Dutch-Siamese War

[Desertfox]

A ship that was legally lost, and as far as anyone knowns Taugon has yet to commit an illegal act...

Attacking T.A.G on the open seas is, per International Law, an act of war or an act of piracy.

[ctwaterman]

A ship that was legally lost, and as far as anyone knowns Taugon has yet to commit an illegal act...

Attacking T.A.G on the open seas is, per International Law, an act of war or an act of piracy.

Demanding a Ship heave to because you believe it is flying an Illegal Flag, is a warship engaged in Piracy, or because you believe it maybe carrying slaves is not Illegal or an act of Piracy.

Shooting at it maybe an Act of war if said ship was flying a Legal Flag,   who pray tell "What nation" did the DKB just declare war on by firing on their warship on the high sea's????

If the TAG  is a New Zion war ship and flying New Zions flag then the DKB insticated an act of war.  But if the TAG is flying New Zions flag then what is she doing "On the DKB's" Side indicating she is carrying letters of mark and reprisial from  Siam ????? 

The TAG is existing in a legal gray area and Only Nations are really supposed to own warships not private corporations or mercanary companies.   

As an Example what would people say if  the Empire created a Neutral Port and then allowed a Corporation to operate a fleet of Cruisers from thaat Port.  Open bids on the ships to the highest bidder.  I think most people would consider the ships and the Port to be Italia and their actions would reflect on the Empire.  For good or Ill.

[maddox]

France still has a hold , detain or sink order on the Touch and go, as France doesn't recognize the old tradition of Privateers.

On the other hand, not many French warship captains will risk damage in such an endeavour, as that would be bad for the their carreer.

So, untill now TAG ,captain Taugon and his crew are very lucky.

[miketr]

The Iberian has an arrest warrent out for TAG's captain and her crew for suspected acts of piracy during the Balkan War.  If I had any ships in the area with the speed and firepower to overtake her I would send them after her.

[The Rock Doctor]

Could it be that someone's design for their navy is working as intended?!?  Is this permited!

Good catch, Mike.  I meant to write:

With the sun high overhead, the Dutch submarines advance in a line while the coastal torpedo-boats provide long-range fire support behind them.

[Sachmle]

Ever since Kaiser Wilhelm's death and the ascension of Kaiser Friedrich the KM has had standing orders to capture if possible, sink if necessary the T.A.G. Had New Switzerland retained ownership of the vessel, or offered her back to DKB either as a token of faith or for $$ instead of selling her to Taugon we may have looked at this differently. But since this didn't happen, we view her as an illegal warship. If she was purchased by New Zion, and was under COMPLETE New Zion control, we would be inclined to view her as a warship of a sovereign nation and respect her as such.


As to 'being on the German's side" if so, she's doing it unbeknown to DKB, Siam, and anyone else for that matter.

[The Bushranger]

The TAG is existing in a legal gray area and Only Nations are really supposed to own warships not private corporations or mercanary companies.

It's not the only one. Don't forget the Legion Kondor and Serenitit. ;)


...which ex-DKB ship is TAG, now?

[Sachmle]

SMS Herta

[The Bushranger]

Aha. Thanks.


...and knowing is half the battle! :p

[The Rock Doctor]

Note:  Korpen and Sachmle will receive supplemental information via PM  tomorrow.

November 2

In the Rift Sea southwest of Dodoma, several DKB fishing trawlers are sunk by a large Dutch warship which continues to the south.

Off Padangbai, a Dutch submarine is badly rattled by depth charges after being spotted by DKB escorts and forced to dive.

November 3

In the Indian Ocean, the Touch and Go captures a 750 GRT Dutch tramp.

November 4

As the Goa squadron begins a sortie from Phuket, a recently-obtained Chardon class submarine hunting sloop strikes a mine and sinks.  Siamese minesweepers resume sweeping the area, and two additional mines are found; it is surmised that the mines are among those laid by the Dutch early in the war, and had been missed during earlier operations.

Artillery fire begins to ramp up along the front on the western and central Kra Isthmus.  Due to the incident at Phuket, a naval artillery component to the bombardment is cancelled.

November 5

The Siamese King's Guards, 1st Infantry Corps, and the Legion Kondor attack Dutch positions west of Hat Yai.  The preparatory artillery barrage - limited by the ongoing supply difficulties facing the Siamese and DKB troops - proves insufficient, and the Dutch made the most of the local terrain in terms of preparing defensive positions.  The attack flounders, with 4,000 DKB and 8,000 Siamese casualties.  Dutch casualties are believed to be less than two thousand.

Dutch frigates attempt to engage DKB schlactkreuzers in what becomes known as the Battle of Pulau Saubi.  While unable to catch and engage the DKB battlecruisers, the Dutch are able to sink two protected cruisers and three torpedo-boats while only losing two destroyers in exchange.

Note:  Detailed report to follow.

The submarine K-XXIII grounds hard on a shoal off Karangasem while attempting to skirt the Bali coastline.  Efforts to dislodge the boat are unsuccessful, and as daylight approaches, the captain orders her abandoned and burns her sensitive materials.

November 6

DKB patrol forces find the K-XXIII and shell her until she is ablaze.

November 8

An RRC freighter in the South China Sea is approached by an older-style cruiser flying Siamese colors.  The cruiser turns away shortly after the freighter hoists a larger RRC ensign.

November 9

Dutch torpedo-boats shoot up a train at Thap Sakae, on the Kra Isthmus, setting off several carriages full of artillery shells in a series of impressive detonations.

November 11

SMS Vulkan is torpedoed and sunk while patrolling in the Bali Sea.  Casualties are heavy.

November 12

The crew of a 3,500 GRT Dutch ore carrier row ashore south of Jiddah, having been stopped and ordered to abandon their ship two days earlier by a DKB submarine.

In the Bali Sea, the kleiner kreuzer Regensburg is damaged by a torpedo.

November 13

While hunting for Brandenburger shipping southeast of Dar-es-Salaam, the Dutch frigate Duke of Arenburg is torpedoed amidships by a DKB submarine.  Although the blast is relatively modest, the frigate's port machinery spaces nonetheless flood, knocking her top speed down to about thirteen knots.

November 15

Dutch torpedo-boats raiding along the Kra Isthmus are engaged by a shore battery near Tha Sae. An E-class torpedoboat is heavily damaged by accurate Siamese shooting, and the Dutch abort their operation.

In the Altantic Ocean, several merchant ships and Iberian shore stations pick up distress calls from the Dutch freighter Rijn, which reports that it is being shelled by SMS Barbarossa, 350 nm SW of Portugal.

November 16

A DKB submarine stops and sinks a 500 t whaler just north of the Bab el Mandeb.  Ottoman fisherman pick up the crew less than two hours later.

The Dutch torpedo-boat KTB-38 is shelled and sunk in an unsuccessful attack on DKB scouting forces near Padangbai.  A DKB GTB sustains light damage from Dutch gunfire.

A major DKB convoy begins an east to west transit of the Torres Strait under the watchful eye of Swiss patrol forces.  Vorpostenboot Ares strikes an uncharted rock and takes on water.  She is eventually able to free herself and steams for Lae at reduced speed.

November 17

Dutch positions at Port Blair are shelled with high explosive and chlorine rounds from DKB schlactkreuzers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and two kleiner kreuzers.  Casualties are modest.  For a time it looks as if the Brandenburgers may land troops, but in the end, they depart without doing so.

November 18

DKB patrol craft operating out of Haiphong come across survivors from a 1,400 GRT tramp freighter, sunk the previous day by a Dutch frigate.

DKB forces of X and XXVII Corps attack the Dutch 2/Malaysia and 4/Malaysia divisions between Hat Yai and the east coast of the Kra Isthmus.  Preliminary artillery barrages are brief but effective, disrupting 4/Malaysia Division enough that the division cracks when hit by the brunt of the Brandenburger assault.  One regiment is annihilated, and the other two mauled and shoved southward, with almost four thousand casualties between them all.  Hat Yai falls to Siam.

First Dutch submarine attack on the DKB convoy, now in the Arafura Sea.  A troopship is torpedoed and sunk, killing over two hundred crew and soldiers aboard.

November 19

Engagements on the perimeter of the DKB convoy see a Dutch submarine torpedo and sink the vorpostenboot Prometheus.  Three hours later, the same submarine is caught on the surface by a GTB and damaged while attempting to catch up with the convoy again.

November 20

The DKB breakthrough stalls as artillery and ammunition stocks begin to deplete and the Dutch 2/Malaysia division maanges to check the advance of XXVII Corps just east of Ban Lam Phai.  1/Malaysia and 5/Malaysia are compelled to fall back to the pre-war border, for fear that they be caught in a pocket when the Brandenburgers move again.

KK Hiemdall is torpeoded and badly damaged while screening the DKB convoy.  

November 21

A large force of warships, including frigates, is seen to arrive at Singapore.  Neutral shipping at the port also note an increase in Dutch merchant ships arriving at the port, while few seem to be departing.

November 22

DKB capital units shell the southeast coast of Timor, near Kupang. As night falls, several Dutch destroyers attack the Brandenburger force, losing one boat sunk and three damaged while sinking a Brandenburger torpedo-boat and apparently scoring a strike on the battleship Neue Brandenburg.

November 23-24

Dutch submarine and destroyer patrols southwest of Timor do not encounter the DKB convoy as they expected they would.

November 26

Southeast of Haiphong, a DKB tanker of 2,500 GRT is overhauled and sunk by a Dutch frigate.

The frigate Duke of Arenburg is attempting to slip through the Rift Sea back to Albertville for repairs.  A DKB submarine patrolling northwest of Blantyre for this specific contingency spots her, and puts an eel in her starboard bow.  The frigate begins sinking and is evacuated in a relatively orderly fashion. By evening, Italian naval forces are on the scene to rescue five hundred and thirty eight survivors.

A Dutch submarine reports that the DKB convoy is further south than expected, but is now making a course for eastern Java.

November 28

Action south of Java sees a Dutch submarine damaged and a GTB1906 torpedo boat sunk.

In the Indian Ocean near Chuvosa, an Egyptian trawler picks up survivors of a Dutch ore carrier, stopped and sunk three days previously by a DKB cruiser.

November 29

The DKB convoy arrives off Margomulyo, Java, and begins landing troops.  The first wave, of sturmtruppen, is put ashore with no initial resistence, but begin to encounter Dutch troops as they work inland.  By evening, the leading DKB forces are heavily engaged with at least one full regiment of Dutchmen, and the beachhead is receiving some light artillery fire.

A Dutch submarine trails a fishing trawler as the latter steams from Padangbai into the Selat Bali, and watches as it meets up with several other ex-civilian craft and two DKB escorts.  The flotilla steams northwest and is finally seen approaching the village of Banyuwangi, just a few miles west of easternmost Bali.

Investigating reports of gunfire northeast of Haiphong, the cruiser Blucher encounters survivors from eight fishing boats, who report being boarded and sunk by a large and a small Dutch ship the previous day.

November 30

Dutch recce troops make contact with DKB troops west of Glagah, Java.  The Dutch submarine which had made the sighting report in the Selat Bali successfully torpedoes a tramp freighter laden with DKB troops.  An attack on one of the escorts yields an apparent dud hit.

The DKB attack on Margomulyo begins bogging down as additional Dutch troops arrive and start establishing a loose perimeter around the beachhead.  The DKB XXV Corps is in the process of unloading but lack of significant port infrastructure means that most heavy equipment remains afloat.  

[TexanCowboy]

That may actually convice the RRC to enter the war.

[Guinness]

Battle of Pulau Saubi



Dutch cruising Southeast, DKB cruising west. Rain is hazy with squalls and lightly choppy seas.

At 1302 hours local, at a range of 18,200 yards, the Dutch destroyer H-8 sights the DKB GTB T-122, which is on the right wing of the DKB formation. Four minutes later, H-8 also sights T-123, which is on the extreme right of the DKB formation. Both sightings are reported to the Dutch commander on board the Frigate Jantszen. The Dutch, seeking action, assume that the DKB GTBs are elements in the screen of a larger force, turn south, and accelerate to intercept. AT the same time, the DKB GTBs begin to confirm sighting of Dutch destroyers.

Much as the Dutch assume that the presence of DKB GTBs indicates the presence of a larger force, the Brandenburgers assume that the presence of Dutch destroyers is an indication of a larger Dutch force. The entire DKB formation accelerates to its maximum battle speed of 28 knots and turns north to probe for more contact.

At 1314, the Dutch sloop Groningen reports sighting: "a battlecruiser, DKB, likely Moltke type". Nearly simultaneously the DKB cruiser Graudenz reports possible sighting of Dutch frigate, and accurately reports her direction of travel (south), but mis-estimates speed at only 21 knots. At this point, the Dutch force is approximately 60 nm north west of Pulau Saubai.

At 1318, the Dutch destroyers open fire. H-8 is 9000 yards from T-122.

At 1320, the Dutch change course again toward the southeast in a bid to close with and engage the DKB battlecruisers. The Dutch destroyers keep firing, but haze and rain makes for some difficulty for Dutch gunlayers.

At 1322, the DKB light forces, feeling pressed by the Dutch, follow DKB doctrine and turn to fall back to and assemble on their attendant light cruisers to mass for possible torpedo attack. Both side's major units maneuver to form battle lines. The DKB battlecruiser Seydlitz, the flagship of the DKB force sights a Dutch frigate, and estimates the Dutch course to south-southeast.

H-6's gunlayers finally find the range, and hit T-123 at 11,200 yards. The hit ignites T-123 forward ready ammunition supply and ignites a fire. Groningen hits T-122 at 14,600 yards aft over here steering gear, jamming it and reducing her speed. To the Dutch, it appears the DKB destroyers are in full retreat.

Having confirmed the presence of two Dutch frigates, and expecting that they are the Jantszens, the DKB commander having orders not to confront a superior force unless conditions are favorable decides to turn south and disengage. The order comes too late for T-123, who by 1324 sits dead in the water, but her crew is making headway against the fire forward. T-122 is in a similarly perilous situation, unable to change course, and only able to proceed at about half speed.

To the north, the melee continues. The DKB cruiser Graudenz attempts to slow and maneuver to offer support to both, and having turned to clear all her guns puts a full salvo on H-8, doing profound damage to both her boiler plant and the region aft in the vicinity of her after magazine. T-121 adds to H-8's misery with a hit of her own amidships.

Meanwhile, H-6 finishes off T-123 with a hit amidships that breaks her back. She sinks quickly.

The DKB's battle cruisers and their attendant light cruiser Gazelle complete the turn and line-up maneuver by 1336. They reduce speed in a bid to allow what was the right wing of the DKB formation to catch up.

At the same time, Graudenz finishes off H-8 with one final hit, sinking her. H-6 turns her fire on T-122, hitting her once, but the HE round fails to explode. H-5 finds the range on T-121, destroying her auxiliary steering station. T-146 and T-147 both open fire on H-5, but possibly confused by each other's splashes, miss. Quick work by T-122's crew restores full engine power and some maneuverability, and she's able to accelerate again to near top speed.

Over the next few minutes, the DKB formation begins to regain some shape, and the light forces melee continues. Range opens up between the DKB GTBs and light cruisers and the Dutch. The DKB cruiser Prinz Oskar scores two hits on H-5 with each of two successive salvos, opening the Dutch destroyers hull up forward, and causing extensive damage. She slows to a crawl immediately and is down at the head. Groningen hits T-121 causing her to slow to about half speed. T-122 hits H-6 once, but that round proves to be a dud, doing negliagable damage.

The melee now becomes a running chase, with the DKB GTBs and light cruisers attempting to flee south while trading fire with the Dutch. Prinz Oskar sings H-5 with three more hits. Groningen hits T-121 again, reducing her to only about 4 knots. H-6 hits T-122, undoing most of her crew's earlier damage control efforts, and again reducing her to half her normal top speed. Her already exhausted remaining crew go back to work restoring damaged steam lines and other work in the engineering spaces aboard.

Groningen now identifies Graudenz as her greatest threat, and moves fire to the DKB light cruiser, hitting her once with an AP round that penetrates her conning tower, killing most of those inside. Graudenz is effectively out of control for a time as a result of the confusion. Her gunners keep working though, and she returns the favor with a hit on Groningen's B-mount, destroying the gun.  H-6 hits T-122 amidships in the way of her boiler spaces, causing sever damage, and reducing her speed further to about 8 knots.

Over the next few minutes, Groningen and Graudenz continue to duel, with Graudenz scoring three hits, and Groningen two. Damage to Groningen is more severe, including loss of her primary fire control system, and a hit on her forward magazine spaces. Only the quick reaction of the crew to flood the magazine saves the ship from an explosion.

H-6 finishes off T-122 with three more hits, finally sinking her, but not before T-122 hits H-6's engine room, causing damage which H-6's captain is informed is "severe". H-6 slows to 6 knots.

Graudenze and Groningen continue to slug it out. Graudenz turns again to unmask all her guns, and hits Groningen once, before turning south again. The hit smashes Groningen's main electrical distribution board, depriving her systems of electrical power.

Four minutes later, Groningen, now firing at a greatly reduced rate, hits Graudens's fore spotting top, wrecking it and killing everyone aloft, including Graudenz's gunnery officer. Two minutes after that, Groningen's after guns, operating under local control, shift fire to the injured T-121. Four four-gun salvos over the next six minutes at 8100 yards results in six hits on T-121 opening her hull to the sea, and she sinks quickly.

Meanwhile, Graudenz is still firing on Groningen, scoring two more hits, both of which either fail to penetrate Groningen's deck or fail to explode. At the same time, the Dutch frigates decide to get in the action, and o8pen fire with the main batteries on Graudenz. They find the range quickly, and Janszon hits Graudenz once forward along the waterline. The hit penetrates the belt and touches off a magazine fire, but here excellent damage control prevents total loss with the flooding of the magazine. Graudenz keeps firing on Groningen, hitting her once more, before one more hit from Janszson penetrates here after magazine. This time no damage control efforts can save her. The hit immediately lights off an explosion, blowing the stern clean off. The two halves of the ship sink quickly.

Graudenz's explosion has a profound effect on the DKB psyche. Up until now the DKB had been happy to try to string the Dutch along in an attempt to find an opportunity to mount a torpedo attack, but now the Germans decide discretion is the better part of valor and accelerate to escape the Dutch. The Dutch frigates spot Gazelle bringing up the rear of the DKB line, and fire on her with their main batteries from 16,600 yards. Both frigates hit Gazelle once. The first hit from Evertsen passes through Gazelle's stern and fails to explode. The other, by Janszen slows her to 16 knots.

Gazelle realize she is in peril and that her battle cruisers cannot turn to defend her attempts to veer away to the east and takes evasive action. Over the next four minutes, the Dutch consider what to do: turn and pursue Gazelle to finish her off, or continue the pursuit of the German battlecruisers still running to the south. The choose to continue south, but while still in range keep firing on Gazelle. Evertsen hits Gazelle again with another AP round which passes through the thinner skin of the light cruiser harmlessly. After that, Evertsen's gunners are ordered to reload with HE.

At 1420, Evertsen hits Gazelle twice more. One hit ignites an ammunition fire aft which causes massive damage. The second strikes amidships, twisting steel and buckling the deck.

Two minutes later, the ammunition fire aft, burning out of control, causes a flash fire that penetrates through the damaged hoist structures to the after magazine, causing an explosion. Gazelle too breaks into two halves like here sister Graudenz and sinks quickly.

Over the next twenty minutes the chase continues, but the DKB continues to open the range. The DKB are running directly for a dense rain squall. The Dutch commander, assessing the graying skies, begins to lose sight of the Germans. By 1500 sighting of smaller German units are spotty at best, and concerned that he may be at risk for a massed torpedo attack, and with much of his screen out of action, the Dutch commander orders a turn back toward the northeast and disengages.

[Logi]

That may actually convince the RRC to enter the war.

What? All the happened to me was:

An RRC freighter in the South China Sea is approached by an older-style cruiser flying Siamese colors.  The cruiser turns away shortly after the freighter hoists a larger RRC ensign.

And as far as I can tell, nothing happened. Not a reason to go to war ;)

[The Rock Doctor]

General world news for all to note:

Maritime insurance rates for SE Asia-bound shipping are going up considerably as it becomes more generally known that both DKB and Netherlands appear to be engaged in some degree of commerce warfare.  Shipping prices are also going up as there is more competition to ship goods on neutral vessels.

(The latest round of chaos in New Switzerland is not helping matters...)

Prices of commodities such as oil, tin, and rubber are increasing as concerns rise about disruption in supply from the NEI, though the supply itself has not been greatly affected yet.  Price jumps are most noticeable after Dutch shipping losses in the Red Sea and Bab al Mandeb - the market understands that the DKB can project military power into this maritime chokepoint.

These factors may affect the bottom line of belligerents and neutrals in 1/17.

[Valles]

More than past time for me to issue a shipping recall. Fortunately, and not at all coincidentally, I'm pretty sure I can produce everything I actually need internally.