At the commencement of World War 2, Darwin, Australia was a quiet port city of approximately 5,000 inhabitants; hardly what one would call a strategic military city. But by February 19, 1942 Darwin was being looked at closely as an important naval port and airbase and there were approximately 15,000 Allied military personnel there at that time.
Using the same element of surprise that served them so well at Pearl Harbor, Japan launched two waves of planes on the morning of February 19th, totally 242 planes, towards Darwin in what would be the first of over 100 air raids against that Australian city. More bombs were dropped during that air raid than were dropped at Pearl Harbor and it was a devastating testament to the Japanese ability to attack swiftly and silently.
The Darwin attack was a complete success for the Japanese and it delivered a massive psychological blow to Australia in the early stages of World War II. Approximately 300 people were killed; most of the aircraft were destroyed and ten ships sunk and another 25 damaged. By comparison Japan only lost one airman and at most lost ten aircraft in what could only be construed as a major victory.
But setting aside the loss of life and devastation to the aircraft, the air raids of Darwin paralyzed an entire country. Australia simply did not have the industrial might to recover from this totally surprising attack and they knew it. Unlike the United States after Pearl Harbor, Australia did not have the ability to crank up the war machine and make Japan pay for their transgressions. The citizens of Australia were, in fact, sitting ducks and they knew it, and in the ensuing years they fought in the Allied Forces as if their very lives depended on it, because, quite frankly, they did.
At HiTech Creations we are fascinated by the individual battles of World War Two. Few out there have even heard of the air raids of Darwin and yet they were very real to the people of Australia and are remembered by survivors with as much clarity as those who survived a much more devastating attack at Pearl Harbor. It is, in fact, our fascination with all things World War 2 that led us to make Aces High and to commit to making just one flight sim and thus putting all our efforts into that combat flight simulator. We think our commitment to making only one game is apparent in the realism and attention to detail, and we are sure that once you try our World War 2 Flight Simulator that you will agree.
No words of wisdom or advice given in this short post. What we at HiTech Creations would like to do is take this opportunity to wish all of you gamers a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Each and every day that you play Aces High you give us a gift and we are fully aware that without your support we would not continue to be the number one combat flight simulator on the market.
Our competitors come and go but only Aces High leads the pack year after year and it is because of you that our flight sim stays at the top of the heap. Thank you and Happy Flying!
We have been fielding questions lately about one of our special events, namely Snapshots. If you take a look at our special events calendar you will see that there are two Snapshots remaining this month, on the 21st and 28th, both dealing with Pearl Harbor.
Snapshots are run once a week, they are open to anyone, and require no pre-planning. Snapshots have been described as one-shot Scenarios with planning done on the spot in the heat of the action. These truly are a true test of your flying skills so we strongly encourage anyone who wants a real test on Aces High to sign up for next Wednesday’s Snapshot and do battle against other flight sim gamers.
The year is rapidly closing on our Special Events calendar and it has been quite a year indeed. HiTech Creations has increased these special events due to popular demand, just one more reason why we continue to be the number one World War 2 Flight Simulator on the market.
This week features an AHXARL on the 20th; for the uninitiated that simply means we are having an XTreme Air Racing League and this week we are using the “Rocket Plane,” the Me163, for the race.
On the 21st we will have the final Snapshots of the year, finishing off the Pearl Harbor scenario. Come prepared for surprises and challenges that will test your abilities.
Today HiTech Creations wants to turn its attention to the Battle of Tarawa, fought between November 20-23 1943. Chances are excellent that unless you are the most hardcore of World War 2 enthusiasts you have never heard of the Battle of Tarawa, but trust us when we say the 35,000 American troops that fought there will never forget it.
This is one of those battles fought in an area that had no other importance than its location, similar to so many battles fought in the American Civil War, small hamlets or crossroads that had military significance, but to the casual observer should never have been important enough to fight over. By 1943 the United States had its sights set on a massive operation across the mid-Pacific, to the Philippines and then to Japan. In order to accomplish such an operation air bases needed to be established on islands across the Pacific. The Marianas Islands were crucial for this plan to succeed, for control of the Marianas meant an offensive against the Marshall Islands would succeed. Unfortunately, one small island, the island of Betio, on the western side of Tarawa Atoll, stood in the way of this grand plan. The entire plan, then, hinged on the taking of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll.
The Japanese were fully aware of the importance of Tarawa and it was heavily defended by 2,619 troops when the United States 2nd Marine Division launched its attack. After three days of intense fighting the island was under American control but the fighting had cost 1,696 American lives and 4,690 Japanese lives. The figurative road to the Marshall Islands was now open and the next stage of the offensive could be planned.
We hope you are enjoying these brief glimpses of the battles of World War II. We at HiTech Creations consider an understanding and appreciation of World War II helpful for anyone serious about playing Aces High, our number one combat flight simulator. Specifically when playing one of our many Special Events an understanding of the actual events is helpful in devising plans for your flight sim action. We are also convinced that one of the important reasons why Aces High is the number one Flight Simulator World War 2 version is because our staff and volunteers are avid history buffs; that appreciation shows in our attention to detail in devising each new version of our flight simulator.
If all of this is Greek to you then we invite you to try our free two-week trial; we are convinced that once you do you will be hooked and ready to fly the Aces High skies right alongside all of us.