RE: Letters from a Prime Minister

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1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (5/31/2016 11:09:58 AM)
For Chester, for O Brien, things happen fast. The carriers, Junyo, Hosho, 2 CVE's begin to veer away even as Chesters gun bark. They get but one salvo away, it frustratingly misses. And then the escorts, 2 Heavy cruisers and what seems to be swarms of destroyers, are in the way. Chester hard overs her Helm, OBrien follows, and the rain swallows them again. And although Chester continues the turn, hunts for nearly an hour, the Japs have gone. Dawn is close, its time to run away. So close....so damn close.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/1/2016 12:03:29 PM)
HQ Pearl harbour Midnight, June 17th The Efate invasion has failed, failed, failed. Its going to cost lives, prestige, moral. 5 APs all up lost, CA Chester Damaged, CA Vincenes damaged BB Idaho crawling away. Warspite, apparently safe. Fletcher has panicked. Unloading cancelled, the transports withdrawn. Only the harshest of signals has forced him to return them to the beaches Nimitz understands........to lose the carriers would be the full stop to this disastrous year. But the Jap carriers, the greatest risk, are not coming. Nimitz knows this now....... Japan's ambitions seemingly know no bounds. 2 Divisions, at sea, escorted by the main Jap fleet. And I know where its going, what its target is. And I don't think, right now, I can do a goddam thing about it.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/1/2016 12:09:04 PM)
"A message for you sir" Frank takes it. "7th division ashore.........your son leading armour south" Frank stops in the bedlam of the war room. Warmth suffuses him. A thousand messages this day. And only one that really matters.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/2/2016 9:26:53 AM)
18th June east of Efate, a sharp night battle CA Vincennes is sunk, in exchange for the Haguro possibly sunk, a destroyer definitely sunk. The bloody week begins over Chittagong, 20 P40's escort 20 bombers, and meet 20 zeros. Its a bloody affair. Radio traffic again and again spells invasion of Kodiac is at sea, two divisions strong. North Pacific Command has 60 od bombers, 60 odd fighters, a single Task force to defend. Its all that can be found........

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/2/2016 9:34:16 AM)
18th June Port Moresby. Duty in war. Is the most important one to never give up?. To take on the impossible, and to win through? Today the men of Port Moresby are reinforced. Not from the mainland. But from Milne Bay. We Choose the term Reinforced carefully, for these men deserve it. Defeated at Milne Bay, they have marched the entire coast route, been sustained by a endless air lift, and arrived. Arrived in good shape. Arrived bearing arms, marching in formation, singing. Defeated maybe at Milne Bay, but not in spirit. New uniforms, a shower, a meal, a days rest or two. And ready to join the front line. The Commander of the defences looks at his growing strength, and orders a small unit to begin up the track, to see what they can see.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/2/2016 9:38:54 AM)
18th June Enterprise steams south into the night. Jackson has the watch, Fletcher has not been seen on the bridge for many hours, not since the signal from CICPAC to "goddam keep unloading" The bombers are below decks, tomorrow, at dawn, its the fighters turn. Tomorrow, the carriers will poke the bear of Perth. Its still all in. Well south of Esperance, another invasion fleet turns North, and begins the long run in.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/4/2016 8:00:16 AM)
19th June USS Enterprise She steams south, hard. On her Flank, Yorktown A thousand yards ahead, the giant superstructures of Lady Sara and Lex towering over the glistening ocean. And there, just on the Western Horizon, the Brits. Jackson leans over the bridge wing, glances up and down the flight deck. The No goer is descending down the elevator, the rest is clear. 21 fighters in the air. In fact, every fighter the task force has is in the air. Fletcher has re appeared on the bridge, grim, surly. Jackson joins him. "You'll need your tin hat Lieutenant" "Sir" It feels heavy, uncomfortable. It sends a subtle message, this is real, this day may be deadly. But nothing can happen to him, surely?, or to Enterprise, to this moving steel home of his? "Sir!, San Francisco reports enemy inbound, 40 miles, due east!" "Action stations, all ahead full!" "Frisco reports 80 plus!" Fear tightens Jacksons stomach......80 plus.......Jesus...... "Cap intercepting sir........." On the horizon, men are dying. Coming over the horizon, more men are dying. Now in view, tracked by a hundred guns, by the growing numbers of smoking pyre's, men are dying. Now, coming at them, half a dozen Betties, a swarm of fighters about them, and men still dying. Enterprises guns begin to bang, to rattle, to bark. They add to the dying....... a Betty???.or was that a nell?, roars mere feet over the flight deck........the next is flaming.... No Hits. Not one Enterprise will continue her charge south, south towards Perth, attracting two more raids throughout the day. The CAP kills, kills, and kills some more. The enemy fighters seem very poor indeed .......... At Chittagong, Grahams attacks continue 40 P40's mixing it with 40 odd Oscars. Some of our bombers get through, some don't. The Landings at Carnovan continue un interrupted. The Esperance fleet continues north, undetected. Jack remains un bombed. Tomorrow, we strike the bear itself. Perth. Losses for today 39 Nell 19 bettie 25 zero 2 Oscars 7 Martlett 2 Wildcats 15 P40e 12 B-25

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 3:47:19 AM)
20 June Necessity. Necessity brings change, brings improvement. 6 Months ago Enterprise was a new Carrier, new crew, new planes, a team in name only. Necessity has changed that, Its necessary in war to get fighters down, refuelled, and back into the air fast. ^months ago, difficult. Now, easy. Its necessary to launch the bombers, the fighters, to form up the strikes, to deliver aerial hammer blows, because that improves effectiveness, lessons losses. Once hard, now routine Enterprises crew works as a team now. Enterprise works with Yorktown, as a team Together, they work with Lady Sarah's task force, with the brits, as a team. Together, Fletchers Task group today delivers a another series of hammer blows against the Japanese. 25 fighters, 89 dive bombers, 28 TBDs strike the Perth fields in the morning, shredding the CAP, smashing scores of planes on the ground. Reports of 60 plus damaged Oscars can be taken with a grain of salt, but there can be no doubt, Jap air in Australia has taken a massive hit. The PM strikes confirm it......... This time its shipping, mine layers, AKs, patrol craft...... Fletcher, now almost certain that no Japanese response is coming to this invasion orders Flank speed, tomorrow the invasion of Esperance will begin.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 3:50:49 AM)
"Can we do another day?" Graham reads the reports. A hard day........10th airforce has lost 21 P40e's today, and he 10 hurricanes. For just 6 zeros..... "No.......we need to regroup......this has been too heavy a cost..21, Gods, 21....... do we even make that many in a month?"

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 3:54:40 AM)
Fletcher summons Jackson "� have word we have killed 23 Vals on the ground today. I am going to ride my luck . Detach a cruiser task force, a big one.......I want Perth flattened. I think our foot is on his throat, lets crush it" Victory brings many things Fletcher, cautious Fletcher, filled with confidence now, is filled with fight.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 4:00:18 AM)
from Winston To Prime Minister Ford Immediate: Our two Nations have stood side by side through many trials. Now, on the cusp of another, we stand with a third, our American friends, determined to rid your land of the plague that infects it. I promised all aid to Australia in her time of need, as she has aided us in ours. Tomorrow, We fulfil our vow. The enemy boasts and brags that we send more men to die, but he blusters. There will be losses, this is true, even minor defeats. But, God willing, the beginning of the end, has begun Winston 3 British regiments, a recon regiment, and the 24thDivision, hit the beaches Esperance, tomorrow.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 4:08:27 AM)
21 June Captain Smith of Napier bends to the voice pipe. "Men, I want you to listen very carefully. Sometime today, there will be an invasion of Esperance, if it is successful, it will threaten the Japanese rear at Kalgoorlie. It is essential that the Japanese airforce does not interfere." John stiffens .....oh, here it comes....... "To that end a Naval bombardment of Perth is currently taking place. Repulse has just signalled to me that tomorrow, we too will bombard Perth. " he pauses, to let that sink in. "Now, I know that for some of us, many of us, this will be hard. To bombard our own homes, our own land,, potentially our own Families, this will be hard. But I know we can do it. No matter what the cost, those troops must get ashore unhindered. It is the ONLY thing that ultimately can help our families in Perth." Silence throughout the destroyer. Silence, tempered by growing resolution. "We won't let them down" No, we wont. Tomorrow, we must shoot true. Will shoot true.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 4:16:22 AM)
21st June From HQ North Pacific to CL Helena and escorts Very large convoy, many escorts, including Battleships sighted Chiricoff island. Course and intel indicates landings KODIAC, imminent. Enemy carrier task force operating Alaska bay. Your options are limited.........local commander to take action as deemed appropriate to conserve task force.." The Captain of the Helena screws the signal into a ball, tosses it overboard into the icy seas. Carriers in the gulf........ An invasion coming Does Nor Command think himself stupid?, or something? There can be only one possible action....... "Set course for Kodiac, hands to battle stations, all ahead Flank!"

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 10:05:10 AM)
21 June A climatic day. Frank Ford sits in his office with Tony, several staff. All attention is upon the telex machine, harbinger of hope this day, or despair. Soon he will know. Jack remains un heard from, still trapped with Blamey's army. He can but remain hopeful, no news must be good news. His other son, with the 7th, too, unheard from... And Jeffery, somewhere in the Pacific. Safe, surely. Another problem however to deal with if he gets home. If this landing fails......then, would there be a home??? They are due ashore at midday.2 PM here in Canberra. It is going to be a long, long day. The President too sits with his war Cabinet. Outside King waits to see him. The topic, no doubt, Kodiac. The Japs are going to invade Kodiac?.....why?...what in the hell do they hope to gain? But the politics of the matter, that of course, is another thing. What would Winston say?? Winston , is of course, worried about his ships. Specifically Repulse, and his Carriers. Repulse, because she is a battlewagon, his Carriers, because he needs one back in the Med. And the invasion of course. The quicker its done, the quicker he can return focus back to what matters, Taking Burma back.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 10:15:32 AM)
Of Kodiak. In the dark, in the cold. Fire, flame, speed, waters rushing. A line of ships charging across the bows of a Majestic battle line........huge dark shadows, a gigantic unseen before ship amongst them. The allied line, Helena, 4 DDs, achieving total surprise, gunfire flashing, the flaring of fire, flame, glowing remains in the dark as steel smacks into armour. And then the allies fade into the darkness, almost unscathed. Yamato 7 hits Fuso 10 CL tama 6, and left burning CL Kiso, We claim sunk Cl Kitikama 2 hits. A brief moment of glory. With dawn, regretfully, comes the Jap carrier arm.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/5/2016 10:34:53 AM)
Perth Cruisers Cornwell, San Francisco, Cape town and Newcastle stand a mere 2000 yards off the beaches, and do what cruisers can do. Rain shells upon the enemy in a torrent. A storm. A hammer blow. If Perth is Japans secure rear area, then the allies have......well, they have bent them over....... 93 runway hits Airbase 20 Supply 20 Port 6 5 AP sunk, 1 CM sunk 58 Oscars damaged 18 destroyed 35 Nates dmaged 2 destroyed 18 Mavis damaged As the smoke rises, as the ships retire to make way for Repulses turn tomorrow, news from Esperance "landings underway. Surprise appears complete. No enemy counter fire" There are 4 Japanese divisions 120 miles East of Kalgoorlie the 21st, at 1/3 strength The 18th, the 56th, at full strength, facing Blamey's army...and unable to dislodge it Another, the full strength 16th, facing a motorised brigade. But unknown to the Japanese, another motorised brigade is about to cut the road between Esperance and Kalgoorlie. Not to mention what is at sea, yet to come, or coming up the rail line. A critical day. Japan is about to begin "fun and games" at Kodiak, utilising a massive proportion of its Navy. Let them. The allies remain focused on what really matters. The allies count five, maybe 6 divisions in the deserts of Australia. 2 full corps. Its going to be a pleasure to kill them both.

blueatoll -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/6/2016 2:16:46 AM)
[image]http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/PosterImages/Australian_This_man_is_your_frien.jpg[/image]

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/6/2016 10:03:37 AM)
Man, I love that Poster

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/6/2016 10:36:59 AM)
22/6/42 0300 hours. John Ford awakens. For a moment or two he contemplates his surroundings, this tiny Cabin, the sleeping form of the 2nd Engineer sprawled in his bunk mere feet away. Many things flood in in these quiet moments, the sound of the blowers, the ever present vibrations, the clump of footsteps in the passageway outside, on the deck above. He carefully checks the clock, 3 am. Good. He has had 4 hours. A better than decent rest. One advantage of following the battlecruiser, tell the young Middy, keep her 500 yards on that bearing...no Navigation issues for that watch. But soon there would be. Carefully, quietly he rises, action stations is not due for another 20 minutes, let the second sleep those precious minutes. He dresses, battledress, boots, his Tin hat. There are no last minute contemplations, already Johns mind is ahead of his body, plotting, planning, trying to second guess a million potential disasters and problems. He climbs the ladder up to the bridge, enters the dark, cool air. He smells salt, hears the hiss of the sea, the whipping flap of the flags above him. All is good. And it strikes him then, just for a moment. 6 months of war, and up to now, it had never really seemed.......real. Violence, death, other ships, other task forces. But no doubt, today it will become real. Today, he John Ford, must do his bit. He nods to the crewmen about him, half in routine, half to maintain his own composure, safe in normal actions , normal duties. makes his way to the front of the bridge, takes up glasses, studies the mighty ship ploughing away ahead of them, , mist and spray scattering behind her. Deep breaths, deep breaths. And like that, as a destroyer to port signal lamps to them, its all good again. And for the rest of this long, long day, John will be too busy to be afraid again.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/6/2016 10:43:39 AM)
22/6/42 She arrives alone, unannounced, a grey ghost. Her anchor disappears into the shallows of Moreton bay, her boats soon following. Men use the boats to examine her scars, to see just how badly Warspite has been hurt. The end verdict. Yard time would be good. Totally necessary, not at all. Warspite is still fighting fit. She breaks radio silence. Give me some escorts, she calls, then which way?, North, or south?.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/6/2016 11:04:11 AM)
Captain Smith joins John just before dawn. Napier steams to the rear of the line, the low silhouette of Perth a mere 2000 yards to Port. In the quiet, John can hear the surf, the seagulls. A car moves down the beach road, as if oblivious to them. If there are Japanese watching them, then that's all they are doing. Perth lies quiet, in the shadow off a great many guns. It will be hard, the Captain said. One can but hope that Perths citizens are well aware of what is about to come. The harbour begins to come into view, Napiers target for today, the wharf cranes, crystalizing. Her guns swing, bounce. Captain Smith lowers his glasses from Repulse. "Standby boys....here we go" Nizam, Napier, Norman. Dorcheshire, Australia, Hobart, Perth, Achilles And, of course, Repulse. One hour of noise, of thunder, of exhilaration. One hour of disaster for Japan 40 oscars damaged 42 nates 14 Mavis 416 fires 3 manpower Airfield 9 Aviation support 7 Runway 52 Port 20 hits Port supply 3 And yes, Napier does get her cranes. It takes nearly two hours, before the Japs come at them.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/7/2016 11:07:07 AM)
22 June 1942 Credit, for where credit is due. Heroes serve on the other side too. You want to kill him, destroy him, defeat him utterly. And yet, because men, fighting men, ultimately are joined in the fraternal brotherhood of war, you sometimes have to admire them Its a brilliant attack, coming from the sea, coming in out of the sea mist, so low, and almost silent, they must have glided in. 3 Nells. 3 torpedoes dropped before the japs have been spotted. And Repulse swallows one. It should not matter. She should shrug this off. But with mounting Horror John sees the little black balls rise up the mast 'I am not under control' Esperance draws its first attacks. 29 Zeros, 16 bombers. They come in, seeking the transports, seeking fat helpless targets They meet fat, not nearly so helpless wildcats. Swarms of them The convoy remains untouched, the bombers turned away, savaged. Near Albany a small convoy, 3 AXL, a DD, attract another attack, 36 Vals, fighters. The destroyer takes a hit, the 3 AXL will be lost. A bearable cost. (Unless of course, you, personally, pay that cost) And then, instead of bombing Jack, a dozen Lillies try for the Esperance invasion. Without escort. The carrier pilots are wracking up the kills. And surely Japanese air strength is waning? Yes. But the day is still young.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/7/2016 11:17:47 AM)
The three Japanese divisions facing Blamey are backed by up to 6 Artillery units. Maybe its to keep Blamey pinned down while the 4th Jap division to his North (the 16th) deals with the motorised brigade it faces. Maybe its a prelude to another attack. Maybe, its a bluff. It is short, not that heavy, this bombardment. Short. And ineffectual. Short. Japan too, is way out in the middle of no where. Blamey takes the reports from Esperance. The road north is cut. The town is occupied by 2 broken tank units, 15th Army HQ, an engineer unit. Its going to fall, maybe not today, but its going to fall. As the Japanese guns fall silent, the dust settles. New orders. "March the Maltilda's" .......south, then west, then north. Time to do some surrounding of our own. A dash for Kalgoorlie its self. And why not?.......what has Japan got out here that can stop them?

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/8/2016 11:02:34 AM)
And how, some continue to ask, can the allies cross the Indian ocean, and roam the coasts of Western Australia un challenged by the Japanese, especially their carriers? Because, other than Hiyo and its small sisters, the big buggars are in the gulf of Alaska. Today, a definite sighting, many carriers, a great many , steaming due East, south of Kodiac. Chiricoff island seems to be home for countless ships. North Command strikes first. Risking much, nearly everything that can fly has been transferred to Kodiac, and the strikes go out. 22nd of June. War on all fronts, war climbing now to an inevitable climax. The strikes go out.......and its still only the morning.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/8/2016 11:10:11 AM)
Yes, its the morning still. For Jason, a good mornings work. If you can , in any sense of the word, call the horrors of war good. And this is what Jason now views, a road of horror. 2 complete Japanese base force units, the shattered remains of Carnovans occupation force, overtaken by 7th division, its armour, the British armour regiment. The Japanese have simply been obliterated. They line the roads edges now, float in the surf , lie strewn in the dunes between road and sea. Dead All of them. As horrible the smell, the sights, the carnage is, Jason , as he motors on through the "battle"zone, cannot help think just one thing A bloody good days work.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/8/2016 12:12:07 PM)
Pilot Officer Taylor leads the first attack. As he guides his Dauntless higher into the skies, he hunkers down into the cockpit. Cold is an inadequate word for the skies about him. He's known snow, for sure, but this is ridiculous. How Brett, his gunner, is handling it, he does not want to know. Poor barsted comes from Florida. The skies are clear, deep blue......the ocean dark, grey, violent. The flight to Chiricoff is short...and easy to find. The B17's have left a wonderful column of smoke from the field to arrow too. 4 of the escorting wildcats suddenly peel away, dicing down. A lone zero....... And suddenly Taylor does not feel the cold....there in the shelter of the island, ships, ships, more bloody ships......... Now for the moment. Stick forward....sharply, the stomach rising, left hand wrenching out the dive flaps.... the nose plunging down, a touch of rudder,, the fat transport square in the sights. Flack bursts, somewhere...... The transport grows, grows, impossible to miss..... Bomb gone, the wrenching, crushing pull out, the crump behind. Taylor banks his bomber hard away from the shipping, hugging the coastline of Chiricoff, bending his flight back to the north, the angry waves mere feet below. Exhilaration, excitement, satisfaction....... "We got four of the $#@$%�rs." Brett yells, "four of....Jesus! look to Port, God, look to Port!" Port. There to Port.......4 transports hit, but now he knows, four bombs wasted. Battleships.....at least 5 of them, and amongst them a giant no recognition sheet has ever displayed.... And all steaming North. Straight for Kodiac. Straight for his home.

kaleun -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/8/2016 2:35:54 PM)
quote: 4 transports hit, but now he knows, four bombs wasted. Although I believe command would prefer the transports over useless hits on the battlewagons[;)]

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/9/2016 11:07:16 AM)
Its still the 22nd. A day where the minutes drag into hours for some, the hours go in minutes for others. The sun is well up, high in the sky over Esperance, the men and equipment still trickling ashore. Resistance is almost nil in the town. For many of the men coming ashore, the greatest fear seems to be of sharks, these are, apparently, white pointer waters They will remain un disturbed through out the day, the CAP will see to that. The wildcats, in fact, have a fantastic day. Somehow, the Japanese manage to send no less than every Kate bomber in Australia at the beach head. 36 beautiful un escorted targets. Over Perth, however, a different tale.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/9/2016 11:26:35 AM)
Napier races at full speed, Captain Smith weaving a desperate dance around Repulse. John stands beside him, facing aft, staring straight into the sky. Bedlam is bursting about them, Napiers guns are barking, barking, hammering. So are Normans, Nizams. Repulse too barks in defiance. The sky is filling with Flak, dark bursts drifting across the blue, blue sky. The Japs, with reckless courage, ignore them. Somebodies guns claw the first Val out of the sky, and John grins. It lasts but a moment , this grin, turning to a taunt grimace. There are too many of them, too many. And these barsteds are too good. 40 plus Vals stoop, and too many, too many, score. In short, shattering moments (or an eternity of moments for her crew), repulse is turned into a burning shambles, her light guns silent, her upper decks a slaughterhouse. Moments later, ss some bloody thing, puts 2 fish into her as well. Her Captain turns her slowing hulk towards the coast 20 odd miles away, intending to beach. 20 miles, 200. All the same.

1275psi -> RE: Letters from a Prime Minister (6/9/2016 11:40:14 AM)
22 June A long, long day Much happening, many losses, yes, but much achieved. At Carnovan, we continue to unload,, now the heavy stuff. And the journey south has begun ( and we note at perth, troops moving North) A, beyond a doubt, successful landing. At Esperance, another successful landing, tomorrow, or the day after, its ours and best of all, the back of Japanese air Brocken in Western Australia, and our Carriers remain undamaged. In reply, Japan moves towards Kodiac. With all it has in carrier air. The plan is simple now. The STRATEGIC application of Naval power. Blockade Western Australia Pound the remaining coastal bases, and land everywhere, or threaten to do so..... His carriers pursue a TACTICAL operation, and let him continue to do so. If I lose Kodiac, I lose nothing strategic. Killing 5 divisions, is. Papua New Guinea grows, and grows. Soon, soon, time to flex the strength gathering there.

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