Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[Skipjack_]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

The enemy is on Japanese soil. There can be no thought of holding back forces for another day. This is the final test. Good luck to all of you. May we meet again at Yasukuni Shrine.

Well, said, for there is nothing more to say. Time to triumph or "bloom like the flowers of death". Well done, CF, this AAR is simply fantastic.

BTW, where do I download the AE "longbow" scenario?

[jolly_pillager]

ORIGINAL: SireChaos

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

They wouldn´t have had the bombs for that sort of thing until years later.

The US was on track to build seven bombs by November 1945, and some 20 or so by the end of the year. After that they'd have used up the ready plutonium reserve. The third deployable bomb (not counting the Alamagordo test device) was on its way to Saipan when the Japanese surrendered.

Still... thirty bombs or so, most likely all of them far below 100kt, wouldn´t have been enough to level Japan. With nukes that small, I guess some of the bigger cities (Tokyo, Osaka) would take more than one to destroy.

Who needed nukes? Napalm was far more effective and was not exactly in short supply...

[jolly_pillager]

Oh...and go USS Texas....one last glorious battle for an old but pugnacious lady [&o]

[Cribtop]

I wish the Hibiki a glorious end.

And I second the vote for the USS Texas!

[ChezDaJez]

“We leave tonight, as I said. The enemy is on Japanese soil. There can be no thought of holding back forces for another day. This is the final test. Good luck to all of you. May we meet again at Yasukuni Shrine.”

Your AAR doesn't read like an AAR. It reads like a RL story with real people and real consequences. Simply an amazing piece of writing, Cuttlefish.

One question... what happens to the AAR if Hibiki is sunk?

Chez

[Xenocide]

Expected Result: In a glorious battle the Japanese take out over a hundred warships, transports, and carriers in a series of surface actions. The only Japanese ship to survive is the Hibiki which sails out without a scratch with no ammo remaining.

The only allied ship to escape, the Texas, limps home with damage from several torpedo hits. Our intrepid torpedo officer has finally had the chance to hit some Battleships. This is the only survivor of what eventually comes to be known as "Benzaiten's Revenge" by the Japanese and "the Yamaguchi Fiasco" by the Americans.

I can dream......

[a7v]

Well CF,
a long journey of more than 2 1/2 years seems to come near its end.
I want to thank you for all that entertainment and the fun following this fantastic AAR. Special thanks for continuing this one and not letting us down after AE has appeared.
Of course everybody expects you to start another great AAR with AE once the Hibiki-story is done [:D]
 
Best wishes for you and the crew
 
Rainer

[Marc gto]

I want to thank you as well c.f great read has kept me entertained for many hours..im sure my boss will apprieciate the end soon lol

[kaleun]

WOW, WOW, WOW.
This is where you look at what remains to be read, shake your head and say: "Too short, too short."

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: SireChaos

during the climax of the battle, when all seems lost, Benzaiten will take her true dragon form and incinerate the entire Allied fleet.

Hmm . . . I don't think there's code for that in the WitP combat engine. [:D]

And what's the USS Texas doing there?? This is not the time for third-string battlewagons. Bring on Iowa and Washington!

[whippleofd]

Me thinks some LL's are soon going to be, "Deep in the Heart of Texas".

As a Texan, I would be disturbed by this.

As a long time reader, what a heck of a way to go out!

Whipple

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: ChezDaJez

One question... what happens to the AAR if Hibiki is sunk?

Chez

First of all, thanks to everyone for the affectionate words about the little destroyer we have followed for so long now. To answer the question: having come so close to the end of the war (it can't be much of a surprise to anyone that this game is in its final months) we will follow what survivors there are to the end even if Hibiki is sunk.

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

And what's the USS Texas doing there?? This is not the time for third-string battlewagons. Bring on Iowa and Washington!

See below! Over the last few months, from Iwo Jima to the current campaign, the Allied fast battleships have taken a real pounding. I haven't done a good job sinking them but almost all of them have been damaged seriously enough to warrant a return to Pearl or the States.

[Cuttlefish]

June 15, 1945

Location: 180 miles northwest of Hakodate
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 5
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 439

Orders: Attack Allied forces at Fukawa Bay

---

The Japanese ships head across the Sea of Japan to whatever fate awaits them. The Battle of Fukawa Bay is now thirty-six hours in the future. Aboard Hibiki the mood is somber and determined; few if any of the crew hold any illusions about what will happen when they meet the enemy. Though everyone is more quiet than usual the day aboard ship is much like any other; men play cards or talk in low voices, paperwork is produced and filed, machinery is tended, and the meals are prepared and eaten.

On this day, however, two events occur in Hibiki’s favor. The first is that a long convoy of Allied troop ships starts up the coast of Kyushu, heading for the Korea Strait. It is imperative to the Allied cause that these ships get through; all other considerations must be secondary. Accordingly, the fast carrier task forces are recalled to Tsushima. The escort carriers that have been providing air cover there have been seriously battered and while conditions on Tsushima Island are improving the island’s airstrip still cannot be counted on to base large numbers of fighters. This opens the door to allow Yamamoto’s ships to reach their goal.

The other event takes place not far off the coast from the American-held city of Hagi. During the night Japanese artillery shells begin to fall along the American line. The Americans respond with their own artillery and with battleships that venture along the coast to batter the Japanese troops with their big guns. These battleships are led by U.S.S. Washington. Their bombardment delivered, the battleships are returning to Fukawa Bay before dawn when they are picked up by I-28. The submarine puts three torpedoes into Washington. The battleship is saved but is forced to retire, limping, back through Tsushima Strait the next day. With it go a pair of destroyers. There are now only three U.S. battleships present.

Though the three remaining battleships are all of WW I vintage they are still formidable and in any event amount to three more battleships than the Japanese are bringing. Still, it makes the odds against the Japanese less bleak. By a little, anyway.

[FeurerKrieg]

I sure hope I don't have to wait until Monday to read about the battle.

Great job as always, CF! [&o][&o][&o]

[Ambassador]

Expectations are high for the final battle.  Or shall it be the final battle ?  If it was possible, I'd say the quality of the writing is steadily increasing, but I know perfection was reached a long time ago (and never missed an episode).[&o]

[Cribtop]

Heaven help our little ship. Still, a fitting end to her glorious career.

Texan that I am, I'll even forgive her if she takes out the battleship named for the greatest country, err, I mean state, in the Union.

Thanks again, CF.

[GetAssista]

Just like many people before me, I've registered on this forum specifically to say thanks to Cuttlefish for this outstanding writing [&o]

Hope this AAR will make it into the book one day

[tocaff]

Well one thing is known, that even if Hibiki sinks there will be survivors so the story will continue to the bitter end of the war.  Believe in the snake........

Better to go down fighting than be caught by air while you're dockside.

[Cribtop]

ORIGINAL: tocaff

Well one thing is known, that even if Hibiki sinks there will be survivors so the story will continue to the bitter end of the war.  Believe in the snake........

Better to go down fighting than be caught by air while you're dockside.

Exactly. A Das Boot ending, while it made for a great film, is no way for a warrior like Hibiki to go out.

[Feinder]

(* leaves an offering rat for Benzaiten *)
 
-F-