Venezuela in TW 2000

[Olefin]

The Gateway to the Spanish Main, if I remember correctly (can confirm it when I get home later) mentions the target of the pirate fleet that is being built by the captive shipbuilders as Aruba. That fleet is being financed by New America

[lordroel]

Originally Posted by Olefin

The Gateway to the Spanish Main, if I remember correctly (can confirm it when I get home later) mentions the target of the pirate fleet that is being built by the captive shipbuilders as Aruba. That fleet is being financed by New America

Wel; any pirate fleet will get a surprise, the Royal Netherlands Navy with a hot or cold war with the French is not going to ask who they are, but starts shooting as soon as the come in range.

[Slappy]

I'll point out that while likely, it's not certain that there is a Franco-Dutch hot war in the Caribbean. Local commanders will have a lot of latitude given the distance from home, and it's possible that local detente or even limited cooperation is possible. Maybe not out of the question given an instinct for europeans to band together in the face of other hostiles. May even be situational island to island.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Olefin

That fleet is being financed by New America

Not exactly.

The New Americans have already backed Jones up with heavy weapons, mortars, small arms, and ammunition.

The New Americans had planned to make an exchange of the Letter of Marque and Reprisal and the gold for General Cumming's daughter.

The New Americans are only interested in Loretta Cummings - there's no indication they could care less about anything else.
The document is basically worthless, and the gold (along with the weaponry) is just payment for the kidnapping.

[Olefin]

You are right - New America isnt directly funding the fleet - however the effort to kidnap the girl is providing the gold and the weapons that are leading to the creation of the pirate fleet.

And the target is Aruba

"The shared dream of both men is to sack and pillage the rich ports of the Spanish Main with Aruba, the oil rich island in the Dutch Antilles, being their first major target"

That right there makes it pretty clear that Aruba didn't get nuked. And that big group of pirates is probably needed because of the Marines that are still at Aruba - you don't need that many men to take on a platoon of militia and some local cops.

[lordroel]

Originally Posted by Olefin

That right there makes it pretty clear that Aruba didn't get nuked. And that big group of pirates is probably needed because of the Marines that are still at Aruba - you don't need that many men to take on a platoon of militia and some local cops.

So if Aruba is not nuked then any attacker, minus the French who do have the firepower will get a nasty surprise when they approach the island of Aruba.

Also i was think at the time of the war the Royal Netherlands Navy had about 22 frigates and 19 minehunters in service, what would the combat loss be for them as i would inmangen with the main naval base of Den Helder in range of French air strikes some of the Royal Netherlands Navy remaining schips would go to Aruba where they would be somewhat safer.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by lordroel

Also i was think at the time of the war the Royal Netherlands Navy had about 22 frigates and 19 minehunters in service, what would the combat loss be for them as i would inmangen with the main naval base of Den Helder in range of French air strikes some of the Royal Netherlands Navy remaining schips would go to Aruba where they would be somewhat safer.

Why? They are still technically part of Nato and the greater war effort. It's quite likely they were put to work escorting convoys across the Atlantic, or in the case of the minesweepers, keeping the North Sea clear of mines. Those that survived to 2000 are very likely to be in the same situation as virtually any other ship of any other nation - out of fuel, very low on ammunition, and very probably nowhere near home port.

The navy possess perhaps the only units that survived the French "annexation" in something resembling good order - they're of little use repelling a land attack, and throwing them at the French navy would be too obviously suicidal to even contemplate.

[Olefin]

Actually having whatever navy they have left be either at Aruba or in British bases would be the most likely place for them - and if Aruba still has fuel (and oil rich pretty much says they do) then they would be needed there to defend the place - but most likely it would be a small force at best - probably at most another frigate and one or two of the minesweepers - which by 2000 naval standards is quite a force when you add it to what was already there plus commandeered private ships turned into patrol boats

[lordroel]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

The navy possess perhaps the only units that survived the French "annexation" in something resembling good order - they're of little use repelling a land attack, and throwing them at the French navy would be too obviously suicidal to even contemplate.

So the remaining navy ships are hold up in naval base Den Helder which would have some of the last remaining Hawk and Patriots batteries the Netherlands has protection them.

The Netherlands has it own small gas and oil field located in the province of Drenthe, called the Schoonebeek oil field which has a total amount of 1 billion barrels and in peace time had a total output of some 3,000 barrels per day, also the Groningen gas field is there wich is the largest natural gas field in Europe and the tenth-largest in the world, so if the Free-Netherlands government mange to keep them running they have no worry about oil and gas and also something to trade with the German states if needed.

[Rainbow Six]

I always thought it possible that any surviving Dutch warships in Europe would have ended up in the United Kingdom, most likely Portsmouth.

I do have a brief write up of a possible evacuation of the Dutch Royal Family to the UK on my website.

http://www.twilight2000files.com/page64.html