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Azurian pre-Dreadnought Chevalier Rouge... |
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... or it might be Chevalier Blanc... |
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Azurian capital ships in line ahead |
The Azurian fleet also features a couple of 'flatiron' gunboats of the Acheron class. Two are attached to each fleet: Acheron and Cocyte with the Mesogesean, and Phlegeton and Styx with the Oceanic.
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Two 'flatiron gunboats' Acheron and Cocyte... They might be badly needed to repel a large scale amphibious landing... |
The gunboats, I admit, are overscale, but that was partly deliberate. Even so, with the fighting 'stats' according, they would be no match for, say, the Ruberian protected cruiser Endymion, the least powerful of Ruberian fighting ships.
At the moment, with war about to break out between Ruberia and Azuria, a whole deal of planning is happening in Ruberian High Command at the Anditover Army HQ and the Admiralty. Probably the whole fleet will have to involve itself in protecting the amphibious landing upon the Norromandian Coast, with elaborate deception measures to persuade the Azurian High Command that the main effort would drop an army corps upon the Pas d'Artois, or a Division sized raid might be mounted in the Girondois region. Although Norromandia is closer to the Azurian Naval Base at Finisterre, it is thought that the imminence of invasion would bring out the Azurian fleet, where it could be intercepted and destroyed by the more powerful Ruberian Navy before getting close enough to the landing fleet to disrupt or stop the invasion. Admiral Jellibene is looking at a 'bait and clobber' scenario...
Well, that, in very broad terms, is the scheme. We'll have to see how this plays out...
Meanwhile - my apologies for the lengthy hiatus. Several reasons, for this, one being a week-long visit to see daughter and growing family in Queensland. Far from a vacation - little Eva was born the morning after our arrival (three days ahead of schedule, which was probably just as well!). Also problems with our house lighting that began before we left, and had to wait upon our return before they could be fully resolved. But I can't say the old umpty-poo has been up to much for several months, now. I've been 'finishing off' elements of my War of the Imperial Succession armies, some of which work in progress I posted two months back.
I've plenty of projects to engage my interest - it is a puzzle to me sometimes why it is so hard actually to set up a table, or to write something on this blog. I guess I'll never really know...