5 replies to this topic

[Tom Oxley]

I want to run a Jutland scenario at Advance The Colors in September using the Opening Moves scenario from the Avalanche Press Jutland game. I've adopted the recommendation for the British to use D20s instead of D12s, with an option to change that for the Battle Squadron when it arrives after a few turns of their gunfire. Otherwise it looks like a good moderate size battle for the FAI system. Anybody else run this situation have any suggestions to make it a good convention game? The title, "There's Something Wrong With Our Bloody Ships Today", should help bring a few players, and I've targeted the game for 4 players, two on each side, with the British players splitting the reinforcement element at a random number of turns into the game. If the British are doing too well, they wont need the help, so I won't announce it until I roll for the arrival.

[Kenneth D. Hall]

Hello, Tom,

I'm not familiar with the Avalanche Press scenario you mention, but I've run a scenario twice for my club that in scale lies somewhere between Dogger Bank and "Jutland lite". In both.games (one daylight and one night action) the British battlecruisers were caught too far from their supports and were handled roughly indeed. The night action, as one might expect, was particularly horrifying for the British. Each side had a battlecruiser squadron and two battle squadrons (one of the British squadrons being 5th BS). Three players a side (6 total) were kept fully employed.

The balance of the game depends on the composition of the squadrons. My squadrons were assembled from available inventory (my Panzerschiffe collection), so one of the German battle squadrons consisted of Bayern, Baden, and Sachsen. I'm short of destroyers for WWI, so I ruled the weather was bad enough the destroyers turned around and went home early (and casemate guns were out of action). I hope this is somewhat helpful.

[Tom Oxley]

Thanks. I've got Lutzow, Von der Tann, Moltke, Seydlitz and Derflinger, the 1st Scouting Group, on the German side, and Indefatigable, New Zealand, Lion, Princess Royal, Queen Mary and Tiger, 2nd and 1st BC Squadrons with the flag, Lion, as the primary opponents, with the 5th BS coming along randomly. I have these in 1/6000 so no problem with models. At least in the AP Jutland scenario, no DDs are listed, so they are either affected by weather or fuel, or were directed somewhere else. This is listed as a daylight engagement. The friend I am running play tests with thought it was horrible that I was using D20s for the British fleet ("we'll never hit anything"), so in part, the coming of the 5th BS is there to give him some comfort, but it is entirely possible they will not make an appearance, or will arrive too late to really participate - as GM I can manipulate the timing a little if the British force is getting killed too early. 4-6 players would be good, with one player running the flag ship on each side perhaps. If the 5th BS joins in, the British players can split them up between them, 2 and 2. The forces will run to the south until Beatty sees the High Seas Fleet coming (off table) and can turn away at that point. I have to tinker with battle distances, since the maps I find seem to show a longer distance than what I can model on one table length, so I may move everything back on the table at one point to represent that extra distance. Playtesting will help sort that out. I just like to see how others approach the same basic scenario.

[Cpt M]

Thanks. I've got Lutzow, Von der Tann, Moltke, Seydlitz and Derflinger, the 1st Scouting Group, on the German side, and Indefatigable, New Zealand, Lion, Princess Royal, Queen Mary and Tiger, 2nd and 1st BC Squadrons with the flag, Lion, as the primary opponents, with the 5th BS coming along randomly. I have these in 1/6000 so no problem with models. At least in the AP Jutland scenario, no DDs are listed, so they are either affected by weather or fuel, or were directed somewhere else. This is listed as a daylight engagement. The friend I am running play tests with thought it was horrible that I was using D20s for the British fleet ("we'll never hit anything"), so in part, the coming of the 5th BS is there to give him some comfort, but it is entirely possible they will not make an appearance, or will arrive too late to really participate - as GM I can manipulate the timing a little if the British force is getting killed too early. 4-6 players would be good, with one player running the flag ship on each side perhaps. If the 5th BS joins in, the British players can split them up between them, 2 and 2. The forces will run to the south until Beatty sees the High Seas Fleet coming (off table) and can turn away at that point. I have to tinker with battle distances, since the maps I find seem to show a longer distance than what I can model on one table length, so I may move everything back on the table at one point to represent that extra distance. Playtesting will help sort that out. I just like to see how others approach the same basic scenario.

Well, as for the OOBs you're going to have some DDs and CLs. I know AP somewhat discounts both, which is fine (I guess) for their scale. But for a mini game with FAI, you really can't. And the light forces did impact the battle (ie, the German mass DD attack to ward off the Grand Fleet BBs). And Saying that they're absent because of weather wouldn't be right either since both fleets always sailed with their DDs as a screen (if the weather is that bad, then the BBs are staying in port as well). According the info I have the RN OOB for the opening moves was:

1st BCS: Lion (flag), Princess Royal, Queen Mary, Tiger
3rd BCS: New Zealand (flag), Indefatigable
5th BS: Barham (flag), Valiant, Warspite, Malaya

1st LCS: Galatea (flag), Phaeton, Inconstant, Cordelia
2nd LCS: Southampton (flag), Birmingham, Nottingham, Dublin
3rd LCS: Falmouth (flag), Yarmouth, Birkenhead, Gloucester


1st DD Flot: Fearless (CL flag), Acheron, Ariel, Attack, Badger, Defender, Goshawk, Hydra, Lapwing, Lizard
9th/10th DD Flot: Lydiard (flag), Landrail, Laurel, Liberty, Moorsom, Morris, Termagant, Turbulent
13th DD Flot: Champion (CL flag), Moresby, Narborough, Nerissa, Nestor, Nicator, Nomad, Obdurate, Onslow, Pelican, Petard

Engadine (seaplane carrier) was also assigned to the Battlecruiser Force but, needless to say, kept out of the fighting.

For the Germans you have:

I SG: Lutzow (flag), Derfflinger, Seydlitz, Moltke, Von der Tann
II SG: Frankfurt (flag), Weisbaden, Pillau, Elbling

Regensburg (flag, TB Flots)

II Flot: B98 (flag) III Half Flot: G101, G102, B112, B97
IV Half Flot: B109, B110, B111, G103, G104
VI Flot: G41 (flag) XI Half Flot: V44, G87, G86
XII Half Flot: V69, V45, V46, S50, G37
IX Flot: V28 (flag) XVII Half Flot: V27, V26, S36, S51, S52
XVIII Half Flot: V30, S34, S33, V29, S35

[Tom Oxley]

Looks like I need to hit the books again. The "run to the south" material that I was looking at seemed to correspond with the AP stuff. This is why I go to these forums and seek guidance.

[Frank]

Jutland might have been quite different without the cruisers and destroyers. The Germans were found early when German light units stopped a merchant ship for inspection. Merchant blew off steam, which attracted British light units. Battle probably would have occurred later in the day, closer to the Grand Fleet battle line.