The Maru

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

At one of the attributes of my God Inspired intellect, I function as a tactician, an analyst, a tech wonk. Give me data or tech manuals, and I am Spock or Scottie from Star Trek, because where Einstein saw atomic bombs in numbers, with numbers I see forensic psychology.

I happened upon a website, which I have no recollection of how or why. I look at pictures, look at news stories, I see things, search things, and somehow trapping coyotes becomes looking at Japanese warship attrition.

I loved looking at the data, because in it, it told the strategy of the United States against Japan. While I have read of the strategy from their officers, it was another thing to watch that strategy in battles. According to the data, the United States really did not fight the Japanese in World War II. From December 7th, 1941, nothing happened, until the third phase of Japanese expansion took place.

Phase 1 was Pearl Harbor, Philippines, New Guinea, in driving back the United States.
Phase 2 was the securing of the Japanese island crescent of defense.
Phase 3 was Midway.

Midway was key to drive the United States from it's far point in access to Japan. In the South, IR, Australia, nothing was happening as America, the Dutch and English were checked and being driven back in 1942. Midway was the last operational point America maintained, so the Japanese strategy was to remove it.
It was rather stalemate in the battle, until 15 minutes of warfare in the afternoon, when the American struck the motherload in sinking 4 main line Japanese carriers. From that point on though, America would remain silent, save for the one fighting force which buoyed and neutralized Japanese naval warfare, and that was US Submarine forces.
US Submarines with inferior torpedoes, began a devastating starvation operation, by sinking Japanese cargo shipping. That is what dominated from June 1942 until November of 1942 when the data begins flaring and changing again, as at that arc, cargo ships disappear and what appears are Battleships and Cruisers.

The battle was Guadalcanal or Rabaul. In this venture the American, Admiral Halsey had dispatched less gun that what the Japanese were bringing to bear in the infamous twin sisters. Kirishima and Hiyei

The Japanese landing convoy dominated the American fleet as it should have. Halsey re-positioned and sent in the new fast Battleships of the USS South Dakota and Washington. In the firefight which ensued in the dark, South Dakota developed a massive electronic shorting out of radars and guns. The Japanese sister ships opened up with devastating effect. The Japanese Battleships were old 1914 constructions, but had been refitted to the entire super structure. They were fantastic ships of war, and had protected at Pearl Harbor and Midway, without lost. That would change though in the Solomons as Washington lurked in the shadows and at point blank range opened up on Hiyei, ripping her to shreds.
Kirishima would follow in the next days in being sunk, and with that advent, the submarine warfare opened with scorched ocean on the Japanese, From that point on cargo ships dominated sinking, until it was decided that there were not enough cargo vessels, and the Americans began sinking Japanese destroyers who were convoy escorts in 1943, before a return to the remaining cargo vessels, until the final solution of the isolated carriers, battleships and shore defenses were obliterated by the United States.

In 1945, there were months that US Submarines were sinking a ship and a half a day, starving Japan to a concentration camp end. It was Americans submarines though that were the ocean cancer of Japan. They sunk as many mainline ships as the surface Navy did. In fact, they sunk about as many warships as the both the Army, Marines and Navy combined.

What the Germans began, the Americans perfected with devastating results with inferior systems, which did not become superior until the last year of the war.

I thrive on this stuff as a tactician and is one of my sparse enjoyments, before I have to go back to begging for donations. Another war is coming, when Davy Jones locker will be joined by the indestructible ships of this age.
I must go now to care for the Uncle as he is my elderly child.

JAPANESE NAVAL AND MERCHANT VESSELS SUNK DURING WORLD WAR II
By
COMBINATION OF UNITED STATES AND ALLIED FORCES. AND MISCELLANEOUS AGENTS

Sinking Agent	Naval Vessels			Merchant Vessels			Total Vessels
	No.	Tonnage		No.	Tonnage		No.	Tonnage
United States and Allied Forces:	10	14,864		12	57,923		22	72,787
United States Army Aircraft and Australian Aircraft	4	7,550		6	30,579		10	38,129
United States Navy-Marine Land-Based Aircraft and New Zealand Surface Craft	1	2,212		-	-		1	2,212
United States Navy Carrier-Based Aircraft and British Aircraft	2	1,760		2	3,500		4	5,260
United States Army Aircraft and British Aircraft	1	1,500		-	-		1	1,500
United States and British Surface Craft	1	1,142		-	-		1	1,142
United States Surface Craft and British Aircraft	1	700		-	-		1	700
United States Army Aircraft and Surface Craft and Australian and Netherlands Aircraft	-	-		2	16,362		2	16,362
United States Army Aircraft and Surface Craft and British Aircraft	-	-		1	6,493		1	6,493
United States Army Aircraft and British and Netherlands Aircraft	-	-		1	989		1	989
Marine Casualties	13	50,338		97	268,948		110	319,286
Japanese Mines	-	-		21	67,197		21	67,197
Unidentified Forces:	7	8,598		26	98,519		33	107,117
Aircraft	1	613-		1	1,398		2	2,011
Submarines	-	-		1	940		1	940
Unknown	6	7,985		24	96,181		30	104,166
TOTAL	30	73,800		156	492,589		186	566,387

Nuff Said



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