USN vs. Kriegsmarine

 After a long lay-off, we returned to the unfriendly seas to stage a combat between the German Navy and an intercepting US force.  Game system is Naval Thunder, which I find to be the perfect balance between playability and a sense of realism.  For surface combat at least.  Air and submarine operations need tweaking IMHO.  

Not a many pictures as usual, we played out the whole action in two hours, which is another plus for the system.  Click the pictures to enlarge, comments are always welcome.

The Kriegsmarine: clockwise from the left, three Karl Galster destroyers, the light cruiser Nurnberg, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, the "pocket battleship" Lutzow, and the Bismarck.  The breakout attempt would see the destroyers and Nurnberg return to port after seeing the squadron off, with the three big ships splitting up for commerce raiding.

Determined to stop them are two Fletcher-class destroyers, the light cruiser Brooklyn, the heavy cruisers Pensacola and Wichita, and the new, fast battleship Massachusetts.  They are to stop the Germans from reaching the shipping lanes at whatever the cost.

Since all the large US ships are equipped with radar, Admiral Rondou decided to lay smoke to start.  Unfortunately the Brooklyn was juuuuuuust beyond the smoke and attracted the Bismarck's attention right away.

The "Big Mammie" scored a penetrating hit on the Bismarck which in turn led to secondary ammo explosions and another fire.  Elsewhere, the Brooklyn lashed out at the Z21 with her buzzsaw 6" batteries.

A signalling glitch created a traffic jam among the Americans, while the battered (or so she claimed) O'Bannon fled for the table edge.  Damage control took care of Bismarck's fires and bridge hit.

As the range inevitably closed, damage was given and taken.  The Brooklyn continued to attract unwanted attention, as did the Pensacola.  The 11" guns of the Lutzow were small in number, but were ripping gaping holes in the cruisers.  The Z22 went down, which left the Nurnberg and Prinz Eugen to face the heavy cruisers and Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn must now break off, reduced to just 5 floatation points.  The heroic O'Bannon will exit this turn.  The Nurnberg and Fletcher will succumb to cumulative damage this turn.

Top to bottom: the Bismarck, Lutzow and Z20 start a general pursuit.  The Z20 is particularly fixated on finishing off the Brooklyn.

All alone now, the Prinz Eugen is determined to go down in the best tradition of blue-water sailors.  Planning a torpedo attack on the Wichita and a ram on the Massachusetts.  A staggering broadside from the Wichita put an end to their plan.  It was not all American though, a lucky hit from the Z20 ended a promising career for the Brooklyn, sending her under.  Secondary fire from the Massachusetts made the Z20 pay the ultimate price.

Sadly, the damage control ops aboard the Massachusetts kept creating ready ammunition explosions and more fires.  Such that the "Big Mammie" succumbed to her damage, just as the Bismarck was in similar dire straits.  The Lutzow had been sunk by the Pensacola so the Bismarck was all alone with her 5 flotation points so the engagement ended as the three surviving ships (of 13 starting with both sides) headed for badly needed repair.  Of course, some of those could have just been mission kills and not sunk, but sinking is so much more dramatic.

Some bizarre dice rolls and joking among friends kept the bloody brawl light hearted and filled with laughter.  Next time the British will try their hand against the Italians in the Mediterranean.  Till then, fair winds by with you.

Tundra Con 2022

On January 8th, 2022 we held the 7th Tundra Con at the American Legion Hall, always on the weekend after New Years.  With the surge in COVID variants we didn't know what to expect but wanted to forge ahead anyway and let people decide for themselves about their risk comfort level.  In the end we were below average for attendance, but did better than expected.  The Legion Hall is ideal for a one-day convention, featuring adequate space and food and refreshments available on site.  This year they had an expanded menu of specials for us.

We had eleven game masters running an assortment of games on land, sea, air and the dungeon.  Participants paid a $10 fee and could play in as many games as desired.  Some games were longer than others but many played three games and all could get in two.  Take a look at the pictures below to get a feel for the day.   

Battle of Midway, a possible surface action with 
Naval Thunder, Adam Apell game master.  Savo Island
followed on the same table.

Walking in a Winter Killing Field with Flames of
War, Michael Mathews game master.

Relief of Fort Kasala with The Sword and the Flame,
Greg Miller game master.

Battle Tech Grinder - A Learning Game

Battle of Lake Takitwithya with Drums Along the
Mohawk, Todd Prochniak game master.

Bolt Action demo games all day.

Encounter Appleton with All Quiet on the Martian 
Front, Bob Rondou game master.

Dan Verssen Games, one of our valued vendors.

LOD Enterprises, another regular vendor.  Not pictured,
Jadeco Hobby.

Action heating up in the Battle of the Bulge game.
Will Peiper take the bridge in time?

British relief column vs. the Mahdi looking to rescue
the Egyptian garrison and missionaries.

Ireland Forever, Maybe! with Nevermind the Billhooks,
Todd Prochniak game master.

Invasion at Normandy with Memoir '44, Todd
Chirhart game master.

Rescue and Ambush with Flames of War 'Nam.  Paul
Alaniz game master.  One of three tables.

Relief just needs to drive down this road to rescue
the L,R.P.S. team.  No problem, right?

NVA regulars intercept and engage the now distracted
US armor.

Puff the Magic Dragon and heavy air is available
to support the drive.

A heavy toll is exacted, but the insurgents win in 
the end.

Shadows of Brimstone, Alex Drumm game master.

 

A view of the Legion Hall in the morning.

Yes, I was even seen smiling.

Not pictured are the evening games of Wings of War with Bob Rondau and Mind the Gap with Armageddon '89 with Dan Wideman.

Finally, a shout out to the American Legion Post #38 who has worked with us for years to bring this event to life, and to the men and women who have served with honor.

Grand Fleet vs. High Seas Fleet

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?

Two of the German squadrons navigate the, uh, islands of the Baltic.

The British are similarly sub-divided.

The Germans try to mass against one British element and use the
islands for cover while maneuvering.

The Grand Fleet begins to form line of battle.

Germans have concentrated, but while some maneuvered, others
were pounded.

Looks dangerously like a proper formation!

One ship breaks formation to make an end run.

Some German warships are already battered and dropping out
of line.

The British have not only had extra shots with their longer range,
but also get into a better range band first.

Surveying the table.  Note the satisfied looks.

Oil slicks begin to mark the table.  It's one to one now, but burning
and uncontrolled floods are piling up.

The Kaiserin limps away, only just managing to avoid burning out.

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.

Great Pacific War - Bywater's

To add variation to our games we have begun a loosely connected series of games based on the 1925 book "The Great Pacific War" by Hector Bywater which predicted a war between Japan and the United States in the early 30s.  So our first engagement takes place off the Philippines with a better chance than Bywater gave them.  Rules are Naval Thunder with 1:2400 scale miniatures, played on a 12x6' table.  Players from the Brown Deer/Chicago and Fox Valley area assembled to share our common interests and build comaraderie. 

Our engagement had two phases; the first being a scouting force from both sides seeking to find and report on the opposing battle line.  Each side had four heavy cruisers and a few destroyers. 

Disclaimer: I didn't take any ship pictures at the game but have recreated some scenes from my own collection.

USS Astoria and Chicago with the Salt Lake City and Houston
not pictured.

IJN Atago, one of a quartet of fine Japanese cruisers.

Japanese players look relaxed and confident.

The Japanese had extremely hot dice to start and the USN quickly found itself in a hole we just couldn't dig out of.  All four cruisers were lost to Japanese sharpshooters and all but one of the destroyers.  In return the IJN only lost two destroyers, though the cruisers all sported damage.

A break for a generous lunch and we resumed with the capital ships coming on table.  Now things would be different!  Right?  Right?

Far battleships are USS Arizona and Oklahoma and escorts with
USS Texas and New York closest.

IJN Battleships Nagato and Mutsu.

Supported by IJN Fuso and Yamashiro (stand-in Hyuga).

Things went downhill extremely fast.  The New York and Texas had comparatively short range for their main guns, only 40".  The Arizona and Oklahoma could shoot out to 60" but the Nagato and Mutsu ranged in at 76".  So when we were at extreme range, they were at long with a shooting plus.  So while we initially had our best against their best, it devolved quickly. 

House rules and scenario elements.

I believe the analogy of "the sea exploded" is appropo.

The other battleship column suffers while still out of their range.

The first of three main gun batteries lost on the Arizona.

While we did manage to put down two of the Japanese heavy cruisers on turn two the Arizona lost a main gun turret and on turn three lost two more.  At 70% damage taken she broke out of the line.

A very concerned US staff looks on.

 Being part of a campaign I wanted to break off the US force before we lost any speed but that didn't happen.  The New York and Texas gamely tried to get into range but got hammered by both the battleships and heavy cruisers which against all odds kept penetrating their armor.

The New York is severely damaged as destroyers make smoke
and the Atago stalks her foes.

The game ended/was ended with the loss of the New York, giving the Japanese a decisive victory in the opening engagement.  The invasion of the Philippines is on and will be resolved in a series of local land-based games.

The staggering point total of lost ships at the end.

Our Band of Brothers: seated l-r is Dan, Adam, Jay and Todd.
Standing 2nd row is Todd, Michael (me) and host Bill.  3rd row
is John, Bob and Jim.

Birthday cake is a house tradition in Brown Deer and shows
a fore-boding of things to come for the Japanese Navy.

The next major naval game will be hosted in the Fox Valley area sometime after the first of the year.  Players have the option of picking up the "planned but never finished" ships that appear in Bywater's work like the battlecruisers Akagi and Lexington.  In any case, I'm sure it will be exciting.