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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 14, 2017 22:11:44 GMT -6
Chapter 15.
The July headlines demanded peace. The loss of Praga, one of only 5 dreadnoughts possessed by the navy, was a dark blow to a public who was no-longer interested in tales of martyrdom and sacrifice. Despite the victories of its fleet the nation was still under blockade, and despite the brilliance of the army the front still chewed up lives and left families forever broken. The German army encircled outside Gdansk still held potency, and the forces that entrapped it now need - as Caesar at Alesia - face two ways.
Since the submarines had been released in March the tally of merchants stood at 11-5 in the Commonwealth's favor, with 4 U-boats being sunk to 2 of the PLC's, as OP12 and OP21 failed to return from their June patrols. Unfortunately German raider boldness seemed to increase, costing another 6 Commonwealth vessels, and no ship had yet been fit enough to intercept them. Almost 3 ships a month was a steep cost to bear. Alexsandr needed to hurt German shipping just as sharply, and with Kirholm laid up from her torpedo damage until September the only tool he had to do so with was the battle-fleet.
On July 8th he dispatched the 3 Batorys and 3 Wielkis with escort to raid German sea-lanes off Bornholm. Just after dawn and with over 15 hours of daylight ahead, German forces were spotted south-east of that isle. Rear Admiral Wolnosc had no choice but to engage down-wind or lose his quarry, so the fleet fell into line and steered south-west.
The forces identified were superior by far, with the only German ship smaller than her opposite being the single old battleship which accompanied the Kaiser's 5 dreadnoughts, 7 cruisers, and 18 large destroyers. Yet, despite being outmatched in gunnery and armor, Wolnosc's orders were clear- gain a decision. With slower, smaller ships, fewer guns, and the least favorable tactical situation possible, he held on. The 3 Wielkis with their higher caliber guns were the first to open fire, Jacob Kettler amazingly obtaining a hit on her first salvo at over 18000 yards- with no central director.
Miraculously, even chasing the enemy into the wind, that first salvo cast proper portents for the way the battle would go. Commonwealth gunnery was astounding, despite smoke from numerous stacks and guns clouding their view-finders down range. For 8 hours they chased down their foes, aided by the German fleet and battle-cruiser commanders not operating in concert. The two Goebens would snake ahead then turn away, then turn back in, never allowing for the concentrated fire of their superior batteries to develop. Eventually Lothringen fell out of line, and as the rest of the fleet only halfheartedly circled back to support, her eventual end was assured even in sight of her safe harbor.
Even not counting the 96 heavy hits delivered to Lothringen, the Crownlanders *still* out-shot their foes 68-28. This with no Directors installed yet in the fleet, and the Wielkis still using only Central Rangefinders. Even more surprising, with 20 of those 28 shells falling on Wolnosc's flag, Tadeusz Kosciuszko still had her flank 19 knot speed available on call as they retired, their ammo spent. It was a great victory. Alexsandr read the after-action report with quiet pride and vowed he would see the gunnery officer on Jacob Kettler promoted, reflecting with satisfaction upon how he had invested the navy's research priorities.
Yet the very next Monday when Alexsandr arrived at his temporary (God willing) office in Riga, there was a memorandum from the Prime Minister stating that he wanted to secure a compromise peace with the Germans. Admiral Kosciuszko very nearly followed the old Admiral home and had a coronary right there at his desk. The language he placed in his retort was that of a man who clearly did not fear removal by his civil authorities, and from that moment on it was going to be the mob or no-one that would remove Alex from office during that war.
The following day however, some good news also found its way to him. Gdansk sent a memo lobbying hard that the danger of being over-run was now past and that they had sufficient materiel on-hand to begin a Kettler of their own, and took 10% off the cost to win the deal. Alexsandr agreed, even though it was unlikely all 3 ships would remain building actively through to completion.
The Kettlers mountings were of an advanced design which the architects assured was no less reliable than twin-mounts, and they were the first ships built for the Commonwealth which incorporated torpedo protection as other than an afterthought. Their deck armor was thick enough to hopefully assure their utility for some time to come, and the director stations which they employed would grant their already potent gunnery even greater accuracy. There were in that August only 3 ships in the world with a quad-triple main battery, each belonging to a different navy, and Alexsandr looked forward to what these three might contribute together- if the war were to last so long.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 15, 2017 23:04:20 GMT -6
Chapter 16.
Many fisherman exaggerate their catches. It is neither sin nor taint but foible (if any term ill need be applied), a custom likely thousands of years old. This fisherman in our story had quite the tale to tell, and in fact none of his neighbors or family believed it, yet again by dint of fate his tale reached the omnipresent ear of one Kazimierz Kleeberg. Finding the tale of the half meter "eel hole" of notable curiosity following upon the heels of off-shore naval activity, an investigation found that the resident of this beach 'hole' was rather a 1500 kilo aluminum eel with a 300kg warhead which answered to "Fritz". Minister Kleeberg became enamored with Fritz, and simply had to bring him home. In the first week of September, Alexsandr had a report on Fritz waiting upon his desk.
After reading it Alexsandr immediately gave orders that it be distributed to all commanders for dissemination through their squadrons and fleets. The German torpedo was discovered to have a greater than 5,000 yard range and the explosive was more potent by far than the one the PLC employed. It was no wonder that Praga had had no chance when her elemental subdivision had suffered two such blows. The Navy would need to start training in a greater respect for German torpedoes, at all levels.
Also in September, and rightfully burying technical news in importance, was the stunning realization that the German Navy had given up holding the Baltic closed to Commonwealth shipping- the Blockade was lifted; but even more stunning, with the loss of Lothringen the Royal Navy was finally able to enforce its Own blockade of Germany! Goods at last began to return to the piers and wharves of the sea-coasts, and the tables were at last turned upon the thrice encircled foe- East Prussia, the Gdansk pocket, and Germany proper. With regards to the lesser two of those, fearful of what a flood of casualties would do to the perilous state of public confidence, it had been decided to simply besiege the two forces and allow Hetman Hunger to do the fighting. The Front beyond was relatively static, as Germany had no other forces to commit to rescue her Kustenarmee when she was striving to hold her hard-won territory in France and bolster her flagging allies to the south. On the 7th 6 Monsuns intercepted 7 German destroyers raiding the Gulf, sinking 2.
In October word came of a German armored cruiser raiding towards Saaremaa. Captain Arvo Tuur of the Kirholm declined to take the opportunity to put to sea, citing the preparedness of his crew. Some murmured that he was cross at not being promoted to the vacant post for Commodore of Cruisers, but the Admiral of Personnel was technically correct in saying that with only 1 ship in the battle-cruiser "squadron" a commodore was not needed, and so a promotion of Merit would be handed out rather than a promotion of Need. Some also said the Admiral of Personnel had an ax to grind himself. None-the-less with Tuur's refusal to sail, two light cruisers were hastily dispatched, the Lublin and Poznan. On October 20th they and their 3 destroyer escorts performed yeoman labors, chasing off first a pair of light cruisers, and then catching and destroying the armored cruiser and 2 destroyers. This could not have improved Captain Tuur's mood, who - disdainful of his treatment- saw no reason to exercise the initiative to stay informed upon command briefings for which he was not deemed to be of "merit."
With November came desperation from the beleaguered armies upon land, and the Kaiserliche Marine attempted again to run a convoy to Konigsberg and assault the Commonwealth Navy as well. In response to the German fleet of 8 dreadnoughts, 2 battleships, 7 cruisers and 16 destroyers, the Commonwealth deployed her 4 dreadnoughts, 5 battleships, 10 cruisers, and 16 destroyers. It was not again an even affair to be sure, but with 5 hours of daylight to be had the enemy fleet was contacted west-southwest of Lipawa.
Wolnosc ordered Captain Tuur to take the lead of the line, and Kirholm dutifully obliged. The cannonade began, and once again Commonwealth gunnery was clearly a class ahead of her foe. With their opponent in an ideal firing position, the slightly faster but far more powerful German Navy never-the-less carried on to depart the fearsome long-range fire raining down upon them. As dusk approached the German lines stretched as the stragglers fell behind. Knowing that he would not willingly engage after dark, Rear Admiral Wolnosc ordered Captain Tuur to proceed with haste across the rear of their line, so-as to catch some disengaged cruisers in swift destruction, while he took the Line to cut off and destroy a lagging German battleship. It would not be a great haul on the day, but it seemed the best compromise between further risk for greater reward and "playing the hand he had been dealt." To have come out victorious at all from such a lopsided engagement would be enough for history. With no vessels suffering meaningful distress, Kirholm raised her wake and sped to the west.
As Wolnosc circled the burning German battleship at about 8,000 yards, the log noted it was still maneuvering slowly. The battle-line passed delivering fearsome fire of many calibers. Perhaps from the time of day, perhaps from the concentration of so many splashes, hits seemed to become rather less frequent. Suddenly off his starboard bow to the disengaged flank the Lublin, hero of last months cruiser-hunting, exploded. "It was a torpedo sir! I saw the water!" Wolnosc, noting the density of escorts and cruisers about as his fleet moved towards a nighttime formation, presumed and believed that it must have been from the misfortune of friendly fire. He would order a review of the logs back at Riga, and the ship responsible for loosing a torpedo at such a foolishly long range would be corrected. The fleet sailed out of range of the burning battleship while it was still under power, but Wolnosc did not doubt its eventual fate.
Far to the west against the setting sun, the Kirholm sank a destroyer and 2 armed merchant cruisers, leaving another destroyer burning as she turned back for home. Captain Tuur set his course for Lipawa, noting with satisfaction that the burning German ship on the eastern horizon would pass within night-time sighting ranges, so his guns could finish the job which his superior had left behind so untidily. Captain Tuur set his pace to cruising speed, and his escorts formed around him, though he had misjudged the hour, and night was still 20 minutes away when Kirholm brought the battleship under fire.
As the range closed, the battered ship's speed could have been no more than 3 knots, yet still she vainly turned seeking escape from her fate. Drawing abreast the ship & crossing her stern Kirholm fired what must have been the final necessary broadside while Tuur watched through field glasses. It was, however, necessary or not, indeed Kirholm's final broadside. From the quite viable range of 4,000 yards, which had been highlighted as a danger zone in the reports Tuur had refused to assume the responsibility to read, the battleship Zahringen had fired two torpedoes 5 minutes earlier, which against an un-maneuvering foe at constant speed happened to impact immediately after Kirholm's final salvo.
Kirholm's list was so sudden and swift that within the very minute she was hit it was clear she was lost. Dipping her bridge towards the water while still turning her screws, without any command or order by mutual agreement it was every man for himself. The apathetic bulkhead construction of Kirholm was no match for the heavy German torpedoes, as she died from the exact same cause as her sister- a pair of port side simultaneous torpedo hits. Her escorts scurried madly, but before any could have the wit to disengage from the burning battleship it was too dark to spot survivors. Eventually they gave up the attempt and proceeded home.
The loss was devastating. Two auxiliary cruisers, a destroyer and an obsolete battleship were not 4x the exchange for Kirholm and Lublin, sunk by 3 torpedoes from the eventually lost Zahringen. More than the loss of the only battle cruiser still possessed by the navy, it was the months of building cast away needlessly. More than tonnage, ships were the conversion of time into assets, and the navy had now lost more than 4 years upon that ledger. The press verily pilloried Alexsandr, and the people's ire rose yet further. Alexsandr did not allow the public the opportunity to see his pain.
The only news that was not painful as winter rolled to spring was word that things were hard in Germany as well. War weariness, strikes, and demonstrations were reported, as Britain clamped down upon its blockade, in December clashing again with their fleet and exchanging the loss of Invincible for Derflinger- an exchange far easier for England to bear. There were more destroyer actions in the Gulf of Riga, as Germany tried desperately to keep the pressure high upon the Commonwealth merchant marine, but the Germans only lost in their exchanges with the Monsuns. As February was about to give way to March, 15 PLC merchants had been lost for 3 U-boats and no raiders in the prior 6 months, while 7 German merchants were lost at the cost of 6 Commonwealth submarines (OP 18, 1, 5, 6, 3, & 10).
Both sides were suffering grievously, the question was now only whose people would force a decision first.
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Post by Noname117 on Mar 16, 2017 5:14:32 GMT -6
Not looking too good for you but its honestly not looking too good for them either. Quite curious to see what you'll do now that you're down 2 battlecruisers.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 16, 2017 22:45:05 GMT -6
Chapter 17.The remainder of 1917 devolved into commerce warfare of the most brutal sort. German subs and cruisers accounted for roughly 30 merchantmen sunk through January '18, Commonwealth submarines about half that number. With his foe under blockade and slowly suffering the cruel pinch of warfare upon 3 fronts, Alexsandr was under no illusions that a fleet engagement could "lose the war in an afternoon", and so only 3 times did he put his battleships to sea. Rear Admiral Wolnosc fully understood this, and with due caution his guns chanced to fire on nothing larger than a transport or destroyer. The discord at home was quite real though, and twice the Prime Minister wanted to approach the Germans seeking a compromise peace.
In July Hetman Drymerr had appealed for materiel to undertake an offensive, as maintaining the encirclements of East Prussia and the Gdansk Pocket were a painful diversion of manpower. The funds were allotted, and in September the assaults undertaken. By November both pockets were secured, and the released troops sent to reinforce the German front, or rotated to the only intermittently volatile Austrian front. The Germans in general were hard pressed indeed, as their front in France, against the Commonwealth, and reinforcing the Austrian front with Imperial Russia seemed destined to bleed the Kaiserreich dry.
However, at last, upon the First of February-
ZAWIESZENIE BRONI!!
Armistice. The German government collapsed from the strain, and the Kaiser was deposed. The Commonwealth people had proved - just - strong enough to outlast the nation with the most powerful army in Europe. Church bells rang across the country, and peace was dictated.
As the price of her war upon Europe, Germany ceded, in its entirety and perpetuity, East Prussia to the Commonwealth. Her people who wished to repatriate would do so, however in truth such were the economic ties for most that they took oaths of allegiance to the Crown and stayed. The King took residence in Konigsberg for a month, seeing to the aid and repair of its people. England took as her reparation the colonial possessions of Saipan in the Marianas and Germany's recently acquired Borneo.
Alexsandr breathed easy for the first time in years, as the populace's dissatisfaction fell all the way to ... fairly unhappy. There was much to be addressed yet by the state it seemed. Alex planned to see an assessment of the Fleet's performance undertaken in February, and to have reports filed with recommendations and requirements. But, for the moment, the Commonwealth - and Europe - was again at peace.
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Post by Noname117 on Mar 17, 2017 7:48:13 GMT -6
Just in time! What ship are you going to take?
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Post by cv10 on Mar 17, 2017 10:23:02 GMT -6
Well Done!
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 17, 2017 14:29:31 GMT -6
Noname117, Actually I was not given the option to take a ship, but so delighted was I that Germany cracked first that I didn't care. I would guess it was from two causes, first that my own unrest was 10 and perhaps that retarded our "bargaining position" a bit, or perhaps second that with England taking Borneo and the Northern Marianas those additional 6 points negated the opportunity to claim a prize ship. Either way, I didn't lose, which is what it really felt like we were driving towards. If England hadn't been able to enforce that blockade, I would have been doomed. cv10, Thank you! I wish my original write up had not been lost, it was a much better read. I'm going to recharge (God willing) my batteries over the weekend, and hopefully feel a little refreshed about things when I consider the next chapter.
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Post by archelaos on Mar 17, 2017 16:03:31 GMT -6
Actually, probability for a ship seems to be quite low. A few times I got a ship, but without access to almanach, I decided to return to save and check (now I use notepad++ to check the file instead...). And even when I was in position that they collapsed almost everytime in next turn, I was awarded with ship no more that 20% times, maybe less. That's a Great Job, by the way! By a hair thick, but a victory is what matters. A thing that I do not understand is why you have such high unrest. Do stay in red for prolonged periods? Or responded negatively to "slump in economy" events? Or something else? BDW, In my current game as Poland on historical budget I am in 1923 and fighting France, who have 4BBs and 9BCs while I have 2BBs and 4 BCs... Though I also have Germany and UK as allies But somehow my allies do not prevent blockade, and I'm not in position to break it...
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Post by Airy W on Mar 17, 2017 21:03:43 GMT -6
And the war finished with peace everlasting and they all lived happily ever after, the end!
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 18, 2017 8:57:36 GMT -6
Hah! Only if I have more frustrations develop. archelaos , I think the key is this- If your Foe has enough seapower to blockade You, then the state reflected by the game is you are under blockade. If you whet them down to relative parity where they no longer have blockade points on you, Then the game checks to see if anyone is blockading them. The former check is above the latter I think. I am flaber-gasted by the unrest too. I've never had anything like it, in any game. In Peace after the end of the Great War and our outstanding success in adding territory, unrest fell only to *5*, and was soon climbing again. In February of 1902 it rose to 3, and that July when I refused to attend a disarmament conference it rose to 4, and it has been at least 4 Ever Since. I am to the point now where I accept every opportunity to promote social programs, even if I desperately need the budget! I am like... that gal, in the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever! So when you made the mod, you didn't write in anything extra to make the PLC's populace more volatile?
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Post by Airy W on Mar 18, 2017 9:43:56 GMT -6
I am like... that gal, in the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever! You are planning to make this into a mega-campaign by converting over to master of orion 2?
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 18, 2017 10:05:31 GMT -6
I am like... that gal, in the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever! You are planning to make this into a mega-campaign by converting over to master of orion 2? ... don't start me thinking. MOO2 is a favorite of mine, so that was a very funny suggestion to me. Let's get to 1950 for starts.
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Post by archelaos on Mar 18, 2017 11:55:01 GMT -6
Hah! Only if I have more frustrations develop. archelaos , I think the key is this- If your Foe has enough seapower to blockade You, then the state reflected by the game is you are under blockade. If you whet them down to relative parity where they no longer have blockade points on you, Then the game checks to see if anyone is blockading them. The former check is above the latter I think. I am flaber-gasted by the unrest too. I've never had anything like it, in any game. In Peace after the end of the Great War and our outstanding success in adding territory, unrest fell only to *5*, and was soon climbing again. In February of 1902 it rose to 3, and that July when I refused to attend a disarmament conference it rose to 4, and it has been at least 4 Ever Since. I am to the point now where I accept every opportunity to promote social programs, even if I desperately need the budget! I am like... that gal, in the Star Trek episode City on the Edge of Forever! So when you made the mod, you didn't write in anything extra to make the PLC's populace more volatile? No, I don't think I touched anything. In my games (3 so far, counting one in my initial half-done mod) I never got that high unrest in peace (not counting some event based spikes). I also only got to 9 once in war, when I was fighting Russia-France alliance and was blockaded for a long time.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 18, 2017 22:32:39 GMT -6
*nods* Well, in other news, Photobucket has started cooperating. I was able to upload, attach, and post graphics again. I am thankful for small blessings. I have edited chapter 17 slightly, and will very likely look at Chapter 18 tonight.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 19, 2017 0:45:56 GMT -6
Chapter 18.
Admiral Kosciuszko considered well how nearly the war could have gone differently in 1917, from the Imperial breakthrough in Romania which drew so much German manpower away from France and almost didn't happen, to the devout and steady voice of Archbishop Florian which kept the Commonwealth people believing in the process of the government even when they were furious from hunger and pain, to the one fleet action which could have been ruinous to all their aims being successfully avoided. That contact in July north of Gdansk had lead to an exchange of light cruisers, but it could have been far worse- that cruiser, the Torun, along with two destroyers, had taken torpedoes meant for the battle-line. One of those destroyers had been the brave Monsun, whose electrifying and frightening captain had so fearlessly defended the Gulf of Riga for 25 years. However, that night thanks to the sacrifice of their screening forces the fleet had disengaged successfully, as they had done twice more that year.
When looking at the fleet actions over the course of the war however, some interesting facts emerged. Ten times the battleships were at sea with the Kaiserliche Marine, and of those ten encounters only the action off Pilawa with the loss of the Kirholm would count as a true loss, along with 5 draws where action either did not occur or was not sought. The evidence would seem to support Alexsandr's decision to risk more guns at the cost of less armor on such relatively small ships as the Batorys, for it was surely getting more chances at shots on target than their rivals which allowed the Commonwealth to win.
Charting the Fleet, Cruiser, and Destroyer actions by exchange showed where the navy had been most successful.
Action W L D DN B C D
Fleet 4 1 5 0 +2 +1 +3
Cruiser 5 0 4 0 0 +5 +2
Destroyer 7 0 2 0 0 +1 +16
The type of action which had been most consistently productive throughout the war had been from the destroyer arm, where the Monsun type regularly chewed up whatever they encountered, from 1100 ton destroyers to cruisers. However, it is noteworthy that in no category, in no type of action, did the Commonwealth Navy suffer an unfavorable rate of exchange.
In the end the war turned on commerce warfare, and it was here that the Navy seemed to need the most improvement. Faster cruisers would be needed to catch more raiders rather than just driving them clear, but the submarine campaign proved illuminating to examine as well.
Charting the breakdown by year for Polish and German merchant and submarine losses yields the following.
Year P-Merch U-Boats G-Merch OPs
1915 4 4 0 0
1916 14 6 17 6
1917+ 23 3 20 3
Here, the data shows the effect of the German destroyer arm being put through the Gulf of Riga sawmill, as losses fell remarkably in 1917 for the Commonwealth's OP boats. To the German's side, it was their influx of new U-boats in 1917 which over-saturated Commonwealth defenses, despite the introduction of depth charges in December of 1917.
German total losses, considering English action as well as ships lost to submarine and mine, and the exchange with the two allied Commonwealths.
German Fleet Losses Lost Exchange
Dreadnought 1 -1
Battle-cruiser 3 0
Battleship 2 -1
Armored Cruiser 2 -2
Light Cruiser 5 0
Destroyer 27 -18
AMC 5 -5
All of this data enforced the following conclusions for the Admiralty.
Gun tubes should be maximized at the expense of caliber. Belt armor should be maximized to preserve squadron cohesion after contact. More destroyers and minesweepers than required or expected should be available for coastal patrol.
The three Kettlers would be completed by 1920 it was hoped, which would give the navy almost 2 years to consider these lessons and plan for their next class of ships, which would incorporate a new armoring theory which controversially allowed some portions of the ship to be complete unarmored. As much of the navy was furloughed to their families not seen in so long, plans were sketched out for how best to improve the fleet for future trials.
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