Battle of Nakashihama

Battle of Nakashihama
Part of Second Great War
Englean marines offloading from the heavy cruiser Admiral Silberbauer
Date March 3-7, 1943 Location Nakashihama Island Result Minor Englean Victory
Belligerents
Englean Empire Kaiserliche-Marine Seebataillon	Empire of the Tao Imperial Taoist Navy Imperial Taoist Army
Commanders and leaders
Laurin Stelzner Bernhard Strittmatter Hartmut Sacher	Fukasawa Waotaka Fujioka Natsu Wakui Takeo
Units involved
IV. Seebataillon 391 Seeinfanterie-Regiment 23 Seepanzer-Division

The Battle of Nakashihama (German: Schlacht von Nakashihama), also called the Englean Invasion of Nakashihama Island, was a battle between the Englean Empire and the Empire of the Tao during the Second Great War. This battle is notable for it being the first major amphibious landing by the Englean military since the early 19th century, as it was more preferred for assaults to be undertaken on land or through parachute landings.

The battle itself came two years after the Taoist Invasion of Neu-Breissau, which had begun hostilities between the two nations.

Background

Since the loss of the colony of Neu-Breissau, the Englean Empire lost its major connection to Ophion, and with it the ability to effectively assist its ally Rhodevus in the Ophionese Theater. The Rezuan invasion in Ventismar had effectively cut off the Englean Pazifikflotte from its central command in Ventismar, leaving it to act on its own within the region. They were still in possession of the largest Englean naval fleet, and in 1942 Emperor Wilhelm III appointed Adelmar von Schedl as Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Engleanischen Streitkräfte im Ferner Osten ("Supreme Commander of all Englean Forces in the Far East").

In late 1942 it was determined that the first operation undertaken by the fleet would be against Taoist forces on the island of Nakashihama, which had previously been under the control of Englean forces since 1879. The island was situated about 150 miles off the Iles du Surete, and gave the Taoist Empire a strong foothold near Ziamban due to its possession of both a port as well as a large airfield. Many within the leadership were worried with the target, due to it requiring the usage of an amphibious landing - something many only had limited experience with. In addition, the forces did not possess many amphibious landing equipment and required the modification of multiple ships to assist with the landing. Most notable was the usage of the Admiral Steltsen-class cruiser Admiral Silberbauer and the Graf Kürschner class carrier Habentien.

The Battle

The battle itself started with the bombing of Taoist ships and positions by Englean strike aircraft at 06:43, followed by the shelling of the coast by the battleships Nassau and Durfflinger.

Results

The inexperience of the Englean forces had attributed to initial losses, but this changed after a beachhead was established. The presence of multiple Englean Tauchpanzer (amphibious tanks) had given a significant edge, due to the Taoist forces having limited armoured units and relatively weak anti-tank capabilities. While the Engleans possessed technical superiority, the Taoists possessed the ferocity that they would become known for later on in the war. Their expertiece when it came to island and jungle fighting had given them an edge, resulting in Englean losses in jungle areas of the island. Eventually the Englean commanders decided to wholly avoid areas such as this, unless absolutely necessary. By the third day of fighting, the airfield had been captured and allowed for the landing of aircraft that could be used to attack the port on the other side of the island. The port itself would be captured by the fourth day, with remaining Taoist forces either surrendering, evacuating, or engaging in suicide-charges.

This battle had given the Englean forces a much needed view into their weakness in amphibious landings, as well as showing just what kind of enemy they were facing. Unlike Ventismarian armies, the forces of the Taoist Empire had a strange fanatical nature to them - preferring to die rather than be captured. In addition to this, the capture of the island had given the Engleans the first foothold to their further expansion into the Ophionese Theatre.