Allied Forces Thread

[Franconicus]

Registered players of the allied team:

Sarmatian
RabidGibbon
Peasant Phill
Strike for the South
Lord Winter
King Kurt
Ignoramus
Fisherking

All others please stay outside until you have signed!

[Franconicus]

Chapter 1 – autumn 1941

A small tanker convoy is sailing northwards along the western coast of Africa. It is escorted by the 36 Escort Group, consisting of two sloops and seven corvettes. On deck of the Bittern-class sloop Stork stand the leader of the convoy, 45 years old Frederic John Walker. Although he watches the sea, the convoy is outside of the usual hunting grounds of the German submarines and out of the range of the German air force. And so his thoughts begin to wander and he starts to reflect his career.

He served in the Royal Navy since 1914. Twenty-seven long years! When the Second World War began, in 1939, his career seemed at dead end. Still a Commander, he had been ignored for promotion to captain and indeed had been scheduled for early retirement. He gained a reprieve, however, due to the commencement of war and in 1940 was appointed as Operations Staff Officer to Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay. Even so, he still had not been given a command, despite expertise in anti-submarine warfare that would no doubt be indispensable in the Battle of the Atlantic. During the Dunkirk evacuations he was Mentioned in Despatches for his work during the evacuation.

Walker finally received a command in October 1941, taking control of the 36th Escort Group, based in Liverpool, home of Western Approaches Command. The group is used to escort convoys to and from Gibraltar. So far, the duty has been uneventful.

During the wars, Walker was trained as an expert in Anti-Submarine Warfare. He studied the ability and tactics of the German submarines. Unlike others, he was not taken by surprise when the German boats attacked the British supply routes very effectively in 1939. The British did everything to improve the defense. The introduced the convoy system, did everything to increase the number and range of the escorts, they built bases on Iceland, which was then handed to the USA. American ships began to escort convoys in the Northern Atlantic and it was only a question of time when the US would enter the war completely. During the first six months the escorts have been able to push back the submarines, and the casualties decreased.

However, Walker knows that the battle is not won. The Germans have a huge program to build new submarines and soon their number will increase tremendously. From their bases at France they will be able to send their ships into the wideness of the Atlantic Ocean. Britain can only win the fight, if the escorts manage not only to push back the submarines, but to sink them.

Walker looks northwards. Behind the horizon there is Gibraltar, the destination of this convoy. The Germans are sending submarines in the Mediterranean Sea and those are passing Gibraltar. The escort will have to be alert when they near Gibraltar. But they still have time and Walker is determined to use this time to train the escort group.


Task 1: Please discus how you want to act as a team, esp. how you will come to an agreement about strategy and how to make decisions.
Task 2: Decide what maneuvers the escort group has to practice. What is it supposed to do after catching sight of a submarine, attack of an aircraft, sinking of a ship etc.?
Task 3: Get familiar with the current antisubmarine equipment.

Deadline: 20.January!

[Peasant Phill]

I assume we stay out of each others thread. Is there a way to enforce or are both thread starts identical?
Not that I'm accusing anybody but curiosity and competitive drive are a major part of the human nature.


Tasks: Do we discuss the tasks here or are we using a more private medium?

[Lord Winter]

We could always use a quick topic if needed. As for the actual decision making process do we want to vote on the different proposals made in the thread in the last days before the deadlines?

[King Kurt]

I think we should just do everything on the thread and trust to the others that they will not "cheat" As to the aproach, we should debate the actions listed and come to an agreement - by a vote if necessary.
i am off to do some research and will post some thoughts soon.

[Peasant Phill]

Fair enough. As long as everybody is able to post suggestions/ideas before the voting round. Decisions could be made too quick when people vote before hearing all the possibilities.