Post by valleyforge on Mar 7, 2012 15:39:22 GMT -5
Hello, all,
I have been presenting Naval Thunder demo games at my local game store here in Illinois (Games Plus) and at local conventions for several years now (see my other AAR post, elsewhere on the forum). I normally run the Battle of Denmark Strait, which is an excellent demonstration scenario for many reasons, but recently I created a "what-if" scenario inspired by my nephew, who asked, "What if the Bismarck hadn't been sunk early in the war?" I came up with the following idea:
After crippling the Hood and several other British ships, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen broke out into the North Atlantic to conduct the first of several successful raids against merchant shipping. On her fifth sortie, Bismarck suffered severe damage and withdrew to Trondheim for repairs. Tirpitz went to sea with orders to cut off Britain's supply line by year's end. Always accompanied by at least one cruiser, she sailed far and wide, often raiding in conjunction with U-boat and Luftwaffe forces, and she was soon famous for her ability to win engagements without a scratch.
On one such raid in the western Atlantic, Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer sailed to intercept Convoy HG72, which consisted of 36 freighters and six USN destroyers. The convoy had been shadowed by a U-boat for several days under moonless skies, to give the German capital ships time to move into position. The German admiralty did not know that elements of U.S. Task Group 1.4 were racing to join the convoy.
Still far from their rendezvous point, Idaho and Wichita picked up frantic radio distress calls from the convoy. "U-boats!" the voices cried. The warships sailed on, hoping to arrive in time. Under cover of darkness, Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer moved to engage the convoy, dismissing the escorting destroyers as minor threats. With dawn fast approaching, the USN Task Group finally met up with the convoy, but radar showed something else: two large contacts bearing directly for the freighters. The Task group's flagship, the battleship Idaho, gambled that these were not friendly ships, and she slowly drew closer for a better look. Still undetected, and at a range of over 18,000 yards, Idaho opened fire on the German raiders. How things would turn out was anybody's guess….
Attendance
Seven people played this demo event, which I called "The Battle of Convoy HG72." Two players had some experience with the rules and wanted a chance to try the game again. One observer watched from the gallery, to cheer on the participants. The battleships and cruisers each had their own players, and three players were given control of two destroyers each. I let the players divide themselves into teams and choose ships by their own methods. The game got underway after I explained the basic rules.
Scenario Outline
German Forces
Tirpitz, Admiral Scheer, U-boat wolf pack (6 submarine attack dice).
American Forces
Convoy HG72 (36 freighters, three destroyers), Elements of U.S. Task Group 1.4 (Battleship USS Idaho, Heavy Cruiser Wichita, six destroyers)
Special Rules
Night battle rules would be in effect for the first two turns, followed by dawn rules for the next four turns. U.S. forces have no submarines.
Set-Up
The German side lost the night-time set-up roll and had to deploy first, which granted a distinct advantage to the Americans, since U.S. radar gave them twice the gunnery range during night battles. The freighter convoy started off-table but could be caught and attacked if the German ships drove off the American forces and remained combat-worthy.
Before Turn 1, the German team discussed how best to employ their U-boats. The first U-boat attack would occur the evening prior to the arrival of the main American fleet. After some deliberation, the German players opted to have the U-boats attack the convoy instead of the escorting destroyers, as they felt they had a good chance of sinking several vessels right away, and believed that this remained faithful to the spirit of the game (after all, they had no "real" warning of the approach of the Task Group). American ASW only negated one die, and the Germans aimed their five remaining dice at freighters. Fate sailed with the convoy that night, for only one torpedo struck home. The fire it started was soon extinguished, and the commanders chose to keep the freighter in position. The Germans' second U-boat attack would come during the game at the start of a Turn of their choosing.
The Germans deployed themselves 2,000 yards apart in near line-of-bearing formation. Admiral Scheer took a heading due south, while Tirpitz, leading by 500 yards, headed south by south-west directly toward what they believed was a lightly-protected convoy. Responding to the Idaho's warnings, the convoy and its three destroyers executed a 90-degree turn to starboard while the Task Group raced ahead to intercept the raiders. Idaho and Wichita sailed in line, bearing due northwest, the cruiser leading by almost 6,000 yards, and the destroyers sailing in pairs alongside the capital ships, interposed between them and the Germans. The American commander approached the Germans until he was sure of what the Task Group faced, and after consulting with his officers, decided to open fire.
Game Play
Turn 1 began when Idaho opened fire. Her first salvo against the Tirpitz was rewarded by the unmistakable sound of explosions on armor and deck-plating, signaling widespread damage (27+8 points of damage, plus critical hits on Engine Room, Fire Control Systems, and Fire, which was immediately extinguished). Alarm klaxons began to ring out across the mighty German battleship as shells from the Wichita fell harmlessly around her. The Americans stubbornly refused to fire their secondary batteries, painfully aware of their gun crews' inexperience. The Germans struggled to find targets; from the muzzle flashes they knew the direction of their enemy, but under these conditions, they simply could not find the range.
Turn 2 opened with Tirpitz turning due west and pouring on speed to close with the foe. Admiral Scheer maintained course and speed and prepared to fire. Idaho also maintained course and speed, while Wichita turned due north and sped up towards the Tirpitz, challenging the German leviathan openly. Four destroyers turned northwest and dashed toward their enemies, while two remained close to the Idaho and Wichita in case any U-boats were still lurking in the area….
Insulted by the arrogance of the destroyers, and having finally found the range, Tirpitz split fire against the four Benson-class escorts approaching off its bow. Geysers of water and flame tore at their diminutive hulls, but Tirpitz managed to sink only one. The remaining three advanced undaunted.
With all of her guns brought to bear, the Idaho let fly a broadside against Tirpitz, and the hammering of shells on German steel could be heard all the way to Valhalla. Grim-faced German sailors struggled to control flooding, put out fires, and remove injured crewmen from shattered gun emplacements and control rooms (Tirpitz took 60 points of damage, plus criticals on Secondary Battery, Main Battery, Fire Control, Flooding, and Fire; once again, the fire was extinguished immediately, and the flooding, which resolved as Major Flooding, was contained during the End Phase).
Wichita turned her attention to the Admiral Scheer, hoping to have better luck penetrating her relatively weaker armor, but all shots fell astray. Scheer did not return fire on Wichita, instead choosing to target the destroyers that were getting too close for comfort. While she dealt relatively serious damage to one destroyer, it remained afloat and eager to fight (6 points of damage plus an Engine room critical; the player made a voluntary Command Check in the End Phase to remain in the fight, and succeeded).
The destroyers had finally moved within range, eager for the kill. One destroyer opened fire upon the Admiral Scheer, miraculously taking out one of Scheer's main turrets (2 points of damage and a Main Battery critical). A second destroyer fired a spread of torpedoes at the Tirpitz. Two of the five fish managed to strike home, striking the battleship astern and causing more flooding (42 points of damage, plus Engine Room and Flooding criticals; the flooding resolved as Minor Flooding immediately and again in the End Phase, for 4 additional points of damage).
On Turn 3, doggedly believing in German invincibility, the Tirpitz sailed on, turning slightly so she could bring all of her main guns to bear against the enemy. Idaho turned her bow toward the enemy to close distance, temporarily taking some of her guns out of play. Admiral Scheer had to adjust course slightly to keep her guns trained toward the Americans. Fearlessly, the destroyers drew ever closer to their targets.
Idaho fired everything she could bring to bear against the Admiral Scheer, hoping to sink her quickly, but after sending hell and high water arcing towards the German cruiser, the Scheer suffered the loss of only a few deck fixtures and some paint (an embarrassing 1 point of damage). The Idaho's commander was not happy with this performance, and made a mental note to schedule more gunnery drills for the crew once the battle was over.
The loss of Fire Control Stations must have been taking their toll, since Tirpitz split her fire again, this time between the Wichita and one of the destroyers that had come so close to her port side that the German sailors could practically see Americans waving at them from the decks in the growing dawn light. Tirpitz's shells fell harmlessly around the Wichita, and the destroyer was damaged but not sunk (3 points of damage plus a Flooding critical, which was contained immediately). Several destroyers were now very close indeed, and their torpedoes were ready to launch. The stricken battleship, it seemed, was doomed, and everyone watched with baited breath to see what would happen next.
Wichita fired everything at Admiral Scheer, hoping to succeed where her big sister had failed, but the German cruiser seemed to be leading a charmed life, suffering only some minor structural damage and the loss of one secondary turret from the barrage (7 points of damage plus a Secondary Battery critical).
For her part, Admiral Scheer split fire at the two destroyers that had drawn within torpedo range. Scheer managed to knock out a torpedo mount, but as good as that was, it wasn't good enough (6 points of damage plus a Torpedo critical to one destroyer, 3 points of damage plus a Fire critical to the other; the fire was extinguished immediately). Scheer's torpedoes were better aimed, though, and she managed to sink one destroyer on a very lucky shot, but the victory came too late to save the proud German cruiser.
One by one, the destroyers' guns and torpedoes struck home. The Admiral Scheer came under fire first as guns crippled a secondary turret and tore at her superstructure, but the torpedoes finished her off (3 points of damage plus a Secondary Battery critical from the guns, plus 42 points of damage from two torpedo hits—no need to roll criticals here, as the damage exceeded Scheer's remaining Hull points). The Admiral Scheer was sinking fast, and her surviving crew scrambled over the side to get away from the dying ship.
Tirpitz was next in the sights of the destroyer captains, who had begun referring to themselves as Great White sharks. One lucky shell started a fire on the Tirpitz's deck, but as with the Scheer, it was torpedoes that put the final nails in her coffin. Five torpedoes found their mark and broke the Tirpitz's spine. Explosions ripped through the legendary ship, starting fires that ironically were soon extinguished by uncontrollable flooding in many compartments (105 points of damage, with no need to roll criticals here, as the damage exceeded Tirpitz's remaining Hull points). After all of her accomplishments, the fabled battleship was dead.
Smoke from burning oil and the sounds of screaming men filled the air. But the American sailors' yells of triumph were premature, for they had forgotten the U-boats… Explosions suddenly ripped through five freighters, and four were soon heeling over to join the funeral procession of the German ships under the waves. All in all, the U-boats claimed over 30,000 tons sunk from Convoy HG72, but the Germans had lost two of their best warships. What fate would befall the Bismarck now? Would she be held in reserve, confined to port for fear of losing her, too? Would she now become known throughout the seven seas as the Lonely Queen, biding her time, silently waiting for her executioners? That's a tale for another day….
I have been presenting Naval Thunder demo games at my local game store here in Illinois (Games Plus) and at local conventions for several years now (see my other AAR post, elsewhere on the forum). I normally run the Battle of Denmark Strait, which is an excellent demonstration scenario for many reasons, but recently I created a "what-if" scenario inspired by my nephew, who asked, "What if the Bismarck hadn't been sunk early in the war?" I came up with the following idea:
After crippling the Hood and several other British ships, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen broke out into the North Atlantic to conduct the first of several successful raids against merchant shipping. On her fifth sortie, Bismarck suffered severe damage and withdrew to Trondheim for repairs. Tirpitz went to sea with orders to cut off Britain's supply line by year's end. Always accompanied by at least one cruiser, she sailed far and wide, often raiding in conjunction with U-boat and Luftwaffe forces, and she was soon famous for her ability to win engagements without a scratch.
On one such raid in the western Atlantic, Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer sailed to intercept Convoy HG72, which consisted of 36 freighters and six USN destroyers. The convoy had been shadowed by a U-boat for several days under moonless skies, to give the German capital ships time to move into position. The German admiralty did not know that elements of U.S. Task Group 1.4 were racing to join the convoy.
Still far from their rendezvous point, Idaho and Wichita picked up frantic radio distress calls from the convoy. "U-boats!" the voices cried. The warships sailed on, hoping to arrive in time. Under cover of darkness, Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer moved to engage the convoy, dismissing the escorting destroyers as minor threats. With dawn fast approaching, the USN Task Group finally met up with the convoy, but radar showed something else: two large contacts bearing directly for the freighters. The Task group's flagship, the battleship Idaho, gambled that these were not friendly ships, and she slowly drew closer for a better look. Still undetected, and at a range of over 18,000 yards, Idaho opened fire on the German raiders. How things would turn out was anybody's guess….
Attendance
Seven people played this demo event, which I called "The Battle of Convoy HG72." Two players had some experience with the rules and wanted a chance to try the game again. One observer watched from the gallery, to cheer on the participants. The battleships and cruisers each had their own players, and three players were given control of two destroyers each. I let the players divide themselves into teams and choose ships by their own methods. The game got underway after I explained the basic rules.
Scenario Outline
German Forces
Tirpitz, Admiral Scheer, U-boat wolf pack (6 submarine attack dice).
American Forces
Convoy HG72 (36 freighters, three destroyers), Elements of U.S. Task Group 1.4 (Battleship USS Idaho, Heavy Cruiser Wichita, six destroyers)
Special Rules
Night battle rules would be in effect for the first two turns, followed by dawn rules for the next four turns. U.S. forces have no submarines.
Set-Up
The German side lost the night-time set-up roll and had to deploy first, which granted a distinct advantage to the Americans, since U.S. radar gave them twice the gunnery range during night battles. The freighter convoy started off-table but could be caught and attacked if the German ships drove off the American forces and remained combat-worthy.
Before Turn 1, the German team discussed how best to employ their U-boats. The first U-boat attack would occur the evening prior to the arrival of the main American fleet. After some deliberation, the German players opted to have the U-boats attack the convoy instead of the escorting destroyers, as they felt they had a good chance of sinking several vessels right away, and believed that this remained faithful to the spirit of the game (after all, they had no "real" warning of the approach of the Task Group). American ASW only negated one die, and the Germans aimed their five remaining dice at freighters. Fate sailed with the convoy that night, for only one torpedo struck home. The fire it started was soon extinguished, and the commanders chose to keep the freighter in position. The Germans' second U-boat attack would come during the game at the start of a Turn of their choosing.
The Germans deployed themselves 2,000 yards apart in near line-of-bearing formation. Admiral Scheer took a heading due south, while Tirpitz, leading by 500 yards, headed south by south-west directly toward what they believed was a lightly-protected convoy. Responding to the Idaho's warnings, the convoy and its three destroyers executed a 90-degree turn to starboard while the Task Group raced ahead to intercept the raiders. Idaho and Wichita sailed in line, bearing due northwest, the cruiser leading by almost 6,000 yards, and the destroyers sailing in pairs alongside the capital ships, interposed between them and the Germans. The American commander approached the Germans until he was sure of what the Task Group faced, and after consulting with his officers, decided to open fire.
Game Play
Turn 1 began when Idaho opened fire. Her first salvo against the Tirpitz was rewarded by the unmistakable sound of explosions on armor and deck-plating, signaling widespread damage (27+8 points of damage, plus critical hits on Engine Room, Fire Control Systems, and Fire, which was immediately extinguished). Alarm klaxons began to ring out across the mighty German battleship as shells from the Wichita fell harmlessly around her. The Americans stubbornly refused to fire their secondary batteries, painfully aware of their gun crews' inexperience. The Germans struggled to find targets; from the muzzle flashes they knew the direction of their enemy, but under these conditions, they simply could not find the range.
Turn 2 opened with Tirpitz turning due west and pouring on speed to close with the foe. Admiral Scheer maintained course and speed and prepared to fire. Idaho also maintained course and speed, while Wichita turned due north and sped up towards the Tirpitz, challenging the German leviathan openly. Four destroyers turned northwest and dashed toward their enemies, while two remained close to the Idaho and Wichita in case any U-boats were still lurking in the area….
Insulted by the arrogance of the destroyers, and having finally found the range, Tirpitz split fire against the four Benson-class escorts approaching off its bow. Geysers of water and flame tore at their diminutive hulls, but Tirpitz managed to sink only one. The remaining three advanced undaunted.
With all of her guns brought to bear, the Idaho let fly a broadside against Tirpitz, and the hammering of shells on German steel could be heard all the way to Valhalla. Grim-faced German sailors struggled to control flooding, put out fires, and remove injured crewmen from shattered gun emplacements and control rooms (Tirpitz took 60 points of damage, plus criticals on Secondary Battery, Main Battery, Fire Control, Flooding, and Fire; once again, the fire was extinguished immediately, and the flooding, which resolved as Major Flooding, was contained during the End Phase).
Wichita turned her attention to the Admiral Scheer, hoping to have better luck penetrating her relatively weaker armor, but all shots fell astray. Scheer did not return fire on Wichita, instead choosing to target the destroyers that were getting too close for comfort. While she dealt relatively serious damage to one destroyer, it remained afloat and eager to fight (6 points of damage plus an Engine room critical; the player made a voluntary Command Check in the End Phase to remain in the fight, and succeeded).
The destroyers had finally moved within range, eager for the kill. One destroyer opened fire upon the Admiral Scheer, miraculously taking out one of Scheer's main turrets (2 points of damage and a Main Battery critical). A second destroyer fired a spread of torpedoes at the Tirpitz. Two of the five fish managed to strike home, striking the battleship astern and causing more flooding (42 points of damage, plus Engine Room and Flooding criticals; the flooding resolved as Minor Flooding immediately and again in the End Phase, for 4 additional points of damage).
On Turn 3, doggedly believing in German invincibility, the Tirpitz sailed on, turning slightly so she could bring all of her main guns to bear against the enemy. Idaho turned her bow toward the enemy to close distance, temporarily taking some of her guns out of play. Admiral Scheer had to adjust course slightly to keep her guns trained toward the Americans. Fearlessly, the destroyers drew ever closer to their targets.
Idaho fired everything she could bring to bear against the Admiral Scheer, hoping to sink her quickly, but after sending hell and high water arcing towards the German cruiser, the Scheer suffered the loss of only a few deck fixtures and some paint (an embarrassing 1 point of damage). The Idaho's commander was not happy with this performance, and made a mental note to schedule more gunnery drills for the crew once the battle was over.
The loss of Fire Control Stations must have been taking their toll, since Tirpitz split her fire again, this time between the Wichita and one of the destroyers that had come so close to her port side that the German sailors could practically see Americans waving at them from the decks in the growing dawn light. Tirpitz's shells fell harmlessly around the Wichita, and the destroyer was damaged but not sunk (3 points of damage plus a Flooding critical, which was contained immediately). Several destroyers were now very close indeed, and their torpedoes were ready to launch. The stricken battleship, it seemed, was doomed, and everyone watched with baited breath to see what would happen next.
Wichita fired everything at Admiral Scheer, hoping to succeed where her big sister had failed, but the German cruiser seemed to be leading a charmed life, suffering only some minor structural damage and the loss of one secondary turret from the barrage (7 points of damage plus a Secondary Battery critical).
For her part, Admiral Scheer split fire at the two destroyers that had drawn within torpedo range. Scheer managed to knock out a torpedo mount, but as good as that was, it wasn't good enough (6 points of damage plus a Torpedo critical to one destroyer, 3 points of damage plus a Fire critical to the other; the fire was extinguished immediately). Scheer's torpedoes were better aimed, though, and she managed to sink one destroyer on a very lucky shot, but the victory came too late to save the proud German cruiser.
One by one, the destroyers' guns and torpedoes struck home. The Admiral Scheer came under fire first as guns crippled a secondary turret and tore at her superstructure, but the torpedoes finished her off (3 points of damage plus a Secondary Battery critical from the guns, plus 42 points of damage from two torpedo hits—no need to roll criticals here, as the damage exceeded Scheer's remaining Hull points). The Admiral Scheer was sinking fast, and her surviving crew scrambled over the side to get away from the dying ship.
Tirpitz was next in the sights of the destroyer captains, who had begun referring to themselves as Great White sharks. One lucky shell started a fire on the Tirpitz's deck, but as with the Scheer, it was torpedoes that put the final nails in her coffin. Five torpedoes found their mark and broke the Tirpitz's spine. Explosions ripped through the legendary ship, starting fires that ironically were soon extinguished by uncontrollable flooding in many compartments (105 points of damage, with no need to roll criticals here, as the damage exceeded Tirpitz's remaining Hull points). After all of her accomplishments, the fabled battleship was dead.
Smoke from burning oil and the sounds of screaming men filled the air. But the American sailors' yells of triumph were premature, for they had forgotten the U-boats… Explosions suddenly ripped through five freighters, and four were soon heeling over to join the funeral procession of the German ships under the waves. All in all, the U-boats claimed over 30,000 tons sunk from Convoy HG72, but the Germans had lost two of their best warships. What fate would befall the Bismarck now? Would she be held in reserve, confined to port for fear of losing her, too? Would she now become known throughout the seven seas as the Lonely Queen, biding her time, silently waiting for her executioners? That's a tale for another day….
And the players did seem to have fun.