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Iron Chancellor and Iron Duke

A Naval Front-line story

The pride of the King's Navy, battlecruiser HMS Hood, has been lost.

The German battleship Bismarck and her escort, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, had broken past the blockade and escaped into the North Atlantic. To stop them from harassing convoys from America, Hood and her companion, Prince of Wales, were dispatched to intercept them.

Not much is known of the events of the battle, but it is clear Hood sustained a series of hits that caused a massive explosion, which cut the ship in two. Prince of Wales took no less than three hits, and its quadruple turrets jammed, forcing it to retire. With Bismarck returning to Europe, orders have come directly from Prime Minister Churchill himself:

Sink the Bismarck at all costs"

The captain of HMS Iron Duke, also in command of a detachment that also included sister battlecruisers HMS Renown and HMS Manticore, was ordered to leave his station near Gibraltar and link up with a fleet lead by the battleships Rodney and King George V.

Not long after departing, the group encountered a German-Japanese oiler convoy. As it was escorted by only two destroyers and a light cruisers, the five ships were sunk with little difficulty.

But more, and more difficult, obstacles emerged. First, a Kriegsmarine detachment, lead by an old dreadnought, engaged Iron Dukes group. Although, aside from the dreadnought, it consisted of only two cruisers and two destroyers, damage began mounting. Four hits from the light cruiser Nürnberg damaged the engines of Manticore, causing to fall to the back of the formation, and a series of hits from the destroyers hurt several of Iron Dukes secondary guns. But no ships were lost, and eventually the German forced retreated.

But apparently the German navy had got wind of the movements of Iron Dukes ships, and has night fell the next day, a fleet lead by the pocket battleship Deutschland, and consisting of two light cruisers and two U-boats emerged from behind an island. The sluggish Manticore proved easy pickings for the U-boats, and a spread ignited her magazine, causing her to explode.

The Deutschland herself fell to Iron Dukes guns, and both her and Renown netted a light cruiser each, though the latter took five shells before claiming her victim. Keen-eyed watchmen directed the faster firing secondary guns, which managed to take out the U-boats before either of them were damaged further.

Radioing in to the Admiralty, they reported their situation. Deeming them too damaged to effectively participate in the chase for Bismarck, the two ships were ordered home for repairs. Besides, they were told, they'd lost track of Bismarck.

Almost two days later, as they were about to round Brittany, masts were spotted on the horizon. As they neared, they were identified as an Admiral Hipper class heavy cruiser, and Bismarck herself.

There was only one option, as the range was close enough that even turning directly away would keep them in enemy gun range for a few less minutes. In any case, with the damage sustained, the Germans would catch up anyway.

With Renown forming up behind, the captain of the Iron Duke took his ships in, looking to strike has hard as they can, making Rodney and King George V's job easier.

Iron Dukes captain took a moment to be thankful that his ships' refit replaced the original 13.5' guns with 15' guns. The fact that Hood was also armed with 15' guns was mentally pushed to the side.

Single shots were fired as both sides tried to find the range. It was the Germans who drew first blood, when a round Prinz Eugen