Podcasts about corsairs

Mattel DC, Tide‑Realm Corsairs, and New Mondo Ghostbusters?Tide-Realm Corsairs https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/406936874/tiderealm-corsairs-fantasy-pirate-action-figuresCRYPTOIDS - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cryptoids/cryptoids-war-for-the-green-planet-action-figures

Ahoy mateys! This week we're joined by Wyoming-based creator Quaid Owen Cundall to talk all about his project — Tide-Realm Corsairs. These 1:12 scale pirate action figures sculpted and prototyped by Four Horsemen Studios need your help on Kickstarter to become a reality. Learn all about them in this episode! Back Tide-Realm Corsairs here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/406936874/tiderealm-corsairs-fantasy-pirate-action-figuresFollow us @aic_podcast on Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTubeStart creating a podcast today with Zencastr! Learn more.Intro and other voices by Joe Azzarihttps://www.instagram.com/voicesbyjoe/Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie DandiesProudly part of the Non-Productive Network

Just twenty years after independence, the United States fought a lesser-known war against the Barbary States of North Africa... some use the term 'Corsairs', others referred to them as 'Pirates'. But why was America there? How was diplomacy conducted during this time? And how did these conflicts help transform a fragile republic into an emerging naval power?Our guest today is Dr. Abby Mullen, professor at the United States Naval Academy. Her work includes hosting the ‘Consolation Prize' podcast, and her book ‘To Fix a National Character: The United States in the First Barbary War, 1800–1805', which won the ‘John R. Lyman Book Award' in 2024.All opinions expressed here are Abby's, and not those of the US Naval Academy, US Department of Defense or the US Government.Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Buffalos at Midway to Corsairs off the deck of Bunker Hill, the Marines of VMF-221 fought, bled, and adapted their way through the Pacific War — and their story reveals far more about combat, leadership, and airpower than the history books let on.Retired Marine Lt. Col. and historian Pete Owen joins the show to break down what really happened when Marine aviation was tested at its limits, why Midway was a far darker day than most people know, and what those lessons mean for the fight America may face next.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations

Carmel sophomores Jameer Miles and Wyatt VanBoening, already four-star Power 4 prospects, are ready to take on bigger roles as the Corsairs build for the 2026 season, one that will be played without star quarterback Trae Taylor.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/friday-night-drive--3534096/support.

https://www.patreon.com/AdeptusRidiculoushttps://www.adeptusridiculous.com/https://twitter.com/AdRidiculoushttps://shop.orchideight.com/collections/adeptus-ridiculousWelcome back to another episode of Adeptus Ridiculous! This week, DK, Kirioth, and Bricky are setting sail for the nightmare that is the Maelstrom. We are diving deep into the 10th Edition campaign book, "The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant," which is packed with 76 pages of pure worldbuilding. In this episode, we cover: - The Maelstrom Zone: A massive galactic Warp incursion second only in size to the Eye of Terror.- Huron Blackheart: The former Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, who is now the supreme pirate king and Master of the Red Corsairs.- Pirate Empires: How Huron operates out of New Badab and Corsair's Keep, a Blackstone Fortress gifted to him by Abaddon the Despoiler.- The Aeldari Threat: Prince Yriel leading the Eldritch Raiders into the storm and the lore behind the Raid on the Crimson Eyrie.- Maelstrom Locals: Everything from Ork Freebootas and Night Lords to terrifying daemon worlds like Fleshmyre, which devours visitors with continents of quivering flesh.Support the show

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Welcome back to Realspace Raiders, the Drukhari podcast! We are an alliance of Archons all hailing from the UK and cover everything from matched play and the competitive meta, painting and hobby discussions, background and lore and much, much more!Yo ho! The new Corsairs are here and the Felarchs review the new The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant books, Corsair datasheets and detachments and an in hand model review! With thanks to Games Workshop for providing samples to us ahead of time for preview purposesCORSAIR REVIEW SPECIALIn hand model review - Paulie takes a look at the new Anhrathe models and their assembly options plus his kitbashing outcomes Lair of the Tyrant - Lore - George takes us through the twists and turns of the new lore, what Prince Yriel has been up to and implications for the future plus a look at the campaign rulesCrucible of Champions - using the awesome new character builder the Felarchs bring back some much missed Dark Eldar options from the past as well as a new Anhrathe heroCorsairs in Commorragh - a look at the new Anhrathe datasheets, their strengths and opportunities and how they will benefit Drukhari armiesYriel's Own & Corsair Coterie - an indepth review of the new Corsair detachments and the exciting playstyles they bringMeta Threats - the implication of the new Red Corsairs as well as the new Votann and FreebootasPlease let us know any feedback!Happy Raiding!Realspace RaidersrealspaceraidersArchonsPaulie - skyserpent40kDom - darktechnodomGeorge - archon_georgeDISCORD: https://discord.gg/VvJQgZVcMERCH STORE: https://redbubble.com/shop/ap/76936647ArtworkJon 'Scrivo' Scrivensjonscrivens on Instagram & Twitterko-fi.com/JonScrivensJonScrivens.comMusicLightcycle by Gabe Milleryoutube.com/gabemillermusicAcid Network by Erimotionarray.comSTARFOUNDERstarfounder.bandcamp.com

Liam Gauci of the Malta Maritime Museum is joined by Phillip Cuccia and Konstantine Peradze to discuss the complex history of the Barbary States, their war with the United States and their broader impact on the Napoleonic Wars.In this episode you'll hear:The 'Pirate' vs 'Privateer' debate: The panel dives into whether the Barbary States' seafaring activities should be considered piracy or state-sanctioned privateering, highlighting the political and legal complexities of the time.The US Navy's First Major Combat Encounter: A detailed look at the fierce 1804 close-combat in Tripoli, including Stephen Decatur's daring actions and the dramatic destruction of the USS Philadelphia.Personal Stories from the Mediterranean: Listeners hear about fascinating characters, like a Maltese who switched allegiances multiple times, and the roles played by Georgians and other Mediterranean peoples in these shifting alliances.How the Barbary Wars Shaped American Naval Policy: The episode explains how attacks by the Barbary corsairs prompted the young United States to invest in building a powerful navy, influencing both US politics and military priorities.Behind-the-Scenes Diplomacy and Local Perspectives: There's rich discussion around diplomatic efforts, ransom negotiations, and the constant need for resources in the Barbary States, tying in broader Mediterranean and Napoleonic geopolitics.Help us produce more episodes by supporting the Napoleonic Quarterly on Patreon: patreon.com/napoleonicquarterly

Welcome back to Realspace Raiders, the Drukhari podcast! We are an alliance of Archons all hailing from the UK and cover everything from matched play and the competitive meta, painting and hobby discussions, background and lore and much, much more!Ahoy! With a new coterie of Aeldari pirates now rivalling Commorragh with a set of gorgeous miniatures announced, the Archons get ready to reave the void and discuss the awesome new Corsairs!ELDRITCH RAIDERS SPECIALNew Year Preview - discussing the Drukhari battalion, Red Corsairs, Custodes, rare xenos and moreCorsairs - taking a look at the new Anhrathe models and the rules we know so far as well as the upcoming The Maelstrom: Lair of the TyrantAnhrathe history and future - taking a look at the origins and various iterations of the Corsairs and predictions and ideas for future releasesAgents of the Aeldari - is it now time for a new home for the various Eldar subfactions? We discuss how and why this would work plus we go dino crazy...Drukhari in the meta - how the army fairs in the current statcheck heavy meta and the best detachment and playstyle to tackle itLooking to 11th - our suggestions and hopes for the next edition of Warhammer 40,000Please let us know any feedback!Happy Raiding!Realspace RaidersrealspaceraidersArchonsPaulie - skyserpent40kDom - darktechnodomGeorge - archon_georgeDISCORD: https://discord.gg/VvJQgZVcMERCH STORE: https://redbubble.com/shop/ap/76936647ArtworkJon 'Scrivo' Scrivensjonscrivens on Instagram & Twitterko-fi.com/JonScrivensJonScrivens.comMusicLightcycle by Gabe Milleryoutube.com/gabemillermusicAcid Network by Erimotionarray.comSTARFOUNDERstarfounder.bandcamp.com

In this fortnight's episode George "The Yank" & Jason "The Bruce" are here to look at Games Workshop's new years previews, they also check out the latest from Corvus Belli, new prepainted terrain from Gale Force Nine, new wild west miniatures and an awesome collection of Sci-Fi Bridge crews for your space games. During Hobby we will dusciss Jason "The Bruce" caving to pressure, George finding a new metalic paint and then during Game Talk we will discuss Retro Miniature Games. Sponsored by Valhalla Hobby: www.valhallahobby.com Use code "tabled" for 5% off your first order over $100. -------------------- Patreon: www.patreon.com/gettingtabled Facebook: www.facebook.com/gettingtabled YouTube: www.youtube.com/gettingtabled Website: www.gettingtabled.com Email: GettingTabled@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/ZSgwtFvX6k​ Twitter: @gettingtabled Instagram: @gettingtabled Threads: @gettingtabled Blusky: @gettingtabled Toyreel: www.youtube.com/toyreel Entropy City: www.entropycitygame.com Music created by Eric Matyas of Soundimage.org

We continue our look at the Men of Darkness in the Third Age as The Man of the West concludes his time studying the Corsairs of Umbar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Father Knows Best" - RADIANTS; "Swinging Teens", "Hold On To What You´ve Got" y "The (Bossa Nova) Bird" - DELLS; "Duchess of Earl" - PEARLETTES; "Anytime" - VIBRATIONS; "Sittin´ On Your Doorstep", "At The Stroke Of Midnight" y "Listen to My Little Heart" - CORSAIRS; "I Don´t Want To Suffer" y "This World of Mine" - WALTER JACKSON; "You Left Me" - Gene Chandler; "Devil In Your Soul", "At The Party", "Half A Love" y "Welcome Stranger" - WADE FLEMONS; "If He Don´t" y "Hamburger On A Bun" - VIBRATIONS; "One Day I´ll Show You" - RADIANTS; "Eternally" - DELLS; "Walk On With The Duke" - DUKE OF EARLTodas las músicas extraídas del CD 2 de la compilación (2xCD) "Soul City Chicago: Chicago Labels and The Dawn of Soul Music" (Fantastic Voyage/Future Noise Music, 2013)La primera parte (CD 1) de este díptico se emitió el 06/11/2025Escuchar audio

No, I promise today's title isn't a reference to The Man of the West. Instead, it's time to take a look at two more groups of the Men of Darkness: the Black Númenóreans and the Corsairs of Umbar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey Guys! so WOW this is the very last episode of my twenties that I'll put out for my podcast. WOW have my twenties have been a decade of ups and downs for myself. I feel like the first half of it was definitely a struggle (this was for sure before I started this podcast) but the latter half has been one lucky break after another for my career. not just as a podcaster but with my music as well. so I'm hoping to keep that energy going into the my thirties which start this week on Sunday. but anyways guys, I decided for this episode for this month, I went with a song that has a tie to my personal life, because hey, any influencer can give you fast facts on any Oldies hit on Tik Tok and Instagram, but this podcast is so much more than just that. it's somewhat related to my personal life but it isn't at the same time. You'll have to listen to this episode to find out exactly what I mean. anyways, here's the link to the song I talk about this week just in case you want to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGDvR-7ughY&list=RDEGDvR-7ughY&start_radio=1don't forget to also follow me on Instagram & Tik Tok right here:https://www.instagram.com/iheartoldies/https://www.tiktok.com/@iheartoldiesand yes guys, I JUST got another subscriber for the premium version of my podcast! AND she's the same age as me! so Woot Woot! another younger person subscribed to the premium version of my podcast. now that's what I"m talking about! I definitely need more of that. so if your around my age and you want to learn about all of this great music from the people that made it, definitely click the link right here: https://themillennialthrowbackmachine.supercast.com/and also, PLEASE do check out the Redbubble Merch store for this podcast! I would LOVE IT if you guys could support it & rep my cool new podcast merch! here's the link to that right here:https://www.redbubble.com/i/sticker/Fly-On-The-Wall-Stories-by-60sSam95/158056341.EJUG5also PLEASE do start pre gaming for my next EP/album that I'm recording right now by checking out the last one I released! the next one will be of the same great quality as the last one I released. here is the link to that right here:https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/samlwilliams/an-old-soul-with-new--remiagined-thingsIf you're just discovering this song now and your a Millennial/Gen Z and you've never heard this song before and you fell in LOVE with it and your around my age, then DEFINITELY email me at samltwilli@icloud.com, you can also follow me & reach out to me on Instagram & Tik Tok @iheartoldies. anyways guys, it's been a great run of putting out episodes of my podcast in my twenties. so many good things have happened to me in my late twenties compared to my early twenties, that I think that I'll attract more great things into my thirties. at leas that's the hope. even though I"m not 100% where I want to be at in my life right now turning 30, I think I'm getting closer and closer to being there. but anyways, I"m gonna try post more free episodes in the future, but I hope you guys enjoy the free episodes that I do upload. it's still fun doing this podcast even though the listenership hasn't blown up completely where I could start to attract sponsors. like I said, I'm more about educating younger people & turning younger people on to this music than I am trying to blow this show up & having most of the listeners be boomers who heard this music when it was new. anyways, I'll talk to you guys again in my thirties, but until then, PLEASE, keep things groovy!.

Welcome to the final episode of series 88, everyone! In this series, we are covering Cosmic Corsairs, a space fantasy TTRPG about using the power of the cosmos to topple the oppressive Triarchy! In today's episode, we discuss how the character creation process went and learn a bit more about Craig! Character Creation Cast Patreon https://patreon.com/charactercreationcast Announcements: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast GameHole Con 2025 Panel: https://www.gameholecon.com/events/event/25850 Join our Discord! https://discord.charactercreationcast.com Check out other great shows on the network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Leave us reviews in any, or all, of these places: Character Creation Cast on Apple Podcasts (The best place to leave reviews for us) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/character-creation-cast/id1363822066?mt=2&ls=1 Character Creation Cast on Podchaser https://podchaser.com/CharacterCreationCast Guests Craig Campbell: BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nerdburgercraig.bsky.social Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nerdburgercraig Games/Tools discussed this episode: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: Website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Announcements (00:01:19) - Reintroductions (00:05:50) - D20 for your thoughts? (00:11:17) - Favorite character creation mechanic (00:16:14) - Character Sheets and Layout (00:27:04) - How did character creation go? (00:35:26) - How does the process of character creation tell us about play? (00:40:42) - Flaws and Strengths (00:47:13) - Fanfic (00:56:55) - Take it up a level! (01:00:10) - Final Thoughts (01:04:12) - Episode Closer (01:05:31) - Call to Action (01:11:42) - Credits Music: Opening: Meditation Impromptu 03 (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Calming/Meditation_Impromptu_03) by Kevin MacLeod Clip 1: The Saint of Killers by Tiger GangOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/17280 Clip 2: Angst by DivisionerOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/14339 Main Theme: Hero (Remix) (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steve_Combs/Principal_Photography_1493/11_Hero_Remix) by Steve Combs Our Podcast: Character Creation Cast: Website: https://www.charactercreationcast.com Contact Us: https://contact.charactercreationcast.com BlueSky: @CreationCast.net (https://bsky.app/profile/creationcast.net) Discord: https://discord.charactercreationcast.com/ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@charactercreationcast Amelia Antrim: BlueSky: @gingerreckoning.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/gingerreckoning.bsky.social) Ryan Boelter: BlueSky: @lordneptune.com (https://bsky.app/profile/lordneptune.com) Our Network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the third episode of series 88, everyone! In this series, we are covering Cosmic Corsairs, a space fantasy TTRPG about using the power of the cosmos to topple the oppressive Triarchy! In today's episode, we finish up our characters, including channelings, gear and names. Character Creation Cast Patreon https://patreon.com/charactercreationcast Announcements: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast Join our Discord! https://discord.charactercreationcast.com Check out other great shows on the network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Leave us reviews in any, or all, of these places: Character Creation Cast on Apple Podcasts (The best place to leave reviews for us) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/character-creation-cast/id1363822066?mt=2&ls=1 Character Creation Cast on Podchaser https://podchaser.com/CharacterCreationCast Guests Craig Campbell: BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nerdburgercraig.bsky.social Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nerdburgercraig Games/Tools discussed this episode: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: Website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Announcements (00:01:17) - Anchors (00:03:46) - Mechanics/Tracks/Banks (00:12:45) - Skills (00:15:59) - Channelings (00:26:04) - Secondary Stats and Gear (00:40:29) - Names and Additional Thoughts (00:47:37) - Episode Closer (00:50:17) - Call to Action (00:58:53) - Credits Music: Opening: Meditation Impromptu 03 (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Calming/Meditation_Impromptu_03) by Kevin MacLeod Clip 1: The Saint of Killers by Tiger GangOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/17280 Clip 2: Angst by DivisionerOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/14339 Main Theme: Hero (Remix) (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steve_Combs/Principal_Photography_1493/11_Hero_Remix) by Steve Combs Our Podcast: Character Creation Cast: Website: https://www.charactercreationcast.com Contact Us: https://contact.charactercreationcast.com BlueSky: @CreationCast.net (https://bsky.app/profile/creationcast.net) Discord: https://discord.charactercreationcast.com/ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@charactercreationcast Amelia Antrim: BlueSky: @gingerreckoning.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/gingerreckoning.bsky.social) Ryan Boelter: BlueSky: @lordneptune.com (https://bsky.app/profile/lordneptune.com) Our Network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the second episode of series 88, everyone! In this series, we are covering Cosmic Corsairs, a space fantasy TTRPG about using the power of the cosmos to topple the oppressive Triarchy! In today's episode, we start creating our characters starting with a concept, and moving on to species, power affinity and appearance! Character Creation Cast Patreon https://patreon.com/charactercreationcast Announcements: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast GameHole Con 2025 Panel: https://www.gameholecon.com/events/event/25850 Join our Discord! https://discord.charactercreationcast.com Check out other great shows on the network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Leave us reviews in any, or all, of these places: Character Creation Cast on Apple Podcasts (The best place to leave reviews for us) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/character-creation-cast/id1363822066?mt=2&ls=1 Character Creation Cast on Podchaser https://podchaser.com/CharacterCreationCast Guests Craig Campbell: BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nerdburgercraig.bsky.social Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nerdburgercraig Games/Tools discussed this episode: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: Website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Announcements (00:01:32) - Let's make some people! - Character Concept (00:12:00) - Species (00:29:20) - Affinity (00:35:47) - Appearance (00:45:45) - Call to Action (00:54:30) - Credits Music: Opening: Meditation Impromptu 03 (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Calming/Meditation_Impromptu_03) by Kevin MacLeod Clip 1: The Saint of Killers by Tiger GangOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/17280 Clip 2: Angst by DivisionerOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/14339 Main Theme: Hero (Remix) (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steve_Combs/Principal_Photography_1493/11_Hero_Remix) by Steve Combs Our Podcast: Character Creation Cast: Website: https://www.charactercreationcast.com Contact Us: https://contact.charactercreationcast.com BlueSky: @CreationCast.net (https://bsky.app/profile/creationcast.net) Discord: https://discord.charactercreationcast.com/ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@charactercreationcast Amelia Antrim: BlueSky: @gingerreckoning.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/gingerreckoning.bsky.social) Ryan Boelter: BlueSky: @lordneptune.com (https://bsky.app/profile/lordneptune.com) Our Network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the first episode of series 88, everyone! In this series, we are covering Cosmic Corsairs, a space fantasy TTRPG about using the power of the cosmos to topple the oppressive Triarchy! In today's episode, we learn what this game is all about before diving into the history of the system! Character Creation Cast Patreon https://patreon.com/charactercreationcast Announcements: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast GameHole Con 2025 Panel: https://www.gameholecon.com/events/event/25850 Join our Discord! https://discord.charactercreationcast.com Check out other great shows on the network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Leave us reviews in any, or all, of these places: Character Creation Cast on Apple Podcasts (The best place to leave reviews for us) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/character-creation-cast/id1363822066?mt=2&ls=1 Character Creation Cast on Podchaser https://podchaser.com/CharacterCreationCast Guests Craig Campbell: BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nerdburgercraig.bsky.social Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nerdburgercraig Games/Tools discussed this episode: Cosmic Corsairs Crowdfunding Campaign: Website: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1582756696/cosmic-corsairs?ref=CharacterCreationCast Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Announcements (00:01:36) - Introductions (00:09:53) - What's in a game? - Core Concept (00:16:18) - Setting (00:19:34) - Materials (00:21:33) - Stories and Themes (00:33:45) - What is unique about Cosmic Corsairs? (00:42:34) - History of the Game (00:54:04) - Call to Action (01:02:12) - Credits Music: Opening: Meditation Impromptu 03 (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Calming/Meditation_Impromptu_03) by Kevin MacLeod Clip 1: The Saint of Killers by Tiger GangOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/17280 Clip 2: Angst by DivisionerOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/14339 Main Theme: Hero (Remix) (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steve_Combs/Principal_Photography_1493/11_Hero_Remix) by Steve Combs Our Podcast: Character Creation Cast: Website: https://www.charactercreationcast.com Contact Us: https://contact.charactercreationcast.com BlueSky: @CreationCast.net (https://bsky.app/profile/creationcast.net) Discord: https://discord.charactercreationcast.com/ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@charactercreationcast Amelia Antrim: BlueSky: @gingerreckoning.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/gingerreckoning.bsky.social) Ryan Boelter: BlueSky: @lordneptune.com (https://bsky.app/profile/lordneptune.com) Our Network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fourteen centuries of enslavement, from the Prophet Muhammad's day to modern Mauritania. Justin Marozzi's fascinating book "Captives and Companions"  has as its subject the complex history of slavery across the Islamic world, challenging simplistic narratives and revealing uncomfortable truths about power, race, and religion.Our conversation touches on how Islam didn't invent slavery but incorporated existing practices while encouraging manumission. We talk about the huge diversity of slavery - from the devastating Zanj Rebellion when East African slaves revolted in Iraq, to the paradoxical power of Mamluk slave-soldiers who became sultans. I particularly liked how Justin managed to balance the brilliance and the cruelty of the concubines at the court in Baghdad at the height of its power. We also spent a lot of time discussing eunuchs. What purpose they served, the way Islam got round the prohibition on the practice and how and why the use of eunuchs lasted so long.The racial side of things was a surprise to me. Primary sources from Islam's greatest medieval intellectuals expose deeply racist attitudes toward black Africans, while white Circassian slaves commanded premium prices. And the Barbary Corsairs provided another surprise, with a surprising number of Europeans who "turned Turk" to join Muslim pirates enslaving fellow Christians across the Mediterranean.When we reach abolition, Marozzi talked about how external Western pressure, not internal Islamic reform, primarily drove formal emancipation. And his interviews with people in Mali and Mauritania document hereditary slavery continuing today, with miserable stories of those fighting for freedom in the 21st century.You can send a message to the show/feedback by clicking here. The system doesn't let me reply so if you need one please include your email.

Buy Chris' book here (available in paperback, Audible or ebook): https://shorturl.at/N6AbXThis week we cover the history of Umbar, the troubling region south of Gondor that gave birth to the most famous pirates in Middle-earth.

Last time we spoke about Operation Downfall. The Allies, under General Krueger, initiated a decisive campaign to clear the Japanese from Luzon. As they faced the entrenched Shobu Group, challenges included treacherous terrain and a resilient enemy. Simultaneously, Japan braced for an invasion, mobilizing reinforcements and devising defensive strategies to ward off the impending Allied assault. As July approached, General Yamashita's forces prepared to execute a final breakout, but progress was hampered by relentless guerrilla attacks and adverse weather conditions. With Operation Downfall looming, Allied troops focused on strategic landings in Kyushu and Honshu, driven by a relentless determination to defeat the Japanese militarily. The intense battles of Luzon became a precursor to this monumental operation, marking a turning point in the Pacific War.  This episode is The Siege of Japan Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Boy I have been waiting a long time to come to this point. One of the most significant events in human history that deeply affects us to this very day. Nuclear war is as much a threat today as it was during the cold war. The dropping of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were deeply complicated events fraught with issues of morality. It goes without saying whether or not the bombs needed to be dropped, their actual impact on the surrender of Japan and so forth are still issues hotly debated to this very day. I have spoken on the issue countless times on my personal channel and podcast, but I figure to do this subject justice I will create a full episode for it. Thus in this episode we are going to just cover what happened, but rest assured I will come back to this later on. As we last explored, following the successful invasion of Luzon in the Philippines, along with the fall of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American forces began preparing for the final invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. This operation was codenamed Operation Downfall. One key initiative leading up to this invasion was a comprehensive air-sea blockade and bombardment campaign against Japan itself. Previously, we detailed the extensive firebombing and precision bombing efforts executed by General LeMay's 21st Bomber Command. However, during this crucial period, the B-29 Superfortress bombers undertook a distinct operation under the codename Starvation. This single operation would be one of the largest factors that contributed to the surrender of Japan and its one most people have never heard of. In July 1944, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz proposed a bold plan to use B-29 Superfortress bombers to mine the waterways surrounding the Japanese Home Islands. Although Generals Henry H. Arnold and Walter Hansell expressed concerns that this mining campaign could distract from the B-29's primary role as a strategic bombardment aircraft, they eventually agreed to assign one bomber group to focus on aerial mining when conditions permitted. On December 22, Hansell's 21st Bomber Command was directed to formulate a naval mining program aimed at executing between 150 to 200 sorties each month, which was set to begin in April 1945. However, by this time, General Curtis LeMay had taken command of the 21st Bomber Command. LeMay was notably enthusiastic about the idea and successfully recommended to Washington an upgraded mining program that aimed to deploy up to 1,500 mines each month using a full B-29 wing. LeMay viewed aerial mining in a different light than Arnold or Hansell, seeing it as a vital extension of strategic bombing. He recognized that most of Japan's war production materials, as well as a significant portion of its food supplies, were imported from regions such as China, Southeast Asia, and the Dutch East Indies. Japan's industrial heartland is primarily found on Honshu, its largest and most industrialized island, while Shikoku, another island, also lacks essential resources such as iron ore and high-quality coal. These crucial materials were sourced from Kyushu and Hokkaido, both of which are other Japanese islands. All these resources were transported by sea, so without easy access to raw materials, Japan's industrial output would come to a grinding halt. The only aircraft capable of deploying mines effectively where they were needed were the B-29s. Areas such as the Inland Sea, the Sea of Japan, and the Korean Peninsula were out of reach for other Allied aircraft. Additionally, Allied submarines could only venture into these perilous waters with great risk. Notably, about 80% of Japan's merchant fleet utilized the Shimonoseki Strait, a critical waterway that separates Kyushu from Honshu. Understanding the strategic advantage of closing this strait, LeMay decided to allocate an entire wing of B-29s specifically to mine this vital route. Brigadier General John Davies commanded the 313th Bombardment Wing, tasked with deploying approximately 2,000 naval mines each month into Japanese waters. The primary goals of this operation were to prevent essential raw materials and food supplies from reaching the Home Islands, hinder the supply and mobilization of Japanese military forces, and disrupt transportation routes in the Inland Sea of Japan. Between March 27 and April 12, Davies' bombers targeted key enemy shipping bases located in Kure, Sasebo, and Hiroshima. They also focused on the Shimonoseki Strait, a narrow and strategically important waterway that links the Inland Sea with the Tsushima Strait. Notably, after these attacks, this strait was successfully closed for two weeks. On May 3 and 5, the 313th Bombardment Wing laid down a total of 1,422 mines in the waters surrounding the Shimonoseki Strait, as well as near major urban centers like Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka. These efforts aimed to severely disrupt maritime commerce between Japan's major industrial areas. Just a week later, the minefields expanded from the Shimonoseki Strait to include Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, and northwest Honshu, the largest island containing Tokyo. By the end of that month, these mines were proving remarkably effective, accounting for the sinking of more ships than Japanese submarines. In fact, within the Shimonoseki Strait alone, 113 ships had been sunk. Between June 7 and July 8, American forces expanded and fortified minefields along the western coast of Japan while also replenishing the existing minefields in the Shimonoseki Strait and the Inland Sea. During this effort, they successfully laid a total of 3,542 mines across 14 missions. The "total blockade" officially commenced on July 9 and continued until the end of the war. Throughout this period, American forces executed 474 sorties, dropping another 3,746 mines that replenished existing minefields and extended coverage to harbors in Korea. In total, Brigadier General Davies conducted 46 missions that laid down 26 minefields containing 12,135 mines. Remarkably, only 15 B-29s were lost during these operations. In turn, the mines accounted for the sinking or damaging of 670 Japanese ships, with a total loss of 1.25 million tons. This mining campaign effectively strangled Japanese industry, as the denial of essential raw materials to factories proved more disruptive than the direct bombing of the plants themselves.  Despite the clear vulnerability of Japan's economy to disruptions in coastal shipping, Japanese authorities were alarmingly unprepared to address the threat posed by air-dropped mines. By August 1945, Japan had committed 349 ships and 20,000 personnel to counter the Starvation campaign, but these efforts were overwhelmingly ineffective. The shipping crisis escalated to such a degree that searchlights and anti-aircraft batteries were redeployed from urban centers to defend expected mining targets. Additionally, suicide boats were employed in desperate attempts to clear the minefields. Royal Navy historian S.W. Roskill commented on the situation, stating, “The blockade had, in fact, been far more successful than we realized at the time. Although submarines initially played a critical role in enforcing the blockade, it was the air-laid mines that ultimately strangled Japan.” Japanese officials shared this assessment. A director from a Tokyo steel company reflected on the situation, noting that the denial of essential raw materials to factories caused far greater disruption than the direct bombing of the plants themselves. This contradicted the views of US Army Air Forces experts back in Washington. In a striking remark after the war, a Japanese minesweeping officer told American forces, “The result of B-29 mining was so effective against shipping that it eventually starved the country. You could have likely shortened the war by starting this campaign earlier.” Meanwhile, General LeMay continued his firebombing campaign against Japan. By the end of May, urban areas around Tokyo Bay had been devastated, prompting the 21st Bomber Command to shift focus westward toward the densely populated industrial complexes lining Osaka Bay. On June 1, 521 B-29s were dispatched to bomb industrial targets situated along the Yodo River, with an escort of 148 P-51 fighters. Unfortunately, an undetected thunderstorm struck en route, which meant only 27 P-51s reached Osaka, while another 27 crashed, and the remaining fighters had to return to Iwo Jima. Despite these complications, the B-29s bombed from altitudes ranging between 18,000 and 28,500 feet, successfully dropping 2,788 tons of incendiary bombs on Osaka. The attack resulted in the burning of 3.15 square miles, destroying 136,107 houses and 4,222 factories. Four days later, on June 3, 530 unescorted B-29 Superfortresses launched a bombing raid on the city of Kobe. Of those, 473 aircraft targeted the city, resulting in the destruction of 4.35 square miles. This devastating strike led to the demolition of 51,399 buildings, while another 928 suffered significant damage. The raid, however, came with losses, as 11 bombers were downed, and 176 were damaged in the operation. On June 7, 449 B-29s returned to Osaka. Despite facing heavy cloud cover that restricted visibility, they managed to burn an additional 2.21 square miles of the city, destroying another 55,333 buildings.  By the conclusion of General Curtis LeMay's maximum-effort area bombing campaign, the six most significant industrial cities in Japan, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama, and Kawasaki, had been left in ruins. Major factories were either destroyed or severely damaged, while thousands of smaller household and feeder industrial units were consumed by flames. Casualty figures surged into six figures, leaving millions of people homeless. The evacuation of survivors further complicated efforts to secure labor for the factories that remained operational. Japan's air-raid protection system proved woefully inadequate to withstand a protracted siege by very heavy bombers. The system lacked sufficient organization, trained personnel, shelters, fire-fighting equipment, and facilities for relief and evacuation. Additionally, there was a significant deficiency in civilian indoctrination regarding emergency procedures. Under the relentless pressure of repeated major attacks, local Air Raid Precaution organizations collapsed, adding strain to an already overburdened imperial government. Japanese civilians, who had been conditioned by victory propaganda, displayed little of the discipline that helped German citizens endure years of aerial bombardment. As news of military defeats and the impact of B-29 precision strikes filtered into the great cities, residents began to lose confidence in their leaders' ability to protect them or care for the victims of the attacks. Abe Motoki, the Minister of Home Affairs at the time, later remarked, “I believe that after the raids on Tokyo on May 23-24, 1945, civilian defense measures in that city, as well as in other parts of Japan, were considered a futile effort.” Regarding the operational cost of this campaign for the 21st Bomber Command, it was not considered excessively burdensome. Over the course of 17 maximum-effort incendiary attacks, LeMay dispatched a total of 6,960 B-29s, which dropped 41,592 tons of bombs. The losses amounted to 136 B-29s, averaging only 1.9% of the sorties, a rate significantly lower than what had been endured in earlier months, and quite acceptable by the standards of conventional strategic bombing. Meteorologists predicted that the summer monsoon would keep Japan's skies covered with clouds for most of the upcoming months, from June to August. As a result, LeMay shifted strategies under what became known as the Empire Plan. This approach prioritized targeting industrial and military sites during daylight hours when the weather permitted, while secondary cities that had sufficient industrial capability became targets for nighttime area attacks. This change meant that since no single target warranted a full four-wing maximum effort, multiple missions could be scheduled in a single day. Accordingly, on June 9, 110 B-29s attacked three aircraft factories located in Narao, Atsuta, and Akashi. The strikes successfully destroyed the factories in Narao and Atsuta, but an unfortunate miscalculation led to the bombing of the town near Akashi. The following day, June 10, a force of 280 B-29s, escorted by 107 P-51 Mustang fighters, targeted six distinct sites in the Tokyo Bay area. The mission yielded significant results, with all targets sustaining heavy damage. Finally, on June 15, 516 B-29s were dispatched for one last firebombing raid against Osaka and the neighboring city of Amagasaki. In this combined assault, 444 bombers dropped over 1,350 tons of incendiary bombs, incinerating an additional 1.9 square miles in Osaka and more than half a square mile in Amagasaki. Starting on June 17, General Curtis LeMay's firebombing campaigns began to focus on medium-sized secondary cities across Japan. On that day, 477 B-29 Superfortresses targeted the cities of Omuta, Hamamatsu, Yokkaichi, and Kagoshima, burning a combined total of six square miles in these urban areas. The success of this initial multi-target mission ensured the continuation of the program, establishing an operational pattern that would remain standard during the final weeks of the war. In total, multiple incendiary attacks were conducted on sixteen occasions, averaging about two missions per week. Between June 17 and August 14, American forces carried out 8,014 sorties, dropping a staggering 54,184 tons of incendiaries across 58 secondary cities. On June 22, 446 B-29s were dispatched to strike six targets located in southern Honshu, including the crucial Kure Naval Arsenal. In this mission, 382 bombers released 2,103 tons of bombs, inflicting heavy damage to these essential manufacturing facilities. Just four days later, on June 26, a force of 510 B-29s, accompanied by 148 P-51 Mustang escorts, targeted locations in southern Honshu and the nearby island of Shikoku. However, dense clouds over much of the area complicated assembly and forced many aircraft to attack targets of opportunity individually or in small groups. As a result, adverse weather conditions would delay subsequent daytime raids until July 24.  In the coordinated strike program that commenced in June, the decision to focus on either the Empire Plan or urban industrial targets was largely influenced by weather conditions. As the program took shape, the 315th Bombardment Wing (VH) became available for combat operations. This wing operated somewhat independently from the other bomber units, with its activities significantly guided by the specialized equipment of its aircraft. Authorized for deployment in the Pacific in December 1944, the 315th settled at Northwest Field, Guam, during May and June. Its commander, Brigadier General Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., was a seasoned veteran of the strategic air offensive against Germany. The B-29s of the 315th Wing differed in two key respects from those of other units. They were equipped with the AN/APQ-7 (Eagle) radar, a sophisticated radar system designed for bombing, instead of the conventional AN/APQ-13 radar. The latter had primarily served as a navigational aid. While crews had become adept at using the AN/APQ-13 for night or poor-weather bombing, it lacked the precision necessary for accurate strikes. The Eagle radar, however, offered significantly greater definition and, although it required a long bomb run averaging seventy miles, this was not considered a serious hindrance in the tactical context of Japan. To further enhance its night-bombing capabilities, the Superfortresses had been stripped of all armament except for the tail gun. This modification, along with the Eagle radar, clearly marked the 315th as a dedicated night-bombing unit. There were various proposals for the use of these specially equipped B-29s, including high-altitude bombing, area bombing, and aerial mining. However, by the time the 315th Wing was ready for combat, the 313th Bombardment Wing had already gained proficiency in aerial mining, while all wings had become adept at area bombing using the AN/APQ-13. Training for the 315th had focused heavily on night radar tactics, with less emphasis on visual bombing and daytime formation flights. It was evident that if the Eagle radar was to undergo a thorough scientific evaluation, it should be tested against a specific set of targets that were preferably large in size and located along the coastline. In the view of the 21st Bomber Command, the oil industry met these requirements perfectly. The 315th Bombardment Wing initiated its specialized campaign on June 26 with a targeted strike against the Utsube Oil Refinery in Yokkaichi, the top-priority target. By August 14, the wing had conducted 15 additional missions against a total of 10 targets, which included various petroleum refineries and synthetic plants, such as the Maruzen Oil Company in Wakayama, Mitsubishi Oil Company in Kawasaki, and Nippon Oil Company plants spread across Akita, Kansai, Kudamatsu, and Amagasaki, as well as the Imperial Fuel Industry Company in Ube and Toa Fuel Industry in Wakayama. During the campaign, the 315th Wing dispatched a total of 1,200 B-29s, 1,095 of which successfully bombed their primary targets, dropping 9,084 tons of 500-pound general-purpose bombs deemed particularly effective against the scattered installations. The increase in bomb load capacity was made possible by stripping the planes of unnecessary equipment and conducting bombing missions individually at night. As the crews gained experience, they were able to increase the average weight carried from 14,631 pounds during the first mission to 20,684 pounds by August 9. Despite concerns about safety from removing most of the aircraft's armaments, only four planes were lost and 66 sustained damage throughout the campaign. The 20th Air Force estimated that the B-29 attacks led to the destruction of approximately 6 million barrels of tank storage capacity, and the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) reported that refining capacity had been reduced from 90,000 barrels a day in December 1941 to around 17,000 barrels. However, the strategic impact was more apparent than real, as many storage tanks were empty and refinery production had fallen to just 4% of capacity before the very heavy bomber campaign began. The lack of precise intelligence regarding the state of Japan's economy had justified the emphasis on the oil program as a form of reinsurance. Nevertheless, the blockade had effectively severed the nation's oil resources, resulting in tankers remaining idle at the docks. On July 1, Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet departed San Pedro Bay to initiate the first preliminary strikes in preparation for Operation Olympic. This operation involved battleships and heavy cruisers conducting surface bombardments of industrial targets in eastern Japan, while lighter forces performed anti-shipping sweeps along the coast. Additionally, a fleet of submarines advanced ahead of Admiral McCain's Task Force 38 to eliminate picket boats and establish lifeguard positions. At 18:15 on July 9, the force began its 25-knot approach toward the Home Islands, launching its first strikes against the Tokyo area at 04:00 on July 10. A total of 1,732 sorties were executed, targeting locations from Koriyama to Hamamatsu, dropping 454 tons of bombs and 1,648 rockets over Honshu with negligible opposition. American airmen reported the destruction of 109 enemy aircraft and damage to 231 during these strikes.   Following this, Halsey's fleet moved north to bombard Hokkaido and northern Honshu, which were beyond the effective range of the B-29s and had previously evaded attack. At 05:59 on July 14, Rear-Admiral John Shafroth's Bombardment Group Able, consisting primarily of three battleships and two heavy cruisers, was tasked with attacking the Kamaishi Works of the Japan Iron Company. By midday, Shafroth's forces had opened fire on Kamaishi, marking the first surface bombardment of Japan by a hostile fleet in over 80 years. Between 12:10 and 14:19, a total of 802 16-inch shells, 728 8-inch shells, and 825 5-inch shells were expended, setting the town ablaze as key industrial and residential targets were hit and resulting in the sinking of one oil tanker, two barges, and one small ship in the harbor. Simultaneously, McCain's carriers closed to within 80 nautical miles of Japan, launching 1,391 sorties against Hokkaido and northern Honshu to target railways, shipping, and airfields, again facing only light resistance. In the ensuing strikes, American planes sank over 50,000 tons of shipping and naval craft, including the destroyer Tachibana, four minesweepers, eight naval auxiliaries, and around 20 merchant vessels, with significant losses occurring at Muroran and Hakodate. In addition, 25 enemy planes were destroyed, while American losses totaled 24 aircraft and 17 airmen, about half of whom were lost in combat. Task Force 38 launched another assault on July 15, executing 966 combat sorties that dropped 355 tons of bombs and expended 2,093 rockets. This operation resulted in the sinking of 65 vessels and damaging 128 others, as well as the destruction of 48 locomotives and damage to 28. Widespread destruction was inflicted on several facilities, particularly the Aomori–Hakodate railcar ferry system, which transported 30% of the coal between Hokkaido and Honshu. The strikes devastated the ferry system, sinking eight ferries, beaching eight more, and damaging two. In total, 70 auxiliary sailing colliers were sunk, and 11 were damaged, along with 10 steel freighters lost and 7 damaged. The ferry strikes were the brainchild of Halsey's operations officer, Captain Ralph “Rollo” Wilson. “When the first action reports began to sift in,” Halsey related: He snatched them up and pored over them; the ferries were not mentioned. Later reports also ignored them. Rollo was sulking and cursing when the final reports arrived. I heard him whistle and saw him beam. “Six ferries sunk!” he said. “Pretty soon we'll have ‘em moving their stuff by oxcarts and skiffs!”  Additionally, 20 city blocks in Kushiro were razed. The most significant outcome of these operations was the virtual severance of Hokkaido from Honshu. By the end of the raids, Halsey's 3rd Fleet had achieved the sinking of 140 ships and small craft, damaging 235 others, and destroying 38 planes while damaging 46. Meanwhile, Rear-Admiral Oscar Badger's Bombardment Group Baker, composed of three battleships, two light cruisers, and eight destroyers, was assigned to bombard Muroran. Between 09:36 and 10:25, this group fired 860 16-inch shells at the Nihon Steel Company and the Wanishi Ironworks, targeting both the coal liquefaction plant and coke ovens. This bombardment inflicted severe damage on those facilities and resulted in the destruction or damage of 2,541 houses in Muroran. As Hasley recalled “These sweeps and bombardments accomplished more than destruction. they showed the enemy that we made no bones about playing in his front yard. From now on, we patrolled his channels and shelled his coast almost every night that the weather permitted.” Additionally, Rear-Admiral James Cary Jones' four light cruisers conducted a sweep along the east coast of Honshu to hunt for Japanese shipping; however, they reported no contacts during their mission. Early on July 16, Task Force 38 retired east of Honshu to begin refueling and rendezvoused with Admiral Rawlings' Task Force 37, which agreed to operate closely as an additional task group for Admiral Halsey. At 03:50 on July 17, the two task forces began launching strikes against central Honshu despite adverse weather conditions. The American forces executed 205 sorties targeting the Mito area, while British aircraft flew 87 sorties against airfields and railyards along the northwest coast of Honshu. Despite the bad weather, several small craft and locomotives were destroyed, though the operation resulted in the loss of nine aircraft and four airmen. Later that afternoon, Halsey detached Badger's augmented Bombardment Group to attack Hitachi, a significant industrial and electronics-producing city. The 53-minute bombardment commenced in fog and rain at 23:14, during which 1,207 16-inch shells, 267 14-inch shells, and 292 6-inch rounds were expended against the Tago and Mito Works of the Hitachi Manufacturing Company, as well as the Yamate Plant and copper refining facilities of Hitachi Mine, resulting in severe devastation. On July 18, McCain's two leading carriers launched a total of 592 sorties against Yokosuka, specifically targeting the heavily camouflaged battleship Nagato at the naval base. The attacks resulted in the sinking of one old cruiser, one minesweeper, one submarine, one incomplete destroyer, and three patrol vessels, in addition to damaging one subchaser, one old destroyer, and one old battleship. Although Nagato was hit multiple times and suffered heavy damage, it managed to stay afloat. Meanwhile, three carriers also targeted airfields and other opportunities in Tokyo, while Task Force 37 attacked a seaplane base at Kitaura and airfields at Nobara, Naruto, Chosi, Kanoike, Natori, and Kitakawa. The recent raids resulted in the destruction of 43 enemy planes and damage to 77 others on the ground, along with the destruction of three locomotives and the derailing of four electrified train cars by rockets. However, the American forces incurred losses of 14 aircraft and 18 aircrew, as the 3rd Fleet flyers reported encountering the fiercest anti-aircraft fire they had yet experienced. Additionally, Rear-Admiral Carl Holden's four light cruisers were detached during the night to sweep shipping off Sagami Bay and to target the radar site at Cape Nojima. On July 21, Captain Thomas Hederman's Destroyer Squadron 61, consisting of nine destroyers, was assigned to conduct another anti-shipping sweep off Sagami Bay. Pursuing four radar contacts, the destroyers engaged targets at midnight on July 22, firing guns and torpedoes from 7,000 yards. This action resulted in the sinking of the 800-ton freighter No.5 Hakutetsu Maru and damaging the 6,919-ton Enbun Maru. In response, Japanese coastal artillery, the minesweeper W-1, and subchaser Ch-42 returned fire, but Hederman's squadron successfully retired without damage. Although minor in scale, the Battle of Sagami Bay would ultimately be the last surface action of the war. Meanwhile, as part of Operation Barney, a planned submarine penetration of the Sea of Japan, nine submarines succeeded in sinking 27 Japanese merchant vessels and one submarine, totaling 54,786 tons.  On June 8, the submarine Barb commenced her twelfth patrol, tasked with terrorizing the Sea of Okhotsk using her newly installed 5-inch rocket launchers. Over the following weeks, Skipper Commander Eugene “Luckey” Fluckey executed successful rocket bombardments on Shari, Hokkaido, and targets in Shikuka, Kashiho, and Shiritoru on Karafuto (southern Sakhalin), also employing the submarine's deck guns to destroy 35 sampans in the town of Kaihyo To. Observing Karafuto trains transporting military supplies to ports, Fluckey devised a plan to intercept these trains. Engineman Third Class Billy Hatfield recalled how, as a child, he had placed nuts on railroad ties and watched as the weight of passing trains cracked them between rail and tie. Realizing this principle could be adapted, he suggested rigging an automatic detonator. Fluckey had many volunteers for the mission, including a Japanese POW, and carefully selected Hatfield and seven others, deciding against leading the shore party himself. Just after midnight on July 23, 1945, Fluckey maneuvered Barb to within 950 yards of the Karafuto coast. Led by Lieutenant William Walker, the team launched two rubber rafts at 00:30. Before they left, Fluckey instructed them, “Boys, if you get stuck, head for Siberia, 130 miles north, following the mountain ranges. Good luck.” Upon reaching the shore, the Americans located the tracks and buried a 55-pound scuttling charge and battery beneath the rails, positioning it under a water tower they planned to use as a lookout. As Motor Machinist's Mate First Class John Markuson climbed up, he unexpectedly found he was scaling a sentry tower, causing him to retreat without alerting the sleeping guard. When a train passed, the team dove for cover before resuming their work after it had gone by. Shortly after 01:30, Walker's team signaled their return to Barb, which was now just 600 yards offshore. Fifteen minutes later, while the boats were halfway back, Fluckey heard the rumble of an approaching train. He hoisted a megaphone and urged the crew to “Paddle like the devil, boys!” At 01:47, a 16-car Japanese train struck Hatfield's detonator, resulting in a massive explosion that sent debris soaring 200 feet into the air and reportedly killed 150 Japanese. Minutes later, all eight Americans were safely aboard Barb, which then slipped back into the night, having successfully executed the only amphibious invasion of Japan during World War II. Returning to the main action, Halsey aimed to eliminate the remnants of the Combined Fleet at the heavily fortified Kure Naval Base. Consequently, Task Force 38 began launching the first of 1,363 sorties against ships and airfields in Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu, ringing the Inland Sea at 04:40 on July 24. A total of 599 tons of bombs and 1,615 rockets were unleashed over Kure, resulting in the sinking or damaging of 22 warships, which totaled 258,000 tons. Among the affected vessels were the battleships Hyuga, Ise, and Haruna; fleet carriers Amagi and Katsuragi; the escort carrier Kaiyo; heavy cruisers Tone and Aoba; as well as light cruisers Oyodo and Kitakami. In addition, another 53 vessels amounting to 17,000 tons were sunk at various locations, including Hiroshima Bay, Niihama, Bungo Channel, and Kii Channel. At Kobe, the incomplete fleet carrier Aso was also attacked and damaged. American Hellcats and Corsairs effectively swept aside Japanese aerial opposition, shooting down 18 enemy planes while destroying 40 aircraft and damaging another 80 on the ground. Furthermore, around the Inland Sea, 16 locomotives were destroyed and five were damaged, while 20 hangars sustained damage. Three oil tanks were set ablaze at Kure and one at Tano. Additionally, four electric trains and a roundhouse were strafed at Hamamatsu, and various military installations, including barracks, warehouses, power plants, and factories around the airfields, received significant damage. Simultaneously, Rear-Admiral Rawlings' Task Force 37 conducted 257 sorties against targets in Japan and the surrounding offshore areas, sinking the escort carrier Shimane Maru in Shido Bay, along with a number of destroyers, small escorts, and coasters. Meanwhile, Jones' light cruisers swept through the Kii Channel before bombarding the Kushimoto seaplane base and airfields at Cape Shionomisaki during the night. Supporting these efforts, General LeMay dispatched 625 B-29s against seven targets in the Nagoya and Osaka areas, successfully inflicting heavy damage on all of them despite the spotty weather, marking this as the last major attack on the Japanese mainland during the war, as two weeks of cloudy weather ensued. In the early hours of July 25, McCain's aircraft carriers resumed launching strikes against airfields and shipping in the Inland Sea and the Nagoya-Osaka areas. During this operation, they executed a total of 655 sorties, expending 185 tons of bombs and 1,162 rockets, successfully sinking nine ships totaling 8,000 tons and damaging another 35 vessels. The strikes also resulted in the downing of 21 Japanese planes, with an additional 61 aircraft destroyed on the ground and 68 damaged. After refueling on July 27, Halsey's carrier forces moved to launch points located 96 nautical miles off Shikoku. At 04:43 on July 28, they resumed strikes over the Inland Sea, focusing on targets from northern Kyushu to Nagoya, as well as airfields across Honshu along the Sea of Japan. This resulted in McCain flying a total of 1,602 sorties, dropping 605 tons of bombs and expending 2,050 rockets. These attacks sank 27 ships, amounting to 43,000 tons, including the battleships Ise and Haruna, the fleet carrier Amagi, and the Combined Fleet flagship Oyodo. Additionally, 78 vessels totaling 216,000 tons were reported damaged, among them the fleet carrier Katsuragi, heavy cruiser Tone, and light cruiser Kitakami. American pilots reported the destruction of 21 Japanese aircraft in the air and claimed 115 destroyed on the ground across 30 area airfields. They also successfully destroyed 14 locomotives, four oil cars, two roundhouses, three oil tanks, three warehouses, one hangar, and a transformer station. In support of these efforts, Task Force 37 conducted 260 sorties against the eastern Inland Sea, targeting the dockyard at Harima and sinking or severely damaging four corvettes at Maizuru. Meanwhile, the 7th Air Force's 11th and 494th Bombardment Groups carried out a day-long raid on Kure, successfully sinking the heavy cruiser Aoba. By sunset that evening, the Imperial Japanese Navy had effectively ceased to exist, though the cost for the Americans was steep, with losses amounting to 101 planes and 88 men since July 24. As Halsey moved east to target the Osaka-Nagoya area, Shafroth's reinforced Bombardment Group was detached on July 29 to bombard Hamamatsu. During the night, they successfully unloaded 810 16-inch shells, 265 14-inch shells, and 1,035 8-inch shells, damaging the Imperial Government Railway locomotive works, igniting a blaze at the Japanese Musical Instrument Company, and wreaking havoc on infrastructure along the critical Tokaido main line. The following day, McCain's carriers conducted 1,224 sorties against airfields in Osaka, Kobe, Maizuru, and Nagoya, expending 397 tons of bombs and 2,532 rockets. These strikes resulted in the sinking of 20 vessels totaling 6,000 tons and damaging another 56 ships. The pilots also claimed destruction of 115 enemy aircraft on the ground, while inflicting severe damage on numerous industrial targets, including aircraft factories and naval docks in Maizuru. In Miyazu Bay, the destroyer Hatsushino struck an air-dropped naval mine, marking the final loss of 129 Japanese destroyers sunk during the war. That night, seven destroyers advanced deep into Suruga Bay, unleashing 1,100 5-inch shells on Shimizu within seven minutes, successfully destroying or damaging 118 industrial buildings. Typhoon weather would impede the operations of the 3rd Fleet for the next two weeks, as Admiral Nimitz ordered Halsey to steer clear of southern Japan, which was set to become the target of a new and deadly weapon: the atomic bomb. The U.S. Army had begun its project to develop an atomic bomb on August 16, 1942, under the auspices of the Manhattan Project. The project was directed by Major-General Leslie Groves and involved renowned scientists such as Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman, and Albert Einstein. Over time, it expanded to include a design center at Los Alamos and two production facilities at Hanford and Clinton. By August 1945, the teams at Los Alamos had successfully designed, developed, and built a gun-type atomic bomb capable of forcing five pounds of uranium-235 against another 17 pounds at high speed, thereby achieving critical mass and releasing immense heat, light, blast, and radiation. The team was also experimenting with an even more powerful device: the plutonium bomb, which utilized an implosion method whereby a sphere of plutonium was compressed by conventional explosives to reach criticality. By early August, scientists had managed to produce enough nuclear material to create only one uranium device, known as Little Boy, and one plutonium bomb, referred to as Fat Man. Each weapon had the potential to annihilate an entire city, and American leaders were prepared to use them if it could compel the Japanese Empire to surrender without necessitating an invasion of Japan. A Targeting Committee led by Groves, consisting of Manhattan Project and Air Force personnel, recommended Hiroshima, Niigata, Kokura, and Nagasaki as primary targets.  Groves' Targeting Committee employed several criteria to select sites for atomic bomb targets. The chosen targets had to possess strategic value to the Japanese and be situated between Tokyo and Nagasaki. Additionally, the target needed to feature a large urban area with a minimum diameter of three miles and must be relatively untouched by previous bombings, ironically spared for potential atomic destruction at a later stage. A crucial condition was that, to the best of their knowledge, these areas should harbor no concentrations of Allied prisoners of war. However, this requirement was challenging to ascertain accurately due to a lack of reliable information about the locations of prisoners. Initially, the committee considered 17 candidates and selected five primary targets: Hiroshima, Yokohama, Kokura, Niigata, and Kyoto. On May 28, they narrowed the list to three: Kyoto, Niigata, and Hiroshima. Hiroshima was significant as it housed Hata's 2nd General Army headquarters and featured a large shipyard, while Niigata was a major industrial city with an important port. Moreover, Kyoto held considerable cultural and religious significance for the Japanese. Secretary of War Stimson, having previously cautioned General Arnold about the humanitarian consequences of targeting cities with incendiary bombings, insisted on removing Kyoto from the list after intense discussions with Groves. On July 21, President Truman concurred with Stimson during their meetings in Potsdam, deciding that Kyoto should be spared. Subsequently, Kokura, known for its large arsenal and ordnance works, replaced Kyoto. Additionally, LeMay's staff reportedly included Nagasaki as an alternate target due to potential weather issues, as it was home to Mitsubishi's arms factories, electric production facilities, ordnance works, and extensive dockyards, making it a valuable target. Meanwhile, a high-level civilian Interim Committee, under Secretary of War Henry Stimson, ultimately advised President Truman on the use of nuclear weapons, reasoning that their deployment would be no worse than the current incendiary bombing campaigns against Japan. The committee also recommended that an atomic bomb be deployed as soon as possible, without warning, to maximize shock value and target a "war plant… surrounded by workers' houses." Following a successful operational test of the experimental plutonium bomb conducted at Trinity on July 16, President Truman authorized General Spaatz to prepare for the bomb drops before August 3. Colonel Paul Tibbets' 509th Composite Group had been specially organized in secret since September 1944 to deliver nuclear weapons, and by June, it had arrived at Tinian under the command of LeMay's 21st Bomber Command. General Twinning replaced LeMay as commander of the 21st on August 1, and he would ultimately issue the direct orders for Tibbets to drop the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb mission had a convoluted command structure. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were largely left out of the chain of command. LeMay was Tibbet's nominal commander; however, Groves still had extensive control over the operation through his deputy Brigadier General Thomas Farrell on Tinian. The 21st Bomber Command would determine when the atomic bomb mission was launched, based on suitable weather conditions. Even at this stage, General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold and LeMay were still skeptical about the Manhattan Project; they thought B-29 incendiary and high-explosive bombing operations would suffice to end the war soon. LeMay even questioned the 509th CG pilots' ability to conduct the mission; he wanted seasoned Pacific B-29 veteran crews to drop the nuclear cargo. While the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) prepared for an impending invasion, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) continued its bombing campaign against Japan. The crews of the 509th Composite Group needed to acclimate to the navigational challenges, varied weather conditions, extensive distances, and the geography of the region, all while becoming accustomed to combat situations. Training commenced at Tinian on June 30, with conventional operational missions over Japan beginning on July 20. To prepare for their atomic missions, the crews trained with "pumpkins," which were specially constructed bombs designed to mimic the appearance and weight of nuclear weapons. This allowed them to practice handling and releasing the bombs. They also rehearsed navigational procedures, visual bomb release techniques, and dropping the weapon at an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet. Following the drop, the crew conducted high-speed, radical turns to evade the nuclear effects after detonation. During their first mission, a B-29 from the 509th sought an alternative target in Tokyo. The crew aimed to drop their 10,000-pound "pumpkin" on the Imperial Palace, but unfortunately, they missed their target. Had they succeeded in killing the emperor, it could have significantly impacted Japan's decision-making process, potentially fortifying the Japanese people's resolve to continue the war. Military leaders might have seized control in the aftermath, pushing their forces to keep fighting. Throughout their training, the units of the 21st Bomber Command intentionally avoided targeting Hiroshima, Niigata, Kokura, and Nagasaki during these practice runs. In total, Tibbets directed his crews on numerous combat missions that targeted 28 cities and involved the dropping of 49 "pumpkins." Remarkably, the 509th lost no aircraft during these operations. While Tibbets focused on perfecting the delivery method, the weapons Little Boy and Fat Man were being transported to Tinian. Some weapon assemblies were delivered by C-54 and B-29 aircraft from Kirtland Field near Albuquerque, while the cruiser Indianapolis delivered the fissionable material for Little Boy from San Francisco on July 26. Four days later, the submarine I-58 unexpectedly attacked the Indianapolis with six torpedoes while the cruiser was en route to Guam, successfully sinking it. Of the crew, 850 Americans survived the sinking, and another 316 were belatedly rescued by August 8. By July 31, most of the assembly of Little Boy had been completed. However, a detonation expert would need to emplace the cordite charges to fire the uranium "bullet" through the gun device to the uranium core after take-off, minimizing the risk of an inadvertent nuclear explosion in the event of a B-29 crash. Additionally, the crew carrying the atomic bomb had to exercise caution when descending once Little Boy was armed because the primary radar or a backup barometric fuse could potentially trigger an explosion if the aircraft descended too rapidly with the fuses in place. On August 2, B-29 crews arrived at Tinian with the assemblies for Fat Man. On that same day, General Twinning and President Truman approved the plan to bomb Hiroshima. Two days later, Colonel Tibbets briefed the crews about the mission, confirming that he would pilot the aircraft carrying the atomic bomb. Tibbets' B-29 No. 82, later named Enola Gay, was supported by three weather reconnaissance aircraft that reported conditions at Hiroshima, Kokura, and Nagasaki, as well as two additional B-29s assigned to conduct scientific and photographic missions. At 02:45 on August 6, Enola Gay took off from Tinian, with diversionary attacks by 604 B-29s throughout Japan also scheduled for that day, as coordinated by Twinning. After passing through Iwo Jima at approximately 05:55, Captain William Parsons and Second-Lieutenant Morris Jeppson armed the bomb at 07:30. Throughout the journey, the B-29s ascended slowly, reaching an altitude of over 30,000 feet as they crossed Shikoku and Honshu, finally reaching Hiroshima at 31,060 feet. At 09:12, Tibbets executed his final approach from the 'initial point', flying east-west over the city towards the intersection of the Ota and Motoyasu Rivers. Approximately at 09:15, Little Boy was released, and Enola Gay immediately began its turn away to escape the impending explosion. However, the bomb mistakenly descended towards the Shima Surgical Hospital rather than the intended target, the Aioi Bridge. At 09:16, Little Boy detonated at an altitude of 1,890 feet, just as Tibbets was about six miles away from the blast point. As a result of the atomic blast, the immediate area around the epicenter was heated to an astonishing 1 million degrees Celsius, instantly incinerating or vaporizing all people, animals, buildings, and other items within that zone. Hiroshima police officials estimated that immediate casualties amounted to 71,379 individuals who were either killed or reported missing. In the surrounding areas, the blast effects crushed unreinforced structures before igniting them, resulting in an additional 68,023 wounded, with 19,691 of those injuries classified as serious. Subsequent assessments, potentially incorporating the impacts of radiation sickness or more precise accounting, recorded 30,524 individuals as seriously wounded and 48,606 as slightly wounded. Just two minutes after detonation, a growing mushroom cloud of highly radioactive dust and debris soared to a height of 20,000 feet. Within eight minutes, Tibbets' crew could observe the mushroom cloud from 390 miles away. Ultimately, the dust cloud peaked at approximately 60,000 feet in altitude. Soon after, a thick, black, radioactive rain fell upon the areas beneath the cloud. The center of the city was utterly devastated; over four square miles of the urban center, which encompassed seven square miles in total, were completely flattened, resulting in about 60% of the city's area being destroyed. An additional 0.6 square miles suffered damage, while more than 75% of the city's 90,000 buildings were obliterated. The ensuing fires compounded the devastation, contributing to countless deaths and injuries. Tragically, some American prisoners of war were present in Hiroshima and lost their lives in the explosion. Meanwhile, Enola Gay safely returned to Tinian at 14:58, where Tibbets was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, while the rest of the crew received Distinguished Flying Crosses for their participation in the mission. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Japan was broken. To be perfectly honest she had been broken long ago. Her leadership had been spending months trying to figure out the best possible way to surrender, while the civilians and troops were suffering horribly. Aerial mining strangled her of food, high explosive and incendiary bombs, killed untold scores of people, and then the Atomic weapons were let loose upon her. It was over.

For centuries, the Barbary Corsairs captured ships and enslaved European Christians, turning the Mediterranean into a sea of fear and ransom. Backed by the rulers of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, the corsairs built vast fortunes—and even empires. But in 1816, after failed diplomacy and mounting outrage, Britain struck back.Dan tells the story of the fiery bombardment that shook Algiers to its core and marked the beginning of the end for Barbary piracy. For this episode in our Pirates series, he's joined by Aaron Jaffer, Curator of World History and Cultures at Royal Museums Greenwich.Written by Dan Snow, produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.You can discover more and book tickets for the 'Pirates' exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Greenwich here.Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday 12th September 2025! To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/You can now find Dan Snow's History Hit on YouTube! Watch episodes every Friday here.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Send us a textNew York Open Tickets Live! https://www.ny-open.com/ticketsAtlantic City Open (3-person Teams)! https://store.frontlinegaming.org/collections/champions-cup-2025/products/champions-cup-2025-kill-team-teamsJAKTP Discord Link: https://discord.gg/6653HG9XKb JAKTP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justanotherkillteampodcast?igsh=ZzR2dmRwZTM3MGQ= JAKTP Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCGQMlcqFmbwp295Hvaxxg JAKTP Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/JustAnotherKillteamPodcastSupport the show

Send us a textTravis and Jason chat with Matt from New Jersey about Corsairs, Phobos Strike Team, and Kasrkin. Summer Slaughter (08/16): https://wickeddicey.com/product/summer-slaughter-kill-team/Skill Team Discord: https://discord.gg/AGUkqVbnt9New York Open Tickets Live! https://www.ny-open.com/ticketsAtlantic City Open (3-person Teams)! https://store.frontlinegaming.org/collections/champions-cup-2025/products/champions-cup-2025-kill-team-teamsJAKTP Discord Link: https://discord.gg/6653HG9XKb JAKTP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justanotherkillteampodcast?igsh=ZzR2dmRwZTM3MGQ= JAKTP Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCGQMlcqFmbwp295Hvaxxg JAKTP Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/JustAnotherKillteamPodcastSupport the show

I talk about the games that I have run both regularly and as one-shots this quarter. Also a call in and response from MW Lewis of the Worlds of MW Lewis Podcast (https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/mwlewis/episodes/316-Fantasy-Literature-Review-of-The-Well-at-the-Worlds-End-e2imf99). Check out the podcast linked above for his discussion about William Morris (https://fantasy.bnf.fr/en/understand/william-morris-writer-thousand-faces/#:~:text=His%20stories%20ranged%20from%20historical-fantasy%20novels%20like%20The,the%20fantasy%20texts%20that%20occupied%20his%20final%20years.)The Games: Traveller (https://www.mongoosepublishing.com/collections/traveller-rpgs)Twilight 2000 (https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/twilight-2000/)Hyperborea (https://www.hyperborea.tv/)Corsairs of Cthulhu (https://www.newcometgames.com/product-page/corsairs-of-cthulhu-preorder-book; https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-getting-started/)Enemy Within, Warhammer Fantasy RPG (https://cubicle7games.com/our-games/warhammer-fantasy-roleplay)Blood Lords, Pathfinder 2 (https://paizo.com/pathfinder; https://paizo.com/store/pathfinder/adventures/adventurePath/bloodLords)Masks of Nyarlathotep, Cohors Cthulhu (https://www.chaosium.com/masks-of-nyarlathotep-slipcase-set/; https://modiphius.net/en-us/pages/cohors-cthulhu)The One Ring (https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/the-one-ring/)AD&D 1e, Against the Slave Lords (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/169626/A0A4-Against-the-Slave-Lords-1e)=========Mothership (https://www.tuesdayknightgames.com/pages/mothership-rpg)Iron Kingdoms (5e) (https://home.privateerpress.com/2021/01/22/return-to-the-iron-kingdoms-the-ikrpg-is-now-5e-ready/)Mausritter (https://mausritter.com/)Alternity (1997) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternity)Operation: Whitebox (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/196284/owb001-wwii-operation-whitebox)Marvel Multiverse Roleplaying (https://www.marvel.com/rpg)Please check out our YouTube channel - The GMologist Presents (⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@thegmologist)⁠⁠⁠⁠Cover clip art by Amy Lee Rodriguez. You can send me a message (voice or text) via a DM on Discord, as an attachment to my email (gmologist@gmail.com) or to my Speakpipe account: https://www.speakpipe.com/Th-role-playing?keyword=eldrich%20tales)eGmologistPresents

Last time we spoke about the invasion of Iwo Jima. In March 1945, as the Pacific War raged, the US Marines began and invasion of Iwo Jima while Allied forces advanced across the Philippines. The Japanese formed the 32nd Army to defend the island, but faced shortages of supplies and equipment. They mobilized Okinawan civilians for support and constructed extensive fortifications. The Americans launched Operation Iceberg, neutralizing enemy air facilities in the Ryukyus, Kyushu, and Formosa. Task Force 58 and other air forces struck Japanese targets, while Spruance's 5th Fleet prepared to land Buckner's 10th Army. Initial landings occurred in the Kerama Islands, followed by the main assault on April 1 on Okinawa's Hagushi beaches. Despite heavy bombardment, Japanese defenses remained concealed. The Americans encountered minimal resistance initially, but the stage was set for a bloody and brutal battle. This episode is Yamato's Last Stand Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  As we last left off, Admirals Turner and Spruance successfully landed over 60,000 troops from General Buckner's 10th Army on the Hagushi beaches of Okinawa with minimal resistance. In response, General Ushijima's main forces remained inactive in their underground positions in the south, having effectively endured the continuous naval and air assaults from the enemy. However, under pressure from higher authorities in Tokyo and Formosa, the 32nd Army began to develop plans for a general counteroffensive aimed at the Yontan and Kadena airfields, utilizing nighttime infiltration and close combat tactics. The primary response, however, was expected to come from the air. As part of Operation Ten-Go, all Army and Navy air forces stationed in the Home Islands were to focus their efforts in the East China Sea to execute a series of coordinated mass air strikes against enemy transport and carrier task forces, collectively referred to as the Kikisui attacks. Japan's wartime terminology exploited the distinctively poetic and euphemistic nature of the Japanese language. The informal term kamikaze actually means “divine wind.” Specifically, kamikaze refers to the typhoons that miraculously wrecked Kublai Khan's Mongol–Koryo invasion fleets in 1274. Like “blitzkrieg”, the unofficial term “kamikaze” was mostly used by Allied journalists. The IJN and IJA officially called suicide attack units tokubetsu kogekitai, meaning “special attack unit.” This was usually shortened to tokkutai, with tokko both noun and adjective meaning “special” i.e. suicide. Kikisui was the codename for the ten mass kamikaze attacks off Okinawa against the Allied fleet. Kikisui means “floating chrysanthemum,” which was the war emblem of legendary 14th-century samurai Masashige Kusinoke, a national exemplar of sacrificial devotion to the Emperor. Ten-Go had been initiated on March 26, following the initial landings on the Kerama Islands; however, by the time of the invasion, Admiral Toyoda's disorganized Combined Fleet was unable to carry out any large-scale kamikaze attacks, as it was still consolidating approximately 3,000 aircraft in Kyushu. Additionally, encouraged by Emperor Hirohito, Toyoda momentarily sanctioned a dramatic, one-way suicide mission involving the superbattleship Yamato and Rear-Admiral Komura Keizo's 2nd Destroyer Squadron, aimed at destroying Spruance's invasion fleet. This surface attack mission, codenamed Ten-Ichi-Go and led by Vice-Admiral Ito Seiichi of the 2nd Fleet, vaguely suggested that if Yamato reached Okinawa, she would ground herself as an artillery platform while her crew disembarked as naval infantry. Nonetheless, the chances of success for this mission were slim; it was primarily intended for the Imperial Japanese Navy to maintain its honor. On April 2, while General Watson's 2nd Marine Division conducted another demonstration off the southeast beaches, American forces prepared to advance eastward. In the south, benefiting from ideal weather and minimal resistance, the 17th Regiment secured the highlands overlooking Nakagusuku Bay and extended its patrols to the bay's shoreline. The 32nd Regiment eliminated a strongpoint south of Koza using tanks and then aligned with the 17th. The 381st Regiment advanced through Shimabuku but faced enemy resistance in and around Momobaru. Meanwhile, the 383rd Regiment captured a hill just south of Momobaru after a fierce battle and also took a ridge northeast of Futema with support from airstrikes, artillery, and tanks. In the north, however, General Geiger's Marines faced challenging terrain and supply issues. The 1st Battalion, 29th Marines moved north to secure the unoccupied Zampa Misaki area, where Turner later established a radar station. The 22nd Marines advanced quickly eastward throughout the day against light opposition, successfully securing the Nagahama beaches alongside the 6th Reconnaissance Company. On the other hand, the 4th Marines met with steadily mounting resistance. At 1100 a platoon of 3/4, entering the mouth of a steep ravine was met by a sharp fusillade of small-arms fire, which revealed a series of mutually supporting caves on both sides of the draw. In the fire fight that ensued, 12 wounded men were isolated and not recovered for four hours. "Every means of painlessly destroying the strongpoint was unsuccessfully tried and it was finally taken by a typical 'Banzai' charge, with one platoon entering the mouth of the draw and one platoon coming down one side of the two noses that formed the pocket."  The 1st Marine Division continued its advance with little resistance to the Ishimmi-Kutoku line, also extending southward to Chatan, while the 1st Marines moved past the 5th Marines toward Chibana. With approximately 6,000 yards separating General Del Valle's main frontline units from the 7th Division, General Arnold decided to send Colonel Roy Greene's 184th Regiment to fill this significant gap. At sea, Admiral Mitscher's Task Force 58 launched a strike against Amami Oshima, sinking three vessels and damaging two others, while also witnessing four warships collide and sustain damage. In retaliation, Admiral Ugaki's Kyushu aircraft force conducted sporadic kamikaze attacks, resulting in damage to five transports. The next day, General Hodge's 24th Corps shifted its focus southward. The 17th Regiment secured the rear areas and captured Awase, while the 32nd Regiment advanced approximately 5,000 yards along Nakagusuku Bay to occupy Kuba and establish its lines in front of Hill 165. The 381st Regiment took control of Kishaba and Atanniya but failed in its assaults on Hill 165 and Unjo. Meanwhile, the 383rd Regiment swiftly occupied Isa, Chiyunna, and the Futema high ground. Looking north, Del Valle dispatched the 1st Reconnaissance Company to scout the area along the corps boundary, sweep the Katchin Peninsula, and patrol back up the east coast to the village of Hizaonna. This maneuver enabled the 1st Marines to advance quickly in formation and reach the sea wall overlooking the northern end of Nakagusuku Bay by nightfall. Concurrently, the 5th Marines moved forward and successfully occupied Agina and Tengan; the 7th Marines gained around 2,700 yards of enemy territory and ultimately reached Hizaonna, although Company K became lost and was ambushed. The 4th Marines navigated the challenging terrain and light enemy resistance to secure the significant hill mass behind Yontan airfield, located 3,000 yards short of the east coast. The 22nd Marines advanced and successfully captured Nakadomari, along with a position 400 yards south of that line. Meanwhile, the 6th Reconnaissance Company, supported by armored units, crossed the Ishikawa Isthmus to the village of Ishikawa, where they faced mortar fire. At sea, Mitscher's aircraft carriers targeted Okinawa, sinking two vessels and damaging two others. In response, Ugaki was finally able to launch a preliminary mass Ten-Go air attack, with 119 aircraft causing damage to the escort carrier Wake Island, the destroyers Bennett, Prichett, and Foreman, the minesweeper Hambelton, and two landing craft. Due to significant advancements, Geiger successfully deployed Colonel Victor Bleasdale's 29th Marines to take control of the Yontan airfield and other rear areas. To the south, Del Valle's units moved toward the eastern shore of Okinawa, with the 1st Marines occupying the Katchin Peninsula without facing any resistance, while the 5th and 7th Marine Regiments secured the coastline in their designated zones. Further south, after splitting the island in two, Hodge began advancing toward Naha, targeting the hill mass stretching from Urasoe-Mura to Hill 178 and Ouki. In response, General Bradley positioned Colonel Macey Dill's 382nd Regiment in front of Nodake, while the 184th Regiment moved through the 381st in the Attaniya-Unjo area. For the initial push toward the Uchitomari-Tsuwa line, the 383rd Regiment advanced quickly from Isa to Mashiki, where they were ultimately halted by heavy fire from the south. The 382nd advanced over two miles south from Nodake along the eastern boundary of the division, while Arnold's forward units lagged about two miles behind due to moderate resistance at a high, wooded ridge parallel to the coastline just west of Kuba. Meanwhile, at sea, Ugaki launched only sporadic kamikaze attacks, which resulted in damage to the destroyer Wilson near the Kerama Islands. Additionally, two American vessels collided while Task Force 58 targeted Okinawa, and later that night, a suicide boat attacked and sank an LCI gunboat. In the Attaniya-Unjo area, the 383rd Regiment made a swift advance from Isa to Mashiki as part of the initial push towards the Uchitomari-Tsuwa line. However, the following day marked the onset of fierce resistance on Okinawa, with the 383rd Regiment struggling to make headway against the formidable Japanese defenses on Cactus Ridge. Meanwhile, the 382nd Regiment continued its advance southward against a series of fortified positions, achieving gains of approximately 400 yards to the east and 900 yards to the west. The 184th Regiment moved through Arakachi but was halted by intense and precise fire from a rocky outcrop located about 1,000 yards southwest. The 32nd Regiment finally managed to capture Castle Hill before pushing more than two miles along the coast to a point east of Ukuma. To the north, while the 1st Marine Division shifted to a primarily defensive posture, the 6th Marine Division conducted active reconnaissance toward the Motobu Peninsula, advancing the front to the Atsutabaru-Chima line. Additionally, a patrol from the 1st Marines on the Katchin Peninsula crossed the reef to seize Yabuchi Island swiftly. At sea, there were no kamikaze attacks that day as Ugaki and Toyoda prepared to launch the main phase of Operation Ten-Go, although an Okinawa shore battery managed to hit the battleship Nevada. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, American intelligence had successfully intercepted Combined Fleet codes, allowing them to anticipate the details of the surface Ten-Ichi-Go attack. Consequently, Spruance's warships were prepared for the imminent departure of Ito's “Surface Special Attack Force,” which was executed a few hours later. Additionally, Ushijima was instructed to initiate a strong counterattack the following day to coincide with Ten-Ichi-Go and the first Kikisui attack, but he firmly rejected this order and called for the cancellation of the unnecessarily suicidal surface attack. During the night, as Admiral Blandy's minesweepers completed the perilous task of clearing the vast areas of Chimu and Nakagusuku Bays, the Fleet Marine Force Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed on the northern coast of Tsugen Island to gather intelligence on enemy positions. Upon their arrival in the early hours of April 6, they encountered machine-gun and mortar fire, which ultimately compelled the battalion to retreat to the beach and reembark. Simultaneously, the 4th and 29th Marine Regiments advanced through the 22nd Marine Regiment, with the 29th Marines moving up the west coast in formation and reaching Chuda by noon, while the 4th Marines progressed along the eastern coastal road, successfully advancing seven miles toward Madaira. Further south, the 383rd Regiment continued its assault on the fortified enemy positions at Cactus Ridge, pushing forward relentlessly until they secured the western half by nightfall. The 2d Battalion, 383d Infantry, made frontal assaults through intense mortar fire to gain the ridge. "We figured," S/Sgt. Francis M. Rall later wrote, "that the way to get out of that knee mortar fire was to get to where it was coming from. So we stood up in waves, firing everything we had and throwing hand grenades by the dozen, and charged the Jap position." By such tactics the 2d Battalion gained the western half of Cactus.  Over the next two days, the 382nd Regiment advanced slowly east of the Ginowan road, facing fierce resistance from the Tombstone and Nishibaru Ridges. After a 10-minute artillery bombardment, two companies of the 1st Battalion, 184th Regiment climbed nearly to the summit of the Pinnacle but were ultimately pushed back by strong resistance from caves and underground strongholds. Undeterred, Company B continued frontal assaults while Company C maneuvered up the western approaches to surprise the determined defenders. This strategy proved effective, with Company C reaching the top without sustaining any casualties and then methodically eliminating the remaining Japanese troops using white phosphorus grenades and flamethrowers. As the Pinnacle was being captured, the 32nd Regiment advanced across the coastal flatlands with minimal resistance to maintain contact with the 184th Regiment. On this day, Task Force 58 returned to sea, launching strikes on Okinawa and the Daito Islands, while Admiral Rawlings' Task Force 57 targeted the Ishigaki and Miyako Islands. Meanwhile, Japanese aerial reconnaissance identified two American carrier groups near Okinawa, prompting Ugaki to initiate his first mass Kikisui attack, sending hundreds of Japanese aircraft to assault Mitscher's carriers. US carriers unleashed a combined 19 USN and four USMC squadrons to blunt the onslaught. Swirling, running dogfights developed around noon and lasted through sunset. April 6 may have started slow, but by evening it had developed into one of the greatest aerial confrontations of all time. American CAPs overwhelmingly massacred the poorly trained Japanese attackers; Mitscher's Task Force 58 fighters claimed 249 Japanese planes for just two lost—a staggering 125-to-1 kill ratio. Yet the kamikaze pilots' grim determination was chillingly apparent. According to VF-82's action report: “Of all the enemy planes encountered, not one returned fire, all remained on course, boring in toward the surface vessels. The only evasive action offered was jinking, and the majority of the aircraft were obsolete models as can be seen by the list [of] destroyed. Primary danger to our pilots was collision or getting in the path of a friendly plane's fire.” Essex's VF-83 (36 Hellcats) and VBF-83 (36 Corsairs) combined for 69 kills, while Belleau Wood's 24 VF-30 Hellcats shot down 47. Belleau Wood's skipper, Captain Red Tomlinson, duly signaled Task Group 58.1's Rear Admiral Joseph J. Jocko Clark: “Does this exceed the bag limit?” Clark responded, “Negative. There is no limit. This is open season. Well done.” The US carrier fighters' 275 kills was thus the war's 4th-highest 1-day total. 13 US pilots achieved ace status (scored their 5th kill) on April 6, with 4 becoming “ace-in-a-day.” 10 pilots claimed 4 kills, while another 17 shot down 3 each. Combined with anti-aircraft fire, the Americans destroyed 355 Japanese planes. However, even significant aerial victories could not prevent the devastating kamikaze assaults, with approximately 182 Japanese aircraft in 22 groups attacking Spruance's 5th Fleet that afternoon. This led to 24 kamikaze planes sinking the destroyers Bush and Colhoun, as well as three transport ships, and inflicting further damage on the light carrier San Jacinto, 12 destroyers, three destroyer minesweepers, and one minesweeper. Friendly anti-aircraft fire also caused damage to battleship North Carolina, light cruiser Pasadena, and destroyer Hutchins. Despite the extensive damage, four new escort carriers arrived off Okinawa that day, bringing the first 222 fighters of Major-General Francis Mulcahy's Tactical Air Force, stationed at Yontan airfield. Meanwhile, the Yamato force set sail at 15:24 towards Okinawa, but within 45 minutes, a B-29 spotted them in transit. Submarine Threadfin then detected Ito's strike force moving through the Bungo Strait at 17:45. As Ito's force rounded Kyushu to the southwest, it was monitored overnight by submarine Hackleback, which sent four additional contact reports and was pursued three times briefly by one of Yamato's escorting destroyers. Concerned about a potential mass Kikisui attack on April 7, Spruance ordered Mitscher's carriers to concentrate on thwarting Japanese air assaults while tasking Admiral Deyo's Task Force 54 with intercepting Ito's strike force. At 06:20, April 7, six Zeros of the 203rd Kokutai arrived over Yamato as CAP. 14 total Zeros would relay in small groups over the Yamato task force, but all would depart as scheduled by 10:00. The Americans already knew the exact CAP schedule of Yamato's fighters, a later US intelligence memo dryly observing, “They left too soon.” At 08:32, an Essex Hellcat reported the Yamato task force southwest of Koshiki Retto at a heading of 300 degrees. The Yamato group was doing 22kts and deployed in a diamond formation, with Yamato in the center and Yahagi astern. Yamato simultaneously reported that she had been sighted. Visibility was highly variable, with patchy overcast. Within minutes, two VPB-21 PBM-3 Mariner flying boats (based at Kerama Retto with seaplane tender Chandeleur) arrived and began shadowing Yamato and radioing situation reports. Meanwhile, Mitscher duly reported the Yamato sighting to Spruance, before dispatching 16 additional fighters at 09:15 to track Yamato. Shortly after Yamato's CAP had departed, at 10:14, the Japanese discovered the two shadowing PBM-3 Mariners, and simultaneously reported a US submarine stalking the task force—this was Hackleback, which had managed to catch back up with the zig-zagging Japanese. Three minutes later, at 10:17, Yamato turned towards the Mariners and opened fire with her awesome 18.1in. Sanshikidan anti-aircraft shells. Yahagi also opened fire, and additionally began jamming the Mariners' transmissions. The Mariners retreated into the clouds unharmed at 10:18, and Yamato and Yahagi ceased fire. To his chief-of-staff, Commodore Arleigh Burke, Mitscher announced: “Inform Admiral Spruance that I propose to strike the Yamato sortie group at 1200hrs unless otherwise directed.” The grizzled aviator desperately wished to sink Yamato, but he likely suspected that Spruance, riding New Mexico, intended his beloved dreadnoughts claim one last moment of glory. “Will you take them or shall I?” Mitscher pressed. Spruance's response: “You take them.” At 10:00, the carriers of Task Groups 58.1 and 58.3 launched the first wave of 282 aircraft, although only 227 managed to locate Ito's strike force as they navigated through challenging, overcast weather. At 11:07, Yamato's radars detected the large formation approaching from 63 nautical miles away, prompting Ito to increase speed to 25 knots. Within eight minutes, the formation closed to 44 nautical miles, leading the Japanese to initiate sharp evasive maneuvers. Bennington's Lieutenant-Commander Hugh Woods' airborne radar detected the Yamato task force some 25nm away from its predicted location, and the US strike altered course. Five minutes later, the Americans made visual contact through a hole in the patchy 3,000ft overcast, a Hornet pilot recalling, “Yamato looked like the Empire State Building plowing through the water.” Yamato cruised in the center, flanked by destroyers Kasumi, Suzutsuki, Hamakaze, and Yukikaze. Light cruiser Yahagi was in the van, followed by destroyers Hatsushimo, Isokaze, and Fuyutsuki. The first American aviators encountered the destroyer Asashimo, which had been experiencing machinery issues for five hours and had fallen 12 nautical miles behind the main task force to the north. San Jacinto's seven Hellcats dove against Asashimo, but the crippled destroyer threw up notably heavy flak. The Hellcats' 1,000lb bombs closely straddled Asashimo, buckling the destroyer's hull plating. The Hellcats then repeatedly strafed the destroyer, causing large fires that quickly silenced Asashimo's guns. San Jacinto's eight Avengers then made a textbook attack run at 300ft, dropping torpedoes from 1,200 to 1,600yds range. Trailing a wide oil slick, the crippled Asashimo attempted to comb the torpedoes, but one struck beneath her bridge and a second hit near her engine room. Successive explosions blew Asashimo partly out of the water and broke her in half. Asashimo sank at 1213hrs, going down with all 330 men. She had lasted three minutes against San Jacinto's attack. Twelve miles ahead, Yamato lookouts spotted the incoming aircraft at 12:32, which then spent the next five minutes circling just outside the range of Japanese anti-aircraft fire to coordinate their strike plan. Around this time, Yamato also raised Togo's iconic Tsushima flag signal: “On this one battle rests the fate of our nation. Let every man do his utmost.”At 12:37, the circling planes launched their coordinated assault on Yamato and her escorts, focusing on the superbattleship's port side in an attempt to capsize her. US fighters repeatedly strafed Yamato with their 5in. rockets and 0.50cal. machine guns, decimating Japanese antiaircraft batteries and slaughtering exposed antiaircraft crews. The intense carnage and chaos that followed suppressed careful targeting and further ravaged Japanese gunners' morale. Yamato was maneuvering hard at her flank speed of 27kts, when at 1240hrs four Bennington Helldivers from VB-82 delivered two 1,000lb bombs near Yamato's mainmast. The first bomb exploded in Yamato's crew quarters. The second detonated near Yamato's aft command station and caused serious damage, destroying one of Yamato's two air search radars, her after secondary gun director, and several 25mm antiaircraft guns. The subsequent fires shortly reached the powder handling area beneath Yamato's after 6.1in. turret and detonated the readyuse propellant. The resulting conflagration virtually exterminated the 6.1in. turret crew, but flash doors prevented the explosion from reaching the rest of the magazine. Nevertheless, the explosion killed the area's entire damage control party, meaning the resulting fire would rage uncontrolled for the rest of the battle. The Americans lost one Helldiver. At 1243hrs, eight Hornet Avengers launched torpedo attacks against Yamato's port side, covered by 14 Bunker Hill Corsairs strafing Yamato with rockets. Antiaircraft fire hit six Avengers, destroying one, but at least three torpedoes hit the water. The first two torpedoes missed, but at 1245hrs the third torpedo slammed into Yamato's port side, opening her hull to 2,235 tons of seawater. Japanese damage control counterflooded with 604 tons of water to correct the list. Attempting to draw US attackers from Yamato, Hara's light cruiser Yahagi had maneuvered away from the Japanese battleship, steaming hard at 35kts. US strafing had already ricocheted machine gun bullets around Yahagi's bridge, killing a lookout. Watching the attack unfold, Hara admitted, “The spectacle was at once thrilling and terrifying.” Meanwhile, Bennington's Lieutenant-Commander Ed De Garmo led three Avengers against Yahagi. At 1246hrs, De Garmo's Avengers delivered Yahagi her first hit and it was a devastating one. A single torpedo struck Yahagi in the engine room, killing the entire engineering crew. Yahagi was left dead in the water nine minutes into the battle. Destroyer Isokaze subsequently sped towards Yahagi to take off Rear Admiral Komura. Meanwhile, around 56 aircraft targeted Yamato's escorting destroyers, leading to multiple torpedo hits that split Hamakaze in two; Isokaze was bombarded with bombs; Fuyutsuki suffered minor damage from two dud rockets; and Suzutsuki was struck by a bomb that severed her bow. The first wave of attacks concluded at 12:50, as Ito sought to reorganize his forces and evaluate Yahagi's status. Shortly after 13:00, a second wave of 50 aircraft appeared, managing to hit Yamato's port bow with a bomb at 13:23 and inflicting several bomb hits near the battleship's bridge. Additionally, two bomb hits and several near misses critically damaged the destroyer Kasumi, leaving her dead in the water and ablaze. At 1333 the third wave of US attackers arrived, comprising 110 new Yorktown, Intrepid, and Langley aircraft from the delayed TG-58.4 strike. The Americans now overwhelmingly focused on the reeling Yamato. Twenty Avengers attacked Yamato's portside. Around 1337, the third wave saw three confirmed torpedo hits on Yamato's portside, plus a fourth probable hit, increasing her portside list to 15–16 degrees. Stationed on Yamato's bridge, Ensign Mitsuru Yoshida recalled, “I could hear the Captain vainly shouting, ‘Hold on men! Hold on men!'”. Aruga had no option but to flood Yamato's starboard machinery spaces, where hundreds of engineers toiled to keep Yamato underway. Water, both from torpedo hits and the flood valves rushed into these compartments and snuffed out the lives of the men at their posts, several hundred in all. Caught between cold sea water and steam and boiling water from the damaged boilers, they simply melted away.” Aruga's drastic measure reduced Yamato's portside list back to five degrees, but exhausted her last starboard counterflooding capacity. Having lost one shaft and gained 3,000 tons more water, Yamato's speed fell to 12kts. At 1342hrs, TG-58.4 Avengers dropped another four torpedoes. Yoshida marveled, “That these pilots repeated their attacks with such accuracy and coolness, was a sheer display of the unfathomable, undreamed-of strength of our foes!” Yamato shot down one Avenger, but two torpedoes plowed into Yamato's portside, making five torpedo hits in five minutes. The Americans had intentionally targeted Yamato's stern to wreck her steering, and the gamble paid off. Yamato's rudders were now disabled, jamming her in a permanent starboard turn. Any chance of reaching Okinawa was gone. Reduced to a speed of 8 knots and unable to maneuver, the stricken Yamato became an easy target. Around 14:02, Mitscher's relentless carrier planes inflicted at least four more bomb hits, disabling most of Yamato's remaining operational anti-aircraft guns as the battleship helplessly circled. As a result, Ito canceled the Ten-Ichi-Go attack and promptly ordered all his warships to rescue survivors and attempt to retreat to Japan. The sinking battleship was then deserted, except for Ito and Captain Aruga Kosaku, who chose to go down with their ship.  Throughout the battle, a stoic Ito had sat silently with arms crossed on Yamato's bridge, unflinching as bullets ricocheted around him, slaughtering his staff. Ensing Yoshida Mitsuru now observed that Ito “struggled to his feet. His chief of staff then arose and saluted. A prolonged silence followed during which they regarded each other solemnly.” Ito then told his staff, “Save yourselves. I shall stay with the ship.” Ito then shook hands deliberately with his officers, retired to his sea cabin one deck below, and locked it behind him. Meanwhile, with Yamato's pumps no longer functioning, alarms began to blare: temperatures in the 18.1-inch magazines were approaching dangerous levels. By 14:20, the capsizing Yamato's main deck was vertical to the ocean. Captain Aruga, eating a biscuit given to him by a rating, tied himself to a binnacle on Yamato's bridge. As Yamato capsized, surviving men clambered across her keel, a crazed, half-naked officer screaming and brandishing his samurai sword at the Americans.  Meanwhile, the Americans continued pummeling the helpless Yahagi, which “quivered and rocked as if made of paper,” recalled Captain Hara. The stricken Yahagi suffered repeated hits. “My proud cruiser,” Hara brooded, “was but a mass of junk, barely afloat.” Around 1400hrs Yahagi took the decisive torpedo hit, triggering a clearly fatal starboard roll. Hara finally ordered, “Abandon ship.” At 1405hrs, one minute after receiving her last bomb, Yahagi capsized and sank, having somehow absorbed at least 12 bombs and seven torpedoes. Captain Hara and Rear Admiral Komura calmly stepped into the water as Yahagi sank from beneath them, only barely surviving the sinking Yahagi's undertow. Now clinging to floating wreckage, the exhausted Hara observed “scores of planes swarming about [Yamato] like gnats.” By 14:20, the capsizing Yamato's main deck was vertical to the ocean, and three minutes later, the sinking dreadnought exploded catastrophically before finally disappearing beneath the East China Sea. Yamato's capsizing motion had likely forced open her 18.1in. powder room doors, allowing fires into the battleship's magazines. An American gunner described the explosion as “the prettiest sight I've ever seen … A red column of fire shot up through the clouds and when it faded Yamato was gone.” The detonation killed most Yamato survivors still struggling in the water and may have destroyed several US aircraft. The Americans' exact score will never be known, but Yamato had certainly absorbed seven bombs and nine to twelve torpedoes out of 150 torpedoes dropped. The US planes departed at 1443, but not before issuing “a few farewell strafing runs across the Yamato survivors.” Destroyers Suzutsuki, Fuyuzuki, Yukikaze, and Hatsushimo rescued 1,620 men, including Hara and Komura, before successfully returning to Japan. Additionally, the disabled destroyers Isokaze and Kasumi were scuttled by Yukikaze and Fuyuzuki, respectively. By the end of the action, the combined losses for Ten-Ichi-Go totaled 4,242 Japanese lives. Meanwhile, Ugaki had launched a second mass kamikaze attack around noon, sending 132 aircraft towards Task Force 58. Although Mitscher's fighters shot down 54 attackers, the kamikazes managed to damage the fast carrier Hancock, the battleship Maryland, the destroyers Bennett and Wesson, and a motor minesweeper. The initial Kikisui operation resulted in the deaths of 485 Americans and left 582 wounded. The significant losses over the two days hindered Ugaki from launching another large-scale Kikisui attack for five days. Meanwhile, back in Okinawa on April 7 and 8, Hodge continued his offensive in the south. In Bradley's sector, the 383rd Regiment persistently executed banzai charges against the remaining enemy strongholds on Cactus Ridge until the entire area was secured by American forces. They then advanced toward Kakazu Ridge, where they faced even stronger resistance. The 382nd Regiment made a slow but steady push forward, ultimately being halted by intense fire across a broad front just north of Kaniku and Tombstone Ridge.  The fighting in the 7th Division's sector on April 7 centered on a low, bare hill 1000 yards west of the town of Minami-Uebaru, called Red Hill because of its color. The enemy had made a fortress of the hill by constructing his usual system of caves and connecting trenches. A frontal assault on Red Hill by troops of the 3rd Battalion failed in the face of machine-gun and mortar fire. In a 2nd attempt, 3 platoons of tanks supported the attack. 10 medium and 5 light tanks advanced through a cut toward Red Hill; 2 tanks were blown up by mines and 1 was satchel-charged as the column moved toward the hill and up the sides. Intense enemy artillery and machine-gun fire drove the infantry back and disabled more tanks. Japanese swarmed in among the armor and tried to destroy the tanks with satchel charges and flaming rags. 2 medium tanks held off the attackers, the defending crews resorting to hand grenades, while the rest of the operative tanks withdrew. The 14th Independent Battalion headquarters proudly described this action as a perfect example of how to separate troops from tanks and thus break up the American infantry-tank team. The enemy dispatch stated: "The above method of isolating the troops from the tanks with surprise fire followed by close combat tactics is an example in the complete destruction of enemy tanks and will be a great factor in deciding the victories of tank warfare." After these 2 reversals the 3rd Battalion made a wide enveloping maneuver to the right. Behind fire from artillery and supporting weapons, the troops drove toward Red Hill from the west and occupied it, suffering only 2 casualties in the move. Once more a Japanese outpost had shown its strength against a frontal attack and its vulnerability to a flanking maneuver. The capture of Red Hill left another sector of enemy territory open for the taking. The troops advanced 100 yards south before digging in. A platoon of tanks conducted a remarkable 4000-yard foray almost to Hill 178 and withdrew safely, despite a bombing attack by two single-engined Japanese planes. The following day, the 184th continued its advance southward under heavy fire, managing to take Triangulation Hill after two fierce assaults. Simultaneously, the 32nd Regiment captured Tsuwa as it extended the front along the coastline. By the night of April 8, the 24th Corps had sustained 1,510 battle casualties while inflicting 4,489 Japanese fatalities and capturing 13; they had finally reached the formidable perimeter of the Shuri fortified zone. Looking north, on April 7, the Fleet Marine Force Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed on Ike Island, encountering no opposition. Subsequently, Company B was dispatched to secure Takabanare Island, while Company A took control of Heanza and Hamahika Islands. During the night, Company B reembarked, maneuvered around Tsugen Island, and landed on Kutaka Island, where they also found no enemy presence. Simultaneously, the 32nd Regiment captured Tsuwa as it expanded the front along the coastline. By the evening of April 8, the 24th Corps had incurred 1,510 battle casualties. On the same day, Shepherd advanced north with minimal resistance, as the 29th Marines successfully reached Nago while the 4th Marines moved through Henoko. Ahead of the division, the 6th Reconnaissance Company traveled up the west coast road to the village of Awa and then crossed the base of the Motobu Peninsula to Nakaoshi, encountering and either destroying or scattering several enemy groups along the way. As the reconnaissance zone was extended westward on April 8, clear signs, confirmed by aerial observations and photographs, indicated that the enemy had chosen the rugged mountains of Motobu as their defensive position. As a result, the 22nd Marines were deployed across the island from Nakaoshi to Ora to protect the right flank and rear of the 29th Marines attacking westward, while the 4th Marines assembled near Ora to support either the 29th on Motobu or the 22nd in the north. The 2nd Battalion, 29th Marines probed westward, moving across the base of Motobu and occupying the village of Gagusuku. Additionally, the reserve 1st Battalion at Yofuke successfully secured Yamadadobaru and Narashido, facing heavy enemy machine-gun and rifle fire at the latter location. The following day, the 29th Marines advanced in three columns to locate the enemy's main force at Motobu; all columns encountered resistance, revealing that a significant enemy force confronted the division in the area stretching from Itomi to Toguchi. On April 10, the 2nd Battalion, 29th Marines captured Unten Ko, where the Japanese had established a submarine and torpedo boat base; the 3rd Battalion took Toguchi and sent patrols into the interior, while the 1st Battalion advanced through Itomi and uncovered well-fortified positions on the high ground north of the village. On April 9, the 184th Regiment successfully captured Tomb Hill in the south following an artillery and air bombardment, while the 32nd Regiment took control of several finger ridges to the east that oversaw the approaches to Ouki. The Japanese-held area in front of the 383rd Regiment offered the enemy an ideal combination of defensive features. A deep moat, a hill studded with natural and man-made positions, a cluster of thick-walled buildings behind the hill; these were the basic elements of Kakazu stronghold. The enemy had exploited each one of them. Moreover, Kakazu, unlike such outposts as the Pinnacle, was an integral element of the Shuri fortified zone and a vital rampart that could expect reinforcements and heavy fire support from within the ring of positions that surrounded the 32nd Army headquarters, only 4000 yards to the south. Between the Americans and Kakazu lay a deep gorge, half hidden by trees and brush, which could be crossed only with difficulty. The Kakazu hill mass itself, which was made up of two hills connected by a saddle, stretched northwest-southeast for 2000 yards, sloping on the west toward the coastal flat and ending on the east at Highway 5. Just below Kakazu Ridge on the southeast was the town of Kakazu, a compact group of tile-roofed structures, each surrounded by hedges and stone walls and somewhat in defilade to the adjoining open fields. In and around the Kakazu hills the Japanese had created one of their strongest positions on Okinawa. Mortars dug in on the reverse slope were zeroed-in on the gorge and on vulnerable areas between the gorge and the crest of Kakazu. Several spigot mortars also protected the hill. In an intricate system of coordinated pillboxes, tunnels, and caves Japanese machine-guns were sited to cover all avenues of approach. The enemy was also supported by many artillery pieces within the Shuri fortified zone. The heavy walls and the hedges of the town of Kakazu-and eventually its rubble-afforded the Japanese countless defensive positions. Concurrently, the 383rd Regiment initiated its first coordinated assault on Kakazu Ridge, with Companies A, C, and L swiftly reaching the summit by dawn without detection. However, the surprised defenders quickly launched a fierce counterattack, ultimately forcing Companies A and C to withdraw. Company L, positioned on Kakazu West, continued to fend off enemy counterattacks alone until late afternoon when the exhausted unit had no choice but to retreat. The next day, Brigadier-General Claudius Easley proposed a "powerhouse attack," where the 381st Regiment would assault Kakazu West from positions south of Uchitomari while the 383rd would press on Kakazu Ridge from positions north of the gorge. Following a heavy artillery bombardment, the assault commenced, with the 2nd Battalion of the 381st Regiment rapidly fighting through strong enemy defenses to secure the crest of Kakazu West. However, the 383rd was struggling to make headway, prompting Colonel May to direct his two battalions to execute flanking maneuvers. Although the eastern encirclement was unsuccessful, May's 3rd Battalion managed to cross the gorge at the northern base of Kakazu West to join Colonel Halloran's 2nd Battalion on the crest. Both units then attempted to advance eastward in heavy rain, but relentless Japanese counterattacks forced them back to Kakazu West. Stalemated, Easley eventually ordered Halloran's 1st Battalion to move through May's 3rd Battalion to attack southeast along Kakazu Ridge, but this assault was also repelled by the determined defenders. At the same time, the 382nd Regiment launched its primary assault on Tombstone Ridge, advancing southwest with three battalions in formation but managing to gain only a few hundred yards to the west as fierce defenders thwarted their main offensives against the hills held by the Japanese. Meanwhile, to the east, the 32nd Regiment attempted to advance into the town of Ouki without success, while the 184th Regiment on the heights defended against minor counterattacks, sealed off caves, and solidified their positions. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The battle for Okinawa is really heating up, showcasing to the Americans they would be paying dearly for every foot they took off the island. Meanwhile the last stand of the super battleship Yamato would form a legend encompassing the defiant spirit of Japan as well as producing one of the most bizarre science fiction animes of all time.

Last time we spoke about the Visayas Offensive. In March 1945, the Pacific War raged on. On Iwo Jima, the US Marines, after intense fighting and heavy casualties, declared the island secured. Meanwhile, in northern Luzon, General Clarkson's division advanced towards Baguio, facing fierce Japanese resistance, while General Mullins pushed through Balete Pass. The Japanese army, grappling with severe supply shortages, was forced to evacuate Baguio. In the Visayas, General Eichelberger's forces targeted the Sulu Archipelago and Central Visayan Islands, securing key airfields. The 40th Division landed on Panay, capturing Iloilo, and launched an assault on northern Negros. On Cebu, the Americal Division landed near Talisay, encountering mines but minimal resistance, and secured Cebu City. By April, Allied forces had made strategic advances across the Philippines, overcoming Japanese resistance and establishing crucial airfields. This episode is the Invasion of okinawa Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  We have come to the grand final battlefield at last, that of Okinawa. Of course battles are raging in all sorts of other theaters like New Guinea, China, Burma, etc. However as you might imagine its becoming impossible given the week by week format to cover all of this in single episodes. So we are going to hardcore focus on Okinawa for awhile, we will circle back to the other theaters to catch up. Seriously it was the only logical way to do this and honestly in retrospect I wish the entire podcast was campaign by campaign instead of week by week. But I am a mere podcaster following the youtube series of this. But if you want to hear a campaign by campaign series, over at Echoes of War me and my cohost Gaurav are beginning to roll them out. The first series will be the entire Malayan Campaign, and I think after that I might try to do the Philippines. Regardless lets jump into the invasion of Okinawa. As previously noted, the directive issued by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 3 designated Okinawa as the final target for invasion, following the establishment of air and naval bases in Luzon and Iwo Jima. Capturing this crucial island would bring the conflict to Japan's doorstep, disrupt the enemy's air communications through the Ryukyu Islands, and flank their maritime routes to the south. Consequently, from these newly established air and naval bases in the Ryukyus, American forces would be able to launch attacks on Japan's main islands and implement a more rigorous sea and air blockade, isolating them from Japanese territories to the south. This made it imperative for the Japanese Empire to maintain control over Okinawa and the Ryukyus. To this end, the 32nd Army, led by Lieutenant-General Watanabe Masao, was formed there by late March 1944. Initially, it comprised four companies and one artillery regiment stationed at Amami Oshima; five companies and one artillery regiment at Nakagusuku Bay; four companies and one artillery regiment at Iriomote Island; along with various garrison units from the 19th Air District in Okinawa.  Under Operation Tei-Go, the Ryukyus and Formosa were to form a long zone of interprotective air bases. These bases were expected to defeat any American sea or air forces sent into the region. To avoid destruction from the air, each base was to consist of a cluster of airfields, such that if one were damaged others could be used immediately. Military and civilian crews were promptly set to work building the numerous fields. 13 base clusters had to be created, stretching in a line from Tachiarai in the northern Ryukyus to Pingting on Formosa in the south. The only remaining tasks for ground forces were the defense of these facilities and their support anchorages and the unenviable work of building the fields. Much of the energy of 32nd Army would be absorbed building these air facilities. This was more difficult since 32nd Army had only two bulldozers and one earth roller. Japan had produced dozers in small numbers at its Komatsu plant since 1943, but few had reached the front. Since soldiers were thus obliged to use shovels, hoes, straw baskets, and horse-drawn wagons, construction was slow. Moreover, because of enemy submarine raiders, it was impossible for the Japanese to deliver the large quantities of fuel, ammunition, and anti-aircraft guns needed to operate the bases. Even more seriously, the planes themselves were not available. Between April and June, the 32nd Army received reinforcements, including the 44th and 45th Independent Mixed Brigades, the 21st Independent Mixed Regiment, and the 27th Independent Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, among other air garrison units. From these forces, Watanabe chose to send the 45th Brigade to establish bases on Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island, while the 21st Regiment was tasked with setting up a base on Tokunoshima. On June 27, the 1st and 2nd Infantry Corps (approx. 4100 men) boarded the Toyama Maru and began the voyage to Okinawa. The 44th Brigade HQ, Artillery and Engineer Units meanwhile boarded other vessels of the Taka-412 convoy. Two days later, while the convoy was sailing east of Tokunoshima, the submarine Sturgeon successfully sank the Toyama Maru with two torpedoes, therefore inflicting the loss of 3724 men and much heavy equipment. Because of this, the 1st Corps had to be deactivated.  Following the fall of Saipan, the Japanese Empire rapidly deployed significant ground forces to the 32nd Army, including the 9th, 24th, 28th, and 62nd Divisions, as well as the 59th, 60th, and 64th Independent Mixed Brigades, and the 27th Tank Regiment. Additionally, the 15th Independent Mixed Regiment was airlifted to bolster the beleaguered 44th Brigade, which was reorganizing its 2nd Corps with local recruits. The 32nd Army Staff wished to use as much of the indigenous population as it could in direct support of the war effort, so on January 1 1945 it ordered total mobilization. All Okinawan males aged 18 to 45 were obliged to enter the Japanese service. 39000 were drafted, of whom 15000 were used as nonuniformed laborers and 24000 as rear-echelon troops called the Home Guard (Boeitai). Many of the Boeitai replaced sea based battalions and rear-area supply units that had been reorganized and equipped for frontline duty. In addition to these, 1500 of the senior boys of the middle schools on Okinawa were organized into Iron and Blood Volunteer Units and assigned to frontline duty. Some of these students had been tried out in the signal service in the autumn of 1944 with good results, so the program was expanded. Since the fall of 1944, 600 senior students of the girls' middle schools also had been given training in the medical service. While most of these troops were sent to strengthen the main defenses at Okinawa, a large portion of the 28th Division was actually assigned to reinforce the garrisons on the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands. The 36th Regiment was dispatched to support the Daito Islands, the entire 45th Brigade was moved to garrison Ishigaki and the rest of the Yaeyamas, the 59th Brigade was tasked with defending Irabu Island, the 60th Brigade was sent to reinforce Miyako Island, and the 64th Brigade was deployed to the Amami Islands. On August 9, Lieutenant-General Ushijima Mitsuru took command of the 32nd Army. His initial strategy was to occupy all of Okinawa with a strong force and eliminate any invading troops at their landing sites. As fierce fighting began at Leyte, intensive training for the troops commenced, including divisional maneuvers at potential American landing points, artillery bombardments of beachheads, and nighttime assaults on bridges. However, on November 13, Tokyo decided to send the elite 9th Division to Formosa to prepare for a movement to the Philippines that ultimately did not occur. The unexpected withdrawal of the 32nd Army's best division disrupted Ushijima's operational plans. Ironically, this situation improved combat efficiency, as it compelled the army to achieve more with fewer resources. Ushijima chose to concentrate most of his forces in the mountainous and easily defensible Shimajiri area, located in the southern part of the island. This strategic location allowed the Japanese to maintain control over Naha port and target the northern airfields with artillery. Similar to the situation in Iwo Jima, this decision marked a departure from the previously favored strategy of a "decisive battle," opting instead for a war of attrition that had proven effective at Peleliu and Iwo Jima. As a result, Ushijima positioned Lieutenant-General Amamiya Tatsumi's reinforced 24th Division at the southern end of the island, Lieutenant-General Hongo Yoshio's reinforced 62nd Division along the central isthmus, Major-General Suzuki Shigeji's reinforced 44th Independent Mixed Brigade on the Hagushi plain, and Colonel Udo Takehiko's Kunigami Detachment, consisting of two battalions from the 2nd Corps, in northern Okinawa. These troop placements were successfully implemented in December; however, concerns arose that the 32nd Army was spread too thin to effectively counter the anticipated enemy invasion. Consequently, on January 15, Ushijima decided to move the 44th Brigade from the Hagushi plain southward to overlap with the 62nd Division's area on the east, significantly shortening the Japanese front. Additionally, one battalion from the Kunigami Detachment was sent to defend Iejima and its crucial airbase, which necessitated the rest of the unit to consolidate its positions and strengthen defenses on Yaedake Mountain in the Motobu Peninsula. Ushijima also had the support of the brigade-sized 5th Artillery Group, led by Lieutenant-General Wada Kosuke; the 21st Field Anti-Aircraft Artillery Corps; the 11th Shipping Group, which included several shipping engineer regiments and sea-raiding battalions; the 19th Air District overseeing various aviation service units; and Rear-Admiral Ota Minoru's Okinawa Naval Base Force, which comprised nearly 9,000 personnel stationed at the Oroku Naval Air Base near Naha. Ushijima had nearly 100,000 troops at his command, with 29,000 assigned to specialized units for anti-aircraft, sea-raiding, and airfield operations. Anticipating the nature of the impending conflict, these well-staffed service units were reorganized for ground combat. The 19th Air District transformed into the 1st Specially Established Regiment, responsible for defending the Yontan and Kadena airfields it had recently constructed and maintained. Most of the service personnel were integrated into the new 1st Specially Established Brigade in the Naha-Yonabaru area, while the sea-raiding base battalions became independent infantry units. Additionally, the remainder of the 11th Shipping Group was restructured into the 2nd Specially Established Brigade on the southwestern part of Okinawa. This reorganization, completed on March 21, bolstered ground combat strength by 14,000 men, leaving only 10,500 of the 67,000 Army personnel in specialized roles. To protect themselves, the Japanese began constructing robust fortifications, tunnels, and cave systems to shield against anticipated enemy bombardments.  Work on the caves was begun with great vigor. "Confidence in victory will be born from strong fortifications" was the soldiers' slogan. The caves meant personal shelter from the fierce bombardments that were sure to come, and they also offered a shimmering hope of victory. The combination was irresistible, and units began to work passionately on their own caves. Enthusiasm was essential because of the great toil it took to create the caves. Just as 32nd Army had only two bulldozers to make airfields, it had no mechanized tunneling equipment at all. Besides lacking cutting equipment, 32nd Army also lacked construction materials. It had no cement, no ironware, and no dynamite. The units had to rely entirely on wooden beams that they obtained themselves to shore up their shafts. This was not necessarily easy because there were no forests in the south of the island where the troops were now stationed. Pine forests were abundant in the mountainous north, however, so each unit was assigned its own lumbering district in the north. Several hundred men from each division were detailed as its lumbering squad. The problem remained, however, of how to move the several million logs that were needed over the 40 or so miles from the forests to the forts. With no railroads and the use of trucks limited by a shortage of gasoline, the solution was for each unit to cut its own logs, then transport them in small native boats called sabenis. The divisions acquired 70 of these, which then plied the waters steadily from north to south. In January 1945, however, the Leyte-based B-24s that began flying over daily for reconnaissance also began strafing the boats. So the waterborne delivery of logs had to be switched from day to night, greatly lowering efficiency. Ushijima aimed to prolong the fight from these positions and decided to destroy the indefensible Yontan and Kadena airfields to prevent their use by the enemy, effectively ending the ineffective air defense strategy initially devised by Tokyo. Meanwhile, Admirals Nimitz and Spruance were preparing for Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa. Given the expectation that the capture of Iwo Jima and recent air assaults on Japan would concentrate enemy air power around the Empire's core, which would respond aggressively to any attacks on Okinawa, the Americans needed to first neutralize or eliminate enemy air facilities in the Ryukyus, Kyushu, and Formosa to achieve air superiority over their objective. As a result, all available carrier-based and land-based air forces were tasked with this operation, including Admiral Mitscher's Task Force 58, General Kenney's Far East Air Forces, Admiral Hoover's Central Pacific Forward Area, and General Arnold's 20th Air Force. From the 20th Air Force, General LeMay's 21st Bomber Command was assigned to attack Okinawa before moving on to Kyushu and other vulnerable locations in the home islands. Meanwhile, Brigadier-General Roger Ramey's 20th Bomber Command, supported by General Chennault's 14th Air Force, focused on neutralizing Formosa. Aircraft from the Southwest Pacific Area were also set to conduct searches and continuous strikes against Formosa as soon as conditions on Luzon allowed. Additionally, the British carriers of Vice-Admiral Bernard Rawlings' Task Force 57 were tasked with neutralizing air installations on the Sakishima Group in the ten days leading up to the landings. Once air superiority was achieved, Spruance's 5th Fleet was to land Lieutenant-General Simon Buckner's 10th Army, which included Major-General John Hodge's 24th Corps and Major-General Roy Geiger's 3rd Amphibious Corps. The 24th Corps comprised the 7th and 96th Divisions, while the 3rd Amphibious Corps included the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions. As the Commanding General of Expeditionary Troops, Buckner also oversaw the 27th and 77th Divisions and the 2nd Marine Division for special operations and reserve purposes. Furthermore, the 81st Division was held in area reserve. In total, Buckner commanded a force of 183,000 troops, with 116,000 designated for the initial landings. The plan called for Major-General Andrew Bruce's 77th Division to first secure amphibious bases in the Kerama Islands on March 26, with one battalion further securing Keisejima five days later to establish a field artillery group there. On April 1, following a demonstration by the 2nd Marine Division in southern Okinawa, the main landings were set to take place. The 24th Corps and the 3rd Amphibious Corps would land simultaneously on the west coast beaches north and south of Hagushi. After landing, both corps were to quickly advance across the island, capturing the airfields in their designated areas before securing all of southern and central Okinawa. Subsequently, Buckner's forces were to invade and secure Iejima and northern Okinawa. Once this was achieved, there were tentative plans to launch an invasion of Kikaijima with the 1st Marine Division and Miyako Island with the 5th Amphibious Corps. For the invasion, Spruance relied on a Covering Force under his command, along with Admiral Turner's Joint Expeditionary Force. This force included Admiral Blandy's Amphibious Support Force, which comprised minesweepers, UDTs, and escort carriers; Rear-Admiral Morton Deyo's Gunfire and Covering Force, consisting of ten battleships and eight heavy cruisers; Rear-Admiral Lawrence Reifsnider's Northern Attack Force, responsible for landing the 3rd Amphibious Corps; and Rear-Admiral John Hall's Southern Attack Force, tasked with landing the 24th Corps. Similar to Iwo Jima, Okinawa had endured multiple air attacks since October 1944 as part of the preliminary operations for the landings on Leyte, Luzon, and Iwo Jima that we previously discussed. These operations also included air strikes aimed at neutralizing Japanese air power on Formosa. Throughout February and March, Mitscher's carriers and LeMay's B-29s brought the conflict back to the Japanese home islands with a series of strikes that caused significant damage and instilled fear in the population. On March 1, Task Force 58 launched the first strike of the month against the Ryukyus, targeting Amami, Minami, Kume, Tokuno, and Okino, as well as Okinawa. This operation resulted in the destruction of 41 planes, the sinking of eleven vessels, damage to five others, and significant harm to island facilities. In between the main assaults on Japan, the superfortresses frequently targeted key sites in the Ryukyus, leading the beleaguered Japanese forces to refer to these missions as the "regular run." Throughout March, aircraft from the Southwest Pacific and the Marianas conducted nearly daily operations over the Ryukyus and surrounding waters, searching for Japanese shipping and contributing to the isolation of Okinawa by sinking cargo ships, luggers, and other vessels, while American submarines intensified the blockade around the Ryukyus. Meanwhile, after completing extensive training and rehearsals, Task Forces 51 and 55 gathered at Leyte, Task Force 53 assembled in the Guadalcanal-Russells area, and the rest of the 5th Fleet convened at Ulithi. On March 12, Reifsneider's convoy, carrying the 3rd Amphibious Corps, was the first to depart, successfully reaching Ulithi nine days later. On March 18, the tractor group transporting the 77th Division began its journey from Leyte to the Kerama Islands. On the same day, Mitscher's carriers targeted 45 airfields in Kyushu, claiming the destruction of 102 Japanese planes, damaging or destroying 275 on the ground, sinking six vessels, and damaging three more. In response, Admiral Ugaki's 5th Air Fleet launched a counterattack against the carriers Enterprise, Intrepid, and Yorktown, inflicting minor damage while losing 33 aircraft. The next morning, after locating the majority of the Combined Fleet at Kure, Mitscher dispatched 436 aircraft to target naval installations and shore facilities in the Inland Sea. At 06:50 three C6N Saiun “Myrt” recon planes discovered Task Force 58, and by 07:00 Captain Genda Minoru's elite, handpicked 343rd Kokutai had scrambled 63 advanced Kawasaki N1K2-J “George” Shiden-Kai fighters from Shikoku to intercept the Americans. Minutes later, Genda's powerful Shiden-Kais “waded into the Hellcats and Corsairs as if the clock had been turned back to 1942.” Soon the 343rd Kokutai was engaged in a wild maelstrom with 80 US fighters, including VF-17 and VBF-17 Hellcats from Hornet and VMF-112 Corsairs from Bennington. For once the Japanese broke about even, losing 24 fighters and one scout plane to the Americans' 14 fighters and 11 bombers. Nevertheless, Genda's expert but outnumbered 343rd Kokutai proved unable to blunt the American onslaught. Despite facing a formidable intercepting force, they managed to inflict damage on 18 Japanese warships, including the battleships Yamato, Ise, Hyuga, and Haruna, as well as six aircraft carriers. Additionally, one incomplete submarine was destroyed, 97 enemy planes were shot down, and 225 were either destroyed or damaged at Japanese airfields. In response, Ugaki launched a kamikaze counterattack that successfully struck the carriers Wasp and Franklin, causing significant damage and forcing Franklin to head to Pearl Harbor immediately. As Task Force 58 slowly withdrew the afternoon of March 20, a damaged Zero crashed destroyer Halsey Powell, killing 12 and wounding 29. Shortly afterwards friendly anti-aircraft fire started fires aboard Enterprise. At 23:00 eight Japanese torpedo planes unsuccessfully attacked the carriers, while three overnight snoopers were splashed by anti-aircraft fire. Between March 17 and March 20 Ugaki had committed 193 aircraft to battle and lost 161. On March 21 Ugaki dispatched a 48-plane strike, including 16 G4M “Betty” bombers, carrying the very first Ohka (“Cherry Blossom”) suicide missiles. However the combat air patrol (CAP) of 150 Hellcats and Corsairs repulsed them. Franklin, Wasp, and Enterprise, all damaged, steamed to Ulithi as a reorganized Task Group 58.2. Except for April 8–17, when Task Group-58.2 was briefly reestablished, Task Force 58 strength would remain at three Task Groups throughout Iceberg's duration. Ugaki's 5th Air Fleet was meanwhile effectively incapacitated for several weeks, but Ugaki nevertheless reported five carriers, two battleships, and three cruisers sunk, which IGHQ found scarcely credible. Meanwhile, the Mine Flotilla departed Ulithi on March 19, followed two days later by the rest of Task Force 52 and Task Force 54 to support the Kerama operation. On March 23, to prepare for the imminent minesweeping operations of Iceberg, Task Force 58 conducted extensive bombing raids on all known installations in Okinawa, resulting in significant damage and the sinking of 24 vessels and damage to three others over the following five days. Furthermore, Admiral Lee's battleships traversed the cleared area and opened fire on Okinawa, sinking an additional two vessels. With this naval and air support, Blandy's minesweepers and UDTs successfully cleared the route for Rear-Admiral Ingolf Kiland's Western Islands Attack Group by nightfall on March 25. Their primary opposition in the following two days consisted of a series of kamikaze attacks, which caused damage to the battleship Nevada, light cruiser Biloxi, four destroyers, two destroyer minelayers, one minesweeper, and two transports, while the destroyer Halligan was sunk by mines. The next morning, supported by naval gunfire and carrier aircraft, Bruce initiated his first landings. The 3rd Battalion, 305th Regiment landed on the southern beaches of Aka Island, facing sporadic resistance. Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion, 306th Regiment landed unopposed on Geruma Island, which was quickly secured. The 2nd Battalion, 306th Regiment achieved even faster success at Hokaji Island, while the 1st Battalion, 305th Regiment invaded Zamami Island with light resistance. The 2nd Battalion, 307th Regiment encountered minor opposition as it took Yakabi Island. The Fleet Marine Force Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion scouted Keisejima and found no enemy presence. After encountering some resistance, the units on Aka and Zamami pushed back the enemy garrisons, securing two-thirds of Aka by nightfall and successfully repelling a strong counterattack on Zamami that night. Simultaneously, Deyo's warships and Blandy's carriers began bombarding the demonstration beaches, while minesweepers cleared progressively larger areas around Okinawa, although the minesweeper Skylark was sunk by mines. By March 27, the remaining enemy forces on Aka and Zamami were finally eliminated, and a company took Amuro Island without opposition. Additionally, a company from the 307th moved to Kuba Island, which was quickly secured. At the same time, Bruce continued his main landings, with the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 306th Regiment landing on the west coast of Tokashiki Island, facing minimal opposition. As the two battalions advanced north along narrow trails toward Tokashiki town, the 3rd Battalion landed to secure the southern part of the island. On March 28, they reached the town, clearing the entire island and concluding the Kerama operation.  In Kerama, "Island Chain between Happiness and Good," the Japanese tradition of self-destruction emerged horribly in the last acts of soldiers and civilians trapped in the hills. Camping for the night of March 28 a mile from the north tip of Tokashiki, troops of the 306th heard explosions and screams of pain in the distance. In the morning they found a small valley littered with more than 150 dead and dying Japanese, most of them civilians. Fathers had systematically throttled each member of their families and then disemboweled themselves with knives or hand grenades. Under one blanket lay a father, two small children, a grandfather, and a grandmother, all strangled by cloth ropes. Soldiers and medics did what they could. The natives, who had been told that the invading "barbarians" would kill and rape, watched with amazement as the Americans provided food and medical care; an old man who had killed his daughter wept in bitter remorse. Only a minority of the Japanese, however, were suicides. Most civilians straggled into American positions, worn and dirty. In all, the 77th took 1,195 civilian and 121 military prisoners. This operation resulted in the deaths of 530 Japanese soldiers, 121 captured, and the neutralization of over 350 suicide boats, with American losses totaling 31 killed and 81 wounded. While this initial operation was underway, the tractor groups of the Southern and Northern Attack Forces left their staging areas in Luzon and Ulithi on March 25, followed by the rest of Spruance's fleet two days later. On March 26 and 27, Rawlings' Task Force 57 conducted a series of strikes on the Sakishima Islands, primarily targeting Miyako. Meanwhile, after a 250-plane raid on the Mitsubishi plant in Nagoya on March 24, LeMay sent 165 B-29s from the 73rd and 314th Bombardment Wings to attack the Kyushu airfields on March 27, facing minimal resistance as they caused significant damage to the Tachiarai Army Airfield, the Oita Naval Airfield, and the Omura aircraft plant. Other bombers from the 313th Bombardment Wing laid aerial mines in the Shimonoseki Strait. The Japanese responded with a raid on Spruance's naval units using aircraft and suicide boats on the night of March 28, resulting in one LCM being destroyed and one cargo ship damaged. On March 29, Mitscher launched another strike against Kyushu, but poor weather conditions led to only minor damage, with 12 vessels sunk and one damaged. By this point, the “largest assault sweep operation ever executed” had cleared the Hagushi beach approaches in 75 sweeps, with minesweepers clearing 3,000 square miles of coastal waters. The following morning, as Task Force 58 once again targeted Okinawa, Deyo's ten battleships and eleven cruisers advanced to bombard Okinawa's defenses and demolish coastal seawalls with increased intensity. At the same time, the 314th sent 12 planes to attack the Mitsubishi engine works in Nagoya overnight. The next day, LeMay dispatched 152 B-29s for his second assault on Kyushu, completely destroying the Tachiarai machine works and heavily damaging the Omura airstrip. On March 31, back in Okinawa, the final underwater demolition operation off the Hagushi beaches was underway while the 420th Field Artillery Group was successfully positioned on Keisejima, prompting a strong reaction from Ushijima's artillery. That morning, a Ki-43 fighter crashed into Admiral Spruance's flagship, the Indianapolis, resulting in the deaths of nine crew members and severely damaging a shaft, which ultimately compelled Spruance to transfer his flag to the battleship New Mexico. Meanwhile, the frogmen completed their last demolition operations at Hagushi, and the final preliminary bombardment of Okinawa and the Sakishima Islands was executed successfully. By the end of the month, over 13,000 large-caliber shells had been fired in the shore bombardment, and approximately 3,095 sorties had been conducted against the Ryukyus. However, effective Japanese concealment prevented significant damage to Ushijima's defenses. As night fell, a vast fleet of transports, cargo ships, landing craft, and warships navigated the final miles of their long journey, successfully meeting off the Hagushi beaches in the East China Sea before dawn on April 1. While Turner's forces prepared for the landing, a fire support group consisting of 10 battleships, 9 cruisers, 23 destroyers, and 177 gunboats began the pre-landing bombardment of the beaches at 05:30, firing a total of 44,825 rounds of shells, 33,000 rockets, and 22,500 mortar shells. In response, the Japanese launched some scattered kamikaze attacks on the convoys, successfully hitting the transport Hinsdale and LST 884. At 07:45, carrier planes from Task Force 58 and Blandy's carriers targeted the beaches and nearby trenches with napalm. Fifteen minutes later, the first wave of amphibious tanks advanced toward the shore at four knots, followed closely by five to seven waves of assault troops in amphibious tractors. Alongside the primary landings, Major-General Thomas Watson's 2nd Marine Division staged a feigned landing on the southeast coast of Okinawa, near Minatoga, aiming to distract the enemy's reserves in that region. Meanwhile, on the main front, supported by rocket fire from LCI gunboats and artillery fire from Keisejima, a nearly continuous line of landing craft advanced toward the beaches at 08:20. Encountering no resistance, the first waves began to land on their designated beaches at 08:30, with additional troops following closely behind. Within an hour, Geiger's 3rd Amphibious Corps had successfully landed the assault elements of the 6th and 1st Marine Divisions north of the Bishi River, while Hodge's 24th Corps disembarked the 7th and 96th Divisions to the south of the river. The lack of significant opposition, coupled with the rapid disintegration of the untrained 5473 airfield service troops of the 1st Specially Established Regiment under heavy air and artillery bombardment, created a sense of foreboding among the men, prompting them to scout the area cautiously. As before, the enemy's primary response consisted of kamikaze attacks on naval units, resulting in damage to the battleships West Virginia and Tennessee, the British carrier Indefatigable, destroyers Prichett and Vammen, the British destroyer Ulster, the destroyer minelayer Adams, and four other vessels. Returning to Okinawa, after ensuring they were not walking into a trap, the troops began advancing inland while tanks and other support units were brought to the beaches. In the north, Major-General Lemuel Shepherd's 6th Marine Division deployed Colonel Merlin Schneider's 22nd Marines on the isolated Green Beaches and Colonel Alan Shapley's 4th Marines on the Red Beaches near Yontan Airfield. The 4th Marines advanced toward Yontan, encountering only scattered resistance, and quickly secured the objective east of the airfield by 13:00. Meanwhile, Schneider's 3rd Battalion moved through Hanza without opposition, but the 2nd Battalion's progress was hindered as it needed to protect its exposed flank, prompting the 22nd Marines to quickly commit its reserve battalion to maintain their momentum. To the south, Major-General Pedro Del Valle's 1st Marine Division landed Colonel Edward Snedeker's 7th Marines on the Blue Beaches and Colonel John Griebel's 5th Marines on the Yellow Beaches just north of the Bishi River. By 09:45, the 7th Marines on the left had advanced through the village of Sobe, their primary objective, while the 5th Marines were positioned 1,000 yards inland. At this point, it was decided to land the reserve battalions of both regiments, along with Colonel Kenneth Chappell's 1st Marines. With forces arranged in depth and reserves positioned to the right and left, Del Valle's units continued to advance steadily over the rolling terrain as the 11th and 15th Marines artillery units were also being landed. At 13:30, the 4th Marines resumed their advance, facing light resistance on the left but becoming overextended on the right while trying to maintain contact with the 7th Marines. As a result, Shapley landed his reserve battalion to fill this gap, while Shepherd also deployed his reserve 1st Battalion, 29th Marines, to secure the critical northern flank, allowing the 22nd Marines to keep advancing eastward. Meanwhile, further south, Major-General Archibald Arnold's 7th Division disembarked Colonel Frank Pachler's 17th Regiment on the Purple Beaches just south of the Bishi River and Colonel John Finn's 32nd Regiment on the Orange Beaches in front of Kadena Airfield. Both regiments quickly ascended the gentle hills at the landing sites and began advancing eastward. By 10:00, the 27th Regiment had patrols at Kadena Airfield, which was discovered to be empty; by 10:30, the front line was crossing the airstrip. Moments later, it advanced 200 yards beyond, heading towards Cholon. Simultaneously, the 32nd Regiment secured the southwestern edge of Kadena and continued along the road to Kozo. To the south, Major-General James Bradley's 96th Division landed Colonel Michael Halloran's 381st Regiment on the White Beaches in front of Sunabe and Colonel Edwin May's 383rd Regiment on the Brown Beaches at the extreme southern flank. Both regiments moved eastward with the same ease as the other units that day, making significant progress towards Momobaru in the north and successfully capturing Chatan in the south. Additionally, all divisional artillery of the 24th Corps landed early; Hodge's reserve regiments and battalions were successfully brought ashore, and by nightfall, direct-support battalions were in position. By the end of the day, over 60,000 men had landed, suffering only 28 dead, 27 missing, and 104 wounded, thereby establishing a beachhead 15,000 yards long and up to 5,000 yards deep in some areas. Shepherd's Marines paused for the night along a line stretching from Irammiya to the division boundary south of Makibaru, which the 1st Marine Division extended further south to Kadena. Meanwhile, the 7th Division advanced nearly three miles inland, destroying several pillboxes but losing three tanks to mines. The 96th Division secured positions along the river south of Chatan, on the elevated ground northwest of Futema, in the outskirts of Momobaru, and in the hills to the northwest and southwest of Shido. Although there were gaps in the lines in several areas, they were filled by reserve units or weaponry before nightfall. Thus, the Battle of Okinawa, seen by most as the final climactic battle of the Pacific War has only just begun. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. As Gandalf the White once said “The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time.” The battle of Okinawa will become the bloodiest campaign America has ever fought. The soul crushing journey has just begun as the Americans end the last stand of the Japanese in the Pacific War.

Send us a textTravis and Jason chat with Aleksa from Australia about Corsair Voidscarred and Brood Brothers, plus plenty of other surprise topics. Shop at Crossfire Games: https://www.etsy.com/shop/crossfiregames/?etsrc=sdt&coupon=JUSTANOTHERKILLTEAMUse the code at checkout: JUSTANOTHERKILLTEAMAleksa made a map pack: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TpzQLoOtO3emLqmfOoZ4-m5ws4LdC4yb?usp=drive_link JAKTP Discord Link: https://discord.gg/6653HG9XKb JAKTP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justanotherkillteampodcast?igsh=ZzR2dmRwZTM3MGQ= JAKTP Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCGQMlcqFmbwp295Hvaxxg JAKTP Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/JustAnotherKillteamPodcastSupport us through our affiliate link for Wargames Atlantic: https://wargamesatlantic.com/?aff=7 Support the show

https://www.patreon.com/AdeptusRidiculoushttps://www.adeptusridiculous.com/https://twitter.com/AdRidiculoushttps://orchideight.com/collections/adeptus-ridiculousAeldari Corsairs or Anhrathe are bands of piratical Aeldari Outcasts. They are a constant threat to merchant shipping, though very rarely pose a threat to a major Imperial battlefleet. Sometimes the rigid constraints of the Eldar Path are intolerable even for an Eldar to bear; such individuals leave their Craftworlds and become known as Outcasts. Outcasts must bear the terrible burden of their heightened Eldar consciousness without the protection of the Eldar path, set free within the universe they are dangerously vulnerable. Only Eldar of especially strong character can survive for long as Outcasts. There are many bands of so-called Corsairs scattered across the galaxy, and all are savage and deadly raiders. Outcasts from the strict confines of the Craftworlds, the Corsairs live in self-imposed exile, seeking to explore the galaxy and experience the full gamut of emotion and sensation accessible to the Eldar's sensitive psyche. Most are young and adventurous Eldar who will eventually return to their homes older, wiser and tempered by warfare. Some, however, embrace the raider's life completely and fall further still, becoming ever more bloodthirsty and psychotic, indulging their darkest impulses and eventually seeking out the infamous Dark City.Support the show

Welcome back to Realspace Raiders, the Drukhari podcast! We are an alliance of Archons all hailing from the UK and cover everything from matched play and the competitive meta, painting and hobby discussions, background and lore and much, much more!It's a full house this episode as the Archons are joined by one of the most insidious and infamous inhabitants of Commorragh, one who needs no introduction... Archon Skari!Fresh from his successful raid at LVO, Skari regales us with key anecdotes from every game, secrets from how he prepared for the event, his tips for taking on the enemy, how to deal with the pressure of playing on stream, his thoughts on the future and his big, big plans... plus much more! This is the definitive Skari interview.SCOURGE NEWSDom shares big Team England newsGeorge takes a unique Haemonculus Covens list to a charity eventPaulie paints some Corsairs with a big featureSkari's big UK plansSKARILVO run fully broken down, every game with key details and learningPreparing for the biggest 40K event in historySkari Q&A, questions from the Realspace Raiders Discord communityMISCELLENEAKitbashing out of production Drukhari modelsA look at Dark Eldar books and features from the Black LibraryPlease let us know any feedback!Happy Raiding!Realspace RaidersrealspaceraidersArchonsPaulie - skyserpent40kDom - darktechnodomGeorge - archon_georgeDISCORD: https://discord.gg/VvJQgZVcMERCH STORE: https://redbubble.com/shop/ap/76936647ArtworkJon 'Scrivo' Scrivensjonscrivens on Instagram & Twitterko-fi.com/JonScrivensJonScrivens.comMusicLightcycle by Gabe Milleryoutube.com/gabemillermusicAcid Network by Erimotionarray.comSTARFOUNDERstarfounder.bandcamp.com

POORHAMMER MERCH! https://orchideight.com/collections/poorhammer PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/SolelySingleton TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/poorhammer   This week on Poorhammer, Brad and Eric go through all the models available for the Aeldari. I said EVERY. MODEL. Plastic or Resin. Don't worry, nobody is left behind, not even the Harlequins.   RELATED TO THIS EPISODE: Every Space Marine Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO6xJGBM5lY Every Ad Mech Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkEdNsHul9E   TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:50 Further Ado 01:34 Sections of the Army 02:30 Autarch 04:17 Farseers and Warlocks 06:56 Spirit Seer 08:37 Avatar of Khaine 10:41 Aspect Warriors and Phoenix Lords 11:02 Dire Avengers 12:59 Swooping Hawks 14:33 Warp Spiders 16:54 Fire Dragons 18:09 Dark Reapers 19:52 Howling Banshees 21:02 Striking Scorpions 21:40 Shining Spears 22:58 Guardian Defenders and Storm Guardians 24:53 Rangers 26:21 What is Wraith Bone 26:44 Wraith Guard and Wraith Blade 29:13 Wraithlord 29:25 Wraithknight 29:57 Collecting Wraiths 31:33 Windriders 32:56 Shroud Runners 33:59 Viper 35:00 Fire Prism 36:24 Falcon and the Wave Serpent 37:07 Night Spinner 37:45 Platforms 38:34 War Walkers 39:43 Can we pretent that Aeldarplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars 41:06 Harlequins - Solitaire 42:54 Harlequins - Shadowseer 44:18 Harlequins - Death Jester 44:46 Harlequins - Troup Master 46:10 Harlequins - Troupe 46:39 Harlequins - Skyweavers 47:04 Harlequins - Void Weaver and Star Weaver 47:32 The Ynari 48:39 Yvraine 49:03 Visarch 49:36 Yncarne 50:23 The Corsairs 51:35 Final Considerations 53:36 Outro   SHOW LINKS: Poorhammer YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoorhammerpodcast Poorhammer Website: https://www.solelysingleton.com/feed/poorhammer   Our Producers for November: A SPEEDY FREEK (Got mah' Dragsta back) Austin bluhm Blizted_Brain Brandon Janky Corvus DemolitionMann DrLace Geoffrey Bowser HugeAxeMan Hunter Black Jan Geisse Jason McMaster Joel Rachels Kiwifruitbird Nathan Seward Nj harlan Noel North Pizza00100 Rock Sebastian Richardson The Gym Crab Scott G The Mailman TheFuckingGodEmperorOfMankind (I'm back) TN0 TrickyIsZaone Wargame Simulator   Our Biggest Supporters: 100 jonny 3D Frank 4K_Fart A Pulsating Ball of Pure Energy AbsoluteChad Adam Buoro Addoxin Adrian Franke Alex Fuja Amists Another hairy Sasquatch Ballad BedlamsNemesis Beff Jezos bigsdog 03 Blubbles 180 BoltersAndBanter Bradley Viers Cameron R Carnuvex Christopher Gargagliano Chroma Veil Chuck Mordock Craig Judge Cube1359 Daniel Field5150 DasGoopy Delmirev Devin Voiles Dez Revis Dominick Colacicco Drathjennifer Edward Lawrence Enchantedgalaxycat Eric Founder Ezelvor Gathering Clouds Geete Gyarados HappyBrontosaurus Hauntor InfiniteFes isaac hall It's a beautiful day J3C GAM1NG Jacob Gibson Jake Jan-Hendrik Muller Jarrett DiPerna Jolyne kalex Kaydien moore Kayleigh Ard Le BloupBloup L'Etranger (Lukus) Logan Bannach Low Fat Mogurt LSJay Madison Ramanama Matthew Tsushima Michael Melcher Mitchell Mixolydius mmmm burnt toast MoistToast Monkey218 morfiel55 Natalie Fortune Novi Ordo Erectus Pierce would like everyone to know that 'brain rot' won Oxford's word of the year Primarch Alucard Protius7331 Qelan Retr0Brave RossWarlock Samuel Summerfield Sarah Hanson Siegbro Struggle_l3us The Marine who plays Tau The Tired EMR Thecrusader13 TheFishboi Thrango Tom McGrath VarthaMark Vaultguardian Victoria Angel Weebay Werner 'Illindi' Wallman Woodstock Ysomad2 Our Supporters: a.ei Ace Adam Adam Gutierrez admiral stiffplank Ai Nvr Aiden Parrot Aiganach Aizengale Ajrifbesik Alan Alan Townshend-Carter Albie maree Alex Mark Alexander Alexander McPherson Alexis Barraza Alice Queen of Hearts Alpha Scorpii Always go full OwO AnActualT0ffie Andres Cedillo Andy Yang Ann Annweiler AnotherNixon anpespi Anthony MacQuiddy Ap0ph1s Aristedes Hristopoulos Asuka Lang.String Austin Baker Austin J Bell B Lawson BadBadger Bard_Weasel Bastiaan Sanders BearsMaulThings BeckettBaladas Ben Ben Craft Benjamin Routier Big Mullins bigb293 Bimblewort Bisoodi BladeSwinga Blake Adds Bobby Jeckell Bobthemime Boston Webber Brandon j Jimenez Brett Booso Brian Carton Brother Captain Corskadai Bthulhu BulletSponge7 butterroll Caboose Calidoc Call-me-vito Cameron Rigby Cammron Morrison Captain Gromit cecropic Cegorach Cephalopope Certified Unfunny Chad Blackford Chaosheaven234 ChaoStarDust Cheap4life Chris Compton Chris Merrell Christian Marti Christian Schrewelius Viklund Christopher Andrews Christopher Badeaux Christopher Hutchinson Christopher Polly Claude Shepherd Clueless Cody Myers CodyHawk Caster Colby Actkinson Conner Zitello Connor Melville Cornfrosty Crazyshak48 Crisis Faith CSmitty101 Cupfruit Damian Preciado Daniel Ashe DankBonkRipper69 DarkGalderia DaRobotGuy13 Darth Revan David Martinez David T. David Zuckerbrot deltaP1G diego dixoniii Doc4077 Donald Byers Dorkturtle Dovahkiin1180 Dr. Battle DracoNomine Drad DrCake Drowsy Drunk Tank82 DukeDukain Eamon echoes act zero Ed Yoon Eddie Kelliher Edgemassa Eko Emily Sturdy Ensayn Eric Kelly Eric Lopez Ethan Randolph eugene-sy Evan Langlois Evil Advisor Falcon Kirby Fatguy688 Fedora Appreciator Fishers Fishing Flether's frightend fish Florian A. Fooby Foover FreetimeIdiot Fryknight fukulo Gareef Garrett Johnson Garrett Seaton Gaterpiller George Reimers ghost GilgameshVS. Glaci Glacier0516 _ Goat GoldenEagle25 Gom Abdul-Jabbar Gort Graeme Harrison Gray Army Greatwhite67 Greg Trevorrow grenade0219 Grhmbl GrumpyKitten Hannah Anthony Hayden Haws Henry Podgorski HieronymusRex hrspks Infernicus Isaac Isaac Queen Islingr317 Ivan Kong J Jabbar Haider Jack Clifford Jack Porter Jacob Cantor Jake Lancaster Jake Palicki James Abell James Mooers James W. Orkshop Jared Kemmerling JaredIsLonely Jarrod Williams Jasper Jaydon Jeff Jeff Wong Jesse JimElone Joey Weela John Lillo Jon Hart Jonathan Novak Jordan Strunk Joshua Eisele Joshua Galvez Joshua Rosenthal Joshua Young Julie Low Jurgsie Justin Krolikowski Kaalia Kaden Matuszewski Kawaii demon cat AJ Kazarik KendalMoth Kendra M kevbwell . KingLeNose Kinniku Buster Enjoyer KitsuneCurator Kory Anderson Krashnox Kratos2.0 Krimpey Krippe Kristjan Bruno kyhariel Kyle Kyle that Custodes guy Lame One Landscape Laurie Ruberl LB Trooper LE0NHARDT Leopard LizardHawthorne Local Thallid lordmilitant LostAus Louis Finney LunarPaladin Lusankya M K M.P.Hammy Maciej Piwowarczyk MadMax997 Mae Ember Magnus did a few things wrong Mao Mark Quigley Marlin Wardell Mason lloyd Mathieu Rodrigue Matthew Burke Matthew Gallagher Max Megas-Cadron Michael ferguson Michael Gura Michael Kratochvil Michael Pelata michael robinson Mikal Mandichak Mitch the Dungeon Master Nathan Trence Ncf Nicholas Nussbaum nicholaus perry Nick Podrebarac Nighty87 Nils475 Norman Conquest Notsosmartboi Objectively_Bad1 Oddpersons OG Fili Ol' Slappy Orion T P1 Press Start Pale Werebear Parker Pastel Prince Patrick Moore Patrick Vega Paul Skonieczny Paul Wilson Phaeron Novishtar of the Nikorin Dynasty Phreak Phrenologer Pickelus Maximus Piet Hassenstein Pixo Pokemon12602 PozerCanBoost PremiumNutsack Prince of Cats Professor Rattles Promethius pyromancy QuadFatherReckless Quinn Duncan Rad Opposums Ramsay King Rancor17 Rasmus Eriksson ratbeast83 Ratchet7989 Red_Tx RevolverGunman Ridley Riley Westfall RionnAotrom Rob.P Robb H McConnell Robbin Wasmuth Robin Kiff Rohlan Roman Rouf The Dragon Dog RPGrenade Ryan Guth Ryan Schnepfe Ryan Shaw Rys Ion Sailehaem Sam Davis Sam K Sam Scahcker Samdroid Sandro The Great Saplingpower12 Sasha Robison Scholastic Nomad Scope First Scrubbing SCRUNGUS Sean Campbell Seeker of Peanut butter Selcar Seph Shady Cyanide shashi SiDeath Sidertrune Slaaneshlight Slaughter Sage Sleazy P Martini snootch n Snowman53 SofaLordOfCouch Sol Solonite Soupy Sucks Spencer Noell Spencer O'Brien Spode Spongle Spootyone Stella155 Stephen Beckman Stephen Eckstein Stephen Slocum Stephen Witham Steven bingham Steven Scearce V Stinger123 StompyBoi Stormy superkeaton SwonkUaeb TairaSayo That Little Skaven That one smug necron thatmoiety The Amazing Physicist The Jello Dragon The2player TheBustinJustin TheDeman008 Thelosttexan Thenoble117 TheNuclearEagle TheOOFVideoWasPOGSoThisIsWhy THEPR0N00B Thomas J Gamble Thomas Williams Thorium Thraxxerus 14 TMD Gaming Tomás Nieves Irizarry tongole Karanu Tony Sacco ToxicRelief Trevor Kight TurquoiseTempest TyrisUnbreakable UnkindlyRook Vihrug Voegelnator Volcano1 VValmartgreeter Waymaker What_The_Fuck_Did_I_Support Whatsitsay WhiteHammer Will Miller Will Wagner willisbetter Wish Fox Xeno Xmas Mike XsandmanunitedX . Yanouri Aissa YouMaSePush Zach Hoffman Zak Force Zak0321 Zapdor Zeed Zenith Zer0   Contact Information: You can interact with Solely Singleton by joining the hosts on discord and Twitter to give input to improve the show. Feel free to email more detailed questions and suggestions to the show's email address.   Your Hosts: Brad (DrRuler) & Eric (OnekuoSora) Brad's Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/drruler.bsky.social Eric's Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/onekuosora.bsky.social Show Email: thepoorhammerpodcast@gmail.com Show Website: http://www.poorhammer.com/ Edited by: Menino Berilio   Show Mailing Address: PO Box 70893 Rochester Hills, MI 48307   Licensed Music Used By This Program: “Night Out” by LiQWYD CC BY   “Thursday & Snow (Reprise)” by Blank & Kytt CC BY   “First Class” by Peyruis CC BY   “Funky Souls” by Amaria CC BY

POORHAMMER MERCH! https://orchideight.com/collections/poorhammer PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/SolelySingleton TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/poorhammer   This week on Poorhammer, Brad and Eric go through all the models available for the Aeldari. I said EVERY. MODEL. Plastic or Resin. Don't worry, nobody is left behind, not even the Harlequins.   RELATED TO THIS EPISODE: Every Space Marine Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO6xJGBM5lY Every Ad Mech Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkEdNsHul9E   TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:50 Further Ado 01:34 Sections of the Army 02:30 Autarch 04:17 Farseers and Warlocks 06:56 Spirit Seer 08:37 Avatar of Khaine 10:41 Aspect Warriors and Phoenix Lords 11:02 Dire Avengers 12:59 Swooping Hawks 14:33 Warp Spiders 16:54 Fire Dragons 18:09 Dark Reapers 19:52 Howling Banshees 21:02 Striking Scorpions 21:40 Shining Spears 22:58 Guardian Defenders and Storm Guardians 24:53 Rangers 26:21 What is Wraith Bone 26:44 Wraith Guard and Wraith Blade 29:13 Wraithlord 29:25 Wraithknight 29:57 Collecting Wraiths 31:33 Windriders 32:56 Shroud Runners 33:59 Viper 35:00 Fire Prism 36:24 Falcon and the Wave Serpent 37:07 Night Spinner 37:45 Platforms 38:34 War Walkers 39:43 Can we pretent that Aeldarplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars 41:06 Harlequins - Solitaire 42:54 Harlequins - Shadowseer 44:18 Harlequins - Death Jester 44:46 Harlequins - Troup Master 46:10 Harlequins - Troupe 46:39 Harlequins - Skyweavers 47:04 Harlequins - Void Weaver and Star Weaver 47:32 The Ynari 48:39 Yvraine 49:03 Visarch 49:36 Yncarne 50:23 The Corsairs 51:35 Final Considerations 53:36 Outro   SHOW LINKS: Poorhammer YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepoorhammerpodcast Poorhammer Website: https://www.solelysingleton.com/feed/poorhammer   Our Producers for November: A SPEEDY FREEK (Got mah' Dragsta back) Austin bluhm Blizted_Brain Brandon Janky Corvus DemolitionMann DrLace Geoffrey Bowser HugeAxeMan Hunter Black Jan Geisse Jason McMaster Joel Rachels Kiwifruitbird Nathan Seward Nj harlan Noel North Pizza00100 Rock Sebastian Richardson The Gym Crab Scott G The Mailman TheFuckingGodEmperorOfMankind (I'm back) TN0 TrickyIsZaone Wargame Simulator   Our Biggest Supporters: 100 jonny 3D Frank 4K_Fart A Pulsating Ball of Pure Energy AbsoluteChad Adam Buoro Addoxin Adrian Franke Alex Fuja Amists Another hairy Sasquatch Ballad BedlamsNemesis Beff Jezos bigsdog 03 Blubbles 180 BoltersAndBanter Bradley Viers Cameron R Carnuvex Christopher Gargagliano Chroma Veil Chuck Mordock Craig Judge Cube1359 Daniel Field5150 DasGoopy Delmirev Devin Voiles Dez Revis Dominick Colacicco Drathjennifer Edward Lawrence Enchantedgalaxycat Eric Founder Ezelvor Gathering Clouds Geete Gyarados HappyBrontosaurus Hauntor InfiniteFes isaac hall It's a beautiful day J3C GAM1NG Jacob Gibson Jake Jan-Hendrik Muller Jarrett DiPerna Jolyne kalex Kaydien moore Kayleigh Ard Le BloupBloup L'Etranger (Lukus) Logan Bannach Low Fat Mogurt LSJay Madison Ramanama Matthew Tsushima Michael Melcher Mitchell Mixolydius mmmm burnt toast MoistToast Monkey218 morfiel55 Natalie Fortune Novi Ordo Erectus Pierce would like everyone to know that 'brain rot' won Oxford's word of the year Primarch Alucard Protius7331 Qelan Retr0Brave RossWarlock Samuel Summerfield Sarah Hanson Siegbro Struggle_l3us The Marine who plays Tau The Tired EMR Thecrusader13 TheFishboi Thrango Tom McGrath VarthaMark Vaultguardian Victoria Angel Weebay Werner 'Illindi' Wallman Woodstock Ysomad2 Our Supporters: a.ei Ace Adam Adam Gutierrez admiral stiffplank Ai Nvr Aiden Parrot Aiganach Aizengale Ajrifbesik Alan Alan Townshend-Carter Albie maree Alex Mark Alexander Alexander McPherson Alexis Barraza Alice Queen of Hearts Alpha Scorpii Always go full OwO AnActualT0ffie Andres Cedillo Andy Yang Ann Annweiler AnotherNixon anpespi Anthony MacQuiddy Ap0ph1s Aristedes Hristopoulos Asuka Lang.String Austin Baker Austin J Bell B Lawson BadBadger Bard_Weasel Bastiaan Sanders BearsMaulThings BeckettBaladas Ben Ben Craft Benjamin Routier Big Mullins bigb293 Bimblewort Bisoodi BladeSwinga Blake Adds Bobby Jeckell Bobthemime Boston Webber Brandon j Jimenez Brett Booso Brian Carton Brother Captain Corskadai Bthulhu BulletSponge7 butterroll Caboose Calidoc Call-me-vito Cameron Rigby Cammron Morrison Captain Gromit cecropic Cegorach Cephalopope Certified Unfunny Chad Blackford Chaosheaven234 ChaoStarDust Cheap4life Chris Compton Chris Merrell Christian Marti Christian Schrewelius Viklund Christopher Andrews Christopher Badeaux Christopher Hutchinson Christopher Polly Claude Shepherd Clueless Cody Myers CodyHawk Caster Colby Actkinson Conner Zitello Connor Melville Cornfrosty Crazyshak48 Crisis Faith CSmitty101 Cupfruit Damian Preciado Daniel Ashe DankBonkRipper69 DarkGalderia DaRobotGuy13 Darth Revan David Martinez David T. David Zuckerbrot deltaP1G diego dixoniii Doc4077 Donald Byers Dorkturtle Dovahkiin1180 Dr. Battle DracoNomine Drad DrCake Drowsy Drunk Tank82 DukeDukain Eamon echoes act zero Ed Yoon Eddie Kelliher Edgemassa Eko Emily Sturdy Ensayn Eric Kelly Eric Lopez Ethan Randolph eugene-sy Evan Langlois Evil Advisor Falcon Kirby Fatguy688 Fedora Appreciator Fishers Fishing Flether's frightend fish Florian A. Fooby Foover FreetimeIdiot Fryknight fukulo Gareef Garrett Johnson Garrett Seaton Gaterpiller George Reimers ghost GilgameshVS. Glaci Glacier0516 _ Goat GoldenEagle25 Gom Abdul-Jabbar Gort Graeme Harrison Gray Army Greatwhite67 Greg Trevorrow grenade0219 Grhmbl GrumpyKitten Hannah Anthony Hayden Haws Henry Podgorski HieronymusRex hrspks Infernicus Isaac Isaac Queen Islingr317 Ivan Kong J Jabbar Haider Jack Clifford Jack Porter Jacob Cantor Jake Lancaster Jake Palicki James Abell James Mooers James W. Orkshop Jared Kemmerling JaredIsLonely Jarrod Williams Jasper Jaydon Jeff Jeff Wong Jesse JimElone Joey Weela John Lillo Jon Hart Jonathan Novak Jordan Strunk Joshua Eisele Joshua Galvez Joshua Rosenthal Joshua Young Julie Low Jurgsie Justin Krolikowski Kaalia Kaden Matuszewski Kawaii demon cat AJ Kazarik KendalMoth Kendra M kevbwell . KingLeNose Kinniku Buster Enjoyer KitsuneCurator Kory Anderson Krashnox Kratos2.0 Krimpey Krippe Kristjan Bruno kyhariel Kyle Kyle that Custodes guy Lame One Landscape Laurie Ruberl LB Trooper LE0NHARDT Leopard LizardHawthorne Local Thallid lordmilitant LostAus Louis Finney LunarPaladin Lusankya M K M.P.Hammy Maciej Piwowarczyk MadMax997 Mae Ember Magnus did a few things wrong Mao Mark Quigley Marlin Wardell Mason lloyd Mathieu Rodrigue Matthew Burke Matthew Gallagher Max Megas-Cadron Michael ferguson Michael Gura Michael Kratochvil Michael Pelata michael robinson Mikal Mandichak Mitch the Dungeon Master Nathan Trence Ncf Nicholas Nussbaum nicholaus perry Nick Podrebarac Nighty87 Nils475 Norman Conquest Notsosmartboi Objectively_Bad1 Oddpersons OG Fili Ol' Slappy Orion T P1 Press Start Pale Werebear Parker Pastel Prince Patrick Moore Patrick Vega Paul Skonieczny Paul Wilson Phaeron Novishtar of the Nikorin Dynasty Phreak Phrenologer Pickelus Maximus Piet Hassenstein Pixo Pokemon12602 PozerCanBoost PremiumNutsack Prince of Cats Professor Rattles Promethius pyromancy QuadFatherReckless Quinn Duncan Rad Opposums Ramsay King Rancor17 Rasmus Eriksson ratbeast83 Ratchet7989 Red_Tx RevolverGunman Ridley Riley Westfall RionnAotrom Rob.P Robb H McConnell Robbin Wasmuth Robin Kiff Rohlan Roman Rouf The Dragon Dog RPGrenade Ryan Guth Ryan Schnepfe Ryan Shaw Rys Ion Sailehaem Sam Davis Sam K Sam Scahcker Samdroid Sandro The Great Saplingpower12 Sasha Robison Scholastic Nomad Scope First Scrubbing SCRUNGUS Sean Campbell Seeker of Peanut butter Selcar Seph Shady Cyanide shashi SiDeath Sidertrune Slaaneshlight Slaughter Sage Sleazy P Martini snootch n Snowman53 SofaLordOfCouch Sol Solonite Soupy Sucks Spencer Noell Spencer O'Brien Spode Spongle Spootyone Stella155 Stephen Beckman Stephen Eckstein Stephen Slocum Stephen Witham Steven bingham Steven Scearce V Stinger123 StompyBoi Stormy superkeaton SwonkUaeb TairaSayo That Little Skaven That one smug necron thatmoiety The Amazing Physicist The Jello Dragon The2player TheBustinJustin TheDeman008 Thelosttexan Thenoble117 TheNuclearEagle TheOOFVideoWasPOGSoThisIsWhy THEPR0N00B Thomas J Gamble Thomas Williams Thorium Thraxxerus 14 TMD Gaming Tomás Nieves Irizarry tongole Karanu Tony Sacco ToxicRelief Trevor Kight TurquoiseTempest TyrisUnbreakable UnkindlyRook Vihrug Voegelnator Volcano1 VValmartgreeter Waymaker What_The_Fuck_Did_I_Support Whatsitsay WhiteHammer Will Miller Will Wagner willisbetter Wish Fox Xeno Xmas Mike XsandmanunitedX . Yanouri Aissa YouMaSePush Zach Hoffman Zak Force Zak0321 Zapdor Zeed Zenith Zer0   Contact Information: You can interact with Solely Singleton by joining the hosts on discord and Twitter to give input to improve the show. Feel free to email more detailed questions and suggestions to the show's email address.   Your Hosts: Brad (DrRuler) & Eric (OnekuoSora) Brad's Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/drruler.bsky.social Eric's Bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/onekuosora.bsky.social Show Email: thepoorhammerpodcast@gmail.com Show Website: http://www.poorhammer.com/ Edited by: Menino Berilio   Show Mailing Address: PO Box 70893 Rochester Hills, MI 48307   Licensed Music Used By This Program: “Night Out” by LiQWYD CC BY   “Thursday & Snow (Reprise)” by Blank & Kytt CC BY   “First Class” by Peyruis CC BY   “Funky Souls” by Amaria CC BY

Prepare to have your nautical myths shattered in this swashbuckling episode of History Rage! Host Paul Bavill is joined by Liam Gauci, historian and curator of the Malta Maritime Museum, to delve into the murky waters of piracy and privateering in the Mediterranean. The Corsair Conundrum:- Liam passionately dismantles the common misconception that corsairs were simply pirates, clarifying the significant legal distinctions that separated privateers and corsairs from their pirate counterparts.- Discover the intricate international maritime laws that governed corsair activities, turning them into prisoners of war rather than criminals destined for the gallows. Malta: The Corsair Haven:- Explore how Malta's strategic location made it a bustling hub for privateers from all over Europe, including British, French, Russian, and Spanish corsairs.- Learn about the economic and social impact of corsairing on the island, from the service industry to the grand investments that fuelled these maritime ventures. Tales of the High Seas:- Liam shares riveting stories of famous Maltese corsairs, like Guglielmo Lorenzi, whose daring exploits earned him a gold medal and a legendary status.- Hear about the remarkable characters who navigated the fine line between legality and piracy, including magicians, dandy captains, and those who switched allegiances with the changing tides of war. The End of an Era:- Understand how the Crimean War and subsequent treaties brought an end to privateering, reshaping Malta's economy and its role in global maritime history. Join us as Liam Gauci unleashes his rage against historical inaccuracies, advocating for a nuanced understanding of corsairs and their lawful plundering. To dive deeper into this fascinating subject, visit the Malta Maritime Museum at www.maltamaritimemuseum.mt and follow Liam on Twitter @liamgauci13. Support the rage that fuels our historical deep dives at patreon.com/historyrage, and don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Stay informed, stay passionate, and let the rage for truth in history rage on! To catch up on all the rage from bygone times go to the website www.historyrage.com If you want to get in touch with History Rage then email historyragepod@gmail.com Follow History Rage on Social MediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/HistoryRageTwitter: https://twitter.com/HistoryRageInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/historyrage/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/historyrage.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we deep dive on the narrative potential of the less evil brand of elves - Corsairs, Blades of Khaine and Harlequins. Once Upon a Kill Team - https://www.instagram.com/onceuponakillteam/ Jason - https://www.instagram.com/citizendisco/  Seán - https://www.instagram.com/uberstrata_makes/  If you want to support this podcast - https://ko-fi.com/onceuponakillteam If you want to join our discord - https://discord.gg/jwtUMk3TrY Friends of the Show: Nightfire Gaming - https://www.youtube.com/c/NightfireGamingYT Acolyte rules here: http://www.linktr.ee/acolytegame James - https://www.instagram.com/jameswales75

Welcome to Series 15 of History Rage! A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey—your encouragement means the world. Here's a sneak peek at the fiery topics we'll be tackling over the next ten weeks. Get ready to challenge everything you thought you knew about history.Upcoming Rages:Heather Darsie takes on Anne of Cleves and the 'Flanders Mare' mythNick Le Huray gets his rage on at the 'Model Occupation' of the Channel; IslandsMuseum Curator Liam Gauci of the Malta Maritime Museum rages that Corsairs and Pirates are very differentJohanna Strong is sick to death of the Bloody Mary tagTobias Capwell rages that armour is for fighting in, of course you can move in itSteve Tibble argues about the realities of the Crusades and their missionAuthor Ron Drabkin takes a new look at the Pearl Harbour blame game and who was at faultShalina Patel shouts that there are many more suffrage campaigners than the PankhurstsNicola Clark rages that Anne Boleyn did not withhold sex to become QueenJames Crossland explores the farce that is the Lockhart plot and that British Intelligence is not infallibleThe ragefires will burn again with general release on 16th December. See you then!Stay Connected:Follow us on Twitter: @HistoryRageJoin the conversation with Paul Bavill: @PaulBavillShare your thoughts using the hashtag #HistoryRageSupport History Rage on Patreon for early episode access, the chance to submit questions to guests, prize draws, and the exclusive History Rage mug at www.patreon.com/historyrage.To catch up on all the rage from bygone times, visit our website www.historyrage.comIf you want to get in touch with History Rage, email historyragepod@gmail.comStay Angry, Stay Informed - History Rage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Realspace Raiders, the Drukhari podcast! We are an alliance of Archons all hailing from the UK and cover everything from matched play and the competitive meta, painting and hobby discussions, background and lore and much, much more!The new Munitorum Field Manual has shaken up the meta so a full house of Archons and special guest Jokull of Team Iceland and Ignite have got together to discuss the changes to Drukhari, the general meta of 40k and discuss LGT and the end of the 2024 UKTC as the Realspace Raiders podcast retains the Best In Faction winner...MUNITORUM FIELD MANUAL & ERRATAOwing to a high win rate in Pariah Nexus, 8 Drukhari datasheets went up in points. We discuss what this means for future Drukhari lists and which units may be too expensiveHellions and Corsairs became cheaper, are they now viable to use or do they require a rules rewrite to be seen on the battlefield?Errata changes to the Archon and Cronos with Lord of Deceit now clarifiedWhat changes we would make to our lists going forwardMETA THREATSThe biggest changes to the other armies in the new MFMWhich armies and units came out of the update the best and the changes you could make to your army in anticipation of thisHow to get started in the new edition of Kill TeamDiscord members Q&ALGT & UKTC 2024Jokull takes us through his 30 Incubi Drukhari aggro list, the philosophy behind the design and how it performed at LGTDom celebrates a double win with Best In Faction for Chaos Space Marines and Mind Goblins winning Best Team for the seasonPaulie hands the Drukhari UKTC crown to another well known Archon...Please let us know any feedback!Happy Raiding!Realspace RaidersrealspaceraidersArchonsPaulie - skyserpent40kDom - darktechnodomGeorge - archon_georgeDISCORD: https://discord.gg/VvJQgZVcMERCH STORE: https://redbubble.com/shop/ap/76936647ArtworkJon 'Scrivo' Scrivensjonscrivens on Instagram & Twitterko-fi.com/JonScrivensJonScrivens.comMusicLightcycle by Gabe Milleryoutube.com/gabemillermusicAcid Network by Erimotionarray.comSTARFOUNDERstarfounder.bandcamp.com

Slappin' Glass sits down this week with the Finnish NT Head Coach, along with Head Coach of Japan's  Yokohama B-Corsairs, Lassi Tuovi! In this highly detailed conversation the trio explore Coach Tuovi's thoughts on modern offensive thoughts, playing smaller lineups, and discuss how to defend good ball movement and mentally refreshing as a coach during the always fun "Start, Sub, or Sit?!"To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 60 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!

Last time we spoke about the battles for Peleliu and Angaur. Following the amphibious assaults on Peleliu and Anguar, US Marines under General Rupertus intensified their offensive. On September 17, Colonel Hanneken's 7th Marines advanced in Peleliu's southern sector, as the 1st and 5th Marines pushed north, confronting the fortified Umurbrogol Mountains, where Colonel Nakagawa's defenses stalled their progress. Despite reaching key positions by mid-morning, intense Japanese counterattacks continued, causing heavy casualties. On September 18, the 7th Marines, aided by armor, resumed their slow advance, securing the southern part of Peleliu by day's end. Meanwhile, the 1st and 5th Marines faced brutal combat in the central ridges, suffering significant losses. By September 21, the capture of nearby Ulithi Atoll provided a strategic base for future operations. Despite securing important positions, the Marines encountered severe resistance in the Umurbrogol Mountains, leading to high casualties and necessitating reinforcements. By September 23, the Americans secured footholds on Peleliu and Anguar, yet fierce fighting persisted in Nakagawa's fortified positions. This episode is the Japanese Triumph in China Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  This week we are picking up back over on Peleliu and Anguar where the Japanese are still providing stiff resistance. On September 23, Colonel Venable's 322nd Regiment had made little progress breaking into the Lake Salome bowl. With their commanding officer severely injured, a change in tactics was imminent. On the morning of September 24, propaganda broadcasts over a public address system were used to try and persuade the remaining Japanese to surrender. However, only two Japanese soldiers surrendered, reporting that over 300 defenders remained in the bowl under Major Goto. This accurate estimate was disregarded by the American command, who believed only about 150 defenders remained. Following this failed attempt, all available artillery bombarded the bowl in preparation for an attack from the north, altering the appearance of the bowl's interior and rims to aid the upcoming assault. Back at Peleliu, after heavy bombardment, Colonel Dark's 321st Regiment resumed its advance north along the coast on September 24, despite continued harassment from Japanese fire from the central ridges. By noon, they had secured the trail-road junction south of Garekoru. Some troops explored the trail to the east, encountering heavy resistance, while Company G advanced rapidly north through Garekoru, reaching the O-4 Line. Behind them, Dark's 3rd Battalion and Colonel Hanneken's 3rd Battalion also pushed northwards. Further east, the 7th Marines pressed against Colonel Nakagawa's main defenses on the Umurbrogol Mountains. By nightfall, having successfully resisted Japanese counterattacks on O-4, General Rupertus' northward drive had proven to be a significant success. He next planned to cut across the island on September 25 through the eastern trail to completely isolate the Japanese forces in the Umurbrogol ridges. At 07:00, Dark's troops began moving eastward, with Company E successfully reaching the edge of East Road against light opposition. They halted in front of Hill B, which dominated the eastern area. However, the 3rd Battalion encountered heavier resistance from pillboxes and emplacements protected by steep walls and sheer cliffs guarding the northern approaches to the Umurbrogol defense system, making little progress. Meanwhile, to the north, a strong tank-infantry patrol advanced about 1,200 yards, killing 30 Japanese and destroying four pillboxes and two large supply dumps before reaching the O-5 Line. The weak resistance encountered by the patrol suggested that remaining Japanese strength was concentrated in the Umurbrogol Pocket. Thus, at 10:30, Rupertus decided to commit the 5th Marines for a drive to the northern tip of Peleliu. Rapidly relieved by the 1st Marines on eastern Peleliu. Orders to move to the western portion of Peleliu found the 5th Marines in static positions on Eastern Peleliu, where the regimental mission had been to prevent enemy counterlandings. The 1st Battalion was deployed in the vicinity of the radio direction finding station near Ngardololok, the 2d Battalion was holding the islands north of the northeastern peninsula, while the 3d Battalion, less one company, occupied defensive positions along Purple Beach. The 1st Marines completed the relief of the 5th shortly after noon and assumed command of the 5th Marines sector at that time. In order to expedite movement of the regiment to the West Road, the battalions moved out on trucks at 1300, with 1/5 in the lead, followed by 3/5 and 2/5.  By 1600, the 5th Marines had executed the passage of the lines, and the regiment passed through Phase Line O-4 near Garekoru. As 1/5 continued its advance up the West Road, it encountered erratic resistance from what appeared to be Japanese holdouts. The level terrain was devoid of the dense jungle growth abounding elsewhere on Peleliu and offered ideal conditions for the movement of tanks and LVT flamethrowers accompanying the advance battalion. Aside from occasional Japanese sniper and mortar fire, the advance continued for about 500 yards without interruption to Road Junction 15, where the West and East Roads met. This vital point was defended by a small Japanese force, which had installed itself on a ridge dominating the road forks. Around 1700, as the Marines approached this point, the enemy opened fire, which served only to delay the Marines. When the firefight ended the Japanese had lost 20 killed. The battalion continued its advance for another 100 yards and seized the Japanese radio station, whose towers the forward elements of RCT 321 had spotted on the previous day. Having secured this objective, the battalion established night defenses north of the radio station from the beach to the high ground east of the West Road. Upon reaching Road Junction 15 in the wake of the advance of 1/5, the 3d Battalion pivoted to the southeast and headed down East Road, where it established night defenses on the road and along the western slopes of Hill 80. The latter hill, in itself an isolated terrain feature, owed its importance to its location, for it was the only link separating the Kamilianlul ridges to the south from the Amiangal ridges, which formed the northernmost hill mass on Peleliu.   Throughout the evening and night, the forward elements at the radio station were continuously and heavily attacked and bombed but managed to hold against the enemy onslaught. Meanwhile, at Angaur, after a heavy and prolonged artillery bombardment, the 3rd Battalion, 322nd Regiment pushed forward to launch its assault from the north. Finding no route south over the cliffs, they assembled near the northern end of the Milwaukee Railroad for an attack west the following day. At 07:30 on September 26, the infantry launched their assault on Lake Salome, quickly taking control of the eastern rim with minimal resistance. Facing increasing enemy fire, the Americans made their way down the eastern rim to the bowl floor. However, by the end of the day, they were halted by Goto's positions on the northern cliffs and "The Island," a gap between an overgrown coral mound and the eastern rim. To the south, the 2nd Battalion supported the attack by advancing north, capturing the southeast rim and clearing out several enemy cave positions.  Back over on Peleliu the Marines had a very rough night full of Japanese infiltrator harassment. In fact our old friend Eugene Sledge wrote about the night of September 25th and what his unit of K Company, 3rd battalion, 5th marines went through. The Japanese who had come across the road in front of me were probably members of what the enemy called a “close-quarter combat unit.” The enemy soldier shot by Sam was not dressed or equipped like their typical infantryman. Rather he wore only tropical khaki shorts, short-sleeved shirt, and tabi footwear (splittoed, rubber-soled canvas shoes). He carried only his bayonet. Why he entered our line where he did may have been pure accident, or he may have had an eye on our mortar. His comrade angled off toward the right near a machine gun on our flank. Mortars and machine guns were favorite targets for infiltrators on the front lines. To the rear, they went after heavy mortars, communications, and artillery. Before Company K moved out, I went down the road to the next company to see what had happened during the night. I learned that those blood-chilling screams had come from the Japanese I had seen run to the right. He had jumped into a foxhole where he met an alert Marine. In the ensuing struggle each had lost his weapon. The desperate Marine had jammed his forefinger into his enemy's eye socket and killed him. Such was the physical horror and brutish reality of war for us. The 1/5 spent the early hours of 26 September in consolidating its positions around the radio station and preparing for continuation of its attack later in the day to the northern tip of Peleliu. Shortly after 0600, 3/5 jumped off for an attack against Hill 80 with Company K on the left and Company I on the right. The attack carried the hill and by 0830 the assault force reached a swamp bordering the east coast of Peleliu. This advance of the 3d Battalion was of major importance because it effectively cut the island in two. Late in the afternoon most of the battalion moved back from Hill 80 to a reserve position near the junction of East and West Roads. The unit's southern flank extended south from the junction along East Road to Hill 80, where Company I was stationed for the night. Between Company I, 5th Marines, and the 2d Battalion, 321st Infantry, at Hill B, lay a gap approximately 1,800 yards long through which only the 321st Infantry's Neal Task Force had passed. In this gap lay 1,500-yard-long Kamilianlul Mountain, held by an unknown number of Japanese and as yet not even reconnoitered by American units. The 5th Marines consolidated their positions and resumed their assault. The 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, ran into stiff opposition from the Amiangal ridges dominating northern Peleliu. The northern portion of the L-shaped hill system consisted of ridges running generally from northeast to southwest for about 1,000 yards; the southern leg extended from northwest to southeast. The southern leg of the ridges was not continuous but broken into four separate hills or knobs, designated from northwest to southeast as Hill 1, Hill 2, Hill 3, and Radar Hill, so named because it had at one time served as an enemy radar installation. These four knobs were to gain ill repute as Hill Row. The entire Amiangal ridge system was held in strength by the Japanese, particularly the portion paralleling the route of advance of 1/5. This part contained some of the most elaborate caves and tunnels on Peleliu. The battalion had barely started out along the West Road when the enemy in and on Hill 1 opened up on the Marines with 37mm and 75mm guns as well as automatic weapons and mortars. This curtain of fire from the Amiangal ridges was reinforced by heavy fire from Ngesebus Island. All forward movement soon halted. Attacking eastward from the West Road, Company B assaulted the second knob, Hill 2, but also encountered opposition. Through sheer determination the company was able to gain a firm foothold on the hill by early afternoon. This accomplishment in effect served to outflank the Japanese on Hill 1, but Japanese resistance on the last mentioned hill continued throughout the day. An attempt by Company C to seize all of Hill 1 during the remaining hours of daylight was unsuccessful, and continuation of the assault had to await the following day. During the bitter fighting in which 1/5 engaged during the night of 25-26 September and for most of the following day, 2/5 remained stationary on the southern flank of the regiment. At 1600 on 26 September, when it had become apparent that 1/5 could make no further progress, 2/5 was ordered to attack. The battalion advanced northward through the left wing of 1/5, carefully bypassing embattled Hill 1. In the course of its advance, the battalion drew heavy fire from Japanese emplacements in the plain, from the ridges on its right, as well as from Ngesebus. Enemy mortars proved especially troublesome. As a result of the heavy fire, Company F lost four of its supporting tanks before it had advanced very far beyond Hill 1. Attempts by the artillery to give all possible support to the battalion were largely ineffectual. "We fired frequent missions throughout the day on these mortars; the reported effect was that the mortars were neutralized while we fired but that they were not destroyed. The enemy apparently withdrew into the caves during the period of our fire." As evening approached, the 5th Marines occupied a jagged front line. The 1st Battalion, though out of contact with the 2d, was tied in with the 3d on the right. The mission of the 3d Battalion was to support either the 1st or 2d Battalion in the event of a major Japanese counterattack. Further progress of the 2d Battalion was impeded by a large antitank ditch, which blocked the approach to the remnants of the Peleliu phosphate plant. The Japanese had converted the reinforced concrete foundation of the otherwise demolished structure into a major defensive installation. Exposed to the enemy fire from Ngesebus Island and plunging fire from caves and defensive positions from the hills, 2/5 found itself in a very unenviable situation. Further south, after some necessary adjustments, Dark's forces assaulted Hill B with two battalions. Initially repelled, Dark then sent a task force led by Captain George Neal to attack from the north. After a complex maneuver north and then south, the Neal Task Force attacked Hill B just as other elements of the 321st fought their way to the top through challenging terrain. The hill eventually fell to the Americans, completing the isolation of the Umurbrogol Pocket. By the end of the day, the island was divided in two places, leaving Nakagawa's determined defenders isolated in two major pockets. On September 27, with the Umurbrogol Pocket now contained, the 5th Marines continued their operations against Amiangal Mountain. At the same time, the 1st Battalion, 321st Regiment advanced north from the Hill B area to close the long gap along East Road up to Hill 80. Dark's infantrymen secured Kamilianlul Mountain with minimal resistance and then moved towards the Marines' road junction.  The 2d Battalion was to find progress extremely rough for the remainder of the day. First, the erstwhile phosphate plant, which the Japanese had turned into a blockhouse, had to be secured in an area that bristled with snipers. The problem confronting Colonel Harris was a formidable one. The blockhouse in front of 2/5 could not be taken until the antitank ditch blocking the approaches to it had been seized. This was a job that the infantry could not tackle without armored support. The regimental commander decided to utilize all arms available in reducing these obstacles. First of all, Colonel Harris called naval gunfire and artillery in on Ngesebus and any other targets suspected of harboring artillery or mortar positions. A medium tank, equipped with a bulldozer blade, was pressed into service to level the antitank ditch, and filled it by 0830. A LVT flamethrower then was able to come within effective range of the Japanese fortification. Moments later, when the flame and smoke had cleared, all resistance from this stronghold had ceased and more than 60 dead Japanese remained in the rubble. While this action was in progress, patrols from Company E seized a small, weakly defended ridge abutting the road from the east. The 2d Battalion thereafter resumed its advance northward along the road as well as over the adjacent ridge. Company F, at the head of the column, soon found itself embroiled in some of the most bitter and frustrating action of the entire campaign. Aside from receiving heavy Japanese artillery and mortar fire, the company faced a series of pillboxes and field fortifications on level ground, and layer upon layer of caves in the hillsides. Even though they were not aware of it at the time, the men of the 5th Marines had come upon the most skillfully constructed defenses on Peleliu. The Japanese Army had utilized all of the many natural caves possessing tactical value, adapting them for the emplacement of heavier weapons with great ingenuity. On the other hand, Japanese naval troops had preferred to construct their own caves with the help of the 214th Naval Construction Battalion, composed of men who had been professional miners and tunnel workers in civilian life. Since most of these Navy caves were located near the northern end of Peleliu, they proved a serious obstacle to the advance of the 5th Marines. Eugene Sledge faced these obstacles and saw firsthand the effectiveness of flamethrowers. Here is a passage from him: Burgin's order to us to continue firing into the opening interrupted my musings. We kept up a steady fire into the pillbox to keep the Japanese pinned down while the flamethrower came up, carried by Corporal Womack from Mississippi. He was a brave, good-natured guy and popular with the troops, but he was one of the fiercest-looking Marines I ever saw. He was big and husky with a fiery red beard well powdered with white coral dust. He reminded me of some wild Viking. I was glad we were on the same side. Stooped under the heavy tanks on his back, Womack approached the pillbox with his assistant just out of the line of our fire. When they got about fifteen yards from the target, we ceased firing. The assistant reached up and turned a valve on the flamethrower. Womack then aimed the nozzle at the opening made by the 75mm gun. He pressed the trigger. With a whoooooooosh the flame leaped at the opening. Some muffled screams, then all quiet. Even the stoic Japanese couldn't suppress the agony of death by fire and suffocation. But they were no more likely to surrender to us than we would have been to them had we ever been confronted with the possibility of surrender. In fighting the Japanese, surrender was not one of our options.  Sheer courage and heroism in themselves proved inadequate for the task. In the course of the morning of 27 September, Company F seized the two ridges forming the northwestern anchor of the Amiangal system and established observation posts on the crests. But this did not solve the problem of what to do about the Japanese occupying the caves about half way up the hill. Marine casualties mounted steadily, and evacuation of the wounded became more and more difficult. Since the cave openings completely dominated the road leading past the northernmost ridge of Peleliu, the advance of the entire 2d Battalion ground to a halt. The first tank attempting to squeeze through the narrow gap between the hill and the northwestern shore was hit, and the Marines occupying the crest of the hill were powerless to cope with the caves underneath. Although the Americans now controlled the northern shore and blocked further enemy reinforcements, skilled Japanese miners continued their resistance underground. What the Marines did not know was that they were facing the most comprehensive cave system on Peleliu which was the underground home of the Japanese naval construction units who were, luckily for the Marines, better miners than infantrymen. The Japanese Army had utilized all of the many natural caves possessing tactical value, adapting them for the emplacement of heavier weapons with great ingenuity. On the other hand, Japanese naval troops had preferred to construct their own caves with the help of the 214th Naval Construction Battalion, composed of men who had been professional miners and tunnel workers in civilian life. Since most of these Navy caves were located near the northern end of Peleliu, they proved a serious obstacle to the advance of the 5th Marines. In the end, it would take weeks for the Marines to finally quash all resistance on Akarakoro Point, then only by blasting closed all the tunnel entrances, sealing the Japanese defenders inside to their fate. To the south, Harris' 1st Battalion pressed on with their attack on the mountain's southern leg, successfully capturing Hill 1. Meanwhile, the 322nd Regiment resumed its assault on the Lake Salome bowl, fighting to secure the base of the north rim but encountering less resistance in the south as most Japanese defenders had been evacuated towards Romauldo. The following day, despite a successful enemy mortar barrage that initially forced a temporary withdrawal and reorganization, the Americans cleared the entire bowl floor of Japanese troops, isolating Goto's remaining forces in the Romauldo area. This progress enabled the 322nd to launch a final coordinated attack on October 1, with its three battalions trapping the enemy in the Romauldo Pocket, though they were unable to penetrate Goto's final defenses. On September 28 at Peleliu, while Dark's 1st Battalion engaged Japanese infiltrators while mopping up the Kamilianlul Mountain area, Harris' 1st and 2nd Battalions continued their assault on Amiangal and successfully captured Hill 3. This action isolated the remaining Japanese forces at Radar Hill. Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines executed a successful landing on Ngesebus Island with minimal resistance after a comprehensive artillery, air, and naval bombardment.  The curtain on the drama of Ngesebus opened on the morning of September 28, when the massed fire of five artillery battalions from Peleliu, as well as heavy fire from warships and aircraft, blanketed the island. Near the northwestern shore of Peleliu, an impressive gathering of high-ranking officers had assembled to witness the operation. The group included such notables as Admiral Fort, and Generals Julian C. Smith, Geiger, Rupertus, Mueller, Oliver P. Smith, and Bell. The weather was cool and cloudy and interspersed with frequent rain squalls. For the Corsair pilots of VMF-114, air support for the Ngesebus landings represented a very interesting and original assignment. The operation marked the beginning of combat work for the squadron, which had reached Peleliu only two days earlier. At 06:30, the Corsairs hit the airstrip on Ngesebus with 500-pound bombs and strafed the entire island as well as Kongauru to the northeast. "Strafing runs were made just a few feet off the deck and a hail of lead laid all over the island." At 08:40, 20 Corsairs preceded the landing craft and gave the island another heavy strafing. In the course of this attack, Japanese mortar positions were spotted and one especially prominent square blockhouse with an iron door was fired on and neutralized. Whenever aircraft were not directly over the island, the artillery on Peleliu and naval guns offshore gave Ngesebus a heavy going over, starting at 07:00 and concluding at 09:05. Both quick and delay fuzes were used. Observers reported that the island was completely covered with fire. In the course of the preliminary bombardment, naval gunfire ships pounded the northern portion of Ngesebus and continued to fire on that part of the island throughout the landing. The Marines advanced inland, swiftly securing the airstrip and the eastern portion of Ngesebus. One platoon then landed on Kongauru and Murphy islands to secure them against light opposition. However, the attack to the northwest encountered strong resistance from Japanese forces entrenched in caves and dugouts, prompting the deployment of tanks to support the Marine assault. By 5:00 PM, nearly all of Ngesebus was under American control, with only a few hundred yards at the extreme northwestern tip remaining in Japanese hands and some caves on the ridges still needing to be cleared.  The 3d Battalion spent a relatively quiet night on Ngesebus. On the morning of 29 September, Companies I and K resumed the attack. Progress was normal until the two companies had nearly reached the northern tip of Ngesebus, when a 75mm gun opened up at point blank range. The Marines quickly destroyed this weapon and went on to overcome the rest of the resistance on the island. At 1500, 29 September, Ngesebus was declared secure. An hour later, 2/321 relieved the Marines and completed mopping up. Having accomplished the mission on the island, 3/5 returned to Peleliu. The battalion had secured the island at a cost of 15 killed and 33 wounded. In return, the Marines killed or captured 470 Japanese. Infantrymen of 2/321 were to account for another hundred of the enemy during the ensuing mop-up. Eugene Sledge wrote this about the final capture of Ngesebus: The next morning, again with the help of tanks and am-tracs, our battalion took most of the remainder of Ngesebus. Our casualties were remarkably low for the number of Japanese we killed.* In midafternoon we learned that an army unit would relieve us shortly and complete the job on the northern end of Ngesebus. Our mortar section halted to await orders and dispersed among some open bushes. In our midst was the wreckage of a Japanese heavy machine gun and the remains of the squad that had been wiped out by Company K. The squad members had been killed in the exact positions to be occupied by such a squad “according to the book.” At first glance the dead gunner appeared about to fire his deadly weapon. He still sat bolt upright in the proper firing position behind the breech of his machine gun. Even in death his eyes stared widely along the gun sights. Despite the vacant look of his dilated pupils, I couldn't believe he was dead. Cold chills ran along my spine. Gooseflesh tickled my back. It seemed as though he was looking through me into all eternity, that at any instant he would raise his hands—which rested in a relaxed manner on his thighs—grip the handles on the breech, and press the thumb trigger. The bright shiny brass slugs in the strip clip appeared as ready as the gunner, anxious to speed out, to kill, and to maim more of the “American devils.” But he would rot, and they would corrode. Neither he nor his ammo could do any more for the emperor.  The rest of the 5th Marines continued their operations on September 29, launching a full-scale assault on Radar Hill using flamethrowers, bazookas, and demolition charges, finally capturing the position by the morning of September 30. Following the completion of operations in northern Peleliu, the 5th Marines were relieved by the 321st Regiment. However, as the Army troops took over, the remaining Japanese, who had been hiding underground, reoccupied some positions, requiring two additional days of fighting to fully secure northern Peleliu. Nonetheless, the Japanese presence in Peleliu had now been reduced to Nakagawa's Umurbrogol Pocket, so Peleliu was officially secured. Total losses during this battle so far included 843 killed, 3845 wounded and 356 missing of the 1st Marine Division; 46 killed, 226 wounded and 7 missing from the 321st Regiment; and an estimated 9076 Japanese dead plus 180 prisoners of war. Yet that is all for today with Peleliu and Anguar as we now need to travel to China where the Japanese are still carrying out Operation Ichi-Go in an effort to capture Guilin and Liuzhou. As we last observed, General Yokoyama's 11th Army had taken control of Lingling Airdrome and Quanzhou by September 14. Following this, they reorganized their units in preparation for resuming their offensive in October. Meanwhile, the 34th Division was deployed towards Changning, and the 37th Division moved to capture Shaoyang, which fell by the end of the month. The 23rd Army also made final preparations for their offensive in early September. General Tanaka directed the Kawakami Raiding Unit in a wide flanking maneuver along the Zhukeng-Huaiji road towards Wuzhou, while the 23rd Independent Mixed Brigade embarked on a long march north to Guiping. On September 13, the 22nd Independent Mixed Brigade and the 22nd and 104th Divisions began their main advance towards Wuzhou. However, the Kawakami Raiding Unit successfully captured Wuzhou on September 22 and seized the Danzhuzhen airfield six days later. Each unit then continued its advance westward to Guiping, which fell to the 23rd Brigade on October 11. So far, Tanaka's forces had encountered little to no resistance, but this was about to change. After the war, in discussing the performance of the Chinese divisions supposed to defend Guilin and Liuzhou, the political situation in east China, and the attitudes of the east China commanders, Marshal Hata remarked that in his opinion Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi had kept their forces out of serious fighting in order to conserve them "for the future." At the time, there were rumors that these men were planning a coup against Chiang Kai-Shek. Chinese resistance was light, but with its supply situation improved the 14th Air Force again did its best on the Salween as well as in east China. In all September the force dropped 1897.6 tons of bombs and fired 1281382 rounds of machine-gun ammunition, some of the latter of course at aerial targets. In early September, Japanese fighter reinforcements from the homeland also entered combat. The Japanese were pleased at the performance of the latemodel fighters with one of the air regiments they sent to China. Thanks to the air cover thus supplied, for the first time in the east China campaign they found themselves able to move supplies regularly on the Xiang Jiang, which paralleled their line of advance, and so thought their prospects "brightened."  At the beginning of the month, Yokoyama renewed his offensive, with the 58th Division successfully taking Xing'An and the 34th Division capturing Changning. The 37th Division was then deployed to Dao, and the 34th Division was sent to Xing'An in preparation for the final push toward Guilin. On October 20, this attack commenced as Yokoyama directed the 216th Regiment to advance to Lehecun, the 58th Division to assault the area north of Guilin, the 40th Division to move to Gaoshangzhen, the 13th Division to advance to Quanhuicun, and the 3rd Division to push toward Fuchuan. With minimal resistance from the retreating Japanese forces, most of these movements were completed by the end of the month. The 3rd Division pushed further to Pingle, while the 37th Division occupied Gongchengzhen and Yanshan to approach Guilin from the south. On November 3, the 3rd Division captured Lipu and began preparations for the advance towards Liuzhen, encircling Guilin and opening the route to Liuzhen. Meanwhile, on October 22, Tanaka ordered the reinforced 23rd Brigade to continue its advance toward Guigang, with the 104th and 22nd Divisions pushing toward Wuxuan. Their progress, previously unopposed, was now challenged by the Chinese 46th and 64th Armies, which launched daily attacks against Guiping with substantial air support. As a result, the 22nd Division was redirected to counter the Chinese forces, successfully forcing their withdrawal by October 29. Following this victory, the 23rd Brigade captured Guigang on November 3, and the 104th Division seized Wuxuan the following day. This allowed Tanaka's forces to begin a northern pursuit to support Yokoyama's assaults on Guilin and Liuzhen. After the third Anshan strike, General LeMay began implementing reforms within the 20th Bomber Command. These changes included reorganizing the command, enhancing the logistics system, adjusting target priorities, and improving coordination with Pacific operations. As a result, the frequency of missions increased each month, with each mission becoming more substantial and effective. Concurrently, following the successful completion of the newly renamed Isley Field on Saipan, the 73rd Bombardment Wing was redirected to the Marianas instead of the CBI Theater. There, it would join Major-General Haywood Hansell's 21st Bomber Command, tasked with executing high-altitude, daylight precision attacks to cripple Japan's aircraft industry.  The XXI Bomber Command arrived on Saipan on October 12, 1944, and from the start General Hansell was beset by a host of serious command problems, the worst of which were continued teething problems with the B-29, tardy delivery of aircraft, aircrews untrained in high altitude formation flying, primitive airfield conditions, lack of an air service command for logistical support, no repair depots, a total absence of target intelligence, stubborn internal resistance to daylight operations by his sole combat wing, subordinates in the XXI Bomber Command who lobbied for his removal, and Hansell's inferiority in rank in dealing with other AAF commanders in the theater. Furthermore, Hansell was soon prohibited from flying combat missions with his command, possibly because of limited knowledge of the atomic bomb or the perception that he knew the existence of Ultra. As plans for a sustained bomber offensive against Honshu progressed, the strategic focus of Operation Matterhorn diminished. The 20th Bomber Command shifted to flying missions in direct support of other Pacific operations, with target priorities moving from coke ovens to the aircraft industry. In preparation for the upcoming invasion of the Philippines, the command was tasked with two closely spaced maximum missions against Okayama in Formosa, totaling 170 sorties, along with very-long-range reconnaissance missions. Yet now we have to travel over to the India-Burma theater. As the advance towards the Chindwin continued and the resilient 33rd Division finally crossed the river in late November, General Katamura was finalizing his plans for a withdrawal to the Mandalay sector, scheduled for December. This decision was driven by the intense pressure the British 36th Division was putting on General Takeda's defensive positions at Pinwe, forcing the defenders to prepare for a final retreat by the end of November. Meanwhile, General Slim was preparing for Operation Capital. He planned to stretch airpower to its limits to move four and two-thirds divisions across the Chindwin, along with two tank brigades. After establishing bridgeheads at Sittang, Mawlaik, and Kalewa, he intended to cross the Chindwin and confront General Kimura's forces between the Chindwin and the Irrawaddy. The 4th Corps, now under the experienced General Messervy, would break out from the Sittang bridgehead, advance east through the mountains, capture Pinlebu, and then approach the Shwebo plain from the north. Simultaneously, General Stopford's 33rd Corps would move from Kalewa, following the Chindwin southeast to Yeu and Monywa. Once the Japanese forces were pushed onto the open plain, Slim planned to exploit his overwhelming advantage in airpower and tanks to decisively defeat them, anticipating that the enemy would fiercely defend Mandalay. The combination of the defeats at Kohima, Imphal, Mogaung and Myitkyina meant that by the autumn of 1944, Kimura's role was reduced to defending southern Burma as the northern flank of their new ‘South-East Asia defense zone'. With few reinforcements or supplies to look forward to, Kimura had grim prospects. On paper he had ten divisions (2nd, 15th, 18th, 31st, 33rd, 49th, 53rd, 54th, 55th, & 56th), though this was really seven, since little remained of the three divisions that had been devastated at Kohima-Imphal. He also had the dubious support of Bose's INA and Aung San's seven-battalion Burma National Army, but the civilian population was increasingly going over to the side of the likely winners. Unexpectedly, Kimura received 30000 fresh troops in the period June–October, but his problem was more commissariat than raw numbers, since he was rapidly running out of supplies. Even those he had (45000 tons of food, 500 lorries and 2000 pack animals) were difficult to get to the front, and Kimura was painfully aware that the situation could only get worse. The South-East Asia zone was slowly being throttled by the Allied naval blockade, all approaches to Rangoon were mined, and in 1944 total Japanese shipping losses amounted to 2.3 million tons. Even those ships that ran the blockade would proceed no farther than Penang in Malaya. Kimura chose to deploy smaller units to delay the British-Indian forces while the main body of the 15th Army retreated across the Irrawaddy River. His strategy was to launch a counterattack once the British crossed the river, aiming to replicate a reverse Imphal by wearing down the British-Indian forces through attrition and then destroying them during their retreat in the May 1945 monsoon. Meanwhile, Admiral Mountbatten was also seeking a victory of his own. On November 8, he ordered an assault on Japanese positions in Arakan, with a deadline set for the end of January. This operation was assigned to General Christison's 15th Corps.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The fighting on Peleliu and Angaur raged asAmerican forces struggled against resilient Japanese defenses. Significant advances were made, including the isolation of the Umurbrogol Pocket and the capture of Ngesebus Island. Despite heavy casualties, Peleliu was eventually secured, leaving a small pocket of Japanese resistance.

Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.   ISIL-8 finds themselves wanted on the planet of Arro after their run-in with the hostile hunting down a rogue hacker. Bounties go up through the Guild to bring the missing Bot-Construct in however possible, but ISIL-8 still has a job through Huska's Corsairs and questions of their own to answer about the Company that created them.   Tracking down leads including the target Xed Gron's hacker ally, being confronted by a hired assassin, and meeting other discarded victim's of Arro's corporate experiments, ISIL-8 finally finds the loudmouth Quadoi, but their answers about the cloning program will have to wait, as they're ambushed on the way off planet... Luckily, they've taken a hostage.   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com   Music in the Episode: Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands Cyberpunk City from TabletopAudio.com Docking Bay from TabletopAudio.com Dungeon Collapse from TabletopAudio.com Mega City Slums from TabletopAudio.com Robot Scrapyard from TabletopAudio.com Sand Raiders from TabletopAudio.com Stakeout from TabletopAudio.com Starforged: Planetside from TabletopAudio.com Weirder Things 2 from TabletopAudio.com

Last time we spoke about the fall of Saipan. General Smith's coordinated attacks on June 27th led to significant progress, with the 4th Marine Division notably advancing. The 27th Division encountered resistance, and casualties rose. By early July, Americans gained ground, pushing toward Marpi Point. Japanese resistance remained fierce, but American forces steadily advanced, capturing strategic positions. The assault on Petosukara was swiftly countered, but intense action unfolded in the Makunsha region. The 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines faced a fierce enemy thrust, with over 200 attackers killed. Facing defeat, General Saito ordered a suicidal assault, resulting in a chaotic and desperate charge. Despite heavy losses, American forces repelled the onslaught. The battle lasted until midday on July 7, with sporadic skirmishes continuing. Efforts to persuade cave occupants to surrender intensified, yet many civilians chose mass suicide. Saipan was declared secured after extensive casualties on both sides.  This episode is the battle of Noemfoor  Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  General MacArthur unleashed a new offensive, seeing General Patrick's troops successfully landed on Noemfoor with little opposition, securing a beachhead. While the 3rd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Regiment was being airdropped on July 4, Colonel Sandlin's 3rd Battalion continued eastward through scattered minefields toward Kornasoren Drome, meeting no resistance. Simultaneously, the 1st Battalion crossed the Kamiri River and occupied Kamiri village without encountering any opposition. Moving out of Kamiri, the American forces followed a southeastern road to a sizable Japanese garden area, where they faced resistance on Hill 201.  The Japanese garden area was about 600 yards long, east and west, and 350 yards across, north to south. The ground was devoid of large trees except for a few atop Hill 201, but thick, secondary jungle growth covered the eastern and southern slopes of the hill, while the rest of the garden area was overgrown with partially cultivated papaya, taro, and cassava, all averaging about eight feet in height. The trail from Kamiri village passed over the southern slope of Hill 201, and 300 yards away, near the eastern edge of the gardens, joined the main road from Kamiri Drome to Namber Drome, located about six miles to the south. Another trail ran along the eastern side of the hill, branching to the north and northwest at the northeastern corner of the low terrain feature. To counter this, a double envelopment tactic was initiated, with Company C seizing Hill 180 to the north while Company B pushed the Japanese southeast over Mission Hill, a lower terrain feature situated southeast of Hill 201. By 15:15, the battalion secured the ground on both flanks of Hill 201 and consolidated around the hilltop for the night, establishing a tight defensive perimeter. At 05:20 on July 5, the Japanese launched an attack along the southern and southeastern sides of the perimeter with mortar support. The American forces responded with a deadly barrage of mortar and artillery fire, driving the enemy back and neutralizing their machine-gun positions. Some Japanese managed to get through the mortar and artillery barrages and continued up the sides of the trail from the south through fire from Company D's machine guns. The enemy found cover behind a low, 150-yard-long log fence which led from the southeast toward the center of the 1st Battalion's defenses. While the fence afforded some protection, the attacking infantrymen were silhouetted as they tried to clamber over the top. The main body of the attacking force therefore kept down behind the fence, trying to crawl along it to the top of the hill. Advancing cautiously, the attackers encountered sustained machine-gun and rifle fire from the defenders atop the hill, as the fence did not extend beyond the outer defenses of the 1st Battalion. The assault quickly deteriorated into a sequence of small suicide charges carried out by groups of three to six Japanese soldiers. The 1st Battalion now sent patrols out over the battlefield. From prisoners it was determined that the attacking force had consisted of 350 to 400 men--the 10th and 12th Companies, 219th Infantry, reinforced by approximately 150 armed Formosan laborers. During the morning over 200 dead Japanese were counted around the 1st Battalion's perimeter, and the number of enemy dead found or enemy wounded captured on subsequent days along trails leading south from the hill indicated that virtually the entire original attacking force had been annihilated.    By 06:30, the skirmish had concluded, with over 200 Japanese casualties tallied. Following this engagement, operations on Noemfoor transitioned into a series of patrol activities as Allied forces extended their dominance over the island and rapidly expanded the airfield facilities. On the morning of July 6, Sandlin's 2nd Battalion executed an amphibious landing on the deserted Namber Drome following a brief naval bombardment. By July 10, intensive patrolling had only encountered small Japanese groups, leading Patrick to conclude that no significant organized enemy presence remained on Noemfoor. To eradicate the remaining opposition, the 503rd Parachute Regiment was dispatched to the island's southern sector while the 158th addressed the northern half. By the end of August, Sandlin's efforts had resulted in the death of 611 Japanese soldiers, the capture of 179, the loss of 6 American lives with 41 wounded, and the liberation of 209 slave laborers.  The Japanese had never brought the Melanesians of Noemfoor entirely under their control, for the natives had either offered a passive resistance or had faded into the interior to live off the land. A few were impressed into service by the Japanese, while others who were captured but still refused to cooperate were executed. The natives greeted the Allied landings with great enthusiasm and came out of hideaways in the hills carrying Dutch flags which they had concealed from the Japanese. Under the direction of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration, the natives were gradually resettled in their old villages. Late in July the village chiefs gathered in formal council and officially declared war on the Japanese. Thereafter, native cooperation increased. Up to August 31 the natives had captured and brought to Allied outposts more than 50 Japanese and had killed another 50. One tale of horror concerns the Javanese on Noemfoor. According to information gathered by the NICA Detachment, over 3000 Indonesians were shipped to Noemfoor in late 1943, mostly from Soerabaja and other large cities on Java. The shipment included many women and children. The Japanese, without regard to age or sex, put the Javanese to work constructing roads and airfields almost entirely by hand. Little or no clothing, shoes, bedding, or shelter was provided, and the Javanese had to supplement their very inadequate allowance of rations by shifting for themselves. Driven by hunger, many attempted to steal Japanese rations but for their pains were beheaded or hung by their hands or feet until dead. Starvation and disease took a steadily increasing toll. The dead were periodically collected for mass burial, and survivors alleged that many of the sick were buried alive. It was considered probable that not more than 10 or 15 Javanese were killed accidentally by Allied forces. Yet only 403 of the 3000-odd brought from Java were found alive on Noemfoor by August 31.  Meanwhile, Colonel Jones pursued the remnants of Colonel Shimizu's Noemfoor Detachment to Hill 670 in the south. From July 13 to 16, both sides engaged in fierce combat for control of the hill, with the Japanese ultimately managing to evade capture. Contact was reestablished on July 23 near Inasi, but Shimizu eluded capture once more. The primary Japanese force was finally located on August 10 near Hill 380, prompting Jones' 1st and 3rd Battalions to converge in an attempt to trap the enemy. However, on August 15, Shimizu once again evaded capture, slipping away towards Pakriki. Although the Japanese forces were either captured or eliminated by August 17, Shimizu evaded capture or death and remained at large by the operation's conclusion. Jones' forces endured 57 fatalities and 302 injuries, but managed to neutralize over 1100 Japanese soldiers and apprehend approximately 560 individuals, while liberating an additional 194 enslaved laborers. This brings the total casualties for the Battle of Noemfoor to 1730 Japanese casualties, with 740 taken prisoner, and 63 American fatalities, 343 wounded, and 3 missing, alongside the liberation of 403 slave laborers. Transitioning to the developments on the Aitape front post-Operation Persecution, significant changes occurred under General Gill's command starting May 4. The defensive setup in the Aitape region was revamped, and Colonel Howe's 127th Regiment bolstered its eastern positions, with the Nyaparake Force extending patrols to the Danmap River. However, General Nakai's advance forces arrived in early May. Shortly after 2:00am on 14 May, after a short preparation by grenades, light mortars, and light machine guns, 100 to 200 Japanese of the 78th Infantry, 20th Division, attacked from the east against the coastal sector of the perimeter. This assault was broken up by rifle and automatic weapons fire and by lobbing mortar shells to the rear of the advancing enemy group. The Japanese disappeared into the jungle south of the narrow beach. For the next hour Captain Fulmer's mortars placed harassing fire into suspected enemy assembly points east of the small stream. Meanwhile, the eight-man outpost reported that many small parties of Japanese were moving up the beach within 300 yards of the main perimeter and then slipping southward into the jungle. Such maneuvers seemed to presage another attack. The second assault came about 0330, this time against the eastern and southeastern third of the defenses. The Japanese were again beaten back by small arms and mortar fire, but at 5:00am they made a final effort which covered the entire eastern half of the perimeter. This last attack was quickly broken up and the Japanese quieted down. About 7:30am on the 14th, elements of Company A, 127th Infantry, began moving into the forward perimeter to reinforce Captain Fulmer's beleaguered units. The 1st Platoon of Company C and the 81-mm. mortar section also moved forward in preparation for continuing the advance. General Martin took charge of the East Sector on the same day, relocating all troops except the Nyaparake Force to the west bank of the Driniumor River. The East Sector forces were supplied by a variety of methods. Units along the coast were supported directly by small boat from BLUE Beach or by native ration trains moving along the coastal track. Supplies to the Afua area went south from the coast along the Anamo-Afua trail or, later, over the inland track from the Tadji fields through Chinapelli and Palauru. Wheeled transport was impracticable except along short stretches of the coastal track. In early June, when the Japanese ambushed many ration parties which attempted to reach Afua, experiments were made with air supply from the Tadji strips. Breakage and loss were heavy at first, but air supply rapidly became more successful as pilots gained experience and ground troops located good dropping grounds. A dropping ground cleared on the west bank of the Driniumor about 2200 yards north of Afua soon became the principal source of supply for troops in the Afua area. Communications during operations east of the Driniumor were carried out principally by radio, but between units along the river and from the stream back to higher headquarters telephone became the principal means of communication. Keeping the telephone lines in service was a task to which much time and effort had to be devoted. The Japanese continually cut the lines, or American troops and heavy equipment accidentally broke the wires. The enemy often stationed riflemen to cover breaks in the line, thus making repair work dangerous. Usually, it was found less time consuming and less hazardous to string new wire than to attempt to find and repair breaks. As a result, miles of telephone wire soon lined the ground along the trails or was strung along the trees in the Driniumor River area and back to the Tadji perimeter. Despite this adjustment, Nakai escalated pressure, advancing beyond Yakamul by month's end. In response, Gill replaced the Nyaparake Force with the 1st Battalion, 126th Regiment, which swiftly recaptured Yakamul and Parakovio. Despite initial success, Nakai's forces launched a heavy counterattack in early June, reclaiming Yakamul by June 5.   In the meantime, additional Japanese units had been conducting exploratory missions inland against Afua since the beginning of the month. However, Howe's 1st Battalion ultimately succeeded in repelling them. This allowed Martin's forces to establish an outer defensive line along the Driniumor River. From there, they continued forward patrols toward the Japanese lines. While the 41st and 51st Divisions struggled to move personnel and supplies to the forward assembly area, Nakai efficiently organized a counter-reconnaissance screen along Niumen Creek to prevent East Sector troops from gathering intelligence about deployments farther east. On June 20, due to the increasingly dire situation in Western New Guinea, the 18th Army was suddenly transferred from 2nd Area Army control to the direct command of the Southern Army. Although General Terauchi's directive was to execute a "delaying action at strategic positions," General Adachi opted to adhere to his original plans for a westward offensive. He was determined to maximize the effectiveness of his forces while they still possessed fighting capability, aiming to divert as much enemy strength as possible away from the Western New Guinea battlefront. Sensing an imminent heavy enemy assault, Generals Krueger and MacArthur decided to reinforce Aitape with General Cunningham's 112th Cavalry Regiment, arriving on June 27, and Colonel Edward “Ted” Starr's 124th Regiment, expected to arrive in early July. They also expedited the shipment of the 43rd Division from its New Zealand staging area to Aitape, necessitating the establishment of Major-General Charles Hall's 11th Corps. Upon assuming command of the task force on June 29, Hall reorganized his forces and implemented several troop redeployments in preparation for the looming enemy attack. By June 30th, Adachi had completed concentrating his forces in the assembly area. Consequently, he swiftly initiated preparations for launching an attack against the Driniumor River line on July 10th. His strategy involved Colonel Nara Masahiko's 237th Regiment crossing the river and launching an assault westward towards Koronal Creek, and northwest to clear Anamo and other Paup villages. Meanwhile, the 78th and 80th Regiments were tasked with clearing the Afua area and advancing all the way to Chinapelli. Success in this endeavor would pave the way for Japanese units to advance towards the Tadji airstrips. Furthermore, a Coastal Attack Force was designated to carry out a diversionary maneuver along the coast, aiming to engage the enemy and constrain them with artillery fire. In early July, as the Japanese finalized their preparations, Hall and Martin made the decision to dispatch robust patrols east of the Driniumor to the Harech River. However, these patrols were only able to advance as far as Yakamul, where they encountered only the enemy's forward units. Consequently, on July 10th, Hall and Martin ordered the 1st Battalion, 128th Regiment, and the 2nd Squadron, 112th Cavalry to conduct a reconnaissance mission across the Driniumor. Subsequently, the infantry faced significant resistance as they pushed towards Yakamul, while the cavalry's progress was limited to about a mile due to the dense jungle terrain. Despite these efforts yielding disappointing results, a captured Japanese soldier disclosed that their attack was imminent that night. However, this critical piece of information was mistakenly disregarded by the American command, leaving Adachi and Nakai poised to launch their counteroffensive. Around midnight, the assault commenced with the 1st Battalion, 78th Regiment charging across the Driniumor River, facing Company G of the 128th Regiment along a narrow front.  The Japanese attacked in two or three screaming waves, broadening the front after the first assault by throwing in the rest of the 78th Infantry and possibly elements of the 80th Infantry. Japanese reconnaissance had been good--the attackers knew the locations of company and battalion command posts all along the American defenses but not quite good enough. The enemy did not know that Company G had been reinforced during the afternoon of 10 July nor, apparently, had he discovered that the company's front was protected by low barbed wire. The attacks of the 78th Infantry were thrown back with heavy losses. Machine gun and mortar fire from the 2d Battalion, 128th Infantry, accounted for many Japanese, numbers of whom were caught as they tried to cross the barbed wire in front of Company G. According to Japanese sources, the results of American artillery fire were even more disastrous. As soon as the enemy attack had begun, the 120th and 129th Field Artillery Battalions had started firing previously prepared concentrations along the bed and east bank of the Driniumor. The Japanese units in or near the impact areas suffered heavy casualties. The 1st Battalion. 78th Infantry, was quickly reduced from 400 to 30 men, principally as a result of the American artillery fire, which also destroyed large numbers of artillery weapons, machine guns, and mortars. Despite this, the Americans, skillfully backed by artillery support, ultimately repelled them with significant casualties. Following this initial repulse, Martin concluded that a reconnaissance in force was unnecessary and ordered the units involved to retreat behind the Driniumor River. Confusion among many Japanese units, arriving late, had delayed the commencement of the 80th Regiment's attack, which was directed at Company E and was similarly pushed back. But a second wave of attackers, probably comprising the 237th Infantry and heretofore uncommitted elements of the Right Flank Unit, began pouring across the Driniumor toward Company E at approximately 0200. The new attackers overran the company command post and surrounded most of the unit's widely separated strong points. Fighting continued in the company sector for a little while, but the unit could not long withstand the overwhelming enemy pressure. Company organization and communications broke down. Worse still, the troops began to run out of ammunition. A general withdrawal commenced. By 03:00, the Japanese had breached a gap approximately 1300 yards wide in the American lines, physically occupying that territory. Fortunately, the following hours remained relatively calm as the 78th and 80th Regiments regrouped to the south to resume the offensive. This lull enabled Martin to dispatch the 1st Battalion, 128th Regiment to counterattack along the Anamo-Afua trail, aiming to reinforce the 2nd Battalion's positions. Initially encountering no resistance for the first 1500 yards, the Americans were eventually halted by intense enemy fire at 10:30, compelling them to retreat back to Tiver. This fierce opposition convinced Martin that the enemy could advance directly westward with minimal hindrance towards the Tadji strips unless he abandoned the Driniumor River line. He decided to reorganize his forces along the secondary delaying position at the X-ray River-Koronal Creek line, preparing for further counterattacks against the Japanese. Accordingly, while Company F maintained their position along the coast, the 128th Regiment began to fall back towards the creek. Further south, Cunningham opted to withdraw his cavalrymen in two stages, successfully reaching X-ray by midnight. However, communication issues delayed Howe's 3rd Battalion, with most of the unit arriving at the river the following day. A small contingent had to engage in combat with Japanese forces and couldn't reach X-ray until July 13. Despite this, Krueger and Hall disagreed with the decision to abandon the Driniumor, promptly deploying the 124th Regiment for a potential counterattack. Martin, who was instructed to hold his position, was replaced by Gill, assuming direct command of the divided covering force, now split into North and South Forces. However, before the American counterattack could commence, Nara's infantry launched an assault towards Tiver and Koronal Creek on July 12. The 128th Regiment successfully repelled them after a fierce confrontation. Meanwhile, Adachi dispatched the main body of the 41st Division and the reserve 66th Regiment towards the Driniumor, augmenting pressure on the Paup coast. To the south, Nakai's units gathered across the river near Afua and Kwamrgnirk, preparing for a final northward push. Finally, at 07:30 on July 13, the American counteroffensive commenced as the 1st Battalion, 128th Regiment swiftly moved from Tiver to Chakila, only to be ambushed by Japanese artillery. Nevertheless, precise artillery counterfire silenced most of the enemy artillery, enabling the Americans to advance eastward toward the mouth of the Driniumor. Meanwhile, the 124th Regiment under Starr's command advanced southward along the Anamo-Afua trail, facing strong opposition from the 237th Regiment. Despite encountering resistance, they managed to reach the river, although still positioned considerably north of their designated centerline. Cunningham's South Force began its eastward movement from the X-ray River at 10:00, successfully overcoming enemy positions along several stream crossings to reach the Driniumor near Afua. Consequently, all original crossing points on the Driniumor fell to the Allied forces, isolating the 20th Division and the 237th Regiment several miles west of the river's bank. By nightfall, Nara had regrouped his 237th Regiment for another assault on the 2nd Battalion, 128th Regiment. Company E demonstrated its combat effectiveness by holding firm and repelling the Japanese forces, with the rest of the battalion successfully defending against subsequent small-scale attacks, marking the conclusion of Nara's offensive actions. The following morning, Gill's forces consolidated their defensive positions along the reformed river line, albeit with a 1500-yard gap remaining in the center. Yet this all for today with Noemfoor as we now need to head over to the India-Burma theater. The final phase was coming for the Battle of Imphal. By the start of July, the reopening of the Imphal–Kohima Road facilitated the resupply of the 4th Corps, enabling them to launch an offensive against the fatigued and under-resourced troops under General Mutaguchi's command. Additionally, three brigades from General Stopford's 33rd Corps advanced from the north, swiftly joining General Gracey's 20th Division in an endeavor to reopen the Ukhrul Road. Under intense pressure, General Yamauchi's battered 15th Division units hastily abandoned Tongou and Sokpao, leading to the 80th Brigade occupying Lamu by July 2. The next day, the ailing general, who had long fallen out of favor with Mutaguchi, was carried from the battlefield on a stretcher and later died in a hospital at Maymyo. Lieutenant-General Shibata Uichi replaced him and promptly prepared the 51st and 67th Regiments to retreat. To cover their withdrawal, the newly arrived and utterly exhausted 60th Regiment was tasked with attacking towards Lamu, while General Miyazaki's troops assembled behind Ukhrul. However, the 60th Regiment was so weakened that its attacks were easily repelled, and the 67th Regiment retreated in disorder, leaving the 51st encircled. On July 8, Colonel Omoto's troops fiercely broke through the encirclement in three columns, allowing Stopford's brigades to finally overcome Japanese resistance at Ukhrul and capture the town. This forced Shibata to regroup his forces along a new line from Lungshong through Sangshak to Sakok, ultimately enabling the British-Indian forces to reopen the Ukhrul Road by July 10. With both supply roads reopened, the arrival of Stopford's brigades from the north, and the Japanese forces nearly routed, General Slim decided it was time to go on the offensive. Slim's plan involved the 33rd Corps taking over the Shenam Saddle and the Tamu–Palel Road while the 4th Corps cleared the Japanese from the Silchar Track and the Tiddim Road. On the other hand, Mutaguchi was still planning a combined attack on the Palel area involving the 15th Division, remnants of the 31st Division, and some units from the 33rd Division. Although he issued an attack order, the divisions were too battered to comply. The overall situation of the 15th Army went from bad to worse and the only hope remaining was to rally the 31st at Humine, give the troops a few days rest and then, after a reorganization, to dispatch them to the northern flank of the Yamamoto Detachment to capture Palel. In early July the 31st Division was concentrated in the area east of Myothit but discipline had disintegrated to the point that the Division could scarcely be termed a combat force. The Torikai Unit was organized with the 138th Infantry Regiment (less one battalion); the 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment and one artillery battalion to reinforce the Yamamoto Detachment. At the same time,the 15th Army ordered the 33rd Division to attack Palel from the south with the 214th Infantry Regiment. The newly formed Torikai' Unit, however, failed to join the Yamamoto Detachment and the order for the 33rd to attack Palel was never carried out. Consequently, on July 9, General Kawabe had no choice but to order preparations for a withdrawal to a line connecting the Zibyu Mountains, Mawlaik, Kalewa, and Gangaw. Mutaguchi intended to begin the retreat on July 16, directing the 15th Division towards Sittaung, the 31st Division to Thaungdut, and the 33rd Division to Tiddim, while the Yamamoto Detachment would hold the Shenam Saddle until July 24 and then retreat to the Kuntaung-Moreh line to cover the main Army's withdrawal from the Kabaw Valley.   On the southwest front, General Tanaka's forces had already started retreating from the Bishenpur area, leaving a small covering force at Ningthoukhong to prevent a pursuit by the 17th Division. As a result, General Cowan's brigades made limited progress against the stubborn rearguard, ultimately securing Ningthoukhong on July 16 after heavy bombardment, coinciding with Mutaguchi's general withdrawal. By the middle of July, Japanese resistance centered on Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou. A small hamlet about 300 meters wide and 500 meters long, it lay to the immediate south of Ningthoukhong. Despite probing attacks by the 48th Indian Brigade's infantry and artillery firing on their defenses, the Japanese held on. Finally, in the early hours of 16 July, this small space was subjected to what some describe as one of the heaviest artillery concentrations yet in the Burma Campaign; in the space of an hour, approximately 9,000 shells were fired on Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou. Fortunately for the Japanese, they had withdrawn from the village just before the shelling began. By the time it ended, the village had been completely flattened and was pockmarked with waterlogged craters. And so the last Japanese stronghold in the Imphal Valley was taken. The 63rd Indian Brigade also reached and occupied the Laimanai area around the same time. The 5th Indian Division, the other division in the reconstituted IV Corps, now took over and commenced the chase of the Japanese 33rd Division down the road towards Tiddim.  The 5th Division, now led by Major-General Geoffrey Evans, continued the pursuit while Stopford's brigades harassed the disordered retreat of the 15th and 31st Divisions. Despite their efforts, the 15th and 31st Divisions reached Thaungdut by early August, and the 33rd Division managed to assemble around Chikha by mid-August, under significant pressure and the serious threat of having their withdrawal route cut off. The 33rd Division distinguished itself by displaying almost superhuman fighting power and repeatedly launched counterattacks against the pursuing British-Indian 5th Division. The Yamamoto Detachment, however, had failed to cover the Yazagyo area and, in mid-August the 33rd Division found itself the vicinity of Chikha facing the serious threat of having its route of withdrawal cut by the enemy which was infiltrating into the Yazagyo area from Moreh and Shuganu through the Kabaw Valley. On the south-eastern approach to Imphal, the two armies continued to face each other on the Shenam Saddle. Yamamoto Force remained in place on these heights and the front line was still on Scraggy. It was in the second half of July that a final, concerted effort was made to evict Yamamoto Force and push it down the Tamu–Palel Road towards the India–Burma frontier. Led by the 23rd Indian Division , the operation involved five brigades in a three-pronged attack. The central thrust was by the 37th Indian Brigade on the Shenam Saddle, with the support of all available artillery and tanks; the 5th British Brigade was deployed behind it and readied to provide assistance. D-day was to be 24 July. The 1st Indian Brigade was sent through the hills on the right, to arrive behind the saddle. The two were to push the Japanese back on the road. It was hoped their withdrawal route would be cut by the 49th Indian Brigade, which would arrive on the road after looping in from the far left; the 268th Indian Brigade would be to its left, protecting its flank.    Before the Japanese could retreat, the 49th Brigade had cut off General Yamamoto's withdrawal route by looping in from the far left. However, Mutaguchi had sent Colonel Sato Genpachi's reserve 61st Regiment to Tamu, which quickly counterattacked and reopened the route. Consequently, Yamamoto withdrew to Moreh, allowing Roberts to swiftly capture Nippon Hill and Scraggy. Within two days, the 23rd Division advanced down the road, forcing the Yamamoto Detachment to retreat toward Mawlaik on July 30. This marked the end of the Battle of Imphal and Operation U-Go, the Japanese Army's largest land defeat. Estimates vary, but about 30,000 Japanese soldiers died and 23,000 were injured during the operation, including 6,000 killed at Kohima and 16,000 at Imphal. Additionally, the INA lost about 2,000 dead and 2,000 wounded. On the other hand, the British-Indians suffered 16,000 casualties, with over 12,000 at Imphal. Though Mutaguchi's plan was initially effective and nearly succeeded in capturing Imphal, he underestimated the enemy's ability to resist his troops and quickly bring reinforcements. Slim's overall strategy for Imphal succeeded, as the Japanese overextended themselves from the Chindwin River to the Imphal Valley, just as he had predicted. A crucial factor in the British-Indian success was the air support, which kept the 14th Army supplied despite the road to Kohima being cut off. Ultimately, in an attempt to thwart a potential British-Indian advance into Burma, Mutaguchi's 15th Army was utterly decimated by the failed attempt to capture Imphal. This failure allowed Slim to seize the moment and launch a rapid offensive into Burma, countering the Japanese U-Go plan. The Allies thus gained the upper hand, marking the beginning of the end for Japanese control over Burma. As a final note for this week by late July, Admiral Somerville executed Operation Crimson, a coordinated naval and air assault on Japanese airfields in Sabang, Lhoknga, and Kutaraja. Departing Trincomalee on July 22, Somerville's Task Force 62, comprising two carriers and four battleships, arrived off Sabang on the morning of July 25, ready to commence the bombardment. On 5th July 1944 the carriers Victorious and Indomitable arrived in Colombo. The former sailed with Illustrious on 22 July for Operation ‘Crimson', a bombardment of Sabang by the battleships over which the carrier-borne aircraft were to provide cover and take photographs of the damage. Illustrious embarked the same aircraft as before with Victorious for a total of thirty-nine Corsairs; together they comprised 47 Naval Fighter Wing commanded by Lieutenant Commander Turnbull. The force assembled for the operation was designated TF 62 and the carriers were supported by Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Renown, Richelieu, Nigeria, Kenya, Gambia, Ceylon, Cumberland, Phoebe, Tromp, Relentless, Rotherham, Racehorse, Raider, Roebuck, Rocket, Rapid, Quilliam, Quality and Quickmatch. The submarines Templar and Tantalus were deployed to ASR positions. The carriers operated only thirty-five miles north of Sabang, not far from the battleships, which approached their bombardment positions at 06:40. The initial launch was planned for thirty-three minutes before sunrise but this proved to be too early as the morning was exceptionally dark and the launch was delayed for five minutes. Even then it was too early and the form-up was clumsy and slow, delaying departure. The fighters were briefed to attack Sabang, Lho Nga and Kotaraja airfields but 1838 NAS made a bad landfall since maps lacked detail and no photographs were available. When the target airfields were found it was still too dark for accurate strafing but the enemy was alert and opened fire as soon as aircraft came within range. To aircrew accustomed to the excellent intelligence material by then available in the Home Fleet, this caused concern and it had to be accepted that it was difficult to obtain good targets without losing the element of surprise. At very low level on a dark morning, flying at 400 knots with flashes from antiaircraft gunfire all around, camouflaged aircraft in revetments were inconspicuous and the strafing runs were not a success. One Corsair was shot down but the pilot was rescued. Concurrently, the battleships targeted harbor facilities and military barracks at Sabang, while cruisers and destroyers shelled radar and wireless stations and engaged enemy shore batteries. After the main bombardment, the destroyers Tromp, Quality, Quickmatch, and Quilliam entered Sabang harbor, attacking Japanese positions and launching torpedoes, sustaining light damage from return fire. On the return journey, two enemy reconnaissance aircraft were intercepted and shot down by fighters. Additionally, ten Zeros attacked Somerville's convoy but were intercepted by 13 Corsairs, leading to two Zeros being shot down and another two damageFollowing this engagement, British pilots noted that the Japanese airmen were not as proficient as they had been in 1942.  Although Operation Crimson's outcomes were not spectacular, Somerville's final offensive was still deemed successful enough. Due to health concerns, he was subsequently transferred to diplomatic duties at Admiral Mountbatten's request. Currently, Admiral Mountbatten was moving toward a complete rearrangement of the higher officers in SEAC. From the time of his arrival in the Far East, he had had trouble with his three commanders in chief. When the Imphal crisis arose, Mountbatten was dissatisfied with General Giffard's conduct of operations, and when he later found Giffard taking what Mountbatten considered a highly negative approach toward an aggressive conduct of operations he resolved to ask for Giffard's relief. Mountbatten's relations with Admiral Somerville had been equally difficult. Somerville had refused to treat him as a Supreme Commander and in Mountbatten's opinion tried to make him simply the chairman of a commanders-in-chief committee. As for the RAF commander, Air Chief Marshal Peirse, Mountbatten was not seeking his relief because he did not wish to change all of his principal subordinates simultaneously. After his relief, Somerville was placed in charge of the British naval delegation in Washington DC in October 1944 where he managed—to the surprise of almost everyone—to get on very well with the notoriously abrasive and anti-British Admiral Ernest King, the United States' Chief of Naval Operations. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Battle of Noemfoor was just getting started, seeing General Douglas MacArthur not giving the Japanese a moment to catch their breath. Meanwhile the battle for Imphal was finally coming to a bitter end as Mutaguchi's megalomaniac operation was clearly a disaster.

Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.   ISIL-8 has failed The Guild and failed to complete a bounty, leaving the frozen planet of Utov without their target Aura Day, a.k.a. Ka Lirra, one of the masterminds behind the bot-construct clone army ISIL-8 was created for. However, Ka Lirra left a message and coordinates for ISIL-8 to follow if they survived which lead out to the far edges of the galaxy, to a corporate planet named Arro where crimelords rule, and businesses can experiment with sketchy funding.   Before they can dock at a spaceport and begin their search for answers about themself, ISIL-8 is cornered by space pirates known as Huska's Corsairs, rich raiders of the edges of the galaxy who operate out of Arro. In order to get planetside, ISIL-8 has to take a job for them to hunt down a loudmouth Quadoi (4-armed alien) who has a habit of leaking information and ruining profitable raids.   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com   Music in the Episode: Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands Endless Voyage from TabletopAudio.com Goblin Ambush from TabletopAudio.com Mega City Slums from TabletopAudio.com Orbital Prison Break from TabletopAudio.com Stakeout from TabletopAudio.com Starbase Omega from TabletopAudio.com

#SEOUL: ROK & Japan welcome Li Qiang of the PRC for talks. Rebecca Grant, vice president of the Lexington Institute,@GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill  https://www.voanews.com/a/us-expects-south-korea-and-japan-to-manage-ties-with-china-at-summit-amid-growing-differences/7620519.html 1951 Corsairs and USS Boxer, Korean War

Welcome back to Realspace Raiders, the Drukhari podcast! We are an alliance of Archons all hailing from the UK and cover everything from matched play and the competitive meta, painting and hobby discussions, background and lore and much, much more!Creeping Dread is a bite sized Kill Team special episode as Paulie is joined by guest Archon, John Rees, AKA Can You Roll A Crit? to discuss the new Mandrakes.Why you should play Mandrakes and why they stand out from the other Kill TeamsAdvanced Aelindrach tips and combos, how to get the most out of your MandrakesPainting and modelling tips for your MandrakesHow to equip your Kill TeamWhere do the new Mandrakes sit in the meta? How are they performing in events?The impact of Skysplinter Assault on the Drukhari communityHow are Corsairs, Hand of the Archon and Compendium Commorrites in Kill Team?The best way for 40k players to get into Kill TeamIf we could design our own Drukhari Kill Teams what would they be?Please let us know any feedback!Happy Raiding!Realspace RaidersrealspaceraidersArchonsPaulie - skyserpent40kDom - darktechnodomGeorge - archon_georgeDISCORD: https://discord.gg/VvJQgZVcMERCH STORE: https://redbubble.com/shop/ap/76936647ArtworkJon 'Scrivo' Scrivensjonscrivens on Instagram & Twitterko-fi.com/JonScrivensJonScrivens.comMusicLightcycle by Gabe Milleryoutube.com/gabemillermusicAcid Network by Erimotionarray.comSTARFOUNDERstarfounder.bandcamp.com

Last time we spoke about the remarkable success of Operation Reckless and Persecution.  Colonel Oliver Newman led the drive towards Hollandia's airfields, encountering scattered opposition and discovering large undefended Japanese supply dumps. General MacArthur was forced to postpone future plans until May 21st. Meanwhile, Allied submarine interceptions disrupted IJN troop movements, and Task Force 58's airstrikes neutralized Truk. Within Burma, General Stilwell's offensive faced challenges from Japanese resistance and heavy monsoon rains. Despite setbacks, the 22nd Division aimed to capture Inkangahtawng while Chinese forces engaged the enemy along various fronts. Chindits continued Operation Thursday, facing logistical hurdles and Japanese attacks. Colonel Kinnison's Marauders encountered strong resistance near Tingkrukawng, while Colonel Hunter's force successfully surprised the Japanese at Myitkyina.  This episode is the Japanese Defeat at Imphal and Kohima Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  We are jumping right back into the heat of General Mutaguchi's insane Operation U-Go. Poor General Yamauchi after suffering a devastating defeat at Nungshigum, was now facing allied tanks he simply had no answer for. Yamauchi ordered his men to dig in around Sendgmai and Kanglatongbi, basically so they would at least be hung around the Kohima-Imphal road. The allies answer to this was 6000 sorties, dropping 1000 bombs in the sector. It was a tremendous amount of damage, but the Japanese did benefit from bunkers. Yamauchi's 15th Division due north of Imphal were now being contained successfully, allowing General Briggs and Roberts to initiate their own counter offensives by the end of April. Simultaneously the 33rd Division was struggling to advance upon Bishenpur and the Shenam Saddle; over at Kohima, General Sato's 31st Division was reluctantly falling onto the defensive as the looming threat of a full British-Indian counteroffensive was dawning upon them. Imphal was still facing a grave threat from the Japanese along the Tiddim Road. Mutaguchi was personally directing the 33rd Divisions actions around Bishenpur at this time. Mutaguchi planned a three-pronged attack, one prong along the Tiddim Road, another down south from the Silchar Track by the 215th Regiment and a lastly from the north by the 214th Regiment. For the assault the 33rd Division received reinforcements in the form of the 14th Tank Regiment; the 2nd Battalion, 18th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment; and the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion from the Yamamoto Detachment. In late May they would also be receiving the 151st regiment and the 14th Tank regiment, amongst other units. This of course meant other units like the Yamamoto Detachment were being deprived of men, thus they in turn would be reinforced. The Yamamoto Detachment received the 2nd battalion, 51st regiment who were previously engaged with the Chindits at Indaw. They would arrive at Kampang after the fall of Crete West. Now in preparation for Mutaguchis renewed offensive the IJA would be tossing aircraft against the Gun Box in Bsihenpur. The Japanese Army Air Force made four air raids on the Gun Box position in Bishenpur in the first ten days of May. There was good reason for this, for at Gun Box the 32nd Indian Brigade had concentrated its artillery support. This included four 3.7in. howitzers, eight 25-pdrs, six 6-pdrs and three A/A guns. From here the guns were able to support the infantry's actions both on and around the Silchar Track, as well as the villages on the Tiddim Road such as Potsangbam. The Japanese heavy field artillery was at Khoirentak. The 215th regiment meanwhile performed some preliminary attacks against the positions at Ngarangial. Attacks began in early May against positions between Wireless Hill and Ngarangial, with two battalions attacking from the north and one from the south. The enemy, in strong positions, withstood a series of attacks which continued until the middle of May. While Mutaguchi waited for reinforcements to arrive so he could renew his southern offensive, Generals Yamamoto and Gracey were slugging it out for control over Crete West. The extremely exhausted 3rd battalion, 213 Regiment finally made a break through against the Lynch Pimple on the 8th,  forcing the 80th Brigade to evacuate Crete West two days later. On the night of the 10th, Yamamoto launched his first attacks against Scraggy Hill, which was extensively shelled, followed by a massive infantry assault: in classic style, wave upon wave of Japanese soldiers crashed on Scraggy, overwhelming its forward defenses. A point was finally reached in the night when the British battalion commander on Scraggy felt that the hill would fall unless supporting artillery fire was directed on his own positions. This was called in and the Japanese advance finally halted on the morning of 11th. But parts of Scraggy were now under the control of Yamamoto Force, which dug in. General Scoones reacted by relieving the exhausted 20th Division with the fresher 23rd Division of General Roberts. The new arrivals were shocked to see the conditions on the forward positions of the Shenam Saddle. Scraggy stood out. The Japanese were on part of the hill, while the rest of it was under British control. Trenches and bunkers covered the feature; in places, mere meters separated the two sides' front trenches. Bits of body parts of soldiers lay everywhere and a terrible stench covered the hillside. Now Cowan was planning a counter to Mutaguchis incoming offensive. He planned for an anvil and hammer maneuver; the hammer would be the 63rd Indian Brigade recently relieved from Sekmai in the first week of May by the 89th Indian Brigade. They would push down from Bishenpur towards Potsangbam, Ningthoukhong and even further south while the 48th Brigade established a roadblock on the Tiddim Road around Torbung, deep behind enemy lines. Cowan hoped to crush the 33rd Division along the road between his hammer and anvil while also cutting off the incoming Japanese reinforcements. Thus Brigadier Ronald Cameron's 48th Brigade stealthily advanced south along the eastern shore of Lake Loktak, crossed the Manipur River at Shuganu. It was a long grueling march. Simultaneously, Brigadier Guy Burton's 63rd Brigade advanced south against Potsangbam on the 10th. In their frustrated push southwards on the Tiddim Road, Burton's men had to deal first with the determined Japanese defense of Potsangbam. Burton took over on the 9th from Mackenzie's 32nd Indian Brigade, which had gained a foothold in the village the day before and was now to give its full attention to the Silchar Track. The 63rd Indian Brigade put in a first attack on Potsangbam on 10th. This involved two Gurkha battalions, each supported by a troop of tanks from the 3rd Carabiniers. The area they targeted was the main part of the village east of the Tiddim Road. The initial full frontal attacks failed to make much progress. Burton then changed tack against the Japanese, who had withdrawn to their main defenses south of the Potsangbam turel. He called for a heavy artillery bombardment from the same direction as before in the northern half of Potsangbam to make it appear that he was repeating the previous line of attack. Except this time he instructed one of his battalions to pass secretly behind the other and make for the area to the immediate east of the road. The move worked and the road through the village and its immediate vicinity were captured by the 15th. The Tiddim Road through Potsangbam was now open, although the Japanese still held on in parts of the village. But it had all taken much longer than expected. While the anvil at Torbung was about to be put in place, the hammer had only inched forward. After a long and difficult march, the brigade arrived near Torbung in mid-May. The roadblock was set up on 17th where three nullahs crossed the road near Milestone 33. To the east were several low-lying hills where brigade headquarters was established, centered on one called Point 3404. The sluggish Khuga River flowed between the hills and the road. In the Torbung sector, the Americas surprised Lt. Colonel Matsuki of the 33rd Supply Regiment, who was given the mission of reopening the line of communications using whatever troops were available in the immediate area. A composite company from the 33rd Supply Regiment, which had been deployed in the Mountainous area west of Churachandpur, held Hill 4358 against several enemy attacks. On the night of 17th, approximately 100 men of the 33rd Supply Regiment were gathered from rear elements to make the first attack on the roadblock. The attacking group was mounted on trucks and the leaders miscalculating the location of the enemy position drove squarely up to the roadblock and the entire attacking unit was virtually annihilated. Mutaguchi reacted furiously to this by unleashing artillery fire upon Point 3404 and the roadblock from the surrounding hills. Cameron's guns responded with retaliatory fire. Simultaneously Mutaguchi tossed his 1st battalion, 67th regiment against the Torbung roadblock, but Cameron's men held on inflicting tremendous casualties against the Japanese. Meanwhile Burton unleashed an attack against the hills immediately west of the road in the hopes of cutting off the supply line of the 214th and 215th Regiments. The 63rd rigade set off on 18th; the next day it had captured the villages of Tokpa Khul and Kha Aimol, and near them Three Pimple Hill and OP Hill respectively. This directly threatened the 33rd Divisions HQ at Laimanai. Mutaguchi reacted by abandoning the assaults from the west and south, and redirected the 215th Regiment to deal with Burton's 63rd division. All three of Sasahara's battalions were thrown into the counterattack, the first of which went in on the 20th. Another major assault was made two days later; both were driven off. The Japanese lost over 110 men. But they persisted and put in further attacks over the next week, frustrating any further movement southwards for the 63rd Indian Brigade. The Japanese failed to clear Burton's position, their relentless attacks would completely pin down the 63rd Brigade, thus preventing any further movement southwards.  Now at this point the 32nd Brigade had managed to recapture Wireless Hill, prompting Mutaguchi to abandon Potsangbam by the 24th. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment and 2nd battalion, 213th Regiment fell back to Ningthoukhong. Mutaguchi then tossed another battalion to help out in the attack against Burton's 63rd division. Without further support of the hammer, Cameron's anvil force had to repel a coordinated tank-infantry attack on the 21st and again on the 23rd. The 2nd Battalion, 154th Infantry Regiment and a composite company from the 14th Tank Regiment attacked on the 21st and again on the 23rd but were not only unsuccessful in dislodging the enemy, but also suffered extremely heavy losses. Two tanks were destroyed during these attacks. Though the anvil held firm, Burton's failed attempts to continue the push south would ultimately force Cameron to abandon the roadblock and head back.  On May 24th, the 48th Brigade was fighting through Bishenpur heading up the road finally linking up with the other brigade around Potsangbam. Thus the Torbung roadblock was an enormous success for Cowan, his men had inflicted 500 casualties and disrupted Mutaguchi's plan completely. Now Mutaguchi chose to go ahead with only part of his original plan, the attack from the north that would be carried out by Colonel Sakuma Takayoshi's 214th regiment. To oversee the Bishenpur offensive,  Major-General Tanaka Nobuo was appointed in command of the 33rd Division. Leaving Bungte on the night of the 19th, Sakuma's 1st battalion advanced south to attack Bishenpur from the north, while the 2nd battalion moved north from Wainen and attacked Hill 2926. Yet as they tried to storm Point 2926, they were beaten off by a platoon of the 7/10th Baluchs. Failing to take the peak, they captured the southern part of the feature and parts of the adjacent Maibam village. The 1st battalion proceeded with their assault against Bishenpur targeting the area at the northern end of the village, near the junction between the Tiddim Road and the Silchar Track. This is also the area where the Gun Box was. Once they had managed to infiltrate the road junction area, however, the Japanese were repeatedly counter-attacked in the next few days, British tanks firing on their positions at close range. Without any anti-tank guns and the British tanks firing on their positions at close range, they were ultimately wiped out.  Back over with the 2nd Battalion, they had successfully captured Maibam village and Hill 2926, very close to Cowan's headquarters, so the British would have to direct several reinforcements to lay siege on these enemy positions. Early on the 26th, Sakuma directed a composite company to launch a last charge on Bishenpur from the north, but this attack would also end in failure. Cowan then directed the brigade-strength Woodforce to evict the Japanese from Hill 2926.  Woodforce consisted of the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade's HQ, commanded by Brigadier Woods and was a composite force of tanks, artillery, sappers and infantry. Taking over the front on the 26th, Woodforce mounted robust counter-attacks over the next two days, finally overcoming all opposition and recapturing the hill and Maibam by the 29th. With most of the 33rd Division fighting to reopen the Tiddim road at Torbung, Sakuma's 214th Regiment was left to extricate itself as best it could. But the fall of the Torbung roadblock on the 24th also allowed Mutaguchi's reinforcements to finally reinforce Ningthoukong in preparation for an attack on Potsangbam.  At this point, the balance of power had shifted very definitely to the allies. Sakuma's early success at Hill 2926 was the closest any Japanese would get to Imphal from the south. Meanwhile General Yamamoto's attacks against the Shenam Saddle resumed on the 20th, with his men rushing the crest of Scraggy in waves throwing gelignite bombs and grenades, but ultimately getting pushed back each time. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion, 51st regiment and 1st battalion, 60th regiment began an attack against Gibraltar, a very steep hill along the saddle. Their initial attacks were repelled easily, but on the night of the 23rd they managed to gain a foothold on Gibraltar's crest and this in effect cut off the 37th Indian brigade at Malta and Scraggy. With the Fourteenth Army units on Malta and Scraggy cut off, the fate of the entire Shenam Saddle now hung in the balance, but the very next day the hill was recovered by a counter-attack led by the 5/6th Rajputana Rifles and 3/10th Gurkha Rifles. Gibraltar would be the farthest the Japanese would be able to advance on the Shenam Saddle and the closest they came to breaking through; and from then on, a stalemate developed with neither side making any important moves. After the Japanese had been evicted from Gibraltar on the 24th, they did not follow up with another major attempt to push through the Shenam Saddle for a fortnight. But there was never really a quiet moment on these heights. Sniper fire was ever-present, as was the booming of artillery guns. The situation was the worst on Scraggy, where both sides continued to maintain their respective positions. The British and Indian units here would be fired on from Nippon Hill, besides being subjected to rifle fire, mortaring and grenade attacks from Scraggy itself. To the north, General Brigg's resumed his counteroffensive against Molvom, tossing his 9th Brigade into a series of attacks against the Japanese held Hump. The infantry put in several attacks against the Hump, suffering increasing casualties. The men of the 3/14th Punjabis attacked Hump at least half a dozen times that month. Despite it all, the Japanese were still found in their bunkers at the end of May. Sited on the reverse slopes of Hump, their bunkers were difficult to target by guns firing from the other side. Even when they were hit, they were so solidly built that they suffered little damage. The defenders of Hump would wait until the 3/14th Punjabis neared the crest; they would then let loose a barrage of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks. Attack after attack had to be called off in the face of such furious resistance. Though heavy artillery and mortar fire and repeated air strikes were called in on it, the tenacious Japanese defenders would successfully repel all British-Indian attacks throughout early May.  On the other side, realizing the vital need for artillery support, General Yamauchi decided to bring to the front the field guns that had been left east of the Chindwin River. He also was reinforced with the 2nd Battalion, 67th Regiment, which would seize Lamu on May 10th, securing the rear of the 15th Division. On the 15th, thanks to the timely arrival of the 89th and 123rd Brigades, Briggs was able to renew his assaults in front of Sekmai with greater intensity, finally clearing Kanglatongbi and the hills to the immediate east six days later.  Colonel Matsumura responded by creating new defensive positions around Modbung. As the month came to a close, Briggs decided to concentrate both his division's brigades on the Imphal–Kohima Road. The 9th Indian Brigade was to be brought on to the road, swapping places with the 89th Indian Brigade, which would move to the Iril River Valley. The opening of the Imphal–Kohima Road was a far greater priority than clearing the Mapao– Molvom Range. The Japanese defenders of the latter would be left where they had hung on for weeks. In any case, the opening of the road was likely to encourage them much more to leave than any direct attacks on their positions.  On May 15th Yamauchi was relieved of his command. Yamauchi had really drawn the short end of the straw. As he admitted at the time, his men simply had no answer to the British tanks. His men had thrown themselves into the jungle as lightly as possible in order to strike Imphal quickly, so they did not have effective anti-tank weapons. Ymauchi's division was always the Japanese weak spot, but they valiantly had refused to lift their roadblock at Kanglatongbi. As a last desperate throw, Yamauchi had ordered the use of poison gas. Yamauchi was also a man who understood how strong the allies were, especially America. Unlike the xenophobic and ignorant Tojo and Mutaguchi, Yamauchi had spent time in the USA and this led him to be quite pessimistic. Regardless, without anti-tank weapons it was quite hopeless. Yamauchi was carried from the battlefield on a litter and would later die in a hospital in Maymyo. Back over at Kohima, Generals Stopford and Grover were continuing their counteroffensive. Brigadiers 4th Brigade were occupying Oaks Hill when on May 1st, they began to descend during  The Royal Scots stopped their advance and reoccupied Oaks Hill, the brigade artillery back in Jotsoma was on standby to pound any Japanese positions the Norfolks, who were pressing on down the ridge, encountered. The Japanese, alert now to the dangerous presence of enemy troops above them, moved up against Oaks Hill and fought hard to expel the Royal Scots during that first night, with no success. The morning that followed a night of screaming, fear-inducing attacks found the jungle undergrowth littered with Japanese bodies. It was usual practice for the Japanese to take away their dead and wounded, but on this occasion there were too few Japanese survivors for the task. As the Royal Scots repelled numerous enemy counterattacks, the Norfolks were continuing their descent towards the GPT ridge. On May 4th, the Norfolks found themselves in a good position to assault the crests of the ridge. They stormed up catching the Japanese by surprise, managing to seize numerous bunkers. At the same time, the 161st Brigade was able to seize the area southeast of Two Tree Hill, but the Japanese had a complex bunker system there preventing them from linking Jotsoma with Pulebadze. The bunker complex on GPT Ridge was much more substantial than the British had expected, with literally dozens of small, carefully sited bunkers littering the entire area with interlocking arcs of fire, while the entire position was also covered by Japanese machine guns further to the east on the Aradura Spur. No sooner would one be discovered and attacked, than another would open up against the attackers from somewhere else. Until the entirety of GPT Ridge was cleared, Goschen's brigade could not enjoy the shortcut through to Jotsoma via Two Tree Hill; the road to Imphal remained in Japanese hands and their machine guns continued to spray fire on 6th Brigade's exposed right flank. Within the center the 6th Brigade was attacking Kuki Piquet and FSD Hill. While the attack against Kuki Piquet was not seeing much progress, they did gain a toehold atop FSD Hill. Further north, the 5th Brigade were able to bypass the 138th regiments position on Merema Ridge. They managed to secure a small part of Naga Village by the end of the day. Being close in proximity to General Sato's HQ, the response from the Japanese was a series of fierce counterattacks. THe 33rd battalion, 14th regiment stormed the Cameron Highlanders who did not have time to consolidate their success by digging in, and heavy Japanese mortar fire at daylight forced the Jocks back to the western edge of the hill. Here Hawkins had them dig to secure the ground that had been seized and the Worcesters, who had protected the flanks of the night advance, were called up to help build a defensive position able to resist counterattack. The rain was by now constant. Everyone was drenched to the skin. The next morning the Japanese Air Force made one of their occasional forays into the deep valley that flowed out of the Kohima Ridge westward, but to limited effect.  Meanwhile Brigadier Frederick Loftus-Tottenham's newly arrived 33rd Brigade was in the process of reinforcing the exhausted 6th Brigade at Kohima Ridge, with preparations being made for a renewed general counteroffensive. Meanwhile, over on Pulebadze on the 6th, B Company of the Norfolks, commanded by Captain Jack Randle, was ordered to seize the remaining part of the bunker position at the bottom of GPT Ridge, while the 4/lst Gurkhas of , assisting the breakthrough in the center against Kohima Ridge and Jail Hill, were to attack the lower, western slopes of GPT Ridge. In these attacks the Norfolks were to seize the remaining Japanese bunkers but at high cost, in which Capt. Randle was awarded the posthumous VC.  The Norfolks remained in the positions they had seized and, after a night of heavy rain, a further attempt to attack the remaining Japanese positions was made at first light on the morning of 7 May by the 4/lst Gurkhas and the Royal Scots. It was important that this operation was successful, as at 10.30am an attempt was to be made by the 1st Queen's - part of 33rd Indian Brigade, who had arrived at Kohima exhausted and malaria-ridden from Arakan the day before - on Jail Hill. If the machine-gun nests on GPT Ridge could be wiped out before the Queen's attacked they would enjoy a much higher chance of success. The only result of this failed assault would be the death of Brigadier Goschen, shot by snipers.  The Queen's, aware that 4th Brigade had not managed to secure GPT Ridge, nevertheless went in against Jail Hill as planned and were slaughtered. In retrospect the attack was premature, but Stopford continued to demand speed to remove the Japanese stranglehold on Kohima in order to relieve beleaguered Imphal. There was a belief in some higher quarters - held in particular by those whose only experience of the terrain came from reading a map in the comfort of a headquarters tent in the rear - that 2nd Division's offensive lacked pace. These accusations were preposterous to the hard-pressed men on the ground. It was impossible for commanders and staff officers in the rear who could not see the ground to understand how a small piece of jungle-topped hillside could absorb the best part of a brigade; how a small group of well-sited bunkers could hold up an advance until every single one - together with every single occupant - had been systematically destroyed; how only medium artillery could penetrate the roof of a Japanese trench; how only direct and short-range sniping by Lee/Grant tanks was guaranteed to defeat a Japanese bunker; how the desperate terrain, incessant rain and humidity led even the fittest men to tire quickly and what an extraordinarily determined opponent they faced. With few exceptions, the Japanese gave in only when they were dead. Every conscious man who could lift a weapon fought until he collapsed.  Due to these defeats, the British-Indian morale plummeted, even though Sato's men were also facing a serious supply problem that was further weakening them with each passing day.  Nevertheless, the Japanese continued a brave defense under heavy artillery, mortar and aerial bombardment. Sato's defensive technique, while it was not going to enable him to break through Kohima by dint of offensive action, was designed to do the next best thing: to draw the enemy onto defences of great complexity and depth and to break them there, both physically and morally. In so doing his troops had to withstand the sort of conditions few other soldiers in history could have survived. They did so, and very nearly succeeded in persuading Stopford that battering through Kohima was an impossible task. Between the 4th and the 'Black 7th', for instance, the 38 3.7in. mountain guns dug in around Jotsoma fired over 3,000 rounds, the 48 25-pdrs fired over 7,000 rounds and the big 5.5in. guns of the medium artillery fired more than 1,500 shells at the Japanese positions, not to mention the almost continuous salvoes from the 3in. mortars of the infantry battalions and the constant strafing and bombing by Hurricanes and Vengeance dive-bombers. For the next few days, General Stopford's brigades were slowly reducing the Japanese defenses. British progress, though slow, remained sure, even though it seemed to the troops on the ground as if this battle would go on for ever. 4th Brigade cleared GPT Ridge on 11 May, by which time further costly attacks by the British 6th and 33rd Indian Brigades had finally forced the Japanese to relinquish their hold on Pimple, FSD and Jail hills, the latter of which was captured by the Queen's and C Company, 4/lst Gurkha Rifles. The tide was slowly - and painfully - beginning to turn. On the days that followed, the positions seized on 11 and 12 May were carefully consolidated, the remaining Japanese being exterminated one by one, sniper by sniper and gun by gun. The Berkshires cleared FSD Hill on 12 May, discovering that the Japanese had honeycombed the hill with tunnels, creating an elaborate underground fortress that included a battalion headquarters, repair shop, ammunition storage dump and hospital. Those Japanese bunkers on the western edge of the ridge that remained out of reach of the British artillery could now be engaged directly and at pointblank range by the Lee/Grants, trundling up the road that divides DIS and Jail hills. They did so to the cheers of the British and Indian infantry, who found themselves hugging the ground as the 75mm smashed the enemy foxholes only metres from them, the ground shaking and the shockwave of the blast sucking out their breath and showering them with dirt and debris. The capture of the southern part of Kohima Ridge a full 37 days after the arrival of Sato's units would force the Japanese to retreat to a secondary defensive line north of Aradura. On the 15th, patrols of the 5th Brigade advanced down from Naga Hill, securing Treasury Hill before meeting up with the exhausted victors of Kohima Ridge who were advancing along the Imphal road. Yet that is all for the India front, as we now need to jump back over to check out what is going on with Operation Ichi-Go. After the fall of Xuchang, General Uchiyama dispatched some units south to attack Luohe, while the bulk of his 12th Army advanced north to capture Luoyang and hopefully annihilate General Enbo's 31st Army Group. On May 2nd, General Uchiyama dispatched the 110th Division against Dengfeng, the 62nd Division against Yuzhou and the bulk of his 37th Division, 3rd armored division and 4th cavalry Brigade against Jia and Ruzhou. On 2nd, the 4th Cavalry Brigade defeated the enemy force in the sector southwest of Yingchiaochen and, on the 4th, advanced to the sector northwest of Linju. The 3rd Armored Division routed the retreating enemy heading west and, on the 4th, mopped up the enemy in the vicinity of Linju. Also on the 4th, the 37th Division arrived at Linju. On the same day, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade occupied Hsiangcheng. on the 3rd the 62nd defeated the 29th Army at Yuzhou while the 3rd Armored Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade pursued the retreating Chinese towards Ruzhou. On the 4th, Uchiyama's main forces were able to capture Ruzhou and the 110th Division managed to dislodge the 13th Army's position east of Dengfeng. After this Uchiyama's main forces enveloped the area, annihilating the 13th and 29th Armies at Dengfeng while the 62nd and 110th Divisions made a frontal assault of the city. Alongside this the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade attacked the enemy near Likouzhen. Yet before Uchiyama's men could complete the envelopment, General Enbo's men pulled out towards Tangjiezhen and Changshuixiang around midnight on the 5th. On the 7th, the 37th Division and 7th Brigade managed to envelop Tangjiezhen, and with air support inflicted heavy casualties on the outflanked defenders. Simultaneously, the 27th Division captured Luohe and Suipin. General Yokoyama had dispatched the 11th Independent Brigade to aid Uchiyamas men from the south, facing little resistance as they captured Queshan and Zhumadian before linking up with the 27th Division on the 11th.  On the other side, General Jiang Dingwen's 1st War Area Army was regrouping the bulk of its forces along the Luoyang-Yiyang line. General Okamura Ysuji ordered the 12th Army to advance upon Luoyang while Lt General Yoshimoto Teiichi's 1st Army crossed the Yellow River to try and cut off the Chinese retreat at Xin'An and Xiashichiang. Having defeated the enemy in the sector southwest of Dengfeng, the 12th Army continued to keep the enemy in the Loyang area under strict observation while, at the same time, it ordered the 110th Division to pursue the enemy toward Iyang, the 62nd Division to pursue them toward Pingteng, the main force of the 3rd Armored Division toward Iyang and Hsinan and the 4th Cavalry Brigade to the western sector of Pingteng. Okamura dispatched his reserve 63rd Division led by Lt General Nozoe Masanori to try and break through at Sishuizhen so they could join the attack upon Luoyang. They were successful and in the process, defeated the 177th Division and managed to reach the northeastern sector of Luoyang by the 12th. With assistance from the 59th Brigade coming from the west, Nozoe captured Xin'an by the 14th. The 62nd Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade captured Pingdengxiang on the 13th and part of the 110th Division captured Yiyang on the 14th. Most of the 110th Division, however, moved to Lungmenchieh below Luoyang. The 3rd Armored Division also reached the area southwest of Lungmenchieh at this point. The 37th Division, meanwhile, was directed to move towards Sunghsien. These actions effectively enveloped Luoyang as Uchiyama had his 110th Division advance through the Luohe River Valley; Yoshimoto's men advance to Sanmenxia which would fall by the 18th. The 37th Division captured Song alongside the aidromes at Luoning and Lushi by the 20th. But the main effort would be made by the 63rd Division assisted by elements o the 110th Division who launched the assault against Luoyang, being defended by the 36th Army Group. On the 19th, the 63rd Division initiated its attack against enemy positions on the outskirts of Loyang, however, the enemy positions were so strong that the battle situation did not progress as planned. As a result of this the North China Area Army ordered the 12th Army to place the main force of the 3rd Armored Division and 4th Cavalry Brigade together with part of the 110th Division under the command of the 63rd Division commander. At the same time, the 63rd Division was ordered to defend the railway east of Mienchih. At 1pm on the 23rd, the 12th Army dispatched the 63rd Division to attack Luoyang Castle from the north and northeastern fronts of Luoyang to the northeastern corner of the castle while the 3rd Armored Division was to attack the castle from the western front toward the northwestern corner of the castle. The Army also directed the Cavalry Brigade to capture and destroy the enemy which it was expected would flee to the south at the line of the Lo Ho. On the 24th, the Army-called on the enemy in Luoyang to surrender but they refused. At 1pm, therefore, the Army opened its attack and, on the 25th, completely occupied the castle. During this battle, Lieutenant-General Li Jiayu would heroically die covering the retreat of the remaining troops of his battered 36th Army Group. With the fall of Luoyang and the near destruction of the 1st War Area, Operation Kogo ended in a resounding success for the Japanese, thus securing the South Beijing-Hankou railway. The Japanese estimated over 32000 Chinese casualties and some 7800 troops captured. In turn, they claimed to have lost only 2000 casualties. Interestingly, Operation Kogo also saw the Henan peasants attack the Kuomintang forces in revenge for the Yellow River flood of 1938 and the Henan Famine of 1942. As told to us by General Jiang Dingwen "During the campaign, the unexpected phenomenon was that the people of the mountains in western Henan attacked our troops, taking guns, bullets, and explosives, and even high-powered mortars and radio equipment... They surrounded our troops and killed our officers. We heard this pretty often. The heads of the villages and baojia (village mutual-responsibility groups) just ran away. At the same time, they took away our stored grain, leaving their houses and fields empty, which meant that our officers and soldiers had no food for many days… Actually this is truly painful for me to say: in the end the damages we suffered from the attacks by the people were more serious than the losses from battles with the enemy." In the end, the peasants would be able to disarm over 50000 troops, picking their weapons to defend themselves from the Japanese, but also causing much damage to the Nationalist defense. For their role in this disaster, Generals Dingwen and Enbo would be relieved from their commands, with General Chen Cheng later taking over the 1st War Area in July to oversee its recovery. Meanwhile, the Japanese would continue to prepare for Operation Togo, the Hunan offensive. Yet to finish off this episode we also need to mention some progress in the future plans to invade Wakde. Admiral King had requested support from the British Eastern Fleet. At this time the Eastern Fleet was organized into three forces for Operation Transom, the invasion of Japanese occupied Surabaya. Force 65 consisted of Battleships Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Renown, the French battleship Richelieu, two cruisers and eight destroyers, under the direct command of Admiral Somerville; Force 66 consisted of aircraft carriers Illustrious, Saratoga, two cruisers and six destroyers, under the command of Rear-Admiral Clement Moody aboard Illustrious. Force 67 was the replenishment group and comprised six tankers, a water distilling ship and the cruisers London and Suffolk. Somerville commanded the entire fleet from Queen Elizabeth. The warships were drawn from six navies, the capital ships being accompanied by three American destroyers, four British cruisers and three destroyers, four Australian destroyers, a Dutch cruiser and destroyer and a New Zealand cruiser. The Australian light cruiser HMAS Adelaide also sailed from Fremantle in Western Australia to protect the tankers while they were at Exmouth Gulf; this allowed their two escorting cruisers to augment Force 66 during the attack. Two squadrons of Supermarine Spitfire fighters were transferred from No. 1 Wing RAAF at Darwin to Exmouth Gulf to protect the Eastern Fleet while it refueled and Australian and American maritime patrol aircraft were assigned to operate offshore. Each carrier had an air group made up of units from their parent navies. Illustrious embarked two squadrons equipped with 14 Vought F4U Corsair fighters each and two squadrons with nine Avengers. Saratoga's air group comprised a squadron with 26 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, a squadron with 24 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and a squadron operating 18 Avenger torpedo bombers, as well as a single Hellcat allocated to the Air Group Leader. As for Surabaya, its defenses against air attack at the time of Operation Transom included a few anti-aircraft guns, whose crews were inadequately trained. Radar stations and a network of observer posts were also sited to detect minelaying aircraft. The Japanese forces stationed in the city included the Imperial Japanese Army's 28th Independent Mixed Brigade and the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet under Vice-Admiral Mikawa Gunichi. Because of the distance to be covered from Ceylon and the Royal Navy's lack of experience in underway replenishment, the final plans for the operation involved the Eastern Fleet refueling at Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia before striking Surabaya. Force 67 was the first element of the Eastern Fleet to sail, departing on April 30th. Forces 65 and 66 sailed on May 6th. The Allied ships proceeded to Exmouth Gulf on a course that kept them at least 600 miles from Japanese airfields to avoid being detected or attacked. The carriers air wings practiced the attack they would conduct on Surabaya three times during the voyage. The warships arrived at Exmouth Gulf on 14 and 15th ofMay. The Eastern Fleet departed Exmouth Gulf on the afternoon of the 15th and proceeded north. It arrived at the flying off point at 6:30 am local time on the 17th without being detected by the Japanese. One British and seven American submarines also took up positions near Surabaya, the southern entrance to the Strait of Malacca and the Bali, Lombok and Sunda Straits to support the Eastern Fleet. The submarines were positioned to rescue Allied aircrew that were forced down, attack ships that tried to escape from Surabaya and intercept any Japanese warships that attempted to attack the Allied fleet. Operation Transom opened up with 76 aircraft launched from Illustrious and Saratoga. The aircraft launched by the carriers were organized into two strike forces. Force A was made up of nine Avengers from Illustrious, twelve Dauntless dive bombers and an escort of eight Corsairs. Force A's Avengers were to bomb the Braat Engineering Works and the Dauntlesses the oil refinery. Force B was to attack shipping and dock facilities in Surabaya's port. It comprised twenty-one Avengers and six Dauntlesses escorted by eight Corsairs and twelve Hellcats. The commander of Saratoga's air group, Commander Joseph C. Clifton, led both carriers' air wings during the attack. All of the aircraft were launched and formed up with the rest of their force by 7:20 am. Two British Avengers crashed during takeoff, their crews being rescued. The attack on Surabaya commenced at 8:30 am. The Japanese had not detected the aircraft as they approached, and were taken by surprise. The two forces made a well-synchronized attack, Force A approaching Wonokromo from the south and Force B attacking the port from the north. No Japanese fighter aircraft were encountered, and the anti-aircraft guns were largely ineffective. One of Saratoga's Avengers was shot down, and both members of its crew became prisoners of war. The two forces claimed to have damaged 10 ships, demolished the Wonokromo oil refinery and the Braat Engineering Works, destroyed 16 aircraft and leveled several buildings. Saratoga and her three escorting American destroyers detached from the Eastern Fleet shortly before sunset on the 18th, and proceeded to Fremantle. The remainder of the Eastern Fleet reached Exmouth Gulf the next morning, and sailed for Ceylon before sunset after refueling again. Adelaide and one of the Australian destroyers that had been attached to the Eastern Fleet left Exmouth Gulf bound for Fremantle after the tanker group departed on 19 May. The Eastern Fleet arrived back at Ceylon on the 27th. Saratoga reached Bremerton, Washington, on June 10th and after a refit re-joined the Pacific Fleet in September 1944. Though the Japanese would not really divert any forces from western New Guinea in response to the raid and despite the fact that the Japanese claim that not much damage had been inflicted on their shipping or shore facilities, with only one vessel confirmed sunk, Operation Transom would provide Somerville's Eastern Fleet important experience of carrier strike operations and exposure to superior American carrier tactics.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Allies were gradually countering Operation U-Go as the intense battles at Kohima Ridge and Pulebadze saw British-Indian forces slowly gaining ground amid heavy casualties. Meanwhile, Operation Ichi-Go saw major Japanese successes in China. Lastly Operation Transom saw British-Dutch-American successful carrier strikes against Surabaya, yielding experience despite limited damage.

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Last time we spoke about the battle for Kohima and the mop up of the Admiralty islands. The battle for Kohima led to battles raging over the Kohima Ridge. At one point only 2500 allied defenders were facing nearly 15,000 Japanese. Numerous features fell to the Japanese top Kohima ridge. The Japanese were taking heavy casualties while pushing the defenders close to Kohima. A decisive moment presented itself, the Japanese had an open shot against Dimapur. However, mostly because of animosity towards General Mutaguchi the chance to deliver a kill blow was lost. If Dimapur had been taken, it may have changed the entire Burma War. Over in the Admiralty Islands, Los Negros and Manus were finally all mopped up and now the allies had forward airfields to further smash the inner Japanese perimeter. General MacArthurs triumphant return to the Philippines was on its way. This episode is the Defense of India Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last we spoke, General Mutaguchi had initiated a grand offensive against Kohima. General Slim, knew the seizure of Kohima would be attempted only in conjunction with the seizure of the much more important target, Dimapur. It was at Dimapur where an enormous allied supply dump lied over the Ledo-Imphal line, it was the hub for which all allied activity in the region revolved. If Dimapur fell, the province of Manipur would be impossible to defend and the Brahmaputra valley would be interdicted thus cutting off all overland supply to China. To everyone's shock the Japanese instead invested an entire division to attack Kohima. Slim thought this was a enormous blunder on the part of General Sato Kotoku, going as far as to ask the RAF not to bomb the Generals HQ as “it never struck him that he could inflict terrible damage on us without taking Kohima at all”. In truth it was not really Sato at fault, it was more so upon his superior General Kawabe Mazakazu who did not trust nor like Mutaguchi and rightly suspected the man's megalomaniac plan to invade India. Thus Mutaguchi's Operation U-Go, the intended invasion of India saw the 33rd and 15th divisions closing in on Imphal by the end of March as the 31st Division attacked Kohima. General Cowan's 17th Division was able to effectively retreat to Imphal by April 4th, with the 49th Brigade acting as rearguard. Meanwhile General Yanagida had just replenished ammunition and provisions after the battle at Tonzang and now ordered the 214th and 215th Regiments to resume their advance. Colonel Sasahara Masahiko's 215th regiment departed Singgel on March 27th and crossed the India-Burma border by April 3rd. They advanced to Churachandpur by the 7th as the 214th followed closely behind them. Meanwhile, the Right Assault Unit, the Yamamoto unit had been in hot pursuit of General Gracey's 20th division since the start of April, and the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment of the Mitsui Unit had just captured the town Chamol. Additionally the 1st battalion, 60th regiment attempted, but failed to break through Laiching Hill in late March. Afterwords the unit was ordered to turn back and attempt a development of Gravey's left flank by Moving through Lamlong and then Kampang in early April. To the north, General Yamauchi's Divisional Headquarters advanced to Kasom on March 28. Yamauchi ordered two companies of the 1st Battalion, 67th Infantry to attack and occupy Kameng, which presented an easy approach route to Imphal. The 123rd Indian Brigade, 5th Indian Division had closed the gap with barbed wire and set up defensive positions in the hills to the immediate north and south of the road. The attack was made on the night of April 3 against the positions held by the 1/17th Dogras of the 123rd Indian Brigade on a hill off the Ukhrul Road, south of the village of Kameng, but failed to achieve its objective. They were then furiously counter-attacked by the guns of the 28th Field Regiment and by the Dogras themselves. A troop of tanks each of the 3rd Carabiniers and 7th Cavalry were also positioned on either side of the hill and fired on what were easy targets. By the next morning, almost 100 Japanese bodies were found; the few survivors had withdrawn. It is believed that the ultimate objective of this attack had been the fair-weather Kangla Airfield farther south. It was now felt the 15th Division's strength was spreed too thinly, thus the Japanese believed their detachments holding along the Imphal-Ukhrul road were badly in need of reinforcement. As such, Yamauchi ordered the 60th and 51st regiments to get into closer contact and by the 4th of April they were moving into positions north of Imphal. On that same day, Colonel Matsumura started moving down the road to seize the supply depot known as the 221 Advance Ordnance Depot, the largest in the Imphal Area justnorth of Kanglatongbi. As Japanese pressure on the road increased, its men and some of the most valuable supplies, including ammunition and explosives, were moved into a defensive area at Kanglatongbi known as Lion Box. The 2nd battalion managed to take Hill 3813 by April 6th, the 3rd battalion was less fortunate facing the Lion Box. The Lion Box had very few fighting troops among the several thousand men within its perimeter. The box was defended against mounting Japanese assaults from 4 to 7 April, while the evacuation of the supplies to Imphal continued apace. Its defense was assisted by units of the 9th Indian Brigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers, who would travel up from Sekmai in the south during the day. On the 5th while the 9th Indian BRigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers were patrolling forward to help out the Lion Box, Cowan's 63rd Brigade arrived to Sekmai to reinforce the northern defenses, and this in turn allowed the 9th Brigade to take up a position to defend Nungshigum. On the 6th, Colonel Omoto's 3rd battalion attacked Nungshigum's northern Hill, known as Hill 3833, successfully overrunning the hastily developed Indian defenses there, while the 1st battalion marched upon Hill 4057. There was a heroic counter attack by a platoon led by 18 year old Jemadar Abdul Hafiz serving as Naib Subedar, Junior Commissioned Officer in the 9th Jat Regiment, British Indian Army. His platoon managed to recover Hill 3833 by the end of the day. Jemadar Abdul Hafiz was tasked with recovering it with two sections of his platoon. He fearlessly led the way and recovered the feature in the face of a hail of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks, killing several Japanese in the process. Injured by now, Hafiz continued the attack, fought to his death and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The hill became known as Runaway Hill because of the way the Japanese had fled from Hafiz's brave actions. April the 7th saw a follow-up charge with Omoto's 3rd battalion re-seizing the hills around Nungshigum. In the four days that followed, Nungshigum exchanged hands a couple of times: the 3/9th Jats recovered it, only to lose it again to the Japanese of the 3/51st Battalion by 11 April who dug in well on the northern and southern bumps around Nungshigum. Meanwhile Matsumura was continuing to exert heavy pressure upon the Lion Box, finally forcing the battle weary defenders to evacuate the box as the position became impossible to defend. The valiant efforts of the Lion Box defenders had earned the British-Indian troops valuable time to evacuate a large amount of critical supplies back to Imphal, preventing their use to the Japanese. Do remember Mutaguchi literally planned the entire offensive on the basis their logistical supply line was simply seizing the allies supply depots. That is what we call a bold strategy. Matsumura's troops had suffered heavy casualties in their efforts against the Lion Box. Now he ordered the 60th regiment east to reassemble around the villages of Tingsat, Molvom and their surrounding heights by April 8th. They would be reinforced by the honda raiding units coming from the north. On the 9th, Omoto's 1st battalion assaulted Hill 4057 taking it from elements of the 123rd Indian Brigade, as the 3rd battalion secured Nungshigum. This breakthrough posed an unacceptable threat to the British, leaving the 4th Corps HQ, the Imphal Main and Kangla airfield vulnerable to further Japanese attacks. This prompted General Brigg's to get forces together to evict the Japanese from their recently gained heights. Brigg's was reinforced with the 254th Indian Tank Brigades armor for the job. An unrelenting artillery and aerial bombardment began against the 51st regiment, greatly reducing the strength of Omoto's companies. Suffering such horrific losses, Omoto was forced to retreat over to the eastern side of the Iril River. At around dusk on the 12th, Omoto's 3rd battalion withdrew from Nungshigum to take up better positions in the hills north of Hill 4057. From this position the 3rd battalion was able to cover the 1st battalion's withdrawal from Hill 4057 during the night.  Simultaneously, Briggs launched his main counteroffensive, tossing two companies of the 1/17th Dogras and B Squadron of the 3rd Carabiniers. That morning, the infantry and tanks began climbing up via two spurs on the south-eastern side of Nungshigum. On each spur was a troop of M3 Lee-Grant tanks, together with a company of Dogras. The division's artillery, together with another troop of tanks, had been placed to the east and west of Nungshigum on the plain. As the infantry and armor climbed, the Vengeance dive-bombers and Hurricanes bombed and strafed the peaks. Soon thereafter, the 88 pieces of artillery and tanks on the plain plastered the same area. The two groups of infantry and tanks joined up at the peak named Pyramid and proceeded in a single file up a narrow ridge towards the Japanese on Southern Bump. As they approached the Japanese defenses, fierce fighting erupted. The tanks were sprayed with machine-gun and rifle fire, and grenades were thrown at them. But there was only so much the Japanese could do. The use of armor on Nungshigum, which rose over 1,000ft above the valley floor, was a masterstroke. The Japanese had never expected to encounter tanks and they had nothing to counter them effectively. The British had to pay a high price, too. All of the British tank officers were killed and the infantry officers wounded later that day. The former had been shot as they stuck their heads out of their tanks' turrets to guide them safely on the narrow and steep ridgeline. It was finally left to the VCO of the Dogras, Subadar Ranbir Singh, and Squadron Sergeant-Major Craddock of the 3rd Carabiniers to complete the battle. They rose to the occasion; the tanks finally destroyed the main bunkers and the infantry charged at and killed any survivors. There were casualties on both sides, but Japanese losses were especially heavy, leaving 250 bodies. This was the closest the Japanese would come to Imphal as a large, organized force in 1944. Yamauchi's 15th Division would never be able to pose such an urgent threat from the north again.  On April 13th, the Honda unit and 2nd battalion, 60th infantry launched an unsuccessful attack against Sengmai. In another attack on the 18th, the 2nd battalion gained a foothold in the enemy positions on the eastern hill of Sengmai, but would be forced off it quickly losing 150 men. The failure to breach the defenders at Sengmai marked a turning point in the operation, forcing the Right Assault Unit onto the defensive. Meanwhile Omoto's withdrawal had opened a gap between his units and Matsumura's, leaving Matsumura isolated around the Imphal-Kohima road and the Mapao-Molvom range. This also left Matsumura's supply lines increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Brigg's 5th Division. General Scoones ordered the 23rd Indian Division to push back on the Ukhrul Road to regain control over the area, while Briggs cleared the Japanese out of the Imphal-Kohima and Mapao-Molvom Range. For this Major-General Ouvry Roberts dispatched the 37th Brigade up the Ukhrul Road while the 1st Brigade made a wide flanking maneuver to the right to swing north in an attempt to capture Yamauchi's HQ. A composite unite of the 51st regiment known as the Suzuta unit formed out of two companies and Suzuta's HQ managed to resist the Indian attacks at Yaingangpokpi. Their mission was to hold the pass near Hill 3524 and they were met by numerous enemy counterattacking groups. The Suzuta Unit was faced with a serious crisis when it was attacked by a strong enemy tank force on 18 April. Meanwhile back on the 15th, the sudden appearance of the 1st Brigade at Hill 5515.. With his headquarters threatened by this new enemy maneuver, Yamauchi decided to move 15th Division headquarters and the Suzuta Unit to the rear of the Right and Center Assault Units. This move was complicated in that it entailed the evacuation of large numbers of casualties, among whom was General Yamanouchi himself. Upon arriving in the vicinity of Nungga intense enemy activity was encountered. It was found impossible to move west, to the desired destination and the headquarters was forced to move toward Lungshong via Ukhrul. The Suzuta Unit troops reverted to their parent organizations. The command post of the Division was finally established at a point about three miles southwest of Lungshong on 29 April. By april 22nd, Robert's Brigades made contact over the Ukhrul Road near Litan and began hunting down Yamauchi's HQ. They searched for it around Shongphel to the north. They converged on the spot, only to find Yamauchi was not there. To the east the 9th Brigade attacked the Mapao-Molvom Range on the 23rd, making some initial gains at Mapao. Their field guns with Hurricane bombers smashed Mapao, allowing the Jats and Punjabis to fight their way up and capture it in two days. But farther north, the heights around Molvom were better defended and the Japanese defied attempts to infiltrate these positions. The brigade soon got bogged down. Further east the 123rd Brigade advanced up the Iril River Valley facing some of Omoto's retreating men and would reach Sengmai by mid-may. The Japanese at this point were also preparing to continue their offensive further south. General Yanagida received reports on the progress of the 15th Division and that Kohima had already fallen. So he decided to bypass the expected resistance in the Moirang vicinity and advance directly upon Imphal. This prompted Colonel Sasagara to send his 2nd battalions of the 215th and 213th regiment to attack the Torbung positions on the 9th. They managed to successfully outflank the 49th brigade and exerted so much pressure in the area, the 49th brigade were forced to withdraw over the next few days. With the Japanese in hot pursuit, Cowan dispatched the 32nd Indian Brigade to defend the Tiddim Road with Brigadier David MacKenzie shifting his main position further back to Bishenpur. The Bishenpur village was well located: it was where the hills touched the Tiddim Road to its west; to the east lay the upper reaches of the Loktak Lake. Bishenpur was considered the best place to position a defense of the southwestern approach to Imphal. It was also important because from here a track wriggled west over the mountains to Silchar in Assam. Besides the Imphal–Kohima Road, the Bishenpur–Silchar Track was the only other navigable route back out to the rest of India. Unsurprisingly then, it was also of interest to the Japanese. On April 12th the Japanese attacked Potsangbam, but the 2nd battalion, 213th regiment was held up by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment from Bishenpur. The Japanese forayed into the villages of Kwa Siphai and Khoijuman to the northeast, but they were rebuffed. To counter them, aerial bombardments were called in on Potsangbam and the next large village, Ningthoukhong. Strategic Air Force Liberators pattern-bombed the two villages with 1,000lb bombs. The British sent tanks, together with infantry units, across the paddy fields towards Potsangbam, but their advance was held up by fierce opposition. Unlike at Nungshigum, the Japanese here were armed with anti-tank guns. Evicting them would require that much more effort. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment was brought up to reinforce the 2nd Battalion, 213th Infantry at Potsangbam about 20 April, but it would be unable to break through nonetheless. To the west Sasahara's men tried to break through Kokadan on the 14th. They made repeated attacks for over a month, but would be unable to penetrate Mackenzie's defenses. The 214th regiment tossed three attacks against Hill 5846 from their position on Ingourok by April 24th. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued as each side sought to gain possession of these hills. The British had brought up a troop of Lee-Grant tanks of the 150th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps from Bishenpur and these were pressed into battle, firing in close support of the infantry. By 26 April, Point 5846 and Wooded Ridge were under their firm control, while the Japanese had Wireless Hill. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion reinforced the 214th regiment to skirt around Hill 5846 from the west, going just due north of the track. This endeavor ultimately failed in the end, and the men would have to turn back by the end of the month. Due to his failures and disagreements, General Mutaguchi consequently lost faith in Yanagida, who was ignored from this point onwards while his chief-of-staff, Colonel Tanaka Tetsujiro, effectively commanded the 33rd Division.  Meanwhile over on the hill of the Shenam Saddle, the battle for Nippon Hill had been raging since early April. Gracey's initial piecemeal attempts to retake the feature only saw his men fail. On the other side, the Yamamoto Detachment launched a general attack from Chamol on the 8th, trying to make a breakthrough to Nippon Hill, to relieve the outnumbered 11th company, 213th regiment. While the Japanese were held up by crossfire from Tengnoupal, the 80th Brigade sent three companies of the 1st Devon's to recapture Nippon Hill on the 11th. Following heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the British troops stormed the hill with a fierce lobing of grenades and machine gun fire, seizing the feature by the end of the day. Nonetheless the Japanese, General Yamamoto kept committing troops to continuous attacks over the next few days. What was witnessed on Nippon Hill was to be repeated on many occasions around Imphal. Japanese defensive positions would be subjected to intense bombardments, which it was hard to imagine anyone surviving. And yet, time and again, the Japanese would emerge out of the targeted positions and counter-attack. In fact, Nippon Hill was one such place where, even days after it had been recaptured by the British, a lone Japanese soldier would emerge from the rubble and attack. This after being buried for hours, or even days, usually without recourse to food or water. This behavior was a measure of the extraordinary capabilities of the Japanese, as defenders in particular, and of their dedication to their cause in general. It was also a testament to the strength of their defenses. On features like Nippon Hill, the Japanese had shown themselves to be adept at digging an extensive, deep network of underground tunnels and holes within their positions. These allowed them to withstand bombardments, while the small openings allowed for a sustained fire to be kept up on anyone who approached. After a week of fighting, the 3rd Battalion, 213th Regiment finally recaptured Nippon Hill on April 16, and this time it was to stay with the Japanese until the end of July. The hill would allow the Japanese to observe allied movements over the Shenam Saddle and the road below, so accurate firing from well-sited guns on this hill and the adjacent ridge would cause many casualties among the defenders. Yamamoto ramped up his efforts trying to break through towards Imphal. With additional tank and artillery support the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment managed to overrun Crete East on the 22nd as the 80th Brigade evacuated to the isolated Cyprus. Pressing onwards, Yamamoto attacked Crete West, tossing multiple attacks at the feature over the next two weeks. Despite the ferocity of the invaders, the defenders would manage to hold on until the end of April. Meanwhile the 1st battalion, 60th regiment was unable to break through Hill 5240 near Kampang, so on the 20th they were redirected to hit the northern sector of Palel. The battalion had suffered 300 casualties, unable to pose much of a threat any longer to Gracey's men. To their left was the 1st INA Division's 2nd Gandhi Brigade,  deployed on the left flank of Yamamoto Force and an initial group that had rushed through the hills towards Palel. They were targeting the airfield from the south in coordination with the Japanese closing in via Langgol from the east. They clashed with Indian and Gurkha defenders at Purum Chumban on May 2nd. There are differing accounts of what happened during the battle of Purum Chumbang. One has the INA group reaching very close to the airfield, while another has it reach some 8km short of it. What is common to both, however, is the reaction of the Fourteenth Army units (Indian and Gurkha) to the INA's effort. A parley between the two is supposed to have taken place at some point, where the latter tried to convince their brethren on the British side not to fight. This being rejected, the INA attacked and was repulsed. At least 50 INA men were killed in the retaliatory response. It has been argued that these attacks by their fellow Indians affected INA morale. They had not expected to be considered traitors by their former comrades of the Indian Army. Several hundred INA men deserted before the end of the battle, although the majority of the force remained in the hills around the Tamu–Palel Road, wracked by disease and hunger. In the meantime, the Kohima Garrison received relief on their ridge positions, now General Grover was formulating a plan to recapture lost territory in the Kohima area and to annhilate the 31st division. His plan was to hold Zubza and Periphema in the rear while Brigadier John Shapland's 6th Brigade would launch an attack against the Japanese center and gradually push them towards the southern and southwestern flanks of the Kohima Ridge. Brigadier Victor Hawkins 5th Brigade would would perform a flanking maneuver to the north while Brigadier William Goshcens 4th Brigade did the same in the south. On April 18, Hawkins thus dispatched his first units across the deep Zubza nullah to the Merema Ridge to cut the Kohima-Merema-Bokajan road, with the rest of the brigade following in an excruciating march and finally assembling at the Merema Ridge by April 27.  Further to the north, in parallel with the 2nd Divisions advance, Brigadier Perowne's men have been performing an extremely difficult march into the Naga Hills. Their task was to prevent the Japanese from escaping the Brahmaputra Valley, taking a track leading from Merema to Bokajan. For weeks the Chindit Brigade had conducted an effective operation, ambushing Japanese supply routes, denying them territory, encouraging local Naga resistance efforts and causing general havoc. General Mutaguchi and ordered Sato to send his 124th Infantry Regiment to support the struggling 15th Division in the south.  Sato decided to occupy Garrison Hill prior to complying with Mutaguchi's directive, immediately sending the 1st Battalion, 138th Regiment to support the attacks of the 58th Regiment. The assault failed on the 23rd and this further convinced Sato he would be unable to hold Kohima if he sent the reinforcements Mutaguchi requested. His decision was also heavily influenced by his increasing anger at his superior as Mutaguchi was completely failing to supply his men. He had been promised at least 250 tons of resupplies would arrive by April 8, Sato testily demanded food and ammunition. In fact, very few supplies ever reached the 31st Division from Burma, the men having to survive on what they had brought with them, what they could beg or steal from Naga villages, or what 'Churchill Rations' they could capture from British stockpiles. Sato's fury at the lack of promised supplies reaching Kohima was fuelled by his belief that the 31st Division was being let down by Mutaguchi's abject failure to break into Imphal. In response to Mutaguchi's demand that he send troops to assist in the Imphal battle, on April 20 Sato sent the first of a number of increasingly tetchy signals to the army commander: 'We captured Kohima in three weeks as promised. How about Imphal?' Mutaguchi replied: 'Probable date for capture of Imphal April 29', which was the Emperor's birthday. Sato plainly did not believe him. On April 30, Sato signaled again: '31st Division at the limit of its endurance. When are you going to destroy Imphal?' To this he received no reply.  The relationship between Sato and Mutaguchi had never been good, but now it was really bad. Over the next two weeks, the battles on Kohima Ridge were not seeing results. Repeated attacks were made against Garrison Hill as Shapland's men tossed desperate attacks at the extreme northern edge of the ridge allowing for a troop of Lee/Grant tanks to lumber up the western end of Naga Hill in order to provide armored support for the 5th Brigade. The plan to get tanks onto the back of Naga Hill by driving through the Japanese positions overlooking the TCP finally succeeded on April 27, the Lee/Grants trundling along the track, wary of mines, but taking the Japanese entirely by surprise at this stroke of legerdemain. Peppered on all sides futilely by bullets, they joined 5th Brigade on Naga Hill, albeit at the cost of 28 Dorset dead, who had kept intense pressure on the TCP end of the Kohima Ridge to distract the Japanese during the operation. In the fighting for control of the tennis court no means of overcoming Japanese bunkers could be discovered using infantry alone, and attempts were made to bulldoze a path up to the remains of the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow to allow a Lee/Grant tank to move onto the tennis court and engage the bunkers directly with its 75mm gun. Unhappily the first effort failed when the Lee/Grant went into reverse, pulling the bulldozer to which it was attached back down the steep slope in a heap of crashing, twisted metal. Four days later a similar attempt with a Stuart Light tank of the 45th Indian Light Cavalry also failed, as the Japanese had brought up a 3.7in. anti-tank gun that put the tank out of action, fortunately with no loss to the crew.By the 27th, the tanks made a break through to the Naga Hill. The Japanese suffered terrible casualties causing them to suspend operations against Garrison Hill. The 31st división was not fully adopting a defensive stance. Meanwhile, Goschen's men had set out on a long march to cut the Imphal Road below the Aradura Spur on the night of April 25. They were advancing through some of the worst terrain of the entire region, it was deep, nearly vertical jungle-covered gullies falling between  Mount Pulebadze and the face of Mount Japfu.  The 4th Brigade would reach the valley between Pulebadze and Japfu in three days. One there, General Stopford ordered Goschen to climb over Pulebadze Ridge then come down into Kohima to hit the Japanese position on the GPT ridge, which were giving serious problems to Shaplands men. The brigade accordingly turned left, climbing up and over the Pulebadze Ridge and beginning the slow descent through the jungle down onto the Kohima side. A prominent pimple above the GPT Ridge known as Oaks Hill, sitting at 6,000ft, was occupied by the Norfolks and the 143rd Company on 1 May, the presence of British troops 1,500ft above the Japanese positions becoming known to them for the first time. But that is all for today for India, as there is something else cooking up in the CBI theater. Since early 1943, the United States had steadily increased its air force in China. By the beginning of 1944 there were more than 500 US planes in this area, whereas, in spite of the organization of the 5th Air Army,the Japanese Air Force had less than half this number of planes in China. Furthermore, with the war situation rapidly growing worse in the Pacific, the Japanese Air Force in China could not hope for any replenishment. Enemy planes not only interfered with Japanese ground operations, but also harassed the lines of communication and attacked the occupied areas. General Chennault's 14th Air Force had been causing such problems, the Japanese were forced to act. The catalyst for their future action was because of a raid against Formosa carried out by 14 B-25s, 8 P-38s and 8 P-51s on November 25, 1943, which caught the Japanese by surprise as the Chinese-American aircraft strafed and dropped bombs over Shinchiku airfield, successfully destroying its installations along with 42 planes on the ground at the cost of three fighters lost.  This prompted the Japanese commanders to target strategic points along the Hunan-Guangxi, Guangzhou-Hankou and Southern Beijing-Hankou Railways. Thus the infamous Operation Ichi-Go was born. Ichi-Go's primary targets were Guilin and Liuzhou's airfields where the US was developing bases for B-29's to launch strikes against the Japanese home islands. If you are interested in a in-depth talk about this by the way, over on the Pacific War Channel on Youtube or Spotify, I did an interview with Dave from the Coldwar about the bombing of Japan and we talked about this very subject. Pretty neat episode I recommend it! Now in general the main objectives were to link railways in Beijing and Hankou in northern China to the southern Chinese coast at Guangzhou. This would spare shipping and avoid the pesky American submarine force who were now ruining havoc; it was also to take out airfields in Sichuan and Guangxi to thwart further US bombing of Formosa and the Japanese home islands. This also in turn would open a land route to Indochina and hopefully would destroy enough NRA units to collapse Chiang Kai-Sheks government, finally solving the China Problem. Ichi-Go would start in late April with an offensive  by the 12th Army of Lt General Kita Seiichi, later replaced by Lt General Uchiyama Eitaro. This was codenamed Operation Kogo, tasked with capturing the areas along the South Beijing-Hankou railway, centered around Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and destroying the main strength of the 1st War Area. Then, early in June, the 11th Army of General Yokoyama would launch Operation Togo, with the objective of capturing Changsha and Hengyang and destroying the main force of the 6th and 9th War Areas. Following the conclusion of the first phase, late in July, the 11th Army would be assisted by the 23rd Army of Lt General Tanaka Hisaichi and the Indochina Garrison Army of Lt General Viscount Machiiji Kazumoto would capture Guilin and Liuzhou and the destruction of the 4th War Area.  Finally, the third phase of Operation Togo would see the 23rd Army capture the strategic areas along the south Canton-Hankou railway, centered around Nanning, by destroying the 7th War Area in September while the 11th Army continued the advance south towards Suichwan Arfield to link with the Indochina forces. For the entire operation, the 5th Air Army of Lt General Shimoyama Takuma would support the offensives from the skies, tasked with annihilating the American-Chinese air force and attaining air supremacy over China. The logistics of Operation Ichi-Go constituted was one of the most notable examples of the IJA's offensive preparations. Between some of the measures taken was the emplacement of dozens of anti-air batteries throughout the Yangtze River to limit the Chinese-American air activity against troop concentrations at its southern channel; the transfer of dozens of thousands of troops by railway without interference from Chinese guerrillas because security at the railway lines was increased; the monthly river transport of 40000 tons of supplies; the secret storage of 600 pontoons; and the constructions of hideouts for a munitions arsenal that should last for two years and of hundreds of deposits that harbored 50 million liters of gasoline that should last for eight months: 40 million for land vehicles and 10 million for planes.By early April General Hata had amassed 62,000 men, 52,000 Japanese and 10,000 collaborationist units alongside 800 tanks, 1550 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft, 15550 motorized vehicles and 100000 horses.  Meanwhile the British Eastern Fleet had been receiving more naval resources due to the successes in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe and could now carry out more aggressive actions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Agreement had been reached, after objections from Admiral Ernest King, but new procedures would need to be learnt by naval crews and Fleet Air Arm aircrew. To this end, Operation Diplomat, a training exercise, took place in late March 1944. The objective was for the fleet to rendezvous with a group of tankers, escorted by the Dutch cruiser HNLMS Tromp and practice refueling at sea procedures. The ships then rendezvoused with USN Task Group 58.5 built around aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three destroyers. To further support the coming Hollandia and Aitape landings, Admiral King requested that, during April, the Eastern Fleet should engage Japanese forces in their area and hold them there to reduce the opposition that could be encountered by the Americans at Western New Guinea. In response, Admiral Somerville launched Operation Cockpit on April 16, an air attack against Sabang off Sumatra. The fleet sailed from Trincomalee on 16 April, and two days later the Gambia and Ceylon were detached from Force 69 to strengthen the anti-aircraft defense of the carrier force. On the morning of April 19, 17 Barracudas and 13 Corsairs from the carrier Illustrious and 29 Dauntless and Avenger bombers and 24 Hellcats from Saratoga took off towards Sumatra and subsequently caught the Japanese completely by surprise, finding no opposition there. Thirty Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the airfield and a direct hit by a 1000-pound bomb set a large oil tank on fire. The power-station, barracks and wireless station were badly damaged. The submarine HMS Tactician reported large fires in the dockyard burning fiercely hours after the fleet had left the area. The raid was a clear success, with Somerville later saying that the Japanese "had been caught with their kimonos up".  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The invaders it seems bit off more than they could chew when they attacked India. General Mutaguchi was facing a determined enemy and very pissed off and somewhat insubordinate colleagues. Operation Ichi-Go was being prepared and the Royal Navy was sending forces into the Indian and Pacific Oceans adding to the IJN's misery.

This week we discussed updates, the 2024 roadmap, Gwathrenost,  our week in LOTRO, and speculated on the new hobby. Game News Update 38.2.1 Release Notes LOTRO Roadmap for 2024 The Corsairs of Umbar soundtrack is now available on YouTube Store Sales The Sublime Patron’s Coffer has returned for a limited time! Available in the LOTRO […]

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the North African privateers who, until their demise in the nineteenth century, were a source of great pride and wealth in their home ports, where they sold the people and goods they'd seized from Christian European ships and coastal towns. Nominally, these corsairs were from Algiers, Tunis or Tripoli, outreaches of the Ottoman empire, or Salé in neighbouring Morocco, but often their Turkish or Arabic names concealed their European birth. Murad Reis the Younger, for example, who sacked Baltimore in 1631, was the Dutchman Jan Janszoon who also had a base on Lundy in the Bristol Channel. While the European crowns negotiated treaties to try to manage relations with the corsairs, they commonly viewed these sailors as pirates who were barely tolerated and, as soon as France, Britain, Spain and later America developed enough sea power, their ships and bases were destroyed. WithJoanna Nolan Research Associate at SOAS, University of LondonClaire Norton Former Associate Professor of History at St Mary's University, TwickenhamAnd Michael Talbot Associate Professor in the History of the Ottoman Empire and the Modern Middle East at the University of GreenwichProducer: Simon Tillotson Reading list:Robert C. Davis, Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004)Peter Earle, Corsairs of Malta and Barbary (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1970) Des Ekin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates (O'Brien Press, 2008)Jacques Heers, The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1450-1580 (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018)Colin Heywood, The Ottoman World: The Mediterranean and North Africa, 1660-1760 (Routledge, 2019)Alan Jamieson, Lords of the Sea: A History of the Barbary Corsairs (Reaktion Books, 2013)Julie Kalman, The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World during the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond (Princeton University Press, 2023)Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Barbary Corsairs (T. Unwin, 1890)Sally Magnusson, The Sealwoman's Gift (A novel - Two Roads, 2018)Philip Mansel, Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean (John Murray, 2010)Nabil Matar, Turks, Moors and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery (Columbia University Press, 1999)Nabil Matar, Britain and Barbary, 1589-1689 (University Press of Florida, 2005)Giles Milton, White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves (Hodder and Stoughton, 2004)Claire Norton (ed.), Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other (Routledge, 2017)Claire Norton, ‘Lust, Greed, Torture and Identity: Narrations of Conversion and the Creation of the Early Modern 'Renegade' (Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 29/2, 2009) Daniel Panzac, The Barbary Corsairs: The End of a Legend, 1800-1820 (Brill, 2005)Rafael Sabatini, The Sea Hawk (a novel - Vintage Books, 2011)Adrian Tinniswood, Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the 17th century (Vintage Books, 2010)D. Vitkus (ed.), Piracy, Slavery and Redemption: Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England (Columbia University Press, 2001)J. M. White, Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean (Stanford University Press, 2018)

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the North African privateers who, until their demise in the nineteenth century, were a source of great pride and wealth in their home ports, where they sold the people and goods they'd seized from Christian European ships and coastal towns. Nominally, these corsairs were from Algiers, Tunis or Tripoli, outreaches of the Ottoman empire, or Salé in neighbouring Morocco, but often their Turkish or Arabic names concealed their European birth. Murad Reis the Younger, for example, who sacked Baltimore in 1631, was the Dutchman Jan Janszoon who also had a base on Lundy in the Bristol Channel. While the European crowns negotiated treaties to try to manage relations with the corsairs, they commonly viewed these sailors as pirates who were barely tolerated and, as soon as France, Britain, Spain and later America developed enough sea power, their ships and bases were destroyed. WithJoanna Nolan Research Associate at SOAS, University of LondonClaire Norton Former Associate Professor of History at St Mary's University, TwickenhamAnd Michael Talbot Associate Professor in the History of the Ottoman Empire and the Modern Middle East at the University of GreenwichProducer: Simon Tillotson Reading list:Robert C. Davis, Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004)Peter Earle, Corsairs of Malta and Barbary (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1970) Des Ekin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates (O'Brien Press, 2008)Jacques Heers, The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1450-1580 (Skyhorse Publishing, 2018)Colin Heywood, The Ottoman World: The Mediterranean and North Africa, 1660-1760 (Routledge, 2019)Alan Jamieson, Lords of the Sea: A History of the Barbary Corsairs (Reaktion Books, 2013)Julie Kalman, The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World during the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond (Princeton University Press, 2023)Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of the Barbary Corsairs (T. Unwin, 1890)Sally Magnusson, The Sealwoman's Gift (A novel - Two Roads, 2018)Philip Mansel, Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean (John Murray, 2010)Nabil Matar, Turks, Moors and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery (Columbia University Press, 1999)Nabil Matar, Britain and Barbary, 1589-1689 (University Press of Florida, 2005)Giles Milton, White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves (Hodder and Stoughton, 2004)Claire Norton (ed.), Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other (Routledge, 2017)Claire Norton, ‘Lust, Greed, Torture and Identity: Narrations of Conversion and the Creation of the Early Modern 'Renegade' (Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 29/2, 2009) Daniel Panzac, The Barbary Corsairs: The End of a Legend, 1800-1820 (Brill, 2005)Rafael Sabatini, The Sea Hawk (a novel - Vintage Books, 2011)Adrian Tinniswood, Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the 17th century (Vintage Books, 2010)D. Vitkus (ed.), Piracy, Slavery and Redemption: Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England (Columbia University Press, 2001)J. M. White, Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean (Stanford University Press, 2018)