented by Mission
15 in the NEI campaign.

Most of the vessels that escaped from

Singapore went to Sumatra, which was
itself invaded on February 14, 1942. The
Japanese supported the invasion with a
fairly large task force that included a
couple of cruisers, the light carrier Ryujo
and a large number of destroyers. The
British on Sumatra made several
attempts to locate and bomb the
Japanese fleet, but failed to damage any
of the larger ships. They did, however,
sink a couple of transports. These battles
are represented by Mission 17 in the NEI
campaign.
The ABDA flotilla sent to attack the
Japanese invasion fleet and its support
group met with a similar lack of success.
The two naval bodies never made
contact with one another. The ABDA
fleet, however, suffered a number of air
attacks while in the area of Banka Island.
None of its ships were sunk but two
destroyers were lightly damaged. These
incidents are represented by Mission #16 in the
NEI campaign.
The only major naval battle of the NEI
campaign was the Battle of Java Sea,
which took place on February 27, 1942.
It was a major defeat for the Allies, who
lost two cruisers and three destroyers.
Two other cruisers were damaged. The
Japanese ships suffered only minor
damage. The action delayed the invasion
of Java by twenty-four hours at most.
Few aircraft were involved, so it is not
represented in this game.
The day had not been a good one for
Allied naval forces. The Japanese had
sunk the USS Langley. Langley, the first
American aircraft carrier (it had been
reconfigured as a aircraft tender in
1937), was carrying a load of muchneeded fighter aircraft to Java. The
Allies had been sending aircraft from
Australia to the NEI since January, and,
though bombers could fly the route
directly, shorter-ranged
ranged aircraft such as
fighters had to stage in Timor for
refueling. When the Japanese captured
Timor in mid- February, the Langley,
carrying a large number of P-40s to
Burma, was diverted to Java to augment
the island's defenses. She never got
there. On February 26, 1942, a Japanese
patrol plane spotted the Langley about
seventy-five miles

south of Tjilitjap. The captain radioed for

help but no fighter aircraft were available.
The Japanese lost contact when night fell
but were able to relocate the vessel early
the next day. At 0700 hours two
formations of Mitsubishi G4M's began
bombing the aircraft tender. The Langley
survived the first wave but not the
second. A small force of A6M2's strafed
the ship while bombs rained down from
the G4M's. The Langley was devastated.
Her bridge was destroyed and her water
mains crippled. When the P- 40's on her
deck caught fire the ship was abandoned.
An American destroyer rescued most of
her crew, then sent her to the bottom
with a torpedo. The Langley's sinking is
represented by Mission A in the Java campaign.
On March 3, 1942, IJN aircraft made
another visit to Australia. On that day, a
formation of A6M2's belonging to the
3rd Ku, based on a captured airfield on
Timor, raided Broome, a small port city
in the Northern Territories. The raiders
attacked the local airfield and strafed
seaplanes at anchor in the harbor. There
were no interceptors based at Broome
but one Zero was destroyed by
antiaircraft fire. This incident is not
represented in the campaign because the missions
could not be balanced due to the lack of defending
aircraft.
The IJN's only carrier raid against a target
in the NEI took place two days later,
when aircraft from the carrier Ryujo
attacked Tjilitjap on the southern coast of
Java. The city was the last port on the
island still under Dutch control and had
been attacked earlier in the week by IJN
land-based bombers. The harbor was full
of ships loading and unloading
equipment and personnel. The carrierbased aircraft bombed the dock,
seaplanes and freighters in the harbor and
the city itself. Some 200 buildings were
damaged and destroyed. This battle is
represented by Mission C in the Java campaign.
A lucky handful of civilian and military
personnel managed to escape from Java
before the island surrendered. Most
went by sea but a few were able to
arrange for air transport. British,
Australian and American service
personnel were

evacuated by B-17,
B
B-24, PBY, LB-30 (a
B-24
24 variant) and anything else that had
the range to reach Australia (some went
westwards, flying to India by way of
Sumatra
Sumatrathe
Japanese had left some of
the civilian airfields on that island
intact). Civilians had to rely on the
commer
commercial
airlinesthe DC-3s of
KNILM (the Dutch Indies branch of
KLM) and the 'C'
'C'-class flying boats of
QANTAS (the Australian national
carrier) continued their regularly
regularlyscheduled flights between Australia and
Java almost until the last minute.
The Japanese air forces did not actively
seek to hinder the evacuation but,
inevitably, encounters between Japanese
fighters and Allied trans
transports did occur.
The Japanese so completely controlled
the
he airspace over Java that any airplane
venturing into the sky was at risk. Several
military and civilian transports were shot
down over the Indian Ocean. These
incidents are represented by Mission 6 in the
Java campaign.
One other interesting feature of the
t NEI
campaign is the presence of so many ace
pilots. Although no Dutch airmen
achieved ace status during the campaign,
a number of American, British and
Japanese fliers did. When I began writing this
article I thought that I would have to create some
new skilled pilot counters to go with it. Imagine
my surprise to discover that the best aces of the
NEI campaign were already included in
ZERO!. The funny thing is that the ace pilots
for ZERO! were chosen only because they served
in the campaigns in that gamehow
gam
useful they
might be in any other game or campaign was
never considered.

RULES
Components
This campaign was designed to require only the
components included as inserts in this issue and
from the game ZERO! Players will need no target
sheets, aircraft cards or pilot counters from any of
the other DiF series games.

The ML-KNIL
ML
Brewster 339D was
virtually identical to the RAF Brewster
Buffalo I and USMC/USN Brewster
F2A, both of which appear in ZERO!,
consequently no Dutch Brewster 339D
aircraft
ircraft cards have

Netherland East Indies: ZERO!

been included with this campaign. Players
should use either the F2A or Buffalo I
aircraft cards from ZERO! to represent
their "Brewsters."
Mission #5 in the Java campaign actually
requires four A-24 aircraft. The A-24
24 was
the US Army variant of the Douglas SBD
Dauntless. Use the SBD cards from
ZERO! for these aircraft.
The campaign includes one new target
type, the Light Carrier. This target was
originally included in ZERO!, but was
removed late in development. The other
half of the target card contains the log
for the campaigns, as well as charts for
allocating planes for the two carrier
strike missions. The log can be
photocopied by players.

Special Rules
CARRIER STRIKES:
Java Missions B (Darwin)
and C (Tjilitjap)

bound turns is NOT reduced by aircraft

speed.
7.
After the first two missions have
been played, the Allied player may then
employ any or all of his surviving
interceptors to oppose the third and
final Japanese wave. The surviving
interceptors retain whatever damage they
sustained in their earlier mission. Any
surviving interceptor with a skilled
pilot counter assigned to it retains that
skilled pilot counter. All surviving
interceptor leaders begin this third mission
with a full hand of cards (contingent upon
their current damage status). The
interceptors may begin the third mission
at any altitude (contingent upon type
and damage status). The third mission
has one (1) target- bound turn. This is
NOT reduced by aircraft speed.
8. All missions have two (2) home-bound
turns. Again, this is NOT reduced by
aircraft speed.
9. Whatever resource the allied player
chose when this mission was selected is
not used but is considered expended.
10. Japanese aircraft carry bombs only.

Procedures for the both the Tjilitjap and

Darwin carrier strike missions are as
follows:
1. The Japanese player secretly assigns each
of his three waves (A, B and C) to attack a
different target (1, 2, 3 or 4). He also
secretly assigns each of his escort groups
(D and E) to a different wave.
2. The Allied player secretly assigns each of
his interceptor groups (X and Y) to
defend a different target.
3. Both players secretly assign initial
altitudes for all waves, escorts and
interceptors.
4. Both players reveal all of their
assignments.
5. If the Allied player has assigned an
interceptor group to a target that will not
be attacked (one that did not have a wave
assigned to it), he may re-assign that
EVACUATION OF JAVA:
interceptor group to a target that will be Java Mission 6
attacked (one that did have a wave
1. The Allied player receives one (1) PBY
assigned to it). Only interceptor group
and one (1) B-17E.
may be assigned or reassigned to a single
2. Using scratch paper, the Allied player
target.
secretly identifies which of his aircraft is
6. Play the missions in the following
carrying civilians and which is carrying
order:
military personnel.
First play the mission involving
3. The Evacuation mission has a six-turn
interceptor group X.
duration.
Next play the mission involving
4. Evacuation mission takes place at
interceptor group Y.
Medium Altitude.
Those missions to which an interceptor
5. Both the PBY and the B-17 are considgroup was originally assigned have
ered "patrol aircraft" for the purposes
three (3) target-bound turns. Those
of calculating Victory Points.
missions to which an interceptor group
6. Allied player is awarded further VPs
was reassigned have two (2) targetaccording to following schedule:
bound turns. The number of target-

EXODUS FROM SINGAPORE:

NEI Mission 15
The target for Mission 15 is always a
freighter (but the attacking aircraft vary).
Each time that special Mission C is
selected, a second random action card draw
is needed to determine the type(s) of aircraft
assigned to the attack.

If NEI Mission 15 is selected more than

one time during a campaign/phase, each
attack is considered to be against a different
ship (damage to any one target is not retained
from one attack to another). If a ship
survives an attack, it is assumed to have
reached its destination safely. The Allied
player earns 10 VPs for each ship that is
attacked but not sunk.

FLEET ACTIONS:
NEI Missions 16 (ABDA fleet) and 17 (IJN
fleet)

Procedures for Fleet Actions are as

follows:
Each time that Mission 16 or 17 is selected, a
second random action card draw is needed to
determine the specific combination of target
and aircraft types involved. Draw card and
refer to the Target Matrix tables (see page 33).

INVASION OF TARAKAN:
NEI Mission 12

Each time that Mission 12 is selected, a

second random action card draw is needed
to determine the specifi
specific combination of
target and aircraft types involved.

New Resources
ABDAIR Aces:

Draw one action card to determine resource

received:

ABDAIR fighter:

Draw one action card to determine resource

received:

A6M2/F1M2: Japanese player receives one L/

W of A6M2 Zero fighters if attacking aircraft
are Japanese. Japanese player receives one
L/W of HM2 Pete airplanes if attacking
aircraft are Allied and target is invasion forces,
seaplane base, patrol (over water) or a
freighter. Japanese player receives one element
of A6M2 Zero fighters if attacking aircraft are
Allied and target is ground forces, airfield,
patrol (over land), small city, railyard or any
type of naval target.
A6M2/Ki-43: Japanese player receives one L/
W of A6M2 fighters if attacking aircraft are
Japanese navy (G4M, G3M, B5N, D3A, Fl
M2, and/or A6M2). Japanese player receives
one L/ W of Ki-43 fighters if attacking
aircraft are Japanese Army (Ki-21, Ki-30,
and/or Ki-48). If attacking aircraft are allied,
Japanese player may choose which type to
play; subsequent uses of this resource will
alternate Army and Navy aircraft.
A6M2/Ki-43 (Sakai/Kato): Japanese player receives
one L/W of A6M2 fighters and skilled pilot
Sakai if attacking aircraft are G4M, G3M,

B5N, D3A, F1M2 and/or A6M2. Japanese

player receives one L/W of Ki-43 fighters
and skilled pilot Kato if attacking aircraft are
Ki-21, Ki-30 and/or Ki-48. If attacking
aircraft are allied, draw one action card to
determine resource received:

Carrier Strike Darwin: Disregard mission drawn

and play Java Mission B, Carrier Strike
Darwin, instead. Allied player does not
receive the resource(s) he chose but they are
considered to have been expended.
Carrier Strike Tjilitjap: Disregard mission drawn
and play Java Mission C, Carrier Strike
Tjilitjap, instead. Allied player does not
receive the resource(s) he chose but they are
considered to have been expended.
Crew Morale: May only be taken by the player
who is bombing. That player receives an extra
5 VPs for each friendly bomber (Light or
Medium) to have gone over the target and
returned Undamaged. The opposing player
receives an extra 5 VPs for each Bomber he
Destroys.
Experienced Aircrews: Treat all non-Skilled Pilot
counters as having a "P" Skill (this does not
apply to Wingmen). All of your fighters may
start the Mission carrying bombs if they are
capable of doing so.
Ki-43/F1M2:
Japanese player

receives one L/W of Ki

Ki-43 Oscar fighters if
attacking aircraft are Ki
Ki-21, Ki-30 and/or Ki48. Japanese player receives one L/W of HM2
Pete airplanes if attacking aircraft are G4M,
G3M, B5N, D3A, F1M2 and/or A6M2.
Japanese player receives one L/W of HM2
Pete airplanes if attacking aircraft are
Allied and target is invasion forces,
seaplane base, patrol (over water), freighter
or any type of naval
na target. Japanese player
receives one element of Ki
Ki-43 Oscar fighters
if attacking aircraft are Allied and target is
ground forces, airfield, patrol (over land),
small city or railyard.
Mechanical Problems: Draw one Action Card
before the start of the first Target
Target-Bound
turn. If a Red-bordered
Red
card is drawn the
opposing player must select one formation
aircraft to be removed from the mission.
He may then reorganize formation. Neither
player receives VPs for the removed
aircraft.
Sneak Attack: The opposing player may not
adjust altitude, play cards respond or draw
any cards during the first turn of the
mission. You may declare the altitude of
your aircraft after viewing the opposing
player's starting altitudes.

USS Langley: This resource may not be

used on the last mission of the campaign.
Do not play the mission drawn; instead
play Java Mission A (4x G4M, L/W A6M2
vs. CVL). The A6M2's may carry bombs. If
the CVL is sunk, no other action is
necessary. If the CVL survives the attack,
the Allied player receives one L/W of P-40E
fighters as a resource, to be used in any one
later mission. These are in addition to the
resources listed on the campaign sheet.