27/28 January
The AdF has indeed reported that it has, in conjunction with the Australian and Canadian forces, taken the pirate base on Mischief Reef.
Apparently, one of the carrier
Sulu’s BM-2 aircraft spotted a large plume of smoke rising from the southern end of the reef. Upon closer inspection, the crew recognized it to be a burning merchant vessel run aground on the reef near the southern entrance to the inner lagoon. The aircraft was forced away by small-arms caliber AA fire, and returned to
Sulu to report the sighting.
The assault transport
Itbayat had been steaming with the Canadian cruiser group, and was already loaded with 200 Filipino Marines and their equipment. Knowing that the pirates would probably attempt to flee after being spotted, an immediate attack was necessary.
The Australian and Canadian forces, led by Commodore Bateson in HMCS
Birkenhead, were to close on Mischief Reef and suppress any pirate defences.
Itbayat would then disgorge her load of Marines on the reef after penetrating the inner lagoon.
By 1:15 on the 27th, the force was within 30,000 yards of the reef, the burning merchant clearly visible.
After closing to within 20,000 yards, the pirates began to fire upon the approaching
Itbayat with several medium-calibre shore guns located on the southeastern and southwestern cays. The Canadian cruiser
Chester came dangerously close to the rocks of the reef in the process of silencing both weapons, supported by
Itbayat’s own 6” guns. One hit was scored on
Itbayat, but the shell was faulty.
Itbayat proceeded into the inner lagoon (~26meters deep) through the southern entrance and immediately came under mortar fire, presumed to be 81mm. One hit knocked out a triple 25mm mount, but
Itbayat protected herself well, closely followed by an Australian “Admiralty S” class destroyer.
Anchored in the lagoon, next to the cay on the northern edge of the reef, was some sort of large pleasure craft which further pirates were firing from with LMGs (Madsen 8mm models).
The cay itself was surmounted by a rusting iron platform covered in crates and containers of all sizes.
Itbayat’s automatic weapons were firing furiously at this point, and the ship managed to pull up to the cay and let down her landing ramp.
The ground fighting was much easier than expected. The pirates themselves were disorganized and obviously low in morale, and the Filipino Marines were veterans of the heavy fighting around Angeles of Greco’s rebellion. First the northern cay was cleared, then the pirates aboard the yacht surrendered, and the rest of the reef was mopped up within two hours.
About 50 pirates were captured, mostly Chinese with some Filipinos. Preliminary interrogations reveal that the Filipinos were mostly former Revolutionary Socialists or escaped criminals.
The pirates’ base and equipment raise further questions, however. The yacht itself was a German ship, the
Annaburg, that had been presumed lost at sea after failing to return from a pleasure cruise.
Annaburg had set out from Tsingtao in 1912, and in the years since then, she appears to have been permanently anchored to the cay and used mainly and a supply and storehouse vessel for the pirates.
The pirates’ weapons themselves were mostly freely available on the market - no surprises there - but their torpedoes and coastal weapons yielded some surprises.
Annaburg was loaded with a supply of Indian 50/21W torpedoes. The coastal guns - and the guns mounted aboard the “burning merchant vessel” (more on that later) - were Japanese 6”/50 weapons, similar to those mounted in casemates on their older battleships and battlecruisers.
The ship near the southwestern entrance, gutted by fire, turned out to be the pirate vessel that had defeated
Cairns. Heavily damaged, she managed to beach herself on the reef.
The beached pirate AMC.
The reef is now secure, and the captured pirates have been taken to Manila for further questioning. More information will be released as it becomes available.
WesWorld »
The SIM »
News and Stories »
Thursday, June 13th 2024, 10:34am
Go to the top of the page
Quoted 
