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Post by mycophobia on Jun 4, 2019 1:21:30 GMT -6
Hi everyone, so I had a very enjoyable playthrough as the Russians in my latest game with large fleet size and varied tech. As a result, I decide to tackle my first rtw2 AARs. As I am pretty new to rtw AAR writing, pardon me if the quality of this piece is not quite to the level of some of the wonderful AARs in this forum. Nevertheless, I hope this can be an enjoyable read for everyone, and maybe can help some new player get a sense of the game. Given the fact that I only decided to start well into my current campaign, I thought it may not be very effective if I tried to do a more story oriented AAR since I cant remember all the details of what happened in each war. As a result, I decides to write something akin to a book on the naval history of the navy, focusing on the various classes ships of the navy, their service and their design. Hopefully this will still make for an enjoyable read while providing some ideas for players in their ship designs. (Given varied tech, I thought I might as well try my best to set aside my hindsight and base my design based entirely on what worked well in the battle of my games). So without further ado, lets get this AAR started. The Russian Navy at The Turn of The Century : The Baltic War (1900-1906)
At the turn of the Century, the Russian navy was in a poor shape compared to many of its neighbors. Perhaps more importantly, a series of conflicts and unrests in the Balkans have alienated Russia from most of its western neighbors. The rise of the Japanese empire in the far east also threatens Russia's far eastern holdings, and she sadly does not have the logistic capability to maintain sufficient presence in both Europe and Asia. As a result, the Russian admiralty realized that in order to remain an international power, it must begin by investing in domestic ship building. Thus the first few years following the turn of the century is represented by development of naval yards in Russian home water and investment into technological research. Given the tension with European nations, the main Russian fleet remained in Europe while the construction of several 10inch batteries are ordered to deter Japanese aggression. Despite the developmental investments discussed above, the Russian navy nevertheless saw a sizable increase in power in the years before the Baltic War. As German encroachment over the Baltic region grew, the Russian navy shifted from developing infrastructure to frantic naval construction. Unfortunately, when German operatives are caught supplying Estonian separatist in December of 1904, the Tsar was pressured by his advisors to issue an ultimatum to the German Empire. Despite cautionary advice from the admiralty, war was declared on the new year of 1905. Thus the first Baltic War begin, well before the Russian Navy was prepared for the task at hand. At the opening of Hostility, the Russians had 6 Pre-dreadnought Battleship to the German's 11, and its cruiser strength roughly half. It is from this war that the Russian Navies will learn the lessons that shaped it in the following decades. The Battle of North SeaWhile the land battle of the Baltic war quickly became a slog, the naval action happened quickly. At the onset of the war, the Russian fleet sailed out to the north sea to challenge the German blockade, on the false intelligence that the German Battle Squadron in Kiel had not been sufficiently prepared to sortie. When the Russian spotted the lead element of the high seas fleet, at a short range of 5-6000 yard through the overcast, a short range gun fire exchange quickly ensues. The larger Russian pre-dreadnoughts are initially gaining the advantage, but it quickly became clear that the entire, not half of the high seas fleet were present. Despite now almost out numbered two to one, seeing several leading German Battleships burning made the Russian over confident of their ship's firepower, and the Russian admiral decides to at least finish the now heavily damaged German lead ship before retreating. The Russian navy was smaller to begin with, thus the Russians decided to take any chance they can to send an enemy capital ship to the bottom. The fact that the battleship Pervenets had just survived a torpedo hit only emboldens the Russians. However, it quickly became clear that the while the burning german ships can barely fight back, they are far from close to sinking, and the Russians quickly found them under fire from the rest of the High Seas Fleet. Worse yet, the German Battleships all carried 4-6 torpedo tubes each, and with this many fish in the water some are bound to hit it's mark. About an hour into the engagement, the smaller battleship Retivzan was quickly sunk. The Russian fleet made a hasty retread to the dark. The battle saw one Russian Battleship sunk, one heavily damaged, where as 3 leading German dreadnought are moderately damaged but none was sunk. The Battle of Landsort
Following the initial defeat in the Battle of North Sea, the Russian forces retreated into the Baltics, it was hoped that a combination of torpedo boat and night time close action would tip the advantage back in Russia's favor. So when the High Seas Fleet was found to be sailing towards Finland, it was hoped to intercept them near the Swedish coast and pin them against the coastline of Sweden at night, before causing as much damage as possible in a chaotic night action. The Russian fleet encountered the high seas fleet in the late afternoon of April 21st, 1905. The Russians were successful in leading the High Seas Fleet north towards the Swedish coast, before making a turn to the south and then back again right into the middle of the pursuing highseas fleet at night. The Russian had once again gained the initial upper hand in the initial gun exchange, two German Battleship fell out of line, burning, while another was torpedoed by Russian torpedo boats. A German protected cruiser was also sunk by Russian cruisers at point blank range. In exchange, the Imperator Nikolai I class battleship, Imperator Petr Veliky was torpedoed again by a German battleship and sunk. In the darkness, much of the High Seas Fleet became scattered, and the Russian decides to pursue the two burning German battleship that had now fell out of line. Despite their ship burning however, the German crew fought on bravely, and their 10in gun were at last able to score several hit to the thinly armored bow of Imperator Pavel I. The Russian had once again, in their desires to inflict the damage needed to even the balance of power, over extended themselves. While the two German ships are eventually sunk through a combination of gunfire and torpedo, Imperator Pavel would not make it back to port due to excessive flooding. The Battle of Landsort saw three German battleship(and several more damaged), one protected cruiser, and several torpedo boats lost to Russian's two battleship, 2 old protected cruiser, and four torpedo boats. While a minor tactical victory for the Russians, this is a victory they can ill-afford. Reduced to three battleships, the Russians could ill afford further fleet engagements against the Germans. At this point, were it not for the success of the faster cruiser force, the Admiralty would've likely suggested the Tsar to sue for peace. For the time being however, the surprising success of Russian ground offensive into Eastern Prussia and the hope that the High Seas fleet can still be held at bay through raiding and fleet in being gave the Russia Admiralty confidence to fight on. The Russian Admiralty ordered a four small Battleship of the Tsesarevich class from neutral Austria-Hungary, who opt to stay out of the conflict to contest the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire. Every effort was made to prepare for a long term war against the Germans. As the latter event would indicate, the "Victory" at Landsort most likely only prolonged the inevitable defeat. The Battle of Hango
Despite the Russian effort to remain on the defensive, the month of May saw Russian Armored cruiser sinking the German Far East Squadron Flagship, the armored cruiser Scharnhorst off the coast of Sakhalin. This emboldened the Russian navy to again sortie its battleships near Finland to catch raiding German Cruisers. The Germans, having learned of Russia's renewed patrol after only one month of inactivity, laid another trap for the Russian Navy. Scharnhorst's sister, Yorck sortied some 50-60nm ahead of the High Seas fleet into the Gulf of Finland. The Russian fleet was all to happy to catch one of the only three remaining German heavy cruiser seemingly by itself. Even more fortunately, Yorck was slowed down early by a lucky hit from the Imperator Aleksandr's third salvo, slowing her down to a crawl. As the Russian fleet closed in for the kill, the High Seas Fleet showed up in the horizon. Had the Russia ship turned back then, the disaster that followed may have been averted. As the Russians closed in on the nearly immobilized Yorck, her heroic crew launched a torpedo at the lead Russian ship, Pervenet. This time her damage control crew cannot save her while also being fired upon by the closing high seas fleet. She soon rolled over and sunk. The Imperator Nikolai I, technically the fastest Battleship in the fleet, made the mistake of briefly turning back to cover the damaged armored cruiser Rossiya. That's when her too was hit by a torpedo launched by charging German torpedo boat destroyers. As a conciliation, Rossiya was at least able to escape as the entire High Seas Fleet circled around the Imperator Nikolai I. Thus two battleship is lost for the sinking of the armored cruiser Yorck. With only one active battleship left, Russia lost any serious ability to contest the sea. The Defensive Patrol
Following the disastrous defeat at Hango, the Russian navy adopted a defensive doctrine in the Baltics, only occasionally sortieing the largely undamaged armored cruiser force against German raiders. Several submarines were also deployed, and were able to claim a German protected cruisers. Despite all this, the German Blockade is clearly taking its toll. Despite this, the Tsar was not willing to give up the war thanks to the progress of the troops in Eastern Prussia. Yet without the ability to bring the High Seas Fleet to battle, there is no way to reverse the tide. Following several riot from workers and soldiers alike, it became clear that Imperial Russia must seek peace or be utterly destroyed in revolution. Indeed, by early 1906, revolution was only averted by the Tsar's concession to grant power to the Duma, and a substantial reallocation of naval funds to social programs. Through out this time, the Russian fleet grimly fought on, with the only new warships delivered being two torpedo boat destroyers and three converted auxiliary cruiser for raiding, there was very little the navy can do. Nevertheless, with Great Britain beginning to threaten both German and Russian interest in the far east, Cousin Willy is finally agreeing to cut Cousin Nick some slack. Peace was finally agreed upon in mid 1906, Russia was able to retain control of all its Baltic holdings, but had to relinquish more autonomy to the local leaders. This outcome is almost the best one could hope for given the near total loss of Russian Capital ships and near total collapse of the government. Russian Ships of the Baltic War
Battleships
Pervenets Class (2 Ships)
The Pervenets Class are the first modern Russian Pre-Dreadnought design ordered from Great Britain's naval yards. While her armor, speed and guns are mostly ordinary for her class, one unique feature was that all her secondary guns are positioned in armored twin turrets on her broadside. This was an attempt to give the ship's secondary armament better protection and field of fire since close quarter actions are more likely within the confines of the Baltic. At trial however, the Russian crews find the maintenance of these secondary turrets overly complex, and they are both slow to rotate and prone to jamming. As a result, subsequent classes of Russian battleships will revert back to the standard casemate mount common to the era. Both Pervenet and her sistership Imperator Aleksandr III served actively in the major fleet battles of the Baltic War. These large 15500 ton ship, with their large secondary battery proved effective in demolishing the superstructure of the smaller German Battleships. Of the 3 German battleship lost in the Baltic war, two would be abandoned after their deck being set ablaze by a storm of shells from close range, and finished by guns and torpedo at point blank range. The Pervenet's armor also protected themselves from the weaker German 9 and 10 inch guns. However, this advantage in quality was not enough to tip the scale. German Battleships, while smaller and undergunned, each would carry no less than 4 to 6 underwater torpedo tubes. Russian Battleship engaged in close range gun duels with the German ships are thus exposing themselves to torpedo attacks from the German Batteline. Pervenet would be the first victim of a torpedo launched from a German battleship in the Battle of North Sea.Fortunately, her large hull was able to resist the worst of the impact, and her crew manage to save the ship before the Russian opted to retreat. Pervenet would eventually be sunk in the battle near Hango, the last major fleet action of the war. Engaging the High Seas Fleet Battle squadron raiding the Baltic coast, she would once again had the advantage in fire power only to be torpedoed by her adversary. This time, she did not make it back. Imperator Aleksandr III would survive the Baltic war, and served into the 1920s. In the First Russo-Japanese war from 1913-1914, Imperator Aleksandr III would provide coastal bombardment in support of Russian Troops in both Liaotung and Sakhalin, and later supported the failed Russian offensive into Hokkaido. At the onset Franco-Russian War of 1918, the venerable ship would sortie from her base in North Asia to bombard French holdings in Indochina, and protect the newly seized Dutch East Indies. Despite some debate over converting this old ship into an aircraft carrying vessel, the idea was eventually dropped in favor of the faster Oleg Class armored cruiser Oleg. The long serving battleship would finally be sold for scrap in the mid 20s following the severe post war budget cut. Imperator Pavel I Class Battleship (2 ships)
Following the Pervenets, the Imperator Pavel is the last class of capital ship ordered from UK due to the worsening relationship between the two nations. They adopted a more conventional layout of case mated secondary guns as contemporary battleships. As part of cost cutting measure, they are also smaller, with thinner belt edges and casemate armor. Their lighter belt edge and smaller displacement would come to haunt these ships as they were easily sunk in the Baltic War to torpedos and close range gunfire. Nevertheless, their 12in gun and 6in secondaries remains fairly powerful, and they held their own against their German opponents in North Sea and Landsort until hit by torpedo. Imperator Nikolai I (2 ships)
The first domestically produced Russian Battleship, the Imperator Nikolai I is essentially an enlarged Imperator Pavel I, mounting identical armor schemes and overall layout. The main change being the secondary battery being replaced with more powerful 7in guns, and the longer hull allowed the fitting of a more powerful engine, brining their speed to 20 knots. Like the Imperator Pavel class, their belt edge and casemate armor are slightly weak, but their close range fire power are quite potent. During the battle of Landsort, Imperator Nikolai I arguably caused the most damage to the German fleet while it lead the charge into the German line in darkness. An interesting note is that the Imperator Nikolai class had a pair of Vickers machine gun installed on their masts during early war to shoot down German observation ballon near the coastal battlefields of eastern Prussia, making it the world's first ship to mount any kind of AA weapons. In practice however, these guns never saw any action as both ship of the class are sunk without ever having an opportunity to reinforce the ground battles near East Prussia. (this is just my explanation to the game giving me 2 light AA guns, I did not actually do this refit xD) Tsesarevich Class (4 ship ordered, 3 ships built)
Following the Battle of North Sea, it became very clear that that the Russian battleships larger size does not counter German numerical superiority. Thus as part of war emergency funding, 4 10000 ton, small battleships are ordered. To speed up their construction, large amount of Austro-Hungarian skilled worker and engineers are hired, but the work being done in Russia as these ships had no way to sail from Austro-Hungarian yards back to the Baltics. Due to the development of a subsequent Tsesarevich class of battleship in the 1930s and the resulting confusion, most of the technical data of the 1905 Tsesarevich Class was mostly lost. It was clear they were designed with construction speed in mind. Any corner that can be cut, was cut. These ship would have a slow speed of 18 knots, being armored with only 8-9in of belt(it was shown that this is sufficient against the 10in gun of German ships), and very short operation range. They would however, retain powerful 12in guns, but only single turret was fitted. It was envisioned that their role is simply to "bulk up" the Russian battleline by diverting enemy fire, and at close ranges able to use their relatively powerful main and secondary armament to disable German ships through weight of fire. However, by the time these ship are delivered, the Baltic war had ended. While the extreme unrest in Russia limited the naval budget, 3 of these ships are nevertheless the completed, as otherwise the only operational battleship would've been the Imperator Aleksandr III. These ship were retained in Europe even as Russian dreadnought entered service in the 1910s as reserve units due to raising tension with the French. When war broke out with the Japanese instead in 1912, it became clear that the short range of these ships made them next to useless for operations in the Far East. After some debate over the remaining value of these ships, it became clear that they'd be all but useless in the age of Dreadnoughts. Unlike the aging Imperator Aleksandr III, these ships have neither the range nor the power to serve as coastal bombardment or colonial flagships. As a result, all three was scuttled in 1913. They were placed into reserve status the moments after their commission, and remained in reserve for their short 6 year career with the Russian Navy.
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Post by mycophobia on Jun 4, 2019 2:15:38 GMT -6
Cruisers
Oleg Class (2 Ships, 1 later Converted to CVL)
(Varyag was shown since the Oleg had been converted into a CVL) Oleg class was the standard Russian Colonial armoured Cruiser at the turn of the century. They are comparatively lightly armed with 8in guns, and they are dreadfully slow at 20 knots, barely faster than most Battleships. As a result, both Varyag and Oleg served in the Russian Far East squadron against the German flotilla based in Tsingtao. Fortunately, when war broke out in 1905, the German Far east flagship Scharnhorst is an even slower and smaller armored cruiser armed with only 2 9in guns and 14 6in guns. Oleg and Varyag was able to corner the German ship and sunk it together with its escorting destroyers. Following the disaster at Hango, Oleg was recalled to Europe, where it conducted several unsuccessful sortie against German raiders. Oleg would be converted to Russia's first aircraft carrier in the 1920s and would have a colorful career that will be covered later. (The faster Rossiya class was not chosen since they had all been scrapped after the First Russo-Japanese war, their faster but unreliable resulting in expensive maintenance cost.) Varyag would serve as a colonial ship in South East Asia following the seizure of Dutch East Indies, and returned to Liaotung to replace the scrapped Imperator Aleksandr II in the mid 20s. The hopelessly old ship would eventually be sunk when caught in a crossfire between Russian Battle fleet and raiding Japanese Battlecruisers in 1933. Rossiya Class Armored Cruiser (3 Built)
Pamyat Azova, the only Russian Armored Cruiser lost in the Baltic War
While the Russian Admiralty had not expected the quick escalation that lead up to the Baltic War, they had foreseen conflict with Germany or France as being almost inevitable. Realizing that the Russian battlefleet are most likely going to be matched, they decided to commission additional fast "second-rate" warships that can escape from superior enemy battle fleet, but otherwise terrorize any smaller ship. However, they are also equipped with heavy guns so they can assist in the battle line if absolutely necessary. However, the Russian commanders recognized that their armor are woefully inadequate, and avoided using them in this role. Since the Russian navy is confident in event of a war against Japan, and saw no need for a fast hit and run ship, the three ships are all designed with short operation range. These ship are not meant to raid or to conduct colonial warfare, but rather to hunt down any thing short of a full battle fleet that dares to venture into Russian waters. Regardless, at their construction they are the most powerful armored cruiser in the world. The Pamyat Azova was lost to a in the opening battle of North Sea after strafing too close to the main battle line. In the following months of Baltic war, the two remaining Rossiya Class intercepted and sunk two German protected cruiser and one auxilarly cruiser that were conducting coastal raids. In Landsort, Rossiya sunk the German protected cruiser Amazon as part of the night action. Beyond this however, these ships did not live up to their expectation. At Hango, Rossiya's unreliable engine caused the Battleship Imperator Nikolai to be sunk when it came to Rossiya's rescue. In the later half of the war, the Rossiya Class engaged and was able to wound several German cruisers, but had to retreat each time the High Seas Fleet showed up. Following the war, the expensive cost of upkeep, combined with the advent of battlecruisers lead to both remaining ships of this class being scrapped. Their short range made them ill suited for colonial duty, so the older Oleg class was retained instead. Protected Cruisers Diana&Vladimir (1 per class)
The Diana Class was an old Russian large protected cruiser ordered together with the Pervenets Class. As a result, she made use of the same turreted 6in guns in conjunction with 2 casemate mounts on each side. She is fairly heavily armed for her size and can make a decent 21 knot. As part of the design Philosophy leading up to the Rossiya class, Vladimir is a slightly larger Diana Class with a new engine enabling her to make 23 knots, but is otherwise almost identical. It was hoped that both of these ships can assist the Rossiya class in performing scouting and trade-protection duties. However both ships find themselves in the close range night brawl during the Battle of Landsort. At this point blank range, their poor armor began to show. Both ship were heavily damaged and later sunk at night, but they did cause damage to the German torpedo boat destroyers and kept them at bay while the Rossiyas engaged German protected cruisers. Vesta Class (4 ships, 2 later upgraded in 1918)
The Vesta Class is a strange design. Barely better armed than most auxiliary cruisers and barely fasters, she ends up serving a role similar to a very large torpedo boat destroyer. They served in both the Far East and Baltic theater against Germany and later against Japan. A word to summarize their career would be "Uninspired". While being present in many major actions, they lacked the speed to scout ahead and lacked the firepower to make a difference. Their surprisingly decent armor for their size however meant they were able to survive surprisingly well. A ship was lost to a mine in the Baltic War, and another sunk by a German Armored cruiser. The surviving two ship was retrofitted in 1918 at the outbreak of the Franco-Russian War in an effort to quickly bring usable ships to the fleet. They were refitted with better engine and given 4 more 4 inch guns. Even with their new engine, 24 knots was still way too slow for them to do any practical good. As a result they were soon relegated to convoy duty, with one being sunk by a French raider, and another destroyed during a French battlecruiser's attack on its convoy. Destroyers
During the turn of the century, a large variety of class of torpedo boats destroyer exists in the Russian navy, produced by different shipyards. No effort was to make an uniformed design until much later. At this time, most of these designs would be armed with a mix of 2-3 in guns, and carries 2 torpedo tubes. They can make anywhere from 27-29 knots, this diverse speed was not helpful at all during battle. All in all, the Russian light force had not performed very well during the Baltic War, but the Russians did recognize their potentials after tasting the power of the torpedo in the war. And this concludes the first section of this AAR. I realize I end up writing way too much, but I hope any reader do find this enjoyable. I did not put much effort into the destoryers mainly due to the 4-5 different classes the legacy fleet gave me, but I will be giving them more attention as they get more interesting. In anycase, next time we will examine the Russian navy's recovery from near total destruction, and the build up leading to the first war between Russia and Japan.
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Post by mycophobia on Jun 5, 2019 3:06:39 GMT -6
Russian Naval Reconstruction 1906-1914
The Baltic War saw the core of Imperial Russian Navy utterly destroyed, the subsequent social unrest and effort to rebuild left the empire greatly weakened. Fortunately, yesterday's enemy proves to be today's friend. With growing French and British pressure against the Germans following their victory at the Baltic War, the Kaiser was in dire need of allies. Furthermore, Japan saw opportunity when it found the Chinese Possession of both Russia and Germany greatly weakened. Surrounded by potential enemy from all side, it became a surprise for everyone when Russia and Germany negotiated an alliance in 1908, 2 short years after the conclusion of the Baltic war. Furthermore, Austria-Hungary, even though not formally part of the alliance also entered into a technology sharing agreement with the Russia and Germany. Russian naval reconstruction during this period is influenced by an uncertainty of its next enemy. Britain, France, and Japan are all likely enemies. Furthermore, the rapid development of ship building in this era saw older pre-dreadnought battleship becoming quickly obsolete. Perhaps fortunately for the Russians, after the Baltic war they were in no shape to construct further battleships. As a result, no funds were wasted on further pre-dreadnoughts, although most of the funding in late 1906/07 are spent completing the Tsesarevich Class Pre-Dreadnoughts. Being almost totally destroyed, this period also allowed the Russian Navy to restart from scratch. Seeing new class of Destroyers and Cruisers being constructed without having to worry about working with older designs. Destroyers Stroini Class (16 ships)
After the Baltic War, the Russian economy are in no shapes to build any larger warships. As a result, it decided that it will reform its torpedo boat destroyer squadrons into more modern destroyer ships. The Stroini Class are much larger than earlier Russian torpedo boats destroyers and mounts a fairly powerful armament of 3 4in guns. They are also much faster, and their larger size allowing them to operate further from bases. As a result, these ships formed the bulk of the Russian light forces in the far east when the First Russo-Japanese War started, which will see over half of them sunk in action. While they proven effective at engaging and driving away similar ships, their limited torpedo armament of two tubes means that they were not very effective at carrying out torpedo attacks. Indeed, most successful torpedo attacks in the First Russo-Japanese war carried out by the Stroini class are on slow moving merchant ships or already disabled capital ships. For their limited ability to carry out torpedo attacks, they saw little front line action in subsequent wars. Ships of this class was deemed to be large enough for coastal patrol duties and the surviving ships were converted in this role as ASW patrols in the mid 30s. Porivisti Class (8 ships)To remedy the weak torpedo armament of the Stroini class, the Russian commissioned a group of 8 destroyers in 1912, carrying two twin torpedo tube, and is capable of two knots faster. To achieve this impressive increase in firepower and speed, range had to be sacrificed. As a result they were limited to operate in the Russian home water for the most part. By this time, the Russian dreadnoughts had entered service, and Russia was confident in defeating Japan with a traditional decisive fleet battle with the big guns. On the other hand, a war with France or Great Britain will likely test the Russian force to its limit. Russia had not forgotten the effectiveness of torpedo attacks from the first Baltic War, and so invested in this class of powerful torpedo armed destroyers in hopes of tipping the balance against the superior battlefleets of the European powers. Unfortunately for the Porivisti class, when war broke out once again it was in the far east and not Europe. However, when war broke out with France in 1918, the brutal combat between the destroyer forces of the two nations saw the porivisti class pressed into service once again. Being older and thus less valuable, these ships were usually used in almost suicidal attacks against the French Battleline. They performed well despite facing much larger French Destroyers (1500 ton, carrying 5in guns). Nevertheless, they suffered horrendous losses in each fleet battle they took part in, and none would survive the Franco-Russian War. Cruisers Rynda Class (4 Ships)
The Baltic war had shown that the Russian Navy lacked an effective scout unit. Too many times did the High Seas fleet gone unnoticed by the Russians until it was too late. Thus near the end of the war, a new class of two light cruiser were ordered. Following the completion of the Tsesarevich Class ships, two more Rynda class were ordered to make a total of 4 ships. These cruisers are significantly faster than their predecessors, and carry a respectable armament. Limited budget meant these ships are not able to go toe to toe with some larger protected cruiser designs, however they served well as fleet scouts. While later fleet development would demonstrate that 25 knots are no where near adequate, the slower speed of the Russian Fleet and their battle cruisers meant that the Rynda were still quick enough to serve as fleet scouts, and they performed well in this role. When they were finally too slow for fleet duty, they end up serving in colonial duty. One was lost in the Franco-Russian war in 1919, one lost in 1939 to Japanese Airstrikes, and the other two continued to serve as colonial cruisers for the Russians as of 1940. Battle Cruisers Izmail Class (2 ships, Izmail and Navarin) -Completed 1912
Izmail in its 1917 configuration with a new fire control director refitted
As the race for dreadnought construction picked up near the beginning of the first decade of the 20th century, how to fit more guns on the battleship for least weight had been a challenge for naval architects around the world. Superimposing one turret over another was dismissed almost universally due to the belief that the blast from the turret on top will damage sensitive mechanism in the turret below. This misconception was dominant for almost a whole decade, and influenced the construction of warships around the world. While earlier British and German Dreadnoughts employed multiple wing turrets, the Russians are looking for alternatives that can fit the same broadside firepower on a smaller ship. It is this time that Austrians began to experiment with placing wing battery's to cross-fire across the ship's deck, allowing two turret to be saved without compromising broadside weight. This fits the Russian requirement very well, and soon two ships of the Izmail class were ordered from Austrian yards in 1909, armed with 2x4 12in guns with the middle turrets in a cross deck-firing configuration. They were completed by 1912 and would be last class of Russian warships ordered from foreign yards. At the time of their construction, the Russian had intended the two ships to serve as line battleships, as a result, they have corresponding level of thick armor. However, the Russians require any battleship to be fast enough to disengage from a superior fleet. As a result, the Izmail class can make a impressive 25 knots, meaning that they end up serving in a role more akin to battle cruisers. The ship's armor was more than adequate at the time of their construction, and they can go toe to toe with Japanese pre-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts with ease. However, by 1918, the lack of hitting power from their 12in guns began to tell, and they are unable to deal damage to the newer French battlecruisers without getting close, at which point their armor is no where nearly enough against near 13 and 14in armed French ships. Both Battlecruisers dominated the Japanese navy in the early stage of the first Russo-Japanese war, but were out classed by superior French ship in 1918, and both were lost in the subsequent actions to French Battlecruisers. Battleships
Imperator Aleksandr II (2 Ships, Imperator Aleksandr II and Tri-Svyatitelya) 1912
Imperator Aleksandr II after her 1931 refit, besides improvement to her fire control and addition of the limited AA weapons, she is mostly unchanged from her 1912 configuration in 1909, after the construction had began on the Izmail class, the Tsar decided to issue additional funding for the naval reconstruction program, and demanded that 2 more modern dreadnought be constructed. The Admiralty was all too happy to obliged. Even at the early stage of construction, it became clear that cross-deck firing have its limitations. Most prominently, the field of fire in which all guns can be brought to bear is extremely small. Having recently purchased plans for triple turrets from Austria-Hungary, triple turret offers a solution to place more fire power without a crowded centerline or limited field of fire. As a result, the Imperator Aleksandr II class would be armed with three triple-turrets in a centerline arrangement. This gives them a stronger broadside than the Izmail class while taking up less weight. Their speed would be slowed to be more comparable to contemporary battleships, with armor being strengthened further. The combination of heavy armor, slower speed, and more guns of a slightly lesser caliber would be come the standard design philosophy for Russian ships in the decades to come. Another worth noting design feature is that the ship's conning tower was not designed to resist battleship caliber shells in an effort to save weight. The two ships of this class devastated the Japanese Fleet during the first Russo Japanese war, and after a minor refit for superior fire control, remained the core of the battle fleet against the French in 1918-22. Tri-Svyatitelya would be sunk in a decisive battle in the bay of Biscay in 1920, against the last desperate attempt by the French to break through the Russian blockade. Her thinly protected conning tower would be destroyed by French dreadnoughts at close range, before being hit by a torpedo and sinking hours later. Nevertheless, the remaining French fleet was devastated in this battle. Imperator Aleksandr II would go on to serve in the navy well onto the Second Russo-Japanese War in the 1930s. She would stand in battle line three more times against both modern Japanese Battlecruisers and treaty pocket battleships, she would survive several aerial and submarine torpedo attacks through out the war. But eventually, the tenacious battleship would be sunk off the coast of Korea when the Japanese battlefleet, pinned against the coast, desperately fought back and emerged surprisingly victorious.
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Post by mycophobia on Jun 9, 2019 20:14:02 GMT -6
The First Russo-Japanese War (1913-1914)
By mid 1913, the increasing Japanese Military build up in the far east had made it to clear to the Russian Empire that an attack is imminent. Despite the French threat, the admiralty decides to dispatch the entire battle fleet to the far east, leaving only the dated Tsesarevich Class Battleship, a few old cruisers and destroyers in home water. Some diplomatic concession was given in favor of the French to appease any aggression. It is clear to the Japanese that if they are to act, it must be before the main Russian fleet arrives. Thus in June of 1913, the Japanese government declared war on the Russian Empire, followed by an immediate invasion into Sakhalin. At the outbreak of hostility, the only Russian force in the far east consisted of two old Oleg Class Cruiser, several Stroini class destroyer, and the old pre-dreadnought battleship Imperator Aleksandr III. The Japanese force at the start of the war in 1913 consisted of 5 old pre-dreadnought battleships, two new Iki-Class dreadnoughts armed with three twin turreted 12in guns, and the new battlecruiser Tsukuba. The Japanese dreadnoughts are older than their Russian counter parts, and represented the gradual shift from pre-dreadnought to modern ships. Most noticeably they only have a main battery of 6 guns in an all-centerline arrangement. This severely limited their fire power compared to their Russian counterparts. Tsukuba however, would be the fastest capital ship in this conflict, and would use that speed to its advantage. The Japanese light force are fairly comparable to the Russians, but out numbered in ship counts. Note this is Tsukuba after her refit at the second Russo-Japanese War, in 1913 she no DP guns, instead with casemates similar to the Iki Class. (Worth noting that she would survive late into the second Russo-Japanese war in the 1930s, participating in multiple engagements against Russian battleships with 15in guns and surviving despite her pitful armor. She would eventually be sunk by point blank torpedo attacks from Russian destroyers in 1934, in the last major engagement of the Second Russo-Japanese war.)
However, while the Russians immediately used their war time budget to lay down three Gangut Class Battleships, they would not be completed until after the war. Japan on the other hand is only months away from completing their latest battlecruiser Ikoma. Realizing the preceding Tsukuba class is perhaps far too lightly armored, the new Ikoma Class received a substantially superior armor scheme, stronger main guns and remain faster than any Russian Capital ship. She would be the largest vessel in the conflict, but she did not enter service until Late 1913, by which time the main Japanese fleet had been devastated. Opening Phase (June 1913-September 1913)
It took the main Russian battle fleet two months to arrive in port Arthur. Despite Japanese effort to harass them with destroyers as they crossed the South China Sea, the fleet had been well supplied in friendly German ports and was able to arrive in the Yellow Sea by September. Until this point, the Russian squadron in port Arthur had not made any effort to relief Sakhalin, out of fear for the fast Japanese Battlecruiser Tsukuba. The armored cruiser of the German far east fleet assisted the two old Oleg class in driving off a raid from Japanese Cruisers into port Arthur, and a Japanese armored cruiser was torpedoed at night while trying to conduct a raid into Vladivostok in July. Despite these minor victories, Russian forces in Sakhalin are in desperate situation by September. Clearly aware of the Russian reinforcement's progress to port Arthur, the Japanese Battlefleet sortied to intercept them in the Yellow Sea off the Liaotung peninsula. The Russians had made a long trip around the globe, but was thankfully well resupplied in various German ports along the way. Thus when they were intercepted by the Japanese fleet, they are in a much better position to fight than the Japanese had envisioned. The two Russian battlecruisers were first to spot the Tsukuba on the horizon, and drove her off after a brief exchange before returning to join the main battleline. The main Japanese battle line, consisted of two dreadnoughts and five pre-dreadnoughts then steamed in to meet the Russian battle line of two dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers. The Japanese had a total of 24 12in guns and 4 10in guns between their ships, while the Russians had 34 12in guns. The difference in firepower quickly became obvious as the lines engaged each other. Both side opened fire at an range of approximately 15000 yards, and while the 12inch guns on both side had troubling piercing the armors of enemy dreadnoughts, the old Japanese pre-dreadnoughts quickly fell out of line one by one. Japanese re-turn fires from the pre-dreadnoughts are largely ineffective, and the Japanese dreadnought engaged their Russian counterpart rather than the more thinly armored Russian battlecruisers now at the back of the Russian line. In under an hour, all five Japanese pre-dreadnoughts are heavily damaged and losing speed, at which point the Japanese Admiral realized that he must withdraw or risk losing all his ships to the largely unharmed Russian fleet. The Japanese dreadnoughts turned away, covered by an attack from their torpedo boats, the Russians matched this with an flotilla attack of their own. In the ensuing chaos all five Japanese pre-dreadnoughts were sunk, and both sides lost one destroyer. The Russian fleet is now low on ammunition, and with night closing in, opted to not pursue and instead sailed into port Arthur to the cheers of Russian sailors stationed there. Battle for Sakhalin (October 1913 - December 1913)
Following the victory off the Liaotung peninsula, the Russians immediately organized convoys to reinforce the besieged Sakhalin garrison. In October, the Russian Battlecruisers lead the outdated Oleg class armored cruisers that covered the troop convoys to Sakhalin. The Japanese despatched Tsukuba and three armored cruisers in an attempt to stop the convoy. However, upon spotting the two Russian battlecruisers amongst the convoys, the Japanese quickly realized that they were outmatched and began to pullback after a brief exchange. The Russian battlecruiser, at 25 knots speed cannot catch the 27 knots Tsukuba, but is more than capable of running down two old 13000 ton armored cruiser of the Furutaka class, which could only make a pitful 21 knots. With the arrive of Fresh troops, the situation in Sakhalin quickly improved, and the Japanese command realized that decisive action must be taken if the island is to be seized. While their entire pre-dreadnought fleet was obliterated, the Japanese still had two dreadnought battleships that had performed well against their Russian counterparts in Liaotung. Therefore, in November, a massive troop convoy sailed from Hokkaido, escorted by the Japanese dreadnoughts and the battlecruiser Tsukuba. The Russian battle fleet, now firmly entrenched in Sakhalin sailed out to meet them. Once again, both side struggled to land effective hits on their opponents at long range. Although the Battlecruiser Izmail did take a penetrating hit early on in the battle that slowed her to 21 knots, and caused the worried Russian commander to pull the two battlecruisers further back from the action. While the Japanese would've wished to keep the engagement range long as the convoy makes for the landing point, the Russian decided to take the fight closers. The heavily armored Imperator Aleksandr II class dreadnoughts lead the charge into the Japanese convoy. As Japanese destroyers dueled their Russian counterparts to defend the troopships, the Russian dreadnought engaged their Japanese counterpart at close range of 5000 yards. At this point, both sides are effectively piercing the armor of their opponents, and the Russian ship's advantage of firepower quickly overwhelmed their Japanese counterparts. Not willing to risk getting torpedoed as they had in the Baltic War, the Russians instead backed off and finished off both Japanese dreadnought with torpedo attacks from destroyers. The Japanese battlecruiser Tsukuba, too lightly armored to join the fight, but too fast to be caught, was able to escape once again. Despite this minor disappointment, the entire Japanese surface fleet was finished, and the convoy for Sakhalin completely destroyed. Both Russian dreadnoughts and the Izmail suffered moderate damage, four destroyers were lost in the attack on the convoy, but Russian naval superiority is now clear. In December, following further coastal bombardment by the old pre-dreadnought Imperator Aleksandr III, the Japanese troop on Sakhalin finally surrendered, but the battlecruiser Ikoma had also now formally entered Japanese service. The Invasion of Hokkaido (1914)
Following the victory at Sakhalin, the Russian immediately began an invasion at Hokkaido. However, it also became clear that that the new battlecruiser Ikoma will be a problem. She is faster than any Russian capital ship, and is well armored and armed with 13in guns. As soon as entering service, the Ikoma and the Tsukba sortied on a raid where they briefly exchanged fire with Izmail and Navarin. The Russians, weary of the Ikoma, retreated and allowed a few freighters to be sunk. However, by now it has became clear that sinking the two battlecruisers will win the war for Russia. Despite frantic war-time construction programs, Japan is not going to have any capital ship completed until 1917, and Russia's Gangut class is also projected to be completed in 1916 in the earliest. As a result, order was made that the two Japanese battlecruisers be engaged more aggressively whenever spotted in hopes of sinking them. Thus, in March 1914, Izmail and Navarin sortied again to intercept Ikoma and Tsukuba off Hokkaido. Poor weather reduced visibility and when the ships spotted each other they are barely 10000 yards away, a brief exchange left both Izmail and Navarin damaged, where as their hits left little mark on the 12in armored belt of the Ikoma. Unfortunately for Ikoma, her return route to Hokkaido was blocked by the Russian battlecruisers, and she had to steam towards Sakhalin. To everyone's surprise, the Dreadnoughts Imperator Aleksandr II and Tri-Svyatitelya is on their way to bombard targets in north Hokkaido. The Russian battlecruiser commander did not know of the locations of these ships, and presumed they would already have returned to their base in Sakhalin, but the poor weather delayed the dreadnoughts, and they chanced upon the Ikoma at the La Perouse strait. Caught at almost pointblank range of the Russian dreadnoughts, the Ikoma was battered and made a desperate turn south to escape. This took her right into the confused Russian battlecruisers, who cannot believe their luck as their burning prey returned through the overcast. Ikoma was again fired upon at close range and slowly stopped dead in the water. She was finished off by torpedos launched from the Russian Battlecruisers. Tsukuba unfortunately, would once again slip away in heavy weather. Following the sinking of the Ikoma, the Russian invasion into Hokkaido began in earnest. However, poor military planning resulted in massive casualty in the initialy phase of the landing. With tension between Russia and France again on the rise, the Tsar opted to call off the Hokkaido invasion and signed a peace treaty with the Japanese in Mid 1914. Japan had to surrender considerable interests in Asia, together with a hefty war reparation, but no colony was taken.
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Post by mycophobia on Jun 12, 2019 21:10:06 GMT -6
Russian Influence Expand in Far East (1914-1918)Following the victory over Japan in 1914, Russian economy seen a brief revitalization thanks to war reparation and growing influence in the far east. The post war budget cut meant that the three projected Gangut Class battleships had to be delayed, and two proposed battlecruiser put on held until the Ganguts start leaving the drydock. The Russian focus on capital ship is inspired by the decisive battle in the yellow sea. It became clear that powerful dreadnought battleships will be decisive in any future conflicts. As a result of this capital ship focused doctrine, no cruiser was laid down during this period. Although most funds are allocated towards capital ships, Russian admiralty recognized their relatively inadequate destroyer force, and also begin to build a new class of larger destroyers in late 1917. Following the defeat of Japan, Russian power in the far east expanded significantly, and it set its eyes upon the resource rich south-east Asia regions. This brought a strong response from the main colonial power of the region: Great Britain and France. In order to encourage Great Britain to stay out of any future conflicts, Russia did not renew its security agreement with Germany when it expired following the first Russo-Japanese war. The admiralty strongly encouraged restraint in dealing with Great Britain, and Russian diplomats are able to keep tension with Great Britain at manageable level throughout the 1910s. While Great Britain does want to curb Russian expansionism in to its territory, it is not willing to risk losing ships in a war against Russia to the benefit of Germany. Thus with Russia agreeing to end the Russo-German alliance, Great Britain is content with leaving the dispute between Russia and France to themselves. France on the other hand had aggressively responded to Russian encroachment. Multiple battleships were laid down from 1914 onwards, complementing an already large force of battlecruisers. As a result, Russian design focus of the period likewise considered France their main enemy. In late 1918, a major revolt broke out in Dutch East Indies. The Russian pre-dreadnought battleship Aleksandr III, which happened to be in port for a visit with the Russian far east squadron, took the chance to "restore order" to the Dutch colony. France immediately backed the Dutch and issued an ultimatum for Russia to evacuate Java or face the consequences. Russia, responded by landing even more troop in Java and declare it's "liberation" from the Dutch. In response France Declared war in December 1918. Russian Ship Building During the Interwar Years
Gangut Class Battleship (3 Built - Gangut, Petropavlovsk, Dvenadtsat Apostolov)
Gangut in her 1928 confirguration, 0.5 in of casemate armor and her underwater torpedo tubes are removed to accommodate a modest AA suite and more modern fire control.
The Gangut class is laid down using the wartime budget during the Russo-Japanese War. The built upon the previous Imperator-Aleksandr II class by utilizing heavy armor and a large battery of 12in guns in centerline triple turret. This design gives them very heavy volumes of fire, but the penetration of the 12in gun have became some what inadequate by the time they were completed in 1916. Nevertheless, these ship proved deadly in many close range engagements in the north sea. This class of ship also utilized many novel feature in their design. They are the first Russian ship to make use of oil-fired engine, allowing them to reach a relatively fast speed with a smaller engine. However, being the Russian's first attempt at designing oil-fired engine, their engine underperformed in practice, and the lead ship Gangut ends up being a knot slower than her design speed. They are also the first Russian capital ship to incorporate underwater protection system to defend against torpedo attacks. All these features made them the backbone of the Russian fleet in the coming wars. These ships outperformed the French battleships in most circumstances, and their robust construction allowed them to survive both shell and torpedo hits. Dvenadtsat Apostolov was sunk in a fleet engagement against the French in the north sea, being hit multiple times at close range by French 14in shells. Gangut and Petropavlovsk survived the Franco-Russian war, and were modernized with modest AA in 1928. During the decisive battle of Port Arthur in 1933, both ship performed well against Japanese treaty pocket battleships, dueling and sinking two of them while the newer Russian battleships dueled their Japanese counterparts. They would eventually be sunk by 14in armed Japanese battlecruiser in the battle off Korean coast. Where the remainder Japanese capital ship fought back viciously against the Russian force that was trying to pin them against the coastline. Rymnik Class Battlecruisers (2 Ships, Rymnik and Fokshani)
In 1914, the French had one of the world's largest battlecruiser fleet after Britain. Having a total of 5 ships that are almost all superior than the Russian Izmail in all areas except protection. Weary of the French ships, the Russian designed the Rymnik Class to specifically counter the French battlecruisers such as the Tourvile Class which was completed in 1914. However, even though the design for the Rymnik was prepared as early as 1913, during the Russo-Japanese war, the Russian economy simply cannot afford to build them in addition to the Gangut class. As a result, the ship was not laid down until late 1916, and the Fokshani was completed by the end of 1919, the Rymnik, despite being laid down earlier, was delayed until 1920. Like the Ganguts, the Rymnik incorporated new technologies like oil fired engine and torpedo defense systems, being laid down later than the Ganguts, they did not ran into the engine problems that plagued the former. Lastly, as an effort to increase their firepower when they needs to retreat from superior French numbers, the ships are amongst the earliest ship in the world to experiment with superfiring turrets. Though by the time they were actually laid down, countries like US have also finally begin experimenting with superfiring main guns. Since Izmail and Navarin was lost before the two Rymnik class entered service, both ship had to contend with a much larger French battlecruiser force. Despite this, they performed well against the thinly armored French ships. Nevertheless, it was the Russian Battleline that ultimately crushed the French naval forces. The rymnik, despite being armed with larger guns, did not have the volume of fire like the earlier Gangut class to effectively disable French battlecruisers before they are able to escape. While the Rymnik class are faster as well, powerful French destroyer force discouraged Russian admiral from recklessly chasing their French foes with their precious battlecruisers. Given the Russian focus on Battleline over battlecruisers, the Rymnik class were not given a full refit in the 11 years of peace following the Franco-Russian war. At the start of the Second Russo-Japanese war, they were the only Russian battlecruiser in service, and both ship were forced to engage the much newer Kirishima Class Battlecruiser of the Japanese, which are armored with 14in guns and can make an extremely impressive 31 knots. The two Rymnik class were completely outclassed, both were brought to battle by Japanese battlecruisers while covering Russian light carrier force in 1933. Fokshani was quickly sunk by repeated 14in hits. Rymnik was almost able to escape into Sakhalin, but was slowed by a near miss from a 600lb bomb dropped by Japanese aircrafts. She was then caught by the Japanese battlecruisers, and despite a valiant last stand, was sunk. Krepki Class (24 built)The Krepki was the new standard Russian destroyer designed to further improving upon the torpedo power of the older Russian destroyers. A newer oil fired engine can make a very impressive 33 knots, and mounts a pair of triple torpedo tubes on her centerline. This makes these ship very powerful in carrying out torpedo attacks. It is arguable that they contributed even more than the Russian battleships in defeating the French in the Franco-Russian war. Nevertheless, the French employed larger 1500 ton destroyers armed with 5in guns, and the Krepki class took horrendous losses in the vicious destroyer actions that characterized the Franco-Russian war. While only 6 was ready at the outbreak of hostility, 24 ships was completed in total before they were replaced by newer designs in 1922. Only 6 ships of the class survived the war. They went on to serve as convoy escorts, and 4 more was lost in the Second Russo Japanese war.
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Post by mycophobia on Jun 16, 2019 22:39:53 GMT -6
So after a break, finally getting back to updating this. This is a rather long war so it will take a few update to get to. Unfortunately at this point writing off my memory have taken its toll and there may be some mistake with regards to details, but I will do my best to get things down as best as I can. Franco-Russian War (1918-1923)
While the French vs Russian build up leading up to the war was discussed in the previous update. It is helpful to list out the relative forces both side possesses at the beginning of the war to give the readers a better idea of the forces available. France | Russia | BB : 6 | BB: 5 | BC: 5 | BC: 2 | CA: 2 | CA: 2 | CL: 10 | CL: 6 | DD: 25+ | DD: 24, about 20 more older torpedo boats |
It is clear that Russia suffers from a clear deficiency in their fast force. However, closer examination review that the fight is closer than it first seems. Of the 6 French battleship, three are older trident class that are very similar to the Iki class of the Russo-Japanese war, sporting 3 dual 13in turret with moderate armor and speed. These ships are likely no match for the older Imperator Aleksandr II class, let alone the newer Ganguts. The three newer Frecnh BBs all mounts 3x3 14in guns on a centerline arrangement like the Imperator Aleksandr II. Their heavy armament gives them more punch, but they are also slightly inferior in armor compared to their Russian counterpart, averaging at 11-12inches of belt armor. A seventh French dreadnought, Ocean would enter service later in 1919, but it is similar to the existing 14in French battleships. Of the battlecruiser force, an area where the French seems to hold most advantage, it should be noted that Russia have two Rymnik class, largest ship in the entire confict in production. The French battlecruiser are all faster than the old Izmail class, and generally better armed, but suffers from poor armor across the board. This fact will turn out to cost them dearly in the war. Cruiser forces on both side are mostly old protected and armored cruisers dated from the turn of the century. Russian's Rydna class actually turns out to be the most modern cruiser of the conflict, and that says something about the French cruisers. Most of them are rather small and slow, serving primarily in a colonial function. The only area which the French claims an arguably decisive advantage is that of the destroyer force. Compared to Russia, over half the destroyers in service at the beginning of the war are large 1500 ton Pertusiane and Escopette class. The Pertusiane class carries a very powerful armament of 4 5in guns, and the Escopette class carries 4in guns but have a powerful torpedo armament of 9 tubes, both ships can make 33 knots, on par with their Russian adversary. These ships clearly outclass their Russian foes, worse yet, mistaken info leading the Russian to believe that the French DDs are only 30 knots would cost them dearly in the war.
The Opening Phase (Dec 1918 - April 1919)
Following the French declaration of war against the Russians, both nation's colonial force in south east Asia immediately mobilized. In December 1918, an extended gun duel saw the old cruiser Varyag sinking the only French armored cruiser in Asia. While this give Russians relative safe control over the far east, Russian infrastructure in the region is not enough to support an invasion of French holdings. Combined with the Russian needs to consolidate their control over Java, Southeast Asia would prove surprisingly calm in the coming years despite being the powder keg that sparked the war. To show how ill prepared both nation is to this war, the major fleet of Russia and France were almost all sitting at their home port in Europe. Once war is declared, it also became clear that neither side can safely reinforce South East Asia without risking loosing the advantage in Europe. While France have ships to spare, the presence of Pre-Dreadnought battleship Alexsandr III in Java meant at least a modern Battlecruiser will have to be sent, and the French admirals, perhaps influenced by Mahan's theories, adamantly refused to split the fleet. As both side is confident in their ability to engage in a successful fleet battle, both side wished to force a decisive fleet battle that can end the conflict quickly and move on. Thus in Jan 12th, 1919, Russian Baltic Fleet steamed out into the Northsea to meet the French blockade there. First Battle of the North Sea (Jan 12th, 1919)
1. The two force sailed towards each other in rarely decent weather for the North Sea, and battlecruiser squadron from both side met at early afternoon. The Russian battlecruiser are in visible range of their own battleships, but the French battlecruiser cannot see the Russian battleline. Thus the Russian admiral coordinated a trap for the French. The Izmail and Navarin will lead the French Battle Cruisers straight into the Russian battle line where they will be destroyed. The French took the bait and a brief pursuit took place as the main Russian fleet got into position. During the chase, Navarin at the back of the line was lightly damaged by several 12in shells, but her armor saved her from worse damage. 2. The Russian plan worked almost perfectly as the French battlecruiser found their T being crossed by the Russian battle line that suddenly appeared on the horizon. (This is one of my only few pictures from earlier battles for this AAR, I took it expecting to see the French ships annihilated.) Unfortunately, good weather meant that the Russians were spotted at a distance of about 20000 yards away, and the panicked French Battlecruisers immediately made a break to turn to the north. The Russian, cheering only minutes ago now silenced in frustration as their prey quickly begin to leave their range one by one. The maneuver was completed in a mere 10 minutes time. Most Russian ship was then just beginning to find their range. Only 2-3 hit was scored on the French capital ships during this time. The Russian admiral briefly considered pursuit, but realized that the French Battle line cannot be far behind, and pursuit will only send his Battleships into the prepared French line. He was correct as almost as soon as the last French battlecruiser left the range of Russian guns, the first French battleship sailed into view. Both fleet ran a parallel course and engaged each other for about an hour. The Russian admiral was initially frustruated that his shells seem to have little effect against the French ships, and decided to close the distance from about 15000 yards to 10000. However at this range the 14in French shells are also causing serious damage to several Russian battleships. With several of the Russian ship's triple turret either jammed or knocked out of action, the French Battlecruiser also made a turn around to get infront of the Russian battleline, but was drivien away by Izmail , Navarin and their escorting destroyers, though Navarin was further damaged in the process. 3. In an effort to disrupt the French Battle line, Russian fleet ordered a torpedo attack by 3 squadron of destroyers in an effort to tip the advantage back in Russian favor. Unfortunately, the destroyers found themselves out classed by the powerful French escort (it does not help that some French BBs have as many as 18 6in secondary guns), and suffered heavily losses. The destroyers quickly pulled back, but four old Porivisti class ships were sunk. Nevertheless, the French line turned away to avoid torpedos, and the Russians decides that the situation isn't to its favor, and turned away from the battle as well. The first battle of the North Sea was inconclusive, the rare good weather may have proven decisive since the French Battlecruisers were able to spot the Russian line before it was too late. The torpedo attack is also hindered by the good visibility, which made torpedo boats easy targets(Worse yet, in an effort to not hinder the Battleship's gunnery, the attacking destroyers did not lay smoke to cover their own retreat, which possibly resulted in more loss). Nevertheless, while arguably a setback for the Russians, the loss on both sides are fairly minimal. Russia lost four destroyers, and every capitalship except Izmail, had been light to moderately damaged. French fleet likewise have two lightly damaged battlecruiser, 3 moderately damaged battleship, and two lightly damaged battleship.
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Post by mycophobia on Jun 16, 2019 23:09:19 GMT -6
The Raid to Dunkerque (February 19th, 1919)
Following the indecisive fleet battle in January, the Russian high command decides to take the chance to conduct a raid to northern French ports while most capital ships on both sides are in for repairs. The Russian admiralty hoped to provoke a French response into the Baltics that it could use for its advantage. The battlecruiser Izmail, escorted by a Rydna Class Cruiser and four 1100 ton Krepki class destroyer was chosen for the task. 1. The ships used an overcast to cover their approach from the North Sea into northern French port of Dunkerque. Coincidentally, the French Battlecruiser Duquesne was just leaving port under light escort. The French sailors are at a total surprise when the Russian battlecruiser sailed in through the mist less than 2000 yards away. Thinking that it must have been a French ship, the French sailors desperately signaled the approaching ship to turn about to avoid a collision. They were answered with a full broadside of Izmail's 12in guns. Very quickly, Duquesne was hit over 15 times as she lumbered back to port. Izmail, briefly distracted by the escorting French destroyers, were able to find the burning Duquesne again as the mist began to clear. Duquesne is now desperately trying to enter the port of Dunkerque while being pounded by Izmail. However, the 11in coastal battery of Dunkerque was able to score a penetrating hit on the Izmail, this, combined with her escort spotting two more French battlecruiser approaching from south east prompted her to retreat. 2. Unfortunately, the two pursuing French Battlecruiser can both make 26 knots, while the Izmail was slowed by the 11in hit to 22 knots. While the weather had cleared, the visibility remained limited and nightfall is coming. Therefore, the Russian escorts carried out a head on attack against the French in an effort to protect the Izmail. The French, surprised by the almost suicidal Russian attack, tried to back off, but in the chaos, both battlecruiser was hit by a torpedo each. Of the attacking Russian escorts, only the Rydna class cruiser and the one destroyer made it back. Izmail however, is able to slip away into the cover of darkness as night falls. It is at this point that the Captain of Izmail made a fateful decision. 3. Two French battlecruisers had been torpedoed, both are likely heavily damaged. Duquesne is burning in the port of Dunkerque. The Izmail had repaired her damage from the earlier 11in shell, and can make 25 knots. If the Izmail is able to sneak up on any of these ships and unleash a broadside like she did early this afternoon, she could sink one, if not three of the French battlecruisers, potentially turning the entire war in Russian favor. Perhaps blinded by this mad pursuit of glory, Izmail turned about and sailed back into the English Channel. Izmail took a brief look at the port of Dunkerque, and did not find the Duquesne in the water. In the 4 hour run to the north, the French must have towed her into the port and began emergency repair. Thus the Izmail decides to sail further into the English Channel in hopes of running down the damaged French battlecruiser. After 30min of search, the encounter Izmail hoped for did come, but it was French searchlight that illuminated the hapless Russian battlecruiser. Before she is able to respond, she was pounded by 12in shells from almost a point blank range. Her escorting cruiser tried to draw fire away, but was quickly sunk as well. Izmail was left a burning wreck for 20minutes, before multiple torpedo impact sent her to the bottom. The sinking of Izmail is a clear representation of classic Russian overextension and risk taking that was so common during the Baltic war. This would remain a solemn lesson for all Russian commanders throughout the war, but is not one that all took to heed. Nevertheless, Izmail's action resulted in the Duquesne being heavily damaged. (She took 35 12in hits, and would almost certainly had sunk if she didn't make it back to port) The other two larger French Battlecruiser were also moderately damaged by the torpedo hits. However, only a coastal patrol gunboat was sunk. On the otherhand, the sole survivor of the Russian task force was the a heavily damaged Krepki class destroyer, which did not follow Izmail in the fateful dash into the channel.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 1, 2019 18:41:07 GMT -6
After a decently long Hiatus, finally decides to get some update done during the long weekend Following the loss of the Izmail, the Russian gave up further attempt to sortie into French waters until its main battle fleet is repaired. The months of March and April saw some bloody destroyer action off the coast of Denmark, the heavy losses prompted Russians to lay down 12 more Krepki class destroyers to replace their loss. Around the same time, the new seaplane carrier Smolensk entered service, after extensive delay in its construction to prioritize more important ships. Smolensk Class Seaplane Carrier (1 ship, a similar design Plastun was commissioned in 1925, with slightly improved armor and AA)Prior to the war with France, Russia constructed an extensive network of airship and seaplane bases around the Baltic in an effort to ensure that no enemy fleet can enter unspotted. Seeing the potential of using floatplane to complement Russia's limited cruiser force in scouting missions, the Admiralty commissioned the Smolensk to provide aerial scouting for the fleet. The ship is almost entirely unprotected, but is able to carry a fairly large complement of Yak-6 floatplanes. The Yak-6 is able to carry a single 130lb bomb, a feat that no other floatplane at the time is able to match. Thus despite being otherwise unremarkable, the Yak-6 would become the first aircraft used to attack surface shipping. Smolensk spent most of its career in Europe, providing fleet scouting and light aerial support. It would launch the first aerial attack on a moving naval target on May 1919, at the Second Battle of North Sea. Plastun, commissioned in the 20s, would serve in the far east and was sunk during the Second Russo-Japanese War by Japanese Battlecruisers. The Second Battle of North Sea (May 1919)
Finally, with most ship repaired by May, the Russian and French navy is prepared for another bout. The French Battlecruiser Duquesne is still in the yard from the beating it received from the Izmail, but rest of the French fleet are all ready for action. In mid May of 1919, Russian fleet sortied again to breach the French blockade in the North Sea in an effort to bring the French fleet to battle once again. Unlike the first battle in January, the Second Battle of North Sea would be fought in the typically poor weather of the North Sea, which would have major impacts for the battle to come. 1. The French was well aware of their advantage in the Battlecruiser department. With Izmail sunk, the French believed they could easily catch and sink the Navarin, leaving the main Russian force blind. However, the Russians chose to keep the Navarin with its main battle line, and resorted to scouting with its two light cruisers. The Seaplane carrier Smolensk is also present, though at this initial stage of the battle, rough seas made operating seaplane almost impossible. Thus the French battlecruiser is well ahead of their own battleline when they spotted the scouting Russian Cruisers. The French pursued the hapless Russian cruisers, despite limited visibility not exceeding 10000 yards. This lead them directly into the waiting Russian battleline exactly like the First Battle of North Sea. This time however, there is only about 10000 yard range between the French ship and Russian line. Despite rough seas, Russian crew were able to land several hits within the first 2-3volley. At this range, the 6-7inches of armor on the French ships proved woefully inadequate. The Dunkerque and the Marseille (a new Tourvile class) were both slowed by floddign from multiple 12in hits. The French again tried to turn away, but this time the damage The Dunkerque and the Marseille sustained was serious enough that they could not get away from the Russian battleline, and quickly fell behind. While the other two French Battlecruiser(Both newer Tourvile class) were able to escape, The Dunkerque and the Marseille were quick sunk after 10-15min of sustained bombardment by the closing Russian battleships, with the Dunkerque exploding in a catastrophic magazine explosion. 2. The French Battleline finally showed up on scene, half an hour after the initial engagement between the French Battlecruiser and Russian Battleline. The two fleet quickly sailed side by side and engaged in a extended gunnery duel. While the newer French ships are able to go toe to toe with their russian counterparts, the older Trident Class of ships lacked the weight of fire to pressure their Russian counterpart, thus for a significant portion of the battle, the 5 russian Dreadnoughts and Navarin is able to focus on the four newer French Dreadnought while the Trident class lagged behind from moderate damage they recieved. During this time, the weather cleared enough for the seaplane carrier Smolensk to deploy two Yak-6 seaplane each carrying a 130lb bomb to attack the French battleline. One of the planes managed to approach a Trident Class battleship and dropped its bomb, marking the first aerial attack on a naval warship in history. The bomb missed, but three Trident class briefly turned away from the action to avoid the air attack, further distancing them from the battle. 3. After an extended running gun exchange, the largest French dreadnought Courbet(with 13.5 in of belt armor and 9 14in guns) were hit below the belt by a near miss from one of the Russian ship's 12in guns (Most likely the Russian flagship Gangut, who have been exchanging fire with it). The shot did not cause severe flooding but did damage the machinery and slowed her to under 15 knots. Seizing this opportunity, the Russian battle line, together with their destroyers, turned and charged towards the Courbet, which by now starts to lag towards the back of the French line. The rest of the French ships, perhaps weary of the Russian destroyers, sailed onward west, and away from the Russian line, leaving the Courbet to her fate. The 30000 ton dreadnought would be hit by 4 torpedos before finally going down. The Russians, now almost out of ammunition and far from the French fleet, decides to return home. The second battle of the north sea, while not the decisive victory sought by the Russian admiralty, nevertheless proves to be a significant victory. France lost 2 of its 5 battlecruisers, and its largest battleship. The Russian battle ships are almost all light to moderately damaged, but not even a single destroyer were lost. It further showed the Russians that its current battleships are more than capable of standing up against the numerically superior French. Nevertheless, the French quickly realized that risking more decisive battle against the Russians may further diminish what little numerical superiority they still have. Thus, the second battle of the north sea would be the beginning of a shift in French tactics from pursuing decisive battle to raiding and harassing the Russians with their superior light forces.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 8, 2019 0:07:52 GMT -6
The Flotilla War 1919(May - November)
Following the Second Battle of North Sea, The French stopped seeking decisive battle, and instead begin blockading and harassing Russian trade lanes. Russia, having only one battlecruiser at their disposal, and also losing one battle ship in the Second Battle of North Sea(Correction from my earlier post, the Gangut Class Dvenadtsat Apostolov was actually sunk in the battle of the North Sea, she was heavily damaged and sunk due to flooding as the fleets sailed away after the engagement, thus I forgot about her when writing my earlier post) Thus between May and November, most of the action are conducted by raiding destroyers from both sides in the archipelagos off Denmark and in the Baltics. Aware of French superiority in lightships, Russian fleet mostly avoided battle when the odds are against them, and this saw a the French being able to effectively block significant amount of shipping into the Baltics. As a response to their inadequate light force, the Russian laid down four cruisers of the Pallada Class in an effort to provide a effective ship to protect their trade lanes and lead their destroyers. Pallada Class Light Cruiser(4 built)
The Avrora is a Pallada class that remained in her design configuration when sunk in the second Russo-Japanese War, two of the surviving Pallada Class after the Russo-Japanese War would be thoroughly modernized.The Pallada class is a very fast modern cruiser, with a threatening torpedo armament and superior armor to counter the 5in-equipped large French destroyers. They also carry a large amount of mines to facilitate both defensive and offensive minelaying operations. Their 6in guns are powerful, and placed in a manner to make them effective in a pursuit of enemy destroyer forces. Overall though, their armament is a bit on the light side, and they were mostly used for scouting purposes in later fleet actions, but also make good trade-protection cruisers. These Light cruisers would serve as the best Russian light cruisers for over 15 years until replaced by more modern models in 1937. The Raid to Finland (November 17th 1919)
While the French were able to effectively raid shipping into the Baltic, entering the Baltic sea remains dangerous as Russian Airships and floatplanes based in Hango and the Baltic states patrol the sea constantly, with the only safe approach being hugging the Swedish Coast. However, seeing Russian not relenting despite the de-facto blockade, and not willing to risk a forced battle against a Russian breakout attempt, the French organized a raid into Finland with their battlecruiser forces. Russia, aware of the blind spot in their aerial spotting network, regularly send patrol towards Swedish coast in an effort to catch any possible French raids. On intelligence report of several cruisers leaving port, the Russian Battle Cruiser Navarin was dispatched to ensure they do not attack any vulnerable land installations around the Baltics. What the Russian did not expect was that the entire French Battlecruiser Squadron, consisted of the 2 battlecruisers that survived the North Sea and the repaired Duquesne all sortied to participate this raid. 1. Morning of November 17th
The Russian airships and floatplanes combed the Baltics in anticipation of French raids, but none where spotted by early afternoon. The Russian commander aboard the Navarin is now certain that the French must be approaching from the Swedish coast, and plotted course to intercept. 2. Afternoon of November 17th
The Navarin first spot a French protected cruiser to her south west and began pursuit, only to encounter the three french battlecruiser mere minutes later on the horizon. She quickly decides to fleet but it became clear that she cannot out run the Frenchships. In a move of desperation, four escorting Russian destroyers all charged the pursuing French battlecruisers. The French are not willing to let go of an opportunity to sink the last Russian Battlecruiser at Sea, and steamed straight into the Russian destroyers. The distance of this raid meant that the French were only accompanied by a protected cruiser and two destroyers, not enough to sink the Russian destroyers before they landed two torpedo hit in the lead ship, Lille, one of the two new Tourvile class battlecruiser. She turned away from the battle but was later scuttled in the night by their crew when they realized that she would not make it back to France. The desperate attack dealt a significant blow to the French fleet, but they were not willing to let the Navarin get away. Soon the attacking destroyers were all crippled or sunk by the large amount of secondary guns on French ships. 3. Late Afternoon of November 17th
The French begin to close their distance with the Navarin. Thankfully the night is coming very early in the mid Novembers, and Navarin hoped to escape into the cover of the night. However, she simply isn't quick enough and was hit several times by the French at long range, slowing her down. Worst yet, as the French battlecruiser faded out of sight as darkness descends, the French Destroyer carried on the attack and landed a torpedo on the Navarin. By 8-9PM, the French fleet then turned away in the darkness, knowing that they had lost the element of surprise and that the Russian main battlefleet is likely mobilizing. The crew of Navarin now fight to stop the flooding that is consuming their beloved ship. Unfortunately, unlike newer Russian Battleships, The Navarin does not have any underwater protection systems, and she was simply too far from any nearby port. The Fact that she had to sail at no quicker than 10 knots only made any hopes of getting this ship to port even more distant. Finally, by Midnight of November 18th, Navarin's captain ordered all hands to abandoned ship, by now only an hour or two off the port of Hango. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Russia lost its only operational battlecruiser in November, but the new Battlecruiser Fokshani would enter service in December, with Rymnik following suite 3 months later. These two ship would give Russia the force needed to again bring the French to battle. But for the time being, they had to endure the harsh northern winter and the effects of the French blockade...
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 11, 2019 1:16:11 GMT -6
Russian Counter Attack (March 1920 – Dec 1920)Following several more months of destroyer clashes, the Russian navy finally received their latest battle cruiser Rymnik and Fokshani. With these ships entering service, the French can no longer confidently maintain their blockade, as the slow blockading cruisers can easily fall prey to the new Russian battlecruisers. By mid 1920, the Russian fleet have again achieved a close tonnage parity against the French in Battleship and Battlecruiser, and the fleet would be joined by the world’s first aircraft carrier, Oleg. Following the development of the seaplane carrier Smolensk, the Russians began further experiment with naval aviation, and the old armored cruiser Oleg was selected for conversion into a carrier that can allow bi-plane fighters to take off. Oleg Class Converted Carrier (1 Built) The venerable armored cruiser Oleg, no longer suited for front line duties in the age of the battlecruisers, were selected for conversion into an experiment ship that can launch and recover aircrafts using a flight deck. Her entire super structure and turrets were stripped, replaced with a lighter armament of 6in guns for self defense. Her aging engine was also replaced with a new oil-fired engine that gave her a more reasonable 26 knots of speed. However, the interior lay out and armor of the old armored cruiser makes it difficult to leave hanger space for aircrafts. As a result, Oleg is only able to carry 12 planes. Despite this modest loadout, she would actively participate in many major fleet actions in the wars to come. At the time of her construction, Russia operates two types of fighter aircraft, the Mig-4C which can carry a single 100 pounds bomb, and the newer La-8 with no bomb load but better flight performances. Most pilots are trained with the newer La-8 due to its easier handling and as result air squadron on the Oleg received La-8 when the ship was freshly commissioned. As a result, she would have no bombing capabilities in time for the battle to come. Battle of The Baltic Sea (May 1920)Seeing their blockade falling apart, the French decided that it has to take action to reassert their naval superiority. Knowing that the new Russian battlecruisers are far superior than their models, they decided that the best option would be to force another fleet engagement and defeat the Russians there. The French have completed a new 28000 ton Dreadnought, Ocean to replace the loss of the Courbet. As a result, the French still have a numerical superiority in Battleships (6:4 , vs 2:2 for battlecruisers). In order to force an engagement, the French fleet sailed straight into the Baltics, with the aim of bombarding Russian ports and airship bases. The Russian detected the French early on, and intercepted the French fleet off the coast off Lativia. 1. The Russian BC, now confident in their ability to take on their French counterparts, steamed well ahead of the main Russian fleet in search of the French force. As the Oleg isn’t equipped with bombing carrying aircrafts, it used its fighter to scout westward together with seaplanes from the Smolensk. Sighting reports of French battleship to the south west came in just as the Russian battlecruisers spotted French battlecruisers. The Russian admiral is confident to leave the French battlecruisers to the Rymnik and Fokshani, and took his main fleet southward to investigate what he believes to be the French main fleet. 2. The French battlecruiser now find themselves in Izmail and Navarin’s position months earlier. The French ships desperately tried to escape the faster and better armed Russian ships. 13in shells quickly pummeled the unfortunate Duquesne, and this time she has no port to hide in. With the Duquesne sunk, the French destroyers made a desperate attack that drove back the two Russian battlecruiser, but two destroyers were sunk in the process. While the Russian Battlecruisers are giving the French a taste of their own medicine, battle line from both sides met some 20-30 miles west of the battlecruiser actions. The French fleet positioned itself between the Russian fleet and their battlecruisers, thus forcing the Russian main fleet to engage the French battleline on its own. The Smolensk again launched three sea plane to attack the French line, but no hit was achieved. As the two lines engage, its becoming clear that the Russian battleship, even at a numerical disadvantage have no problem standing toe to toe against their French foes, much like during the battle of the north sea. Russian investment into gunnery training and fire control is also paying off, with Russians scoring generally more hits during this engagement. 3. Having been driven off by French destroyers, Rymnik and Fokshani turned to join the main Russian line. However, rather than pincering the French at the middle, the cautious Russian commander decided to rejoin the battleships first. This delay allowed the French battleline to slip away,(The newer French battleship can make 24 knots) but not before leaving behind two heavily damaged battleship (An old trident class and a 21000 ton Battleship). French once more lost three capital ships in this battle (2 battleship and 1 battlecruiser). This battle was again not the decisive battle either side hoped, but the French navy was being thinned out ship by ship. This battle would signals the beginning of Russian counter attack in the war.
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 11, 2019 9:21:05 GMT -6
Not bad, not bad! Looking at the map, the pincer movement indeed looked like an "obvious pick", then again, eroding the numerical superiority cautiously and taking everyone home is a result that speaks for itself. Poor Oleg however, the crew maybe felt a bit frustrated, circling above, not being able to drop down even a hand grenade. Not that reconnaissance isn't an extremely valuable thing to do, plus it's a start. The old girl sniffed blood the first time since her rebuild.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 11, 2019 10:07:49 GMT -6
Not bad, not bad! Looking at the map, the pincer movement indeed looked like an "obvious pick", then again, eroding the numerical superiority cautiously and taking everyone home is a result that speaks for itself. Poor Oleg however, the crew maybe felt a bit frustrated, circling above, not being able to drop down even a hand grenade. Not that reconnaissance isn't an extremely valuable thing to do, plus it's a start. The old girl sniffed blood the first time since her rebuild. pincering is probably the right choice in that scenario, but at the time I’m still recovering from my stupid decision from Izmail and Navarin, so I probably ended up being too careful with the two BCs when they are in fact more powerful than my line battleships. Poor Oleg was stuck with the squadron problem for the rest of the war, since while I have two model at once( the newer La-8 is a much better fighter, so I don’t want to obsolete it just to get bomb carrying Migs), air squadron generator kept on giving me La-8 equipped squadron Oleg isn’t going to conduct an airstrike until 12 years late , so the world’s first carrier is on glorified scouting duty while Smolensk’s sea planes get all the fun.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 14, 2019 3:35:20 GMT -6
The Table Turns (May 1920 -Feburary 1921)
Following their defeat in the Baltic, the remaining French ships retreated back to French mainland, and no major sortie was attempted again into the Baltic. However, despite now being free of the French blockade, the Russian navy does not have the necessary range to maintain an effective blockade of France. French destroyers continue to harass Russian shipping in the Skagerrak. In an effort to bring the French into submission, Russian battlecruiser begin to sortie and shell Northern French ports. The French navy refused battle each time until near the end of 1920. Finally, public demand for the fleet to take action lead to the last remaining French battlecruiser, the Tourville being sortied to patrol northern French coast, being backed up by the main French fleet in November. The Tourvile successfully intercepted the Rymnik and Fokshani, but she was woefully out classed, and poor north sea weather prevented the main French battlegroup from locating the scene of battle. Following a short chase, the Tourvile was quickly sunk by multiple 13in hits that easily smashed through her pathetic 7.5in armor. The Russian battlecruisers caught a brief glimpse of the French battleships, but the lesson of the Izmail was not forgotten, and they cautiously opted to retreat. Despite this victory, the Russian fleet still have no means to effective force the French to submit. As a result, designs for new ships that can help tip the balance are being considered in the admiralty. A new class of battleship that can be armed with 15in guns are being considered in late 1919, but war time priority forced the admiralty to prioritize a different class of ship. Many Russian destroyers are sunk in an effort to battle the French destroyer squadrons for the control of the Skagerrak. While 5 more Krepki Class are due to enter service early in 1921 to replace losses, it is clear a more powerful class of destroyers will be required. The Russian response was laying down 13 Blestyaschi class destroyer between Jan-Feb of 1921. Blestyaschi Class Destroyer (13 ships) The Blestyaschi Class was designed to be a more effective combatant against larger French destroyers, but war time needs require the ships to be quickly produced as well. As a result, many aspect of the ship remained the same as the earlier Krepki class. Firepower was the key design goal of this class, and this was done by adding a pair of 76mm AA guns that can also engage soft targets like the French destroyers. A larger superstructure and mast provided more equipment for spotting and night fighting. Moreover, one of the midship 4inch gun is moved forward in a super-firing position in front of the superstructure. This allows two guns to fire forward in a wide arc, greatly increasing the tactical flexibility of the ship, but remains out classed by the 5inch gunned French destroyers. All these addition requires reducing the mine carrying capacity and engine size of the ship. However, more efficient oil filed engine developed during the war allows the top speed to remain constant. The Blestyaschi Class entered service in the ending days of the Franco-Russian war, and saw limited actions with one ship being lost. It is clear that they remain inadequate against larger destroyer designs. This prompted Russian to put more focus in up-gunning their destroyers with future designs. Despite the shortcomings, the Blestyaschi Class saw extensive service in the far east during the second Russo-Japanese war, and all 12 ships were lost.
Even though efforts were made to improve their light units, the Russian believe that only the total annihilation of the French navy can force them to give up. However, with the French forces constantly hiding in their bases, it seems this goal is almost impossible. However, the French public are not satisfied with the navy's inaction in the threat of Russian bombardments, after several French admiral being replaced in quick succession, The Russian navy was finally going to get the chance to destroy the French fleet once and for all in March, 1921...
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 17, 2019 21:31:29 GMT -6
Battle of Bay of Biscay , March, 1921In yet another effort to bring the French fleet to battle. The Russian fleet once again sailed for northern France, and in an act of extreme audacity, sailed through the English channel into the Bay of Biscay to attack the French naval base in Brest. Faced with such a challenge, the French navy cannot afford to back down, and so what remained of the French Navy sortied out to meet the Russians. The French fleet, though much diminished, and having lost all battlecruisers still have several 14inch gunned battleships that can put up quite a fight. 1.In mid-afternoon, Seaplane scout from the Smolensk(Worth noting that the Oleg was not present, having struck a mine one or two months prior.) spotted French fleet leaving Brest and sailed straight for the Russian Fleet. The Russian fleet deployed in formation to engage the French head on, the two Russian battlecruiser was placed with the Russian line to add the weight of their 13in gun against French ships. However, unlike the thin skinned French Battlecruiser and the old Trident class, the few remaining French Battleships are fairly well armored and the Russian fleet had to close in to land effective hits, which resulted in damages to themselves as well. 2. Russian Fleet launched an torpedo attack with its destroyer squadrons, which was beat back by large French destroyers and resulted in two destroyer sunk, and the destroyer Pitlivi immobilized and left dead in the water. The attack did torpedo the 28500 ton battleship Bouvet, which sunk as it attempted to flee the battle. The French destroyers proceeded to carry out a torpedo counter attack on the Russian line. The old battleship Tri Svyatitelya, damaged from several 14in hits, was too slow to avoid the incoming torpedo and took one hit, she begin to list heavily, and despite attempt to detach her from the battle, sunk after 30minutes, still under French gun fire. 3. At this point, two more French Trident class battleship were also sunk by the gun exchange, leaving the 27000 ton Ocean as the sole remaining French capital ship on the battlefield. By now, the sun is setting, realizing that engaging French destroyers in a night action can have deadly consequences, especially in enemy water, the Russia Fleet turned west to retreat. The French pursued with their destroyers briefly in the dark, but lost the Russian fleet around 8-9pm. 4. The battle would've ended there and then, but as fate would have it, the returning French fleet once again passed the immobilized destroyer Pitlivi. Pitlivi 's crew had not given on their ship, and had been attempting to make repairs for the past 5-6 hours when they spotted the silhouette of the last French Battleship Ocean in the darkness. Realizing they had not been spotted, but are unlikely to make back home with their engine room smashed by an 6in shell earlier in battle, the crews of Pitlivi launched two spread of torpedos. One or two torpedo managed to hit the Ocean, which triggered a massive explosion that blew the mighty vessal in half. Pitlivi was quickly fired upon by French escorts and sunk with all hands, but her sacrfice destroyed the last French capital ship. With this, the Marine Nationale are in no position to challenge the Russian Navy in open water again.
Having lost all their capital ships, the French defeat is all but assured, yet lacking a mean to effectively blockade France, Russian fleet resorted to repeated bombardment of the norther French coast. This resulted several more smaller actions where French destroyers were able to sink several russian destoryers, but it would matter little. Finally, seeing no major power are willing to intervene, the French government had to concede to an extremely harsh peace deal to the Russians in 1922, recognizing Russian rule of Java, and ceding Madagascar and Senegal, thus allowing the Russians to maintain a chain of colonies to support their far east possession, turning Russia into a truly global empire. The war against the French demonstrated the Russian Fleet's ability to overcome a numerically superior foe. While mistakes were made, the Russian fleet were able to overcome their opponent by using the lesson learned from each defeat to plan for the next victory.
With this I conclude the Franco-Russian War chapter of this AAR. There is one more major conflict, the Russo-Japanese war of 1930s to go before the end. This last portion of the update maybe slower as I do wish to devote more attention to the Canadian AAR. Not that I did not enjoy writing this one, but writing from memory really makes it difficult for me to chronicle the event with as much detail and care as I would've liked. Still, I have had some very interesting battle in the Second Russo-Japanese war, so I will get around to them eventually
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Post by captainloggy on Dec 26, 2019 7:01:30 GMT -6
Can you still recall that last war? Not bad, getting all this from bare memory!
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