5 replies to this topic

[W. Clark]

I put Utsire Island on at the Enfilade Convention last weekend. We had 4 players, 2 per side. As before von Spee was making his attempt to get home to Germany via the North Sea by hugging the coast of Norway. von Spee had contacted Germany by wireless to inform them of his intentions. Germany had sent Hipper's Battle Cruisers to bombard the South Eastern coast of England to draw off Beatty's Battle Cruisers and they had also sent the III Scouting Group with Bluecher attached to escort von Spee home.

Unknow to either von Spee or the German Naval Command the Brits had intercepted von Spee's wireless communications and were aware of his intentions. Jellicoe sent Beatty after Hipper and his three best armored cruiser squadrons (1st, 2nd & 3rd) and his only light cruiser squadron (the 1st) to intercept von Spee. The British cruiser squadrons fanned out from Scapa Flow to pin von Spee against the coast of Norway with the 1st Light Cruiser, 1st Cruiser, 3rd Cruiser and 2nd Cruiser Squadrons from North to South.

The 24th of December 1914 dawned cold and overcast with a sea mist to the north. The wind was a Force 5 from the northeast with a visibility of 18,000 yards. The mist reduced visibility to the north by 2,000 yards.

The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron under Commodore William Goodenough, steaming due east, sighted von Spee's squadron steaming south ahead of it in the early morning light from the east. The 1st LCS was still hidden in the dark to the west and turned northeast to get behind von Spee and close the back door while it reported his location and course by wireless to the other cruisr squadrons.

1st Cruiser Squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Archibald Moore (the senior flag officer present) sighted von Spee directly ahead and turned SSE on a converging course.

von Spee sighted 1st CS to his west and 1st LCS behind him at 0800 hours. von Spee ordered his squadron to full speed and held his light cruisers to his east to shield them with his armored cruisers from the 1st CS. von Spee began to angle somewhat towards Utsire Island to maintain the range.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau opened on Defense and Warrior respectively at 0806 hours with the range just under 18,000 yards. Gneisenau scored a hit on Warrior at 0812 hours resulting in hull damage and slowing Warrior to 20 knots. The 1st CS was thus slowed allowing von Spee to keep the range.

3rd Cruiser Squadron under Rear Admiral Sir William Pakenham (junior flag officer preswent) sighted von Spee's ships about 0818 hours and turned onto a converging SSW course.

At the same time 2nd Cruiser Squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthopre was steamimg due east to cut von Spee off and came into range of von Spee at 0830 hours when Scharnhorst hit Shannon in the hull reducing her to 20 knots. At the same time a Gale struck out of the northeast reducing all the ships to 15 knots, visibility to 11,000 yards and making everyone's casement guns useless.

It was at this point that Rear Admiral Baron von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels III Scouting Group appeared from the south and opened fire on Shannon also. At 0836 hours Shannon hit Roon with her fore turret and inflicted in the hull and engine rooom damage slowing Roon to 13 knots. Roon returned the favor damaging a bulkhead on Shannon.

Shannon repaired her bulkhead but Roon, Yorck and Friedrich Karl hit Shannon at 0842 damaging 2 bulkheads and knocking out her searchlights. Prinz Adalbert hit Achilles in the hull. Other German and Brit fire was ineffective.

Shannon failed to repair her damaged bulkheads and inccurred further hull damage. Prinz Adalbert hit Achilles damaging a bulkhead at 0848. Shannon sank at 0854 and Acilles hit Scharnhorst in the hull and knocked her searchlights out. Scharnhorst hit Natal damaging a bulkhead and a engine room. Cochrane hit Friedrich Karl knocking out her fore turret.

Roon sank at 0900 under a barrage from several Brit cruisers. Natal hit Gnesinau damaging her fore turret, hull and searchlights. Achilles hit Scharnhorst knocking out her starboard fore casement 8.2".

We ran out of time at this point and I had to resolve it based on the damage inflicted to that point. I determined that von Spee had not escaped at that point with the 2 CS still further south then it was. The Germans had sunk the Shannon and inflicted enough damage on the Natal to get half her points for a total 8.5 points. The Brits had sunk the Roon and the scores stood at 8.5 to 4 so I awarded victory to the Germans.

[simanton]

Here, at last, is the Scouting Group III AAR from The Battle of Utsire Island, Enfilade 2013!

[simanton]

Ahem, like I said, HERE, at last, is the Scouting Group III AAR from The Battle of Utsire Island, Enfilade 2013!

Attached Files

•  AAR Utsire Island (NXPowerLite).pdf   899.82KB   17 downloads

[W. Clark]

Thank you for expounding on my AAR. One picture is worth 10,000 words and your effort here proves that to be true as I find your AAR to be clearer than mine was on what happened. I agree with everything you say except for the Bluecher's becoming the flagship of the III SG on such short notice.

IMHO it is a bad idea to break up a tried and tested command team on the eve of an action just to play with a new toy. If the III SG and Bluecher had exercised together then a shift of flag to the more powerful and better protected cruiser is warranted. Also such a short notice shift of flag is often taken by the crew of the ship losing flagship status as a punishment or slight and would have affected morale adversely just when the ship's morale and good performance was critical.

The Brits certainly helped the Germans with their ship handling. I suggested several times to the Brits that they needed to get to the south of you and that their approach angle was hampering their gunnery even more than their early bad dice was but to no avail. But, they paid for it. I would suggest that with 2CS finally presenting its broadsides to you that Schanhorst and Geisenau were going to get hurt in the next couple of turns lessening their chances of escaping 1 & 2 CS but that is all a matter of dice and dice can go either way at any point.

[simanton]

Glad you liked the AAR! Illustration make the files bigger, but the result is worth it. As I said, I think I had a more challenging game with Bluecher where she was, but given that there was going to be an armored cruiser action, I think all hands would concur that shifting flag from Kolberg to Bluecher would have been justified. But either way it was a good game. My point about the gale favoring the Germans is important, I think, because the British would have had to inflict greater damage to slow the EACS armored cruisers below 15 kts. But the dice gods rule, and you assessed the status as of game end exactly right.

[simanton]

A big reason for making Bluecher the flag is that it's the best way to ensure that she does things the way the Admiral wants them done.