Prologue:
Quote:
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Ordinary Seaman James Richmond liked the view from atop the
Oregon’s mainmast usually, but not at the moment. After the
Maine blew up in Havana harbor, the US Navy mobilized down to Florida and then into Cuban waters. Finding the Spanish Fleet in port at Santiago de Cuba, Admiral “Fighting Bob” Evans had placed a blockade on the harbor. The recent land victory at San Juan Hill by Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and the Buffalo Soldiers would soon put Santiago harbor under the artillery of the US V Corps. And so Admiral Cervera’s Spanish fleet had at last come out of Santiago!
Richmond was glad for the end to the monotony of blockade, though fear definitely mixed with the excitement. Petty Officer Allen appeared unperturbed, but then he’d been in the Navy for over three decades, serving at the tail end of the Civil War off Charleston; he had the air of one who’d seen it all. Indeed, the US North Atlantic Squadron were making short work of the outgunned Spanish cruisers, whose only hope appeared to be escape from the American battleships.
And then Richmond’s blood went cold, as cold as the upstate New York winter’s of his youth. From atop the crow’s nest he spied a line of battleships moving at full steam toward Admiral “Fighting Bob” Evans blockade squadron. The American battleships had cowed the Spanish cruisers into hiding in Santiago harbor. With Evans’ flagship, the cruiser
Chicago, as well as battleship
Massachusetts coaling over at Guantanamo, this new fleet actually outnumbered the Americans. He couldn’t tell how much firepower they carried, but they were coming on fast.
As the signalmen in
Oregon’s crow’s nest, Richmond and Allen were the eyes of the ship. Allen called down to the bridge through the speaking tube while Richmond scanned the new ships with his binoculars. Orders from Rear Admiral Schley aboard
Brooklyn were signaled by semaphore to form up the American squadron. Soon the new ships grew from dots into vessels from the horizon, displaying the French tri-color and Navy battle flags proudly. Like everyone in the US Navy, Richmond had heard about French perfidy in the Philippines, so he supposed he shouldn’t have been too surprised they now chose to intercede on behalf of the Spanish tyranny over Cuba. He cursed them “Damn nosy frogs!”
Orders came through by semaphore, “Follow me”, and Petty Officer Allen piped them down the speaking tube to
Oregon’s bridge. So, they would ignore the surviving Spanish cruisers. Those French battleships were far more dangerous. Richmond dutifully signaled acknowledgement of the order, and the fleet formed a line led by protected cruiser
Brooklyn, followed by battleships
Indiana, Iowa, Oregon, and
Texas.
Both fleets steamed toward each other, thereby closing the distance quite rapidly. Seaman Richmond counted five French battleships to the four American. At 12,000 yards the French started a gradual turn to port, bringing their full starboard broadsides to bear by the time the fleets were 10,000 yards apart. Like all modern battleships, the French had an amidships battery, though they appeared to be about as heavy as their main fore and aft armament. Each French battleship had four single gun turrets, probably 12”-ers, one fore, one aft; and two amidships on the starboard side. Richmond and every American above decks could see the French were crossing the American ‘T’, the classic maneuver every admiral hoped to execute. The thing was, at 10,000 yards, how did they expect to hit anything?
Every Navy Sailor knew ship battles happened at 3,000 yards or less. So what the devil were the French up to? Whatever it was, Richmond didn’t like it for beans. The French didn’t seem to care what he wanted though. The American battle line could only go 10 knots because they were limited by
Iowa’s engine troubles from before the battle. As the American fleet slogged forward, the French opened fire. The initial French broadsides missed as expected. The U.S. Fleet sailed on.
The French reloaded and their leading ships fired again, this time they hit
Brooklyn, twice!The little cruiser staggered under the powerful blows as the huge shells struck her. Over the next ten minutes
Brooklyn was struck by a dozen more 11” or 12” shells, setting her ablaze.
Brooklyn slewed out of line as the American battleships charged on. Then the last three battleships in the French line opened up on the leading U.S. battleship,
Indiana. One of them, Richmond couldn’t tell which, plowing a shell into the American battleship. “Oh shit!” Richmond exclaimed, “Our goose is cooked.” The Americans had closed to 8,000 yards by now, and still came on.
At this point the French swung around 45 degrees starboard to keep their broadsides on the Americans.
Indiana signaled the other American ships from her sema-phore “Stay with me.” The message came back through
Iowa’s signalmen, and then to
Oregon. Richmond dutifully repeated the signal to
Texas, following behind
Oregon. And so the American ships closed to 7,000 yards. At that point they returned fire, but missed as the range was about triple where they had trained to fight. French firepower continued to find American ships as the range steadily closed, striking
Indiana again and again, but also raining death onto the second ship in the reduced American line, the
Iowa. That meant
Oregon and archaic
Texas were getting a free ride at the expense of the lead battleships
. At 4,000 yards the French turned a little more toward the American line, easing gradually toward passing them and exchanging broadsides at close range.
At 3,000 yards three things happened. A French battleship took a hit at last, as the 8” amidships batteries on the American battleships opened up; and
Indiana suddenly suffered a series of explosions when a French shell, or a fire caused by one, found an ammunition magazine.
Indiana was simply torn apart. She too fell out of line. Closing to under 2,000 yards, both sides were in range to pound each other, but racing by each other at a combined speed of 28 knots.
Hits stitched the lead French battleship
Charles Martel again, and the
Carnot (3rd in line) as well, while
Iowa took the beating now for the Americans. The two fleets sped past each other at 1,000 yards. At last,
Iowa scored a killing blow on one of the French battleships, causing it to fall out of line as explosions rippled through the hull. But
Oregon took a hit at just the right angle as well, blowing away a twin 8” turret amidships.
And then the two lines began to pull clear of each other. Both went into 90 degree turns, the French to starboard and the Americans to port. This brought everyone’s broadsides to bear as the two lines ran eastward, paralleling each other.
Iowa’s reduced speed caused the American ships to come out of the turn a bit behind the French. When the French tried to continue their turn to cross the American T again, the USA ships turned with them, compensating for reduced speed through the resulting improvement in turn radius. This fencing match of maneuver and counter-maneuver at last settled into a 2500 yard slugging match as both lines went in slow, somewhat concentric circles repeatedly. This pummeling back and forth went on for about 40 minutes with ships striking each other dozens of times. Though smoke hung in the air, Signalman Richmond could see that the French would win the contest eventually based on numbers alone.
When the American fleet had drawn to within 1,000 yards in their latest spiral, the captain of the lead American battleship made a momentous choice.
Iowa, billowing smoke, managed to signal “Break and engage torpedoes, break and engage torpedoes.” A Shiver of terror ran down Richmond’s back as he realized what
Iowa’s skipper was ordering the three remaining American battleships to do. He looked over at Allen who was already speaking down the intercom tube, even as Richmond relayed the order to
Texas by sema-phore flag
.
And so it was that
Iowa, awash in flame and smoke, and the battered but as yet largely undamaged
Oregon and
Texas turned into the French line, closing to point blank range. “Torpedoes away!” someone yelled up the intercom tube as
Oregon launched two of her British designed 18” Whitehead torpedoes at a French battleship. Through the deep report of gunfire and the brutal impact of shells large and small on
Oregon’s deck, Richmond and Allen held on to the mainmast for their lives. Richmond watched as
Iowa’s torpedoes went into an arc carrying them astern of their target and on into the deep blue sea.
Oregon’s torpedoes appeared to run true toward their French foe.
Then a great explosion rocked their French target. One of the torpedoes had struck!
Oregon slid behind the French ship, raking her with firepower. As
Oregon emerged from the other side Richmond saw what was left of
Iowa, burning as she too slipped past the French line before inexorably slowing.
Texas soon appeared on the other side of
Oregon, looking largely intact.
Oregon swung hard a-port now, running in the opposite direction from the French line, and
Texas followed.
The torpedoed French battleship
Carnot took on a list quite rapidly as she slowed and fell out of line. The remaining three French battleships retrograded starboard 180 degrees to pursue the Americans. Orders came up from
Oregon’s bridge,and Richmond sema-phored
Texas to turn 90 degrees to port to run west and go to flank speed. The French definitely had a firepower advantage as the old
Texas was heavily outgunned by the more modern French ships.
Texas, being the sister ship of the
Maine that blew up in Havana a few months ago, was now the most venerable battleship in the American Navy.
Oregon could hold her own, but she was one ship. Apparently, Captain Stark had decided it was the better part of valor for him to save
Oregon and
Texas for another day.
Steaming west for half an hour, the American ships went past the burning wrecks of the French
Charles Martel, and their own
Indiana and
Brooklyn, as well as the beached Spanish squadron.
As the ongoing gunnery duel continued to favor the French, Richmond could see that
Oregon’s Captain Stark would face a hard choice soon.
Oregon was hampered by
Texas's slower maximum speed, such that he couldn't outrun the French
. Texas signaled “You go on, we have got this.” Incredulously Richmond said “Have they lost their minds over there?” while Allen was passing on
Texas’s message. Allen replied after clicking off the intership tube “They must have, they don’t stand a chance against that.”
They watched as
Texas turned toward the French, who proceeded to pound them. As
Texas neared the French she seemed to lose control, going into a turn that took her between two of the French ships. Meanwhile,
Oregon fled the uneven contest at her flank speed, 15 knots. Helplessly, Richmond and his shipmates watched as
Texas shuddered under the focused bombardment of three French battleships. Soon it became apparent that she was done for, as a magazine must have exploded. Blasting her fore turret clean off the deck into the sea. With tears in their eyes, Allen and Richmond could see the crew of
Texas abandon ship.
Texas hadn’t died in vain though, for
Oregon made good her escape to the northwest. Oregon put out her fires and steamed for Key West. Richmond, like most of the crew, felt shock and horror at the scale of the defeat. They saw the one battered French battleship explode and sink, while the other that had been torpedoed had one of her sister ships alongside attempting repairs.
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Hi All,
So this is my first attempt at an ATL. The POD is a happenstance meeting set in 1872 that never occurred, and the story begins in media res in July, 1898 on the day of the USA's OTL naval victory at the Battle of Santiago. Please let me know what you think.