As the war rages on it’s time to really put any thought of challenging the Royal Navy to bed. What better to do that than the Queen Elizabeth Class battleships and the mighty Warspite? Oh by building Renown and Repulse as well!
This campaign was recorded using Admiralsnackbar’s balance mod which you can find here https://forum.game-labs.net/topic/40790-uad-rebalancing-mod-for-13-v1/
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Captain of the 1st Company: Treefrog
Lieutenants: Armande Christoph
Veteran Sergeants: 1stplaceonion, LCG Canyon, Welshy
Sergeant: Jackie, Twitchyknees, Alerik Rahl, paga1985s, Haytor
Veterans: Telemonian Dan, Sunless Sky Nova, Threadoflength, Darth Vendar.
Battle Siblings: Jacky Chan, nagebenfro, scurvekano, Cpt Graftin, Icd, Iroey, Zadrias, JT Bismarck.
source
Driving engagement
That is all
Move on
Low key I wish they would use historically accurate color schemes: Austro-Hungary used a light sea green, Japan used a more blueish darker gray, for a while the USA used white, and for a while German torpedo boats and destroyers were black. Just for variety and to make things more differentiated and interesting with little effort, I should think.
No Lion class?
Not related by why do the French turrets look so comically large 💀
12:28: You didn't drop into the ship stats screen.
Squirrelly little men in the basement of the Admiralty are sending memos to the Pacific reminding executive officers of the HMS Intercessor and HMS Blenheim that they are to submit full reports of all actions even if the cowardly Thetis did flee the battle.
A Foot and a Quarter, Massive Increase in the Lethality of Capital Ships
The Times: 19 April 1912
The Director of Naval Construction has been given leave to design and build two new classes of capital ships, battleships with eight 15” guns and battlecruiser with six 15” guns. Though the newest 15” guns and twin turrets are not as advanced as the 13.5” guns on our newer capital ships, they represent a massive increase in hitting power. The four ship class Queen Elizabeth’s will carry the four twin 15”/45 guns turrets as their main battery and have geared turbines powered by natural boilers burning oil and vented through one funnel for 54,843 indicated horse power to give a top speed of 23.5 knots. They will cost $149,428,900 each. The three ship class Renown’s will carry three twin 15”/45 gun turrets and have geared turbines powered by natural boilers burning oil and vented through two funnels for 83,420 indicated horse power for a top speed of 28.5 knots and a range of 9,572 nautical miles. They will cost $95,224,730 each and take 21 months to build.
The names of the seven ships will be announced later.
Equatorial Guinea Falls
The Times: 04 April 1912
The Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea has fallen to the Royal Army supported by the Royal Navy’s African Squadron led by the HMS Dominion.
The African Squadron has been sent to Capetown to receive the latest upgrades to their systems before deploying to the eastern coast of the African continent.
Sending Three Baskets
The Times: 14 March 1912
Serious questions are being pressed on the Admiralty about reports from the latest battle in the Adriatic, where the Strait of Otranto squadron moved up the sea to engage a force scouted by the HMS Adder as having prepared to sortie from Spalato. Three Szeged class armoured cruisers, the Kaiserin Elisabeth, the Steyr, and the repaired Wels issued forth as they sighted the four Royal Georges, the HMS Tiger, and the HMS Panther closing on the port. However, in the battle that ensued the HMS Audacious, HMS Royal George, and the HMS Tiger did not get one hit on the three armoured cruisers. The HMS Ajax was credited with sinking the Steyr early in the battle breaking the armoured cruiser apart with all hands lost, but seems not to have gotten any more hits. Though the HMS Centurion contributed, the bulk of the damage done in the battle was by the Tiger class battlecruiser HMS Panther. The Wels was abandoned by the thirty-one remaining members of her 570 man crew. The Kaiserin Elisabeth had thirty-two survivors.
The HMS Ajax suffered the most losing 32 casualties. The HMS Panther took 19 casualties. The HMS Audacious suffered 4 casualties, proving she had to be in range of the enemy. The HMS Tiger took 3 casualties.
Thetis Found Again
The Times: 10 March 1912
The Danzig class protected cruiser Thetis of the Kreigsmarine was finally run down by the Interceptor class fast protected cruiser HMS Intercessor and the B-Class destroyer HMS Blenheim near the Caroline Islands. With her flooding controlled and her crew brought up to strength, the HMS Blenheim was still suffering structural damage from the two 7.5” hits she took from the Thetis the month before. After a long stern chase and temporarily losing the Thetis in smoke the HMS Blenheim came into range with her Mark IV 3” guns and began to hit the Thetis. After a pounding on the Thetis soon joined by the HMS Intercessor the Thetis, which had been making smoke as often as possible, finally got hits on the HMS Intercessor including damaging her rudder. The HMS Intercessor in turn destroyed the Thetis’ remaining torpedo magazine. When the Thetis got a flooding it on the HMS Blenheim the destroyer was ordered to retreat and leave the battle to the HMS Intercessor. Flooding astern, the Thetis took the opportunity with the retreat of the HMS Blenheim to turn her stern to the HMS Intercessor and try to break free. Switching to high explosive shells, the HMS Intercessor began to set the Thetis ablaze. Now flooding fore and aft, the HMS Intercessor struggled to get telling hits on the Thetis. Finally the HMS Intercessor was forced to break off the battle.
Reports from the Kreigsmarine state that the Thetis suffered 256 casualties in the battle. The HMS Intercessor suffered 217 and the HMS Blenheim suffered 12.
Convoy Raid on Papua New Guinea
The Times: 20 February 1912
The Interceptor class fast protected cruiser HMS Intercessor and the B-Class destroyer HMS Blenheim attacked in stormy seas a convoy of three 7 thousand ton Beowulf class merchant ships headed for Freidrich Wilhelmshafen on the island of Papua New Guinea escorted by the Danzig class protected cruiser Thetis. The Royal Navy ships closed on the smoke barely visible in the storm, but in the weather the Thetis proved to have better range finders, and got 7.5” hits on the HMS Blenheim. The HMS Blenheim finally spotted the convoy, which had been spotting for the Thetis, and guiding the HMS Intercessor, directed a 6” shell onto the Prinzregent Luitpold II that damaged her rudder. The she sank from 3” fire from the Blenheim and the Intercessor. The Markgraf III was sunk next, taking a torpedo from the HMS Blenheim. The Beowulf II was sunk last. Of the 96 crew on the merchant ships only eight survived the sinking and the storm. The HMS Blenheim suffered six casualties.
The Thetis broke away from the battle when the merchant ships came under fire and was lost to sight in the storm.
Keeping the Magyars Happy, Sort Of
The Times: 13 February 1912
The Heinrich class Austrian Deadnought knockoff Árpád, named for the 9th century Magyar leader, sortied to challenge the Strait of Otranto Squadron’s blockade of the Adriatic Sea. The HMS Audacious and her companions opened fire with their 13.5 guns as soon as they sighted the Bundes Marine ship, throwing up splashes as the Árpád attempted to get into range with her older style guns. The Royal Navy ships continue to close to get into effective range until the HMS Tiger began to get hits. The HMS Adder sailed ahead to get astern of the Árpád and get her to turn towards the closing capital ships.
The first major blow on the Árpád destroyed her X turret, taking 25% of her 13.5 guns out of commission and setting her aflame. The next major blow destroyed the 8” turret mounted above and forward of the X turret. The Árpád lost her secondary tower and started to flood forward. The flooding quickly spread aft and the Árpád began to list, opening her deck to penetrating shots. The Árpád sank with all but one of her 847 man crew. The Royal Navy ships never came into range of the Árpád 13.5” guns, though she expended 25% of her ammunition trying. Reports have surfaced that junior gun crew officers aboard the Royal George’s were complaining that the HMS Tiger and HMS Panther should be made to sail at the same speed as the battleships in the battle line, to give everybody an equal chance.
If Sweden has the Bigger Navy, Shouldn’t Spain be Called Her Ally?
The Times: 14 January 1911
Well, it is an Academic Question Now
The HMS Indefatigable, lead ship of her battlecruiser class and first battlecruiser in the world, led a strong squadron into the Baltic Sea to intercept a reported shipment of vital military supplies from Sweden, an ally of Spain’s to the new German Republic. Accompanied by the Interceptor class fast protected cruiser HMS Sparrowhawk, the B-Class destroyer HMS Boreas, and the A-Class destroyers HMS Argyll and HMS Attack, the Royal Navy ships found convoy of twelve Star class 10.6 thousand ton merchant ships in the Mecklenburger Bucht east of Kiel. They had an escort of one German V-13 class destroyer, the V-26, and seven Royal Swedish Navy ships, two Santiago el Mayor class armoured cruisers, the Santiago el Mayor and the Reina Victoria Eugenia, three Guadalquiver class protected cruisers, the Gerona, Don Álvaro de Bazán, and the Santa Lucía, and two destroyers, the Miño and Cauto.
The battle joined as the Royal Navy ships proceeded by class at best speed to close and flank the enemy. The German destroyer proceeded to move forward to torpedo the Royal Navy ships, and got one hit on the HMS Argyll, with was ordered to retreat. The Swedish warships stayed with the convoy but one of the armoured cruisers got a hit on the HMS Attack, causing flooding forward. The HMS Attack was also ordered to retreat. Now the Commodore only had the HMS Indefatigable, HMS Sparrowhawk, and HMS Boreas to press that attack. These however proved to be sufficient.
The first ship sunk was the merchant ship Ägir II which went down with all but three of her sixty man crew. The bold V-26 was sunk by a 13.5” shell from the HMS Indefatigable, and the Kreigsmarine’s total losses for the battle were 111 officers and ratings killed or lost at sea with eight fished out of the water and taken prisoner. The Swedish protected cruiser Gerona was sunk next by the HMS Sparrowhawk, and lost 280 of her 305 man crew.
The merchant ships Graf Spee II, Frithjof, and Hildebrand were sunk, with only eleven survivors. The Swedish armoured cruiser Reina Victoria Eugenia was sunk, losing all but five of her 853 man crew. The HMS Indefatigable then sank the Swedish destroyers Miño and Cauto with one 13.5” hit each. They lost all but twelve of their combined 228 men. The Merchant ships Ostmark, Lauenburg, Odin II, Hessen II, and Star were sunk with only twenty-eight survivors from the five ships. The HMS Boreas sunk the Schwaben II, and the Wittlesbach sank with her, there being only twelve survivors of the two ships. The HMS Indefatigable found the Swedish armoured cruiser Santiago el Mayor, which had stayed towards the back of the convoy throwing her 8.2” shells at the Royal Navy, and sank her with 734 of her crew.
A last 13.5” shell from the HMS Indefatigable found the merchant ship Friedrich der Grosse, shattering the ship in one blow, and leaving nine survivors. The two Guadalquiver class Swedish protected cruisers Don Álvaro de Bazán and Santa Lucía escaped the battle with a reported 51 casualties. In total the Royal Navy suffered twenty-four casualties compared to a total of 111 Kreigsmarine personnel killed or lost at sea and 8 taken prisoner, 2128 Royal Swedish Navy personnel killed or lost at sea with 162 taken prisoner, and 657 German merchant officers and seaman killed or lost at sea and 63 put in life boats to row back to Kiel.
Thetis Evades Death Again
The Times: 10 January 1911
The Interceptor class protected cruiser HMS Intercessor, accompanied by the B-class destroyer HMS Blenheim, found a German convoy of nine armed 8 thousand ton transports. The HMS Intercessor and the HMS Blenheim made quick work of the Graf Spee, Hessen, Moltke, Schwaben, Arminius, Markgraf II, Prinzregent Luitpold and two unidentified ships. The survivors claimed the Thetis was providing convoy “Protection” but fled at the sight of British smoke.
The Kingdom of Spain Declares War on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The Times: 3 January 1911
The Kingdom of Spain, already in conflict with the United States and the new Communist government in the Soviet Union, has decided that the United Kingdom would nicely round out their dance card. The Royal Navy fleet led by the HMS Dominion, which last month drove the Danzig class protected cruiser Thetis out of west African waters, has taken up station off the coast of Equatorial Guinea and is supporting Royal Army landings on Spain’s one central African colonial possession. With Spain now at war with both the United Kingdom and the United States Washington has proposed an alliance based on the UK providing funds to support the American war effort. The Conservative party Cabinet, just returned in majority in national elections, has rejected this suggestion.
Meanwhile the German Merchant Marine continues to lose transports, this month 27, the new Kreigsmarine being unable to perform the basic duty of a Navy to defend the nation’s commerce.
The Loss of the HMS Diana
The Times: 12 December 1911
While on patrol in the North Sea the Royal Navy’s Tribune class semi-armoured cruisers HMS Diana and HMS Pallas encountered a Kreigsmarine ship of a new type of ship the Germans are calling a Schwerer Kreuzer or Heavy Cruiser. The Lützow, lead ship of her class, carries sixteen 7.2” guns, four on the centerline with one forward and three aft including a super firing pair, and four wing turrets mounted two to a side. With a target displace of 13,638 tons fully loaded and a top speed of 27.5 knots, we now know what the bragging of ‘Naval Technological Superiority’ on the part of the Kreigsmarine represents. At this time the Royal Navy has no equivalent ships, though our battlecruisers clearly outmatch the Lützow.
The enemy sighted, the HMS Diana and HMS Pallas closed to bring their advanced and numerous 3” guns into play. The two ships were pounding away at the Lützow until the HMS Diana was in a position to swing her broadsides to bear and fire her torpedoes. Of her two starboard torpedoes launched one hit and did serious damage on her main belt while the Diana dodged the expected return torpedo launch. The Lützow struck back almost immediately, putting a 7.2” shell through the main belt of the HMS Diana and damaging #2 engine while causing flooding. The HMS Diana’s replying 3” hit detonated the remaining torpedo magazine of the Lützow, causing further damage. The HMS Diana was ordered to retire from the fight.
However both the Lützow and the HMS Diana sank from their flooding almost at the same time. The Lützow lost 731 of her 850 man crew. The HMS Diana went down with all 627 of her officers and ratings. The HMS Pallas, which contributed to the sinking of the Lützow, lost 3 men. 119 Kreigsmarine sailors were fished out of the water and taken prisoner.
Memorial services for the crew of the HMS Diana will be held in Yarmouth December 22.
War Continues with the German Republic
The Times: 5 December 1911
Following the fall of the German Empire and the loss of the African province of Cameroon to a combined operation of French and Royal Army forces, the Cabinet had directed the Foreign Minister to offer peace negotiations with the new Centrist government in Berlin.
The offer has been rejected.
The Empire of Germany has fallen to Revolution!
The Times: 20 November 1911
With continuing transport losses, this month there being 20, of the German Merchant Marine, and with the loss of the province of Cameroon where the Kaiserliche Armee lost 6,133 men to the French Army’s 15,001 and the Royal Army’s 9,590, the people of Germany have risen in Revolution and dethroned the Kaiser. A new democratic republic has been declared and centrist parties have formed a plurality government.
In other international news the Empire of China has fended off invasions of Tibet and Afghanistan, losing 3,005 men in the former and 29.016 men in the later. Royal Army losses where 3,294 and 16,422. Despite the admonition that Afghanistan is where empires go to die the Royal Navy has announced plans for a new campaign. Meanwhile China has lost the Ottoman Turk as an ally while gaining Venezuela.
Negotiations with the Empire of Austro-Hungary offered by the United Kingdom have failed.
No THetis, I don't expect you to defend the convoy, I expect you to DIE!!!!
Dame thats a hell of a storm. Im surprised they could see you AT ALL. "The Dreadnaught 4" Um i think you mean 6 sir. VI is 6.
I suspect the trick with the Dreadnaught 6 hull is to have 3 guns AFT and 1 gun up front IF you want the full secondary battery. As DUMB as that looks that all i can think of to off set the Casemate Weight. UNLESS you put some Heavy Secondaries along the Rear Quarter Deck.
When they actually add coastlines and all that to hem in fleeing ships, I will buy the game. Battles occurring ten miles off shore without any sort of landmass in the direction of land is really annoying lol.
5:51 PPPFFFFFFFFFF…😂
Interceptor Class: up gunned destroyers without the torpedo launchers
Hey mate, loving the series so far. Would love to see a build of HMS Exeter at some point if at all possible, as it is rather important to my family.