Best use of German navy east asiatic squadron in ww1
- Thread starter Monk78
- Start date
What happened in OTL was a pretty good case. They disrupted shipping all throughout the Far East, Indian Ocean and the Pacific. British naval resources were pulled away to deal with it, which was their only real goal.
But they were crushed relatively soon , how can they pull off multiple sms emden like episodes
Some scenarios (please critique )
Attack Gibraltar
Attack Madras
Attack Singapore or Hong Kong
Interned in Chile
Make it to SW Africa and be used as “ fleet in being “ in south Atlantic
Make it to neutral Norway ? But no chance of getting through GIUK gap I’m assuming
Go in disguise as Spanish or French ships to get into the Mediterranean and then try to attack Suez or go to Ottoman Empire ( suicide it seems like ) Attacking Suez from Red Sea another option
Attack Gibraltar
Attack Madras
Attack Singapore or Hong Kong
Interned in Chile
Make it to SW Africa and be used as “ fleet in being “ in south Atlantic
Make it to neutral Norway ? But no chance of getting through GIUK gap I’m assuming
Go in disguise as Spanish or French ships to get into the Mediterranean and then try to attack Suez or go to Ottoman Empire ( suicide it seems like ) Attacking Suez from Red Sea another option
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Intern in Fao or Basra at the Ottoman end of the Persian Gulf, guns and crews might be handy holding these places.
Try and actually repel an invasion of German possessions in the Pacific somewhere (Rabaul???).
Hit Indian ports to disrupt British trade then make it to German East Africa/Portuguese Mozambique/Neutral Italian Somalia.
From there, hit the Suez at the exact same time the Ottoman Army hits it early in the war.
Not going to survive but this is the biggest amount of damage they could possibly make.
From there, hit the Suez at the exact same time the Ottoman Army hits it early in the war.
Not going to survive but this is the biggest amount of damage they could possibly make.
Ain't going to happen.
To what end? What's there that makes this worth going for?
Hope you like getting cornered by Kongo or Australia and demolished!
Assuming this is after Coronel? Well, about as OTL.
They'll be neutralized in short order, either by the South Africans capturing their port or Invincible and Inflexible destroying them in harbor.
Yeah, no chance.
This is a good way to get their ass kicked by the French and British battlecruisers in the Mediterranean. Attacking from the Red Sea isn't going to work, either.
Can they stay in port behind mine barriers ?
why can’t suez be attacked from Red Sea ?
They don't have the coal to make the journey, and the British have enough force in the Mediterranean and the German force is easy enough to spot in transit that they'll have a couple of battlecruisers waiting for them.
Staying in port behind mine barriers wasn't a solution in the Russo-Japanese war and it isn't one here.
Yes, getting clobbered by HMAS Australia is the best use for the German East Africa Squadron.
Well. The historical result, was clobbered by BCs for nothing. At least it's only one BC here.Yes, getting clobbered by HMAS Australia is the best use for the German East Africa Squadron.
Scatter as soon as they leave China. Keeping the squadron together meant there was only one target for the RN to hunt down.
Why minimize losses? It's doomed.
Political damage will far outweight any material damage it can do, SMS Emden on her own did much to undermine confidence in the British Empire's ability to control the Indian Ocean. If you want it to survive and be a right royal pain in the ass 'fleet in being' wise then have it reach Aqaba. It could potentially be re-provisioned there and the RN would have to keep a sizable squadron in the Red Sea to keep it contained.
I would think that the 3 light cruisers could. I suspect that the 2 armoured cruisers would struggle to find coal if operating independently.
Major ports had guardships. There was predreadnoughts or armoured cruisers in Singapore and Hong Kong capable of fending off (but not chasing down) the East Asia squadron.
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Raiders generally took coal from their targets. This could keep them going for quite a while, though generally a bit hand-to-mouth.
There is coaling stations in the Dutch East Indies, still neutral Italian Somalia, and in Portuguese Mozambique.
If the otl fleet got enough coal to cross the Pacific to South America, then I don't see how there isn't enough for them to make it to the Red Sea.
Driftless
Donor
Two excellent TL's involving parts of the East Asia Squadron:
Remember the Rainbow Redux: An Alternate Royal Canadian Navy - by RelativeGalaxy7
Both TL's incorporate German and Canadian views on attacks on the Canadian West Coast in the early days of WW1
Remember the Rainbow Redux: An Alternate Royal Canadian Navy - by RelativeGalaxy7
The Rainbow. A World War One on Canada's West Coast Timeline - by YYJ
Both TL's incorporate German and Canadian views on attacks on the Canadian West Coast in the early days of WW1
With hindsight?
Raiding with light ships, ie the CLs and Converted Merchants guns from the ACs with the ACs just providing a few weeks of covering and distracting as they run to German New Guinea islands and then get striped for crew, guns, supplies & coal for more raiders?