Post by fannyhil on Dec 31, 2011 12:22:46 GMT -5
We got together for our weekly gaming fix. Mike Mathews had introduced two of us to Naval Thunder last Spring so we decided to try a game ourselves. We also played with Mike at a con in Minneapolis in November.
Tom pulled the Dogger Bay scenario out of a book he had. I know several of you have played Dogger Bay, but this was our first experience.
Not being too familiar with WWI, and with two games under my belt, I boldly opted to be the German commander (hoping that, perhaps, the Germans had better optics in WWI). Alas it was not to be.
Eric, who had one game under his belt, was the British commander. Tom, who also had two games under his belt and was running the scenario, was his second.
I put my force in three columns: battle cruisers/heavy cruiser, light cruisers and destroyers. I started off in the lower right corner of the 9'x6' table. The British came in in three columns: battlecruisers (Eric), light cruisers (Tom) and destroyers (Tom). The British started off in the top center of the table. They were angled such that they already had me cut off from reaching the 9' far edge of the table.
We didn't have all of the correct ships, so please bear with me if I mention the name of one of the substitues. At a glance it appeared that I was outnumbered in battlecruisers 5:3, light cruisers 4:3 and destroyer flotillas 3:2. My sole advantage was my heavy cruiser 0:1!
I put my best battlecruiser (Deurflinger) in the lead. I was bound and determined to surprise the British by getting in the first long range shot with my 12" guns!
As we closed ranges, much to my surprise the lead British battlecruiser (Lion) opened up at 45". Apparently the British had been reading my codes
! This was nine inches longer than my longest range. The British scored a penetrating hit which did more damage than I could do. It also took out one of my main turrets. I passed my morale test. It was at that moment that I knew I was outnumbered and outgunned. The only trick up my sleeve was to outmanuever.
As we closed ranged, the Deurflinger was able to shoot but the other German battlecruisers were still out of range. The British began a slow turn towards the lower left of the table. This brought two more British battlecruisers on-line against the Deurflinger. 3:1 against, not good. Several German battlecruisers took penetrating and non-penetrating hits without being able to fight back. Curse 13" guns!
Meanwhile my two flotillas of destroyers raced ahead and began laying smoke. One turned towards the lower part of the table shielding my battlecruisers and the other towards the top of the table paving my exit. Next turn my battlecruisers and light cruisers turned abreast and started heading for the top of the table.
This caught the British unawares as they changed course from the lower left table towards the lower right table edge. The British battlecruisers opted to follow the leader rather than turn abreast or do a 180 degree turn. I believe the British commander thought the smoke would dissapate faster than it did and/or he would be able to loop around the smoke to fall on my rear.
Sensing I was going to open the gap too much, the British turned their dogs loose on me. The light cruisers did a 180 turn and were running behind and parallel to my ships on the other side of the smoke screen. The British destroyers cut through the smoke behind my battlecruisers and began torpedo runs. I pounded them with my main guns and secondaries, but nine-boat flotillas packed into a double stands are impossible to kill quickly. The British launched fifteen torpedoes at long range, and even though I combed the wakes, they scored a hit on the Moeltke. If there was a modifier for the angle, we couldn't find it.
Meanwhile a 2" gap opened up in the smoke screen. Three British battle cruisers were able to fire at long range taking out another of Deurflinger's main batteries and damaging one other battlecruiser and a light cruiser. But before the Deurflinger lost her main battery she got a little revenge. She pumped five hits into one of the British light cruisers at medium range sinking the light cruiser outright. The next turn I traded more damage on my battlecruisers for another British light cruiser sunk.
As the British battlecruisers wrapped around the end of the smoke screen, the Blucher and Moeltke began taking long range hits from two of the British battlecruisers. I had one of my destroyer flotillas double back and put up a covering smoke screen.
At this point it was late. It was pretty obvious that the Germans were going to escape off table. Duerflinger was down two main batteries and failed her morale test. She was also down about forty percent of her hull points. The other two battlecruisers were down about fifteen to twenty percent of their hull points while Blucher was at half. Miraculously nobody had lost any speed. Only one British battlecruiser was scratched. Given the odds and the setup, I was very happy to trade three partially damaged German battlecruisers for two British light cruisers sunk!
Tom pulled the Dogger Bay scenario out of a book he had. I know several of you have played Dogger Bay, but this was our first experience.
Not being too familiar with WWI, and with two games under my belt, I boldly opted to be the German commander (hoping that, perhaps, the Germans had better optics in WWI). Alas it was not to be.
Eric, who had one game under his belt, was the British commander. Tom, who also had two games under his belt and was running the scenario, was his second.
I put my force in three columns: battle cruisers/heavy cruiser, light cruisers and destroyers. I started off in the lower right corner of the 9'x6' table. The British came in in three columns: battlecruisers (Eric), light cruisers (Tom) and destroyers (Tom). The British started off in the top center of the table. They were angled such that they already had me cut off from reaching the 9' far edge of the table.
We didn't have all of the correct ships, so please bear with me if I mention the name of one of the substitues. At a glance it appeared that I was outnumbered in battlecruisers 5:3, light cruisers 4:3 and destroyer flotillas 3:2. My sole advantage was my heavy cruiser 0:1!
I put my best battlecruiser (Deurflinger) in the lead. I was bound and determined to surprise the British by getting in the first long range shot with my 12" guns!
As we closed ranges, much to my surprise the lead British battlecruiser (Lion) opened up at 45". Apparently the British had been reading my codes
! This was nine inches longer than my longest range. The British scored a penetrating hit which did more damage than I could do. It also took out one of my main turrets. I passed my morale test. It was at that moment that I knew I was outnumbered and outgunned. The only trick up my sleeve was to outmanuever.As we closed ranged, the Deurflinger was able to shoot but the other German battlecruisers were still out of range. The British began a slow turn towards the lower left of the table. This brought two more British battlecruisers on-line against the Deurflinger. 3:1 against, not good. Several German battlecruisers took penetrating and non-penetrating hits without being able to fight back. Curse 13" guns!
Meanwhile my two flotillas of destroyers raced ahead and began laying smoke. One turned towards the lower part of the table shielding my battlecruisers and the other towards the top of the table paving my exit. Next turn my battlecruisers and light cruisers turned abreast and started heading for the top of the table.
This caught the British unawares as they changed course from the lower left table towards the lower right table edge. The British battlecruisers opted to follow the leader rather than turn abreast or do a 180 degree turn. I believe the British commander thought the smoke would dissapate faster than it did and/or he would be able to loop around the smoke to fall on my rear.
Sensing I was going to open the gap too much, the British turned their dogs loose on me. The light cruisers did a 180 turn and were running behind and parallel to my ships on the other side of the smoke screen. The British destroyers cut through the smoke behind my battlecruisers and began torpedo runs. I pounded them with my main guns and secondaries, but nine-boat flotillas packed into a double stands are impossible to kill quickly. The British launched fifteen torpedoes at long range, and even though I combed the wakes, they scored a hit on the Moeltke. If there was a modifier for the angle, we couldn't find it.
Meanwhile a 2" gap opened up in the smoke screen. Three British battle cruisers were able to fire at long range taking out another of Deurflinger's main batteries and damaging one other battlecruiser and a light cruiser. But before the Deurflinger lost her main battery she got a little revenge. She pumped five hits into one of the British light cruisers at medium range sinking the light cruiser outright. The next turn I traded more damage on my battlecruisers for another British light cruiser sunk.
As the British battlecruisers wrapped around the end of the smoke screen, the Blucher and Moeltke began taking long range hits from two of the British battlecruisers. I had one of my destroyer flotillas double back and put up a covering smoke screen.
At this point it was late. It was pretty obvious that the Germans were going to escape off table. Duerflinger was down two main batteries and failed her morale test. She was also down about forty percent of her hull points. The other two battlecruisers were down about fifteen to twenty percent of their hull points while Blucher was at half. Miraculously nobody had lost any speed. Only one British battlecruiser was scratched. Given the odds and the setup, I was very happy to trade three partially damaged German battlecruisers for two British light cruisers sunk!
