BIC La'Victoria
 BIC La'Victoria (BIC-10) in Lake San Salvador in 1940.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Creeperopolis
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| Name: | BIC La'Victoria |
| Namesake: | La'Victoria |
| Ordered: | June 7, 1930 |
| Laid down: | October 1, 1930 |
| Launched: | June 30, 1932 |
| Commissioned: | January 6, 1934 |
| Fate: | Scuttled, July 6, 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | San Luís-Class Light Cruiser |
| Displacement: | 16,020 long tons |
| Length: | 610 feet |
| Beam: | 71 feet |
| Draft: | 24 feet |
| Propulsion: | 2 propellers; 8 × diesel engines |
| Speed: | 28.5 knots |
| Complement: | 33 officers and 1,000 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 1 x Maroto Aircraft MA-2 |
BIC La'Victoria was a Creeperian Naval light cruiser.
Scuttling
On July 5, 1946, the National Council initiated Operation Destroy Everything, known in Creeperian as Destruye Todo. The operation was a joint aerial and artillery bombardment of Romerist controlled parts of San Salvador. Like Operation Torch, Operation Destroy Everything utilized the Miguelist Air Force's 15th, 27th, and 28th Air Force Wings. Taking off from airbases in Zapatista, the Air Force Wings bombarded San Salvador for three days. Strategic bombers targetted factories and dockyards, tactical bombers targetted churches, hospitals, and barracks, while fighters fended off Romerist Air Force fighters returning fire. Miguelist anti-aircraft fire was also utilized from the shores of Lake Zapatista.
Hours after the aerial bombardment began, Miguelist artillery began attacking. As the artillery was firing upon the Romerist positions, the 1st and 11th Miguelist Armies launched an attack on the nearly encircled 2nd Romerist Army, eventually cutting it off on land from Romerist reinforcements, however, the 16th Romerist Flotilla retained control of Lake San Salvador, ensuring that the 2nd Army always had supplies and reinforcements.
On July 6, 1946, during an artillery bombardment of San Salvador, a stray artillery shell missed its target of a dockyard in San Salvador by miles and, by chance, hit the 16th Flotilla cruiser BIC La'Victoria directly in the bridge. The impact with the bridge pushed the ship to her starboard side at a 35º angle, dumping many seamen into the sea and giving the ship a list to starboard which eventually stabalized at 26º due to all the coal and ammunition pushed to the starboard side. The list caused several boilers to explode. The reason they exploded is still unclear, but the explosions caused the ship to begin taking on water.
Nearby vessels, the 16th Flotilla destroyers DTI San Luís and DTI Jalisco sped to the BIC La'Victoria at full speed, since Emperor Romero I was onboard on his way to meet with Supreme Caudillo Alfonso Cabañeras Moreno. Of the 902 men on board, 674 survived and were evacuated. After three hours, the crew of the DTI San Luís found Romero I dead in the bridge. Among the other dead found were Rear Admiral Bautista Aznar Cabañas, commander of the BIC La'Victoria, and Colonel Antonio Fonseca Cabanellas of the 2nd Romerist Army. BIC La'Victoria was deemded a total loss by the officers of the DTI Jalisco and DTI San Luís and was scuttled to prevent it from being captured and torn apart for scrap by the Miguelists. The DTI San Luís relaid the news to Alfonso Cabañeras Moreno. He immediately ordered the tourture and execution of 1,946 Miguelist prisoners of war in retaliation. He declared himself Regent of the sixteen year old Emperor, Romero II, the son of Romero I.
Romerist morale was shattered by the news while Miguelist morale greatly improved. Cabañeras Moreno told his men that Romero I fell for them and that they now had to fall for him and take Miguel VII down with them. He rallied up the Romerist soldiers and lead a victory in the sea at the Battle of the Asambio River on July 12 and a land battle at the Battle of Metachague on July 17.
