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fandomhigh2007-01-30 10:53 am
harringtongreen.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2007-01-30 10:53 am
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Advanced Tactics, Tuesday, 7th Period
As the students entered the Dangershop this week, they found themselves on a long, wooden pier. In the distance, at the end, a two large, white ships were docked, their steam stacks extending far toward the sky. More could be seen dotting the horizon beyond them, those ships blocked mostly from view. Seagulls swooped overhead, and beneath the pier, the sounds of water lapping against the stanchion posts could be heard.
Admiral Harrington waited for the class at the end of the pier, just before one of the larger ships. She wore her Grayson uniform today – bright blue with blue shirt and tie, cover tossed onto an empty desk. Nimitz lounged in one of the many seats with desks that had been provided; a small table sat off to the side with the usual array of light snacks, hot chocolate, water, and tea.
“Good afternoon, all,” she said, adopting a slight smile. “I hope you had a wonderful, invasion-free weekend.”
Seating herself on one of the desks, her foot in a chair, she leant forward a bit to maintain her balance. “The past two weeks, we’ve been examining the ships and tactics from the Age of Sail; more specifically, we’ve been crawling around English, French, and Spanish ships of the line, and examining British sea power. Today, we’re jumping ahead about 100 years to the Age of Steam…and the emergence of the United States as a sea power.
“In the 100 years between Trafalgar and the Age of Steam, there are several small steps to pave the way. Key among them are the improvement of the steam engine, the development of the propulsion screw, and the invention of the ironclad.”
Rising from her seat, she moved back to the front of the group. “Make no mistake – the steam engine, in the 1800s, wasn’t exactly new; it had actually been around since before the Common Era. In the late 1600s, however, the piston was added, and more improvements throughout the 1700 and 1800s made the engine even more efficient.” She paused, smiling. “As this isn’t an engineering class, I’ll spare you further details. Let’s just say that, by the 1800s, it could have been possible to have steam-powered vessels.
“As with most technology, however, navies were slow to adopt them. Prior to the invention of the propulsion screw, they were fairly impractical in a tactical theatre, due to the space needed for navigation housing. In the 1840s, however, the invention of the propulsion screw – and its first deployments among British ships – revolutionized this. The steamship became more stable, and, eventually, capable of traversing great distances without the use of sails. So long, of course, as they had a ready coal supply.
“The ironclads, then, were basically wooden steamships, with tough, armor plating, and armaments such as guns, rather than straight canon. The newer ships – at that time – had large caliber guns, mounted on elevated turrets. Given our examples of the last two weeks, what effect would this have had on tactics practiced prior to this point?”
Honor allowed students a few minutes to respond before moving on in the lecture. “Okay, so... we have Age of Sail to Age of Steam; canon to guns and turrets. That brings us to American President Teddy Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet.
“What you see behind you is the USS Kearsage, lead ship in its class, and one of the seventeen ships of the Fleet. It was commissioned in 1900, and was one of the older ships in the fleet when she and the others set sail in December of 1907.”
Here, she paused, pursing her lips as she folded her arms. “We don’t talk a great deal about strategy in here, but without a larger, overarching strategy, even the best tactics in the universe probably won’t win a war. One of the great advantages of sea power is its ability to forward deploy; to provide a sovereign asset in foreign and sometimes hostile areas. This is true from the first fleets of ancient Rome and Sparta, to my current time, with the Manticoran, Grayson, and Haven fleets. It’s what is generally referred to as power projection. This ‘power projection’ was one of the key factors driving Roosevelt’s actions. He wanted to prove that, though the U.S. Navy and military hadn’t fought at Trafalgar, and hadn’t defeated the Spanish Armada, they were growing to a force to be reckoned with.”
“The fleet,” she said, pulling out a chart, “followed this route.” The route of the fleet had been mapped out according to the ships’ logs, the vectors laid out in red. “In the early 1900s, this was no small accomplishment. They moved slower – not as slow as, say, the Victory -- but leaping from port to port took time. And look – the cruise took them not through the Panama Canal, which hadn’t been completed as yet, but instead through the very rough, very harsh Straits of Magellan.”
Leaning back, she smiled. “And here endeth the history lesson. Now, we’re going to embark onto Kearsage. As with the first class, you’ll grab your minicomps and stylus from the box just on deck. Visit the locations listed, familiarize yourself with the ship. Pay particular attention to the engine room, and the boilers; write down observations you have regarding comparisons to the Age of Sail ship. Next week, I’d like two pages on which you’d preferred to have sailed – the Victory or the Kearsage, with your justifications.
“Once you’ve completed your tour of the ship, you’re free to go. Return your minicomp to the bin on the way out.
“Now... be about it, ladies and gentlemen.” As the rest of the class rose from their seats, Honor looked to Alanna. “Ms. Trebond, you’ll be here on the dock with me.” She handed over a minicomp. “Review the information on this – touching the screen with the stylus will advance to the next page, drawing it to the left will reverse it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
The admiral then returned to her perch on the desktop nearby.
[OCD threadscoming up!]
Admiral Harrington waited for the class at the end of the pier, just before one of the larger ships. She wore her Grayson uniform today – bright blue with blue shirt and tie, cover tossed onto an empty desk. Nimitz lounged in one of the many seats with desks that had been provided; a small table sat off to the side with the usual array of light snacks, hot chocolate, water, and tea.
“Good afternoon, all,” she said, adopting a slight smile. “I hope you had a wonderful, invasion-free weekend.”
Seating herself on one of the desks, her foot in a chair, she leant forward a bit to maintain her balance. “The past two weeks, we’ve been examining the ships and tactics from the Age of Sail; more specifically, we’ve been crawling around English, French, and Spanish ships of the line, and examining British sea power. Today, we’re jumping ahead about 100 years to the Age of Steam…and the emergence of the United States as a sea power.
“In the 100 years between Trafalgar and the Age of Steam, there are several small steps to pave the way. Key among them are the improvement of the steam engine, the development of the propulsion screw, and the invention of the ironclad.”
Rising from her seat, she moved back to the front of the group. “Make no mistake – the steam engine, in the 1800s, wasn’t exactly new; it had actually been around since before the Common Era. In the late 1600s, however, the piston was added, and more improvements throughout the 1700 and 1800s made the engine even more efficient.” She paused, smiling. “As this isn’t an engineering class, I’ll spare you further details. Let’s just say that, by the 1800s, it could have been possible to have steam-powered vessels.
“As with most technology, however, navies were slow to adopt them. Prior to the invention of the propulsion screw, they were fairly impractical in a tactical theatre, due to the space needed for navigation housing. In the 1840s, however, the invention of the propulsion screw – and its first deployments among British ships – revolutionized this. The steamship became more stable, and, eventually, capable of traversing great distances without the use of sails. So long, of course, as they had a ready coal supply.
“The ironclads, then, were basically wooden steamships, with tough, armor plating, and armaments such as guns, rather than straight canon. The newer ships – at that time – had large caliber guns, mounted on elevated turrets. Given our examples of the last two weeks, what effect would this have had on tactics practiced prior to this point?”
Honor allowed students a few minutes to respond before moving on in the lecture. “Okay, so... we have Age of Sail to Age of Steam; canon to guns and turrets. That brings us to American President Teddy Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet.
“What you see behind you is the USS Kearsage, lead ship in its class, and one of the seventeen ships of the Fleet. It was commissioned in 1900, and was one of the older ships in the fleet when she and the others set sail in December of 1907.”
Here, she paused, pursing her lips as she folded her arms. “We don’t talk a great deal about strategy in here, but without a larger, overarching strategy, even the best tactics in the universe probably won’t win a war. One of the great advantages of sea power is its ability to forward deploy; to provide a sovereign asset in foreign and sometimes hostile areas. This is true from the first fleets of ancient Rome and Sparta, to my current time, with the Manticoran, Grayson, and Haven fleets. It’s what is generally referred to as power projection. This ‘power projection’ was one of the key factors driving Roosevelt’s actions. He wanted to prove that, though the U.S. Navy and military hadn’t fought at Trafalgar, and hadn’t defeated the Spanish Armada, they were growing to a force to be reckoned with.”
“The fleet,” she said, pulling out a chart, “followed this route.” The route of the fleet had been mapped out according to the ships’ logs, the vectors laid out in red. “In the early 1900s, this was no small accomplishment. They moved slower – not as slow as, say, the Victory -- but leaping from port to port took time. And look – the cruise took them not through the Panama Canal, which hadn’t been completed as yet, but instead through the very rough, very harsh Straits of Magellan.”
Leaning back, she smiled. “And here endeth the history lesson. Now, we’re going to embark onto Kearsage. As with the first class, you’ll grab your minicomps and stylus from the box just on deck. Visit the locations listed, familiarize yourself with the ship. Pay particular attention to the engine room, and the boilers; write down observations you have regarding comparisons to the Age of Sail ship. Next week, I’d like two pages on which you’d preferred to have sailed – the Victory or the Kearsage, with your justifications.
“Once you’ve completed your tour of the ship, you’re free to go. Return your minicomp to the bin on the way out.
“Now... be about it, ladies and gentlemen.” As the rest of the class rose from their seats, Honor looked to Alanna. “Ms. Trebond, you’ll be here on the dock with me.” She handed over a minicomp. “Review the information on this – touching the screen with the stylus will advance to the next page, drawing it to the left will reverse it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
The admiral then returned to her perch on the desktop nearby.
[OCD threads
Re: On the Pier
Re: On the Pier
Re: On the Pier
Re: On the Pier
- hopefully it'll be Monday or Wednesday. I could let you know." He grinned with a bit of pride. "We do have quite a few different styles. Last term people demonstrated their personal styles a few times. We've several new fighters as well."