ptownhiker
08-12-2012, 17:08
I had the pleasure of playing in all four scenarios that richard m schwab ran this weekend at Guns of August. :D In all four scenarios, I played on the Japanese side. This is an AAR of the second scenario written in narrative form from a fictional Japanese pilot named Akamatsu Taizo. The AAR also makes brief mention of the first scenario (an attack on Henderson Field) and hints at the third scenario (PBY Catalinas versus H8K Emily's). I have inserted some of the photographs I took during the scenario.
“In the brave fight over the Solomon Islands, where our army is pushing back the invading Americans, these brave men saved thousands of others”. The newsreel showed a dozen or so bright eyed sailors. “These gunners from a troopship convoy shot down dozens of attacking planes who sought to slaughter our men as they sailed to their mission of liberation.” The narrator continued in an excited and authoritative tone talking about a fight from which Taizo himself had recently returned. He looked around him and saw the movie house audience enraptured by the newsreel and its tale of heroics.
The truth of it is that the gunners on those ships shot down more Japanese planes than American ones. His own plane was one of them. Those gunners were responsible for his own wounds and yet the newsreel is making heroes of them.
“Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!”, the gunners cheered once more on the newsreel. Taizo shook his head. Because of their actions, and those of his own squadron, the transports had indeed reached their destination at Guadalcanal on time. For a moment he thought about the fact that the newsreel hadn't made mention of the army that had landed at Guadalcanal. What happened to them? Were they not victorious and equally deserving attention in the newsreel? His resentment of the destroyer and transport gunners came back, though, and pushed the thought of the army troops out of his mind. He thought back to the air battle, a day just a little more than a month ago.
The day had dawned bright and full of promise. The previous day's destruction of the Lunga Point Airfield that the Americans had earlier seized had restored everyone's confidence that the military could regain its forward progress in pushing back the Western powers. Taizo and the rest of his squadron had taken off without trouble and began their escort of the troopship convoy.
After an hour of circling the slow transports, Taizo's wingman spotted approaching American fighters – lumbering but powerful Wildcat fighters escorting even slower Dauntless dive bombers. Taizo and the others rushed to meet them. They had hoped to sweep the dive bombers from the sky before they neared the convoy and made their attacks. They had spotted the Americans too late, however, to be able to do that and that lack of vision was to prove fatal for his squadron.
His squadron of Zero-sens hastily converged into an attack formation and had to meet the dive bombers head on. They must have all scored hits on them and Taizo was sure his wingman had downed a bomber during his first pass. They all circled around quickly to pursue the Americans. Taizo looked around and found their fighters in the midst of the Dauntless bombers and their Wildcat escorts. He looked down and also saw that they were all rapidly approaching the troopship convoy. He offered a prayer that the anti-aircraft gunners would be able to differentiate between their own planes and those of the Americans.
56888
Taizo shook his head at the memory of that prayer.
It did appear at first that his prayer would be answered. A Dauntless fell from the sky, victim to the guns of a destroyer and a transport, but not before a dive bomber had already made its bombing run on the destroyer.
56885
A moment later, though, Taizo's hopes were dashed as the ships' firing increased. All at once, it seemed that his wingman, an American Wildcat, and his own plane were all three struck down. His own plane, on fire, tumbled from the sky.
56886
He couldn't remember how he got out, but somehow he was hanging from his parachute drifting to the water that was only a few hundred below him.
Drifting down to the water, and then struggling to remain afloat in it, he witnessed the closure of the American attack on the convoy. The remaining dive bombers got themselves in the midst of the convoy to drop their bombs. They hit another destroyer escort, but did not manage to damage the troopships. In the midst of the convoy, however, the Americans found themselves overwhelmed by the withering anti-aircraft fire of all of the ships. The last three Dauntless dive bombers were shot down.
56887
The troopship convoy continued along its course to Guadalcanal. Taizo watched them disappear from view, thinking that this was his end. He would later learn that the seawater numbed the pains form the burns he suffered. Just as evening arrived, Taizo witnessed his savior from the water in the form of an H8K large flying boat. Taizo was stunned, but grateful, to see it skim into what had become calm waters. The flying boat picked him up and took him to Rabaul.
He spent a few days in bandages in Rabaul, before he found himself on a transport back to Japan. He spent more time in the hospital, and only today was able to get out. Not having immediate duties, he wandered the streets for a few hours and then into the movie house.
Taizo shook himself from his memories and found the main feature film to be rolling the ending credits. People were getting up and leaving. Had their memories of the newsreel been faded by the feature film? Having missed the film while being entranced by his own memories, the gunners' newsreel of cheering was imprinted in his mind. “Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!”. Taizo walked out of the movie house in silence.
“In the brave fight over the Solomon Islands, where our army is pushing back the invading Americans, these brave men saved thousands of others”. The newsreel showed a dozen or so bright eyed sailors. “These gunners from a troopship convoy shot down dozens of attacking planes who sought to slaughter our men as they sailed to their mission of liberation.” The narrator continued in an excited and authoritative tone talking about a fight from which Taizo himself had recently returned. He looked around him and saw the movie house audience enraptured by the newsreel and its tale of heroics.
The truth of it is that the gunners on those ships shot down more Japanese planes than American ones. His own plane was one of them. Those gunners were responsible for his own wounds and yet the newsreel is making heroes of them.
“Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!”, the gunners cheered once more on the newsreel. Taizo shook his head. Because of their actions, and those of his own squadron, the transports had indeed reached their destination at Guadalcanal on time. For a moment he thought about the fact that the newsreel hadn't made mention of the army that had landed at Guadalcanal. What happened to them? Were they not victorious and equally deserving attention in the newsreel? His resentment of the destroyer and transport gunners came back, though, and pushed the thought of the army troops out of his mind. He thought back to the air battle, a day just a little more than a month ago.
The day had dawned bright and full of promise. The previous day's destruction of the Lunga Point Airfield that the Americans had earlier seized had restored everyone's confidence that the military could regain its forward progress in pushing back the Western powers. Taizo and the rest of his squadron had taken off without trouble and began their escort of the troopship convoy.
After an hour of circling the slow transports, Taizo's wingman spotted approaching American fighters – lumbering but powerful Wildcat fighters escorting even slower Dauntless dive bombers. Taizo and the others rushed to meet them. They had hoped to sweep the dive bombers from the sky before they neared the convoy and made their attacks. They had spotted the Americans too late, however, to be able to do that and that lack of vision was to prove fatal for his squadron.
His squadron of Zero-sens hastily converged into an attack formation and had to meet the dive bombers head on. They must have all scored hits on them and Taizo was sure his wingman had downed a bomber during his first pass. They all circled around quickly to pursue the Americans. Taizo looked around and found their fighters in the midst of the Dauntless bombers and their Wildcat escorts. He looked down and also saw that they were all rapidly approaching the troopship convoy. He offered a prayer that the anti-aircraft gunners would be able to differentiate between their own planes and those of the Americans.
56888
Taizo shook his head at the memory of that prayer.
It did appear at first that his prayer would be answered. A Dauntless fell from the sky, victim to the guns of a destroyer and a transport, but not before a dive bomber had already made its bombing run on the destroyer.
56885
A moment later, though, Taizo's hopes were dashed as the ships' firing increased. All at once, it seemed that his wingman, an American Wildcat, and his own plane were all three struck down. His own plane, on fire, tumbled from the sky.
56886
He couldn't remember how he got out, but somehow he was hanging from his parachute drifting to the water that was only a few hundred below him.
Drifting down to the water, and then struggling to remain afloat in it, he witnessed the closure of the American attack on the convoy. The remaining dive bombers got themselves in the midst of the convoy to drop their bombs. They hit another destroyer escort, but did not manage to damage the troopships. In the midst of the convoy, however, the Americans found themselves overwhelmed by the withering anti-aircraft fire of all of the ships. The last three Dauntless dive bombers were shot down.
56887
The troopship convoy continued along its course to Guadalcanal. Taizo watched them disappear from view, thinking that this was his end. He would later learn that the seawater numbed the pains form the burns he suffered. Just as evening arrived, Taizo witnessed his savior from the water in the form of an H8K large flying boat. Taizo was stunned, but grateful, to see it skim into what had become calm waters. The flying boat picked him up and took him to Rabaul.
He spent a few days in bandages in Rabaul, before he found himself on a transport back to Japan. He spent more time in the hospital, and only today was able to get out. Not having immediate duties, he wandered the streets for a few hours and then into the movie house.
Taizo shook himself from his memories and found the main feature film to be rolling the ending credits. People were getting up and leaving. Had their memories of the newsreel been faded by the feature film? Having missed the film while being entranced by his own memories, the gunners' newsreel of cheering was imprinted in his mind. “Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!”. Taizo walked out of the movie house in silence.