December 12th, 1917
Van der Dekken Island, Somewhere in the Pacific
The thirty men sitting in the small room represented every facet of the Swiss population. They had come secretly to this island for one purpose, to return New Switzerland to her old glory. The Day of the Dead Massacre had solidified their plans, those that had wavered before, now saw no reason to do so. The time had come to roll the dice.
"Colonel Skywalker, is the 501st ready?"
"Ready as they can be sir."
"Captain Kidd, are your ships ready?"
"We sail in three hours, sir."
"Major Hawke, will the National Guard be ready?"
"My men will do their job."
.
.
.
"Men, the dice is cast. Godspeed. To a new New Switzerland!"
Five darken ships left the island that night, the three in the lead nearly invisible in their dark purple/blue paint. The fourth ship was special in its own way, for on her decks could be seen a number of insect like objects.
On the bridge of the first ship, the destroyer Van Hake, stood the figure of the commander of this group, Captain Joachim Kidd Jr. Son of the former captain of the Constitution, Kidd had fought in the 2nd Pacific War, as a 2nd Luitenant fresh of the academy, aboard the very ship he now comanded. Despite graduating first in his class and having more experience than most, he had been passed for promotion time and again. The time had come to right those wrongs, to avenge the deaths of the innocent, and to save the ship his father had once commanded from the scrapper's torch.
His mind returned to the mission at hand. With two modified destroyers and a 'special' cruiser, he was to penetrate into Phoenix harbor, neutralize the navy units still loyal to the crown, and support the other phase of the opperation. That with only three ships...
December 1917
War Room, Van der Dekken Island
"Ok let's get a status report."
"At Phoenix we have Invincible, Inflexible, Constitution and Alliance, with eight Saipan class destroyers. Inflexible is not complete and has not conducted her sea trials. Constitution and Alliance are both laid up, pending scrapping. Both have skeleton crews. All the ships have Monarchist crews, however they are green and we should have a chance to take the Constitutions.
At Pearl Harbor we have United States, Atair, the two Honolulus, and the Polar Bears. They have the bulk of the Mountbattens with them. We don't know where the loyalty of their crews lay. We should keep an eye on them.
At New Amsterdam we have Independence and Monarch, the four Auroras, eight Saipans, and eight William Tells. They are keeping an eye out on the Dutch-Siamese War and should not interfere at all. Some of the crews are loyal to us.
Constellation is down at Truk together with Tiger, and five Van Hakes. All their crews are with us, and the fleet will soon be moving to assist us.
Down in Sydney we have Launceston and Melbourne. We don't know about them but they shouldn't be a problem.
We don't have any firm information on the Adventures, Ospreys, or Weasels. Some of them have declared for us, but in any case they do not pose a threat."
December 27th, 1916
USNSS Constellation, 300 miles Northeast of Truk
The clitiky-clak of the wireless woke the young lieutenant from his midday nap. What the blazes could anyone want at this hour? He mechanically took down the message without paying much attention to what he was writing. However, his curiosity got the best of him. For a minute complete silence descended on the wireless room as the stunned lieutenant read the message. It had come, the message had come...
Aboard the bridge, not even a fly stirred. There was no winter in the tropics, and the high pressure system surrounding the six ships, made matter worse. To Admiral Kendal Ozzel, the sound of approaching boots was more than just a mere annoyance, whoever it was had better have a very good reason to disturb his sleep.
"Captain Piett, there better be a good reason for this disturbance."
"Admiral, in the name of the People's Republic of New Switzerland I hereby place you under arrest, if you would relinquish you sword..."
"What the hell is this? What's this People's Republic...? I shall have you all hanged for mutiny!"
"Admiral, there is no need for yelling and don't bother drawing your sword. You can choose to surrender quietly and live in exile, or dirty my ship with your blood. Look out of the bridge and tell me what you see. The Monarchy is dead."
On the five ships surrounding the Constellation, the royal standard had been replaced with a new flag, a black flag with a white phoenix. Constellation, herself flew a new flag, the old battle ensign once again streamed from her cagemasts. As one the six ships turned east, towards the homeland and a city called Phoenix...
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/ReneJr/Warensign-Copy.gif)
And the new president of the Peoples Republic is Robert S Piere :)
Midnight, December 27, 1916
New Davenport, 30 miles from Phoenix
The small fishing village stood quiet in the glow of a full moon. Half-a-mile away, on a lonely beach, a lone man observed the twelve small boats approaching the coast. The only sound heard being the sound of the boat's paddles, splashing into the sea.
As the lead boat grounded into the shore, a capped figure jumped out and moved to meet the man on the beach. The figure was quickly followed by 120 armed men, who rushed forward to take positions around the beach.
"Welcome home Anakin," said the man as he stepped forward.
"Glad to be back. What is the situation?"
"The village is ours; I have 400 men, a mix of National Guard, war veterans, and armed farmers. You can begin unloading immediately. You?"
"The 501st Regiment, a battalion of Marines, and two platoons of cavalry. Approximately 5,000 men."
"Will that be enough?"
"It will..."
Late Afternoon, December 28th 1916
Outside Sydney
"General Hawker!"
"Captain Burlison, what news do you bring?"
"There's going to be a protest on the 30th. I fear more bloodshed. Can your men move before then?"
"I don't think so. We are not supposed to move until the 1st and my men are tired. I'll try to be ready by that date, but I don't know. Can your men do anything?"
"We can try, but the Monarchists have a reinforced division and a cavalry brigade. I don't have enough men. You?"
"Two brigades from the 7th Light Horse, a reinforced brigade from the 3rd Infantry, a brigade of National Guard, two battalions of mounted volunteers under Jim Craig, and two batteries of 102mm guns. Have the Monarchists prepared positions inside the city?"
"No, they appear to be in the dark. However, the palace is fortified, and it might be near impossible to root them out of there if they manage to retreat to it."
"Very well, keep me posted. I'll try to be ready by tomorrow."
Noon, December 30th 1916
Sydney
Captain Williams did not like what he saw. He did not have enough police to control the upcoming protest and promises of reinforcements troubled him. Like everyone else, he had heard the rumors from Phoenix and he did not like what he heard. Even the official story was troubling. Sydney had been quiet but inside he felt that time had run out for the city.
The clattering of hoofs made him turn around. What he saw disturbed him. Those where not police reinforcements, but regular infantry in full battle dress. Could the rumors really be true?
"Major?"
"Captain, order your men to fall back, we'll take over from here."
"But sir? We are trained for this sort of situation, we can handle this."
The sound of the approaching protest interrupted the conversation as both men looked down the street.
"Captain, I am not asking, I am ordering you to get your men out of the way. I have orders to stop this protest and I will do so. If you cannot follow orders I will have you arrested for treason. Is that understood?"
The stunned captain stood rooted to his spot as he considered his options. The infantry meant business; they were prepared to cut down civilians in cold blood. There was only one course of action to take. His loyalties lay first to New Switzerland, then to the government. He would not have cold blooded murder in his hands. He was outnumbered and outgunned, but he and his men would rather die fighting than live in shame.
"Men! About face! Major Vokers, I WILL not let your men butcher defenseless civilians..."
(chuckles)
"Captain, how exactly do you expect to stop a battalion of royal infantry? Present arms!"
Behind them, the protestors came to a halt as the gravity of the situation hit them. Quite a few of them began moving to the sides, quietly taking tactically favorable positions. The protestors in Phoenix had been unarmed, but those in Sydney had learned from them and included grizzled veterans from Tasmania...
They were not the only ones observing what was happening. In one of the buildings overlooking the street, two men watched through 'glass' eyes.
"Take him down."
BANG
To be continued...
... continued
For Captain Williams the following second took forever, as he saw the major fall backwards from the hit. He barely had time to yell "Scatter!" before the street exploded into a mass of gunshots, bullets, blood, and a searing pain in his right arm. Through the pain, he watched as some of his men fell, victims of the firing, but more surprisingly he saw a number of the monarchist infantry down and the rest retreating.
Down the street, shock overtook the protestors as a number of them fell to the infantry's volley, but as the armed among them returned fire, shocked turned to rage as the protestors surged forward.
To the now leaderless monarchist infantry, the shock of being fired upon and the wave of protestors bearing down on them proved too much, as they broke and fled.
Williams struggled to sit up as a large armed man ran to him.
"Captain, are you alright? I am Sergeant Martin retired, of the 4th National Guard."
"My men, are they alright?"
"They've taken casualties sir, but most have survived. Sir, what you did was most brave. You are the only officer here, what should we do?"
"They will be back, have the men take defensive positions..." at that moment something came to his mind, something that an old friend had told him, "...Sergeant, do you know where 241 Witling Street is?"
"Yes sir."
"Send a runner there, find a Mr. Burlison. Tell him, it has begun, he will understand..."
OOC There's been a slight pause in the story due to some minor (but time consuming) real life issues. The next scheduled broadcast should be by tommorow night.
December 30th, 1916
Outside Sydney
A small group of horsemen observed the farmhouse in the distance, what they saw was not to their liking. The squadron, of monarchist cavalry, that they had been trailing had stopped for some R&R at the expense of the inhabitants. They were outnumbered and were not supposed to attack monarchist units just yet. But to the leader of the group, one Jim Craig, the time had come to act; besides most of the squadron's members were busy...
"Mates! Forward!"
As one, the men and horses charged down, the first direct attack of the rebellion.
***
Nearby
"Burlison! What brings you?"
"The protest! Fighting has broken out in the city, we hold positions in the North and pockets in the South, but the monarchists have holed up in the palace and hold strong points throughout. They are bring out the artillery and are preparing an assault. We need reinforcements! Fast!"
"Take one of the brigades of the 7th, I'll begin moving the 3rd and the 102s into position for a night assault. Get me as detailed maps as you can get of the situation. What about Melbourne and Launceston?"
"Still at the harbor, no signs of life from either ship."
"Can you get them?"
"We'll try as soon as the reinforcements arrive..."
***
Midnight
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait was not for the faint of heart. It would bring fear into the hearts of veteran captains. Upswept minefields left over from the 2nd Pacific War turned the passage into a nightmare for inexperienced captains. And tonight she had claimed another victim. The new captain of the USNSS Tinian had turned a bit late, and run her hard aground.
To some this was a disaster, to others an opportunity...
From Wikipedia: The Battle of Sydney (1916-1917)
The Battle of Sydney was not a true battle per say, but rather a series of separate engagements by the Monarchist and Revolutionary forces. The battle began at noon on the 30th of December after Monarchist infantry exchanged fire with protestors in the streets of Sydney. With the situation chaotic and sniper fire everywhere, the Monarchist forces, numbering approximately 35,000 men, consolidated on three positions. A lone brigade manned the fort commanding the harbor approaches; a number of miscellaneous units guarded the navy yard, while the bulk of the Monarchist force remained on the other side of the harbor around the palace.
The revolutionary forces controlled the city, but where in the unenviable position of rooting out trained infantry from prepared defensive positions. Nevertheless they struck the first blow, when a battalion of volunteer cavalry caught a Monarchist cavalry unit outside the city and annihilated it.
The revolutionaries had one advantage, and that was surprise. The Monarchists had not been expecting a major military assault and did not have reliable intelligence into the strength of the forces they faced. General Hawker decided to make use of this by immediately moving in two of his brigades into the city, together with a battery of 4" guns, to hit the Monarchists while they were still confused.
The first unit targeted where the 4,000 men guarding the navy yards. The 2nd Brigade of the 7th Australian Light Horse fell on the right wing, in a surprise night assault on the morning of the 31st. Unprepared, the right wing collapsed allowing the 7th Light Horse to capture the cruisers, Melbourne and Launceston intact. The survivors tried to retreat towards the fort only to find their way blocked by units from the 3rd Infantry. As the sun rose on the 31st, they surrendered. The revolutionary forces had won their first major battle.
To be continued...
...continued
As the rising of the sun saw one flag fall in defeat, a new one arose. The Launceston, veteran of wars long since passed, saw the black flag of revolt rise on its standard. As the first rays of light shone on the city, the Launceston, manned by a mixed crew, opened fire on the fort guarding the approaches. The fort had been designed to resist an attack from the sea, not from inside the harbor, and so the guns defending her remained silent, unable to counter this new threat.
The garrison was then forced to deploy its only counter-measure. A battery of 76mm horse artillery was deployed outside the fort and began a spirited duel with the cruiser. For over ten minutes both sides fired ineffectively at each other, the artillerymen, having never trained to fire on moving objects, with the scratch crew of the Launceston not having enough experience working together.
A close miss by the Launceston and the arrival of rebel cavalry units, finally convinced the monarchist artillerymen that prudence was better than bravery, ending the battle. Aboard the Launceston, two jammed guns and a turbine casualty forced her too to end the bombardment. Three monarchist artillerymen were wounded, only one seriously, while Launceston suffered only two casualties, both caused by heat exhaustion.
The end of this short battle was followed by a short period of peace, as General Hawker's rebel forces moved into place. The monarchists still lacked solid intelligence but had strengthen their positions during the night. As the heat of noon descended on the city, the rebels made their move. A mixed force of dismounted 7th Light Horse troopers and National Guard infantry took the courthouse by surprise. However, two further assaults by the 3rd Infantry were repulsed. With the monarchists' defenses too strong, General Hawker decided to starve the monarchists into surrender.
And on that tone, the year of 1916 ended on the Australian mainland.
OOC
Actually, I believe that the 3" guns can be trained quickly. The range is point blank. The gunners were trained in firing at cavalary, which can move quite fast :)
And a cruiser is much, much larger than a horse :D
As to their effectiveness against a warship - I'd put it at "paint scratcher" - they either fired shrapnel, which any sort of armour would stop dead. And ordinary ship steel should also severly cut down shrapnel's effectiveness. The other type of shell available to field artillery - HE - would be impact fused. Now, that could cause some fires and splinter damage. There should be spalling from armour plates up to 1', maybe even 1,5" - but anything thicker and such a shell leaves a soot-spot :)
Night of the 30th-31st
Torres Strait
Aboard the USNSS Monarch, Admiral Parck was not in a good mood. The Tinian had been grounded for a good two hours now and all attempts to pull her out had failed, the Vostock nearly grounding herself in the process. There was a war going on that he was supposed to be keeping an eye on, but here he was stuck in the middle of the Torres Strait due to some incompetent captain.
Not everyone was in the same mood as the admiral. The grounding of the Tinian had presented an opportunity that was not to be wasted. While the eyes of most centered on her unfortunate circumstance, others made moves in the background. Few noticed the Van Doorman inching ever closer to the Monarch, her very large marines complement, or the Independence silently going to battlestations.
The blinding white light of a flare and the screeching sound of the Van Doorman hitting the Monarch was the first notice that something was wrong. With a battle cry of "Remember the 1st!" the marines swarmed aboard the battlecruiser. Those aboard the bridge where blinded by a searchlight from the cruiser Aurora, and within minutes the battlecruiser had fallen to the rebel forces.
The sudden coup left the remaining loyalist forces in a quandary. Who was friend and who was foe? Confusion reigned through the night. And by the time the sun rose, the Walker had joined the Tinian on the rocks and at least three minor collisions left four other destroyers and the cruiser Amphion damaged. The sun also revealed the rebel's victory. Only three Saipan class destroyers still remained in loyalist hands, the rest of the ships having either defected, been captured, or surrendered.
What followed would later be called the longest destroyer battle ever, as the three remaining loyalist destroyers fled eastwards towards Port Moresby. In pursuit was the cruiser Aurora and four William Tells. The Saipans were faster but were running low on fuel, not allowing them to use their greater speed to their advantage.
For the next three hours both sides traded fire inconclusively. The Wilkins being forced to drop out due to an engineering casualty, with the Ward soon following her with a hit to the uptakes. The remaining three ships continued the pursuit, finally forcing two of the loyalist destroyers to surrender after a 6" shell struck the Yap. What followed would be an epic destroyer duel between the Saipan and the William Tell. The Saipan not only had probably the best captain still loyal to the crown, but also outgunned the smaller William Tell. But what the William Tell lacked in fighting power, she made up in experience. Most of her crew had fought many years before, and her captain had torpedoed an Austrian battleship in the dead of the night.
The William Tell was the first to strike a blow, placing a 4" shell into the forecastle of the Saipan. She also struck the next three blows, destroying the Saipan's starboard 4" mount and forcing her captain to jettison the rear torpedo tubes. The Saipan managed to land two hits in response, destroying the wireless in the process. As the battle dragged on fatigue and heat started to become a factor. Sailors on both sides began to fall due to sheer exhaustion,
For five hours the ships fought and just as it seemed that the Saipan would escape, disaster struck her. A shell found her forward torpedo tubes and the resulting explosion blasted into her engine rooms. Crippled and blazing furiously amidship, she turned to fight, but the loss of power proved too great a disadvantage. Two hours later, her captain dead, her flag struck, and her survivors aboard the William Tell, she slipped beneath the waves.
As the Year of our Lord 1916 closed, forces where in montion in the vast Pacific that would bring telling consequences on that great ocean.
Near Phoenix
As midnight neared, three blacken ships silently and carefully snaked their their way through the minefields guarding the harbor of the capital of New Switzerland.
***
10 miles outside Phoenix
On a small hill near the city, camped the 5,000 men of the 501st. Their commander in deep conversation with a shadowy figure. The men silently cleaned their weapons in the darkness as the camp layed in near total darkness.
***
Swiss National Library, Phoenix
Colonel Vogel was enjoying himself. The New Year's party thrown at the library was most excellent and the wine of the best quality. Now only five minutes remained. Just a couple more drinks before joining the gawkers staring at his iron beast parked outside.
"Colonel, a message very important."
What could be so important to interrupt a party? The note answered that question...
***
100 miles from Phoenix
Noise and light abound aboard the seven ships of the Constellation Squadron, unlike the other rebel groups they did not need stealth. Speed, however, was of paramount importance, as the seven ships moved at their fastest cruising speed of 15 knots.
***
Torres Strait
A full day's worth of work had finally freed the Tinian. She now joined her damaged sisters and the battlecruiser Monarch, for the trip to New Amsterdam. The remaining ships staying at their posts, watching the Torres Strait...
***
And on that note 1916 ends for NS...