[Brave new World] 9- Big Game Hunting

[StuccoFresco]

Burgas has fallen as well, and the British are evacuating their bridgehead in front of Kirkwall. Bulgaria has been liberated at last, but Hungary is still in the enemy’s grasp. We can’t allow them to keep Budapest: it’s too important. At the same time, we can’t storm the city unless we soften up the British Australis Fleet considerably: when the city fell, we saw first hand how deadly are the British Cruisers’ and Battleships’ cannon when they can fire on ground targets unopposed.

The Navy suffered horrendous losses in 1942, but fortunately our Battlecruiser Program was already underway and we were able to put three of them into service. They are the most powerful ships we ever built, and they are incredibly fast as well. Still, they can’t fight the enemy fleet head on: we have to lure the British into a trap.

Our last Cruiser Squadron launched a raid against British shipping and managed to get a good part of the Australis Fleet to chase it. The plan is to lead the enemy into the Skanisk Archipelago, where we have laid naval mines and placed four Hobotnica-class submarines in wait. Meanwhile, our three Battlecruisers will operate independently and chase the enemy Carriers, that will be left behind by the British ships.

The carriers are the main objective, but there are several secondary objectives that would be better to sink as well: the British have put a new Battleship class into service, called the Sovereign. It’s a massive ship, with the thickest armor and the biggest guns seen in this seas: sinking it would deliver a gnarly hit to the enemy morale as well as removing a big threat for the batte of Budapest.

The are other two older Formidable-class Battleships among the enemy units, and several Cruisers. The more you sink, the better, but your Battlecruisers must survive the battle!



20/6/1944
Enemy planes spot our squadron and bomb two of our Destroyers. Our Cruiser Squadron retreats into the Archipelago and the Battlecruisers are sailing north as planned. No signs of the British ships yet.


21/6/1944- morning
Three British Destroyers and two Cruisers are approaching the Archipelago from northeast, I retreat my squadron further deep between the islands and I order the closest submarine to submerge. The trap is ready.


21/6/1944 - afternoon
The Battlecruisers find the Carriers: their only escorts are two Destroyers. The Velika Srbija and the Velika Hrvatska engage one of them at long range, scoring a couple hits. The enemy counters by launching two Naval Wings, and they manage to damage the Battlecruisers, although their AA fire is extremely good and downs many planes.

I keep luring the British ships into the Archipelago. Another submarine submerges.



21/6/1944- evening
The Sovereign finally enters my striking range: the SS Milutinovic launches a torpedo attack that hits the enormous Battleship and deals a lot of damage. SS Gvozdenovic is less lucky: it’s discovered by chance by a British Destroyer and suffers some damage from its depth charges. The submarine manages to disengage and strikes the Cruiser Kirkwall; a courageous Barracuda-class Destroyer tries to torpedo the enemy ship as well, and scores a hit that deals little damage.

Velika Srbija and the Velika Hrvatska open fire on the CV Sussex and sink it, while the Velika Bosna sinks an escort ship.



22/6/1944 - morning
The second British Carrier is sunk! The enemy fleet seems to notice the deadly trap, and the Battleships all sail northeast. The SS Vukotic torpedoes the Kirkwall as well, finally sinking it. The Cruiser Squadron resolves to accept battle now that all the British ships are in the trap, but despite some success the enemy numerical superiority is just too much.

That said, if the enemy Cruisers and Destroyers are fighting in the Archipelago, nobody is escorting the Battleships… My Battlecruisers may accept a pitched battle with them…

[StuccoFresco]

Glorious-Class Aircraft Carrier
The logical step from the Illustrious Class was a bigger, meaner, faster carrier. Armstrong Shipworks avoided the bad teething problems of the previous design and implemented further advancements.

The massive, 50000t Glorious Class is almost as fast as a Battleship, hosts three Wings, and can defend from air threats much better thanks to a better radar coverage and 10 heavy and medium AA turrets.

As it was inevitable, the costs also rose massively, making the Glorious carriers a relatively rare sight. Even the powerful Commonwealth industry couldn’t field more than a handful, and each of them was so valuable that its use was very conservative. As a result, the Illustrious class kept its role as the Naval Aviation’s workhorse for several years after the introduction of the Glorious class.

[StuccoFresco]

22/6/1944 - afternoon
The British assault sinks all of my ships except the Kit-Ubica class Cruiser Zadar and a Barracuda Destroyer. My subs are targeted by depth charges but still manage to torpedo a couple Cruisers.

The enemy battleships detect one of my submarines on the surface that was trying to chase them, and reverse course, engaging it. Before being able to submerge, the SS Milutinovic is hit and damaged. In the next hours, the brave crew seal the leaks and launch a torpedo attack, damaging the King Roger III Battleship. The King Charles II is engaged and torpedoed by another Barracuda destroyer.


[Imgur](https://imgur.com/urebCNn)


22/6/1944 - evening
The SS Pesiç is hit by depth charges after torpedoing the Loch Mor Cruiser; the Zadar is still in one piece, but the British have sunk my second to last Barracuda Destroyer. The Formidable-class Battleships have joined the battle of the Archipelago once again, so I bring my submarines toward them.

Meanwhile, the radar of the Velika Bosna sees a contact up north. The three Battlecruisers sail toward the signal, which proves to be the Sovereign Battleship, all alone! I’m too far to attack immediately, but I can’t miss this opportunity. The British guns will surely beat my ships pretty badly, but I can win a three-against-one.

[StuccoFresco]

Levijatan Class Battlecruiser
The reduced range of the Kit-Ubica heavy cruisers meant that the Yugoslavian Navy still lacked the means to project power at long range against hard targets: the aging Ajkula class cruisers were obsolete by 1942 standards and couldn’t be relied upon to form strike groups. The War Committee wasn’t worried: the Navy was meant to adopt a defensive role anyway, so there was no need for a new class of ships to perform a role that wasn’t needed.

The Navy thought differently. Specifics for a long range, fast, hard-hitting Battlecruiser were submitted to various shipyards, and experts from Zaire and Eire brought in to provide expertise in blue water warfare. The result of a year of hard work was presented in December 1942: a Levijatan Class Battlecruiser prototype.

The new ship was nothing short of impressive: with a 30000t displacement it was bigger than the 30s battleships. Its 8 diesel engines and a steam turbine propelled it at 36 knots. Three enormous turrets armed with twin 380mm guns formed the main battery, with other three turrets armed with twin 152mm guns forming the secondary battery. It was defended by 90mm and 30mm AA gun emplacements, and mounted the standard 550mm torpedo launchers to boot.

Such an impressive loadout, perfectly comparable to a modern battleship, was however compensated by a relatively weak 230mm belt armor. The Levijatan was a formidable hitter, but couldn’t trade blow for blow with modern battleships. Luckily, it wasn’t meant to do so for long: his speed and maneuverability would allow it to dictate terms of engagements against anything bigger than itself, while chasing down smaller opponents. With the Levijatan, the Yugoslavian Navy finally had a truly strategic weapon capable of putting pressure on any enemy. Unfortunately, the astronomical costs limited their production numbers.

[StuccoFresco]

23/6/1944 - morning
The Sovereign flees! Its captain is not a stupid and recognizes the threat, trying to escape. My ships are faster, and manage to catch up with it. To their surprise, the Sovereign has been reinforced by a Slayer-class destroyer. The Velika Srbija manages to close in and torpedo the enemy Battleship, but it’s not enough.

The enemy piles on the brave Zadar: the beleaguered cruiser is riddled by shells from half the British fleet, and it’s a floating wreck by midday. In return, the Pesiç and the Gvozdenovic submarines sink the King Charles II battleship with the help of my last Destroyer. The attack is a by-the-book two pronged ambush that the powerful but cumbersome ship can’t evade: the torpedoes wrack its sides and the ship splits in two before sinking.




23/6/1944 - afternoon
The Sovereign keeps fleeing southwest, leaving the Destroyer behind in the hope it serves as a bait, but the Velika Srbija and the Velika Hrvatska sail past the small ship, and the latter manages to get close enough to score another torpedo hit. The British Destroyer is engaged by the Velika Bosna, too far behind to approach the Sovereign; the heavy guns cripple the small ship, but it’s not out of combat yet.

The Zadar is finally sunk after a last daring torpedo attack on a British Cruiser. My submarines will have to surface to recharge their batteries, so I scatter them away from the British fleet.




24/6/1944 - evening
The Sovereign has reached the Archipelago, and the rest of the fleet sails north to cover its ass. I made a mistake: maybe if I revealed the submarines the enemy ships would have hunted them instead of protecting the prized Battleship, but it’s not too late. I will let the submarines rest and break contact with my Battlecruisers. I have time.



25/6/1944 - morning
The British have fooled me! They feigned moving south to accept battle in the Archipelago, but instead the Sovereign reversed course and resumed sailing northeast, linking up with the other units. The British fleet is trying to go back to Budapest!

I have to take a risk: once again the enemy has underestimated my Levijatan-class Battlecruisers’ speed, and I’m able to close range with the Sovereign once again. My guns hit the fleeing battleship, setting it on fire. The big ship is barely afloat: the torpedo attacks have left its machinery damaged and it’s listing to port due to flooding.

The submarines head north, but they’ll probably never be able to reach their targets, unless… The Velika Bosna tries to sail south of the enemy battle line. Let’s see if the enemy takes the bait.

[StuccoFresco]

Sovereign Class Battleship
The CWS Sovereign, first of its class, was introduced into service in November 1942, closely followed by many others. The Sovereign was a decisive upgrade over the old Formidable class: faster and more agile, equipped with a modern radar and targeting systems, and able to escape or survive torpedo attacks that would have crippled its predecessor.

The main batteries shifted to two quadruple 13in turrets and a single twin 13in turret above the fore one. While smaller than the Formidable class guns, the 13in were more precise at range. The secondary armament similarly shrinked from 6in to 5,5in batteries, but the new turrets rotated faster and were located all around the ship, making it much easier to target and cripple destroyer-sized targets.

Main belt armor was increased to 14in around magazine storages and other key areas, and extended below the water line. More depth charges were stored in case of submarine threat, and AA cover was further increased.

With such improvements on the plate, the Sovereign retook its place as the forefront of the Commonwealth fleets, keeping the enemy away from the increasingly valuable carriers.

[StuccoFresco]

25/6/1944 - afternoon
The Sovereign is sunk! The damaged engines of the British battleship can’t take it far enough from my Battlecruisers, and as soon as the Velika Bosna and the Velika Srbija manage to get in range, it’s over: their 380mm guns inflicts the coup the grace to the dying behemoth, sending it to the bottom after a salvo tears through its side.

The Velika Hrvatska starts hunting the last remaining enemy battleship: the King Roger III is soon caught without its escorts and promptly torpedoed, heavily damaging it.

The British Fleet seems in full retreat: only a few ships dare to engage my powerful Battlecruisers!



25/6/1944 - evening
The Levijatan-class Battlecruisers are proving to be even more powerful than anticipated: the King Roger III is sunk after a combined torpedo attack and full broadside salvo. Another Destroyer is blown apart by the “conventional” 152mm guns as it tries to torpedo the Velika Bosna. The British fleet is in disarray, and the submarines are getting close.



26/6/1944 - morning
It’s another glorious day: the Battlecruisers sink two enemy Implacable-class cruisers with their powerful 380mm guns, after the SS Vukotic and the SS Milutinovic had immobilized one by torpedoing it. Another Cruiser is sunk by the SS Gvozdenovic as it tried to repair prior damage, feeling secure so far from the marauding Battlecruisers.



26/6/1944 afternoon to 27/7/1944
Another two Destroyer are sunk, one more crippled. The British fleet seems immobilized (and it is, so I will stop attacking them since they should be fleeing the battlefield; I’ll look up the triggers and correct the error).

The battle is over: few British ships escaped the trap, none of their Carriers or Battleships did. It’s a great victory, the greatest our Navy ever achieved!