Gentlemen,
We are at war again. Germany and Britain decided to have a fight, and we are backing Britain under the terms of our alliance. The initial clash between our destroyers in the North Sea resulted in a significant fraction of the German's modern destroyers resting on the bottom, while we escaped without losses.
In other news, things are going pretty well. We've laid down a pair of new CAs, a new CL and a bunch of new minesweepers, as well as finally getting dive bombers into service and developing the capability to design our own torpedo bombers. Our aviation capabilities have grown in other ways, and we are expanding air bases near the North Sea.
Our current ships
Ships under construction
January 1930
We begin design work on CA Dupleix, KE Henreitte. BB Nantes finishes reconstruction. Tensions between Britain and Germany began to rise, and we back the British unconditionally. Weirdly, this spikes tension between us and Germany less than expected, but does give us a big budget boost. AH lays down a CVL, UK a CL, Italy an AV, Japan a CA, US a BC. Italy commissions 1 BC, 1 BB, Japan 1 CVL, 1 DD, US 2 DD.
February 1930
We lay down 8 Henriette class minesweepers, begin overhauls on the Jeanne Maries. The Loire 115 flying boat enters operational service. UK lays down a BB, Japan a CA, the US a BB. Germany commissions a BC, UK a CL, Japan a DD, US 5 DDs.
March 1930
We lay down CAs Dupleix and Jeanne d'Arc. Italy lays down a CA, US a BB. AH commissions a CVL, the US 4 DD.
April 1930
We lay down two more Henriettes. We select the Potez 121 dive bomber from our competition, thanks to its great range relative to all other carrier-based aircraft. Farman also produces an improved version of its F.109 floatplane. US and UK lay down CVs, Germany commissions a CL, US a DD.
May 1930
Refits of CL D'Entrecasteaux, the Ville de Bayonne class minesweepers and Espingole class DDs begin. To free up budget, we scrap the Sfax class AVs. Breakthrough: Increased loading mechanisms. UK lays down a BB, Germany commissions a BC, AH commissions an AV, UK commissions a DD. We give an interview emphasizing our preparedness for war, spiking tensions with Germany into the orange.
June 1930
We reactivate the Devastations due to the tensions with Germany, and initiate a competition for a new medium bomber. CL Guichen begins reconstruction. Design work begins on CL Tage, a 29-kt Bertin derivative. A disarmament conference is held, but no progress results. The LeO.118 dive bomber enters operational service. CL Tage is laid down. UK lays down a CA, Italy a CL, Japan a BB. Japan commissions a CV. We rearrange the air group of Bearn to include dive bombers.
July 1930
CL D'Entrecasteaux, 3 DDs and 2 KEs finish reconstruction. Breakthroughs: Carrier force, Early air launched torpedoes, Improved landing guidance system. Germany lays down 1 CV, 1 BC, UK 1 BB, Japan 1 BC. US commissions 1 CA, 1 DD.
August 1930
CLs Destrees and Pascal begins reconstruction. CL Guichen finishes reconstruction. Breakthrough: Motor Landing Craft. Morane Saulnier develops an improved version of their MS.112 fighter. Japan lays down a BC, Germany commissions a CVL.
September 1930
We begin expanding air bases at Dunkerque and Stavanger. Loire et Olivier offers a privately-developed medium bomber, which we accept as an interim airplane. AH lays down a BB, Germany commissions a CL.
October 1930
BB Saint Louis finishes her reconstruction. Germany and Britain are at each other's throats again, and we fully back our allies, egged on by the recent discovery of German espionage. Breakthrough: Bulbous bow. War breaks out with Germany! They lay down a KE and a CVL, while the US lays down a CV, Japan commissions a CV, and the US commissions 2 DD.
Destroyer action off the Dutch coast. 9 of our DDs encounter a similar number of German ships. One of their destroyers blows up with a magazine hit, and we gain the upper hand, torpedoing two of their ships and pounding one more into scrap. Several of our ships are badly damaged, but the net result is a major victory for us, 960 VP to 229.
Comments
Nice work with the destroyer battle--especially with so few DDs in the German fleet, they should really feel each loss.
I'd discuss our strategy here, but the situation isn't all that complex--one enemy, one theater, no invasion opportunities. So, uh, keep winning battles!
The war is over! Astonishingly, it only lasted 5 months before Germany decided they'd rather not have a repeat of last time. No new territory, but we've got enough budget cushion to not have to do too much to our building programs, so things are looking good.
Nice work! Did Britain get anything out of the war? Any significant losses on either side?
No and Germany lost one battleship. We had three destroyers sunk in the same battle, and one old CL sunk in the Med. It was all very low-key. British forces didn't participate at all.