Lives for the Emperor - Cuttlefish (J) vs erstad (A)

[Cuttlefish]

This AAR will chronicle an alternate history of the Great Pacific War as played out by me commanding the forces of Japan and Erstad commanding the Allied side. It will not be a conventional AAR but rather a narrative-style AAR along the lines of the “Small Ship. Big War” AAR I did for WITP.

For those who followed “Small Ship” I will be doing things a bit differently this time around. Rather than keep my point of view with a single ship I am going to broaden the outlook somewhat. This will weaken the focus a bit but there are compensations. I will have much more latitude in what I choose to write about, for one thing, and for another it avoids the “all my eggs in one basket” risk that was inherent in following just one ship (as witnessed by Q-Ball sinking Hibiki in December ’41 in my other current game).

I hope this will prove to be entertaining. It probably won’t be for everybody. There will be no high-level discussions of strategy or logistics. Everything will be seen from the point of view of participants in the war and their outlook will be limited and at times even inaccurate.

Here are the settings for the game:

Scenario 1, non-historical start, Dec. 7 surprise on, two-day turns. House rules:
- Both players must pay PP to move units out of restricted command areas and across borders.
- Thai units must remain in Thailand.
- No strategic bombing in China. No Japanese shock attacks in China. No Allied strategic bombing in Manchukuo.
- Japan may only conduct one major port attack during the opening turn.
- Allies are limited to issuing orders to task forces already at sea or units in China during the opening turn.
- Force Z initial orders may be cancelled at Allied player’s discretion.

Settings: Player defined upgrades are on. All realism settings are in force. Expansions, upgrades, and replacements are all set to Off.

The first turn is already in Erstad’s hands. While we await the Day of Infamy let us set the scene…

[Cuttlefish]

December 6, 1941

It is just before midnight, local time, off the coast of Malaya. Heavy cruiser Takao, part of Admiral Konda’s Southern Strike Force, cruises in line behind sister-ship Atago. The seas are calm and though the moon is bright it is shrouded by clouds which obscure the movement of the Japanese ships from watchful eyes.

On the mid-deck, port side, Leading Seaman Kazuki Hatakeda lies in his bunk. He goes on duty soon but has been too excited to sleep. From the sounds around him many others are also awake. Kazuki hears low-voiced conversations, the sound of pens scratching against paper, and the tossing and turning of restless men. It has been like this ever since Captain Bunji revealed their orders to the entire crew the previous day. Everyone knows that the war that is about to start will determine not only the destinies of every man aboard but of Japan itself. The risk is great, the stakes are enormous, and every man is determined to do his part.

Perhaps not everyone is awake, Kazuki thinks wryly to himself. From the bunk just inches above him he can hear the muffled snoring of his closest friend aboard ship, Susumu Godo. Godo is perhaps the most phlegmatic man Kazuki has ever met and seems completely unaffected by the general excitement. At the moment Kazuki envies him.

---

Northwest of Hawaii it is already four and a half hours later. The ships of Kido Butai are racing at 24 knots towards their launch point through long, heavy swells that at times break over the decks of the carriers. No one in the task force is asleep; all ships are at General Quarters.

Chief Petty Officer Sato looks out over the flight deck with a worried expression on his face. In just a few hours he, as the Flight Deck Officer, is going to have to try and launch the ship’s complement of planes on their vital mission. The big carrier is currently rolling over ten degrees; usually operations are cancelled when the roll exceeds five degrees. But today there can be no thought of cancelling. Today the fate of an entire nation depends on a successful launch.

Perhaps the seas will moderate, he thinks. But whether they do or not the attack will proceed. For perhaps the tenth time in the past two hours Sato’s lips move in a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening.

---

At Takao, Formosa, Petty Officer Second Class Susumu Ishihara finishes writing his last letter of the night. He places it in its envelope, seals it, and adds it to the small pile. Soon he and his fellow pilots in the Tainan Ku S-1 will fly their Zero-sen fighters across the Luzon Strait and against the American planes defending Clark Field.

Ishihara is no stranger to aerial combat. He has fought in China since 1938. But this will be different. Ishihara has no illusions about the war ahead. He has seen fighting and has seen comrades die. Whatever private reservations he might have about attacking both Britain and America, however, he is looking forward to the challenge. The Americans are said to be good. Well, so too is he.

He lies down and composes himself to meditate, if not to sleep. In one hour he must arise for the final briefing before take-off.

---

Across the Pacific it is the last night of peace. Morning will bring the outbreak of war, a war that will be more vast and terrible than few of even the more farsighted can foresee. In a few hours the fate of millions of people across the world will be changed forever.

In Tokyo the clocks chime midnight. December 7, 1941, has arrived.

[ny59giants]

AND 

[Capt. Harlock]

And . . . here we go!

[Q-Ball]

Looking forward to it CF, I can read this one! I will be rooting for the Empire here. Ichiban!

No wonder there isn't a turn in my inbox, you're probably working on the Imperial first turn here!

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball



Looking forward to it CF, I can read this one! I will be rooting for the Empire here. Ichiban!

No wonder there isn't a turn in my inbox, you're probably working on the Imperial first turn here!

You have a turn now!

If I have some success against erstad he can blame you for at least part of it. I've learned some sharp lessons about AE in our game and hope to put them to good use.

[Fishbed]

Good luck son of the sun!

[Alikchi2]

Best wishes. I like the perspectives you've chosen. Hearing from a Zero pilot will be great fun.

[aztez]

Good luck! You are up againts honourable and tough opponent!

[Mike Solli]

 
This is great, Cuttlefish!  There's been a void since the Hibiki saga ended. 
 
Are we not to yet know which ship Chief Petty Officer Sato is the flight officer of?  I hope it's the Zuikaku!
 
I wonder if Hibiki will occasionally wander into this AAR......

[ny59giants]

I would like see a plot line for a submarine officer. [:)]

[Wirraway_Ace]

Thanks in advance for all the enjoyment this will bring to us and for all of your time...

[FatR]

Great! I was drawn into AE in large part due to reading "Voyages of Hibiki" (by the way, great thanks for that amazing work), so I cannot wait to read this.

[Cuttlefish]

December 7, 1941

To the flight deck crew aboard an aircraft carrier the launch of a deck load of aircraft is a dance, an intricate ballet where the consequence of a mistake can be injury or death. Aboard Akagi in the early morning hours of December 7th the crew, the pilots, and their aircraft all perform flawlessly. Chief Sato signals “go” and another B5N roars down the deck and lumbers into the air. Now there is only one more plane to go.

It was near dark when they started. By now the light of the rising sun is tinting the underside of the scattered clouds overhead with gold, though the rays have yet to reach the ships directly. The seas are still not ideal but they have moderated and throughout the task force every plane has made it successfully into the air. Now the planes circle overhead as the last of them climb into the air to join the formation.

The last pilot gives the thumbs up. The chocks are pulled away and one more time Sato sweeps his arm towards the far end of the flight deck. The Nakijima torpedo bomber gathers speed and takes off, hurrying to overtake the rest of the planes as they head towards Pearl Harbor.

Sato watches it go, than pulls a cloth and mops his face. Despite the brisk morning air he is dripping with sweat. He tucks the cloth back in his pocket and watches the planes again. The die has been cast. Now all he and the others aboard ship can do is wait.

---

Only a few hours later flames and smoke billow above Pearl Harbor. Battleships Arizona and Tennessee have been sunk and the other denizens of Battleship Row are wounded, some seriously. Light cruiser Raleigh lies twisted on the mud at the bottom of the harbor; an 800 kg bomb hit one of her magazines and the resulting explosion almost tore the ship in half. Three destroyers, a minesweeper, and a cutter have also been sunk and other ships are damaged.

Fires continue to burn around the harbor and a dense cloud of black smoke billows from one of the large fuel tanks. Further away smoke also rises from shattered airfields. Hickam Field is pockmarked with craters and destroyed and damaged aircraft continue to smolder in the neat rows in which the Japanese found them.

The Japanese pilots are exultant as they return to their ships, to the care of Chief Sato and his counterparts aboard the other five carriers. They have delivered a shattering blow. But it is only the first blow in what will be a very long war.

[Onime No Kyo]

Hurrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Do you think we can visit with the Hibiki boys too? [;)]

[Menser]

Kewl CF,
Thought we'd have to wait in anticipation a bit longer, ... subscribing now
The die has been cast. Have you been reading what's in our sigs?

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
~John McCrae

Borders are scratched across the hearts of men
By strangers with a calm, judicial pen,
And when the borders bleed we watch with dread
The lines of ink across the map turn red.
~Marya Mannes, Subverse: Rhymes for Our Times, 1959

[thegreatwent]

Looking forward to reading more.

[Cuttlefish]

December 8, 1941

PO2 Ishihara tugs off his leather flight helmet and climbs wearily down from the cockpit of his Zero-sen fighter. The round trip from Formosa to Clark Field is over 1000 miles and he has just flown it twice in two days. And he doesn’t have a kill to show for it yet. The only opposition they have seen is half a dozen obsolete Boeing fighter aircraft with fixed landing gear and Ishihara did not get a crack at one of those.

Though he is tired Ishihara takes a moment to chat with his flight crew. Some pilots treat these men like servants or lackeys but this has never struck Ishihara as wise. He describes the bombing of Clark Field and the sight of American B-17 bombers burning on the ground, then mentions a couple of things on his plane he wants the men to look at.

As he trudges towards the pilot barracks Ishihara wonders if they will be sent out again tomorrow. Though it would be nice to have a day of rest he finds himself hoping they get sent out again soon. He wants that first kill.

---

Off the coast of Malaya darkness is approaching. Takao cruises with the rest of the Southern Strike Force off Kota Bharu. From his post at one of the starboard-side Type 92 searchlights, located next to the funnel, Leading Seaman Hatakeda can see smoke rising into the air from shore. Already the battle has moved inland, away from the beaches, and rumor has it that Japanese troops are close to overrunning the airfield.

In the foreground more smoke rises from the shattered hulk of Hirokawa Maru, canted over in the surf and still burning above the water line. Most of the British air attacks over the past two days had been broken up by Army fighters but at one point earlier in the day eight biplane bombers had dropped out of the clouds over the invasion force and with lumbering grace planted three bombs on the transport.

Hatakeda wonders if his searchlight will be needed tonight. The British ships Repulse and Prince of Wales are said to be heading this way. Japanese bombers had reported sinking them in the morning. Through some miracle, however, both ships had been spotted again late in the afternoon less one hundred miles from Kota Bharu, moving north and not significantly damaged. The British ships had been attacked again and once again reported sunk, but as they had already risen from a watery grave once today it does not seem to Hatakeda beyond the bounds of reason that they could do so twice.

It might be an interesting night.

[cantona2]

Best wishes CF. Just settling in with a good scotch and ready for the ride!

[Cuttlefish]

December 9, 1942

Susumu Ishihara is awakened in the dead of night by a hand shaking his shoulder. He is tempted to mumble curses at his tormentor but it might be an officer, so instead he opens one bleary eye. It is Nozawa, another PO2 in the AG.

“What the hell is it?” he asks.

“Get up, Ishihara, something is happening out in the harbor!” says Nozawa. Ishihara becomes aware that most of the other mats are empty and he glimpses a couple of other pilots padding outside.

“I don’t care if there is a volcano erupting out there,” he says, but then curiosity gets the better of him. He gets to his feet and follows Nozawa out into the cool night air.

All around pilots and air crew are standing in the darkness and looking down the hill towards the water. They are in small groups, talking in low voices among themselves. Ishihara looks out to sea along with the rest of them and for a moment sees nothing. Then, perhaps a mile out, he spots a series of flashes. A moment later there are more a little ways away.

“What is it?’ he asks.

“A battle,” says someone. “The enemy is attacking.” Just as he finishes saying this there is a brighter flash than before and a spurt of flame leaps high enough to briefly illuminate the underside of the clouds. Less than ten seconds later the sound of a distant explosion reaches the group.

“One of ours or one of theirs?” Nozawa asks. But no one knows the answer.

---

What Ishihara and the other pilots are seeing is the first surface action of the Pacific war, a small but sharp engagement. Three British destroyers, Scout, Thanet, and Thracian, have sortied from Hong Kong with orders to attack Japanese invasion forces mustering at Takao. But the Japanese are not caught unawares.

It is a dark night. The moon shows only occasionally between the thunderstorms that are sweeping the area. Outside the harbor Japanese destroyers Yugumo and Hokaze are on picket duty. They have just passed each other and are on the outward leg of the patrol line when a lookout aboard Hokaze spots the oncoming British ships, just over 2000 yards away and closing.

Hokaze opens fire immediately. The lead British ship, Thracian, realizes that there are Japanese destroyers present when shells begin falling nearby. Thracian immediately signals the other ships and swings to port to unmask her aft batteries. As she begins to return fire Hokaze finds the range and a shell hits Thracian just below the chart room.

Yugumo reverses course and hurries to catch up with Hokaze. Scout and Thanet follow Thracian's maneuver and begin to fire, Thanet engaging Hokaze and Scout firing at Yugumo. For a few moments the two small columns parallel each other, then Hokaze fires a spread of six 21” torpedoes at Thracian. One of the torpedoes catches Thracian under the stern. The stricken ship's stern lifts into the air, then the destroyer settles back in the water and begins to sink.

The British commander, uncertain what forces are arrayed against him but knowing the element of surprise is irretrievably lost, orders the two remaining ships to retreat. A parting shell from Scout hits Yugumo in the bow, causing minor damage, and the Japanese ships break off pursuit and let them go.

---

In the morning, some sixty miles away, the two British destroyers encounter a Japanese destroyer division led by light cruiser Natori. Natori engages and sinks Thanet; Scout, though damaged, escapes again.