The Republic Ascendant: A France 1890-1970 AAR

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PvtLarry
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The Republic Ascendant: A France 1890-1970 AAR

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Paris, May 1897

Paris was abuzz with activity. Its ancient streets echoed with the clanging of church bells, pounding of drums, and songs of revelers, as the population rejoiced at the news of German surrender. The latest war between the two rival nations had lasted all of four months, the speed and scale of the victory seemed almost unthinkable.

Great crowds thronged about the National Assembly, spectators jostled to pack its galleries, as the President of the Chamber of Deputies, the stately old radical Henri Brisson, strained to make himself heard over the animated crowd. Standing aside the podium were two admirals in full regalia, clearly the subject of great interest from the assembled spectators. Brisson commenced:

“Before you stand two heroes of the French Republic! Under their leadership, our Marine Nationale has been revitalized, we have had total victory over our enemies, and France stands again with her head held high among the leading nations of the world. It was not so long ago that President Thiers said that the navy is a luxury which France, emerging prostrate and humiliated from the War of 1870, could not afford. But seven years ago Amiral Ronarch stood before the Conseil des Ministres and warned of the impending German threat. He promised that if we gave him his ships, he would make le boche scream for mercy. And today, every French patriot can rejoice that he has kept his promise!

“Twice in less than ten years now, our fleet has annihilated the enemy in pitched battle and closed his ports to trade. It is these great naval victories which have permitted our armies to correct the humiliation of 1870, to retake l’Alsace in 1892, and today to raise the French tricolor over the Sarre! I present to you now Contre-amiral Duplat, to give his first-hand accounting of the great victory off the Dutch coast last month which has made our victory today possible.”

Contre-amiral Pierre Duplat rose to speak. A rather diminutive man with a slight frame, it at first seemed doubtful that he might manage to calm the standing ovation from the assembled deputies, but when he spoke, a surprisingly deep voice boomed like a cannon in the cavernous hall of the legislature.

“I first thank monsieur le Président de la chambre for his kind words, and I thank the Assembly for its support for the strengthening of our navy these past years. And I must pay tribute, above all, to the courage and sacrifice of our heroic sailors without whom there could be no victory.”

This tribute provoked another raucous applause which took a full minute to settle.

“It would now be my great pleasure to recount for the Assembly the events of this recent victory off Vliesland, which achieved the destruction of the German battle fleet. It was, if I may say, exactly the battle the navy hoped to fight, and the outcome is a credit to the good quality of our ships and the training of their crews.

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It was known to us for some time that the core of the German fleet was concentrating in the port of Emden, regrouping all the enemy battleships for an attempt to break the blockade. As a result our heaviest units were concentrated in the vicinity. The day of the battle, I was present aboard the Iena, with the 1er Division de ligne, which regrouped our two Saint-Louis-class battleships, and three of the older Charles Martel-class ships. In support was the 3e Division de ligne under Contre-amiral de Kertanguy, with the three République-class ships. The bulk of our cruiser force was committed scouting ahead of the fleet, under the command of Contre-amiral Courbet.

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Just before dawn the leading cruisers spotted the silhouettes of the enemy off to the northeast.

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But they only hesistated a moment, as Capitaine de vaisseau Bertrand aboard the Amiral Aube opened fire just a minute later, immediately scoring a lucky hit on the lead German cruiser. A good omen which set the stage for the battle to come.

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As the first sunlight crept over the horizon it was clear that we had indeed encountered the entirety of the German battle fleet. I ordered an immediate turn to starboard to attempt to get around the German cruiser screen and ahead of the enemy battle line.

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By 6:30 AM the two fleets were running parallel, main guns thundering out at maximum range, as the screening cruisers fell back behind the battle lines.

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Frustrated after half an hour of largely ineffectual long-range firing, at 7:00 I ordered a sudden turn to port, to close the range with the German fleet and pass their battle line by the stern, hoping to subject the rear battleships to withering fire. The maneuver seemed to catch the German fleet by surprise and the enemy battle line made its own hard turn towards the east, with the screening cruisers seeming to scatter in confusion. A pair of Blucher class heavy cruisers got caught between the French battle line and the scouting cruisers and were badly pummeled. This was the beginning of the breakdown of formation which would doom the German fleet.

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At 7:30 there was a moment of terrible danger, as three German destroyers suddenly swung towards the exposed French battleships. My command reacted quickly, engaging in wild maneuvers which surely saved our ships from enemy torpedoes, but this allowed the German battleships to slip further away.

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It took roughly an hour of hot pursuit to close the range again.

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By this point the German admiral seemed committed to making port at Emden, and began launching desperate attacks which his cruisers and destroyers in an attempt to hold back the French battleships and allow his own battle division to make its escape. Around 8:30 three enemy armored cruisers made a coordinated run against my battle line. While the French battleships were again obliged to maneuver recklessly to avoid the threat of torpedoes, the only concrete result was a considerable number of 5 and 6-inch secondary battery hits on the German ships.

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Around 8:45 the German battleships suddenly turned southwards towards the Dutch coastline. Perhaps they sought to avoid being overtaken by our fleet, but in so doing they put themselves in a dangerous position. The French battleships were now able to cut the Germans off from their home port, while the French cruisers, lying in wait to the west, would oppose any breakout in that direction. The German ships would soon be cornered.

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By 9:05 the disastrous scale of the German commander's error must have been obvious to him and his crews. The German battleships were now separated from their screening cruisers, the French 1er division was maneuvering to prevent them escaping eastward. The République-class ships of the 3e division menaced them from the north, and over a dozen French cruisers blocked passage westwards. The bulk of the German fleet was now pressed up against the Dutch coast with nowhere to run.

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The German ships desperately steamed for the east, hoping to avoid the final closing of the trap, but they were too late. Tightly-packed and with no room to maneuver, the enemy was subjected to a horrible pounding by the French battle line.

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Just before 10:00, sensing the moment was ripe, I ordered my torpedo squadrons to make a run against the German battleships, as the enemy had little room to maneuver. Several of the heroic little ships succumbed to the withering fire of the enemy, but their efforts were rewarded by no less than three torpedo hits. Like wounded elephants, the German battleships staggered and fell out of line, where they became easy targets for our able gunners.

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The battle continued into the early afternoon, though by this point the contest was already decided. Our battle divisions cruised back and forth, finishing off the German battleships individually as they attempted to limp away. The German cruiser force lingered near the mouth of Emden's harbor, but myself and my commanders knew better than to attempt a pursuit into mine-strewn waters and risk our ships for such little reward.

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The final result was as decisive as could be. For the loss of four 300-ton destroyers, the French navy had managed to send to the bottom every battleship in the German home fleet, and crippled a sizable portion of their cruiser force. No French capital ship had suffered more than superficial damage. The enemy now had no hope of resisting the blockade, and that is why, gentlemen of the chamber, he has been forced to sue for peace so soon after brashly declaring war.”

This account brought the assembly to its feet again with roars of approval. Président de la Chambre Brisson remounted the podium: “Chers collègues, chers compatriotes, this chamber salutes the heroes of our navy! Vive la marine nationale, vive la république, vive la France! »
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PvtLarry
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Re: The Republic Ascendant: A France 1890-1970 AAR

Post by PvtLarry »

This is a first attempt at an AAR for me so forgive me if the presentation is rough around the edges. I intended to start in 1890, but things frankly got off to a dull start and I didn't feel like writing too much fluff to try to disguise that fact.

The short version of events leading up to this was that I fought a single war with Germany from 1892-94, which consisted mostly of quite dull skirmishing between cruisers. I finally won after a single major fleet action, which took place in pitch blackness with 1893-era fire control. It was a confusing melee in the dark with no tactical coherence to speak of and not terribly interesting to recount. After a few years of peace I was given a rematch and finally a battle worth talking about, so I'm choosing to take this as my starting point. From here I'll start talking about ship design and the evolution of the fleet, but my primary interest is naturally how it performs in battle. So expect peace time posts to generally cover fairly large chunks of time.
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PvtLarry
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Re: The Republic Ascendant: A France 1890-1970 AAR

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Last edited by PvtLarry on Sat Jun 03, 2023 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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