Letters from a Prime Minister

[Major Shane]

This is the best novel on my summer reading list. Thanks for all your work. I can't wait to see how the story changes with your new adversary.

[1275psi]

Thank you for kind comment Shane, I have been struggling a little lately with this, no
time, and feel a bit öff"with the writing

But I am sure it will come good.

The Penguin has been sending heaps of turns, so we are a fair way behind.

[1275psi]

July 12th

Destroyer Hatfield.
Just another Warship of the United States Navy, insignificant in the total scheme of things
in this war.
Except:

There are no other Warships in the frozen north.
None
All (except Warspite)sent here this year are either sunk, or lie damaged in repair yards in
the states.
And regrettably, more have been sunk than damaged.

The frozen North
The frozen tomb for too, too many men.

Destroyer Hatfield, Destroyer Hatfield holding the line, flying the flag.
Steaming now, in the only way this war has been fought up here.
With aggression
Into the attack.

To the last man, last bullet, we will fight................

It is nearly midnight when she races into Chiricoff Harbour. And finds the Monster.
Ship, after ship, after ship. Merchantmen all.
Hatfield fires, fires, fires again.

To the last bullet.
But for once, not to the last man

[Ian R]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Thank you for kind comment Shane, I have been struggling a little lately with this, no
time, and feel a bit öff"with the writing

But I am sure it will come good.

The Penguin has been sending heaps of turns, so we are a fair way behind.

Sir Winston Churchill once commenced a piece of correspondence with an apology, in words to the effect -

I am sorry for sending you such a long letter, but I had not the time to write a short one.

Just give us the Joycean stream of consciousness, don't worry about the pithiness or style [;)]

[Major Shane]

ORIGINAL: Ian R

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Thank you for kind comment Shane, I have been struggling a little lately with this, no
time, and feel a bit öff"with the writing

But I am sure it will come good.

The Penguin has been sending heaps of turns, so we are a fair way behind.

Sir Winston Churchill once commenced a piece of correspondence with an apology, in words to the effect -

I am sorry for sending you such a long letter, but I had not the time to write a short one.

Just give us the Joycean stream of consciousness, don't worry about the pithiness or style [;)]

+1

[1275psi]

The Hospital, remains.
Untouched, un harmed.
A thousand yards, however, down the hill.............

Margaret slowly stumbles down the hill, over the lawn, once so smooth and manicured.
The trenches......gone. The bunker, the bunker, Doctor, her patients,....her....her
friends, Oh God, no, her friends....
Gone.
replaced by a row of ugly, still smoking craters, a field of shattered trees....
and limbs.



The bombardment has missed the field, missed the defences, missed the support facilities.
But struck truly at a heart.

[Lecivius]

I, for one, am grateful this carries on.

Have you had a hard time adjusting to the Penguin?

[1275psi]

yes

How hard???

Soon to be revealed.............

[1275psi]

July 12th

Outside Geraldton

They come again, as they have everyday now, for the 7th armoured regiment
45 Vals, wings glittering in the sun, peeling over, diving at the scuttling beetles below.
Each aims deliberately, arcing bombs down , down to the red earth below.
Of the tanks, they mostly miss, or rattle.
Few, if any, have been disabled since the Vals began.

Trucks, however, are another matter.
7th armour is headed East now, Geraldon bypassed.
But slowly, steadily, it is being bled to death.

[1275psi]

Jeffery steps ashore in the shadow of the Harbour bridge.

For a moment he breathes the cold air sweeping off the harbour.
Its good to be home.
Over the bridge, at Kirribilli house, his Father waits, waits with all that.........

But a block away, the rocks.
And Margaret.
She must still be here.

Prime ministers, Fathers, cold Mothers can wait.

He strides into Sydney's oldest areas, seeking his girl.

[1275psi]

July 12th

from
CinC Pac
to
Southwest Pac Hq.

Enemy landing at Salamaua confirmed as 48th and 33rd division.
This is, as far as is known, 2 of the 3 divisions facing you in your area.
Opportunity calls.
You are to immediately make offensive plans using what ever forces you can scrape together.
land at any un occupied points that can be identified, although Merauke is to be taken
as soon as possible

Marines are enroute

Operations to come under code name:
Mandrake

[1275psi]

Another allied convoy approaches Esperance.

The Japs go for it.
6 betties, 20 zeros.
The P40's are being hardened by battle.

The convoy will arrive, un harmed.

[1275psi]

July 13th

Prime Ministers office

Kirribilli house.

"He doesn't want to see me?"
The Prime Ministers secretary looks un comfortable, and who wouldn't?
Its not the sort of news one passes to a Father, let alone this one.
"Your Son was adamant sir, .......the term was ., "
Out with it son, I think I can take it"
"To conduct a certain sexual act upon yourself"

Frank contemplates the silence.
Jeffery, his Mothers son, still.
"Äny idea why?"
"Something about a girl"

Ahh yes.......isn't nearly always about a girl?
What a contrast between Jack yesterday, thin, but still every inch a Ford, and, and this?

"A girl then, alright. She's in port Moresby. I have not a hell of an idea who Jeffery
is reporting to, but he is still nominally in uniform I think.
Who ever the hell is his commander, get him to a unit headed there"

[1275psi]

July 14th

Destroyer Nestor races into Perth harbour.
There she runs smack into a massive convoy.
Going in, or coming out???

Nestor smacks 5 big Aks before the dawn.

An hour after it, The Nells come, and smack her.


Japanese Battleships strike Carnovan, again.
The enemy are coming for Carnovan, it as inevitable as the rising sun.

Ok, fine.
We abandon it, and send what men there were there, south.

[1275psi]

14th July
From
General Blamey
to
Prime Minister

Once again, I wish to remind you, and your cabinet of the knife edge we face here.
In actual numbers the Japanese actually match us, or even out number us.
In the air, except for Esperance, he rules.
And our Divisions, especially the 1st, 2nd and 3rd, are down to 50 per cent.

The tactical situation is, however, good, in such the Japanese must now feel that
their entire army is in peril.
The trick is, of course, to keep him thinking that.
It is my intention to "gently" shepherd the enemy towards Perth, with Kalgoorlie
the first objective.
If Japanese divisions escape Australia, then so be it.

This may not be the news you wish to hear, but I again repeat this, should it come down
to a siege at say perth, with the Japanese carrier fleet allowing re supply, I do NOT, repeat
do not have the strength to defeat him in battle.

Let us concentrate on clearing our land of the enemy, of maintaining our Army for future operations,
not on glory paid for in un necessary spilt blood.

[kaleun]

Great yarn!

[AllenK]

ORIGINAL: kaleun

Great yarn!

Very much so.

I was sorry to read you were struggling with the writing a few posts back. It can't be easy dealing with the uncertainty caused when your opponent thinks about and then does drop out, finding another opponent (glad that you did and thanks to the Penguin) and then readjusting to your new opponent's style of play.

Well done. This is one of my must read AAR's and remains so.

[1275psi]

July 15th

Great nations are facing off, here, so far, far from their Capitals
The Empire has flung its tentacles far and wide, and now, at Kodiak, at Esperance, Kalgoorlie,
finds two of its great limbs dangerously stretched, caught, entangled.

The great land of the free, and its friends, has been the net. A net spread over a third of the arc of
the world, a net that has at times been rent, torn, stretched to its very limits.

The threads of the net:....
The men of the regiments, the men in the ships, and the pilots, and the planes of the airforces.

The net, however, has stopped stretching. It may, may even have begun to close..
A little.

The net encloses sharks. Lots of them.
And they need to tear the net again
New threads. Combining into string, into cords, into ropes.

Today nearly 20 betty sorties, escorted by nearly 50 fighter sorties come to Esperance,
wave, after wave, after wave.

There are now nearly 60 Fighters defending now. New cords, new strings.
A stronger net.

The big convoy remains unmolested.
It continues to unload, unload more string.

[1275psi]

Cl Raliegh, on Patrol off Port Moresby

10, no less than 10 jap destroyers.

Bloody sharks.
A bloody feeding frenzy

[1275psi]

45th recon company moves east across the wheat fields (abandoned for now) north of Albany.
The small company is seeking the bush , the trails to the North West of the city, searching,
searching.

For 5th division.

The company halts for the evening, just outside a quiet bush town. The company commander sends
4 men into the quiet streets, his armoured cars hidden in the trees.
They have not seen a Jap for days.

Nor disturbingly, very many civilians.

His men return just before dark.
Grim, almost silent.

They have found some civilians, women only.
And information.
At dawn the little convoy motors only a mile, over a hill, over a dale.......

A ploughed field.
a long, long fresh depression, only months old.

A little digging.

And now we know what has happened to the 5th division.





And Australia will never forget, or forgive.