Battle of the Dardic Strait

Battle of the Dardic Strait
Part of the Western Theater of the Siduri War
A photograph of the HMS Icilia, a participant of the battle.
Date 11 September 1935 – 12 September 1935 Location Dardic Strait, Sabri Sea Result Cacertian victory
Belligerents
Cacertian Empire	Republic of Syara
Commanders and leaders
Aemilia Catula	Ljudmil Manevski
Units involved
Rapid Response Group 11
Strength
6 destroyers	8 destroyers
Casualties and losses
1 injured	3 destroyers sunk 1 destroyer damaged 183 killed 514 captured

The Battle of the Dardic Strait was a naval battle of the Nuandan Campaign of the Siduri War that was fought on the night of 11–12 September 1935 in the Dardic Strait between the Hemar Confederacy and mainland Siduri in the southern Sabri Sea. Having successfully cracked an encrypted Syaran naval communique, the Cacertian Royal Navy deduced the location of a raiding flotilla of the Navy of the Syaran Republic using radio direction finding and quickly dispatched two triads of destroyers on a course to intercept.

The engagement was one of the first battles in which the importance of radar technology was a deciding factor. Dense fog, resulting from a storm earlier in the day, made visual confirmation of warships virtually impossible especially in the evening and into the night. Cacertian ships made radar contact with the Syarans at 23:20 local time with the lead ship—Elvira-class destroyer HMS Icilia—receiving its first positive signal at a distance of approximately 25 kilometers.

Captain Second Grade Aemilia Catula was aware that Syaran destroyers were also equipped with radars, but lacked intelligence regarding their detection range and proceeded to approach the Syaran formation with caution. After observing the enemy flotilla for nearly twenty minutes, she deduced that they had the element of surprise and ordered her taskforce to separate into their respective triads. Catula’s triad—led by Vera-class destroyer HMS Volusia—would attempt to attack the Syaran flotilla and launch their torpedoes while the second triad, under Captain Second Grade Namazio Andreozzi, would provide cover. It was anticipated that if the Syaran’s attempted to turn to dodge the torpedoes fired from the first triad their broadsides would be exposed for a torpedo attack by the second triad.

Despite being well within gun range, the Cacertians decided not to engage with gunfire until after they had conducted their torpedo runs. Volusia, Elide, and Macaria fired a total of twenty-four torpedoes in less than a minute before turning starboard to withdraw at high speed. Detecting torpedo signatures on sonar, the Syarans moved to dodge as anticipated and Andreozzi’s second triad conducted their own torpedo run. Now crossing the T of the Syaran flotilla, Catula’s first triad opened fire as soon as they heard torpedoes exploding.

The five lead ships of the Syaran flotilla were hit by Cacertian torpedoes. Fanatic, Spirit, and Vigilant were virtually incapacitated by torpedo strikes and begin sinking almost immediately; Absolution suffered a damaged propeller from its strike and immediately turned away from combat at half-speed. The torpedo that hit Majesty was a dud and did not detonate, allowing her to lead the remaining destroyers to escape. She also fired off nine torpedoes while retreating, but did not successfully hit a target. 514 Syaran sailors were rescued by the Cacertians in the aftermath of the battle and ferried to Andria as POWs. The Cacertians suffered only a single casualty; a crush injury to a gun loader due to a loading accident.

The engagement was a surprising victory for the Common Axis and was the first time that the Syarans had been beaten in a nighttime destroyer action. Although the Syarans had returned fire during the battle, the difficult visibility conditions meant that neither the Syarans nor the Cacertians had landed any hits with their gunfire.