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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Enioch on February 27, 2017, 02:08:00 pm

Title: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 27, 2017, 02:08:00 pm
(https://s2.postimg.cc/iknbgyoqx/CB52_SMS_Markgraf_firing_on_the_British_Grand_Fl.jpg)
Image by Claus Bergen

Table of Contents: (WORK IN PROGRESS - Might not include the most recent chapters)


This is a work of fiction, presenting an alternative timeline to our own. Delicate, potentially offensive topics are discussed and presented here, including murder and war crimes. The names of real-world persons are occasionally used, but it is not proposed or implied that the original timeline (OTL) persons acted (or would have acted, in reality) in the same way as depicted here, even under the circumstances shown here. These are alternative, fictional characters, meant to serve the purpose of a fictional storyline, and any similarity to people, alive or dead, is coincidental.


Hello again, everyone.

This is a sequel to my Japan RTW playthrough, featured here (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=92847.0). By popular vote, I will be taking up the metaphorical reins of the German Imperial Navy from 1900 to the mid-20th century, in an alternative universe where things might follow new, interesting and 'fun' courses.

Shout-out to NGTM-1R and his ramblings (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=92028.0)

A short introduction is in order:

The game starts at 1900, during a time of uncertainty and quick developments in the European theatre. Germany is a rising power, with an autocratic, capricious and 'hands-on' Kaiser at the helm; the times of Bismarck and his chessmaster diplomacy of bluff, appeasement and active jockeying for optimal alliances and the best deal for Germany are (sadly) long past. We are called upon to guide the naval forces of this nation to victory - but our true opponent will often be in Berlin and not on the High Seas.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/82b0mjm4r/Screenshot_2796.png)

A bried overview of the German faction. Note that we are a 'Limited democracy'. This means that we can...creatively interpret the terms of any naval treaty. We can build ships that surpass treaty limitations by 10% in tonnage, although we must keep to any gun caliber limits. We are also 'Cautious' which means that our Kaiser / diplomats do not like long wars and will tend to settle for less than ideal peace treaties so as not to risk a defeat. This comes in addition to the 'Bombastic Head of State' trait, which means that the Kaiser will often say stupid, stupid things that we'll need to deal with, either by being boot-licking sycophants or by falling into disfavour. We also lack oil in our holdings; and start behind the Brits in dock size (although the difference is a mere 2,000 tons). Finally, we have no viable designs for guns larger than 11'' in caliber, while the Brits are building 12''-gun ships and the French can even start with (admittedly abysmal) 13-inchers.

That said, we do have some interesting positive traits. Firstly, we are a 'Technology Leader', meaning that we get a bonus to research and are likely to discover key designs and achieve scientific breakthroughs before our adversaries. Secondly, we get massive bonuses to specific fields of research. Our AP projectiles are second to none; our armor and damcon are likewise top-notch and we are almost certain to develop cross-deck firing before any other nation.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/kuz4mgxqj/Screenshot_2797.png)

Some setup. Note that I am choosing 'Very Large' as my fleet size option this time: this will boost the AIs' and my budget by a considerable degree, allowing for larger fleets. It will also allow for larger fleet battles than in my Japan playthrough. Note that a lot of the fighting will take place in the European theatre of operation, such as the North Atlantic, the North Sea, the Baltic and the Med - that's where the big boys keep their fleets (including the Royal Navy) and where the big, no-holds-barred-brawls take place.

I am also choosing 'Historical Resources' (which effectively more than halves my initial budget with respect to the Brits). I am doing this to strategically handicap myself; this is, essentially, me choosing 'hard mode'. To counteract this, I am choosing to manually design the ships that I will be starting with. I am also disallowing 'varied technologies', which randomly makes specific techs perform better or worse than their Original Timeline (henceforth OTL) analogues.

Here are our starting designs:

(https://s23.postimg.cc/sozq7v5jf/Screenshot_2798.png)

Firstly, our Battleships. We are Germans; and therefore we build based on the principle of 'more'. More armor; more gun; more speed.

The Schwaben-class battleships displace 15,9k tons and barely fit the British drydocks where they were built, as part of Alfred von Tirpitz's First Naval Bill. They are the fastest battlewagons in the world, capable of reaching 21 knots when sailing at flank. They are armed with two main double 12-inch turrets and also mount a secondary broadside of five 6-inchers. They are also heavily armored, with a main belt and turret armor of 10 inches and an 1.5 inch deck.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/c56mzd5mz/Screenshot_2801.png)

The Victoria Louise-class were homebuilt; and they are, arguably, small battleships in their own right. They displace 12,000 tons; can reach 22 knots; and bear one of the heaviest secondary and tertiary broadsides in the world. Their main battery comprises of four 11'' rifles, in double turrets fore and aft - these guns can't penetrate battleship belt armor, but can easily punch through extended bow and stern armor and can easily defeat the armor of any armored cruiser in existence. The Victoria Louise-class ships bear a 4.5-inch belt and heavily armored (5.5-inch) turrets. They were designed primarily as escorts and supporting gun platforms - they would either engage the enemy screening elements during a battle, or add their weight of fire to the battle-line.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/jz78krdfv/Screenshot_2802.png)

The 'little' Gefions were raiders and ships meant for colonial service. At 6.1k tons, they were quite heavy for their intended task, but they were reasonably fast, at 23 knots, with sturdy engines and large coal bunkers. They bore a 5-gun 6'' broadside, in shielded mounts and a decent belt armor of 2.5 inches.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/svi0op423/Screenshot_2803.png)

The Gazelle-class scout cruisers were bigger and badder versions; meant to scout and screen the fleet against enemy torpedo boats. They carried one more gun per broadside and could hit 24 knots.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/li2mpqk0b/Screenshot_2805.png)

The V2-class torpedo-boats were, in fact gunships. They carried only one centreline torpedo mount, but also mounted 4 76mm guns as their main armament and 2 50mm rapid-firing pom-poms as a close-range final defense. They could hit 27 knots and were, frankly, stepping-stone designs and not particularly successful.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/fwg7lojbf/Screenshot_2807.png)

The fleet was complemented by the August Pieper patrol boats, meant for minesweeping and coastal defense roles.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/aaydvd80b/Screenshot_2809.png)

The fleet in early 1900: Three Schwaben-class battlewagons (the Schwaben, Wettin and Zähringen) form the backbone of the Home Fleet. Victoria Louise and Hertha serve as second-rate and support core elements. Gefion and Niobe were colonial assets; Gazelle, Hela and Thetis serve as DD-squadron leaders, training ships and scouting elements. Eight torpedo-boats and seven patrol boats serve as coastal defense assets.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/xdowuj9hn/Screenshot_2810.png)

Thanks to Bismarck's shift to colonialism during the last years of his service, we have a colonial empire to deal with. The fleet needs to show the flag in our holdings in West- and East Africa; in the Pacific Ocean; and in Kiaouchou Bay.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/w177snc23/Screenshot_2812.png)

Gefion and Niobe are deployed to the Far East and the Pacific, respectively; Gazelle and Thetis are stationed in West- and East Africa.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/cuu0pgvkb/Screenshot_2811.png)

This leaves the home waters rather undefended, but there are reinforcements arriving soon. The Brits are reporting that the Braunschweig will be complete within the year, with her sister, Meckleburg following up; Vineta and Freya (two more Victoria Louises) should be done within the year; and five more light cruisers are well underway and nearing completion.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/6kyr2gw5n/Screenshot_2814.png)

Now, regarding the Admiralty's doctrine...

(https://s31.postimg.cc/4e46kwo97/Tirpitz_2.jpg)  (https://s31.postimg.cc/z9ldc1vpn/Galster_2.jpg)

The official policy is Navy Minister Tirpitz's plan to counter the British Royal Navy; and the Staff were very much aware that the Kaiser was a proponent of the battleship. However, there were some dissenting voices among the Staff: innovators and adherents to the 'obsolete' von Hollmann cruiser doctrine. Konteradmiral Karl Galster was the most militantly active of those 'troublesome elements'; and he managed to secure funding for research on submarine vessels quite early on (thankfully)

But most of the research budget was poured on the development of better machinery (more speed); fire control and naval gun designs (more gun); and ship design (more everything).

Time to see if the Navy can maneuver the dangerous waters of Imperial international politics... Let's secure ourselves some Lebensraum!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on February 27, 2017, 02:58:50 pm
The image links seem to be broken for the moment

Otherwise somewhat stoked to see what's going on with Germany.

EDIT: Ah, it actually might be my browser. I switched to Vivaldi a couple of days ago and I may have gone a bit overboard with the privacy settings.

EDIT^2: And yes, this was browser related. Actually browser extension related, I had to allow Adblock to accept the images from this site.

What is it with Germans and "V2"?  :lol:

Zucht und Ordnung!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Droid803 on February 27, 2017, 03:40:58 pm
IT BEGINS
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on February 27, 2017, 03:48:43 pm
Yes, time for German engineering to dominate the seas :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: niffiwan on February 27, 2017, 04:26:17 pm
So - Kaiser Wilhelm was a bit of a juvenile loose cannon IRL, and it seems that you're not just killing him off retiring him; should be interesting  :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Commander Zane on February 27, 2017, 04:29:45 pm
What is it with Germans and "V2"?  :lol:
An inevitability. While I don't know about a historic V2-class, there is the V1-class. Since they were built as V1 to V6 (which the last two went to Greece), then G7 to G12, there'll naturally be a V2.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 27, 2017, 05:33:42 pm
Is the "Bombastic Head of State" a permanent trait or only applies to the initial Kaiser?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 27, 2017, 05:37:36 pm
So - Kaiser Wilhelm was a bit of a juvenile loose cannon IRL, and it seems that you're not just killing him off retiring him; should be interesting  :D

Is the "Bombastic Head of State" a permanent trait or only applies to the initial Kaiser?

Retiring the Kaiser? Surely you jest.

And it's a permanent negative trait, I'm afraid.

What is it with Germans and "V2"?  :lol:
An inevitability. While I don't know about a historic V2-class, there is the V1-class. Since they were built as V1 to V6 (which the last two went to Greece), then G7 to G12, there'll naturally be a V2.

In this universe, V1 was the prototype, which was pushed to complete breakdown during her trial runs. She was never commissioned.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 27, 2017, 08:22:37 pm
"Every time a new Kaiser is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land."
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 28, 2017, 09:34:31 am
Submitted my Thesis for examination today. I am a happy man.

Still need to defend it, sometime around the end of May, and there's still applications for research postings that I need to put together, but my work is done for now.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/ni1pbac91/94f.png)

Yes, this means regular updates. And more writing of another nature that you might have the chance to see in the near-ish future
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 28, 2017, 09:54:25 am
Congrats man!
Title: Old and New Players
Post by: Enioch on February 28, 2017, 05:18:24 pm
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(https://s4.postimg.cc/wa4fhc3zh/luftaufnahme_um1920_lh7sbn.jpg)
The Leipzigplatz and the Kaiserliche Admiralität

"The early months of 1900 served as a rude awakening for all of us. We were all aware of His Majesty's impulsiveness and near-rash action in matters of state policy; and yet we allowed the developments that threatened to cast all of Europe into a disastrous war to surprise us. In my defense, having followed His Majesty's embracing of Herr von Tirpitz's battleship-focused strategy (with some dismay, I must admit), it was inconceivable to me that he should so antagonise the Russians without having first seen the completion of at least the first stage of the plan through. While my personal disagreement with the von Tirpitz plan is well-documented, I must at least grant Herr von Tirpitz that he was as horrified as I (if not more) upon following the political developments. The Eel's constant presence at His Majesty's side and his infernal sycophantic manners must surely have majorly influenced His Majesty's actions.

"Thankfully, the disaster that may have been was averted, thanks, in no small degree, to the unified front presented by the Admiralität throughout this difficult period. But of equal importance, in my mind, was the contribution of the Herzog zu Mecklenburg who would play such a major part in the German political scene during the following years"

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s11.postimg.cc/bgtfivwzn/Screenshot_2815.png)

The early months of 1900 began with relative good news for the German Admiralty. The Tirpitz plan called for increased capital ship production and it had the full backing of the Kaiser Wilhelm II. Private shipbuilders were not averse to investing in improved shipbilding infrastructure and, by the end of March, the German docks in Wilhelmshaven were considerably expanded. Conservative estimates let the Admiralty to the conclusion that, if their own investments were taken into account, Germany would be able to manufacture 17k-ton capital ships by the end of the year. Von Tirpitz was ecstatic.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/lfee5d6f7/Screenshot_2816.png)

Sadly, his good mood did not last long. On the 15th of May, the Kaiser made an ill-advised comment regarding the 'meddling tendencies' of 'those insufferable Russians'; and the comment was allowed to reach the press. Those in Berlin that still remembered the days of Bismarck felt the Iron Chancellor's shadow loom over them; and cold sweat running down their backs. Had not Bismarck warned them?

"That young man wants war with Russia," Bismarck had once said,"and would like to draw his sword straight away if he could. I shall not be a party to it."

But Bismarck was no longer the Chancellor. The 'Eel' was the Chancellor.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/iv8s9nlc5/800px_Bundesarchiv_Bild_146_2004_0098_A_Bernhard.jpg)

Bernhard von Bülow: one of the most opportunistic and sycophantic statesmen of the early 20th century. He had connived, lied and flattered his way into the Kaiser's good graces; and while he fancied himself an equal to Bismarck in statecraft, he had been described as "having read more Machiavelli than he could digest".

Allowing the Kaiser's statement to reach the press certainly did not earn him many favour points. Wilhelm was, reportedly, 'furious' about the public condemnation his comment had produced.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/f2z8vj3cz/Screenshot_2817.png)

(Un)fortunately, von Bülow managed to redirect attention away from the Kaiser and onto the colonial crisis taking place in the Far East. Germany, France and Great Britain joined together to somewhat curb Japanese expansion in Northern Korea; and, while the Japanese certainly did not appreciate Germany's involvement, von Bülow's rhetoric was enough to divert attention away from the Russia gaffe.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/k2wp3h8zn/Screenshot_2818.png)

In September, the Gazelle-class Frauenlob was commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine; while Galster's group rejoiced, the Kaiser expressed his displeasure to Tirpitz.

"Why are the battleships so much delayed?" he is said to have ranted during a closed meeting. "Has the devil Edward been working against their construction?"

(https://s11.postimg.cc/nnskmpdj7/Screenshot_2819.png)

His mood was not improved when the German engineers reported problems in the development of hydraulic recoil systems for the naval guns.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/g938ubrnn/Screenshot_2820.png)

But, at last, by November, the Admiralty had some good news. Improved condenser designs could now be employed for the manufacture of lighter, more reliable engines. The new generation of battleships could be more compact and more effective.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/qzvgtquo3/Screenshot_2823.png)

Not to mention the wealth of information German agents recovered from Japan. The Japanese were expanding their docks; they were building heavy and fast armored cruisers and, destroyer-killing light cruisers. More importantly, German agents had gotten their hands on the firing test results for the English 9-inch guns. Wilhelm's mood skyrocketed when Tirpitz reported to him that the German analogues outperformed the English rifles in every way.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/xeuhqf1dv/Screenshot_2824.png)

And more good news: Braunschweig joined the fleet, on the 24th of November. Only Mecklenburg was now under construction and, upon its completion, the battle-line envisioned by Tirpitz would be complete.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/kbyv75b5v/Screenshot_2825.png)

In early December, new rangefinding technology was introduced. Integrating the new coincidence systems into the fleet was an easy matter, hardly requiring drydock time; and improvements in accuracy were immediately evident.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/oc60je1mr/Screenshot_2828.png)

And, as if for a New Year's gift, Krupp presented the Admiralty with new steel formulas for stronger and lighter armor alloys.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/myedo32df/Screenshot_2829.png)

By this time, the Kaiser's confidence in Tirpitz was completely restored. Tirpitz was already laying the groundwork for a second naval bill, that would see at least four more battleships laid down: heavier, better-armored designs, built entirely in German yards. The Kaiser was all too happy to agree; and funds were set aside for the further expansion of the German docks, for a planned maximum of 19k-ton ships.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/llwom74xv/Screenshot_2831.png)

Freya joined the fleet by the end of the month. Her launching was not a particularly grand event (cruisers did not rate as high in Wilhelm's esteem as battlewagons, after all) but Tirpitz could appreciate the significance of having yet another heavy-hitter in a support role and even Galster could not deny the utility and plethora of options one more armored cruiser could bring to the table.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/wa50ys4ar/Screenshot_2832.png)

And then Somalia erupted in bloody revolt, with several German nationals (including several industrialists and their families) being stranded in the African country.

The Kaiser immediately ordered that the West African squadron should engage Somali ground targets until the Germans were released, after a typical rant. And there were many faces that met desks, or palms; and the Auswärtiges Amt could do little but pull their hairs out at this new pickle their Kaiser had landed them in.

At this time, a new player enters the stage.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/tcy0jxa0x/Johann_Albrecht_von_Mecklenburg.jpg)

With his young nephew only months away from adulthood, the regent of the Herzogtum of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Johann Albrecht zu Mecklenburg arrived in Berlin. His intentions were to re-familiarise himself with the political background in the capital and to respond in person to several letters from his extended family and associates, who were getting increasingly concerned and frustrated by the Kaiser's political acumen (or, rather, lack thereof). One of these men was Galster.

Johann Albert was to stay in Berlin for much longer than he had originally intended...

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 01, 2017, 09:45:14 am
Oooh, the deutschland über alles saga begins! Loving all the political intrique so far.

Submitted my Thesis for examination today. I am a happy man.

Still need to defend it, sometime around the end of May, and there's still applications for research postings that I need to put together, but my work is done for now.
Congrats!

Yes, this means regular updates. And more writing of another nature that you might have the chance to see in the near-ish future
  ;7
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 01, 2017, 10:01:46 am
Signal to flag, Dank German Memes in sight!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on March 01, 2017, 12:06:40 pm
But Bismarck was no longer the Chancellor. The 'Eel' was the Chancellor.

(https://i.imgur.com/g7HuTks.png)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 01, 2017, 01:01:05 pm
*snip*

 :lol:

*snip*

Terconia is a 'go', although it's gonna take some time.

Also, many thanks to all for your kind wishes!  :D
Title: Single Front
Post by: Enioch on March 01, 2017, 03:35:46 pm
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(https://s4.postimg.cc/6q139j3t9/herzog_johann_albrecht_und_3.jpg)
Herzog Johann Albert von Mecklenburg and his wife, Prinzessin Elisabeth Sybille von Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

"It was with great joy that I received the news of the Herzog's arrival in Berlin. His Excellency was well known to me ever since the years he had spent in the African colonies and for his stint as the Chair of the Kolonialgesellschaft. I knew him as a man who embodied the very best Germany had to offer: he was skilled in administration and possessed a keen political mind; he was diligent in his work, frugal, devoted to his wife and family and a fervent patriot. I do not shy from admitting that, when I first approached him, it was in search of an influential patron of my "Kleinkrieg" plan. I hoped that his experience with the necessities of colonial service would make him see the benefits of my proposed fleet structure.

"However, during our first meeting, he was quick to take over the initiative and, instead of promoting my theories, I found myself defending them from a fair and yet absolutely merciless attack. I was flattered that His Excellency had, apparently, taken the time to study my proposals to such a degree; and it became clear to me that he was eager to be well-informed and form his own opinions on the state of our naval forces."

"It was telling that, three days after our meeting, I received an invitation from His Excellency for a joint meeting with Großadmiral von Tirpitz in His Excellency's Berlin lodgings. I was apprehensive at first, not knowing what such a meeting would portend..."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s10.postimg.cc/6pkeqr7rd/Screenshot_2833.png)

In February 1901, the newly arrived Herzog von Mecklenburg invited Großadmiral von Tirpitz, Konteadmiral Galster and select members of the Navy Staff in his Berlin lodgings, in what would come to be known as the Sankt Blasius meeting. He expressed great interest in joining the Flottenverein and made known his desire for the rift between the two schools of thought (the Tirpitz battle-line and the Galster 'running war') to be bridged, in the interest of the State. Could a compromise, perhaps, be achieved? Could the Reichsmarineamt not present a unified front in this time of uncertainty? The Admiralität was to submit their budget for training exercices, shortly - could an arrangement between the two parties not be achieved?

Such was the force of von Mecklenburg's personality, that a sort of agreement was reached between the two parties. The meeting stretched on, for more than fifteen exhausting hours but, by its end, the core of a new training regimen was laid down. The capital-ship heavy doctrine of Tirpitz was evident in the focus on gunnery; but Galster was also satisfied to some degree thanks to the focus on night fighting. This would, hopefully, allow the German Zerstörer-flotillas to close to torpedo ranges undetected under the cover of darkness.

More importantly, the Sankt Blasius meeting established von Mecklenburg as a new major player among the Naval Staff and in the Flottenverein, to the degree that von Tirpitz spoke very highly of him during his meetings with the Kaiser.

Wilhelm had known von Mecklenburg in the past; they had both attended Bonn University and they were members of the same club: the Borussia Bonn society. But they had drifted apart, during von Mecklenburg's stint as the regent of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ejplpw4y1/Screenshot_2834.png)

So, when SMS Braunschweig returned from her shakedown cruise and stood by for inspection by the Kaiser, Wilhelm saw an opportunity to re-connect with his former acquaintence. Following a small party after the inspection of the ship, Wilhelm invited von Mecklenburg to comment on what he thought on the final ship of the class, which would be, coincidentally, named after the Herzog's home Duchy.

Once again, von Mecklenburg's force of personality (and rhetoric) proved overwhelming. He proceeded to monopolise the Kaiser's attention for several hours, with jokes, banter and witty comments, while interspersing insightful commentary on the state of the Navy; von Tirpitz and Galster, also present in the scene, were quick to stand behind their new patron. Von Mecklenburg took great care not to directly criticise any of Wilhelm's policies; and, as the party drew on, he and von Tirpitz discreetly brought the discussion to Russian matters. They commented most unfavourably on how von Bülow had handled the Russian fiasco (taking advantage of the latter's uncharacteristic absence and the Kaiser's still-simmering anger) and expressed their concerns on how the Franco-Russian Defensive Pact might be an insurmountable obstacle for Germany.

Seeing Wilhelm's mood darken, von Mecklenburg suggested that the Franco-Russian Pact could be sabotaged; and that Russia, isolated, would be a much more manageable opponent. This cheered Wilhelm up immensely. Turning to von Tirpitz, he asked him directly: "Should war come, can you promise me victory against the Russians?"

(https://s10.postimg.cc/d5xyul5op/Screenshot_2835.png)

In response to which, Tirpitz drew himself up, his impressive beard flaring out, and proclaimed that, with the new training regimen, the Admiralität in its entirety could guarantee that the Russians could, in short order, be brought to the negotiating table in disgrace - provided France could be kept out of the war "as His Excellency, the Herzog, had so insightfully remarked".

The evening proved to be a massive success for the Admiralty - and von Mecklenburg personally. The Kaiser's support had been achieved; and the immediate threat of a Franco-Russian alliance was being addressed, for Wilhelm near-immediately appointed von Mecklenburg his personal envoy to Paris, with instructions to delay or outright sabotage the Paris / Moscow rapprochement.

"What a fellow!" Wilhelm is said to have remarked after the meeting. "A battleship might be too little for me to name after him."

(https://s10.postimg.cc/51pupuj9l/Screenshot_2836.png)

The situation in late February. Note the crushing numerical superiority of the Royal Navy in capital ships; but also note the near-equivalency between the Russian and German fleets. Also note that Galster's cruiser doctrine is steadily paying dividents - the German cruiser fleet is considerably heavier than their Russian analogues, but Russia leads in DDs.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/gfce11ts9/Screenshot_2837.png)

In March, news arrived that Russia was mobilising her fleet and engaging in extended maneuvers in the Baltic. Germany tensed up in response. The Auswärtiges Amt worked overtime to prevent a war, von Bülow finding an opportunity to get back into the Kaiser's good graces. But von Mecklenburg wasn't idle either. In Paris, he brought up the Russian saber-rattling and questioned whether the French were willing to get drawn into a war simply because of Russia's ruffled pride. Germany had no objection to Russia and France establishing a defensive alliance (he assured them), for Germany would never attack any of her neighbours unprovoked; but what if the Russians attacked first?

(https://s10.postimg.cc/c7hlsascp/Screenshot_2838.png)

By the end of the month, the Russians had promised to place most of their ships in reserve after the end of the maneuvers; and von Mecklenburg had returned to Berlin with the assurance of the French  ministre des Affaires étrangères Théophile Delcassé that, if Russia were to be the aggressor in a war, France would remain neutral but, if Germany were to precipitate a war, France would honour her defensive pact with Russia.

Von Tirpitz and Galster rejoiced; and Wilhelm was ecstatic.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/3qi3hdnnt/Screenshot_2839.png)

More good news - private shipbuilding contributed to the further expansion of the German shipyards. In less than ten months, Germany would be able to build 20k ton ships!

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ksaxjh2ix/Screenshot_2840.png)

And then, in early April, news arrived from Moscow. The Russians were channeling more funds into their navy, followed by more saber-rattling. Von Bülow suggested a strong, no-nonsense (even military) response by the Germans and Wilhelm, originally, was inclined to agree. But then a missive from von Mecklenburg arrived, begging the Kaiser to assume a more restrained stance. Russia had to be maneuvered into declaring war - and Germany should not be perceived as the aggressor, come what may.

"This is the greatest opportunity for Your Majesty to forever be remembered as one of the shrewdest statesmen of Europe," von Mecklenburg wrote, playing on Wilhelm's deepest desires and underlying insecurities.

And Wilhelm vaccillated - and finally decided to follow von Mecklenburg's advice. His change of heart can easily be seen in what came to be known as the Willy-Nicky correspondence, with his final letters to the Czar Nicholas II reading as cold, diplomatic statements rather than personal missives. War was now inevitable - it was all about who would break first.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/llnjc38jt/Screenshot_2843.png)

In April, with war imminent, Galster rejoiced when the R & D department reported that manufacture of new torpedoes, with a maximum range of two thousand yards was now possible.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/isyx5sxl5/Screenshot_2844.png)

And intriguing developments in the field of submarine warfare also took place.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/xdg00msjt/Screenshot_2845.png)

In early May, SMS Freya completed her shakedown cruise just in time to join the battle-line...

(https://s10.postimg.cc/3msvev7k9/Screenshot_2846.png)

And new hydraulic-recoil systems were integrated into the German naval gun mountings. Von Tirpitz was near-leaping for joy.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ywbe5lz49/Screenshot_2848.png)

(https://s11.postimg.cc/bzbi1nbpf/qjm_R0y.gif)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 01, 2017, 05:03:34 pm
You've certainly got an interesting international challenge ahead of you. Under Kaiser Wilhelm rule, Germany managed to piss off every major power in Europe, coming from a state of making everyone hate France thanks to Bismarck.

I look forward to seeing how you'll handle the Royal Navy.
Title: First Dance
Post by: Enioch on March 02, 2017, 12:22:51 pm
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(https://s7.postimg.cc/ns7pacd7f/Screenshot_2849.png)

In the early morning of the 15th of May, the German Fleet offered battle off the coast of Finland. The armies of the two nations were already engaged across the border areas, with no territorial gains as of yet; the Admiralty sought to score an early success.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/rr4wt61uj/Screenshot_2851.png)

First contact took place shortly after daybreak, at 9:49, when the scouting force of the German fleet encountered their Russian counterparts.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/4qy9gu40r/Screenshot_2852.png)

The German fleet was arranged in three separate task forces:

(https://s7.postimg.cc/rtosg05i3/Screenshot_2853.png)

The forward scouting force was comprised of the three heavy cruisers Hertha, Victoria Louise and Freya, under the overall command of Konteradmiral Galster, who had chosen Hertha as his flag.

Following this force, was a screening element of three light cruisers: Hela, Nymphe and Frauenlob, under the command of Kapitän zur See Henning von Holtzendorff.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/pqed8c5p7/Screenshot_2854.png)

Bringing up the rear was the German battle-fleet: the four Schwaben-class battleships and their destroyer escorts. SMS Braunschweig served as the flagship of Vize-Admiral Wilhelm Büchsel, one of von Tirpitz's protégés.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/rjh9wnqvv/Screenshot_2855.png)

Upon confirming contact with the enemy, Galster ordered a turn to port, with the intention of offering battle and delaying the enemy forces until a) their exact composition could be verified and b) Büchsel's battle-line could join him. The Russian ships mirrored his maneuver and the range started slowly closing. The breeze favoured the Russians, as the southern wind blew the Germans' smoke into their own rangefinders.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5yc791u57/Screenshot_2856.png)

Twenty minutes after first contact, Galster ordered his ships to turn sharply toward the north, to close the range and get a better look at the enemy force composition. His lookouts reported at least one capital ship in the lead, with a truly massive escorting force. Galster was unshaken and continued to close - he considered it highly unlikely that the Russians would lead with one of their battleships.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/kita3vp3v/Screenshot_2857.png)

Five minutes later, his prediction proved true, as the lookouts identified the enemy flagship as a Rossiya-class armored cruiser.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/u4muk6g9n/Screenshot_2858.png)

The Rossiyas were very good ships: a knot faster than the Victoria Louises, they mounted a heavier secondary broadside, but were more lightly armored and they only mounted 10'' main armament, in contrast to the German 11'' rifles.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/hq54gyv2z/Screenshot_2859.png)

Having confirmed that he was dealing with a Russian scouting / cruiser force, Galster ordered his force to turn away under flank, just out of the Russians' range. As he steamed toward the south-east, he identified several more cruisers, including a second Rossiya and many lighter ships.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/wndlhz8bf/Screenshot_2860.png)

As the Russians pursued, Galster led them directly towards Büchsel's battleships. At 10:30, the Braunschweig spotted the enemy and started training her guns to engage. Büchsel signalled Galster to "maneuver independently and provide supporting fire"; the heavy cruisers immediately changed their course once again, to flank the enemy force.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/fbd8wjeu3/Screenshot_2861.png)

The first shots were fired at 10:38; shortly afterwards, the Russian ships reversed course and steamed north in full retreat. Büchsel pursued at flank; Galster maneuvered further to the north, to scout out any potential Russian reinforcements. The Russian battlefleet was suspiciously absent and Galster wanted to make sure that the Russians were not trying to repeat his own baiting operation.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/bt1905dy3/Screenshot_2862.png)

The wild evasive maneuvers of the Russians cost them considerably in speed; meanwhile, the Schwaben's high speed proved to be a valuable asset. With the Germans catching up, the Russians proceeded to desperately turn towards the south. Büchsel had managed to turn the tables; now it was the Russians who struggled to fire through their own smoke. They still managed to score a hit on Braunschweig, but the battlewagon's armor was not penetrated.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/af9m4ueor/Screenshot_2863.png)

At 11:20, Wettin and Zähringen score their first hits on the Rossiyas. The German battleships engage in a running battle with the Russian cruiser fleet; disappointingly, very few hits are scored. The volume of fire the Russians are receiving makes it impossible to distinguish between shell splashes and to adjust fire.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/atay4fysb/Screenshot_2864.png)

At 11:33, Galster changes course and cuts through the German battle-line, in hot pursuit of the Russian light cruisers, that are outright fleeing toward the south. As his ships pass between the battlewagons, he signals to Büchsel "ENEMY CONTACT : ABS-BEAR 355 : CLOSING".

The Russian battle-fleet has deigned to make an appearance at last.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/4gvsulvq3/Screenshot_2865.png)

And they're not a minute too soon. The Russian scouting task force has disintegrated completely. Galster is doggedly hunting down two Diana-class cruisers towards the south, while the German battlewagons are still duelling the Rossiyas, who are proving to be particularly hard nuts to crack. Highly conscious of the potential torpedo danger, Büchsel is not willing to close the range beyond 5,000 yards.

Eventually, Büchsel decides to abandon pursuit and focus on the light cruiser force as well - perhaps they can be destroyed completely before the Russian battleships can shift the balance?

(https://s7.postimg.cc/d0f6sd42j/Screenshot_2866.png)

He turns south, allowing the Rossiyas to esccape, and engages the Dianas. Galster, further to the south, shifts his fire to a squadron of Pallada and Vesta-class cruisers.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/58ygtszx7/Screenshot_2867.png)

The German light cruisers join their fire to the fray, and prove to be more successful than the battleships. Their rapid-firing 6-inchers score several hits on the Dianas

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ype2w86aj/Screenshot_2868.png)

Unfortunately, the Russians utilise their speed and maneuverability and drag the German fleet into a large 'hook', back towards the north...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/azt8l9xaz/Screenshot_2869.png)

...where enemy contacts are now clearly visible.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/jw40p7nx7/Screenshot_2870.png)

Then - more contacts, from an unanticipated direction. Enemy capital ships are silhouetted against the sky, closing in from the west.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/rq4malvq3/Screenshot_2871.png)

Büchsel immediately shifts his battleships to intercept. His light cruisers dart in and identify the incoming battlewagons, before peeling off to a safer distance.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/j1hh36g2j/Screenshot_2876.png)

All four known Russian battleships are here!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/veuba35qz/Screenshot_2875.png)

The Petr Veliki is an older design: she's only armed with 10-inch guns and she's relatively lightly armored, but she carries a truly heavy secondary armament. Nothing that can truly threaten the Schwabens, but no light cruiser or destroyer should enter her engagement range.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/4egilihgb/Screenshot_2873.png)

The two Pavel I-class ships, on the other hand, are as modern as they come. Again, their secondary armament puts the Schwabens to shame, their armor is nothing to sneeze at and their guns are massive 12-inchers. They are, however, slower than her German analogues, by a significant 3 knots.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/779q5jhsr/Screenshot_2872.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5wmnbeucv/hibiki_and_verniy_kantai_collection_drawn_by_i.jpg)

And then there's this...thing. Somebody's been at the vodka again, I see.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/m9lyg82cb/Screenshot_2877.png)

The Germans form line of battle. The Russians form...a blob of battle?

(https://s9.postimg.cc/w67pu7ga7/9eb2856ac7a719ff91323032c2200e5d.jpg)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ieikdnj6j/Screenshot_2878.png)

Meanwhile, Galster scrapes the paint off one of the Dianas, at under a thousand yards. No hits. Exasperated, he turns to Kapitän zur See Markus Geier and exclaims "I should have listened to Tirpitz and asked for more gunnery training. Our men couldn't hit the enemy if they were dancing the Hopak in front of our guns!"

(https://s7.postimg.cc/mp1tmzdnf/Screenshot_2879.png)

Büchsel's not doing any better. He's crossed the Russians' T in a textbook maneuver; and yet the Schwabens' guns refuse to behave. Thankfully, the Russians are once again firing into their own smoke; the German battleline is likewise unharmed.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/t40ujnkd7/Screenshot_2880.png)

Von Holtzendorff, similarly exasperated, brings his own cruisers into a knife-fight against the panicking Russian light ships, as light rain begins to fall. At a range of less than 1,000 yards, he scores no hits. By now, the German commanders are close to pulling their beards off in impotent rage.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/oeqzvnc4v/missing_target.jpg)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/iigz7ne1n/Screenshot_2881.png)

And then, a shell penetrates the Nymphe's engineering, kills thirty crewmen, floods her feed tanks with seawater and drops her speed to five knots. As the other German cruisers cluster around her, the Russians fade into the rain.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ijqx12fvf/Screenshot_2882.png)

The battlewagons are finally having some more luck. For once, they are not concentrating several ships' worth of firepower onto a single target and their firing control can get clear solutions. Zähringen and Braunschweig are duelling the Petr Veliki and the Pamyat Azova and score several hits.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/78o9cp90b/Screenshot_2883.png)

Braunschweig takes some damage in return, but her damcon crews patch her up relatively quickly.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ghqfmthwb/Screenshot_2884.png)

At this point, visibility has fallen to under 5,000 yards. Büchsel decides that continuing the fight is nonsensical, especially given that there are over a dozen unspotted Russian torpedo boats in the area. He signals the fleet to return to base.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/b8veoxzh7/Screenshot_2886.png)

The mood is sullen and resentful. The fleet operated by the book; and yet results were disappointing. True, the Russians had been beaten back by what, in paper, was an inferior force; but the Germans had hoped for a decisive victory (especially given the inferior quality of the Russian ships) and they had been denied that.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/jfnegipjv/Screenshot_2887.png)

The Kaiser was not happy.

NOTE: As you may have noticed, I have slightly edited the screenshots, with ship 'trails', to make following the ship movements easier. This takes some time and effort and I want to make sure it's time and effort well-invested. Please let me know what you think; is this noticeably better for you, or confusing?

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 02, 2017, 12:38:13 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cripple fight.
Starting off with the biggest fleet engagement we've seen yet, and end an amazing number of zero ships sunk  :lol:

The ship trails do make it a bit easier to see what's going on.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scourge of Ages on March 02, 2017, 12:59:55 pm
I noticed the trails, and I have to say they're massively useful for following the action.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 02, 2017, 01:01:28 pm
Thirded. Please keep the trails.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 02, 2017, 01:06:39 pm
That Pamyat Azova class though...  (http://cdn-messrm-na.gcdn.co/static/4.7/style_emoticons/wows/look.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Droid803 on March 02, 2017, 01:10:35 pm
I do like the trails.

Also lol that battleship with noguns
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 02, 2017, 01:18:37 pm
OK, so I think that everybody liked the trails. They will, therefore, stay.

I am currently lacking anything comparable to the massive Kantai fandom to draw funnies from. So things might be a bit more serious than the Japanese campaign. If there's anything that you think would fit the theme, poke me with it and I'll see what I can do.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Col. Fishguts on March 02, 2017, 02:26:13 pm
As someone who doesn't play the game and is regularly confused on what he's looking at, yes the ship trails help a lot :)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scotty on March 02, 2017, 03:14:35 pm
I think having a fantastic (literally speaking) and humorous Japanese playthrough naturally begs for a 100% serious no humor allowed German playthrough.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 02, 2017, 03:25:21 pm
[leutnant]WAR IS A SERIOUS MATTER! **** YOU![/leutnant]
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on March 02, 2017, 04:34:36 pm
Mein Kaiser, our fleet's performance like that was like a punch from a weak left arm! It is unthinkable that the left arm of our fleet, our battleships, were not supported by a strong right arm of destroyer torpedo runs!

please make as much fun as possible out of Kaiser ****ing Wilheim.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on March 02, 2017, 06:43:40 pm
Once again the Gulf of Finland proves to be difficult for fleets exchanging fire!

Quote
The Germans form line of battle. The Russians form...a blob of battle?

That's actually surprisingly accurate historically.

Since its mid May, the Gulf is not frozen anymore. Would be interesting to see a winter marine engagement - with pack ice...

Makes me wonder how well does the game simulate the actual depth of the Gulf. From what I've understood, straying from the mapped lines carries a significant risk of running aground anywhere near the mainland of Finland.

Also, this
(https://i.imgflip.com/1kobth.jpg)

Let those slaughterships rule the seas!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 02, 2017, 07:59:30 pm
Mein Kaiser, our fleet's performance like that was like a punch from a weak left arm! It is unthinkable that the left arm of our fleet, our battleships, were not supported by a strong right arm of destroyer torpedo runs!

You try to convince KFW that destroyers are a necessary part of a battle-line. Galster has almost given up trying.

Would be interesting to see a winter marine engagement - with pack ice...

Not directly simulated - although winter engagements have a higher chance of limiting ship speed because of weather.

Quote
Makes me wonder how well does the game simulate the actual depth of the Gulf. From what I've understood, straying from the mapped lines carries a significant risk of running aground anywhere near the mainland of Finland.

It doesn't, I'm afraid. Those areas of the Gulf that are too shallow are marked as 'swampland' / coastal shallows and ships will flat out refuse to enter them (they'll treat them as minefields).
Title: Die Bornholmschlacht
Post by: Enioch on March 03, 2017, 07:24:33 am
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(https://s9.postimg.cc/sb5sosqmn/wilhelm_tirpitz1.jpg)

"After the Finlandschlacht, His Majesty was very angry with the performance of the Kaiserliche Marine. We had promised His Majesty a quick, decisive victory and had failed to deliver it. This was partly because of the incomplete training of our crews and, for that, the responsibility lay solely upon the Admiralität. But a significant part in the inconclusive battle was also played by the weather, which had prevented us from properly acquiring targets, even at extremely close ranges.

"More significantly, it became evident that positioning our ships in such a way as to maximise the number of ships firing on a single target was not a viable tactic. I can confirm that, during the battle, it was impossible to distinguish the splashes of Hertha's shells from those of Victoria Louise, or even the light cruisers! We had to instruct our officers to adopt a 'duelling' approach. Each ship's commanding officer was instructed to select targets that were currently unengaged above all others.

"But His Majesty harangued and criticised the Admiralität most severely for what he perceived to be our failings; and insisted that the Fleet pursue a more agggressive stance. In all frankness, this was the Admiralität's opinion also. Thankfully, His Excellency, the Herzog championed our cause to a considerable degree."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s9.postimg.cc/l9px0nvwv/Screenshot_2888.png)

No, Wilhelm wasn't pleased at all; but both von Bülow and von Mecklenburg laboured separately to support the Admiralität. Von Mecklenburg, in particular, invited the Admirals once more to his Berlin residence and requested that they point out what they thought the main problems with the German tactics so far had been. By this point, both von Tirpitz and Galster perceived the Herzog as a political ally; and were eager to discuss their future plans. Von Mecklenburg had firmly established himself as a supporter of the Kaiserliche Marine - even more so, when, in a callback to his Colonial service, he funded the dredging up of Tanga's military harbour, with the goal of converting it into a major coaling station for the colonial fleet.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/oulsjw0gf/Screenshot_2889.png)

With Mecklenburg only six months away from completion, the Admiralität played a game of cat-and-mouse with the Russian Fleet, buying time.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/sgrlwj6tr/Screenshot_2891.png)

In early June, the Russian cruiser Nadezdha managed to sneak into German territorial waters and sank the freighter Rheingold.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back. With the German and Russian armies bogged down in tentative jabs and forays, Wilhelm ordered that the Flotte mobilize in full and "teach those Gotverdammte Russians their place."

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ixhx32jbj/Screenshot_2892.png)

Tirpitz was hesitant about commiting the battlefleet; but Galster employed his cruiser forces to great effect. On the 15th of June, Hertha and Freya engaged three Russian light cruisers in the Baltic Sea.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/42tbow9qn/Screenshot_2893.png)

The Russians turned and ran under fire, denying battle; this cheered up Wilhelm to some extent.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/f3ogtx1zj/Screenshot_2894.png)

It also emboldened Galster. For a followup, he led Hertha and Victoria Louise, accompanied by Frauenlob and three Zerstörer to Saaremaa.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/pf0tmktov/Screenshot_2895.png)

There, he bombarded Russian coastal fortifications and sank four merchant vessels, avenging the Rheingold with added interest. Wilhelm, mollified, acknowledged the value of lighter forces for the first time; and allowed von Meclenburg to award Galster with the Grand Commander's Cross of the Order of the Griffon for his service, on behalf of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/9utfw1jkf/Screenshot_2896.png)

Tirpitz could not allow Galster to take all the glory. On the 17th of July, he sent out the entirety of his battlefield on a daring raid on Russian shipping, near Bornholm.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/gxpd5jwur/image.jpg)

This time, the Russians responded.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/jteeiiszz/Screenshot_2897.png)

The time is a quarter past noon, just to the east of Bornholm. The entirety of the German battleline is present, escorted by Galster's cruisers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/spts078zz/Screenshot_2898.png)

The weather, unfortunately, is, once again, overcast; and it is raining lightly. Visibility is...less than ideal. A stiff breeze blows from the east.

The Frauenlob, Victoria Louise and Freya are spread out in front of the fleet, as a scouting element. This time around, Galster is holding his flagship, Hertha, in reserve, near the battleships.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/h1zq5njv3/Screenshot_2899.png)

15:34: Contact! Victoria Louise spots an enemy capital ship emerging from a nearby fogbank.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/hg12593yn/Screenshot_2900.png)

Scratch that - two capitals. The Germans immediately re-arrange their fleet. The scouting elements fall back; the battleships maneuver to form line of battle. Wettin fires the first shot!

(https://s9.postimg.cc/4d5flzdqn/Screenshot_2901.png)

Ten minutes later, the secondaries of Wettin score first blood. This time around, the firing discipline of the Germans is much improved; each of the German battleships is engaging a different enemy capital.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/pbblk2dlb/Screenshot_2902.png)

The two battle-lines thunder at each other at under 5,000 yards. Both fleets are holding formation for now; but the German heavy cruisers are almost ready to lend their own fire to the line.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/wftet3kun/Screenshot_2903.png)

16:22. Wettin peppers one of the Pavels with secondary fire; she receives a hit in return, but her armor holds strong. Hertha, on the other hand, is hit by incendiary ammunition; her superstructure bursts in flames.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/p1430pyz3/Screenshot_2904.png)

Galster curses bitterly and signals the Victoria Louise to assume command of the cruiser forces; Hertha pulls out of the battleline and cuts her speed, to allow damcon crews to get to work fighting the flames. Wettin keeps up the withering barrage of secondary fire on the Pavel.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/qhfliv1vz/Screenshot_2905.png)

16:44. The fire on Hertha is extinguished and Galster orders flank speed and rushes to rejoin the line. Further to the north, Braunschweig scores a main battery hit on the Petr Veliki; and Zähringen strikes the second Pavel.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/tpk2vwo5r/Screenshot_2906.png)

Büchsel will not be denied this time around. The battleships serpentine in parallel with the Russian fleet; presenting alternating good and bad targets. This confuses the Russian gunners.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/iehf7jhan/Screenshot_2907.png)

Meanwhile, during his mad rush to rejoin the battle-line, Galster runs across a Russian torpedoboat, that charges in for an attack. The entirety of Hertha's starboard secondary and tertiary battery erupts in fire and thunder. The Gremyashchy-class destroyer is blown out of the water and Hertha plows on, undaunted and unslowed.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/85tjfgimn/Screenshot_2908.png)

Wettin, Braunschweig and Schwaben are closely engaging the Russian fleet; Zähringen has fallen behind, for unknown reasons. Büchsel curses bitterly, for he is now outnumbered. Even worse, Zähringen is firing at the Pamyat Azova and messing up Wettin's targeting.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/exjyib7m7/Screenshot_2909.png)

The pursuit continues. Once again, the Schwaben-class' high speed helps the Germans dictate the battle.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/41skmymof/Screenshot_2912.png)

18:40. Büchsel notes that the Petr Veliki is losing speed. He sees an opportunity and hoists the 'flotilla attack' signal. The three Zerstörer V3, V4 and V6 swing to the attack. Unfortunately, V6 is immediately struck by one of the Pietr Veliki's secondaries. Her single torpedo explodes on her mount. The ship shudders; but her machinery is still operational and she continues her mad charge, as bait if nothing else.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ghpagpg0f/Screenshot_2913.png)

The three destroyers cross the Schwaben's wake and charge down the Pietr. Schwaben keeps up her own fire and scores another main battery hit and a secondary hit on the Russian's superstructure.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/wh7y09c27/Screenshot_2914.png)

The Pietr maneuvers wildly to avoid the German ships but, at 500 yards, V4 launches her single torpedo. The destroyer flotilla then turns away, seeking safety behind Schwaben's armor.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/yztn0xxsf/Screenshot_2915.png)

The torpedo explosion blows a fountain of water sky-high. The Pietr shudders; her guns fall silent and she slows down even further. The German fleet erupts in cheers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ccedusi8f/Screenshot_2916.png)

Galster maneuvers Hertha next to the hulk and opens up with main and secondary guns; twenty minutes later, the Pietr slips under the waves.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5n7uerwwf/Screenshot_2917.png)

Büchsel, from on board the Braunschweig orders Schwaben and the destroyers to reform with the fleet; but Schwaben's captain, Kapitän zur Zee Nikolaus Bernuth, charges in, to keep the enemy spotted in the gloom. He puts her in a wild serpentine, to avoid incoming fire; and has her secondaries fire star-shells over the enemy ships. The entire fleet converges on her position.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/jv24h5yz3/Screenshot_2918.png)

Schwaben then uses her speed to cut in front of one of the Pavels. Zähringen and Hertha are not far behind.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/oi86ixmbz/Screenshot_2919.png)

The entire fleet swings past the Russian battleship. Hertha and Zähringen score hits with their main armament; and the cruisers completely obliterate her DD escort.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/tux0x2a8f/Screenshot_2920.png)

Then, the destroyers move in. V3 launches a torp at close range and scores a hit.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ciwobmgr3/Screenshot_2921.png)

She's still fighting; and she has her own torpedo launchers. The Germans know they've hurt her; they are hesitant to take any risks. Büchsel orders his ships to open the range.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/r3dr6gbpr/Screenshot_2922.png)

21:16. The Pavel increases her speed and tries to escape towards the east. The Germans pursue.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/7o2zdcifj/Screenshot_2924.png)

It doesn't take long for them to corner her again. She is now completely alone; the rest of the Russian fleet having retreated in the evening gloom.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/6n2qo81fz/Screenshot_2925.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/yogs1x6q7/Screenshot_2926.png)

22:19. Disaster strikes. The Pavel launches a torpedo that strikes the Freya amidships. Her keel snaps. She lists, flips over and sinks in under a minute.

The Germans are horrified; Galster more than anyone. In a single fell swoop, he has lost a third of his heavy cruiser fleet; and almost eight hundred sailors and officers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/d3bpeb9zj/Screenshot_2927.png)

But Büchsel grasps the opportunity. Knowing that the Pavel has launched her fish, he closes in with his battleships for the kill. Schwaben scores two main battery hits; and the Pavel follows the Freya to the bottom of the sea.

The fleet turns to return to port-

(https://s9.postimg.cc/n219ej8sv/Screenshot_2928.png)

-and then, out of the night, a light cruiser appears on Zähringen's starboard side. The German battlewagon turns, desperately-

(https://s9.postimg.cc/rp7bgaw5r/Screenshot_2929.png)

-but to no avail. She eats a torpedo and her superstructure is raked by multiple high-explosive shells before she can bring her guns to bear.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/pzy888ggf/Screenshot_2931.png)

Thankfully, her damcon crews are on-point and her captain orders an emergency stop to avoid stressing the bulkheads. The Diana turns to bring her other launcher to bear-

(https://s9.postimg.cc/jaros7v4f/Screenshot_2932.png)

-and is promptly blown out of the water by Zähringen's secondaries and Victoria Louise's 11-inchers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ongj6cj0v/Screenshot_2933.png)

It takes the crew of the Zähringen less than 10 minutes to stop the flooding. She has suffered considerable damage, but she's still afloat and seaworthy; she can even almost do cruise speed.

At this point, all commanders agree that they cannot expect any better results. They make best steam back to Danzig; the fleet reaches harbor by 6:00 am on the 18th of July.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/hymwg3vz5/28067306baae24d63f47c07f20eb6838.jpg)
The stricken Zähringen after the Bornholmschlacht

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5welw6ogf/Screenshot_2934.png)

A bloody victory, but a glorious one, nonetheless! Tirpitz strutted like a rooster.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/cbdmsuv67/Screenshot_2935.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/sawacer7z/Screenshot_2936.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/3kb7cc18v/Screenshot_2938.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/3ll55r32n/Screenshot_2939.png)

The Russian losses. Two battleships, including the Retvizan, one of their most modern battlewagons; the light cruiser Avrora and three destroyers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/hpcf0ekwf/Screenshot_2937.png)

The Germans only lost the Freya. A grievous loss, true; but a bittersweet one, given the toll they had exacted upon their enemies.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/htatuefrj/Screenshot_2940.png)

And, this time, the Germans could not complain about their gunnery. The Zähringen and Schwaben performed spectacularly, with more than 700 shells fired between them and almost 40 hits scored.
 
(https://s9.postimg.cc/n5zo8j3nz/Screenshot_2941.png)

A more precise map of the ship movements, (for the naval historians - many thanks to the Admiralitätsarchiv for their kind permission to reproduce this)! Note the two 'knots' near the centre of the map - that's where the two Russian battleships sank.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/6j7rvgfdb/Screenshot_2942.png)

The Battle of Bornholm! A glorious new beginning for the Kaiserliche Marine!

(https://s22.postimg.cc/wjcuhkq5t/Elm06m.gif)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 03, 2017, 07:54:41 am
A glorious day for the Kaiserliche Marine!

Since I know next to nothing about this game, all I can do is help out with language.
Mika, you made a nice meme but the proper grammar is "Es schlachtet Schiffe".

Diese verdammten Russen will regret the day they picked a fight with the Reich. Gott mit uns!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 03, 2017, 08:38:56 am
A glorious sortie for the High Seas Fleet. :yes:

I assume once ze R&D discover the advanced technology of "paint ball rounds" they can effectively focus fire again? :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 03, 2017, 08:41:54 am
A glorious sortie for the High Seas Fleet. :yes:

I assume once ze R&D discover the advanced technology of "paint ball rounds" they can effectively focus fire again? :P

Exactly
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on March 03, 2017, 05:08:45 pm
Quote
It doesn't, I'm afraid. Those areas of the Gulf that are too shallow are marked as 'swampland' / coastal shallows and ships will flat out refuse to enter them (they'll treat them as minefields).

Dang it, no chance of something like this occurring then.
 (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CE2Le9gUMAAORc5.jpg)
(The picture is U-363 that run aground in Swedish territorial waters in 1981. Navigational equipment failure was given as a reason). I imagine the region near the City of Turku being particularly prone for this. Finland has the greatest number of islands in the world (Archipelago of Finland), but nobody says anything about the size of those islands  ;7

Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea have historically been areas where there have been lesser known large marine confrontations, some of them ending up as mehs (like battle of Hogland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hogland)), while some of them rather lopsided like the the battle of Gangut (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gangut), and the battle of Juminda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_evacuation_of_Tallinn). EDIT: In Juminda, The Soviet fleet was forced to seek shelter at harbor near Tallinn, and the risk of getting captured grew all the time, so the decision was made to attempt a breakthrough. This breakthrough happened to require steaming through a Finnish-German mine field. Estimated 12 000 people died in this alone, a significant number of them being unfortunately civilians.
Title: Running the Blockade
Post by: Enioch on March 04, 2017, 11:57:41 am
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(https://s9.postimg.cc/y0i7zge33/128.png)

"The loss of the Freya was a great blow for our cruiser fleet, but there was no denying that Bornholm had been a spectacular victory for the Vaterland. Upon receiving the news that half of the Russian battlefleet had been sunk, His Majesty's spirits soared. He became particularly expressive and diffuse in his praise; and he would often refer to the fleet as 'meine Helden aufs Meer'.

"More importantly, it became possible for me to better promote the importance of the light forces in a battle-line. Where the cruiser raids of the previous months had shown His Majesty the utility and wide range of options that a strong cruiser fleet provides, Bornholm demonstrated the importance of our Zerstörer. Both of the lost enemy battleships had been softened up by our own battle-line; but it was the torpedoes of our destroyer flotilla that ultimately sent them to the bottom - and Freya had been lost to a torpedo attack.

"Upon our debriefing, Herr von Tirpitz and myself decided that our future doctrine had to take into account how these small craft could decisively affect the outcome of a battle. However, unsurprisingly, we disagreed considerably on what course we should pursue..."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s22.postimg.cc/tw9fuu0up/Screenshot_2943.png)

With a crushing numerical- and tonnage superiority over the Russians achieved, Büchsel establishes a distant blockade on the Russian ports. The German battlefleet is sufficient to keep the Russians bottled into the Baltic; and the Russian forces stationed in the Far East are so anemic that the German Gefions stationed there can, likewise, keep them contained. Tirpitz turns to the R & D department, for new, better options. Unfortunately, the engineers have little to show for their efforts.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/r3g8at0i9/Screenshot_2944.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/s70cmrl5d/Screenshot_2945.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/ucunh9olt/Screenshot_2946.png)

And, meanwhile, the Russians take advantage of organisational problems encountered by the blockading forces to slip three raiders past the blockade. The Diana, Bayan and Nadezhda sink eight German freighters over the space of a month. Büchsel is at his wits' end and being heavily pressured by Tirpitz to do something: he can keep the Russian capitals and merchant traffic contained, but his battlewagons are too slow to intercept the fast Russian raiders.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/45tglb6c1/Screenshot_2947.png)

Under his prompting, Galster and von Holtzendorff meet and draw up a battle plan; they dispatch the German Gazelles as fast interceptors. And their efforts are rewarded on the 19th of August, when the Frauenlob detects and engages the Diana, in the open sea near Skagerrak.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/g8ys8vhe9/Screenshot_2948.png)

Diana has half an inch more of belt armor, but her guns are on shielded deck mounts instead of armored turrets, she is three knots slower and eleven hundred tons lighter than the Frauenlob.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/o87qholw1/Screenshot_2953.png)

The outcome of the battle was never in question. The German rakes her decks with high-explosive, silences her broadside and punishes her with close-range gunnery, until the Russian ship is a smoking wreck.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/5v7574bf5/Screenshot_2955.png)

The Frauenlob's log recorded 56 hits scored, to only six received. The intensive gunnery training ofthe German crews was paying off dividents.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/56yao6cpd/Screenshot_2956.png)

Von Holtzendorff received much praise for sinking the Russian raider - the loss of the ship limited the options of the Russians considerably.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/fjkla968h/Screenshot_2958.png)

At the end of the month, the Kaiser convened a war council. The land war was proceeding as well as could be expected, with the German army scoring considerable successes in the Baltic front; but Wilhelm was primarily concerned about the successes of his navy. He declared his complete satisfaction with how his forces had conducted the war so far (although he noted that they should have been much more aggressive during the early war months, given the Bornholm success), but expressed some concern regarding their future plans.

"The Russians are hiding in their harbors," he declared, "and you cannot draw them out. But nor can you keep them in, given that they're sinking our ships. What then shall you do, gentlemen?"

The Admiralität had been preparing for such a question. Von Mecklenburg had, once again, brought Tirpitz and Galster together and had hammered out a compromise. Tirpitz presented the Staff's new doctrine:

First, the battle-fleet would tighten the blockade of the Russian ports, and wait for the commissioning of the Mecklenburg before offering battle to the Russians. That would guarantee 2.5-to-1 odds in capital hulls. And if the Russians refused battle, the Germans would bring it to them: minesweepers would push into the Baltic and clear the enemy minefields, allowing the German battle-line to bombard coastal targets and ports.

"But what of the enemy raiders?" demanded the Kaiser. "How do you propose to stop them?"

This, explained Tirpitz, was the second part of the plan. He admitted (with a sour face) that Konteradmiral Galster's cruiser forces had proven themselves the only ships capable of tracking down and engaging the enemy forces. Unfortunately, the budget could not support the construction of new cruisers - and the war would be over by the time they left the slipways anyway.

The mood in the room fell immediately. "It was amazing to see," Galster writes,"His Majesty, always a defendder of the battleship, scowling at the news that we would not be building new cruisers." Thankfully, the Admiralität had a ready answer.

First, Tirpitz explained, the colonial bases would be further dredged up and funds set aside for the construction of coaling stations in Africa and the Pacific. The total cost of this massive upgrading of colonial infrastructure would cost less than half a cruiser and the works would be completed within a year. This would allow the German cruisers to operate in a much wider theater of operations and give them world-wide reach.

"D__n me if that isn't von Mecklenburg speaking!" the Kaiser exclaimed by the end of the proposal. "I agree, gentlemen, proceed!"

(https://s22.postimg.cc/wldfccl3l/Screenshot_2959.png)

Tirpitz was not finished, however. He also submitted for the Kaiser's perusal the blueprints for a new iteration on the older Zerstörer designs: a ship of 600 tons, with improved speed and torpedo armament. The Großadmiral was uncharacteristically chipper as he presented the engineers work - and the Kaiser noticed.

"Well then, von Tirpitz," he chuckled, "back to designing torpedoboats, I see? Very well, I suppose these toy boats of yours have proven their worth. But not a single Mark is to be taken from the battleship budget, do you understand?"

(https://s22.postimg.cc/49wgt1qkx/Screenshot_2960.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/4nxssnaoh/Screenshot_2961.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/3mxk3itox/Screenshot_2962.png)

His good mood would, unfortunately, not last long. Throughout September the reports came in: of Russian raiders running the blockade and sinking German freighters in the North Sea and the Atlantic. The losses were not heavy, but they grated and the Admiralität had long since realised that an annoyed Kaiser was not someone easy to work with.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/6ianadxox/Screenshot_2963.png)

Some entertainment was had when Military Intelligence "acquired" the plans of the British Bedford-class battleship. What were the Brits thinking?

(https://s22.postimg.cc/jayrab9ap/Screenshot_2964.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/l41nymuhd/Screenshot_2965.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/p1oxo1hap/Screenshot_2966.png)

But the Russian raiding campaign continued well into October.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/5l481im6p/Screenshot_2967.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/fwgku6dw1/Screenshot_2968.png)

This time around, however, the cruiser fleet passed their test with flying colors. Korvettenkapitän Henckel von Donnersmack had drawn up a detailed map of Russian raider sightings and traced their preferred sea routes. He then led his own small Gefion-class cruiser, the Nymphe on an independent intercept mission south of Ireland. He there spotted and engaged the Pamyat Merkuriya, eventually sinking the smaller Russian ship.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/o38klr3yp/Screenshot_2969.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/g3fs36oi7/Herzogin_Elisabeth_zu_Mecklenburg.jpg)

His victory was received with great enthusiasm in Berlin; and the Kaiser's spirits rose significantly with the commissioning of the final Schwaben-class battleship, the Mecklenburg. The commissioning was a grand affair, especially given the Herzog's recent rise in the Berlin political scene; his wife, the Prinzessin Elisabeth Sybille von Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (who was also an increasingly well-known philanthropist) was called to organise the post-commissioning ball - which was a resounding success in Berliner high society.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/tg20dmh8x/Screenshot_2970.png)

And then, some good news from R & D! Improved safety valves were almost ready to be employed in warship boilers.

(https://s22.postimg.cc/e8m0t9pe9/Screenshot_2971.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/uxngp6lzl/Screenshot_2972.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/t74fnp4gh/Screenshot_2973.png)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/xhj3ja9jl/Screenshot_2974.png)

The Russian raiders scored more successes in November, but both Tirpitz and Büchsel were grimly satisfied. Two of the Russian raiders were confirmed to have been heavy cruisers, decidedly unsuited for raiding work. If the Russians were deploying those, that meant that they were running out of dedicated raiders - and exposing their capital ships to the danger of running the blockade.

It was only a matter of time before-

(https://s22.postimg.cc/vr02hss0h/Screenshot_2975.png)

-that.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/dpq4hvjtv/23_German_Battleship_Schlesig_Holstein_on_1st_Se.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on March 04, 2017, 02:31:40 pm
NO MISTER FISHER, NO
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 04, 2017, 02:45:52 pm
NO MISTER FISHER, NO

 :lol:

This is going to be a 'thing' now, won't it?

EDIT: Also, I just finished this game (i.e. played all the way to January 1950) in my bus ride back from London. There has never been a time where I resented this hard cutoff point more.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 04, 2017, 09:01:14 pm
Oh man, those single russian torpedo mounts, I was worried for the Zähringen for a moment (https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ohdear.png)

And now, time for round 3



He he he he 'cockburn'
Title: Die Gotlandschlacht
Post by: Enioch on March 05, 2017, 06:59:03 am
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(https://s14.postimg.cc/trejrrigx/1200px_Austrian_fleet_on_maneuvers.jpg)

"When the Russian fleet sortied to meet us, I knew that this was the opportunity we were expecting. My battle-line was not ready, because the Mecklenburg was still on her shakedown cruise; but I could not let this chance at destroying the enemy pass. Konteradmiral Galster only had the Hertha on station, but we had a good screening force of Zerstörer and light cruisers, so I decided to engage with my four battleships against their expected two and, hopefully, win this day for my Kaiser and my Vaterland.

-Vizeadm. Büchsel W 1926, The Baltic Campaign: Commentary on Naval Tactics, Valkyria Verlag: Dresden


(https://s30.postimg.cc/6b1y87j1d/Screenshot_2976.png)

It is dawn, of the 21st of November 1901. The Hochseeflotte is sailing north into the Baltic, the coast of Finland to their east.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/r9846aiw1/Screenshot_2977.png)

The German fleet consists of the four active-service Schwabens, all veterans by now. They are closely escorted by three Zerstörer and the Nymphe as a screening element. Far ahead of the fleet, from his flagship on the Hertha, Galster is leading the scouting cruisers Hela and Frauenlob.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/3wa2ns2sh/Screenshot_2978.png)

07:50 - Contact! At least two capital ships and their escort. The German fleet beats to quarters and the battlewagons accellerate to flank. Galster orders his light cruisers to fall back and takes the Hertha closer, for a detailed assessment of the enemy squadron strength. He identifies two light cruisers and confirms that the capitals are, in fact, the Russian battleships.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/3wf4kw941/Screenshot_2979.png)

He closes in further and opens fire at long range at the leading, Diana-class light cruiser. His lookouts also spot a destroyer flotilla escorting the battlewagons and identify the latter: the Pavel is leading and the Pamyat Azova is following in her wake.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/k8p6amnfl/Screenshot_2980.png)

08:26 - Both Hertha and the Diana-class disengage and fall back to their battle-lines; the German battleships are closing the range, with Zähringen leading the charge this time around.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/vz33s0g81/Screenshot_2981.png)

Büchsel forms his battle-line to the west of the Russians, to take advantage of the wind. The Russians hesitate - and then turn in to engage. The Pavel is almost immediately hit by one of the Braunschweig's shells.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/regxd2wip/Screenshot_2982.png)

09:11 - The two fleets are sailing in parallel, exchanging fire.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/h5og798gx/Screenshot_2983.png)

Zähringen has received some hits and her forward turret is jammed, but she's still in the fight and leading the battle-line. Her armor is reliably bouncing shells from the Pavel's secondaries.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/l5vljhyxt/Screenshot_2986.png)

The Russians keep turning away from the German battle-line, but the Germans are faster and maneuver to follow. The result is an ever-narrowing spiral, with the Russians at the centre.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/i0aztagbl/Screenshot_2987.png)

11:19 - The Russians turn to flee. The Germans have closed the range and are scoring repeated hits; the light cruisers are now engaging the Russian destroyer escort.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/rm4k9l7hd/Screenshot_2988.png)

It doesn't take long for the German battle-line to catch up. The stokers of both fleets are exhausted, after almost three hours of flank speed, but the Germans are still faster and they smoothly slot onto the Russians' side once more.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/d4byfc5k1/Screenshot_2989.png)

Then - the lookouts report a fire on the Pavel's deck. The Russian battle-wagon burns quite well and she seeks refuge behind her destroyers. Ideally, the Russian commander would be retreating to a harbor by now.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/vxxrcc3s1/Screenshot_2990.png)

However, the Germans have maneuvered to cut off his escape into the gulf of Finland.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/x41rb4s2p/Screenshot_2993.png)

The Russian turns away toward the west, to escape the German guns; the German battleships follow in close pursuit. Büchsel splits up his forces: Wettin, Braunschweig and Hertha flank the Russians from the south, while Zähringen and Schwaben close in from the north.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/z9w25mvj5/Screenshot_2994.png)

However, dusk is falling. It is, after all, late November in the North. After more than six hours, Büchsel has failed to sink any of the precious Russian capital ships. Fearing that he would lose them in the dark, he orders his Zerstörer to attack.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/4tq57ia01/Screenshot_2995.png)

V6 leads the charge, but it is V3 that finds a firing solution on the Pamyat Azova. At 600 yards, she drops her single fish into the water and sprints away, under the fire of the Russian's secondaries.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/7p38ede01/Screenshot_2996.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/8jxy1k25n/Navy_Paintings022.jpg)

14:45 - The torpedo hits! The Russian ship slows and lists.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/hawsuo55t/Screenshot_2997.png)

And less than a minute later, a second torpedo (this one launched by V4) also makes contact.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/d320lx3q9/Screenshot_2998.png)

The Russian is done.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/mp06fyk9t/Screenshot_2999.png)

Night falls; and visibility drops sharply to less than 3,000 yards. The Germans lose contact with the Pavel; Büchsel decides to risk a night-time pursuit. He orders the light cruisers out on scouting runs.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/fztmzxyxt/Screenshot_3000.png)

15:47 - The Hela and Frauenlob spot the Pavel! She's making full speed toward the north. They close in but, in the darkness and light snowfall, they do not dare launch any torpedoes.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/vmkwdbcpt/Screenshot_3001.png)

The Pavel is still terrified. She turns hard to port, trying to avoid them; and runs straight into Zähringen and Schwaben, at under 2,000 yards.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/s5iuacdnl/Screenshot_3003.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/701dyxm73/159147828.jpg)

The following seconds are a mess of fire, smoke and thunder, as all ships maneuver frantically to avoid collisions and torpedoes. When it clears, the V4 is sinking, blown to Kingdom Come by the Pavel's secondaries; and the Pavel itself has slipped away.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/ubd54uh41/Screenshot_3004.png)

Büchsel curses; and requests a sitrep from the remaining two Zerstörers. They have both expended their torpedoes; their anti-capital punch is spent. That settles the matter for Büchsel

(https://s30.postimg.cc/b7jtoi49t/Screenshot_3005.png)

He turns the fleet around and makes course for Germany. He will not risk his ships further in a night action and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/p3s20e0ip/Screenshot_3007.png)

And it's a good victory - nobody can deny that. Büchsel's ships are damaged and he lost a Zerstörer, but he has sunk one of the two remaining Russian battleships and a destroyer for no caital losses of his own. .

(https://s30.postimg.cc/dspec0tnl/Screenshot_3008.png)

Once again, many thanks to the Admiralitätsarchiv for their kind permission to reproduce the chart of the battle. Note the near-parallel running of the two fleets for its near-entirety: this was a textbook 'line' battle from both sides.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/4nlmvwfmp/Screenshot_3010.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/z3rju115t/Screenshot_3009.png)

Truly, the Kaiser had nothing to reproach his sailors for. An honourable victory, if not as total as the Admiralität had hoped for.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/4u3tosiq3/0958480df9abd3f6934d9d4ecb97991d.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 05, 2017, 10:23:07 am
 :( Oh no not the Azova.  If you let her live then the Russians would of assume it was a viable design. :drevil:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 06, 2017, 04:36:38 pm
Speaking of that silly Russian battleboat, how viable would a 'secondary' battleship actually be in the early stages? I'm thinking fast speed, good armor and then just a ****load of medium sized guns and some torptubes, save weight on the heavy main gunturrets. Close the distance and brawl like crazy.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 06, 2017, 04:51:04 pm
Frankly, I don't know. Presumably, it could be a good cruiser-killer.

However, the thing about a secondary-based battleship is that, eventually, gradual improvements in AP projectiles and fire control make main batteries increasingly better by, say, 1905-1910. At which point, predreads remain relevant only if they have a good main battery, because any BB / BC has enough guns to solorape any one (or even two) predreads.

So, a secondary-based B should only remain relevant until 1905-ish. And why would you build anything like that?

Also, keep in mind that secondaries are aimed with iron sights until the discovery of 'secondary directors'. So, you may have the equivalent of a light cruiser strapped to each side of your BB, but you won't be hitting **** early on.
Title: (Mis)steps Forward
Post by: Enioch on March 06, 2017, 05:52:03 pm
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"It would be petty of me to not admit Vizeadmiral Büchsel's genius in not taking any chances and succeeding in not losing the war in a nighttime ambush. His handling of the German battle-line was exceptional in Gotland; and I have no doubts that his tactics won us the war.

"I am happy to say that, by the end of the battle, Herr Admiral Büchsel and I were in full accord regarding the future of the Hochseeflotte. The battleships were truly powerful weapons; but, for all their armor, they were surprisingly fragile against a single torpedo. If the German fleet were to take its place in the sun, we had to somehow address this matter - and we also had to make Herr von Tirpitz and His Majesty see that a radical redesign of our capitals was in order"

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/y3iv2s44l/Screenshot_3011.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/a1217wnhh/Screenshot_3012.png)

Upon the return of the fleet, the Kaiser was quick to go public with statements regarding the "final destruction of the Russian fleet" and the "unquestioned supremacy of the Kaiserliche Marine". Most of the officers were glad for the praise; but they also were grimly aware of the fact that the latest sinking of the Pamyat Azova, which the Kaiser was eager to attribute to his battleships, was, in fact, once again, the work of Galster's Zerstörer.

For once, von Mecklenburg did not have to bring the two Admiralität factions together. Both Tirpitz (under the strong prompting of Büchsel) and Galster had learned their lesson. Galster made the first move, approaching Tirpitz with his concerns regarding "the survivability of battleships in the modern battlefield against light forces and torpedo warfare" and with a detailed list of how Tirpitz' behemoths might be better fortified against torpedo attacks; Tirpitz, in turn, was quick to release further funds for the expansion of colonial harbors in Africa and the Pacific. Finally the two admiralty factions were working to complement instead of undermine each other.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/bhdjq1qed/Screenshot_3013.png)

He also agreed on the need for new screening cruisers and authorised the accellerated completion of the light cruiser Ariadne. The ship was commissioned on the 30th of November and Galster was very appreciative of the reinforcement of his cruiser forces. In collaboration with von Holtzendorff, he began drawing up a detailed, statistics-based plan for the interception of Russian raiders in the upcoming weeks.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/n7rh7fj6t/Screenshot_3014.png)

Fortunately, it never became necessary to put their plan into action. On the 29th of November, Russia sued for peace: their ports blockaded and their armies in full retreat. The Kaiser requested the Navy's input and the Admiralität was quick to proclaim that, with a few more months, they could park their ships in Finnish and Russian ports unopposed. The Kaiser was at the verge of demanding Russia's unconditional surrender, encouraged to no small degree by von Bülow - but then, von Mecklenburg pushed, and pushed hard.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/mp59o0jtr/135.png)

He arranged for the Kaiser to be invited to Mecklenburg, where the Herzog's nephew, Großherzog Friedrich Franz IV von Mecklenburg-Schwerin had recently come of age and assumed his ruling duties. He also arranged for the Kaiser to participate in one of the greatest deer-culling hunts of the last decade. Wilhelm, being a self-professed hunting enthusiast and constantly pampered by the von Meklenburg family, became particularly susceptible to the Herzog's influence. By the end of the hunt, Wilhelm was perceiving the emissaries of von Bülow as constant annoyances; and was becoming increasingly receptive to von Mecklenburg's ideas.

The latter informed the Kaiser of 'conspiracies' in western Europe; of French and British plans to undermine German power, if the Russian bear were to collapse. The apparent balance of power in Europe had to be maintained, von Mecklenburg claimed, or France would come to Russia's aid, no matter their previous statements. Not to mention the danger of British involvement...

The Kaiser was incensed: both at the implication that German policies should be suggested by the approval or disapproval of the 'old enemies' and at the fact that von Bülow had failed to bring this to his attention. "If all of my victories should be rendered void by a word of the British," he is said to have exclaimed, "then should I mail my crown to Buckingham Palace and be done with it?"

Von Mecklenburg's strength of personality once again saved the day. He opened up with a barrage of encouragement, declarations of fealty and appeal to sentimentality that would have made Bismarck blush; and followed with a proposed plan that seized the Kaiser's fancy. Once again, the Kaiser overruled his Chancellor's emissaries by appointing von Mecklenburg as his own personal representative to the peace talks; von Bülow could no longer ignore the increasingly relevant Herzog. A silent war was to begin between the two; a war that would rage behind the scenes for the following year.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/krpntl145/Screenshot_3015.png)

But for now, von Mecklenburg revealed his master plan. A peace was signed; a very generous peace, the purpose of which was to, primarily, reassure the French and British and, secondly, lay the foundations of Germany's rise.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/5yb08ttd1/Screenshot_3017.png)

The Russians came to the table prepared to reluctantly yield some of their territories in the Far East - perhaps Sakhalin? They were stunned when von Mecklenburg informed them that Germany was completely uninterested in any sort of territorial annexation. Instead, he negotiated for trading deals and resource exploitation. For the next ten years Germany would receive tribute in the form of raw resources: coil, oil and ores from the massive stores of the Russian hinterland. No tolls would be in effect. German industrialists would be given access and the rights to select mining zones in Siberia - zones that the Russians were barely utilising anyway.

By mid-December, von Mecklenburg had the Russians tripping over themselves to sign the proposed peace; an arrangement that they considered a bargain compared to what they had been expecting. What they failed to realise was that "Johnny's Danegeld", as the British press came to call the peace, would fuel a massive wave of German industrialisation over the upcoming years.

The Kaiser sang von Mecklenburg's praise from the rooftops; von Bülow seethed.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/rlzyj9tr9/Screenshot_3018.png)

Sadly, any profits for the Germans were still in the not-so-near future. For now, the Admiralität had to suffer a significant curtailing of their budget. Thankfully, they had been aware of that possibility and had accordingly limited their expenses: even after the signing of the peace treaty, they were still saving more than a million Goldmarken monthly, for the time when they would be needed.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/py5v1qm79/Screenshot_3022.png)

And, after all, their budget was nothing to be scoffed at. True, it was less than half of what the damned British spent on their ships, but it was more than the French! Or any other European power!

(https://s24.postimg.cc/oke86fmxx/Screenshot_3023.png)

Christmas 1901: and there was much rejoicing! The new docks in Emden and Wilhelmshaven were completed and a massive victory celebration took place, with an impressive fireworks display organised by the Admiralität. The Kaiser was throughly gejubelt by the attending crowds, to his immense satisfaction.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/lz3llsr8l/Screenshot_(3019).png)

Also - research! Finally fuelled by a joint Tirpitz - Galster push, the R & D department delivered to the grim satisfaction of both parties. First - the promised safety valves were rushed into production, ensuring that German machinery would be lighter and more reliable.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/yx0isigh1/Screenshot_3025.png)

Then - to the palm-rubbing glee of Galster, a working prototype of a military submarine vessel, armed with torpedoes, was submitted for consideration of the admiralty.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/4tm00kd7p/Screenshot_3026.png)

And, following that, improved, more destructive shells were introduced.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/hasnnq8dh/Screenshot_3028.png)

Finally, by February, designs for improved compartmentalisation were submitted. Both Tirpitz and Galster received those with barely-suppressed glee. Plans were drawn for the installation of 'bulges' and double bottoms on all German warships; the docks in the Baltic worked around the clock.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/nr67rk6at/Screenshot_3030.png)

And the docks themselves were further expanded. Tirpitz expected to be able to lay down 22k-ton capital ships by March 1903.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/lrl0memlh/Screenshot_3024.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/nd0ae7wth/Screenshot_3029.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/5cvonku05/Screenshot_3031.png)

Meanwhile, Galster was busy with reworking his cruiser fleet. Bremen and Ariadne were commissioned and completed their shakedown cruises in early 1902.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/qb1ulntut/Screenshot_3032.png)

So, when the Kaiser 'suggested' that a world cruise of a few German ships was in order, the Admiralität was not averse to sending their newest ships out. The Mecklenburg, escorted by the Bremen and Ariadne circumnavigated the world, in a mission to display the power of the Kaiserliche Marine to all!

(https://s24.postimg.cc/ldoa0jrvp/Screenshot_3033.png)

In May, Tirpitz unveiled the new R & D breakthrough that would make his giants more effective: massive, 6-ft rangefinders on their superstructures. Galster approved: anything to make the battleship more effective at keeping enemy cruisers away from the battle-line was a good thing.

Also, to keep Galster happy...

(https://s24.postimg.cc/5hzfx91b9/Screenshot_3035.png)

Ohoho. Hohoho.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/YPIrsRqqO7oB2/giphy.gif)

Hohohohoho.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/nbuxyjkdh/Screenshot_3038.png)

But the laying down of the first German Unterseeboote did not monopolise the Admiralität's time in June. For von Bülow saw a great opportunity to strike back against von Mecklenburg in the home front. The administration of northern Korea collapsed in bloody revolution - and von Bülow knew that German forces were standing by in Tsingtao and Kiautchou bay. In what he perceived to be a daring move, von Bülow approached the Kaiser with a plan for the annexation of northern Korea; and Tirpitz, unfamiliar with the tangled diplomatic web of colonial politics saw no reason not to commit his forces. Von Mecklenburg, in a short family trip to a Swiss Alpine resort didn't find out about this until the orders had been sent out.

It is said that when news reached him, he was having dinner with friends; he paled and near-collapsed. "In a few words," he is reported to have said, "the Kaiser has undone all of my work of peace. There will be war again in less than a year and there is nothing I can do to stop it."

(https://s24.postimg.cc/k8yt8wusl/Screenshot_3041.png)

Meanwhile, the German expedition was successful; northern Korea quickly fell into German hands and one more Far Eastern base was secured. Of course, what von Bülow failed to realise was that Germany was not the only player in the international game; and that his little stunt had stirred a hornet's nest.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/sso4iqn1n/tensions.png)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/aq3ooxxij/0da94984e2442e9fd6c9fd25578b96ad29b84575b8b3c0e3.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on March 06, 2017, 06:47:07 pm
Quote
(https://s24.postimg.org/5hzfx91b9/Screenshot_3035.png)
(http://im12.it/g/16969)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 06, 2017, 10:38:49 pm
Realpolitik? Try ReallyBadpolitik.

(http://static0.akpool.de/images/cards/110/1109970.jpg)

Take mein helmet and sit on it...

Dummkopf.
Title: The Diplomatic two-step
Post by: Enioch on March 09, 2017, 05:01:20 pm
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- PART 2 -
The Long War

(https://s7.postimg.cc/51vvd5zwr/Bundesarchiv_Bild_134_B1511_Tsingtau_Besitznah.jpg)
Gefion arriving in Gensan

"The confusion in the Admiralität was palpable. At first, we were celebrating a new success of the Navy; for our part in the annexation of Northern Korea was critical. But then we received news of how our intervention had been received among the foreign powers and a cold dread seized us. For, by obeying the orders of the "Eel" and of His Majesty, we had unwittingly dramatically upset the international balance.

"The next months were, in short, terrifying. The Admiralität had always functioned under the supposition that we would know who our enemy was and that we would have the time to adjust our doctrine and strategy to best counter them. Suddenly, the entire world was a potential enemy and we had to plan without knowing what the future would hold."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/z8jmogejd/the_ready_made_napoleon_william_ii_emperor_of_ge.jpg)

What followed the occupation of northern Korea was one of the most constantly tense situations in modern history. Within days, von Bülow's cabinet was overwhelmed by the collective pressure from the governments of Great Britain and Japan - even crippled Russia jumped on the bandwagon and, although her fleet was still a non-entity, her armies were still formidable. International press raged.

In this situation, with a three-front war a very real possibility, von Mecklenburg arrived in Berlin - and sought an immediate audience with the Kaiser. The meeting lasted several hours, with von Mecklenburg adopting - for the first time - a nearly aggressive tone in his address towards the Kaiser. In a thundering j' accuse of von Bülow's policies, he painted a terrible image of defeat and loss; and he directly compared Wilhelm's support of the Russian peace treaty with von Bülow's reckless Korean adventures.

"Your Majesty has suffered the presence of this man because he claims to be Your Majesty's servant and his words speak loyalty," the Herzog thundered, "but look at where his actions have brought us! Left on the wheel of Your Majesty's Government he will have us at war with the English and the Russians in a month. All that Your Majesty has achieved, lost, lost because Herr von Bülow wants his place in the history books as the conqueror of Korea?"

The Kaiser did not require much convincing. He had supported von Bülow because of the latter's adherence to the Kaiser's policies; but the Foreign Policy gaffe that was the Korean crisis handling was impossible to overlook. On the 20th of July 1902, von Bülow's cabinet resigned; and Wilhelm appointed von Mecklenburg as the new Chancellor, in a desperate bid to avoid (or at least delay) a war.

Von Mecklenburg had an...unorthodox plan.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/55b67qu73/Screenshot_3042.png)

First things first: the new Chancellor had not forgotten his friends in the Navy. Funds were immediately poured into a rearmament program. "However," von Mecklenburg demanded, "not a single Goldmark is to be employed for the construction of capital ships, until I give the word. Improve the fleet as you see fit; build support vessels, thicken your armor, make better shells, but I want no more battleships in the slipways for the next five months."

"Your Excellency need not fear," was the response of Tirpitz. "We have plans for the fleet and they do not involve new capital ships for the conceivable future."

And R & D turned up their sleeves. Before the end of the month, new shell designs, with improved penetrators started construction. Germany would build no more battleships - but the Schwabens would now hit like trucks.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/o06wy5u8v/Screenshot_3044.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/updge6fkv/Screenshot_3043.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5lwdu6hy7/Screenshot_3045.png)

Also, the Admiralität finally laid down twelve spanking new torpedo destroyers, named after the ill-fated V4. They were big, 600-ton ships, with four excellent 75mm guns and double the torpedo armament of the earlier V2s. They could even hit 29 knots, which was a very satisfactory speed for what Tirpitz had in mind. They would be complete in nine months; and they would be combat-ready within the year.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/k6dgp0cwv/Screenshot_3046.png)

Also, in August, the last Victoria Louise-class cruiser, the Vineta was commissioned. The ceremony was a toned down affair; and the slipways was left empty, a testament to Germany's frozen capital ship production.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/u530p8bq7/Screenshot_3047.png)

Meanwhile, von Mecklenburg had gotten busy. Germany needed allies; and she needed to keep her enemies busy. He began a two-pronged scheme: first, he approached France with overtures of peace; the 'old enemy' was, suprisingly, the most German-aligned Power in Europe. Then, he began a polemic against Japan, whom he perceived as the weakest enemy. Aided by saber-rattling from the Admiralität, he painted the Japanese as power-hungry easterners; imperialists of the worst caliber; a threat to European interests in the Far East. Was it not where they failed, that Germany had succeeded in keeping the peace?

This, of course, pissed the Japanese off to no end - but it brought the European powers to a cautious standstill. A war with Germany would, indeed, mean that the balance of power in the Far East would be shifted considerably - could they really risk the Japanese ending up dominating the South China Sea and the western Pacific?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/aps8w4ifz/Screenshot_3049.png)

Meanwhile, the Admiralität poured more money in their Pacific bases and stocked up on coal for her raiders. Discreetly. Carefully.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/aguo675nj/Screenshot_3052.png)

And in October - changes! Tensions rising! Arthur Balfour came to power in Great Britain and adopted a stern stance against Germany. He was also a supporter of the naval reforms promoted by the up-and-coming second sea lord "Jackie" Fisher and one of his earliest motions was a strengthening of the Grand Fleet.

Any other Chancellor would have tried to appease the Brits. Von Mecklenburg rubbed his hands in glee, lachte sich ins Fäustchen and approached the French again, pointing at the British rearmament. Did they feel...safe? Or concerned? And would they stand and watch as the Rosbifs established full and absolute control over the seas, the lifeblood of the French Empire? And would perhaps these concessions on behalf of Germany tempt the French into considering a defensive treaty?

No, of course they weren't. But they were enough for the French to deliver some sharply worded diplomatic missives to London. And tensions rose - but, interestingly, more between France and Great Britain than between the latter and Germany.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/jd5ga4w9r/Screenshot_3053.png)

R & D submitted a design for power rammers in capital ship turrets; yet another improvement of Germany's existing battleship fleet. "Quality, quality, always the best in quality," as Tirpitz dictated.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/g8usdcfhb/Screenshot_3055.png)

And the shipyards went into overdrive, focusing hard on Zerstörer production. The dockyards in Wilhelmshaven even reported that they could repurpose capital ship slipways for faster (and cheaper) DD construction.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/lmy5ymulb/Screenshot_3057.png)

Simultaneously, the mass-production of multiple ships made the laborers develop new, faster riveting techniques.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/x0kp9u53z/Screenshot_3058.png)

January 1903 - and von Mecklenburg is cautiously optimistic. He has carefully balanced out tensions, in a way that would have made Bismarck twirl his mustache in approval. France and Britain are at each others' throats; Japan is too busy dealing with internal troubles to truly be a threat; Russia is slowly backing down, as no clear ally against Germany is evident. Things aren't calm, but they're manageable and nobody wants to really make the first move.

OK, OK. Germany may have gotten through this - and she's got a perfectly respectable light forces and submarine fleet out of the deal thanks to the increased budget von Mecklenburg managed to coax for the Navy.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/nwma9e3j3/Screenshot_3061.png)

And then, of course, in a time-honored tradition and in his eternal wisdom, His Majesty the Kaiser opens his big mouth and says something stupid for a good start of the New Year. [/kappa]

(https://s7.postimg.cc/aemlkjlu3/triple_facepalm.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 09, 2017, 06:51:08 pm
I like the Kaiser, he makes things very interesting  :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 09, 2017, 06:59:54 pm
The only thing more hilarious then the Kaiser's antics is your current diplomatic situation. A pact with France, of all nations? FRANCE? From a historian's point of view, it's as if Hell has finally frozen over.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on March 09, 2017, 07:02:48 pm
More like incompetent, Spoon.  The Kaiser has been wholly unable to antagonize the French and Italians so far, despite managing to get the rest of the world furious at him. :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 09, 2017, 09:14:32 pm
(http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/37300/37314v.jpg)

Listen Willy, don't make me lean over and rough your **** up.
Title: Nous sommes tous de bons amis
Post by: Enioch on March 10, 2017, 11:47:29 am
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(https://s15.postimg.cc/pg4lu00jf/Herzog_Johann_Albrecht_1912.jpg)

"His Majesty's unique talent to escalate all and every situation he was involved in rendered my service as His Majesty's Chancellor a period of unique excitement and interesting challenges. Admittedly, I found myself frequently wishing he lacked that particular talent."

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

1903 started with von Mecklenburg scrambling for damage control. It was impossible to fully smooth over America's ruffled feathers after the Kaiser's condescending dismissal of their naval rearmament program (in all honesty, comparing the new American ships to the "undergunned, undermanned and underperforming garbage scows of the Russians" may not have been the most diplomatic of comments). However, the fact that the interests of Germany and the USA were not directly counter to each other helped von Mecklenburg prevent any...hasty action from both sides.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/c2p21rozr/Screenshot_3062.png)

Meanwhile, the R & D department tested various ground-breaking options to improve the performance of German battleships. One proposal would completely remove the 6-inch secondary battery from the Schwabens and replace it with large 10-inch 'wing' turrets. (Un?)fortunately, the proposal was deemed impossible to implement, as it would place considerable stress on the battleship frames.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/vyl1hb613/Screenshot_3063.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/gr51wye6f/Screenshot_3064.png)

On the other hand, good, good news from France. The old enemy was acting considerably more friendly than usual, given the rising tensions with the Brits. Russia had proven to be a weaker ally than expected; therefore, the French were more and more receptive to overtures of peace from Germany. Possibly the most significant steps toward peace was the negotiated sale of French 13-inch gun designs to the Germans. The designs themselves had the German engineers shudder in horror at their inefficiency, but the diplomatic aspect of the deal was not to be underestimated and von Mecklenburg was very satisfied by the developments.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ny6qstp3b/Screenshot_3067.png)

And, when the French destroyer Belier collided with Frauenlob during the 1903 coronation review in honour of King Edward, both parties were quick to offer profuse apologies. The event was nearly laughed over in both Admiralties and von Tirpitz even half-jokingly suggested "joint maneuvers with our French neighbours, so that such regrettable incidents might be avoided in the future". The British Foreign Ministry was both concerned and, frankly, flabbergasted by the developments.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/erog5jjuv/Screenshot_3068.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ur73p3fwn/Screenshot_3069.png)

April 1903: Great successes reported by the R & D department. Great improvements in machinery, for lighter and more reliable engines; and excellent, clear lenses for submarine periscopes. "Quality, quality, only the best in quality."

(https://s13.postimg.cc/3yljarryf/Screenshot_3073.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/lpx5p87d3/Screenshot_3074.png)

And oh my, a breakthrough in fuze technology allowed for the packing of more explosives in individual shells. Again - the Schwabens were sure to hit like trucks now.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/gfs6xxn47/Screenshot_3075.png)

...And the first plates of hardened steel rolled off the German foundries in June. Tirpitz was honest-to-God skipping around the Admiralität with a grin on his face and his beard waggling all over the place.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/f3ahw1pon/Screenshot_3077.png)

He was even more happy when von Mecklenburg released the necessary funds for the extension of the military drydocks. The construction of capital ships was still a major no-no, but Germany could very well prepare for the inevitable time when she would reinforce her battle-line again.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/cbr85fr5z/Screenshot_3079.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/5f7po2kit/INF3_1514.jpg)

And in early July, the first batch of submarines rolled off the slipways. Galster was as happy as Tirpitz.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/4kai6vn0n/Screenshot_3080.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/dglaatdmv/Screenshot_3081.png)

Ha. Hahaha. HAHAHAHA.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/9b8i2dh9x/Twist_British_Tail_600_PX.jpg)

**** YOU BRITS. GERMANY HAS THE BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD.

WHAT IS ALSACE-LORRAINE, I DON'T EVEN.

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Thisisaverylongusername on March 10, 2017, 12:34:09 pm
Well this was unexpected. :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 10, 2017, 12:36:14 pm
Oh. Mein. Gott. I can hardly believe it. You've really done it today. You have made the impossible possible, Großadmiral Enioch.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on March 10, 2017, 12:40:35 pm
Amazing. So Bismarck spends years and years on building a network of alliances across Europe specifically to isolate France. Then all those nations decide that they don't much like Germany, kick them out, and now the two isolated nations have to band together.

How convenient.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 10, 2017, 01:48:40 pm
Amazing. So Bismarck spends years and years on building a network of alliances across Europe specifically to isolate France. Then all those nations decide that they don't much like Germany, kick them out, and now the two isolated nations have to band together.

How convenient.

Oh. Mein. Gott. I can hardly believe it. You've really done it today. You have made the impossible possible, Großadmiral Enioch.

 :lol:

All I can say is, I hope you're satisfied with this rather unorthodox retelling of 20th-century world history.

Looking at you, The E. :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on March 10, 2017, 02:08:28 pm
You just KNOW Mister Fisher's response to this will be the HMS Dreadnought: A 30 knot battleship with 4 inches of belt armour. SPEED IS ARMOUR
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on March 10, 2017, 02:15:39 pm
Did you just accidently made the EU happen? :P
And prevent the rape of Belgium?
And...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 10, 2017, 03:16:54 pm
Did you just accidently made the EU happen? :P

For a while.

Quote
And prevent the rape of Belgium?

For a while.

Quote
And...

Yes. :P

You just KNOW Mister Fisher's response to this will be the HMS Dreadnought: A 30 knot battleship with 4 inches of belt armour. SPEED IS ARMOUR

If only he were this competent...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 10, 2017, 03:21:49 pm
You just KNOW Mister Fisher's response to this will be the HMS Dreadnought: A 30 knot battleship with 4 inches of belt armour. SPEED IS ARMOUR

Isn't that called battlecruiser?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 10, 2017, 03:29:42 pm
That's actually called HMS Dreadeverything.

Or maybe HMS Badaboom
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on March 10, 2017, 04:14:04 pm
Alliance with France! How the hell did the Kaiser manage to **** upforeign relations so much that this happened? I mean around that time wasn't it the god-given destiny of Germany to do war with France whenever the oportunity arises?  ;)

It seems the technology leader perk is already starting to come into play with all these technologies you are getting at a fast rate.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 10, 2017, 05:48:49 pm
Those -2 quality guns though
Title: False Flag
Post by: Enioch on March 11, 2017, 03:22:06 pm
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/7bj9pu23j/Germany_GB_France.gif)
"The Charming Officer"; a 1903 political cartoon depicting the "dashing" Kaiser seducing Marianne (the personification of the French Republic) away from John Bull's arms

"The 1903 Treaty of Köln was a breakthrough that forever cemented His Excellency as a diplomatic genius to rival Bismarck in German politics. Some territorial concessions in Lothringen were made to the French, which helped considerably in smoothing out tensions; but the regions surrendered had always been problematic for the German administration and the autonomy-supporting elements there were particularly active. No great loss for the Reich.

"In return, Germany acquired a much needed ally in the European stage; His Excellency liked to refer to the ensuing alliance as the 'Kerneuropa': the true core of Europe, finally working together against the perfidious British politics. France would prove an invaluable friend over the upcoming years and I deeply regret the events that followed His Excellency's death [...]"

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/7a9be6pwl/1l83r0.jpg)

The treaty of Köln definitely stirred up the waters of European diplomacy. For the first time in forever, France and Germany were presenting a united front against the other colonial powers. France's eastern borders were secured; and any attempt by perfidious Albion to blockade her ports would have to first go through the veteran German Navy. Germany was secure in the west; and her armies were now a near-impenetrable bulwark against the Russians. Not to mention that, essentially overnight, two of the largest land armies in Europe had become officially allies.

Not even a Defense Pact, mind you - but a full-blown Alliance. And all that France requested was the return of the most linguistically 'grey' areas of Lorraine, a condition to which von Mecklenburg was more than eager to agree, if it meant closing the deal.

Great Britain's Foreign Ministry raged; Berlin and Paris tentatively (but hopefully) celebrated at the apparent cessation of century-long hostilities.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/7qnl9ybqn/Screenshot_3082.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/gzprk2kmn/Screenshot_3083.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/e715ds9nz/Screenshot_3084.png)

Meanwhile, the Navy focused on defensive tactics and doctrines. Plans were drawn for extensive minefields, covering strategic points of the German and French northern coastlines. New patrol boats and Zerstörer were commissioned.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/b1gjnkr1r/Screenshot_3085.png)

And, more significantly, the Admiralität gambled, with the most extensive submarine-building program the world had ever seen. Galster lobbied tirelessly for further experimentation, improvement and implementation of this new weapon. By the end of 1904, Germany would have a fleet of more than seventy coastal Unterseebooten, the crews of which Galster trained mercilessly in raiding, scouting and ambush scenarios.

Through it all, now-Vize-Admiral Galster couldn't help but notice that the coastal patrol and minesweeping fleets of Germany's enemies were...woefully lacking.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/h3o6e2fhr/Screenshot_3086.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/3o15om6zz/Screenshot_3087.png)

In September, R & D delivers again with massive improvements in shell and torpedo performance. And the celebratory beer flowed in the Admiralität (after working hours, of course; the French might be our new allies, but that doesn't mean we need to imitate them. No Fritz, put the roquefort away, that's disgusting.)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/pbq3z27e7/Screenshot_3088.png)

Unfortunately, on the 26th of the month, a Russian trawler approached the German minesweeper Henriette as she was laying one of the new minefields in the Baltic. Hails were unanswered; warning shots were fired to no avail; and the German ship finally fired for effect, with fatal consequences. The Admiralty presented a full report to the Government; and it was decided that an unapologetic stance was the best option. Cousin Nicky wasn't very happy, but the Kaiser very much approved of what he perceived as "von Mecklenburg's true German pride, verd---t nochmal!".

(https://s17.postimg.cc/9erc2cezz/Screenshot_3089.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/recxbdsu7/2a47cc89f8bb513a05040ba00cd7d2e436d33430_hq.jpg)

Mein Gott das ist ja wunderbar.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/xxtdjnje7/Screenshot_3091.png)

The Schwabens immediately hit the drydocks for a 4-month refit that will massively overhaul their fire-control systems. The dockyard hands descend upon the German battlewagons with gusto.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/4768xvyen/Screenshot_3092.png)

Among them, agents of the French military intelligence, who want to keep a closer eye that strictly warranted on their new ally. The Germans laugh, show them around, and deem that serving them beer is punishment enough.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/qyjwy18tr/Screenshot_3094.png)

In February, the Kaiser and von Mecklenburg are approached by representatives of the Navy League and the more nationalistic parties, who are lobbying hard for an increase of the Naval budget. Von Mecklenburg is not averse to the idea; and the Kaiser doesn't take much persuading. New funds were released; and von Tirpitz was asked to compose a new Naval Bill in collaboration with a committee composed of the most influential members of the Admiralität. The Bill was to outline the doctrine and direction the Admiralität would pursue over the following years and suggest the number and types of ships that needed to be produced.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/el72r4j5b/Screenshot_3095.png)

By the end of the month, the refitting of the Schwabens was complete and the battlewagons sailed once more, with sharper eyes and stronger fists.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/3zn7f4ctr/Screenshot_3096.png)

And in March, German submarine designs received further upgrades with the addition of hydrodynamic diving planes.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/oovsn9zvz/Screenshot_3100.png)

Galster immediately asked for ten new Unterseebooten and got them. Eighty-one and counting, by the way.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/jri825xwv/Screenshot_3101.png)

By April, the Russian war reparations had truly made an impact in the German economy. With new resources and raw materials available, the German industries were booming and, thankfully, the tensions with the other European nations were falling. Von Mecklenburg was the industrialists' darling.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/p472galtb/Screenshot_3102.png)

And then, of course, Hela had to run aground in Norway, during a sounding mission of questionable international legality. The Norwegians made angry noises; von Mecklenburg prepared to dance the usual dance; and the Kaiser, of course, charged in like a raging bull in a china shop and demanded the immediate release of the cruiser in less than diplomatic terms.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/cmbe06lyz/Tensions2.png)

[facepalm.gif]

(https://s17.postimg.cc/u44io8rfz/Screenshot_3103.png)

Ninety-one and counting, by the way. For those of our readers who are interested in such things.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/fc4eanawf/Screenshot_3106.png)

What?

Have...have the Germans been Decima'd?

(https://s23.postimg.cc/krawy4zgr/Logodcima.jpg)

Von Mecklenburg urges patience and caution; the Kaiser is frothing at the mouth.

Preliminary investigations discover part of a tattered diving suit in the harbor of Saipan, bearing Italian markings.

Von Mecklenburg is not fooled. Why would the Italians do this? In Saipan of all places? This is clearly a false flag operation and it reeks of tea and biscuits.

But Germany cannot yet afford to fight Great Britain. And Germany cannot appear to be indecisive, or weak.

And Germany just so happens to have a new ally with extensive naval bases in the Mediterranean. And Germany is ambitious and von Mecklenburg thinks of his inner Bismarck.

So, the Brits have pursued their usual divide-and-conquer strategies, have they? Making the Italians their scapegoats? Fine then. They can't very well defend the Spaghettis, when they've painted them so clearly as the aggressors. Poor Italy is in the spotlight, alone. This is not Germany being deceived - this is Germany seizing an opportunity

Eisen und Blut it is, then. Challenge accepted, Engländer.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/qpqxlulf3/Screenshot_3107.png)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 11, 2017, 03:45:43 pm
If my limited knowledge of the game serves me right, Italy is really ****ed in the naval budget department if you're using historical budgets. I expect them to drop faster than their soccer team.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 11, 2017, 03:48:26 pm
If my limited knowledge of the game serves me right, Italy is really ****ed in the naval budget department if you're using historical budgets. I expect them to drop faster than their soccer team.

Your knowledge of the game serves you right. You'd still be surprised.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 12, 2017, 10:20:33 pm
The pastalovers haven't quite managed to obtain their previous record submarine count from the other timeline.
This germany on the other hand.
Title: The Taranto Raid
Post by: Enioch on March 13, 2017, 05:35:43 am
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(https://s15.postimg.cc/65oyjfcm3/02_schleswig_holstein.jpg)
The battleship SMS Zähringen, departing Wilhelmshaven for the Mediterranean on the 30th of June 1904

"The Staff and most senior officers were, of course, suspecting that the Italians were innocent of the calumny that they were accused of; and we all, likewise, suspected whose work the sinking of the V1 was. But the idea of turning the presumed English plot on its head - of using this war to further bolster our power in Europe rather than wasting our strength away was very appealing.

"Also, better to test our new designs and weapons on an opponent like Italy first than to have them break in our hands when dealing with the Royal Navy."

-Großadmiral v. Tirpitz 1920, My Memoirs, London: Hurst & Blackett.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/q8j2ui6j7/Screenshot_3108.png)

First things first: infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. Von Mecklenburg might still have been blocking the construction of new battleships, but the Admiralität could still channel resources into the expansion of the idle dockyards. This was important - Germany needed to be able to build big and powerful when the time came.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/3xv7uj98z/Screenshot_3109.png)

Especially since Intelligence reported that the British were now building what they called a 'Battlecruiser': a strange capital ship with three centreline turrets. Apparently, the new First Lord of the Admiralty was throwing some strange ideas around...

(https://s23.postimg.cc/ddf4qu0h7/Admiraltylords1907_Naval_Review.jpg)

Look at that smug motherf***er. Don't you just want to shoot him with a 12-inch rifle?

(https://s21.postimg.cc/7e3jpxzpj/PA_14719825.jpg)

Also - the Germans had to settle on a strategic plan. Under the prompting of von Mecklenburg, the French were only requested to bottle up the Italian forces in the Alps - a purely defensive war. They were also asked to grant the German battle-line access to their naval bases in the Mediterranean, a request that was readily granted by the French High Command. The primary offensive arm of Kerneuropa would be the German Hochseeflotte...

(https://s11.postimg.cc/iv3ovjmhf/Screenshot_3110.png)

...and her sneaky, sneaky cousins. Upon declaration of war, the German U-boote snuck into the Mediterranean in twos and threes and began their campaign of terror. They would prove to be nuisances first and effective weapons second; but they were operating away from their dedicated bases and against an opponent whose maritime sea traffic would shortly present them with a rather target-poor environment. Still, the Kaleuns of the Unterseeflotte acquired valuable experience during this war, experience that they would put to good use later.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/en8wmsl1v/Screenshot_3111.png)

Galster's cruisers were the second to arrive in the Med, long before the German battle-line; and in early July, with the first skirmishes breaking out in the Alps, Galster sailed out from Mers el Kebir on a daring raid near Messena.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/wrbx7fiqb/Screenshot_3112.png)

His forces rendezvous'd west of Corfu, shortly after noon and proceeded in good order toward the gulf of Taranto. They consisted of the three Victoria Louise-class cruisers (Hertha, Victoria Louise and Vineta), escorted by the light cruiser Hela. The plan called for a night-time raid, to cripple merchant traffic under the cover of darkness. Galster, on board his flagship Hertha (as usual), expected little resistance. He would prove to be both wrong and right.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/ed1e3g6fn/Screenshot_3113.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5uuw57swv/fubuki_and_sendai_kantai_collection_drawn_by_m.jpg)

Shortly after nightfall, the lookouts from Hertha (who was sailing at the rear of the formation), spotted a ship sailing with extinguished navigation lights a short distance behind the German flotilla. Recognition signals were flashed, with no response. Hertha immediately went to battle stations; and the entirety of the German cruiser line turned to engage the presumed enemy.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/6lko4w2ab/Screenshot_3114.png)

What follows is the epitome of a chaotic night battle. All combatants are shooting blind; frantically trying to identify their friendlies and enemies; and amidst the chaos, Victoria Louise is hit in her bow armor by a shell that penetrates and causes limited flooding to her front compartments. Fregattenkapitän Mayer cracks down mercilessly on the ensuing panic; and Victoria Louise stays in the battle-line.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/ymypil7kj/Screenshot_3115.png)

And then, finally a whole hour after the first shot was fired, Mayer has had enough of firing at ghosts. He orders the Victoria Louise's searchlights to be used; and the Germans get their first clear view of their target.

She's a Marco Polo-class, escorted by a couple of DDs, who immediately turn tail and run under heavy secondary fire. The italian cruiser is heavily armored; but she's four thousand tons lighter than the three German cruisers she's facing and it shows in her armament. Her 8'' rifles simply can't compare to the German 11-inchers; and she's 2 knots slower. "This will be easy," declares Galster, "if we've learned anything from Bornholm. Kapitän, take us out of her torpedo arcs!"

(https://s11.postimg.cc/o2os0032r/Screenshot_3117.png)

The German ships cut their speed and slot onto the Italian's tail, where her torpedo tubes are useless. Six 'fore' 11-inch rifles bark for every shot of the Italian's rear twin 8-inch turret and the damage is quick to add up.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/rnp8wyx03/Screenshot_3118.png)

At 21:59, the Italian's bow slips beneath the waves. Hela stops to pick up survivors; and the Germans receive the Italians on board with full honours. Outnumbered and outgunned as they were, the Spaghettis gave a spectacular showing.

The German ships make steam towards the north...

(https://s11.postimg.cc/u7kvr2kk3/Screenshot_3120.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/987mc1rsl/tumblr_o5r70x9_Nw_W1rd6sdio1_540.gif)

...and then, out of the darkness, a dark shape emerges, moving at great speed. Alarms blare; the Germans scramble to avoid a collision.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/k8zx4lb4j/Screenshot_3119.png)

She's an Ancona-class light cruiser and she's just performed a textbook nighttime torpedo run. Galster can feel the cold sweat running down his back as the German cruisers take her under fire. He has only his luck to thank for still having all his ships floating.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/pmypc50ur/Screenshot_3121.png)

The Italian makes flank and tries to slip into the darkness again; but this time, it's 'little' Hela that shows her mettle. She's almost double the Italian's tonnage, she's got two knots on her and her stokers are fresh. Hela slips out of the battleline like a hound slips its leash and charges, as she's designed to do.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/9d8j98q6r/Screenshot_3122.png)

At a range of under a thousand yards, her captain turns her smoothly to port and unshadows his starboard broadside. Her six 6-inchers bark in unison and the Ancona is riddled with holes.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/tlvwuyphv/Screenshot_3123.png)

Having crippled the enemy, the Hela disengages; every moment she spends inside the Ancona's range is another opportunity for her to take damage that could have been avoided. The heavy cruisers are now closing in; and the Ancona cannot run.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/mjxz8rlw3/Screenshot_3124.png)

Galster maneuvers his force outside of the Ancona's estimated torpedo range and opens up with his entire broadside. The Ancona just...ceases to exist.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/6o955gvbn/Screenshot_3126.png)

The butcher's bill only became known to the Germans two days later, when the Italians officially announced their losses. In addition to the Marco Polo and the Ancona the Regia Marina had also lost two of their destroyers to flooding inflicted by the Hertha's secondaries and tertiaries. The Italians had protected their merchant ships, but they had suffered grievous losses in doing so.

(https://s11.postimg.cc/q7dqetu37/Screenshot_(3127).png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7jrsru3pt/56e00f449b83444ff98c767a77ee4bed0ba6130147b61719.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 13, 2017, 06:06:46 am
That went well. Every ship you can avoid losing is one more you'll have ready for the day of reckoning against this obvious British plot.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Col. Fishguts on March 13, 2017, 06:20:47 am
Good showing of the cruisers.

Btw, are these battle events randomly generated and you can just accept/decline?
Or can you manually order your ships/fleets to specific spots on the map (and lets say park a fleet in front of an enemy harbor)?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 13, 2017, 06:26:38 am
Good showing of the cruisers.

Btw, are these battle events randomly generated and you can just accept/decline?
Or can you manually order your ships/fleets to specific spots on the map (and lets say park a fleet in front of an enemy harbor)?

Randomly generated based on a) the forces you have in a region (obviously) b) the forces your opponent has in a region (obviously) c) the presence or not of a blockade (a blockade assures that you'll have either a running cruiser battle as raiders / blockade runners try to break through the blockading lines or a fleet battle) d) your submarine doctrine ("fleet support" kills your performance versus merchant ships, but encourages skirmishes closer to enemy ports as your submarines are now actively scouting / engaging enemy forces as they leave their safe havens)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on March 13, 2017, 08:23:32 pm
Do you actually roll the dice for the Wilhelm, or is the decision based on the maximum lulz?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 13, 2017, 08:48:51 pm
Do you actually roll the dice for the Wilhelm, or is the decision based on the maximum lulz?

I usually pick what will get me in the most trouble. :p Seems par for the course with Willie...
Title: Hertha's Duel
Post by: Enioch on March 14, 2017, 06:44:14 am
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(https://s7.postimg.cc/gvpqub2ez/the_german_armored_cruiser_gneisenau_date_unknow.jpg)
The German cruiser SMS Hertha sailing out of Mers-el-Kébir in August 1904

"The Taranto raid taught me to respect the Italians, perhaps more than I had ever respected the Russians; they were a people with a long naval tradition and their bravery and seamanship was beyond reproach. They were constantly let down by their equipment, however: their ships were inferior to ours in nearly every respect and they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. With Vizeadmiral Büchsel's battle-line ready to establish a blockade and the French holding the northern line, they would be very hard pressed to mount any kind of effective response to our presence.

"Which is why I thought it best to maximise our presence in the Mediterranean and why I dispatched my heavy cruisers to long patrols, to actively scout out the enemy and seek out his merchant shipping. It was this decision which led to the well-known Battle of Sardinia. I am willing to accept the credit (and the blame) for sparking off this, so widely discussed, skirmish; but I cannot, in good faith, claim any credit for its results. That must go to its entirety to Fregattenkapitän Rheinhard Sheer and the crew of the Hertha, who proved their mettle above and beyond my expectations."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/7jvz3jkcj/Screenshot_3130.png)

August dawned rather well for the German Navy. Firstly - Büchsel's battlefleet had reached the Mediterranean and was now ready to establish a blockade on the Italians. Secondly, the cruiser forces in the Mediterranean were finally ready to stretch their legs and go after the Italian light forces, their merchantmen and coastal targets of opportunity. Thirdly, the R & D department reported that they had ready air pre-heater designs for implementation in future ship construction.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/5gljvvkjn/Screenshot_3131.png)

And, finally, the U-boote reported the sinking of two Italian merchantmen, without suffering any losses themselves. This was much more significant than one would think. For better or worse, these early submarines were deathtraps and this war was their baptism in fire. The blockade had pinned most of the Italian sea traffic in their harbors and the submariners performed daring night-time raids in their leaking steel coffins, to chase down that one elusive torpedo strike. In a way, the success of the surface fleet sabotaged the efforts of the submariners; but that also benefited the Unterseeflotte in the long term. For the world was completely and utterly unprepared for the havoc the U-boote could wreak on a merchant marine that judged their efficiency based on their early-20th-century performance.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/9r07rgpmr/Screenshot_3132.png)

The Italians struck back with the sinking of the collier Lorelei near Tanga; the Germans couldn't help but applaud the Taranto's masterfully executed escape.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/9sa5kvrgj/Screenshot_3133.png)

Finally, the French Army proved its mettle by pushing into the Italian defenses through the Venadio pass and along the coastline towards Genoa. Nevertheless, the Italians put up a spirited defense and the French assault eventually stalled, having only barely achieved its goals and with none of the significant breakthroughs the French had hoped for.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/m86vemksj/Screenshot_3134.png)

On the 26th of August, the Hertha, operating independently, spotted a massive Italian convoy traveling from Sicily to Sardinia, to reinforce and resupply the island's garrison troops. The silhouettes of the Italian ships were clearly visible in the breaking dawn; and, seeing an excellent opportunity to disrupt the Italian defenses in Sardinia, Galster instructed Fregattenkapitän Rheinhard Sheer of the Hertha to engage as he saw fit.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/v764j54g3/Screenshot_3137.png)

Originally, the German lookouts only identified a few light ships as escorts: a protected Bari-class cruiser and a few destroyers. Sheer knew that there was nothing the Italians could realistically do to harm his ship, except engage with torpedoes; and so he continued with his attack, taking the Bari under long-range fire.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/jw3gurxkz/Screenshot_3138.png)

Unfortunately, less than half an hour after first contact, the lookouts identified two more Italian warships steaming at flank speed towards the Hertha. They were both, clearly armored cruisers; and one of them was easily identifiable as a Carlo Alberto-class. Sheer immediately turned to Galster.

"Herr Admiral," he said, "am I still free to engage as I see fit?"

Upon Galster's confirmation, Sheer ordered an immediate about-turn; and trained his guns on the Alberto

(https://s27.postimg.cc/51evglo03/Screenshot_3139.png)

A bit of background, for the naval enthusiast: the Albertos were universally considered to be excellent ships for their intended roles (i.e. anti-cruiser duties). They were exceptionally heavily armored for their size, with a main belt thicker than that of the Victoria Louise-class ships. They were also quite fast, being only a knot slower than the German ships. They paid for this with a considerably reduced broadside: they only mounted 7-inch guns as their main battery, where the German cruisers were armed with 11-inch, capital-ship rifles.

This is not as significant a difference as one might think. While it is true that the German guns packed a significantly stronger punch, the Italian 7-inchers could still reliably penetrate the extended belt and deck of the German ships, that were built to resist gun calibers of up to 6 inches. Furthermore, the Italians reloaded much faster than the Germans and could still easily match every two of Hertha's salvos with three of their own.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/6uhs4x96r/Screenshot_3140.png)

Five minutes after Sheer's order to reverse course, the lookouts get enough light to identify the second heavy cruiser. It's a Vettor Pisani and that immediately seals the deal. Sheer had made the right choice.

The Pisanis were massive ships, bigger than the Hertha. They, too, were only capable of 21 knots but that made them no less capable. Their armor was thick - thicker than the Hertha's in places and, more significantly, they had a completely splinter-proof deck, with armor up to 2 inches thick. This also made them very resistant to plunging fire at longer ranges. Their main turrets may have only housed single, 10'' rifles, but they were tough, with an aromor of 5.5 inches that could reliably bounce enemy fire. And, more significantly, they had a secondary broadside of eight 7-inch rifles per side, the same that the Albertos used as their main armament.

Hertha could, under no circumstances, be drawn into a close-range fight, or her fore and aft compartments would be smashed to scrap. By forcing the Italians into a running / chasing duel, Sheer leveraged his ship's speed as well as possible, while also denying the Italians the chance to use their massive secondary broadsides. He could train two of his 11'' rifles towards the enemy; and, in return, he limited the Italian's ability to fire back to only two 7'' and one 10'' gun.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/s5fc96rb7/Screenshot_3141.png)

The Hertha rushes towards the south-east, the Italians hot on her tail. Fire is exchanged, but no hits are scored. The Bari turns to rejoin the convoy (any followup German attack with Zerstörer, Galster notes grimly, would have failed spectacularly) but the two armored cruisers and their destroyer escorts doggedly stay on Hertha's shapely aft.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/a3w7bdxab/Screenshot_3142.png)

Twenty minutes into the fight, Sheer decides to gamble. He turns the Hertha on a slow, gentle turn towards the north, unshadowing his forward gun at a range of around 6,000 yards. The Italians follow him into the turn - and bring their own main batteries to bear.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/a5654sz43/Screenshot_3143.png)

Several broadsides are exchanged - and then the worst fears of Sheer come true, as a 7-inch shell from the Pisani's secondaries strikes Hertha's aft turret and jams the bearings. In a single moment, Hertha loses half of her anti-capital capability.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/7ccxkryrn/Screenshot_3144.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/bk692o5vh/x_Gx7nz.gif)

Sheer has lost his aft turret; and he may now choose whether he wants to turn away and seek to disengage or continue a broadside engagement. He chooses the latter,trusting in his damcon crews to get the aft turret operational again.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/nbvl4butf/Screenshot_3145.png)

And, again, he is proven right. Thirty minutes of frantic maneuvering later, the damcon crews report that Hertha is fully battle-ready again.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/ut4sjjkcj/Screenshot_3146.png)

Sheer serpentines to throw off the Italians' aim, while keeping his aft guns on target; he scores some success, but it's primarily his broadside secondaries that pepper the enemy cruisers' superstructure.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/619rq1sjn/Screenshot_3147.png)

Hertha, in return, suffers a penetrating hit in her extended belt but flooding is minimal. Then, her lookouts note something important...

(https://s27.postimg.cc/v8knqavnn/Screenshot_3148.png)

Look at the Pisani. His aft turret is still tracking the Hertha, but his forward turret is at a neutral position and is not firing.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/tvrumbia7/Z4nm08.gif)

And, just like that, the heaviest chase weaponry the Italians have is out of the picture.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/7iv81lxab/Screenshot_3149.png)

This changes things significantly. Sheer turns to starboard and unshadows his entire broadside. The entirety of the Hertha's armament focuses on the Alberto - Sheer is looking to knock out some of her guns as well.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/l124dw9fn/Screenshot_3150.png)

This happens. Hertha's secondaries pummel the Italian, who had seriously overextended. The Alberto takes the punishment for nearly half an hour, but eventurally staggers and falls back, leaving the Pisani to take point again. To Sheer's chagrin, Hertha's main battery had repeatedly straddled the Alberto, but only scored one confirmed hit.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/tklibnhs3/Screenshot_3151.png)

However, by the end of the gun duel, the Alberto's front turret had also fallen silent (note the small inset window at the bottom left and how the front turret is 'neutral', while the aft is still tracking the Hertha).

(https://s27.postimg.cc/fffp9u8qr/Screenshot_3152.png)

Frankly, the Hertha was not that much better off. By this time, her front magazine had only six AP shells left; and her aft turret 25. Her superstructure had been riddled with 7-inch shells; but , thankfully, nothing important had been damaged and she had barely taken on any water.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/y91i6u6yr/Screenshot_3153.png)

Also, she still had more than 300 rounds left in her secondary magazines and she was continuously peppering the Pisani with high-explosive fire. Sadly, while her main batteries were consistently straddling the Italian, she still scored no hits with her precious last 11-inch shells.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/72a0f69j7/Screenshot_3155.png)

The running battle takes the opposing forces less than 5,000 yards from the coastline of Sardinia. The thunder of the guns brings curious onlookers to the scene.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/dhdmpl5mr/Screenshot_3156.png)

At 12:45, Hertha's guns fall silent. She has fully expended her main and secondary gun magazines, in what, at the time, was the longest, most drawn-out naval engagement of the century. She has suffered 27 hits from 7-inch rifles, which have caused only light damage to her superstructure and dented her waterline armor; in return, she has scored 12 hits with her main, 11-inch guns and another 38 with her 6-inch secondaries alone. Her stokers are exhausted; her grates fouled; she is completely and utterly spent. And the Italian convoy has escaped to safety.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/u6f2li283/Screenshot_3157.png)

But there is nobody who thinks that the Italians came out on top on this one. 2-on-1 odds, and the Hertha still kicked arse and took names, causing significant damage to the Alberto and giving as good as she took back to the Pisani - not to mention the damage she caused to the Italian destroyers and the transport ship Vesuvio in the early stages of the engagement.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/ohtr7vi4n/Screenshot_3158.png)

So, on the 29th of August, the Italians sued for peace.

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 14, 2017, 07:50:55 am
Good show, you made a single-cruiser skirmish look spectular. I'm sure the Hertha's exploits will make for wonderful war propaganda - so many hits taken and only light damage, now that's a vote of confidence for the strength of German steel! If I recall, there was a propaganda tidbit about armor toughness in an old WWII tank manual.

As for the peace offer, I'm not sure if it's better to bleed the Italians a bit more or refocus on the actual threats, but I'm very sure what Willy would do.
Title: The First Christmas Truce
Post by: Enioch on March 16, 2017, 07:22:59 am
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(https://s18.postimg.cc/jj0v55dsp/Hertha_kicks_arse.png)
"Hertha erschlägt den Feind": a propaganda gravure published shortly after the Battle of Sardinia. Hertha is depicted as an iron-clad Valkyrie, slaying the two-headed dragon representing the Vittor Pisani and the Carlo Alberto.

"The first time the Italians sued for peace, it caught us by surprise. It was certainly a pleasant surprise, as it served as a clear acknowledgment by the enemy of our military superiority in the Mediterranean. Opinions were divided on how to proceed. On the one hand, we were aware that the Italians were not our true enemies. Pursuing this war risked bleeding us out, more than we could afford given the spectre of the eventual wars to come. Peace was a possibility now - a good peace. The war had been a relatively chivalrous affair so far; a skilled negotiator could resolve this situation with a minimum of resentment from both sides. His Excellency would certainly have been up to the task"

"On the other hand, it was tempting to pursue the war further. Completely eliminating Italy's potential as a future adversary in the unavoidable war against Great Britain would be a considerable accomplishment and it would greatly shift the balance of power in Europe in favour of the Kerneuropa block. The French were also eager to achieve some measure of war gains and we were not averse to helping them in this - a decisive joint victory would help further smooth the relations between the allies. And, of course, His Majesty was insistant that Germany should press her advantage until it had thoroughly demonstrated her superiority as a land and naval Power.

"It was finally decided to pursue negotiations with the Italians but to present them with a list of rather harsh demands. It was deemed the best way to judge the situation and study their response. Unsurprisingly, the negotiations foundered relatively quickly."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s17.postimg.cc/9u6dny6hr/Screenshot_3159.png)

Under pressure from the Kaiser and the French, Germany presented the Italians with a rather harsh set of terms for peace. The negotiations led to nothing - but there were negotiations. This would be a hallmark of what would eventually came to be known as the Long War: short periods of fighting, punctuated by ineffectual negotiations. Perhaps surprisingly, this maintained a climate of perceived good faith between the combatants; unlike the wars to come, the Long War stretched out over several years but was a gentlemen's war, characterised by good treatment of prisoners and civilians and several acts of chivalry from both sides (the 'Christmas Truces' of the Alpine Front being but the most well-known examples).

(https://s17.postimg.cc/lxbpbihjz/Screenshot_3160.png)

Meanwhile, the R & D department began experimenting with high tensile steel in shipbuilding, a development that could, arguably, contribute to significant weight savings in future warships.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/5nlj8m6vz/Screenshot_3161.png)

They also reported considerable progress in their attempts to somehow counter the English three-centreline-turret capital ships. While adding to the centreline armament of German ships was still beyond the capabilities of the German shipbuilders, it should, theoretically, be possible to mount heavy batteries on the sides of the ship, in 'wing' turrets.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/xp46021jz/Screenshot_3162.png)

The submarines...well, in all honesty, their kill-counts were disappointing for the losses they suffered. However, with the blockade in place, there was simply no Italian merchant traffic for them to go after; the Kaleuns of the Unterseeflotte had to brave shore defenses, minefields and patrol boats to achieve any results.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/ivpifatsv/Screenshot_3164.png)

Some excitement was had in early September, when the Gazelle-class cruiser Bremen encountered the Italian Bari-class raider Brindisi

(https://s17.postimg.cc/yz1zf3vbz/Screenshot_3168.png)

The two ships engaged in a running battle that lasted over five hours, with the Brindisi eventually managing to escape under cover of darkness, near the Spanish coast.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/n8o1xq2jj/Screenshot_3167.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/q6l0rfa73/Screenshot_3170.png)

She had been heavily damaged in action, while the Bremen had emerged unscathed from the fight.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/7tp0ulp3z/Screenshot_3172.png)

The German cruisers were beginning to build a certain...reputation for themselves.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/brcak0bxb/Screenshot_3173.png)

Especially since, at the end of the month, Gazelle intercepted the infamous Italian raider Taranto and thwarted her planned attack on German shipping. Nevertheless, the Italian managed to escape without suffering any damage (another testament to the skill of her crew).

(https://s17.postimg.cc/rs4vwz9sv/Screenshot_3175.png)

During the course of the month, more submarines left their slipways and made their way into the Mediterranean; Galster and Tirpitz also ordered a significant change in submarine doctrine. Instead of risking their boats by attacking into guarded harbors, the German submariners were now instructed to attack only targets of opportunity and to, otherwise, provide scouting and support for the fleet.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/f20njw1un/Screenshot_3176.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/m6mddqojp/S_M_kleiner_kreuzer_Gefion_restoration_borde.jpg)
Artist's depiction: Ariadne in Marseilles.

The fleet also redeployed a small cruiser squadron to the French coast, to support land action there. Ariadne and Amazone took up the slack.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/v2t8wuzq7/Screenshot_3178.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/58jg72zq7/Screenshot_3179.png)

October was a calm month for the Admiralität - the Italians stayed in their ports and the cold weather stalled the land offensive. The Admiralität found the opportunity to fund the further expansion of the harbor installations in their Pacific holdings.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/d2k1sh7j3/Screenshot_3180.png)

November, on the other hand, was a good month. First and foremost - the R & D department began installing new pneumatic recuperators in capital ship turrets, greatly improving their rate of fire. Also...

(https://s17.postimg.cc/5chv12ulb/Screenshot_3182.png)

...Sheer did it again. This time, it was Hertha who was ready and waiting as the Taranto tried to slip by the blockade; and Hertha does not fool around.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/z5ov9oj8f/Screenshot_3183.png)

*Emphatic German Swearing* Yep, on hindsight, Galster and Tirpitz both agree that active submarine warfare while a blockade is in effect was a bad idea. Back to scouting and fleet support, lads.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/gemxzionz/Screenshot_3184.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/41a3slyzj/Screenshot_3185.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/q1qg98hnj/Screenshot_3186.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/rutcxk2u7/Screenshot_3187.png)

The Italians, on the other hand, did not seem to have had problems this time around.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/tnw9lvo0v/Screenshot_3188.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/vgz6a797j/Screenshot_3189.png)

The obvious answer from the Gaermans? More cruisers. Good cruisers. The Medusas were upgraded Gefions, built from the keel up with central firing and for long-range colonial service. They were faster than their predecessors, with relatively good deck protection and a five-gun broadside of 6'' rifles. The class of three ships (Medusa, Arcona and Hamburg) was planned to enter service in less than two years - and the Kaiser was very pleased at the news. The continued success of the cruiser fleet had changed Wilhelm's stance toward naval warfare; he is said to have "waited for news from Mers-el-Kebir like a schoolboy, laughing in delight at every report of cruisers thwarting enemy blockade runners".

(https://s17.postimg.cc/59xze8qxr/Screenshot_3190.png)

And, finally, to round up the year, the French coastal offensive proved to be reasonably successful, capturing several Italian fortified positions and, further to the north, even pushing a fair distance into the Alpine passes. Both armies were spent, however; and the first semi-official 'Christmas Truce' came into effect, from the 23rd of December, until the 3rd of January. During that time, the Germans even selectively lifted their blockade, allowing for a limited number of neutral cargo ships, carrying foodstuffs and medical supplies to reach the Italian harbors. In the north, soldiers from both armies mingled in the no-man's land between their entrenched positions; and, in one remarkable occasion, French and Italian officers jointly set up a Christmas dinner in the snow.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/or3x3io3f/Illustrated_London_News_Christmas_Truce_1914.jpg)
French, Italian and German troops and officers mingling in the no-man's-land of the Alpine front, during Christmas 1904

Seven months in - and the Long War is just getting started. Brace yourselves, it's gonna be a boring ride (with a few memorable moments of utter, pants-wetting terror).

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 16, 2017, 09:18:28 am
Is there actually a downside in a situation like this?  Obviously there is the possibility that you might lose an engagement or the merchant raiding might hurt but a protracted low risk war seems like an opportune scenario to leverage your increased budget to build and blood your forces.  Are their negatives that we are not seeing?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 16, 2017, 12:05:29 pm
You mean apart from the fact that there are people dying in the trenches and the cold sea, year after year, you callous, heartless bastard?  :p

Yes.

Some, but not all negative aspects of a long war are the following:

That said, there is also a positive aspect to a long war and you've identified the benefits of one perfectly. It's all a matter of weighing the alternatives. You can always tap out with the 'let's make peace now' option in the diplomatic events, if the situation gets too nasty.
Title: Von der Tann
Post by: Enioch on March 18, 2017, 08:53:16 am
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(https://s12.postimg.cc/uk9dq3xct/13381877753_fba35b8741_b.jpg)
The new docks in Kiel shortly before the end of their construction

"[...] it became increasingly clear to me that the future lay with Galster's cruisers, but we couldn't just ignore the need for a competitive battle-line. Therefore, after long meetings with out engineer department, we decided to compromise.

"His Excellency studied the proposed designs shortly after the turn of the year and released the funds for the Von der Tann and the Goeben on the 28th of January. I had rarely seen him so satisfied before."

-Großadmiral v. Tirpitz 1920, My Memoirs, London: Hurst & Blackett.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/wjciwsfqn/Screenshot_3191.png)

It is the 5h of January, 1905. A select few engineers and members of the Naval Staff, escorted by Admirals Tirpitz and Galster enter the office of Reichskanzler von Mecklenburg. Perhaps aware of the gravity and momentousness of the situation, they present their work in something like religious silence.

Large blueprints are unrolled on the Chancellor's desk. Two engineers quietly and efficiently set up a tripod stand and suspend from it a large, complex and extremely detailed plan of a ship unlike anything the world had seen before.

The meeting draws on; von Mecklenburg shuttles between desk and stand, compares plans and drawings, asks for clarifications. Then, a change in atmosphere; the door opens. The men stiffen up.

The Kaiser walks in.

He briefly and impatiently greets his Staff and von Mecklenburg - but his eyes dart to the plans and blueprints scattered all over the office. After a brief introduction of the engineers present, the Reichskanzler escorts His Majesty to the stand and speaks a few words - then stands a step behind Wilhelm in silence.

The Kaiser stares at the design. He takes in the predatory bow; the massive gun batteries; the gargantuan size of the ship. He draws himeslf up.

"Großer Gott im Himmel," he sighs under his breath. "And it can be done? You are sure?"

His tone is almost accusatory; but von Mecklenburg, Tirpitz and Galster do not flinch. They inform the Kaiser that indeed, Your Majesty, the engineers are confident that the design is viable.

The Kaiser turns to von Mecklenburg; his hand reaches for Tirpitz's shoulder and clamps on it like a vice. His face is pale but his eyes are burning.

"By God," he cries, "By God, build them."

(https://s14.postimg.cc/qm3i890wh/Screenshot_6999.png)
OOC: Forgot to screenshot the original design again. The design originally left me with less than 100 tons of wiggle room...

(https://s9.postimg.cc/gnxc4ckvj/Screenshot_3204.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/gcfvrl4fj/Screenshot_3205.png)

(OOC:...And the minute I lay down the keels, private shipbuilding gives me 1k more tons to play with and I want to scream)

*Ahem*

MEANWHILE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN:

(https://s9.postimg.cc/97th4t7sf/Screenshot_3194.png)

It is the 1st of February and SMS Hela is on her way to Napoli, there to bombard a pasta factory coastal observation facility.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/4afwjp5tb/Screenshot_3195.png)

Her approach is unscouted and, at 11:00 she identifies an Italian freighter making her best speed towards the port. The German ship opens fire; the Italians abandon their vessel almost immediately.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/63it80qzz/Screenshot_3196.png)

Unfortunately, the gunfire alerts an Italian light cruiser squadron that was originally sailing south, toward Sicily. The Italians turn and make full speed back toward Napoli; Hela's lookouts spot them shortly after 11:20.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5s1cv9ajz/Screenshot_3197.png)

First, a small La Spezia-class is identified and Korvettenkapitän Heinrich von Görtz vaccillates. He is certain that his ship can handle this Italian: the La Spezia is woefully slow and is only armed with 5'' rifles.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/b4q79dygf/Screenshot_3198.png)

But then, the second cruiser slips into view and she's a Taranto. And no, von Görtz has no intention of trying to repeat Hertha's exploits in his little scout cruiser and no desire to go against the Italian's 6-inchers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/x56jq0h4f/Screenshot_3199.png)

So, he just runs - and the Italians can do little but glare at his rapidly retreating smoke. Hela has two knots on them and von Görtz makes good use of them.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ria6sjelr/Screenshot_3200.png)

Even better, his retreat draws the Italians away from the harbor; and U-36 just so happens to be in the area, providing fleet support. An opportunistic torpedo accounts for Adelina, one of the Italian patrol vessels.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5x544xhv3/Screenshot_3201.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/fvq2reran/Screenshot_3202.png)

Von Görtz is by no means hailed as a hero, but he does receive a private missive from Galster congratulating him on his wise choice not to risk his ship.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/thvdxoyb3/Screenshot_3206.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/yuk8btm7j/Screenshot_3207.png)

February - and the engineers pump out the new designs like nobody's business. "War is the father and king of all," as was once said by Heraclitus; it certainly lit a fire under the seat of the German R & D department. Testing began on new range calculators, meant to be fitted to the Von der Tanns upon their completion; and the Zerstörer and U-boote receive improved torpedoes.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/c8ewz38hb/Screenshot_3209.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/h9e9lqabx/giphy.gif)

How the **** do you run out of fuel in the Mediterranean? Unless, of course, you were trying to sneak out (say from the British-controlled Suez), in which case I have no sympathy for you.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/tmz57d5m7/Screenshot_3210.png)

And then this happens. Oh-ho-ho. The Amazone is a Gefion - a small, raider design herself and not as heavily armed as the Gazelles, but she should be able to deal with the raider.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/9uwz82u27/Screenshot_3212.png)

Lookouts identify a cruiser silhouette. They tentatively suggest that it may be a heavy cruiser - but surely the Italians aren't using their heavies for raid-

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5ztl5iawf/Screenshot_3213.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/xwyx92uxt/6b72b535d54dec4bc56ef69523a3ccc81485095086_large.jpg)

HOLY CRAP IT'S THE PISANI

(https://s9.postimg.cc/azvmr75wv/Screenshot_3214.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/gpbvbic33/Screenshot_3215.png)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/4n6nku67v/74d6f6c6fa87782c0d62583f2f153391.gif)

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 18, 2017, 10:16:28 am
Getting some battlecruisers out would go a long way to make those cruiser skirmishes end in your favor. Even if it's just the picket ships that end up sunk, losing them can still hamper the enemy.

It's just a shame you don't have something better to arm them with than quality -1 11 inch guns.

May I ask why so much of your maximum displacement is unused? Those extra tons could either go to more armor or a few extra knots of speed.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 19, 2017, 04:19:24 am
Getting some battlecruisers out would go a long way to make those cruiser skirmishes end in your favor. Even if it's just the picket ships that end up sunk, losing them can still hamper the enemy.

It's just a shame you don't have something better to arm them with than quality -1 11 inch guns.

If those BCs get to fight in this war, something will have gone very wrong indeed. They will be building for more than two years!

Also, I'll take what I can get. An 8-gun central-fired broadside of -1 11-inchers is the equal of (and arguably better than) anything the Brits have right now. Also, it renders most of the British predread fleet utterly obsolete and her 25 knots blow every early CA and CL out of the water, which is what is important right now.

Quote
May I ask why so much of your maximum displacement is unused? Those extra tons could either go to more armor or a few extra knots of speed.

None of my maximum displacement is unused. Re-read the small print captions.

I forgot to screenshot the Von der Tann design at the time, so I opened up my 1950 savefile and had a look at the design there. This allows you guys to see the design but assigns technological / weight values that are based on 1950s technology, not 1905. If I were building this in 1950, I would have 3.2k tons still available to fit on the hull, because armor, guns and engines have become lighter over the decades. However, in 1905, I barely had 100 spare tons or so, which I left empty for future fire control upgrades.

What really pissed me off was that I got the 'Private Shipbuilding expands your docks!' event immediately after I laid down these babies. With an extra 1000 tons, I could have given them an extra inch of belt or an extra knot.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on March 19, 2017, 04:39:56 am
Don't the Brits and Baguettes for that matter have 12' -1 guns at the start? Or were those -2 I forget I haven't played earlygame RTW much recently, something I should probably fix soon
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 19, 2017, 05:04:37 am
I was comparing BROADSIDES, not GUNS.

Brits start with -1 12inchers and Baguettes start with -1 12 inchers inches AND -2 13inchers.

What they don't have at this point in the game is any tech beyond 3 centre line turrets. The best they can bring to hear is 6 12 inchers. The Germans, on the other hand, have an 8 11inch broadside building.

So yeah. Worse guns, but much better utilisation and a bigger broadside weight.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 19, 2017, 12:07:31 pm
Also, doubleposting with major spoiler because I need to brag.

I very much resented the 1950s cutoff point because it meant that I would need to leave a very...interesting war unfinished. I then found a way to screw with the save file and continue playing for another year, until I could bring the war to a close.

I have brought that war to a close and completed this playthrough to my complete, utter and grim satisfaction. Holy crap, was that cathartic.

MAJOR spoilers if you follow the link.

Spoiler:
Ruling the Waves (https://s24.postimg.org/7r1tyz4px/Panama_New_Administration.png)
You and your bull**** endgame budget can go **** yourselves. Bloody Mary Sue nation
Title: Moltke
Post by: Enioch on March 21, 2017, 01:53:36 pm
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(https://s2.postimg.cc/ng0kybuc9/12123721475_cf120e5ba9_b.jpg)
SMS Seydlitz under construction in Wilhelmshaven

It was sad to see the focus of the Admiralität shift back from cruisers to capital ships; and, as construction on the Medusas froze to release funds for the Von der Tann-class, I couldn't but lament at the sight of the deserted drydocks. On the other hand, I could not but marvel at the proposed capabilities of the Von der Tann and the Goeben. They took everything about Hertha that I loved: the speed, the toughness, the no-nonsense focus on performance and upscaled it into a capital ship frame that inspired sheer awe.

I freely admit it - I wanted these ships. And then, of course, the Shiffskonstruktionbüreau took everything about those ships that drew me in and distilled it into what would become the Moltke-class and I knew that my future lay with the Schlachtkreuzer.

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s1.postimg.cc/713uebpxb/Screenshot_3216.png)

February 1906: The Admiralität, with only ten million Goldmarken in reserve and a monthly deficit of several million, freezes the construction of Arcona and Hamburg. The Medusas were unlucky to have been conceived in the time of the Battlecruiser craze. Work on the Von der Tann and Goeben continues.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/kkp9xrta7/Screenshot_3218.png)

In March, the French fleet sorties to resupply and relieve the German blockade. Their presence proves to be of great assistance, as two Italian blockade runners are forced to scurry back to Napoli.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/abwsry58f/Screenshot_3219.png)

Ariadne also spots an Italian light cruiser trying to slip past; the German ship intiates a long, drawn-out pursuit, through a springtime squall; the Italian finally manages to escape after suffering considerable but not critical damage.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/k0a8v301r/Screenshot_3222.png)

And in April, the German fleet began using the new "Hartmann" signal code (named so after Konteradmiral Alfred Hartmann who pushed for its implementation). Galster also began lobbying for the integration of wireless systems in the fleet; and it was decided to gradually include Marconi systems in all capital ships.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/tm3tbdr7j/Screenshot_3223.png)

Crap. That's what happens when Ariadne lets raiders escape.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/44lers9hb/Screenshot_3224.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/aq97bzcfz/b0800d3bbecfc5bd5f3b63b69419d43a.jpg)

Well - nun ist die K**ke am Dampfen. The mood in the Admiralität nosedives. Germany is still limited to relatively poor-quality 11-inchers; and the Brits are already producing 14-inch rifles. Some good news would be nice...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/qht5elaf3/Screenshot_3225.png)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/rt2p4pcfv/maxresdefault.jpg)

THE GERMAN PEOPLE STAND BEHIND THEIR KAISER AND THEIR NAVY.

DER TAG WIRD KOMMEN.

In all seriousness - the public response to the winter public subscription campaign of the Admiralität went beyond all expectations - to such an extent that it was decided to proceed to a second phase of capital ship building.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/yol5660hr/Screenshot_3226.png)

(https://s29.postimg.cc/7grm180l3/801887e00fea244c9064d2a5047292ae.jpg)

Also - the next batch of submarines left the slipways.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/kjfc4crgf/Screenshot_3227.png)

Frauenlob chases down the La Spezia and pounds her to scrap off the coast of Kamerun.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/z410cxbsv/Screenshot_3228.png)

And the R & D department... delivers.

Welcome, Cross-deck Fire. Thou art the rock on which I shall build my fleet.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5ddvr5qtb/Screenshot_3229.png)

Enter the Moltke-class. Same speed as the Von der Tann, so they can operate jointly; same weight of broadside; but the removal of two wing turrets thank to the cross-fire design meant that a massive amount of weight could be economised.

That weight went to armor. The Moltkes had a belt that was a full four inches thicker than the Von der Tann: the belt armor of those Schlachtkreuzer was thicker than the old Schwaben-class predreads. Even more significantly, they were built for fleet command roles, with a reinforced conning tower. Finally, they had a fully splinter-proof deck, two inches thick, running the entire length of the ship, and bigger ammunition magazines.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7j86lnu9r/Screenshot_3230.png)

An immediate downpayment of five-and-a-half million Goldmarken went to prepare the docks and hire new personel; and construction started by the end of May 1905.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/u97bendhb/Screenshot_3231.png)

The same month also marked the completion of the last pre-war submarine batch.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/t9h0ixybj/Screenshot_3233.png)

Back to the front! On the 12th of June, Hela snuck into the gulf of Taranto once more, for a raid on merchant shipping - this time in broad daylight.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/czqug1nnj/Screenshot_3234.png)

At 14:05 she came across the small, 5k-ton freighter La Bella, whose crew immediately abandoned ship upon sighting of the German raider.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/estr4d8u7/Screenshot_3235.png)

Two hours later, Hela also engaged the 8k-ton Chimera. The Italian attempted to escape and Hela pursued, sending the enemy ship to the bottom with a few 6-inch shots.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/84x5hrpbz/Screenshot_3237.png)

After a brief...altercaption with a couple of patrolling destroyers, Hela retreated, not wishing to risk any damage to herself.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/gbtqn34sf/Screenshot_3238.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/vyl00gikf/Screenshot_3239.png)

Once again, the German cruisers had proven that they could enter Italian waters at will; and sink their merchant shipping uncontested. It was certainly no massive success; but it helped improve morale.

Note that war weariness had started to affect both the military and the civilian population at this point. The initial jingoistic feelings of 1904 had cooled; and it was difficult to ignore the fact that, despite the continuous fighting in the Alpine front (which, by now, had completely stagnated again) and the German blockade, the Italians were nowhere near surrendering.

Or coming out to fight, for that matter. Feiglinge!

[OOC: Note the '2' Unrest. At 10, you lose the game.]

(https://s1.postimg.cc/fc3frdpmn/Screenshot_3240.png)

The Admiralty had no immediate answer to the problem, to the consternation of the Kaiser; so they resorted to what they knew best. They invested in further infrastructure improvements looking towards a more ambitious future capit-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/s61hkq327/Screenshot_3242.png)

Oh. Oho.

"Interesting," thought von Mecklenburg. "We need to approach this opportunity to end the war with the care and consideration it deserves, keeping in mind the potential benefits to the German economy and the international diplomatic sit-"

"GIVE ME ALL YOUR STUFF, STUPID PASTA-EATERS," screamed the Kaiser.*

*Dramatisation, performed by professional actors. The Kaiser may not have said "GIVE ME ALL YOUR STUFF, STUPID PASTA-EATERS." But nobody can prove that he didn't say those words at some point. In that order or any other. Thank you for your support of The History Channel.

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 21, 2017, 02:13:06 pm
Bring on ze Kaiser BCs!

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/SMS_Moltke_LOC_hec_01144.jpg/1280px-SMS_Moltke_LOC_hec_01144.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 21, 2017, 02:27:03 pm
Patience. They'll show up.  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on March 21, 2017, 02:32:39 pm
Does this game model the blast damage and such that historically made cross-decking not actually all that good?

Also KAISER ****ING WILHEIM NO  :nono:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on March 21, 2017, 02:39:48 pm
Will building a BC satisfy the condition for that battleship proto-kickstarter or do you need to actually build a proper dreadnought?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 21, 2017, 03:12:15 pm
Bring on ze Kaiser BCs!

*snip*

Patience. They'll show up.  :p

(https://s3.postimg.cc/pnskn8rub/Wittelsbach.png)

Does this game model the blast damage and such that historically made cross-decking not actually all that good?

Also KAISER ****ING WILHEIM NO  :nono:

Based on my (admittedly brief) research, cross-deck fire was not a bad concept and its implementation by the Germans was a relative success (i.e. their ships were designed in such a way that blast damage on the deck was not a major issue). However, what we usually hear are reports of the 'failed' English implementation of the cross-deck firing layout (in e.g. the Invincibles and Indefatigables). The British ships were designed with the first priority being compatibility with dockyards all over the Empire, which resulted in a cramped turret arrangement and a smaller ship, which suffered more under the stress.

That said, cross-deck capable turrets are heavier than normal wing turrets (they require more reinforcement) and they have a limited arc of fire, both of which are reflected in-game.

Will building a BC satisfy the condition for that battleship proto-kickstarter or do you need to actually build a proper dreadnought?

The kickstarter would be satisfied with a predread (B), a battlecruiser (BC) or a dreadnought (BB) (as long as it has a 'B' in the designation, it's fine).
Title: Making Steam
Post by: Enioch on March 27, 2017, 08:07:49 am
OOC: Sorry for taking so long with this update. I was...otherwise occupied.

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(https://s4.postimg.cc/ghumb8cgd/14747560260_b186b01f7f_o.jpg)

"His Majesty's desire to secure the best possible arrangement for Germany in a peace with Italy was commendable; however, he tended to confuse the 'best' arrangement with the 'most profitable' arrangement.

"This made my work exceedingly difficult as we entered the second year of what would come to be known as the Long War."

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

Well - the Italians would, of course, not give all their 'stuff' to the Kaiser, no matter the latter's dimplomatic acumen. The war continued despite von Mecklenburg's attempts to broker a satisfactory agreement.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/ijui797kh/Screenshot_3243.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/bunyr8m8h/Screenshot_3244.png)

Shortly after the sinking of the peace negotiations, the R & D department submitted their monthly reports. News were mixed. On the one hand, no breakthroughs were reported and the designs proposed by Dr. Benner's submarine development team for enhanced battery capacity for the German submarines had proven to be unreliable disasters, forcing a return to the drawing-board. On the other hand, the yards in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel had begun to implement strict quality control measures in the building of Von der Tann and Goeben and the Admiralty had requested for a codification and implementation of these measures on a wider scale in German shipbuilding.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/b7p21ppch/Screenshot_3246.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/a6otcl8cx/Screenshot_3247.png)

Italian raiders continued to operate near Kamerun; and the Vettor Pisani remained a constant thorn in Galster's side in the Mediterranean.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/utdixwrrl/Screenshot_3249.png)

But then, on the 5th of July, Amazone had a chance to redeem herself for her earlier encounter with the Pisani. Shortly after dawn, Venetia, the last surviving La Spezia-class raider tried to force the German blockade and slip through Gibraltar. What the Italians failed to notice was Amazone, making slow steam a few miles south of Cartagena.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/o4bkvmvtd/Screenshot_3250.png)

Amazone fires up her boilers, clears her decks for action and takes up pursuit; the Italian runs.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/bfhabypox/Screenshot_3252.png)

But her fate is sealed: Amazone has two knots on her and is packing 6-inch guns to the Italian's 5-inchers. Two hours after first contact, the Venetia goes down, with fourty of her crew; the Germans rescue two hundred more.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/9oy9ah85t/Screenshot_3253.png)

It's a clean victory; and one that has the Kaiser shower praise on the cruiser commanders. Pressure from the Palace to accellerate the construction of the Schlachtkreuzer increases; the Admiralität resists for now, blaming their limited budget.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/nwnxz4kup/Screenshot_3254.png)

Of course, the Kaiser has little to actually complain about. Nothing in the world can compare to the raw tonnage in old battleships the Brits can bring to a fight (almost half a million tons of armor and gun looking askance at the Baltic and the North Sea); but in what concerns modern battlecruisers and capital ships, Germany is actually ahead, the Admiralität making good use of their wartime budget. Germany has four ultra-modern 24k ton Schlachtkreuzer building; Great Britain, on the other hand, only has three battlecruisers and a new experimental 'Dreadnought' under construction, all of which are in the 18k-20k ton range.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/3qkg08p75/Screenshot_3255.png)

August rolls in. The new quality control measures are implemented in all Imperial Werft drydocks; and a launch date for the Von der Tann is set, exactly two years from now.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/5xooo5uhd/Screenshot_3257.png)

France also smashes an Italian counter-offensive and begins drawing plans for a naval invasion of Sicily, to draw Italian forces away from the northern front and leverage her manpower advantage. The German High Command considers what forces can be detailed to support the French endeavour; the heavy cruisers seem to be the best options.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/5yymhkwb5/Screenshot_3258.png)

In a preparatory patrol, Hertha runs into the Bari, returning from a successful raid off Kamerun. The end result of the engagement surprises nobody - Hertha has pretty much established herself as the terror of the Mediterranean at this point.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/w8jp0di8h/Screenshot_3259.png)

Goddammit, that's three hundred thousand Goldmarken down the drain. For God's sake, Kaleuns stop running your boats into ASW ships.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/dhmd3yd1t/Screenshot_3260.png)

Messina makes the Italians proud in the Mediterranean, running the blocakde on three separate occasions.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/ttwetordd/Screenshot_3261.png)

And then, finally scouting submarines report that the Italian fleet (or what's left of it) are making steam toward Sardinia. There is a chance here, if only Büchsel can grab it! The German battle-line mobilises...

(https://s30.postimg.cc/ssw64kadt/Screenshot_3262.png)

And the Italian fleet just runs back to port. Büchsel is frustrated, but claims a strategic victory, as the blockade closes down on Sardinia.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/7kihn4vwx/Screenshot_3263.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/r3n2whuoh/Screenshot_3264.png)

News from Japan! Unlike the Brits and Germans, they have not committed fully to an 'all-big-gun' design: instead, they are building what the German engineers characterise as a 'super-battleship', with a slow top speed but a devastating secondary broadside. The design is clearly inferior to the German Schlachtkreuzer, but it might be highly effective against the colonial cruisers that the European Powers have deployed in the Far East. Interesting...

(https://s30.postimg.cc/izeyrr89d/Screenshot_3265.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/bz358ffhb/PSM_V56_D0720_The_turbinia_running_at_about_fort.png)

Yeeeeeees.

That 1% weight reduction is a bare-faced lie, by the way. Steam turbines are the single most important engineering upgrade, comparable to All-or-Nothing armor for ship design. They can offer you almost 2 extra knots for the same weight in the 25-26 knot range.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/hlnbwg901/Screenshot_3266.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/agtw1zou3/6a5f7f14b95f8c4967fd44ac3447e0b91483725693_full.jpg)

FFFFFUUUUUUUU.....

(https://s30.postimg.cc/awgsgfno1/Screenshot_3267.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/kv1r2wx3l/Screenshot_3268.png)

November comes; and the first reports of Italian Armed Merchant Cruisers also make their appearance. The Admiralität is unsure of how to deal with this new development. Projections show that the Italians could, potentially, convert a merchant vessel to a capable raider in under 4 months.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/wlfokapw1/Screenshot_3269.png)

(https://media.giphy.com/media/OrR9ATtSDmd8s/giphy.gif)

Now we only need multiple centreline turrets technology...

(https://s30.postimg.cc/xcd03thn5/Screenshot_3270.png)

"**** YOU, SPAGHETTIS, MY SCHLACHTKREUZERS WILL SHELL YOUR PASTA PLANTATIONS TO THE GROUND. PASTA COMES FROM TREES, RIGHT? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU)" said the Kaiser.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/pkwa59dht/Screenshot_3271.png)

(https://s30.postimg.cc/5ess6dhu9/Screenshot_3272.png)

(https://s3.postimg.cc/9kdh20kdv/0a0498b90fb4249807a3a2d6fed10c88.jpg)

Yes, yes, all the technology.

(https://s30.postimg.cc/qpqcamzyp/Screenshot_3273.png)

Well. At least you achieved this much. Seriously, U-boote you're kind of a disappointment.

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Title: Re: Making Steam
Post by: StarSlayer on March 27, 2017, 08:40:10 am
(https://s30.postimg.org/wlfokapw1/Screenshot_3269.png)

Now we only need multiple centreline turrets technology...

Can has König?

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/3f/f8/ab/3ff8ab0412a92bbb6901816bd5d220e8.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 27, 2017, 08:43:35 am
Still no Superimposed B or 5+ Centreline.

Cannot has König
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 27, 2017, 09:06:13 am
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I9MlJJxbWH8/UP7routh3sI/AAAAAAAAGp0/esEVB5E3EbM/s1600/mr-t-crying.gif)

At least has Seydlitz?

(http://battleshiplist.com/battleships/germany/seydlitz/images/seydlitz_001.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 27, 2017, 09:09:41 am
Can has Seydlitz  :yes:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on March 27, 2017, 09:12:23 am
Quote
OOC: Sorry for taking so long with this update. I was...otherwise occupied.

Mass Effect Andromeda or Nier: Automata? :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 27, 2017, 09:15:32 am
Quote
OOC: Sorry for taking so long with this update. I was...otherwise occupied.

Mass Effect Andromeda or Nier: Automata? :P

Heh. Neither. Writing - other stuff.  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on March 27, 2017, 09:17:54 am
Oooh. Intriguing.
Title: Goddess of War
Post by: Enioch on March 31, 2017, 11:29:43 am
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(https://s7.postimg.cc/y746kleyz/50389934.jpg)

The continuous pressure from the palace to conclude as advantageous a peace with Italy as possible galvanised the crews. I spent much more time than before away from the front, overseeing the building of the Schlachtkreuzer, but when in the Mediterranean, I was surprised to see how eager the crew of the Hertha and the other cruisers were to "finally break the Italians".

"We know we've won," the Gunnery Officer of the Vineta once told me, "and they know we've won. Now they only have to admit it."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/z29gy2nx1/Screenshot_3276.png)

January 1906: the Christmas Truce ends and the German Navy sails up to the Italian harbors and institutes a close blockade, fuelled by French and German coalers. The Italians, unfortunately, stay in the harbors, to Büchsel's intense frustration.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/mp184wnmd/Screenshot_3277.png)

News from Greece cheered him up, though. The Carlo Alberto had attempted to return to Taranto to refuel but it could not breach the blocakde and it had to be interned in Patras.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/bqpympz11/Screenshot_3278.png)

And on the 13th of February, shortly after noon, the three Zerstörer G9, G10 and S14 made a push on the Sardinian harbor of Cagliari. The weather was appalling, with gale-force winds and heavy rain, that really stressed the little ships.
 
(https://s24.postimg.cc/e9bnnekr9/Screenshot_3279.png)

17:48: A dark shape looms out of the gale, less than a hundred yards from G9. The Zerstörer's helmsman is slow to react; and G9 rams the unknown ship at almost 20 knots.

Thankfully, whatever the ship is, it doesn't seem to have any armor and the G9's prow cuts into its hull like a hot knife. The G10 and S14 turn to respond; and in the darkness they make out several more dark shapes sailing past. Identification signals are flashed but receive no response; the Germans open fire, in a chaotic short-range brawl.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/78nnumiz9/Screenshot_3281.png)

The two squadrons eventually fade into the gale. It takes two days for the Germans to find out (from Italian statements) that their three Zerstörers had inadvertedly run into an eight-ship convoy, protected by a five-destroyer flotilla. Three of the Italian transports had been lost with all hands in the storm; one of their destroyers had also suffered considerable damage.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/yxab255zp/Screenshot_3282.png)

Goddamn it, but the light forces are winning this for us.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/quc4qtled/Screenshot_3284.png)

March 1906; almost two years into the Long War. The R & D department metaphorically kicks down the door to Tirpitz's office. They claim to have solved the torpedo problem. Underwater protection should render the next generation of German capital ships proof against this most dangerous of weapons. Unfortunately, it is impossible to integrate it into the Von der Tann and Moltke designs at this stage of their construction. But soon, soon...

(https://s24.postimg.cc/ba4r0ab9x/Screenshot_3285.png)

Also, improved batteries and lighter engines for the submarine fleet! Perhaps they'll start pulling their own weight, eh?

(https://s24.postimg.cc/bpkm71ml1/Screenshot_3287.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/l6tmuqasd/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_ryojojo.jpg)

Mein Gott, she's a goddess of war. The Pisani was a bigger ship and Hertha doesn't even need dockyard time.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/y2sctunit/Screenshot_3288.png)

A bit of an interesting observation. Every nation that perceives Germany...negatively has built massive minesweeper fleets. In contrast, France is puttering along at a sedate 4 patrol vessels. That's the AI trying to counter what they perceive as the biggest threat. Well, at least the submarines have caused the AI to waste money on patrol vessels instead of Dreadnoughts.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/h3jeelcb9/Screenshot_3289.png)

April; Hela enters the French drydocks in Mers-el-Kebir, with a faulty condenser. Her crew are incensed; they feel their absence from the front lines will prolong the war. Officers and crew together write a missive to Galster, asking for accellerated repairs; Galster is supportive and a three-month repair job gets finished in sixty days.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/b3vnaxrit/Screenshot_3290.png)

Finally, after two bloody years, the blockade seems to truly take effect. Büchsel tightens the noose.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/m60q9dllh/Screenshot_3292.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/ylxg34exh/Screenshot_3293.png)

That R & D. Glorious. DOITSU NO KAGAKU WA SEKAI ICHI.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/ioyo6emj9/Screenshot_3294.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/xoblc03tr/Youjo_Senki_-_05_-_Large_15.jpg)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/76cyz9u39/Screenshot_3299.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/h4xxlr3it/Screenshot_3300.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/xt2j6ozhp/MV5_BMTcw_Nzky_MTI5_MF5_BMl5_Ban_Bn_Xk_Ft_ZTYw_ODkx_MTU2._V1.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on March 31, 2017, 01:37:53 pm
Hammerzeit?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 31, 2017, 01:58:15 pm

Not yet, not yet.   :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 31, 2017, 04:06:32 pm
These subs are amazing  :lol: enemy nations trying to counter something that absolutely needs no countering at this stage.
Whereas Hertha is actually amazing
Title: The December Peace
Post by: Enioch on April 05, 2017, 05:05:36 am
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(https://s17.postimg.cc/9nnl66lgf/Auszug_Braunschweig_Johann_Albrecht.jpg)
His Excellency, the Herzog von Mecklenburg on the 1906 peace talks

"For the third time, peace negotiations had been derailed by His Majesty, out of what I can only imagine to be a mistaken impression of what our enemies were willing to surrender. The Italians were a hardy foe (as they had proven aggain and again on the battlefield) and they perceived the Long War as more of a challenge than a direct threat. Despite the long, drawn-out hostilities, there was still a healthy amount of respect and, to some twisted degree, even camaraderie between the clashing Armies and Navies, as evidenced, primarily, by the Christmas Truces and the several occasions of German ships allowing a selective lifting of the blockade. The Italians were not as desperate as His Majesty would have liked to believe; and, after the end of the war, I had the chance to speak candidly with some of their officers and diplomats.

"'Of course we knew we were going to lose the war,' Lieutenant General Ermanno Aebi told me in May 1910, when I had the pleasure and honor of meeting him in Vienna, 'The important thing was to win the peace, not the war. Your Kaiser nearly jeopardised that as well.'"

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/gv1l4gkt7/Screenshot_3302.png)

July 1906. The Peace negotiations have foundered once again; the Germans are asking for much more than the Italians are willing to give. Spirits are low in the Admiralität as the war is likely to extend over several more months. Some celebration is had when the R & D department reports that improved compressed air containers for the German torpedoes are now ready to be put into production.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/93kv5wgnv/Screenshot_3303.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/kh7eh3r6j/Screenshot_3304.png)

And then spirits promptly fall again as the submarine service reports this month's losses. There is simply nothing to sink out there; the German submariners just sail around and put themselves in danger for no reason.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/qjf17lfmj/Screenshot_3305.png)

Thankfully, the French carry their weight with a summer offensive over the Alps. Considerable progress is made; after more than two years of war, the French are now at the gates of Turin and are shelling Genoa. The German Navy once again seeks to draw the Italians out...

(https://s23.postimg.cc/lysusnvx7/Screenshot_3306.png)

...but the Italians refuse to engage, to the exasperation of Büchsel.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/wob4ynx3v/Screenshot_3308.png)

And then, a potential opening. German and French intelligence have collaborated in locating and hosting the known revolutionary and anarchist Paolo Badoglio; they are considering smuggling him back into Italy, where he might foster discontent and discord.

The Kaiser is incensed and nearly torpedoes the nascent project. The French, however, are adamant: their armies have been dying in the Alpine front for two years and this stalemate needs to end. They have little concern about the dangers to monarchy this move will create; they want the war brought to a swift close. Von Mecklenburg agrees; and after two weeks of argument, the Kaiser is convinced.

Hertha has the dubious honour of ferrying Badoglio to Sicily, where he is put ashore under cover of nightfall. He is welcomed there by others of his ilk and gets to work, for a time slipping under the radar of the Germans and French.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/mfinsu923/Screenshot_3309.png)

August: R & D reports the development of new, smaller and lighter boiler designs...

(https://s23.postimg.cc/u9j9e8guz/Screenshot_3310.png)

...no change in the 'Italians don't wanna fight' front...

(https://s23.postimg.cc/lsjr3bc63/Screenshot_3311.png)

...and yes! - SMS Medusa slips the ways. She's a small minnow compared to the Schlachtkreuzer under construction, but she's welcomed to the navy with open arms. The Kaiser, still moody and discontent at the recent turn of events, is present in the commissioning ceremony and appears revitalised, on the deck of the little cruiser.

"My knights-errant of the seas," he says to Galster and Tirpitz, who are also present. "I know her time is already past, but I'll be damned if she isn't a beauty."

(https://s23.postimg.cc/fiohgbcrf/Screenshot_3314.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/ay2b1dt23/Screenshot_3315.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/4yejxq89n/Screenshot_3316.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/4aaasiyxn/Screenshot_3317.png)

His mood would nosedive in September, when the Italian raiders sortied in a concentrated effort, slipping past the blockade on numerous occasions. And their fleet refused to fight, verdammnt nochmal!.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/ss2egf1i3/Screenshot_3318.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/6u5xmmmhn/Screenshot_3319.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/evymjsb3x/Epmk_Gfw.jpg)

Go die in a fire, Spaghettis.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/na9ssm6aj/Screenshot_3323.png)

Holy crap.

Literally overnight, Italy explodes in anti-war and anti-monarchy riots. Half of Napoli is burning. And Badoglio is in the middle of everything.

It is difficult to describe the ferocity of the disturbances of October 1906; the October Revolution, as it has been described by some, was barely contained; and resentment continued to simmer under the surface. The French were ecstatic at the success of the ploy; the Germans...not so much. Von Mecklenburg had anticipated something along those lines, but the success of Badoglio worried him immensely; and the less said about the Kaiser's reaction, the better.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/mfsb3p4rf/Screenshot_3330.png)

As for the Italians, they finally broke. A communiqué was sent to Berlin, asking for peace negotiations to commence.

Von Mecklenburg, for the first time, was hesitant. On the one hand, the military lobbied for a hard position: "They are broken," Tirpitz argued. "Let them collapse and we'll pick up the pieces. On the other hand, the Kaiser was adamant that peace should be agreed upon without delay, for the situation in Italy had to be contained before it spiraled out of control. "This is your making," he told von Mecklenburg in an uncharacteristic display of foresight, "yours and the French's. Fix this, or every crown in Europe will fall by the end of the decade."

(https://s23.postimg.cc/eobl550m3/Screenshot_3331.png)

And so, peace was agreed upon; and, in an ironic twist of fate so common to the political stage, the Germans and French were called in to crack down on the riots their own agent had started.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/aggswdz6j/Screenshot_3332.png)

On the 20th of November, peace was formalised. France would get no territorial gains, but would claim the lion's share of the war reparations; a sum that would bring the Italian economy to its knees for the next five years and wouldn'd be paid off fully until the 1920s. Germany, on the other hand, would stand to gain both more and less.

For Von Mecklenburg, in a shocking twist, adopted a stance that was the exact opposite of the 1901 Russian Peace. He asked for no sums of money or any sort of war reparations from the Italians; instead, he asked for territory.

The entirety of Sardinia, to be exact.

(https://s23.postimg.cc/s7sfauel7/Screenshot_3333.png)

And so, we come to the end of the Long War; a war that raged for 30 months and left its bloody stain in Europe for years to come; a war that was conceived as a diversion and a challenge; a war that was birthed in perfidy, in the finest tradition of old Albion; and a war that granted Germany her greatest prize since the days of Bismarck.

A naval base in the Mediterranean.

Tremble world. Germany is here to stay.


OOC: No autoplay because I am a kind and considerate storyteller. Ahem. I am pointedly looking at some people here. You know who you are.

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 05, 2017, 07:59:27 am
Out of curiosity does the use of anarchists and revolutionaries as agents actually backfire in some cases?  Specifically if your intended target falls into glorious proletariat revolution is there a chance for it to spread and destabilize yourself or other nations?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 05, 2017, 08:10:16 am
Very yes.

There's a high chance you'll get the "socialist propaganda is infecting our troops " event (instant +3 unrest)  and allowing revolutionaries to run around increases the chance that socialist parties might gain ground in domestic elections. Which ****s up discipline something fierce and forces you to either suppress propaganda in the navy (hello, unrest) or negotiate with the reds (goodbye prestige).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on April 05, 2017, 11:02:16 am
Fun fact: There is historical precedent for that revolutionary event. In real life, Germany did send a revolutionary back to his homeland during WW1 to get their government to collapse. They succeeded and forced a very demanding peace treaty on that nation.

That revolutionary was a man named Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known to the world as Lenin.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on April 05, 2017, 11:54:30 am
The war of declined battles and sewer pipes taking up permanent residence on the sea bed.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 05, 2017, 01:55:13 pm
Fun fact: There is historical precedent for that revolutionary event. In real life, Germany did send a revolutionary back to his homeland during WW1 to get their government to collapse. They succeeded and forced a very demanding peace treaty on that nation.

That revolutionary was a man named Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known to the world as Lenin.

It's also interesting to note that, IRL, the Kaiser was very much against this.

Also, it was hilarious to see the 'big disturbance' event trigger in October. Glorious Italian Red October per tutti.

Also, ****ing Wilhelm did it again. I was looking for a decent peace for almost three years, with my diplomats failing all the way; then, I get the Italians on the brink of collapse and ask for the war to continue for MAYBE two or three more months, so that I can lolgrab their entire colonial empire. Guess when Kaiser ****ing William's "Cautious" trait triggers... :banghead:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on April 05, 2017, 01:58:22 pm
Leave it to Willy to be an irreconcilable hawk all day except the one time it would actually have been beneficial. I'm curious to see how you'll explain he got to making that rather questionable decision.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 05, 2017, 02:03:47 pm
During negotiations how does the acquisition of enemy territory work by the way?  Does the game make it more difficult to nab the crown jewels ie Panama, Suez, Gibraltar than say some piddly atoll in the Pacific?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on April 05, 2017, 02:07:26 pm
You can ask for X value of territory during a victory-peace, the X you get depends on how favorable the peace is to you. Territories have values relative to their worth, colonies usually vary from 1-3. Peace-by-enemy-revolution gives you a very high prize value of around 10, which lets you take massive chunks of land like say, Finland from Russia. You can never take 'core' territories like Austria-Hungary's only holding.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 05, 2017, 05:14:12 pm
Torchwood covered the basics. A few more points of some significance:

The value of the territories that you can annex at the end of a victorious war is computed based on VP difference, length of war and unrest levels of the two opponents. 4 is the default, corresponding to a couple of low-value colonies; 5-6 you can get with a clear victory, which includes heavy war weariness for the enemy and 10 is reserved for victory by anarchy. The latter also gives you the option to claim an enemy ship as a war prize.

Any points that you do not use to claim colonies do not go to waste. They are translated to 'war reparations' and directly add to your  core territory value. Now, this is important. Colonial holdings lose some of their value gradually, while the value of your core holdings is never reduced. In fact, through the "productivity soars!" messages, your core holdings' value increases by a set percentage several times throughout the game. This means that annexing new territory might not be the best option. If your priority after the war is to improve economically, it is ALWAYS better to ask for reparations instead of holdings. That said, colonies can give you strategic basing options (such as Sardinia, in this case, which gives me access to the Med if I spend the money to really upgrade her), oil, access routes (Suez, Panama) or you might just ask for a colony simply to deny it to the enemy (e.g. kick another Power completely out of a sector or steal their main base).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on April 05, 2017, 05:32:03 pm
That much reflects the real life situation of Germany. Not sure how accurately RtW models this, but relatively speaking, Germany's IRL colonies were garbage. Not much to offer in the way of resources, hot and unpleasant to be in, tablescrap pieces of land England and France that were not England's or France's first picks or even second picks, in short, a venture that pissed off a lot of major powers for little gain.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 05, 2017, 10:38:39 pm
Do holding key strategic locations yield the corresponding benefits? For example occupying Panama or the Suez effecting transit times while something like The Rock would bottleneck the Med.   

If so do you need to keep your ships within certain dimensions in order to take advantage of said canals?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 06, 2017, 01:06:28 am
That much reflects the real life situation of Germany. Not sure how accurately RtW models this, but relatively speaking, Germany's IRL colonies were garbage. Not much to offer in the way of resources, hot and unpleasant to be in, tablescrap pieces of land England and France that were not England's or France's first picks or even second picks, in short, a venture that pissed off a lot of major powers for little gain.

All of Germany's starting colonies are CRAP, with a value of 1-2 (especially her Pacific holdings). The sole exception are Tsingtao and Kiautchou bay, which, if I remember correctly are 3s (much income, very wow).

That said, if you spend the money to upgrade them (their fleet capacity, that is - there is no way you can upgrade their income potential), they can be excellent refuelling and fleet basing points. Germany has colonies in all important map sectors barring the Med and the Americas; and, most importantly, she can bring her ships from Northern Europe to the Pacific with coating stations along the way (I.e she is not suffering from Voyage of the Damned syndrome).

Do holding key strategic locations yield the corresponding benefits? For example occupying Panama or the Suez effecting transit times while something like The Rock would bottleneck the Med.   

If so do you need to keep your ships within certain dimensions in order to take advantage of said canals?

Yes and no, respectively. The Canals are indeed chokepoints and key passages and the Power that owns them prohibits transit to ships of any Nation with which Tensions have risen to 6 or above (I think it's 6).

Ships don't need to be limited in size because the game hardcaps you to 52000 tons, remember? The Iowas could barely scrape through Panama (which is the main bottleneck) and they were 57k tons at full load, so bigger than anything you can build in RtW.

Title: Launch Day
Post by: Enioch on April 13, 2017, 08:50:41 am
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- PART 3 -
Securing the East

(https://s14.postimg.cc/jy1memutt/29547388716_c8eacd2556_b.jpg)
The Vittorio Emanuele avenue in Cagliari, Sardinia, 1906. It was renamed to Wilhelm I avenue in early 1907

"The situation in Italy was quickly deteriorating and His Majesty was very much against allowing the Royalist Italian Forces to be overrun by the rebels. I shared his concern; the revolutionaries were considerably more successful than what we had originally anticipated and, while I respected the Military's demand to push until the knife reached the bone, my primary concern was long-term stability in Europe, not short-term gains. The collapse of the Italian Government to the anarchists would set up a dangerous precedent and might precipitate a more active British intervention that we felt we were unable to counter at the time.

"That said, the December Peace resulted in the official annexation of Sardinia into the German
Bund and Zollverein, with a status comparable to the Lothringen and Elsass territories. I understand that our Admirals were ecstatic at the chance to now operate from a secure naval base in the Mediterranean."

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/a22z2gg6l/Screenshot_3334.png)

It is Christmas of 1906: and for the first time in years the entirety of the German fleet (barring a few unfortunate gunboats and patrol vessels) are recalled to the North Sea and the Baltic. Leaves are granted en masse. And the Admiralität decrees that all live-fire training is to cease for the foreseeable future; resources need to be economised in the aftermath of the war, and set aside for the completion of the Schlachtkreuzer and the dredging up of new Naval bases in Sardinia.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/ia4wng831/Screenshot_3336.png)

Plans are also laid down for a massive rebuilding of the German coastal patrol vessels. The 'Piepers' have been in constant service since the end of the 19th century and need to be overhauled and refitted. The expenses are minimal and the job can be handled by civilian dockyards, who are more than happy for the work.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/g6uhfs8a5/Screenshot_3337.png)

At this point in time, the French approached the Admiralität with a desire to study the designs of the German Schlachtkreuzer. The French Admirals and engineers were very much impressed with the German 'wing turret' designs; and a proposal was made to purchase the licence for the French Marine Nationale. Tirpitz and Galster were not averse to the idea (especially after consulting with their engineers) and von Mecklenburg jumped at the opportunity to further smooth over relations with the neighbours. The purchase of the German designs was completed in late January, for a sum of three and a quarter million pounds sterling.

There was no official response from Great Britain, but Intelligence reported "considerable concern", particularly among the high echelons of the Royal Navy.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/xmonhh78t/Screenshot_3339.png)

The following months were relatively calm, among the navy - the Army, on the other hand was primarily occupied with cracking down on the revolutionaries in Italy. Hostilities would continue until April, when the Royalist forces finally secured a victory. Around the same time, German engineers introduced large-payload torpedo designs, contributing to the considerable modernisation of the German submarine fleet.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/pigjcqktp/Screenshot_3340.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/9w8so2s13/6c73f62a30a9b3af3923979785ee6d82_uh-meme-memesup.png)

Uh... France. Are you seriously still building predreads?

Well, I suppose she may have been under construction since before the deal came through. But seriously, that's several million franks headed directly towards the 'obsolete' bucket.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/gou89dn8t/Screenshot_3341.png)

In early May, new docks were completed in Wilhelmshaven and Köln. Germany could now build 29k ton capital ships and her ship designers rubbed their hands together in glee.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/ctqu6t431/Screenshot_3342.png)

We are not interested, 'Muricans. German Science will find its own way. Also, you're seriously asking us to pay good money for this crap? It's not even a main tech!

(https://s28.postimg.cc/yvh4guokt/Screenshot_3344.png)

June 1907: and the new torpedoes get new aiming systems to complement them. German subs are getting deadlier every day; but the submarine service still has to wash off the stigma of the 'iron coffins' it developed during the Italian war.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/ilqydydwt/Screenshot_3345.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/f99ivab5r/exchange-all-tech.jpg)

Baguettes you are the best allies ever. Not like the bloody Yanks.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/h7zbinenh/Screenshot_3346.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/hys1ofh0t/Screenshot_3347.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/9hsjdicbx/Screenshot_3348.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/gohmxpi05/4centre.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/cbtkhgyav/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_ido_tekete.jpg)

Well. It was nice knowing you, Von der Tann. And Goeben. And Moltke. And Seydlitz. You are now all obsolete before leaving the slipways.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/ie3bhg2y5/Screenshot_3349.png)

Heh. And the Americans wanted us to pay good money for this not three months ago. Told you German Science would deliver.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/6rnsu250t/Screenshot_3351.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/dm7njlh4t/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_tokiaki_c.png)

In September 1907, the Admiralität rejoices. Firstly, the R & D department sets the date for the testing of the new 12'' rifles on the 20th of the month. These are the first capital-grade guns that Germany develops above her now-standard low-quality 11'' rifles, and they are beauties, considerably better than the British 12'' rifles on the Schwabens. But this is not the only thing worth celebrating.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/oizf8ikfh/Screenshot_3352.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/cmid1zrjd/232bff05ztpup.jpg)

For on the 22nd of the same month, the Von der Tann is formally commissioned into His Majesty's Hochseeflotte. The first German Schlachtkreuzer sails the seas. Tremble, Britain, and despair!

(https://s28.postimg.cc/6wrk3qcbx/Screenshot_3355.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/r5expgbn1/Screenshot_3356.png)

She is followed, two months later, by her sister ship, the Goeben. The commissioning is a truly grand affair; and the French dispatch their own cruiser, Jean-Bart, to show the flag in the festivities and get a glimpse of what their own Marine Nationale might be like in a few years, now that they too possess wing turret designs. The Kaiser's mood is so buoyant that he showers compliments on the French officers, compliments that they are happy to return. Tensions between the two countries have never been so low.

During the closing stages of the ceremony, the Kaiser approaches Tirpitz. Pleasentries are exchanged; the Kaiser expresses his complete satisfaction with the Admiralität and the new ships. Then he grows silent for a while and looks over the decks of the ship wistfully.

"Tirpitz," he finally exclaims, in the usual 'and-damn-the-torpedoes' voice that his Staff have come to absolutely dread. "We need more."

(https://s28.postimg.cc/ryrji2hnx/Screenshot_3359.png)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 13, 2017, 09:13:50 am
So Bayern or Derfflinger to satisfy the Kaiser?

(http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/irootoko_jr/imgs/b/1/b1643375.jpg)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e3/ac/85/e3ac853bbfc6ea1fadf692cb0291d6ba.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 13, 2017, 09:26:22 am
What good are four centerline turret designs if you won't build them, after all.....
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on April 13, 2017, 10:27:24 am
I can't help but have this nagging feeling about all these capitalships becoming obsolete before even leaving the docks.

I can't quite put it into words, but it bothers me.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 13, 2017, 12:05:10 pm
I can't help but have this nagging feeling about all these capitalships becoming obsolete before even leaving the docks.

I can't quite put it into words, but it bothers me.

 :lol:

Welcome to the 1900s, where every passing month can mean your entire fleet may become obsolete.

So Bayern or Derfflinger to satisfy the Kaiser?

*snip*

What good are four centerline turret designs if you won't build them, after all.....

Guys. This is 1907. And Germany still has no superfiring B turrets...or any gun bigger than the new 12" rifles... :p

You're going to see a lot of crazy designs before things start to make sense again.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 13, 2017, 12:22:05 pm
Backwards Tone? :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 13, 2017, 12:35:27 pm
Backwards Tone? :lol:

Brilliant! [/Guinness] :drevil:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on April 13, 2017, 05:41:42 pm
Hey, at least you're going to have a lot of weight saved by those tiny main batteries to put towards speed and armor. :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on April 14, 2017, 08:03:41 am
At least those crew member have those funnels to keep them cool

(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/cartoons/images/6/64/Windmils_don%27t_work_that_way.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070717164907)

Funnels do not work that way!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on April 15, 2017, 06:29:16 pm
Excuse  me, but:
Quote
In early May, new docks were completed in Wilhelmshaven and Köln. Germany could now build 29k ton capital ships and her ship designers rubbed their hands together in glee.
Köln? AFAIK there were no shipyards that size, but ok^^

Can you cancel and scrap ships during their construction?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 16, 2017, 01:36:05 am
Excuse  me, but:
Quote
In early May, new docks were completed in Wilhelmshaven and Köln. Germany could now build 29k ton capital ships and her ship designers rubbed their hands together in glee.
Köln? AFAIK there were no shipyards that size, but ok^^

There are now. We've poured more than twenty million Goldmarken into them. :P

This Germany's shipbuilding infrastructure is considerably more advanced than OTL Germany.  We can build bigger ships than the OTL Kaisers two years before the first Kaiser was laid down...

Quote
Can you cancel and scrap ships during their construction?

Yes. You'll get some of your money back in scrap steel. Note that the Kaiser/Ministry might veto the scrapping of ships under construction, unlike ships in service .

Also:
Hey, at least you're going to have a lot of weight saved by those tiny main batteries to put towards speed and armor. :lol:

This. But less of this than you think.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 16, 2017, 03:29:20 am
There are now. We've poured more than twenty million Goldmarken into them. :P

This Germany's shipbuilding infrastructure is considerably more advanced than OTL Germany.  We can build bigger ships than the OTL Kaisers two years before the first Kaiser was laid down...

Yes, well, that doesn't really change the fact that Cologne is a really bad place for a major capital shipyard. Unless you're also paying to dredge up the Rhine so that capital ships can pass through it, and have reasonably good relations with the dutch to do the same on their end :P
Germany's shipbuilding is concentrated, for fairly obvious reasons, in Bremen, Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Kiel (the latter being the traditional home of the german submarine fleet)

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 16, 2017, 07:00:20 am
Holy crap, I just realised. Kiel, not Köln. WTF, Enioch?

Blame the typographer demon and the fact that I am currently more than a little tipsy.

Χριστός Ανέστη, everyone and Happy Easter. Lamb-on-a-spot-spit is particularly tasty this year. :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on April 17, 2017, 06:35:43 am
Holy crap, I just realised. Kiel, not Köln. WTF, Enioch?

Blame the typographer demon and the fact that I am currently more than a little tipsy.

Χριστός Ανέστη, everyone and Happy Easter. Lamb-on-a-spot is particularly tasty this year. :p

Aaargh, guys, you are making this too easy!

Must... resist.... temptation....






(https://s23.postimg.org/yl9gsm40b/eisenbahn.jpg)

Die Deutschen und Ihnen wunderbare Eisenbahn!

Bitte alle einsteigen zu dem Zug von Köln nach Kiel!

The front part of the ship is actually near to the scale of the train. It does make me wonder if the guys who took the original photos ever thought they could be used to create an abomination art like this :lol:
Title: The Wittelsbach Family
Post by: Enioch on April 20, 2017, 11:16:47 am
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(https://s23.postimg.cc/ikum3p28r/sms-seydlitz-1913-battlecruiser.jpg)
The final plans for the Schlachtkreuzer SMS Wittelsbach, before her keel was laid down

"We were drunk on the spirit of our successes. The Wittelsbachs would usher in a new age of German supremacy on the oceans.

"We overcommited. We failed. There is no putting it gently.

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/yo39n2vsl/Screenshot_3360.png)

The Admiralität was ambivalent with regards to the Kaiser's demand. On the one hand, the Brits were well on the way to strengthening their nascent battlecruiser fleet, in response to Germany's escalation. On the other, the Naval budget was strained already; and there was considerable discontent among the population regarding the armament expenditures, so long after the end of war (you try to convince those damn socialists that si vis pacem, para bellum. Bismarck was right in trying to eliminate their ilk from politics...)

With the admirals vaccilating, the R & D department submitted designs for naval-scale oil-fired boilers. Now, if only Germany could secure a domestic oil production sufficient to fuel her fleet...

Until she did, her ships would have to remain coil-fired.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/7erw8kuph/Screenshot_3361.png)

January comes and Germany rejoices. As part of the Neujahr celebrations, Goeben returns from her shakedown cruise and fires a gun salute in honour of the imperial family in Wilhelmshaven. Germany now posesses the two most deadly ships in the world and they are ready for active duty.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/aa9kt6o39/Screenshot_3362.png)

The festive mood is somewhat ruined when emissaries from Japan arrive, requesting to buy a license for the German torpedo-belt pattents. They are quietly shown the door. Germany doesn't even have a ship with these belts in production yet - she's not about to allow a third-rate Power to outbuild her.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/8whxxvotx/Screenshot_3363.png)

In February, the Kaiser requests an update from the Admiralität on their plans for the construction of new Schlachtkreuzer. He is incensed when von Tirpitz and Galster inform him of the budgetary concerns. After a short discussion with von Mecklenburg and representatives of the DKP and FKP (boosted to particularly high levels after the wars), he set in motion the necessary procedures for increasing the Naval budget.

The Admiralität knows a lost fight when they see one and, in all frankness, they're interested to see what the engineers will draw up. Planning begins on the third class of German battlecruisers, for now referred to as SK-E

(https://s8.postimg.cc/5e5y1hnxx/Screenshot_3364.png)

**** you 'Murica, we need the money.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/52ohoq7hx/Screenshot_3365.png)

German fixation on quality munitions delivers again. AP 'caps' are added to German shells as an experiment, although extensive live-fire tests are postponed for now.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/w1scjvtyt/Screenshot_3366.png)

See 'Muricans? The Italians are nice people. And they don't bear a grudge, apparently. They can have this insignificant ROF tech for a good sum of money.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/8jn3xacp7/Untitled-1.jpg)

April arrives - and the designs for the SK-E-class battlecruisers are presented to the Admiralität. The SK-Es are everything the Moltke-class are, just better in most conceivable ways.

For one thing, they are truly massive ships - at 31k tons, they set a new standard for warships. They're almost half again as big as the Moltkes and it shows. They are armed with the new 12-inchers, in a five-turret, cross-deck-fire, AFKXY configuration; their armor is an inch thinner in the belt, but they have an extra inch on the turrets, they implement a torpedo belt, and they can reach the 25 knots that are, by now, standard for German Schlachtkreuzer.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/tyhxc7u5x/Screenshot_3367.png)

Three are ordered, immediately, from the Blohm & Voss shipbuilders. They are to be named Wittelsbach, Derfflinger and Lützow...

(https://s8.postimg.cc/5j9pb5v91/Screenshot_3368.png)

...and the downpayment takes up more than a third of the Admiralität budgetary reserves. Ouch.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/k3qs5zq7p/Screenshot_3369.png)

****. That could have been helpful a month earlier. That's another inch of belt armor right there.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/hnoys5851/Screenshot_3370.png)

This is both bad and good. On the one hand, having the option to build light cruisers with the sloped deck armor scheme is a huge advantage over the earlier 'protected' scheme. On the other hand, the frozen Arcona is now utterly obsolete and unlikely to be completed anytime soon, given the massive drain on the budget that the Schlachtkreuzer represent.

And the R & D breakthroughs just keep coming.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/5zuwxlj05/Screenshot_3371.png)

(https://s8.postimg.cc/otlb8c6lx/Screenshot_3372.png)

(https://s8.postimg.cc/lb9bby5px/Screenshot_3373.png)

(https://s8.postimg.cc/eyu6242np/Screenshot_3374.png)

(https://s8.postimg.cc/f043vj4hh/Screenshot_3375.png)

Holy crap, guys. All this in one month?

(https://s13.postimg.cc/j24twknx3/Nazi-_Image.jpg)

Yes, indeed.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/kcsy9nsdx/Screenshot_3376.png)

Well, the writing's on the wall for poor Arcona. She's been cluttering up the docks for more than a year now, and she's going to be quite outdated by the time she's complete. Time to scrap her and use her steel on the Schlachtkreuzer. Sad, but necessary.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/6x5xk7jw5/Screenshot_3377.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/g7kzi2x4f/akagi_tatsuta_and_yukikaze_kantai_collection_d.jpg)

Well, crap.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/k2lfqbdrp/Screenshot_3378.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6gua42chn/Youjo_Senki_-_05_-_Large_06.jpg)

Ahahaha. Battlecruiser operational, mother****ers.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/cb4prr9md/Screenshot_3379.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/v8twbatob/Youjo-Senki-Episode-11-Subtitle-Indonesia.jpg)

The news hit the Admiralität like thunder out of the blue. Counterintelligence reports that British spies have, somehow, gotten their grubby mitts on the new AP cap designs. The ensuing investigation sees the end of the careers of seven officers, who, apparently, thought that security rules were guidelines. The Kaiser is livid and, this time, for good reason. A communiqué is drafted and sent to His British Majesty's Government in the strongest language von Mecklenburg can muster; and the Kaiser's rants almost peel the paint off the walls.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/bbeew1ugl/Screenshot_3381.png)

His Majesty's mood darkens even further when he visits the shipyards in June and finds the works on the Moltke and the three Wittelsbachs frozen for the month, as the Admiralität is desperately trying to scrounge up the necessary funds. Admirals and engineers scramble for cover in the face of his wrath.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/q8rhasx2t/Screenshot_3382.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/xt2j6ozhp/MV5_BMTcw_Nzky_MTI5_MF5_BMl5_Ban_Bn_Xk_Ft_ZTYw_ODkx_MTU2._V1.jpg)

Yeah, uh-huh. A fishing boat. In German territorial waters. Near our Naval Bases. An American fishing boat. In the Baltic Sea. Uh-huh. Sure, 'Muricans. Get the **** out.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/62nzbx1f9/Screenshot_3383.png)

July comes - and finally, some good news. Never mind the 700-ton torpedobats the French are building - Germany can build bigger! If we ever find the funds to build anything but bloody capital ships.

(https://s8.postimg.cc/8mjm60oz9/Screenshot_3385.png)

Also - and this really helps the Kaiser perk up: Blohm & Voss are equally embarrassed about the June fiasco as the Admiralität. They propose to lay down a fourth Wittelsbach-class ship, as an apology - with a 10% discount.

Welcome to the family, Hindenburg! You're going to make us all so proud one day!



OOC shameless self-plug: I dunno if y'all have noticed, but I've been writing canon Wings of Dawn Lore (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93394.0) for Spoon-sempai in weekly installments. If you like, drop on over, leave a comment and feed a starving writer the attention he craves.

Also come to experience ship battles IN SPACE and the glory that is Spoon-sempai's WoDverse.  :p

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 20, 2017, 12:31:15 pm
(https://i0.wp.com/www.crowsworldofanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/saga-tanya-20170212-figure03.png?ssl=1)

"While I deeply appreciate the thought of naming a ship after me I don't think I have quite accrued the career achievements to warrant it at this point in the timeline?  Perhaps the esteemed von Blücher maybe a more august hero of the Empire deserving the honor?"

-Paul von Hindenburg
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 20, 2017, 02:18:55 pm
"Typical Hindenburg. We named her after the place, not you.

It's not like I want to give you something nice. You egocentric D-dummkopf!"

-KaiserWilly
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 20, 2017, 02:29:51 pm
The village of 428 souls in Saxony-Anhalt? :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 20, 2017, 05:05:09 pm
S-shut up!  :nervous:

"Dear diary, today Hindenburg beat  me in manoeuvres. He is so inconsiderate. I don't get why everyone likes him, I really don't. And all that after I named the latest battlecruiser after him..."

Love,
-W

Seriously, though, Germany has gone through two wars she DIDN'T go through in OTL, one of which with Russia. You can safely assume he more than distinguished himself as a Lieutenant General in the Russian front and maybe Italy as well. The problem is that we are following the accomplishments of the German Navy, not the Army... :doubt:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 20, 2017, 07:46:02 pm
(https://media.tenor.co/images/6e1d406deca5571db66c28d5c0f49edf/tenor.gif)

Oberste Heeresleitung, we plan massive ground campaigns as a calling and cause the Admiralstab to flip the table for fun!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 21, 2017, 03:21:27 am

Necessary musical accompaniment to the above .gif. ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on April 22, 2017, 02:20:30 pm
I can't help but notice that some of those random events are a little too eurocentric and don't really fit the US at all...

Sooo, here's hoping the Hindeburg doesn't blow up from a random flash fire or magazine explosion. IRL, having TNT primers (which the British lacked at WW1) helped. That, and the German emphasis on keeping their ships armored which British battlecruisers often sacrificed to have speed and big guns. Incidentally, those had a history of dying to catastrophic magazine hits.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: niffiwan on April 22, 2017, 06:28:02 pm
I thought that the points expressed here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?s=75615728205ce0fe5a629ad1c1d9de90&u=61859) were most accurate as to the reasons for British BC's blowing up. Namely:

1) poor magazine safety procedures (which IIRC the Germans also had problems with, after Dogger Bank they learned their lesson & fixed procedural laxness, whereas the British did not)
2) stability of the cordite (which I think you're referring to with TNT primers?)

The difference in armour is less significant to their survival.
Title: The Eastern Front
Post by: Enioch on April 23, 2017, 11:47:30 am
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(https://s15.postimg.cc/lmp7mzdd7/Brazilian_battleship_Minas_Geraes_being_launched.jpg)
The launching of the Brazilian battlecruiser 'Minas Geraes' in Wilhelmshaven

"It was clear to me that the increased tensions with Russia were due to no small degree to the covert interference of the British.

"It was my opinion that an eventual war with the British was unavoidable. It was, therefore, imperative that we prepare the international scene. We had, therefore, to secure our eastern borders once and for all."

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/o50175q3t/Screenshot_3386.png)

July 1908: Brazil approaches the European market with the intention of commissioning a total of three modern capital ships for her growing navy. The British firm Armstrong-Whitworth submit a design for 22k-ton battleships; the Germans counter with a licence to modified Moltke-class 25k-ton designs, with an added torpedo belt and 12-inch main batteries. The Brazilians, to the surprise and horror of the British, go for the more rugged, tough German designs despite their smaller guns and Blohm & Voss lay down the keels in August with a wide smile, filled with Shadenfreude. The Admiralität graciously take their cut.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/yhmbt8jmx/Screenshot_3388.png)

In August, the Reichsministerium der Finanzen publishes their statistical findigs on the German economy. The integration of Sicily into the Bund has added a Mediterranean harbor, with all its benefits, to the German economy; as a result, industry and finance are booming.

Von Mecklenburg notes a considerable reduction in the influx of raw resources from Russia. The Russians are stalling and, in some cases, outright sabotaging the German industrialists' attempts to harvest the Russian mineral wealth. He is savvy enough to realise that 'cousin Nicky' has been talking to people he shouldn't have.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/c6ygt9mcp/Screenshot_3389.png)

A few months later, R & D submit their designs for submarine Diesel engines. This is a groundbreaking development and Galster does not miss its implications. Germany begins to stockpile Diesel fuel for her submarine fleet; and Galster orders the design of a larger U-boot class, built from the keel up to incorporate all the latest developments in submarine warfare.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ghd4ourft/Screenshot_3390.png)

Tirpitz, on the other hand, releases more funds for the expansion of Germany's drydocks. By the end of 1909, Germany will be able to build ships of at least 35k tons.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/7auu1km7d/Screenshot_3391.png)

Ahaha. Ger-money. All the Ger-money. With the Russian faucet drying up, German industrialists focus on improving their infrastructure and seeking new markets in the Mediterranean - and it works.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/qh814r2p5/Screenshot_3392.png)

And then, on the 24th of January 1909, little Hela runs aground on the shores of Romania, less than three miles off the Russian border. The Russians squeal and write Romania a white check from a diplomatic standpoint. Von Mecklenburg and Tirpitz, on the other hand, respond immediately. The Ottoman Empire is contacted; and the Sublime Porte graciously grants permission for the Schwaben and the Mecklenburg, with a small escorting force of Zerstörer to travel through the Hellespont and put pressure on the Romanians. They eventually back down and release Hela; but Russia grumbles and von Mecklenburg formally advises German nationals to leave Russia.

Also, this perceived bit of interventionism has Turkey explode in a semi-coup; the so-called "Young Turks" make their move. Germany observes the developments with some concern.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/fwy3m5y7d/Screenshot_3394.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/4px8hc67x/0c0ad93aed4c6c7d0ded5cacc01ea1c2dd9df341_hq.gif)

Ahahaha. AHAHAHA.

Triple turrets. In 1909. Oh my God, Germany can build a Scharnhorst right now.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/3wcnlfqsp/Screenshot_3395.png)

But priorities, priorities. The Russians are making noise and Germany needs to have a response ready. First - make certain that the Alliance with France is still solid. Second - start up training the fleet. If the worst comes to happen and there's war, it will be imperative to utterly crush the Russian forces. This will clear up the eastern front and allow Germany to focus all of her forces on the war with Britain.

The Admiralität freezes the construction of the Derfflinger and Lützow. Enough funds are economised to begin live-fire training again.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/xbndrk1nt/Screenshot_3396.png)

That proves to be for the best as February rolls in. German agents report that the Russians are pouring more money into their fleet as well.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/dwclyg8dl/Screenshot_3398.png)

R & D delivers again, with a new generation of analog, mechanical fire-control systems. These are easily and quickly retrofitted into the fleet.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/yuirwj889/Screenshot_3399.png)

March 1909. A sekrit secret folder finds its way to the Admiralität thanks to moles in the Russian shipyards. The German Admirals pore over the Russian designs with trepidation, eager to plumb the minds of the enemy.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/908z6r889/Screenshot_3400.png)

(https://s29.postimg.cc/6m43opv5z/45ac49c47c2299b909aab90b1782c8d1.gif)

They quickly come to the conclusion that if this is what the Russians are building now, there is nothing to worry about.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/7z8qhmr8p/Screenshot_3401.png)

...and then Counterintelligence reports that, apparently, somebody left the designs cabinet unlocked again, because the Russians are experimenting with triple turret designs that look remarkably like the German ones. Argh. Find the ****ing leak and plug it, now.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/aultohv8p/Screenshot_3402.png)

PLUG THE ****ING LEAK.

And as for you, Italy -

Italy. Look. We've just had a scrap. Don't make us come over there.

In fact, you know what? We need to send a message.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/w6tbm6f6x/Screenshot_3404.png)

Yes. By all means.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/6pax2kxgp/Screenshot_3405.png)

That is not a capital ship, you Dummköpfe. Still, no reason to overdo it. That's suitable payback for the V1.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/aabdzjre1/Screenshot_3406.png)

Oh, no, Russia. You are weak and we've outgrown you. And you insist on stealing from us. There will be no peace, until you're no longer a threat on our backdoor. All German officers now know this.

So, when asked by a reporter from the Morgenpost, Tirpitz says so. On record.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/7jnfh8snp/ebdafae8dba9d975ab10b4e3539764fa.jpg)

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on April 23, 2017, 01:02:33 pm
Quote
Triple turrets. In 1909. Oh my God, Germany can build a Scharnhorst right now.
(http://i.imgur.com/b1iKAQG.png)



Speaking of ships build for Brazil, Is the Agincourt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Agincourt_(1913)) possible at this point yet?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 23, 2017, 01:06:46 pm
Oh, no, Russia. You are weak and we've outgrown you. And you insist on stealing from us. There will be no peace, until you're no longer a threat on our backdoor. All German officers now know this.

So, when asked by a reporter from the Morgenpost, Tirpitz says so. On record.

(https://s24.postimg.org/7jnfh8snp/ebdafae8dba9d975ab10b4e3539764fa.jpg)

There are times, in an officer's career, where taking direction from the Commander in Chief in matters of policy and diplomacy is prudent and necessary.

This was not one of those times.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 23, 2017, 01:08:10 pm
Speaking of ships build for Brazil, Is the Agincourt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Agincourt_(1913)) possible at this point yet?

Not exactly. We're still missing superimposed B.

But 7 centreline double 12-inch turrets are very much possible-.  :yes:

EDIT: -If a bit ... underwhelming.

There are times, in an officer's career, where taking direction from the Commander in Chief in matters of policy and diplomacy is prudent and necessary.

This was not one of those times.

^^
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on April 24, 2017, 06:15:44 pm
Quote
Ahahaha. AHAHAHA.

Triple turrets. In 1909. Oh my God, Germany can build a Scharnhorst right now.

I'm expecting you to deliver great ships that will crush any pasta eating cowards and sink every vodka transport they can find.:D


Quote
That is not a capital ship, you Dummköpfe. Still, no reason to overdo it. That's suitable payback for the V1.

How did they manage to mix that up?
Actually I can totally imagine those guys sitting in some random italian bar directly at the harbour getting drunk with good wine financed by the german tax-payer cause their own courage back at home was a bit too much. Then after finally getting drunk enough to go forward with the plan they can't really tell any ships apart anymore and you have to be lucky they didn't find a german boat first.




Reading all of this got me motivated to play the game again as Germany but somehow the experience was underwhelming. Stupid Kaiser stopped every war after a few months so when I ended up fighting Japan these guys had conquerend my base in northeast asia within 3 months before my fleet got there. When it finally arrived, war ended...

Technology seemed to go go in a very similar way to your playthrough: Superimposed B and better guns weren't coming at all. Then things kinda went nuts and 1920 I laid down my first 28 knots, 17 inch Quality 1 in 3 triple turrets battlecruiser thing. From that point on ships just exploded left and right cause everyone was using lots of 16-18 inch guns all the while armor was just too heavy so that even the best BBs failed to resist 14 inch shells.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on April 25, 2017, 09:30:15 am
Quote
Triple turrets. In 1909. Oh my God, Germany can build a Scharnhorst right now.
We want that ship, now!
(http://orig13.deviantart.net/574d/f/2014/149/9/0/dkm_scharnhorst_girl_by_jyuubaori-d7k71vt.jpg)

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on April 25, 2017, 05:13:06 pm
Damn, now I want pants which are also battleships.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 25, 2017, 05:19:47 pm
Mmmm, dem legs.  :eek2:  Goddammit, fast battleships, y u do dis to me. Unffff.

But, in all honesty, we can't settle for an OTL Sharnhorst. Too weak in everything that matters, except perhaps speed.


I'm expecting you to deliver great ships that will crush any pasta eating cowards and sink every vodka transport they can find.:D

^This. The Vaterland will not compromise. Am Deutschen Wesen....
Title: Once more, with feeling!
Post by: Enioch on April 30, 2017, 03:55:33 pm
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(https://s28.postimg.cc/i7m4pa3ct/Ottoman_prisoners_Bizani_1913.jpg)
Balkan Wars - Ottoman prisoners.

"It was unavoidable. And yet we still chose war - against a nation that had not truly wronged us. Simply as a stepping stone towards the defeat of our true enemy. May God judge us mercifully.

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

The aftermath of Tirpitz's statement is ghastly for von Mecklenburg and Germany's foreign policy. An unspoken truth in diplomacy is that the inevitable may be delayed by not acknowledging it; Tirpitz's callous statement that Germany perceived Russia as a future adversary lit a fuze that von Mecklenburg wished would remain dormant for at least a few more years.

And yet, being the statesman that he was, Germany's Kanzler changed his course like a virtouoso leaps from one melody to the next. War was going to happen, that was no longer to be disputed. It would behoove Germany to have the initiative. Therefore, any opportunity to escalate had to be grasped; and any opportunity to keep Great Britain out of the fight had to be exploited.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/mzemd4hh1/Screenshot_3407.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/48cp2ymwl/Screenshot_3408.png)

In July and August, two major developments from the R & D front. Krupp submitted their new Cementit formulas for the Navy's consideration; and new hydraulic rammers were installed in all German capital ships.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/pw68r5col/Screenshot_3409.png)

Shortly afterwards, a series of dockworkers' strikes shook Great Britain. Von Mecklenburg took the opportunity; German Intelligence was urged to discreetly provide the workers with bribes and incentives to continue their strikes. Unrest simmered in Albion; and the construction of several modern battlecruisers was considerably delayed because of this. If Great Britain wished to directly assist the Russians, she would have to do it with her older ships; and First Lord of the Admiralty Fisher was adamant that these older ships ("too slow to run and too weak to fight," in his words) should be kept away from any critical conflict and gradually phased out.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/rchr9aflh/Screenshot_3410.png)

During the same month, the Kaiser sought to compromise with Russia - seek out a peaceful solution. The 1901 war was still fresh in His Majesty's memory; and he was not eager to strike against his Czar cousin yet again. But, for once, von Mecklenburg did not yield at all; not even superficially.

"Does Your Majesty seek to be the ruler of this country? Does Your Majesty seek to see perfidious Albion crushed? Then this needs to happen. It is unjust. It is, perhaps, dishonourable. But it is necessary for the good of the nation; and unless Russia is taken out of the picture for good, we shall always be as Bismarck feared: merely existing between ancient Powers that may decide to end us on a whim," he is reported to have said, in a meeting with Wilhelm.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/r2a8py0z9/Screenshot_3412.png)

October: and German engineers begin installing new plotting tables in all command ships. Some problems are encountered with the older Victoria Louise-class armored cruisers; a memo is sent to Tirpitz that a more thorough reconstruction of these ships might be necessary.

Nevertheless, German engineering once again proves to be-

(https://s24.postimg.cc/dmn80hshh/Screenshot_3413.png)

(https://s23.postimg.cc/hnb6mxyyz/15inch.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/sssqx3pqx/Guuf_AV9.gif)

FOR ****'S SAKE, BRITS.

15-inchers? In 1909? What sort of fire have you lit under your Naval Bureau's asses, Fisher?

(https://s24.postimg.cc/7a82qnpf9/Screenshot_3414.png)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/rivgcdoqd/Screenshot_3415.png)

Heh. You've got Fisher. We've got fishes.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/xzmzds1e9/d74.jpg)

(https://s24.postimg.cc/59hj5tt9x/Screenshot_3417.png)

In November, the French arrive, asking to buy the license to the German analog fire control calculators. The Admiralität looks at their shipyards, where only Moltke and Hindenburg are being worked on. Then they look at their budget: they only have four and a half million Goldmarken set aside. Then they say, "Yes, by all means. Would you like that gift-wrapped?"

(https://s24.postimg.cc/d4wnydsad/Screenshot_3419.png)

Aaaaaand that's when the Kaiser stopped pouting and complaining about the inevitability of war and started seething and ranting about his treacherous cousin. Seriously, though, thanks Ivans. We couldn't have declared this war without your oh-so-kind (if slightly bumbling) attempts at industrial espionage.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/wo197qr1x/Screenshot_3420.png)

December 1909. With war imminent, Galster spends some time inspecting his cruiser fleet. What he sees makes his hair stand on end. The Victoria Louises (his own beloved Hertha among them) have not received a proper maintenance for years. New hardware has been bolted onto the ships willy-nilly, in some cases causing interference with older systems. This is unacceptable. He personally discusses this with Tirpitz, who comes down on the drydock superintendents like a ton of bricks; and authorises a four-month refurbishment program for the three veteran cruisers.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/g1joyny45/Screenshot_3421.png)

Thankfully, some good news too: the intensive training regimen which had begun a year ago was now bearing fruit. With a good ratio of veteran sailors and new recruits, the German crews were now disciplined, well-drilled and excellent gunners.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/ep1zws0ol/Screenshot_3423.png)

Perfect. 38k-ton ships by next December it is.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/ppx51ssxh/Screenshot_3424.png)

And then, it all comes to a head when, shortly after the Neujahr celebrations, the Greek navy approaches the German shipyards with an order for what they called a 'pocket battlecruiser' - a capital ship that could tip the balance in the Aegean against the Ottomans. The Germans respond with a scaled-down version of the Moltke-class. The Greeks immediately offer a downpayment of three hunderd thousand gold pound sterling, generously donated by the Greek benefactor Georgios Averoff, after whom the ship was eventually named. The Averoff would completely and utterly dominate the Eastern Mediterranean for the upcoming years.

That said, this was the last straw for the Russians. The Balkans were, in their mind, their playground; and the German interference in the balance of power there was unacceptable. On the 12th of February, the Russian embassy in Berlin started burning their documents; on the morning of the 13th, an ultimatum was presented to von Mecklenburg.

(https://s24.postimg.cc/tnker7fqt/Screenshot_3425.png)

Time to secure the eastern front, once and for all.

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 30, 2017, 04:03:29 pm
And, since I mentioned her, here's the golden apple, the cause of all this, "Lucky Uncle George" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_cruiser_Georgios_Averof) herself. She recently was moved from her berth in Faliro to the docks of Scaramanga, to be refurbished.

Ain't she a beauty?

(https://s14.postimg.org/6l6xmov2p/kar9.jpg)

(https://s14.postimg.org/udg8y7x3l/kar6.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on May 02, 2017, 09:40:57 am
Silly russia is going to get another spanking.

So what exactly causes tensions to rise and fall? I noticed Italy went from yellow to dark green and then back up to yellow again when war with russia was declared.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 02, 2017, 10:11:40 am
So what exactly causes tensions to rise and fall? I noticed Italy went from yellow to dark green and then back up to yellow again when war with russia was declared.

Tensions have a small chance of rising or falling on their own each turn. In the case of Italy, they fell on their own from yellow to green; and then they spiked again because I sold weapons to the Balkans. If Austro-Hungary was in the game, tensions would spike with them as well.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:31 pm
Here's to crushing ol' Czar Nicholas the Incompetent, and hopefully you won't be sending any revolutionaries in to end the war sooner.  That would be ill-advised after the chaos in Italy. :P
Title: Bornholm revisited
Post by: Enioch on May 07, 2017, 04:21:32 pm
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(https://s18.postimg.cc/ewgg1ghax/Screenshot_3433.png)

The day after the declaration of war, Moltke is commissioned into the German navy. She still needs to go through her shakedown cruise before being deployed to the Baltic, but now there are four active-duty Schlachtkreuzer flying the Schwartz-Weiss-Rot.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/5d6r7ztsp/Screenshot_3434.png)

(https://s11.postimg.cc/gx2hq4mn7/This_season_is_great_89b3695ea28d77a43f3862051b.jpg)

AHAHA. Torpedo Protection II. In 1910. **** you, fishes, our ships have beer bellies.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/6i0tddg9l/Screenshot_3436.png)

Most importantly, the Russians are not blockaded. Unlike the Italians had been. Which means that, for the first weeks after the declaration of war, they still try to slip merchant traffic through the Baltic. This proves to be a very poor decision. The German submariners have been hammered into daredevil veterans by trying to sneak into Italian harbors; now they are faced with fat, unescorted freighters. It's a massacre.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/ck8g3v4pl/Screenshot_3437.png)

The Russians, on the other hand, have no submarine force to speak of.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/55j4bhiu1/Screenshot_3438.png)

In an attempt to further drive the point home, the Germans mobilise their cruiser and Schlachtkreuzer fleet in the northern Baltic, to hunt down more Russian shipping. The Russians sortie to meet them with the near-entirety of their battle-line.

The two fleets meet off the coast of Bornholm, in an eerie repeat of their past conflict.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/kfizioec9/Screenshot_3439.png)

Germany's battleships are still in the Mediterranean; this will be a test for the battlecruisers. The Von der Tann, Goeben and Seydlitz are the core of the raiding force, escorted by the light cruisers Hamburg, Bremen and Medusa and seven Zerstörer. Büchsel has been recalled from the Mediterranean to command the battlecruiser force; Galster is still supervising the reconstruction of the heavy cruisers and has been placed in temporary command of the submarine forces. He will miss this battle.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4ik7lyly1/Screenshot_3440.png)

The time is 07:00 in the morning of the 23rd of March. The German fleet is sailing north, near Bornholm.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/ry24rb5p5/Screenshot_3441.png)

For two long hours, the morning mist limits visibility. The Germans think that Intelligence might be wrong, and that the Russians may not contest their raid. They are proven wrong at 09:31, when the Bremen and Hamburg make contact.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/a9adzoty1/Screenshot_3442.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/98eqob2c9/Screenshot_3443.png)

It's a Russian cruiser line, and they've brought some of their heavy hitters. Three armored cruisers, of the Rossyia and Bogatyr class; as well as two light scouting cruisers. The Bogatyrs would not have been a problem for the Hertha and her sisters; but the lightly armored German cruisers present might have some serious problems with them. More importantly, however, the Bogatyrs can only reach 22 knots. The German Schlachtkreuzer can reach 25.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/t4aq3ujdl/Screenshot_3444.png)

Büchsel closes in with his battle-line, as the light cruisers retrat. At 09:56, Seydlitz takes the Rossiya under fire; and scores a hit amidships. Büchsel remembers the old war and how the German gunners had laboured to score a single hit on the Russians. How things have changed!

His lookouts also spot smoke to the north-east. The Russian battle-line is closing.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/51tw8z2qh/Screenshot_3445.png)

Unfortunately, they arrive too late. It only takes half an hour for the German Schlachtkreuzer to prove their worth against their cruiser opponents. By 10:24, the Rossyia is a floating wreck, the Bogatyrs are running in disarray and the German ships are boring in toward the Russian forces at flank.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/dy4ocwtcp/Screenshot_3446.png)

This...confuses the Russians. They have five pre-dreads on station, to match the three German capitals: four Pervenets- and one Imperator Pavel-class. As the German battle-line closes, the Russians turn and run, firing over their shoulder.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/hvry2bg61/Screenshot_3447.png)

Their first shells (from 6- and 7-inch secondaries) strike the Goeben at around eight thousand yards. The German Schlachtkreuzer shrugs the Russian fire off and continues her charge.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/jc3gkgj2x/Screenshot_3448.png)

Then, at around five thousand yards, the German ships turn to starboard and present their broadsides. Twenty-four 11-inchers speak in near-unison.

And Goeben, in particular, reaps a bloody toll from the Pervenets she has taken under fire. In two minutes, she scores five hits with her main battery, hits that rip through the Russian's belt and smash her superstructure to bits.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/8qjl8gcrd/Screenshot_3449.png)

In the following ten minutes, the battle devolves to absolute chaos. This is not a civilised long-range duel; this is Büchsel taking his Schlachtkreuzer into the Schlacht itself, in a no-holds-barred brawl. The escorting destroyer S13 gets mauled by Russian secondaries as she seeks to lay smoke for her wards...

(https://s18.postimg.cc/dqh1geie1/Screenshot_3450.png)

...the flagship, Seydlitz receives several waterline hits that flood several underwater compartments and drop her speed to 22 knots; on the flipside, she has scored more than twenty main battery hits on her target...

(https://s18.postimg.cc/6brpo0wih/Screenshot_3451.png)

...Goeben continues not giving a flying **** as she wades in after her Pervenets, scoring twenty six hits on her, while bouncing heavy and medium shells off her own belt and decks...

(https://s18.postimg.cc/60a9b9g2h/Screenshot_3452.png)

...and the Von der Tann makes it through without a scratch, but having scored a respectable seven hits on her own target.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/8vrxvv9g9/Screenshot_3453.png)

The German battle-line closes in from the east; and the Russians scramble to disengage. Their own line of battle is...disorganised to say the least. This lasts for a gruelling two hours.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/88t16cck9/Screenshot_3455.png)

By 12:00, the forward turrets of Goeben...

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4qh19ybo9/Screenshot_3456.png)

...and Seydlitz are silent. The Germans have expended their magazines.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/e0t5dhme1/Screenshot_3458.png)

And both fleets have lost any semblance of order. They both fall back, to regroup; light cruisers and destroyers patrol the no-man's-sea between them. As the smoke clears, Büchsel identifies a smoking, sinking wreck between the two forces: it's Goeben's Pervenets, listing heavily, her engines dead. The Germans have scored their first kill.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/bm19t2655/Screenshot_3460.png)

The fleets close back in. To the east, the sharp boom of the German cruiser 6-inchers cuts through the wind, as they engage the Russian cruiser Flora.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/5p1zpzee1/Screenshot_3463.png)

It takes them about ten minutes to put her to the bottom.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/60eup05g9/Screenshot_3462.png)

Goeben wades into battle again, taking fire for the flagship. Her belt laughs at the Russian shells; but her rear starboard turret jams in its bearings.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/ovf6t5uvt/Screenshot_3464.png)

It doesn't matter. She leads the charge, passing less than five hundred yards away from a second, foundering Pervenets and raking her with secondary fire. Her main guns turn to engage the Pavel and a third Pervenets; Von der Tann engages the nearby battlewagon and triple-taps her with her 11-inchers, just to make sure.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/fc5hzp7dl/Screenshot_3465.png)

The order is: 'pursue'! And the German Schlachtkreuzer do so. Seydlitz and Von der Tann focus their fire on the Pavel; Goeben seeks fresh meat and slams two 11-inch shells into the belt of a third Pervenets.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/9p95284ux/Screenshot_3466.png)

And another two hits from Goeben. And another three hits from Seydlitz.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/7lypuk521/Screenshot_3467.png)

13:30: three Pervenets-class battleships have now been sunk. the Pavel is manoeuvering desperately toward the west, but the Schlachtkreuzer are on her tail.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/jsxuydlll/Screenshot_3471.png)

And by 14:45, the remaining two Russian battleships are in full retreat toward the north. Both are spotted; both are under fire. Goeben is hot on the heels of the fourth and final Pervenets, but is ordered to break off pursuit and focus on finishing off the Pavel.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4znsrd389/Screenshot_3473.png)

By now, she's taken heavy superstructure damage and is flooding slightly. She has only been hit six times by heavy-caliber guns, despite being in the thick of it; but she has soaked many 6- and 7-inch secondary hits. It's a miracle she's not burning. More importantly, she has scored more than sixty confirmed main bettery hits: her gunners are ecstatic by her performance.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/tu7alfo2h/Screenshot_3474.png)

The Von der Tann, on the other hand, seems blessed. She has taken minimal damage, all her turrets are operational and she has only been hit by three six-inch and three four-inch shells from Russian cruisers and destroyers. In return, she has scored nearly fourty hits on enemy ships with her main guns.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/9cmc9sbyx/Screenshot_3476.png)

As for Seydlitz, she has done Büchsel proud. Sixty seven confirmed hits, while only taking five heavy shells in return; her waterline has been breached but flooding is under control and her superstructure still stands proud and relatively undamaged. Perhaps more importantly, three out of her four magazines are empty. She only has 14 AP shells left, in her starboard wing turret.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/5uacdeb2x/Screenshot_3477.png)

No, Pavel. You will not escape.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/5wu808eqh/Screenshot_3479.png)

16:28. Far to the east of the main battle-line, the Medusa scores a hit on the Pamyat Merkuriya. The shell penetrates the protected cruiser's magazines; she goes up in an apocalyptic fireball, which spells the doom of the Russian fleet.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/6owvzfixl/Screenshot_3481.png)

Seydlitz empties her last magazine. Goeben, however, will not give up her quarry.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/6q6tsukrd/Screenshot_3482.png)

And then, at 17:26, the Von der Tann's luck runs out. The Pavel launches an underwater torpedo,which buries itself into the German Schlachtkreuzer's side. Three out of her six boilers are immediately flooded; her engines sputter and nearly die. She can barely do 12 knots; and is flooding.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/ex3ey607t/Screenshot_3483.png)

But the Pavel is finished. The S19 rushes in, under her secondaries, and launches a torpedo at fifteen hundred yards. The Russian giant shudders; and dies.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/e8ukf81i1/Screenshot_3484.png)

Perhaps more importantly, she is denied her kill. Germans know how much torpedoes can hurt; and even though the Von der Tann has no torpedo belt, she is big and heavily compartmentalised. By 18:00, her damcon crews have stopped the flooding.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/6xz233l3t/Screenshot_3488.png)

Night has fallen. The German fleet turns to port; the Von der Tann under heavy escort.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/b9nns3s0p/Screenshot_3490.png)

The mood is buoyant. Four battleships. Four. And only a destroyer lost, in the first chaotic moments of the fight.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/gav1tgzh5/Screenshot_3492.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/uipbvv1jt/Screenshot_3493.png)

Lang Lebe unsere Flotte!

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on May 07, 2017, 04:33:36 pm
Aw crap how the **** did we get blockaded
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 07, 2017, 05:59:35 pm
The near-entirety of the battleline is in the Mediterranean or, in the case of the heavy cruisers, in drydock. All we have in the home waters are the battlecruisers. Of those, one is on her shakedown cruise, one is in drydock for the next three months because she was shot to hell and back; and the other two are 48k tons between them.

The Russians still have a battleship and a couple of BCs in active service. But don't worry. That's something ze Germans will address shortly.  :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on May 08, 2017, 08:26:40 am
The death of the pervert class. An absolute slaughter. Gotta give props to the russians though, at least they give proper battle. Unlike a certain pasta country.
Dying russian battleships scoring a hit with their single underwater torpedo tubes in their final moments seem to be an ungoing theme though.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 08, 2017, 09:00:15 am
Oh, yes, mad props to the Russians for having the guts to come out and fight ze Hochseeflotte. You can't fault their bravery and they went down swinging. And when the VdT was hit by the torp I got PTSD flashbacks to Freya. ****ing hell, it's like we learned nothing.  :nervous:

What I can't get over (and I expect the Russians are having problems digesting it too) is the hit ratios of some of the Schlachtkreuzer. I mean, the VdT scored a total of forty-odd hits by the end of the fight, for a hit ratio of around 4%. That's perfectly respectable by 1910 standards, especially for a ship with just central firing. And then, you get Seydlitz' and Goeben's 7% and 6% respectively, which is an added 50%-75% compared to their sister. And I'm like :wtf:   :confused:  It's not like any of the crews are veterans or elites and all three ships were sailing in one division, in line of battle.

Goeben and Seydlitz are just that awesome, I guess.  :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on May 08, 2017, 09:55:23 am
Schlachtkreuzer über alles!

(http://www.britishbattles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/SMS-Seydlitz-Claus-Bergen.jpg)

So um do the Russians have any ships left or have they just shot their wad in one go?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 08, 2017, 10:05:46 am
Oh, they still have ships. At least one battleship and two new battlecruisers. Inferior designs, but more than capable of ruining our day.
Title: Blockade Wars
Post by: Enioch on May 11, 2017, 12:25:47 pm
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(https://s7.postimg.cc/dovalvha3/4a1b9efddbaf8906bb0dd16966f81b28.png)
The German Schlachtkreuzer Goeben, engaging Russian destroyers in the second battle of Bornholm (artist's depiction)

"Bornolm, glorious Bornholm. May God forgive us for what we did to those poor lads; but victory was sweet and our chests swelled, for we could now see the day the seas would be ours."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/tzoucy5tr/Screenshot_3495.png)

After the crushing victory in Bornholm, the German navy retreated to its harbors. With Goeben beat to hell and back, the dockyards estimated at least three months of repairs before she could set sail again. The Admiralty decided that, during that time, the operations of the German fleet would be limited to raiding. Hopefully, with Moltke also finishing her shakedown cruise, it would be possible to push with four Schlachtkreuzer against whatever the Russians had left.

Meanwhile, with German ships steadfastly refusing to fight, the Russians established a flimsy blockade on German ports. The Germans shook their heeads condescendingly.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/slx7hn6kf/Screenshot_3496.png)

Early March: and Victoria Louise finishes her reconstruction. Hertha and Vineta are only a few weeks away. The balance of power shifts, slightly, but not enough for von Tirpitz to authorise a blockade run.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/d1ptr3wfz/Screenshot_3497.png)

That said, the U-bootkommando was not idle. The U-79 on patrol identified the Russian minelayer Saratov and sank her in short order.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/xzvzp6wan/Screenshot_3498.png)

And ten Russian freighters, encouraged to sail the Baltic and the North Sea under the 'cover' of the blockade were also sent to the bottom.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/u674ts4cf/Screenshot_3500.png)

Mid-April. The Russian fleet sails up to the the Finland border and offers battle. The Germans decline.

Politically, this is a mistake. The Kaiser comes down on the Admiralität like a ton of bricks, berating his Staff for their apparent lack of spine. They wanted a war to kick Russia in the teeth once and for all, despite his attempts to keep the peace; now they do not dare to face the enemy? This cannot continue.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/9akuij85b/Screenshot_3501.png)

And it doesn't. With Hertha and Vineta almost ready, the German navy pushes out. The Russians quickly realise that a blockade is no longer tenable; their ships fall back to their own bases.

(https://s3.postimg.cc/d9sbbz37n/Screenshot_3502.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/wn6fi3t3b/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_yiran_k.png)

She's back.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/e1kq0k0zj/Screenshot_3505.png)

The cruisers start working. First, little Frauenlob pokes up to Finland and spots a Russian raider trying to sneak into German waters. The Vesta is quickly dispatched.

And then, the armored cruisers are finally enough to tip the scales. The Germans are now blockading the Russians and the noose draws tight.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/b8rigj0n3/Screenshot_3506.png)

A small note. The German submarine fleet is, at this time, the largest in the world; and its performance during these early months of the war have cold sweat running down the necks of Admirals world-wide. Germany can almost match each coastal patrol vessel of the Brits with a sub of her own, which is insane; and she has more submarines than Russia has ASW ships. The only nation that hasn't pissed its pants and gone full "build escort ships" is France, smugly secure with her ally.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/3vc4hkglb/Screenshot_3508.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/q4ymrsebt/tumblr_o2qxzuq_Sq_R1udwpkdo1_500.gif)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/6qtt269z3/Screenshot_3509.png)

A small note (and many thanks for the kind permission provided by the Admiralität to study their R & D archives). Something that is often overlooked is that it was during this time that the first designs for five- and six-turret Schlachtkreuzer were submitted by the R & D department. The future Zähringen-class battlecruisers can trace their birth to these early experimental designs.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/h4q1ho5bz/Screenshot_3512.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/7lgco7htr/Screenshot_3513.png)

And, meanwhile, the Admiralität was experimenting with new doctrines. The Schlachtkreuzer had proven to be excellent line ships; but might they, perhaps, be used as scouts as well? Galster and Büchsel organise a few experimental runs. The results are surprisingly satisfying. The Schlachtkreuzer are actually faster than Hertha and her sisters and sailing together gimps their speed; but they also get to respond faster to spotted enemies and Germany gets to face enemy scouting parties with her heaviest hitters. It's definitely a step forward.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/cy572c5q7/Screenshot_3514.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/sxnulw1rz/Screenshot_3515.png)

The submarines keep up the good work, despite the blockade.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/5xh79k3y7/Screenshot_3516.png)

The Russians, on the other hand... Well, we can call their performance sad. Somebody's started on the vodka, I suspect...

(https://s17.postimg.cc/ba61norun/Screenshot_3517.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/w8c7lrrpb/Screenshot_3518.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/y1jpnu29r/Screenshot_3519.png)

Not so their raiders. Their cruisers dart in and out of German waters, seeking opportunistic targets all over the world. It won't help them, though.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/qa2zp9y4f/Screenshot_3520.png)

For, on the 1st of July, the German fleet sorties en masse, and sails deep into Russian waters, way past the Gulf of Riga. The Russian forces are caught with their pants down.

(https://s12.postimg.cc/vupzk8k1p/Screenshot_7565.png)

Time to end this.

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on May 11, 2017, 01:20:01 pm
I am interrupting this thread of awesome to point out something that just popped up on the youtubes: Extra Credits is doing another coop thing with Wargaming, and this time, they're covering the hunt for the Bismarck, which is one of the very few times actual battleships got to do what they were designed to do (well, in the first half of the story anyway).


Now bacl to your regularly scheduled alternate history.

BTW, Enioch, what's that last screenshot from?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on May 11, 2017, 01:27:01 pm
The Saga of Tanya the Evil.  Props to them for being quasi WW1 setting and using the Bayern.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 11, 2017, 01:34:08 pm
*Bismarck Awesomeness*

Literally just sat through it. I love these guys for their magnificent popularisation of history with no loss of quality (and respect them very much for their gutsy 'lies' / errata episodes after each series)

Quote
BTW, Enioch, what's that last screenshot from?

The Saga of Tanya the Evil.  Props to them for being quasi WW1 setting and using the Bayern.

^This. Episode 7, for all it's worth. The attack on Norway analogue.

EDIT: I also need to fix the TOC and threadmark links at some point. I'm like six or seven posts behind now.  :nervous: :shaking:
Title: Damage Control
Post by: Enioch on May 15, 2017, 07:58:34 am
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(https://s9.postimg.cc/rjktf98hb/6ecb8b56b2992b7acf2df39967c2ee28.jpg)
The German Schlachtkreuzer force, off the coast of Riga

(https://s2.postimg.cc/bx4t2bond/Screenshot_3521.png)

1st of July, 1910, just after dawn. The German fleet has just passed the Gulf of Riga and is steaming at cruise speed towards the Finnish coast.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/hml1mmutl/Screenshot_3522.png)

And we do mean "the Fleet". The only ships absent here are the obsolescent Schwabens, on permanent patrol in the Med.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/4wgt9jmvd/Screenshot_3523.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/3x8xk53g9/__matheus_johann_weiss_rhiner_neumann_tanya_degu.jpg)

The scouting force is comprised of the veteran armored cruisers Hertha, Victoria Louise, and Vineta, with their Zerstörer escort. Galster is in command of this task force, in what would prove to be the last time he led a heavy cruiser force to battle.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/te8wxfpft/Screenshot_3524.png)

Büchsel, once again, leads the Schlachtkreuzer. This time, they're all here. Seydlitz, Büchsel's flagship, is leading the line of battle, followed by her sister-ship, Moltke; and, following them is Von der Tann and her bloodthirsty sister.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/xdapu03gp/Screenshot_3526.png)

06:01: Hertha spots the enemy - and holy crap that's a lot of funnels spewing smoke. Leading the enemy force is a Rossiya with her destroyer escort; then a gaggle of what seems to be light cruisers and destroyers; and, bringing up the rear, are two capital ships. Two fast capitals.

Hertha brings her force around. These are not old battleships; these are the pride of the Russian navy. The Izmail and the Pobeda, the Czar's pride and joy. Built in secrecy, very little is known about them. Not even their basic designs. Hertha runs, bringing her scouts back into the safety of the German Schlachtkreuzer guns; and her lookouts strain their eyes to make out the enemy silhouettes in the morning light.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/6ti4rv2x5/Screenshot_3527.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/56h4c1gtp/Youjo_Senki_-_04_-_Large_11.jpg)

What. The. ****.

Russia, what are you doing.

Russia, stahp.

This is not a battlecruiser. This is a fat battleship, with a couple of extra boilers strapped onto it. Galster doesn't believe his lookouts when the enemy ship is described to him - he actually climbs Hertha's mast and has a look on his own. The Russian is closing fast, at 26 knots, but she only has four 12-inchers.

In God's name, she's got half the broadside of a single German Schlachtkreuzer. And if her sister is anything like her...

...You know what? Screw this ****.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/r25idl289/Screenshot_3528.png)

The German battle-line just charges forward - and they stop for nothing. They pass less than five thousand yards to the east of the Russian vanguard, pouring 11-inch fire into the Rossiya; and then the German Schlachtkreuzer slot next to the Russian pair of battlecruisers, while the latter were trying to turn around to disengage.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/i8elwhf9l/Screenshot_3529.png)

The Pobeda fires first, scoring a hit that ricochets off Moltke's conning tower armor; and then Moltke returns the favour, burying an 11-inch shell into the Izmail's belt.

The Germans also get their first good look at the Pobeda, as she emerges from the Izmail's smoke trail.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ltahfpjt5/Screenshot_3530.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/wwq9ca1lr/Youjo_Senki_-_04_-_Large_34.jpg)

May God have mercy on these brave men, for their ship designers certainly didn't. And Büchsel doesn't intend to show them any either...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/cms6sfekp/Screenshot_3531.png)

The Germans put accurate fire into the Russian capitals. At 07:16, the Russians manage to strike back, with a waterline hit against Seydlitz. The German damcon crews laugh; and immediately contain the flooding.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/vgdzpfcsp/Screenshot_3532.png)

Meanwhile, Galster and his darlings are harrying the Rossiya. It's risky to push into her destroyers (especially since the heavy cruisers have no torpedo protection) and, therefore, the Germans engage from long range.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/rlalmutmx/Screenshot_3533.png)

Goeben drills an 11-inch shell into the Pobeda; the Russian fires back at Seydlitz. This time, the shell penetrates her superstructure; and another shakes the ship as it explodes under the waterline armor. No damage. Krupp Stahl über alles, cyka blyat.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/dsw6r82vd/Screenshot_3534.png)

The Russian formation falls apart. The Germans have blocked their escape towards the north and east; and Hertha and the other heavy cruisers are coming up from the south. Izmail runs towards the west, while Pobeda turns to engage the German cruisers.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/kkr77th8p/Screenshot_3535.png)

She's not allowed to. The Germans ignore the fleeing Izmail and go after the Pobeda. Seydlitz interposes herself between the Russian and Hertha and takes a penetrating hit on her foredeck.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/4b114x6kp/Screenshot_3536.png)

In return, she pounds the Russian's fore turret with 11-inch shells until it jams.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/p977306fd/Screenshot_3537.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/71zv3lwdr/4ff15a8e5b328699775fc2f81c4318f4.jpg)

And then, at under 5000 yards, she puts another shell into her engines. The Pobeda...well, she dies, with very little fuss.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/huhvamkjt/Screenshot_3538.png)

The Izmail tries to take advantage of the gap that opened towards the east. Büchsel will have none of that and turns to pursue.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/m4wj67pmx/Screenshot_3539.png)

Goddammit, Rossiya, just die. (Yes, I realise the irony).

(https://s2.postimg.cc/qs2l7zczt/Screenshot_3540.png)

08:51: The German battle-line crosses the Izmail's aft T. Goeben, Von der Tann and Seydlitz pound her with their main batteries at around three thousand yards.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/q53oigg3t/Screenshot_3542.png)

08:56: She will not strike her colours. Hit her again. This time, her guns fall silent.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/wk2pf4mtl/Screenshot_3543.png)

08:58: Strike your gottverdammte colours, Russian. Hit her again.

Meanwhile, the heavy cruisers are running out of ammo and that bloody Rossiya is still running away.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/z42xmyzrd/Screenshot_3545.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/6b74xtu0f/78b20c0fae5a2410379cc28bfc4bf957.jpg)

09:22. After half an hour of unrelenting pounding, with only her secondaries returning fire, the Izmail finally strikes her colours. It's clear she's sinking, but the Germans detach Zerstörer to pick up survivors and salute the wreck. This is the bravest and most desperate fight the Russians have put up so far and you can only respect them for it and pay homage.

Meanwhile...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/4nx0oue89/Screenshot_3546.png)

09:50: Get...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/u7zav9zm1/Screenshot_3547.png)

10:05: ...back...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/40y3zbhc9/Screenshot_3548.png)

10:41: ...here...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/frc1gpa4p/Screenshot_3549.png)

10:52: ...you ****ing...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/4t0ryiljd/Screenshot_3550.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/uwcsfapx5/__tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_hinomot.jpg)

11:16: ...HAHAHA!. Glorious victory. Seriously, Hertha, that took you girls much longer than expected.

Well, time to...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/4uaprxnd5/Screenshot_3551.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ip90aehs9/Screenshot_3552.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/pgzfd96rt/Screenshot_3553.png)

11:58: Water fountains high over Moltke's starboard decks. The entire ship groans and lists. Her engineering is breached and water quenches the boilers. Her speed drops to 14 knots and her damcon teams cannot reach the flooded compartments. Dozens of men die, drowned or crushed beneath her decks. She drops out of formation and gradually comes to a halt, alarms blaring.

She's the newest Schlachtkreuzer in the German navy. This is her first fight. And it looks like it's going to be her last.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/kjlus54sp/Screenshot_3554.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/sqifxgk95/Screenshot_3555.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/559mhmjrj/Seydlitz_badly_damaged.jpg)

The fleet cannot assist in her damcon efforts: they need to keep the circling Russian destroyers at bay. Her captain, Kapitän zur See Sammler dispatches divers and diverts all power to pumps to keep his stricken ship afloat. By 12:55, the flooding has been somewhat limited, but the ship has less than a foot of freeboard on the bow and water keeps seeping in.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/sf0zkp3t5/Screenshot_3556.png)

Ten more minutes of frantic work manage to bring the secondary pumps back online. Still, more water comes in that goes out. The Germans are desperate, but nothing seems to work.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/76nb39pc9/Screenshot_3557.png)

Motherf***, look at that HP bar. Keep in mind that this is all flotation damage. She has taken literally no superstructure hits.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/xg8dm2b9l/Screenshot_3558.png)

13:10. A team of exhausted divers, at the brink of hypothermia, claw their way up onto the ship.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/unf621ax5/Screenshot_3559.png)

(https://s3.postimg.cc/4zp0ln2n7/juichmerkel.gif)

The main leak's been plugged. The pumps can handle the secondary flooding - barely. The Moltke will survive.

She'll live. And she makes her way back to German waters, at five knots.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/eqge5biix/Screenshot_3560.png)

Well, apparently the Russians had brought their last Pervenets along - although it must have turned and ran as soon as our smoke crested the horizon. **** that, though. We got our prizes.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/x7asw4yh5/Screenshot_3561.png)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/aa0fw4dq5/tumblr_opcxbx_Gn_Hc1sxptq1o1_500.jpg)

Unsurprisingly, Goeben is MVP, with 27 hits on enemy ships and a 3.5% hit ratio (for Chrissakes, she was bringing up the rear! How the hell does she have more hits than the flagship?)

Kek @ Russian battlecruisers scoring a grand total of three main battery hits on out forces.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/v5abhw0i1/Screenshot_3563.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/rmyblhzm1/Screenshot_3564.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/5cf1z9rpl/Screenshot_3565.png)

You bet your bloody Lederhosen it was a major victory. They have nothing left, except that Pervenets, a fleet of obsolescent cruisers and four battlecruisers under construction that won't be ready for a year.

(And if they're anything like the ones we fought, the Admiralität is not particularly worried)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ngi2jwpe1/Screenshot_3566.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/u88hmredl/Screenshot_3567.png)

Well. The Admiralität could use the increased budget for a few more months (Tirpitz shudders to imagine the extent of the budget cuts that will take place once peace is declared). Let's undermine the peace talks with a bit of saber-rattling, shall we?

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on May 15, 2017, 09:38:20 am
From the archives of the Reichsmarineamt:

Quote
Preliminary report of the Admiralitätsrat in the Moltke matter

1. Background

During the Battle of Finland on July 1st of this year at around 1200, the Schlachtkreuzer Moltke was struck by a russian torpedo, assumed to be fired by one of the Zavetni-class destroyers then in contact with our fleet. The Torpedo hit just forward of Moltke's 'Gerda' turret, detonating on contact with the hull. Over the next 70 minutes, officers and crew of Moltke scrambled to contain the flooding, ultimately succeeding at around 1310. On the recommendation of her chief engineer, the ship then made best speed back towards Kiel, being admitted into drydock for extensive repairs immediately.

2. Analysis

Post-battle analysis of the damage sustained reveals major design flaws in the Moltke class. The placement of her 'G' turret and its below-deck infrastructure left little room for compartmentalization found in other areas of the ship, leading to extensive and hard to contain flooding once the armor was breached. It was only through the heroic efforts of Wachtmeister Adelbert Ellerbach and his work crew that the flooding was contained; It took a long, grueling underwater repair effort to seal the hull enough for the ship to be able to move again.

3. Recommendations

It is the opinion of this Rat that the efforts of His Majesty's naval engineers be directed towards two areas in particular. Firstly, the danger posed to our capital ships by Torpedoes cannot be discounted, and we absolutely must ensure that if our ships are struck by these weapons, such strikes cannot inflict fatal damage on their own. Secondly, we feel that efforts to move critical machinery towards the centerline of the ship should be stepped up.

For the Admiralitätsrat in the Moltke matter,
Michael Kohlhaas (Sekretär)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on May 15, 2017, 10:05:05 am
So is a Schlachtkreuzer eating a Parthian fish after battle is decided becoming some sort of bizarre tradition?

(http://www.battle-of-jutland.com/gallery/jutland-battleships/battleship-images/sms-seydlitz_02.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 15, 2017, 10:18:47 am
From the archives of the Reichsmarineamt:

Quote
Preliminary report of the Admiralitätsrat in the Moltke matter

1. Background

During the Battle of Finland on July 1st of this year at around 1200, the Schlachtkreuzer Moltke was struck by a russian torpedo, assumed to be fired by one of the Zavetni-class destroyers then in contact with our fleet. The Torpedo hit just forward of Moltke's 'Gerda' turret, detonating on contact with the hull. Over the next 70 minutes, officers and crew of Moltke scrambled to contain the flooding, ultimately succeeding at around 1310. On the recommendation of her chief engineer, the ship then made best speed back towards Kiel, being admitted into drydock for extensive repairs immediately.

2. Analysis

Post-battle analysis of the damage sustained reveals major design flaws in the Moltke class. The placement of her 'G' turret and its below-deck infrastructure left little room for compartmentalization found in other areas of the ship, leading to extensive and hard to contain flooding once the armor was breached. It was only through the heroic efforts of Wachtmeister Adelbert Ellerbach and his work crew that the flooding was contained; It took a long, grueling underwater repair effort to seal the hull enough for the ship to be able to move again.

3. Recommendations

It is the opinion of this Rat that the efforts of His Majesty's naval engineers be directed towards two areas in particular. On one hand, the danger posed to our capital ships by Torpedoes cannot be discounted, and we absolutely must ensure that if our ships are struck by these weapons, such strikes cannot inflict fatal damage on their own. Secondly, we feel that efforts to move critical machinery towards the centerline of the ship should be stepped up.

For the Admiralitätsrat in the Moltke matter,
Michael Kohlhaas (Sekretär)

This is now canon, with all that it implies for future German capital ship design and production.

The_E, for this contribution you may commission a blurb with a theme/topic of your choosing for this universe and I will attempt to deliver. The same applies to any other forumite who chooses to contribute with an omake such as this.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate feedback of this sort.  :yes:

So is a Schlachtkreuzer eating a Parthian fish after battle is decided becoming some sort of bizarre tradition?

Clearly. It's the German way of pointing at their chins and saying "here, give me your best shot", just to show how tough they are.  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on May 15, 2017, 10:50:06 am
Why... why didn't they just surrender? Those poor drunken russian sailors...

Clearly. It's the German way of pointing at their chins and saying "here, give me your best shot", just to show how tough they are.  :p
(http://i.imgur.com/5D9o54a.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on May 15, 2017, 11:14:09 am
This is now canon, with all that it implies for future German capital ship design and production.

The_E, for this contribution you may commission a blurb with a theme/topic of your choosing for this universe and I will attempt to deliver. The same applies to any other forumite who chooses to contribute with an omake such as this.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate feedback of this sort.  :yes:

Thank you, my pleasure. As for blurbs, I'll have to get back to you on that; I got exactly zero ideas right now that would actually fit.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on May 15, 2017, 02:53:59 pm
Hey, Enioch.  Is there any chance you can put up something like a "naval archives" thread tracking ship designs over time of Germany and its foes?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 15, 2017, 02:56:45 pm
Hmmm.

What do you have in mind, exactly? How do you envision this?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on May 16, 2017, 09:28:33 pm
Well, I really like the pictures you post up of the general overviews of vessels with tonnage, speed, armor, and armament, so I'd like to see those in a somewhat organized manner.  The nation status pics you have of fleets and tonnage are also fun to look at IMO.  Overall, was thinking a semi-RP layout, you have the years, the ship classes laid down, and a small blurb about the performance and history of the classes.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on May 17, 2017, 07:06:30 am
Basically the ONI Recognition Manual?

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on May 19, 2017, 11:04:38 am
I guess?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 19, 2017, 07:44:42 pm
It's possible, but it's also a HUGE amount of work. I'm not promising anything.

Also, some foreshadowing:



EDIT: Found the time to fix the table of contents. Should be fully updated now.
Title: Black Gold
Post by: Enioch on May 23, 2017, 01:08:22 pm
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(https://s16.postimg.cc/44n2apyyt/501377847.jpg)
Victory Parade in Berlin

We had started this war with the Long War in the Mediterranean still fresh in our minds. We were confident, but wary; apprehensive of the possibility for another dragged-out conflict, which would bleed us out and leave us defenseless when the inevitable time came to test our mettle against the British.

My faith in our Navy and Army, however, proved to be well-founded. The sea battles of Bornholm and Finland and the horrible defeats inflicted upon the Russian forces along the eastern front made it clear to the world that Russia was in no position to threaten our eastern borders. Furthermore, our decisive naval victories established our complete dominance over the Baltic. With the Russian fleet all but destroyed, the Baltic became a German lake.

When the August Peace was signed, Germany had completely and utterly established its dominance in north-eastern Europe; and with France still firmly on our side, in the Kerneuropa, it was obvious that no European crisis could threaten the unified front we presented to the world.

With their options now severely limited, the British took what action they could to undermine us - and thus the Far Eastern Front was opened..

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/djwtjc6uz/Screenshot_3568.png)

The month-long derailment of the peace negotiations proves to be worth it. The increased budget makes more resources available to the R & D bureau; and they, in turn, submit new designs for small-tube boilers. German ships could now make steam faster and reach higher pressures!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5sg3ks2pn/Screenshot_3569.png)

In addition, new hydraulic rivet hammers were introduced to the shipyards, massively improving work speed as well as the quality of the finalised hulls.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/s6xs105h7/Screenshot_3571.png)

And better fuzes were tested and introduced - German shells now operated with delay fuzes. This provided a significant improvement in the effectiveness of AP shells, in particular, as they now detonated reliably after penetrating enemy armor.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/b7otlqu9n/Screenshot_3572.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/w5uzjtu4b/Screenshot_3573.png)

Russians, for God's sake, you are blockaded. And German subs are still sinking more ships than your subs do.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/713z6eunv/Screenshot_3574.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/kjavip6t7/Screenshot_3575.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/u591cqncr/Screenshot_3576.png)

Hrm. Well, in all fairness, their raiders are performing well. Then again...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/lo9j1tinv/Screenshot_3577.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/4g4inhfet/Screenshot_(7567).png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/utwjfn6c9/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_kumamot.jpg)

Um Gottes Willen, Hertha. How can you still be so awesome? Don't you know your time is past?

(https://s7.postimg.cc/owe0ev4xn/Screenshot_3578.png)

Also, while the war is still, officially, ongoing, Blohm & Voss are given a significant tax cut in exchange for them funding a considerable expansion of the Kaiserliche Werfte in Kiel. 39,000-ton ships will be a possibility before the end of the year.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/g2n3xrhyz/Screenshot_3579.png)

By the end of July, the Russians plead for peace, again. Their army has collapsed and is in full retreat, pursued by General Hindenburg's army. Their Navy is non-existent. They are blockaded; and internal strife rears its ugly head. The situation is untenable for them.

Von Mecklenburg weighs the pros and cons; and despite Tirpitz's assurances that the Navy could, theoretically, exact better terms if hostilities continue, he chooses to grant the Russians peace. Further exhausting German resources, at this point, with the enemy so throughly beaten would be a mistake. Germany needs to be preparing for the inevitable clash with the Brits, not waste her time with her unruly eastern neighbor.

Also - von Mecklenburg's contacts in the Far East are reporting a worrying degree of English diplomatic overtures towards Japan. This is a new front, that needs to be factored in and dealt with.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/3pa9qusaj/Screenshot_3580.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/43blqgce3/Screenshot_3581.png)

Peace is formalised on the 20th of August, 1910. War has lasted for a relatively short six months. Once again, von Mecklenburg does not ask for any territorial concessions from Russia - but he cements, beyond any question, the German industrialists' control over the mineral wealth of Siberia (gaining him massive support among the industry leaders in Germany) and also secures extensive war reparations from beaten Russia.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/tamhqpfi3/Screenshot_3582.png)

The Naval budget is reduced in peacetime, but war reparations still mean that the Admiralität still has more than two million Goldmarken to play with monthly. It is decided to lay down a new class of Zerstörer, to complement the new battle-line.

The new V3-class are 900-ton ships, with three centreline 4-inch rifles and three single torpedo launchers. They can reach 33 knots - they are the fastest such craft in the world, if lighter armed than their French and British counterparts.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5xog86zej/Screenshot_3583.png)

A small downpayment to various shipbuilding firms; and seven keels are laid down in yards all over Germany.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/7s1apxmez/Screenshot_3585.png)

September - and France approaches the Admiralty with some of their new pump designs. The Admirals just barely manage to not drool at the idea of getting their hands on them. However, the fact is that there are no funds available at this time. With great regret, the French proposal has to be turned down.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ig9n2ilrv/Screenshot_3586.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/ckcms81tx/Sierra.png)

****.

Overnight, stock markets all over the world buck like wild horses. The Brits have struck black gold in Sierra Leone - massive reserves of the stuff, enough to fuel their entire fleet and then some. Investors trip over themselves to get a slice of the pie.

In short: the Brits have 15-inch guns, almost double the German naval budget and a massive colonial source of oil.

****.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/iuaz245vf/Screenshot_3587.png)

Well, at least the new Imperial docks are complete. This will, hopefully, allow the construction of ships that can somehow deal with the British threat. And on that note...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5enycnxdn/Screenshot_3588.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/dlcvhcith/16.jpg)

...on the 18th of October, the Schlachtkreuzer SMS Hindenburg is formally commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine. She is the largest warship afloat, in the world. Her sisters are delayed (the reduced, after-war budget has done them no favours) but they are coming.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/twg20jzy3/Screenshot_3589.png)

Unsurprisingly, she atracts attention. A British agent is identified by Counter-Intelligence, covertly attempting to acquire copies of the ship's blueprints. He is discreetly expelled from German territory, after a few uncomfortable hours in the hands of German interrogators. Germany raises no diplomatic stink; surprisingly, the Kaiser also remains silent on the matter. After long discussions woth von Mecklenburg, the two men had finally finalised their plan to deal with Britain; and Wilhelm is quite happy to 'stall and outsmart' his perceived foes. The notes of von Mecklenburg and the Kaiser's own writings seem to indicate that Wilhelm greatly enjoyed what he called the 'spying game' ('Spionspiel'). Again, surprisingly, he showed some aptitude in it.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/8pcbcjnaz/Screenshot_3591.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/mf3ryg5s5/Arcona.png)

Meanwhile, the Admiralty also finalises their designs for a new class of light cruisers. The serving Medusas are serviceable, but they were built on the old style, of broadside, 'wing' turrets, and following the protected cruiser scheme. The new Arconas are 6.3k-ton ships, with a sloped deck armor scheme, a 2.5-inch belt and, more importantly, a fully-centreline broadside of six 6-inchers. They were meant to serve as fleet scouts, raider interceptors and destroyer-killers, with their 29-knot top speed; but they were unsuited to being raiders themselves, because of their relatively limited range and their fragility.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/4hhj3slvf/Screenshot_3592.png)

Aiming for 42k-ton ships by next Christmas, the Admiralität pours more funds into its docks. Hopefully this is the way to counter the Brits. Hopefully...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/icftm9gaj/Screenshot_3593.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/hbmo3xnah/Youjo_Senki_Screenshot_0157_copy.png)

And then the news hit. More oil for the Brits. The Canadian West Coast is brimming with it. British engineers and geologists flock there, to map out the oil fields and lay down the foundation for what may very well turn out to be the largest oil reserve in the Americas.

The Admiralität is, understandably, morose. It would be, theoretically, possible to mount an attack on Sierra Leone, from nearby Kamerun, with sufficient fleet support, and thus deprive the Brits of their one major source of oil. But now the Brits have alternatives - and they control the vast majority of the world-wide oil market.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/f6v7w1xob/Screenshot_3594.png)

Wait.

Waitwaitwaitwaitwait.

Borneo has oil. Everybody knows this. And Germany has several colonial gunships stationed in the Pacific islands and Polynesia. Frantic telegraph messages are dispatched; avisos carry the urgent, so very urgent orders to the Far Eastern Squadron commanders.

Get to Borneo. In God's name, SECURE BORNEO.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/9wq94rdff/Screenshot_3595.png)

Too late. Far, far too late. Forewarned by the British, and with their support, a Japanese battleship force is already on station.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/odafwfy9x/Screenshot_(3595)_copy.png)

Germany seethes.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Commander Zane on May 23, 2017, 02:13:39 pm
The Arcona pretty interesting to see, what does the superstructure design reflect in being drawn that way?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 23, 2017, 03:04:28 pm
The Arcona pretty interesting to see, what does the superstructure design reflect in being drawn that way?

A rounder and more shapely ass?  :p

(https://s7.postimg.org/xb2lra6hn/Arcona1.jpg)

(Yeah, yeah, OK, that's a protected cruiser, and the Arcona is a light cruiser, but the game can be stupid occasionally).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on May 23, 2017, 04:12:51 pm
Quote
Peace is formalised on the 20th of August, 1910. War has lasted for a relatively short six months. Once again, von Mecklenburg does not ask for any territorial concessions from Russia - but he cements, beyond any question, the German industrialists' control over the mineral wealth of Siberia (gaining him massive support among the industry leaders in Germany) and also secures extensive war reparations from beaten Russia.

This I think is a mistake. I'm not sure how well the game simulates the actual yield of the minerals coming from Siberia, but I'd expect the efficiency of that operation to be very low, and the quality of materials almost rejectable.

Then again, the Red Revolution has not yet sweeped through Russia in this time line, and the Czar is still in control. The yield rates dropped quite drastically immediately after communism rose into the power.

Once again Germany fails to secure its Northest allies, Finland and the Baltic States :lol:

Meanwhile in Sweden during the battle of Bornholm:
Swede #1: "Vad är det hemskt larmet ut då?"
Swede #2: "De är de tyskarna och ryskarna i slaget ut där på sjö!"
Swede #1: "Vad  tror du, vem ska vin det slaget?"
Swede #2: "Svårt att säga. Tyskarna är god i tekniket, men ryskarna är inte rädd för nederlager"
Swede #1: "Jå, de är sant. Ska vi sätta en lägereld och lyssna mer på det?"
[At this point, Swedish mainland has not seen war for like 200 years]

Meanwhile in Finland during the battle of Finland:
Finns: "Viekää Ahvenanmaa mennessänne!" :D :D

Historically speaking, Finland and Sweden wanted to resolve who does the island of Åland belong to in more civilized fashion. The task was given to the League of Nations, who ruled it belongs to Finland. Because, you know, even if the island clearly is more on the Swedish side and the population speaks Swedish, it still clearly belongs to Finland. The current nowadays sentiment (used often humoristically) stated above is because of the rather extensive tax breaks that region enjoys, yet it is not easily possible to buy any land from the island by Finns. The funny thing is that today, neither Finland or Sweden would particularly like to have Åland. This island still has to belong to either one because the alternative is that it belongs to Russia, which neither Nordic country wants.

Meanwhile, in historical 1910, Finland is still mostly an agrarian society at this point with partial ground slavery still in place. There are tons of other dumb regulations which modern people find very hard to relate to, such as all encompassing curfew after 22 o'clock at night and total prohibition of alcohol (which is the reason for Finnish alcohol culture that finally started to break up around 2008 due to cheap good quality beer coming from Central Europe). A grassroots Jääkäriliike (Jäger movement) is boiling up and sending people to be trained in German Jäger battalions in anticipation of the upcoming Red vs White civil war. The biggest motivation for this movement was the increased popularity of communism in Russia. In consequence of the Russian revolution, Finland acquired its independence in 1917, and the trained soldiers provided by the Jäger movement (White side) were instrumental in that.

Unfortunately I can't particularly relate to the German point of view. I find it a bit dull.

EDIT: Perhaps I should clarify the last sentence. I didn't mean I'm not interested to see this saga to the end from German side. What I meant is that I personally find it hard to write anything from the German point of view. Russian on the other hand is far easier, because a lot more imaginative and almost unimaginable things can and WILL happen... :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 23, 2017, 05:07:11 pm
Quote
Peace is formalised on the 20th of August, 1910. War has lasted for a relatively short six months. Once again, von Mecklenburg does not ask for any territorial concessions from Russia - but he cements, beyond any question, the German industrialists' control over the mineral wealth of Siberia (gaining him massive support among the industry leaders in Germany) and also secures extensive war reparations from beaten Russia.

This I think is a mistake. I'm not sure how well the game simulates the actual yield of the minerals coming from Siberia, but I'd expect the efficiency of that operation to be very low, and the quality of materials almost rejectable.

Then again, the Red Revolution has not yet sweeped through Russia in this time line, and the Czar is still in control. The yield rates dropped quite drastically immediately after communism rose into the power.


I cannot give you the exact numbers. However, just to give you an idea, the relative boost provided to the German economy through these war reparations is the equivalent of almost twice the income Hong Kong provides to the British at this point in time (Maybe 160% or so).

Quote
Once again Germany fails to secure its Northest allies, Finland and the Baltic States :lol:

Unless you fight the Russians to the(ir) bitter end, you're not getting any of those. And, even then, you're only getting one before the Soviets scream bloody murder.

Quote
Meanwhile in Sweden during the battle of Bornholm:
Swede #1: "Vad är det hemskt larmet ut då?"
Swede #2: "De är de tyskarna och ryskarna i slaget ut där på sjö!"
Swede #1: "Vad  tror du, vem ska vin det slaget?"
Swede #2: "Svårt att säga. Tyskarna är god i tekniket, men ryskarna är inte rädd för nederlager"
Swede #1: "Jå, de är sant. Ska vi sätta en lägereld och lyssna mer på det?"
[At this point, Swedish mainland has not seen war for like 200 years]

Meanwhile in Finland during the battle of Finland:
Finns: "Viekää Ahvenanmaa mennessänne!" :D :D

Historically speaking, Finland and Sweden wanted to resolve who does the island of Åland belong to in more civilized fashion. The task was given to the League of Nations, who ruled it belongs to Finland. Because, you know, even if the island clearly is more on the Swedish side and the population speaks Swedish, it still clearly belongs to Finland. The current nowadays sentiment (used often humoristically) stated above is because of the rather extensive tax breaks that region enjoys, yet it is not easily possible to buy any land from the island by Finns. The funny thing is that today, neither Finland or Sweden would particularly like to have Åland. This island still has to belong to either one because the alternative is that it belongs to Russia, which neither Nordic country wants.

Meanwhile, in historical 1910, Finland is still mostly an agrarian society at this point with partial ground slavery still in place. There are tons of other dumb regulations which modern people find very hard to relate to, such as all encompassing curfew after 22 o'clock at night and total prohibition of alcohol (which is the reason for Finnish alcohol culture that finally started to break up around 2008 due to cheap good quality beer coming from Central Europe). A grassroots Jääkäriliike (Jäger movement) is boiling up and sending people to be trained in German Jäger battalions in anticipation of the upcoming Red vs White civil war. The biggest motivation for this movement was the increased popularity of communism in Russia. In consequence of the Russian revolution, Finland acquired its independence in 1917, and the trained soldiers provided by the Jäger movement (White side) were instrumental in that.

Thanks for this. Small historical parentheses like this are always welcome.

Y'know what? I need to encourage stuff like this. Have a blurb. Same rules I gave to The_E (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1848232#msg1848232) apply.

Quote
Unfortunately I can't particularly relate to the German point of view. I find it a bit dull.

EDIT: Perhaps I should clarify the last sentence. I didn't mean I'm not interested to see this saga to the end from German side. What I meant is that I personally find it hard to write anything from the German point of view. Russian on the other hand is far easier, because a lot more imaginative and almost unimaginable things can and WILL happen... :D

It's a good thing you clarified that, because I was trying to figure out ways to make this more exciting (and, sadly, failing).  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on May 24, 2017, 08:06:40 am
Personally, I enjoy the heck out of ze Kaiser Memes.  Watching strategic geopolitical maneuvers planned with the very best of Prussian Realpolitik tm get thrown out on its ear because Willie has no filter, never gets old.  Plus the inevitable climatic clash with the Royal Navy is waiting in the wings. :P

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on May 28, 2017, 08:32:12 am
I think the ze Kaiser isn't bombastic enough for his namesake, he actually seems quite watered down!

Ze Kaiser hasn't been meddling much with ship design unlike certain King Gustav of Sweden, when he insisted the top deck to be fitted with cannons too large to the ship frame (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)). The good king was an artillery man to the heart, and would take no for an answer. The subsequent sinking of the ship in the coastal waters of Stockholm still in the sight of the port was probably embarrassing to witness. The inquiry of the sinking found nobody to blame of the sinking. A group of Finnish student managed a fantastic student prank with the ship when it was lifted in the 1960s, but that's another story.

Meanwhile his contemporary's, Czar Nikolai II's guard managed to kill a bunch of protesters to the front steps of the Winter Palace in 1905. The Czar was also guided more often than not by his wife and the monk Rasputin, and this Czar was one of the root causes of the bolshevik revolution in Russia.
Title: A Game of Shadows
Post by: Enioch on May 31, 2017, 02:44:31 pm
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- PART 4 -
Adventures in Asia

(https://s15.postimg.cc/vyjhf6znf/rud_k4.jpg)

"This is a personal insult which I feel and resent. For the work of my people to be stolen, for my repeated offers of friendship weighed and scrutinized with jealous, mistrustful eyes; this taxes my patience severely. I have said time after time that I am a friend of England, and your press --, at least, a considerable section of it -- bids the people of England refuse my proffered hand and insinuates that the other holds a dagger. How can I convince a nation against its will?

-Excerpt from Kaiser Wilhelm II's statement, published in the Daily Telegraph of 24th January 1911

(https://s4.postimg.cc/d9evtznct/Screenshot_3596.png)

December 1910; Blohm & Voss re-open drydocks 4 and C in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel respectively. They can now accommodate ships of up to 40k tons; and works are already underway to further expand the military facilities.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/556rp90xp/Screenshot_3597.png)

(https://s4.postimg.cc/rv5wi8k59/Screenshot_3598.png)

The good mood in the Admiralität does not last very long. In January, Counter-Intelligence report huge leaks from the R & D department, leaks that have Tirpitz come down like a ton of bricks on his archivists. The Brits now have the blueprints for our small tube boilers - and the bloody Japanese have our analog firing control computers.

The Kaiser explodes. His irate rants find their way to the press; and, in all honesty, von Mecklenburg does nothing to screen them. Realpolitik - His Imperial Majesty's government are very much aware that the final confrontation with the British block is coming. Perhaps the Japanese will need to be dealt with first - or perhaps von Mecklenburg will be able to manoeuver perfidious Albion into the war that Germany has been looking forward to for the past decade. In any case - we want to antagonise them.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/slymo0mil/Screenshot_3599.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/3p8n7o5u5/SMS_Seydlitz-stbdqtr-top.jpg)

Some good news (thankfully) mark the end of the month: SMS Hindenburg returns from her shakedown cruise. The largest warship in the world is now in active service - and her sisters are building...

(https://s4.postimg.cc/ipxjodgql/Screenshot_3600.png)

Also, von Mecklenburg prepares for the worst. It's not clear whether the next scrap will be with the Brits or the Japanese; but in a joint action with Tirpitz, they submit the 1911 Naval Bill to the government. The motion
passes; and the naval budget gets a monthly 2 million Mark increase, to the jubilation of the Admiralität.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/kj0gcp1x9/Screenshot_3601.png)

This money is immediately channeled into getting the work on Derfflinger back on track. With Wittelsbach herself less than two months from completion, work on the Luetzow (frozen for over a year) will shortly also be continued.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/nei4xavb1/Screenshot_3602.png)

(https://s12.postimg.cc/uqps79vy5/SMS_Seydlitz2.jpg)

Yeeeees.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/uvrcciku5/Screenshot_3603.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/nmi4mtd95/Submarines.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/mvpeh1avt/nazi-denizaltileri-4.jpg)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/gqg0rdg4h/erich_von_rerugen_and_tanya_degurechaff_youjo.jpg)

THERE ARE NO BRAKES ON THE SUBRAPE TRAIN.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/ntteqbh8d/Screenshot_3604.png)

(https://s29.postimg.cc/a69ifzgsn/Johann_Albrecht_und_Frau.jpg)

After this development, Von Mecklenburg digs deep into his pockets yet again. Following the death of his first wife in 1908, he had remarried to Elisabeth zu Stolberg-Roßla, a woman thirty years his junior. They had spent their honeymoon in the Far East holdings of the German Empire and the Kanzler knew that, despite considerable efforts, the German base in Northern Korea was still quite small (especially now that the Japanese threat loomed). Von Mecklenburg generously donated the funds for an expansion of the Korean Naval Base and the construction of extensive submarine pens in the area; the Kaiser, not wishing to be outdone, also contributed a considerable sum.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/cvi584sn1/Screenshot_3605.png)

May; and the first V3-class torpeboboats leave the docks. Germany now has a modern small-craft squadron, capable of serving as a solid screen for any line of battle.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/fe3u8ted9/Screenshot_3606.png)

(https://s4.postimg.cc/on60ixn99/Screenshot_3607.png)

Gottverdammt, Frenchies, but you are the best allies a Kanzler can hope for. Here's to a long friendship!

(https://s4.postimg.cc/3rjq7or25/Screenshot_3608.png)

June 1911; and the first war reparations from Russia come rolling in. Industry in Germany booms.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/kgl63lnnh/Screenshot_3609.png)

(https://s29.postimg.cc/ehhfzkazr/Youjo_Senki_Screenshot_0123.jpg)

Well, ****.

The news are surprising and (to all outside observers) grim. The alliance with France has expired; and the French make no official move to renew it, despite the pro-German policies of Prime Minister Caillaux. The British rejoice at what seems to be the death of Kerneuropa.

It's seemingly a hard blow for von Mecklenburg and his politics; and it is difficult not to interpret this as a French vote of no-confidence for von Mecklenburg's plans. Von Mecklenburg himself, though, remains optimistic; and he still enjoys the Kaiser's full backing. The future publication of the Kanzler's private document archive will show why:

France remains friendly to Germany. She will not be an ally in the upcoming war; therefore, French harbors will remain open and Great Britain's Grand Fleet will have no legal grounds to blockade them. With the French and Germans sharing borders, France can serve as a trading portal for Germany, greatly reducing the effectiveness of any Naval blockade, and allowing the flow of foodstuff and military supplies to her neighbour.

It is a masterstroke on behalf of von Mecklenburg - a masterstroke that will remain in the shadows for more than four decades.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/rmcx61wql/Screenshot_3611.png)

**** YOU.

Your ****ing King has an extended double bottom and an extended double chin, British pig.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/qmr7o36yl/Screenshot_3613.png)

(https://s4.postimg.cc/h3hiumjgd/Screenshot_3614.png)

AHAHAHA. DEUTSCHLAND, DEUTSCHLAND ÜBER ALLES

(https://s4.postimg.cc/7wz87ce7x/Screenshot_3615.png)

And then there were two.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/435ry6wvx/Screenshot_3617.png)

Meanwhile, Galster has not been idle. 10 new submarines have been laid down; all of the U-102 class. They are long-range, heavily armed boats, the best in the world; and they will serve as the backbone of the German Unterseeflotte for the wars to come.

(https://s4.postimg.cc/hy42gnrb1/Screenshot_3618.png)

Jesus Christ, Brits. Seriously?


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 31, 2017, 02:45:29 pm
A quick update, to get the keyboard singing again.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on May 31, 2017, 10:24:42 pm
Out of curiosity I've noticed in both the IJN and now the Kaiserliche Marine you seem to favor a battle cruiser heavy order of battle.  Is that a personal preference or are BCs more effective in RtW then they're historical performance would suggest?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 01, 2017, 01:10:41 am
From my understanding, given Enioch's tech advantage a lot of times, his battlecruisers are as well armed and armored as the enemy battleships.  That, and to a certain extent speed is armor, especially when the British have 15" naval rifles in the 1910's. :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on June 01, 2017, 02:35:58 am
From my understanding, given Enioch's tech advantage a lot of times, his battlecruisers are as well armed and armored as the enemy battleships.  That, and to a certain extent speed is armor, especially when the British have 15" naval rifles in the 1910's. :P

^^This, to some extent.
It's not so much the technology lead (although it clearly plays a role); it's more the size of the ships. The Wittelsbachs, for instance, are as big as some mid-to-lategame BB designs for the AI. I have made it a point to ALWAYS be enlarging my docks in ths play through, which means I can always build bigger than the other nations. And with more space and weight to play with, you can fit more armour and stuff.

The game has a strange auto-classification algorithm, that identifies what type your design corresponds to. The 25-knot speed of the capitals I have been building places them pretty squarely into the BC territory. BBs of this period would be around 21-22 knots.

However, as Sparda pointed out, like RL Germany, I'm sacrificing gun calibre, not protection. Most of my BCs are as well (or BETTER armoured) than what the Brits have in their BB line.

As for speed being arnour- eh. Kinda-sorta. 25 knots is relatively slow for BCs. At this point, a British-style BC of the Wittelbach's size would easily do 27 or more knots, especially with oil-fired boilers. But I've chosen to standardize ship speed, so that all my BCs can operate together. And given that, protection-wise, they are hybrid BBs, I can get away with it.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on June 01, 2017, 02:58:17 am
It accurately reflects the utter insanity that ship classification schemes are in real life.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Commander Zane on June 01, 2017, 05:16:31 am
It accurately reflects the utter insanity that ship classification schemes are in real life.
You should have seen the chaos in the English Kantai Collection communities over how to designate the new Kaibokan. From what I had read, they were apparently used like destroyer escorts, but built more like frigates, yet they were neither because they were a design nobody else really had. That's probably not right, but it was eventually too difficult to follow when the debate lasted an entire eight days and nobody is still happy.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mammothtank on June 01, 2017, 06:02:04 am
They should've done a tie breaker via violent tournament style Team Deathmatch.
Did I hear team- oh wait that was me...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on June 01, 2017, 01:16:45 pm
Quote
"This is a personal insult which I feel and resent. For the work of my people to be stolen, for my repeated offers of friendship weighed and scrutinized with jealous, mistrustful eyes; this taxes my patience severely. I have said time after time that I am a friend of England, and your press --, at least, a considerable section of it -- bids the people of England refuse my proffered hand and insinuates that the other holds a dagger. How can I convince a nation against its will?

-Excerpt from Kaiser Wilhelm II's statement, published in the Daily Telegraph of 24th January 1911

Wait, what? He seriously said that???  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Willy is actually starting to earn his namesake! There's some distance to Nikolai II to catch up, but it's getting there!

MIka is amused
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on June 01, 2017, 01:24:28 pm
Seriously, Mika? :p

Reality is stranger than fiction. Go read about the RL Daily Telegraph affair. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Telegraph_Affair)

More than half of the text I posted is a direct quote (with considerable changes to fit the game event)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on June 01, 2017, 04:50:27 pm
Well, up to this point most what Willy has done is behind the curtains, at discussions between the diplomats, whose job is to filter the message. It is an entirely different thing of calling out the entire nation in press.  :lol: And, no, I didn't know about that incident - was never particularly interested in the events leading to WWI, where Willy seems to have been instrumental.

Can't deny that the guy had some cojones, but I still don't think it compares to some other questionable royalties if that remains his worst single blunder. Germany still had rather good people around ze Kaiser to soften the impact, where as the other countries were not as lucky.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on June 07, 2017, 06:09:23 am
the "Hello wrong animal" cracks me up each time

So while not direct related to the playthrough, it is somewhat relevant cool footage: https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ef5_1496690103
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on June 07, 2017, 06:27:28 am
the "Hello wrong animal" cracks me up each time

 :confused: I've missed the joke, sorry. What are you referencing here?

So while not direct related to the playthrough, it is somewhat relevant cool footage: https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ef5_1496690103

Ah, the S-H. What a beautiful grey block of a ship.

Kinda like the PzKpfw VI of the seas. Only older. And more crappy.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on June 07, 2017, 08:08:17 am
:confused: I've missed the joke, sorry. What are you referencing here?

(https://s15.postimg.org/vyjhf6znf/rud_k4.jpg)
It's your own joke  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on June 07, 2017, 08:15:30 am
Orite.

Whoops.  :nervous:
Title: Wir wollen uns'ren alten Kaiser Wilhelm wiederhaben
Post by: Enioch on July 01, 2017, 09:09:10 am
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(http://i68.tinypic.com/33ker2h.jpg)

"Gradually, it became clear to me that we would need to overcome one final hurdle before facing our most powerful enemy. True to her policy of centuries, Albion threw her allies at us. Her latest scheme was to open a new theatre of operations, in the Far East.

"I was familiar with the Japanese way of thinking. This would require great care and meticulous planning, perhaps more than any other opponent we had faced in the past."

-From the private writings of Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler 1902-1920.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/ol1pgngnb/Screenshot_3619.png)

October begins with the opening of the new drydocks in Kiel and Tanga, followed by the launching of the new Blohm & Voss floating drydocks in November. Germany can now build ships up to 45k tons and maintain them. There are no funds for any new capitals, at this point in time, but when the time comes, the new generation of German capital ships will be true behemoths.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/i8mk6tdl3/Screenshot_3620.png)

In December, the French approach the Admiralität and ask to purchase licences for the lightweight sloped deck armor schemes the Germans are experimenting with. Tirpitz puts the proposal on ice. The French are, technically, no longer Germany's allies; and it's a good idea to keep some bait in reserve, to ensure their full co-operation in the inevitable coming war.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/r4xcar47b/Screenshot_3621.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/r67a46613/Screenshot_3622.png)

In January, R & D introduces new quality control procedures into all German shipbuilding facilities. Armor is now more consistent, and german steel is of higher quality.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/vtdc5xtdz/Screenshot_3623.png)

...And then immediately, Counter-intelligence reports possible breaches of security in R & D facilities. Tirpitz and Galster rage. No-one has time for this ****. It's obviously the ****ing Italians sneaking around on behalf of the British, ****ing Spaghetti-gobbling mother-****ers.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/ncdtv0op3/Screenshot_3624.png)

Blohm + Voss helps defuse the situation, when they sponsor a further expansion of the Wilhelmsaven docks.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/o36k0sr2f/Screenshot_3625.png)

(http://i64.tinypic.com/o9j1bp.jpg)

Oh God, yes, please. Now our capital ships can kick ass in all kinds of weather, with both large and small caliber guns.

No more flooded casemates!

(https://s21.postimg.cc/lahxuig3r/Screenshot_3626.png)

Well done, Frau Zelle. Let's see what the Russkies are building...

(https://s21.postimg.cc/7uux527lz/Screenshot_3627.png)

Oooooh, an OTL Dreadnought-type!

Well, it's slower than the Wittelsbachs, it's got less guns per broadside, it has a thinner belt and, holy ****, the conning tower has less armor than the belt. Nicky, stahp. Nicky, what R U doin?

The German analysts immediately come to the conclusion that no sane Russian admiral would ever seek to command such a ship. Any shot to the bridge or conning tower would turn them into charnel-houses.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/pyxxpp5af/Screenshot_3628.png)

Especially given the new explosives the Germans start producing. Estimates indicate that German shells now hit with comparable power to English shells coming from guns of 1-inch larger calibers. Who needs 13-inch guns, when 12-inchers are lighter and hit just as hard?

Germany does. Please, God, grant us larger guns

(https://s21.postimg.cc/cjax08wsn/Screenshot_3629.png)

April - and the Rheinland booms. Mecklenburg completes the tax reforms that he's been working on for the last three years and German industry responds magnificently. A windfall of tax revenue means that the Navy enjoys an increased budget.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/xhh2ybwnb/Screenshot_3630.png)

And the new quality control measures pay off, with lighter and tougher steel alloys being tested in the Yards.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/onq6h89on/Screenshot_3631.png)

This makes Tirpitz a very happy man. With the new materials, German naval engineers can start designing larger Torpedobootzerstoerer, with the same or better capabilities than their lighter cousins. A preliminary eleven-hundred ton design is submitted for consideration, nothing more than a hull for now. Yet Tirpitz, ever a closet fan of the light craft is intrigued.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/qtkhbqd53/Screenshot_3632.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/w69bpv11j/Screenshot_3633.png)

Especially when he learns of this new breakthrough. Eight thousand yards range? Yes, please.

He goes to congratulate the research personnel...

(http://i68.tinypic.com/11b7x2f.png)

...and finds out they've been basing everything on stolen Russian designs.

(http://i68.tinypic.com/2im25uw.png)

What the ****. How can the Russians be ahead of us in anything, we've kicked their heads in twice and their economy is in shambles.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/9wvejb5l3/Screenshot_3635.png)

Case in point. Potential for 47k ships, going to 49k next October, thank you very much.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/wzqiw7wg7/Screenshot_3636.png)

Of course the Italians should be well-advised to remember who won the last war. And they should damn well keep their agents out of our R & D facilities.

The Kaiser speaks the truth and his words are inspired. No, we don't care that Italy is the one country which does not hate our guts.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/srvqngv0n/Screenshot_3637.png)

July 1912: With Derfflinger less than 5 months from completion and the two Arconas almost ready to be commissioned, R & D plops out a new pump design. Work on this project had started since the report of Marinesekretaer Michael Kohlhaas on the Moltke flooding. The new high-capacity pumps should greatly assist with similar situations in the future.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/7w9gc7ytj/Screenshot_3638.png)

And, with new pumps, Germany can also build new U-Boote. Eleven new boats are laid down in Kiel.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/y5uiv0kqv/Screenshot_3639.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/gtu69kr9j/Screenshot_3640.png)

****.

Well, welcome to the navy, Arcona and Undine. Shame about the performance issues. Still, 28 knots is nothing to sneeze at. Galster certainly hails their addition to his scouting forces with great pleasure - and future light cruisers will be better built.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/92dgb0n47/Screenshot_3641.png)

August 1912: and, shortly after the commissioning ceremony for the Undine, Tirpitz holds the opening speech in the annual gathering of the Flottenverein. He has spent weeks preparing for this, in collaboration with von Mecklenburg and the Kaiser.

His speech is short, and to the point: the Far Eastern theatre of operations can no longer be ignored. Germany has interests in the area, interests that are now threatened by the ambitions of Japan. Germany must be prepared to defend her holdings and the interests of her citizens in the Far East, and the Fleet stands ready to do so.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/szjdjz5zb/Screenshot_3872.png)

Then, the word is given. First, the five Schwaben-class battleships, still patrolling the Mediterranean, are recalled and scrapped, to release the funds for a new terrifying new class of warship (more on that to come).

Following that, Konteradmiral Maximilian von Spee is sent to take command of the East Asia squadron, based on Tsingtaou. He will be commanding a force of light cruisers, meant to patrol and safeguard the waters there.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/r90cihog7/Screenshot_3873.png)

YES. Semi-Armor-Piercing eats DDs for breakfast.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/e64pz7y87/Screenshot_3874.png)

...we were preparing. For war

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU WARFH$#&(^gflasdrakkkkk...




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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 01, 2017, 09:09:40 am
I ATEN'T DEAD.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on July 01, 2017, 09:54:25 am
From a report filed for the attention of Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming in his capacity of Director of the Secret Service Bureau:

Quote
Implications of advances in german shipbuilding capacities

[Salutations omitted]

Reports from our agents stationed in Hamburg, Kiel and Bremen have reached us on [date omitted]. They conclusively prove that the sustained expansion of german shipbuilding capacity and capability continues unabated; we estimate that the Imperial Navy could in theory lay down hulls in excess of 45000 tons. While our colleagues in Naval Intelligence and Economic Analysis concur that they are unlikely to do so any time soon (It is believed that the germans still haven't managed to come up with a design for a 14- or 15-inch gun in comparable quality to their existing 12-inch guns, and based on our estimates of the german economy, the funds to lay down a ship larger than their existing designs do not currently exist).
It is obvious to us that, in the absence of a raid by His Majesty's Navy on the shipyards, efforts should be directed towards finding a way to delay german research efforts or exploit known weaknesses in the german command structure.

(Handwritten note, scrawled in the margins, handwriting consistent with that of Captain Cumming: Inquire with Inglis about Alexandra's refit, maybe steer some german journalists to her?)

While it is perhaps soothing to know that no new monster ships are at this moment emerging from german slipways, there are economic considerations that are perhaps even more worrying than purely military concerns. German-flagged trade ships are already a common sight in harbours worldwide, and german-built vessels are today seen flying a multitude of other flags. The new shipyards are unlikely to remain idle for long, and once they start working for civilian interests, the increase in trade capacity will have cumulative effects, eventually displacing british trade companies from their established routes, with obvious effects on tax income here at home.

Our recommendations are therefore....

[Rest of the memo unreadable due to damage sustained in a fire in SSB HQ in 1917]

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on July 01, 2017, 09:55:50 am
also yay best thread is alive again
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on July 01, 2017, 09:57:12 am
I can't wait to see the sort of behemoths you'll be building for your fight against the Sushis and their boatgirls.  Still only 12-inch guns and no oil though?  Disappointing.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 01, 2017, 10:09:23 am

(Handwritten note, scrawled in the margins, handwriting consistent with that of Captain Cumming: Inquire with Inglis about Alexandra's refit, maybe steer some german journalists to her?)

There's a joke here, and I have the vaguest suspicion it's a dirty one, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out what it is. Help?

[Rest of the memo unreadable due to damage sustained in a fire in SSB HQ in 1918]

FTFY  :drevil:

also yay best thread is alive again

(https://s23.postimg.org/4nm4q1i2z/Kongou_dess.gif)
Sureddo ga ikite iru, DESS!

I can't wait to see the sort of behemoths you'll be building for your fight against the Sushis and their boatgirls.  Still only 12-inch guns and no oil though?  Disappointing.

Next update.  :drevil:

Lack of oil sucks, indeed.  :sigh:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on July 01, 2017, 10:16:22 am

(Handwritten note, scrawled in the margins, handwriting consistent with that of Captain Cumming: Inquire with Inglis about Alexandra's refit, maybe steer some german journalists to her?)

Mansfield Smith-Cumming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield_Smith-Cumming) was the SSB's (which would later be called the SIS) first Director.  He regularly ommitted the "Smith" part of his name, and was by some accounts A Character (Stories would have it that he amputated his foot himself with a pen opener in order to get away from a car crash; while that wasn't true, he was in the habit of making up quite a lot of shocking stories about the loss.

HMY Alexandra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Alexandra) was the Royal Yacht between 1908 and 1922.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 01, 2017, 10:21:49 am
I know who Cumming was - I was less sure about Alexandria and am still completely in the dark re: Inglis and why german journalists should be steered to Alexandria?  :confused:

PM me, I don't want to look stupid in my thread.  :p :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on July 01, 2017, 10:27:11 am
Done
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 01, 2017, 10:32:36 am
Ooooooooooooh.

Sneaky Cumming, yess. :lol:

[Idea yoinked by plagiarising Enioch] :nervous:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on July 02, 2017, 08:59:10 am
Possibly the only thing the russians were leading in, and then zee germans stole it.
I'm sure that invoked a couple of cyka bylats at the russian admiralty.

Also, are we sabotaging the palace plans of the kaiser?!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 02, 2017, 09:08:28 am
Of course we're sabotaging the palace plans of the Kaiser. If he wants to win the upcoming war(s), he'd better learn to slum it along with the rest of the heroic German population and make sacrifices of his own!  :nono:

It's not like he has a massive winter residence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Palace,_Berlin) and at least two summer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Palace_(Potsdam)) residences (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Wilhelmsh%C3%B6he).

Oh wait, he does. :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on July 02, 2017, 09:28:57 am
Ah Willhelmshöhe, nice park area with the Hercules :D
Title: SMS Zaehringen
Post by: Enioch on July 07, 2017, 10:24:56 am
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/pj2120rjz/Compariso2n.jpg)

SMS Zähringen was a battlecruiser built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1915 represented such an advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of German capital ships, the Zähringens, as well as, specifically, the class of ships named after her. The generation of battlecruisers she made obsolete became known as "pre-Zähringens" in non-German circles. Admirals Alfred von Tirpitz and Karl Galster are credited as the fathers of Zähringen. Shortly before the 1913 war with Japan, they ordered design studies for a battlecruiser armed solely with 12-inch (305 mm) guns (a necessity, given Germany's underdeveloped gun-foundries), a speed of 25 knots (46.5 km/h; 29 mph) and Dreadnought-level armour protection. The core of the design was to be its ability to destroy its opponent with overwhelming weight of broadside.

The Admirals convened a "Committee on Designs" to evaluate the alternative designs and to assist in the detailed design work. One ancillary benefit of the Committee was that it would shield them and the Admiralty from political criticism (especially from Kaiser Wilhelm II) that they had not consulted leading experts before designing such a radically different battlecruiser...

-Wikipedia article on SMS Zähringen

(https://s16.postimg.cc/u9fybq4g5/Screenshot_3875.png)

October 1912 - and private shipbuilders contribute yet again, shortly before the planned works in Wilhelmshaven are brought to an end. Instead of 49k tons, the largest ships that can now be built in Germany by early November can reach a staggering 51k tons. This 'spike' in shipbuilding capability catches all the other nations off guard, and Germany is eager to capitalise on it.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/dbgxpvv2d/Screenshot_3876.png)

Undine and Arcona finish their trial runs and join Galster's cruiser squadrons...

(https://s16.postimg.cc/gywovy39h/Screenshot_3877.png)

And R & D submits designs for superheaters, to be used as part of German engines for considerable machinery weight savings. This is very welcome, especially given the 'spike' in shipbuilding capability - with war with Japan imminent, Tirpitz and Galster (now fast personal friends under von Mecklenburg's patronage, as well as professional colleagues) are planning their move against Great Britain. They will need an answer to her crushing superiority in tonnage.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/f4jue7g91/Screenshot_3878.png)

Derfflinger leaves the drydocks in November, joining her sisters in the Baltic...

(https://s16.postimg.cc/c7wtdxaf9/Screenshot_3879.png)

...and, on the 15th of November, with the Balkan Wars still raging, Ottoman forces strike against the Greek population element in Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese Islands.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/vgtw3xukl/Screenshot_3880.png)

The Germans are quite friendly with the Greeks: they have provided them with their flagship, Georgios Averoff, which is now, almost single-handedly, holding the Ottoman fleet contained in the Dardanelles. The Greek Crown Prince, Constantine, is married to the Kaiser's sister. And, perhaps more importantly, the Germans are eager to establish a presence in the eastern Mediterranean, to counter the British bases in Cyprus and Egypt. The German fleet elements from Sardinia are dispatched to quell the hostilities in Rhodes; under the guidance of von Mecklenburg, they end up ousting the Ottoman forces, supported by Greek Army and Marine elements. The Dodecanese is ceded to Greece, but Germany is granted basing rights in Rhodes, as well as full rights to the resources of specific areas of the island. German prospectors move out, to inspect the new holdings...

(https://s16.postimg.cc/a9q5fxhxh/Screenshot_3881.png)

This intervention, of course, cannot be ignored. France, Italy and Russia pitch a veritable fit at the German landgrab in the Med. The Ottoman Empire broods... and Great Britain is near apoplectic. Tensions skyrocket. Only the USA observe dispassionately, uninterested in the developments halfway around the world.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/4a6zq0mit/Screenshot_3882.png)

Great Britain has reason to squeal; for in December the Germans manage to procure the plans of the new Sirius-class light cruisers. They are matching the Arconas in speed and can outrun the German Schlachtkreuzer, but they are only armed with 5-inch guns. The Admiralität is confident that their own scout cruisers are far superior to those of the Brits.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/50zpvsow5/Screenshot_3883.png)

And then, shortly after the Neujahr celebrations of 1913, the R & D department submits structural designs for a specially reinforced capital ship bow; a bow that will be able to support a superimposed 'B' turret. Tirpitz and Galster go berserk.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/435gaqlv9/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_hawawan.jpg)

THIS IS THE TIME.

At this point, the German shipbuilders only have their (admittedly good) 12-inch guns to work with. But experience in the Russian wars has shown that more barrels equal more hits; 12-inch guns are relatively light; and they are more than sufficient to penetrate existing belts at brawling range.

And the Germans now have a lot of displacement weight to play with, both for lots of guns and lots of armor for brawling.

So, by the end of the month, the Admiralität convenes a "Committee on Designs", to evaluate possible designs for Germanys new super-capital ship. The Committee assembles under the strictest secrecy and haste; the Germans know that the construction of these ships will take years, and they wish to gain as much head start as they can, by keeping their designs secret.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/l0idfckxx/Screenshot_3884.png)

The first proposed design (SK19G) was drawn following the 'traditional' German cross-deck-fire arrangement. It mounted nineteen 12-inch rifles, in five centerline triple turrets and two double turrets in cross-deck-fire placements. It would weigh 50k tons, with a 12-inch belt and 13-inch turret armor.

However, the lessons from the Moltke had been learned. Wing turret barbettes were a liability in what concerned compartmentalisation and jeopardised the ship's underwater protection. So, Tirpitz and Galster returned to the design bureau, with a request for a fully-centreline weapons arrangement.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/7pz3zkjr9/Screenshot_3885.png)

The end result was the crystallised Zähringen design. Eighteen 12-inch guns, in a 50k-ton hull, with a 13-inch belt and 13.5-inch turret armor. Her deck would be fully splinter-proof, with armor ranging from 2.5 to 2 inches and her conning tower would be nigh-impregnable, with a monolithic 16 inches of armor: the Zähringens were designed from the get-go to be fleet command ships. Their underwater protection was the best of their time and they were designed to reach 25 knots, the standard Schlachtkreuzer speed at the time. Fourteen 4-inch guns in double turrets comprised her anti-DD armament, more than enough to blow any closing light craft out of the water.

These ships were true monsters, and the first of a generation. The Germans would adopt the 'floating shotgun' approach, to some extent, in all their later designs. 'How many guns can we fit into this?' would be the credo of the German design bureau for years to come, even when larger naval rifles had been developed.

For reference, here is a rundown of the Zähringen's characteristics, compared with the Brits' attempt to counter the German ship, the dreadnought Camperdown. The British ship has a greater weight of fire, as it mounts 15-inch rifles; but the German's shells can go through her armor like butter and the German shoots more shells (thereby assuring more hits).

(https://s1.postimg.cc/hrlb3gnen/Comparison.jpg)

Two ships are laid down: the Zähringen and the Mackensen, with a planned completion date of June 1915.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/kp0x2l4hx/Screenshot_3886.png)

(https://s4.postimg.cc/9jf7yunbh/Youjo_Senki_Screenshot_0558.jpg)

And, immediately once their designs were finalised and their keels were laid down, the R & D department submitted their designs for a revolutionary new fire-control system: Fire Directors.

It's a good thing that the Zähringens were designed with a provision of 190 tons for fire control system upgrades. It would take a month to make the necessary changes, but the end result would be more than worth it...

(https://s16.postimg.cc/hjgbcdlvp/Screenshot_3887.png)

Especially since the Parliament, now fully backing von Mecklenburg and well-aware of the imminent clash with Japan, agreed to a massive increase in the Naval budget, right when Tirpitz and Galster needed it the most. Holy crap, the politicians are working to support the Navy!

(https://s16.postimg.cc/k220d27lx/Screenshot_3888.png)

Lützow, still three months from completion, can also be fitted with directors before launch. This will add another month to her build time, but Tirpitz cannot say 'Ja, bitte!' fast enough.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/yp2yuq685/Screenshot_3890.png)

In March, R & D delivers again. There may be times (in the distant future) when the Zähringens' 12-inchers will be unable to penetrate enemy armor. For such occasions, meet the new 305mm Sprenggranate T08. Say goodbye to your superstructures, Brits!

(https://s16.postimg.cc/5clrmaupx/Screenshot_3891.png)

(https://s16.postimg.cc/q83gjt1j9/Screenshot_3892.png)

Ohohohoho. Ho ho. Well. This is a pleasant surprise. Germany can now do some aggressive mining.

(https://s16.postimg.cc/cjngi65mt/Screenshot_3894.png)

And some aggressive torpedoing, too. Time to design some new Zerst...

(https://s16.postimg.cc/qot9jzeo5/Screenshot_3895.png)

...

Wait, what do you mean, 'Tsingtao is under surprise attack?'


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on July 07, 2017, 10:41:01 am
Nippon banzaaaaai

I love the amount of guns on the Zähringen  :yes: :yes:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 07, 2017, 10:56:03 am
I'll just put this here. Just to give you an idea of how these darlings fight. All three occasions vs enemy capitals, at 7k to 12k yards range.

They average 3 to 4 hits per minute / round, simply by throwing enough **** at the wall.

Spoiler:
The last case took place in 1936. Yes, they are still kicking ass and taking names against modern BCs, more than 20 years after their commissioning.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/c30yqh3zz/Screenshot-_4198.jpg)

(https://s4.postimg.cc/foe9k24m5/image.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on July 07, 2017, 12:25:12 pm
From the archives of the Generalstab, Abteilung 3:

Quote
Record of possible intelligence contact
Filed by: Otto von Alvensleben, Kapitän zur See
Witnessed by: Gerhard Elbers, Leutnant im Stabsdienst

Full report:
Quote
Yesterday evening, me and my wife went to a performance at the Kiel Opera House. During intermission, I was approached by James Waterhouse, a person known to me as one of the Attaches at the United States Consulate. Apparently aware of my recent secondment to Admiral von Tirpitz' Design committee, he inquired about rumours he heard about the ship we were planning. I remained noncommittal, only going so far as to call it a natural evolution of our existing Battlecruisers, but given that my secondment was supposed to be secret, I have to wonder just how Mr Waterhouse knew that I was a person to ask about it.

Quote
[Short-wave intercept record]
[Intercepted: March 13th, 1913]
[Original format: Morse code, encrypted, encryption identified as one-time-pad]
[Message archived, March 15th]
[Message matched to remains of one-time-pad recovered during police raid on residence of agent identified as "T"]
[Recovered message follows]
Quote

[Section irrecoverable]
... confirmed by local contacts. Spoke to sources at the shipyard, big military contract has come in. Sources are sure that the Admiralty has ordered "wahre Monster", requiring the use of the full capacity of the new slipways.
[Message ends]
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on July 07, 2017, 12:31:02 pm
Also, holy hell. A 50 kiloton Battlecruiser in 1915. Ships in OTL didn't get that big until the 1930s. These things must eat their weight in coal in very short order.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 07, 2017, 01:15:51 pm
You bet your ass they do.

Do you remember how I've been religiously upgrading my bases in Africa and SE Asia? That's so I could have coaling stations along the way from Germany to Japan, just so I could avoid a Fleet of the Damned scenario. My stations in Tanga and West Africa could, until recently, support two thirds of my capital ship fleet per month.

Just these two monsters are  enough to overwhelm my supply chains there.

 
Spoiler:
And there'll be a third sister joining them soon, to honour the dead...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Droid803 on July 07, 2017, 06:51:16 pm
Moar dakka!
Title: Surprise Attack
Post by: Enioch on July 10, 2017, 10:28:39 am
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(https://s9.postimg.cc/pub4v4jtr/german_navy.jpg)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/gzgv2tcof/Screenshot_3896.png)

21st of April, 1913; A day that will be forever remembered in German history. Shortly after sunset, a German patrol boat spots an unidentified capital ship approaching the harbour of Tsingtaou. It races back, frantically signaling alarm towards the harbour with blinkered searchlights. In Germany, halfway around the world, the Japanese ambassador has just handed an official declaration of war to von Mecklenburg.

Graf Maximillian von Spee is roused; he immediately gives the order for the two light cruisers Niobe and Gefion to raise steam. His third cruiser, Thetis has been dispatched to Southeast Asia, there to conduct patrols; it is safe from this surpise attack. However, the ships at harbour most emphatically are not.

He suspects that the Japanese strike will be, primarily, an anti-shipping one; an attempt to knock German raiding and patroling elements out, to allow the Japanese fleet uncontested rule over the Far East waters. He really doubts the Japanese are bringing any army elements with them: he decides that his best chance is to abandon the harbour and seek safety in open waters. If his two obsolete cruisers can just survive the coming hours, they will prove to be a massive thorn in the side of the Japanese.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/6qszaqe0f/Screenshot_3897.png)

20:36: The shore batteries to the north-east of Tsingaou come under fire from unidentified capital ships. Von Spee's cruisers have just managed to raise steam; but they have only reached the entrance to the harbour-

(https://s17.postimg.cc/uj2am9g1b/Screenshot_3898.png)

-when five IJN destroyers appear from out of the gloom.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/mhe24cx9r/Screenshot_3900.png)

A spread of torpedoes stabs out towards the slow German ships. Hits are scored; and the spine of the Gefion cracks. The ship goes down almost immediately, its bridge riddled with light cannon fire. Von Spee dies, almost immediately, in the resulting butchery. Niobe dies slower, allowing her crew the time to abandon ship. She also gives her gunners the time to fire a few shots against the fleeing destroyers. No Japanese ships are sunk; but observers from the shore report several explosions on their decks.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/n4cytvu5r/Screenshot_3901.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/iz227ywdr/Screenshot_3902.png)

The entire raid lasts less than three hours. The Tsingtaou fleet has been wiped out completely: the Germans no longer have any naval presence in Northeast Asia whatsoever.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/gvrn0awkv/Screenshot_3903.png)

The response of the Admiralty is immediate, and very much along the lines of the deceptively methodical planning that has served Germany so well during previous wars. The four veteran Schlachtkreuzer are currently in drydock, being refitted with fire directors; but the three Wittelsbachs and the modernised Victoria Louises are not. Within two days of the attack, the German fleet leaves the Baltic, escorted by the seven modern V3 Zerstörer. They will embark on a four-month journey, to reach the theatre of operations, sailing around Africa and across the Indian Ocean.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/ghqup5187/Fleet_of_the_Badasses.jpg)

They will refuel in West Africa and Tanganyika; and they will need to cross the gauntlet of Japanese-held Borneo to reach their bases. But here, the surviving Thetis can be of great help. If she can stay alive, for the time it takes the Germans to arrive, she can serve as a minuscule fleet-in-being. The Japanese cannot afford to strip their home waters of intercepting cruisers, or they will allow her to run rampant on their merchant shipping.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/jyqzh7h69/08931cbbf93b3e18f5968f080d793ba7--german-submari.jpg)

And, more importantly, the Japanese have failed to crack the submarine pens in Tsingtaou. There, in concrete bunkers, the Germans have eight of their most modern boats. These boats demand a response of the Japanese; their prime directive is to keep the enemy guessing and on their toes, always on the defensive around their home waters.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/dq71a3dyn/Screenshot_3904.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/rz6ns5shb/Screenshot_3905.png)

And the German submariners earn their keep. While there is little they can do to challenge the surface superiority of the Japanese...

(https://s17.postimg.cc/lk7mvhlrj/Screenshot_3906.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/8fknjzygf/u-20.jpg)

...they proceed to smash their merchant shipping, in one of the most brutal campaigns of unrestricted submarine warfare in modern history. Within the space of one month, twenty Japanese freighters find their way to the bottom of the sea; and any plans the Japanese had of a seaborne invasion of Tsingtaou come to a screeching halt. They cannot risk any landing craft against that.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/fn8cseu0f/Screenshot_3907.png)

Hahaha - no.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/gbh7bcsq7/Screenshot_3908.png)

In May, with her sisters already well underway, Lützow is commissioned.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/753i1tcvj/Screenshot_3909.png)

And the veteran Schlachtkreuzer leave drydock. They are assigned to patroling the home waters - there is little sense in committing the entirety of the German battle-line to fight the Japanese halfway around the world. By staying home, they will be able to at least delay any back-stabbing attempt by the British.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/768uhhpbj/Screenshot_3910.png)

R & D also produce improved designs for integrating armour into a ship's hull. That would have been much more helpful before the Zähringens were laid down, but it's hard to fault the engineers for their good work.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/llm62ncz3/Screenshot_3912.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/mvjzhp6r3/Screenshot_3913.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/z196s3lgv/Screenshot_3914.png)

June - and, with the German fleet now less than a month away from Borneo, the submarines continue to reap a bloody toll. The Japanese are still dominating the seas in the Far East, but they cannot commit to any land attacks and their fleet core is still patroling their home waters.

And then, on the 18th of June, the Thetis, moving erratically between German Polynesian bases and anchorages to avoid detection, runs into HIJMS Chiyoda in the Bismarck Archipelago. The German captain is under strict orders not to risk his ship, but he deems the chance to be too good and powers into the engagement.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/y6mn62dm7/Screenshot_3915.png)

The Chiyoda is taken completely by surprise. She's a destroyer-killer and a raider, almost half the size of the German vessel. Furthermore, she's only armed with 4-inch guns, where Thetis is a scout cruiser armed with a broadside of six 6-inchers. She also has 2 knots on the Japanese vessel and her captain knows how to use them.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/yi43itu27/Screenshot_3916.png)

An hour after the first sighting, Thetis has well and truly slotted into the Chiyoda's tail, repeatedly serpentining to cross her T. Raking shots punch through the Japanese vessel's stern and detonate in her machinery spaces.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/rhf1okikx/Photo_WW1-06cl_Ger_Emden1destroyed_GW.jpg)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/5xkyvuxdb/Screenshot_3917.png)

Half an hour later, the Chiyoda is a burning, sinking wreck and Thetis, after launching a torpedo to confirm her kill, turns to the north and safety. She has avenged her sisters, lost at Tsingtaou; and she has scored the first notable victory of the war for the Germans.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/4elj1kq5z/Screenshot_(3918).png)

More importantly, she has succeeded in drawing Japanese forces away from Borneo, in an attempt to intercept her. The German fleet has reached and crossed the South China Sea and they are now on the last stretch of the journey to Tsingtaou. The Wittelsbach, Jindenburg and Derfflinger are bearing down on the Japanese home waters like avenging angels.



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Title: Graf Spee
Post by: Enioch on August 07, 2017, 04:29:43 am
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/bpbunwni7/U-boat-sinks-target-_WWI.jpg)

The success of our submarine forces was an eye-opening experience. Based on the stricken Tsingtaou pens, operating with minimal support and always within Japanese-controled waters, the Kaleuns of our Unterseeflotte gave a glorious reckoning of themselves. The estimates for sunken Japanese tonnage soared along with our crews' morale.

Putting asde, for now, the satisfaction we drew from avenging Tsingtaou, the Admiralität did not fail to draw significant conclusions regarding the effectiveness of submarine warfare against an island nation. The war against the Japanese was a challenge in itself; but it also served to prepare us, better than any other war in the past, for the inevitable Day.

-Großadmiral v. Tirpitz 1920, My Memoirs, London: Hurst & Blackett.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/mlnwqnjrr/Screenshot_3919.png)

Despite little Thetis' victory, she is unable to return to her base in Truk. She is forced to join up with the German fleet, after a long 'hook' to the north. The German forces continue steaming toward Tsingtaou, but the Caroline islands are left undefended. Nevertheless, the Japanese hesitate to capitalise on this; the Caroline garrisons are isolated, but remain unchallenged.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ccvfktvpz/Screenshot_3920.png)

Meanwhile, Moltke leaves drydock, with its new director systems installed, and takes up patrol duties in the North Sea.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/hcsvss1cn/Screenshot_3921.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/qec0k4onr/Screenshot_3922.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ighlihbdj/Screenshot_3923.png)

The German submarines keep savaging the Japanese merchant traffic. This keeps the Japanese fleet bottled up near the Home Islands.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/eny32qvvb/Screenshot_3924.png)

But, still, the Japanese suffer. Three months into the war, and German submarines are already choking Japan to her knees. Galster co-ordinates with the Unterseebootkommando, to establish an effective submarine blockade; and the Admiralität takes notes in interest. It is both surprising and terrifying how effective such a strategy is against an island nation...

(https://s13.postimg.cc/j7abo9dqv/Screenshot_3934.png)

And as we enter July, with a new batch of submarines leaving the slipways, the Admiralität lays aside the funds (more than five-and-a-half million Marks monthly) for a third ship of the Zähringen class. The Graf Spee (originally planned to be called Lothringen) is renamed to honour the heroic Maximilian von Spee, who died in Tsingtaou, during the opening surprise attack. It will take two and a half years to complete.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/76ovnj6c7/Screenshot_3935.png)

July also marks the beginning of the Autumn Massacre. The German Heerleitung, submits plans for the invasion of southern Korea: a daring attack on Japanese fortified positions. The Navy (having patrolled the area for years and having good knowledge of the defense-in-depth that the Japanese have installed) vehemently argue against the plan. Tirpitz and Galster both argue for a continued naval campaign, that will completely isolate and starve out the Japanese forces in Korea, while tightening the chokehold on the Islands; nevertheless, the Kaiser authorises the attack.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/5mjjp4xxz/Screenshot_3936.png)

August: and R & D finishes testing on their new, massive 12-foot rangefinders. The Asian squadrons cannot be refitted, this far away from the home waters; but the older Schlachtkreuzer are scheduled to receive the upgrades during their next maintenance cycle.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/rx7ep3v87/Screenshot_3937.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/b6w0zrwt3/Screenshot_3938.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/hymg2mlsn/Screenshot_3939.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/mr0urt5uf/Screenshot_3940.png)

The U-Boote continue to slaughter the Japanese left and right; U-114, in particular, gets cheeky. Her CO, Kaleun Eder, surfaces next to the Japanese kaibokan Takasago Maru and blows her out of the water with his rapid-fire 3-inch deck gun.

The Japanese response lacks spirit; their forays in the South China Sea have become considerably more timid now that the Wittelsbachs are on-station. Although, that Izumi has proven to be quite the thorn on Germany's side...

(https://s13.postimg.cc/7kut0vftj/Screenshot_3941.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/8oexcu0gn/Screenshot_3945.png)

In reprisals, Gefion is sent to a daring daylight raid into the Gulf of Sasebo. She dodges the coastal batteries, and crests the cape of Nagasaki at flank speed. There, she engages three kaibokan in a close-range brawl and hammers the moored freighters, before slipping out safely.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/92g9cfkk7/Screenshot_3946.png)

It's a minor victory, but it establishes that the Japanese can do little to defend their own harbours, against even an obsolescent cruiser like the Gefion.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/sa3e912vr/Screenshot_3947.png)

More submarines!

(https://s13.postimg.cc/m7vrijefr/Screenshot_3948.png)

And the veteran Schlachtkreuzer have now all finished their refitting. The Home Waters are secure (at least for now); time to press the offensive in the East.

High time too. There are some very worrying news coming from the Korean front...


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 07, 2017, 04:32:24 am
STILL ATEN'T DEAD JUST ON HOLIDAY.

Actually surprised the Tsingtaou raid did not get a single response. Go on, The_E, write something fun!  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on August 07, 2017, 05:08:43 am
I dont know how, but I somehow completely missed the previous update being posted at all. The forum didn't show the thread as having any new messages for me.
And now I'm just going "hory ****" when I see what the submarines are doing to those poor nipponfreighters.

Those 'enemy fleets dominate the xxx seas' messages seem to give a pitful amount of VP?
Wow, they gain 5vp! meanwhile your subs are all like:
(http://i.imgur.com/J8pwIf4.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 07, 2017, 06:09:24 am
STILL ATEN'T DEAD JUST ON HOLIDAY.

Actually surprised the Tsingtaou raid did not get a single response. Go on, The_E, write something fun!  :p

Sorry about that, but all I was coming up with was a dramatization of the Tsingtaou battle, which I think would've been boring as hell. I have an idea for the next thing though....
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 07, 2017, 06:22:09 am
STILL ATEN'T DEAD JUST ON HOLIDAY.

Actually surprised the Tsingtaou raid did not get a single response. Go on, The_E, write something fun!  :p

Sorry about that, but all I was coming up with was a dramatization of the Tsingtaou battle, which I think would've been boring as hell. I have an idea for the next thing though....

I immediately had a mental image of Tsingtaou: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor_(film)) a film by Michael Bay.

Widely bombed by critics for being boring as hell.  :p ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 07, 2017, 08:08:30 am
Those 'enemy fleets dominate the xxx seas' messages seem to give a pitful amount of VP?
Wow, they gain 5vp! meanwhile your subs are all like:
(http://i.imgur.com/J8pwIf4.jpg)

Also this is interesting.

The 'enemy fleet dominates' messages are, essentially, warning messages. No invasion may begin in an area where you don't have naval superiority; so, this is the game's way of telling you "you are not contesting the invasion-capable enemy fleet in XXXX area. Either bring something there to block them, or do not complain if they start taking your goodies."
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scourge of Ages on August 09, 2017, 08:31:54 pm
Ah, so it's "dominates" as in "the uncontested leader" and not "dominates" as in "consistently and brutally annihilating your dudes".
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on August 09, 2017, 09:35:50 pm
Keep in mind the only dudes of Enioch's that are actually there are the submarines who are doing a brilliant job of sinking any merchant vessel with the rising sun on it.  When the actual battle fleet finishes rebasing to Tsingtao, Enioch's beloved boatgirls from the prior LP are going to start dying in droves.
Title: Kantai Kessen
Post by: Enioch on August 28, 2017, 08:50:01 am
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(https://s2.postimg.cc/6urg3pyxl/b9cbfe4a483906e816bbd3d8eb93cb72--battleship-sms.jpg)

"The neutralisation of the Japanese power in the South China Sea is a necessity for us. The Japanese, whether manipulated into this war by our perfidious enemies or not, have struck at us without warning, and threatened the safety of our citizens and our great Reich's interests in the Far East. A peace, therefore, can -and must- only be concluded when their power is well and truly broken; when they can pose no threat to Germany any more."

"From the moment the first shot was fired, we did not wish for a tentative peace; a peace that would burden us for many decades and would draw us ever back to the Far East. We wish for a peace that will allow us a free development and security for our new blood, in Europe and overseas!"

-Excerpt from a Parliamentary speech by Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, Reichskanzler, 6th September 1913.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/b38qpt2c9/Screenshot_3951.png)

September rolls in; the R & D department submits designs for even more efficient pumps. The Moltke incident is still a black mark in the Admiralität, and focus is still primarily given to safeguarding ships from torpedo attack; or, at least, preventing them from succumbing to it. Especially against the dastardly Japanese!

(https://s2.postimg.cc/c0f5yoduh/Screenshot_3953.png)

In addition, Galster and Büchsel work together to streamline and introduce new fleet cruising formations; formations that will facilitate rapid deployment into line-of-battle if attacked by light forces.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/a3ifu3n6h/Screenshot_3954.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/a66wuog7t/Screenshot_3955.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/yucplnrx5/Screenshot_3956.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/y9t3589ax/Screenshot_3957.png)

They are still underway and experimenting when the first reports for the month start coming in. The death toll for the U-Boote includes a modern Japanese destroyer and a coastal patrol vessel; not to mention ten merchantmen. The Japanese counter-offensive is weak, in comparison: they are clearly still unfamiliar with the intricacies of underwater warfare.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/r5b9w721l/Screenshot_3958.png)

(http://ai.fancaps.net/galleries/Youjo_Senki/ep02/Youjo_Senki_Screenshot_0331.jpg)

And, with regards to their surface raiders, the arrival of the German Schlachtkreuzer on-station sounds the death-knell for the light Japanese cruisers. The Izumi is tracked down by Wittelsbach, which is faster and infinately better armed and armoured; the Japanese cruiser is lost on the 26th of the month, trying to sneak into the Marianas hunting grounds.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/rkmjp7nyx/Screenshot_3959.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/hfk7ondw9/German_infantry_1914_HD-_SN-99-02296.jpg)

But the Japanese draw blood in return. Despite the warnings of the Admiralität, the Heer had pushed on with the proposed Korean offensive. They had smashed headlong into one of the most fortified and fanatically defended territories in the world. Casualties were horrendous; and the resulting rout tarnished the reputation of the Army for years. It fell to the Navy to pick up the pieces and, in some cases, even evacuate stranded personnel, after the inevitable Japanese counter-attack. This tied down the fleet in regrettable but necessary land support operations; establishing a tight blockade on the Japanese Home Islands was, unfortunately, delayed.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/hpveizk0p/Screenshot_3961.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/vtvv54gm1/Screenshot_3962.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/9jmpd4lcp/1813ed54ad8ce260606e198f7b245c4d.jpg)

That said, the U-Boote were not idle. Wolfpacks sank fourteen Japanese freighters, some of which were valuable tankers meant to resupply the Korean offensive; and U-108 engaged in a victorious duel with a Japanese patrol vessel.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/5pejw01zt/Screenshot_3963.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/i6uuu0sux/Screenshot_3964.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/n86u94pp5/Screenshot_3965.png)

The Japanese strike back ineffectively. Their submarines are undersupplied and badly maintained; one of them is lost to German patrol vessels after one of only two successful ship attacks. Their raiders are, similarly, rather unsuccessful in their efforts. Naniwa runs down the Vogel, a seven-thousand ton freighter in the South Pacific; and the Itsukushima surprises everyone when she, somehow manages to sneak into the Mediterranean and sink the Nordsee off Sardinia. Schlachtkreuzer from the Atlantic are deployed to intercept her; somehow she manages to escape. It is suspected that the British garrison at Gibraltar provides her with support, but that is never established beyond doubt.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/qq4lgx5i1/Screenshot_3966.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/uwcsfapx5/__tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_hinomot.jpg)

Meanwhile, by the end of the month, the Wittelsbach returns to her anti-raider patrols, and nabs the Unebi off Singapore.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/3jpaym4ux/Screenshot_3969.png)

November; the Admiralität puts into effect its plan to establish a blockade and starve the Japanese into surrender. First, submarines are dispatched, to clear the sea of patrol vessels;

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ee1p3fhnd/Screenshot_3970.png)

And then an all-out assault on Japanese merchant shipping is unleashed, with devastating results.

Finally, the fleet departs its harbours in the Southern Pacific and sails north. Galster, from on board the Hindenburg, has intercepted Japanese communications that speak of a large convoy moving to resupply Korea, under heavy escort. He wishes to engage and sink it; and to cause as much damage to the Japanese battle-line as he can.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/ex3ey25cn/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_rgks080.jpg)

This is the first time (but not the last), that a Wittelsbach-class Schlachtkreuzer will see combat. Germany holds her collective breath.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ir08luqe1/Screenshot_3972.png)

It is the 12th of November; and Arcona, sailing ahead of the German fleet, spots the enemy convoy south of the Korean peninsula. The local time is just before noon; the weather is cloudy, but the atmosphere is clear and the Germans have more than seven hours ahead of them until nightfall. The enemy spots Arcona in return, as the German cruiser accellerates to intercept; and they immediately turn towards the north. The rest of the German battlefleet is almost ten thousand yards behind Arcona; Hindenburg and Derfflinger are leading, with the older Victoria-Louise cruisers (including Hertha, now for the first time ever not flying Galster's flag) bringing up the rear.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/p5z9iix3t/Screenshot_3973.png)

Arcona continues her stellar scouting work; twenty minutes after first contact, she has identified a Hashidate light cruiser...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/oxfxh75eh/Screenshot_3974.png)

...and, inside the panicked ball of Japanese merchantmen, she also makes out the larger hulls of...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/r0h5xdqft/Screenshot_3975.png)

...a Yashima-class battleship...

(https://s2.postimg.cc/6hm9sbcih/Screenshot_3976.png)

...and the Fuso, the oldest Japanese battleship currently in service. Both ships are British-built, with 12-inch guns; they are almost half the size of the Wittelsbachs, with less than half their broadside and can only make 18 knots to the German behemoths' 25. Sadly for the Japanese, they are, indeed, the heaviest ships they can field.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/4r38qtuzd/Screenshot_3977.png)

Arcona slows down and allows the battle-line to overtake her; the two Schlachtkreuzer lumber past her at flank. Their batteries are already training to take the Japanese predreads under fire. Meanwhile, the cruisers are opening fire on the transports, who, in turn, are peeling off towards the north-west.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/5hvywlxcp/Screenshot_3978.png)

Galster will not allow them to escape. He turns his battle-line to the west, in pursuit; and lets his secondaries hammer the transports, keeping his main guns on the enemy capitals. His Zerstörer flank from the east; and they blanket the convoy's path with torpedoes. An hour after the first shot is fired, four enemy transports are burning.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/yzlisg5jt/Screenshot_3979.png)

The Japanese battleships turn towards the east, to escape the guns of the Wittelsbachs; but that brings them near the Zerstörer. The V5 screams past the Yashima at a range of under two thousand yards - and one of her torpedoes hits the enemy battlewagon on the aft.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/5mzq6a4nt/Screenshot_3980.png)

Her rear turret jams, and the Schlachtkreuzer train their guns away from her (they can catch up to her anytime, after all) and focus on the Japanese heavy cruiser Asama, to the north.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/615njme55/Screenshot_3981.png)

Galster is vaccilating. The convoy is long-sunk, but he does not wish to close the range against the Japanese forces. The enemy still has several destroyers available; and all his ships are armed wit torpedoes. He brings the fleet around, trying to take stock of the situation.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/exgfnk4rd/Screenshot_3982.png)

And then, a massive fountain of water erupts from the side of the Fuso. Galster is stunned. That's a torpedo strike, but there are no German Zerstörer within torpedo range of the foundering Japanese ship.

The explanation is simple, but hard to believe. The torpedo is Japanese. One of the Japanese destroyers loosed her torpedoes against the closing German Zerstörer, but failed to perceive that they would cross the Fuso's path.

The end result is appalling. The Fuso has already taken some accurate fire from the Schlachtkreuzer; the powerful Japanese torpedo hits her amidships and cracks her hull like a nut. She rolls over and sinks in under four minutes, taking more than half of her crew of a thousand down with her.

The Yashima is now alone, against two of the most modern warships in the world.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/u7gaur09l/Screenshot_3983.png)

As she tries to escape towards the east, the Schlachtkreuzer move north, taking the armored cruiser Asama under fire and scoring several hits. The Japanese ship fires back; her shells bounce harmlessly off the Hindenburg's armor.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/k17pbrfvd/Screenshot_3984.png)

Almost three hours into the fight; Derfflinger's gunnery officers report that her magazines are half-empty.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/bhobe07ix/Screenshot_3985.png)

But the Asama, now under fire by Hertha and her sisters, is a floating wreck, her engines dead and her turrets knocked out.

The Schlachtkreuzer move to intercept the Yashima-

(https://s2.postimg.cc/jcyusth5l/Screenshot_3986.png)

-and then, a Japanese DD redeems its brethren with an insanely lucky successful long-range torpedo strike on the Derfflinger. Water fountains well over the port broadside, as the warhead buries itself in the Schlachtkreuzer's torpedo bulge. Alarms blare all over the ship; and damage control crews scramble to the stricken area.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/hz77xihw9/Screenshot_3987.png)

The verdict is...surprisingly optimistic, and a testament to the successful implementation of underwater torpedo protection by the Germans. The torpedo hit just at the forward end of the bulge, flooding two underwater compartments, and the front turret of the ship falls silent, as the loaders are ordered to evacuate and flood the magazine, for safety reasons. But the actual flooding is controlled. Watertight doors are holding and the bulkheads are strong. The damcon crews scream at the bridge to cut speed for emergency repairs; the Derfflinger slows to her cruise speed of 16 knots. She is still faster than the battered Yashima.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/dh9ij5r89/Screenshot_3988.png)

But Galster will not risk a second lucky strike, or a capital ship loss. Derfflinger is ordered to detach and sail away from the battle, until they have the flooding under full control; the Hindenburg, on the other hand, takes up pursuit alone, cruising past the drifting hulks of the battered convoy.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/jd3g6k6jd/Screenshot_3989.png)

The Germans are well-acquainted with the necessary damcon procedures by now. Ten minutes after the torpedo strike, the flooding on Derfflinger is pretty much dealt with.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ipzy3ak9l/Screenshot_3990.png)

And, shortly after, the Yashima's bow slips quietly, almost anticlimactically, under the waves, after a savage pounding at the hands of Hindenburg. Dusk is falling, after a four-hour battle; Galster signals his forces to retreat. He is too canny to risk a nighttime pursuit of the Japanese light forces.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/u6ayf2ntl/Screenshot_3991.png)

The German forces sail into their harbors in Northern Korea, tired yet satisfied. This is a great victory. The Japanese now have no battle-fleet worth the name (their first dreadnought is more than a year away from completion). They have lost their two pre-dreads and the Asama-class cruiser Tokiwa, as well as the entirety of the resupply convoy; in return, they've scratched the paint on Hindenburg and three Zerstörer, and dealt some damage to Derfflinger that is easily repairable.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/t1cavybyx/Screenshot_3992.png)

Hindenburg is clearly MVP, with over six hundred rounds fired and more than thirty confirmed hits on target; Derfflinger follows suit with over five hundred shots fired and twenty-odd hits. The old cruisers have emerged entirely unscathed from the fight, but only Vineta has made any meaningful contribution, with eleven hits scored. The Japanese performed abysmally from a gunner's perspective, with only four heavy hits received by the German ships. In total. Over four hours of combat.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/ti23w4p3t/Screenshot_3993.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/u2h4ytic9/Screenshot_3994.png)

(https://s21.postimg.cc/63cigyidz/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_zukaket.jpg)

The Battle of Southern Korea is a great victory and the Wittelsbachs have survived their baptism of fire with flying colours! The Admiralität celebrates, when the news reach Germany.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/r741ryec9/Screenshot_3995.png)

It is no surprise when the Japanese sue for peace. They are starving and their fleet -their lifeblood- is gone, with the exception of a few raiding cruisers and a couple of old, turn-of-the-century heavy cruisers.

(https://s21.postimg.cc/j3o9de4yf/Screenshot_3996.png)

What is surprising is that, even after a month of negotiations, they still reject Germany's terms.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 28, 2017, 08:52:03 am
I STILL ATEN'T DEAD.

I AM ALSO BACK. MUAHA. HA. :arrr:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 28, 2017, 09:04:25 am
Was the repeated screenshot at the end there intentional?

ALso YAY IT LIVES
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 28, 2017, 09:07:47 am
YOU SAW NOTHING.

ALSO, YOU OWE ME OMAKES. GET TO IT.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on August 28, 2017, 12:59:12 pm
Nippon steel no match for german engineering

What do the flooding numbers mean? Like, what kind of number is really bad flooding?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 28, 2017, 01:08:04 pm
No absolute numbers are bad.

Flooding equals tons of effective flotation lost to flooding every minute. So, if your ship effectively displaces 31000 tons, and you 'lose' 75 of them every minute....that's not too bad.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on August 28, 2017, 01:37:59 pm
Ubootwaffe causes the seas run clear with Sake, and well just about everything else the Japanese attempted to ship.

Dreimal hoch für Unterseeboot!
(http://im12.it/g/16969)


Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scourge of Ages on August 28, 2017, 08:47:07 pm
Torpedo Officer Sasaki glanced between his notepad and the map in the center of the bridge, and up at the Captain. "Captain. The enemy destroyers are very close, and very tightly packed."

"Do you think you can hit at this range?"

"I doubt we'll hit, honestly, but I feel it's worth a chance to at least distract them. We've already worked a solution, and we await your orders only."

Captain Nakajima considered it for only a second. "Fire."

The pneumatic mechanisms clanked and hissed, and a single torpedo dropped into the water. Its engine kicked on, and it sped away like a hungry tuna. From this range, it was all the Destroyer Fumizuki could do against the huge German fleet.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Kato shouted, "Fuso is turning to port!"

Nakajima swung his binoculars left to find the Fuso. Drawing on long experience, he did a mental calculation, and determined that its new course brought it dangerously close to the path of their torpedo.

"Radio Fuso immediately! Order them to cut throttle and turn hard to starboard!"

20 painful seconds later, the communications officer reported, "Fuso is not responding! Their radio may be damaged."

"Send a flare and use the signal lamp, then!"

The officer bolted off the bridge, and climbed onto the platform above. A moment later, the pop of a flare gun could be heard. Nakajima watched Fuso helplessly, waiting for a response from their signaler. And there it was. A quick series of flashes: Roger. Changing course.

Fuso didn't appear to change course at all, but that was to be expected from such a large ship. It would take several seconds for the rudder to even shift over in the best of circumstances, and these were hardly ideal.

The bridge crew were silent, and the sounds of battle seemed to fade away. After what felt like an eternity, a mountain of seawater and fire erupted over the bow of the Fuso. The torpedo had struck near the bow of the warship, ripping a gaping hole in the side of the ship. She started to tilt forward immediately. The crew of the Fumizuki watched in horror.

"Set... Set course for the Fuso, full speed. Prepare to rescue survivors." Nakajima let no emotion into his voice.

"Sir. That will bring us into range of the enemy guns."

"I know. Do it anyway."
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 29, 2017, 01:20:26 am
Torpedo Officer Sasaki glanced between his notepad and the map in the center of the bridge, and up at the Captain. "Captain. The enemy destroyers are very close, and very tightly packed."

"Do you think you can hit at this range?"

"I doubt we'll hit, honestly, but I feel it's worth a chance to at least distract them. We've already worked a solution, and we await your orders only."

Captain Nakajima considered it for only a second. "Fire."

The pneumatic mechanisms clanked and hissed, and a single torpedo dropped into the water. Its engine kicked on, and it sped away like a hungry tuna. From this range, it was all the Destroyer Fumizuki could do against the huge German fleet.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Kato shouted, "Fuso is turning to port!"

Nakajima swung his binoculars left to find the Fuso. Drawing on long experience, he did a mental calculation, and determined that its new course brought it dangerously close to the path of their torpedo.

"Radio Fuso immediately! Order them to cut throttle and turn hard to starboard!"

20 painful seconds later, the communications officer reported, "Fuso is not responding! Their radio may be damaged."

"Send a flare and use the signal lamp, then!"

The officer bolted off the bridge, and climbed onto the platform above. A moment later, the pop of a flare gun could be heard. Nakajima watched Fuso helplessly, waiting for a response from their signaler. And there it was. A quick series of flashes: Roger. Changing course.

Fuso didn't appear to change course at all, but that was to be expected from such a large ship. It would take several seconds for the rudder to even shift over in the best of circumstances, and these were hardly ideal.

The bridge crew were silent, and the sounds of battle seemed to fade away. After what felt like an eternity, a mountain of seawater and fire erupted over the bow of the Fuso. The torpedo had struck near the bow of the warship, ripping a gaping hole in the side of the ship. She started to tilt forward immediately. The crew of the Fumizuki watched in horror.

"Set... Set course for the Fuso, full speed. Prepare to rescue survivors." Nakajima let no emotion into his voice.

"Sir. That will bring us into range of the enemy guns."

"I know. Do it anyway."

Enioch (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=8453) likes this. <3

Also, let the Mighty Gnome Overlord remind you all of the Number One Rule. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOL-NwvY4MM&t=2m26s)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on August 29, 2017, 08:26:52 am
Out of curiosity does the AI take into consideration disparity of forces when it goes to pick a fight(War)?  I suppose the Imperial Japan has the excuse that it's on the other end of the world fighting in its backyard, but still picking a fight with the preeminent Battlecruiser power on the High Seas with a couple pre-Dreads and some light forces seems dumb.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 29, 2017, 10:43:25 am
Out of curiosity does the AI take into consideration disparity of forces when it goes to pick a fight(War)?  I suppose the Imperial Japan has the excuse that it's on the other end of the world fighting in its backyard, but still picking a fight with the preeminent Battlecruiser power on the High Seas with a couple pre-Dreads and some light forces seems dumb.

Yes, it does, I think. The size of your force (and even its composition) seems to affect tensions with other nations in different ways. For instance, anything that increases your capital ship force (building new capitals, refitting older ships with new tech,
Spoiler:
acquiring oil,
always rubs the Brits the wrong way.

The AI also seems to take into account the tension level with other nations. If you have more than one nations pissed off with you, chances are high that one or both of them will go "**** it, let's go". Because, keep in mind that tensions can still rise during wartime (for instance with the "submarine sinks cruise liner" event). And if a new power joins the fight, VPs get reset.

What is important to note is that, in this particular case, the Japanese only had three obsolescent light cruisers on their doorstep; they were, as you rightly point out,  halfway around the world from German Home waters; and FOUR other great powers, including the Brits were at yellow/orange levels of tension when the war was declared.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 31, 2017, 02:37:42 am
[Transcript of the podcast "Historic Battles", episode 25, released on November 12th, 2013]

"Hello and welcome to Historic Battles, episode 25. I'm your host Ian McDonnough, and today, we're talking about the Battle of Southern Korea, which happened 100 years ago to the day today. With me here is friend of the show Franz Gustlaff, who you will remember from our episodes about the german-russian war of the early 20th century."

"Happy to be here, Ian, as always."

"Glad to have you. Now, for those of you who don't know what happened here, let me set the scene for you. It's November 1913. Germany and Japan are at war. Germany has just invaded Korea, but has been repulsed. The german Ubootflotte, which has been on station in the Pacific for some time now, has inflicted massive amounts of damage on Japanese shipping, even sinking a few surface warships, sometimes not even bothering to waste torpedoes and instead choosing to dispatch their targets using their deck guns. Now, Germany wants to bring this War to a close. They therefore send out their modern battlefleet under Admiral Galster around the world. Upon arrival, said fleet immediately manages to engage and sink a few isolated cruisers the IJN had on raiding duties, but nothing decisive is happening for a few days. Then, mid-November, Galster receives word of a huge convoy the IJN is putting together in order to resupply their forces in Korea. And when I say massive, I mean it: 17 merchantmen escorted by 15 light vessel, two light and 2 heavy cruisers and 2 battleships. Galster sends out his scouts, and at 11 AM on November 12th, 1913, his light cruisers report "enemy in sight".
Now, Franz, I know you've been looking forward to discussing this battle in particular for some time now, why is that?"

"Well, Ian, it's like this. I think this battle, more than others in that time period, exemplifies the insane pace of development that was happening in Germany in particular and in Europe in general at that time. It's 1913. 13 years ago, the germans were barely able to police their holdings in South-East Asia. Now, they're not only attacking one of the preeminent home powers of that region in its own backyard, they're doing so with some of the most modern ships available to anyone, while the IJN is lagging behind massively. In fact, Fuso and Yashima, the two japanese Battleships in this convoy, were built by the same yards that originally built Germany's large Battleships of prior to 1900, so we can directly see how much has happened here."

"British shipyards, you mean."

"Yes. I think that this battle, more than any of the ones that happened during the Russo-German war, really turned the German Navy from a regional powerhouse in the North Sea into a global one. In many ways, what the germans did here is something that very few other nations were capable at the time: To not only project power across thousands of miles, but be dominant wherever they choose to go. The Royal Navy was expected to do that, Germany however? Not so much."

"Alright then, let's get into the nitty-gritty of the battle then...."
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 31, 2017, 02:38:03 am
THERE, Enioch, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 31, 2017, 02:41:02 am
BARELY APPEASED. YOU WILL BE SPARED MY WRATH. FOR NOW.
Title: Give me All or give me Nothing
Post by: Enioch on August 31, 2017, 04:06:24 am
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"After the Battle of Korea, the war was essentially over. The Japanese forces in the mainland were left undersupplied and isolated; their surrender, two months later, was inevitable. Tsingtaou was finally avenged and our Eastern holdings were secure."

"This left the Admiralität at the precarious position of having to anticipate what the next big threat would be. We were both hoping and dreading that the time of reckoning - der Tag - was finally here, that we would finally be able to concentrate our efforts towards wrestling dominance of the seas away from the British."

-Großadmiral v. Tirpitz 1920, My Memoirs, London: Hurst & Blackett.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6914emvax/Screenshot_3997.png)

After the Battle of Korea, the wreck of the Yashima (which had come to rest on a sandbank, only a few metres before the surface) was raised and towed to Tsingtaou. The effects of the German shells on the Japanese armor were studied extensively - this sparked a whole new discussion on improving the penetrative capability of the German shells.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wdn11hzax/Screenshot_3998.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5hv2n05q1/1280px-_Marineakademie_Kiel_1900.jpg)

The Battle of Korea also taught Galster the last lessons he needed to complete his short doctrinal work "Eine Abhandlung über Schlachtkreuzer-Flottenformationen", which remained required reading in the German Naval Academy until 1985.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/uzve6701l/Screenshot_3999.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/uw1kpxuk9/Screenshot_4000.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6wdt9dwc9/Screenshot_4001.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/zf97xpn21/Screenshot_4003.png)

Meanwhile, the Japanese raiders sallied out in a last desperate hurrah, against the teeth of the German submarines. The end result was predictable; and the Itsukushima only managed to escape the Hindenburg by burning out her fuel bunkers in a mad dash to neutral Java.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/p2mxbmtix/Screenshot_4008.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/desvh34e1/Screenshot_4009.png)

By December, the Japanese sued for peace once more. The Admiralität objected to the initial suggestions for a white peace; Tirpitz, in particular, clearly stated that, given five more months of submarine warfare, he could starve the Japanese into an unconditional surrender. But von Mecklenburg did not wish to humiliate the Japanese. For one thing, he wished for the situation in the Far East to settle into a low-tension, stable state. Allowing the Japanese to save face was not unreasonable. Also, his prospectors and geologists in Greece were already coming back with very interesting results. There was no true need of annexing Japanese territory.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4p0dtzcah/Screenshot_4010.png)

He could have asked for oil-rich Borneo. But he chose not to. Establishing and fortifying a new base there would severely impact the German national budget; and Germany could not afford to waste money at this point. Every single spare Mark should be spent preparing for the inevitable day of reckoning. The British had, finally, spent their hand. All their allies had been beaten back, humiliated, brought low into inconsequence. They (and America, but the USA were isolationist and no threat to the Germans) were the last, mighty obstacle standing between Germany and her rightful rule  of the seas; and they had to be met with everything that Germany could bring to bear.

So, von Mecklenburg asks for monetary war reparations, instead; and extends the hand of friendship to defeated Japan.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/clkv27nqx/Screenshot_4011.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/d0w4v89o9/Screenshot_4012.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ltmaae9kp/Screenshot_4013.png)

The inevitable post-war budget cut hurts the Admiralität sore; but they have stockpiled funds, in anticipation of this moment. They now run a monthly six million Mark deficit; but they keep spending, with wild abandon, waiting for the inevitable moment when the German economy will propell itself out of the post-war slump.

Meanwhile, the R & D department delivers. Improvements to AP shells; experimental elevation gear for the German turret mounts; and improved power-plants for the German torpedoes.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/44lcraj21/Screenshot_4014.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/lzdh05gqh/WNGER_15-52_skc34_Tirpitz_Gun_pic.jpg)

And more importantly - the first German truly capital-grade weapon. It's a dismal, overweight, underpowered piece of crap, that has Tirpitz and Galster shudder in horror at its performance; but it's the first German-produced 14-inch rifle and it opens the road to the future. And His Majesty the Kaiser attends its test firing with the biggest goofy smile on his face.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/towtp7j7d/Screenshot_4015.png)

France. No. Stahp. Don't ruin what we had.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/lodxmzcvt/Screenshot_4017.png)

Another interesting development: Germany, through her own insanely effective submarine campaigns, has realised the threat that U-Boote and minefields pose. The Admiralität has ordered a new batch of small yet capable 400-ton gunships for patrol work; they are only armed with three 76mm guns, but they are fast for their size (at 22 knots) and they can outgun any submarine in existence.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/czvdtamm1/Screenshot_4018.png)

Russia. Do not make us come over there again. If you do, we're burning every ****ing vodka distillery from the Baltic to Kamtchatka to the ground, do you understand?

(https://s26.postimg.cc/k5dy49gxl/Screenshot_4019.png)

Oh mein Gott, das ist ja wunderbar!

Every light cruiser in the German navy immediately hits the drydocks, for the installation of the new, improved turret mounts. Double secondary turrets in capital ships are likewise modified. The costs are considerable, but, essentially overnight, small-caliber rifles in the German navy improve their rate of fire by ten to twenty percent.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4zchr2gah/Screenshot_4020.png)

Also, in the framework of the new ASW patrol ships, the R & D department submits designs for truly reliable depth charge fuzes. Oh, y'all are in so much trouble.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/rdu67aj21/Screenshot_4021.png)

BAM. Ger-money strikes again.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5704nkr95/Screenshot_4022.png)

Well, hello there Frau Zelle, what news do you have from our good neighbours?

(https://s26.postimg.cc/awgd7vxfd/Screenshot_4023.png)

Well-crap. This is a rude awakening. The Frenchies have joined the Schlachtkreuzer race quite late, but this is veryworrying. She is smaller than the Wittelsbachs and carries ten 14-inch rifles. She is also faster than the Wittelsbachs. That said, her belt is butter, especially to the new German AP shells. Estimates show that the Wittelsbachs (and, by extension, the Zähringens, who are using the same guns) can reliably pen her deck and belt from any range up to 17k yards - and German rifles, although smaller, fire faster.

No reason for undue alarm, yet. Plus, France is quite friendly towards us. If we ignore all the spying...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/43g0bm6m1/Screenshot_4025.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/54g90qnll/Screenshot_4026.png)

Whut. Is this some sort of appeasement, Brits? It will not save you. But sure, here's some money. We can always use more underwater protection.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/cs7qwsbnd/Screenshot_4027.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/own0drojd/Screenshot_4028.png)

Ok, what is going on here?

German Military Intelligence is stumped. There is no discernible reason for why the government of the Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith would be willing to sell these designs to Germany. I mean, yes, tensions are low, but...surely they realise...?

And then the first, unconfirmed news come in. The Brits have laid down a new classified class of Dreadnought, the 'Camperdown'; and they are building it fast. They are trying to scrape the necessary funds together.

Ah. Hmmmmm. Well, that is fine by Germany. If she needs to freeze construction of the Graf Spee for a bit to pay for these designs, that is fine. The two older sisters are less than a year from completion; and Germany can now build modern heavy cruisers, which she will do, with gusto.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/boj1731mh/Screenshot_4029.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/b48li4xrt/Screenshot_4030.png)

Mein Gott, all the tech.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/gynzydlvd/Screenshot_4031.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wjneiql89/bismarck_kongou_littorio_and_unsinkable_sam_ka.jpg)

Holy crap, Japan. Who the hell is funding this?

This is bigger than the Wittelsbachs, with more guns than the French battlecruiser and four 18-inch torpedo tubes. Not to mention faster than the German battle-line. Again, her belt is butter, but twelve 14-inchers?

Ok, who gave them all this tech?-

(https://s26.postimg.cc/d6rwyq67t/darjeeling_girls_und_panzer_drawn_by_meng_ziya.jpg)

Briiiiiiits....

*mumbling from backstage*

...Goddammit, R & D, we're venting here. What do you want? I swear, this had better be important...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/cgqak0v7d/Screenshot_4032.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7st4r6ghl/001.jpg)


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 31, 2017, 04:08:11 am
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I AM APPEASED.

FEED ME, MY FAITHFUL, AND I SHALL BE A KIND AND MERCIFUL LORD.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on August 31, 2017, 08:08:31 am
Oh, AON armor :D I guess you can scrap the Graf Spee now.

Its still interesting how slow gun development ist compared to everything else. In my last game (as Germany) somehow everyone ended up having ok quality 16 inch guns on by this time and then even bigger guns a few years later. At least in your timeline they won't be sailing around effectively unarmored 17/18 inch gun battlecruisers that can be trashed by DD guns...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on August 31, 2017, 08:42:34 am
Did this universe have an alien ship crash on earth that all the nations are salvaging technology from or something? Holy moley does the tech advance fast.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TwentyPercentCooler on August 31, 2017, 08:17:21 pm
Did this universe have an alien ship crash on earth that all the nations are salvaging technology from or something? Holy moley does the tech advance fast.

Well, the next rebooted XCOM game is clearly going to be Terror From The Deep...
Title: The Java Crisis
Post by: Enioch on September 03, 2017, 08:31:27 am
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- PART 5 -
Wir fahren ge'en Engeland

(https://s26.postimg.cc/onqyewehl/Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-63-06_Panzerschiff.jpg)

"The new experimental designs for the so-called 'All or Nothing' armor schemes were received with limited enthusiasm by the Admiralität. This was such a radical departure from our tried-and-true past designs that were were, perhaps, too cautious in adopting them. But what was, finally, decided, was that the Zähringen and her sisters would be completed as designed; and that a new generation of heavy cruisers would be laid down, to serve as testbeds."

"After all, while the Schlachtkreuzer had proved to be perfectly capable of catching and sinking the Japanese raiding light cruisers, our enemies had only employed old, obsolete designs. The British or French navies operated light cruisers that were easily capable of outrunning our capitals; we needed something capable of safeguarding our merchantmen."

-Vizeadm. Galster K (post mort.) 1956, The Naval Question: Collected Papers and Letters, edited by Dr. Ernst Jablonka, Universitätsverlag Heidelberg.


(https://s26.postimg.cc/nlvxnpemx/Screenshot_4033.png)

Wow, Frau Zelle, you've been busy.

English designs, you say? My, my, don't mind if we do...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vsnxfa4pl/Screenshot_4034.png)

Godverdammt, the Brits are building hard.

The German analysts get cracking on the blueprints. The end conclusions are not encouraging.

First things first: this thing is fast. It has three knots on the Zähringens and it also has a respectable, eleven-and-a-half inch belt. It's no dreadnought, but it's enough to cause our 12-inchers problems at long range. And it will be able to keep our heavy hitters at range, because it's faster and it can dictate the engagement.

And its guns are made for long-range engagements. It cannot dish out the same volume of fire as the Zähringens (not even close), but it is armed with the dreaded British 15-inch rifles. Eight of them. The analysts have no idea what the capabilities of these weapons are, but they are sure to give the Zähringens problems, especially if we're talking about long-range, plunging fire down into the Schlachtkreuzers' two- and three-inch decks.

Finally, the British (unlike the French and Japanese) have fire-control directors.

(https://s12.postimg.cc/bk692o5vh/x_Gx7nz.gif)

On the other hand, there are some good news, too. Firstly: these are medium-sized ships. They are just now under construction and yet they are not significantly bigger than the five-year-old Wittelsbachs. The Zähringens enjoy a considerable tonnage advantage here - they have the displacement to simply absorb more damage than the Sutlejs. Also, the Brits have no Superimposed B turrets. These ships have a decent-to-fearsome broadside, but they will be utter **** in any battle where they will have to pursue their opponent.

And their turrets...

The German analysts are uncertain of whether the blueprints are accurate, here. Germany's own experience has confirmed that weak turret armor is a recipe for turret jams and, potentially, even disastrous magazine hits. The Sutlejs have 10-inch turret front armor, to the Zähringens' 13.5 inches. Is it a mistake? Is it a design feature? A compromise? Do the British know something that the Germans do not?

Or -oh, the utter dread of the idea- do they have some new armor alloy? Something that Germany lacks? How far behind are we!?

This is very, very worrying...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/tuluv11ll/Screenshot_4035.png)

Well, it's folly to expect to match the British in naval artillery, given the Erzfeind's head start. It makes more sense to invest in a tried-and-true weapon. Ten more modern submarines leave the slipways in February.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/sn3bp2m3d/Screenshot_4037.png)

And in April, this. Hah. Well, if we can't match their rifles, we'll surpass them in ammunition quality.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/r9botrmu1/Screenshot_4038.png)

Three months from completion, the workers have reached the Mackensen's superstructure. It is time to install the fire-control systems. It is worth reminding the reader that the Zähringens were originally designed with Central Firing systems in mind, not Directors; the modifications will take an extra month to complete but that's a no-brainer for Galster and Tirpitz.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4nayuryhl/Screenshot_4039.png)

And then, everything goes to ****, very, very quickly.

Java had been a Dutch colonial holding since 1815, when it was ceded back to the Dutch by the British. The Dutch had maintained strict order on the island throughout the 19th century, including bringing a local civil war to a forceful end. Now, on the other hand, with local nationalism gaining roots, a dramatic series of riots shook the island and impacted the foundations of Dutch colonial rule.

The British, seeing an opportunity to re-establish a base of operations in the Far East, on a holding that economically and strategically dominated the Indonesian islands, dispatched a force to 'assist' the Dutch in quelling the riots. Notably, the Dutch had requested no such assistance; and, in some distress, they sought support from the new rising Power in the area: Germany.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/yxvecc5qx/www.pinterest.co.uk.jpg)

Von Mecklenburg, for once, fully stood behind Kaiser Wilhelm's thunderous polemic against the British interventionism - and this stance fully endeared him to his monarch and solidified his position as Reichskanzler until his death. It took his government less than two days to convene, discuss and come to a conclusion regarding the Java Crisis: following that, an ultimatum was delivered by the German Ambassador to Whitehall, on the 26th of April. The British forces were to be recalled, immediately, and to the satisfaction of the Dutch allies of His Majesty the Kaiser's Government; if orders to that extent had not been given within fourty-eight hours from the time of receipt of the ultimatum, the Ambassador of His Majesty, George V, would no longer be welcome in Berlin and a state of war would be in effect between Germany and the United Kingdom.

An exchanged of surprised and increasingly panicked telegrams from England followed, only to be met with stony, uncompromising determination from von Mecklenburg. Quietly, the German army began mobilising. The Hochseeflotte (the Wittelsbachs having just completed their maintenance cycle after their return from the Far East) made steam and left their harbours.

The world held its collective breath, waiting for the bang.

And then, to the stunned surprise of everyone, on the morning of the 27th of April, the squadron of acting Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty receives a recall order from the Admiralty. They are to pull away from Java and cease and desist with any operations in the area.

Britannia has backed off.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/md5chd5jt/bismarck_and_warspite_kantai_collection_drawn.jpg)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/gsifya68p/Tensions_3.jpg)

Not without a considerable amount of ill will, of course. Von Mecklenburg is very much aware that this cannot be the end of this matter. For the first time in a century, British interventionism has been challenged directly; she cannot allow this challenge to remain unanswered, or she risks losing everything.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9oicw55y1/Screenshot_4040.png)

The pace is now frantic. As tensions slowly, slowly bleed off, the Admiralität focuses on completing the Zähringens on time for the inevitable clash. Zähringen herself is close to completion: the workers are now installing her fire Directors.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5hxigt6c9/Screenshot_4041.png)

No. Stay focused.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ly1dmsq55/Screenshot_4042.png)

Perfect. This is the last piece of the puzzle that Germany needs right now.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9psapk7rt/Screenshot_4043.png)

And this gives her the money necessary to move to the next step of Tirpitz's and Galster's rearmament program.

On the 5th of July, the Mackensen is formally commissioned into the German Navy and departs on her shakedown cruise. She is a behemoth, nearly twenty thousand tons heavier than any other ship afloat. And her mighty bulk in the Baltic makes German morale soar.

Kaiser Wilhelm's constant polemic provides a constant undertone of war-drums, all through these months. His darlings are now ready to carry out his will; he has no more need of the Spionspiel. For the first time in years, he speaks his mind, openly.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/c9nxjnvbt/Screenshot_4044.png)

There is some...collateral damage. But nothing too bad...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/l5ypnlly1/Screenshot_4046.png)

Nothing too bad....?

(https://s24.postimg.cc/7jnfh8snp/ebdafae8dba9d975ab10b4e3539764fa.jpg)

Goddammit, Wilhelm, we're trying to fight the British here. Stop trying to bring the entire world down on our heads!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hfly1jsih/Screenshot_7584.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/s69kn8655/roads_torpboat_flotilla.jpg)

Meanwhile, it's time for some changes. With Mackensen operational, funds are released for the construction of a flotilla of twelve Zerstörer, bigger and faster than anything Germany had built before. They displaced eleven hundred tons and were armed with three centreline 100mm guns. They also carried four torpedo tubes, in double launchers, a significant innovation in the German Navy.

Perhaps more significantly, they each carried dual-purpose mine rails, able to both lay mines and launch the new German depth-charges, when called upon to perform ASW duties.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/p6agdl1sp/Screenshot_4047.png)

Germany also lays down two next-generation heavy cruisers, unlike anything the world has ever seen before. They are the pioneers of the All-or-Nothing armor scheme, with underwater protection to rival the Zähringens and a blistering top speed of 32 knots - almost enough to keep up with the Zerstörer flotillas and certainly enough to catch up with any light cruiser in existence. They carry a 5-inch belt, enough to bounce 6-inch shells with ease; a 2-inch, splinter-proof deck; modern fire-Directors. And, more importantly, they carry twelve 9-inch rifles, mounted in four triple turrets. There is no light or heavy cruiser in the world that can stand against such armament.

These are the raider-killers of the German Navy. These are the ships that are too fast to be countered by enemy capitals and too powerful for any light cruiser to have a chance against them. There is no compromise here (except, perhaps, the anemic turret armor): the Prinz Heinrich and the Freya are built to be the worth successors of Hertha and her sisters.

They are also bloody massive. At nearly 17k tons, they are bigger than most pre-dreadnought battleships. But Galster can't help but drool when studying their blueprints.

And then, Frau Zelle comes along with her newest scoop, this time from the Italians. And Military Intelligence finally figures out what the Brits have been planning to hurt Germany.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7ua3s58bd/Screenshot_4048.png)

**** you, Brits. No, really, **** you.

The Italian battlecruiser is an almost exact copy of the Japanese one, down to the shape of her superstructure. 'Parallel development' my ass.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/gdthpwgnt/Screenshot_4049.png)

Ooooohkayyy.

There's a brief discussion in the Admiralität regarding how to best counter these beasts. Experimental designs of quadruple turrets are put forwards. This would mean that the successors to the Zähringens would be able to carry...oh...twenty-four 12-inch rifles.

But the Admirals are not impressed by the complicated blueprints. Too liable to jam or break in combat situations. And, frankly, Germany needs to focus on upping her gun calibers. Scattershot is useful, but only up to a degree...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ddcn9d5cp/Screenshot_4050.png)

Yeeeeees.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/uyakkqbmh/Screenshot_4051.png)

And then, Russia pokes the Baltic states again; and the Kaiser, now in full anti-British mode, makes a very ill-advised comment towards the Russians and their potential being in the pocket of the British.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7cknlhbmh/68beef3fd1626a2dae502d0b2d6f7e41.jpg)

Von Mecklenburg scrambles for damage control - but it's too little, too late. Tensions with Russia spike once more.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/si8r6vtjt/Screenshot_4052.png)

Von Mecklenburg is pulling out what little hair he has left - chances are now very high that Germany will have to deal with a war on two fronts. Or even worse - that the next war will be another delaying affair with Russia, while the Brits build up their forces even further. But Tirpitz and Galster come to his aid. In a joint effort with the Navy League, Krupp and most of the large shipbuilding industries of Germany, they push for a raise in the Naval budget - and are not discreet at all about whom they consider to be Germany's next enemy.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mz67pnwih/Screenshot_4053.png)

As we enter 1916, the British Foreign Secretary fires back a formal protest; and tensions with Albion spike again. It's now a close race between The Brits and the Russians, with a very real danger of a tripartite war...

Meanwhile, Tirpitz uses his increased funding to refurbish all the old Piepers. It'll take less than two months - a safe enough margin.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/czbb9rl95/Screenshot_4054.png)

****ING HELL, BISMARCK WAS RIGHT.

KILL THE LEFT. KILL IT WITH FIRE AND STEEL. KEEP THAT **** OUT OF THE NAVY.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/3u8np3aqh/Sadly_you_re_right_1977ed5f059dfd1329b7e18f9fa9.jpg)


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 03, 2017, 08:39:08 am
#MGGA

Yes, the Prinz Heinrich has a heavier weight of fire than any T10 cruiser in WoWs, in 1916.

This is fair and balanced, and those turrets with 3-inch facing armor will certainly not bite us in the ass, nosiree.

Also note that the P.H.-class has half the OTL Iowas s.h.p. rating, on less than half her displacement, while still burning coal.

Topkek.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 03, 2017, 09:13:40 am
[Excerpt from: "The Triangle Ships" by Ian McDonough, published 2009]

[...]
Britain then started a new strategy. It was painfully obvious to the Royal Navy that the germans had qualitative advantages; not quantitative, perhaps, but on a ship-for-ship basis, the new construction Germany was going to complete soon was vastly superior to what the british shipyards were able to produce. After the conclusion of the Japan crisis, however, Britain was able to find new friends there. The IJN quickly determined that the years of stagnation they were suffering under would have to end if Japan was to reclaim her rightful place as the preeminent power in Asia, and they were thus receptive when the british ambassador approached them with a novel plan. Back at the turn of the century, he pointed out, Britain was the world's shipyard: Almost everyone either contracted with british yards directly to build their capital ships, or had consulted with british designers on their homegrown designs. While the germans were able and willing to pour money into their research establishments, nations like Japan with an empire to administer couldn't match them in that regard, but what if we collaborated in order to curb the german threat?

Soon thereafter, secret agreements were drawn up. Design teams from the UK and Japan started to work on a new capital ship design, accomplishing together what had eluded them separately: Come up with a design that would certainly give the germans pause. The parameters for the design were: 1. Enough speed to dictate the terms of any engagement with the german battleline, 2. Enough firepower to punch through the german armor at range and finally 3. Enough weight of fire to guarantee hits even taking into account the less advanced fire control technology available to them.

The design was so successful that it was even offered to the Italians, who jumped at the chance to rebuild their Navy. As a result, analysts all over the globe were suddenly scratching their heads when they compared their notes and discovered that, apart from a few cosmetic differences (the italians put the captain's cabin on starboard, the japanese to port), the italian Amalfis and japanese Kuramas were identical. While it didn't take long for the truth to come out, this sort of arrangement was unprecedented: Three nations, collaborating on the design for their most prestigious weapons, without even a hint of formal treaties.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 03, 2017, 10:01:08 am
...Wow, you write fast.

I...I mean- I AM APPEASED. THIS IS A SATISFACTORY OFFERING.

<3
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 03, 2017, 10:58:15 am
Also note that the P.H.-class has half the OTL Iowas s.h.p. rating, on less than half her displacement, while still burning coal.

Are you sure it's coal they're burning? Cos it might be they're actually running nuclear power plants in there.....
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scotty on September 03, 2017, 11:11:35 am
I have a bad feeling that there's going to be a treaty coming up limiting ships to 35k tons.  Because that seems like the thing that would utterly **** everything you've been doing, and RNGesus does not appreciate win streaks.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 03, 2017, 11:23:36 am
Also note that the P.H.-class has half the OTL Iowas s.h.p. rating, on less than half her displacement, while still burning coal.

Are you sure it's coal they're burning? Cos it might be they're actually running nuclear power plants in there.....

Why...no. Of course not. No Wunderwaffen to see here. Move along.

Move along...

I have a bad feeling that there's going to be a treaty coming up limiting ships to 35k tons.  Because that seems like the thing that would utterly **** everything you've been doing, and RNGesus does not appreciate win streaks.

Well, I can neither confirm nor deny that this will happen. If it does, however, consider the following:


International diplomacy will not save you, Brits... :drevil:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Col. Fishguts on September 03, 2017, 04:52:31 pm
#MGGA

Yes, the Prinz Heinrich has a heavier weight of fire than any T10 cruiser in WoWs, in 1916.

I was about to mention that your CA design looks suspiciously like Hindenburg.
Looking forward to see how they hold up in combat ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 04, 2017, 07:40:52 am
Is there any point to giving destroyers, torpedo belts? Or would a single decent sized torpedo be the end of a DD regardless of a layer of fat?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 04, 2017, 08:09:36 am
In RL, Destroyers hit by torps are straight dead. A good torpedo defense requires multiple hulls, compartmentalization, and enough structural strength to cope with massive amounts of flexing; Destroyers simply don't have the room for those.

That being said, DDs are also fast and maneuverable enough that they are almost impossible to hit even with guided torpedoes (assuming, of course, that the DD skipper does a minimum amount of evasive maneuvering).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 04, 2017, 08:31:25 am
Yes, but this aint real life. Thus I wonder

(http://i.imgur.com/UJsytUn.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 04, 2017, 08:38:24 am
Sadly, what The_E said.

It is theoretically possible to equip a DD with a torpedo belt, but the DD has just too little displacement. A torp would blow up the hull with BOTH its belts easily.

Might as well use the hundreds of tons to add more guns, torps or horsepower.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 04, 2017, 09:19:19 am
Clearly the answer is to make bigger destroyers then :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 04, 2017, 09:35:38 am
Sadly, anything above 1.5k tons is auto-classified as a light cruiser.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 04, 2017, 09:54:47 am
But then how is russia going to make Khabarovsk's???

Could you in theory, just bumrush/zergrush any enemy fleet with a mass of speedy destroyers packed with torpedo mounts, and accept that you'll lose a bunch each battle? But still come out victorious each engagement? Or will the A.I. start designing ships that counter DD's too hard after a while?

Also was not claiming the colony that had oil, after the most recent war with ninippon, really worth the extra bit of war reparation money? Oil boilers seem like they're one of the most significant technological advancements.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 04, 2017, 10:26:41 am
In order:

1.  :lol:  This is a balanced game. We're not talking Wargaming products here...

2. Yes. You 've pretty much described the most balls to the wall  jeune ecole tactic in the game. Quite viable, especially in the early game as France, Japan, Italy and Russia

3. In hindsight, yes. Everybody gets oil at 1920 anyway, and this game is long enough that investing in home territory gains (via reparations)  instead of picking up colonies paid off.

At the time,  no. Totally wrong move. I asked for the reparations before really thinking things through. And remembering why I was fighting the war in the first place. :nervous: :banghead:

Blame KFW,  amirite?  ;)
Title: Bismarck / Denn wir Fahren...
Post by: Enioch on September 05, 2017, 07:44:54 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/8ut9lupax/kaiser.jpg)

"You will be home before the leaves fall from the trees."

-Kaiser Wilhelm II, addressing German soldiers departing for the front in May 1917.

"The British came in thinking of a very different kind of war. British wars were long, they were economic and they resulted in the bankruptcy of the enemy. German wars are short, brutal and end up with marching parades in foreign capitals."

"THE BATTLE OF LERWICK 03 - 04 OCT 1917" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l427CERpUgU&t=12m14s) by Prof. Andrew Lambert 23 May 2016.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/z51b1cu55/Screenshot_4055.png)

February, 1916. The first refurbished Piepers leave the slipways. If nothing else, Germany will be able to patrol her coastlines.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/z6b8urvyx/Screenshot_4056.png)

And she might need to do so, more quickly than she had expected. On the 17th of the month, Hamburg runs aground off the coast of Belgium. She had been transporting Intelligence operatives on a nighttime drop-off meant for Britain. Timing could not have been worse.

At this point, von Mecklenburg does not have the option of tiptoeing around the matter. The recent German ultimatum against Britain does not allow her to take a less hard-line stance against a lesser Power. Goeben and Moltke are dispatched to escort the German cruiser and make sure the Belgians release her promptly.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/w1i7f0lnd/Tensions_4.png)

This, of course, pisses off a lot of people.

The Belgians release the ship, but under considerable protest; and they are backed by their allies. The British deploy a couple of Australia-class battlecruisers to ominously shadow the German task force; and their Foreign Secretary states that Britain will safeguard Belgian independence. France - it seems so long ago she was an ally - now condemns the German policy. And Russia parrots the British, decrying German bullying from the rooftops.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9rcpy0hw9/Screenshot_4057.png)

In this climate of uncertainty, the R & D department submits several experimental designs of new torpedo stabilisation systems, but nothing concrete yet...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/80towj0d5/Screenshot_4058.png)

And, in a move that sets the Admiralität on edge, Great Britain begins mobilising their Grand Fleet, de-mothballing their reserve ships and stepping up their training regimen. The Germans respond by similar escalation. Germany has no fleet in reserve (all her capitals are in permanent active duty), but she can step up her training.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/il3mf44ux/Screenshot_4059.png)

Training pays off. During live-fire exercises, the German gunners pioneer a new range-refining technique: "ladder firing", in which a ship would rapidly fire a succession of ranging shots, 'walking' her fire onto the target through regular, incremental adjustments.

Somehow, the results of the exercises find their way to the British. There are some scrambling attempts to lower tensions and buy for time (possibly to allow the Grand Fleet to catch up)...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/syzuum07t/Screenshot_4060.png)

...until the news from Rhodes reaches the European markets.

Rhodes is a German naval base and fortress, granted to them by the Greek government, after their assistance in the Balkan Wars. German prospectors have been combing the island for years - and their work has finally paid off, with the discovery of the biggest known oil field in the Eastern Mediterranean. A deal is struck with the Greek government, that will see joint drilling and exploitation of the fields for the next ninety-nine years. The German stock market soars overnight - and, in response, British oil stocks drop by an estimated 5% within a week, as their monopolies are shaken to the core.

The party in the Admiralität lasts until the early hours of the morning. The German fleet now has a secure source of oil. It is tricky to transport it through friendly Greece and the Austro-Hungarian Balkans, but it is possible; and Germany can now start stockpiling black gold of her own production.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7mstgax7d/Tensions_5.png)

The Brits, on the other hand, do not appreciate this.

Perfect.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4z7i0bcm1/Screenshot_4063.png)

In July 1916, while tensions with Russia are somewhat falling, Frau Zelle provides us with a further confirmation that the so-called "Triangle Ships" are the product of British meddling. Compare the Kuramas and Amalfis with the new, purely Japanese-built Hieis. The Japanese have upgraded to 21-inch torpedoes, but their main battery has regressed to a 12-inch caliber. They were clearly getting their 14-inch guns from somewhere, or they'd be building more Kuramas, which are objectively better ships. Whoever their supplier was, now they can't keep up with Japanese demand and the Japanese have to return to their 12-inch, homebuilt rifles. Interesting coincidence that, with tensions rising, British industry is now solely focused on providing their own Navy with ordnance and weapons...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/k97d7i849/Screenshot_4064.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/iu6925nyx/faecb15faaa68e8991ac4721f5ee603a.jpg)

Oh ho ho. Germans now have a knowledge of applied hydrodynamics. Can anyone say 'Atlantikbug'?

Time for a new generation of German ships, the Admiralität decides.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/77lohnjq1/Screenshot_4065.png)

First, let's honour Unseren Bismarck, shall we?

The Fürst Bismarck, and her sister, Wettin, are experimental ships. They are the first 'big gun' German Dreadnoughts. They are a compromise design, and Tirpitz does not have high hopes that they will perform as good as the engineers claim they will; but they will help apply the new technologies that Germany has developed for the first time, reveal problems and serve as stepping-stones for something better.

The service record of these ships was nothing spectacular, especially compared to their younger siblings. But they are known to all naval enthusiasts world-wide, for being the first German 'unsinkables', as the concept came to be known later on.

The Bismarck and the Wettin were smaller than the Zähringens, with a relatively tame battery of twelve 14-inch rifles in triple turrets. These were the rather underpowered German 14-inchers of the mid-1910s, but their performance was satisfactory, especially in close range.

And these ships were built to close the range, in the cramped waters of the Baltic, the North Sea and the Mediterranean. They were All-or-Nothing, and the first German capitals to burn oil; this, in conjunction with the limited artillery, and the new hydrodynamic Atlantic-bow designs, released a staggering amount of tonnage for armor, while not compromising the standard 25-knot flank speed.

And now, we come to the main selling point of these behemoths. A 430mm thick belt (almost half a metre of German steel) protected the vitals of the ship, complemented by a 76mm deck (more than enough for the close-range brawling these ships were meant to engage in). The turrets, likewise, had a 430mm facing, with a 100mm roof.

Add to that a state-of-the art torpedo belt, comparable to that of the Zähringens, and a secondary battery of 14 100mm guns, and the Bismarcks would cast a very threatening shadow indeed. Their job, was to wade in and engage British Dreads at around 10k yards, where their massive belts would tip the balance, while putting accurate, Director-controlled fire into their enemies.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/p6pj6czh5/Screenshot_4067.png)

Construction begins on the Bismarck, with a massive downpayment of ten million Reichsmarken; the Wettin is laid down, but construction is frozen until the Graf Spee is completed, seven months from now.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/aia1hj9nd/Screenshot_4068.png)

And, as the work moves forward, R & D is already experimenting with new armor alloys, for the next generation of heavy Dreadnoughts.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/uah9dxrix/Screenshot_4069_copy.jpg)

Great Britain responds with a considerable increase to their naval budget - they also scrap several older ships, while focusing primarily on a new batch of coastal patrol vessels.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/lvwksqk61/Screenshot_4070.png)

R & D proposes a new generatin of fifteen-hundred ton Zerstörer, to counter these vessels. And to accompany the Bismarcks once they leave the slipways. These ships are still a ways away; but they're an option.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/f6q1cpyu1/Screenshot_4071.png)

The urgency, now, is palpable, throughout the Reich. It's December, and the German dockyards do not sleep. The works have reached the Graf Spee's superstructure, and the installation of her central Directors has now begun. She's less than four months away from commissioning.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/pxi9c51uh/Screenshot_4072.png)

And then, in February, Frau Zelle arrives from London, with the biggest scoop of her career yet. The blueprints for the new British reduction gear system.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/kw69x1509/Screenshot_4073.png)

Unfortunately, she is not as discreet as she would have liked to be. In April, the British find out about the leak - and this is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Angry words of protest are exchanged; ultimatums are rendered; and, seemingly overnight, with the rest of Europe staring in horror, Great Britain and Germany are both in the midst of a full-scale mobilisation.

War is declared on the 13th of May; the Hochseeflotte is already at sea, with Galster in command.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/pys75k3o9/Screenshot_4074.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/oesdnnijd/Hochseeflotte_in_Kiel.jpg)


Heute ist der Tag!


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 05, 2017, 07:46:54 am
...DENN WIR FAHREN / DENN WIR FAHREN / GEGEN ENGELAND / ENGELAND!

LONG LIVE KAISER ****ING WILHELM .
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 05, 2017, 08:45:49 am
(https://i.pinimg.com/236x/73/eb/13/73eb136b4a1739ef04cfec4fde2a1f17--field-marshal-fields.jpg)

"Raise high the black flags, my children!"
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on September 05, 2017, 09:02:40 am
I'd like to point out that "Pieper" is, in the flemish accent, a spud.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 05, 2017, 09:07:28 am
So the class of German minesweepers are called "glorious spuds" ('August Pieper')?

Yup. That seems about right. Pass the Kartoffelsalat, Fritz! :lol:

Or perhaps you mean the other meaning of spud? As in preadolescent, balls-not-yet-dropped? Cause that would fit these tiny wonders too... :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on September 05, 2017, 12:14:17 pm
It's the former, although yes, the latter would fit too :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 05, 2017, 01:31:57 pm
[From: "Ganz oder garnicht: Capital ship design of the 1920s" by Ian McDonough, Kiel University Publications, 2014]

Chapter 2
The Pioneers -  Prinz Heinrich and Fürst Bismarck

As tensions between Germany and the UK rose, it became clear to Galster and Tirpitz that the german cruiser fleet, as feared as it was, could not be expected to be refitted ad infinitum. Ships like Hertha and Frauenlob, endowed with a fearsome reputation of tenacity and effectiveness, were certainly still capable of giving an enemy pause, but it became increasingly clear that these ships were starting to live on their reputation alone. The breakneck pace of development certainly didn't pass these ships, and so the Prinz Heinrich was born.

It is difficult to underestimate the impact this ship had. The sheer amount of new and revolutionary technologies involved in its construction was unprecedented, however, this was expected by everyone. What wasn't expected, and what didn't become known to Germany's many enemies until months later, was that its design process was also a departure from established german practices, in terms of impact about as profound as the Dreadnought scheme was almost 20 years earlier.
Traditionally, ship design was done in distinct stages: First, the basic hull form and armament was decided, then engines were planned, until at the very end of the process, the armor scheme was decided. This resulted in armor schemes that, more often than not, were studies in creative compromising; to simplify things, designers would often choose on a uniform type of armor for the entire belt and other sections of the ship.
On Prinz Heinrich, armor was one of the first considerations. As a result, she ended up with very thick plating over her vital areas, such as the engine, control spaces and magazines, but virtually no armor over spaces which were not critical to the ship's mission. This, in turn, enabled the designers to make her faster, more survivable, and more hard-hitting than any cruiser had any right to be.

It didn't take long, then, for reports from the builders to filter back to the Admiralität once construction had begun in earnest. In August of 1916, plans for the next generation of german Battleships were finalized, also utilizing the new methodologies Prinz Heinrich had pioneered. The Fürst Bismarck class was built to run up to the british battleline, take any punches she may have to, and then end the battle permanently and with overwhelming force courtesy of her 14 inch rifles firing a new round which itself incorporated all the lessons that german weapon designers had learned examining the remains of russian and japanese ships.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 05, 2017, 02:29:24 pm
[snip]
"Raise high the black flags, my children!"

Wrong enemy, there. :p

Other snip

Goddammit.

<3

By the end of this I'll be owing you an entire bloody novel, The_E. :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 05, 2017, 02:59:58 pm
[snip]
"Raise high the black flags, my children!"

Wrong enemy, there. :p


He was really looking to have a go at Wellington, Bonnie just happened to be in the way  :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on September 05, 2017, 05:34:20 pm
Why no zone of hell/secondaries for the Bismarck?




The E -- I fixed your youtube link. Remember that only the video ID goes between the yt tags, not the complete yt url

Actually, are you sure the video ID is correct?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 01:39:09 am

[...]Add to that a state-of-the art torpedo belt, comparable to that of the Zähringens, and a secondary battery of 14 100mm guns[...]

I did mention her secondaries.... She has an Akizuki strapped to every side.

Problem is that the game doesn't render 4-inch guns and lower in capital ships, so that's why you can't see them in the deck plan.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on September 06, 2017, 04:39:50 am
The E -- I fixed your youtube link. Remember that only the video ID goes between the yt tags, not the complete yt url

Actually, are you sure the video ID is correct?

My bad, I think I fixed it.

Considering Bismarcks secondaries:

Excuse me, I was hyped and played Xcom2 - War of the Chosen while reading this.
Is there a limit to secondary guns for calibre and number of guns?
Or if you have enough tonnage, can you slap four dual big calibre turrets and a ****ton of secondaries on a ship?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 04:48:03 am
I've never hit a limit to secondary guns on my ships so far, but admittedly, I've never pushed the limits.

The only rule that I know of is that secondary guns must be of a lower caliber than main guns (so a ship with 14 inch main batteries can have a 13-inch secondary battery, kek) and that they are aimed with iron sights (so they are really inaccurate) until you discover secondary directors.

And tertiaries need to be smaller than secondaries and they are always aimed with iron sights.
Title: The Battle of Ireland
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 05:27:16 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/jni133l3t/84-_Frederick-der-_Grosse-firing-12-inch-guns-at-_J.jpg)

Berlin, May 16, 1917

During their return to Home Waters, the Schlachtkreuzer Derrflinger and Wittelsbach of our Hochseeflotte on May 15th, encountered a large English convoy, escorted by two Battlecruisers and a screen of light forces

During the afternoon, to the south of Ireland and west of Wales, a heavy engagement developed, which was successful to us.

In this engagement, so far as known up to the present [...]

-First Official German Statement on the Battle of Ireland, 16 May 1917

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7b1ckdt3t/Screenshot_4075.png)

It is just before noon, on a cloudy, miserable 16th of May, 1917. We find ourselves on the Celtic Sea, nearly ninety miles south of Cork, where the dreaded British weather reigns supreme.

The two German Schlachtkreuzer Wittelsbach and Derfflinger are returning to home waters. They have been patroling the northern Atlantic; with the declaration of war they now seek to rejoin the main fleet.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/57wft7gk9/6d7f558e28943afdf809b810780bd66d--ritter-franz.jpg)

In command of the task force is a young audacious commander, Konteradmiral Franz von Hipper. His flag is on the Wittelsbach and, despite Admiralität orders to the contrary, he's looking for a fight. He has taken advantage of the cloudy weather, the fog and the constant drizzle to sneak into British-controlled waters; and his lookouts are looking for targets of opportunity.

And he finds them, when, from out of the fog and rain, his lookouts make out the masts of a small British convoy, less than five thousand yards to the north-east.

Hipper's task force comes to action stations and charges.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7rmk6tgux/Screenshot_4076.png)

Hipper hooks around from the north, using his superior speed to cut the merchantmen off from the safety of the mainland. He has three Zerstörer, which he immediately dispatches to hunt down the fat convoy ships; and he is also escorted by the old scout cruiser Frauenlob, a veteran of three wars, whom he orders to stay behind and watch his back. The Wittelsbach and Derfflinger follow the Zerstörer into the slaughter.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wqscucdcp/Sinking_Cap_Trafalgar.jpg)

And it is a slaughter.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5cza04pzt/Screenshot_4077.png)

But then, less than an hour after first contact, and with the burning hulks of the convoy still drifting around them, castaways crying for help and being picked up by the Zerstörer crews, the fog lifts and the rain stops.

And Frauenlob signals High Alert, for less than ten thousand yards away to the north, there is a British battlecruiser squadron closing in.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hw3rg63rt/dhm1002.jpg)

The veteran lookouts on the scout cruiser do not take much time to identify the newcomers. Leading the squadron is a New Zealand-class battlecruiser, of the type that the British like to call 'pocket battlecruisers'. They are small, displacing only half what the Wittelsbachs do, and with a paper-thin belt; but they are armed with eight 14-inchers and they can do 26 knots. Underestimating her could be fatal - and Hipper needs to safeguard his ships, for the dangerous return trip through the North Sea.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6o2fuuw7t/Screenshot_4078.png)

The second ship is a de-mothballed Indomitable, the oldest class of battlecruisers operated by the British. This one is, essentially, a non-entity, although her 13-inchers can still hurt, if Hipper gives them the opportunity.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xgx70nyxl/Screenshot_4079.png)

Hipper vaccilates; and then he frowns and orders the Schlachtkreuzer to close with the enemy. He has more guns, he has veteran crews and he's willing to gamble that the weather will permit him to conceal his approach through the Northern Sea, even if his ships are damaged.

"Schlachtkreuzer, ran an den Feind, voll einsetzen!"

He engages pursuit, taking advantage of the quickly roughening seas to close the range. His larger ships are more stable gun platforms in the high winds, as the Indomitable quickly finds out. Derfflinger weaves through a spread of torpedoes fired by the battlecruisers' destroyer screen; and scores a hit on her from a range of around seven thousand yards. Wittelsbach, having received no attention from the enemy destroyers yet, has the time for a more precise targeting solution. Three 12-inch shells slam into the Indomitable's belt.

An angled 6-inch belt might have been barely capable of resisting such fire ten, or even five, years ago. But these are not the 12-inch shells fired by the German battleships in Bornholm. These are German high-velocity, capped AP shells, designed to pierce layered inclined armor. The old British battlecruiser shudders under the impacts, and her armor peels off like the top of a sardine can.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/sd5xcgntl/Screenshot_4080.png)

And then her engines fall silent, followed by her guns. It's less than thirty minutes since the Frauenlob spotted the enemy.

The Germans do not know what has happened on the ship. They do not know that this is the name ship of her class, HMS Indomitable herself. They do not know that one of the Wittelsbach's shells has punched clean through her conning tower, killing all command personnel therein. All they know is that the ship has not struck her colours; and that her secondaries are still firing sporadically at the closing Zerstörer.

And so, Derfflinger takes aim at the wreck and fires one finishing salvo at her.

One of her shells falls short, but close enough to strike the ship beneath the waterline. It penetrates its paper-thin underwater armor, buries itself deep into Turret A's cordite magazines; and explodes, taking the magazine with it.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5kibiwbkp/Screenshot_4081.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/p0lkp7b15/main-qimg-e7e60cae1c80c2cd5e206da176e56c2a-c.jpg)

The turret pops off like a cork, flying dozens of feet into the air. The ship's hull ballons out, rippling as the shockwave propagates; and then the entire bow of the ship turns into matchwood, a cloud of splinters dropping like rain onto the Schlachtkreuzer. What's left of the Indomitable rolls over, slowly, and sinks. Of her crew of 750, there are no survivors.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9ndxvpv2x/Screenshot_4082.png)

The thunderous explosion stuns all; but Hipper, now enjoying a considerable gunnery advantage over the British drives his ships ever onwards. The New Zealand runs towards the north. Less than ten thousand yards behind her, the German Schlachtkreuzer continue their pursuit.

British fire brackets the Wittelsbach and a single 14-inch shell strikes her belt. Spalling splinters cut down eight crewmen, but the belt holds. In return, the Wittelsbach punches two 12-inch shells into the Brit's aft, while the Derfflinger rakes her superstructure with 5-inch high-explosive from her secondaries.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/tj9xb9c49/Screenshot_4083.png)

The above statement may have given you the impression that the German ships have not been harmed. That could not be farther away from the truth. Derfflinger has only suffered superficial damage, true; but, during the entire exchange with the Indomitable, the Wittelsbach has been the sole focus of the New Zealand. And British gunnery, while not particularly accurate, is rapid (more rapid than it has any right to be, really, muses Hipper) and effective. Wittelsbach has been hit 12 times by the New Zealand's 14-inch guns, and 3 more times by her secondaries. Nine of these hits have penetrated her armor and superstructure and have caused considerable damage. Her X turret is jammed on her bearings; her forward compartments are flooded; her forward funnel has toppled and her portside superstructure is a mass of glowing metal. There is a small leak, somewhere in the fore and port compartments, that is still admitting water into the engineering spaces - Wittelsbach cannot make more than 20 knots - but the high seas limit her to 18 knots anyway.

But her superiority over her opponent, even now, cannot be denied. She has fired more than three hundred shells at her enemies; and scored just under thirty hits so far; her firing control stations are still operational and her crew are still eager and fighting; her magazines still have more than five hundred rounds available.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/55bn3mf15/Screenshot_4084.png)

She bears down on the fleeing New Zealand like a bat out of Hell; and her angled armor is, now, more than enough to defeat the Brit's fire. Over the course of fifteen minutes, she bounces two British shells on her main belt and deck armor; and, in return, the two Schlachtkreuzer pump seven main battery hits into the Brit's 7-inch belt.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4xo07442h/Screenshot_4085.png)

As the German ships turn to present their entire broadside, another accurate shot from the New Zealand penetrates the Wittelsbach's belt. She has lost half of her reserve buoyancy and is crawling along at a max speed of 19 knots...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mz754wy3d/Screenshot_4086.png)

But the Brit is, finally dead, her guns silenced by a broadside from the Derfflinger.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5w4d9eheh/Screenshot_4087.png)

The G8 puts a torpedo in her for good measure.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6e442zwd5/Screenshot_4088.png)

And then, finally, with night falling, the battle is over. The damcon crews of Wittelsbach manage to stop the flooding and her pumps begin the arduous task of restoring some of her buoyancy. She will need it, for the perilous trip past the alert British garrisons at Scapa Flow.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/efnr75pqx/Screenshot_4089.png)

But she succeeds. On the morning of the 18th of May, the two Schlachtkreuzer crawl into the harbour of Heligoland, having fended off two destroyer attacks and having snuck past a British Dreadnought squadron north of Scotland, in the twilight hours. Hipper is received as a hero.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/fzxojanix/Screenshot_4090.png)

The forthcoming statements by the British Admiralty help identify the New Zealand-class. She was the HMS Tiger, the second oldest of her class. The British also lost the destroyer HMS Larne to flooding, during the light forces' retreat towards Ireland.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vzgc2ujkp/Screenshot_4091.png)

As always, many thanks to the Admiralitätsarchiv for granting us permission to reproduce their archived maps and navigation charts. For reference, that's the coast of Ireland to the north; the land installation marked by a blue flag is Baltimore.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/y5amxcn15/Screenshot_4092.png)

What a victory!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/oysca2hsp/Screenshot_4093.png)

The Admiralität, of course, do not rest on their laurels. There are celebrations, of course; but the Piepers, now ready for action, leave their berths and begin their patrols. Germany now has eyes all over the Baltic and well into the North Sea.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5uz0tq4yh/Screenshot_4094.png)

The news of the Battle of Ireland are complemented by good news from the R & D departments as well. Having established that Director firing is the way forward, R & D presents the Admiralität with secondary director systems. Miniaturised enough to be fitted to light ships or take control of capital ships' secondaries, these gadgets will prove really useful. Of course, there's no way the Admiralität is pulling ships out of the line to be refitted at this point. Not with the Grand Fleet juggernaut rolling down on Germany.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/kfg3ojzx5/Screenshot_4095.png)

This, on the other hand, is always welcome.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/o0bz7s4gp/Screenshot_4096.png)

And then, at the end of the month, reports start coming in from the U-Bootflotte. First U-137, that sinks the HMS Robert Brown with an opportunistic torpedo.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/k58l57lax/Screenshot_4097.png)

Then U-109, that outright surfaces and engages the HMS Sabia in a gun duel, sending the British minesweeper to the bottom with her heavy 100mm deck gun.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/a97i5kfix/Screenshot_4098.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/p1viimcux/au195a.jpg)

And then the actual merchantmen sinking reports come in and the Admiralität cannot believe their eyes.

Thirty-three ships. More than Two hundred and fifty thousand tons of shipping. That's 250,000. A quarter million. In one month.

True, the British depended on merchant shipping more than any other nation in the world and their merchant marine was massive. True, the German submarines operated without restrictions in the 'War Zone' that the Germans had declared as valid hunting grounds around the British Isles. True, there was a lot of international outrage about the 'cowardly' use of the U-Boat to this extent (although, it had to be noted, nobody had complained when the Germans had employed similar tacticcs against the 'barbaric' Japanese).

But still. A quarter million tons of merchantmen.

Essentially overnight, the German Admiralität had demonstrated that the day of the surface raider was well and truly past. Cry about the unfairness of it as much as you like, Albion; you will find no sympathy here.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/jez5l5ac9/in-the-grip-of-jack-frost.jpg)
British propaganda poster, June 1917

As expected, the Grand Fleet immediately proceeds to blockade Germany, plugging the passes to the northern Atlantic and stopping all commerce to German harbours.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/61hbak3h5/Screenshot_4101.png)

Germany is unimpressed. One month into this war, it is not the Germans who are hungry.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 05:28:28 am
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR BLOODY SHIPS TODAY, BRITS.

BETTER LOOK INTO THAT.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 06, 2017, 06:07:51 am
The war with the brits is on, at last, and what a way to kick the war off.

The Russians, amusingly, being all bark and no bite. They sure seemed to have backed off fast.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 06:12:15 am
The Russian Navy has been trashed, twice now. They have nothing that can stand against the Wittelsbachs, let alone the Zaehringens. And their budget is abysmal, after two lost wars and reparations being paid.

The only thing the Russian fleet can contribute at this point is a minuscule tonnage addition to the British blockade; and that comes with the risk of exposing what little force they have to the Hochseeflotte.

Plus, remember that this is not a land war for Germany, with the exception of the colonies. France has not yet declared, either way. If the Russians declare war, there is nothing to prevent the Germans from mobilising their entire army on the eastern front and kicking their asses all the way to Moscow.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 06, 2017, 06:48:40 am
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR BLOODY SHIPS TODAY, BRITS.

BETTER LOOK INTO THAT.

Oh dear, did they once again abandon proper ammo handling to get a small increase in firerate?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 06:50:34 am
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR BLOODY SHIPS TODAY, BRITS.

BETTER LOOK INTO THAT.

Oh dear, did they once again abandon proper ammo handling to get a small increase in firerate?

Surely not...  :drevil:  :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on September 06, 2017, 07:38:42 am
Quote
The role of submarines in the modern navy

It is true, especially after the latest victory of Hipper off the coast of Ireland that the kaiserliche Marine can stand against the British grand fleet.
But while naval high command refuses to engage in a decisive battle, the U-Boote must play their part.
And by god, what a part this is.
If the Hochseeflotte are the sword and shield of the German Empire, knights in shining armor protecting the Vaterland, then what about the U-Boot Flotte.
I have long argued that the development of submarines has pushed these boats into a role, which they could even better fulfill.
Our boats close in on enemy freighters submerged, but they cannot engage them that way.
They need to resurface and fight that way.
Granted, a 100mm cannon is great for sending freighters to the bottom, but this is an unnecessary risk.
If the Hochseeflotte are knights, the the U-Boot Flotte are assassins. They are the blade in the darkness, ambushing unsuspecting freighters and retreating.
One month into the war Konteradmiral Hippers force of three Zerstörer and two Schlachtkreuzer have sunk 8 merchantmen, one Zerstörer and two Schlachtkreuzer, all the while the U-Boot assassins have claimed 33 confirmed kills, while only losing two of our own.
As it stands, everyone should have realized by now, that the Hochseeflotte is not the undisputed king of naval warfare.
The Admiralität on both sides refuse to risk their shiny big ships, for the affection they hold with the population.
But while both navies continue to circle each other, the boats of the U-Boot Flotte continues to starve the British Isles.
The Admiralität should take heed and invest into true submarines, ships that can attack their targets submerged, not with a 100mm gun, but with torpedos.

All the while I have forwarded a petition to the Reichstag honoring the brave submariners with a monument. It is high time the get the respect they deserve. To quote a popular saying:
“Und Gott fragte die Steine: Wollt ihr U-Boot-Fahrer sein? Und die Steine antworteten: Nein, wir sind nicht hart genug.“

Christopher Schulz
Reichstag respresantative of Hesse
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 06, 2017, 09:13:18 am
<3

Is this:

“Und Gott fragte die Steine: Wollt ihr U-Boot-Fahrer sein? Und die Steine antworteten: Nein, wir sind nicht hart genug.“

an actual quote of something? Because it's badass as all hell.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on September 06, 2017, 09:45:03 am
Well, I heard it as outro in a documentary about submariners, but honestly, I don't know.
Using Google it seems to be quite a standard thing for all kind of things.
I read it with tanks, local groups of people etc.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 06, 2017, 10:42:24 am
[From the Admiralitätsarchiv, a briefing by Admiral Tirpitz for the Admiralty staff]

Gentlemen,

As you are aware, when we recalled Vice Admiral Hipper and his Schlachtgeschwader, I gave explicit orders that he is to reach german harbours while doing his utmost to evade british patrols and avoid battle. He chose not to follow these orders, and instead went on a little hunt.
In a lesser officer, this would have been grounds for immediate dismissal. However, through his actions, he has reminded us all that, if we are to be victorious in this war, we must not just be brave, not just be aggressive, not just be willing to roll the dice and see our decisions through to the end: We must be willing to do all this, at once, and pair it with the skills and smarts we have developed over the past 18 years.

The british know this. By sinking HMS Indomitable and HMS Tiger and their charges, we have asserted our ability and willingness to challenge the Royal Navy in its home waters and not only emerge victorious, but so utterly dominant that they dare not strike back at us. We have the initiative in this war, and it is vital that we do not relinquish it.

We have not beaten the brits yet. Right now, the fate of our fleet, and Germany's fate with it, still hangs by a thread. But if we can embrace what Admiral Hipper has done, if we can avoid getting suckered into an endless game of reacting to what the british are doing and instead make them react to us, we will win. This will not be easy; if any of you still believe it will be, I invite you to go over the yard's report on the damages Derfflinger and Wittelsbach have suffered while bringing us this victory. But a victory handed to you is no victory, as we all know. We know it will be hard, we know it will be painful, but in the end, as we have always done, we will emerge victorious.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TwentyPercentCooler on September 06, 2017, 04:04:40 pm
Quote
"It penetrates its paper-thin underwater armor, buries itself deep into Turret A's cordite magazines; and explodes, taking the magazine with it."

Carrying on the proud tradition of British battlecruisers, even in an alternate history.  :wtf:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: CKid on September 06, 2017, 04:18:55 pm
+1 for adding the detonation badge.
Title: The Raid of the Celtic Sea
Post by: Enioch on September 09, 2017, 09:08:50 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/3wdw3ecyh/German_Reichstagin_Sessionbefore_World.jpg)

"Steel and Blood has freed our Vaterland of foreign rule. Steel and Blood brought about the unification of our Reich. And it is with Steel and Blood that we now stand, united, against our greatest challenge yet."

Stand beside us, united and strong, and prove yourselves worthy of our heroes on the High Seas!"


-Excerpt of a speech of the Reichskanzler Johann Albrecht Herzog zu Mecklenburg to the Reichstag, 15 June 1917.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dig6rt1y1/Screenshot_4102.png)

It is the 9th of June 1917. The HMS Tribune and HMS Sappho, two ultra-light minelaying cruisers of the Royal Navy, less than two years old, are escorting a nine-ship convoy from South Africa to Portsmuth. The time is 18:11 and sunset is less than two hours away. The crews are halfway through the gauntlet of the German submarine hunting grounds; and, God providing, they will be at port before sunrise.

They are almost two hundred miles south of Cork, not far from where the Tiger and Indomitable met their fate, when the Sappho's lookouts spot a cloud of smoke from out of the south-western glare. At first, they believe it is a friendly patrol ship, but their signals remain unanswered. It is at a range of less than ten thousand yards that the Tribune's watch officer identifies the incoming ships, and his blood runs cold.

Somehow, impossibly, the Germans are here. The silhouettes of the incoming ships resolve into the threatening hulls of SMS Frauenlob, who has returned to the crime scene, and her sister: the SMS Bremen.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/eehq4dhy1/SMS_Dresden_German_Cruiser_LOC_16727.jpg)
SMS Frauenlob, crossing the Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal

These are old ships, reaching the end of their second decade of operations. Their last overhaul took place more than five years ago, and they are still limited to a top speed of 24 knots. The British cruisers can run circles around them. But they are still more than capable of catching up to slow, fat-bottomed merchantmen, and each of them carries more (and heavier) guns than the entire escorting force combined.

They have left the North Sea anchorages under cover of darkness, clouds and the morning mist; and they have evaded British patrols for a nerve-wracking three days, all to reach this point. These are not raiders - these are assassins.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hwtq0riu1/Karl_von_M_ller.jpg)  (https://s26.postimg.cc/n6yos232x/Luckner.png)
Karl von Müller (left) and Felix von Lückner (right), the commanding officers of Frauenlob and Bremen, respectively.

The two ships are commanded by two of the most hell-for-leather daredevils in the Kaiserliche Marine, Korvettenkapitäne Karl von Müller and Felix von Lückner, both Galster's protegés and both willing to take insane risks to maximise what little profit Germany can squeeze out of their old, obsolete ships. They have argued for an independent light cruiser raid since the opening hostilities; after Hipper's success, the Admiralität was willing to entertain the idea. They have sailed hundreds of miles, evading British patrols, to strike here, along the jugular connecting Britain to all traffic sailing north from the Mediterranean and the Southern Atlantic.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/o93tdhfkp/Screenshot_4103.png)

The Sappho and her sister are wrongly positioned to intercept. They are faster, but the Germans have attacked from out of the setting sun and they are almost upon the freighters, before the British cruisers jump into action.

It's too little, too late. At a range of three thousand yards, the German guns flash in a double broadside, right into the scrambling merchantmen. And, a few seconds later, again, in frantic double-time.

The Benmohr, a 10k ton freighter is hit first; a fire breaks out on her upper decks and it quickly reaches her bridge and wheelhouse. Then, the Ponrabbel follows suit, the nitrates she is carrying burning sky-high. Then, the Bremen closes the range even further and fires from both sides of the ship, cracking the hulls of the Troilus and the Iphigeneia in rapid succession.

And then, the German cruisers have sailed past the convoy; and they are engaging the British escorts in a close-range brawl.


(https://s26.postimg.cc/9ncsp8is9/Screenshot_4104.png)

At under 2.5k yards, the two Germans focus their fire on the Sappho. Now. Some points of interest:

The Gazelles are protected cruisers; their armor, essentially, only encompasses their underwater 'citadel' (the term used loosely here). But it is a consistent 2 inches thick; their engine compartments, steering (and everything they really need to get back home) is invulnerable to high-explosive splinter damage. And armor-piercing projectiles, at this range, even the 5-inch armor piercing slung by the British cruisers, will five times out of ten, just sail through and out of their unarmored sides without exploding.

Furthermore, the German ships displace more than 6k tons each, to the Sapphos' 3.2k tons. They can simply afford to take more damage.

The Sapphos, on the other hand, are true light cruisers, with a sloped armored deck and true armor 'belts'. But their armor is only one inch thick, not nearly enough to stop the explosion of a six-inch shell. The Germans only have to load high-explosive and blow them out of the water; and they have sacrificed any and all torpedo armament, so they can carry mine- and depth-charge racks against the German subs.

They can still escape. Point their noses north; make flank speed. The Germans won't be able to catch them. But the commander of the Sappho, Captain John Drummond, refuses to abandon his charges, or to retreat before the enemy.

"It took twenty months to build this ship," he is said to have stated, calmly. "but five centuries to build a tradition on the seas. We shall not retreat. Helm, close the range."

A few minutes later, the Bremen finds the range; and three Sprenggranaten send red-hot shrapnel scything through the Sappho, killing her captain, along with thirty-four other crewmen.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/johmyjvvd/Screenshot_4105.png)

The British desperately turn away; but now it's too late. The Sappho is already slowing down, one of her boilers cracked and venting steam all over her engineering spaces; the Tribune just runs, in a mad dash to the north that will cost her commander his rank and commission.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/kgkaxr02h/Screenshot_4106.png)

Less than an hour later, the Sappho is a burning wreck. She stops, dead-in-the-water; rolls over, and sinks at 20:38. The Germans pick up fourty-six survivors out of the water; and then, they begin the nerve-wracking trip back.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5fi0ghhcp/Screenshot_4107.png)

The U-109, the submarine that had spotted the convoy and radioed in its position for the cruisers takes the opportunity to fire a cheap parting shot against the patrol ships to flock to the area to escort the surviving freighters safely home. PB9 takes a torpedo to the side; she sinks quickly, but with no loss of life.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/f3vgjmc61/Screenshot_4108.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/kocj800ex/Screenshot_4112.png)

The cruisers reach Helgoland four days later. Their mission is a resounding success, despite the damage and casualties they suffered. Six freighters (almost 50k tons of cargo) are lying at the bottom of the sea, accompanied by one of the most modern light cruisers (and a dangerous minelayer, at that) of the Royal Navy. Müller and Lückner both receive Iron Crosses for their valiant efforts; and Galster rejoices at the opportunity this raid gives him to petition for new cruisers.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hey41jcbd/Screenshot_4113.png)

Cruisers like the Hansa. No revolutionary designs here. The Hansa is a Prinz Heinrich with her coal-fired boilers replaced by oil-fired designs. Nothing else is changed; Germany does not have the funds to justify a completely new cruiser design for now. This leaves the Hansas (a class of two ships, like their older sisters) with a rather clumsy implementation of the oil-fired boilers in their engineering spaces, because of weight distribution issues; almost six hundred tons of displacement are left unutilised.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/qo0abnl7d/Screenshot_4114.png)

This does mean, however, that construction can begin immediately, with only a downpayment of half a million Reichsmark (instead of the four and a half million that the development of an optimised hull would have required.) Galster (and the Admiralität are more than happy with this compromise).

(https://s26.postimg.cc/d9n7fmejd/Screenshot_4115.png)

Meanwhile, the Graf Spee completes her training cruise. All three Zähringens are now operational and ready to engage the Grand Fleet.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/x6t4okxeh/Screenshot_4116.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/bvvkkbfa1/Screenshot_4117.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/3k4ewt7a1/Screenshot_4118.png)

R & D are proving once again that German science is the best in the world.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/8g3gari1l/Screenshot_4119.png)

The U-Boote do their thing again. Holy crap. OK, it's not the 33-ship slaughter of the first month, but twenty-six ships (especially if one takes the light cruisers' haul into account) is still a massive blow.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/v3ipgwxll/Screenshot_4120.png)

And the Piepers shut the door hard on any British submarine efforts.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wswe2q2op/Screenshot_4121.png)

And they manage to open passages through British minefields for our raiders and subs to operate! Bei Gott und alle Engel, these little wonders are amazing. Worth every Pfennig.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hzhqhyuxl/Screenshot_4126.png)

July rolls in, Frau Zelle visits the Admiralität...

...and holy ****.

So. This is what the British have rolled out to match the Zähringens.

This is...surprisingly terrifying. OK, its belt and turret armor are butter, as British belts and turret armor tend to be - but fourteen 15-inchers? Controlled by a Fire Director system?

This thing might be a glass cannon, but it is very definitely a cannon, and it must be treated with the respect it deserves. Thank God, it's slow - if things get hairy, the Schlachtkreuzer fleet can disengage.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/sxt005jix/Screenshot_4127.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/c4pgz90k9/800px-_Almirante_Reinhard_Scheer.jpg)

Galster and Tirpitz immediately start training the fleet in the appropriate tactics. A very promising Vize-Admiral is placed in command of the Schlachtkreuzer squadrons for the maneuvers: a man called Reinhard Sheer.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ybwdlfymx/Screenshot_4129.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ue93w1btl/Screenshot_4130.png)

Well done, submariners, as usu-

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hpa7ymgbd/Screenshot_4128.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/87279udqx/493b-_ZR069_TXwr_ZSLDm5_KHURNSNmi_SUz_LYjy-x_AYl_Tc.jpg)

****.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 09, 2017, 09:14:39 am
WHO PUT THAT HOSPITAL SHIP THERE.

Oh well, one ship out of a confirmed eighty-five legal submarine kills.

That means that statistically we've only ****ed up 1.17% of the time. Nobody's perfect. You gotta admit, those are pretty good statistics.

I mean, they were probably Spaghettis, anyway
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 09, 2017, 10:05:32 am
For those who don't know: The battle turn-away (german: Gefechtskehrtwendung) was one of the major tactical innovations the german navy made in WW1. The basic problem is this: If you have a fleet in line formation, and the enemy manages to cross your T, how do you disengage? Ideally, you'd want to reverse course, but that's more difficult than it sounds, especially if you want to retain your formation. The issue here is that this requires precise coordination between the ships so that they don't run into each other, and that coordination was rather difficult without good radios. What the germans realized was that you didn't need to do a lot of coordination if the trailing ship in formation starts the turn, so the Gefechtskehrtwendung was always initiated by the ship in front signalling the turn, every ship repeating that signal, and the last ship putting her rudder over immediately upon seeing the signal. The next ship in line would watch the bow of the last ship, and put her own rudder over as soon as they saw the last ship turning away, repeating until the first ship in formation sees the second ship in formation start to turn.
It should be noted that this maneuver requires a lot of discipline.  The foremost ship in particular needs to hold its course for a very long time, which as you might imagine is pretty stressful when you're looking into the amassed broadsides of the enemy fleet.

This maneuver was incredibly effective historically. At Jutland, Scheer used it to get his ships out of trouble twice.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on September 09, 2017, 12:05:15 pm
Interesting.

A hint: Heligoland is called Helgoland in german and it is Reichsmark, 1 Reichsmark, 2 Reichsmark, a million Reichsmark and so on :D
Besides that: Keep it up.
If a sub sinks a cruiser or something of that magnitude, gimme a call, I'm recalling a german sub recieving the Iron cross for such a thing.
Also considering that Hospital ship... it is not called Lusitania I hope...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 09, 2017, 02:24:49 pm
Quote
Thank God, it's slow - if things get hairy, the Schlachtkreuzer fleet can disengage.
I like how R&D is all like "Disengage? We've got just the thing for you"
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 10, 2017, 04:34:22 am
Interesting.

A hint: Heligoland is called Helgoland in german and it is Reichsmark, 1 Reichsmark, 2 Reichsmark, a million Reichsmark and so on :D
Besides that: Keep it up.
If a sub sinks a cruiser or something of that magnitude, gimme a call, I'm recalling a german sub recieving the Iron cross for such a thing.
Also considering that Hospital ship... it is not called Lusitania I hope...

Fixed, and noted, thanks!

Sadly, no capital ship sinkings by submarine in this war. As for the hospital ship; no. Given the rise in tensions, it must have been Italian. Some sort of Red Cross relief vessel. Who cares, amirite?  :drevil: :nervous:

Quote
Thank God, it's slow - if things get hairy, the Schlachtkreuzer fleet can disengage.
I like how R&D is all like "Disengage? We've got just the thing for you"

"Just do this":

(https://s26.postimg.org/bm6h7h6op/Cjorrk_KW0_AA2d_BS.jpg)

"No, of course it's not dangerous. Don't be ridiculous, man!"

And The_E being a boss with the historical notes again.  :yes: :yes: :yes:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 10, 2017, 05:44:30 am
We spend thousands upon thousands of marks to research the novel concept, of turning away from the enemy.

Maybe the french has rubbed off just a bit, during the alliance?  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 10, 2017, 05:58:40 am
We spend thousands upon thousands of marks to research the novel concept, of turning away from the enemy.

Maybe the french has rubbed off just a bit, during the alliance?  :p

(I realize this post was in jest, but...) Not really -- As I tried to explain, the Gefechtskehrtwendung wasn't a novel concept by itself: It's the obvious counter if your T is crossed. But before the Kriegsmarine figured it out, it was generally thought to be impractical, as naval tacticians were perhaps a bit too preoccupied with making sure that the leading ship gets out of danger as fast as possible. The Kriegsmarine recognized that, assuming the commander had enough time and data to see the T-crossing coming, his lead ship would be able to tank a few rounds of shellfire, and that getting most of the formation out is more important than getting the lead ship out (despite the lead ship traditionally carrying the fleet commander).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 10, 2017, 11:58:09 am
Realizes post is a joke, continues to reply seriously anyway.
Why though?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 10, 2017, 12:10:15 pm
Because Germany. Clearly.
Title: The Battle of Lerwick
Post by: Enioch on September 11, 2017, 08:41:21 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/uyysnenmh/Ed50-_Blockade_Cartoon.jpg)
British 1917 Cartoon, ridiculing the German 'submarine blockade' in the aftermath of the Glenart Castle incident

"There is little question that Kapitänleutnant Valentiner broke the rules we set for ourselves here. We cannot prosecute one of our own for what I am sure most of the world would (and already is) label a war crime - the effect on the submariners' morale would be devastating. But he is never to command again; and strict measures are to be taken to prevent such incidents in the future."

-Personal memo signed by Admiral von Tirpitz to an undisclosed recipient in the Oberste Merineleitung, declassified in the 1950s

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4fasz0cgp/wpa2bfc97b_06.jpg)

Not the proudest moment for the Admiralität, not to mention the U-Boot Command.

Well...

When dealing with such unfortunate events, von Müller and von Lückner decide, the best thing to do is organise another daredevil run. To raise the spirits of the Matrosen and to perform to the highest standards of seamanship!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/f498ougbd/Screenshot_4131.png)

And so, on the foggy, hazy morning of the 18th of August, they take their old, obsolete protected cruisers through the Channel (!), braving minefields, patrols and shore batteries along the way.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ze1yq8s2h/Screenshot_4132.png)

By noon, they have evaded British patrols and reached as far west as Plymouth, passing less than fourty nautical miles away from the British naval base in Portsmouth.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xdg0j5lax/Screenshot_4133.png)

During the afternoon, they retrace their steps, spending the night cruising at low speed near Dieppe.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/miykh826x/Screenshot_4134.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4p9la8t95/Bombardment_of_Madras_by_S.S._Emden_1914.jpg)

And, shortly after sunrise the next day, they cross the strait at Calais. Von Müller feels cheeky; he takes Frauenlob near the coastal batteries in Dungeness and opens fire, taking the dozing garrison there by complete surprise. Two eight-inch coastal guns are destroyed and six gunners are wounded in their barracks beds; the German cruisers make good their escape, suffering only minimal damage from sporadic 4-inch return fire.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dga3a72ft/Screenshot_4135.png)

It's no major victory, but it's a glorious display of German seamanship. Von Müller and von Lückner have taken the Frauenlob and the Bremen right into the Brits' front yard, essentially unchallenged.

It is interesting to note that the first British reports on the incident mention that a 'German probing raid near Dover was repulsed'; no mention is given to the German cruisers' crossing of the channel. It is only after the war that the German Admiralität figures out that the Brits had never realised that the cruisers had ever passed Dover in the first place.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dhomhctnd/Screenshot_4136.png)

In early September, Britain probes for a white, compromise peace. Von Mecklenburg consults the Admiralität; Tirpitz and Galster both agree that, even though they have no answer to the British surface blockade (yet), the Navy is willing and able to continue the fight and, perhaps, grant von Mecklenburg a considerably better negotiating position.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/nhjix94wp/Screenshot_4137.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5wjurgrvd/Origins_Rap_Battle_WW1_Uncut_BBC_4.gif)

Taking his cue from the submariners, the Kaiser proceeds to absolutely torpedo the peace negotiations.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hhvrtlk49/Screenshot_4138.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/asp8dkys9/Screenshot_4139.png)

Hmmmm. While one can hardly fault the R & D department for their efforts, light cruisers are simply not the German...thing anymore. Not when the Prinz Heinrichs and the Hansas so greatly outperform the light cruisers of other nations.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/k9f1k7imx/Screenshot_4140.png)

THIS, on the other hand, has Tirpitz, Hipper and Sheer drooling. The potential benefits from equipping the Zähringens (never mind the Wittelsbachs) with the new 30.5 cm SK L/60 rifles would be enormous. But there is no question of taking the biggest and nastiest capitals in Germany's fleet out of active service for now.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ppxpelc0p/Screenshot_4141.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/w4wqb9iqh/Screenshot_4142.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/462kkeh3t/Screenshot_4143.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/c2rn6dhy1/Screenshot_4144.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mtqe03v2x/1200px-_Willy_St_wer_-_Sinking_of_the_Linda_Blanc.jpg)

German submarine warfare continues to bleed the Brits dry, although their performance in October leaves something to be desired. Increased U-Boot losses may be due to the launch of new British patrol ships; or the implementation of new ASW techniques. The Admiralität keeps a close eye on the situation.

What is clear, however, is that it works, for now at least. [Holy ****, two 'starvation' triggers in September!]

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wy9c3vord/Screenshot_4145.png)

And the bloody Piepers (the name ship, no less, well done you little scamp!) find and clear another British minefield in the North Sea.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/lu034efx5/Screenshot_4146_copy.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/yxzw8ijl5/97cde975f448a0018c7df14a1cdf9603.gif)

Oho. Ohohohohoho.

On the evening of October 2nd, U-110 reports from the North Atlantic near the Faroes. There is a massive convoy moving in, under heavy capital ship support. They have tentatively identified at least one Sutlej-class battlecruiser: the newest and most dangerous 15-inch British capitals.

Mackensen is currently at the yard, with condenser troubles; but the rest of the Hochseeflotte sorties immediately and in force, making their best speed to intercept. This is what Galster and Tirpitz have been waiting for: a chance to choose the engagement and to encounter a small, vulnerable part of the Grand Fleet with the maximum available force on their end.

The Germans bring five Schlachtkreuzer to the fight. The Wittelsbach, Derfflinger and Hindenburg lead the fleet as a scouting element in force, with a small Zerstörer screen. The Zähringen and Graf Spee follow them as a main strike element, escorted by Hertha, Victoria Louise and Vineta. Their flanks are guarded by Frauenlob and Bremen and their own complement of Zerstörer.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4nld4otuh/Screenshot_4147.png)

Unfortunately, weather worsens, quickly. By the time the German forces reach the expected intercept point near Lerwick, in the early morning of the 4th of October, they are sailing into a gale, that swamps the decks of the Zerstörer and limits visibility to a maximum of just under 6k yards.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4bm1fvdax/m019.jpg)

Hipper, from on board the Wittelsbach suggests that the force withdraw: an engagement under these circumstances would be a gamble that the Germans can ill afford. Sheer, captaining the Graf Spee, concurs. The German force turns to the south.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4sp4ed15l/Screenshot_4148.png)

Ten minutes after that fateful decision, a cluster of dark shapes emerges from the rain and squalls, less than two thousand yards to the east of Hipper's force. The Schlachtkreuzer go into immediate evasive maneuvers, turning their bows toward the sleek black shapes of the British destroyers; but it's too late for Derfflinger. A torpedo, either lucky or perfectly aimed, hits her in her aft, locking her rudder for a few critical minutes and leaving her unable to follow her sisters in their turn towards the north.

In return, the Wittelsbach opens fire with her main and secondary armaments, scoring a hit against what seems to be a British cruiser to the north-east and raking one of the destroyers with 5-inch fire.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6go9t0f15/Screenshot_4149.png)

A couple of minutes later, the lookouts identify the British capital. Yes, she's a cruiser: an armored cruiser of the Hogue class. An old ship - not surprising to see her on convoy duty. By this time, Hindenburg has her range.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/bt5cpbfh5/Screenshot_4150.png)

(https://media.giphy.com/media/e4NxUONUIIo00/giphy.gif)

And she blankets the old cruiser with a full broadside of main and secondary guns. At least two shells strike the Hogue and, for a moment, the German gunners think they were duds; and then the Hogue goes up like a roman candle, the shockwave of the explosion reaching the low clouds above. If there are any survivors, it's impossible to pick them up in these seas.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6hy7mfgux/Screenshot_4151.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/j33a3l6vt/Screenshot_4152.png)

But the same waves that prevent the German Zerstörer from closing in to assist the castaways, also make life difficult for the Derfflinger's damcon teams. They have restored steering, but her flooding is less easy to bring under control. Her portside compartments are flooded and it is impossible to access them from outside; two bulheads have ruptured; and she can only do 16 knots. But, thankfully, her pumps are operational; and the water has not reached her magazines. She is crippled, but she can fight, if necessary; for now, Hipper signals her to retreat towards the north-west, until they bring their flooding under control.

And then, fifteen minutes after the Hogue's violent death, with the Graf Spee and the Zähringen having reached the scene, the Hindenburg pokes through another squall, to find an enemy capital ship almost two thousand yards to her north-east, again.

The two ships open fire at each other simultaneously, before their lookouts have the time to identify each other. At this range, it's not really necessary. The British ship scores one hit on the Hindenburg's superstructure, a massive shell screaming through the unarmored forward mast structure without its fuze arming. In return, the 12'' German shell punches clean into the foredeck of the British battlecruiser. The hit is followed by one, two, three internal secondary explosions...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/oj9l2enfd/Screenshot_4153.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xtlp5xy55/Kancolle_Cute_Moments_1.gif)

...and then the ship goes up, a massive fireball annihilating everything forward of her smokestacks.

Holy crap.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/kw1le62op/Screenshot_4155.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/90oi0uryx/Screenshot_4156.png)

Into this mess, the Graf Spee and the Zähringen ride, going too fast to change course in time. They are immediately punished for it, as the British destroyers flush their torpedo tubes in their direction.

But these ships are made of stern stuff. At flank speed, the Graf Spee passes less than 500 yards from a second British capital, pumping two shots into her belt. The Zähringen, following her closely, puts another two shots into the enemy ship. And then, the Brit fires back, in a thunder of heavy guns, raking the Graf Spee with six heavy shots into her forward belt, superstructure, and her 'C' turret.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/8euxr07ix/Screenshot_4154.png)

The turret cracks; in an instant, the crew die at their stations.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/8wuoklmhl/Screenshot_4157.png)

Finally, the lookouts of the Graf Spee manage to identify their target. She's a Sutlej alright, and the German guns erupt in fury again. Three more hits are scored by the batteries of Graf Spee and Zähringen; Frauenlob closes into suicidal range and pumps high explosive shots into the Brit's fire directors and superstructure.

The two forward turrets of the Sutlej fall silent, dead on their bearings; the two rear turrets fire again, but only score an overpenetrating hit on the Graf's superstructure.

And then Graf Spee fires back, her 'B' turret putting three shots into the Sutlej's belt; and Derffliner, her flooding finally under control, appears from out of a nearby fog bank and thunders a reply to her bigger sister's broadside. The Sutlej shudders...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/8wibp19nd/Screenshot_4158.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/67ixl9es9/Kancolle_Cute_Moments.gif)

...and goes up, much like her sister.

Meanwhile, Frauenlob has reached the transports.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/jos8zp1y1/Screenshot_4159.png)

She's immediately followed by the rest of the fleet, and the British destroyers scatter like cockroaches. The Hindenburg takes the destroyer leader (an Andromache-class light cruiser) under fire, scoring several hits; the German Zerstörer take up the hunt. Frauenlob and Bremen deal with the convoy, boarding and taking on the crews before sinking the ships with torpedoes and gunfire.

The battle is over.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/cmubdhyc9/Screenshot_4161.png)

And a good thing too. The German ships have suffered considerably and the Graf Spee floats very low at the waterline. Note that she and the Derfflinger have not suffered much damage; it is the flooding from the torpedo hits that threatened their survival.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/584zl4cgp/Screenshot_4162.png)

But they make it home, despite the best efforts of the British to intercept them. U-Boote cover their retreat path; they are in Helgoland by noon of the 5th of August.

With the exception of the unfortunate torpedo hits, it's textbook fight and victory; and the Kaiser is jumping for joy. The Zähringens have given a good accounting of themselves, tanking most of the damage that would have otherwise been spread around the fleet and yet surviving to fight another day; the convoy was sunk; and the British have lost two of their most modern (and dreaded) 15-inch battlecruisers, without any returns.

When His Majesty congratulates Hipper, Sheer and the Admiralität in general, however, Sheer, pale and shaken, states:

(https://s26.postimg.cc/owsjj1dzt/Youjo_Senki_-_04_-_Large_11.jpg)

"We must never fight a battle in such weather conditions again"

And he is right. The Hochseeflotte was this close to losing the Graf and the Derfflinger; and these ships will now be undergoing extensive repairs. The fleet cannot take such a risk again.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6edkxnq55/Screenshot_4163.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ib21e1tzt/Origins_Rap_Battle_WW1_Uncut_BBC_5.gif)

Nevertheless, this is still a glorious victory.

The British have lost HMS Essex and HMS Berwick, as well as HMS Drake and three of their destroyers. HMS Latona, the Andromache-class light cruiser that Hindenburg had taken under fire only barely manages to reach Scapa Flow. And, out of the six massive tankers that the British were escorting, only two managed to slip away in the rain.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/r9v9v5wyh/Screenshot_4164.png)

Once again, the Admiralitätsarchiv comes to our assistance with their map records. Note the 'node' in the centre of the map, where the quick decisive engagement took place; and the paths of retreat of the German forces (south-east, to Helgoland) and the British surviving ships (south-west, to Scapa Flow).

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4nujw68m1/Screenshot_4165.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/z6kch4xsp/Screenshot_4166.png)

It is a glorious victory, indeed, made even more devastating to the British by the fact that they lost three capital ships to flash fires and magazine explosions.

For a long time, the reasons for these devastating explosions were obfuscated by the Admiralty: originally, the blame fell on the weak belt and turret armor of the British ships. However, as future research into these battles and the records of the Admiralty would prove, this was, in fact, a disingenuous campaign by certain high-ranking officers of the Admiralty, to cover up near-criminal negligence in the implementation of the proper safety procedures in British ships. Both the Essex and the Berwick were sailing with many of their bulkhead doors open, for the ease of their crews, not expecting any action. Furthermore, fire doors and hatches in the turret barbettes and magazines were left opened as crews rushed to their stations. This allowed explosions in the turrets to travel down to the magazines, with disastrous effects. On the other hand, despite having her 'C' turret penetrated by a 15'' shell, the Graf Spee had survived, because her crew had followed all mandated security precautions

And now, after their experience, the Germans put even more stock on keeping their ships alive. On the other hand, the British-

-well, how much they learned from the disaster at Lerwick is debatable.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 11, 2017, 08:47:36 am
THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR BLOODY SHIPS TODAY, BRITS.

(https://s26.postimg.org/ij81tiyhl/4aana4ia.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Darius on September 11, 2017, 09:09:39 am
Does the British trait of turret flashfires remain a thing throughout the entire game or do they eventually research it away?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 11, 2017, 09:11:25 am
From what I understand, it is gradually phased away.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 11, 2017, 11:27:56 am
[Remains of a Memo, issued as an operational procedure update for his Majesty's Navy, dated January 1916, recovered by intelligence agents]

Recent developments in naval technology among our adversaries have prompted us to reevaluate our current operating procedures regarding capital ship gunnery. From what we can gather, the germans have concentrated on developing their naval gunfire doctrine around large number of highly advanced but comparatively low-calibre guns; it is believed that these guns' shortcomings compared to our own capital naval rifles are adequately compensated by the combination of high volume of fire, the inherent accuracy provided by german fire control technology and the inherent stability provided by the size of the german gun platforms.

As a result, if we are to prevail in the inevitable battle, we must do our utmost to get maximum performance from our existing guns. It is thus ordered:
1. That crew training in ammo handling and gunnery be given the highest priority. Fleet, Task Force and Ship commanders are authorized to conduct live-fire exercises as deemed necessary
2. That unobstructed ammunition passage through the ship be given highest priority during combat. To that end, ammunition hoists are to be kept open at all times. This supercedes the relevant instructions from previously issued training manuals.
3. That training to these new standards be started on all ships no later than February 1st, 1917.

[Rest of memo unrecoverable]
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Col. Fishguts on September 11, 2017, 02:29:20 pm
Lol at all the detonations ;)

What's with the difference between the available forces in the dialogue box before the battle to the number of ship actually present in the scenario?
Does the game RNG a fleet out of the available ships?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 11, 2017, 02:48:29 pm
Lol at all the detonations ;)

What's with the difference between the available forces in the dialogue box before the battle to the number of ship actually present in the scenario?
Does the game RNG a fleet out of the available ships?

Kinda sorta.

The available ships are those currently present and active in the map sector (in contrast to those which are present but not active, like mothballed or reserve ships).

The ships which participate in the battle are selected based on age (it is presumed that a nation will commit their newest and more capable ships before their older deathtraps), speed and mission type.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 11, 2017, 03:31:03 pm
2. That unobstructed ammunition passage through the ship be given highest priority during combat. To that end, ammunition hoists are to be kept open at all times. This supercedes the relevant instructions from previously issued training manuals.

You know, I wonder: I know that this is a thing that regularly happened in the OTL Royal Navy, but was it ever officially sanctioned like you are suggesting here, for the ATL?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 11, 2017, 04:36:28 pm
Quote
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8d/fb/c1/8dfbc1fe83ec6c2fdbff751684045f77.jpg)

"Arising from the tendency of Hochseeflotte Capital Ships returning from their victories with a goodly chunk of the battle-area held in their hulls, sailors of Schlachtkreuzer Sqaudrons started the somewhat perverse tradition of bottling it as mementos.  Even today when visiting the famous sailors' haunts in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel among the plethora of naval memorabilia one can see bier bottles lined behind the bars filled with seawater taken from the likes of Goeben, Von Der Tan, Derfflinger and many others.  Despite its origin as a bit of gallows humor, when confronted with the volume of bottles in these displays one can only stand in awe at the durability and tradition of victory they represent."

Excerpt from "Zitadellen der Stahl: An analysis of the German Battlecruiser Force" Thomas K. Rhodes November 2, 2004
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: niffiwan on September 11, 2017, 04:59:44 pm
I'm don't entirely understand the reason for giving the Brits the turret flashfire weakness trait, the HSF followed the same shoddy ammunition handling procedures until Dogger Bank/Seydlitz. I recall reading somewhere that the practise started because the new explosives used in shells were much safer than those previously used. It took hard lessons on both sides (Dogger Bank/Jutland ~16 months apart) to go back to appropriate ammo handling procedures.

Having said that, I presume the games author knew this as well - can anyone enlighten me to any reasons I'm missing?

Also, for Sir Enioch - have you actually lost any battles in your playthroughs? (ignoring Japanese surprise attacks). It's getting a bit... predictable :(
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 11, 2017, 06:23:57 pm
I read in Osprey's British Dreadnought vs German Dreadnought that while some unsafe handling procedures by the RN contributed to the disasters the differences in powder played the major role.  HSF utilized a slow burning powder while the British used a much faster one that created intense over-pressures, that combined with sub-par flash doors led to the three battlecruisers and two armored cruisers blowing up.  By contrast st Dogger Bank the Seydiltz took a 13.5" shell in the aft turret barbette that  ignited 62 charges but she didn't blow up due to the powder.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 12, 2017, 01:28:46 am
I read in Osprey's British Dreadnought vs German Dreadnought that while some unsafe handling procedures by the RN contributed to the disasters the differences in powder played the major role.  HSF utilized a slow burning powder while the British used a much faster one that created intense over-pressures, that combined with sub-par flash doors led to the three battlecruisers and two armored cruisers blowing up.  By contrast st Dogger Bank the Seydiltz took a 13.5" shell in the aft turret barbette that  ignited 62 charges but she didn't blow up due to the powder.

This.
Also, Germans utilised hard metal casings for their cordite, while the Brits stored it in bags. Combine that with the fact that British cordite was of inferior quality and tended to break down and soak into the bag fabric, and you had a considerably more dangerous environment and a high likelihood for bags going up together.

Also, for Sir Enioch - have you actually lost any battles in your playthroughs? (ignoring Japanese surprise attacks). It's getting a bit... predictable :(

Spoiler:
Yes. :p

But, in all honesty, if you're looking for something more than an overall curbstomp of the AI, eeeeeeh.  :doubt: Sorry to say, but the AI insisted on following the worst possible tactics for dealing with the German fleet and ships, throughout the game.

Snip

<3 <3 <3

This is now canon for the timeline.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 12, 2017, 02:14:24 am
2. That unobstructed ammunition passage through the ship be given highest priority during combat. To that end, ammunition hoists are to be kept open at all times. This supercedes the relevant instructions from previously issued training manuals.

You know, I wonder: I know that this is a thing that regularly happened in the OTL Royal Navy, but was it ever officially sanctioned like you are suggesting here, for the ATL?

I honestly don't know. But it seems to me that, at the very least, this practice must have been tacitly approved by the senior noncoms and commissioned officers in charge of the gun mounts. Whether or not this was ordered directly or indirectly (as in, the Captain telling the gun crews that they must reach this fire rate target, whatever it takes) doesn't really matter -- I don't think that this is something that the on-mount personnel would decide for themselves, not this consistently across the fleet.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 12, 2017, 03:38:00 am
DOUBLE POST: I've taken the liberty of updating the index.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 12, 2017, 03:43:54 am
 :hopping:


Seriously, thanks. Now I need to fix the threadmarks  :nervous:

EDIT: hey, mods / admins, I found a forum bug. Emoticons don't work after a yt bracket.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 12, 2017, 05:46:20 am
ALSO DOUBLE POST.

Threadmarks and navigation are now fixed and updated.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 12, 2017, 06:23:44 am
Spies report the brits are testing a new torpedo, suggest immediate upgrading of our underwater protection:
(https://i.imgur.com/5CvjuWs.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 12, 2017, 06:37:20 am
*Snip*

Foolish Brits.  :lol:

Everybody knows that the Pickelhaube gives German human torpedoes improved penetration.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on September 16, 2017, 05:33:07 am
"Those darn Jerry sewer pipes aren't quite sporting, I say!"
-An anonymous British merchant sailor's final words, as recorded in the ship's log, recovered from the wreckage.
Title: Bergen or: 'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Blowing up'
Post by: Enioch on September 16, 2017, 05:46:26 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/5mt7o7qmx/jutland-sms-kaiser-fires-a-salvo-against-hms-war.jpg)

"The message sent at 12:06 to the Chief of Support that we were engaged with two enemy battle-cruisers on a southeasterly course showed that we had succeeded in meeting the enemy, and that, as we fought we were drawing him closer to our Support Fleet. The duty of the Support Fleet was now to hasten as quickly as possible to support the Main Fleet, and to endeavour to hinder the premature retreat of the enemy."

"The subsequent damage suffered by the flagship might well have been fatal, if not for the daring of the Chief of Support and the bravery shown by the Support Fleet."


-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, GERMANY'S HIGH SEAS FLEET IN THE WAR, 1920 London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne: Cassell and Company, Ltd, p. 146

(https://s26.postimg.cc/rhe8kptp5/Screenshot_4167.png)

In the aftermath of Lerwick, the German fleet is victorious, but mauled. Graf Spee, Hindenburg and Derfflinger suffered the most and will need at least three months in the yards to be repaired. Zähringen has also taken severe damage, but this is mostly limited to underwater compartments and cannot be compared to the Graf Spee's total loss of her 'C' turret. The docks give a more optimistic estimate for her: work on her torp belt and her watertight compartments should be complete in fifty to sixty days.

Meanwhile, and despite the severe losses inflicted upon the British navy, the naval blockade stays in effect. While the Hochseeflotte at their best can challenge the blockading ships, the German harbours are now firmly closed to merchant traffic.

Not to mention the delayed launch of the name ship HMS Sutlej herself. Crap. That's all the Admiralität needed - another British 15-inch battlecruiser on patrol.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9mde3qy6x/Screenshot_4169.png)

The end of the month marks the commissioning of the Prinz Heinrich. She does not, yet, dare to brave the Northern Atlantic waters; her traning cruises take place in the safer waters of the Baltic. She performs to the complete satisfaction of her designers.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/lmyu4h5ll/Screenshot_4170.png)

New torpedoes are introduced; faster, longer-ranged and packing a larger warhead, just in time for the November submarine offensive.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6gssdjfkp/Screenshot_4171.png)

Which, à propos, is back to its usually devastating levels.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/y072xn5w9/Screenshot_4172.png)

And to its usual result with respect to the supply situation in the British Isles. Fortress Albion is starving.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5jhrqxeop/Screenshot_4173.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/580be5y8p/Screenshot_4174.png)

The same cannot be said for the British colonies. Arcona, sailing on long-distance raids from Tsingtao, spots a large convoy making way towards Hong Kong. She attempts to engage...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/8sw6xe2s9/Screenshot_4175.png)

But then her lookouts spot the Diadem-class armored cruiser that is escorting the convoy. The Arcona's 6-inch guns cannot reliably hurt the British ship; on the other hand, the four 10-inch rifles that the Brit can bring to bear can very quickly sink the German cruiser...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/40qyzoxi1/Screenshot_4176.png)

...as the Brit immediately demonstrates with a long-range shot that strikes the Arcona's superstructure.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9fzp0np21/Screenshot_4177.png)

Discretion is the better part of valor, the Germans decide.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/jc0s0auu1/Screenshot_4178.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xx4tru8pl/3d4b8ea71ab88aecffcd9e1e7ca9bc4c.jpg)

December comes; and on the 1st of the month, reports are submitted to the Admiralität. First, R & D arrives, with a design for a gun mount that should be able to permit elevating main battery guns up to thirty degrees. The benefit for the Zähringens is, once again, obvious; unfortunately, prolonging their drydock stay for the four-to-eight-month period that the massive overhaul of their artillery would require is out of the question.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xnka57d09/Screenshot_4180.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/fpzk1eduh/Screenshot_4181.png)

Submarines are continuing to be utter rockstars; the British submariners, on the other hand, only bag a single ship near Tsingtao, as all merchant sea traffic to Germany has been stopped by the blockade. Of course, the blockade still hurts, badly.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/z6k9nx8yh/Screenshot_4182.png)

Which is why, on the 2nd of December, just before noon, we find ourselves in the North Sea, near Bergen. All active German Schlachtkreuzer are on the prowl, looking to find, isolate and destroy any part of the blockading force.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/v3onb3pg9/Screenshot_4183.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ze3b6oujd/Screenshot_4184.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/o3nmf16l5/p03j6q2w.jpg)

The fleet is divided into two task forces. One group comprises of the Mackensen, which had missed the Battle of Lerwick due to her faulty condensers but is now fully operational. On her, Scheer has his flag. The second ship in the column is Zähringen herself, her repairs finished and back to action. The third slot would, usually, have been filled by Graf Spee, but her repairs are still ongoing. Lützow is called upon to complete the trio.

Hipper is following, this time around, in command of the support force. His flag is on the old Moltke, which is followed by the Seydlitz and the Goeben. Closing the formation are the three old Victoria Louises, ready to provide anti-cruiser 11-inch fire. Frauenlob and Bremen have, once again, sortied as scout elements (hilariously, they are so old, by now, that they are slower than the Schlachtkreuzer they are supposed to be scouting for).

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ah4j3ivfd/Screenshot_4185.png)

This is the furthest the Germans have dared extend so far in this war; and it has taken a toll on the older Schlachtkreuzer. They have been on patrol duty for weeks before the sortie; and they have not had the chance to refill their coal bunkers. On the one hand, this limits their operational range, and Scheer is very much aware of the fact. On the other hand, they are lighter and slightly faster, which could tip the scale in an engagement. Then again, the coal bunkers themselves are designed to provide a measure of protection to the ship; being empty, that is no longer the case.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/3lkakf0yh/Screenshot_4186.png)

Scheer is considering calling the sortie off and retreating back to Home Waters, when the Moltke signals ENEMY LIGHT CRUISER BEARING 185. Hipper, being his usual daredevil self, does not wait for Scheer to confirm or authorise a pursuit action; he turns his ships to the south and orders flank speed. Scheer vaccilates, for a few seconds; and then follows.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/afula3tll/Screenshot_4187.png)

Moltke does not take long to identify the lead cruiser as an Andromache. A smaller, Champion-class scout is following her (and now making billy big steps towards the south). Moltke opens fire at long range with her 11-inchers at 10:18.

Some hits are scored. The Germans fire slowly, to preserve their ammunition for a potential fleet action. An hour later, however...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/yywmrexzt/Screenshot_4188.png)

...with Scheer's force joining in the action, the Zähringen scores two hits close to the waterline. And the little scout cruiser vanishes into a cloud of fire and splinters, that fall from the sky like macabre hail.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vcvesih09/Screenshot_4189.png)

There is little time to celebrate, or collect survivors. Zähringen's lookouts identify at least two capitals, approaching from the east. Scheer curses - he still has no idea about the distribution of the enemy forces, or their composition. Is this the main enemy force? Does it make sense to engage?

The enemy ships are still just outside the range of his Schlachtkreuzer, and he is still deliberating, when the British battlecruisers open fire.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/est4sj2c9/Screenshot_4190.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mjncdr4ih/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_cosine_33.jpg)

One 15-inch shell splashes right next to the Mackensen and explodes underwater, denting the ship's double bottom with the force of the explosion. A second shell strikes her belt, at an obliue angle, and ricochets off, screaming like a banshee. A third smashes into her aft engineering spaces and explodes.

And the ship dies; her electrical power disabled. Turrets jam on their bearings. The big steam turbines spin uselessly. The ammo hoists grow quiet. And her propellers slow, and stop.

The German flagship is dead in the water, and the British have already bracketed her, with what looks to be 15-inch guns.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6btmhlxnd/Screenshot_4191.png)

Oh crap. 15-inch guns indeed. That's an Australia, Hipper realises, as he brings his own forces closer: the first implementation of the 15-inchers in British naval design, but by no means less dangerous than a more modern Sutlej, especially for a crippled German ship. She must be driven away from the flagship.

Hipper signals ALL SHIPS FORM LINE OF BATTLE ON SUPPORT FLAG and follows it up with his own order from the Ireland raid: SCHLACHTKREUZER RAN AN DEN FEIND. The signal is taken up by the rest of the German ships; and, still not knowing whether the battlecruisers are an advance force for a larger British fleet, the Germans charge down the barrels of the 15-inchers, hoping to get the enemy into the range of their 12-inchers and old 11-inchers.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/j5w9op0gp/Screenshot_4192.png)

Lützow, her own fuel bunkers now more than half-exhausted responds and pushes in first, overtaking the Zähringen, which follows as close second. Behind them, but quickly catching up, are Hipper's ships.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/o8dljh9qx/Screenshot_4193.png)

The Brits oblige them. Goeben, the old berserker of the Russian wars, scores first blood for the Germans, with an insane shot at the extreme limit of her range. The Brits fire right back, and their superior guns pump three hits into Seydlitz. The first penetrates her aft turret and kills the entire turret crew. The second bounces off her belt; but the third punches through her thin bow armor and detonates under the waterline. Seydlitz's speed immediately drops to 22 knots and her forward compartments start flooding.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/fasvm4hax/Screenshot_4194.png)

A second Andromache now joins in, peppering the Schlachtkreuzer with high-explosive shells. Thankfully, they are defeated by the German armor. Meanwhile, Moltke finds the range, and drills an 11-inch shell into the trailing Australia's belt.

And then a 15-inch shell smashes the Moltke's bow to kindling; and a torpedo, spotted far too late, hits her on the starboard side.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/jxyxnw4nt/Screenshot_4195.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/684ef3hjt/Screenshot_4196.png)

Both German flagships are now crippled, the Moltke, in particular, suffering severe flooding, as a grim reminder of her old war-wound. But the mad charge of the old Schlachtkreuzer has drawn its measure of blood.

The trailing Australia, on which the German fire was mostly concentrated, has been effectively mission-killed. One of her turrets has been cracked open and is now burning merrily; two more are jammed on their bearings.

The other is, essentially, untouched; but she is running as quickly as she can towards the east, for she has seen a new threat. Her electrical systems restored, Mackensen is bearing down on the fight like an avenging god, her guns on double-time.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/c5cv9no2h/Screenshot_4197.png)

Hipper tries to get an idea of the damage his ship has suffered. The news are not as grim as he expected. True, the Moltke has suffered severe underwater damage (a result of her total lack of any torpedo defense system), but her crew are truly elite; and they know how to deal with flooding. Damcon crews have already limited the influx of water considerably; they should be able to stop it completely in, perhaps, half an hour. But the ship cannot do more than 14 knots and two of her turrets (half of her guns) are inoperable. Hipper decides to move his flag to the Goeben; and is ferried over under sporadic fire from the Andromache.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mkeg4tvvd/Screenshot_4198.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/58e3je2e1/Screenshot_4199.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vaud80ntl/CB45-_Shell-cases-on-a-_German-_Battleship-by-_Claus.jpg)

This close to the Arctic cycle, night falls early in December. In the twilight gloom, the combatants lose track of each other. Mackensen flashes recognition signals, as she approaches, to avoid any friendly-fire incidents; and the German ships respond in good order. But a dark shape to the Mackensen's north does not respond; and Scheer does not hesitate.

The Mackensen's guns flash in the darkness, at a target around three thousand yards away. Her secondaries fire star-shells, to better illuminate the enemy ship. Fourteen 12-inch rifles boom again, having acquired the range; and seven shells pound the Brit's aft to shreds. This is a Zähringen-class warship at her element; broadsiding an enemy at close range.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mzppxuhsp/Screenshot_4200.png)

The star-shells wink off; and the British fire back, in the darkness, aiming for the German gun flashes. Goeben, from where Hipper is leading the support squadron, is hit, badly. Two of her turrets are penetrated, with massive casualties; her rudder jams on a tight turn to port and she is left circling, uncontrollably. She is also flooding, from an underwater hit near her engine spaces; she has lost a boiler and she can only do 19 knots.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4y6l01nrt/Screenshot_4201.png)

But, in return, Scheer has brought Mackensen and Lützow in close, crossing the aft T of the Australia. Lützow is quicker on the trigger, and pumps two shells into her. Mackensen aims more carefully and has more guns ready. Seven 12'' shells pummel the British ship.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wa6ff4hw9/Screenshot_4202.png)

At this range, its armor might as well not have existed. Three of her four turrets go up in flame and smoke; the fourth one jams on its bearings. Secondary explosions turn her insides into a charnel house. Finally her guns go silent, and she drifts away in the darkness, a lifeless hulk.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dj4i4ynbt/Screenshot_4203.png)

Scheer will not pursue, not with his ships mauled as they are. He flashes RÜCKZUG to his ships, and the German battlecruiser force begins the long, arduous trek back home.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/svo8yzmhl/Screenshot_4204.png)

His reluctance spares the second Australia. The British ships were, actually, alone, against six German Schlachtkreuzer, but Scheer's ships had received such a beating that he was reluctant to take the chance that a backup force of Dreadnoughts (or, heaven forbid, more 15-inch battlecruisers) might have been in the vicinity. The HMS Monmouth, therefore, manages to reach Scapa Flow in good condition.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/77zaojm3d/Screenshot_4205.png)

It is a testament to the durability of the old, relatively small, under-armed Schlachtkreuzer of Hipper's force that they managed to stand up to the beating they received by the British 15'' guns at such close range, and still claim a kill. For, on the morning of the 3rd of December, while the German ships are still at sea, the British Admiralty makes public the loss of the Australia-class Princess Royal. Having received more than ninety (!) 12'' shells on her hull and superstructure, many at point-blank range, the British ship was an unsalvageable mass of twisted metal and blood.

The Germans were quick to claim a victory and, tactically, they were right. Their ships had suffered significantly, true. The Goeben in particular, true to her 'berserker' rumour had performed better than the more modern Lützow, with 19 confirmed main battery hits; but she had also taken 9 15'' shells on her turrets and belt, more than any other ship in the German fleet. She would need at least three months in drydock to be fully repaired.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/s7feg1nrt/Screenshot_4206.png)

It was this battle (and the near-crippling of the Moltke and the Goeben, going up against significantly superior opponents in the defense of the crippled Mackensen) that earned Hipper the nickname 'Jagdhund' (i.e. 'Hunting Dog'), for his clear tendency to go for the throat and always bring back a kill.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/965ymjel5/Screenshot_4207.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ef0zkex09/Screenshot_4208.png)

But one thing was important, in the Battle of Bergen, something that the Germans did not notice at the time. The Princess Royal had taken massive amounts of damage. More than half of her crew had died on their stations; three out of her four turrets had been penetrated by German shells. And yet, despite all that-

-she had not blown up.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 16, 2017, 06:49:47 am
The brits are having such a fun and engaging time.
Title: Re: Bergen or: 'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Blowing up'
Post by: StarSlayer on September 16, 2017, 11:38:08 am
Quote
But one thing was important, in the Battle of Bergen, something that the Germans did not notice at the time. The Princess Royal had taken massive amounts of damage. More than half of her crew had died on their stations; three out of her four turrets had been penetrated by German shells. And yet, despite all that-

-she had not blown up.

Did WG finally rebalance the detonation mechanic in WoWs this patch? :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 16, 2017, 11:57:06 am
Nah, the Brits just remembered to fly the right signals before going into matchmaking :)
Title: The Harwich Raid
Post by: Enioch on September 17, 2017, 11:29:19 am
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"That fateful morning 18 people fell victim to the German attack, either killed instantly, as in the case of the 14-month-old baby boy Mark Spears Lloyd, or who died later as a result of their wounds like shoemaker Horace Dawson."

"Panic drove people from their homes, fear forced them to flee the town in all directions, whilst the sparse smattering of freshly recruited Territorials in the town tried to help the injured and wounded at the railway station."

"Some 15 minutes or so later there was a brief calm as the ships steaming southward turned northwards and commenced firing again."

"The attack lasted some 30 minutes, and the folk of Harwich suffered greatly, being left to try and save what and who they could as the ships sailed off."


-BBC archives on the Harwich raid

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Mid-war; and the more recent designs for automated fire extinguishers in German ships are leaked to Italy. There is some consternation; but Germany cannot afford to look weak at this point. A diplomatic note of protest is sent to the Italian Government.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5r96wsnbt/Screenshot_4211.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/48dsrtgrd/Screenshot_4212.png)

It is now January; and the promises of the Kaiser for a war that will be over before Christmas are proven...well, false is a strong word, but it kinda fits, in this case. Great Britain is suffering, but still holding fast; her fleet is still a threat; and, while the submarine campaign has caused massive damage to her merchant fleet, she still has the resources of an entire Empire to draw upon.

Once more, the German submariners brave the winter seas; once more, they savage the British convoys.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dhkkfof15/Screenshot_4213.png)

Despite the British blockade, it is not the German populace that hungers during the Christmas holidays.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/l52vk8obd/Screenshot_4214.png)

It is time to push them hard. So far, the British civilians have experienced war as something distant and far away. They suffer the deprivations inflicted by the German submarines; and they have sent their young men to sea, to die; but Fortress Britain is still sacrosanct, safe. Impregnable for centuries.

The Admiralität proposes a plan to show the enemy the error of that belief. The most daring enterprise yet proposed, concocted after months-long deliberation and planning: a raid, in the Estuary of the Thames, there to engage British merchant traffic and destroy coastal infrastructure.

This is Galster's baby; he has been working on this plan for months, while Tirpitz has taken over oversight of the U-Boot operations. Galster's intelligence team have been sending fake signals from German port installations and supply bases for months; shuttling his Kreuzer and Schlachtkreuzer around; letting the British think that the Germans are planning a repeat of Bregen: a push towards the Scandinavian north, near or past Scapa Flow. Admiral Beatty takes the bait, hook line and sinker, moving his most capable 15-inch ships to the northern waters and intensifying coastal patrols near the Faroes.

And so, on the 27th of January, the German forces use the heavy rain and gale-like winds to sneak into the south-eastern British Home Waters, undetected.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/crx6pkp3t/Screenshot_4215.png)

It is worth noting that the force composition is a compromise. Galster had originally planned for all three Zähringens to be present, as the core of the battlefleet; unfortunately, after the engagement at Bergen, only the Graf Spee is available for action. And so, Germany is pushing in with a force very much inferior to what had been originally planned. Furthermore, the German ships are pushing in during, essentially, a storm: the same weather conditions that Scheer had warned against. Scheer himself, on board the Graf Spee, has expressed his considerable misgivings; he is not eager to have his ships charged down and sunk by British torpedo boats, in British waters.

Hipper is leading the scout element from the Lützow, followed by the hastily repaired Moltke and Seydlitz. His line is screened by Frauenlob and Bremen, and a suadron of Zerstörer.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/62qn9k3rt/Screenshot_4216.png)

Scheer follows him, with his own Zerstörer screen; he leads a task force composed of the Spee, the Derfflinger and the old Von der Tann.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/m3j8mj1nd/Screenshot_4217.png)

Their target is Harwich, and it is just after noon when the British coast is sighted through the rain and gale. The British manning the coastal batteries can now see the German fleet too; and they begin manning their stations in a scrambling panic.

The German ships open fire at extreme range, cratering the ground around the British batteries; and the proceed to suppress British fire for the next hour and a half, pounding the harbour installations into smithereens. It is two hours later, after the rain stopped, that the Graf Spee lookouts see the smoke of incoming ships from the south-west.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xifpr5dzt/Screenshot_4218.png)

The Grand Fleet (or part of it, at least) has responded. Now, Scheer muses, let's see what they have brought to-

(https://s26.postimg.cc/45tx4zd3t/Screenshot_4219.png)

What.

They are still operating predreads? Scheer finds it hard to believe it, but the lookouts are categorical: they identify at least two Mars-class predreads, leading the force. Littoral defense ships? Is that the best that the British can-

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6ofm5nyu1/Screenshot_4220.png)

Fire flashes from the British line; twenty seconds later, a shell strikes Derfflinger's X turret and jams it on its bearings.

That's no predread firing - they don't have the range.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/rru4r5vdl/Screenshot_4221.png)

And then new identifications start coming in; and Scheer realises, to his horror, that he's facing a British Dreadnought line.

These are smaller ships than what the Germans have brought, true, with more limited broadsides; but, for the first time, the Germans are facing ships with 10 or more inches of belt armor and similarly or better-armored turrets. These things can brawl, and it's a rude awakening for the Germans.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xeqhomxw9/Screenshot_4222.png)

A Prince of Wales-class leads the battle-line, firing 13-inch rifles at the Lützow.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vlnl0bcpl/Screenshot_4223.png)

It is followed by an Albion-class and holy crap that's a 14-inch Dreadnought, with 11.5 turret armor.

OK, it's half the size of the Graf Spee, but still...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dz7g6snq1/tanya_degurechaff_and_viktoriya_ivanovna_sereb.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ybwwxi9eh/Screenshot_4224.png)

No. Scheer decides. This is not why he is here. Not with only one Zähringen-class to brawl with the British battle-line. The Germans have made their point; there is no reason to risk the Flotte any further.

He brings the Graf Spee closer to the enemy, and sails towards the south-east, giving Hipper's task force the chance to slip behind him and begin disengaging. Surprisingly, the Brits ignore the flagship and focus their fire on the trailing Von der Tann, which is hit twice in rapir succession, once on her deck and once on her aft starboard wing turret. Both shells ricochet off, but the turret jams.

In return, the Von der Tann straddles the Prince of Wales, keeping her away from the German force, while the Moltke and the Graf Spee focus their fire on the closing Mars-class predreads. These ships have overextended-

(https://s26.postimg.cc/r9yzbb5sp/Screenshot_4225.png)

-and they pay for it. In the half-hour it takes Hipper's force to be in a position to retreat, the two British pre-dreads have been pounded into scrap. But any intention Scheer had of, perhaps, continuing the fight is quickly snuffed out when a 14-inch shell strikes the Derfflinger's fore fire control director, knocking it out of commission. With one of his only three 12-inch Schlachtkreuzer blinded, Scheer has no second thoughts about signaling the fleet to retreat.


(https://s26.postimg.cc/6xhs9c109/Screenshot_4226.png)

As he does, he orders the Graf Spee to focus her fire on the Albion, scoring a couple of long-range plunging-fire hits on her decks and forcing her to turn away.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/h8u51zspl/Screenshot_4227.png)

Both fleets disengage. The Germans have been driven off; but, in their wake, they have left a devastated Harwich, and the burning and slowly sinking hulks of the two old battleships, serving as grim reminders of the fact that Britain soil is not inviolate and not beyond the reach of the German fleet.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/qn4nziyah/Screenshot_4229.png)

The high spirits among the German forces are somewhat dampened by the fact that the Lützow strikes a mine during the journey home.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/86a98pic9/Screenshot_4230.png)

The damcon crews spring to action and the ship is saved; she will only need a month in drydock. Sadly, more bad news are waiting for Scheer upon his return. Despite the damage inflicted upon the harbour installations, the naval arsenal (the main target of the raid) is reported by the British to be unharmed; and the coastal batteries prevented Scheer from sinking any merchant ships.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/u3g2usmxl/it-was-a-glorious-victory2-1914-12.jpg)

Instead, the British are crying (literally) bloody murder for the alleged deaths of civilians during the bombardment. Pffft. It was a defended city, with a naval arsenal. Absolutely legitimate target. Deal with it, Brits. No war crimes here.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ooy01j5sp/Screenshot_4232.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/e3e4pizh5/Screenshot_4234.png)

However, the sinking of the two battleships is still a significant blow (both material and morale-affecting) and the Germans put this down as a victory. They have struck a blow against Britain in Albion's own home waters; the Brits, on the other hand, have yet to brave the Baltic.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/g98fk12xl/Screenshot_4236.png)

And the British populace, of course, are well aware of this. The Admiralty is severely criticised for their failure to safeguard the lives and property of British citizens; and large demonstrations take place in London and other large metropolitan centres. For the first time, the opposition takes a clear anti-war stance. In return, several MPs that advocate an honourable peace, if necessary with concessions towards Germany, are arrested. This is followed by week-long strikes and riots, all over Great Britain, with starving citizens taking to the streets in angry protest.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/76ojqqsk9/Screenshot_4237.png)

...And just like that, every single British cruiser is obsolete. Prinz Heinrich can outshoot any cruiser they have; and she's fast enough to escape from the very battlecruisers that are supposed to be her hunters.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dtb7jxa8p/Screenshot_4239.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4k919t1cp/Screenshot_4240.png)

February; and the German submarines once again savage the British merchantmen. The waters to the south-west of Britain are now a ship graveyard.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/izmcuyp09/Screenshot_4241.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/dj8aebl09/Screenshot_4242.png)

And the riots in Britain continue. The situation is bad enough that the Parliament buildings have to be evacuated; the MPs now need to meet in bunkers, under military protection.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/wgnwrkopl/Screenshot_4244.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/tws9xh15l/Screenshot_4245.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/s4d98lwrd/Tanya.png)

And this is why Germany does not fear the Russians. It's 1918 and they're building 13-inch battlecruisers, with no fire Directors.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/e2ddnlcex/Screenshot_4247.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/sssqx3pqx/Guuf_AV9.gif)

****!


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 17, 2017, 11:32:47 am
I'M SORRY BAGUETTES.

DID YOU NEED THAT LINER?

OH DEAR.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 19, 2017, 04:47:48 am
(https://i.imgur.com/VBUCCYy.gif)
Subs please, you keep doing such an amazing job and then you ruin it by sinking another liner.

(This last battle report kind of needed another screenshot of both fleets, without another window blocking the overview. After the two pre-dreads show up, I couldn't really tell from the screenshots what the disposition of both fleets were)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Buckshee Rounds on September 21, 2017, 02:47:36 pm
Holy autism, this game is on the heavy end of the spectrum. Sign me the **** up!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 21, 2017, 03:05:33 pm
So...uh. You may have noticed that I disappeared for a few days there. That's because I am currently on a field assignment, studying a 7th-century BCE relief-decorated shield, with one of the (if not the) earliest depiction(s) of the Zeus - Typhon duel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon#Battle_with_Zeus) included in its decoration. As you can imagine, my current mental state can be succintly summarised thusly:

(http://24.media.tumblr.com/168c0b7e8e9ccf1b2bb5b58631bfe07c/tumblr_mjm8bu9ZI41s6h1zqo1_500.gif)

Returning home this weekend. Probably update this Saturday or Sunday.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 21, 2017, 03:16:49 pm
Pics or it didn't happen. :P

Bonus points if you are wearing a Fedora
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrme700zar1qcsgmjo1_500.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 21, 2017, 03:23:09 pm
Can't publish pics...yet. Read all about it in my project blog, which should be going up this November!  :p

I don't own a Fedora. I own a Panama...

(https://s26.postimg.org/alf6hriu1/Belloq.jpg)

After all, somebody else discovered the shield. :drevil:
Title: Triumph
Post by: Enioch on September 24, 2017, 04:19:17 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/pqhqgq7uh/Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-17_Untergang_der.jpg)

[...] Compte tenu des actes récents des Autorités Impériales Allemandes en violation des droits Français en haute mer qui ont abouti au torpillage et au naufrage du navire à vapeur Français Aquitaine le 3 mai 1918, par lequel plus de 230 citoyens Français ont perdu la vie, il est clairement judicieux et souhaitable que le gouvernement Français et le gouvernement Impérial Allemand soient parfaitement conscients de la situation grave qui en a résulté. [...]

-Excerpt from an official notice sent by the French Government to the German Authorities, three days after the sinking of the Aquitaine.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/iiap56khl/Tanya_pissed.jpg)

On the night of the 3rd of May 1918, near the coast of Armorique, a German submarine, the U-112, spots a large liner, possibly a troopship. A close inspection of the vessel reveals it to be sailing with its lights extinguished; but sonar operators report that she is regularly sounding her fog horn. Kapitänleutnant Igor Muetz brings his ship closer and confirms that she is the French transatlantic liner Aquitaine, a registered neutral ship. She is within the specified 'war zone', where civilian ships may be subject to submarine attack, but she is a neutral ship and not a valid target. Muetz briefly considers surfacing and offering assistance (it is clear that the ship has sufffered some electrical difficulties), but he finally decides that this would expose his boat to danger from potential British ASW patrols and decides not to risk it. He returns to his hunting grounds and gives the Aquitaine no second thought - after all, if she holds her present course, she will leave the 'war zone' within two or three hours at the most.

Unfortunately for the French liner (that is, indeed, suffering from a massive short-circuit of her electrical systems that, in itself, killed two of its crewmen) Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Körner of the U-132 is not as conscientious or professional as Muetz; and his boat has a temperamental sonar array. Unlike his most experienced and wary colleague, upon spotting what he perceives to be a blacked-out troopship or freighter, Körner immediately snapshots a spread of three torpedoes in her general direction and maneuvers to evade.

The Aquitaine is struck port amidships and sinks within the hour, almost a hundred miles from the French coast. The early spring sea is freezing and there is no time to mount an ordered, complete evacuation. Almost four hundred civilians (men, women and children alike) die, including thirty British, seven Germans, eighty-four Americans and over a hundred and fifty French.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/d0di3mzw9/Tensions7.png)

The vocal protests of Woodrow Wilson's USA is but a distant buzzing in the ears of von Mecklenburg - no matter the American imperialists' protests, Wilson still lacks the popular support he needs to involve the US in a transatlantic war. Similarly, the protests of the Italians and the Japanese do not come as a surprise; and it is possible to stall those. But the massive blow to von Mecklenburg's foreign policy comes from the dramatic (and completely justified) alienation of the French. This is not a (debatably) legal sinking of a British ship (Red Cross or no); this is a clear-cut case of unjustifyingly sinking a neutral ship  - a war crime by any definition of the term, including that of the Germans.

Escalation with France (that would have them, potentially, join the war on the Brits' side) is only averted by the prompt arrest and military trial of Körner. This time, there is no protest from the Admiralität. Tirpitz and Galster are very much aware of how dramatically the situation could change if the Marine Nationale joins the Grand Fleet. War with France would also immediately cut the lifelines of supplies (including military supplies) currently flowing into Germany from the French borders; this, in turn, would lead to a terrifyingly more effective British naval blockade.

Mecklenburg, by now significantly more aged and tired that he was nearly two decades ago, when he first made his debut in the Berlin scene, dances like he's never danced before. He knows that Britain is ready to fold - he knows that it's simply a matter of weeks before the starving populace resorts to extreme measures. He must prevent the revitalisation an alliance with France would bring to the British; and so, he appeases, compromises, obfuscates, makes empty promises. Anything to buy the Admiralität the weeks - days - hours they will need.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/qqgrkjku1/Screenshot_4248.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/61crq4n5l/Screenshot_4249.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/euz2thkqh/Screenshot_4250.png)

This same urgency permeates the entirety of the German Navy. The submarines have performed quite well, but now Tirpitz pulls them back. There must be no repeat of the Aquitaine this month.

Instead, it is the Hochseeflotte that is sent out to raid. Specifically, the new, G7-class Zerstörer. They are big enough and their range is just long enough to permit them to reach the Celtic Sea; they are fast enough to escape any British light cruisers they might encounter and large enough to smash any British destroyers they might face. It is a desperation measure, but desperate times...

The Schlachtkreuzergeschwader draw the attention of the British fleet near Skaggerak; five Zerstörer slip through the Channel to hit the British convoys. This is a one-way trip; a German-chartered coaler is diverted to resupply them near the northern coast of Spain.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/apsrlbcc9/Screenshot_4251.png)

The Zerstörer are lucky. On the morning of the 25th of March, they sight a large British convoy. Nine massive freighters - American grain transports, mostly - escorted by seven British destroyers.

The German ships form line of attack; Fregattenkapitän Friedrich Halsband's S-22 leading the charge. The freighters are sailing in two groups, of four and five ships; the Germans attack from the south, breaching the British perimeter and engaging the southernmost, five-freighter group with their 100mm guns. As the British destroyers scramble to intercept, the Germans show their broadsides and launch their fish.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/syuy1vry1/Screenshot_4252.png)

The lead enemy destroyer - a 700-ton Boyne-class ship - eats a German torpedo on her bow and her hull cracks like an eggshell. She flips over and sinks almost immediately.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5uuh9aomx/Screenshot_4253.png)

But the British destroyermen pay the Germans back, blow for blow. The S-18, one of the newest, mine-bearing G7 Zerstörer, eats a British torpedo in return and suffers the same fate as her opponent.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/44bg7t73t/Screenshot_4254.png)

But, despite the supreme valour shown by the British, their ships are smaller and less seaworthy than the German Zerstörer and they are too late to save the freighters. The Germans take an utter mauling at the hands of the enemy destroyers: they lose the S-10 as well, to enemy guns; and the G-7 herself only barely makes it to Spain; but, they still manage to sink seven of the nine freighters and skulk away...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/r8bx0eaex/Screenshot_4255.png)

...slipping into a small, localised squall.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vchh6mvqx/Screenshot_4256.png)

The British, in turn, lose three of their destroyers; but it is the loss of the food transports that hurts them the most. There is little they can do beyond gathering up their survivors, and morosely returning to Britain.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/9z01fj9yx/Screenshot_4257.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hwugh6n95/Screenshot_4258.png)

The surviving German raiders do not feel jubilant either. They have sunk their targets, but have suffered considerable damage themselves. Any plans for a long-lived Zerstörer raiding flotilla operating near the Spanish and French coastlines have been dashed - they have lost two ships and the G-7 will take weeks to repair in neutral ports.

They sail south at cruise speed, blacked-out and under strict radio silence, baby-sitting the crippled G-7 for two rainy, cold, miserable days. And then, having finally entered radio range of the collier Siegfried, they learn the news.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/76bf98z09/Screenshot_4259.png)

On the 26th of March, a day that will be forever marked in the history of our world, London burns. Several Army regiments mutiny and march on the British capital; others just...fall apart. Three Dreadnoughts (the Glory, Prince of Wales and the newly-commissioned Redoutable) join in the mutiny and pin the rest of the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow; they are quickly joined by many other ships.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/d6r76q915/article-1342305-0056_B2_CC00000258-186_634x497.jpg)

Despite the opening chaos, the mutineers manage to re-establish a modicum of control within the next week. There is no question of civil war here - there are only desperate people, who need this war to end. They are quickly joined by several 'Peoples' Delegations' from many cities and boroughs. Their representatives request a Royal audience.

The King and Royal Family are sacrosanct to the mutineers. Even the more cynical amongst them recognise that the legality of their coup depends on their claim that they are respecting the Royal authority. To say that King George V is not pleased to be dealing with the 'rebel socialists' is an understatement. But he is politically savvy enough to recognise that the situation has no conventional solution; and that it is terrifyingly easy to squander the political goodwill his people are willing to accord him.

And so he backs off. The previous Parliament is dissolved, by Royal Decree. The April Armistice with the Germans is negotiated; for the first time in almost a year, food supplies reach the Isles. Elections are held, for the first time including women over 30 years old and all men over 21 into the electoral body. A new government is elected, with a clear peace mandate.

And von Mecklenburg meets with British delegates in Paris, to discuss terms of peace.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/esjske6gp/Screenshot_4260.png)

At this point, the Germans, essentially, can dictate what terms they want. But Mecklenburg has a specific agenda, and he pushes it mercilessly.

For two hundred years, the British have ruled the waves. Their colonial Empire spans the globe; it lives and dies by the control of sea traffic. Mecklenburg wishes for this to stop.

The lifeline of Britain - the jugular that connects her with her Far Eastern holdings, including the jewel of the Raj, Hong Kong and Australia - is the Mediterranean. This is the jugular that the Reichskanzler is now poised to rip out.

Negotiations continue for a month, during which the British Grand Fleet remains interned in Brest, under the watchful eyes of the three Zähringens and with skeleton crews. During this time, a limited number of supply ships and freighters are allowed through the German submarine blockade, to bring the bare necessities to the suffering British population.

Eventually, and under von Mecklenburg's ultimatum that hostilities will resume unless an agreement is reached by the 15th of May, the British relent. As a compromise, Mecklenburg agrees to release the British Fleet without claiming any prizes. But, on the other hand, he has secured two holdings for Germany that far surpass any war gains she has seized since the turn of the century.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/x2n6m9q2h/535ed60b4a573f98dec160a5d8152ea3.jpg)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6vlzqb7sp/1200px-_War_Ensign_of_Germany_1903-1918_.svg.png)

First: the Rock. Gibraltar itself. Britain's bastion on the entrance of the Mediterranean for the last three hundred years, now flies the Schwartz-Weiss-Rot.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/x57293tq1/73530d39cdc3e9dac673777ed237d175--retro-posters-.png)

Second: Egypt, with her oh-so-precious Suez canal, is ceded to Germany. This is a true humiliation for the British - this is von Mecklenburg's masterstroke. Never mind the hugely profitable cotton crops that are now under new management; never mind the gateway to the Sinai (and, through that, to the oil-rich Arab peninsula) that Egypt provides the Germans: what Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg has achieved, with this, his short victorious war, that lasted less than a year, is to render the Mediterranean a German lake. Both entrances are now controlled by the Reich; and allied Greece serves as a strong buffer state in the Dardanelles region, to keep the Russian Black Sea Fleet bottled in. British sea traffic from the Indian Ocean now needs to either pay absurd tolls to cross the Suez, or circumnavigate Africa.

And, of course, the strategic implications of this paradigm shift in times of war are enormous. Germany can now, at will, deny her enemies the Suez.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6bka9h1rt/Screenshot_4262.png)

So, finally, there is peace. Germany settles in, grimly satisfied, like a well-fed beast. The Kaiser crows of German superiority; the Navy are the heroes of the day.

And that same satisfaction permeates the Navy as well. They have all done their duty. From the relentless grinding stone of the U-bootflotte, to the daring pirate raids of the light cruisers, to
the overwhelming might of the Schlachtkreuzergeschwader, to the suicidal bravery of the Zerstörer crews: everyone has been a part of this victory.

And the Navy enjoys the fruits of victory as well. With tensions as low as they've ever been - with the world still reeling at the upset that Mecklenburg and his 'Iron Dogs' have brought, the Admiralität grants massive Siegestag pay bonuses to the sailors, followed by blanket leaves of absence for most of the active-duty personnel.

Not the R & D folk, though. They are the unsung heroes; and they are still working hard (perhaps harder now than ever) to digest the treasure-trove of information they have received.

For, amidst the chaos of the burning of London, some designs and blueprints went missing, only to, eventually, find themselves in the hands of the German Intelligence. If some mid-ranking British officers who had seen which way the wind was blowing found themselves somewhat richer, that was a fortuitous coincidence and nothing more. Furthermore, German agents had had multiple chances to covertly (but thoroughly) examine the British ships during their internment in Brest. All their notes were channeled to the German ship designers; and some of these notes were worth their weight in gold.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5pzwr3w3d/Screenshot_4264.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/n5u2ssv21/Screenshot_4265.png)

Firstly, British gun mounts. They were designed to handle considerably heavier guns than their German analogues. The turret designs of the Camperdowns, for instance, were a revelation in space savings and ergonomic design for the Germans. They were still criminally under-armored, of course; but the Germans now had a radically different base turret layout that they could up- or down-scale to some extent, and modify for their purposes (including a massive increase in armor). Another thing to integrate in the Zähringens' imminent reconstruction.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xjqb8aqex/Screenshot_4266.png)

Secondly, British guns. Specifically, the complete blueprints to the British BL 15-inch Mk I rifles: the 'big terrors' that had terrorised the Schlachtkreuzer captains.

Here, the engineers were appalled. The British guns were high-caliber, but they exhibited a number of obvious performance faults, that brought to mind Germany's 14-inchers. After beginning work on the Bismarck-class superdreadnoughts, the Germans had experimented extensively with their own 14-inch designs, ironing out many of the early problems. These innovations were now integrated into the BL15Mk1, producing a working prototype of what was classified as the "38cm SK L/45" gun. Caliber was one milimetre lower than the British rifle; but the German gun was 45 calibers long, instead of the British shorter, 42-caliber barrel, which gave it a higher muzzle velocity, extended range and increased penetration, at the expense of a slight reduction in shell weight. This was, again, countered by a drastic redesign of the gun breech, to accept German metal propellant casings, instead of the British warhead-and-bag loading system. This helped push the rate of fire up and provided increased safety.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/z1brjuv5l/Screenshot_4267.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/fkr1xc01l/Screenshot_4268.png)

Finally, preliminary designs for a new 1500-ton Zerstörer class, reached the surprising conclusion that a hull of that size would be sufficient to support superfiring turrets. This was revolutionary. While the budget of the Admiralität could not support laying down such a class yet (especially after the severe slashing that the military budget had received after peace had been concluded), a small group of naval engineers stayed on the project, with a strange gleam in their eyes.

Passers-by their offices would often see them huddled around ship models, hull framing mockups and blueprints, muttering things like "Nein, wir brauchen schwerere Geschütze, Klaus!"

September 1918; a hundred days after peace is concluded. Let's have a look at the state of the world.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/i9qg13uwp/Screenshot_4269.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6aextspbt/Screenshot_4270.png)

For the first time in recent history, the Brits are not leading the world in their naval budget. They simply can't afford to outspend the Americans, for now. Thankfully for the brits, their infrastructure has not been significantly hit; they can rebuild pretty quickly. Germany is third, with a yearly budget that dwarfs that of the other powers, but is still sixty million  Reichsmark behind the British one and almost a hundred million behind the 'Muricans.

Germany is far behind her leading competitors in Dreadnought tonnage, as well. She has no 'official' Dreadnoughts in commission: two of the three Fürst Bismarcks are still almost a year away, while work on the third ship of the class, SMS Brandenburg has been frozen due to budgetary difficulties. That said, these three ships combined displace three-quarters the total active Dreadnouht tonnage of the British; and the British have eight Dreads in active service. Germans build bigger and better.

Germany, on the other hand, leads the world in heavy battlecruisers. No surprise there, as the three Zähringens alone clock in at 156k tons and account for almost half her active Schlachtkreuzer tonnage. It is worth noting, however, that none of her active battlecruisers can reach a speed higher than 25 knots (a speed shared by the German Dreadnoughts, under construction) and none of her ships mount any weapon of higher caliber than 12 inches. These ships have served well; but, despite their elite crews and their illustrious careers, they are rapidly falling behind in effectiveness. The early veterans (the Von der Tanns and the Moltkes, in particular, with their lack of torpedo belts, are obsolescent.

Predreads are, of course, irrelevant, as EVERYBODY BUT THE BRITS has realised.

Heavy cruisers are an interesting field of discussion. Here, Germany reigns supreme; but she does so by sacrificing supremacy in the light cruiser field. Once more, Germany builds uncompromising hybrids. Her doctrine has completely discarded the idea of the light cruiser raider; her cruisers are meant to scout and destroy enemy cruisers, with heavy guns. Anti-DD work is considered a secondary function; and the large German Zerstörer are thought sufficient to handle it.

That said, Germany does suffer from a crippling lack of Zerstörer. Yes, in tonnage, her destroyer fleet is quite satisfactory; but in number of hulls not so much. German Zerstörer can usually win one-on-one fights with their contemporary equivalents; but they can't be everywhere.

And as for submarines...

*Dry chuckle*

(https://s26.postimg.cc/40dhx6t6h/3ae40391c142de9ba7eef67293d04943.png)

Aww, look at Russia and Japan trying to submarine, they honestly think they're intimidating.

Adorabble.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 24, 2017, 04:21:09 am
WHASSUP BRITS

IMMA HELP MYSELF TO THE MED NOW.

NO, PLEASE, DON'T GET UP.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 24, 2017, 06:34:54 am
[From a speech delivered by Kaiser Wilhelm to the Reichstag, on the conclusion of the England War]

Friends! Germans!

Today marks a historic day in german, nay, world history. When my father and grandfather built the German Empire out of the many states, they dreamt of the day when we would finally claim our rightful place amongst the powers of Europe. Proclaiming our Empire's founding in Versailles, rightly conquered, was the first step. Today, we are again victorious. Today, we have shown the world that even its greatest powers are subordinate to us, that all the might of Empire means nothing against the will and might of a unified people. Today, we claim Britains greatest prizes as the spoils of war: Today, Germany truly takes its place in the sun. For this is the price we have asked Britain to pay us to end this war: To grant us dominion over the strait of Gibraltar and the country of Egypt.

Britain has agreed to this. Yes, you heard this right: The black, white and red will now proudly fly at Gibraltar and at Suez. Never again need our merchants pay Britain for quick access to the riches of Asia. Never again need our seamen brave the treacherous Cape of Good Hope to reach our holdings there.

Germany is grateful for the work its greatest sons have done to accomplish this. For were it not for the brilliance, audacity and perseverance of our Admiral von Tirpitz, Admirals Galster and Scheer, the skills and dedication of the thousands of seamen serving on our ships, the genious engineers and scientists even now working at our Universities and at the forges, and of course the iron will of our Chancellor von Mecklenburg, we would not be here today. Yes, the past years have been hard on us. We have fought wars against the Russians, the Italians, the Japanese even, but these were all just preliminaries to this. We will not promise that this was the final war. But what we will promise is that, from now on, we are no longer just the upstart. We will, now and forever, be the leading light of Europe and the world. We will bring our ways and methods to Asia and Africa, and we will make the greater german empire into a beacon of prosperity and advancement to outshine the rest of the world. We welcome our new subjects with open arms, and we hope that they too will enrich us as much as we will enrich them.

What we ask of you is just this: Make this new Empire worthy of the blood, sweat and tears its brave soldiers have shed. Our Chancellor will now give you the details you need to do this, and we will properly honour our heroes tomorrow in our Palace.

[excerpt ends]
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 24, 2017, 06:44:17 am
Ok, that is way too eloquent for KFW. Who wrote the speech for him?  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 24, 2017, 07:16:52 am
I did :P

(In canon, it was probably von Mecklenburg?)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 24, 2017, 08:47:46 am
[...]and of course the iron will of our Chancellor von Mecklenburg [...]

Quote from: Johann Albrecht Herzog zu Mecklenburg
"OK, Willy, and this is where you ****ing thank the others and me profusely or the pain train is going to go Weimar Republic on your mustachioed behind. I'm talking ****ing Orient Express, *****."
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 24, 2017, 09:24:22 am
Complete and total victory, get 10 points, India cost is 40. Is it even possible to take over colonies like SA or India at all?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 24, 2017, 09:26:22 am
Invasions
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 24, 2017, 10:09:06 am
[...]and of course the iron will of our Chancellor von Mecklenburg [...]

Quote from: Johann Albrecht Herzog zu Mecklenburg
"OK, Willy, and this is where you ****ing thank the others and me profusely or the pain train is going to go Weimar Republic on your mustachioed behind. I'm talking ****ing Orient Express, *****."

"I can guarantee you that, if you aren't extremely careful right now, the ****ing socialists and communists will do to Berlin what they did to London. We cannot let that happen, ever."
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 25, 2017, 09:03:44 am
Invasions
Well, get on this!
World domination
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 25, 2017, 10:17:19 am
Invasions
Well, get on this!
World domination

"A new, hawkish government has come to power..."  :P

The problem with that is that you need to dominate the sea region and have capital ships present to initiate an invasion.

Germany desperately needs  her home fleet back in Europe, because it's where most of the major powers keep their fleets as well. You very rarely get the luxury of having sufficient ships to spare for e.g. an Indian Ocean task force.

Not to say that it's impossible, obviously... :drevil:

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 25, 2017, 10:26:30 am
In gameplay terms, what does possession of Gibraltar and the Suez channel actually do? Suez, I would assume, shortens transfer times to asia, but does Gibraltar allow you to block traffic into and out of the Med or what?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 25, 2017, 11:00:39 am
Suez blocks ships from going through if tensions with the country controlling it is >= 7 (with a max of 10) or something around that point (sue me, I don't remember  :p) Interestingly, that does NOT shorten the path from the Northern Atlantic (i.e. Europe) to the far East.

Specifically, there are two ways to go from the Indian Ocean to Europe:

1. Indian Ocean -> Mediterranean (via Suez) -> Northern Atlantic.

2. Indian Ocean -> West Africa -> Northern Atlantic.

So, if you eliminate the first option, you still have the option of covering the same distance in the same time.

What it does deny your opponent are:

1. Options. The Suez is inviolate. If you've blocked it for them, they MUST come via Cape; and you can park your intercepting force in West Africa and smash them there. This is particularly useful if you're hunting a raider and wish to eliminate their options.

2. Good harbors. Unless you pour MILLIONS into them (which, at this point, I have), the harbors of Africa just suck. They cannot support any fleet worthy of the name. In contrast, every harbor in the Med is a well-developed base at game start. So, if you take your fleet via West Africa, your ships are likely to suffer the dreaded "*" modifier, which means 'unmaintained / undersupplied'. Taking them via Med / Suez, on the other hand, pretty much guarantees they will arive in the Indian Ocean / Far East in good condition.

Gibraltar, on the other hand, does not "block" traffic. But if you have this base and a fleet in the Med, it becomes almost impossible not to intercept raiders crossing the straits. I.e. if you have a fast cruiser in the Med and an enemy ship tries to enter either from the Northern Atlantic or the West Africa (or leave the Med for those regions) you are all but guaranteed an intercepting cruiser battle.

Interestingly, Panama does give you both blocking rights AND a shorter route... :rolleyes:

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 25, 2017, 11:12:50 am
And yes, I know that not having the Suez give you a shorter route is stupid. Personally, I would have split the Indian Ocean into two regions : Indian Ocean and South- East Africa, with the Suez linking to the Indian Ocean. This would have added a month to the circumnavigation route.

That said, Egypt is a moneybin in itself. Even if you disregard the tactical benefits, a 5-value province represents a major income increase.

It still doesn't compare to the 10-point province of Panama, of course. :p ;7
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on September 25, 2017, 11:17:20 am
And yes, I know that not having the Suez give you a shorter route is stupid. Personally, I would have split the Indian Ocean into two regions : Indian Ocean and South- East Africa, with the Suez linking to the Indian Ocean. This would have added a month to the circumnavigation route.

That said, Egypt is a moneybin in itself. Even if you disregard the tactical benefits, a 5-value province represents a major income increase.

It still doesn't compare to the 10-point province of Panama, of course. :p ;7
Are you hinting at obtaining control of Panama after a future war with America here?  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 25, 2017, 11:17:57 am
Spoiler:
he already did
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 25, 2017, 11:26:28 am
And yes, I know that not having the Suez give you a shorter route is stupid. Personally, I would have split the Indian Ocean into two regions : Indian Ocean and South- East Africa, with the Suez linking to the Indian Ocean. This would have added a month to the circumnavigation route.

That said, Egypt is a moneybin in itself. Even if you disregard the tactical benefits, a 5-value province represents a major income increase.

It still doesn't compare to the 10-point province of Panama, of course. :p ;7
Are you hinting at obtaining control of Panama after a future war with America here?  :p

I have no idea what you're talking about.  :rolleyes: :nervous:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 25, 2017, 11:56:55 am
Speaking of "VotD" can you access fleet logistics through the build/research trees?  I'd imagine if Regina Marina or the Kaiserliche und Königliche have aspirations outside of the Med they would especially need to invest in some logistics ships.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 25, 2017, 12:38:17 pm
Not really. There are techs that increase the endurance and range of ships (mostly linked to the machinery tech subtree), but nothing that directly affects logistics forces

To my knowledge, there is no way you can project logistics support for your vessels into a region where you don't have the necessary base infrastructure (unless, of course you ally yourself with another Power, which enables you to use their harbours).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 25, 2017, 12:54:52 pm
Dear RtW2 Devs,

Gib ABSD-1 plz.

(http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/28/09280103.jpg)

I have the honor to be.
 
Your obedient servant,

-Jno. Benson
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 25, 2017, 01:29:53 pm
Yes.

I mean this is something that strains my suspension of disbelief quite a bit. A large drydock is expensive and rare; which is, after all one of the reasons why the St-Nazaire raid was so devastating to the Germans.

In RTW, once you unlock a drydock level, it is available, everywhere in your  empire. If one of my Zahringens gets torped in the Indian Ocean and needs to spend a couple of months in drydock, it does not need to sail back to Germany - somehow I have a 52k ton drydock ready in Tanganyika!

I mean, OK, I've dropped more than 40 million Reichsmark on upgrading colonial harbour and dock facilities, but still....

Yeah, logistics (including floating drydocks) is something that I'd love to see in RTW in more detail.

(Frankly, though, I'm more excited for naval aviation; if they have to prioriise one of the two, I'd rather see a good implementation of carriers)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on September 25, 2017, 01:49:50 pm
I do wonder though if the carriers are going to be as effective in killing Battleships as a concept as they were in real life. RTW revels in giving big gun boats the battles they never got to fight in real life (and the associated importance), I wonder if introducing carriers will undercut that.
Title: End of an Era
Post by: Enioch on September 26, 2017, 11:11:35 am
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/435qpz9o9/640px-_SMS_Roon_LOC_ggbain_28287.jpg)

"Thus do we now and forever entrust this our ship with the memory of our great Reich. Let it be preserved in perpetuity, as a monument to the sacrifice and bravery of the sailors of the Kaiserliche Marine. Let the spirit of the birth of our great nation be enshrined here, for the generations to come to witness and be inspired by."

"With Iron and Blood have we forged Germany; and there is nothing that expresses this more than our fleet. Let us never forget; and if we do, let this proud ship forever remind us. Heil Deutschland!"

-Excerpt from the speech of Reichskanzler Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg, for the opening of the Deutsches Marinemuseum, Wilhelmshaven


(https://s26.postimg.cc/k2nfdajax/Screenshot_4271.png)

November 1918: And Italy approaches the Admiralität with a proposal for sale of their rather respectable 13-inch rifles.

The Admiralität actually considers it. The fact is that the Zähringens have proven to be an effective design and, with AON armour designs allowing for considerable weight savings in armour, it is conceivable that the new generation of super-Zähringens might be armed with 13-inchers for that extra heavy shotgun approach. And, if the Italian designs were just a bit better-performing, the Germans would have bit the bullet and gone for the deal. The problem is, however, that the deal, as proposed, would drain the Admiralität budgetary reserves by half, in a period where the Admiralität was running a 3-million-Reichsmark monthly deficit.

And that made the deal just a little too expensive for Tirpitz and Galster.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/qwxq2zby1/Screenshot_4272.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/e880x1v7d/Screenshot_4273.png)

And, of course, German R & D is never idle. Shortly after the Neujahr, new ways to calculate weight distribution and bracing are introduced in German shipyards; and, following that, the new Mk. IV depth charges are issued to the Piepers. Like I said, it's precious seeing the Russians and the Japanese think they can effectively utilise submarines against the people who bloody invented submarine warfare.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vubao3dx5/Screenshot_4274.png)

Oh. Oh, Nicky. Oh, you shouldn't have.

This the Admiralität cannot pass by. Work on the Bismarck is frozen for a month, just to economise the funds necessary. After all, German Zerstörer are stuck using 4-inch guns, because of the inferior 5-inch designs Germany has to deal with. This upgrade will massively improve German light forces, not to mention the dramatic increase in effectiveness for capital ship secondary batteries.

It also underlines...interesting developments in Russia. Von Mecklenburg is concerned. The British mutiny / revolution is somehow...echoing in Russia; there is considerable unrest amongst the population. Socialist troublemakers are on the rise and the state's coffers are empty. Russia has to sell gun designs to keep her fleet maintained...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5h102sbw9/Screenshot_4275.png)

Oh God.

Oh-ho-ho-ho. Who needs 13-inch guns, when 12-inchers can now rip through 15 inches of belt armor at 8k yards?

(https://s26.postimg.cc/s0mfsolyx/Screenshot_4276.png)

Ahahahaha.

Forget the overland route via Balkans and Austria-Hungary. Germany now owns Gibraltar. Tankers are now a valid option for transporting oil from the Rhodes fields to the harbours of the Baltic; and Germany industry explodes.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/45ongkqwp/Screenshot_4277.png)

Ahahahaha. 1919 and the Italians don't even have directors. No, Spaghettis.

After all, you don't need a navy anymore. Germany is here to maintain Ordnung in the Mare Germanicum. Go have some Pizza or Pasta or something.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/upltwggu1/Screenshot_4278.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/hudu9p1kp/Screenshot_4279.png)

FFFFFFfffffffffyyyyyesssss. Dat inclined armour, in particular. Oh mein Gott, das ist wunderbar.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/z6e6v4v21/Screenshot_4280.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ps4mtubw9/hith-assassination-of-archduke-franz-ferdinand-_E.jpg)

Well, Scheisse.

Germany does not want war at this point. What she wants - what Mecklenburg wants, is to consolidate. By now, he is a tired, worn-out man, exhausted by almost twenty years of the Great Game. He wishes to impose peace, make sure that Germany can dig in, fortify herself and her new holdings; move her economy from a war- to a peace-footing. Deal with the internal socialist threat, even.

But the assassination of the Austrian Ambassador to Serajevo knocks all that out the window.

Emperor Franz Ferdinand is, understandably, livid, but he urges caution. There is potential Russian influence here, he thinks; and it is better to play safe than to rush into a potential war pell-mell. But it is important that Austria-Hungary demonstrates her willingness to pursue justice and to protect her citizens. Demands must be made.

Is Germany - the Power in Europe - willing to stand behind Austria in this matter?

Mecklenburg, sadly, confirms that they are.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5sety1pdl/Tensions8.png)

Wait, what the ****?

OK, the Russians get prissy, but that's expected. It happens every time someone messes with 'their' Balkans. And the Italians...OK, Mecklenburg had no intelligence reports that might have implied that the Italians may have been involved, but they're, arguably, Balkan neighbours as well; it's understandable that they may wish to capitalise on the situation.

But what has put a bee in the bonnet of the F...?

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ld96laiex/akatsuki_graf_zeppelin_ikazuchi_and_will_antho.png)

Could the assassination have been a French-mandated operation?!

Mecklenburg immediately goes to high alert.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/qygunvsjd/Screenshot_4282.png)

If so, this could not have been a more fortuitous timing. Welcome to the fleet, Wettin!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/m8mbljc55/Screenshot_4283.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/qj0zh4h89/Screenshot_4285.png)

And all of this is, of course, very welcome...

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6flyitem1/Screenshot_4284.png)

Unffffff.....

Hello there, high-grade optics.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/5anazp2rd/Screenshot_4287.png)

Yes, you bet your ass we want you on the Bismarck.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/jl1gox8hl/Screenshot_4286.png)

Well, crap.

In all honesty, the Admiralität are not surprised. The Hansas were a testbed for oil-fired boilers, after all; and it's not unreasonable to experience some teething problems. And 31 knots for a heavy cruiser of their caliber is not bad at all. Welcome to the fleet!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/b41ye03sp/Screenshot_4288.png)

Krupp want to sell guns to the Austrians - primarily 4-, 5- and 6-inch field artillery conversions of the German naval guns. It would be folly to hinder them; Germany now lives and profits off her industry and Mecklenburg has always been a firm supporter of German industrialisation. Plus, Austria-Hungary is a close ally, with a less-than-optimal industrial base of her own. She must be kept supplied, to maintain her grip on the Serbian Beast.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/nwq2dxfeh/Screenshot_4289.png)

Tensions climb, after the deal is struck; and Mecklenburg confirms that the French are being much too vocal for someone who has no stakes on the Balkans. There are rumours that they are currently working together with the Anglophile Greek Prime Minister, Venizelos, to undermine the position of the German-friendly King Constantine I; this is way too much involvement on the Balkans for Mecklenburg to feel comfortable. His Majesty, the Kaiser, is slowly gearing up his famous anger and gall; Mecklenburg is tearing out what little hair he has left.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/3rwi8glkp/Screenshot_4290.png)

But, for a brief few days in September 1919, all this is placed on the back burner. For Tirpitz and Galster, shortly before the former's formal retirement, decide to decommission and scrap the three surviving Victoria Louises: SMS Hertha, SMS Vineta and SMS Victoria Louise.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/50py42pbt/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_7c7a2e67fb18e03.jpg)

It is an emotional and sad moment for the Admiralität. These were old and obsolete ships, true; but they had served faithfully for almost twenty years; and they had safeguarded Germany in her darkest hours. Galster is devastated by the imminent scrapping of his old darling, Hertha; in an impulsive moment, he semi-jokingly proposes a public subscription, to preserve the Old Lady.

The response is staggering, and surpasses all expectations. Every officer, every rating, every engineer and dockhand, contribute something to the cause.

But it is an unexpected benefactor who comes to Hertha's aid. His Majesty, the Kaiser, finds out about the scrapping plans. He immediately jumps to action, in a very characteristic, impulsive manner. This time, however, his actions earn him the loyalty of the Kaiserliche Marine for life.

On the 15th of Semptember, His Majesty storms the Admiralität buildings, unannounced.

"By God," he cries, his ire truly something to behold, "by God, you shall not kill my Valkyrie when the Russians, the Italians and the bloody British failed to! "

(https://s26.postimg.cc/lgo902xbt/Screenshot_4291.png)

What follows is a direct order: Hertha is to be spared the breakers. She will be kept in permanent mooring in Wilhelmshaven, maintained by public subscription and funding from the Palace, and she will, eventually, be made into the centrepiece of a new Marinemuseum, to celebrate Germany's sovereignty of the seas.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/6bs52k94p/Screenshot_4292.png)

Let's be honest, the Old Lady is worth it. Her war record is more than impressive; and she is a symbol of the very finest in German naval history.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/bhv2icvjt/440px-_SMS_K_nigsberg_German_cruiser.jpg)

The decommissioning never takes place. Hertha is kept in active status; the opening of the new Marinemuseum officially takes place on the fourth of October. Let it never be said that Germans cannot move quickly, if the need arises!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/fiafpued5/Screenshot_4294.png)

...And then, back to the Balkans' hell-pit. Serbia is making angry noises towards both Austria, to the north, and Greece, to the south. Russia, France and Italy all support the Serbs, to varying degrees.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/gad3p1ik9/Screenshot_4295.png)

In response, Germany lays down her new superdreadnought.

The Elsass (whoooooo, if that ain't taking the piss at the French, I don't know what is) is a major improvement over everything the Bismarcks are. At 50.5k tons, she is as well armored as her predecessors, with a 17-inch belt and turrets, a 3-inch deck and an 18-inch conning tower; but her armor is inclined, for extra protection (German turtleback FTW!) She bears the same secondary battery as the Bismarcks (German engineers are not as familiar with the Russian 5-inchers as they would like, yet), but her main armament consists of 12 38cm SK L/45 rifles (this being the first time the German 15-inchers are fitted to a ship). The guns can elevate to 35 degrees; they are controlled by the new Improved German Directors; and the secondary battery is built to utilise a secondary director, for increased accuracy.

The Elsass burn oil and can comfortably reach the standard 25-knots of the German battleline. All-in-all, they're beasts, and the final (?) crystallisation of the Bismarck doctrine of 'moving to close range and blowing your ****ing face off, Frenchy'. Two ships are laid down: Elsass herself, and her sister-ship, Schwaben, the name selected to honour the old pre-dread veteran of the Russian and Italian wars.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/4mnn88it5/Screenshot_4296.png)

Damn right.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/cvzimncjd/Screenshot_4297.png)


(https://s26.postimg.cc/d7gyzeszd/Screenshot_4298.png)

FFfffffffff.....

(https://s26.postimg.cc/vzg0u07nd/Tensions9.png)

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.....

What the **** do the French care about the Germans putting down a revolution in Tanganyika? Look at the Italians - they don't give a **** (which immediately marks them to Mecklenburg as honestly concerned for the Balkan situation and not as plotting to backstab Germany). But the French, and the Russians (wtf?) and the British.....

Britain. What the hell?.

Mecklenburg begins to draft his first round of responses. He plans to bully Britain into submission (it has been only a year and a half since peace was signed), impose sanctions on Russia and test the waters with France, in order to avoid a war. But he never has the chance to.

On the 14th of December, 1919, his weakened constitution finally fails him. On the way to his office, he suffers a stroke and collapses on the stairs of the Reichstag. He is rushed to a hospital, but predictions are grim.

He still lingers on, until the 16th of February, phasing in and out of consciousness, and ranging from completely lucid to insensate. He is visited by Kaiser Wilhelm on his deathbed; it is never revealed what the two men talk about, but the Kaiser leaves near tears and secludes himself for several months, in mourning for whom he claims to have been "Our only true friend and the best and most loyal German of our time."

In the afternoon of the 16th of February 1920, von Mecklenburg dies of a stroke-induced heart attack, in his Schloss Wiligrad, in Lübstorf. He is only 62 years old.

In his eighteen years of service, von Mecklenburg has taken a promising, rising land power, and developed it into a colonial empire and sea Power to rival and surpass the British. In the best traditions of Bismarck, he has wielded German steel and blood like weapons of peace and war; and he has left his mark on German history.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/o5ff8lzuh/800px-_Grabmal_Hrzg_Johann_Albrecht_II_von_Mecklb.jpg)

The funeral procession for the 'Chancellor of the Seas' (Meereskanzler), as von Mecklenburg came to be known, took place on the 18th of February. His body was laid in state; and then, moved to the Doberan monastery, in Mecklenburg, where it was laid to rest with his first wife. His funerary monument is still visible and visitable today; many thousands of Germans pay their respects every year.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/7lujvcsah/Screenshot_4300.png)

...**** you, Americans, we're mourning!

(https://s26.postimg.cc/ilc4pgfqx/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_joenny.jpg)


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 26, 2017, 11:18:34 am
...I HAVE NOTHING.

... :(

A short hiatus for a bit, while I try to power my way through the OTL inter-war period politics and find a worthy / likely successor to von Mecklenburg. If you have any suggestions for interesting events (or if some of you omake-writers wish to burn some of that well-deserved goodwill you have amassed with me to ask for something in particular), feel free to PM me.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on September 26, 2017, 01:13:24 pm
...and the world held its collective breath, for the mighty German Ship of State found itself without a pilot whilst navigating increasingly troubled waters.  Chancellors Bismarck and Mecklenburg had forged a blade of unparalleled keenness but without a leader with the Fingerspitzengefühl to wield it, their works could easily be unraveled.  In the wake of Mecklenburg's death those powers jealous of Germany's rapid ascent smelled blood in the water and readied to pounce if the Eagle appeared to falter...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scourge of Ages on September 26, 2017, 07:04:23 pm
Quote
I remember when I first visited Hertha at the new Marinemuseum. I was only 15 years old, and she had only been back home in Wilhelmshaven for four months.

In the galley, I could still smell faint scent of meat and bread. The ceilings still had a faint dusting of flour and sugar.
In the racks, I could still smell the sailors who had lived here for years after years. Some of them had left personal photos and notes stuck to the walls.
In the engine room, The odor of coal fires hung in the air and intoxicated me.

The stories of the sailors and officers I could feel in that ship stirred something in me. The way the staff of the museum stood in honor of Mecklenburg every morning on the deck of the ship, and the sheer presense that Hertha imposed over the harbor set me on a course in life that would change the essense of my being.

     -Nickolaus Kohler, Executive Officer of Light Cruiser Karlsruhe, from the introduction to his memoirs
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on September 27, 2017, 04:07:51 am
The Netherlands de-mobilizes.

After the complete collapse of the UK government in the Ango-German war, The Netherlands has slowly started to reduce it's military readiness. The Netherlands has persued a policy of armed neutrality (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miGbX0LaM_w), fearing that a pacifistic stance would lead to them being invaded by either side because of their strategic and economic position.

Led by a liberal government under Cort van der Linden, the small country has weathered heavy storms and famine during the war. The low lands have recently undergone significant constitutional changes, replacing it's district voting system with a parliamentary system with equal representation, and it has allowed all men to vote and all women to be voted for. Laws allowing all women to vote are in the works, and are set to be put into law this year in time for the next election.

The Netherlands had to negotiate some very tough concessions with both sides during this war. Her politics initially favoured the German side due to the obvious economic ties, both argued for by the shipping companies in Rotterdam and the famous airplane inventor Fokker, but the German's focus on unrestricted submarine warfare has cooled relations considerably. Van der Linden has stated that he is hopeful that they can repair their relationship with the Germans, although it looks as if foreign politics will not be the primary focus of the Dutch government the coming years. Instead, Van Der Linden's government has recently passed the "Southern Sea Law", that allows dutch engineer Lely to conduct a massively ambitious project that involves turning the Netherlands' internal Southern Sea into an internal lake, putting an end to coastal flooding in large parts in the Netherlands by virtue of removing said coast entirely. Additionally, the building of the so called Afsluitdijk (Shutterdike) will allow a significant amount of land to be reclaimed. If any future war should break out, the Netherlands will have a lot of additional farmland that would help maintain it's independence.

(http://www.nieuwlanderfgoed.nl/beeld/studiecentrum/themas/wieg/_800/18.jpg)
Lely's plan. The Afsluitdijk will be built between the (soon-not-to-be) island of Wieringen and the dutch province of Friesland, which will allow further land reclamation projects in the Southern Sea (to be renamed Ijssel Lake)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Buckshee Rounds on September 29, 2017, 09:25:38 am
Not really. There are techs that increase the endurance and range of ships (mostly linked to the machinery tech subtree), but nothing that directly affects logistics forces

To my knowledge, there is no way you can project logistics support for your vessels into a region where you don't have the necessary base infrastructure (unless, of course you ally yourself with another Power, which enables you to use their harbours).

Silly question perhaps, but - does this also affect the AI? I've noticed that on occasion the AI will send fleets into areas where they really ought not to be able to support them, sometimes for more than a couple of turns or so.

As an example - playing as Japan I have Formosa in SE Asia, which has a base capacity of 100 at game's start, which is fine but not great. Ze Germans on the other hand, have 3-5 holdings in SE Asia iirc, but their combined base capacity is <30. It bothers me that I have to pull ships back due to lack of base capacity, yet Ze Germans seem to be able to sail massive fleets there with impunity.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on September 29, 2017, 09:29:34 am
Yes, this also affects the AI. If the Germans are sending massive fleets to SE Asia without having upgraded their bases there, they are suffering from maintenance and logistics troubles.
Title: The Old and the New
Post by: Enioch on October 10, 2017, 06:10:16 pm
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- PART 6 -
Endangered Legacy

(https://s1.postimg.cc/75dz0ksn8v/af13af5bac6467a82744a0186988c0f0.jpg)
Von Mecklenburg's funeral process in Berlin, prior to his interrement

With the death of His Excellency, a climate of uncertainty descended upon the Admiralität. The situation was not helped at all by my imminent retirement. The succession of command was assured: the reins of the Navy would pass to my good friend, Admiral Galster; and, from there, to the new generation of Staff Officers, such as Admirals Scheer, Hipper and von Görtz. But the political will that had stood behind us for two decades now, and had helped us forge our Navy from a minor fleet to a Power to threaten Britain was lost forever. And, in these uncertain times, with von Mecklenburg's guiding light extinguished, we all feared that His Majesty might not find the best course.

I wish to believe that the decision of General Hindenburg and myself to pursue a political career after our retirement from the Army and Navy, respectively, may have helped to ameliorate the circumstances. We did our best to remain true to His Excellency's memory and carry on his work - to encourage peace with France, who had been our steadfast ally. But we were always organisers and never truly diplomats, unfamiliar with the arena in which he had reigned supreme during his time. We were unprepared for the criminal - I maintain that it was criminal and yes, you may quote me, Sir, black and white, on paper - incompetence of his successor.

-Großadmiral v. Tirpitz, Excerpt from an Interview with Le Temps, 11 May 1927 Issue.

With the death of von Mecklenburg, the political landscape of Germany enters one of its most tense periods in modern history. The Kaiser is mourning, in the emotional, impulsive and passinate manner in which he does everything; and there are many (both inside and outside Germany) who seek to take advantage of this fact for their own ends. In the weeks after the Meereskanzler's death, three major players enter the political battlefield:


(https://s1.postimg.cc/9moga0z7lb/Paul_von_Hindenburg_1914_von_Nicola_Perscheid.jpg)  (https://s1.postimg.cc/7uvhf4ghun/o2kr5o6c.jpg)  (https://s1.postimg.cc/5vzaos9p8f/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1989-040-27_Gustav_Stresemann_cropped.jpg)

Left: Paul von Hindenburg, Centre: Franz von Papen, Right: Gustav Stresemann

The first is General Paul von Hindenburg, a veteran of the Russian wars and one of the most celebrated Army officers of 20th-century Germany. The battlefields of the Baltic provinces have molded him into a spartan, serious man, with a talent for multitasking and coordinating. He has, officially retired from the Army, but his influence is still felt in the upper echelons; he is neutral to friendly towards both Tirpitz and Galster; and he is a staunch centralist and conservative. He has often been accused that his loyalty lies with the central authority itself and not with the person of His Imperial Majesty; but those who know him know that his patriotism is beyond reproach.

Tirpitz, now entering military retirement himself, jockeys to support Hindenburg. With Galster still holding the reins to the Admiralität, the military is presenting a unified front, behind the heroes of the Russian and British wars, of Sea and Land. What they are lacking in is any experience in the political game. This was handled by Mecklenburg in the past; without his support, the military men are left without the diplomatic genius they need to move forward.

A second contender is Franz von Papen, backed by many prominent noble families. Like Hindenburg, he is a decorated veteran of the Russian wars, but unlike the General, von Papen does have minimal diplomatic experience, having been sent to Italy and then the USA for a short stint as an Ambassador's Aide. He is also known to the Kaiser, for his near-fanatical devotion to the Crown. He is almost religiously monarchist. In that, he reminds the military camp of von Bülow; however, whereas the Eel only acted in such a way as to ingratiate himself to Wilhelm, von Papen is an ardent believer. He is also very-well networked; well-enough that his appalling lack of skill in the international political game is overlooked thanks to his infuriatingly pleasant personality.

A final 'leg' for the German political trifectum is an (until then) little-known official and aide to von Mecklenburg: Gustav Stresemann. He is a small, sickly man who ardently desired to serve his country in the front, yet was rejected for health reasons. His talent, however, was recognised by von Mecklenburg; and he was invited to participate as a key trusted figure in the German Foreign Ministry. His political beliefs were, originally, worryingly liberalist; but his service with Mecklenburg has led him into a gradual but noticeable shift towards the monarchy.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4b9jpbdkcv/H_K.jpg)

It is, primarily, Hindenburg and Tirpitz who have the ear of the Kaiser at this time; and it is they who convice Wilhelm to end his self-imposed period of isolation, to put the teetering edifice of the German State back on its tracks. But their impassioned pleas with the Kaiser have an adverse effect: they are kept away from the Berlin political scene for almost two weeks. This is enough for the von Papen bloc to establish itself as a viable alternative to the Old Guard. Von Papen (or, indeed, his supporters, for he utterly lacks the skill to formulate a self-consistent plan and execute it effectively) pushes for a peace-based policy and polarises the Volk against what is perceived to be the Kriegesparteien.

Wilhelm, upon his return, finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He cannot afford to be shown to sideline the Old Guard, not after their meritorious service; but he also cannot ignore the strength of the von Papen bloc.

Hindenburg and Tirpitz believe that von Papen can be controlled; they agree to the formation of a compromise coalition government, with von Papen as Chancellor and Hindenburg as Head of the newly-established Reichswehrministerium. Wilhelm also insists on Stresemann being appointed head of the Auswärtiges Amt and proves unshakeable in this; many suspect that he is following Mecklenburg's deathbed desires.

Stresemann is not impressed; and seeks to warn both Hindenburg and the Kaiser that von Papen is not the easily-controlled pawn that they think he is, but is, in fact, a dangerous fool and open to many influences, internal and external. He fails in this, one of the most critical moments in his career. The new government is sworn in on the 5th of January 1920.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4a3b3yv99b/Screenshot_4301.png)

Meanwhile, Galster, now Grossadmiral and head of the Admiralität, tightens the reins and overlooks his domain like a hawk. Expenses are whittled down and fleet-wide gunnery training is re-established. The German sailors have rested enough. Soon enough they might be called to serve again.

The commissioning of the Prinz Adalbert into the Navy is very welcome.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2lty6s6otb/Screenshot_4302.png)

No, 'Murica. **** off. Germany has no desire whatsoever to share her damcon technologies with other nations.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2809u2mw2n/Screenshot_4303.png)

Yes.

Germany knows where progress lies. The U-Boote were instrumental in the last war, and they might prove to be again. They must not be allowed to become obsolete. These new torpedoes will help with this. 5k yards at 37 knots? Yes, please.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3sq0tjm8ov/Screenshot_4304.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1c3semdfcf/Screenshot_4305.png)

March arrives, and the situation is...volatile.

On the one hand, the Bismarcks and the Zähringens finish their reconstruction. They are all provided with the best new FC systems; Galster chooses not to upgrade the Zähringens' artillery yet. That would take almost eight months; and the political situation is...

Well, this is the bad news.

It has been two and a half months since von Papen has assumed the post of the Reichskanzler. In this short time, he has done an utter pig's breakfast of it.

It is a good thing that Stresemann is, officially, the Foreign Minister, for he manages to somewhat put out the flames. But von Papen (and his noble supporters) insist on working behind his back. In an attempt to imitate the Realpolitik sagas of Bismarck and Mecklenburg, von Papen becomes involved in several espionage and sabotage plots against France and Russia. Plots that are executed in the most amateurish and ham-fisted way possible, often behind the back of Stresemann, and often directly against the Reichskanzler's instructions to his Foreign Minister.

Surprisingly, it is the Kaiser who comes to the aid of poor Stresemann. He approaches the Old Guard, with a suggestion for a regatta and a naval gathering. It might help reduce international tensions. It might help defuse the situation with France. But the Ministry of Finance, under von Papen's control, drags their heels; and the situation is urgent. Perhaps the Admiralität...?

Galster meets with His Majesty, Hindenburg, Tirpitz (and Stresemann, who is, of course, included in the planning). Galster, having been brought up to date on the political situation, immediately agrees. The Navy will finance this. The Navy must finance this.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1ttu37fg2n/Screenshot_4306.png)

The Wilhelmshaven Review is a great success. Stresemann dances; and he succeeds in convincing British, Italian and Russian delegates that Germany has no intentions to rekindle old emnities. Peace is the order of the day.

Now, if only the Reichskanzler agreed....

The French are not convinced, at all. Two days before the regatta, a German-paid mole was apprehended in Brest, with several secret documents in his possession. One implicated von Papen himself, in a  plot to destroy the harbour infrastructure of the city. The French are suspicious: not so much of von Papen himself (because they cannot believe that someone would be stupid or clumsy enough to allow himself to be implicated in such a way) but of Germany in general.

Tensions stay up.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1fnecc8uxr/Screenshot_4307.png)

April. And, once again, news are mixed.

On the one hand, R & D provides Galster with the plans for massive 15-foot rangefinders. These things are absurdly big; and their stabilisation systems are as complex as they are. But they will greatly improve German gunnery and their installation on the Elsass and her sister is immediately planned and executed.

On the other hand...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3ok7jf3ccf/WP_Wilhelm_B_chsel.jpg)

Admiral Büchsel, the victor of Bornholm, the hero of the Russian wars, dies on the 7th, quietly, calmly, on his bed. He is the first of the Old Guard to go. And his death, after that of Mecklenburg, hits the Admiralität hard. Galster mourns for his friend and warrior brother; Tirpitz leads the Kriegesparteien on a three-day mourning period for the 'Hero of Bornholm'.

Büchsel may not have been as politically active as his fellows; but his contribution to the development of German naval power cannot be underestimated. Whereas Tirpitz was the father of the German battle-line, he was her teacher and guardian. It was his tactics and his strategy that shaped the German way of thinking in naval warfare - and he was the first German Admiral to lead Schlachtkreuzer into battle.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1fnecc6xhr/Screenshot_4308.png)

So, when this came to light, the Admiralität had very little patience for it. Neither had the Kaiser.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3p6evttt4f/Screenshot_4310.png)

And then this. This infernal event.

On the 27th of May, the old, glorious Frauenlob is sailing north of Emden, with a training crew of young cadets and hands. At 14:25, an unidentified submarine is spotted on her portside; her captain immediately takes evasive action, but it's too late. A torpedo - a cowardly, treacherous strike - hits her on the bows.

There are three Zerstörer on station; and the submarine is driven off. The Frauenlob floods; but she has six veteran NCOs aboard, that have battlefield experience, two of which were once deckhands on the Moltke. They lead the trainees on a desperate fight to save the old darling. They succeed. Frauenlob barely reaches Emden; but she does, and when she does, Germany explodes. The Germans wanted peace. But others, apparently, did not; and they would strike treacherously, with a dagger in the back, instead of a proud sword.

No. This would not stand.

Stresemann, Hindenburg and Galster race to the Kaiser, going behind the back of von Papen who, like Bismarck of old, insists on being the sole point of access to the Kaiser for his Ministers. They explain to His Majesty, in no uncertain terms, that this is the time of caution. They beg for time, for a chance to investigate, to indentify the attackers, to, perhaps, seek out a diplomatic solution.

It is too late. Von Papen is moving backstage, with all the discretion and care of a bull in a china shop; and he is no Mecklenburg.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6gfh3wjkcf/Screenshot_4312.png)

On the 29th of May 1920, ultimatums are exchanged. The German and French armies mobilise, along the border lines.

It has been twenty years of peace in the Kerneuropa. These twenty years have been Mecklenburg's life work. He has toiled and worked himself literally to death, to claw these twenty years from war's grasp; twenty years of building the future, pebble by bloody pebble.

It only takes von Papen five months to tear it all down. Less than half a year after von Mecklenburg's death, all that the Meereskanzler has built crumbles and falls into the chaos of war once more.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 10, 2017, 06:12:01 pm
ATEN'T DEAD.

JUST STARTING WORK ON MY ACTUAL JOB.

UPDATES WILL CONTINUE, DON'T WORRY.

THE_E, LOOK AT WHAT YOU"VE DONE. I HOPE YOU'RE PROUD OF YOURSELF, YOUNG MAN.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on October 11, 2017, 01:55:30 am
It's beautiful
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 11, 2017, 05:18:46 am
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED.

For those who have no knowledge of the interwar German politics, von Papen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_von_Papen) is widely considered to be the man who allowed Hitler to rise to power, because he thought that he could keep the Austrian corporal under control (all the topkeks, only no topkeks, because that's tragic).

Just to make sure you understand what an utter imbecile the man was: he was a military attache in the US and he spent his time there trying to sabotage the Americans and the British. His plans included an invasion of Canada by an Irish-American and German-American 'cowboy' force; the arming of the Hindus in California as an anti-British force; the dynamiting of a Canadian Pacific Railroad Bridge; the sabotage of the Tampico Mexican Oil Fields (that, hilariously, also supplied the German Navy with oil). All this with an utter disregard for the very basic tenets of operational security. He personally forgot a briefcase full of secret documents on a New York tram.

You can't make this **** up.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on October 11, 2017, 08:02:30 am
He is the Crystal Skull to the Kaiser's Temple of Doom.  The former makes the latter look brilliant in hindsight. :wakka:

Also
THE_E, LOOK AT WHAT YOU"VE DONE. I HOPE YOU'RE PROUD OF YOURSELF, YOUNG MAN.

Why is The_E responsible for this dummkopf getting the reigns?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 11, 2017, 08:04:24 am
Why is The_E responsible for this dummkopf getting the reigns?

Because he used one of his hard-earned omake-writing privileges.  ;)  :p

And because his suggestion fit like a glove.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on October 11, 2017, 08:09:32 am
The real question is: Papen beeing the fool he is, would he sanction a black Ops strike at the Frauenlob, to start the war with France? ;7
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 11, 2017, 08:28:13 am
The real question is: Papen beeing the fool he is, would he sanction a back Ops strike at the Frauenlob, to start the war with France? ;7

A very good question, that.

I'm glad you asked it.

What do you think? :)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on October 11, 2017, 03:08:47 pm
It's exactly the kind of bull**** von Papen would come up with.

However, that opens just further questions. Such as, who would want to drive such a wedge between France and Germany?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 11, 2017, 04:24:09 pm
Belgium

You can't trust those waffleeaters I tell ya!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 11, 2017, 04:26:09 pm
Oy. I live in Belgium.

 :nervous:

...Actually, yeah, that sounds par for the course.

(Srsly though, Belgium is probably the country that least wants a franco-german war...)

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on October 11, 2017, 09:44:13 pm
Pseudo French Bastards!

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on October 12, 2017, 04:55:52 pm
It's exactly the kind of bull**** von Papen would come up with.

However, that opens just further questions. Such as, who would want to drive such a wedge between France and Germany?

Meanwhile, in Britain...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on October 12, 2017, 05:04:32 pm
Oy. I live in Belgium.

Still the best country.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 13, 2017, 05:13:47 am

It's exactly the kind of bull**** von Papen would come up with.

However, that opens just further questions. Such as, who would want to drive such a wedge between France and Germany?

Meanwhile, in Britain...
*snip*

Aah, Humphrey. Always a pleasure; and his comments are so insightful...


Oy. I live in Belgium.

Still the best country.

 :nervous:

 :blah:

...not exactly what I said.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on October 13, 2017, 07:01:30 am
[Excerpt of the report of the Frauenlob incident investigation by the french Navy]

Report of Lieutenant de vaisseau Éric Levett, commanding officer of submarine Q47 Circé

On the 25th of May, we received orders to enter german territorial waters near Emden. We were tasked with intelligence gathering; a bit of housekeeping, really. We were supposed to observe german training maneuvers there, to get an accurate picture of which vessels were currently on patrol duty and which ones were being pulled back.

We arrived on station near the frisian islands the next day. Supplemental reports we received indicated that SMS Frauenlob had set sail that day, and so we were loitering near Borkum. We sighted Frauenlob in the late afternoon, and began shadowing the ship from a safe distance of at least 500 yards at all time. On May 27th, Frauenlob began the day with a bit of gunnery training; live-fire exercises, from what we could tell. This lasted until around 1130, when she proceeded to rendezvous with another imperial ship, which we tentatively identified as SMS Prinz Adalbert, one of their new heavy cruisers. The two ships then started to engage in a mock battle, presumably to test Prinz Adalbert's fire control systems.

At around 1420, we saw Frauenlob enter into rapid evasive maneuvers. My sonar operator informed me that he heard torpedoes in the water, heading towards Frauenlob at high speed. We observed a hit on Frauenlob, and I quickly decided that it would be best to abort our mission lest we get spotted by the germans, so we made best speed to open waters and then back to our home port.
Title: Explosive Fromage
Post by: Enioch on October 13, 2017, 04:51:17 pm
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/7ab0n69wa7/3f04106u-1648.jpg)

Names, lives and individuals are unimportant when Germany's final fate is at stake.

-From the personal notes of Franz von Papen, quoted in Piotr Fiyodorowski The French Matter, Berlin : Hauser Vlg. 1958



(https://s1.postimg.cc/1sdab0hytr/Screenshot_4313.png)

Hindenburg is ready to tear his mustache off at the utter incompetence of his new Chancellor. Germany's wars live and die by preparation; by having a plan, by communicating and by allowing the military to draw up a satisfactory strategy before pulling the metaphorical trigger. This has not taken place here. Certainly, war with France was a very real danger, that the military was making preparations against - but nobody expected a war this soon. The Army is not fully mobilised; the Navy is still in its harbours.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/56a6y0v96n/e030.jpg)

For a few days, Hindenburg lives in a nightmare, certain that what he will have to deal with is a reversal of 1870. But the French, surprisingly, seem to be as unprepared as the Germans, and they do not press their advantage. As the regiments reinforce the defensive line against the border, Hindenburg reaches out to the Navy. Out of all the German armed forces, they are at the highest readiness status. They need to buy him time; they need to push the French and regain the initiative; keep the enemy's attention focused on them, while the Army gets its act together and prepares for an offensive.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4l0jbq2qbz/s031.jpg)

Galster responds by authorising a massive fleet patrol along the Dutch coast. Stresemann backs him by outright declaring that Germany will guarantee Dutch neutrality; and her fleet is on station to block the eastern mouth of the English Channel.

The British Fleet cowers in its harbours, as the Zähringens sail out...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/708ky0d3xr/Screenshot_4314.png)

...and so do the French. The Netherlands are safe, under the protection of the German Schlachtkreuzergeschwader. Now for Belgium...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2kq5sr27q7/Screenshot_4315.png)

The Admiralität takes advantage of securing the North Sea to sail in several large resupply convoys.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4cj4nnl56n/Screenshot_4316.png)

The French do not dare to leave their ports.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6eyxbpivcv/Screenshot_4317.png)

This is not enough for Galster. He needs to draw the attention of the French High Command; he needs to present them with a challenge that they must respond to. So, on the 2nd of June, the Zähringen and the Graf Spee, escorted by the Bremen, sail past the French garrisons in Armorique and enter the coastal waters of La Rochelle. It is a flagrant challenge; a contemptuous slap on the face of the French; and the French finally respond.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1zgi6g5tzj/Screenshot_4318.png)

9:45am, and the Bremen, approaching the French coastline from the North-West, spots enemy smoke. At least two ships; and one of them is a capital. Behind her, Hipper, on board the Graf Spee, rouses his crew to action stations; alarms blare loud enough to wake the dead.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/58fm33t3wf/Screenshot_4319.png)

Bremen, captained by Fregattenkapitän Markus Vogler safely identifies the nearest ship as an Epée-class destroyer. She's laying smoke, to conceal her allies; Vogler opens fire against her with Bremen's 6-inchers, as the Schlachtkreuzer charge in.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4g2qlddkr3/Screenshot_4320.png)

The French destroyer is driven away, and the German capital ships push through her smoke screen, spotting a French light cruiser and...two more ships (?) in the distance. The lookouts are uncertain; gunnery, for now, focuses on the French cruiser.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8s1jsx4m1b/Screenshot_4321.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7li8kb9hof/Screenshot_4322.png)

But then the Bremen rejoins the fleet, the Epée safely driven off, and her veteran lookouts identify the enemy ships as capitals. Specifically, two Marseille-class 14-inch battlecruisers closing from the south...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6iij9fe38f/Screenshot_4323.png)

And a French Toulouse-class 36k-ton dreadnought approaching from the north. Holy crap. OK, this thing has only a 9-inch belt, but it carries 12 14-inchers, as many as the Bismarcks...

Hipper doesn't give a flying ****. He has charged his ships into British 15-inch fire; it's not the French peashooters that will scare him.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1xro8zt7n3/67968ac2a30870e90dd7b8fb3ffa0a0c.jpg)

SCHLACHTKREUZER RAN AN DEN FEIND!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/64c3ik67sv/Screenshot_4325.png)

The German ships turn, to pursue the French battlecruisers. They are slower than the enemy ships, but the French have, foolishly, allowed themselves to enter the range of the German 12-inchers. Zähringen scores the first hit, from a range of over 20k yards. The new 15-foot rangefinders work perfectly.

Meanwhile, Bremen moves to the north, in a screening action. She drops smoke, that interferes with the Toulouse's targeting. Hipper wants his duel with the French battlecruisers to remain uninterrupted; Vogler does his best to oblige him.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/64c3ik6033/Screenshot_4324.png)

He succeeds. Oh God does he succeed.

Over the course of twenty minutes, and while the French are still trying to find the range on the relentlessly charging German behemoths, the Graf Spee and the Zähringen lock on to the two Marseilles and pound them, mercilessly. Hipper knows that his time is precious, and orders double-time for the loaders; the Schlachtkreuzer guns bark again and again and again, a never-ending hail of steel, walking its way to the French ships. German fire control logs at least fourteen 12-inch hits as the enemy tries to open the range. The French only score one hit, before they turn and run in terror; the 14-inch shell bounces harmlessly off the Graf Spee's B-Turret top armour.

On the other hand, the Bremen is not so lucky. As she seeks to keep the Toulouse occupied, the French dreadnought scores a hit on her bows, smashing them to kindling. The ship staggers and falls back, barely responding to the wheel; Zerstörer close in to lay smoke and cover her escape. She has suffered major casualties, but her crew (veterans one and all) manage to keep her in the fight.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/39jfcrr8r3/Screenshot_4326.png)

Meanwhile, the two Marseilles have been mauled. The leading ship has taken one major hit on her center turret, which has smashed through the turret armour and blown the entirety of the mounting off; the ship is trailing smoke and fire.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/35ztf21627/Screenshot_4327.png)

The other ship (the one Graf Spee has been favouring with her attention) is already dead, all of her turrets blown to smithereens. French sailors are jumping overboard, as the ship develops a list to port and slowly, gracefully, capsizes.

The German Schlachtkreuzer overtake the enemy from the south and curve around towards the north, to keep the leading Marseille under fire. Once again, the German ships demonstrate that they are in a class of their own. Zähringen fires a broadside, at a range of 8k yards. One 12-inch shell strikes the Marseille on the waterline, just behind her A-Turret...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1zgi6ge6wv/Screenshot_4328.png)

(https://media.giphy.com/media/12KiGLydHEdak8/giphy.gif)

...and the French ship goes up like a firecracker, her escorts scattering like headless chicken.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/13k0r05srj/Screenshot_4329.png)

At this point, the Toulouse is out of sight, somewhere behind the smokescreens to the north; and Hipper has no reason to pursue. This is a great victory, that demands an answer from the French; his mission is accomplished. He turns to the north, leaving La Rochelle behind.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4xss9yodu7/Screenshot_4330.png)

And uses nightfall to sneak past the French patrols near Brest.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2rtdo6vv7z/Screenshot_4331.png)

What a bloody victory!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1hqghvdo73/Screenshot_4332.png)

Out of all the ships participating in the fight, it is little Bremen that scored the highest hit percentage, peppering the Toulouse and enemy destroyers with high-explosive shells. But it is the two Zähringens that have finally come into their element. Between them, they have scored (wait for it) a hundred and seventy hits on their opponents, the German 12-inchers firing almost continuously throughout the engagement. In fact, upon her return, Graf Spee immediately enters drydock, to have her guns re-bored, after the repeated use essentially destroyed their rifling.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1knion5i67/0a40eae3c3d26d44f07ce904611c1c2e.gif)

The French lose their two Marseilles; the name ship herself and the Nantes. The Toulouse reached the safety of La Rochelle without suffering any significant damage.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1e6uk5o8nj/Screenshot_4335.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3ycowsnk4f/Screenshot_4336.png)

But, while von Papen rejoiced and trumpeted Hipper's success from the rooftops, the Admiralität remained skeptical - and, surprisingly, so did the Kaiser. His Majesty now spent hours in the Admiralität building, discussing with his officers; and, for the first time, he was actually listening.

The situation was critical. The French did not possess the massive capital fleet of the Brits; but they did have a significant raiding and submarine force; and whereas the Germans had concentrated their fleet in the Northern Atlantic, to make sure that the flow of supplies would continue to reach Germany unimpeded, the French had dispersed their forces around the world, skirmishing with German patrol forces all over the Pacific. This was an unsung war, hardly comparable with the large capital ship battles in the North Sea; but no less desperate and no less brutal. The Piepers and Zerstörer in German Polynesia had their hands full, dealing with French raiders and submarines, not to mention the infamous Aigle and Herrault, the two 4k-ton French light cruisers that utterly dominated the Pacific; the Admiralität was very much aware that the situation there was hanging from a very fine thread indeed.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1vww8qo47z/Screenshot_4337.png)

OK. R & D? We love you, and we very much appreciate your hard work. But we are no longer building light cruisers. When we want to kill things in the high seas...?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8dv4220drz/Screenshot_4338.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5x8vn4uzvz/Screenshot_4339.png)

...we send our U-Boote out.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3r9h1d6rlb/Screenshot_4340.png)

Now, it is interesting to note that the French do not suffer as much as the British here. Nor do they fail as much in their counter-raiding. They have a modern force, of both submarines and patrol vessels; and their convoys are fewer and better protected than the British ones (not to mention less important to the country's survival); but they are inexperienced. The German Kaleuns, on the other hand, are both highly skilled and utterly merciless. And the Pieper crews do not fool around either.

The question is: the French have been humiliated in La Rochelle. Will they push back?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/13k0r0aq8f/Screenshot_4342.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1l1k0mlx33/1222d00dac7a9a320d36a55813c80598d206244b_hq.gif)

Yes. Yes they will.

With Hipper's force in drydock, it falls to Scheer to safeguard the home waters. And he does so in his trademark careful fashion, with patrols in force and tireless vigilance.

On the 7th of July, almost a month after the La Rochelle engagement, and with the ground forces preparing for the first large-scale offensive, Scheer is bringing his fleet back from a Long Patrol, trying to reach Helgoland before a summer gale hits. Visibility is minimal; the crews are wet, and tired and miserable.

And, suddenly, there are French ships less than two thousand yards towards the north, closing in fast.

The only appropriate response is 'Da stecken wir ja schön in der Scheisse'.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8hepzru3n3/Screenshot_4343.png)

The northernmost German squadron comprises the Moltke and the Seydlitz with their Zerstörer escorts. The old veteran Schlachtkreuzer are not ready to engage enemy capitals; thankfully, their Zerstörers are. Kapitänleutnant Falke of the S-22 takes his little tin can on a suicidal run against the enemy ship silhouettes and launches torpedoes from point-blank range. As he turns to escape, his ships is blasted to near-oblivion by heavy-caliber fire; but his torpedo hits; and it buys enough time for the Moltke and Seydlitz to get to battle stations.

Further to the south, Scheer, from the conning tower of the Bismarck scans the seas with concern. He has heard the gunfire; and the Bismarck is sounding battle stations, rushing to the north, to assist the old Schlachtkreuzer. Visibility is **** and they must not allow themselves to be-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1mxbebn127/WOWs_STORM_EXCERPT.gif)

-ENEMY SHIP TO THE NORTH, RANGE 1500 YARDS! RUDDER HARD STARBOARD; ALL GUNS FIRE AT WILL!

The Bismarck responds to the rudder beautifully. Her wide beam and well-balanced metacentric height make her a very stable gun platform in high seas; and her 14-inchers boom against the silhouetted enemy. Wettin scores a hit; Bismarck scores two.

And, twenty seconds later, three more.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1zgi6gl1tr/Screenshot_4345.png)

(https://media.giphy.com/media/urp8cVywl1Sk8/giphy.gif)

Whhooooooooooooomfffff.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8ohxv7j1dr/Screenshot_4346.png)

The explosion serves as a beacon. Moltke and Seydlitz turn, to approach from the north, while Bismarck and Wettin turn to meet them. In the south-west, little Bremen fights against the waves, to reach her capital wards-

-and eats a torpedo for her trouble; a torpedo that blows her newly-repaired bows clean off.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7p1ui1ghxr/Screenshot_4347.png)

Scheer takes his superdreads around, to investigate the area of the enemy explosion - and hopefully reach Bremen for assistance. Unfortunately, with the gale messing up signaling, his escorts fall behind. And he pays for it, when his lookouts make out French destroyers in the area, possibly looking to save survivors themselves. He orders an evasive turn to starboard; but it's too late. A torped hits the Bismarck amidships, on her starboard side.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9kefantkov/Screenshot_4349.png)

And then - a few terrifying moments of fire and thunder, as what seems to be a bloody French battle-line slices right through the German forces. Some capitals are spotted; and the German Zerstörer loose their fish in a ragged volley, as they bear and as they see their opponents. At least one hit is scored-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/838a8wqq8v/Screenshot_4351.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1la2flfypb/Screenshot_4352.png)

-but the German forces suffer in return. French guns boom from insight the smoke, fog and rain; Seydlitz and Moltke are riddled with holes, both on the superstructure and the waterline. Moltke loses three of her four turrets, in the most horrifying carnage ever to have been inflicted on a German vessel; Seydlitz does not fare so badly above the waterline, but several underwater hits rob her of almost half her reserve buyoancy. She loses two of her boilers, is listing heavily and can only do 15 knots.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7ef0ow1p7z/Screenshot_4350.png)

Nope. **** that ****. Scheer is out of there.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8kybxht6en/Screenshot_4355.png)

His ships limp into Helgoland four hours later. Morale is low. Scheer can only imagine what the French are going to be crowing from the-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5u213kt7lr/Screenshot_4356.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1pv3rrn927/e042.jpg)

-WHAT THE ****?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5h5ybw76z3/BCs.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/558rjk5wb3/Screenshot_4358.png)

HOW THE **** DID YOU LOSE THREE BATTLECRUISERS, FRENCHIES?

OK, OK, let's count. One went up like a roman candle; one got torpedoed once and, OK, the Bismarcks may have scored a couple of underwater hits on a third one. But surely that's not enough to sink a capital ship?

Um Gottes Willen, Baguettes, what is your ****ing damcon doctrine like?

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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 13, 2017, 04:55:13 pm
THE FROMAGE IS SOFT.

THE FROMAGE IS YIELDING.

I DO NOT HAVE A FROMAGE FETISH
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: JSRNerdo on October 13, 2017, 06:09:43 pm
In the dark timeline where Jackie Fisher was hired by France...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on October 13, 2017, 06:14:11 pm
Schlachtkreuzer Squadrons forced to retire without victory?

(https://img00.deviantart.net/5d4d/i/2015/202/1/0/german_high_seas_fleet_wip_by_mitchellnolte-d929zuo.jpg)

Not Yet Kameraden! Not Yet!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: AdmiralRalwood on October 13, 2017, 06:40:15 pm
lol that turnaround "wow, I got my ass handed to me-- MAJOR VICTORY, TWO PRESTIGE?!?"

more than half of your VP from a battle you thought you lost
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 14, 2017, 04:50:41 am
Losing 5 battlecruisers in just two engagements. I dunno france, maybe you should consider... surrender.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 14, 2017, 12:52:40 pm

They're at it again.

I like the implication that Bismarck has studied the Necronomicon.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TechnoD11 on October 16, 2017, 10:54:38 pm
Hey Enioch,
Just wanted to thank you for the regular updates on this series. As an engineering student buried under a lot of work, taking a break every once in a while to read your interesting saga has reduced my own stress and given me something to look forward to in the evening. Keep up the good work and Erobere die Meere!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 19, 2017, 11:54:57 am
https://youtu.be/5L68JCPsMxU?t=8m47s
A hundred years ago, the spy we often see in this game, died.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on October 20, 2017, 03:47:44 am
You mean was executed after an unfair trail>
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 20, 2017, 06:38:52 am
You mean was executed after an unfair trail>
Uh? I meant exactly what I said, she died a hundred years ago. Did you see me make any kind of other implication?  :confused:
Title: Battle of Helgoland Bight AKA The Ride of the Relics
Post by: Enioch on October 20, 2017, 07:23:28 am
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/9d0vthl9pb/papen-portrait.jpg)

"This is an outrage! The blood and glory of our brave men is not something to cast aside and recycle for a cheap publicity stunt! And the names of the fallen and of our veterans, men and ships alike, are not toys to play with for one's entertainment!"

-Grossadmiral v. Galster, apocryphal quote; said to have been uttered in rage after the von Papen Hertha plan was made known to him.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8uvhhhwg3j/Screenshot_4361.png)

Aftermath of the battle in the North Sea: the French surface fleet has been utterly mauled. They only have a single 37k Dreadnought to face the two Bismarcks which, together, measure 98k tons(!). They are also left with only five battlecruisers (with three more 40k-ton hulls building) to the Germans' eleven. They have no answer whatsoever to the Germans' heavy cruiser force: their light cruisers are smaller than even the German early-20th-century analogues; and the German Zerstörer outmass and outgun the French contre-torpilleurs hull-for-hull by a considerable margin.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4fr3o7ntjj/Screenshot_4362.png)

Hindenburg and Galster know very well that the amazing results of Heligoland were exactly that: unbelievable. Yes, the Vaterland has a good chance of dealing with the French relatively quickly after that disaster, but fate is a fickle mistress. Also, there is no love lost between the military leaders and Von Papen, especially since the Reichskanzler is eager to capitalise politically on the Navy's victories, interpreting them as validation of his warmongering policies.

Galster very nearly loses his temper publicly when a memo reaches the Admiralität from the Reichskanzler's office. The funds have been set apart for the construction of a new heavy cruiser of the Hansa class - but the Kanzler insists it should be named Hertha.

Testimonies by Galster's co-workers mention that the Grossadmiral received the news like a physical blow. What von Papen demanded would entail the formal decommissioning of the old Hertha, so that her name would become available; it was, he thought, an utter usurpation of the old cruiser's identity, simply for propaganda purposes. Many of the other high-ranking officers agreed. Scheer, for one, who had served as Hertha's commanding officer during the Italian war, was dramatically opposed to von Papen's proposal.

And there was more than the ideological considerations in play here. Von Papen wanted a ship to start building now, based on an already existing design. Remember, however, that the Hansas were not particularly effective designs, with almost 500 tons of wasted, unoptimised space and a top speed of 31 knots, compared to the coal-fired, 32-knot Prinz Heinrichs. This was a bad investment.

It took Tirpitz's intervention, and a direct order from the Kaiser, to get the project through. His Majesty himself met with Galster to discuss the matter: he is said to have been morose himself at what it would imply.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9k2sdhy15b/Screenshot_4364.png)

With the French fleet well and truly blockaded in their harbours, the German U-Boote assume fleet support duties. They still manage to nab two blockade runners to the west of the Channel.

And then the French strike back.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/92cqox3q73/Screenshot_4365.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4japlxtr7z/Screenshot_4366.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4mubjnqotr/Screenshot_4367.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3l4gufbogf/Youjo_Senki_Screenshot_0281.jpg)

SCHEISSE.

3 August 1920: the French submarine Circé is attempting to sneak past the German patrols. She runs across Wettin, returning home from a North Sea patrol, and snapshots three torpedoes. Two strike the German superdread on her starboard bow, cracking four bulkheads and killing sixty sailors. The Wettin is never in danger of sinking and her Zerstörer escorts drive the Circé away, but the return to Wilhelmshaven does a number on the transverse bulkheads of the ship and the mangled bow. Yardhands scream obscenities and descend upon the ship like a swarm of locusts; the most optimistic estimates put her back in action in just under half a year.

This is closely followed by the loss of the Makrele, one of the Piepers, with all hands, near the eastern exit of the Channel.

Her sisters draw some French blood in return, but still, the losses sting. For the first time in, well...ever, the Germans are on the receiving end of a competently-led and competently-pursued submarine warfare campaign.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/51dioozxcf/Screenshot_4369.png)

And another nasty surprise awaits the Germans on the 21st of August.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5lnhdq3kyn/Lb-5_H1.gif)

Two ancient German coastal submarines (U-1, yes, the first German submarine ever built and the U-12), both modernised training vessels now, are sailing along the Dutch coastline, when they make out dark shapes towards the north. Fregattenkapitän Ulrich Baumann of the U-1 orders an immediate crash dive and tracks the course of the presumed hostiles, his trainee crew and officers scared out of their wits. Modernised or not, if these are French and if a destroyer sniffs the submarines out...

They are French, Baumann decides, judging by the dark silhouettes. A raiding force, attemtping to hit-and-run in the Bight. Cold sweat runs down his spine.

But the sailors know their duty. Baumann extends his small radio aerial; and sends a brief, encoded warning message on the emergency bands. If the French are paying attention - if a single destroyer in that raiding force has an alert radioman monitoring German frequencies...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3518ysxc7j/o_LIry_Vt.gif)

The French sail past, shrouded in darkness. No challenge is given.

Shortly after they sail out of view, the terrified Germans turn their old boat around - and make best speed for the safe, shallow waters of the Dutch coast.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3ne86han9r/Screenshot_4368.png)

Back in Helgoland, the alarm has roused all fleet units currently on station. Helgoland Command is tearing out their hairs; they are trying to contact the Admiralität for orders, but comms are down because of technical difficulties - it will take at least an hour to restore them, an hour that Vize-Admiral Leberecht Maass, the CO of the Helgoland Naval Base does not thing he has.

Helgoland is currently lacking any active modern Schlachtkreuzer for her defense and the Bismarck is patroling. All that Maass has available are the three old Schlachtkreuzer Von der Tann, Goeben and Seydlitz; the heavy cruisers Prinz Heinrich, Prinz Adalbert and Hansa; and a handful of old Zerstörer. He does not know where the enemy is, nor what their force composition is. And he cannot believe how the French have managed to slip an operation like that past the German Intelligence and codebreakers.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7az4hfnglr/gif_1.gif)

If there is a modern battlecruiser out there (or, heaven forbid, more than one), sending the lightly armored cruisers and the old Schlachtkreuzer against her in the dark could be suicide. But he has no other option. If he does not challenge the French, they might slip by and strike at Helgoland or even Wilhelmshaven; this would be a nightmarish repeat of the Thames Estuary raid, only with the roles reversed. He needs to find and stop them in the Bight - sacrifice his ships if he has to, to mission-kill or at least delay the enemy, until the heavy Schlachtkreuzer can respond from the North Sea.

And so he sends out what forces he has, in two task groups. One comprises the three old Schlachtkreuzer, with Konteradmiral Behncke in command. The other is led by promising Kapitän zur See Karl von Müller, who has left his darling Frauenlob for a posting with the new heqvy cruiser forces. His squadron is escorted by little Bremen, her old boilers screaming under the stress, but her crew eager for battle.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9r608xo96n/Screenshot_4371.png)

Behncke decides to split up his forces, to cover a larger area. The Schlachtkreuzer move north; the cruisers turn south, to skirt the Dutch coast.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3d45rhvxcf/Screenshot_4370.png)

It is a questionable decision, but it pays off, as V1, scouting ahead of Goeben makes contact with the enemy at 06:12. And, shortly after that, in the early light of dawn, the lookouts of Goeben manage to identify the massive ship leading the enemy force.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/41knxctnxr/Screenshot_4372.png)

*DRY ****ING GULP*

That's 10 14-inch rifles, staring down the old German Schlachtkreuzer.Oh, thinks Behncke, this is going to suck. His ships are so outclassed that it's not even funny.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3jum8ru7sv/Screenshot_4373.png)

But he is an Admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine and he knows his duty. And he is in command of Goeben, the glorious, aptly-nicknamed Berserkershiff, with probably the best crew in the fleet under his command, and he is desperate, with his back against the wall. He cannot retreat - the Marseille is faster and will utterly rip him apart at long range. But he has another option.

SCHLACHTKREUZER ****ING RAN AN DEN FEIND!

[OOC Note: Take a look at the 'Crew Quality' score of the Goeben. "-1" means "Untrained, why the hell are you bringing this ship into battle?"; "0" means "Trained"; "1" means "Experienced". "2" is "Elite" - a status that ship crews can only achieve by participating in multiple actions AND never entering reserve status. Goeben has been in active service since her commissioning and has participated in every war since then. Her crew are the very best of the best, hardened veterans every one.]

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1vy0pqvnhr/Screenshot_4374.png)

Bremen is in sight, to the south; she turns to scout out the French force. Meanwhile, the German capitals turn to the north, unshadow their broadsides and open fire. Twenty-four old 11-inch rifles boom, before the French can get the range.

Goeben straddles the target with her very first salvo at long range. Seydlitz misses by a small margin, and her fire control crews rush to adjust the firing calculations. And Von der Tann shoots straight and true, smashing an 11-inch shell into the Frenchman's superstructure.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/73gjykz2qn/Screenshot_4375.png)

Quickly followed by another hit from Von der Tann, and one from Seydlitz, as she finds the range.

The Marseille responds by charging down the German formation. Her guns boom, and shells straddle the Goeben. Behncke is brave, but not suicidal: he knows what these heavy guns can do to his old ships. He turns away, keeping the French ship at mid- to long range for as long as possible, buying time for reinforcements to arrive.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/64d7zkvji7/Screenshot_4376.png)

He is proven right when, two minutes later, the Marseille scores a hit on the Goeben's forward port turret, penetrating the armor and killing the entirety of the gun crew. Goeben loses a quarter of her active broadside, but she does not flinch.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7awj868fzz/Screenshot_4377.png)

In fact, she turns to the east and outright challenges the Marseille to a mid-range battle. The Frenchmen, foolishly, accept, instead of either pushing in (to score crippling, multiple-hit broadsides) or opening the range (to pound the German capitals from outside their range).

(https://s1.postimg.cc/101jaam6rj/Screenshot_4378.png)

And they pay for it in blood. It does not matter how good your guns are, Frenchie, if you are obliging enough to sit inside the range of twenty-two rapid-firing 11-inchers.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4g3v2dxjjz/Screenshot_4379.png)

Fourty minutes after first contact, Goeben breaks the Frenchman's nose. One of her 11-inch shells buries itself in the deck of the Marseille just in front of her "A" Turret; it doesn't penetrate, but the shell explosion is enough to jam the turret.

That's a third of the Frenchman's firepower out of commission.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1lb6wlk2in/Screenshot_4380.png)

Seydlitz, her FC directors now perfectly locked on target follows her sister's example with a devastating broadside. She scores four hits (out of eight shots fired) on the Frenchman, whose fire now is surprisingly erratic. Perhaps a fire control position was knocked out?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2a4ggm9iz3/Screenshot_4381.png)

Behncke cannot believe his eyes, but somehow -somehow- he is winning this!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4n72xtn4fz/Screenshot_4382.png)

Seriously, Goeben has been the focus of the French fire so far, and she has only received a total of two hits!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1vy0pr40f3/Screenshot_4385.png)

And then, von Müller finally arrives to reinforce and enters the fray from the south. The three heavy cruisers flank the Marseille from her fore portside and open fire with their 9-inchers at around 8k yards.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4ck94oeyxb/Screenshot_4383.png)

At this range, the Frenchman's 9-inch belt and 9-inch turrets are butter - and the cruisers have a total of thirty six guns to bring to bear. As Prinz Adalbert pumps two shells into the battlecruiser's bridge, Hansa penetrates her aft turret and blows it off its bearings.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/13xwm6w9u7/Screenshot_4384.png)

Welp.

And then the cruisers fire again, from an even closer range. Heinrich scores a hit, followed by two more from the Hansa...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1zhmngxxzz/Screenshot_4386.png)

...who, it turns out, is calmly and methodically knocking out the Marseille's turrets.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7szcaxm46n/Screenshot_4388.png)

Von Müller signals the flagship: ENEMY NEUTRALISED. ENGAGING IN PURSUIT OF ENEMY LIGHT FORCES. RECOMMEND YOU FALL BACK AWAY FROM ENEMY TORPEDO SHIPS.

Behncke agrees, and turns his task force away. The French battlecruiser is harmless now: a de-fanged prey for the German Zerstörer. And her escorts - the light cruisers and destroyers that are running away from the German heavies in terror...

Well. They're roadkill, really.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5cd3w0jy1b/Screenshot_4389.png)

G7, G9 and G12 are detached to sink the French hulk. A torpedo strikes her amidships at 08:03; she sinks slowly by the bows, giving the German ships plenty of time to pick up survivors. More than five hundred sailors are rescued, from her crew of eight hundred and fifty.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/13l580t70v/Screenshot_4390.png)

Meanwhile, von Müller is in pursuit of the enemy light forces, taking multiple DDs under fire. His slowest ship is the Hansa, with a maximum speed of 31 knots. Hilariously...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/86t0nmx4kf/Screenshot_4391.png)

...neither the French light cruiser...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/64pzdqp6tb/Screenshot_4393.png)

...nor the French destroyers can outrun him. But the French scatter, to such an extent that Müller cannot follow them all. He still runs down and annihilates four French destroyers before pulling back to Emden.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1zue1mty6n/Screenshot_4397.png)

German ship losses: one coastal patrol skiff. Not even one of the Piepers, mind you - just a nameless armed trawler that a French submarine happened to run across.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1was3x6nsv/Screenshot_4398.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9a5hcoplrz/Screenshot_4399.png)

It's a massacre; and the Germans quickly find out why, from their prisoners. The Marseille-class ship Rouen had just been commissioned; and had been sent on this raid after considerable political pressure before her shakedown cruise was complete.

The German sailors are horrified when they find out. No bloody wonder the Frenchmen couldn't score hits. They had never had the chance to train with their ship's guns, before being sent off to war.

Seriously, France. What. The. ****.

This has gone far beyond a patriotic war. This is now a mission to save the Frenchmen from their leaders.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 20, 2017, 07:26:30 am
BECAUSE THAT IS CERTAINLY A GOOD IDEA.

GERMANS TRYING TO SAVE OTHERS FROM THE TRAPPINGS OF DEMOCRACY. NOPE. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. /kappa

ALSO, RIP FRAU ZELLE.  :(

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on October 20, 2017, 09:04:44 am
The German sailors are horrified when they find out. No bloody wonder the Frenchmen couldn't score hits. They had never had the chance to train with their ship's guns, before being sent off to war.

Seriously, France. What. The. ****.

This has gone far beyond a patriotic war. This is now a mission to save the Frenchmen from their leaders.

I.

What.

France. WHY. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on October 20, 2017, 09:33:26 am
You mean was executed after an unfair trail>
Uh? I meant exactly what I said, she died a hundred years ago. Did you see me make any kind of other implication?  :confused:

Oh, sorry, I made that sound confrontational, whilst I wasn't intending to.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 20, 2017, 11:33:11 am
So now that France has no real, actual navy to speak of, blockade and take all their stuff?  ;7

Oh, sorry, I made that sound confrontational, whilst I wasn't intending to.
No worries.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on October 20, 2017, 12:00:17 pm
Death ride of the matriarch Valkyries?

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/The_Ride_of_the_Valkyrs.jpg/1200px-The_Ride_of_the_Valkyrs.jpg)

Not Yet Kameraden! Not Yet!

I love how even in their twilight years the original Schlachtkreuzers still sally forth and gain victory for the Vaterland

Crew Quality 2 Indeed!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 20, 2017, 12:14:07 pm
So now that France has no real, actual navy to speak of, blockade and take all their stuff?  ;7

Of course. The highly skilled political and diplomatic leadership of Germany is sure to not miss this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. :\/

France. WHY. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.

More than a decade of peace, during which their nominal ally, Germany, pretty much handled the 'war at sea' matters. The French have pissed away what little nautical tradition they had; and their fleet (despite being comprised of several good ships) is corrupt, underfunded and undertrained - a black hole for the French bureaucracy to 'disappear' money into.


*snip*

I love how even in their twilight years the original Schlachtkreuzers still sally forth and gain victory for the Vaterland

Crew Quality 2 Indeed!

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 20, 2017, 01:42:48 pm
Of course. The highly skilled political and diplomatic leadership of Germany is sure to not miss this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. :\/
(https://i.imgur.com/fhgZjLW.png)
Another miserable 10 point victory?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 20, 2017, 01:52:18 pm
Your optimism is a bright light in the darkness, Spoon. I must protect that smile!

Updated the threadmarks
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on October 21, 2017, 12:34:00 pm

The next part.

Watch out for non-vampiric Bismarck.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on October 23, 2017, 11:19:49 am
Hearts of Iron IV (https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/hoi4-dev-diary-a-new-germany.1050529/&utm_source=steam_community&utm_medium=community&utm_content=devdiary&utm_campaign=wtt_hoi_devdiary_all_20171018) is revamping it's national focuses to go down the full-on alternate history path for it's major powers (After one of the expansions allowed you to reform Austro-Hungary as Hungary :D ) - For anyone interested in this particular German empire it's a neat treat.

Alternatively you can download the Kaisserreich mod which is an alternate history that assumes that Germany won WW1. Also, quite a neat followup to this campaign.
Title: The Old Guard
Post by: Enioch on October 29, 2017, 02:45:26 pm
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/9u6127aswf/photo-vonpapen-franz13.jpg)

"There is no space for compromise with the enemy. They will submit to our terms, or we will dictate them from Paris."

-Franz von Papen, shortly before the Geneva peace negotiations.

"The great men of a nation reach out to all mankind. They are unifying, not divisive; internationally conciliating and still great nationally."

-Gustav Streseman, as a response.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6op95g74hr/Screenshot_4402.png)

August: and Bremen enters the yards. Her old engines are almost ready to give up the ghost; a rushed drydock visit is the only way to keep her in the fight.

In a cruel twist of fate, Frauenlob is called to take up her patrol duties.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3c6jb2sx0v/Screenshot_4403.png)

Three months into the war, and the French make a first attempt at peace. It is hard to ignore the current German superiority, especially in the naval battlefield; on land, both Powers are posturing along their borders, fortifying their positions.

Hindenburg is invited to reveal the Ministry of War's position on the matter. His speech is clear: Germany must either commit to a total war, that will allow her the necessary time to fully mobilise her ground forces in assistance of her Fleet; or (and this is his personal recommendation) she needs to reach an honourable peace with France. This...ugly war is not truly worth pursuing, against the allies of yesteryear.

Streseman agrees; and his recommendation to the Kaiser is for a peace agreement that will humiliate the French as little as possible, and ensure a stable Kerneuropa in the future. Wilhelm, apparently still a fanatical Mecklenburgian and believer in the German-French Alliance agrees.

Von Papen does not.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6hm1a0njnj/Screenshot_4404.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7u2ge37n3z/b022-040.jpg)

Using the term 'sabotage' to describe what he does to the peace negotiations is being too lenient. His ambition, as it is seen from personal writings at the time, is to mirror and surpass Bismarck's 1870 accomplishment; he is not interested in anything more than a total defeat of the French.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1674pazyz3/Screenshot_4405.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3j9r6ieuqn/Screenshot_4407.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7klqkwjl8v/Screenshot_4406.png)

With the breakdown in peace talks, operations resume. With French shipping blockaded, German submarines can only score a limited number of kills; but the minelaying submarines do manage to claim a minesweeper. In turn, the French submarines sink six German freighters. Nothing that can rival the frightening effectiveness of the German raiders in previous wars, but a notable threat nonetheless.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5embz4qn73/Screenshot_4408.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3twkzny5hr/Screenshot_4409.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1kdkg6aezz/Screenshot_4410.png)

The surface fleet, on the other hand, performs admirably. A French convoy is sunk in the Mediterranean and French installations are bombarded in Tonkin; meanwhile, German codebreakers intercept French communications regarding a planned raid in the Baltic and German fleet elements mobilise in time to intercept.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4830qj5627/Screenshot_4411.png)

The French do their best to avoid a direct clash, in all three occasions.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/40zsv3jnrz/Screenshot_4412.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1gtyigkk0v/Screenshot_4413.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3xu89cxcr3/Screenshot_4414.png)

October: and the month seems to begin with the usual reports from the submarine and raider fleets. The French seem to be carving a small chunk off the German merchant marine, as usual...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4m9gheeji7/Screenshot_4415.png)

...and then, at noon of the 29th of October, a German fleet patrol near Texel runs across a French raiding force.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1gtyigimkv/Screenshot_4416.png)

The Germans have brought two Wittelsbach-class Schlachtkreuzer: the usual pair of Wittelsbach herself and the Derfflinger. The German capitals are escorted by the two old cruisers Frauenlob and Bremen: the latter has only just left drydock and is shaking down her repaired engines. Frauenlob is only here to be relieved of patrol duty if the Bremen's repairs are satisfactory, and then to return to her position as escort to the Zähringen squadron.

At 12:54, the Germans spot a French cruiser approaching from the south and turn to intercept.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/19qqn0ymb3/Screenshot_4417.png)

She's a light cruiser of the Du Chayla-class: a new, capable cruiser-killer, with a 3-inch belt and a 5-gun broadside.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/38mxdd4ccf/Screenshot_4419.png)

And, the Germans realise, as the lookouts spot smoke rising from the south-western horizon, she's not alone. At least two French battlecruisers are here to assist her.

In all fairness, these are not particularly fearsome battlecruisers. They are old and, in fact, in everything but their speed and secondary battery, they are inferior to the Wittelsbachs.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1dackqsrlr/Screenshot_4420.png)

And so, the Germans engage, establishing a firing line to the north, the Wittelsbachs serving to shield the cruisers from fire. Some hits are scored, on both sides, with the French notably scoring a penetrating waterline hit on Derfflinger's bow-

-a hit that slows her down, a crucial knot or so. A cry of distress from her lookouts; a panicked evasive turn towards the north, as a torpedo barely passes in front of her...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1xuqlgk427/b022-017.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2jtntcibcf/Screenshot_4421.png)

...and hits the Frauenlob amidships.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/25n82hafwv/Screenshot_4422.png)

The old cruiser groans and bucks like a wild horse - and her old spine breaks like a twig. Her boilers go up, in a cloud of smoke and injection-oil; and her two halves slowly drift apart, burning. There is no time for the few survivors to take to lifeboats; only 84 men are saved.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9gccpii0dr/Screenshot_4423.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2qwvos5jcv/Screenshot_4424.png)

And, not giving the aghast Germans time to get their bearings, the French follow up with another devastating torpedo strike on the S14. The little tin-can crumbles under the blow. Only 36 survivors.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6vsh0w34v3/Screenshot_4425.png)

No. Nonononono. The Germans are, now, very, very angry. The Frauenlob was a symbol, almost as famous a ship as the Hertha for her daring service in the British War. Her being torpedoed is what started this war and her survival at the time, in spite of the cowardly enemy's strike, had been seen as an act of God and a miracle, a sign of favour and good luck. Her loss, now, to a torpedo, of all things, is a black and red angry thing, that coils inside the German sailors' hearts and cries for blood and murder.

The Derfflinger and Wittelsbach train their guns - main and secondary batteries - onto the nearest Tourville-class; and their hulls disappear behind a wall of fire and smoke as they let loose with every gun barrel they can bring to bear.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/89f04xeelr/Screenshot_4426.png)

Bam.

The Tourville loses a turret in a gout of smoke; and two more turrets jam in their bearings. She staggers, and slowly falls behind, out of formation.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1kdkg6hhmn/Screenshot_4427.png)

As S17 detaches to pick up survivors, the Schlachtkreuzer keep up the accurate fire, continuously driving the French towards the south.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6p3ahfitnj/Screenshot_4428.png)

And they do not conserve ammunition. Less than an hour after first contact, the Derfflinger loaders report that they have expended more than half of their shells.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/390ypc9eb3/Screenshot_4429.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6s8v36ax0f/Screenshot_4430.png)

The trailing Tourville has been turned to swiss cheese. She is now completely out of formation, more than thirty kilometres behind her sister, wreathed in smoke and fire, her guns silent. The Germans now turn their attention to the lead ship-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6zq4akywnz/Screenshot_4431.png)

-who is giving the best accounting of herself than any other ship in the French navy has given so far.

Meet the Lyon - an old ship, but a good ship. Her captain, Capitaine de Vaisseau Marc de Champs-à-Loire, is an officer of the Old School, a believer in strict discipline and in frequent training. He takes the Derfflinger under fire as she enters the range, and in a short while scores more than ten hits on her with main and secondary guns, raking her superstructure and punching several holes beneath the waterline.

But he is dealing with two of the best ships in the German Navy - and, eventually, the Lyon dies, under concentrated fire.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9nfkkxrikf/Screenshot_4432.png)

The G8 is called to give the coup de grâce at close range.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7s2zsbi2zj/Screenshot_4435.png)

OK, you? You fought well. The Germans grudgingly admit it; and the Zerstörer willingly pick up the French survivors from the water.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8dcnemb19r/Screenshot_4436.png)

The two Schlachtkreuzer turn towards the north-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4c0o0875mn/Screenshot_4437.png)

-and pass by the second Tourville's burning hulk. Surprisingly, she has not yet struck her colours. The Germans have no time for cleanup - it's clear that she is sinking, and so Derfflinger just puts a contemptuous shell into her from near point-blank range and continues on her course, back to Home Waters.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2uuiyh4qm7/Screenshot_4441.png)

The butcher's bill. Frauenlob and S14 are gone, and the Derfflinger has suffered considerable damage at the hands of the Loire. But the French have lost two of their last-

-wait.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/83tib6ly0f/Screenshot_4441b.png)

-WHAT!?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/41du72tuxb/Screenshot_4442.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3gwdu55l4v/31645-14812.gif)

SON OF A *****.

The second ship - the burning, disarmed, mauled hulk - was the Tourville herself: the name ship of her class. And she, somehow, manages to reach a French harbour, in time to be saved.

Well. ****.

That said, these Frenchmen - the crews of the old battlecruisers, who actually know what they're doing - the Germans can respect. Seriously. Two obsolete 12-inch battlecruisers and their escorts have caused more damage to the German fleet than all their newest 14-inch capitals put together. And they get to save a ship that, by all accounts, should be long-sunk.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5db8taa473/The_Old_Guard_Dies_but_does_not_surrender.jpg)

Mad props to the Old Guard, I guess. Perhaps you can save your country from the criminal incompetence of your fellow officers.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7hg5z64zzz/Screenshot_4444.png)

For now, though? Thanks for the prestige.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/41du72xi3j/Screenshot_4448.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6p3ahfsolb/Screenshot_4449.png)

November - and those goddamned French subs become even more effective. Not deadly, not by a long shot - but a constant annoyance.

So, the Germans push again, this time through the Channel and against La Rochelle, once more. Just to send a message.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1a4rz0dbhr/Screenshot_4450.png)

Hipper is in command: the Jagdhund has his flag on the Mackensen and is escorted by the Graf Spee. He is deployed in a raiding / reconnaissance-in-force mission: his objective is to draw out what little forces the French still have in the region and sink them or, failing that, to hammer coastal installations and merchant traffic.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3xu89d47nz/Screenshot_4452.png)

He is co-ordinating with the U-Boot Command: the U-103 has already snuck near the French harbour and is spotting for him. The presence of at least one French capital ship has been confirmed in the area.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6p3ahft40v/Screenshot_4454.png)

Unfortunately, night falls before Hipper can manoeuver into position to engage - and his fuel tanks are running low, as the Mackensen never had the time to properly resupply before the operation.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2d4h9wa08f/Screenshot_4455.png)

And then, at 19:00, the lookouts spot enemy ships in the gloom. Terrifyingly, they seem to be light forces - light cruisers and destroyers, less than two thousand yards towards the north and well within torpedo range. Hipper scrambles to evade-

-and then something - a God's hammer - strikes the Mackensen's bridge, blowing it to smithereens.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/20kvc003nj/HMS_Prince_of_Wales.jpg)

Hipper is lucky in his misfortune. He is used to commanding from the relatively open conning towers of the older Schlachtkreuzer; the monolithic conning towers of the Zähringens, although safer, are too stifling and not to his taste. He is, therefore, commanding from the bridge when the French shell hits.

His mangled body is retrieved from the wreckage, a few minutes later. He has lost his right arm and his right eye to shrapnel; and his right leg is broken in three places and dislocated at the hip. He is unconscious; but he will survive the engagement, if barely, thanks to prompt medical aid.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/390ypckjjj/Screenshot_4456.png)

By this time, the lookouts identify one of the enemy ships as the French battlecruiser Duquesne - and the two German Schlachtkreuzer, with no orders to the contrary, move to engage at close range, unshadowing their broadsides.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5f0db4cufz/Screenshot_4457.png)

The Graf Spee fires once, to find the range, and scores a hit with her ranging salvo; the Mackensen is still scrambling under the hammerblow, and it takes a minute for her captain, Marcus von Weissberg to realise that he is command of the force. During that time, the ship is hit again, with an overpenetrating hit on her bows that causes minimal flooding. Her bridge is still burning, marking her as a target in the night gloom.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7vmlq1jimn/Screenshot_4458.png)

But then, her gunnery crews hit their stations. 20:08 - she scores two hits on her silhouetted enemy, while the Frenchman fires back, jamming one of her turrets. 20:09 - she finds the range. 20:10 - both her and Graf Spee fire together, in a concentrated massive salvo. In two minutes, the Duquesne is hit 13 times. She fades into the darkness, behind a smokescreen laid by her destroyers-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4fk9xy9nun/Screenshot_4459.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3qd88pf773/b022-021.jpg)

-but then, two minutes later, the Graf Spee's gunners reacquire her and pump another 7 shells into her. And that's all the French ship can take. Her ammo stores go up in a fireball that turns the night into day.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6awuqkndr3/Screenshot_4460.png)

Weissberg does not risk continuing the engagement. He has accomplished his orders; and with Hipper wounded and his bridge destroyed he does not dare press on.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7vmlq1lvi7/Screenshot_4461.png)

He turns his ships towards the north and leaves La Rochelle behind.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7acy3qshsf/Screenshot_4464.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/50txk97z1b/Screenshot_4465.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3cjjw0pepb/Screenshot_7590.png)

Well, it was the Dunkerque. Not a particularly good ship, design-wise; but still, one of the older breed, going own swinging. Going up against two Zähringens on this old tub? Mad props for bravery, Frenchmen; we'll have a drink to your honour in the Knappen of Wilhelmshaven .

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9994u30czj/Screenshot_4470.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2rb67j6d27/o017.jpg)

And then, Hindenburg finally reports to the Kaiser that the Heer is fully armed, prepared and supplied, to break the land war stalemate. Germany is ready for the Winter Offensive; it is time for the Navy to rest.

Artillery roars and flowers of death bloom over the trenches. December is here - and the first snowfall of the season is drowned in blood, smoke, mud and fire.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 29, 2017, 02:55:03 pm
LA GARDE MEURT MAIS NE SE REND PAS.

(Aten't dead.)

Goddammit Frenchmen. First you sacrifice a modern battlecruiser for nothing - and then you send out these relics that die (or do not die, as the case may be) in the most glorious fashion imaginable, fighting to the last.

It is so obvious that the old veterans have taken out the old ships in contempt, saying to the criminally stupid youngsters "Regardez bien, les minables, c' est comme ça qu'on se bat contre les Boches" and it makes me want to cry and salute them.

Seriously. These are the most worthy adversaries Germany has faced so far. Glorious, magnificent bastards.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 29, 2017, 05:41:11 pm
Look at all this pointless death and bloodshed!

(https://i.imgur.com/gQCpTwQ.jpg)

It's great.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on October 30, 2017, 04:27:56 am
Frauenlob, nooooo

o7, little old tub.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 30, 2017, 06:37:15 am
Had it coming imo
Cheeky little boat was long overdue for sinking.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 30, 2017, 08:29:27 am
Had it coming imo
Cheeky little boat was long overdue for sinking.

Get out.

EDIT: Can you guys let me know if you can download working .gifs from giphy and other similar sites? I seem to be constantly getting corrupted versions and I suspect they've done something to stop downloads (or their sitecode is ****ed up worse than ours)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on October 30, 2017, 10:03:59 am
I checked giphy for you, I can download and open their gifs just fine, without any corruption or what not.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on October 30, 2017, 10:09:31 am
Goddammit.

What browser are you using?

EDIT: Never mind, for some reason, now it is working. Thanks Spoon, you've been very kind. Now...

Had it coming imo
Cheeky little boat was long overdue for sinking.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4wu4nl5ltb/giphy-downsized.gif)
Title: A Brawl in the Dark
Post by: Enioch on November 06, 2017, 09:04:30 am
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/4458x34lnz/flamethrower.jpg)

[...]The German Winter Assault of 1920 was one of the first combined arms offensive maneuvers in modern history. Over the course of two months, the German army proceeded to advance in a careful, methodical fashion, with concentrated infantry pushes supported by massive artillery barrages. The 2nd and 4th Armies, under the command of Erich Ludendorff and Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg engaged in successive attempted breakthroughs and encirclements of isolated French forces, pushing the enemy back into Lorraine.[...]

[...]As ill-maintained as they were, the French in-depth fortifications still proved to be a considerable hindrance for the German Heer, especially when one takes into account the bravery of the French defenders; but the Germans quickly brought new, innovative weaponry to bear. New ballistic caps were introduced for the use of field artillery and utilised for the first time to penetrate the French bunkers, to great effect. And the 4th Army was the first to utilise the dreaded German Flammenwerfer for the first time in combat against enemy fixed positions.[...]

[...]A January blizzard slowed the advance after about forty to fifty kilometres from the Rhein, along the Saint-Dié-des-Vosges - Belfort line, where it would remain for the rest of the winter.[...]


-Pierre DeVille, The Lorraine on Fire: a Chronicle of the von Papen Wars, Marseille 1948.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5vj9tsour3/Screenshot_4471.png)

"War is the father of all," said Heraclitus: and the Germans demonstrate the veracity of the argument. In order to break the French fortifications of the Rhein, the Germans develop new ballistic caps for their armor-piercing projectiles. Now shells lose very little velocity when in the air; and they strike harder and deeper. The French bunkers crack like eggshells.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/56q09s3wbz/Screenshot_4472.png)

On the 22nd of December, the Ariadne and Amazone spot a French convoy in the Mediterranean. They...vaccilate.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/69ppknxsrj/Screenshot_4473.png)

It's three days to Christmas. The French still have one battlecruiser around. Is it worth it, to engage?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2j0jzfb2pr/Screenshot_4475.png)

No, the Germans decide. Better not to take the risk. Also, the Kriegsmarine still has a modicum of respect for their opponents. We are not the army, slaughtering people on the Holy Days. Let the garlic-chewers through.

(Also, let's not risk our ships against a potential battlecruiser)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/536ec2bgrj/Screenshot_4476.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/88lwb07dov/Screenshot_4477.png)

Well, scheisse. The Admiralität does not lose any sleep over 8 freighters, but the captains of the light cruisers do feel a certain disappointment when they realise that they could have wiped that convoy out pretty easily.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/21aiauazfj/Screenshot_4478.png)

28 December: and the Derfflinger loses two boilers in a pressure explosion. Eight dead; twenty wounded; and a month in drydock.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/21aiauchfz/Screenshot_4479.png)

Hello, Frau Zelle. What news from Britain?

Wait, the Redoutable? Isn't that the British 15-inch response to the Zähringens? What do you mean it's under construction?

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1qnohowm5b/Screenshot_4480.png)

Yeah, it's the old Redout....

Oh. Ooooooooh. How interesting.

'Improved Director', I see. She's being refitted! The Brits are catching up on Fire Control tech. Brilliant. All Germany needed was accurate 15-inch fire from the Brits...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2tndsksnqn/Screenshot_4481.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/62mhp8h7y7/Screenshot_4482.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5j5o9dq4ov/Horrible_Subs-_Youjo-_Senki-12v2-1080p.mkv0070.jpg)

Oh mein Gott.

This is delicious. The ship designers finally submit their preliminary concepts for a new generation of Zerstörer. A new generation that will blow everything the opposition has out of the water, figuratively and literally.

Time to go big.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2bxc3zskgf/Screenshot_4483.png)

Urlge.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/34a7lqao73/Screenshot_4484.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3igncljehr/Screenshot_4485.png)

Double Urgle. Goddammit, the French are outperforming us in submarine warfare?

Yes, alright, the blockade has something to do with that, but 5 German submarines sunk!?

And, um Gottes Willen, SOMEBODY KILL THAT VERFLUCHTEN CRUISER!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6663myaxtb/Screenshot_4486.png)

Well, at least we have a new quintet of Piepers leaving the yards, to deal with the French subs...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/21aiaufp6n/Screenshot_4487.png)

January: and the Winter Offensive reports success across all fronts. Ludendorff and von Württemberg have pushed the French out of Elsass - Lothringen, but have been slowed down by one of the most strong blizzards in the last generation. There is no need to push further - both sides settle down for the rest of the winter. The Germans take the opportunity to consolidate, resupply and reinforce their advance positions.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9ps1creigf/Screenshot_4488.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/Dg9b0cx.jpg)

YES.

AND THE LORD SPAKE THUSLY: 'THOU SHALT BUILD ME A NEW ZERSTÖRER AND IT SHALT BE SWOLE'

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7g90t9v2a7/Screenshot_4489.png)

God-****ing-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3t3h5qzp7z/Screenshot_4490.png)

-DAMMIT! Please tell me that somebody has found that bloody cr-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1xqwd4ozcf/Screenshot_4491.png)

YES! Freya, you magnificent *****!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6uzd6z1okf/Screenshot_4492.png)

Hnnnng.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/21aiaujk2n/Screenshot_4493.png)

HNNNNG.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5a9m7i79f3/Screenshot_4494.png)

....

I have nothing. Herr Stroheim, please explain.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/recxbdsu7/2a47cc89f8bb513a05040ba00cd7d2e436d33430_hq.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4hwqprrijz/Screenshot_4495.png)

March 1921: and the U-Boote finally manage to extricate their heads from their aft torpedo tubes. Galster deploys them on raids against French patrol ships and coastal traffic: and the U-135 bags herself a French minesweeper.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/75m704kc67/Screenshot_4496.png)

Not good, by any stretch of the imagination. But better.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5ostcj1x8v/Screenshot_4497.png)

And, hey, bigger convoys work! French submarine performance drops by around 50%!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/256vmpzum7/Screenshot_4498.png)

You little hero.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/6dm2wjrt4v/Screenshot_4499.png)

Oh, great. Another French cr-

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5hplh3h9tr/Screenshot_4500.png)

...

Wait, what?

The Bremen? The little Bremen? The sister-ship of Frauenlob? Built in the nineteenth century? Not properly maintained since 1912?

Catches up to a French cruiser built in (*checks*) 1910? and sinks her?

...

*Checks stats of Bremen*

Crew Quality: Elite

(https://i.imgur.com/NzEOXjZ.jpg)

But of course.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/62z93edfun/Screenshot_4501.png)

And then, because karma's a *****, a French submarine catches Wittelsbach unawares near the Spanish coast. The escorting Zerstörer drive her away, and the German ship reaches harbour safely, but she'll be out of action for at least sixty days.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7ybtw0qqbj/Screenshot_4502.png)

Her station in the Bay of Biscay patroling force is taken up by the Graf Spee. And on the 21st of April, the Graf gets to avenge her older sister.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/386kxlw3xb/Screenshot_4503.png)

Just before midnight, in a pitch-black, overcast night, the Graf Spee and the Lützow are sailing towards the south-east and the Spanish coast, when the faint, directed navigation light of the S15 is obscured by - something. The lookouts of the Graf realise, horrified, that there's a completely blacked-out enemy capital ship less than 500 yards ahead.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8jlhibitqn/Screenshot_4504.png)

The ensuing panicked maneuvering, alarms and all-in-all cluster**** that ensues, results in the Graf opening up with her main guns against an enemy DD in literally point-blank range (less than a hundred yards), blowing the enemy ship clear out of the water. The fireball of the enemy torpedoes cooking off is just enough for the G9 to make out a black shape closing in fast from starboard; and then the French destroyer rams the German ship on the bows, tangling them up together in a mass of twisted metal.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3bq6vbqonj/Screenshot_4505.png)

The enemy destroyer manages to bring two deck guns to bear onto the wrecked G9, firing into her bridge and aft. And then heavy guns boom from the darkness. One shell strikes the G9's torpedo launchers; one of her torpedoes goes off, carving a chunk out of her hull. Another salvo finds the Graf's 'X' Turret and penetrates it, killing the crew.

But then the Germans fire back. The capitals train their main batteries onto a closing Epee-class destroyer and nail her with five 12-inch shells, turning her into matchwood. The Lützow, meanwhile, peppers a nearby French light cruiser with her secondaries.

The cruiser turns to avoid the German fire; and runs straight into a torpedo fired into the melee by the G7.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2jdbdlbsnj/Screenshot_4506.png)

The G9 is a charnelhouse, by now, but she still has a torpedo launcher and the enemy battlecruiser is nearby. The Germans desperately turn the launcher around, under constant fire, and dump a spread directly into the Frenchman's path, from less than a kilometre away.

One torpedo finds her mark.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1jx80f8m27/Screenshot_4507.png)

But the French destroyer that has rammed the G9 returns the favour. She has a broadside shot at Lützow and she takes it, nailing the German Schlachtkreuzer with a torpedo amidships.

At this point, the S15 has eyes on both the enemy ships. One is a Tourville, running towards the east. The other, the one G9 has torpedoed, is...

(https://i.imgur.com/ySm56Le.png)

...a Guedon-class?

Holy ****, that's a 14-inch gun, 40k-ton behemoth, and the flagship of the French fleet!

The Graf Spee immediately takes her under fire, pumping two 12-inch shells into her belt.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8u8bbh0u73/Screenshot_4508.png)

The S15, mangled by French secondary fire, turns and launches her fish. From a range of 1.5k yards, she scores a single hit, further holing the Guedon's starboard waterline.

Meanwhile, the Graf has found the range. With all that this implies. I don't think I need to elaborate. You all know what happens when a Zähringen-class straddles a target at under 5k yards.

(https://i.imgur.com/9d9jqRU.gif)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/21n9p0b27z/Screenshot_4509.png)

The Lützow is hurt, but not mortally. She is flooding, and her port wing magazine is gone, but she can still do her cruise speed and she can still bring eight 12-inchers to bear. Problem is, she cannot see anything to shoot at - and signals this to the Graf Spee.

The Graf proceeds to torpedobeat like a baws [look at the top of the message log], weaving between three French torpedoes, and charges down the French ships.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1gdm2pgtn3/Screenshot_4510.png)

The Guedon turns to disengage, but the Graf is right on her tail, continuously pumping 12-inch shells into her weakly armored aft. Finally, the Lützow acquires a target, and opens up with main and secondary guns.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5scfa90kkv/Screenshot_4511.png)

As the G7 and S15 slip beneath the waves, the Graf keeps up the withering fire on the Guedon. **** the Tourville - get the French supercap!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4lt41nc3f3/Screenshot_4512.png)

And they do get her. At 00:37, the flagship of the French Navy slips under the waves.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3iteqrg1tr/Screenshot_4513.png)

It is then - and only then - that the G9 follows suit. It is almost as if she wanted to make sure that her prey had met her doom, before giving up the ghost.

The Germans pick up their survivors (and many French prisoners) and begin their journey to Gibraltar: there is no way they're braving the Channel and the French submarine patrols.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/4wfxusrja7/Screenshot_4514.png)

What a victory! The French flagship is gone, accompanied by two destroyers. Somehow that cruiser survives the torpedo strike with minimal damage. The Germans 'only' lose three Zerstörer, and the little darlings certainly went down swinging!

(https://s1.postimg.cc/2qgj910y3z/Screenshot_4515.png)

MVP? The Graf, beyond any doubt. Fifty confirmed hits on the enemy ships in total. Surprisingly, French records indicate that the Guedon was hit more than a hundred and thirty times by capital-grade weapons. Whether this was the French panicking and miscounting, or whether this meant that the Germans scored more hits than they could confirm in the gloom is debatable; we suspect that the truth lies somewhere in between...

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7us7yb25n3/Screenshot_4516.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1y3nraleyn/Screenshot_4517.png)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/313d26hvzj/Screenshot_4518.png)

What a victory, indeed! It takes time for the reports to reach the Admiralität, but when they do, the mood is jubilant. Several Iron Crosses are awarded for this night's work; including to the entire crew of the G9 for their tenacity and valor under fire.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/3md0ohcjzz/Screenshot_4519.png)

This success breathes new life into the German Fleet - the captains, officers and crewmen are determined not to give the French an inch anymore. The little obsolete Nymphe, patrolling the Indian Ocean, engages the enemy cruiser Lelande as she tries to attack merchant shipping and drives her away, under a hail of 6-inch fire; the Moltke and Prinz Adalbert twice drive away the raider Galilee from German waters.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7np02vhi7z/Screenshot_4521.png)

That's the last straw for the French. They have completely and utterly lost control of the seas; the Germans can, at their discretion, land troops in their northern coast, completely bypassing Belgium and the Netherlands. On the 29th of April, they sue for peace, a peace that the Kaiser outright orders von Papen to grant them. Germany is at a perfect position to dictate terms and to ensure that she emerges the undisputed ruler of the Kerneuropa...

(https://i.imgur.com/zV3vkYI.png)

What the utter ****?

...

"Large territories and considerable war reparations" = 4 victory points.

...

...

VON PAPEEEEEEEN!


<< Previous (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1857136#msg1857136) | Next >> (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1857892#msg1857892)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 06, 2017, 09:10:48 am
**** OFF HERR REICHSKANZLER.

YOU TEST MY PATIENCE.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on November 06, 2017, 09:19:46 am
Von Papen. My dude. Come 'ere for a sec. Listen, we beat the french soundly. We can have everything we want or we put troops into Versaille again, and this time they're not leaving. Get us something juicy, will ya?

----

Mein Kaiser, I have delivered something juicy! The french have offered us their best wines!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 06, 2017, 04:03:50 pm
FOUR POINTS?!?
(https://i.imgur.com/dxkVire.jpg)

FOUR MEASLY POINTS?!

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 06, 2017, 04:06:56 pm
All of that research though, the best science in the world. And what a delicious slugging fest, the war ended with. (I liked how it the collision was with UNSIGHTED!!!)

Du Chayla Du du du chayla
Cha la
Head cha la
Du du du

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 07, 2017, 04:50:47 am
*snip*

Yeah, I kinda was expecting that reaction.  :lol:

Von Papen. My dude. Come 'ere for a sec. Listen, we beat the french soundly. We can have everything we want or we put troops into Versaille again, and this time they're not leaving. Get us something juicy, will ya?

----

Mein Kaiser, I have delivered something juicy! The french have offered us their best wines!

...and that one.  :p

Seriously, this was possibly the peace deal that pissed me off more than any other in this playthrough. Apparently, 50k+ VP compared to 7.5k (plus having completely wiped the battle-line of the Marine Nationale from the face of the Earth) only grants you 4 negotiation points.

EDIT: OK, this is pissing me off. I wanna download .gifs from giphy and I can't do it, again. I choose my .gif, then I click 'Download' from the sidebar on the right, then I right click on the blue 'download' button on the source link and I select 'save link as'. All I'm getting is a ****ing 29KB file that doesn't play anywhere and is probably not a .gif, but this ****ing frame that giphy likes to put on everything. Can someone help me with this ****ing ^*%@  (devolves into really angry swearing)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 07, 2017, 09:46:26 am
Save link as?
Try, Save Image As

U derpy git
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on November 07, 2017, 11:54:03 am
He's been channeling the Kaiser so much for the RTW Blog its metastasizing to other parts of his life...

(http://cdn.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/1996/06/kaiser-william-ii_1996-06-06-200x200-c-default.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 07, 2017, 12:09:58 pm
He's been channeling the Kaiser so much for the RTW Blog its metastasizing to other parts of his life...

(http://cdn.nybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/1996/06/kaiser-william-ii_1996-06-06-200x200-c-default.gif)
(https://i.imgur.com/rpKwmO8.png)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 07, 2017, 12:25:48 pm
Uh-huh. Yeah.  :doubt:

Instruct me as to where the 'Save Image as' option is, great masters.

(https://i.imgur.com/foeZ98m.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/VzO2s3q.png)

EDIT: hold on, I may have figured this out. That's an MP4, isn't it. And I've been trying to download it as a .gif because the frame has wrapped it into a "giphy.gif" container.... :banghead:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 07, 2017, 02:04:10 pm
EDIT: hold on, I may have figured this out. That's an MP4, isn't it. And I've been trying to download it as a .gif because the frame has wrapped it into a "giphy.gif" container.... :banghead:
I'm just going to sit here, and watch it all dawn on you  :p

(https://i.imgur.com/ROelupy.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 08, 2017, 09:01:11 am
Not directly related to the german steel of the current playthrough, but these are pretty colorized pictures of WW2 warboats: https://www.reddit.com/r/WorldOfWarships/comments/7biryd/imperial_japanese_navy_in_color/
Title: And a thousand pikes were flashing by the rising of the moon!
Post by: Enioch on November 13, 2017, 12:19:16 pm
<< Previous (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1857472#msg1857472) | Next >> (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1858375#msg1858375)


(https://s7.postimg.cc/yknoegw2z/Brest-_Litovsk-_Trotsky.jpg)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/usdcqexyz/Stab-in-the-back_postcard.png)

"The Geneva peace negotiations were a shambles. Von Papen  came in completely unprepared, apparently more interested in humiliating the French than concluding a lasting peace treaty. To the chagrin of all parties involved, the Reichskanzler was more interested in backstage lobbying, to 'get a better deal' than to actually putting forward what Germany expected out of this peace treaty.

"It was only thanks to the tireless efforts of Foreign Minister Streseman that a set of concessions were agreed upon. Under international pressure, the Germans would limit themselves to accepting considerable war reparations and some minimal colonial concessions; but the European borders returned to their pre-war state and no signficant colonial centres changed hands.

"The military and hawkish sides were incensed. The Army had performed heroically, once more demonstrating German superiority over the French; the Navy had, by all accounts, carried the day. But this political fiasco was perceived by all as a betrayal of the sacrifices of the military personnel: thousands of Germans had died at sea or on the trenches, and their deaths were now proven to be in vain. This was exacerbated by the fact that the current military command had reached their positions under the drastically different hand of von Mecklenburg. Whereas the
Meereskanzler had made it a point to only spend German lives sparingly, in pursuit of specific goals, von Papen appeared to the disillusioned Heeresleitung and Admiralität as an opportunist.

"General Ludendorff was one of the first to put forward what would quickly become known as the 'Dolchstoß' narrative, which quickly spread amongst the German military and the lower classes: the military was betrayed, 'stabbed in the back', by the political leadership and, specifically, the short-sighted von Papen regime and its backers among the nobility [...]
"

-Dr. Jonathan Needham, The Dolchstoß: Political Betrayal in Germany during and after the Von Papen Wars, 1975: Glasgow.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ncioi3zkr/Screenshot_4527.png)

The military is not happy. The Kaiser is not happy. Streseman is appalled.

Von Papen and his backers seem happy. For the time being. He is still kept as far away from the American delegates who are visiting Germany to witness the peace negotiations as possible.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ptufpeecb/Screenshot_4528.png)

A new batch of submarines leave the yards, too late to join the war.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/jswqsecbf/Screenshot_4529.png)

Well, crap. That would have been really appreciated.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ushy3xaff/Screenshot_4531.png)

August 1921: and a German agent and saboteur is captured in Italy. He has, in his possession, evidence that, while insufficient to link him directly to Von Papen, is still...shall we say indicative of the Chancellor's interest in his activities? The Italians raise a very justified stink; von Papen insultingly dismisses their claims in a series of interviews with European newspapers.

Military Intelligence are pulling their hair out.  This has not been a government-sanctioned operation. Whatever von Papen has done, it was done with private funds (which might explain the sheer incompetence of the captured agent).

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ork96vqe3/Screenshot_4532.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/uv6f4oydn/Enigma_crittografia_-_Museo_scienza_e_tecnologia_Milano.jpg)

Ohohoho...

ENIGMA INTENSIFIES.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/eu98dsvmz/Screenshot_4534.png)

September: and von Papen ****s things up again, when he orders the Far East squadron to bombard targets in coastal China, based on faulty intelligence. Thankfully, the local commanders are well aware that the 'revolution' their Reichskanzler is sending them to suppress is well under control by British colonial forces and that their intervention could spark another war. They dither, and sail around, and take extra care not to bombard anything important. The Brits protest formally against what they perceive as Germany grossly overstepping her bounds; but Streseman can provide sufficient damage control that tensions do not rise too much...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/drz1v9s97/Screenshot_4537.png)

Things stay quiet until January. Perhaps too quiet, for both the Admiralität's and Streseman's peace of mind.

And then, a British spy is discovered by Military Intelligence. The Admiralität and Streseman immediately descend upon the poor fellow in an attempt for damage control; the matter is dealt with with the uttermost discretion, keeping von Papen out of the loop. This time, tensions stay stable.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/r8w0e5xfv/Screenshot_4538.png)

Aha.

Ahahahaha.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

SUPER-ULTRA-BIG BEER BELLY FOR BATTLESHIPS UNLOCKED!

SEND MORE TORPEDOES.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/npa2ocn0b/Screenshot_4539.png)

**** you 'Murica, we need the money. We are modernising the entirety of the Pieper fleet, after all...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/hocdrbq4b/Screenshot_4541.png)

Krupp approaches the government with a proposal. They are considering outsourcing some of their production to Russia, where labour is cheaper. This might help relations with the ailing eastern neighbour; and it would also bring considerable profits to both Krupp and the Admiralität for the licenses held.

But no! cries von Papen. That would be a security risk! Germany cannot afford to leak technology to her backwards ernstwhile enemy!

The project is blocked. Neither the German industrialists nor the Russians appreciate it.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/banao1qd7/Screenshot_4542.png)

Sure, give the new Hertha good eyes.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/u2z5rmuh7/Screenshot_4543.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/b3495d4t7/Tensions12.jpg)

****ING HELL, VON PAPEN, CEASE AND DESIST.

He does it again. Once again, Military Intelligence finds out there are German agents and saboteurs in France after these men are caught. Frau Zelle is thumping her head against the wall.

The utter hypocrisy of the man! Denying German industrialists a billion-Mark deal, only to get his incompetent stooges captured by the French as they are trying to dynamite the Paris - Lille railroad tracks...

We need some good news-

(https://s7.postimg.cc/banao3g3f/Screenshot_4544.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/jg5cm9c23/Screenshot_4546.png)

Gottverdammt, R & D, but you never cease to amaze. Can we have our new Zerstörer yet?

Not yet? OK, we'll wait. They had better be amazing, though!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/4k6ten5sb/Screenshot_4545.png)

Wait. The Japanese want to buy German boiler licenses? They come to Germany and not the Brits?

Holy crap, tensions with them are really low! This is a chance!

**** von Papen. The military and Streseman work under the Reichskanzler's radar. There is a masterful mess of bureaucratic shuffling and delays, until von Papen is presented with a fait accompli, the Japanese envoys are on a ship back home with the desired boiler designs, and several million Reichsmark have found their way into the Ministry of War's coffers.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/59plr1gmj/Screenshot_4547.png)

Let's make this absolutely clear.

You're welcome in the Fleet. More than welcome, actually. But you are not HER. You will never be HER.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6or6frx57/Screenshot_4548.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/f3beh8sln/eb723b803c88dbaefb3d410d53fe1fc1-d2zay27.png)

The Admiralität appreciates the money.

BUT SPENDING THAT MONEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN NECESSARY IF YOU HADN'T TRIED TO BLOW UP THE FRENCH RAILROADS HALF A YEAR AFTER OUR PEACE TREATY YOU UTTER FUUUUUuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh.......

Argle.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/qjd81vp7f/Screenshot_4549.png)

YES. We're not fighting the Americans anytime soon.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/7r1cyb88r/Screenshot_4550.png)

NO. You never know with the Brits.

(And with von Papen being in charge...)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/tdgdfcm8r/Screenshot_4551.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/fjs0qb1d7/Screenshot_4552.png)

Perfect!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ehhu7rq9n/Screenshot_4553.png)

Also perfect! Hey, R & D, can we have our new Zerst-

(https://s7.postimg.cc/t2xtywmsb/Screenshot_4557.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/xk5t85o0b/1282786204310.jpg)

This is a new-generation ship. This is the work of love of many, many engineers, over several years. It is tested; it is perfect; it is everything the Admiralität has hoped for and then some.

The project is named G9, after the glorious little destroyer that died fighting to the last breath. She has more than earned her right to be immortalised. The new G9 will have the Iron Cross awarded to her predecessor permanently mounted on her hull, in a further gesture of respect for the spirits and bravery of the fallen.

Let's run the reader through what made the G9-class so magnificent:

1.5ktons, as big as Zerstörer come. A 19KHP engine, tuned for high-performance, capable of pushing the ship at a relatively stately pace of 33 knots, a speed that is satisfactory but by no means exceptional. Heavy ASW and minelaying capabilities, with double mine racks mounted at the rear.

And, more significantly: Six guns, mounted in a ABY configuration, with 'B' Turret being superfiring. Six 152mm guns. That means six-inchers, for the Imperial plebes. Guided by a Fire Director system.

In brief? Each of the G9-class destroyers mounted the same broadside as the Frauenlob or the Bremen, and had a better fire control suite.

Add to that six torpedoes in two triple launchers, and the G9s suddenly become little terrors, capable of going toe-to-toe with light cruisers, let alone enemy destroyers. They are still tin cans, of course (putting armor on a DD is a losing proposition), but their bite is deadly. And if they have tosacrifice some rate of fire on those 6-inchers, that's fine.

5 ships are laid down in early January.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/tsgmbaah7/Screenshot_4558.png)

February: and Elsass completes her shakedown cruise. Too late to participate in the war, unfortunately!

The keen reader will also observe the submarine production going on in the background.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ott3wqr8r/Screenshot_4559.png)

March: and R & D submits designs for a new, multilayered underwater torpedo defense system. Yes, triple-bottoms are a good idea, especially after the spanking the French submarines gave us during the war. Galster eagerly approves the designs.

The eagle-eyed reader will also observe that the U-1, the first German submarine ever built is still operational.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5byggu4ln/Screenshot_4560.png)

April: hmm. Interesting. The idea of putting the armored belt inside the ship meshes well with the All-or-Nothing principle, allowing for a lighter citadel 'box'; but internal armor is difficult to access and repair. The Germans will need to experiment.

Also, turtleback.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/mp8qvpn23/Screenshot_4561.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5opun07fv/Screenshot_4562.png)

Well. That could have been more useful before we finalised the G9 designs. Still appreciated; well done R & D!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/h12g4rszf/Screenshot_4563.png)

FINALLY! Yes, by all means, make our U-Boote even better. Better pressure hulls: greater diving depths. Let's start making submarines and not submersibles, eh?

(https://s7.postimg.cc/yecqjnyl7/Screenshot_4564.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6r015kl4b/Screenshot_4565.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5bygguzgr/Screenshot_4566.png)

A nice technology exchange with the Spaghettis, there. Always good to promote collaboration between nations!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/lmykd6re3/Screenshot_4567.png)

YES! Next stop: OTL USA superheavy ammunition!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/wmjrospiz/Screenshot_4568.png)

WHAT THE **** IS WRONG WITH YOU, VON PAPEN?

Analysts all agree that Russia is no threat. They can barely support their population, let alone maintain a competent navy. Germany could slash her defense budget by half, and Russia would still be no threat.

And yet, with France and Russia almost ready to declare a two-front war, von Papen allows this golden opportunity for peace to pass him by.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/isvezrrsr/Screenshot_4569.png)

I...

OK. 16-inchers in 1921 is delicious. But their performance is abysmal.

No. Our 15-inchers are tested, reliable, and lighter. We'll stick with them, for now.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/sdf1mn9ez/Screenshot_4570.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/gxo8zgd6j/img_1240.jpg)

Well, to anyone politically savvy enough (like Streseman) this was... expected.

Since her defeat, Great Britain had been dancing on a thin line between traditional monarchy, socialism, and absolutist right-wing parties. The latter had been on the rise, with regional nationalist 'spikes' taking place in traditionally 'oppressed' regions.

On July 1923, Ireland erupts in open rebellion against the Crown, seeking independence. The Troubles have begun: a bloody civil war, with separatists scoring considerable early successes versus the English forces sent to suppress the revolt.

It is a sobering event for all monarchies in Europe.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/jv5lia0bf/Screenshot_4571.png)

WHAT THE **** IS WRONG WITH-?

OK. OK, you know what? I won't even bother, anymore.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/uuqsty3m3/Screenshot_4576.png)

THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS, YOU UTTER-

*Deep breath*

(https://s7.postimg.cc/andd1nduj/Screenshot_4577.png)

Oh God, yes. We needed that. Now our ships can turn and evade; and their guns will reliably stay on target!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ig40tmrjf/Screenshot_4579.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/dus49k0dn/Screenshot_4579.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/8xejo7lh7/img013_53442.1332421968.jpg)


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on November 13, 2017, 12:21:46 pm
Does that event change in any way at all thanks to your meddling or do we get a full re-enactment of The Wind that shakes the Barley
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 13, 2017, 12:23:30 pm
ALL ALONG THAT SINGING RIVER, THAT BLACK MASS OF MEN WAS SEEN,
HIGH ABOVE THEIR SHINING WEAPONS FLEW THEIR OWN BELOVED GREEN:
“DEATH TO EVERY FOE AND TRAITOR, WHISTLE OUT THE MARCHING TUNE,
AND HOORAH ME BOYS FOR FREEDOM, 'TIS THE RISING OF THE MOON!
'TIS THE RISING OF THE MOON, 'TIS THE RISING OF THE MOON,
AND HOORAH ME BOYS FOR FREEDOM 'TIS THE RISING OF THE MOON!”


EDIT: Holy crap, Joshua, you read / write fast.

The event has changed already. For one thing, it happened decades before OTL, during a period when England was going through her own Weimar Republic phase. But a Civil War does follow, and she's a whopper.

Especially since the Brits don't have the resources to fully supply the IFS as they did OTL; and the IRA split goes the other way. Ireland is out of the Commonwealth.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on November 13, 2017, 12:27:24 pm
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/The_Wind_That_Shakes_the_Barley_poster.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on November 13, 2017, 12:41:09 pm
So I'm going to assume that the next light cruiser class is basically going to be an Atlanta?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 13, 2017, 12:46:56 pm
So I'm going to assume that the next light cruiser class is basically going to be an Atlanta?

What is this 'light cruiser' thing that you talk about?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on November 13, 2017, 12:50:04 pm
Right.

Sorry.

Heavy Destroyer, I meant to say.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 13, 2017, 02:10:55 pm
I never built another CL, but this is something that could be made, based on late-game tech:

(https://s7.postimg.cc/r6pwwaq57/Screenshot-_7596.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 13, 2017, 02:54:51 pm
Okay, but who would win in a fight?
The entire kingdom of ireland vs zero potatoes?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scourge of Ages on November 13, 2017, 10:00:11 pm
I never built another CL, but this is something that could be made, based on late-game tech:
[snip]

6 quad turrets on a CL! Is half the tonnage in ammo?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 14, 2017, 02:03:48 am
Naaaaah. With 140 shells per gun, we only need 300 tons of ammo.

6 inch German shells are pretty light.

So, turns out that quads are illegal on CLs. If I sacrifice half an inch of belt armour, though, I can make the belt normal instead of narrow, get full AoN benefit (which does not work with narrow belts) and still get 24 guns in on eight triple turrets.

The OTL Atlanta had a tapering belt from 3 to 1.something inches after all, so keeping this belt to an average of 2.5 inches is pretty valid.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 14, 2017, 08:26:21 am
Again, not directly related but cool none the less:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on November 16, 2017, 05:53:25 am
That's it, I ordered the game :D
Edit: Holy smoke, ship design is hell of a ride.
Before finding out that I can let the AI design the ships, I was content to copy Enioch design.
Guess I havent read the manual closely enough, after designing the legacy fleet, I thought building two more battleships would mean that they would be built, instead they showed up in my "in service"tab... clearly, I need more practice :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 19, 2017, 08:36:17 am
Nah, you get two stages. One is the ships that have been completed already, one is the ships that are halfway done. You get a huge discount for the latter.

Welcome to the fold, mate!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on November 19, 2017, 12:21:46 pm
Yeah, I figured this out.
The autodesign feature comes in realy handy, because designing the superstructure is a pain :D
Right now it's 1919, I'm at war with France for the second time after half a year of peace and find myself dangerously low on ships, since I scratched old ones.
And I guess building 44k ton battleships a year before everyone gets oil was a bad idea, but 14inches of armor are a tough nut to crack. :D
Honestly, that game is a addictive...
On friday I wanted to play an hour after dinner... the next time I checked the time it was 11 pm :D
Title: Deuxième Ronde - Zweite Runde: DING DING
Post by: Enioch on November 21, 2017, 10:37:45 am
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(https://s2.postimg.cc/6udluknq1/Ireland1.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/40agh4du1/Ireland2.png)

"The visible weakening of Great Britain during the Von Papen Wars period (early 1920s) led to overall instability in the international scene and in a de-polarisation of the diplomatic situation. Whereas Great Britain had, even after her sound defeat by Germany, served as a mighty economic bulwark and the 'Giant' of Europe, the loss of Ireland indicated that the feet of Albion may have been made of clay after all. Minor nations, who had tended to seek a potential alternative to the quickly rising Germany in Great Britain now were forced to reconsider their allegiances. Some sought to befriend the rising Power; some stuck to their guns and remained allied to the British Empire; some sought alternatives in Powers such as France, who had rekindled her ages-old feud with her Teutonic neighbour. The ideal of the Kerneuropa seemed to be hanging over the precipice, as new alliances were negotiated. Notably, the two traditional 'poles' of European diplomacy (the Anglophile and Germanophile bloc) were shaken to the core."

"During this period, the uncertainty that resulted from the fundamental upsetting of British power led to a significant reshuffling of the political landscape in Great Britain. With Ireland leaving the Crown officially in early 1924 (and promptly descending into a three-year civil war), British Unionism was considerably threatened - and its proponents reacted immediately. It is during this period that political movements such as the 'Great Idea' came back to the forefront, with political parties such as the National Democratic and Labour Party (NDLP) and the Labour Unionists (LU) attracting more and more voters."

"Germany, at the time, had her own problems[...]"


-Jeremy DeWiers PhD (Ox), The National Labour Movements before Mosley's Folly, Oxford: Blackwell 1989

(https://s7.postimg.cc/g14feincr/Screenshot_4580.png)

With Great Britain in the midst of a national existential crisis, the German Admiralität celebrates the commissioning of the first G9-class Zerstörer in November 1923. Schwaben is almost ready to leave the docks (commissioning is planned for January) and a second bloc of G9s is laid down to further reinforce the German fleet. The performance of the prototypes is perfectly satisfactory. Some thought is given to upgrading the second line of G9s with more torpedo tubes, but the engineers quickly determine that, with their heavy primary armament, such a modification would make the G9s considerably overweight and cost them in speed and stability.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ukbkfyqsb/Screenshot_4582.png)

During the shakedown cruise of the G9, a Japanese spy is caught during a honeypot scheme to secure access to the blueprints of the new German Zerstörer. The resulting inquiry is badly handled by both the Admiralität and Streseman. Tensions with Japan rise; interestingly, Russia seems to support the Japanese. Military intelligence suspects that it may have been a joint scheme; or that Russia is just trying to capitalise on Germany's embarrassment.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/iv7ks0f97/Screenshot_4583.png)

The point is that, during the January commissioning of the Schwaben, tensions with France and Russia are as high as ever. Bismarck's nightmmare (a two-front war, against France and Russia simultaneously) seems to lie somewhere in the very near future. It is imperative that the two Powers be kept from formalising their support of each other; it is towards that goal that Streseman focuses his efforts.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/mrkwo07yj/Screenshot_4584.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/gf6f8n9qh/WAMGER_ASW_DM11_pic.jpg)

R & D provides the Admiralität with designs for the new Wasserbomben, and the Piepers immediately begin receiving the new munitions.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/gqn7qwqh7/Screenshot_4585.png)

February 1924: Russia, thanks to Streseman's efforts, has backed down, just a bit. Military Intelligence, on the other hand, reports that the French fleet is partially mobilising, bringing several of their reserve-ships to full active status.

Streseman (and the Admiralität) recommend calm. On the one hand, the French seem to be much more organised this time around: beginning training and mobilisation this early will guarantee that no ships will be deployed with untrained crews. On the other hand, however, the Marine Nationale remains a non-threat for the German Fleet (with the possible exception of the French submarine force). An overreaction at this point will only hasten the war, before the new Zerstörer are ready to contribute.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/6hvefo9vd/107425758.jpg)

In response, von Papen proceeds to give an interview, in which he states his intention to mobilise all German ships in reserve, to counter French aggression.

The French are confused, and tensions remain stable, while their Intelligence seeks to make sense out of the German Chancellor's rantings. During that time, Hindenburg and Galster less-than-patiently try to explain to their Reichskanzler that Germany has no ships in reserve or mothballs. The entirety of the existing German Hochseeflotte is in active service.

Dummkopf.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/3mhne98q3/Screenshot_4586.png)

A batch of 12 subs leaves the yards in March; even more are in production...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5r20fci2j/Screenshot_4587.png)

...while the Admiralität turns down a suggestion by the Americans to buy the formulas that the Yanks are employing on their armour hardening. Firstly: if you think Krupp will fail to provide us with properly hardened steel during the upcoming months, Amerikaner, you are woefully unfamiliar with the concept of Deutscher Stahl and everything that goes with it; secondly: we are about to embark on a tricky war, and our big armoured battlewagons have just left the slipways. Anything that would be using this technology is two-and-a-half years in the future; our priority right now is to gather up a nest egg, to get us through the war. We don't have the money to spare, sorry.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6tc6xw8ln/Screenshot_4588.png)

May 1924: and the German Ambassador to Greece is shot six times in Syntagma square, just in front of the Royal Palace. He is rushed to a hospital, where he will lie for two days; he will expire on the morning of the 25th of the month. His murderer is 27-year old Ioannis Mauromatis, a Law student of Greco-Serbian descent.

Germany is, of course, livid; and von Papen's polemic is near-hysterical. The Kaiser (being King Konstantine's brother-in-law), attempts to ease the situation through personal communication; thankfully, the Greco-Germanic alliance, which has secured the Rhodes oil fields for the Reich for almost a decade, now, survives the ordeal. The Kaiser vetoes von Papen's demands that German agents should be deployed to 'assist' with the Greek investigations; but the damage in the international scene has already taken place.

The French and Russians observe the German 'proposed interventionism' with horror. A few days of tense, powder-keg diplomacy follow, during which the Admiralität watches and waits...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/bf8b691uj/Screenshot_4589.png)

(https://s2.postimg.cc/uydkafkzd/very-strong-invincible-l-give-up-america-3705-tears-of-3555556.png)

See? Told ya, 'Muricans. German Steel is best steel.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/s2zt8rc1n/Screenshot_4590.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/em2upy6vv/Screenshot_4591.png)

This also looks brilliant, although quad turrets are still...too crazy for the Germans.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ssill44vf/Screenshot_4592.png)

****.

(https://s2.postimg.cc/lrv9mt07t/tanya_degurechaff_and_viktoriya_ivanovna_serebryakov_youjo_sen.jpg)

Here we go again. Peace lasted for less than two years.

On the morning of the 3rd of June, 1924, France declares war. Tensions with Russia are one tick away from exploding into the faces of the Germans too.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/n4caub0jv/Screenshot_4593.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/wovxh4d0b/Screenshot_4594.png)

And it is clear that the French know this and are counting on it.

During the first week of the war, their forces probe German positions twice, but stubbornly refuse to engage the German intercepting squadrons: they are buying time. They are waiting for the Russians to come in and assist; and until that time, they seek to preserve their ships.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/wovxh6xln/Screenshot_4595.png)

Their plans go somewhat awry on the 7th of June, when a scouting force of three Mortier-class destroyers and a light cruiser attempt to sneak past Texel, utilising the early morning mists.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ytgai89i3/Screenshot_4596.png)

They are intercepted by old Bremen, escorted by the two brand-spanking-new Zerstörer G10 and S19. The Germans have only a brief contact window and they do not dare pursue the enemy under the very poor visibility conditions (who knows what the French might have lurking further back), but they still manage to score a torpedo hit on the enemy light cruiser.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/eyu8w54l7/Screenshot_4598.png)

It's a minor victory and an anticlimactic baptism of fire for the G9s, but it's a victory nonetheless.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/3z91kkgqz/Screenshot_4599.png)

At this point, the Admiralität scores a major intelligence success: observation zeppelins identify the French capital fleet massing in the northern Atlantic harbours. The French have emptied the Mediterranean of all capital ships.

Galster takes the opportunity, to utilise his obsolescent Schlachtkreuzer. In the Atlantic, the Von der Tann, Goeben, Moltke and Seydlitz are greatly outclassed by anything the French can field against them. But in the Mediterranean, they are bigger and badder than anything the Fromage can bring against them. The four old Valkyries are separated and sent north of the British Isles, on a long curving course to Gibraltar. From there, they are rebased in Sardinia and Alexandria, locking down the Mediterranean for good.

At the same time, R & D is experimenting with the new hardened alloys for better AP penetration caps...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/acy4nt67f/Screenshot_4600.png)

...and designs for a superlight torpedo-armed Schnellboot are submitted for consideration. These new patrol craft can greatly assist the Piepers in their patrols!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/3z91klr1n/Screenshot_4601.png)

July: first submarine reports come in.

It is a slaughter. With the French ports still open (Galster does not yet attempt to enforce a blockade), the U-Boote have prey to feast upon. That's 180k tons of merchant traffic sent to the bottom, in the most vicious month in submarine warfare history since the Anglo-German war.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/hsxe9mwhn/Screenshot_4602.png)

The French strike back, sinking the Carsten near Helgoland.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/mrkwo5kuz/Screenshot_4603.png)

...and putting six German merchantmen down. A valiant effort, for a bunch of garlic-chewers, but it cannot compare with German efficiency!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/xr63zu3l7/Screenshot_4604.png)

And their ASW ships are useless.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/metii2abv/Screenshot_4605.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6gksrxntn/Screenshot_4606.png)

Their surface raiders also yield minimal results. With five German heavy cruisers standing by in the North Sea and with the G9s falling into regular patrols, the French ships have a very narrow window of opportunity to hunt down their prey.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/o6mhcylyz/Screenshot_4607.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/djso7k8or/Screenshot_4608.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/763l4aw2z/Screenshot_4609.png)

Throughout July and August, this situation continues. Streseman is getting reports that the Russian army is mobilising; and several German Army Divisions are deployed in preparation on the eastern borders. Meanwhile, the reinforced French fortifications on the Western Front are giving the Germans problems.

The French Fleet adamantly refuses to engage the German forces - and Galster tightens the noose, establishing a blockade. The German Schlachtkreuzer in the Mediterranean have locked down the southern harbours; the Hochseeflotte blocks traffic in the north. The French now need to respond - or starve.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/d71a1edkb/Screenshot_4610.png)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ti1dxpxrv/Screenshot_4611.png)

The German submarines now turn their attention to French fleet assets. The U-136 pounds a French minesweeper into submission with her 4-inch gun; and six merchantmen are sunk in opportunistic actions.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/bf8b6hmhn/Screenshot_4612.png)

The French try to bite back: the submarine Mameli sinks the Greta in the Mediterranean...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/metii356z/Screenshot_4613.png)

...and on the 8th of August, the Corsaire sinks the RMS Scythia, a British liner.

870 dead.

Incompetent French.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 21, 2017, 10:39:07 am
THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS THE FRENCH ATTACK ON A DEFENSELESS NEUTRAL LINER.

WE WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING THIS DESPICABLE. ESPECIALLY NOT TO OUR DEAR FRIENDS, THE BRITISH.

VON PAPEN, STOP LAUGHING.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on November 21, 2017, 05:42:51 pm
Good job Admiral Enioch von Tirpitz.
My playthrough foundered.
A first war against the french ended in white peace, a second sent them running... then the russians popped up. I estimated I could beat them, they had 4 BBs against my 12... but underestimating their BC force and the cramped baltic sea saw me defeated... whenever I moved against them, my BBs were outnumbered at least 4 to 1, with their BCs featuring 15in guns, and even if I bloodied them, I got my BBs got torped -.-
Peace treaty saw me limited to 10k ships, so I pumped out DDs, subs and CLs.
When I could finally build my 52k 16inch BBs, as in 16in guns and 16in all or nothing armored battlewagons, my two modern BBs were estimated against 26 british BBs...
Granted, while declining battle, my subs reaped a fearsome tally but still...

Oh, an unrelated question: I researched AoN... but it only showed up on AI designed BBs.
I had a good design, but whenever I tried to modify it to incorporate AoN it didn't show up.
And before you ask, I only designed, but never built 'em...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 21, 2017, 06:20:14 pm
Quick response for now, crizza:

To get AoN working, the following must be in effect:

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on November 21, 2017, 07:46:30 pm
All the Unterseeboot memes

(https://78.media.tumblr.com/d82da908640eebb11dc4154f2c610592/tumblr_n29hlzczU81r0rk39o2_r1_500.gif)

(https://78.media.tumblr.com/542b0d8af7d634557616535a720eb910/tumblr_o3qidjkp4A1qj6sk2o1_500.gif)

(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/60/ca/6f/60ca6f4eb402d782bcd9df8723ba94b1--kancolle-kantai.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on November 22, 2017, 09:46:01 am
After a long time of reading these threads I have slowly started to understand the japanese manga ship memes but there's an extra level of weirdness to the german ones which my mind can't penetrate just yet.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 22, 2017, 10:01:51 am
It is impossible to penetrate krupp stahl German memes.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 22, 2017, 05:52:02 pm
Accept the memes, absorb the memes, become one with the memes, enjoy the memes.

(https://s2.postimg.org/uydkafkzd/very-strong-invincible-l-give-up-america-3705-tears-of-3555556.png)
I wasn't sure how good german engineering was before, but now I fully understand.


I decided to give the game a try myself, started as glorious nippon with historical budget yesterday, finished the game at 1942 today. Games like these tend to be catnip to me.
A tl;dr, started war with france with deutschland as my ally, took all of france's stuff while germany blockaded.
Ended up fighting the russians three times, took all their stuff.
Went to war with the UK, Germany joined in on their side, war ended in a few months with a white peace, only saw a few german destroyers.
Very long war with Germany after, couldn't really get to one another so I just outlasted them with subs and took their colonial stuff in reach.
Had all these big botes with big guns, really wanted to have a big fight at least once. Went to war with the UK again, but this time I had fromage and pasta allies. UK moved a lot of ships my way, but ended up declining each battle, and the battles that did happen were always with underage boats. The brits surrendered in a few months times because 3v1 apparantly wasn't to their liking. It was pretty awful tbh.
I ended up taking all their small holdings after and called it quits.

I really don't like this nonsense of completely random battlelines. I mean, https://ibin.co/3iDmQ223xUMA.png this **** kept happening, over and over. I've got really big ships exactly for that purpose, but no, lets keep sending two destroyers that can't ****ing reach the target.
Unexpected battle! Random minesweeper runs into two enemy destroyers and dies. Okay. Stop wasting my time, ****.

Overall do think its a really neat game, but it could do with a bit of... streamlining to cut down on the more time wasting aspects of it and to update that ancient ui.
And by jove, if you have big boats, allow the player to bloody use them whenever he wants.

I'll just continue enjoying Enioch's posts from here on.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 22, 2017, 05:54:45 pm
P.S. Battleships with torpedoes are the bestest thing forever. Put tubes on all the BB's
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 23, 2017, 03:04:27 am

I really don't like this nonsense of completely random battlelines. I mean, https://ibin.co/3iDmQ223xUMA.png this **** kept happening, over and over. I've got really big ships exactly for that purpose, but no, lets keep sending two destroyers that can't ****ing reach the target.

>sends his DD shipwaifus on a raiding mission.
>gives the order for them to move at flank speed.
>over hundreds of miles.
>is surprised when he runs out of fuel.
>is ****ty admiral.

Spoon.

Spoon y r u so crap?

Spoon. Mate. "Cruise speed" is called that for a reason. Because you select it when you're cruising and you drop your fuel consumption to ridiculous levels.

Flank spid iz 4 battel Spoon.

Shamefur disopuray!

#weaboonoobbashing

(This hilarity, of course, does nothing to detract from the validity of your points re: random battles. All I can say is, if you're actively looking for a fight, consult the strategic map as often as you can, find where the enemy keeps their biggest ships, and send your own capitals in the same sector. Usually that helps.)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 23, 2017, 05:58:43 am
I think you misunderstood, can't reach the target with their main guns. (I made sure to include the gunrange in the screenshot so it was self evident what my point here was :p) Fuel wasn't the issue. Never has been, haven't had a ship run out of fuel even once.
https://ibin.co/3iHMithQOYpT.png because this stuff was happening frequently.

(This hilarity, of course, does nothing to detract from the validity of your points re: random battles. All I can say is, if you're actively looking for a fight, consult the strategic map as often as you can, find where the enemy keeps their biggest ships, and send your own capitals in the same sector. Usually that helps.)
I was activately looking for a fight! It's not my fault that the game just kept deciding on sending a few destroyers at a time while the forces in the area said something like 2BB 6BC 4CA 30DD  vs  6BB 4BC 3CL 15DD. Over and over again.
It's dumb.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 23, 2017, 08:36:27 am
Objections withdrawn, that's actually retarded. In my defense, I thought that the circle was the fuel range circle not the gun range one.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 23, 2017, 09:42:21 am
>Is seasoned Admiral
>Can't tell fuel and gun range apart from one another
 :p

When I said it happened frequently, I meant this: The second screenshot at Tanga happened the month after the first one. Then after that, followed 3 more coastal raids at Kavieng, one that had just double DD's again. One where it actually allowed me to bombard it with a BC (which then ran into a mine at the end of the senario so it was still a major german victory...) and the third, where I did had a BB on the field, but during day light it was bad weather, and when the weather finally cleared up, it was night, so nobody could see the bloody target at that range.

I also had this one case of a weird bug, where two enemy CL's were standing still (during the night) but all the torpedoes being fired would lead them as if they were moving. Meanwhile, their torpedoes had no issues finding my ships. Eventually just parked one of my own CL's on their aft and pounded away.

Anyway I didn't meant to hijack the good thread with my far less interesting ranting.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on November 23, 2017, 04:32:18 pm
I played the game 4 times beyond 1930 and rarely encountered the issues Spoon had. Rather, whenever there were several B/BC/BB of both sides at the same region it usually took a maximum of 2-3 months until I got a fleet battle. One time playing as the US I decided to send my lots of BBs and BCs to Japan and right when they arrived I already got a fleet battle against an equally sized japanese fleet. Also most shore bombardements were with BCs or at least CAs.
It did help that I don't like CLs and mostly sent CAs and BCs to colonial service cause the small ships had a tendency to meet random hostile capitals all the time.
Quote
P.S. Battleships with torpedoes are the bestest thing forever. Put tubes on all the BB's
Not so much for early game under water tubes... I felt they were rarely using them (even when barely moving right next to their target) and if they did, they still missed a disabled target somehow. Better let the DDs to the torpedo-stuff.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on November 23, 2017, 04:57:40 pm
My late game BBs equipped with AoN and 16in guns had two quadrupel launchers on the bow...
And while AoN is nice it somehow felt that they take damage way faster than other BBs.
Anyways, my way against Albion turned out hillarious. Although being blockaded and avoiding deceisive battle ( six old BBs against 26 british seemed a waste), I somehow managed to stay ahead in VPs.
And then Italy stepped in... Luckily enough I managed to let Albion explode in revolution, nab Gibraltar and keep Maine, which was the reason for the war... and now the USA have declared war.
And WTF? How are the united states able to do coastal raids against me in the baltic? :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 24, 2017, 04:37:29 am
Not so much for early game under water tubes... I felt they were rarely using them (even when barely moving right next to their target) and if they did, they still missed a disabled target somehow. Better let the DDs to the torpedo-stuff.
I put on the maximum amount of underwater tubes on my battleboats and they constantly got to use them (well, I manually fired them a lot that is), to great effect against other enemy capitalships. A forward launcher is amazing for when crossing the T.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 24, 2017, 05:34:09 am
Torpedo tubes are, indeed, exceptional in bang-for-buck early game, but you need to be playing on Captain's mode, so you can manually fire them. AI is much too timid with them.

Lategame, above-water tubes are a necessity, because they can be fired even if the ship is doing more than 25 (?) knots. An absolute must for cruisers and battlecruisers.

One thing that I'm eager to try is a torpedo cruiser à la GLORIOUS KITAKAMI-SAMA.Should be actually viable, mid to late game.

EDIT:

(https://i.imgur.com/C7wrHW8.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/WQrUAsy.jpg)

Only partly viable. Certainly functional, but by no means equivalent to the OTL glory that is KTKM-SAMA. Main problem is the underperforming WW1 engines and the inability to put in more than 4 torpedo launchers per side.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on November 24, 2017, 08:15:49 am
I put on the maximum amount of underwater tubes on my battleboats and they constantly got to use them (well, I manually fired them a lot that is), to great effect against other enemy capitalships. A forward launcher is amazing for when crossing the T.
Torpedo tubes are, indeed, exceptional in bang-for-buck early game, but you need to be playing on Captain's mode, so you can manually fire them. AI is much too timid with them.
That mostly. For some playthroughs I never touched Captain's mode at all and often just used Admiral's mode. It feels wrong to literally micromanage every ship (given the games realistic touch and it also too much effort). In larger battles I used the mode in between so I can command my scouting groups and battle lines, but that's it. That way those torpedo tubes are mostly worthless and cause flooding way too often...

Above water tubes on the other hand are great and the AI seems to be pretty competent on using them.

Quote
GLORIOUS KITAKAMI-SAMA
As long as Ooi stays away, I'm all for it :yes:
KTKM = saves bad Admiral's ass by nuking everything away with endless wall of torpedoes.

Pretty sad she can't be built in RTW  :sigh:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on November 24, 2017, 10:45:54 am
Hey, this might be better!

(https://i.imgur.com/MobS99K.png)

Completely legal, by the way.

So, turns out that ships that are <=3.5ktons, can have both side launchers and centreline launchers (I did not know this, before experimenting!). Side launchers can only be triples (because of off-centre weight) but centreline ones can be quads. So, if we scale down the ship to an insane degree (3.5ktons instead of the previous 8k tons) and strip all armor off (except 1 inch of narrow belt, to make the game identify it as a CL) we have a destroyer leader, of sorts. Or, in fact, a destroyer follower - something that can send the little ones ahead to draw fire and then drop the walls of skill in their wake.

30 knots, with a piddly 5-incher turret up front (just so she can contribute somewhat to the fight as she's closing the range). Also, 5x4=20 centreline torp launchers and 2x3x4=24 side torp launchers. For a total of 44 torps, 4 more than BASED GODDESS OF OVERCRITS.

She also costs almost exactly half as much as the 8k ton variant (so you can have two of them for the same price as a big one!) and takes three months less to complete. Bargain!

I can just imagine the in-game messages. It's gonna be either something like this:

Enemy ship Insert Name Here hit by torpedo!
Enemy ship Insert Name Here hit by torpedo!
Enemy ship Insert Name Here hit by torpedo!
Enemy ship Insert Name Here hit by torpedo!

Or something like this:

SMS Amazone Torpedo Launcher* Torpedo Explodes!
SMS Amazone Torpedo Launcher* Torpedo Explodes!
SMS Amazone is sinking!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 24, 2017, 03:36:50 pm
THANK YOU BASED KTKM
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on November 24, 2017, 03:38:35 pm
Wow, didn't expect this design to be legal. Definitely Super-Kitakami.


Or something like this:

SMS Amazone Torpedo Launcher* Torpedo Explodes!
SMS Amazone Torpedo Launcher* Torpedo Explodes!
SMS Amazone is sinking!

Does this actually happen in the game? Can't remember ever seeing this message in the game.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on November 24, 2017, 03:57:47 pm
Can confirm, had one of my quad tubes on a BB explode once. Significant superstructure damage was had.
Title: Helgoland REDUX
Post by: Enioch on December 02, 2017, 07:31:23 am
<< Previous (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1858375#msg1858375) | Next >> (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1860268#msg1860268)


16AUG19240632

U105 TO UBK - HLGL:

FR SQUADRON IN SIGHT, APPROACHING HLGLBIGHT FROM WEST. CURRENT POSITION 53°20'27.3"N 4°16'42.2"E, CURRENT BEARING 073, CURRENT SPEED 15-17KN. MULTIPLE CAPITALS HEAVY ESCORT.


-Message sent by Kaleun Rupert Drücker to Heligoland Command upon sighting of the French Toulouse raiding task force.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/pq0w0xn9r/u-boat.jpg)

It is the 16th of August: and the Naval ENIGMA comms centres explode with activity. Submarine patrols north of Texel report a massive mobilisation of the French fleet. At least two capital ships are seen, moving towards the east; scout Zeppelins manage to glimpse the French task force making its way towards the Helgoland Bight. These waters, so often the site of clashes in the past, are about to be wreathed in smoke and fire again.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/8e0jfhtsf/b89d71f66a391ea936df2589e1136c9b--war-machine-machine-guns.jpg)

Galster mobilises his fleet Mackensen and Zähringen are docked in Emden: they are recalled posthaste and they make best speed towards Helgoland. The rest of the available Hochseeflotte, consisting of the Schlachtkreuzer Graf Spee, Hindenburg and Lützow and the Schlachtschiffe Elsass and Schwaben scramble to find the French squadron.

Scheer, commanding from on board the Elsass is pissed off: the analysts of the Admiralität have assured him that the French would not push into German waters without Russian backing. He has a few choice words for them; but his ships are ready. Hipper, flying his flag on the Mackensen has contacted him and has assured him that he is only a couple of hours away: Scheer's priority is to find the French and pin them down, while the Jagdhund closes the jaws of the trap.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/pejfo6m9b/24d8b07c95d9cbdff49c284789ad5f8f.jpg)

If they play this properly, they can end the French fleet today. If they do not coordinate properly, the French might escape - or, worse, slip by the German force to cause serious damage to port infrastructure.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/tme7wxnov/CB63-_German-line-of-_Battleships-at-_Jutland-1916-by-_Carl-_Bergen.jpg)

12:49: the morning mist has lifted; and Scheer's squadron has barely left Helgoland, when his lookouts spot enemy smoke in the distance. A cold hand grips Scheer's heart: they have almost made it to Emden unopposed. And there is no sign of Hipper.

The utter failure of the German intelligence operatives is staggering, but Scheer has no time to truly contemplate it: he has other things to occupy him. Fire flashes along the French battle-line: shells whizz over the heads of the Germans, landing around and in front and behind and on the German ships.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/yjn74cian/Screenshot_4615.png)

The French battle-line turns north, in a smooth graceful curve, keeping constant fire on the approaching Germans. Scheer points his bows at the French ships and resultely closes the range: he needs to push them away from the coastal civilian traffic, and if he has to give them his T to do so, then so be it. A French light cruiser (the Forbin, a Tage-class raider) attempts to slip by the guns of the German fleet towards the south.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/mx7ogvcmn/Exeter_sinking.jpg)

Hipper chooses this moment to make his appearance, closing in from the south. The guns of the Mackensen track the Forbin and engage at maximum range: the new Improved Directors guide her shots to the target unerringly. The Forbin is struck by six 12-inch shells at 12:47 and five more a minute later; her light armour crumples like paper and her boilers burn sky-high.

Meanwhile, the Graf Spee is leading the charge against the French battleline, and French fire is concentrating on the massive Schlachtkreuzer bearing down on them. Scheer tries to contact them, order them to break off, let the Schlachtschiffe and their massive armour take up forward positions; but the Graf Spee's wireless aerials have been blown clean off and the ship is operating under local command. And her commanding officer, Kapitän zur Zee Markus Neufahrer has no intention of hiding behind Scheer's skirts. For over ten years, now, the Zähringen-class Schlachtkreuzer have led the charge, using their massive bulk to shield their smaller allies; this time is no exception.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/9dm8xf99r/Screenshot_4614.png)

There are at least three capital ships in the enemy battle-line, all of them with heavy guns (14 inchers and higher); and they all focus their attention on the Graf. Over the course of ten minutes, the German ship is hit six times, on her superstructure and forward belt. Her 'C' Turret jams on its bearings; and her funnel is penetrated, clogging the updraft. She loses a knot of speed, but doggedly closes the distance, training her guns on the closest French capital: a Guedon-class 14-inch battlecruiser.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/54hivavqn/Screenshot_4616.png)

Bam.

The French are having none of that. As the German battleline turns towards the east, to bring their entire broadsides to bear, the French lock onto the Graf's bigger silhouette and hit her again with accurate heavy fire. Her 'Y' turret jams before it can be brought to bear; her 'B' turret is penetrated and its top blows off, riding a gout of flame. Thankfully, the unfortunate gunners had followed safety protocols and the flash fire does not reach the magazines.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/4uelpm6hb/File_Graff_Spee0004.jpg)

Four more shells smash into her superstructure like hammers and pound it into splinters. More than half of her upperworks are now a mass of glowing slag; fires threaten to break out across four decks. Her damcon crews race to respond.

But she does not turn away; and her remaining guns are thundering. She has already put more than six hundred shells downrange, and she has scored ten hits on the Guedon.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/frbc0qjbj/Screenshot_4617.png)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/qe5568c27/Screenshot_4618.png)

She is not alone. Hindenburg and Lützow are following closely, in the time-honoured tradition of the Zähringen-Wittelsbach wolfpacks; and the fire that their bigger sister is drawing is fire that they don't have to suffer through. Their fire control directors are unhindered and their firing solutions are near-perfect. Hindenburg locks onto the Guedon that the Graf has bloodied and puts seven more 12-inch shells into her; Lützow does even better (even though she's operating with older directors) and drills eighteen shells into the French battlecruiser's belt.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/bi6lykvhr/Screenshot_4619.png)

Throughout all this mess, Scheer is desperately trying to get his battleships into the fight. His singular focus is drawing fire away from the Schlachtkreuzer; but in his mad charge forwards he overextends. Three French destroyers (a Mortier-class, a Pertusiane-class and a Framée-class) find their ways to his unguarded flank; and a torpedo fired at long range strikes the Elsass on her midships belt. The ship heaves and Scheer demands a damage report.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/791vwfn3j/Screenshot_4620.png)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/cympufl7j/Elsass.jpg)

Aha.

AHAHAHAHAHA.

TWO FLOTATION PIPS NO FLOODING AHAHAHAHA.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/buy04r61r/Screenshot_4621.png)

Scheer's evasive maneuvers split the battleship force away from the Schlachtkreuzer; they slot onto the Guedon's ass and try to catch up. Meanwhile, the Schlachtkreuzer redouble their efforts: Lützow already has chewed through half of her ammo stores. But the Graf is still the centre of attention for the French. One of the French capitals - a slow battleship, from what the German lookouts on the Elsass can make out, fires at the mangled German behemoth; and one of her shells penetrates one of the Graf's secondary turrets, blowing it clear off its bearings. By now, the ship has taken more than twenty hits from capital-grade weapons and has 'only' scored fourteen hits in return.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/afwfg1ke7/Screenshot_4622.png)

However, the Graf's damcon crews have managed to field-repair her turret drives. 'B' turret is utterly dead, of course, but the rest of her battery (fifteen 12-inchers) can now traverse and engage. Neufahrer orders a hard turn to port for his battle-group, to unshadow his starboard secondaries and make sure that no enemy destroyers will get too close.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/wf2u3aqyn/Screenshot_4623.png)

And then he gets a good look at what is firing at him. Buggery. This is a Toulouse, a relatively old French-version of the 'triangle ship'. She's a cheap, pocket version of the ships that the Brits and Japanese and Italians tried to produce to counter the Zähringens. She's got a jammed turret, but she's still putting accur-

(https://s33.postimg.cc/cadvbfhbz/gallgrafspeescuttling08.jpg)

BANG

The entire ship shakes - the helmsman reports a total loss of control and Neufahrer's face goes white. The rudder is hit and it is jammed fully to port. The Graf is uncontrollable and circling; and fully exposed to the enemy guns. Thankfully, her armor defeats another French shell that tries to find its way into her engine room.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/ep15ib33z/Screenshot_4625.png)

It takes the Graf's damcon crews several grueling minutes to restore her rudder, and, when they do, they are forced to jettison one of her twin rudders that dug limply into the water like an anchor. She now handles like a pig and needs to be steered with the help of her props, but she does answer the helm partially; and Neufahrer takes her back towards the starboard. He is sitting directly between the three enemy capitals, taking fire from every side and he needs to disengage -

-and that's when the Elsass and the Schwaben finally run down the Guedon and fire into her aft from a range of less than four thousand yards. Twelve 15-inch rifles boom -

(https://s33.postimg.cc/jqd4x5kfz/fbc26d4e394d050f78c855a5b21546fa.jpg)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/4eyqj2ky7/Screenshot_4624.png)

-and five shells find their way into and through the Frenchman's aft armour. Smoke and fire belches from her funnels and three of her turrets go up like roman candles. She is finally dead.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/tkzopxotb/Screenshot_4626.png)

Neufahrer limps away and Sheer's division takes up point. The Hindenburg is unlucky enough to receive a final slap from the second Guedon, and she loses a turret, before the attention of the Frenchmen shifts very firmly onto the charging German battleships.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/nwtdz1zwf/Screenshot_4627.png)

Behind the Germans, the dead Guedon goes up in an apocalyptic fireball. The fires have reached her magazines.

Meanwhile, the Graf is-

(https://s33.postimg.cc/rgfbovprj/Screenshot_4628.png)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/y8ac58yxb/scheisse.jpg)

-HOLY ****-

What's left of her superstructure is burning, but most of it is utter, glowing slag. All of her portside secondaries are gone. She is listing heavily and half of her reserve buoyancy is lost. She can't make more than 16 knots, and she shouldn't, because she's flooding, taking on nearly thirty tons of water every minute. Her decks are a slaughterhouse. And her damcon crews are fighting like demons to keep that fire from reaching the magazines.

How the **** is she still floating?

(https://s33.postimg.cc/cx86nfmbz/Screenshot_4629.png)

But from behind her comes another flash and a cloud of smoke that reaches sky-high. Something has struck the Toulouse - and her weak, nine-inch belt has not withstood the blow. Her magazines go up and the Frenchman dies.

Post-battle analysis will show that only the Hindenburg was firing at her at the time. Gottverdammt, the Wittelsbachs are awesome. Built thirteen years ago and they're still wiping the floor with the garlic-eaters.

Suddenly, that last Guedon is very much alone.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/3pfy6ps4f/Screenshot_4630.png)

The Destroyers fan out to cover her flanks, and help her retreat. She can do so - she can certainly outrun every German capital ship on the field. But she'll need time - and her destroyers are offering their lives to provide her with this time.

The Hindenburg and Lützow see what's happening and turn their guns to engage the closing destroyers. But it's too late: S15 is the first to buck wildly, as a French torpedo finds her mark and buries its warhead into the fragile tincan's hull.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/4rq4pb0nz/Screenshot_4631.png)

Hindenburg has barely time to spot the incoming spread and engage torpedobeats. A single French fish screams past her. Lützow is not so lucky. She finds herself facing a spread of three; and ends up taking one on her starboard midships.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/ggu4da727/Screenshot_4632.png)

She ends up losing a boiler and her starboard wing turret - and she's flooding heavily. Her captain falls out of formation. There is little she can contribute, with her stricken engine. She sails south, to join up with the Graf and provide aid.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/jnonwx6xr/Screenshot_4634.png)

The Graf...surprisingly does not require help. She has put out the fires; and her flooding is under control. Somehow, somehow she is still steerable and able to make cruise speed to Helgoland.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/cympug0n3/Uruguay-_WWII-_Large.jpg)

She looks like nothing more than a floating wreck. Truly. No German ship has ever taken such a beating in history. Two out of three crewmen are casualties; two out of five are dead.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/hj4avvflr/Screenshot_4636.png)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/fejxus69b/Screenshot_4637.png)

It is left to Scheer to clean up. Elsass and Schwaben scatter the French destroyers with their secondaries and engage the last Guedon, driving her towards the east and Helgoland.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/fejxut14f/Screenshot_4638.png)

Meanwhile, Hipper is smashing the French destroyer screen that tried to run down the hurt Schlachtkreuzer. 12-inch guns make short work of the French tincans.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/ggu4ddu8f/Screenshot_4640.png)

And little Bremen, who has spent the entire fight trying to catch up with the fleet, her old boilers almost bursting at the seams, as always, finds her own little moment to claim glory. Through the French destroyer formation and the smoke, she spots a French Du Chayla cruiser - which she engages with her old, worn-out six-inchers.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/au2ctbopr/tanya_degurechaff_youjo_senki_drawn_by_paintrfiend_sample-44a.jpg)

Booooooom.

Seriously, Frenchies. Bremen is a ****ing legacy ship, built in the nineteenth century.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/a351a54rz/Screenshot_4639.png)

Scheer claims his own cut of the meat at 15:54. The last Guedon, her guns utterly silenced, strikes her colours.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/wf2u3hlvj/Screenshot_4641.png)

There is only the few surviving destroyers left to hunt down and kill.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/681n708lb/Screenshot_4643.png)

Haha.

Hahaha.

HAHAHAHAHA.

The victory is total. Despite the horrific pounding the Graf received, she somehow reaches port; the Germans have been mauled (especially the Schlachtkreuzer divisions) but have lost no ships. Even the S15, struck by a French torpedo, survives to fight another day. There cannot be a more eloquent demonstration of the new G9's durability!

(https://s33.postimg.cc/fftvnqi8f/Screenshot_4644.png)

Meanwhile, the French have lost three of their biggest capital ships, including the ultra-modern 40kton Montcalm and Dupetit-Thuars, not to mention the Toulouse. And, of course, we have not begun to address the massive blow that the French light forces received in this battle. Two light cruisers gone; and, perhaps more significantly, eleven Destroyers, out of a total of twelve were sent to the bottom of the Bight. France's escort fleet is utterly gone, right now.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/ykx4xgevz/Screenshot_4646.png)

And, by God, do they feel it!


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 02, 2017, 07:33:17 am
*LANGSDORFF INTENSIFIES*

No, I still don't know how the Graf made it out of that mess alive.

*Obligatory ATEN'T DEAD joke*
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 02, 2017, 08:26:35 am
Are you playing with cheats? How are those two destroyers not on the bottom of the ocean? How is the Graf Spee not an unintentional submarine yet?

What level of torpedo defense does Elsass-sama have? Or are the french torpedoes just that undeveloped?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on December 02, 2017, 08:31:33 am
Reading this it feels to me like like all those fights are the same. Hostile fleet gets trashed and a heavily damaged german capital ship survives due to some miracle. German engineering is truly the best in the world ;)

Also, what Spoon posted just before me. My ships rarely escaped submarine mode when they actually got damaged heavily...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on December 02, 2017, 08:42:42 am
In my opinion it's about speed.
Going fast in damaged/flooding ships is a death warrant.
Whenever one of my capitals is flooding, I turn the whole battle line away, going sq. max of the damaged ship and waits till no more "limits flooding" warning pops up.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 02, 2017, 08:53:29 am
Are you playing with cheats? How are those two destroyers not on the bottom of the ocean? How is the Graf Spee not an unintentional submarine yet?

What level of torpedo defense does Elsass-sama have? Or are the french torpedoes just that undeveloped?

I am not playing with cheats.  :p

It definitely seems like French torpedoes suck, because Elsass-nee-sama only has 2 levels of torpedo protection (max is 4)

Let me put this utter incompetence of the French fleet into perspective. France, being the OTL proponent of the jeune école, focusing on light cruiser forces and destroyers over heavy capitals, have neglected their torpedo tech. They're probably firing baguettes out of their tubes, or something.

British torpedoes hit harder six years ago. :nervous:

In their defense, France has the national debuff of 'Inconsistent naval policy', which means that their politicians can flip what they ask of their admirals overnight and expect them to follow. It's pretty clear that the utterly massive (by French AI standards) Guedons were products of such a flip from the 'light forces' focus to the 'heavy capitals' focus, and I expect that the money that their admiralty channeled into their capital ship production is money that they couldn't focus into developing a better torpedo.

France essentially has their equivalent of von Papen in charge 24/7...  :lol:

How is the Graf Spee not an unintentional submarine yet?

Actually, if superstructure damage reaches max, the ship is considered 'uncontrollable' and is abandoned, drifting. It usually sinks immediately afterwards. The Graf must have reached something like 98-99% damage saturation... :shaking:

Reading this it feels to me like like all those fights are the same. Hostile fleet gets trashed and a heavily damaged german capital ship survives due to some miracle. German engineering is truly the best in the world ;)

Also, what Spoon posted just before me. My ships rarely escaped submarine mode when they actually got damaged heavily...

I realise this and I'm trying to write it suspenseful, but we can all agree that German ships will just refuse to die, whatever the circumstances...

In my opinion it's about speed.
Going fast in damaged/flooding ships is a death warrant.
Whenever one of my capitals is flooding, I turn the whole battle line away, going sq. max of the damaged ship and waits till no more "limits flooding" warning pops up.

This.

If a ship is flooding, going at high speed reduces the chance that the 'XXX reduces flooding!' message will trigger; and increases the chance that the 'XXX high speed increases flooding!' or 'XXX bulkhead collapse!' messages will trigger. When one of my capitals is seriously hurt (say by a torp), I do my best to drop their speed to under 10 knots, until they fix the leak.

Detaching them from the battle-line is a valid option, but you have to make sure that they won't leave the flagship control radius, because then their AI might be stupid enough to order 'full speed ahead' to reach a harbour sooner and flood to death (while inching along at 5 knots might have gotten them home safe)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: AdmiralRalwood on December 02, 2017, 01:09:51 pm
a Guedon-class 14-inch battlecruiser.
"What is this, a battlecruiser for ants?!? It needs to be at least... three times this big!"
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on December 03, 2017, 09:39:48 pm
Quote
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRrA3c56EFSP7-hKyVOQ9M8BbSGrvogDgjyy52cI9EnpWGkbJi4)

Even in a force as elite as Imperial Germany's Schlachtkreuzer Squadrons, the first generation battle cruisers were held in particular reverence.  Their part in forging Germany's Navy from a nascent force to the preeminent naval power of its day, coupled with the fabled actions fought in their twilight years had cemented a reputation akin to Napoleon's vaunted Grognards.  Known affectionately as the "Valkyries" among Hochseeflotte, the crews of these renowned vessels had unofficially taken to wearing Shieldmaiden pins in their caps in honor of the moniker. 
Roughly a week after the events off Helgoland Bight an Imperial Packet bearing dispatches arrived from the Mediterranean, after mooring her skipper immediately repaired aboard the wounded Graf Spee and presented a package to Kapitän zur Zee Markus Neufahrer.  In it was a teak and bronze plaque which translates:

"To SMS Graf Spee,

In recognition of your glorious action on the 17th of August, we cordially welcome you to the Imperial Order of the Death Riders.  May you continue to bring honor and victory to the Vaterland.

We have the honor to be.

Your sisters in battle,
 
SMS Von der Tann
SMS Goeben
SMS Moltke
SMS Seydlitz
"

In addition were individual letters of congratulation from each captain and most significantly Shieldmaiden pins for every member of Graf Spee's crew who had fought in her sortie.  While the Kaiser would award many a Knights and Iron Cross in recognition of August 17th action, among the ratings wearing the symbol of the Valkyries in their flat caps was considered the greatest honor.

Excerpt from "Zitadellen der Stahl: An analysis of the German Battlecruiser Force" Thomas K. Rhodes November 2, 2004
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 04, 2017, 11:06:36 am
I tried my hand at a second game of RTW, this time as the brits. Finally managed to get the big fleetbattle that I desired (against zee germans, it was very one sided in my favor, without any flashfires).
And I also fully experienced the fun and engaging side of playing the brits, when I had my duo of state of the art 36k ton battlecruisers, detonate within minutes of one another. Just moments into the battle commencing. That single handedly put me so far behind in VP's, that I only managed a white peace because of the 10000 submarines I had, sinking merchant ships.

Question regarding deck armor and superstructure. Does deck armor also include the super structure?

At the end of the game, I build a 50k ton BC that had a full broadside of quad torpedo launchers, a mere 6 12 incher's, 16 8inch secondaries, and a t h i c c belt of 17". It only had 2.5" of deck armor, but considering its role of 'up close and personal', it wasn't expected to bounce long range shells on its deck.
I charged it into a fleet of enemy BC's for ****s and giggles, that had guns ranging from 13 to 16 inch. But before my BC had closed the distance, it had already suffered 70% structure damage.
Sure, even at the very end when it was on fire and flooding, it could still manage a decent 24kts, but outside of the engines, few things were still working on it.
Can you even migate structure damage in any kind of meaningful way with armor?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on December 04, 2017, 02:23:41 pm
So I also started another round (now 1920) as Austria-Hungary with 40% technology rate (so my ships aren't outdated too fast) and varied technologies for more randomness. Every 5 years there was a war against Italy and I got a fleet battles every 3-4 months (and many other battles also involved the BCs). Kinda expected when you can nearly shoot at the enemy harbour from you own :D Toppled their government twice despite sending those revolutionaries away. Starting with the second war I managed to sink a lot of their ships but their fleet (and budget) was always larger than mine. Also my Cruisers exploded very often...  :ick:

Can you even migate structure damage in any kind of meaningful way with armor?
Thinking realistically - it is nearly impossible to slap sufficient armor on all that relevant stuff sitting on top of the armored parts. History has shown that destroying the superstructure is often way easier than actually sinking the ship. I think that there is no way in RTW to protect your superstructure besides the conning tower.
My last round some months ago was with the 18+ armor mod and I had ships with 16 inch guns whose citadel was immune against their own guns at all ranges. One fleet battle I did the same you did and was quite successful. My artillery could handle the enemy ships at close range and half of them were down when my fleet had passed the japanese fleet. The main problem were japanese steel fish but torpedo protection 4 ensured that only one of my BBs went down. So kill them before they kill you with fire...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 04, 2017, 03:27:34 pm
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRrA3c56EFSP7-hKyVOQ9M8BbSGrvogDgjyy52cI9EnpWGkbJi4)

Excerpt from "Zitadellen der Stahl: An analysis of the German Battlecruiser Force" Thomas K. Rhodes November 2, 2004

(https://s33.postimg.org/qxpwdrfv3/tumblr_nvd343yc2b1ragecso1_250.gif)

This is canon.

Question regarding deck armor and superstructure. Does deck armor also include the super structure?

Can you even migate structure damage in any kind of meaningful way with armor?

Short answer: no, no.

Deck armor lies the length of the centre of the ship, under the superstructure. It does not cover the superstructure.

Long answer: what MS said. It's just not viable, weight-wise, to armor the entire ship. "If you protect everything, you protect nothing".

The way I've seen it, the close-range brawler concept works, but you must have the volume of fire and the penetration capabilities to punch back at your opponent as you're closing. Survivability comes in two ways: being able to tank the shells that are going to hit you (armor and displacement helps with this) and killing guns on the opposite team (good guns work with this).

If your guns are piddly and you're facing, say, a total of 20 rifles on the other team, then these rifles will be firing at you all the time as you're closing. And your belt might tank some hits, but your superstructure will be bashed to hell and back (see what happened to the Graf). But if your guns are good, then every time you fire you have the chance of knocking out enemy turrets, and that reduces the incoming fire, and that, in my experience, is more important for surviving in the long run. That is the only way you can protect your superstructure: take away the opponent's capability to fire at it.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on December 05, 2017, 11:51:29 am
Can't publish pics...yet. Read all about it in my project blog, which should be going up this November!  :p

I don't own a Fedora. I own a Panama...

(https://s26.postimg.org/alf6hriu1/Belloq.jpg)

After all, somebody else discovered the shield. :drevil:

Sooooo Belloq, did you ever crank up a blog for this stuffs?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 05, 2017, 12:21:58 pm
Currently under construction (http://warriors.ulb.be): we had a bit of a delay with the publication permits...

No, the coffeepot is not going to be a final background image.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on December 05, 2017, 05:05:40 pm
So, Enioch, following your tradition so far of playing as the nation you beat the crap out of the last game, does that mean your next game will be as the baguettes or vodkas?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 18, 2017, 05:15:52 pm
Whar teh updates at?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TechnoD11 on December 18, 2017, 08:58:48 pm
Whar teh updates at?

Seconded   :nod:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 19, 2017, 12:54:40 am
Little busy with work right now, but I should have something for you impatient buggers by the end of the week.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Col. Fishguts on December 19, 2017, 04:16:38 am
To get in the mood:


[attachment stolen by Russian hackers]
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 19, 2017, 04:22:52 am
*Wolf whistles*

Dayum, gurrl, dat's a fine aft.

Consider me "in the mood". As it were.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 19, 2017, 04:59:38 am
Something to watch while we all patiently wait
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on December 19, 2017, 12:13:48 pm
Consider me "in the mood". As it were.
?
Title: Von Papen's end
Post by: Enioch on December 19, 2017, 01:09:10 pm
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(https://s13.postimg.cc/i7u7afduf/CEqh_Wf_XWEAAQXRo.jpg_large.jpg)

"The nation demands a movement which has written upon its banner the internal and external national freedom that it will act as if it were the spiritual, social and political conscience of the nation."
-Franz von Papen, in the Von Papen trials.

"To contrast national solidarity and international cooperation as two opposites seems foolish to me."
-Gustav Stresemann, in the Von Papen trials.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/gzax2f0yf/Screenshot_4648.png)

August 1924: and the Admiralität deploys the Valkyries from the Mediterranean to the Far East, to put pressure on the French holdings in the region. The old Schlachtkreuzer are deemed obsolete, by now, and there is little for them to do in the Mediterranean: in the South China Sea, on the other hand, they will reign supreme. The Bismarck and her sisters are sent to take over in the Med, operating off of Rhodes and Gibraltar.

The Valkyries prove the Admiralität's estimates to be correct when the Von der Tann encounters the enemy raider Troude in the Indian Ocean; the French light cruiser barely makes good her escape, under a hail of 11-inch shells.

Freya, in the North Sea, encounters the French raider Chanzy and manages to thwart her attack on merchant shipping, but fails to sink the Frenchman.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/dsgdisvxz/Screenshot_4649.png)

Before the end of the month, the French ask for peace. They have lain their hopes on a Russian intervention; but the Russians have been kept from declaring war thanks to Stresemann's tireless efforts. The German Foreign Minister is a shade of his old self, regularly running twenty-plus-hour workdays; but after six months of war the French are still alone in this and now there is a chance to end the conflict.

Hindenburg, Galster, His Majesty and Stresemann all agree: the war needs to end now and the French proposal has merit. Germany can push for more favourable terms, of course, but if good faith exists on both sides...

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ypclnhotz/Screenshot_4650.png)

It doesn't.

Von Papen dynamites the peace talks, by adopting a harsh stance that runs completely against what the Kaiser and Stresemann are pushing for. Once again, the Reichskanzler shows his utter inability to face reality. Despite Stresemann's and Hindenburg's warnings that the Russian army is weeks away from mobilising, the negotiations fail to reach a satisfactory agreement. The land war resumes, after a brief interlude.

At this point, the Kaiser has had more than enough. He has appointed von Papen under pressure from several major noble houses; but von Papen has proven to be a major liability for the Reich. His Majesty begins to meet in secret with officials he deems trustworthy. He can strip Von Papen of his position as Reichskanzler at will, but that will cause major internal friction among the nobility, who have found in him an easily manipulated ally. What the Kaiser wants is to utterly decapitate the unruly faction among the nobility and reclaim control over his own government; he looks to his Heer, his Marine and his Auswärtiges Amt to do so.

He also dips back into his old Spionspiel hobby. With the cooperation of Stresemann, select agents of the Amt and Military Intelligence personnel are given the task to investigate the Reichskanzler - and his suspected clandestine activities.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/wks8me7rr/Screenshot_4651.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/47wqvxtrb/Screenshot_4652.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/z23ztnjyf/Screenshot_4653.png)

Meanwhile, R & D provides the Admiralität with brand spanking new stereoscopic rangefinders (a surprise development, with final blueprints being handed in long before the anticipated date of completion of the project) and new torpedo engines. A maximum range of 12k yards for German torpedoes? Yes, please!.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/nprebw64n/Screenshot_4654.png)

The German fleet, meanwhile, continues with its blockade of French ports. Lack of medicines and food has had its impact on the French population; there are rumours of protests in Paris, that remind the savvy Germans of the London riots. His Majesty takes these rumours in with serious concern and accellerates his plans.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/kvo8ylguv/Screenshot_4657.png)

The submarines on both sides reap their bloody toll. German U-Boote bring home a meager catch: just a single merchantman and two coastal patrol vessels. Meanwhile, the French sous-marins score fifteen merchant kills, sink a minesweeper-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/47wqvz41z/Screenshot_4658.png)

-and, in a blow that has Galster pulling out what little hair he has left in his old age, send the heavy cruiser Hansa to the bottom.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/piurjpqaf/prinz_eugen_kantai_collection_drawn_by_zxc00016_sample-7b1e84.jpg)

This is a major success for the French. However, it also serves to cement the Kaiserliche Marine's determination to support the Kaiser against Von Papen. From a crew of 830, only 140 men survive the freezing waters of the North Sea; and there is not a single sailor who does not know that their mates would have been alive, had the Reichskanzler made peace a month ago.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/z23ztou93/Screenshot_4662.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/sbnik8zdj/Screenshot_4661.png)

It is a meagre consolation when old Hela encounters an unescorted French convoy in the Med and sinks it with extreme prejudice.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ypclniz4n/Screenshot_4664.png)

September; and Galster pours some money into the Tanga and Kamerun harbours, bringing them up to spec. No major works have taken place here since before the construction of the Zähringens and this is as good a chance as any (especially now that the wartime Navy budget can support it).

(https://s13.postimg.cc/vii23wmef/Screenshot_4666.png)

The first G9-class Zerstörer of the second batch leave their slipways-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/hc2b8oj93/Screenshot_4667.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/5a6xejhqf/Screenshot_4668.png)

R & D presents the Admiralität with their very satisfying progress reports on their current projects (none of which is yet ready)-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/9jbngq853/Screenshot_4671.png)

And submarines and raiders on both sides carve yet another chunk off their enemy. Interestingly, we have here a reversal of the Anglo-German war. The German fleet is blockading the French harbours - but the French submarines are savaging the German merchant marine. Hindenburg and Galster know where this is liable to lead. In a few weeks, the German population will begin feeling the results of the French raiding strategy - what happens after that is anyone's guess.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/cdesu5uvr/Screenshot_4674.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ehz5v9487/Screenshot_4675.png)

The Valkyries, having now arrived in the Far East, deploy to shell enemy coastal fortifications in Tonkin. The French do not sortie to stop them; the German ships drop a few hundred tons of heavy ordnance on the enemy positions and retreat.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/84a2s0err/Screenshot_4676.png)

And then, the French try to sneak a small raiding force into the Bight again. This time, no battlecruisers, or capitals: only light forces. It's a smash-and-run raid, one that might have had a chance of succeeding-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/9w31mx5uf/Screenshot_4677.png)

-if Bremen, the Graf, Zähringen and Hindenburg hadn't been on-station to intercept.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/pubrd2uxj/Screenshot_4681.png)

Bremen was the first to engage the enemy, alerted to their presence by the frantically retreating G8, an older, second-rate Zerstörer, that had found herself charged down...

(https://s13.postimg.cc/qjujpgawn/Screenshot_4683.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/wxjmsosnb/Screenshot_4680.png)

...by an enemy D' Assas-class light cruiser and her destroyer escort. Unfortunately for the French, the Bremen hugely outgunned their destroyer-leader.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/8tsv4f51j/Screenshot_4684.png)

Not to mention the Schlachtkreuzer, that were coming up from the south.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/gmjiweiqf/Screenshot_4685.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/vii2409kn/Screenshot_4686.png)

As they close the range, the Graf torpedobeats like a baws and dodges two enemy fish; the Zähringen slips between two more but gets clipped by a third near her Y turret. Flooding is minimal and her speed is barely affected; her captain sacrifices a watertight compartment to keep up the chase.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/tqp3950if/Screenshot_4692.png)

It doesn't take long. Bremen and the Graf score more than thirty hits between them on lightly armored targets; the 6-inch and 12-inch German shells rip through their targets with ease. Three hours after first contact the last French destroyer slips under the waves. The French have lost four more tincans and the light cruiser D' Entrecasteaux.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/n08lzpl2f/Screenshot_4693.png)

It's nothing to brag about, but it'll do.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/mc4ctz907/Screenshot_4694.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/qz6a1ey7r/photo099.jpg)

This on the other hand, is interesting. Very happy with the performance of the Elsass-class superdreads, Galster lays down two Hannover-class successors. In many respects, they are essentially copies of the older ships; but their engines are considerably more powerful, to lug their upgraded torpedo defense systems around. These are ships that will not sink, with a 17-inch thick belt and turret front and a 3-inch turtleback All-or-Nothing armour scheme. They are armed with 12 of their predecessors' 15-inch rifles, more than enough to bloody anyone's nose.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/5a6xeof7b/Screenshot_4695.png)

Ten million Reichsmark as a downpayment is a massive sum, but it'll hopefully be a long-term investment. Galster is anticipating that these ships will outlive him: he sees them as his legacy to his successor.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/tdxp2z5dz/Screenshot_4696.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/hc2b8u3vb/Screenshot_4697.png)

November. The first improved compressed air tanks are fitted to German subs; furthermore, spies in France confirm that the food shortages are now affecting the majority of the population.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/t2ku3f3vr/Screenshot_4700.png)

Unfortunately, the German population is not better off. For the first time since the Anglo-German war, the Germans know hunger. Say what you like about the French, but their submarine captains are putting up a desperate fight.

Dissent against Von Papen's handling of the war is now prevalent in the population. The Kaiser faction wastes no time in capitalising on this. Hindenburg and Ludendorff, in particular, push the Dolchstoss narrative in the Army for all its worth!

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ofa6ohbvr/Screenshot_4703.png)

The French surface raiders join in the fight!

(https://s13.postimg.cc/5mybkvkmf/Screenshot_4702.png)

Thankfully, the French lose the Pascal to lack of fuel. That's a relief for the Admiralität.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/v5qnxwbw7/Screenshot_4704.png)

Damn-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/5zppr2ibr/Screenshot_4705.png)

-it-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/6p8i3fql3/Screenshot_4706.png)

-Baguettes-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/dfozcvt6f/Screenshot_4707.png)

-FITE ME!

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ogopv22x3/Screenshot_4708.png)

Please?

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ts3mfsc53/Screenshot_4709.png)

ARRRGH!

(https://s13.postimg.cc/rarv8izyf/Screenshot_4710.png)

13 November 1924, 10:20 in the morning. An 8-ship German convoy has just left Alexandria, with a cargo of grain and nitrates. It is escorted by three G9-class Zerstörer, the G9 herself, and her sister-ships, the G10 and S19.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/5blglbqtz/Screenshot_4711.png)

10:27: lookouts spot an enemy cruiser, closing in from the north-west. The Zerstörer batten down the hatches and prepare to defend the convoy against whatever skilled raider the French have deployed against them...

(https://s13.postimg.cc/8ig04yizr/Screenshot_4712.png)

...and then the identification comes in, and the Germans laugh.

The enemy ship is a Jean Bart: she mounts a grand total of ten 4-inch guns. The German destroyers, put together, have eighteen 6-inch rifles and their torpedoes to fire back at her.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/h0pg9b4xz/Screenshot_4714.png)

And they do.

(http://i.imgur.com/7WW9vnP.jpg)

It takes one smashed and one jammed gun mount for the Jean Bart to WUSS OUT LIKE A LITTLE *****.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/fyf9qreev/Screenshot_4715.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/crkq759ef/Screenshot_4716.png)

The Zerstörer let her go. Their job is to safeguard the convoy, and if she comes back, there's more of that waiting for her.

Run home, little Frenchie.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/8ig050gfr/Screenshot_4719.png)

What a glorious baptism of fire for the G9s! Even better, it's late November, and there's a huge batch of the little murderballs about to leave the slipways.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/73efga7mv/Screenshot_4720.png)

...just in time for the Bismarck to be moved in, with a faulty condenser. Ah well, it happens. She's been on active duty without a major refurbishment for years.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/9xhktrcdz/Screenshot_4721.png)

At this point, the French once more propose peace.

Von Papen launches into his usual polemics, proclaiming to the world that the Germans will only accept peace if it is dictated in Versailles. In this, he betrays his ambition: he sees himself as a new Bismarck and seeks to emulate his accomplishment.

His Majesty has dealt with Bismarck in the past. He knows how to deal with this overambitious scarecrow. And his Intelligence personnel have just delivered him a jewel of a find.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/x03yz12zr/507f38db94d1780b74e1148edd71826d--international-conflict-german-.jpg)

In the morning of the 2nd of December, and under the direction of Hindenburg, several companies of Imperial troops mobilise throughout Germany, seizing crucial facilities and placing nobles that the Kaiser suspects are supporters of von Papen under house arrest. Simultaneously, von Papen himself is arrested, on charges of high treason and premeditated murder.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/vxtsggpbb/293e7f05c1321740d2d2bf8f1b6ffd81.jpg)

The intelligence operatives have shown that the attack on the Frauenlob, the attack that precipitated the first war, was orchestrated by von Papen. Unlike the masterfully executed Ems Telegram affair, however, von Papen had precipitated two senseless wars and dealt a critical blow to the Kerneuropa dream of Mecklenburg. The Kaiser was irate; and so were the Army and Navy, who could now see the Dolchstoss narrative confirmed.

Parliament was dissolved and the Government disbanded; new elections were set for just after Christmas, with an interim emergency government led by Stresemann. Stresemann would win by a landslide, officially and permanently assuming the post of Reichskanzler on the 9th of January.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/sd21r5isn/Screenshot_4722.png)

His first task was to negotiate a treaty with France. Without von Papen's interference, Stresemann succeeded in achieving an excellent deal. With Russia bullied into silence by a Schlachtkreuzer squadron (and with the Valkyries standing by to blockade the Kamtchatka regions, if necessary), Stresemann concluded a peace that would set the stage for a new Kerneuropa.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/neejclzk7/Screenshot_4723.png)

As part of this treaty, Germany bought exclusive basing rights on the island of Corsica, with a series of very favourable biannual payments (which extended up until the 1930s). The Germans presented this as a great victory, that forever cemented their control over the Mediterranean; the French, on the other hand focused primarily on the payments, which could, under a favourable light, be interpreted as war reparations, and which would provide the French economy the necessary boost to cover lost ground.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/6k05foed3/134363424.jpg)

Stresemann also collaborated with his French counterpart, Aristide Briand, to conclude an international treaty that would prevent such senseless loss of life in the future. The General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy, or Pariser Vertrag was signed in Paris, in September of 1925; it effectively made aggressive war illegal and established the concept of the 'crime against peace'.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/fmtojnco7/Screenshot_4726.png)

And so, with the Kaiser once again establishing his control over his own country, with a new capable Reichskanzler at the helm, and with Europe slowly dragging herself out of three years of senseless violence, we come to the end of the Von Papen wars.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 19, 2017, 01:14:39 pm
(https://s13.postimg.org/774426rtj/454.png)

I'M BACK.


SO.

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH NATION DOES NOT LIKE THIS COURSE OF EVENTS AT ALL?

COME ON, GUESS.

I'LL GIVE YOU THREE TRIES.

AND THE FIRST TWO DON'T COUNT.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Col. Fishguts on December 19, 2017, 04:46:27 pm
something
something
DIE TEESÄUFER!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on December 20, 2017, 05:34:42 am
Excerpt from "The German Commonwealth", lead article in The London Times published in October 1925

Quote
The Franco-German peace, then, is a curious one: Just as von Papen was gearing up to step into the Iron Chancellor's footsteps by declaring a new, pan-european German Reich from the great hall at Versaille, he was thoroughly rebuked by the Kaiser himself, a move fully supported by the german military. Where before, Germany was never hesitant to press its advantages, now we are witnessing a Germany that seems almost ashamed for what it has done to its one-time ally France. We do not yet know the full details behind von Papen's ouster and subsequent arrest for high treason and murder, but the peace treaty and the following Treaty of Paris speak not of a Germany proud of its accomplishments and swollen with victory, but of a leadership deeply ashamed of what has transpired. In the war, Germany was almost uniformly victorious, but most of its fighting was done by naval engagements; On the ground, in the battlefields of Alsace-Lorraine, the german army was content to make the occasional raid, the occasional assault on a fortified position, but never seemed to press whatever momentary advantages its operations produced.
This was a war, then, that noone really wanted: Not the Kaiser, finally grown into a proper leader under the hard tutelage of von Mecklenburg, not the Army or the Navy. No, whatever happened, it seems the only one who actually wanted this war was that wretched creature von Papen seeking to fulfill ambitions of Empire that Germany seemed to have rid itself of years earlier.

Instead, we have something new. Instead of a Germany spanning Europe from the Pyrenees to the banks of the Memel, we have the Treaty of Paris, a grand document of lofty ideals and language, decrying War as "the seemingly unending curse of human endeavour". This, to my mind, is hypocrisy of the highest order. A nation, born in war, a nation that used war to finally get that much-desired "place in the sun" the Kaiser wanted for so long, has no place to now denounce war. If they were serious about this, they'd order their warships back to harbour for dismantlement and order their soldiers to turn in their weapons and pick up the tools of industry again. No, what we are seeing here is just a pretext for the next war. Mark my words, this peace will only last as long as France and Germany are licking their wounds. After that, who knows what's going to happen? Maybe some adventures in South America? Or will these two uneasy allies turn on Russia? Or Italy? Or even the United Kingdom, again?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 20, 2017, 08:24:48 am
I will miss von Papen :(
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 20, 2017, 04:00:09 pm
something
something
DIE TEESÄUFER!

Excerpt from "The German Commonwealth", lead article in The London Times published in October 1925

Quote
The Franco-German peace, then, is a curious one: Just as von Papen was gearing up to step into the Iron Chancellor's footsteps by declaring a new, pan-european German Reich from the great hall at Versaille, he was thoroughly rebuked by the Kaiser himself, a move fully supported by the german military. Where before, Germany was never hesitant to press its advantages, now we are witnessing a Germany that seems almost ashamed for what it has done to its one-time ally France. We do not yet know the full details behind von Papen's ouster and subsequent arrest for high treason and murder, but the peace treaty and the following Treaty of Paris speak not of a Germany proud of its accomplishments and swollen with victory, but of a leadership deeply ashamed of what has transpired. In the war, Germany was almost uniformly victorious, but most of its fighting was done by naval engagements; On the ground, in the battlefields of Alsace-Lorraine, the german army was content to make the occasional raid, the occasional assault on a fortified position, but never seemed to press whatever momentary advantages its operations produced.
This was a war, then, that noone really wanted: Not the Kaiser, finally grown into a proper leader under the hard tutelage of von Mecklenburg, not the Army or the Navy. No, whatever happened, it seems the only one who actually wanted this war was that wretched creature von Papen seeking to fulfill ambitions of Empire that Germany seemed to have rid itself of years earlier.

Instead, we have something new. Instead of a Germany spanning Europe from the Pyrenees to the banks of the Memel, we have the Treaty of Paris, a grand document of lofty ideals and language, decrying War as "the seemingly unending curse of human endeavour". This, to my mind, is hypocrisy of the highest order. A nation, born in war, a nation that used war to finally get that much-desired "place in the sun" the Kaiser wanted for so long, has no place to now denounce war. If they were serious about this, they'd order their warships back to harbour for dismantlement and order their soldiers to turn in their weapons and pick up the tools of industry again. No, what we are seeing here is just a pretext for the next war. Mark my words, this peace will only last as long as France and Germany are licking their wounds. After that, who knows what's going to happen? Maybe some adventures in South America? Or will these two uneasy allies turn on Russia? Or Italy? Or even the United Kingdom, again?

Very insightful.

No, really. Especially the author's predictions. Eerily accurate. :p

I will miss von Papen :(

You'll probably be the only one.

Don't worry, though. Stresemann is anything but boring.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on December 21, 2017, 04:37:18 am
Unexpected update is best update!  :yes: :yes:

I will miss von Papen :(

You'll probably be the only one.

Don't worry, though. Stresemann is anything but boring.
Actually I will miss him as well. Makes things more interesting if everyone is pulling strings into different directions...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on December 26, 2017, 08:48:23 am
Stresemann as Papen's successor? Personal tip, make sure he gets a good physician as part of his new office, he's a great statesman, but his constitution leaves something to be desired. He might not have much longer to live...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 26, 2017, 10:00:00 am
Stresemann as Papen's successor? Personal tip, make sure he gets a good physician as part of his new office, he's a great statesman, but his constitution leaves something to be desired. He might not have much longer to live...

 :nervous:

I did address his constitution, didn't I?

Oh deary deary me.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: SpardaSon21 on December 27, 2017, 01:11:41 pm
I'm waiting for von Papen to pull strings like crazy to escape his inevitable execution.  Man seems like the perfect Karma Houdini.  Then he can pull more strings from his jail cell. :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on December 27, 2017, 03:24:46 pm
Asylum in Britain?  Government in Exile?  :drevil:
Title: 1925 - End of a Year
Post by: Enioch on December 31, 2017, 04:20:14 am
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(https://s17.postimg.cc/ruhtny7hb/Celle_Schloss_1904.jpg)

"The trial of Franz von Papen was one of the most delicate processes of the 20th century. The Kaiser, Stresemann and the militarists could ill afford the inevitable scandal that would ensue, should von Papen's full involvement in the Franco-German wars be revealed. Furthermore, while the nobles were cowed by the Kaiser's swift action against their figurehead, they did not cease to pose a significant political threat to the Wilhelm loyalists. Stresemann could, if given time, reach an arrangement; but that would be impossible if the Royalists escalated by sentencing von Papen to death as, arguably, he deserved."

"In the end, von Papen was pardoned for the crime of premeditated murder (deaths during wartime being in a legally grey state before the signing of the Paris Accords) and 'only' received a life sentence for the crime of high treason. As an acknowledgement of his nobility, he was confined to the
Schloss Celle, in Hannover: an old and splendid building that had served as a prison for captured enemy officers during the early 20th-century wars."

"The message was clear. Von Papen was an enemy of the German
Reich and his ernstwhile friends had better remember that."

-Dr. Jonathan Needham, The Dolchstoß: Political Betrayal in Germany during and after the Von Papen Wars, 1975: Glasgow.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/aryfdftdt/Screenshot_4727.png)

With the much-awaited peace with France now achieved and with the Kerneuropa stabilising, Galster makes plans for the future. His old age is now upon him: he needs to prepare his successor to the post of Grossadmiral and begin the necessary processes for a radical modernisation of the German Hochseeflotte, now that Germany should have the necessary time to embark in such an undertaking.

With the reduced budget that is the legacy of Stresemann's peace, Galster is very much aware that he cannot afford to maintain the old Valkyries in active service anymore. The old darlings are too small, too weakly armoured and too undergunned to be a credible threat anymore. Any encounter with a modern battlecruiser (let alone a dreadnought) with a competent crew will have them dead in minutes, and their underwater protection is non-existent.

A modernisation could address some of those issues - but there is simply no money for that. Galster considers having the Valkyries scrapped in Tsingtao, with their guns re-bored and utilised in coastal batteries for the Germany colony.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/xt2j6ozhp/MV5_BMTcw_Nzky_MTI5_MF5_BMl5_Ban_Bn_Xk_Ft_ZTYw_ODkx_MTU2._V1.jpg)

The Kaiser is not amused.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/jzqnu5nld/Screenshot_4728.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7xva01wdd/Screenshot_4729.png)

Given their glorious history, Galster is ordered to mothball the ships and convert them into museums, similarly to Hertha. And this time, they are not to be decommissioned, under any circumstances: their names are not to be stolen by any newcomer.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/f5nj46tm7/ebbfac41-a4d9-4e59-b9cd-e5c69746b744_570.jpg)

The Valkyries receive their orders; and they embark on their long trip back to German home waters.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/i7xozb1oh/Screenshot_4730.png)

Meanwhile, R & D submits a new treatise on counterflooding practices. As a rule, their advice is: "don't, until absolutely necessary to prevent a ship from capsizing," but they also include a very practical list of instructions for damcon NCOs that join the list of required reading.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/5tawyyfb5/Screenshot_4732.png)

Meanwhile, the Wittelsbachs need to be kept relevant. With the Valkyries out of the picture, Germany needs to deploy ships to guard her Far East holdings. The (now second-rate) Wittelsbachs are very good candidates for such a role. They are placed in drydock, for a final rebuild before their deployment to the posting that Galster expects will be their last. Their machinery is overhauled from the ground up, and their fire control systems are fully modernised.

They will be unable to deal with any capital-grade threat (such as the Japanese battlefleet, for instance), but they will be able to serve as raider deterrents and defensive assets for the colonies.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7xva04we9/Screenshot_4735.png)

In January of 1925, R & D provides us with new circulation systems for the boilers. The eagle-eyed historian will also note that the U-1, the first submarine ever built in the German navy is still in active service. Somehow. With a reliability rating of 46%.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/5gjisvrxd/Screenshot_4738.png)

Even as Germany commissions her latest batch of subs. Yes, Germany has now built nearly 200 U-Boote throughout the 20th century.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/bu8lw5roh/Screenshot_4740.png)

In May 1925, investigations into von Papen's activities reveal the identity of an American double-agent that the Kanzler had made use of. He is quietly and discreetly arrested and deported with his family.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/s6inlbsz5/Screenshot_4741.png)

In June, the Valkyries reach Germany and their mothballing commences. Von der Tann is given a permanent berth in Emden. Moltke docks in Kiel, in a newly-constructed pier opposite the submarine pens. Seydlitz is shuttled to Danzig. And Goeben, the old, proud Berserkershiff receives a place of honour next to the Hertha, in Wilhelmshaven.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/9b84o8nlr/tanya_degurechaff_and_viktoriya_ivanovna_serebryakov_youjo_sen.jpg)

This is not the last we've seen of the old darlings.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/vq4lb5y9t/Screenshot_4742.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/xt08bsq2n/u_511_kantai_collection_drawn_by_virus_obsession_sample-dcb34.jpg)

Yup. Over 200, now. U-249 is currently being built.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/q1yak8z29/Screenshot_4743.png)

Hmmmm.

Galster considers this. At this point, he is consulting Scheer for pretty much every decision he takes; it is clear that Scheer is going to be assuming the post of Grossadmiral in the near future, with Hipper replacing him in command of the Hochseeflotte.

In the end, the Admiralität unanimously agrees. The Japanese are not our enemies, now that the British can no longer influence them - it would behoove the Germans to stay in friendly terms with them. After all, the Wittelsbachs are about to be transferred to the Far East...

So yes - here are the German designs for diesel generators, utilised in damcon pumps and for emergency power.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ub30mipht/Screenshot_4744.png)

Ohohoho.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/m5kyob3sx/Screenshot_4745.png)

HAHAHAHAHA.

Karma.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/hwg8m589d/Screenshot_4746.png)

Some more economisation. The old V3s cannot hold a candle to the new V9s. They're a minimal drain on Germany's resources, but just for logistics purposes they can be scrapped.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7mdtmwq3l/Screenshot_4747.png)

This disarmament helps further reduce tensions with France and with the USA. Germany has never been so well-regarded in the international stage. Stresemann has secured the Kerneuropa once again, and he is negotiating trade agreements with the Americans; German economy is clearly entering a post-war boom.

The disarmament also helps economise the funds necessary for the unfreezing of the Hannover's construction. The shipyards estimate two years for her completion.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/dx48wp40v/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_jinmyou_san_sample-63c0df.jpg)

Come on, m'girl, rise and shine!

Also, the Brits are laying down a new class of battlecruiser - the Spartiate-class. Keep that name in mind.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/oa5bpgald/Screenshot_4748.png)

Aha. No.

Both Galster, Scheer and Stresemann veto this with extreme prejudice. Why would we want to make Brit shells better?

(https://s14.postimg.cc/pcfi808u9/Screenshot_4749.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/jo97h5mi9/Screenshot_4750.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/42rvx6fox/Screenshot_4751.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/tlk8a7eoh/Screenshot_4752.png)

Instead, the Admiralität pours money into dredging up new harbours in Kamerun, Südwest-Afrika, Tanganyika and Polynesia.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/eplp2lvk1/Screenshot_4754.png)

In addition, a task force is dispatched to patrol the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. It consists of the Prinz Heinrich and the Freya, with an escort of four nagelneue G9-class Zerstörer.

Note that this is the first time that Germany actively deploys forces to patrol international waters; this has been primarily a British thing to do. It's a statement and a declaration of what Germany perceives her role to be now - and it is proposed by Scheer, not Galster.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/jo97h5u81/Screenshot_4755.png)

In October, Germany's sailing vessel, the Gischt, smashes all speed records in the Italian-held regatta near Messina.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/gu623r2ch/Screenshot_4756.png)

And in November, as the new task force reaches the Indian Ocean, the order is given to scrap the old Gazelle, the name ship of the old scout cruiser class, that had served as the main German presence in the area since 1899.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/42rvxaakx/Screenshot_4757.png)

MORE.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/hjoug3fqp/Screenshot_4758.png)

Time to revisit Great Britain - and see where the 1918 loss and the subsequent Irish War of Independence had landed dear ol' Albion.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/aozrjb9xr/battle-cable-street.jpg)

In short: in the crapper.

The thorough shaking of the foundations of the British Empire had caused a massive identity crisis in Great Britain. The same forces that had caused the Burning of London in 1918 had witnessed the loss of Ireland and the developments in Europe with fear and uncertainty. The loss of the Mediterranean had also impacted British economy to a considerable degree, with all that this implied for the 'lower' social classes.

In this climate, Labour parties ran rampant. But, more importantly, aggressive nationalism bloomed, backed by a booming media industry (Lord Rothermere's newspaper empire being the most well-known supporters of far-right and nationalistic views).

(https://s17.postimg.cc/gd62a7lzz/mosley.jpg)

In this mess, rises the dark star of Oswald Mosley. Defining himself as a 'National Socialist', he establishes the British Union of Nationalist Socialists in early 1924, catapulting his Party high in the House of Commons. He is charismatic; he is theatrical; he is often near-hysterical - but, most importantly, he is aggressive and decisive and damn-the-consequences-British; and, in their uncertainty, this is what the British people wish to hear.

The circumstances that led to "Mosley's Folly" are much too complicated to discuss in this analysis of German naval power and are best addressed by more general works, as are the steadily worsening relations between the two countries. However, we must address the Grossmann incident, when a German agent was arrested in the UK and subsequently dragged from the hands of the police and lynched by a BUNS mob.

Neither the Kaiser nor Stresemann were amused; and Scheer's and Galster's statements made it absolutely clear that Germany would not accept such barbarism.

The British government offered an official apology, but this was fouled shortly afterwards by Mosley's victory in the emergency 1926 elections - and tensions continued to simmer under the surface.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/aggz0juwh/Screenshot_4759.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ilz0yqe0h/Screenshot_4760.png)

For now, R & D makes promises for new developments in hull construction and a revolutionary new submarine design -

(https://s14.postimg.cc/6k3n4lrxd/Screenshot_4761.png)

But, oh, look at that, it's the end of the year!

(https://s14.postimg.cc/m5kyojog1/Screenshot_4762.png)

[Play on, Y/N?]


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 31, 2017, 04:27:14 am
OH LOOK, IT'S THE END OF  THE YEAR. OH LOOK, IT'S THE END OF 1925 AS WELL.

I'LL LEAVE YOU GUYS HERE, METHINKS.

Seriously, though, do you want me to move forward with this?

I refuse to make the UK into the utter mess that Nazi Germany was during OTL, partly because it would be supremely douchey (when considering the OTL and the actual deaths involved). But things are going to go downhill for the Brits, a lot, even if we avoid the very very very bad genocidal stuff.

So, if you feel this reversal is in any way offensive, let me know and I'll see what I can do to tone things down.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/ecfipm2rz/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_metindone_sample-a9b8acbc.jpg)

Also, Fröhliches Neujahr, I suppose.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on December 31, 2017, 04:46:49 am
Plz to be continuing?

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on December 31, 2017, 07:05:17 am
I just realized that "The British Union of National Socialists" abbreviates as BUNS.

Quote
In this climate, Labour parties ran rampant. But, more importantly, aggressive nationalism bloomed, backed by a booming media industry (Lord Rothermere's newspaper empire being the most well-known supporters of far-right and nationalistic views).

Are we referring to the Daily Heil?

And also, yeah, I would like this playtrough to continue. Sadly, even the OTL has some really bad stuff going on with the brits either way, such as the Bengal famine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943). Although hardly the full on madness of specifically constructing an industry whose only purpose is to exterminate entire swathes of the population there's been quite a bit of "Carelessly throwing away the lives of colonial subjects for the sake of preserving The Empire(tm)" going on.
Title: Re: 1925 - End of a Year
Post by: Spoon on December 31, 2017, 07:27:43 am
[Play on, Y/N?]

Y

So, if you feel this reversal is in any way offensive, let me know and I'll see what I can do to tone things down.
Tone it up as far as you feel is fitting. This is your alternative time line after all.


Do you ever put any of your capitalships into reserve fleet status during peace time? It saves a lot of maintenance cost, at the cost of crew quality.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 31, 2017, 08:17:24 am
I just realized that "The British Union of National Socialists" abbreviates as BUNS.

I will neither confirm nor deny that this was on purpose.

The British Union of Fascists (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Union_of_Fascists) was a thing, but in this ATL Italy is not fascist, so the name would make no sense. May I also refer you to the Battle of Cable Street (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cable_Street), one of the least-appreciated crowning moments of awesome in modern British history? You may find uncanny parallels to today...

Quote
Quote
In this climate, Labour parties ran rampant. But, more importantly, aggressive nationalism bloomed, backed by a booming media industry (Lord Rothermere's newspaper empire being the most well-known supporters of far-right and nationalistic views).

Are we referring to the Daily Heil?

And also, yeah, I would like this playtrough to continue. Sadly, even the OTL has some really bad stuff going on with the brits either way, such as the Bengal famine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943). Although hardly the full on madness of specifically constructing an industry whose only purpose is to exterminate entire swathes of the population there's been quite a bit of "Carelessly throwing away the lives of colonial subjects for the sake of preserving The Empire(tm)" going on.

We are, indeed, refering to the Daily Heil. Also the Daily Mirror, Sunday Pictorial, Glasgow Daily Record, Evening News, and Sunday Mail. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Harmsworth,_1st_Viscount_Rothermere) When I said "newspaper empire," I meant it. The Daily Mirror had a circulation of three million in 1922.

Thanks for pointing out the Bengal famine. I was very much unaware of the extent of this. In my defense, I come from Greece, where the WW2 famine was so bad it places us 9th world-wide on percentage of civilian population dead (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties#Human_losses_by_country) (for reference, percentage-wise, we suffered slightly fewer casualties than the territories held by Imperial Japan, with all that this entails). The majority of that generation still suffers from what modern Greeks semi-jokingly / semi-pityingly refer to as the 'Occupation Syndrome': an obsessive-compulsive need to cook more food than they will need to eat, just to prove to themselves that they have food to spare.

Do you ever put any of your capitalships into reserve fleet status during peace time? It saves a lot of maintenance cost, at the cost of crew quality.

Never. I will demonstrate why I consider a permanently active, professional navy better than a Reservist force near the end of this playthrough,

Spoiler:
when I utterly destroy the Americans. It's so bad it's not even funny.

[Play on, Y/N?]

Y

User Input Acknowledged

Plz to be continuing?

FEED ME.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on December 31, 2017, 09:19:22 am
Pls go on.

 :shaking:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on December 31, 2017, 10:45:13 am
Quote
Thanks for pointing out the Bengal famine. I was very much unaware of the extent of this. In my defense, I come from Greece, where the WW2 famine was so bad it places us 9th world-wide on percentage of civilian population dead (for reference, percentage-wise, we suffered slightly fewer casualties than the territories held by Imperial Japan, with all that this entails). The majority of that generation still suffers from what modern Greeks semi-jokingly / semi-pityingly refer to as the 'Occupation Syndrome': an obsessive-compulsive need to cook more food than they will need to eat, just to prove to themselves that they have food to spare.

Bloody hell. Us dutch only really tell ourselves about our own famine and that only happened in the final months of the war as a retaliation for Market Garden. I didn't know about the Greece famine, and I clearly do not have such an excuse.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 31, 2017, 11:02:17 am
Not a lot of people do. It's part of the reason why the cancellation of the German war reparations is such a sore point for Greeks. Only some of the eastern block countries and the Japanese holdings suffered more from 1941/2 onwards. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Greece))

Food-wise, that is. WW2 was brutal for Europe in general, and every country experienced a different aspect of that hell.

A personal p͉̲̱e͔̝͔̠͚e̸͔̙vͅe of mine, however, is the promotion of American sacrifice in all modern media. Oh the heroes. Oh the despair. Oh the dead, in service of liberty. Oh, the endless graveyards.

Polish casualties, as percent of the population: ~17%
South Pacific mandate casualties, same: 8%
Greek casualties, same: 7% to 11% (statistics unclear, depending on source)
Netherlands casualties, same: 2.5%
...
USA casualties, as percent of the population: less than 0.5%

Ha ha, 'Muricans. *dry humourless laugh*
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on December 31, 2017, 12:30:00 pm
What would you expect from Hollywood, being an industry that revolves entirely about telling each-other and the rest of the world how awesome they are? :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 31, 2017, 01:34:34 pm
The soviets were pretty good at this too (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on December 31, 2017, 02:32:31 pm
No no no everything is fine famine is not real it's what the landlords told us.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: niffiwan on December 31, 2017, 11:39:09 pm
Can't recall if this has been posted on HLP before, but seems relevant to the discussion. Greece is listed although there's no specific commentary on it. I was also unaware of the Greek famine, thanks for making me aware of it.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on January 01, 2018, 08:07:15 am
No no no everything is fine famine is not real it's what the landlords told us.
  :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on January 03, 2018, 07:42:05 am
I have no objections to the course of this series. Nor is it particularly surprising - the fanatical nationalism of the fascist movement is nourished in no smart part by zealous revanchism. As much as those proud of their nation might want to deny it, I find it hardly unthinkable that Great Britain, in an alternate reality and under different circumstances, could become the bulwark of the Axis. After all, it's not like they lack any prequisites like existing patriotism to subvert and radicalize, or imperialistic sentiments, or military hardliners who'd sympathize or outright support such a course. Hell, use of the concentration camp to kill undiserables originated from the British, as seen during the Boer wars.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on January 04, 2018, 01:01:41 am
Hell, The Netherlands has had a reputation for being tolerant towards minorities for far longer then today, yet the Nazi collebarationist regime here hunted down jews with such fervour that it outmatched the germans themselves. We tend to gloss that over today, with the excuse being that the Dutch simply kept good records. But so did the Danish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_the_Danish_Jews).

Edit: Since we're talking about "Dark Side Britain", the Gaurdian's article on the Peterloo Massacre (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jan/04/peterloo-massacre-bloody-clash-that-changed-britain) popped up today and it's an interesting bit of history.
Title: Risks and Alliances
Post by: Enioch on January 04, 2018, 10:31:24 am
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Play on, Y/N?

>>Y

(https://s17.postimg.cc/6v2omoqfz/Bild_102-08490_web.jpg)

"Stresemann found himself facing a multifaceted problem: how to consolidate the Kerneuropa's fragile framework, while securing Germany's leading role. How to eliminate or best integrate the last remains of the noble sympathisers' camp and the von Papen supporters to the Imperialist faction."

"How to ensure that the wars of the past could not threatedn Germany's future."

"In this he was forced to face the inopportune timing of Oswald Mosley's rise to power in Great Britain and the resulting influx of political refugees; the spectre of von Papen in Britain; the Falklands crisis. And, above all, his own failing constitution."


Olga Müller 1996, The expansion of the Kerneuropa: in the shadow of the Paris Accords, Mainz: von Zabern.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/lerqnoogf/Screenshot_4763.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/r4cvuoqsn/early_america_oil_filed.jpg)

January 1926: Distant news reach Europe of new American oil-fields in Maine. This has no direct impact on Stresemann's policies, although it does affect the price of German oil. America, at this point, is simply too isolationist to significantly affect the goings-on in Europe.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/pb52jpc0v/Screenshot_4764.png)

What did affect things in the European theatre was the proposal by Blohm & Voss to take up a third ship of the Hannover class at a reduced price.

The Hannover and Hessen had been considerably delayed: work on the former had resumed after a considerable hiatus, while construction of the latter was still frozen. But the work on Hannover had proceeded sufficiently for the yards to figure out substantial shortcuts and fixes that could reduce the price of a third ship. As the Admiralität was eager to help boost the German economy further, the proposed laying down of a third ship (the Wörth) was approved. Her keel was laid down on the 4th of January.

This apparent rearmament of Germany, in the wake of her recent disarmaments received mixed responses.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/pnwgpw20f/Screenshot_4765.png)

Japan, for one, protested vehemently at what they perceived as new escalation; and as an attempt by Germany to project more force in her colontial holdings. The Admiralität refused to budge, and Stresemann was forced to adopt a more inflexible stance than he would have liked, especially since his hands were full in Europe.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/53rmrf1ov/Screenshot_4766.png)

But the Admiralität's attention was firmly on what they perceived to be more important matters. For, on the 23rd of January, the first designs for a new, revolutionary new submarine class were submitted.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/44hepky5r/9147e_UGc_SEL._SL1500.jpg)

The U-255-class bore a reduced torpedo armament, compared to the more 'traditional' attack subs; but they had the same range and speed, while also carrying a considerable number of mines. This made them much more flexible on the field, and a much more significant threat against convoys moving through pre-planned routes. They would never completely replace the awesome striking power that were the German attack U-Boote, but the minelayers would prove their worth a hundred times over during the following years.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/6it7g4v27/Screenshot_4767.png)

Meanwhile the Italians approached the Admiralität with a proposal: they wished to purchase German licences for the high-quality stereoscopic rangefinders used in German capital ships. Galster and Sheer, both veterans of the Italian war, had no objections. Italy was no threat: in fact, tensions with the Spaghettis were quite low and fostering good relations with the Mediterranean neighbours had the full support of Stresemann.

The licences were sold, for a very satisfactory three-and-a-half million Reichsmark.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/i7x744gvz/Screenshot_4768.png)

In February, and with the first armour sheets being about to be installed on Hannover Scheer focused his attention to establishing a rigorous series of tests. Several engineers, both military and civilan, were called upon to test the armour under as close to field conditions as possible, including live-fire exercises. This helped reveal further unoptimised elements in the Hannover design, elements that could now be ironed out.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/4e8uf0j4v/Screenshot_4769.png)

Unfortunately, one of the engineers running the tests proved to be more corruptible than expected. Military Intelligence managed to prevent the results of the tests finding their way to the hands of the Japanese, but the danger of further escalation in the Far East was now very real. Unlike von Papen, however, Stresemann knew not to ask for trouble. This time, Germany would look the other way.

Pointedly.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/kp8ybdlcv/Screenshot_4770.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/z8g3ct1n3/Screenshot_4771.png)

And the tests continued. A study on fire prevention and armour resistance against high-explosive and white-phosphorus shells led to the introduction of new, non-flammable paints and coatings. Furthermore, a structural analysis of the Hannovers' hulls helped to better integrate the internal belt to the hull framing.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/wecxzdubz/Screenshot_4772.png)

And, when you're studying armour, you're also studying ways to pierce it. R & D promised that they were really close to introducing a new generation of armour-piercing projectiles. Not yet, though, not yet.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/yvop6mysv/Screenshot_4773.png)

As March gave way to April, Argentina approached Krupp with what was probably the largest non-German contract the firm had ever received: The Argentinians were entering a major re-armament phase, which included a full modernisation of their field artillery, as well as the commissioning of two new 15'' dreadnoughts: the Rivadavia and the Moreno. They desired a competitive but economic dreadnought class, comparable in armament (but with lighter armour, and with a speed of only 23 knots) to the Hannovers. This would make Argentina the strongest naval power in South America. Would Germany be interested in taking up the contract?

Krupp, in conjunction with Blohm & Voss, went directly to the Admiralität, for their permission; Scheer and Galster, in turn, went straight to Stresemann, who approved of the plan. It was imperative to reinforce the Germany economy and this contract was worth hundreds of millions for the large companies and for the dockyard workers of the German harbours, who had suffered through something of a dry spell, in recent years.

Unfortunately, not everybody appreciated his concerns. And while the international scene failed, at the time, to register the importance of this agreement, it would come to haunt Germany in the near future.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/cwiajfpof/Screenshot_4774.png)

For the time being, with Hessen frozen, Hannover and Wörth entered a phase of accellerated construction. Upon their completion, work would continue on their sister-ship. Hannover was slated for completion by August of 1927.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/6vklmdxxb/Screenshot_4777.png)

This accellerated construction was fuelled even further by the sale of engine designs to the Italians...

(https://s17.postimg.cc/4r08laokv/Screenshot_4776.png)

...but the Admiralität vetoed the sale of triple-bottom designs to the Americans. At this point, Galster and Scheer believed they had sufficient funds for their immediate needs; and, while flirting with the Italians was politically desirable, reinforcing the American fleet was not.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/9pnqzufj3/Screenshot_4778.png)

Meanwhile, the Hela was recalled for decommissioning and scrapping; the infinitely more powerful Bismarck was deployed in the Mediterranean to replace her.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/h5n0lnay7/Screenshot_4779.png)

The Admiralität did not stop there. By the end of July 1926, every single surviving Gazelle, Gefion, Medusa and Arcona were recalled and scrapped. Overnight, Germany's light cruiser force was no more.

(https://i.imgur.com/NzEOXjZ.jpg)

This also meant the scrapping of old Bremen, one of the pluckiest, more decorated and celebrated light cruisers in history. She had been a veteran of every war Germany had fought in the 20th century; she had bloodied the noses of the Russians, the Italians, the British, the French; she had wreathed herself in more glory than any other light cruiser, with the possible exception of her long-lost sister, Frauenlob. Sadly, though, this time, the Admiralität really did not have the funds to maintain her. She entered the breakers on the 25th of July, bringing an end to her legend.

(http://i.imgur.com/TUehMfu.png)

Goodnight, little darling. Go now, to meet your sister.

.....

.....

(https://s17.postimg.cc/oydodm1hr/Screenshot_4780.png)

Right when things were getting a bit morose, R & D delivers with a new batch of ASW goodness...

(https://s17.postimg.cc/rfpfkw8jj/Screenshot_4781.png)

...that, turns out, was 'acquired' from the British. Lulz.

A propos British, let us see where we are in respect to...

(https://s17.postimg.cc/oydodmwcv/Screenshot_4782.png)

Urgle.

A quick consultation of the most recent fleet gazzetteers shows that Great Britain can field seventeen dreadnoughts to Germany's five. She also has twenty-one battlecruisers to Germany's eleven (and we are still counting the Valkyries among those eleven). Great Britain has more than twice the German tonnage afloat, both in Dreads and BCs.

The less said about the utter insanity that is the USN, the better.

Germany is one of the world leaders in heavy cruisers (surprisingly, Japan has heavier ships!), but has no light cruisers at all. And her destroyers, while capable, are less than half in number when compared to the Brits and 'Muricans.

In less than a decade since her defeat, Albion has rebuilt her fleets.

It's a rude awakening for Stresemann and for the Admiralität.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/h5n0lo5tb/Screenshot_4785.png)

A proposed response: a better cruiser, that will cement Germany's advantage in the heavy cruiser field. At 20k tons, she's the biggest and baddest ever put to paper. She's armed with the usual 12 x 9'' arrangement, but has the most advanced torpedo protection system ever put on a cruiser, mounts turrets with 6 inches of armour instead of the 3 inches of her preddecessors and, more importantly, can reach 34 knots. This thing can outrun destroyers.

Her proposed name is Roon and she's an absolute beast. She's also much too expensive, costing almost as much as a new Schlachtkreuzer; and the designs are shelved for now, until the completion of the Hannovers.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/4r08ld967/Screenshot_4787.png)

Better explosive compounds are put into production in October: they are routed primarily to the Zerstörer flotillas.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/jmyrsycv3/Screenshot_4788.png)

Japan once again tries to infiltrate the Argentinian warship slipways and are rebuffed; this time, Stresemann does not mince his words. Perhaps this time the Japanese will get the point.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/ja7dmspgf/Screenshot_4791.png)

And to hammer the point home, the Kanzler authorises a major Naval Bill. Twenty-one Zerstörer of the G9-class are laid down in November. With this one stroke, Germany once again wrests light force supremacy from her opponents.

Of course, not everybody appreciates this. France, in particular, eyes these new developments with alarm.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/tk9sm2pmn/Screenshot_4792.png)

****ING HELL NOT THE BALKANS AGAIN.

Well, Kerneuropa is the word of the day, and Stresemann wants Austria-Hungary to join the coalition, so it pays to keep them satisfied. Germany fully supports her ally in this most critical of moments.

This alarms France even more. The ink is still fresh on the Paris Accords, but Germany now seems to seek war again?

(https://s17.postimg.cc/4r08lfebz/Screenshot_4793.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/xteio9vgv/Screenshot_4794.png)

HAH!

HAHAHAH!

(https://s17.postimg.cc/recxbdsu7/2a47cc89f8bb513a05040ba00cd7d2e436d33430_hq.jpg)

Not only a decapping belt, perfectly implemented on the Hannovers, but also new shells, bigger and punchier than ever before!

(https://s17.postimg.cc/uzbdatdv3/Screenshot_4795.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/od9dpdmy7/1497729236799.jpg)

Just look at that budget!

With the new Naval Bill passed, Germany is breathing down Great Britain's neck. The actual tonnages haven't really changed, of course, but Germany is gearing up again!

(https://s17.postimg.cc/g3cu37uqn/Screenshot_4796.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/b4pbop6db/Screenshot_4797.png)

Sure, 'Muricans, make our huge, fat AP shells even better!

(https://s17.postimg.cc/r2y1euvgf/Screenshot_4798.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/akuytn90f/aa5492469462509164fdb9d6695d5b36f6fda45edce210d987dc28c4d4b68e6a.jpg)

Turns out Germany can't afford that sort of budget.

Really makes you wonder how the British and the Americans have pulled it off...

(This is called 'foreshadowing')

(https://s17.postimg.cc/53rmrmz6n/Screenshot_4799.png)

Damn right, you can give us your money! Turns out, we need a lot of it!

(https://s17.postimg.cc/ikolajc33/Screenshot_4800.png)

AHAHA, MORE DAMCON!

(https://s17.postimg.cc/hiees00zj/Screenshot_4801.png)

Also this. 10 inch guns are heavy-ish, for a heavy cruiser, though (and, at this point, you can't really use them in anything else).

(https://s17.postimg.cc/53rmrnmbz/Screenshot_4802.png)

Once again, the Germans utterly dominate in the Messina regatta.

(https://s17.postimg.cc/dm12w0npr/Screenshot_4803.png)

(https://s17.postimg.cc/cjqwdhcm7/Screenshot_4804.png)

And then, in the aftermath of the regatta, Stresemann and the Italian Prime Minister, Ivanoe Bonomi declare to the world that Italy and Germany are now officially allies in the Kerneuropa, with the signing of the Treaty of Napoli. For the first time in 20th-century history, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Germany are part of the same power block. Essentially overnight, the contested Adriatic Sea becomes a Kerneuropa lake and the Mediterranean now operates completely by Kerneuropa rules.

This is possibly the most important step towards lasting peace in Europe since the time of Mecklenburg.

And, of course, this makes some people angry.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 04, 2018, 10:32:04 am
(https://s17.postimg.cc/51sfcg6u7/Frauenlob_Bremen.jpg)

BEST-SELLING REVELL KITS ON SALE!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on January 04, 2018, 02:52:56 pm
Quote
This would make Argentina the strongest naval power in South Africa.
Last time I checked the map, Argentina was still located in South America. Have they relocated in this timeline?  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on January 04, 2018, 02:54:46 pm
I mean, we could just suppose that Argentina got adventurous and somehow managed to start **** with South Africa....
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 04, 2018, 03:00:45 pm
You saw nothing.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on January 04, 2018, 04:51:34 pm
I mean, we could just suppose that Argentina got adventurous and somehow managed to start **** with South Africa....

One of the things that prompted the rise of fascism in the UK was when Argentina used their German-bought equipment to Steamroll the Falkland Islands so hard that they somehow found themselves in South Africa. Seems plausible.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 05, 2018, 01:32:26 am

"In this he was forced to face the inopportune timing of Oswald Mosley's rise to power in Great Britain and the resulting influx of political refugees; the spectre of von Papen in Britain; the Falklands crisis. And, above all, his own failing constitution."

I mean, we could just suppose that Argentina got adventurous and somehow managed to start **** with South Africa....

One of the things that prompted the rise of fascism in the UK was when Argentina used their German-bought equipment to Steamroll the Falkland Islands so hard that they somehow found themselves in South Africa. Seems plausible.

I'm glad to see that somebody is reading the historical blurbs. ;)
Title: Big Guns, Transatlantic Allies and Black Shirts
Post by: Enioch on January 09, 2018, 12:10:44 pm
<< Previous (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1861317#msg1861317) | Next >> (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1863906#msg1863906)


(https://s10.postimg.cc/p7b9hed6x/Inter_War-_Cartoons-_Punch-_Magazine-_Raven-_Hill-1927-03-23-311.jpg)

"While Germany entered Mosley's Folly with a clear desire to protect her newly re-established Kerneuropa, the priorities of the United States were by no means as clear. It is worth recalling that Neither Washington nor Rome were signatories to the Paris Accords, and the declaration of war with the express purpose of expanding their holdings was not considered illegal by either nation."

"The United States and Germany had collaborated shortly before and after the signing of the Rome Pact, most notably in the re-arming of the Argentinian army and navy in 1928 and 1929; in recently de-classified documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs archive, one can easily see that the administration of the period considered this collaboration a sounding board for potential American-German collaboration. The potential benefit to the economies of both nations was obvious."

"Most importantly, the US could not afford to be left out of what they considered the inevitable division of spoils that would follow any Anglo-German war. Isolationism, with Germany already extending its influence over South America, was no longer an option for the US; they had to join one faction or the other. It was a difficult choice (much has already been written about the first attempts to reach an agreement with the Mosley regime) but between the morally questionable policies of the Bunsi administration and the hardline conservative imperialistic policies of royalist Germany the Americans eventually selected the latter [...]"


-Dr. Francis Wayde, 2005. From Friends to Foes: the United States and Germany in the Twentieth Century, Oxford University Press.


(https://s10.postimg.cc/yt4tx747d/img035.jpg)

The new Kerneuropa has her supporters, but it also has an acerbic critic. Oswald Mosley, now wielding power almost uncontested in Great Britain, rants against Stresemann's creation:

"The little man," he cries to his audience, in the rallies where his fiery speeches are broadcasted to an audience of thousands, "the little man draws his little plans. The little man, with his little plots and his little vision, scrabbles in the dirt and seeks to find comrades in his misery. The hypocrite, the deceiver. He speaks of lasting peace. But the Britons have not forgotten."

"Never shall we forget the raids in Harwitch. Never shall we forget the thousands upon thousands that were cast into the dark waves, by invisible killers in the deep. We shall not forget the hunger, the death, the cold the devastation that these little men with their little souls inflicted on our innocent countrymen. We shall not forget, because we
cannot: their blood cries out from beyond the grave to us and their labours demand that we match them."

"And now, now that their plots have come to naught and the Empire rises again to meet them, now they preach peace and speak of the Laws of War. Now they seek allies, little men with little hearts, accomplices to their crimes-to-be."


At this point, Stresemann and his government officially suggest to German expats in the Commonwealth that they are no longer safe and that they should return to Germany. By the end of 1928, more than seven hundred thousand people have returned to Europe from around the world; it's not an easy task to re-integrate them into Germany, but Stresemann will soon be proven right.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/3wd75ujix/Screenshot_4805.png)

Meanwhile, the Admiralität can see the writing on the wall; both Scheer and Galster are very pleased with the new batch of Zerstörer. They should be complete and commissioned in less than a year.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/lmevqwryx/Screenshot_4806.png)

Hannover, on the other hand, arrives right now, and she's a beauty. She immediately departs on her shakedown cruise, meeting with Bismarck in the relatively secure waters of the Med.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ne7ult3m1/Screenshot_4807.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/xbivf00yx/Screenshot_4809.png)

The Admiralität also sells several licences to the Italians, including the designs for the more modern underwater protection schemes and the improved power training mountings used in the Hannovers. The soonest the Italians can get a ship utilising these technologies out is two years from now, and they will never have enough of a budget to threaten the German Navy. Establishing these deals in good faith is more important right now. Especially since, if the Italians are to be allies in the future, it would be nice if their ships were capable. The Regia Marina would, after all, be expected to contribute to the guarding of the Med, Gibraltar and the Suez.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/evyehlf4p/Screenshot_4810.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/kk4p8dwax/Screenshot_4811.png)

OK. It's a capable Light Cruiser, but Germany has no light cruisers that this might be able to bully. And every heavy cruiser in the German fleet can keep up or overtake her. This thing is a wreck waiting to happen ifit ever comes to blows with Russia.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/6qgcjcj55/Screenshot_4812.png)

September: and Hannover returns from her working up. No problems are reported: she's a wonderful ship and her crew are already looking for a scrap with the Brits.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/cre1gdnqx/Screenshot_4813.png)

Yup, absolutely. Keep funding Germany's 5.5 million monthly deficit, Spaghettis.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/nqz8s3921/Screenshot_4814.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/a4z16m5h5/big_1443455935_image.jpg)

Wonderful. Right on time, too.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/nqz8s1jbt/Screenshot_4815.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/7sqj1xzeh/Screenshot_4816.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/sxawacmhl/Kancolle_Prinz_Eugen.gif)

And then comes the big surprise.

In early November 1928, the newly-elected President H. Hoover instructs his administration to begin preliminary discussions with Germany, with the intent of signing an alliance. The US had observed the developments in Europe and the sale of German ships to Argentina with interest; and Hoover had come to the conclusion that isolationism (or even a strict adherence to the Munroe doctrine) would not help the US. A war between Germany and Great Britain was brewing: America stood to benefit by tipping the scales of the conflict and reaping the spoils of victory.

With the B.U.N.S. active in Britain, and with Hoover's own republican policies being relatively comparable to Stresemann's own course, Hoover had reached the conclusion that casting his lot with Germany would be a better option. The Alliance was officially signed in early January, shortly after the Kaiser's birthday, and, for Stresemann, it was a godsent.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/h0irine6h/Screenshot_4817.png)

This is also good, I suppose.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/e6fm56wkp/Screenshot_4818.png)

When the news of the negotiations reach the Brits, Mosley's polemics rise to a new pitch. He even finds a semi-willing audience among the Japanese, who are very concerned by the German-American alliance.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/mbxo3ei9l/Screenshot_4819.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/7sqj1ymjt/Screenshot_4820.png)

The year ends with the first Zerstörer leaving the slipways and with yet another sale to the Italians.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/lz69xacvd/Screenshot_4821.png)

HAHAHAHA.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/wjgpmhspl/682559.png)

BIG GUNS.

TIME TO GO SUPER-CURRYWURST.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ral6hy1i1/Screenshot_4824.png)

AHAHAHAH̝͍͖À̤͓͓̹H̯̫̣ͅA̤̗͓H̪͇͟Ḁ̟̻H̡̜̜̞͍A҉͏̢̫̞HAH̷̘̤͍͎̝̼̜̲̜̱̀A̸̸͝҉̺̩̥͓̞͇̗́H̴͓̺̮̟̭̦͕͙̦͓͈͖́A̵̵̛̩̲̳̩͕̤̯͎̙̰̼͠.

Best allies. The entirety of Germany's heavy cruiser force carries 9-inchers.

Oh Mein Gott, the Roons will be insanely powerful...

(https://s10.postimg.cc/8i9bedkjd/Screenshot_4825.png)

...yup, design is still viable. 34 knots with 12 quqlity 1 9-inchers. And torp defense level 4. And 6-inch armor on the turrets. Lulz.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/trwxp8vp5/Screenshot_4827.png)

Yeah, sure, Russkies. It's an old tech, and you're no threat anyway.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ifkc7jn15/Screenshot_4828.png)

Oh Mein Gott!

The US want a piece of the South American pie; and so, when the Argentinians approach the Germans again, the Allies are both willing to serve the market.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/6doydbt7d/Screenshot_4829.png)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/k7db2fqyh/Screenshot_4830.png)

Big guns and high muzzle velocities?

(https://i.imgur.com/meftV0q.gif)

(https://s10.postimg.cc/6doydf0y1/Screenshot_4831.png)

Damcon for the Russkies? Yes, why not.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/hq1jv4p1l/Screenshot_4832.png)

Also, this. 13k yards range for German torps. Nothing OP here, move along.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/l9nhkz221/Screenshot_4833.png)

And then, in July of 1929, the Wörth formally joins the Hochseeflotte.

At this point, there is no doubt that war is imminent with Britain. Stresemann has reined in his placating policies; he is now shifting his priorities to reinforcing the fleet.

On the 15th of July, a meeting of the highest-ranking Admiralität brass takes place in Wilhelmshaven. Stresemann, his aides, and even the Kaiser himself are in attendance. Scheer has something to propose.

With Hessen still in construction, there are three major slipways currently empty in Germany. Scheer proposes that they be filled, with a new generation of experimental superheavy cruisers.

Emphasis on Superheavy.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/85hx89f55/Screenshot_4834.png)

The Kaiser agrees.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/pis7n4xll/Screenshot_4836.png)

Unfortunately, there's a leak in the Admiralität. The proposed new construction becomes known to the British and the French. The French are appalled that the Germans would further escalate the battleship race; Mosley screams bloody murder and points at this new Naval Bill as evidence that Stresemann is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/pvjltd5ll/Screenshot_4837.png)

He's right to be concerned.

Germany has been building submarines slowly but steadily throughout the years. Right now, she has more boats in active service than any other nation in the world. Hilariously (or tragically, depending on your point of view), Great Britain has not learned her lesson. Mosley has focused on rebuilding the battleline - more as a political statement than anything else. The ships of Britain rule the waves and her mighty dreadnoughts are a symbol of the empire.

Sadly, the Admiralty has neglected their patrol craft. The entirety of the Empire can field only twelve minesweepers, with ten more in construction. This, essentially, means that Germany can deploy four submarines for each British ASW ship.

The U-Bootkommando are already licking their chops.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/ot9fatui1/Screenshot_4838.png)

By the end of September, Stresemann has fully commited to preparing Germany for war. The new Naval Bill passes on the 12th of the month; the Navy receives an additional thirty million Reichsmark from the yearly budget to play with.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/5beruwczt/Screenshot_4839.png)

Wörth completes her training cruise just in time...

(https://s10.postimg.cc/60xk7a0op/Screenshot_4841.png)

...for the R & D folk to introduce a new revolutionary director system.

OK. That's enough. Scheer authorises the laying down of the new super-cruisers.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/uu747xrex/Screenshot_4842.png)

Meet the Gneisenau and her two sisters: Prinz Eitel Friedrich and Friedrich Carl.

These are, if anything, implementations of the British battlecruiser doctrine. Fast ships, armed with overwhelming firepower. Scheer hopes to utilise them as fast scouts, as opportunistic pouncers and as flankers for fleet engagements. They are meant to move quickly and bring a massive broadside to bear when it is needed.

They are big ships, as big as the Zähringens, at 52k tons. They will be, however, much faster than their aging predecessors. They are designed to reach 32 knots, with a set of revolutionary turboelectric drive engines, which are rated at 182shp: the most powerful ever installed on a capital ship world-wide.

Their belt is anemic, at 10 inches: they are, after all, supercruisers, not true Schlachtkreuzer, as the Germans have come to know them. But their deck is relatively thick, at 3.5 inches, and their conning tower,  turrets and barbettes are as well-armored as in any of the German 'unsinkables', to prevent the flash fires that were so common in British battlecruisers. Their torpedo defense is as uncompromising as in any other German capital ship; and their armor is All-or-Nothing.

But the most important thing about them is that, for the first time, they introduce the German 41 cm SK C/45 gun, often nicknamed 'Johann', after von Mecklenburg. These rifles are installed in high-elevation mountings, and are able to shoot over the horizon, at a maximum range of almost 34km. The supercruisers mount nine of them, in an ABY layout. These guns are controlled by the new advanced directors and complemented by 14 5-inch secondaries in double turrets: this is a considerably heavier secondary broadside than the German dreadnoughts bear, but the Gneisenau and her sisters will be operating away from the battleline and they will require a more substantial anti-DD defense.

Finally, the Gneisenaus also mount eight torpedoes per side, in quad launchers. Their addition is a testament to the cruiser-like character of the design: no other German capital had ever mounted torpedoes above the waterline.

Their keels are laid down on the day of the Kaiser's birthday, with him officiating. They are the apples of Scheer's eyes. They will miss this war (hopefully), but the Admiralität looks to them for the future of German naval supremacy.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/umokvp1q1/sir-oswald-mosley.jpg)

Of course, as soon as news about their size and armament reach him, Oswald Mosley screams bloody murder.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 09, 2018, 12:12:44 pm
I make an alliance with the USA. I unlock 16 inchers and better 9-inchers immediately afterwards.

There is a joke here about 'Muricans and guns, but Germans have no sense of humour (as everybody knows).
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on January 09, 2018, 01:27:01 pm
So a double alliance with the muricans and macaronis... interesting to say at least. I didn't even know this is possible cause it never happened to me ;)

I'm also curious about how these new Superkreuzer will perform in your game. I often built low armor/big gun BCs during late game to accompany my tanky BBs but always tried my best to keep them at high range and out of harms way.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Torchwood on January 09, 2018, 02:41:04 pm
Wow. That design is... certainly unique. From the looks of it, this will tear anything BC and smaller apart and have insane and run down anything bigger than a contemporary destroyer, but with that thin belt, a dreadnought with equally large guns could score penetrating hits well before your guns can.

Here's hoping you won't get those mixed in with your slow BBs and unable to take full advantage of that 32 knots speed.

And how is that not rated as a BC? This game can be a bit fuzzy about BC/BB classification sometimes.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 09, 2018, 11:56:25 pm
Wow. That design is... certainly unique. From the looks of it, this will tear anything BC and smaller apart and have insane and run down anything bigger than a contemporary destroyer, but with that thin belt, a dreadnought with equally large guns could score penetrating hits well before your guns can.

I wouldn't call it unique, per se. It's almost an OTL Iowa, if you squint.

Quote
Here's hoping you won't get those mixed in with your slow BBs and unable to take full advantage of that 32 knots speed.

And how is that not rated as a BC? This game can be a bit fuzzy about BC/BB classification sometimes.

Here's hoping.

Also, good catch: it's, in fact, a BC. I just took the screenshot before the validation algorithm fired.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on January 14, 2018, 07:31:46 pm
Quote
Meet the Gneisenau and her two sisters: Prinz Eitel Friedrich and Friedrich Carl.
Hold on, you can't have Gneisenau and not have one of her sisters be named Scharnhorst. (https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-colbert.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 15, 2018, 02:10:20 am
Quote
Meet the Gneisenau and her two sisters: Prinz Eitel Friedrich and Friedrich Carl.
Hold on, you can't have Gneisenau and not have one of her sisters be named Scharnhorst. (https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-colbert.gif)


(https://s13.postimg.cc/4fi81xtfr/i-do-what-i-want.jpg)

Scharnhorst is coming later. She's going to be one of the new and improved Zähringen successors.

Spoiler:
As seen here (https://s13.postimg.cc/w2uxg6c3b/Screenshot_7620.png)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on January 31, 2018, 06:30:04 pm
Whar r teh updoots?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 01, 2018, 02:37:08 am
Aten't dead, just eyeball-deep in fieldwork, writing two publication articles and preparing my application for funding for next year. So I can, y'know, pay rent and eat.

I will probably update this once or twice in February, but I won't be able to get into a regular schedule before mid-March
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 01, 2018, 08:35:07 am
Meanwhile, I will leave this here.

If you ever wanted to play an Enioch-style Zähringen, this ship gets pretty close to it.


Sixteen 13'' rifles on a T7 ship are utterly hilarious.


Case in point
Title: Der mächstigste König im Luftrevier...
Post by: Enioch on February 16, 2018, 02:47:40 am
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(https://s9.postimg.cc/h1ae3cven/7f3c4b328d6569b8f073e38293d62a1f--under-construction-battleship.jpg)
The Grosskreuzer SMS Gneisenau under construction in Hamburg.

"The Gneisenau and her sisters were a monumental gamble, for they were, in fact, a German variation of the British 'battlecruiser' doctrine. They were distilled into the very essence of speed and overwhelming firepower, of course, forged in a decidedly German methodical manner, far superior to the slapdash British monstrosities; but, when their keels were laid down, we could not know whether we had succeeded in achieving our desired goals. Even more importantly, we could not know whether the very idea of such ships was inherently flawed: whether, in search of a Platonic Ideal, we had unearthed a poisoned kernel."

It would take years for us to realise the strengths and weaknesses of our new Grosskreuzer in their full extent; at the time, the escape of the vile traitor and Mosley's Folly called the old fleet to action once more

-Admiral R. Scheer, The German High Seas Fleet, Berlin & Rome 1943.


"I, myself, will never acknowledge an Englishman again for the rest of my life, nor wear an English Order on my chest. The fellows must be brought to their knees for this affront."

-His Imperial Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II, after being informed of Great Britain's refusal to lift Franz Von Papen's political asylum.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/wk38mi1e7/Screenshot_4846.png)

Tensions with Great Britain have never been so high since the Anglo-German war. Mosley's polemic thunders across Europe, and Stresemann has long since abandoned all pretense of seeking a reconciliation. The laying down of the new German Grosskreuzer has fanned the flames, but the worst is yet to come.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/7pqqnmzzb/Marguerite-1.jpg)

On the night of the 24th of January, Franz von Papen escapes his prison, aided by a posse of collaborators and two bribed guards. In all fairness, it is a rather dare-devil scheme, and well-prepared, taking advantage of the set guard schedules and a blind spot in the castle enclosure. The ex-Kanzler is secreted through Germany on a string of getaway automobiles, barely staying one step ahead of his delayed pursuers; he reaches the Emse by the morning of the 25th. A small trawler has been procured for his escape; he sails pass the Frisian islands and reaches Scarborough by the night of the 26th, where he officially applies for political asylum.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/83f7kxduv/von_Papen.png)

Mosley's regime is only too happy to provide it.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/aanxttbov/Screenshot_4847.png)

Germany is stunned at first; and then the Tripartite Axis erupts in appalled indignation. The Germans and Italians protest vocally and demand that the Dolchenschurke be returned to Germany's custody, as the war criminal that he is. France pipes in, not as an ally of the Germans, but as the country that had suffered the most from Von Papen's misadventurous tendencies. And H. Hoover's USA look upon the rising tensions, consider the benefits a shift to a war footing might provide to their stalling economy and their rising unemployment and chime in with gusto.

Mosley utterly rejects their demands. In his mind, Great Britain is more powerful than ever. Under his regime, they have rebuilt the Grand Fleet; their grip over their colonies is as hard as ever (too hard, some detractors say); and it is a matter of prestige that he will not accept any terms dictated to him.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/6bz3s9g4n/original_922015825.jpg)

"It is our duty to show," he thunders to a cheering audience, "that we have not forever lost the British spirit. We will not retreat to the shadow of our great ancestors, but, when called upon by the need of our country and our fellow British, we will rise to match them! Those who march with us will certainly face abuse, misunderstanding, bitter animosity, and possibly the ferocity of struggle and of danger. In return, we can only offer to them the deep belief that they are fighting that a great land may live!"

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ek5mqw2iv/Screenshot-_4848.jpg)

Welp.

To that, there is little Stresemann can reply; the only response that His Majesty will accept and support is that given at the end of a gun. And this time - for the first time in history, Wilhelm is praised internationally for his uncompromising stance. He appears committed in support of Stresemann's new 'war morality' principles and an ardent enemy of the aggressive expansionists like Von Papen (and, now, Mosley). In a striking reversal, Wilhelm, the irreconcilable Hawk of Europe, is suddenly viewed as the peace-loving, enlightened ruler.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/dj5e1mo2f/MV5_BZDM1_Nj_Bk_OGMt_MGQ2_MC00_NWZj_LTg5_OWYt_Mj_Zk_Mjkw_MDQ4_MWVh_Xk_Ey_Xk_Fqc_Gde.jpg)

In a sense, this confuses the aging Kaiser, who is not used to international acclaim. And yet, he rises to the occasion. Shortly after the inevitable declaration of war on the morning of the 14th of February, he makes an official visit to von Mecklenburg's tomb, and spends two hours there, alone, in the presence of his departed friend. Upon his emergence, he addresses the gathered crowd, in what became known as the Sankt-Valentinstagrede. His speech remains one of the most widely known to the modern historian, for its masterful rhetoric, its appeal to the unconquered German spirit and its dismissal of all that might divide the Germans in this crucial moment.

"Ich kenne keine Parteien mehr," the Kaiser concludes, to the cheering of the crowd. "All die Völker des Deutschen Reiches kenne ich nicht mehr. Ich kenne nur noch mein vereintes geliebtes Volk. Ich kenne nur noch Deutsche."


(https://s9.postimg.cc/hdvt9hma7/Screenshot_4848.png)

Meanwhile, the Admiralität rejoices at the first field test of the new 432 mm rifle, codenamed 'Karl'. She's a decent gun, comparable to the 16-inch 'Johann', but she's heavier and the naval architects are a bit concerned about its implementation in the navy.

But this is irrelevant, for the time being. With Britain having declared war on Germany (and with the Italians joining in), the German Hochseeflotte departs its harbours to engage the Grand Fleet. Unlike Galster, who is now filling a purely administrative position, neither Scheer nor Hipper are averse to seeking out a capital-ship engagement.

The chance to do so comes on the morning of the 21st of February, when an enemy capital ship squadron enters the German Bight, in an early attempt to establish a blockade.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/sq8er8kof/Screenshot_4849.png)

Germany is aware of the incursion thanks to Zeppelin patrols; she has deployed coastal subs as spotters ahead of the fleet. The fleet that Scheer has assigned to Hipper is, itself, terrifying.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/tfr73ldi7/Screenshot_4852.png)

In the south, near Helgoland, Hipper has three Schlachtschiffdivisionen. The 15-inch sister-ships Elsass and Schwaben form one, followed by the 14-inch Bismarck-class Brandenburg. This force is commanded by Konteradmiral Michaelis.

To their south, the Schlachtschiff SMS Wettin operates independently, serving as a relay between Michaelis and Hipper: Hipper has his flag on the SMS Wörth, which leads a two-ship division of herself and her sister-ship, the SMS Hannover. These ships are the pride of the German navy: newly-commissioned 15-inch 'Unsinkables'.

The SMS Graf Spee and the SMS Hindenburg are providing scouting for the Schlachtschiffe. They are far ahead of the fleet, commanded by Kapitän zur See Gustav Lindermann.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/gblmqwdqn/Screenshot_4853.png)

But it is the second scouting force, comprised of the Zähringen and the Mackensen, and commanded by Kapitän zur See Daniel Kupfer, that will make first contact with the enemy. At 11:36, the lookouts of the Zähringen make out the silhouette of an enemy capital in the horizon. A radio signal is immediately sent to the flagship; Hipper changes course to the north, to intercept.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ig5zs02in/Screenshot_4854.png)

The enemy ship is fast and her guns engage the Schlachtkreuzer from outside the range of their own 12-inchers. But she closes in and, as the German ships turn away (buying time for the battleships to arrive), the Mackensen fires a broadside at extreme range. The British shells straddle the Zähringen, but score no hits; the Mackensen's broadside, on the other hand, lands a hit on the enemy's deck. The Germans erupt in cheers. Off to a good start!

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5c0ffbi6n/Screenshot_4855.png)

Kupfer turns his ships toward the south, to meet up with Hipper. The Mackensen keeps her rear turrets on the closing enemy battlecruiser, straddling her several more times, but scoring no more hits.

Hipper is already licking his chops. Whatever this British ship is, it has overcommited badly. He does not know if he has been spotted yet, but he's sure that, when he is, it'll be a rude surprise.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/4mhn2yx2n/Screenshot_4856.png)

It is a rude surprise.

The superior optics on the Elsass manage to identify the enemy ship. She's an Australia, a modernised relic from the last war. She's an early cross-fire implementation of the British 15-inchers, and she's made of paper. The fire control officers of the Elsass note that her rear turret has been knocked out by the plunging fire of the Mackensen's broadside; and then the Elsass opens fire at long range, punching a 15-inch shell of her own through the Brit's deck.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/j5os4dihr/Screenshot_4857.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/83wo0touf/footage_of_hms_hood_exploding_gif_by_121199-da3q0z6.gif)

Welp. Not modernised enough, I suppose.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/c1jxq1ogn/Welcome-to-1929.jpg)

Dayum, Elsass, you scary.

The German fleet pushes in, to hammer the light cruiser that was escorting the Australia...

(https://s9.postimg.cc/la955hmpb/Screenshot_4858.png)

...until Mackensen and Zähringen prove to be spotting MVPs, by detecting two more capital ships (possibly battlecruisers) approaching from the north. This is surprising: this is where Kupfer's division originally came from. The British ships must have been trailing them for hours, waiting for the time to engage!

(https://s9.postimg.cc/jv7kgs8rj/Screenshot_4859.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ns2gl541z/Indomitable.jpg)

Kupfer identifies the trailing ship: she's an Indomitable class, another relic from the previous war. But the first ship is giving him trouble. She's new, with sleek lines and what seems to be a distressingly heavy battery. Whatever she is, she's scary.

For now, Mackensen continues her utterly contemptuous smackdown of British battlecruisers by nailing the Indomitable with three 12-inch shells.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/4mhn31x3j/Screenshot_4860.png)

Oh, hey, there are survivors in the water, from the Australia! The V30 requests permission to pick them up; Hipper orders her to keep clear. The German Zerstörer are coming under fire from the British light ships, and Hipper will not lose a ship to pick up enemy sailors if he can help it. They can wait until the battle is over, or until it has moved off somewhere else.

Also, hey, the Zähringen has identified the other battlecruiser. Let's see what sort of ship the Brits have depl-

(https://s13.postimg.cc/sqpz01pyv/Spartiate.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/laqpe8ujr/Screenshot_4862.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/m1jfk322v/Bismarck_Eyes.jpg)

HEILIGE SCHEISSE!

That's a Spartiate. That's a next-generation battlecruiser, Mosley's brainchild, and the thing that keeps Scheer and Hipper awake at night, with cold sweat running down their spines.

Ten (count 'em!) 16-inch rifles. A 12-inch belt and a 4-inch deck, to defeat long-range shots. A 29-knot top speed! All arranged in a neat 48k-ton package, barreling down on the Zähringen and the Mackensen.

And the pain train keeps coming:

(https://s9.postimg.cc/f9bg8ffin/Screenshot_4863.png)

That's the British battle-line coming up behind the Spariate. At least two Super-Dreadnoughts, and another squadron of what seem to be battlecruisers, if their speed is anything to go by.

Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do. The only thing holding that flank are the two old Zähringen-class Schlachtkreuzer of Kupfer's division and they'll soon be coming under fire by the entirety of-

(https://s9.postimg.cc/6ealxyvvz/Screenshot_4864.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/8ogah2zp3/Spartiaaate.jpg)

Welp, nevermind.

Michaelis proceeds to detach his division from the flagship and charges down the incoming British battleline. The Schwaben takes a hit from one of the Superdreads, and one of her aft turrets jam; but Elsass bounces a shot from the Indomitable on her belt (hah! tickles) and closes the range. Over the next four minutes, the German Schlachtschiffe proceed to utterly stomp the Spartiate into the ground, scoring a total of eight 14- and 15-inch hits on her.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/uusrshmcv/Screenshot_4865.png)

Another battleship shell pens the Schwaben's deck; at long range, her thin turtleback armour provides very little protection. But damage is minimal and her two forward turrets are still engaging the enemy unhindered.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/e719pxu5b/Screenshot_4867.png)

The first Superdread identifications start coming in. There's at least a Venerable-class out there, that should serve as a speed-bump for the German Unsinkables; and the spotters on the Wettin can also make out the characteristic many-turreted silhouette of a Camperdown, the infamous British 15-inch 'shotguns', that they developed in response to the Zähringens.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/mxfwz5tnb/Screenshot_4868.png)

Something from the British battleline hits the Wettin like a sledgehammer. Her forward turret is penetrated by plunging fire, but the shell is a dud. The crew survive with minimal casualties; while the turret is disabled for a while, it remains operational. Another shell strikes her 'Doria' turret, jamming it in its bearings. The damcon crews get to work; but it's a sobering moment for the Germans. Their horizontal armor is simply inadequate for long-range engagements: Hipper needs to push in.

And so he does, and the Brits run.

An overview of the battlefield:

(https://s13.postimg.cc/whzjmfgiv/Screenshot_4870.png)

To the north-west, the Zähringen, Mackensen, Wettin and Lindermann's division are pursuing the Camperdown, the Venerable and two more unidentified Superdreads. Whatever they are, they have heavy guns; at least 15-inchers.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/bcy4ckrzz/Screenshot_4869.png)

To the south-east, Hipper is pushing with his two Hannover-class ships against the Spartiate and the Indomitable. The Graf Spee and the Hindenburg are following him, more as escorts than actual combatants.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/3wyuqrwkv/Screenshot_4872.png)

Ten minutes into this fight, and the Venerable has been, predictably, shot to pieces. The Camberdown, similarly, has lost half its broadside, her thin turret armour unable to withstand the German 15-inch shells. It's only by the grace of God that the repeated turret fires have not travelled down to her magazines.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/god0x8gmn/Screenshot_4873.png)

Meanwhile, Hipper's force is faring less well. Accurate fire from the Spartiate (and she's hurt, but by no means dead) has jammed the two fore turrets of the Hannover. Hipper can only engage with a total of 6 15-inch rifles and keep pursuing (if he angles to unshadow his aft batteries, the Spartiate's speed will mean that she will get away). He chooses to do so.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/4rl1lo9vr/Screenshot_4875b.png)

And then, finally, the Wettin gets eyes on the British Superdreads that have been firing at her all this time.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/54cfru507/Europa-_Class.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/66mmahipj/scheisse.jpg)

TWELVE 16-inchers per ship?

OK, their belt is paper-thin when compared to the German Unsinkables - the British Admiralty must have skimped on something to put that many guns on a hull that size. But still, those are twenty-four 16-inchers, staring down Michaelis's battle-line. And the Brits have shown that they can shoot.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/j5os4i88v/Screenshot_4876.png)

Meanwhile, the Indomitable and the Spartiate have been trying to rejoin their battle-line, running away from the Wörth and the Hannover. In the Wörths conning tower, Hipper pores over the latest reports and the map table; and he orders a message to be sent to Michaelis:

ENEMY BATTLECRUISER FORCE APPROACHING FROM THE EAST. FLAG IS IN PURSUIT. PRIORITISE OVER ALL OTHER TARGETS.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/c2gwowxof/Screenshot_4877.png)

Lindermann receives the message and turns his three-ship Geschwader towards the east. Wettin continues towards the north alone, trusting in her monolithic armor to keep her safe under the concentrated fire of the two Europas. She gets pummelled, but the rangefinders of Elsass and her sisters get the few moments of calm they need to acquire the nearing Spartiate.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/z3oevpurb/aoba_bismarck_kako_and_prinz_eugen_kantai_collection_drawn_by.jpg)

At a range of around 9k yards, the guns of Elsass belch out their thunder-

(https://s9.postimg.cc/z3xhuwpov/Screenshot_4879.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xtlp5xy55/Kancolle_Cute_Moments_1.gif)

-and the Spartiate disappears in a cloud of shrapnel.

****ing HELL, Brits, that's a newly built ship! Have you learned nothing!?

The explosion illuminates a second battlecruiser next to the original Spartiate. It appears to be a a sister-ship that somehow had evaded attention so far. This confuses the German lookouts considerably, but eventually the disposition of the forces as they stand can be summed up thusly:

(https://s9.postimg.cc/jv7kgx68f/Screenshot_4881.png)

The Wettin is still leading the charge against the Europas and her armour is holding firm. At under 10k yards, her thin turtleback belt is impervious to the flat trajectories of the British shells and her angled bow deflects the British broadsides like they're marbles. A full broadside by the trailing Europa scores four hits: one overpens the Wettin's superstructure; the other jams one of her turrets, but fails to penetrate; the other two just bounce off German steel.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/rp8622te7/Screenshot_4882.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/3jydlmwav/bismarck_azur_lane_drawn_by_anyi_sample-289775438702399c8ad1c.jpg)

In return, the Wettin is scoring good hits on the enemy, and Michaelis's forces are closing in; but one of the screening Zerstörer, the V6 receives a penetrating hit to her bridge, fired by an enemy destroyer. The entirety of the bridge crew, including Kaleun Dornier die in the ensuing explosion.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/h14f3hr7j/Screenshot_4883.png)

Meanwhile, the Graf Spee has reached the crippled Camperdown. It's not a fair fight: the British Dreadnought has been stripped of most of her guns. But the Graf takes no chances, and proceeds to methodically pump 12-inch shells into her turrets until the enemy strikes her colours.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/ln0jbukgf/Screenshot_4885.png)

And Wettin has done her job. The trailing Europa has also been effectively mission-killed, and she is now puttering forward, while Hipper is closing in from the east. Hannover scores the kill.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/6ealy2yhr/Screenshot_4886.png)

But celebrations are cut short when a fountain of water erupts from the Graf Spee's port side. A British torpedo has found its mark!

(https://s9.postimg.cc/b06q6frqn/Screenshot_4887.png)

These are not French firecrackers; these are powerful British warheads and they manage to penetrate the Graf's torpedo belt. Flooding is heavy.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/fale1srm7/Screenshot_4888.png)

To add insult to injury, the Hindenburg is also hit by a torpedo shortly after, suffering heavy casualties. And flooding.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/h8edna7mv/Screenshot_4891.png)

To draw capital fire away from them, Hipper redirects the Wörth and Hannover south, to mess up the second Spartiate. Precision fire from the German 15-inchers knocks out the British battlecruiser's guns in short order.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/4z919f2kf/Screenshot_4893.png)

It's not too soon for the poor, abused Hindenburg. Her lack of a torpedo belt has seriously messed her up. More than half of her reserve buoyancy is gone, and she's still letting in several tons of water every minute. Her damcon crews have done wonders to keep her afloat, but she's hurting bad.

The old Wittelsbachs are just too fragile to perform well in a modern battle-line.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/bcy4comvz/Screenshot_4895.png)

The Graf, on the other hand, is faring much better. Her flooding is almost under control and she has the buoyancy to spare.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/73teaircf/Screenshot_4896.png)

The death of the second Spartiate is almost...anticlimactic, when compared to the fiery demise of her sister.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/t2zsxqnm7/Screenshot_4897.png)

Hipper confirms a southern course, to deal with the destroyers that are coming up the aft of the Schlachtkreuzer.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/mcjbofihr/Screenshot_4907.png)

Together, the two squadrons chase down the surviving British light ships in the south.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/3lhedp36n/Screenshot_4910.png)

Meanwhile, in the north, Michaelis and Kupfer have turned the fleeing Europa into a pinata. The constant 12-inch fire from the two Schlachtkreuzer has knocked out the British Superdread's turrets, while Elsass and her posse are scoring multiple hits on her deck and belt every minute. With the German ships now at a range of under 10k yards, their 'shotgun' broadsides are lethal.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/99np4lf8v/Screenshot_4911.png)

But it is the Mackensen that scores the lethal blow, with a penetrating 12-inch shell from a range of 7k yards. The shell smashes through the Europa's aft belt and detonates in her machinery spaces, effectively killing the ship.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/6fkjr5ksf/Screenshot_4912.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xtlp5xy55/Kancolle_Cute_Moments_1.gif)

The fires started by the shell reach the magazines a few minutes later. The hulk of the Europa cracks like a tin can under the force of the explosion.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/uw2plnvtr/Screenshot_4916.png)

And, just like that, it's over. The Brits have no more capital ships on-station. All that remains is to pick up survivors and return to Helgoland for much-needed repairs.

And for a victory celebration unlike any other.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/q8nkkydlz/prinz_eugen_kantai_collection_drawn_by_gi_melmail_ed98e2984a1.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/fale1q70v/Screenshot_4919.png)

Germany's ships have suffered considerable damage, true. The Hindenburg, in particular, was saved by the skin of her teeth, reaching Helgoland with flooding still ongoing. Then again, after the mauling that the Graf Spee had suffered during the Franco-German wars, the dockhands of Helgoland and Wilhelmshaven were more than capable of dealing with Hindy's damage.

In return, the pride of the British fleet had been sunk. The British had lost the entirety of their raiding force: four Dreadnoughts, including two of their newest Europas and three battlecruisers, including two  Spartiates. Not to mention the five destroyers that had been sent to the bottom, to keep their larger brethren company.

Intel started flowing in during the following days. The British had lost:

(https://s9.postimg.cc/6sbxxe87z/Screenshot_4920.png)

The Spartiate herself, the name-ship of her class. She was the one that detonated halfway through the fight.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/62t5l1fe7/Screenshot_4921.png)

Her sister-ship, the Drake had died much harder, dueling Hipper's squadron.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/4b06q5ym7/Screenshot_4922.png)

The Europa-class Superdreadnought Renown also died well, reaping a heavy toll on Michaelis's force and pummeling Wettin hard during the close-range action in the north.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/seqyeityn/Screenshot_4923.png)

The Repulse was the last British capital to die, her magazines going up at the end of the engagement.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5q1rexhpr/Screenshot_4924.png)

Great Britain had also lost several older ships. The Australia-class Furious was the first capital ship loss in the fight, her magazines detonating after receiving a total of five hits from the German battle-line.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/seqyehrdr/Screenshot_4925.png)

The old Howe had taken a beating like the hard veteran that she was: more than 190 main battery hits had been scored on her, she had been stripped of all her guns and her belt had been pounded to scrap, but she had held on stubbornly until the very end of the engagement. A salute to the old guard!

(https://s9.postimg.cc/x0n2mxsdb/Screenshot_4926.png)

As for who had thought that bringing the old Venerable-class Queen on a raiding mission: they ought to be shot for criminal incompetence. This ship should have been pulled out of active service years ago. Even a Valkyrie could have taken her.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/3y8sk1dsf/Screenshot_4927.png)

MVPs for the German fleet: Wettin and Elsass, with more than 1800 shots fired between them and a hit percentage of 6.6% and 5.1% respectively. An honorable mention also goes to the Mackensen who scored 59 confirmed hits on the enemy capitals, having fired more than 1700 shells by herself (!)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/loah54h3j/Screenshot_4928.png)

Once again, many thanks to the Admiralität for the generous permission to reproduce the combat charts. The German forces started at the south-eastern corner of the map (red lines), while the British started at the south-west (blue). Note the short-lived scouting course of the Furious and the split of the German forces into two separate squadrons near the point of her death. Also note the long chase of the Europas towards the north.

(https://s9.postimg.cc/8wwaymmr3/Screenshot_4929.png)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/3lhedv38f/Screenshot_4930.png)



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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 16, 2018, 02:48:50 am
#OBLIGATORY PTERRY REFERENCE.

Things still hectic. To defy hecticness, have a low-key update, in which nothing important happens.

Nothing whatsoever.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on February 16, 2018, 04:59:11 am
In a sense, this confuses the aging Kaiser, who is not used to international acclaim. And yet, he rises to the occasion. Shortly after the inevitable declaration of war on the morning of the 14th of February, he makes an official visit to von Mecklenburg's tomb, and spends two hours there, alone, in the presence of his departed friend. Upon his emergence, he addresses the gathered crowd, in what became known as the Sankt-Valentinstagrede. His speech remains one of the most widely known to the modern historian, for its masterful rhetoric, its appeal to the unconquered German spirit and its dismissal of all that might divide the Germans in this crucial moment.

"Ich kenne keine Parteien mehr," the Kaiser concludes, to the cheering of the crowd. "All die Völker des Deutschen Reiches kenne ich nicht mehr. Ich kenne nur noch mein vereintes geliebtes Volk. Ich kenne nur noch Deutsche."

Historical note:
This is something OTL Wilhelm actually said. It's part of his second Balkonansprache on the eve of WW1. "Ich kenne keine Parteien und auch keine Konfessionen mehr; wir sind heute alle deutsche Brüder und nur noch deutsche Brüder. Will unser Nachbar es nicht anders, gönnt er uns den Frieden nicht, so hoffe Ich zu Gott, daß unser gutes deutsches Schwert siegreich aus diesem schweren Kampfe hervorgeht." (Translated: "I see neither parties nor confessions anymore; today, we are all german brothers, and german brothers only. If our neighbour [meaning: Russia] wants a fight, if he doesn't allow us our peace, I hope to god that our good german sword emerges victorious from this hard battle")

Of course, I'm pretty sure that Enioch!Wilhelm's citizens are more willing to support him....

EDIT: Better translatings
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 16, 2018, 05:11:34 am
In a sense, this confuses the aging Kaiser, who is not used to international acclaim. And yet, he rises to the occasion. Shortly after the inevitable declaration of war on the morning of the 14th of February, he makes an official visit to von Mecklenburg's tomb, and spends two hours there, alone, in the presence of his departed friend. Upon his emergence, he addresses the gathered crowd, in what became known as the Sankt-Valentinstagrede. His speech remains one of the most widely known to the modern historian, for its masterful rhetoric, its appeal to the unconquered German spirit and its dismissal of all that might divide the Germans in this crucial moment.

"Ich kenne keine Parteien mehr," the Kaiser concludes, to the cheering of the crowd. "All die Völker des Deutschen Reiches kenne ich nicht mehr. Ich kenne nur noch mein vereintes geliebtes Volk. Ich kenne nur noch Deutsche."

Historical note:
This is something OTL Wilhelm actually said. It's part of his second Balkonansprache on the eve of WW1. "Ich kenne keine Parteien und auch keine Konfessionen mehr; wir sind heute alle deutsche Brüder und nur noch deutsche Brüder. Will unser Nachbar es nicht anders, gönnt er uns den Frieden nicht, so hoffe Ich zu Gott, daß unser gutes deutsches Schwert siegreich aus diesem schweren Kampfe hervorgeht." (Translated: "I recognize no parties and no confessions anymore; today, we are all german brothers, and german brothers only. If our neighbour [meaning: Russia] wants a fight, if he doesn't allow us our peace, I hope to god that our good german sword emerges victorious from this hard battle")

Of course, I'm pretty sure that Enioch!Wilhelm's citizens are more willing to support him....

Once more, on point with the historical notes, The_E!  :yes:

When quoting OTL historical figures, I try to always start with something they have actually said, and change it around a bit to suit the RTW!ATL. You will find that my Mosley excerpt is also partly a RL quote.*

And yes, I'm sure RTW!Willy has come to be much more appreciated by his people than his OTL counterpart. His own experiences and personal growth have certainly contributed to it; and, of course, being the reigning monarch during Germany's rise as Europe's uncontested superpower must have helped... :p



*A personal note: upon studying the character, I found his speeches to be a series of quite reasonable socialist-lite statements, punctuated by the jarringly pants-on-head craziness that is the hallmark of the 1930s fascist rhetoric in general. A fascinating historical figure, that requires a more thorough study; it would be interesting to try and see why he failed horribly OTL when other NatSoc and Fascist movements succeeded.

Quote from: Oswald Mosley
Faced with the alternative of saying goodbye to the gold standard, and therefore to his own employment, and goodbye to other people's employment, Mr. Churchill characteristically selected the latter course.

I mean, ouch, that burn
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on February 16, 2018, 06:33:08 am
That -3 crew quality on the Howe. The old guard might be a bit too old, maybe.

Appreciate the effort you put into the battle screenshots, makes it much easier to follow whats happening.
After this slaughter, how many capitals do the brits still have?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 16, 2018, 08:04:39 am
Tod im Maschinenzeitalter
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 16, 2018, 09:23:55 am
That -3 crew quality on the Howe. The old guard might be a bit too old, maybe.

You'd think that, but not necessarily.

A mothballed ship (or a ship that hasn't finished her shakedown cruise) enters battle with a -2 crew penalty. But it is, in my experience, impossible for a ship to enter combat with a -3 modifier.

On the other hand, the game applies negative modifiers to ships that get beaten black and blue during a fight, simulating the death of crewmen. Not always, and it depends on the nature of the damage, I think. For instance:

(https://s18.postimg.cc/hvry2bg61/Screenshot_3447.png)

Goeben in Bornholm, 1910. Note the Crew Quality 1 modifier.

(https://s26.postimg.cc/mzppxuhsp/Screenshot_4200.png)

Goeben in Bergen, 1917. Note the Crew Quality 0 modifier, after losing two turrets.

The Howe lost every single one of her turrets, to penetrating hits, before sinking. She may have started out with a -1, if she was called out of the reserve fleet, but her crew was brought down to -3 at the end of the fight because, by the end of the fight, she barely had any crew left alive.

Quote
After this slaughter, how many capitals do the brits still have?

Let me check, I didn't screenshot the Almanac until the end of the war, I'll need to go through all the fights and count the dead-

-OK, after this fight, Great Britain has 15 Dreadnoughts and 15 Battlecruisers, to the German 7 Schlachtschiffe and (12-4 mothballed Valkyries=)8 Schlachtkreuzer. In number of hulls (not tonnage), the German Hochseeflotte is litterally half the size of the Grand Fleet.

Of course, we're not counting subs.  :drevil:

Tod im Maschinenzeitalter

"Death in the age of the machine?"  :confused:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on February 16, 2018, 09:36:44 am
While that explaination makes perfect sense, I think it's funnier to imagine a battleship crewed by a bunch of 70-80 year olds, walking with canes, shuffling over the deck to arm the guns.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 16, 2018, 09:56:13 am
"Death in the Machine Age" was the chapter in Neptune's Inferno dealing with the Friday the 13th battle during Guadacanal.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 16, 2018, 10:37:11 am
While that explaination makes perfect sense, I think it's funnier to imagine a battleship crewed by a bunch of 70-80 year olds, walking with canes, shuffling over the deck to arm the guns.

(https://s13.postimg.org/svuncj813/old-sailors-nancy-hunka.jpg)

"Dunno 'bout yasself, Danny, but me lumbango is kill'n me on the ammo hoists..."

"Death in the Machine Age" was the chapter in Neptune's Inferno dealing with the Friday the 13th battle during Guadacanal.

Well, now I have to go read that. Thanks SS.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 16, 2018, 11:19:53 am
James D. Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno and Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors are both really good reads dealing with Guadacanal and Samar respectively.
Title: It rains steel in Texel
Post by: Enioch on February 28, 2018, 02:22:17 am
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(https://s14.postimg.cc/6m5lxukrl/Mosley_speech_2.jpg)

"He who in his heart purposes to raise a mutiny and thereby breaks loyalty, breaks faith, breaks sacred pledges, he can expect nothing else than that he himself will be the first sacrifice. I have no intention to have the little culprits shot and to spare the great criminals. It is not my duty to inquire whether it was too hard a lot that was inflicted on these conspirators, these agitators and destroyers, these poisoners of the wellsprings of British public opinion and in a wider sense of world opinion: it is not mine to consider which of them suffered too severely: I have only to see to it that Germany's lot should not be intolerable."

-O. Mosley, 10 July 1929.


March comes in and the Admiralität engages their strategic plans for the near future. The ships that were damaged in the battle are shuttled into the massive drydocks of the Baltic German harbours; and the German U-Boote are let loose against the British merchant traffic. Mosley's Brits have insituted a long-range blockade, taking advantage of the temporary unavailability of the German battle-line; but Germany has sufficient provisions to see her through at least six months of such a blockade. By the time their stockpiles run dry, the Germans are confident they will have caused a dent to the Grand Fleet sufficient to break the net.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/9t05ho7u9/Screenshot_4933.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/57419c1qp/Screenshot_4934.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/cod8o01e9/Screenshot_4935.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/x9s0ge3ox/u_511_kantai_collection_drawn_by_asuteroid_sample-babe4cff4cd.jpg)

Meanwhile, the Germans have their own ways to wring the Brits dry. The U-167 and U-229 probe the Commonwealth coastal defenses near the Isles and near New Zealand, respectively; they both manage to isolate and sink (with gunfire, no less!) British coastal patrol craft.

Their reports on British convoys and ship movements help the rest of the German boats organise their own offensives. By the time the U-bootkommando has finished assigning them their hunting grounds, mid-March has come and gone; however, the German submariners still score 17 confirmed kills within fifteen days. That's nearly 150ktons in merchant tonnage. Their own casualties are relatively severe, however, with more than seven boats lost. Maintenance problems are brought to the fore and doctrine shifts, to better match British ASW tactics.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ajsvmwcm9/Screenshot_4936.png)

In return, the Brits enjoy very limited success. German merchant traffic is nigh-nonexistant, due to the blockade; the British only score three kills, and lose two of their subs in the process.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ftxuerhlt/Screenshot_4937.png)

To add insult to injury, the Americans begin jockeying in preparation of an invasion of Canada. It would be folly attempting it before at least April, but the USN begins to test the waters of the Canadian west coast, to the south-east of Alaska. In one of these forays, the heavy cruiser USS St Louis engages the RCN Comus and sinks her after a 45-minute gunnery duel.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/z0b1hdl2p/Screenshot_4938.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/eew9q1o8h/Screenshot_4939.png)

April; and the U-Bootkommando now has the measure of the British. Unrestricted undersea warfare is ordered; the German subs now have carte blanche to engage any legal targets without warning. Only three boats are lost this month, and all to clear mistakes by their skippers; in return, the German submariners claim a minesweeper and 35 merchantmen.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ma6t4pkyp/1200px-_Willy_St_wer_-_Sinking_of_the_Linda_Blanche_out_of_Liverp.jpg)

Thirty Five. More than a quarter-million tons of shipping. The blow to the British merchant marine is staggering. Not since the Andglo-German war, a generation ago, did the German Kaleuns feast in such a fashion.

The British response is anemic by comparison.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/icjjevavl/Screenshot_4940.png)

The Lützow is torpedoed on patrol, by an opportunistic British sub. Damage to the old Wittelsbach-class is extensive, but the Admiralität accepts it gracefully. It was a good effort by the Brit; and the ship was an obsolete third-rate ship of the line, anyway.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/f4f22ewht/Screenshot_4941.png)

Once again, the British subs only claim three kills, and pay for them dearly.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/icjjevy0x/Screenshot_4942.png)

And then, this happens.

The Admiralität considers the old Molkte to be relatively exposed in her permanent moorings in Emden harbour. The old Valkyrie, in her retirement, is a symbol of victory; and if she should be lost to a raid, the blow to morale would be significant. It is decided to sail her to the Baltic and moor her in Danzig: her old engines are deemed to be up to the task.

Unfortunately, during her dash to the safe waters of the Baltic, on the night of the 23rd of April, she strikes a drifting mine. Her old bulkheads hold, barely; and her skeleton crew manages to reach Danzig. Dockyard crews deem her mauled; as a gesture of respect to her seniority, she is immediately given space in a drydock, and repair  crews desacend on her with steel and welding torches.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/463sjoab5/Screenshot_4943.png)

By the end of the month, the Brits are starving...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/k4ci9troh/Screenshot_4944.png)

...but, perhaps more importantly, the German capitals have completed their repairs. Scheer instructs Hipper to assemble a task force and seek out an engagement with part of the Grand Fleet.

The Jagdhund is all too happy to oblige. In the morning of the 14th of April, the two fleets are to meet again, off the Dutch island of Texel.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/8rzws0o4h/Screenshot_4945.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/wlj5wz7ep/Bismarck_After_BODS.jpg)

Hipper has brought his darlings back, fresh out of the yards. The German battlefleet consists of two divisions: the Wörth, Hannover, Schwaben and Wettin in one, and the Elsass and Brandenburg in the other. They are escorted by twelve (!) heavy Zerstörer, in what is probably (and ironically) the heaviest light ship screen ever assigned to a capital ship formation.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/r7kdpfhoh/Screenshot_4946.png)

Michaelis is scouting ahead, with a heavy Schlachtkreuzer force. The Zähringen triplets form one division; the older Hindenburg guards their flank, more as a support vessel than a battle-line combatant. Five V9s are screening.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/vtghxsaxd/Screenshot_4947.png)

The German battlefleet has orders to either poke the Channel defenses or, if challenged, to engage and destroy any element of the British Grand Fleet that comes out to meet them. Submarines are patrolling the British shoreline, keeping an eye for British forces. However, they will fail in their task. Somehow, masked by the early dawning light and homing in on the lax radio discipline of the Zähringens, the British task force led by Vice-Admiral Orwell manages to creep up to the German fleet unannounced.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/rx361t5dd/Screenshot_4948.png)

At 04:31 in the morning, the Zerstörer screen of the Zähringens picks up the smoke of the inbound British ships, less than 10k yards away from their wards. Michaelis immediately orders 'rudder hard to port', and brings his ships around. He has no idea what he's facing and, until he does, he wants to keep the enemy at mid- to long-range.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7ppq9iflt/Screenshot_4949.png)

His flagship, the Graf Spee opens fire first, and scores two hits on what his lookouts tentatively identify as a light cruiser.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/rkbrvn2j5/Screenshot_4950.png)

The enemy ship immediately reverses course and disappears in the twilight gloom; another target opens fire at the Zähringen from further to the south. A shell hits the Schlachtkreuzer but bounces off her belt.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/94ray8w4h/Screenshot_4951.png)

It takes the lookouts some time to identify her, but they eventually succeed. She's a Carysfort-class: a light destroyer-hunter and fleet scout. She has no business operating alone. Michaelis contacts Hipper: SIGHTED ENEMY SCOUTING ELEMENTS. ENGAGING AT LONG RANGE. COURSE 170.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/byugbp60h/Screenshot_4952.png)

His estimate proves correct when the dark shapes of British capitals emerge from the western horizon. They are already within range of the old Zähringen 12-inchers - which means that Michaelis' force is already within their range. The German ships do not hesitate; they immediately switch fire to the enemy behemoths.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/dqnf6m4sx/Screenshot_4953.png)

And score their first hits! At this range, the 12-inch shells are plunging onto the British turret tops and decks; the Zähringen and the Mackensen straddle their targets with their first salvos to good effect.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/yas953s9t/Screenshot_4955.png)

Return fire is sporadic and inaccurate. Once more, the German insistance on well-trained, professional gunnery crews proves superior to the British reservist forces. Within the space of 2 minutes, Michaelis' Schlachtkreuzer score twelve 12-inch hits on their opponents; the British only score one hit, that ricochets off the Graf's main belt.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/icjjez5rl/Screenshot_4956.png)

And then, disaster almost strikes for Michaelis. A second heavy British shell misses the Graf by mere meters and detonates underwater, just aft of her. The blast locks the flagship's rudder, on a tight turn to starboard, and the Graf leaves the formation, circling helplessly. The maneuver is sufficient to throw off British aim, but for how long?

(https://s14.postimg.cc/vtghxunsx/Screenshot_4957.png)

Three minutes. That's how long it takes for the Graf's veteran damcon crews to repair the rudder. It's been a harrowing three minutes, during which the Graf has found herself the sole focus of the enemy force;  but these three minutes have also allowed her to identify her foes.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7cyc3ea7l/Screenshot_4960.png)

It's a battlecruiser scouting force, all right. From within the cluster of wildly maneuvering enemy ships, the Graf's lookout make out the now-familiar cross-deck-firing silhouette of an Australia-class battlecruiser; and, just in front of her, they also identify an Argonaut-class ship.

The Argonauts are budget versions of the Spartiates. Their deck is slightly thinner, but their batteries are equally powerful, and their speed is unmatched - no German capital could hope to catch up to them.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/w67w42o35/Screenshot_4961.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/6d817ofm9/f8d9858a5b12716c44fa4f1daf7ab82f.jpg)

And this captain (Commodore Sir Leslie Connely, it was later determined) knows how to use his ship. Instead of closing in, to brave the Zähringen shotguns at point-blank range, he dances in and out of maximum spotting distance, making the most out of his heavy shells and utilising his speed advantage to the maximum.

Worst of all, he knows how to shoot. One of his 16-inch shells hits the Graf amidships, penetrating her thin deck and nailing the boiler feed tanks. The German flagship's deck and belt are compromised; and salt water floods the engineering spaces. It's a critical hit, that shaves off nearly half the speed of the German Schlachtkreuzer. Her insides burn with flaming oil and steam. She breaks away and steams east, barely making fifteen knots. Command passes to Kapitän zur See Franz Horst, of the Mackensen.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/pfreumt7l/Screenshot_4965.png)

With the Graf falling behind, Horst decides to do a scouting push. He will brave the British fire once again, trusting in his ships' durability to get them through; he will identify targets and determine the enemy's force composition; and then he will fall back, behind Hipper's Schlachtschiffe, that are already charging in.

He executes his plan.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/x8i2mmmc1/Screenshot_4966.png)

He does not emerge unscathed. His ships are focused by British gunnery; and Hindenburg pays for it with one of her turrets. But he manages to idenfity at least eight enemy capitals, both dreadnoughts and battlecruisers. A signal is sent to Hipper: ENEMY MAIN FORCE DETECTED. CURRENTLY FORMING BATTLE-LINE TO MY SOUTH-WEST. SEVEN+ CAPITALS. ADVISE.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ipaxl80wx/Screenshot_4967.png)

Hipper's response is immediate. As the main Schlachtschiffdivision passes by Horst, closing with the enemy, he signals: FORM UP ON MY WAKE. ENGAGE TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY.

Then, a message to his own division: SCHLACHTSCHIFFE RAN AN DEN FEIND.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/l6mosi08x/Screenshot_4968.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/o1zrzcotd/grand-fleet.jpg)

And what a Feind it is.

The Brits have brought everything but the kitchen sink. German lookouts on the Wörth identify: a Royal Sovereign-class, two Europas, three (!) Camperdowns, a Rodney, a Revenge, two Albions and a Goliath. The weight of fire the Brits have brought to bear is beyond everything they have amassed in previous clashes.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/9ua3apju9/Screenshot_4969.png)

One of the Albions has overextended, pushing just far ahead of the British formation that she has made herself a target. She takes concentrated fire, losing two of her turrets...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/p300ohsy9/Screenshot_4970.png)

...but then the two fleet formations engage in a mid-range brawl and all semblance of order falls apart.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/kh3wg5f4x/Screenshot_4971.png)

The German Schlachtschiff division gets mauled, in short order. The Hannover and Schwaben are pummelled by several shells over a period of ten minutes; but it is Wörth that takes the brunt of the fire. The volume of incoming fire from the Brits jams turrets, penetrates fore compartments and smashes her superstructure to bits.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/qi1ld8wm9/Screenshot_4975.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/sp5u18u7l/bismarckcontrol_Hood.jpg)

But the Germans strike back, with accurate fire. Gouts of fire explode from the British line, wherever German shells penetrate turrets and secondary batteries. The German gunners particularly focus on the Europas, knocking out several turrets.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ktvamczzl/Screenshot_4976.png)

At this point, the Germans have to run. The British have proven to be uncharacteristically capable opponents, having battered the Wörth's superstructure to pieces. Hipper is not eager to pursue a battle against such overwhelming numbers and potentially lose one of his modern capitals; he pulls out, seeking refuge in German home waters.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/jetpxnec1/Screenshot_4978.png)

The Admiralität is quick to claim the battle of Texel as a German victory, given the eventual loss of the Albion-class HMS Glory and the old light cruiser HMS Tribune. However, archive research has led current scholarship to revising that estimate. As first posited by Ian McDonough in his recent (2013) work Politics and Strategic Thought: The Royal Navy during Mosley's Folly, this was, in fact, the first strategic victory of the Royal Navy in the 1929 war. On the other hand, the aftermath of this battle would have disastrous consequences for the British Fleet and Britain's odds of success in the war.

Let us go into a bit more detail:

Currently, the German Admiralität is run by two metaphorical colossi, whose feet seem surprisingly fragile:

(https://s14.postimg.cc/pehh1fwld/7889567_1417027662.jpg)

First, Grossadmiral Reinhardt Scheer. At the age of 66, he has been groomed to be Galster's successor. Sadly, his health is failing. His body is giving out on him, and the added stress of managing a wartime navy is not helping. Thankfully, his mind is still sharp and up to the task of handling the strategic oversight of Germany's Hochseeflotte

(https://s14.postimg.cc/h8zf3ans1/Hipper_Eyepatch.png)

Second, Admiral Franz von Hipper. He is younger than his superior, but his own health is problematic. He is a cripple, having lost his left eye, left hand and left leg below the knee in an earlier surface action, when the conning tower of his flagship was penetrated by enemy fire; and his wartime wounds are a constant near-torture to him. But he is, hands down, the best tactical officer the German navy has.

The problem with these two officers is that they still operate with the mindset of the Schlachtkreuzer commanders of old. They are looking for opportunistic fights, against enemy forces equal or lesser to them in numbers - fights that they can win thanks to their ships' inherent qualitative superiority. But Germany's fleet is becoming increasingly focused around her Schlachtschiffe: a force that the British ships can engage at will, given the Germans' insistence on a 25 knot speed for their behemoths. However, given past experiences, the Germans are not expecting the entirety of the Grand Fleet to come down their throats - they have never experienced a battle such as this. For them, it is an out-of-context problem.

The German Schlachtschiffe have been designed to stand up to the fire of one or 1.5 enemy dreadnoughts each, based on the experiences of the German Schlachtkreuzer in previous wars. But what happens if your opponent realises that the tenets of the previous wars no longer apply?

Enter the genius of Admiral Hubert Brand, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/nmoi6j5ip/Captain_Hon._Hubert_Brand_Cvo_Art.IWMART1720.jpg)

Brand was an officer of the Old School, a veteran of the Anglo-German war, and a man with little patience for Mosley's policies. He had foreseen the war and had taken the necessary measures to counter what he thought was the core of the German fleet.

He had served as a Naval Secretary, during the rise of Mosley and his calls for a strengthening of the British coastal patrol fleet had fallen to deaf ears. He had been, eventually, side-moted into his command of the Antlantic Fleet, to keep him out of the Naval Bureau's politics. In response, he had proceeded to reorganise the old ships of his command into a massed fighting force, abandoning several patrol areas considered 'key' to gather a sufficiently large fleet-in-readiness.

"We have no response to the German submarines," he writes in an internal service memo. "We have done our utter worst, to ensure that. It is now too late to even try. No last-minute half-measures will save us. We must seek victory elsewhere."

His answer to the problem? Destroy the other effective half of the German fleet: her capital forces. Push hard into German waters with a task force large enough to overwhelm the few super-ships that the Germans can bring to bear.

This is what leads to the Battle of Texel. It is Brand himself, from the conning tower of HMS Goliath who guides his forces against Hipper.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/82h4fw0i9/Screenshot_4982.png)

Against the six Schlachtschiffe and the four elderly Schlachtkreuzer of Hipper, Brand arrays thirteen dreadnoughts and three modern battlecruisers. And, despite the loss of the Glory and the Tribune (both relic ships), Brand succeds in achieving something that no British admiral of the 20th century has ever accomplished.

He sends Hipper running.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/bxkiiktzl/DPIqu_FHUEAI10_Se.jpg)

Unfortunately for Brand, being successful as an outspoken (past and current) critic of the regime was not conducive to one's good health in Mosley's Britain.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 28, 2018, 02:27:20 am
ALIVE.

BUSY.

Hello everybody.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 28, 2018, 10:58:15 am
Yay! New stuffs.

Is Brand the Belisarius of Olde Albion? (https://frm-wows-us.wgcdn.co/wows_forum_us/emoticons/cap_yes.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on February 28, 2018, 11:46:18 am
ALIVE.

BUSY.

Hello everybody.
(https://i.imgur.com/CT68m4M.gif)
Hi

Man, the brits brought a lot of boats to that fight. That would usually be the point where I'd tell my destroyers to Sasageyo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Ifdq10Sd8) and get those torpedoes into the enemy battleships, at any cost. But Admiral Enioch is a more gentle ruler, who seems to care about his little Zerstörer's.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on February 28, 2018, 01:56:49 pm
Yay! New stuffs.

Is Brand the Belisarius of Olde Albion? (https://frm-wows-us.wgcdn.co/wows_forum_us/emoticons/cap_yes.gif)

 :yes:

ALIVE.

BUSY.

Hello everybody.
(https://i.imgur.com/CT68m4M.gif)
Hi

Man, the brits brought a lot of boats to that fight. That would usually be the point where I'd tell my destroyers to Sasageyo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Ifdq10Sd8) and get those torpedoes into the enemy battleships, at any cost. But Admiral Enioch is a more gentle ruler, who seems to care about his little Zerstörer's.

Why would I waste the lives of underage boats, I don't even....

I just built them. Let them gather a few battle-stars before being told to charge down the enemy battle-line. Hell, the more experience their crews earn, the more accurate their torps will be.

Also, how can you send these darlings to their deaths,you monster!?

(https://s10.postimg.org/4xigawbnd/z1_leberecht_maass_kantai_collection_drawn_by_pemu_sample-9a2.jpg)

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on February 28, 2018, 05:02:40 pm
Death Rides are the sole province of the Schlachtkreuzer.  :p
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on February 28, 2018, 11:59:51 pm
I don't consider it a waste if they bring down a few capitalships down with them, then the war is won right there and then, blockade broken, and you can start thinking about invading those delicious colonies  ;7
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 01, 2018, 12:09:52 am
I don't consider it a waste if they bring down a few capitalships down with them, then the war is won right there and then, blockade broken, and you can start thinking about invading those delicious colonies  ;7

You know, it's funny you should say that...  :drevil:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 03, 2018, 03:16:35 am
Unapologetic double post: Table of Contents and Thradmarks updated
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 03, 2018, 04:06:51 am
Unapologetic double post: Table of Contents and Thradmarks updated
Reported, called the ΕΛ.ΑΣ. You're not going to get away with double posting like that.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 03, 2018, 07:16:57 am
It's a good think I'm currently in Brussels, then :-P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 03, 2018, 07:37:06 am
It's a good think I'm currently in Brussels, then :-P
(https://i.imgur.com/icBWCM9.jpg)
Title: War in the Far East
Post by: Enioch on March 12, 2018, 03:34:53 am
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(https://s13.postimg.cc/aldnr83af/admiralty.jpg)

Sir Hubert Brand's genius in matters of naval stratey - his ability and willingness to discard failing tactics and pursue the overall strategic victory - is unquestioned among all but the most biased modern historians. In comparison, the German Admiralität would respond with a much more conservative approach. Had Brand been free to wage war as he saw fit, the 1929 war might have had a different outcome.

However, two factors contributed to rein in the execution of Brand's plan. First was the failings of his own political leadership. It is not without reason that the 1929 war is known colloquially as 'Mosley's Folly'. Oswald Mosley's unwillingness to suffer the activities of successful subordinates, especially if, like Brand, they were outspoken critics of the Mosley regime, would inevitably lead to the July purges, of which Brand was a victim.

Another factor that would seriously impact the operations of the Grand Fleet as envisioned by Brand was the opening of the Far Eastern Front by the German Empire and the impressive flexibility displayed by the German
Heeresleitung. The Singapore campaign drew important Grand Fleet assets away from the European theatre; as a result, the overwhelming task forces that Brand had tried to assemble were disbanded before the inevitable rematch with the Hochseeflotte.

And then, of course, came the Night of the Long Knives.

-August St-Laurain, A modern history of Singapore, Singapore 2013.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ortemglvb/cfe0374948356a135813257bab2ddb95.jpg)

On the morning of the 10th of April, 1929, two massive, skulking shadows enter the German harbour in Truk, their speed low and their lights blacked out. In the previous weeks, they have navigated the safe waters of the Mediterranean; crossed the German-held Suez, snuck past the British-infested waters of the Indian ocean, tip-toed their way past the garrisons at Hong Kong. They are the venerable Schlachtkreuzer Wittelsbach and Derfflinger. They are escorted by a squadron of sleek, predatory Zerstörer and they are on a mission.

They are manoeuvered into their waiting berths, and dockyard hands swarm them for the maintenance that is necessary, after their perilous journey. Their own crews crowd the decks, staring at the awe-inspiring sight of the German colonial base on a war footing.

The Truk harbour is awash with landing craft, patrol boats, coalers and tankers. The organised chaos is very much like an anthill - a hive of activity and purpose. Operation Blücher is in effect; T-Tag minus eight and counting.

The secret arrival of the two German Schlachtkreuzer has completely upset the balance of power in the Far East. Obsolescent as they are, the two German capitals are still leagues above anything the British can field in the theatre. They are more than enough to pin the British cruiser forces into their harbours; their guns, with their refitted high-elevation mounts, are formidable shore bombardment batteries; and they can all but guarantee the safety of the German landing craft for what is to be a concentrated, joint push, alongside the American forces in the Philippines, against the two greatest British colonial jewels in the region:

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ehqznm193/raffles-place-singapore-small1-e1427284303459.jpg)

Singapore...

(https://s13.postimg.cc/wxbgl253r/Hong_Kong_about_1930.jpg)

...and Hong Kong.

The Operation Blücher plans are the brainchild of the German Oberste Heeresleitung (specifically generals Friedrich von Arnstadt and Ludwig Bärmann), in collaboration with the US Pacific Command (specifically Admirals Ernest King and three-star General Francis Davies). The purpose of the operation is to take advantage of the concentration of British power in the Atlantic, to open up a new front in a comparatively lightly-defended theatre.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/moizesecn/Screenshot_4986.png)

The operation is put in motion on the morning of the 18th of April. British garrisons are hit by a two-and-a-half-hour barrage of 12-inch fire from the German capitals, backed by the smaller 6-inchers of the near-suicidal Zerstörer, who close to point-blank range against British coastal fortifications.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/vtvxme753/operation-sea-lion-large-56a61bee3df78cf7728b6259.jpg)

After that, German troops land on Singapore, ferried over by a fleet of towed and self-propelled invasion barges. Fighting is fierce, and casualties are heavy on both sides, especially after the large 15-inch guns of the British coastal fortifications come into play, pounding German positions with HE bombardments. The Germans manage to establish beachheads deep into British-held territory, but their advance is eventually halted by the local garrison.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/60rhcbeg7/Screenshot_4988.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/p4pe6g6ef/german-u-boat-attack-world-war-ii-science-photo-library.jpg)

On the sea, the Germans enjoy a more successful month. The U-Boote are as effective as ever, scoring more than thirty confirmed kills on Brit merchantmen.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/hpvh0bnfb/Screenshot_4989.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/pim4s93o7/Screenshot_4990.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/dgvcbveon/article-0-02488_AB4000004_B0-932_1024x615_large.jpg)

The British submarine fleet only sinks three German freighters, losing two subs in the attempt. As a result, wartime rationing is now heavily felt across the British population. The spectre of wartime famine once more looms over Britain.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/u4i90lhhj/Screenshot_4991.png)

Meanwhile, Italy sorties her fleet in the Red Sea, hitting British positions in eastern Africa. No major assaults take place, but it's one more front that the British will need to find a response to.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/7ft212aef/Screenshot_4992.png)

Then, on the 28th of May, German Naval Intelligence reports the sighting of a British supply convoy approaching Singapore. It is escorted by a single light cruiser and two destroyers, and is ferrying valuable ammunition, medicinal supplies, and foodstuffs for the British garrison.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/9kdf24wlj/Screenshot_4993.png)

Upon receiving word of this, the German commander on-station, Vize-Admiral Viktor Märzhof dispatches his 2nd Zerstörerdivision to intercept. This force consists of only three V9-class Zerstörer: the V24, the V26 and the V28.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/bc6dx0ddj/Screenshot_4994.png)

The German ships time their interception well, hitting the convoy shortly after dawn, around 6:30 in the morning. They approach from the east, hidden in the glare of the rising sun, and they identify the British light cruiser long before she spots them. She's an Intrepid-class: a capable little cruiser, with a six-gun broadside.

Sadly for her, each of the German ships is her equal - in firepower, if not armour.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/lz072gvtj/Screenshot_4995.png)

The V24 locks onto her, and engages in a high-speed duel, using her torpedoes as a threat-in-being to drive her away from the convoy she is supposed to protect. V26 challenges the two British destroyers in a short-range gun brawl, using her superior displacement and her large six-inchers to blow the lighter British ships out of the water. And the V28 wades into the convoy, her guns and torpedoes spelling out fire and death for the defenseless freighters.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/rm15dyinr/320c.jpg)

Less than three hours after first contact, the Intrepid has been driven away, both British destroyers are smoking wrecks, and of the convoy only one medical ship has been allowed to reach Singapore.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/hd42u4ppz/Screenshot_4996.png)

The German Zerstörer have suffered greatly as well, but they are unquestionably victorious. It is this "Battle off Singapore" that firmly establishes the complete superiority of the V9-class ships over any and all destroyers in operation with foreign navies, as well as against the lighter variants of escort and scout cruisers.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/85budh0o7/Screenshot_4998.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/t282i4bjr/Screenshot_4999.png)

As the fighting continues in Singapore, von Arnstadt requests heavier navy support. The Admiralität is all too happy to oblige: large ammunition convoys depart the Mediterranean, under Italian and German escort, to enable more extensive naval bombardment of British-held positions. Germany will not spare resources, if she can thus maintain the lives of her soldiers and take those of her enemies.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/azezqwnev/Screenshot_5000.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/rxilqiwh3/09670a8f027e574dfc8861cdb92d7323.jpg)

June is both a bad and a good month for the U-Bootkommando. On the one hand, the U-227 torpedoes and heavily damages the HMS Empress of India, sending her to the drydocks for forty days.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/a9w7eka0n/Screenshot_5001.png)

In addition, the U-183 sinks the HMS Suntrap, putting further strain on Britain's coastal patrol fleet.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/60rhcfwhj/Screenshot_5003.png)

And the month's freighter haul is as rich as ever.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/dti54cxav/Screenshot_5002.png)

However, the U-151 misidentifies the Japanese liner Hie Maru for a British troopship off Formosa, with predictable results. The civilian death toll is ruinous, and the Japanese strongly protest the sinking. The Germans have no excuse; the commander of U-151 was clearly at fault.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/ss55cuu4n/Screenshot_5004.png)

This is scant comfort for the British. Five months into this war, the U-Boot blocakde is as terrible as ever, and British stockpiles are running out. The German stockpiles, on the other hand, are holding strong, despite the blockade; the fact that the Suez remains uncontested is a massive asset for the Reich.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/a9w7eo4wn/Screenshot_5006.png)

The Regia Marina remains a valuable supporting ally, keeping the British forces pinned in Eritrea and blockading Malta and Cyprus.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/moizexyyv/Screenshot_5007.png)

(https://s13.postimg.cc/iaf3gulhz/Nr_JWq3n.png)

Meanwhile, the US Navy follows their first army forays into Canada with coastal probing runs. In one of these engagements with the RCN, a scouting US destroyer division crests the LaHave islands only to find themselves within two thousand yards of the HMS Camperdown. The British dreadnought opens fire first, blowing the USS Chauncey out of the water with her 'shotgun' broadside of 15-inchers, but the Chauncey's packmate, USS Hoel, proceeds to drill four torpedoes into the Camperdown's belt. Two are duds; the other two are enough to cause uncontrolled flooding in the dreadnought's engineering spaces. She goes down with no loss of life, on the 10th of June.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/6divioc7b/Screenshot_5009.png)

This is enough for Admiral Brand and those Old Guard Brits who have a grasp of the situation. For them, the war, this Folly of Mosley's, is already lost. Brand is willing to try one more big hurrah against the German Hochseeflotte, but he asks his political contacts to approach Stresemann secretly and probe for a possible peace. What he will try to provide, is a stronger negotiating position, by perhaps taking as big a bite as possible out of the German Fleet - the negotiators will need to get an honourable peace treaty out of this fiasco, and see if they can bump off Mosley on the way. Brand himself begins his preparations for what he calls 'Operation Elephant' in mid-June: a final massed push against the German Hochseeflotte.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/fy2i5koon/Screenshot_5010.png)

Stresemann is well-aware that this is an excellent opportunity for peace, despite the hawkish advice of Hipper, who pushes for a harsh stance.

Sadly, Brand's plan does not pan out.

(https://s13.postimg.cc/841wjyytj/3019dd99bacd675e417f265b08c1b536--troops-caps.jpg)

News of the planned coup reach Mosley. His response is swift and brutal. Twenty-four conspirators and many more members of their families are killed in a single night, with no due process and no official arrest. Brand, his wife and his seven-year-old daughter are amongst them.


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Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 12, 2018, 03:39:30 am
Singapore is a fine city. (https://saneeya.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/fine-city.jpg) Very German, really.

Things are less hectic, now. I still have lots of work to do, but things are winding down.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 12, 2018, 11:40:53 am
An ally being useful and sinking a BB?! Incredible.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 12, 2018, 02:34:11 pm
An ally being useful and sinking a BB?! Incredible.

Not any ally.

(https://s13.postimg.org/h08jtzjp3/Bald-_Eagle-_Memes13-1.jpg)

'Murica!

*also: THERE.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 15, 2018, 11:33:06 am
Semi-breaking news (http://nws-online.proboards.com/post/25494/thread)

Quote
RTW2 will have a host of changes. As well as aircraft and carriers, it will also adapt the politics in the game the 1930s. There will also be a number of improvements in the mechanics of the game. All this takes time to implement and test. We are loath to commit to a release date before we can be certain, so as not to disappoint you. We can say it will be this year though.

Registered owners of RTW will be give a discount on RTW2.

RTW2 coming this year.

(https://s10.postimg.cc/v05pd9tax/akagi_hiryuu_kaga_and_souryuu_kantai_collection_drawn_by_mills.jpg)

That is all.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 15, 2018, 12:27:49 pm
Neat.

Does that mean we can expect a RTW2 playthrough thread after the glorious kaiserreich (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8e20Wf15WY) one has ended?  ;7
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 15, 2018, 12:45:44 pm
No promises. I'm definitely getting the game, but that doesn't mean I'll have the time to write AARs.

Edit: also: Schnip schnop svhnippedy schnop. BOP. Lol. That video.
Title: The Second Battle of Lerwick
Post by: Enioch on March 16, 2018, 01:59:21 pm
(https://s18.postimg.cc/uutzfxrnd/Mosley-680x360.jpg)

The July purges served as an effective deterrent to anyone who would seek to unseat Mosley or challenge his authority. What it also, inevitably, did was to essentially decapitate the Royal Navy's officer corps, including Staff officers of the highest ranks. The Atlantic Fleet was essentially left without any effective leadership.

However, with talks of peace now a distant dream, a response to the German submarine blockade of Great Britain had to be formed. Unfortunately, Brand's successor (Sir Francis Howe) was neither as daring as him nor as cognizant of the underlying truth of the power balance in the Atlantic.

To deal with the submarine danger, he pulled his first-rank capital ships back to Scapa Flow and other major naval bases, forming what he termed a 'response force' while simultaneously assigning destroyers and older capital ships as convoy escorts. The idea was to ward off German submarines and light raiders (like the
G9s that had gutted the Singapore convoys), while safeguarding the cream of the fleet to maintain the blockade of the Baltic.

However, on the one hand, the gap between the limited British ASW capabilities and the German submarine forces was widening with every passing day and, on the other, Howe failed to realise that the time when the German
Hochseeflotte would only sortie to engage British raiders was forever past. With Hipper, the Jagdhund, in command, the German Schlachtkreuzer and Schlachtschiffe were ready to seek out British forces as far north as the Faroes and as far south as the Channel itself.

With Brand's superfleet ready to receive them, Hipper had been cautious. But now, all Howe had achieved with his convoy escort plans was to place a large number of old, obsolescent capital ships and precious cargo transports in the same spot for the Germans to attack at their leisure.

A more inviting target, Hipper could not have asked for.


-Dr. Karl von Braunschweig, 1945, An analysis of Convoy systems as an ASW tactic, final dissertation for the Kriegsmarineakademie, Wilhelmshaven.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/3u6zzp93t/Screenshot_5013.png)

With peace negotiations completely out of the picture, the German U-Bootkommando strikes at the British convoys with gusto. In theory, the British are taking the best possible measures to prevent the sinking of their vessels; however, the superiority of the German submarine forces is simply crushing. Guided by Zeppelin patrols (the efforts of the British to curb those are fruitless) and state-of-the-art radios, the German submarines operate in 'wolfpacks' and strike in groups, drawing ASW vessels away and feasting on the unprotected merchantmen. This is the 'happy time' of the German Kaleuns.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/w72hq87pl/Screenshot_5014.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/7tdea77fd/Butchers-in-_North-_Cheam-_Horsemeat-_April-17-1942_PA-4722618.jpg)
There's good eating in them dogs...

It is mid-summer in Britain, and the population is well and truly starving.

More interestingly, Hipper is no longer idle. His spies are reporting the reorganisation that has taken place in the British Atlantic Fleet; he now has his chance to once again engage his enemy and destroy him in detail. On the 7th of July, with the Royal Navy still reeling from the purges, he sorties with the three Schlachtschiffe Wörth, Hannover and Schwaben, his three beloved Zähringen-class Schlachtkreuzer and the old Hindenburg on a long-range raid near the Faroes. For two days, sailing at cruising speed to preserve fuel, he encounters no enemy forces.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/fm4225atl/80023b32dafda8631cdcfc0d6b797b28--heavy-cruiser-bismarck-battles.jpg)

But on the night of the 8th, the U-165, operating in the area, signals that she has sighted a heavily escorted convoy, making its way towards Scotland.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/goe8koe7d/battleship-tirpitz.jpg)

Hipper has passed them without realising it. His cursing is enough to wake the dead; he immediately orders his force around and comes to flank, in pursuit.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/6oa5d9dvt/Screenshot_5016.png)

18:52, and his advance elements report contacts. It's the merchantmen. The Graf signals to the flagship: ENEMY CONTACT. CONVOY SIGHTED. LIGHT FORCES IN REAR GUARD. ENGAGING.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/j2wxdj089/Screenshot_5017.png)

The Germans can't believe their luck. The British have only assigned light forces (a few destroyers, two light cruisers and a single relic battlecruiser) as rearguard escorts. The heavy Schlachtkreuzer go to action stations and charge down the merchantmen.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/cp7uabl2h/Screenshot_5018.png)

The ensuing panic among the British is worstened by the almost-immediate sinking of one of the two Curacoa-class light cruisers that attempted to intercept the raiders. The Conquest sinks slowly; her older sister, the Curacoa herself, will join her soon.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/us0x1hywp/Screenshot_5020.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/g8ts03sx5/Screenshot_5019.png)

As for the old HMS Venerable, whose name makes her justice, her fate is sealed the minute she enters the range of the German ships...

(https://s18.postimg.cc/dri0suog9/Screenshot_5021.png)

45 minutes since the U-165's message was received, the convoy is burning, the British battlecruiser is sinking and the Germans are preparing to welcome any would-be rescuers.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/x9co8sdo9/Screenshot_5022.png)

They need not wait for long. From within the smoke of the burning convoy, the HMS Empress of India emerges, closing the range. The Germans are utterly flummoxed by her desperate charge into the collective fire of the entire Schlachtkreuzergeschwader, but they do not look a gift horse in the mouth. The British battlecruisers leaves her cover in the smoke, only to be greeted by the distant flashes of sixty-four 12-inch rifles. The shells reach her seconds later, and the ship heaves and buckles under the physical blow.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4jpsc5p3t/Screenshot_5023.png)

Things go from bad to worse for the British. From the west, Hipper's Schlachtschiffe make their appearance, adding their 15'' and 14'' rifles to the fray. Zähringen however is the one to give the coup de grace, pumping seven 12-inch shells into the Brit's belt from a range of 5k yards. No battlecruiser armour can withstand that fire at that distance.

Unfortunately, the Germans suffer as well. The Mackensen has overextended and runs into a pack of screening British destroyers; she pays for her boldness with a torpedo in her belt.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/x9co8t8jd/Screenshot_5024.png)

The damage is considerable. She loses three of her eight boilers; her machinery spaces are flooded and keep flooding, and her speed drops dramatically. Her captain immediately pulls her out, giving his damcon crews the time they need to address her critical condition.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4jpsc6zeh/Screenshot_5025.png)

The Hindenburg screens her as she retreats, and takes the wreck of the Empress under fire for good measure.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/7dsxpmtux/Screenshot_5026.png)

And then, finally, the Graf Spee reports contacts in the east. The British vanguard is rushing back. It is the worst possible thing they could do. Too late to save the transports, they are only bringing themselves into the range of Hipper; and the Jagdhund is itching to go for the throat.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/sngk0ikg9/Screenshot_5027.png)

It is worth noting that the Graf has suffered considerably during the engagement with the Empress. The British ship, during her mad charge, focused her fire on the old veteran, scoring several critical hits. The Graf's machinery is in a worse state than that of the Mackensen, and she has her coal bunkers to thank for being mobile at all. She can barely do 11 knots, and is currently staring down the incoming enemy fleet.

Those among her crew who are veterans of the French wars remember her desperate stand and clench their teeth in determination...

(https://s18.postimg.cc/ets7bgcfd/Screenshot_5028.png)

She pulls out, slowly, while Zähringen slots in to draw fire away from her. The Schlachtkreuzer are making ready to receive what seems to be a squadron of Australias, when another opportunistic British torpedo strikes the Hannover.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/gll66dixl/Screenshot_5029.png)

Hah.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

The German giant takes the blow in stride, her torpedo belt absorbing the torpedo warhead with ease. The belt itself floods, robbing the ship of some of her reserve buoyancy and a knot of speed, but her internal compartments suffer no damage whatsoever.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/bzp1xzutl/Screenshot_5031.png)

She still pulls out of the battle-line, to check her damage; this leaves the Zähringen, the Schwaben and the Wörth to face the enemy forces on their own.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4jpsc8hex/Screenshot_5032.png)

Not much of a challenge, really.

The Wörth takes an overpenetrating hit on her superstructure, from the leading Camperdown's 15-inchers. In return, the Zähringen blaps the 14-inch Indefatigable with three 12-inch shells, knocking out her aft turret.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/k573w7o89/Screenshot_5033.png)

Wörth almost makes it to Yuro's new torpedobeats montage, by dodging six torpedoes before getting hit by one on her belt. Like her big sister, the Hannover, no flooding. Germany OP, pls nerf.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/o1kfs6m2h/Screenshot_5034.png)

At this point, with the German behemoths charging them down, the British turn and attempt to flee. But it's far too late. The Hannover and Wörth pummel the Camperdown, jamming three of its turrets on their bearings.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/hnvcoyc1l/Screenshot_5035.png)

Meanwhile, the Hindenburg, with a brilliant manoeuver, overtakes the British battle-line and sandwiches them between her guns, the torpedoes of her destroyer escort, and the batteries of Hannover and the Graf. None of the above are good places to be. And the Germans are closing.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/3u6zzw40p/Screenshot_5036.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/598kon7op/Screenshot_5037.png)

As the Brits are quick to discover. The old curse of the British capitals, their weak turrets, now comes back to bite them. Under the massive volume of fire from the Zähringens and the heavy shells of the Schlachtschiffe, the British turrets explode, jam and burn, effectively mission-killing their ships. And the Germans are closing.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4wh6ighp5/Screenshot_5038.png)

No, they are here.

The German ships, with their ponderous mass, have reached the British battle-line and punch through it like a brick through glass, belching fire in both directions. The Australias are effectively scrapped, within the space of two broadsides. The British battleships are peppered with secondary fire, their superstructures an inferno. And, to add insult to injury, Mackensen appears from the west, her machinery restored and her guns on double-time, to make up for lost ground.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/jihdy4o3d/z1_leberecht_maass_kantai_collection_drawn_by_narotake_78838e.jpg)

Finally, the German Zerstörer make their move. Led by the S-49, they close with the British battlecruisers and launch their fish from near suicidal ranges, braving the hellfire of the British secondaries all the way.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/soqhtftuh/Screenshot_5041.png)

The ensuing mayhem is undescribable. What few British ships are still operational react like decapitated chickens. HMS Inflexible barely avoids ramming HMS Goliath (not that it would make any difference in the end), as she desperately manoeuvers to avoid German fire.

It is in vain. The German rangefinders are locked on her. She will not escape.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/v6290oivt/Screenshot_5042.png)

****.

In her dash to rejoin the battle, Mackensen once more sails into a torpedo. Six forward bulkheads collapse, and her damcon Chief floods the magazine of her third turret, to avoid a disastrous explosion. But no ongoing flooding is reported, and her wounded machinery withstands this blow as well. She can't make flank, not without crumpling her bow like a concertina, but she can make her cruise speed of 16 knots. It is enough.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/mb1eq7z95/Screenshot_5043.png)

Less than a minute later, buttholes all over the S-49 unclench as the torpedo that hits her amidships proves to be a dud. The little ship has been duking it out with British destroyers at point-blank range, attempting to keep them away from the fleet, and she is held together by spit and prayers.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/z2fkwpe61/Screenshot_5044.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/7f2vil5u1/Screenshot_5045.png)

The Hindy is not so lucky. Her flanking manoeuver has placed her in harm's way, and a torpedo hits her in the aft, cracking a propeller shaft and taking her aft turret out of action. Worse, she has no torp bulge, and she floods, a lot.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/p54k3myuh/Screenshot_5046.png)

And just as the sun sets, marking the end of the Battle of Lerwick, the Graf is the last German ship to suffer damage, as a long-range, Hail-Mary torpedo hits her amidships on her bulge. Damage is, thankfully, minimal.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/vvl1d31ft/Screenshot_5048.png)

The damcon crews on the Hindy have not been so lucky, but they have laboured like heroes to save their old darling. Flooding has almost been brought under control. Her aft barbette is a write-off, but she will be able to reach Germany on two shafts.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/cdqdx6u89/Screenshot_5049.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/ewl9prn4p/z1_leberecht_maass_kantai_collection_drawn_by_minase_mmakina.jpg)

But, if the damcon crews of a ship deserve their iron crosses, it's the men of the S-49. The little ship has suffered a magazine explosion on her 'A' turret; her second swivel mount has been hit, detonating her torpedoes and razing almost half of her superstructure to the waterline; her engines are out (not slowed, out), leaving her to the mercy of the winds and currents; and she has lost all but 56 of her original crew of 360.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/soqhtkjll/Screenshot_5053.png)

She still makes her to Helgoland. Her surviving crew refuse to abandon her. Under the command of Leutnant Erich Wildemann, they jury-rig one of her busted boilers to give them minimal steam, and they sail her back to German waters under her own power.

She is received jubilantly in Helgoland; and immediately awarded the Iron Cross by the Kaiser himself for the gallantry and valour of her crew.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/4xr4bfgtl/Screenshot_5055.png)

Thus ends the Battle of Lerwick. The German fleet is mangled, no doubt; the Schlachtkreuzer, in particular, suffered greatly.

But the entirety of the capital force that the Brits had deployed was sunk; not to mention the two light cruisers and three destroyers that were sent to the bottom to join them. And, of course, most of the merchantmen were sunk in the early stages of the battle.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/nq2zf0snd/Screenshot_5056.png)

HMS Anson, Glorious, Empressof India, Australia, Lion, Venerable, Inflexible and even HMS Goliath, the ship that had served as Brand's flagship, were sunk, with massive casualties. The Brits only managed to recover 200 or so sailors from the northern waters, freezing even during the summer months.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/i1woo5j61/Screenshot_5058.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/dg0kfsahl/Screenshot_5059.png)

The German victory is total.

(https://s18.postimg.cc/601atzui1/Screenshot_5060.png)

(https://s18.postimg.cc/5dbkw4cfd/bismarck_and_warspite_kantai_collection_drawn_by_atsushi_aaa_b.jpg)

More so, because, for the first time in modern history, the German Dreadnought battle-line outmasses the British Grand Fleet. It is a milestone; and, for Hipper, a taste of things to come.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 16, 2018, 02:02:17 pm
Lerwick likes the Germans. (https://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=93265.msg1854641#msg1854641)

PERHAPS YOU SHOULD LET US HAVE IT, BRITS.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on March 16, 2018, 03:14:50 pm
(https://frm-wows-us.wgcdn.co/wows_forum_us/emoticons/cap_wander.gif)


Holy crap that USN BB tonnage... 

Is that a competitive modern battle line or are they still operating everything since the South Carolina-class?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 16, 2018, 03:30:32 pm
That amazes is me is just how many torpedoes your ships eat, yet somehow, that glorious german steel of yours, refuses to sink.
Because boy, those botes nom'd a lot of fish that last battle.

Also I noticed quite a few of the ships have the 'Old' label. Just resaving the design of your ship without any changes and refitting your ships will get rid of it. It'll only take some 4 months that way.
Unless you are aware of that and deliberately choose not to refit them?

Also, what StarSlayer said. Thats a lot of battleboats murrica has.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 16, 2018, 03:58:48 pm
(https://frm-wows-us.wgcdn.co/wows_forum_us/emoticons/cap_wander.gif)


Holy crap that USN BB tonnage... 

Is that a competitive modern battle line or are they still operating everything since the South Carolina-class?


Let's see what a simple calculation can give us, shall we?

It's obvious that the ships currently under construction are relatively modern, so let's see what they're already operating.

For BBs: 632.300 tons / 18 ships = 35ktons/ship average.

A 1930s US 35kton ship looks like this:

(https://s18.postimg.cc/40yh83u4p/Screenshot-_7623.jpg)

For the BCs:

409.600 tons / 13 ships = 31.5ktons / ship average.

So, something like this:

(https://s18.postimg.cc/onn6t9sx5/Screenshot-_7623s.jpg)

I have no idea if you would consider any of the above as 'competitive' designs, but that's pretty much the average quality of what the US is operating right now.

You know, less like 'MURICA!

(https://s18.postimg.cc/mlmpf4xjt/bald_eagle.jpg)

And more like Merica:

(https://s18.postimg.cc/7cws1dbl5/220px-_Merica_sinensis.jpg) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merica)

They have some exceptional 16-inch-armed ships, but their battlecruisers in particular are utter trash. Let me remind you that the Wittelsbachs weigh 31k tons (the average for US BCs) and they are utterly obsolete now. The only reason I keep operating them is because they're still better than anything the Brits have in their colonies.

What amazes is me is just how many torpedoes your ships eat, yet somehow, that glorious german steel of yours, refuses to sink.
Because boy, those botes nom'd a lot of fish that last battle.

1. Massive displacement, which grants lots of reserve buoyancy. They can take it.
2. Bonus to damacon as Germany - at this point we've pretty much maxed out the tech tree. 'Ship X Reduces flooding' fires pretty much every round.
3. Massive investments in TDS. Zähringens have level 2, my BBs have level 4. Which is why they refuse to flood.
4. Willingness to detach my ships from the battleline and send them home at 5 knots if they get torpedoed.
5. Deutscher Stahl.

Quote
Also I noticed quite a few of the ships have the 'Old' label. Just resaving the design of your ship without any changes and refitting your ships will get rid of it. It'll only take some 4 months that way.
Unless you are aware of that and deliberately choose not to refit them?

I am aware.  :yes:  That's the main problem with being the main Schlachtkreuzer workhorses for nearly a decade now. The poor Zähringens will be refitted after this war, when I can afford to take them out of the battleline for the necessary months.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on March 17, 2018, 04:13:16 am
(https://s18.postimg.org/fm4225atl/80023b32dafda8631cdcfc0d6b797b28--heavy-cruiser-bismarck-battles.jpg)

Can I just say how much I love the Bismarck class, just in terms of its looks? They, to me, are the quintessential ideal of what a Battleship looks like: Sleek, bristling with weaponry, and looking like they do 30 knots even while standing still.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 17, 2018, 05:57:42 am
Can I just say how much I love the Bismarck class, just in terms of its looks? They, to me, are the quintessential ideal of what a Battleship looks like: Sleek, bristling with weaponry, and looking like they do 30 knots even while standing still.
+1
Title: Skaggerak
Post by: Enioch on April 06, 2018, 08:11:47 am
(https://s14.postimg.cc/ju66wx5j5/William_Michaelis_1871-1948.jpg)

04:35 08SEP1929
FROM: SMS ELSASS, FLAGSHIP NRDSFLTTE.
TO: ADMR01, WLSHVN; HELGCMD.

-URGENT URGENT. EMERGENCY DISPATCH, LEVEL ALBRECHT. URGENT URGENT-

CODE FREYA RPT CODE FREYA. CONTACT WITH ENEMY FORCES AT 5633N 00439E. SCHLACHTKREUZER UNDER FIRE. VIP VALKYRIE 3 UNDER THREAT. SCHLACHTSCHIFFE ENGAGING. ADVISE ADVISE ADVISE.


-Wireless message sent to German HQ upon first contact on the Skaggerak

"The very incarnation of our victorious legacy on the High Seas is here to watch us, today. Her eyes are upon you, men of Germany. Make her proud. As for myself, may the Almighty God stand as my witness, I shall give my life before disgracing myself before our Valkyrie. Leutnant von Trier, nail our ensign to the mast."

-Konteradmiral Michaelis, during the opening stages of the Skaggerakschlacht.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/gbysdtrbl/Hie_Maru.jpg)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ju1lirg0x/Screenshot_5062.png)

15 August 1929. The Japanese liner Haguro Maru is misidentified as the English troopship HMS Godalming off New Zealand by the German submarine U-211. The civilian death toll is catastrophic and the Japanese, rightfully, scream bloody murder. The German Admiralität immediately enters into negotiations for reparations. There is no escaping the reality of this war crime; the morale and prestige of the Kaleuns nosedives.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/qx9gyi3ht/Screenshot_5063.png)

For a short while, that is. A week later, the U-139 surfaces to attack what she believes is an unarmed British freighter. It turns out that it is, in fact, an armed merchant cruiser operating as a Q-ship: the Bleamoor. Kaleun Herbert Ritter is taken utterly by surprise, but he rallies and leads his submarine crew in a brilliantly fought gunnery duel, followed by the boarding and scuttling of the British ship. This gallant naval action considerably helps in boosting German morale.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7s67onosx/Screenshot_5064.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/bojjkmucx/Screenshot_5065.png)

Their late-summer haul is not as massive as those of earlier months, but it still puts a considerable dent in British supplies.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ju1lisqbl/Screenshot_5067.png)

This, followed by the Italians tightening their blockade of Malta and Cyprus...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/if00u34o1/Screenshot_5069.png)

...leads to the first peace overtures from Mosley's regime.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/fkwvgnhxd/Screenshot_5070.png)

If these had come three, or even two months ago, Stresemann and the Kaiser would have agreed to reasonable terms. However, the current fragile state of the Mosley regime after the early-summer purges, and the Kaiser's own rancor towards what he perceived to be a polity utterly hostile to the German royalist principles led to Stresemann pushing for much more than Mosley was willing to consider offering. The peace talks, facilitated by France, quickly ground to a halt and hostilities resumed.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/am9d2890h/Screenshot_5072.png)

Eager to atone for the Haguro Maru disaster, the German Kaleuns leave their pens with renewed vigour and a daredevil attitude. In a move that stuns the Brits, the U-220 finds her way into Scapa Flow and torpedoes HMS Queen Elizabeth before making good her escape. The British manage to save the ship, but extensive repairs are necessary before she can sail again.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/mbdcq3csx/Screenshot_5073.png)

In addition, U-199 engages the minesweeper HMS Herst and sinks her in a surface duel...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/bojjkpudt/Screenshot_5074.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/lamasfnfl/u15.jpg)

...while the rest of the U-bootflotte carves a massive chunk out of the British merchant marine.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/72nfce3pt/Screenshot_5075.png)

Yes, we know.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/c1axqxf8h/Screenshot_5077.png)

Wait, two triggers of the event this month? Holy crap. There's only one possible response to that.

(http://im12.it/g/16969)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/tel85ufpd/Screenshot_5078.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/f85halhox/Screenshot_5079.png)

Italy and the US continue to be good allies, sinking British merchant traffic and blockading the Far Eastern ports, respectively. It must be said that the US invasion of Hong Kong has stalled. The local British forces are displaying commendable heroism in the defense of their territories; the Heeresleitung are currently deliberating on how to best break the stalemate.

It is at this point that the repairs of the mined Moltke are completed. At this point, the British fleet has been mauled to such an extent that Emden is judged to be relatively safe for the old darling. She is cleared to return to her old dock space, and she is given an honorary escort in what is, essentially, the entirety of the German battleline during her trip.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/igj5f8t1t/The_Dises_by_Hardy.jpg)

But, now that she is on the open sea once again, the spirit of the old Valkyrie calls out to battle one last time; and Odin, from the halls of Valhalla, answers her call. As she crests Denmark, a storm forces the fleet to redirect to the north-west, near Skaggerak. The ships suffer only minimal damage but, as the storm clears, on the early morning of 8 September, the scouting elements spot smoke on the horizon.

Lots of smoke.

What's left of the British Grand Fleet has sortied in force to intercept what they perceive to be a German blockade run. A battle is inevitable.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/xnpy80ye9/Screenshot_5081.png)

The Moltke is following Hindenburg, her old packmate. She bears only a skeleton crew and is in no condition to fight. For one thing, she carries no ammunition. It falls to the three Zähringen-class ships to delay the enemy until she can escape.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/8uge7c535/Screenshot_5082.png)

The old German behemoths will only need to buy a little time, for Michaelis is right on their tail, with a terrifying Schlachtschiff squadron. He is flying his flag on the Elsass and is closely followed by Hannover, Schwaben, Brandenburg and Wettin. He will be in firing range soon.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/scb1nb4lt/Screenshot_5084.png)

These are good news for the crews of the Zähringen-class Schlachtkreuzer. Their Zerstörer screen quickly identifies the incoming British ships. There are at least two modern battlecruisers out there, and one of them is a Tiger-class. Tigers are terrifying ships, with a ten-gun 16'' broadside, and a deck that can easily defeat the German 12-inchers at range. The German ships immediately perform a Gefechtskehrtwendung, as the first 16'' shells land around them, from far outside their own effective range. One strikes the Graf Spee, causing light flooding on her portside compartments.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/mo4qwgi9t/Screenshot_5086.png)

But then, the commander of the Schlachtkreuzer force, Konteradmiral Görtz, realises that his maneuver exposes the Moltke to enemy fire and turns, once again, to interpose his ships between the fleeing Valkyrie and their pursuers. The old German Leviathans lock onto the silhouettes of the pursuing British and open fire, at the extreme range of their old 12-inchers.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ndnj8sny9/Screenshot_5085.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/hsaaw0c8x/viktoriya_ivanovna_serebryakov_youjo_senki_drawn_by_dararito.png)

This happens. It is insane It should not be possible. But somehow the triplets score repeated hits on the Tiger, and the Mackensen utterly mauls one of her escorts with her secondaries.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/dt3wlx6c1/Screenshot_5087.png)

The German Schlachtkreuzer continue their retreat in good order towards the east. Michaelis is getting closer. He can barely see their smoke on the horizon.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/hph8hwz1d/Screenshot_5088.png)

(https://s26.postimg.cc/xtlp5xy55/Kancolle_Cute_Moments_1.gif)

And then, from his perspective, the western horizon erupts in a white flash and a mushroom cloud ascends into the heavens. He frantically tries to raise the Schlachtkreuzer, demanding a sitrep. Several long minutes pass until a reply is received from the Mackensen: TARGET CAPITAL SHIP MAGAZINE EXPLOSION. MINIMAL DAMAGE RECEIVED IN RETURN. VALKYRIE SAFE. CONTINUING ENGAGEMENT.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/rms9b01i9/Screenshot_5090.png)

And suddenly, the balance of power is much more even. Instead of three modern battlecruisers against three obsolescent Schlachtkreuzer, the odds are now three against two (the Hindenburg is retreating at flank, with Moltke following closely). Görtz vaccilates for an instant; and then turns his aging leviathans around, seeking a close-range brawl. The Graf Spee takes a penetrating hit from the retreating Tiger, but the honorary Valkyrie pushes forward undeterred, to protect her older sister.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/z2riws229/Screenshot_5091.png)

Her lookouts tentatively identify more smoke on the western horizon; and Görtz assumes a northbound course. Just in time, too. As she turns, a 16'' shell from the Tiger strikes her armoured belt and ricochets off.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/hcpubrr29/Screenshot_5092.png)

Her crew rejoice. The Old Lady fears nothing! With Michaelis steaming closer by the minute, this battle seems to be-

(https://s14.postimg.cc/6pw16cb75/Screenshot_5093.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/iukheuskx/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_tesun_g_noh_sample-7c9881.jpg)

BAM

The Tiger straddles her. One shell strikes her belt, and this time the AP cap does its job all too well. The shell buries itself deep into the Graf's engineering spaces and detonates.

Hydraulics are shot to Kingdom Come. Electricity flickers throughout the ship. Internal bulkheads buckle like tissue paper. And saltwater floods the feed tanks, killing almost half of her effective boilers. In an instant, Görtz's flagship loses seven knots of speed...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ra0v4ultd/Screenshot_5094.png)

..and her 'C' turret. Her crew grit their teeth and hunker down for the fight, many of them nervously fingering the silvered Valkyrie pins they bear on their caps. She has suffered worse. She'll survive this, as she has survived in the past.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/k6szp8vtd/Screenshot_5098.png)

Where is the enemy? In the smoke and the morning haze, the Graf's lookouts have lost their targets. They nervously scan the horizon, and finally manage to locate two distant silhouettes towards the west.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/p5gi3s7c1/Screenshot_5099.png)

That's more than enough for Zähringen, who charges in all guns blazing, in defense of her wounded sister. Her entire broadside thunders; a spark of light blossoms on her target.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/eve34jp69/Screenshot_5100.png)

A few minutes later, she does it again.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ndnj8wqk1/Screenshot_5101.png)

Yes. Targets confirmed. At least two British battlecruisers are still out there, shadowing the Schlachtkreuzer. The haze clears for a few minutes, just enough for the Zähringen's rangefinders to get a good lock on one of them...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/3vsvsye6p/Screenshot_5102.png)

And the Old Sister's next salvo scores five hits on the British ship, at a range of over 10k yards. It's a massive blow.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/yd8qkiwep/Screenshot_5103.png)

And the sharp crack-booms of the Old Sister's guns is punctuated (oh sweet, sweet sound!) by the distant throaty roar of 14'' and 15'' batteries. Finally, finally the Schlachtschiffe have gotten close enough to join the fight.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/dt3wm18xt/Screenshot_5104.png)

Not against the ships that are engaging the Schlachtkreuzer, however. The lookouts on the Brandenburg have spotted an Australia-class battlecruiser closing in from the south.

Oh, dear me, Australia. You do not want to be there.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/5aughqzv5/Screenshot_5109.png)

Oh. Oh God. No, you definitely don't want to be there.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/sp2ftnmxd/Screenshot_5110.png)

Meanwhile, the Schlachtkreuzer have moved towards the north, using the morning haze to dance in and out of the British spotting range. This leads to considerable confusion amongst the lookouts of both sides. Both British and German lookouts only see dark shapes and muzzle flashes; and both commanders think that they are still engaging the enemy's batlecruisers. But, in fact, the Dreadnoughts of both fleets have now sailed into gunnery range; and they are both charging in to destroy what they think will be easy targets.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/irrf0m2gx/Screenshot_5113.png)

06:42: the lookouts on Elsass  report to Michaelis that he is, in fact, facing a trio of Europa-class Superdreadnoughts. At a range of less than 10k yards. The blood drains from Michaelis' face. That's thirty six 16-inchers staring down the German ships.

And, just to punctuate the seriousness of the situation, a 16'' shell strikes the Schwaben's belt and penetrates like a hot knife through butter.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/9ldpqjjw1/Screenshot_5114.png)

Amidst the chaos of her damacon crews rushing to quench the flames and provide help to the casualties, it takes the gunners on board the German Schlachtschiffe scant seconds to train their batteries against the Europas. A broadside thunders out; the 'A' Turret of the leading Europa cracks like an egg.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ln93kp8k1/Screenshot_5115.png)

From the north, the Zähringen rushes back, to shield the wounded Graf. Her gunners take the chance to pump two 12-inch shells into a Prince of Wales-class ship, that had attempted to close the range to the crippled German giant. However, the Brits receive reinforcements as well. From the south, a two-ship squadron consisting of a Royal Sovereign and a Revenge-class dreadnought join the fray, knocking out a turret on the Schwaben and the Hannover respectively.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7tkqvnve9/Screenshot_5116.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/c5dxykk0x/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_oota_yuuichi_sample-b7e1a.jpg)

And then, the battle-lines are fully formed, for a gruelling engagement that will last for half an hour. On the British side, from north to south: a Camperdown-class dreadnought; a two-ship squadron consisting of the Prince of Wales and an Albion; the Empress of India; the three Europas; the Revenge, the Royal Sovereign. On the German side, the proud silhouette of the Elsass leads the battle-line. Behind her, the Hannover, the Schwaben, the Brandenburg and the Wettin. The Graf has detached, and is making its way back to Germany at five knots; her sisters have slipped behind the battle-line and are moving from north to south, peppering the distant British ships (especially that overambitious Camperdown with long-range 12'' fire.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/lahpek0kx/Screenshot_5118.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/6ej66y20x/Screenshot_5119.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/bd6olhdjl/Screenshot_5120.png)

The leading British ships are pummeled. The Camperdown loses turrets to the shells of the Schlachtkreuzer like firecrackers; the Europas (by far the most dangerous British capitals) are focused down by the Schlachtschiffe. In return, the Schwaben suffers an upper belt penetration that punches into a secondary battery magazine. But her deck and secondary turrets have specific weakpoints, designed to fail during a flash fire. One of her portside secondary turrets erupts like a roman candle, killing the gunnery crew in a bright instant, but the ship is safe.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/aawi2y2g1/Screenshot_5121.png)

At this point, the British have suffered considerably. Michaelis' grip on the railings of the Elsass' bridge has turned his knuckles white; it is imperative that his nerves outlast those of his enemy. The British must break before he does. The German battle-line must not turn away from this no-holds-barred brawl.

And then, finally, the lookouts cry out that the enemy fleet is maneuvering - in a rather strange fashion. It takes Michaelis a few minutes to piece together the different reports and realise that the Brits are attempting their own version of the Gefechtskehrtwendung!

(https://s14.postimg.cc/rbfebnach/Screenshot_5122.png)

Unfortunately for the British, it is clear that their training in this maneuver (which requires pinpoint precision and nerves of steel) has been insufficient. They cock it up royally. The leading ships 'break' under fire, and turn before the following ones, a mark of shame that leaves the crews of the German Schlachtkreuzer scoffing. The end result is a chaotic blob, in which ships maneuver frantically to avoid collisions, while the Germans pick their targets with impunity.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/8vuxe8gsh/Screenshot_5123.png)

It is the British destroyers that save their larger wards in this instance. They lay a large smokescreen, into which the silhouettes of the British capitals fade away from the German directors. In response, Michaelis performs his own Gefechtskehrtwendung, slotting the entirety of his fleet behind the Zähringens that are moving towards the south. He is seeking alternative firing angles and a clear shot.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ro6shu81t/Screenshot_5124.png)

And he succeeds shortly after, spotting the British ships as they leave the cover of their smokescreen.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/yrenxh0mp/Screenshot_5125.png)

He manages to reacquire the Camperdown (which has been effectively mission-killed by the Zähringens), the Royal Sovereign and the Prince of Wales. The British are still desperately trying to reorganise their fleet.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/e79tyyq0h/Screenshot_5129.png)

Now the battle is at close-range. No battle-line niceties; only the brutal, knife-fighting slugfests in which the German ships excel. The Zähringens lock onto the Camperdown...

(https://s14.postimg.cc/qyo05j4y9/Screenshot_5130.png)

...and finish her off with two 'shotgun' salvos.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/7tkqvraup/Screenshot_5132.png)

Then, as the British destroyers charge in to intercept them, they pull away, trying to reform a battle-line moving WNW - ESE.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/tfzrcsh4x/Screenshot_5135.png)

It works. As the British ships still try to form up, the Schlachtschiffe reacquire the Empress of India and what seems to be two previously unspotted targets: a Rodney-class Dreadnought and an Argonaut-class battlecruiser. The Germans lock onto the two southernmost targets and open fire.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/6ej672rs1/Screenshot_5136.png)

One of the Europas is here as well, her two sisters still lost somewhere in the smoke. The old Zähringen is on her immediately, pumping three 12''hots into her belt before she even realises she's under fire.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/h1czchcs1/Screenshot_5137.png)

Wham

(https://s14.postimg.cc/3x7ezvkr5/Screenshot_5145.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/cfgv47bu9/Screenshot_5146.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/5p0duttu9/Screenshot_5147.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/uv1c1oak1/Screenshot_5148.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/rbfebvfk1/Screenshot_5149.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ek185bvhd/Screenshot_5150.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/8vuxeh95d/Screenshot_5151.png)

At this point, Michaelis demands a sitrep from his capital assets. He wants to know if he can still pursue a battle, or if he needs to be satisfied with the damage he has inflicted already. It's worth reminding that the Germans were not anticipating this battle.

The impression he is left with is that of a still very capable fleet. Zähringen is leading the charge and is running low on ammunition, but she has scored almost 40 confirmed hits on the enemy, suffering only ten in return. Her engines are pristine; her crew are the best of the best and eager to continue. She has, however, lost her aft fire controller. Mackensen is suffering more, having lost almost the entirety of her starboard secondaries, with horrendous crew losses. Her two midships turrets are jammed, but her remaining guns are firing accurately, having scored more than 50 hits. Critically, she has suffered no underwater damage.

Among the Schlachtschiffe, the Hannover is by far the most damaged, having taken more than 35 hits on her belt and superstructure. Her secondary batteries have suffered more than 50% casualties; however, her crew are baying for blood. Elites, one and all, and working with the best fire control systems Germany can bring to the table, she has paid back the Brits blow for blow and can still fight at peak efficiency. Schwaben is relatively untouched, with an equally skilled crew; 50 confirmed hits on her logs, for only 8 taken in return. The only thing she's lost is a secondary turret; she's currently halfway kicking the ass of the Prince of Wales back to Wales itself. Brandenburg has not suffered a single hit so far; despite working with an older fire control suite, inferior guns, and a less-experienced crew, she has still managed to score 33 hits and is currently acquiring new targets as they exit the smokescreen. Wettin has done even better, with 40 hits scored; proud Elsass brings up the end of the battle-line with 40 hits scored and minimal damage.

Michaelis is satisfied, and is about to order a continuation of the fight, when the Elsass acquires a British heavy cruiser leaving the smoke. She's one of their most modern beasts: an Andromeda, made to counter the German supercruisers, with a 10-gun 10'' broadside and a 30-knot top speed. Unfortunately for her, she has trespassed within the firing range of the German flagship.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/t38d6q96p/Screenshot_5152.png)

And, despite her fearsome broadside, the Andromeda's armour is paper against the German 15-inchers.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/z4623vvtt/Screenshot_5154.png)

Again the British destroyers rush to defend the capitals. Again a smokescreen obscures the British ships from the German optics.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/kkyx2haep/Screenshot_5155.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ci5c4qmv5/bismarck_kantai_collection_drawn_by_kuon_kwonchanji_sample-cc.jpg)

The unfortunate Prince of Wales drifts out of the smoke, uncontrollable, and is punished severely; but the rest of the British fleet is now safely withdrawing from the field. Michaelis considers pursuing, but decides against it. He could, theoretically, cause more damage to the enemy; but he would also brave the gauntlet of the (worryingly competent) British destroyer commander and his torpedoes all the way. For once, no German ships have been torpedoed in a fleet engagement; there is no need to tempt Fortuna any further.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/61rs12wpd/Screenshot_5159.png)

By 18:00, both fleets have disengaged and are returning to their home waters. But the Germans have one last surprise in store for the Brits.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/z4623wyep/Screenshot_5160.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/ajm2R3F.jpg)

U-1, the first German submarine to have ever been built, now a rebuilt training ship for submarine crews, happens to be in the area and receives the radio chatter from the battle. Instead of retreating to safe waters, her veteran commander (and Academy Instructor) Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière took the old beer can on an intercept course. In a night-time torpedo assault, he scored a hit on HMS Ceasar, a hit that caused massive panic amongst the retreating enemy ships. The Ceasar was barely saved, but missed the rest of the war. What an achievement by the old darling!

(https://s14.postimg.cc/nrtgm5kkx/Screenshot_5167.png)

9 September 1929, 10:00am. The Moltke enters Wilhelmshaven, fully illuminated and sirens blaring, to dock next to the old Goeben. The Valkyrie brings news of a victory unlike any seen before since the days of Bornholm!

The Brits have lost three dreadnoughts, two battlecruisers and the Andromeda.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/gbu70buap/Screenshot_5161.png)

Their biggest loss is, undoubtedly, the Tiger-class Diadem, lost in the opening stages of the fight with all hands.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/61rs13jup/Screenshot_5162.png)

The old Redoutable died slower and messier, as the charnelhouse Camperdowns were wont to do. Every single one of her turrets was penetrated: her crew was decimated before she sank.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/vkk4e4b4h/Screenshot_5163.png)

The Empress of India-class HMS Benbow was a reservist ship, her crew green from the docks of Scarborough. Her death was an ignoble thing, due to bad damcon.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/qlwlznchd/Screenshot_5164.png)

And the poor Australia-class HMS Queen Mary was just thrown away. A ship like this had no business being anywhere near a modern battlefield.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/qyo05skgh/Screenshot_5165.png)

Nor did HMS Prince of Wales. This is a ship that even Moltke could have tackled.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/nrtgm5kkx/Screenshot_(5167).png)

MVP on the German side? SMS Schwaben, hands down: just under 1000 shots fired, with 70 confirmed main battery hits, for an accuracy ratio of 7.5%. Mad props to old Mackensen as well: she came in second at hits scored, with 63 shots on target.

(https://s14.postimg.cc/igek1h8sx/Screenshot_5170.png)

(https://s14.postimg.cc/3x7f027y9/Screenshot_5171.png)

What a victory is Jutland!

(https://i.imgur.com/PQxqgnj.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 06, 2018, 08:13:14 am
ATEN'T DEAD.

HAVE SOME PICS OF AN UNINTERESTING BATTLE.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 12, 2018, 12:37:59 pm
An update:


Cheerio
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on April 12, 2018, 05:00:43 pm
At last the archeological blog cometh!

(https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdFRFAi7zQ0VKKI/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 19, 2018, 02:10:48 pm


This is funny.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on April 19, 2018, 02:14:21 pm
For some strange reasons the video only works while replying :D
Edit: Nevermind, you fixed the link, watching now^^
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 19, 2018, 02:42:58 pm
I think I might have to replace Mata Hari's picture with that of Virginia Woolf in a beard and blackface...  :P
Title: Bunga Bunga
Post by: Spoon on April 19, 2018, 04:27:25 pm
Man, that cane beating was brutal.

I think I might have to replace Mata Hari's picture with that of Virginia Woolf in a beard and blackface...  :P
Do it.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 30, 2018, 02:22:57 am
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/4c53f0d4877677149b027c75a7012e98/tumblr_nujg9aXQSg1qgggino1_1280.jpg)

relevant archillect (https://twitter.com/archillect/status/990050490607120384)
Title: Peace and Death
Post by: Enioch on April 30, 2018, 06:29:39 am
(https://s7.postimg.cc/ce6ooyq6j/Aristide_Briand_and_Gustav_Stresemann.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/w8sqb35dz/)

"[...]This old Britain was defeated in its conflict with the progressive ideas of socialism, for it had given the people nothing that could serve as a successful alternative to socialism. She had failed to keep her people safe; she had failed to keep her spirit alive; she had failed in the context of the household, the town, the city, the nation. She had failed in the battlefield, too, which was not a cause of her misfortune, but a symptom. That is no surprise, nor is the British populace fully at fault. A people that has experienced all that the British have been through, naturally offers fertile soil for socialist extremists.

Having been led by the ochlocratic ramblings of a despicable few to threaten not only the lives of German citizens and others, but also the very foundations of the international edifice that had been painstakingly built over the past few decades, it may seem sensible at first that retribution should be sought. And yet, voices were heard from the United States of America which made it clear that the New World wanted a peaceful and united Old World as a basis for mutual cooperation. And, while it is undoubtedly easier for the victor than for the vanquished to advocate peace, and this peace could only be achieved through victory in the battlefield, we do not seek to see Britain resigning herself to the position left to her. Dues must be paid - but it is for the benefit of all, victors and vanquished both, that the spirit of international cooperation supercedes that of retribution beyond personal accountability."


-Gustav Stresemann, Victory Speech, 12 October 1929.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/nmpgr1qzf/Screenshot_5172.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/ftysz2l07/)

With a massive chunk of the British Grand Fleet eliminated, the Moltke is safe to be relocated back to her permanent moorings. The old Valkyrie has served as a messenger of voctory one last time. Now, she gets to enjoy her rest once more.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/cbmt24u8r/Screenshot_5174.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/eg7637vvb/)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6ngib9d1n/Screenshot_5173.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/esyk9f1af/)

And the good news do not stop there. The Oberste Heeresleitung reports a major success! Operation Blücher is a success. While the American forces are still laying siege to Hong Kong, the German army has finally broken through the defenses of Singapore. On the 16th of September, the commander of the British garrison formally surrenders the province to German occupation.

However, Germany fails to squash all resistance and to cleanly disengage her troops. With war still raging in the overall region, British guerilla detachments still harry the German divisions and continually sabotage the Singapore infrastructure. Germany must maintain a significant military presence in the area. Thankfully, the two old Schlachtkreuzer on-station are still more than a match than anything the Brits have, and any attempts to reinforce or resupply the guerillas by sea are doomed to fail.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ftysz2sq3/Screenshot_5175.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/7ogr0x4h3/)

...

Are you mad?!.

The proposal from Military Intelligence catches Stresemann completely off-guard, and the reaction of both himself and the Kaiser is thunderous. You wish to introduce a socialist revolutionary into the chaotic mess that is Bunsi Britain? You do realise that we'll be picking up the pieces of that society five decades from now?

We have them by the balls and by their stomachs. It is only a matter of time before they are starved into submission. Let's not set fire to their house on top of that, eh?

The project dies, stillborn.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/94s9ii22z/Screenshot_5176.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/707whf0g7/)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/whqb1kv7f/Screenshot_5177.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/rj2sn1ref/)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/vs7ip82dn/Screenshot_5178.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/tnn5o50qv/)

It's a good choice. By the 5th of October, submarine reports are one again streaming in. Two British patrol vessels have been smashed to scrap by U-Boot 4-inchers; in addition, twenty-three freighters have been sunk with minimal losses. Far from the glorious early months of the war...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/w4ywvesd7/Screenshot_5179.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/9t1420t93/)

...but just enough...

(https://s7.postimg.cc/nnzejxanf/Screenshot_5182.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/pfsdetu07/)

...for the Brits to crack; completely and utterly.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ep9c7dqh7/London_Blitz_791940.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/o9syu9ft3/)

The ensuing riots rage for days, with the Army first failing to suppress the violence and then joining in with wild abandon. Nearly thirty percent of London burns to the ground. Mosley escapes lynching by putting a bullet in his head; most of his cabinet and inner circle either follow him in suicide or are detained by the Army. Von Papen nearly manages to make his escape to neutral Spain; he is, however, identified by the local British militia as he tries to reach the ship waiting for him, and shot dead on the spot.

It takes two weeks for any semblence of order to be re-established; and that only thanks to the opening of the submarine blockade. Meanwhile, Stresemann is already discussing victory terms with his Allies. Said terms are presented to the interim British government on the 20th of October 1929, following the unconditional surrender of most British armed forces. Stresemann wants to complete Mecklenburg's work and nothing is going to stop him.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/hzt3t1e0r/Screenshot_5183.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/mygm7khtj/)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5lax6i1mj/Argonaut.png) (https://postimages.org/)

First, this time there is nothing the British can do to prevent the Germans from claiming a war-prize. The HMS Cressy, the pride of the Royal Navy and the current flagship of the fleet is ceded to Germany and renamed SMS Hela.

She is a good ship - not specialised enough to operate as German Schlachtkreuzer or Grosskreuzer doctrine dictates, and her guns are clearly inferior to current German 16-inchers, but she has the speed and displacement to be a terror wherever she's deployed.

Stresemann has just the place for her.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/haabgoswr/Screenshot_5184.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/rkcqfxis7/)

The Mediterranean.

Malta and Cyprus had been left to Britain by Mecklenburg, who had prioritised the more strategic bases of Gibraltar and Alexandria / Suez. Stresemann will no longer tolerate a British presence in the German mare nostrum. Both islands are ceded to the Reich. They are closely followed by the Falklands, the first German base in the Americas. Out of the way, for now, and of apparently limited strategic use, they will still serve as a valuable asset in the future. They also serve as a slap in the face for the British, who are ousted from yet another quarter of the globe.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6ap453hx7/Screenshot_5185.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/o0qsq4vhz/)

Italy claims her own pound of flesh. Where Germany claims control of the Mediterranean, Italy plants her flags along the coasts of the Red Sea - and further south, in Africa.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/b9cmjme0b/Screenshot_5186.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/coe78cf3b/)

And the USA are finally granted control of Hong Kong. You're welcome, 'Murica. Not like we carried your fat arses through a war, or anything.

Stresemann, however, will not enjoy the fruits of his victory. In what seems to be a chilling repeat of Mecklenburg's death, he suffers a stroke on the afternoon of 16 November 1929. He dies two days later, only 51 years old.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/wblspt0sb/6c07427fd6.jpg)

His funeral is a grand affair, and the nation, once again, mourns a capable Chancellor. The Kaiser, now entering his eighth decade of life is, once again, devastated. Stresemann had been a protege of Mecklenburg, and one of the few people Wilhelm could trust implicitly to act in the best interest of the Reich and the Crown.

"I curse the fates that seem to envy Germany," he bitterly remarks. "for they, like the Pharaohs of old, seek to deprive us of our greatest minds once their work is complete - so that it may never be repeated. Shall we pave the way to our final victory with the bodies of my Kanzlers?"

(https://s7.postimg.cc/arqnveviz/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-08497_Berlin_Julius_Curtius_Gustav_Stre.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/m8xtv8juz/Screenshot_5187.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/quty3l5dz/)

The Chancellorship goes to Julius Curtius, the Minister of Finances under Stresemann. The two men had become close friends during their collaboration, even though they were nothing alike. Whereas Stresemann was a friendly, diplomatic person, Curtius was much more reserved, a stickler for precision and rules, and a cold negotiator, with a penchant for legalese.

As a Minister of Finances, these traits had proven to be priceless. As a Chancellor...Curtius' career would prove to be distinctly average, punctuated by flashes of brilliance, but also several fiascos. After the brilliant stars of Mecklenburg and Stresemann and the black abyss that had been Von Papen's Chancellorship, most of the Reich welcomed a return to a more restrained normality; but Curtius would never succeed in capturing the German hearts like his predecessors had, or draw a bold line for Germany to follow.

He didn't make friends in the fleet, for sure.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/5l6bsrc8r/Screenshot_5188.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/vthgi4wc7/)

It is worth noting, of course, that, with Britain at the brink of total economic collapse, even after the utter butchering of the Admiralität's budget, Germany spends the same as the Brits on her fleet.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/3tdcxul63/Screenshot_5189.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/quty3lktj/)

It's still not enough to be spending it unwisely.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/psjrl1uaj/Screenshot_5190.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/5xxpyxf2v/)

Especially when the Bismarcks are at the verge of obsolescence. With the end of the war, they are immediately placed in drydock, for a full refurbishment of their engines and a modernisation of their fire-control systems. Sadly, there are no resources to spare for the replacement of their 14-inchers with better models.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/rx44m5qsb/Screenshot_5191.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/quty3m7yv/)

Nor can the Zähringens be upgunned to better 12-inchers. But they can be refurbished once again, and they receive the same fire directors as their Schlachtschiffe brethren.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/dqodqxvcr/Screenshot_5193.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/bm40putpz/)

And the same systems are integrated into the new Schlachtschiffe under construction. Now the German ships can fire more accurately than ever before.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/93rigl263/Screenshot_5196.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/fu7zq0pbr/)

(https://s7.postimg.cc/vfpbacbob/a315c12594a81378b5bd70575895e829.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

LolBritsUmad?

(https://s7.postimg.cc/3tdcxwawb/Screenshot_5198.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/smmwyjtwn/)

Meanwhile, the Italians are building pocket battlecruisers with 14-inch guns and simple directors. Sure, Italy, whatever.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/hn1pmyqmz/Screenshot_5200.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/jeuohv9zr/)

Goddammit, Russians. Lay off the bloody vodka.

(https://s7.postimg.cc/b9cmjqw1n/Screenshot_5203.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/odi6wfo3b/)

R & D delivers once again!

(https://s7.postimg.cc/ktw96ly8b/Screenshot_5204.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/jeuohvx53/)

Wait, what?

(https://s7.postimg.cc/r7lc9vijv/Screenshot_5205.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/4vnjghjfr/)

WAIT, WHAT!?

(https://s7.postimg.cc/6c88qggnf/akitsu_maru_bismarck_gangut_hibiki_richelieu_and_others_kantai.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 30, 2018, 06:31:59 am
STILL ATEN'T DEAD.

TIME TO SPANK NICKY, I GUESS.

Also, hello Pennsy, looking good there. But I have lewd pics of you. You can see everything but the propshafts... (http://www.lonesentry.com/images/2016/11/uss-pennsylvania-in-absd.html)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on April 30, 2018, 12:07:34 pm
Russia occupying Ireland while the brits are busy tearing themselves apart. This is the best timeline  :lol:

Hotel chocolat though, what does it mean? What kind of encrypted messages is the german secret service passing to you?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 30, 2018, 12:08:39 pm
Tasty tidbits.
Title: All According to Keikaku
Post by: Enioch on June 14, 2018, 06:26:59 pm
(https://s33.postimg.cc/sdev0uqlr/wilhelm-ii-the-german-kaiser-asking-nicholas-ii-tsar-of-russia-h.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/sq69718vf/)

"It is hereby communicated to the government of His Imperial Majesty, the Czar of Russia, that the government of His Imperial Majesty, the Kaiser of the German Reich will implement all measures to ensure and safeguard the independence of the sovereign nation of Ireland."

Excerpt from the Bonn Telegram; signatures of the German government follow
.

The reaction of Germany was neither swift, but it was uncannily decisive. Germany had no defensive pact in action with Ireland, nor had she guaranteed the latter's independence. And yet, the Russian occupation of the Emerald Isle upset the European balance to an unacceptable degree.

Russian control of Ireland massively destabilised Great Britain, right after her disastrous defeat at the hands of Germany. In the aftermath of the war, the two countries had established a somewhat friendly relationship and their re-unification in a more balanced confederacy could not be ruled out. This, now, went right out the window, and the public support of the British government (the British government that the Germans had signed a treaty with) was nosediving.

Furthermore, Russia now possessed something that had been denied to her for centuries. A naval base in the Atlantic, a base that, unlike Archangel, was not frozen solid six months every year. This could not be tolerated.

And so, the German government, under the uninspiring, but near-autistically organised leadership of Julius Curtius, draws her plans for the future, in a prim and proper manner. The budget is brought to heel and the war preparations begin, like clockwork. Curtius submits to the Kaiser what he calls the Achtzehn-Monate-Plan: it is a four-hundred-page document, detailing the exact actions that must be taken, for Germany to engage in victorious war with Russia eighteen months from the day of its submission. The document remains perhaps the best example of long-term political planning in modern history; it is required reading in any higher-education class of politics and a pure crystallisation of Realpolitik.

It is also the equivalent of cold-blooded, premeditated murder on an international level.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/7baa8xvxr/Screenshot_5206.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/k2ogfg5pn/)

First, Curtius declares his intentions to reduce naval spending; this establishes for the international community that Germany desires peace. Carefully controlled provocatory protests from the Navy League allows him to justify minimizing these budget cuts, while still presenting a convincing smokescreen. What little money is thus economised, is channeled into carefully selected logistics services.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/5w8pkauvj/Screenshot_5207.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/56px7xubv/)

Meanwhile, the Navy puts the finishing touches on their new heavy cruisers. The Blücher receives her state-of-the-art firing control systems and is almost ready to be commissioned.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/tn832fai7/Screenshot_5208.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/dc7z63y0b/)

Almost five months into the Plan, an unforeseen accident almost throws a spanner into the works. Curtius is not as diplomatic as his predecessors, and his handling of the scandal is by no means as skillful as Stresemann's would have been; but he knows how to seize an opportunity:

(https://s33.postimg.cc/ookknvjjz/Screenshot_5209.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/tagow852z/)

In November, an uprising in northern China spills over into Russian territories. Curtius has made allowance for such incidents (some even claim that the uprising was instigated by German agents) and he instructs the German forces in Korea to assist the Chinese government. Border skirmishes devolve into scrums between German, Chinese and Russian patrols; tensions skyrocket.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/a5dfmjiq7/Screenshot_5210.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/4h74vnedn/)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/zbiz74otr/keikaku.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Clarification: tensions skyrocket during the time when Germany is drawing up her 1932 budget. This is all Curtius needs to channel an extra 24 million Reichsmark into the coffers of the Admiralität.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/x6u0s7icv/Screenshot_5211.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/5w8pkaffv/)

This amount is further complemented by the profits from the sale of armour technology to Japan...

(https://s33.postimg.cc/p1byu0rj3/Screenshot_5213.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/er9jus1nf/)

...which, in turn, allows the Admiralität to accellerate the construction of the Gneisenau. She's less than a year away, outstripping the original estimates of the dockworkers by far. Everything else has been frozen, of course, but if Germany can get even one of her Grosskreuzer out in time, she will utterly dominate the Atlantic against anything the Russians have to throw at her.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/e1qrifgjj/Screenshot_5214.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/4tyj1q9h7/)

Further revenues are secured thanks to the exporting of Krupp guns to Chile and Argentina...

(https://s33.postimg.cc/jd5o36scf/Screenshot_5215.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/5jhbe4zqz/)

...while the threat of impending war allows the government to justify the supporesion of 'anti-patriotic' socialist propaganda in the yards.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/b7nm51r8v/Screenshot_5217.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/8dkgrlp2j/)

This gains Curtius the support of the steel magnates and secures more funding for the navy.

Meanwhile, Curtius sits in his office, regularly ticking off boxes in his four-hundred-page document and smiling the thinnest of smiles.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/cmp6trkm7/Screenshot_5218.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/6yiw2vg9n/)

Eventually, he doesn't have to do a thing. Everything comes together, the dominoes fall in a neat and orderly row, and the German government drafts a telegram to their Russian counterparts. A list of demands, including the liberation of Ireland is presented to the Russians as an ultimatum, neat and orderly, like everything else has been so far.

Unsurprisingly, the Russians do not take it very well.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/6yiw2vvpb/Screenshot_5220.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/8dkgrlwsb/)

(https://s33.postimg.cc/9funa5v1b/Screenshot_5222.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/s86idqrff/)

War is declared on the 15th of September, 1932. Curtius' plan has been accurate within six days of his original prediction.

The minute hostilities are declared, the Admiralität is ready. Ten modern subs are immediately laid down, followed by a small flotilla of coastal patrol ships.

And, of course, the Hochseeflotte is already at sea in force, blockading every Russian port in the Baltic. The Russians can choose to hide in their harbours or come out and fight.

(https://s33.postimg.cc/sxpaq5x4v/Screenshot_5227.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/hy43ek6pn/)

Brave fools.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on June 14, 2018, 06:30:57 pm

Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 30 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic.



**** you, I do what I want.

Obviously ATEN'T DEAD, just really, really busy with work. I got an extension for my grant for next year, and am trying to figure out what I'm going to be doing the year after that while also trying to juggle having to declare taxes in both Belgium and Greece (*bitter laughter*)

But you're not here to listen to my *****ing, so here're some news:

(http://www.navalwarfare.net/media/RWT2_Image01.jpg)

RTW 2 Pre-release Discussion Thread (http://nws-online.proboards.com/thread/1446/rule-waves-release-discussion-thread)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on June 14, 2018, 09:48:47 pm
Best thread revived again.
Silly russia, have you learned nothing from past conflicts?

Stoked for rtw2
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 18, 2018, 02:09:34 pm
Not dead, simply eternally lying.

Also RTW2 now has planes.

http://nws-online.proboards.com/thread/1445/rule-waves-2-developers-journal

Scroll down to the last post for more info.

Also: both friendly and enemy allied ships may now appear in battles. Spicy.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on July 18, 2018, 03:48:12 pm
I'm glad you're not dead.

I read nothing but excellent changes in that blog.
The changes to invasions is very welcome in my book too, because the random chance of it maybe randomly happening in RTW was kind of awful. Especially when the A.I. had like three ships just passing by a undefended colony, instantly triggering an invasion which then resolved succesfully for them in like 1-2 turns. Meanwhile that fleet of yours that is uncontestedly hanging around 5 of their colonies results in ~nothing~.

Alliances actually meaning something more than extra naval base and occasional VP increase is also nice.

And so are the carriers.

And all the other things.

(https://i.redd.it/g2tkn3oklka11.jpg)
Title: Ironbottom Sea
Post by: Enioch on July 22, 2018, 03:05:33 pm
(https://s15.postimg.cc/bffprpo3f/Screenshot_5228.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/chpwa96wn/)

The date: just past noon, on 12 September 1932. The German Hochseeflotte has sortied in force, to engage and destroy the Russian fleet. The goal is to secure total control of the Baltic (barring Russian minefields), in preparation of strategic landings along the Baltic state coast.

The German fleet is an imposing sight.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/a0e530xaz/Screenshot_5229.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/ad5j97fkn/)

Leading the fleet, with a minimal Zerstörer escort are the Zähringen triplets. Admiral Görtz flies his pennant on the Graf, a small black flag with the stylized head of a shieldmaiden dancing on the breeze right next to it.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/t5hecsjor/Screenshot_5230.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/9nmqwumqv/)

The ultra-modern Blücher, and the obsolete Hindenburg lead two small destroyer flotillas, playing the role of relays between the scouting force and the main battlefleet.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/apwxfd2zf/Screenshot_5231.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/bs73xwlsn/)

This is commanded by Michaelis and counts a total of eight capital ships, all of them 'Unsinkables'. Michaelis flies his flag on the Hannover, which leads a four-ship division of itself and the three Bismarck sisters. The other two modern 'Unsinkables' (the Wörth and Hessen are sailing in a parallel column, followed by the veterans Schwaben and Elsass.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/x1uq8qudn/Screenshot_5232.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/640t709qf/)

Military Intelligence has complied a list of the Russian forces based in the Baltic. The vodka-drinkers can field a maximum of three dreadnoughts (of about 35-40 tons each) and eight battlecruisers of about 35 tons each. They have no heavy cruisers to match the Blücher; by herself, the German hunter-killer is more than enough to engage and destroy the four or five light cruisers that the enemy can bring to bear. Her firepower and speed advantage is simply overwhelming. And all of this, of course, before we take into account the nineteen destroyers that the Germans have brought along, each of them a diminutive light cruiser in their own right.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/ssq06xed7/Screenshot_5234.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/iinl7oohj/)

13:35: Görtz reports enemy contact! Two light combatants enter the Graf's weapons range, approaching from the east.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/t6rc5xyaj/Screenshot_5235.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/gfd5zfoif/)

Both seem to be light cruisers, the northernmost one tentatively identified as a Veliki Knyaz Konstantin-class. The Graf turns south, to link with the main battleline (if enemy scouting forces are here, their own dreads should not be too far behind) and opens fire at near-maximum range.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/kbqhvfh7v/Screenshot_5240.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/okv7xlkh3/)

Over the course of the following twenty minutes, the 54 German 12-inchers blanket the sea around the Russian ships with fire. Some hits are scored, despite the extended range, and against the enemy light-skinned ships, the effects are gruesome; the Russians turn away in short order and seek to escape the Schlachtkreuzer.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/s4h5njcy3/Screenshot_5242.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/xsngefhaf/)

But Görtz will not allow them to do so. With Blücher closing in to reinforce, he turns north again, keeping them both under continuous fire. As the German directors acquire better target solutions, the German batteries become more and more effective. Over the course of five minutes, the triplets score a total of nineteen hits, without suffering any damage in return.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/4q96bm2qj/Screenshot_5243.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/9c5ajyo9j/)

At 14:28, one of the two Russian cruiser dies,her bow dipping beneath the waves, the sea extinguishing her burning superstructure.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/pzwsmjqrv/Screenshot_5245.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/dy1esehjb/)

The other, however, has reached temporary safety. German lookouts spot smoke approaching from the north-east: the Russian battlecruisers have come to join the dance.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/fd2zh4y23/Screenshot_5246.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/jyz3phjl3/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/5sjcu9o5n/Screenshot_5250.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/qpfkyxm6f/)

As their silhouettes become more clearly defined, the lookouts identify two Fokshani-class ships, one Navarin-class pocket battlecruiser and a Rymnik class...barge, for lack of a better term.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/h4vyc1p4r/Screenshot_5249.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/w0uhjn0jb/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/dzbclxlyz/graf_zeppelin_kantai_collection_drawn_by_saizu_nitou_gunsou_8.png) (https://postimages.org/)

Görtz actually laughs out loud. The force disparity is staggering. There are more enemy ships out there, true, but the Russian battlecruiser force that is currently spotted can field a total of 28 13-inch rifles and 8 12-inchers. Just the triplets alone (and never mind the 12 9-inchers of the Blücher or the 10 12-inchers of the Hindenburg) bring 54 12-inch rifles to the game.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/h2c2p5o17/Screenshot_5257.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/kypel590n/)

The German scouting force is more than enough to deal with the Russians, but Görtz takes no chances. The triplets make their top speed of 25 knots and pull away, drawing the Russians back towards the waiting arms of the German battle-line. Meanwhile, Michaelis, being in constant contact thanks to his relaying divisions, splits his forces. Division 1 moves to the east, while Division 2 continues her northward approach, ready to join up with the Schlachtkreuzer. Blücher, making good use of her staggering, destroyer-like speed of 34 knots, pushes west, ready to drop a hail of 9-inch fire onto to exposed broadsides of the Russian battlecruisers and, if necessary, to cut off their retreat with her escorting Zerstörer and her own torpedoes.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/6s9npvvkr/prinz_eugen_kantai_collection_drawn_by_ugeppa_sample-940404ed.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/9mct3bxqv/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/kprtviebf/Screenshot_5261.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/f1lj4m9yv/)

The pincer maneuver works perfectly. By 15:30, both flanks of the German fleet are in position and firing on the approaching Russian ships. The effect is immediate. The Russian battlecruiser line dissolves into a gaggle of individual ships, trying to pull out under fire. Enemy fire grows erratic and inaccurate; the German ships redouble their efforts, trying to score as many hits as possible during this moment of confusion.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/ls20e3ukr/Screenshot_5266.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/jaq96uao7/)

Very soon, Russian turrets start popping like fire-crackers. Most of the Russian ships present are old, built around antiquated armor schemes and are unable to withstand German 14-inch and 15-inch fire; the old Tsesarevich-class battlecruiser Sinop, in particular, loses three turrets in as many minutes.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/4rj45fwyz/Screenshot_5268.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/3p8xmwe5j/)

Fire from the western German flank, in particular, is very effective. The rapid-firing 12-inchers of the Zähringens are more than enough to defeat the armor of the lighter enemy ships, and their shots fall like hail. The slower 15- and 14-inch guns of the Schlachtschiffe fire at a more stately pace, but they, in turn, have no trouble penetrating turrets and belts of the more modern Russian capitals.

On the other hand, Michaelis on the eastern flank has run into the enemy battleship force. His lookouts have spotted a Gangut-class ship, which the Hannover proceeds to engage and pound mercilessly.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/d9sk9sb7f/Screenshot_5271.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/tkso63np3/)

The old russian giant is about the size of the german Wittelsbachs and only slightly more heavily armed; against the combined fire of four 'Unsinkables', she has no chance. She loses her first turret at around 15:42; the rest will follow shortly.

Her escorts, the Aleksandr II and the Nikolai I fare no better under the tender ministrations of the German gunners.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/yjg6kn6xn/Screenshot_5276.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/5h1whtknr/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/hixabx463/Screenshot_5277.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/3p8xmvbkn/)

16:00, and the German Schlachtkreuzer have utterly dominated in the western flank. The Sinop is sinking; one of the Fokshanis has lost two of her turrets and is desperately trying to run away. Unfortunately, Blücher has her flank and has no intention of allowing her to leave. Her guns are firing non-stop, a constant roar of dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka-dakka, pumping armor-piercing shells into the Russian superstructure and waterline.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/c7idr8cyj/Screenshot_5281.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/lfam7xk0n/)

The Fokshani attempts to disengage and fires back to discourage the cruiser; but her turn gives her full broadside to the Zähringens, at around five thousand yards. It's the last mistake she'll ever make. As the Zähringens have proven, time and time again, nobody can expect to survive one of their broadsides fired at short-range.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/nwmdf5lwr/Screenshot_5282.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/oywjxp4pz/)

Scratch one Fokshani and search for new targets.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/ck9rxefsr/Screenshot_5284.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/5ttanysmv/)

Oh look, there's a Gangut-class battleship at under 10k yards, towards the north-east. She'll do.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/kprtvl6mj/Screenshot_5287.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/rszpb7c1z/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/j0iqn4lnv/akitsushima_graf_zeppelin_kamoi_and_prinz_eugen_kantai_collect.jpg)

The lookouts on the Hannover spot a fan of torpedo trails closing in on the ship. A desperate maneuver dodges two of them; the third buries itself into the belt of the ship and utterly fails to explode. It will be removed by an ordnance disposal team in Emden, twelve hours later.

Show 'em how it's done, girls.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/fgwsxpghn/Screenshot_5291.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/5wd6atr5j/)

That'll do, pigs, that'll do.

16:17. The second Fokshani eats a torp on her aft belt and loses one of her rudders and one of her four props. Meanwhile, the Schlachtkreuzer have locked onto the Gangut and are pounding her to scrap.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/dccfwjeu3/Screenshot_5293.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/sl2dab8if/)

Gangut at 16:18.

(https://i.gifer.com/6jEN.gif)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/inrch8lh7/Screenshot_5301.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/3rst9na2f/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/m7da70tbv/Screenshot_5302.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/fto73rofr/)

Gangut and Nikolai less than ten minutes later.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/5jls4jlpn/Screenshot_5309.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/694kgwm93/)

By this time, the Russian fleet has disintegrated completely. All of their battleships are either sinking or crippled; battlecruiser-wise they only have a single crippled Fokshani and the old Navarin still operational, and the former has lost all of her aft guns, as the flooding from the torp hit was allowed to reach the magazines.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/4u2zs95rf/Screenshot_5312.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/f45erhvmv/)

Correction: they are bringing more ships to the slaughter. The pride of the Russian navy, their new modern Chesma-class battlecruisers, armed with 10 14-inch rifles each and with a 12-inch belt, have arrived!

Let's see what they can do against the two-decades-old Zähringens, shall we?

(https://s15.postimg.cc/g6fla0jl7/Screenshot_5318.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/yyrgdlfzb/)

A general view of the battlefield. Note how the Russian force has been completely flanked by the German divisions.

Also note that what seems to be a Russian battle-line running north-to-south is, in fact, only a line of sinking ships, each of them falling behind as the rest of the Russians are running towards the north. The only effective ships they have left are the four northernmost 'dots', which represent the two Chesmas and their destroyer escort.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/oop1ee0ej/Screenshot_5331.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/lhuhurfyf/)

Why, hello there, Ms. Chesma #1. Let us just dial in our rangefinders...

(https://s15.postimg.cc/n9ngpmwqj/Screenshot_5332.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/sl2dacit3/)

Dakka. Both fore turrets jammed.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/k2sx61uaz/Screenshot_5333.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/u03xz41wn/)

Dakka. Aft turret penetrated and destroyed.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/a5hwcyk4b/Screenshot_5334.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/vf5int0ev/)

And then, night falls, at 18:46; and the Chesma fades into the gloom. Michaelis curses and orders a retreat - he refuses to risk his battlefleet in a night action against the surviving Russian destroyers. The 'Unsinkables' are tough as nails, but there are limits to everything and he will not spoil this perfect victory with a ship loss. The Chesma has escaped and that's that.

...or is it?

(https://s15.postimg.cc/oop1eev9n/Screenshot_5337.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/jda4tp96v/)

The retreating Hindenburg spots a dark shape to her port side, flashes recognition signals and gets no response. Her old 12-inchers traverse and fire, point-blank, at a range of under a thousand yards.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/qgi0969fv/Screenshot_5341.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/s8az42ssn/)

The carnage is indescribable. The entirety of the enemy ship erupts in flame and thunder, as the German Schlachtkreuzer scores more than twenty hits in less than four minutes.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/6ynct97d7/Screenshot_5345.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/r60slk4uf/)

Finally, the Hindy snaps her searchlights on and illuminates the wreck. It's the Chesma-class, taken completely by surprise and already sinking, her oil bunkers flooding the sea around her with burning fuel.

The Hindenburg, a Wittelsbach-class battlecruiser built in 1910 and the oldest capital ship in service with the German Hochseeflotte, has just scored a kill on the Arhipelag, the most modern warship of the Russian navy, a ship more than two decades her junior. It's a record that remains forever unbroken in the annals of German naval history.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/9sqi6ph97/Screenshot_5351.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/jda4tl6l3/)

(https://s15.postimg.cc/sl2dadt3v/Screenshot_5353.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/dccfwlzfb/)

The butcher's bill. The numbers, I believe, speak for themselves. Before the Battle of Finland, the Russians had a total of three dreadnoughts and eight battlecruisers. They are left with two mauled battlecruisers; they also lose three light cruisers and four destroyers.

German casualties are negligible. Their Schlachtschiffe are barely scratched and only the Graf Spee (that damned bloodthirsty Valkyrie) has taken any significant damage.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/mdqz9umyj/i_19_myoukou_the_doof_warrior_and_z3_max_schultz_kantai_collec.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/tgyupgsdz/)

To add insult to injury, the Hochseeflotte has only lost the S49: the little ship rammed and killed the Russian submarine Minoga that tried to torpedo the retreating German ships.

(https://s15.postimg.cc/584brs59n/Screenshot_5356.png) (https://postimg.cc/image/r7aqezm3r/)

And then Russia had no fleet.

Again.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on July 22, 2018, 03:05:53 pm
Silly Russians

I can has Finland?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on July 23, 2018, 01:36:16 am
Hey Arhipelag

(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/legendofkorra/images/b/bb/Bei-fong-watching.gif)


My sisters and I were forging a Tradition of Victory when your naval architects were still learning their way around a slide rule.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on December 12, 2018, 05:52:49 pm
Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 30 days.

"Damn the Necro! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!"

I recently stumbled across this nifty Naval History Channel on youtube. (https://www.youtube.com/user/Drachinifel/videos)  The majority of the content is 5~ minutes long, and provide tasty Naval History catnip.  The specific video I found relevant is the following:


I have the honour to be, your obedient servant.

-JB

P.S.  Enioch, will we every learn how Imperial Germany acquired the Panama Canal?





Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 12, 2018, 06:51:32 pm
Drachinifel is a genius and his commentary is on-point and concise. It has been a pleasure following the rise of his channel.  :yes:

I've been reviewing the screenshots and the upcoming wars are a bit boring, with the exception of the Big OneTM around 1951.  Frankly, after the last war, there is very little that can challenge Germany except the USA.I might revisit this, if there's interest, but I think I will change the format a bit and focus on single battles and exciting moments, kind of like those stupid documentaries that you got in the late 90s/early 00s, with deep-voiced (and exciting!) narrators being all triumphant and saying historically inaccurate (but exciting!) things while historical footage plays on the background, interspersed with (exciting!) dramatic recreations of various events with bad acting and usually racist accents.

EDIT: Also, I was looking forward to starting a RTW2 game, but the release has been pushed back to March, so there is some time left to wrap things up.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on December 12, 2018, 07:26:49 pm
I would certainly like to see how this story continues, even if it's just AARs about the interesting moments and not month-by-month updates.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 12, 2018, 08:38:23 pm
I too would like to see some closure to this.

Also agreed about Drachinifel, been actively following his vids since he started using his own voice instead of the text to speech. He's very knowledgable and has a wonderful dry sense of humor.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 13, 2018, 09:17:36 pm
OK, then.

A Teaser, for now, until I can get my internet working (probably not before 21/12/2018):



A 2008 BBC PRODUCTION

SINKING THE PRINCE: THE BATTLE OF CORNWALL

A slow fade in from black: the rocky shores of Cornwall looming over a darkened sea. The sky is a uniform gray. The cries of seagulls can be heard over the surf.

Quote from: NARRATOR
In the cold days before the Third War, nobody would have expected the British Navy to put up a fight. The old days of Nelson and Trafalgar were gone forever. The Grand Fleet was a shadow of its former self; barely capable of patrolling the waters of the ever-diminishing Empire.

A wave breaks against the rocks, scattering foam in the sea breeze.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Dreadnoughts of old were thought to be a fool's toy, a wasteful attempt to wrest the seas from Germany's control and her relentless submarines. If another war were to come, it would be fought by light forces, and below the waves.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: a small corvette launching from her berth. Then, cut to REAR ADMIRAL SIR ARTHUR MOUNTJOY, in full dress uniform, in an Admiralty office.

Quote from: MOUNTJOY (a serious man, in his sixties, with a hard jawline and a matter-of-fact manner of speaking)
The people had lost faith in their Navy. These were truly dark times - the failure of the Navy's doctrine had been proven beyond doubt. Twice the German U-boat forces had...

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: a German U-boot on the surface, her deck gun blazing at a distant target; cut to a burning merchantman.

Quote from: MOUNTJOY (voiceover)
...brought the British Empire to the brink of starvation, in what were two merciless unrestricted submarine warfare campaigns. They had proven the effectiveness of the new combat arm of their Hock-Zee-Flotte beyond any doubt.

Cut to PROFESSOR GEORGE HODDER (a man in his early fifties, with small, gold-rimmed glasses, a square-patterned woolen shirt and a slightly hunched stance; he is seated in front of an old fireplace, with an oil painting of the HMS Ceasar above it).

Quote from: HODDER
People were talking of starvation. They were talking about another war ruining Britain forever. Nobody expected victories. Victory was something that happened to the Germans. Good news meant getting a convoy through the wolfpacks. Nobody could dream of something more. It wasn't just the submarines: the High Seas Fleet had smashed the Dreadnoughts apart again and again and again, there was no doubt that in a surface action the Navy would...lose.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of the officers of SMS Gneisenau posing and laughing under her mighty 16'' guns. Then, cut to DR. JEREMY SPALDING (a man in his late forties, bald and with a double chin, standing in front of his library).

Quote from: SPALDING
They could not imagine that a German capital ship could be sunk. That was impossible.

SPALDING moves over to a table, where the blueprints of the SMS Prinz Eitel Firedrich are laid out and picks up a photograph of the ship on her maiden voyage. The camera focuses on his hand and the image of the ship, her graceful bow pushing the water aside in a high, white wave.

Quote from: SPALDING (voiceover)
But, of course, it wasn't.

Cut to a 3d rendering of the Prinz sinking fast, bow first, her broken turrets slipping out of her bearings. ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of naval rifles firing.

Quote from: SPALDING (voiceover)
Everything went wrong for the Germans.

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of part of the Hochseeflotte sailing in formation, the Gneisenau leading the squadron. Then, quick succession of ARCHIVE COMBAT FOOTAGE with naval rifles firing, interspersed with re-enactment scenes of sailors manning action stations, loading and firing guns, fighting fires etc. The rapid sequence ends with a lingering shot of CAPTAIN MARCUS VON HOLSTEIN (played by then-little-known Austrian actor CHR. WALTZ) on the bridge of the Prinz, with black smoke wafting towards him from outside the frame. He is drenched in sweat, a slight trickle of blood runs down his left temple. He slowly lowers his binoculars, his expression stunned, almost oblivious to the frantic activity of other officers and damage control crews around him.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Battle of Cornwall was joined on the 18th of September 1936 - a clash in which the British Home Fleet was called to defend the Isles from one of the most modern and terrifying weapons the German Reich had ever put to sea. It was more than the first great battle fought in the Third War; it was an event that rocked the German Admiralitaaaaaaaaht to the core. The German forces were more powerful, and possessed greater firepower; yet the flagship of the German Shlaacht-krau-zayr divisions was sunk by a combination of heavy and light British forces, in the first German capital ship loss for a generation. It led to one of the most famous utterances of Wilhelm II:

Cut to the KAISER WILHELM II, in his Berlin residence, played by CHR. PLUMMER, reading a telegram. His hand is trembling imperceptively as he looks back at the members of his Admiralty there present.

Quote from: WILHELM II (his voice that of an old, old man, but tinged with steel and sarcastic reproach)
"Meine Herren, heute stimmt etwas mit Unseren gottverdammten Offizieren nicht."
[SUBTITLES: "Gentlemen, there is something wrong with our goddamned officers today"]
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: AdmiralRalwood on December 13, 2018, 10:04:48 pm
CAPTAIN MARCUS VON HOLSTEIN (played by then-little-known Austrian actor CHR. WALTZ)
I giggled.

KAISER WILHELM II[...] played by CHR. PLUMMER
I ****in' lost it.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on December 19, 2018, 12:01:28 pm
Drachinifel is a genius and his commentary is on-point and concise. It has been a pleasure following the rise of his channel.  :yes:

this topic hooked me on that sweet sweet content.

Interesting thing I didn't realize: Iowa class BBs are borderline useless in the north Atlantic. Makes all those "Who'd win in a fight, Iowa or Bismarck" discussions a bit more interesting.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 19, 2018, 12:18:37 pm
It's even more funny when you realise that a lot of such discussion tends to lead to the argument that "The Iowa would win, because even at poor weather and visibility  she could use her radar to track targets."

Thus demonstrating that a lot of people fail to realise that under those conditions (which are the standard for the north Atlantic) the Iowas can't bloody fire their guns

Not to mention that the Bismarck armor scheme is specifically designed for the N. Atlantic close-range brawl and that German and British ships are specifically designed with 'Atlantic bows' for such situations.

But 'Murica.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: HLD_Prophecy on December 19, 2018, 12:41:17 pm
Seems people forget just how CRAP it is to sail the North Atlantic, let alone engage in a GUN DUEL in seas like that.  :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 19, 2018, 01:12:44 pm
People also often seem to vastly overestimate the effectiveness of radar on ships during WW2. False readings, false readings everywhere. Radar being turned deliberately by commanders for all sorts of reasons. Radar breaking due to the shockwaves of their own guns firing. etc
Late model american radar was superior to what most other nations had, sure, but it wasn't this infallible system that guaranteed that nobody could ever escape the mighty Iowa's during literally all weather situations.

Interesting thing I didn't realize: Iowa class BBs are borderline useless in the north Atlantic. Makes all those "Who'd win in a fight, Iowa or Bismarck" discussions a bit more interesting.
Those discussions are rarely very interesting because they're always like "one on one, calm seas, clear weather, both ships commence battle from 40km away, who would win". Which eliminates so many variables and often completely negates certain traits a ship can have.
Not to mention that at best you can just make up a percentage on who would more likely win. Because naval warfare is random as ****. Tiny of a chance as it might, the first shell fired could very well find its way straight onto a bridge or central firecontrol, or knock a turret out and cripple a ship for the rest of the fight.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on December 19, 2018, 01:17:42 pm
People also often seem to vastly overestimate the effectiveness of radar on ships during WW2. False readings, false readings everywhere. Radar being turned deliberately by commanders for all sorts of reasons. Radar breaking due to the shockwaves of their own guns firing. etc

Another of his anecdotes is about a US cruiser detecting something on their radar and blanketing it with over a thousand rounds of ammo... only to find out that the enemy ships they've been firing at were a bunch of birds.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: HLD_Prophecy on December 19, 2018, 01:26:23 pm
I knew of a fiction author, recent, who had responsibility for a vast schizo-tech universe, filled with beings of power. He never, ever, EVER answered "who would win" questions from fans.

His reason? It's never safe to say who would win. Too many variables. Morale, environment, luck, providence, outside help, hunger, thirst, ammo, distractions, dreams, mental state, mind games... to name a few.  ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 19, 2018, 01:46:57 pm
Another of his anecdotes is about a US cruiser detecting something on their radar and blanketing it with over a thousand rounds of ammo... only to find out that the enemy ships they've been firing at were a bunch of birds.
Those birds must have had a really rough day.

I knew of a fiction author, recent, who had responsibility for a vast schizo-tech universe, filled with beings of power. He never, ever, EVER answered "who would win" questions from fans.

His reason? It's never safe to say who would win. Too many variables. Morale, environment, luck, providence, outside help, hunger, thirst, ammo, distractions, dreams, mental state, mind games... to name a few.  ;)
Good call of him imo.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Nightmare on December 19, 2018, 01:51:44 pm
Another of his anecdotes is about a US cruiser detecting something on their radar and blanketing it with over a thousand rounds of ammo... only to find out that the enemy ships they've been firing at were a bunch of birds.

I thought that were 99 Balloons. ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on December 19, 2018, 04:16:23 pm
IIRC there was an issue with the early sets that it was possible the director would get confused and start chasing its own shell splashes wince they were the strongest return.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 22, 2018, 01:50:57 pm
Also a good channel
Title: SINKING THE PRINZ: THE BATTLE OF CORNWALL (Part 1)
Post by: Enioch on December 26, 2018, 04:51:35 pm
A slow fade in from black: the rocky shores of Cornwall looming over a darkened sea. The sky is a uniform gray. The cries of seagulls can be heard over the surf.

(https://i.postimg.cc/LXhHXNRX/fcdcc58e96bf268940cf08ec51f86c64.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
In the cold days before the Third War, nobody would have expected the British Navy to put up a fight. The old days of Nelson and Trafalgar were gone forever. The Grand Fleet was a shadow of its former self; barely capable of patrolling the waters of the ever-diminishing Empire.

A wave breaks against the rocks, scattering foam in the sea breeze.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Dreadnoughts of old were thought to be a fool's toy, a wasteful attempt to wrest the seas from Germany's control and her relentless submarines. If another war were to come, it would be fought by light forces, and below the waves.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: a small corvette launching from her berth. Then, cut to REAR ADMIRAL SIR ARTHUR MOUNTJOY, in full dress uniform, in an Admiralty office.

(https://i.postimg.cc/cHYdw6gy/Mountjoy.jpg)

Quote from: MOUNTJOY (a serious man, in his fifties, with a hard jawline and a matter-of-fact manner of speaking)
The people had lost faith in their Navy. These were truly dark times - the failure of the Navy's doctrine had been proven beyond doubt. Twice the German U-boat forces had...

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: a German U-boot on the surface, her deck gun blazing at a distant target; cut to a burning merchantman.

Quote from: MOUNTJOY (voiceover)
...brought the British Empire to the brink of starvation, in what were two merciless unrestricted submarine warfare campaigns. They had proven the effectiveness of the new combat arm of their Hock-Zee-Flotte beyond any doubt.

Cut to PROFESSOR GEORGE HODDER (a man in his early fifties, with small, gold-rimmed glasses, a square-patterned woolen shirt and a slightly hunched stance; he is seated in front of an old fireplace, with an oil painting of the HMS Ceasar above it).

Quote from: HODDER
People were talking of starvation. They were talking about another war ruining Britain forever. Nobody expected victories. Victory was something that happened to the Germans. Good news meant getting a convoy through the wolfpacks. Nobody could dream of something more. It wasn't just the submarines: the High Seas Fleet had smashed the Dreadnoughts apart again and again and again, there was no doubt that in a surface action the Navy would...lose.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of the officers of SMS Gneisenau posing and laughing under her mighty 16'' guns. Then, cut to DR. JEREMY SPALDING (a man in his late forties, bald and with a double chin, standing in front of his library).

Quote from: SPALDING
They could not imagine that a German capital ship could be sunk. That was impossible.

(https://i.postimg.cc/dQp8Jfvh/kriegsmarine-scharnhorst-class-battlecruisers-battleship-kms-sch.jpg)

SPALDING moves over to a table, where the blueprints of the SMS Prinz Eitel Firedrich are laid out and picks up a photograph of the ship on her maiden voyage. The camera focuses on his hand and the image of the ship, her graceful bow pushing the water aside in a high, white wave.

Quote from: SPALDING (voiceover)
But, of course, it wasn't.

Cut to a 3d rendering of the Prinz sinking fast, bow first, her broken turrets slipping out of her bearings. ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of naval rifles firing.

Quote from: SPALDING (voiceover)
Everything went wrong for the Germans.

(https://i.postimg.cc/fycghSyK/work.jpg)

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of part of the Hochseeflotte sailing in formation, the Gneisenau leading the squadron. Then, quick succession of ARCHIVE COMBAT FOOTAGE with naval rifles firing, interspersed with re-enactment scenes of sailors manning action stations, loading and firing guns, fighting fires etc. The rapid sequence ends with a lingering shot of CAPTAIN MARCUS VON HOLSTEIN (played by then-little-known Austrian actor CHR. WALTZ) on the bridge of the Prinz, with black smoke wafting towards him from outside the frame. He is drenched in sweat, a slight trickle of blood runs down his left temple. He slowly lowers his binoculars, his expression stunned, almost oblivious to the frantic activity of other officers and damage control crews around him.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Battle of Cornwall was joined on the 18th of September 1936 - a clash in which the British Home Fleet was called to defend the Isles from one of the most modern and terrifying weapons the German Reich had ever put to sea. It was more than the first great battle fought in the Third War; it was an event that rocked the German Admiralitaaaaaaaaht to the core. The German forces were more powerful, and possessed greater firepower; yet the flagship of the German Shlaacht-krau-zayr divisions was sunk by a combination of heavy and light British forces, in the first German capital ship loss for a generation. It led to one of the most famous utterances of Wilhelm II:

Cut to the KAISER WILHELM II, in his Berlin residence, played by CHR. PLUMMER, reading a telegram. His hand is trembling imperceptively as he looks back at the members of his Admiralty there present.

(https://i.postimg.cc/2SKGM7TY/02-EXCEPTION1-article-Large.jpg)

Quote from: WILHELM II (his voice that of an old, old man, but tinged with steel and sarcastic reproach)
"Meine Herren, heute stimmt etwas mit Unseren gottverdammten Offizieren nicht."
[SUBTITLES: "Gentlemen, there is something wrong with our goddamned officers today"]

A 2008 BBC PRODUCTION

(https://i.postimg.cc/gcy1L1cT/title-card.jpg)

SINKING THE PRINZ: THE BATTLE OF CORNWALL

Title card fades; ARCHIVE FOOTAGE showing the Gneisenau under construction on the Wilhelmshaven yards

(https://s9.postimg.cc/h1ae3cven/7f3c4b328d6569b8f073e38293d62a1f--under-construction-battleship.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Prinz Eitel Friedrich and her sisters were a product of Mosley's Folly; conceived by German Admiral Rheinhard Scheer, to counter British cruiser and battlecruiser forces. The so-called Gneisenau-class ships were laid down on January 1929, mere weeks before the declaration of that war, and they never saw action during it. They were not as heavily armed as some British battlecruisers, but they were incredibly fast, meant to catch and destroy anything that they could outgun and to outrun anything they couldn't.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE from the launch of the Gneisenau. The Kaiser and the Imperial Family are present, saluting the cheering crowds.

(https://i.postimg.cc/HxjYSHS3/Intercept.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Gneisenau was launched and commissioned almost a full year before her two sisters, and it was her presence that sealed the doom of the Russian Navy in the 1932 war. After a series of naval battles with disastrous results for the Russians, the Gneisenau proceeded to single-handedly hunt down and destroy no less than fourteen Russian cruisers and armed merchant ships in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in less than three months, utterly smashing the attempts of the Russian Admiralty to counter the German submarine operations with surface raiders.

Cut to MOUNTJOY.

Quote from: MOUNTJOY
Even under Mosley, the British Admiralty had identified the danger that these ships would pose, and their performance in the Russo-German war clearly demonstrated that our original estimates were correct. The Gneisenaus were a terror and they were ranked at the same threat level as the German submarine fleet. We had reason to believe that they would be used in the same fashion as German battlecruisers and light cruisers during previous wars, positioned off the western coast of the United Kingdom to intercept incoming convoys nearing their destination.

(https://i.postimg.cc/bJrhph2M/Approaches.jpg)

Cut to a map of the western approaches, with 3d models of the Gneisenau battlecruisers patrolling the waters.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Admiralty had identified the problem - and had come up with a novel solution. Enter: the Arethusa.

Cut to SPALDING, who is poring over the blueprints of an Arethusa-class cruiser.

(https://i.postimg.cc/0yW456RC/Arethusa2.jpg)

Quote from: SPALDING
The Gneisenaus were made to kill cruisers - so it might seem counter-intuitive that the British respond to them with light cruisers. But the Arethusas are made for a purpose. They are fast enough to keep up and even outrun their hunters if they push their engines; they are equipped with early radar sets; and they have a low enough silhouette to patrol the German hunting grounds while escaping detection themselves.

(https://i.postimg.cc/0jbZrnY5/Arethusa.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Arethusas are the eyes of the Fleet. And, on the morning of the 18 September 1936, they are out hunting monsters.

(https://i.postimg.cc/DwMB1qMS/Gneisenau-port.jpg)

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of Gneisenau leaving harbor, dwarfing the small tugboats assisting her, her massive guns gleaming in the sunlight.

Quote from: Dr WERNER RAHN (voiceover)
Zee Gneizenau vas einer Grosser Kreuzer - ein large cruizer, not einer Schlachtkreuzer, as zee German Admiralität defined zee term.

(https://i.postimg.cc/qv6vb7Yq/Rahm.jpg)

Cut to Dr WERNER RAHN, seated in an ornate chair in the German Admiralität art gallery.

Quote from: Dr WERNER RAHN (gesticulating wildly)
Arh ! Sche vas puilt for sbeed, und for killing lighder schibs. Zo vere her zisters.

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of naval guns firing; cut to a merchant ship sinking

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Prinz Eitel Friedrich was the second ship of the class. Captained by Marcus von Holstein since the start of the war, she had joined her sisters in blockading the western approaches to the United Kingdom, where she had proved to be a terror.

Cut to REENACTMENT FOOTAGE; CHRISTOPH WALTZ, as M. v. HOLSTEIN is shown on the bridge of the Prinz Eitel Friedrich, using his binoculars. He lowers them and turns to the ship's FIRST OFFICER, giving a few orders sotto voce. His eyes are hard, and there is a slight, thin smile on his lips - the epitome of the stereotype of the near-insane German naval commander.

(https://i.postimg.cc/pV5cdbg8/Captain.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
Von Holstein runs a tight ship, and he is out for blood.

Cut to PROFESSOR GEORGE HODDER.

Quote from: HODDER
Von Holstein is an officer of the old school. He grew up with stories of Karl von Müller and Felix von Lückner, and their daring raids. He is in command of the closest thing Germany has to the old Frauenlob and Bremen, the glorious raiders of old. He wants to sink British ships. He wants glory.

Cut to CGI OF PRINZ EITEL FRIEDRICH, sailing into a fogbank.

Quote from: NARRATOR
In his desire to hunt down British ships and convoys, Holstein makes a grave error. On the morning of September 18, he splits off from the Gneisenau and the Friedrich Carl, and takes the Prinz Eitel Friedrich closer to the British coast. In doing so, he overextends, reaching deep within the prowling grounds of the coastal British patrols - and the Royal Navy is ready for him.

CGI of TWO BRITISH LIGHT CRUISERS, cruising through the mist.

(https://i.postimg.cc/qqRgLxy6/Cruisers.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Calypso and the Amphion, two Arethusa-class cruisers under the overall command of Captain Jeremiah McNair are patrolling the area. At 09:24 in the morning, their radar sets pick up the German raider. And thus begins a game of cat and mouse, with the mice stalking the cat.

TO BE CONTINUED...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 26, 2018, 04:52:37 pm
Merry Christmas, and all that sort of thing.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on December 26, 2018, 07:24:55 pm
Merry krismasu, Enioch-sama.

Very rude to leave us half way into this thriller imo.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on December 27, 2018, 07:46:37 am
(https://frm-wows-us.wgcdn.co/wows_forum_us/emoticons/cap_win.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Darius on December 27, 2018, 09:00:57 am
The bit with Dr Werner Rahn cracks me up  :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on December 27, 2018, 09:32:15 am
Funetic Akzent for ze vin.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: StarSlayer on January 04, 2019, 08:05:38 am
(http://i63.tinypic.com/biov4j.jpg)

Schlachtkreuzer S.M.S. Graf Spee
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on January 04, 2019, 08:52:12 am
10/10 would run away from
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 04, 2019, 02:07:52 pm
**** me, she's gorgeous and terrifying.

I particularly love the Lexington-style slab of a funnel, and the superstructure details are to die for.

Sail on, lovely shieldmaiden!

StarSlayer, far be it from me to accuse you of bias, but I think you have a favourite ship...

Note: This also earns you omake rights, if you want to commission a blurb in this universe...
Title: SINKING THE PRINZ: THE BATTLE OF CORNWALL (Part 2)
Post by: Enioch on January 15, 2019, 04:16:04 pm
Fade in from black after advertisement break. Two cruisers, sailing through the fog.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Calypso and the Amphion, two British picket light cruisers have located the German battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Firedrich, as she prowls the hunting grounds off the northwestern shores of Cornwall. They are stalking the larger ship using radar, and relying on the superb seamanship of their commanding officer, Captain Jeremiah McNair, who knows these waters like the back of his hand.

(https://i.postimg.cc/rw02ZRWC/Screenshot-7675.jpg)

Cut to REENACTMENT FOOTAGE; DAVID TENNANT, playing Jeremiah McNair is standing on the bridge of the Calypso. He is a bundle of nerves, jumping between observation stations and the telephone lines, taking in information and barking out orders to his bridge officers and crew.

Quote from: NARRATOR
As the two light cruisers dance at the outer limit of their radar range, McNair gives the order to report their contact to the Admiralty. Lieutenant Matthew Rolson writes down the message and rushes to the nearby radio room.

MCNAIR screams at the young actor playing ROLSON and points imperatively, never taking his eyes away from the radar plots; the young lieutenant is frantically scribbling down and then rushes towards the camera, which cuts to the actual MATTHEW ROLSON being interviewed

(https://i.postimg.cc/J0n2yS5c/Screenshot-7668.png)

Quote from: "MATTHEW ROLSON, starting as a voiceover and then switching to interview footage
"You should have seen the Captain. The instant we picked up the Germans on our scopes, he knew what was going on. We all thought we were done for, going up against the Germans. But he knew exactly what to do, and he knew exactly how to spur us into doing it. We played cat and mouse with the Prince for half an hour, until the radar boys could figure out exactly what we were dealing with, cold sweat running down all of our spines. And then - I remember - his eyes just lit up and he said, I remember, 'We 'ave the blighta, we 'ave 'im. Call it in!' he cried. 'Tell 'em we caught a bloddy whale!' And so I wrote down the message, as he said to me, I did, and we sent the message."

Cut to a map, displaying the positions of the Prinz and the two cruisers; A pulsing circle indicates the outgoing radio signal; further to the north, two more red blips appear, blinking in reply: HMS Ceasar and HMS Hood.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The heavy forces, standing ready to respond to German incursions signal their reply. Two massive superdreadnoughts, HMS Ceasar and HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, sail south to intercept the German behemoth. Mc Nair has gotten his message through

(https://i.postimg.cc/9XZpbmrR/Hood-2.jpg)

Cut to CGI FOOTAGE; the sleek, deadly shape of the Hood, cutting through the sea, her bow wave carving through the waves.

Quote from: NARRATOR
What McNair does not know is that the German raider possesses the very best in radio communications technologies and her radiomen are amongst the best in the Hochseeflotte. The Calypso's signal is immediately intercepted by the Prinz, and her relative position to the German warship is quickly traced.

Cut to VON HOLSTEIN on the bridge of the Prinz, receiving a report. He smiles thinly.

Quote from: NARRATOR
Von Holstein knows that he's being stalked, and he knows where his stalkers are. By calling for help, the mice have revealed their position to the cat.

(https://i.postimg.cc/gjgrsLRb/1939-07-00.jpg)

Cut to CGI FOOTAGE, of the Prinz turning, her turrets training to port. Then, cut to REENACTMENT FOOTAGE, of German sailors manning the guns and engineers tending to the boilers. Cut to CGI footage of the ship speeding up to flank speed

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Prinz Eitel Friedrich accellerates to her maximum speed of thirty-four knots and charges down the British cruisers. It is an aggressive move, one that takes Captain McNair completely by surprise

(https://i.postimg.cc/8z5Xt222/Screenshot-7677.jpg)

Cut to CGI footage of the Prinz sailing through a fogbank and emerging into a patch of clear air, her threatening silhouette almost materialising out of nothing into a massive slab of armor and guns. Camera pans to follow the ship's movement and reveals the two British ships out in the open, frantically trying to retreat into the fog. Cut to MCNAIR, staring horrified at the fifty-two thousand tons of death bearing down on him and his ship, as ROLSON'S voice plays over the footage.

Quote from: MATTHEW ROLSON
"I remember the radar officer saying 'hold on...' and then he started saying something like 'he's closing the range!' and the Captain ordered us to reverse course, but she came in like a bloody Juggernaught, she did. I thought the Calypso was a fast ship, but then the fog parted and we could see her approaching on the oblique, from the south, and I remember the Captain's face draining of all colour. He was pale as a corpse. And that's when I thought 'we're all dead'."

(https://i.postimg.cc/B62kY9wB/Screenshot-7687.png)

Cut to close-up of ROLSON'S face. His voice is trembling as he says the last sentences and he looks away from the camera. The veteran sailor is clearly shaken at the memory. A few seconds of silence, to underline the emotion.

Cut to CGI of the Prinz training her guns on the cruisers. Cut to VON HOLSTEIN on the bridge, nodding to his first officer.

Quote from: NARRATOR
At a range of less than six thousand yards, the Prinz fires her first shots in anger. Nine sixteen-inch rifles fill the air with thunder

(https://i.postimg.cc/bv1xTLvX/x44q9t.jpg)

Cut to CGI of the Prinz doing exactly that. The flash of the rifles is like a strike of lightning and the smoke clouds fill the screen. The sea surface is pitted with overpressure craters.

Quote from: ROLSON (voiceover), as the camera follows the shells
"I remember the flash before the sound hit, and when it came it really hit us. It was nothing like our own six-inchers. It was a distant roar, like the world was breaking apart and then a whistle like a dozen freight trains passing by over our heads. And I remember thinking 'oh, thank God, she's missed us'. And then the shells hit the water, not even a hundred yards to our portside, and the splashes were higher than the ship's mast. And every shred of relief I had felt disappeared.

Cut to REENACTMENT FOOTAGE of McNair crying out orders; cut to CGI FOOTAGE of the British cruisers heeling in a wild turn, and then to Dr. WERNER RAHN.

(https://i.postimg.cc/KYmz65Nh/Screenshot-7680.png)

Quote from: Dr WERNER RAHN (voiceover)
"Von Holstein does not know zat zere are British cabidal schibs coming. Arh! He only knovs zat he has tvo light cruizers in front of him, schibs zat zee Prinz is puilt to fight. Und zo he charges in, Ja? He zinks 'Aha, I can kill zee light schibs guickly und zen dizabear!' Und he is half right! Not combledely right, nein, of courze. But half right."

Cut to CGI FOOTAGE of the guns of the Prinz booming again.

Quote from: NARRATOR
For the crew of the Amphion, the game is over

(https://i.postimg.cc/gc5fQ35N/Screenshot-7671.jpg)

Cut to REENACTMENT FOOTAGE of a shell impacting the Amphion's bridge. Officers are thrown across the room, a flaming inferno spreads. Cut to CGI footage of the Amphion dying - the ship bucks and heaves and her hull cracks under the funnels

Quote from: ROLSON (voiceover)
"There was an almighty bang from behind us and I looked and I could see the Amphy right there, all covered in smoke. And I thought 'she's making smoke to cover our retreat, good lads'. But then I saw the fires as well, and realised she was falling behind, dead in the water. And there were splashes all around, as the Germans started firing their secondaries and it rained bloody fire."

CGI FOOTAGE: The Prinz traverses his main guns and fires again.

Quote from: NARRATOR
With the Amphion out of the fight, Von Holstein turns his guns to the Calypso. McNair desperately evades the incoming fire. But not for long.

Quote from: ROLSON (voiceover)
"I remember Lieutenant Andrews coming up, with a radio message, telling us that the Caesar was closing and they were about to open fire, and I thought 'That's it. We've made it.' And I remember feeling bad about the lads on the Amphy, but now we could turn around and save them, because we were safe thanks to the Dreadnoughts."

(https://i.postimg.cc/tR6sV77f/Screenshot-7683.png)

Cut to ROLSON, looking away from the camera, nodding sadly. A moment of silence.

Quote from: ROLSON, softly, almost to himself
"We weren't safe though, were we?"

Cut to CGI FOOTAGE; the Prinz fires yet again. Cut to REENACTMENT FOOTAGE: Von Holstein, smiling thinly on the bridge. Cut to McNair, lowering his binoculars and lowering his head in surrender, acknowledging what's going to happen.

CGI FOOTAGE: The Calypso is hit behind the funnels. A gout of flame; a detonation; the ship breaks in half.

(https://i.postimg.cc/J4k9LGCm/Screenshot-7673.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The monstrous German 16-inch shells punch through the lightly armoured cruiser and penetrate the Calypso's aft magazine. The hull cracks like an eggshell.

Cut to ROLSON, clearly shaken by the memories.

Quote from: ROLSON
"I don't remember the explosion. I remember the floor moving beneath my feet, rippling like a snake, and then there was a sharp pain on my shoulder, as the Cally jumped about six feet in the air and slammed me against the ceiling of the bridge. Broke my arm and four ribs. And then things get a bit hazy and the next thing I remember is falling into the water and being dragged away from the wreck by my mate Billy Gallagher. I remember seeing the Cally burning like a torch."

(https://i.postimg.cc/c4m4Q3WD/Screenshot-7664.png)

Cut to CGI footage of the Calypso - she is a column of flame. As the camera pans back, the flame gets hazier and hazier, as the fog starts creeping back in - and then the camera shakes as a massive ship enters the shot from the right, bearing down on the burning beacon.

(https://i.postimg.cc/7YpPb7TC/Screenshot-7688.png)

Quote from: ROLSON
"They tell me that's what the Caesar and the Hood used to find us. The funeral pyre of the Cally. That's how they found the Germans too.

The Germans regretted burning the Cally, I can tell you that!"

TO BE CONTINUED...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on January 15, 2019, 04:33:36 pm
DAVID TENNANT
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 15, 2019, 04:55:19 pm
TWO WORDS.

Whoops, just realised that I used the same image twice. Will fix tomorrow morning, I need to go to bed.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 16, 2019, 12:27:25 pm
Right, fixed. Unapologetic double post, shut up, I do what I want in my own thread. Also, I'm tired from negotiating, do you know how expensive Tennant is to hire?

Next update: Ruling the waves in the Mortal Engines universe, with Shivans from the depths.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on January 17, 2019, 02:15:54 am
Woah... not again such a long commercial break ;) Really want to see how they finally managed to sink the PEF (in some glorious 2008 CGI sequences, no less).
Title: SINKING THE PRINZ: THE BATTLE OF CORNWALL (Part 3)
Post by: Enioch on March 12, 2019, 08:18:37 pm
(https://i.postimg.cc/tJsQ36CK/hood-prince-of-wales-1.png)

Fade in from black after advertisement break. HMS Caesar and HMS Hood are sailing towards a distant pillar of smoke, their mighty main batteries already turning to engage the Prinz Eitel Friedrich.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Prinz Eitel Friedrich has brutally smashed the British patrols and is sailing straight for the defenseless merchant shipping all across the western shores of Britain. But the sacrifice of Captain Jeremiah McNair's cruiser patrol force has bought just enough time for the British response to arrive. Two British Dreadnoughts have been detached to fight the intruder and they are closing in fast.

Cut to ADMIRAL MOUNTJOY.

(https://i.postimg.cc/cHYdw6gy/Mountjoy.jpg)

Quote from: MOUNTJOY
HMS Caesar was a troubled ship. She was an Europa-class Superdreadnought, designed and built during the years of Mosley's folly, and she was seen as something of a dishonourable relic, to be honest. On paper, she was a magnificent ship, that outgunned the Gneisenau even though she was more than ten thousand tons lighter. But the Europas, in general, had not given a good accounting of themselves against the German battle-line in clashes such as Jutland. They were much more thinly armored than the German 'Unsinkables' and the officer corps under Mosley was...less than competent.

(https://i.postimg.cc/ZnXkVqWC/Jutland-day-4.jpg)

Cut to ARCHIVE FOOTAGE of a badly hurt British Dreadnought entering Portsmuth; the camera lingers on the massive shell craters dotting her armour and her mangled decks. The crew, wounded and despondent, are lining the gunwhales.

Quote from: MOUNTJOY (voiceover)
But this tine around, the Caesar was commanded by a skilled officer: Commander Daniel Bolton, a distinguished veteran, protégé of Admiral Hubert Brant and survivor of the Mosley purges. It was time to wipe the stain off her honour.

(https://i.postimg.cc/XvpGmHJm/fyfxrhzw.jpg)

Cut to DANIEL BOLTON on the bridge of the HMS Caesar, played by KENNETH BRANNAGH. The camera lingers on his determined expression.

Quote from: NARRATOR
The Hood, on the other hand, is an unburdened lesser child of an impoverished Albion. Although she was almost three years younger than the Caesar, she had both fewer and smaller rifles: only ten 14-inchers. And although her belt armor was thicker than that of her older sister, it was still nowhere near as thick as that of the German 'Unsinkable' battleships of her time. It was, however, considerably thicker than that of the Prinz, and Bolton was ready to use any and all advantages he could, against the German Kreuzer.

Cut to the Prinz; the two British ships are now clearly visible and the German behemoth begins a hard starboard turn. There are distant flashes of light on the silhouettes of the Brits and the guns of the Prinz boom in response.

(https://i.postimg.cc/6qtYdCjN/rotate-php3.jpg)

Quote
Von Holstein is not taken completely by surprise, but his firing directors are slow to respond; the British ships fire first and Bolton has drilled his crew well. Just as the 16-inch rifles of the Prinz fire their first ranging salvos, the British shells arrive. The Hood straddles her target with her first salvo; the Caesar overshoots by less than 200 yards.

Cut to Dr WERNER RAHN.

(https://i.postimg.cc/qv6vb7Yq/Rahm.jpg)

Quote from: Dr WERNER RAHN
Zee Prinz is not puilt for zis fight, not hakainst pattleschips, ja? Put Von Holstein zinks pack ven German Schlachtkreuser fought Pritisch Dreadnoughts und von, und he looks at his pig guns und he forgets zat he is in ein Grosser Kreuzer, verstehen Sie? Not ein 'Unzinkable'. It is ein eazy mistake to make. Arh ! Und zo, he sdays und fights, ven he schould haffe turned, made smoke und run pack to zee other tvo Gneisenaus.

(https://i.postimg.cc/5yVknhtT/6050465664-e1f42ac7f8-o1-1080x675.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The British ships fire again; this time their shots find their mark. One shell from the Hood strikes the main superstructure of the Prinz and holes her funnel, cutting the updrafts. Another shot buries itself in a secondary turret and kills the entire crew. And a third and final shot from the Caesar penetrates the 'Bruno' turret of the Prinz and blows it sky-high in a pillar of flame. A flash fire - thankfully one that does not reach the magazines, but one that is nonetheless lethal.

(https://i.postimg.cc/15Hwgk1X/bismark.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The German capital ship shudders and slows, her firepower diminished by a third. Von Holstein himself is blinded by the blast, close to the bridge as it was, and overall casualties are high; her damage control crews flood the forward magazines, adding to the sleek vessel's sluggishness. The Prinz is stunned under the unexpected blow; and they are not given the chance to recover. Less than thirty seconds later, the next salvoes arrive.

(https://i.postimg.cc/fWYgPRmP/Screenshot-5654.png)

Quote from: NARRATOR
Over the next five minutes, the Prinz is hit more than twenty times. Her 'Cäsar' turret is blown off its bearings. Internal secondary explosions knock out four boilers and douse the engineering crews with burning oil and water. Her main fire control director is hit twice and simply ceases to exist. Two shells penetrate her forward plating and torpedo belt, and cause uncontrollable flooding. Fires rage on her decks. And yet, her 'Anton' turret keeps returning fire, again, and again, and again, until, finally, a shell from the Caesar fuzes the bearings solid.

(https://i.postimg.cc/Fs7kR7pW/hmp-rnm-1978-162-large.jpg)

Cut to the radio room of the PRINZ EITEL FRIEDRICH

Quote from: NARRATOR
She has one thing left: somehow, impossibly so, her radio aerials have survived the dreadful beating she has suffered and she has enough power to call for help. Von Holstein, bleeding and battered on the conning tower, orders an SOS to be sent. Fifty miles to the south-west, the Gneisenau and the Friedrich Carl pick up the desperate signal and immediately make revolutions for thirty-two knots, pushing against the sunset, rushing to the aid of their sister.

Cut to ADMIRAL MOUNTJOY.

(https://i.postimg.cc/cHYdw6gy/Mountjoy.jpg)

Quote from: MOUNTJOY
Of course, Bolton was aware that German capital ships operated in larger flotillas - that had been the case since the days of Hipper's raids. He had intercepted the message from the Prinz and he realised quickly that he had very little time until reinforcements arrived. And so, he concentrated all his fire onto the Prinz, aiming to sink her quickly, and then deal with her would-be rescuers. There was only one problem with that, of course.

(https://i.postimg.cc/xCBGjMH2/Screenshot-5654-2.png)

Cut to DR SPALDING, gesturing over the technical plans of the Prinz

Quote from: SPALDING
The bloody thing just would not sink. Her superstructure was a mass of slag - Von Holstein died in this conflagration; three out of four crewmembers were effective casualties; her guns were silent; but her underwater compartmentalisation meant that, even if her belt was penetrated, flooding would not immediately doom her. In this, the Prinz saved her honour, and this places her among the legends of modern naval history.

Cut to PROFESSOR HODDER, reading from a thick volume; next to him, the journal of the Prinz lies open to the last entries, the paper still stained by fire.

Quote from: HODDER
There was a Greek wrestler once, named Arrhichion, who fought in the Olympic games. His opponent managed to place him in a stranglehold and he died, refusing to submit until the end. In his death throes, he struck a blow that broke his opponent's foot; and his opponent yielded in pain. Arrhichion died, but was declared the winner posthumously and remained, until the end of the ancient Olympics, 'the most famous of wrestlers'.

The camera pans to the book and a sculpture of two wrestlers....

(https://i.postimg.cc/9FD3nhXw/640px-Pankratiasten-in-fight-copy-of-greek-statue-3-century-b-C.jpg)

...then back to HODDER, who looks up, smiling, his eyes sad.

Quote from: HODDER
So it was with the Prinz. The ship and her crew knew they would not win the fight; and yet, they fought to the bitter end, for that extra second, that one more heartbeat, that fraction of a minute that might bring their salvation closer. As long as they lived - as long as the Prinz lived, the enemy was pinned there with them.

Quote from: MOUNTJOY (as CGI FOOTAGE OF THE PRINZ BURNING plays)
Bolton realises that this is taking too much time. He has no idea what is coming; he has lost his radar cruisers; light is fading fast; his lookouts report smoke approaching from the south-west. The stubborn refusal of the Prinz to die, has pinned his ships in the same spot for almost forty-five minutes, an eternity in modern naval combat. Unless he moves, now, the approaching enemy will know exactly where to find him and, if there is an Unsinkable out there, his chances of survival in a night-time engagement - the close-range brawls that the German monoliths excel in - would be minimal.

(https://i.postimg.cc/KjvK2Yp2/54dc1cf9e9a063dc43346265b5f6c817.jpg)

Quote from: NARRATOR
And so, Bolton does the only thing that he can: he retreats - from a sinking enemy. His ships essentially untouched, he leaves the field, incapable of scoring that final decisive blow that he was so desperate to achieve. When the Gneisenau and the Carl Friedrich arrive at the scene, they find the Prinz Eitel Friedrich a burning, drifting hulk, her enemies having disappeared into the twilight gloom.

(https://i.postimg.cc/NMV8GVSF/Screenshot-5656.png)

Quote from: NARRATOR
The crew of the Prinz has managed to stop the flooding, but the ship is completely impossible to navigate. Dead and wounded litter her decks (Von Holstein amongst them) and her upperworks are still burning. It is a little slice of Hell for the sailors and commanders of the Gneisenau and the Carl, as they face the hardest choices they will ever have to make: isolated in enemy waters, their comrades dead or dying, and the spectre of the enemy lurking in the darkness, they are called upon to save the Prinz and her crew at horrifying risk to their own lives, or consign their comrades to their fate and use the cover of night to escape the British patrols to safety.

It's going to be a very long night.

(https://i.postimg.cc/ht71wC70/scharn.jpg)

TO BE CONCLUDED...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 12, 2019, 08:21:57 pm
THAT IS NOT DEAD WHICH CAN ETERNAL LIE

Bolton, after this battle:


But the Prinz didn't.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Darius on March 12, 2019, 10:37:13 pm
(https://i.postimg.cc/tJsQ36CK/hood-prince-of-wales-1.png)

Identity switch for the Hood was unexpected, well done!  :D

The bbc documentary format is an inspired choice, please never let this die.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on March 13, 2019, 06:29:07 am
As a german, reading Dr Rahn is a pain, otherwise, great work as always :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 13, 2019, 06:34:13 am
Thanks both!

Dr. Rahn is the token quirky foreigner that you always find in late 20th century military documentaries. You know the one I'm talking about: the one speaking in an outrageous accent (or in his own language, only to be dubbed over by a voice actor with an outrageous accent) and speaking about an obscure part of the overall topic. Particularly common in American documentaries about the war in the Pacific with Japanese veterans  :rolleyes:

I considered setting this up as a History Channel documentary, but I'd somehow have to implicate aliens in the sinking (or, perhaps, the building) of the Prinz.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 14, 2019, 09:54:37 am

Drach is tackling the Voyage of the Damned
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 31, 2019, 12:09:42 pm
Announcement (http://nws-online.proboards.com/post/38135/thread)

There will be a poll up SOONTM.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on March 31, 2019, 12:11:53 pm
ohhh, excitement
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 31, 2019, 04:22:13 pm
Right, so here's the deal.

I will, of course, be buying RTW 2 on day 1, doing some testing to figure out the new gameplay and embarking on a new campaign shortly after that.

The questions that I'd like to submit to the HLP naval enthusiasts are the following:

1. Is there still an interest in this sort of thing? I can't help but notice that feedback has petered off a bit, but I'm not sure whether this is due to my own lack of regular updates or reduced audience interest.

2. Would you fine people be interested in a collaborative game, where the audience would have a say in ship designs? Roleplay would be very much encouraged: you would play industrialists and shipwrights, submitting your designs to the Admiralty, and/or members of Staff judging the submitted designs.

3. Which nation? We would be doing a full run, from the beginning of the game to the 1950-60s

Please cast your votes in the upcoming poll and speak your minds
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on March 31, 2019, 04:37:14 pm
RULES:

You have THREE votes per person. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR VOTES AFTER CASTING THEM, BE VERY CAREFUL BEFORE YOU CLICK THAT SUBMIT BUTTON.

I have made all nations bar Germany available, I'd like ti be free of Willy for a bit.

You may cast two votes in the "NATION" category and one vote in the "GAMEPLAY" category. I cannot prevent you from gaming the system and dropping all votes in NATION, but I'd rather you didn't.

I am looking for 20+ participations (60 votes) to commit to a new thread.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on March 31, 2019, 07:26:13 pm
Quote
1. Is there still an interest in this sort of thing? I can't help but notice that feedback has petered off a bit, but I'm not sure whether this is due to my own lack of regular updates or reduced audience interest.
I absolutely still read any and all new posts. But HLP as a whole has slowed down massively. And after releasing episode 2 I've not done all that much posting myself.

Quote
2. Would you fine people be interested in a collaborative game, where the audience would have a say in ship designs? Roleplay would be very much encouraged: you would play industrialists and shipwrights, submitting your designs to the Admiralty, and/or members of Staff judging the submitted designs.
Would love reading this, probably wouldn't participate myself that much.

Quote
I am looking for 20+ participations (60 votes) to commit to a new thread.
Might be asking a bit too much of current undead hlp (https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ohdear.png)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 01, 2019, 12:16:04 am
Well, if I'm going to be taking time to write this, I'll need some sweet divine nectar feedback.  :doubt: It's difficult to keep yourself motivated if you get no responses.

Worst case scenario, I'll claim this was all an April Fool's joke. :drevil: :lol:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 01, 2019, 04:59:28 am
I am very definitely interested in doing a collaborative thing.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on April 01, 2019, 06:22:36 am
1. Totally interested in reading your take on the naval history of whatever country you choose in the end. If there was some kind of "thank you" button for posts I would have used that, but writing a reponse after each of your posts without any content beyond "thank you, I enjoyed reading it" seems dumb.

2. Not really, as it requires high activity and timely responses to not stall your gameplay.

3./20 participations
Might be asking a bit too much of current undead hlp (https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ohdear.png)
That, most likely - unless you can somehow motivate the silent majority.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 01, 2019, 07:30:48 am
To clarify, the collaborative game would probably involve a series of "regular" posts by me, with  (perhaps every in-game year) interruptions for commissioning new ship designs. Ideally, I'd be providing the save game file for the "shipyards" to play with and submit their own crazy prototypes, but I'd also accept submissions in other forms (blueprint-like drawings, statssheets etc.) from those that do not or will not own the game.

Expect unreasonable expectations from the admiralty and compromises.

For obvious reasons, this would best work with 3-4 shipyards competing. If we can't get that, I'm not even starting this, it'd be doomed to fail. :blah:
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 01, 2019, 07:38:42 am
To clarify, the collaborative game would probably involve a series of "regular" posts by me, with  (perhaps every in-game year) interruptions for commissioning new ship designs. Ideally, I'd be providing the save game file for the "shipyards" to play with and submit their own crazy prototypes, but I'd also accept submissions in other forms (blueprint-like drawings, statssheets etc.) from those that do not or will not own the game.

Expect unreasonable expectations from the admiralty and compromises.

For obvious reasons, this would best work with 3-4 shipyards competing. If we can't get that, I'm not even starting this, it'd be doomed to fail. :blah:

You're going to make me buy this game, aren't you
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: 0rph3u5 on April 01, 2019, 07:58:23 am
I am very definitely interested in doing a collaborative thing.

Me too.

Although I am not a that interested in military history per se, but looking at the time period I would be nice to try and and emulate the stylings of News Reels. (I did a paper on the the Brithsh Pathé/Pathé News just a year back and have been using them as a source for years.)

Also, if you are doing the USSR I am more than willing to volunteer my knowledge of maxist orthodoxy. (It's going to be a welcome change of pace after the dealthing with the stuff I am using to build NTF Dialgoue right now.)

EDIT: April Fools Prank removed.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 01, 2019, 08:09:56 am
LDPYH UBGHI LQLWH OBLQW HUHVW HGLQG RLQJD FROOD ERUDW LYHWK LQJ.

PHWRR .

DO WKRXJ KLDPQ RWWKD WLQWH UHVWH GLQPL OLWDU BKLVW RUBSH UVH,E XWORR NLQJD WWKHW LPHSH ULRGL WZRXO GEHQL FHWRW UBDQH PXODW HWKHV WBOLQ JVRIQ HZVUH HOV.( LGLGD SDSHU RQWKH EULWL VKSDW KÉ/SD WKÉQH ZVMXV WDBHD UEDFN DQGKD YHEHH QXVLQ JWKHP DVVRX UFHIR UBHDU V.)

 DOVR, LIBRX DUHGR LQJWK HXVVU LDPPR UHWKD QZLOO LQJWR YROXQ WHHUP BNQRZ OHGJH RIPDU ALVWR UWKRG RAB. :)
(LW'VJ RLQJW REHDZ HOFRP HFKDQ JHRIS DFHDI WHUKD YHGHD OLQJZ LWKVW XIILX VHWRE XLOGW KHQWI GLDOR JXHUL JKWQR Z.)

*sigh*

Apparently it's "HLP is unusable" day again.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: 0rph3u5 on April 01, 2019, 08:13:47 am
It's just me. Today, will fix the posts tomorrow. (EDIT: Well, at the end of the day)

But, come one, a three letter rotation cypher isn't that hard.

EDIT: April Fools Prank removed.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 01, 2019, 08:23:26 am
Oh, so it's just "Orpheus is unusable" day :P

No, it's not *hard*, just incredibly annoying and irritating.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on April 01, 2019, 08:40:01 am
The idea of shipyards competing while also given unreasonable conditions from the government sounds intriguing and I will buy RTS 2 no matter what. Still I don't think I will be able to reliably deliver all ship proposals on time... so I would be happy just reading your posts :)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 01, 2019, 09:59:01 am
Well, before stating your intentions to buy the game, may I remind you all nice people that it's arguably pretty pricey for what it offers (around 35$, if I remember correctly). The fact that I'm an RTW nut should not cause either of you to spend hard-earned money on something you might not enjoy, which is why I said I'd be accepting of any type of submission.

@Orpheus, if the HLP proletariat votes for the USSR, I'll be sure to ask for help if it proves necessary, many thanks for offering! For now, Italy is leading and we haven't even reached 10 entries, so don't hold your breath.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on April 01, 2019, 10:45:42 am
Count me in for some narrative support. Newsreel or something like that. Or a rather badly drawn blueprint for ships :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 01, 2019, 01:05:57 pm
Well, before stating your intentions to buy the game, may I remind you all nice people that it's arguably pretty pricey for what it offers (around 35$, if I remember correctly). The fact that I'm an RTW nut should not cause either of you to spend hard-earned money on something you might not enjoy, which is why I said I'd be accepting of any type of submission.

It's not like that's breaking my bank these days.

Also, I'm currently stocking up on games that do not need a GPU.....
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Colonol Dekker on April 01, 2019, 01:50:34 pm
Vote cast for the mighty Blighty.

I enjoy reading this and expect to in the future too. :nod:


Only gripe is that Portsmouth has an O.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 01, 2019, 02:14:33 pm
If we play Britain, I demand this ship be given its chance to shine

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TechnoD11 on April 01, 2019, 02:41:13 pm
Please make more! These have been awesome to follow!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Colonol Dekker on April 01, 2019, 02:51:53 pm
If we play Britain, I demand this ship be given its chance to shine



I fear the modern Army is in a worse state than that ship would have been.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Admiral MS on April 02, 2019, 02:43:21 am
Well, before stating your intentions to buy the game, may I remind you all nice people that it's arguably pretty pricey for what it offers (around 35$, if I remember correctly). The fact that I'm an RTW nut should not cause either of you to spend hard-earned money on something you might not enjoy, which is why I said I'd be accepting of any type of submission.
As I said, I will buy it anyway. I spent too much time playing RTW 1 to not get the new one ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scotty on April 02, 2019, 11:44:28 pm
Voted!  I like this thread quite a lot, though admittedly I'm almost more interested to see what happens when the player hasn't practically solved the game before the undertaking.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Darius on April 03, 2019, 12:42:02 am
A "what if Italy's military was good" would actually be quite interesting...  :drevil:
PAX ROMANA
AVE CAESAR, MORITURI TE SALUTANT
INVICTUS SOLUS
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Mika on April 07, 2019, 11:47:16 am
Voted Vodkas, Ferraris and Baguettes.

I can occasionally provide some snippets if Russkies. Keep 'em distilleries safe! Hopefully Russkies are also more RNG heavy

Haven't been able to participate in HLP for a year due to lecturing and other side projects.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 08, 2019, 11:17:44 am
Quote
I am looking for 20+ participations (60 votes) to commit to a new thread.
Might be asking a bit too much of current undead hlp (https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-ohdear.png)

(https://i.postimg.cc/prSGzcrr/Voted.jpg)

Oh ye of little faith.

I suppose I can call this a success, although I wouldn't mind that final vote to scratch the itch. Poll will remain open until the set date, although for now it seems we will be looking at a cooperative game as the pastalovers.

*Land-based aviation intensifies*
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 08, 2019, 02:04:25 pm
it's on now
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TechnoD11 on April 08, 2019, 02:06:55 pm
cooperative game
Great! can't wait to see us all play the obvious best choice, the Frenc-

pastalovers
:mad:

Well I guess some changes can be made to my technical drawing:
(https://ilt4kg.bn.files.1drv.com/y4m8mmMA7V72WALy900IIIyixZiz9p6WnwYQWSWdL3vnlOM0cljOoea6MzUAVe0VACSIQ5W3s13lnqJ6eFocm5ElwtAiLrmYSCeBpDt1BeTp1_wYG8zB_i0AJtZtXnoGuGKXcLlleprWLVmii2zJQmYLGd6PtK03iemytPemTCwejkUwOKRQwnNAlgVi5ZIqRFiXdNDfQfHN6jo2u3YxfJ-gA?width=660&height=321&cropmode=none)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Colonol Dekker on April 08, 2019, 02:25:02 pm
Needs more white flags
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 23, 2019, 05:21:00 am
Ahem.

PSA: NWS have announced that the game release will be delayed to May 17.

http://nws-online.proboards.com/thread/1445/rule-waves-2-developers-journal?page=3

There is, however, no way I can extend the current poll to that date without scrapping it and restarting it.

At this point, there have been 26 individual votes (thanks to all you lovely people for your participation), with a slight preference towards a collaborative game. Wrt playable nations, Italy is leading by a hair's breadth, followed by the UK and Russia.

Despite the release delay, this poll will close as originally planned, on the 25th of April. If you're reading this and you still haven't cast your votes, this is probably a good time to establish Italy's lead or make the great upset and force me to play the Lion or the Bear.

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Colonol Dekker on April 23, 2019, 05:52:05 am
I'd counter urge anyone to vote for the Lion ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 26, 2019, 07:02:47 am
Well, the people have spoken (if we ignore Dekker's blatant collusion with Italian hackers to affect the poll against the interests of the British Admiralty)

A collaborative game as the Spaghettis it is.

=====GAME PREPARATION=====

I see that there are 11 people who voted for a collaborative format. I, therefore, think it is reasonable to expect at least 4 of you to volunteer as Industrialists /shipbuilders and 2 as Admirals (more participations are, of course, welcome)

If you are planning to buy the game (if you are, please keep in mind the DRM discussion that has recently been raging across the NWS forums -TLDR: RTW2 will be DRM locked to 2 instances per licence with the ability to migrate), then I propose you participate as shipbuilders. However, owning the game is *not* a prerequisite for joining as a shipbuilder - as I said before, I will be willing to accept submissions as drawings, stat blocks, descriptions, etc.

I expect each shipbuilder and admiral to not shirk away from roleplaying (I expect you to *sell* me your ships, not just post a file and call it a day) and I would like each shipbuilder to post a short blurb on this thread with the name of their firm, the name and description of their representative/president/player character and a short blurb based on the history of their firm and what they specialise in (no more than 500 words total).*  Likewise, I'd like the Admirals (who will be assisting me in judging and accepting the designs) to submit character names and a short blurb with their strategic thesis.**

Remember, we will be doing a FULL playthrough, from 1899 onwards. Keep that in mind when planning. Also remember that this will be a game of high-stakes funding and weapons manufacture IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY ITALY, with all that this implies for corruption, back door dealings, lobbying and overall shenanigans.***

You have been warned.

*This will affect the game.
** This will definitely affect the game
*** HahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on April 26, 2019, 09:36:12 am
(reading through that forum; lol if they think that DRM of theirs won't get cracked by some random russian guy within the month, why can't they just be sensible and put the game on steam instead of selling it through their windows 3.1 website)

I voted for the hasta la pasta's (and the USSR) and the Let's play format. But I must admit, that submitting terrible ship designs and lobbying for them sounds like a lotta fun. But I must also admit that my regia marina knowledge is very lacking. Gotta do some reading up...
Are you aiming for a semi-realistic/historical italy or is this going into full alternative history territory?


Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 26, 2019, 09:45:04 am
(reading through that forum; lol if they think that DRM of theirs won't get cracked by some random russian guy within the month, why can't they just be sensible and put the game on steam instead of selling it through their windows 3.1 website)

Because they are adamantly opposed to involving a third party in their distribution and want these new-fangled Steam people to get off their lawn. Also because they are experienced and want to protect their product and they cannot reveal all the reasons because...reasons.

Quote
Are you aiming for a semi-realistic/historical italy or is this going into full alternative history territory?

I wouldn't mind keeping it somewhat realistic, but you all know I can rarely avoic going full retard Alternate History with a sprinkling of weeb.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: 0rph3u5 on April 26, 2019, 09:53:49 am
IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY ITALY, with all that this implies for corruption, back door dealings, lobbying and overall shenanigans.

"overall shenanigans" may include "historically established economic north-south divide", I guess :P
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 26, 2019, 11:54:23 am
(https://i.postimg.cc/Y97pPk4w/RTW-Italy.jpg)

I think the Italian characteristics speak for themselves.

I love hate you all.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on April 26, 2019, 12:39:35 pm
>Some corruption

Italian shipyards with their own best interests in mind:
(https://i.imgur.com/EYEgi6p.jpg)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: 0rph3u5 on April 26, 2019, 06:31:22 pm
Quote
(https://i.imgur.com/EYEgi6p.jpg)

Oh, my darling Spoon, isn't the opposite the truth. :D

The labour required to bring forth purity from corrupt material is the measure of great mind.

That goes also for you, Enioch. :yes:

/act
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 27, 2019, 02:04:35 am
What would the role of an Admiral be?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 27, 2019, 02:38:36 am
As envisioned right now, they would:

1. Set the required specs for new contracts, in a committee with me.
2. Judge and accept proposals from the shipbuilders
3. Set overarchig strategic policy.
4. Accept bribes
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 27, 2019, 03:04:36 am
welll


I am immensely bribable.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 27, 2019, 04:01:56 am
A reputation for that might serve you well  ;)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on April 27, 2019, 04:09:05 am
Having done some reading on the Regia Marina, I would like to apply for the role of Vice Admiral Felice Napoleono Canevaro, commander of First Division, First Naval Squadron.
It is my firm belief that a modern navy is a fast and hard-hitting one; By striking faster and harder than our opponents, we can overcome them even if they are numerically or technologically superior. We are, at this point in time, on the cusp of a major revolution in naval technology; if we can capitalize on that, modernize our fleet and our tactics faster than our opponents can, we can secure the mediterranean and our african holdings for the foreseeable future, maybe even gain ground in other parts of the world.

OT note: The real Canevaro was, based on his Wiki entry, a gifted leader and a bit of a diplomat; as first commander of the International Squadron (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Squadron_(Cretan_intervention,_1897%E2%80%931898)), he managed to get forces from Austria-Hungary, France, the German Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom to work together. His successes there led to him being drafted as minister of foreign affairs, a role in which he was ... less than stellar; diplomats not being sailors. He seems to have been a committed internationalist, arguing to uphold Italy's treaties with Austria-Hungary and Germany and working behind the scenes to improve relations with France.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 27, 2019, 08:39:55 am
Submission

Noted and approved
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on April 27, 2019, 04:48:18 pm
Sign me up as shipwright...
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on April 28, 2019, 01:10:20 am
Sign me up as shipwright...

I would like each shipbuilder to post a short blurb on this thread with the name of their firm, the name and description of their representative/president/player character and a short blurb based on the history of their firm and what they specialise in (no more than 500 words total).

Insufficient data, please resubmit form.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on May 01, 2019, 01:54:31 pm
I don't see any italian shipyard applications yet, but I figured it might be fun to have some foreign competition too. Here's a submission for a legacy fleet B.

----------

'Short, balding, stout and middle-aged. Alexander Mason, despite appearances, was both a competent engineer and salesman. Negotiating a couple of successful deals with foreign powers, utilizing his silver tongue and his knowledge of the internal workings of the ships, to deliver a good sales pitch.
This time around, Vickers had put him in charge of trying to sell a battleship design to the Italians. Not exactly their most regular of customers. And it felt to Alexander that he had to start the negotiations with one hand tied behind his back... Because this design had some... issues.
He glanced over the blueprint again and again, how was he going to spin this?

(https://imgur.com/wttqmf5.jpg)

Vickers had invested heavily in developing these large 13 inch guns (A feat that only the French had managed to match them in, so far), and they were eager to recoup the costs of this investment. Upon testing, however, The quality of these rifles had revealed them to be... how do we put this nicely... Not great. The larger bursting charge of the 13 inch HE shell is powerful, but at 13''/35, these guns are acting more like large howitzers rather than proper naval guns. Firing AP shells out of them has little chance of defeating any kind of decent belt armor.
The design has other glaring issues, the crew quarters are cramped and poorly ventilated, stability in heavy weather is dicey at best and the armored belt, while thick, had to be narrowed somewhat to accomendate the torpedo tubes. Speaking of which, the entire design seemed designed mostly to wade into the Habsburg fleet and slug it out at pointblank, torpedo, range.
While the Italians do have a reputation to be a bit hotheaded at times, they would need to find a brave captain indeed to make this ship design shine in combat.

Alexander wiped the sweat off his brow with a handkerchief, his boat to Italy departs tomorrow, he would be as ready as he could be.'
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 01, 2019, 02:28:03 pm
I was about to say 'how the hell did he manage to fit 13'' guns and 13 inches of belt on a legacy desi-'

-oh.

Oh
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on May 01, 2019, 02:36:45 pm
I'm not planning on ever submitting good designs :V
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 01, 2019, 02:59:30 pm
Keep in mind that if relations with the UK ever sour, it will be impossible to order ships from their shipyards. Which is why I would readily accept this as a legacy submission, but I would not encourage players to be avatars of foreign shipyards
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 09, 2019, 04:55:12 am
This is relevant for both Admirals and Shipwrights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgIJEWv7Hdw

On that note, I have an Admiral, a Brit marketing specialist and a Shipwright who refuses to disclose their company data. 11 of you voted for a collaborative game. I expect more submissions, ladies and gentlemen.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on May 09, 2019, 06:00:01 am
I expect more submissions, ladies and gentlemen.

Out of context evil overlord quote
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Veers on May 09, 2019, 08:01:26 am
I went through 22 pages in a single sitting over the other weekend, and finished the remaining pages this evening.

Fantastic stuff Enioch, fantastic stuff.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 09, 2019, 08:05:34 am
(https://i.postimg.cc/1RBRQkFj/tumblr-pcxxpm-R4-S91qc775so1-500.gif)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scotty on May 09, 2019, 08:14:35 pm
I voted for cooperative but I'm also bad at this game and worse at designing ships - especially the second game since we haven't seen how it goes yet.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 10, 2019, 05:41:00 am
I voted for cooperative but I'm also bad at this game and worse at designing ships - especially the second game since we haven't seen how it goes yet.

So, an excellent candidate for an Admiral, then?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: crizza on May 10, 2019, 05:46:52 am
This is relevant for both Admirals and Shipwrights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgIJEWv7Hdw

On that note, I have a a Shipwright who refuses to disclose their company data.
That me? Is there a tool to design ships like ingame? I mean, I have the first one, but well :D
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 10, 2019, 06:13:43 am
That me?

Yes.

Quote
Is there a tool to design ships like ingame? I mean, I have the first one, but well :D

Ahem, *as I have specified* it will not be necessary to buy the game to play as a Shipwright - you can submit estimates of what you're aiming for and I will be happy to translate your concept into a game design for the contract award process (ofc if you choose to buy the game, you can save me the hassle, but I refuse to put participation in this collaborative playthrough behind an effective paywall).

However, this:

Sign me up as shipwright...

is insufficient.

What is necessary, if you want to register as a Shipwright is this:

I expect each shipbuilder and admiral to not shirk away from roleplaying (I expect you to *sell* me your ships, not just post a file and call it a day) and I would like each shipbuilder to post a short blurb on this thread with the name of their firm, the name and description of their representative/president/player character and a short blurb based on the history of their firm and what they specialise in (no more than 500 words total).*  Likewise, I'd like the Admirals (who will be assisting me in judging and accepting the designs) to submit character names and a short blurb with their strategic thesis.**

What's your shipbuilding firm? What do they specialise in? Where are they based? How are you planning to 'sell' your designs to the Admiralty?

Spoiler:
How involved are you with the Mafia?

This is a roleplaying collaborative game as much as it is a number-crunching tactical simulator. Let me know what character you want to play, and play them.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scotty on May 10, 2019, 11:17:09 pm
I voted for cooperative but I'm also bad at this game and worse at designing ships - especially the second game since we haven't seen how it goes yet.

So, an excellent candidate for an Admiral, then?

This is a fantastic point.

For your consideration then (unlike The_E I lack any sort of knowledge of Italian admiralty, and will be making one up):

Rear Admiral Giuseppe Alfonsi (Savoy-Genoa) is relatively young for his station and achieved his post (what is supposed to be a safe position in the Home Squadron) not because of any particular talent or skill, but because of his relation by marriage to one of the cadet branches of the royal family.  A man of relatively short stature, "Little Alfonse" at least has the usually beneficial quality of being incredibly enthusiastic in all of his endeavors.  This resulted in a massive and sustained infatuation with whatever happens to be the hot new tactic or technology of the day, most notably and for the longest duration (so far) with the Jeune École.  He opposes overseas colonies, seeing them as a liability and threat to the ability of the fleet to defend itself and its holdings.

As such, he is in favor of (at the beginning, at least):
- Technological improvements
- ASW
- Torpedoes and fast torpedo boats

And not in favor of:
- Increasing dock space
- Overseas colonies/stations

I think it goes without saying that he's going to be fanatically pro-aircraft when that becomes available.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on May 16, 2019, 01:19:11 pm
Game releases tomorrow.

I was going to get the demo and train, but I didn't because of RL time cobstraints. Will get the game on day 1 and dick around a bit, to familiarise myself with the new features and UI (so your horrible designs will be sunk because they were horrible, not because I forgot to check checkbox #23 in menu #196.)

I currently have 2 Admirals and a Limey shipbuilder.

Put your submissions where your votes were, people.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Spoon on May 16, 2019, 01:37:21 pm
I tried the demo briefly and it was pretty buggy. Half the fleet I started with were tagged as old but were so incredibly overweight and illegal in other ways, that I could not rebuild them. A lot of the rest of the new carrier stuff seemed a bit shaky too. Grade A programming. I'm sure their DRM will be impossible to crack :V

Put your submissions where your votes were, people.
Oh ye of little faith.
Something something, I told you so.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Grizzly on May 18, 2019, 10:24:04 am
Might be worth pestering people on the discord as that seems where everybody is these days :)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 17, 2019, 10:04:26 am
RTW2 is an excellent sequel. It keeps all the autistic beauty of its predecessor and adds to it with more fiddly bits.

I am currently bringing my second Japan game to its close. It's been a blast, mostly because of the massive bonuses Japan gets to early carrier tech. I caused the Russians to go full communist in 1916, when they declared war on me with 12 capital ships standing by in Vladivostok to steamroll me. I only had four capitals (Seydlitz-like battlecruisers armed with 12" guns to their 13"-armed BBs and BCs) but I also had five light carriers, with a total of 60 planes standing by (all of them early cruiser conversions).

On the same turn as the war declaration, they push with their entire fleet and a massive transport convoy and try to invade Hokkaido. I send my DD flotillas and my 4 BCs to run interference, while my CVs launch, strike, recover and repeat again, and again, and again. None of their capital ships had more than 4 machine guns for AA.

Eight hours later, the last surviving Russian BB limped into Vladivostok.

The profile generator is also very nice, especially since I downloaded the extra sprites pack.



Some pretties:

(https://i.postimg.cc/X7jxvXHK/Mikasa0.png)

The Mikasa early-20th-century pre-dreadnought. She and her two sisters served faithfully until 1915.

(https://i.postimg.cc/VvRRRc6b/Asama0.png)

The Asama-class of armored cruisers. The two ships were converted to light experimental carriers in 1914 and were instrumental in crippling the Russian Far East squadrons.

(https://i.postimg.cc/9My1D9Hb/Asama-R-1919-0.png)

This is them in their CVL configuration, after their 1919 refit, when they got their new AA suite. They served as training ships and colonial garrison HQs until the 1940s and were the first ships of the IJN to be fitted with flight deck catapults, proving the viability of those devices before their installation on fleet carriers.

(https://i.postimg.cc/yNgLz5fw/Yaeyama0.png)

These are the little Yaeyamas. Built in the early 20th century as raiding cruisers, they got converted to CVLs alongside the Asamas. Two thousand tons lighter, but without the superfluous heavy belt armor of their bigger brethren, they were speedy and excelled in their purpose, especially after they received oil-fired boilers and bulges for better seakeeping (the same bulges doubled up as avgas storage tanks).

(https://i.postimg.cc/TPzC29Fh/Yaeyama-R-1920-0.png)

Here they are after they got their new shiny AA installed in 1920.

(https://i.postimg.cc/90VbZfWh/Naniwa0.png)

Finally, little Naniwa, built as a light scout cruiser and converted to a seaplane carrier in the 1910s. She was retired in 1925, and is now the pride and joy of the Yokosuka Maritime Aviation museum.



Time to look at some heavy-hitters:

(https://i.postimg.cc/YCj31Zwh/Kurama0.png)

Here are the Kuramas, the class of four BCs that held the line in Hokkaido. Fans of the previous IJN capaign will be pleased to know that the Tsukuba and the Ikoma saw service over two decades together, and proved to be high-value workhorses against the Russians in Sakhalin, the French in Annam and the Germans in the South Pacific campaigns. A naval treaty that prohibited the construction of large ships in the late 1920s resulted in them getting a new lease of life, with extensive refitting, new engines, new guns and a modern AA suite. They were retired in the early 1940s, darlings each and every one of them.

(https://i.postimg.cc/gksSy3XB/Kongo0.png)

Kongo was unique, and an experiment in large BC construction. A 40kton ship, with thicker armor than the Kuramas, she could do 28 knots in 1918 and carried twelve 14" rifles in four triple turrets. She served as the flagship of the IJN until 1941 and was instrumental in ousting the French from their bases in the South China Sea. Every single invasion conducted by the Japanese during the 1930s was planned and directed on the bridge of the Kongo, and the French and Russians learned to fear the old girl.

(https://i.postimg.cc/G3kS2WcR/Haruna-R-1945-1.png)

The Haruna was completed four years after Kongo and served as an alternative: fewer but heavier barrels, a better belt, deck and torpedo system and a high top speed of 30 knots, to keep up with the fleet carriers that the Japanese were launching at the time. She was built from the get-go as an AA barge, bristling with medium and light AA guns that would be replaced and improved over her long career. She was also the only IJN capital ship to ever be fitted with a catapult and scout floatplane, but those were removed after her RADAR suite was installed. She still serves in 1949, having undergone at least four major refits.

(https://i.postimg.cc/JzgQKx1K/Fuso0.png)

Also, the new Fuso-class superbattleships. At 50ktons, they can do 30 knots (a necessary standard for any capital ship that needs to stay with the CVs), are defended by a 14" inclined belt and carry a 5.5" deck. This makes them immune to their own main guns from a distance of 19k to 24k yards. Said main armament, comprising eight 17" rifles firing superheavy diving shells, are all concentrated forward, resulting in a smaller, more easily defendable citadel. The Fusos carry the best RADAR suites in the world and their guns are controlled by new electro-optical directors that can consistently hit targets over 41k yards away, even when blindfiring on RADAR signatures. And, of course, they bristle with AA mounts. Even so, they are due for a refit, to add more heavy AA batteries.



Finally, the Fleet Carriers, Japan's pride and joy:

(https://i.postimg.cc/GmSXVrjF/Akagi0.png)

The Akagi class. Two ships were built originally, but the Kaga was lost to German sabotage in 1944; in response, the Japanese declared war, ousted the Germans from Kamtchatka and the South Pacific and brought the German government to its knees within the span of eighteen months. The Akagi led the assault on the German forces in the North Pacific, solo-sank three German CVLs off the Aleutians after a 6-hour duel, and still serves today. She is charged with safekeeping the South China Sea and carries 72 planes.

(https://i.postimg.cc/7ZLBKbSP/Soryu0.png)

The three Sohryu class supercarriers (massive ships of over 34ktons) are the core of the Kido Butai. They comfortably make 31 knots despite their large size and are bristling with dual-purpose and heavy AA batteries. They spearheaded the push south, in the treacherous waters of the South Pacific; there, they sank a German battlecruiser off Papua New Guinea and reduced the German fortifications in the Bismarck Archipelago to rubble. They carry 100 planes each, including the new, terrifying Kyushu Renzan fighters and the tried-and-true Aichi Soren torpedo / ASW bombers.

(https://i.postimg.cc/L62QZxX1/Hosho-R-1945-0.png)

Finally, the three Hosho-class carriers are the heirs to the CVLs of the early years. They displace less than half of the Sohryus at 16ktons, but they can still carry 38 planes on a 30-knot chassis that costs less than half as much to operate and can handle smaller harbors. They were built from the keel up to operate with squadrons of new 2.5kton Hatakaze-class DDs, but they have yet to see battle and the new doctrine has not been tested yet.


TL;DR: I do not regret my purchase, I foresee a lot of hours pleasantly wasted on this game.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 17, 2019, 11:00:42 am
(https://i.postimg.cc/JzgQKx1K/Fuso0.png)

Also, the new Fuso-class superbattleships. At 50ktons, they can do 30 knots (a necessary standard for any capital ship that needs to stay with the CVs), are defended by a 14" inclined belt and carry a 5.5" deck. This makes them immune to their own main guns from a distance of 19k to 24k yards. Said main armament, comprising eight 17" rifles firing superheavy diving shells, are all concentrated forward, resulting in a smaller, more easily defendable citadel. The Fusos carry the best RADAR suites in the world and their guns are controlled by new electro-optical directors that can consistently hit targets over 41k yards away, even when blindfiring on RADAR signatures. And, of course, they bristle with AA mounts. Even so, they are due for a refit, to add more heavy AA batteries.

*Lifts mask off of the mysterious Samurai's head*

I KNEW IT! It was Richelieu all along!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 17, 2019, 11:02:16 am
Also yay more eniochposts
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 17, 2019, 03:37:30 pm
Yay, more the_eresponses!

*Lifts mask off of the mysterious Samurai's head*

I KNEW IT! It was Richelieu all along!

This baby would eat OTL Richelieu for breakfast and chew the bones into metal filings. 15" guns can't hurt her at all if she stays beyond 15k yards.

What the Richelieu could do would be to run. The Richelieu and other fast BBs of OTL can do 31+ knots. The Fuso can hit 30, but no more.

Then again, the Fusos usually bring friends along. Friends that can do 450+ knots and carry eggs and fishes...



I have not expanded as much as I had colony-wise during my previous playthrough, and I am hovering around 60 prestige in 1954, but I consider my playthrough no less successful. By constantly beating the French and Russians over the head and taking their stuff, I have built up an amazing economy around the South China Sea and the South Pacific. Right now, my core areas outproduce the entire British Empire. I have had an alliance with the US going for the past 25 years or so (and I've been such a good ally to them that THEY constantly ask me to renew it). The only other Power that is still around are the Brits, and they keep ramping up the tension, then I declare war to someone else and beat them into the ground like it's just another Tuesday, then the Brits take one look at how that war is going and scurry back into their hideyholes going "nopenopenope" all the way.

Currently I am in a sort of friendly arms race with the US, where tensions are like 0-1 and we are allies, but we keep spying on each other and building ships to surpass what the other guy is doing. I just churned out 5 new 2.5kton destroyer leaders; they commission a new Worcester equivalent. Their new gambit is building a new 42kton carrier, their first foray into the 35+kton club. My response was to lay down the successors to the Soryus: three four 40kton supercarriers with angled decks and 120-plane complements. I also rebuilt the entire CV force with Diesel engines, which is both economical, weight-efficient (so i can squeeze ~5 or so planes more into every old CV) and makes the ships much more maneuverable (they accellerate significantly faster). I also also laid down two ultralight CVs, sort of like super-CVEs. 25knots, 12kton displacement, 34 plane complements. They have amazing ASW scores and they can be left behind to mind the house when the big girls are out to play.

If there's one thing I regret, it's not having the chance to do a massive Midway fight with 4-5 CVs per side. The nearest thing I got to it was when the Akagi duelled the three Russian CVLs in the north, and that was glorious.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 18, 2019, 07:39:04 am
Meet the Kaga

(https://i.postimg.cc/Njdj7q03/Screenshot-7775.png)

Forty thousand tons of pure awesome, with new steam catapults and an angled flight deck, scheduled to be commissioned in late 1956 with her three sisters: Hiyo, Amagi and Taiho.

She is essentially unarmored (like all IJN fleet carriers), operating under the assumption that any reasonable (read: <8") amount of deck armor can be defeated by AP dive bombers anyway and that if you're taking AP bombs to your deck you've already lost the fight. Instead, she works to ensure that she will not get AP bombed to oblivion in the first place.

She will be the first CV class world-wide to operate jet interceptors: the new transsonic Kyushu Sakuradan, capable of 530 knots on the deck, and she will be able to launch more than thirty of them as CAP, effectively intercepting incoming bandits up to 400 nautical miles away. The new fighters will also be able to carry a 2k-pound bomb, with an effective bombing range of 250 nautical miles. The nearest competitor the US have is the prop-driven Vought Vanguard Block D, introduced in 1953, with a 440-knot speed and a heavier armament (although, interestingly, the Japanese interceptor has the same turn rate as the propplane, topkek).

For anti-shipping strikes, she can deploy the new but slower Nakajima Tsurugi torpedo bombers, capable of 325 knots on the deck and with an effective combat range of just under 525 nautical miles. This is shorter than the equivalent US torpedo bomber (the Grumman Avenger) but the American strikecraft can carry a much lighter load (less than 80% that of the Tsurugi) and is 40 knots slower.

I haven't seen these babies float yet, and I already adore them. Next escalation: 60kton+ CVs

EDIT: April 1956, we are 9/10 tension with the Brits and the Sakuradan gets its Block B modification, upping her maximum speed to just under 540 knots with no performance loss in any other aspect. The Kagas are 5 months away and building at an accellerated pace; my alliance with the US has just expired, but they still gifted me with Tier 5 RADAR on the way out. <3 America, you've been awesome.

EDIT 2: Goddammit, Brits, never change.

(https://i.postimg.cc/15nh4mBt/Screenshot-7777.png)

Imma gonna take Hong Kong and half of Australia now, tyvm.

Also thinking of hitting them again for Burma (oil!) and tasty tasty war reparations.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 18, 2019, 03:15:16 pm
Hello there Cloud Dragon, welcome to the family.

(https://i.postimg.cc/QMYJ5YvF/Screenshot-7778.png)

Built as successors to the Kaga-class and serving as the most significant strategic assets of the IJN, the four Unryu-class supercarriers displace just under 60ktons and carry 165 aircraft. They are faster than their predecessors, at 33 knots; there is nothing floating in the world that can catch up to them except destroyers, and those would have to deal with their screen before harming the flattops. In addition, both their primary and secondary armament is dual-purpose and autoloading, giving them a fearsome close-range bite, in case an underage boat manages to creep too close.

They carry 60 Sakuradan Block B interceptors, and each of them also hosts an elite 5-man squadron of handpicked pilots flying the new Kyushu Nasu air superiority fighters. The Nasu is superior to the Sakuradan B in every respect, but it's also expensive to build and maintain, and they are being sparingly assigned to carrier squadrons.

Their offensive strike capability consists of 40 Kyushu Byakko torpedo / ASW planes, the fastest and most heavily armed torpedo bombers in the world. They can carry a single torpedo and strike as far away as 660 nautical miles, or they can mount two 2,000-pound warheads for a shorter-range skip-bombing strike.

Finally, for surgical strikes against both naval and land targets, the Unryu-class carriers also host 60 Yokosuka Arakai dive bombers, capable of carrying a single 1,400 pound warhead to a range of just under 500 nautical miles and, with a transsonic dive, put it right through 9 inches of steel armor or its equivalent in concrete. The Sakuradan interceptors can carry a single, heavier, 2,000-pound bomb but, when doing so, their range is limited to almost half that of the Arakais.

Here's a comparison table showing how the Sakuradan and Nasu interceptors compare (at least speed- and firepower-wise) to their contemporaries in other nations:

(https://i.postimg.cc/hjHw8tNQ/Screenshot-7779.png)

And here's a snapshot of the navies of the world in January 1963. The USA are currently building 3 more 45kton CVs, but I'm not particularly concerned. Also note that the Akagi is currently undergoing a refit and does not show up on the list:

(https://i.postimg.cc/RZgnW6nd/Screenshot-7782.png)
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Darius on August 18, 2019, 04:10:47 pm
The lack of japanese cruiser hulls is interesting. Is your main form of area defense from the fighter screen or do the carriers and destroyers provide enough defensive fire?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 18, 2019, 04:21:34 pm
CAP cover, combined with DD and BB AA have proved sufficient so far. My DDs are all AA-specced, and carry 8x5" autoloading DP guns; none of my lategame capital ships carry fewer than 12x5"+20x4" autoloading DP guns.

I have just laid down three 10kton Worcester-equivalents, with 10x6" DP autoloaders, but it's going to take at least two years for them to be commissioned. The main reason I've built them is because the game keeps throwing my DDs against enemy light cruisers, simply because I have no heavier response to them. So I'm trying to get some more AA into the mix, while also acquiring a ship that can brawl a bit more effectively against light forces.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: The E on August 19, 2019, 04:27:20 am
It is somewhat funny to me that a game that was originally made with the goal of "What if no carriers" ends up with a game state where "Only carriers and destroyers" is a winning paradigm. Very realistic, I suppose.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 19, 2019, 05:11:32 am
Quite.

I am still a bit concerned that the matchmaking algorithms can't really handle such a skewed navy. When I get into a fight with another navy that has cruisers operating, two things can happen:

OR

When the latter scenario happens it feels amazing; when the former scenario occurs, you can't help but feel bitter that your DDs have been hung out to dry when you have placed several CVs and CVLs in the same map sector, specifically so they can engage isolated enemy ships like that ****ing CA that just blew poor Minekaze to smithereens.

Kinda feels like this:

Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 19, 2019, 02:26:16 pm
PSA:

I have set up a Discord channel for the potential collaboration game

I will judge the feasibility of such a game based on the number of people joining

Discord link: /zYeEtrW
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TechnoD11 on August 20, 2019, 09:38:32 pm
PSA:

I have set up a Discord channel for the potential collaboration game

I will judge the feasibility of such a game based on the number of people joining

Discord link: /zYeEtrW

I've refrained from joining for now pending quick clarification on this - I'm interested in seeing the story writeups like we have had so far, but I don't think I'd like to take an active role (ie play a submitted role like those posted earlier on here). Should I still join this discord?
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on August 21, 2019, 12:06:29 am
There will be channels reserved for players, but the game results will be visible to everyone.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Enioch on January 09, 2020, 01:08:12 pm
Yes, yes, not posted in 30 days, blah blah blah, bugger off, I post when I like.

Had some time during the holidays to sit down and do some modeling. It's been a while and I've forgotten how relaxing it can be, and since I'm not doing much modding anymore, I thought I'd work on some RTW-related stuff.

(https://i.postimg.cc/bYHKcRty/Render19.png)
HIJMS Mikasa, sailing merrily along. Sadly no smoke, Blender's smoke simulation system is baffling to me.
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: Scourge of Ages on January 09, 2020, 10:54:36 pm
Ooh, kirei!
Title: Re: Enioch's naval shenanigans - RTW as Germany - [Image Heavy!]
Post by: TechnoD11 on January 10, 2020, 11:59:58 am
snip

That's actually really pretty - nice job! one of these days i should learn to how use blender right