The Pearl of the Orient

Spacehusky and Quanto

Await no more.

aussieboy

Filipino is not the operative language per se in the Commonwealth at this time. Yes, the National Language Institute in 1936 did choose to cobble together a national language based on Tagalog and at this time it is still known as 'Tagalog'; the name change to Filipino does happen until 1959. English remains the language of government and Spanish the language of the elite. As for Spanish named ships it's a nod to history; even if the Spanish were harsh masters we can thank them for Catholicism and a western oriented culture.

Hannibal Barca2

Yes, it's more or less the dialect of Manila. It's a pity my command of any one of the myriad of Austronesian languages in the Philippines is non-existent.

Khan_

Well you'll get your wish in this update; this was a rather bad month for the war effort...

Zúñiga is a Basque surname that's been transliterated into Castellano. The simplest way i've heard it pronounced is Zoo-nay-ga but I could be wrong.

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The Northern Watch: Part III. Late-January and Early-February 1942

Japanese landings in British Borneo forced the hand of the Commonwealth Navy. Lawmakers demanded that some naval protection be afforded to Mindanao and raised their voices above the need to keep the fleet together. Four heavy cruisers 'Manuel L. Quezon', 'Tomas Claudio', 'Juan Araneta', and 'Admiral Dewey', four new destroyer flotillas, and a newly raised division were sent to Mindanao. Much to the surprise of their crews they had ran into a large Japanese surface fleet conducting escort duty for their own naval transports heading presumably for Truk and the Japanese outposts of the central Pacific. The Commonwealth Fleet attempted a hasty exit but deprived of air cover and out gunned, the squadron of heavy cruisers and destroyers was quickly overwhelmed. The sailors of the Philippines were also introduced to the 'Musashi', one of the mammoth battleships of the Japanese Yamato class. The range and the power of her guns crippled the 'Manuel L. Quezon' and cut the 'Admiral Dewey' in half. The 'Tomas Claudio' and 'Juan Araneta' covered the retreating transport and destroyers until they too were overwhelmed by the Japanese battleline. News of the disaster quickly spread throughout the archipelago and ironically won the naval staff right to determine any all future deployments of the fleet. Andrada had warned the politicians of the dangers of splitting the fleet and those warnings had fallen on deaf ears.

In terms of striking power lost, the defeat was of minimal consequence. The Cavite Naval Yard had launched two battleships (Early Battleship) in early February and the Quezon administration had secured the purchase of two more battleships of similar make from the Americans. Each ship would take on name and traditions of those cruisers that went to the bottom of the Sulu Sea. And with the entire Home Fleet now kept together these vessels would have proper air cover from the Home Fleet's carriers. But in terms of propaganda the Japanese had won huge by running into and sinking the cruisers of the Commonwealth Navy; the defeat at Manila Bay had been avenged. It was under this cloud of defeat that Quezon would be giving a speech before the assembled cadets and faculty of the Philippine Military Academy.

"With defeat facing us in every direction it is important to pause and evaluate what and why we are fighting. The Commonwealth does not stand with the Americans, British, Australians, New Zealanders, and the whole host of these nations united against fascism to defend the old Colonial order. We fight to preserve that right of self-determination held by the oppressed in this world. It is a perverse jest that the Japanese claim to be fighting to liberate the masses of Asia; if liberation to them means bowing before their God-King then it is clear that 'liberation' is not in the best interests of this nation. Our democratic traditions and institutions do not and will never mesh with the paternalism espoused by Tokyo."

"And coming here today to this fine institution the fruits of our democracy are evident. Many of you wish to end your term early to serve on the front lines. This is commendable but even more important to the war effort is the training you receive here. That is why I have authorized the Superintendent of this institution to grant commissions a selection number of you gentlemen. These fellows will represent you and your college on the field. And while I realize the burning desire of every cadet to be on the battlefield, some of you are more polished than others. And others of you require more polishing. But take heart in the fact that those of you who remain in this Academy will not remain here forever. All of you, sooner or later, are about to take part in the greatest struggle in our history. And without falling upon more stock phrases it truly is a contest of us verses them. And I for one do not wish to live under the flag of the rising sun."

Hannibal Barca2, Spacehusky, Khan_

I hope you continue to enjoy these updates.

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The Drawn Sword: Late-February to March 1942

By late February the Philippines had been reduced to an island among a sea swarming with Japanese vessels. Having taken all the key points of the Dutch East Indies the Japanese proceeded to snuff out the Batavia regime once and for all. Singapore and Hong Kong had long fallen and only in Burma did the British continue to hold off the joint Thai-Japanese forces. The Americans had succeeded in seizing some Japanese held islands in their Pacific Mandate but this did not distract Japanese forces battling the Aussies in Kiwis in the jungles and highland of New Guinea. The Nationalist Chinese and their cronies were barely holding the Japanese back and only via sheer numbers. It was only a matter of time before the Japanese began to devote their attention to the Commonwealth. Though Luzon and to a lesser extent Mindanao were properly garrisoned, outlying islands such as Palawan and the wide expanse of the Visayan islands were devoid of allied troops. But matters of defense did not burden the minds of Commonwealth military planners. The initiative had to be regained and the only nation capable of launching a possibility crippling offensive was the Philippines. The United States Navy had fought a series of positively indecisive battleship duels in the Central Pacific and the Royal Navy was busy doing the only thing they knew how to do, blockading the European Coast. The Royal Australian and New Zealand navies lacking the weight to even dare taking the Scouting Fleet or Battle Fleet head on; this was not even factoring in the possibility of running into the Imperial Navy's Carrier Raiding Force.

Andrada's Home Fleet therefore remained the only concentrated force in the Pacific capable of doing something about the Japanese surface fleets. He had been promised two more carriers of more modern make by late 1943 and was loathe to risk his strike force of four carriers in any aggressive action but was compelled to act. With the Japanese fleet tied up in operations in the Central Pacific the time seemed ripe for a strike directed at the Home Islands. What was to follow was described to the Administration a 'dry run' to probe the possibilities of landing operations later in the war. In reality Andrada wished to probe the strength of the Japanese fleet operating in Home Waters. Best case scenario predicted the Home Fleet would knock out a few sub pens and launch carrier strikes on several port facilities. Worst case scenario the Home Fleet would attract Japanese attention and they would pull ships from the front to guard Japan from future Philippine incursions. This raiding operation would proceed at high speed from Cavite to Tokyo Bay and launch a strike aimed at dry docks in Yokohama and the 'Kyūjō', the Japanese Imperial Palace. Reports from picket submarines indicated the projected area of maneuver to be devoid of Japanese capital ships and most importantly carriers. Japanese Naval Bombers would remain a problem so at best the Home Fleet would have command over the skies of Tokyo for little more than 15 minutes.

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The journey from Manila Bay to Tokyo Bay was uneventful. To avoid early detection the Home Fleet maintained a position 150 miles from the bay entrance. The Japanese had mistakenly believed that the Philippine carrier based aircraft operated at a maximum ceiling of 80 miles. The attack would take place at dawn as wind conditions and lighting favored an attacking force. Each City-class carrier would contribute 24 aircraft to the sortie; a higher number of planes in the air would create later complications as they Home Fleet recovered aircraft and exited the combat zone at the same time.

As with any major operation preparations for launching aircraft began in the early hours of the morning. At 1 A.M. maintenance crews scrambled into the hanger bay to prepare each plane for takeoff. Each plane was assigned a five man crew that would fuel it, install ammunition and ordinance, and carry out preflight checks. One by one each plane, starting with carrier based bombers, was heaved to the deck elevators. Then each plane was moved about the flattop to its assigned position on the flight deck. At 5 A.M. as the pilots ate breakfast and reviewed mission details in their briefing rooms the technicians began revving the engines of the planes selected for the raid. To take off from a flattop a minimum wind speed over the deck had to be maintained by the ship and the full power of her engines be brought to bear. Only then could the pilot have a reasonable chance of moving his charge into the air. The process was helped by the installation of hydraulic catapults which gave planes adapted to the future extra power during takeoff.

By 6 A.M. pilots would board their planes, take-off, and gather at predetermined assembly points in the sky. Each of the four City-class carriers employed in this operation were 5000 to 6000 meters apart giving each carrier’s complement of planes room to maneuver while at the same time keeping the fleet close enough to maintain visual communication via ‘blinking lights’. Obviously Radio silence had to be maintained for the operation to be a success.

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The Skies Above Tokyo Bay, Dawn

The pilots who flew the Commonwealth planes of this era were markedly different from their cotemporaries in other navies. Unlike the US Navy there was no attempt to keep naval aviation to the sole domain of commissioned officers. At most the Commonwealth mandated each flight to be lead at least by a commissioned officer but at the same time naval planners did not buy into the concept of ‘flying as a surface ship command’. An emphasis was placed more on experience; most flyers in the Commonwealth Navy had some experience in the civilian world or in most cases were green volunteers with an open enough mind to be molded. Before the war the most prestigious postings were for service on board the Commonwealth’s Cruisers. Being a known and potent commodity the ‘Gun Club’ attitude would fossilize the social hierarchy of the Commonwealth Navy in the same manner as it did to the US Navy. Once the war began Naval Aviation proved itself time and time again as the decisive arm in any fight on the waves.

Tomas González was very much a man of his age. The son of a poor farming family, whose only claim of note was supposed decent from Lakandula; he saw an opportunity to escape poverty by applying to join the Philippine Army Air Corps. In 1936 few wished to volunteer for the service and manpower needs allowed virtually anyone to join. After a year and a half of land based flight training he was transferred to Naval Aviation. Then in its infancy, González joined a select cadre of pilots chosen serve on board the ‘Ciudad de Manila’ as a flight leader. González was just shy of 21 years of age but had to fortune to serve in a specialty where age did not equate to seniority. All involved in Naval Aviation had the real sense of being a part of something that road on the cutting edge of technology. When war broke out in December of 1941, González quickly gained a reputation for tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds. It was he who lead the ‘Ciudad de Manila’s Flight No. 2 against the 19 planes of the Hōshō; he would splash two enemies that day with one confirmed unaided kill. In the intervening months he would help Andrada devise doctrine and codify principles of aerial warfare for the Commonwealth. And when Andrada was given the go ahead for the raid against Tokyo it was left to González to plot out the actual air strike on Tokyo. González never took his rise from the farmboy of Bulacan to the rank of Captain in the Commonwealth Navy and overall Air Chief of Staff for the Home Fleet for granted. His provincial roots provided him with cognitive reasoning and a sense of strategic reality far beyond those of his more aristocratic peers. And now those powers were brought to the fore as he commanded the raid against Tokyo in person.

The raid had two overall goals: 1. To draw the Japanese Navy back to Home Waters thus taking pressure of the US Navy. 2. To create a propaganda victory for the Philippines. The targets selected for the mission were reflective of its general goals. The naval facilities at Yokohama were the birthplace for many ships of the Imperial Navy and a symbol of Japanese economic prowess. The Imperial Palace housed the Emperor and was the most visible manifestation of the Japanese State. A strike, no matter how trivial in material damage, was bound to irreparability shake the sense of invincibility held by the Japanese. Since this was a ground assault most planes in the sky were carrier based bombers but fighter craft accompanied the raiders as a precaution against any Japanese craft in the area of operations. The Commonwealth would have around 20 to 40 minutes time to conduct the mission and exit the battlefield before Japanese surface planes could reasonably enter the combat area.

Flying close to the water to avoid detection the strike force split in two, one heading for the naval yards at Yokohama and the other heading for the Imperial Palace. The Yokohama strike group dropped their payload first. The residents of the Tokyo metropolitan area woke up to the sounds of Commonwealth Fighters and Bombers flying overhead. The lack of Japanese aircraft made the job of landing bombs on the slipways and subpens of Yokohama somewhat easier than anticipated. The lack of anti-aircraft guns allowed Commonwealth go in close and greet the dockworkers rushing to put out fire with a friendly wave or strafing fire if the dockworker replied with rifle fire. With mission accomplished the Yokohama raiders traveled back to their carriers with no loss of life. Now the scene shifted to the main raiding party headed for the Imperial Palace.

Captain González would be commanding the main strike force in person. By 6:16 A.M. Commonwealth presence in the skies above Tokyo was well known and González now moved to break radio silence. “The skies are clear and we have the morning sun to light our way. In a minute we will be dead over the Imperial Palace, let’s be prompt and give Hirohito his morning wakeup call in the form of high-yield explosive. We have a five minute window to drop our load, each group has one pass to take at the target, do some strafing, take some pictures of the cityscape, and then we have to be out of the area. Jap fighters can be in the skies at any minute so keep up the scan and watch your six.” Each bomber group would take a run at the Palace as fighter craft watched the sky for threats. The entire affair became anticlimactic as Japanese ground AA guns and planes were no where to be seen. For their entire martial prowess the Japanese had never thought to expert air strikes aimed at the Home Islands. This mistake allowed the Philippines to strike at the stronghold of the Japanese Emperor with minimal risk. By 6:22 A.M. the raid was over and for a total of 22 minutes the Commonwealth of the Philippines maintained air superiority over the Japanese Empire’s capitol and in those 22 minutes made a mockery of Japanese military superiority in the Orient. The Home Fleet then proceeded to evade Japanese patrols and return to Cavite for a much needed spate of rest. But true rest would be fleeting; sooner or later the Japanese would try and take revenge for the stain inflicted on the fabric of Japanese honor by the Commonwealth Navy.

Next update will be up in a day or two. I'm trying to crop and host some screen caps I took; the period was momentous enough for me to present pictures.

aussieboy

Heh, just wait till the Japanese bring on their A-Game.

Hannibal Barca2

Now only if we could research nukes could that be the case. Seeing as the PI has no math or physics specialized teams that might take awhile...

As for the pictures, i'm finding 56K to be wholely in adiquate for the task. So shall I wait to post the update till I can figure out a stable uploading client other than imageshack or post the written stuff now and add in the screen caps at a later date?

Khan_

Duly noted and used.

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The Duel: Part I. Late March-Early April

Manila Hotel, Manila, Afternoon



The Quezon Cabinet was in high spirits as they convened their daily meeting at the Manila Hotel. General MacArthur had a bout of the flu and it was decided to take the meeting to him instead of the Field Marshal having to journey to the Palace. All present were pleased with the progress of the Commonwealth Navy. The Tokyo Raid quickly paid dividends as the myth of 'superior spirit' protecting the Home Islands evaporated overnight. The Japanese withdrew their fleets to prevent any further Commonwealth raids and thus the Commonwealth Navy became instrumental in reliving pressure on the US Fleet; specifically the USS Essex battle group which had previously been hounded by the Japanese Scouting Fleet. Still one glance at the large map which hung at the north end of the conference room was disquieting. The Commonwealth was now surrounded by a sea of Japanese yellow. Given that the Americans had landed aerial support, land defense matters still rested solely with the Commonwealth. An aggressive plan to land garrison troops in the Visayan islands was scheduled; the last half of March and the month of April were given for the task. Garrison divisions were to be plucked off from Luzon, loaded into transports, and escorted to their assigned islands by the Home Fleet.

The final matter deliberated by the Cabinet would be the role of the three new carriers acquired by the Commonwealth Navy. Advances in industrial technology had allowed the Commonwealth to divert more attention to its 'Island' class carriers; the 'Islas de Visayas' had been launched, fitted, and awaited its Carrier Air Group before then joining the Home Fleet. Its sister ship the 'Isla de Leyte' had scrapped on the docks as a result of a deal brokered with the Roosevelt Administration; the Lend-Lease Act would be used to exchange a lease on various military facilities on the island of Mindoro for two Essex-class carriers. The agreement was met with universal approval from Admiral Andrada and the naval establishment and was thus put into effect. With the attachment of 'Isla de Visayas' Carrier Air Group and the two new Essex-class carriers the Commonwealth Navy would double its air power projection. Unfortunately it would take a month for the American carriers to reach the Philippines via a circuitous route that would avoid the major sea lanes and another month of the 'Isla de Visayas' flyboys to be ready for deployment.

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Panay Gulf, Morning, April 3rd 1942

The last weeks had shown little to no activity in the waters around the Philippine Islands. The Imperial Navy had seemed to tire of having groups of two destroyers, a heavy cruiser, and a submarine here and there pounced upon by the entire Home Fleet. There had been no opposition to Commonwealth deployments in the Visayas; it seemed as though the Imperial Navy had lost their sense of dash and the nerve for pitched battle. Andrada and his staff could not complain, the lack of Japanese activity made escort duty less tedious and gave the fleet time to practice maneuvers. Massed air power from on board carriers had proven the decisive arm in every surface encounter of the Commonwealth Navy and there were no signs of that changing anytime soon. The four carriers of the Commonwealth Navy had close to four months of combat experience and possessed crews and air complements as skilled as those of her Japanese adversaries. Future battles would now rest on a simple contest between Japanese and Filipino Naval Aviation.

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Panay Gulf, 1 P.M., April 3rd 1942

The Destroyer CPS 'Luzon' had to distinction of being a member of the former Off-Shore Patrol force; the direct ancestor to the Commonwealth Navy. Her skipper, Commander Gregorio Justo Takayama de Paco, hailed from an accomplished military family. His ancestor Takayama Shigetomo, Daimyo of Takatsuki, served under the Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was for a time Japan's foremost Christian leader. Unfortunately Takayama Ukon, as he is better known, refused to accept the 1614 prohibition of Christianity by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and left Japan with 300 followers. Over 350 years later and counting the Takayama family had not lost its animosity towards those Japanese who wronged them at the end of the Warring Era. In fact Gregorio was a member of the 'Strike Faction' of the Commonwealth Navy that pushed for the answering of all Japanese surface challenges with the weight of the Home Fleet.

The 'Luzon' and her sister destroyers formed a picket 180 or so miles away from the fleet carriers. The Commonwealth was just beginning to incorporate radar into its enemy detection protocol but for now it relied on float planes launched from light cruisers and destroyers stationed on the perimeter of the operation zone for early warning. Commonwealth radio and signal devices proved to be reliable so there was no question of a communications breakdown between the pickets and the main body. Furthermore Commonwealth carriers had installed onto them a separate bridge for the fleet commander. Now Admiral Andrada had enough room for his staff to plan and think clearly without getting in the way of the carrier's operations staff. The Admiral had selected the carrier 'Ciudad de Baguio' to hoist his flag and was making final preparations to move the fleet back to Manila for resupply. He had informed his fleet commanders via wireless of the move and had his light cruisers launch float planes and destroyers do one last search for enemy activity before heading for home.

Back on board the 'Luzon' Takayama was altered by the shouts of crewmen on deck. Something loomed large on the horizon and it was definitely not friendly. The Commander trained his binoculars at the object, he did not bother to consult his identification booklet to confirm the ship's identity; she was the 'Tone' a heavy cruiser assigned to the Imperial Navy's Battle Fleet. This group of carriers, battleships, and cruisers drawn from the Kido Butai taskforce held sway over the waterways of the Orient. Of more worry was the battleship line materializing in front of the 'Luzon'; two battleships of conventional and the superbattleship Yamato, flagship of the Imperial Navy. With the enemy fast approaching Takayama guessed it would only be an hour to an two hours and three hours and a half before the battleships reached the Home Fleet's carriers. He radioed Andrada on the 'Ciudad de Bagiuo' to apprise him of the situation and in under minute received a reply, "Advise on ship types. We commence attack in 20 minutes". The largest surface battle of the war had begun.

Quanto

Indeed. The battle swings back and forth so it was interesting to see how things played out.

Piko

It all comes down to positioning but more on that in the update.

Hannibal Barca2

And I wish I could bring you more screens of the actual clash but even those little pics were terrible to upload on my 56K and I don't have to time to troubleshoot.

Spacehusky

A fair word of warning.