cruiser

Despite a few conspicuous successes (sinking of Glorious by Scharnhorst & Gneisenau, of Hood by Bismarck), the German naval surface forces were incapable of fulfilling more than a mission of « fleet in being ».  They no longer ventured in the Atlantic after the loss of Bismarck, which came after that of Graf Spee. And on their own doorstep, in the North Sea or Barents Sea, they suffered horrendous defeats, such as Narvik, or failed to score on the occasion they deployed overwhelming force, as in the battle of the Barents Sea.

The existence of the German surface fleet was due to the will of a man, GrossAdmiral Erich Raeder, who won the Führer’s confidence and was allowed to start work on an ambitious Plan Z, aiming, no less, at fighting a winning against the Royal Navy around 1946.  But in total, throughout World War 2, it did not field more than 2  battleships, 2 battlecruisers, 3 pocket battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers and about 70 destroyers and torpedo boats. I am not including the various sundry ships, such as E-Boote, minesweepers etc… On the whole, a measly total to take on the world’s most powerful navies, without any chance of success. Despite Raeder’s wishes to see his beloved surface combattants play a major role, it soon became apparent that tying down RN ships in Europe was the best they could hope to achieve.

This does not mean these ships were worthless. With Teutonic efficiency, nazi naval architects displayed on the whole their traditional technical prowess in their design (with some exceptions). So let’s start a naval revue of their various units.

BISMARCK

It’s hard to talk about a myth. In my young days, Bismarck was hailed as the nec plus ultra in military shipbuilding , best armor, great guns, a superbly trained crew, with an Achilles’ heel in the person of the fanatical admiral Gunther Lütjens. The truth is that while Bismarck was a powerful ship, i twas by no means revolutionary. Its speed was correct, between that of the King George V class and the Richelieu class,  its armor and armament were average as well. Its luck was to be pitted against Hood, a flawed design woefully under-armored, and Prince of Wales, a brand new ship with teething problems. Pitted against a ship of the same class & the Rodney, it was inevitably overwhelmed.

SCHARNHORST

This one too is a myth and with the Bismarck, the most prestigious ship of the German Navy. More lightly armed (9 x 11 » guns in three barrelled turrets), it destroyed the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious during the Norway campaign, destroyed the auxiliary cruiser HMS Rawalpindi, sank various ships in mid Atlantic in 1941  before being blocked in Brest under British bombs. She managed to escape back to Germany through the Strait of Dover in 1942, and ended up sunk in battle by HMS Duke of York near the North Cape at the end of 1943.

GNEISENAU

Sharnhorst’s sister ship, its companion during nearly all of its career. Damage sustained in the Strait of Dover took so long to repair Gneisenau never again set back to sea, and was eventually spent as a block-ship in 1945 at Gotenhafen (modern day Gdynia).

DEUTSCHLAND CLASS

The infamous Pocket Battleships, supposed to remain within the 10 000 tons limit imposed by the treaty of Versailles, were in fact around nearly 15 000 tons. They were, consequently, formidable ships, well fit to accomplish the raiding missions they would be given in time of war, more powerful than anything that could catch them, faster than anything that could defeat them. They met however varied success in their careers. Fast for the time of their commissioning (26kt), they were well armored and sported a powerful 6 x 280mm guns main battery, supported on each side by 4 x 150 mm guns.

LÜTZOW (ex DEUTSCHLAND)

Launched in 1931, the oldest ship of the trio, LÜTZOW was damaged in 1940 in front of Oslo. She took part in

the Battle of the Barents Sea, which saw 2 British light cruisers hold up decisively a stronger German force and allow convoy JW51B to sail unscathed. Sunk by the RAF in 1945, she was raised and expanded as a target by Soviet forces in 1947.

ADMIRAL SCHEER

The farthest ranged of the trio, SCHEER raided the Indian Ocean in late 1940, sinking some 110 000 tons of Allied shipping. Later, in 1942, she raided the Kara Sea and took on Soviet shipping. She was sunk by RAF bombers in port in April 1945.

GRAF SPEE

The most famous of the trio, but the shortest lived, she was scuttled after an epic battle against HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax & HMS Achilles off the Rio de la Plata. As she had been heavily damaged, in need of repairs and bottled up in the port of Montevideo, her commander, Hans Langsdorff, took the decision to scuttle her to spare the crew’s lives.

HIPPER CLASS

Three were built. The first one, Blücher, was sunk in front of Oslo. They were powerful ships, typical heavy cruisers, armed with a 8 x 8’’ guns main battery. They were mostly used as commerce raiders.

PRINZ EUGEN

The most famous of the class, she was Bismarck’s companion in the ill –fated Rheinübung operation. Present at Denmark Strait, she separated from Bismarck & eventually made it to Brest where she was subjected to bombing alongside Scharnhorst & Gneisenau before escaping through the Strait of Dover during Operation Cerberus.

ADMIRAL HIPPER

The class namesake took part in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, where she sank destroyer HMS Glowworm after the latter managed to ram and severely damage her. She was the consort of Lützow in the failed attempt on convoy JW-51B in the Barents Sea, and was eventually sunk in Kiel harbor by RAF bombers.

LEIPZIG CLASS

Nürnberg & Leipzig were a class of 2 ships. Well armed 3 triple barrelled turrets of 150mm guns, although in an original configuration of 1 turret forward, 2 turrets aft), and 12 torpedoes in 4 x triple mounts, they were fast (32kt) but short-legged (7000 km), handled difficultly in heavy seas, and more lightly armored than comparable ships.

LEIPZIG

After a fairly lackluster service throughout the war – the main episode being a collision with Prinz Eugen – Leipzig was captured in port, served as  a barracks ship and was scuttled the following year.

NÜRNBERG

Damaged off Norway, Nürnberg spent the remainder of the war as a training ship &  a mine layer in the Baltic. Captured in port, she was awarded to the Soviets.

KÖLN

Last survivor of the 3 ships class Königsberg after 2 were lost off Norway in 1940, she sported similar armament & performances as the Leipzig class. She took part in attempted but failed convoy attacks in the Arctic, and served as a training ship before being sunk in Wilhelmshaven by US bombers.

Typ 1934 & 1934A

Fast (36 kt) but lacking endurance (3700 km ), these ships were relatively powerfully armed for the time, with 5 x 5''  guns and 2 quadruple torpedo mounts. Many were lost during the battle of Narvik. Eckoldt was sunk at the battle of the Barents Sea.

Typ 1936A

Toting an impressive battery of 2 twin barrelled 5’’ turrets, & 2 quadruple torpedo mounts, fast, these ships however lacked range and top heavy because of their impressive armament, giving them poor seagoing capacities.  

Typ 39 Torpedoboot

Altough classed as torpedo boats, the Typ 39 were the equivalent of most RN destroyers. 15 were built. Fast (33kt), well armed (4 x 105mm guns, 2 x triple torpedo mounts), tehy accounte well of themselves in the various battles they took part in. The most successful was the battle of Sept-Isles, in October 1943, where 5 Typ 39 sank light cruiser HMS Charybdis.

I could at last try the Netherlands East Indies 1942 scenario I had written for the HALSEY campaign rules of Sam Mustafa’s NIMITZ set. I controlled the ABDA, and my old partner in games Patrick was commanding the IJN.

There was however a misunderstanding as he’d used the older version of the campaign to plan his deployment, but we had an enjoyable game nonetheless. He should have started all his forces between D1 & D3 on the 1st day’s 1st phase, but his main force made an appearance but on day 2 in C6. You will find a copy of my campaign here :

The Fall of Java 1942

And before people ask, yes, there is a discrepancy between the published map and the playing board. On the board, you can go from A6 to B5 as the peninsula doesn’t reach up to the square’s border. This is after all still a work in progress, and furthermore, mere handwork.

So, with this in mind, this the way forces were deployed. The IJN force in D3 is mostly a diversionary force, meant to be a sacrifice in order to allow the passage of the main body. It consisted of 4 transports (the campaign has a small land combat module, so these soldiers carried have an important role) with 6 destroyers. On the ABDA side, there are but few options, in fact, no good option, the least bad one being to have as big a force as possible to engage IJN formations, which is why I gathered 4 light cruisers (including the Boise) and 9 destroyers, using the last remaining 6 destroyers to create 2 diversions beyond the 2 decoy counters I was allowed.

With all ready, we started the game. You can see on the following map the moves of the 1st day. Given the presence of transports, the IJN moved only in the night phase, while I sent forces from Tilatjap in 2 directions.

The IJN failed a first detection roll, and I sent my B17 on a raid to Bandjermasin, losing one, but destroying 2 Lily bombers on the tarmac. A revenge raid by the Bettys on Tilatjap failed to do damage, but the remaining Lily bombers from Bandjermasin took out both Bleinheims at Surabaya, halving my bomber force. The Blenheims from Tilatjap then sank the 1st IJN transport of the game.

Day 2 was the day the naval decison was made. Things started extremely well for the ABDA, which managed to catch the detected IJN diversionnary force in square C4. This was a true massacre, as the Allies destroyed te remaining 3 transports as well as 3 destroyers for no loss. IJN Kates however crippled Boise in 2 successive attacks, and the cruiser had to drop out of the Task Force.

The night phase saw the big battle take place, as the transports had anchored and were still with their escorts, giving the ABDA a great advantage. This is why, despite te unbalance of forces, I decided to attack. I still had 3 light cruisers (De Ruyter, Java & Marblehead) & 9 destroyers  in my formation) and I could hope to deal a lot of damage to the IJN force (8 transports escorted by Nashi, Haguro, Myoko, Sendaï, Jintsu, Nagara, Aganon & Yubari with 14 ! destroyers, as the other force escorts had joined). I won initiative & decided to play 2^nd, for the sake of the positional advantage.

The battle itself was something most inelegant, actually more a brawl than and organized fight. When the IJN heavy cruisers advanced, I could position 4 destroyers to try to torpedo them. But I paid a heavy price in the gunnery phase, as the IJN rolled so well, both for hitting and damaging, that 8 of my destroyers were crippled. In return, I sank a single IJN DD. In the torpedo phase, I rolled for a single destroyer, and missed. The second turn saw the slaughter of the cripples, while the 3 light cruisers escaped the battlefield.

All hope was not lost though, as I had mauled the landing force previously. With but 5 days to go, and an equal number of counters, I could still hope to hold Java. In fact, I was still confident enough to allow a single counter to evacuate in order to get VPs… But the dice gods had decidedly turned against me. Submarine attacks on the IJN heavies resulted in the loss of 6 ! submarines for the ABDA (special rules in my campaign to allow for this), and the land battle went swimmingly for Japan. In the end, Java fell by the end of day 7, after an astounding number of excellent dice rolls for the IJN. Meanwhile, the Japanese Air Force found the 3 retreating cruisers and sank the poor USS Marblehead (De Ruyter & Java escaped).

In total, the IJN scored a great 106 VPs (with 30 due to the excellent ASW performance) vs 39 for the ABDA. The butcher bill was somewhat more balanced though, with 15 ABDA infantry counters, 9 destroyers, a light cruiser sunk, a light cruiser crippled (the Boise escaped after all !) against 6 IJN destroyers sunk and 11 infantry counters destroyed. I also lost all my planes (4 Blenheim, 6 P40, 3 Buffalos & 3 B 17) but killed 4 Lilies, 2 Bettys and 2 Vals, 2 Kates and 1 Zero.

In the end, a result close to what happened then and a very enjoyable game. I’m doing some adjustments to the victory conditions, in favor of the  ABDA, and am looking foreward for playing the IJN next time.

Italy at the start of WW2 faced essentially 3 scenarios : war against France, war against Britain, war against both. In all 3, it was essential to keep open sea communications to Libya and the Italian possessions in the Dodecanese islands. Regia Marina – the Italian royal navy – enjoyed the benefits of a central position in all cases, but was bottled up in Mare Nostrum (the Mediterranean name in Latine, « Our Sea ») if it ever went to war against Britain, and perhaps also against France as access to Gibraltar implied sailing along French controlled Algerian coast.

Left with a strong navy at the end of WW1, Italy saw its naval power steadily decline until a few years before WW2. This was due to the restrictions of the treaty of Washington, budgetary constraints, and the lack of regard Il Duce had for his naval arm.  It did not take long before competent Admiral THAON di REVEL was replaced at the head of the Regia Marina by more pliable officers. For a time, prior to the Ethiopian Invasion, it was far from certain Italy would be a threat to Western Powers : in 1934, it resolutely sided with France and opposed the attempted nazi takeover of Austria. The sanctions it was subjected to brought out a reversal of Mussolini’s positions in this matter, and the Spanish Civil War cemented Italy’s alliance with the Third Reich.

BATTLESHIPS

Italy never owned a carrier in WW2, on the assumption that its central position awarded it of air control over surrounding sea expanses. This was never the case, as cooperation with the Italian Air Force never reached a satisfactory level. The « barber shop stripes » on the Italian bows are a recognition device designed chiefly to prevent Italian airmen from bombing their own ships… At the start of the war, Italy had 4 dreadnoughts , 2 of the Cavour Class, 2 of the Andrea Doria class.

Extensively rebuilt and upgraded in 1937, Andrea Doria was a fast ship, toting 10 x 320 mm guns. It was moderately armored, but fairly fast (26 kt). Undamaged at Taranto, she took part in but one combat, in the inconclusive action of the 1st battle of the Gulf of Sirte under the command of Admiral Iachino. She saw escort duty and was eventually interned in Malta after Italy’s surrender.

VITTORIO VENETO

Second ship of the Littorio class, launched in 1937 & commissioned in 1940, she was at the apex of battleship technoly at the time, in a class shared by the French Richelieu and the German Bismarck : fast, well armed and armored, she could have posed the Royal Navy the same kind of problems posed by the Bismarck and the Tirpitz. This was not to be, not out of an excess of pusillanimity, but because Axis fuel resources needed to be husbanded : fuel for Rommel’s panzers first, the remainder for naval operations. Vittorio Veneto saw action at Cape Spartivento, and came close to inflicting a defeat on the Mediterranean squadron, and at Matapan, where, as admiral IACHINO’s flagship , she was torpedoed by a Swordfish biplane. Repaired, she was once more torpedoed by HM submarine Urge in December 1941. She was interned after Italy’s surrender.

HEAVY CRUISERS

Fast, well gunned & armored, the Zaras were well-balanced ships, equivalent to any European competitor, and superior to the French ones. Launched around 1930, they sported 8 x 203mm guns in their main battery, and 16 x 100 mm guns as secondary armament but no torpedoes.

She took part in most of the surface engagements in the Med. Damaged by an Allied air raid in 1943, the ship under repairs was seized by the Germans, but deemed beyond repair. Eventually broken up in 1947.

She served throughout 1940, possibly destroying a turret on HMS Berwick at Cape Teulada. Hit by a Swordfish torpedo at Cape Matapan, she lost propulsion. Her fellow cruisers, Zara & Fiume were surprised and destroyed by Bristish battleships in their rescue attempt. Pola herself was latter finished .

LIGHT CRUISERS

Well armed & extremely fast, but poorly armored (their armor being equivalent to that of a Panzer II), the Giussano class light cruisers suffered from a poor conception, as they had but a single steam main, leading to possible immobilization of the ship if hit.. The risk was deemed negligible, but nevertheless happened to Colleoni at Cape Spada. Banda Nere was the last to be sunk, by a torpedo from HMS Urge in March 1942.

The Abruzzi class light cruisers were an improvement of the Condottieri class, they were as fast, as armored and slightly better gunned (10 x 152mm to 9) than their French La Galissionnière class equivalents. Garibaldi took part in the battles of Calabria & Matapan, took a torpedo hit in July 41, and eventually was interned  in Malta after Italy’s surrender.

One of the Condottieri class cruisers, Duca d’Aosta was a lucky ship that never took a hit throughout the war. As fast, but less armored and gunned as the French La Galissonniere, she took part in the battles of Calabria and Sirte, and various attempted intercepts of British convoys to Malta. She was eventually was interned  in Malta after Italy’s surrender.

DESTROYERS

A class of 8 built in the second half of the Twenties, the Turbines, named after winds, were somewhat outdated at the outbreak of WW2. Moderately fast for Destroyers (33 kt) they were lightly armed (2x2 x 120mm guns and 2 x triple torpedo mounts). All were sunk in action.

A numerous class of 17 ships, the Soldati were well armed and relatively fast (35 kt). A real workhorse of the Regia Marina, they took part in most naval actions in the Mediterranean. At least 10 were sunk in action. Armed with 5 x 120mm guns, and 2 triple torpedo mounts.

Never had France, since the times of Napeleon III’s Empire, had such a strong navy, with some of its ships at the cutting edge of naval technology : its Gloire class light cruisers were unmatched in the world when they were launched, and its contre-torpilleurs, its big destroyers, were capable of speeds above 40 kt, unrivaled except by light torpedo launches , its battle cruisers of the Dunkerque class and battleships of the Richelieu class were innovative designs, well capable of preserving the vital sea routes to North Africa. The man at the center of this revival was François DARLAN, who would become a key player in the Vichy collaborationist state, shown here a few days before his assassination.

And yet the French Navy of that time never lived up to the expectations. That was of course the result of the failure to fend off the Blitzkrieg. The point of the blog is neither to discuss what went wrong then, nor what could have been had it not or had France followed another path after its defeat however. I’ll just leave it there, for you, dear reader to ponder and dream about it.

There is no discussion that the « Royale » - the unofficial name French sailors give the Marine Nationale as the ministry is located Rue Royale in Paris – was first & foremost designed to control the Western basin of the Mediterranean, and, to accomplish that goal, keep open sea lines to Tunisia & Algeria against the Italian Regia Marina. Some day, perhaps, I will design a campaign about this, and the problem of safeguarding parallel sea lines of communication – the Italians had likewise to keep open communications to Libya…

BATTLESHIPS

The core of the French Navy was its battleships : at the start of the war, France had 7 commissionned capital ships : 2 old Courbet class dreadnought, 3 slightly newer Bretagne class (Bretagne, Provence, Lorraine), and 2 recent battlecruisers, Dunkerque & Strasbourg.

Fast and well armored, it sported 2 x 4 barrelled 330mm turrets forward, and her secondary battery in 3 3 x barrelled 130 mm turrets aft. Launched in 1935, she was scuttled in Toulon in 1942, but before that was severely damaged at Mers-el-Kebir. Towed back to Toulon, she was never fully repaired. This is one of my older models, and at that time I was not too  demanding on paint scheme accuracy.

A very successful design, Richelieu was a well protected, well armed, and fast ship, that could have dominated the Western Mediterranean, a role it had been intended for and yet, ironically, never fulfilled. Armed classically with 8 x 380mm guns, yet in 2 forward four barrelled turrets , and a 155mm battery of 9 guns in 3 turrets aft, it took part in the battle of Dakar that saw the Vichy French navy inflict a tactical defeat on a Royal Navy force tasked with taking control of Senegal. Repaired, refitted  and added to the Free French fleet, it joined the RN Far Eastern Fleet and was present at the battle of the Malacca Strait.

CRUISERS

Namesake of her class of 4 cruisers, she was also the sole survivor, the other three being scuttled at Toulon while she was interned at Alexandria after the 1940 Armistice. Well armed and fast, she suffered from her weak armor, which was however an improvement over that of the preceding class. Added to the Free French Navy in 1943, she spent the remainder of the war mostly in lusterless but vital sea-control missions in the South Atlantic.

ALGERIE

Successor to the Suffren class, namesake and only ship in her class, Algerie was a  well balanced ship, well armored, fast and toting the classical 8x8" guns main battery of most heavy cruisers in World War 2. Sadly enough, she never got to take part in a naval battle, and ended up scuttled at Toulon in 1942.

Part of the Dugay-Trouin class of 3, she was deployed to the Far East squadron at the start of the war, and consequently never received a Loire 130 seaplane. Well armed with 9x 155mm guns, fast, she was virtually unarmored, the thickest plates no thicker that the armor of a Panzer II. She nevertheless fought a winning battle at Koh Chang in 1941 under the command of Capitaine Bérenger, leading a motley collection of sloops and inflicting a crushing defeat on the vastly superior Siamese navy they caught at anchor. She was sunk  by US naval aviation in 1945, under the Japanese occupation of French Indochina. For all his efforts, Bérenger had to retire in 1945 as it was not commendable then to have fought under the flag of Vichy.

Gloire & Montcalm were part of a class of 6 ships built just before WW2. Very well protected, fast, and with a main battery of 9 155mm guns, they were better than German or Italian light cruisers. Half of the ships were scuttled at Toulon, of the remaining 3, Montcalm & Georges Leygue took part in the victorious defense of Dakar in 1940. With Gloire, they served after the occupation of Southern France with the Free French Navy. Montcalm intercepted a German blockade runner, and with her sisters, took part in the following Allied landings in Corsica, Normandy and Provence. These are part of my older models, and at that time I was not too  demanding on paint scheme accuracy.

DESTROYERS

Designed around 1925, the 12 torpilleurs de haute mer of the Bourrasque class were in fact powerful destroyers, toting 4 x 5.1" guns and 2 x triple torpedo mounts, with a good speed of 33 kt. Most were lost during the war, either at Toulon, or in battle, during Operation Dynamo in front of Dunkerque, or Operation Torch in front of Oran.

Vauquelin & Kersaint were part of a 6 class ships, both were scuttled at Toulon. They were big ships, ported 5 x 138 mm guns and could reach 36 kt. All ships of the class were sunk either at Toulon, or in action off Syria (Chevalier Paul) or by accident (Maiilé Brézé at Greenock).

FANTASQUE CLASS

Fantasque & Terrible were big ships, fairly similar to the Vauquelin class. Like them, they carried 5 x 138mm guns, and 2 triple torpedo mounts. Their best known quality was, however, their exceptional speed. They were deemed to be the fastest destroyers afloat at the time, Fantasque reaching  an astounding top  speed of 42.75kt.

Few people are aware of the tragedy that was the lot of the gallant Dutch Navy in World War 2. Indeed, the war did not stop for the Dutch after Germany invaded their homeland : there remained, on the other side of the planet, a place they had called home for centuries, their Dutch East Indies colony. As of now, this place is called Indonesia, with a booming economy & an expanding population of 285 millions people. But at the start of World War 2, it was a Dutch dominion, ruled from its capital Batavia, modern day Djakarta.

This all came to an end at the end of 1941, when Japan started a war aimed in priority at laying their hands on the mineral & energy ressources of the colony. A mere 3 months later, on 5th March 1942, Batavia fell. For Admiral Hellfrich, commander of the Dutch Navy in the Pacific, Java was home, his birth place, and he made sure forces under his command fought tooth & nail to stop the invasion.

Dutch Surface Naval Forces in the Pacific consisted of 3 light cruisers and 7 destroyers, under the tactical command of Admiral Karel Doorman. The ships were relatively good, and of reasonable age : HNMS Java, the oldest ship, was built in 1921, the most recent, HNMS Tromp in 1937. But facing the more recent Japanese heavy cruisers and destroyers, they were utterly outclassed.

This light cruiser was Admiral Doorman’s flagship. Built in 1935, it carried 7 x 150mm guns in 4 turrets (Turret B had but a single gun), but no torpedoes. It was fast enough, but lightly armored, as most light cruisers built in the thirties. It was sunk at the battle of the Java Sea on February 28th 1942, taking most of her crew, among them Admiral Doorman, to a watery grave.

Built in 1921, it still kept an adequate speed, and its armament was not inferior to that of De Ruyter, consisting of 10 x 150mm guns, the arrangement of which only allowing 7 to fire at a same target. Like De Ruyter, i twas deprived of torpedoes. And like De Ruyter, it met its end at the battle of the Java Sea under the guns of cruisers Haguro & Nachi.

The most recent ship, she was also lighter and less armored, but sported a decent 6 x 150 mm guns main battery. And unlike the other two cruisers, she was fitted with 2 triple torpedo mounts, one on each side of the ship. She was also luckier, having been damaged earlier in February 1942 and sent to Australia for repairs that were completed in May. It kept serving the A llied cause till the end of the war, to be decommissioned in 1955.

8 of these ships, with a variant, were built between 1925 & 1930, so buying both blisters available from  GHQ , 4 models each, will net you the whole class. They were very efficient ships, well designed for their time, but of course, they were hard pressed to fight  the bigger and better armed Japanese destroyers. 1 was lost in Europe, and the other 7 were lost in the campaign around Java.

I started collecting WW1 Micronauts with the ships present at the battle of Coronel. At the time, you couldn't find a GHQ model for SMS Nürnberg, so I substituted SMS Bremen in its stead, and acquired both HMS Canopus and SS Otranto from another manufacturer. I added HMS Defense, which barely missed being present in the South East Pacific at that time.

Coronel… A forgotten battle today, but one from which the mind recedes with horror at te image of the savagery of the combat, of its  terrifying conditions, of the horrible butcher’s bill at the end of it, of the utter absurdity of it all : 2 commanders trapped in the rigid code of honor of 19th century European aristocracy fought a battle that could but doom them and their crews to destruction : Craddock, hopelessly outmatched by the superior German squadron, Von Spee trapped by geography and logistics, fully aware that after his victory, a merciless chase would be on. And yet they fought, in the cold water of Southern Chile, in a stormy November night…

The British

Good Hope, launched in 1901, and already an obsolete design, with half of her secondary 6’’ battery out of action in moderate weather conditions, without modern targeting equipment, barely good enough to show the White Ensign in far off backwaters. Sunk with all hands.

Monmouth, throwing a heavy, but desperately outranged punch, one of the 10 County class cruisers launched in 1901. Sunk with all hands.

Glasgow, a modern light cruiser, with the punch to outfight German light cruisers and the speed to outrun Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Heavily damaged, retreated and was present for retribution at the battle of the Falklands.

HMS Defense, somewhat of an unlucky ship. Flagship of Admiral Troubridge during the Goeben chase, its squadron retreated when admiral Troubridge, who was court-martialed for his decision, wisely renounced to intercept. It could have been present at Coronel as it was ordered to join Craddock’s forces but  the order was cancelled as the Germans were still in the Pacific at that time. It met a fiery death at Jutland, the 4th Royal Navy ship lost to a magazine explosion that day.

The Germans

SMS Scharnhorst & Gneisenau, possibly the best armored cruisers ever built. Heart of the East Asian Squadron, they were also reputed to be the best gunnery specialists of the whole German Navy. The reservists on board Good Hope & Monmouth never stood a chance against them. Likewise, they were utterly outgunned, out-sped, out-armored when they had to tackle HMS Invincible & Inflexible at the Falklands, 2 battlecruisers specifically designed to destroy marauding armored cruisers.

SMS Dresden, Leipzig & Bremen (to substitute for SMS Nürnberg). Unlike their heavier brothers, they were outdated ships, sporting a light armament compared to their British counterparts. Their crews, however, like in the rest of the squadron, were top notch.  Nürnberg also gave the derelict Monmouth the coup de grâce at Coronel.

The French

Lastly, and because I cannot think of another page to display it, the French semi-dreadnought Vergniaud of the Danton class. After taking part in the battle of Antivari at the beginning of the war, the Vergniaud spent the remainder of the war in lackluster - but risky, as illustrated by the torpedoing of its sister ship the Danton, -  blockading duties. Part of the allied task force at Sebastopol during teh Russian Civil War, its crew took part in the  mutiny that affected numerous French ships in that occurrence.