CSA News 1901

[Borys]

Apologies for the lateness of this; to speed things up, I've not bothered to put things in the characters of the various publications. Rest assured, the Observer is criticizing the Imperialistic behaviour and gluttony of the rulers, and the Naval Gazetteer is complaining that the Navy are buffoons.

There's one other thing to be written, but I'm going to hold off a wee bit so I can get it in-character properly; it'll be written in the "Current Events" style.

Again, my apologies, but real life gained a sudden importance.



3 July

The Atlantic Fleet, including the battleships Texas and California, has arrived off of the Island Commonwealth, where it is now proceeding to carry out a blockade of the main islands. The Ministry of the Admiralty has stated that the ships have orders to permit ships carrying food and clothing to pass, but all others are to be prevented from reaching the islands.

This action is in response to the Island Commonwealth's increasingly belligerent attitude over the Tulsa Incident. That country has denied responsibility for the actions of its' own Navy in sinking a Confederate naval vessel, and has since fired once more upon our ships.

24 July

A large fleet of ships has sailed from the naval ports of Miami and Key West, consisting of three flotillas of torpedo rams, four third-class cruisers and the Gulf Fleet battleships. The 7th Infantry Brigade is also believed to have embarked on these ships; whilst the Navy has remained silent on the destination of these vessels, it is certain that they are heading for the Island Commonwealth.

27 July

The two battleships Georgia and Sonora are being said to have engaged the shore defences of Cromwell. In the course of this skirmish, the forward 12-inch turret of the Georgia was hit by a 9.2-inch shell, which exploded with devastating effect. The turret was almost wholly destroyed, killing many scores of sailors. Only swift action by Lieutenant George Mills saved the ship from certain destruction, as he bravely flooded the magazine to prevent it exploding, in doing so sacrificing his own life.

In the same battle, an obsolescent armoured cruiser, operating out of Cromwell harbour, found itself unable to sink any ships with gunfire. It can only have been sheer desperation whi led the captain to ram the Odessa. The impact is said to have split the Confederate cruiser clean in two, sending her down with almost all of her crew and two to three battalions of infantry. The Island Commonwealth ship was herself visibly damaged by the impact, but was only sunk some time later when trying to repeat her successful tactics.

28 July

The long-threatened invasion of the Island Commonwealth started at dawn this morning. The ten surviving torpedo rams from yesterday's battle set sail from the fleet, each towing a large number of small boats. The 7th Infantry Brigade had been embarked on these in the preceding hours, and the flotilla proceeded to land its' troops on a beach southwest of Cromwell.

Little resistance was met in the early stages of the operation, most likely as the Island Commonwealth land forces were preparing the attack which followed in the early afternoon. At around two o'clock, around half of the Confederate infantrymen had been landed, when a bombardment of heavy artillery nearly smothered their positions. However, aimed fire from the ships of the fleet neutralised the Island Commonwealth guns, allowing the remainder of the infantry to land.

Under cover of the barrage, the diminutive Island Commonwealth Marine Corps had snuck forwards to within yards of the 7th Infantry. As the final shells detonated over our own positions, the smoke lifted to reveal the bayoneted rifles of the Island Commonwealth bearing down on Confederate troops. Their spirited charge was, however, doomed to failure; even with the heavy Maxim-guns firing in support, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Having punched through Confederate lines in several places, the Marines found themselves enveloped by the 7th Infantry, which then proceeded to neutralise their resistance. Overall, the Confederate armed forces lost only two hundred and seven men in the day's offensive, to the estimated five hundred losses of the Island Commonwealth. The majority of losses on the Confederate side were due to Maxim-gun fire; reports from the front claim that the heavy artillery fire had very little effect on troop numbers.

Given that the land forces of the Island Commonwealth have been decimated, all that remains for the capital, Cromwell, and its historical fortress, the Tetrapylon, to be occupied.

29 July

The meagre defences of Antigua today fell to the guns of the Atlantic Fleet; two 9.2" guns duelled with those of the cruiser Mosby, which managed to knock one out of action briefly whilst the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Infantry Brigade captured the gun positions. The losses experienced on Jamaica were not seen here, apparently because the local terrain was ill-suited to the use of Maxim-guns.

30 July

After a day's march, the 7th Infantry surrounded Cromwell today, completing the blockade that has been carried out by sea over the previous weeks. During the morning, an ultimatum was delivered to the Council of State. The President has undertaken to make copies of this available to the public; its wording is as follows:

QUOTE
The Confederate States of America,

Wishing to end the current state of war, and

Seeking to minimise unnecessary death

Requires the unconditional surrender of the Island Commonwealth to the Confederate States of America, according to the following terms:

1. The Island Commonwealth will permit Confederate ships free access to Island Commonwealth waters and ports.
2. The Island Commonwealth will grant the Confederate States of America a 99-year lease on the island of Antigua, free of all charge, with its' subsequent status being determined at that time.
3. The Island Commonwealth will pay the Confederate States of America $2,000,000 [4 MBP] in reparations per annum for ten years, or until such time as the Confederate States of America agrees to cease such payments.

If these terms have not been agreed to by midday on the 6th of August, the Confederate States' Navy will commence bombardment of Cromwell.


Although no response has yet been evident, it has been claimed that the Island Commonwealth is not prepared for a lengthy siege.

2 August

After several days of sporadic firefights, the dispersed Antigua garrison has surrendered to the Confederate States' Army. As a result of this development, the Navy ships which had been blockading the island have been freed up to participate in the siege of Cromwell. They are not expected to arrive before the deadline for the city's surrender is exceeded.

6 August

In spite of all predictions to the contrary, the Island Commonwealth has lasted out under the threat of bombardment. Since the surrender ultimatum was issued to the Council of State one week ago, there has been a trickle of refugees leaving the city, mostly women and children. Estimates based on the last census – the results having been captured earlier in the campaign – suggest that approximately fifty thousand able-bodied men reside in the capital, which has not shown any sign of surrender.

When, at midday, the three remaining battleships of the Gulf and Atlantic Fleets opened fire on Cromwell, there was little response at first. Observers from the 7th Infantry Brigade noted that the first salvoes fell in the harbour, where a handful of small craft – mostly fishing boats – were anchored. Further bombardment proceeded to the commercial district of the city, where many buildings were flattened.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, four large plumes of smoke were sighted on the horizon, approaching at an estimated eighteen knots, accompanied by several smaller plumes. It was established by the cruiser Tijuana that these were the Island Commonwealth's four newest armoured cruisers, believed to have been at sea since before the declaration of war.

These four cruisers closed range rapidly, presumably so that their greater numbers could overwhelm the Confederate battleships. However, fire from the Texas penetrated the Victorious's main belt forward at just over eight thousand yards. This long-range shot slowed the ship, which developed a slight list.

As she remained out of range of the main Confederate fleet, the Victorious fell out of line, and was set about by a number of torpedo rams. Two were lost in the end – one blown in two by 9.2" fire, and the other riddled with 3" shells. However, the cruiser had not wholly recovered from her damage in the Tulsa incident; a torpedo struck amidships in almost exactly the same spot as in her original battle. Despite failing to explode, the impact was apparently enough to spring the plates over the original hole, leading to massive flooding. By this time, rapid 12pdr fire had set her topsides alight; fire apparently spread to Victorious's own 3" magazines, as a series of explosions wreaked havoc across the burning ship. Ultimately, she capsized at 1:47 in the afternoon, before partly righting again and going down by the stern.

As this was being fought out, the Minotaur, Formidable and Revenge closed in on the Confederate battleships Texas, California and Sonora. At first, the Island Commonwealth "torpedo boat destroyers" appeared to be charging the Confederate line; as they turned at full speed to fire their torpedoes, however, five of the twelve ships appeared to slow considerably or – in one case – visibly warped under the strain. The survivors fired off their torpedoes at the Confederate battleships; one grazed the California forward. Although the torpedo had apparently passed the ship when it exploded, the blast still forced the bow upwards, flooding forward compartments and giving the ship a pronounced forwards trim.

Two more of the small ships were lost to Confederate 6" and 12pdr guns, but by this time, the main batteries were duelling. The Island Commonwealth commander had apparently taken a huge risk, approaching the Confederate battleline almost perpendicularly and thereby presenting his line to fire whilst not having the chance to return fire. This risk appeared to have paid off for him; at six thousand yards, the cruisers broke into a hard left turn, maintaining fire on their opposite numbers.

The more rapidly firing 9.2" guns of the Island Commonwealth ships were scoring many hits on the Confederate battleships, but the light guns failed to penetrate their heavy armour. Irrespective, the secondary batteries of the battleships were quickly forced out of action, crews either being killed by shrapnel or beaten back by fire. In comparison, the 12" battleship guns had far fewer shots on target. However, they were almost always able to penetrate deep into the enemy hulls.

The first casualty from the fleet engagement was the ageing Formidable, after a series of 6" shells from California riddled her superstructure. Alone, this would have been survivable, but apparently the wing 9.2" turrets received inadequate armour as compared to the centreline turrets. One 12" shell smashed through the barbette, leading to an almost instantaneous explosion. Eyewitnesses claim to have heard a sound not dissimilar to an express train, and flames shooting high into the air. Exactly what happened is uncertain, but when the smoke cleared, Formidable was no longer in the Island Commonwealth line.

After a short while in which the two lines exchanged fire, each side scored a lucky hit. The Sonora seemingly hit the steering gear of the Revenge, jamming her helm hard to starboard, whilst the Minotaur struck one of Texas's 6" ammunition lockers. The resulting explosion aboard Texas knocked out her entire starboard secondary battery, and spread fire towards the fore 12" turret. She accordingly fell out of the line to fight the fires. What followed was no less than remarkable. The Minotaur, circling on its' path, was closing on the Revenge, which was still under fire from the California. In trying to avoid collision, the two captains inadvertently acted so as to ensure a collision: the Revenge turning towards the Minotaur, which was itself slowing down.

The first sign of the tragedy which was to ensue was when the Minotaur was struck hard amidships by the Revenge. As both ships had been designed with ramming still in mind – if only as a secondary tactic – the result was predictable. Minotaur was split almost clean in two, jamming the wrecked Revenge in her side. Both ships, even excepting the collision, were heavily damaged, and plainly unable to continue the fight.

7 August

Having witnessed the sea battle yesterday, in which their navy was crippled, the Council of State of the Island Commonwealth declared that their citizens must rise to repulse the invading Confederate troops. This ill-calculated order was met with significant opposition by the people of Cromwell, who apparently rose against their own leaders.

In short order, Government House had been stormed by pistol and sword-yielding men, who ousted the existing Council of State. In its' place, an Interim Board was installed, consisting of respected townsfolk. The Interim Board has accepted the surrender terms in full.

11 August

The cruiser Tijuana, returning from the recent war in the Island Commonwealth, was lost at sea yesterday. As she went down, her captain got away a message by pigeon, claiming that she had been torpedoed, but there was no ship in the vicinity. It is known, however, that she had been carrying out torpedo-firing drills. The Navy has stated that it will investigate the matter.

22 August

President Clark spoke in Parliament today to express his regret that the Confederate States of America had not been able to send an observer to the Peace Conference between the Middle Kingdom and New Switzerland. However, he stressed that the Confederacy lent its' full support to the work being done.

It was with disgust that he broke the news to Parliament of the brutal attack on the Peace Fleet. Within very little time, an official condemnation of the work of the pirate dubbed "Agrival" was drafted. Orders have been issued to the Merchant Navy and ships of the Pacific Fleet to resist his work at all costs, and to render all reasonable assistance to those hunting him.
   
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The Rock Doctor    
Posted: May 31 2006, 08:19 AM


Hegemon
*

Group: Head of State
Posts: 463
Member No.: 57
Joined: 4-January 06



   
Reads well. I'll assume that this has Maddox' blessing, given that it involves an NPC.

Gran Colombia's reaction to this would be:

Officially, dismay that peace could not be brokered, and concern that neutral shipping would be affected by the conflict.

Unofficially, there would be some satisfaction in the gutting of IC military power, given how the IC thumped Gran Colombia a couple decades earlier. The long-term lease of Antigua is a matter that bears some watching, as does the future of IC politics. The Caribbean is of considerable importance to Gran Colombia...
   
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Ithekro    
Posted: Jul 4 2006, 12:26 PM


King of Rohan
*

Group: Head of State
Posts: 2,111
Member No.: 29
Joined: 7-February 05



   
Rohan continues its patrols and attempt to either avoid or contain the war zone and protect ships of the Westron.
   
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Marek Gutkowski    
Posted: Jul 5 2006, 07:20 AM


Hegemon
*

Group: Head of State
Posts: 492
Member No.: 58
Joined: 24-January 06



   
Office of governor Batista:

"What is our resonce to this war."asked the newly apointed grand admiral of Cuba
"None.That means shoot at any thing with a battleflag that enters oure waters"