Whoa! Very nice, Pru! I take it you've read _Samurai_ by Suburo Sakai? Kind of felt like parts of his autobiography.
Vann
Vann
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November 20, 1940
Yamamoto listened grimly to the report. Twenty destroyers, two full squadrons. Maybe a dozen submarines, as the American destroyers laid down a punishing volley of depth charges. Four cruisers. Two battleships damaged. The carriers reported heavy losses to their CAG squadrons. And he hadn't even gotten into firing range.
"Withdraw," he muttered.
"Sir!"
Yamamoto wheeled on the captain. "Withdraw! We must still face the main American fleet outside Tokyo. I want every possible ship for that battle. This is a distraction."
The captain struggled and finally bowed. "Hard to port! Signal the retreat!" The captain bellowed as he moved, covering his anguish in bluster.
Yamamoto had no such refuge. He silently watched his fleet turn to run, and smelled burning flesh and fuel.
Two days to Tokyo.
Yamamoto listened grimly to the report. Twenty destroyers, two full squadrons. Maybe a dozen submarines, as the American destroyers laid down a punishing volley of depth charges. Four cruisers. Two battleships damaged. The carriers reported heavy losses to their CAG squadrons. And he hadn't even gotten into firing range.
"Withdraw," he muttered.
"Sir!"
Yamamoto wheeled on the captain. "Withdraw! We must still face the main American fleet outside Tokyo. I want every possible ship for that battle. This is a distraction."
The captain struggled and finally bowed. "Hard to port! Signal the retreat!" The captain bellowed as he moved, covering his anguish in bluster.
Yamamoto had no such refuge. He silently watched his fleet turn to run, and smelled burning flesh and fuel.
Two days to Tokyo.
Seems nonsensical to have carriers move within cannon range, but I guess that's the way HOI2 handles naval combat: just two fleets crashing into each other.
Regardless of that, the descriptions are well done. I feel sorry for admiral Yamamoto: his forces are completely outclassed, no matter how much of a naval genius he might be. Will he be committing Sepuku, or is he going to go down in a blaze of... well, not really glory... going down in a blaze?
Regardless of that, the descriptions are well done. I feel sorry for admiral Yamamoto: his forces are completely outclassed, no matter how much of a naval genius he might be. Will he be committing Sepuku, or is he going to go down in a blaze of... well, not really glory... going down in a blaze?
A gripping set of updates. Caught the Japanese with their pants down. Outstanding mood, especially in the scene with Taiji!
Vann: I haven't! But I'm glad my off-the-cuff scribbling held an echo of reality. 
Stuy: You have to remember that Yamamoto was pulling the fleet up to reorganize it, and his fighters were all committed to pursuing the American fighters- he didn't want his carriers outside the defense perimeter. And he didn't know the Montana was in this fleet.
More shortly!
Stuy: You have to remember that Yamamoto was pulling the fleet up to reorganize it, and his fighters were all committed to pursuing the American fighters- he didn't want his carriers outside the defense perimeter. And he didn't know the Montana was in this fleet.
More shortly!
Pru,
Try it out. One of the best pilot's autobiographies to come out of WWII. I think you'll enjoy it.
Vann
Try it out. One of the best pilot's autobiographies to come out of WWII. I think you'll enjoy it.
Vann
November 22, 1940
General Stilwell groaned silently at another lurching. He hated ships. But he loved Chet Nimitz. He sighed inwardly- if only he could deal with this man instead of Patton and MacArthur, still carrying on their little vendetta. But Nimitz was in charge of the Navy- and Stilwell was happy enough with that.
"Well, Joe-" the Admiral paused to let the roar from another salvo of shells die down- "we haven't had any trouble yet. King's report from his battle shows that Yamamoto still doesn't suspect."
"He will after today." Stilwell waited to hear the shells' impact, but he realized with a jolt they would land miles inland. He'd never hear them come down, somewhere around Tokyo, smashing buildings and destroying roads- paving the way for what was to come.
Nimitz nodded. "After today, it won't matter." He shifted uneasily. "Joe, I'd really rather get you out of here before this gets started."
Stilwell shook his head firmly. "I have to know the Japanese better than I do. And God knows I've had enough of squatting between Patton and Mac in Hong Kong. I'm staying. From what your bright boys tell me, I'm safer here than anywhere west of the Rockies."
Nimitz chuckled. "Well, we certainly hope so." An aide rushed up with a teletype. Nimitz read it and grunted. "Yamamoto's still on course. Just showed up on radar. Still using the same ciphers."
Stilwell shook his head. "It's a damn shame. He's a brave man. Deserves better than a turkey shoot."
Nimitz shrugged. "Well, our boys deserve a turkey shoot."
Stilwell chuckled.
Nimitz nodded and a flag went up. Klaxons sounded, and the carriers began to send up their fighters. Stilwell watched Nimitz as he reviewed the passing planes, the look of determination and tight concern in his eye.
"Go get 'em, boys," muttered Nimitz. "Herd 'em on in."
General Stilwell groaned silently at another lurching. He hated ships. But he loved Chet Nimitz. He sighed inwardly- if only he could deal with this man instead of Patton and MacArthur, still carrying on their little vendetta. But Nimitz was in charge of the Navy- and Stilwell was happy enough with that.
"Well, Joe-" the Admiral paused to let the roar from another salvo of shells die down- "we haven't had any trouble yet. King's report from his battle shows that Yamamoto still doesn't suspect."
"He will after today." Stilwell waited to hear the shells' impact, but he realized with a jolt they would land miles inland. He'd never hear them come down, somewhere around Tokyo, smashing buildings and destroying roads- paving the way for what was to come.
Nimitz nodded. "After today, it won't matter." He shifted uneasily. "Joe, I'd really rather get you out of here before this gets started."
Stilwell shook his head firmly. "I have to know the Japanese better than I do. And God knows I've had enough of squatting between Patton and Mac in Hong Kong. I'm staying. From what your bright boys tell me, I'm safer here than anywhere west of the Rockies."
Nimitz chuckled. "Well, we certainly hope so." An aide rushed up with a teletype. Nimitz read it and grunted. "Yamamoto's still on course. Just showed up on radar. Still using the same ciphers."
Stilwell shook his head. "It's a damn shame. He's a brave man. Deserves better than a turkey shoot."
Nimitz shrugged. "Well, our boys deserve a turkey shoot."
Stilwell chuckled.
Nimitz nodded and a flag went up. Klaxons sounded, and the carriers began to send up their fighters. Stilwell watched Nimitz as he reviewed the passing planes, the look of determination and tight concern in his eye.
"Go get 'em, boys," muttered Nimitz. "Herd 'em on in."
Outstanding updates! I almost feel bad for the Japanese... they don't even realize just what kinda doggie do-do they're hip deep in. But they will... they will indeed!
great update! a brilliant person just under horrible conditions with unrealistic goals....
From The Pacific War, Time-Life Books, 1986
...The First Battle of Tokyo Bay was now underway.
The Japanese Imperial Fleet was spread out, expecting to have time to form into battle formation before approaching Nimitz's main fleet. Unfortunately for them, deciphered communications alerted Nimitz to Yamamoto's approach.
At just before seven o'clock, American torpedo planes swooped down and knocked out the ailing cruiser Aoba, which had been heavily damaged in the Battle of Kagoshima Bay. The Japanese carriers were nearly up to a full complement of fighters- a number of Zeroes had been dispatched from the Japanese homeland and had rendezvoused with Yamamoto's fleet. However, they were still outnumbered by the American carrier-based fighters.
The American fighters slowly gave ground, as the Japanese laid down an oppressive sheet of anti-aircraft fire. Yamamoto pressed inexorably forward- he was determined to strike at the Americans while he still had his full strength. Despite the overwhelming superiority of American intelligence, Yamamoto was able to guess the formation of the American fleet and deployed his ships to their southwest in a wedge formation. The Imperial Fleet outnumbered Nimitz's surface fleet, except in one critical area- virtually all of Yamamoto's submarine escorts had been left behind, sacrificed to the need for a rapid attack. This emphasis on speed had indeed allowed Yamamoto to attack quickly, before American reinforcements could arrive. But it would prove to be a terrible mistake.
The Japanese fighter pilots performed with incredible skill, pushing back the American fighter screen and allowing the Japanese to close to within firing range of an isolated pocket of American escorts. Yamamoto drew up his ships in a firing line which devastated the outlying destroyers. Twenty American ships disappeared beneath the waves, carrying with them thousands of souls. At this time, about 7:45, the main American battle fleet arrived and a general melee resulted. The Japanese were firing at the limit of their range, but the Americans were still disorganized and unable to mount a full response. Yamamoto steamed his ships to the northeast, hoping to move around the Americans and rake them with a broadside again before they had even finished forming a battle line.
At this point, the Americans unleashed their secret weapon. A vast armada of submarines, some thirty squadrons, emerged almost simultaneously on the Japanese line's west and unleashed a huge wave of torpedoes before submerging again. The Japanese, arranged in firing line, were sitting ducks. Virtually every ship in the fleet was damaged, and many smaller ships were destroyed outright. The cruiser Chokai was the largest ship to go down in this attack.
Yamamoto, alarmed by this new threat, spread his ships further apart and detailed his remaining destroyer escorts to hunt the submarines down. The need to reorganize his fleet and to deal with the massive damage his fleet had taken stopped the assault on Nimitz's main fleet cold. Admiral Nimitz took full advantage of this respite and formed into a battle line, steaming to meet the head of the Japanese line. The first American shells fell, and the battlecruiser Haruna's rudder was crippled. On a collision course with the American line, the captain called on his men to stay at their posts. The Haruna continued firing despite a withering attack from all sides. At 8:03 am, the Haruna collided with the American battleship Arizona, whose engines had been disabled by earlier shellfire. While the Arizona sank, nearly all of its crew had had time to evacuate the ship.
Admiral Yamamoto cursed his fate. The American submarines were now dispersing and attacking from all angles. (Their torpedo fuses had been set to prevent detonation outside a certain range, to prevent damage to American ships, but one American destroyer was sunk by friendly torpedoes when it strayed into the kill zone.) At the same time, the Imperial Fleet's Zeroes were finally losing to the American fighters and Nimitz was pressing his attack on his line's northern end. Gritting his teeth, Yamamoto called for defensive manuevers, planning to withdraw the bulk of his fleet while his larger ships staged a rearguard defense.
This manuever failed. As the Japanese fleet began to gather again, the American submarines were able to send in torpedo after torpedo. A troop transport ship, out of control, collided with the battlecruiser Kongo, which began pouring oil into the ocean. An American fighter ignited the slick, and both Japanese ships exploded. As American fire began picking off the Japanese destroyer escorts, the submarines gathered on the eastern flank of the Japanese fleet, adding their torpedo fire to the maelstrom.
Finally, Admiral Yamamoto called a general retreat. Nimitz did not order his ships to pursue- he was concerned to maintain control over Tokyo Bay. However, he did instruct Admiral King's Second Fleet to block any attempt to retreat west that Admiral Yamamoto made.
The day's toll was grim. On the American side, three destroyer squadrons had been sent to the ocean floor, along with the Arizona and the carrier Enterprise, which had been punctured by shellfire in the engagement's early fighting. The Japanese, however, had their fleet gutted. Three battleships, the aircraft carriers Akagi and Soryu, nine cruisers, twelve squadrons of destroyers, and enough transports to move three full divisions- the Japanese had lost and lost heavily.
The First Battle of Tokyo Bay marked the beginning of the end for the Imperial Fleet. After the defeat, Yamamoto deduced correctly that his ciphers had been compromised. He adopted a tactic of dispersing his fleet in hopes of attacking stragglers. This might have been successful had the Americans not also adopted British radar technology. Time and again, a small task force of Japanese ships would find themselves confronted by an entire American fleet.
Between Tokyo Bay and January 25th, 1941, not a single American ship would be sunk by Japanese fire. The Japanese, however, steadily lost ground. Within two months, the largest navy on Earth would be reduced to a skeleton force of thirty-four ships, without destroyer escorts and nearly all in drydock for repairs.
The stage was set for the Pacific War's next phase.
...The First Battle of Tokyo Bay was now underway.
The Japanese Imperial Fleet was spread out, expecting to have time to form into battle formation before approaching Nimitz's main fleet. Unfortunately for them, deciphered communications alerted Nimitz to Yamamoto's approach.
At just before seven o'clock, American torpedo planes swooped down and knocked out the ailing cruiser Aoba, which had been heavily damaged in the Battle of Kagoshima Bay. The Japanese carriers were nearly up to a full complement of fighters- a number of Zeroes had been dispatched from the Japanese homeland and had rendezvoused with Yamamoto's fleet. However, they were still outnumbered by the American carrier-based fighters.
The American fighters slowly gave ground, as the Japanese laid down an oppressive sheet of anti-aircraft fire. Yamamoto pressed inexorably forward- he was determined to strike at the Americans while he still had his full strength. Despite the overwhelming superiority of American intelligence, Yamamoto was able to guess the formation of the American fleet and deployed his ships to their southwest in a wedge formation. The Imperial Fleet outnumbered Nimitz's surface fleet, except in one critical area- virtually all of Yamamoto's submarine escorts had been left behind, sacrificed to the need for a rapid attack. This emphasis on speed had indeed allowed Yamamoto to attack quickly, before American reinforcements could arrive. But it would prove to be a terrible mistake.
The Japanese fighter pilots performed with incredible skill, pushing back the American fighter screen and allowing the Japanese to close to within firing range of an isolated pocket of American escorts. Yamamoto drew up his ships in a firing line which devastated the outlying destroyers. Twenty American ships disappeared beneath the waves, carrying with them thousands of souls. At this time, about 7:45, the main American battle fleet arrived and a general melee resulted. The Japanese were firing at the limit of their range, but the Americans were still disorganized and unable to mount a full response. Yamamoto steamed his ships to the northeast, hoping to move around the Americans and rake them with a broadside again before they had even finished forming a battle line.
At this point, the Americans unleashed their secret weapon. A vast armada of submarines, some thirty squadrons, emerged almost simultaneously on the Japanese line's west and unleashed a huge wave of torpedoes before submerging again. The Japanese, arranged in firing line, were sitting ducks. Virtually every ship in the fleet was damaged, and many smaller ships were destroyed outright. The cruiser Chokai was the largest ship to go down in this attack.
Yamamoto, alarmed by this new threat, spread his ships further apart and detailed his remaining destroyer escorts to hunt the submarines down. The need to reorganize his fleet and to deal with the massive damage his fleet had taken stopped the assault on Nimitz's main fleet cold. Admiral Nimitz took full advantage of this respite and formed into a battle line, steaming to meet the head of the Japanese line. The first American shells fell, and the battlecruiser Haruna's rudder was crippled. On a collision course with the American line, the captain called on his men to stay at their posts. The Haruna continued firing despite a withering attack from all sides. At 8:03 am, the Haruna collided with the American battleship Arizona, whose engines had been disabled by earlier shellfire. While the Arizona sank, nearly all of its crew had had time to evacuate the ship.
Admiral Yamamoto cursed his fate. The American submarines were now dispersing and attacking from all angles. (Their torpedo fuses had been set to prevent detonation outside a certain range, to prevent damage to American ships, but one American destroyer was sunk by friendly torpedoes when it strayed into the kill zone.) At the same time, the Imperial Fleet's Zeroes were finally losing to the American fighters and Nimitz was pressing his attack on his line's northern end. Gritting his teeth, Yamamoto called for defensive manuevers, planning to withdraw the bulk of his fleet while his larger ships staged a rearguard defense.
This manuever failed. As the Japanese fleet began to gather again, the American submarines were able to send in torpedo after torpedo. A troop transport ship, out of control, collided with the battlecruiser Kongo, which began pouring oil into the ocean. An American fighter ignited the slick, and both Japanese ships exploded. As American fire began picking off the Japanese destroyer escorts, the submarines gathered on the eastern flank of the Japanese fleet, adding their torpedo fire to the maelstrom.
Finally, Admiral Yamamoto called a general retreat. Nimitz did not order his ships to pursue- he was concerned to maintain control over Tokyo Bay. However, he did instruct Admiral King's Second Fleet to block any attempt to retreat west that Admiral Yamamoto made.
The day's toll was grim. On the American side, three destroyer squadrons had been sent to the ocean floor, along with the Arizona and the carrier Enterprise, which had been punctured by shellfire in the engagement's early fighting. The Japanese, however, had their fleet gutted. Three battleships, the aircraft carriers Akagi and Soryu, nine cruisers, twelve squadrons of destroyers, and enough transports to move three full divisions- the Japanese had lost and lost heavily.
The First Battle of Tokyo Bay marked the beginning of the end for the Imperial Fleet. After the defeat, Yamamoto deduced correctly that his ciphers had been compromised. He adopted a tactic of dispersing his fleet in hopes of attacking stragglers. This might have been successful had the Americans not also adopted British radar technology. Time and again, a small task force of Japanese ships would find themselves confronted by an entire American fleet.
Between Tokyo Bay and January 25th, 1941, not a single American ship would be sunk by Japanese fire. The Japanese, however, steadily lost ground. Within two months, the largest navy on Earth would be reduced to a skeleton force of thirty-four ships, without destroyer escorts and nearly all in drydock for repairs.
The stage was set for the Pacific War's next phase.
guess subs do make a difference...shame about losing the Arizona and Enterprise but it sealed the fate of the IJN..
Impressive victory. I'm assuming your naval superiority was not affected anywhere by your battle losses? So now it's almost time for the invasion of mainland Japan. How does your expeditionary force compare to the Japanese army in the home islands? Looking forward to this, I think it's the first time I've read a HoI AAR that involves an invasion of Japan.
From Setting Sun – Japan in the Pacific War, Penguin Putnam, 1999
Operation Overlord
Japan fails to prepare
During the two months following the Battle of Tokyo Bay, the Japanese Imperial High Command came to believe, in part from wistful thinking and in part due to American comparative inactivity, that their foes might content themselves with complete naval supremacy leading to a favourable negotiated peace. Certainly, all the American efforts during the period seemed directed at further reducing the remnants of the once mighty Imperial Navy.
But there were some strategists who thought otherwise; one of them, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku (who had been forbidden Seppuku as a part of the cover up of the magnitude of the Japanese defeat) issued dire warnings about the Americans not being prone to half-victories, that they had only accepted anything short of total victory after receiving very bloody nooses, like their abortive invasion of Canada in 1812. But the Admiral’s star was at it’s nadir, and the Imperial Government seemed mostly occupied with keeping up a façade of all being if not well, then at least not in any way disastrous.
Thus the Japanese preparations were feeble and unfocused. There was no attempt to organise the civilian population into militia, which might have been the only way to quickly raise the number of combat units. Since the situation was painted rosy-red, arming the people for a defence a l’outrance was considered ill-advised, quite apart from the fact that there were no large caches of weaponry from which to equip militias.
Neither was any large-scale transfer of troops from Manchuria or China attempted, partly because it was justly feared that the US Navy would pounce on any transports, however brief their transit, but to no small extent also because there was a real worry about a Soviet or Chinese threat to the Imperial mainland possessions.
During this time, the Americans were amassing their invasion force at Hawaii, which had been placed under martial law. Phone lines were blocked and radio silence imposed to be able to insure complete secrecy. By January 25th, the preparations were complete and a gigantic invasion armada set sail for the Empire of the Rising Sun.
Operation Overlord
Japan fails to prepare
During the two months following the Battle of Tokyo Bay, the Japanese Imperial High Command came to believe, in part from wistful thinking and in part due to American comparative inactivity, that their foes might content themselves with complete naval supremacy leading to a favourable negotiated peace. Certainly, all the American efforts during the period seemed directed at further reducing the remnants of the once mighty Imperial Navy.
But there were some strategists who thought otherwise; one of them, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku (who had been forbidden Seppuku as a part of the cover up of the magnitude of the Japanese defeat) issued dire warnings about the Americans not being prone to half-victories, that they had only accepted anything short of total victory after receiving very bloody nooses, like their abortive invasion of Canada in 1812. But the Admiral’s star was at it’s nadir, and the Imperial Government seemed mostly occupied with keeping up a façade of all being if not well, then at least not in any way disastrous.
Thus the Japanese preparations were feeble and unfocused. There was no attempt to organise the civilian population into militia, which might have been the only way to quickly raise the number of combat units. Since the situation was painted rosy-red, arming the people for a defence a l’outrance was considered ill-advised, quite apart from the fact that there were no large caches of weaponry from which to equip militias.
Neither was any large-scale transfer of troops from Manchuria or China attempted, partly because it was justly feared that the US Navy would pounce on any transports, however brief their transit, but to no small extent also because there was a real worry about a Soviet or Chinese threat to the Imperial mainland possessions.
During this time, the Americans were amassing their invasion force at Hawaii, which had been placed under martial law. Phone lines were blocked and radio silence imposed to be able to insure complete secrecy. By January 25th, the preparations were complete and a gigantic invasion armada set sail for the Empire of the Rising Sun.
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Lovely guest post, Yogi! But shouldn't you be pouring your energy into the Eagle and the Lion? ;-)
Looks like the Empire of the Rising Sun is in for a very bad time.
Vann
Looks like the Empire of the Rising Sun is in for a very bad time.
Vann
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Vann the Red said:
Thanks Vann, and nay, I promised Pruf a long time ago that I would tackle this part of his story, so there will be a few more guest updates here before I can go back to anguishing over not updating my own AARs...
Nice work both to Pru AND to Yogi! Nice work, fellas! Now we can just sit back and wait for the hammer to fall on the Sons of Nippon!
Poor Yamamoto deserved better. I think there's still time for the Japanese to have a nasty surprise awaiting the Americans, though at this point it would be too little, too late.