Defence of Port Hope
| Defence of Port Hope | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Asterian Theatre of the The Great War | |||||||||
 Estmerish troops, 1928 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Estmere •  Dominion of Satavia |
 Nuvania | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Edgar William Rose † Jonty Evans-Scott (POW) Oscar Harrison (POW) Richard de Vit † |
TBD | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
11,422 troops 1 cruiser 3 destroyers |
26,100 troops 66 planes 1 battleship 1 cruiser 4 destroyers 2 torpedo boats 1 minelayer 2 submarines | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
9,281 killed or missing 1,22 wounded 2,141 captured 1 cruiser sunk 1 destroyer sunk |
3,882 killed or missing 7,599 wounded | ||||||||
|
~3,500 Civilians Killed 6,000 wounded | |||||||||
The Defence of Port Hope, also known as the Fall of Port Hope and in Satavia as the Last Stand, was a week-long military engagement that took place in April 1928. The battle began on the morning of the 3rd February, when a primarily Nuvanian force of Entente troops landed unopposed three miles north of Port Hope. Satavia was the last major Grand Alliance military base and the last major Estmerish colony in the Asterias, and, despite this, was poorly defended. The Estmerish Navy had transfered the Satavian Division to the Royal Satavian Navy, which was lead by relatively inexperienced commanders, and much of the Estmerish Port Hope Garrison had also left to defend Estmere in Euclea.
The remaining garrison consisted of a small contingent of Estmerish Troops and Satavian Forces, along with a cruiser and three destroyers (much of the Royal Satavian Navy were stationed on the other side of the island, at Port Arthur), and no air support.
Satavian and Estmerish forces were numerically outnumbered, and stood little chance against the larger and better equiped Entente force, and resisted for a week untill they were over-run and surrendered.
The fall of Port Hope also lead to the fall of the Satavian Government, and was the last military engagement on the island of Satavia untill the Liberation in 1934. The loss of Satavia was a significant propaganda victory for the Entente, who portrayed it as the "beginning of the end" for the Estmerish colonial empire.
The battle is often cited as an example of a last stand in the face of enormous odds, which resulted in the annihilation of almost all Satavian and Estmerish forces during the battle.
Background
Upon the outbreak of war in February, 1927, the Dominion joined Estmere in declaring war on the Entente Powers. Following Nuvania's entry in to the Great War, and the defeat of Aucuria, Nuvanian forces were in a strong position to land and occupy Satavia. Despite this obvious threat, Estmerish High Command made the decision to withdraw the bulk of Estmerish Forces in Satavia, only leaving a contingent of around 800 Estmerish Soldiers, with the remaineder of the garrison consisting of the poorly trained Satavian Army.
Estmere's contingent of around 800 troops was lead by Colonel Edgar William Rose, who was killed on the first day of the fighting. Rose was an inexperienced commander, and had been appointed as a temporary commander, whilst a "suitable replacement" was found.
Nuvanian Forces were better trained and had better equipment than the Satavian Force, and were also more experienced, many having just returned from the front in Aucuria.
Battle
3 April
Landings at Missionaire Baai
At around 02:00 on the 3rd of April, 1928, a large force of around 26,100 Nuvanian Forces landed at Missionaire Baai (Missionary Bay), supported by a force of 11 ships, including the Nuvanian Battleship NMS Admiraal Alberts. Despite the landings being only 3.5 miles away from Port Hope itself, they were obscured by a thick mist, and King Charles Mound, situated at the beginning of the Orange Mountains. The landings carried out through the morning, completely unopposed.
First Assault on King Charles Mound
The first Nuvanian Assault begin at around 08:00 on the isolated positions at King Charles Mound, where the Satavian troops were caught completely unawares, and were easilly overrun within 20 minutes. General Harrison ordered Richard de Vit's 7th Division to attempt to retake the mound, which had a controlling view over the harbour. de Vit's forces, that consisted of roughly 3,000 men, were ordered to retake the mound before Nuvanian Artillery could be placed on the mound.
Desperately short of forces in the city, de Vit split his division so that some could be left behind to defend the city; an action that has later been criticised. With just 700 men of "A Company", de Vit attempted to storm the mound at 09:12, but his forces were pinned down by withering fire from above. As de Vit attempted to get up, he was struck by three bullets to the head, and was killed instantly.
Lacking a commander, the men of A Company began a chaotic retreat down the hillside, many killed whilst trying to escape. Of the 703 men sent to retake the mound, only 48 survived, all of whom were later captured.
Second Assault on King Charles Mound
Later that day, General Harrison ordered another assault on King Charles Mound, believing that if they retook the mound, they could defend Port Hope. At around 10:45, C Company of the 8th Division, in addition to 200 troops from Colonel Rose's own division were sent to retake the mound.
Nuvanian Artillery, now placed on the Mound, began to shell Port Hope itself, nearly destroying the Southern Military District's headquaters.
Once again, well palced machine-guns mowed down any Satavian advance, with what remained of C Company routed, thus leaving 200 Estmerish Soldiers unprotected and vunerable on the side of the mound. Nuvanian fighters dispatched from the mainland straffed the side of the mound, with Estmerish soldiers so desperate they began to shoot the planes with their rifles.
All the Estmerish Soldiers involved in the Second Assault on King Charles Mound, in Satavia commmonly referred to as the "Bloody Assault", perished.
Battle for Breybach Bay
At around 15:22, the four Royal Satavian Naval vessels staitioned in Port Hope were sitting out at Breybach Bay, when they suddenly came under heavy fire from planes sent from the Nuvanian Mainland. Whilst the three destroyers were important targets, most of the attacks centered on the flagship of the Satavian Navy, the modified light-cruiser, HMSS Port Hope. She was straffed multiple times, with multiple bullets entering the bridge; injuring the captain and three other senior officers. A torpedo launched from under the wing of one Nuvanian plane struck the starboard side of the ship. The destroyer Northport exploded just moments later, following a direct hit to the fuel storage facilities, and she sank in minutes.
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Whilst the damage done to the ship was not irreparable, during a lull in the attack, the decision was taken to withdraw the fleet from Port Hope, leaving the capital navally undefended. During the withdrawl, the three ships came under heavy fire once again, including from the Nuvanian Battleship Admiraal Alberts, in addition to other ships from her taskforce. Port Hope took several more direct hits, and at around 16:00, the decision was made by her dying captain to scuttle the ship in the entrance to Breybach Bay, and use her as a blockship. She was succesfully moved into position at the entrance of the bay, and was scuttled. Her scuttling meant that Nuvania's larger naval vessels could not enter the harbour, and it was only on the 17th April that her wreck was partially removed. The full wreckage was removed on 22nd June 2020, and is preserved in the Port Hope Naval Museum.
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The destroyers Adamstown and Kingsleigh escaped relatively unharmed, and joined the main bulk of the Royal Satavian Navy's fleet in Port Arthur, which was then evacuated to Euclea following the collapse of the Dominion of Satavia, and emergency evacuation of any remaining forces on the 9th and 10th April 1928.