Adam Jone brought out his superbly painted WWII Naval miniatures for a game too General Quarters III for us to enjoy as we gathered at Impact Gaming Center in Fairview Heights, IL for our July Game Day East. With a scenario titled Into The Breach he depicted a hypothetical German surface attack on an arctic convoy.
Before the game started Adam took time to explain the scenario to a young airman from Scott AFB and his family.
Brian who joined us from East Peoria for the game took on the Kriegsmarine surface forces and faced off against Ray who captained the mixed Allied task force.
Adam was kind enough to submit this report on the race so we will turn it over to him. …..
“ AAR for the July 19th Game Day-East General Quarters 3 naval Game titled “Into the Breach””
“Date: September 1944”
“Location: Convoy routes in the North Atlantic running from the US/UK to the USSR.”
“The Allies have sent a large convoy of merchant ship loaded with supplies for the Soviet Union. The Germans, disappointed with the results of the U-boats sent to interdict the convoy, has sent the full might of the Kreigsmarine surface fleet to attack the convoy. While in route, th Allies detect the German ships and order the distant cover force to sail to engage the Germans. The Germans, in turn, detect the approaching Allied ships and detach a small task force to engage the cover force.”
ORDER OF BATTLE
Allied Distant Cover Force
United States:
CA-37 USS Tuscaloosa
CA-45 USS Wichita
DD-405 USS Rowan
DD-419 USS Wainwright
Great Britain:
CA HMS London C 69
CA HMS Norfolk C 78
DD HMS Somali F 33
German Task Force
BC KM Admiral Scheer
BC KM Lutzow
DD KM Z.4 Richard Beitzen
DD KM Z.24
DD KM Z.27
“The Allies had two lines of cruisers with the British line led by HMS London followed by HMS Norfork, while 5000 yards to the left of the British cruisers was the American cruiser line, led by USS Tuscaloosa with USS Wichita following. 7000 yards in front of the two cruiser lines were the three Allied destroyers.”
“The German battlecruisers were sailing side by side with about 6000 yards between them. In front were the three German destroyers. The German fleet closed the distance at their maximum speed of twenty six knots as the Allied fleet sailed at thirty two knots. Both fleets continued to close in formation for about 18 minutes(3 turns). “
“The German admiral made the first move. The two battlecruisers turned to the left and started to cross the bows of the two Allied cruiser lines. The three German destroyers accelerated to full speed and charged toward the Allied destroyer screen.”
“The next 24 minutes (4 turns) was a blizzard of gunfire and torpedoes. I will break down the melee.”
“First up is the destroyer fight. USS Rowan faced off against Z.4. Both destroyers gave as well as they got. Z.4 was smothered by the rapid firing 5” gun of the USS Rowan, losing both torpedo mounts, two main gun turrets, both the port and starboard spotlights and 25% hull damage. Z.4 hit back at USS Rowan, knocking out one torpedo mount, one main gun turret, and 28% hull damage. A critical hit breached a bulkhead of USS Rowan and she began to take on water. Damage control parties were desperately trying to stem the flooding as the game ended. Both destroyers pretty much were exchanging fire until the game ended”
“Z.24 maneuvered into a good firing position and launched 2-4 torpedo spreads toward the American cruiser line. Almost immediately, USS Wainwright engaged Z.24. Again, the US 5” gun savaged Z.24, losing four of her five main gun mounts, one empty torpedo mount, the port spotlight and 25% hull damage. The bridge was critically hit and Z.24 was unable to turn due to the loss of the bridge until bridge control was restored. Return fire of Z.24 hit back hard with the USS Wainwright losing two main gun mounts, one torpedo mount and 42% hull damage. Two critical hits compounded the damage. The rudder was jammed in the straight position which prevented the USS Wainwright from changing course until damage control parties could repair the rudder. Additionally, USS Wainwright took a bulkhead hit and began to flood. Since only one critical hit can be repaired in a turn, USS Wainwright was in some serious trouble.”.
“Z.27 was tangling with HMS Somali as the German destroyer maneuvered and fired her one remaining torpedo mount toward the British cruiser line. Z.27 was not very accurate with her fire upon HMS Somali, with a number of splashes denoting missed shots. One shot did appear to hit amidships, HMS Somali, on the other hand, hit Z.24 hard, with the German destroyer losing her depth charge racks, one gun mount, one loaded torpedo mount and the port spotlight. HMS Somali also inflicted a critical fire control director hit. Z.24’s remaining main guns now had to be aimed by each turret crew rather than coordinated by the fire control director. The accuracy of Z.27’s main guns was severely compromised. The swirling combat pushed the two destroyers closer to the two German battlecruisers. The last salvo from Z.27put one hit on HMS Somali, while HMS Somali missed. The two German battlecruisers realized that HMS Somali had closed into range of their secondary gun batteries. Both battlecruisers opened up with their 5.9” gun turrets. The combined guns hit HMS Somali five times putting a combined total of six hits on the British destroyer. Only one hit needs to be reported. One shell hit the forward deck, smashed its way down into HMS Somali’s forward ammunition magazine. HMS Somali exploded and sank! “
“The German battlecruiser Admiral Scheer fixed their guns on the lead British ship in the British cruiser line; HMS London. Admiral Scheer mounts 2 turrets, one forward and one aft; each with 3 11” guns. Built as a surface raider, her gun punch allows her to engage any sized ship and win except against battleships. Admiral Scheer has the speed to avoid fights with heavier ships.The only weakness is her armor is the same as the armor of the opposing cruisers. Admiral Scheer cannot win a prolonged engagement with a larger number of enemy cruisers. HMS London fought back valiantly but did not manage to hit Admiral Scheer at all. Admiral Scheer did not miss. HMS London lost all four main gun turrets, a loaded torpedo mount, and 57% hull damage. HMS London also received two critical hits. One was in the engine room, which reduced her speed to twenty-one knots. The other critical hit was a breached bulkhead hit with subsequent flooding. HMS London had had enough and began to disengage from the battle.”
“Simultaneously, the battlecruiser Lutzow, engaged the lead American cruiser, the USS Tuscaloosa. The USS Tuscaloosa had better luck than HMS London by hitting the Lutzow with a shot that hit the forward main turret, but failed to penetrate so no damage was inflicted. Lutzow hit back with success. USS Tuscaloosa lost two main turrets, the spotlight, and the hanger for the floatplanes was hit and triggered two uncontrolled fires. A critical hit destroyed the fire control director which affects the hit ability of the remaining main guns. To top it off, two of the torpedoes from the two salvos launched by Z.24 hit the USS Tuscaloosa. Her combined hull damage from both gunfire and torpedoes was 71%. USS Tuscaloosa also tuned to disengage.”
“With both Allied cruiser lines in retreat, the game was called and a German victory was awarded.”
“Thanks to Ray R and Brian ? for participating in Sunday’s game.”
Thanks to Adam for the great report so we can all live or reline the day on the high seas somewhere off the coast of Norway. .
A huge thank you to everyone who came out to play, as well as to those who stopped by to visit and spend time with us. We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to the outstanding staff at Impact Gaming Center for their continued support of our historical tabletop gaming community.
Be sure to check out Dispatches and The Weekly Gaming Update on this page for more information on upcoming games across the metro area.
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