Letters from a Prime Minister

[blueatoll]

[1275psi]

July 8th
Frank Ford bends to the desk, puts pen to paper.

To general Blamey.........

General Blamey, the one they now are calling "that barsted"
Except, of course, when an Australian calls another man a barsted, it can be a compliment.
He still dislikes the stubborn barsted.
But the man can fight, has fought, has fought the japs to a standstill.
But I need more now.......

........I would like to congratulate you on your successful repel of the Japanese near
Kalgoorlie. With Esperance safely in our hands, the rail line now clear (apparently),
I urge you to advance, advance, and advance.
For the country, for our Nations moral, the re capture of Kalgoorlie is essential........


Blamey passes the letter to his chief of staff
"Sounds like someone is already thinking of the election......and that my
friend, I fear more than a division of Japs"

[1275psi]

July 8th

5 Japanese destroyers slice into Carnovan, hunting.
Destroyer Arunta, the elderly Parrott, engage.

Parrott lasts but minutes before she is torpedoed. Arunta evades.
The Japs vanish into the night.

New command. New focus.

[1275psi]

July 8th

80 miles North of Geraldon.

Jason Ford shakes the dust from himself, rises from the shallow depression he has
spent the last uncomfortable hour in, and surveys the damage about him.
48 Val dive bombers have worked over 7th division.
An hour of screaming dives, chattering guns, crumping bombs.

But when the dust settles, again, the damage is light. Jason issues his orders,
soon the column is marching again.
The radio in his scout car crackles.
"Ford?"
'Listening"
"Head of the column please"

He urges his driver to swing past the truck s ahead, they accelerate past the columns of men,
the guns, the whole bloody army.
They are waved to a stop at the tail of the British Armour, stopped again while it waits for
the slower infantry to catch up.
It is the general. A general looking mightily pleased."
"Found this mob having a little beach side pick nick, not sure who was more surprised"
A thin, pale figure descends from the Stuart tank
Jason's heart leaps for joy
"John!!"
"Hello Jason, I am afraid I have lost my ship, care to give a brother a lift?"

[1275psi]

July 8th

Esperance harbour is packed to the gills with transports.
Transports un loading a veritable avalanche of men, machinery, stores.

Fletcher, under terrible pressure from the very highest quarters, has brought
the carriers in close, Jackson can see the coast from Enterprises bridge, see the flak bursts,
and the smoke from the last raids victims, 3 AKs, a tanker.
30 Betties already flung at the port, a third destroyed.
Yet they still keep coming.

Every fighter they have, that Esperance has, has been flung into the air.
The first raid, 50 plus
the second, 40 odd
the next, 30.

But they still keep coming.

Too many planes now with out ammunition, or fuel, or still over the Port.

Jackson follows the mere 8 betties all the way in.
He see's them on the coast, low.
See's them fan out.
Follows the flack, watches one spin into the sea.
Watches the drops.......watches as if this is some sort of movie, thuis
has nothing to do with me, nothing.......

The betties roar overhead, or wheel away, the guns hammer, Enterprise wheels, wheels hard,
and shudders, leaps, as the single fish tears into her deep down, deep in her vitals.

And still, for Jackson, it feels un real.
Enterprise struck????........impossible.

But the shrieks of steam, of flames erupting out her funnel speak of terrible reality.

She is not alone
Yorktown too...........8 bombers.
2 carriers crippled.


Fletcher says nothing.
What can be said????

[1275psi]

July 9th

From
CICPAC
to
South West Command

All indications are that the main Enemy carrier task force has left NORPAC waters.
Given a week for respite and repairs in home waters, it is not un reasonable to
expect their deployment to Australian theatre of operation by late July

You must make all efforts to get what ever reinforcements en route to Australia into
same before this date, planning for significant enemy naval forces from months end.
Damage to Yorktown , Enterprise a serious blow, but accepted in light of situation
demanded at Esperance.

Wasp will reinforce shortly.

The Japanese new Command appears to be aggressive, capable, and cunning.
1st and 2nd Marine divisions have been alerted, and will soon..............

[1275psi]

9th July

Carnovan receives an air raid.
Not the usual Bettie or Nell raid that have sporadically annoyed the base.
A carrier strike.

The new Japanese high command has acted decisively it seems. The small Junyo centred
task force has been swung from Australia's East coast to the West.
There are two ways to look at the development.
With alarm, or as an opportunity.
Reinforcements for Port Moresby, are ordered to the wharves.

[1275psi]

July 9th
Jason and John crouch side by side in the shallow trench.
The desert, in most minds, is a barren place, a place with out shelter, without cover.
Here though, the road travels through low scrub, miles and miles of scrappy gum trees,
long grasses, and yet more trees.
6th division has simply melted into this cover whilst the Vals, yet again, do their work

They are but 40 mils from Esperance now, and rumours that the Japanese are concentrating there
are firming.
Jason wonders just how heavy that concentration is, thinks, yet again, of the tenuous base
Carnovan is, and hopes Blamey's plan, is more than a hope.
But that is the future.
Now, as the Vals dive, is the present.
The ground trembles as bombs kill trees half a mile away.
John flinches, lowers himself even further into the slit trench.

Jason takes him by the shoulder, gently. His Brother, his brother........

is not himself.
"Was it bad, the vals?"Jason asks gently, as another roars in futility overhead.
A wane, pale face, a vacant smile
"Yes, yes it was.........horrible"

[1275psi]

July 9th

Pearl harbour.

The big Marine smiles.
At last. 6 months of training, finished , at last.

'1st marine corp, under 1st Amphib HQ, reinforced, will make ready to embark for
offensive operations.
Your target , yet to be finalised, lies in the south west pacific area.

At last.

[1275psi]

9th of July

So Many things happening this day.
A Japanese new high command, and already every sign of new purpose, new focus.
New boldness.

The 33rd division , , the 48th division land at Salamanua, threatening all the troops
flown over the ranges.
The division lands in terrible shape, it does not matter.
The message is clear, east, west, north , south.
Japanese high command has looked, and found much wanting.

And is not hesitating to do something about it.

[1275psi]

Blamey watches the men file past him.
They are thin, too many of them. Also, too many wear rags that pass for uniform.
But they walk past him erect, with purpose.
With pride.

The reinforcements are in, in safely to Esperance, tanks, armoured vehicles, and most
precious of all, aviation support, and fighters, lots, and lots, of fighters.

Blamey returns the salutes, returns them proudly.

The Army , the Aussie army moves again.
West.

[alaviner]

Thanks for the great read. Would it be possible for Blamey to give a briefing of the current situation with nice map for a visual aid for the civilians in government.

[1275psi]

10th July
(Hi NCU, I would, but don't even have paint on this box)

Confirmation of Japans new strategy, new plans, coming crashing around the men
at Carnovan just before dawn.
Ignoring, if not avoiding Destroyers Nestors valiant effort to slow them, Battleships
Mutsu and Nagato, so recently seen at Rabual, unload on the town, the field, the defenders.
Half an hour later, Hiei, and Kirishima add to the carnage..

[1275psi]

from
C in C Pac
to
South Pac
South West Pac

Despite the landings at Salamanua, (48th, 33rd divisions), we do not,
repeat, do not believe this is enemy main focus.

33rd division is slated for Carnovan.
CV Hiyo and escorts sighted near Carnovan

Main carrier task force now not tracked.

CVs Sratoga, Lexington and Wasp are ordered move towards West coast Australia, and to
attack targets of opportunity, keeping in mind at all times the potential
arrival of superior carrier forces.

[1275psi]

11 July

The doctors voice contains an edge of panic.
"NO!, for Gods sake, get those three down to the trench, leave those two, if we try to
move them, we will kill them"

Margaret looks at the Doctor in horror...."leave them to the Japs?"
"" Yes, with luck they will target the airfield again, not us, Now come on!, we have to move!"
She hesitates, the two men, swathed in bandages, drugged to the gills, lie still in the hospital
beds.......oblivious to the chaos about them, a small blessing maybe.

About them the staff are moving the patients out of the "hospital" down the front lawn to the
trenches, to the bunkers.
Dusk is here, the sun settling across the calm waters south of Port Moresby.
Waters bearing a Jap battlewagon task force, one, that apparently, nothing can stop now.

The men about her are afraid. She can see it, feel it.
Surely two ships cannot do that much harm?
Surely?

But she cannot just leave them here, alone, can she?

"NURSE!, wake up!, time to go!"
"Ï am sorry doctor, I can't, I am staying"

[1275psi]

"Good luck Jack, hope to see you soon, dishing some crap back"
Jack looks down at the thin dirty, hard faces of his friends from the seat of his truck.
He will never, ever disparage the "poor bloody infantry" again.
Ever
""You can count on it, look for me guys"

The road, then the rail line to the East is clear. 75th RAAF fighter squadron is soon
to be reformed in Sydney.
The Truck, and Jack, desperately needed fighter pilot, is going home.

But as promised, soon to be back.

[1275psi]

Jason and John, almost inseperable these last few days, lie side by side on the
crest of the small hill.
Its more a ridge than a hill, about 500 feet high, thin scrub covered, rocky.
It dominates the approaches to Exmouth, yet, for reasons unknown, has not been defended
by the Japs.

But the town itself.........

"Do you see anything Jason?"
Jason lowers his glasses
"Not a Goddam thing.....hard to believe intel puts 16 different formations in the place"
"Can we take it?"

Jason shakes his head.
"No, not the plan I think, we are going round"

[1275psi]

July 11th

Just after Dusk.

The Japanese Battleships, unseen in the dark, do not hesitate.
Margaret, from the front door of the Hospital, see's the silent flash on the horizon.
For a moment, just a moment, she mistakes it for lightning.
But lightning never flashes regularly like this.
Nor, can there be any doubt that that great boom, is not thunder.

Thunder never sounds as menacing as this.

And suddenly, the sky is filled with screaming, whistling Banshees, and the world about her
explodes.

Nothing, nothing told her in her short years, that it could be like this...........

Mountains rise abruptly down the hills, light flashes, the very earth heaves and groans

Margaret screams.

[1275psi]

It is a bad day off Esperance

The betties wing in, low, hard, brave
For every bomber, two fighters

20 P 40E'intercept, they knock down 5 enemy, but lose as many themselves.
3 Transports sunk
3 loaded transports , loaded with Kiwi's
14th NZ brigade comes ashore.. Well, half of it.

But, and more importantly, a great many other troops do land.
Engineers, bringing the greatest weapon of all, the bulldozer
And Aviation support personal.
A great many of them, Esperance field grows.

[1275psi]

From
Prime Minister Ford
to
Prime Minister Winston

Greetings.
The arrival of your three brigades in Esperance has been a great success, and I am
greatly relieved that they arrived un molested.
We are missing badly the presence of the British Carriers, but understand your Need in the Med.
The question for this mail is, where fore the 2nd British Division?
We seem to have replaced the worry and stress of getting the initial troops bound for
Australia with this new troop delivery.
The location of the main Japanese Carrier task force is unknown.
Nevertheless, we must trust our Admirals, and God, I suppose..........