Second War in the Rift

[The Rock Doctor]

Please open a seperate thread, in the Meeting Room, for OOC discussions.  Feel free to post IC reaction/followup here, though.

Note that some belligerents received annotated war reports with additional details.

Second Rift War:  July 1-15, 1919

Northern Front

Zionite forces are arrayed across their northern border awaiting an Italian assault; the Italians do not disappoint.  Three legions (XXII, XVII, and a third unidentified) punch southeast along the coastal plains for Eliat, with a regiment of armored cars patrolling their western flank and securing supply routes.

The Zionite 1st Division establishes defensive positions around Eilat and is subjected to intense artillery bombardment.  Both nation's air forces attempt to throw the odds in their favor, though the Zionites are more successful on account of numbers.  Approximately 25 Italian and Zionite fighters are lost, as are 25 Zionite ground attack aircraft (the latter mostly due to Italian ground fire as the Zionites press home their attacks).

On July 15, Eilat is still holding, completely enveloped by two Italian legions with a third in reserve (though its artillery is contributing to the siege.  Italian casualties are about 7,000, versus 5,500 for the Zionites.  Italian artillery is also causing Zionite civilian casualties.

Italian scout aircraft detect Zionite troops along a line between the towns of Inda Silase and Adwa, west of Eliat, but can not penetrate further south on account of Zionite fighter coverage.

Italian heavy bombers out of Aseb raid Eliat, losing four aircraft to enemy fire and accidents while successfully sinking the destroyer Yaffo at its moorings.  Harbour facilities take minor damage, and a few bombs fall into nearby residential districts.

Central Front

Italian heavy bombers out of Dire Dawa strike at Tel Aviv, losing three aircraft to enemy fire and accidents while escorting fighters and Zionite defenders lose ten and seven aircraft respectively - those who do manage to ditch their aircraft are retrieved by Zionite naval forces.  Damage to Tel Aviv includes a destroyed bunkerage fuel tank, damage to the Type 1 drydock (25% of cost to repair), and a near miss that causes splinter damage to a Kufrah class coastal defence battleship.  Some bombs fall into neighbouring residential districts.

On July 3, Zionite naval aircraft catch an Italian submarine on the surface, off Tel Aviv.  The submarine is successfully strafed and bombs fall around her as she dives. 

On July 5, a Zionite trawler participating in laying the northern Rift mine barrage is damaged by two Italian aircraft.  The trawler is subsequently abandoned by her crew and burns out over night.  Laying of the two barrages continues, with Zionite destroyers supplementing the civilian craft doing much of the work.  They and the Italian aircraft trade fire, costing three Italian aircraft versus no other damage to Zionite ships.

On July 9, Zionite aerial patrols spot an Italian convoy moving north in the Rift Sea, east of Atlit.  The next day, this force - which includes several large cruisers and a number of escorts - anchors offshore, forty miles northeast of Atlit.  Troops are landed against essentially no resistence, and what will be later identified as Italian marines spend four days scouring the area, tearing up or otherwise destroying infrastructure such as railways, roads, piers, boats, telephone and electrical lines.  Local officials are advised that they may be entitled to seek compensation for personal losses post-war. 

On July 13, a Zionite submarine arrives on the scene and attacks.  The Italian heavy cruiser Dacius is the primary target - both weapons run true, but one detonates short of the target.  The other strikes home amidships, causing her to list.  The submarine's other two torpedoes are aimed at an alert destroyer, which is not struck and spends the next several hours suppressing the submarine.  By the morning of the 14th, the Italians have loaded up their troops and are retiring south, apparently with the damaged cruiser in the formation.

Italian blimps and scout aircraft and Zionite scout aircraft are up and patrolling over the North Rift Sea, but do not engage each other.

Southern Front

Two Italian corps (X, XVIII) cross the border west of Lake Victoria and encounters Zionite 12th Division, which conducts a spirited fighting withdrawal that costs 4,000 Italian casualties versus three thousand Zionite casualties.  On the 8th, 12th Division passes through the lines of Zionite 13th Division, which is to hold up the Italians further.

However, the Italian attack on July 10th benefits from effective air support and scouting (no Zionite aircraft being observed over the front) and catches 13th Division at a gap between brigades.  Part of the division is surrounded and routed, while two unengaged brigades fall back in confusion.  Italian casualties total 9,000, versus 13,000 Zionite, approximately half of whom are taken prisoner.  By July 15, the Italians have advanced as far as the north end of Lake Edward to the west, and have the outskirts of Kampala in artillery range in the east. 

Italian blimps and scout aircraft are patrolling over the South Rift Sea.

Elsewhere

Ottoman protected cruisers and torpedo-boats, as well as French airships, are periodically sighted from Masirah Island by Swiss forces.  The Ottomans and French are presumably snooping, and note that a significant portion of the Swiss task force at Masirah is no longer there as of July 9.  Its heading and location as of the 15th are known only to the Swiss.

Elsewhere in the Med, Red Sea, and along the Rift, there are heightened states of alert and increased patrols by Egypt, the Ottomans, the DKB, Gran Colombia, and Orange along their coasts. 

Orange, DKB, and Colombian military and patrol forces become aware of Confederate (CSA) cruisers operating in the Rift Sea, northwest of Blantyre.  The Confederates appear to be undertaking a barrier patrol, possibly against outbound raiders or inbound (Swiss?) reinforcements.

Neither Italy nor Zion loses any significant merchant shipping - operators from both nations had made themselves somewhat scarce in their enemy's waters leading up to July 1.

[The Rock Doctor]

JULY 16-31, 1919

Northern Front  

(Addressing matters from westish to eastish)

Two Italian corps - III Desert and IX Infantry - are being transported by train to Teseney in western Eritrea and intend to march south to the border.  However, two battalions of IX Infantry are routed by unexpected cavalry attacks (~2,000 Italian casualties) over the course of July 17-19.  Further information points to Zionite cavalry operating in the area, attempting a "hearts and minds" operation.  A Zionite cavalry raid on Teseney itself is a failure, yielding a thousand Zionite casualties on July 25.

The Italian I Alpine Corps and the NZ Alpine division collide in the hills SE of Barantu, Eritrea.  The meeting engagement favors the Italians, who push the Zionites back to the border.  Approximately 2,000 Italian and 1,000 Zionite casualties are sustained.  

Eritrean communities such as Adi Kwala, south of Asmara, report the approach of Zionite troops in the latter part of the month.  The Italian XVI Corps takes up blocking positions at Adi along an arcing front centred from Adi Ugri to Adi K'eyth.  Skirmishes are reported with Zionite 9th, 8th, and 6th divisions from west to east.

The Zionite 4th and 5th divisions march towards Eliat but are confronted by the Italian XXII Corps.  The Zionites initially attempt to dislodge the Italians, but take 4,000 casualties to 2,500 Italian casualties.  They settle in for a prolonged exchange of artillery and sniper fire that costs about two thousand casualties to each side through the remainder of the month.  

Meanwhile, the Italian XVII Corps has laid seige to Eliat, held by Zionite 1st Division.  The sides negotiate a five day ceasefire that allows most of the civilian population to evacuate through a narrow, heavily guarded corridor back to Zionite 4th Division lines.  On July 21, the Italians attack - and find not only Zionite coastal defence battleships firing back in support but also that the Zionites have started firing back gas rounds - believed to be phosgene.  The Italians suffer over 6,000 casualties, but the Zionites suffer 4,000 themselves and count themselves lucky to have only lost some of the outskirts of the city.

While this is happening, Italian VIII Corps and a supporting brigade of armored cars attacks SW across rough terrain towards Wikro and Mek'ele, New Zion.  Initial opposition by Zionite 10th Division is effective, but by the end of the month, they have been driven south of Mek'ele, and the Italians are digging in at Mek'ele, having cut a major line of Zionite supply.

The air war has focused on Eliat, where the Italians have lost twelve fighters and twenty-five attack aircraft and the Zionites have lost twelve fighters and twelve attack aircraft.  Other Zionite fighters have been troubled by engine failure and investigations suggest contaminated fuel supplies.  

Italian heavy bombers make dawn and dusk raids against Zionite airstrips around Eliat and Tel Aviv, north, causing minor damage and destroying six fighters and five attack aircraft in return for seven bombers lost.  

At Sea

Italian submarines make themselves noticed around Tel Aviv by torpedoing and sinking ships on several occasions:
-July 16:  Kfir-class destroyer
-July 21:  Requisitioned civilian trawler carrying mines
-July 24:  Saar-class destroyer
-July 26:  Requisitioned civilian trawler carrying mines
-July 27:  Zionite freighter (2,000 GRT)

Zionite ASW patrols are quite ineffective, with no confirmed kills resulting from prosecution of possible or confirmed Italian submarine sightings.  Zionite submarines, meanwhile, are known to be operating off Massawa; one claims an Italian freighter of 3,000 GRT on the 18th.  .

In the pre-dawn light of July 20th, Task Force Able, a force of Italian and French battleships, cruisers, and other ships departs Massawa.  A Zionite submarine attempts to intercept the force, but her torpedoes are fired at long range and avoided by one of the battleships; the submarine, however, is rammed and sunk by an Italian destroyer, which itself is badly damaged.  

Able steams into the Rift Sea, Zionite minelaying forces scattering and running for safety well before it.  It successfully steams around the eastern extent of the Zionite mine barrier (or, at least, does not strike any mines in the process).  Observed intermittently by Zionite aircraft, Able arcs back towards west side of the Rift Sea north of Debre Birhan (~90 km N of Tel Aviv).  On the 22nd and 23rd, the capital ships shell the coastal railway linking Tel Aviv to Eliat, while groups of smaller craft are seen close ashore along isolated stretches of the coast north of Debre Birhan.

Able withdraws north, again avoiding Zionite mines and submarines - one being suppressed by the screening forces - before returning to Massawa on the 25th.

The Battle of the Tadjoura Strait

Mere hours later, a pair of Swiss task forces are sighted about 300 nautical miles east of Djibouti by an Italian airship.  The airship watches from a distance after noticing the presence of the Swiss experimental aircraft carrier - which is probably the reason another airship, sent out to scout towards Masirah, is now overdue and assumed destroyed.  The Swiss are making about ten knots, steaming west.  Reports put the leading force at two capital ships, twenty cruisers, and upwards of forty destroyers; the trailing force consists of a convoy of merchant ships with three or four large cruisers or small capital ships and a dozen escorts.  Italian, French, and DKB forces are alerted and put into motion.

On the morning of the 26th, Italian scout-bombers are dispatched with 16" torpedoes to locate and execute an attack on the Swiss forces.  They locate the Swiss without difficulty - there are dozens upon dozens of coal-smoke plumes to guide them.  The Italians attack the lead Swiss formation, losing seven aircraft to inaccurate but heavy anti-aircraft fire.  They target the larger ships and drop their weapons; of 43 weapons that hit the water, six strike targets.  Swiss cruisers Constellation, Advantage, Adventure, and Launceston are hit, Constellation taking two; all suffer flooding and loss of speed, but are not in danger of sinking.  A Dayan class destroyer collects the other torpedo and is shattered.

An hour later, a squadron of 25 Italian heavy bombers attempts a high altitude bombing attack on the Convoy itself.  Swiss flak fails to shoot down a single aircraft - but in fairness, not a single bomb hits a ship either.

On the afternoon of the 26th, Allied and Swiss forces enter into the Battle of the Tadjoura Strait, south of Djibouti.  The Swiss are now being monitored by airship above an umbrella of fighters that occasionally duel with wheeled fighters from NSS Flying Fish.  The Swiss Covering Force is leading the Convoy by twenty miles.  Allied observers determine - a little late, perhaps - that the Swiss probably have closer to sixty destroyers in the Covering Force.  

At 1400 hrs, the Swiss spot coal smoke to the northwest; this is Allied Task Force Bravo.  Probing by destroyers indicates the presence of two or more Allied capital ships and the Swiss covering force moves to block their advance.  The two forces engage in a stand off for two hours, by which time the Convoy has moved west and south of the Covering Force.  At about 1600 hrs, however, the Swiss convoy spots additional smoke to their south; this is Allied Task Force Charlie, with at least one capital ship.

The Swiss commander's intention had been to use his Covering Force to aggressively hold off the Allies while letting his Convoy slip past, but with a second Allied force in sight - one which appears as strong or stronger than the Convoy escort - he determines that this is no longer possible.  He detaches some of his light forces and his damaged cruisers to reinforce the Convoy and begins positioning for a torpedo attack on Task Force Bravo.  

Any issues associated with shooting first are quickly resolved; the French battleships at the centre of Bravo - Superb and DeCreme - fire upon the Covering Force's Independence class battlecruisers at long range.  It takes some time for either side to land a hit.  Further south, the DKB battleship at the heart of Task Force Caeser - Konigsland - opens fire on the NSS United States, flagship of the Convoy escort.  The United States is hit on the eight DKB salvo.

As the Covering Force closes on Bravo, gunfire begins to take its toll; NSS Independence is hit twice by the Superbe, while the Italian cruiser Medicus is damaged by the NSS Amphion.  Finally, the order is given and an estimated fifty-five Swiss destroyers lunge forward, supported by fourteen Osprey and Weasel class light cruisers while the five larger cruisers stand off and exchange fire with the Allied capital ships.  The Allied screen, two protected cruisers and fourteen destroyers, clashes with the leading wave of Swiss destroyers, both sides losing heavily, while Allied capital ship secondaries engage the relatively unscathed trailing wave of Swiss destroyers.  

The Swiss launch their torpedoes at a relatively open range and the Allied battleships and cruisers begin taking evasive action.  Nonetheless, Superbe and DeCreme, along with cruisers Medicus, Sarimarcus, Chevalier Rouge and Romulus all struck, most of them more than once.  The three Italian cruisers are all mortally wounded and sink within twenty minutes.  Chevalier Rouge lives a bit longer, but succumbs to gunfire from NSS Audacity as the two side pull back.  Two French and four Italian destroyers have also been sunk in the brutal, close-range action with the leading wave of Swiss destroyers.  

To the southwest, Allied Task Force Caesar closes inexorably on the Swiss convoy; A French Demarce III class cruiser sets the NSS Pearl Harbour ablaze, but is herself damaged by the NSS Adventure.while a half-sister DemarceIV has been hit multiple times by the NSS Honalulu.  As the range falls, the Pearl Harbour is abandoned, while a French Demarce III succumbs to heavy damage from NSS Atair.  NSS Advantage is sunk by SMS Nymphe.

Unfortunately for the Swiss, the new and somewhat green Konigsland is now consistently finding the range of USS United States.  The Swiss Convoy commander gives the order to execute a torpedo attack on the DKB battleship and twenty-five destroyers advance.  They charge through a maelstorm of fire, backlit briefly by the detonation of USS United States as Konigsland's thirteenth hit penetrates the Swiss battleship's forward barbette.  Another desperate melee develops as the Allied ships attempt to disrupt the Swiss attack; but there are, as always, too many Swiss destroyers and not enough time to sink them.  The Konigsland is hit at least three times, and a Demarce IV breaks in half from another hit.  Several Swiss destroyers have been sunk in the process.

As the Swiss destroyers return to the Convoy, Task Force Caesar breaks off action.  In fact, there will be no more significant action this day - the Allies have three damaged battleships to protect, while the Swiss have a convoy of 25,000 troops to shepard.  

This is not to say that there is no fighting whatsoever - as the Swiss continue southwest into the Rift Sea, they leave behind several crippled warships.  Four - three destroyers and the cruiser Adventure are picked off by the Allies.

On the 27th, the Swiss are subject to another air attack from the Italians.  Of the two squadrons launched, one flies off on the wrong heading entirely, and misses the Swiss completely.  The other group finds the convoy and attacks, losing six aircraft but sinking one passenger liner and damaging two others with torpedoes.

The Swiss arrive at Eliat on the morning of the 28th.  The harbour is under heavy artillery fire by Italian troops, and has been partly damaged; hundreds of Swiss troops are killed or wounded as they disembark, and several of the requisitioned civilian ships are damaged or sunk.  Through the night, Italian submarines sink another liner, an Osprey class cruiser, and a Saipan class destroyer.  The next night, as the unloading continues, another Swiss liner and an M-1 type destroyer are also sunk in this target-rich environment.

Note:  Given "Fog of War", I will only provide a detailed list of losses and damage to belligerents via PM.  They can decide what info is released publically.

Late Naval Action

A Romanian convoy puts in at Dar-es-Salaam on July 28.  Ottoman battlecruisers are observed patrolling north of the Suez Canal.  Confederate (CSA) cruisers are observed patrolling the south Rift Sea.

In the early morning of the 29th, another Zionite submarine is successfully bombed and sunk by Italian aircraft in the northern Rift Sea.

Late news from the Red Sea is that three DKB freighters have been lost in the final week of July to suspected submarine attacks in the region around Masirah Island.  Two Italian freighters and a DKB trawler have been lost north of the Rift Sea in similar circumstances.

On the night of the 31st, a particular crafty Zionite submarine makes a close approach to Massawa's roadstead and attacks the anchored pre-dreadnought Iena.  Only one torpedo defeats her deployed nets, but that weapon strikes dead amidships, causing massive flooding.  The dawn of August 1 finds the Iena sitting level on the sea floor, her main deck awash.

Southern Front

Italian X and XVIII Corps apply pressure to Zionite 14th Division, now holding the line SW of Ashdod (~Kampala).  Zionite 12th Division is acting in reserve.  The Zionites are trading land for time, but are vulnerable when the Italians are able to concentrate attacks on isolated units along the thin Zionite line.  This costs the Zionites a brigade on July 28-29; overall, the Italians lose about 3,000 men to 3,500 Zionites.  The Zionite line, in turn, has fallen back on Ashdod.

On July 26, elements of DKV IV Infantry Corps cross from Viktorialand into southern New Zion and advance towards Ashdod.  The two generally intact brigades of Zionite 13th Division, which had pulled back to Ashdod for recuperation, are hurriedly deployed to block the Brandenburger advance barely twenty miles east of the city.

Six Italian attack aircraft are lost scouting and supporting the ground advance.  Two Zionite aircraft are also lost - the commander in the south acting very conservatively.

[The Rock Doctor]

The Northern Front on July 31.  

-Italians in blue
-Zionites in red
-The horrible green line denotes the approximate front line, though it is ill-defined in places and non-existent in the larger gaps between units.  
-Horrible hatching denotes areas of foreign control.  
-The thin red line is a nonhistorical coastal road.  The coast itself is marked by the dark grey line running vertically through Eliat.

Note that the Italians corps occupy a broader front than the Zionite divisions - XVI Legion, for example, is not as close to being surrounded as one might infer from the map.  Similarly, the Zionite cavalry is somewhat dispersed out west.

[The Rock Doctor]

Note that belligerents have received annotated reports with information for their benefit only.  Chopping those annotations out of this public version really reduces the length.

THE SECOND WAR OF THE RIFT:  AUGUST 1919

Northern Front - Ground War

In the west, Italian IX Legion pushes across the border and into New Zion at Himora.  III Desert Legion uses one cohort (~half-corps) to support the operation and protect supply lines, while the other skirmishes with Zionite cavalry in the surrounding countryside.  When concentrations of cavalry are spotted in open areas, the Italians shell them with mustard gas.  Although the Zionites' mobility lets them clear the shelling quickly, men and horse alike are completely unprotected against the foul chemicals and are gradually weakened - often by multiple exposures.  Conversely, Zionite ambushes in rough terrain cost the Italians on a number of occasions.  Both sides lose about 4,000 men each over the course of the month.  The Italians, however, take Gonder and dig in.

In the mountains, the Italian I Alpine Legion attempts to turn the flank of the Zionite mountain division, but can not develop any significant gains and settles for tactical gains only.  The Italians lose about 2,000 men to perhaps 1,000 Zionites.

The Zionites opt to launch two attacks in a bid to isolate large quantities of the Italian invaders.  Zionite 8th and 9th Divisions face off against Italian XVI Legions around Adi Ugri, while Zionite 6th and 7th divisions attack northeast towards Adi K'euth, hoping to exploit a seam between Italian legions.  Large air battles develop as both sides assign most of their air strength towards this action; the Zionite discover that Italian numbers have increased considerably and they lose about 30 fighters to 15 Italian machines.  Zionite ground attack missions are nonetheless pressed home with determination, and the Zionites consequently muscle their way into Adi K'euth on August 4.

The other Zionite attack sees the 2nd and 3rd Divisions strike southeast against a cohort of VIII Legion at Wik'ro on August 3.  This attack quickly bogs down as the Zionite reservists are unable to beat back the better equipped Italian regulars.  Casualties are approximately 6,000 Zionites to 2,500 Italians.  

An Italian riposte on August 8 sees XVIII Legion and 1 Armored Brigade attack 4th Division while elements of XVII Legion feint an attack from the east.  This attack dislodges the Zionites and pushes them west to the road south of Adigrat at a cost of 2,000 casualties each.  

On August 11, Zionite 6th and 7th Divisions are ready to push east against the coastal road, but are badly battered in the hills east of Adi K'euth by recently arrived Italian marines.  10,000 Zionites are killed, injured, or captured in the fiasco, and the two divisions dig in at Adi K'euth to lick their wounds.   They get six days; on August 17, the Italian VII Marine Legion and newly arrived XII Infantry Legion attack the Zionites.  This attack results in 4,000 casualties to each side and forces the Zionites southwest to the border by August 22.

On August 23rd, the Zionite commander begins a limited withdrawal of forces, to tighten his defensive lines and avoid potential envelopment of salients - such as 5th Division and the 8th and 9th.  The Zionites fall back to the border.  Italian units move forward slowly to maintain contact - their progress interrupted by mines, ambushes, and other Zionite surprises.  At month's end, only some Zionite cavalry remain in Eritrea, while Italy has solidified its grip on a wide corridor fifty miles or more from the coast, isolating Eliat from land reinforcement and the bulk of the Zionite army from its supply routes.

Northern Front - Air War

Italian reinforcements arrive steadily over August, bringing deployed fighter forces from less than one hundred to approximately 350 by month's end.  These numbers do not translate into immediate air superiority.  In fact, the Zionite fighter force, while frequently outnumbered, manages to ensure that light bombers can intervene in ground battles.  Most often, they are employed in support of Zionite 6th and 7th Divisions in first their attacks and then their defensive actions.  This makes a significant difference throughout - hundreds or thousands of Zionite lives are saved by these attacks.

Other attacks focus on the cohort of Italians astride the Zionite supply route at Musk'ele, killing and wounding a number of men while reducing much of the town to ruin.  The civilian population has long-since fled south.

The Zionites lose 50 fighters and 50 scout-bombers in the north in this time period, to 50 Italian fighters, in support of ground combat.

Zionite, Swiss, and Italian aircraft and airships continue patrolling over the Rift Sea, making it difficult for submarines to operate on surface during daylight hours and for ships to avoid detection, particularly when coal-fired.  A few aircraft from each nation are lost to accidents or enemy fire.

Northern Front - Siege of Eliat

Positions in and around Eliat are static; the second cohort of XVII Legion is content to reinforce its siegelines and bombard the city, particularly the port.  Phosphorous rounds are used against the habrour's coal stocks, some of which are successfully set alit.  The remnants of Zionite 1st Division and the newly arrived 2nd Division, New Swiss Expeditionary Force dig in amidst the shelling and return artillery fire of their own, including phosgene shells and fire from coastal defence battleships.  The Italians suffer another 5,000 casualties in this time, compared to 2,000 Zionite and 3,000 Swiss.

Damage to port facilities at Eliat prevents completion of unloading of the NSEF division's heavy equipment and other supplies until 3 August.  This is done under constant artillery fire from the besieging Italians, who throw in occasional salvos of smoke rounds to trigger gas scares amongst the Swiss and Zionites.  During daylight hours, Italian torpedo-bombers make attack runs on shipping in the outer roadstead, while at night, heavy bombers attack from above and submarines strike from below.  Swiss veterans remark that they're reminded of the First Pacific War's battles along the Chinese coast.  Given the amount of ordnance raining into the port, and the number of ships present, it is almost inevitable that ships are damaged or sunk every day.  

The harbour is briefly shelled by passing Italian heavy units on August 1.  The Italians are shooting at maximum elevation, without effective spotting, and cause more fear than actual damage (see "Naval Action - the Rift Sea" below for follow-up).

On the 3rd, major Swiss units sortie south, leaving behind a large horde of destroyers and support ships.

On the 7th, the Swiss destroyer force and support ships sortie south for Tel Aviv. Daylight Italian torpedo-bomber attacks end the next day, which is just as well - fifteen of the aircraft have been hacked from the sky in the past week by Swiss fighters.

Other Italian attacks continue; a submarine picks off a Lavi class destroyer on the 10th, while a Saar class is damaged by artillery fire on the 16th.  The Zionites are surprised by the first Italian use of MAS craft against Eliat on the night of the 18th - but still manage to sink six of them.  However, the coastal battleship Mount Zion is torpedoed.   A Kfir class destroyer is damaged by bombs on the following night, and a Lavi (Blimp) is struck on the 20th by Italian artillery.

On the night of the 24th, another MAS raid costs the Zionites the Emporer Menelik, which sinks on an even keel after two torpedo hits.  Five Italian MAS boats are sunk in the attack.

As of August 31st, the belligerents, along with any neutral observers attached to them, estimate that 80% of the buildings in Eliat have been destroyed, with most of the remainder damaged.

Naval Activity - the Rift Sea  

The Italian task force which shelled Eliat jogs northeast and is observed by Swiss aircraft to include two capital ships.  Swiss and Zionite minelayers scatter as the Italians approach the two barrier minefields.  One unfortunate Italian destroyer has the grave misfortune to strike one of the mines and break in half, but the rest are able to exit the Rift Sea safely.

Zionite craft continue working on the two barrage minefields across the northern part of the Rift.  The barrages are, at this point, laid across 90% of the width of the sea, though each is essentially one ragged line with a mine every eighty or one hundred metres.  Requistioned civilian craft have laid the mines in the western and central segments of the barrages, while Swiss and Zionite destroyers lay in the eastern segment at night.  Italian submarines and torpedo-bombers have targeted the minelayers, sinking three in exchange for a submarine and two aircraft, all destroyed by Zionite and Swiss destroyer patrols screening the minelayers.  

From August 9th onward, Italian minesweepers begin the work of clearing the eastern segments of the barrages in daylight hours.  Swiss and Zionite destroyers sortie to attack them on August 15 and 22nd, but cancel the operations as it becomes evident that a large screening force, including several cruisers, is protecting them.  

A Swiss destroyer patrol out of Tel Aviv is attacked just off the Ost Afrikan coast by Italian torpedo-bombers on the 18th, shooting down two aircraft in exchange for a couple of close calls.

An attack by MAS craft on the night of August 24 sinks another two minelayers without cost to the Italians.  

Zionite submarines continue to operate in the Rift Sea and off Massawa, though the former have little to show for their efforts as the Rift Sea is now almost devoid of merchant shipping.  Boats lurking off Massawa have more success, picking off four merchantmen totalling 8,700 GRT, a destroyer, and a minesweeper.

Italian submarines are similarly active.  Two Zionite merchants totallng 4,400 GRT are sunk in the vicinity of Atlit, and fisheries between Tel Aviv and Eliat are brought to a near stand-still after one submarine spends several nights interdicting Zionite fishing boats attempting to work after dark.  This submarine, operating under formal cruiser rules, stops, boards, and sinks no less than seventeen such vessels without having to expend a torpedo.  In each case, the Zionite fishermen are allowed to take to lifeboats with basic supplies and given directions home when it is below the horizon.  Coastal roads are shelled in several different places over the span of the month.

Tel Aviv, the base of Swiss naval operations from early in the month onward, is a more difficult target than Eliat for Italian submarines to penetrate.  Nonetheless, Swiss and Zionite destroyer patrols provide a number of opportunities for attacks and three are believed sunk as a result.  An Italian submarine and a Swiss M-1 type destroyer sink each other in a gunfight on August 30th.

In the southern Rift Sea, Allied mine warfare craft begin operating northeast of Nairobi in early August. One such vessel is torpedoed and sunk by a Zionite submarine on August 14th.

Naval Activity - Outside the Rift

Seven Italian (10,200 GRT), eight French (13,500 GRT), three DKB (4,800 GRT) and one Austrian (1,600 GRT) merchants are reported missing or sunk over the course of the month.  Most are lost in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and western Indian Ocean, but two of the French ships are lost somewhere in the Atlantic.  One instance in the Red Sea sees an Italian merchant get off a submarine sighting report before it is sunk.  Another in the Gulf of Aden reports being approached by a French-flagged merchantman before disappearing.  A DKB ship lost east of Ophir reports that it is complying with orders from a cruiser to stand by for boarding.

Four Swiss merchants (6,200 GRT) are intercepted and sunk by DKB submarines in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.

Allied patrols are highly visible to neutral shipping passing in the vicinity of Djibouti.

Egyptian, Colombian, Orange, and Ottoman warships continue to actively patrol their coastlines and adjacent international waters.  Confederate cruisers remain present in the southern Rift Sea and retrieve the crew of an Italian patrol aircraft on August 22nd after it ditches due to engine trouble.

Southern Front:

In the south, Italian X and XVIII corps continue to push back Zionite 12th and 14th divisions until they run out of space.  The 12th withdraws into Ashdod, while the 14th takes up positions immediately north of the town.  Ashdod's utility as a port is already in a shambles - an attack by DKB gunboats during the night of July 31/August 1 resulted in the loss of both Zionite gunboats and significant damage to the harbour.  Two of the DKB gunboats succumb to damage suffered in the attack.

To the east, advancing DKB forces have pushed back the remnants of Zionite 13th Division to a line along the Victoria Nile, east of Ashdod.  The Zionites are almost, but not quite, trapped in a pocket.

On August 11, the Italians attack from the west and north and the Brandenburgers attack across the river.  The 13th Division begins withdrawing almost immediately, minimizing casualties to itself but also effectively giving up the area east of Ashdod to the DKB.  This is a fatal decision, as it means the 12th is sealed into Ashdod and annihilated by the Italians within three days.  14th Division takes heavy casualties extracting itself from the Allied pincers and flees northward to link up with 13th Division.

Leaving an Italian cohort (~half corps) behind to secure Ashdod and the region, the Italians and Brandenburgers pursue the two battered Zionite divisions as they fall back towards Atlit.  The Zionite's fighting retreat reduces combat casualties, but fatigued and injured soldiers are captured by the advancing Allied forces, especially aggressive Italian armored units.  The Italians finally catch the exhausted 14th east of Kaabong and destroy it, taking most of the survivors prisoner.  Perhaps two thousand healthy troops have fled into the countryside, left to their own devices.  

By month's end, the only Zionite units remaining in the southern theater are two tired brigades of 13th Division, in the town of Murangering, about 60 miles southwest of Atlit.  Italian casualties are about 18,000.  Zionite casualties total 28,000 plus 10,000 captured.  DKB casualties are around 4,000.  

Aerial combat in the south remains limited; the Italians use their scout-bombers to harry Ashdod, report on troop movements, and support the pursuit of Zionite troops.  Zionite aircraft flee Ashdod for Atlit on August 5/6 and are engaged by Italian fighters, with an uneven loss ratio of twenty-five to five.

General Note:  The Zionites are flying 1914-vintage aircraft that are outclassed by the 1916-vintage Italian aircraft.  

Civilian Issues

Approximately 750,000 Zionites have been displaced by fighting in the north, including Eliat, and have fled south with whatever they can carry.  

An estimated 250,000 Zionites are now fleeing the Allied advance in the south.  This is primarily the Jewish population - the ethnic Ethiopians are mostly staying put when it is safe to do so.  Approximately 6,000 civilians are thought to have died in the siege of Ashdod, and cholera and dysentry are becoming a serious problem for the remainder.

During the night of August 24th, parties unknown infiltrate the Vatican, disguised as masonry workers.  It takes several hours for the Sicilian Guards to determine that these individuals are imposters and sound the alarm.  One group escapes the Vatican without obviously accomplishing anything; three members of the other group are captured atop St. Peter's Basilica, although it is not clear what they're doing until sunrise.  At that point, Romans awake to find a large, uneven Star of David painted on the ancient structure.

A former Zionite rabbi, his aide, and two Italian civilians are killed by a grenade in a quiet residential district in Naples on August 30.



Edit:  August 11 action in Northern Front corrected - wrong Zionite divisions were listed.

[The Rock Doctor]

Northern Front Map as of August 31, 1919.

Two new Zionite divisions shown; they were near the front in July but not yet detected by Italy.

Some new Italian corps have arrived and stepped on to the line.  A few have been shown as cohorts (half-corps or divisions) to reflect their wide-area deployments.

[maddox]

Minister Lebrun is reading the reports from the New Zion Issue. And his mind is captured by this line.

The siege of Ashdod, and cholera and dysentry are becoming a serious problem for the remainder.

After mulling over this horrific news, and the knowledge that modern science has an answer to this disease, he calls in his most humane clerk. One that even worried about the fact French soldiers use their backpacks as pillows.

Bonjour mademoisselle Durone. Please be seated, as I have an urgent task for you.

As you know, there is a war in Africa, something about not complying to a treaty and New Swiss interference.  One of the problems that did arise is illness. Cholera Morbus. One city is hit hard by that liquid horror. Ashdod.
What is needed, is clean water, sugar, lemon juice, salt and anything that can kill bacteria on surfaces.
Normaly the ministry of foreign affairs would write out a contract, if France was asked for support by the stricken country. French firms would send the stuff to a port, ,and from there ships would carry it to the nearest port to the plagued area, in combination with a Green Cross contignent of doctors and nurses.
But now, the request came trough other channels, and Premier Galpoux dumped the task on us.
The Green Cross is already active, as far as it is possible, in this enviroment. But our merchants can't go in the Rift. Also, it would take too much time. 20 days at least.

Oh, those poor people.  Where is Ashdod?

It's in a tiny country, called New Zion. A country with a government that made big and powerfull enemies. But that isn't important in this situation. What is important, is that we get supplies there as soon as possible. And that mademoiselle, is what I give you as task.


Mademoiselle Durone, after 4 years in the service of Minister Lebrun, has learned that she has some power,and when she doesn't know the right answers, she knows she can ask certain offices in the labyrinthine ministry of Defence.  So, she starts her rounds. And gathers information.

She learns that Ashdod is a city on the shores of a big lake in equatorial Africa. There is no direct road, railway or canal connection from French Central Africa, and sending  tons and tons of supplies from the village of Rumueule trough wilderness to Ashdod would be time consuming and wastefull to boot. Airships could be an answer, but not from there. There is no infrastructure whatsoever.

No, she muses. There are 4 options. Italia, DKB ,Orange Republic and Gran Colombia. But DKB and Italia are fighting that war, and it's probably Italia that asked France to help those poor people in that city, so italia doesn't have the means to do it themselfs.

DKB, I'll arrange a meeting with Monsieur Takeda as soon as possible.

Gran Colombia , hmmm, should I contact Uncle Jardan? Or go trough the Embassy here in Paris?

The Orange Repubic... Gilles told me that the Orange Republic was opposed to this war, and has supported New Zion in the past.  I'll get in touch with the Orange Republic ambassador as soon as he can find time for me.

to be continued.

[ctwaterman]

Eilat Early September 1919

The Commanding General of the Imperial XVII Legion stood on a hill overlooking the port of Eilat.  Off to one side the observers from several neutral nations were talking with his staff and several Cohort officers. 

The Cease fire between his legion and the defenders had gone into effect at dusk.   And by dawn he expected to have a clear road to the edge of town for the wounded and civilians to move out through his fixed lines of defenses.  But even now in the fading light and overcast from the expected rain Eilat reminded the General of the description of Hell in Dante' Inferno.   Rain the past few days had not doused the slowly burning Coal stocks north of the town.   Small fires still burned among the shattered buildings of the city and port.   Low hanging clouds reflect the light from the fires and illuminated the city in a dull reddish glow.  The Skeletons of buildings and the mast of ships sticking up from the harbor were reminders of the waste of war.

He turned back to the Observers and waiting Green Cross workers as the sounds of small arms fire died away as the sound of artillery had several hours ago.

"This was a waste officers and gentlemen a criminal waste!  This Legion has not tried to force its way into the city but the defenders cut off refused to surrender they have repeatedly resorted to the use of chemical weapons and for what?  The port is not valuable to the Empire it is too close to existing ports!  It is a prison for the defenders and now it is time for us to feed those prisoners.   Let us get the wounded to the Hospitals, we need to set up several camps to our north until we can move the Civilians completely out of the War Zone.  Water Sanitation is paramount, food, and tents are even now being erected.  Let us get a move on we need to clear the mines and barricades on the central road to allow for ease of evacuation starting at dawn.  In the event that the New Swiss or New Zion attempt something stupid make sure the artillery is well armed and preregistered."

[The Rock Doctor]

I recommend going to the bathroom and getting a coffee before you start reading.  It's long.

THE SECOND WAR IN THE RIFT:  SEPTEMBER 1919

Northern Front:

Zionite divisions begin pulling back across the front on September 1.  The northernmost division, 7th, is the first to move; the rest of the line begins falling back on September 3.  Zionite withdrawals are slowed in the west by streams of refugees fleeing from the towns of Aksum, Adwa, and environs.  

As the Italian line moves forward, it acquires a couple thousand Zionite deserters.  It also encounters ambushes and booby traps, and on the 4th, a group of would-be guerillas are found (and dispatched) in a cave.  Prisoners and deserters alike are put into internment camps.

Zionite cavalry withdraws from the border region, though it continues to harass Italian forces around Gonder, which are content to dig and establish control over this critical road junction.  Zionite mountain troops fall back on the town of Inda Mase, with Italian Alpineri in cautious pursuit.

On September 6, the Italians launch a broad assault across the retreating main Zionite line as hundreds of aircraft from both sides collide overhead.  Aircraft numbers heavily favor the Italians, who lose 25 fighters and a handful of bombers, versus fifty Zionite fighters and 75 bombers, with the bulk of the action taking place in the skies over Zionite 4th Division.  

Furthest west, XVI Legion pursues 8th and 9th Divisions as they fall back towards Aksum.  Italian XII Legion drives Zionite 7th Division back with 2,000 casualties to 1,000.  Immediately to the east, XXIII Legion shatters the already brittle Zionite 6th division, inflicting 6,000 casualties to just 2,000 of its own.  Zionite 5th Division is thrown back with 5,000 casualties by Italian XXII Legion.  

To the southeast, both sides commit the majority of their ground attack aircraft to the battle between a cohort of XVIII Legion and the 1st Armored Brigade against Zionite 4th Division.  Here the Zionites had sought to hold position, so as not to imperil the withdrawal of forces to the northwest, but they fail; the Italians drive them west, leaving Zionite 5th Division in danger of being surrounded by Italian forces.  Casualties in this action are modest - 3,000 Italians to 1,000 Zionites.  As an aside, two Italian armored cars are reported disabled as a result of being machine-gunned from the air.

On September 9, the easterly Legions pause to resupply and regroup, but XII Legion presses forward to strike at Zionite 7th Division again, while XXIII Legion, exploiting the gap created by the destruction of the 6th Division, wheels west and hits the 7th from the flank.  7th Division is destroyed by September 11th, losing 7,000 killed or wounded plus another 4,000 captured.

Between September 12 and 20, the Zionites continue to withdraw south, able to keep ahead of the Italians, who are still coping with ambushes and longer supply lines.  On September 20, the Zionite line runs from a point about 30 km south of Inda Mase east-southeast to the road south of Mek'ele.  The eastern end of this line, however, is not moving very fast, and as a result Zionite 2nd Division collides with Italian XVIII Legion and the 1st Armored Brigade southeast of Mek'ele on September 22.  

Italian and Zionite pilots again take to the air to attempt to influence the outcome of this action.  Another twenty-five Zionite fighters go down, as do twenty-five Italian fighters.  Twenty-five Zionite bombes are alos locst, pressin ghome their attacks in the face of heavy Italian fighter opposition.  The Italians pummel the Zionites and send them reeling back to the hills south of Mek'e;e with 5,000 casualties to 2,000 Italian losses.

By the end of the month, the Zionite line is stabilizing; it runs from the large mountain northeast of Gonder, slightly south of east to the coast.  They have, for the moment, re-secured their supply lines, but the Italians are in clsoe contact to the north.

Northern Front - Eliat

A ceasefire is enacted at 1201 on September 1.  It holds throughout the month.

Naval Action - the Rift Sea

In the south, Allied ships continue working at the mine barrier northeast of Nairobi.  A trawler operated by Italian seamen is lost in an explosion on September 4 - it is not clear whether one of her own mines detonates, or if she strikes a wayward mine.

In the north, Swiss and Zionite ships continue their minelaying activities during the night, while the Allies work at sweeping near the Ophir coast during the day.  One of their minesweepers sinks after hitting an unnoticed mine on the 10th.

On the 4th, the Ottoman armored cruisers Yavuz and Suleyman, along with four protected cruisers, enter the Red Sea from Suez.  They steam south, passing east of Djibouti, then turn west.  Once west-southwest of Djibouti, at the mouth of the Rift Sea, the Ottomans transmit in the clear, "THE LION WAITS" several times on the morning of the 7th.  The Ottomans then reverse course and steam past Djibouti, past Aden, and into the Gulf of Aden.  They return two days later, pass Aden, and make for Jeddah, Arabia.  

On Sept 16, the Ottomans are joined by four Dutch frigates, six transports, and a number of smaller vessels, which passed through Suez two days earlier.  Although the Ottoman actions, by themselves, had been the subject of Allied speculation, the arrival of a powerful Dutch force spreads alarm in Allied circles.  Are they about to become involved in the war?  The Allies hastily form a fast striking force from their large fleet at Djibouti.  The flagship is the French battlecruiser Montmedie, with the DKB Moltkes and escorts.  

Allied suspicions are heightened as reports arrive that the Swiss are curtailing surface operations in the Rift.  The Allies prepare for a possible Swiss break-out attempt, with their battlefleet at Djibouti being placed on alert.  Airships and aircraft continue to fly up the Red Sea, while surface pickets are stationed across it.  One of these vessels, a French Leopard class torpedo-boat, is torpedoed and sunk by a submarine on the 17th.  

On September 19, the Ottomans and Dutch sortie together, steaming south.  The Allied Fast Force - designated as Delta - departs Djibouti that evening, steering north to meet them.  The two forces meet about one hundred miles northwest of the tip of the peninsula in the evening of the 20th.  

At sunrise on the 21st, as the Ottoman/Dutch force rounds the tip of the peninsula, the Ottomans transmit several times in the clear, "THE ELEPHANT CHARGES".

A response comes from off the coast of New Zion shortly after:  "THE PHOENIX RISES", again several times in the clear.  Shortly after sunrise on the 21st, Italian troops along the coast near Eliat report large plumes of coal smoke to their east.  Scouting aircraft take to the air, and by nine in the morning it is clear that the Swiss are at sea in force.  One fleet is steaming north from Eliat, the other east-northeast for the Tadjoura Strait.

The Allies now have a dilemma; a large Ottoman/Dutch force which is steaming along the coast of Arabia - towards the essentially defenceless DKB enclave at Aden; a Swiss force heading north for Massawa; and a second Swiss force apparently attempting a breakout to the east.  Orders go out; the fast Allied force Delta turns away from the Ottomans and turns west at 24 kts to intercept the Massawa-bound Swiss.  Allied force Echo - consisting of two French and one Austrian battleship, with supporting elements - sorties from Djibouti to intercept the Ottoman/Dutch force before it reaches Aden.  Finally, four Italian battleships depart Djibouti, steaming southeast to intercept the eastbound Swiss.  Two predreadnoughts and screening elements remain off Djibouti, under the fortress' massive gun batteries, as a precaution.  BC Gneisenau, intended to join Echo, remains in port due to engine trouble.

Allied Force Delta catches up with the Swiss Northbound Force thirty miles southeast of Massawa, at 1800 hrs on the 21st (See:  Battle of Mersa Fatma, below.)

The Aden Incident, September 21

The Ottoman/Dutch Force approaches Aden at 1900 hrs on the 21st, with the Allied Force Echo just over the horizon to the southwest.  The DKB cruiser Nymphe, damaged in action several weeks earlier, is accompanied by two gunboats as they steam out of Aden to confront the approaching armada.  

Nymphe's commander is in an impossible position.  The Dutch - with whom the DKB was at war just a couple of years ago - appear intent on invading Aden, but for the moment, they're in international waters and he's almost in range for torpedoes.  If he shoots now, he might disrupt or damage the Dutch before they can start landing troops - but he might also start a war that wasn't necessarily going to happen otherwise.  If he waits, he might avoid starting a war, but might also find himself annihilated if the Dutch start shooting.  

Wireless and blinker light signals draw no response from the Dutch.  Nymphe fires a warning shot from her forward-most 15cm gun.  After thirty seconds, the Dutch reply by blinker that they are proceeding to exercise at Gujurat and are in international waters.  Nymphe secures her gun but now has a new problem - she is steaming headlong into the Dutch formation and visibility is failing.  After two near misses, at 19:22, Nymphe collides with the Dutch liner Holt.  The collision is not quite head-on; the cruiser's bow plows into the liner's forward port side and crumples into ruin; paint and supplies stored forward are ignited.  A huge hole is opened up in the liner's hull and hundreds of tonnes of water pour in, to the horror of the Dutch crew and the two thousand troops aboard her.  

The Dutch commander, furious, orders an all-stop so that the damaged ships can be attended to.  He does not intend to split his force, and does not wish to be delayed; he will evacuate the liner and leave her with a skeleton crew.

When the French-led force comes over the horizon a few minutes later, it sights a burning DKB cruiser and a lot of Dutch ships coasting to a halt off Aden.  Allied screening forces reach a logical but incorrect conclusion and begin shooting at the Dutch escorts at the rear of the Ottoman/Dutch formation.  These ships return fire.  The Dutch flagship immediate calls for a ceasefire, and sends a quick explanation to the Allies.  Aboard the Occitanie, Admiral Geon receives the message and barks out orders to cease fire.  Unfortunately, this relatively quick exchange of information and decision-making still requires almost three minutes to complete.  By then, several of the screening units on each side have been struck or near-missed, and over a dozen casualties have been incurred by each force.  

The Dutch/Ottoman fleet remains off Aden until just before midnight, transferring the troops and materials from the stricken liner to two other liners.  Nymphe's fires are extinguished and the ship is towed (carefully, given that the waters around the port are mined) into Aden.  When the Dutch and Ottomans lift anchor and resume their journey, Admiral Geon keeps Force Echo right near by.

Battle of Mersa Fatma, September 21

Aerial scouting from Asmara indicates the Swiss are sending a large force of light craft against Massawa.  The flag officer of Force Delta – a Brandenburger, aboard Moltke – is confident that he has superiority of numbers; he's also impatient to return east to assist in whatever issues are out to take place with the Dutch at Aden.

As the forces converge, the Swiss force estimates are revised:  there are two heavy and five light cruisers, and sixteen destroyers, along with several requisitioned civilian vessels.  Allied Task Force Delta consists of four battlecruisers, two heavy cruisers, nine light cruisers, and over forty destroyers.  

Montmedie and the DKB schlactkreuzers open fire at long range, targeting Swiss cruisers.  The enemy increases speed to 20 knots, but continues on a course for Massawa rather than engaging the Allies in return.  Screening units lay smoke to obscure visibility.

The four battlecruisers continue shooting as the range slow drops, sinking four of the Swiss cruisers in return for no significant damage.  With his magazines down to 50%, the Brandenburger orders his light forces to engage the remaining enemy units in a gun and torpedo attack.  The Swiss destroyers come round to engage the Allied light forces and dozens of torpedoes enter the water from both directions.

The end results of this are predictable.  On the Allied side, CA Hercules and CL Duguay-Trouin are torpedoed, the latter sinking, and three French and four Italian destroyers are lost.  On the Swiss side, eleven destroyers are lost either to Allied light forces or the heavier units that follow them.  The final Swiss units – an Osprey class CL, two Weasel class CLs, and five destroyers – are taken under fire and succumb one-by-one to an overwhelming volume of fire.  The last Swiss ship, a Saipan class destroyer, sinks at 1645, just eight miles from Massawa.  The civilian vessels - coasters and trawlers with hastily-fitted deck mounts and apparently along primarily to aid as a distraction - are hunted down and sunk without much trouble.

Pursuit of the Swiss Breakout:  September 21-25  

Meanwhile, the Swiss Breakout Force has been under surveillance from Italian aircraft, and is picked up by an Italian-heavy strike force that had been covering mine clearance activities in the northern Rift.  The Italians have orders not to engage the Swiss if there are battlecruisers present – and there are.  They are content to shadow the Swiss at a distance; the Swiss, in turn, are more interested in conserving fuel and clearing the Rift than in driving the Italians away at this time.  The two forces steam eastward, the Italians on the Swiss' starboard quarter.

Though the Allies had intended to meet a Swiss breakout with maximum force, the need to cover Aden against a possible Ottoman/Dutch attack has delayed this plan.  Instead, an Italian-heavy fleet, led by BB Imperator, sorties from Djibouti, steaming southeast at 15 knots.  It consists of four battleships, two heavy cruisers, two French light cruisers, and thirty-six leaders and destroyers.  

After nightfall on the 22nd, the Swiss attempt a diversion.  Sixteen Dayan and Littlestone class destroyers turn south to make a torpedo attack on the Italian strike force while the remaining vessels turn northeast in an effort to break contact.  The Swiss destroyers in question have been selected for the task due to their low bunkerage – there is doubt that they will make it home anyway, so they will be expended to buy time for the rest of the fleet.  

The engagement is once again a brutal brawl; although the attack is not unexpected, the darkness reduces the Italian's local advantage in firepower.  Torpedoes hit the water and both sides turn away to avoid the weapons.  Six Swiss destroyers are sunk, as are a Taranto class cruiser and two Italian destroyers.  

However, the rest of the Swiss force does manage to break contact, and so come morning of the 23rd, the Italian strike force and battle fleet rendezvous northeast of Xiis, Somalia, with no Swiss in sight.  Airships and aircraft are dispatched, but it is not until 1400 hrs that the Swiss are located, approximately equidistant between Shaqra, Arabia and Bendir Cassim, Somalia - well north of the Italians.

At this point, the Dutch/Ottoman squadron and its French/Austrian shadows are east of Shaqra itself.  Admiral Geon turns his force southeast to intercept the Swiss, while Admiral Giovanni turns his force northeast to do the same.  The two forces meet up around 1900 hours, with Swiss smoke plumes just over the horizon to the east.  The three Allied forces shake themselves into a new formation.  In total, there are seven battleships, four heavy and twelve light cruisers, and fifty-four leaders and destroyers, against two Swiss battlecruisers, four heavy and nine light cruisers, and forty-five destroyers.

Aboard the NSS Independence, the Swiss commander makes the most difficult decision of his career as the darkness falls.  His cruisers have the speed and range to get home - if they abandon the shorter-ranged destroyers to their fate.  If he remains shackled to them, the Allies will find him the next day, and destroy him in daylight.  A coded signal goes out, and the Swiss destroyers turn west, battle standards flying, as they work up to flank speed.  The cruisers dip their colors in salute and work up to twenty knots.  A handful of other ships - NSS Flying Fish, two tenders, and others - scatter in an eastward fan at their best speed.

The Allies are expecting another night action and are prepared for it.  The leading Allied screening units volley their torpedoes at the oncoming Swiss destroyers, six of which are quickly blown out of the water.  The Allies reverse course as the screens meet, obliging the Swiss (and, it turns out, a few Zionite) destroyers to join into a longer stern chase if they are to attack the Allied heavy units.  For a time, local concentration of Swiss force offsets the overall Allied numerical and firepower advantage, and the night reduces gunnery accuracy despite a huge number of flares being fired into the air.  Allied and more Swiss destroyers begin to die as shells strike home, and in one case, a French Leopard class boat and a Zionite Lavi collide at high speed, leaving both in sinking condition.  

Less than half of the Swiss and Zionite destroyers get close enough to the fleeing Allied heavy units to launch their torpedoes.  Few synchronize their attacks with other boats - when each captain thinks he's close enough, or becomes sufficiently desperate to get away from the murderous Allied battleship secondaries, he launches his weapons.  Allied units outrun many of the smaller weapons fired by older Swiss destroyers, but six of the weapons strike home.  The Hapsburger protected cruiser Kaiserin und Koenigin Marie Therese is blown in half by one hit, while the French protected cruiser Dupleix is crippled by another.  The flagship Imperator takes one hit also, causing flood and the loss of an engine room.  The most devastating damage, however, is a trio of hits scored by a single, dying, Swiss Saipan-class destroyer, against the Italian battleship Germanicus.  

The Swiss attack fades away by 2330, by which time the Gulf of Aden is littered with wrecks and cripples.  Due to the Allied and Swiss flights in opposite directions, the two fleets are almost one hundred miles apart by midnight.  The Swiss cruisers are not seen again.

On the morning of the 24th, Allied fleet counts its costs while damaged ships engage in repairs and rescue operations.  Germanicus and Dupliex are taken under tow by light cruisers, and begin the trip back to Djibouti under escort by seven Italian and four French destroyers with various degrees of damage.  Five Italian and three French destroyers have been sunk.  

The wreckage of Swiss and Zionite destroyers are scattered in all directions.  Losses - including cripples that are subsequently picked off by Allied forces on the 24th - include six Saipan, thirteen M-11, four Lavi, and six Mountbatten class.  A Helper class tender is hunted down and sunk that evening after being spotted by airship.

With many Allied escorts damaged or low on fuel, the Allied fleet heads towards Aden, finding it devoid of Dutchmen, before steaming for Djibouti.  Force Delta meets them there.

As she is brought towards the approaches to Djibouti harbour on the afternoon of the 25th, the Germanicus is torpedoed twice by a submarine.  Massive flooding prompts her captain to order her abandoned, and she sinks thirty-five minutes later with the loss of over five hundred crew.  Italian destroyers prosecute the submarine for much of the day, without indication of a kill.

Other Naval Operations

The French battleship Alsace presumeably strikes two mines and sinks on September 10, off Trincomalee.

Between September 20 and 24th, Swiss cruisers and destroyers are reported in the vicinity of Trincomalee, Ceylon.  These ships do not engage Allied naval forces or hunt Allied shipping and appear to be operating as a distraction.  The French do not come out to chase them, but employ aircraft to keep an eye on them.

Five Italian (7,800 GRT), six French (8,500 GRT), and four DKB (9,100 GRT - one a large collier) merchant ships are lost or reported missing during the month, most in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean.

DKB submarines account for eight Swiss merchant ships totalling 13,600 GRT).

The Dutch liner Piet Hiem presumeably strikes a mine and sinks on September 15 off Nice, France.
.  
Southern Front

The shell of Zionite 13th Division reaches Atlit on September 6.  Zionite civilians begin streaming out, heading north.

Two DKB corps, an Italian Legion, and an Italian armored brigade begin reaching Atlit on September 8th and prepare to assault the city.  On September 13, they begin shelling the city, and on the 15th, they strike.  Zionite aircraft take to the sky to support the defence, while Italian aircraft are unable to reach the city from their bases to the south.  The attack grinds to a halt too soon, as the presence of another Zionite unit - 11th Division - disrupts the plan and results in the destruction of a leading DKB brigade.  A number of "Friendly Fire" incidents take place between DKB and Italian troops, who are not accustomed to working together.

Fighting continues, though, and by the 25th, the Allies control almost half of the city.  The 13th Division has finally been destroyed, and the 11th has taken heavy losses.  Worse, for the Zionites, the other Italian Legion has arrived and cut off the approaches to the city from the north.  

Ophir Front:

The DKB's Governor of Ost-Afrika is shot and injured by a sniper on September 12, while travelling between his home and his office in Dar-es-Salaam.  Several patrols of troops and police encounter sniper fire in and around the city over the next two weeks, losing eight dead.  Two men wearing Zionite army fatigues are shot and killed on September 18 after one such incident.

Italian Front:

On September 18, an Italian patrol boat investigates a dilapitated, mid-sized steamer south of the Capo Santa Maria di Leuca.  The ship, of Greek registration, does not respond to radio or blinker light signals, so the Italian boat closes to make a verbal hail.  As it does so, it is taken under heavy small arms fire from the steamer and disabled.

On September 20, panicked telephone calls are recevied in Taranto and Bari from the town of Brindisi, on the Adriatic coast.  Hundreds of armed men are pouring off a steamer and taking over the town...

Dutch/Ottoman Operations in Oman

The true intentions of the Dutch and Ottomans are revealed on September 24 as the joint naval squadron arrives at the south end of Masirah Island.  The Dutch frigates take up station at either end of the strait separating the island from the mainland, and minesweepeing operations begin.  These efforts yield some mines, but unfortunately, one also explodes near the bow of the frigate Inbhir Nis as she patrols the north end of the island.

A Dutch minesweeper sinks the next day after failng to spot and destroy another mine.

On the 26th, troops start landing on the northeast end of the island and advance towards the Swiss base at Sur Masirah.  They reach Sur Masirah, the site of the Swiss base, on September 28th.  The base has been gutted by the Swiss, with most items of value burned or smashed.  The Swiss themselves are gone; when questioned, locals tell the Dutch that the Swiss pulled out about ten days earlier.

Ottoman troops cross into Oman starting September 27 and occupy its major centres, facing little in the way of resistance other than a few skirmishes along the frontier.  Most of the Omani army stands down and allows the occupation to take place.



Edit:  Note corrections to DKB BC dispositions during the big naval battle.  Original version seen in belligerents' annotated reports is incorrect.

[ctwaterman]

Morning September 20th 1919 Brindisi Harbor...

A Ship flying the Greek National Flag slowly chugs its way into the Large Naval port of Brindisi.   The Dock and ways were mostly empty of warships however a small group of large freighters were loading heavy created equipment.  Slowly drifting astern of the Greek freighter unnoticed in the early morning light was Imperial Customs boat.

The First sign of the approaching danger was when the Greek freighter passed the tug boats assigned to dock ships and approached a pier on the military side of the harbor.  The freighter now identified as the Euterpe, refused signals and radio transmissions from the Harbor Control office and brushed aside a second harbor patrol boat dispatched to the rapidly closing Greek Ship.   The Euterpe rapidly reversed her engines and slowed turning to port as she grazed the nearest pier.   When she did swarms of rifle toting men came boiling up from below her deck to take the harbor boat under maxim fire as it mounted its machine gun and returned fire.  Meanwhile hundreds of men came boiling from below the Euterpe's decks over her sides and began rushing down the pier into the Military section of Brindisi harbor.

At this point the Harbor Master in his control room over looking the harbor broke the glass and pushed the big red button.  Alarms started wailing all over the city of Brindisi he had to duck as a stream of bullets from one of the Maxim guns on the freighter deck shattered the window of his control center and as several operators were killed or wounded and two other panicked and called the next nearest locations at Bari and Taranto.

The Raiders had a plan do as much damage as possible and then try to disappear in the confusion and make it back home across country.   The Group quickly divided into 5 major groups.  The First went at the nearest and most convenient targets the warehouses along the water front.   The second went towards the ships loading equipment about a quarter mile away.  The last two and by far the largest two groups made their way towards the Railway yards on the Western side of the Town following the tracks through the outskirts of the city.  The Final group headed towards what appeared to be the Coal and Oil storage facility and several military looking concrete building not to far away from the coal storage area.

The first resistance occurred while a group of armed men rushed towards the second warehouse and started to throw some coal oil bombs into it.  They had not recognized the Italia Police Officers who opened fire on them with pistols from short range.  The fight was very one sided several raiders killed or wounded one officer dead from multiple gunshots and the other dying from a bayonet wound.  As the group among the warehouse exercised their arsonist tendencies, the others spread out towards their objectives proceed by the sounds of gunshot and the occasional explosions of Dynamite.

The next group to reach their objective was the group rushing the ships along the pier.  The bordered the first two relatively easily killing or capturing any resistance from the crews or dock workers.  As they came to the third freighter however things were quite different.  The Crates being loaded all bore the Golden Eagle Mark and the Numbers XXV.  Here the Raiders ran into the first very stiff resistance as a platoon of the XXV Legion 1st Battalion 2nd Cohort were overseeing the loading of their equipment for overseas deployment.   They had simply uncrated their equipment and were armed and waiting when the first of the raider rushed down the pier towards their ship.   First rifle fire and then a machine gun opened up on the raiders stopping their rush cold in its attempt to get to the 3rd boat.  Attempts to throw dynamite failed under a barrage of small arms fire and grenades.   Some of the raiders moved to flank the Imperial Platoon by moving on to take the next dock and that ship.   But here too they were pinned down by small groups of men who had rapidly armed themselves with weapons being loaded onto the freighters.   Soon a bloody firefight between roughly 100 raiders and 50 heavily armed Imperial reservists who had taken cover among their heavy equipment and on board the transport ships.
 
The Third group to reach its destination was the group attacking the Slip with the keel and partial hull of a Ship under construction on it a plaque near the hull said PC-04 IMS Turin on it.   Two things became obvious there ship was in its early stages of construction and a concrete ramp and steel beams are difficult to damage with nothing but small arms coal oil incendiary devices and some dynamite.  This group contended itself with blowing up a gantry crane leading to the Slip damaging the keel with some explosives and setting fire to the everything in sight that appeared to be flammable.  While they were deciding what to do next the sound of machine gun fire could be heard from the directions that the last two groups had taken.

The Oil and Coal storage area had several sets of parallel train tracks running into it but was adjacent to some large low lying concrete buildings that looked worth a few pound of Dynamite.  Unfortunately the entrance to this area was guarded by a small barracks and two small concrete bunkers.  The whole area was surrounded by sturdy fencing and when the Raiders approached the entrance to both the low lying military building and the fuel depot they come under a withering cross fire from two machine guns and a large number of armed military personal.  The attackers in the open moving along the tracks took murderous casualties in the opening seconds of the attack before they could react.  This group was pinned down by fire from 2 machine guns had easily taken 50% casualties in the first minute of combat and when they moved to try to flank the machine guns and throw grenades at them the concrete bunkers proved very blast resistant several dozen more men were killed attempting to rush the guns and several Italia military personal were killed while moving to flank the pinned raiders.   At this point the Italia commander spent several minuets trying to find a common language in which to demand the raiders surrender.  Eventually he was able to do so and the pinned raiders lying among their dead and wounded quickly complied.

Back at the Brindisi marshalling yards a group of passenger cars had been busy unloading the 1st Battalion 2nd Cohort XXV Legion fresh from a 2 week refresher training and about to face their first overseas deployment in years.   The mix of older professional legionnaires, old reservist, and fresh green faced recruits were brought suddenly to alert by the sound of Sirens and explosions almost a half mile away down at the docks.   The Legions Centurions quickly had them grab their weapons and any ammo they could get and were getting ready to start moving out when the sounds of combat appeared to be heading in their direction.   The Centurions conferred with the first available officers and a few patrols were sent forward to form a picket while the bulk of the Battalion deployed to cover the approach to the marshalling yards.  After short wait the pickets came back to report a large body of men approaching up railway tracks from the docks towards the marshalling yards.   The Trap was soon set the battalion spread out to surround the invaders.

Meanwhile the last group of raiders had been marching towards the Marshalling yards.  They had stopped to blow up a few military looking warehouses and engaged in a brief fire fight where the maxim gun they were lugging proved its worth in destroying a determined attack by what appeared to be a large group of Local Police armed with rifles.   They could see a train of box cars ahead with a few just a few more cross roads to pass ahead of them when they heard to sound of serious machine gun fire coming from the direction of the fuel depot.  The way was clear to damage the port for months by blowing up the switching control room and tearing up as much track as they could manage and dynamiting the round houses.   As the last group rushed towards the Switch house the doors on the nearest three Box Cars slid open revealing 3 Machine guns and a loud voice called out in Italian  "Surrender or Die", punctuated by a short burst of all three machine guns over the heads of the charging men.

Down at the Docks the men besieging the two boats with the Legionnaires' aboard had reached a stalemate the first two ships they had taken had dynamite placed against the sides below the water line and fuses were lit and the men went to join their comrades who were still prevented from boarding the next two ship by well aimed rifle fire and short burst from several machine guns. Most of the Raiders were still trying to take those ships some time later when reinforcements arrived from the marshalling yards.

At the IMS Turin things had gone very well until the fires started by themselves and the group attacking the warehouses drove both groups together and back towards the docks.  A decision was reached under sporadic rifle fire from small groups of Brindisi police officers to try to head back to the boat and escape to sea.  But upon returning to the docks it was discovered that several small torpedo boats had surrounded the Freighter and taken the crew prisoner under the cover of their machine guns and light cannon.   At this point the Raiders mostly in a collection of old Uniforms decided to disperse and try to make it back the home on foot and in small groups.   The last group was captured 10 days latter trying to cross the border into Bavaria near Venice.

In the meantime with the Brindisi fire brigade was finally able to deploy without being shot at.  They quickly started dousing the Burning warehouse but the wind was slowly driving the fires into the Town.  The Dynamite that the Raiders had been carrying was utilized by a quick thinking Fire Brigade officer to destroy to large warehouse already on fire to create a fire break and save the rest of the warehouses.

In the after math the town of Brindisi was surrounded.  By troops as house to house searches were made for the 100's of raiders not immediately killed or captured.  Many foreigners were stopped and questioned those with papers were quickly released.  With very few acceptions.

The Hospitals were full, full of wounded Police, wounded raiders, wounded soldiers and the inevitable wounded civilians that result from a small infantry battle inside a city.

[The Rock Doctor]

The Rift, as of September 31, 1919

[ctwaterman]

Thanks for the Map hmmmm they appear to have run further then I invisioned.  And what the Bleep is a division doing on top of of 4400 Meter tall mountain....  I hope they brought alot of food and Cold weather gear.... good Lord looks up well when they get hungry and frost bitten Im sure they will come down....

The Simien National Park in Ethiopia where the New Zion Alpine Division is located has a peak taller then the tallest peak in the ALPS.....  I have no intention of trying to fight a battle their nor can troops long survive up their with out serious resupply and well some way to stay warm.

Charles

[TexanCowboy]

Thanks for the Map hmmmm they appear to have run further then I invisioned.  And what the Bleep is a division doing on top of of 4400 Meter tall mountain....  I hope they brought alot of food and Cold weather gear.... good Lord looks up well when they get hungry and frost bitten Im sure they will come down....

The Simien National Park in Ethiopia where the New Zion Alpine Division is located has a peak taller then the tallest peak in the ALPS.....  I have no intention of trying to fight a battle their nor can troops long survive up their with out serious resupply and well some way to stay warm.

Charles

4400 meters isn't that cold....I did that this summer on my two week vacation, with about the same amount of weight that a solider would have on him. (45 pounds, give or take)

[Sachmle]

Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere
Spring	Autumn	March-May
Summer	Winter	June-August
Autumn	Spring	September-November
Winter	Summer	December-February

As you see, it's mid spring in Ethiopia, rather cold compared to mid summer in the Southwest.

[TexanCowboy]

It was New Mexico, northern...that's really not where the heat is, escpicallly during the moonson season....(Early July to Early August)

[The Rock Doctor]

I expect the troops themselves are on the lower slopes, rather than concentrated at the peak.

No discussion in the news thread!  *Cracks whip*