There is a town named Strasbourg in the east of France,
which is the historical capital of the Alsace region.
Over the past century, the town hasn't changed much—
it has expanded along its outskirts with new housing,
but its central square with the grand cathedral
and old narrow streets with open cafes still look beautiful.
You might ask how this cozy town,
located 600 km away from the nearest sea,
relates to the naval history…
By a ship, my dear friends.
By a mighty battleship that was built in the 1930s.
Please welcome battleship of the Marine Nationale—Strasbourg!
Strasbourg was the second battleship of the Dunkerque class.
They were the first French capital ships to be built after World War I.
They're rightfully considered to be pioneers of the fast-moving battleship age,
and were symbols of naval power in the 1930s–40s.
The ship encapsulated many innovative ideas in its design,
and it was quite a powerful and well-protected ship for its size.
The main task of the French shipbuilders
was to design a ship that would be able to fight
against the German “pocket battleships”— Deutschland-class armored ships.
Strasbourg was laid down in 1934, almost 3 years after Dunkerque had been,
and she entered service at the beginning of 1939.
The ship was almost identical to her sistership in terms of her structure,
but surpassed Dunkerque in the armor thickness of her main belt,
main turrets, and barbettes, as well as her bow and aft traverses.
Quite effective and with the deepest mine protection system in the world,
decent horizontal armor for her time,
a powerful dual-purpose battery
that utilized cutting-edge technology in its design—
all these features were further developed in subsequent battleships.
The fate of Strasbourg, as well as that of her sistership,
turned out to be very dramatic,
and we couldn’t resist adding the battleship
to the ranks of our other ships in World of Warships,
where she has found her place at Tier VII.
Strasbourg is different from lead ship of the series, Dunkerque,
which can be found one tier below,
by her enhanced armor, which exactly reflects reality.
French quadruple main turrets are also installed at her bow end.
Every turret houses 330 mm guns.
The ship is perfect for long- and medium-range battles,
as she has a decent firing range for her tier
that can be temporarily increased with the Spotting Aircraft consumable.
The battleship already has a high firing rate from the outset,
and the Main Battery Reload Booster consumable—
which is quite a rare feature for ships of her type—
is a vivid feature of Strasbourg
that will definitely come as an unpleasant surprise to her enemies.
If an enemy ship is nice enough to turn their broadside towards you,
Strasbourg will deal significant damage to them in no time
without even having to expose herself,
because all of her turrets are located at her bow end.
In the heat of the battle,
one should remember that Strasbourg doesn't have the best armor
and her HP pool is one of the lowest at her tier.
Because of that, you should avoid getting close to enemies if possible.
The most practical solution is the following tactic:
At the beginning of a battle, move to the flank and fire from afar.
Prevent enemies from advancing by aiming at the sides of cruisers and battleships.
Then, if the combat scenario allows for it,
you can take your chance and approach the enemy with your bow facing them.
The ship has decent maneuverability and speed.
When it's necessary, Strasbourg can change her attack direction
or retreat swiftly.
Now, let's talk about the Commander skills
and ship upgrades that will help you in battle.
Train a 10-skill-point Commander with the skills Priority Target,
Adrenaline Rush, Superintendent, and Concealment Expert.
Add the following skills for a 19-skill-point Commander:
Fire Prevention, Basics of Survivability, and Jack of All Trades.
With respect to upgrades,
it's reasonable to choose Main Armaments Modification 1,
Damage Control System Modification 1,
Aiming Systems Modification 1,
and Damage Control System Modification 2.
I'm sure that you'll appreciate all capabilities
of French battleship Strasbourg,
as well as the beauty of the marvelous town in Eastern France
that the ship was named after.
Well, if you ever happen to travel to Alsace, that is!
Good luck, Captains!