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Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (8/28/2009 8:19:34 PM)
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June 4, 1945
Location: 140 miles north of Kyoto
Course: East
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 5
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 147
Orders: Return to Hakodate
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Everything is quiet as the Japanese ships approach Tsushima Island. Rear Admiral Yamamoto brings his ships in from the northeast, intending to pass through the western channel and then loop around the island and return to the Sea of Japan through the Tsushima Strait. Every gun is manned and ready as they near their target but no ships are seen, no flares burst overhead. Radar shows only the long, dark bulk of the island itself.
It seems almost beyond belief that the waters around the island, which even two days ago were crowded with enemy ships, are really this deserted. It would be almost reassuring if they were to encounter a flotilla of enemy destroyers or something. It would make it feel less like a trap. But the Japanese have come with a job to do and, trap or not, they intend to carry it out. Yamamoto gives the order and in the darkness his ship’s guns train towards the island.
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It is no trap. For one night only Tsushima has been left uncovered as Allied surface and carrier forces rearm and prepare for the next phase of Operation Longbow. Just that afternoon the airstrip on the island had been declared operational and the first planes, a squadron of Marine Corsairs and a group of PBYs, had arrived. By tomorrow morning, according to plan, the search planes would be fanning out over the Sea of Japan and the Corsairs would be providing air cover over the strait.
That is the plan, anyway.
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Fire. Correct. Reload. Fire again. Hibiki’s crew performs this dance with the efficiency of long practice, every man knowing his job and doing it well. Captain Ishii looks towards the island, peering through his binoculars at the chaos they are wreaking.
Numerous fires burn in the darkness and the thick columns of smoke that boil upwards are tinged orange and red underneath. All around comes the rumble of naval gunfire as twenty-one ships fling shells at their designated targets. The task force has rounded the island and is now proceeding up the eastern side, creating havoc as they go. There has been no enemy response; no warships, no torpedo boats, no return gunfire.
Suddenly a spike of flame erupts from the island’s southern end, rising several hundred feet into the air. A moment a titanic rumble fragments the night, momentarily drowning out the lesser roar of gunfire. Through the binoculars Ishii can see huge chunks of debris flung skyward, illuminated by fire. An ammunition dump, almost certainly. Not Hibiki’s work but still quite a sight. Ishii permits himself a grim smile and carefully does not think of what it would be like to be near the chain of explosions that continue to erupt.
Ishii knows that the spectacle of such a bombardment, especially at night, is often not matched by the actual results. Still, he thinks that the enemy is going to feel the effects of this night’s work. The Japanese had excellent information about where to place their shells and many of the fires he can see burn fiercely, fueled by more than just wood.
The Japanese ships clear the island, their guns at last falling silent. Turrets train back to center line as the ships pick up speed, racing into the Sea of Japan with the goal of placing as many miles as possible between themselves and the destruction they have caused. Behind them the island burns.
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In this case results match appearances. The attack on Tsushima Island will prove to be the most effective Japanese naval bombardment of the war. Allied casualties are very heavy. What remains of the newly arrived aircraft are simply bulldozed into a pile. American engineers count no fewer than 153 shell craters on the airstrip alone.
Within two days the destroyed supplies can be replenished, the airfield repaired, and the destroyed planes replaced. But the two days that the Japanese ships have bought will prove to be critical, the beginning of a chain of events with far-reaching consequences.
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None of this is known or even guessed by Hibiki’s crew, of course. Aboard the destroyer tired men sleep while others stand watch, scrutinizing sky and sea for sign of the enemy. Chief Engineer Sakati frets over his engines, strained by the sustained high speed. Hibiki and the rest of Yamamoto’s ships are ordered to make for Hakodate, where they are to take on fuel and ammunition and receive new orders.
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