WesWorld

Repository for posts pertaining to the forthcoming Franco-German-Russian fleet exercise.

(more to follow)

RN in-character comments are welcome here too ;)

The Admiralstab, Berlin, Sunday, 19 September 1948

The map on the plotting table in the Operations Room showed the vast expanse of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, though at the moment it showed relatively few markers.

“Have the two halves of our task force made rendezvous?” Bramesfeld, Director of Plans, had only just arrived.

“Yes, Admiral Engel sent the rendezvous signal an hour ago.” Merten usually had such details at his fingertips. “Well Gerlach, have the English reacted yet? We made enough of a show getting the ships out there.”

“Our U-boat patrols have noted the departure for sea of several British vessels, some as much as two days ago, when the task force began its transit. We have noted an increase in signals traffic, and Dorniers of the Marineflieger are tracking several.”

Bramesfeld nodded. “Is FO Bayard still at Dakar?”

Merten shook his head. “Bailly has taken the precaution of moving Bayard to Casablanca – a double-edged sword. Yes, it places him closer to the probable area of operations, but forces him to make an early decision on where to engage. If he passes to the east of Atlantis, he will not be able to intercept Engel until he moves towards the Biscay ports; if he passes to the west of Atlantis, he can intercept further west but he will lose time in transit.”

“Very good – we designed the exercise with many free-play options.”


Aircraft carrier Wallenstein, 57 dgs 15 min North, 6 dgs 13min East, Sunday, 19 September 1948

Vizeadmiral Siegfried Engel checked the dradis plot one last time to confirm that all the ships of the task force were in their proper station. This was the first time that the three allied navies had sailed together under operational conditions, and it never hurt to be cautious. The sun was already beginning to set on the western horizon.

“Signal to all ships. Set course 315, speed 18 knots.”

Good so far! :)

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Bramesfeld nodded. “Is FO Bayard still at Dakar?”

Merten shook his head. “Bailly has taken the precaution of moving Bayard to Casablanca – a double-edged sword. Yes, it places him closer to the probable area of operations, but forces him to make an early decision on where to engage. If he passes to the east of Atlantis, he will not be able to intercept Engel until he moves towards the Biscay ports; if he passes to the west of Atlantis, he can intercept further west but he will lose time in transit.”

OOC: Atlantean geography shouldn't be an issue regardless of whether or not FO Bayard bases from Dakar or Casablanca - Atlantis is significantly further south than Casablanca, and due west of Dakar.

Oops. My bad. Someone better fix the Admiralstab's charts.

Aircraft carrier Wallenstein, 58 dgs 29 min North, 4 dgs 18min East, Monday, 20 September 1948

Engel had ordered a course change to the north shortly after midnight; his intentions were to pass well to the east of the Shetlands before attempting a breakout to the Atlantic. Already the task force’s electronic detection gear was picking up the first, tentative, shadowing aircraft. Those on the eastern lobe he judged to be Nordish – their bases were barely a hundred kilometres away. Those to the west however he judged to British, and had given orders accordingly. Aircraft had been launched from the Pappenheim to play cat-and-mouse with whatever aircraft the British had sent out from their northern bases. Once the sun rose in the morning the game would truly be afoot.

His heavy cruisers were in the vanguard, and they were already reporting sightings of merchant traffic on the regular routes between Nordmark and the British Isles; for the moment, he had directed them to ignore such contacts – that was not the purpose of the exercise. Of the options available to him he had chosen the Denmark Strait – it would keep him well away from British bases and give the most flexibility in exercising with FO Bayard, the designated OpFor for the exercise. For the moment there was little to do but wait.

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Good so far!

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Bramesfeld nodded. “Is FO Bayard still at Dakar?”

Merten shook his head. “Bailly has taken the precaution of moving Bayard to Casablanca – a double-edged sword. Yes, it places him closer to the probable area of operations, but forces him to make an early decision on where to engage. If he passes to the east of Atlantis, he will not be able to intercept Engel until he moves towards the Biscay ports; if he passes to the west of Atlantis, he can intercept further west but he will lose time in transit.”

OOC: Atlantean geography shouldn't be an issue regardless of whether or not FO Bayard bases from Dakar or Casablanca - Atlantis is significantly further south than Casablanca, and due west of Dakar.

The fact that French ships are NOT transiting either side of Atlantis makes it easier to explain why Atlantean ships are not participating, or rather Atlantis is not participating and allied ships are sailing past heading to the party....

20 September

The First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Fraser, and the Second Sea Lord, Admiral Sir William Whitworth and the Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, plus their staffs, looked at the plotting chart.
Since leaving Kiel and the Baltic the German and combined GA fleets had been tracked fairly thoroughly by both submarine and aircraft and already a few ships of the Navy's screen had made contact and were shadowing at a discrete distance. Nore and Channel Command would keep tabs on the exercises as they transited the North Sea. Unlike the last exercises the aim appeared to be operations in the North Atlantic. Intelligence from North Africa indicated French units were in readiness, although the Atlanteans seemed strangely quiet.

As he looked at the table Fraser stroked his chin. Three days ago Force Y had slipped from Portsmouth and headed south-west until clear of French aerial patrols. He could only guess Admiral Syfret's exact position as the force was operating under strict radio silence. Under the plans already laid he should be now be heading north, probably some 150 miles south of Iceland. Once again the Germans had spoiled their plans, the redisposition of the fleet was incomplete but Force Y comprised the battleships Nelson, Fisher and Duke of York, the carriers Magnificent, Centaur and Albion, the heavy cruisers Surrey and Cornwall, the light cruisers Amphion, Phaeton, Iris and Mercury and the eight Battle-class destroyers of the 9th Destroyer Flotilla. Cunningham plotted out some likely interception routes depending on which route to the Atlantic the exercise forces would take. The consensus that they would take the Denmark Strait, the furthest from British recon flights and also perhaps avoiding the worst of possible Nordish tracking from Iceland. Fraser could only hope that Syfret would make the same conclusion, that was the worst of commanding from the shore, having to rely on your sea commanders decision-making capabilities. In any case he knew Force Y was in good hands with Admiral Syfret. Now they just had to wait.

OOC: Typical British over-reaction! ;) I think Force Y is bigger than both parts of the exercising fleets in their totality...

For elements of disclosure, FO Bayard, the opfor in this exercise, is composed of the following units:

Quoted

5th Division de Porte-avions: Zélé, Héros
5th Division de Croiseurs: Redoubtable, Renommée
13th Flotilla Torpillieurs: L'Inflexible, L'Inébranlable, L'Infatigable, L'Implacable

British intelligence, at least, would know that these are the ships in play, since it's about 80% of the French Atlantic surface forces at the present time.

Some additional escortier rapides and underway replenishment ships are tagged on, too.

OOC: we like over reactions! Actually some of those ships are heading north anyway for redeployment. I don't intend to get caught up too much in the exercise beyond watching from a distance.

Quoted

we like over reactions!

Over reactions can cause incidents...

... maybe a certain huge and evil nation far to your east might send a submarine to the Atlantic on a mission and sink one of the vessels involved while hiding underneath the ship of another nation (kind of like Star Trek VI) to cause an incident.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

Quoted

we like over reactions!

Over reactions can cause incidents...

... maybe a certain huge and evil nation far to your east might send a submarine to the Atlantic on a mission and sink one of the vessels involved while hiding underneath the ship of another nation (kind of like Star Trek VI) to cause an incident.

Better send it now, you might get there to watch the news reels released to the public after the fact....

Aircraft carrier Wallenstein, 65 dgs 26 min North, 3 dgs 22 min West, Tuesday, 21 September 1948

The task force under Admiral Engel had made good progress thus far, and had succeeded in its mission of attracting the attention of the Royal Air Force’s long-range aircraft, as well as some of the lighter ships of the Royal Navy. Unlike previous exercises the combat air patrols from his aircraft carriers had instructions to do their best to keep such snoopers at bay – ‘escorting’ them if necessary; there was no reason to make the task of the English easier by playing nice. Similarly the escorting destroyers of the Russian Thirteenth Flotilla frequently found themselves engaged in shepherding an English destroyer or sloop that changed to get too close.

Their present course would take them north of Iceland and through the Denmark Strait, after which they could begin their simulation of commerce raiding – a task Engel thought would be accomplished easily with air support. He expected FO Bayard to make an appearance shortly thereafter to begin its hunt. As night fell around him he ordered a course change to the northwest.


The Admiralstab, Berlin, Tuesday, 21 September 1948

Gerlach read the latest intelligence report from the French allies with interest.

“Three battleships, three aircraft carriers, numerous cruisers and destroyers left Portsmouth on the seventeenth; they now passed beyond the range of French air patrols so their exact whereabouts is uncertain.”

“We were expecting a reaction from the English but that seems a bit much, particularly with the ships they already have trailing Engel.” Nevertheless Merten placed the markers for the British task force on the plotting map. “Should we send a blind signal to Engel informing him of this development?”

Bramesfeld nodded. “There is no reason we cannot send a blind signal.”

The Star, Isle of Lewis, 20 September
It was early evening and the menfolk were gathered around the bar. Conversation was flowing.
"Hamish, did ye see that Nordish trawler in the harbour today?"
"Aye, it was a queer sight, we've not seen them down here for some time."
Young Dougie who worked at the lighthouse spoke up, "I heard they had got caught in that storm the other night."
An older fisherman dismissively waved his hand, "Och, that storm was nothing, it'd take more than that swell to make a seasoned skipper head for port. I remember that storm of '44 when..."
"Aye, but that dinna explain those men from the mainland who boarded her before she left," Hamish interjected.
"They came on the morning boat from the mainland," Dougie added.
The older man shook his head, "There be murky deeds afoot I dare say. No good comes of strangers."
"Aye," the men agreed in unision, drinking their whiskeys.

Aircraft carrier Wallenstein, 65 dgs 41 min North, 28 dgs 21 min West, Wednesday, 22 September 1948

The task force under Admiral Engel’s command had made a high speed run during the night to round Iceland during the long autumn twilight, and in the morning they had made rendezvous with the inspection ship Goldener Löwe, a regular visitor to these waters. Now however she shepherded the replenishment ship Rhein, which had left Bremerhaven weeks ago and had been waiting in these northern waters for the task force’s arrival. Each of the task force’s ships came alongside the Rhein to fill their fuel tanks preparatory to the real test of the exercise.

Thankfully the patrols of the Royal Air Force did not extend this far to the northwest, and thus far the Nords and should a distinct lack of inquisitiveness. There were, however, reports from the Admiralstab that heavy units of the Royal Navy had put to sea several days ago, and Engel had to presume that they had a watching brief for his ships. Indeed, he was counting on it; whether they had divined his decision to break out via the Denmark Strait could not presume. He had taken the precaution to mount long-range searches from his carriers for the dual purposes of locating the British force as well as the possible arrival of FO Bayard, the French task force that had the mission to intercept him. They would also locate merchant shipping in the path of the task force – and once all his ships were refuelled he could turn the cruisers loose to ‘intercept’ and ‘sink’ them.

How much tonnage that might be notionally destroyed would be only one measure of the exercise’s success.

HMS Magnificent, 60 dgs 10 min North, 22 dgs 37 min West, Wednesday 22 September

Admiral Syfret was studying the charts with his staff. He had reasoned that attempting to avoid land-based aerial reconnaissance as much as possible, that the German force would take the Denmark Strait. It was what he would do in the same circumstances. He had positioned the fleet a little further east to cover the possibility that the German commander decided to risk the Iceland-Faroes gap. Once his long-range aerial screen made a definite contact then he could move accordingly. Syfret wished he had one of Magnificent's sisters instead of the three battleships with him. While they made a bold statement he felt their utility was lacking in a scenario like this. His mission was to observe only, but it was prudent to get the most value from the exercise and so his ships would treat this as a basic Red vs. Blue exercise, practicing the best methods of intercepting an enemy force.

Syfret gave orders for Albion and Phaeton and two destroyers to move a little further westwards to ensure his screen on that flank was adequately strong.

Force Operationalle Bayard, 57 dgs 23 min North, 39 dgs 31 min West, Wednesday, 22 September 1948

Contre-amiral Ernest Bailly paced the bridge of the cruiser Redoubtable waiting for dawn to break over the horizon. If he had guessed correctly today would be the day that Engel’s task force would commences its part of the exercise – commerce raiding against sea lines of communication between Europe and the Americas. The lack of wireless reports – complaints more than likely – from annoyed civilian shipping suggested that Engel had chosen the Denmark Straits, the westernmost of the potential exits, for his breakout.

“Signal from Héros, Amiral. They are commencing launch of their long-range scouts.”

He merely nodded. The planes would search to the northeast, though the dirty weather would make things difficult. He strode to the plot map to evaluate the situation – not only were Engel’s ships out there somewhere, but intelligence reports had a British task force at sea at well. Like FO Bayard and Engel’s force, it was operating under wireless silence, and its whereabouts unknown at this time.

“It is the Equinox – and the potential for storms or fog could reduce the efficacy of our air search; and I do not have enough escorts to throw out much of an advanced screen. Blundering into a fleet of Rosbifs would be disastrous.”

He considered his options. “Double the lookouts and the electronic watches on all ships. Signal the 13eme Flotilla Torpillieurs to take station fifty kilometres ahead of our present course.”

Until he had more definitive information, it was all he could do with limited resources.

Aircraft carrier Wallenstein, 60 dgs 49 min North, 33 dgs 24 min West, Thursday, 24 September 1948

Engel considered the present situation in which his task force found itself with considerable misgiving, yet it seemed worth the risk. An approaching weather front had driven gales before it, raising sea states and making carrier operations too dangerous to contemplate under exercise conditions. Signals intelligence suggested that the British force dispatched to shadow him was operating to his southeast, which had led him to risk a high-speed run southward in the midst of the storm in the hope that he might get round their flank. Presuming that the British carriers were equally handicapped by the weather, it might succeed.

With night coming on, it was quite possible he could succeed. He had posted a pair of his heavy cruisers on either flank in advance of the carriers, with orders to maintain Seetakt watch for any British or OpFor vessels; he still had no knowledge of FO Bayard’s position.

Cruiser Marseilles, 58 dgs 36 min North, 29 dgs 1 min West, Friday, 25 September 1948

Capitaine D'Estienne d'Orves judged that Engel’s gamble to use the dirty weather to slip past the Rosbifs and remain undetected by FO Bayard had paid off; the task force had reached the main shipping lanes and already that afternoon had encountered and notionally ‘sunk’ a trio of English cargo ships. The method used was simple – when sighted, a cruiser would come alongside the vessel, match course and speed for fifteen minutes, and then break contact. Under the terms of the exercise the fifteen minutes was considered sufficient to account for a sinking without unduly alarming the other vessel. Orders were to act in a non-menacing fashion, though he expected that the merchantmen would report the encounter – eventually.

“Ship sighted, Green Three Zero mon Capitaine!”

“Intercept and identify.”

It would begin again; he wondered what today’s final score might be.

The Admiralty, Whitehall, London, Friday 25 September

The First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Fraser, was pacing the room, already at least two merchant vessels had reported being shadowed by foreign cruisers for short periods on a matching course and speed. It was evident that the main body of the northern most exercise group, coded 'Red North' by the Admiralty had skilfully used the storm cover not only to escape their intended opponent, the French group they coded 'Blue South' and their pursuers, Syfret's Force Y. The Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, was not unduly worried, Syfret would be chasing them, but that reduced the chances of either side blundering head-long into each other. He knew that with the storm front hampering his aerial search, that Syfret would be as annoyed as Fraser was. But there was little one could do about the weather. Fraser though was worried, within another six hours the bulk of Force Y was scheduled to break off eastward and set course for Scapa. Time was running out if Syfret was to make any show of force. The Second Sea Lord, Admiral Sir William Whitworth was certain that their mere threat of Syfret's ships had probably made both 'Red North' and 'Red South' more cautious, perhaps even heading them further westwards. Cunningham also knew that Syfret had a powerful screen of ships, if his carriers couldn't operate at peak efficiency then Syfret had enough ships to scout. He felt no reason to be unduly pessimistic.

Amiraute Francaise, Outside Paris
13:00 Hours, September 25, 1948

Minister of National Defense Édouard Delcroix had missed his lunch appointment at the headquarters of the Marine Nationale. It had been unavoidable - after all, even government ministers had bosses who demanded their time. Delcroix thus arrived to his appointment both late and hungry. Admiral Gensoul, the naval Chief of Staff, had waited for him to arrive; they sat down for lunch.

"How's the exercise progressing?" Delcroix asked, finishing off the last of his dinner.

"Pégase?" Gensoul asked. "It seems to be going very well. Our friends the Rosbifs came out in force, but Engel's given them the slip so far." The chief of staff smiled, just a tad smugly. "Next time, we should just neglect to bother with supplying any Force Adverse at all. The British always seem happy to dance our tune."

Delcroix shrugged. "If we didn't provide a Force Adverse, then the English might instead presume we're trying to provoke them. There are political dimensions."

"As always," Gensoul agreed.

"Regarding the political dimensions, how do you think the British are handling it?"

"The British are keeping their mouths closed. As is normal, really. My staff is divided about whether the large force they sent from Portsmouth - Amiral Syfret, Force Y - represents alarm, or merely a desire on Fraser's part to emphasize British naval 'supremacy'."

"Do the English still not recognize that the game has changed?"

"Often I have to wonder," Gensoul said, shaking his head. "de Rochefort's uncovered numerous indicators that at least some middling officers in the RN have pointed out the dangers. But I still can't see any evidence that their senior leadership has caught a whiff of the game we would play on them." Gensoul sat back and looked wistful. "It makes me wish that they were truly dull enough not to see it, and foolhardy enough to try to make war against us. I want to see the surprise on their faces."

"You think it would go that well?" Delcroix asked.

"Can you say that an earthquake or a famine 'goes well'?" Gensoul snorted. "They would hurt us, potentially quite hard. Do not mistake that in the slightest. But unless they pulled six consecutive Trafalgars out of their hats, within a few months we'd have them by the throat." Gensoul smiled. "But if there was anyone who could manage to thwart those odds... well, the Royal Navy would be the ones to do it. Regardless, it would be one for the history books."

"Indeed," Delcroix said.

"Fortunately," Gensoul continued, "we agree with Berlin, Petrograd, and Cleito that the only winners in that history book would be Beijing."

"Quite," Delcroix agreed, smiling in agreement. "We need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture."

Gensoul paused. "Speaking of the bigger picture, what is your feeling about the Italians?"

"It's interesting that you should ask," Delcroix said. "I spoke about that to Michelet for nearly an hour this morning..."