All the colors of the RAINBOW-A Rule the Waves 3 AAR (as the USN)

[bobarossa]

Um, France has twice as many Battleships as you do and you want to fight them?

Yeah, that's counter-intuitive.  In the War Plan Rainbow Gold post, I explain my logic:

That was two days ago!  You expect me to remember stuff that long?
I haven't played enough to understand the penalty for lack of bases (been a long time since I played RTW1).  I know my ships can get from east coast to west coast (playing as USA in 1890 start) without suffering damage (outside of crew degradation).  I assume something bad happens at some point if I leave them without support. 

[Tripoli]

Um, France has twice as many Battleships as you do and you want to fight them?

Yeah, that's counter-intuitive.  In the War Plan Rainbow Gold post, I explain my logic:

That was two days ago!  You expect me to remember stuff that long?
I haven't played enough to understand the penalty for lack of bases (been a long time since I played RTW1).  I know my ships can get from east coast to west coast (playing as USA in 1890 start) without suffering damage (outside of crew degradation).  I assume something bad happens at some point if I leave them without support. 

I get not remembering  things from two days ago. I cant even go to the grocery store without forgetting  at least 2 items on a five item list....

A couple of things happen with the basing issue.  Short range ships can only move different home base areas (i.e., for the US from the East Coast to the Caribbean) once a war starts. So any French short-range ships wont be able to reach US waters.  Cramped crew spaces create crew morale and quality penalties outside of home areas.  A couple of moves ago had to withdraw some of my short range destroyers from SE Asia back to the West coast, despite having plenty of base capacity in the Philippines because of this dynamic.  And a lack of sufficient basing capacity gradually makes your ships mechanically deteriorate. In fairness, I don't know that the French have short-range or cramped ships, but I suspect a lot of their ships are that way, as evidenced by the relative few number that are outside the North Europe/Med areas.  That makes sense, because it takes a fair amount of tonnage to increase range, and this is weight that could instead go to making the ship more protected/heavily armored or faster.  However, I do know they lack the basing to keep their fleet in the Caribbean or East Coast.  While they do have enough bases in SE Asia, I have more support there, and my fleet is closer, so I think I can "steal a march" on them in this area.  It is a calculated gamble on my part, but the game seems to be bound and determined to force me into a war. With France having good relations with both Germany and the UK, I figure I should go to war now rather than wait for the geopolitical situation to worsen.   

[Tripoli]

"Fleet Problem 1905"

This wasn't as successful an fleet exercise as I would have liked.  The actual problem itself was marred by my saving the game and going to bed before finishing the scenario. This has the unfortunate side-effect of zeroing out the game log, so I don't have it for analysis.

Fleet Problem 1905 featured a RED squadron largely made up of Pacific fleet ships, led by BATDIV 1 (3 DELAWARE-class) and followed by BATDIV 2 (2 OKLAHOMA-class B).  The BLUE squadron was largely Atlantic fleet ships, led by BATDIV 3  (3 COLORADO-class B and one NEVADA-class) and BATDIV 4 (2 OKLAHOMA-class B).  so, the engagement was 6 B (BLUE) v. 5 B (RED).  Because the purpose of the fleet problem was to evaluate force structure and not tactics, I had the AI largely play out the battle to avoid any advantage that a human player may impart to one side.  The weather was good, with 20,000+ yard visibility and calm seas, so there the engagement emphasized long-range  gunnery.  Further, each battleship is equipped with 4 x 12 in guns, and has identical fire control, so the total firepower of each side's battleships was effectively identical on the individual level.  However, because of the "N-squared" law, the theoretical firepower of the BLUE force, assuming all heavy guns were engaged, should be 44% more than the RED force.¹  However, in reality rarely are all guns equally engaged, so for a practical test, the BLUE advantage should have been somewhat less than this.

In the ensuing battle, the RED side was decisively defeated, losing four battleships sunk and one heavily damaged to  BLUE's 1 heavy, 1 medium and 3 lightly damaged battleships. BLUE suffered no sinkings.  One RED battleship (USS Illinois) was sunk early by a magazine explosion, so part of the losses may be due to the sudden shifting of battle from a 5 v. 6 to a 4 v. 6, or a potential 2.25:1 firepower advantage.  In any case, the situation rapidly deteriorated for RED.

Image 1  Fleet Problem 1905 results


Turning to gunnery, the RED battleships had an average hit percentage of 9.42, ( I am not including the USS Illinois, as it blew up to early in the game, so it had a hit percentage of 0).  In contrast, BLUE battleships had a much lower hit percentage of 6.155%. So despite having an overall hit percentage 50 % more than BLUE, RED still lost decisively.  Both sides had two OKLAHOMA-class battleships in their line, but RED had DELAWARE-class battleships and BLUE had COLORADO and NEVADA classes making up the remainder of their respective battlelines, so these results may indicate that there is a problem with the damage control features of the DELAWARE class.  However, without the logs,  I am unable to make this conclusion.

Image 2  Gunnery results
 

 There were no torpedo attacks of any size (or effectiveness) made by the AI, so I am unable to resolve the issue of the proper size of a DD Division.  That will have to await another fleet problem. 

In summary, Fleet Problem 1905 illustrates the necessity of having numerical and firepower superiority over an opposing fleet, and may indicate problems with current US damage control and damage resistance designs.  An additional Fleet Problem will be scheduled later to try to resolve this issue.


¹ Between 1905 and 1916, Admiral Bradley Fiske and Frederick W. Lanchester independently showed that assuming no difference between the offensive and defensive character of units on either side, numerical superiority in delivered firepower was equivalent to the square of the number of units firing.  See Wayne P. Hughes, Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat (Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 2000), 40.

[Tripoli]

One addendum to the above analysis: The Ship that had the magazine explosion (USS ILLINOIS) is an OKLHOMA-class B.  Looking at the design, it only has an 8 inch turret armor, which is probably too thin, as it can be penetrated inside of 9,000 yards.  In contrast, the COLORADO class used by BLUE were much heavier armored, which likely was the reason that BLUE prevailed, despite having a lower hit percentage.  One other factor that may be worth noting: RED had a 3 ship BATDIV, and BLUE had a four-ship BATDIV, which had a much lower hit percentage.  It may be that the spotting of shells from four battleships is significantly interfering with their ranging.  If so, this might indicate that the 3 ship division is superior compared to the four ship division for gunnery purposes.   

OKLAHOMA class


DELAWARE Class


COLORADO class

[Tripoli]

In July the US and France go to war....

[nelmsm]

This is a great read!

[Tripoli]

This is a great read!

Thank you.  I have fun doing these.  It definitely beats pulling the weeds in my garden, which is what I really should be doing.....

[Tripoli]

The 1905 War with France

In July 1905 France declared war on the US.  The fleet disposition at war start is as displayed below:

Figure 1.  Fleet Dispositions, July 1905 (Red= France, Blue= USN)


As anticipated by the pre-war War Plan GOLD, the French fleet is overwhelmingly stationed in home waters, with the USN having a decisive advantage in both SE Asia and the Caribbean.  In accordance with War Plan GOLD, planning and the gathering of forces begins for invasions of Tonkin (in SE Asia) and the Antilles (in the Caribbean).  Seizure of these two locations should deprive the French of the logistical support, crippling the French ability to engage in significant offensive operations in these theaters. 

At war start, USN has several light cruisers assigned to commerce raiding duties.  However, because Northern Europe appears to be relatively unguarded, additional CLs are sent from the Atlantic Fleet to raid commerce there.

By the end of July, the US drives off a French convoy in the Caribbean and invades Tonkin.  US raiders sink 5 merchants, three of which are in Northern European waters.

In August the US captures Tonkin.  However, the invasion of the Antilles is delayed due to insufficient force superiority, as the French Fleet unexpectedly somehow managed to a heavy fleet of 12 battleships to the Caribbean, depriving the US of the fleet superiority necessary to conduct the landings.  Fortunately for the US, the two fleets do not meet.  An engagement near Guantanamo between a small division of 2 USN CLs supported by 5 DDs and a French fleet of 2 CAs and 2 CLs ends up with a minor defeat for the USN, which lost a CL and a DD in exchange for a French CL.  The defeat is due to my errors, as I had split off the French CL from the main body and sunk it early in the engagement but tried to press my luck and make a torpedo attack on the main body of heavy cruisers in daylight.  A better decision would have been for me to have withdrawn from action after sinking the French CL.  This bad judgment ended up costing me a light cruiser and destroyer for no further result.  And while the heavy presence of the French fleet in the Caribbean is of concern, with only a single level 20 port, they will be unable to support it and will have to withdraw from the region.

  US Raiders destroy 14 merchant ships, including 7 in Northern European Waters.   Because of this, I begin planning for an invasion of Cam Rahn Bay in Vietnam, to further reduce the ability of the French Fleet to base in Southeast Asia.

In September peace feelers are made.  Since this war with France is not one that I wanted, I recommend that any reasonable peace settlement be agreed to.  However, I'm overruled by the hawks in the administration, so the war continues.   In the war against commerce, 5 French merchants are sunk in Northern European waters, and none anywhere else.  This is because France appears to be more aggressively patrolling the sea lanes.  However, the Mediterranean appears to be relatively lightly patrolled, so some light cruisers are sent there to raid.


Figure 2. Fleet Dispositions, September 1905





To be continued.....

[Sir Slash]

That does it for me. No more croissants until Victory.  Very good AAR Trip. 

[W8taminute]

This is a great read!

Thank you.  I have fun doing these.  It definitely beats pulling the weeds in my garden, which is what I really should be doing.....

Sounds like you got your priorities straight.   

This and nelmsm's AAR are really well done.  Very immersive both of you gentlemen!

[Tripoli]

In October, the war heats up in SE Asia.  A meeting between the US (3 CA, 2 CL, 10 DDs) and French cruiser squadron 1 CA, 2 CL, 2 KE, 1 transport)  off Da Nang result in a resounding US victory, with the French CA, a CL and a transport sunk, for the loss of a single USN DD.  See the Battle Report below. Somehow the remaining French CL managed to escape.  The US commerce raiders begin to hit their stride, sinking 26 merchants.  Commerce raiders in Northern Europe are very successful with 11 merchants sunk, and an additional 8 merchants sunk in the Mediterranean.  The French sink US 2 merchants the Caribbean, indicating a need to increase the USN patrols there.

October 1905 Fleet Dispositions

[Tripoli]

[Quick Note: I'm trying to write these battle reports in the style of Theodore Roscoe, who wrote "United States Destroyer Operations in World War II".  This book was published shortly after the war, and makes extensive use of ships logs and combat reports.  If you haven't read the book, it is one that provides a really good account of the battles from the individual ship level.]

Battle Report: The Battle off Da Nang 18 October 1905

Preparatory to landing US troops in Cam Rahn Bay, a task unit under the command of RADM Hichborn in the protected cruiser USS FREDERICK were conducting a sweep off the waters of Da Nang to eliminate French naval forces that could oppose the landing.  In addition to the FREDERICK, the task force consisted of two other protected cruisers (PITTSBURG and BALTIMORE) two light cruisers (TUCSON and FLINT) and sixteen destroyers from DESDIV 1 (CDR Mitchell), DESDIV 3 (CDR Adell) and DESDIV 5 (CDR Dillon).  Initial visual contact with the French forces was made at 0700 local time, approximately 25 miles ENE of Da Nang.  At the time of the engagement, the weather was clear, with a gentle wind from the WNW.

Image 1.  0700(L)


As is normal in war, the initial contact report was incorrect, with the excited lookouts reporting a French battleship accompanied by two light cruisers.  However, the USN crews quickly corrected their misidentification, correctly identifying the French battleship as the protected cruiser FS DUPUY de LOME, accompanied by only two light cruisers, the FS COSMAO and FS ISLY.  Seeing that he was outnumbered the French commander ran for the safety of the harbor, which was only about 15 miles distant.  However, he was constrained by his orders to escort a small merchant supply vessel to safety.  This merchant ship was located well to the south of the French ships and was threatened by RADM Ainsworth's scouting force, consisting of the PITTSBURG and DESDIV 1.  RADM Ainsworth correctly ascertained the French commander's dilemma, and in and attempt to lure him away from the safety of Da Nang, maneuvered to threaten the helpless transport.  Constrained by his orders and honor, the French commander sailed away from the safety of the port and towards Ainsworth's scouting force.  As the French force sailed south, RADM Hichborn sailed the main body of the task force due west, to cut off the French retreat to the harbor.

By 0753L, it was a foregone conclusion that the French would lose.  The main body of the USN task unit had cut off the French retreat to Da Nang and were in the process of sinking the merchant, while  Ainsworth's scouting force had led the French force south.  Unfortunately, the scouting force was at the extreme range of visual signaling, and continued to lead the French south, instead of turning and engaging.  After dispatching the merchant, Hichborn's main body had to sprint south to retrieve his errant scouting force. 


Image 2.  0753 (L)


At 0846 (L), after an hour long run to the south, the main body was almost in range of the French light cruisers, but still out of signaling range of the scouting force, which was still heading south. This gave the French admiral  an opportunity to save his force to fight another day.
  Realizing his danger, the French admiral reversed course and began sprinting north, hoping to reach Da Nang before the Americans could re-establish  communications with the scouting force, and forcing the French to face the combined American squadron.  As the two forces passed each other on reciprocal courses, they exchanged fire, each side scoring a few hits.

Image 3.  0846 (L)

[Tripoli]

The French gambit almost paid off.  By the time Hichborn regained control of the scouting force, reversed course and got within gun range of the French, it was 1100, and they had almost reached "Lion Point", the peninsula forming the southern boundary of Da Nang bay.  But the likely necessity of having to clean their grates, or possibly having been damaged the American gunfire as they passed each other earlier,  forced the French force to slow, and allowed the American squadron to close the range.  At 1104, the French opened fire first, shooting ineffectually at long range at the leading destoryers of DESDIV 1.  By 1127 the FREDERICK and BALTIMORE were trading shots with the FS COSMAO.  The French scored the first hits of the general engagement at 1202, but the shortly thereafter the heavier and more
numerous guns of the American fleet began to score.
 

Image 4.  1127 (L)



By 1155, the French force was trapped between the peninsula and the scouting force that was pushing up hard from the south.  At this point, the battle was decided, although the butcher's bill still needed to be paid. The French gunnery was good, scoring numerous hits on the American cruisers.  At 1205, FREDERICK had her "A" turret destroyed by a close range hit from the FS DUPUY de LOME.  At the same time, a hit on the BALTIMORE started a flash fire that knocked out two of her secondary batteries. Seconds later, a lucky 6" hit, likely from French cruiser, detonated in the heretofore undamaged USS JOUETT's engineering spaces, sinking her within minutes.  Eighty-one of her crew survived and were later picked up by the USS TUCSON.  The USS PITTSBURG narrowly avoided a torpedo, likely fired by the doomed French cruiser.

Image 5.  1155 (L)




But the USN was scoring hits also.  Seconds after seeing her sister ship sunk, the destroyer WINSLOW struck back, firing a torpedo that hit the DUPUY de LOME, and making it to dead in the water.  The heavier and more numerous American guns gradually silenced the French vessels, first the CL FS COSMAO, then the crippled FS DUPUY de LOME.   By 1215 the COSMAO and DUPUY de LOME were burning wrecks, which were subsequently sunk after having absorbed 126 and 87 medium-caliber shell hits.  Somehow, in this confusion, the FS ISLY managed to escape this cauldron and reach port.
 
Image 6.  1215 (L)



Analysis: The French gunnery was good.  The DUPUY de LOME achieved a hit percentage of 6.06%, but the two light cruisers fell far short of this, with 2.41 and 1.12%.  The USN cruisers were only average, the PITTSBURG achieving a 3.41% and FREDERICK achieving only a 2.49% hit percentage.  However, BALTIMORE managed a 6.34 % hit rate.  The USN failure to achieve a higher hit percentage may be the result of the American cruisers not being equipped with central firing.  Nevertheless, the perfect visibility, close range and relatively slow targets makes this hit percentage disappointing, given the extra effort spent on gunnery training.  The US did score two torpedo hits on the FS COSMAO and DUPUY de LOME, but in one case (the FS COSMAO), the ship was already DIW.

Image 7. Battle Statistics

[Sir Slash]

HURRAY For Adm. Hichborn! I shall have a double-Sarsaparilla to celebrate. 

[Tripoli]

The 1905 War with France-November and December 1905

November-A French battle fleet of 4 Battleships declines battle off the Philippines.  This gives me more VP.  Unfortunately, the port of Cam Rahn Bay (Annam) is still not captured.  I desperately need to get this port before the arrival of the main French fleet shows up, as by capturing, I reduce by over 50% the total French basing capacity in SE Asia. In the Commerce war, 19 French Merchants are sunk, all but four in European waters. 

In December, the French avoided a battle in the Caribbean, so the only engagement of note was a 9 December battle in the Alboran Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) between the CL USS OLYMPIA and two French light cruisers.  The battle began at approximately 0956 local time, in calm seas when the OLYMPIA identified a single French FOBIN-class light cruiser.  The OLYMPIA only had less than 50% fuel, a fact that was soon to have significant consequences.  The OLYMPIA opened fire at 1036, and quickly began hitting the French ship with five 6" shells and suffering two hits in return.  At 1117, a second French light cruiser, the FS TAGE was spotted, and opens fire at 1202 and begins registering hits after nine minutes of firing.   The battle devolved into a slugfest between the three ships.  After an hour-long gun duel, the OLYMPIA's rudder is damaged, but the FS TAGE is badly damaged and, taking advantage of the OLYMPIA's crippled state, withdraws to the south.  Meanwhile, the FOBIN-class CL is wrecked.  After re-gaining steering, the OLYMPIA finishes off the FOBIN-class CL and withdraws from the area with minor flooding and superstructure damage.

Low fuel and damaged condition require the OLYMPIA to try to put into a neutral port for repairs and refueling.  Unfortunately, she is denied permission.  The captain then decides to scuttle the ship rather than try for another port or retreat to CONUS.

In the commerce war, the USN raiders sink sixteen French merchants, all but three being sunk in French home waters.