Oh Oh... Shell Splashed out of control fires...  ships forced out of line... Sounds like we have a Nice Naval Battle with ships of the line here.....
*begins to walk back and forth*  someone was very cruel  ;)

The good news is that I've finished writing up the first portion of September (including the part that spawned the teaser) and have provided it to the warmongers Allies for first reading and comment.  Y'all should get a crack at it soon.

1 September 1912:  Serbia

Ottoman forces have been dislodged from Cuprija and pushed south past Parain to the town of Obrez.  Once again, this is a reasonably good defensive position, with a tributary of the Great Morava River inhibiting access across the eastern part of the valley, the Great Morava itself meandering somewhat across the valley, and a low mountain overlooking the western part of the valley.

The Hapsburger Reserve Army detaches a corps of landwehr from the front and sends them in a loop towards the town of Kragujevac and further south along towards the east-west running valley of the Western Morava River.  This is southwest of the current frontline, and given the slow rate of advance up the Great Morava, the Hapsburgers hope that the Landwehr may be able to flank the Ottomans - either trapping them or compelling them to retreat yet again.

2 September 1912:  Netherlands East Indies

A Dutch patrol vessel amongst the Molucca Islands encounters and shadows a north-bound convoy of requisitioned Iberian liners accompanied by a protected cruiser of the Lobo class.  The Dutch boat approaches the liners on a few occasions, and is warned off each time by the cruiser.  Although the Dutchmen can see people waving and gesturing from open scuttles below decks, the only people above deck on the liners are armed soldiers.

2 September 1912:  Serbia

Seven Corps of the Hapsburger Reserve Army attack Ottoman positions in the Great Morava Valley at Obrez.  Hapsburger gains are limited, and about fourteen thousand casualties are sustained.  

3 September 1912:  Ponta Delgada, Azores

The tramp freighter San Leandro (1,217 GRT), expected from Lisbon, is declared five days overdue and presumed lost.

Requests for information on lost Iberian and Hapsburger shipping is not fruitful, and there are no reports of Ottoman warships being sighted in the Atlantic or Indian Oceans (or, at least, none that reach the Hapsburgers and Iberians).

3 September 1912:  Serbia

The Ottoman 4th Janissary Corps, trapped at Batocina attempt a breakout.  The Hapsburger's improvised seige line is sufficient to stop the effort very early, and the Ottomans remain where they are, minus several hundred casualties.

4 September 1912: Serbia

Approximately one thousand Serbs march through central Belgrade, singing traditional songs and waving hand-crafted flags.  When it becomes understood that they are calling for an independent Serbian nation, the demonstration is broken up by Hapsburger cavalry.

5 September 1912:  Suez

Hapsburger and Iberian naval attaches - with diplomatic accreditation to France - observe the passage of two Ottoman-flagged pre-dreadnoughts and lighter forces north, through the Suez Canal.

5 September 1912:  Crete

Greek Rebels have been leaking "news" of a supposed Allied invasion of Cyprus between September 9th and 11th, and this has reached Ottoman ears.  The Ottomans are not convinced that the Allies are actually going through with such an operation, or even any operation at all.  However, the Imperial Navy is under great pressure to proves its value and can not afford to allow an Allied invasion fleet - if there is one - uncontested passage to a valuable island so close to the heart of the Empire.  In the best case, perhaps it will be possible to isolate and defeat a portion of the Allied fleet.

The Ottoman plan is to suprise the Allied fleet off the north or south coast of Crete, where they may not be expecting an attack.  To this end, patrol assets put to sea and form picket lines off the west coast of Crete, while the main Ottoman fleet departs Istanbul and Athens.  

6 September 1912:  Montenegro

Artillery assets of the Iberian Expeditionary Corps unleash a short, sharp barrage upon Ottoman fortified positions around the village of Nudo, about thirty kilometers inland of the Adriatic.  After ten minutes, the rain of shells shifts and begins falling to the north, south, and east of the initial targets.  

Troops of the Iberian XVIII Mountain Corps promptly assail the Ottoman positions hit by the initial barrage.  They quickly determine that there are still a significant number of Ottomans capable of fighting back, and the attack stalls just short of the westernmost Ottoman bunkers.  Approximately two thousand Iberian casualties are suffered in the abortive attack.

September 7, 1912:  Malta

The impending Allied operation has two objectives - draw the Ottomans into a decisive naval battle, and open a new front through an amphibious attack.  The two are linked because the Allies doubt the Ottomans will risk a major battle without this possible threat to their territory.  To maintain the appearance of going through with the supposed Cypriot operation, a troop convoy does sortie along with the Allied battleline.

However, the Allies plan to land on northwestern Crete, rather than Cyprus.  Once the landings are underway, the battlefleet will engage in a sweep north of Crete and over to Cyprus in an effort to locate and engage the Ottomans.  Minesweepers and light patrol forces will form a tenuous defensive screen around the troop convoy in the interim, with a pair of cruisers standing by to lend fire support to the Iberian marines.

7 September 1912:  Cadiz

Following two weeks of investigation, police in Cadiz conclude that the 24 August fire, which consumed a considerable amount of the port's coal stocks, was deliberately set.

September 8, 1912:  Crete

The Ottoman fleet has converged east of the island.  Admiral Tahir Hadi Pasha convenes a brief meeting of his senior officers aboard the flagship Osmaniye, confirming the Ottoman plan and dispositions in battle.  

Late in the day, a truncated wireless signal arrives from a gunboat off the northwestern coast of Crete:  it's under attack.  The Ottomans begin steaming around the northeastern coast of Crete in search of the enemy.

September 9, 1912:  Crete

The encounter with the Ottoman gunboat (Tashkupri, now sunk) pleases Vice-Admiral Srnicek, because now that the Ottomans know he's coming, he should be able to leave one group of  troopships and their modest escort (the semi-dreadnought Pilipinas, a few torpedo-boats, and two protected cruisers as pickets) near the relative safety of the designated landing sites on the west coast.  

The remainder of the Allied fleet continues towards the peninsula of Akra Spatha.  Leading them is the scouting force, seven Hapsburger and Iberian protected cruisers and seventeen torpedoboats, backed by the armored cruiser Pizarro.  At 1400 hrs, the Hapsburger cruiser Herzogin Bathory, on the north end of the north-south screening line, reports sighting smoke to the east.  In a few minutes, the fighting tops of a large warship are visible over the horizon, and the Haspburger cruisers signals that it has sighted an Ottoman capital ship.

14:00 - 15:10:  Screening Forces Collide

While the Hapsburger cruisers close on the Ottomans and confirm that the large ship is the Yavuz Sultan Selim, the armored cruiser Pizarro and two smaller Iberian cruisers steer north to intercept the Ottomans.  The south wing of the advancing Allied scouting force turns to the northeast, intending to by pass the Ottomans and get a look at anything that may be trailing the Yavuz and her consorts.

At 1411, Yavuz opens fire on the Hapsburger cruisers; a few minutes later, with the range dropping, the smaller Ottoman ships - two protected cruisers and ten torpedo-boats - are trading fire with the three Hapsburger cruisers and five Iberian torpedo-boats.  The Hapsburgers note that the Ottoman armored cruiser's gunnery is much improved over the performance reported by the Iberians the previous month.  It only takes a few minutes for straddles to start falling around the Marie Theresie, and a hit inflicts major damage to her bridge and control top.

The Hapsburgers are pressing northeast to speed past Yavuz or, failing that, to at least draw her north and further away from the other Allied scouting elements.  Yavuz and company come around to a similar heading to head off the Allies, but at 1419, the Ottomans sight additional smoke to their southwest and turn south again to investigate.

By 1430, the two armored cruisers can see each other and engage at long range.  Yavuz now decides to muscle her way west of Pizarro to see what the Iberians are screening, and Pizarro comes to a parallel course about six miles to her south.  Pizarro's navigator laments that if the Balboa were back in service, the two could probably defeat Yavuz and control the space between battlelines.  Pizarro's captain tells him to concentrate on maintaining his heading.

At 1456, Yavuz and company can see large amounts of smoke to their southwest, and report the possible presence of the main Allied body.  Meanwhile, the two scouting forces continue to slug it out, the heavier guns on Yavuz giving her an edge over Pizarro.  Two of Pizarro's turrets are put out of action as the action draws closer to the Allied battleline.

By now, the other Allied scouts are getting a (relatively) unmolested look at the Ottoman battleline.  They report the presence of eight battleships, six protected cruisers, and approximately two dozen torpedo-boats - confirming to Vice-Admiral Srnicek that the Ottomans are essentially throwing everything they have at him.

At 15:11, with both battlelines now clearly known to each other, Vize-Admiral Srnicek orders Pizarro - now down to two functioning turrets - to take up station at the rear of the Allied line.  Yavuz steers north, trailed at a careful distance by the Hapsburger scouting cruisers; they and their Iberian 6th Cruiser squadron counterparts will spend the next hour deterring the Ottoman armored cruiser from venturing west towards the troopships.  The initial phase of the battle is over, and it is time for the main event.

1520 - 1420:  Clash of Battlelines

Vize-Admiral Srnicek's own line of seven battleships is cleared for action, its screen of four Hapsburger cruisers and thirty-nine torpedo-boats dispersed in a U-shape around the Allied vanguard.  Leading the battleline are SMS Siligia, Srnicek's flagship, followed by SMS Juan de Austria, SMS Tegetthoff, HIIMS Alfonso IV, HIIMS Navas de Tolosa, HIIMS Cid Campeador, HIIMS Pelayo, with the damaged armored cruiser Pizarro at the rear.

The Ottoman line is led by the dreadnought Osmaniye, trailed by her sister ship Mahmudiye, the semi-dreadnoughts Mahmud Reis and Sultan Osman I, and the pre-dreadnoughts Torgud Reis, Barbaros Hayreddin, Sultan Mehmed II, and Bayezid I.  These last two battleships, ex-Confederate ships, have only been in service five weeks, and Admiral Tahir Hadi Pasha has little expectation that they will do any more than pre-occupy their counterparts in the Allied line.

Though out-gunned, the Ottomans do have an advantage of position, and their current heading of 225 degrees puts them in a position to cross ahead of the Allied battleline.  At 1530, with Siligia's forward guns firing half-salvos at Osmaniye, Srnicek orders a course change from 090 to 135, a course that has the two battlelines converging at right angles.  At 1534, the Ottomans see a risk of now having their own T crossed and come to 180.  Srnicek orders a similar course at 1540.  

The range between battlelines stablizes at approximately 14,000 yards, though the trailing Iberian battleships are still executing their turns and are out of effective gunnery range.  The Ottomans' desire to reduce the range is thwarted by aggressive handling of significantly more numerous Hapsburger torpedo-boat force screening the Allied line.

By 1550, all sixteen capital ships in the two lines are firing on their counterparts.  Siligia's many guns land hit after hit on Osmaniye, taking few in return.  Mahmudiye demolishes Juan de Austria's primary range finder and fire control station with a lucky hit and, despite the range, begins outshooting the newer, larger Austrian ship.  Tegetthoff begins battering the Mahmud Reis, suffering only a smattering of hits in return.  Initial shooting between the Iberian battleships and trailing Ottoman battleships is initially quite unproductive; the damaged Pizarro's two remaining turrets will actually land a few hits on the Bayezid I but only suffer one in return through the remainder of the battle.  Meanwhile, the screening forces are engaged in their own ferocious duel, and an Ottoman torpedo-boat is the first to fall victim to enemy fire.

At 1614, Alfonso IV takes a hit to her engine room, causing significant loss of speed; she veers west, out of the Allied line, to avoid interfering with the remainder of the Allied battleships trailing her.  Two minutes later, the battered Osmaniye, on fire with three turrets ruined and Admiral Hadi Pasha injured, steers east out of the Ottoman line.  The Ottoman line maintains its cohesion despite confusion in transfer of command (Mahmudiye's captain, effectively in command at this point, is considered to be perhaps the most effective commanding officer in the Ottoman fleet by his peers).

The Allied and Ottoman ships shift fire, as necessary, to their new targets, and Siligia begins working over the Mahmudiye; however, at 1623, the Hapsburger flagship takes a serious hit forward in her secondary battery.  Ready ammunition explodes, and the wind, coming from the port bow, drives the flames aft along the casemate gallery, exposing more ammunition to the fire.  Faced with the threat of a catastrophic conflaguration, Admiral Srnicek reluctantly orders Siligia to come out of the line, leaving Kommodor Johann Schlachiteger to continue the battle while Siligia's crew regains control over the blaze.  Three minutes later, Schlachiteger is exasperated as Cid Campeador takes a hit at the waterline near the bow from Barbaros Hayreddin, causing serious flooding and forcing her speed to reduce speed.

Even as dis-array spreads in the Allied line, a new problem presents itself:  the fleets' southerly course is bringing them dangerously close to land.  Schlaciteger orders the Allied line to come round to the west, intending to reform a reduced line (Juan de Austria, Tegethoff, Navas de Tolosa, Pelayo, Pizarro) and re-engage the Ottomans.

The Ottoman second-in-command has by now asserted control of his fleet from the Mahmud Reis, and opts to disengage at this point.  He orders an emergency turn to the east while their light forces lay smoke.  Schlaciteger, now perceiving that the battle is about to end, finally unleashes the swarm of Hapsburger torpedo boats against the Ottomans.

The outnumbered, bruised Ottoman light forces are not enough to stop the attack, nor are the battleships' remaining secondaries, though both do cause damage.  The Ottoman emergency turn has been sloppy, leaving some of the battleships exposed both literally and figuratively, as the smoke-laying Ottoman light forces are not uniformly arrayed around the battleline at this point.  The Hapsburger torpedo-boats veer towards the more visible and vulnerable battleships, and dozens of torpedos are launched.  

The pre-dreadnought Torgud Reis takes three hits to the starboard side.  With no modern torpedo defences and only a slim margin of stability, the seventeen year old battleship rolls over at 1641 with heavy loss of life.
Further south, the semi-dreadnought Mahmud Reis is struck by two torpedoes, one of which breaches a transverse bulkhead aft.  Tonnes of water pour into the ship and she begins to sink by the stern.  She is ordered abandoned at 1647 as her sisters leave her behind.  She finally goes down a half hour later under the watchful eyes of the reformed Allied line..  

By this time, the final shots of the battle have been fired, and the Allies are beginning rescue operations.

Over the next twenty-four hours, Iberian cruisers shadow the Ottoman battlefleet as it - other than a few light forces which divert to Athens - returns to Istanbul.

Allied Losses

Battleships:  Siligia (85%), Juan de Austria (84%), Tegethoff (93%), Alfonso IV (82%), Navas de Tolosa (88%), Cid Campeador (75%), Pelayo (91%)
Armored Cruisers:  Pizarro (61%)*
Protected Cruisers:  Ulan (sunk), Graenzer (sunk), Jaeger (55%), Hussar (63%), San Juan (72%), Las Palmas (81%)
Torpedo-boats:  3 x H-6 class (sunk), 1 x K class (sunk), 3 x H-6 class (50%), 2 x H-1 class (50%), 1 x K class (50%), 1 x TBD-1906 class (50%)**

(*Almost all of which is inflicted in the early battle with Yavuz)
(**Note, this is a simplification and consolidation of TB damage to avoid providing a list of over fifty entries with separate damage entries)

Ottoman Losses (Estimated)

Battleships:  Turgud Reis (sunk), Mahmud Reis (sunk), Osmaniye (~seriously damaged), Mahmudiye (~moderate damaged), Sultan Oman (~moderate damaged), Barbaros Hayreddin (~moderate damaged), Sultan Mehmed II (~seriously damaged), Bayezid I (~lightly damaged)
Armored Cruisers:  Yavuz (~lightly damaged)
Protected Cruisers:  Midili (sunk), up to four others damaged to some degree
Torpedo-boats:  Urfa, #37, #39, Adatepe, possibly two others (all sunk).  Numerous boats damaged.

10 September 1912:  Crete

In the pre-dawn hours, the first wave of 4th Brigade, Iberian Marines begin their landing on the western shore of Crete, northwest of the village of Platanos.  The operation goes poorly; the first wave of boats, navigating in near-total darkness, are well off course and land almost two miles north of where they should be.  A few Ottoman sentries are in this vicinity, and the alarm is sounded, but these Iberians are at least able to disembark without being shot at much.

The same is not true of the follow-up waves, which do make landfall on the proper stretch of the coast.  Supporting gunfire from the battleship Pilipinas is largely ineffective - the threat of mines keeps the battleship two miles offshore, and the sun is slowly rising behind the Ottoman positions, making them very difficult to spot.  A torpedo-boat directed to render closer support confirms the presence of Ottoman mines the hard way and is blown in two.

Eventually, this objective - known simply as "A" - is secured by the Iberian brigade and a follow-up AFL brigade.  The Ottoman defenders - a full battalion - suffer heavy casualties and routed into the hills following intense close combat.  The Allies suffer grevious losses, approximately two thousand five hundred killed and injured.

Further east, a second landing takes place on the southeastern neck of Akra Spatha, on the northwestern corner of Crete.  The location of the sun is more favorable to fire support, there is more (and better, courtesy of the modern Hapsburger battleships) fire support available, and there are fewer defenders along this stretch of the coast.  The landing at "B", initially led by 1st Brigade, Iberian Marines, is properly located and the site is secured by mid-day with approximately one thousand casualties to the Allies.

11 September 1912:  Paris

The Ottoman ambassador to France passes a message to his Iberian and Hapsburger counterparts, asking if they would be interested in discussing a temporary ceasefire and possible resolution of the ongoing conflict.

Once again, it is the torpedo boats who kill. The Ottoman Fleet is still effective, Yavuz could be a killer, since no Ally ship can stop her.

Thinking about it and looking at this battle, I could have won the 2nd Pacific War at the Battle of Tarakan. I had a huge amount of light forces there, that remained unengaged during the whole battle. Had I used them, the Dutch Fleet would have been destroyed, then and there.

Quote from: Desertfox on July 31, 2008, 05:28:11 PM
Once again, it is the torpedo boats who kill. The Ottoman Fleet is still effective, Yavuz could be a killer, since no Ally ship can stop her.

The Ottoman Fleet is a Cruiser navy at this point their heavy units are going to be in yard hands for a very long time.  Yavuz is without a doubt a pain, will have to make sure to sink her before the end.  ;) Thank Korpen it was his design and on some level I am pleased that my "running" of the Turks didn't screw them over.  The Turkish fleet is now 1 AC and 1 BB.  Two allied PDN's weren't even at the battle and I will have my other AC back soon.  If the rest of the Turkish navy attempts to put to sea they are putting shot up ships into play. Most important is those two sunk ships are gone forever and the Ottoman flagship I am willing to bet will not see service again till well into 1913. 

Not saying that the Ottoman Navy will not continue to be a pain and cause us trouble in defense but this battle opens the Eastern Med to us and gives us more choices and the Turks less.  It could be the end of the war or major step towards it.

Things could have gotten unnecessarily interesting for the Allies if one or both of the older Ottoman armored cruisers was back in post-refit service.  They might have been able to slip one past the Allied screen and into the troop convoy further west. 

Don't get too excited, Foxy:  there were (I think) 35 Hapsburger torpedo-boats at the beginning of that attack - five hits is not a huge number from that perspective.

Austrian casualty figures are around 200,000. What percentage of it is killed? When I simmed Tasmania, I used some historical dead/wounded ratio (based on WWI), numbers should be in the moderator section. Around 1 in 4 killed. or sg like that.

The TBs had 10kt advantage over the Ottoman battleline. Won't be possible against a faster adversary.

I was thinking around the same percentage of dead to wounded myself.  Probably another 25% won't be fit for combat duty again (then again, the Hapsburgers might eventually get desperate).

At Tarakan I had like 70 torpedo boats and 15 cruisers, against the really slow Dutch battleline, with 2 12" gunned battleships still effective and more arriving in a day. 5 torpedo hits would have been all that was required to turn a draw into a decisive victory.

Oh and Rocky, I still don't see any exploding Filipinos... ;)

Apolpgies, as I've read about the battle on my mobile, but was the entire main body action of the battle of crete faught at around 14000 yards?

Yup.

Foxy:  Note that the Allies were careful to detach Pilipinas for amphibious gunfire support far, far from the main battle.

Rocky, that's no excuse. Filipinos have been known to spontaneously combust without outside assistance...

Of course, it might be that you are just saving Filipinas untill the victory parade fireworks display! ;D

Quote from: The Rock Doctor on July 31, 2008, 06:26:51 PM
Things could have gotten unnecessarily interesting for the Allies if one or both of the older Ottoman armored cruisers was back in post-refit service.  They might have been able to slip one past the Allied screen and into the troop convoy further west. 

Details details... "Always With The Negative Waves, Moriarty!"

Quote from: The Rock Doctor on July 31, 2008, 06:26:51 PM

Don't get too excited, Foxy:  there were (I think) 35 Hapsburger torpedo-boats at the beginning of that attack - five hits is not a huge number from that perspective.

Also note that the TB attack was used against an already damaged and retreating enemy.  P3D I suspect that the TB's had a 12 knot or perhaps even more speed edge as they were used after an hour of battle.  So everyone was slowed.  Over all they were used as a coup de grâce weapon and not as a coup de main weapon.  It has confirmed my own faith in building a good number of TB's in the past and future.

Michael

Good Movie Quote Mike.

This Battle for me reminds me of why Im planning for a balanced fleet.  You need to let water into ships to sink them [Torpedoes] otherwise they usually manage to limp away unless you get that perfect penetration to the magazines or fire guts the ship.  Very few ships actually sink from gunfire they might explode but the usually dont sink.   On the other hand a destroyer attack on an intact battle line not damaged and disrupted by fire from an opposing Battle Line is usually suicide DD or TB attempting such a stunt.  Especially when in 1912 to get a decent chance of a hit you have to close to withing 2000-4000 Yards and closer is better.

So my plan for balance appears to be proven in battle at least for now Battle Line to engage the enemy and light forces to screen battle line and exploit opportunities caused by the battle line.