French Mod 1914 Alternate History AAR (1897- ?) Les Flammes des Ténèbres

[trekaddict]

Although the Alsace always set sail in a BB Battle Group, she virtually has the power to act as a small one ship navy with her unmatchable battle potential. I'm sure the stats I sent to you showed how powerful I designed the Alsace to be.

Indeed it is. Will the CV make an appearance in your timeline? *crosses fingers that it doesn't*

My Lion is indeed less powerful, but for a reason. Remember that the Naval situation is very different.

[gaiasabre11]

Indeed it is. Will the CV make an appearance in your timeline? *crosses fingers that it doesn't*

My Lion is indeed less powerful, but for a reason. Remember that the Naval situation is very different.

CVs? of course! In fact I'm actually also trying to design a new naval fighter, possibly with the name of Rafale Flanker M.

A short note: the Alsace was actually built in early 1940s as a response to the American Iowa class. As it turned out, the Alsace proved to be on par if not more powerful than the Montana class which succeeded the Iowa.

[Kurt_Steiner]

Chamberlain must be mute with surprise...

[gaiasabre11]

Chamberlain must be mute with surprise...

I was surprised too myself, but it turns out that I can incorporate that into my story-line to make this AAR ever more interesting.

[Kurt_Steiner]

Indeed! I haven't thought about it! Another reason for the Belle France to be against England! Go, Mercier, Go!

[gaiasabre11]

Indeed! I haven't thought about it! Another reason for the Belle France to be against England! Go, Mercier, Go!

Didn't expecting you to cheer for Mercier, but by now I assume you can see the new geopolitical situations forming in my AAR Universe that is going to dominate TTL for half a century.

[gaiasabre11]

Been very busy lately, and my USB hard drive I was using to the store the update was loss, causing further delay. Neveretheless, here's the update.

P.S. The pics will not be posted for the moment. Will post them when I find more time.

.................

“… torpedoes?” asked Rommel.

“yes… they are quite useful for combat in a marine situation. However, the torpedoes I’m going to show you have some other purposes…” replied Captain Nemo. “But before that, I’d like to show you something else.” Captain Nemo then turned to one of his men and said, “Ready the periscope.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Very well,” said Captain Nemo as he reached for the periscope. After a few adjustments he turned to Rommel.
“Major Rommel, can you please have a look?”

Rommel looked into the periscope as Captain Nemo had asked him to. Within the view provided by the periscope, Rommel could clearly see a vessel steaming for away. She seemed to be a British transport ship flying the British Naval Ensign. Not sure of what Captain Nemo was trying to show him, Rommel scanned around the nearby surrounding seas. After a short while, he discovered a dark shadow skimming beneath the surface of the seas at high speed going straight for the British vessel.

The next thing Rommel saw was a large burst of ash and smoke bursting out near the vessel’s funnels, followed by a large splash of water spewing out from the nearby waters. After the ash and smoke had cleared, it was clear that the vessel had been snapped in half as if a twig. All by the detonation of a single torpedo.

“This… this is” began Rommel as he removed his view from the periscope and turned to the Captain of the Nautilus.

“Moments ago we had just fired a torpedo at the vessel. You have just arrived in time to witness her destruction,” said Captian Nemo quietly.

“I believe that this action had some meanings behind it, Captain Nemo,” replied Rommel coldly.

“We’ll have to surface in a moment, and the vessel could have spotted us.”

“Can’t it not be waited until the vessel had left?”

“I’m afraid not. More British vessels are around the region, and we’ll have to use the time now to proceed with our mission. It cannot be waited anymore.”

Captain Nemo then turned to his men and ordered, “Prepare to surface in one minute.”

“Now please follow me, Major Rommel,” said the Captain to Rommel after giving his order. He then lead Rommel out of the navigation room. Looking at Captain’s Nemo’s back, Rommel sensed a heavy air of weariness trailing behind the Captain. It was as if the man was half-way in his final resting coffin.

“Are we not going to the torpedo room? Why are we surfacing?” asked Rommel.

“As I said before, the torpedoes I am going to show you have some other purposes,” replied the Captain without stopping.

It did not take long before the Nautilus empty her ballastic tanks and surfaced. The relative calm seas suddenly had the presence of a steel Leviathan.

(The Nautilus surfaces!! But please ignore the deck gun in this pic)

Captain Nemo and Rommel opened the hatch to the open air outside, followed no later by a handful of Captain Nemo’s men. During the voyage from the Mediterranean to the South Indian Ocean, the Nautilus rarely surfaced, and it was refreshing to breath from the atmosphere once again. Rommel scanned the seas around him, and at the supposed area where the British vessel had been torpedoed. The destruction caused by the torpedo was so great that the stern half of the vessel had already sank beneath the waves, while the bow section reared up in the seas and was rapidly sinking. Captain Nemo and his men also watched on, and gave a final salute as the tip of the bow was finally engulfed by the merciless ocean.

“Well, Major Rommel, let’s get back to business,” said Captain Nemo after finishing his salute, and turned to some large cigar-shaped objects lying on the deck of the Nautilus.

(The Barracudas will be based somewhat on the Japanese Kaiten torpedoes of WWII)

“These torpedoes, Major Rommel, whall carry you to the shores of Africa,” said Captain Nemo.

Rommel did not reply for a moment, until he finally said, “I have already been wondering for a long time what are their purposes when I first spotted them as I was boarding the Nautilus. However, I do not believe that these torpedoes can carry me to the shores, Captain Nemo. We are still in the open seas at this moment.”

Captain Nemo let out a small smile before he said, “Do not apply your knowledge of ordinary torpedoes with the Barracudas we have here. These torpedoes use compressed oxygen rather than compressed air, and hence had superior speed and range over any other existing type of torpedoes. Normally the payload is a single warhead mounted on the tip, as in the torpedo that we just fired. However, these specially modified torpedoes we have here had the purpose of carrying a single crew each for a maximum range of forty kilometres at thirty knots.”

Rommel was almost happy as he realize that he could leave life onboard the Nautilus, but it was not precisely the way he had expected and desired.

“General Mercier also instructed me to inform you of your obective: you should travel inland from where you landed and reach the Orange Free State and Transvaal. The Boers should been decisely defeated and resort to Guerrilla warfare by now. You are to help support the local Guerrillas against the British, and to gather as much intelligence as possible about the current state of the British Colonial Forces.”

(At first the Boers were running around like mad. )



(Well, the end is inevitable. )

“… an one-man mission again?” asked Rommel.

“No, some of my man will accompany you. Do not worry. They will not become a burden to you, and in fact will serve as your guide, interpreter, and negotiator with the Boers.”

“Were these… Barracudas, used against the Maine?”

“Yes, indeed. They were used in the Havana Harbour against the Maine. Our men attached some limpet mines to the bottom of the vessel. That was what caused the Maine’s magazine to set off, and blowing her into oblivion.”
Rommel thought about every word the Captain had said, before he spoke again.

“… Before I leave this ship… I would like to thank you for the comfort you provided me with during my stay… furthermore I would like to ask you what is the reason… what is the reason for you… and your men, to be in the Legion, Captain Nemo?”

“… We all have our reasons for joining the Legion… don’t we, Major Rommel?”

“…True. It was all too true…” thought Rommel.

“Nevertheless, if you do wish to know, I can tell you my reasons…” said Captain Nemo. “To make it simple, I can say I owe General Mercier almost everything I have now, and my service to him, whatever he asks for, is how I shall repay him.”

“…you owe him your service?”

“… You need not know further than this point, Major Rommel. Perhaps I will talk more about myself… when we meet again.”

“… very well…” said Rommel before he entered the torpedo prepared for him. It was dark and cramp inside. He would have desired to spread his limbs as much as he can after he left the human torpedo.

The next thing Rommel knew was that he and a few fellow crew member of the Nautilus had set off on their short voyage to Africa the Dark Continent in their own respective Barracuda, while the steel Leviathan Nautilus submerged behind them once again, and disappeared into the abyss of the ocean.

…

“…hah…hah…hah…” Rommel panted as he ran. There were just too many of them.

It did not take long for Rommel to return from his memories on board the Nautilus, as numerous assailants were chasing behind longing for his blood. Rommel and Captain Nemo’s men were just ambushed as they were travelling inland. Rommel thought to himself as he ran: it’s been sometime since he was last being the last survivor.

“Kill him!! Kill! Kill!”(Zulu)

Rommel could heard the sound of his pursuers closing behind him, and fired more rounds from his C96 handguns. A couple of his assailiants were shot fair and square on the forehead. They covered their face and cried in agony, but a few seconds later it was like gunshots had caused nothing more than a few scratches.

“So… not enough fire power?” mumbled Rommel to himself before drawing his sawed-off shotgun, and fired a round at extreme close range at one of his assailants’ face. A large blast blew the assailant’s head away. The rest of the body collapsed on to the dirt, finally coming to a rest.

“… this is the only way to end them?” asked Rommel silently inside his mind. As more Zulu warriors gathered, Rommel turned in attempt to escape again, but found out that he had reached the banks of a river that seemed infested with of crocodiles peeking out of the river surface with the tiny eyes. Gradually a wall of Zulu warriors formed around Rommel as he was forced to confront them.

Behind the wall of Zulu warriors that surrounded Rommel, a Goaliath of extreme height appeared. He appeared to be the leader of the assailants, and had a monstrous ceremonial staff that had a large elephant tusk attached, giving it the apparance of an oversized scythe of destruction.

(An elephant tusk can sure cause havoc when wielded by a Goaliath!!)

“Kill… him” (Zulu) snarled the Zulu Goaliath, and the Zulu warriors around him began to close in around Rommel again.

Rommel wondered if the situation had just gone from bad to worse as he clenched his shotgun and aimed for another shot.

Suddenly, a powerful round coming from nowhere burst through the skull of a Zulu warrior. It was clearly a hit kill with the warrior collapsing onto to the dirt without rising up again.

More gunshots could be heard from a distance, and then the assailants approaching Rommel all faced their end as each of them had a bullet bursting through their cerebrums.

“Back!!” (Zulu) Noticing the sudden newcome threat, the apparent Zulu leader glared at Rommel with his ruby like eyes before letting out another order to his group.

The Zulu warriors then began their withdraw, retreating into the surrounding wilderness. Rommel let out a sigh of relief, and wondered who could have helped him out of his dire situation.

Soon after that Rommel saw a man approaching with a rifle taking off his hat and speaking in a language he was familiar with.

“Allan Quatermain at your service, good sir.” (French)

[Kurt_Steiner]

Quatermain... After Nemo, not quite unexpected. But I don't think that a loyal servant of Victoria will help Rommel to meet the Boers...

[Enewald]

Hmm, sinking British vessels and slaughtering Zulus, what a life Rommel has!

[ColossusCrusher]

Who's Quatermain again?

[BritishImperial]

rommel's acting a bit like solid snake at the moment, which is pretty cool. i should have known there'd be something not normal about the zulus, this is after all no ordinary aar. nice one.

[gaiasabre11]

Note: previous update edited. Now with pics

Quatermain... After Nemo, not quite unexpected. But I don't think that a loyal servant of Victoria will help Rommel to meet the Boers...

No, Quatermain won't be helping with Rommel's mission. But I didn't say anything about his wife.

Hmm, sinking British vessels and slaughtering Zulus, what a life Rommel has!

Well, it was Nemo doing the torpedoing, and the Zulus ambushed Rommel first.

Who's Quatermain again?

Google it or believe what I have: King Solomon's best buddy.

rommel's acting a bit like solid snake at the moment, which is pretty cool. i should have known there'd be something not normal about the zulus, this is after all no ordinary aar. nice one.

"... nothing is normal" - Erwin Rommel the elder

I always try to put surprises all around this AAR, more will sure come.

[ColossusCrusher]

Let's call this...Resident Zulu.

[gaiasabre11]

Let's call this...Resident Zulu.

Not quite Resident Zulu yet. In RE the enemies are way more nastier than what I have in this AAR. So, I was just playing RE, and a semi-boss began to pound me with a gatling gun (yes, the multi-barrel thing). I tried to run for it, but then I got nuked by another enemy firing a RPG at me. (Damn it! I was trying to play it easy without using my infinite-shot RPG launcher, and they did that to me! Nuked all of them after I replayed. )

[Enewald]

Well, it was Nemo doing the torpedoing, and the Zulus ambushed Rommel first.

"I didn't kill anyone! They attacked first, it was self defence!"
-Couldn't they be take as prisoners?
"Hmm, doesn't fit into this storyline, sorry, but they had to die"

[gaiasabre11]

"I didn't kill anyone! They attacked first, it was self defence!"
-Couldn't they be take as prisoners?
"Hmm, doesn't fit into this storyline, sorry, but they had to die"

Well, I'm sure Rommel can't incapacitate and restrain a horde of Zulu warriors all by himself. But anyways, I do admit that taking prisoners doesn't fit much into this storyline, so well, at least their deaths will be remembered.

[ColossusCrusher]

Is this RE4 you're talking about?
Because I just ordered it from Amazon, and it should be coming soon.

[gaiasabre11]

Is this RE4 you're talking about?
Because I just ordered it from Amazon, and it should be coming soon.

Yes, I'm talking about RE4, however the same kind of situation can also be encountered in RE5. BTW, since the current setting of this AAR is in Africa, I'll be using elements mostly from RE5 for now.

[gaiasabre11]

Ok, folks, here's somesort of an update: my Alsace BB 2000 edition. Not the kind of update you might be expecting. But I can tell you that I'm working on it, and should post it on the weekend.

............

Here's some stats for the Alsace. More about the "war" much much later...
Alsace Class (2000)

Stats:

Length: 270 m
Displacement: >50,000 tons standard, 60,000 tons full load
Speed: 30 knots max
Range: 20,000 nm at 20 knots
Complement : 1500 men

Armament: 12 x 16" / 50 modele 194x in quadruple mount
6 x 8" / 55 modele 194x in twin mount
12 x 125 mm / 64 DP in twin mount
8 x Bofors 57 mm CIWS in single mount
24 x Exocet MM40 in 6 launchers
24 x Sylver A-70 launchers with Aster 15, Aster 30, and SCALP NAVAL (8 missile per launcher)
15 x Mistral NG-RAM launchers (21 missiles per launcher)

Armor: belt: 400 mm @ 20 degrees
deck: 200 mm max
turret: 500 mm max

Aircraft Carried: 4 x NH90s

Notes: Reconstructed with substantial high-strengh light-weight radar-assorbant material

Historical Backgrounds:

The modernization of Alsace was finished in 2000, and incorporated many modern, including stealthy features.
It is claimed that the overall radar cross section had been reduced by 40~60%, thereby reducing Alsace's radar
signiature to more or less the same level as the Clemenceau Class Carriers.
The Alsace continued to serve until for two more decades until she was put into reserve at the end of 2020.
However, war soon broke out in a few years, and Alsace was once again called into service.
In a fierce naval battle with enemy forces, Alsace was heavily damaged and had to be scuttled, ending her life as the most powerful and longest active serving warship of her era. (Can't tell anymore beyond this point.)

..........

So here's the Alsace, the most powerful BB ever!!

[trekaddict]

Looks awesome. But I still don't think compromising the main belt for a hangar is the wisest of ideas.