The legal basis of distant blockade is, at best, very shaky. Combine that with a list of contraband that includes everything except (possibly) rocks, and a claim that "contraband" goods that are destined for a neutral country are in fact going to Germany, and the line between blockade and piracy is awful thin. I am not a lawyer (thank God) but outside of a close blockade situation a RN ship stopping an American merchant ship in convoy and escorted by American naval vessels probably has no legal basis. They could request permission to stop a specific ship, claiming criminal activity to which the US warship could agree and send an officer along. If the warship says no, or if there is no claim of criminality just "contraband" it won't fly.
A New Balance
- Thread starter Jim Smitty
- Start date
My understanding is that any neutral on the high seas can be stopped by a belligerent, but can only be detained in certain circumstances. The presence of a neutral warship shouldn't change that. If the cargo is destined for a neutral port, consigned to a buyer in a neutral nation, then the belligerent has NO right to seize the ship or cargo. It matters not if the cargo will be sold to soeone else afterwards.
Food can only be seized, even if bound for a belligerent port, if the specific port is under a legal blockade.
(I spent a lot of time reading Letterstime, back in the day, and researching the rules to see what could or couldn't be done.)
World War One, The German Pasha
During the winter of 1915/16 a major debate was being waged in the Großer Generalstab about the future of the war. The debate lay on if they would attack in the west against the French or east against the Russians. This debate had been thrown into a tail spin when Generaloberst Helmuth von Moltke the Younger or as he would later be know the von Moltke the Lesser suffer a stoke in early December from the stress of running the war. He wouldn’t recover from this stroke and would retire from the service in March 1915 once that became clear he couldn’t recover and resume his post. Yet in the mean time the two factions within the Großer Generalstab would battle for which offensive plan would be launch come the spring of 1916.
The French first faction was led by General def Infanterie Adolf Wild von Hohenborn who was also the Prussian Minister of War at this time. He believed that a thrust to take Paris that was weighted with enough reinforcements that he break the trench lines that ran from Swiss border to the English Channel. This however didn’t take in account the standard amount of from a single division took up to make this trench system. One division on the western front covered roughly 6.5 kilometers of front. With that kind of troop density on the front did create questions on how effective movement could be of large number of troops facing the same numbers.
Even through it didn’t come up in the meetings where these debates were held some believed that von Hohenborn’s push for a French first strategy was routed in his antisemitism. It was known there were more Jews to the east in Russia than in France. Yet as the debate raged on the future on the question which front would see the next major offensive the French launch the offensive that led to the Second Battle of Bethune. As the casualties mounted in Second Bethune the question was raised did Germany want to pay such a butcher’s bill for its breakthrough?
Newly promoted Generalfeldmarschall Erich Ludendorff and hero of East Prussia pushed for a campaign against the Russians. Even when vastly outnumbered the German Army had pulled off impressive victories. These victories included the total destruction of three different Russian Armies. This was tempted by the fact the Russians had destroyed two Austro-Hungarian Armies before being checked at the Carpathian Mountains. It was further tempted by the fact the troops needed to maintain the western front. There was a question of how many troops would be needed for an offensive into Russia.
The question of which nation to go after was debated for months. This was effected as von Moltke the Younger couldn’t take part in this debate. Once it became clear that the lesser von Moltke couldn’t return to his duties the Kaiser was brought into the debate as who would be selected to led the Großer Generalstab would decide the debate. Knowing what was at stake the Kaiser took the time to speak with a number of officers who could perform the job as Chief of the General Staff. He asked them a number of questions in these interviews as he wanted to find the right officer.
When the Kaiser made it known that he selected Generalfeldmarschall Freiherr Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz to be the Chief of the German General Staff it came as to a surprise of just about everyone. Many believed that Goltz would be named to head the yet to be form German military mission to the Ottoman Empire. He had spent many years in the Ottoman Empire during his service in German uniform. He further had been named a Pasha which for a non-Muslim was a major honor. He had already been passed over for this command once in 1907 when the von Moltke the Lesser was selected for this position. Further he had angered many people in power with his theories about war and his respect for Asians and Turks. What made his selection even more surprising was he had retired in 1912 and had been recalled to duty in the war. Yet many of his theories were coming true as many in Berlin were starting to understand this was a total war. A fact that was still only coming to be understood around the war, yet he had predicted it back in the 1870s as a staff officer.
Further what made Goltz an odd selection to many was the fact his position on the ongoing debate of the east or west offensive was unknown. When Goltz outline his first briefing on the coming offensive in the spring he let himself be known as an Eastern Front first officer. He cited the high casualties in Second Bethune as the reason he decided to go east even through Goltz himself view this kind of raw carnage as a beautiful thing understood that Germany wouldn’t likely win the war this way. Even if they won the price paid would be such that they would lose the war that followed. This was because he viewed war as not a question of if one would happen again but when the next one would happen.
With Goltz’s selection to focus on the Eastern Front, the newly formed German 10th Army which had been training in March 1916 was ordered to the Eastern Front. Work was also undertaken to improve the crappy state of infrastructure in German occupied Russian-Poland. This brought up German strength on the Eastern Front to three armies. Still far short of what the Russians could bring against the Germans. Goltz also let it be known that the plans for the 11th Army which was forming would also be sent to the east. They were stay on the defensive against the French as they believed themselves white.
The French first faction was led by General def Infanterie Adolf Wild von Hohenborn who was also the Prussian Minister of War at this time. He believed that a thrust to take Paris that was weighted with enough reinforcements that he break the trench lines that ran from Swiss border to the English Channel. This however didn’t take in account the standard amount of from a single division took up to make this trench system. One division on the western front covered roughly 6.5 kilometers of front. With that kind of troop density on the front did create questions on how effective movement could be of large number of troops facing the same numbers.
Even through it didn’t come up in the meetings where these debates were held some believed that von Hohenborn’s push for a French first strategy was routed in his antisemitism. It was known there were more Jews to the east in Russia than in France. Yet as the debate raged on the future on the question which front would see the next major offensive the French launch the offensive that led to the Second Battle of Bethune. As the casualties mounted in Second Bethune the question was raised did Germany want to pay such a butcher’s bill for its breakthrough?
Newly promoted Generalfeldmarschall Erich Ludendorff and hero of East Prussia pushed for a campaign against the Russians. Even when vastly outnumbered the German Army had pulled off impressive victories. These victories included the total destruction of three different Russian Armies. This was tempted by the fact the Russians had destroyed two Austro-Hungarian Armies before being checked at the Carpathian Mountains. It was further tempted by the fact the troops needed to maintain the western front. There was a question of how many troops would be needed for an offensive into Russia.
The question of which nation to go after was debated for months. This was effected as von Moltke the Younger couldn’t take part in this debate. Once it became clear that the lesser von Moltke couldn’t return to his duties the Kaiser was brought into the debate as who would be selected to led the Großer Generalstab would decide the debate. Knowing what was at stake the Kaiser took the time to speak with a number of officers who could perform the job as Chief of the General Staff. He asked them a number of questions in these interviews as he wanted to find the right officer.
When the Kaiser made it known that he selected Generalfeldmarschall Freiherr Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz to be the Chief of the German General Staff it came as to a surprise of just about everyone. Many believed that Goltz would be named to head the yet to be form German military mission to the Ottoman Empire. He had spent many years in the Ottoman Empire during his service in German uniform. He further had been named a Pasha which for a non-Muslim was a major honor. He had already been passed over for this command once in 1907 when the von Moltke the Lesser was selected for this position. Further he had angered many people in power with his theories about war and his respect for Asians and Turks. What made his selection even more surprising was he had retired in 1912 and had been recalled to duty in the war. Yet many of his theories were coming true as many in Berlin were starting to understand this was a total war. A fact that was still only coming to be understood around the war, yet he had predicted it back in the 1870s as a staff officer.
Further what made Goltz an odd selection to many was the fact his position on the ongoing debate of the east or west offensive was unknown. When Goltz outline his first briefing on the coming offensive in the spring he let himself be known as an Eastern Front first officer. He cited the high casualties in Second Bethune as the reason he decided to go east even through Goltz himself view this kind of raw carnage as a beautiful thing understood that Germany wouldn’t likely win the war this way. Even if they won the price paid would be such that they would lose the war that followed. This was because he viewed war as not a question of if one would happen again but when the next one would happen.
With Goltz’s selection to focus on the Eastern Front, the newly formed German 10th Army which had been training in March 1916 was ordered to the Eastern Front. Work was also undertaken to improve the crappy state of infrastructure in German occupied Russian-Poland. This brought up German strength on the Eastern Front to three armies. Still far short of what the Russians could bring against the Germans. Goltz also let it be known that the plans for the 11th Army which was forming would also be sent to the east. They were stay on the defensive against the French as they believed themselves white.
World War One, Italy Joins the War
On April 1st 1916 oddly enough the Italians landed troops in the Albanian town of Vlore under the cover of guns of the four Colossus battleships within her navy. In 1916 Albania was a failed nation that was suffering from religious violence, an endemic of Cholera, and general violence on who would rule this tiny nation that sat on the gate way of the Adriatic Sea to the larger Mediterranean. Yet the Albania was the only route to resupply the Serbs following the fall of the last link between Serbia and Romania in late 1915. For the most part the Albanians had been charging anyone hauling goods to the Serbs insanity high taxes as means to pay for their own war that they were fighting. This meant that the Serbs were only getting a faction of the goods they needed to keep the Greeks, Bulgarians, and Austro-Hungarians at bay.
This landing at Vlore didn’t bring Italy itself into the war as Albania wasn’t in the wider war that was taking part in the rest of Europe. The position Albania held through as the last remaining supply route to Serbia caused some in Germany and even more in Austria Hungary to raise an eye brow. Italy had been less than receptive to offers from both Berlin and Vienna/Budapest to join with the Central Powers in this war. Berlin in private meetings with their counterparts in Rome that tried to get the Italians to understand that after this war the alliances would reset and that Berlin would still like to have good relations with Rome post-war knowing that relations between Rome and Vienna/Budapest had been less than cordial and would never be great. Yet Rome was rebuffing German offers.
As the Italians occupied Vlore and started to spread out of Vlore after April 4th there was the question floating around both Berlin and Vienna/Budapest. Was Italy just trying to expand as everyone else was busy with the current war or were they prepping to enter the war on the side of Entente. It was an open debate. Italy had no know interest in Albania before the war. Then again, their coup that allow them to take control of Ottoman Libya had come as a surprise as well. Both sides had their supporters. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back came on April 19th. Italy was moving their naval units out of the Adriatic to what were believed were positions on the Otranto Straits. The same straits that the French Fleet and the British Mediterranean Fleet had just taken up positions to cut the Austro-Hungarian Empire off from supply by the sea.
On April 20th the Italian Prime Minister was verbally assault by the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Italy over these movements. Relations between these two nations had never been good and it was this verbal sparring match between the Italian PM and the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador ended any chance to keep Italy from joining Entente. To be fair through both men made jackasses of themselves in this meeting. There were even rumors that the Italian PM and Austro-Hungarian Ambassador had to be restrain from coming to physical blows by the end of this meeting. The ambassador was declared to be a persona non-grata after this meeting. It also played into Italy’s hands.
The next day the Italian Ambassador handed the Austrian Minister-President a note that had been crafted following the explosive meeting between the Italian PM and the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Italy the day before. This note was crafted in such a way that Vienna would reject it. It would give them a legitimate reason to go to war and one that their public would support. Sure enough the Austrian Minister-President without speaking to anyone else rejected the note and declared the Italian Ambassador to his nation to be a persona non-grata. He then ordered the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army which was guarding the Italian front to mobilize and be ready for an attack from Italy following the Italian Ambassador leaving his office.
On April 24th the first shells from the Italian Army fell on Austro Hungarian positions. The Italians had the edge in troops of almost 3 to 1 over their Austro-Hungarian foes. In normal battles this would be enough to carry the battle baring gross incompetence of that of the commander of the force that held such an edge. However, the Italo Austro-Hungarian front was anything but normal. The whole area is a defender’s dream with mountains, rivers, and other natural barriers that made any assault in this area hard no matter how many troops threw at these defensives. Then throw in the fact Austria Hungary had built up these areas over the years made the assault even more challenging.
For Italy they had General Luigi Cadorna as their chief of staff. Everyone who met Cadorna and had a background in military affairs from other nations held a dim view of Cadorna. Yet because of the political connections Cadorna held he was able to get the job. The plan he put together would been at home during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte in the 19th century but in the 20th century one might as well placed the pistol in their own mouth. Cadorna called for frontal assaults and a drive on Vienna. Before this happened the Italians did perform an impressive but far to short artillery barrage on Austro-Hungarian positions. The Austro-Hungarians held the advance of firing down on the Italians and being in dug in positions.
To call what happened during these frontal assaults in Isonzo murder would be taken as a compliment. There was no room to maneuver for the Italians and the Austro-Hungarians cut them down like a rabid dog. By the time the offensive was call off in early to mid-May over 50,000 Italians were dead and countless more wounded. The Austro-Hungarians suffer about half these numbers. The worse part was the front had barely moved. Progress could be measured by meters instead of kilometers of land gained. It was only a sign of what was to come in the Italian Alps.
This landing at Vlore didn’t bring Italy itself into the war as Albania wasn’t in the wider war that was taking part in the rest of Europe. The position Albania held through as the last remaining supply route to Serbia caused some in Germany and even more in Austria Hungary to raise an eye brow. Italy had been less than receptive to offers from both Berlin and Vienna/Budapest to join with the Central Powers in this war. Berlin in private meetings with their counterparts in Rome that tried to get the Italians to understand that after this war the alliances would reset and that Berlin would still like to have good relations with Rome post-war knowing that relations between Rome and Vienna/Budapest had been less than cordial and would never be great. Yet Rome was rebuffing German offers.
As the Italians occupied Vlore and started to spread out of Vlore after April 4th there was the question floating around both Berlin and Vienna/Budapest. Was Italy just trying to expand as everyone else was busy with the current war or were they prepping to enter the war on the side of Entente. It was an open debate. Italy had no know interest in Albania before the war. Then again, their coup that allow them to take control of Ottoman Libya had come as a surprise as well. Both sides had their supporters. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back came on April 19th. Italy was moving their naval units out of the Adriatic to what were believed were positions on the Otranto Straits. The same straits that the French Fleet and the British Mediterranean Fleet had just taken up positions to cut the Austro-Hungarian Empire off from supply by the sea.
On April 20th the Italian Prime Minister was verbally assault by the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Italy over these movements. Relations between these two nations had never been good and it was this verbal sparring match between the Italian PM and the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador ended any chance to keep Italy from joining Entente. To be fair through both men made jackasses of themselves in this meeting. There were even rumors that the Italian PM and Austro-Hungarian Ambassador had to be restrain from coming to physical blows by the end of this meeting. The ambassador was declared to be a persona non-grata after this meeting. It also played into Italy’s hands.
The next day the Italian Ambassador handed the Austrian Minister-President a note that had been crafted following the explosive meeting between the Italian PM and the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Italy the day before. This note was crafted in such a way that Vienna would reject it. It would give them a legitimate reason to go to war and one that their public would support. Sure enough the Austrian Minister-President without speaking to anyone else rejected the note and declared the Italian Ambassador to his nation to be a persona non-grata. He then ordered the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army which was guarding the Italian front to mobilize and be ready for an attack from Italy following the Italian Ambassador leaving his office.
On April 24th the first shells from the Italian Army fell on Austro Hungarian positions. The Italians had the edge in troops of almost 3 to 1 over their Austro-Hungarian foes. In normal battles this would be enough to carry the battle baring gross incompetence of that of the commander of the force that held such an edge. However, the Italo Austro-Hungarian front was anything but normal. The whole area is a defender’s dream with mountains, rivers, and other natural barriers that made any assault in this area hard no matter how many troops threw at these defensives. Then throw in the fact Austria Hungary had built up these areas over the years made the assault even more challenging.
For Italy they had General Luigi Cadorna as their chief of staff. Everyone who met Cadorna and had a background in military affairs from other nations held a dim view of Cadorna. Yet because of the political connections Cadorna held he was able to get the job. The plan he put together would been at home during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte in the 19th century but in the 20th century one might as well placed the pistol in their own mouth. Cadorna called for frontal assaults and a drive on Vienna. Before this happened the Italians did perform an impressive but far to short artillery barrage on Austro-Hungarian positions. The Austro-Hungarians held the advance of firing down on the Italians and being in dug in positions.
To call what happened during these frontal assaults in Isonzo murder would be taken as a compliment. There was no room to maneuver for the Italians and the Austro-Hungarians cut them down like a rabid dog. By the time the offensive was call off in early to mid-May over 50,000 Italians were dead and countless more wounded. The Austro-Hungarians suffer about half these numbers. The worse part was the front had barely moved. Progress could be measured by meters instead of kilometers of land gained. It was only a sign of what was to come in the Italian Alps.
11 italian offensive and the 12th was the caporetto offensive. Just a note, both Italy and A-H had a lot of interest in Albania due to the strategic position but there were a very unofficial agreement between Rome and Wien that was better keep the nation neutral so to not create a diplomatic crisis and to block anybody else to try to extert influence in Tirana (both side know perfectely that this was a temporary situation).
ITTL the Albanian front will probably see offensive towards Greece (with some Anglo-French landing and naval action) to knock out Athen from the war
World War One, Hell of the Balkans
As the Isonzo front was starting to become the bloody hell of mountain trench warfare the Balkans also became a lot more active. The Italians formed the Italian 5th Army in Albania as the war started. There goal was two fold. First reopen a supply route to the Serbs who had been cut off from resupply for months now. The second was to turn south and take on the Greeks as well as grab as much territory it could foe either Italy itself or for the newly formed Kingdom of Albania which was an Italian client state.
Before the war, Albania in theory had been ruled by Prince William who had come from one of the mess of noble families that was the German Empire. But that was in theory only. The Muslims in Albania didn’t want to be ruled by a Christian and the Christians didn’t accept the foreign born William. The only thing that kept him in power was the fact it was an agreement between the major and regional powers in the area as William agreed to keep Albania neutral in the balance of power. Yet when the war started William understood if he stayed in Albania he would likely be killed so he fled to Italy first before making his way to his native Germany. Once there he enlisted and became an officer within the German Army. For the Italians they didn’t want a German Prince on the throne of the Kingdom of Albania which they were creating to be a client state of theirs.
With Prince William who was untouchable because of the side of the war he was on they looked to within Italy to find their own prince to make him the King of the Albanians. After some thought they selected Vittorio Emanuele a cousin of Italian King Victor Emmanuel III. He was an Italian Prince and known worldwide for dueling after fighting a duel with a Frenchman in the aftermath of Italo-Ethiopian War. He was selected to be the new King of the Albanians. Yet the Muslims in Albania didn’t accept Vittorio Emanuele as their king either. This led to problems.
On May 19th an Italian supply column travelling through Shijak to take supplies to Serbia was attacked by Muslim rebels who was supported by Austro-Hungarian Bosnians attacked the Italian supply column. They killed a sizable number of Italians in this attack which forced the Italians to retreat. This caused the Italians to return to Shijak on the 21st with an infantry regiment. They brought out all the Muslims civilians in the mostly Muslim city and killed them all. This was the start of the Albanian Muslim Massacre. Men, women, and children no one was spared.
The Italian entry into the war created problems for the Greeks. The Greeks had been worried about an invasion from the British and French. Indeed the British had been planning to invade Crete but the South African Civil War created a crisis that forced troops slated for that invasion were moved to help loyalist forces in South Africa. The French knew of the Italian entry was coming and had set up an invasion force of Crete to help their allies but also to make sure the Italians didn’t get any ideas about taking Crete for themselves. The French forces landed on Crete on April 29th.
Greece had most of their better troops on the Serbian front. The chances of holding Crete against the Entente was slim to none. This was even with the Greeks having an American built Colossus[1] Battleship, an Italian built armored cruiser, and a pair of older but still fairly modern protected cruiser[2] that had been ordered by the Chinese but they were taken over by the Greeks during the Balkans War. The later protected cruisers were also American built. They also had dozen supporting ships for these larger ships. For a regional power this was a powerful force but against the French Fleet and the British Mediterranean Fleet this was a losing battle. Yet pride forced the Greek fleet to put to sea and at least challenge the French effort to invade Crete.
The Battle of Crete started on May 3rd. The Greek Fleet ran into the 2nd Squadron of the French Navy which was four pre-Colossus Battleships of the Justice Class[3] with supporting cruisers. The Greek Battleship Lemmos carried as main weapons as two and half of the Justice Class they were facing off again. Yet the weight of shells between the two classes facing off was about the same, but the Greek guns were of a more modern design and had the reach of range. The problem through facing the Greeks were ships haven’t been refitted with rangefinder or other more modern gear since they had been built whereas the French ships had seen a number of refits over their service in the MN.
Both sides closed and waited to open fire. The Greeks open fired first with the focusing fire on the Verite. They open up just outside of the range of the French. The French ships were faster and quickly entered firing ranges. Yet the Greeks were the first to score hits in this battle which was quickly followed by the French. The Greek guns in theory could fire faster but the Greek crew training wasn’t to the standards of the USN. This cancelled out the advance that the American guns offered them in rate of fire. The battle when on for an hour before the magazine of the French battleship Democratie was stuck by one of the Greek shell which set it off destroying the ship.
Following the sinking of the Democratie the French decided to break off from the fight. The Greek commander decided to break it off it off as well. Like the French the Greek ships had been damage in the battle. Unlike the French they didn’t have replacements for losses or had the ability to major damage. So deciding to save their fleet they withdrew as well and wrote off Crete to the French invasion.
[1] Best put as a cross between the OTL Florida and South Carolina Class, but cheaper. They ordered two but they couldn’t afford the payments on the second one and it was brought out by the US but upgraded to improve it before it was commissioned into the USN. (10 x 12/50s, 17.5 knots)
[2] Again something like the OTL Chao Ho Class, yet unlike OTL the Greeks were able to take over two of the three ships ordered. The third end up in South America as they couldn’t take over all three.
[3] Basically OTL Liberte Class. (4 x 305/40s, 19 knots)
Before the war, Albania in theory had been ruled by Prince William who had come from one of the mess of noble families that was the German Empire. But that was in theory only. The Muslims in Albania didn’t want to be ruled by a Christian and the Christians didn’t accept the foreign born William. The only thing that kept him in power was the fact it was an agreement between the major and regional powers in the area as William agreed to keep Albania neutral in the balance of power. Yet when the war started William understood if he stayed in Albania he would likely be killed so he fled to Italy first before making his way to his native Germany. Once there he enlisted and became an officer within the German Army. For the Italians they didn’t want a German Prince on the throne of the Kingdom of Albania which they were creating to be a client state of theirs.
With Prince William who was untouchable because of the side of the war he was on they looked to within Italy to find their own prince to make him the King of the Albanians. After some thought they selected Vittorio Emanuele a cousin of Italian King Victor Emmanuel III. He was an Italian Prince and known worldwide for dueling after fighting a duel with a Frenchman in the aftermath of Italo-Ethiopian War. He was selected to be the new King of the Albanians. Yet the Muslims in Albania didn’t accept Vittorio Emanuele as their king either. This led to problems.
On May 19th an Italian supply column travelling through Shijak to take supplies to Serbia was attacked by Muslim rebels who was supported by Austro-Hungarian Bosnians attacked the Italian supply column. They killed a sizable number of Italians in this attack which forced the Italians to retreat. This caused the Italians to return to Shijak on the 21st with an infantry regiment. They brought out all the Muslims civilians in the mostly Muslim city and killed them all. This was the start of the Albanian Muslim Massacre. Men, women, and children no one was spared.
The Italian entry into the war created problems for the Greeks. The Greeks had been worried about an invasion from the British and French. Indeed the British had been planning to invade Crete but the South African Civil War created a crisis that forced troops slated for that invasion were moved to help loyalist forces in South Africa. The French knew of the Italian entry was coming and had set up an invasion force of Crete to help their allies but also to make sure the Italians didn’t get any ideas about taking Crete for themselves. The French forces landed on Crete on April 29th.
Greece had most of their better troops on the Serbian front. The chances of holding Crete against the Entente was slim to none. This was even with the Greeks having an American built Colossus[1] Battleship, an Italian built armored cruiser, and a pair of older but still fairly modern protected cruiser[2] that had been ordered by the Chinese but they were taken over by the Greeks during the Balkans War. The later protected cruisers were also American built. They also had dozen supporting ships for these larger ships. For a regional power this was a powerful force but against the French Fleet and the British Mediterranean Fleet this was a losing battle. Yet pride forced the Greek fleet to put to sea and at least challenge the French effort to invade Crete.
The Battle of Crete started on May 3rd. The Greek Fleet ran into the 2nd Squadron of the French Navy which was four pre-Colossus Battleships of the Justice Class[3] with supporting cruisers. The Greek Battleship Lemmos carried as main weapons as two and half of the Justice Class they were facing off again. Yet the weight of shells between the two classes facing off was about the same, but the Greek guns were of a more modern design and had the reach of range. The problem through facing the Greeks were ships haven’t been refitted with rangefinder or other more modern gear since they had been built whereas the French ships had seen a number of refits over their service in the MN.
Both sides closed and waited to open fire. The Greeks open fired first with the focusing fire on the Verite. They open up just outside of the range of the French. The French ships were faster and quickly entered firing ranges. Yet the Greeks were the first to score hits in this battle which was quickly followed by the French. The Greek guns in theory could fire faster but the Greek crew training wasn’t to the standards of the USN. This cancelled out the advance that the American guns offered them in rate of fire. The battle when on for an hour before the magazine of the French battleship Democratie was stuck by one of the Greek shell which set it off destroying the ship.
Following the sinking of the Democratie the French decided to break off from the fight. The Greek commander decided to break it off it off as well. Like the French the Greek ships had been damage in the battle. Unlike the French they didn’t have replacements for losses or had the ability to major damage. So deciding to save their fleet they withdrew as well and wrote off Crete to the French invasion.
[1] Best put as a cross between the OTL Florida and South Carolina Class, but cheaper. They ordered two but they couldn’t afford the payments on the second one and it was brought out by the US but upgraded to improve it before it was commissioned into the USN. (10 x 12/50s, 17.5 knots)
[2] Again something like the OTL Chao Ho Class, yet unlike OTL the Greeks were able to take over two of the three ships ordered. The third end up in South America as they couldn’t take over all three.
[3] Basically OTL Liberte Class. (4 x 305/40s, 19 knots)
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A few points, first is the Russians aren't in Silesia. The Germans are in control of a small chunk of Poland per updates so far. The Russians aren't that deep in East Prussia either. But they do control a piece of it. Belgium is currently being run by a government loyal to the deposed King and fully allied with Germany at this point. THe forces loyal to the Crown Prince are in France with him setting up government somewhere in France. The Greeks and Bulgarians are a bit deeper in Serbia but the Italians threw a spanner into the works of that plan.
Still have no idea how others could draw maps so smooth
Also with inventory this week at work, this last update will have to hold till at least Wednesday.
Probably one of the first move of the italian navy will be take Corfù for strategic reason (and to claim post-war) and start an harrassing campaign in the rest of the Greece coast (as with the i'control' Albania they can just do as OTL and close the Otranto straits)
World War One, Insanity
The rise the Boer bittereinders and the South African Civil War forced the British to deploy troops to South Africa that had been slated for invasion of Crete than an invasion of Greece itself. Following Harrismith both sides fell back to lick their wounds. At the same the Boers were trying to get treated as a nation again. They did by the start of the year have Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria agreeing that the Second Transvaal Republic was a nation. Greece soon follow after the start of the year. The Boer were also sending teams out to the neutrals in effort to drum up support for the Boer cause and the newly found nation. The British were having none of it.
On February 19th the Brazilian Flagged merchant ship SS Itagiba which was returning from Lobito to her native Brazil. She was carrying a Boer diplomat that was travelling to Rio de Janeiro to take up the cause of the Boer in the court of Dona Isabel. The British had learned of this and dispatched HMS Hermione an old protected cruiser to stop the Itagiba. The Hermione intercepted the Itagiba on the 19th. The Hermione forced the Itagiba to stop. Once the Itagiba was stopped the British searched the ship and removed the Boer diplomatic who was bound for Rio de Janeiro. This would create the Itagiba Affair.
Brazil didn’t take kindly to one of the merchant ships being stopped by the Royal Navy and having a person forcibly removed. Even if that person wasn’t viewed as a diplomatic in their eyes. Yet they knew their navy wasn’t up to the task of challenging the Royal Navy. Yet they filed a formal protest in London on learning of what had happened on the 19th of February. The United States also filed a formal protest about what happened with the Itagiba. Yet the British still weren’t releasing this Boer who they viewed as a traitor to the crown. Further in the wake of Itagiba, the US sent feelers out to Brazil about a possible alliance between their nations for the duration of this European War.
For South Africa they received a boost in firepower when the Imperial Federation of Australia and New Zealand’s Army Corp or ANZAC for short reached South Africa to help end the Boer threat and the civil war there. Together with the Indian Troops in nation along with South Africa’s own army they decided once again to march on Pretoria. This time the British met the Boer at the town of Volksrust on March 2nd. At Volksrust the British and their White Dominion had learned their lessons from their earlier draw at Harrismith back in December. In a running six day battle at Voksrust British forces were able to maul the Boer force before they fell back with the British nipping at their heels.
With the defeat at Voksrust the Boer feel back and decided to wage a guerrilla war once more with the hopes of a Central Power victory could save the Second Transvaal Republic. Yet the British expected this might happen. As the first attacks started to happen on supply columns and other soft targets the British broke out the playbook they had used just after the turn of the century. Yet they added a few new tricks as they found the Boers weren’t loyal even after they had been defeat once.
On February 19th the Brazilian Flagged merchant ship SS Itagiba which was returning from Lobito to her native Brazil. She was carrying a Boer diplomat that was travelling to Rio de Janeiro to take up the cause of the Boer in the court of Dona Isabel. The British had learned of this and dispatched HMS Hermione an old protected cruiser to stop the Itagiba. The Hermione intercepted the Itagiba on the 19th. The Hermione forced the Itagiba to stop. Once the Itagiba was stopped the British searched the ship and removed the Boer diplomatic who was bound for Rio de Janeiro. This would create the Itagiba Affair.
Brazil didn’t take kindly to one of the merchant ships being stopped by the Royal Navy and having a person forcibly removed. Even if that person wasn’t viewed as a diplomatic in their eyes. Yet they knew their navy wasn’t up to the task of challenging the Royal Navy. Yet they filed a formal protest in London on learning of what had happened on the 19th of February. The United States also filed a formal protest about what happened with the Itagiba. Yet the British still weren’t releasing this Boer who they viewed as a traitor to the crown. Further in the wake of Itagiba, the US sent feelers out to Brazil about a possible alliance between their nations for the duration of this European War.
For South Africa they received a boost in firepower when the Imperial Federation of Australia and New Zealand’s Army Corp or ANZAC for short reached South Africa to help end the Boer threat and the civil war there. Together with the Indian Troops in nation along with South Africa’s own army they decided once again to march on Pretoria. This time the British met the Boer at the town of Volksrust on March 2nd. At Volksrust the British and their White Dominion had learned their lessons from their earlier draw at Harrismith back in December. In a running six day battle at Voksrust British forces were able to maul the Boer force before they fell back with the British nipping at their heels.
With the defeat at Voksrust the Boer feel back and decided to wage a guerrilla war once more with the hopes of a Central Power victory could save the Second Transvaal Republic. Yet the British expected this might happen. As the first attacks started to happen on supply columns and other soft targets the British broke out the playbook they had used just after the turn of the century. Yet they added a few new tricks as they found the Boers weren’t loyal even after they had been defeat once.
Cryostorm
Donor
So considering that the first time this happened the British invented the modern concentration camp I wonder how they are going to one up it. Something tells me they are going to do some things that piss off the neutrals even more. Britain is essentially acting like the non European neutrals are not a threat which could very well come back to bite them.
Well I will say this about what about to happen to the Boer, it has to do with one way tickets.
The tickets are to other locations. The British wouldn't think about killing everyone at the moment as they aren't monsters, however the Boers have pissed them off again and again. This time was the straw that broke the camels back. No second chances here the Boer are none here