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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 2, 2017 21:40:15 GMT -6
Preamble & Editorial.This is going to be an After Action Report chronicling my play-through of archelaos ' fine Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth mod for Rule the Waves. The mod presumes that the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, which reached its peak in the 1600's as the largest and arguably most cultured state in Europe, survived the collapse of its political system and avoided partition by its neighbors. The state failed because its "parliament" (Sejm) was grossly susceptible to outside influence, as any member could declare the collective's work for that preceding period (sometimes as long as 4 years) null and void by veto. Consequently, funding an army, let alone a navy, was frequently left to the personal responsibility of whatever noble was having his frontiers over-run. The Constitution of 1791 attempted to correct this, but it was too late, and Poland ceased to exist as an independent state until the defeat of the Central Powers.
The Navy itself had a very short but glorious tenure, as they defeated and otherwise for the most part held in check Sweden's best efforts to recover control of all the Baltic coasts. The picture above shows their greatest victory at Oliva in 1627, though the navy was there-after left unfunded and ultimately it was simply subsumed by treaty by the Austrian Hapsburgs after existing for less than 30 years. King Wladyslaw IV, the navy's great advocate, though he created a port-town and "admiralty" at Wladyslawowo, had had to turn to prominent merchants to find the funding to procure their ships. In this mod, Archelaos gives cause for the PLC, frail but hanging onto their sovereignty, to have had need to restore a token navy at least in the 1800s, as Madagascar and Trinidad became colonies which required defending- quote with edits;
"...when Napoleon was launching the invasion of England {the PLC helped the} coalition defeat him. The UK rewarded support with the former french colony of Trinidad, on basis of claims held by the Duchy of Courland, an autonomous duchy in the PLC. Not much later, a trading mission was established on Madagascar, continuing on the footsteps of count Maurice Beniowski, a post that had soon grown into fortified city. This provoked the French and a colonial war started, forcing the PLC to form a navy for the first time in 200 years. With UK help the mission survived, and later in the century when France launched an invasion of Madagascar the local king called for Commonwealth help, resulting in Madagascar becoming an autonomous colony of the PLC. Need to defend its new sea-lanes forced further expansion of the Polish Navy."
In 1900 Poland is a constitutional monarchy, a King who serves a bicameral parliament, that being an elected Sejm and an appointed Senate. The Navy will operate under a Navy Department, a Navy Minister, and construction be dictated and affirmed by the Commission of Royal Ships. The Admiral of Fleets will be our protagonist, and this brings us to a salient point.
I have no native ability to reproduce to both dramatic detail and careful consideration a Polish perspective. There are proper Polish names for bodies, organizations, and ranks, which were I to attempt to take the time to reproduce them would lead to only personal stagnation and a failure to fully satisfy anyone with a proper perspective upon all things Polish. Consequently, only the names of People, Cities, and Ships will be rendered in their Polish forms. Additionally, there are details of Polish social norms which would be wholly lost on me. I will endeavor yet to craft an entertaining narrative with Polish characters, which none-the-less will unfortunately carry the aura of my heritage of English literature. An unfortunate but necessary, I deem, compromise for the project.
Lastly, as I am playing while writing and learning as I go, it is quite possible the format will change over time. Additionally, I can make no promises about how much time will pass between entries. I shall hope and expect to cover 12-18 months per post, and shoot for a minimum of one a week. However, given I am novice at such an enterprise, this too may be subject to alteration when confronted by harsh realities of life and time. Indeed, this very enterprise is an attempt to seize a hobby focus which will help carry me through a foreseeably difficult summer of familial challenges.
So, with no further ado, our narrative will shortly begin.
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Post by director on Mar 2, 2017 22:07:16 GMT -6
This sounds great! Looking forward to reading.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 2, 2017 22:21:11 GMT -6
As a final brief aside, the following are the settings I have employed. Though the fine map which Archelaos forwarded me has somehow slipped through my grasp, you may imagine the PLC as being most of extant Poland on the map above, plus the Baltic States. I am using a mod which adds Norway and Sweden, so those are available as "neutrals" in this campaign. Lastly, I want to make a note about the Oil which the PLC has access to.
These oil fields abut Austria, and in fact Austria does not have access to them because of the PLC's success at retaining their sovereignty. However, given the PLC's 3 most important neighbors are Germany, Austria, and Imperial Russia, I am going to employ a House Rule regarding land combat. The "victory points" gained and lost between land actions with these 3 states will affect the Control of these oil fields. Victory points will correspond on a 1-1 basis with square miles of territory lost for narrative purposes, but more dirrectly affect whether the Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita) is able to access oil. A 400 point gain by Austria, 1000 point gain by Germany, or net 1200 point gain by the Rus will "win" these oil fields. Additionally, the PLC will not be able to afford the luxury of neglecting the Army at the sake of the Navy, so I will always consider monetary support to the Army as a National Mandate, not an option.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 1:12:02 GMT -6
Prologue.
The snow crunched beneath his feet, carrying that sound which bespoke that it had been too cold for too long. He looked up at the large granite edifice before him, Wladyslawowo House, home to the Admiralty, draped with its usual January sheen of ice from the Baltic's battering of the nearby wharves. A nod to the guard as he and his lieutenant ducked into the welcome warmth through swiftly opened doors, and just as swiftly they were bustled into a spartanly appointed conference room. A large man rose to greet him dripping with gold braids.
"Captain Alexsandr, glad you were able to arrive so swiftly. Happy New Year." Crisp salutes were exchanged as the Admiral smiled, while the Captain's Lieutenant stood back at stiff attention carrying their presentation gear. "Of course Admiral, though we do meet under such tragic circumstances," Alexsandr replied. "Indeed so, yes," came the reply, "My condolences."
Admiral Wir turned then to address those assembled about the long table. "Your Majesty, Honored Nobility, and members of the Commission; Captain Alexsandr Kosciuszko, fresh from our London mission overseeing our final purchase." The Captain bowed respectfully to the King, rather uncertain as to protocol given the gross excess of rank and purpose gathered in the room. The Admiral then turned to him again.
"Captain, we appreciate that the untimely death of our Admiral of the Fleets affects you personally from your Academy days, but his loss affects us all. Now, if you would please, let us bring us all up to speed on the armaments program, and a general summary of the state of affairs at this auspicious time."
Captain Alexsandr nodded crisply, tossing in a heel-click as well; and the very faintest of winces on the Admiral's face told him that he had been a bit overzealous in his display. Chagrined, he turned to his Lieutenant and gestured him to set up the easel with their first data;
He cleared his throat faintly, straightening before addressing the assembled. He warranted he had probably best pretend no-one else was here but HM.
"Your Majesty. If you will forgive its bland nature, here you see displayed the present force structure of the developed European powers, saving for Italy whose political disunion seems likely to prevent her from taking any nautical role upon the world stage in the near future."
"As you see, including building units the involved states each boast a rough parity of Battleships from between 4 & 7, with only the English as an outlier at 20. All the ships are similar except for those of the K.u.K., mounting 4, 11 or 12 inch guns and broadside batteries of 8 or 9, 6 or 7-inch guns. The Austrian's battleships mount only 9" guns on small, 9000 ton hulls, though there are indications that they aim to address this shortcoming. Of note, I will say that the English Royal Sovereign class is the current gold standard, of which the Russians have obtained 2 also, with a displacement of 15,500 tons and making 19 knots. France has the 16,000 ton Ocean building, but presently we have as yet no details."
"Armored Cruisers are a bit wider off in numbers, spanning from 3-14, with Protected Cruisers running from 2-15, and destroyers from our 11 to the English' 40. I do wish to mention the American Tacoma class may be something of a game-changer, as though we do not know much about her she is building at 5,600 tons, aiming to be by far the biggest colonial cruiser yet launched. - I will now turn to a review of our fleet," and he nodded to the Lieutenant who was already digging into the valise for the next card.
"I am however going to start with our Armored Cruisers. The ...Late, Admiral Krakus was quite wise to halt construction of our final English battleship in 1897 to take advantage of the opportunity to commission 4 of these cruisers in France which became our Mazowsze class. They are, quite frankly your Majesty, faster and more powerfully armed than any other cruiser in the world. In fact, I have kept up with the architect since meeting him in France in '96 and I have hopes we might have future work with him. The only cruisers larger in fact are the French Gueydon class- by another yard- which with 300 more tons displacement and smaller engines and guns have a thicker belt. The Commonwealth, your Majesty, is rightly to be proud."
"The last of our Kazimierz Wielki, Giedymin, is now completing at John Brown, and we should take delivery in just over a year. It is a quite sound design, though also of a displacement that though large in 1895 is now growing merely modest. The stern-castle will no doubt prove its most noteworthy visual feature, though I assure you the accommodations thus afforded for dignitaries or fleet command are second to none."
"Our one deficiency is in protected cruisers, as we only have 2 that are building. At present our Armored Cruisers are our best fleet scouts, a role that they can handle quite capably. I will note that- amusedly perhaps- both our Protected Cruisers, though of exactly the same design are being built by two separate yards to two different blue-prints. Much to their dismay, it appears Puck will finish the Warszawa before Gdansk finishes her name-sake."
Alexsandr paused then, as the light cruiser design was being fished from their kit and put in place, but rather than mulling over the mild humor involved he seemed to display a state of faint discontent.
The Admiral asked, "...is something troubling you, Captain?"
Alexsandr glanced at him, then straightened a bit and responded simply, "I don't like either of them sir. They are frail and only making 21 knots while mounting in a 5" broadside. I think they'll only be fodder. The only thing they'll be suited for is as fleet scouts, and I cannot even be certain they'll carry out that well. In my opinion sir they should go straight from the yards to foreign station."
Admiral Wir looked to the King, as if this statement somehow pertained to something that had been previously discussed.
"And, Captain," spoke King August Wladyslav V, "what exactly might you do differently?"
Alexsandr swallowed, but jumped in feet first.
"I do have an alternative I have penciled up your Majesty, after working with my professional contacts in France and England over the last few years. Given time I could make a formal presentation."
Admiral Wir smiled thinly, saying, "Well it just so happens Alex that we would like to give you that time."
Alexsandr cocked his head slightly in befuddlement; "Sir?"
"We want you to come back to Wladyslawowo, Alex. You worked with Lech more closely than anyone, were his best student, and someone has to pick up the baton. You can work with me, and we'll keep things running on the proper tracks."
Alexsandr swallowed, hesitant to appear selfish, but only wanting to clarify he told himself; "Giedymin wouldn't be mine then, Sir?"
Admiral Wir smiled again, drawing a breath to say "No Commodore Kosciuszko, but the Fleet would be Ours."
Alexsandr straightened to attention, casting aside the regret that sought to cling to him as he thought of that beautiful ship building at John Brown.
"Then when do we start, Sir?"
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Post by director on Mar 3, 2017 10:57:39 GMT -6
And do it begins. Off to a great start! The good captain may be right to be critical of a 21-knot, 5" cruiser but he has some spine to voice it in such august presence. Still, they are probably useful for commerce raiding.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 11:56:12 GMT -6
Mm, they're only medium range, but perhaps so. Day off today, so probably multiple periodic posts- but I look forward to any feedback (or spelling/grammar corrections) so that I can make this an enjoyable read.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 13:58:21 GMT -6
Chapter 1.Commodore Kosciuszko settled into his new offices and brought things into order. In truth little needed to be done at first, as contracts had been let and all that initially needed to be done was to make sure construction stayed on schedule from the yards. Admiral Wir was head of Navy Personnel, so there was some juggling of reporting given Alexandr's more junior rank, but in general the transition went smoothly and as far as he knew no toes were stepped on. Alexsandr simply had to review reports received from the yards and compile reports for Wir to sign off on. The two small cruisers were being completed at Puck and Gdansk, along with 2 each of the remaining 5 destroyers of the Wicher class, with one of them being completed there at Wladyslawowo as part of the navy technical school.
Their initial Royal Mandate had not changed, the Navy was to see to its ability to ensure the safe conduct of the merchant marine upon the high seas and to prevent blockade. The latter was a tall order, as any strategist would grin at the prospects of enforcing a blockade upon the Commonwealth. Yet the Baltic could not become another power's tide-pool, so the coming importance of light forces would be clearly paramount. Fortunately a strongly neutral Denmark facilitated the freedom of that bottleneck, and at the moment relations with Norway and Sweden were cordial.
At Alexsandr's suggestion the navy initiated a focus upon gunnery practice and night-sighting, as it seemed that a mistake in the tight waters of the Baltic might be their first foe. Indeed, when Wladyslaw Jagiello had arrived under heavy fog and a bit out of her reckoning from England in '96 she had almost been fired upon by a petulant destroyer captain who was going to be damned if a battleship was going to sail through his patrol zone without orders. Thankfully sufficient paperwork was acquired to satisfy him, and the most most powerful ship in the PLC Navy allowed to continue on its way unmolested.
At the beginning of the year there was a bit of a monetary imbalance once the new training was taken into consideration, so funding for research was necessarily dialed back to about 6% of the budget, though an emphasis was placed upon fire control, high-explosive development for shells for all calibers, and ship design progression in general. A second consequence of these measures was that no funding for naval intelligence was provided, except for an annual subscription to Jane's, a fact which was looked upon with some amusement by the Army. In July with the delivery of the last of the destroyers technological research was at last fully funded, however at Alexsandr's recommendation intelligence was still not budgeted for.
1900 saw the US and Russia lay down a new battleship, while Britain laid down two, though of a new design 3000 tons smaller than the Royal Sovereigns. The US also laid down a second Tacoma class cruiser, which when the class-ship was launched in September was proven to be a 23 knot vessel with a broadside of 5 6" & 3" guns. A formidable combination of speed and firepower, though the French in fact has a similar planform with 7" weapons though a knot and 100 tons deficient and carrying only a 2" secondary. The 3100 ton Gdansk and Warszawa each appeared to be outmatched before they were even launched, which finally occurred in October and December- the Gdansk yards not only finishing 2 months behind their smaller rival but coming in a bit over weight. Quite the feather in Puck's cap, who had been keen on proving their worth with a major contract.
In September the Navy Technical School announced that they believed that they could build a new type of 600 ton torpedo boat destroyer, which if pursued would mean they would be the first nation to lay down such ships. Alexsandr immediately put in a request for proposals from both Gdansk and Puck, though he was somewhat dismayed when with 1/6th greater tonnage than the 3-ship Burza class the performance was not only the same, but both yards refused to use Krakow's superlative 4" gun, opting instead for only the same 3 inch weapons they had ordered previously. Now, Alexsandr knew that the 101.5mm field gun was being ordered for the army as swiftly as they could be made, and was perplexed as to why his two most prominent yards wouldn't even provide it as a construction option. Somewhat with his ire up, Alexsandr took to his drafting table.
A week later the Navy Technical School received instructions to commence construction on 4 600 ton torpedo boat destroyers of the Monsun type, capable of the same 28 knots offered by Gdansk and Puck, but mounting a broadside of 5 4" guns, with the novel provision to perhaps fit them later for cross-deck firing, increasing this to 6. Though they mounted only a single 18" tube, their mission was in fact destroying boats which carried torpedoes. Alexsandr did not see torpedo technology as yet warranting an investment of displacement upon his ships. Admiral Wir wandered by the Wladyslawowo yard while he was going over things with the Technical Chief, and with a rather bemused expression simply said "carry on..." and went off upon his way.
Christmas was approaching at last when the Admiral stopped by his office for a visit. With a hand raised to defer his rise, he sat down across from his desk, a small intrigued grin lurking upon his face.
"Are you quite chuffed about your Monsuns Alex? They've been building for 3 months now, not too late to pull the plug," he spoke with a teasing chuckle.
Alex smiled. "Not at all, they'll do exactly what we need them to- protect the fleet and free up our older destroyers for coastal defense. I actually plan to lay down 8 more once Giedymin is off the books, I think they'll be very important for us."
"Apparently others do too," Wir said, dropping a thin dull-green folder on his desk. Alex opened it.
DETAINED AMERICAN REPORTER JOHN SMITH OF BOSTON GLOBE, AKA PAVEL RADWANSKI OF CHICAGO. CAUGHT ATTEMPTING TO ACQUIRE MONSUN PLANS.
Various other aspects of the 3-week long investigation followed, but it appeared genuine and the fellow was caught red-handed. He looked up from the folder.
"So, what would you do in such a situation Alex? I am leaving in an hour to consult with the King." He watched Alex with a cool, discerning expression.
"International tensions are low across the board Admiral, and as I recall only the French are a bit frosty with us as they realize they perhaps erred in allowing us to order our cruisers from them, so I would see nothing against taking this to the press. Little chance to hurt us at this point, and a chance that some public dismay might bring us a few more ducats from the Sejm."
The Admiral nodded, immediately getting up and taking back the folder. "Right move Alex, right move. Just needed to know...", and he offered a warm smile as he shut the door on his way out. Alex wondered at this briefly, then again at why Wir had not yet been named the Admiral of the Fleets, but concluded he would know the answers to such puzzles when Providence meant him to.
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Post by boomboomf22 on Mar 3, 2017 14:09:43 GMT -6
Funny story, but I just read the prologue, went and looked at the RTW2 thread, then was all like, "nice, more to read" kudos on a good start BTW.
I was gonna start my own CSA AAR, but I looked at the calendar and went exams and papers coming up, better not start something I will have to pause halfway thru
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Post by archelaos on Mar 3, 2017 16:58:06 GMT -6
Great job! If you like, I can re-post the PLKC map here. That legacy fleet is not bad at all! I'd say a good CA is the most important ship type early on, but I just like fast ships and usually start Dreadnought Era with BCs rather than BBs. How many of those 5s the PC has? I had quite succesful design with 21kts 6x6+6x5 on mere 3600t. Unfortunately they turned out to be completely impossible to upgrade. Interesting DD design, you went all the way into gunboat style. BEWARE FRENCH! Those treacherous frog-eaters can ally with your worst enemy... In a game, that I finally finished (reached 1925 that is, I consider going further), they allied with the Russians giving me really tough fight. And then, few years later, came back, together, though this time I crushed them in less than a year. Still, they came with, among other, 100 russian and 30-40 french subs... And in the 1925 they look like they are planning something... AGAIN. One nitpick - Polish names ending on -a are usually female (some are gender neutral though) while male ones end on -ski. Though in the case of the US reporter/spy such error actually fits well!
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Post by director on Mar 3, 2017 18:04:39 GMT -6
Your light cruisers may only have medium range, but they would be useful for commerce raiding in North European waters - which is the most productive place against your most likely enemies.
That destroyer must get some kind of penalty for being overcrowded? Still, that is a ferocious gun battery for that displacement - I've seen light cruisers no better armed. Cross-deck fire is something I always mean to try with my cruisers and destroyers but never remember to do. I hope it works out well for you.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 19:15:55 GMT -6
Chapter 2.There was actually little fall-out or benefit to the exposure of the American spy. Wry denials and smatterings of "only hear-say" were all that was heard said, and America's pique was not so great that it could not be sated only by a mere luncheon cancellation for a new train station opening in Warsaw by their Ambassador. 1901 progressed unremarkably, and in fact international relations improved through March, with only a brief up-tick of irritation towards the Imperial east. England in fact sent a deputation of technicians with the delivery of the Giedymin in February to give all 4 Kazimierz' a check-up, and in exchange were permitted the quite first-hand look at the Monsuns which the Americans had so earnestly wanted themselves. Relations could literally have not been any more positive, and they stayed through an early budding spring to see 6 more Monsun's laid down, having many cordial and welcome meals where Alexsandr caught up with numerous acquaintances from his months in London a year ago.
Then one morning in early March, when Alex sat down to breakfast with the 2nd. Sea Lord, the leader of the English deputation, he noticed a folded paper under his plate. He said nothing, and following the conclusion of their last breakfast before his English comrades returned home he withdrew the paper and looked at it as the plates were being cleared. It was brief, but stark.
Foreign Office reports a clandestine yet severe spike in naval spending by Germany. Munitions and supplies are being stockpiled, leaves accelerated or cancelled. Expect reciprocal moves from the south. Destroy.
Alexsandr considered this for a time before refolding the paper and softly tossing it in the grate.
The next month Great Britain happened to lay down yet another of her smaller battleships, however the headlines which grabbed the papers was the sudden closing of the German border and seizure of goods in transit through her ways. Germany stated she was taking steps to curtail "Gypsie and Slavic unrest", and there were scattered reports of elements of the German Army passing into Austria, though these could not be confirmed. In May things sharply worsened, as a political murder in the Balkans threatened to destabilize Albania and Macedonia. After conversations with Admiral Wir and the Navy Minister, the position was presented to the Crown that Justice has no price- to couch morality on diplomatic expediency should not be a Commonwealth value. The King issued a statement demanding the conspirators be caught and their plots unraveled, no matter the cost. Austria and France too now both recalled their ambassadors for consultation, and the first crisis for the Commonwealth's Navy was in full bloom.
In June another British battleship was laid down, but Alexsandr ordered 8 more Wicher class destroyers for coastal defense from Gdansk and Puck. July saw tensions with Germany just shy of a War Warning, and Austria was now digging in at its borders as well, though France had backed off its alarmed reaction to the King's statement. Admiral Wir told Alexsandr to clear his calendar, and on July 20th they met at the Palace in Warsaw representing the Navy at a Council of War held for the King. The King was concerned over the escalating European tensions, and wanted all options discussed. Merely calling for an emergency budget amendment would not likely help in time should hostilities commence, and would only raise tensions still further. Thought of a disarmament conference was seriously entertained given at present any limits imposed on capitol ship construction would not affect the Commonwealth at all, however it was also quite possible that any limits imposed would not affect Anyone's construction, as some academics believed an imposed limit of 20,000 tons was a possible result. Therefore, after much debate, what was in fact called for was to approach the English about a formal alliance. Given his cordial relations with the Royal Navy, Alexsandr was appointed as the Commonwealth's negotiator. As expected, no difficulties evolved and England was amenable, so the Treaty of Commonwealth Defense was signed on July 31st. Austria and America expressed some displeasure with the agreement as "the British Banks buying another Continental Client", but Germany was wholly unmoved.
August saw matters with Austria moderate slightly, and there was yet another battleship laid down in England. Alex was pleased to note that the Tech School was shaving weeks off multiple TBDs due to their evolving experience with the type, though the Technical Chief was grumbling about wanting to "run a school not a ship-yard". Alexsandr simply clapped the man on the back, knowing that his misgivings were more jest than meat. "I'll make a burgher of you yet Chief."
In September however, he received a visit from the Navy Minister, who was responding himself to renewed misgivings on the state of the Navy from the King. Admiral Wir sat by impassively watching, but he had clearly told the Minister that the conversation needed to be directed at the Commodore.
"But in almost 2 years the largest ship you have ordered has been a destroyer! We could have been halfway towards our 5th and 6th battleships!"
"Minister Duch, what ships then would you have wanted to use to protect these battleships and their harbours, fishing trawlers? No, I assure you, we have been correct in our every decision. - If you are so concerned over the Navy's potential conduct under hostilities, perhaps you could prove yourself of worth to the Commission by lobbying the Sejm for more funds," he added with some heat.
Duch simply stared at him with barely bridled anger, but Wir just sat with his chin resting upon one hand with his eyes shining with suppressed laughter. After Duch left he stood and patted Alex on the shoulder. "That cost you something, I'm sure, but it was worth it," and left with a chuckle, saying cheerfully to the secretary out front, "I just saw a Commodore call out the Minister of the Navy!" Alex groaned quietly, and knew that Wir would never let that story go.
At month's end operational funding from the Sejm increased by 600,000 ducats.
In early October Wladyslawowo received a desperate plea from the Minister that a squadron be sent to Libya to withdraw stranded nationals in the face of pro-Italian militia unrest. The King had promised the people something would be done, and Navy must see it done. Alexsandr considered the King's seeming state of doubt over Navy decision-making and also that blood had already been spilled, and ordered Giedymin's captain to proceed to Tobruk and level the city block by block until our citizens were repatriated safely. Austria and France reacted in outrage, again recalling their ambassadors, and now Hapsburg ire was nearly as high as Germany's, with an indignant France not far behind. Alexsandr, his prestige having risen in Royal eyes, calmly ordered 4 more Monsuns, and made sure Minister Duch knew about it.
In November Wir came to discuss the realities of the tense situation, and Alex at last conceded that some low-level intelligence gathering in Germany and Austria would be wise.
At last as the New Year approached, there was a development from the Technical School which allowed Alex to reconsider his stance on capitol ships. The strengthening of casements and pinions to accommodate large caliber guns was mastered, and that in conjunction with the Amazingly swift acquisition of the manufacturing secrets of Krupp Armor Plate gave him the window he wanted to use. Their own yards still were limited to 12000 tons, not even enough yet to refit their Armored Cruisers when the time came, but it just so happened their close friend and ally England could build up to 17,000 tons, and furthermore deliver in better than the otherwise expected time. Alex communicated with his friends at John Brown, and on Christmas Morning they were already ordering parts and supplies to lay down the largest and most powerful ship in the world;
At the stroke of midnight on December 31st, 1901, Gdansk and Warszawa were dispatched to their war stations in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.
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Post by Noname117 on Mar 3, 2017 19:16:43 GMT -6
Just finished chapter one to see chapter 2 posted "a few seconds ago." Going to enjoy reading this.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 19:22:17 GMT -6
Great job! If you like, I can re-post the PLKC map here. **************** Yes! Feel free, and thank you! That legacy fleet is not bad at all! I'd say a good CA is the most important ship type early on, but I just like fast ships and usually start Dreadnought Era with BCs rather than BBs. How many of those 5s the PC has? I had quite succesful design with 21kts 6x6+6x5 on mere 3600t. Unfortunately they turned out to be completely impossible to upgrade. **************** It is the usual 1900 era 8 gun layout, so a broadside of 5 5" guns. One nitpick - Polish names ending on -a are usually female (some are gender neutral though) while male ones end on -ski. Though in the case of the US reporter/spy such error actually fits well! **************** Hah! Well, thanks for letting me know. I was actually thinking about the tennis player, so the error makes sense. I'll consider if it adds or detracts from the story. Serves me right, my "names database" is a list of heroes and officers from the WWI Polish Legions, I should have just stuck to it instead of typing off the cuff.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 19:37:25 GMT -6
Your light cruisers may only have medium range, but they would be useful for commerce raiding in North European waters - which is the most productive place against your most likely enemies. That destroyer must get some kind of penalty for being overcrowded? Still, that is a ferocious gun battery for that displacement - I've seen light cruisers no better armed. Cross-deck fire is something I always mean to try with my cruisers and destroyers but never remember to do. I hope it works out well for you. Thank you! I suspect they'll serve for a bit. They have... mm, (checks), -20 ROF, but no accuracy penalty. I suspect my gunnery will eventually be higher than average, so they may hit less but when they hit it will be with bigger shells. Not sure I will be in a financial position to refit them when cross-deck comes along, but at least I have the option. I actually think I need to use the two CL's to protect my two colonies from an easy an swift occupation. It depends upon which state I ultimately cross swords with. Tension with Germany has been pinned at 9 (top Yellow) for 8 months, something's gotta break soon.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 3, 2017 22:06:53 GMT -6
Chapter 3.At the time its keel laying, no person or power had published or publicly proposed a ship as powerful as Jozef. Though its "gallery" battery did not have practical benefit of the ship's central range finding, the sheer fact that its heavy broadside amounted to the equivalent of 3 other entire vessels placed an imposing value upon it. There was some conversation in the Artillery School that it might be difficult to correctly discern the fall of shot, but it was believed that the "splash" from the Gallery would be noticeably larger than that from the Mains. It was expected that it would wreck its opposite number while it was still finding the range, and engagement range would be ideally about 8000 yards. John Brown set to work on it in earnest, and though Alexsandr did not expect to receive it before the now seemingly inevitable hostilities ensued, if it was not begun it would never be finished.
During the first 3 months of 1902 tensions remained high. German and Austrian interest in the Balkans was intense, though it seemed as if some factors or forces unknown were preventing them from throwing the dice. Albania and Macedonia were in anarchy, and Greece was trying to muster the fortitude to do something about it and only succeeding in making a lot of noise. Britain three times offered new shipbuilding technologies to their ally, but the Commonwealth was too hard strapped for cash to take advantage of any of them- their age old Achilles Heel. Any one of them could have been afforded, but then the whole financial balance would have been thrown off. Alexsandr trusted to their own development for now, for he needed ships in the water. None-the-less, in March Alexsandr decided to pay for accelerated building of Jozef.
In March the PM floated the idea internally of attempting to lower tensions with Germany, but the prevailing opinion came around to - again - the moral certitude that Germany was the source of the current troubles and therefore also its only solution. The next month as tensions simmered, a French spy was caught in Clydebank attempting to get a look at Jozef, and the Commonwealth's ensuing protest raised tensions just as high as Austria's. Then again in June, this time a German spy, and finally a War Warning was issued to Army and Navy. Coal was loaded and munitions stacked, the fleet ready to sail on 4 hours notice. Tensions verily simmered.
Then in July, a charismatic statesman of Geneva called for an international disarmament conference, attempting at the 11th hour to ensure peace. The Navy vehemently advised the King that we cannot accept such a conference without language ensuring the protection of Jozef from any accords reached. No-one was willing to offer such assurances, and the conference collapsed. France and Austria again were united in their anger, and the Commonwealth was nearly at the same level of tension with they as they were with Germany. No-one could figure out how a Franco/Germanic war against the Two Commonwealths would go, but there assuredly wouldn't be much cooperation between the former belligerents. It remained to be seen, but the reality of eventual war was not at all doubted.
In August, with the continent a veritable powder-keg and the Navy watching its every penny, Minister Duch sent a Memorandum to Wladyslawowo with the quaint proposal of conducting a shooting competition, for the benefit of the morale of the crews and the nobility who would be invited to a new amphitheater purpose-built for the event. ...Alexsandr tossed the memo in the ash-can and ordered 3 more Monsuns.
September, at last, saw things come to a head.
The Commonwealth Prime Minister, Witold Piskor, while meeting with neutral parties in Copenhagen to attempt to diffuse the fast fermenting situation in central Europe, was shot and killed by anarchists with definitive ties to France. An immediate Council of War was called, at which after 15 hour's debate it was narrowly decided to Not declare war. France was not a nation that anyone wanted to be a foe, and a war against the united Germanic powers would be perilous enough. Swallowing some pride, the King issued a forthright yet not entirely damning statement demanding an end to this unwarranted French hostility. Tensions peaked, and now the Commonwealth was a mere whisker from war with France.
Early October saw the entire French Navy at sea, conducting evolutions for penetrating the Skagerrak. Alexsandr sent a private note to his former friends in France, asking if they might not be able to intercede to even some modest effect. A letter returned through non-official channels that, indeed, as a gesture of good faith, some of the French battle line would be placed in reserve following completion of the maneuvers. A small victory it seemed, but however "faithful" the gesture by his counterpart in France the tensions remained just as high.
The year drew to a close, with unbelievably the German Army standing down from its forward deployments, though tensions were still high. The Navy's Yuletide cheer was minimal, as both Alex and Admiral Wir fretted that they had just not had enough time to add to the fleet, yet as that first January moon broke over the horizon, a missive from John Brown indicated that they amazingly expected to deliver Jozef before 1903 was concluded.
--- The current state of Naval Affairs, as of January 1st 1903.
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