Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Jun 22, 2016 22:39:16 GMT -6
It has been three months after the conflict in the Paemir region has ended, with the few participants successfully obtaining what their wanted, and with the exception of Paemirians, at a very low cost. The conflict had caught the attention of the Zalborian nobles for a bit, less on the foolish council that was overthrown, but more on the impressive military actions that the involving parties had carried out. Many of the brighter nobles had already predicted the results, but did not expected the conflict to end so quickly, and with such an overwhelming victory.
But it did not take long before the eyes of those in power turned in another direction, this time to the North. At the young region in "Fuartalamh Island", conflict has raised between Zalboria and their ally Raoecia when both nations had their eyes set on what could be a strategic location between the two nation. The controller of the island would certainly have an advantage over the other just by its location, the island also contains all sorts of valuable resources, so the treasure island is certainly more interesting than the wasteland in Paemir. The two nations had always wanted to take control of the area, but could not gain an upper hand until recent times when Raoecia seems to be able to gain a stronger hold on the area.
Worried about the situation, King Kylan VI of Zalboria had summoned three of his most loyal and skilled clans to court, the three lords that recently achieved great success in Paemir. Not only do they have the ability, but their military are the most suitable for this situation, with Gransela and Kasorymor having the strongest navies in Zalboria, and the Curving Blades being the expert in rough terrains. Kylan, being a much more skilled diplomat and ruler, was not so reckless in the call to arms unlike his older daughter, instead he used more subtle methods to invite the lords over.
James Gransela was not invited by Kylan directly, rather the King had talked to his younger daughter about his wishes to talk to the clan leader. Being the child that's more talented in rulership, Isabelle understood her father's worries, and calls up her loyal knight in order to help the nation in need. The young clan leader arrived pretty quickly, and was surprised when the King asks for his opinions about the other nobles that the King wishes to call up. After confirmation on their ability and loyalty, the King was quite happy at the answer, however he did not want to rely on just their loyalty to the nation for their help. For their service, in the next five years, half of the taxes of the land taken during this campaign would be split up between the three clans according to their success and deeds, of course if the three clan leaders wishes for other rewards, they're free to ask. Spoils of war would be up for their taking as well, that said it might not be easy to salvage the remains of ships in the sea.
After the meeting, James was invited to a meal with the King and princess, providing an opportunity for him to report to the two members of the royal family. James gave a detail description of the battles and of the commanders that led the troops. He gave a neutral opinion on the two young Paemir commanders, and recommended different posts for the two that he feels would fit their abilities. The one known as Asher was reckless even by Paemirian standards, might be dangerous as a commander, at most he would only be able to successful lead a handful of troops in a charge. However he's got valor, and some level of military talent, so he might do well under an experienced commander that could keep firm control on him.
The dinner ended quite well, with Kylan satisfied with the answers he had received, and at the loyalty and ability of the young Granselian leader. Perhaps it would be well to entrust the prince with him, something he had to consider with his failing health in the recent years. Some of the rivals of Gransela had suggested that the younger leader have ambitions to take the nation, but at least while he is alive he did not see anything wrong, rather he seems one of the most loyal subject of Zalboria. Setting up his bright young daughter to balance out the powers in the court would be helpful in the future as well, rather than just allowing his older daughter to do as she wishes. Keiana seems to be a bit too affected by the ideals of Kylan's brother, while the prince is a but too dull in terms of ability. He can't help but predict that Keiana might want to steer the nation as per her wishes, turning her brother into a puppet and dragging the nation into war just like the late Duke of Paemir had done.
As for James' "ambitions", there's plenty of ways to deal with that, with rewards or with other methods, it's a lot easier to control a subject than a family member when you don't want to have them killed.
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Jun 22, 2016 23:28:40 GMT -6
As was typical of Kasorymor, he had arrived by ship via Lake Zalt. The word was that he had sequestered himself away in his home islands over the last few months to see to some new trials regarding his clan's military. Probably something ship related. While Kasorymor's clan lagged behind in land-based weaponry, they were the avante-garde of naval innovation. The fact their ships had no clear peer anywhere in the world was indication of that. Even so he made best possible time for the capital once called to do so.
As the Sea Lord he had met the king many times before, and undertaken many tasks at his behest. While Cadan was no less wily than anyone else from Kollelkost, his skill and integrity was without question. It went without saying there was always something left unstated by the man and his actions - but that was the case with any noble of power. He was quick to offer his own input on how to handle the situation once they had gotten down to business. Just like Kylan himself, he was very concerned about the situation regarding the island. Controlling it would give Raoecia unparalleled control of the northern sea, which they couldn't allow to happen. Considering Zalboria already was forced to guard shores on three edges compared to their one, that island would be integral to keeping the upper flank secure. Doubly crucial since this was, by far, their weakest link.
The marshal of the navy drafted a plan like this: Impose a blockade of the Raoecian side of the island, and then once their forces were isolated, dismantle them either one by one, or with a decapitation strike to the local capital. Specifics of that he left to both the king and the other invited members whom would be providing more ground forces. Kasorymor volunteered to hold the blockade so that James was free to use his ships to support the later ground offensives. Word from the Krintyre Clan said that Raoecia had sent a fleet to guard the island specifically, but Cadan was confident that they'd come out to fight once they began to interdict shipping. Exact numbers weren't known, but he was confidence in the ability of their ships. Gransela and himself had worked together well in Paemir, so it shouldn't be a huge concern.
The reward of tribute was of dubious quality considering they were going to fight a war there, and urged his allies to consider that fact when it came to collateral damage. Naturally, conquering Rao's cities and subjugating the people would yield bigger returns faster, supposing they could pull that off with acceptable losses. He was willing to take it, and was happy to receive the payment, though he noted that he would also have worked for free to fulfill his duty as a member of the nation's council. More so he knew the Krintyre Clan, having had business with them since they founded their first city that island, and he considered it important to help them settle in all the same as fellow frontiersmen. Along with that he also spoke a little about the fact that the island there had natives whom he also had contact with before. They were broken down into tribes and their friendliness varied considerably, both nations had received mixed reactions to living there. They'd have to be brought to heel sooner or later, or so the Sea Lord cautioned, and offered his assistance on that as well once the larger threat had been dealt with. This would feel as if it were one of the aforementioned parts where something was being left off the docket.
For the rest of the time spent at the palace he mostly spoke with Kylan about affairs regarding the navy and the war between Baladorax and the Republic. Kasorymor regularly sent observers and mercenaries to help the latter entity, and apparently things were not going in the favor of Edaustros. On that note, he also raised the concern of his oldest daughter's marriage, and that nation's growing concern about her making excuses to get out fulfilling the betrothal. Regarding the navy, he mostly compared and contrasted their naval strategies and ship design philosophies with those of Edaustros and the Empire. It was very fascinating, but probably meant more to James than Kylan. By and large, their relationship was more business than the other margrave, whom had a somewhat personal connection to the man via his daughter. Still, the sea dog was respectful throughout the entire thing.
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Post by Carlos on Jun 25, 2016 15:09:42 GMT -6
Uno was standing on the easterly main wall. His gaze on the work that was being carried about the slaves that had been provided for the efforts in the recent conflict. Of course they were slaves no more. They had to work for a time in the swamp, clearing away some of the existing vegetation. Upon doing so they were made citizens of the city. Entitled to the same rights as everyone else and given a small allotment of funds.
Tres was moving amongst these groups, undercover as a laborer. His goal to encourage them to pool their money in the creation of specialized guilds. Overnight there would be a variety of new services provided in the city. One such place providing blood vine pottery. Bloodvine being an indigenous beetroot that only grows in the swamp. It turns the surrounding soil quite red. When the soil is used to for pottery it has a very distinct red color. Making for a unique trade item that may sell well in the north. Or be traded in bulk to one of the other Clans to sell abroad.
However some of the slaves took the second option. Turn the land they worked into a series of rice fields. They would be given the land and could sell their rice without taxation for a year. After which they would pay reduced tax on their yields for five years. Many of the slaves came from more rural beginnings and this suited them more than the life in the city. Though they would still have to acclimate to the surrounding swamp land.
On the opposite side of the city Quatro was leaving. He was to take church of the forces deployed on the island to the north. They'd already deployed the willing swamp tribal forces in the swamps of that land. For the most part they acclimated and gathered information. The Blood Blades and a small detachment of Shock Troops would be arriving with Quatro to begin operations in earnest. They were promised hulls and motors for boats. Small and medium craft for patrolling of the swamp's river. And the creation of a new Monitor class ship.
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Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Jun 26, 2016 3:33:36 GMT -6
[Gransela]
Approaching the area from the West are a fleet of five ships, spitting smoke into the air as they advances straight. The Five ships have taken a formation where the largest flagship leads the advance, with the two smaller ship slightly behind it covering the large ship's sides, and the two transport ships following the two Destroyers a small distance behind. The largest ship of the fleet is the HMS Isabelle, the third ship of the Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship, one of the largest and most advance warship that Gransela could build. The two Eliott class Torpedo Boat Destroyers are much smaller in size, which means depending on their position the Isabelle could actually hide its existence, however they pack enough firepower to do their job and then more.
James was sitting on the commander's seat on the bridge of their lone Dreadnought, although James was a renown commander, most of his military action was carried out on land so he was not as confident as he might be. That said, he was not scared of his opponents either, he was confident that his men would achieve big and crush their enemies with this ship that was named after the princess that he had sworn loyalty to.
The sailors on board was high in spirit, which was to be expected with their lord sitting right on the ship along with his personal guards, anyone would work hard when slacking might result in you being thrown off the deck. The three ships kept close communication, so to not be lost in this less than familiar sea. Many spotters are also on board, trying to scout for possible interest, good thing they're used to doing that on land for their long range guns.
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[Raoceria]
Sailing in the horizon are the two Raocerian fleet that are stationed in the area. The two fleets normally do not travel together, and they did not do so today either, they just happened to pass each other while escorting the supply trains from the mainland to the island. There haven't been any battle recently, and they were sent here just in case, so the sailors were not too stressed on their mission. Some of them wave at the sailor of the ships in the other fleet, with a fleet of this size, who can challenge them on the sea?
The commanders of the two fleets however were not as cheerful as their men, they heard rumors of possible military reaction from their neighbor to the East, even though they've been allies for a long period of time it does not sound too assuring to just rely on friendship. Besides, the nobles of the two nation fight each other from time to time, so nothing could promise that they would just let the Raocerians do whatever they want on that island. The rumors were kept a secret in order to avoid a drop in moral among the crews, after all they already have the more powerful Empire to the South to deal with, they don't want to fight the Kingdom to the West as well.
The two fleet were each in a line formation being led by their flagships, soon they would cross each other so they carefully adjust their route to not get too close to each other. They didn't spot any thing other than their allies, and seems to be fairly relaxed. Their hope of keeping morale high seems to make the troops less ready for serious combat other than the usual skirmish, the lack of a powerful navy in the area also eased any tension they might have towards possible enemies.
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[Gransela Clan 1st Naval Division]
1x Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Isabelle [Flagship] 2x Eliott Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Artolia -HMS Hampden
2x Moss Class Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 1st Surface Action Group]
1x Curadh Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Maximilian [Flagship] 1x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (7) -HMS Wallace
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Gardai -HMS Palace
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 2nd Cruiser Battalion]
2x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (14) -HMS Woad [Flagship] -HMS Furor
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Bangharda -HMS Constable
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event)
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Jun 26, 2016 4:39:13 GMT -6
Cadan Kasorymot sat on his own flagship as well, leading a column of warships on patrol through the cold waters of the northern sea. Normally he'd delegate something like this to another commodor, but since it was the High King himself who asked for help directly, the meant the stakes were too high for that. While it was true that Kasorymor could be rather flippant of authority, he had always been willing to work with the current Kylan, and vice-versa; so he took the request for aid seriously enough to see to it himself. Plus, he was curious how Rao's sailors were drilled these days...amongst other things. The battlecruiser and its escorts had been commerce raiding for the better part of a month by this point, having headed this way immediately and set about making themselves a nuisance while awaiting the arrival of James's group and the ground based invasion force. The margrave had been careful to not bite off more than he could chew, and so far they had a pair of prize ships to their name. Loot wasn't very spectacular, mostly rations, but he could offload those on the Krintyre Clan on the cheap and earn more brownie points to go with the actual cash reward. It was a cloudless night, the stars and waxing moon above provided faint illumination. The raiders were running under strict noise and light discipline to keep their presence concealed. Their formation was staggered and loose with both sloop escorts taking point to keep an eye out for mines, submarines, or other dangers that might be hard for the larger vessel to spot. In truth they weren't expecting to find anything at this hour, not after the last three days have went by without sight of any vessels belonging to the rival nation. Cadan fought to conceal a yawn, only doing so by raising a gloved hand to his mouth. "You should get some rest," his first mate said from the seat directly to the right of his own. That was Oran Cowel. Good kid. Would be running a ship of his own full time someday at the rate he was going. But for now, he was kind of getting on his lord's nerves. "Bloody hell, Oran. 'Said no twice already, so tell me, where you gettin' the idea that's gonna be changin' now?" "I got them from the fact it's almost midnight, and let's not forget this is your second all-nighter in a row." Oran ventured. Cadan tried to reply, but yawned again. His adjutant gave him a hell of a smirk, and in that moment he was lucky that he couldn't see the glare he got in return through the mask his boss wore. It softened gradually, though. "Aye, maybe you're right." But at that moment they received a warning from the watch, it seems they had jinxed it. "My lord, enemy ships spotted east-northeast. Two groups. At least one capital ship, multiple escorts. One moving northwest, the other southeast." Needless to say, Kasorymor took the chance to give his first mate one hell of a triumphant look before replying like this: "How far away we lookin' at?" "Maybe 15 miles, margrave. They're running their lights and appear to be proceeding at roughly half ahead. I don't think they've seen us yet." "Good, let's keep it that way." He tossed some orders around and quickly brought the entire formation into action stations, causing sirens to blare and internal lighting fixtures to spill crimson lights into the halls. The men in their bunks rallied to their posts, while the ones currently at them made ready for action. Kasorymor's vessels continued to move at economy speeds while rearranging themselves into a line, doing similar to James and hiding the smaller boats behind the flagship. On that note he kept his own flags down and lights off, all to avoid arousing suspicion at the moment. He changed his course slightly to approach the fleet of cruisers from behind. As both groups move he should wind up to pass behind where the smaller half of the naval force are right now. The capital ship worried him; Raoecia made its battleships to hit hard and withstand a slugging. Those escorts would be shark bait to the Morgawr, however; it was built to hunt down things just like that. But most important of all was the radio message he sent to the Granselan fleet he knew to also be operating in the area. "This is Morgawr actual, come in Isabelle. Caught sight of two Rao fleets, one's headed your way at bearing 280. 1 capital ship, a half dozen escorts. Second fleet is all smaller vessels. Recommend moving under cover of dark to head them off. Sending coordinates now." What they had here was an excellent opportunity to close in on these fleets and unleash a full broadside on each before they even knew what was going on. If they timed this right, James could intercept the dreadnought while he got behind the other fleet and ambushed it. Theoretically it'd throw them into total disarray even if all the shots miss. While waiting to hear back they continued forward steadily at about 11 knots and would slow if necessary to stay roughly 10 miles away. Map: Here. While waiting for Gransela to cut off the other fleet, or respond with another plan of his own, Kasorymor is moving on a course that will eventually bring him between the two fleets as they continue to move. The map isn't meant to convey distances, he's staying a healthy ways away to remain hidden while the Raoecians pass each other. Kasorymor Battle Group1x Morgawr Battlecruiser (10 points) 2x Morlander Sloops (10 points) - Gannel - Mylor
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Rabite
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Emperor of H
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Post by Rabite on Jun 26, 2016 13:54:19 GMT -6
{Northwest Direction}
[Gransela]
The trip was more tiring than James had expected, it was less of being water for long periods of time, and more of just sitting there without much things to do. The ship crews exchange information from time to time, but there wasn't much happening in the middle of the sea. The captain of the Isabelle was a woman, though in recent times it wasn't all that rare of a sight in Gransela with James placing those with ability close to him and then using those people to have a firm control on the army. Many people wondered if the clan leader had chose his officers based on relations rather than ability, but so far the ones he had chosen seems to do well at their job and able to complete their duty, so much less people complain other than then those that held on to traditional values.
He was staring off into space, with occasional stares at the captain he had chosen, when the radio message from their allies came in to report about enemies being spotted. As his operators read out the radio message, James sits up and have a sip of water to wake himself up, looks like they'll be seeing some long awaited action tonight. The range and the night helps cover the fleets of both side, which could be both a curse and a blessing. Cadan's plan seems to be using this as their advantage to surround one of the enemy fleets and get a first strike on them before they could react, at least it was what James understood it to be.
"Alright, we'll move as requested. Standard speed, get the fleet ahead of the enemy fleet that is moving to the Northwest. Have the Destroyers move ahead of the Isabelle so they won't be as easily spotted as our Dreadnought. Announce to the crew all hands battle station, but don't sound the sirens, I won't want the enemies to spot us just yet."
It took a few moments for the crew to get ready as instructed, reaching their assigned positions and prepare for action. While they do that, the fleet adjust their courses and formation, leaving the transport behind to avoid getting caught by the battle. The two Eliott class moves ahead of the Isabelle, with the Artolia being in the front and the Hampden following close behind it. All lightnings are reduced to minimum in order to conceal the existence of the fleet, and approaching at a higher speed in order to close their distance. It took sometime for the ships to sneak close, but they managed to do so without being discovered.
"We're all in position, ready to begin!"
"Very well, begin the attack, keep our advantage of stealth for as long as possible. Send a message to the Morgawr, inform them that we would be carrying out our attack in one minute, get them to coordinate their attack accordingly."
The cannons of the three ships turns to aim at the enemy fleet, it was somewhat easier to do with the enemies being the only few light sources in the area. The speed of the ships slow down to around the same level as the enemy fleet to allow better aiming for the gunners, trying to avoid the affects of the sea waves disrupting their targeting.
"Begin."
"Yes my lord, torpedoes, launch!"
The first wave of attack comes in the form of their torpedoes, while both side uses the same level of torpedoes on their vassals, the Zalboria forces have the advantage of first strike and could adjust their aim according to the enemy speed and movements. The torpedoes would take sometime to reach their enemy, so the captain decided to fire those first to do some damage and disrupt the enemy fleet. The torpedoes of the Isabelle and the two Destroyers were fired from different positions, so it took some coordination for the attacks to arrive at similar timing, but it would help hide the location of the ally fleets from counterattacks.
"AP Shells in tube! Main cannons, fire!"
Next comes the shells of the three ships, with the focus on the largest ship of the fleet, they aim to damage or even disable the lone capital ship to weaken their combat ability before the actual gun fight begins. That said, the first wave of fire without adjustments or aiming data probably won't hit as well as they hope, but it's a start.
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[Raoceria]
The Raoceria fleet just past their ally fleet and was heading towards their destination, unknown that they were being tailed by an enemy fleet. The Torpedoes fired from the Granselian fleet approached, hidden by the darkness of night. However before they could make impact, the lights from the Raoceria ships reflected off them, and were spotted by a few crew members.
"T-torpedoes!!"
Their warning was just quick enough for the Raoceria ships to turn, and avoid the coming torpedoes just in time. However this did scrambled up the fleet, and got the crews in a panic from the sudden attack. Where were the enemies? What are they? Are they Zalboria or was it some other nation? It took a bit of time for the captains to quickly calm down the crew and get them ready for battle, but it was not fast enough to react to the second wave of attack. The shells, luckily for them did not have much accuracy, with the exception of the Isabelle, who managed to hit the Maximilian to the rear on the port side.
The powerful 305mm shells punched into the armor, but were not enough to do serious damage to it. The shells shaken up the ship a bit as they explode, damaging the hull armor, but the crew soon recovered to be ready for battle. But without knowing where the enemies are positioned at, all they could do is try to search for their enemies. They did however reduced the lighting on their ships to avoid being a glowing target.
Unknown how much numbers are out there, they also send out a distress call to the ally fleet they have past, asking them for support. Which might bring them right into the Kasorymor fleet's position.
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[Southeast Direction]
Receiving the distress call a few moments after it was sent, the 2nd Cruiser Battalion decides to turn back to help their allies. They begin to make a turn and re-adjust their positioning. Worried about the Maximilian being in danger, they try to focus on speed so they could arrive before any serious damage occur to their ally fleet, and paid less attention to scouting.
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[Gransela Clan 1st Naval Division]
1x Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Isabelle [Flagship] 2x Eliott Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Artolia -HMS Hampden
2x Moss Class Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 1st Surface Action Group]
1x Curadh Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Maximilian [Flagship] 1x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (7) -HMS Wallace
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Gardai -HMS Palace
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 2nd Cruiser Battalion]
2x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (14) -HMS Woad [Flagship] -HMS Furor
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Bangharda -HMS Constable
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 26, 2016 17:35:23 GMT -6
James's reply, and later on his warning that the attack would be commencing, were wired to Cadan's bridge from their wireless station. He confirmed both transmissions and began to send more orders through his ship to get them prepared to commence combat operations in the very near future. Between James's two missive he had allowed the fleet to close in further on those cruisers, coming to within 5.5-6 miles so that they would be in a more opportune moment to carry out their plans. With the Granselan fleet incoming to provide support they could now afford to take more risks than if they were going at this alone. The Kasorymor battle group actually held back their torpedoes for now, and the rockets as well. They'd need to get a bit closer for the latter, and the former he had a better idea for than wasting them in the opening salvo. The destroyers were just out of maximum range, and he didn't want to spoil their existence yet either, so for now it would just be the flagship opening fire with its big guns. A quartet of bright flares from the 6-inch guns' muzzles were blinding against the inky darkness of midnight, the sound like thunder over the waves with each shot of the battlecruiser's secondaries on the starboard side. There was a brief pause as the heavy shells flew, and they were allowed to fall so that the crew could judge where they had hit and how far off the mark their calculations had been. Then, using these as ranging shots, the four larger 12-inch guns fired afterward with due adjustments made. Both pairs of cannons were well within maximum range - but they were about 3000 or so yards beyond the scope of their rangefinders. So they opened fire with the smaller artillery first to make follow ups by the real ship killers more precise. Just one of the tricks they had picked up over the years; as was said, Kasorymor sailors were some of the finest around. Since these shots were coming from behind the 2nd flotilla only the last three ships in line were really in danger barring some crazy luck on either side. Since the Raoecians hadn't fired yet there was still no real way to know what vessels were what, so the fact they had transports wasn't immediately clear and probably would not be until they got a bit closer. Suffice to say if it ended up to be those at the back of the formation they would probably be in trouble. By that point the cruisers began to bank hard to right even before their shells had landed, which implied to the margrave that the dreadnought was calling for help. It could have been better, a turn to port would have allowed the raiders to cross their T a second time, but they couldn't have known that. Cadan brought his fleet to begin a turn to starboard as well so that they could keep distance with their counterparts. Now he fired his torpedoes from all three ships in a full spread that would place them on intercept courses with the cruisers' plans to come about. The BC launched 4 and each escort 3 each for 10 total going their way. Those ships could dodge the ordnance easily if they spotted them in time, but to do so would force them to change course to 250 or 70 degrees and cease trying to aid the group James was attacking. Whatever happened, the Morgawr and its escorts improved their speeds to about 25 knots. Which might catch their adversaries by surprise since ships with guns that big typically don't move so fast. Map: Here, purple lines being rough torpedo trajectories, only there's 10 in reality and not 5. Kasorymor Battle Group1x Morgawr Battlecruiser (10 points) 2x Morlander Sloops (10 points) - Gannel - Mylor
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Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Jun 26, 2016 19:33:53 GMT -6
[Battlestations Pacific, US battleship theme]
{Northwest Direction}
[Gransela]
Having a hit on their first wave of attack, even if it did not caused much damage, brings up the morale of the Isabelle crew. They themselves did not expect a shot to contact just yet, but looks like they managed to do it. On land, Granselians were skilled artillerymen, and it looks like they can do just as well on the sea.
"We're still in a battle, so stop dreaming and keep it going!"
But they were reminded about the battle they're in by their captain, and quickly move to get more hits in. A new set of shells are loaded into the guns, as are another set of torpedoes into their launchers on the deck. Pretty soon they were ready for another wave of attack, but this time they decided to only fire their cannons, as they no longer need the long range torpedo shots for disrupting their targets. It would be unlikely for them to be able keep hiding after this attack, so they decided to make it count. Using the data they have collected from the first wave of fire, they are able to adjust their aims for the better, and do the same for the smaller sub cannons.
"All cannons, fire!"
The second wave of artillery fire was much more concentrated and accurate than the first, pelting the Raocerian fleet with shells, both large and small in size. After the second wave of fire, the cannons on the Isabelle begins to fire at will, after receiving orders to do so rather than waiting for further instructions between volleys.
The Isabelle itself continues to keep her Starboard towards the enemy fleet so she could concentrate much of her cannon fire towards them, with the level of gunfire she is releasing it won't be much problem to find her position, so the lighting are turned back on to necessary levels in order to work with more efficiency. The dreadnought maintains the distance between herself and the enemy fleet, in order to have more flexibility in dealing with enemy counter fire.
While the larger battleship carries out her bombardment, the two smaller Destroyer cease firing after the first wave, and focus on getting in front of the enemy fleet. Without the worries of aiming, they could advance with their normal speed and should be able to arrive before the distracted Raocerian fleet.
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[Raoceria]
"Incoming!!"
The Maximilian were finally able to locate the enemy ship that was firing at them, but a bit too late when the second wave of shells crashes into her superstructure. The smaller 76mm shells did not do much damage, but was enough to kill many crews on deck that lacked a cover to protect them, and generated plenty of light to illuminate the ship for a moment with their explosions. The small shells were the least of their worries, a pair of the larger 305mm shells hits the Maximilian right on one of her front main turrets, blowing it right off the ship with a powerful explosion rocking the ship. The hit also managed to disabled one of the 234mm turret on the side, effectively reducing her fighting ability by close to 20% with that one wave of attack.
"Put out the fires immediately! Don't let it spread to the magazine!! Hows the damage?!"
"The 2nd main gun's got torn apart! 3rd Side gun is reported to not functioning!"
Several fire started up here and there from the barrage, and crews quickly work to try and put out the fire. Some attempts to repair the damage was carried out, but could do little without trained personnel to deal with such situation.
"Enemy ship spotted! We got a capital ship coming from our port!"
"Get the other guns going! Return fire at that battleship!! Have the Wallace and the Destroyer squadron fire as well!"
And a counterattack is underway, firing towards the large battleship that had injured their flagship. The Raocerians carry out their artillery fire different from their Zalborian counterparts. Instead of firing all of their guns at once like the Granselians did, or having the small guns first and followed by the main guns, they take turns firing their front and rear guns so they can fire faster but were less accurate from the constant firing. Torpedoes were also fired in hopes of forcing the enemy battleship to attempt to dodge them, but the range followed by the lone target would make it very difficult to make impact.
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{Southeast Direction}
The attack came as a surprised to the 2nd Cruiser Battalion as much as James' attack on the 1st Surface Action Group had been, the Kasorymor Battle Group was closer to the Raocerian fleet than James with his targets, so their shots were slightly more accurate by comparison. The plan of firing with smaller guns first also helped improved their aiming adjustment, and the coming shells managed to hit without mercy on their rear, slowest ship which was one of the transports in the fleet. The shells were clearly an overkill, with the shells punching through the minimal armor that the transport had processed, and leaving it riddled with several large holes.
Good thing for the transport is that the shots were too powerful and went right through the ship, rather than exploding like they might have done to a warship, so the ship is still up and going... for now. Seawater is quickly rushing in from the holes, with the crews trying to seal it with everything they got. The transport won't nearly most as fast as it possibly could, and it quickly lagged out of the fleet as they continue the engagement.
The rest of the fleet makes that turn to attempt to reinforce their ally fleet to the North, but was intercepted by the coming torpedoes. Forced to carry out evasion actions, they decided it would be difficult to continue without dealing with the enemies at hand, so they focus on fighting the Kasorymorian fleet instead. At this range, they won't be able to rely on the darkness to avoid enemy fire, they also got targeted so any hopes of using that are forfeited anyways. Seeing that, the Raocerian captain ordered the two Destroyers to turn on their search lights and focus it on the enemy capital ship, so they could concentrate fire on it. Star shells are also fired in the general direction of the Kasorymor Battle Group, further enhancing the level of brightness of the area.
They adjusted their speed to avoid the coming torpedoes, and use the reduced speed to quickly and accurately aim at the enemies. Once the aiming is completed, they let it rip towards fast capital ship that seems to move at close to 1.5 times their own speed. The Morgawr's speed was one of the reason why they decided to focus fire on her, even if they want to run if they don't disable the fast ship they won't be able to outrun her.
An eye for an eye, they return fire with their own torpedoes, at this range it could be used more effectively as a weapon and not as a distraction. That said, with the sudden increase of light in the area it might be pretty easy to spot the slow moving weapons as they approach.
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[Gransela Clan 1st Naval Division]
1x Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Isabelle [Flagship]
2x Eliott Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Artolia -HMS Hampden
2x Moss Class Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 1st Surface Action Group]
1x Curadh Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Maximilian [Flagship] {Damaged, burning slightly, 1x 305mm gun destroyed, 1x 234mm gun disabled, rear hull damage}
1x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (7) -HMS Wallace
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Gardai -HMS Palace
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 2nd Cruiser Battalion]
2x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (14) -HMS Woad [Flagship] -HMS Furor
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Bangharda -HMS Constable
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event) (1x Heavily damaged)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 26, 2016 20:33:46 GMT -6
Kasorymor watched the mayhem unfold with a spyglass, one hit, lot of misses, and the enemy fleet suddenly getting frantic in their attempts to brighten up the night. No doubt they knew they weren't alone now, so battle would be beginning in full.
"Raise the flags, let 'em know who they're dealin' with tonight!" Cadan commanded. In addition to the battle ensign of Zalboria the main mast sported the Clan's war banner; the skull of some kind of sea serpent hanging above a crossed rifle and axe, those white on a background of black. It resembled the crests of sea raiders by design, because they were the most notorious of their ilk.
The Morgawr brought on its own spotlights and used them to brighten the battlefield from their side, it would make them easier to see, but the tradeoff in defensiveness was considered a good deal. Strodes from airbursting shells turned the sky from black to an eerie silver shot through with will-o-wisps of yellow and red. Since the enemy was kind enough to throw out lights they didn't bother to do the same just yet so that they could instead put all of their efforts towards gunnery.
Shots splashed a few hundred feet ahead of their formation, about half the size of the ones from their own guns. Kasorymor concluded that it was cruisers doing this now that he could see that there were three sizes of vessels here under the artificial moonlight. They were skirting the very edge of the range of the cruiser's gun, so outside of some splash damage from those near misses there was little immediate cause for concern. The safety of distance would not hold for long as both sides drew closer to one another to eat up the miles. Of more concern than the guns was the call out that there was other ordnance in the water.
"Sire, torpedoes incoming! Full spread!" The watchmen reported.
"Evasive maneuvers. Come about to 220, all ships spread out, we comb the thread!"
At extreme range it wasn't hard to gauge the courses of the torpedoes and move against them, making for a brief few moments were each fleet was heading directly towards one another. Distances closed to about 4 miles now and while doing so they brought themselves back into a line of battle once they had weaved through the swimming bombs. It'd start to get harder for both sides to do that as they got closer, but for the moment that didn't matter.
"All ships open fire. Focus on the escorts."
Since the enemy ships were going slow this would be a little easier. Again they gave the enemy a full broadside starting with small guns and moving up to bigger ones. Now the 4-inch emplacements on the battlecruiser and its sloop escorts were in range, though not quite at effective distances yet. Again they ended off with torpedoes in a wide pattern of dispersal. All the while they continued to close, soon they'd be at rocket range, and then the fun would really start. Cadan's tactic was to strip the enemy fleet of its small vessels and then allow the Morgawr to engage them in a slugfest that only it could win. The pair of ships that didn't fire back interested him, he watched the smoking one lag behind in particular. A stray idea crossed his mind, which he decided to humor and relay to his ally.
"Gransela Fleet: 2nd battle group might be escorting noncombat vessels. Be advised, 1st group might be on similar duties. Deal with as desired."
If that hunch was right, both sides must have had the same idea of using this night to haul supplies for an offensive. At any rate they continued to move at combat speeds with the intent of crossing the T behind them again in the near future if their commodore kept on his current heading.
1x Morgawr Battlecruiser 2x Morlander Sloops - Gannel - Mylor
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Rabite
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Emperor of H
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Post by Rabite on Jun 26, 2016 22:26:49 GMT -6
{Northwest Direction}
[Gransela]
Most of the Raoceria fire came from maximum range, which means they are much less accurate than they might be, just like how the Granselian shots could not effectively hit too well even with their large guns. Most of the shots ended up missing, especially the ones from the two Destroyers that failed to make contact. The Wallace managed to land two hits on the hull of the Isabelle, but was bounced off by the tough armor of the dreadnought. The biggest danger came from the enemy battleship, but the Isabelle managed to barely avoid those.
The torpedoes would be able to do more damage, but as expected they failed to make impact after some speed adjustments were made. The torpedoes continues harmlessly after missing their target by a great margin.
"Captain, we have reports from the Morgawr that the enemy fleet might contain transport ships."
James gave it a few thoughts, if the enemy fleet contains transport ships then it would reduce the average movement speed of the fleet, which was why James had left them behind before entering combat. The enemies seems to have broken formation in order to counterattack, which leaves the transports with less defense, and it would be easier to judge which ship is which just by seeing who is firing at the Isabelle.
"....Order the Artolia and Hampden to carry out as planned, if there are supply ships then it would make our original plan even better to carry out. Karen, how are we doing here?"
"No problem! The Isabelle won't sink that easily, we can take them on any time!"
Receiving a positive reply from the captain, James gave the orders to press on the attack. Even though they're outnumbered, only the enemy battleship should be able to carry out efficient attacks on the Isabelle, so all they have to do is wait for the rest of the plan to continue.
With the hits barely shaken the Isabelle, they could continue their assault and draw the attention of the enemies. The captain of the Isabelle decides to focus fire on the enemy flagship to reduce the overall coordination of the enemy fleet, they continue to exchange fire, using the main gun to the most damage and the sub guns to attack the enemy crews. Now that the targeted battleship is on fire, it's a lot easier to aim and hit her, a great opportunity to increase the damages to it.
On the other hand, the two Eliott class had finally got in front of the enemy fleet, and moves in a clockwise like action in order to circle the enemy fleet while remaining in front of them. As they pass, they each releases two Torpedoes towards the enemy fleet without stopping, then continues to they're now heading towards the starboard of the enemy fleet. The torpedoes were to both do damage, and to distract the enemy, making them think that the Granselian ships are going to attack from ahead of them and draw their attention. Of course, unlike before, the attacks this time would be coming from another direction, and aimed to go right into the enemy fleet for higher accuracy.
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[Raoceria]
The damage to the Maximilian gets more severe as time passes, with the ship itself taking another series of shelling. This time, most of the small shells failed to make impact on effective areas, however the main gun shells managed to hit another main turret on the rear and destroying it. Another shell managed to hit her hull with greater impact than the first shot that she was hit with, and weakened the location to the point that leaks begin to occur, but was quickly patched up by the crews of the Maximilian. They did however, manage to stop the fire from spreading and put them out before it gets out of hand.
They continue to return fire at the Isabelle, and did not notice the coming torpedoes, which hits the Maximilian right in the bow and causing great damage to it. The damage was enough to temporary stop the firing of the 1st and remaining front turret, knocking a piece of the ship's armor right off. Another torpedo misses the battleship, and went on hitting one of the transport ships that were too sluggish to avoid the sudden attack, also creating a large hole on the ship's bow.
The fleet attempts to spot the ships that attacked them from a new angle, but failed to notice anything as their target had already moved away once the torpedoes were dropped.
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{Southeast Direction}
Things were not going well with the 2nd Cruiser Battalion, their much faster opponent could avoid their attempts to get close, and even if they succeed to do so they would be attacked by the entire enemy fleet. This time, the two Destroyers took some hits, being the main target of the enemy fire. Similar to the transport ships, their armor was not built to withstand the heavy firepower delivered by the Morgawr, the few shells that hit it went right through. That said, it's still heavy damage, the Bangharda took the most hits and begins to be flooded with water while the Constable had it's rear gun and the two starboard guns torn off the ship by a few smaller shells.
The damaged transport from earlier seems to be unable to repair its damages, turning off her engines, the transport raises a white flag to show that it had decided to surrender. While the flooding Bangharda begins to abandon ship, with sailors jumping into the water, trying to avoid getting dragged into the bottom of the sea by their sinking ship. Hopefully the Kasorymor clan are in the mood of rescuing them to take as ransom, or at least leave them alone and not try to actively kill them.
Losing some of their ships, the 2nd Cruiser Battalion is not out of the fight yet, they try to continue forward with full speed to try and regroup with their allies to the North. They try to aim their rear guns towards the enemy fleet and fire at them an in attempt to slow them down, they also fire torpedoes right towards the Kasorymor Battle Group one after another rather than in a wave, so that it might force the enemy ships to reduce speed or turn to avoid the coming shots after than able to do so with one turn. Of course, the accuracy would be even lower than before, but it had the advantage of forcing the enemies to not chase them with a line formation, or risk being hit by torpedoes similar to how the 1st Surface Action Group did.
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[Gransela Clan 1st Naval Division]
1x Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Isabelle [Flagship] {Slight damage, light hull damage}
2x Eliott Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Artolia -HMS Hampden
2x Moss Class Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 1st Surface Action Group]
1x Curadh Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Maximilian [Flagship] {Moderate damaged, 2x 305mm gun destroyed, 1x 234mm gun disabled, moderate hull damage}
1x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (7) -HMS Wallace
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Gardai -HMS Palace
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event) {1x Heavily damaged}
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[Northern Raoceria 2nd Cruiser Battalion]
2x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (14) -HMS Woad [Flagship] -HMS Furor
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Bangharda {Sinking} -HMS Constable {Rear 100mm gun destroyed, 2x 37mm starboard guns destroyed}
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event) (1x Heavily damaged, surrendering)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 26, 2016 23:14:23 GMT -6
"One ship sinking, one striking their colors, my lord." Came the latest reports. By now he could see all of that from the bridge, but it was good to know that his men were very attentive. "Thanks, matey. Keep those eyes open, we ain't out of the thick of it yet!" As viscous as they could be in combat these men were career sailors and did respect naval laws as long as they were under the black flag, so the sinking ship and the one that had hoisted white could count themselves as safe. At sea in the middle of the night was a bad place to be, so they'd swing back around and collect both crews after the fight. It wasn't likely either would get anywhere anytime soon, but even so he radioed to both and told them to stand by and they'd be picked up and granted due quarter, but also encouraged the merchant ship to not try anything funny until then. Supposing they didn't they'd be safely back home at the end of the campaign here. Supposing they had wireless rooms or ones that still function, if not, a much more terse flag code was sent as well. This all happened while they continued to steam forward between volleys of fire. It wasn't like a fight on land, you had a lot of heavy hitters here moving reasonably fast with a lot to account for. Cadan was born and raised for this life, and he loved it. He wondered how James was handling it by comparison? Maybe there'd be a nice dockside tavern on that island they could drop anchor at and talk about it at later. "Enemy fleet has increased speed to try and outrun us, Margrave," Oran said. Thicker plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky, the telltale signs of those crews pushing their engines harder. "Alright. Keep at this pace and pursue. Bring us around to 300." And so they did to keep on the heels of the 2nd group. They remained behind and to their port after crossing the aft of the enemy fleet and turning. The Raoecians weren't going silently into the dark night in the least, intent to not let Kasorymor tail them unmolest. The ship below them rocked and groaned as a 5-inch shell smacked the vessel's belt about 5 feet above the waterline on the side facing the foes. Smoke drifted up from the gash in the armor, but the plating was thick enough to keep it from reaching anything vital for the moment. Another close miss not far behind shaved off another chunk closer to the ship's middle, the blast making the vessel list slightly. Subsequent shots were evaded with a wider margin as they moved to dodge torpedoes and shells both, that part of their plan working as intended. The Zalborians spread out again into a similar grouping to the one they came in with, destroyers to either side and the BC in the middle; though, it was ahead of them and not vice-versa like before. This way they could weave out of the way of incoming attacks without anyone being left blind as to what was coming from ahead. Another message to the Isabelle: "2nd fleet heading your way from the south. Estimated 27~ knot speed. Pursuing, but expect contacts within the next 20-40 minutes." Only the Morgawr and Gannel had clear lines of fire, with the other sloop being on the wrong flank to get clear shots. The larger ship opened this salvo by firing all of its 4, 6, and 12-inch guns first in sequence, because what they planned to use next would create a hell of a lot of smoke. That is to say, they were now in range the large rockets on the flagship. 26 fireballs streaked towards them from the middle section of the battlecruiser, the rockets wailing like a school of angry spirits. They weren't the most accurate weapons ever designed but they were excellent at saturation bombing a wide area, useful against moving targets like these. They couldn't punch armor as well as an actual cannon either, but they were efficient at starting fires, damaging guns, crewmen, exploiting already weakened sections of hull, and screwing up anything else on the deck, or below it depending how heavily armored those were. The destroyer that was still operational had more to fear here than the boat it was escorting, those rockets could very well do good damage to its armor. The shock of being hit with all that explosive ordnance at once, saying nothing for the sound, also made it a very effective psychological weapon. How well it performed there depending on how good the captains were at keeping order. They didn't bother to use their torpedoes at the moment, it risked being more dangerous to them than their enemy considering how they were moving. Another fine move on that flag officer's part, the lord of Kollelkost was forced to admit. The Gannel shot at the transport ship that wasn't sinking, and the Mylor fired some star shells of its own to keep illumination at acceptable levels. Map: Here. Kasorymor Battle Group1x Morgawr Battlecruiser (Starboard armor lightly damaged.) 2x Morlander Sloops - Gannel - Mylor
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Rabite
Veteran Member
Emperor of H
Hey, look over here.
Posts: 1,887
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Post by Rabite on Jun 27, 2016 0:13:16 GMT -6
{Northwest Direction}
[Gransela]
A few shots were sent towards the Isabelle, before much of the attack ceased as the enemy fleet scrambled to avoid the sudden torpedo attack. It seems that the torpedoes had made their marks on the enemy flagship, and then one of the slower ship, two hits was more than what they had asked for. The first part of the plan had succeeded, now to follow up with more.
"Looks like the Artolia and Hampden got a pretty good hit in, now it's out turn. Get us closer, we'll take out that damaged capital ship!"
The Isabelle begins to turn slightly and close in towards the enemy fleet, but keeping her starboard towards her enemies. Her guns continues to fire shots after shot into the weakened enemy battleship, mostly focusing on the remaining side gun on its port side, and the two main guns to the rear. As they approach, their shots would have more piercing powers, and as such the crews of the Isabelle had adjusted their firing angles so the shells would be able to hit more than just the turret. As they approach, the Isabelle instead direct her side cannons towards the Cruiser, although the caliber is still not enough to do serious damage, it would do more to the Wallace than if they fire them at the Maximilian.
Another wave of torpedoes were also launched, firing in a fanned arc but in successions rather than a single wave to control where the enemy ship might move to avoid the coming explosives, which when worked in coordination with the cannons would greatly increase their chances of hitting for both the torpedoes and the guns.
The two Eliott class stops at around 1 o' clock from the enemy fleet, and turns to charge right at them at battle speed, with the target being the smaller ships and the transports to the rear of the formation. The Eliott class was weaker in terms of firepower, but most of its weapons could be aim ahead, making it a decent choice to 'charge' the enemy fleet when necessary. First was another wave of torpedoes, which would cross with the torpedoes fired by the Isabelle to help pin down or damage the enemy ships. They then follow with their guns, which are not enough to injure the large Maximilian, but more than enough to deal with ships of the same class and the transports with minimum armor. They also spread smoke before they charge into the enemy ranks, aiming to avoid enemy counterattacks.
In a way, the plan forced the Raoceria fleet to constantly take hits from unknown enemies, and spread out their ranks so they would have to fight duels against the Granselian ships rather than make use of their extra cruiser.
Mean while, the Isabelle received the message from the Morgawr, if the enemies are approaching then they have to either finished this fast, or to move the fleet to avoid being outnumbered. He instructed the Destroyer team to move accordingly, to slightly adjust their movements from their original plan. As a reply, he sent a message to inform the Morgawr about the direction that the Granselian ships are attacking in, to avoid getting hit by stray torpedo fire.
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[Raoceria]
The 1st Surface Action Group was suffering quite a bit from the two pronged attack. First, the Maximilian began to take hits from the Isabelle, damaging it more and stopping any attempts they could carry out to repair the damaged battleship. Next, comes the wave of torpedoes that it was forced to avoid with great efforts, but stopped their ability to avoid the shells, so it was hit dead on by several. Although the Isabelle was aiming for the other active cannons, one of them managed to hit one of Maximilian's magazine, doing enormous damage when it explodes with fury. The explosion almost snapped the ship in half, and it was a miracle that the crew managed to patch it up enough so it is still floating, but it is essentially disabled from further movements. The one proud battleship now could barely move at a percentage of its regular speed, with only one of her rear main cannon still functioning and could hit the Isabelle. She tried to fire a few more shots, but soon came the charging Destroyers.
The attacks from the two Eliott class had focused on the enemy transport ships, hitting the two with several wave of artillery fire. The damaged one already lacked the ability to continue battle, while the fresh one now suffered enough damage that it too lagged behind the rest of the fleet. The Palace was also hit by a few waves of shells, destroying her starboard torpedo launcher, and one of her front 100mm gun.
They were about to fire back, only to stop when the smoke covers much of the formation, any firing would risk friendly fire in this chaos. So the answer was to use the 37mm guns and not aim at the rear of the rank, the small shells won't be able to damage the heavier ships of the fleet, and hopefully it won't hit the other destroyer of the fleet.
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{Southeast Direction}
Following the demands from the Kasorymor forces, the transport that surrendered couldn't do anything but stay there and watch the battle continue. They do however, ask for permission to help rescue the survivors of the Bangharda using lifeboats on board. The water around was getting more dangerous as a whirlpool is created from the sinking of the destroyer, and many of the survivors are trying their best to swim away from it to avoid getting dragged in.
The remaining ships are starting to get some distance between the two fleets thanks to the torpedo attacks, but could only watch in horror when the howling rockets hits their fleet. It wasn't guided weapons the accuracy is only at the same level as shells, and it did not do as much damage as main gun fires, but it was enough to seriously add damage to the already wounded Raoceria ships.
The remaining destroyer took several hits of the rockets, exploded a bit and was set ablaze. One of the shots managed to hit the bridge, and the ship seems to have been disabled with everyone on board just trying to save their lives. A handful managed to make their way out as the ship continues to burn, using lifeboats they escape from their ship and surrender to the coming Kasorymor forces.
The two cruisers took several hits as well, with the Furor suffering the most. The cruiser was hit twice on the deck, and the rockets exploded in the ship, causing quite some damage to its structure. It began to smoke and some fire are spreading out on the ship, but for now the ship is still functioning. The Woad took a hit on the stern hull, but did not suffer too much of damage. The lone shot did not manage to set off any fires, but the commander began to think of surrendering, it seems hopeless to continue the battle.
For now, they continue to use their previous tactic, hoping that if they regroup with their allies it would be a lot better. The radio was quite fuzzy and the bits of information only shows that some battle was going on with the 1st Surface Action Group as well, but at least they're still talking and not in the bottom of the sea like half of their ships.
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[Gransela Clan 1st Naval Division]
1x Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Isabelle [Flagship] {Slight damage, light hull damage}
2x Eliott Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Artolia -HMS Hampden
2x Moss Class Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 1st Surface Action Group]
1x Curadh Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Maximilian [Flagship] {Heavily damaged, 2x 305mm gun destroyed, 2x 234mm gun destroyed, 1x torpedo launcher destroyed, heavy hull damage}
1x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (7) -HMS Wallace
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Gardai -HMS Palace (Front 100mm gun destroyed, starboard torpedo launcher destroyed)
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event) {1x Sinking, 1x moderate damaged}
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[Northern Raoceria 2nd Cruiser Battalion]
2x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (14) -HMS Woad [Flagship] {Light hull damage} -HMS Furor {Burning moderate damage}
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Bangharda {Sunk} -HMS Constable {Burning fiercely, Rear 100mm gun destroyed, 2x 37mm starboard guns destroyed}
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event) (1x Heavily damaged, surrendering, 1x Burning and disabled)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 27, 2016 0:34:43 GMT -6
"There's nothing I love more than those rockets," the admiral said upon witnessing the ruby glare of missiles on the horizon. Burning debris bobbed on the waves, either thrown there by explosions or pushed off by ship crews as they attempted to get anything flammable off their vessels before they could ignite anything else. They were amazing weapons, if a little bit niche. It suited the pirate angle well, more than making up for the fact the battery was well weaker than if they added another set of 12 inchers. Probably why they never caught on in too many other places outside of Doevassua, from whom his clan stole the idea.
The pursuing fleet swerved around the flaming wreckage of the Constable, changing course again to evade the next round of torpedoes and coming up directly behind the two cruisers where they wouldn't be able to hit them with their submerged tubes. It also greatly reduced the firepower of their own ships, but the rockets would take a little while to reload regardless, and they scarcely needed the entire set of 305mm's to end this battle. Another two shells connected from the rear-facing guns on the two cruisers, one struck the flagship on the citadel and punched a nice wound into the towering structure. A few of the crew members in the bridge stumbled at the close impact, though their boss just laughed. The other one came down at an angle and struck the deck of the Mylor, landing at the very foot of the superstructure and blasting apart its forward gun turret.
Kasorymor spoke with that ship's lead officer briefly about what to do. He decided that since it wouldn't be helping much with the fight now, since this turned into a front-back sort or arrangement, it would go pick up the stranded sailors. The merchant ship is given go ahead to pick up anyone it needed to, and that the sloop would rendezvous with them shortly. On the way there first it met with the burning hulk of the Constable and tried to rescue them, but it stayed a short distance away in case more shells cooked off and stayed on the side missing most of its guns for similar reason. From there it would proceed to the other destroyer and transports. They'd be taken on under armed guard but treated fairly as long as no funny business happened.
While that went on the Morgawr and Gannel kept up the chase, shooting their gun batteries forward at both of the cruisers steaming ahead. The margrave radio'd them and formally requested their surrender. Alternatively, if they wanted to abandon the idea to save the HMS Maximilian, they could potentially outrun the capital ship.
Kasorymor Battle Group
1x Morgawr Battlecruiser (Starboard armor and citadel lightly damaged.) 2x Morlander Sloops - Gannel - Mylor (Missing forward 4-inch turret, deck damaged.)
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Rabite
Veteran Member
Emperor of H
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Post by Rabite on Jun 27, 2016 17:45:07 GMT -6
{Northwest Direction}
[Gransela]
The last attempts from the enemy ship failed to hit the Isabelle as she simply move more to the front of the enemy ship, the Zalboria class instead turns to the other target in the fleet that the two Destroyers could not handle, the cruiser Wallace. Being a cruiser it lacked the ability to fight against the Isabelle head on, and had a barrage of shells, this time loaded with HE shells, sent right in its direction at close range.
The two Destroyers, did not further attack the enemy ships, instead they choose to quickly leave the enemy ranks to avoid being hit by counterattacks. They made a sharp turn, and moved behind the remaining enemy supply ship after receiving news of the enemy fleet approaching from the South, and use the supply ship as cover against the enemy Destroyers' counterattacks. Of course it did not went completely according to their plans, when a stray shot hits one of the torpedo launchers on the Hampden and destroying it.
"My lord, we got message from the enemy capital ship, requesting to lay down their arms to surrender to us. He asks that we treat his men with respect and honor, and would work to rescue the survivors of the other sunk ships."
The last wave of fire was enough for the Raocerian commander to give up further resistances, further combat would be futile against the two powerful ships that are hunting the remains of the Raocerian fleet, so he had decided to preserve lives and end the battle in exchange for a black spot in his records.
"Very well, the Isabelle will remain at our current position. Have the Artolia and Hampden work to rescue survivors, and put out the fire of the burning ships. Allow the crews of the Raocerian ships to help in dealing with the damaged ships, but have them all disarm to our sailors."
The battle to the Northwest had ended well, with only the flagship Isabelle suffered some light damages, and the successful capture of the enemy fleet. The Isabelle sends a message to the Morgawr, reporting about their success in defeating the enemy fleet. The crews of the ships are disarmed and waiting for further orders after successfully putting out the fires on board. The Isabelle's guns are still pointed towards them, to persuade them to not be hasty and do anything they might regret.
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[Raoceria]
The full force of the artillery fire from the Isabelle was devastating to the lighter armored cruiser, being hit by HE rounds as opposed to AP rounds, the shots stayed on or in the ship, exploding and causing great damage to the superstructure and within the ship. The bridge crew was roasted by the flames of several large HE rounds, and many more torched up the entire ship. The surviving crew barely managed to contain the fire and not let them spread to vital areas where it might result in the death of all the crews on board, but the ship could not longer function on its own.
The two Destroyers managed to hit an enemy in the smoke, but the captain of the two ships quickly ceased further attack when several shots hits each other and caused some degree of damage. By the time the smoke cleared, they noticed that the enemy ships were not longer within their rank and had twirled to the rear of the formation. With the transport ship in the way, and only have one gun in the rear, it might be risky to keep up the fire fight against the enemies.
Right now their formation are surrounded by the Granselian ships, and both of the better fighter of the fleet are mostly disabled, so that limits the choices they could pick. When came face to face with the 305mm main guns of the Isabelle, the commander finally made his decision and order his ships to surrender. Even if the still active ships attempt to retreat from the area, they are way too close to the powerful and long range cannons of the enemy battleship, it could mean the death of them all. So he made the wiser choice to give up his honor and chose to live on for another opportunity to battle.
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{Southeast Direction}
The fleet was attempting to regroup with the Maximilian so they'll have more ability to deal with, but their hopes were crushed by the news of it surrendering to the Granselian fleet, along with the sight of their damaged allies. However being the lighter and faster ships here, they still have the chances to get away. Or so they might have, if another shot didn't hit the Furor, resulting in a drop of her speed. Seeing that she no longer have the ability to outrun the Kasorymorian forces, it turns slightly so it would get in the way of the Morgawr, and shuts down its engines to surrender.
Mean while, the Woad took the opportunity to retreat from the area as fast as possible, being the only ship of the two fleet that escaped without surrendering.
Many of the fallen crews of the fleet were rescued by the combined efforts of the Kasorymorians and the remaining Raocerian ships that had surrendered. From the results it looks like the Zalborians had achieved a great victory here against the Raocerians, and should be able to have naval superiority until Raocerian could mutter up a fleet to deal with these powerful enemies.
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[Gransela Clan 1st Naval Division]
1x Zalboria Class Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Isabelle [Flagship] {Slight damage, light hull damage}
2x Eliott Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Artolia -HMS Hampden (Hull torpedo launcher destroyed)
2x Moss Class Transport Ship (Event)
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[Northern Raoceria 1st Surface Action Group]
1x Curadh Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (9) -HMS Maximilian [Flagship] {Heavily damaged, 2x 305mm gun destroyed, 2x 234mm gun destroyed, 1x torpedo launcher destroyed, heavy hull damage, surrendered}
1x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (7) -HMS Wallace {Burning fiercely, but fire was put out by the efforts of the crew and from Granselian forces}
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Gardai (Moderate hull damage, surrendered) -HMS Palace (Front 100mm gun destroyed, starboard torpedo launcher destroyed, surrendered)
2x Merchant Transport ship (Event) {1x Sunk, 1x moderate damaged, surrendered}
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[Northern Raoceria 2nd Cruiser Battalion]
2x Gallowglass Class Cruiser (14) -HMS Woad [Flagship] {Light hull damage, retreated} -HMS Furor {Moderate damage, surrendered}
2x Garda Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer (10) -HMS Bangharda {Sunk} -HMS Constable {Burning fiercely, Rear 100mm gun destroyed, 2x 37mm starboard guns destroyed, sunk}
2x Merchant Transport Ship (Event) (1x Heavily damaged, surrendered, 1x Disabled, surrendered)
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Jun 27, 2016 18:01:22 GMT -6
Cadan received word that the southern clan had put down resistance in the north, and their allies here sent back word shortly after that they had done the same. They send a request to rendezvous in about an hour after they secure the rest of the ship crews and whatever goods were on those merchant vessels. The lord is rather interested in seeing what they were hauling that required such heavy escort. Probably nothing too big, but it would be useful evidence to further justify their campaign if it ended up to be sealed rations and supplies with which to wage war. That all didn't mean too much to him, but career politicians like the high king, his chancellor, and the elder princess would probably appreciate having that extra bit of ammunition when this mess inevitably got drug out into the courts.
The fleet fires several shots at the retreating Woad to make sure it stays gone. They could probably have caught up to it, or at least remained close enough to keep shelling it, but that plan was decided against. If they wanted to pick up all the stragglers and the surrendered ships they couldn't afford to stray too far.
"Not bad for a night's work," the admiral said aloud to his bridge crew. Those ships that could still move were given prize crews and put into the center of their formation, the ones that could not were towed; in both cases their original complement were taken under arms to the brig. This left him with a spare cruiser that he was already formulating ideas on what to do with. With a few months of refitting work committed there was no doubt he could make a fine vessel out of the Furor. From here they'd move on to link up with James and exchange information and good news. The margrave was quick to offer praise at how James and his sailors handled the situation, definitely far from a bad showing. It was very likely that they would head to the Krintyre Clan's capital on Fuartalamh after that to get repairs and drop off the POW's until they could be safely ransomed after the end of the struggle. The landing parties would also have to be dropped off and prepared there, at least the Curving Blade's contribution, since they did not intend to be doing any naval-based antics of their own.
As agreed upon Kasorymor's fleet would keep to high seas operations and maintain the blockade of the island so that the expeditionary forces from the other two clans could operate without having to worry about reinforcements. So from here, it would be there so.
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