808 battle report!
So, in this year we see the introduction of a number of new weapons and vehicles from both sides, as the Monarchists come out with their first naval vessel, the under-armed Z-Class, which weighs in at 800 ton but carries less armaments than the significantly smaller Swordfish. Speaking of which, a new type of Swordfish has been seen sailing about, with its main gun turret having been redesigned to mount one of the deadly Republican field guns.
In combat, the Swordfish has the clear advantage in anything up to the worst the sea can throw at them, with clear speed and maneuverability advantages(although it takes a lucky hit fom a 37mm cannon to do much damage to the Z-class). The new type of Swordfish is actually less capable in this regard, as its new turret is unable to keep on target as the ships make their wild maneuvers to avoid the guns of the Z-Class. After a long drawn out engagement between nearly the entire naval forces on both side(which mostly consisted of the two Z-Class ships built trying to lure the school of Swordfish into range of shore batteries and the Swordfish using their small speed advantage to keep from being targeted) resulted in the loss of one Z-Class and the near loss of her sister, to three casualties on the Republican side, which consisted of the loss of two-thirds of the new ships(unable to use their maneuverability as much due to their slower turning turrets) and one of the older craft that was hit by a lucky shot. Likewise, most of the damage done to the two Monarchist vessels was from the 75mm cannon or from torpedoes, with the lighter guns on the swordfish not doing much besides make the (exposed) bridge crews take cover.
In the trenches, the war has also taken a turn for the worse on both sides, as the Monarchists rush heavy guns to the front and the Republicans use their new 80mm mortars (which are light enough to be carried by infantry on the attack) to better hit enemy trenches. Fighting also now occurs at night, as the Republican forces have developed illumination rounds which, coupled with efforts to bring troops as close to the enemy's trench before they assault have resulted in the Monarchists loosing much of their first rank trench system. Not even the rapid deployment of men and guns have been able to retake their losses.
With the war heating up further, word has come that each sides allies and vassals have been readying for war with new vehicles and weapons. Some of these have been made available for refinement and use by the two main powers, and may indicate that new fronts may be opened soon. The new equipment has received mixed responses, as in many cases it does not match up with what generals where told to expect. However, this new equipment has come far too late to affect this years combat, and will not be discussed here.