Remember the Rainbow Redux: An Alternate Royal Canadian Navy
hopefully there is enough glue factories still standing after this timeline haha
The Three Musketeers
With Leipzig and Fregattenkapitän Haun finally on the scene, the pair of formerly British ships were completely brought under new ownership. Haun was elated to have captured such a bountiful prize but a prickling sense of anxiety had washed over him when he observed the scene. A group of four ships sitting a few miles offshore was impossible to miss and all it would take is a single inquisitive local to cause them to lose the element of surprise. Refueling at sea was never ideal but Leipzig could not afford to pass up the opportunity to prolong her mission, there was also no suitable protected anchorages in this area to utilize. A skeleton crew from Seelöwe had found just enough coal to raise steam aboard Algerine who alongside River Forth, was moved out of visual range of the shore as quickly as possible. Once the newly formed flotilla had found a suitable patch of sea roughly 8 nautical miles off shore to conduct it’s refueling operations, the severity of the situation the Germans had found themselves became fully apparent. While the cruiser was being coaled, the German officers once again met in order to discuss the situation. The captured British and Canadian sailors watched with amusement as their former captors engaged in one of the dirtiest and most laborious tasks a sailor could be put to. All possible crew was diverted back from the Seelöwe and the captured vessels to assist in the fueling, although such micromanaging was already beginning to grind the nerves of Haun and Kretschmar. The issue of manpower was front and center as Leipzig’s 306 strong crew was meticulously picked through in order to see what could be accomplished with their ragged little armada.
All four ships would be impossible to properly crew with the men they had, the idea of operating with skeleton crews though was not especially welcome given the already stretched limits of Leipzig herself. It was agreed that the collier would need to be retained, as its cargo was far too valuable to scuttle and its overall compliment would be rather small. As the rest of the units would transit the Juan de Fuca Strait, the River Forth would make its way up the outer coast of Vancouver Island and find a safe anchorage somewhere in Queen Charlotte Sound to the North. There the ship would hopefully await the arrival of their successful allies as they made their way back out into the Pacific. It was decided to transfer the prisoners into the multiple empty cargo holds of River Forth alongside the injured and accompanying supplies from Seelöwe, including a pair of pom poms and all small arms. If a suitable settlement could be found on the way, the prisoners could potentially be offloaded as well, although only if the ship itself was not put at undue risk in doing so. All transfer operations would have to wait until the next day in order to have Leipzig fully fueled and to allow her crew some rest. It was incredibly tempting to put the 226 strong prisoner compliment to work in moving the equipment and coal however in accordance with the Hague Conventions of 1899, Ch. II Art 6, prisoners of war could not be used as labor in relation to military operations. Algerine was rated for a 106-man crew nominally compared to the 62-man crew of the armed Seelöwe. In traditional raiding operations, Seelöwe would be rated as the more capable vessel given her immense speed and range advantages over the old sloop however, the Germans were no longer undertaking what could be considered traditional raiding. While Algerine was glacially slow at around 13 knots and somewhat personnel hungry, her armament of six 4”/40 guns and protective deck was viewed as an excellent secondary raider for demolishing assets up and down the coast of British Columbia. This would leave Seelöwe as the odd one out so to speak. Scuttling her was the most practical option as having a fast vessel like this returned to service would be a boon for the Canadians.
Whatever was to be done, it would have to wait until next light. The crew of the cruiser worked tirelessly at the filthy job of coaling, burning through all of the available daylight and even into the early hours of the night sky but in the end, the treacherous task was completed and the men were released for a nights rest. All hands were back to work at first dawn on August 15 but as the winds began to kick the sea into a swirling chop, the tasks at hand turned increasingly difficult. By 1729 hours, Seelöwe had been cleared of all supplies, weapons, men and other valuables while Algerine and River Forth had been fully coaled and prepared for sea under new management. The most valuable of this equipment was her wireless set which was very quickly put aboard Leipzig to return her communications back to an operational status, although Algerine and River Forth themselves lacked working sets to communicate with. Korvettenkapitän Kretschmar was placed in command of Algerine while Oberleutnant zur See Enno Kraus would be in command of River Forth. Scuttling charges were placed aboard Seelöwe and at 1823 hours through a dull sounding explosion and cloud of debris, the former liner slipped beneath the waves. In a bout of shared sailors superstition, the commanding officers of the three vessels agreed to leave the names of their ships be for the foreseeable future, hopefully to bring them some better luck. The wreck of Seelöwe was located in 1987 by the US Navy and is laying on her port side in 63 m of water.
Fregattenkapitän Haun would later state regarding the scuttling of Seelöwe, "It was rather unfortunate that such a fine vessel had to be sunk however, we had few options open to us. While I appreciated the cunning idea to attempt a ramming of the drydock in Esquimalt, I was not particularly enthused about wasting the lives of my men on what could have largely amounted to a fools errand, the few men we had were irreplaceable and the very life blood of our operations. Kretschmar seemed somewhat dejected initially at the prospect of turning in his greyhound for an old warhorse but in the narrow, target rich confines of British Columbia, such speed is wasteful in comparison to firepower."
All four ships would be impossible to properly crew with the men they had, the idea of operating with skeleton crews though was not especially welcome given the already stretched limits of Leipzig herself. It was agreed that the collier would need to be retained, as its cargo was far too valuable to scuttle and its overall compliment would be rather small. As the rest of the units would transit the Juan de Fuca Strait, the River Forth would make its way up the outer coast of Vancouver Island and find a safe anchorage somewhere in Queen Charlotte Sound to the North. There the ship would hopefully await the arrival of their successful allies as they made their way back out into the Pacific. It was decided to transfer the prisoners into the multiple empty cargo holds of River Forth alongside the injured and accompanying supplies from Seelöwe, including a pair of pom poms and all small arms. If a suitable settlement could be found on the way, the prisoners could potentially be offloaded as well, although only if the ship itself was not put at undue risk in doing so. All transfer operations would have to wait until the next day in order to have Leipzig fully fueled and to allow her crew some rest. It was incredibly tempting to put the 226 strong prisoner compliment to work in moving the equipment and coal however in accordance with the Hague Conventions of 1899, Ch. II Art 6, prisoners of war could not be used as labor in relation to military operations. Algerine was rated for a 106-man crew nominally compared to the 62-man crew of the armed Seelöwe. In traditional raiding operations, Seelöwe would be rated as the more capable vessel given her immense speed and range advantages over the old sloop however, the Germans were no longer undertaking what could be considered traditional raiding. While Algerine was glacially slow at around 13 knots and somewhat personnel hungry, her armament of six 4”/40 guns and protective deck was viewed as an excellent secondary raider for demolishing assets up and down the coast of British Columbia. This would leave Seelöwe as the odd one out so to speak. Scuttling her was the most practical option as having a fast vessel like this returned to service would be a boon for the Canadians.
Whatever was to be done, it would have to wait until next light. The crew of the cruiser worked tirelessly at the filthy job of coaling, burning through all of the available daylight and even into the early hours of the night sky but in the end, the treacherous task was completed and the men were released for a nights rest. All hands were back to work at first dawn on August 15 but as the winds began to kick the sea into a swirling chop, the tasks at hand turned increasingly difficult. By 1729 hours, Seelöwe had been cleared of all supplies, weapons, men and other valuables while Algerine and River Forth had been fully coaled and prepared for sea under new management. The most valuable of this equipment was her wireless set which was very quickly put aboard Leipzig to return her communications back to an operational status, although Algerine and River Forth themselves lacked working sets to communicate with. Korvettenkapitän Kretschmar was placed in command of Algerine while Oberleutnant zur See Enno Kraus would be in command of River Forth. Scuttling charges were placed aboard Seelöwe and at 1823 hours through a dull sounding explosion and cloud of debris, the former liner slipped beneath the waves. In a bout of shared sailors superstition, the commanding officers of the three vessels agreed to leave the names of their ships be for the foreseeable future, hopefully to bring them some better luck. The wreck of Seelöwe was located in 1987 by the US Navy and is laying on her port side in 63 m of water.
Fregattenkapitän Haun would later state regarding the scuttling of Seelöwe, "It was rather unfortunate that such a fine vessel had to be sunk however, we had few options open to us. While I appreciated the cunning idea to attempt a ramming of the drydock in Esquimalt, I was not particularly enthused about wasting the lives of my men on what could have largely amounted to a fools errand, the few men we had were irreplaceable and the very life blood of our operations. Kretschmar seemed somewhat dejected initially at the prospect of turning in his greyhound for an old warhorse but in the narrow, target rich confines of British Columbia, such speed is wasteful in comparison to firepower."
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Unprepared for the Unknown
As of August 1914, Premier McBride had served as the leader of British Columbia for 11 years and not once had the province been in such turmoil. That was somewhat understandable as he had not overseen the province through a major conflict yet, the situation was very troublesome nonetheless. It was rightfully obvious to everybody involved that when war was declared, British Columbia was in at least some kind of peril, although the exact severity was always up for debate. The skeptics were content to stick their fingers in their ears and go about their normal business while the professional worriers were convinced the entire East Asia Squadron would sail up any day and wipe Vancouver off the face of the Earth. McBride took a more logical view, he had always been on the side that something would likely happen to the major ports along the coast as they were far too valuable of targets given their antique and ineffectual defenses. The Premier had been consistently held back in his attempts to ready his province for war, routinely dog piled by multiple self important busybodies not wanting to rock the boat and cause panic within the general public. Even his submarine acquisition was heavily questioned by some of the Liberal leaning news publications and politicians in the area, at least until the morning of August 12 had come.
Period watercolor depicting SMS Leipzig sinking HMCS Rainbow in a ball of flame. Several inaccuracies can be easily found however, this is likely due to the amount of secrecy at the time regarding the exact information available about Rainbow's sinking.
As the morning newspapers hit the streets across Canada, all of the obstacles impeding McBride seemed to fall to the wayside. Although no major bouts of violence occurred elsewhere as they did in Victoria, the Canadian people as a whole were devastated by such news. Only a single week after the declaration of war against Germany, months before any Canadian unit would set foot in Europe, its enemy had already dealt a mortal blow to the young nation. Half of the Royal Canadian Navy now sat on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, having taken effectively her entire crew of young Canadians down with her. The outpouring of grief was felt the most strongly in British Columbia however, vigils were also seen in many other cities such as Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Saint John and most surprisingly, the generally anti-Navy Quebec City. Most of the men lost were from British Columbia but some men hailed from all over Canada and even as far as Britain itself. Flags were flown at half mast across the country for the duration of August 12 and within British Columbia, the day was declared a provincial day of mourning. Canada's first shaky steps into this foreign war quickly turned out to be a colossal misstep that would haunt the government for years to come. Many Canadian politicians from across the nation addressed telegrams and letters to McBride and his province over the coming days. While the empty promises of support, condemnation of the Hun and condolences were indeed fine lip service, they were not what the province needed at the time. With Rainbow destroyed and their only hope of protection landing in the laps of barely operational submarines alongside questionable shore batteries, McBride once again took matters into his own hands. The Admiralty and Canadian government would be of little help in this situation so fitting the situation at hand, the Premier circumvented both organizations and went directly to an old friend. In a telegram addressed directly to the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill on August 13, McBride communicated the following:
WINSTON OLD BOY
VERY URGENT. AS YOU ARE AWARE CRUISER RAINBOW SUNK BY GERMAN WARSHIPS OFF AMERICAN COAST. WEST COAST EFFECTIVELY UNDEFENDED AGAINST GERMAN WARSHIPS. VANCOUVER VICTORIA NANAIMO VULNERABLE TO BOMBARDMENT. INADEQUATE INTELLIGENCE REGARDING GERMAN MOVEMENTS. REQUIRE IMMEDIATE REINFORCEMENT OF ANY KIND. LOCAL DEFENSES NOT ABLE TO STAND UP TO ANY ATTACK. PLEASE RESPOND AT GREAT HASTE.
RICHARD MCBRIDE
For his part, Churchill was somewhat hamstringed in what could be immediately done to rectify the situation. The closest vessel that would be able to be detached without heavily effecting larger operations within the Pacific would be HMS Newcastle who was currently on route to Yokohama. Japanese units could also potentially be available in the coming weeks as Japan had issued Germany an ultimatum ending August 23, however such things could not be relied upon. If the British Admiralty was to be of little immediate assistance in the coming days, the Canadian ‘Admiralty’ in Ottawa would not be any better. In their preoccupied minds, it seems that Ottawa had not entirely grasped the severity of the situation on the West Coast and due to this, they had dropped the ball in relation to the handling of 18” torpedoes for the pair of Canadian submarines. The Halifax Dockyard’s ordnance stores were thoroughly ransacked from August 7 to August 8 in order to compile all of the stocks of 18” Mark IV torpedoes possible and associated equipment for the pair of BC based submarines. To the horror of the staff in Halifax, it was found that the stocks of 18" torpedoes were effectively empty. What was found showed that over 30% of the torpedo stocks remaining had deteriorated heavily over the period where the Canadian Government had taken ownership of the base and even the torpedoes which looked workable externally, showed issues in regards to lack of upkeep or simply being worn out due to heavy usage. Late into the night on August 9, an express train departed Halifax bound for Vancouver carried only 9 Mark IV 18” torpedoes and their associated equipment. Many freight and passenger services throughout the period would experience difficulties and major delays as this vital cargo was rushed across Canada with the highest priority possible. The lack of any real substance to the number of torpedoes supplied was definitely alarming however with the condition of the stocks in Halifax and the incompetence of the Admiralty, little could be done.
The potential scare regarding German cruisers in the area also prompted the disarmament of the newly arrived sloop HMS Shearwater. Without its crew and given the state of local naval reserve personnel, the ship itself was essentially nothing more than a floating gun battery. A pair of the ships 4”/40 guns were removed soon after her arrival and was slowly moved to Stanley Park in order to provide some semblance of defense to English Bay, Burrard Inlet and Vancouver itself. A large 12 inch by 12 inch wooden platform was sunk into the surrounding rock and soil with steel plates being fastened to the timbers, acting as a substitute for the deck of a ship in order to mount the weapons. This battery was placed roughly 300 feet to the south of Siwash Rock and presided over 100 feet above sea level which alongside the 9,600 yard maximum range of the guns, gave the battery itself a commanding presence of the local waters. As the firing path was cleared of foliage, a lookout platform was constructed within a nearby tree in order to be used for fire control and spotting. The members of the Naval Reserve who operated these weapons lived in a pair of Militia issued canvas tents placed somewhat back from the guns, various trenches and other articles of protection were planned to be constructed in the future to better protect the battery and its crews. As of August 15, the battery itself was complete and firing trials was soon planned to be undertaken. The hulk of Shearwater kept in Esquimalt while it was discussed what would be done with the vessel, ideas surfaced to use her as a floating battery in Nanaimo or Ladysmith while others put forward using her as a submarine tender or to strip more of her guns to be placed elsewhere.
Naval Reservists posing for a photo alongside the pair of 4"/40 guns mounted at the Siwash Rock/Stanley Park battery. Note the completely exposed and hastily erected position.
With the defenses of British Columbia gradually reinforced even somewhat, the Navy was listening intently for any kind of intelligence regarding the German positions. The location of any German vessels was completely unknown, Leipzig had not reared her head since the action with Rainbow off San Francisco, but it was also thought that the cruiser SMS Nurnberg could also be lurking around the coast of British Columbia. Reliable information was incredibly rare, various scattered reports in the theater reported suspicious vessels everywhere but in the end, none of this could be verified. A well meaning but ignorant citizen could easily report a lost merchant as a warship or vice versa, the lack of anything besides fishery protection ships on the coast meant that most of these cases could not be investigated properly. This fog of war laid heavy over British Columbia and only added to the foreboding atmosphere building. The few active vessels in the area were spending their time ferrying militia troops and their equipment to vital wireless stations/outposts while being assigned to port patrols and such regularly. The fact that HMCHS Prince George had been completely radio silent for a few days was somewhat worrying but nothing out of the ordinary, losing wireless reception at such ranges was fairly common. It was not thought that a hospital ship would be touched, as wrong as that assumption would prove to be much later. Little could be done but wait, hopefully for some ally to swoop down to the Canadians rescue or alternatively, their greatest fear would be realized.
Period map of the Vancouver area. Stanley Park and the above mentioned Siwash Rock battery are located in the middle, their coverage of English Bay and Burrard Inlet as a whole was rather substantial.
Period watercolor depicting SMS Leipzig sinking HMCS Rainbow in a ball of flame. Several inaccuracies can be easily found however, this is likely due to the amount of secrecy at the time regarding the exact information available about Rainbow's sinking.
As the morning newspapers hit the streets across Canada, all of the obstacles impeding McBride seemed to fall to the wayside. Although no major bouts of violence occurred elsewhere as they did in Victoria, the Canadian people as a whole were devastated by such news. Only a single week after the declaration of war against Germany, months before any Canadian unit would set foot in Europe, its enemy had already dealt a mortal blow to the young nation. Half of the Royal Canadian Navy now sat on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, having taken effectively her entire crew of young Canadians down with her. The outpouring of grief was felt the most strongly in British Columbia however, vigils were also seen in many other cities such as Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Saint John and most surprisingly, the generally anti-Navy Quebec City. Most of the men lost were from British Columbia but some men hailed from all over Canada and even as far as Britain itself. Flags were flown at half mast across the country for the duration of August 12 and within British Columbia, the day was declared a provincial day of mourning. Canada's first shaky steps into this foreign war quickly turned out to be a colossal misstep that would haunt the government for years to come. Many Canadian politicians from across the nation addressed telegrams and letters to McBride and his province over the coming days. While the empty promises of support, condemnation of the Hun and condolences were indeed fine lip service, they were not what the province needed at the time. With Rainbow destroyed and their only hope of protection landing in the laps of barely operational submarines alongside questionable shore batteries, McBride once again took matters into his own hands. The Admiralty and Canadian government would be of little help in this situation so fitting the situation at hand, the Premier circumvented both organizations and went directly to an old friend. In a telegram addressed directly to the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill on August 13, McBride communicated the following:
WINSTON OLD BOY
VERY URGENT. AS YOU ARE AWARE CRUISER RAINBOW SUNK BY GERMAN WARSHIPS OFF AMERICAN COAST. WEST COAST EFFECTIVELY UNDEFENDED AGAINST GERMAN WARSHIPS. VANCOUVER VICTORIA NANAIMO VULNERABLE TO BOMBARDMENT. INADEQUATE INTELLIGENCE REGARDING GERMAN MOVEMENTS. REQUIRE IMMEDIATE REINFORCEMENT OF ANY KIND. LOCAL DEFENSES NOT ABLE TO STAND UP TO ANY ATTACK. PLEASE RESPOND AT GREAT HASTE.
RICHARD MCBRIDE
For his part, Churchill was somewhat hamstringed in what could be immediately done to rectify the situation. The closest vessel that would be able to be detached without heavily effecting larger operations within the Pacific would be HMS Newcastle who was currently on route to Yokohama. Japanese units could also potentially be available in the coming weeks as Japan had issued Germany an ultimatum ending August 23, however such things could not be relied upon. If the British Admiralty was to be of little immediate assistance in the coming days, the Canadian ‘Admiralty’ in Ottawa would not be any better. In their preoccupied minds, it seems that Ottawa had not entirely grasped the severity of the situation on the West Coast and due to this, they had dropped the ball in relation to the handling of 18” torpedoes for the pair of Canadian submarines. The Halifax Dockyard’s ordnance stores were thoroughly ransacked from August 7 to August 8 in order to compile all of the stocks of 18” Mark IV torpedoes possible and associated equipment for the pair of BC based submarines. To the horror of the staff in Halifax, it was found that the stocks of 18" torpedoes were effectively empty. What was found showed that over 30% of the torpedo stocks remaining had deteriorated heavily over the period where the Canadian Government had taken ownership of the base and even the torpedoes which looked workable externally, showed issues in regards to lack of upkeep or simply being worn out due to heavy usage. Late into the night on August 9, an express train departed Halifax bound for Vancouver carried only 9 Mark IV 18” torpedoes and their associated equipment. Many freight and passenger services throughout the period would experience difficulties and major delays as this vital cargo was rushed across Canada with the highest priority possible. The lack of any real substance to the number of torpedoes supplied was definitely alarming however with the condition of the stocks in Halifax and the incompetence of the Admiralty, little could be done.
The potential scare regarding German cruisers in the area also prompted the disarmament of the newly arrived sloop HMS Shearwater. Without its crew and given the state of local naval reserve personnel, the ship itself was essentially nothing more than a floating gun battery. A pair of the ships 4”/40 guns were removed soon after her arrival and was slowly moved to Stanley Park in order to provide some semblance of defense to English Bay, Burrard Inlet and Vancouver itself. A large 12 inch by 12 inch wooden platform was sunk into the surrounding rock and soil with steel plates being fastened to the timbers, acting as a substitute for the deck of a ship in order to mount the weapons. This battery was placed roughly 300 feet to the south of Siwash Rock and presided over 100 feet above sea level which alongside the 9,600 yard maximum range of the guns, gave the battery itself a commanding presence of the local waters. As the firing path was cleared of foliage, a lookout platform was constructed within a nearby tree in order to be used for fire control and spotting. The members of the Naval Reserve who operated these weapons lived in a pair of Militia issued canvas tents placed somewhat back from the guns, various trenches and other articles of protection were planned to be constructed in the future to better protect the battery and its crews. As of August 15, the battery itself was complete and firing trials was soon planned to be undertaken. The hulk of Shearwater kept in Esquimalt while it was discussed what would be done with the vessel, ideas surfaced to use her as a floating battery in Nanaimo or Ladysmith while others put forward using her as a submarine tender or to strip more of her guns to be placed elsewhere.
Naval Reservists posing for a photo alongside the pair of 4"/40 guns mounted at the Siwash Rock/Stanley Park battery. Note the completely exposed and hastily erected position.
With the defenses of British Columbia gradually reinforced even somewhat, the Navy was listening intently for any kind of intelligence regarding the German positions. The location of any German vessels was completely unknown, Leipzig had not reared her head since the action with Rainbow off San Francisco, but it was also thought that the cruiser SMS Nurnberg could also be lurking around the coast of British Columbia. Reliable information was incredibly rare, various scattered reports in the theater reported suspicious vessels everywhere but in the end, none of this could be verified. A well meaning but ignorant citizen could easily report a lost merchant as a warship or vice versa, the lack of anything besides fishery protection ships on the coast meant that most of these cases could not be investigated properly. This fog of war laid heavy over British Columbia and only added to the foreboding atmosphere building. The few active vessels in the area were spending their time ferrying militia troops and their equipment to vital wireless stations/outposts while being assigned to port patrols and such regularly. The fact that HMCHS Prince George had been completely radio silent for a few days was somewhat worrying but nothing out of the ordinary, losing wireless reception at such ranges was fairly common. It was not thought that a hospital ship would be touched, as wrong as that assumption would prove to be much later. Little could be done but wait, hopefully for some ally to swoop down to the Canadians rescue or alternatively, their greatest fear would be realized.
Period map of the Vancouver area. Stanley Park and the above mentioned Siwash Rock battery are located in the middle, their coverage of English Bay and Burrard Inlet as a whole was rather substantial.
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Minor edit. There's a couple of superfluous commas scattered around but this was the only thing that jumped out at me that needed fixing.
Another great update, the story of the over-pressured torpedo was particularly interesting.
I appreciate the catch there, my autocorrecting program likes to insert annoying amounts of commas occasionally and my late posting of this likely caused me to miss a bunch of them. I've went through and hopefully purged most of them this time around, I'll take another pass through tomorrow. I could hardly resist at least something occurring with the torpedoes themselves, the amount of incompetence and rushed jobs going on during wartime is simply staggering. I was originally rather let down by my original research as there was no set date in which the torpedoes were dispatched from Halifax and arrived in Vancouver, except a vague "submarines were declared completely operational on August 20", so I had to wing it slightly. I received some vital assistance from a good friend (you know who you are if you are reading this) with regards to the Canadian rail system, timetables, locomotives, etc which allowed me to fairly accurately create a timeframe in which the torpedoes would be shipped.
Anyway, glad to hear you are enjoying the chapter. That little rant is the reason this chapter was a bit slow to get out there but I'd rather have something believable instead of completely handwaving things into place.
nice map you have included at the end there, very interesting to see all of the various docks and such in vancouver harbour and how much real estate the CPR had for its vessels. likely would be a very target rich area inside that harbour.
Quite so. In the end, the Borden government is directly responsible for the strangling of the RCN in the years leading up to the war itself. If the Liberals or public can put all of the pieces together and band together against the Conservatives, it could be a bloodbath for the party. If Canadian cities are bombarded, the aftershock could spell the end of Borden's reign as Prime Minister.
Running the Gauntlet
Even as the former HMCHS Prince George gently settled under the lapping surf, little time was wasted by the enterprising Hun. The small flotilla was soon down to only Leipzig and Algerine as the River Forth separated from the group, slowly slipping over the horizon with 35 of Leipzig’s crew aboard. Her pedestrian top speed of barely over 10 knots, cruisers worth of prisoners and a cargo of invaluable coal precluded her from any sort of combat operations. If all went well, the planned to rendezvous with her on their escape out through Queen Charlotte would be the next time they met but as one could expect, such things were merely hopes and dreams in war. Both warships plunged their way into the maw of the Juan de Fuca Strait at approximately 2200 hours as they began the push inland, lookouts very likely having their eyes peeled through the hazy spray of the night. As the international boundary between Canada and the United States bisected the strait itself, the Germans were essentially funneled down a 5 to 7 nautical mile wide corridor on the Canadian side to not break US neutrality. Normally such a strait would be bustling with traffic but in such wartime conditions and with the threat of raiders so close by, the Canadian side of the strait was devoid of any traffic. It was likely a major relief to the German crews that the swells that previously impeded their operations at sea earlier that day had followed them up the strait, creating a rough but vital chop to help shelter the enterprising raiders from view. The remaining 191 strong crew aboard Leipzig were likely somewhat less thankful of such weather as the seas continued to batter their ragged and holed vessel, the majority of the flooding and sea kept at bay by the temporary patches put in place. This damage served as a constant reminder than while they emerged from their battle with Rainbow as the victor, she had not gone down without a fight, providing the Germans a taste of what they might deal with if they were return to the open ocean.
As the pair of vessels continued down the strait, they passed the Jordan River at 0033 as the date rolled over to August 16. The Germans received a significant shock when a sudden barrage of coded wireless transmissions was transmitted at very high strength nearby. With nerves very likely stretched to their breaking point, the crews would have been ready at their guns as the long stretching gaze of a spotlight could be seen slicing its way through the light mist and chop. Luckily for the would-be raiders, the spotlight seemed to find its target on the opposite side of the strait and ceased its sweeping quickly. As the Germans remained steadfast in their shuffle up the border, the patrol ship CGS Malaspina stood at full combat readiness only 3.5 miles away. During her routine night patrols of the area, she had come across a suspicious vessel that had repeatedly cut over the American side of the strait and began sailing somewhat erratically up the Canadian side with all lights blacked out. Due to the behavior, the Malaspina quickly came to the assumption that the vessel could be a German merchant raider attempting to force its way up through the strait and wreak havoc on the relatively unprotected areas inside. The situation further escalated as the signal lamp hails were initially not answered and shortly after, the replies returned being almost nonsensical and broken. The patrol vessel cracked on her searchlight and illuminated the vessel, its flag showing its affiliation apparently as the Japanese merchant Azumasan Maru. The barrage of wireless communications sent between Malaspina and Esquimalt were started with the following,
CGS MALASPINA TO HMCD ESQUIMALT SUSPICIOUS MERCHANT AZUMASAN MARU INTERCEPTED IN JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT POTENTIAL ENEMY MERCHANT RAIDER. JAPANESE FLAG FLYING AT MAST COMMUNICATIONS UNSUCCESSFUL.
SS Azumasan Maru docked in Vancouver, receiving a touchup to her hull.
With their 6-pdr deck gun firmly trained on the vessel and spotlight illuminating her, the men of Malaspina frantically continued to raise communications as they observed the vessel for any suspicious features. There did not look to be any hidden weapons or crew on her deck, although in the conditions, such details were likely rather difficult to make out. The minutes ticked by as tension continued to mount until to the relief of both vessels, communication was properly established at last. As it would turn out, a young trainee had been assigned to man the lamp while his superior had been sleeping and at the sight of a vessel rather aggressively challenging them before illuminating his vessel with a powerful search light, the poor lad had suffered a panic attack. The story seemed rather convenient to the still suspicious patrol boat however after the merchant snapped on her lights and completely illuminated herself, the Malaspina relented to the situation. As the Japanese were seemingly unaware that they had blundered over the boundary line multiple times, the Canadian patrol vessel assisted them in regaining their bearings before seeing them on their way towards Seattle. By the time the Malaspina had resumed in her patrol duties, the German raiders were long gone up the coast and closer to their objectives by the minute.
As 0200 hours rolled by and the Germans came around the vicinity of Race Rocks Light, the most dangerous leg of the journey was directly ahead of them. If the information they had been supplied with was indeed correct, the antique coastal batteries of 6” disappearing guns would only have the range to fire roughly halfway out to their position on the boundary. Ideally the Germans would not be spotted at all and in order to ensure this, Leipzig and Algerine separated to attack their different objectives. The thought was likely that if something went wrong, the larger and more capable vessel should at least be able to attack the primary target in the area before escaping. Algerine with her well known local presence and White Ensign flying high was likely meant to draw as little suspicion as possible from any onlookers, although such things can only be guessed in the grand scheme of things. The much spritelier cruiser accelerated to her top speed of around 22 knots as she raced towards Vancouver Harbor while the older sloop would make her way slowly towards the coal rich areas of Ladysmith, Nanaimo and wherever else she could reach. The presence of only a single local pilot was dearly felt but attempts were made to work with the hand they were given, Algerine’s navigators were assisted by fairly new Royal Navy issue charts and a preplanned route devised by Mr. Baumann to hopefully allow them to complete their objective successfully. The sloop was somewhat undermanned with only 70 men aboard but for the duties that would likely be required, a full crew would not be needed. The thoughts of lurking enemy submarines likely stuck fast within the heads of the Germans aboard the much slower Algerine although unknown to them, both vessels were snuggly tucked away within the confines of Esquimalt for the time being. Both sister ships had been laid up pier side the previous day, Boat No.1 with partially disassembled diesel engines while Boat No.2 was currently undergoing dummy torpedo firing drills in anticipation for her stocks arriving.
As it would turn out for the Germans, all Canadian attention for the night had been focused upon the apparent raider attempting to force its way up the strait and the subsequent winding down of alarms. Both ships would slip past the edge of the Victoria/Esquimalt defenses at 0300 hours and 0341 hours respectively, sailing past Discovery Island and transiting up the Haro Strait. Dawn would soon be on its way and with the morning light creeping more and more over the horizon, the citizens of British Columbia would be in for the greatest shock of their lives. At this point, the waters ahead were littered with lighthouses and close enough to the American boundary that it was unlikely, especially in the morning light, that the Germans could sneak by undetected. Even if the German would be caught flat footed as they made their way towards their objectives, it was unlikely either vessel could be intercepted before they reached their objectives. With Leipzig on schedule to reach Vancouver Harbor by 0630 and Algerine to make Ladysmith by 0920, the realization set in with the Germans that the interior of this far away coast might never be the same again.
As the pair of vessels continued down the strait, they passed the Jordan River at 0033 as the date rolled over to August 16. The Germans received a significant shock when a sudden barrage of coded wireless transmissions was transmitted at very high strength nearby. With nerves very likely stretched to their breaking point, the crews would have been ready at their guns as the long stretching gaze of a spotlight could be seen slicing its way through the light mist and chop. Luckily for the would-be raiders, the spotlight seemed to find its target on the opposite side of the strait and ceased its sweeping quickly. As the Germans remained steadfast in their shuffle up the border, the patrol ship CGS Malaspina stood at full combat readiness only 3.5 miles away. During her routine night patrols of the area, she had come across a suspicious vessel that had repeatedly cut over the American side of the strait and began sailing somewhat erratically up the Canadian side with all lights blacked out. Due to the behavior, the Malaspina quickly came to the assumption that the vessel could be a German merchant raider attempting to force its way up through the strait and wreak havoc on the relatively unprotected areas inside. The situation further escalated as the signal lamp hails were initially not answered and shortly after, the replies returned being almost nonsensical and broken. The patrol vessel cracked on her searchlight and illuminated the vessel, its flag showing its affiliation apparently as the Japanese merchant Azumasan Maru. The barrage of wireless communications sent between Malaspina and Esquimalt were started with the following,
CGS MALASPINA TO HMCD ESQUIMALT SUSPICIOUS MERCHANT AZUMASAN MARU INTERCEPTED IN JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT POTENTIAL ENEMY MERCHANT RAIDER. JAPANESE FLAG FLYING AT MAST COMMUNICATIONS UNSUCCESSFUL.
SS Azumasan Maru docked in Vancouver, receiving a touchup to her hull.
With their 6-pdr deck gun firmly trained on the vessel and spotlight illuminating her, the men of Malaspina frantically continued to raise communications as they observed the vessel for any suspicious features. There did not look to be any hidden weapons or crew on her deck, although in the conditions, such details were likely rather difficult to make out. The minutes ticked by as tension continued to mount until to the relief of both vessels, communication was properly established at last. As it would turn out, a young trainee had been assigned to man the lamp while his superior had been sleeping and at the sight of a vessel rather aggressively challenging them before illuminating his vessel with a powerful search light, the poor lad had suffered a panic attack. The story seemed rather convenient to the still suspicious patrol boat however after the merchant snapped on her lights and completely illuminated herself, the Malaspina relented to the situation. As the Japanese were seemingly unaware that they had blundered over the boundary line multiple times, the Canadian patrol vessel assisted them in regaining their bearings before seeing them on their way towards Seattle. By the time the Malaspina had resumed in her patrol duties, the German raiders were long gone up the coast and closer to their objectives by the minute.
As 0200 hours rolled by and the Germans came around the vicinity of Race Rocks Light, the most dangerous leg of the journey was directly ahead of them. If the information they had been supplied with was indeed correct, the antique coastal batteries of 6” disappearing guns would only have the range to fire roughly halfway out to their position on the boundary. Ideally the Germans would not be spotted at all and in order to ensure this, Leipzig and Algerine separated to attack their different objectives. The thought was likely that if something went wrong, the larger and more capable vessel should at least be able to attack the primary target in the area before escaping. Algerine with her well known local presence and White Ensign flying high was likely meant to draw as little suspicion as possible from any onlookers, although such things can only be guessed in the grand scheme of things. The much spritelier cruiser accelerated to her top speed of around 22 knots as she raced towards Vancouver Harbor while the older sloop would make her way slowly towards the coal rich areas of Ladysmith, Nanaimo and wherever else she could reach. The presence of only a single local pilot was dearly felt but attempts were made to work with the hand they were given, Algerine’s navigators were assisted by fairly new Royal Navy issue charts and a preplanned route devised by Mr. Baumann to hopefully allow them to complete their objective successfully. The sloop was somewhat undermanned with only 70 men aboard but for the duties that would likely be required, a full crew would not be needed. The thoughts of lurking enemy submarines likely stuck fast within the heads of the Germans aboard the much slower Algerine although unknown to them, both vessels were snuggly tucked away within the confines of Esquimalt for the time being. Both sister ships had been laid up pier side the previous day, Boat No.1 with partially disassembled diesel engines while Boat No.2 was currently undergoing dummy torpedo firing drills in anticipation for her stocks arriving.
As it would turn out for the Germans, all Canadian attention for the night had been focused upon the apparent raider attempting to force its way up the strait and the subsequent winding down of alarms. Both ships would slip past the edge of the Victoria/Esquimalt defenses at 0300 hours and 0341 hours respectively, sailing past Discovery Island and transiting up the Haro Strait. Dawn would soon be on its way and with the morning light creeping more and more over the horizon, the citizens of British Columbia would be in for the greatest shock of their lives. At this point, the waters ahead were littered with lighthouses and close enough to the American boundary that it was unlikely, especially in the morning light, that the Germans could sneak by undetected. Even if the German would be caught flat footed as they made their way towards their objectives, it was unlikely either vessel could be intercepted before they reached their objectives. With Leipzig on schedule to reach Vancouver Harbor by 0630 and Algerine to make Ladysmith by 0920, the realization set in with the Germans that the interior of this far away coast might never be the same again.
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so it finally begins, the germans are poised to give the canadians a fairly substantial bloody nose. besides the submarines and coastal batteries, it looks like there is nothing standing in their way either. not a good day to be a government official i know that for sure.
The young lad did not originally have a name however, I've decided after immense deliberation that his name is Hayao Hashimoto. Do what you will with the rest of his backstory and identity, I'll be more than happy to give this hypothetical timeline a read myself
Ain't No Rest for the Restless
The cumulative mental stresses felt by a nations citizens when at war is something not usually discussed within historical circles although as will be seen shortly, it is a key consideration that can tip the scales of any conflict. The initial British declaration of war on August 4 had lit the fire of paranoia up under the Canadian people on both coasts but as one could surmise, the far more vulnerable West Coast felt this panic far more personally. People had teetered between deft stubbornness that nothing would happen to their sleepy corner of the world and the typical panicked attitude that the province was about to explode and sink into the depths of the Pacific at any moment. It is rather obvious which side was vindicated when news reached the Canadian public regarding the sinking of HMCS Rainbow but for all of the increased panic and fervor against the German population of the area, the following days returned to the incredibly tense but monotonous cycle of wartime life. Lighthouse keepers stood at the ready with binoculars in hand, militiamen went about in their preplanned defensive tasks and the everyday citizen was left to go about their days. Now lacking any proper warship defenses besides the pair of currently unarmed submarines, citizens seemed to cope in various ways. Some went about their daily lives with nothing but the nagging worry of the war in the back of their minds while others packed up from their coastal residences and moved inland as far as possible. Local banks in the area moved valuables away in attempts to avoid the enterprising grasp of any dastardly Huns while some businesses closed entirely, causing more panic as limited shortages of goods began to appear around some areas.
A pair of gentlemen admire the view from Grouse Mountain, this particular shot showing casing Stanley Park and Point Grey, the locations of the 4" harbor defense battery and Point Grey Wireless stations respectively.
The Royal Canadian Navy within the area had not faired much better in the days leading up to the events of August 16, the influx of reports and sightings of ‘suspicious vessels’ kept them on constant alert. With Rainbow out of the picture, the Navy relied upon its substantial network of wireless stations, lighthouses, and government patrol vessels to hopefully either sight any enemy vessels themselves or help filter valuable information from civil hysteria. If an enemy warship actually tried to attack British Columbia proper, all bets were off on what would happen. One example from the hundreds of false reports was that of German submarines being spotted operating off the isolated coastal town of Prince Rupert, which was rectified after the Fisheries Patrol vessel CGS Galiano was dispatched to the scene. With hindsight or even a partial knowledge of submarine capacity of the time, it was incredibly unlikely that a squadron of German U-Boats had somehow made it into BC waters, although assuming had its own set of dangers. It was quickly found that a raft of logs had been scattered into the sea from a nearby logging area, giving the impression of submarines running on the surface. Wireless stations and patrol vessels suffered commonly from issues with signal interference and losses of power in this area of the world which while normal, only served to raise tensions in wartime even higher. It was a gamble to dispatch valuable vessels to investigate a potentially lost vessel or irresponsible station when in reality, it would be perfectly functional and simply having difficulties. This mixture of paranoia and nervous complacency played hell with the sensibilities of military personnel in the area, especially as the German cruiser Leipzig had not been spotted since her encounter with Rainbow on August 11.
There was no evidence pointing to where the German cruiser could be, she could be off the coast of Mexico, out in the deep Pacific or lurking off the shores of British Columbia. The entire German East Asia Squadron was currently at large within the Pacific itself, meaning reinforcements for the lone cruiser could come any day. Their own reinforcements in the form of the Town class cruiser HMS Newcastle was not projected to reach them until around the very end of August while the potential for Japanese intervention could happen if their ultimatum against Germany was not met by August 23. Commander Charles William Trousdale was made acting officer in command of Esquimalt and the Royal Canadian Navy after he made land from HMS Shearwater, largely as a replacement for the presumed dead Commander Walter Hose of Rainbow. Commander Trousdale attempted to take charge of the situation but finding himself in a similar position to Premier McBride which he shared a close working relationship, there was little he could do but sit and wait. As fate would have it, he would not have to wait long. The pair of German vessels had been incredibly lucky in their run up to and past the Esquimalt/Victoria coastal defenses given how they were completely undetected but as they both made the passage through the Haro Strait and dawn approached, it was only a matter of time before they were spotted by some party.
Ironically, the very first spotting was not reported by the Canadians, but by the Americans. Leipzig was steaming nearly at full speed along the boundary line at roughly 0440 hours when the United States Revenue Cutter Service vessel Manning caught first sight of the suspicious ship. The following message was broadcasted from the wireless set of Manning in an attempt to inform her fellow cutters in the area although strangely, the message was not encoded.
USRC MANNING TO USRC TAHOMA ONE WARSHIP SPOTTED TRAVELING NORTHWEST HIGH SPEED ON CANADIAN SIDE. FLYING JAPANESE NAVAL ENSIGN.
USS Manning providing naval gunfire support for US Army personnel at Cabañas, Cuba. Being subjected to various amounts of service in the Spanish American War was relatively commonplace for Revenue Cutters of the period.
It is unknown why standard protocol was not followed in this exact moment however, the message was picked up by the Point Grey Wireless Station and relayed to Canadian authorities. In the 30-minute period it took for the proper authorities to receive the process this information, Leipzig had reached the point in which the boundary line with the United States ended, perpendicular to Point Roberts. Algerine merrily sauntered on at her glacial top speed somewhere between Moresdy Island and South Pender Island at this time, unable to keep pace with the much nimbler cruiser. Algerine had been spotted by the Turn Point Lighthouse operator but due to the fact this particular operator fell under the US Government control and vessels like Algerine were a regular sight in these waters, the report was unheard by Canadian officials. The response from Esquimalt was something close to dismay initially, before turning into a cautious panic. Esquimalt had not been informed that a Japanese warship would be transiting these waters and even stranger, why had such a vessel simply bypassed Esquimalt and move further inland? The behavior was certainly strange and while the report had a chance to be incorrect, a sighting by an organization as scrupulous as Revenue Cutter Service was unlikely to be a mistake. The situation had to be resolved or at least clarified somehow and with the amount of resources available to them, the options were rather limited. CGS Malaspina was still patrolling the strait and would not be due back in time to assist, the pair of submarines were unavailable at current notice within Esquimalt and most of the other commandeered vessels in the area were currently stationed further north supplying militiamen and equipment to remote stations.
The only vessel available at the time was HMCS/CGS Restless, a 76 ton, 22m long former tugboat of the Fisheries Protection Service that was taken over by the Royal Canadian Navy for examination duties in the area. While she was armed with a single 6 pdr gun forward, her main weapon in this situation would be her wireless set. Restless had already departed Vancouver Harbor just after dawn at that morning to relieve Malaspina on patrol duties, being absent that previous night as she had finally received repairs for collision damage days prior. The tug was rerouted to stay off Vancouver with strict orders to report any sightings of the vessel in question alongside any other suspicious vessels. A sacrificial lamb if there ever had been one, Restless had just left Burrard Inlet and was present off the Northwest side of Point Grey at 0600 when she spotted an oncoming vessel flying the Japanese naval ensign.
Little known to the dreary eyed people of Vancouver and the surrounding area on this seemingly peaceful morning, what would later be know as the Raid on British Columbia had finally begun.
A pair of gentlemen admire the view from Grouse Mountain, this particular shot showing casing Stanley Park and Point Grey, the locations of the 4" harbor defense battery and Point Grey Wireless stations respectively.
The Royal Canadian Navy within the area had not faired much better in the days leading up to the events of August 16, the influx of reports and sightings of ‘suspicious vessels’ kept them on constant alert. With Rainbow out of the picture, the Navy relied upon its substantial network of wireless stations, lighthouses, and government patrol vessels to hopefully either sight any enemy vessels themselves or help filter valuable information from civil hysteria. If an enemy warship actually tried to attack British Columbia proper, all bets were off on what would happen. One example from the hundreds of false reports was that of German submarines being spotted operating off the isolated coastal town of Prince Rupert, which was rectified after the Fisheries Patrol vessel CGS Galiano was dispatched to the scene. With hindsight or even a partial knowledge of submarine capacity of the time, it was incredibly unlikely that a squadron of German U-Boats had somehow made it into BC waters, although assuming had its own set of dangers. It was quickly found that a raft of logs had been scattered into the sea from a nearby logging area, giving the impression of submarines running on the surface. Wireless stations and patrol vessels suffered commonly from issues with signal interference and losses of power in this area of the world which while normal, only served to raise tensions in wartime even higher. It was a gamble to dispatch valuable vessels to investigate a potentially lost vessel or irresponsible station when in reality, it would be perfectly functional and simply having difficulties. This mixture of paranoia and nervous complacency played hell with the sensibilities of military personnel in the area, especially as the German cruiser Leipzig had not been spotted since her encounter with Rainbow on August 11.
There was no evidence pointing to where the German cruiser could be, she could be off the coast of Mexico, out in the deep Pacific or lurking off the shores of British Columbia. The entire German East Asia Squadron was currently at large within the Pacific itself, meaning reinforcements for the lone cruiser could come any day. Their own reinforcements in the form of the Town class cruiser HMS Newcastle was not projected to reach them until around the very end of August while the potential for Japanese intervention could happen if their ultimatum against Germany was not met by August 23. Commander Charles William Trousdale was made acting officer in command of Esquimalt and the Royal Canadian Navy after he made land from HMS Shearwater, largely as a replacement for the presumed dead Commander Walter Hose of Rainbow. Commander Trousdale attempted to take charge of the situation but finding himself in a similar position to Premier McBride which he shared a close working relationship, there was little he could do but sit and wait. As fate would have it, he would not have to wait long. The pair of German vessels had been incredibly lucky in their run up to and past the Esquimalt/Victoria coastal defenses given how they were completely undetected but as they both made the passage through the Haro Strait and dawn approached, it was only a matter of time before they were spotted by some party.
Ironically, the very first spotting was not reported by the Canadians, but by the Americans. Leipzig was steaming nearly at full speed along the boundary line at roughly 0440 hours when the United States Revenue Cutter Service vessel Manning caught first sight of the suspicious ship. The following message was broadcasted from the wireless set of Manning in an attempt to inform her fellow cutters in the area although strangely, the message was not encoded.
USRC MANNING TO USRC TAHOMA ONE WARSHIP SPOTTED TRAVELING NORTHWEST HIGH SPEED ON CANADIAN SIDE. FLYING JAPANESE NAVAL ENSIGN.
USS Manning providing naval gunfire support for US Army personnel at Cabañas, Cuba. Being subjected to various amounts of service in the Spanish American War was relatively commonplace for Revenue Cutters of the period.
It is unknown why standard protocol was not followed in this exact moment however, the message was picked up by the Point Grey Wireless Station and relayed to Canadian authorities. In the 30-minute period it took for the proper authorities to receive the process this information, Leipzig had reached the point in which the boundary line with the United States ended, perpendicular to Point Roberts. Algerine merrily sauntered on at her glacial top speed somewhere between Moresdy Island and South Pender Island at this time, unable to keep pace with the much nimbler cruiser. Algerine had been spotted by the Turn Point Lighthouse operator but due to the fact this particular operator fell under the US Government control and vessels like Algerine were a regular sight in these waters, the report was unheard by Canadian officials. The response from Esquimalt was something close to dismay initially, before turning into a cautious panic. Esquimalt had not been informed that a Japanese warship would be transiting these waters and even stranger, why had such a vessel simply bypassed Esquimalt and move further inland? The behavior was certainly strange and while the report had a chance to be incorrect, a sighting by an organization as scrupulous as Revenue Cutter Service was unlikely to be a mistake. The situation had to be resolved or at least clarified somehow and with the amount of resources available to them, the options were rather limited. CGS Malaspina was still patrolling the strait and would not be due back in time to assist, the pair of submarines were unavailable at current notice within Esquimalt and most of the other commandeered vessels in the area were currently stationed further north supplying militiamen and equipment to remote stations.
The only vessel available at the time was HMCS/CGS Restless, a 76 ton, 22m long former tugboat of the Fisheries Protection Service that was taken over by the Royal Canadian Navy for examination duties in the area. While she was armed with a single 6 pdr gun forward, her main weapon in this situation would be her wireless set. Restless had already departed Vancouver Harbor just after dawn at that morning to relieve Malaspina on patrol duties, being absent that previous night as she had finally received repairs for collision damage days prior. The tug was rerouted to stay off Vancouver with strict orders to report any sightings of the vessel in question alongside any other suspicious vessels. A sacrificial lamb if there ever had been one, Restless had just left Burrard Inlet and was present off the Northwest side of Point Grey at 0600 when she spotted an oncoming vessel flying the Japanese naval ensign.
Little known to the dreary eyed people of Vancouver and the surrounding area on this seemingly peaceful morning, what would later be know as the Raid on British Columbia had finally begun.
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For a while I was trying to silo myself from this timeline, so it did not influence my writing, but I can't stay away. Now I think I have to make sure I don't do the exact same thing as you! But then the hands available can only be played so many ways. You are achieving a real edge of the seat nailbiter here.
I was looking at this great picture, and was alarmed by the feeling that something was wrong. The picture is flipped left to right. From the top of Grouse mountain, Point Grey is to your right.
Yes that was indeed somewhat worrying for myself as a wrote this, nobody wants to feel like a cheap knock off of another timeline however in this situation, I didn't feel like sacrificing the believability of the timeline solely to make it "different" would not have been the correct path to go down. Even with that said though, the events between the timelines should be fairly different in their execution atleast, even as the ships involved are inevitably going to draw comparisons. In the end, you are painting the story with a much more fine brush while I am taking a wider angle approach and hopefully that shows. Can't wait for more!
Thank you very much for the kind words and correction for the photograph! Not being a local puts me at a slight disadvantage in my research and awareness of the area
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