At the turn of the 20th century, amid souring relations with Britain,
Germany sought to shore up its greatest weakness
in the face of a hypothetical war with the island superpower—its Navy.
For a while, between two and four battleships
were being laid down in German shipyards every year.
Most of these new capital ships,
with the exception of the Kaiser-and König-classes,
bore the names of the diverse territories that made up the young German Empire.
However, not all 25 of these kingdoms, duchies, and principalities
got their own namesake battleship.
For example, the small but proud Duchy of Anhalt,
which survived the collapse of the empire after the First World War
and formally existed until 1945.
In World of Warships,
we decided to give this historic region a battleship worthy of its noble name.
Welcome German Tier VIII Premium battleship Anhalt.
Battleship Bayern was used as the basis for this project.
While the same armor scheme was carried over,
Anhalt’s firepower was enhanced by replacing Bayern’s four 380 mm twin turrets
with five triple mounts bearing 350 mm guns
similar to those aboard Mackensen-class battlecruisers.
And so, Anhalt has almost twice as many main battery guns as its prototype.
Such a design could have hypothetically been laid down in 1918,
but in our game, we completed the ship
taking into account the modernizations it would have been subjected to
if it had not only been built, but survived until the mid-1940s.
So, don’t be surprised to see the ship’s secondary battery casemates sealed up,
and the addition of dual-purpose 105 mm guns,
comprehensive anti-aircraft weaponry,
fire control and radar arrays,
as well as an aircraft catapult and recovery crane.
Anhalt has also undergone structural changes
that would have significantly altered her appearance by the 1940s,
such as the addition of the characteristic Atlantic Bow;
the reconstruction of the forward superstructure
in a style similar to cruiser Admiral Graf Spee;
and, due to the replacement of its old machinery,
a single compact steel funnel.
And like this, many more tweaks of varying complexity were carefully added
until battleship Anhalt was finally ready to set sail.
In addition to her 15 fairly accurate main battery guns,
Anhalt can make use of twenty 105 and 150 mm secondary battery guns,
and four 700 mm torpedo tubes.
As for protection,
Anhalt’s armor stands strong against HE and SAP shells,
but it should be kept in mind
that large-caliber AP salvos can prove devastating to the ship’s citadel
when hitting from the side.
What tactics should you adopt when helming Anhalt into battle?
Well, in principle,
Anhalt is equipped to operate well at both long and short distances
thanks to her good concealment and decent accuracy on one hand,
and her strong survivability and versatile torpedo armament on the other.
However, there are some nuances to consider here:
while the HE shells fired from her main battery have good armor penetration values,
they deal low damage.
And as for her torpedoes,
they should be launched sparingly,
as there are only four torpedo tubes available.
And one more thing:
Anhalt’s low speed means that making a run for it can be a struggle;
so, once you get into brawling range, you’re committed to it.
Based on this, the best course of action for Anhalt
is to find a happy medium between the two playstyles
by engaging at medium distances.
To aid in this, I suggest the following upgrades:
Main Armaments Modification 1,
Damage Control System Modification 1,
Aiming Systems Modification 1,
Damage Control system Modification 2,
and Concealment System Modification 1.
Now, before we say goodbye,
let me remind you to participate in today’s Armada Raffle.
The prize—a bundle with Anhalt, a Port slot,
and Commander Mistress of the Seven Seas with 10 skill points—
will go to one of our channel’s subscribers
who both likes this video and answers the following question correctly—
"Why was the battleship named Anhalt?"
In the comment with your answer,
indicate both your in-game nickname and the server you play on.
We’ll announce the winner in the next Armada episode.
Until then, Good Luck and Fair Seas!