In fairness given the fact that one side has a 3" gun and the other one doesn't it would not have been much of a battle...but it would be a very interesting twist in the timeline to see the US dragged into the war this early.
The Rainbow. A World War One on Canada's West Coast Timeline
- Thread starter YYJ
- Start date
One of the German ships had a gun as well. The captured fisheries ship was running escort.
Driftless
Donor
When I read your comment, the first thing that popped into my simple mind are the brief scenes in Willie Wonka, where Willie(Gene Wilder) deadpans "Stop, don't do that" to the misbehaving kids. Sometimes, your best option is to do just enough to appear to be doing something...
Yes, the Galiano has a 6 pdr. (57mm) gun that Von Schönberg called an erbsenschütze, with 50 rounds. The Princess Sophia does have one Spandau gun, and some rifles.
Donald Reaver
Donor
Any shooting on either side against a ship would have been insanely unlikely. No chance that both the Germans or Americans that would realize that means America entering the war
I don't see a captain of a Revenue Cutter based in bumf**k Alaska getting into a gunfight with known German sailors on his own hook! He would need to get someone above to approve his actions and there was no time for him to do that. That captain is not going to risk his ship when he could be held liable for the incident.
Send All Assistance
Aug 18, 1300 hours, SMS Nürnberg, Fisher Channel
Nürnberg and Princess Charlotte turned back up Fisher channel, and the incoming tide added a knot or two to the 18 that their engines provided. To starboard, they saw whales spout as the German ships passed them by. A quarter of an hour’s steaming took them to a Y in the channel. To the starboard the main branch of Fisher Channel turned due east. To port, a narrower inlet continued to the north east. This was Cousin’s Inlet. The ships took this route, and as they entered the 800 meter wide inlet slowed to 12 knots. The eastern shore was lined with log booms, waiting to feed the mill. Von Schönberg sniffed the air. “Gekochter kohl,” he commented.
Nürnberg’s wireless operator sent a message to the bridge. “ This was just intercepted, Sir, transmitted in clear. SS COWICHAN TO ALL SHIPS SWANSON BAY BOMBARDED BY GERMAN RAIDERS 0730 THIS MORNING HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE STOP ONE OF ATTACKERS IS CPR SS PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OTHER IS CRUISER STOP SEND ALL ASSISTANCE STOP
“I suppose we need to pick up the pace,” said Von Schönberg. Another 15 minutes steaming bought them to a sharp right turn in the channel, with more log booms moored on the north shore. Nürnberg came to a stop, and held station just around the corner.
As Princess Charlotte rounded the bend in the channel, they were immediately looking at the mill town of Ocean Falls, two kilometers away. Ocean Falls was situated on a small patch of flat ground at the very end of Cousins Inlet. Immediately behind the town, Von Spee knew from his charts, was a lake several times the size of the inlet they had just steamed down. The mouth of a river divided the townsite in two, fed by the eponymous and picturesque waterfall, and was crossed by a long spindly bridge on pilings. To the right was a wharf and mill structure, several long low industrial buildings that were proving to be common on this coast. The mill buildings’ equipment and powerhouse were fed by a giant pipeline that snaked down from the dam. A tower of white smoke belched from a stack and was carried around the valley by eddies in the air current. Both sides of the bay were covered with boomed logs. Some logs were being pulled up a ramp into a sawmill complex. A freighter of 5000 tons was tied up at the wharf. Von Spee read Kintuck– Liverpool, on her stern. Her single funnel made it very obvious she belonged to the Blue Funnel Line. A small tugboat pulled logs across the bay towards the sawmill ramp.
To the left side of the river mouth and bridge was the residential part of this company town, with its usual wood frame houses identical, and in perfect rows. Here were also several larger buildings, including the barrel-roofed general store painted with, not surprisingly, a large sign reading Ocean Falls.
Princess Charlotte approached the wharf, flying the Red Ensign. She came alongside, and as several of her crew tied up, Von Spee stepped out of the main deck side cargo door onto the wharf. He looked around for a manager, or a boss. At a distance, his Kaiserliche Marine uniform looked little different from that of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. From the sawmill came the sound of a fire bell, and workers started streaming from the building. Men feeding logs onto the ramp chain dropped their pike poles and moved away from the waterfront. A man in a grey suit came striding across the wharf towards Von Spee from the direction of the pulp mill. As he crossed the wharf, the fire bell in the pulp mill also rang, and men began to empty from there as well. Some ran across the bridge to the town site, but most avoided the terribly exposed bridge, and climbed up the bank into the forest. The man in the suit walked right up to Von Spee.
“Your reputation precedes you captain,” said the Canadian. He looked Von Spee’s uniform up and down, and his expression let it be known that his suspicions were confirmed. He waved his arm up at the Charlotte’s mast. “You can dispense with the fiction of the Canadian flag. We have heard the fate of Swanson Bay. The news went through town like a wildfire. What do you want of us? A ransom?”
Von Spee introduced himself.
The Canadian responded. “Richard McNulty, manager of Crown Williamette Pacific Mills. Although, no offence, but I would rather not make your acquaintance.”
“What happened at Swanson Bay was unfortunate, and not our intention,” said Von Spee. “They fired on my landing party, and killed one of my men. That does not need to happen here. We come to destroy your facility, that is true, but only the industry, not people’s homes. Our countries are fighting a war the world over, and your mill is a war industry. But it is possible to achieve my objective without harming a soul. If you can control your people, and keep them away from the mills, we will be able to do our work and leave quickly.”
“So you will shell the town,” said McNulty.
“We will be placing explosives in the mills,” said Von Spee. “That leaves less of a chance of a mishap than gunfire, as long as you keep your people away.”
“That might be difficult,” said McNulty. “Understandably, people here are quite worked up about the war.
“It will be better to think of us as a natural disaster,” said Von Spee. “You would not stand in the way of a winter storm. You would take shelter and rebuild afterwards. We will be starting immediately.”
“Please give me five minutes to make sure the buildings are clear,” said the manager.
“We will be following directly behind you,” said Von Spee.
The mill manager jogged back towards the sawmill.
https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ocean-falls-townsite-and-mill
https://andrewchernoff.files.wordpr...lls-b-c-rppc-gower-sutton-waterfront-view.jpg
https://andrewchernoff.wordpress.com/category/ocean-falls/
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17184/22820
Nürnberg and Princess Charlotte turned back up Fisher channel, and the incoming tide added a knot or two to the 18 that their engines provided. To starboard, they saw whales spout as the German ships passed them by. A quarter of an hour’s steaming took them to a Y in the channel. To the starboard the main branch of Fisher Channel turned due east. To port, a narrower inlet continued to the north east. This was Cousin’s Inlet. The ships took this route, and as they entered the 800 meter wide inlet slowed to 12 knots. The eastern shore was lined with log booms, waiting to feed the mill. Von Schönberg sniffed the air. “Gekochter kohl,” he commented.
Nürnberg’s wireless operator sent a message to the bridge. “ This was just intercepted, Sir, transmitted in clear. SS COWICHAN TO ALL SHIPS SWANSON BAY BOMBARDED BY GERMAN RAIDERS 0730 THIS MORNING HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE STOP ONE OF ATTACKERS IS CPR SS PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OTHER IS CRUISER STOP SEND ALL ASSISTANCE STOP
“I suppose we need to pick up the pace,” said Von Schönberg. Another 15 minutes steaming bought them to a sharp right turn in the channel, with more log booms moored on the north shore. Nürnberg came to a stop, and held station just around the corner.
As Princess Charlotte rounded the bend in the channel, they were immediately looking at the mill town of Ocean Falls, two kilometers away. Ocean Falls was situated on a small patch of flat ground at the very end of Cousins Inlet. Immediately behind the town, Von Spee knew from his charts, was a lake several times the size of the inlet they had just steamed down. The mouth of a river divided the townsite in two, fed by the eponymous and picturesque waterfall, and was crossed by a long spindly bridge on pilings. To the right was a wharf and mill structure, several long low industrial buildings that were proving to be common on this coast. The mill buildings’ equipment and powerhouse were fed by a giant pipeline that snaked down from the dam. A tower of white smoke belched from a stack and was carried around the valley by eddies in the air current. Both sides of the bay were covered with boomed logs. Some logs were being pulled up a ramp into a sawmill complex. A freighter of 5000 tons was tied up at the wharf. Von Spee read Kintuck– Liverpool, on her stern. Her single funnel made it very obvious she belonged to the Blue Funnel Line. A small tugboat pulled logs across the bay towards the sawmill ramp.
To the left side of the river mouth and bridge was the residential part of this company town, with its usual wood frame houses identical, and in perfect rows. Here were also several larger buildings, including the barrel-roofed general store painted with, not surprisingly, a large sign reading Ocean Falls.
Princess Charlotte approached the wharf, flying the Red Ensign. She came alongside, and as several of her crew tied up, Von Spee stepped out of the main deck side cargo door onto the wharf. He looked around for a manager, or a boss. At a distance, his Kaiserliche Marine uniform looked little different from that of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. From the sawmill came the sound of a fire bell, and workers started streaming from the building. Men feeding logs onto the ramp chain dropped their pike poles and moved away from the waterfront. A man in a grey suit came striding across the wharf towards Von Spee from the direction of the pulp mill. As he crossed the wharf, the fire bell in the pulp mill also rang, and men began to empty from there as well. Some ran across the bridge to the town site, but most avoided the terribly exposed bridge, and climbed up the bank into the forest. The man in the suit walked right up to Von Spee.
“Your reputation precedes you captain,” said the Canadian. He looked Von Spee’s uniform up and down, and his expression let it be known that his suspicions were confirmed. He waved his arm up at the Charlotte’s mast. “You can dispense with the fiction of the Canadian flag. We have heard the fate of Swanson Bay. The news went through town like a wildfire. What do you want of us? A ransom?”
Von Spee introduced himself.
The Canadian responded. “Richard McNulty, manager of Crown Williamette Pacific Mills. Although, no offence, but I would rather not make your acquaintance.”
“What happened at Swanson Bay was unfortunate, and not our intention,” said Von Spee. “They fired on my landing party, and killed one of my men. That does not need to happen here. We come to destroy your facility, that is true, but only the industry, not people’s homes. Our countries are fighting a war the world over, and your mill is a war industry. But it is possible to achieve my objective without harming a soul. If you can control your people, and keep them away from the mills, we will be able to do our work and leave quickly.”
“So you will shell the town,” said McNulty.
“We will be placing explosives in the mills,” said Von Spee. “That leaves less of a chance of a mishap than gunfire, as long as you keep your people away.”
“That might be difficult,” said McNulty. “Understandably, people here are quite worked up about the war.
“It will be better to think of us as a natural disaster,” said Von Spee. “You would not stand in the way of a winter storm. You would take shelter and rebuild afterwards. We will be starting immediately.”
“Please give me five minutes to make sure the buildings are clear,” said the manager.
“We will be following directly behind you,” said Von Spee.
The mill manager jogged back towards the sawmill.
https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ocean-falls-townsite-and-mill
https://andrewchernoff.files.wordpr...lls-b-c-rppc-gower-sutton-waterfront-view.jpg
https://andrewchernoff.wordpress.com/category/ocean-falls/
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17184/22820
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A note on the growth of Ocean Falls. 1914 was early in the development of the company town/mill. The first photo, which looks like an aerial shot but must be taken from the side of a mountain, shows the mill layout at the time of the story, and the location of the wharf for deep water ships. OTL, much was built later, and what was build later is much better documented. The concrete dam, still in existence, and the main mill buildings came later. Ocean Falls still has a population, and a scheduled ferry, but the only industry I am aware of is fish farming.
http://bcmarina.com/Places/Ocean_Falls/Websize/thumbnails.html
http://bcmarina.com/Places/Ocean_Falls/Websize/thumbnails.html
Well, I'd say Nurnberg and Rainbow are about 3-400 miles apart at this point...
Pretty much, closer to 300 than 400, but the closer one zooms in, the zig-zaggier the coast becomes.
Okay, this has been an interesting read but... at this point? Yeah, it is stretching credibility to the breaking point at how successful the Germans have been. Firstly, they absolutely should know where the German ship has been. Especially if it is making its way down the Inside Passage. But there is also the bit with the SS Princess Sophia and the Customs ship. Because the Customs ship would have absolutely fired on the Princess Sophia after it failed to heed the first two or three warning shots. Because otherwise, I fully expect said American Captain to be hauled up for a Court Martial for failing to do so. And no, the excuse of "Well, I did not want to drag the US into a war" would not work or amuse anyone further up the chain of Command. Why?
Because he just shot the enforcement of American Neutrality in the goddamn foot.
Mainly because you do not fire warning shots unless you are downright willing to actually fire on said vessel if they ignore it. And right now? He basically sent a message to the Germans that they can violate American neutrality without issue as long as they don't stop or slow down even when warning shots are being fired on them. And not just the Germans but any other power currently at war can do much the same as well. What are the Americans going to do? Stop them via shouting? The British, the French, the Canadians, the Germans, the Japanese in the future, and the like will just laugh and tell them to piss off. And if the Americans fire warning shots, they'll just ignore them because they will know that the Americans will do nothing else.
And no, before anyone says anything firing on the Princess Sophia after it failed to come to a stop due to warning shots would not have caused the Americans to be dragged into the war. The Germans might grind their teeth, sure, but they will also be pissed off at the German Captain who tried this stunt even more. Because all the Americans are doing is enforcing their neutrality as promised.
Because he just shot the enforcement of American Neutrality in the goddamn foot.
Mainly because you do not fire warning shots unless you are downright willing to actually fire on said vessel if they ignore it. And right now? He basically sent a message to the Germans that they can violate American neutrality without issue as long as they don't stop or slow down even when warning shots are being fired on them. And not just the Germans but any other power currently at war can do much the same as well. What are the Americans going to do? Stop them via shouting? The British, the French, the Canadians, the Germans, the Japanese in the future, and the like will just laugh and tell them to piss off. And if the Americans fire warning shots, they'll just ignore them because they will know that the Americans will do nothing else.
And no, before anyone says anything firing on the Princess Sophia after it failed to come to a stop due to warning shots would not have caused the Americans to be dragged into the war. The Germans might grind their teeth, sure, but they will also be pissed off at the German Captain who tried this stunt even more. Because all the Americans are doing is enforcing their neutrality as promised.
Add to that, a backwater station officer may not be willing to make such a call.
And as it happens, there's a perfect sacrifice to give to the chickens of war...one low level officer...
ferdi254
Banned
Even if the Canadians had had perfect knowledge of the whereabouts of the Nürnberg what could they have done so far? And they did not.
And a basic thing you learn being on watch (or being in a shop that gets robbed): If the perpetrator runs do not risk a confrontation.
And even negating this point this is a customs, not a navy vessel and even on navy vessels people have made wrong decisions after all.
And a basic thing you learn being on watch (or being in a shop that gets robbed): If the perpetrator runs do not risk a confrontation.
And even negating this point this is a customs, not a navy vessel and even on navy vessels people have made wrong decisions after all.
Thank you. I have pondered this myself. Is this a German wank? But when you read the history, it is shocking how unprepared Canada was on this coast. OTL There was a flurry of coastal defence improvisation once the HMS Newcastle arrived in September and her captain took over as RNO of the West Coast. Canada was forced to intervene by sending a retired admiral to outrank him, because Ottawa was concerned too much money was being spent emplacing a 4" battery and improvised minefield at Sayward to defend the northern end of the Inside Passage.
Most of the Canadian war preparations are as OTL, but I have added:
Arming the Fisheries Protection fleet, except the Galiano and Malaspina which are as OTL,
Sending a 4" battery to Prince Rupert,
Placing the Anadyr in Prince Rupert Harbour. Anadyr did operate on Russia's Pacific coast, but not making the crossing to Canada as far as I know.
Reactivating the sloops as floating batteries.
And OTL, the authorities were pretty sure that at least one German cruiser was operating off BC until October. I have actually gone light on the rumours that were running OTL in order to avoid repeating myself too much.
And OTL the Entente warships in the Pacific had bigger fish to fry, and were very far away.
As for the US Customs Service, I think that encounter could have gone any number of ways, but in no case would the Germans fight. In my story it goes this way.
The article that the captain of the Snohomish is attempting to enforce is pretty technical.
Art. 21.
A prize may only be brought into a neutral port on account of unseaworthiness, stress of weather, or want of fuel or provisions.
It must leave as soon as the circumstances which justified its entry are at an end. If it does not, the neutral Power must order it to leave at once; should it fail to obey, the neutral Power must employ the means at its disposal to release it with its officers and crew and to intern the prize crew.
Art. 22.
A neutral Power must, similarly, release a prize brought into one of its ports under circumstances other than those referred to in Article 21.
The American captain could have interpreted his first business to be to order the Princess Sophia to "leave at once". He chose instead to go straight to the remedy in Article 22, and I understand "release" in this case to mean return the Princess Sophia to its original country and crew. But then the Ketchikan Federal courthouse would be the scene of a prize court with the Germans and possible the Americans arguing that since the Princess Sophia was a troop ship, she was a warship and should be interned, along with the Galiano, for the duration of the war, or as long as the uS remained a neutral.
I do appreciate the critical eye. I am flattered that folks are engaged in the story.
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I would in fact agree with this. A troopship is a warship under all treaties, and subject to being sunk without warning. Or interned, for that matter, in neutral countries. The captain should have stuck with "Leave at once". Anything else is only going to start a crapshow.