The Asansmati state has been conducting merchant raiding on the Klagimir shipping lines for a while now. The perpetrators did not know that the Klagimir war fleet has recently obtained two modern units, a dreadnought battleship and a battlecruiser. The Klagech declaration of war followed suit, and soon major operations took place, ending in the decisive battle off Tunova Atoll at the southern tip of the Asansmati archipelago.
The Klagech battle plan was simple: let their battle fleet dominate the center approach; their slower and weakly armed old cruisers and miscellaneous warships should hold the right flank by sheer numbers alone; and on their left, the TBDs would rush forward, launch two torpedo salvoes, then steam back to their tenders for a refill. They knew that the Asansmati battleship fleet had been divided, as three of the enemy ships were seen moving west, then altering course when notified of the Klagimir advance.
The Asansmati were sort of caught off guard, so they relied on their more modern cruiser fleet, and the combined firepower of their pre-dreadnoughts. The two BB squadrons would meet at the center between the two island groups, making their advance from there.
The battle opened up on the Klagimir left, with their nine TBDs making a dash, and soon the three enemy battleships and one cruiser were incapacitated, a major impact on Asansmati resources and morale. They could then fall back, supported by the three battleships.
The Klagimir battlecruiser dominated the center, dishing out damage at a long range. With support from the nearby cruiser squadrons, the enemy TBD attack was turned back without any torpedo damage suffered. Another Asansmati cruiser was also lost.
With sheer luck, and probably caused by the rashness of the enemy cruiser commander, the units on the right also halted the Asansmati outflanking maneuver.
The main Asansmati fleet now being concentrated around Léqa Fort, vulnerable for another torpedo salvo, after some consultation between fleet commanders, they struck their colours and surrendered.
This was an outstanding victory for the Klagimir fleet, made possible by their superior technology, better leadership and more determined crews.
Total Asansmati losses: 3 battleships, 3 cruisers and 2 destroyers sunk; the rest surrendered, with 1 auxiliary cruiser, 3 battleships and 3 cruisers damaged
Total Klagimir losses: 5 destroyers, 4 protected cruisers and 1 armored cruiser damaged.
That is quite a large chunk of the Asansmati fleet lost, right there. Not an auspicious start to their naval campaign - or has it foundered (so to speak) right there?
ReplyDeleteWell, that was their entire fleet forced into a decisive action they did not wish in the first place - a few auxiliary units are left, spread around the archipelago, but this battle forced them to a rather unfavourable treaty, including having to cede their better ships to the victors.
Delete