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Introducing the Caribbean
Topic Started: Jun 3 2011, 11:28 AM (297 Views)
Azrael
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Citadelle Laferrière, or more modernly Castell de Haiti, stood proud atop a mountaintop in northern Hispaniola. Overlooking surrounding valleys, the massive fortification had been built for the sole reason of defending against French aggression in the aftermath of Haiti breaking free of their colonial influence. It was the well-known case of irony that now the castle was manned by the Aragonese military, keeping watch over the crown's realms for almost the eighth decade. Although Haiti, or formally known as Hispaniola, was no longer a colony it still lacked certain rights that would make it an equal to the European possessions. What was certain that as much as it was a subjugated realm, Aragonese rule was much kinder than that of the former colonial masters. And not only due to it being the 1940s, a time when colonialism was out of fashion by most standards.

On top of the citadel, a group of men stood and looked into the horizon. Two men held old-fashioned spyglasses while the other three held modern binoculars. In the distant horizon the very shores of Cuba loomed, visible only due to the good clear weather. To most foreigners, the men were straight out of a movie set during the wars of Napoleon. Their uniforms were old-fashioned and their hats tall and wide, with little regards to the modern minimalist military dresses of other nations. These men served the Crown of Aragon and no soldier with such a distinguished merit should wear what looked like mere fatigues.
Present were Army General Ramon Berenguer Gualba, Admiral Agrippino Palminteri, Air Force Commander Salvador García Rodríguez as well as Marine Commander Delmiro Núñez and last but not least Commander Erasme Lavolier of the Colonial Legions and a native dark-skinned Haitian Creole. These men had gathered here for a reason. And that reason was to discuss the worries presented by His Imperial Highness over the rise of one Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar on the island nation of Cuba. Suspecting the regime was backed by North American nations, the crown had issued an order to begin pressuring Cuba to reveal the nations behind Batista. The nation was a military dictatorship and even if King Maximilian II was the head of an autocratic nation, he would not watch a nation that was once under the banner of Aragon be swept under the foot of military-issue jackboots. An increased presence in the Caribbean might also give Aragon a chance to do something in relation to the situation in the North American western coastline. Aragonese movements would have much less opposition with the big nations of North America going against each others.
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Azrael
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Ramon Berenguer Gualba - "Batista is a dangerous man. He may not be an experienced general, but a commander of military forces at the head of a nation will always prove tough to beat. They know how to command, they know the hierarchy and they have the ear of the men."

Agrippino Palminteri - "But he will also be weak because of it. He will lack the diplomatic finesse to counter our moves with political mumbo jumbo. He will lead as a military commander. Besides which, few things say 'we wish to change your policies' clearer than an approaching row of battleships"

Ramon Berenguer Gualba - "If they become hostile when we begin moving, we will need to be ready. The order we get from His Imperial Highness was very clear. Batista is a threat when he's puppeted by a foreign power. We need to shake his nation up an reveal the backing powers. The chances of the backing powers getting involved is high"

Erasme Lavolier - "Hispaniola will hold. No matter what they throw at us, the men and women living here will stand strong. If it seems clear an invasion is afoot, I will have my men spread the word. The people know that glory in battle is one of the ways to impress and become equal with the European portions of Aragon."

Agrippino Palminteri - "An invasion might be far-fetched. We are one of the most powerful naval powers in the world. At the moment, a majority of our naval forces are here and ready to operate. If we wanted to, our battleships could pound Cuba into a desert that even the Mormons wouldn't settle. We provoke them, start a war, I see the majority of battles taking place on Cuba. "

Salvador García Rodríguez - "Air power will be limited. We have airfields in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, but the amount of aircraft is a problem. We will either need to control air power through ground-based weaponry or ship in more aircraft from Europe. Our fighters and interceptors are well equipped to hold the airspace over combat areas, but not for 24 hours. Our bombers are few, but we should be able to get some support to any frontlines. I would propose to use zeppelins as our main bombing platform. We have plenty of those here for supply runs"

Delmiro Núñez - "There are several beaches where my marines can make landfall. However, the jungles and hills will make movement inland difficult. With the Colonial Legion troops, we should be able to make better progress into the jungles than what the army could. You need light infantry forces to take control of the rough terrain. The heavy equipment of the army should be directed to push along known roads and to secure cities..."

Ramon Berenguer Gualba - "With control of more open areas, we can establish artillery positions and support your advance from there. Our infantry should be able to penetrate some of the more forested areas if the Cubans withdraw that far. We will keep the supply lines clear for you"

Erasme Lavolier - "The Colonial Legion will be ready. Most of the men under me were born in the jungles of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. They know how to get around in the terrain even with a bit heavier equipment. If the Cubans go into the woods, we will flush them out"

Ramon Berenguer Gualba - "Well then, shall we provoke Batista and see what he does?"

Agrippino Palminteri - "I will give the word immediately"


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Azrael
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"Sir! Ships in the horizon!"

"Are they ours?"

"No, sir. And I don't think they're armed either. But they are nearing the live fire zone..."

"Get them on the signals and ask for identification."

A moment passes and the battleship ANS Malta turns sideways in relation to the approaching vessels, heading for an interdiction course. They were close to Cuban waters, so this would be down to kilometres if they could pull this off and not cause an incident.
Although, the command had been to cause an incident during the live fire exercises...

"Sir, it's a Cuban fishing vessel. There are others in the horizon as well."

"Warn them and cut contact. Arm all guns! Red alert! Full speed towards the Cuban vessel."

A battleship on approach must've made the Cubans shit themselves. But if that didn't, what was about to happen would definitely make them shit themselves.
As soon as the battleship go into range, it began turning. The guns followed the fishing vessel closely, tilted to range the shots and then turned ever so slightly towards the aft of the fishing vessel. The battleship gave off a full broadside just behind the fishing vessel.

After a short confirmation from the Admiral in charge of the operation, the battleship continued to follow the vessel. Two gunboats joined the battleship to escort as soon as it entered Cuban waters. They would remain roaming the area for a little while longer before rejoining the exercise, just to make sure that the Cubans would spot them.
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Azrael
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The reaction that came from Batista could not have been better for the Aragonian general staff. Although meagre, the Cuban fleet was ready to come out and play. Small modern vessels along with pre-dreadnought armed ships roamed the waters of Cuba, protecting the coastline. Especially on the souther side did the Cuban fleet gather and circle around in search pattern. They kept vigil over Aragonese naval elements, but were careful not to incite violence. An unfortunate fact that could be swept aside from the annals of history if Aragon were to capture the large island.

The Caribbean Squadron broke off the naval exercise and headed slowly back towards their ports in Hispaniola. At the approach to the Windward Passage, the distance between ships closed significantly, as each sailed on the edge of what they thought to be their national waters. Although the rear admiral in charge of the squadron was ready to leave it be and just sail to the ports as they were ordered, a sudden transmission from his closest superior on Hispaniola came through.

Cuban vessels sighted in the Windward Passage STOP Vessels have breached Aragonese national waters STOP Confirm you understand message and take appropriate measures STOP

Admiral Agrippino Palminteri


The rear admiral understood the message clearly. The confirmation codes with the message were also surprisingly clear. He quickly ordered a confirmation sent back before stepping up to the centre of the bridge. The ship went to red alert, the guns quickly shifted around to face the Cuban vessels and the crew evacuated the deck. Calmly, the rear admiral braced himself and gave the order to fire.
The other big ships in the squadron followed suit by firing upon the Cuban ships after the command had been issued. Even though all big ships in the squadron were from the 1910s, their concentrated firepower hit their targets perfectly. First to go down was the Cuban wooden battleship followed immediately by an old-fashioned monitor. The bulk of the Cuban firepower was gone with these two ships, although the faster torpedo boats that were accompanying them now turned and headed quickly towards the Aragonese squadron.

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An Aragonese cruiser swiftly responded to the approaching fast boats and opened fire. The forward guns gave out continuous fire towards the torpedo boats. Water columns rose one after the other as the cruiser sought for that perfect shot. A torpedo boat made a quick move to avoid a water column, but unfortunately went right in the spot where another shell was landing. In a ball of fire, the boat exploded and began sinking. The second torpedo boat met a similar end, but the third got dangerously close to the squadron. It launched it's torpedoes swiftly before it finally was taken care of by a second cruiser closing in from the other direction. The battleship the torpedoes were headed for was fast, but not that fast. The crew lowered the torpedo nets quickly, but as soon as the two torpedoes hit it was clear that they wouldn't help much. The torpedoes punctured the hull and water began streaming in from the opening. Crew quickly evacuated the compartments in which the water was coming in and closed doors behind them. The battleship limped towards the coast and began calling out for mayday.
The nearest naval dock was not that far out, fortunately, so the squadron was split. Two cruisers went with the battleship as escorts to make sure it got to the destination or alternatively would rescue the crew if something went horribly wrong. The rest of the squadron turned around and headed for Santiago De Cuba. Once more, the orders were clear; blockade the most important ports of Cuba.

Soon, the Aragonese High Seas Fleet would receive it's orders to split up and head for Havana, Cienfuegos and Nueva Gerona.
Edited by Azrael, Jun 8 2011, 03:53 PM.
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Azrael
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Aragonese ships had stationed themselves at the entrances to every larger port in Cuba. Although mainly uncontested, probably due to knowing how many losses their ships would get if they came out of the ports and engaged the Aragonese ships, Santiago De Cuba was especially feisty. Due to the access to the port being under guard of two old forts, both of which had just about modern artillery in them to the point of being a significant threat to the Caribbean squadron, the fleet could not get all that close to the port and they had to be extremely careful of their range as well. Santiago De Cuba was important. Not only to the Cubans, but also to the Aragonese. They would begin landings in the southernmost parts of Cuba and Santiago De Cuba was the first major city in their path. It had to be taken down quickly but cleanly. A massacre of Cubans would not help in the claim of aiding free the people from Batista's reign.

As future historians would say, the Battle of the Windward Passage was the first battle in the Cuban conflict. A few days afterwards, the order came to initiate the second battle; Bombing of Santiago De Cuba.
The order was signed off early in the morning and was first handed off to the air force. Fighters were scrambled to take over the skies over Santiago De Cuba, hoping that no significant anti-aircraft weaponry was at hand for the Cubans. Unfortunately, the same forts that guarded the port were equipped with anti-aircraft cannons and there were more scrambled from Cuban bases to the surrounding areas. As soon as the fighters entered range, the flakking began. Although careful about spending shots on the fighters, the Cubans were surprisingly good at aiming those things. The Aragonese air force quickly retreated back to Hispaniola after only a single flyover of the area. The failure of this particular portion of the mission did not matter. The true goal was to get the Zeppelins airborne and bomb the fortifications during the night.

While the air force tested the skies, the navy received it's portion of the orders. The ships waiting outside Santiago De Cuba slowly shifted their positions and began attack manoeuvres. They circled further in towards the forts, closed up to their maximum range and then shot volleys of fire towards the hulking blocks of stone and firepower. With the ships gathered, they could continue this manoeuvre well into the night. However, at night they would need to be extremely careful. Their main worries would shift from the fort artillery to torpedo boats that could very well charge out of the port. The hope was that the ships, having their range and bearing to the forts, would keep firing until the zeppelins arrives from Hispaniola. With shells exploding on the forts, the zeppelins would have an excellent target to drop their bombs on. It was risky and the Aragonese had never before attempted a bombing effort shared between two branches, now it had the chance.

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On Hispaniola, Marines and Colonial Legion elements were preparing their own mission. Confiscated vessels, dedicated transports, drafted fishing boats, everything they could find would be used to cross over to the Cuban side. It would take them another couple of days before they were ready, but the fleet and air force softening the place for their landings would help out a bit. After them, the army would make their own landings on the same beachheads or maybe even Santiago De Cuba, depending on how the spearhead of this invasion was going to handle things once ashore.

The backing forces of Cuba had not presented themselves. Either they were covert in their aid to Cuba or they were debating intervention. Aragon was going to remove Batista and regain authority over the island, no matter who would appear to back the dictator.
Edited by Azrael, Jun 9 2011, 06:34 PM.
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Two full days of bombardment had taken it's toll on the defenders of Santiago De Cuba. The naval batteries fired less often, but when they did the crews were making damn sure they would hit or at least get pretty close to approaching ships. The anti-air batteries had been moved into the city, since the Aragonese continued to avoid bombing that far inland. Using human shields... it was a sound tactic from Batista's generals, but not an honourable one. Unfortunately, the honour of warfare was bygone and would not return no matter how much the Aragonese would wish for at least some code of conduct to prevail between soldiers. But no, armies were to be savage and cruel, to strike fear into their foes and paralyse the civilians as well.

With aerial bombing with the zeppelins getting more and more dangerous, it was time to launch the assault. The naval elements gathered on a much wider coastal area around the approach to Santiago De Cuba and began bombing any defences they could spot. The Cubans had set up wooden fortifications along the shorelines with a high probability of them being machine gun nests. The ships fired upon any sign of fortifications, but unfortunately they could not be sure about whether or not they hit the right targets and if they hit targets at all. The marines and legionaries would have to sort the rest out themselves.
At noon, the shelling of the beaches increased in tempo. Even some aircraft flew over to firebomb the forests beyond the coast, just to make sure the Cubans were as dispersed as possible for the upcoming landings. It was rather basic, but it would do.

After a further two hours, the horizon would fill with a fleet of small boats and actual landing craft. Cuban artillery hidden in the forests began firing, attempting to thwart the landing of as many ships as possible. As the boats hit the shallows of the beach, the white-uniformed marines and green-uniformed colonial legion rushed as one into action, rushing first into any cover they could find on the beach, followed by regrouping and rushing up and off the beach. Plenty of machine gun nests had survived, but so far losses were well below expectations. Perhaps it was the firebombing, perhaps it was the intense naval bombardment, but something had caused gaps in the Cuban defences which were immediately taken advantage of. Although heavy fighting was still going on in the landing beaches, small groups of Aragonese soldiers were slowly gathering behind the lines and heading further inland to hunt down artillery positions.
Once a beachhead was completely under control, the army would make landfall with heavy equipment and the assault on Santiago De Cuba could commence.

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Hawkeye
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"Excuse me, gentlemen, but they did what?" The President's usual calm demeanor was broken and his arms were visibly shaking as he tried to adjust himself in his chair.

"The Aragonese have formally invaded the Republic of Cuba, Mr. President. They landed troops at Santiago de Cuba and caught ol' Fulgencio completely off-guard, it's a complete quagmire which I would not recommend getting involved in." opined James Vincent Forrestal, Roosevelt's Secretary of Defense, the first of his kind, and a high-ranking figure in the National Liberal Party. Usually, Secretary Forrestal was the President's go-to man along with State Secretary Hull when it came to foreign matters of the concern of United States security. This wasn't the case today.

"Look, I don't care what this is, I know full-well what's going on here. It took my cousin all of the whole damn Aragonese-American War and the lives of countless good, honorable American boys to keep Cuba free of the bastards. Nearly lost his left foot to jungle rot too. The Aragonese have as much of an uphill battle as, might I add, we would, were we to get involved. Nevertheless, I have America to think about, someone has to think of her and someone has to make sure she never falls prey to apathy and stagnation. I would have listened more to that foolish Vice President of mine and done something about those freedom-hating Mormon theocrats and their Bible-thumper friends too, if it wouldn't be political suicide to engage the American people in war against other Americans." President Roosevelt, usually a placid and fatherly figure, almost folksy in his demeanor despite his intellectualism, had begun to let an uncharacteristic biliousness manifest itself. He had not been expecting to lead America into war, especially against an enemy across the ocean, but the circumstances and the blind ambition of those reactionaries in Zaragoza had backed him into a corner.

"Sir, I don't think you quite understand the danger here. The Royal Aragonese Navy has positioned most of their battleships in the Caribbean, by the looks of it. Granted, they may be using outdated naval strategies but their numbers can be enough of a strategy on its own." Secretary Forrestal rebutted.

The United States President began to find his footing oncemore and stabilized his humors, he explained, "Gentlemen, I think we're all familiar with war here, we've all served in defense of this Nation in the past. When I send our young men into a crisis which could escalate, I do not do so lightly, but with a heavy heart. There's an explanation I've said to various foreign dignitaries, especially from the European empires, when they wished for closer relations with the United States and, as you all know, I could only go so far. 'There are many kinds of Americans, but as a people, as a country, we're opposed to imperialism, we simply can't stomach it; it's in the American tradition to distrust, dislike or even hate empires'. Gentlemen, the Monroe Doctrine may be outdated in some aspects, but it is still as dear to American hearts as it was when President Monroe and John Quincy Adams first declared it. While it is political suicide to lead our country into an offensive war against fellow Americans, it is also political suicide to allow a foreign power extend its power to or recolonize the Western Hemisphere."

At this moment, State Secretary Cordell Hull entered into the discussion, "I'm sure that will go over well in a speech, Mr. President. However, for all he's done for social reforms in Cuba, President Batista isn't a very pleasant man. He's letting some of the corporate interests that have fled America after the first Socialist election victory and, later, the ones where we won practically trample all over the country. We can only stretch social reforms so far in propaganda."

A shadowy figure known only as the Director of the Office of Strategic Services responded to Secretary Hull before President Roosevelt could reply, "Excuse me, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary Hull, the rest of you distinguished gentlemen. I thought I might get a word in. The OSS may help you in the conundrum that Mr. Hull has brought to our attention. Namely, how do you think Batista has turned Havana into a den of casinos, gambling and houses of ill-repute, a sort of Sin City, if you will?" The room filled with silence. "Those guappo mafia boys from Sicily that have been trying to hamper our efforts throughout America, trying to sow discontent against the United States Government and otherwise running an illegal market? What if I told you Batista is a greedy little sonuvabitch who's in bed with them?"

Mr. Hull quiped, "Well, I mean, we've always suspected it but... we never really had any sound evidence."

"Well," the G-man continued, "it just so happens that we now have that iron-clad, irrefutable evidence we so desperately need. He does anything wrong, ruins public opinion, fucks up the defensive war, you name it. We can intervene and arrest him as a traitor for conspiring with Aragonese citizens and organized crime. Unlike before, we rescue them from Batista and the Cubans will be begging to be admitted into the Union." An associate of the Director distributed manila envelopes with a red stamp and seal adorning them, one for every Secretary in the room and a larger one intended for the President.

The room grew quiet. No one really had anything to say anymore. President Roosevelt, believing the matter settled, decided to conclude the meeting, "So, gentlemen, I believe that concludes all there is to discuss. Judging by your silence, we have reached a point of unanimity? Excellent. Secretary Forrestal, telegram the battleship fleet on world tour, tell them to lay over in Havana and monitor the situation for us, I may despise that idiot Batista but at least he lets us do whatever we want. See if you can activate the Marine Corps regulars on the east coast and rally them at Camp Lajeune, North Carolina and Naval Station Mayport in Florida. I'll broadcast a radio address and a televised message to the American people explaining the Crisis, though they've likely heard. We don't officially get involved until Batista does something suitably moronic or the Aragonese conduct a heinous action against the Cuban people. I believe the meeting is adjourned. Good luck and godspeed. Hail, Columbia!"

The room unanimously replied "Hail, Columbia!" with the appropriate Bellamy salute.
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