When the guys came to me asking for ideas for a new operation,
I remembered that not so long ago we had worked on a video
dedicated to Cleveland-class cruisers
and we had recreated the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
with the help of computer graphics,
where the US cruisers had participated and performed well.
The operation is based on actual events,
so its name will be historical as well—Cherry Blossom.
The operation's story is based on the events that happened in November 1943
near Bougainville Island and the town of Rabaul,
which was the base of the Japanese Navy at the time.
Bougainville Island, lying some 400 kilometers southeast,
was the key to Rabaul, that's why it was crucial for the Japanese
to maintain control over it at all costs.
At that time, Japan had a powerful strike force, combining Air Forces and Navy,
concentrated in Rabaul for the future advance southwest.
Rabaul—a very powerful and fortified base—presented a hard target,
and the US military needed to find a way to approach it.
They had an idea to land troops on Bougainville Island,
which lies some 200 miles away from Rabaul, and construct runways there.
After this, Rabaul would constantly be within range of the American aviation.
And that would prevent Japan from using it as a naval base.
By the end of 1943, Japan had created a network of naval bases
throughout almost the entire Pacific region.
Its aviation and fleet controlled every plot of land
within an area of about 50 million square kilometers.
When the Japanese realized that US troops had landed, basically, next door,
they assembled all the ships they had
and sent them to Bougainville to put a stop to this operation somehow.
In their turn, the Americans learned about the Japanese squadron
exiting the Rabaul harbor thanks to air reconnaissance
and sent everything they had at hand to intercept.
The two squadrons met in Empress Augusta Bay
on the night of November 1, 1943.
The weather was quite bad.
The US squadron consisting of four cruisers and eight destroyers
deployed in a battle formation, waiting for the enemy,
who could emerge at any moment. All eyes were on the screens
of the newly-installed radars on the American cruisers.
Players will be able to participate in this operation
with US, French, or British Tier VIII cruisers.
The Japanese side will mostly have cruisers and destroyers
from Tier VI to Tier IX.
Radar picked up the first contact at 02:30 a.m.
The Japanese squadron including six destroyers and four cruisers
approached from the northwest.
The US destroyers were first to launch an attack against the enemy ships.
The map represents the bay and a couple of islands located nearby.
Players will have to pass through the bay
and then return to the islands, which house Japanese bases.
Allied landing troops will be on a shore in the bay.
You'll need to defend them against the Japanese forces
and then carry out a counterattack on the islands
with Japanese airfields and some warships near them.
To better immerse players in the atmosphere of a night battle,
we recreated a tropical storm. An impenetrable shower,
lightning flashes, and the dark waters of the ocean.
This directly affects the visibility on the map
and makes the operation more difficult.
Due to poor visibility and rough seas, US torpedoes missed their targets.
However, the Japanese squadron broke formation
while dodging American torpedoes.
At that moment, the US cruisers joined the fight
and concentrated their fire on light cruiser Sendai.
It was a complete surprise for the Japanese,
although they were trying to detect the US ships themselves
using star shells and flares.
Our team of FX designers developed special effects for this operation.
They added local sources of light,
which allow us to illuminate specific areas on the map.
The Japanese forces will use star shells or flares,
which will have special visual effects for them on the map
and will also have an impact on the specifications of ships.
The longer you are under the influence of a star shell or flare,
the harder it will be for you to play in this operation;
the Japanese will hit you fiercely,
that's why you should do your best to avoid illuminated areas.
With this map, we moved away from our standard approach a little;
it doesn't have many islands, so players will have to fight mostly in open water.
Many players asked us for this,
but it's possible that many will suffer as a result, because open areas of water
present quite a serious challenge for everyone in the battle.
You'll likely have to maintain the distance between you and the enemy
and maneuver to avoid fire from opponents and collisions with allies.
The Japanese ships maneuvered chaotically
and that led to heavy cruiser Myoko ramming into their own destroyer.
When the Japanese cruisers opened fire from their main batteries,
their fate was sealed.
The US cruisers replied with extremely dense and accurate gunfire.
Having lost three ships, the Japanese forces withdrew
from Empress Augusta Bay under the cover of darkness.
The US squadron emerged from the battle almost undamaged.
But that wasn't the end of the engagement.
The very next morning, the US squadron came under a powerful air raid,
which was repelled with great losses for the Japanese side,
thanks to the radar and excellent AA defenses of the US cruisers.
We introduced an interesting feature for this map
when the night ends and morning begins.
Players will notice a gradual change in lighting,
the moon will disappear, and dark clouds will become pleasantly pink.
Water will start to glare brightly under the sun.
With the break of dawn,
the second phase of the operation begins and allied carriers arrive.
And these carriers bring allied aircraft with them
that will engage the enemy aviation and assist you in the operation.
The Japanese have two airfields that you will need to destroy in the end.
The main events of this operation spanned four days.
Players will have the opportunity to experience
all the adrenaline of these four days in just 20 minutes.
We worked on this operation for a long time and put our heart and soul into it.
We hope you'll enjoy it and spend a lot of quality time playing this operation.