Battle of the Sabri Sea

Battle of the Sabri Sea
Part of Siduri War
Members of HMS Iralia Acapollo's gun crews prior to the final engagement.
Date 22 November 1935 – 25 November 1935 Location Sabri Sea, near Andria Result Common Axis Victory
Belligerents
Cacertian Empire	Republic of Syara Allamunnika

The Battle of the Sabri Sea was a decisive naval battle in the Western Theater of the Siduri War that took place between 22 and 25 November 1935. Fought between the combined naval forces of Syara and Allamunnika against three fleets of the Cacertian Royal Navy, the engagement is the largest full-scale clash of battleships in Tyran’s history. The Cacertian forces managed to defeat the Inner Sphere after extensive maneuvering and three main combats, finally engaging the Inner Sphere navy at close range and in bad weather conditions. The damage inflicted on the combined Inner Sphere forces was devastating and proved irreparable, permanently affecting the Inner Sphere’s ability to make war at sea for the remainder of the conflict.

The Inner Sphere’s operation sought to drastically hinder or eliminate the Cacertian Empire as a strategic power in the Sabri Sea, thereby giving Syara a free hand in controlling the waters of the Western Theater. Since the war on land had ground to a halt, the Inner Sphere hoped that a major demoralizing defeat would force Cacerta to turn its focus away from the ongoing land campaigns and draw its massive industry back to the construction of its navy. The strategy of the battle was also in response to the long range of Cacertian warships that had begun several operations of offshore bombardment of the Syaran homeland.

Cacertians learned about the plan via second hand intelligence through the Ruvelkan Resistance who later managed to determine the date and location of the planned attack, enabling a forewarned Royal Navy to prepare.

Order of battle

Main article: Order of Battle for the Battle of the Sabri Sea

The Cacertian force was commanded by the Royal Navy's Grand Admiral, Andrea Doria, and was split into three sections. The Royal Navy's Center Fleet, with which she sailed, formed the main force and consisted of twenty battleships and four battlecruisers. The battleships were formed up into two sections of ten ships that were further subdivided into divisions of five. Accompanying them were eight heavy cruisers, eight cruisers, four light cruisers, and thirty destroyers.

Cacerta's South Fleet sailed with the Center fleet from the Cacertian Isles commanded by Eugenia Davion. Most of her battleships had been reassigned to the North Fleet and, as a result of their faster speed and maneuverability, they provided the reconnaissance for the Cacertians during the battleship. Eugenia's force consisted of two fast battleships, eight battlecruisers, six heavy cruisers, and eight cruisers.

The thirty-two ship fleet stationed at Andria formed the the third part of the Cacertian force. Under the command of Ulisse Barbato, the Andria Fleet consisted of six battleships, four heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and twenty destroyers.