Raid in the Balaeric Strait

Raid in the Balaeric Strait
Part of the Western Theater of the Siduri War
The HMS Laura Valier opens fire while the HMS Amancamento sails in the background
Date 16 March 1935 Location Balaeric Strait, 150 kilometers south of the Marseillan Islands Result Cacertian victory
Belligerents
Cacertian Empire	Republic of Syara
Commanders and leaders
Vilfredo Piana  †	Luka Nikolov
Units involved
Northern Fleet	Sundering Fleet
Strength
1 battleship 2 light cruisers 3 destroyers 18 cargo ships	1 battlecruiser 1 heavy cruiser
Casualties and losses
1 battleship sunk 1 light cruiser damaged	1 battlecruiser damaged 1 heavy cruiser damaged

The Raid in the Balaeric Strait, also known as the Action on 16 March 1935 was a naval engagement between the Cacertian Royal Navy and the Navy of the Syaran Republic. Two Syaran surface raiders, the Moddra-class battlecruiser RS Rapid Salvation and the Kylacky-class heavy cruiser Bloodied Spirit, engaged a Common Axis convoy carrying war materials for the Quenminese Front. The convoy was defended by a mixed force of cruisers and destroyers led by the Dana Baldini-Class Battleship HMS Laura Valier.

Three months earlier, the HMS Amika Carpio and the Morena Quintilian had conducted the "Divide Dash", demonstrating the threat posed by major surface combatants to shipping. Needing a way to threaten the supply lines between Cacerta and Quenmin, the Inner Sphere began dispatching commerce raiders in the form of submarines, surface warships, and armed merchant cruisers to harass Common Axis convoys in the Bara Sea and Balaeric Strait. To avoid the over-commitment of naval forces (which would be fighting in waters far closer to staging areas and ports of the Common Axis), these endeavors were usually limited to single ship or dual-ship operations.

Defending Common Axis convoys typically fell to destroyers and cruisers, but the threat of large Syaran and Shirvani surface raiders required support from larger warships. With most modern battleships needed for the Nuadan Campaign in the west, this forced the Cacertian Royal Navy to press older ships into surface, including the Dana Baldini-class. Originally designed as "super-dreadnoughts" in the 1910s, the Divide War had revealed the limitations of these designs and by the 1930s they were deemed too slow to take part in major fleet operations and thereafter relegated to second line assignments, including convoy duty. The primary sea lane between Cacerta and Quenmin where most supplies for the Quenminese Front sailed through was the Balaeric Strait between the Marseillan Islands and Lirinya.

On 16 March 1935 the Laura Valier under the command of Captain Vilfredo Piana was escorting a convoy of 18 cargo ships and transports, along with two Brindisi-class light cruisers (HMS Amancamento and Senice), and three Vera-Class Destroyers. Around 1300 local time the convoy was approximately 150 kilometers south of the Marseillan Islands when radar onboard the Laura Valier detected ships approaching from the north-west. Lookouts soon spotted the leading ship on the horizon, but the Cacertians were initially unaware of its identity. Captain Piana had not been expecting to encounter any major surface raiders as the Cacertian picket in the waters between Akashi and Serikos were supposed to offer forewarning, but the Syaran ships had managed to slip by undetected.

Cacertian uncertainty allowed Captain Luka Nikolov aboard the Rapid Salvation time to close the distance between his ships and the convoy; by the time the Cacertians had realized they were dealing with a hostile vessel the Syarans were already in weapons range. Rapid Salvation fired first, her 380mm guns outranging the armaments' of any of the Cacertian escorts, while her top speed of 33 knots meant that only the Vera-class destroyers could keep pace with her. Syaran shells were soon impacting near the Laura Valier, which was still out of range and could only advance at a speed of 21 knots. Taking a page out of the Syarans own books, Piana had the Laura Valier fall back while his three faster destroyers surged forward to get within torpedo range. The three Vera-class were among the fastest destroyers in the world, though pushing their engines to full speed usually resulted in mechanical damage. The nevertheless were able to get within range to launch their own torpedoes before quickly falling back to avoid Syaran cannon fire.

The Syarans were forced to disrupt their own maneuvers to avoid the incoming torpedoes which allowed Piana to suddenly swing back forward towards the Syaran ships while ordering his light cruisers to support the attack. By the time the Syarans had reformed and retrained their guns on the Cacertians, the Laura Valier was within range to open up with her own batteries. Despite the older nature of their weapons and ship Cacertian gunnery skills soon shined through; three 350mm shells struck the Rapid Salvation in quick succession, jamming one of her primary turrets. Captain Nikolov responded by ordering the Bloodied Spirit to focus fire on the Cacertian cruisers while the Rapid Salvation directed all her firepower towards the Laura Valier.

Syaran gunnery finally won through. What had once been the most powerful ship in the world was struck four times by Syaran 380mm shells, which destroyed the 350mm turret immediately aft of the super structure. The resulting fire and smoke provided focal point for Syaran gunners to zero in on. The Cacertian Dreadnought fired back and struck the Syaran battlecruiser twice, denting her hull but failing to penetrate below the waterline. More shells struck the Laura Valier and she began to list to starboard while smoke billowed from her wounds on the aft deck. Captain Piana ordered a hard turn to starboard to hide his weakened side while also trying to bring the full armaments' of his warshipt o bear, as the faster Syaran ships were preparing to cross the Laura Valiers "T".

The Bloodied Spirit meanwhile had engaged the two light cruisers Amancamento and Senice, with first blood going to the Syarans courtesy of light damage to the bow of the Amancento. Both Cacertian cruisers answered back with their own 150mm guns, which struck the Syaran heavy cruiser' six times. The seventh strike proved far more damaging; the Blood Spirit was struck just behind the rear mast and severely damaged her fire control systems and severed one of her hydraulic lines, rendering her rear super firing pair of turrets effectively impossible to accurately utilize. Syaran vengeance soon followed however; the Amancamento was struck across her bow and tore apart her forward two turrets; smoke and fire from the damage soon covered her forward deck and engulfed the bridge, significantly reducing visibility.

With the Bloodied Spirit damaged Captain Nikilov ordered the heavy cruiser to fall back while the Rapid Salvation attempted to close and finish off the Laura Valier. By now the Cacertian battleship had been hit more than a dozen times and was noticeably listing, while her rear guns were inoperable due to battle damage. Unable to bring about a full broadside Piana ordered the dreadnought to keep its bow on the Syaran battlecruiser to limit its target profile. The Cacertian gunners of her forward turret pair finally struck home; two 350mm shells slammed into the Rapid Salvation, puncturing one of her fuel tanks and setting fire to the oil. Thick black smoke began burning near the stern and a slick trail of oil emerged in the battlecruisers wake.

Syaran return fire was swift and final. Three 380mm shells struck the fore deck of the Laura Valier and destroyed her elevated turret. The resulting damage detonated her ammunition magazine in a massive explosion that destroyed the bridge and killed most of the officers present, including Captain Piana. Although her keel remained intact her deck was ablaze and her internal structure heavily damaged. Her list to port became even more prominent and she capsized after 15 minutes of settling in the water.

The sacrifice of the former pride of the Cacertian Royal Navy had not been in vain, however. As the Syaran ships came about they discovered that the convoy had scattered, and her three destroyer escorts were preparing for another torpedo run. Meanwhile the Syarans themselves were in bad shape; the Bloodied Spirit was still on fire and the Rapid Salvation was hemorrhaging oil. As damage control teams and engineers reported back to Captain Nikolov that the battlecruiser would be lucky to make it back to port, the Syarans elected to withdraw. They had killed nearly a 1,000 Cacertian sailors and sunk a battleship, but in exchange 200 Syaran sailors were dead and the convoy's cargo was unharmed. Despite search efforts intended to locate and destroy the two crippled Syaran ships, stormy weather prevented an intercept and the Rapid Salvation and Bloodied Spirit managed to return to the Shirvani Dominion by 22 March.