Thunder on the Pacific. Warspite vs Kaleun part 3

[kaleun]

Since I haven't been humiliated enough on our previous two games, Warspite-San and I have started yet another game.
Scenario 1.
All realism on except PDU

I am writing this one as a series of memoirs written during the war.
The game is about a year behind the AAR.

Cry Havoc and let loose the dogs of war.

[kaleun]

Thunder on the Pacific.
Memoirs

Volume I
Annus Horribilis


December 8th 1942
The wail of air raid alarms surprised me while shaving. I rushed out on the street to find a mob of people, Filipinos, Americans, Chinese and what have you running helter-skelter seeking the air raid shelters. I saw no aircraft overhead, nor did I hear any engines or air defense guns firing from Cavite Naval Yard. The word spread on the street like wildfire: Pearl Harbor had been attacked. No one knew what the extent of the attack was; rumors ranged from massive destruction of the US Pacific Fleet, to full-scale invasion of the Hawaiian Islands.
I made my way among the throng of people to Cavite, just as the alarms went silent. When I got there, chaos seemed to reign. Officers tried to set some semblance of order while enlisted men ran willy-nilly, from one place to another, giving a great impression of activity, although nothing seemed to be getting done. I felt particularly dismayed by the sight of two AA pieces, unmanned, even now.
In between false alarms, I found Tito, a taxi driver I often used to drive out of town. Since there seemed to be nothing to be learned or reported on, amidst the Chinese fire drill going on at Cavite, I decided to look for news elsewhere.
“Take me to Clark,” I asked the wily Filipino.
And off we went, the cab clattering and sputtering through the crowded streets of Manila, heading for the airbase. Tito talked unceasingly about the war, and how it would affect the Philippines.
Approaching Clark, my hopes that the airbase was in a better state of preparedness were dashed. No one challenged Tito or me when entering the base; half of the AA guns lay unmanned. The big new bombers lined up as if for display. The only meaningful activity was carried out by some airmen, fueling and arming the pursuit aircraft; this activity involved a lot of running to and fro.
The air alarm went off once again, and this time it was widely ignored, until the thump of explosions at the edge of the runway warned me that, this time, it was for real. bombers
I dived head on into a slit trench at the edge of the field, where two servicemen joined me. I did not know where Tito went; I hoped he was safe.
From the relative safety of the slit trench I saw three of the P26 fighters bravely take off to do battle with the enemy although to what effect remains a mystery.
After the raid, I, with the other civilians helped the servicemen put out the fires. In the end, only three aircraft were destroyed on the ground, a P-26A, an O-47A and a P-35A.
With a heavy heart, I met Tito and returned to Manila.

John Clark.
Associated Press
Manila.

[kaleun]

John McDuffie, A war diary
Singapore December 8th 1942

Early risers, or late revelers, seeking breakfast or a late night snack, crowded the noodle stands at the harbor. After the BBC report, there was only one topic of conversation in the island. The feeling was one of relief. The United Kingdom no longer had to go it alone, as it had done over the past two years. With the United States in the same boat, there was now no question on anyone’s mind that the Nazis and their sidekicks the Japs were doomed.
On any other night, the two mighty ships silently steaming out of the harbor would have hardly been noticed. Tonight though, both sober and sodden, the voices of the men watching at the harbor rose in three traditional cheers.
“Hip Hip, Hooray!”
The Chinese men manning the noodle stands remained silent however, and the Repulse and the Prince of Wales sailed on, out of the harbor, unperturbed.
“They must be going to hit the Japs at Khota Baru” said one of the Englishmen his bloodshot eyes a witness to a night of dissipation.
“Well, it’s about bloody time,” slurred a second red headed man, pieces of mei fun flying out of his lips. “Should thump them all the way back to Tokyo.”
Somehow I felt it would not be that easy.
The air raid alarms woke me up. The enemy aircraft, apparently unimpeded by the ineffective and sporadic AA fire concentrated their aim in the harbor. Before dashing out of my hotel I saw the columns of smoke rising from the harbor in Singapore; the Gibraltar of the East, and thought:
“Thus ends the British Empire.”
It would get worse.

[kaleun]

Pearl Harbor December 8 1941
Personal diary. Lt, JG. J. P. Jones.
Explosions and fires shake the harbor through the night; teams of sailors and soldiers fight fires aided by random teams of civilians that come to assist the servicemen. They mostly get in the way of the trained men who are, in any case, glad for their help. In the command posts the brass shakes their heads and wonder where in Alaska will their next posting be. There are not many orders to be given. Most of the ships that were to receive those orders sit, burning, in the harbor, many of them with their decks awash.
When I got my job assignment to signals at Pearl, I was disappointed. Now, I know more than many officers above my rank. I know that Manila and Clark were creamed, and that Singapore was bombed. Of course there is not much more to know, yet.
The harbor is clogged with the smoking wrecks of our battle fleet.
BB Oklahoma, Bomb hits 8, Torpedo hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB Nevada, Bomb hits 6, Torpedo hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB West Virginia, Bomb hits 11, Torpedo hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
BB Tennessee, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 5, and is sunk
BB Arizona, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 3, on fire, heavy damage
BB Pennsylvania, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 4, heavy fires, heavy damage
BB California, Bomb hits 3, Torpedo hits 4, on fire, heavy damage
BB Maryland, Bomb hits 5, Torpedo hits 5, on fire, heavy damage
The heavy cruiser New Orleans sunk after two bomb and one torpedo hit.
Someone in the signals hut mentioned something about War plan Orange. Apparently the battle fleet is supposed to steam west to assist the garrison and the Far East Fleet in Manila. Looking at the mess in the harbor, I don’t think that’s happening.

[kaleun]

December 10 1941
The Japanese have landed at Vigan, on the northwestern coast of Luzon. Here, one of the few successes of the war has occurred. A flotilla of torpedo boats was dispatched to try to defend the port from invasion. Though outnumbered and outgunned, these little boats and their young, heroic crews managed to torpedo and sink an enemy destroyer. The Sanudare. Manila and Clark still cower under daily bombardment. US and Philippino forces deploy to resist the Japanese invasion. Rumor has it that Manila will be declared an open city and the main force will withdraw to Bataan.
John Clark.
Associated Press
Manila.

[kaleun]

December 12 1941
The information office at Singapore released today a sobering report. The Battleship Prince of Wales was sunk on the 8th by Japanese aircraft. It could not be kept hidden since the Repulse limped into harbor today and went straight into dry dock for repairs. Even though the Royal Navy has tried to keep the actual extent of the damage secret, the sight of the once mighty ship, towed into harbor, low in the water speaks for itself.

[kaleun]

Khota Baru, Patani and Singora have been seized by Japanese amphibious assault.

[kaleun]

December 13 1941
Japanese landings at Vigan, Aparri, Legaspi, Marban and also in the island of Samar are isolating and surrounding Manila. However, only at Aparri have the enemy pushed inland; elsewhere they seem content to wait and finish unloading their ships. Four US destroyers, Ford, Peary, Pope and Pillsbury tried to tangle with the Japanese invasion forces at Vigan; they were intercepted by a superior enemy force, led by light cruiser Naka. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned the American destroyers gave as much as they got. They have returned to Manila to refit and rearm.