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Hurray! 
Now you have an excuse for the Royal Indian Navy to blow the Kriegsmarine to little pieces!
Now you have an excuse for the Royal Indian Navy to blow the Kriegsmarine to little pieces!
Excellent work. All of the best AARs are written as histories inspired by HoI, and this is certainly one of them.
Part IX
"Tally-ho, Jerry ships below us. All units, break and engage."
General Frederick Bowhill, January 2nd 1940
Battle of the Straits of Dover
India's entrance into the Second World War on October 31st, 1939 saw the nation woefully unprepared for war. The army consisted of only four divisions, three infantry and one armored. The navy was marginally better off with two battleships, one carrier, one light cruiser, and twenty 1500-ton destroyers. The air force, other than the 90 aircraft composing the Carrier Air Group of the Vikrant, simply didn't exist. The planned rearmament for FY1940 would have dramatically increased the size of all three branches of the military (the navy alone would have gained three capital ships and two cruisers) but war hadn't waited that long.
Fortunately, the Indian National Congress recognized the nation's weakness as clearly as her military leaders and the new declaration of war provided unheard of levels of funding for the starved military. The first order of business was the expansion of the small army. On November 3rd, the army accepted 75,000 new recruits to form the basis for five new infantry divisions. Rajendra Prasad shroudly expended his nation's political capital to build the new force. India, like China, had found itself with a great deal of popular sympathy in the United States and Great Britain's heavy-handed approach towards India bought the subcontinent support within the United States. The Indian Prime Minister managed to turn that support into direct military aid, purchasing nearly 100,000 Model 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifles at below market price. The United States, having recently switched to the more modern M1-Garand, had no use for the obsolete Springfields. India, on the other hand, lacked the ability to supply the needed weaponry to 75,000 new recruits in a short period of time. The American Springfields served as an excellent stop-gap solution.
The Royal Indian Air Force also benefited from the increased funding. An order was placed with Hawker in the United Kingdom for 120 Hurricane-II's, armed with four 20-mm cannons and bomb racks rather than the eight .303 machine guns of the Hurricane-I's. The expected completion date on the order, and the establishment of the first RIAF operational squadron, was April 1940. The government hoped to organize at least two more fighter squadrons during 1940, though it realized the fluid situation of war may alter funding priorities. Nevertheless, the RIAF would finally exist on more than just paper.
The final branch, the navy, joined in the spending frenzy. Two more light cruisers of the Nilgiri-class, similar to the British Town-class cruisers, were ordered as well as fifteen additional 1500-ton destroyers. One neglected arm of the Royal Indian Navy, transportation, expanded rapidly. Domestic yards began construction on eighty freighters, which could be used to transport troops or material to the front-lines. The navy also had to decide whether to provide the Royal Indian Navy Transportation Force (RINTF) with its own escort branch or to assign the duty to the combat units of the RIN. In the end, the navy minister, Ram Dass Katari, decided to provide the RINTF with its own integral combat fleet. The initial fleet was to consist of ten Indus River-class sloops and Kumaon-class armored cruiser. The sloops were essentially slow destroyers with heavier armor and armament. Since the warships would be escorted slow freighters, there was no need for the 34-knot top speed of the Delhi-class destroyers; a mere 22-knots would be sufficient. The Kumaon, like the German 'pocket battleships' was a turn-of-the-century armored cruiser with updated technology. The Kumaon, trading speed for armor and 11-inch guns, was expected to be able to handle any enemy cruiser with little difficulty and possibly engage a battlecruiser long enough for the merchant ships of an RINTF convoy to scatter and escape.
It would be many months, however, for the Indian mobilization to bear fruit. Until the summer, at the very least, India would have to make do with the meager resource on hand. Pre-war strategy had called for an Indian naval and army garrison for the Suez Canal, freeing significant British units for combat elsewhere. Additionally, the units in the eastern Mediterranean would be able to return to the Indian Ocean quickly if another threat should emerge. The weakness of the Indian National Army and the sinking of the Coronet made the pre-war plans obsolete. After a few hours of debate, Field Marshal Louis Mountbatten and Ram Dass Katari hammered out a new strategy that would defend India and provide some measure of defense (and revenge) for the Indian merchant marine. The INA would remain at home, assisting in the training of the new divisions until mid-1940 when the RINTF and her escorts were operational. The main battle squadron of the RIN, meanwhile, would set sail for Great Britain for operations against the Kriegsmarine.
Force M of the Royal Indian Navy set sail on November 25th under the command of Admiral Henry Harwood. At its heart lay the battleships Taragiri and Vindhyagiri and the carrier Vikrant. The light cruiser Nilgiri commanded the screening element of fifteen Delhi-class destroyers. The meticulously maintained engines of the 19 warships pushed the task force to 28 knots as it raced the several thousand miles from India to the English Channel. The journey lasted nearly a month, with a brief lay-over in Malta. On December 20th, Force M arrived in Dover, in time to participate in the second break-out attempt of the German Navy.
Unlike in the First World War, the German Navy immediately seized on the opportunity to engage the enemy. The Kriegsmarine devastated the Polish navy in the early days of the war. By early November, with the Poles subdued and the Soviets temporarily pacified, the German fleet transferred to ports on the North Sea. The bulk of the fleet departed once more a few days later, headed for the Dogger Bank. On November 8th, nine battleships and cruisers, five destroyers, and ten submarines appeared off the east coast of England. In an event reminiscent of the First World War, the vessels bombarded a few British villages and left. The bulk of the Royal Navy was stationed in the Channel or Scapa Flow and was unable to respond. Only a small, outnumbered squadron under the command of Admiral Cunningham was able to make steam and intercept the German force at Dogger Bank early in the afternoon on November 8th.
With only an elderly monitor, Soult, and a quartet of cruisers, Cunningham engaged the German force of two modern battlecruisers, three pocket battleships, and four cruisers. The slow monitor was smashed by the heavy guns of the German battlecruisers but not before her ancient 15-inch guns heavily damaged the pocket battleship Graf Spee. After only an hour of combat, the old Soult sucumbed to the gunfire of the German capital ships, yet, the British cruisers and destroyers continued to fight on into the night. They managed to score a number of torpedo hits on the German vessels, but none proved mortal. As the sun rose on November 9th, the battered vessels slowly broke away, the Germans too damaged to pursue the British, while the Royal Navy was in no shape to continue to engage the heavy caliber guns of the German battleships. Still, the opportunity to destroy the German task force remained.
The Trap is Sprung
The hours bought with the blood of Cunningham's squadron allowed the main body of the Royal Navy to sail south from Scapa Flow. It was an eerily familar scene, reminiscient of so many battles in the North Sea during the First World War, where Beatty's Battlecruiser Force sought to engage and distract the High Seas Fleet long enough for Jellicoe's Grand Fleet to arrive. Like in so many Great War naval battles, however, the RN force from Scapa Flow would not arrive in time. Mere hours before the Royal Navy would be able to open fire on the Germans, the Kriegsmarine battle group slipped into Wilhemshaven.
In another connotation of the First World War, the land war turned into a stalemate. The Maginot Line proved too formidable an opponent even for the armor of the Wehrmacht. To try to end the so-called Phony War, in early December, Germany declared war on the Low Countries. Within a week, Luxembourg fell. Frontier Belgian and Dutch provinces followed as the French refused to commit their forces to battle. Both governments shifted their capital from besieged Europe to their distant African and Asian colonies. Their armies continued to resist but, by the end of the year, the fall of both countries appeared imminent and the major combatants began to prepare for the Battle of France.
The Kriegsmarine had utilized the month of December to repair its damage from the Battle of Dogger Bank. Restored to full strength, the fleet set sail once more on January 1st, 1940. This time, it came in even greater strength and intended to break out into the North Atlantic and devastate British convoys. The two battlecruisers, three pocket battleships, and four cruisers were joined by an additional light cruisers and a pair of ancient pre-dreadnoughts, as well as ten more destroyers and five more submarines.
The battle squadron immediately came into contact with the French blockading squadron outside Wilhemshaven. The German battleships simply blew past the small French light cruisers and destroyers. The French force, trip-wire technically, barely managed to delay the Germans before it broke contact and retreated towards the Belgian coast, seeking to repair its heavy damage. Fortunately, the entire force managed to reach safety before succumbing to flooding and fires.
As the French struggled to save themselves, the Royal Navy set sail from its ports in Scapa Flow. In Dover, Force M of the Royal Indian Navy lay at anchored, recuperating from its long journey. Upon hearing news of the German break-out, Admiral Harwood ordered his ships to make steam and head for the Straits of Dover to guard the entrance to the English Channel. The Vikrant, plagued with a damaged boiler and limited to only 20 knots, was ordered to remain in Dover. The Vikrant's captain languished under Harwood's command, but for General Frederick Bowhill, commander of the vessel's CAG, it proved a godsend. The carrier now could only support Force M from afar. The theories on carrier warfare could now be put to the test in the field of battle. Scouts from the Vikrant launched in search of the German fleet.
The battle with the French blockading squadron had taken an unexpected toll on the German force. One of the battlecruisers, Gneisenau, had struck a mine and one of the pocket battleships and one of the light cruisers had sustained heavy damage from French guns and Belgian motor-torpedo boats that attacked after the French retreat. The ancient pre-dreadnoughts had also displayed their uselessness in modern combat. The Kriegsmarine decided to alter its plans. The damaged vessels, escorted by the destroyers, two pocket battleships, one light cruisers, and the pre-dreadnoughts, would return to port. The battle cruiser Scharnhorst, the light cruisers Kohn, Karlsruhe, and Emden and ten submarines would try to advance into the English Channel and attack British transports headed for France, before returning to Wilhemshaven.
The German force headed for the Channel, under the command of Admiral Donitz, was soon spotted by a scout from the Vikrant at dawn on January 2nd. The scout reported the position of the German force to Bowhill and Harwood. The admiral raised full steam and made for the German squadron at 27 knots. General Bowhill ordered all available aircraft to attack. Vikrant struggle to maintain 22 knots, racing into the wind to permit the CAG to launch. A total of 21 F5 fighters, 19 Vindicator dive bombers, and 25 Swordfish torpedo planes took off and followed General Bowhill's Vindicator towards the German fleet.
At 0937 hours, Bowhill spoke his famous words, "Tally-ho, Jerry ships below us. All units, break and engage." The Glouster fighters circled the German squadron, knocking out a lone seaplane that rose to scout the Straits of Dover ahead of the battle squadron. The Vindicators dove on the German vessels, seeking to distract them as the true killers, the Swordfish, lined up for their torpedo runs. The distraction worked as three dive bombers splashed into the sea from heavy German AA fire. The Vindicator pilots later claimed four hits; German logs recovered after the war record a single hit on Emden. As the Vindicator's pulled out of their dives, the Swordfish launched their torpedoes, with only one of the bombers having fallen to German fire. Three of the torpedoes struck home, hitting the unfortunate Emden once more and the Kohn and the Scharnhorst.
Donitz had been unnerved by the brief but vicious air attack and decided to withdraw. It was, however, too late. Force M had already spotted the German flotilla and opened fire at extreme range with its 14-inch guns. The splashed of heavy caliber shells around his flagship told Donitz that his fleet was not going to escape and it turned to engage the enemy. The German light cruisers surged ahead, seeking to engage the smaller destroyers of the Indian screen. Without the destroyers, the submarines could potentially engage the Indian capital ships. In case the ploy failed, one of the submarine squadrons was ordered to establish an ambush line behind the Scharnhorst and engage the Indian vessels as the Germans retreated if defeated. The other squadron followed the cruisers forward.
The Indian destroyers had not been silent as the Nilgiri fought. Instead of retreating, the squadron targetted by Karlsruhe charged the cruiser at flank speed, launching torpedoes and firing their 5-inch guns. The German cruiser struck the destroyer Delhi eight times in rapid succession and the small Indian warship capsized and sank. The other four continued their charge. The German vessel targetted Rajput next and struck her three times. One of the shells penetrated one of the destroyer's magazines and the warship exploded. The Karlsruhe opened fire on the Mysore and hit her twice but then suffered two torpedo hits that flooded her engine room with sea water. The cruiser stopped dead in the water and, admist a pack of enemy destroyers, the crew abandoned ship.
The other Indian destroyers would have come to the aid of their beleguered sisters, but the asdic gear on one of the destroyers detected the approaching German subs. The Indian vessels fanned out and began to release depth charges. One sub was sunk and another brought to the surface. Hearing the sounds of detonating depth charges, the remaining three subs abandoned their attack; they would be sunk the next day by Royal Navy destroyers. Ironically, however, the sub forced to the surface emerged next to the cruiser Nilgiri. The cruiser had suffered heavy damage in her duel with two German opponents. The U-Boat surfaced so close to the Indian cruiser that her guns could not depress far enough to hit the submarine. The German sub opened fire with her small 3-inch deck gun as the Indian cruiser responded with machine guns and 20-mm cannons at extreme range. The U-Boat eventually sank under the weight of the cruiser's AA battery, but not before hitting Nilgiri three times.
The Scharnhorst engaged the Indian battleships as the light cruisers died. The battle cruiser charged at full speed towards the two capital ships, seeking to bring its 11-inch guns into range. The warship was struck twice by Indian 14-inch guns as her cruiser screen died. Donitz order the Scharnhorst to withdraw beyond the U-Boat ambush line. Taragiri and Vindhyagiri followed. The German battle cruiser was hit once more when suddenly three torpedoes slammed into Harwood's flagship, Taragiri. The ten Indian destroyers went to work hunting the now revealed submarine line as the Taragiri slowed to 15 knots. Vindhyagiri continued to pursue the Scharnhorst, slamming through the ambush line at 28 knots, relying on speed for protection. The battleship managed to avoid six torpedoes with her captain's skilled maneuvers. Heavy caliber shells continued to pound Scharnhorst while she managed to hit her pursuer only once, causing no serious damage. At 1427, Scharnhorst rolled over and sank.
Force M slowly made its way back to Dover. Nilgiri and Taragiri had been badly damaged and would require several weeks of work at Dover drydocks. Two destroyers had been sunk and a third, Mysore, was a flaming wreck. Only two destroyer squadrons and a single battleship were ready for combat. The Germans had lost far worse: ten submarines, three light cruisers, and a battle cruiser. It was excellent way to start a new year.
Part IX: The Great War Redux
November 1939 - January 1940
"Tally-ho, Jerry ships below us. All units, break and engage."
General Frederick Bowhill, January 2nd 1940
Battle of the Straits of Dover
-------------------------------------
India's entrance into the Second World War on October 31st, 1939 saw the nation woefully unprepared for war. The army consisted of only four divisions, three infantry and one armored. The navy was marginally better off with two battleships, one carrier, one light cruiser, and twenty 1500-ton destroyers. The air force, other than the 90 aircraft composing the Carrier Air Group of the Vikrant, simply didn't exist. The planned rearmament for FY1940 would have dramatically increased the size of all three branches of the military (the navy alone would have gained three capital ships and two cruisers) but war hadn't waited that long.
Fortunately, the Indian National Congress recognized the nation's weakness as clearly as her military leaders and the new declaration of war provided unheard of levels of funding for the starved military. The first order of business was the expansion of the small army. On November 3rd, the army accepted 75,000 new recruits to form the basis for five new infantry divisions. Rajendra Prasad shroudly expended his nation's political capital to build the new force. India, like China, had found itself with a great deal of popular sympathy in the United States and Great Britain's heavy-handed approach towards India bought the subcontinent support within the United States. The Indian Prime Minister managed to turn that support into direct military aid, purchasing nearly 100,000 Model 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifles at below market price. The United States, having recently switched to the more modern M1-Garand, had no use for the obsolete Springfields. India, on the other hand, lacked the ability to supply the needed weaponry to 75,000 new recruits in a short period of time. The American Springfields served as an excellent stop-gap solution.
The Royal Indian Air Force also benefited from the increased funding. An order was placed with Hawker in the United Kingdom for 120 Hurricane-II's, armed with four 20-mm cannons and bomb racks rather than the eight .303 machine guns of the Hurricane-I's. The expected completion date on the order, and the establishment of the first RIAF operational squadron, was April 1940. The government hoped to organize at least two more fighter squadrons during 1940, though it realized the fluid situation of war may alter funding priorities. Nevertheless, the RIAF would finally exist on more than just paper.
The final branch, the navy, joined in the spending frenzy. Two more light cruisers of the Nilgiri-class, similar to the British Town-class cruisers, were ordered as well as fifteen additional 1500-ton destroyers. One neglected arm of the Royal Indian Navy, transportation, expanded rapidly. Domestic yards began construction on eighty freighters, which could be used to transport troops or material to the front-lines. The navy also had to decide whether to provide the Royal Indian Navy Transportation Force (RINTF) with its own escort branch or to assign the duty to the combat units of the RIN. In the end, the navy minister, Ram Dass Katari, decided to provide the RINTF with its own integral combat fleet. The initial fleet was to consist of ten Indus River-class sloops and Kumaon-class armored cruiser. The sloops were essentially slow destroyers with heavier armor and armament. Since the warships would be escorted slow freighters, there was no need for the 34-knot top speed of the Delhi-class destroyers; a mere 22-knots would be sufficient. The Kumaon, like the German 'pocket battleships' was a turn-of-the-century armored cruiser with updated technology. The Kumaon, trading speed for armor and 11-inch guns, was expected to be able to handle any enemy cruiser with little difficulty and possibly engage a battlecruiser long enough for the merchant ships of an RINTF convoy to scatter and escape.
It would be many months, however, for the Indian mobilization to bear fruit. Until the summer, at the very least, India would have to make do with the meager resource on hand. Pre-war strategy had called for an Indian naval and army garrison for the Suez Canal, freeing significant British units for combat elsewhere. Additionally, the units in the eastern Mediterranean would be able to return to the Indian Ocean quickly if another threat should emerge. The weakness of the Indian National Army and the sinking of the Coronet made the pre-war plans obsolete. After a few hours of debate, Field Marshal Louis Mountbatten and Ram Dass Katari hammered out a new strategy that would defend India and provide some measure of defense (and revenge) for the Indian merchant marine. The INA would remain at home, assisting in the training of the new divisions until mid-1940 when the RINTF and her escorts were operational. The main battle squadron of the RIN, meanwhile, would set sail for Great Britain for operations against the Kriegsmarine.
Royal Indian Navy en route to England
Force M of the Royal Indian Navy set sail on November 25th under the command of Admiral Henry Harwood. At its heart lay the battleships Taragiri and Vindhyagiri and the carrier Vikrant. The light cruiser Nilgiri commanded the screening element of fifteen Delhi-class destroyers. The meticulously maintained engines of the 19 warships pushed the task force to 28 knots as it raced the several thousand miles from India to the English Channel. The journey lasted nearly a month, with a brief lay-over in Malta. On December 20th, Force M arrived in Dover, in time to participate in the second break-out attempt of the German Navy.
Unlike in the First World War, the German Navy immediately seized on the opportunity to engage the enemy. The Kriegsmarine devastated the Polish navy in the early days of the war. By early November, with the Poles subdued and the Soviets temporarily pacified, the German fleet transferred to ports on the North Sea. The bulk of the fleet departed once more a few days later, headed for the Dogger Bank. On November 8th, nine battleships and cruisers, five destroyers, and ten submarines appeared off the east coast of England. In an event reminiscent of the First World War, the vessels bombarded a few British villages and left. The bulk of the Royal Navy was stationed in the Channel or Scapa Flow and was unable to respond. Only a small, outnumbered squadron under the command of Admiral Cunningham was able to make steam and intercept the German force at Dogger Bank early in the afternoon on November 8th.
Battle of Dogger Bank
With only an elderly monitor, Soult, and a quartet of cruisers, Cunningham engaged the German force of two modern battlecruisers, three pocket battleships, and four cruisers. The slow monitor was smashed by the heavy guns of the German battlecruisers but not before her ancient 15-inch guns heavily damaged the pocket battleship Graf Spee. After only an hour of combat, the old Soult sucumbed to the gunfire of the German capital ships, yet, the British cruisers and destroyers continued to fight on into the night. They managed to score a number of torpedo hits on the German vessels, but none proved mortal. As the sun rose on November 9th, the battered vessels slowly broke away, the Germans too damaged to pursue the British, while the Royal Navy was in no shape to continue to engage the heavy caliber guns of the German battleships. Still, the opportunity to destroy the German task force remained.
The Trap is Sprung
The hours bought with the blood of Cunningham's squadron allowed the main body of the Royal Navy to sail south from Scapa Flow. It was an eerily familar scene, reminiscient of so many battles in the North Sea during the First World War, where Beatty's Battlecruiser Force sought to engage and distract the High Seas Fleet long enough for Jellicoe's Grand Fleet to arrive. Like in so many Great War naval battles, however, the RN force from Scapa Flow would not arrive in time. Mere hours before the Royal Navy would be able to open fire on the Germans, the Kriegsmarine battle group slipped into Wilhemshaven.
In another connotation of the First World War, the land war turned into a stalemate. The Maginot Line proved too formidable an opponent even for the armor of the Wehrmacht. To try to end the so-called Phony War, in early December, Germany declared war on the Low Countries. Within a week, Luxembourg fell. Frontier Belgian and Dutch provinces followed as the French refused to commit their forces to battle. Both governments shifted their capital from besieged Europe to their distant African and Asian colonies. Their armies continued to resist but, by the end of the year, the fall of both countries appeared imminent and the major combatants began to prepare for the Battle of France.
The Kriegsmarine had utilized the month of December to repair its damage from the Battle of Dogger Bank. Restored to full strength, the fleet set sail once more on January 1st, 1940. This time, it came in even greater strength and intended to break out into the North Atlantic and devastate British convoys. The two battlecruisers, three pocket battleships, and four cruisers were joined by an additional light cruisers and a pair of ancient pre-dreadnoughts, as well as ten more destroyers and five more submarines.
The Second Break-Out Attempt
The battle squadron immediately came into contact with the French blockading squadron outside Wilhemshaven. The German battleships simply blew past the small French light cruisers and destroyers. The French force, trip-wire technically, barely managed to delay the Germans before it broke contact and retreated towards the Belgian coast, seeking to repair its heavy damage. Fortunately, the entire force managed to reach safety before succumbing to flooding and fires.
As the French struggled to save themselves, the Royal Navy set sail from its ports in Scapa Flow. In Dover, Force M of the Royal Indian Navy lay at anchored, recuperating from its long journey. Upon hearing news of the German break-out, Admiral Harwood ordered his ships to make steam and head for the Straits of Dover to guard the entrance to the English Channel. The Vikrant, plagued with a damaged boiler and limited to only 20 knots, was ordered to remain in Dover. The Vikrant's captain languished under Harwood's command, but for General Frederick Bowhill, commander of the vessel's CAG, it proved a godsend. The carrier now could only support Force M from afar. The theories on carrier warfare could now be put to the test in the field of battle. Scouts from the Vikrant launched in search of the German fleet.
The battle with the French blockading squadron had taken an unexpected toll on the German force. One of the battlecruisers, Gneisenau, had struck a mine and one of the pocket battleships and one of the light cruisers had sustained heavy damage from French guns and Belgian motor-torpedo boats that attacked after the French retreat. The ancient pre-dreadnoughts had also displayed their uselessness in modern combat. The Kriegsmarine decided to alter its plans. The damaged vessels, escorted by the destroyers, two pocket battleships, one light cruisers, and the pre-dreadnoughts, would return to port. The battle cruiser Scharnhorst, the light cruisers Kohn, Karlsruhe, and Emden and ten submarines would try to advance into the English Channel and attack British transports headed for France, before returning to Wilhemshaven.
The German force headed for the Channel, under the command of Admiral Donitz, was soon spotted by a scout from the Vikrant at dawn on January 2nd. The scout reported the position of the German force to Bowhill and Harwood. The admiral raised full steam and made for the German squadron at 27 knots. General Bowhill ordered all available aircraft to attack. Vikrant struggle to maintain 22 knots, racing into the wind to permit the CAG to launch. A total of 21 F5 fighters, 19 Vindicator dive bombers, and 25 Swordfish torpedo planes took off and followed General Bowhill's Vindicator towards the German fleet.
Indian Aircraft Engage the Kriegsmarine
At 0937 hours, Bowhill spoke his famous words, "Tally-ho, Jerry ships below us. All units, break and engage." The Glouster fighters circled the German squadron, knocking out a lone seaplane that rose to scout the Straits of Dover ahead of the battle squadron. The Vindicators dove on the German vessels, seeking to distract them as the true killers, the Swordfish, lined up for their torpedo runs. The distraction worked as three dive bombers splashed into the sea from heavy German AA fire. The Vindicator pilots later claimed four hits; German logs recovered after the war record a single hit on Emden. As the Vindicator's pulled out of their dives, the Swordfish launched their torpedoes, with only one of the bombers having fallen to German fire. Three of the torpedoes struck home, hitting the unfortunate Emden once more and the Kohn and the Scharnhorst.
Donitz had been unnerved by the brief but vicious air attack and decided to withdraw. It was, however, too late. Force M had already spotted the German flotilla and opened fire at extreme range with its 14-inch guns. The splashed of heavy caliber shells around his flagship told Donitz that his fleet was not going to escape and it turned to engage the enemy. The German light cruisers surged ahead, seeking to engage the smaller destroyers of the Indian screen. Without the destroyers, the submarines could potentially engage the Indian capital ships. In case the ploy failed, one of the submarine squadrons was ordered to establish an ambush line behind the Scharnhorst and engage the Indian vessels as the Germans retreated if defeated. The other squadron followed the cruisers forward.
Naval Battle of Dover Straits
Seeing the German cruisers approach, Nilgiri advanced to protect her flock of destroyers. Emden and Kohn turned to engage her as Karlsruhe attacked a destroyer group. Rapid fire 6-inch shells from the modern Indian cruiser slammed into the battered, aging Emden. In nine minutes, the Nilgiri hit the German cruiser seventeen times and the warship, now on fire and begining to list, stopped in the war as her crew abandoned ship. Nilgiri now turned on the Kohn, which had managed to hit the Indian cruiser three times as she engaged Emden. The German K-class cruiser managed to hit Nilgiri twice more before she erupted in flames from the same 6-inch barrage as Emden. The Indian destroyers had not been silent as the Nilgiri fought. Instead of retreating, the squadron targetted by Karlsruhe charged the cruiser at flank speed, launching torpedoes and firing their 5-inch guns. The German cruiser struck the destroyer Delhi eight times in rapid succession and the small Indian warship capsized and sank. The other four continued their charge. The German vessel targetted Rajput next and struck her three times. One of the shells penetrated one of the destroyer's magazines and the warship exploded. The Karlsruhe opened fire on the Mysore and hit her twice but then suffered two torpedo hits that flooded her engine room with sea water. The cruiser stopped dead in the water and, admist a pack of enemy destroyers, the crew abandoned ship.
The other Indian destroyers would have come to the aid of their beleguered sisters, but the asdic gear on one of the destroyers detected the approaching German subs. The Indian vessels fanned out and began to release depth charges. One sub was sunk and another brought to the surface. Hearing the sounds of detonating depth charges, the remaining three subs abandoned their attack; they would be sunk the next day by Royal Navy destroyers. Ironically, however, the sub forced to the surface emerged next to the cruiser Nilgiri. The cruiser had suffered heavy damage in her duel with two German opponents. The U-Boat surfaced so close to the Indian cruiser that her guns could not depress far enough to hit the submarine. The German sub opened fire with her small 3-inch deck gun as the Indian cruiser responded with machine guns and 20-mm cannons at extreme range. The U-Boat eventually sank under the weight of the cruiser's AA battery, but not before hitting Nilgiri three times.
The Scharnhorst engaged the Indian battleships as the light cruisers died. The battle cruiser charged at full speed towards the two capital ships, seeking to bring its 11-inch guns into range. The warship was struck twice by Indian 14-inch guns as her cruiser screen died. Donitz order the Scharnhorst to withdraw beyond the U-Boat ambush line. Taragiri and Vindhyagiri followed. The German battle cruiser was hit once more when suddenly three torpedoes slammed into Harwood's flagship, Taragiri. The ten Indian destroyers went to work hunting the now revealed submarine line as the Taragiri slowed to 15 knots. Vindhyagiri continued to pursue the Scharnhorst, slamming through the ambush line at 28 knots, relying on speed for protection. The battleship managed to avoid six torpedoes with her captain's skilled maneuvers. Heavy caliber shells continued to pound Scharnhorst while she managed to hit her pursuer only once, causing no serious damage. At 1427, Scharnhorst rolled over and sank.
Force M slowly made its way back to Dover. Nilgiri and Taragiri had been badly damaged and would require several weeks of work at Dover drydocks. Two destroyers had been sunk and a third, Mysore, was a flaming wreck. Only two destroyer squadrons and a single battleship were ready for combat. The Germans had lost far worse: ten submarines, three light cruisers, and a battle cruiser. It was excellent way to start a new year.
Nicely done....I don't think Donitz will be trying anything naughty in the near future?
Thanks to you guys who've been reading. I probably won't be updating for the next couple of days so Merry Christman to all and to all a good fight...err...night.