“That group of islands will make an ideal cornerstone for air control all the way to Saigon and Truk and to the Philippines. From what I know of the Japanese defense in the Admiralty Islands, we’ll have a tough job with the invasion, but they’re committing the men to do the job.
“Once that invasion operation is over we’ll have an excellent airfield and several good deep-water harbors. What’s more important is that this move and the ones to follow will leave about one hundred thousand Japanese troops massed in Rabaul rotting on the vine. They’ll be bypassed. After we secure the Admiralty Islands, the next move, if you look at a chart, is a series of steps north and west to Morotai, Peleliu, Yap, Ulithi — and then the Philippines.”
“Where will MacArthur hit the Philippines, sir?”
“I don’t know,” Mealey said. “I would think he might land at Mindanao Island. Apparently the Japanese think it will be Mindanao. The Ultra message says that Mindanao is the destination of this task force.” The frosty smile came and went under the white mustache.
“When they get out of Manila Harbor they’ll find that we stand between them and their destination, and by God, we’ll draw blood!”
CHAPTER 14
Captain Mealey bent over the chart on the Wardroom table. Mike Brannon and John Olsen sat across the table from him. Mealey’s long forefinger traced a line out of Manila Harbor.
“If I were commanding that task force I’d take them out of Manila Harbor, come inside of Lubang Island, and then go through this passage between Luzon and Mindoro, across the Sibuyan Sea to Ragay Gulf, down to San Bernardino Strait and out to the Pacific. From there down the east coast of Mindanao Island to Davao Gulf and to Davao. The Japs have a big base at Davao. That’s the most practical route.” He looked at Brannon and Olsen.
“Anything else means more sea miles, more time. Do you gentlemen agree?”
“There is an alternative,” Olsen said quietly. “They could go outside of Lubang Island, to the west, and then go down the west coast of Mindoro Island and east to San Bernardino Strait.”
“Too far,” Mealey said flatly. “Too far. No. I’ll gamble they’re going to take the shortest route. The Ultra people said the Japanese message they intercepted which formed this task force carried a ‘most urgent’ on it. They’re in a hurry. They’ll take the shortest route.” He rubbed his nose with the bowl of his pipe.
“Our problem is where do we choose to meet them, where do we attack? I want deep water if I can get it. I want sea room if I can get it. But if I can’t have both or one we’ll attack anyway.”
Mike Brannon touched a small space on the chart between the northern tip of Mindoro Island and the southern tip of Luzon. “That’s a pretty narrow strait there, isn’t it, sir?” Mealey measured with the dividers.
“Two miles, little less. Would you attack there?”
“No, sir,” Brannon replied. “But I was thinking. You’ve got a mix of ship captains in this task force, some Merchant Marine and some Japanese Navy captains. I think that when they come to go through that strait, it’s so narrow, they’ll string their task force out like a bunch of elephants in a circus parade, one ship following another. That would give them maximum sea room for navigational or maneuvering errors. I wouldn’t attack there. We wouldn’t have much room for maneuvering ourselves. I’d hit them a little east of the narrow gut, just after they go through it.”
“I agree,” Mealey said. “We can wait until they re-form their convoy so we’ll know what we’ve got to shoot at, where they position the carrier.” He touched the chart with the sharp points of the dividers.
“If we station Sea Chub here and Hatchet Fish here, to the east of our position, one of them a little north of the convoy course the other a little south, they’ll be in position to pick up anyone who tries to run away from our attack. I can’t see any of those Japanese ship captains risking a reversal of course and a return through that narrow gut.” He looked at the Ultra message, picked up a pencil, and did some rapid figuring.
“If the Ultra people are accurate about the time they are to get under way, if we allow a couple of hours for them to form up in a convoy leaving Manila Bay, if they follow the course I think they will follow, they should he clear of that narrow gut about forty-one hours from now.” He looked at the clock on the bulkhead.
“It’s zero seven hundred, Tuesday,” he said. “I figure they should be in a position where we can best attack about midnight tomorrow night. We’ll have a quarter moon at about that time. It will help us see but it won’t help them see us. A submariner’s moon.”
“How about target priorities, sir?” Brannon asked.
“Difficult,” Mealey said. He stuffed his pipe with tobacco and then laid it in an ashtray.
“An invasion force, any invasion force, must control the sea and the air. If it does not, its landing craft, its support vessels are all sitting ducks. So I’d say the aircraft carrier is the number one priority. But the two troop transports are also high on the list. The more Japanese troops there are to oppose the landings the more costly the invasion becomes.
“The tankers are important. They’ll be carrying fuel for aircraft and for the tanks and other vehicles already there. I presume the freighters will be loaded with ammunition and stores, and they’re important.” He picked up his pipe and lit it, his eyes looking at Mike Brannon through a cloud of pungent smoke.
“Our problem is that we have too many high-priority targets and only three submarines. I confess that if that heavy cruiser comes across our bow I would set up and shoot at it just because it’s a cruiser!” He picked up a pencil and pulled the chart in front of him.
“One thing we can be sure of: Admiral Christie will be sending every submarine he’s got within steaming range of Davao Gulf in that direction. The concept of a wolf pack is going to be tested, damned hard, too! We’re the first fist to hit at this convoy, and we’ve got to smash them, sink every damned ship we can. I don’t want to give the submarines that Christie sends to Davao Gulf anything more than one or two crumbs.” He made three small marks on the chart.
“John, these two marks to the east are where I want Sea Chub and Hatchet Fish to take station. Sea Chub will take the northernmost station of the two. This other mark, to the west, is Eelfish.
“I want you to determine exact latitude and longitude for those positions and have that information encoded before we surface tonight. Captain Brannon, I want you to draw up our plan of attack as we have talked about it here and have it encoded. We’ll send that message tonight when we surface
“If Mr. Olsen is right and the task force goes down the west side of Mindoro, we’ll be close enough to take up the chase. Include that possibility in your message. If that is what happens we will then dispatch Sea Chub and Hatchet Fish south to ambush the task force when it turns east to run for San Bernardino Strait.
“I don’t expect that to happen, but I want it included in the message as a contingency. Emphasize that the carrier is the number one priority. Then the troop transports, the oil tankers, the freighters, in that order.
“The code word we will broadcast to let Sea Chub and Hatchet Fish know that we have started the attack will be …” He paused and thought a long moment.
“How does ‘Mealey is mauling’ sound to you?”
“Succinct, sir,” Olsen said with a wide grin. “I can just hear some Jap radio officer telling his skipper that ‘Meary is mauring.’ It isn’t going to be easy for them.”