Letters from a Prime Minister

[1275psi]

7th feb

A black day for the US navy

Japanese destroyers slip into cold bay.
2 AP, 2 AXL, a few trucks lost. But vital APs, ones that could have, one day, become APA's

The horrible is BB Mississippi taking no less than 4 torpedoes near Kodiac.
Loss of life is almost total, few can survive more than 3 minutes once in these freezing waters......


Shokuka and Zuikaku sink 3 AMC's.
Just 2 ships.........transforming this battle from one gladly accepted, to one desperate to get away from



In java, a new division identified, the 16th


In China, the chinese commence a new battle for Nanyang, there is a good chance that it can
be taken.
This will be the last offensive, with Rangoon about to fall, and her supply throat slashed, the "happy
times" soon must end

Have we bought enough time for the defences central China?
Time will tell

[1275psi]

8th feb

A ditty, from the defenders of Luzon

Old mac, he marched us up
he marched us back
Surrounded in the hills
We paid his bloody bill

And when the play,had run
And our lives were done

they found mac
dead, running away, shot in the back

[1275psi]

The Phillipine Army falls

From, Alaska Command
To
CINCPAC

Situation desperate
Enemy cariers Shokaku, Zuikaku, shoho, running riot in Alaska sea

Cold harbour today bombarded by battleships.
Airstrikes Cold bay.
despite desperate efforts by local air defences many ships hit Cold hbr

battle ships bottled up Kodiac, little fuel.
I have replaced all B-26 commanders due to dereliction of duty

Request anything that can fly, be sent.

Stop

[1275psi]

9th febuary

Aden

Jason Ford stands on the wharf, notebook in hand, carefully counting the trucks
of the 7th Aust Cavalry regiment as they rumbled down the wharf.
Tomorrow, they would begin loading them, and his own tank, onto AP malda, then, rumour
had it, Karachi

So, no going home then.

But, the 1st corp was going to combine , finally, under LGEN Smart, and that, thinks Ford,
is a good thing

Better yet, more rumours had it that a brit armoured regiment was going to be attached as well.
Well, they would see. they would see.

But first, to actually get too Karachi.

Something, the Nips were showing everywhere, you could not take as a given, anymore.

[1275psi]

To
Alaska Command

from

Commander, cold bay

Can confirm BB yamashiro hit by 500 lb bomb here yesterday
No, repeat, no apparent damage

Our forces,
81st field art....9 times 155 guns
2/151st engineers
4th sep inf regiment. I consider this unit only 50% effective. lacking winter clothing,
tools, shovels.
Moral weak

13 stuart tanks
these are in fixed locations, ground conditions (shingles, snow, many loose rocks,
severly restricting movement.

If enemy land, will attempt to defend township itself, as with out shelter
in current conditions, survival doubtful

Where, repeat, where, is expected air support?

[1275psi]

10th feb

The United states army, and to a small extent, its navy, has placed a great
faith in the New bomber, the B-17.

Facing the crises in Northpac, as many of these beasts that can be mustered, have been
rushed to Anchorage.
Now they have their chance

Only three of them find the Shokaku in the mist. They follow Doctrine, coming in at 15000
feet, coming in straight, coming in true

Nearly 30 zeros rise to meet them.


The big beasts take a pounding.........and fly on
4 of the attacking zeros spiral down, flaming

The big birds miss, miss by miles.
But they will be back, them, and their sisters.
Those 4 precious zeros, and their pilots, there will be no replacing them.



The carrier strike in return strikes Kodiac
An AR, AVD, AV, AKE all take a hit
2 APs as well

6 kates down, 5 more zeros,
The P-39's, kittyhawks defending pay heavily.

Things are desperate, no doubt
What ever can fly, is going to this theatre.
Japan is committing heavily as well.



All for islands that the allies know, the loss or gain off, will effect the end
result of this war not at all.

[1275psi]

Again, it is deep in the night in Canberra

Question time is finished, parliament is quiet

Tony, and Frank, again share a quiet drink in the Prime Ministers office

Diagrammatically opposed in so many ways, one socialist, one steeply conservative.
But two men who deeply love their country.
Two men deeply concerned about the war, and how it is ,horrifyingly unfolding

Prime Ministers, Opposition leaders really do not mix. Never, ever, sit together, steadily
demolishing a bottle of the best,
But the door is shut, and nobody, (they hope) knows they are together.

It is, if they considered it, a paradoxical friendship in the making.

The 7th division, and two precious sons, is at Aden
More than enough, in the quite of the night, when the fears bubble just below the surface
to justify the scotch.

[1275psi]

11 feb 42
From
Aust Command
to
8th Div

In light of invasion of Timor, a decision on where a possible defence
of Darwin will take place.
Piority is to
A/
Evacuate all civilians immediately
B/
Locate positions where adequate supplies of fresh water are available
C/
Locate positions where out flanking tactics difficult to achieve

Government does not believe invasion likely, possible
This Command does

Recommend positions around Katherine be investigated

[1275psi]

11 Feb

Cold bay is pounded again
The enemy carrier task force, now with Shoho identified, strike hard.

By days end, AV Wright has sunk, as had a AVD.
Only a handful of P-39's and Kittyhawks survive.

The Japanese seem unstoppable. 2 Dutch regiments surrender at Bandoeng Java

Only one dim light shines. In China, a very large Chinese Army enters Nanyang, forcing major
Japanese forces to divert.
And over on the other side of the Nation, another Chinese Army enters Wunchow.
This attack, it seems, may have achieved surprise.

Tomorrow, with luck, Japan may receive several severe set backs.

[1275psi]

From
POTUS
to
Formal naval Officer

My dear friend
Well, the Nip is giving my Commanders and Brass the willies up near Kodiac.
I was always told the battleship was king, never has an example of how impotent they are
against carriers been given as we are experiencing here
Still, better there than roaming the south Pacific.


You have asked me about Australia. I am under incredible pressure from My Staff to
send as many troops to North Pac as possible.
In light of this, I am ordering the Americal Division North. The Division I have
promised the Australians.
Any idea, how to break the news to them?

Other things.......

[1275psi]

From
Former naval Officer
to
POTUS

Re Australian troops

My friend
I would like to ask you to reconsider the deployment of the Americal Division.
I have given a iron clad guarantee to the Australians that should their nation be imperilled,
(probably enemy troops south of, say Brisbane?) that we would commit everything we can
spare to help them.
In light of the bulk of the Australian Army deployed currently to help secure India, this would be
politically dangerous to the extreme.
Also, any emergency reinforcement would certainly have to come from the MED, with all that implies
to the total war effort.
The Americal could be a very cheap investment in the long run

We have deployed 4 battleships, and soon to be 2 carriers to Aden.
I hope they can be of use to your American task force......

[1275psi]

12th of feb


"Fighting, in a cold, cold hell"

There is still anger in the old mans voice
"so.." the old man sighs, and shudders, as if remembering the cold . " the jap carriers had
wandered right up into the bay, almost to Yukotut. So somebody decided something had to be done"

he gets up, wanders to the balcony. The snow, this day, is thick. Much like it was all those years ago.
"The battlewagons were effectively bottled up in anchorage, too slow to get away, too slow to attack.
So, it was us, DD's Worden, Tucker, Fox.
Out we went. It was snowing. We missed em in the night. The snow stopped in the morning"

Although I know what happened, I still must ask. But today, I will learn nothing new.
Theold man, sole survivor from the Worden, merely shrugs
""and down we went"

[1275psi]

nanyang, chinese attack, 2 to 1. it holds, just
Wunchow, chinese attack. 2 to 1, it holds, just

Just

Bloody just!

[1275psi]

AVG is becoming a team of veteran killers

They bounce zeros over nanyang, and kill 3
In fact, they kill 14 today.

They now have 128 kills, for 19 lost, only 3 pilots killed
Now, a lot of these are Sonia's, Ida's, and sallies.

Still, that's a lot of planes in just 6 weeks of war..........

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

AVG is becoming a team of veteran killers

They bounce zeros over nanyang, and kill 3
In fact, they kill 14 today.

They now have 128 kills, for 19 lost, only 3 pilots killed
Now, a lot of these are Sonia's, Ida's, and sallies.

Still, that's a lot of planes in just 6 weeks of war..........

more importantly, a lot of pilots that he can't replace right now.

[ny59giants]

H81s - You will have to determine if it is worth upgrading AVG to other models before they go away in the summer. I did to give the Chinese air groups better fighters.

[kaleun]

I did upgrade them on my game with Bibow

[HansBolter]

I always prioritize the AVG to get the first upgrades to P40Es.

It puts the best non-P38 fighter the Army Air Force has for the first 6 months in the hands of the best pilots the Americans have who are mots likely of any squadrons to be heavily involved in combat.

Doings so as quickly as possible also preserves the maximum number of H81s for the Chinese.

[kaleun]

I always prioritize the AVG to get the first upgrades to P40Es.

It puts the best non-P38 fighter the Army Air Force has for the first 6 months in the hands of the best pilots the Americans have who are mots likely of any squadrons to be heavily involved in combat.

Doings so as quickly as possible also preserves the maximum number of H81s for the Chinese.

I feel vindicated[:)]

[1275psi]

13 feb

Alor star falls
This effectively means the end of british resistance in Malaya, other than some isolated
in the jungle units.

In Sumutra, the Indian Division fights on north of Palembang, oosthaven remains british,
Batavia and surrounding areas still firmly Dutch

The Japanese are sending a lot of small AXLs to Diego Garcia, our SS seem to be able to track
them well, but only kill one.

The Japanese carriers near Anchorage finally get a weather window, and strike

25 zeros, 42 bomb laden kates, 28 vals
24 Mowhawks, 6 Kittyhawks

13 bombs strike the three battlewagons, warspite in particular.
Upperworks, AA guns, superstructures are punctured.

None penetrate armour.

Despite what seen from the air must be terrible damage inflicted, all three remain
very much viable.

Stout armour, stout hearts

Grimly sailors tend to the fires, curse and swear.
A chance, just a chance, to strike back.



At dusk, perhaps it comes.
18 dauntless dive bombers circle the bay, settle onto the field.
Forecast tomorrow.
Patches of clear.