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Post by davedave on Mar 28, 2017 15:24:09 GMT -6
Really enjoying your AAR mate, nice one. Thank you for sharing it.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 28, 2017 23:02:07 GMT -6
davedave, My pleasure! I'm glad you find it enjoyable, and thanks for taking the time to say so. I am finding it more rewarding than I expected. The next chapter will be in a night or two i think, I am still deciding what would be more interesting, diving right in or starting with a review of the Reichsmarine in 1926.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Mar 31, 2017 0:51:00 GMT -6
Chapter 25.
“It is hopeless,” was all he said.
Alexsandr buried his finger in Duch's chest. “You cannot Say that. You cannot Think that! We may lose much, but- By God, if I Ever hear you speaking like that in front of my men...” The Navy Minister, thunderstruck, stood stock still, while Alexsandr returned to his desk. "Hope is the Single most Vital of human conditions. This Navy will be a navy of Hope, sir." He sat down, regarding Duch no longer and setting to figuring out how to get the Navy through its most severe trial.
Minister Kleeberg had correctly predicted the declaration of war would fall upon July 4th, and at midnight on July 2nd Alexsandr had had the 4 tired Mazowszes turning high revolutions for the North Sea. They beat the German cruiser deployment by about 15 hours, and rounding the Hebrides broke for their stations in the Caribbean and Indian Oceans. The first action of the war came at dusk on the 4th as 2 German destroyers penetrated the Gulf of Riga. A Monsun squadron was deployed to intercept, and received a rather rude awakening. The 600 ton, 28 knot Monsuns were greeted by a pair of 1400 ton 34 knot destroyers. The Monsuns dug in their teeth though and inflicted more damage than they received, though no ships were lost on either side. It seemed the RCN would be hard pressed to reproduce their past destroyer results in this conflict.
The King's first council of war occurred at week's end. This war would be much different than the Great War. Germany had had its army neutered in her prior surrender, so was in no position to launch an offensive upon land. For two months they had called up their reserves and deployed units to the Polish border, but even still it would be well more than a year before the Heer could exceed the Commonwealth Army in fielded size. Consequently, they had assumed fortified defensive positions, and it would be at sea that they would assault the Commonwealth. Kleeberg explained the Alliance policy would be to blockade the Baltic to attack our economy and destroy our fleet when possible, while the United States invaded and seized the Caribbean colonies. Kleeberg assessed that the US would seek peace once Dominica and Trinidad were theirs while Germany would seek peace once she had won a decisive victory at sea.
On the face of it there was little that could be done in reply, as – US Navy aside - the Reichsmarine itself was about 3x the size of the RCN. It would however be left to the navy to try.
In August through November German and US Submarines began their commerce war. 14 Commonwealth freighters were lost, though at the cost of 11 U-Boats and a single American submarine, an S-Class boat forced to run aground off Santo Domingo and subsequently seized. Pre-war estimates showed that half the German submarine force was therefore already destroyed, and the evidenced swift tailing off in merchant losses supported this supposition. The Commonwealth OP force was for those same 4 months operating on Fleet Support, and sank only a single German freighter while losing boats 23 & 26. The policy would change now that the new boats were ready to join the fleet on a monthly basis.
The Reichsmarine launched a sweep of Commonwealth sea-lanes in August, but Alexsandr had given orders for the Fleet to not force a night action, so battle had been avoided with the 10 German dreadnoughts which sailed. Each of the following 3 months the Caribbean cruisers had attempted to engage US cruisers, however on each occasion they had been foiled by their foe's superior speed-
A pair of destroyers had been exchanged, and in general the Commonwealth had inflicted more damage than it received, but the German blockade was again fixing its cruel bite and proving already to be the war's dominating factor. The Navy would not win by cruiser action. Alexsandr gave orders that a general fleet action must be sought and pursued.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 2, 2017 19:36:30 GMT -6
Chapter 26.
As Alexsandr set his order of battle for the clash of fleets which he now knew was their only recourse to success, efforts still continued to challenge the Reichsmarine in every venue. The cruisers on distant station would not so aggressively challenge their foes, but neither would they fear to seek contact, as happened off Zanzibar when Litwa's force drove off a German squadron of indeterminate strength. The Monsuns were not so readily dispatched against small-ship coastal intrusion, and the first time he made the decision to decline action with his destroyers Alexsandr knew that that was the most dire need of the fleet; when the ways cleared of Wilnos a new destroyer would need to be ordered. The submarine arm would now start to make contributions however, as in accompaniment with a new mark of torpedo the first of the replacement series of boats left the slips that December.
OP27 passes Wladyslawowo House on her shakedown cruise. OP27 was of the batch of 15 boats ordered in September of '19, of which the first 5 were delivered the following year and the remaining 10 left in staggered degrees of completion so that with the renewal of hostilities a steady supply of replacement boats would be available to the fleet. The benefits to this scheme were obvious, immediate replacements being available, but the drawbacks were numerous. When OP27 was finally launched that December 2nd she was 6 years behind present technology, and furthermore had sat untended for many years with her 60% complete hull covered by a simple tarp. Her sailors would name her “Rat”, for it never seemed she could be rid of them.
Dowodca Lodzi Ulrik Hoth was none-the-less delighted to be captaining the Navy's newest boat, and furthermore pleased that it had been built in his hometown, Konigsburg, as part of the economic recovery efforts for East Prussia after the war. OP27 headed west along the coast on her shake-down cruise, passing Wladyslawowo with the intent to turn north towards the Swedish coast at dusk and then turn to home again the following morning. His Exec was certain even this first 36 hour trial would leave him a list of defects and faults as long as his arm.
They had just seen the sun set over the far horizon before them and Hoth was about to order the turn north, when the look-out cried out- heavy funnel smoke against the setting sun, likely a large ship. Hoth held his course 5 minutes more, and just as the light was fading a mast-head seemed to be suggested through the Barr-&-Stroud as the lookout spoke, “I make it,... bearing 348, heading... she's turning, … 020?...speed, ...roughly 10 knots.”
“Helm, right-rudder, ahead flank course 000 true!” “Aye!” came the reply.
“We can steam surfaced for quite a ways with the failing light, but we need to be close when the moon rises- even at quarter our wake could be seen by a sharp eye...” They watched the ship as its mast grew in minuscule height just as it slowly disappeared against the darkening sky.
They steamed hard for 90 minutes until Hoth reckoned they needed a sounding; “Engines idle dive! Periscope Depth!” “Dive Aye! - Dive Dive!” The 4 men above clattered below as the decks washed over the slowing vessel. As soon as the gauge showed 10 meters he ordered slow-ahead. The Exec called “Level at periscope depth Commander.”
“Sonar report.” The ASDIC had first been operationally installed in British vessels 3 years ago, and OP27 was the first Commonwealth vessel to have anything beyond simple hydrophones. He was fortunate in that his operator had been the man selected to travel to England to train on the system and then instruct the first core of Commonwealth seamen.
“One large contact many small, bearing 300 range 20,000.” Hoth did the math in his head while he drew a breath; “Chief I need 9 knots for 30 minutes!” The Chief Engineer had been hoping their first submerged run would be a bit less demanding, but his barking and bellowing as he goaded his Electrics team to top performance boomed up from below. The boat quieted as commands became less needed and the electric motors turned for all they were worth. After 25 minutes Hoth said quietly to his exec, “signal battle stations, all quiet.” “Battle-stations, all-quiet” was repeated the length of the boat.
At 30 minutes Hoth called “All stop. Sonar report.” “Single large contact, bearing 330 range 6000 constant heading matching 020.”
“Torpedo run-” His Exec gave the answer before he could finish the question; “9:26 at Long, 8500 yards.” Not only was his the first boat to carry sonar, but also the first to be fitted with the newest mark of torpedo, able to range out to 10,000 yards at 27 knots.
“Up scope, ready both tubes.”
Hoth looked through the view finder, but no periscope equipment designed at the time was made for night sighting. The quarter-moon was west of high though and the sky clear with a calm sea, allowing him a grasp at his target's passage upon the water.
“Set for long, course 004 & 006...stand by... shoot-” “Fire! - Tubes one and two fired clean Commander.”
“Down scope. Make your depth 80 meters, course 090 ahead 1-half.”
They began their cautious withdrawal to the east, and 9 ½ minutes later they were rewarded as sonar reported two detonations. On her very first patrol, OP27 had found the largest ship in the German navy.
The Mecklenburg was the Reichmarine's newest ship, launched that very spring. The two torpedoes caused catastrophic damage, and the only way the ship was saved was by beaching her 7 hours later on the German coast. It would take nearly a month simply to get her back to port, and a further 4 months before she could rejoin the fleet. It was not a sinking, but the RCN had never before seen so immediate a contribution from a new vessel. Alexsandr saw that the entire crew was honored with a top-notch dinner, and jokingly had it read to them that next time he expected them to “not leave a mess for the next fellow to clean-up.”
It was good to have the news of the OP27's success, because the rest of the month's news was less grand. 3 German merchants were sunk, but boats 18 & 24 did not return from the first month of prize-rule warfare. In exchange 5 Commonwealth merchants were sunk at the cost of 3 allied boats. Earlier in the month a fencing dusk fleet action had resulted in a favorable exchange of cruisers, the 4800 ton Zamosc for the 5600 ton Danzig, but due to the encroaching darkness they had been unable to press home what would be later found to have been a distinct tonnage advantage. The public would have well welcomed better news, as the holidays drove home the deprivations which they had to again endure under foreign blockade.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 2, 2017 22:56:23 GMT -6
Chapter 27.
January of 1927 saw the launching of another of the new Wilnos, Kijow, and OP28. On the 19th two cruisers were dispatched to sweep the scene of last month's fleet action, SE of Bornholm, to attempt to cull some patrol craft or transports. Lwow & Krakow were both of the 1910 refit, still mounting their 8-inch guns. The 4800 ton cruisers however instead of meeting freighters and patrol craft, met the future.
The Freya class had been launched in 1924, and with their ancient mountings and 21-knot top speed Lwow and Krakow had no chance. As farsighted prognosticators had years ago predicted, unless they landed a lucky hit quickly they had simply no options but to die well. Even night-fall could not come swiftly enough to save them, and both cruisers were pummeled by a far superior weight of broadside causing their foes little injury. Alexsandr suddenly knew that his recent cruiser program had been a mistake. He would need to decline all cruiser actions now, and the Wilnos could only usefully serve as fleet escorts. 8 ships yet sat on the slips, 8 ships whose tonnage he needed if he had any chance of breaking the blockade, but whose combat contribution was likely to be nil.
With the launching of Kijow and unfortunate losses of Lwow and Krakow, there was however now some funding room available to address one of the Navy's many needs. A request for destroyer designs was submitted to his 3 major yards, but none of the submissions felt like an optimal use of tonnage. Calling on the Navy Technical School to assist, a new design was fleshed out of the largest type, and the first two of examples ordered by month's end.
The Makrelas, as the Monsuns before them, were gun-boats first. Mounting 7 modern center-line twin Krakow guns and director firing as well as a respectable torpedo armament and 29 knot top speed, the short-range ships would certainly serve their needs in the Baltic well, though they were a poor option for foreign station deployment. None-the-less they would be now the Navy's primary construction effort, though privately Alexsandr hoped the war were peaceably concluded before they could begin to make a contribution.
The war's first winter turned to spring, and with the passing of unusually bitter weather the German frontier became a land of artillery duels. The lines were in places as many as 3 miles apart, which gave some indication of the lack of eagerness of the two sides to experience the harsh clash of arms again. None-the-less from the air came the thunder of death.
Whether by gun or bomb came death, for in addition to their heavy guns here the Germans put into deployment this spring two squadrons of advanced aircraft which the Peace of 1918 had previously prevented them from fielding. The Commonwealth did the best it could with the Pups and Spads they had acquired in the previous decade, but when the Germans wanted supremacy in a region their DIX Fokkers could take it, and then the new Gothas would follow. Only their small numbers prevented this superiority from being immediately decisive, but German industry worked feverishly to add to their numbers.
Overseas in the Caribbean the Navy's 3 obsolete cruisers were doing feverish work of their own, as they were all that stood in the way of American occupation of Dominica and Trinidad. In the same way a beast in the wild will defend her young by making themselves appear larger than they were, their frenzied probes against Miami for the moment forestalled any attempt by America to move the troops into the region sufficient to mount an invasion.
Through April the Commonwealth submarine campaign had only managed 6 merchants sunk, at the cost of OP-boats 9 & 20. In comparison the Allied campaign had sunk 10 PLC freighters, though while losing 6 of their own boats. They were paying dearly for their successes, but unrest grew to quite alarming levels as a result of the sinkings and coastal raids, prompting the King to call upon Archbishop Florian to again address the people, despite his advanced age and frailty.
Upon April 2nd however came the clash of fleets which Alexsandr had needed and desired.
NW of Konigsburg, the Commonwealth placed their 9 dreadnoughts, 5 pre-dreadnoughts, 8 cruisers and 24 destroyers to counter a German thrust by 15 dreadnoughts, 5 cruisers and 22 destroyers. With 5 hours of daylight to show, the fleet maneuvered to the southeast while the battle-cruisers carried on southwards to maintain contact. The hope was to catch the lead elements of half of the German fleet in concentrated fire before dusk fell.
What then transpired was nearly inexplicable. Praga and her 2 sisters found what they believed to be the Reichsmarine battle-cruiser fleet, and numerous screening cruisers had maintained contact to confirm this supposition as well as the relative position of the enemy battleship fleet. However, when the battle-cruiser fleet moved to engage the Commonwealth, it was only a single ship which sailed into view. As the minutes passed the realization slowly dawned that yes, indeed, this single battle-cruiser was the only ship close to their guns, prompting the Commonwealth battle-cruisers to turn back & engage. Their battery swiftly landed numerous punishing hits at extreme range. At last a second German ship did appear, perhaps sent to determine the extent of the former's straits, but her hasty turnabout and flight west was to no avail and carried no news, as a Freya heavy-cruiser was added to the loss of the ancient Von der Tann. So anti-climactic in fact was the encounter that the only damage accrued by the Commonwealth was to a destroyer as she grounded while entering harbor at night.
However, they would need to build upon this success, and swiftly, for Archbishop Florian – the only glue which seemed to be holding the nation together – did that very same month pass unto his final reward.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 7, 2017 21:14:38 GMT -6
Chapter 28. The following month the merchant war continued for both sides, but the gross disparity of the states of the combatants could not have been more keenly illustrated by events on the two sides of the Atlantic. In the Baltic, lone merchants sprint from Sweden to Riga, or form tight tiny convoys, hoping for destroyer protection about half-way through their short voyages & never certain if it would be enough this time. In the Caribbean on the other hand the Americans at last move a troop convoy to Port au Prince, sending to escort the 10 divisions over 30 dreadnoughts and 50 other ships of all types in a gross display. The 3 Commonwealth cruisers on hand can only watch, and shortly are forced to flee to Trinidad, uncertain if it would be a land offensive against Dominica or an amphibious assault against Trinidad which would come.
Towards the end of May, Minister Kleeberg sent word that the Germans intended to dispatch a fleet to bombard the Commonwealth's coastal lines to support a limited spring offensive. Alexsandr knew that that this would be his best chance, and issued orders for the fleet to rendezvous north of Wladyslawowo and proceed west on May 29. Admiral Wolnosc had been promoted and retired since the end of the Great War, so it would be a new cast of leaders who took the fleet into what would prove to be their greatest encounter yet.
Of the 14 major fleet units possessed by the RCN, only two would not be at sea that day. Both the newest ship and the 2nd oldest could not be made ready for the sortie, the battle cruiser Odsiecz Wiednia and the old battleship Jacob Kettler, gunnery phenom from the Battle of Bornholm in the last war. The remainder of the fleet, accompanied by 21 Monsuns and 6 Wilnos, proceeded to the rendezvous off Wladyslawowo.
The Battle-cruisers were commanded by Commodore Fieldorf from Praga, former captain of the Litwa, who if not for the atypical regulations of the Commonwealth Navy would be by now a rear admiral. However, as the RCN still carried only a single division of battle-cruisers a commodore he yet was. The battle-fleet and over-all fleet commander was Admiral Georg Kerensky, commanding from the Kettler-class Zelazny Wilk.
As the Fleet reached the rendezvous point at 0930 it was discovered that 3 German mine-layers were at work in the area. They were swiftly dispatched, but the omens seemed to speak that the Reichsmarine had some fore-knowledge of the operation. Bearing in mind a favorable wind, Kerensky directed the fleet to head W-NW, knowing that whenever contact might be made with the enemy a simple turn to the SE would both direct them towards home and provide the most optimal firing situation. Morning turned to afternoon, and the fleet drew nigh to Bornholm. The fleet turned south, and then made contact with enemy screening forces to the south-east. An Eastward turn was made and the fleet brought into order, with ranging shots undertaken. The German fleet numbered 10 dreadnoughts, 5 cruisers, and 15 destroyers.
Within the first 30 minutes however came the most bizarre misfortune. The very first shell to strike Kerensky's flag struck the bridge, fired from over 18,000 yards by Helgoland. The 12” HE shell by chance struck on a view-port, blasting the command staff with molten fragments- the entire bridge was destroyed, with Admiral Kerensky and all other bridge personnel perishing instantly. While steering was shifted to the engineering spaces and command of the ship sorted out, a similar shell struck Praga's heavily armored conning tower just minutes later. Now partly due to the relative low cost in tonnage, the new Praga's bridge had been armored as heavily as possible. Commodore Fieldorf and his staff counted their blessings- but only for 7 minutes more. Then a 12” AP shell fired by the Mackensen found and defeated the bridge armor at just under 16,000 yards, and in the span of half an hour the battle-cruiser squadron was also bereft of its command staff, the bridge once again totally destroyed.
With both squadrons now maneuvering at questionable efficacy, the junior officers exerting command fell back on simple RCN doctrine; hold steady course and lay on the guns. And lay they did.
Due to a waterline hit on one of the Batorys, the fleet ended up reducing speed to 12 knots, but their own shot was landing hard and heavy. The German fleet was soon under such duress that they broke away to the south under cover of a torpedo attack. The fleet turned away while the battle-cruisers turned in, and the fleet's faith in their improved protection was well founded. The Praga took a torpedo from the attack, but never even slowed, carrying on to the south as she and her sister pressed the attack unfettered. In the battle-line the Stefan Batory took a torpedo also, but – despite that being the only damage she would receive in the encounter- sank 41 minutes later. When the Batory's had been brought in for their re-fits bulges had not been added, as the fleet's top 19 knot speed was already thought to be low enough. The torpedo's blast that day burned through to the magazine trunk of Y turret, causing an explosion which essentially opened all the aft engineering spaces to the sea. Though the magazine was flooded by the flooding, the sea soon took the Commonwealth's first domestic dreadnought. A destroyer was also lost at this time, taking a torpedo meant for the battle-line.
When the fleet recovered its heading and turned back south, the battle-cruisers were covering the retiring German fleet with heavy fire, and soon it was a race between their guns and the darkness to overwhelm the crippled German ships.
The fleet managed astounding work that day, and it was only darkness which spared half the German fleet from annihilation. In exchange for the 16,000 ton Stefan Batory and the destroyer Krakowiak, the Germans lost the DN's Worth and Furst Bismarck, the Freya-class cruiser Prinz Adalbert, with 3 other DN's limping back to port with heavy damage after 40-50 hits each. The RCN in fact that day in exchange for 59 Heavy hits received (23 of them to Zelazny Wilk) inflicted 424 such blows upon their foes. It was an amazing victory, which even caused the cynical common Crownlander a moment of fair content. The navy was however down a dreadnought with its leadership sorely wounded. New leadership would need to be elevated, and the war still quickly concluded.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 19, 2017 21:19:48 GMT -6
Chapter 29.
To conclude the war however would yet require compelling the allies to the table, and though one partner had had its pride wounded it had yet to exert its stronger arm, and the other partner was slowly gathering its vast nets to acquire the Caribbean prizes which could not possibly be withheld from her. The allies both yet resolved to fight, and to exert all their powers in the contest.
To this end the very next month the Reichsmarine sought to convey a fast troop convoy to make a landing behind Commonwealth lines with 2 divisions, hoping thereby to disrupt the confidence and security with which the PLC had so far prevented any type of probing assault by Der Heer. Escorted by 3 battle-cruisers, 4 cruisers and 5 destroyers, the RCN was limited in how it could respond due to damages caused by the action of May. Only 2 battle-cruisers, 4 light cruisers and 6 destroyers were available, and furthermore newly commanded by the most senior cruiser officer available- the former captain of the Poznan, now commanding from Odsiecz Wiednia, newly elevated Commodore Pietr Hauke.
Commodore Hauke, after learning his trade with a tour aboard the now long decommissioned cruiser Oliwa, had left the navy to take the opportunity to captain the navy's first replenishment vessel, eventually earning renown and the captaincy of the Poznan by ramming and sinking the Austrian sub which had attempted to then serve her notice. Now 20 years later, by seniority he had gained the Wiednia's mast, but with the loss of Commodore Fieldorf and his staff on Praga the month before he had been elevated unexpectedly to command the battle-cruiser squadron, in action for the first time as commander on that 24th of June.
South of Gottland the fleet encountered the German convoy at 1300, and Hauke immediately showed the cut of his jib. Where-by the 2nd Battle of Bornholm had been won by a stalwart adherence to doctrine once the command structure had been decimated, Hauke proceeded to immediately re-write the book. Much as Commodore Gucevicius had 10 years before in the night action which claimed Praga, Hauke closed on an opposing bearing to the German battle-cruisers, and sailed north and then south again across their convoy's eastern horizon.
At one juncture the Grunwald took a hit to her rudder, and turned a complete 360, but Hauke turned back to cover her, and after 2 hours gunnery proceeded to withdraw to the east at their best speed of 20 knots. Both of the Commonwealth dreadnoughts suffered medium damage from roughly 30 hits of all calibers, but no RCN vessels were lost, and every German warship suffered medium damage as well, with beside a destroyer and 2 transports being sunk. It was a significant victory, and for a second time the navy thwarted a German attempt to use the sea to help her army.
July saw the launching of boats 34 & 35, as well as the cruiser Kamieniec. Additionally a new depth-charge modification was delivered to the coastal patrol which would shortly pay dividends. From June through to the end of the year 13 allied subs were sunk, however sinking in return only 12 Polish merchants, a quite poor exchange from the Allies' perspective. Through this same span 11 German merchants were sunk to the cost of only 4 OP-boats. The new depth charges indeed helped, & as well a paucity of German ASW patrol. However 5 of those 7 months were marked by some measure of Commonwealth protest, demonstration, or brief mutiny.
At July's end a daring sweep of the Jade was orchestrated with 6 ships, but the German fleet declined to put to sea, a move which Minister Kleeberg could only immediately explain as the Reichsmarine still licking its wounds from the prior 2 months.
August brought the news of the loss of boats 31 & 32, both subs not returning from their foray to the shoals off Wilhelmshaven. On the diplomatic front however the King appealed for an end to hostilities, fearing the civic discord which had now reached heights not seen since the Great War. However despite the German's willingness to discuss matters no serious commitment was shown nor accord reached. The month concluded then with a second massive convoy being escorted into Port au Prince by the American Navy.
The Commonwealth's cruisers kept their smoke at the horizon, and shadowed them only until their course was assured before returning to Trinidad.
September told of the arrival of OP-36, and unexpectedly another German destroyer raid into the Gulf of Riga. This encounter was especially unfortunate, as in a night-time action German torpedoes were found to apparently have a setting for “skimming”- two Monsuns were lost to a single torpedo each, with no damage inflicted in return. The Makrelas could not join the fleet soon enough.
October carried hard news, as two cruisers were damaged at sea- the new Kamieniec striking a mine which would have her towed into harbor stern first and laid up for 5 months, and the Kijow being torpedoed by a U-boat and out of commission for 4 months. Combined with the Fleet Flag, Zelazny Wilk, being stilled for 2 months with engine troubles and the Navy had lost 3 ships without a shot being fired.
It would lose more than ships as well, as funding was this month diverted at emergency call by the Army, which for 3 months had been resisting the slow and steady application of pressure upon the Coastal front by the Heer, finally achieving general parity of force and able to muster a confined superiority of arms. Despite the weather turning the Germans smelled blood at their localized success and raised the stakes; the Commonwealth Army tried to stiffen its front and mustered its reserves as the borderlands turned to a soup of mud. Time would tell when the first bough would break.
November brought unexpected word of strikes and demonstrations in Germany, as after many months she had not managed yet to reverse her reversals of May and June and her public chaffed at the increasing casualties brought about by her coastal offensive. Yet no news of November would match what was told by December. The launching of OPs 38 & 39 and losses of boats 24 & 35 became less than a footnote.
Word came from the Caribbean;
Men on Trinidad say that day that the sky darkened, as if a tropical front or eclipse were at hand. The smokes of 100 vessels of all ilks clouded the skies as the sun rose, and in slow pageantry more then 300 high-caliber guns settled their aim and then barked forth their fury.
The tiny, pristine, tropical paradise became a landscape of slag and splinters, leaving in fact the invading American divisions no town to occupy. The small garrison battalion retreated to what foothills Trinidad could boast, but none of it was not in reach of the American Navy. Surely, no force could alter the dice which fate had just thrown. A grim Christmas was at hand.
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Post by theexecuter on Apr 19, 2017 22:00:43 GMT -6
Grim indeed. I wouldn't worry too much about the Caribbean. It's the home dissent that has me worried.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 21, 2017 20:13:37 GMT -6
theexecuter Well, in actuality there is an interesting development on that. While I am still concerned over the rather unheard-of, inexplicable, long-term high unrest even through periods of peace, in the last 5 months it has moderated significantly. In August it stood at 9, but through the next 4 months it dropped to 8/7/7/6. I didn't include this in the narrative partly because it doesn't easily jibe with the build-up in tension to the American invasion, but mostly because I don't flippin' trust it lol. I don't want to dramatically start to account for an improving domestic situation if it could suddenly spike to 10 for reasons I don't understand. If it seems to remain at 6-or-so through the next chapter, I will work it in, but I honestly don't know what's coming next. At this point, even though I am leading by a lot a Compromise Peace seems to be the only way to not lose Trinidad. Plus there is the coming land offensive results, which should happen (paradoxically) in Jan or Feb, so, we'll just have to see what happens. I have allowed the text "room to breathe", in part because of the vastly accelerating interest in the 'Good for Business' thread, but I will likely get some more played sometime this weekend. I also feel I missed the boat, and have stifled entertaining and reinforcing feedback by posting so furiously. A lesson learned.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 29, 2017 11:04:46 GMT -6
Chapter 30.
The Trinidad bombardment at Port of Spain was photographed by a flying boat out of Dominica. When the pictures were developed the local intelligence ministry factor released one to the press, and the New York Times was able to deliver that picture to Wladyslawowo House faster than any internal process. The result of this to the public was mixed, depending upon the quarter some decrying the wanton decimation, but many others simply in awe of the firepower there delivered. There was clearly nothing that the Navy could do at present to protect the Commonwealth's overseas members, a position Alexsandr would have to apologize for to the King.
None-the-less, matters were not ideal for Germany either. Her public was not at all pleased. Their war of revenge and dreams of humbling the Commonwealth and perhaps even recovering East Prussia were proving fruitless. The Reichsmarine had again come out 2nd best in its encounters, sustaining 3x the losses as her rival to ships of half their own displacement. Their winter offensive was proving to be a disaster, and their advantage of superior aircraft had been deftly countered by a bold night-time raid on their aerodrome by deep-strike aircraft, the first of its kind. The German people felt they had been sold a bill of goods; this was not the war their ministers had sold the public.
In August peace talks had failed, but Germany now had a higher motivation to pursue them. There had been 2 months of strikes and demonstrations as they had seemed to count only casualties, and now on New Years Day they approached the table again and earnestly. They had lost their Empire and their Kaiser to a collapse of the government just a decade ago, and the Republic was quite keen on how fragile their foundation had become. Talks were promisingly begun, but despite the best efforts of the Commonwealth's deputation they could not be concluded before their beleaguered defenders on Trinidad capitulated.
However, 4 days later on January 15th 1928, a general peace was at last concluded, upon the same day the the RCN's first new destroyer was launched, though Makrela's festivities were duly buried on the back page.
19 months the war had lasted. Blockade and commerce war had again been overcome. The Second Battle of Bornholm had won for the Commonwealth the position to bring an end to hostilities at the cost of its architects, Admiral Kerensky and Commodore Fieldorf, who were remembered as heroes of the Rzeczpospolita. Had the war not been concluded no doubt eventually Dominica and Madagascar too would have fallen, and the hazard of holding on for the German people to force an end was far too risky for the possible gain. Ending war with 2 of the 3 most powerful nations on earth was the only correct move. Joy but more-so even than before, relief swept the nation.
Alexsandr would order a proper fleet review, but on the face of it there seemed to be several clear take-aways from the conflict. Numerous times the fleet had landed far more shells upon the enemy than they received, but only 3 major German ships had been sunk, providing clear evidence that the gun caliber of the Commonwealth's ships was becoming insufficient. The only capital ship lost had been to torpedo, and in fact all 3 of the Navy's major ship losses through both recent wars had been to torpedo, and only torpedo. The Pragas were a step in the right direction, but all the future dreadnoughts of the fleet should need to maximize torpedo protection. Thirdly, the light cruiser deficiency desperately needed to be addressed. The tonnage contributed by the Wilnos was too important to disregard, but their supplanting and ultimate replacement was mandatory.
Immediately Alexsandr ordered all of the old destroyers unmanned and pooled, for even the Monsuns were now only fit for coastal patrol. The cruisers on distant station were immediately recalled, and Jozef Poniatowsky deployed in her only overseas posting to show the flag out of Dominica in their place. The disposition of those 6 cruisers was presently unclear, but Alexsandr was keenly aware both of the budget and the need for tonnage in the water if blockade were to in the future be avoided. It was possible that Warszawa, Weilkopolska, & Mazowsze could be considered for preservation if the decision was made to decommission them, as their heroic defiance in the Caribbean had kept the US at bay for a year and a half, causing them to delay and exercise enormous caution in their ultimate advance.
For the remainder of the year there was a host of news of ships being scrapped by all parties, including in Germany the old Graf Spee of 1912. Not being able to so easily replace their vessels, the Commonwealth must pursue a far more frugal and austere policy. In September the old 3100 ton Gdasnk and Warszawa were brought in for a limited refit with the plan of then mothballing them and saving them for future coastal patrol deployment. Some torpedoes were added on her upper hull, the directors upgraded, bulges were added and her gun mounting's elevated; for the cost of a Makrela twice that tonnage was preserved.
Then in October, after lengthy debate, it was decided to conduct a limited upgrade on the 4 Mazowsze class armored cruisers. They would never be fit again to operate alone, but Alexsandr just could not bring himself to write off 50,000 tons of displacement which would take him 5 years to replace when he had not once yet managed to prevent a blockade of her coastal ports, not including the Austrian war. For the cost of only 200,000 ducats above their monthly maintenance cost, the same treatment was afforded them as the Gdansk. The old 8.9” mountings were left in place however despite having a superior mark available, as the cost to upgrade them simply seemed unjustifiable. With the aging veterans cared for and almost all of the 15 Makrelas clearing the slips, Alexsandr could finally turn his attention to his need of a new cruiser.
The Gniezno class was designed specifically for deployment on foreign station, with either the speed to out-run battle-cruisers or the firepower to overwhelm raiders. It was planned to construct with hope 6 of them, and with 3 of them operating together their battery would challenge even a modern 8x8. The facility to lay mines and disgorge up to 6 torpedoes at once would also maximize their utility against larger foes. They incorporated nominal torpedo protection, and the design would in the future be replicated for fleet support by reducing the turrets to twins, allowing for improved armor in that higher-risk environment.
It would take a goodly while to have the number of cruisers required and certainly no more could be soon more swiftly fashioned, but Alexsandr wasn't finished. On New Year's Eve, commemorated by two families for the passing of a great man, Alexsandr was able to announce to the few gathered at St. Basil's that morning that the Royal Commonwealth Navy's next and newest class of battleship would be named the Admiral Wir.
- And, the people were happy.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on May 12, 2017 23:02:12 GMT -6
Chapter 31.
With 1929's January Conferences the formal review of the Republics & Commonwealth War was completed. In the course of the war's 19 months the Commonwealth lost 41 freighters to submarine attack, a loss rate of 2.15/month, but exacted the terrible price of 34 submarines in payment. Sacrificing a submarine for every 1.2 freighters sunk cannot have been an inspiring campaign to labor for.
The OP arm achieved less impressive results for the Commonwealth with 23 sinkings, but to the contrary only 10 boats were lost. The Commonwealth's emphasis on ASW efforts and German lack-there-of featured in those details, as well as the relatively obsolete boats employed by the Commonwealth alongside the more modern creations of the Reichsmarine.
The Battle Fleet had shown itself to be worthy of the name, sinking more than 3x its losses in tonnage. So impressively in fact had they held themselves that after an unexpected change at the top with the retirement of First sea Lord Archibald Caernarvon, throughout the spring England laid the foundations to renew its alliance with the Commonwealth, seeing Poland as a stable partner in the volatile political environment of central Europe. With the King's blessing and Alexsandr's labors, the agreement was reached in August, and the new First Sea Lord came to Gdansk to sign the agreement at the ceremony for another auspicious occasion.
In February the last of the Makrelas and the 4 CAs had completed their refits, so thoughts were bent towards laying the first keel of the new battleships. The old CLs would be finished by August, but even so some harsh economies would need to be undertaken. In March, after agonizing consideration, the intelligence budget had been eliminated. Minister Kleeberg had then tendered his resignation, and the icy pall which shadowed him vanished from Wladyslawowo. However even with the completion of Warszawa in July and Gdansk in August, both ships plus a Wilno – Poznan – would still need to be unmanned and tied up plus the research budget slashed to a tenth in order for the first ship to be afforded. After the check was cut, only 20,000 ducats remained in the coffers.
The Admiral Wir was laid down in Gdansk on August 20th, 1929. The ship was named after the man whose calm presence had shaped so much of what the Navy had become, and who had managed to secure the gun-designs she would carry. Or, almost. The 15” design had been purchased from Elswick in November of '22, but even as the plans were being fleshed out for the Wir a domestic improvement had been developed by the Krakow Foundry, and it was these 15.1” guns which had been incorporated in the final draft.
Given the Navy had made the decision it could not sacrifice any of its tonnage, the fleet's battle-speed would remain the same, and so the new Wir would be designed for the same environment as the rest of the fleet and take advantage of weight savings for freeboard and range. Thanks to an economical new bow design she would only require 39,000 shp to reach her designed maximum speed of 20 knots, and machinery, fuel, hull & sundries demanded only 33% of her tonnage.
Her 4 main batteries would be 15.1/L48 cannons, firing a 1950lb shell to a maximum of 31,000 yards. The high velocity guns would be able to penetrate virtually any armor at ranges under 15,000 yards, but between 25 & 31k possess a vertical penetration of 6.2”. Overall total gunnery weight amounted to 25% of the design weight, including an impressive 140 rounds for each gun.
The ship would be armored nearly excessively, consuming the remaining 42% of her tonnage. The armor was of a new type, called by Gdansk “Odin Hard”, a development from Krupp Cemented Steel. With a belt 17” thick and deck designed to resist the very kind of plunging fire which she could herself produce, few doubted the designers' intent that the ship would be able to take the punishment of a modern battleship. Thinking of light vessels as well, her Torpedo Protection System was the very finest which cunning minds could employ.
The hope was to always have a Wir and a Gniezno building, and so by steady development add to the fleet sufficiently that perhaps they could in time consider retiring some of the oldest and most perilous of the fleet.
By the end of 1929 things were looking quite fine, new ships building, funding adequate if tight, the Alliance with England for the 3rd time in place, and – for the first time since August of 1900- with markets overflowing from the bounty of bumper crops and a populace relishing a return to peace, not a soul could find a single complaint to make to their neighbor about the nation, or the Navy.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on May 15, 2017 22:32:55 GMT -6
Alrighty, I am going to break from form and ask a question of those following this (which to a lesser or greater degree of interest seem to number about a hundred). I have the option to "summarize" the next period of peace-time building, and then simply hit the 2 or 3 "high" notes that bring on the next conflict, *or* I could continue to narrate the tale with to-and-fro detail to walk along the events which dominate the peace-time interregnum, which thereby would likely consume 2 or 3 posts.
Do we have any opinions? I will happily pursue whichever course is preferred by the majority, or of course choose my own should none feel they have an opinion upon the matter.
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Post by eserchie on May 16, 2017 4:10:14 GMT -6
Peace time detail please. Your narration is always interesting to read.
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Post by babylon218 on May 16, 2017 4:28:17 GMT -6
I would also like to see some peacetime detail.
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Post by konstantinua00 on May 16, 2017 5:10:23 GMT -6
I'd say that seeing struggle of tiny country in the peace time is really interesting
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