The Admiralty gathered May 10th to respond to the challenge at sea. Rules are Naval Thunder: Clash of Dreadnaughts, scale is 1/2400, table is 12x6'. Ten German dreadnaughts faced off against nine British. Armor favored the Germans, gun range and number of big guns favored the British. Which would be more important?
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| Two of the German squadrons navigate the, uh, islands of the Baltic. |
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| The British are similarly sub-divided. |
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The Germans try to mass against one British element and use the
islands for cover while maneuvering. |
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| The Grand Fleet begins to form line of battle. |
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Germans have concentrated, but while some maneuvered, others
were pounded. |
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| Looks dangerously like a proper formation! |
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| One ship breaks formation to make an end run. |
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Some German warships are already battered and dropping out
of line. |
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The British have not only had extra shots with their longer range,
but also get into a better range band first. |
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| Surveying the table. Note the satisfied looks. |
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Oil slicks begin to mark the table. It's one to one now, but burning
and uncontrolled floods are piling up. |
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| The Kaiserin limps away, only just managing to avoid burning out. |
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| More oil slicks, all German. |
German gunnery had not been ineffectual, a number of British ships had taken engine room hits reducing their speed, which would allow the rest of the Germans to escape lest pursuers be defeated in detail. But the British shooting had been phenomenal at times and the German damage control rolls wretched. A deserved win for the Grand Fleet, extending Admiral Jellicoe's career at sea a bit longer.
