PFN Bis incident

PFN Bis incident Sahren front of the Sahren Civil War
File:Bisbardment.png
Result		Phoenian victory
Territorial Changes		Phoenian Federal Navy begins covert support of the Republicans
Belligerents
labourists			Phoenia
Strength
NK Myskit (No.22) NK Roiste (No.28) 3 Capalmara class TBD			PFN Bis PFN Sabri PFN Piongain
Casualties and Losses
NK Myskit No.22 sunk NK Roiste (No.28) slightly damaged 1 TBD lost			PFN Piongain sunk PFN Bis medium damage PFN Sabri minor damage

The PFN Bis incident was a skirmish between the Phoenian Federal Navy and Labourist forces during the Sahren Civil War. The incident is widely regarded as the turning point which caused the Phoenian navy to intervene in the war to directly support the Republicans.

Background

With the failure of Operation Autoignition the Sahren Civil War was continuing into its second year, with no side clearly favoured yet. The conflict threatened to escalate to a point of threatening the major powers, attracting the interest of Zokesia and prompting the Bombardment of Klensagrad as part of anti-insurgency operations in the region. Such a show of force so close to home territory and the near loss of the battleship Baskien prompted the Phoenian Federal Navy to begin reconaissance patrols along the coast of Sahrland. Officially these patrols were to ensure neutrality and prevent the loss of civilian shipping, however it was suspected by all sides Phoenia was indirectly supporting the intelligence efforts of the SRGIA as they openly supported the Republican cause.

Incident

As the Meálhtyk offensives wound down, Republicans began torpedo boat raids on the shores of other factions to perform acts of sabotage and gather intelligence in preparation for later operations Tetraethyllead and Heteroatom. The Phoenian navy was not involved in these raids, but at the time of the incident the Phoenian force consisting of PFN Bis, PFN Sabri and PFN Piongain was near a radar station and MTB base that were raided with little success weeks prior. In that area was the labourist destroyers NK Roiste (No.28) and NK Myskit (No.22) along with the Capalmara class torpedo boat TBD-24.

Attack

The attack came as late in the day with less than 30 minutes of sunlight remaining as the auxiliary ship PFN Piongain was refueling Bis and Sabri. The Narodina Kablhach force was shadowing the Phoenian force as the refueling began, with the the attack following right after. Bis broke off to fire warning shots as Sabri still had fuel hoses connected, but the attack was not haulted. As the destroyers moved within 10 kilometres Bis recieved a non-critical hit from the 5 inch guns, and the order to engage was initiated. As Bis turned to ready a torpedo salvo Sabri assailed by missiles, two of which struck sheering off the fuel hoses and causing fires on both Piongain and Sabri.

A close fight began between Bis and the Kralnovist destroyers as Bis was subjected to the superior gun firepower of the destroyers, which themselves were subjected to the superior missile and torpedo firepower of Bis. Three torpedoes struck Myskit in quick succession and the ship sank within the next five minutes along with 82 of the crew. The battle was indecisive for the next few minutes as the inexperienced crew of Roiste were unable to score many hits on Bis and the missiles of Bis were unable to get through the Roiste's extensive anti munitions system.

TBD-24 broke off from the fight early on to go for Sabri and Piongain which were primarily preocuppied with firefighting. It quickly closed the distance to 6 kilometres and fired off only three of its missiles before discintegrating due to a hit from Sabri's main gun. Roiste then turned to retreat for still debated reasons, though most believe it misinterpreted the explosion of TBD-24 as an explosion on Sabri and thus decided to disengage. Bis also turned to retreat to aid firefighting on Piongain.

Withdrawal

Firefighting on the Phoenian force continued for two hours after the attack ultimately resulting in PFN Piongain being abandoned and scuttled. Sabri's fires were less severe and they were put out with help from Bis. The two frigates moved to the port of Bis for a quick repair and then to Cath for more extensive repairs.

Consequences

Public response

When news of the event was made available to the Phoenian citizenry public support for intervention in the Sahren Civil War grew dramatically. Senators in favour of intervention began distorting the event to make it appear like an unprovoked attack on neutral ships in international waters (It should be noted the entire incident took place in Sahren territorial waters).

Intervention in the Sahren Civil War

Only four days after the incident the Phoenian Federal Navy was authorised to conduct limited covert support of the Republican naval effort. Additional forces were also allocated to ensure such an unfavourable battle could not happen again. Equipment shipments to the Republicans also increased along with officers sent in to train the Sahren Republican Guard. The number of Phoenian volunteers also increased followng the proliferation of media and the ensuing public outcry.

Covert naval support would have a significant effect in preventing other nations from taking their own maritime measures of civil war intervention. It also provided significant support in Operation Tetraethyllead and Operation Heteroatom, and lead to the Aontan Straits dash where KN Roiste was finally sunk.