|
|
Post by rimbecano on Jul 30, 2017 4:44:12 GMT -6
Call me old fashioned, but I tend to disfavor Edward VII for the same reason that his mother did, though she did go just a *tad* overboard in mourning her husband.
|
|
|
|
Post by cv10 on Jul 30, 2017 7:55:47 GMT -6
cv10 - I don't know if he bore malice or was vindictive toward Kaiser Wilhelm, but he certainly did not like him and apparently did not have much respect for him. Which really just shows Edward was both human and possessed of good taste. |
|
|
|
Post by theexecuter on Jul 30, 2017 9:29:18 GMT -6
Of all the people in Imperial Germany to dislike, the Kaiser is pretty low on the list. Their foreign office post Bismark was epicly terrible.
|
|
|
|
Post by babylon218 on Jul 30, 2017 11:10:46 GMT -6
Yes, Von Holstein in particular was a bit of a rotter.
|
|
|
|
Post by cv10 on Jul 30, 2017 23:15:14 GMT -6
Call me old fashioned, but I tend to disfavor Edward VII for the same reason that his mother did, though she did go just a *tad* overboard in mourning her husband.
Plus, while I don't deny that the strain of finding out about his son's affair and then going for a long walk in the rain probably didn't help his health, I'm not so sure that I'd go as far as to say Edward VII was responsible. After all, he had been ill since 1859,ignored the advice of his doctors to rest, and died almost a full month after confronting Edward. IMO, Albert was died of overwork and living in an era when disease killed a lot more people.
The one thing I will criticize is how affairs he had, as those really did damage his image, and the image of the Royal Family. He got called as a witness for one divorce, was nearly accused of adultery in another suit, and got involved in a bitter dispute between Admiral Charles Beresford+Lady Beresford and the Countess of Warwick that almost caused a duel. Perhaps Queen Victoria should have let Edward go off to Canada as Governor-General, a cold temperature might have helped keep him out of trouble. |
|
|
|
Post by cv10 on Jul 31, 2017 19:50:23 GMT -6
Turn 26: 20th July, 1915: Planning No intel on what the enemy is up to, but they're up to something. Maybe a minelaying operation, or a cruiser sweep, or perhaps a raid on the Coast. I doubt that the enemy will send out the High Seas Fleet, as they only have 14 operational dreadnoughts, which I don't think is their full dreadnought force. As I don't know what the enemy is up to, I will not be preempting this operation. I will instead see to my own operation.
 I will be laying another minefield to close the gap between the two minefields I have already laid. In the meantime, the Admiralty has requested that the Grand Fleet sweep the North Sea. I intend to accede to this request, as it is simple enough. The only think that could possibly stand up to the Grand Fleet is the High Seas Fleet, and I outnumber them by 5 dreadnoughts. Their objective point is represented by the Green Dot. The Battlecruiser Force will sweep to the North of the Frisian Islands, which is represented by the Blue Dot. The 1st Battlecruiser Squadron will sortie to fulfill this, the 2nd and 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron will continue to train. Due to their age and weak armor, they need to be elite crews before I'll send them out.
The last operation took its toll on the Reserve Squadron, with only HMS Hibernia being fit for active service, the other 4 surviving pre-dreadnoughts are under repair. I've prioritized HMS Erin and HMS Warspite for repair, and placed the pre-dreadnoughts at the end of the line, as they can't really be used for much of anything
|
|
|
|
Post by cv10 on Aug 1, 2017 10:38:41 GMT -6
I don't have time to write up my full post now (it will come later) as I have to leave soon. I just ran the turn and as a preview/tease, I give you the following quotes from this game:
"Hugo von Pohl, Give me back my dreadnoughts!"
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, July 25th, 1915
"It was not a Trafalgar, or a Tsushima. However it would be the most outrageous, monstrous, and unjust libel and insult to Admiral Jellicoe and the officers and men of the fleet to suggest that this was anything but a glorious triumph worthy of the finest traditions of the Royal Navy,"
First Lord Winston Churchill, July 25th, 1915
|
|
|
|
Post by Noname117 on Aug 1, 2017 14:30:02 GMT -6
This is going to be good
|
|
|
|
Post by oaktree on Aug 1, 2017 16:23:54 GMT -6
Sounds like the High Seas Fleet met the Grand Fleet and came out with fewer capital ships than they went in with. Though it appears they escaped getting wiped out, it still sounds like a decisive British victory that will make it even harder for Germany to compete for domination of the North Sea.
|
|
|
|
Post by JagdFlanker on Aug 1, 2017 18:41:43 GMT -6
this is worse than waiting for the next Game Of Thrones episode, you bastard. lol
|
|
|
|
Post by cv10 on Aug 1, 2017 18:41:48 GMT -6
Turn 26: 20th July, 1915:Operation So before I started the turn, I found out that I lacked enough ops points to sortie the Grand Fleet. However, since the enemy was running an operation, I figured that I could simply conduct an emergency sortie of the Grand Fleet, so I left the battleship objective as it was. With this sorted out I began the turn. The turn began fairly normally The mine-laying force accomplished its mission without any fuss, and the Battlecruiser Force sailed south towards its objective point. Room 40 was active in reporting contacts, but for the most part, these contacts seemed to be patrol vessels, likely T-Class Destroyers or Trawler Minesweepers. As the sun rose for the 21st of July, my extensive deployment of submarines paid off, as one of them reported an enemy armored cruiser and a light cruiser not too far from where my battlecruisers were. The Battlecruiser Force was ordered to maximum speed and set a course to intercept. The enemy was spotted not too long after.  As it turned out, the enemy force was a light cruiser of the Bremen-Class with a V-Class destroyer as an escort. The light cruiser was quickly sunk, and my battlecruisers kept up a half-hearted chase of the destroyer until it was finally called off. The battlecruisers then redirected towards their objective point, which they reached in the afternoon. By this stage the Minelayer Force was approaching home, and time was taken to guide it into Grimsby, which, due to the coast and minefields, requires a bit of direct attention. In the meantime, the Battlecruiser Force began to head north along the German minefield edge. This was when things got interesting. One of my submarines reported 5 dreadnoughts being out. While submarine contacts are not infallible, I decided to activate the Grand Fleet, which was able to raise steam fairly quickly. Due to the Ops Points shortage, I was forced to send them out with only 2 light cruiser squadrons (the Attached Scouts and the 3rd) to act as scouts. In the meantime the Battlecruiser Force was sent to investigate, and found the enemy in short order.  I’m not sure if the High Seas Fleet was out because of some mission, or if it was activated due to my battlecruisers being so close to the enemy coast. The salient point was that they were out, and by luck, the Grand Fleet was already steaming towards its objective point. So in an earlier post, I mentioned “Operation Hornet’s Nest” and said further details would follow. While this operation was not supposed to happen for some time, I ended up causing unintentionally. The plan was to send a force to the German minefield edge that was tempting enough for them to send out their dreadnoughts to sink it. Once they came out, I’d run for Scapa Flow and lead the Germans right into the Grand Fleet, which would be activated once the Germans came out. Since the Germans had, in effect, kicked off “Operation Hornet’s Nest” on their own, I decided to go ahead and roll with it. My battlecruisers sped to the Northwest at 27 knots to gain a safe distance from the High Seas Fleet. Once we were just inside gun range, the Battlecruiser Force dropped down to 22 knots so the Germans could maintain pursuit. Periodically, I’d turn to the Northeast if I felt that they were about to turn for home. With my battlecruisers being such a tantalizing target, the Germans kept up the pursuit, never seeming to wonder why my ships, which could easily outrun them, were maintaining such a relatively close distance. While this occurred, HMS Queen Mary and the lead German dreadnought exchanged fire. With her 13 inch guns and excellent crew, HMS Queen Mary had the best of it, and the German never even managed a hit! While this was going on, the Grand Fleet closed in, and two problems emerged.  Above: the Run to the Grand Fleet Emergency activations can go wrong, as they are confusing affairs. I’m not sure why, perhaps he was out hunting or on shore for a meeting and simply rushed for the nearest ship, but Admiral Jellicoe boarded HMS Mons, an M-Class Destroyer, which became flagship of the whole Grand Fleet! As a result, I had no effective control over the movements of the battle-line. The two rearmost Battle Squadrons got separated from the 4th Battle Squadron, and the 2/2th Battle Squadron kept trying to overtake the 4th Battle Squadron. This was somewhat rectified by slowing the 4th Battle Squadron down to 12 knots, and having HMS Mons stay as close as possible. The other problem was that night was coming by the time that the Grand Fleet came into sight of the High Seas Fleet, and I realized that I needed to get the flag shifted from HMS Mons to the 4th Battle Squadron. The Germans were light on destroyers so I ordered HMS Mons to 34 knots and had her charge straight at the German dreadnoughts. The ship seemed to be unhittable as she weaved through the German fleet, and she managed to torpedo a German Helgoland-Class dreadnought before she was finally hit and sunk. Somehow, Jellicoe was able to get aboard HMS Marlborough, and I finally had control over the battle-line.  Above: Last Moments of the brave little Mons, and the Grand Fleet engaging the High Seas Fleet In truth, the AI had done what I would have: it sailed to the Southeast around the High Seas Fleet and effectively cut them off from home. While they made this maneuver, they engaged two Helgoland-class Dreadnoughts (one of which had been torpedoed) and really tore into them. Once I regained control, the sun went down, and night fell. I was not about to get into a night fight with the Germans, but I was not about to lose them either. I got lucky in that my supporting destroyers were able to maintain contact with the German fleet throughout the night, so I had a general idea of where they were. During the night, the German cruiser SMS Stettin ran into my battle-line and was quickly sunk before it could torpedo any of my ships. In addition, my destroyers torpedoed a German ship, which turned out to be a dreadnought. Above: Shadowing the High Seas Fleet at Night When dawn finally came, the Germans were about parallel with the Grand Fleet, and my dreadnoughts opened fire, and rapidly tore the Germans to shreds. During this phase, SMS Oldenburg, SMS Posen, SMS Thüringen and SMS Ostfriesland were hammered and sunk. To my regret, my ships showed a propensity to “Blücher” the German dreadnoughts, and my ships began to run low on ammunition. In addition, my destroyers began wasting their torpedoes on the crippled Germans, with one of them having in excess of 15 torpedoes fired at it. It was at this stage that a minor calamity occurred. HMS Conqueror was hit by a torpedo, which caused immense damage. While she contained the flooding and headed for home at a good speed, I was sure that she would end up sinking. Shortly after this, HMS Neptune was also hit by a torpedo (I can’t rule out friendly fire, and if the culprit destroyer(s) is revealed, I’ll have the responsible captains run up the Flagship’s yardarm! Even if I have to have a yardarm installed!). In the meantime, my fleet was heading south and the Germans were heading to the Northeast, so they were able to disengage and move to the Southeast, except for a destroyer group that somehow ended up on the other side of the Grand Fleet. I ordered a general chase and tried to pursue the enemy.  Above: General Chase! By this point, the 4th Battle Squadron was almost entirely out of main battery ammunition, so I decided not to chase the enemy for long. However I got lucky, and one of their Kaiser-Class dreadnoughts was isolated from the rest of the High Seas Fleet, and it was cornered by the Grand Fleet and was subjected to full fury of the 15remaining British dreadnoughts. It ended up exploding due to a magazine hit. At this juncture, the fleet made for the English Coast, as the time allotted for the operation was nearing its end. The fleet was close enough to reach Edinburgh after the Operation ended. I was exceedingly fortunate as both HMS Neptune and HMS Conquerer were able to make it home. All told, the Royal Navy sank 5 dreadnoughts, 3 light cruisers (we must have hit one during the engagement), and a destroyer. In exchange, the Germans managed to sink only HMS Mons, which had been deliberately put in a position of being sunk. Out of the 11 Dreadnoughts that the enemy sent out, 5 were sunk, 3 were moderately damaged, and 3 were lightly damaged. The Germans were able to rescue some of their crews, but I was able to rescue more sailors than they did (including the survivors of the gallant little Mons). All-in-all, I'm pleased with the result.  For those interested, this is the maneuver chart from the post-op screen Below are the specific ships that were sunk |
|
|
|
Post by cv10 on Aug 1, 2017 18:42:44 GMT -6
this is worse than waiting for the next Game Of Thrones episode, you bastard lol I know the feeling, always love when 9 PM Sunday rolls around! But I'm not exceedingly cruel, so ye hath asked and ye hath received! |
|
|
|
Post by JagdFlanker on Aug 1, 2017 18:51:53 GMT -6
this is worse than waiting for the next Game Of Thrones episode, you bastard lol I know the feeling, always love when 9 PM Sunday rolls around! But I'm not exceedingly cruel, so ye hath asked and ye hath received! i can't believe you made me wait a whole 10 seconds lol great battle! |
|
|
|
Post by oaktree on Aug 1, 2017 19:55:09 GMT -6
That's a splendid achievement to sink five dreadnoughts in exchange for such minor losses.
Looks like the High Seas Fleet is now in a bind since they would have trouble outnumbering even part of the Grand Fleet in an engagement.
|
|
|
|
Post by garrisonchisholm on Aug 2, 2017 0:23:42 GMT -6
...alright, I want to see the top secret 50-knot Pinnace which Mons was carrying- or was it a Sopwith Pup which dropped him by parachute after being towed behind the destroyer for 30 hours? LOL
Regardless, an intrepid solution to an unusual situation. :]
|
|
_(edited)_Screenshot_(739).png?width=180&height=180&fit=bounds)