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The Harp and Crown: An Irish AAR

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If there was ever a good excuse to go to war, an extra cruiser is among the coolest. Bsides, you wouldn't want Patagonia to show you up, would you?

After this is over, make Hawaii have four for good measure :p
 
I suspect that Hearst is not one of President Debs' greatest supporters.
Honestly, hopefully the war will be brief, bloodless and indecisive, with a negotiated peace that leaves both sides capable of claiming victory.
 
The Irish-American War: The War at Sea
(January - May 1905)

battleofchesapeakebay.jpg

21 April 1905: The Second Battle of Chesapeake Bay.​

"O'Brien strikes again: Irish 'sea wolf' holds the Eastern Seaboard in a grip of terror."
- A March headline from the New York Journal American.

At the beginning of 1905 Ireland had a total of five large warships based overseas. Derry of course had remained in Hawaii but the most powerful force belonged to the Patagonia Squadron based at Viedma. The protected cruisers Cork, Meath, Louth and Armagh were big modern ships of the Wexford-class and Rear Admiral O'Brien had attracted much envy when he had been posted to the new South American command. Fifty, stout and cigar smoking Eamonn O'Brien was not regarded as brilliant but he was an experienced, capable officer. On 6 January the Admiralty wired him his orders: steam north.

The Irish Admiralty was fully aware that the only chance of winning the war was at sea. Irish control of the oceans would cut off the American overseas possessions - American Morocco, Cayenne and the numerous islands in the Pacific. O'Brien's job was to run down any isolated American warships or troop transports and on 25 January he had his first success. Near Balanus Seamount off the New England coast he encountered and sank three US ships: the USS St. Paul an auxiliary cruiser and two supply steamers bound for Agadir. St. Paul put up a brave fight but was quickly put out of action while the defenceless steamers surrendered without a fight. Flush with victory the Rear Admiral sailed for Havana to re-coal - and deposit hundreds of American sailors.

The following month O'Brien sank an empty troop ship off Chesapeake Bay. The steamer sent a garbled wireless message begging for assistance which was answered by another American steamer and the small (3,200 ton) cruiser Tacoma. Tacoma was nearly as overmatched as St. Paul but before her crew was forced to scuttle her she had managed to hit Meath twice with her 5 inch guns. The Irish warship suffered a dozen casualties and took on a hundred tons of water but assured by Meath's captain that his ship remained seaworthy and in fighting trim O'Brien decided to keep his squadron intact - going so far as to leave out Meath's damage in his post-battle telegram to Dublin.

The Patagonian Squadron did not sink every American supply steamer - in March five came within sight of the Moroccan coast before Admiral O'Donnell's battleships sent them to the bottom. Still the Admiralty had great faith in O'Brien, who was himself feeling very confident - and why not? He was Ireland's Nelson. On 21 April he once again found himself facing American warships only a few miles from where Tacoma had gone down.

Conditions that morning were so poor that the two fleets essentially blundered into each other. Cork, moving in the van of the Irish squadron stumbled upon the US auxiliary cruiser Yale looming out of the mist and opened fire. As other ships emerged from the haze O'Brien realized that Yale was merely the rearmost ship of a major taskforce: six protected and two auxiliary cruisers under Vice Admiral Christopher Eastman. The 2nd Battle of Chesapeake Bay had begun.

Ship for ship O'Brien had the superior vessels. New Orleans's, Eastman's flagship was half the weight of Cork. In terms of guns however O'Brien was seriously outmatched and at once he raised a signal for his ships to turn east and steam away from the Americans. Unfortunately Meath quickly began to fall behind, her damaged hull unable to make more than 15 knots which was too slow to outrun Eastman. O'Brien was faced with the choice of abandoning Meath to the Americans or risking everything to try and save her. Making the second choice he ordered his ships to turn round and engage Eastman.

briensdefeat.png

O'Brien vs. Eastman.​

For nearly three hours battle raged. O'Brien managed to land hits on every American ship and the cruisers Charleston and Cleveland suffered heavy damage. Weight of shell began to tell however and by 10 in the morning Meath was ablaze and had ceased firing. Slowly limping out of formation she was struck by a torpedo from New Orleans. The Irish ship capsized and sank within minutes taking all but 12 of her 625 crew with her. Half an hour later under sustained fire from three American ships Cork exploded and sank with all hands including Rear Admiral O'Brien. That left Louth and Armagh. Louth, the rearmost of her squadron had sustained fairly light damage; though an American shell had wrecked her wireless room. Armagh on the other hand was listing badly and had had most her guns knocked out of action. Realising he was unlikely to escape the captain of Armagh turned towards New Orleans and made to ram her. Eastman turned his flagship away and before Armagh came close several more American shells had hit her. The Irish cruiser stopped dead in the water, boiler room flooded and the captain gave the order to scuttle her. As Armagh slid beneath the waves 506 Irish sailors made it to the boats and were picked up by the Americans.

Armagh had bought time for Louth and Captain Daniel Fox steered his ship into the mist hoping to loose Eastman. The American admiral declined to follow: despite his victory several of Eastman's ships had been badly mauled and Charleston was in such bad straights that she needed to be taken under tow. Pausing only to pick up the handful of survivors from Meath and the boats from Armagh Eastman steamed for home and a rapturous welcome from the American people.

With his wireless out of action Fox was unable to contact Dublin till 24 April when he limped into Havana. By then the Hearst press made sure the world already knew that three Irish warships had been sent to the bottom of the Atlantic. The Patagonian Squadron - the terror of the high seas for American sailors was no more.
 
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Finally, I get proper naval action! True it might not be battleships but I've wanted to have a proper sea battle in an AAR for a long time and this was my first chance.

Here's to next clash o f steel going my way. O'Brien shall be avenged! :)

RGB: Well think the issue is somewhat moot at the moment, but we'll see what happens post-war. ;)

Enewald: America took Cayenne and the Moroccan Atlantic coast from France during her recent war, plus she has a few islands like Midway and Guam.

Eams: Well... it might be a bit late for bloodless but I can sure still aim for indecisive :)

Viden: Heh. Well as Eams said he isn't much of a fan of Debs so that would have been reason enough to press for war. :D
 
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Revenge!

Must be had!
 
Next update today or tomorrow. I'm slightly disappointed this didn't get more replies - it was one of my favourites to write and the next part would have concluded the 'War at Sea' (at least for 1905). Guess naval battles aren't as popular as I would have thought. :(

Also I caved and finally bought Deus Vult (for Crusader Kings) and Heir to the Throne (for EU III) so I'll probably be starting an AAR with either game in the next week or so. Suggestions would be appreciated. :)
 
Don't know why I haven't replied to your latest update, perhaps it was because it was a very concise and complete one which didn't leave any of the more obvious questions unanswered. It was extremely good though.
 
Well, AAR writing is like that sometimes; your favourite updates may elicit fewer responses than hoped for.

I'm a little disappointed superior ships didn't repeat the Battle of the Baltic, to be honest, but then there really were only four of them.

Can you afford to rebuild?

EDIT: suggestions for next AAR? I don't have any, except maybe uh, Majapahit or something in MEIOU. Vanilla mistreats the region pretty badly, but I personally find it pretty cool.
 
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wow, can't remember how I found this AAR but I'm glad I did, you convinced me to get Vicky 2, as playing as ireland on HOI3 is just too short

-did you post in Homelands: Tales of The Anglo-Prussians? I remember seeing your AAR in your sig but can't remember where

Anyways good luck with your revenge!
 
RossN said:
Next update today or tomorrow. I'm slightly disappointed this didn't get more replies - it was one of my favourites to write and the next part would have concluded the 'War at Sea' (at least for 1905). Guess naval battles aren't as popular as I would have thought. :(

Also I caved and finally bought Deus Vult (for Crusader Kings) and Heir to the Throne (for EU III) so I'll probably be starting an AAR with either game in the next week or so. Suggestions would be appreciated. :)
Click to expand...

I must admit sea updates are boring to me. But your aar are great.:cool: I'm just not always remembering to reply when I read an update.
 
RossN said:
Next update today or tomorrow. I'm slightly disappointed this didn't get more replies - it was one of my favourites to write and the next part would have concluded the 'War at Sea' (at least for 1905). Guess naval battles aren't as popular as I would have thought. :(

Also I caved and finally bought Deus Vult (for Crusader Kings) and Heir to the Throne (for EU III) so I'll probably be starting an AAR with either game in the next week or so. Suggestions would be appreciated. :)
Click to expand...

Keep going! I have recently discovered this AAR and I love it. Keep going mate, I'm all ears... or is it eyes?
 
The Irish-American War: Victory at Sea
(May - November 1905)

battleofpamlicosound.jpg

14 June 1905: USS Minneapolis sinking during the Battle of Pamlico Sound.​

"O'Brien avenged. Atlantic is ours. Erin Go Bragh."
- Wireless message dispatched by Admiral Joseph O'Donnell after the Battle of Pamlico Sound.

Within hours of the Second Battle of Chesapeake Bay the shattering news of the loss three or four cruisers reached Ireland (the damaged Louth was not confirmed as saved for several days.) Chesapeake Bay was the first major sea battle of the wireless age and Marconi operators on both sides of the Atlantic spread word of the defeat extremely rapidly. On the morning of 22 April every newspaper in both Ireland and America carried a report on the action - the overwhelming nature of the American victory.

In Dublin there was a feeling that heads would have to roll. The obvious culprit was O'Brien himself but however much the Government privately felt that the late admiral should have abandoned one cruiser rather than lose three he was seen by the public as a gallant hero who met his death bravely. Therefore public criticism was muted and Daniel Flynn, the doddering Naval Chief of Staff was dismissed. In his place came Vice Admiral Richard Cassidy, veteran of the Japanese War. Cassidy decided that the time had come to change tactics and one of his first orders was to bring the battleships home.

Deirdre, Emer, Eithne, Clíona, Meabh and Mucha the six battleships of the Royal Irish Navy were not new ships. They were battered, smoke belching monsters. The oldest were almost two decades old. Extensive refits in 1903 had stopped them from becoming totally obsolete but even so the Government was due to begin building replacement ships in 1906. Still their guns were powerful and their hulls armoured so they would have to do. They had spent the war so far acting in support of the Irish armed forces during the land fighting in American Morocco, and indeed had sunk American supply ships in that capacity. Now Cassidy wanted to use them in American waters.

At once Cassidy's office was flooded with telegrams insisting he leave the battleships alone. The main objection came not from Admiral O'Donnell, the squadron commander who was as keen to avenge O'Brien as anyone else but from the Army who drew the line at withdrawing naval support from the Moroccan coast. For several weeks a behind the scenes war was waged between the War Office and the Naval Office before Cassidy agreed to send a squadron of four protected cruisers to Agadir to intercept any American reinforcements. Grudgingly the generals lifted their objections.

sguns.jpg

The formidable main battery of RIS Deirdre.​

In May O'Donnell sailed from Cobh for the American coast. Besides his flagship the 12,000 ton battleship Deirdre and her five sisters he also had the protected cruisers Limerick, Dublin, Antrim and Westmeath; powerful enough to destroy Eastman if he dared appear. Just in case the Americans were shy O'Donnell sent his fast cruisers as close to Norfolk to lure them out, into the waiting guns of his battleships. Finally, on the afternoon of 14 June Eastman took the bait. New Orleans and the rest of her squadron chased Limerick and her sisters to Pamlico Sound. The greatest naval battle of the war was about to begin.

Having by far the advantage in range O'Donnell began pounding Eastman's ships as soon as they could see them. The Americans suffered terribly; within fifteen minutes Charleston had been reduced to floating wreckage and Yale was not much better off. New Orleans herself had been hit twice and was listing to port. Worse, for Eastman the Irish protected cruisers were now between him and escape. To their credit the Americans were inflicting hits too: accurate shells from Galveston and Cleveland smashed into Limerick, causing such terrible damage that the Irish cruiser was left drifting, engines and guns knocked out and her hull filling with water. A few hours later her crew would be forced to scuttle her. Dublin was not so lucky: a chance shell from New Orleans ignited her magazine and she exploded spectacularly, going down with all but 5 of her 673 crew.

The one chance Eastman had of escaping was launching a torpedo attack on the Irish battleships. Actually sinking any of them was unlikely: both torpedo quality and torpedo training were of doubtful quality in 1905. Still O'Donnell would have to turn to avoid them which could buy Eastman a chance. Bravely the surviving American ships charged O'Donnell. It was a clever move, but ultimately futile: none of the torpedoes launched struck an Irish ship and Eastman's force withered under the Irish fire. By 6 o'clock in the evening it was all over. All the American ships had sunk or were sinking. New Orleans sank early on, taking half her crew to the bottom including the brave Admiral Eastman. Chesapeake Bay had been avenged.

The Americans had lost six protected and two auxiliary cruisers, though it must be said they had put up a heroic fight against heavy odds: two Irish warships had gone down and every other ship in O'Donnell's fleet had been hit at least once even if much of the damage was minor. Still, the surviving American sailors in their lifeboats ruefully knew they had just lost the decisive battle of the war. Other clashes would follow but for the rest of the year the Atlantic would belong to the Royal Irish Navy.
 
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RGB: Revenge had - and I hope that was more like the Battle of the Baltic for you. :)

Currently I am building two battleships (with destroyer escorts) but they won't be ready for months. I definitely intend to rebuild the fleet pos-war though, maybe with light cruisers if have the technology by then.

Enewald: Heh. Well I decided three hours was a little more realistic. :D

Eams: Thank you, and sorry if I came across as whiny. :)

IrishKaiser: I think I did post there yes. :) Glad your liking this. I have tried HoI III but I found it slow and complicated and yes Ireland is a bit underwhelming in that game.

Nikolai: It's cool, they aren't everyone's cup of tea. :) This is the last sea update for while anyway.

Eldridge: Happy to have you on board. Keep your ears (and/or eyes) peeled. :)

As for the other AAR I have started an EUIII England AAR set post-Bosworth Field. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try a similtaneous CK AAR but I do have a strong urge to go back to basics and write a character and comedy driven story. I'll let you do if anything happens! ;)
 
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Will try to get a better response done tomorrow, but for now I just want to mention that I love Deirdre's wooden bridge, very stylish.

Edit: Well, that was a jolly good update. But is the US Navy really that small that such a minor loss would cripple it?
 
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Your damn ships keep sinking!

:D

But yes, revenge was had to my satisfaction. Now to get something useful of it?
 
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