Battle of Otaheit Offshore is a naval battle between the Gra Valkas Empire and Mu. At the same time as the Battle of Baltica, a separate squadron of the Gra Valkas squadron fought over the capital of Mu.
| Belligerents | |
|---|---|
| Ishtam, 52nd Region Fleet of the Gra Valkas Empire | Mu Armed Forces
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| Leader / Commander | |
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| Strength | |
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Ishtam, 52nd Region Fleet Total of 8 ships
Air Squadron
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Mu Capital Defense Fleet Total of 11 ships
Air Squadron
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| Casualties | |
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Background[]
As Dallas' proposal, while the World Union is busy fighting Gra Valkas Empire's Navy at the Battle of Baltica, the empire deployed the 52nd Local Corps, known as Ishtam aiming for Mykal and Otaheit Offshore to further weaken Mu's Navy power.
Prelude[]
Ishtam Fleet Commander Maynard decides that it's impossible to destroy both Otaheit and Mykal. Since the attack on the capital was mainly aimed at psychological effects, he decided to use that as a diversion. He decided to divide the fleet in two and have his detachment, mainly battleships, "pretend" to rush into the capital, so that he could take advantage of the momentum gathered in that direction and turn Mykal, which is a high-value strategic target for the main squadron, into a sea of fire. In accordance with this plan, eight ships were sent to the capital city of Otaheit under the command of Osniel, the captain of the Orion-class battleship Meisa.
Meanwhile, Mu, who had contacted by Japan, immediately launched a reconnaissance aircraft and began to search for the enemy fleet. The next day, they found the Ishtam Fleet sailing 350 km east of Otaheit, and the Capital Defense Fleet, consisting of two battleships and eight armored cruisers, immediately sailing to Otaheit. La Kasami Kai, which was in the middle of refueling in Otaheit harbor, was given permission to go into battle by the higher-ups, who were dissuaded by Captain Minilar's enthusiasm, and she sailed late. A fleet battle breaks out in front of the capital of Mu.
[]
Immediately after the battle began, Mu's Capital Defense Fleet was overwhelmed by Ishtam Fleet's air squadron, and by the time La Kasami Kai arrived on the frontline, all ships except the flagship La Gauge had been rendered incapacitated. A moment after the La Gauge was bombed, La Kasami Kai arrived on the battlefield and annihilated the air force with overwhelming anti-aircraft firepower. She also intercepted the enemy fleet, which she had captured on radar, at 18 knots. La Gauge followed from behind.
At this point, the captain of La Kasami Kai, Minilar, sends a message to the enemy fleet. It was only a bluff for the purpose of deception, but as a result, he obtained important information that the attack on the capital was a diversion, and immediately reported it to his home country. Even if it was a diversion, the capital city would be in a sea of fire if they fled here. They continue to engage the enemy fleet, shooting down all enemy aircraft that attacked them several times.
Once they spotted the enemy fleet through the binoculars, they increased speed to the maximum battle speed of 30 knots. Since there were eight enemy ships, they dared to start firing at maximum range. First, they sank the destroyer Lesath. Then, he fires 50 rounds of Improved Medium Range Multi-Purpose Guided Munitions on the starboard side continuously. It cripples the vanguard destroyer Juba, disables the radar of the cruiser Fuld, and disables the forward main gun turret and starboard anti-aircraft guns of the flagship Meisa.
The La Kasami Kai continued firing its main guns, focusing on the Fuld and Meisa. They were able to reduce the combat power of Fuld, but were unable to take away the combat power of the heavily armored Meisa. Finally, one of Meisa's secondary cannon rounds hits her, disabling her forward main gun. The rear main gun was also struck by a main shell that hits the turret and was ripped off entirely. La Kasami Kai lost its gunfighting ability, but it fired two Type 89 torpedoes at once from the forward torpedo tube, which is its trump card. Four high-powered guided torpedoes headed for the Meisa and Fuld. While the torpedoes were traveling, the Meisa fired again and hit the port rear of the ship and destroys La Kasami Kai's engine, making it impossible to navigate. The La Gauge finally caught up to the battle, but its performance was no match, and it was sunk. However, she succeeds in buying time for the torpedo to hit the target. Before Meisa turns her main gun on La Kasami Kai again, Meisa and Fuld were hit by the Type 89 torpedoes, one of which hits Fuld, which was disabled and sinks shortly afterwards, and Meisa, which was hit by three torpedoes, capsized due to rapid flooding. Her ammunition magazines exploded and she disappeared into the sea.
At this point, the remaining cruiser and two destroyers of the Ishtam Fleet were already disabled, and the light aircraft carrier had lost its aircrafts, although the ship was intact. Immediately after the sinking of Meisa and Fuld, 316 Mu Air Force aircrafts emerged from nearby bases. About the same time, word came to La Kasami Kai that JMSDF's 4th Escort Group has decided to join the war in defense of Mykal. In the end, all of the Ishtam Fleet was sunk.
Aftermath[]
Unfortunately for Mu, the annihilation of Ishtam Fleet did not immediately affect the strategy of the Gra Valkas Empire. At this time, Gra Valkas Imperial Army was preparing for a land invasion of the Mu homeland from Leifor side, and the Mu government, having noticed this, requested military support from Japan. Combined with the losses at Folk Strait and Baltica, Mu's navy was almost completely annihilated. Because the Ishtam Fleet was wiped out without reporting, Gra Valkas mainland was not immediately aware of the cause of their disappearance. However, this was the first time that Mu was able to beat back the Gra Valkans and the battle is seen as a tactical victory.
Imperial Navy HQ eventually learned of the fleet's annihilation, although it kept the news under wraps while it investigated. Aside from a few high ranking officials, information also made its way to a Gra Valkan senator and war hawk, Guinea Marix. The Navy officials and Marix both developed a slight fear of Japan, with Marix even started to advocate politically on a compromise to avoid fighting with Japan. The rest of the Gra Valkas Empire, including Eastern Fleet commander Caesar, learned about the fleet's annihilation when Mu revealed the events of the battle in a public broadcast.
Note[]
- This naval battle is a book version original development that is not in the web version.
- It was originally mentioned on web version post-invasion on Mu, but later it was added into the story.