Description
+7 Combat Strength vs. district defenses.
Historical Context
Shore bombardment came when Edward III of England mounted bombards on some of his ships besieging Calais in 1347 AD. It has become a popular way of assaulting towns and troops ever since. Turning the fleet’s big guns on civilian targets – factories, docks, warehouses, homes, etc. – was generally frowned upon … until World War I. On 16 December 1914, the Imperial German Navy shelled the British towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby, causing 137 fatalities and widespread public outrage (some of that directed at the Royal Navy for allowing the raid to happen). The British themselves bombarded targets in the Dardanelles, Salonika and Belgian coasts. In the next war, blasting civilians was pretty much left to the air forces, the naval guns being reserved for invasions.