Shipbucket

Very nice work!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Entente class (CSA):


Representing the first class of Confederate destroyer designed specifically to counter their Northern counterparts, the Entente class nevertheless retained some British influences. Sixteen were built; Entente, Executive, Energetic, Egress, Excellent, Eclectic, Esoteric, Epilogue, Ellipse, Epoch, Ethereal, Equinox, Etiquette, Epitome, Eccentric, and Euphoria. They were laid down in 1910-11, launched 1912-13, and commissioned 1913-14. Hull numbers ran from TD-37 to TD-52.

The Entente class was 312 feet long overall, with a 30 foot beam and a nominal draft of 10 feet. They displaced 1,107 tons normal and 1,228 tons full load. They were armed with four Mk.VI 4”/50 guns in shielded super-firing pairs fore and aft and two MK.IX 1-pounder (37mm) anti-aircraft guns in open mounts amidships. Torpedo armament consisted of four 21” torpedo tubes in two centerline twin deck launchers with eighteen reload torpedoes. A twin-shaft direct-drive turbine system was used for the last time – two Wilkerson-Chadwick units producing 23,100 shp propelled these ships to 32 knots. Range was 4,000 nautical miles and complement stood at 115.

Re-classed as destroyers (D-37 to D-52) in 1921, the new ships were heavily involved in the War of the Americas and ten members of the class were lost; Entente and Epoch in 1924, Excellent, Etiquette, and Euphoria in 1925, Energetic, Egress, and Ethereal in 1926, and Eclectic and Epilogue in 1927, while two were lost to accidents; Executive to grounding in 1915, and Epitome in a collision during fleet maneuvers in 1934. The four surviving ships remained in service until 1942, when they were decommissioned and scrapped.

Fortress class (CSA):


Progressive refinements of the Entente class, the sixteen ships of the Fortress class were the model for the destroyers built for the CSN during the War of the Americas – although the war-built examples were hastily built and of inferior construction compared to the original ships. Authorized in 1913, the ships of this class were: Fortress, Fiery, Fulcrum, Ferrier, Fencer, Façade, Ferret, Foxhound, Flange, Fervent, Flagstone, Finch, Falcon, Fidelity, Flint, and Falchion. They were laid down in 1914-15, launched 1916-17, and commissioned 1917-18. Hull numbers ran from TD-53 to TD-68.

The Fortress class was 320 feet long overall, with a 30 foot beam and a nominal draft of 10 feet. They displaced 1,149 tons normal and 1,226 tons full load. They were armed with the same four Mk.VI 4”/50 guns in single shielded mounts as the Entente class, but replaced the 1-pounders for a single Mk.VII 3”/50 anti-aircraft gun in an open mount ahead of the aft deckhouse. Torpedo armament consisted of two centerline Mk.XV triple 21” torpedo launchers with eighteen reload torpedoes. Two Wilkerson-Chadwick geared turbines producing 30,680 shp gave these destroyers a maximum design speed of 34 knots – making them the fastest warships in the New World at the time. Range increased to 4,500 nautical miles and the ships’ complete rose to 125,

Re-classed as destroyers (D-53 to D-68) in 1921, the new ships were used primarily as escorts. Ten were lost during the War of the Americas; Flange in 1923, Ferret and Fidelity in 1924, Fiery, Fervent and Falcon in 1925, Ferrier, Fencer, and Finch in 1926, and Flint in 1927 in the final weeks of the war (and was the last Confederate ship lost in the conflict). Continuing into the postwar fleet, the six surviving ships were refit in 1938-1939 and were eventually decommissioned in two batches; Fortress, Fulcrum, and Flagstone in 1945, Façade, Foxhound, and Falchion in 1953.

Next up: Confederate submarines 1911-1920

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Beautiful ships...love their streamlined stacks!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Very smart looking ships, I can't wait to see their refits!

Streamlined? No! Agressive looking racked funnels and masts! A very good looking muscle ship!

Greetings!

D-class (CSA):


The initial production class of Confederate submarines; the D-class was loosely based on CSS C.I but with a new hull design. Eight boats of this class; D.I to D.VIII, were built – all were in service by the end of 1915. These were the first CSN submarines to carry hull numbers which ran from S-1 to S-8.

The D-class was 178 feet long, with a 15.5 foot beam and a nominal draft of 15 feet. They displaced 649 tons surfaced, and 785 tons submerged. They were armed with four 18” bow torpedo tubes with stowage for up to seven torpedoes and carried a 3” deck gun forward of the conning tower. Two Revere Motors six-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 1,650 horsepower gave a surface speed of 15 knots, while their electric motors had a maximum speed of 9 knots submerged. Range was 2,500 nautical miles surfaced. Maximum diving depth was 170 feet and normal crew complement was 35.

After entering service, the subs participated in neutrality patrols established off the Confederate East Coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico. In 1919, CSS D.VII was lost with all hands during maneuvers off Florida to an induction valve failure (all boats of this class had their valves replaced following the incident). The remaining boats served during the War of the Americas until late 1926, when they were withdrawn from front-line service. Three; D.II, D.IV, and D.VI were lost during the conflict. The surviving boats were decommissioned early in 1928 and scrapped soon after.

E-class (CSA):


The largest and most advanced submarines in North America at the time they commissioned, the E-class was an enlarged version of the D-class and were the first to carry 21” torpedoes. Eight boats; E.I to E.VIII were built; commissioning between 1918 and 1919. Hull numbers ran from S-9 to S-16.

The E-class was 225 feet long, with a 20.5 foot beam and a nominal draft of 15 feet. They displaced 895 tons surfaced, and 1,083 tons submerged. They were armed with four 21” bow torpedo tubes with stowage for up to nine Mk.III torpedoes. A 3”/50 Mk.X deck gun was again fitted forward of the conning tower –surviving boats were upgraded to a 4” gun during the War of the Americas. Two Revere 1,150 horsepower diesel engines gave a surfaced speed of 16 knots while 10 knots was available from the electric motors while submerged. These boats had an impressive (for their day) range of 2,900 nautical miles and could dive to a depth of 200 feet. Crew numbered 40.

Like the earlier D-class, the E-class boats participated in neutrality patrols during the Great War, but unlike their predecessors, served throughout the War of the Americas as front-line units and four; E.III, E.IV, E.VII, and E.VIII, were lost. The four surviving boats were all decommissioned within a few weeks of the Armistice and were subsequently scrapped beginning in 1928.

Up next: 1921-1930, including the Main Event – the War of the Americas

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Can't wait for the Main Event! Hope it sheds some light on what ships were sunk when.

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

1921-1930:

US National Overview:
This decade was of course dominated by the War of the Americas which would go on to be the bloodiest and most destructive conflict in North American history. It snuck up on the US as an increasingly hostile Confederacy quietly prepared for war. With hindsight it is possible to see the warning signs completely missed by the Bryan Administration; the naval buildup under the “1930 Plan” which actually began under the previous Confederate president, Furnifold Simmons, as well as a massive increase in the Confederate Army and Air Corps and the fortification of the Philippines and Cuba.
Bryan’s successor, Hiram Johnson, was more observant, however. A Progressive, Johnson was in agreement with former president La Follette on the threat the CSA poised and began a military buildup almost immediately after assuming office.
During the conflict Johnson proved to be an able and respected Commander in Chief – easily winning re-election in 1924. Perhaps Johnson’s greatest achievement was the appointment of General Peyton March as Army Chief of Staff and Admiral Charles Hughes as Chief of Naval Operations. Together, the two men created a variant on the Civil War-era Anaconda Plan – taking advantage of modern (for the time) armored and aerial combat capabilities. Although not fully implemented until late 1925 (following the failure of the Confederacy’s Operation Citadel) it was quickly able to drive the CS Army back into Confederate territory on land and systematically annihilate the bulk of the CSN allowing the crippling blockade of Southern ports which was established in the last eighteen months of the war.
After the declaration of a formal armistice in September of 1927, Johnson and a diplomatic team traveled to Montreal, Canada, for the peace talks. The US delegation dominated the talks and obtained most of their desired goals. The task of implementing the provisions of the resulting treaty and the controversial war reparations imposed on the defeated Confederacy, however, largely fell on Johnson’s successor, John W. Davis.

Presidents:
William Jennings Bryan (D-NE) 1917-1921
Hiram Johnson (CA-P) 1921-1929
John W. Davis (D-WV) 1929-1933

Vice-Presidents:
James M. Cox (D-OH) 1917-1921
John W. Weeks (P-MA) 1921-1926 D
Office vacant 1926-1929
Alfred “Al” Smith (D-NY) 1929-1933

Political party abbreviations: D-Democratic Party; R-Republican Party; P-Progressive Party
Key: A: Assassinated; D: Died in office; I: Impeached; R: Resigned; S: Succeeded to presidency

States admitted (year):
Arizona north of the 34th Parallel (1934), New Mexico north of the 34th Parallel (1937), Missouri north of the Missouri River (1932); all gained under the Treaty of Montreal

Other acquired territory:
The Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico all became US protectorates under the Treaty of Montreal

CS National Overview:
For the Confederacy, the War of the Americas would prove to be a disaster of epic proportions and came close to destroying the CSA as a sovereign nation. Planning for the war was actually begun under the Simmons Administration in the fall of 1918. A massive build-up of the Confederate Army and Air Corps was implemented in March of 1920, and was largely completed by the beginning of 1923.
As for the CSN, an ambitious naval expansion plan was created by August of 1919 called the “1930 Plan” which would have seen the Confederate Navy realistically capable of taking on the USN by no later than January of 1930 – although a completion date of 1927 was pushed for by the Admiralty in requesting funding as a way of generating support. However, the new Confederate president Claude Swanson (elected in 1921) who was somewhat ignorant of naval affairs (as well as distrustful of some of his admirals) declared before a closed session of the Confederate Congress in November of 1922 that hostilities would begin February of the following year – leaving the building program with a good four years or more left to run, and the CSN at a severe disadvantage.
This would prove to be a major mistake and contributed to the failure of Operation Citadel – the Confederate plan to seize control of the Panama Canal – as well as proving to be the turning point of the war. Afterward, the CSN was quickly crushed by the might of the US Navy and by the spring of 1927 had largely ceased to exist as a fighting force – with the last major naval encounter being the Battle of Mobile Bay in July. Meanwhile, the Confederate land campaign had stalled in late 1925 as well and the first major US offensives quickly pushed the CS Army out of US territory and into the Confederacy itself by the middle of 1926. After the fall of the capital of Richmond in April of 1927, the CSA government in exile in Atlanta held on until August, when it was realized their position was untenable and so asked for a crease-fire.
The war left the Confederacy in ruins – its economy shattered and with widespread destruction – particularly in the major battleground states of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Oklahoma – as well as massive population displacement in the six Confederate states once belonging to Mexico – which would be virtually abandoned as they were quickly ceded back to the Republic of Mexico under the Treaty of Montreal. It would take the next two decades for the CSA to overcome the effects of the conflict and resume some of its prewar status, but the nation that emerged from the self-inflicted nightmare of the War of the Americas would be very different than the one that marched off to “finally teach the Yankees a lesson” in 1923.

Presidents:
Furnifold M. Simmons (S-NC) 1916-1922
Claude A. Swanson (C-VA) 1922-1928
Bronson M. Cutting (RF-NM) 1928-1934

Vice-Presidents:
Michael Hoke Smith (S-GA) 1916-1922
Oscar Underwood (CR-AL) 1922-1927 R
Office vacant 1927-1928
William Emerson Brock (RF-TN) 1928-1934

Political party abbreviations: C-Confederation Party; S-States First Party; CR-Confederation-Reform Party; RF-Reform Party; F-Foundation Party
Key: A: Assassinated; D: Died in office; I: Impeached; R: Resigned; S: Succeeded to presidency

States lost under the Treaty of Montreal:
Arizona, New Mexico (north of the 34th Parallel), Missouri (north of the Missouri River), to the US (1928); Arizona, New Mexico (south of the 34th Parallel), ceded to Mexico (1928); South Texas (Chihuahua), Lafayette (Coahuila), Rio Grande (Tamaulipas), Sierra (Nuevo Leon), Independence (Sonora), Jefferson (Baja California) ceded back to Mexico (1928 – although formal handover didn’t occur until 1938).

Other territory lost under the Treaty of Montreal:
The Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico ceded to the US as protectorates (1928), Virginia’s Eastern Shore (south of the 38th Parallel) ceded to US (1928) – becomes part of Maryland; in addition, CSA protectorates in Central America seized by Mexico in 1927 and admitted to the Republic of Mexico as states during the 1930’s

The War of the Americas 1923-1927:
Author’s note: Although the War of the Americas was widespread – with fighting occurring across North America as well as the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific – and involved extensive land campaigns as well as strategic air operations by both sides – it is beyond the scope of this work to detail them. Therefore, I will be focusing on the naval aspects of the conflict only.

The first major conflict fought after the Great War, the War of the Americas was frequently (albeit inaccurately) called the Second American Civil War (a true civil war occurs between two factions of the same nation – the CSA had been independent of the US since 1865). The CS government had been planning for the conflict since late in 1918 and felt well prepared to take on the US – with the notable exception of the Confederate Admiralty. Nevertheless, the highly trained and professionally led Navy would prove to be a formidable opponent despite its limitations.

1922:

In the months leading up to the outbreak of war, the CS Navy began subtlety re-shuffling its surface ships in order to mislead the US as to the Confederate’s intended plans. Secretary of the CSN Alexander Lombard wanted the USN to assume their rivals would try and retake Guam and Hawaii as in the Western Pacific War fifteen years earlier. This was a logical move as if successful, would give the CSA near total control of the Pacific – with Japan its only real threat. Instead, the Navy’s real goal would be to support the planned seizure of the Panama Canal. This operation, codenamed Operation Citadel, would allow the CS to effectively cut the US Navy in two and force the US to send its ships around South America – giving them several critical weeks to consolidate their position in the Caribbean. By early February of 1923, the bulk of the CSN had been redeployed to bases in the Philippines.

1923:

San Diego/Wilmington air strikes: February 20, 1923
In a preview of warfare to come, the aviation arm of the CS Navy and the Confederate States Air Corps (CSAC) carried out a massive air attack against the primary US Pacific naval base at San Diego and its Atlantic counterpart, the Wilmington Navy Yard.
Shortly after sunrise on February 20th, a total of 150 Confederate aircraft and six airships; Kingfisher, Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, and Osprey, departed from temporary airfields established in the state of Jefferson (Baja California). An hour later, an additional 95 aircraft were launched from airfields on the US/CSA border headed for Wilmington.
Achieving surprise, both air-raids caused considerable damage to both ships caught at anchor as well as base facilities, but sank relatively few US ships – the most significant being the battleship California and the pre-dreadnought Iowa. The raids were costly for the Confederates; a total of 78 aircraft and all six airships were lost (this would mark the last time airships would be used by the CSA for a direct assault).

Losses:
US:
Battleship: California; pre-dreadnought: Iowa; cruisers: Hillsboro, Flathead Lake; destroyer: Chadwick.
CS:
Airships: Kingfisher, Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey; 78 aircraft.

Following the raids US destroyers and submarines were deployed to search for Confederate ships. The protected cruiser CSS Poseidon was spotted off Nantucket while on reconnaissance and sunk by the submarine USS G-3 becoming the CSN’s first surface ship loss of the war.

Guam/Marianas actions: May 14-July 27, 1923
In a feint intended to draw even more US ships into the Pacific, the CSN launched a series of raids against Guam and the Marianas Islands. These were carried out by light forces (nothing larger than a light cruiser) and resulted in several encounters that cost the CS the destroyers Dominion and Flange, as well as the submarine D.II. The US lost the destroyer Mathis and the submarine J-5, while several other ships were damaged.

1924:

First Battle of the Chesapeake Bay: May 7, 1924
The first major naval encounter of the War occurred in May of 1924, when the US dispatched a squadron from Boston led by the battleships Idaho and Nebraska, the heavy cruisers Quincy, Baltimore, and Grand Rapids, and ten light/protected cruisers and eighteen destroyers to seize control of the Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk (one of the major CS bases on the Atlantic). The CSN – not willing to compromise its plan for Operation Citadel, was able to muster only a small but powerful force centered around the battleship Alabama and the battlecruiser Manassas to delay the US ships from entering the harbor to allow for an evacuation and sabotage of the base. In this the Confederates’ were successful and in fact most of the bases’ personnel were evacuated, while much of the stored ordnance and supplies were successfully removed to Mobile Bay and Galveston. The base itself was severely damaged by retreating CS forces who blew up the two large dry-docks and oil storage facilities and destroyed much of the heavy equipment. Many warships stationed at Norfolk were also able to escape –including the new aircraft carrier Atlanta (less than a year in commission). This was a pyrrhic victory, however, as both heavy warships were sunk to the US loss of only three cruisers and two destroyers.
Following the battle the CSN suffered a further defeat – the first loss of an aircraft carrier to enemy action in history. While retreating from Norfolk, the carrier Atlanta and the old armored cruiser Conqueror were discovered and attacked by a heavy recon squadron led by the battlecruiser Independence. Conqueror was damaged but managed to escape, but Atlanta, despite launching her planes to counter-attack the US ships and causing significant damage, was quickly gunned into a flaming wreck, capsized and sank. This battle did drive home for the US that existing anti-aircraft guns were inadequate to deal with modern planes and thus spurred the development of more advanced weapons – including the highly successful Mk.3 1”/50 AA gun introduced in 1926.

Losses:
US:
Cruisers: Great Falls, Dearborn, Lake Oahe; destroyers: Edmondson, Williamson.
CS:
Battleship: Alabama; battlecruiser: Manassas; aircraft carrier: Atlanta; cruiser: Achilles.

Other 1924 losses:
US:
Protected cruiser: Allentown (sunk by CS submarine E.IV); light cruiser: Chicago (sunk by CS submarine F.II); scout cruiser: Oneida Lake (sunk by CS submarine E.VIII); destroyer: Garrett (sunk while commerce raiding); submarines: F-2, J-4, K-5 (all sunk while commerce raiding).
CS:
Heavy cruiser: Redoubtable (sunk by US submarine J-8); light cruiser: Artemis (sunk by USS Brandywine); destroyers: Ballista, Duster, Entente, Epoch, Ferret, Fidelity (all sunk while on commerce raiding); submarines: D.VI, E.VII, F.III, F.X, G.IV (all sunk while commerce raiding).

1925:

Operation Citadel: July 22 – August 2, 1925
Easily the most important CSN operation of the entire War, Operation Citadel was intended to see Confederate forces seize the vital Panama Canal from both ends using two assault forces with heavy naval escort – one based out of Havana, Cuba, the other out of Guaymas, Independence.
Because of the efforts of the CSN to mislead the US on the deployment of its fleet, few capital ships were available for the operation. The Guaymas Squadron would be led by Vice Admiral Jacob-Thomas Killian and consisted of the first generation dreadnoughts Georgia (flag) and Oklahoma, the battlecruiser Antietam, the armored cruiser Majestic, the protected cruiser Circe, the light cruiser Hephaestus, and the destroyers Falcon and Etiquette. They were followed by a supply force and troop convoy carrying nearly 5,000 troops. The Guaymas Squadron left its base early on July 22nd and was scheduled to arrive off Panama on August 1st.
The Havana Squadron – tasked with supporting the 6,000 troops earmarked for capturing the East end of the Canal was led by Rear Admiral J.L. Armstrong whose flagship was the Confederate’s ace in the hole – the super-dreadnought Lafayette. The new battleship had been the beneficiary of one of the most successful disinformation campaigns of the entire war. Confederate Naval Intelligence had managed to convince the US Admiralty that the ship was still undergoing trials for “unspecified technical issues” and would not be expected to put to sea until at least September. In reality, Lafayette had completed her trials the previous September and was fully operational. The force that left Mobile and Galveston to rendezvous in Havana consisted of Lafayette (flag), the battlecruiser San Juan, the carrier Mobile, the protected cruiser Hades, the light cruiser Dionysus, and the destroyers Excellent, Euphoria, Fiery, Façade, and Garrison. The Havana force slipped anchor and set out from Galveston on July 26th and from Mobile a day later – both forces reaching Havana the evening of the 29th.
What the Confederate Admiralty was unaware of was that the US Navy had leaned of the operation nearly two months before it was scheduled to begin and although ignorant of much of the details knew of the goals so had held back a substantial force based in the Gulf of Gonave in Hispaniola. A second US force based in San Diego, California, was tasked with intercepting the Guaymas Squadron but did not set sail until July 24th and didn’t enter the Gulf of California until late on the 28th.
Despite this, and even with the thorough planning and largely effectively security performed by the CSN, things began going awry for the Confederacy almost immediately. On July 25th, the Guaymas Squadron was ambushed by a Mexican squadron out of Manzanillo led by NRM Guanajuato – one of the Mexican Navy’s three Zacatecas class dreadnoughts – taking Admiral Killian by surprise. He knew Mexico had declared war on the CSA on July 19th but severely underestimated the time the Mexican Navy would need to mobilize.
This was a costly mistake. In the brutal battle which followed Admiral Juan-Carlos Serrano had initially attacked very aggressively which threw the Confederate force into chaos – making a coordinated defense impossible. By the time Captain Frederick Tolland (who took charge after Admiral Killian was wounded by shell splinters) managed to extricate his battered ship only Antietam remained to flee with Georgia to the North with Serrano under orders not to pursue (out of a need to preserve Mexico’s small navy as much as possible). The survivors were later attacked by US submarines of the late arriving force out of San Diego – Antietam being further damaged forcing the Confederates to scuttle her.
The Havana Squadron had better luck – at least at first. A day out of Cuba on July 30th, scout planes from the Mobile spotted a small group of ships which were conducting a reconnaissance in force ahead of the main US fleet out of Hispaniola. As his aircraft had to be preserved so to provide air support for the landings once the fleet reached Panama, Armstrong ordered Mobile and the destroyers to proceed while he dealt with the approaching US ships. With the element of surprise on the Confederate’s side the resulting battle was an utter disaster for the USN. The force flagship, the battleship Connecticut, had her steering gear wrecked by Lafayette’s opening salvo and sheared out of line – throwing the US formation into confusion. The US commander; Rear Admiral Horace Ballinger, also made the mistake of ordering his ships to split their fire while the Confederate ships concentrated their fire on Connecticut, and after she was crippled, shifted to the battlecruiser Hornet – quickly wrecking her as well. The protected cruiser Wichita, and the destroyers McClelland and Abbott, were quickly overwhelmed by heavy fire as well – although the cruiser managed to close and launch torpedoes. CS losses were the protected cruiser Hades with light to moderate damage to the rest of Havana Squadron. What was unknown at the time was that Lafayette had been struck by one of Wichita’s torpedoes which ruptured a fuel bunker contaminating enough of the ship’s fuel oil that the entire squadron was forced to slow in order to conserve enough fuel for operations off Panama. Finally, after Dionysus finished off the crippled Hornet (whose captain refused to strike his colors), Armstrong detached the cruiser to rescue survivors from the US squadron with orders to transport them to Cuba then rejoin his ships as soon as possible.
The main US force under Vice Admiral Carl Hildebrandt consisting of the battleships Wisconsin (flag), Illinois, West Virginia, the carrier John Adams, the armored cruisers Indianapolis, Olympia, the light cruisers Des Moines, Newark, the scout cruisers Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake of the Woods, and the destroyers Parkhurst, Redd, Lawrence, Abbott, Murphy, Finley, McIntyre, Young, finally caught up with the Confederate ships the afternoon of August 1st – with sight of the Panama coast. Opening with an air strike off John Adams, the battle lasted nearly five and a half hours before falling darkness forced the US ships to break off.
The next morning, the Lake St. Clair and the remaining destroyers found the surviving CS ships – including a badly damaged Lafayette – limping toward friendly ports in Nicaragua. Alerting the rest of the US squadron, the scout group launched a series of torpedo attacks which sank the remaining Confederate ships – Lafayette succumbing last to her wounds, plunging bow first into the Caribbean with her tattered ensign still flying.
Citadel was an unmitigated disaster for the CSN and its losses – combined with the increasingly dismal situation on land – marked the turning point of the War. From this point forward, the Confederate Navy was on the defensive and fought an increasingly desperate battle to avoid total destruction.

Losses:
US:
Battleship: Connecticut; battlecruiser: Hornet; armored cruiser: Indianapolis; protected cruiser: Wichita; light cruiser: Newark; scout cruisers: Lake Huron, Lake of the Woods; destroyers: McClelland, Murphy, Lawrence, Abbott, McIntyre, Young.
CS:
Battleships: Georgia (damaged – not returned to service), Oklahoma, Lafayette; battlecruisers: Antietam, San Juan; aircraft carrier: Mobile; armored cruiser: Majestic; protected cruisers: Circe, Hades; light cruiser: Hephaestus; destroyers: Excellent, Etiquette, Euphoria, Fiery, Falcon, Garrison.

Mexican naval operations: July 25, 1925 onward
Following its victory in the battle off Manzanillo, the Mexican Navy spent the rest of the War mostly carrying out fire support missions, primarily in Nicaragua and Honduras but also against coastal targets in the Confederate ex-Mexican states. They also assisted the USN in convoy escort and patrols in Central America – allowing the US to concentrate on the Caribbean. Although the Confederate and Mexican fleets would never meet again several smaller encounters did occur.

French naval operations: August 19, 1925 onward
Under the influence of the ultra-nationalist government which took control of the country following the Great War – the French Navy transferred a powerful battleship squadron to Guiana in August of 1925 to “Protect France’s interests from foreign adventurism”. The fleet – commanded by Admiral Jean-Claude d’Ambroise – was charged with protecting the Panama Canal (which France still had a majority share of ownership) and French-controlled territory bordering the Caribbean. The Guiana Squadron as it became known, saw little action during this period – although CSS Charleston had the dubious distinction of being the only American warship damaged by this force when in early 1926 she stumbled on a French squadron led by the Gascogne (Normandie class) and was moderately damaged in the ensuing chaos.

Battle of the Caribbean Sea: October 17-18, 1925
The failure of Operation Citadel placed the CSN in a very bad position. As the US and France had completely closed the Panama Canal to all Confederate traffic, the bulk of their fleet was trapped in the Pacific. They were still free to take the long way around South America of course but the CS Admiralty was convinced the US would come after the Philippines at some point so the defense of their remaining Caribbean assets was problematic at best.
The US took immediate advantage of this and launched an offensive against Confederate territory in the region within a month of its victory off Panama. Amphibious assaults were conducted on both Cuba and Puerto Rico during September and quickly isolated the Confederate Army garrisons stationed there.
The CS government ordered the Navy to undertake a relief mission for both islands no later than the end of October so the Admiralty pulled in as many ships as they could spare. That they were able to assemble a sizable fleet in secret was a testament to the efficiency of Confederate Intelligence disinformation. The force gathered at Mobile to protect the troop and logistic convoys consisted of the pre-dreadnoughts Louisiana, Rio Grande, the battlecruiser Charleston (flag), the heavy cruisers Charger, Superb, Inflexible, the protected cruisers Cassandra, Ares, Agamemnon, Ganymede, and the destroyers Fervent, Finch, Falchion, Graduate, Galleon, Geometry. The fleet set sail for Cuba on October 15th.
Although the relief force was assembled in secret, its destination was not. US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Hughes knew that the Confederates could ill afford to use either Cuba or Puerto Rico and would have to mount a relief mission of some sort so beefed up the US Navy’s presence around both islands.
This included two aircraft carriers, Samuel Tilden and James Madison, whose aircraft were used to patrol the approaches to Cuba. Spotting the Confederate ships the morning of October 17th, an air strike was launched to “soften up” the enemy ships before the main fleet would intercept. That force consisted of the battleships Delaware, Ohio, the heavy cruisers Quincy, Portland, Grand Rapids, Yakima, the light cruisers Boise, Billings, Tacoma, San Jose, Joliet, and the destroyers Adamson, Gardiner, Mercer, Lockwood, Rahn, Lowrey, Denson, Montgomery, Bishop, Atkinson, Norton.
Slowed by the pre-dreadnoughts in their ranks (no dreadnought battleships were available for this mission) the Confederate force was vulnerable to air attack and several were hit by bombs and/or torpedoes. The most seriously damaged was Rio Grande – struck by two torpedoes and losing all headway (she was later abandoned and sunk by the destroyer Galleon when the fleet was forced to move on). The Confederate commander; Rear Admiral Trevor Winslow, feared he was leading his force into a trap and seriously considered turning back – but ultimately chose to try and complete his mission.
The next day the lead ships of the US formation spotted the CS vessels emerging from a tropical storm that had been passing thorough the region. Both forces sounded General Quarters and cleared away for battle, but Winslow, after looking what his ships were getting into, abandoned any sort of battle formation in favor of a general retreat at each ship’s best speed but in the confusion many ships still came under fire. Return fire began sporadically, but quickly stiffened as the three heavy cruisers moved to shield lighter ships and a coordinated defense built around them.
The battle itself raged for nearly three hours before the Confederate survivors drew out of range – eventually returning to Mobile. Admiral Winslow was court-martialed for cowardice in the face of the enemy and Captain Henry Dearborn – CO of the Inflexible – was given the Confederate Medal of Valor (posthumous) for his efforts and sacrifice in protecting the squadron.

Losses:
US:
Heavy cruiser: Grand Rapids; destroyers: Adamson, Rahn, Denson, Bishop, Norton.
CS:
Pre-dreadnoughts: Louisiana, Rio Grande; heavy cruiser: Inflexible; protected cruisers: Ares, Agamemnon; destroyers: Fervent, Finch, Galleon.

Other 1925 losses:
US:
Armored cruiser: Charleston (sunk by convoy escorts while commerce raiding); protected cruiser: Missoula (sunk by CS submarine G.XV); scout cruiser: Lake McConaughy (sunk by CS submarine F.XII); destroyers: Livingston, Weeks (both sunk while commerce raiding); submarines: G-2, J-8, K-4, K-8, K-9, L-4, L-7, L-8, L-12, L-20 (all sunk while commerce raiding).

CS:
Destroyers: Dazzle, Devastator (sunk while commerce raiding); submarines: E.III, F.VIII, F.XIV, F.XVI, G.I, G.VII, G.VIII, G.IX, G.XXI (all sunk while on commerce raiding).

More to come!

1926:

Second Battle of the Chesapeake Bay: April 19, 1926
After the setbacks of the previous year, the Confederate Navy was reeling and their Army counterparts were in scarcely better shape as the territorial gains of the first two years were being reversed (at great cost) by the US Army, who having embraced the use of both tactical and strategic air combat and armored formations had forced their way across the Ohio River by the end of January and had established beachheads in Missouri and Kentucky, although they were still meeting stiff resistance in Virginia.
The Confederacy had failed to learn from history as they were faltering before the US for the same basic reasons they nearly lost the Civil War – the fact that logistically, they were no match for the United States; who were now on a full war footing and cranking out ships, planes, tanks and armaments at a furious pace the CSA could not hope to match.
Nor were the Confederacy’s traditional allies; Britain and France, willing to assist. The devastation of the Great War was still being felt and nether country was able to provide much in the way of assistance. An appeal to Germany also fell on deaf ears, while Japan did make an effort to open negotiations with the CSA; the latter knew that any assistance from the Far-Eastern powerhouse would have serious consequences down the road.
So in response to its increasingly bleak situation, the Confederate war effort switched gears – moving to a defensive posture in order to try and retain the territory they had left while hoping to drag the war out until the US grew weary of the conflict and became open to a negotiated settlement.
Before this, however, the CSN was tasked with one last offensive operation. If the Chesapeake Bay could be retaken, or at least opened to Confederate forces temporarily, that could relieve the army divisions trying to hold Virginia (and the capital of Richmond) and might even allow Confederate troops to be landed in Maryland, where a drive toward the US administrative capital of Philadelphia would be possible.
Although endorsed by the Admiralty, the plan – codenamed Operation Redoubt – was widely criticized by many of the Navy’s flag officers who, well aware of the USN’s superior position, felt all this would accomplish would be to “give the Yankees more things to shoot at”. But with the naval matters ignorant President Swanson in the Executive Mansion the plan was pushed forward.
Naval Secretary Harrison Eaton resigned in protest and several ranking officers followed suit to avoid leading the mission. The commander eventually selected was Admiral Alexander Saunders – a capable, albeit uninspired, officer previously in charge of the CSN’s Bureau of Supply and Ordnance.
By April 6th, the ships comprising the assault force had assembled in Mobile (although Charleston, SC, would have been a better choice as it was larger and better supplied as well as closer to the target the risk of detection was deemed too great) and after a week of preparation, departed the evening of April 13th. The fleet consisted of the battleship South Carolina (flag), the battlecruisers Gettysburg, Havana, the carriers Vicksburg, Galveston, the armored cruisers Fearless, Conqueror, Formidable, the heavy cruiser Superb, the light cruisers Centaur, Hyperion, Dione, Titan, and the destroyers Bulldog, Dagger, Dragon, Dossier, Energetic, Eclectic, Ethereal, Guardian, Gale, Glacier.
As the Confederate force neared the mouth of the Chesapeake the morning of April 19th, the two carriers launched their aircraft against the US ships stationed in the Bay. Under the command of Vice Admiral Patrick O’Bannon, the US force consisted of the battleships Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire (flag), Maine, the battlecruisers Ranger, Independence, the carriers John Adams, Samuel Tilden, the armored cruisers Lansing, Augusta, Providence, the light cruisers Omaha, Wilmington, Colorado Springs, Huntington, the scout cruisers Lake Tahoe, Clear Lake, and the destroyers Ross, Henley, Keating, Sherrill, Theisen, Hollander, Parnell, Baker, Carson, Pennington, Finley, Anderson, Morgan, Bell, Parks, Steele, Gibson, Vance. The air strike proved to be one of the most successful of the entire war as despite the hail of anti-aircraft fire put up by the assembled ships the battleship Massachusetts was struck by no less than a dozen bombs and at least three torpedoes that tore open the ships port side “like an old tin can”. She immediately rolled over and was nearly on her beam ends when the forward magazines exploded – blowing the ship in half with the loss of nearly her entire crew. The carrier Samuel Tilden suffered two or three heavy bomb hits while prepping aircraft on her flight deck setting off horrific fires than quickly reached the avgas and ordnance stores – the resulting explosion sank the ship within minutes – again with a heavy loss of life.
By this time, however, ground-based fighters as well as aircraft from the John Adams were airborne and succeeding in downing most of the attacking planes and forcing the survivors to retreat. Now alerted to the enemy presence, the US ships worked up steam and set sail for the mouth of the Bay while attack aircraft from the Adams as well as ground-based bombers were launched within an hour to locate and attack the Confederate force.
This counter-strike was less successful as Saunders’ ships were prepared – although the fighters that returned to the carriers were not yet refueled or rearmed. Despite this, only one ship – the old armored cruiser Fearless – was sunk with damage scattered among the other ships – including South Carolina, with the carrier Vicksburg taking the worse of it with a torpedo hit that wrecked a boiler room and caused extensive flooding.
Rattled by the attack, Saunders hesitated on continuing into the Bay itself. This delay allowed the US ships to close on the Confederates and open fire. After over ninety minutes of sustained heavy fire between the forces, Saunders had managed to open the range to around 10 nautical miles and ordered his destroyers to attack at high speed before laying down smoke.
This maneuver was effective and allowed the CS force to slip out of range. Although a tactical victory for the CSN, Saunders had nevertheless failed in his mission of securing the Chesapeake Bay and defeated, set sail for Mobile. In a further indignity, the carrier Galveston was sunk by a US submarine on the return journey. Saunders would be relieved of command on his return. The failure of Saunders mission meant no Operation Redoubt. The CSA had lost its last chance for an offensive against the US and to prolong the war. The clock was now ticking.

Losses:
US:
Battleship: Massachusetts; battlecruiser: Independence; aircraft carrier: Samuel Tilden; armored cruiser: Lansing; scout cruiser: Clear Lake; destroyers: Theisen, Anderson, Parks.
CS:
Aircraft carriers: Vicksburg, Galveston; armored cruiser: Fearless; heavy cruiser: Superb; destroyers: Energetic, Ethereal, Guardian.

Battle of Subic Bay: June 23-27, 1926
As 1926 wore on, the Confederacy saw more and more of its territory lost or under siege. Its protectorates in Central America had been occupied by Mexican troops, Cuba and Puerto Rico had fallen to the US, and its home territory had been invaded along virtually the entire length of its boarder with the US with the furthest advances seeing US ground forces deep into Arizona and New Mexico and making further inroads into Missouri and Kentucky. Virginia was the only border state still largely in Confederate hands, and this was only possible by diverting a disproportional number of both armored and infantry divisions to protect the capital in Richmond.
The situation was even worse at sea. The last remaining Confederate held territory was the Philippines – although it was heavily fortified and had the bulk of the remaining CS Navy’s battle fleet stationed there. It would be a tough nut to crack but the USN was making plans to invade the islands as well as force the last remaining significant CSN fleet to battle.
Operation Crescendo, as the joint Army-Navy effort was called, would be the largest naval operation of the war and involved 61 surface warships, 12 submarines, 16 logistic and re-supply ships, and 16 troopships carrying 1 Marine and 2 Army Divisions (35,000 troops) protected by a group of protected cruisers and older destroyers. It assembled in San Diego over the month of May and departed for the Philippines on May 30th.
Under the overall command of Fleet Admiral Edward Eberle, the US Combined Fleet consisted of the battleships Nevada, Idaho, Delaware, Nebraska, Washington (flag), Maryland, Ohio, Maine (division flag), New Jersey, the battlecruisers Brandywine, Bonhomme Richard, Constitution (division flag), Essex, the carriers Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt (division flag), Thomas Bayard, James Blaine, the heavy cruisers Quincy, Portland, San Diego, Ogden, Butte, Yakima, Aspen, Bellevue, the light cruisers Boise, Des Moines, Cheyenne, Eugene, Billings, Fargo, Wilmington, Tacoma, Philadelphia, San Jose, Huntington, Joliet, and the destroyers Howell, Cooper, Underwood, Atkinson, Stephenson, Conway, Hurst, Pennington, Gates, Harris, King, Stewart, Peterson, Ross, Coleman, Ambrose, Frazier, Holland, Bryant, Jenkins, McKinney, Dawson, Steele, Harrison, Vance, Riley. The main fleet had a scheduled layover June 10th-11th in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to refuel and re-supply before heading out to sea again.
An independent force of submarines was also dispatched a week earlier to patrol the waters around the Philippines looking for targets of opportunity. Supported by the submarine tenders Tang and Mako based out of Guam, the submarine force consisted solely of the long-ranged L-class boats; L-3, L-5, L-6, L-15, L-22, L-23, L-27, L-28, L-29, L-30, L-31, L-32. This force arrived on station early on June 16th.
As for Confederate forces; in addition to the two reinforced CS Army Divisions stationed on the main islands, the CSN Philippines Fleet under Admiral Lawrence O’Halloran consisted of the battleships New Mexico, Tennessee (flag), South Carolina (hurriedly repaired following Second Chesapeake), the battlecruisers Veracruz, Fredericksburg, Surigao Strait, the carriers Birmingham, Richmond, the heavy cruiser Charger, the protected cruisers Cassandra, Juno, Bellerophon, Ganymede, the light cruisers Centaur, Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter, Hyperion, Minotaur, Odysseus, Titan, and the destroyers Bold, Bastion, Dagger, Domain, Dart, Esoteric, Epitome, Fortress, Ferrier, Fencer, Falchion, Gilded, Graduate, Gentry, Glory, Goldsmith, Gradient. In addition, a submarine force was also present – stationed at Davao on Mindanao and consisted of F.V, F.VI, F.IX, G.II, G.X, G.XVII, G.XX, H.VI.

First blood was drawn the evening of the 19th when USS L-6 torpedoed and sank the cruiser Ganymede off Mindanao. Destroyers were immediately dispatched and for the next three days a prolonged game of cat and mouse played out around the Philippines. This game was nearly a draw as four US subs and three CS destroyers were sunk before the US boats were pulled back to Guam to regroup.
When the US Combined Fleet arrived off the island of Samar on June 23rd they were spotted by Confederate patrol aircraft out of the Macajalar Bay Confederate Air Corps Base on Mindanao and although a message was sent to fleet headquarters at Subic Bay, no action was authorized save to deploy nearby submarines and launch an air attack against the US ships. The air-strike was turned back by heavy AA fire and carrier-launched fighters with little damage inflicted but the submarines had more luck – sinking the heavy cruiser Butte and damaging several other ships. Aggressive ASW conducted by US destroyers claimed six Confederate submarines forcing the survivors to return to their base at Davao where they took no further part in the battle. The following day Admiral Eberle and his Marine counterpart, Major General Raymond Mansfield, decided to land 2,000 troops on the island of Leyte and set up a temporary supply depot at Ormoc.
Although known to modern historians as the Battle of Subic Bay this is something of a misnomer as the battle was in fact a series of three encounters occurring between June 25th and 26th, the first of which occurred shortly after the US fleet left its temporary anchorage at Ormoc. When word of the US force’s departure the morning of the 24th reached Subic Bay aircraft were launched from Macajalar as well as the two Confederate carriers which had been dispatched along with escorts into the Sibuyan Sea.

The land-based aircraft attacked first – 52 CSAC level bombers with fighter escort descended on the US force with little warning. Unfortunately for the Confederate crews the CSAC had done little anti-ship training since the beginning of the war and achieved slim results relative to their losses. For the loss of 41 aircraft they only damaged several ships – the most serious was two hits on the carrier Thomas Jefferson that penetrated the flight deck seriously damaging the hangers and most of her planes. She kept formation, however, and DC crews worked untiringly to repair the ship. Regrettably, their efforts were ultimately futile as the carrier was later racked by a massive internal explosion (most likely avgas storage) and sank.
The follow-on attack by the seasoned pilots from the Birmingham and Richmond was a different story. The 70 aircraft involved quickly sank the light cruiser Cheyenne as well as the destroyers Stephenson, Ross, and Dawson. The big prize, however, was the battleship New Jersey. The newest battleship in the US fleet was singled out by most of the torpedo bombers and although she put up a wall of AA fire was struck by no less than five torpedoes and maybe a dozen bombs before B Turret’s (and possibly A Turret’s as well) magazine exploded – the battered wreck disappearing three minutes later along with nearly fifteen hundred of her crew. Admiral Eberle immediately ordered a counter-strike from the three operational US carriers which launched 120 aircraft against the CS carrier group that was now retreating to the south. Both carriers were hit during the subsequent attack with Birmingham damaged and Richmond sunk – the former rounding Mindanao and making for the open sea soon after – eventually reaching Guaymas. The US force wasn’t finished; however, as Admiral Eberle had detached his carriers with heavy escort as soon as their aircraft were recovered and sent them south to attack the airbase at Macajalar Bay before it could launch a strike against the lightly protected transports and supply ships at Ormoc. In addition to the carriers the group included the battlecruisers Bonhomme Richard and Constitution as escorts (as they were the only available capital ships which could reasonably keep pace with the carriers) and also for shore bombardment duties. This mission was quite successful and devastated the base after repeated air-strikes while coastal targets (including shore batteries) were destroyed by heavy fire from the battlecruisers.

The second encounter took place the following day off Luzon just north of Manila Bay. Assuming the US was en route to attack the main CS anchorage at Subic Bay, Admiral O’Halloran dispatched his entire force to intercept and stop the US fleet. First to depart was the First Scout Squadron consisting of all three battlecruisers with escort. They met the lead elements of the US fleet shortly before noon. The US 2nd Battlecruiser Division (Essex and Brandywine) were outnumbered and out-gunned and prudently turned about to meet up with the main force hoping the Confederates would take the bait. The CS commander, Rear Admiral David Henley, determined to destroy the only available US battlecruisers (coast-watchers in Mindanao had reported that 1st Battlecruiser Division had been sent with the carriers to take out the submarine base at Davao) chose to pursue at Surigao Strait’s flank speed – 32 knots – eventually drawing away from her squadron mates and opening fire at extreme range. A lucky plunging hit on Essex detonated in a boiler room – slowing the US ship dramatically – turning the situation into a gun duel between the powerful, equally matched warships, but allowed the slower Brandywine to escape. By the time the rest of the CS ships had caught up the two battlecruisers had succeeded in pounding the other to burning wrecks. Essex was quickly sunk by torpedoes from escorting Confederate destroyers (although several survivors insisted the battlecruiser was scuttled instead) who also administered the coup de grace to Surigao Strait when it became clear she could not be saved. The survivors of First Scout Squadron then reversed course to join the main CS fleet – leaving hundreds of US and Confederate sailors behind.

The third and final encounter occurred about ninety minutes later and would be the largest naval battle of the entire war After detaching the cruiser Des Moines and the destroyers King and Stewart to pick up survivors of the two sunken battlecruisers, Admiral Eberle’s lookouts soon spotted smoke on the horizon and general quarters was quickly sounded. Forming into a single column led by the battleships, Eberle’s force then turned west-northwest in an attempt to cross the Confederate’s T. Admiral O’Halloran was having none of this, however, and swung his column east-southeast. This resulted in the two fleets passing in near parallel courses, albeit in opposite directions, at a distance of about 22,000 yards. At 1530 hours local, Washington opened fire on Tennessee followed by the rest of the US battleships with the Confederate ships returning fire a few minutes later. There were no hits during this initial exchange of fire so after the two columns had passed each doubled back turning the battle into a tightening circle affair that gradually closed the range to 10,500 yards which had devastating effects. O’Halloran had fallen into the same trap that many commanders had when deploying battlecruisers – placing them in the line of battle – with predicable results. Veracruz was hit several times and Captain Cyrus Vought ordered her to withdraw undoubtedly saving the ship (which didn’t prevent Vought from being court-martialed, however), while Fredericksburg disintegrated under fire from Ohio and Maine along with most of her crew. O’Halloran’s battleships were also hit – Tennessee and South Carolina were both damaged – the latter severely – while New Mexico was reduced to a battered hulk by the US battle-line, capsized and sank. Eberle had lost Maryland, which had come under file by all three Confederate dreadnoughts, while Idaho, Nebraska, Washington, and Ohio had been damaged to varying degrees but still dramatically outgunned the remaining CS ships. At this point O’Halloran, wounded by shrapnel and with only one operational – albeit damaged - battleship, had had enough and ordered a withdrawal back to Subic Bay. As night was falling by this point and Eberle was worried about Confederate subs in the area he called off any further pursuit – instead returning to Ormoc.

At first light on the 27th Eberle ordered an attack by most of his remaining carrier aircraft against the Subic Bay base hoping to finish off the remaining major CS warships – but the air-strike found only a few ships – O’Halloran had taken any ships capable of making the run for Guaymas and left during the night – leaving only the most seriously damaged ships which were all sunk at their moorings. Lost were the battleship South Carolina, the cruisers Aphrodite and Demeter, and the destroyers Bastion, Epitome, and Graduate. Within two hours of the attack Eberle’s battleships began shore bombardments ahead of the troop landings on both Luzon and Mindanao which met stiff resistance from the now-isolated Confederate ground forces. The ground campaign would last another two months before the last of the defenders surrendered.

Losses:
US:
Battleships: Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada (seriously damaged by CS submarine G.IX while returning to US – not returned to service); battlecruiser: Essex; aircraft carrier: Thomas Jefferson; heavy cruisers: San Diego, Butte; light cruiser: Philadelphia; destroyers: Stephenson, Conway, Hurst, Ambrose; submarines: L-10, L-17, L-29, L-30.
CS:
Battleships: New Mexico, South Carolina; battlecruisers: Fredericksburg, Surigao Strait; aircraft carrier: Richmond; protected cruiser: Ganymede; light cruisers: Aphrodite, Demeter, Minotaur; destroyers: Bastion, Esoteric, Epitome, Ferrier, Fencer, Gilded, Graduate; submarines: F.VI, F.IX, G.X, G.XVIII, G.XX, H.VI.

Other 1926 losses:
US:
Aircraft carrier: Matthew Quay (sunk by CS submarine H.VII while ferrying aircraft from Hawaii to the Philippines); submarines: J-1, K-3, K-7, K-10, L-16, L-18, L-34 (all sunk while commerce raiding), J-7 (lost to internal explosion).
CS:
Destroyer: Gauntlet (sunk while commerce raiding); submarines: D.IV, E.IV, E.VIII, F.XII, G.XII, G.XIII, G.XVII, G.XXII (all sunk while commerce raiding).

More to come!

1927:

Charleston air strikes: March 17, 1927
The Confederate position had deteriorated by January of 1927 to a point that only the most obstinate in the government were still thinking some sort of victory was possible. A massive US ground offensive the previous October had broken through the Confederate lines in Virginia forcing the relocation of the government to Atlanta. In the West, US armored divisions had spearheaded a push through Arizona and New Mexico to the Texas border. To the South Mexican ground forces had invaded every Confederate state formerly belonging to Mexico save Independence (Sonora) and Jefferson (Baja California) quickly overwhelming the weak Confederate forces there. The Confederate Navy was in worse shape with one battleship, three battlecruisers, and one carrier still operational. The CSN still had 35 submarines and these were sent out to hunt convoys but with priority orders to attack any major US warships they encountered.
By the end of February, the majority of the surviving Confederate ships had been moved to Mobile or Galveston where they were better protected. This came just in time as the USAC launched a massive raid against the Charleston Navy Yard in March. Although costly (86 of the 220 aircraft involved failed to return) the raid demolished the base and sank two ships in port for repairs – the cruiser Hyperion and the destroyer Corsair – as well as destroying five destroyers and four submarines under construction.

Losses:
US:
Of the 220 aircraft involved, 86 were shot down by fighters or anti-aircraft fire, and another 39 were damaged but managed to return to base.
CS:
Light cruiser: Hyperion; destroyers: Corsair (sunk), Harmony, Havoc, Headwind, Hedge, Heiress (all damaged or destroyed on the slipway); submarines: H.XVI, H.XVII, H.XVIII, H.XIX (all damaged or destroyed on the slipways).

Battle of Mobile Bay: July 8, 1927
Within a month of the Charleston raid, the Confederate Navy was bottled up in Mobile and Galveston by the US naval blockade of all major ports not already in US hands – only submarines could still operate with impunity. In the US debate raged on which of the last CSN strongholds should be attacked next with the decision settling on Mobile Bay by June 15th. The commander chosen for the strike was recently-promoted Admiral Carl Hildebrandt who would once again fly his flag from the battleship Wisconsin – which had been re-commissioned in April after extensive repairs from damage suffered during the confrontation with CSS Lafayette nearly two years earlier.
In addition to the flagship, the force consisted of the battleships Idaho, New Hampshire, Ohio, the carriers George Washington, Thomas Bayard, the light battlecruisers (armored cruisers) Potomac, Constellation, the armored cruisers Topeka, Pierre, Olympia, Denver, the heavy cruisers Yakima, Akron, the protected cruisers Bridgeport, Lakewood, Meridian, New Rochelle, Erie, Rochester, the scout cruisers Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Superior, Seneca Lake, Lake Chelan, and the destroyers Henderson, Fuller, Welch, Frazier, Holland, Myers, Caldwell, Reyes, Duncan, Newman, Schmidt, Banks.
Anchored in Mobile Bay were a handful of Confederate warships; the battlecruiser Veracruz (still under repair following Subic Bay), the armored cruisers Steadfast, Conqueror, the protected cruiser Juno, the light cruiser Titan, and the destroyers Doughty, Duchess, Dart, Ellipse, Fulcrum, Foxhound, Gentry, Goldsmith. The bay itself was protected by shore batteries mounting 9.2” guns taken from scrapped warships as well as a hastily laid minefield (undiscovered by US Naval Intelligence). AA batteries had also been beefed up but few fighters were available – most having been diverted to other fronts.
The battle began at daybreak on July 8th as the two US carriers launched their aircraft against the base which caused significant destruction to both facilities and the anchored ships – Veracruz was struck by several bombs and at least three torpedoes and capsized at her moorings, Conqueror was also hit while attempting to get underway and sank in shallow water – her wrecked upper-works still visible. Arriving CSAC fighters and intense AA fire forced the US planes to withdraw, however, and Hildebrandt – knowing any remaining Confederate ships still operational wouldn’t be drawn out of the Bay – decided to run his ships past the shore batteries into the Bay itself.
Defensive fire from the batteries proved to be intense and effective. Before the gun emplacements had been silenced by heavy fire from the battleships, they had sunk the armored cruiser Pierre and caused the mixed armored/scout cruiser division to undertake hasty (some would later say “panicked”) evasive maneuvers during which the Potomac and Lake Superior collided at high speed – the former cutting the scout cruiser nearly in two. The US force’s run of bad luck continued as the carrier Thomas Bayard and the cruiser New Rochelle both struck mines and sank with heavy loss of life. Losing one of his carriers also forced Hildebrandt to cancel plans to use his aircraft to mount a second attack against Mobile itself (George Washington had only half the air-wing of Bayard initially and due to losses could not mount a viable attack) and ordered the carrier and her escorts to withdraw.
The situation for the Confederates was worse as any remaining operational ships were faced with the option of waiting for the US force to come to them or trying to make a run for the open sea – neither choice offering much chance of survival. The force commander, Rear Admiral Daniel Carrington, chose the latter and had his ships make a break for the Bay’s entrance at best speed while trying to avoid the US ships. Hildebrandt had scattered his force, however, making that very difficult. For the rest of the day, a running battle occurred with loses on both sides before three Confederate destroyers; Dart, Fulcrum, and Foxhound, managed to slip the net and escape.

Losses:
US:
Aircraft carrier: Thomas Bayard; armored cruiser: Pierre, Potomac (damaged in collision – did not return to service); Constellation (damaged by CSS Steadfast – sunk by torpedoes from CS destroyers); heavy cruiser: Yakima; scout cruiser: Lake Superior; destroyers: Henderson, Caldwell, Reyes, Duncan.
CS:
Battlecruiser: Veracruz; armored cruisers: Steadfast, Conqueror; protected cruiser: Juno; light cruiser: Titan; destroyers: Doughty, Duchess, Ellipse, Gentry, Goldsmith.

End of the War:
Although the Battle of Mobile Bay was a tactical draw, strategically, it was the nail in the coffin of the Confederate Navy. What surface ships remained operational were blockaded in Galveston – save for destroyers which were still sent out to attack convoys. Submarines continued to operate as well and claimed a handful of US warships over the next two months. The situation on land continued to deteriorate, however. The duel US/Mexican offensive broke through into Texas in early August, and US armored and infantry divisions continued to push deeper into Tennessee and the Carolinas in an effort to isolate Georgia. Confederate resistance collapsed in those states by the beginning of September and US forces entered Georgia on September 10th. Six days later, the Confederate government in exile in Atlanta asked for a cease-fire. A formal armistice was declared on September 18, 1927 and although sporadic fighting continued for the next few days, the most destructive war ever to be fought in North America was over.

Other 1927 losses:
US:
Armored cruiser: Providence (damaged by CS submarine H.III – not returned to service); light cruiser: Joliet (last US warship sunk during the war); destroyers: Albrecht, Lawson, Wright, Sanders, Douglas, Gibson, Hunter, Blankenship, Armstrong (all sunk while on convoy duty), Lowe, Dixon (sunk while convoy raiding), Steele (lost to grounding incident); submarines: J-9, L-14, L-22, L-37, L-38 (lost while commerce raiding).
CS:
Armored cruiser: Formidable (sunk by US submarine L-40); destroyers: Eclectic, Flint, Gratitude, Gradient, (all sunk while convoy raiding), Dagger Dossier (sunk while on convoy duty); submarines: F.XIII, G.V, G.XIV, G.XXIII, H.II, H.IV, H.V, H.VII (all sunk while convoy raiding).

Treaty of Montreal: March 15, 1928
The armistice remained in effect for the remainder of 1927 and into 1928 as negotiations for the two sides to meet and hammer out a peace treaty dragged on. In late February, Great Britain stepped in and offered to mediate a peace conference in Montreal, Canada, which began on March 1, 1928. The US and their Mexican allies dominated the conference but the Confederate representatives knew they were in an impossible situation and finally agreed to terms. The Treaty of Montreal was signed on March 15th.

Aftermath:
In addition to the territories lost under the new treaty (detailed above), the Confederacy had reparations imposed by both the US and Mexico for war damages which were originally scheduled to be repaid no later than 1970 but were finally repaid to the US by 1955, and Mexico by 1961.
The Confederate military was placed under severe restrictions. Its army was limited to 200,000 men and its armored corps was to be restricted to three full-sized divisions. The CSAC was restricted to 200 front-line combat aircraft and four military airships – replacement of which was only allowed after ten years. Finally, the CSN was limited to no more than five capital ships with main guns under 14” – replacements for which were allowed no less than fifteen years after commissioning and would be restricted to 20,000 tons normal displacement and 12” guns. Twelve cruisers (not to exceed 10,000 tons) and twenty destroyers (not to exceed 1,500 tons) were allowed, but both aircraft carriers and submarines were prohibited with a possible revision to be discussed in ten years time.

The War of the Americas changed the balance of power in the Pacific – with the Empire of Japan emerging as the most powerful in the region – at least until the US could build back up into a serious challenger. Britain and France were also forced to build up their forces in the Pacific – but even if the three nations acted together (which was problematic at best) it was an open question as to whether Japan could be defeated in a future war.
The Confederacy, meanwhile, was confronted with rebuilding on a wide scale and it took the better part of the next two decades for that to occur. Regardless, the “new” Confederacy would retreat into isolation and have little effect on world events from then on.

Next up: the newest ships to fight in the War of the Americas

Cheers!
Stealthjester