@TheRemQc
What do your land doctrines look like? Because I think neglect of them may be hindering you.
What do your land doctrines look like? Because I think neglect of them may be hindering you.
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Hey guys, its me! No this AAR is not dead its just that during the last weeks I didn't have a lot of time to devote to it. I hope you'll enjoy the new update and I'll be back with another chapter as soon as possible. Thank you all for reading me.
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Chapter Twenty: Total Collapse
Manchester in ruins after a French air raid, 1942.
In January 1942 the world was collapsing, with continental Europe under the yoke of France, North America bogged down in the mud and Central America torn up by Mexican soldiers. The opinion about the war differed from a country to another. In France, everybody was cheering at the endless victories of the French Army and most of the population had a positive opinion of the conflict. In Germany, the opposition to the new Nazi regime was large and the vast majority of the German people didn’t wanted to fight side-by-side with their new masters in Paris. In UK, morale wasn’t high but the British phlegm was doing its job and the support to the war was still high. In North America however, the war was very unpopular. In the CSA, the war had become less and less popular as the front lime bogged and in the USSA, the failure of two of the three bog offensives against the CSA had made most of the population questioning the ability of the government to lead the war.
Craig, Bluemel and Embick, the three leaders of the Combine Offensive.
Those offensives had been planned to overrun the defense of the Confederacy. Because of the manpower advantage the USSA had over the CSA, the Northern leaders had decided to attack the whole border instead of a specific place were the CS Army could have concentrated its troops. The three main axis of attack were, front East to West; from Maryland to Virginia, from Illinois to Missouri and from Utah and Colorado to New Mexico and Arizona. The attack from Maryland lead by General of the Army Malin Craig failed just after it had started for it bumped into the CS 27th Army led by General George Patton. The central attack did enter into Missouri but failed to reach Arkansas, its main objective. Finally, the only offensive that worked as planned was the one led by Lieutenant General Stanley Dunbar Embick who smashed through the Confederate lines in New Mexico, almost encircling the CS Army in Arizona.
French bomber Amiot 143 over England, 1942.
In Europe, the only battlefield still active was in the skies over England and northern France were a bloody battle active since the beginning of the war didn’t wanted to end. French pilots were trying to put an end to the RAF air domination over England but the Allies powers were still in control even after heavy losses. In Africa, Indians, British, Australian, Neo-Zealanders and Canadians armies were fighting their way up to Suez from the south, trying to take back the canal from Italy and Egypt. They had been successful in Ethiopia where they had liberated the country from its Italian conqueror in September and again in January when they stopped the Italian Army at the Battle of Bouar in Free German Equatorial Africa. The question that need to be asked now is, what will the British do with the Ottomans if they reconquer Suez?
Finally in Central America, the situation hadn’t changed a lot. Entrenched since months, the Mexicans and Central Americans were facing each other every day in an endless battle for the control of the no man’s land. But with the return of the dry season, movements became possible again and the Mexican Chief of Staff Joaquín Amaro Domínguez planned an offensive for the beginning of January. After months of inaction, the organisation of the Mexican Imperial Army had been improved a lot and new equipment was now issued to the front-line troops to deal whit the jungle, notably, flame-thrower tanks and bulldozers. After weeks of buildup the offensive was launched on January 5th. The only armoured division of the Mexican Imperial Army succeeded to break through the Central American lines in San Pedro Sula and opened the way to Tegucigalpa for the cavalry lead by Domínguez himself. It was a race against time for the Central Americans were sending reinforcement to their capital, the first to get there would win the day, and if it was the Mexican, it would also mean defeat for Central America. Hopefully, Major General Hernandéz Krumm and his armoured division engaged the Central Americans near Managua before they could reach Tegucigalpa. Thus, on January 18th 1942, Imperial Mexican troops entered Central America capital city and the next day, the Federal Army officially surrendered, ending the Great Centro-Mexican War nine months after its beginning.
Mexican leaders had now to decide what to do with the remaining of the republic. Everybody within the government agreed that Guatemala had to be annexed with Belize but the fate of the other provinces of the country was still debated. The liberal opposition was asking to establishing a loyal government in Tegucigalpa and liberating Central America once again, most of the conservative members of the imperial government were asking to dismantle the union and to grant independence to localities and the military was stating that military occupation was the only way to keep the country down. Chairman Díaz choose instead a solution of his own. He decided that on February 13th Central America would once again be part of the Empire of Mexico as full intendancies. This choice shocked not only the Mexican population but also the whole world, for the war hadn’t been fought for this reason and because letting Central Americans became citizens of the Empire with all their rights was seen as a threat to Mexican sovereignty by most of the government. This decision however, probably avoided major rebellions in the south, Central Americans having the right to vote, to express their opposition and to run for political parties, they had no major reasons the rise against the central government in México City.
Riots against the decision of the Chairman occurred across Mexico but Díaz remained impassive, Central Americans were now Mexican citizens and would remain Mexican citizens. Díaz’s government almost fell when he failed a vote of confidence in the parliament. But the Empress refused to call new elections and so the conservatives remained divided but still in control of the government.
During the following weeks, all around the globe, the news of the annexation of Central America spread. But with most of the great powers busy walloping each other, no mayor countries really paid attention. However, south of the equator the news didn’t go unnoticed, particularly in Brazil the only other Latin American country to be ruled by a monarch. In Rio de Janeiro, the position of Emperor Pedro III was unstable after the failed coup of the Integralists and the rising power of the President of the Council Getúlio Vargas did nothing to help the monarch regaining his lost power. Within the government, the pro-empire ministers were believing that a rapprochement with the more stable Empire of Mexico might help monarchy’s cause in Brazil and that Mexico may help Brazil in case of another major uprising, after all Mexico had deal with its civil war in a matter of months.
In Mexico, the Army staff and the Imperial authorities were willing to see a rapprochement between the two empires mainly because of the strong Brazilian economy and because of the Marinha do Brasil that might be a tough nut to crack in a naval battle and so more useful on Mexico’s side. The conservative government agreed with those arguments and gave its approval for a rapprochement. During the following weeks, Brazilians and Mexicans government exchanged a lot of communication and on March 20th, they decided to hold a conference in Sao Paulo later in the year to debate the terms of a potential alliance.
But another great news came to the ears of the Latin American officials in Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. This week, CS Army general George Patton crossed the Roanoke River. Indeed, after having stopped the Northerners offensive towards Richmond and Charleston three months earlier the CS Army was now on the offensive in the East. The Socialist States Army in West Virginia was larger than its CS counterpart but the new tactics used by Patton’s armoured division successfully countered the Confederate disadvantage and at the end of March, the CS Army was in Clarksburg and seemed ready to launch a large-scale attack against Pittsburgh. Seeing this, the USS general staff started to build up the defences of the world capital of the steel industry. But Pittsburgh wasn’t Patton goal and the general continued his offensive toward the Northeast. On March 16th, it became obvious that Patton was now threatening General Craig’s Army still blocked near Arlington of encirclement and New York was now getting closer…
The medias started to call the Confederate push The Patton’s Offensive and it got much of the international attention for the rest of the month. But on May 2nd 1942, The Patton’s Offensive was overshadowed in the news all around the world when the Red Army launched the operation Kutuzov, the invasion of Western Europe.
===
Chapter Twenty: Total Collapse
Manchester in ruins after a French air raid, 1942.
In January 1942 the world was collapsing, with continental Europe under the yoke of France, North America bogged down in the mud and Central America torn up by Mexican soldiers. The opinion about the war differed from a country to another. In France, everybody was cheering at the endless victories of the French Army and most of the population had a positive opinion of the conflict. In Germany, the opposition to the new Nazi regime was large and the vast majority of the German people didn’t wanted to fight side-by-side with their new masters in Paris. In UK, morale wasn’t high but the British phlegm was doing its job and the support to the war was still high. In North America however, the war was very unpopular. In the CSA, the war had become less and less popular as the front lime bogged and in the USSA, the failure of two of the three bog offensives against the CSA had made most of the population questioning the ability of the government to lead the war.
Craig, Bluemel and Embick, the three leaders of the Combine Offensive.
Those offensives had been planned to overrun the defense of the Confederacy. Because of the manpower advantage the USSA had over the CSA, the Northern leaders had decided to attack the whole border instead of a specific place were the CS Army could have concentrated its troops. The three main axis of attack were, front East to West; from Maryland to Virginia, from Illinois to Missouri and from Utah and Colorado to New Mexico and Arizona. The attack from Maryland lead by General of the Army Malin Craig failed just after it had started for it bumped into the CS 27th Army led by General George Patton. The central attack did enter into Missouri but failed to reach Arkansas, its main objective. Finally, the only offensive that worked as planned was the one led by Lieutenant General Stanley Dunbar Embick who smashed through the Confederate lines in New Mexico, almost encircling the CS Army in Arizona.
French bomber Amiot 143 over England, 1942.
In Europe, the only battlefield still active was in the skies over England and northern France were a bloody battle active since the beginning of the war didn’t wanted to end. French pilots were trying to put an end to the RAF air domination over England but the Allies powers were still in control even after heavy losses. In Africa, Indians, British, Australian, Neo-Zealanders and Canadians armies were fighting their way up to Suez from the south, trying to take back the canal from Italy and Egypt. They had been successful in Ethiopia where they had liberated the country from its Italian conqueror in September and again in January when they stopped the Italian Army at the Battle of Bouar in Free German Equatorial Africa. The question that need to be asked now is, what will the British do with the Ottomans if they reconquer Suez?
Finally in Central America, the situation hadn’t changed a lot. Entrenched since months, the Mexicans and Central Americans were facing each other every day in an endless battle for the control of the no man’s land. But with the return of the dry season, movements became possible again and the Mexican Chief of Staff Joaquín Amaro Domínguez planned an offensive for the beginning of January. After months of inaction, the organisation of the Mexican Imperial Army had been improved a lot and new equipment was now issued to the front-line troops to deal whit the jungle, notably, flame-thrower tanks and bulldozers. After weeks of buildup the offensive was launched on January 5th. The only armoured division of the Mexican Imperial Army succeeded to break through the Central American lines in San Pedro Sula and opened the way to Tegucigalpa for the cavalry lead by Domínguez himself. It was a race against time for the Central Americans were sending reinforcement to their capital, the first to get there would win the day, and if it was the Mexican, it would also mean defeat for Central America. Hopefully, Major General Hernandéz Krumm and his armoured division engaged the Central Americans near Managua before they could reach Tegucigalpa. Thus, on January 18th 1942, Imperial Mexican troops entered Central America capital city and the next day, the Federal Army officially surrendered, ending the Great Centro-Mexican War nine months after its beginning.
Mexican leaders had now to decide what to do with the remaining of the republic. Everybody within the government agreed that Guatemala had to be annexed with Belize but the fate of the other provinces of the country was still debated. The liberal opposition was asking to establishing a loyal government in Tegucigalpa and liberating Central America once again, most of the conservative members of the imperial government were asking to dismantle the union and to grant independence to localities and the military was stating that military occupation was the only way to keep the country down. Chairman Díaz choose instead a solution of his own. He decided that on February 13th Central America would once again be part of the Empire of Mexico as full intendancies. This choice shocked not only the Mexican population but also the whole world, for the war hadn’t been fought for this reason and because letting Central Americans became citizens of the Empire with all their rights was seen as a threat to Mexican sovereignty by most of the government. This decision however, probably avoided major rebellions in the south, Central Americans having the right to vote, to express their opposition and to run for political parties, they had no major reasons the rise against the central government in México City.
Riots against the decision of the Chairman occurred across Mexico but Díaz remained impassive, Central Americans were now Mexican citizens and would remain Mexican citizens. Díaz’s government almost fell when he failed a vote of confidence in the parliament. But the Empress refused to call new elections and so the conservatives remained divided but still in control of the government.
During the following weeks, all around the globe, the news of the annexation of Central America spread. But with most of the great powers busy walloping each other, no mayor countries really paid attention. However, south of the equator the news didn’t go unnoticed, particularly in Brazil the only other Latin American country to be ruled by a monarch. In Rio de Janeiro, the position of Emperor Pedro III was unstable after the failed coup of the Integralists and the rising power of the President of the Council Getúlio Vargas did nothing to help the monarch regaining his lost power. Within the government, the pro-empire ministers were believing that a rapprochement with the more stable Empire of Mexico might help monarchy’s cause in Brazil and that Mexico may help Brazil in case of another major uprising, after all Mexico had deal with its civil war in a matter of months.
In Mexico, the Army staff and the Imperial authorities were willing to see a rapprochement between the two empires mainly because of the strong Brazilian economy and because of the Marinha do Brasil that might be a tough nut to crack in a naval battle and so more useful on Mexico’s side. The conservative government agreed with those arguments and gave its approval for a rapprochement. During the following weeks, Brazilians and Mexicans government exchanged a lot of communication and on March 20th, they decided to hold a conference in Sao Paulo later in the year to debate the terms of a potential alliance.
But another great news came to the ears of the Latin American officials in Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. This week, CS Army general George Patton crossed the Roanoke River. Indeed, after having stopped the Northerners offensive towards Richmond and Charleston three months earlier the CS Army was now on the offensive in the East. The Socialist States Army in West Virginia was larger than its CS counterpart but the new tactics used by Patton’s armoured division successfully countered the Confederate disadvantage and at the end of March, the CS Army was in Clarksburg and seemed ready to launch a large-scale attack against Pittsburgh. Seeing this, the USS general staff started to build up the defences of the world capital of the steel industry. But Pittsburgh wasn’t Patton goal and the general continued his offensive toward the Northeast. On March 16th, it became obvious that Patton was now threatening General Craig’s Army still blocked near Arlington of encirclement and New York was now getting closer…
The medias started to call the Confederate push The Patton’s Offensive and it got much of the international attention for the rest of the month. But on May 2nd 1942, The Patton’s Offensive was overshadowed in the news all around the world when the Red Army launched the operation Kutuzov, the invasion of Western Europe.
@TheRemQc
Excellent! The fake countries of Central America have been dealt with, more of the empire's rightful territory has been returned, and to top it all off, the American reds are even in trouble!
It's a shame that mainland Europe's probably screwed, but congratulations anyway!
Excellent! The fake countries of Central America have been dealt with, more of the empire's rightful territory has been returned, and to top it all off, the American reds are even in trouble!
It's a shame that mainland Europe's probably screwed, but congratulations anyway!
Yeah but, what's worst? Fascism of Cummunism? The debate is open...
I know, and the part with Patton leading armoured divisions at the head of the push isn't my invention, I've launched the game with the Confederacy and I can confirm that the AI is really using Patton's tanks in this offensive.
Thanks a lot!
Cgapter Twenty One: Global Madness
Mérida is a perfect example of the extraordinary economic boon of Mexico during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century.
Ludwig woke up at the sound of the alarm clock on his desk. He took a look at his left, his wife was already gone, "probably making coffee" he thought. He walked the hallway to his son’s room and opened the door.
- Get up Carlos, it’s time to go to school now!
- Common papa, why should have to go to school while Sebastian don’t!
- You know very well that Sebastian can’t go to school while he’s isn’t here no more!
- Why is he gone while I’m still here?
- I’ve told you a hundred time son, he’s in the army, and he can’t come and see us as he wants. Now get out of your bed!
A good breakfast and two coffee later, Ludwig was on his way to work. He took the tramway at the Agustín Jerónimo station a couple of blocks down the street and went down at the Papa Pío IX stating across the street from his working place. While crossing the street he saw a young hawker selling his papers, he made a small detour and bought one. On the front page, the author, whoever he was, was screaming in bold letters that the war between the Soviet Union and the French Kingdom wasn’t looking good for the French after two months of battle.
He entered a small brick building. Together with his friend Felipe Rafael, he was running a small accounting office in Mérida in the departamentos de Yucatán named with enthusiasm and originality Rafael and Ebner. His father Dietrich had run the office before him and back in 1870 his grandfather Heinrich had opened the office after been demobilised of the Austrian expeditionary force that fought in the French Intervention between 1861 and 1865. Ludwig was therefore the third generation of European migrants that were sent in Mexico, mostly in the south, from France and Austria during the late 19th century in an attempt to "Europeanise" the country. It created tensions with the locals during decades because of the sense of belonging of the newcomers towards their old countries but after the Great War and the fall of the French Empire and the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the few gringos still unwilling to fully integrate the Mexican society finally accepted their fate. The puerta abierta policy however had a big side-effect, it created a strong support toward the monarchy and the rule of the law that local Mexicans unconsciously integrated in their way of thinking with the years.
The telephone on his desk rang.
- Ludwig, its Felipe, I’m sick today I won’t be able to go to work.
- That’s ok pal, I hope it’s not too bad…
- No, tomorrow I should be back on my feet.
- Have you see the news from Europe in the papers this morning?
- Yes I do, Mosley must be laughing in Downing Street if you ask me, Nazis and Commies banging each other head only mean a stronger United Kingdom. With what’s going on in Canada, this operation Kutuzov fell at the perfect time.
- Wait Felipe, what happened in Canada?
- You haven’t heard about it? Ottawa declared war on Chicago last night…
===
Polish cavalry in action during the summer of 1942
In Europe, the Poles were trying to defend their homeland against the Soviet invaders with the help of their French and Italian allies. Nazi Germany hadn’t put all its weight in the fight yet but Paris was trying hard to put Berlin back on its feet to counter the eastern steamroller. With the Soviets kicking the front doors of Europe, the French government had no choice but to give Germany the mean to fight a full scale war in the east.
Eastern Poland was quickly invaded by the Red Army but the initial offensive of the Soviets was stopped near Bialystok by Field Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły. This first setback wasn’t met very well in Moscow and the commander in chief of the Red Army was informed by is comrade secretary that no other failure would be accepted. At the head of the Ministry of Armaments, Leon Trotsky was one of those who believed that the ongoing war should bring socialism to whole of Europe and that the future of Russia was to spread of the international revolution. Indeed, the general opinion in the USSR was that peaceful coexistence was impossible. It is true that the presence of capitalist countries near the sphere of the communist economic system might represent a threat to it, but it was clear that without the help of another communist power, the USSR would not be able to achieve the world revolution any time soon.
Ruins of Philadelphia after the fight.
Back on the other side of the Atlantic, the beginning of June saw the fall of Washington and Philadelphia in the same week. Former capital city of the United States, the new revolutionary regime abandoned Washington in 1933 after the socialist takeover but the South had always claimed it to be its rightful capital since 1861. Now that the city was in the hands of the Confederacy there are good chance that, if they won the war, the Confederates might re-install their government in the American Rome. As for Philadelphia, its key role in the American revolution of 1776 made it a formidable propaganda victory for the South. On June 3rd 1942, after a week of violent fighting, the CS Army entered the ruins of Philadelphia. This completed the plan of Patton to surround the twelve USS divisions that had entered the Confederacy in Arlington, with Philly gone, Malin Craig’s Army had now lost all hopes of being rescued. The hammering of the surrounded divisions lasted two weeks before Patton launched his final blow. Exactly a week later, on June 13th, the 4th American Army Corps and its commander officially surrender to General Patton.
Prime Minister King declaring war to the Unites Socialist States of America on June 14th 1942.
With the destruction of a quarter of the USS Army, the Allies, particularly Canada, began to think that their implication in the Second War between the States might tip the scales in the South’s favor without having to commit too much of their forces on the defence of Canada. So on June 14th, the United Kingdom officially asked the Confederate States to join its alliance and on the same day, Canada declared war on the USSA and voted the conscription act in the House of Commons. This declaration of war was followed the next day by Great Britain and the rest of the Allies powers.
Mérida is a perfect example of the extraordinary economic boon of Mexico during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century.
Ludwig woke up at the sound of the alarm clock on his desk. He took a look at his left, his wife was already gone, "probably making coffee" he thought. He walked the hallway to his son’s room and opened the door.
- Get up Carlos, it’s time to go to school now!
- Common papa, why should have to go to school while Sebastian don’t!
- You know very well that Sebastian can’t go to school while he’s isn’t here no more!
- Why is he gone while I’m still here?
- I’ve told you a hundred time son, he’s in the army, and he can’t come and see us as he wants. Now get out of your bed!
A good breakfast and two coffee later, Ludwig was on his way to work. He took the tramway at the Agustín Jerónimo station a couple of blocks down the street and went down at the Papa Pío IX stating across the street from his working place. While crossing the street he saw a young hawker selling his papers, he made a small detour and bought one. On the front page, the author, whoever he was, was screaming in bold letters that the war between the Soviet Union and the French Kingdom wasn’t looking good for the French after two months of battle.
He entered a small brick building. Together with his friend Felipe Rafael, he was running a small accounting office in Mérida in the departamentos de Yucatán named with enthusiasm and originality Rafael and Ebner. His father Dietrich had run the office before him and back in 1870 his grandfather Heinrich had opened the office after been demobilised of the Austrian expeditionary force that fought in the French Intervention between 1861 and 1865. Ludwig was therefore the third generation of European migrants that were sent in Mexico, mostly in the south, from France and Austria during the late 19th century in an attempt to "Europeanise" the country. It created tensions with the locals during decades because of the sense of belonging of the newcomers towards their old countries but after the Great War and the fall of the French Empire and the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the few gringos still unwilling to fully integrate the Mexican society finally accepted their fate. The puerta abierta policy however had a big side-effect, it created a strong support toward the monarchy and the rule of the law that local Mexicans unconsciously integrated in their way of thinking with the years.
The telephone on his desk rang.
- Ludwig, its Felipe, I’m sick today I won’t be able to go to work.
- That’s ok pal, I hope it’s not too bad…
- No, tomorrow I should be back on my feet.
- Have you see the news from Europe in the papers this morning?
- Yes I do, Mosley must be laughing in Downing Street if you ask me, Nazis and Commies banging each other head only mean a stronger United Kingdom. With what’s going on in Canada, this operation Kutuzov fell at the perfect time.
- Wait Felipe, what happened in Canada?
- You haven’t heard about it? Ottawa declared war on Chicago last night…
===
Polish cavalry in action during the summer of 1942
In Europe, the Poles were trying to defend their homeland against the Soviet invaders with the help of their French and Italian allies. Nazi Germany hadn’t put all its weight in the fight yet but Paris was trying hard to put Berlin back on its feet to counter the eastern steamroller. With the Soviets kicking the front doors of Europe, the French government had no choice but to give Germany the mean to fight a full scale war in the east.
Eastern Poland was quickly invaded by the Red Army but the initial offensive of the Soviets was stopped near Bialystok by Field Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły. This first setback wasn’t met very well in Moscow and the commander in chief of the Red Army was informed by is comrade secretary that no other failure would be accepted. At the head of the Ministry of Armaments, Leon Trotsky was one of those who believed that the ongoing war should bring socialism to whole of Europe and that the future of Russia was to spread of the international revolution. Indeed, the general opinion in the USSR was that peaceful coexistence was impossible. It is true that the presence of capitalist countries near the sphere of the communist economic system might represent a threat to it, but it was clear that without the help of another communist power, the USSR would not be able to achieve the world revolution any time soon.
Ruins of Philadelphia after the fight.
Back on the other side of the Atlantic, the beginning of June saw the fall of Washington and Philadelphia in the same week. Former capital city of the United States, the new revolutionary regime abandoned Washington in 1933 after the socialist takeover but the South had always claimed it to be its rightful capital since 1861. Now that the city was in the hands of the Confederacy there are good chance that, if they won the war, the Confederates might re-install their government in the American Rome. As for Philadelphia, its key role in the American revolution of 1776 made it a formidable propaganda victory for the South. On June 3rd 1942, after a week of violent fighting, the CS Army entered the ruins of Philadelphia. This completed the plan of Patton to surround the twelve USS divisions that had entered the Confederacy in Arlington, with Philly gone, Malin Craig’s Army had now lost all hopes of being rescued. The hammering of the surrounded divisions lasted two weeks before Patton launched his final blow. Exactly a week later, on June 13th, the 4th American Army Corps and its commander officially surrender to General Patton.
Prime Minister King declaring war to the Unites Socialist States of America on June 14th 1942.
With the destruction of a quarter of the USS Army, the Allies, particularly Canada, began to think that their implication in the Second War between the States might tip the scales in the South’s favor without having to commit too much of their forces on the defence of Canada. So on June 14th, the United Kingdom officially asked the Confederate States to join its alliance and on the same day, Canada declared war on the USSA and voted the conscription act in the House of Commons. This declaration of war was followed the next day by Great Britain and the rest of the Allies powers.
- 2
Hey guys is there any chances that one of you know how to put links in my summary linked to the right chapter?
- 1
Under the messages you have the time it was posted. It has the link to this message, so you just right click on it, copy and paste it in your summary.
- 1
Before you read the chapter, remember one thing: in TBL the television technology is far more advanced than in OTL. I'm plenty aware that in OTL a televised speech in 1942 in Mexico wouldn't have been plausible at all. Thank you and enjoy your reading!
===
Chapter Twenty Two: Mexicans, at the cry of war!
Cunningham's force in malta before Operation Yellow Sea.
Maria Gisella was in front of the television since half an hour. Seated on a big red couch of velour and leather with a strong frame made of oak imported from Austria, she was surrounded by the whole royal family, her elder sister next to her. It was not very usual for them to watch television, even though the new gadget had made its appearance in Mexico since a couple of years and that it was common for the Mexican people to have one in their homes, the occupants of the Castillo de Miravalle weren’t using theirs very often. But July 26th 1942 wasn’t an ordinary day. On this very day, her mother, Empress Maria I Josepha Sophia de Iturbide was on television making a speech. It was the first time the Empress was using the new device for a speech, she was usually using radio and newspapers. Suddenly, the first notes of the national anthem could be heard, the program changed and her mother made her apparition on the screen. She was seated behind a desk with a reproduction made in studio of her office in the castle in the background. She looked tired but confident, at 70 years of age she was still somehow handsome. Of course it wasn’t the first qualifier you think about went you’re talking about a woman but it was the good one to use for her mother. The Empress began to talk…
"Dear fellow citizens, these are dark times in which we’re living. As the majority of you might know, the international situation has evolved into something no one could have imagine a couple of years ago. We have been ourselves dragged into a war with our southern neighbours recently and we’ve manage to pass through the storm without being too much hurt. Now, I’m speaking to you today to announce you that yesterday on July 25th, our government have issued a declaration of war to the United Socialist States of America. This decision have been taken after having considered all the others options. The truth is, the American Red Army is at this very moment forcing its way into New Mexico and Arizona and that we, as free and self-governing people, aren’t going to accept to have a 1400 miles long border with the false government that is actually leading America from the devil city of Chicago. We will make all the efforts necessary to win this fight, to protect our Northern border and to help our allies in Charleston, Ottawa and London. We are going to fight for the freedom of peoples and for the glory of our nation. Dear fellow citizens, I know I can rely on you for doing this dirty, but necessary job. To those who aren’t going to come back from this uncertain journey, god bless your soul, to those who are going to carry the fight into the enemy territory I raise my glass and to those silly Yankees who are probably laughing at our declaration of war like at a good joke I said; remember the Alamo! God bless you all, and god bless Mexico."
Maria Gisella stood up with the other members of her family at the same time, all clapping their hands together. What a wonderful speech she thought, a little bit too much aggressive according to her, but a good speech anyhow. She wondered if her mother had write it by herself or if the Chairman Félix Díaz had written it along the lines he wanted it to have. It was probably Díaz, he wasn’t exactly carrying the monarchy in his heart but he understood that the institution was keeping Mexico on its feet since more than 75 years and he respected that. And now it was his turn, he replaced the image of the Empress behind the screen and began to talk. His speech was very long and lasted more than 15 minutes. But he was a good orator and even if at 74 he was older than Maria’s mother he was still energetic and very lucid.
After the end of both speeches, the regular programs didn’t resume, instead it was the news. Little by little, the family began to leave the room and went prepare for dinner. Maria Anna stood up and left for her room, leaving Maria Gisella alone in front of the television. The two sisters had three years of difference between them, the Empress having given birth to Maria Gisella at 40. Maria Anna however, had no child. Now aged of 33 she hadn’t found a husband yet and it was upsetting the Empress to a highest point. Maria Gisella had no child ether but had lost her husband last year in the jungle of Honduras after he stopped a couple of machine gun bullets with his helmet.
Speaking of Honduras, the man on the screen was talking about the creation of a new political party in Central America called the Partido Popular. The new party was described as “a national party dedicated to the defense of Centro-American interest within the Empire of Mexico”. Its leader, Tiburcio Carías Andino was known to be a strongman but, according to the news, Carías had promise not to cause trouble as long the Imperial government doesn’t interfere too much in the politics of its new possessions. To Maria, it make sense, the central-Americans are willing to stay part of Mexico as long they are left alone. At their place, she would probably asked for the same thing. Apart of this, the only other thing the speaker was talking about was the Mexican declaration of war and the glorious victory that lay ahead. Maria was a lot more worried now, she understood, like her mother, that the key of the longevity of the monarchy in Mexico was the lasting peace it enjoyed from 1865 to the short Civil War and the invasion of Central America in 1941. Maria Gisella was opposed to the invasion of Central-America, but what could really do a princess not even destined to reign when the ruling people decided to go to war? Not that much. The victory over Central America allowed to the Empire to stay in place but could the regime survive to a total war? The Empire of Mexico was a modern and industrialized country but with more-or-less-state-of-the-art military equipment largely issued by Mexico’s allies. Monarchy had bring political stability to the country, if monarchy leave the country, would Mexico survive in the short term? Maria didn’t knew the answer but she knew that war was never a good thing, no matter the country…
===
On July 25th 1942, after long weeks of negotiations with the Confederacy, Canada and Great Britain and after months of military preparation, the Empire of Mexico declared war on the USSA. The CS Army was pressuring President Byrd since the beginning of the war to drag Mexico in the conflict because of the vulnerability of the defense system of New Mexico and Arizona. By the summer of 1942, with the Patton’s Offensive still kicking-in in the North, most of the resources of the CS Army was invest in the East, leaving only two divisions to defend New Mexico. Combined to the fall of Albuquerque and the encirclement of the CS Army in Phoenix, the road to Dallas and Houston was now virtually open. The first task of the Mexican Imperial Army was therefore to stop the advance of the American Red Army toward Texas. In exchange, Mexico was given by the Confederates modern military equipment and the assurance that Mexico would have its part of the cake during the peace negotiations.
Bell Rattlesnakes of the Mexican Imperial Air Force at the Ciudad de Juarez airport in September 1942. These aircrafts, along with other military equipment, were issued by the Confederate States to Mexico in echange for the Mexican participation to the war.
On the same day, the border town of Nogales in Arizona was overrun by the Mexicans and on July 26th, the small American garrison of Rio Rico surrender to the seven divisions of the I Cuerpo del Éjercito inbound for Tucson, less than 100 kilometers North of Rio Rico. Two days later, Lieutenant general Manuel Ávila Camacho attacked the rear of the 2nd Armoured Division of general Embick in Tucson. The battle raged until August 5th when general Embick ordered the retreat to Phoenix.
The Mexican intervention caused a real problem to the general staff in the USSA. General Embick had only nine divisions at his disposal in Southern California, New Mexico and Arizona. Until now it was more than enough to push back the Confederates but the Mexicans had upset the balance by throwing no less than sixteen divisions in the fight, in general Embick’s mind it was enough to turn the tide in the West were the war had been in favor of America since its beginning. Chicago promised to send reinforcement but also warned Embick that the fall of Phoenix might represent the end of his career.
Postcard of Tucson before the war, the city would suffer only light damage after the battle because of the main fighting hapenning outside the city to the South.
On the Mexican side, Ávila Camacho’s early victory in Tucson was highly publicized and allowed the CS Army in the West to rest after six months of uninterrupted retreat. The next step for the Imperial Army was now to stop the communist advance towards El Paso by chasing them from Albuquerque from where the 17th Division was launching its attack. The plan was to send the only Mexican armoured division under the command of general Krumm but the CS Army launched a surprise counter attack from Santa Fe before Krumm was in position to advance.
Canadian soldiers patrolling the ruins of Detroit in June 1942.
Farther East, the CS Army entered Illinois and began to shell Chicago, forcing the evacuation of President Thomas to Salt Lake City from where he learned that after two months of combat and after the destruction of more than 75% of the city, Detroit had fell to the Canadians. The exact number of deaths in the Battle of Detroit is still unknown to this day but is estimated to be over half a million, making it the deadliest battle to ever happen on the American Continent as of 1942. Canada had won the fight but when the 30th Canadian Army Corps interred the devastated city, it was exhausted and the Canadian general staff was forced to send the 24th division in reinforcement to prevent American counter attack. The battle had costed Canada a third of its soldiers in North America and without the support of the British Expeditionary Force arrived in Halifax a month before and currently pushing into New England the Canadian front might have collapsed. In New England, the BEF and the Canadian Army had just make junction with the CS Army near Scranton at the end of June and Patton’s final objective, New York, was now within range of the now famous general.
With Operation Yellow Sea, the British Royal Navy revealed the crucial importance of air power in modern naval battles.
In Europe, the British were launching the first attempt to bring back the fight on mainland Europe with the invasion of Corsica. Indeed, after the Tyrrhenian Sea naval battle back in May and the destruction of the Combined Fleet of the Italian and French Navy by the carriers of the Royal Navy, the invasion of Italy was now conceivable. The largest naval battle to ever take place, the battle of the Tyrrhenian Sea was a trap set by the Royal Navy to destroy the combined fleet codenamed Operation Yellow Sea. It involved 162 French ships, 89 Italian ships and 125 British ships for a total of 376 combat ships. The British, led by Admiral Andrew Cunningham, had used a medium-sized force of battleships as a bait to draw attention of the French and Italian admiralty. Admiral Darlan had immediately send the Combined Fleet in hope of chasing the Royal Navy out of the Mediterranean once and for all. But behind the battleships, and unknown to the French intelligence, Admiral Cunningham had brought with him a formidable force of seven aircraft carriers from the Atlantic Fleet. The resulting battle lasted two days, the British losing 138 planes, two aircraft carriers -Ark Royal and Indomitable- due to the land-based Italian bombers and four battleships, six cruisers and eighteen destroyers from the bait force. The Combined Fleet however, was severely defeated with the sinking of the only carrier of the fleet, RN Aquila, the sinking of the three Vittorio Veneto class battleships and the three Trento cruisers of the Royal Italian Navy and the destruction of two of the four Lyon class battleships, the two Dunkerque and two of the four Richelieu. The pride of the French Navy, the Alsace, first of its class to be built, escaped destruction. Overall, the combined fleet lost 50 ships of all size for a total of around 18 900 dead and several more thousands POWs. Andrew Cunningham was promoted Admiral of the fleet and became a national hero, the nickname of The Second Nelson was to stick to him until his death even though he will always refuse to accept it.
"The New Nelson", Sir Andrew Cunningham.
Perhaps inspired by the success of Cunningham, the Mexican admiralty had ordered on August 1st Admiral Othón P. Blanco Núñez de Cáceres to secretly prepare the Mexican Armada Oriental for a sortie in the Pacific. The Imperial cabinet was expecting to score a big propaganda coup…
===
Chapter Twenty Two: Mexicans, at the cry of war!
Cunningham's force in malta before Operation Yellow Sea.
Maria Gisella was in front of the television since half an hour. Seated on a big red couch of velour and leather with a strong frame made of oak imported from Austria, she was surrounded by the whole royal family, her elder sister next to her. It was not very usual for them to watch television, even though the new gadget had made its appearance in Mexico since a couple of years and that it was common for the Mexican people to have one in their homes, the occupants of the Castillo de Miravalle weren’t using theirs very often. But July 26th 1942 wasn’t an ordinary day. On this very day, her mother, Empress Maria I Josepha Sophia de Iturbide was on television making a speech. It was the first time the Empress was using the new device for a speech, she was usually using radio and newspapers. Suddenly, the first notes of the national anthem could be heard, the program changed and her mother made her apparition on the screen. She was seated behind a desk with a reproduction made in studio of her office in the castle in the background. She looked tired but confident, at 70 years of age she was still somehow handsome. Of course it wasn’t the first qualifier you think about went you’re talking about a woman but it was the good one to use for her mother. The Empress began to talk…
"Dear fellow citizens, these are dark times in which we’re living. As the majority of you might know, the international situation has evolved into something no one could have imagine a couple of years ago. We have been ourselves dragged into a war with our southern neighbours recently and we’ve manage to pass through the storm without being too much hurt. Now, I’m speaking to you today to announce you that yesterday on July 25th, our government have issued a declaration of war to the United Socialist States of America. This decision have been taken after having considered all the others options. The truth is, the American Red Army is at this very moment forcing its way into New Mexico and Arizona and that we, as free and self-governing people, aren’t going to accept to have a 1400 miles long border with the false government that is actually leading America from the devil city of Chicago. We will make all the efforts necessary to win this fight, to protect our Northern border and to help our allies in Charleston, Ottawa and London. We are going to fight for the freedom of peoples and for the glory of our nation. Dear fellow citizens, I know I can rely on you for doing this dirty, but necessary job. To those who aren’t going to come back from this uncertain journey, god bless your soul, to those who are going to carry the fight into the enemy territory I raise my glass and to those silly Yankees who are probably laughing at our declaration of war like at a good joke I said; remember the Alamo! God bless you all, and god bless Mexico."
Maria Gisella stood up with the other members of her family at the same time, all clapping their hands together. What a wonderful speech she thought, a little bit too much aggressive according to her, but a good speech anyhow. She wondered if her mother had write it by herself or if the Chairman Félix Díaz had written it along the lines he wanted it to have. It was probably Díaz, he wasn’t exactly carrying the monarchy in his heart but he understood that the institution was keeping Mexico on its feet since more than 75 years and he respected that. And now it was his turn, he replaced the image of the Empress behind the screen and began to talk. His speech was very long and lasted more than 15 minutes. But he was a good orator and even if at 74 he was older than Maria’s mother he was still energetic and very lucid.
After the end of both speeches, the regular programs didn’t resume, instead it was the news. Little by little, the family began to leave the room and went prepare for dinner. Maria Anna stood up and left for her room, leaving Maria Gisella alone in front of the television. The two sisters had three years of difference between them, the Empress having given birth to Maria Gisella at 40. Maria Anna however, had no child. Now aged of 33 she hadn’t found a husband yet and it was upsetting the Empress to a highest point. Maria Gisella had no child ether but had lost her husband last year in the jungle of Honduras after he stopped a couple of machine gun bullets with his helmet.
Speaking of Honduras, the man on the screen was talking about the creation of a new political party in Central America called the Partido Popular. The new party was described as “a national party dedicated to the defense of Centro-American interest within the Empire of Mexico”. Its leader, Tiburcio Carías Andino was known to be a strongman but, according to the news, Carías had promise not to cause trouble as long the Imperial government doesn’t interfere too much in the politics of its new possessions. To Maria, it make sense, the central-Americans are willing to stay part of Mexico as long they are left alone. At their place, she would probably asked for the same thing. Apart of this, the only other thing the speaker was talking about was the Mexican declaration of war and the glorious victory that lay ahead. Maria was a lot more worried now, she understood, like her mother, that the key of the longevity of the monarchy in Mexico was the lasting peace it enjoyed from 1865 to the short Civil War and the invasion of Central America in 1941. Maria Gisella was opposed to the invasion of Central-America, but what could really do a princess not even destined to reign when the ruling people decided to go to war? Not that much. The victory over Central America allowed to the Empire to stay in place but could the regime survive to a total war? The Empire of Mexico was a modern and industrialized country but with more-or-less-state-of-the-art military equipment largely issued by Mexico’s allies. Monarchy had bring political stability to the country, if monarchy leave the country, would Mexico survive in the short term? Maria didn’t knew the answer but she knew that war was never a good thing, no matter the country…
===
On July 25th 1942, after long weeks of negotiations with the Confederacy, Canada and Great Britain and after months of military preparation, the Empire of Mexico declared war on the USSA. The CS Army was pressuring President Byrd since the beginning of the war to drag Mexico in the conflict because of the vulnerability of the defense system of New Mexico and Arizona. By the summer of 1942, with the Patton’s Offensive still kicking-in in the North, most of the resources of the CS Army was invest in the East, leaving only two divisions to defend New Mexico. Combined to the fall of Albuquerque and the encirclement of the CS Army in Phoenix, the road to Dallas and Houston was now virtually open. The first task of the Mexican Imperial Army was therefore to stop the advance of the American Red Army toward Texas. In exchange, Mexico was given by the Confederates modern military equipment and the assurance that Mexico would have its part of the cake during the peace negotiations.
Bell Rattlesnakes of the Mexican Imperial Air Force at the Ciudad de Juarez airport in September 1942. These aircrafts, along with other military equipment, were issued by the Confederate States to Mexico in echange for the Mexican participation to the war.
On the same day, the border town of Nogales in Arizona was overrun by the Mexicans and on July 26th, the small American garrison of Rio Rico surrender to the seven divisions of the I Cuerpo del Éjercito inbound for Tucson, less than 100 kilometers North of Rio Rico. Two days later, Lieutenant general Manuel Ávila Camacho attacked the rear of the 2nd Armoured Division of general Embick in Tucson. The battle raged until August 5th when general Embick ordered the retreat to Phoenix.
The Mexican intervention caused a real problem to the general staff in the USSA. General Embick had only nine divisions at his disposal in Southern California, New Mexico and Arizona. Until now it was more than enough to push back the Confederates but the Mexicans had upset the balance by throwing no less than sixteen divisions in the fight, in general Embick’s mind it was enough to turn the tide in the West were the war had been in favor of America since its beginning. Chicago promised to send reinforcement but also warned Embick that the fall of Phoenix might represent the end of his career.
Postcard of Tucson before the war, the city would suffer only light damage after the battle because of the main fighting hapenning outside the city to the South.
On the Mexican side, Ávila Camacho’s early victory in Tucson was highly publicized and allowed the CS Army in the West to rest after six months of uninterrupted retreat. The next step for the Imperial Army was now to stop the communist advance towards El Paso by chasing them from Albuquerque from where the 17th Division was launching its attack. The plan was to send the only Mexican armoured division under the command of general Krumm but the CS Army launched a surprise counter attack from Santa Fe before Krumm was in position to advance.
Canadian soldiers patrolling the ruins of Detroit in June 1942.
Farther East, the CS Army entered Illinois and began to shell Chicago, forcing the evacuation of President Thomas to Salt Lake City from where he learned that after two months of combat and after the destruction of more than 75% of the city, Detroit had fell to the Canadians. The exact number of deaths in the Battle of Detroit is still unknown to this day but is estimated to be over half a million, making it the deadliest battle to ever happen on the American Continent as of 1942. Canada had won the fight but when the 30th Canadian Army Corps interred the devastated city, it was exhausted and the Canadian general staff was forced to send the 24th division in reinforcement to prevent American counter attack. The battle had costed Canada a third of its soldiers in North America and without the support of the British Expeditionary Force arrived in Halifax a month before and currently pushing into New England the Canadian front might have collapsed. In New England, the BEF and the Canadian Army had just make junction with the CS Army near Scranton at the end of June and Patton’s final objective, New York, was now within range of the now famous general.
With Operation Yellow Sea, the British Royal Navy revealed the crucial importance of air power in modern naval battles.
In Europe, the British were launching the first attempt to bring back the fight on mainland Europe with the invasion of Corsica. Indeed, after the Tyrrhenian Sea naval battle back in May and the destruction of the Combined Fleet of the Italian and French Navy by the carriers of the Royal Navy, the invasion of Italy was now conceivable. The largest naval battle to ever take place, the battle of the Tyrrhenian Sea was a trap set by the Royal Navy to destroy the combined fleet codenamed Operation Yellow Sea. It involved 162 French ships, 89 Italian ships and 125 British ships for a total of 376 combat ships. The British, led by Admiral Andrew Cunningham, had used a medium-sized force of battleships as a bait to draw attention of the French and Italian admiralty. Admiral Darlan had immediately send the Combined Fleet in hope of chasing the Royal Navy out of the Mediterranean once and for all. But behind the battleships, and unknown to the French intelligence, Admiral Cunningham had brought with him a formidable force of seven aircraft carriers from the Atlantic Fleet. The resulting battle lasted two days, the British losing 138 planes, two aircraft carriers -Ark Royal and Indomitable- due to the land-based Italian bombers and four battleships, six cruisers and eighteen destroyers from the bait force. The Combined Fleet however, was severely defeated with the sinking of the only carrier of the fleet, RN Aquila, the sinking of the three Vittorio Veneto class battleships and the three Trento cruisers of the Royal Italian Navy and the destruction of two of the four Lyon class battleships, the two Dunkerque and two of the four Richelieu. The pride of the French Navy, the Alsace, first of its class to be built, escaped destruction. Overall, the combined fleet lost 50 ships of all size for a total of around 18 900 dead and several more thousands POWs. Andrew Cunningham was promoted Admiral of the fleet and became a national hero, the nickname of The Second Nelson was to stick to him until his death even though he will always refuse to accept it.
"The New Nelson", Sir Andrew Cunningham.
Perhaps inspired by the success of Cunningham, the Mexican admiralty had ordered on August 1st Admiral Othón P. Blanco Núñez de Cáceres to secretly prepare the Mexican Armada Oriental for a sortie in the Pacific. The Imperial cabinet was expecting to score a big propaganda coup…
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Chapter Twenty Three: The Great Los Angeles Naval Bombing
The ARM Montezuma in Salina Cruz before the war, note in the background the presence of her two sister ships Juarez and Ciudad de México.
Admiral Othón Pompeyo Blanco Núñez de Cáceres stared at the sea through the window of the conning tower of the ARA Montezuma. More than 12 inches of armour separated him of the fresh air of the Pacific. Admiral Blanco was just coming back from the bridge when he had stayed during long hours observing the long line of ships his dreadnought was part of. He still remembered the departure from Salina Cruz five days earlier, its fifteen destroyers, two light cruisers and three battleships leaving the harbour under the cover of the darkness of the early morning. As soon the war had broken out, he had received a secret telegram from the head of the Admiralty Hector Meixueiro asking him to prepare the Armada Oriental for a sortie in the Pacific. At the time, Blanco hadn’t known what his mission would be and he was satisfied to see the ships he had so long pamper would finally proof themselves useful. After three days of preparation he had declared the fleet ready for patrol and asked for orders. When he had received its orders the next morning he almost asked his aide to decode it again, he still remembered the bold capital letters…
PROCEED TO LONG BEACH CA. AND SHELL THE ENEMY POSITION AT FORT MACARTHUR AND DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
To him the order had no tactical or strategic value, shelling Los Angeles would do no good to the Imperial war effort and would certainly anger the locals and the USS government. More, the USS Pacific Fleet in San Diego would without doubt react and send ships to intercept the Mexican squadron. Blanco trusted his crews, they were training weekly since two years and were now equal to the previous men that had manned the battleships when they were still flying the Confederate Southern Cross. No, Admiral Blanco’s fear was the age of his ships. Five of its destroyers dated back to 1909, the ten other 1916. The two light cruisers, ARM Monterrey and Merida, two former Arethusa class cruisers bought from Canada, were still very capable and sea-worthy but lacked a proper anti-aircraft armament. For their part, the three Juarez class battleships, pride of the Mexican Imperial Navy, had been restored after their arrival in Mexico but were limited to a maximum speed of 20 knots. Mexico had a fleet suited for 1914, not for 1942.
Located some 30 kilometers inland, the city of Los Angeles itself was considered protected from naval bombings.
But orders were orders and Blanco had proceed to the north anyhow, ready to accomplish his duty. He was now steaming north 26 nautical miles southwest of San Clemente Island between San Diego and Los Angeles, under the cover of dark. His plan was to pass between San Nicolas and San Clemente Islands and then turn starboard to pass between Santa Catalina and San Clemente. Thus, he hoped not to be spotted by the inhabitants of the coast and avoid the patrol he supposed to be off San Diego. Of course, it was only supposition, Chairman Félix Díaz had declined his demands to postpone the attack to allow some reconnaissance flights to be carried out over San Diego and Los Angeles. Díaz might have been a good army officer and a nice politician, but he had no experience at sea and only little patience, when he asked, you did, no matter the consequences. Because of this, the only information Blanco knew about was the one given by a Confederate recon flight two months ago, and it wasn’t good news, according to the CS Army the USS Navy had in San Diego five capital ships: battleships USS Nevada and USS Arizona of the Pennsylvania class, the aircraft carrier USS America might also be there with the two super-battlecruisers USS Lexington and USS Syndicate.
USS Lexington at sea just before the war circa 1940. Work on the six Lexington class battlecruisers began in 1922 but was stopped by the economic crisis of the 30s. After the revolution, the two units already completed, Lexington and Constellation (the latter renamed Syndicate) were brought into service and a third hull almost completed was converted into the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, remaining hulls were scrapped.
The two Pennsylvania represented a great threat to the aging escorts of the Mexican battleships but the armour of the former Confederate ships could resist the shell impact of the 14 inches guns. The 16 inches guns of the two Lexington however could penetrate the Mexican armour and Admiral Blanco was plenty aware of this. More, the torpedo bomber of the USS America might send his whole squadron to the bottom of the sea without even fearing to lose a ship. The America also represented the main reason why Blanco had chosen to attack at night, he hoped the American hadn’t developed too much their capabilities of carrier-born night air attack.
The admiral was informed that they were now passing between San Nicolas and San Clemente, he gave the order to turn starboard. In the darkness, the twenty ships followed the order listening at the fast and almost invisible light signals issued at the masts of the admiral ship. Admiral Blanco was satisfied by the manoeuvre, he had trained his crew to night combat several times, knowing that it would be the only chance of escape for the small Mexican squadron if it ever met the USS Navy. Today, his men made him feel proud of him, he was no military mastermind, but he hoped he was smart enough to bring back much as possible of his men to Salina Cruz.
USS America represented the main threat to the Armada Oriental.
Now steaming east, the Mexican Imperial Fleet had to wait a couple minutes before starting the next step of its manoeuvre. When at 20 nautical miles off San Clemente, the squadron would have to turn port toward northwest along the coast toward Long Beach and Los Angeles. Soon, Othón Blanco sighed lights on the coast, obviously the curfew wasn’t respected everywhere. The admiral wondered what would happen to the civilians who hadn’t applied the order after he had shelled downtown Los Angeles. “Probably nothing good” he muttered under his mustache.
“It’s time to turn now Admiral.” This was Captain Harry Campbell, the commander of the ARM Juarez, sole master on board after god. Campbell commanded the Juarez since seven years, back when the ship was still the CSS Georgia. He had stayed on board after the transfer to Mexico and had later accepted to be commissioned as officer in the Mexican Imperial Navy. There was about a hundred men on each battleships that had also accepted to enlist with the Mexican navy.
The Armada Oriental on its way to Los Angeles, August 6th 1942.
“Alright Captain, turn to port. Full speed ahead!” “Aye Aye Sir! Turn to port. Full speed ahead.” Again, the ships in the column slowly executed the manoeuvre in order. But this time, the sound of an inbound freight train welcomed the end of the manoeuvre. Admiral Blanco looked at Captain Campbell, the middle-aged southern man looked at the old Admiral. “Radar” they both exclaimed as two shells splashed in the water at starboard. They were still 40 nautical miles from Fort MacArthur but the big guns there were now at range and, obviously, radar-guided. “God damn the intelligence, why weren’t they aware of this?” exclaimed Captain Campbell. “What intelligence are you talking about Captain? We had only a week to prepare this raid! Now it’s time to assume the consequences of the decisions of our beloved Chairman”. The other officers in the command post looked at each other, everybody there understood each other when it came to politics, and it was rarely in favour of the politicians, whoever they were.
14 in. gun on a disapearing carriage in Fort MacArthur. These guns were known to the Mexican intelligency, the fact however that radar helped their aiming was unknown.
“Send a message to Salina Cruz, tell the admiralty we’re detected. Now that the Yanquis know where we are, radio silence is no more needed.” Admiral Blanco looked back at the window. Los Angeles light lights were now visible. The coastal fortress fired again, missed again. “Ask the fire control when we will be in range of Fort MacArthur.” “Yes Admiral.” Again, two shell missed the column, but debris from the explosions clanged against the iron walls of the floating city. “Seven minutes Admiral.” “Good, call to the combat posts.” The alarm started to scream, a couple minutes later, the whole squadron was now battle-ready. “Open fire!”
For the first time in their already long career, the guns of the Juarez fired in anger. The ship was shaken like if someone had hit its sides with a giant hammer. Less than a minute later, the destroyer ARM Coraje was hit by a 16 inches shell fired from Fort MacArthur and blew up instantly. The Juarez fired again, named after the last President of Mexico, Benito Juárez was the one who had fought the French intervention, his names still remained as a symbol of the resilience and power of will of the Mexican people and was therefore impossible to erase from Mexican history. Resilience and power of will, these were two qualities Admiral Othón Blanco would need tonight…
ARM Montezuma firing at Fort MacArthur.
Half an hour passed by. Another old destroyers was destroyed by a direct hit, and then another. The situation was now critic, Fort MacArthur hadn’t been knocked out and the city hadn’t been shelled yet. The good news was that no patrol boat were at sea and that no big ships were present in the harbour. But the status of minefield in the area was unknown, the admiral had asked for time to settle the question but again, it was denied, not by the admiralty, but by the Chairman. Now, if there was a minefield near Los Angeles Blanco was going to find it the hard way. A fourth destroyer was hit by enemy gunfire, the ARM Lancero brutally turned to starboard and left the line of battle. Its rudder destroyed, it would later went ashore on Huntington Beach. The loss of four destroyers was a hard setback for the small squadron but now, the column was close enough to the city for the quick-firing 6 inches guns of the light cruisers to fire on Fort MacArthur, freeing the big guns of the battleships for shelling L-A. Admiral Blanco was not going to let this opportunity pass.
“Order the fire control to fire inland, we need hurt those bastards the more we can before they send us to the bottom.” And then it began, Los Angeles had been spared from much of the consequences of the war since its beginning. The CS Air Force having no strategic bombers to free for the Western front, only sporadic raids on the harbour at long beach executed by CAS aircrafts were observed. The main target in the area was San Diego and its large naval base. But on this hot night of August 1942, the citizens in Los Angeles learned what war was like. Fired from the sea to 30 kilometers inland, the first 356 mm shells of the three battleships landed in Los Angeles a bit after one o'clock in the morning. Weighting more than 120 000 pounds, the shells landed at a speed exceeding the speed of sound, creating large crater and destroying any obstacles on their way. The city was badly hit, and as soon the bombing began, the first losses of life were recorded, most of them being only civilians sleeping in their beds and who would never know what happened to them. “War is never a good thing.” “Pardon me Admiral, what did you said?” “Nothing important Captain Campbell, nothing important.”
The rain of fire lasted only a quarter of an hour, after that, the battleships were out of range of the city and concentred their fire back on Fort MacArthur, the light cruisers shelling Long Beach instead. Not long after, a big explosion lighted the night over the coastal fortress, its guns now silent. “Captain Campbell, I think we’re done. Get us out of here.” The Mexican ships steamed yet another couple of miles until they were off Santo Monica, they then turned west toward the open sea. Last in the line, the Montezuma fired a couple rounds on Santa Monica and then fell silent. “Admiral, I think it’s over now, we did what we came for, time to go home now.” “I agree Captain, no patrol ships, no minefields, it wasn’t much of an opposition after all. But now the arduous part of our journey began, the USS Navy is probably out of San Diego now, only God knows if they will find us.”
USS Arizona at sea circa 1939, the Pennsylvania class battleships were powerful and well-protected ships. Pride of the USS Pacific Fleet, they demonstrated their capacity to take a lot of damage whitout losing their combat capacities.
The squadron had now 50 miles to run through before passing between the islands of San Nicolas and Santa Rosa. It would take about three hours and after this, Admiral Blanco would be safe in the open sea. But two and a half hour later, the horizon exploded, literally. In front of Blanco, hidden in the dark and equipped with radars a line of ships opened fire on him. “They crossed our T, goddamn! Where are they going?” “They’re sailing to the north admiral.” “Good, order a turn to port, we must get away before they cut us off from our base.” “Aye Aye sir! Heading 220!” “Order the destroyers and the light cruisers to get to cover behind the battleships.”
Trying to keep calm, Admiral Blanco analysed the situation. The number of enemy ships was unknown and they had radars on board. His ships could only rely on illuminating shells and were in inferior number. The enemy was faster and had bigger guns for he was firing on him before Blanco could reply. At least no airplanes had been spotted yet, this was the good news. The Ciudad de México opened fire, second good news, he was now in range. The shooting began, exchanging fire, the two fleets began to record hits on its respective enemy. Fire began to light up the rear of the Ciudad de México, both of its stern turrets stopped firing. The Juarez set on fire the second last ship in the American line of battle but was severely hit by the shots of the same ships. “These must be 16 inches shells Admiral otherwise they wouldn’t do so much damage, I think we’re facing the Lexington and the Syndicate.”
Uninterrupted, the shoot-out lasted 15 minutes. Then, the USS Navy line reversed its course in a perfect turnaround, the two lines were now on a crash course. The obvious goal of the American was to force the Mexican squadron between San Nicolas and Santa Catalina where a trap was probably settled, at least that was what Othón Blanco thought. “We must reach the open sea if we want to survive Captain Campbell, as soon as we pass San Nicolas Island we must go south.” Suddenly, an explosion occurred in the American line, the second last ship of the column had just blew up. “Mother of god! Was that the ship we were firing at?” “Affirmative Sir.” “Alright then, we might be able to get away finally.”
Last moments of the USS Syndicate.
The Mexicans ships passed San Nicolas Island. “Heading 180!” The two belligerents were now on a parallel way, with the USS Navy a little bit behind but rapidly closing the gap with its superior speed. The violence of the fire exchange began to slowly push the Mexican line towards the coast, the admiral couldn’t do anything but order his leading ship to maintain its course. The captain of the Ciudad de México was trying hard to stay in line but with the fire of three USS ships concentrated on his ship, he couldn’t hold the position for very long. “Captain Campbell, we’ll take the place of the Ciudad de México at the head of the line, it’s a battleship, not a battlecruiser, but even a battlewagon can be sunk if exposed to too much fire.”
The manoeuvre saved the México, but exposed the admiral ship to the bulk of the enemy fire. Soon, a rain of iron fell on the Juarez, with a 16 inches shell impacting directly the conning tower. Everybody in it was shocked, the shockwave killed five men and injuring the others, including Admiral Blanco. His ears were bleeding, the only thing he heard was a strong hiss. He had a headache like he never had before. The old man slowly stood up, leaning on the walls to walk to the door. He opened it, and fell on the floor. Someone came to help him, the officer helped the admiral to get out and brought him to the emergency blockhaus. There, he took the command again, with the surviving officers, Captain Campbell among them. “We’ve been lucky that the shot did not penetrate Captain.” “I know Sir, if it had, we wouldn’t be here to talk about it.”
An hour after the explosion of the USS Syndicate, the situation of the Mexican Armada Oriental was truly desperate, the Mexicans hadn’t lost other ships since the explosion of the ARM Lancero but it was a matter of time before the continuous fire of the American ship overcame the armour of the Mexican ones. But at three o’clock, again, a powerful light lit the darkness of the early morning. The second American battlecruiser exploded after being hit by a Mexican shell in the front powder keg, the bow of the battlecruiser blew up, stopping the course of the battleship and highlighting again the fact that battlecruisers weren’t design to be used against battleships, even older ones.
At Santa Monica, Rear Admiral Fletcher (L) learned the hard way that battlecruisers weren't fit to fight alongside battleships in a conventional naval battle. Admiral Othón P. Blanco seized the opportinuty to escape safely to open sea, and sucessfully made it back to its base at Salina Cruz.
“If we want to escape, it’s now or never, we must put the fear of God in them, give the order to launch a torpedo attack with the destroyers and the light cruisers, if they turn to avoid the torpedoes, we’ll be saved.” “Aye Aye Sir!” Answering to the call of the admiral, the eleven old destroyers and the two aging light cruisers courageously leaved the protection of the battleships and advanced toward the American line. Soon, the American replied by the same tactic, engaging two dozen of destroyers. The fight that followed was a violent clash of speed and manoeuvrability, the American successfully destroying the ARM Combatiente, last survivor of the five destroyers of 1909, without losing a single destroyer. However, they didn’t prevent the two light cruisers to launch their torpedo attack and seeing the invisible danger coming, Rear Admiral Fletcher, the commander of the American squadron, ordered his ships to turn starboard to beat the torpedoes in their race. Yet, the cruiser USS Marblehead was hit by two torpedoes, almost cutting the ship in two.
The cruiser USS Marblehead, built between 1920 and 1923 was the seventh ships of the Omaha class.
The destroyers attack, combined with the loss of a second battlecruiser and the dawn of the day allowed the Mexican squadron to escape the retreating American line of battle, saving the three battleships from the destruction. Though the dawn had a big side effect, the USS America could now launch its bombers. After having regrouped, the Armada Oriental was now steaming southwest in the hope that no other American ships might follow. An hour after the end of the gunfight, twelve high altitude bombers came attacking the Mexican ships, but the B-23 Dragoons missed and admiral Blanco began to relax once again, “the worst is behind us.”
He was wrong, half an hour after the initial air attack, twenty-five torpedo bombers from the USS America attacked the Mexicans ships at low altitude and this time, did a lot of damage. Within twenty minutes, the Mexicans lost three destroyers and the light cruiser Monterrey. A second wave came ten minutes later and this time, hit the ARM Ciudad de México with two torpedoes. “Admiral, the México is sinking, its Captain have announced us that he gave the order to abandon the ship.” “We can’t stop to provide help Captain Campbell, if we do, the American will sink us to the last.” “I know that Sir, it’s just that… It seems so unfair.” “This is war Captain, war is not fair, war is cruel and merciless.”
Salina Cruz harbour circa 1920.
The battle was over, sixteen days after his departure from Salina Cruz, Othón Blanco was back. He would forever be deaf from his right ear and would limp until his death, but he was still alive and had accomplished his mission. Contrary to his departure, his arrival to Salina Cruz was celebrated, with a fanfare welcoming him and his men as they entered the harbour with their battered ships. August 8th was declared Día de la Marina, Navy day, and the old admiral was granted a noble title, becoming Othón Blanco 1er Vizconde Blanco de Chetumal. Personally, he would always feel that this mission should have never been called without any preparation and would later publicly accuse Chairman Félix Díaz for having send 2000 Mexicans to a needless death.
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Well, this one was pretty long and didn't talk that much about the conduct of the war but I worked had to make on this event chain so I wanted it to be presented in details. I hope you loved it, personally I have to said that I enjoyed writing it. Again, thank you all for reading!
The ARM Montezuma in Salina Cruz before the war, note in the background the presence of her two sister ships Juarez and Ciudad de México.
Admiral Othón Pompeyo Blanco Núñez de Cáceres stared at the sea through the window of the conning tower of the ARA Montezuma. More than 12 inches of armour separated him of the fresh air of the Pacific. Admiral Blanco was just coming back from the bridge when he had stayed during long hours observing the long line of ships his dreadnought was part of. He still remembered the departure from Salina Cruz five days earlier, its fifteen destroyers, two light cruisers and three battleships leaving the harbour under the cover of the darkness of the early morning. As soon the war had broken out, he had received a secret telegram from the head of the Admiralty Hector Meixueiro asking him to prepare the Armada Oriental for a sortie in the Pacific. At the time, Blanco hadn’t known what his mission would be and he was satisfied to see the ships he had so long pamper would finally proof themselves useful. After three days of preparation he had declared the fleet ready for patrol and asked for orders. When he had received its orders the next morning he almost asked his aide to decode it again, he still remembered the bold capital letters…
PROCEED TO LONG BEACH CA. AND SHELL THE ENEMY POSITION AT FORT MACARTHUR AND DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
To him the order had no tactical or strategic value, shelling Los Angeles would do no good to the Imperial war effort and would certainly anger the locals and the USS government. More, the USS Pacific Fleet in San Diego would without doubt react and send ships to intercept the Mexican squadron. Blanco trusted his crews, they were training weekly since two years and were now equal to the previous men that had manned the battleships when they were still flying the Confederate Southern Cross. No, Admiral Blanco’s fear was the age of his ships. Five of its destroyers dated back to 1909, the ten other 1916. The two light cruisers, ARM Monterrey and Merida, two former Arethusa class cruisers bought from Canada, were still very capable and sea-worthy but lacked a proper anti-aircraft armament. For their part, the three Juarez class battleships, pride of the Mexican Imperial Navy, had been restored after their arrival in Mexico but were limited to a maximum speed of 20 knots. Mexico had a fleet suited for 1914, not for 1942.
Located some 30 kilometers inland, the city of Los Angeles itself was considered protected from naval bombings.
But orders were orders and Blanco had proceed to the north anyhow, ready to accomplish his duty. He was now steaming north 26 nautical miles southwest of San Clemente Island between San Diego and Los Angeles, under the cover of dark. His plan was to pass between San Nicolas and San Clemente Islands and then turn starboard to pass between Santa Catalina and San Clemente. Thus, he hoped not to be spotted by the inhabitants of the coast and avoid the patrol he supposed to be off San Diego. Of course, it was only supposition, Chairman Félix Díaz had declined his demands to postpone the attack to allow some reconnaissance flights to be carried out over San Diego and Los Angeles. Díaz might have been a good army officer and a nice politician, but he had no experience at sea and only little patience, when he asked, you did, no matter the consequences. Because of this, the only information Blanco knew about was the one given by a Confederate recon flight two months ago, and it wasn’t good news, according to the CS Army the USS Navy had in San Diego five capital ships: battleships USS Nevada and USS Arizona of the Pennsylvania class, the aircraft carrier USS America might also be there with the two super-battlecruisers USS Lexington and USS Syndicate.
USS Lexington at sea just before the war circa 1940. Work on the six Lexington class battlecruisers began in 1922 but was stopped by the economic crisis of the 30s. After the revolution, the two units already completed, Lexington and Constellation (the latter renamed Syndicate) were brought into service and a third hull almost completed was converted into the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, remaining hulls were scrapped.
The two Pennsylvania represented a great threat to the aging escorts of the Mexican battleships but the armour of the former Confederate ships could resist the shell impact of the 14 inches guns. The 16 inches guns of the two Lexington however could penetrate the Mexican armour and Admiral Blanco was plenty aware of this. More, the torpedo bomber of the USS America might send his whole squadron to the bottom of the sea without even fearing to lose a ship. The America also represented the main reason why Blanco had chosen to attack at night, he hoped the American hadn’t developed too much their capabilities of carrier-born night air attack.
The admiral was informed that they were now passing between San Nicolas and San Clemente, he gave the order to turn starboard. In the darkness, the twenty ships followed the order listening at the fast and almost invisible light signals issued at the masts of the admiral ship. Admiral Blanco was satisfied by the manoeuvre, he had trained his crew to night combat several times, knowing that it would be the only chance of escape for the small Mexican squadron if it ever met the USS Navy. Today, his men made him feel proud of him, he was no military mastermind, but he hoped he was smart enough to bring back much as possible of his men to Salina Cruz.
USS America represented the main threat to the Armada Oriental.
Now steaming east, the Mexican Imperial Fleet had to wait a couple minutes before starting the next step of its manoeuvre. When at 20 nautical miles off San Clemente, the squadron would have to turn port toward northwest along the coast toward Long Beach and Los Angeles. Soon, Othón Blanco sighed lights on the coast, obviously the curfew wasn’t respected everywhere. The admiral wondered what would happen to the civilians who hadn’t applied the order after he had shelled downtown Los Angeles. “Probably nothing good” he muttered under his mustache.
“It’s time to turn now Admiral.” This was Captain Harry Campbell, the commander of the ARM Juarez, sole master on board after god. Campbell commanded the Juarez since seven years, back when the ship was still the CSS Georgia. He had stayed on board after the transfer to Mexico and had later accepted to be commissioned as officer in the Mexican Imperial Navy. There was about a hundred men on each battleships that had also accepted to enlist with the Mexican navy.
The Armada Oriental on its way to Los Angeles, August 6th 1942.
“Alright Captain, turn to port. Full speed ahead!” “Aye Aye Sir! Turn to port. Full speed ahead.” Again, the ships in the column slowly executed the manoeuvre in order. But this time, the sound of an inbound freight train welcomed the end of the manoeuvre. Admiral Blanco looked at Captain Campbell, the middle-aged southern man looked at the old Admiral. “Radar” they both exclaimed as two shells splashed in the water at starboard. They were still 40 nautical miles from Fort MacArthur but the big guns there were now at range and, obviously, radar-guided. “God damn the intelligence, why weren’t they aware of this?” exclaimed Captain Campbell. “What intelligence are you talking about Captain? We had only a week to prepare this raid! Now it’s time to assume the consequences of the decisions of our beloved Chairman”. The other officers in the command post looked at each other, everybody there understood each other when it came to politics, and it was rarely in favour of the politicians, whoever they were.
14 in. gun on a disapearing carriage in Fort MacArthur. These guns were known to the Mexican intelligency, the fact however that radar helped their aiming was unknown.
“Send a message to Salina Cruz, tell the admiralty we’re detected. Now that the Yanquis know where we are, radio silence is no more needed.” Admiral Blanco looked back at the window. Los Angeles light lights were now visible. The coastal fortress fired again, missed again. “Ask the fire control when we will be in range of Fort MacArthur.” “Yes Admiral.” Again, two shell missed the column, but debris from the explosions clanged against the iron walls of the floating city. “Seven minutes Admiral.” “Good, call to the combat posts.” The alarm started to scream, a couple minutes later, the whole squadron was now battle-ready. “Open fire!”
For the first time in their already long career, the guns of the Juarez fired in anger. The ship was shaken like if someone had hit its sides with a giant hammer. Less than a minute later, the destroyer ARM Coraje was hit by a 16 inches shell fired from Fort MacArthur and blew up instantly. The Juarez fired again, named after the last President of Mexico, Benito Juárez was the one who had fought the French intervention, his names still remained as a symbol of the resilience and power of will of the Mexican people and was therefore impossible to erase from Mexican history. Resilience and power of will, these were two qualities Admiral Othón Blanco would need tonight…
ARM Montezuma firing at Fort MacArthur.
Half an hour passed by. Another old destroyers was destroyed by a direct hit, and then another. The situation was now critic, Fort MacArthur hadn’t been knocked out and the city hadn’t been shelled yet. The good news was that no patrol boat were at sea and that no big ships were present in the harbour. But the status of minefield in the area was unknown, the admiral had asked for time to settle the question but again, it was denied, not by the admiralty, but by the Chairman. Now, if there was a minefield near Los Angeles Blanco was going to find it the hard way. A fourth destroyer was hit by enemy gunfire, the ARM Lancero brutally turned to starboard and left the line of battle. Its rudder destroyed, it would later went ashore on Huntington Beach. The loss of four destroyers was a hard setback for the small squadron but now, the column was close enough to the city for the quick-firing 6 inches guns of the light cruisers to fire on Fort MacArthur, freeing the big guns of the battleships for shelling L-A. Admiral Blanco was not going to let this opportunity pass.
“Order the fire control to fire inland, we need hurt those bastards the more we can before they send us to the bottom.” And then it began, Los Angeles had been spared from much of the consequences of the war since its beginning. The CS Air Force having no strategic bombers to free for the Western front, only sporadic raids on the harbour at long beach executed by CAS aircrafts were observed. The main target in the area was San Diego and its large naval base. But on this hot night of August 1942, the citizens in Los Angeles learned what war was like. Fired from the sea to 30 kilometers inland, the first 356 mm shells of the three battleships landed in Los Angeles a bit after one o'clock in the morning. Weighting more than 120 000 pounds, the shells landed at a speed exceeding the speed of sound, creating large crater and destroying any obstacles on their way. The city was badly hit, and as soon the bombing began, the first losses of life were recorded, most of them being only civilians sleeping in their beds and who would never know what happened to them. “War is never a good thing.” “Pardon me Admiral, what did you said?” “Nothing important Captain Campbell, nothing important.”
The rain of fire lasted only a quarter of an hour, after that, the battleships were out of range of the city and concentred their fire back on Fort MacArthur, the light cruisers shelling Long Beach instead. Not long after, a big explosion lighted the night over the coastal fortress, its guns now silent. “Captain Campbell, I think we’re done. Get us out of here.” The Mexican ships steamed yet another couple of miles until they were off Santo Monica, they then turned west toward the open sea. Last in the line, the Montezuma fired a couple rounds on Santa Monica and then fell silent. “Admiral, I think it’s over now, we did what we came for, time to go home now.” “I agree Captain, no patrol ships, no minefields, it wasn’t much of an opposition after all. But now the arduous part of our journey began, the USS Navy is probably out of San Diego now, only God knows if they will find us.”
USS Arizona at sea circa 1939, the Pennsylvania class battleships were powerful and well-protected ships. Pride of the USS Pacific Fleet, they demonstrated their capacity to take a lot of damage whitout losing their combat capacities.
The squadron had now 50 miles to run through before passing between the islands of San Nicolas and Santa Rosa. It would take about three hours and after this, Admiral Blanco would be safe in the open sea. But two and a half hour later, the horizon exploded, literally. In front of Blanco, hidden in the dark and equipped with radars a line of ships opened fire on him. “They crossed our T, goddamn! Where are they going?” “They’re sailing to the north admiral.” “Good, order a turn to port, we must get away before they cut us off from our base.” “Aye Aye sir! Heading 220!” “Order the destroyers and the light cruisers to get to cover behind the battleships.”
Trying to keep calm, Admiral Blanco analysed the situation. The number of enemy ships was unknown and they had radars on board. His ships could only rely on illuminating shells and were in inferior number. The enemy was faster and had bigger guns for he was firing on him before Blanco could reply. At least no airplanes had been spotted yet, this was the good news. The Ciudad de México opened fire, second good news, he was now in range. The shooting began, exchanging fire, the two fleets began to record hits on its respective enemy. Fire began to light up the rear of the Ciudad de México, both of its stern turrets stopped firing. The Juarez set on fire the second last ship in the American line of battle but was severely hit by the shots of the same ships. “These must be 16 inches shells Admiral otherwise they wouldn’t do so much damage, I think we’re facing the Lexington and the Syndicate.”
Uninterrupted, the shoot-out lasted 15 minutes. Then, the USS Navy line reversed its course in a perfect turnaround, the two lines were now on a crash course. The obvious goal of the American was to force the Mexican squadron between San Nicolas and Santa Catalina where a trap was probably settled, at least that was what Othón Blanco thought. “We must reach the open sea if we want to survive Captain Campbell, as soon as we pass San Nicolas Island we must go south.” Suddenly, an explosion occurred in the American line, the second last ship of the column had just blew up. “Mother of god! Was that the ship we were firing at?” “Affirmative Sir.” “Alright then, we might be able to get away finally.”
Last moments of the USS Syndicate.
The Mexicans ships passed San Nicolas Island. “Heading 180!” The two belligerents were now on a parallel way, with the USS Navy a little bit behind but rapidly closing the gap with its superior speed. The violence of the fire exchange began to slowly push the Mexican line towards the coast, the admiral couldn’t do anything but order his leading ship to maintain its course. The captain of the Ciudad de México was trying hard to stay in line but with the fire of three USS ships concentrated on his ship, he couldn’t hold the position for very long. “Captain Campbell, we’ll take the place of the Ciudad de México at the head of the line, it’s a battleship, not a battlecruiser, but even a battlewagon can be sunk if exposed to too much fire.”
The manoeuvre saved the México, but exposed the admiral ship to the bulk of the enemy fire. Soon, a rain of iron fell on the Juarez, with a 16 inches shell impacting directly the conning tower. Everybody in it was shocked, the shockwave killed five men and injuring the others, including Admiral Blanco. His ears were bleeding, the only thing he heard was a strong hiss. He had a headache like he never had before. The old man slowly stood up, leaning on the walls to walk to the door. He opened it, and fell on the floor. Someone came to help him, the officer helped the admiral to get out and brought him to the emergency blockhaus. There, he took the command again, with the surviving officers, Captain Campbell among them. “We’ve been lucky that the shot did not penetrate Captain.” “I know Sir, if it had, we wouldn’t be here to talk about it.”
An hour after the explosion of the USS Syndicate, the situation of the Mexican Armada Oriental was truly desperate, the Mexicans hadn’t lost other ships since the explosion of the ARM Lancero but it was a matter of time before the continuous fire of the American ship overcame the armour of the Mexican ones. But at three o’clock, again, a powerful light lit the darkness of the early morning. The second American battlecruiser exploded after being hit by a Mexican shell in the front powder keg, the bow of the battlecruiser blew up, stopping the course of the battleship and highlighting again the fact that battlecruisers weren’t design to be used against battleships, even older ones.
At Santa Monica, Rear Admiral Fletcher (L) learned the hard way that battlecruisers weren't fit to fight alongside battleships in a conventional naval battle. Admiral Othón P. Blanco seized the opportinuty to escape safely to open sea, and sucessfully made it back to its base at Salina Cruz.
“If we want to escape, it’s now or never, we must put the fear of God in them, give the order to launch a torpedo attack with the destroyers and the light cruisers, if they turn to avoid the torpedoes, we’ll be saved.” “Aye Aye Sir!” Answering to the call of the admiral, the eleven old destroyers and the two aging light cruisers courageously leaved the protection of the battleships and advanced toward the American line. Soon, the American replied by the same tactic, engaging two dozen of destroyers. The fight that followed was a violent clash of speed and manoeuvrability, the American successfully destroying the ARM Combatiente, last survivor of the five destroyers of 1909, without losing a single destroyer. However, they didn’t prevent the two light cruisers to launch their torpedo attack and seeing the invisible danger coming, Rear Admiral Fletcher, the commander of the American squadron, ordered his ships to turn starboard to beat the torpedoes in their race. Yet, the cruiser USS Marblehead was hit by two torpedoes, almost cutting the ship in two.
The cruiser USS Marblehead, built between 1920 and 1923 was the seventh ships of the Omaha class.
The destroyers attack, combined with the loss of a second battlecruiser and the dawn of the day allowed the Mexican squadron to escape the retreating American line of battle, saving the three battleships from the destruction. Though the dawn had a big side effect, the USS America could now launch its bombers. After having regrouped, the Armada Oriental was now steaming southwest in the hope that no other American ships might follow. An hour after the end of the gunfight, twelve high altitude bombers came attacking the Mexican ships, but the B-23 Dragoons missed and admiral Blanco began to relax once again, “the worst is behind us.”
He was wrong, half an hour after the initial air attack, twenty-five torpedo bombers from the USS America attacked the Mexicans ships at low altitude and this time, did a lot of damage. Within twenty minutes, the Mexicans lost three destroyers and the light cruiser Monterrey. A second wave came ten minutes later and this time, hit the ARM Ciudad de México with two torpedoes. “Admiral, the México is sinking, its Captain have announced us that he gave the order to abandon the ship.” “We can’t stop to provide help Captain Campbell, if we do, the American will sink us to the last.” “I know that Sir, it’s just that… It seems so unfair.” “This is war Captain, war is not fair, war is cruel and merciless.”
Salina Cruz harbour circa 1920.
The battle was over, sixteen days after his departure from Salina Cruz, Othón Blanco was back. He would forever be deaf from his right ear and would limp until his death, but he was still alive and had accomplished his mission. Contrary to his departure, his arrival to Salina Cruz was celebrated, with a fanfare welcoming him and his men as they entered the harbour with their battered ships. August 8th was declared Día de la Marina, Navy day, and the old admiral was granted a noble title, becoming Othón Blanco 1er Vizconde Blanco de Chetumal. Personally, he would always feel that this mission should have never been called without any preparation and would later publicly accuse Chairman Félix Díaz for having send 2000 Mexicans to a needless death.
===
Well, this one was pretty long and didn't talk that much about the conduct of the war but I worked had to make on this event chain so I wanted it to be presented in details. I hope you loved it, personally I have to said that I enjoyed writing it. Again, thank you all for reading!
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For the USSA, a physic victory over some 1914 quality battleships is as good as a defeat.
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