Sea Smackdown
My greetings to all connoisseurs of thrilling drama!
To me, there are no simple battles.
They are either boring or interesting.
And today's battle is very interesting,
as if the script was written by William Shakespeare himself.
Two heroes in one battle.
Yes, this pair of captains showed excellent results, real teamwork,
and unbelievable dedication... But, first things first!
Players Warlord78 and Sairalinde from the NA server
entered a Tier X battle with their Tier VIII ships—Alabama and Shokaku.
However, experienced captains are difficult
to surprise with a turn of events like this.
Here, it’s essential to act skillfully and carefully.
Let's begin with reconnaissance.
Our aircraft carrier launched all her squadrons and sent them to key area C;
Alabama sailed there as well at a leisurely pace
(not that she has any other pace).
Akizuki momentarily showed herself from behind
a smoke screen and immediately attracted the attention of our Shokaku.
Like bees to a flower, our aircraft rushed towards
the smoke bouquet blossoming near key area C.
Two blind attacks and, as they say,
"Stay in smoke too long— get ready to dock at Port."
That's First Blood! And our bombers
hit Shimakaze at the same time. Nice multitasking!
Meanwhile, Alabama kept herself busy as well.
A full broadside and Minotaur's HP pool suddenly became 38 thousand points lighter.
A good start!
However, the opposing team have already captured
two control points and retired two of our destroyers.
The resupplied aircraft from our Shokaku approach point B.
A dogfight breaks out between fighter planes,
while the strike squadrons attack Atago.
The Japanese hospitably sheltered three torpedoes at once in her side!
And the allied Alabama continues working
on the already scant HP reserve of Minotaur.
The outcome: a journey to Port
for the Brit and the first frag for our American.
Passions in the battle are rising:
the teams began to actively recycle each other for scrap metal.
Our friends also joined the fun and added two frags to the team score.
However, the reds are still in the lead by ships.
4:6!
And the difference in score is almost 400 points.
It's time to change up the situation!
Shokaku was the first to distinguish herself
by skillfully catching an enemy Gearing,
which was going to sneak up on our Alabama.
The battleship kept up with her teammate,
sinking a cocky Tirpitz with a couple of salvos.
Our friends have already scored six frags between them.
Well, at least we evened out the number of ships...
Not for long! The enemy sent an allied Baltimore to Poseidon.
We're now three against four and lagging behind by almost 350 points!
Alabama sets off to capture area B,
but her efforts are blocked by North Carolina and Neptune!
In addition, Fletcher lurks nearby
and I bet she wouldn't mind wearing out the nerves
and combat capability of our battleship with her torpedoes.
Shokaku races to rescue her teammate
and attacks Carolina with her torpedo bombers.
The planes fall one after another, hit by intensive
antiaircraft fire from the US battleship.
But their sacrifice paid off—three of our torpedoes reach the target!
Well, one of them didn't arm, but that's no big deal.
Suddenly, the sky became dark, blocked out
by the wings of the air armada approaching our Shokaku!
Of course, Defensive AA Fire cushioned the daring attack
and our hero survived, but lost a good half of their HP!
Our carrier had hardly any time to come to their senses
before the enemy Neptune covered North Carolina
with smoke to allow her to restore some HP.
And at the same time,
the Brit mercilessly finished off our last destroyer.
Two against four! Key areas A and B are still under enemy control.
And they have a lead of 400 points!
But Neptune didn't escape unpunished—
even from the sea floor our destroyer managed to have its revenge.
Now there's just enemy Carolina at key area B,
and our allies rushed to do away with her.
A couple of successful attacks by torpedo bombers,
a helping of APs—and the number of ships in each team is even again!
But here comes Fletcher!
The destroyer is determined to put an end to our carrier!
Shokaku is pummeled by a downpour of HE shells!
Her deck is on fire! 17,000 HP left!
The air-dropped torpedoes forced Fletcher
to make a turn and expose her side to a salvo from Alabama.
The destroyer has only 900 HP now!
This is what I call good teamwork!
But our carrier is rapidly losing her HP too!
8,000 left! Should we extinguish the fire? Not yet!
4,700! And an island saves Shokaku from complete destruction!
Now we can put out the fire! Enemy torpedo bombers are just 2 km away!
They attack Alabama, and our ally is having a hard time!
Two fires are already blazing onboard the battleship, and torpedoes are coming!
There's no dodging them! First hit! Second! Third!
Enabling the Damage Control Party! Gosh! We've survived this!
While the battleship was held back by the air raid, Fletcher hid in smoke.
Our carrier tries her luck with a blind release.
And misses!
Meanwhile, Alabama manages to capture area B,
but the "red" team has already scored 950 points!
Losing any ship now means losing the battle!
Both we and the enemies understand this.
Fletcher rushes recklessly at our Shokaku!
But the Japanese carrier is reserved
like a Grandmaster and reads the enemy's intentions.
Her attack squadrons are maneuvering in the area,
waiting for the right moment!
Torpedoes launched! Fletcher is dodging them!
But not all—one torpedo hits the very tip of her stern!
Eighth ship destroyed by our Division!
But 2 and a half minutes remain till the end of the battle,
and we don't have too much HP,
while there's still an undamaged carrier in the enemy team.
And most importantly, even with one base, the enemies are winning by points!
Time is really short! Our aircraft detected the carrier!
Alabama fires a salvo! Missed!
Shokaku's torpedo bombers are launching an attack.
Three torpedoes hit the target! But that's not enough!
The score is 800 to 975!
Our last bomber has passed through anti-aircraft fire
and sets the carrier on fire.
Alabama manages to fire one more salvo before the island blocks our view!
820 to 987!
One minute left!
Another group of torpedo bombers in the air!
This is our last chance!
830 to 990!
The enemy triggers Defensive AA Fire! Torpedoes launched!
First one... Got it!
Second one... Another hit!
Third one... Bullseye!
Victory!
Yesss! It's been a while since I saw an ending as dramatic as this!
The enemies were leading by score for the whole match,
and they were just seven points away from victory!
Our heroes sent nine ships to port, earning High Caliber each.
This means the two of them took away over 60% of the enemy team's total HP!
For their composure, gallantry, smart tactics, and mutual assistance,
the two heroes earned glory and respect among players!
Of course, we won't leave them without
some Doubloons and a commemorative flag.
And if you, my friend, believe you deserve
to raise the Sea Smackdown flag on your ship,
send me your replay!