Monday, February 27, 2017

Castles in the Sky- Balkan Uprising- Breakthrough at Salonica

Castles in the Sky- Balkan Uprisings Campaign- Breakthrough at Salonica

With the land war bogging down around Salonica, the Ottoman League has decided to throw their weight into a battle over the front lines.  Members of all the Ottoman League nations have assigned vessels to the attempt.  As Salonica is the flashpoint of the campaign, the Balkan League has their assets operating in the area.  When word arrives from scouts on the ground of the assembling enemy fleet the Balkan forces quickly move to intercept them.  A showdown is inevitable in the skies over Salonica. 

Forces
The Ottoman League
Ottoman Empire
Sultan Mehmed II- Fatih                            Captain: Seydi Al Reis                     Command: 3- Flagship
Class: Sultan Osman-I Evvel                         Category: Battleship                       Armor: 9

Basra                                             Captain: Hasan Rami Pasha                          Command: 2
Class: Barbarous Heyreddin         Category: Heavy Cruiser                               Armor: 8

Mecidiye                                             Captain: Medvid Reis                                     Command: 1
Class: Hamidiye                                 Category: Cruiser                                             Armor: 8

Barbaros                                              Captain:  Murat Pasha                                    Command: 2
Class: Berk Efsan                              Category: Torpedo Boat                                    Armor: 4

Austro-Hungarians:
Prince Eugen                                      Captain: Anton von Sterneck                      Command: 2
Class: Tegethoff                                               Category: Battleship                       Armor: 9

Bravo                                                    Captain:  Anton Pock                                      Command: 4
Class: Huszar                                      Category: Destroyer                                       Armor: 6

Italians:
San Bartolomeo                             Captain: Paolo Revel                                       Command: 1
Class: Vettor Pisani                          Category: Armored Cruiser                          Armor: 8

Total Points: 52 Armor Points

The Balkan League
Russians:
Poltava                                                 Captain:  Pyotr Senyavin               Command: 2 - Flagship
Class: Imperatrista Mariya            Category: Battleship                       Armor: 8

Oleg                                               Captain: Aleksey Rozhestvensky               Command: 2
Class: Bogatyr                               Category: Cruiser                             Armor: 7

Vityaz                                                    Captain: Georgy Vysotskiy           Command: 2
Class: Bogatyr                                    Category: Cruiser                             Armor: 7

Albatros                                               Captain: Feliks Golokov                 Command: 3
Class: Krasnoye                                 Category: Gunboat                         Armor: 5

Sova                                                      Captain: Vladimir Greig                  Command: 1
Class: Krasnoye                                 Category: Gunboat                         Armor: 5

French:
Brennus                                               Captain: Theo Aube                        Command: 4
Class: Charles Martel                      Category: Heavy Cruiser                               Armor: 8

Primauguet                                        Captain: Jean de Vienne                               Command: 4
Class: D’iberville                               Category: Cruiser                             Armor: 7

Total Points: 54 Armor Points

This attack and defense are so important, each fleet has their admiral present for the battle. 

The Mission
The Ottoman forces are trying to force their way past the blocking Balkan League ships.  If successful, they will be able to target and attack key Command and Control and Logistic centers behind enemy lines.  This could cause the Balkan attack to crumble. 

The Ottoman’s timed their attack to occur during a storm lashing the area.  The clouds for the storm are at Altitude 3, and anyone below the cloud cover is considered in the storm.  The normal rules found in Castles in the Sky apply. 

Set-Up
The Ottoman League set-up on a long board edge in a wedge formation intent on smashing their way past the Balkan defenders and to victory.  The attack was spearheaded by the Ottoman flagship the Sultan Mehid-II Fatih/  To the flagship port was the Italian San Bartolomeo, the Austrian Prince Eugene, Bravo Destroyer, and Barbaros Torpedo Boat.  The Starboard side is the Mecidiye and the Basra.  They are mostly at mid-heights going full speed, but above the cloud line. 

The Balkan League defenders are split into two groups.  They appear eager to close the center gap and cross the T of the Ottoman attackers.  On the south side is the Russian Poltova flagship, followed by the Brennus and the Sova.  On the North side is the Vityaz, Primauguet, Oleg, and then the Albatros.  They are also at various altitudes, but they are move much slower to try to time their T-cross appropriately. 

Turn 1-3
Initiative: The Ottoman’s win and choose to go first.  Admiral Seydi Al Reis has a better command rating and that is helping the Ottoman’s win.    

Move:
The Ottoman battle line presses forward methodically at speed 5 with no altitude changes.  The Balkan League creeps c bit closer, but looks ready to close the trap. 

Shooting:
None.  No one has the range.  At the end of Turn 3, long range is in play but no one fires in fear of jamming or failing ammo rolls before the shots are truly needed. 


Turn 4:
Initiative: Ottoman’s win and choose to go first again.  They have 3 orders available while the Balkan League gets none. 

Moving:
Admiral Al Reis orders all Ottoman ships to full speed ahead!  The ships begin to break up their line formation.  The Escorts race ahead and move to bypass the Balkan battle line.  In addition, the Sultan and Prince stoke their boilers enough to generate a smoke screen for protection.

The Balkan League slow and prepare to receive and deliver fire as they have crossed the T of the inbound Ottoman ships.


Shooting:
The Ottoman fleet opens fire across the line as they rapidly close the distance!  Admiral Senyavin is deeply saddened by the fact that he will not be able to Brace!  The Italian armored cruiser blasts the Brennus with a barrage of Air Torpedoes.  The PD get two, but two more crash into the side of the ship and cause damage.  The Brennus is then plastered by the guns and bow torpedoes of the Prince Eugene as well.  It is left with 5 blasts and two hits. 

The Sultan fires on the Poltava and hits her once, leaving a blast.  Admiral Al Reis is glad he has the smokescreen to protect him from the return fire. 

Air Torpedoes from the Mecidiye and the Basra blast the two Bogatyr class cruisers, but leave only bursts as the Point Defense gunners do their jobs admirably.  However, medium battery fire hits the Vityaz twice from the Mecidiye. 

The Basra uses her broadsides on the approaching French cruiser, Primauguet and cause two bursts and two hits! 

The Brennus fires on the Tegethoff with her full broadside, but the smokescreen and bursts keep the shells from finding their mark!  In addition, the hits caused the Brennus’s forward ammo loaders to jam.  The Primauguet’s bow torpedoes mostly miss the Basra, but the PD kills one and the other strikes a vulnerable place on the ship.

The Poltova fires on the Sultan, but the smokescreen and height difference spare her from any serious damage and instead she takes a burst.  The Oleg fires on the Mecidiye, and inflicts a burst as well. 


End:
Apply damage.  The Brennus’ rudder was jammed in the barrage, and she lost two Armor.  The Vityaz had its screw fouled and lost two armor points.  The D’iberville lost two armor and had the bridge hit! 
The Basra lost 1 armor point and the Port Light Battery was disabled. 

No Repair rolls due to Bursts on the ships. 

Burst removal.  Both sides rolled a 1!  The Ottoman’s took it off the Sultan, while the Balkans took one off the Poltava.   
            
Turn 5
Initiative: Ottoman’s win and choose to go first again.  Both sides have 1 order.

Movement:
The Ottoman’s do not let up speed and plow ahead.  The Sultan races just over the Poltova and the Mecidiye is almost right under her as well.  The battle is turning into a knife fight as the lead Ottoman forces crash through the Balkan battle line.


Shooting:
Admiral Al Reis orders the crew of the Mehmed Il-Fettih to lock onto the Poltova, which they do.  The guns on the Ottoman battleship roar to life in a full point-blank broadside.  Admiral Senyavin orders the Poltova to Brace for Impact, but the crew fails to respond in time!  4 bursts and 3 good hits from the barrage. 

The Mecidiye, also fires her bow battery at the Poltova, but her turret jams and can not come to firing position.  However, her stern medium battery hits the Vityaz two more times, and the light batteries pepper her with three bursts.  The Primauguet dove under the altitude of the Basra to get out of firing range of the Heavy Cruiser. 

The Prince Eugene’s main  guns hit the Brennus for another hit and two more bursts!  The San Bartolomeo has no forward guns and does not try to re-load ordinance.  

The Vityaz and the Oleg fire on the Mecidiye and manage to land two hits (Vityaz) and 4 bursts.  The Sova also manages to land two bursts on the Bravo at the edge of the battle despite fighting in the stormy cloud cover. 


End:
Apply damage! In addition to losing two armor (taking her to 3), the Vityaz catches on fire!  The Poltova loses three armor (down to 5), and also loses her rear medium battery.  The Brennus also loses another point of armor down to 5.  The Mehmed Il-Fatih is reduced to 8 armor.  The Mecidye is reduced to 5. 

No repair rolls are possible since all ships have bursts on them. 
 
Burst removal.  Ottoman’s roll 3 and Balkan’s roll 5.  Ottman’s remove bursts from the Mehmed il-Fatih and the Bravo.  The Balkan/s remove bursts from the Poltova and 1 from the D’iberville. 

(Note, I ran out of burst markers so I switched to a d10 to show how many on each ship! 

Turn 6:
Initiative: Ottoman’s win again and go first again.  1 order each.

Moving:
The Barbaros Torpedo Boat escapes off the board, giving the Ottoman’s 4 armor and it looks like the Huszar will escape next turn.  The rest of the Ottoman fleet plows forward.  The Oleg and Poltava try to pull up parallel to the Mehmed Il-Fatih to slow her escape.  Meanwhile the San Bartolomeo and Prince Eugene try to get by the immobilized Brennus.  The Mecidiye and the Basra are bogged down by the Vityaz and the Primauguet tries to skirt around behind the battle. 

Shooting: This time Admiral Al Reis fails to get his crew to lock-on to the Poltova, but he again hits her with a close range broadside.  5 solid hits this time, however this time the crew of the Poltova are ready and Brace.  All but one are ignored! 


The Mecidiye slugs the Vityaz with another slew of shells causing two hits.  The Basra lands another one! It looks like the Vityaz will start to sink into the storm next turn.   

The San Bartolomeo hits the Brennus for 1 burst and 1 true hit.  The medium starboard battery also hits the Poltova for a burst thanks to the Russian’s Brace order!  The Prince Eugene lays in three more hits as she tries to go under the stricken French ship. 

The Balkan response is lively.  The Poltova fires on the nearby Mehmed il-Fatih and lands a hit.  The Oleg also adds her weight of fire but only manages 4 bursts on the Battleship. 

The Vityaz forward batteries strike the Mecidiye for a true hit and another burst.  The light batteries land three more bursts on the Basra as well to the Port side. 

The Brennus’ forward battery and port batteries manage to hit the San Bartolomeo for a pair of bursts and the other batteries put 4 bursts on the Prince Eugene.  Very few true hits, but enough to slow down the attackers with bursts and that is the name of the game in this battle. 

End:
Apply damage.  The Mecidiye loses an armor point bringing her down to 4.  The Mehmed Il-Fatih also loses an armor point bringing her to 7 overall. 

The Vityaz is reduce three armor points to 0, and is crippled and sinking, the captain orders all hands to abandon ship as she begins to drop towards the storm raging below.

The Poltava the Russian flagship expodes!  The Mehmed and Oleg are caught in the blast.  The Ottoman flagship takes a hit, and the Oleg takes two more hits.  This is enough to cripple the Mehmed Il-Fatih!  The Oleg loses armor and has its crew fouled!      


The Brennus loses 4 armor bringing her down to 2 armor points.  Her rudder is fouled, her screw is fouled, and she has lost her stern heavy battery and her port medium battery.  Captain Aube decides to strike her colors as she also has 14 bursts on her!  Her fighting days are over without a total overhaul.         

Carnage! 

Sinking
The Mehmed il-Fatih and the Vityaz all drop down an altitude band. 

Repair rolls. 
All ships have bursts. 

Burst removal.
The Balkan’s roll 6 and remove all bursts from the Oleg and Primauguet.  The Ottoman’s only get 1, and remove it from San Bartolomeo. 

Turn 7
Initiative: With the Poltova destroyed Captain Aleksey Rozhestvensky takes command in the Oleg.  Admiral Al Reis manages to score two orders and Rozhestvensky gets 1.  The Ottoman’s choose to go first again. 

Move:
The Bravo scoots past the Balkan forces and off the board, the Ottoman’s have escaped 10 armor points.  At the end of turn 8, they need more off the board than on.  This will be close.

The Oleg with her fouled screw barely stays in play and moves to attack the San Bartolomeo.  The Primauguet moves to take a stern torpedo attack on the Mecidiye.  The Albatross also moves to pepper the Ottoman cruiser. 


Shooting:
The Italian armored cruiser meets the Oleg with an accurate broadside attack landing 5 hits!  The Oleg has no choice but to try and Brace or be sunk!  However, the Command test is failed! 

http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah273/EasynotEZE/IMG_1471_zpszh6linck.jpg

Mecidiye launches air mines behind her, and her stern turret misses the Albatros.  The prince Eugene ignores the Brennus as she passes underneath.  The Basra fires on the Albatros with her port heavy batteries and light since her medium’s were knocked out.  The gunboat takes a burst and a hit. 

The Oleg’s return fire on the San Bartolomeo is also accurate, landing 2 bursts and 2 hits.  The Albatross also manages to land two solid hits on the Mecidiye at close range. 

The acting officer in charge of the Primauguet orders torpedo tubes to be readied and the order is carried out successfully.  He fires a full barrage of air torpedoes at the Mecidiye.  Of the six, two hit air mines and are destroyed en route.  Two more are taken out by Point Defense.  1 misses the cruiser.  The last one strikes home for a true hit. 

End
Apply damage:
The Albatros is crippled from the hit it took.  The Oleg is reduced to armor 0 and begins to sink. 

The Mecidiye has its rudder jammed, but more importantly it is reduced to armor 0 and also begins to sink.  The San Bartolomeo loses 2 armor points. 


Sinking: The Vityaz, Mehmed, Mecidiye, Oleg, and Albatros all lose one altitude band.

Repair:
The Captain of the Primauguet wakes up from being unconscious and takes over command of his ship. 

Burst Removal:
The Balkan league rolls 3, but it doesn’t matter as all their ships are out of the fight.  The Ottoman’s roll 3 and remove them from Prince Eugene.

Turn 8: Final Turn
Initiative: The Ottoman’s win with 1 command and choose to go first again. 

Move:
The Ottoman fleet races to the edge of the board.  The San Bartolomeo makes it off the edge of the board, giving the Ottoman fleet 18 armor off the board.  The prince Eugene and Basra are far too slow.  The Mehmed is crippled, and the Mecidiye is sinking. 

The Primauguet moves up by the stricken Vityaz, Albatros, and Mecidiye and tries to rescue survivors. 

Shooting:
None

End:
It’s all over but the crying at this point. 

Conclusion:
The Ottoman’s managed to push 18 armor points off the edge of the board, but left 33 on the board.  They lost the battle.  However, the Balkan League has no reason to celebrate as their fleet was decimated by the Ottoman attack.  The only craft to escape undamaged was the Sova, a small gunboat who was at the fringe of the fighting. 

Ottoman League Loses:
Mehmed Il-Fatih- Crippled
Mecidiye- Sunk

Balkan League Losses:
Poltova- Exploded along with the Russian Admiral Sanyeviz
Vityaz- Sunk
Oleg- Sunk
Albatros- Crippled
Brennus- Struck Colors

The Balkan League probably can not sustain more “Victories” like this one.  The Ottoman player may have lost the game by bringing so many big units, but they delivered results in smashing the Balkan League fleet.      

The storm around Salonica began to abate, but the troops in the siege were recovering sailors and their bodies for the next several days.  However, many more were captured when they landed on the wrong side of the siege.  It was even worse if you ended up in No-Man’s Land.  Many of the troops were telling colorful stories about that night, and the battle in the storm.  Those who could would rush out to the crash sites of the Mecidiye, Oleg, or Vityaz to gape at the great wrecks. 

Meanwhile, the Balkan League had managed to thwart the Ottoman attempt to help break the siege at Salonica.  A few days after the air battle, and the city fell to the Balkan troops.  They began to push forward again to drive the Turk out of Europe for good.  However, their path was increasingly harried by air bombardment as the Balkan League fleets could do little to contest the airspace. 

Campaign Stuff:
Ottoman League is ahead 3 points to 0.  The Balkan League chooses to turn in the one they just earned to call for 8 DP of reinforcements.  The Greeks offer their only armored cruiser to the cause, the Georgios Averoff which is a Vettor Pisani class armored cruiser formerly of the Italian navy.          

Damage:
The Albatros is repaired by the crew back to 4 armor
The Primauguet is repaired back to full armor
Brennus is repaired of critical damage and improved to armor 3

Mehmed fails to repair any damage
Basra and San Bartolomeo repair back to starting armor. 

Strategic Assets:
No Strategic Assets change hands after this battle.   

The Ottoman’s use 2 to repair the Mehmid back to full armor, and the other three are banked for a total of 5 Assets in reserve. 
    
The Balkan League uses all of their banked and current assets to repair the Brennus back to full armor.     

Experience:

Ottoman
Mehmed Il-Fatih +5
Basra +4 (=2) = 6 total
San Bartolomeo +9
Prince Eugene +4
Bravo +4
Barbaros +4 (+3) = 7 total

Balkan    
Albatros +3
Sova  +2 (+2) = 4 Total
Brennus +2
Primauguet +6

No ships earned enough for an experience upgrade.  Some are very close. 

The loss of so many Russian sailors and ships has left the Tsar uncomfortable with the efforts in the Balkans.  To appease him and show their good faith, the Greeks launch their only Armored Cruiser to join the Balkan League fleet, just in time to help bolster the fleet’s efforts.  The Tsar Nicolas is temporarily satisfied by this gesture.


Meanwhile, Ottoman high command has been busy transporting divisions to travel from Asia to Europe.  The Sultan has been suitably satisfied with the Young Turks efforts to expand the airship capabilities of the Empire.  He is satisfied that their investment is paying off.  The Balkan League fleet is in no position to hamper the convoys ready to cross the Dardanelles.          

Friday, February 24, 2017

Aquanautica Imperialis- Battle Report- Raid on Convoy 276Alpha/Sigma


Excerpt from the Report: Ammoriss Threat Assessment- Post War created by the NorthComm Office of Strategic Intellignece. 

The war on Ammoriss may be officially over, but the threat has not passed. After the Storm Dragons Chapter and North Ammoriss PDF pushed the Orks out of North Ammoriss, many fled to the ocean on jury rigged boats, hastily made warships, and subs. Since then, they have harassed small atoll communities, rigs, and the shipping lanes. 

Of course, dealing with Ork pirates is not new for the North Ammoriss Naval PDF. Warboss Skarbash and his boyz have made travel around the Deff Islands notoriously difficult. Now that Warlord Gark has fled Ammoriss, Skarbash has stepped up his piratical activity in order to attract the scattered ork survivors to his criminal underworld. 

Taskforce: Force of Arms of the North Ammoriss Naval PDF under Vice-Admiral Travers has vowed to put an end to the ork menace in Da Deff Islands once and for all.

==============================================================

The Slaver leaned into the scope to make sure of what he saw. His sub, crewed by grots was one of several dozen out on patrol looking for Oomie targets. The slaver was confident that this was his lucky day. Breaking over the horizon was the distinctive gray outline of a cargo ship. The ork smiled his toothy grin.

“Use da' shouter. Tell da boss dat weez got Oomiez,” The slaver called to his grot crew. 

The little creatures eagerly scampered to the radio, shoving and biting each other for the chance to report in the sighting. From the conning tower of the submerged craft, a small antennae raised itself above the water. Its call would bring a hunting pack of ork vessels. 

=========================================================

Onboard the Protector class escort, the Vox operator signalled to the officer of the watch. 

“What's the word?” the watch officer asked matter of factly. 

“I've got Greenskin chatter on frequency band Delta. I don't know what they are saying, but they are clearly in our neighborhood, sir.” The be-speckled rating reported.

“Good work. I'll notify the convoy commander.”

Within seconds, klaxons began to wail summoning all hands to quarters. The battle for convoy 276-Alpha/Sigma was about to begin. 

=====================================================================
Convoy 276- Alpha/Sigma

Admiral Kroentiz- 1 Stalwart Class Cruiser-250 pts

Northern Shields- Squadron of 2 Protector class Escorts- 150 pts

Sentry Squadron 94- Squadron of 2 Faithful class escorts- 100 pts

4 Merchantmen- Sophie, Kristie, Lynette, and Clara- Free

Gobbla Pack

Lucky Skull- Sneaky Git- 150 pts

Oomie Killa- Sneaky Git- 150 pts

Red Top- Grot Sub- 50 pts

Booma- Grot Sub- 50 pts

Deff Gaze- Grot Sub- 50 pts

Glug-glug- Grot Sub- 50 pts

=====================================================================
Convoy Scenario


Deployment-

The Gobbla Pack obviously begins the game in reserve as they are all submerged. 

The Convoy sets up on the East side of the board, steaming west. The merchantmen are in the center, and they are flanked to the South by the Stalwart, and to the North by the Protectors. Behind them is the Faithfuls. 
===============================================================

Turn 1- Imperials win the Initiative. 

Movement:
All elements move forward. The Faithfuls join the Protectors to the North. 

Three Grot subs become active to meet the oncoming convoy. They come to firing depths in front of the convoy in an attempt to get good firing positions. 



Battle:

The Admiral Koenitz sees the oncoming threat, and scrambles all of its bomber wings to intercept the Grot subs. The only weapons available to the convoy against subs are bombers, depth charges, or mines. 

The Glug-glug seems to be named appropriately as three squadrons begin dive bombing the area the sub is in. The slaver fails to get the grot crew moving in time to Brace for Impact, and the little craft is sent to the bottom of the Ammoriss ocean. 

 

Meanwhile, the remaining Grot subs, Deff Gaze and Red Top find that they have approached to far away. Their torpedoes are out of range. 

End: 
The bomber squadrons from the Stalwart turn and race towards the two remaining subs. The Deff Gaze manages to Brace and avoid sinking. However, the Red Top is not so lucky. 2 Bombers fail their bomber roll, and are forced to return to the carrier to rearm. 

The wake from the two sinking subs is removed. 

Turn 2

Intitiative: Orks win initiative. 

Movement: 
Using the distraction of the Grot Subs, the Booma and the Oomie Killa surface close to the stern of the merchant ships. 


The Deff Gaze speeds ahead in an attempt to crash dive and Run Silent, Run Deep. However, the grots fail to execute the maneuver. The sub is right in the path of the oncoming convoy. 

The Faithfuls execute a Reverse Engines special Order to move to intercept the new Grot Sub threat. The Protectors due likewise, and slow their forward motion so they can duck behind the merchantmen and act as a rear screen. Meanwhile, the Stalwart continues moving forward. 

The lead merchantman is force to turn to avoid a collision with the Grot Sub. This could cause disruption for the rest of the convoy as they move forward. 


Battle:
The Oomie Killa floods her forward torpedo tubes and let's loose on the rear most Merchantman, the Sophie. Three torpedoes find their mark, but one bounces harmlessly off the hull. Still the two strikes are enough to cripple the merchant ship. Meanwhile, the torpedo from the Booma misses completely. 



The Deff Gaze manages to sink a torpedo into the side of the merchant ship Kristi, and causing one DP. 

Imperial ships are in no position to respond to the Sub attacks. 

End: 
The last ork torpedo races just past the bow of one merchantman, and narrowly misses the stern of another. 

Meanwhile, the 4 remaining bomber squadrons turn and fly towards the largest threat, the Oomie Killa. On the way, a single squadron takes a long shot at the Deff Gaze but misses. 

Turn 3:

Initiative: Imperials win

Move:
Stalwart attempts to get her two remaining bomber squadrons rearmed and airborne, but technical problems with the bomb loading elevators delay the process. Her Reload Ordinace special order was failed. She steams ahead. 

The merchant ships leave their crippled fellow behind as they tighten formation and race away from the ork meance. 

Sentry Squadron 94 cuts across the path of the two ork subs to try and block them from the crippled merchant ship. 

The Protectors fail a Reverse Engines, and continue forward, safely out of the fight. 

Booma sees the danger as the minelayers get between him and his prize. He moves quickly and slides in for a kill shot on the crippled Sophie. 

Deff Gaze again tries to crash dive and fails. The grot sub seems to be out of the battle as she is way out of position. 

Meanwhile, the larger Ork sub, the Oomie Killa successfully crash dives right away from the approaching Imperial mine layers and bombers. 

Battle: 
The minelayers drop a series of mines behind their craft hoping to limit Ork access to rear attacks on the convoy. 

Booma fails to reload their torpedo tubes in time to fire. 



End: 
Imperial Bombers manage to strafe both remaining Grot Subs. Miraculously, they both survive the attacks. No bombers are forced to return to their carrier to reload. 

The last ork torpedo narrowly misses the stern of a merchant ship, and continue streaking towards a sand bar. 

Turn 4:

Initiative: Imperials win

Move:
Faithless escorts fail to reload mines. They circle around with their superior speed and move to protect the South flank of the crippled Sophie. 

Stalwart succeeds in prepping two new bomber squadrons for launch. She moves to close the growing gap between her and the merchant ships. 

The Protectors finally mange to scoot in behind the bulk of the fleeing merchant fleet. 

The merchant, Clara manages to go All Ahead Full and breaks away from the rest of the convoy. 

The Booma failed to reload again, but manages to stay close to the crippled Sophie. 

Deff Gaze attempts to circle back towards the battle, but has only managed to attract the attention of a nearby flight of bombers. 

Lucky Skull and Oomie Killa come to firing depth with a great fire arc on all three remaining merchant ships. Both subs are ready to fire. 

Battle:
In a desperate gamble, the Admiral Koenitz launches her bombers at the newly arrived ork subs. But they will not make it to the target subs before they can fire their torpedo salvos. 

Oomie Killa fires at the Clara and one torpedo finds her mark. The other three race towards the Lynette's bow. Lucky Skull sinks two more torps into the Clara who is now crippled. 



End:
The two bomber squadrons drop down on the Oomie Killa and a single bomb sends schrapnel through her lightly armored hull. Gretchin scamper to patch the holes and reseal the sub. She is reduced to (2 DP). The bombers still have enough bombs to press on. 

Deff Gaze and Booma continue to live charmed lives as 4 bomber squadrons fail to find their marks.

Torps from the Oomie Killa race through the merchant ships, Lynette and Kristi. Kristi is now crippled with 2 DP left while Lynette has 1 DP. . 

Turn 5:

Initiative: Orks win

Move: 
All ork subs successfully reload ordinance. 

The Oomie Killa and Lucky Skull move to finish off the Kristi and Lynette. 

Deff Gaze continues to try to circle back into the battle. While Booma moves to put the Kristi or Lynette into a cross fire. 

The Protectors move to place themselves between the merchants and the Booma. 

The Stalwart moves closer to the Ork subs, and her PD weapons blow up a rogue torpedo coming at her. 

Faithfuls fail to go All Ahead full, so cut around behind the Booma. 

Battle:
Oomie Killa puts a swarm of torps into Lynette's bow. She is reduced to -1 DP, and left as a crippled hulk. 

Lucky Skull puts a batch into the Lynette which overkills her and she sinks. The remaining torps crash into the Kristi, which is reduced to 0 DP and left as a hulk. 

Booma fires at a Protector, but the escorts PD easily take care of the incoming torp. 

End: 
Bombers hit two subs, but both manage to save on their weak armor. One squadron is left out of ammo, and must return to the carrier. 

Ork torps race around harmlessly.

The Kristi drifts. 

Wake markers are removed. 



Turn 6:- Last Turn

Intitiative: Orks win

Move:
Lucky Skull Reloads Torps, comes around beside the Clara. Oomie Killa fails to reload, and moves past the wreck of the Kristi. 

Deff Gaze comes around and places the Sophie in her sights. 

Booma is completely hemmed in by Imperial escorts, so she surfaces. She then tries to ram a Protector. However, the All Ahead Full order is failed, and the two ships collide instead. Both craft are reduced to zero DP. 

Stalwart moves towards the damaged Clara. 

The remaining Protector moves away from its hulked brother. 

Faithfuls put themselves between the Deff Gaze and the Sophie. 

Battle:
Deff Gaze fires. The torp misses both escorts, and their PD fails to hit it. It rockets towards the Sophie, and then.... misses her too. 

End:
Booma and Kristi sink. Protector drifts. 

All remaining bomber squadrons focus their efforts on the Oomie Killa, and send her to the bottom.



Results:
Narrow Imp Victory per the scenario rules. The orks needed to sink three merchant ships, but only sank 1 and crippled the other two. 

Imp DP Inflicted: 6
Ork DP Inflicted: 15