Pro Patria (Valkyria Chronicles)

[X] Split them
-[X] Send the tanks and half of the infantry up to the ridgeline, and the remainder to the left to secure a route to Surena's landing site.
 
3.16
It is almost sundown but it will not be enough to save Elodie's Wrath. The ship has taken heavy damage and won't survive long against the pounding it is about to take.

The Federation ships pause fighting again and once more offer surrender.

Once more it is denied.
Last Stand
Highest 2d100 = 71, 10
Total = 71
The guns of the battleships speak on both sides as they attempt to destroy each other one more time.

Elodie's Wrath lands a solid hit on the Federal flagship - knocking out a gun - but takes withering fire from the black shells in reply. Creating more breaches in her armour. Despite the low light, federation gun crews are performing well.

A destroyer gets too ambitious and is badly wounded attempting a closer, more concentrated torpedo run. It limps away as it makes repairs. The light cruiser being held in reserve is sent to that flank to provide assistance to the remaining destroyer. It adeptly dodges a rowboat carrying survivors from an imperial vessel and soon makes its way.

The Federation battleships get closer once more, this time to put the Imperial flagship out of commission for good. All their remaining guns open fire in devastating salvoes one after another. Multiple guns are knocked out in exchange for a hull breach on the Federal flagship but it seems Elodie's Wrath is on its last legs. The moderately damaged destroyer is coming in for another run, much closer this time. There are not enough operational guns to stop it this time and the damage to the engines has impaired the imperial capital ship's movement. It seems certain to cause devastating damage. In addition to this, the light cruiser is also coming in to support the destroyer in its attack.

The Novans have offered a spirited fight but this was it. As the main guns prepare to fire once more the Federation commander offers a salute for a battle well fought.

Then the Federation light cruiser that's attempting a flanking attack is hit by a sudden torpedo strike that seemingly came out of nowhere.

For several moments, everyone is confused. Battleships don't normally carry torpedoes, do they? Eyes scan the sea for the launch vector of the torpedoes.

It soon turns out that the torpedoes had come from one of the hulks that were strung across the battlefield. It had in fact come from a civilian ship nearby.

The disabled merchantmen that everyone assumed had been crippled by engine failure had been playing a deception. In a field marked by opponents that far outclassed it, the ship had played dead in the water. As a result, everyone had ignored the cargo ship for more threatening military ships. That is, until it had sucker punched a light cruiser as it passed by.

From behind the bulky ship comes a more sleeker vessel, its silhouette trails behind it in the darkening skies. It is the shape of a destroyer that had been hiding behind the bigger ship until now. It had not ran when its comrades had but stayed behind making repairs. Its absence had not been noted by the distracted Federation lookouts.

Imperial order of battle
1 Battleship
1 Destroyer
1 Armed Merchantmen

Federation order of battle
2 Battleships
1 Light Cruiser
2 Destroyers

It soon becomes apparent that the light cruiser has suffered extreme damage. It starts to heel over from the massive gash on its side and will not survive the night. An order is given to abandon ship and it slowly starts evacuating crew on rowboats.


The imperial destroyer makes a quick path towards its federation counterpart making a torpedo run and unleashes a hail of fire on the ship's rear. The escort quickly suffers heavy damage along its entire length and breaks off. The ship is trailing oil and smoke, in addition to taking on water.

The shocked Federals realise the battle is not quite over and begin fighting anew.

The battleships try to redirect their fire but are distracted by Elodie's Wrath. The imperial flagship's last few guns rake its federation counterpart forcing a disengagement.

The imperial destroyer is not yet done however. It soon proceeds full speed towards the cluster of mammoth battleships.

The armed merchantmen it had been hiding behind pursues a duel with the destroyer wounded by Elodie's Wrath earlier.

The destroyer's target appears to be the mine-damaged Federation battleship. It approaching from the weaker side, giving it an easier ride. That side has fewer operational guns, and the main guns pointed towards Elodie's Wrath.

Both sides seem to watch as the destroyer lines up a perfect angle for its torpedoes. It is not harassed at all by the few remaining Federal escorts who are currently distracted.

The imperial escort unleashes its torpedoes and the wounded battleship moves as fast as its cumbersome form allows it. It is not enough. Three torpedoes strike its damaged side and cause disastrous damage. Many of its emergency repairs unravel and the capital ship slowly begins to sink, listing heavily.

Realising the tables have suddenly turned, the Federation flagship prepares its last stand. It hopes to take its counterpart down with it before it dies. However, a communication passes between the Federation leviathans. One currently dying, and another severely damaged.

After several long moments the flagship begins to withdraw. It is followed by a lone damaged destroyer that had been losing its confrontation with a civilian ship. The destroyer uses its speed to get away from the armed, but slower merchantmen. It consoles itself by thinking that it had been ordered to cover the flagship's withdrawal.

To cover the retreat of the federal ships, the remaining federal battleship launches a suicide run at Elodie's Wrath. The rapidly expiring ship moves slowly but is still a threat. Given that both battleships have few guns operational the fate of the duel is ultimately determined by the destroyer. It launches another accurate torpedo spread that finishes off the Federation battleship. The explosions from the torpedoes cause it to list heavily and the once mighty ship begins sinking rear first.


By then the two remaining Federation ships are off in the distance. The flagship is trailed by the destroyer. Pursuit is considered by the imperials but rejected in favour of picking up survivors from both sides.

Federation losses
1 Battleship
1 Light Cruiser
1 Destroyer

In the aftermath of the unexpected victory, Elodie's Wrath slowly makes its way back to the Novan home port of Scapa Flow. The flagship is flanked by its two brave escorts. It had suffered heavy damage but survived the battle against all the odds. Behind it, the gulf is covered in the wrecks of many ships.

***​

The troop transport is almost empty as you make your way out onto shore. A hasty camp has been set up on the beach, it will be temporary given the sea battle probably went poorly. The fires in the darkness of the night make it clearly visible, something that will have to be changed.

You have a decent sized forced available right now. They consist of Giraud's last company - the man himself being sent to the ridges - and Mueller's armoured company, which will be fully unloaded sometime in the night. Mueller himself is on another transport with the rest of his battalion, you hope they survived.

From the left you hear that the hillocks have been secured. Pickets range out across the entire length. They have made contact with some of Surena's troops, who sends her thanks. The main force will come tomorrow sometime before noon and join you.

On the front, the forces sent there have build up a solid defensive position on the ridges. Your forward observers on the ridge line report campfires on the horizon. Enough to be a sizeable group. It is likely they will be attacked on the next day.

You wonder how to employ the reserve you have built up. You could beef up the front, or you could send them to the right and attempt a flanking manoeuvre come tomorrow. However this will put you out of contact with them. It might be safer to hold them in reserve, that way you can respond to any developments. But Surena will come in the morning anyway so it might be a waste.

Also, you need to get that radio working. Though you fear the news will be grim.

How will you use the tank company and the last elements of Giraud's battalion tomorrow?

[] Hold them in reserve until they are needed
[] Send them to the right to attempt a flanking manoeuvre
[] Send them to the ridges to bulk up the force already there
[] Split them up
- [] Write-in



AN: You may have noticed some inconsistencies to the loss numbers in update 3.13, this was in fact deliberate.

Fun fact, the pic above was slated to be the death pic of Elodie's Wrath until dice intervened.

This will be the last update for the next few days as I have important things to do next week. It also heralds the end of this naval mini-arc. How did everyone find it? Was it enjoyable?
 
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Wow, the imperials actually came of significantly better than the federation in this fight.
Yeah it surprised me as well.

The original outline for this branch was; Imperial navy gets wrecked, you lose a bunch of forces before even landing. Leaving you in dire straits behind enemy lines.

Then dice happened.

A certain character would have shown up in any prospective prisoner arc had she lost here like expected. Oh well.

Also, a certain Vice-Admiral is going to be in deep shit when Elodie's Wrath makes port at Scarpa Flow.
 
I was resigned. I was shocked. I was delighted. I was relieved. Good job.

I'm still processing that the navy pulled a second tactical victory out of its ass.

I had already accepted the tactical victory of our escorts and the operational victory of our unmolested landings. ...And the tactical and strategic loss of our fleet.

Still remains to be seen whether this eventually turns into a strategic loss. Here's hoping the Navy gets the attention and resources it needs to recover. It deserves it too.

The only downside I can think of is that we ran at least one transport aground. That's going to be a black mark and will likely hamper reingorcements.
 
The only downside I can think of is that we ran at least one transport aground. That's going to be a black mark and will likely hamper reingorcements.
That was in the plans if an expedited landing was needed. Given Rudolf saw the convoy being attacked by warships when the gulf should have been imperial lake, he thought it was necessary.

And uh... reinforcements will be unlikely anytime in the future. The Federation Navy (whats left of it) will be planning to dispute any more landings now that surprise has been lost. Additionally, the Novan 2nd Fleet got battered pretty badly. High Command simply won't risk any more sizeable landings, though supply runs are on the table. However, in about one or two weeks, naval Fed reinforcements are almost certain to arrive. So the next mini-arc is on a timer unless you want to endure shore bombardment.
 
That was in the plans if an expedited landing was needed. Given Rudolf saw the convoy being attacked by warships when the gulf should have been imperial lake, he thought it was necessary.

And uh... reinforcements will be unlikely anytime in the future. The Federation Navy (whats left of it) will be planning to dispute any more landings now that surprise has been lost. Additionally, the Novan 2nd Fleet got battered pretty badly. High Command simply won't risk any more sizeable landings, though supply runs are on the table. However, in about one or two weeks, naval Fed reinforcements are almost certain to arrive. So the next mini-arc is on a timer unless you want to endure shore bombardment.
Hmm. I was hoping the Imperial ships that retreated earlier would be enough to get some more convoys across in that two week gap, but I guess that makes sense. Between the loss of the transports and so much damage too the fleet, it would be time consuming and dangerous to try again.
 
Unless you're the United States or Great Britain, producing enough capital ships to materially impact the course of a war after it has begun is unlikely. The Imperial Navy was already operating at a serious disadvantage in numbers before the war started, and once the war starts the conscription of workers and prioritization of resources for the Army is going to result in the cancellation of any large warships that can't be finished in relatively short order. Given that it takes about 3 years to get a dreadnought from a shipyard order to commission, the Empire is likely going to be fighting the war with what it has on hand plus any battleships that are substantially on the way to completion. The Federation is probably in a similar position, since it will require substantially more resources devoted to the Army than the British or Americans would, though their more efficient shipyards may make it possible to finish up ships which are further from completion than the Empire would consider viable.

The main focus of naval production for the Empire, in the absence of submarines, would probably be effective destroyers and cruisers oriented for independent commerce raiding. That actually makes the Destroyer Escort class somewhat questionable, in so far as there doesn't seem to be the need for a large number of smaller antisubmarine ships to handle threats to convoys, though in context it seems like it just covers all the various torpedo craft larger than a torpedo boat but smaller than a full-on fleet destroyer.

Now the Talaran Gulf here does appear small enough that, with a temporary superiority in surviving cruiser and torpedo craft, the Imperials could try to heavily mine the approaches of any Federation reinforcements and delay out their arrival which might buy some extra time. Aggressive cruiser operations backed up by the surviving battlecruiser should be able to sweep lighter Federation forces out of a position around the narrowest part of the Gulf between Nova and Talaris, to keep them from interfering with the minelaying. That really requires the Imperial Navy to react aggressively with its light forces and to have the stockpiles of mines needed, and it looks like they may be too shell-shocked and unprepared. But mine warfare plus light torpedo craft is how the Baltic was secured in both World Wars, and I don't see any reason it wouldn't work here.

Anyway the arc itself was certainly interesting as a change of pace and nerve-wracking as spectators. The dice certainly kept us on the edge of our seats, so to speak.
 
This naval battle is comparable to the Battle of Jutland, but with the losses of Savo Bay on both sides. Both the Feds and Imps had strategic and tactical losses to ship numbers...
 
[X] Send them to the ridges to bulk up the forcealready there

I was originally leaning towards a flanking attack to keep up the initiative, but doing so at night and in unfamiliar territory seems too much of a risk. Could we mass them on the right and wait till morning?
 
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This was quite an enjoyable mini-arc to me. Though I guess it is to be expected considering how much I enjoy "Rule the Waves".

Concerning what happens in the naval front now, since this seems to be the black sea equivalent in VC or a combination of the Black and Baltic seas, I believe @Cavalier is correct. As it is quite unlikely that the navy in this theater will get reinforcements, because I am 0.99 certain the Federation controls the Oceans, whatever ships are currently here are all Spoor will have access to, while the Federation will be able to get reinforcements from outside. Indeed, employing aggressive mine warfare to hinder their attempts to reinforce is the most viable tactic, mainly because most of the Imperial capital ships got savaged and will likely require extensive yard time except for, I believe, the battlecruiser. If it can actually be quickly repaired I think our dear admiral will likely take it as temporal flagship until Elodie's Wrath is repaired, if it is not a complete loss since it took quite the beating, and use it and some of the escorts to harass the remaining Federal ships and support mine-laying operations.

Now regarding the actual invasion. I am leaning to the flanking manoeuvre but don't remember if we actually scouted that route already, though considering we sent scouts quite far ahead we may actually have decent knowledge of terrain and approaches in that area. Besides, we likely wan't to avoid getting flanked ourselves, and our flanking force should encounter any enemy force attempting the same thing. For now I'll go with flanking and see if anyone has some insight that will change my mind.

[X] Send them to the right to attempt a flanking manoeuvre.
 
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Honestly we might need to be aggresive, we cannot really afford to get bogged down here, we are so massively out numbered and low on supplies that if the enemy manages to concentrate their forces against us or even slow us down enough we're fucked. We need to connect with our other forces and then move as fast as possible while causing the maximum amount of chaos.
 
[X] Send them to the right to attempt a flanking manoeuvre

Any kind of forces we will be facing in the immediate counterattack will be second line at best. The troops at the ridge should be able to hold against reserve/garrison troops. Also, if we can flank and surround them, we may be able to break their morale and force a surrender and end the battle quickly. I'd personally like to begin stealing all their equipment as well, but I'm going to be very mad if we start executing POWs. Just letting them go would probably build a certain degree of much needed sympathy behind the lines.
 
Huh, that victory at sea was really unexpected. What a crazy ride.

Also, question, wont the Federation ships need to retreat through the remnants of the minefield? There should be plenty of mines left and to go through that at night is going to be devastating. Or are they taking some other route?


We need to get some news about that naval victory in-character as fast as possible. This actually makes capturing a port a viable strategy. If we can manage to capture some place with coastal fortifications, that would put a serious damper on the Federations attempts to blockade us, as they're going to be hurting for capital ships able to contest such things for a while.
 
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The Destroyer and Merchantman captains deserve fucking medals.

[X] Send them to the ridges to bulk up the force already there

It's already night and these troops are the last off. They're tired and if they get sent right they'll need to get there, temporarily dig in for safety, and then still need to advance far to flank tomorrow. Not really any sense in that. Instead, send them to the ridges to act as a counterattack punch and take advantage of the previous efforts. The ridge doesn't need the help but the attack itself will be a hole in whatever's out there to be exploited by pursuit troops.
 
[X] Send them to the right to attempt a flanking manoeuvre
If Total War Warhammer has taught me anything, it's that sending some dudes to attack the enemy from the side is more effective than hitting them from the front, where your other dudes are already hitting them from.
 
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Everyone in the Imperial Navy deserves medals for heroism here, from the destroyers all the way to Spoor for pulling out what is effectively a miracle out of her hat through what was a nearly suicidal determination to defy the odds. That certainly was an immensely tense battle.

[X] Send them to the ridges to bulk up the force already there
 
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