Operation Archduke - Expanding the Bridgehead

Though disappointed in the failure on D-Day 6 June 1884 to establish a beachhead extending miles inland, the Ruberian invasion commander felt that at least he was sufficiently established ashore to bring in the I Corps heavy equipment: artillery, train and the machine gun battalion. But priority had to be given the 1st Cavalry Brigade - 16th and 17th Lancers. His object for today would be to push out the beachhead to the villages Venus la Tour and, behind the Petitriseau stream, Petiteville village.

Once landed, I Army Corps comprised:
Beach LandingCommander: General B.L. Montgeremy
1st Brigade: Brig. H. H. Reddick
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd Battalions

15th Brigade: Brig Sir Bartholomew Rosewarne
- 43rd, 44th, 45th Battalions
19th Brigade: Col. M.T. Russett
- 55th, 56th, 57th Battalions
24th Brigade: Brig. Sir James Madderston
- 70th, 71st, 72nd Battalions
1st Light Cavalry Brigade: Col Raylan Lord Reddington
- 16th, 17th Lancers
1st Machine-Gun Battalion
1st Field Artillery
95th Field Artillery
Train etc

Overnight, Ermine Rommeau handed over command of the defence to General of Brigade Cyan Vicomte Pernod. The forces available to him were slender enough: the remnants of 114th Coastal Brigade (though still with its MG company) and Vicomte Pernod's own Brigade, the 31st (91st, 92nd and 93rd Regiments). Attached to 31st Brigade was a battery on ancient smoothbore heavy artillery, entrenched half way between Venus la Tour and the heights east of Oualmentville-sur-Mer. 

Dividing the front between his brigades, the 114th reduced to three battalions, and the 31st also with three, the Vicomte anchored his defences upon the villages, 114th having the protective stream across half its front.

At first light, the Ruberian advance rolled forward. The main push was carried out by 24th Brigade advancing directly upon Petiteville and its associated defence works. Pushing forward on the right, the battered 15th Brigade attempted to envelop the enemy line. Its resources limited, the defenders flank hung 'in the air', the earthworks protecting the refused flank a none-too-reliable expedient.

Supported by 1st Field Artillery and the machine gun battalion knocking out the defending mitrailleuses, 24th and 15th Brigades swarmed the two coastal regiments defending Petiteville. Outnumbered four to one, the defenders exacted a severe toll upon the Ruberian soldiery crossing the stream.

Events developed more slowly on the other flank. The first tentative infantry attacks were thrown back with little trouble. Advancing up the railway line, elements of 1st Rifle Brigade attempted a storm of the 339th Coastal Regiment, entrenched close by the road turnoff to Venus la Tour. Third Battalion was unable to close with the defences held by 91st Regiment north of that village, but the cavalry brigade essayed a charge against 93rd Regiment hastening to fill the gap between the fortified localities. At heavy cost, the Ruberian horse threw back the 93rd, whereat the Vicomte Pernod threw his reserve, 92nd Battalion, onto the cavalry's flank. 

Meanwhile, 15th and 24th Battalions were making heavy weather of turning out of Petiteville the remaining shreds of 114th Coastal Brigade. The odds increasing to six to one (12SP vs 2) rather disguised the toll taken - some 5SPs the attackers had lost, and were still struggling across the stream west of the village. One battalion, the 71st, had already battered itself to pieces at the bridge crossing. It took some exhortation from Sir James Madderston to induce the 72nd to attempt the storm, closely supported by machine gun and artillery fire. Not even the inspiring presence of Rommeau could hold the defenders to their posts.

After some hard bought success on the eastern flank, the offensive seemed to be stalling. First Battalion had taken the earthworks flanking the south road and the Venus la Tour turn-off, but the cavalry was taking heavy losses in the attempted pursuit. To counter the flank attack from 92nd Regiment, 17th Lancers attempted a counterr-charge that at least brought the poilus to a halt flanking the earthworks sheltering the 91st and the ancient gun battery. Sixteenth Lancers were in the meantime brought to a bloody halt by the orderly retreat by 93rd Regiment. 

So severe were the losses to the Cavalry Brigade that the 16th was reduced to a stricken herd of fugitives (reduced to 0SP), and the 17th were almost as bad condition. Even if further counterrattack were out of the question, the Azurian Rifle Brigade seemed set to establish at least a new defence line.  

Then, word by runner came in from Rommeau's command. Petiteville had fallen, 114th Coastal Brigade was no more, Venus la Tour was no longer tenable. Reluctantly, the Vicomte Pernod ordered the retreat. The enemy beachhead thus extended, and with enough reinforcement pouring in, the invaders would take a gigantic effort to evict...

 For their part, the landing Corps had taken very heavy losses to establish their beachhead - almost 50% over the two days. Further landings would be more in the nature of relief than reinforcement.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, at the other side of the world, in the Golden Empire of Khitai, events were stirring in the remote naval stations of Ruberia and Azuria. Without access to the refuelling, revictualling and repair resources available to the Ruberian navy, the Azurian Far East Station commander concluded that, apart from detaching a merchant cruiser commerce raider, his battle squadron should probably take the long voyage home. This would be no easy undertaking, as the high seas in the Great Western Ocean would be swarming with Ruberian naval units.

Even crossing the Halcyon Ocean would be fraught with hazard owing to the presence of the Ruberian Far East Squadron. Not that he thought the latter as strong as his own force, but a fight could prove compromisingly damaging. 

Nevertheless, having formed his resolve, Vice-Admiral Comte Maximilien de la Spée order his squadron to sea on the moonless night of July, under cover of a minor storm. Under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Redick, the pursuing Far East Squadron was already at sea...

The meeting of the Far East naval commands - the Battle of Isla de Santa Maria
about to begin...

Operation Archduke - The Landing

 

The Plan.

For years before the opening of hostilities between Azuria and Ruberia, the latter's High Command had been planning - and rehearing far from prying eyes - a quick surprise landing somewhere upon Azurian shores. Of course, such a design could scarcely be kept secret, but flooding Dame Rumour with a plethora of misinformation, disinformation and obfuscation at least force Azuria to form its countermeasures contingent upon a wide range of possibilities.

So it was that, when the landing Armada approached the Portesable Bay they were to find that they would have to fight their way onto the beaches. The shore to be crossed included and stretched either side of the considerable town of Oualmentville-sur-Mer. The landing area was divided into three beaches, styled, east to west:

• Gemstone - east of the town, but including a shore artillery emplacement: 1st Brigade, I Army Corps, in landing barges
• Jupiter - the town itself, plus the short stretch of beach east of Petitruisseau river mouth: 19th Brigade, in transport ships
• Scimitar - west of the Petitriseau: 15th Brigade, in landing barges

Behind the first wave of three brigades awaited a fourth: 24 Infantry Brigade, plus Army Corps artillery, machine guns and cavalry. 

First Brigade was to storm Gemstone Beach, carry the defence works, and exploit on to the heights inland, thence, by nightfall, the village of Venus-la-Tour. They could count on RMS Warrior to silence the shore battery.

The transport ships carrying 19th Brigade were boldly to range up to the wharfs along the waterfront and decant their passengers directly into the town. The bay forming a pronounced bight, it seemed likely that this landing could not be effected until the flanking Brigades were fairly ashore. By which time, it was supposed, gunfire from the Warrior, Earnslaw and Eurydice having suppressed the shore batteries might do the same to anything that might inhibit the landings in the town. That proved rather an optimistic view, and 19th Brigade were to have a hard time of it. 

Fifteenth Brigade's objectives were the Heights crowned by the village of Nonstreham and the shore guns on the point, thence to cross the Petitruisseau stream and take, carry or seize the Petiteville.



Opposing the landing was 114th Coastal Brigade - a formation of semi-civilian draftees of whom the question of their military value was to be answered emphatically in the event. Supporting this Brigade were the shore batteries sited at the town end of Gemstone Beach and upon Nonstreham Point. The Brigade also possessed a battery of ancient rifled pieces emplaced at Venus-la-Tour, and, in Petiteville, the machinegun company attached to 342nd Battalion around Nonstreham. Another MG company was established near Petiteville. This belonged to 31st Rifle Brigade, the main body of which had been billeted in several villages well inland.

Gemstone Beach.

Surprise achieved to the extent that 1st Brigade was close to the shore by the time the defenders were alerted to the attack, 3rd Battalion was ashore quickly and moving across the sand to storm the infantry lines flanking the east shore battery. Second Battalion soon joined the first, followed by the 3rd. Landing in front of the shore battery, 1st Battalion attacked straight out of the boats. The brought a halt to RMS Warrior's bombardment of the strongpoint - woefully ineffective as it was. Not that the shore gunnery was any more damaging!

General view of the approach of the 
Invasion fleet.

I'll pause the narrative here, for the next eight pictures, and then resume.



















Third Brigade were fortunate to land pretty much unscathed. They raced across a wide section of beach to storm the earthworks beyond, whilst 2nd Battalion attacked the shore battery position. First battalion soon joined that assault, straight off the barges.

Although the defending 339th Regiment were soon driven with loss out of their entrenchments, 3rd Battalion had taken such heavy losses that barely 25% remained in action. Second Battalion found themselves pinned down in front of the shore battery. Hoping to surround the battery and to force the survivors of 339th Regiment well away from the beaches, 1st Battalion fetched a sweep through the warehouse district of the town to emerge on the flank of the 339th.

The enemy infantry proved stubborn defenders, driving 3rd Battalion back to the beach and inflicting loss upon the 1st.

All the same, heavily outnumbered as the were, 1st and 3rd Battalions between them, at considerable further cost, were eventually able to scatter the remnants. Meanwhile, at the end of the day, 2nd Battalion were still held up by the gun battery. 

Scimitar  Beach

The wide beach in this sector narrowed at its eastern end rapidly to point upon which stood the second shore battery behind fortifications. 

Forty-third Battalion was the first to land, at the western end, where the beach was widest. They had, therefore, the farthest to run upon disembarking under not only the rifles of 342nd Coastal Battalion, but the Coastal Brigade's mitrailleuse company as well. Under that lash, barely half of the unit reached the ridge upon which the defenders were dug in. Ahead of the 44th, 45th Battalion swung off to the left to attack the gun emplacement on the point. That installation was at that time engaging in a deadly gunnery duel with the two light cruisers, Earnslaw and Elizabeth.



Rapidly closing upon the shore battery, 45th Battalion's flank attack dispatched what remained of the crews, then switched front to attack in flank the dug in infantry about Nonstreham. By that time, 43rd and 44th had taken considerable stick from their frontal attacks, between them taking 50% casualties. 



The irruption of the 45th upon the defenders' flank unhinged the whole defence of the Nonstreham heights. Overrunning the mitrailleuses, the whole 15th Brigade forced the 342nd Battalion back past the village, and bade fair to push the enemy right off the feature.

The Coastal Battalion were not, however to be hustled. Conducting a slow, fighting retreat, they made 15th Brigade pay heavily for their 'victory' - if victory they could claim. At the end of the day, barely a third of the Brigade remained in action (4SP out of 12). Although the shore battery and mitrailleuses had been lost, the Coastal Battalion still retained half its original strength.

Commanding in Chief the Ruberian Expeditionary Force (REF) General B.L. Montgeremy concluded at the end of the day that 24th Brigade should be landed, and, if time allowed, committed to the battle.  To reinforce the depleted 15th Brigade, 70th and 71st Battalions were directed to land on Scimitar Beach. Seventy-second remained to reinforce 19th Brigade in the town.

Jupiter Beach (Oualmentville-sur-Mer).

The ships carrying 19th Brigade were expected, under the cover of gunfire from the light cruisers to pull up along the Oualmentville-sur-Mer waterfront, and to disgorge their battalions straight into the fight for the town. The gun armed ships were ordered to ignore the incoming from the shore batteries (which, fortunately for the invasion force, proved remarkably inaccurate, for the most part), and to pound the shorefront buildings in the hope of forcing the defenders - 340th Coastal Battalion - away from the waterfront itself. 



In this they enjoyed no success, and the three attacking battalions found it difficult to maintain even the meagre toehold they established at the outset. A toehold at least the defenders could not hope to have prevented, but, even at three to one odds in their favour, the attackers found it a struggle to penetrate beyond the esplanade.



They could count themselves fortunate, perhaps, that 341st Coastal Battalion for a long time remained, unengaged, within their earthworks between the town and the stream. There was some reason for this, as the REF still had the 24th Brigade waiting in reserve well offshore. But 340th were doing well enough on their own.



In fact, for a goodish while it seemed that 340th might well drive 19th Brigade back onto their ships or  into the sea. Outnumbered three to one, they were inflicting losses at a rate of four to one. Had 341st intervened now, it might have been all up with the 19th Brigade, and possibly even the whole invasion. 



Gradually, the attackers began to get the upper hand, at last driving the defenders back, away from the waterfront. Rather late in the day calling in the assistance of 341st Battalion the Coastal Division Commander Ermine Rommeau managed to halt 19th Brigade at the southern edge of the town.




The invasion stalled within stone's throw of the beaches, Montgoremy brought in 24th Brigade. Seventy-second Battalion came in to land at the section of Jupiter Beach left undefended by the departure of 341st Coastal. 



By now the day was well advanced and the late afternoon sun dipping well towards the horizon. The losses taken by the invaders were such as to obviate any further attempt to push inland. Exhausted by the day's fighting, the troops needed a night's respite to reorganise. For their part, the shattered wrecks of 114th Coastal Brigade pulled back to the Petitville-Venus-la-Tour line. 



Overnight, 114th Coastal Brigade was relieved by the regulars of 36th Brigade, which formation took up positions around the two villages. If they could hold for a day or two, perhaps larger formations would be on hand to drive the invaders into the sea. 

Perhaps.

Acknowledging that the beach landings had fallen short of their stated objectives, General Montgoremy ordered that, on the morrow, the bridgehead be expanded to include the two villages to the south. He needed the room to land the other two Corps of his Army. The issue was still problematical, but he was beginning to feel confident that he could maintain his army in the field upon enemy soil.

To be continued ... sometime.

My apologies to readers for the length of time it has taken to produce this narrative, and there is a sequel, but after that, I may have to place this particular project on the back burner for a while. To be added is the D-Day+1 battle, and a small naval mini-campaign, part of the Little Great War, that I will call 'The Far East Command'. The first of these battles has been fought...

Building a Chubby Armoured Cruiser...

ANS Amiral Charner - a small armoured cruiser 
just off the slipway...

A question arose in my last posting: how did I create the 'tumblehome' that features among my Azurian war ships? I hadn't actually considered that point, and, unsure whether I could satisfactorily answer the question even to myself, I thought to myself: 'Why not make a small warship for Azuria - a second cruiser? Take pictures of the process.' Note that my Azurian ships are based on historical French types. The Amiral Charner class seemed a fine choice.

Good idea, though I will admit right now the first picture was done very poorly, worse luck...

The overall boat shape I scribed onto a piece of 6mm thick balsa, then, before cutting out the shape, scribed an 'inner shape' about 3mm from the edge. I also scribed a line about 3mm down from the upper edge (obscured in the pic, unfortunately). Then shaved away the 'upper-outer' bit to create a bevel edge.

In the rather blurry picture, I have cut and shaved out the top edge, leaving the bottom edge as drawn. You will notice the inner line is continued until it touches the outer, before again diverging very close to the bow. The 'bevelling' is adjusted according. The front end was something of an experiment here, as I wanted to create something like the ram-like bow that the French favoured.

The above shows the hull, cut out and sanded (actually filed). Sanding or filing will round the edges and smooth out irregularities caused during the cutting/ shaving process.

The 'elevation' view. The ram-like cutwater is none too pronounced, but that is the way I wanted it. You can see the tumblehome slope doesn't go right down to the waterline. Near the bows the tumblehome is reduced to a vertical sides over a short distance before reappearing just before the point of the bows. The 'ridge' that you see along the side of the hull can be rounded off gently with a file or fine sandpaper.

Not sure what you call this shaping near the bows. Astern of those incised bits there will be sponson-mounted secondary guns. Along the lateral line will be the front of the main superstructure.

Shapes to be cut out for the secondary gun sponsons. In the above picture the sternward pair seem misaligned. Actually they aren't, and in the picture below they don't look it.

Gun sponsons cut from cardboard drinking straw favoured these days by various fast food outlets. Dry run for 'fit'.

Roofing the sponsons by gluing them to thin card, roughly cutting into separate mountings, and, when the glue dries, cutting to shape using the sponson itself as the cutting guide. Note from the pic that I have used the same drinking straw to create the single-gun turrets for the 7.6-inch main guns.

Another dry run for turret placement.

Above: something I failed to do in previous models: ink in the inner areas that will be difficult to come at when painting. I also painted the hull the characteristic Azurian blue at this point, rather than later. I ought to have done the deck as well. Too bad.

Almost finished. Bridge (mostly guesswork, this, but I'm not very fussed about getting the thing exactly right), funnels and masts with fighting tops. Funnels rather taller than they should be, and I have omitted the 'fiddly' bits... The forward mast has been finished; the sternward needs its top mast (a shirt pin). The 5.4-inch gun sponsons yet to be fitted in.

... and here she is, a very small armoured cruiser (the historical equivalent was less than 5000 ton displacement), of the Amiral Charner class. Perhaps I'll add lifeboats between the midships and rear sponsons. I don't think I'll be giving her an admiral name though. ANS Bruix or Chanzy are fine names, as is Latouche-Treville even if the 'e' of 'Tre-' is lacking its acute accent. One of the benefits of building single vessels of a 'class' of several vessels, is that if it is lost in battle, there is always a replacement!

Its waterline dimensions are 9.2cm x 3.0cm (I was rather generous with the beam scale - the original class were quite slender vessels). Using Bob Cordery's Portable Colonial Wargame convention for determining Flotation Points, this comes out at 10FP. A bit light for an armoured cruiser, but not ungenerous given this ship's diminutive size.

Now it just awaits its paint finish.