Jutland Cruiser

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*"Fire the main guns! Friendlies in Danger Close!"*

- Arnold Torre, Captain of the USS Fearless, and former Allied Rear Admiral
## Tactical Analysis

* **That'll cut'cha back down to size:** The Cruiser is the pinnacle of shore bombardment, in strength if not in accuracy. A commander can anchor the Cruiser on the shore of an enemy-held area and let it fire its guns until the enemy is dust.

* **Son, I'm gonna blow that ship of yours out of the water:** The *Jutland*-class was also designed to use armor piercing shells for ship to ship combat. Though ineffective for bombardment, a direct hit from a 15 inch shell will take just about any ship out of commission.

* **Can't hit the broad side of a barn door:** Unfortunately, the Cruiser isn't the most accurate of ships. Anything hit will explode well enough, but hitting is the hard part. Aircraft are also a problem.

* **Sometimes you just need a little more gun:** Cruiser crews are mostly rookies, but once they become familiar with their ship, they'll be able to add auxililary turrets that the Cruiser was designed for but never implemented with.

## Operational History

The *Jutland*-class Battlecruiser, or **Cruiser** as it is commonly known, was a sneaky way to keep British guns on the seas in spite of the Treaty of Versailles. Its operational weight is almost the exact weight that was allowed (legend goes that HMS Jutland needed to throw its mattresses overboard to save weight), and using as much of that weight as weapons. This was similar to the Germans' "pocket" battleships, but unlike them the British could build much more. Soon, the British regained their place as ruler of the seas with an entire fleet of these speedy, powerful ships, and would play a critical part when WWII broke out.

The Cruisers were one of the first responders in WWII, attacking Soviet ships attempting to break out of the North Sea, and only the Soviet *Potemkin*-class and *Dreadnought*-class battleships were able to stand up to it. Until widespread submarine deployment, the Jutland would smash any Soviet presence foolish enough to show themselves near the ocean. Even afterward the Cruiser anchored Allied fleets wherever they went, and with proper escorts were nearly invincible, destroying anything the Soviets had. Of the many "official" reasons as to why the Allies won against such odds, the *Jutland*-class and the naval superiority it provided is the most popular.

Even after the war, the Cruiser was a lynchpin of Allied naval operations. While rapidly being eclipsed by Aircraft Carriers like the *Von Esling*-class, there were few better ways to fling metal into Soviet bases. In WWIII they provided fire support to many operations, and provided escorts to convoys. Even now, many are in active duty, but an unsettling trend is happening; many of these ships are committing mutiny. Worse still, they're joining the fledgling Continental Navy in the United States.

The causes of this are many. Some crewmen and officers are simply too loyal to the United States to serve with the Allies anymore, and Cruisers are some of the most heavily manned ships in the Navy. A few believe all cruisers are due to be mothballed, and want to take the ships out in a blaze of glory. Most prevalent, though, is a sense of resentment over how the Allies "threw away" so many American *Pennsylvania*-class battleships in the Pacific during WWIII, many of which the Japanese destroyed. Regardless of why the mutinies did happen, with any loyalists left put on lifeboats. This means the Cruisers are woefully undermanned, but many Continental recruits have replaced them, and experience shows that the Continentals are very quick learners.