WesWorld

For the month of October...

3 October

The Raj is said to be “apoplectic” after news of the violence in and around Manila yesterday. Virtually all appointments with the Raj and several ministers and advisors have been cancelled, and most of those individuals actually spent the night in the Imperial Palace, in guest suites, in order to be available at the shortest possible notice.

5 October

Details are only now becoming available, but the Bharatiya Nau Sena is confirming that the Filipino cruiser Panay and the monitor Chandragupta have exchanged fire off of Northern Asir.

“We are still piecing together precisely what happened, but I can say that a commotion was observed aboard Panay on the afternoon of the third. Repeated attempts to contact Panay and ascertain her condition failed, and Chandragupta finally sent a small boat over to establish contact. Panay attempted to evade the boat, and have failed to do so, crewmen aboard Panay were seen to gun down Chandragupta’s men with small arms. Warning shots from Chandragupta were met with broadsides from Panay”, Admiral Kashiram Paswan said.

“Chandragupta has sustained significant damage and a number of fatalities. Although we have some evidence that Panay has gone over to the revolutionary faction in the Philippines, we are at this time going to treat her ilke a pirate. Our intent is to capture her, and we have deployed a number of ships for this purpose.”

8 October

Crowd-Control Constables are keeping a watchful eye on a small but growing and vocal crowd assembled around the Filipino embassy. Numbering approximately two hundred, the people have primarily prayed and discussed politics since the assembly began yesterday.

“We’re here to express our dismay to the Filipino people”, said one man. “We helped them deal with SALSA, we helped keep them from a war with Chile, and they repay us with the deaths of our sailors in a treacherous attack.”

Another in the crowd, an older woman, commented, “I don’t see the benefit of allying ourselves to these people. All they do is cause trouble. How is the Raj to make Asia a better place when all he does is put out the fires that the Filipinos start?

14 October

The light cruiser Dhaka has arrived in Noumea, New Caledonia, where she will undergo several weeks of repairs following the battle with the Chilean pirate Harlock two weeks ago.

Captain Sehwag told AWNR that the work is primarily on basic hull repairs. “The French government has graciously offered to help us with repairs, and we’re taking them up on this offer. They can’t replace specific weapons or other equipment, but they can repair the unarmored parts of the hull and more generic items such as bunks and bulkheads. That’ll make the men sleeping in the hanger happy, I’m sure.”

When advised of the letter recently received from the apparently still living Captain Harlock, Sehwag noted, “He was right - Arcadia was old and tired. Pre-dreadnoughts, especially unmodernized ones, have no place on the front lines in this age.

“On the other hand, if he’d had his light cruiser with him instead, I’m pretty certain he would have at least gotten away. On the high seas, his cruiser would likely have a maximum speed well above the Danish MAS boats, not to mention the O’Higgins. At best, I could have hoped for a one on one engagement that could have gone either way.”

Captain Harlock’s comments on corruption were shrugged off by Sehwag. “The Royal Family have been respectable and esteemed rulers so far as I’m concerned. Harlock would be making a mistake if he were to come to our waters; however noble his goals may seem to be, we don’t look kindly upon freelancers.”

17 October

There is a much larger and clearly anti-Filipino crowd gathered outside the Filipino embassy in Hyderabad today, following the speech given by Prince-Regent Brashkar last night.

An estimated two to three thousand men, women, and children sang, prayed, and listened to speeches through out the day. Most of the latter had an underlying theme: that the Filipino government isn’t worth the blood of Indian soldiers and sailors. “They’re all crooks!”, one man shouted while banging a drum at random. “Feed them to the tigers!”

Meanwhile, a holy man at the site told the crowd, “Violence against one’s fellow man is shall beget misery and failure in the next life. In time, they shall all meet their dues, over and over until they change their ways.”

Crowd-control constables remained on site, but there were no reports of violence or illegal activities related to the protest.

18 October

In Riyadh, the Saudi government said that recent events only prove its arguments that India has no business controlling the mandate in Asir.

“They can’t adequately protect the region”, Prince Yusuf Ali Ibn Saud exclaimed. “When finally they realize this, they bring in volatile and self-serving mercenaries from the Philippines. When the mercenaries behave in exactly the unreliable manner one would expect from such scum, the Indians precipitate a raging battle just outside a bustling town. Who knows how many deaths and how much destruction took place in Al Luhayyah?”

Ibn Saud added, “Couple this with their obvious and clumsy attempts to infiltrate our respectable kingdom and it seems as if India is here only to cause us grief. I call upon the League of Nations to revoke the Indian mandate and allow Asir to return to its homeland, the Kingdom of Saud.”

In Hyderabad, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Jal Kadharni responded to the allegations by saying, “Our presence is the only thing keeping Asir from being over-run by a fanatical, backwards neighbour. The League knows this.”

As to the allegations about death and destruction, the spokesman noted, “We’re aware of one shell striking a small fishing vessel in Al Luhayyah’s harbour. We’ll be compensating its owner for the loss.”

22 October

The light cruiser Trincomalee and a destroyer have left Chennai, bound for the Philippines. According to Defence Minister Jagmohan Bhansali, the cruiser will be rendezvousing with loyalist Filipino forces.

“Trincomalee’s mission is to transport a team of liaison officers, who will work with the loyal Filipino military, to the base of loyalist operations. The officers, who include representatives from the army, army air corps, and navy, will strive to ensure a smooth integration of Indian assets into the loyalist command structure”, Minister Bhansali said in Chennai.

The ships are expected to arrive at their destination in about eight days.

Interesting news.

Harlock's nationality has never been clear. Many suspect he is Germanic, perhaps from either one of the old Prussian or Nordmark families, but no claim has ever been confirmed as to which Harlock family he belongs, or if that family name is in fact his true family name.

14 November

The Indian Navy has implemented emergency call-up procedures for a number of merchant ships.
Admiral Kashiram Paswan told AWNR that the order will affect approximately a dozen vessels.
“We are expecting that the vessels of Groups Two and Five will be at their required stations at Sittwe within the week”, he said.

Admiral Paswan declined to identify the vessels, but a search of the commercial shipping registry by AWNR indicated that seven of the vessels are mid-sized passenger ships, three are freighters, and two are oil tankers.

As to their purpose, Admiral Paswan noted only that, “We will be requiring additional logistical support for the operations we intend to conduct over the coming months.”

19 November

Merchantile shipping isn’t the only destination of alert orders emanating from Hyderabad. The media spokesman for the Eighteenth Field Force, based east of Sittwe on the Burmese frontier, confirmed that it too has received orders.

“At present, the order encompasses the Marmorat Division, which is specialized in tropical warfare”, observed Senior Lieutenant Srichand Lahoti in Sittwe. “This includes all three regiments, the artillery regiment, and the division’s logistical train. Some elements of the Field Force’s support units are also on alert.”

Lieutenant Lahoti told AWNR, “The division has recalled its personnel on leave and is in the process of preparing its equipment for transport by rail to Sittwe. This will take place in the next seven days.”
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28 November

The port of Sittwe is a bustling centre of activity today, as numerous warships and requisitioned merchant ships appear to be preparing for a mass sortie in the near future.

Apart from the fleet’s usual presence in this eastern city, the battleship Jahangir is present, flying the pennant of Rear-Admiral Fadil Epp. The dreadnought arrived yesterday morning in the company of two light cruisers and three destroyers. The distinctive tiger stripes that previously adorned the ship’s forecastle have been painted over, and the ship is now a medium grey from stem to stern.

Also present, the aircraft carrier Urumi, which was seen to be receiving crated aircraft earlier today while alongside a pier at the Navy Yard. The carrier arrived with three destroyers but without its usual companion, the light cruiser Lucknow, which remains at Male undergoing repairs.

Minesweepers, sloops, and oilers have also been arriving over the past two days. Even an unidentified submarine, believed to be of the I-6 class, has tied up at the Navy Yard.

1 December

Admiral Kashiram Paswan released the 1929 Naval Estimates today.

“These estimates are indeed exactly that - estimates. We are in a conflict that might require the diversion of our resources to repairs at any time.

“Our single largest venture will be the beginning of the completion of India’s battleline. We will lay down the Shah Jahan on the first day of the new year, with an expected completion in the closing days of nineteen thirty-one. Shah Jahan significantly improves on the Akbar class, with improved range, armor, and defensive ordnance.

“There is a new focus on blue water scouting capabilities, and to this end we will begin construction of a new seaplane carrier as well as two patrol ships. The new seaplane carrier builds on our experience with the Palk Bay but replaces the latter’s extensive scientific facilities with additional cargo and fuel bunkerage to allow her to resupply her own escorts while at sea.*

“Our coastal forces will be supplemented by an additional dozen anti-submarine launches and motor-torpedo boats, with two more Rane-class tenders laid down to support them. We will begin construction of a new class of coastal sloop - what others might term corvettes - to safeguard our coasts and the many vessels that ply their waters.

“Finally, we will lay down a new series of submarines that will further enhance our defensive capabilities in the Bay of Bengal.”

Admiral Paswan noted that, conditionally, it was planned to refit seven destroyers and two cruisers. It was also planned to delete the battleship Babur, collier Cauvery, and the training pre-dreadnought Ashoka. “However, we will likely postpone some of these actions until we have a resolution to the Filipino situation.”

[*Note that Paswan is not speaking of underway replenishment per se...]

5 December

A large procession of grey ships has departed Sittwe for destinations unknown. First to sail were the carrier Urumi, cruiser Agra, and three destroyers. Hours later, the battleship Jahangir, four cruisers, twelve merchantmen, two oilers, and a number of smaller warships also left the port. The ships were last seen sailing on a southwesterly course.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Army has confirmed that elements of the Marmorat Division are aboard the requisitioned passenger ships. “We are in the process of transferring the Division to a new forward location”, said Field Marshal Sarabjit Satyanarayana, the army’s commander in chief, from Agra. Marshal Satyanarayana would not comment on where the division was going, nor would he speak to rumors that a battalion of the Imperial Commando Corps was also aboard the ships.

21 December

The southern Formosan port of Kaoshiun is now host to the Indian fleet that departed Sittwe over two weeks ago. It’s not clear whether the force will be moving onward or remaining at Kaoshiun indefinitely.

Admiral Kashiram Paswan noted, “Although aircraft were aloft to watch for signs of the revolutionary squadron, the fleet was not involved in the recent engagement between loyalist and revolutionary forces in the South China Sea.”

Observers noted that while the loyalist’s destruction of the semi-dreadnought San Pablo erases any revolutionary hopes of establishing sea control around the islands they control, they retain an ability to contest their coastal waters. Professor Sourav Karat of the University of Colombo explained, “The revolutionaries are still thought to have dozens of MAS boats and at least two destroyers in service. We’ve seen what these kinds of craft can do - both indirectly in the Great War and directly during the 1924 conflict. If the military intends to stage a landing - which I have to believe is the case, considering that they have an army division along with them - they need to neutralize the MAS boats or they’re going to suffer losses some night.”

A 1000-bomber raid always works well when faced with the problem of MTBs. I think Le Havre was basically flattened this way in the build up to d-day. However if you actually have a few destroyers around and are expecting an attack, the problem of MTBs is greatly diminished.

I'll probably look to the latter option. Obliteration of a city by Indian bombers probably wouldn't help the loyalist Filipino cause any.

I can't recall if India has its own MTB's, but I can't think of a better way to hunt them. An MTB's advantage is its speed which is used best in hit and run tactics against larger ships. Its disadvantage is the inability of a wooden hulled vessel to stand up to enemy fire.

With MTB vs. MTB engagements the speed element is removed and you get very bloody engagements.

India would likely fare better by using its aircraft to identify and harrass MTB operating bases and supply depots making it more difficult for enemy MTB's to operate effectively and in secret.

Not true. In anything apart from a flat calm, destroyers can outrun MTBs. The MTBs advantage is stealth and surprise, not speed.

Speed is a factor in constricted waterways, constricted in the sence of a blue water navy. In the face of a tenacious attack destroyers are not impervious to MTB's.

"18 October

In Riyadh, the Saudi government said that recent events only prove its arguments that India has no business controlling the mandate in Asir.

“They can’t adequately protect the region”, Prince Yusuf Ali Ibn Saud exclaimed. “When finally they realize this, they bring in volatile and self-serving mercenaries from the Philippines. When the mercenaries behave in exactly the unreliable manner one would expect from such scum, the Indians precipitate a raging battle just outside a bustling town. Who knows how many deaths and how much destruction took place in Al Luhayyah?”"

I wonder how this Prince Yusuf reacts to the detachment of RSAN units into "his" region....?!

Maybe he'll have some witty observations in the Q1/29 news...