Letters from a Prime Minister

[1275psi]

The War Cabinet

Frank Ford looks at the men around the table. Many here, he knows
blame him for the disasters that have overtaken the country.
Many hate him.
He is too tired to care. Deep in his heart, he knows that
nearly all of them at this table are to blame. Too blind in the decades past,
too lacking in imagination, to arrogant to believe that this Country could
ever be invaded.
All of them, in those sorry years, have voted to defer defence spending, to scrap good
ships, to disband good units.

All of them.

He glances at Tony, that pompous barsted. Still seeking the Prime Ministership,
of what?
If the American Fletcher Fails, the only leader of Australia will be Japanese.

He sighs.
No point mulling over the past.....concentrate on the future.
"Have I forgotten anything?"
The Cabinet remains silent. The emergency decrees agreed to are the harshest ever considered
by a "democratic government"
One man clears his throat
"These fuel confiscations, restrictions, do they have to be so harsh, they do, as
we discussed, mean no wheat crop this year"

Frank wipes his brow.
"Minister, the rescue fleet includes the Battleship Renown, do you know
how much oil she alone needs, let alone all the ships coming?"

[1275psi]

From
Commander 5th Division
to
General Blamey

Regret unable to break through to Albany.
Situation very poor
Regret to say we are entering final battles as enemy now
includes some 3 divisions.

[Long pig]

Nail biting stuff but I have come to expect no less from such a great story teller.
Bravo Sir 👏

[1275psi]

oops, mistake. please note correct date, we are at the 22nd, not the 25th!
sorry, I blame the cat.

[1275psi]

May 22nd
There were only 3 runners left, yet for Jack, for 75th Squadron, the pain is lessened not a jot.
Petrol spread upon wings of runners and cripples alike.
A single spark, and fire and flame destroys and disbands the squadron.
Kalgoorlie is being abandoned, the army has been ordered to retreat.
Jack watches the birds burn. At least the Japs did not get them all. Did not get HIM

Yet.
he, and the rest of 75th squadron, are assigned to 12th base force and their trucks.
As dark falls they move off, North east, north of the railway, a desperate attempt to go
around the blockade.

How far, they all wonder, will the army get, before the Japs notice?

[1275psi]

Hi Long Pig!
Another long season for the Saints I fear........

[1275psi]

May 22nd

West of Suva, CA Portland is caught, a heavy carrier raid.
Something wicked is coming towards Suva now, we, however, have something a waiting........

The dissolution of the Aussie 5th division begins. Hammered by 3 Japanese divisions,
isolated, lost, its men can do no more.

Blamey sees the writing on the wall. The Australian Army begins to move eastward.
It is a retreat, an orderly one at the moment. How long it remains such will depend
very much on the endurance of its men.
There is nothing east of Kalgoorlie except waste.
In short, imagine marching across France, without any water available from the german border to
the Channel.......

But it has to be done

[1275psi]

Parliament house
Frank and Tony sit in the Prime Ministers office
"Is this true Frank, Blamey is retreating, is there any hope , or plan at all?"
To Tony's surprise, Frank answers "Yes"
Frank stands, moves to the map.
"Look here Tony, right now we hold Port Moresby, Horn island. The Japs want them both.
We know he is gathering in the area, Rabual, Ambon. Blamey retreats, soon, no doubt, the majority
of the Jap Army in the west will be chasing it east.
Timing will be everything. Some time in June I suspect, he will commit to Port Moresby"

He points to a small dot on the Western coast of Australia
"With luck, at the exact same time, 1st Corp lands here, a week later, the british here (
he points to Albany), and our forces, the Americans, are seen to be coming up towards
Blamey. With luck, with timing, we trap the bulk of his Army in the west, he finds himself
stuck on the horns of Port Moresby........"

"Jesus Frank, that's a lot of with lucks........"
"I know, it terrifies me......."

[ny59giants]

Having suffered defeat in Western Australia myself, the Japanese air was able to bomb my troops into dust. Why? Little to no AA units. Plan accordingly, sir.

[1275psi]

23rd May

The great swells of the bight gather more bodies, more debris.
The Allies last tanker operating in the bight reports Battleship Haranua approaching.

Nothing else, of course, is heard from her again.

More Carrier aircraft are sighted near Suva.
Suva is more than ready.
100 allied aircraft are bombed up, and begging for a chance.
They will get it.

[1275psi]

Jack has a seat on the trucks bench near the tailgate. Its a position of mixed
blessings and curses. Curses for the dust that trails, sweeps into the truck. Blessing
that he can see out, will be able to exit the truck in a hurry.
As the mounds of the mines of Kalgoorlie fade behind into the dust, Jack scans the skies.
He has no doubt, none at all, that he will soon be getting far too much practice in Truck
evacuations.

Napier crosses the equator. There are no celebrations, no Neptune, no dunkings.
Just endless scanning of the skies, of the seas, of 4 on, 4 off.
No sightings.
No radio chatter.

Beyond the point of return.
No going back.

[1275psi]

May 24th

HQ, South PAC, Suva.

What do you imagine when you read, Headquarters?
A great brick building, miles of offices, endless traffic, immaculate guards, paved roads,
trim gardens.
And the Flagpole out the front, flag flapping bravely?

HQ South Pac: formerly Bretts bar.
A dozen small rooms are out the back, you know, single bed size........
The bar area however, is fairly spacious, the map tables are not crowded. The bar
no longer serves beer,(although a few are still hidden under it) it serves information, a half dozen radio sets along its length.

It does have a flag though, 3 actually, One Kiwi, one American, one French, they flap
in the sea breeze, this breeze being one of the top reasons Bretts bar has been invaded.
They flap steadily today, but the cooling breeze does little to ease the sweat from
the staff gathered around the bar.
The radio is surprisingly clear, the Japanese task force is not that terribly far away.

Suva has left nothing on the ground.
Now, hopeful, the staff listen to this most deadly of broadcasts.

The co ordination is so so.
The kiwi's go first, 4 Hudsons at height, no chance of a hit from these bombers, but
what they report may, in the end, be just as good as getting a hit.

"Enemy task force sighted.....I count 3, repeat 3 carriers, I identify Hosho, a CVE, and a medium sized
barsted, she's got a funny slanted funnel..."

"Enemy CAP scrambling"

Another voice over the radio...."Attacking!"'
The men sweating know this voice, feet shuffle. Many know him as a friend.
24 P39's are attacking

The radio chatter peaks. Hard to imagine here, here in Bretts bar, that men just out there are fighting
and dying.
The Cap kills many.
Including friends
No bloody hits

Then the main strike........80 plus P400's and 39's.
You can almost feel Japanese hearts freezing in shock.

But as the attack goes on, as each run ends in "Miss", the disappointment becomes
palatable.
69 planes make runs. 69 bombs. 69 misses.

The beer under the bar won't survive long tonight.

[1275psi]

Bridge
USS Enterprise

"3 carriers?........and 3 more in the Aleutians, another near Ambon........"
The mood in Suva may be dark. Here, mid Indian ocean, hopes are rising.

Chittagong is retaken by the Japanese

And it appears a new offensive in China is gathering.
But nobody, right now, can spare China a thought, let alone help.

[Ian R]

A dozen small rooms are out the back, you know, single bed size.......

No, sorry, none of us have ever been to one of those bars.

[PaxMondo]

Nope, narry a clue ...

[&:]

[1275psi]

Giggle, oh the sights we once saw............

[1275psi]

May 25th

5th Aussie division makes its last stand

They die, facing the enemy.
Their families, many, will think they died in vain.

History, eventually, will show they did not.

Any man, dying while fighting for hearth and home, cannot die in vain

[Long pig]

I prefer the saying " better to make the other dumb son of a bitch die for his country "
With apologies to General Patton I believe for any mis-quotation.

[1275psi]

May 26th

Over Chittagong, the sky snarls.
On the water below, a large Jap convoy.
Its a bloody draw, only one ship hit in the convoy.

The Japs also thrust another one into Milne bay, picking up, obviously, the divisions there.
The clock is ticking now on Port Moresby.

The new commander of South West pacific makes a call.
25th Division embarks the transports at Townsville.
Timing their thrust to Port Moresby is going to be tricky.

[1275psi]

From
Prime Minister
to
POTUS

I would like to thankyou, again, for the continued support that you have
extended to our land
First, Hornet.
She lies safely in the yarra river, a lot worse for wear, but safe. I understand
that she is waiting for escorts before moving to Sydney.

Our newly formed war cabinet is, surprisingly, still supporting me.
They want Blameys head, but I do not. As desperate as things seem, I do see
what he is trying to achieve.
If successful, it could cripple Japan..........



........Port Moresby remains critical to the plan of course. Your new General South West Pac
wants to reinforce, he has been advised to wait until the right moment........