The Hunt for the Markgraf - Year One

AN OVERVIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN SO FAR

AAR - The Federated States of America versus The Prussian Empire

"In the closing weeks of Summer, 1873, the 17th Reserve Fleet of the Federated States of America finished their sixth tour of duty across the Atlantic and were invited to Liverpool Docks for refit and repair. An unusually generous offer from their allies the Kingdom of Britannia, but a welcome one that would aid their defence of the convoys in the northern Atlantic during their return home. Lead by the immense Dreadnought Dortmunder - still bearing the scars from the Blockade of Greenland the previous summer, the fleet began their approach into Britannian waters on the 7th September. 

New orders reached them before they could turn south toward their destination - the Markgraf had been sighted near the Faroe Islands, and as the largest warship in the vicinity, the Dortmunder was to engage and claim the ship for the Federated States of America. Where other ships had failed, it was hoped another Dreadnought would be a match for the beast. 

This would be a monumental victory for the Federated States - the destruction of an enemy Dreadnought, the end of a known threat to Grand Coalition shipping, and a show of superiority for their "allies" the Russian Coalition. To claim the Markgraf as Prize where the Russians had failed was an irresistible lure for the Federal Naval Command. 

Moving at full speed, the American fleet found the Prussians had not attempted to alter course - they almost appeared to be waiting for them, ready to engage in the open ocean...

- The Hunt for the Markgraf (cont.)

Naval Battles of 1873

Long-Range Bombardment

THE YALE-CLASS HEAVY DESTROYER FOR THE FEDERATED STATES OF AMERICA

Unboxing the Bombardment Groups

THE BOMBARDMENT GROUPS FOR THE PRUSSIAN EMPIRE, FEDERATED STATES OF AMERICA AND RUSSIAN COALITION ARE UNVEILED

AAR - The Black Wolf Mercenaries and Chinese Federation versus The Honourable Eclipse Company

"In the wake of the disastrous ambush at the Natuna Archipelago at the hands of the Honourable Eclipse Company, the Chinese Federation redeployed several Battle Groups to scour the islands and rid the South China Sea of these tenacious mercenaries. 

To assist them, the naval commanders of the Federation hired mercenaries from the southern oceans - ships of the Black Company whose loyalty was expensive and motivations unknown. Though unused to using mercenaries and privateers, the advanced technologies of the Black Company would aid them in tracking the hidden bases of the Eclipse Company and bombarding them out of existence.

The Grand Coalition were buoyed by the response of the Chinese Federation - violence would guarantee the service of the Eclipse Company where a more prudent, financial bidding war may have resulted being outbid and losing their contract, but worried at the sight of even more mercenaries being drawn into the chaos of the South China Sea theatre.

At Pulau Salor, Battle Group Hsien would encounter an Eclipse Company Brigade Headquarters, and battle would be joined amid the rocks of the small island, the Black Company leading the initial attack..." 

- The Cauldron: War in the South China Sea

Naval Battles of 1873

AAR - The Honourable Eclipse Company and Federated States of America versus The Chinese Federation

"Typhoon season slowed the War in the South China Sea, but it would not last forever, and both sides had not been idle in preparing for the next offensive. The Grand Coalition had been stretched thin at the end of the last year, forced to employ mercenaries against the immense fleets of the Chinese Federation, and following the success at Labuan, they prepared once more to engage the services of the Honourable Eclipse Company. 

In concordance with the Naval Command of the Federated States of America, the Admiralty of the Brtiannian Royal Navy and the Brigade commanders of the Honourable Eclipse Company formed a plan to mislead and trick the Chinese Federation, drawing one of their fleets into a trap the Eclipse Company would spring. 

After weeks of preparation, everything was in place for the Second Element of the Nanyang Fleet to be drawn into the Natuna Archipelago, where secret fortifications lurked beneath the waves ready to emerge and attack the Chinese fleet. A small American Destroyer group would serve as the bait, while the grand airships and bombers of the Eclipse Company would lurk overhead, to descend from the clouds and destroy the enemy. 

The trap was a fine one, but doubts lurked in the minds of the fleet commanders - would the Chinese Federation fall for the ruse? What if they were aware of the trap, and prepared accordingly? These questions would be answered in the coming hours..." 

- The Cauldron: War in the South China Sea

Naval Battles of 1873

AAR - The Russian Coalition versus The Federated States of America

"For a number of years, the weather station at Kiska Island had been all-but abandoned, leaving the remote outpost undefended against potential aggression from the Empire of the Blazing Sun. The strategic importance of the island was questionable, but the some within the intelligence agencies of the Federated States of America believed there was a chance the Blazing Sun (or the Russian Coalition...) could use Kiska and the rest of the Aleutian Island chain in an island-hopping campaign up from Kuril Islands and the Kamchatka Peninsula, into Canada and then down into FSA territory. 

Tensions with the Russian Coalition had been high for the entire War, especially for those captains based in the North Pacific and the Bering Sea in the wake of the Bering Incident. Seeking to score political points and show-up the Russian Navy, Admiral Franklin E. King ordered an Expeditionary Fleet to secure Kiska in the interest of national security and to salvage any leftover Russian technology from their barely-manned weather station. 

Such a blatantly aggressive move was not in the interests of the American Congress or General Staff, and in the tense months that followed, few could justify the order for the attempted annexation beyond the personal vendetta of Admiral King. The truth behind who gave the order would be lost in the political debacle that followed...

...regardless of the explanation for the deployment of the Expeditionary Fleet, nothing would matter as they sailed unsuspectingly into the guns of the Russian's secret Aleutian Patrol Fleet, Battlegroup Chirikov, and began the first major naval engagement between the Federated States and the Russian Coalition in nearly three years..."

- Shadows of Bering: Skirmish at Kiska

Naval Battles of 1872

What's on the Painting Table? October Edition

SEVERAL SMALLER PROJECTS GET THEIR CHANCE AT THE PAINTING TABLE THIS MONTH - BUT WHAT BIG PROJECT COMES NEXT?

AAR - The Federated States of America versus The Chinese Federation

"As pressure mounted on the fleets of the aggressive Chinese Federation, they deployed more and more of their warships in an expanding circle, pushing into territorial waters of almost every other nation with a coast on the South China Sea. Their allies in the Empire of the Blazing Sun and their former benefactors, the mysterious Wani, also contributed support in their attacks against the Grand Coalition.

In response to the losses suffered at Pulau Tioman and Banda Aceh, fleet commanders for the Federated States of America ordered a punitive retaliation against the Chinese Federation. The movement of Battle Group Ulysses away from the on-going fleet maneuvres in the Pacific Ocean was questioned and quietly condemned, but the orders of the Vice-Chief of Naval Operations could not be countermanded. 

The movements of the Federacy fleet were followed by Imperial Bond spies, and a counter-thrust made at Balabac Island, where the American fleet was moving into the south-eastern waters of the South China Sea. Appearing from behind a long-dormant volcano, the Chinese fleet made their attack amid the shallow waters, their fleet an image out of some fantastical nightmare, led by ghostly Terror Ships and monstrous Dragons..."

- The Cauldron: War in the South China Sea

Naval Battles of 1872

AAR - The League of Italian States and Free Australians versus The Federated States of America

"In the wake of the attack at Pulau Tioman and the loss of the 47th Reserve Fleet, the Federated States of America took a far greater interest in the general disorganisation and rampant piracy crippling the war effort in the South China Sea,. The American command in the area authorised the activation of the 56th Reserve Fleet, resting and refitting in nearby waters, to engage the Chinese Federation and the Imperial Bond directly.

Bolstered by the addition of several newly commissioned cutting-edge ship designs and even one of the mighty Boston-class submersibles, the Reserve Fleet became a formidable force under the command of Rear-Admiral John T. Whiston, and made full speed for the Strait of Malacca where they could pass into the South China Sea past Singapore.

Before they could reach the Strait, they encountered several pirate vessels apparently operating under their own volition. Suspecting ties to the Imperial Bond, especially with the presence of an Italian Hunter Fleet, Whiston ordered the reconnaissance elements of his fleet to track them, and eventually found a small base amid a series of small islands off Banda Aceh. Seeing it as a personal duty to rid the area of such rogues, the order was given to attack..."

- The Cauldron: War in the South China Sea

Naval Battles of 1872

Striking A Balance

THE SAN FRANCISCO-CLASS ASSAULT CARRIER BRINGS SERIOUS FIREPOWER AND CARRIER-CAPACITY TO THE FEDERATED STATES OF AMERICA

Battle Cruisin'

THE ANNAPOLIS-CLASS BATTLE CRUISER ARRIVES FOR THE FEDERATED STATES OF AMERICA

 

AAR - The Prussian Empire versus The Federated States of America and Royal Australians

"Some weeks after the triumph at the Gates of Holsteinsborg and the lifting of the blockade of the Davis Strait, the Prussian Empire despatched reinforcements to support their Greenland-based raiding fleets. Featuring new ships with the latest technologies and weaponry developed by Prussian scientists, the Empire was ready to go on the offensive once more. 

Their first target was the refuelling station at St. Anthony, site of a shameful defeat some months past that needed to be expunged. Their objective would be to deny the enemy any chance to escape by disabling their fastest ships, then deal with any defending capital ships before bombarding the station out of existence. 

Against them, the Britannian Navy had stationed one of their Dominion fleets, the Royal Australian North Atlantic Reserve Squadron. They were supported by the Federated States of America, whose 18th Patrol Fleet had a small flotilla passing close by, and had picked up on the approach of the Prussian fleet some hours beforehand. 

The stage was set for another titanic showdown...

- Echoes of Greenland - The Second Battle of St. Anthony

Naval Battles of 1872

AAR - The Chinese Federation versus The Federated States of America

"Territorial disputes across the South China Sea have burned hot and cold for centuries, but as the World War consumed every continent and ocean, it seemed that these old rivalries and hatreds would be ignited once more... 

...the year 1872 saw the Great Dragon awaken, and following continued aggression from the East India Merchant Company and their mercenary armies, the Chinese Federation moved a fleet against several ports in Malaysia. The first attack hit Pulau Tioman, where extensive strip mining had destroyed much of the once-beautiful island and a small number of shipyards and docks had been constructed - docks currently occupied by the 47th Reserve Fleet of the Federated States of America. The Chinese objective was simple - smash the capital ships and scatter the rest, leaving the way ready for the ponderous yet unstoppable wave of Chinese and Blazing Sun invasion forces.

Assembling hastily to face the indomitable Chinese fleet, Rear-Admiral Paul F.C. Stockton ordered the merchants present at Tioman to flee and warn the Britannian command. He was confident that with the new vessels assigned to his fleet, they could slow down, if not stop the Chinese war machine. They would meet in the waters just off Pulau Tioman, in the shadows of the East India Company drilling platforms..."

- The Cauldron: War in the South China Sea

Naval Battles of 1872

Welcome to our first Battle Report with the new edition, and the first game of what I hope will be another great campaign. 

Chasing The Shadows

PART THREE - THE FEDERATED STATES OF AMERICA REVEAL THEIR NEW FLEET TO THE DYSTOPIAN WORLD

The Hunt Continues

PART TWO - TURTLE-CLASS ATTACK SUBMARINES, THE YUREI TERROR SHIP AND WIP FOR THE LIBERTY-CLASS HEAVY BATTLESHIP

The Greenland Campaign - A Retrospective

NINE GREAT GAMES WERE RECORDED ON THIS BLOG OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS - IN THIS POST, WE TAKE A LOOK BACK OVER THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE TWO GREAT POWERS AND THEIR MERCENARY ALLIES IN THE GREENLAND CAMPAIGN

Painting Operation: Shadow Hunter

PART ONE - THE BOSTON-CLASS SUBMARINE

Boston-class Submarines on patrol

AAR - Greenland Campaign Finale

"..following months of skirmishes, blockade runs, raids and ambushes, proxy wars with entire fleets of mercenaries and the resulting betrayals and subterfuge that followed, the Federated States of America made their final assault down the Davis Strait and into the Prussian port of Holsteinsborg. 

Their fleet was heavy with bombs and ordnance for leveling the port, and bolstered with mercenaries from the Honourable Eclipse Company. The way was open; the defence fleet that had sallied forth to deny the 27th Bomb Group were sitting at the bottom of the ocean or had been dragged back to port in pieces... 

...but the Prussian port was not defenceless - the mighty Stiglitz still sat in anchor at Holsteinsborg, attended by an entire flotilla of support craft and escorts. Commander Jürgen Grönemeyer was present with his Sturmbringer-class Submarine and elements of his Wolf Pack, and finally, after weeks of preparation, commander Karl-Ehrhart Grunner reclaimed his flag aboard the Emperor-class Battleship Hetzer. 

Battle would be joined in the shallow waters of the port itself, and the siege broken... one way or another..."

- The Blockade of Greenland

Naval Battles of 1872

Battered and broken, the Sachsen is dragged back into port, pursued by the American fleet

AAR - Prussian Empire versus the Federated States of America and Eclipse Company Mercenaries

"...after weeks of stalemate around the Davis Strait, the Federated States of America made their move and began the attack on Holsteinsborg. The 27^th Bomb Group were to lead a preliminary bombing run that would cripple the outer defences of the port, defences where the Americans had been stalled some months previously at the outset of the conflict. 

With the American fleet already stretched across innumerable theatres and oceans, their numbers were bolstered with mercenaries from the Honourable Eclipse Company. This contract would be their undoing, however, as spies within the Company quickly revealed for any pertinent information on fleet movements, dispositions and weaknesses to their Prussian paymasters. 

As the 27^th Bomb Group made their way under the cover of darkness, a small Prussian fleet was hurriedly assembled and sallied forth - at dawn the two fleets spotted one another and battle was joined...

- The Blockade of Greenland

Naval Battles of 1872