The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

26/6/43

A week of swinging at anchor.
A week of waiting.
The sun bakes Zuiho's deck.
The men sweat, grow even browner.

The routines continue.
Complacency filters slowly into every crevice.........

[Gridley380]

There was a thread a while back discussing whether TRACOM was worth pulling one's best pilots from the front. Are you a believer in TRACOM or is WO Fuchida's assignment an example of playing historically?

Loving the story either way, just curious.

[1275psi]

Hi Gridley 380

I don't think any pilots (or very few) ever returned to Japan for training, I am sure other more knowledge able can answer that.
I am stocking to the gills TRANCOM in this game, will use them for elite units of franks and georges
I posted Fuchida mainly due to the fact nearly all my characters are in one basket.............

If Zuiho gets sunk, what then?

And to be honest, things are getting pretty dangerous for Japanese pilots especially
yesterday, 50 plus zeros over munda vs 9 corsairs and a handful of others

33 to 4 losses.................ouch

[Saros]

Is it because you are escorting the bombers or are you losing that many on sweeps?

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

21/6/43

Japan flings itself at Munda
In a brutal day, 33 zeros, 10 betties are shot down.
The Allies lose 4 wild cats, and 4 Corsairs.
3 Mine layers, a small tanker, an AP are sunk

As the battle rages overhead, a new weapon, mini submarines slip into the very shallow waters.
Two AKs are sunk by these brave men.
Its hard to say who is more surprised, the submariners by their success, or the men they sink.

The shattered air units withdraw.
Tokyo rose announces 100 allied planes shot down, a battleship sunk.
For one side in this war, the myth of the invincible zero is living on.

How are you employing the mini? On patrol in the harbor you're attacking or outside it? Good success.

[1275psi]

Hi obvert

We have a house rule about creating pt boats, barges and mimi ss
created at rabual, sailed painfully to munda, and home ported there.
went on patrol, were really successful.
however, all other boats that subsequently have sailed down there have done sqwaut.
And now cantona has laid mines everywhere at shortlands, my refuel point, and i lost 6 to mines in short order.
Another 4 have simply sunk running out of fuel at rabual (which might tell you something about the state of things now)

[1275psi]

29/6/43

Moulmien.

"Somebody", thinks Hosho, "has gone to a lot of trouble over this briefing, it had better be worth it".

The company commanders of 55th division wait at attention in the hot sun.
Ahead of them, the fore mentioned trouble - a large raised platform, complete with a large map board (covered)
The bamboo has even been covered with mats.
To their right, just to torment them, a large silk, yes silk, tent has been raised. The gentle sound of stewards and clinking ice drifts their way.
Savoury smells as well.
As usual, nobody has a clue about what is going on.

Finally, the brass. uniforms clean, crisp, swords at correct angles. White gloves everywhere.......
Ahhh........the penny drops.

General Prince Higashikuni, the fabled commander of 15th army, strides onto the platform.
Fabled, not for his prowess, but for everything else.
His vanity, his vain glorious attitude to this war, his rumoured inability to even fire a gun...........
Hosho attunes himself.
The briefing does not matter.
Its the man who is giving it.
He wastes no time.
"men, the enemy attack.' The Cover is removed, revealing two bright red arrows on the map " One, (SMACK -there goes the inevitable pointer) here at Akyab, contains some 15 enemy units."
SMACK!
Three divisions are here at Calcutta
SMACK!
"And the newest development, 8 units advancing south towards Myitkyina" SMACK!

ahh, thinks Hosho, now for the dramatic pause...................

which follows............

The prince stiffens himself. A not so pretty sight, nobody, not even a prince with a chest full of medals can make 130 kilos look military..........
'I have taken command of 15th army, and will personally lead it into battle. We board our trains tonight"

Hosho has only one thought.
"This clown leads us to our doom.........."

[1275psi]

Hi saros!

Combination sweeps and escorts.
Co ordination has been very good as I spend a lot of PPs on re assigning units to each flottilla for the missions

but ,
doesn't seem to matter...........[8|]

(zeros aint going to hack it now.........and I am still using a few AM2s still)

[1275psi]

The Crash of alarm bells shatters the quiet of zuiho's wardroom.
For a wild moment, Tan is frozen at his dinner, the crazy thought repeating, my soup will go cold, my soup will go cold.......
and then he , like everyone else, is trying to exit through the single door.

Around him, his ship explodes into a mass of men, all with places to go.
There is no panic, no fear, they have done this too many times before.
Is it a drill?, or is it real?

But then, as he nears damage central, the unmistakable sound of barking guns.
air attack?, here?. No, surely not?

But then, through the hull, that hammering bang of depth charges.

Tan takes his seat, the headphones sliding into place, the damage control board clear in ffront of him. his men slide into places about him, Lurch already answering the calls
'Fwd repair closed up, after repair closed up, 5 men missing from central passage way repair.'
Ashore.
Damnation.
"inform hanger deck party, 5 men to central passageway"
Submarine attack. here, in the lagoon.
Gods.............
The Chippee covers the mouth piece of his phone '"Charge seeks permission for emergency light off"
"Approved!, raise vacuum immediately, emergency flash up!"

"Captain asking sir, are we at state one yet?"
Are we?
yes.
Good.
'tell him yes, tell him state one"

out side, more bangs......and the sudden bark of Zuiho's own guns -a 25 mm, starboard side.
Close.
Bloody close.

'Sir! report of large fire, starboard side admidships!, thick smoke!"
Bloody idiots
'Inform that fool that is our own boilers lighting off!"
Charge is working hard............

Damage control central fills with the noise of forced draft blower fans coming to life.
Tan seeks the guages..........ah pressure coming up already.

Damage control waits.
Out side, the enemy lurk. But that is all THEY know. Down here, they must wait, and sweat it out.

They will, for 6 hours more, before the fall out is called.
Hiei, apparently, has been hit by a dud, the escaping SS periscope spotted passing not 300 yards down the port side.
(or so the gunners claim)
It does not mater
palua is no longer safe

[1275psi]

2/7/43

Heavy bombers continue to pound shortlands
Others hit Lashio
Occasionally Boela, or hollandia recieve a visit
Lae as well.

And now their bombs scream down on japanese bases and forces in China.

They are the enemies unstoppable weapon, blasting the way ahead for the creeping armies.
Now and then, the fighters rise to oppose.
Too many times, more fighters fall than the bombers.
A frustrating, terrible dilemma, the number one piority of Japans Military.

But for the moment, there appears to be no answer.


Hosho sleeps in his crowded carriage, the train clanging and swaying north through the night.
55th Division passes through Toungoo, bound for Lashio.
And into the shadow of the heavies.

[1275psi]

The situation, as far as Diogawa could see, was desperate.
On the left flank, his defences are collapsing.
to his right, defeat stares him in the face as Ogawa goes down screaming.
Hidaka , dead ahead, spins to the deck.

defeat, dishonour stares him in the face

With a scream of rage, he attacks
tucking the rugger ball under his right arm, he charges forward, using the tatterd leather lounge as a launch pad.
His right face plants itself firmly into Uto's face, sending him crashing out the door, and down one flight of stairs
Diogawa flings himself full stretch across the mess, through the opposing team, the wicker basket Oh so close........

Commander Korrii yells back, and shoulder charges.
Diogawa crushes him, and then everyone piles in..............

Zuiho's pilots hold good mess dinners...................

[1275psi]

4/7/43

Hosho disembarks his company.
Lashio seethes with activity.
They form up in the dust, a fine body of men, fully equiped, trained, veterans.
Un defeated.

Overhead, far into the blue, the contrails twist and twirl, a deadly dance.
The p38's and Tojos tear at each other throats.
Hosho gives them a nervous glance.
This rail yard is far, far, too exposed.
His voice booms, whipping the company into line. The quicker they clear this area, the better.

[1275psi]

Herbiesan points to the map.
"here?'
"yes sir, there"

'There' is 120 miles North east of akyab.
The river.
46th Indian Brigade has crossed, the 41st inf regiment has defended.

"and?" herbiesans question hangs in the air
'we will drive them back tomorrow"

We shall see. We shall see. 6th Aussie division comes for us from India. He probes to the west on the line. Is this the great startegic thrust?
We shall see. Weak british men. I beat you once. I will beat you again.

[1275psi]

July 6th

While two equally matched regimentsfight in the dark jungle shadows, Zuiho, seemingly remains impotent, anchored, at palau.
To the untrained eye, idle, wasted.
She is, of course far from that.

There are a great many navies in the world today, as there are this day, July 6th, 1943. Some are great. Some are growing to be great, powerful fleets, weapons of war.. Some are sliding from greatness to impotence
The Italians are finished.
The germans almost
Japan, japan is not . Not yet.

For, you see, there is a great difference in having a fleet of ships.
And having a fleet of ships, you can keep at sea.

Britain will keep hers out there, fighting, to the bitter end. After that, few, only a few of her ships will be worth keeping, the rest driven to , and beyond the ability to keep them going.
America, on the other hand, is the master at this. And day by day, she gets better at it.
In 1939, to keep a battleship, or any capital ship at sea for 3 months...............impossible.
Now, to their dismay, some of her crews will not port for years at a time.

Japan, and thus Zuiho, stand on the edge.
In adequately supported, with her bases flung thousands of miles apart, her maintenace men, her stokers, her flight deck crews, her gunners mates, struggle to do what must be done.
Maintain the fleet, keep the ships ready.

She steams auxillary again today.
So, what does that mean?

For Kato, ensconed in his cabin, quietly celebrating the news (Taiho, they have given me the Taiho!), it means that she is at 4 hours notice for sea, that the lights are on.
She burns fuel, but there is fuel enough here for them.
the ship is stinking hot, but Tan, at least, does not bug him.

For Hidaka, it means no flying. But the birds are ready, the maintenance can continue. His pilots, over the bruises from the dinner, are relaxed, the terrible wieght of the expectation of battle, is of them, just a little.
It is a pause. And this is good.

For the pilots, auxilliary is hell. No flying. But the heat inside Zuiho is almost intolerable, without the breeze of movent through her, the hanger deck, their ready rooms, are steamy hells.
Hidaka hounds them for paperwark (from laundry to mail, to mess accounts, to letters of correspondence) , but little gets done.
Its just too truking hot.

As always, auxilliary effects the Stokers above all.
She steams on 2B boiler today.
4 hours watch keep, 4 hours of, 4hrs on. 12 men do this today, a mere 12. The rest work.
Slowly, methodically, charge is working his way through the pumps, the little beating hearts of Zuiho.
Each in turn is being taken of line. Isolated, the pipe work disconnected (no small job this), the pumps dragged aside.
Impeller casings come off, and impellers, shafts are removed.
Wear rings are chissled off, new ones shrunk on and the Lathe runs all night, machining to size.

Then the reassembly. They are getting a pump a day done.

Defects continue. Govenors, seals, a float controller, the inevitable leaks.

yes, zuiho sits idle.
But she is despirte everything, ready for sea.


(zero system, 0 float!)

[Gridley380]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi


(zero system, 0 float!)

It does give one a warm fuzzy feeling, doesn't it?

[1275psi]

(yes, yes it does.
(never experienced 0 system in real life though.........LOL)[8|]

7th July 43

marines land at Milne bay
They find abandoned tents, cold cooking fires and no Japanese troops.


A question.
What, in the millions of items that war consumes, is the most vital?
What single item, can no military go with out?

Hosho will tell you.
As all his friends and companions will.

Boots.
A good pair of boots will take you across the world.
A good pair of boots can be forgotten, can let you march, fight, rest, live.
A poor pair will cripple you, slow you, can kill you.
Boots convey the army.
Trucks are good.
But trucks cannot take you everywhere.

Hosho's boots are good. For now. A nearly new pair, thick heavy soles, the laces fresh and new, the eylets good, the toe and tongue still solid and fresh, the leather still resisting the water.
They carry him fifteen miles today, lashio a mere memory to the west.
In 2 days, they can turn North.
55 div straggles across 10 miles of road, marching under the cover of the imperial air force.
34 B17's have attacked the column today, but missed by 2 miles, driven to distraction by the fighters.
The ground still has trembled under those boots, the thunder of the drop washed over them.

Hosho has seen it in the eyes of his men, and he has no answer to the question in them.
What happens if those re assuring snarls of japanese air engines stop?
What them?

There is no answer.
The boots tramp on.
There is a long, long way to go.

[Heeward]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi
....


Hosho has only one thought.
"This clown leads us to our doom.........."

You write so well with understated irony....
This truly deserves the header ouch!

[1275psi]

July 10th

Hoshos men continue to tramp through the dust.
Fatigue grips them all. For two nights now, the enemy bombers have harrassed them, inflicting little physical damage, but inflicting a heavy mental toll.
Nobody performs well with out sleep.
The japanese soldier is famous for his doggedness, for his fortitude.
But even these hardened men are whilting under the savage pace 55th division is pushing.

They have turned North today.
Hosho's company leads by 100 yards LGEN Katamura and his staff.
Unlike the crown prince, Katamura shares the march with his men. His vehicles trail further behind.

Hosho half suspects this has less to do with sharing the discomforts of the march with the men, than a desire to ditch the aircraft attracting target of the trucks.

Out of the dust, the sound of hoof beats, the company automatically moves to the edge of the path, as the Princes white charger gallops back down through them, the general erect and proper, a fine foolish sight.

Suddenly, the march stops.
The prince, Katamura gesture wildly.
maps suddenly spring forth, spread across some lackeys map
More gesturing


It is no great surprise: "The division will halt, and take march cover. Wait for further orders.........."
For 99 out of 100 men of the division, this is news enough.
For the commanders, it simply means confusion.

[1275psi]

Herbiesan again consults the map

The Indian unit retreats. Barely bruised, it retires.
Troop numbers on the Akyab front seem to melt away...........

Divisions at Callcutta, and a great many ships.

And now, those troops at Warzup?
Where the hell have they gone?


This has a terrible smell to it.............

"I want every plane that flies recon over warzup, now!. I want 15th army march halted.
And for gods sake, get me combined fleet.!"

But he has no fleet in the indian ocean............
No, but its been nearly a month since we last saw one. Time enough to get there..

Herbiesan paces his HQ. he prays that this is paranoia, that he has this wrong.
Please, let this be a storm in a tea cup.
please.

[1275psi]

The Commander of 54th division, now at Ominoto, bends to his guests ear.

'You only need say the word sir"
Yamamoto nods. "The Emperor is in the building as we thought. Only a company guards him. Your division could march from here to the chalet in 3 hours, and free him easily. Herbiesan grows complacent..."
'When the people hear he is free sir, and urging for a peace, that he did not volunteerly stand down....."
"We can end this farce of a war, save face, even leave Japan stronger than ever"

Silence

'We must do it"
"Yes. Await my word. It appears the emperor will be easy. Getting herbiesan may be another matter......."