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June 6th

The Jap battlewagons remain at Port Moresby.
Radio intell again mentions Kodiac as a target.

BB Fuso is struck by 4 1000 lb bombs south of there.
She keeps coming.

The war Cabinet.

Tony stares at the latest reports from Blamey.
Give the man credit, he is one relentlessly optimistic barsted.

........and I have managed to regather most of the army astride the rail line.
The Nip is massing three divisions. He is again trying to outflank us.
I think he has no answer now for our armour. He continues to come east just nicely........


Tony places the paper down. "I hear the Japs have at least 2 divisions loading at Rabual,
are you convinced Prime Minister Port Moresby is the target?, and if it is, can we hold?"

There are murmurs around the table. Many, a great many here want these men home, want the place
abandoned.
Some one asks the question. "Is there any point in losing even more men for that place?"

The Prime Minister raises his hand, asking for silence.
"Gentlemen, the facts are simple. Its high stakes poker now, we cannot stop now,
nor can Japan. Port Moresby grows tougher every day. And we need, need him fixed on it"

Everyone about the table knows this. Carnovan is a long way from Rabual, a good long way.

"There is this as well.....those two divisions, they may not be aimed at Port Moresby at all......"'

A chill passes through Tony. High stakes poker. With an entire nations future at stake.

June 7th
From
Former naval Officer to
POTUS

..........and we now consider India secure. I must acknowledge that this is very much
a result of your deployment of so many aircraft of 10th Air force to India.
Everything now, it appears, depends on our West Australian attack. Our two Navies
are working in perfect harmony. We will fight the enemy shoulder to shoulder.........

From POTUS
to
Former Naval Officer


............Hornet is safe in Sydney harbour now, but will remain out of action
for quite some time. Wasp, and a new Modern Battleship has entered the Pacific. We gave the Japs a nice
blood nose near Kodiac today.
We need to discuss this Efate operation. I understand the need to keep the enemy fixed
in the South West Pacific, but this gives me the shivers.
Can we please discuss this further..........

June 8th

The war has a quiet day

But in the Indian ocean, a significant event. The Carnovan invasion fleet
completes its concentration. Ships are shuffled, re assigned.
Then ponderously, it turns east.

1200 miles to run.




Totally undetected, the british also enter the map, they are deep, deep south of
Albany. This division moves east. Coming west from Adelaide, the American 24th comes West.

Target, Esperance

All or nothing
The poker chips are now, "all in"

June 9th

24 bullets
Jack raises his rifle, fires at the moving shadow 100 metres away, ducks as the mortar shell
thumps into the ground 20 metres behind the trench .
23 left.
Flares rise over the trenches, the shadows congeal into men, rifles spitting, flashes and sparkles in the
dark
22, 21. One of the shadows falls.

Cries , screams, yells, curses.....Jesus, the little yellow barsteds do actually yell
Banzia........

20, 19.
The ground kicks up in front, he ducks, sucks in the big ones, rises, fires again.
The shadows get closer.

Vague feelings of the battle all along the front......no time for that, just on the
barsteds swarming forward towards them.

18, 17, 16, got another one, missed that one.......

Artillery shells scream overhead, the dark wavers, splits, returns even darker.

15, 14......will nothing stop them?
The shadows now are men...men jittering, wavering in front.

And then, from behind, the rattle of the tracks, the chatter of machine guns, the thump of cannons

The maltildas grind past, rumble towards the infantry........and the infantry melts away

12 left.

12. 12 rounds will be enough.



3 divisions attack the combined strength of the aussie army
one division, the 21st, is left with AV of 95
1 to 2
the attack failed


and I honestly don't think he has the strength to beat Blameys concentrated corp.

June 10

Margaret is at the sink, peeling potatoes. The bump is now showing.
For a moment a wave of anxiety sweeps through her. Time is going so fast, the
unwanted future is soon going to be the present.
For a moment, the missing Father passes through her mind......where was he now?

And what of the circumstances that bought her here? The Prime Minister (or was it his
wife?, as she now strongly suspected} had hidden her here, what happens after the baby is born?
Too much to ponder........

The door to the kitchen bangs open. Matron enters, the weekly shopping in her hands.
She is pale, and Margaret knows immediately that something has recently brought tears.

"What's wrong Matron?"
"Those Americans, you know, the ones on the train.......Oh Margaret, all those fine young
men. They are saying in town that all of them drowned at Port Moresby.........

June 10th

Admiralty house.

"Not sighted?"
"Not a skerrick.....40 miles south of Albany, and not a single search plane"
"Encouraging"
"Rather"

3 aks, and a destroyer trail a coat south of Albany, Esperance.
And remain unspotted.

The Carnovan invasion fleet continues East. It remains unsighted as well.

Encouraging indeed.

June 11

From
Prime Minister
to
General Blamey

You have defeated a second Japanese attack, and inflicted further heavy losses upon him.
You have shown that Australia's fighting men remain, and will always remain, indomitable.

I know that things remain desperate, yet again I, and my government remain completely
confident in you, your men, and the plan now underway.

Hang on. Our long awaited reinforcement comes near.

Frank Ford

June 11th

Blamey stares through the glasses at the desert and scrub West of the trench

A steady wind blows in his face, cool, sweet after the heat of last nights battle.
It won't be so sweet soon, after a few days of the sun.

"How many major?"
"I hear over 2000 bodies from this latest little effort"

No, not so sweet at all.

12 June

India air HQ under Grahams guidance swings its attention to Magwe.
He uses Dutch martins. They are old, yes, but if there is no opposition,
even they will do.
The oil fields receive some damage. A start. A good start.

B17s visit Rabual, and encounter CV fighters.
Carrier Vals are sighted over Port Moresby.

The Carnovan invasion has 720 miles to run
The Japanese do not attack east of Kalgoorlie this day.............

From
CICPAC
to
POTUS

Appreciation of current situation

Allied plans to move to the offensive advance, yet the Empire of Japan retaians
a distinctive offensive bent.

By fronts:

Aleutians:

All indications point to an attempt to take Kodiac. Japan is attempting to
reinforce Chiricoff, at some cost.
The whereabouts of Cardiv 5 now appears unclear.
I am confident we can hold Kodiac, significant air forces, including Avengers are now
operating in theatre.
Naval forces are slim. It is a matter of priorities.

China

The main line rail line remains in China command. In the main, the war has become static.

India

Creeping Japanese gains, yet no serious effort to advance. A limited allied offensive is gathering.
Our air force maintains a local superiority.

Australia

Here and in the south pac, rests our main effort, risks, and potential rewards.
I have determined that Port Moresby must be held. In the south Pac, this remains my absolute
aim. Every day the Japanese delay an attempt for it, the better.
The risks are high. Over 40 vessels are in Rabual, and this does include battleships, and
Carriers.
2 Divisions have been identified prepping for Port Moresby.

It is my proposal to divert japanes efforts by landing (again) a small force at Efate
I KNOW that this enemy commander will react violently.......and delay Port Moresby until he
defeats us there.

I am flying forces in every day to port Moresby.

All this remains a distraction to the main game
First Australian Corp is inbound for carnovan
24th division, a british division for Esperance
The Americal Division marches ever closer towards Kalgoorlie, and the 4th Australian along
the coast.
Finally, the 32nd division moves North towards Katherine

If successful, these movements must squeeze the Japanese in Australia.
I remain confident that Blamey will hold.


Forces:

We have turned the corner in forces. Hornet is safe in Sydney. Wasp has arrived
So has a modern Battleship.

Much depends on the carnovan invasion. If our carriers escape damage, we can face
late 42 with confidence, and 43 with aggression.

Losing them, will delay our inevitable victory by at least a year.
Losing Australia, we lose the war.......

13/6/42

Captain Smith passes the signal to John.

Its reading reflects Johns demeanour.
Grim.

"Latest sighting report from Perth.....30 Vals, 30 Kates operating in area.
In addition, 36 Oscars, 24 Lillies.
Some Nells.

Crappolla.........

13/6/42

Lt Jackson hands the signal to Fletcher
"Its begun Admiral, Nothing we did not know about already"
Jackson has to hang on to the nearest railing, Enterprise is Pitching heavily,, the swells
rolling, breaking. Ahead, to the east, the skies are black, heavy, ominous with heavy rain.

Fletcher has prayed for heavy weather cover, and is getting it. The front is travelling
east slowly, the invasion fleet a little faster than it

Jackson waits while the Admiral contemplates the signal. "It has begun" Bravest damn
thing he has seen for a long time.
Somewhere ahead of the front, Destroyers Panther, Paladin and Packenham have deliberately
revealed themselves to the Japanese off Perth

The attacks have been relentless.

10 Nells, 20 fighters.......miss
27 Kates, 10 fighters........miss
8 Nells.....miss
9 nells.......miss
39 Dive bombers miss......

Relentlessly useless.

Fletcher, in the end says nothing. It is, as they say, what it is.
There are destroyer pickers entering the Timor straights, others up near Java, many out west,
one in the middle of the indian ocean.

All silent.
Nothing stirring.

The weather will worsen.
Pitching, rolling, streaming water from the decks, bearing 1000's of miserable men,
the invasion fleet continues East.

13/6/42

60 ships reported Rabual

Invasion ships for Efate sail

14/6/42
Rabual harbour reported empty.

14/6/42

It is just after midnight when Fletcher enters Enterprises bridge.
Not a few others join him.
For the last 4 hours she and her sisters have been at 20 knots, and now the bad
weather front is behind them.
The sea is calm, sparkling under a half moon.

Enterprises decks are filling with planes.

Fletcher nods to the Captain
He nods back, moves to the bridges centre.
"All ahead full"

Dawn in 6 hours. High stakes poker.......all in.
7 carriers charging east, preparing full strikes.
landings will begin PM on the 15th.

God, and the fates, and American striking power willing.

The suspense is gnawing at me. Nearly an hour since the last post.


How many planes are involved in the strikes?

Mat

14/6/42
Dawn

How much planning, how many hours of sweat, of effort, of wondering, of hoping
and of anxiety leading to this moment?

Too much.

For Fletcher, for all the Captains, how many different outcomes imagined for this day?
Few, I think, really imagined this.

The strike falls on carnovan like a hammer.
Over 120 bombers escorted by a light cover of fighters, all, by some miracle, arriving
over the harbour in a beautiful solid cloud of gleaming metal and snarling hate.

The harbour, if you can call it that, is simply packed with 12 large AKs and a good half dozen
escorts.

There is little mistaking the exultation of the bomber leaders voice as the radio cackle
"Attack!, attack!, attack"!

No fighters. Little flak
Fine weather. Fat sitting ducks


A good, good beginning.
No Japanese ships survive.

And recon reports little in the way of fortifications, in troops, in anything.
As the last burning hulk settles, as the last Japanese sailor drowns, the first allied ships begin
to appear over the horizon.
Leading the way, grey, heavy, solid, the four R's.
What Japanese defences that do exist, soon wont.

Even as the royals approach the beaches, south, brave men perform their duty.
Destroyer Panther hoves into sight of Perth, and flings her shells towards it.
Destroyer Pakenham does the same, striking Geraldton.

The reaction is brutal

30 vals, 24 kates.
In the morning, they miss.
In the afternoon, they do not.

Two destroyers lost
The invasion fleet continues its advance
The R class approach

No Japanese planes are seen by either.

Jason does not even know the name of the transport he shares with his Cavalry brigade.
He's never bothered to find out. Ships, to him, are ships.
The sea, something to induce misery.

Now, however, now, this last night, he realises that he might actually miss the old
rust bucket, miss its solid steel walls, its warmth, its permanence, even his bunk.
Tomorrow, the prospects of the beach, the desert, the enemy guns.

But then, of course......its Australia. His Australia.
And, as corny as it is....time to start hitting back, to start kicking arse...