The Singapore Sling, Vol 7-8: News From Our PBEM Campaign

 Our naval defence correspondent "Neptune"offers another column from his vantage point at the Empire Lounge, Raffles Hotel (reflecting state of play in our PBEM campaign after eight turns, with much information concealed for the purposes of OPSEC - ref).

FALL OF TSINGTAO

Souvenir postcards are already circulating showing the capture of the German port of Tsingtao by land and sea forces of the Empire of Japan.   This victory deprives the German navy in the Pacific of an important port and supply source.   It is expected that Japanese warships will now be freed up to patrol much of the northern Pacific, allowing our own forces to concentrate on finding and destroying the Kaiser's pirates.

ANOTHER ESCAPE FOR THE EMDEN

Royal Navy sources report that that piratical scourge of the seas, the Emden, has has another encounter with HMAS Sydney, this time in the Gulf of Thailand.  Captain Glossop, commander of the Sydney, has chased the jackal from its prey.  While the Emden escaped, our Australian friends rescued the SS Sophie and her crew, which was in the process of being plundered of her coal by the German pirates, as well as passengers and crew of the passenger vessel SS St Osmund.

In a particularly exciting moment, as the Emden got under way, a single brave figure was seen diving from her deck and swimming to shore.  This was Mr Timothy Jukes, a Royal Navy midshipman who was one of four RN officers aboard the St Osmund when it was captured.  

Mr Midshipman Jukes

Jukes has confirmed that there were several other RN officers held aboard Emden, including Commander the Rt Hon. Geoffrey Sykes-Willoughby.   The Admiralty encourages all vessels to do all in their power to rescue this gallant peer.  First Sea Lord Churchill has personally recommended Mr Midshipman Jukes for Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.

SAILOR'S RUMOURS ABOUND

The superstitious nature of Jack Tar is well known.  There are now a host of rumours flying about that pirate scourge of the sea, the Emden.    Some sailors have been heard to say that the Captain of the Emden has made a pact with the devil.   Each escape is paid for with the souls of stokers, those poor buggers.  Emden's stacks burn with an unseemly fire when she is fleeing from the justice of the Royal Navy.

A SAUCY REPLY TO A YANKEE SKIPPER

Ports around the Bay of Bombay are still buzzing from the complaints made by one Samuel Adams, the Master of the Chauncey, an American cargo clipper that was boarded by Germans from the Koenigsberg.  The Kaiser's pirates treated Master Adams and his crew with disdain and Hunnish rudeness, prompting our Yankee friend to bitterly complain to all and sundry about the Royal Navy failing to prevent such outrages.

Your British Tar is a cheeky fellow and has no truck with such Yankee carping.   An anonymous sailor has written this letter to the Sling.

“If US ship captains have any further input into the conduct of the war or the safety of American shipping they are welcome to join the war effort at anytime otherwise please forward future complaints to the Imperial German Navy."s to the Imperial German Navy. “

CUTTING THE GERMAN SUPPLY SOURCES

Allied morale has been encouraged this week with the arrival of a prize ship, the SS Titania, in Hong Kong.  This German supply ship was part of the German Admiral Von Spee's squadron, but was captured by ships belonging to Admiral Jerram's China Squadron.  Titania's crew of German naval reservists were marched off their ship and into captivity by Royal Marines. and the ship will be repurposed as a British supply ship.    We can imagine with satisfaction that Von Spee, if he is still alive, will be in a pretty pickle without the previous supplies now in our hands.

Your humble correspondent Neptune welcomes all tips and information, especially when accompanied by a drink offer.  He can be found most days at the Empire Lounge, at his usual table for the 4pm Happy Hour.  Ask Fernando to point him out to you.

The Singapore Sling, Vol 6: News From Our PBEM Campaign

 Our naval defence correspondent "Neptune"offers another column from his vantage point at the Empire Lounge, Raffles Hotel (reflecting state of play in our PBEM campaign after five turns, with much information concealed for the purposes of OPSEC - ref).

BATTLE OF RABAUL:  A PYRRHIC VICTORY?

The Royal Navy has now confirmed that an engagement occurred several weeks ago, approximately fifty nautical miles north of the German held portion of New Guinea.   The naval community here is stunned by the Admiralty's admission that a prized battlecruiser, HMAS Australia, was lost in the battle, while many of its crew were rescued.  

While details remain scarce, it is reported Australia, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Patey, accompanied by the light cruiser HMAS Melbourne, encountered the squadron of the Arch-Pirate, Von Spee.   In the battle that followed, the Admiralty claims that the German heavy cruiser Gneisnau was sunk and her sister ship, Scharnhorst, was badly damaged.   It is not known if Von Spee himself survived the battle.   After delivering the coup de grace to Gneisnau, Melbourne went to the assistance of the flagship, and after a long struggle to contain flooding below decks, the order to abandon ship was given.   

Admiral Patey giving the order to abandon ship:  artist's impression.

The Admiralty reports that Admiral Patey was the last man off the Australia.   We are confident that the sacrifice of this fine ship, though mourned throughout the Dominion for which it was named, was worth the crippling of Von Spee's squadron.

HOMECOMING IN HONG KONG

The crew of the SS Diplomat have arrived in Hong Kong to a hero's welcome.  Faithful readers will recall that this merchant ship was freed from the clutches of the German raider Emden by the timely arrival of HMAS Sydney under Captain Glossop.    

Crewmen of the Diplomat, happy to be free and ready to return to service.

The rescued sailors all spoke well of their erstwhile captors, who they report were generous with rations, small comforts, and extra clothing.  These grateful mariners have promised to stand a round of drinks to their rescuers, the next time they find themselves in port together.

A LETTER FROM "ODYSSEUS"

An American friend, a mate on a US tramp steamer, has asked to forward some mail from an unlikely source, the crew of the Empire's piratical nemesis, the Emden.  The letters are all the everyday longings of ordinary sailors far from home, and Neptune does not feel that they merit the attention of the Royal Navy.   One in particular seems worth sharing with our readers, as it shows how this German crew seems to be enjoying their war so far.

My Dearest Freya

I am taking advantage of a letter to the Singapore Sling to give you an update from your wayward Odysseus.  We are very much enjoying our travels in Eastern Seas, meeting many ships along the way – Dutch, Japanese, Brazilian, American and Swedes but mostly British.   We have some British officers on board as guests currently.  Unfortunately, they may be delayed from their scheduled travel plans.

I have acquired some interesting items in my travels, including some fine whisky, a grandfather clock that would go well in our parlour and some silk dresses for you and the girls.    

Yours

Siegfried

THE VISE CLOSES ON TSINGTAO

A journalist friend of Neptune, who writes for the Tokyo Shinbone, has just returned from a visit to the Japanese army forces that have invested the port of Tsingtao.     He reports that fresh troops are arriving daily and the German lines are receiving continuous naval bombardment.

Modern day samurai survey the battlefield.

With such a commitment from our allies, the fall of this German colony can only be a matter of time.

WORRISOME LOSSES OF MERCHANT SHIPS

The Admiralty reports that merchant ships continue to go missing.  The latest reports admit that eight British merchantmen are feared lost:

The British steamer SS Sophie, said to have been carrying luxury goods to Sydney.

The British liner SS St Osmund, with some forty souls taking passage.

the British steamer Zephyr, with a load of livestock out of Capetown.

The British sailing ship St Hilda, carrying rice and foodstuffs out of Bombay.

All four ships were last reported in the Gulf of Thailand.

Also missing:

The British steamer SS Caledonia, a grain ship out of Vancouver, and the SS Jupiter, carrying tea from Ceylon, both last known to be in the Bay of Bengal.

The British steamer SS Clan MacGregor, carrying heavy equipment from the US to India, last known to be in the Caroline Islands, and the SS Star of Commerce, a grain ship out of Vancouver, also last known to be in the Caroline Islands.

MORE RUSSIAN GOSSIP

Neptune's good friend, Kapitan Grigory Orlov, the Russian military attache who does his share to prop up the bar here at the Empire Lounge, turned up recently as the escort of a very attractive lady typist from the Japanese embassy (Neptune takes this as a hopeful sign that Russo-Japanese hostilities are easing).

Over a Sake Sling, Kapitan Orlov confided to your humble scribe that recent liaison trials between the Japanese Airship Yuhi-go (Majestic Flight) and a Russian submersible in the Western Pacific have been very successful.   The Japanese electronics skills have proven that wireless communication with a submarine beneath the waves are possible!  Truly astonishing, and if true, this will prove worrisome to the beastly Hun.

Neptune could not resist a sally of wit, namely that this must be the first Russian submersible in the Western Pacific since the Battle of Tsushima, at which Kapitan Orlove stalked out, leaving Neptune with the tab.  The lady typist however remained and proved an excellent companion.

Your humble correspondent Neptune welcomes all tips and information, especially when accompanied by a drink offer.  He can be found most days at the Empire Lounge, at his usual table for the 4pm Happy Hour.  Ask Fernando to point him out to you.

Canadian Wargamer Podcast Episode 31 w Mike Hoyt

 

Finally caught up and am posting the second of two CWP podcasts that James and I did this summer. In Ep 31 we caught up with Mike Hoyt, owner of Battlespace Publishing. Mike is a military officer with an interest in the realistic modelling of conflict and with several rules sets to his name.

Canadian Wargamer Podcast Episode 30 With Andrew Dobson

 Catching up here with recent activity from the highly intermittent Canadian Wargamer Podcast.  Andrew Dobson is a promising young hobby entrepeneur and has a keen interest in naval history.  He's a good illustration of how 3D printing is changing the supply chain for wargamers.   

The Singapore Sling, Vol 5: News From Our PBEM Naval Campaign

 Our naval defence correspondent "Neptune"offers another column from his vantage point at the Empire Lounge, Raffles Hotel (reflecting state of play in our PBEM campaign after five turns, with much information concealed for the purposes of OPSEC - ref).

BATTLE AT RABAUL

News is just now arriving here of a sea battle near the German-held port of Rabaul on the New Guinea coast.   Details remain scarce but it appears that several ships of Admiral Patey's powerful Australia Squadron have intercepted a German naval force, possibly even that of Admiral Von Spee himself!   However, Neptune's sources with the Royal Navy have gotten tight-lipped, even after repeated rounds of pink gins at your humble scribe's impecunious expense.    We await further news with eager anticipation, and remain confident that our gallant sailors will have banished the Kaiser's pirates to the bottom of the sea.

PREPARATIONS IN AUSTRALIA

Doubtless related to the aforementioned battle near Rabaul, there is news via telegraph of an urgent request from the Australian authorities for hospital trains to be prepared and sent to the port of Cairns.  It is most likely that these trains will be sent to succour the survivors of Von Spee's squadron, as befits the most chivalrous instincts of our gallant imperial allies.   

Angels of Mercy.

A DISCOURAGING LIST OF MISSING VESSELS

Readers of Neptune's last column were surely cheered to learn that the Royal Navy had freed the crew of the British flagged SS Diplomat and captured their gaolers, a prize crew of the pirate vessel Emden.  We expect the Diplomat to return to Hong Kong shortly.   

However, it must be said that the list of merchant ships missing grows apace.   The Admiralty now admits that four more ships are missing:

Steamship Mersey Girl, British, carrying livestock bound for Singapore, last know position in the Bay of Bengal. 

Sailing ship Madeleine, British, carrying tea from Bombay bound for Capetown, overdue.  Last seen entering the Bay of Bengal.

Sailing ship Gullwing, British, carrying textiles bound for Canada, overdue at a port stop, last seen entering the Caroline Islands.  

Sailing ship Hakana Maru, Japanese, carrying grain from San Francisco, overdue in Japan, last seen in the Western Pacific.

The Madeleine in happier times.

Neptune's friends in the local maritime insurance business are not alarmed, but they privately tell that they are considering an increase in premiums.  Confidence is high that the Royal Navy and its gallant allies will rise to this challenge.

THE COLONIES ANSWER THE CALL

Men queuing to enlist: a familiar sight across Australia and New Zealand.

News from our Australian correspondent at the corner of the bar here in the Empire Lounge is that across the length and breadth of Australia, men are flocking to the colours.    The same is true in New Zealand.   Stories abound of frantic preparations to train and equip these brave lads, and to convey them to the Seat of War.   Reports from Sydney say that the harbour is full of requisitioned ocean liners, and that a mighty convoy will soon be ready to sail for [DESTINATON REDACTED].

Your humble correspondent Neptune welcomes all tips and information, especially when accompanied by a drink offer.  He can be found most days at the Empire Lounge, at his usual table for the 4pm Happy Hour.  Ask Fernando to point him out to you.

The Singapore Sling, Vols 3-4: News From Our PBEM Naval Campaign

Our naval defence correspondent "Neptune"offers another column from his vantage point at the Empire Lounge, Raffles Hotel (reflecting state of play in our PBEM campaign after four turns, with much information concealed for the purposes of OPSEC - ref).

Our esteemed readers will know that news travels slowly to this outpost of Empire, and especially now as the better passenger ships and fast steam packets are being requisitioned for the war effort.   However, your correspondent recently accepted a large pink gin from another ink-stained wretch, an American journalist newly arrived from South Africa who kindly shared this story with The Sling:

New York World

Sunday, 9 August 1914

OUR MAN IN SIMONSTOWN 

WITH THE ENGLISH AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR

 By Herbert J. Forrester III

 Last week, a kid stood over an ants’ nest, watching with fascination as the ants poured from their holds and rushed about in frenzied activity.  Focussed on their tasks, the kid is beyond their notice.  Except the kid is me, your esteemed correspondent, and the nest is the English Royal Navy base at Simonstown, South Africa.  And the ants are the brave sailors of that great island country.

Last week, word was received of the outbreak of European war.  Long anticipated, it still came as a shock, but as I wandered the streets last Wednesday that shock quickly disappeared, and was replaced with long-practiced drills.  Libertymen, normally requiring the persuasion of a marine to return to their ship after long stints ashore, rush back and crowd the gangplanks eager to get to grips with the enemy. 

I am only allowed to send this report on sufferance, so cannot speak in detail of the ships for fear of altering the Germans to their identity, but suffice it to say these steel castles retain all the towering imposition of their wooden forbears.  To a civilian such as myself, accustomed to the sight of the Great White Fleet, they might seem old and antiquated.  But their crews are not, and that is the one factor which the pages of Janes do not convey.  There is a palpable battle spirit among these men, transformed instantly from easy-going shore leave men, a little too much full of liquor, to zealous professionals, by the mere arrival of a telegram giving notice of war.

His Majesty's Dockyard, Simonstown

My own experience has not been entirely pleasant.  Despite our shared language, I am as much a “Jonny Foreigner” as any European.  Indeed, on Saturday I found myself arrested by a polite but insistent Marine sergeant who escorted me to a comfortable but locked room in the base’s officer’s mess.  There I was soon joined by a very worried but affable Russian gentleman, formerly a tailor and now suspected, like myself, of spying.  He was convinced he was to be shot, and indeed although I reassured him as much as I could, in the frenzied atmosphere of that day I could not entirely discount the possibility myself.

In the end, after several hours comfortable imprisonment, an admiral arrived to interview us personally.  His name was Kingall, and he was a harassed old gentleman, but one in whose eyes the light of battle shone.  A brief interview with me was enough to convince him of my credentials and I was released, but the tailor was requested to join the admiral for “further duties”.  I admit I felt a pang of sympathy for him as he looked back.

Overall, it is clear that for these Europeans, “the moment” has arrived.  So long expected, they are now ready for combat.  It remains to be seen who will triumph, and what their victory will mean for the United States.

"THE NAVY'S HERE!"  THRILLING RESCUE OF BRITISH SEAFARERS

Fears for the safety of merchant commerce in the Pacific continue to rise as a number of merchant vessels of the allied nations have been reported missing in recent days.   Following the disappearance of the British steamer Matheran, the French merchantman Annatoile has been reported missing somewhere in the mid Pacific.  Who knows how many other peaceful ships have been intercepted by the Kaiser's pirates?

Today however the glorious news has reached us that the British merchant ship SS Diplomat was briefly in the clutches of the Hunnish eagle, but has been rescued by the cruiser HMAS Sydney under her intrepid Captain John Glossop.     

6

HMAS Sydney visiting Singapore before the current hostilities.

Sydney sighted the Diplomat in the company of her captor, a German cruiser, in one of the labyrinthine channels of the Dutch East Indies, and the Hun departed the scene like the proverbial thief in the night.  Electing to ensure the safety of the merchant, Captain Glossop, like a seaborne constable, freed the prisoners and apprehended a prize crew who are part of the ship's company of the German cruiser Emden.  The gaolers gaoled!  Our gallant Australian friends are patrolling the Dutch East Indies for further sign of the dastardly pirates, joined no doubt by ships of our allies.   We look forward to seeing the men of the Diplomat safely back in a British port.

NEWS FROM OUR RUSSIAN FRIENDS 

One never knows who will wash up here at Raffles, or what stories they may tell.   Earlier today I came across my dear friend, Kapitan Grigory Orlov, the Naval Attaché here.  Disappointingly, he did not have snow on his boots, but to be fair, he has been in the Pacific for some time.   

Kapitan Orlov pushed a large vodka sling in my direction and winked conspiratorially as he told me that "A Russian submarine of the Narval class was transferred from the Baltic Fleet to the Siberian Fleet in the summer and after extensive testing with the latest long range high speed 21” torpedo code name тайфун (Typhoon) has left Vladivostok heading to the Barents Sea."

While the veracity of this claim is unproven, Neptune has heard that a "powerful squadron" of Russian warships from the Vladivostock squadron has been put at the disposal of the Allies in this part of the Pacific.  It remains to be seen if they will get along with our new Japanese allies!

THOUGHTS OF A FRENCH CAPTAIN

In our last issue we mentioned the French armoured cruiser Dupleix, which currently prowls the sea lanes on the lookout for France's ancestral foe (err, the Germans, not we English).  Her skipper, Capitaine Louis Juares, is a regular here at the Empire Lounge on port visits to Singapore.   Fernando, the barman, recently shared with me some scribblings on the back of a bar bill, which reveal the inner thoughts of this hero of La Republique.

 Diary Entry No. 17

This place is truly horrrid, much as I anticipated it would be in my last entry.

Dupleix has finally arrived in Guangzhouwan after our extended journey up and down the Chinese Coast.

I do not know what Admiral I have managed to upset to be assigned to this backwater of a colony,

in a rustbucket of a ship, crewed by what seems to me like the peak incompetence of the service. Men either so fresh they are barely boys anymore, or so old they would have been retired in any other circumstance.

But yes, yes. The war demands. And what of me? Does the war not permit me to show my merit in service against our true foes, the germans, where it really counts, in Europe?

What do they expect me to do here? A ship too slow to run away and to weak to fight if anyone worth fighting shows up? And even if I sink one, or even a couple. What does that matter if the Armies fight for Paris and Berlin on the other side of the globe meanwhile?

It is incomprehensible.

But to top it all off, I am of course placed under Albion Command. Those people don't know how to Command at sea! Sure, their ships are fancy, and their guns are quite good, but give them more than three ships at once, and see what happens.

Well, we will see....

The Singapore Sling Volume 2: News From Our PBEM Campaign

 Our naval defence correspondent "Neptune"offers another column from his vantage point at the Empire Lounge, Raffles Hotel (reflecting state of play in our PBEM campaign after two turns, with much information concealed for the purposes of OPSEC - ref).

TSINGTAO A FORTIFIED CAMP

Tsingtao in more pleasant times.

Neptune remembers Tsingtao as having a very pleasant climate, a curious German style rice beer, and some rather shocking Teutonic architecture.  However, he has just spoken to several English families on the last steamer out  before the declaration of hostilities, and they describe that the town and port now resemble an armed camp.   Apparently there has been an influx of young German men from the Fatherland, and much activity in the harbour, which was sealed off by armed naval guards.   The English report that they were taken to their ship at night, so were unable to see much.   We hope that Admiral Jerram will find and destroy what now appears to be a nest of Hun raiders.

OUTRAGE IN THE CAROLINES

Sources in the Telegraph Exchange inform Neptune that an urgent message was overhead from the French colony Tout Compris in the Caroline Islands.   The message, which was incomplete, reported that the harbour was under attack by an enemy warship.  While we are tempted to explain this message by reference to the excitable temperaments of our Gallic friends, it is equally possible that some Hun raiders put to sea before the commencement of hostilities.    Such a possibility is concerning but our faith in the Royal Navy abounds.

The French armoured cruiser Dupleix.

Neptune wonders if finding the guilty party will be the task of the Dupleix.  This fine armoured cruiser is the first French warship to be assigned to the Pacific, and we welcome her contribution.

 SS MATHERAN MISSING

SS Matheran in happier times.

The mercantile community is expressing concerns that a fixture of these coasts, the SS Matheran, is overdue.  Her last reported position was in the Caroline Sea, and there are fears that she may have encountered the same Huns who attacked Tout Compris.  

Neptune welcomes all tips and information, as well as drink offers.  He can be found most days at the Empire Lounge, at his usual table for the 4pm Happy Hour.