WesWorld

Light Cruiser Nürnberg, Martinique, Tuesday, 23 August 1949

The arrival of the French cruisers Duguay-Trouin and Amiral Charner permitted Rollmann to begin the next phase of his mission in the western hemisphere – one which would require no little diplomatic finesse and a weather eye.

It had turned out that by date of rank he was senior to Saint-Amant by a mere seven days, and thus, for the moment, functioned as senior officer afloat. For the moment his ships and those of captains Saint-Amant and Calvet were engaged in simple familiarisation exercises in the waters west of Martinique, and they would depart for Port of Spain that coming Thursday for a rendezvous with additional Alliance vessels.

But the ether was filled with reports of the appearance of the first hurricane of the season; reports placed it to the north of Anguilla. For the moment, at least, that storm should not unduly influence the planned exercises to the south; but its arrival was a reminder that the forces of nature easily outstripped the capabilities of man.

Light Cruiser Nürnberg, At Sea, Thursday, 25 August 1949

The Franco-German squadron had departed Martinique that morning for Port of Spain, Trinidad; it was expected that they would reach it the following day. For the time being at least Rollmann need not concern himself about storms impinging upon the planned course of the exercises; the hurricane that had formed north of Anguilla had moved northwest, threatening the eastern coast of the United States. The only fly in the ointment was the presence overhead of a small amphibian bearing the marks of the ever-present Royal Navy.

Rollmann wondered whether the aircraft had departed from a British base in St. Vincent to the west or Barbados in the east; he suspected the latter. He was not surprised by its presence nor particularly worried – though it did give his dradis crews something to practice tracking.

Fifty miles northeast of Grenada, as dusk was falling, they made rendezvous with the Atlantean destroyer Arbiter, who would chaperone them to their destination. Nightfall, coupled with the proximity of local Atlantean air patrols also meant that the squadron lost the prying eyes of their British friends. The ships continued on their course through the night at an easy ten knots.

Port of Spain Harbour, Trinidad, Friday, 26 August 1949

It was not long after breakfast had been served in the officers’ mess of the heavy cruiser Andromeda that word arrived that the destroyer Arbiter, leading the rest of the Alliance squadron, had passed Chacachacare and transited the Boca de Navios. Rear Admiral Andero Momroios received the news imperturbably, finished his coffee, and stood.

“Gentlemen, let us prepare to welcome our allies.”

His staff and the officers of the Andromeda promptly responded, and took to their duties with measured speed. It would be at least an hour for the French and German ships to approach the anchorage prepared for them and by that time all measures for their arrival would be completed.

A similar situation prevailed on the French and German ships now debouching from the narrow channel that separated the mainland of Musaeus from the island of Trinidad. Sailors stood by signal halyards and gunners readied saluting guns awaiting orders.

Following in the wake of the Atlantean destroyer the Nürnberg signalled the squadron to turn to sharply to port, and as each ship executed the command flags were hoisted aloft and guns boomed in salute; from the anchored Atlantean ships a similar response was received.

It took the best part of an hour for each of the visiting vessels to reach their assigned places in the anchorage, assisted by harbour pilots and ever-helpful tugs. When the last ship – the heavily laden Altmark – had found its place, Admiral Momroios ordered the signal ‘All Captains Repair On Board’ to be flown from the Andromeda’s signal mast.

Admiralty House, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Friday, 26 August 1949

For Rear Admiral Andero Momroios the day had been rather busy – if not more so for his staff – with the punctilio of greeting the numerous arrivals of the day. The Franco-German squadron under Kommodore Rollmann had arrived that morning, and the Colombian vessels under Capitán de Navío Fernando de Angulo that afternoon; and, shortly before sundown the Chilean detachment of two destroyers under Capitán de Navío Alonso Rivas Peralta dropped anchor, a half day ahead of schedule. In the tropical darkness the brilliantly illuminated ships stood out distinctly.

Momroios was quite content to leave the formal briefings sessions for the upcoming exercises to the morrow; this evening he was hosting a social gathering for the senior officers of the various ships that would be participating. It would afford them the opportunity to get acquainted with each other, ask and answer the invariable questions, and size up each other. The next weeks would see hard work and lessons learned.

(Gentlemen, if you wish to comment or add, Please feel free)

Admiralty House, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Saturday, 27 August 1949

The prior evening Admiral Momroios had been the genial host; today, poised on the stage of the main auditorium, he was all business. Before him were gathered the captains and other senior officers of the many Alliance warships now anchored in the harbour, and he began to set forth the outline of the exercises in which they would engage.

“Exercise Callicles will proceed in three main phases. The first will be for familiarisation – many of you are unacquainted with these waters, and others have not sailed together. My staff has worked out plans for exchange of liaison officers and signal books, and we shall proceed with them, but before Callicles proceeds too far I want to confirm these plans are sufficient, and will mitigate the ill-effects of those problems that will invariably occur.” There were nods from the audience.

“The second phase of Callicles will pit a defending Blue Squadron against an aggressor Red Squadron – and this will be the principal phase of exercise. Commodore Rollmann, the Franco-German flotilla, augmented by Captain Rivas Peralta’s destroyers, will constitute Red Squadron; Commodore Falkeon, your cruisers and destroyers, together with those of Captain de Angulo, will form the Blue Fleet.”

This announcement brought forth a number of questions, some of which Momroios answered right away, and others which he asked the questioners to defer to the staff discussions that would follow the introductory briefing.

“What I will say at this time is that we cannot rule out weather as a factor in our calculations. There have been two hurricanes so far this season, though our neighbours in North America have thus far gotten the worst of it.” He then continued with his main points.

“Callicles III will be a series of anti-submarine exercises – Commodore Arrantzale, your boats will have the opportunity to hunt some of our guests while avoiding some of the best equipped escorts that the Alliance has to offer.”

The Admiral the turned the briefing over to his chief of staff who began detailed discussions of the plans for assuring the first phase would adequately prepare for the challenges of inter-operability.

Light Cruiser Nürnberg, Irois Bay, Trinidad, Tuesday, 30 August 1949

Kommodore Rollmann’s flagship rose easily at anchor as dusk began to fall. To the northeast the glow from the oil installations near La Brea could be seen in the gathering darkness. The Nürnberg and the rest of the ships of the “Red Squadron” – Leipzig, Duguay-Trouin, Amiral Charner, Capitan Munoz Gamero, and Capitan Martinez – had spent the last thirty hours manoeuvring on the western portions of the Gulf of Paria in the first phase of Exercise Callicles. Rollmann appreciated Admiral Momroios’ wisdom in assuring that the visiting ‘Aggressor’ units gained familiarity with the confined and shallow waters that lay between Trinidad and the mainland, and he had insisted that each of the ships assigned to his command had complete sets of charts and liaison officers from all the participating Alliance navies. Of course, this meant that the Nürnberg and the Leipzig too had been required to detach some of their best officers for special duties; yet the benefits to be had were clear.

For the moment though it appeared that Admiral Momroios had held the order that would move the two squadrons into the next phase of the exercise. Wireless reports suggested a storm was brewing to the northeast of Trinidad, and while the Gulf of Paria was outside of the accepted hurricane belt, such storms were unpredictable. With his overall responsibility for the success of the exercise Momroios had decided to await events while directing the assets available to him to reconnoitre the area in which the storm was forming.

Admiralty House, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Sunday, 4 September 1949

The storm that had delayed the start of Callicles II had moved northwest, striking Barbados before taking aim at the Antilles; once the weather issue had clarified, Momroios had ordered the exercise to commence, effective midnight, local time, the first of September. To be fair to the visiting ‘Red Fleet’ he had ordered some of his local air assets to play the part of ‘Red Air Force’ and provide aerial support for Rollmann’s cruisers and destroyers; the German had used this to his great advantage, using it to pounce on the Colombian squadron, the French cruiser Duguay-Trouin under Saint-Amant to deal a ‘crippling blow’ to the antiaircraft cruiser Almirante José Prudencio Pidila in a night action off the Isla de Patos, and then disappearing into the larger, if confined, waters of the Gulf of Paria.

He walked to the mezzanine and looked down at the large map board on which the exercise was being played out. Commodore Falkeon had made the best use possible of the limited number of search planes allotted to him; in a real-war situation of course the entire area could be blanketed but that would have defeated the purpose of the exercise. Rollmann must have taken his ships deeper into the Gulf, though this risked being trapped by the superior numbers of the defending ‘Blue Fleet’. Momroios walked back to the cubicle that held the teams of referees and listened to the running commentary of reports. He could sense that something would happen soon.

Heavy Cruiser Andromeda, the Gulf of Paria, Guiria bearing Northwest, Wednesday, 7 September 1949

Savier Falkeon had grown frustrated with Exercise Callicles II – despite the limited area of the Gulf of Paria his ships had failed to come to grips with their “Red Fleet” opponents except on very uneven terms. The Colombian flak cruiser Almirante José Prudencio Pidila had been ruled crippled after an encounter with the French heavy cruisers Duguay-Trouin and Amiral Charner, forcing the defending “Blue Fleet” to operate in a single task force of two cruisers and eight destroyers. Allowing the Colombian destroyers to operate unsupported he considered unwise – the heavier guns of Rollmann’s four cruisers would knock them out before they themselves could get into gun or torpedo range. The superior air assets allocated to him should have been able to locate “Red Fleet” but the very active weather pattern that had prevailed over the last several days had favoured Rollmann’s efforts to play hide and seek.

Suddenly there was a knock at his cabin door, announcing a signal yeoman. “Incoming report sir.”

Falkeon took the proffered note – information that the exercise umpires had deemed worthy of being passed on. That was another facet of the exercise that grated on his mind.

“Destroyer raid on merchant traffic near Port Fortin. Two tankers sunk, one stranded. Enemy last sighted bearing two seven zero, speed twenty-five.”

Falkeon muttered something under his breath before hastily making his way to the Andromeda’s bridge. Yes, Rollmann could afford to detach the Chilean destroyers from his force in an effort to distract “Blue Fleet”. The “Red Fleet” cruisers could still be on this side of the Gulf, where the last air reports placed them, but that report was rather old – and with night falling there would be little more until dawn. But somehow he doubted that the German would split his force that much; the cruisers must have headed east.

He ordered the task force onto a south-easterly course with a speed of twenty knots. He deployed his ‘A’ class destroyers to form a scouting line ahead of his two cruisers, hoping that their dradis equipment might find Rollmann in the night.

I assume you meant Point Fortin and not port Fortin.

Quoted from "thesmilingassassin"

I assume you meant Point Fortin and not port Fortin.

Indeed. Must have been a garbled signal. :D

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

Quoted from "thesmilingassassin"

I assume you meant Point Fortin and not port Fortin.

Indeed. Must have been a garbled signal.

Admiralty House, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Saturday, 10 September 1949

Admiral Momroios had returned to the plot that showed the overall progress of Exercise Callicles II, and he had to admit that Rollmann was doing a very good job of leading “Blue Fleet” on a merry chase. The previous evening the German cruisers Nürnberg and Leipzig had appeared off Invaders Bay and simulated a bombardment of Admiralty House itself, while Falkeon and his task force had been kept busy chasing after the Chilean destroyers that had previously “raided” merchant traffic near Point Fortin.

On the Umpire’s plot it was very clear what Rollmann was up to – he had decided to split his force into three elements. This was a calculated risk of course – if any of these three groups fell in with Falkeon’s “Blue Fleet” the outcome would be certain. Thus far though the German had handled his ships surprisingly well; and the signals emanating from “Blue Fleet” gave a growing sense of exasperation with the level of air support being provided. The plot before him suggested that Rollmann had manoeuvred “Blue Fleet” to the exact position the German commander desired.

“I think Falkeon has forgotten the Thirty Six Stratagems.”

Heavy Cruiser Andromeda, the Gulf of Paria, Monday, 12 September 1949

Falkeon’s humour was barely improved by the arrival of the heavy cruiser Phoenix, released by Admiral Momroios to offset the ‘loss’ of the destroyer Avenger in a night engagement. Fuel shortage had forced him to release the Avenger to attempt a refuelling at La Brea, but according to the exercise umpires she had been bushwhacked by Capitan Rivas Peralta’s marauding destroyers as they ‘shelled’ the oil installations there. At least the Avenger had scored hits on one of the Chilean vessels – the umpires had informed him that one had been ‘damaged’.

But this at least told him that Rollmann had deployed his lightest units – the Chilean destroyers – to the eastern portion of the Gulf. Whether the rest of the ‘Red Fleet’ was operating in that sector was an open question, but with the Phoenix at hand, Falkeon felt he had the opportunity to pounce on a piece of his opponent’s force with adequate margin to risk the possibility of encountering its main strength. He ordered his task force east, to a rendezvous north of the Isla Cotorra.

The Columbus Channel, Tuesday, 13 September 1949, Dusk

Captain Alexos Noros was officially exceeding his orders – or so the umpire who stood in the cockpit beside him advised him. Noros’ flotilla of four motor torpedo boats had been assigned to patrol the coast of Trinidad south of Point Fortin against the possible re-appearance of the Red Fleet destroyers that had played hob with tanker traffic. But having patrolled Cedros Bay and Icacos Beach he had led his boats out into the Columbus Channel itself. Here the distance between Trinidad and the mainland was not much more than ten kilometres. If the Red Fleet destroyers were active in the area he planned to seek them and then ‘sink’ them, confident that Commodore Falkeon would forgive his excessive zeal.

*****

Aboard the Chilean destroyer Capitan Martinez Capitan de Navio Alonso Rivas Peralta checked his watch again. His ship and the Capitan Munoz Gamero lay anchored in the estuary of the Caño Macareo, just at the eastern edge of the designated exercise area. Satisfied, he ordered both destroyers to raise steam and shape a westward course toward the Columbus Channel. At flank speed he expected to reach the position outlined in Kommodore Rollmann’s plans easily enough.

*****

The tropical sun had dipped below the horizon as Noros’ boats neared the coast of the mainland. Thus far, they had sighted nothing, and Noros ordered a turn together to the north, reversing the order of his four boats. His MTB409 was now at the tail of the column, with MTB410, MTB412, and MTB415 ahead of him. They were all operating under emissions control, maintaining contact only by signal lamp, lookouts straining into the gathering dark.

*****

The operator of the DRBV-11 Moselle radar unit on the Capitan Martinez reported that he was picking up intermittent contacts ahead. It was possible that they were from fishing craft, despite the fact that such forays had been suspended during the period of Exercise Callicles. Peralta would take no chances – he ordered his men to battle stations; they needed to be where they needed to be without hindrance.

*****

“Captain, I am picking up signals on the radar IFF… to the east of us.”

The report from his electronics operator below deck surprised Noros; Blue Fleet has been ordered to concentrate well to the west of his current position; and no friendlies should be operating in the area. But his passive radar IFF could not distinguish between the signals of Blue Fleet and Red Fleet radar units.

“Activate search radar… get me a position!”

*****

The dradis signal ahead ended any speculation aboard the Capitan Martinez as to whether they were approaching peaceful fishing boats or something more warlike. Both destroyers prepared for battle surface, with umpires assuring that appropriate offsets were entered in the fire control systems. Peralta signalled,

“Damn the torpedo boats, Full speed ahead!”

*****

The oncoming Blue Fleet destroyers swept out of the dark and were upon his boats practically without warning. Noros ordered them to scatter and engage independently. His own MTB409 had to manoeuvre wildly to avoid being run down by one of the Blue Fleet vessels; the scene of confusion was made worse by the gun flashes from the destroyers’ secondaries and their rapid-firing antiaircraft guns. Then, as quickly as they had come, the Blue Fleet vessels disappeared into the darkness on a westerly course, their foaming wakes leaving no question as to which direction they had gone.

Noros regrouped his boats and assessed the damage; thankfully, none of the them had taken a hit in the firefight – at such close quarters against fast moving targets even intentional offsets could be compromised. He then got off a contact report to headquarters. He would have preferred to have made a report direct to Commodore Falkeon but the umpire required him to follow the official chain of command.

The Armada de Chile will have to look askance at Capitan Rivas Peralta for having too much fun while in command of a destroyer. Such unseemly behavior...! Any more of that nonsense and they'll simply be forced to promote him...

;)

I'm just hoping Captain Alexos Noros manages to alert Momroios in time for the Atlantean fleet to redeem itself. Or I could just hope for the weather to improve so aircraft can start to play a more active role. No doubt some hard lessons have been gained (or regained) from this exercise thus far.

The Gulf of Paria, Wednesday, 13 September 1949, Night (1)

Rollmann and his cruiser force were headed eastward, and he anticipated battle; he had toyed with his opponents long enough and had brought them to his chosen battle ground; to Blue Fleet it might seem as if Red Fleet had finally made a miscalculation. Rollmann intended to disabuse them of the notion. His cruisers were in two columns – his own Nürnberg and Amiral Charner to port, the Leipzig and Duguay-Trouin to starboard – separated by half-a-kilometre.

“Signal the Amiral Charner and the Duguay-Trouin to begin launching aircraft.” Flickering signal lights flashed out the order, and aboard the French cruisers the first of several readied floatplanes were shot from their catapults and into the night. The operators of the passive electronic systems aboard the cruisers strained to wring from their equipment any indication of the presence of the defending Blue Fleet.

*****

Aboard his flagship, Andromeda, Falkeon paced her bridge. Had he guessed wrong as to where the marauding Red Fleet would appear? His destroyer force greatly outnumbered Red Fleet, but he was aware of the weaknesses of their sensor suites; even his those of his own flagship were a half-generation behind those of the Phoenix. Should he have transferred his flag to the newer ship? He willed himself to a sense of outward calm.

A signal yeoman approached. “Signal from Headquarters sir. MTB squadron reports encountering Red Fleet destroyers in the Columbus Channel off Cedros. Course west, speed thirty knots.”

Falkeon was stunned. The position was to his east. If the torpedo boats had encountered Rollmann’s destroyers, where were the cruisers? Had the wily German somehow slipped behind his task force? Or had Rollmann risked splitting his forces? In any event, if the Red Fleet destroyers were on a westerly course they would soon be in position to attack his rear. He ordered the four Colombian destroyers to reverse course and prepare to deal with this most unwelcome development. He was also thankful that the torpedo boats had given him a timely warning, and made a mental note to thank Noros after Red Fleet was handed its ‘defeat’.

*****

The floatplanes launched by the two French cruisers fanned out over the dark waters of the Gulf; discovering the whereabouts of the Blue task force was but the first phase of their mission. While the pilots concentrated on keeping their aircraft aloft the observers kept their eyes glued on the waters below. Under other circumstances they might have used their search equipment to locate the Blue ships but Rollman had ordered them to remain under emission control until contact was made with the enemy.


*****

Aboard the Atlantean heavy cruiser Phoenix the operator of the radar equipment noted the fleeting appearance of air contacts on his screen. “Ghosts?” The electronic beam swung about regularly, with a pip appearing on one bearing, and then another. Whatever they were, they were single contacts, widely spread – not an incoming alpha strike. Commercial air traffic was supposed to have been shut down for the duration of the exercise, but who knew if it had. The report was passed to the combat information centre for relay to the flagship.

*****

In one of the scout planes a sharp-eyed observer saw the white foaming wakes of ships at speed and banked his LeO-400 to follow. Some minutes later the crew could see the darkened silhouettes of warships ahead. Taking note of position, course, and speed a contact report was tapped out in Morse code, notifying Red Fleet that the opponent had been located.

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

... and banked his Loire 400 to follow.

I think you mean LeO-400? Lioré et Olivier is different than Loire Aviation. ;)

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

... and banked his Loire 400 to follow.

I think you mean LeO-400? Lioré et Olivier is different than Loire Aviation. ;)

I stand corrected. Edit made.

Also worth noting, I think your confusing Andromeda, a Perseus class cruiser, with the older Daedalus class cruisers, essentially their electronics would be virtually identical to the Phoenix. Only main guns (their number and RoF) and number of secondary and AA guns differ. The Perseus class is a sort of hybrid between the Daedalus and the Phoenix but more towards the Daedalus in terms of basic hull design and gun layout.
Also, it seems odd that the Atlantean cruisers are not also using their own ANAF SCN (R-11) Seasprite reconnaissance aircraft (something cruiser captains are encouraged to use in addition to radar) in addition to the apparent lack of Atlantean land based search aircraft. Ripon-Bloch RB.240-2 Orion, Accrisius R-10 Flying boats and SSC class scouting blimps would all be used weather permitting.