Fenua no Minoagra (The Empire of Mynoghra)

A short history of the Empire of Mynoghra (Part 1)

1. Pre-Settlement era (Before 500BC)
Roughly 1.4 million to 900,000 years ago, The main island of Minoagra was formed after a massive volcanic eruption on the Palliser Hotspot.

2. Pre-colonial era (about 500BC – 1767)
It is generally accepted that the first Minoag settlers were the Lapita Peoplem who travelled from Island Melanesia. some time around 3400BC. Linguistic, biological and archaeological evidence supports a long migration from Southeast Asia via the Fijian, Samoan and Tongan Archipelagos using outrigger canoes that were up to twenty or thirty metres long and could transport families as well as domestic animals. The first established settlelment that has so far been discovered dates at roughly the same time islander first arrived. The site now know as P'Kulu is roughly 20 miles east of Awagula. It is known that by 2900BC the southern island of Motinui had also been settled. It is known that for the next millenia the culture of Mynoghra became distincitivlt unique from its Austronesian origins and by the early 16th century the main island was called Minoagra (In english, this roughly means 'Large Island') and the people who inhabited it were calling themselves Minoags. It was noted that by the 1700s, 5 major groups had been established on the island, and were of the same level as a Kingdom would be to a European. According to Dutch records, the first apparent meeting between Minoags and europeans occured in 1722 when a 'boat of odd construction, with multiple hulls and triangular sails' traded with Dutch settlers in Indonesia. Whilst it was not confirmed that these were Minoags, due to the description of the boat and that of the people piloting it, this asumption can be considered accurate. It is also known that Minoags and Tahitians were also very interconnected by this time, due to items of both cultures being find in the other's settlements.

2. European Contact 1767 - 1801
The first European sighting of the Island occured in 1767, when Captain Samuel Wallis of HMS Dolphin sighted the islands after sailing north of Tahiti. On 7 June 1768, the expedition of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, aboard Boudeuse and Etoile on the first French circumnavigation, sighted Minoagra after sailing from Tahiti. On 5 April, they anchored off Laau Lae and were welcomed by its chief Reti. Bougainville stayed about ten days. The next Person to reach Mynoghra was Captain James Cook on 17 April 1769. Cook was on a scientific mission to study the botany and customs of Tahiti, Minoagra and Motinui, spending a cumulative month in the islands, during which he established the first European settlement on the island, known as 'New Marton', after Cook's hometown. However, the location has since been lost to time as the site was abandoned when Cook left on 20 May 1769. Cook estimated the population of Minoagra to be roughly 1.5 million at that time. The next decades would see various navigators from France, Spain, Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands. This also included and attempt by the viceroy of Peru on orders of the Spanish crown in 1792 to make a colony on the island. A small settlement was established known as 'Nuevo Oviedo'. However, due to ill preperation this settlement and its people dissapeared by the next year of an unkown cause. The sporadic european visits would continue until 1801 when the first true attempt at colonisation was made.

French Colonization 1801-1837
On 1 March 1801 Captain Gilles Coreaux set anchor off of Laau Haule and set up a settlelment knows as 'La Combatante' after the ship he arrived on, at first no resistance from the Minoags was experienced. By 1809 La Combatente had a population of 5,300 and Coreaux was made 'Governer of Mynoghra' This is where we get the English spelling from the island from, due to a poor translation when making the decree awarding Coreux this title. Between 1801 and 1809 Coreux had expanded his effective area of control to cover the whole mountainous western part of the island. However, Coreaux was a ambitious man. Whilst the mountains in his control yielded good amounts of metal and stone, he was well aware of the fertile plains of the central and eastern Mynoghra, ripe for growing Lepura, a brilliantly sticky glue made from the sap of the Lepura tree. It was almost as strong as iron nails and was incredibly popular in Europe. The plains also had ample farmland and generous coal deposits. Coreaux wanted it all. On 9 August 1828 Coreaux and a band of 2,300 French troops marched east into the land of the Nakanura tribe. Initially very suprised by the previously friendly French, the Nakanura put up a good fight but their smattering of old traded muskets amongst spears and axes did nothing to stop French lead. Learning of the wiping out of the Nakanura the other 4 tribes on the island, The Awagula, The Maehe, The Marutea and the Lalotai, put aside their differences. Since the settlement period the tribes had been warring for control, but in the face of a common enemy the chiefs banded together. Despite his newfound unity, French boots werent perturbed by the power of friendship. By 1830 the French had reached the Kanna river that runs through the middle of the Central Plains. However, the Kanna is a huge river with raging currents, jagged rocks and is 250m wide. No matter how many guns they had the French would surely suffer if they attempted a crossing. This meant they had to built a bridge and Coreaux quickly arranged for this to be done.

Crucially, this gave the Minoags time. Recently, a dutch east indiamen named the Piet de Groete and a smaller ship the Bulhond had put in at Peresashti. Even better, it had a huge cargo of 1200 muskets, 600 pistols and 1000s of balls of shot and alot of propellant. The chief of the Lalotai tribe, whom Peresashti was in the territory of gave the dutch traders copious amounts of Lepura for their ship, its men and its cargo. The muskets were given to an huge army of 5,000 Mynoghrans, whilst the dutch sailors, now captaining the first vessel of a Mynoghran Navy, now named the Ti Tele, were paid to sail up and down the French held coast, bombarding positions and stores with its cannon. These efforts proved the turning point. On 8 May 1831 the French bridge had just been finished, Coreaux had planned a crossing for the next week to finally conquer the island. However, that night his troops were ambushed by 5000 musket bearing Minoags under chief of the Awagula Hanakilla I, that stormed his camp and thoroughly routed his troops, causing most to be killed, with a few 100 including Coreaux to flee back to the west. What followed over the next six years was what can best be described as Vietnam 150 years before Vietnam. The Minoags excelled at what would become to be known as Guerilla warfare, ambushing, trapping and beating French troops who were used to the static battlefields of Europe. By 1834 The rough border had been pushed back to where Coreaux started. By 1837 The Minoags, after a bloody battle had captured La Combatant. Coreaux was executed for his role in invading Mynoghra. However, in a stunning display of rationality triumphing over victorious fervour, The normal french settlers were left alone. In exchange for being allowed to remain with there Livelihoods, the French, with their valuable skills would stay and help develop the Island.

Into the Modern Age 1837-1914
Despite its new found independence, Mynoghra was still divided into 4 chiefdoms. Having led the victorious Army, Hanakilla I had taken all of the conquered territory. He decided that in order to defend against future European conquest, Mynoghra needed to be united. He made great use of the natural resources at his disposal to purchase modern weapons from Dutch and British traders. In 1844 He launched a campaign to subdue the Marutea and the Maehe. Having all the best guns and strategy definitely helped and by 1846 both groups had been conquered and taken over by Hanakilla. This just left the Lanakila. After a short clash the Lanakilans, ever the realists decided to volountarily join Hanakila's realm. As a gesture of appreciation the chief of the Lanakila, Hanakopa, was allowed to remain in control of his land, but had to answer to Hanakilla.

As such, by 1850 the main island of Mynoghra had been united under the chiefdom of Awagula. However, this wasnt enough. As such on 1 April 1850 Hanakilla proclaimed himself Hanakilla I of Mynoghra. In the next 5 years, taled from the europeans traders of steam horses and massive ships that didnt need sails got the Minoags fixed. As such the newly formed Council of Mynoghra invited many western industrilaists to set up shop in Mynoghra. This was achieved by giving better prices on Mynoghra's abundant raw materials. By 1880 Awagula, the new capital, looked just as western as Paris or London. The steel and coal industry in particular was booming. In 1881 the Mynoghran defence act was passed by the succesor to the council, the parliament. This was made up of 5 representatives from the Marutea, Lanakila, Hanakula and Maehe aswell as 15 from the Awagula. This led to the creation of a formal navy and army. The navy at this point had its 2 very old dutch sailing ships that hap fought in the independence war, aswell as 2 small stell gunboats and numerous indigenous sailing craft. It was decided that this would not do and in 1882, The navy was given funds to order 2 protected cruisers. The contract was awarded to the Thames Iron Works in London. The 2 ships were pretty powerful cruisers, boasting numerous 6" and 4.7" guns. The two ships, Orohena and Eiaha were greeted by great fanfare when they steemed into Awagula in 1884. Likewise, in the newly founded Awagula Royal Dock a smaller, but still potent protected cruiser named the Haau Luka was built in 1886. The same year the young and brillaint rear-admiral Anaru Te Hira. Te Hira was the exemplary naval officer, having gone to naval college in Britain he had come back and established the Empire's own college in La Combatant, now renamed Ta Cabatao. Te Hira was made Admiral of the Fleet. This was intime as the parliament had set its sights on its next target - Motinui. Like Mynoghra, Motinui had fought off colonial pwers, in their case Britain. However, they were under the control of the fiercely independent Muratao chief.

In 1887 it was decided to invade Motinui and further unite Minoags, which had been the dream ever sence Hanakilla I. As such on 1 April 1887 the navy of 3 protected cruisers, 4 gunboats and 2 steam corvettes arrived off the shores of Motinui. They were shot at by the eclectic defences of the Montinu capital, Haau U'aha. They were anywhere from ancient cannons to modern quick firing guns. However, they were quickly silenced by conectrated and well aimed fire from the Minoag ships. The ships then deployed a collective 1200 troops to capture the capital, the chief and in turn the island. As they were doing this masts were sighted on the horizon. Motinui, like Mynoghra had industrialised and in 1880 had purchased to Corvettes from the Samuda Brothers, named Canoa and Lakako the two ships were certainly good designs. Unfortunately they were facing a far superior fleet. As such the naval battle of Hauu U'aha started - the first naval battle in Minoag history. The gunboats were left behind as the three protected cruisers bore down on the two corvettes. Orohena got of the first shot, followed by Eiaha and Haau Luka moments later. A confsuing melee ensued with guns firing in whatever direction. However, at the end of it the Mynoghrans and Admiral Te Hira were victorious. Orohena and Haau Luka were beaten but fine. Orohena, though was heavily damaged and barely afloat - a trio of 6 inch shells from the Lakako had flooded its steam engines, however after a few hours the water was pumped enough to relight the boilers and the ship limped to Awagula for repairs. On the Montinu side, Canoa had sunk and was currently sitting on the seabed with its masts poking from the top, whilst Lakako had been driven ashore and was beached. It would be salvaged in late december of the same year. This success would be replicated on land and after 7 months, the Montinu were defeated and Motinui was officially inducted into the Kingdom. After this, The current King Yunarao I decided that it was time to ascend. On 1 January 1888 the Empire of Mynoghra was declared.

This state of peace grew for the next 10 years. Art and culture flourished as the nation further industrialised. By 1900 the navy had expanded, with 1 armoured cruiser, 3 pre dreadnoughts, 1 ironclad and 7 torpedo boats along with gunboats and patrol ships joining the navy. However, Emperor Yunarao still had his sights set on something - Tahiti. The islands had been under French control for well over 50 years, but were inhabitied by close relatives of the Minoags, infact a unnoficial referendum 1897 had shown the population wished to be part of Mynoghra, however the leaders of this movement were rounded up by the French and shot. The sugar and tropical goods of Tahiti were fat to valuable to them. The public, appaled by this massacre demanded action. Eager to increase Minoag prestige and territory, Yunarao and his Parliament granted their wish. On 1 April 1900 War was declared and 800 Minoag troops landed on Tahiti. Unfortunately, the French were no slouch. Having anticipated this move and already dealing with riots, the french had over 1800 troops on Tahiti. Even worse, a large fleet was currently only 1000nm away. This set up the events for the worst Minoag defeat up to this point. Itwas 14 April 1900 when the Battle of Tahiti occured. The Minoags had 2 Pre dreads, 1 Ironclad, 3 Protected Cruisers and 5 Gunboats. The French had 5 Pre Dreadnoughts, 3 armoured and 3 Protected Cruisers. Admiral Te Hira put up a fierce fight but the result was never in doubt. The Corvette Lakako and the Protected Cruiser Haau Luka were sunk, although the French didnt get off scott free - The battleship Charles Martel was torpedoed 3 times by the Torpedo Boats Tasi, Lua and Tolu, sinking it. However, combined with a lack of troops and a strong French squadron, the Minoags negotaited a peace. They withdrew from the Island and paid a large sum of reperations to the French. This bitterness of defeat would ferment within the Minoag public and government, and would manifest itself very well 15 yeras later.

The First World War 1914-1918

-1914-
The Empire's steady growth would be cut short by the outbreak of War in Europe. At first, Mynoghra stayed neutral. Although public opinion, due to French and British colonial holdings, was heavily in favour of the Central Powers. Nearby majority polynesian islands such as Tahiti and the Cook Islands were under the British and French colonial boot. However, at the end of the day the war was still a far-flung European affair and did not impact the life of your average Mynoghran bar the slightly more risky ocean voyages and a slight decrease in the export of luxury goods. Still, Mynoghra had no plans on entering this war, despite the heavy courting of both the Central Powers and Entente. The Central Powers desired a strong counter in the Pacific to divert ANZAC troops and materials, whilst the Entente eyed the addition of half a dozen modern battleships to its war effort as a very good idea.

However, the pane of neutrality started to strain. Japan entered World War I on August 23, 1914, seizing the opportunity of Germany's distraction with the European War to expand its sphere of influence in China and the Pacific. Moves were quickly taken by the Taishō nation to snap up the various German colonies in Asia, in particular the Tsingtao Fortress, but also the various pacific Islands aswell as German New Guinea and Samoa. This set of alarm bells within the ranks of government and armed forces, the prospect of a expansionist Japan in the region would definitely bring the European war round the world and straight to Mynoghra's doorstep. The armed forces were given the order to partially mobilise on 1 September. The Admiral assigned to lead the navy was Admiral Aleki Kawana. The pane finally shattered on 1 November. In late September, Japan had moved to besiege the Tsingtao fortress on 30 September, moved to start shelling the city and naval forces laid up in the besieged enclave. Unfortunatley, one of these besieged ships was the Southern Line steamer S.S. Tafola, a sleek, fast Liner that was known and admired by the population, alongside its sister Talifaiga. around midday on the 1 November, a battery of 9 24cm type 45 field howitzers began bombarding the enclave. Whilst most of these shells hit buildings and dockside infrastructure, one shell which was massively over elevated strayed off target and hit the Tafola directly amidships. The ship quickly caught fire and 20 mintues later, was ablaze form stem to stern. 1600 passengers and crew were aboard the steamer and were effectively trapped. about 3 hours after the hit the hulk capsized and settled to the bottom of Tsingtao harbour, taking an estimated 1200 lives with her. This incident quickly made its way back to the Mynoghran mainland. Newspapers plastered with inflamatory titles spewed onto the streets of Awagula and by the Saturday on the 4th, the whole nation, angered and in grief at the loss of so many lives aboard a national icon was clammering for revenge. As such, the following day on the 5 November, the Empire of Mynoghra declared war on the Empire of Japan. to protect their ally, the rest of the entente issued a counter declaration the next day. By the end of the Monday 6 November, the course of the nation had been irrecoverably altered.

The Mynoghran Navy, having already mobilised, descended on souther pacific allied shipping with considerable eagerness. With the main naval focus in Europe and the further north German possesions, there were no Major entente ships to counter the fleet - HMAS Australia was hunting Spee off South America, whilst HMAS Melbourne and Brisbane were on the other side of Australia escorting troops and battering SMS Emden respectively. As such in the month of November, over 60 Entente merchants of varying sizes were sunk by Mynoghran Fleet Units. The army responded to the navies aggresiveness equally with the invasions of Tahiti on the 14th, Cook Islands on the 27th and Pitcairn Islands on 29th in November, all being subdued by December 10. The first Mynogrhan naval battle of the war occured during the invasion of Tahiti, when the invasion Squadron of the Battleships Minoagra and Nahesa aswell as cruisers and destroyers engaged in a one sided duel with the French Tahiti Squadron, consiting of the armoured cruisers Dupuy de Lome and Latouche-Treville aswell as the Portect Cruiser Milan. All french ships were sunk with no significant loss to the Minoags. The population almost burst with patriotic pride at the apparent overdue uniting of the Polynesian islands. Britain, being the main defender in this region, reacted immediatley by detaching part of the 1st Battle squadron, HMS Neptune, HMS Collosus, HMS Hercules and HMS Superb, in addition to HMS Dreadnought herself aswell as the Commonwealth battlecruisers HMAS Australia and HMS New Zealand to the South Pacific on 16 November. Likewise, Japan diverted its two Kawachi class and two of the Kongo Class, Kongo and Kirishima, to reinforce British defences in the region. The newly formed South Pacific Fleet was under the overall command of Admiral Edwyn Alexander-Sincalir. All these ships were complemented by various cruisers and destroyers. HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Brisbane were also recalled to the area as was the IJN Izumo and HMCS Rainbow, both having been patrolling the west coast of Canada and the USA.

-1915-

The Mynoghran navy largely adopted the fleet in being tactic - The force of 6 Dreadnoughts, 4 Pre Dreads and a Battlecruiser was a near match for the allied fleet of 7 Dreadnoughts and 4 Battlecruisers. However, a huge naval battle was not on the cards - the entente could replace losses, whilst the Mynoghran shipbuilding sector wouldnt be completing the first of the Marutea class until mid-1916. As such, it was decided to tie up as many Entente forces in the Pacific as possible to give the Central Powers in Europe greater odds. This was coupled with quick and fast coastal bombardments to keep the entente on their toes. A strange event happened on 1 February when the German Raider Dresden, the lone survivor of the Falklands and having fled back to the pacific, docked at Awagula. The ship was amicably adopted into the Mynoghran Navy but kept its name and German crew, much like the Ottoman Yavuz. The traditional British tactic of blockading an enemy into starvation would not work in Myngohra - with a decent amount of austerity the Empire could be largely self sufficient. The afforementioned coastal raids became the main source of fighting in the theatre. The first of these raids occured on 8 January. The fast battlecruiser Motinui escorted by 4 cruisers descended on the New Zealand West Coast. Large quantities of maps and charts had been collected from the various sunk merchants, meaning the navy had an accurate idea of how to manouvre around the various islands and harbours. This led to effective, short range attacks on Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, sinking merchants aswell as destroying harbour infrastructure, powerplants and heavy industry. On the way home, Motinui encountered HMAS Australia and HMS New Zealand in the battle of the Chatham Islands. Both sides were damaged, but Motinui's eventual 4 knot speed advantage over the slower and barnacle-hulled Indefatigables allowed it to slip away. This state of affairs - fleet in being and large coastal raids - continued through most of 1915. The only notable fleet battle in this period would be the first battle of Aratai. This was a daring incursion by the Entente fleet of HMAS Australia, HMS New Zealand, the newly arrived HMS Invincible, HIJMS Kongo and screens to force their opposite number to defend their coast. At the time, the only major units in the area was the Motinui, aswell as the first generation dreadnought Nahesa. The following battle was indecisive, despite the apparent odds. Both battlelines ran paralel south of Aratai. Mynoghran gunnery was decent, but the rapid-reloading 12.5"/50 proved its worth as HMS Invincible was quickly holed multiple times by Motinui and Nahesa, before fires blew up the aft magazine sinking the battlecruiser with 52 survivors. After this, fearing further losses the entente fleet broke off after dumping torpedoes from tis 5 destroyers with Motinui and Nahesa doing likewise. At this point, Nahesa was struck forward by a torpedo from HMS Broke. the overloaded design of the Minoagra class reared its ugly head, as after a series of bulkhead faliures led to the Nahesa to eventually go down slowly by the bow, due to the slow sinking all men were saved except those who died in the initial explosion and flood.

This battle affirmed the British strategy of not engaging in direct confrontation - a valuable battlecruiser had been lost in an engagement were they possessed double the offensive firepower - a full fleet battle were both sides were more numerically similar would surely have dire consequences - However, this engagement did highlight the poor practice of ammunition handling within the battlecruiser fleet. This was passed on and by the end of 1915 all of the british fleet were far more careful in handling practices. The end of 1915 would continue the state of deadlock in the South Pacific - the entente being to wary of loss to push the Mynoghrans too hard, whilst the Mynoghrans with their numerical inferiority and lack of replacements vessels was far too cautious to confront the Entente. The only naval action would be sporadic merchant raiding and coastal bombardments by cruisers and the ever-present Motinui. By 30 December Fiji, Australia and New Zealand had been bombarded, 3, 1 and 4 times respectively.

-1916-

Naval wise - the start and middle of 1916 was a generally good for the Entente. Although the Pacific theatre remained at a stalemate, the European Sea war had swung in the entente's favour. The Battle of Jutland from 31 May - 1 June had been a certain British victory, for the loss of no heavy ships the British had destroyed 4 German Heavy Ships - SMS Lutzow, SMS Seydglitz, SMS Nassau and SMS Posen. Many British battlecruisers such as Indefatigable, Queen Mary and Lion had taken hits from German ships, that without the lessons learned by the loss of Invincible in 1915 would have certainly caused catastrophic magazine explosions and the loss of the ships. More significantly, the destruction damaging of many German units allowed the British to detach more ships to the pacific due to the tempered German Fleet, atleast temporarily. As such, by 10 July HMS Agincourt and HMS Tiger had arrived in the South Pacific. The Japanese also replaced the Kongo and Kirishima with Haruna and Hiei for refits to bring the total Entente dreadnoughts in the area to 7 Dreadnoughts and 4 Battlecruisers. This advantage had been somewhat dampered by the commisioning of arguably the best battleship in the world at that time, the 26 knot 15.2 inch gunned Marutea in June 1916. This left the Mynoghran heavy ship total at 6 Dreadnoughts, 4 Pre Dreads and 1 Battlecruiser. Seeing the growing threat of the Entente forces the Navy decided it needed to act. They reasoned that they needed to strike as as Germany was worn down, further Entente reinforcements would only increase. This led to the Battle of Eiaha being fought. Until WW2, it was the largest battle to be fought in the Pacific. The Whole total of hevay ships of both sides, bar 2 Pre Dreads on the Mynoghran side and HIJMS Kongo on the Entente side sortied in the great Clash. The fleets met on 4 August West of Eiaha. The lines quickly seperated into two seperate actions - the fast components, HMS New Zealand, HMS Tiger, HIJMS Hiei and HIJMS Haruna vs Marutea and Motinui quickly pulled ahead of the other ships. The rapid fire of the Mynoghran guns quickly dealt blows, as Hiei's delicate turbines were blown apart after catching a full broadside from Marutea, similarly HMS New Zealand lost all of her main guns under the scathing eye of Motinui. However, in this case the entente heavy guns effect was leaps and bounds above that of the first battle of Aratai. Marutea and Motinui were repeatedly hit, however their speed advanyage from Aratai was also replicated and both ships managed to slip away, Marutea returning to the main battle whilst Motinui headed south to seek a port to patch some very serious leeks. Likewise, the battered entente ships also peeled off, only HMS Tiger rejoined the main battle.

Concurrent to the fast-ship action, a much slower slug-fest was ongoing. The dreadnoughts Minoagra, Mana, Orohena, Eiaha (the ship) and Aratai and the pre-dreads Fukurava and Rangiroa were up against HMS Neptune, HMS Dreadnought, HMS Agincourt, HMS Hercules, HMS Collosus, HIJMS Kawachi and HIJMS Settsu. The Entente had a massive barrel advanatge of 60 to 48., not to mention a much greater number of escorts. The slugfest commenced at midday. The Mynoghran pre dreadnoughts soon suffered and after 30 minutes, both Fukurava and Rangitoa were dead in the water, listing with smoke venting from great gashes in their hulls. Fukurava soon exploded and sank whilst Rangiroa would founder the next day whilst being towed back to port. This came at the cost of almost no damage to the entente. However, the Mynoghran dreadnoughts were leaps and bounds above their older ancestors, both in crew and guns. The rapid fire 12.5"/50 soon dealt its usual lashings causing the HIJMS Kawachi to slow and pull out of line. The slugfest continued, only increasing the arrival of Marutea and Tiger for either side. Marutea's huge guns soon spoke and moments later, HMS Collosus dissapeared in a cloud of fire, smoke and flying metal - having strayed much closer than other Entente ships, it became of the focus of Marutra, Aratai and Minoagra and had payed, suffering a double detonation of both its forward and aft magazines. Nothing was left once the smoke cleared, the ship having almost immediately dropped to the seabed taking its entire compliment. Moments later, a conning tower hit on HMS Agincourt severely injured Admiral Alexander-Sinclair, causing the British Line to fracture somewhat. This led to HMS Neptune slewing out of line after being fired upon by Minoagra and Mana. The apparent Mynoghran momentum was cut short when a full salvo from HMS Tiger buried its way deep into the secondary magazines on Mana, causing a major but survivable explosion. However, as it they di the sunken Nahesa, the Minoagra Class' poor design once again struck as poor-fitting bulkhead doors jarred by the explosions allowed an ingress of huge quantities of water. Mana listed and capsized within 10 mintues. After this, no more ships would be hit fatally. As the battle approached R'Iyeh island, the interim commanding Officer, a certain Dudley Pound, was well aware of small Mynoghran torpedo craft and land based guns. As such he signalled to disengage. Admiral Kawana decided not to give chase, instead proceeding to safety of Awagula, behind the lines of guns and torpedo boats.

The aftermath was devastating. Both sides had suffered, The entente had lost 2 Dreadnoughts, with 1 other and 2 battlecruisers heavily damaged. They had also lost a light cruiser and 2 destroyers. Kawana's fleet had lost 2 pre dreadnoughts and a dreadnought. 1 Battlecruiser and 2 Battleships were also heavily damaged. The screens had also suffered with 1 armoured cruiser, 2 light cruisers and 4 destroyers lost. However, it seemed in planning this action Kawana and his naval staff had forgotten one thing - Mynoghra could not replace these ships whilst the Britain had a hole fleet in Europe doing nothing but guarding a battered High Seas Fleet. The admiralty quickly detached the R-Class HMS Revenge and HMS Resolution to replace the loss of Kawachi and Collosus. The late summer and autumn of 1916 consisted of mainly of both fleets patching up ships and licking their wounds. The coastal bombardments stopped in this time, the key unit in these, Motinui, being out of commision for the rest of 1916. A heavy blow was dealt on the 18 November, when the recently arrived fleet of 6 Royal Navy subs decided to wade in. In a feat replicated by Gunther Prien some 30 years later, HMS S-1 snuck into Awagula harbour and fired 4 torpedoes at the battleship Eiaha. 3 weapons hit and detonated. The crew quickly got to work fighting the flooding, but as water seeped into the boiler room the ship and importantly its pumps, lost power. Eiaha settled to the bottom of the harbour roughly 40 minutes after being hit. HMS S-1 made its escape quickly. The public outcry was huge, how could an enemy unit infiltrate the capital? Admiral Kawana was court martialled and placed in command of the backwater Motinui Squadron as a result of his faliure to protect the fleet. He was replaced by the old hero of 1887 Admiral Anaru Te Hira. Te Hira quickly ordered more torpedo nets, searchlights and coast watches to be deployed in and around major Mynoghran ports.

-1917-

1917 marked the year Mynoghra started its backfoot to enetual defeat. It started of bad with the battleship Aratai suffering a spontaneous magazine detonation whilst sitting in Peresashti. This combined wth the irreplascable losses of the Battle of Eiaha had only been partly remedied by the new Maehe, the second of the Marutea Class. The fleet was still very much a potent force however. Since the Eiaha battle the Entente Southern Pacific Fleet had been swapped out. Some of the ships such as Settsu, Hercules, Dreadnought and Neptune were deemed to old and weak to fight the two Maruteas. They were sent home and replaced with another 2 R-Class - Royal Oak and Royal Sovreign. The Japanese had also brought in its 2 Fuso Class battleships, further stacking the odds against the Mynoghrans. Little was done from January to March. However, the US severing of ties with Germany on 3 February made it clear to almost everyone that US entry into the war was imminent. This would spell Mynoghra's doom as the entire US Navy was sure to descend upon the nation. As such, Te Hira sought a decisive battle to give the nation a bargaining chip in the inevitable peace negotiations. As such, on 1 April the Marutea, Maehe and Motinui with a screen of cruisers and destroyers set out for a familiar target: Sydney, Australia. The fleet arrived off Sydney a week later. They quickly sank the only guardship, the cruiser Brisbane. They then laid waste to the docks and railways of Sydney, completely destroying them with 15.2" and 12.5" gunfire. However, this was just a secondary objective. Te Hira's main objective was to lure a part of the Entente fleet out.

It worked.

A cry from the mast turned Te Hira and his staff forwards over the Marutea's bow. Having intercepted radio comms indicating the raid, the Entente battlecruiser fleet of HMAS Australia, HMS New Zealand, HMS Tiger, HIJMS Hiei and HIJMS Kongo now bore. In command, the recovered and angry Admiral Alexander-Sinclair sped at his opposite number. Te Hira ordered his ships to come about to and head east to cross Sinclair's T. Although 2 ships down, Marutea and Maehe were fast battleships through and though whilst Motinui was widely regarded as the best shooting ship in the navy. The two sides soon started flinging shells across the waters outside Sydney, appropriately named the Battle of Sydney. Wind blowing smoke back into the gunsights of the Mynoghran ships intially gave the Entente the edge, Maehe seemed to be the focus and was hit multiple times, however its battleship armour belt kept all guns and engines operational. Seemingly angered by the scratches on its paintwork, Maehe soon fired back a reply, in 4 salvoes it hit HIJMS Hiei 9 times, knocking out all but one main turret and causing the Hiei to break off. Marutea and Motinui had not been sititng ildly by. Heavy gunfire had struck HMAS Australia. Australia's 6" belt did nothing to phase the volley of 15.2" shells from Marutea. Like Hiei, Australia was hit over a dozen times and stopped dead in the water. Seeing he was now 3v3, Sinclair despite his ambitions had learned what had been proven at Jutland a year earlier, Battlecruisers do not fight other big-gun ships. He decided to disengage. The timing was rather fortunate - Te Hira's ships were a few salvoes away from running out of rounds, so he gladly departed the scene and sped back to he safety of Mynoghran waters. The toll on the entente was bad - After 2 hours the HIJMS Hiei foundered and sank, whilst HMAS Australia was grounded on a sandbar outside Sydney to prevent its sinking.

However, this victory failed to gain Mynoghra a more lenient negotiating position. In fact, like the Bismarck would 20 years later, this loss of valuable capital ships would ignite a desire for revenge within Britain and her allies. With the high seas fleet effectively bottled up in their ports, the British sent even more capital units to put the Minoag Navy down once and for all. Equally as badly, the USA had declared war on Germany on April 4, with a declaration on Mynoghra following not long after on the 6th. By the end of April, a swarm of Entente dreadnoughts was surrounding the island nation. The Entene battleline now boasted 15 dreadnought type ships - The Battleships USS Nevada, USS Oklahoma, USS Pennsylvania, USS Arizona, HMS Revenge, HMS Resolution, HMS Royal Oak, HMS Royal Sovreign, HIJMS Fuso, HIJMS Yamashiro and the Battlecruisers HMS Tiger, HMS Resistance, HMS New Zealand, HIJMS Kongo and HIJMS Haruna. This was up against Mynoghra's paltry 4 Battleships, Minoagra, Orohena, Marutea and Maehe aswell as the lone ship of its type, Motinui. Even worse, the only capital ship coming up for completion was the third of the Maruteas, Lalotai. The othe 2 ships, Awagula and Lanakila had only just launched and were only 20% complete respectively. Seeing this force imbalance, it is not hard to see why even a naval victory did not sway the entente. Furthermore, now having poked the hornets nest the Minoags now could not hope to win in a full fleet action. This meant that for the rest of 1917, like the high seas fleet, the Minoag Navy remained bottled up in port. Britain and her allies cemented a huge naval blockade around the main islands. Although Mynoghra itself was largely self sufficient, the blockade meant that when on the 16th of October, when a combined ANZAC and American force invaded Tahiti, and Motinui a month later on the 20th November, all the Minoags could do was watch whilst the garrisons on the island held out with no hope of rescue. The only light in this time was when a squadron of 6 vintage victorian era torpedo boats snuck up on the Entente bombardment fleet and sank the USS Pennsylvania and the cruiser HMAS Adelaide with torpedoes, although 4 of the boats were lost.

-1918-

If 1917 marked the turning of the tide, 1918 saw it surging over the sea wall. It started badly, Motinui and Tahiti fell within a week of eachother between 6th and 14th of February. Importantly, Iron Ore from Motinui had been used heavily in building most Military and Civillian projects. The loss of this supply saw everything slow down drastically, and demand fell solely on the mines in the North of Mynoghra. In Naval terms, only a few of the currently building ships were ever completed, the largest being the battleship Lalotai, even then its two uncompleted sisters were sacrificed, Awagula only recieved a bit more work whilst Lanakila was cancelled outright, the materials being used to complete the Lalotai aswell as to be used as spares for the Marutea and Maehe. On 1 April the 6 entente battlecruisers (HMS Australia had been repaired) sortied to bombard Awagula to destroy port infastructure and cripple moral. Fortunately for the Minoags, the Submarine WM-7 had seen this force and reported it. Guessing the intent, Admiral Te Hira had ordered his fleet to steam for Lanakila, leaving behind a few ships under repair or refit, the biggest of which was the Battleship Peresashti, which had formerly been named the Minoagra but had since been renamed to avoid the humiliation of losing the ship bearing the country's name. A few other units in the harbour were 3 cruisers, 2 destroyers and the incomplete hull of the Awagula. The battlecruisers arrived of Awagula (the city) at midday, and set about laying waste to the capital. Over the course of 2 hours over 4,000 round were fired, decimating the wharfs, oil storage, 2 drydocks, numerous city buildings and piers. In terms of ship losses the Peresashti recieved almost 40 large calibre shells and quickly settled to the bottom of the harbour. all the cruisers and destroyers were sunk, although fortunately due to its low profile the hull of Awagula had not been hit. Overall, 4,600 casualties were caused. In return HMS Tiger had light damage from a few hits by Peresashti whilst the sole casualtie amongst the Entente fleet was a stoker overcome with heatstroke.

In the wake of the bombardment, the people's grief at the loss of so many of their compatriots turned into anger, and by the end of April riots had broken out in over 100 towns and citys, such as Te Cabatao, Awagula and Lanakila. This led to the arm repressing the protestors. On 6 May this all came to ahead in an event known as Bloody Monday, when the army opened fire on rioters and killed or wounded over 250 people. This sparked the flame of rebellion. Many groups rose up against the Emperor and his government, mainly focused in the north western provinces, aswell as the Marutea and Maehe chiefdoms. Bloody fighting ensued. On the 9 June Emperor Lukawa I, was shot dead when rebels stormed the royal palace. Whilst the army sided with the Imperial government, the navy went down a whole other path. Seeing the way in which the country was descending into fighting between Chiefs, Imperial Loyalists, Communists, Socialists and Nationalists, Admiral Te Hira from the new fleet anchorage in Lanakila with the help of the sailors and marines took control of the city and its surroundings, proclaiming the Minoagran Protected Zone. Seeing a respected veteran come to power, over half of the army defected to his side, seeing Te Hira and his navy as the most capable of halting any unrest.

Te Hira's Recovery 1918-1923

Te Hira and his staff drew up a plan to restore order to Minoagra. This was put into action on 1 October 1918. It started with a push of 20,000 men west to retake the hills and mountains around Awagula, encircling the capital. This was combined the navy appearing off the coast of Awagula. In the city, the communist MWP had established itself. Te Hira sent a telegram stating that if they did not open the gates, then his artillery and ships would open fire. Sensibly, the MWP leadership under Sato Lana opened the city up to the protection force. From this base, The MPZ now held the seat of government aswell as access to all the industry and infrastructure. However, Te Hira's first mission was to negotiate peace with the entente. Despite the effective fall of the Minoag government, no treaty had actually been signed so the island was still at war. The new Protection government quickly sailed on the Lalotai to Sydney, to start peace talks. In these talks a compromise was set up. The Entente would help Te Hira's government regain control of the islands. In return for this Tahiti would be returned to the French, whilst Motinui was given to the British. Minoagra would also pay a large amount of war reperations when order was restored. Fortunately, no ships were required to be handed over as the navy was seen as a useful tool to further stamp out unrest, although it was stated that Mynoghra could not build any Cruisers, Battleships or Battlecruisers for the next 11 years. The treaty was signed on 20 October 1918, becoming the Treaty of Sydney. After this, ANZAC, British and American troops arrived on the islands, and now hand in hand with their fromer enemies set about restoring order to the country. In 1918 alone the whole eastern side of the continent was secured as far as the Kanna river. Likewise, Entente and Minoag capital ships bombarded rebel positions hand in hand.

- - More to be written - -

Shipbucket

Fenua no Minoagra (The Empire of Mynoghra)

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