Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

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July 1924

Even with the onset of the war, Cascadian industrial power continued to grow, fueled by a rising population, increased industrialization, and the growing prosperity of the populace.

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The Excalibur was commissioned. The largest battleship in the world at that time, the Navy would be further pleased when her trials showed that while she had been designed for 23 knots as a maximum speed, she was in fact capable of 24 knots.

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The Soviet Government protested the boarding of a Russian ship near Liaotung by Cascadian naval forces.

Russia tension to 7

Burleigh & Armstrong designers finished work on a new mine-laying submersible design. The Admiralty ordered four from the contractor. Admiralty gunnery experts reported progress in studying on firing patterns and better methods of concentrating fire.

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The Cascadian submersibles had another decent month. Twelve Japanese ships were sunk at the cost of another Cascadian sub. The Japanese ratio was worse: 2 subs lost for three Cascadian ships. The Kasuga and Kinugasa each sank a Cascadian vessel in East Asian waters.

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On the 8th, the Lee, Whitney, and Conaway raided Japanese shipping off the southern coast of Korea.

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They spotted the enemy convoy at 1645 and moved to engage. The Japanese screening force was made up of four Yakaze-class destroyers.

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The two sides inflicted damage upon one another as the Cascadian destroyers raced to break through to the convoy.

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At 1711, a Japanese shell caused one of Conaway's torpedo mounts to explode. Heavily damaged, the Conaway detached from the division and fled toward Tsingtao. Through bold maneuvering, the two remaining Cascadian destroyers got past their foes and starting shooting up the Japanese convoy.

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While maneuvering among them, a miscalculation by Lee's commanding officer led to the destroyer slamming into a transport, momentarily knocking the ship's engines out of action.

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Lee's guns kept firing, however, and for nearly an hour after the ramming her guns kept the Japanese at bay while the Whitney finished off the convoy.

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By 1840, the Lee regained power, but the two ships were still outnumbered. At this point, the Williams steamed into the fray, with the Hackett not far off. The heavily-damaged Japanese ships never recovered initiative - they fled, most heavily damaged, by the time night fell and the engagement came to an end.

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The Battle of July 8th was a Cascadian victory, even if none of the Japanese warships were sunk. The Cascadian ships, outnumbered early on, inflicted greater damage on the foe and annihilated the convoy. The Japanese were humiliated, and more than that, had reason for intense worry: the battle and its outcome showed that the Japanese Navy could very well lose control of its most vital sealanes to the Cascadians. If this occurred, Japan's days were numbered.



As news of victories poured into the cities of Cascadia, the stirrings of opposition in the populace died down. War bonds were being bought with enthusiasm by the population - the July issue, which earned the nation nearly $400 million Cascadian, had been joined with the story of the "Last Stand of the Warrior", and an emotional written appeal from Captain Michaels and Admiral Phillip Wallace to the populace on the fate of the Cascadian Navy's old pride.

Wallace's appeal was considered particularly poignant, appearing in newspapers across the country as an obituary to the Warrior.
"Strange as it may seem to write an obituary for a ship when so many lives were also lost that day, I feel it incumbent upon me to do so. Anyone who knows the sea will tell you that on some level ships are alive, they have souls and hearts. Warrior lived up to her name, fighting in the best traditions of our, or indeed any Navy, standing in harm's way between friend and foe.

Of all the ships I have commanded or served on, she held a special place in my thoughts. She was my first command, and before that I was her first Executive Officer. Together we made history as the progenitor of a whole new type of warship, as significant in her own way as the later
Sovereign would be. She was magnificent, fast, powerful, and she most definitely had a soul.

There were times, when we maneuvered at full speed, when we fired her guns in our drills, when I could feel her structure sigh in contentment, doing what she was built to do. She answered every trial, surpassed every expectation, and performed beautifully whenever called upon to do so.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. This was the last battle of the fabled
Warrior, and unlike so many old ships, she went down gloriously, defiantly, firing to the last, rather than the slow, sad process of being hauled to the breakers. Some have said she should not have been there, that an old and outdated ship had no purpose.

Those people are wrong. Despite her loss, that brave ship charged an enemy that considerably outgunned her, that outpaced her, that was better defended than her in order to save a vital convoy and thousands of lives. She,
they, succeeded, inflicting damage on the enemy and buying time for other ships to arrive and defeat the Japanese. Those thousands of people are alive now because that brave old ship chose to stand and fight.

She was a ship that made history, and history will remember her fondly. Myself and all the others who served in her will recall those heady days with a smile, and raise their glasses in salute. We can take comfort in knowing that she was avenged, that many of her crew were saved and that even in death, she was triumphant.

Farewell
Warrior, and thank you for standing in harm's way."

Indeed, in Hollywood, Lower California, producers of new "mover" films, led by industrialist and inventor millionaire Ignacio Blackstone Varrick, were busy filming a new production called "The Last Stand of the Warrior", a production destined to become a key piece of Cascadian cultural history.

Faced with this enthusiasm, the dove factions of the major parties lost traction in Parliament, even as the 1924 Presidential election kicked into gear. Alonso Muniz was running on what was effectively a Hawk ticket - the Conservatives and Populists endorsed him, as did Hawk Democrats and Hawk Liberals. The Communists pledged the mostly unknown Paul Noel, a Party speaker who had lost election bids to local and provincial governments, and the Socialists joined Dove Liberals and Dove Democrats in promoting a campaign for Senator Karl Green, the effective leader of the Opposition in the Senate. It was patently clear as the year went on, however, that neither candidate had much hope in defeating Muniz, short of a military disaster.

The increased naval budget had also, by this point, permitted construction on the Galatine and Curtana to resume; all three remaining Excalibur-class ships were expected to be in service by the midway point of 1925.

Unrest down to 1

The Japanese attempted another elaborate offensive in Manchuria, starting on July 10th. Days of artillery bombardment, infiltration tactics, and the first Japanese use of armored "tank" vehicles won them another mile of penetration in some spots. But their tanks broke down, their infiltrators had suffered enormously against the picket foxholes, and the bombardment had allowed the Cascadians warning to shift troops to reduce those in the forward, vulnerable trenches in favor of enough force for a major counter-attack. This developed on the 11th. By dawn on the 12th, most of the Japanese forces had been pushed back to their starting points, and about four thousand Japanese troops in the furthest penetrations were actually encircled and forced to surrender over the coming days.


The Admiralty, with an eye on the future, decided to use some of the war budget to start building a new class of scout cruisers. This would be the first scout cruiser, or "light cruiser", to use multi-gun turrets. In this case, the ship would have nine 6" guns in three triple turrets in the A-B-Y arrangement. Eight 2" deck guns and two quadruple torpedo mounts would round out the weaponry of the ship. Forty mines would also be included on her mine-laying racks. A 3" armor belt for protection and 31 knot maximum speed rounded out the 7,300T design, dubbed the Anchorage-class in honor of the protected cruiser CRS Anchorage.

The Anchorage was laid later in the month at Hunter's Point in San Francisco. The Portland was laid in the slipyard beside her. Moran Brothers received a contract for two extra minesweepers to help keep up the minesweeper force.


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August 1924

Gunnery experts completed new techniques to enable concentration firing, allowing multiple ships to engage a single target with better accuracy.

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Cascadia's war effort took a black eye on the 5th of the month with the sinking of the Japanese flagged-liner Takasaga Maru, which had been returning to Japan from a trip to Europe. The Porpoise had engaged the ship in the twilight in the South China Sea - the light and the ship's structure had led Lieutenant Commander Jack Newton to believe she was a military transport, and he decided to use torpedoes instead of closing with his deck gun.

The torpedoes did their job too well; the Takasaga Maru's keel was blown in half and the ship sank rapidly. Only two hundred out of over a thousand passengers and crew got to the life boats or managed to get free before the ship went to the bottom - they included several dozen Europeans.

The attack outraged the European Powers. In Portland the Admiralty was also grossly displeased, as Newton had been skirting the rules of engagement. New orders were sent to the submersible force to be more circumspect when engaging any ship that could even potentially be a liner. Newton himself was recalled to a shore assignment. European leaders demanded his court-martial and declared the attack a war crime. Admiral Garrett considered it an exaggeration but bowed to pressure from Muniz and Naval Secretary Vargas in ordering a full JAG investigation.

The matter would resolve itself, eventually, in another manner: on the 29th of the month, Jack Newton shot himself in his lodgings near Manila Naval Headquarters. His suicide note absolved the crew of the Porpoise of the act and took full responsibility.

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Aside from the Takasaga Maru, nine other Japanese ships were sent to the bottom by Cascadian subs, at the loss of one of their own.

But with their surface raiders on the prowl, the Japanese won the month. Kinugasa returned to her hunting grounds in the waters between Hawai'i and California, sinking four merchant ships during the month. The Kasagi sank 3, and the cruiser Otowa sank 1. Raiding out of Kaohsiung in Formosa, the Unebi caught a Filipino ship off Palawan and sank her as well.


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But everything else paled in comparison to what was to come at the end of the month. Late in the afternoon of August 30th, as a light rain drizzled over the Yellow Sea off the western coast of Korea, the Cascadian Battle Fleet went into action against the Japanese Navy in the first major naval battle of the war. Victory meant consolidation of Cascadian control in the Yellow Sea and open supply lines to Dalian and Port Arthur, defeat meant a Japanese vise that could strangle the defenders of the peninsula became a severe possibility.

The Cascadian and Japanese fleets were out in force on the 30th. Admiral Phillip Wallace was commanding from the Titan - Champion and Goliath were with him, as were the battlecruisers Indefatigable, Illustrious, and Courageous, and all accompanied by a force of cruisers and destroyers. Miles ahead, the Scouting Force under Rear Admiral Jim Rawlings consisted of the Aurora and Artemis, with the cruisers Vancouver and Esquimalt and four McCoy-class destroyers

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The Japanese force was more imbalanced, but heavy: a significant number of their capital ships were in engagement range: six sovereign battleships, five battlecruisers, and a modern-form armored cruiser. Fourteen destroyers were acting as screens, but significantly, no cruisers.


CRS Aurora
Eastern Yellow Sea
30 August 1924



Admiral Rawlings was a bear of a man and always had been. As a dark-eyed, dark-haired youth he had been the son of a fisherman out of Ilwaco, on the northern bank of the Columbia right inside of its mouth, and his size had been useful in hauling in the catches of the day.

He'd wanted more and had studied for it. After reading an account of the Battle of Mobile Bay in a book from Astoria, he had decided he was going to join the Navy and seek to become an officer. He'd narrowly passed the entrance exam for the Astoria Naval Officer's Academy at the age of 18, and with his parents' reluctant blessing had started his career there and was commissioned in 1897, just in time to be an Ensign on the armored cruiser Reliant during the Spanish War.

Now, 23 years later, he was an Admiral in command of the 2nd Battle Scout Squadron. His optics were at his eyes and his sight was directed toward the Korean coast. Miles behind was the main force of the Battle Fleet present at the moment, led by Admiral Wallace, and they were out seeking a fight with the Japanese fleet. So long as neither fleet had engaged, control of the Yellow Sea was in dispute.

Curse this rain, he thought. He couldn't see to the horizon, as even a light rain eventually obscured the distance.

The local time clock showed 1715 when one of his officers made the report: their scout cruisers, Vancouver and Esquimalt, had spotted enemy contacts ahead.

Before he could give the order to change bearing, another report was already coming in from the destroyer Whitney: at least six more contacts to the east.

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"Dammit." His scouting force was at risk of being enfiladed by the main and scout bodies of the Japanese fleet. "All ships, turn bearing 270!"

His eyes were back to his optics. Splashes rained down around several of his ships, joined by the explosions of hits. Vancouver was suffering the most during this opening bombardment. The scout cruiser had the full attention of several enemy ships - it was unlikely she would survive.

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At Rawling's order, his ships shifted to be more northeasterly. He was racing to reunite with the main body of the fleet and, hopefully, to keep the enemy to the south from getting accurate fire on his ships. The reduced visibility from the rain was an asset here that could mean the survival of his force.

There was still the foes from the east, however. Destroyers and at least one enemy battlecruiser were coming up on his side. He was in a superior tactical position crossing their T, at least, even if the visibility issues undermined that typically-crucial advantage.

"Wireless from Vancouver, sir," came the voice of one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Thompkins. "'We are sinking, abandoning ship.'"

Rawlings acknowledged with a nod.

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As the battle ticked closer to 1800 and the onset of twilight, the exchange of fire continued and made its murderous effect upon his ships. The Aurora endured repeated hits to her hull and waterline. Rawlings' ship shook and vibrated beneath him at the enemy's punishment.

"Sir, Captain Rockland's ordering a northwesterly course," said Thompkins. "He says we have critical damage and the ship must break off."

Rawlings took a moment to growl an assent. He wouldn't be able to transfer his flag to the Artemis at this rate - it would be left to Captain Smith on that ship to continue commanding the unit.

My first great battle at this rank… and I'm going to be sitting it out.



CRS Artemis

"Signal from Aurora, sir," reported Lieutenant Joshua Harper. "Admiral Rawlings has given you command."

For Captain Donald Smith, this meant a heavy burden. He was already commanding his ship - having to deal with the entire scout force was too much. "Commander Dunning, I'm going to the flag bridge. The ship is yours."

"Aye sir."

Smith left the command bridge and clambered his way up the ship's stairs and walkways until he found the currently un-used flag bridge. A group of officers joined him and took up positions to support him in his impromptu command. His eyes went back to the east. The enemy battlecruiser and Artemis exchanged another salvo. "Looks like a Mishima," he ventured. "Make our course more easterly as is necessary. We'll screen the Aurora as she gets away."

Through the gray rains the guns thundered and roared, each sending a ton of metal through the air that would maim flesh and steel alike if it hit.

And sometimes, even more, as shown by the fireball that erupted just before 1800.

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The enemy Mishima-class battlecruiser went up from a flash fire, the dreaded fate that could claim the most pristine vessel in an action.

"Commander Huerta on the Sachs is moving in to search for any survivors."

"Good man. Send to squadron, turn toward bearing 180 and on to 270. I want to sweep for their escorts as we start to go back to the west."

Artemis began to execute the turn. Meanwhile, to her east, the Battle Fleet began to arrive below the setting sun.

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CRS Titan

Admiral Wallace was listening quietly to the reports on a battle he had no visual sight of. His mind made the calculation that the entire loss of an enemy battlecruiser had made up for the loss of Vancouver and damage to the Aurora. It occurred to him that Admiral MacCallister would have withdrawn at this point - the weather and the imminent twilight made a battle dangerous.

But I am not MacCallister. We have a chance here.

He decided to roll the dice. The Cascadian fleet continued to steam toward the action. For Wallace, he hoped to fall upon a division of the enemy fleet before nightfall. If this proved impossible, indeed, if the enemy seemed to do the same to him… then the same nightfall would prove a boon to a withdrawal. Cascadian ships had always been built with an emphasis on speed for this very reason: to dictate the engagement.

It was an advantage he intended to make use of.

"1st Battle Scout Squadron reporting they are coming in range, sir. Orders?"

"Maintain course. Find and target the foe," he replied succinctly. With that order he committed the Indefatigable, Illustrious, and Courageous to the fight alongside Artemis. As night fell, Titan and her sisters would join that fray.

And for his last order… "Order the signal given, lads. You know the one."

And indeed they did. The order went out to the signalmen, and the signal was raised for the entire Battle Fleet to see.

"Remember the Warrior."



CRS Artemis

Smith saw the ships loom in out of the darkening rain. More enemy vessels were approaching from his southeast, including a battlecruiser. He gave the order for a more westerly course while the Artemis began training her 14" guns to the southeast.

While hits rained down on them, a form appeared ahead. The enemy southern force was moving up and engaging the Battle Fleet's forward element. And one enemy ship, a Katsuragi, was moving to cut off Artemis from meeting them.

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He sent the order to Commander Dunning to turn to starboard, keeping a course necessary to rejoin the fleet, while their full battery would engage the foe who was starting to come up on their starboard.

Artemis suffered the enemy fury, and she made the enemy suffer too. At this range, even with the darkening twilight, gunners' duty was made easier by proximity.

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A plume of water erupted beside the enemy ship, courtesy of a torpedo fired by an escort. But the enemy's main and secondary guns were still blasting away, the Katsuragi as determined to sink them as they were determined to sink her. "Rudder control down, sir," came the report - they were trapped on the course for the time being.

There was a sudden blast that threw everyone off their feet. Glass cracked and broke at the front of the bridge. Smith crawled back to his feet and made perfunctory request for information.

But he already knew. An enemy shell had hit the bridge. The bridge he had vacated not half an hour before.

For a moment the prospect of his mortality was overpowering. But just a moment. He slammed the thoughts down and calculated instead the needs of his ship. The Artemis needed direction, and with the command bridge destroyed, it was left to him.



CRS Titan

Night was already falling. And Wallace still had time to turn back.

He didn't.

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His ships charged forth toward the night, guns at the ready. Reports via wireless indicated the enemy fleet was to his east and southeast. He intended to fall on them, inflict maximum damage, and then break off and determine his next move.

An enemy battlecruiser appeared out of the loom. Some of her lights were still running - spotlights from his ships, especially Champion in the lead of the division, illuminated her further. Gunfire began to savage the enemy ship as they drew closer and she slowed.

Around them the Battle Fleet was in a hot engagement. A report came in from one of the destroyers of a torpedo hit on an enemy Mikasa at 1837. Whitney's captain signaled his ship was going down less than ten minutes later - whether she had struck that blow or not, Wallace was uncertain. He was following the engagement as a whole. A mental picture formed in his mind of the enemy fleet, still generally split between its eastern portion and southern, and the Battle Fleet was a blade aimed straight at the eastern portion.

The enemy's destroyers were still a nuisance. They darted in and out of the dark - both Illustrious and Courageous took torpedoes from them, and both ships kept fighting.

He looked up in time for the grand view at 1850.

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Night seemed to turn to day for an instant as all of the Titan's port-side weapons erupted in fury. They were so close he could see the burning Katsuragi-class battlecruiser as the Titan's broadside slammed into her. Virtually every shell struck the enemy ship. It was a simply stupendous amount of firepower. Given the other hits she was taking, Wallace knew the Japanese ship was a casualty of the battle. It was time to direct his attention everywhere.

The fleet turned to the south-southeast, bearing 170, as wireless reports from the ships ahead of Titan indicated more foes.

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Searchlights and flames lit up the night; both fleets had to be only a few miles apart to have any chance at landing a hit on the other. Most of the enemy was now to the east more than the south. Fire was still exchanged; an enemy cruiser, too large to be a scout but not large enough to be a battlecruiser, took multiple heavy shells until she was dead in the water.

Wallace let the destroyers do the work here, and they did the work brilliantly. Several more torpedo hits were reported after 1900 hours.

Again the Cascadian admiral was left with a decision: did he risk his force by pushing toward the enemy for point-blank shots? The numbers he was hearing from those destroyers able to identify enemy vessels indicated he was outnumbered in capital ships. He had already sank at least two enemy capital ships - his own force wasn't untouched either, with three battlecruisers already limping back to Tsingtao.

By 1915, he made his decision. "Signal to all ships, make bearing 270 and break engagement," Wallace ordered. "We've done what we can tonight, lads."

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His order, for the most part, put an end to the battle. Still, even as his capital vessels turned away, the destroyers continued to skirmish with foes behind them. The crippled Stockton took hits that finished her off, costing Wallace his second scout cruiser of the evening.

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At 1954 a distant fireball spoke of another vessel blowing up - the report came that it was an enemy heavy cruiser, claimed by a shell from the O'Hare striking the battered turret of the ship and causing a flash fire.

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The fighting all but stopped at this point; the Japanese had disengaged as well, their ships moving for Korean ports for shelter. Admiral Wallace noted times in his logs as reports came in to confirm the condition of his surviving ships. Commander Green on the Moreau indicated his need for machinery repairs and that he had fallen behind.

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Wallace ordered destroyers back to screen Green's ship. He would learn later that his orders had not been relayed properly and were thus not implemented for hours. It was not until the next morning that the O'Hare and Adams linked up with the Moreau as she limped back to Tsingtao. Appropriate measures would be taken to prevent a repetition.

As Wallace's bruised fleet steamed west for Tsingtao and its expanded repair yards, he contemplated the night's action. He had gambled, and gambled greatly, on the quality of his crew. That the gamble had apparently worked given the enemy losses… that had saved his job, certainly.

"A solid night's action, sir," remarked his aide, Commander Paul Lawrence.

"Yes," he remarked. "But we were lucky. Looking at these reports… the enemy had greater force than we did, Commander. If not for the rain and the night, they might have brought it to bear. The next time the Battle Fleet goes out… I intend to bring more force." Wallace looked out over the dark seas around his flagship. "The next time we meet the Japanese, I intend for the outcome to be truly decisive."




The Battle of the Yellow Sea had been the fiercest naval battle the world had seen in decades, in terms of sailors killed and ships damaged or sunk, and it would invite comment from across the world on the ferocity of the action.

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Even before the news of the Battle of the Yellow Sea hit the newspapers, it was clear that public enthusiasm for the war had not waned. Anti-war agitation, socialist agitation, rightist… none of it worked for those favoring it. The country was socially unified behind President Muniz and Secretary of State Montelbano… and, to a great deal, behind Admiral Garrett as well.

Once news of the battle hit, another name joined their names in the accolades of the nation. Admiral Phillip Wallace was being hailed as the dashing naval commander the Republic had lacked in the wars with Germany. Reports from correspondents aboard the Titan and other ships about the bold night charge of the Battle Fleet and Wallace's success was a jolt to the populace. Proud parents named newborn sons "Phillip Wallace" (much as "Stephen Garrett" had been a popular name in the year after Manila Bay).

There were critical commentators. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was leaked a letter from Roger MacCallister. The retired commander of the Battle Fleet had protested to Naval Secretary Vargas that Wallace had "unnecessarily jeopardized the fleet, and our war effort, with a reckless night engagement" and declared "Unless restrained by firm authority from the Admiralty, Wallace will cost us the war". MacCallister's grumbling was echoed in some halls of the Admiralty as reports of the damage to the fleet came in.

Admiral Garrett's response, in private, spoke of his own views of the matter. When a Captain in the Personnel Office remarked upon the losses incurred on the night of August 30th and how MacCallister had never cost the Navy such blood in a battle, the Admiral's retort was soon on the lips of every officer in the building: "In one night the Battle Fleet under Phil Wallace sank more enemy capital ships than Roger MacCallister's commands sank in his entire career."


Unrest at 0

As news came in to Portland on the scope of the damage from the Battle of the Yellow Sea, Admiral Garrett directed ships to transfer from Manila and the Marianas to Tsingtao and Liaotung. This would undermine proposals to invade Formosa with troops, but the Admiral judged the need to hold the sealanes to China, and the prospect of a blockade of Japan, to be more important.


In light of the losses in cruisers and destroyers, the growing windfall in the naval budget prompted the Office of Naval Design and Procurement to focus on construction of more vessels of these types. Four more Anchorage-class cruisers were laid: Las Vegas, Fairbanks, Olympia, and San Jose.

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Additionally, a new class of destroyers was ordered. The new Andreys-class destroyer would sacrifice a triple torpedo mount from the McCoy to allow for a heavier machinery plant, providing the ship a maximum speed of 35 knots. Although with only two triple torpedo mounts, the Andreys kept the McCoy's gun armament of 5" guns arranged in two double turrets on the bow and aft and a single super-imposed 5" turret on the bow.

Eight ships of the class were laid: Andreys, Delgado, Carrey, Lucero, Scott, Walters, Ramirez, and Bucher.

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Status of the World as of August 30th (Prior to Cascadian orders to end the month):
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”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

The credit for Adm. Wallace's obituary for the Warrior goes to Eternal_Freedom.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

God damn that sounded like a fun fight! Three capship kills and a CA plus destroyers for two light cruisers? Sound deal to me.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

September 1924


In light of their clear loss in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Japanese government sued for peace again. But they were unwilling to pay the higher cost of victory that Cascadia's increasing success was leading them to demand. The negotiations in Paris were a failure, although Muniz did not terminate them.

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A new, advanced firing director system was progressing in developed. Designers also reported an unexpected breakthrough in their latest research into submersible improvements.

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Neither side lost submersibles for the month, with the Cascadians claiming six Japanese merchants to Japan's two. But Japan's raiding cruisers again gave them the lead for the month: Kasuga, Akitsushima, and Hirado each claimed a ship in the waters of the East Indies, the Hawai'i sea lanes, and the trading lanes off England. The Otowa, closer to home, sank two straggling Cascadian merchants from a convoy bound for Tsingtao.

The losses to raiders were becoming a humiliation to the Cascadian Navy, especially as all of its cruisers were devoted entirely to other purposes. Some cruiser commanders urged Admiral Garrett and his subordinates to let them begin raiding Japan's shipping as well. But the permission was denied: all ships were desired for other duties.

Subs sink 6

Japanese sink 2

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US naval action claimed several Japanese ships near Europe. The US Navy nevertheless prepared a reinforcement to be sent to China to join the Cascadian fleet and blockade Japan.

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Not even a week after the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Battle of the Korea Strait occurred on the morning of September 6th. The battlecruisers Illustrious and Courageous, freshly repaired from the Yellow Sea battle, sailed into the Strait with four destroyers and came upon the Japanese battlecruisers Haruna and Okinoshima. The two forces met on the time zone line, initially in GMT +9 and moving over to +8 during the fight.

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Early in the battle Illustrious took the most damage. Hits to the rear of the ship destroyed her aft main turret and damaged her rudder, which kept the ship stuck on course for eleven minutes before repairs could be enacted. The two Cascadian ships were meanwhile battering away at the Haruna.

At 0824 +8 GMT, the Illustrious' woes were increased by a torpedo hit.

But by then Haruna's fate was sealed.

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She came to a stop at 0831 +8, her machinery plant too damaged to function, and the Courageous battered her until she sank. By this point the Okinoshima and her escorts had moved far enough east that contact was broken.

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While not as heavy as the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Battle of the Korea Strait tightened the Cascadian noose around Japan. Soon the Japanese would lack the means to resist a general blockade of their islands. The aggressive actions of Wallace's commanders continued to endear him and them to the adoring Cascadian public.


October 1924

The Excalibur finished her working up. Admiral Garrett ordered her to proceed to Tsingtao, where she would become Admiral Wallace's new flagship.

The Arondight should have followed, but a steel shortage prevented the final touches needed for her to be commissioned. The Anchorage was likewise delayed.

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Designers achieved an early breakthrough in developing new, improved depth charges for anti-submersible work. Advanced work was also done for the light naval forces' latest advances.

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This month the Cascadians finally resumed command of the commerce war: submersibles sank 5 enemy ships, losing 1 of their own in the process, while the Japanese only managed two sinkings: 1 by submersible and a sinking in the Indian Ocean by the Kasuga. Her other raiders were all thwarted by patrolling Cascadian cruisers.

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The Japanese Navy, demoralized by their string of defeats and the growing losses to their battlecruiser forces, refused to engage in another cruiser battle in the Yellow Sea.

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This refusal to engage reflected the result of all of Japan's losses: Cascadia now had a preponderance of naval strength in Japanese waters. By the last week of October, Japan was under effective blockade.

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On October 28th, the Akitsushima attempted to break through the blockading lines to resume her raiding career. She was spotted east of Japan by the Esquimalt at 1034. The two cruisers were firing on each other within minutes. It was quickly clear which crew's gunnery was either more skilled or more lucky - most of the hits were coming down on the Akitsushima.

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And then, at 1112, a torpedo from Esquimalt found the Japanese raider. She began to sink within seconds of the blast.


With Japan under blockade, the country faced economic collapse. Japan was poor in natural sources: she needed her sea lanes to breathe, and Admiral Wallace had her sea lanes in his grip. The political situation in Tokyo was becoming increasingly unstable as the full ramifications of the blockade became obvious. All sides agreed that Japan needed peace, but agreeing to Cascadia's growing list of demands proved impossible for the factions in Tokyo.

Japan had gambled, and over half a year later, it was clear her gamble had put the nation in mortal peril.


November 1924

The submersible Perch and the battleship Arondight were commissioned into the fleet.

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The Freya, responsible due to her short-range for patrolling the waters between the continent and Hawai'i, was forced into Mare Island to deal with engine problems.

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New ships would be built with hydrodynamic hull forms, allowing for greater speeds per ton of machinery. New, advanced explosive fillers were now to be introduced into Cascadian HE shells. Progress toward non-flammable materials to use for damage control purposes and the new advanced firing director was reported. Advanced in ship design concepts were reported.


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The raiding war was a tie: Cascadia managed five sinkings to two subs lost, the Japanese managed 4 sinking to two lost, and the Kinugasa also claimed a victim near the North American coast.

Subs sink 5, 2 subs lost

Enemy subs sink 4, 2 lost

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The Kinugasa was later intercepted by the Navajo during a misty morning on the 24th of the month. The two ships closed the range and engaged in a brief firefight through the mists.

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Navajo managed several hits, but the heavier guns of the Kinugasa inflicted severe damage on the Navajo. Splinters damaged her engines, already suffering from a direct hit, and her aft turret was wrecked by a shell. The Navajo slipped north back into the mists to get away from the heavier enemy ship.

She had damaged the Kinugasa in the process of this tactical defeat, however, and to avoid internment the Kinugasa was forced to limp homeward. The battle was thus a strategic draw.

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It also had an effect upon the Admiralty. Japan's superior heavy cruisers prompted a study into building a new "super cruiser" that could destroy the Kinugasa and any ship like her while still being fast enough to evade enemy battlecruisers. This design work would come to fruition after the war.



After months of stalemate on the Liaotung Peninsula, a limited offensive was launched by Cascadian forces. Several brigades attacked specific points of the Japanese lines in conjunction with armored vehicles, including new lighter models fast enough to exploit breaks in the enemy lines. Major George S. Patton Jr. became the hero of the hour when his force successfully broke into the enemy rear and overran a Japanese divisional HQ.

Nevertheless the attack had only been intended as a limited strike to drive the Japanese off the Cascadian Zone. The effort succeeded for the most part - in the east of the lines Japan still held onto about 300 yards of Cascadian-leased territory, but aside from this 300 yard by 600 yard block of territory, all of her gains from February had been lost. And with Japan under blockade and Cascadia in firm control of the supply lines for their troops, it was obvious that spring would bring with it another Cascadian offensive.


Meanwhile the Cascadian Presidential election ended in a virtual landslide: Green, the most viable alternative candidate, was utterly destroyed, winning only a third of the votes. Not quite two-thirds of the Cascadian electorate had voted for Alonso Muniz.

Muniz's reaction was to encourage Montelbano to call for elections. They would be due at the end of 1925 anyway, but Muniz hoped to ride the momentum of his victory to secure a Hawk majority in both Houses under a Coalition campaign. He proposed the slogan of "Patriots not Partisans" and an emphasis on the multi-partisan nature of the current Government. Montelbano urged him to wait until the war was more clearly won. A battlefield reverse could revive Dove fortunes.

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December 1924

New minesweepers were commissioned for the Navy.

Nonflammable materials were readied for use in the fleet.
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The Grayling torpedoed a Japanese battleship, which limped back to port for repairs. The Japanese sub force did nothing for the month, but in addition to Grayling's triumph, six more Japanese ships were sunk in the Pacific at the cost of two Cascadian subs.

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Subs sink 6 ships, 2 lost

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The Garrett House
West Portland, Oregon
25 December 1924



Christmas had come again and the family, save Rafael and Gabriela, were gathered together. The stress of war was not new to the Admiral, but it was less welcome at his advanced age - the chance to get away from it was welcome.

The chance to see his grandchildren, and how big they were getting, was even more welcome.

Sophie was still living with him for the moment. She had spent a lot of her money in Europe helping her former husband, and so she had turned to writing and research to supplement what remained of her funds. The Admiral was proud of his older daughter for her resolve in returning to the academic life she loved. Sophie was becoming known in the public libraries of the Capital. Currently she was researching her first solo work, a history of the founding of Cascadia, aided by research material she had gleaned while working with her beastly ex-husband in various British archives.

Christmas dinner was warm in their bellies and the children were enjoying the unwrapping of presents. Thomas approached his father with a quiet bearing. "What do you think of the idea of an early election for Parliament?", he asked.

"It is what I expected."

"It is a khaki election maneuver," Thomas grumbled. "Nothing more."

"Is that my son the Liberal or my son the Dove speaking?"

Thomas sighed at that. "Pa, the war needs to end. What is it going to win us? Japan's a power and she's here to stay. We're not going to break that, not without paying a cost in blood that the country won't pay."

"Breaking Japan is not my intent," replied the Admiral. "Making her accept Cascadian positions in China, however, is. The Japanese were the ones who started this, remember?"

"Only because of Lakeland's grasping in 1910!" Thomas nearly slammed his unfinished drink glass down. "Our nation is secure now. The Japanese only did this because we threaten them with the holdings we've claimed, holdings we don't need. If we had negotiated…"

"It is Christmas, Thomas," the Admiral retorted. "If you wish to debate your Dove politics with me, please do so another time." He gestured toward the children. "Your little ones and Raffie's are happy to enjoy the day."

Thomas forced a frown from his face and sighed. "Yes, Pa," he said, defeated for the moment.

Sophie approached them quietly. Thomas hugged his sister and kissed her on the cheek. "You're smiling," he noted.

"I have reason to," she replied softly. She faced the Admiral. "Papa, you received a letter yesterday. I only found it a little while ago. Mei-Ling must have mixed it in with my things."

The Admiral accepted the letter. It had a return address to a postal box in San Francisco. Curious, he opened it and read the text inside.
Dear Papa,

Please forgive me, but I am in love, and I'm not leaving my dear Izzy. I'm sorry that this hurts you. But as Mama found you, I have found Isabela, and my heart won't let me walk away.

We are doing well. We are working, and working hard, but we are very happy together, and we are going to make a life for ourselves.

Merry Christmas, Papa. I love you. Kisses and hugs to Raffie and Tom and Sophie and to all of the little ones.

Your loving daughter,
Gabbie

The Admiral quietly noted the words. A dull pain filled his heart. Thomas and Sophie could see his face and knew whom the letter had come from.

"Is Gabbie okay?", Thomas asked.

Wordlessly the Admiral handed the letter to his son. He turned away and felt the warring relief and anger well within him. His little girl… she was okay. She was alive.

And she was still living in that perverted relationship with that Talaverda girl and was still dishonoring her mother's memory and…!

"Papa, it's what she wants," Sophie murmured. She stepped up beside him and took his hand. "Mama… I think Mama would understand."

"Your sister would have been disowned by your Mama's family," he pointed out. "What she's doing is…"

"She's following her heart. Just as you and Mama did."

He might have pointed out that Sophie had also followed her heart and just where it had taken her. But he didn't. Not simply because it would be cruel, not just because it was Christmas, but because there was a quiet rebuke in what Sophie had said.

She hadn't even meant it. She couldn't have known how he'd think about it. But the truth was… if he had followed his heart ten years ago, he would have retired from the Navy before the war. And he and Rachel would have left this rainy city for the warmer climate of the Californias, and they would have traveled, and they would have been happy

He walked away for a moment and looked out the back window, where only the lights of the home illuminated the back yard. Even here he could see the toys that were now used by Thomas' children and Raffie's whenever they came by. And he thought about how, just a decade ago, they had been used by Gabriela. His little Gabbie…

As tears flowed from his eyes, he murmured, "Merry Christmas, my little one, wherever you are."



CRS Excalibur
Tsingtao, Cascadian Concession Zone
26 December 1924



Admiral Wallace looked over the new battleship's flag bridge. It was much like that on the Titan, especially now that he had finished putting his maps and his logbooks and other materials in their places.

"Sir?"

He turned. Lieutenant Commander Rafael Garrett stepped in. "Good morning, sir," he said. "Thank you for the Christmas celebration last night."

"Oh, you needn't thank me, Commander. The Fleet deserves it for their fine job." Wallace was beaming. "So, have you gotten yourself lost yet? They've changed the internals a little from the Titan."

"Not yet, sir." Rafael grinned slightly. "But she is a big one. The Japanese don't have anything like her."

"Nobody does, Commander, and that's the point." Wallace gestured toward the bow. "Twelve sixteen inch guns. The best armoring and defensive layout in the fleet. And she even surpassed her design speed during trials! The Excalibur is a thing of beauty. And now it's time for her to get her taste of action."

"Yes sir." Rafael nodded. "I've already sent the messages out. Admiral Rawlings and Admiral Pentworth signaled they were ready to rendezvous at the Korea Strait."

"Good, good." Wallace stepped up and pulled out a map. He ran his finger around the perimeter of the Japanese islands. "We're going to sail along their southern coast and then up toward Hokkaido." His finger stopped south of Sakhalin. "Here, the La Pérouse Strait. Or the Sōya Strait I suppose, they saw it before we did after all. That's where we'll cross into the Sea of Japan and make our way here…" He ran his finger along to the southwestern end of Japan near the tip of Korea. "....the Tsushima Strait. A complete circuit."

"You're trying to draw the Japanese battle fleet out for another battle, sir," Rafael observed.

"Aye, I am," Wallace confirmed. "Given time, they might finish their pre-war construction, and we'll lose our grip on their sea lanes. I want to bring them to battle again. This time with numbers. And then I want to send them to the bottom."

"Bold sir. I'll be honored to be part of it."

"Right. Now, get along and finish settling in. You're dismissed."

Wallace returned the salute he got from the Commander and watched him go. He had a good feeling about Rafael Garrett's future. He'd brought him on his staff from that feeling; he'd definitely inherited his father's ability to calculate strategically and tactically. Given another five years and he wouldn't be surprised to see the man making Captain. Definitely in ten years.

His eyes went back to the map. He suspected the Japanese would meet him in a strait if they could bring numbers to bear. Crossing his T and not giving him room to maneuver would be optimal.

But which strait would it be?
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Oh man, Japan's battlecruisers aren't having much luck. That's what, four BCs and a BB sunk to only one Cascadian BC (and an old one too...sniff...) plus heavy damage on one other.

Is there a reason so many Japanese ships are blowing up from turret hits? Is it random chance, or was there some research you did to reduce that chance in Cascadian ships?
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Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

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CRS Excalibur
Off of Hokkaido
9 January 1925



Admiral Wallace looked out through his binoculars at his Battle Fleet as it neared one of the two spots he considered the most dangerous. La Pérouse Strait loomed ahead of the fleet. Through the Strait was the Sea of Japan. Submersible and cruiser scouting had already determined the locations of Japanese minefields and Wallace was certain he had a course that would safely complete his fleet's circuit of Japan at Tsushima Strait. Until then he was out here, challenging the Japanese Navy to a fleet battle.

The Battle Fleet was as complete as he could manage without leaving the Yellow Sea defenseless. The Excalibur herself was being trailed by Sovereign and his old command the Superb. To their starboard was another full division of all four Titan-class battleships. And beyond the Titans, the Constitution and Liberty were on the extreme eastern side of the formation. Destroyers surrounded them, mostly new models with a few of the 900t Pratchett-class ships to round out their immediate escorts.

Miles ahead the Battle Scout Squadron was searching for any foe. The Indefatigable, Courageous, and Aurora and the heavy cruiser Apache had their own escorting destroyers and scout cruisers to deal with the enemy scouting elements.

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For weather, the wind was dead calm, the kind of calm that would have horrified a naval commander a hundred years prior. Overcast skies meant they would not suffer the glare of the sun if they had to aim toward the east.

At about 1241 Lt. Cmdr. Rafael Garrett stepped up to him. "Admiral, sir, signal from Admiral Rawlings on the Indefatigable. They've spotted elements of an enemy fleet."

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"Send to Rawlings. Engage only if advantageous, if not, fall back to main battle element." Wallace looked back on the horizon. "I want as many guns as possible shooting at the same targets."

"Yes sir."

His Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Lollard, stepped over and looked at him. "Do you think it's their full fleet? The Japs might be planning to hit us in waves, wear our our ammunition."

"We'll have to see, Jerry."

Reports continued to come in as contact was lost with the foe by the scout element. The Sacramento took some damage from long-range shots but remained with the fleet.

By 1345 contact was re-established. "Enemy warships definitely in strength to the north, sir," reported Rafael.

"Raise the special signal for action, Commander."

"Yes sir." Rafael immediately relayed the order to raise said signal: Admiral Wallace's "Remember the Warrior" signal.


As the two fleets came closer, Wallace could make out through his binoculars the dark puffs of gunfire. His ship vibrated as the sixteen inch guns of the Excalibur were thundering in reply. Water began to geyser in the air from close hits.


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Once again the Cascadian Battle Fleet and their Japanese counterparts were locked into a battle. Shells splashed everywhere, joined by the blast and flame of direct hits. Some enemy shots were seeking out Excalibur, others her mates in the division.

Superb, at the rearguard of her division, took the worst of it. One of her 13" turrets blew up from a hit. Hits along her main belt were causing damage in her internal spaces, damaging machinery and slowing the ship until she started to drift free of the formation.

And then at 1411 a fireball erupted over the seas.

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Wallace looked at the fireball. It was one of the Asahi-class battleships. A satisfied look came to his face at the dispatching of an enemy ship of the line.

Now the two forces were roughly parallel to each other west of La Pérouse Strait. The entire battle was becoming a general melee, even more active than that of the Yellow Sea in August, as both sides scored hits. Excalibur was not immune; Wallace felt the blast that knocked out one of the battleship's 5" turrets.

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It was soon clear that they had indeed prompted the enemy to throw everything they could muster. The sea to the north was full of big castles of steel flying the Ensign of the Rising Sun.
Wallace was outnumbered in number of hulls, but he took solace in recognizing a number of the older Japanese ships, including several old Tsukuba-class battlecruisers that only mounted six heavy guns. They have the numbers, but we have the quality, was his belief.

But he knew, regardless of that, a price would have to be paid for victory today. And that price might be heavy.

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Another blast echoed over the ocean. Wallace laughed at seeing that the profile now vanishing from his sight was that of the Fuji, the newest battleship in the Imperial Japanese Navy and victim of a flash fire. The Japanese had taken a mighty blow with that ship's destruction.

Nine more minutes of battling. Nine more minutes of shells crashing into the two battle fleets, each determined to annihilate the other. And then there was another blast that rattled the windows from its ferocity.

But this one was a lot closer to home.

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Wallace looked back to Rafael. "Commander, that was one of ours, wasn't it?", he asked solemnly.

Rafael was busy consulting with fleet communications. Wallace saw his face pale a little. "Yes sir. Commander Halstead on the Rickman confirms… it was the Titan, sir."

Wallace swallowed and let out a sigh. The Titan. Of all the ships to lose, it had to be his former flagship…

"One of the destroyers are going to look for survivors, sir. But it's not likely…"

"No, it's not," Wallace agreed. All of those bright and keen men on his old flagship. Gone in a flash of heat and carnage. A crew of thousands and he doubted they would recover enough survivors to count on two hands.

But there was no time to grieve. The battle had to go on. They were drawing west of the enemy fleet now, but Wallace was in no mood to leave the field. "Send to all ships, make northerly bearings. We're to their west now."

The maneuver was made. The engagement continued. The enemy was continuing to deliver punishment and take it. There was no immediate telling how badly they were hurting. Wallace listened as the reports came in of damage to his own ships. Superb had already broken off, limping to the southeast to get away from the combat with her grievous damage. Losing the Warrior had been a painful blow - losing Superb would have added to that pain.

Indefatigable gave him the biggest scare: a hit at about 1449 hours robbed her of electrical power. She would be a sitting duck. The escorting destroyers maneuvered to watch her. Thankfully her engineering crews were swift to respond: by 1455 they had restored power.

By the end of the hour, the fleet was veering eastward, the enemy still to the north, and the battle raged on as night came closer here, not three weeks after the winter solstice. Excalibur took more abuse.

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At these ranges the two sides starting seeing their destroyers fire torpedoes at one another. A report came in a few minutes after 1500 local: Courageous had suffered a torpedo hit.

After nearly ten minutes had passed, Wallace noticed what he knew his lookouts had to have seen: the Japanese destroyers were darting ahead. They were coming in for a torpedo attack. The ship below him shifted as her skipper, Captain Monckton, ordered an evasive zig-zag course.

But not all ships were as lucky. First Aurora reported a hit, then Colossus.

And all the while, the exchange of fire continued, the minutes stretching on. The two fleets were battering each other relentlessly past the halfway point of the hour. The Cascadian destroyers dashed forward to intercept any more attempted torpedo runs and, ultimately, to attempt their own. Wallace couldn't immediately tell if it had any effects.

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"Sir!" Rafael's voice was raised again. "We just got a signal from Champion. Goliath's bridge was just destroyed.

"And Captain Sutherland?"

"Status unknown, sir."

Wallace sighed and nodded. Horace Sutherland had been a good subordinate back on the Superb. He'd even spent a few months on Wallace's staff after the last war with Germany. He hoped the man had survived.

He had that thought that all commanders inevitably got. That his old comrade's death was on his head. The blood on his hands. Here he was, aggressively pushing this battle, and it was costing his crews.

Duty is a harsh mistress indeed, Wallace pondered.

The sun was already sinking over the western horizon and the Russian coast beyond it. At 1558 the sunset began and twilight set in. As the light diminished he lost sight of the battered foe. Other ships reported the same.

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Night was now falling. They had hammered the Japanese again, and had cost them more. But the loss of Titan, the Rickman, and the damage to his fleet made Wallace reconsider turning to the east to re-engage. He'd inflicted more loss on Japan with his calculated risk, and the odds were becoming longer than he'd prefer. The order was given to break off to the east and north around Sakhalin for the battered fleet to regroup.

But that was not the end of the night's engagements….


CRS Moreau

Commander Seth Green's destroyer was lucky to be afloat. The Shepard-class ship had holes everywhere, a battered superstructure, and numerous casualties. The Moreau was arguably worse of than she'd been at the Yellow Sea.

Now they limped eastward as the darkness spread its ink across the waves. His engineers and damage control personnel were still uncertain if they would survive the night.

And then, out of the gloom, the light of the nearly-full moon showed the profile of a battleship. Moreau strained his eyes to see the profile… it was enough that he knew it wasn't a Cascadian ship. He shouted, "Fire torpedoes!" to his bridge crew.

The torpedoes hit the water moments later. The enemy ship disappeared back into the gloom from the helmsman maneuvering to evade their secondary guns' fire. The lack of any explosion in the distance told Moreau that he had likely not made any hits.

The crew of the Moreau remained on edge while their broken ship continued eastward. The moon illuminated the coast of Sakhalin. The eastern shore of Aniva Bay loomed ahead, and to the immediate southeast, open ocean.

And then it re-appeared. A battleship in size, clearly not a Cascadian profile, was to their south. Again Green gave the order: "Fire torpedoes!" The other launcher released its lethal steel fish. The gunners, tracking a smaller target nearby the big ship, opened fire as soon as the gunnery officer was certain she was a Japanese destroyer.

This time, Green was rewarded with distant thunder. The moon reflected the geyser of water that erupted alongside the enemy ship.

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"We got the bastards!", he crowed. As the enemy disappeared into the gloom he returned to conversing with his officers on the ship's seaworthiness… and whether they would need to abandon her.



CRS Excalibur


The moon-lit sea reflected its rays into Wallace's vision as his damaged flagship, with its damaged fleet, made its way east of Aniva Bay. He was reflecting on the battle and its costs to the fleet.

"Sir, wireless from Apache." It was Rafael again. "Enemy battleship has entered visual range for her, sir. Captain Fox is engaged."

"Have Rawlings go back for them."

"Aye sir."

1-15



Detaching the badly-wounded Aurora first, the Indefatigable and Courageous steamed westward to aid the Apache. Ahead of them Cascadian destroyers were already engaging their wounded foe. The Christopher Lee would prove the most successful, putting several torpedoes into her.

As the enemy ship slowed to a crawl, the battlecruisers came up on her and opened fire.

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Soon it was clear the enemy ship was dead in the water. Her escorting destroyers attempted to assist, only to take a deadly battering from the guns of the battlecruisers. Two Japanese destroyers were left as sinking wrecks under the moon-lit sky.



Back on Excalibur, it was clear by 1900 that the battle was over. Wallace ordered the fleet to stand down. "That was quite a battle," he said to his officers.

Admiral Lollard nodded. "Yes sir. But I've been going over the report logs. I think it's clear that we came out the better today. Again."

"If only the crew of the Titan could join us for that, eh?" He looked to Rafael. "Any further updates I should know about? Losses?"

"The bad news, sir, is that Commander Green just signaled by wireless from Moreau. She's taking on too much water and her boilers have flooded. He's going to abandon ship by dawn."

"I see. Detach a cruiser and destroyers to oversee the evacuation. I'm not having men in that freezing water longer than they need to be." Wallace raised an eyebrow. "The good news?"

Rafael grinned slightly. "Wireless from Goliath, sir. 'Captain Sutherland injured badly but alive.' His condition seems to be stable."

Wallace let out a sigh. "That's good to hear then." He turned back to consider the sea. The calm winds meant the sea was tranquil. The silver rays of the moon illuminated some of her inky surface. It was the kind of sea that all ship captains prayed to God in Heaven to grant them.

A heavy contrast to the geysers of shell-fire, the blood and oil and steel detritus that had covered it before, all in the carnage now miles behind them.

"O Lord, thy sea is so peaceful, why must we make war upon it?", he murmured to himself.

"Sir?", asked Lollard.

"Nothing, Lollard," Wallace said. "Just an old seaman's lament." He stepped away. "I'm going to begin my report of the day's action for the Admiralty. Call if I am needed."

"Yes sir."

With that Wallace departed for his office, and from there - hours later - to his quarters, where his exhausted body found rest and some solace after the blood and fire of the day.


Maneuvers of the two fleets:
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”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Those flash fires are proving to be a real bitch. I definitely seem to have gotten the better of the Japanese, in three engagements thats, what, 5 battleships and four battlecruisers sunk for only two capital ships in exchange? Even if one was the Titan.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Those flash fires are proving to be a real bitch. I definitely seem to have gotten the better of the Japanese, in three engagements thats, what, 5 battleships and four battlecruisers sunk for only two capital ships in exchange? Even if one was the Titan.
Hrm... April '24 convoy battle = 1 enemy BC lost
Warrior's last battle = Warrior and 1 enemy BC lost
Yellow Sea = 1 enemy BB and 2 enemy BC lost
Korea Strait = 1 enemy BC
La Pérouse Strait = Titan and 4 enemy BB lost

So that's 1 Cas BC and 1 Cas BB lost to 5 Jap BC and 5 Jap BB lost. :)
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Yeah, I'll take a five to one kill to loss ratio any day. Especially since the Japs don't outnumber us by 6 or more to one.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Thanas »

Maybe sent a telegram of the Germans asking them how to prevent flash fires blowing up your ships. Maybe Hipper has some idea....
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Yeah I'm curious as to why it seems to happen so frequently in this game.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Thanas »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Yeah I'm curious as to why it seems to happen so frequently in this game.
My guess is they forgot to code in magazine hits and such so everything is a flash fire.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

It's possible. The game is still technically a beta.

And it's weird because I usually don't see so many kabooms. Some of my prior games had epic fleet fights that didn't involve ships blowing up like firecrackers. And the Brits are the only faction that's supposed to be really susceptible to it with the Hidden Flaws national trait.

Or maybe the RNG was just rolling odd for those fights. *smirk*

(One fight I remember that was fun was me vs. France in West Africa zone, I lured a larger French battle line into my mine field at the Wouri Estuary at Cameroon... and into range of my shore batteries. The extra guns and a mine hit gave me the win despite inferior numbers).
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

January 1925


By the 10th, it was known in Cascadia that a major naval action had been fought north of Japan, and days later the first official reports hit the wires about the Battle of La Pérouse Strait. "Wallace, Battle Fleet Blast Jap Fleet!" proclaimed The Oreganian, and other newspapers were quick to praise the victory.

The Battle of La Pérouse Strait was destined to go down in history as one of Cascadia's most decisive and memorable naval battles. The Cascadian and Japanese forces had pummelled one another severely, but there was no denying the Japanese battle line had taken the greater loss. Their newest battleship had been blown up. They'd lost four capital ships overall with just one permanent Cascadian casualty of that size. Hopes in Japan for breaking the blockade had disappeared.

The loss of the Titan was painful for the Cascadians as well, and thousands of sailors spread across multiple ships had died for the victory. There was again some grumbling in the Admiralty about Wallace's boldness. But there was no arguing with the results: Cascadia's fleet was achieving results under his leadership, and he had Admiral Garrett's support for his aggressive circuit of the Japanese Home Islands.

The fate of the Titan did prompt the Office of Design and Procurement to look into ammunition-handling processes to see if the risks of such disastrous flash fires could be reduced.



The submersibles Bass, Cachalot, and Pickerel joined the fleet.

Shortly after the New Year, a row broke out between General Brewer and Admiral Garrett. The former wanted to divert the war funds for a larger call-up to fill ambitious army plans for amphibious attacks on Formosa and Korea in conjunction with the ongoing battle for Manchuria. Admiral Garrett's position was that the Navy was going to be the service that won or lost the war and that he was against reallocation of resources from the Navy. Both men had prestige and, in the end, a compromise was established.

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Designers had difficulty with design work on new watertight hatches.

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The commerce war continued. Submersibles daring Japanese home waters torpedoed four ships. A Japanese submersible sank a lone Cascadian-flagged merchantman in the Formosa Strait. The cruiser Kasuga did the same to a ship in the South China Sea. Two Japanese submersibles were sunk during the month.




February 1925


By this point, the Navy's enhanced training measures had been fully disseminated among the fleet.

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The battleship Curtana was commissioned. Arondight finished her working up period and was ready to join the fleet.

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In Britain a number of Labour newspapers ran articles blasting the Cascadian government for its refusal to "deal fairly" with Japan. "Cascadia is a grasping, vicious, bullying brute," ran one article, "and it is our shame to have helped bring this cruel nation into the world".

The Soviets went further. Although Lenin was on his deathbed at this point, he approved a message warning the Cascadians of "severe consequences" if Cascadian forces continued to sink shipping along the sea lanes approaching Vladivostok.

UK tension to 1, Russia to 9

Simnel & King's design department provided a report that they had made headway on a new turbo-electric drive system for naval ships.

Naval Artillery reported success in developing a new, advanced fire-director system.

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With the blockade sealing Japanese commerce, Cascadian submersibles faced slim pickings compared to the rich harvest in the first year of the war. Only three Japanese ships were sunk the entire month. Japanese subs managed one more kill while losing two of their number during the month. The Kasuga managed to dart up from Formosa and sink a lone Cascadian merchantman before it could reach Tsingtao.

The US Navy ships stationed in Tsingtao launched a coastal raid that destroyed or damaged key facilities in the Ryukyus.


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A battle in the Bay of Korea was evaded by the belligerents.

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March 1925

The Ranger put into port with condensor trouble.

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Naval Artillery informed the Admiralty that an improved 17" gun model was available for any future ship designs.

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The Japanese ship Kurama was torpedoed and sunk by the Moccasin.

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Another three Japanese ships were sunk by subs during the month - Japanese mines claimed one submersible that got too close to the coast. The Kasuga chased and sunk a ship near Tsingtao. But a fuel leak and an error in calculating their fuel reserves forced the ship into Shanghai, where it was interned. Similarly the raiding cruiser Tenryu was interned after running out of fuel.

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The Japanese fleet refused to engage Cascadian warships prowling near Honshu and Formosa.

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The Admiralty put in orders for two Armed Merchant Cruisers to help with raiding what Japanese shipping remained on the oceans.


In Manchuria the Japanese Army, reinforced and re-armed, attempted another general offensive. It proved a disaster. The Cascadian defenses had been improved during the winter and the Japanese suffered grievous losses in the three days of attacks. The Cascadian Army prepared to launch their own offensive, this to drive the Japanese back into Manchuria as far as possible.


April 1925

With the country facing imminent economic ruin from the Cascadian blockade and the failure of the army in Manchuria, the Japanese finally broke down to Cascadian demands. On April 10th, the two nations, with the USA, signed the Treaty of Neuilly in Paris. Japan ceded Formosa to Cascadia and agreed to pull all military forces out of Manchuria, as well as paying reparations to Cascadia and the United States for shipping losses and damages to Cascadian territories. Cascadia ventured to guarantee Japan's possession of Sakhalin and Korea. Japan would not be denied access to Manchurian markets and resources. As soon as reparations were paid, Cascadia would provide duty-free trans-shipping rights for Japan through Dalian and Port Arthur, but until then duties would be imposed as determined by Cascadian and Chinese authorities.

The financial terms were particularly harsh and would be a fiscal burden on Japan well into the 1940s, virtually guaranteeing the country did not pose a threat to Cascadian interests over the next two decades.

Unfortunately, the harshness of the treaty undermined the credibility of the Japanese leadership who signed it. In the end most of the senior negotiators and the approving ministers would be assassinated by militarists over the next ten years.

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The new turbo-electric drive finished final testing and work. It could now be implemented into new naval machinery. Naval Ordnance reported advancements in a new advanced preheater for torpedoes.

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The end of the war did not place Cascadia as the most favored nation in the world. Japan bristled with indignation at the treaty she had been compelled by poor military fortune to sign. The Germans, French, and Russians had amicable relations, but there were clear and obvious strong undercurrents of dislike for a Cascadian state they deemed arrogant and aggressive. Even in the other two Anglo powers, British and American commentators thought the Cascadians had been too harsh with Japan. Many were convinced another war with Japan was becoming an inevitability.

Post war tensions - Germany 3, UK 2, France and Russia 3, Japan 4, US 2

As was usual, the end of the war led to budget cutbacks and to Admiralty re-alignments. The enhanced training system was canceled. The Battle Fleet was ordered home on April 30th. And given the fates of the Sherman, Lincoln, and luckless Convoy M2251, the decision was made to send the 600T Blake-class and remaining 700T Sherman-class destroyers to the scrapyards.

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The Navajo was sent to the yards to be refitted with new 8" guns and advanced fire directors.


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May 1925

The Curtana finishes her working up.

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Armoring experts reported progress in developing new face hardening techniques.

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CRS Excalibur
Approaching The Golden Gates of San Francisco
28 May 1925


The Cascadian Battle Fleet had come home.

And they received quite a welcome.

The shoreline on both sides of the Golden Gates was loaded with bystanders. Ships remained anchored off the coasts and were loaded with the same, a cheering crowd that huzzahed and hurrahed as the Excalibur led the victorious Battle Fleet of the Cascadian Navy to their homeport. Camera crews recorded the footage for the benefit of the growing number of mover-showing theaters spreading the country (Americans were referring to the films as "movies", and it would remain to be seen which half of the continent would win the resulting conflict of what term for moving films would be used).

Admiral Wallace stood with his staff on outside of the conning tower. Men in the blue-gray sailor uniforms, much like Wallace's own jacket and trousers, were standing at attention below him, absorbing the shouts and cheers of the crowd.

Standing nearby, Rafael Garrett was beaming. His new rank insignia, marking him a Commander, shined on his blue-gray uniform jacket. He looked out over the crowd and felt old memories stirring just below the surface.

"You seem wistful, Commander," said Wallace.

"Old memories, sir. This isn't the first time I've seen this sort of thing. It's just the first time I've been on this end of it."

"I was just a Lieutenant myself when your father steamed past the Golden Gates on the Defiant." Wallace drew in a breath. "Manila Bay was still on everyone's lips."

Rafael nodded. "I was just old enough to understand what it all meant," he said.

"And now, out there somewhere, there's a little lad like we once were, seein' this display and wondering about what serving on the seas would be like."

"Hopefully he will have as good a fleet as we have."

"I'm sure he will lad," Wallace assured him. "I'm sure he will."



The Battle Fleet's return was met by a cheering throng on both ends of the Bay. Wallace was singled out for attention, being called to a parade through San Francisco and a dinner called by the mayor in his honor. He would receive the same several days later when he returned to Portland and faced a victory parade ordered by President Muniz. The country considered him the hero of the war, and all eyes in the nation were on the admiral.

While Wallace was being treated to the protocols and celebrations of what seemed to be a 20th Century Roman Triumph, Admiral Garrett was busy making changes to the fleet. The Sovereign, Superb, and the four Constitution-class battleships were sent to the mothball yards as a cost-saving measure. Other ships in the fleet were put on limited operational budget measures to save the Navy money.

The three surviving Titan-class ships were ordered to yards to be refitted with the new advanced firing director. The Apache was brought in to receive a refit like Navajo did.


At the end of the month, Secretary of State Montelbano and President Muniz formally called for new elections for Parliament. The two hoped to keep the current coalition in power by playing on the successful war with Japan and the continuing prosperity of the country.


June 1925

The submersible Tambor was commissioned.

Political instability on Java led to rioting that the Dutch authorities were unable to suppress. When news came to Portland via the Cascadian consulate in Batavia, Admiral Garrett ordered Cascadian naval forces in the Philippines to land Marines and take control of the situation.

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Before they could arrive, however, a native leader - a young radical named Sukarno - asserted control of the various forces and imposed a cessation of the disorder. The Dutch were forced by the circumstances, and their own lack of forces, to recognize the new authorities on the island and reorganize Java as a protectorate with native leaders (Sukarno ended up in the ministry and would be seen as the true power of the state). The Cascadian mission came to be seen as a fumbled effort by the Admiral and his Navy to seize control of Java, causing diplomatic protests to come from several governments. France and Japan were unsurprisingly opposed to any expansion of Cascadian power in the East Indies - for France, that meant danger for Indochina, while for Japan the resources of the East Indies were critical imports for their industries.

The German Republic also protested the apparent land-grab in tandem with Dutch protests.

Internally the Hawk Government was not displeased with the effort. If the Hawks blamed anyone, it wasn't the Admiral, but the British: their terms for Cascadian control over Sumatra precluded the local forces that would have permitted a more swift intervention.

Those of Dove persuasions, however…


The Garrett House
West Portland, Oregon
27 June 1925



"Pa, what were you thinking?!"

Thomas' incensed cry filled the parlor. The Admiral remained quiet in his chair as his son held out a hand toward him. "You had no authorization from the Government, or Parliament, to send that force!", Thomas continued. "Now you've made us look even worse to the world!"

"The wires made it clear that the situation was grave, and that the Dutch forces were overwhelmed," the Admiral replied. "I had an obligation to protect Cascadian citizens."

"It was a land grab, Pa! Everyone can see that."

The sensation of a headache filled the old man's head. The wrinkles on his face deepened as he winced at it. "If the Dutch cannot control their colony, then someone else should take control of it," the Admiral muttered.

"Someone has."

"You mean that so-called 'Java Republic'?" The Admiral laughed bitterly. "Nothing more than native socialists. They'll make a hash of the island."

"I cannot believe I hear you saying this," Thomas gasped. "You, the same man who told me as a child that the Filipinos were right to rule themselves."

"The Filipinos weren't radical fools, they were good republicans!", came the retort.

"And these men aren't?"

"They're nothing more than statists. They don't intend to have liberty, they want a state to tell their people how to live. If the Dutch had any sense they would have quashed the revolt right away and worked on supporting a proper process for giving a reasonable government to Java."

Thomas threw up his hands in disbelief. "Pa, you're ruining your reputation to the rest of the world by doing this!", he insisted. "You look like nothing more than another land-grubbing imperialist!"

"Let the world think what it thinks. I performed as duty required." The Admiral fixed a harsh look on his son. "As I raised you to do."

"I know something about doing my duty," Thomas said, almost hissed, in reply. His finger went to his eyepatch. "And I am doing my duty, as a member of Parliament and as your son, by asking you to never do this again. You don't get to decide when and where to intervene!"

It was clear that neither man would budge. Recognizing this, Thomas quit the parlor and the house, leaving the Admiral to an empty house.


Image


Germany and France tension to 4, Japan to 5

Designers achieved surprising success in improving submersible capability.

Image


Image
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

July 1925

The submersible Triton joined the fleet.

The first six Andreys-class destroyers were commissioned.

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Armorers finished processing a new system for fabricating armored plate with superior face hardening. Ordnance experts filed an optimistic report on new preheaters.

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The Japanese Kinugasa, and word of other cruisers of such size and capability, prompted the admiralty to look into building a new, unbeatable armored cruiser. Designers had finalized plans started during the war for a powerful class of cruiser of tonnage equivalent to old pre-sovereign battleships. Said "large cruiser" would mount twelve 10" guns in four triple turrets and sixteen 4" batteries with twelve 2" deck guns. Two double torpedo mounts rounded out her main armament. With a flank speed of 32 knots, she could engage any foe she wished at her own terms. A armor belt of 6" and deck armor 2" thick would give the ship strong protection against lighter warships' guns, while her own impressive armament would make her deadly for anything short of a battlecruiser.

Admiral Garrett dubbed the new design the Epaminondas-class, in honor of the Theban philosopher and general who led the Thebans to victory at Leuctra and commanded the army that freed Messenia from Spartan rule.

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August 1925

The submersible Trout and the Andreys-class destroyers Bucher and Carrey were commissioned.

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The Galatine's completion was delayed to permit installation of the latest fire control devices

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A successful ratification of a new trading agreement eased relations with Paris.

France tension down to 3

A second Epaminondas-class cruiser, the Demosthenes, was laid.


September 1925

Several vessels complete their refits.

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The existing Excalibur-class vessels and the battlecruiser Freya are pulled in to be refitted with the newest firing director gear.


The elections, riding the existent wave of happiness with the end of the war, saw the Hawk Coalition prevail, gaining over twenty seats cumulatively.

But for Muniz and his Democrats, the outcome was not as desirable. While the Hawks won, the Democrats lost badly, losing over a third of their seats to fall to third-place in the House and second-place in the Senate. The Liberals emerged the big winners, having regained the most seats in the House and nearly gaining a majority, with the Conservatives enjoying a similar surge that left them second. Only the Populists and the moribund Socialists reminded weaker than the House Democrats.

It was not a total Hawk sweep, however. Prominent Dove Liberals were among those who took or kept their seats. With Senator Burgess deciding to step down, the old National Liberals who had caucused with the pro-Sullivan Democrats turned to Senator Gerald Adkins of Idaho and House Representative Frederick Woolsey of Columbia to stand in Opposition to the Hawk Coalition government. Among the most prominent of the National Liberals was Rep. Thomas Garrett of Vallejo, who won a close re-election bid against a Hawk Conservative.

The Hawk Coalition's victory was chalked up by many as the result of a khaki election, even if the war was already over and the peace treaty signed. Many in Parliament worried if Muniz and Montelbano would get Cascadia caught in any more conflicts.


October 1925

The first minelaying submersible in the fleet, named Narwhal, was commissioned.

Intrepid and Artemis finished their refits.

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Despite the Hawk Coalition's victory, Emiliano Santiago's good work in the Foreign Office improved relations with both Paris and Berlin. A new Cascadian-German trade agreement gave the Germans preferential access to their old markets in Tsingtao and, after several years, the compensations to German citizens from the last war were finalized.

France tension down to 2, Germany down to 3

The Office of Naval Design and Procurement finished work on new watertight hatches for installation on ships.

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November 1925

The remaining minelaying subs in the contract to Burleigh & Armstrong were completed.

The last Excalibur-class battleship, the Galatine, was commissioned.

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In Britain, a new General Election brought to power a Liberal-Left Conservative Coalition government under Conservative power broker Stanley Baldwin. Baldwin's new government worked to improve relations with Cascadia as part of their agenda for consolidating the defenses of the British Empire.

Britain tension down to 2

The design work on new double reduction gears for ship engine plants was completed ahead of schedule. New preheaters for torpedoes were announced by the Naval Ordnance Office.

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The old scout cruiser San Francisco was scrapped.

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The Admiralty
Portland Federal District
15 November 1925



Admiral Wallace entered the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and gave a salute. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Admiral Garrett look up from his papers. "Ah, Admiral Wallace, good to see you, please sit."

Wallace did so. "How may I be of service?"

"Oh, you have done quite well already, Admiral, quite well indeed," answered the senior admiral. "You have eclipsed even my place in the annals of our navy's battle history." A slight smile crossed the face of the septuagenarian admiral. "It is about your place that I wish to speak."

"Sir?"

"Admiral Litchfield has indicated to me his desire to retire by summer," Garrett revealed. "Hawkins will be stepping up to take his role as Vice Chief of Naval Operations and we will have an opening for a new Chief of Naval Design and Procurement." The Admiral leaned forward. "I would like that to be you."

For a moment Wallace was stunned to silence. He found his voice after a few seconds. "Admiral, that is… quite the offer. I accept of course. I'll be honored to join the Admiralty on a full time basis."

"Excellent. I'm quite sure you'll bring some fresh ideas to the fleet."

"I will try, sir."

"Do you have any in mind now?"

Wallace thought on that. "Well, I suppose… we are starting to fall behind in one category that other nations are looking into."

"Oh?"

"The Americans, the British, and other nations have taken older ships and built flat decks over them for aircraft."

The Admiral looked at him curiously. "As in vessels to carry dirigibles?"

"No, not dirigibles, sir. Heavier-than-air craft. Biplanes currently, although I've heard Boeing's trying to talk the Army Air Corps into a monoplane design." Wallace settled his hands together on the desk. "These aircraft carrier ships could be valuable fleet scouts, sir, in future wars."

"Hrm." The Admiral seemed to consider that. "Well, in your new position, it will be your place to look into these things. Just so long as you don't listen to the likes of that American madman Mitchell."

"Of course, sir."


December 1925

The Excalibur, Arondight, and Curtana finished refits.

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The old 900t Kirk-class destroyers were ordered scrapped.

To continue updating the destroyer fleet, and to reflect upon developing naval tactical lessons, the Office of Naval Design and Procurement provided to the Admiralty a recommendation for a new order of eight destroyers. The Rodriguez-class destroyers were a reversal of prior design choices, emphasizing torpedo armament and speed over a smaller gun armament - three 4" guns and two 2" guns with three quadruple torpedo mounts and 35 knots speed.

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All eight were ordered: Rodriguez, Blake, Bainbridge, Vernon, Pepys, Whipple, Anson, and Porfirio Diaz.

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Expansions to the naval facilities at Sumatra, Chuuk, and Palau were ordered. Cascadian officials invited British authorities in Malaya to inspect the expansions planned as part of the prior agreement on consultations. No objection was issued by London.

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Also, this is the normal end of the game.

Image

But the career of Admiral Garrett isn't over yet! We've got one more war left to fight, after all (a war I kinda didn't want, granted...)

Image
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Does this mean you're going to start asking my opinions on new ship designs? :)
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Does this mean you're going to start asking my opinions on new ship designs? :)
LOL. Unfortunately, I already completed the playthrough. Six months ago. :P So it's a bit late...
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Bah humbug :D. Pity you don't seem to be able to include something like Taranto or Pearl Harbour in this, given my apparent interest in carriers :D
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Bah humbug :D. Pity you don't seem to be able to include something like Taranto or Pearl Harbour in this, given my apparent interest in carriers :D
It's rumored that RTW2 will have carriers in some way.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

They're talking about RTW2? I thought they hadn't finished RTW1 yet!
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Steve
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:They're talking about RTW2? I thought they hadn't finished RTW1 yet!
I'm not sure if it's a serious thing or if it's just speculation, I don't follow RTW news closely.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

January 1926

Several new submersibles joined the fleet.

The battlecruiser Freya finished refits.

Image


The Garrett House
West Portland, Oregon
18 January 1926


It was past dinner and the Admiral was finishing his night by reading correspondence from naval attaches around the world. He noticed Sophie enter and smiled warmly. Two years had done wonders in improving her condition. Her first solo academic work, The Evergreen Republic, was coming along nicely, and the divorce had been handled discreetly. She had resumed the family name once it had been finalized.

But now there was a pensive look on her face. "Sophie?", he asked.

She looked at him and sighed. "I was reading the paper. Theodore is dead, Papa."

The Admiral nodded. "I see. Accident?"

"Violence," she said, shaking her head. "The paper says he got into an altercation in a tavern. Someone shot him dead."

"Well. I suppose his temper finally got the better of him."

"Yes. And I don't regret leaving him." She took a seat near him. "Papa, will you be angry with me if I make an inquiry of you?"

"Never," he vowed.

"Are you ever going to retire?"

The question hung in the air for a moment. Sophie continued. "You are going to be seventy-four this year, Papa. You've been head of the Navy for twenty years. I'm worried for your health."

There was more silence from the chair. "The thought has occurred to me," he admitted. "But I must make sure I leave the Navy in good hands first."

"I understand. But please, don't wait too long."

"I won't," he promised. "Hold me to that."



February 1926

The Galatine finished her working up. The Navajo came out of refit work ready for resumed fleet duty.

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Officials from Moscow offered payment for access to Cascadia's new non-flammable materials for damage control. Anti-Communist sentiment fueled a refusal.

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Although the caliber was not favored in the Cascadian Navy, Naval Artillery designers reported they could provide a superior 9" gun to those on file for potential construction.

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March 1926

The cruiser Portland was commissioned.

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Indefatigable, Illustrious, Interceptor, and Apache finished their refits.

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New artillery design work would provide increased muzzle velocity.

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Relations with Britain improved under the new Baldwin Government in London.

There were, however, issues in Berlin, where new elections brought to power a Conservative-led government with anti-Cacsadian sentiments.

UK tension to 1

Germany tension to 4


April 1926

The Anchorage and Las Vegas were commissioned.

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Harsh statements by Chancellor Stresemann further impacted German-Cascadian relations.

Germany tension up to 5


May 1926

The San Jose and Fairbanks were commissioned.

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An unanticipated breakthrough led to early adoption of lightweight scantlings.

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June 1926

The Olympia commissioned while Portland finished her working up period for full service.

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Advanced were being made to another improvement to torpedo defense systems. A breakthrough happened in the development of new torpedo technology.

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July 1926

Las Vegas
and Anchorage join the fleet.

Image

Designers reported that new ship designs could employ a superb new torpedo protection system.

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Japanese resentment led to an incident outside the Cascadian Embassy where rotten eggs were thrown at Cascadian embassy staff.

Japan tension is up to 6

With spending authorized by the Hawk government, new Chief of Naval Design and Procurement Admiral Phillip Wallace proposes a new battlecruiser class. The Defiant-class battlecruisers would be the largest warships afloat. Capable of 31 knots as a design speed, and requiring the biggest combat engine plant ever seen on a ship. It would match the Excalibur in gun batteries, with four triple 16" guns and turrets and 16 5" guns in dual turrets. The deck guns were smaller, though, as Wallace emphasized heavier rate of fire over heavier shells, so the twenty deck guns would be 2" weapons. The armor belt would thicken up to 11" on the belt and 3.5" on the deck, with 16" of armor on the conning tower. The latest torpedo protection system would give heavy protection against torpedo hits.

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The Admiralty ordered four before the month was out. They were named the Defiant, Warrior, Reliant, and Avenger.

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August 1926

The San Jose and Fairbanks finished their working up.

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Diplomacy had proven a strong point of the new government despite its hawkish origins and policies. New talks with Japan re-confirmed Cascadian acceptance of Japanese economic superiority in Manchuria and allowed a new trade treaty to be concluded. A new agreement on warm water shipping in the Sea of Okhotsk improved relations with Moscow, where the Soviets were now under the leadership of Josef Stalin. Stalin's "Socialism in one country" policy helped to defuse tensions with countries like Cascadia that were displeased by the revolutionary threat.

Relations with the United States could be prickly, however. In mid-August the Cascadian Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1922 against a US-based mining company that had removed non-white managers from facilities in Arizona and Utah. The fines levied were significant due to the justices' view of the "unrepentant nature" of the company's behavior. The ruling, and the fines, caused multiple US firms to protest in Washington against what they saw as Cascadian interference in internal business matters. The American Government opened talks with the Cascadian government on the issue.

Japan tension down to 5. US tension up to 4. Russia tension down to 1.


September 1926

The cruiser Olympia finished her working up.

Image

Design teams reported progress in improving turret design.

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October 1926

The economic good times that had persisted since the end of the war with Germany finally came to an apparent end, with Cascadian stock markets showing heavy losses in the first week of the month. By the end of the month, factories and businesses across the country were slashing their work forces. Thousands of Cascadians were facing unemployment.

The social service net that had been build by the Cushing Government and the later Sullivan-Muniz Government went into operation to alleviate the issue, but this in turn would require even higher budgets. Several Liberal Hawks protested the decision to do so, arguing that said funds were detracting from the defense budget, and that higher taxes were not feasible.

When a reporter for The Oreganian mentioned the ongoing crisis to Admiral Garrett as part of a general interview, he remarked that "it is the duty of the best citizens to provide charity for those afflicted by this crisis", remarking further on his own extensive contributions to poverty relief organizations in the Portland area.

Image

Relations with the United States took another blow with the revelation in the Salem Herald that security officials had identified a known spy in the capital as an agent of American military intelligence. The Cascadian government bitterly protested the spying of their own ally, although they stopped short of any remarks that would construe readiness to withdraw from the Second Chicago Treaty.

Nevertheless, many officials were concerned the treaty might end up dissolved with the increase in negative relations with the United States.

Image

US tension to 5

Image

November 1926

The Rodriguez-class destroyers were commissioned. The Porfirio Diaz was the first to come off the slips. Unfortunately, trials revealed that her tonnage had been miscalculated and that the Rodriguez-class would not be capable of the desired design speed of 35 knots.

Image

All Rodriguez-class ships commissioned by end of the month

The Demosthenes was delayed due to aftershocks of the economic downturn.

Image


December 1926

Although the market was starting to improve, the economic crisis had revealed tension lines in the Hawk Coalition. The Conservatives and the right-most Liberals were against expanding upon the social safety net while left-leaning Liberals and Democrats rallied to Muniz's proposed legislation increasing social spending. The discussions cut across the Hawk-Dove divide of the Liberal Party and reunified the Democrats. Senator Abernathy struggled to hold his control over the Liberals against the influence of Senator Adkins and Representative Woolsey.

Meanwhile, the budget cutbacks led to a reduction in Cascadian military strength in Northeast Asia, much to the relief of Moscow.

Near Christmas, an incident in Tsingtao led to the death of a prominent German citizen, exciting anger in the German Republic at the Cascadian Republic's failure to maintain order in Tsingtao.

Russia tension to 0, Germany tension to 6

Image
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Those new battlecruisers are beasts :D Are you developing any final uber-battleship designs?
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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Steve
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Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Steve »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Those new battlecruisers are beasts :D Are you developing any final uber-battleship designs?
I didn't for this game. The tonnage cap of 52,000 limits going insane, like some of us did back in the SDNW3 STGOD. :P
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
User avatar
Eternal_Freedom
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Posts: 10361
Joined: 2010-03-09 02:16pm
Location: CIC, Battlestar Temeraire

Re: Let's Play "Rule The Waves" w/ Steve's Custom Country "Cascadia"

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

Ah shame.

I wasn't around for SDNW3, how absurd did you get?
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."

Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
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