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RE: Small Ship, Big War

 
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/2/2009 3:07:19 PM   
MajorDad

 

Posts: 5
Joined: 5/6/2009
Status: offline 		Thanks,

Been lurking for awhile cheering on our favourite underdog.


(in reply to Feinder)
Post #: 4561
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/2/2009 8:02:06 PM   
Ambassador

 

Posts: 1674
Joined: 1/11/2008
From: Brussels, Belgium
Status: offline 		Wow, Hibiki is in danger.  Are we sure Benzaiten is onboard ?

(in reply to MajorDad)
Post #: 4562
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/3/2009 12:39:21 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 13, 1945

Location: 60 miles east of Pusan
Course: Northeast
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 368

Orders: Proceed to Ominato

---

It is an hour before dawn. The Japanese ships are still in the middle of the Korea Strait. They are in the Western Channel, staying as close to the Korean coast as possible.

“Let us hope the enemy is slow to wake up in the morning!” Ensign Izu comments to Lieutenant Miharu. “You spent time in America, sir. Are Americans as lazy in the morning as they say?”

Lieutenant Miharu smiles faintly. “I knew a few in my time there who were not capable of doing much before their second cup of coffee,” he says. “But I think I can assure you that the members of their armed forces are not in the habit of sleeping late.”

“That is too bad,” Izu says with a sigh. “I expect they might be watching for something like our dash to the east.”

“It is a concern,” admits the lieutenant. “But it's not my biggest worry, not with all this cloud cover.”

“What worries you more, sir?”

“If I were the enemy,” Miharu explains, “I would have used submarines and maybe bombers to mine both channels.”

“That…had not occurred to me, sir,” says Izu, glancing out at the sea as if expecting to see the water suddenly bristle with mines. “I wish I had not asked,” he mutters to himself. He picks up a helmet and straps it on, looking glum.

---

If there are mines, none are struck. Nor do any enemy planes appear overhead. No submarine contacts are reported. By late afternoon the Japanese ships are well into the Sea of Japan, having apparently made good their escape.



< Message edited by Cuttlefish -- 6/3/2009 12:40:08 AM >

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4563
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/3/2009 6:36:50 AM   
bradfordkay

 

Posts: 8683
Joined: 3/24/2002
From: Olympia, WA
Status: offline 		"By late afternoon the Japanese ships are well into the Sea of Japan, having apparently made good their escape."

I don't like the sound of this... appearances far too often prove deceiving...

Good luck, Hibiki!


_____________________________

fair winds,
Brad

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4564
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/3/2009 11:26:04 AM   
Droop21


Posts: 115
Joined: 7/19/2002
Status: offline 		I agree, time to give offerings to Benzaiten

(in reply to bradfordkay)
Post #: 4565
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/3/2009 8:29:26 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

Lieutenant Miharu smiles faintly. “I knew a few in my time there who were not capable of doing much before their second cup of coffee,” he says.


Hmm, yes. Can't argue with him there.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4566
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/3/2009 9:01:35 PM   
Durbik


Posts: 276
Joined: 1/20/2008
From: Krakow, Poland
Status: offline 		My anti shipping raid on recently taken Rabaul found itself busted by IJN. In this pararell universe Hibiki took one 8 inch shell from the Pensacola, but it was her alone who sunk Le Triomphant - first striking it with long lances, then finishing it off with 5 inch guns. Being allied I couldn't resist rooting for the japanese in this one

Night Time Surface Combat, near Rabaul at 62,90

Japanese Ships
BB Kongo
BB Haruna
CA Takao, Shell hits 5
CA Atago
DD Asashio
DD Michishio
DD Arashio
DD Akatsuki, Shell hits 2, on fire, heavy damage
DD Hibiki, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Amagiri, Shell hits 1

Allied Ships
CA Pensacola
CL De Ruyter, Shell hits 1
CL Perth, Shell hits 2
DD Farragut, Shell hits 2, on fire
DD Le Triomphant, Shell hits 31, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk

_____________________________

obey the fist!

(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 4567
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/4/2009 1:38:49 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 14, 1945

Location: 100 miles west-northwest of Niigata
Course: Northeast
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 325

Orders: Proceed to Ominato

---

The Japanese task force continues its dash across the Sea of Japan, unimpeded and apparently undetected. The enemy forces continue to be drawn tightly around the Ryukyus, their attention seemingly elsewhere.

Whatever the reason, the tattered surface forces of the Empire of Japan have been granted a new lease on life. Whether they can do anything with it but continue to try and survive remains to be seen.





< Message edited by Cuttlefish -- 6/4/2009 2:05:25 AM >

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4568
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/4/2009 2:06:03 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 15, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed to Ominato

---

“So we made it,” Shoji says. “What happens now?” Riku looks up from the mat on which he is sitting while polishing his shoes.

“Now we sleep,” he says. “In the morning we may learn more.”

“I hope we get some mail,” Shiro says wistfully.

“I hope we get some leave!” says Yoshitake. “My family is in Aomori. I would like to make sure they are all right and let them know I am still alive!” Aomori is the largest city in the area, just across Mutsu Bay to the south from Ominato.

Riku examines his shoes with a critical eye and then sets them aside. “If we just get a few days in port without danger of being attacked from the air I will be happy,” he says. Everyone knows that this is not really true, that Riku is badly worried about his wife on Okinawa, but they all forebear to mention this.

Oizuma enters the narrow bunk space. He weaves among the pipes and hammocks across to where Benzaiten’s crate sits and peers inside. Satisfied, he turns back and begins taking off his shirt.

“Any new word topside, Snake Man?” Shoji asks. Oizuma shakes his head.

“Not even any good rumors,” he says. “Everyone’s glad just to be here, I think. Wait until morning.”

There doesn’t seem to be anything further to say on the subject and the men are tired. One by one they take to their hammocks and quickly fall asleep.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4569
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/4/2009 8:53:04 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

“Not even any good rumors,” he says. “Everyone’s glad just to be here, I think. Wait until morning.”

There doesn’t seem to be anything further to say on the subject and the men are tired. One by one they take to their hammocks and quickly fall asleep.


Why do I get the feeling that this is the eye of the hurricane?

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4570
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/6/2009 12:47:14 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 16, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: See below

---

“It’s an ambitious plan, sir,” Lieutenant Miharu tells Captain Ishii. “But it will be good for the men to be hunters again instead of the hunted.” Captain Ishii has just informed him of Hibiki’s new orders. The task force is to remain at Ominato for a week while a dozen submarines fan out to the south. Once the subs are in place the task force is to follow them. They will then lurk in the enemy’s main sea lane between Eniwetok and the Marianas, hoping to intercept a convoy.

“I agree,” says Ishii. “And we may meet with better luck than the last force to try it.” The two officers are the only ones aboard who know the story of the ill-fated incursion of the escort carriers late the previous year. Five escort carriers had the sheer bad luck to encounter not helpless merchant vessels but a large American carrier force heading back east for some unknown reason. The resulting battle was brief and rather lopsided.

Lieutenant Miharu nods. He knows that the enemy seems very focused right now on Okinawa and they may not be expecting any offensive action elsewhere by the Japanese.

“What about time ashore for the men, sir?” he asks.

“Try to get everyone a full day of leave,” says Ishii. “The men are worried about their families.” While they have been gone several Japanese cities, in particular Nagoya, have been pounded by enemy bombers. The enemy has been targeting industrial areas but in some cases damage has been widespread.

“Yes sir,” says the lieutenant. “I will have a schedule for your approval in a couple of hours.”

“Very good,” says Ishii. “Ask Lieutenant Sakati to see me at his convenience, will you?” His executive officer acknowledges this and departs. When he is gone Ishii sighs and leans back in his chair. He idly rubs his stomach and wonders whether there is any goat’s milk to be had in Ominato.



(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4571
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/6/2009 2:34:40 AM   
Hornblower


Posts: 1361
Joined: 9/10/2003
From: New York'er relocated to Chicago
Status: offline 		“It’s an ambitious plan, sir,”   - me thinks a surface engagement of some type is in order.  as, IIRC the IJN CV's are further south..

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4572
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/9/2009 3:00:04 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 17, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed south and raid enemy shipping

---

The winding path is carved from a sheer rock face but the passage of uncountable bare feet over the centuries has left the stone underfoot almost velvet smooth. As Petty Officer Okubo descends he passes a few people on their way up but no one greets him or tries to talk. It is the sort of place where people keep their thoughts to themselves.

Okubo is wearing a simple robe instead of his uniform. Soon the smooth rock underfoot becomes damp and cool water pools in the hollows. Though Okubo is bare-footed he has little trouble with his footing. He is well used to keeping his feet in slippery conditions.

At the bottom of the path a small waterfall comes over a lip of rock above and plunges into a pool. Rock walls hung with creepers surround the pool save where a narrow stream flows away down a narrow cleft. It is a peaceful place, filled with mist and the hiss of falling water.

At the moment Okubo is the only one present. He stands for a moment watching the water fall. He is here to purge his own troubled thoughts and to perhaps ensure his own good fortune. In Shinto wrong actions burden one with impurities. Okubo has long denied that any of his actions are wrong but a troubled spirit is a sign of such impurities and lately Okubo’s spirit has indeed been troubled.

He has prayed at the shrine above, seeking guidance from his ancestors and from whatever friendly spirits might be inclined to listen. Now he sheds his robe and drapes it atop a nearby stone bench, then wades into the water. The cold water does not trouble him. He wades ahead a few steps and then steps under the falling water.

He emerges a few moments later wetter, colder, and cleaner. He takes a deep breath, trying to weigh his feelings to see if he feels less troubled. Perhaps he does. It is hard for Okubo, a man not used to thinking about such things, to tell. He puts his robe on and starts back up the path.



< Message edited by Cuttlefish -- 6/9/2009 3:01:04 AM >

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4573
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/9/2009 3:02:05 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 18, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed south and raid enemy shipping

---

Taiki sees the tall woman waiting at the gate as soon as he turns onto the street. His already long stride lengthens, not the least slowed by the heavy duffle slung over one shoulder.

He knows this street, these people. He grew up here. But the woman waiting for him is something new. The war has kept them apart for all but a handful of days of their marriage. After today it might keep them apart forever. But at least there will be today, and tonight.

“Hello, husband,” says Sayumi. There is no embrace, no kiss. Such scenes, so common for returning servicemen in the West, are not for the Japanese. Public displays of affection are simply not done. But the look in her eyes tells him much, and he smiles.

“Hello, wife,” he says.

“Your parents are waiting inside,” she says. A shadow passes across Taiki’s thoughts.

“Have they heard anything lately about…about Noboro?” he asks her. She senses the tension in his voice and her smile falters a little. She shakes her head.

“No,” she says, looking at his face. “What is it?”

“I have something that I must tell them,” he says. “Something difficult.” Sayumi nods. She understands these things, having already lost one husband to the war.

“Come, then,” she says simply, and leads him under the gate and into the small, simple home.



(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4574
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/9/2009 10:39:02 PM   
tocaff


Posts: 4781
Joined: 10/12/2006
From: USA now in Brasil
Status: offline 		I wish I could spin a tale 1/2 as good as this.

_____________________________

Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2080768

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4575
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/10/2009 2:36:44 AM   
Hornblower


Posts: 1361
Joined: 9/10/2003
From: New York'er relocated to Chicago
Status: offline 		i can only guess at the grade CF got on his term paper..

(in reply to tocaff)
Post #: 4576
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/11/2009 5:06:20 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 19, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed south and raid enemy shipping

---

Ensign Izu strolls along a lonely path near the shoreline of Mutsu Bay. There are no other people in evidence, just mud flats and tall marsh grasses. The only sounds are the low rumble of surf in the distance and the wind swishing through the reeds. This suits Izu just fine. It is peace and quiet he has come out here to find.

Izu is a gregarious man, quick with a joke and well liked by his shipmates. But after weeks and months crammed aboard a small ship with two hundred other men a little isolation is a precious commodity even for him.

The young officer wants to go see his mother but there is no way he can reach southern Honshu on a twenty-four hour pass. His father, who is still in the Philippines and will probably be there until the enemy invades or the war ends, ends each letter by telling him to take care of his mother. Izu does his best but the war makes it hard.

Ahead of Izu the tall grass rustles and several birds fly out and away, disturbed by his approach. Izu lifts the binoculars he has brought with him and watches them fly. O-sekka, he thinks, marsh warblers. He watches until they are gone and then pulls out a small notebook and writes down the observation.

Later he will go into town to seek some companionship for the evening. For now, however, having nothing but birds for company suits him just fine. He breaths deeply of the air, air which does not smell of sweat and paint and fuel oil. It is good to be alone for a while.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4577
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/11/2009 5:09:22 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 20, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed south and raid enemy shipping

---

“I cannot stay long,” Riku tells Ensign Mark Turnby “I must be back in Ominato by morning.” The two men are sitting together just outside Kawasaki camp number 2-B.

“I appreciate you coming by at all,” Turnby says. The men are speaking English.

“It is not a trouble,” says Riku. He smiles a little. “My backer and I have much money invested in you by now,” he says. “I wished to make sure my investment was safe.”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done for us,” Turnby says. “Me and Jack and everyone here. A lot more of us would have died if it wasn’t for you.”

“I heard about deaths from the commander here,” Riku says. “I truly am very sorry.”

“Hell, it wasn’t your fault,” Turnby says. He laughs shortly. “Our own guys, who’d have thought it?” He looks across the street where a large chemical plant formerly stood. The factory is now nothing but a few brick walls, twisted metal beams, and smokestacks poking up out of a field of rubble. Bomb craters are everywhere, including one only a few yards from where the two men sit. That the main building of the POW camp is still standing seems like a miracle.

“I cannot do anything about bombers,” says Riku. “But money will continue to be paid even if something happens to me. So you should still be treated well.” Turnby nods. He looks around at the ruined buildings nearby and then back at Riku.

“Look, Ariga,” he says. “Maybe you can tell me something. We’ve heard that Germany is all but finished. You say we have the Marianas, we have Iwo Jima, and we’re working on the Rickyous, or whatever those islands are just south of the mainland. It’s obvious that Japan’s nuts are in a vise. How long do you think your people will keep fighting?”

Riku says nothing at first, mostly because he is trying to work out the meaning of the phrase “nuts in a vise” and failing. Finally he asks. Turnby elaborates.

“Ah,” says Riku, brightening, “kintama! In a crusher. Well, certainly this is true.” He sighs. “My friend, I do not know. We Japanese do not think as your people do about many things. There are many who say that the war is over and all there can be done is to make peace. But if Prime Minister Yonai seems to lean in that way there are those in the Army who will force him out, if they do not first kill him.”

“The ones who started this war,” he continues, “I think maybe they will never surrender. Or not unless the Emperor tells them to, very directly. But this would be against tradition.”

“See, that’s one thing I don’t get,” says Turnby. “He’s your Emperor! Your people think he’s some kind of god. How can he have so much power but still have so little?”

Riku tries to explain, to tell the young American officer about the Emperor’s peculiar status in Japanese politics. In the end he is not sure if he succeeds. Turnby still looks a bit confused.

“I think I might be willing to get a little untraditional,” the American says, “if it would save so many lives. I guess you’re right, I don’t think the way you people do. Just try not to be one of the casualties, okay? I want a chance to repay you and your friend some day for everything you’ve done.”

“I will do best I can,” Riku assures him. “But it will not be easy. Your navy and air force – their power is very great now.”

“I can see that,” says Turnby, looking out over the wreckage of the Kawasaki waterfront. “I surely can.”



(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4578
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/11/2009 5:48:22 AM   
wbm4x

 

Posts: 63
Joined: 6/9/2005
From: Charlottesville, VA
Status: offline 		Cuttlefish,

I just finished reading through your incredible novel. Simply brilliant.

I very much enjoyed the crab-on-hat scene between Ensigns Izu and Handa and was especially touched by the letter and package Izu received from Handa's father after his death aboard Musashi. It literally brought a tear to my eye. Bravo.

It appears you go through considerable pains to keep your story and characters consistent, but I appear to have found a continuity error. On page 119 Torpedoman Chuyo comes down the his "nerve disease" and is sent to a hospital ashore, where we find him recovering on page 137. But in between on page 128, we find him taking part in torpedo reloading drills in preparation for the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Aside from this...perfection.

Keep up the good work.

Bill

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4579
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/11/2009 6:41:22 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: wbm4x

Cuttlefish,

I just finished reading through your incredible novel. Simply brilliant.

I very much enjoyed the crab-on-hat scene between Ensigns Izu and Handa and was especially touched by the letter and package Izu received from Handa's father after his death aboard Musashi. It literally brought a tear to my eye. Bravo.

It appears you go through considerable pains to keep your story and characters consistent, but I appear to have found a continuity error. On page 119 Torpedoman Chuyo comes down the his "nerve disease" and is sent to a hospital ashore, where we find him recovering on page 137. But in between on page 128, we find him taking part in torpedo reloading drills in preparation for the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Aside from this...perfection.

Keep up the good work.

Bill



I am glad you enjoyed plowing through this massive thing! I guess I have to be pleased you only found one continuity glitch, given that I've been writing it for so long and almost never plan what I'm going to write about in advance. When it's all over I will have to go back and read it from the beginning myself and maybe correct a few things.

_____________________________


(in reply to wbm4x)
Post #: 4580
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/12/2009 12:33:51 AM   
kaleun

 

Posts: 5145
Joined: 5/29/2002
From: Colorado
Status: offline 		This is sooo good!

_____________________________

Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.
Sun Tzu

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4581
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/13/2009 4:36:52 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 21, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed south and raid enemy shipping

---

Lieutenant Miharu is glad for the small stool someone has placed near the phone in the hallway at the naval headquarters building in Omami. As a military man he is capable of standing for long periods of time without strain but he has been on the phone for three hours now and it is good to be able to sit.

Three fruitless hours. All he hears, all he has heard since first placing the call, are hollow sounds of static punctuated by occasional clicks and pops and faint snatches of ghostly conversation from calls that are not his. He is trying to reach his wife, Kojima, and get news about her and his little daughter, who is now around six months old.

Getting to Kanazawa and back in one day is not possible. It would be difficult even in peacetime but too many rail lines in central Honshu have been severed by enemy bombs. Any express train he might take would route him through either Osaka or Nagoya and that is where the damage is worst.

Suddenly the line clears a bit, at least as much as it ever does, and a woman’s voice is heard. “This is the Kanazawa telephone exchange, how may I be of help to you?”

“Thank you for your help,” says the Lieutenant. “This is Lieutenant Miharu Sakamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy. I would like to place a call to my wife.” He gives the phone number. The lieutenant was careful to stress his status as a military officer because civilian calls are not permitted. Few enough private residences have a telephone in any event, but Miharu comes from a wealthy family.

“Is this regarding official military business?” the woman asks. Her tone is helpful and efficient.

“No, it is a personal call,” Lieutenant Miharu says.

“I am truly very sorry, but we can no longer connect personal calls even for officers,” says the operator. “The phone system may now only be used for official military traffic.”

“I see,” says the lieutenant slowly. “I did not know. I have been away, you see.” Perhaps something of the sadness of his tone penetrates the static because there is a pause on the other end.

“Please wait,” says the operator. The sound on the line becomes hollow once again. Perhaps fifteen minutes pass.

“Thank you for waiting, Lieutenant Miharu,” says the operator, coming back on the line. “I very deeply regret not being able to connect you. But one of the women here knows your wife and saw her at the fish market a few days ago. She says your family is fine. Your daughter is starting to crawl.”

The lieutenant’s throat tightens. “Thank you very much for that news,” he manages to say. “You are very kind.” He bids her farewell and hangs up. It takes a moment before he can compose himself enough to turn and stride out of the building and into the daylight with the proper commanding bearing an officer should at all times possess.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4582
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/13/2009 6:57:39 AM   
MrPlow9

 

Posts: 21
Joined: 7/7/2008
From: Vancouver, Canada
Status: offline 		Amazing! After lots of enjoyable reading, I have finally caught up in your great novel! I very much look forward to future entries!

Thanks!

-A fanatic fan

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4583
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/13/2009 6:26:46 PM   
ckammp

 

Posts: 756
Joined: 5/30/2009
From: Rear Area training facility
Status: offline 		I started playing WitP around the time this AAR was started. Back then I didn't have a lot of spare time, so when I ventured into the AAR threads, I looked for the more "daily results-type" AARs, in order to pick up tips and hints to apply to my games. This AAR seemed more the "story-type"; interesting, but one which lack of time prevented me from reading. A month ago, I found myself rather unexpectantly with a lot of time; time which, I deceided, I would spend seeing what I had missed.

I missed a lot!

This AAR is, IMHO, the best-written AAR I have ever read. That is saying a lot - I am sure I'm not alone in stating that there are many, many excellant AARs in this forum. But the drama, details, and creativity of "Hibiki" are simply unsurpassed!

Thank you, Cuttlefish, for writing this epic; let me add my voice to others in requesting you find a way to print this in book form when you are finished.

(in reply to MrPlow9)
Post #: 4584
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/15/2009 7:17:07 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: MrPlow9

Amazing! After lots of enjoyable reading, I have finally caught up in your great novel! I very much look forward to future entries!

Thanks!


quote:

ORIGINAL: ckammp

I started playing WitP around the time this AAR was started. Back then I didn't have a lot of spare time, so when I ventured into the AAR threads, I looked for the more "daily results-type" AARs, in order to pick up tips and hints to apply to my games. This AAR seemed more the "story-type"; interesting, but one which lack of time prevented me from reading. A month ago, I found myself rather unexpectantly with a lot of time; time which, I deceided, I would spend seeing what I had missed.

I missed a lot!

This AAR is, IMHO, the best-written AAR I have ever read. That is saying a lot - I am sure I'm not alone in stating that there are many, many excellant AARs in this forum. But the drama, details, and creativity of "Hibiki" are simply unsurpassed!

Thank you, Cuttlefish, for writing this epic; let me add my voice to others in requesting you find a way to print this in book form when you are finished.


Lots of new readers these days, it seems. I'm glad you both have enjoyed it so far.

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(in reply to MrPlow9)
Post #: 4585
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/15/2009 7:20:32 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 22, 1945

Location: Ominato
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed south and raid enemy shipping

---

Shiro Kuramata sits in a movie theater in Aomori. It has been a long time since he has watched a movie. The feature tonight is the recent feature Kancho: Umi no bara*. Shiro hopes it will be good. It is not as though he has many choices, though; there is one movie theater in Aomori still running and this is what is playing.

The lights go down and the movie begins. The plot unfolds swiftly: the United States, having lost their main spy base on Corrigedor, are reduced to running spies into Japan using the submarine Sea Rose. Shiro notes with wry interest that in the movie America is portrayed as facing ultimate defeat and is grasping at straws to find a way to strike back at Japan.

The spies are hunted with heroic efficiency by the leading man, who plays a Kempeitai officer. Most of the enemy agents are rounded up. One ring remains at large, however. From information gathered via careless Japanese citizens these spies are able to relay information that results in a large Japanese convoy being destroyed. Many lives are lost.

The Kempeitai officer pursues one of the spies, a woman. During the chase the woman is struck by a car. As she lies dying she is comforted by the Kempei. Moved by his kindness towards an enemy she tells him that she has seen the error of her ways and now understands the true meaning of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. With her last breaths she gives him the secret codes that enable him to track down and break the rest of the spy ring.

But the Kempaitai officer knows his job is not done yet. He works with the Imperial Japanese Navy to lay a trap that sinks Sea Rose, putting an end to the spy threat once and for all. Noble words are said about victory and the movie ends.

Shiro leaves the theater deep in thought. The movie was well made but it did not depict the war with which Shiro is all too familiar. Shiro would like to live in the Japan where Kempeitai officers are heroic and kind and Japan is always victorious. Alas, he does not.

Shiro walks out into the night and back to the ferry that will return him to the war he knows.

---

*The Sea Rose Spy. An actual film made in Japan in late 1944, with a plot as described.

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4586
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/15/2009 8:28:48 AM   
BigBadWolf


Posts: 584
Joined: 8/8/2007
From: Serbia
Status: offline 		"Are you trying to say that Kempetai officers are not heroic and kind? Surely a misunderstanding on my part, comrade." - he replied, while trying to remember the phone number of local Kempetai office. This defeatists and even treacherous talk must not be tolerated.

"Shiro walks out into the night and back to the ferry that will return him to the war he knows."
Excellent as always, CF.



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(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4587
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/15/2009 9:05:16 AM   
Alikchi2

 

Posts: 1785
Joined: 5/14/2004
Status: offline 		I'm consistently impressed by the amount of research you've done into Japanese wartime life. I wonder if there's some place I can download Sea Rose..

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(in reply to BigBadWolf)
Post #: 4588
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/15/2009 1:11:06 PM   
tocaff


Posts: 4781
Joined: 10/12/2006
From: USA now in Brasil
Status: offline 		Me too.  I think that to have a good AAR told in this fashion one must do his homework.  When one is playing as the Japanese the amount of research needed is magnified because of it's everything being so unfamiliar.  Kudos as usual CF.  If I ever want to know something about Japan during the war I know who to contact.

_____________________________

Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2080768

(in reply to Alikchi2)
Post #: 4589
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 6/15/2009 9:37:15 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

now understands the true meaning of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.


The true meaning of the Co-Prosperity Sphere involved Unit 731 and other details that even Shiro is probably not aware of. I once saw a Japanese wartime animated film about a boy and his cute talking animal friends who decide to volunteer to become paratroopers. After showing what they can do unofficially, they are formally accepted into the training school. The last triumphant scene is of the gang practicing landings by jumping off a six-foot ledge--onto a map of the United States. It made the hair on my neck rise up.

_____________________________

Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4590
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