Adventures in the Phillippines

[Desertfox]

Monsoons: A Mindoro Wars Story
August 10 -16, 1913

A mostly quiet week as monsoons sweep over the Philippines. Maintenance and weather restrict the Japanese submarines to only two sorties for the week, neither of which find anything. A major fleet sortie, during a break in the weather on the 14th, turns back as weather turns sour. Land actions are bogged down in the mud as both sides attempt to dig in and resupply.

[Guinness]

Date should be 1913 :)

[Guinness]

August 14 1913

"I hate this fucking rain!" Staff Sergeant Li Qiang complained, having hauled himself through it from the docks to the Army warehouse for the umpteenth time today. The monsoons were thoroughly soaking Cebu.

"Oy you Sergeant! Where do I put this stuff?" Li Qiang turned toward the wide loading door to see the longshoreman forman and his crew, all pushing carts loaded with a large crate, roughly 1.5-2 meters long, half a meeter wide and half a meter tall. The crates were marked "Secret. Do Not Open" with a reference to an army regulation about secret materials.

"What the fuck is this!" Li Qiang shouted. In his nearly 20 years in the service of the Imperial Army, he'd had many jobs, but the job of divisional supply sergeant especially suited his distinct abilities: a certain talent for organization, and distinct ability for navigating bureaucracy, and a curmudgeonly attitude.

The foreman handed him the manifest. "These are fresh off that latest freighter from Haiphong."

Hmmm... Li Qiang grunted while scanning the manifest. "One-hundred and fifty-eight of these!" he roared. "We have no place to put so many." The foreman just shrugged, and Li Qiang signed for them anyway. He knew he'd end up with the problem either way.

"Corporal!" Li Qiang bellowed. A haggard corporal appeared. "We need to make a space for these 158 crates. How many more tarps do we have? If we put them up on blocks we can stack them in the yard."

"What's in them?" The corporal asked. "They look like rifle crates."

"They are marked secret, so I'm sure I don't know Corporal. And you won't either. These are to stay sealed. Make sure all the men know. For that matter, let's try to put them where we can see them from the office, but they are less obvious from the front door."

[Desertfox]

Date should be 1913 :)

Drat! You discovered my secret plan to "Final Countdown" some Kongo AEGIS destroyers into the war!  ;D

[TacCovert4]

Date should be 1913 :)

Drat! You discovered my secret plan to "Final Countdown" some Kongo AEGIS destroyers into the war!  ;D

I mean I would have at least done a hyuga.  But to each his own.

[Desertfox]

Hyuga can't carry fixed-wing aircraft... yet. A Kongo would be better for ASuW at this time.


***


Mindoro Wars Rebels?
August 17-23, 1913

Another not-quite exciting week in the Philippines. More unsuccessful Japanese submarine sorties due to a combination of weather, maintenance problems, and more aware Chinese patrols. Another major fleet sortie planned early in the week and aborted due to the weather, which also plays havoc on land, preventing any major offensive by either side and greatly complicating landing and resupply efforts by both sides. One submarine manages to ground itself in the entrance to Manila Bay taking it out of action for a week. Two destroyers suffer minor storm damage and a third suffers grounding damage, all are fully combat capable. One small merchant is sunk and another damage during a storm at Calapan. Weather starts easing up towards the end of the week and preparations continue for another fleet sortie early next week.

[The Rock Doctor]

Point of interest:  Are Japanese submariners following established cruiser rules?

[Desertfox]

They have, but it has not really been an issue, as all the targets so far have been either warships or escorted merchants (landing ships) which are all fair game. Neither side has made any attempt to target merchants outside the active war zone.

[Desertfox]

Rogue Ozai
August 24-30, 1913

On the morning of August 14th, the Japanese fleet in Manila Bay sorties in full strength, they sail thru the Verde Island Passage and down the Tablas Strait. A feint towards Sibuyan Island draws most of the Chinese light forces covering the strait away, almost allowing the fleet to pass thru unnoticed. But a Chinese ship manages to spot the fleet a warn the Chinese forces in San Jose. The Chinese fleet sails to intercept and the two fleets sight each other in the waters of Bulalacao Bay. Soon the air will be filled with the sound of big guns and smell of gunpowder.

To be continued...

[Guinness]

August 14, 1913

Radio traffic can be heard in the clear (translated from Chinese here) by a transmitter using the call sign "DUSHE-8" (毒蛇八):

FLASH FLASH JAPANESE FORCE SIGHTED NORTH NORTHWEST OF TABLAS ISLAND COMPOSITION AT LEAST ONE CRUISER AND 4 TORPEDO BOATS HEADING SOUTH SOUTWEST SPEED 10 MY POSITION 12-42N 122-04E

[Desertfox]

Rogue Ozai Cont. - Battle of Bulalacao Bay
August 24, 1913

***

Chinese fleet:
BB Zhenbei
BB Hanzhen
AC Conglinhu
16x DD Xiang

Cebu force:
6x DD Dushe
17x MTB 1906

Japanese Fleet:
BB Mikasa
BB Asahi
AC Azuma 
PC Yoshino
PC Chitose
6 x DD Umikaze
10 x TB Kamikaze

Decoy Force:
2 x SC Yodo
10 x TB Ikazuchi

Scouting force:
2 x PC Chikuma

***

Admiral Ozai's plan has three separate components. A feint towards Sibuyan Island to pull the Chinese light forces out of Tablas Strait, this would allow the main fleet to sail thru and surprise the Chinese at San Jose, once the Chinese fleet there was defeated, the submarines would move in and finish off any survivors.

The plan almost works but one of the Chinese torpedo boats spots the Japanese fleet sailing down Tablas Strait and sounds the alarm. The Japanese decoy force and most of the Cebu force skirmish near Sibuyan Island but battle is inconclusive (minor damage to both sides). As word reaches the Cebu force to sail back towards the Japanese main fleet.

The Japanese enter Bulalacao Bay in two columns. The Umikazes are scouting ahead of the fleet, with the column closest to Mindoro composed of Mikasa (flag), Asahi, and Azuma, the second screening column composed of Yoshino, Chitose, and the Kamikazes. At this point the Chinese fleet is spotted on a converging course.

The Japanese then turn to port while forming a battleline in an attempt to cross the Chinese T, with the two Takasago class cruisers joining the Japanese battleline, Yoshino ahead of Azuma and Chitose behind. The Chinese are able to turn as well and the two battlelines engage each other.

Mikasa vs Zhenbei - Mikasa has one of the best trained crews in the IJN and makes it known early, drawing first blood with a 12in shell into one of Zhenbei's casements. Mikasa, lands two more 12" shells before Zhenbei manages to hit back, a 200mm shell that fails to penetrate Mikasa's belt. As the range shortens, Mikasa's secondaries also begin taking a toll. Unable to land a significant blow Zhenbei drops out of line on fire and badly damaged.

Asahi vs Hanzhen – Asahi's crew is not as not the best and they are further hampered by a lucky 130mm shell hit that damages the fire control. Both ships struggle to land hits and when they do they are not critical hits. However, with Zhenbei dropping out of line, Mikasa now shifts fire on Hanzhen. The Chinese commander now orders everyone to retreat and the torpedo boats to launch a torpedo attack to cover them

Conglinhu vs Yoshino, Azuma, and Chitose - Conglinhu mistakes Yoshino for an armored cruiser and opens fire on her. Unlike the two battleships, Conglinhu fares better landing three 240mm shells and multiple 165mm shells on the smaller protected cruiser. Yoshino, falls out of line on fire and badly damaged. Unfortunately for the Chinese armored cruiser this leaves Azuma and Chitose unbothered, and while neither lands a critical hit on the bigger Chinese cruiser, they pepper the upperworks with 5in and 6in shells, and Azuma lands a few 8in shells including one that jams the rear turret. Conglinhu is still in decent shape but most of her armament is no longer operational and she follows Hanzhen in retreat. 

About the same time the Chinese begin pulling away, Admiral Ozai receives word from the two Chikuma class scouts that both the Chinese battlecruisers (west side) and the Cebu force (east side) are approaching. With ammo running low and the possibility of a night attack by torpedo boats in the Tablas Strait, Admiral Ozai orders a retreat.

The Chitose and the Umikazes cover the retreat and engage the Chinese torpedo boats as the Japanese fleet disengages and heads home via the Tablas Strait. With the Japanese heavy ships sailing away, the Chinese torpedo boats contend themselves with an attack on Chitose. The protected cruiser is hit but manages to limp away.

As night falls the Japanese fleet runs into the Cebu force in the Tablas Strait, fighting a series of skirmishes with the Chinese TBs and MTBs. The MTBs manage to put a torpedo into Asahi, and finish of the damaged Yoshino. Progressive flooding eventually overtakes the Chitose, the captain managing to have the ship sink near the shore, with most of the crew joining the Japanese forces on the island.

***

Japanese losses:
BB Mikasa, 10% Damage
BB Asahi, 35% Damage
AC Azuma, 5% Damage 
PC Yoshino, Sunk
PC Chitose, Grounded/Sunk, Total Loss
DDs/TBs - TBD

[Guinness]

Chinese Losses from Bulalacao Bay:

BB Zhenbei: 40% damage
BB Hanzhen: 25% damage
AC Conglinhu: 20% damage

Zhenbei took on a considerable amount of water in fire fighting efforts and a significant hole near the waterline. Her upper works are wrecked. She manages to limp to Haiphong where fortunately there is a big enough dry dock available. Hanzhen and Conlinhu are able to cruise more or less normally and return north.

[Guinness]

August 25, 1913

Beijing orders the main battle fleet component of the Beiyang fleet to take up a distant support station west of Mindoro, and orders the scouting force to cycle through Guangzhou to refuel before relieving elements of the Beiyang fleet so they can do the same. Orders emphasize anti-submarine measures.

Troops and supplies continue to land at the Mindoro beachhead at San Jose, but soaking rains impair their movement inland. The lines on land are static, and the Chinese intend to continue to supply while planning a breakout for when the monsoon relents.

[Desertfox]

Flashback to August 5th

It had taken Sokka a week to convince the Admiral to change tactics, for a month now they had been going after the blockading fleet with only one successful attack to their credit. But the blockading fleet was free to maneuver and had more modern ships, meanwhile the invasion fleet at San Jose, was composed of older ships and was choke full of fat slow merchants, which couldn't go anywhere. Also Sokka was convinced that while the Chinese knew about the Japanese submarines, they where unaware of their true capabilities, and might feel San Jose was too far away from Manila for a successful attack. With the blockading fleet moving further offshore, Admiral Ozai had finally relented and give the go ahead for a full attack on the San Jose.

Unfortunately for Sokka, his submarines were down to two, unlucky No 6, fresh of its collision, had managed to ground itself in the entrance to Manila Bay, and a second submarine had to turn back with engine troubles. But no matter, two submarines was all he needed.

"Captain, heavy smoke of the port bow, I believe I can see masts as well."

"Bring us to one seven five, prepare to submerge"

"She's a big one cap, probably an armored cruiser or battleship."

The hunt had begun...


***

"Up periscope, its another armored cruiser bearing oh seven oh, lets say ten knots. Ready torpedoes one and two."

The armored cruiser continued on course seemingly unaware of the submarine.

"Fire one! Fire two! Reload!"

Sokka watches as only one waterspout rose from the target, as cheering fill the small submarine. Both torpedoes should have hit, he made a mental note to bring up back at base.

"Captain, tubes one and two are reloaded, should we finish her off?"

Unlike his previous target, this one was stopped and listing with sailors in the water.

"No, she appears to be sinking." He calmly spoke as he did a sweep with the periscope. "Looks like we have another visitor. New target bearing one seven zero..."

The angles was not as good for this new target as it would be nearly bow on shot from the stern tubes, but the longer he lingered the greater the risk of being spotted.

"Fire three, fire four!"

The crew had practice firing the forward tubes but not the stern tubes and it nearly proved catastrophic, as they failed to compensate for the lost torpedo mass, leading the stern of the submarine to broach the water.

"****** *****, get us down! Chief, get as many men to the stern as fast as possible. Helm, course two four oh, get us out of here fast."

It took five hair raising minutes of shells raining around them before they got the submarine under control and out of the danger zone. Lost in the excitement was a second torpedo hit on the newly arrived Chinese warship. Any other captain would have taken the win and sailed home, but Sokka still had two torpedoes left.

"Helm take us to zero three zero, I see some merchants in the direction and at least one of them is smoking, look's like we are not the only ones having some good luck today..."


***


"Admiral! The submarines are back and... No 4 is flying a strange flag. Signal flags going up... they are claiming two warships and three merchants, and a wolf's head and crossbones.."

Admiral Ozai just shook his head, this submariners were a strange lot for sure. But if what they claimed was true, he now had the numerical advantage on the Chinese forces, it was time to move forward with Operation Sozin's Comet.

[Desertfox]

Mindoro Wars: A New Hope
August 31st - September 6th

A mostly quiet week. After damaging and/or sinking 3 Chinese transports around San Juan in the previous week, the Japanese subs are quite mostly due to being down for maintenance. The monsoon keeps wrecking havoc with any land based offensive plans, and other than an inconsequential destroyer sweep down Tablas Strait, the fleet is quiet as well.

With Mindoro looking to turn into a long-term war of attrition, both sides start sending out backroom feelers. The Parthians, not liking the war near their colonies, offer to host peace talks in Brunei on the 4th. Japan sends out a message in the clear to its forces to cease all offensive operations and adopt a purely defensive stance on the 5th.

In Davao the surprisingly very conveniently located diplomatic ship Tatsuta Maru with Foreign Minister Count Takaaki on board makes preparations to sail to Brunei.