Battle of Duinkerke
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The Battle of Duinkerke was the first major naval battle during the Tasmana War. It was fought on DATE off the coast of Duinkerke, Kleine Tasman, between a Furbish Navy fleet consisting of 9 ships, including 5 ironclads, against an anti-government force with a larger but less advanced fleet. The battle turned into a humiliating defeat for the pro-government fleet.
As the Tasmana War was beginning and provinces mobilized militias, pro-government commanders hoped to prevent troops from Kleine Tasman from reaching the mainland. Admiral Pius Waldoon, who was recently made commander of all Furbish ships in Tasmana, took personal command of a small fleet that set off to Tasmana. The anti-government force, under Robert-Jan Teger, consisted of wooden civilian ships fitted with cannons. Teger planned to meet the pro-government fleet off the coast of Kleine Tasman, where he could receive help from coastal artillery. The two fleets met near XXX. The anti-government fleet moved closer to the pro-government fleet, and the intensity of the fighting created a large cloud of smoke which reduced visibility. Two ironclads sunk after hitting the coast, after which Waldoon ordered a retreat.
The battle became the first of many defeats for Waldoon at the hands of his inferior foe. It also allowed militias from Kleine Tasman to travel uninterrupted to mainland Tasmana, where they helped relieve the besieged cities of Groningen and Pernis. Around a week later Waldoon returned with a much larger fleet, beginning the First Battle of the Tasmanan Straight.
Background
Teger hoped to catch the pro-government fleet near a coast for two reasons: to receive help from coastal artillery, and to potentially cause pro-government ships to crash into the coast as they were larger and less maneuverable than Teger's ships. Duinkerke was one of several cities Teger planned to meet the pro-government fleet at, and it was the direction they ended up choosing.
Opposing forces
Anti-government
Pro-government
Battle
At XXX, a lookout from the pro-government fleet spotted the anti-government fleet. Waldoon ordered his fleet to pursue them as it appeared to him the fleet was sailing away. By XXX the pro-government fleet was near the coast, and by XXX they caught up with the anti-government fleet near Duinkerke.
Teger immediately ordered his fleet to turn to their broadsides and fire, and the cannons from the Duinkerke Fort also began to fire. His ships remained very close to the fort and their bows faced towards the shore. Waldoon ordered his ships to sail towards the anti-government fleet in an attempt to ram them, led by the ironclads. His ship, the NAME, was in the center, while NAME was on its right and NAME was on the left near the coast. The other two, NAME and NAME, sailed behind NAME near the coast to protect the frigates and corvettes from the fort. The frigates and corvettes sailed between the ironclads.
As the ships sailed closer to each other, all the cannons created a cloud of smoke that almost entirely reduced visibility, to the point that the crews only knew where other ships were by seeing explosions from the cannons. This was part of Teger's plan, and when he knew the pro-government fleet was close, he immediately ordered his ships to turn around and sail away from the coast. The crews of the pro-government ships did not notice this through the fog, so some ships turned towards the fort thinking the cannons were from the enemy ships. Two of the ironclads, NAME and NAME, then hit the coast and began to sink.
Panic began to ensue in the remaining ships as they heard the sounds of the two ships sinking. Waldoon desperately tried to keep order on the NAME while the ironclads turned around, finally realizing from the directions of the cannons that the anti-government fleet turned around. The ironclads continued to pursue the fleet, until suddenly NAME, one of the frigates, was sunk by cannon fire from the fort. At the same time Teger ordered his own ship, NAME, and two others to sail towards NAME. Thinking from the encounter that the enemy ships were much stronger than his own, Waldoon ordered his fleet to turn around and retreat to mainland Tasmana. Teger did not order his ships to pursue the enemy, instead picking up survivors from the sunken ships.
Aftermath
The Battle of Duinkerke was the first major naval battle of the Tasmana War.
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