herbiesan vs Cantona!!!

[1275psi]

2/11/43

The japanese fleet retires.

The Japanese high Command reviews the situation.
New Britain will be lost.
Despite the success of SHO GO 1 -new britain will be lost.

Planning for SHO GO 2 - would immediately commence.

[1275psi]

From
Mr Iwaya
Minister of production

Immediate

All drydocks and repair facilities to prepare for Capital ship repair in immediate future.

They kept coming.
God, they kept coming.
How can we fight against such reckless hate?!

[1275psi]

Yamamoto passes the signal to Tanaka
Battle has cemented their relationship forever.

Yamamotos voice is dry, and full of contempt.
"Our beloved dictators nerve has failed him I suspect"


' Withdraw immediately'

Tanaka smiles.

"Yes. It is easy to keep support when you are winning...."
"Not so when the enemy advance"
"Not so"


There is no need to say anymore.



We leave the battle of new Britain here.

Amazingly -against all expectations of this author - all the characters still survive that entered the battle.
Hosho is coming south -part of the 13th transport Sentai -i think he will be very busy soon.

Time to return to the 47th.................



(I can't wait to read Cantona's take on this)

[1275psi]

Clarke field basks in beutiful weather.
47th have well settled into the routine of the day - fly twice a day, de brief.
The war , again, seems a long, long way away.

The training however, is hard.
47th, under Nakamura, improves almost daily -the edge of this sword gains brightness.
Her companion Sentais-the 85th, the 87th, struggle.

Today the news from the Pacific seems good -gasmata holds, Shortland holds, rabual remains in action.
It appears the Allied advance is stopped at last.

Maybe now -at last -they will seek terms?.

[1275psi]

The fleet begins to return, undamaged, victorious. The battle won, but the war continues to be lost!

[1275psi]

Captain Hara too

(nice pickies hey!)

[1275psi]

And our fav destroyer -who is still in the thick of it -but thats another tale[&o]

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And finally, one of the new carriers that debuted

[cantona2]

Its all about whos left standing at the end!

Though nursing a severely kicked butt

[1275psi]

47th train again.

Nakamura is doing the rounds, inspecting the AA pits, visiting the support troops.

There are disturbingly few - just enough for security against the partisans (the best defence is bluff)
Its in one of the pits that he finds a disturbing aspect of the organisation japan calls its war machine.

Most pits are shambolic, filthy, an in poor repair.
Mud -a lot of it, is always a very common feature.

This pit is different.

Its walls are straight. The sand bags are filled, and most seem almost new. The camoflage is brilliant. But its in the pit.......
Neat wooden walls. A wooden floor. drains -for heavens sake -proper drains.
Interest and curiosity rising, nakamura investigates further.

A slit trench, hidden, beautifully shored.
he jumps into it, and follows it., quite some distance.

A dug out.
No -a veritable cave - a comfortable home even. Furniture!
Bunks. A fan. fresh water in a basin -and all the evidence of a ready supply on tap!
And no mud.

Itis, with out doubt -the most impressive bunker he has seen in quite a while. Maybe that monster at kwal was better....

Suddenly a young man , mid twenties enters the bunker, whistling -eveidently fresh from a shave.
Spotting Nakamura, he comes to attention.
"Gunner Hito sir!"

'relax Hito - is this your post?"
the young man smiles, he appears embarressed.
'Yes sir - I......."
"Did you do all this yourself?"
"Only of duty sir"

Nakamura chuckles. here in the phillipines, a gunner would have a lot of time.
"hito -what were you before the war?, before you became a gunner?'
"A civil engineer sir"
"And you are a gunner now?"

There is no answer.

the silence stretches
"I tried to tell them sir........"

Nakamura leaves quite some time later.
Japan is desperately short of engineers, mechanics, any one with modern mechanical knowledge (let alone the technology of the electronic age)
And yet it conscripts men - men like Hito - to dig holes..................

It is a disturbing thought.

[1275psi]

Hosho listens to the briefing

"there are 20000 Aviation support personal in the New britain area. We have to get them out. Expect fighter opposition."

Hosho will again, spend a great deal of the day looking for a suitable gun.........

[1275psi]

5/11/43

Clarke is rained in today.
There is no news from the front -on the subject of Gasmata, Tokyo rose has gone completely silent.

[1275psi]

For a long, long time -Mr Iwaya has hated this plane.

The specifications had been absurb.
Unbelievable rate of climb required.
Heavy hitting power.
Blah, blah, blah - demands his industrial base just cannot meet.

Then, as the war continues to slide from "limited war, to- a quick victory, to -a war of attrition, to now - he suspects, a war of increasing desperation -the demands for changes had come in -each and every one "vital", "essential", critical.

And lets not talk about the powerplant......................

But finally, today, the new fighter is signed off.
Commence full scale production.

Its a good plane.
It has to be.
MR Iwaya has seen the latest intelligence reports on the rumoured B-29.

They are terrifying.............



Our new fighter coming on line
Nakamura would love this. (wish there was some way 47th could have them -ain't going to happen though...)

On second photo -how many instruments can you identify?

[1275psi]

The cockpit
This is why rookies die - all of these should be instinctive -the controls auto (never given concious thought) -let alone the business of fighting

[hosho]

complements to old dictator and mr iwaya! [;)]
nice to see the raiden coming in...

[1275psi]

6/11/43

Extract from Shattering the sword, a Cantona production


..................this then, was the difference. Less than 24 hrs after taking the field, gasmata was operational.
The efect was immediate. Navy PBY4's began to strike japanese shipping all across the arc north of Rabual.
The great bastion, was, to all effect, now out of the war.
Now, to the North, Japan frantically prepared for the next attacks, while the Allies gathered for them.....

[1275psi]

Under the bridge of the Yamato

ADM Yamamoto and Tanaka are sharing a quiet moment in the Admirals cabin. The great ship is moving swiftly, yet the glasses of scotch barely shiver.

"So we are agreed?" Yamamoto asks.

Tanaka considers the two portraits on the wall. One is of the Emperor. The other of the dictator.
"It will be hard to give up command of such a task force"
'Yes - but you have a higher calling my friend"
Tanaka raises his glass " To Japan -and the downfall of its enemies"
'To the downfall of its enemy"

They drink
"How many pilots did we lose?"
Yamamoto grimaces 'Too many -far too many. I doubt your cause has lost any momentum Tanaka"
he stands -looks hard too at the portraits. Then, in a sudden move he grasps one of them, and turns it to the wall.
'thats better"
'To the Emperor -and restoration of Japan"
'
'Enjoy your time as Navy Minister Tanaka - and say hello to my friend Iwaya in Tokyo'
'That I will, friend"

The door closes gently.
The great ship powers on, a mini world, loud, hard, brutal.
The great man closes his eyes, and seeks, just for a minute, a peace.

[1275psi]

8/11/43

Hosho has found a bath.
On the Admiralty islands, this is a rare thing indeed.

Actually, we probably do not need to know how he aquired it. Suffice -its a proper wooden tub, big enough for several men, and, the water is fresh, and clean - and heavens. there is soap.
He relaxes at the moment, he and his co pilot, stretching very tired, cramped muscles.
Getting into rabual has been a barsted - but so far -no bloody fighters!

High command has pulled the pin on the Solomons, on anything south of Rabual. It talks of returning to the offensive, of reinforcements.
The men on the ground know differently.
Most. nearly all, will fight on. But Hosho wonders just how many of his passengers this week have been actual mechanics......

The air raid siren comes as quite a shock.
The thunder of the float fighters thundering overhead -the only defence offered here -a bigger shock.

His Co pilot raises an eye brow. '"Think we should seek shelter?"
Hosho contemplates his surroundings. The field is a good kilometre away. The water is warm.
"Buddy, if this bath gets bombed -well, life won't be worth living anyway"

His calculations are good.
The PBY4's do strike the field - damaging several planes.
The bath was the better choice.

[1275psi]

8/11/43

From
Col Nakamura
to
Southern command

Consider 47th sentai ready for combat operations
Awaiting orders.

[1275psi]

Here is the news

The great leader Herbiesan is pleased to announce the appointment of ADM Tanaka to post of Navy minister, in reward for the crushing victory at New Britain.
The people of Japan congradulate him on his promotion, and welcome him to this vital post.

In further news, Southern command announces that forces at Gasmata have relocated North to a new field, more suitable for future offensive actions.. Rumours of enemy landings at Shortlands have been strenously denied.
Enemy forces at Port Blair are reported "to be near starvation, and incapable of offensive action.

The great Leader herbiesan further announced additional allied losses in the pacific today - 8 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, and 20 destroyers, and "countless transports"
In a statement today, he announced "the enemy navy is finished"


In local news -Mr Goto, of the rara and valuable metals committee, congradulated the citizens of ##$% on the recent copper drive. "We raised nearly 1 ton of copper in this district of #@!% alone. The Aluminium drive is expected to ............