The little ship that could.

[pws1225]

[X(]

[1275psi]

21st Dec 1945

Musashi lies at anchor in Hiroshima bay.
It is cold, windy. Snow falls interminably .
Hirate and Okano are doing what most of the crew are doing, trying to look busy.
The great Battle wagon is mostly quiet, dark. Only essential areas are lit. Only 1 boiler is operating,
generated power is limited.

Both men have been in deep conversation, their wives, and children are safe for now.
They are staying at Tans parents place to the North Of Hiroshima.

"Do you here there, all hands to muster focastle"
A wave of dread sweeps through Hirate. Is this it? the announcement of the final
one way mission?
With dread in his heart (and with out a doubt in many others) he gathers with over
2000 others in a great mass.

1000 yards away, Yamato too gathers her crew.
The Captain mounts the Dias

Ï will not beat about the bush.......Men, at 1200 hours today, the war ends. The Allies have
offered, and Japan has accepted, an armistice.

Stunned silence
A thousand turning faces......can this be true?

Armistice?....does this mean we won?, or did we lose?
Does it matter?

We live!


The Captain waits patiently until the hubbub dies away
"Nevertheless, this ship will remain ready for action. All Shore leave is cancelled"
Gravely he eyes his men
Our Duty may not yet be done, our Country may need us still...........

[1275psi]

Ogowa, Diogowa are both in the air when the news is announced.

The Russians have been probing the cloudy skies.

After an hour, both bring the Shindens in, taxi, park
There is no drama, no celebration.

For both men, the war too is finished
For them too, Duty to Japan is not.

But that, of course, is another story.

[1275psi]

Shattering the sword
A cantona production

The coup, of course, was ruthlessly crushed.

Within 2 days, a new President sworn in, the purge of the military begun
The damage, however is too deep, America's faith in its military, in the leadership,
in the war, is Brocken.

Too many dead, too many defeats, and now, too many men spread across the pacific
who cannot be trusted to follow orders.

The war must end
The New President, faces the un face able.........and does end it.


The war, for Japan, ends. The violence, the fighting does not.
Revolution sweeps the land.
The Military government, falls.

A large number of its members will die in the Deit, destroyed by Yamato's, and Musashi's guns.....

(We still have a duty to our country........)

It will be a terrible, terrible winter...........

[1275psi]

May 1

1946

5 Men, , sit around a small table, overlooking Hiroshima Bay
Tan, Hirate, Okano, Ogowa, Diogowa.

The uniforms are gone.
The battleships are gone, as is the fleet.

All 5 men are pleasantly drunk.
Tan eyes Hirate over the top of his glass.
"So my Friend, what next?""

Hirate looks around the table.
"Ï know of an abandoned patrol boat........"
He Glances at Okano. "And there is a certain case, with, well, with some gold in it........."

[1275psi]

Well guys
Thanks for the journey.
So many encouraging, interesting comments, yet no one hi jacked the thread,. You are all
Gentlemen and scholars!!!

Here,s a few details:

My fleet left:
2BB
3CA
3CLAA
45 DD
12 SS

Airforce: 9000 planes available!

The Army: Nearly 100 divs with over 250 plus AV in the home islands!!

There are 200000 men bottled up in Genzan, Korea, 45000 in the Phillipines, 42000 in Minando.
Brunie, Celebes are still Japan
Takao too

China is only a rump around Shanghia.

Industry 1,700,000
Oil, 360000
HI, 162000

A/C losses
Allies: 19988
Japan: 27586

Ships sunk:
Allies: 1439
Japan 2182

I sank, it seems, less than I thought:
8 CV
3 CVL
40 CVE
13 BB
43 cruisers
138 DD

Points
Japan
63074
Allies
98901

Cantona tells me, he never intended to invade the Home islands..........


Both Ogowa, Diogowa were low 90's experience, 8 kills each.



I will take a small break, and think about another game...........

Bye!

(Oh, last note
I have started converting this to a book, should I continue doing this?

[Mike McCreery]

Oh hell yeah!!!

Your writing is fantastic, you are a natural.

Sorry to see it end but looking at the point score you certainly won the game as the Japanese. Kudo's and much respect to you sir for a fantastic AAR and a great game too!

[sanch]

I've said this before, but will say it again ...

Thanks for putting up a great read; and yes, you do have the gift of story-telling.

And congrats for showing that Japan can, indeed, persevere.

[kaleun]

Fantastic read. By all means convert it to a book.
Weren't you going to do that with Hibiki too?

[Lecivius]

"I have started converting this to a book, should I continue doing this? "

Of course you should. We have all hung on every word, and there are some serious critics in here [:D] You have already done a lot of work, try to get it published! Wouldn't THAT be a feather!

[pws1225]

That was a marvelous five year ride. Thanks for sharing the adventure. And +1 to the book idea too.

Best regards, Paul

[Anthro03]

Wow I'm numb, I can't believe it's over.
Really well done, and please express my gratitude to your opponent for sticking it out...

[blueatoll]

Thank you for the great AAR. Truly inspirational.

[british exil]

I can only say, well played and well written.
I enjoyed the AAR, if you can call it that. I t was more of a daily routine, a blog, my daily fix, my daily need to read...

It will be sorely missed, just happy that I am getting daily letters from a Prime Minister now.

Do get it printed, this is a must for AAR lovers.

Thanks to you and Cantona for the terrific ride. For the dedication and effort put into the huge undertaking.


Arigato

[&o][&o][&o][&o][&o]

Mat

[John 3rd]

I saw this flurry of activity and thought the turns were flowing again for the AAR. Sorry to see it finished but overjoyed at how well played it was and the marvelous story!

BANZAI!

[PaxMondo]

Thanks Herb. 5 years of morning coffee.

[ny59giants]

This saga will be missed. [:(]

[Major Shane]

+1!

[Heeward]

As the roar of the guns fade into the past, the old men tell their heroic tales of their days of brotherhood gone by to the children around the fire.
This story is one of them.

Eyes Right - Salute

[davidgillsol]

Can I just add my praise for this- it has been my go-to every lunchtime whilst eating my sandwich for the past few years. A fantastic story- masterfully told