3 replies to this topic

[W. Clark]

We fought a what if scenario on 7 October in Portland, OR using Fleet Action Imminent with 1:6000 scale ships. The scenario idea was that von Spee had made a break for Germany directly after Coronel and skipped attacking the Falklands on the way. We decided there would be wireless communication between Spee and the German Navy and that von Spee would try to enter the North Sea from the North. We also decided that the Germans would have thekir battlecruisers bombard England's coast as a diversion while sending the III Scouting Group to escort Spee home. The Brits intercepted a portion of the radio traffic, but felt compelled to respond to Hipper's raid with their battlecruisers. That left the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Cruiser Squadrons to try to intercept von Spee.

1st LCS and 1st CS thus found themselves West of Utsire Island at sunrise on 24 December 1914 with von Spee's squadron about 18,000 yards to their East, with both groups heading 180 degrees. 2nd and 3rd Cruiser Squadrons had fanned out further to the South and entered from the West edge about 6,000 (3rd Cruiser) and 36,000 (2nd Cruiser) yards further South. Meanwhile III Scouting Group entered from the SSE about 48,000 yards to the South. We were playing the rules for the first time and I selected these commands because they would limit torpedo combat (all underwater fixed tubes) while we mastered coal smoke and other differences from our collective WWII expirences.

The Royal Navy was represented by 1st CS; CAs Defence flag, Warrior, Duke of Edinburgh & Black Prince, 2nd CS; CAs Shannon flag, Achilles, Cochrane & Natal, 3rd CS; CAs Antrim flag, Argyll, Devonshire & Roxburgh and 1st LCS; CLs Southampton, Birmingham, Lowestoft & Nottingham. The German Navy was represented by von Spee's Far East Aisan Squadron; CAs Scharnhorst flag & Gneisenau, CLs Dresden, Leipzig & Nurnberg. The III Scouting Group (devided into armored & light cruiser squadrons); CAs Roon flag, Yorck, Prinz Adalbert, Friedrich Karl and Prinz Heinrich with CLs Kolberg flag, Strassburg, Stralsund & Augsburg.

The Scharnhorsts and Roons had DCT primaries while everything else was controlled locally. I knew the Germaqns needed to roll some 1's early with hull box hits results or the Brits were going to close and overwhelm the Germans with all those 7.5" and the greater smashing power of the 9.2". von Spee ran for home but the random entry of the 2nd CS as far South as the pregame die roll allowed (he rolled a 6 for the 2nd CS and a 1 for the 3rd CS)probably decided the game. The III Scouting Group was not able to stop the 2nd CS from sailing directly East and cutting off von Spee's armored cruisers even though it sacrificed Roon and Prinz Adalbert trying. The older German CAs sank the Shannon and damaged Achilles and Cochrane while Scharnhorst and Gniesenau knocked Antrim into a cocked hat, forcing her withdrawal. The Germans caused some damage to Defence and Natal as well as to the British light cruisers; but the Brits sank Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Roon and Prinz Adalbert while damaging the Friedrich Karl and Prinz Heinrich. The German light cruisers and remaining armored cruisers made their escape but the Brits sank 4 to 1 and the Germans had to console themselves proclaiming the survival of 60 percent of von Spee's squadron. All in all we enjoyed the game and the rules. I find the gunnery rules to the best treatment of a very complex subject without the solution being complex that I've seen to date.

[Frank]

Thank you very much. Interesting scenario. Did you try visibility rules? North Sea weather had a profound effect on many battles.

Frank

[W. Clark]

Thank you very much. Interesting scenario. Did you try visibility rules? North Sea weather had a profound effect on many battles.

Frank

I rolled for weather including wind direction and visibility prior to the game. We started out with 23,000 yards (a really clear day given the location and time of year). We had 30 cruisers steaming around at flank speed for the entire game and coal smoke had reduced visibility to 16,000 yards by the end of the game.

[W. Clark]

I intend to run this again at Enfilade as it seems to me to be a good scenario for introducing a group of players to FAI.