Nineteenth Century
January 1, 1862: Seamus Patrick Shannon is born in County Cork, Ireland. He will immigrate to the US with his parents when he is 10. They will settle in Houston, where Seamus’ father Donald will go to work for what will eventually become the Texaco Oil Company. The Shannons are poor for the first few years they are in the states, but Seamus’ father Donald invests what he can in the new industry – as it turns out, a wise move.
July 2, 1865: Antoinette Catherine (Toni) Boyle is born in Houston, Texas. Her father is a respected physician and she wants very much to follow in his footsteps, but that is simply not possible for a woman in her place and time. Nursing, however, isn’t out of the question, and she becomes a highly respected nurse and midwife in the growing city.
1887: Donald Shannon’s investments pay off when the first true wells start producing in 1887, and the Shannons suddenly find themselves wealthy. Seamus’ father immediately sends his son to the University of Texas to get an engineering degree, and the young man graduates with honors in 1891.
1891: Having read Alfred T. Mahan’s The Influence Of Sea Power Upon History while at the University of Texas, Seamus Shannon decides that he wants to be a part of the growing US Navy. However, there are no regular billets open, so with some help from his father (who gets assistance from some local politicians) Shannon is commissioned in the still-new Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant. In the meantime, he works for his father’s oil company, taking a particular interest in the new technology of oil tankers. He goes to sea working as a deckhand but quickly proves his skill and ability. In two years, he is first mate on a coastal oil tanker for his father’s oil company.
1893: Seamus meets Antoinette Boyle after one of his crewmen is injured in a dockside accident and she accompanies her father to treat the man. They begin a relationship and marry on June 6th, 1895. Their first son, Matthew James Shannon, is born on September 27th, 1897.
1896: Shannon is given command of a coastal oil tanker.
September 27, 1897: Matthew James Shannon is born.
February 15, 1898: The armored cruiser Maine (ACR-1) is lost in Havana Harbor. Although it is far more likely that Maine is lost due to an accidental magazine explosion, at the time it is firmly believed that Spain has mined the ship in retaliation for the US stance against Spanish atrocities in Cuba. Lieutenant Shannon is called up, but is originally assigned to the battleship New York. Once more calling in some favors, Shannon is reassigned to take command of the torpedo boat USS Winslow (TB-5).
Counterfactual (Spanish American War 1898...and a little bit in 2205 )
May 11, 1898: The events related in TIPOTS: Counterfactual. Lieutenant Shannon wins (or may not win) the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Cardenas, where he sank (or didn’t sink) a Spanish torpedo boat. Now a Lieutenant Commander, Shannon returns home a hero and takes command of his father’s small but growing fleet of tankers.
Twentieth Century
June 6, 1900: Moira Colleen Shannon is born.
January 10, 1901: The Spindletop gusher comes in, signaling the beginning of the great Texas oil boom. The Texaco Oil Company is founded almost immediately and starts buying up local companies much the same way John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company did in the East. Texaco purchases the Kerr County Oil Company not just for its oil; but also for its tanker fleet, and Shannon’s father retires a multi-millionaire. Shannon himself stays on with the new company and takes command of their growing tanker fleet.
February 15, 1903: Brian James Shannon is born.
1914: Matthew Shannon is nominated to the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Class of ’18.
1917: The US enters World War I on April 6th. Along with many other midshipmen, Matthew Shannon is called up for duty and commissioned as a brevet Ensign. He is assigned to the infant US submarine fleet and becomes second officer aboard USS L-11 (SS-51). The L-11 serves in Ireland, and Matt Shannon gains a reputation as a highly skilled and motivated officer. By the time the war ends on November 11, 1918, Shannon has risen to the rank of Lieutenant and is in command of the new USS R-20 (SS-97). His future in the US Navy is bright.
1920: Brian Shannon follows in his brother’s footsteps and reports to the US Naval Academy, Class of ’24. He graduates in the top 10% of his class. He is assigned to the battleship Arizona as a junior gunnery officer.
1920-33: The Shannons have stellar careers in the between-the-war US Navy. James Shannon doesn’t make Lieutenant Commander until 1930, but he is given command of many new subs as they come out of the yards and gets their crews trained. In the meantime, Brian is forging a reputation as a tough but fair officer respected and admired by both his fellow officers and his crews. Although Brian doesn’t make Lieutenant until 1930, it is no reflection on him, simply a result of the parsimonious nature of the US Navy in those days. In 1933, Brian Shannon is asked to go on a temporary leave of absence due to funding cuts. He and a childhood friend join Seamus (in command of a Texaco tanker) on a trip to Cuba that fall. While there, Seamus is attacked a by a gang of toughs and Brian and his friend rescue him, getting to the US Embassy just inches ahead of the enraged hoodlums. President Franklin Roosevelt hears about the incident and brings Brian to the White House as a member of the US Navy staff there.
Piranha (Sheer fun and adventure, January 1934, up next)
January 10, 1934: Lieutenant Commander Matthew Shannon, commanding USS S-52, is lost at sea along with his boat and crew. The public is told that it was an unfortunate accident, but in reality a prototype warship being built for the Nazis has sunk S-52. The events detailed in TIPOTS: Piranha follow.
1936: Brian Shannon, now a Lieutenant Commander, returns to sea duty as Gunnery Officer aboard USS Idaho. With friends in the White House and a sterling reputation, his rise is fast, and as the USN starts to rebuild in the late 30s Shannon is tapped early for command. In 1939 he becomes XO of USS New York, then is assigned as CO of USS Texas in 1940. President Roosevelt has made it known that he would have preferred Shannon to take command of the then building USS North Carolina, but senior admirals dig their heels in, citing Shannon’s comparative youth (he is only 39, by far the youngest battleship skipper in the USN).
Those In Peril On The Sea (USS Texas vs KM Bismarck, May 1941, published)
May 1941: The Nazi battleship Bismarck makes a run for the North Atlantic convoy lanes, sinking the British battlecruiser Hood and seriously damaging the new BB Prince of Wales. Unknown to all but the highest levels of the USN, President Roosevelt has quietly ordered a backup plan to go after Bismarck in the event she should escape the British. The events of TIPOTS: Those In Peril On The Sea follow. Hitler declares war on the US before the end of May, while cancelling Operation Barbarossa in order to defeat the US and the UK. In addition, the Japanese cancel the strike on Pearl Harbor, feeling that the US will be in too high a state of readiness
Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot (England, June 1941)
June 1941: An enraged Hitler throws the U-boats against the US and Britain, telling his commanders to sink everything they can, regardless of losses. The Atlantic Fleet comes perilously close to being sent back to its ports, and the Royal Navy is barely able to stay together. Starvation rations are imposed in the United Kingdom by the end of June, and a group of Nazi sympathizers in the British government begin a conspiracy to overthrow Churchill, replace Edward VIII on the throne, and take England out of the war as a Nazi ally. The events of TIPOTS: Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot follow.
Case Vulkan (USS Texas vs Fiendish German Commandos, July-September 1941, completed)
July-September 1941: The USN, frantically transferring ships from the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic, manages to just barely hold the line. The cost, however, is grim – two battleships seriously damaged, four cruisers sunk, dozens of destroyers sunk or critically damaged. The events of TIPOTS: Case Vulkan follow.
November 11, 1941: The Armistice Day Massacre. FDR meets with his military commanders in what is supposed to be general strategy session, but it erupts into a vicious free-for-all, with the commanders flatly accusing FDR of misleading them as to the circumstances surrounding America’s entry into the war and blaming him for the reverses they’ve taken so far. George Marshall and Ernest King are the only ones who know the true story, but as their memoirs will later show they felt betrayed by Roosevelt’s efforts to get the US into the war. In the meantime, Congress makes an attempt at impeaching Roosevelt. This will drag out until August and will eventually be dropped, but Roosevelt is almost more preoccupied with his political survival than the military situation.
Kilroy Was Here (Christmas story, 1941, published)
December 24, 1941: The events of TIPOTS/Kilroy Was Here.
We Shall Meet At Yasakune (First Philippine Sea, April 1942)
April 12, 1942: The Japanese Empire declares war on the US, UK, France, and the Netherlands. The assault begins with an all-out air attack on the Philippines by the IJN and JAAF, after which the IJN task force moves out to the Philippine Sea. Although Douglas MacArthur’s forces are well equipped, MacArthur has wasted the months he had to get his troops fortified and dug in, believing that the Japanese will attack Hong Kong or Australia. His troops are caught in their barracks, his aircraft caught on their ramps, and only the foreboding of the USN commander keeps his ships from being sunk at dockside. By the end of the third day, Japanese troops are landing in force on West and North Luzon. MacArthur is seemingly paralyzed and his subordinates, particularly General Richard Sutherland, spend more time angling for personal power instead of trying to stop the Japanese invasion. The saddest part of the entire disaster is that MacArthur had more manpower, supplies, and artillery than the invading Japanese ever did and his airpower – though qualitatively somewhat inferior – should have been more than a match if properly employed. The US immediately declares war on Japan and mobilizes the Pacific Fleet in accordance with War Plan Orange. The result is the First Battle Of The Philippine Sea and the events of TIPOTS/We Shall Meet At Yasakune follow.
May 1942: The results of First Philippine Sea are a shock and dilemma to both sides, which must now settle down to a war of vicious raids back and forth across the Pacific, with no quarter asked or given. Brutal, small-scale fleet actions will be the rule, rather than the exception. In the meantime, President Roosevelt has given absolute priority to a top-secret project that could end the war, code named Dingbat.
May 12, 1942: The war in the Pacific is under control, but farseeing officers know that even with it’s completely militarized economy, Japan cannot defeat the US. Germany, however, is another matter. The Germans have gotten their naval program underway, and U-boats are pouring out of the yards ahead of the massive surface ship program. A series of small fights mark the Battle of the Atlantic, but the real fight is against the U-boats. Recovering from the crushing blow they took in September and October of ’41, they are back with a vengeance. The USN and RN are just barely ahead of them, and Hitler knows it. The Luftwaffe, under the command of Reichluftmarschall Adolf Galland, is pounding England day and night, and US P-38s – the most advanced aircraft the USAAF can send – are still not available in enough numbers to stop them. British factories, under constant attack, are just barely making good losses. The Royal Navy has been relocated to Northern Ireland to avoid air attack, but it is still badly pummeled whenever it sorties out to meet the German fleet. The German battlewagons (Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and the building Hindenburg, Mackensen, and Friederich Barbarossa) sortie regularly with cruiser and destroyer support, and increasingly backed up by the carriers Graf Zeppelin and Seeadler. The governments of the US and UK are in quiet negotiations with Stalin to convince him to enter the war on their side, showing him clear evidence of the intended German invasion. However, Stalin arrogantly disdains this evidence and refuses to join the war.
Finally, on October 15th, 1942, the German fleet sorties under cover of miserable weather. The goal is to cover an invasion of Iceland, but the Allied navies must first be neutralized or blocked. Accordingly, the German First Carrier Division – Graf Zeppelin, Seeadler, and Von Muller (the last two hasty merchant conversions) are sent out to draw the Allied carriers into battle and destroy them, then return to cover the invasion. Sufficient land-based air cannot reach Iceland to stop a Nazi invasion, and if Germany holds Iceland, the Atlantic supply routes will be cut.
What the Germans do not know is that British codebreakers have determined their plans and laid a brilliant trap. All the big fleet carriers in the Atlantic are out of action due to damage, but Ranger, Wasp, and the British Eagle are sent out to intercept the German carriers. In the miserable October weather it is difficult for the fleets to find one another, but they finally do southeast of Iceland on October 18th. The Allied ships detect the Germans at extreme range and launch a dive-bomber strike and a torpedo strike that is very nearly wiped out. However, the German CAP is brought down to low level and is out of ammunition when the dive-bombers – which had momentarily gotten lost – showed up and within minutes had destroyed Seeadler and Von Muller. Graf Zeppelin managed to escape into a squall and launched a strike that found Eagle and sent her to the bottom with torpedoes. The British CAP killed most of the German strike, and the next morning Ranger and Wasp found Graf Zeppelin and sent her to the bottom. The German invasion force, without air cover, must turn back for safe harbor in Norway. The result is a clear-cut strategic German defeat and the end of any hope of an all-out Kriegsmarine breakout into the Atlantic.
3 June 1942: With Japanese forces closing in on his Command Post on Bataan, General Douglas MacArthur sends his famous "Last Communique".
1943: US troops are now arriving in the UK and Ireland in sufficient numbers that Hitler knows an invasion will come eventually. However, the Allies are expecting to be able to invade in mid 1945 at the earliest. The air war is now starting to turn in favor of the Allies and the Luftwaffe is now discovering that even the superb aircraft they were sending over England cannot be produced in enough numbers to defeat the RAF and the rapidly growing US Army Air Forces UK. The new P-47 and P-51 are starting to arrive, and they are showing distinct advantages over the Luftwaffe’s FW-190s and He-277 bombers. The two air forces settle down to a back-and-forth slugging match for ultimate air superiority.
In the Pacific, the US has started going on the offensive. The US commanders in the Pacific – Chester Nimitz and George Patton – have agreed to an ‘island-hopping’ strategy that will essentially bypass the most heavily fortified Japanese islands. The first island is Guadalcanal, in the Solomons chain. The US achieves complete surprise but since neither side will risk its heavy units in the confined waters around the island, the battle is fought by small units and both sides are supplied and reinforced at night. The result is in question for more than two months, but finally Nimitz takes his chance just as the Japanese take theirs – three US battleships and their supporting forces sail into Ironbottom Sound and destroy the Japanese units there. They then provide fire support for the Marine units ashore, which then hunt down the Japanese forces to the last man. The Japanese commanders argue that this is the perfect opportunity to finish what was started at First Philippine Sea, but by the time they agree to send the Combined Fleet the US has brought enough land based air onto Guadalcanal to make any attempt at a fight suicidal.
By late 1943, the Allied air forces have finally won round-the-clock air superiority over the UK and are now starting to strike back with long-range bombing raids. The bombers, however, are taking serious losses even under escort. German technology seems to be coming up with powerful new defensive weapons at every turn, and the Allies are caught in a cycle of measure and countermeasure. However, the bombing offensive is the only way the Allies have of striking back at Germany and they can take some comfort in knowing that their growing numbers – along with the upcoming B-29 Superfortress and the planned B-36 – will eventually overwhelm the Luftwaffe.
1944: The front lines are aflame. The Allies invade North Africa in March, landing all along the Moroccan coast. Casualties are heavier than expected, especially where some Vichy French units resist. The majority of them immediately surrender to the Allies or in some cases attack the nearest German units. At first the landings are touch-and-go but once the US 1st Infantry and British 2nd Infantry secure their beachheads, there is no stopping the assault. US and UK submarines cut and then swamp the badly outnumbered and underprotected Axis supply lines.
At the same time, British forces in Egypt lunge forward, having pulled off a magnificent deception that convinced the Germans that they were incapable of any offensive action at all. Although the Afrika Korps and its Italian reserves at first stand and fight, they are quickly forced to begin a retreat towards the coast as their supply lines are strangled. By the end of June, all that remains of Axis power in Africa is a beleaguered fortress at Derna, Tripoli, and after a final assault that ends in hand-to-hand combat, DAK commander Erwin Rommel is killed leading a final defense of his HQ near the Old Fort. The DAK surrenders the next morning, and more than 100,000 German and Italian soldiers go into captivity.
Hitler is furious, and the loss of the admired and respected Rommel angers the German general staff. Even the most ardent Nazis now feel that Hitler and his policies are leading Germany to disaster, and a resistance group forms among the senior German generals and admirals. Gestapo chief Reinhard Heydrich knows that Hitler’s influence is starting to slip – and that means Heydrich’s survival is at stake, as the Nazi inner circle loathes him and Hitler’s aide Martin Bormann. Heydrich conducts a reign of terror that has almost the opposite effect of that intended – the average German now starts to question Hitler for the first time.
The Vichy Fleet, supported by some light Kriegsmarine units, sorties to meet the Allied fleet following the invasion of Morocco. The partially completed Jean Bart and the RN battleship Lion met and it was no contest – Lion sent Jean Bart to the bottom with just four salvos. Once North Africa is secured, the RN sails into the Med in full strength to take on the surviving Vichy fleet and the Italian Navy. The Vichy ships mutiny and some try to escape to join the Allies, but they are destroyed by German aircraft.
However, land-based Allied air is protecting the RN and its supporting USN units and the Luftwaffe strains but cannot crack the fleet’s airborne shield. The Italian Navy is ordered out to meet the Mediterranean Fleet, and they collide near the island of Lampedusa on June 2nd. The first Italian task force conducts itself well and gives as good as it gets against the lead RN units before falling back towards Italy. However, as they withdraw, HMS Warspite manages to put a single round through Gulio Ceasare at just over 26,000 yards, a record that stood until 1991. The hit detonates Ceasare’s aft magazines and she is blown apart. The orderly Italian withdrawal becomes a rout that only grows worse when Allied air catches the second Italian task force steaming in daylight in a peacetime formation. Though the Allied aircraft take fairly heavy losses, they sink the battleships Roma and Comte De Cavour along with several other cruisers and destroyers. This was too much for the survivors and they sail out to meet the RN with white flags at their masts. Following the loss of the bulk of the Italian Army in North Africa, this is intolerable – the senior Italian military commanders begin to speak openly of a coup.
Mussolini escapes Rome and flees to Germany after turning the government over to the former King. On June 9th, Italy formally withdraws from the Axis and requests an armistice. The Allies are wary, but grant the Armistice a few days later. With the exception of a few token air and ground units, Italy sits out the rest of the war. However, German and Italian units still hold out on Sicily.
In the Pacific, the US is marching steadily towards Japan. Bougainville falls after the Marines spring a surprise – the Mk 1 Mod 0 Marine Armor suit, reverse engineered from the Stormtrooper armor captured at Hampton Roads. The Army has declined to use it, feeling that it will make troops less aggressive. But the Marines realize that even with the problems it has (US Scientists do not have the same experience with ceramics that the Germans do, and they have problems creating the advanced compound armor that a new generation of suits will require – the first production runs are brittle and prone to cracking and fracturing when being bounced on landing craft) it is exactly what they will need to crack the hyper-fortified Japanese island fortresses. The Marines have thrown a new wrinkle into it – the Mod 1 Command Suit, which has a built in IR viewer and radio. Difficult to move around in, the Marines discover that the ‘Super Tin Man’ gives them the ability to fight around the clock, keeping the Japanese from ever regaining the initiative.
The Japanese are terrified of the ‘Iron Demons’ to the point where mass surrenders are now happening on a regular basis. At sea, the Imperial Navy is now starting to fall back. Although the IJN has been able to complete the three Yamatos and three more of the smaller Kyushu class BBs (Kyushu, Satsuma, and Ryukyu - assembled from Yamato spares and materials, they were more properly classed as BC’s), and even refitted the old dreadnaught Settsu, the USN has brought all six of the Iowas into service and has launched the first two Montanas.
(And since you're all going to ask....)
Even after the losses at First Philippine Sea, the USN now outnumbers and outguns the Combined Fleet. The Japanese admirals, however, refuse to risk their ships one-on-one after the debacle of Ironbottom Sound, still convinced that if they can only maneuver the USN into the Decisive Battle, they can win. In the meantime, islands fall like dominos to an armored enemy who can fight around the clock and seems impervious to bullets.Japanese Battleships 1944
Yamato
Musashi
Shinano
Settsu
Kyushu
Satsuma
Ryukyu
Ise
Hyuga
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuso!
Yamashiro
Nagato
Kongo
Haruna
US Battleships Pacific 1944
Iowa
New Jersey
Missouri
Wisconsin
Illinois
Kentucky
Indiana
West Virginia
California
Maryland
Colorado
North Carolina
Washington
Massachusetts
Alabama
South Dakota
Montana (to be assigned early 45)
Ohio (to be assigned early 45)
US Battleships Atlantic 1944
Texas
Idaho
New Mexico
Mississippi
Tennessee
Arkansas
Pennsylvania
Nevada
Finally, Roosevelt is re-elected in November, but dies just a few days later of a stroke. A Constitutional crisis looms as Republican senators claim that Truman is not eligible to become President and that Senate President Pro Tem Arthur Vandenberg should take office. Fortunately, Roosevelt foresaw such a situation and had made the necessary arrangements – the problem is quickly thrown to Congress, which overwhelmingly names Truman President. Truman and Churchill immediately make plans for a strategy conference in Ottawa that December, to be codenamed Misteltoe. The final plans for defeat of Germany and Japan are laid down – and Truman is advised that a new weapon of unimaginable power is ready for testing in February of ’45.
Field Of Honor (Sagami Bay, 1947)
1953: National Service Act Passed in US.
Duel (USS Oregon vs Sovietsky Soyuz, 1959)
January 18, 1990: The Allied and Soviet battlelines meet for the final battle.
Nightwatch (WWIII, 1991)
1993: St. Valentine's Day Massacre. President Kerry announces the total cancellation of the Navy 2000 program which would have built over two hundred combat vessels. The only capital ships which survived the Massacre were the Intrepid class CVNs (Intrepid, Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill, Bon Homme Richard, Lake Erie, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Shiloh, and Antietam.), which received the long-lead time machinery from the cancelled BBGN-86 class.
Twenty-First Century
The One That Got Away (Short Story, 2005, published)
2010: HMS Dreadnought decommissioned.
The Measure Of A Man (Short Story, 2015, published)
