The Azizos class of four ships were completed in two pairs. The Azizos had all of the aircraft handling facilities on completion in 1940-41, while the Clitomachus pair had those facilities removed before their completion in 1942-43. The design of the ships were an expansion of the previous Sydyk class, with the size of the ships going to the 45,000 ton escalation clause as Japan had not signed the treaty by 1935. The gloves were off.
The design work started in 1934 when it was fairly clear Japan had no intention of being bound by any treaty. The 45,000 ton design grew to 48,000 tons as details of the design were firmed up. The speed requirement was kept at 28 knots, the same as the Sydyk. The armament would improve by one triple turret to give four triple 16". Thought had been given to an armament of 8x18" the same as the Hannibal, but the extra time taken to prove a new gun line was deemed unnecessary when the new 16" designed for the Sydyk was proving to be such an excellent weapon. The twin 5" was kept as the secondary armament with the 40mm and 20mm providing the light armament. The biggest change was in armour protection. Over half of the extra tonnage was put into underwater and deck protection. Aircraft and torpedoes had come a long way since WW1 and these changes acknowledged this.
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The Clitomachus sub-class was completed with the aircraft handling facilities removed and the ships boats placed in the space provided. The extra space around the aft funnel was filled with more AA guns. Ditching the aircraft meant the hangar and new deckhouse between the funnels could be partitioned up into accommodation and offices. All the extra weapons and electronics needed people to run them, and those people required homing somewhere on the ship. The Azizos and Carthalo were brought up to this standard in their 1943 major refit.
Late 1940 and Greenland now has four modern and six modernised battleships, four fleet and two light fleet carriers it can use to start taking back lost territory. The United States has been forced to enter the war early in October 1940 using the sinking of an American ship and the loss of US civilians aboard the ship as the pretext to declare war. The first job was to ease the pressure on Britain and Russia by forcing Germany to divert troops to what should have been non-essential areas. Whatever ready US troops and Task Force Atlantic are tasked with joining Greenlandian and French forces based in Greenland for an attack on North Africa. Operation Torch 12 months early. The North African coast was lightly held with a few Iberian troops and a German regiment of armour. The firepower of the supporting ships overwhelmed the defenses of the landing areas chosen. The Allied troops poured ashore and captured the the major port of Casablanca. The formations were gathered together and went along the coast rolling up the ports on the Mediterranean coast.
Two months later Canadian. British, Australian, Zealandian, Greenlandian, French and US troops land on Iberian soil. The first objective is to retake Gibraltar so that the Allied fleets can have uninterrupted access to the Mediterannean. The other two major points of interest are the north and south entrances to the Iberian Peninsular at the north and south end of the Pyrenees. Take those points and Iberia is isolated and likely to surrender. Any German troops based in Iberia could start to feel very lonely. The loss of another German division in Iberia when it was cut off and surrounded just made things worse. More troops would need to be found to bolster the forces in France which was considered the gateway to Germany.
The surrender of Iberia has a knock on effect in Southern Russia which had Iberian divisions in the Axis Army Group South. The Russians were kept up to date with the events in Iberia and were ready to strike when Iberia surrendered, the Iberian troops in Russia surrendered to the Russians who poured troops through the gaping hole in the German lines created by these actions. From being on the verge of victory the Germans now found themselves fighting for survival. The Russians were making a very good job of rolling up the German line.
Having complete sea power in the Mediterranean meant the Allies could pick and choose where they wanted to make their landings into Axis territory. It was decided early that there was no need to worry about Italy and the Balkan Peninsular. Italy, Greece, and Galicia could be isolated and they would surrender when the writing was on the wall for them. For Germany to keep these countries in the war supporting the Axis, German troops would need to be based there to stiffen the resolve of those countries. Another drain on German resources. The North African forces were rolling along the coast road, accepting the surrender of tens of thousands of Italians who had had enough of fighting. There are pictures of hundreds of Italian prisoners being marched to holding areas with just one soldier guarding them.
The Germans had their best troops committed to Russia and France. Troops that could not be removed from those areas without dire consequences. Only brand new formations with little training were available to try to plug the gaping holes appearing in the Axis Master Plan.
It was decided the Allied forces would continue along the North African coast through Egypt and up into the soft underbelly of the Axis in Turkey. Knock Turkey out of the war and another German Army would be trapped in Southern Russia trying to get through to the Caucasus oil fields through some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. Armoured units proved almost useless as they had to stick to the roads and just became targets. Losing the ability to manoeuvre and fire took away the tanks usefulness. Russian Sturmovik aircraft had a field day. They were known as the flying tank for a reason.
December 1941, the Japanese struck, Americas focus changed as Army, Navy and Air force units needed to be diverted to the Pacific region. Roosevelt promised that it still needed to be Germany first. The Germans were too innovative to be given the time to perfect their terror weapons into war winning weapons.
I will continue to follow the Greenlandian Navies part in WW2 in the next few drawings with the aircraft carriers.
