This was a pick-up game I arranged with a local player in my area. We decided ahead of time to play a simple Patrol mission. We then proceeded to Gestalt Studios in Powell Wyoming to play!
French airships had been on maneuvers off the coast of South America with the permission of the local government. However, the United States saw the region as their sphere of interests, and invoked the Monroe Doctrine as a pre-text for interrupting the French maneuvers. Things quickly escalated as the two commanders refused to backdown, and a clash became inevitable.
Forces:
I brought the French.
L'Aire National
Bouvet- Charles Martel class Battleship- Command 3
Cassini- D'Iberville class Cruiser- Command 4
Epee- Chasseur class Destroyer - Air Torpedoes- Command 1
My friend Marc from The Painted Dwarf brought the US, and he was still painting them up for the game.
US Navy
USS Murphy's Law- Michigan class Battleship - Command 4
USS Thomas - Bainbridge class Destroyer- Command 2
Mission:
This was played on a 36 x 36 MU board as a standard Patrol mission. We played 6 turns and victory was determined by armor value. This was a straight forward Raid mission with the US as the attacker.
We opted for no complications.
Set-up:
We divided the table into 4 quadrants and generated some terrain.
Grid 1 = Mountains Altitude 3
Grid 2 = Mountains Altitude 3
Grid 3 = Two cloud banks at 7 and 3
Grid 4 = No Terrain
The United States choose sides and began to deploy up to 6MU in from the board edge with Grid 2 and 3 in them. The French had the opposite side of the board. The Bainbridge was close to the Michigan class to act as cover, and they were roughly in the center of the board at altitude 4, going 4.
The French were in the corner, with the Charles Martel at Altitude 4, going 4. It was escorted by the Chasseur at altitude 5. The D'Iberville anchored the line at altitude 6.
I am going to try to cover this turn by turn, but as it was a teaching game I am sure I missed a few things while also monitoring the game and the rules a bit.
Turn 1:
Initiative: The Command 4 and an escort really helped the Americans, as they won 4 commands to 2.
Move:
The Americans opted to let the French go first. The D'Iberville sped ahead and went to Altitude 6. The Bainbridge also went high and sped up. The Martel moved up, while the Michigan moved between the cloud banks. The Chasseur stayed with her charge.
Battle:
Nothing no one had the range.
End:
None
Turn 2:
Initiative: The Americans win again.
Move:
The Michigan uses crash dive and dives down to get even with the lower cloud bank and to use it to block line of sight. The D'iberville continues to the center of the board. Meanwhile, the Bainbridge goes even higher and speeds up, going to max altitude. The Martel and Chasseur move forward.
Battle:
They all hold fire.
End:
None
Turn 3:
Initiative: The Americans win again.
Move:
The Bainbridge races ahead at high altitude and moves in on the French fleet. The D'Iberville has crossed towards the mountain range, and stayed at Altitude 6 to try and target the Bainbridge approaching.
The Michigan turns into the cloud bank and away from enemy fire.
The French battleship continues forward, while her escort goes up to Altitude 6 to try and target the Bainbridge with a torp attack.
Battle:
The destroyers exchange torpedo and gunfire, but only cause friction.
End:
Friction is easily removed when both commanders have a combined 7 command dice!
Turn 4:
Initiative: The Americans win, but opt to let the French go first.
Move:
The Martel moves to try and get a broadside for when the Michigan emerges from the clouds.
The Bainbridge moves to get the drop on the battleship, but is still at high altitude. The Chasseur and D'Iberville move to box it in with torpedo fire. The Michigan comes out of the cloud bank, and presents her broadside.
Battle:
The Martel opens fire with her broadside, trying to cause some friction to dampen the Michigan's fire. The plan works, and causes 1 friction. However, the Michigan's return fire is powerful, and causes 4 friction and lands one solid hit!
The Chassuer and D'Iberville blast the Bainbridge with a flurry of air torpedoes that riddle the American Destroyer.
End:
The Martel's screw is fouled, and she loses speed.
The Bainbridge also loses her deck gun and armor. The Captain is also temporarily knocked out, but is quickly revived.
Turn 5:
Initiative: The Americans win and again let the French go first. However, the Americans get 3 commands and the French get none.
Move:
The two battleships jockey around for position. Meanwhile, the damaged Bainbridge tries to get out of the box, and is pursued by the Chasseur. The D'Iberviller cross across and prepares to use her opposite sides torpedoes on the Michigan.
Battle:
The Martel again tries to pound the Michigan, and with all of her batteries firing, causes 13 friction and 0 hits. The Americans use a Fire for Effect command and pummel the Martel with three hits! The Medium bow battery of the Michigan fails to hit the D'Iberville at range and height.
The Chasseur chases down the Bainbridge and riddles it with its deck gun. The Bainbridge is reduced to 0 armor.
However, D'Iberville uses her torpedoes and manages to hit the Michigan with some more friction and 1 actual hit.
End:
The Michigan has her rudder jammed. The Martel loses armor.
Meanwhile, the Bainbridge strikes her colors and starts to sink.
The board has 20+ friction, and the commanders barely manage to clear it all.
Turn 6- Final Turn
Initiative: The Americans win again, and this time choose to go first.
Move:
The Michigan tries to circle behind the Martel. The Martel speed up and drops altitude and starts to blow smoke as a screen to avoid getting pummeled again.
The Bainbridge is dropping altitude rapidly as she is sinking, but has enough momentum to almost hit a mountain!
The D'iberville and Chasseur begin to turn about, and go near the lower cloud bank for cover.
Battle:
Despite the cover, the Michigan uses a Fire for Effect command and still manage to bring two hits on the Martel with her heavy batteries.
No one else has the range or loaded torpedoes to return fire.
End:
The Martel loses two more armor. However, more importantly, the commander decides to Strike Her Colors as she has taken heavy damage still has a fouled screw!
Conclusion:
The Americans win with 7 armor loss, to the French losing 8! The Michigan pounding the Martel and forcing her to strike her colors was the difference in this game! So close, down to the last dice roll again!
In some of the key turns, I had terrible Initiative rolls which left me with no Commands. These would have helped me mitigate the Fire for Effect commands with some Brace for Impact commands of my own. There were also several times where I did not have enough Commands to Reload Ordinance. This battle also illuminated how a Pre-dreadnought battleship like the Charles Martel class struggles against a Dreadnought class battleship like the Michigan class. There is a big difference between how much firepower they can dish out and absorb. I guess I have been wise in the Indo-china campaign to avoid going toe-to-toe with the Queen Elizabeth class battleship!
Overall, the game was a success and another date to play again was set! A successful demo and test run of the game for some of the locals. This was a run through and prep for the big book launch event we are planning at Gestalt Studios on July 23rd in Powell Wyoming. Join us there if you can! More information will be coming out soon!
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Do the rules have a points system to create you own forces? I have a pile of home made ships from 25 years ago playing Aeronef
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