The Great Siege of Bergazeet: Initial Reaction and Imperial Order of Battle
D'Avranches quickly pondered over what he had at his disposal. He had no intent of accepting the ultimatum, regardless of whatever "odds" were against him.
Yet, the greatest two questions in his mind were:
- What was arrayed against him and what could they do?
- How should he use what he had against these new enemies?
While he could never be entirely certain the exact composition of the enemy at the moment because of the fog of war, he understood that the Kanarucans had three fleets, one at Portus Augustus, the second at Olympia and the third in the Dominican Islands. He knew that both the former had roughly 8 ships of the line, and 6 frigates, the second had roughly 16 ships of the line, and 12 frigates, while the third and final one was the most unknown due to its recent arrival, with his guess being it a largely frigate-based squadron. The number of unrated ships was unknown, but Louis guessed that there was close to 30.
The Zetan and Lunar fleet were far harder to evaluate in their deployment given that they had numerous bases in their homeland. Furthermore, much secrecy had been undertaken by the Zetans in their own build up. He guessed the Zetans had about 8 ships of the line, and about a dozen frigates. The Lunar Fleet was easier, they had about 6 ships of the line in their Eastern Fleet and 16 Frigates, but where they were was an unknown.
Compared to this vast force arrayed against him, Louis had under his command at the moment a total of 8 ships of the line, 4 frigates, and 10 Light ships (classified as unrated ships with more than 10 guns), and perhaps a dozen gunboats. A powerful force, no doubt, but one that was incredibly outnumbered. But even with this great disadvantage, the Vice Admiral came to a conclusion rather quickly.
Louis summoned his three admirals: Vice Admiral von Weißenfels, Rear Admiral Shizuka, and Rear Admiral Terada; Along with the commander of Marine Corps Bergazeet, Major General Suzuya.
With a map on the table, Louis quickly made his course of action clear: They weren't going to wait around for the enemy. No, they were going to strike a blow against both Zetans and the Moonmen immediately to set the tone for the upcoming struggle.
The plan was as follows:
The 8th Battle Squadron, with Louis in the lead, would sail to the Zetan ports of Caere and Portus Itius (if possible, with the latter on the timetable), and bombard them. If the Zetan Navy wanted to engage them, let them come. They may have ships, but they cannot match the ITN on equal terms. If the Kanacuran Squadron is spotted, immediate retreat will be called.
The 7th Frigate Squadron would raid the Dominicans in some form, ideally hitting the port of Saint-Domingue, landing raiding parts or commerce raiding the Lunesian Merchant Marine. If faced by a superior force, all haste will be given to flight.
The 11th Light Flotilla would be split between the two forces, to scout. The one exemption was the Brig, Sylphe, which was to be sent to Nijkerk at haste to call upon reinforcements immediately from the Tsukiyaman Squadron and hopefully, from the mainland.
The three forces were to be back at Bergazeet in 48 hours at most, 24 hours ideally.
"Let us show to these Horosumu dogs that their greatest mistake was handing us the initiative without even a fight! Do the Kami, the Emperor, and your ancestors proud! Dismissed!"
Exact Imperial Order of Battle:
Naval Station Bergazeet:
Commander-in-Chief: Vice Admiral Louis d'Avranches
Flagship of the Station:
90 Gun 2nd Rank, the Helesta (Assigned to 1st Division, 8th Battle Squadron)
8th Battle Squadron:
Commander: Vice Admiral Jürgen von Weißenfels
- 1st Division: Helesta (90), Robuste (80), Pégase (74), Pyrrhus (74), Tigre (74)
- 2nd Division: Orion (80), Diadème (74), Régénérateur (74), Pomeranius Magnus (74)
7th Frigate Squadron:
Commander: Rear Admiral Daihachi Shizuka
- Victoire (58), Infatigable (44), Surveillant (38), Atalanta (36)
11th Light Flotilla:
Commander: Rear Admiral Iesada Terada
- Zéphyr (24), Aurore (24), Renard (16), Mégère (16), Inconstant (16), Emeraude (12), Gazelle (12), Furet (12), Sylphe (12), Javeline (12)
Marine Corps Bergazeet:
Commander: Major General Junichi Suzuya
~15,000 men.
Louis' Plan of Action: October 13th to 16th, 1144
