Battle of Pearl Harbor (Southern Victory)

The Battle of Pearl Harbor was a naval offensive undertaken by the US Pacific Fleet during the opening weeks of the Great War. It was a daring raid with the objective to catch the British Pacific Fleet off guard and capture the Sandwich Islands. The raid successfully knocked out the British Squadron there and it's protective guns. After this, the British Commander surrendered the islands in order to spare the locals the death and destruction of war.

Background
In the years following the Second Mexican War, the United States Navy never forgot the humiliation paid upon it's western coast by the British Pacific Squadron. The Royal Navy had sailed from it's Pacific base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and raided the major US Pacific City of San Francisco. After defeating the US Pacific Squadron, the RN was able to blockade the entire US Pacific coast.

By 1914, the US Pacific Fleet had been steadily rebuilt into a worthy fighting force with one goal in mind. Capture the British naval base of Pearl Harbor. With control of these islands, the US Navy would be able to protect it's own west coast, and take the offensive in the Pacific Ocean.

As the crises of August 1914 began to steadily worsen, the US Pacific Fleet put to sea. Three of it's four main squadrons set sail for the Sandwich Islands, while the fourth, the Seattle Squadron, remained behind to deal with the combined British and Canadian fleet up in Vancouver and Victoria.

The Naval Battle
The San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Squadrons of the US Pacific Fleet all steamed towards the Sandwich Islands as was declared, along with a regiment of Marines, and a division of infantry. As they drew near, the fleet swung west and south in a long loop around the western end of the island chain. The US would have to take the islands by surprise. If they failed, British battleships would be steaming up and down the west coast of the US for the rest of the war.

After running around the chain so to avoid being spotted, the US Pacific fleet fuelled up one last time, and set sail for Pearl Harbor. As they drew closer, a sea float plane from the battleship New York reported that a good number of British ships were still laid up in Pearl Harbor. With surprise on their side, the fleet moved in for the kill.

The fleet's torpedo boats sprinted ahead to provide a screen for the battleships. As they sighted land, the shore batteries of Pearl Harbor opened up, and once the battleships were within range, the US returned fire. As some of the shore guns found targets, the battleships started to zigzag to avoid being hit.

Finally the British began to mobilise their fleet and sent it out to engage the enemy. Unfortunately, the narrow waters of Pearl Harbor meant that the ships had to leave one at a time, and they could only rely on their forward facing guns. US battleships were able to turn broadside and unleash all their guns on the British. Although the British had decent gunners, the US Navy was able to concentrate all their fire-power on one ship at a time, and the British Hawaiian Squadron was soundly defeated.

Assaulting Fort William Rufus.
Even as the naval battle for Pearl Harbor raged, the US Marines and Infantry landed safely, thanks in part to the British Squadron being bottle up in the harbor. Once ashore, the marines were able to overrun the forts that guarded Pearl Harbor, while the Army was able to easily defeat the British Garrison stationed on Oahu. Within a matter of weeks, the whole island was under US control.

All that remained was an artificial island, situated west over Keehi Lagoon towards the entrance of Pearl Habor The US Navy couldn't use the naval base until the fort was destroyed.

However, taking out the fort proved a difficult task. With it's two twelve inch guns, the fort had sunk a cruiser, a couple of destroyers, and damaged two battleships. The US Navy had to take out the fort otherwise a combined British and Japanese counter offensive could retake the islands and make the whole operation a waist of time, money and lives. Admiral Dewey offered the defenders full military honours and safe passage anywhere they wanted, but the fort turned him down.

Altough the concrete casing of the fort made it invulnerable to ship attack, it had one fatal flaw. It had no anti-personnel defences.

A freighter rounded the headland and sailed for the stern of the fort. Although it had a three-inch anti-aircraft gun that could've attacked the freighter, US battleship guns had long ago knocked it out of commission. The freighter landed unmolested and landed a combined force of US sailors and Marines and combat engineers, who got to work. The freighter carried a volatile mixture that was two parts heavy diesel oil, and one part gasoline. They pored it down the ventilation shafts of the fort, while the British were unable to retaliate. Although a few fired guns up the shafts, it did not stop the operation. When the freighter was finally empty, the engineers attacked explosives to the shafts and set timers to blow in ten minutes. The freighter quickly withdrew, while US shore batteries opened up to prevent the British from coming topside to disarm the bombs.

The operation was a success, and Fort William Rufus was destroyed in a titanic blast. With the last obstacle gone, Pearl Harbor, and the Sandwich Islands now belonged to the United States.

Aftermath
With Fort William Rufus destroyed, the US Pacific Fleet could take control of Hawaii, and make use of the anchorage at Pearl Harbor. The British didn't have an easy time supplying the islands, and the US would be able to resupply them far more easier. With Hawaii under the Stars and Stripes, the US West Coast was safe from enemy ships and the US would be able to take the offensive in the Pacific Ocean.



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