War News:
15 March 1933:
- British diplomats approach the Chinese legation in St. Petersburg with an offer of peace, but the terms are considered too harsh and the Imperial government rejects the proposal.
- The Grand Council authorizes the construction of a dozen new submarines for the Imperial Chinese Navy.
31 March 1933:
- The Americans report sinking HMS Benbow, which recently participated in the sinking of the Chinese battleship Kwang-Chou-Wan.
1 April 1933:
- British troops land in Kwang-Chou-Wan, and some elements of the Chinese government push for a negotiated peace. The Minister of the Navy suggests that the Foreign Office is full of hopeless optimists if they feel that the British government is going to offer China better peace terms now than they did last month.
11 May 1933:
- The Chinese destroyers
Kuang Yuan and
Jin Chang, patrolling the approaches to Fort Bayard, encounter a British destroyer squadron lead by the light cruiser HMS
Phaeton. The Chinese destroyers bait the British squadron into range of a nearby 8" shore battery, which scores a hit on
Phaeton as it batters the destroyer
Jin Chang with its 6" guns. As the British force moves out of range of the shore battery,
Phaeton discovers a minefield the hard way, prompting the British force to begin retiring towards Hong Kong. Due to the damage sustained by
Jin Chang and the presence of the British destroyers, the commander of the patrol force elects not to pursue the retreating British force and instead withdraws into the harbor at Fort Bayard.
3 July 1933:
- Work on the Chih Yuan-class light battlecruisers Chih Yuan and Ping Yuan resumes.
18 July 1933:
- The
Lei Li-class destroyer leaders
Lei Chen and
Lei Kan, en route to Fort Bayard to reinforce the destroyer flotilla attempting to disrupt the flow of supplies and reinforcements to the British forces operating in Kwang-Chou-Wan, are surprised and sunk by HMS
Phaeton and three destroyers.
20 July 1933:
- In light of the inconclusive engagements fought and defeats suffered by the destroyer flotillas operating out of Fort Bayard and the Navy's withdrawal of the battle line and most other warships to the East China and Yellow Seas, the Grand Council is persuaded to transfer funding from the Navy to the Army to support an offensive which the Army promises will restore the situation in Kwang-Chou-Wan.
1 August 1933:
- Work on
Chih Yuan is suspended due to the Grand Council's transfer of funding to the Army.
13-14 August 1933:
- The
Kuang Yuan-class destroyers
Mao Bei,
Lei Bei, and
Jin Chang sortie from Fort Bayard in response to intelligence reports that a British force will be attacking coastal shipping in the area. After an unsuccessful daytime search, the Chinese destroyers begin retiring to Fort Bayard, and soon encounter unidentified ships. Soon after firing commences, a large explosion briefly shatters the darkness and the engagement devolves into a chaotic series of brief melees between destroyers. The three Chinese destroyers eventually withdraw into port. Chinese patrol gunboats operating in the area find three British seamen in the water who identify the ship that exploded as the light cruiser HMS
Phaeton.
18 September 1933:
- The Army admits to the Grand Council that its offensive to restore the situation in Kwang-Chou-Wan has failed utterly.
27 October 1933:
- Three British destroyers attack a Chinese convoy bound for Fort Bayard and escorted by three Chinese destroyers. In the ensuing engagement, one Chinese merchantman is sunk and a Chinese destroyer sustains minor damage, but the British destroyers are driven off and intelligence reports indicate that all three were moderately to severely damaged in the engagement.
1 November 1933:
- A large Russian liner is torpedoed and sunk by the Chinese submarine S-58. Tsar Alexei threatens to declare war, but Chinese diplomats, assisted by their French and German counterparts, manage to resolve the crisis.
11 November 1933:
- Work on the light battlecruiser
Chih Yuan resumes.
16 November 1933:
- The Office of Naval Intelligence reports that it appears that the Royal Navy has withdrawn its capital ships from the South China Sea.
1 December 1933:
- With the Office of Naval Intelligence reporting no sign of British capital ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Navy transfers its battlecruisers and light cruisers to the South China Sea to attempt to strangle the British army operating in Kwang-Chou-Wan.
25 January 1934:
- The
Fei Yun-class light cruisers
Yang Wu and
Fu Ching, accompanied by three
Kuang Yuan-class destroyers, encountered and sunk a pair of British destroyers. While returning to port, a lookout reported sighting a periscope and the destroyer
Jin Chang made a depth charge attack on the suspected submarine, but no evidence of a sinking submarine was seen on the surface. Historians have suggested that
Jin Chang might possibly have sunk the British submarine
E-50, which was operating in the area at the time, missed a scheduled rendezvous with a submarine tender two days later, and could not be contacted by radio, but as the wreck of the
E-50 has not been found this remains speculative.
13 February 1934:
- The Chinese battlecruisers, while patrolling near Fort Bayard, encounter a British fleet containing seven capital ships in seven classes, and immediately withdraw. No Chinese or British warships are sunk, but the battlecruisers
Hai An and
Glorious sustain moderate damage while the battlecruisers
Chao Yung,
Kai Chi, and
Ariadne and the battleships
Royal Oak and
Illustrious sustain light damage. Concerns are raised about
Kai Chi's suitability for continued active service after it is discovered that she
did not sustain any hits during the engagement and yet returned to port nearly as damaged as
Chao Yung, which had been struck by five heavy shells, but the Navy is too short of ships to consider withdrawing
Kai Chi from frontline service.
14-25 February 1934:
- The Imperial Chinese Army reports that the situation around Fort Bayard is untenable unless the Navy can secure the sea lanes, and so the Chinese battle line is ordered to the South China Sea despite the risk of exposing China to blockade. Unfortunately, even as the battleships depart Shanghai, the military situation around Fort Bayard is deteriorating and the Navy finds itself asked to evacuate the besieged city. The Navy's battlecruisers, still damaged from the recent engagement with British capital ships, find themselves pressed into service as troop ships, and the battleships join them in this role once they arrive on the 17th. Fortunately for the Chinese Navy, the Royal Navy does not at first appear interested in stopping the evacuation, and the majority of the Army personnel in and around Fort Bayard are successfully evacuated before the remaining garrison surrenders late on the 25th.
1 March 1934:
- The British government announces a blockade of trade in the East China and Yellow Seas, and to emphasize the point seven British capital ships make a demonstration off Shanghai, revealing the reason for the Royal Navy's apparent indifference to the Chinese evacuation of Fort Bayard.
25 April 1934:
- The British armed merchant cruiser
Halberdier, recently arrived in the South China Sea for blockade service, is attacked and sunk by the
Fei Yun-class light cruiser
Fu Ching and three
Kuang Yuan-class destroyers.
1 May 1934:
- The British blockade is lifted, possibly to counter the concentration of Chinese capital ships in the South China Sea, or perhaps - according to some historians of a conspiratorial bent - due to backroom diplomatic pressure from various European powers with interests in China. Most reputable historians dismiss the latter claim, citing a lack of evidence and suggesting that those European powers which still held concessions in Chinese territory had no desire to see China emerge from this war confident in its ability to repudiate the concessions which had been forced upon it almost a half-century earlier, even if the power of the Royal Navy was broken as a result.
20 June 1934:
- The
Fei Yun-class light cruiser
Yang Wu, on patrol in the South China Sea, encounters and sinks the armed merchant cruiser
Cliftondale, recently converted for minelaying duties with the British Eastern Fleet, and the destroyer HMS
Welland.
17 July 1934:
- The battlecruiser
Lai Yuan, lead ship of the
Lai Yuan class, commissions.
4 August 1934:
- The Navy agrees to a temporary reduction in funding to support an Army offensive aimed at retaking Kwang-Chou-Wan.
15 August 1934:
-
The Chinese battlecruisers
Hai An and
Kai Chi, accompanied by four destroyers, patrol to the south of Formosa while the battlecruiser
Chao Yung, accompanied by the
Fei Yun-class light cruisers
Yang Wu and
Fu Ching and four destroyers patrols to the east of Formosa. As darkness falls, the Chinese warships recieve reports of British capital ships attacking merchants and patrol boats to the southwest of Formosa and move to intercept. Shortly after a coastal installation begins reporting being under attack, a British warship is sighted moving slowly while firing at something on the coast, and a Chinese ship - either the battlecruiser
Hai An or one of the screening destroyers, though records are unclear as to which - fires a spread of four torpedoes, three of which detonate against the side of the British ship. Shortly afterwards, another British warship is sighted, which rapidly retires before the Chinese force but is then located attempting to return to the other British warship.
Hai An passes by without opening fire, but
Kai Chi identifies the ship as a British battlecruiser and begins firing, and after just three salvoes the British battlecruiser explodes. In the morning, Chinese patrol craft conduct search and rescue operations and recover many survivors from the
Incomparable-class battlecruiser HMS
Australia, which sank relatively slowly after being torpedoed, and a handful of survivors from the
Tiger-class battlecruiser HMS
Glorious, which exploded and sank soon after the destruction of its two aftermost turrets by
Kai Chi's aging but still deadly 15" guns. Chinese losses were a patrol boat, a small coaster, and the
Kuang Yuan-class destroyer
Kuang Ping, which was sunk by gunfire while investigating the condition of the slowly-sinking HMS
Australia.
16 August 1934:
- The
Chi An-class light cruiser
Heng Hai commissions.
1 October 1934:
- The
Chen Wei-class scout cruiser
Fu Sheng commissions and is found to be overweight.
21 October 1934:
- The
Fei Yun-class light cruiser
Fu Ching, accompanied by the
Lei Li-class destroyer leader
Lei Gen and the
Kwang Yuan-class destroyers
Mao Bei and
Lei Bei, encounter the British light cruiser HMS
Conquest and and the destroyers HMS
Ribble and HMS
Cossack.
Conquest and
Ribble are sunk and
Cossack heavily damaged in exchange for minor damage to
Fu Ching. The
Kuang Yuan-class destroyer
Jin Chang, accompanying the
Fei Yun-class light cruiser
Yang Wu on patrol nearby, is torpedoed and sunk by a submarine at dawn while returning to port.
11 November 1934:
- The Fujian Fleet, based in Foochow and currently composed of the battleships
Tung Hai,
Ting Yuen, and
Cheng Kung, the battlecruiser
Kai Chi, the destroyer leader
Lei Gen, and the destroyer
Mao Bei, is ordered to patrol south through the Formosa Straight and meet up with the Guangdong Fleet, based out of Canton and currently composed of the battlecruisers
Hai An and
Chao Yung, the light cruisers
Yang Wu and
Fu Ching, and the destroyers
Kuang I,
Kuang Yuan,
Kuang Li, and
Lei Bei at the southern end of the straights for a daytime patrol southeast of Hong Kong. Overnight, as the battleships make the passage of the straights,
Cheng Kung starts to fall out of formation, and British warships are suddenly encountered in the straights. The Admiral of the Fujian Fleet
orders the battleships to flank speed and turns west towards the Chinese coast and then orders a flotilla attack and an abrupt change of course when more British ships are seen emerging out of the darkness.
Cheng Kung, slightly separated from the main battle line, soon finds itself under attack by British destroyers, sustains three torpedo hits in rapid succession, and begins sinking in the midst of a confused night action between British and Chinese capital ships. Contact is soon lost with the British ships, and as dawn breaks the Chinese warships begin conducting search and rescue operations, recovering survivors from
Cheng Kung, three British destroyers, and the battlecruiser HMS
Incomparable of the eponymous class, which were all sunk in the night action.
12 November 1934:
- The Army informs the Grand Council that its offensive to retake Kwang-Chou-Wan has devolved into a bloody stalemate.
- The battlecruiser
Lan Yang, second ship of the
Lai Yuan class, commissions and the scout cruiser
Fu Sheng, working up in the Yellow Sea after commissioning last month, strikes a mine and is projected to be laid up for four months of repair work.
17 November 1934:
- Britain announces the resumption of the blockade in the East China and Yellow Seas.
1 December 1934:
- The
Chen Wei-class scout cruiser
Chen Wei commissions.
15 December 1934:
- The
Chen Wei-class scout cruiser
Chen Hang commissions.
22 December 1934:
- Chinese and British battlecruisers clash briefly south-south-west of Swatow in the early evening, but the engagement ends as twilight closes in upon the capital ships. The battlecruisers
Lai Yuan,
Kai Chi,
Indefatigable, and
Spartiate all take light to moderate damage. Historians regard this engagement as a minor skirmish despite the presence of significant numbers of major warships on both sides - four Chinese and five British battlecruisers, one Chinese and two British battleships, two Chinese light cruisers, and four Chinese and ten British destroyers - as only the two battlecruisers in the van of each force were engaged, and then only briefly before darkness closed in, but the Chinese Ministry of Education and Public Information managed to spin the battle as a Chinese victory at home and in the neutral countries while the war was ongoing.
Design Competition 13, Part 1: DD1935
My light forces are rather badly depleted, so I'd like to see proposals for 1000-1500t DD with a broadside of at least four 4" or 5" guns and at least three torpedo tubes. The design speed should be at least 32 knots.
Design Competition 13, Part 2: Open Proposal
I'm of the opinion that I'm rather short of light forces, but I don't think that I really need to spend my entire ~11M/turn surplus on destroyers. You may therefore propose anything that you think that the Chinese Navy needs at the present time.
I can order ships from any shipyard not in Britain.
Political Advisors:
Please comment on whether or not you feel that work on the third
Chih Yuan-class light battlecruiser should be cancelled or resumed. It's currently 29 months from completion and would be useful as another heavy cruiser-type warship in the fleet, but on the other hand we don't really need it, either.
Also, there have been reports of British construction being delayed by strikes and labor unrest, but there have not yet been any reports of any large-scale anti-war protests or other disturbances. Do you feel that we should hold out for a British collapse and focus on building submarines, or accept peace while we're ahead on victory points? I don't think that the forecast for the naval situation is all that great and any new submarines will take 18 months to commission, but on the other hand it's unlikely that we'll be able to completely expel the British from Chinese territory in a negotiated peace.
Finally, feel free to weigh in on what you feel the Imperial Chinese Navy needs.
As far as deadlines go, how do people feel about Sunday, March 18 at 1700 GMT?
Save.