The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

Oct 16

Fuchida spares a glance at the formation of bombers below him

A long time, he thinks, since Malaya has seen the like

25 elderly Sally bombers fly north. Above them, spread wide, 43 Franks of 22nd. The irony cannot have been lost on the bomber pilots. They begun this war flying south to bomb Singapore, now they come north.
The roles have been reveresed

Many, I think, secretly don't believe that this campaign result will be any different to 42's
But they fly, bravely, nevertheless.

The flight, amazingly, is incident free, they arrive south of the main battle at Prachuap Khiri Khan, unload on the road, and turn for home.

Fuchida turns with them, eyes dran to the battle 20 miles away.
Even from here, even from 16000 feet, it is not hard to tell, giants are doing battle.

[1275psi]

Hiyo
44 system, 75 flood, 43 engine


seas are rising again, white caps cover the oceans........

[1275psi]

55th divisional front

Hoshos company


The artillery fire lifts, the shrieking seeking rear positions, seeking Divisional Artillery

The company knows its business, as one, each man rises , and takes their fire positions.
They are coming, Khaki men, tall, bronzed.
They too know their job, they move from cover to cover, slowly edging up the slope, firing, moving, firing

The machine guns chatter in defience

The attack falters

For a moment

"Crap"..........the dark, menacing shapes crawl from the forest....tanks, 6 shermans at least
They move on the pill box to Hosho's right.....guns spit
The pill box holds, the chatter in return continues

three Japanese figures suddenly rise from the dust and rubble near the tanks, one falls immediately, the other two dive at the tanks

Shattering bangs

4 tanks left

Calmly Hosho reaches for his phone......." "Okamoto here"
"request artillery fire my sector sir, 4 shermans giving me not a little trouble!'
'denied!, I do not have ammunition for anything other than over the sight engagements!"
'Hiei!"

Bullets whistle, mortars crump, dust settles thickly, choking.
The bedlam of battle..

"Flame thrower unit..........the tanks!"
5 men, doomed men, fling themselves into the battle

below, the enemy are holding, laying withering fire...........how much bloody ammunition do they have?
The Japanese fire, intermittant............conserving, conserving what ever they have

"Indian troops reported to almost the top of the gully on our left sir!"
"3 rd squad on me!"
Hosho takes the machine gun, loops the belt over his shoulder

The mad charge down the trench, up, ver the rise to the right

Bodies, bleeding, screaming wounded
gasping for breath, gods, for a drink.
They enter a smaller, narrower trench, crawl down the hill 100 yards.

5 men hold a hole at its end, tattered, desperate men
they fire, they fire

"Having fun me?"
"Piss off Hosho, we don't need your help"

3rd squad moves left, another trench, a depression really

A shell obliterates the hole behind them

Hosho pushes down a hidden trap door, mounts the gun
Spread across the gulley,, 30 odd men, backs to him. They have their flank

Hoshos gun chatters.............




(squad destroyed...........how clinical for so many, many lives thrown away, ground up in this madness)


Hosho retreats, past the carnage, through the maelstrom.
he knows he must, will die. But not yet, surely not yet






First attack

50 odd sqauds destroyed both sides, 160 odd disabled both sides
3600 casos both sides
Forts to 2


Supplies-----------negative
Prince Gen Higashikuni orders the beginning of the attempt to break out of the Kessel
55th division will be rearguard.

[1275psi]

October 17th

The sea will not be denied.
They fight it.
They win minor victories, do Okono, Hirate.. The pumps rumble day after day, one fails, they get it going again

But below, the water presses, and presses, and presses
It seeks every weakness, every fault.

Cable glands through bulkheads and deck heads............rivelets
Pipes to machinery....streams
Ventilation trunks, veritable rivers........

And still 200 odd miles to go




Hiyo, 45/77/42

[1275psi]

22nd sweep north again
43 strong again, seeking the enemy, seeking battle


They find it

There are nearly 60 odd T bolts waiting, waiting for battle as well, waiting for revenge

They pounce, coming in from bove, great diving birds of prey

They need but one pass, they fall, they fire, 22nd scattering as it can as they barrell down and through, diving for safety

19 of 22nd sentai fall




Fuchida's story ends here, unseen, un noticed in the disaster that befalls them

How, i do not know
where,..............somewhere over the battle on Hoshos front

He's gone


Another empty space at the quiet, shocked table this night










Fuchida
KIA
8 kills
652 missions
84 experience

[1275psi]

"please inform MGEN Okamoto, that Comany is preparing to withdraw 1 kilometre south, as ordered"
The shells continue to crash onto their positions.

The barsteds keep pressing, and pressing

Several of his men pass him, machine gun, mortar on shoulders.
One grins........'not quite ten to one sir, but they are bloody well bleeding"

No, not quite

55 division, he hears, has lost 30 prcent of its strength. His company, an equal share.

They are holding, the rest..ahh truck to the rest. 55th division fights at last.


But, gods, they just keep pressing.

[british exil]

Fuchida, RIP. Another friend taken from us. How many more are to fall before the war ends?

Mat

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

22nd sweep north again
43 strong again, seeking the enemy, seeking battle


They find it

There are nearly 60 odd T bolts waiting, waiting for battle as well, waiting for revenge

They pounce, coming in from bove, great diving birds of prey

They need but one pass, they fall, they fire, 22nd scattering as it can as they barrell down and through, diving for safety

19 of 22nd sentai fall




Fuchida's story ends here, unseen, un noticed in the disaster that befalls them

How, i do not know
where,..............somewhere over the battle on Hoshos front

He's gone


Another empty space at the quiet, shocked table this night










Fuchida
KIA
8 kills
652 missions
84 experience

[paullus99]

An unfortunate, historical, side-effect of the Japanese pilot rotation policy (or lack thereof) - you fly until you die.....

[1275psi]

10th of October

extract from "falling Cherry Blossoms", a Japanese naval Fighter pilots war

These were not pleasant days

Winter already blows coldly over Tokyo, as we continued our seemingly endless patrols
So many fighters over Tokyo.........

Many of us thought this such a titanic waste, many wished for us to travel south, to fight at the front
How foolish that seems now!

Some of us, I think, knew why we patrolled endlessly.

The American carriers...........where the hell were the American Carriers?
The raids of that last month may have raised a fierce rage in Japans people. But they have also shaken them.
Herbiesan, great dictator............

maybe not so great..........


We flew CAP. I admit it, Diogowa, good friend, wingmate, companion, he began to get fat again.
And in war, how can anyone say that is not a bad thing?

[1275psi]

18 oct

Hiyo, 45/77/42

160 miles to go
calm seas today.

Takeji taps the barometer.
He does not need to see the mercury drop...........he can feel the pressure drop in his bones. Too many years at sea, too many calm, still days like this.

A storm is brewing
he can smell the bloody thing

[1275psi]

55th have retreated 12 miles
Today, a real allied effort.
On the far flank, divisions have cracked. A Thia Army unit has been obliterated.
2200 allied casualties have been inflicted.

"Ten to die for every one of us!"
A joke, in the light of today.

10000 japanese casualties reported, the port captured.

The germans have a word for it:
Kessel

Cauldron

A growing disaster


The allies keep pressing.

[1275psi]

AAR open to cantona, if you see him, say Hi, without his contribution and perserverance, there really could be no story!

[cantona2]

things hotting up nicely

[1275psi]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

Jeez cantona, talk about a spoiler alert

trust me guys, he's banned, banned, banned again!!!!

[cantona2]

doh comment edited lolololol [8D]

[1275psi]

you are forgiven now...LOL

[1275psi]

19 October

Extract from "shattering the sword" a cantona production

If there are any days in the battles around Prachuap Khiri Khan that can be picked out as "the decisive day", this may well be it
A relief column coming north, a full regiment, comes into contact with the british blocking force. Foolishly, it does not wait for the artillery regiment following, and flings itself up the road.

It is repulsed

two full Japanese divisions in the cauldron are reported "totally in effective".
Only 15th Army, the 33rd division, the 55th, hold their positions, effecting retreats that bring them another 6 miles south.

But another 4000 Japanese soldiers lie dead.

55th, 33rd now hold the line alone, the rest of the Japanese army flees south along the coastal strip, leaving a trail of debris behind them.

But the allies keep attacking.
Tomorrow, the armour will attack again

[1275psi]

19 Oct

Hosho rests with a platoon of men.
they are less than 100 yards from the sea, its there, but the mangroves prevent them seeing it

A narrow road, a track really, runs betwwen the mangroves, and a patch of jungle.
1000 yards north, a small fishing village, to the south, another low hill running down to the sea, a headland

To the west, the hills.

The remains of a division, once the pride of the 23rd army, streams down the path. Many Weaponless, starving, many, a great many wounded.
"two divisions reported non effective"

No kidding

Hosho eyes the retreating troops with disdain.
The enemy is on their flank, pushing along the hills. the village, by the sound of it, has just been occupied.

The orders, from that idiot prince, are simple, the headland must still be in japanese hands by tonight.
No, amend that, must be in japanese hands tonight..........
33rd div must take it.
55th must hold the rear.

the fishing village marks a small river, on some map, somewhere, that useless rivlet must look a defendable line.
Hosho sighs, rises, limbs almost trembling, gathers his gun

"glory awaits men'
"Aaa h piss off Hosho, who are you kidding?"
Hosho smiles.........."Ok, Ok, , there is a good chance theres a feed or two in that village now, if we retake it"

His men rise
'fair enough"

A company, 50 men strong now, moves north




2 divisions "written off today".....2000 more casualties, enemy achieve 3 to 1

[1275psi]

Its not much of a storm really
Just a lot of heavy rain


Hiyos flooding leaps to 84 %

[1275psi]

20th October


A Japanese relief regiment fails to break the Kessel

The allies rest one day, the japanese army, somehow, manages to creep south a little further

33rd, 55th divisions ,effectively at 50% strength, are the only really effective units left.
They hold the line




Hiyo has 100 miles to go
Flooding is at 91%

Her crew now barely dare to go below, they huddle mostly on the quarter deck, or in the shade of the leaning, sloping island

Takeji watches, silent, rock like, on the bridge
He speaks to no body. He does not sleep, as if his very will can hold the waters back.