Operation Winter Phantasm

Operation Winter Phantasm
Part of the Sundering Sea Campaign of the Siduri War
The Amika photographed from the Morena during the pursuit, 7 January 1935
Date 2 January 1935 – 9 January 1935 Location Sanguine Sea, Sundering Sea Result Common Axis Victory
Belligerents
Cacertian Empire	Republic of Syara
Commanders and leaders
Jasmine Triscari  † Selene Pedretti	Dragan Bozinovski
Units involved
HMS Amika Carpio HMS Morena Quintilian	Convoy ATS-14 Pursuit Force
Strength
1 battleship 1 battlecruiser	1 battleship 2 heavy cruisers 6 destroyers 1 auxiliary cruiser 14 cargo ships 16 aircraft
Casualties and losses
1 battleship damaged 1 battlecruiser damaged 250 – 270 killed and wounded	2 destroyers sunk 1 auxiliary cruiser sunk 2 cargo ships sunk 1 heavy cruiser damaged 2 destroyers damaged

Operation Winter Phantasm, colloquially referred to in Cacerta as Triscari’s Gambit and in Syara as the Divide Dash, was a naval operation during the Siduri War which began as a Cacertian Royal Navy commerce raid on Inner Sphere shipping before turning into a fierce pursuit of the raiders conducted by the Navy of the Syaran Republic.

The Amika Carpio and Morena Quintilian arrived in the Andria Protectorate on 30 December 1934 as part of the escort for a supply convoy from the Cacertian Home Islands. Both ships spent the next several days resupplying before receiving orders from High Command to pre-emptively sortie and intercept an incoming Æsthurlav convoy bound for Moddra; the Amika and Morena departed NB, Andria on 2 January 1935 at 1:21AM.

Taking a course wide into the open sea and away from the western coast of Siduri, the raiders began closing the distance on their intended target after two days of sailing. Syaran naval reconnaissance photographed both ships in the late afternoon of 4 January and the Navy was put on standby. Rough seas and stormy weather delayed the Cacertian intercept, but also resulted in Syaran loss of contact. By the time the weather cleared, the raiders were out of position and the target convoy was now close enough to the Syaran coast to potentially receive air cover; despite the risk, Captain Jasmine Triscari decided to engage.

The Syaran Convoy, ATS-14, was protected by the destroyers Reverence and Surveyor and the auxiliary cruiser Pious Inquirer. Upon contact with the Amika and Morena, the Reverance radioed to the Syaran mainland a distress call at 12:44PM on 5 January. The three escorts then steamed towards the Cacertian warships to draw them away from the convoy while the Syaran coastal air command began scrambling aircraft from the closest air bases near the city of Lilov. Surveyor was sunk almost immediately with the loss of all hands, while Pious Inquirer was sunk just minutes later. Torpedo volleys from the Reverance however forced the Amika and Morena to evade, which bought enough time for the convoy to continue towards air cover from the mainland. The Reverance was sunk shortly afterwards, but by the time contact was re-established with the convoy aircraft from the Syaran Army Air Corps had begun to arrive, and the Cacertians were forced to abort the raid after sinking just two of the 14 cargo ships.

After receiving visual confirmation that one of the vessels was indeed the Amika, the Syaran Navy was mobilized to cut-off the most likely escape routes back to Andria. It was believed that a return to Cacerta’s home islands via the Sundering Sea would be too dangerous to undertake. The Makedon-class battleship Unity of Effort, supported by the heavy cruisers Glorious Endeavor and Refugee's Prayer and a flotilla of destroyers, were ordered to pursue.

Radio intercepts provided by the Ruvelkan Resistance informed Captain Triscari of the Syaran intention to block their return to Andria. She believed that by taking the Sundering Sea and maintaining full-speed they could potentially take the Syarans by surprise and allow them to gain enough of a lead on any pursuers to escape. At 2:22AM on 6 January, both the Amika and Morena sharply turned eastward and made for the northern gap of Chryse.

The ensuing search for and the pursuit of the Amika and Morena through the Sundering resulted in a number of violent and brief engagements along the northern coasts of Syara, occupied Ruvelka, and Allamunnika. Despite both ships suffering heavy damage, the Syaran Navy was unable to cripple either ship and halted their pursuit of the raiders as they approached the coast of Chihon on 9 January. The Unity of Effort would end up being sunk by the Amika less than a year later at the Battle of the Sabri Sea.