#JV-04a Sunda Strait alt.scn - WDS Guadalcanal

2245 28 February 1942. The fall of Singapore on 15 February struck the death knell for the defense of the Indies. The Allies dissolved the ABDA force on 25 February. On 28 February, the USS Houston and HMS Perth sailed to break out of the Java Sea into the Indian Ocean through the Sunda Strait. They had been operating on faulty intelligence and the waters they would have to pass through were covered well be strong IJN forces. At 2239 they were spotted by the destroyer Fubuki on picket duty. The Japanese, worried about showing their hand too early, opted to try and lure the Allied ships in toward their anchorage. The plan worked and after a long, confused fight, marked by poor gunnery and torpedo fire, both of the cruisers went down with minor damage to the IJN. In this alternate scenario, the Houston and Perth are joined by the USN Destroyers that had actually exited the Bali Strait.