Posted 22 August 2008 - 09:47 AM
Hi --I'm obnoxious about submitting AARs. Like to let folks know about games we've played. This one was just last night, and required some homegrown stats (used some of the files found here at ODGW to help) for the Svetlana class light cruiser -- which historically never saw the light of day during WWI. Anyway, here's the introduction...March, 1916Operations in the Black Sea provided the Russian navy with its only clear-cut victories during the First World War. The Turkish fleet simply didn’t have anything that could match the enemy’s latest series of destroyers – oil-burning, 1,200-ton boats capable of speeds exceeding 30 knots.Russian planners used these destroyers to target shipping along Turkey’s “coal belt” (the Zonguldak port and surrounding waters) and sank a large number of steamers and sailing craft with relative impunity. An embittered German officer stated the Russian boats ruled the Black Sea, possessing the legs and firepower to decimate merchant shipping. Before long, the Turkish supply fleet had been reduced to five operational colliers.The situation became even worse for Enver Pasha after the appearance of the first two Imperatrista Maria class battleships in late 1915. The Russians finally had dreadnoughts capable of outgunning the Goeben on a 1-on-1 basis, which meant the Turks had lost the one edge held during the first year of the war.Historically, Breslau was able to cripple a modern Russian destroyer (the two sides blundered into each other during a Russian sweep of the Anatolian coast). But the stricken boat was towed to safety within a few hours. Here, we have Breslau returning to the scene with Goeben moving to support her, while a “Covering Force” dispatched by the Black Sea fleet is arriving to pull Bespokoiny back to safety. The wrinkle is that the Russians have brought their latest class of light cruiser – the Svetlana – which in reality wasn’t completed until well after the war ended. And a dreadnought lurks over the horizon…Note: Russia's Small Shipbuilding Program of 1912 authorized light cruisers laid down in 1912, but delays and bureaucratic corruption derailed the projects, and both Lazarev and Kornilov were eventually deployed as modified transports. We’re tossing that aside and using the ships in the role for which they were originally intended. Stricken Russian Destroyer @ 0 knots, 300 degrees, center of table.Bespokoiny (Derzki class destroyer)The destroyer has suffered two engineering hits and so is dead in the water. The Russian player can attempt damage control rolls starting with the 2nd Game Turn. The destroyer is also assumed to have lost a single hull box, although its guns and torpedoes are still functional.Russian Light Cruiser Force @ 29 knots, 270 degrees, middle of eastern table edge.Admiral Lazarev (Svetlana class light cruiser)Admiral Kornilov (Svetlana class light cruiser)Russian Battleship Force @ 21 knots, any edge dependent on availability.Imperatrista Maria (same class battleship)Two Derzki class destroyers (Derzki; Fidonisi)German First Wave @27 knots, 135 degrees, western half of northern edge.Breslau (Magdeburg class light cruiser). Breslau has DCT.German Second Wave @23 knots, any edge dependent on availability.Goeben (Moltke class battlecruiser). Goeben has DCT for secondaries. Environmental ConditionsWinds: Light (4 knots)Waters: GlassySmoke: 2 Game TurnsVisibility: 29,000 yards (mid day)Squalls: NoneDeployment RulesLazarev and Breslau are assumed to be the flags of their respective “first waves,” and so may send wireless transmissions calling for help starting with the 1st Game Turn. Either side may attempt to jam OR transmit. And as both are assumed to be flagships for their first waves, there’s a chance of interference. Messages that get through are held on the board for the remainder of the Game Turn – and then a D6 is rolled to determine how many turns will pass before reinforcements arrive. The Game lasts for 12 + d6 turns.Here's how it went down....