In Progress Let's Succeed at Ruling the Waves 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Andnjord]

Back in the Saddle

Spoiler

You are dismissed, Captain ValeveKal. I have a lot to do.

Let's see, what do we have here...oh dear...really?...hum...no, this won't do....grumble....but what were they thinking...hum....scrap that.......

Admiral, I have important, terribly urgent news!

And who are you officer? I asked to not be disturbed, there is much work to do!

Captain Nilak at your service sir. I have here documents of the highest importance sir, you need to see them at once. It's about the traitor Comte sir, we have finally found where he is!

Comte you say? Very well show me at once. And if you know what's good for you this better be worth my time!

*opens document*But...what is this travesty, this is nothing but a poorly drawn picture of OH MAH GAWD. MULTIHEADED DICKS HITTING ASS AND LEGS ITZ HEAVAAAN!!!!!!!!!

YOUR BODY IS MINE NOW YOU MISERABLE WRETCH!!!!!

********************************************

Well, that worked out pretty well, wouldn't you say Kalin?

Told you boss the Grimoire wuz right.

I have to admit you did a good job retrieving it from that Angolan temple, but how in the blazes did you manage to get Dayyalu to come along with you? I wonder where he is now...

Aaaah, secret secrets of the job boss, I'm just good like that, is all.

Yes well, you may wait for me outside, I have much work to do here.

And mah bonnaz boss?

In time my dear, we cannot move too fast. In the meantime I am promoting you to the rank of Rear-Admiral. Maybe I'll find something useful for you to do. Dismissed!

*grumble grumble* yessir, at your orders sir....I've killed him in one life, I can do it in another...

*****************************************

Spoiler

Aah, back in the saddle. Now let's see what mess my predecessors have left my beloved navy in...

Right, first order of business, fire the designers of the Jefferson Davis and redesign it from the ground up...scribble on a napkin... There, much better!

Hum...our battle line is in a unusual shape I gotta say, hopefully they'll perform well enough. Single turrets? Well, we'll see soon enough...not enough budget to change it yet though...but I have my ideas
Now, our Destroyers...500 tons? I can see what their designers were going for, sadly a single 6'' shell will be enough to sink one...grabs another napkin...yes, this will do...

Right, research now...hum, I guess my predecessors didn't quite believe in prioritization,did they (everything was on medium)? There, with our 16''guns we have all the arsenal that we will reasonably need and submarines are damn ungentlemanly and un-confederate (and they are a very boring drain on resources in my mind).

Speaking of submarines...I can see we still have a ton of those old Duncan destroyers from my time. Useful ships 20 years ago, but now? There, they will specialize in ASW from now on.

Now let's see about this war we have...oh Iceland? What a magnificent prize that is, a perfect base from which to blockade the European powers yet far enough to be safe from invasions. I am sure they have built it into the most powerful base of Europe already...oh...

.....let's fix that right now, shall we?

Now those Nathaniel Bedford Cruisers are some decent raiders, a bit too heavily armed for my taste but they should do the job and....wait. Why is it raiding in West Africa?

Now let's see, let's think of a plan...yes...First capture Middle Congo, that way our own possession of Angola will be safe from invasion, then move the entire fleet to Europe where we will be able to use the British bases to blockade France...yes...It's good to be back in charge...

KALIN! BRING YOUR ASS OVER HERE!

What's up boss, what's going on boss, what do you want boss?

I have a job for you! If you still care about your bonus you will depart for Angola at once, take charge of the squadron there and assist in the invasion of Congo. Chop chop, at once!

BONAZ! YES BOSS!

 

[Andnjord]

Wrapping loose ends

Spoiler

Not much happens in the first few months after my restoration to power, the French navy is nowhere to be seen and the weather hinders Kalin from invading Congo. In the meantime our cruiser Nathal Bedford Forest is having a whale of a time in Northern Europe while waiting for her sister ships to join her.

And our subs are seeing more action than our surface fleet

Finally, come spring the clouds part over Congo.

Row harder you swines, Congo ain't gonna conquer itself you know!

Our spies brought us the plans of the newly commissioned US Battle-cruisers. Better than our current Roger-Mils but drastically weaker than our upcoming Jefferson Davies of with two are under construction.

****************
Meanwhile in Africa

Hit and run time mah boyz and no survivors allowed!

Squeeeak?

Shut up ratto, you're lucky dah big boss kept you as Captain and didn't feed you to a cat or sumthin'.

Yes-yes, all hail the Admiral-packleader!

The battle is branded as 'small engagement' but somehow the only thing the French have on the map are a couple of Corvettes and some transports.

Easy peasy, but somehow one of our cruiser takes a bad hit from a 6'' gun which knocks out her speed down to 23knt. Seaman Collins will only be the first of our cruiser to take an unlucky hit ...

No harm, no foul this time though

***************
Back in Europe, Nathan Bedford continues to enjoy herself, even taking time off her busy merchant sinking schedule to bully a french cruiser into submission

Her two sisters are commissioned later in the year. Tremble ye French merchants!

And our egg-heads are coming up with some interesting but probably useless ideas

Pah, as if airships could ever be a threat to our ships!

No-no, aircraft lighter than air bad-bad, heavier than air good-good! Destroyer, with wings! And torp-torp!

Forget it dirty rodent, you are no getting aboard anything heavier than your 500tons DDs anytime soon.

Squuuuuueak!!! Aircraft future, visionary!

*******************
Meanwhile in Africa

Da boyz ashore need support, drive fasta and blam dem land-crawlers good!

Yes, our men have been struggling for far too long. Need I remind you sir that it is March already and we have begun the invasion almost a year ago? Admiral Oscar will be none too pleased with your performance sir.

Shut up, shut up!

Only one enemy cruiser has come out against us, we are in position to engage

Easy bonaz!

BLAM!!!!

SQUUUUUUEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, that DD took one single hit at medium range (long for the 6'' that fired it) and that was enough to sink it outright. A 1500 ton DD would have shrugged it off. No other problem though.

**********************
Back in Richmond

Chief engineers, I am glad you could come.

My pleasure Admiral.

I have for you this new design that I am certain will revolutionize battleship construction for decades to come.

*gasp* What madness is it....?

Are you suggesting my sanity is attained?

But but...you don't understand Admiral, this ship can't be done! We can't drive a ship of this size over 20knt, it's not possible! Not with those guns, not with that armor...IT'S OVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER

It would seem you are behind the times engineer, my scientists assure me it is possible. My predecessors simply lacked...vision...

And what manner of name will you give this abomination? Gehenna? Leviathan? Mastodon?

NO, something much simpler, more inspiring for our sailors. I have decided to name it after myself the greatest of all men to have graced the CSA. It shall be the...Admiral Andnjord.

So this is what I would consider the archetype of the modern, end-game fast battleship. Over 27 knts, three triple 16'' guns, a decent immunity zone, and plenty of 5'' in double turrets for later conversion to Dual Purpose guns. The extra tonnage left is there to accommodate better Fire Control, Medium AA and eventually Radar without the ship getting too overweight. With normal refits it will be able to stick around and not be outclassed for a long time, at least until Yamato-sized ships start appearing. And even then its heavy AA and speed will leave it a useful CV escort for a long time.
One of these is immediately put under construction, a second one will follow as soon as it will be affordable.

Current construction queue minus Admiral Andnjord.

***************
Meanwhile in Northern Europe, our Nathaniel continues her reign of terror when she catches a french cruiser in her clutches.

Or at least she thinks does, as the very first shell she receives blows up her front turret leaving her incapable of finishing up the job leaving the French cruiser to pepper her with 6'' shells before running away into the night.

This is in fact the flaw of this class of cruisers, they only have two under-armored turrets with only 1.5'' of turret armor. As a result it is trivially easy to knock out its firepower outright.

****************

Finally in May 1921

Commander, at last, the french garrison has surrendered!

Wuzzah!!!! Double ration of beer for y'all! Bonnaz for all the lads!

Indeed sir, and I am sure that you will be happy to know that I will not have to have you shot for incompetence!

Say wuuuuuuuuut?

Personal order from the Grand Admiral sir, you were to be shot then hanged and then roasted if you were to fail to capture Congo before June.

ANDNJOOOOOOORD!!!!!!!

Oh, are you a worshipper of the Great Man? I knew sailor were known to invoke his name in times of need, but I wasn't aware of officers doing this too.

***********************

Africa is secure, time to move the fleet to Northern Europe and feast on some baguettes!!!!

IT'S ON!!!

 

[ValeVelKal]

Beautiful updates !

A few comments :

- About the 500 tons destroyers, I regret nothing ! First, keep in mind the status of my budget when I arrived. I could not allocate funds to build up a fleet of fancy 1000+ tons destroyers, when I had in the fleet only (O) ships except the undergunned BB which were (O) in practice .
I had to cut corners a lot , that's also why the Light Cruisers are only 3000 or 3500 tons.
Even then, while 500 tons can be destroyed in one shot of 6in, it is - presumably - harder to hit, and a 1500 tons destroyer does not reliably shrug off a 6in hit, it can very well lose its speed at which point it is quickly sunk. The 1500-tons destroyer also cost about twice the price of a 500-tons destroyer, so you have twice the number of (steel) bodies to escort you.

500 tons was extreme, I am usually more happy with 800 tons when I have the budget until the destroyer role change with plane warfare.

As a proof that it works, in my current Austrian game, I am in war against UK and I torpedoed them so far 5 BB/BC... for the meager cost of forty 500 ot 600 tons destroyers

- About the Nathan Bedford Forrest critical weakness on the turrets ... guilty as charged. I cut corner to reach exactly 5 500 tons, but weakening the turrets when you have only 2 of them was a poor design decision. Would not do again.

- About using Iceland as a stepping stone... never thought about it. I saw it as backwater. I will know better.

Hope you liked the surplus and huge stockpile of fund I left you to play with.

I also hope you removed the airbase in the Carribeans

 

[Andnjord]

About the 500 tons destroyers, I regret nothing ! First, keep in mind the status of my budget when I arrived. I could not allocate funds to build up a fleet of fancy 1000+ tons destroyers, when I had in the fleet only (O) ships except the undergunned BB which were (O) in practice .
I had to cut corners a lot , that's also why the Light Cruisers are only 3000 or 3500 tons.
Even then, while 500 tons can be destroyed in one shot of 6in, it is - presumably - harder to hit, and a 1500 tons destroyer does not reliably shrug off a 6in hit, it can very well lose its speed at which point it is quickly sunk. The 1500-tons destroyer also cost about twice the price of a 500-tons destroyer, so you have twice the number of (steel) bodies to escort you.

Hey, I'm not complaining, remember that it's mostly the megalomaniac Admiral Andnjord Oscar that is doing the whinning. Your DDs will perform quite well in the near future, they'll just drop like flies :D And the 3500 tons light cruisers did great, a solid design!

About the Nathan Bedford Forrest critical weakness on the turrets ... guilty as charged. I cut corner to reach exactly 5 500 tons, but weakening the turrets when you have only 2 of them was a poor design decision. Would not do again.

In your defence even I only noticed it after their turrets started blowing up.

As a proof that it works, in my current Austrian game, I am in war against UK and I torpedoed them so far 5 BB/BC... for the meager cost of forty 500 ot 600 tons destroyers

Pah, amateur :D

Spoiler

I also hope you removed the airbase in the Carribeans

Hem....I kinda completely and utterly forgot about that one...

 

[Andnjord]

The Battle of Cape Finistere

Spoiler

September 1921. After 30 months of war we're finally bringing the war to France's doorstep. Our fleets are evenly matched in terms of capital ship numbers. In terms of quality well...It will depend how our single gunned ships will perform, although the Stonewall Jacksons should handle themselves quite well against the best that they have.

Have a image dump of the French ships:

Spoiler

These pics were taken after the war from the Almanac, so some of the characteristics might be wrong.

None of them could ever dream to stand up against our upcoming 16'' gunned new ships, but sadly they are all a long way out from being built so we will have to make do with our ageing Travelers. It should be one hell of battle.

At foockin' last, some real aksun!

Indeed, it will surely be glorious. Shame you will have to miss it.

Wuuut?

You will go back to Richmond Kalin, your recent performance in Africa was far from impressive to warrant giving you a superior command. Furthermore we know some french light forces are operating in the Caribbean and they need to be dealt with. Do not disappoint me this time.

**********************************

Back in the
Caribbean

*sniff...sniff* Squuuueak! Alarm!

Dirty ratto, wuz-up?

French-french thing, due south-south! Baking smell, un-unmistakable!

Fack, good job cpt Vale, that some good sniffing.

Not cpt Vale, me brood-brother, cpt VelKal! Me smart-smart one!

*seconds later* BLAAAAAM

Engine dead-dead! French-thing smell getting far-far! Lost!

NOOOOOOOOOOO.

I kid you not, the first hit the Cl Seamann Ridgeway took knocked out her engines leaving the french cruiser free to flee away into the night. Either our cruisers are cursed or the french ones have plot-armor in this war.

***************************

Spoiler

Back in Europe

The Frenchies graciously accept to give us a proper fleet battle. It is their only chance as between our fleet and the British one they would blockaded with no hope of survival.

This is Grand Admiral Oscar, requesting operational reports.

Rear-admiral Baud commanding the Scouting Force. All clear.

Rear Admiral Azira commanding BatDiv 8, all clear.

Squuuueak! Rat-pack ready-ready!

Tally-ho laddies, God save the King and all that.

What the hell?

This is Admiral Beatty aboard HMS Anson. The Royal Navy shall not leave our faithful ally alone in its hour of need! We'll give those frogs a jolly good show!

Well, how mighty gracious of you to join us partner. Why don't you take the lead and show us how it's done?

Goodness gracious, it will be my pleasure. Full speed ahead laddies, we'll show them what for!

Yep, the Brits have loaned us a Battleships for this battle. As it is under my command you can bet it's gonna take the lead and tank for us. Also, good to know that our 16'' are better than the British ones.

With the addition of the HMS Anson we now have 8 capital ships to the French 7. I always love an unfair fight.

We quickly spot their advanced BC force. Now time to draw them towards our battle as even with the addition of the HMS Anson they have the advantage in term of fast forces.

Sure enough their own Battle-line quickly joins the fray. Now let's see how our BB will perform.

Forward! Once more into the breach!

This guy is insane....

As you can see the French BCs follow their Ai scripting and are using their speed to keep the range open with our own advanced forces. This has the unfortunate (for the French) effect of leaving their main battleline isolated in close range with our forces as THEY don't have the speed to pull out.

We're straddling our target. Open rapid fire and send them to the bottom men.

Roger-Mills in particular and the rest our fleet pours a surprisingly accurate fire into the isolated French BBs quickly melting the French Battle-line. Which is particularly amazing considering the small amounts of guns we have actually shooting at the enemy. HMS Anson took a beating in doing so though, and is currently retiring to safety East, away from the enemy Battlecruisers.

Jolly good show everyone, let's head home for tea and biscuits, we'll let the amateurs finish the job.

PRESS THE ATTACK HARDER MEN, DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY

Fan-fucking-tastic, we've completely crushed their Battleships. Time for beer and hookers back home now, right?

I WANT THEIR BATTLECRUISERS, GIVE ME THEIR BATTLECRUISERS

This passion...this berserker fury in the face of the enemy...it seems oddly familiar...

You can see here the French BCs up north with the rest of our fleet inbound from the south. That little dot north-east is the HMS Anson making its retreat.

STOP MISSING YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS, WE'LL RUN OUT OF AMMO

This is Admiral Beatty reporting. We appear to be under surveillance by a group of French light aircraft. Holding the course and engaging them with our AA.

NO MATTER, AIRCRAFT ARE NO THREAT TO BATTLESHIPS

They...they are attacking us! THEY ARE ATTACKING US! REQUESTING ASSISTANCE! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!

THE SHIP IS LOST, ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP I REPEAT ABANDON SHIP

Well....fuck....

Squuuuueak!!!!!! Told-told you. Future! Visionary!

NO MATTER, CONTINUE THE ATTACK

Rat-pack, attack-attack

We are too low on ammo to engage the other enemy BCs. I suggest we focus on the Lille-Class BB.

....grumble grumble....fine.....

KABOOOOOOOM

The Josiah Tatnall! She's been hit by a torpedo!

FREAKING HELL, HOW? THERE ARE NO MORE SHIPS NEARBY BUT THE LILLE-CLASS

I'm afraid that it must be a torpedo coming from that Lille-Class sir....

I AM EMBARRASSED TO BE YOUR LEADER

Pic taken from the end of the battle, she baaaarely made it to port. Would have been shameful to lose a BB from a BB-fired torpedo.

Aaah fuck, let's go home, you incompetent idiots spoiled me of my complete victory...

Not a bad battle, and we're lucky that our only loss was a GB ship. And a few Rat-Packers, but nobody cares about these. Pretty cool that we got to witness the first Air kill of a capital ship though.

Did I mention that our prestige is terrible? Because it is.

***************************

Spoiler

A month later

Admiral Oscar? The French have come to us with an offer of peace, they are beaten. The government wants to know your recommendations.

Yes? What of it?

They are recognizing our conquests of Congo and the Antilles. Furthermore they are offering us some relatively minor territories as well as war-reparations.

Insufficient. They must not have realized the situation they are in. We will keep the blockade and strangle them into submission.

Yes well...there is something else sir. Apparently they had captured the Admiral Dayyalu during the fighting in Angola. They are offering his safe return as well into the bargain.

Dayyalu? DAYYALU! WE SHALL TAKE THE PEACE! I WILL GREATLY ENJOY WATCHING HIM SQUIRM IN MY SERVICE, MUHUHAHAHAHA

Main-brace has been spliced.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Now THAT was fun. And a decisive thrashing.

Loved the part with the English popping him amongst the commanders, and well, being all British.

Surprised you managed to catch back the French Battlecruiser with our ships that go only at 21 knots.

The Indomptable looked like a bucket of rust, but the Charlemagne design was GLORIOUS. 3 turrets of PAIN.

Though started by the corrupted Comte, the Roger Mills was launched while I was in charge, so I will claim it is MY design that won the day.

It also looks like the overgunned Traveller did decently, especially since upgunning increase the amount of salvos a ship can give (an individual ammo is heavier, but you don't shot them 2 by 2).

Finally, looks like the Brits brought planes to the battlefield but they did not play a role.

 

[Andnjord]

Loved the part with the English popping him amongst the commanders, and well, being all British.

Thanks, it was amazing that due to me forgetting about it and letting it stray too close to the French coast it provided vindication for Cpt Vale's VISIONARY theories about Destroyers with wings.

The Indomptable looked like a bucket of rust, but the Charlemagne design was GLORIOUS. 3 turrets of PAIN.

Though started by the corrupted Comte, the Roger Mills was launched while I was in charge, so I will claim it is MY design that won the day.

You should be happy to know that it was the Roger-Mils delivering 16'' of pain that pretty much single-handedly took out the Charlemagne. That ship (the Roger-Mils that is, the Charlemagne has joined Davy Jones locker) is gonna have a long a glorious history, trust me on that.

ALSO, if anyone with the talent and time could Photoshop an image of ValeVelKal's avatar with aviator's goggles on it would be absolutely amazing.

 

[Dayyālu]

Wonderful to see that the Traveller Class is still dishing out. As John Hammond said, I built them to last.

And it's not like you have anything else OHOHOHOHOHO.

Also, a sad reminder of things to come. The British will feel the first bite, but what we saw is the end. Coming on rickety constructs of wood and metal. At this point I usually have my old B fleet ready for quick conversion, but I guess now one of us will have to design from the ground up the Air arm.

Also, does the patching causes problems with the saves? We're 1,05 in the world now.

EDIT:

35.000 hours in Paint. The horrible skill adds to the charm. Doesn't it. Doesn't it. ;_;

 

[Andnjord]

35.000 hours in Paint. The horrible skill adds to the charm. Doesn't it. Doesn't it. ;_;

Amazing Don't suppose you could make the lenses transparent so we can still see the demented eyes through it, could you?

Also, does the patching causes problems with the saves? We're 1,05 in the world now.

I upgraded the game to 1.05 before starting and didn't encounter any problem on my end. Fingers crossed.

And it's not like you have anything else OHOHOHOHOHO.

Yeah, I've seen Battle-lines in better shape. Good thing the French one was even worse.

 

[baud]

I tried to add back the eyes:

Not as cool, I think.

Also, as a French, seeing my forum avatar commanding ships against the French navy, it felt weird, like I'm committing treason or something.

 

[baud]

Attempt 2 & 3, using a semi-transparent layer in photoshop photopea

 

[ValeVelKal]

Attempt 2 & 3, using a semi-transparent layer in photoshop photopea

Wait, is everyone French or Cisalpine French on this thread ?

 

[Dayyālu]

Wait, is everyone French or Cisalpine French on this thread ?

No, but apparently we're all Latin.

THE GREAT BROTHERHOOD

 

[Andnjord]

Airborne!

Spoiler

Cpt Vale, we have much to talk.

Yes-yes oh pack-leader

You are a cowardly creature, a traitorous and opportunistic monster and a shame to our navy. And a dirty rat to boot, I have come to realize.

G-guilty...

Any normal institution would have had you quartered and shot a long time ago, let alone ever allowed to join and rise to such lofty positions that you did.

...squeak...

But! If there is one thing the last battle has shown us, is that your mad schemes about destroyers with wings actually have some merit and could very well be the way of the future...

...squeak?

Therefore, I am hereby reinstating you as a full Admiral and nominating you at the head of a newly created commission charged with studying the possibilities of shipborne aircraft for the CS Navy. You will have access to any resources and funding that you might require. You will take with you Rear-Admiral Kalin and Rear-Admiral Dayyalu as your assistants. They will be under your command and will obey your every orders. I will want results, and fast. Understood?

SQUUUUEAK! Give one second, need-need to get ready!

Fliegend-Oberleutnant der Marine des Bundesstaates Vale ready-ready! Me new tittle! More-more official! Professional!

Ehm sure...whatever you want...Now fly my pretty!

***************************

Overall not a bad war against France, taking the Antilles kicks the Frenchies out of the Caribbean while Congo helps us secure our position in West Africa. Shame that the politicians caved in a little too easy, I would have liked to grab a base or two in Pacific but alas, the RNGesus giveth, RNGesus taketh.

With the end of the war come the usual budget cuts. Most of the navy is put into mothball or reserve to free up funds for the new fast-BBs and our upcoming (if tech cooperates) carriers. Good thing ValeVelKal left me a comfortable budget surplus 'cause we're gonna need it.

Not much of note happens in 1922, except that our States-Rights are commissioned and immediately start winning speed races.

Recognizing the genius of my design and thanks to the new influx of servile power coming from Congo our shipyards are able to surpass themselves.

Since our Prestige is abysmal, I decide to send our newly commissioned Jefferson Davies BC on the world tour. Normally I would have chosen the +budget option, but we need prestige boys.

Luckily one of our tin-pot dictators in South America got himself into trouble, so Azira is sent to restore Scandinavian-style efficiency and social welfare.

No luck on CV tech yet...

Fliegend-Oberleutnant der Marine des Bundesstaates Vale, you're coming in too low, pull up, pull!

SQUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH

....madonna santa....

**************************

Mid-1924

Fliegend-Oberleutnant der Marine des Bundesstaates Vale, Dayallu. Glad you could come. Now tell me, how are your experiments progressing?

Good-good! Much progress! Future visionary. Soon-soon!

But need torp-torp plane! Big brains here no make one!

erhm....Sir, if I may? We are still having...minor issues with flight-deck design and operations. On the other hand, we have developed a prototype for sea-plane tender. It could carry ten floatplanes into action, but would be limited mostly to scouting operations for our fleet.

Fascinating...a fantastic addition to our fleet. We will be the envy of the world with our modern...

Oscar! Fliegend-Oberleutnant der Marine des Bundesstaates Vale! You old eggs! What jolly piece of luck to find you here! Care for a spot of tea?

What the...Beatty, what are you doing here, in Richmond? And in my office?

Oh nothing much laddie, just thought I'd pop in after visiting your government. You'll be happy to know I'm sure that I've been named Naval attache for our renewed alliance. Frightfully good news, wouldn't you say?

...ehrm...yeah...sure...Now if you don't mind we are discussing top secret, ultra-modern technological developments. I am afraid my government hasn't given me clearance to share these with you.

Playing hidey-spanky, eh? Good lads, good lads. Oh, crikey, I almost forgot. I was meant to give you the plans of our own purpose-built light aircraft carriers, gracious offer from our King. But I am sure you fine chaps have no need for it anymore.

........

GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME

Exalted one. Need-need torp-torp plane too! Pretty, please-please!

Why of course Fliegend-Oberleutnant der Marine des Bundesstaates Vale. I just flew in in one of our De Havilland Demon B. I parked it on the front lawn, you can have it. I left the keys on the ignition.

Oh, before I forget too. It was frightfully charming of your government to agree to support us in our little tiff with the Russians. It seems like we might have to fight together soon. Tally-ho and all that my good lad. Tah!

*****************************************

I forgot to screenshot it, but our tech-sharing agreement with GB gave us those two techs, purpose built CVL and CV conversions! And of course I also bought from them a torpedo plane, as our scientists hadn't developed one yet. This way we'll be able to start developing our own without actually having the tech for it.

This allows us to skip making a converted CVL saving the State-Right class from it. We'll still need to convert a fleet CV to continue research and build purpose built CV though.

Two CVLs of the Cape Hatteras class are ordered. Max displacement and max air capacity allowed for CVL

The storied Roger-Mils, hopelessly outclassed by modern BC is also selected for conversion, thus guaranteeing it a long life in the service of the CSN.

Pic taken after starting the conversion, so in reality it barely has any tonnage left over. We are forced by the game to give it eight 8'' guns, but we'll be able to get rid of them at the first refit, freeing some tonnage for a few extra planes.

We're airborne boys!

 

[Andnjord]

Also, as a French, seeing my forum avatar commanding ships against the French navy, it felt weird, like I'm committing treason or something.

Between you, ValeVelKal, me and Comte's French avatar (those RTW2 screens did certainly not look French) it is kind of amazing that we're not playing as France. At least I'm going out with a Texan gal at the moment, so I guess that helps :D

Wait, is everyone French or Cisalpine French on this thread ?

Technically Dayyalu should be Transalpine French since our point of view is from France.

THE GREAT BROTHERHOOD

Yeah, trust us Latins to stick together in brotherly love :D

 

[Azira]

Oh goody! A winged rat..

 

[Andnjord]

Peaceful Transition

Spoiler

Thanks to the Brits kickstarting our naval aviation and the new battleships dragging our battle-line kicking and screaming into modernity, our Capital Ships are on their way to minimal competency. On the destroyer front between the Njord Pack fleet DD and the swarming Rat Pack II escort DD we are looking pretty decent too. On the other hand, since we're still lacking Double turrets for CL I have refrained for building new ones. The United Soviet of America is quick to remind us how behind we are.

Good speed, good armour (on the turrets at least), optimized armament and swivel mounted torpedoes. Dayyalu is going to have his work cut out IF he gets the tech.

On the other hand the Germans decide to give us a good laugh and remind us how beneficial our Alliance with GB is.

That's what we'd be building right now if it wasn't for GB.

Speaking of GB, because of them tensions with Russia have been skyrocketing, in particular due to an event where they asked us for our unconditional support in their dealing with Russia.

As we don't need more allies than GB our choice is very easy on this following event. More tension with Russia but I am confident that our fleet will be able to handle them.

Gimme more Dollah Bills! Need bonnaz!

As the time of my tenure comes to a close, the Germans give me another laugh:

Have you seen my last BB Germany? I got no need for 5+ turrets (also we should be getting it of our own anytime soon)

And on the very last turn, our egg-heads have finally finished reverse-engineering the British torpedo plane. Our servile power is now able to start manufacturing our own far-superior home-built versions of it.

And with this, time to go through the lst few events for the last time, hand the turn to Dayyalu, sit back and claw my eyes out at the foolish visionary design choices of my successors. A quiet ending I suppose, but a nice change from the frantic madness of the previous one. I guess Admiral Andnjord Oscar will be able to quietly retire and live out his days in peaceful contempla....

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABLAMOOOOOOOO

Well....fuck....

ALL HANDS ON DECK, I WANT REVENGE ON THE RUSSIANS AND I WANT IT NOW. KALIN, DAYYALU, ON ME. TONIGHT WE SAIL TO DEATH, VICTORY AND GLORY

...sigh...

Allright! Bonnaz time!

Yeah, all of this happened all at once on the very last turn.

*************************************

Spoiler

As I really did not expect war to break out so soon, almost the entire fleet was in reserve or mothball. As a result the only ships we had active are the three you see on the screen. All three Nathan Bedford CL class and our brand new spanking ultra-modern Fast Battleship, the Admiral Andnjord.

Our opponents of the day are a couple of cruisers, DD and this poor guy

A PERFECT OCCASION TO SHOWCASE THE GENIUS OF MY DESIGN.

As a reminder, this is our Admiral Andnjord BB

Range 15000 yards, you may fire at will.

The first volleys must have landed square in its machinery room, blowing straight through its pitiful armor, slowing it down to a pitiful 10 knots.

Boom, bulls-eye muthafacka!

Due to its escorts, it takes us a little while to close the range to finish off our target, but it's a foregone conclusion.

WONDERFUL. CHASE AFTER THE ESCORTS NOW, MY GENIUS DESIGN IS FAST ENOUGH TO CATCH THEM

One

Two

Three

Fackin awesum. Time for bonnaz and hooker in Cuba now.

Negative. Why would you believe you would deserve a bonus Kalin? You have repeatedly failed me, from your poor performance in Congo to your failure in the Caribbean you have demonstrated me that you are a liability to the service. Dayyalu, if you could please arrest this ruffian.

*twitch* YOU MUTHAFACKA! I'LL CUT YOU!!!

STAB-STAB-STAB

Aaargh

BANG!

aaaaaaargh

Why do I have a feeling of deja-vu...

Welp, no time like the present I guess. Time to pick up the Admiral's mantle. *phssst* This is Admiral Dayyalu speaking. Our beloved leader, Oscar has tragically perished under a freak 5'' shell hitting the bridge. I am assuming emergency command as the most senior officer present. We will head home and bury our noble leader, over.

Easy hunting for the Admiral Andnjord. Fast, heavily armed and armored, the Russian squadron stood absolutely no chance. Had it been a standard speed 21 knot BB the Russian BC or at least its escorts would have been able to run away without much trouble. But not from the Admiral Andnjord.

 

[Andnjord]

Dayyālu , here should be the turn:

https://sabercathost.com/5o99/Game8.7z

Some thoughts on our situation:

Spoiler

During my tenure, Congo and Antilles has been added to our growing empire. I wish I could have grabbed something in the Pacific but saddly RNGesus decided against it. Our bases in Angola and Iceland have been expanded (both around 120 base capacity) but should still be expanded further, in particular Iceland as we want to be able to move our entire fleet there in case of war against a European power.

Current fleet minus the swarms of DD. We are doing good on DDs, better (not good yet but better) on the battle line and terrible on CL. You will have to decide on what to focus on first, obviously our budget precludes us from having a first class navy on all departments. Or you could just say screw it all and focus exclusively on CVs. speaking of which

Our current construction queue. Within a year we will have the strongest Naval aviation arm of the world. Which doesn't mean much yet, as at this point and for a good ten more years air power isn't able to win battles alone. My recommendation? Focus on the rest of the fleet for a while, build a CV to go along with the Roger Mils (always use Fleet CVs in pairs, this way you can do balanced coordinated strikes using full deckloads once we get dive bombers) and leave the Air expansion to your successor who will be able to build much stronger and capable CVs.

Our current Tech has Naval Aviation research on Medium. Make sure you bring it back to High as soon as the Roger-Mils finishes (you can't have it on high past our point until you have an operational CV). And remember to refit it when you can to get rid of the 8'' guns and replace them with whatever light AA gun you prefer.

Regarding the War wit Russia, it should be pretty easy. We have access to the British bases, so you can move the entire fleet to Northern Europe whenever you desire, either right now or when the James Longstreet and assorted CV are finished. I would suggest you to not fall into the trap of taking Finland or the Baltic, they add no strategic bases that Iceland doesn't already cover and will only be a Foreign Tonnage Requirement and a liability in war. Give us a base in the Pacific instead.

A point about Fast BB. If a BB has a speed of 27 or more, it is considered by the game to be a Fast BB, allowing it to be called into Cruiser Battles and other typical BC exclusive fights. No reason to build BC anymore, might as well just focus on ships that won't blow up sky high as soon as they meet anything bigger than a pop-gun.

Good luck!

 

[Storyfag]

Also, as a French, seeing my forum avatar commanding ships against the French navy, it felt weird, like I'm committing treason or something.

Between you, ValeVelKal, me and Comte's French avatar (those RTW2 screens did certainly not look French) it is kind of amazing that we're not playing as France. At least I'm going out with a Texan gal at the moment, so I guess that helps :D

You guys *could* LARP CSA officers from Louisiana, maybe?

 

[ValeVelKal]

I like it. The Louisiana clique who takes power in CSA, just like the USA was a Virginian thing until the middle of the 19th century.

 

[Andnjord]

Oh goody! A winged rat..

You guys *could* LARP CSA officers from Louisiana, maybe?

You're assuming us Europeans can tell any difference beyond a Dixie and a Yankee. And that's stretching it :D

 

[Storyfag]

Oh goody! A winged rat..

You guys *could* LARP CSA officers from Louisiana, maybe?

You're assuming us Europeans can tell any difference beyond a Dixie and a Yankee. And that's stretching it :D

Kurwa, please. *I* can tell a Bayou from your typical Redneck, even though I am from the land of purest Potato.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Dang the State Rights class. What I was thinking... I am not doing CA like this any more now, I changed my doctrine on this.
Yeah, early and mid-game CL don't take the "increased speed over time" very well, but by that point whatever CL we do should be able to last until the end or almost.

Nice battle with the Russians. Not sure why they would have a BC in the Caribbean but well, quite literally their loss .

Very happy to see that you maintained the British alliance and that it was so fruitful. My most enduring legacy I guess. King Cotton at work into the 20ies ! And verey fun to see Admiral Beatty. I like that guy !

 

[Andnjord]

Yeah, early and mid-game CL don't take the "increased speed over time" very well, but by that point whatever CL we do should be able to last until the end or almost.

Yeah, that's why I was waiting on the double turrets for CL before making some. With end-game tech waiting around the corner I didn't want to blow Dayyalu's remaining financial cushion on soon-to be obsolete designs.

Dang the State Rights class. What I was thinking... I am not doing CA like this any more now, I changed my doctrine on this.

Spoiler

An idea for a refitted States-Rights. Didn't quite have have the cash for it but they might be turned into amazing AA platforms and scout plane launchers for not that much money when the time is right.

Very happy to see that you maintained the British alliance and that it was so fruitful. My most enduring legacy I guess.

Keep in mind that the French fleet was blown apart by what was essentially your fleet what with you so drastically refitting all of our battleships


ALSO, this is why you don't do Cross Deck Fire when you don't have to:

Spoiler

From looking at the possibilities of refitting the Stonewall Jackons. And no, I didn't know about that either.

 

[Dayyālu]

I have no idea of what I am doing , I can't larp Southerners to save my own life and for chrissakes I am Latin but I'm not French.

Also, before trying an update I have to add that we're reaching the point of the game where my knowledge gets limited (haven't played many RTW2 games to completion, now I'm toying with an Italy game that's half larping and half "let's see what happens if") thus I may do horrible decisions.

There's two things I'd like to ask tho. Pardon if I forgot the details or if you already explained them, consider that my mental condition nowadays isn't up to standard.

Fist, why we have CAs around. Second, why we have Bs around. I mean, unconverted.

Also I love that half of our fleet is Travellers, that thanks to upgrades are still a match to 1923 Russian dreadnaughts. Yes, they have considerably less guns, but they are more solid designs all around. Half of the Russian fleet is pure AI random generator, to be blunt. Yet, why the fuck half of our fleet is Travellers.

Look at this fucking horse

Also the Air arm is very smart, let's avoid all support expenses until the tech is mature bar scout planes.