Battle of Salvador

The Battle of Salvador was both one of the most important events in the formation of the modern Iansislean Navy and the single most shocking loss it has ever suffered. While actual losses were small, both in absolute terms and relative to the overall strength of the Royal Iansislean Navy, the complete inability of the Advance Fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Gurney to answer modern Beddgellern weaponry led to the most extensive series of reforms in Iansislean naval history.

Background

The islands of Victoria and Salvador had grown dissatisfied of the Igovian Revolution and seceded. Iansisle, restless after its sudden leap back onto the world stage, saw an opportunity to flex its muscle. Without a formal declaration of war, the Combined Parliament decided to send a relief fleet to Salvador. The armada would be a significant portion of Iansislean military might: three predreadnought battleships, nine light cruisers, and twenty-seven destroyers and their auxiliary ships escorting a troop convoy of 25,000 men.

The assembly of this fleet showed the first weakness of the Iansislean naval system: so many ships so employed at one time taxed the Navy's abilities to patrol its vast area of responsibility, leading to an upsurge in piracy along Iansisle's long coasts. Nonetheless, with aging Admiral Sir Hunter N. Kennington in command, the Grand Fleet sailed for Salvador.

Initial Phase

As the fleet approached Beth Gellert after its long trek, Admiral Kennington became worried about the state of Salvadorian morale. Determined to show the resolve of Iansisle at once, he dispatched Rear Admiral Gurney with the fastest ships of the fleet -- the new predreadnought King James I, the light cruisers Athena, Andromache, and Odysseus, and troop transports with roughly 4,500 soldiers -- to make port in Salvador as quickly as possible.

Sir Thomas Gurney, who had the reputation of a vehement anti-Communist, made for Salvador quickly, spoiling for a fight the entire way. A torpedo attack on the convoy by a Beddgelen Preston aircraft, a transport pressed into bombing service because of the early material shortages of the Soviet Commonwealth, destroyed one transport, killing 350 soldiers and sailors. The Iansislean fleet returned fire, lashing out with a few .50cal machine guns hurridly converted to anti-aircraft duties. Gunners on the Andromache claimed to have shot down the Preston, though these reports are unconfirmed and largely discounted by Salvador historians. Harried by continued attacks by much more advanced enemies, Gurney decided on a reckless course of action.

Charge of the James

Specifically instructed by Admiral Kennington that the safe delivery of the troop convoy to Salvador was of paramount importance, Gurney decided to split his force. Odysseus would continue with the transports for safe harbor while Gurney himself took King James I, Andromache, and Athena steamed at full speed into the darkness in the direction whence came the heaviest concentration of fire. The ploy worked, to a degree. The 14,000-ton King James, her two forward 12" guns spitting fire, proved a more inviting target than the transports and she was peppered by missile fire. The transports, with Captain John Northrupt of the Odysseus commanding, managed to discharge the majority of the 4,200 remaining soldiers onto Salvador. Then Odysseus fled to the west, away from the battle.

The James sank at 20:47 on the 11th, never knowing that she was responsible for the lone loss suffered by the Beddgelens during the battle. One of the waterspouts from her 12" guns, astoundingly, had bloomed right under a low-flying Beddgelen helicopter, causing the pilot to lose control of his craft and plow into the water. James went down slowly, allowing most of her crew to escape, including Commander Kenneth Jones (later to be Admiral Sir Kenneth Jones). Ten minutes later, at 20:55, the magazine on Athena detonated, killing most of her 400 crew members. Andromache was the last to sink, at 21:25. She also went down slowly, allowing most of her crew to escape. Nearly all swimmers were captured by the Beddgelens and submitted to a captivity made worse by the fact that there had never been a declared war.

The End

Larkinian Intervention

The Larkinian carrier group centered around LSS Acadia, which had been monitoring the Iansislean fleet's progress, was alarmed by the totality of its ally's loss. Although Larkinia had officially declared neutrality, the Acadia's commander demanded that Beth Gellert not pursue fleeing Iansislean units -- namely HIMS Odysseus -- and allow Larkinian medics to tend Iansislean wounded who had landed on Salvador. Beth Gellert had no wish to risk war with Larkinia, a modern power, and accepted limited assistance for the Iansisleans.

Northrupt's Odyssey

The Odysseus’s flight had taken her away not only from the field of battle, but also from Admiral Kennington's fleet and from Iansislean bases in Gallaga. When she finally altered course from west to northwest at 23:45, Odysseus had only ten hours' steaming time left. Northrupt quickly realized that the Beddgelens (for reasons unknown to him; shrapnel had wrecked Odysseus's wireless unit) were no longer in pursuit and the battle became one of survival. Without wireless, radranger, or even an accurate idea of where he was, Northrupt had to find either Kennington's fleet or land by 09:45 the next morning. At 23:57, Odysseus altered course for the northeast; she would try to find Kennington.

Northrupt's gamble paid off. At 08:15 on the 12th, he sighted massive smoke as if from a fleet along the northeastern horizon. An hour later, with his ship burning the wardroom furniture, teak decks, and anything else they could use to stoke the boilers, Odysseus made fast to a collier and her exhausted crew began the dangerous task of recoaling in open water. With her bunkers full, Northrupt's ship cast off and the fleet made for Gallaga. The Battle of Salvador was over.

Aftermath

The Iansislean Expeditionary Force

With the fleet in full retreat, Iansislean forces on Salvador were left in an awkward position. 4,200 bedraggled soldiers, shell-shocked by the artillery which had attempted to prevent them landing on Salvador and soaked by months in cramped transports, were hardly any help to Victoria and Salvador. Under the protection of Larkinia, they were eventually evacuated back to Iansisle with Beth Gellert's blessing.

The Heroes of Salvador

However, for 1,351 Iansislean sailors, marines, and soldiers, the 'Salvador ordeal' was just starting. As there had been no declared war between Beth Gellert and Iansisle, they were denied protection under the Geneva Conventions. Exactly what did happen to these men is unclear; all that is known is that only 830 returned home. During their stay in Beth Gellert's frozen wastes, there was considerable cultural interchange; for instance, the tiny Iansisleans taught their captors the fine sport of hockey and then proceeded to beat them at it. It was a trend that would not continue, as the physically larger Beddgelens mastered the finer points of the game and had their revenge.

At last, when the Iansislean government consented to give a formal apology to Sopworth Igo for their involvement in the affair, the 'Heroes of Salvador' were repatriated to Iansisle. Most, such as Admiral Jones, refuse to discuss either the battle or their subsequent imprisonment.

Courts-Martial

The Navy was shocked. It had never lost a battle in such a way, without a single confirmed enemy casualty. Investigative committees were opened left and right. However, many of the more conservative members of the Admiralty demanded an immediate scapegoat. Two obvious targets presented themselves: Admiral Kennington and Captain Northrupt.

Kennington's trial

Kennington was put on trial for failing to support Gurney (who had achieved a legendary fame in Iansisle) and 'failure to do the utmost in the face of the enemy.' After a good degree of mudslinging at the highest levels of the Admiralty, Kennington was 'most honorably acquitted' and told that his decision to turn away for 'a vastly superior force' saved 'many potential widows endless nights of agony.'

Northrupt's trial

John Northrupt would not have as easy of a time as Kennington. The most that Kennington ever faced was discharge and disgrace; Northrupt faced a charge of cowardice in the face of the enemy, which carried the penalty of a firing squad. The Navy’s old-guard establishment railed against Northrupt’s flight to the west, claiming that the captain was a ‘rotter of the worst description,’ ‘an absolute coward,’ and ‘completely indefensible.’

In the face of these stinging accusations, Northrupt pointed to a controversial series of signals from King James which he claimed contained orders from Admiral Gurney that he was to retreat.

The signals were raised at 20:15 and 20:17, respectively. The first read “[Odysseus’s number]: course west-north-west, speed twenty knots.” The second read “[Odysseus’s number]: convoy [the troop ships] to Salvador.” King James hauled down the ‘execute’ signal for both at 20:21. Neither was ever countermanded. Northrupt contended that it had been his impression that the Admiral had wanted him escort the ships to Salvador and then escape on a westerly heading.

The debate heated up over the year that the trial lasted, with Northrupt, younger officers, and naval family organizations on one side and the belligerent public and old-guard officers on the other. Northrupt’s trial nearly split the Admiralty, and the wounds were not entirely healed when a halfhearted compromise sentence was handed down. Northrupt was found not guilty of cowardice in that he was following his commander’s orders, but was severely reprimanded for following orders where the proper course of action would have been to get his ship back in the fight. Northrupt was sent on half-pay for nearly two years after the trial and thereafter regulated to Iansisle’s ‘second fleet’.

Reform

One thing the Battle of Salvador did impress on Iansislean admirals was the severe outdatedness of its technology. Thereafter, a major reform program was instituted the most important consequence of which was the formation of the NAU, the Naval Aeroflight Unit. The NAU would later become Iansisle’s Flying Corps. The ''Salvador''-class Mobile Aeroflyer Dock is also named after this battle.

Significance to the Soviet Revolution

The crushing victory of Salvador galvanised a then-young Soviet revolution and gave previously resistant nationalists cause to cheer the Soviets and their strength. All hopes of counter-revolution being lead from Victoria and Salvador were dashed in the punishing straits between the islands and the mainland, and Prince Llewellyn, deposed Beddgelen leader and head of the Victoria-Salvadorian secession attempt, lost the confidence of an indecisive public. Llewellyn was able to hold on to power in Victoria and Salvador until 1989 only through increasing acts of repression, ultimately making Victoria-Salvadorians amongst the most convinced of Beth Gellert's revolutionaries.

The harsh prison camps, established under Premier Sopworth Igo, for re-education of captured Iansislians and restorationists would ultimately, when exposed, add another nail to the coffin of Communist Party rule and enable the seemingly heroic Soviets to remove Sopworth and establish democratic rule in the new Indian Soviet Commonwealth.