Redshank Galloglass
Banned
What's Military training look like ITTL for the Comintern and FBU? How long is the training? How difficult is it? Who is considered "better" in the yes of the common public?
The Great Crusade (Reds! Part 3)
- Thread starter Aelita
- Start date
Bookmark1995
Banned
Their probably will be such an operation, but it will be a lot more restrictive toward the men with blood on their hands.
The UASR is a nation that can be an excellent friend, but a terrible, terrible enemy.
According to this update, they are welcoming toward the Germans who were just fighting a war.
But their probably far more ruthless toward the perpetrators of the really vile crimes.
For the FBU to willingly shelter wanted war criminals is to risk their wrath.
That's why Henry Ford wasn't allowed to escape with his craven life.
Oh, yeah, Cuba. Not openly, of course, but they slip in with help of the more fascist elements of the military.
According to Special Edition page all people in the UASR have received a year of training in the Armed Masses Militia which provides the military basics (physical training, marksmanship, small unit tactics). Then they can go up the ranks by volunteering for the Red Guards and Armed Forces. The emphasis on everyone serving, soldier's soviets and election of NCO's and Officers would make the average citizen of the UASR and the Comintern believe that the people control the military and not the other way around. Members of the Red Guards are the combination of IOTL State Police/National Guard/FEMA with part-time members serving a certain number of days per month and maneuvers once a year. Full-timers have attended the state Academies for five to six months and are law enforcement professionals. People probably regard Militia service as a form of passage into full adulthood they way many of us viewed going to College/University. The Guards are viewed like we view the National Guard "Where's Dave? He's at Guard maneuvers for the next two weeks. Oh."
While there is not much mention of the Military Academies except Hans Kahle Military Academy which replaced West Point in 1936. Annapolis and San Diego/Parris Island would still be focused on the Naval training. I figure four years or more for the Academies plus a service commitment. Both pre-revolution Army and Navy are integrated and since NCO/Officers are elected they cannot act as 'lord and gentry' to the enlisted. Plus the patriarchal and racial problems the military has IOTL would have been ironed out very quickly since much or the old guard is in exile. Now different members of the branches may disagree and families may be 'Army' or 'Navy' families but it would be similar to arguing over sports teams or films. A member of the Militia or Guard is a co-worker, family member or neighbor with a job/life while a member of the Armed Forces is a specialist/professional at his/her trade.
Most of the Comintern would adopt these tactics to avoid future military coups or concentration of power in a military elite. Members of the the Comintern militaries may train/teach at various Academies the way Doctors or Professors go to other hospitals or universities. Plus they would see it work in the Second Civil War/Revolution/Second World War.
The FBU would have some sort of conscription/national service post-war and have Academies like Sandhurst in the UK or Special Military School of St Cyr in France. Post-war the FBU would work on integrating the militaries of themselves and its colonies/allies. Expect racial/sex issues similar to the US and NATO post-WW2 until the 60's and 70's. Both sides would have multiple academies/schools and standardized classes and to be in the Academies is tough/demanding course.
Typhoon Struggle: Battle of the Western Mediterranean (Spring 1944)
Excerpts from Patrick O’Brian, Typhoon Struggle: War in the Mediterranean, (Dartmouth: Britannia Royal Naval College, 1985)
The embryonic form of the Mediterranean Strategic Offensive was conceived with the formation of the Inter-Allied Cooperation Council in January 1943. This initial consultative body, formed to provide a channel for direct military cooperation between the Comintern militaries and those of the British Commonwealth, steadily grew in importance.
As we have seen, regaining control of the Suez Canal was of vital strategic importance to the British Combined Chiefs of Staff. So long as the Mediterranean Sea was closed to Commonwealth flagged ships, the whole of the Commonwealth was practically paralyzed. Shipping constraints would hinder the transport of raw materials, durable goods and troops from India.
Similarly, the American Naval Operations Committee had been searching for a means to leverage its strength to affect the outcome of the fighting in the east. Disrupting the flow of Libyan oil to Europe would be a tremendous blow to the Axis war effort. With their interests aligned, a joint exploratory committee was formed.
…Under the guise of joint anti-submarine operations, the WFRN and RN began a series of fleet problems in the Atlantic and Caribbean aimed at establishing operational cooperation between the two fleets. This was a significant difficulty after nearly a decade of enmity that still had yet to fully cool.
Meanwhile, planners struggled with two serious problems. To wrest control of the Mediterranean from Italy and her junior partner France, their fleets needed to be annihilated. To accomplish this, they’d have to be drawn into a decisive battle. There needed to be a sufficiently provocative action to force the Supermarina’s hand, and somehow sufficiently conceal strength to give the Italians a belief that they could achieve victory.
This was greatly complicated by the confines of the Mediterranean itself. It was presently bordered on all sides by hostile territory, and by late 1943 toeholds had been barely established in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco by the Entente and Comintern respectively. The fleet would be confronted by land-based airpower, and conventional wisdom had held that land based aircraft would have the decisive edge against carrier-borne planes.
The Pillars of Hercules were the ultimate chokepoint. The land campaign would have to advance sufficiently that the fog of war could conceal the quantity of ships passing through into the eastern Mediterranean.
…The Franco-British joint-command intensified its efforts in the Iberian peninsula, deploying the Fifth Army beginning in November 1943. This new force contained several newly raised British divisions (the Guards Armoured Division, 11th Infantry, 51st (Highland) Infantry), the 4th Canadian Armoured, and the 4th and 5th Indian Infantry divisions. The new formations, equipped with modern Enfield Selfloaders, Bren Mk II light machine guns, Universal Carriers, Carnifex tanks, reliable radios at the platoon level, and buttressed by Eastern Front veterans, finally forced a breakout from Lusitania, precipitating a general retreat by Rommel towards more defensible areas east of Madrid. While the encirclement and destruction of much of the Spanish Nationalist Army in the Battle of Madrid had invited disaster, a rump Nationalist state was propped up in Catalonia by a steady stream of German and Petainist forces.
Simultaneously, Comintern forces in French Morocco were augmented. The 18th Army was raised in Casablanca following the deployment of four Mexican divisions (51st Tank Division, 501st, 507th, 511th Rifle Divisions), and four American Red Guards divisions (28th, 39th, 46th, 47th
Rifle Divisions). Many of these Red Guards units were drawn from Louisiana and Haiti, and spoke French as well as English.
With the attached 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, the 18th Army pushed into French Algeria, facing the reconstituted remnants of 7 French North African divisions, and the regular 7th Light Mechanized Division. While formidable on paper, French forces in Algeria lacked crucial supplies, and the means to counter enemy air power, and could only yield ground against a foe with logistical and materiel superiority.
…Operation Typhoon steadily took shape. In January 1944, the Inter-Allied Council selected a basic strategy. An amphibious landing would serve as the bait to force the Axis into battle. Sardinia and Corsica were selected as primary and secondary target. Relatively lightly garrisoned, yet they held important airfields for the projection of land-based airpower into the Mediterranean. If lost, they could throttle trade in the Mediterranean, and open up the whole of Italy to Allied airpower.
The next problem was to sell it. Deception campaigns began to create the appearance of preparation elsewhere, particularly designs against France’s northern coast. But the central problem, of getting the Axis to commit to battle still remained.
An American analyst, Commander Paul Kralizec, from the Stavka Main Intelligence Directorate, suggested a careful “tipping of the hand” strategy. Referring to the accidental or intentional revealing of one’s hand in a card game, a fake intelligence leak would be created to give the Supermarina the impression they could achieve overwhelming superiority and defeat the enemy landing group.
Multiple vectors were chosen for this. The first feelers were extended by doubled Abwehr agents in America and Britain. While the Germans took the information as credible, the Italians were much more skeptical, and Petain himself was outright dismissive. Broken diplomatic intercepts showed little traction being gained.
With time running out, and the taskforces beginning to assemble in the Azores and Canaries, a more bold strategy was undertaken. Using the body of a dead vagrant dressed in Royal Navy uniforms, forged battle plan documents were planted on the French Atlantic coast by Royal Marine frogmen. The forged documents detailed a planned invasion of Sardinia and Corsica supported by a large but vulnerable mass of ships. With the supposed timetables provided, the Axis could mobilize its fleets in sufficient time to deliver a major knockout blow.
When the French military attaché provided the documents in early April, Mussolini only had a matter of days to decide to sortie the fleet. Fleet action would deplete Italy’s available heating oil reserves, and it would take some time to build them back up, with so much by necessity being needed to support the Army and the German war effort in the East. He reluctantly endorsed Grand Admiral Ricardi’s battle plan, which would commit the Regia Marina’s First and Second Squadrons, with almost 90 percent of the surface fleet to support the three squadrons of the Marine Nationale.
The Italian First Squadron would set sail from Taranto, steam at full speed through the Strait of Sicily. First Squadron would have most of the fleet’s fast capital ships, and all of her operational carriers, and would begin a coordinated attack against the Allied invasion fleet, supported by the Second Squadron from La Spezia, and the French Mediterranean Fleet.
…The Italians and Petainists expected two major task forces to engage in the Western Mediterranean. The battle plans and preliminary seaplane reconnaissance corroborated the existence of two task forces moving in the general vicinity of Sardinia: a slow wing consisting of older but still formidable battleships and escort carriers accompanying a landing force backed by numerous escort ships taking up the lead, and a fast wing on the northern flank with modern fast battleships and fleet carriers. These two task forces, TF 38 and TF 57, had seven fleet carriers, four light carriers, seven fast battleships and eight dreadnoughts between them. The eighteen escort carriers contributed another six fleet carriers worth of aircraft, but their limited complements were mostly oriented towards defence and ground attack.
The Regia Marina would muster eleven battleships, and five armored fleet carriers, supported by considerable land-based air power. The Marine Nationale would contribute a further seven fast battleships, four dreadnoughts, and four fleet carriers, also augmented by land-based airpower.
On a numerical level, they appeared to have achieved considerable superiority, a nearly two to one superiority in capital ships, and a sizeable advantage in available aircraft. But even if they had not been deceived, the outcome would not have been as favorable as numbers alone would suggest. The Axis fleets were spaced considerably apart and would have to combine at the right place and time in order to prevail, which was a shaky proposition given the continued coordination problems between French and Italian military elements that had been apparent since the Battle of the Levantine Sea.
The older French and Italian dreadnoughts, while not hopelessly outclassed, were significantly less effective than their British or American counterparts. Similarly, their fleet air arms were less well developed, flying older aircraft and utilizing a less well developed air group handling doctrine.
Had it been fought entirely on their terms, a singular Battle of Sardinia might have still resulted in a pyrrhic victory, sinking the troop ships at a huge materiel cost in ships and men. But unbeknownst to the admirals steaming towards their “Second Ecnomus”, the Allies had concealed two complete task forces entirely from their view until it was too late.
…As the Italian First Squadron, commanded by the able Admiral Inigo Campioni, completed its transit of the Strait of Sicily and headed north, on schedule, to begin a pincer attack on the landing force bombarding Sardinia, TF 45 steamed at flank speed to intercept. Campioni had unknowingly stumbled over a submarine picket. The Tang, a new fast snorkel equipped submarine type, had observed First Squadron’s passage by passive sonar, and radioed the squadron’s size, speed and heading via secure Arcana transmission.
Admiral Yitzak Levin* commanded a veritable sledgehammer of eight capital ships and four fleet carriers. The force was divided into three Task Groups. The first two, consisting of four battleships each, would approach in staggered echelons into First Squadron’s heading. Campioni would be forced to either divide his battle line, or be able to turn his broadside to one group while allowing the second to cross the tee on his line. The third group, containing the carriers, would remain several hundred kilometers behind.
…A seaplane scout discovered the approach of TG 45.1 at 0645 on 21 April 1944. Through the light rain and early morning fog, a single heavy cruiser, the Fields of Athenry, and two destroyers were positively identified.
Campioni was alerted to the possible threat by 0730. After consultations with his staff aboard his flagship Littorio, Campioni decided to press ahead cautiously. His carriers began preparing for combat operations and increased their scouting efforts.
At 0843, a Revolutionary Navy SB2D Dervish was able to make it to visual range of First Squadron before it was chased off by a flight of patrolling Re.2005 Sagittario fighters. It was an unmistakable sign of American aircraft carriers. Optimistically, Campioni rejected the hypothesis that an additional task force was presented. Nonetheless, he continued to prepare for immediate engagement.
Task Force 45 had already been identified by land-based French reconnaissance planes from Algeria. Attempts to relay this information to the Italians had been marred by poor cooperation and mistrust. By the time Campioni’s fleet, under strict orders for radio silence, received any word of an additional task force and several probable capital ships south of Sardinia, the Battle of the Straits of Sicily had already begun.
…Amid fog, intermittent rain and choppy seas, First Squadron stumbled into the jaws of TF 45 just after 1100. Radar contacts, port and starboard forward, began showing up on Italian scopes. With surface action imminent, Campioni broke radio silence and ordered his carriers one hundred kilometers behind to begin launching. Additional land based fighters and bombers scrambled from Sicily to assist
An attack force was spotted soon after. The first echelon passed overhead of Campioni’s main fleet, headed in the vicinity of the five carriers. The second began torpedo attacks on his seven capital ships. The American fighters, F8F Tomcats, swept aside the first fingers of land-based M.C. 205 Veltro and the patrolling Re.2005s. The torpedo bombers approached the battleships from the bow in three groups spaced several kilometers apart.
The battleships and their escorts filled the air with flak, but the fast American BTM Maulers were more than a match for the older Italian gun directors. As the Italian battleships maneuvered, they presented broadside profiles to at least two of the three torpedo groups. Thirty Maulers dropped their torpedoes, scoring four hits: one each on the Littorio and Roma, and two on the Cristoforo Colombo.
Damage control contained the flooding on the newer Littorio-class ships thanks to their more modern torpedo protection system. But the Colombo, a modernized super dreadnought, was effectively knocked out by the two hits to her port side. Engine room flooding and power loss would effectively leave her dead in the water and listing almost ten degrees to port before counter flooding and pumps were able to stabilize her.
As the torpedo planes retreated into the distance, losing six of their number, Campioni’s lead destroyers began coming under fire. Both fleets were reaching grappling range, and now it became apparent that the enemy intended to slug it out. Believing that he’d encountered the enemy’s fast wing shifted south, Campioni decided to press the engagement. With land based airpower, and littoral support, he believed he could overcome his presumed numerical disadvantage.
His battleships pushed onward, heedless of the danger, towards the ships of TG 45.2 under the Royal Navy’s Vice Admiral Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton. The six remaining battleships would square off against four of the Royal Navy’s best. For forty-five minutes, they angled closer to one another in the gray skies and roiling seas as they steamed eastward, back towards the comforting safety of Sicilian air power.
…The HMS Invincible, leading the British column, began firing at 1343 at a range of 16,400 yards. Her shots straddled the Gulio Cesare. The thunderous roar of battleship guns filled the air. With an apparent numerical and broadside weight advantage, the Italians engaged with confidence. But the better British fire control and gunnery began to whittle away at that confidence. Within the first fifteen minutes, both sides had fired ~25 full salvoes at one another. The Italians scored twenty hits from their 15 and 17-inch guns. Both the Invincible and Trafalgar had received the brunt of this damage. In that time the Invincible alone had scored twelve hits on the Gulio Cesare. British shells were heavier and pierced enemy armor more effectively.
Campioni ordered his fleet to disengage to let the incoming dive and torpedo bombers settle the score. His remaining destroyers laid down smoke screens, allowing the badly damaged capital ships to increase distance. It was ultimately too late for the Gulio Cesare, who lost engine and steering control under the pitiless onslaught. At 1358, her captain ordered abandon ship, as he and a small team of subalterns and petty officers remained behind to scuttle the ship.
…At 1410, Campioni’s limping ships began steaming south by south-east. Retiring and preserving what was left of the fleet, regardless of Mussolini’s displeasure, was militarily the best course of action. Unfortunately for him, TG 45.1, was steaming at flank speed towards him, and his wounded ships had no hope of escape.
The second engagement began at 1425. By now, the carrier air group had been whittled down to the nub. Whatever hope of another torpedo attack to relieve pressure on his capital ships vanished, as a massed attack by the American fleet carriers finally located the Italian combat box.
As his carriers maneuvered desperately to avoid the enemy torpedo and dive bombers, the clouds parted to reveal four fresh American battleships now blocking the way. In the calmer seas and improved visibility, the American ships engaged at 22,700 yards.
The damaged Italian ships fought back as best they could. But with TG 45.2 beginning to re-engage on the other side, the heavily damaged Italian ships were doomed. The American 41 and 46-cm shells were just as hard-hitting and accurate as their Royal Navy counterparts. Campioni’s flagship began to founder very quickly; multiple waterline penetrations from the Jacobin compounded the earlier torpedo damage. One-by-one, the Italian battleships were silenced and unable to return fire. Campioni himself was killed by a strike to his bridge, probably from the Antietam, soon after.
First Squadron’s executive officer, Counter-Admiral Luigi Mascherpa, ran up the white flag at 1530. After a terse radio conversation, TG 45.1’s commander, Vice Admiral Nikola Marino, a first-generation Italian immigrant himself, agreed to send his destroyers to help evacuate survivors.
Meanwhile, the had ninety plane raid from TG 45.3 had pummeled the Italian carriers to oblivion. Forty-five BTM torpedo bombers, 25 SB2D dive bombers and 20 F8F fighters delivered a coup de grace against a nearly defenseless carrier fleet. With two decks knocked out of action by the previous raid, and another badly damaged, the carrier flotilla could only manage eighteen operational fighter craft.
As their carrier doctrine dictated, the Italian carriers scattered to achieve maneuvering space before the attack. The greatly reduced concentration of anti-aircraft fire left them easy prey in the now clear skies. Aquila was hit by three torpedoes, two port and one on the bow. Trajan was hit by two 1500kg AP bombs, igniting her avgas stores. The already damaged Lupa Capitolina took another bomb and two torpedoes. Sulla took by far the worst of it; three bombs and three torpedoes. Only the Scipio Africanus would escape destruction.
…First Squadron’s remaining seaworthy ships (three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eight destroyers) were interned as part of the surrender agreement. Accompanied by Revolutionary Navy prize crews and Fleet Marine detachments, the surrendered ships would transport Italian survivors to Casablanca. Being so-close to enemy home waters and the threat of torpedo boat attack, Admiral Levin decided to scuttle ships once evacuation was complete, both allied and enemy.
Admiral Campioni would be remembered as the man who lost the war in an afternoon. The pride of the Italian Navy was annihilated. Six of her battleships would be on the bottom of the ocean. The seventh battleship of the First Squadron, the limping Cristoforo Colombo, would join them the next day. As she steamed back to Taranto at eight knots, she tripped across the lurking submarine Tang. Tang would fire a full spread of six 54cm Mark 16 torpedoes, securing three hits.
…Late in the afternoon of 22 April, Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul, commander of the Petainist Mediterranean Fleet, received the first reports of action near the Straits of Sicily. With insufficient intelligence available to him, Gensoul chose to press the attack. With darkness falling, he made the tactical decision to divide his fleet. I and IV Escadrons, with his fast battleships and carriers, would push towards TF 57 assaulting the beaches of Sardinia at flank speed under the cover of darkness.
Meanwhile, the Italian Second Squadron was preparing for a similar night attack through the dangerous Strait of Bonifacio, but perhaps the only way for the slower ships to achieve surprise.
TF 57 was arrayed close to the shore of Sardinia, bombarding the Italian defensive works of the 207th Coastal Division. Both the Petainists and the Italians believed, erroneously, that TF 38 had shifted far south to combat the First Squadron, leaving the landing force immensely vulnerable to attack.
The fourth task force, TF 51, had remained hidden in the fog of war. As it moved north under cover of darkness, it ran headlong into the Petainist fast wing. The Battle of the Balearics began at 0211, as the first Petainist destroyer, Mogador, stumbled into radar range of the Free French cruiser Algérie.
The first phase of the action was a short skirmish between destroyers and cruisers. The Allied ships had a significant advantage in radar sophistication, and in many cases were able to fire with virtual impunity against the enemy light ships.
Believing this to be a detached cruiser squadron, Gensoul pressed onwards. With the weight of numbers, he began pushing the escorts aside. The Algérie herself foundered under enemy torpedoes.
A British destroyer flotilla began an unsuccessful torpedo attack on the lead Petainist battleship, Richelieu, succeeding in sinking a heavy cruiser, Colbert, at a cost of three of their own. As the escorts began to thin, Gensoul believed victory was in sight. Mere hours away from the transport ships and vulnerable aircraft carriers, he’d achieve a knockout blow just before dawn.
However, the seven capital ships of TF 51 were already moving to block him. Admiral Horace Hood arrayed his battle line right across the Gensoul’s advance. The Petainist fleet would approach at a forty-five degree angle before meeting broad-side to broadside.
With ambush narrowly averted, battle commenced at a range between 15,000 and 20,000 years, with the Petainist rear engaging from further away. Blind accept to the flashes of one another’s guns, it was fought with radar and electromechanical gun-directors.
While the engagement appeared numerically even, the qualitative balance was once again decisively in the American/British favor. But more than armor and broadside weight, the decisive advantage lay in the immense superiority of the Allie’s fire control systems. The newest radars were able to spot the fall of their shot and feed the information to the fire control system to adjust the next salvo. In terms of accuracy, the poor state of the French radars meant they might as well have been firing blind.
Gensoul attempted to close the distance and illuminate the enemy with searchlights from his cruisers. It was too little, too late. The Richelieu exploded at 0330, and the French line began to break. In the confusion and darkness, they lost their bearings. The Normandie rammed one of her escorts accidentally. The Gascogne, swerving wildly, brought its guns to bear on the Normandie.
As dawn broke, all seven Petainist battleships were burning or sinking. Of the Allied ships, only the Wat Tyler would prove unrecoverable. Listing twenty degrees from torpedo attack, her captain ordered her abandoned and scuttled shortly after dawn. The floating wrecks of the Petainist Marine Nationale would have a similar fate.
…Just before dawn, Italian Second Squadron completed its perilous transit of the Strait of Bonifacio, and was rounding Cape Falcone. Steaming south at 25 knots, they were mere hours away from the landing zone in the Gulf of Oristano.
Most TF 57’s battleships had moved south in the night to interdict the 21st Motorized Division’s movements, and guard the expected approach route for Italy’s remaining ships. It was believed that the Italians would be too cautious to attempt the Strait of Bonifacio at night. When an early morning patrol revealed four battleships, escorted by six heavy and ten light cruisers, racing towards the troop ships, Admiral Levin scrambled to interdict them.
The assault boats carrying the 6th Marine Division ashore were just disgorging troops on the beaches. The remaining gunfire support battleships, Comintern and Matewan, would steam north to interdict the enemy battleships, accompanied by two cruisers and twelve destroyers.
Levin’s jeep carriers scrambled what planes they had to interdict the Second Squadron. But close to shore, the Second Squadron was protected by land-based fighters of the Regia Aeronautica. Twelve SB2D dive bombers and sixteen TBF torpedo bombers made an uncoordinated attack separated from their escort fighters. Almost half were shot-down by M.C. 205s of the 32nd Wing. Only two cruisers were damaged sufficiently to turn back. A single dud bomb struck the battleship Impero, which would not be disposed of before surface action began.
…Comintern and Matewan steamed into the jaws of death, meeting the Italians just after 0900. While both had undergone a full reconstruction in the late 30s, both were essentially advanced WWI era designs greatly outmatched by the Littorio-class, to say nothing of the Duce-class. What they lacked in speed, they made up for in firepower and survivability. Comintern mounted twelve 41-cm Mark 6 guns, the Matewan eight. Both had 13.5-inch thick main belts and 6-inch decks. They’d need every bit of it.
The two forces met twenty miles north of the landing zone. The Italians aggressively closed the distance, using their superior speed to attempt to cross in front of the American line. Comintern opened fire at 22,400 yards. The three faster Italian ships rapidly closed the distance, while the older Caio Dullio brought up the rear. The Comintern lost electrical power from an unlucky hit after three salvos. Sensing opportunity, the Italians surged into close range. The lead ship, Arditi, took multiple bow hits from the Matewan. Undeterred, she turned broadside at 12,000 yards, and opened up with all nine of her 17-inch guns. Vittorio Veneto and Impero followed in her wake. By modern standards, this was practically point-blank range.
Just as Comintern restored power, she came under an unrelenting salvo. She fought back tenaciously as the 17-inch and 15-inch shells penetrated her belt. At 0937, her main guns went silent. But her secondaries continued to fire furiously as the focus shifted to the Matewan. The battle would continue beyond hope of victory, refusing to surrender to buy more time for the rest of the fleet.
…While the Arditi, Vittorio Veneto and Impero continued to pound the American battleships mercilessly, the Caio Dullio attempted to push onwards to the landing zone, accompanied four cruisers and six destroyers. A single Task Unit (57.1.4), with four destroyers and two frigates interdicted them. Greatly outgunned, they made multiple gun and torpedo attacks. Though they lost both frigates and half their destroyers, they claimed two of the enemy cruisers and a destroyer, convincing the Caio Dullio to turn back.
…As the Comintern and Matewan began to abandon ship at 1042, the planes of VT-11 appeared overhead. The damaged Italian battleships faced the first of many torpedo and bombing attacks over the course of the day. The desperate delaying action had worked. Second Squadron would disengage under heavy aerial attack. Arditi would suffer four bomb hits and five torpedo hits, and be abandoned just after 1350. Impero would sink after six torpedoes and two bombs. Only Vittorio Veneto and Caio Dullio would be able to limp back to port.
…6th Marine Division took heavy losses in the opposed amphibious landing. But by the afternoon they had taken the battlements defending the beaches of Oristano. The following divisions, 1st Canadian Infantry, and the American 99th and 140th Rifle Divisions, took significantly fewer casualties expanding the beachhead.
By day’s end, the 271st Coastal was down to quarter effective strength and in full retreat. Like all coastal defense formations, it was composed of third line reservists, significantly underbilleted and armed to begin with. Two additional coastal divisions, the 209th and 240th, and the 21st Motorized, held up at Sassari, Olbia and Cagliari respectively, remained. Over the next month, they would be steadily ground into oblivion.
The embryonic form of the Mediterranean Strategic Offensive was conceived with the formation of the Inter-Allied Cooperation Council in January 1943. This initial consultative body, formed to provide a channel for direct military cooperation between the Comintern militaries and those of the British Commonwealth, steadily grew in importance.
As we have seen, regaining control of the Suez Canal was of vital strategic importance to the British Combined Chiefs of Staff. So long as the Mediterranean Sea was closed to Commonwealth flagged ships, the whole of the Commonwealth was practically paralyzed. Shipping constraints would hinder the transport of raw materials, durable goods and troops from India.
Similarly, the American Naval Operations Committee had been searching for a means to leverage its strength to affect the outcome of the fighting in the east. Disrupting the flow of Libyan oil to Europe would be a tremendous blow to the Axis war effort. With their interests aligned, a joint exploratory committee was formed.
…Under the guise of joint anti-submarine operations, the WFRN and RN began a series of fleet problems in the Atlantic and Caribbean aimed at establishing operational cooperation between the two fleets. This was a significant difficulty after nearly a decade of enmity that still had yet to fully cool.
Meanwhile, planners struggled with two serious problems. To wrest control of the Mediterranean from Italy and her junior partner France, their fleets needed to be annihilated. To accomplish this, they’d have to be drawn into a decisive battle. There needed to be a sufficiently provocative action to force the Supermarina’s hand, and somehow sufficiently conceal strength to give the Italians a belief that they could achieve victory.
This was greatly complicated by the confines of the Mediterranean itself. It was presently bordered on all sides by hostile territory, and by late 1943 toeholds had been barely established in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco by the Entente and Comintern respectively. The fleet would be confronted by land-based airpower, and conventional wisdom had held that land based aircraft would have the decisive edge against carrier-borne planes.
The Pillars of Hercules were the ultimate chokepoint. The land campaign would have to advance sufficiently that the fog of war could conceal the quantity of ships passing through into the eastern Mediterranean.
…The Franco-British joint-command intensified its efforts in the Iberian peninsula, deploying the Fifth Army beginning in November 1943. This new force contained several newly raised British divisions (the Guards Armoured Division, 11th Infantry, 51st (Highland) Infantry), the 4th Canadian Armoured, and the 4th and 5th Indian Infantry divisions. The new formations, equipped with modern Enfield Selfloaders, Bren Mk II light machine guns, Universal Carriers, Carnifex tanks, reliable radios at the platoon level, and buttressed by Eastern Front veterans, finally forced a breakout from Lusitania, precipitating a general retreat by Rommel towards more defensible areas east of Madrid. While the encirclement and destruction of much of the Spanish Nationalist Army in the Battle of Madrid had invited disaster, a rump Nationalist state was propped up in Catalonia by a steady stream of German and Petainist forces.
Simultaneously, Comintern forces in French Morocco were augmented. The 18th Army was raised in Casablanca following the deployment of four Mexican divisions (51st Tank Division, 501st, 507th, 511th Rifle Divisions), and four American Red Guards divisions (28th, 39th, 46th, 47th
Rifle Divisions). Many of these Red Guards units were drawn from Louisiana and Haiti, and spoke French as well as English.
With the attached 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, the 18th Army pushed into French Algeria, facing the reconstituted remnants of 7 French North African divisions, and the regular 7th Light Mechanized Division. While formidable on paper, French forces in Algeria lacked crucial supplies, and the means to counter enemy air power, and could only yield ground against a foe with logistical and materiel superiority.
…Operation Typhoon steadily took shape. In January 1944, the Inter-Allied Council selected a basic strategy. An amphibious landing would serve as the bait to force the Axis into battle. Sardinia and Corsica were selected as primary and secondary target. Relatively lightly garrisoned, yet they held important airfields for the projection of land-based airpower into the Mediterranean. If lost, they could throttle trade in the Mediterranean, and open up the whole of Italy to Allied airpower.
The next problem was to sell it. Deception campaigns began to create the appearance of preparation elsewhere, particularly designs against France’s northern coast. But the central problem, of getting the Axis to commit to battle still remained.
An American analyst, Commander Paul Kralizec, from the Stavka Main Intelligence Directorate, suggested a careful “tipping of the hand” strategy. Referring to the accidental or intentional revealing of one’s hand in a card game, a fake intelligence leak would be created to give the Supermarina the impression they could achieve overwhelming superiority and defeat the enemy landing group.
Multiple vectors were chosen for this. The first feelers were extended by doubled Abwehr agents in America and Britain. While the Germans took the information as credible, the Italians were much more skeptical, and Petain himself was outright dismissive. Broken diplomatic intercepts showed little traction being gained.
With time running out, and the taskforces beginning to assemble in the Azores and Canaries, a more bold strategy was undertaken. Using the body of a dead vagrant dressed in Royal Navy uniforms, forged battle plan documents were planted on the French Atlantic coast by Royal Marine frogmen. The forged documents detailed a planned invasion of Sardinia and Corsica supported by a large but vulnerable mass of ships. With the supposed timetables provided, the Axis could mobilize its fleets in sufficient time to deliver a major knockout blow.
When the French military attaché provided the documents in early April, Mussolini only had a matter of days to decide to sortie the fleet. Fleet action would deplete Italy’s available heating oil reserves, and it would take some time to build them back up, with so much by necessity being needed to support the Army and the German war effort in the East. He reluctantly endorsed Grand Admiral Ricardi’s battle plan, which would commit the Regia Marina’s First and Second Squadrons, with almost 90 percent of the surface fleet to support the three squadrons of the Marine Nationale.
The Italian First Squadron would set sail from Taranto, steam at full speed through the Strait of Sicily. First Squadron would have most of the fleet’s fast capital ships, and all of her operational carriers, and would begin a coordinated attack against the Allied invasion fleet, supported by the Second Squadron from La Spezia, and the French Mediterranean Fleet.
…The Italians and Petainists expected two major task forces to engage in the Western Mediterranean. The battle plans and preliminary seaplane reconnaissance corroborated the existence of two task forces moving in the general vicinity of Sardinia: a slow wing consisting of older but still formidable battleships and escort carriers accompanying a landing force backed by numerous escort ships taking up the lead, and a fast wing on the northern flank with modern fast battleships and fleet carriers. These two task forces, TF 38 and TF 57, had seven fleet carriers, four light carriers, seven fast battleships and eight dreadnoughts between them. The eighteen escort carriers contributed another six fleet carriers worth of aircraft, but their limited complements were mostly oriented towards defence and ground attack.
The Regia Marina would muster eleven battleships, and five armored fleet carriers, supported by considerable land-based air power. The Marine Nationale would contribute a further seven fast battleships, four dreadnoughts, and four fleet carriers, also augmented by land-based airpower.
On a numerical level, they appeared to have achieved considerable superiority, a nearly two to one superiority in capital ships, and a sizeable advantage in available aircraft. But even if they had not been deceived, the outcome would not have been as favorable as numbers alone would suggest. The Axis fleets were spaced considerably apart and would have to combine at the right place and time in order to prevail, which was a shaky proposition given the continued coordination problems between French and Italian military elements that had been apparent since the Battle of the Levantine Sea.
The older French and Italian dreadnoughts, while not hopelessly outclassed, were significantly less effective than their British or American counterparts. Similarly, their fleet air arms were less well developed, flying older aircraft and utilizing a less well developed air group handling doctrine.
Had it been fought entirely on their terms, a singular Battle of Sardinia might have still resulted in a pyrrhic victory, sinking the troop ships at a huge materiel cost in ships and men. But unbeknownst to the admirals steaming towards their “Second Ecnomus”, the Allies had concealed two complete task forces entirely from their view until it was too late.
…As the Italian First Squadron, commanded by the able Admiral Inigo Campioni, completed its transit of the Strait of Sicily and headed north, on schedule, to begin a pincer attack on the landing force bombarding Sardinia, TF 45 steamed at flank speed to intercept. Campioni had unknowingly stumbled over a submarine picket. The Tang, a new fast snorkel equipped submarine type, had observed First Squadron’s passage by passive sonar, and radioed the squadron’s size, speed and heading via secure Arcana transmission.
Admiral Yitzak Levin* commanded a veritable sledgehammer of eight capital ships and four fleet carriers. The force was divided into three Task Groups. The first two, consisting of four battleships each, would approach in staggered echelons into First Squadron’s heading. Campioni would be forced to either divide his battle line, or be able to turn his broadside to one group while allowing the second to cross the tee on his line. The third group, containing the carriers, would remain several hundred kilometers behind.
…A seaplane scout discovered the approach of TG 45.1 at 0645 on 21 April 1944. Through the light rain and early morning fog, a single heavy cruiser, the Fields of Athenry, and two destroyers were positively identified.
Campioni was alerted to the possible threat by 0730. After consultations with his staff aboard his flagship Littorio, Campioni decided to press ahead cautiously. His carriers began preparing for combat operations and increased their scouting efforts.
At 0843, a Revolutionary Navy SB2D Dervish was able to make it to visual range of First Squadron before it was chased off by a flight of patrolling Re.2005 Sagittario fighters. It was an unmistakable sign of American aircraft carriers. Optimistically, Campioni rejected the hypothesis that an additional task force was presented. Nonetheless, he continued to prepare for immediate engagement.
Task Force 45 had already been identified by land-based French reconnaissance planes from Algeria. Attempts to relay this information to the Italians had been marred by poor cooperation and mistrust. By the time Campioni’s fleet, under strict orders for radio silence, received any word of an additional task force and several probable capital ships south of Sardinia, the Battle of the Straits of Sicily had already begun.
…Amid fog, intermittent rain and choppy seas, First Squadron stumbled into the jaws of TF 45 just after 1100. Radar contacts, port and starboard forward, began showing up on Italian scopes. With surface action imminent, Campioni broke radio silence and ordered his carriers one hundred kilometers behind to begin launching. Additional land based fighters and bombers scrambled from Sicily to assist
An attack force was spotted soon after. The first echelon passed overhead of Campioni’s main fleet, headed in the vicinity of the five carriers. The second began torpedo attacks on his seven capital ships. The American fighters, F8F Tomcats, swept aside the first fingers of land-based M.C. 205 Veltro and the patrolling Re.2005s. The torpedo bombers approached the battleships from the bow in three groups spaced several kilometers apart.
The battleships and their escorts filled the air with flak, but the fast American BTM Maulers were more than a match for the older Italian gun directors. As the Italian battleships maneuvered, they presented broadside profiles to at least two of the three torpedo groups. Thirty Maulers dropped their torpedoes, scoring four hits: one each on the Littorio and Roma, and two on the Cristoforo Colombo.
Damage control contained the flooding on the newer Littorio-class ships thanks to their more modern torpedo protection system. But the Colombo, a modernized super dreadnought, was effectively knocked out by the two hits to her port side. Engine room flooding and power loss would effectively leave her dead in the water and listing almost ten degrees to port before counter flooding and pumps were able to stabilize her.
As the torpedo planes retreated into the distance, losing six of their number, Campioni’s lead destroyers began coming under fire. Both fleets were reaching grappling range, and now it became apparent that the enemy intended to slug it out. Believing that he’d encountered the enemy’s fast wing shifted south, Campioni decided to press the engagement. With land based airpower, and littoral support, he believed he could overcome his presumed numerical disadvantage.
His battleships pushed onward, heedless of the danger, towards the ships of TG 45.2 under the Royal Navy’s Vice Admiral Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton. The six remaining battleships would square off against four of the Royal Navy’s best. For forty-five minutes, they angled closer to one another in the gray skies and roiling seas as they steamed eastward, back towards the comforting safety of Sicilian air power.
…The HMS Invincible, leading the British column, began firing at 1343 at a range of 16,400 yards. Her shots straddled the Gulio Cesare. The thunderous roar of battleship guns filled the air. With an apparent numerical and broadside weight advantage, the Italians engaged with confidence. But the better British fire control and gunnery began to whittle away at that confidence. Within the first fifteen minutes, both sides had fired ~25 full salvoes at one another. The Italians scored twenty hits from their 15 and 17-inch guns. Both the Invincible and Trafalgar had received the brunt of this damage. In that time the Invincible alone had scored twelve hits on the Gulio Cesare. British shells were heavier and pierced enemy armor more effectively.
Campioni ordered his fleet to disengage to let the incoming dive and torpedo bombers settle the score. His remaining destroyers laid down smoke screens, allowing the badly damaged capital ships to increase distance. It was ultimately too late for the Gulio Cesare, who lost engine and steering control under the pitiless onslaught. At 1358, her captain ordered abandon ship, as he and a small team of subalterns and petty officers remained behind to scuttle the ship.
…At 1410, Campioni’s limping ships began steaming south by south-east. Retiring and preserving what was left of the fleet, regardless of Mussolini’s displeasure, was militarily the best course of action. Unfortunately for him, TG 45.1, was steaming at flank speed towards him, and his wounded ships had no hope of escape.
The second engagement began at 1425. By now, the carrier air group had been whittled down to the nub. Whatever hope of another torpedo attack to relieve pressure on his capital ships vanished, as a massed attack by the American fleet carriers finally located the Italian combat box.
As his carriers maneuvered desperately to avoid the enemy torpedo and dive bombers, the clouds parted to reveal four fresh American battleships now blocking the way. In the calmer seas and improved visibility, the American ships engaged at 22,700 yards.
The damaged Italian ships fought back as best they could. But with TG 45.2 beginning to re-engage on the other side, the heavily damaged Italian ships were doomed. The American 41 and 46-cm shells were just as hard-hitting and accurate as their Royal Navy counterparts. Campioni’s flagship began to founder very quickly; multiple waterline penetrations from the Jacobin compounded the earlier torpedo damage. One-by-one, the Italian battleships were silenced and unable to return fire. Campioni himself was killed by a strike to his bridge, probably from the Antietam, soon after.
First Squadron’s executive officer, Counter-Admiral Luigi Mascherpa, ran up the white flag at 1530. After a terse radio conversation, TG 45.1’s commander, Vice Admiral Nikola Marino, a first-generation Italian immigrant himself, agreed to send his destroyers to help evacuate survivors.
Meanwhile, the had ninety plane raid from TG 45.3 had pummeled the Italian carriers to oblivion. Forty-five BTM torpedo bombers, 25 SB2D dive bombers and 20 F8F fighters delivered a coup de grace against a nearly defenseless carrier fleet. With two decks knocked out of action by the previous raid, and another badly damaged, the carrier flotilla could only manage eighteen operational fighter craft.
As their carrier doctrine dictated, the Italian carriers scattered to achieve maneuvering space before the attack. The greatly reduced concentration of anti-aircraft fire left them easy prey in the now clear skies. Aquila was hit by three torpedoes, two port and one on the bow. Trajan was hit by two 1500kg AP bombs, igniting her avgas stores. The already damaged Lupa Capitolina took another bomb and two torpedoes. Sulla took by far the worst of it; three bombs and three torpedoes. Only the Scipio Africanus would escape destruction.
…First Squadron’s remaining seaworthy ships (three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eight destroyers) were interned as part of the surrender agreement. Accompanied by Revolutionary Navy prize crews and Fleet Marine detachments, the surrendered ships would transport Italian survivors to Casablanca. Being so-close to enemy home waters and the threat of torpedo boat attack, Admiral Levin decided to scuttle ships once evacuation was complete, both allied and enemy.
Admiral Campioni would be remembered as the man who lost the war in an afternoon. The pride of the Italian Navy was annihilated. Six of her battleships would be on the bottom of the ocean. The seventh battleship of the First Squadron, the limping Cristoforo Colombo, would join them the next day. As she steamed back to Taranto at eight knots, she tripped across the lurking submarine Tang. Tang would fire a full spread of six 54cm Mark 16 torpedoes, securing three hits.
…Late in the afternoon of 22 April, Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul, commander of the Petainist Mediterranean Fleet, received the first reports of action near the Straits of Sicily. With insufficient intelligence available to him, Gensoul chose to press the attack. With darkness falling, he made the tactical decision to divide his fleet. I and IV Escadrons, with his fast battleships and carriers, would push towards TF 57 assaulting the beaches of Sardinia at flank speed under the cover of darkness.
Meanwhile, the Italian Second Squadron was preparing for a similar night attack through the dangerous Strait of Bonifacio, but perhaps the only way for the slower ships to achieve surprise.
TF 57 was arrayed close to the shore of Sardinia, bombarding the Italian defensive works of the 207th Coastal Division. Both the Petainists and the Italians believed, erroneously, that TF 38 had shifted far south to combat the First Squadron, leaving the landing force immensely vulnerable to attack.
The fourth task force, TF 51, had remained hidden in the fog of war. As it moved north under cover of darkness, it ran headlong into the Petainist fast wing. The Battle of the Balearics began at 0211, as the first Petainist destroyer, Mogador, stumbled into radar range of the Free French cruiser Algérie.
The first phase of the action was a short skirmish between destroyers and cruisers. The Allied ships had a significant advantage in radar sophistication, and in many cases were able to fire with virtual impunity against the enemy light ships.
Believing this to be a detached cruiser squadron, Gensoul pressed onwards. With the weight of numbers, he began pushing the escorts aside. The Algérie herself foundered under enemy torpedoes.
A British destroyer flotilla began an unsuccessful torpedo attack on the lead Petainist battleship, Richelieu, succeeding in sinking a heavy cruiser, Colbert, at a cost of three of their own. As the escorts began to thin, Gensoul believed victory was in sight. Mere hours away from the transport ships and vulnerable aircraft carriers, he’d achieve a knockout blow just before dawn.
However, the seven capital ships of TF 51 were already moving to block him. Admiral Horace Hood arrayed his battle line right across the Gensoul’s advance. The Petainist fleet would approach at a forty-five degree angle before meeting broad-side to broadside.
With ambush narrowly averted, battle commenced at a range between 15,000 and 20,000 years, with the Petainist rear engaging from further away. Blind accept to the flashes of one another’s guns, it was fought with radar and electromechanical gun-directors.
While the engagement appeared numerically even, the qualitative balance was once again decisively in the American/British favor. But more than armor and broadside weight, the decisive advantage lay in the immense superiority of the Allie’s fire control systems. The newest radars were able to spot the fall of their shot and feed the information to the fire control system to adjust the next salvo. In terms of accuracy, the poor state of the French radars meant they might as well have been firing blind.
Gensoul attempted to close the distance and illuminate the enemy with searchlights from his cruisers. It was too little, too late. The Richelieu exploded at 0330, and the French line began to break. In the confusion and darkness, they lost their bearings. The Normandie rammed one of her escorts accidentally. The Gascogne, swerving wildly, brought its guns to bear on the Normandie.
As dawn broke, all seven Petainist battleships were burning or sinking. Of the Allied ships, only the Wat Tyler would prove unrecoverable. Listing twenty degrees from torpedo attack, her captain ordered her abandoned and scuttled shortly after dawn. The floating wrecks of the Petainist Marine Nationale would have a similar fate.
…Just before dawn, Italian Second Squadron completed its perilous transit of the Strait of Bonifacio, and was rounding Cape Falcone. Steaming south at 25 knots, they were mere hours away from the landing zone in the Gulf of Oristano.
Most TF 57’s battleships had moved south in the night to interdict the 21st Motorized Division’s movements, and guard the expected approach route for Italy’s remaining ships. It was believed that the Italians would be too cautious to attempt the Strait of Bonifacio at night. When an early morning patrol revealed four battleships, escorted by six heavy and ten light cruisers, racing towards the troop ships, Admiral Levin scrambled to interdict them.
The assault boats carrying the 6th Marine Division ashore were just disgorging troops on the beaches. The remaining gunfire support battleships, Comintern and Matewan, would steam north to interdict the enemy battleships, accompanied by two cruisers and twelve destroyers.
Levin’s jeep carriers scrambled what planes they had to interdict the Second Squadron. But close to shore, the Second Squadron was protected by land-based fighters of the Regia Aeronautica. Twelve SB2D dive bombers and sixteen TBF torpedo bombers made an uncoordinated attack separated from their escort fighters. Almost half were shot-down by M.C. 205s of the 32nd Wing. Only two cruisers were damaged sufficiently to turn back. A single dud bomb struck the battleship Impero, which would not be disposed of before surface action began.
…Comintern and Matewan steamed into the jaws of death, meeting the Italians just after 0900. While both had undergone a full reconstruction in the late 30s, both were essentially advanced WWI era designs greatly outmatched by the Littorio-class, to say nothing of the Duce-class. What they lacked in speed, they made up for in firepower and survivability. Comintern mounted twelve 41-cm Mark 6 guns, the Matewan eight. Both had 13.5-inch thick main belts and 6-inch decks. They’d need every bit of it.
The two forces met twenty miles north of the landing zone. The Italians aggressively closed the distance, using their superior speed to attempt to cross in front of the American line. Comintern opened fire at 22,400 yards. The three faster Italian ships rapidly closed the distance, while the older Caio Dullio brought up the rear. The Comintern lost electrical power from an unlucky hit after three salvos. Sensing opportunity, the Italians surged into close range. The lead ship, Arditi, took multiple bow hits from the Matewan. Undeterred, she turned broadside at 12,000 yards, and opened up with all nine of her 17-inch guns. Vittorio Veneto and Impero followed in her wake. By modern standards, this was practically point-blank range.
Just as Comintern restored power, she came under an unrelenting salvo. She fought back tenaciously as the 17-inch and 15-inch shells penetrated her belt. At 0937, her main guns went silent. But her secondaries continued to fire furiously as the focus shifted to the Matewan. The battle would continue beyond hope of victory, refusing to surrender to buy more time for the rest of the fleet.
…While the Arditi, Vittorio Veneto and Impero continued to pound the American battleships mercilessly, the Caio Dullio attempted to push onwards to the landing zone, accompanied four cruisers and six destroyers. A single Task Unit (57.1.4), with four destroyers and two frigates interdicted them. Greatly outgunned, they made multiple gun and torpedo attacks. Though they lost both frigates and half their destroyers, they claimed two of the enemy cruisers and a destroyer, convincing the Caio Dullio to turn back.
…As the Comintern and Matewan began to abandon ship at 1042, the planes of VT-11 appeared overhead. The damaged Italian battleships faced the first of many torpedo and bombing attacks over the course of the day. The desperate delaying action had worked. Second Squadron would disengage under heavy aerial attack. Arditi would suffer four bomb hits and five torpedo hits, and be abandoned just after 1350. Impero would sink after six torpedoes and two bombs. Only Vittorio Veneto and Caio Dullio would be able to limp back to port.
…6th Marine Division took heavy losses in the opposed amphibious landing. But by the afternoon they had taken the battlements defending the beaches of Oristano. The following divisions, 1st Canadian Infantry, and the American 99th and 140th Rifle Divisions, took significantly fewer casualties expanding the beachhead.
By day’s end, the 271st Coastal was down to quarter effective strength and in full retreat. Like all coastal defense formations, it was composed of third line reservists, significantly underbilleted and armed to begin with. Two additional coastal divisions, the 209th and 240th, and the 21st Motorized, held up at Sassari, Olbia and Cagliari respectively, remained. Over the next month, they would be steadily ground into oblivion.
Are the Duce-class Italian Yamatos and Bren mk.II belt-fed?
Also,American troops participate somewhat in the West too.
Also,American troops participate somewhat in the West too.
They're more like a budget version of the British Lion-class that was detailed earlier. I'll get more detailed specs and orders of battle out later.
Bren Mk. II ITTL is belt fed.
Seems like they still have Metropolitan France in control but the colonies are falling apart.
At this point, the French Metropole and Algeria/Tunisia, and they're steadily losing ground in Algeria. French Morocco has been lost, and the rest of their African colonies remained loyal or were quickly liberated by Free French and British colonial forces.
Redshank Galloglass
Banned
Ugh, those amphibious landings sound like a worse version of the Pacific's beach assaults.
A few minor quibbles.
Hans Kahle Military Academy isn't West Point renamed or replaced, it's a second military academy situated in Lexington, Kentucky. In terms of undergraduate level military study, it's a bit smaller than West Point, but it's primary purpose was to be the equivalent of the Soviet M.V. Frunze Military Academy, which is to say post-graduate military/political education for commissioned officers and NCOs.
While conscription will hold over for a while in the FBU post WW2, the transition towards an all-volunteer military in FBU metropole and dominions is pretty much a guarantee.
As part of the Franco-British Union.
Heh, looks like the New Roman Empire is no better at sea warfare than the Old Roman empire!
The European naval war is REALLY intense here compared to OTL, almost reminiscent of the Pacific war! (The Japanese WISH they could get this sort of Decisive battle).
I'm curious about the ships involved. Is there any posts detailing the capital ships and carriers of the various combatants?
Hang on... The Americans have ships with 46 cm guns?? 0_0 Allright, how many resources did the UASR waste on their Yamato ripoff?
The European naval war is REALLY intense here compared to OTL, almost reminiscent of the Pacific war! (The Japanese WISH they could get this sort of Decisive battle).
I'm curious about the ships involved. Is there any posts detailing the capital ships and carriers of the various combatants?
Hang on... The Americans have ships with 46 cm guns?? 0_0 Allright, how many resources did the UASR waste on their Yamato ripoff?
Yamato?Heh, looks like the New Roman Empire is no better at sea warfare than the Old Roman empire!
The European naval war is REALLY intense here compared to OTL, almost reminiscent of the Pacific war! (The Japanese WISH they could get this sort of Decisive battle).
I'm curious about the ships involved. Is there any posts detailing the capital ships and carriers of the various combatants?
Hang on... The Americans have ships with 46 cm guns?? 0_0 Allright, how many resources did the UASR waste on their Yamato ripoff?
Why, you think too small.
Posts about details are still forthcoming (i've got the basics done, I still need to fluff them out). The British battleships were fluffed out earlier in the thread (all updates are threadmarked), and there's one of the American battleship classes, the Monitor-class posted as well, which should give a baseline (it's sort of a baby Iowa-class). There's also the Wat Tyler-class which is basically a beefed up Iowa, and then there's the Nat Turner-class which is basically the Montana-class, subbing out the 4 x 3 16-inch guns for 3 x 3 46cm (18.1 inch) guns and higher top speed. Those are basically TTL's version of the 18"/47 Mark A. If you read the stats on it, you start to realize how hard it is to make armor thick enough on a reasonably sized ship. It and the British BL 18-inch Mark III so outmatch the French or Italians, who basically have no defense against them. I've been sanity checking designs in springsharp though I do fudge things a little bit.Heh, looks like the New Roman Empire is no better at sea warfare than the Old Roman empire!
The European naval war is REALLY intense here compared to OTL, almost reminiscent of the Pacific war! (The Japanese WISH they could get this sort of Decisive battle).
I'm curious about the ships involved. Is there any posts detailing the capital ships and carriers of the various combatants?
Hang on... The Americans have ships with 46 cm guns?? 0_0 Allright, how many resources did the UASR waste on their Yamato ripoff?
Carriers are a bit less well fleshed out, especially the British ones. Treat the British ones as roughly comparable OTL ships with the same name (this includes ones that were not completed IOTL, like the Malta). The Americans are a bit more divergent. The Gettysburg-class are converted battlecruisers, a bit beefier than OTL's Lexington. The Solidarity-class, which showed up in Pacific theater updates, is the 27,000 ton design variant of OTL's Yorktown-class, so a less refined proto-Essex. The next class, Enragés, is a slightly heavier and refined version of that design, so like an improved Essex. The next class, Vanguard, are basically a baby-Midway-class with a skewed flight deck arrangement (thought not yet a full angled deck like SCB-125 Essex or refitted Midway), more like the HMS Centaur.
Well, they did manage to fire in anger against other ships, so I wouldn't call it a waste per se. The resources might have been better spent elsewhere though.
Perhaps with the big role the BBs played in the med, the idea that carriers have made BBs obsolete might not pick up such a following, at least not as fast as OTL.
That sounds like an enormous amount of naval resources in the West.
How is the war against Japan going? In the last update, TTL's Midway is more of a pyrrhic Japanese victory than the OTL defeat, so I'm not sure if the US would want to shift ships West so fast. Does the Western front have an even higher priority than OTL?
How is the war against Japan going? In the last update, TTL's Midway is more of a pyrrhic Japanese victory than the OTL defeat, so I'm not sure if the US would want to shift ships West so fast. Does the Western front have an even higher priority than OTL?