International Naval Wargaming Day - ImagiNations Dreadnought Battle

Work schedules and my own poor planning meant I would do a solo game for International Naval Wargaming Day (INWAD). For those of you that haven't heard of INWAD, in 2017 David Manley, well known naval gaming guru, kicked off the first International Naval Wargaming Day as a day to "Celebrate the birth of the father of naval wargaming, Fred T. Jane, by running or taking part in a game of your own!" I always play a naval game on August 6, but most of the time it is a solo project.

This year I'm doing an engagement from my solo ImagiNations Dreadnought campaign. So far each side has created their initial fleets, based on the doctrine of their admiralty boards, and with war now declared both sides prepared for engagement. Three missions were set for the first month of war; two Sea Sweeps (basically naval meeting engagements) and a Nordland convoy mission.

 

Nordland assigned two class battlecruisers, plus two scout cruisers and two destroyer flotillas to each sweep mission. The Nordland Admirals expected the Rask class battlecruisers to use their speed to hunt down smaller ships while avoiding larger ones, and these assignments would put that theory to the test. The convoy mission was carrying troops and supplies to a disputed island and would  have a heavy escort of three Hurtig class battlecrusiers, two Kaftig class battlecruisers, two cruiser divisions, and two destroyer flotillas. See my previous campaign post for details on the battlecruisers.

 

Tierra del Sur's Admirals felt that splitting up their slower battleships to cover all the missions would invite disaster. So they concentrated their six battleships into one force and sent it after the convoy. Thinking (hoping) that Nordland would do the same, they sent a token cruiser-destroyer force on one sea sweep while the other would be unopposed. 

 

The weather in the region generally means visibility at sea is good, meaning that most actions will start a longer ranges. This proved to be the case in both the opposed missions. The sea sweep was an unequal match, with the Tierra del Sur destroyers desperately making smoke to try to allow the cruisers to escape. But the Nordland fast battlecruisers were able to use their speed and long range guns to sink the entire Tierra del Sur force.

 

The convoy mission was a much more interesting battle, pitting five Nordland battlecruisers against six Tierra del Sur battleships.  Nordland had the edge in speed and the Kaftig class had the advantage in gun range, but the Tierra del Sur ships had better protection and heavier guns. To make this post a little more entertaining, I played out the game on my ocean mat with a hex grid overlay using some Figurehead 1/6000 miniatures as proxies for the ImagiNations ships.

Tierra del Sur battleline

Good visibility allowed the forces to spot each other at long-range and giving the Kaftig class the opportunity to engage the enemy without them being able to fire back. 

Nordland battleline before the destroyers and cruiser shift to the unengaged side

The Tierra del Sur admiral initially decided to try to close the Nordland ships. But the faster Nordland ships were able to maintain the range, limiting engagement opportunities for enemy battleships. As the engagement continued damage slowed the first and second battleships in the del Sur line, both Fuerte class battleships, forcing the del Sur admiral to make a decision about slowing the battleline or leaving the battleships behind.

Damage to the leading Fuerte class battleships

The del Sur admiral decided to keep his force together and, seeing the futility of trying to pursue the faster enemy, turned his force north toward the estimated position of the enemy convoy. This course change found the Nordland ships out of position. As the Nordland ships raced to get back in front of the del Sur battleships, the range closed to allow all the ships to engage.

 

Both sides took damage in the exchange, which slowed a Nordland battlecruiser and sank one of the damaged Fuerte battleships. The del Sur admiral was again faced with a dilemma - his lightly damaged battleships could now maintain range with the Nordland force, but if he left the heavier damaged battleships behind he would be outnumbered five to three. 

Good shooting bashes the del Sur battleships

Nordland battlecruisers taking damage

Having already lost one battleship, the del Sur admiral decided to break off the action. Destroyers were ordered to make smoke and battleline turned south. The Nordland admiral, knowing that his primary mission was to get the troop convoy through, chose not to pursue the enemy. 

 

At the end of the first month of the war Nordland lost a cruiser division and one Hurtig battlecruiser was damaged. Tierra del Sur lost a Fuerte class battleship, two cruiser divisions, and two destroyer flotillas and had one Fuerte battleship damaged. Victory point wise, Nordland had a commanding lead having won each of the first month missions.

ImagiNations Dreadnought - Road to War (2021 Solo Game part 2)

After coming up with the focus for the Admiralty Boards for my two ImagiNations (Nordland and Tierra del Sur), it was time to design some battleships and start the march toward war. As a reminder from my first post, Nordland's Admirals want fast lightly armored ships, while Tierra del Sur chose heavily-armored slower ships. 

HMS Dreadnought, which does not appear in this game but looks good as the cover photo

Each side started the game by designing a couple batttleship hulls and guns, then placing orders to build battleships and light forces. Nordland ordered seven fast battlecruisers, while Tierra del Sur ordered six heavily armored battleships. I'll provide more details on the ships later in this post. The light forces and half the ordered battleships would be available in the first year of the game, just in case the war started early. The other battleships would be commissioned the following year.

The game started in 1915, with the Great War raging in Europe and the ImagiNations at peace. During the first two years of the game, peace factions (horrified by the war in Europe) worked to keep tensions between Nordland and Tieera del Sur low. In 1917, during a peace and friendship visit by by Tierra del Sur's navy, Nordland's Admrials got a close up look at the heavily protected battleships. This spurred them to order the design of heavier guns and a better protected, but still fast, ship. Two of the new battlecruisers, with better guns and armament, were ordered for delivery in 1919.

In Tierra del Sur, a group of young naval officers began complaining that their battleships were too slow to catch the Nordlanders and that the navy needed a fast battleship or battlecruiser. Nordland's new battlecruiser order and the vocal officers forced the Admiralty Board to design and order two of their own battlecruisers. The new ships were slated to join the fleet in 1920. 

Hardliners in both nations used the new "naval arms race' as a pretense to get into power, while also raising tensions. 

In 1920 the five-year term for the Admiralty Boards was up and new Admirals were installed. For Nordland, the board's ideas only changed slightly. With new technologies becoming available after the end of the European War, they would look build better guns, but the capital ships would still be fast and lightly armored. Meanwhile in Tierra del Sur the was a major shift in the board. The new Admirals on the board supported the faster, lightly armored ships that the young officers had pushed for. As they came out of their first meeting, they announced plans for a major naval rearmament and order the design of a new battlecruiser, along with new light forces. Events quickly spun out of control of the politicians in both nations and in March 1920 war was declared. 

Opposing force descriptions (note all the ship images below are from the Shipbucket site)

Nordland Navy Capital Ships. Nordland has nine battlecrusiers; four Rask class, three Hurtig class, and two Kraftig class. 

 

The Rask class was the first Nordland battlecrusier class and designed withe heavy enough guns to engage the enemy at long range, but fast enough to escape if needed. The class ratings are:
Gun Attack = 17, Gun Range = 12, Ship Defense = 6, Ship Speed = 7

Rask class

The Hurtig class had the same guns as the Rask class, but was more heavily armored, and would form the main battleline. The class ratings are:

Gun Attack = 17, Gun Range = 12, Ship Defense = 9, Ship Speed =6

Hurtig class

The Kraftig class, the class that started the naval arms race, was designed with larger guns to take on the better protected del Sur battleships. The class ratings are:

Gun Attack = 20, Gun Range = 14, Ship Defense = 8, Ship Speed = 7

Kraftig class

Nordland's capital ships are backed up by four cruiser divisions, four scout cruiser divisions, and six destroyer flotillas.

Tierra del Sur Navy Capital Ships. Tierra del Sur has 6 active battleships, four Fuerte class and two Difícil class, and two Veloz class under construction. 

 

The Fuerte class was meant to form the vanguard for the battleline. The class ratings are:

Gun Attack = 23, Gun Range = 12, Ship Defense = 10, Ship Speed = 5

Fuerte class

The Dificil class was planned as the main part of the battleline. But the ships were very expensive to build, so only two were completed. The class ratings are:

Gun Attack = 23, Gun Range = 12, Ship Defense = 12, Ship Speed = 5

Dificil class

The Veloz class was designed to counter Nordland's battlecruisers. The first ship is expected to join the fleet in April 1920 and the second in June. The class ratings are: 

Gun Attack = 23, Gun Range = 12, Ship Defense = 7, Ship Speed = 7

Veloz class

Tierra del Sur's capital ships are backed up by one cruiser division, four light cruiser divisions, and six destroyer flotillas. There are two cruiser divisions and two destroyer flotillas under construction that are expected to join the fleet later in 1920.

Heavy naval activity is expected during the first month of the war. I'm planning to play out the initial encounters as part of International Naval Wargaming Day. 

2021 Summer Solo Game - ImagiNations Dreadnought

It is time again for my summer solo gaming time. I've always wanted to do an ImagiNations type naval mini-campaign, where players take the role of naval leaders to plan, build, and train up their navies on a budget with a random time when the war begins. I usually propose it as an option when players vote for DANG, but they don't usually do very well.

 

Most of my summer solo games are centered around boardgames, since they are a little easier to setup/take down and don't require a lot of space. This year I've selected the old SPI boardgame Dreadnought as the basis for my solo mini-campaign. Mainly because the rules are pretty easy and will play quickly. While it is a boardgame, I could play it with miniatures (although it needs a hexgrid) and there is also a VASSAL module. So I have some flexibility with how I play the games.

 

My plan is to do that as my solo game using the Dreadnought Extended Campaign rules and the Additional Extended Campaign Ship Design rules from Moves No. 24.

For my game I will also use a randomly generated Admiralty Boards for each side that will set some basic plans for ship building and maintenance/training. The first boards get to do an initial build and then plan the annual shipbuilding for the remainder of their term. The boards will be replaced (rolled for again) every 5 years, which could change the buying strategy of the navy over time. The war will start at a random time and each side will see tensions rise or fall and what ships the other is building, which can also affect shipbuilding and maintenance plans.

 

OnCe the war begins things will shift to monthly turns. There will be random number and type of missions that the navies need to assign ships to, which will then turn into scenarios. The war will last 2 - 12 months (yes another random time) at which point a winner will be determined.

With all of my game ideas in place, I'm ready to start the mini-campaign. I rolled up the Admiralty Boards for the two belligerent nations, Nordland and Tierra del Sur (not the most imaginative names, but they will work for the game). 

Nordland's admirals believe the way to win is with fast, lightly armored battlecruiser type ships with medium-sized (10" - 12") guns and good light forces armed with torpedoes. Knowing that speed may cost more more, they have put in place an average maintenance and training program. Across the strait, Tierra del Sur's admirals have chosen heavily armored ships with weapons and speed set to keep the ships at a moderate cost. They also laid out extensive maintenance and training programs for an efficient naval force. 

My next step is to design and purchase the ships for each side. Then I will determine when the war starts, and set up the first missions. I should have that all in place for a later this week for International Naval Wargaming Day on August 6. For those of you that are unfamiliar with International Naval Wargaming Day, in 2017 David Manley, well know rule writer and naval gamer, kicked off the first International Naval Wargaming Day as a day to "Celebrate the birth of the father of naval wargaming, Fred T. Jane, by running or taking part in a game of your own!"

 

Here are a couple posters to help remind you about the event. 

 

Western Desert - What a Tanker

 I took advantage of the long weekend for U.S. Independence Day to have some friends over for a game on the lawn. This time around we decided to pull out some Western Desert 15mm World War 2 tanks and use the What a Tanker rules from Two Fat Lardies. Most people in the group had tanks to

A German Panzer III watches for the British

The What a Tanker rules some basic scenarios, but they are mainly just tank duels without any objectives. I prefer to have scenarios that are more than just shootouts, so I decided to add some ideas into the game. I borrowed some ideas from Mark Morin's blog (link to his blog post on something he did for Normandy) and I added my own to drive the game objectives. I based our scenario on Operation Crusader, the British offensive to relieve Tobruk in late 1941. This battle gives the British an interesting mix of tanks, which are still weaker than the Germans, and an objective to advance across and exit the area. 

A pair of fast Crusader tanks

For the game, I gave each side a number of buy points to purchase their tanks and other special actions (dust storms, artillery strikes, air strikes, etc.). Each side would earn victory points for destroying enemy tanks and the British would get points for exiting tanks off the map. We had six players and I thought the British should have an advantage, so we went with 4 British and 2 Germans (this was probably a mistake). The British had 2 Crusader Mk I tanks, an M3 Honey, and a Matilda II. The Germans started with a Panzer IIF and Panzer III F. The game map had several hills along with a couple depressions that were  minor obstacles for line of sight and shooting.  

M3 Honey on the move

When on the first round of the game the Panzer III hit a Crusader, reducing the tank's command dice, I thought it was going to be a tough road for the British. But things were downhill from there for he Germans. The other Crusader, the Honey and Matilda advanced on the Panzer II's position. The Honey ended up getting 3 hits on the little tank, putting it out of the game.

KO'ed Panzer II

The Germans brought on another Panzer III while the Crusader and Matilda advanced. 

Matilda on the move

The Crusader closed with the map edge and got into a close-range duel with the newly arrived Panzer III. Neither tank was able to hit the other hard enough to stop them. The Crusader eventually took advantage of the activation order to move off the map. The Honey was also able to get off the map. There were a lot of bad rolls for shooting and damage.

Close-range duel

On the other side of the map, the Crusader that had taken early damage was able to recover the Command die and moved to attack, while the Panzer III tried to take advantage of cover from the hill.
 

Crusader closes range

Die rolls on this side of the table were not great either, but the range kept closing and tanks tried to use to hill to their own advantage. 

Crusader driving over the hill

The British brought in replacement tanks for the ones that had exited the map. The new Crusader and Honey used their Fast attribute to quickly get into action. 

Honey and Crusader squeeze the Panzer III

The game ended shortly after the last picture. The Germans only lost the Panzer II, but other tanks had some damage. The British did not lose any tanks, although several were damaged, and exited several off the map. So while it seemed like a good close tank battle, the victory points were completely in the British favor.

 

So, while my basic scenario ideas seemed like they would work, they will need some tweaks and changes to really work.

 

After talking through the results a little, we decided to have another go with just a straight tank duel with Italian earlier British tanks. So it was an M11/39 and two M13/40s against an A-10, A-13, and Matilda.

A nice Italian M13/40

The die rolling was better and the results were a little more even this time, with each side losing several tanks.

M11/39 blows up

and an A-13 does the same

Overall, the rules are a fun diversion and the addition of some scenario rules will make game play a little more interesting. So I expect we will see the desert steel roll out again later this summer.

German Räumboote and Italian MAS boats

The next additions for my Black Sea/Baltic Sea project are a pair of German Räumboote and four Italian MAS torpedo boats. First up, we'll look at the Räumboote.

Fresh from the yard, before I added some weathering

The German Räumboote, or R-boats, were motor minesweepers that were also used for convoy escort, coastal patrol, minelaying, and air-sea rescue.The Germans built over 300 of these vessels in several series during World War II. There weren't any major differences between the series,just some size and minor armament variations. Due to their general utility, they served in every theater including the Baltic, Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This makes them useful additions to a fleet for anyone wanting versatile ships that could be used in multiple areas. 

I picked up a pair of  Warlord Games Cruel Seas R-23 R-boats for my ships. These are early versions of the R-boat and later versions had a little more armament. The out-of-the-box model came with a forward firing 20mm gun and an aft 37mm. I considered adding another 20mm gun amidships, but there isn't really enough room on the model without some major work. 

Port side view with a little weathering

The hulls are one-piece resin and required some clean up. The weapons were straight out of box, as were the extra crew I added on one boat.

Starboard view

There are a number of camouflage patterns that can be used with these ships (just do a quick internet search to see what I mean). I decided to go with a splotch pattern camouflage, since it seemed easiest and seems pretty common. Overall, they turned out good and should be useful in games.

Next up are the Italian MAS, Motoscafo Armato Silurante (torpedo-armed motorboat), boats. These boats are similar to the British Vosper motor torpedo boats and smaller than the German S-boats. During World War II, the Italians sent a flotilla of these boats to the Black Sea and to fight on Lake Ladoga near Leningrad (today's St Petersburg). 

MAS lined up for inspection

These boats were fast (max speed 45 knots), but lightly armed with two 450mm torpedoes and an aft facing 20mm gun.

Arranged to show off all sides

These little boats only had modest success against the Russians. The boats in the Black Sea were eventually transferred to the Romanians. 

A close up view of the MAS

Like the R-boats, these are from Warlord Games. Unlike the R-boat, these boats are all metal and only have a few basic parts (hull, mast, and 20mm gun). So it is pretty easy to put together, but there was some clean up needed on all the parts. I think my paint job turned out as well as the ones on the Warlord website. Although I used a gray-blue color for the crew overalls, rather than the white used by Warlord. Thinking back on my old Navy days, I know that white is not a great color for a working uniform.

Overall, both sets of boats went together well and painted up nicely. They are good additions to the project. 

A before weathering photo on the ocean mat

Ersatz Enfilade - Ironclads Game

In normal years the Enfilade gaming convention would have happened over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. But we still aren't in normal times and the 2021 Enfilade was moved to U.S. Labor Day weekend (September 3 - 5).  But with the first really good weather weekend coming up, I decided to have an Ersatz Enfilade game on my lawn.

Ersatz (ˈerˌzäts,ˈerˌsäts) Not real or genuine.

 

The lawn games from last year worked so well that I thought I would put up the pop-up canopy again for this game.

 

After talking with the group about what they wanted to play, we decided to do an American Civil War (ACW) naval action using the Ironclads rules. Kevin generously volunteered to run a hypothetical Confederate attack on Fort Pickens, which is the fort that was defending Pensacola Florida.

Target for Today - Fort Pickens

In addition to the fort, the Union would have a couple earthworks batteries and two Passaic class monitors. The fort and one battery defended the main ship channel, while the other battery covered a smaller channel. The monitors started on the land side of the fort near the main ship channel. The two ship channels were separated by a shallow bar, so the best entry points were through the channels. 

Union Monitors to help the defense

The Confederates had the Mobile squadron with the ironclads Nashville, Tennessee and Tuscaloosa and the wooden ships Gaines, Selma, and Morgan. 

 

Additionally, the Confederate force included the really hypothetical CSS North Carolina and CSS Stonewall ironclad cruisers. Historically, CSS North Carolina was seized by the British in October 1863, then purchased for the Royal Navy. CSS Stonewall was sold by the French to the Danes in 1863 and then to the Confederates in 1865, but it did not reach the Confederates before the end of the war; where it was taken over by the United States and later sold to Japan.

All the Confederates

CSS North Carolina and CSS Stonewall

The Confederates were split into two groups, the Mobile squadron and the hypothetical squadron. The Mobile squadron was set up in two parallel line-ahead formations, mainly due to the speed differences between all the ships. The slower ironclads (Tennessee and Tuscaloosa) were in a line closer to Fort Pickens and the faster ships (led by Nashville with the wooden ships following) in a line further away from the fort. The general idea was the faster ships could speed ahead to the main ship channel and keep firing on the fort, while the slower ironclads would take their shots and try to draw Union fire. This also allowed the ships to get on the map and engage with the fort fairly quickly. 

 

The hypothetical squadron planned to pass through the smaller ship channel and then make their way over to attack Fort Pickens. 

 

But, as with most plans, they weren't well explained and did not survive contact with the enemy. The mortars firing from Fort Pickens caused Nashville to turn out of line to avoid the shells. This in turn forced the following wooden ships to take evasive action to avoid collision. The outer line was never able to get reformed and the wooden ships were targets more than expected. The wooden ships turned away before they could get close to the main ship channel, while Nashville drove into the channel alone.

Confederate line in disorder

Trying to get the line back in order

The Union monitors moved slowly toward the main channel and decided to go after the closer Nashville, rather than the more distant hypothetical squadron. 

Union defenders head for the channel

The hypothetical squadron engaged the earthworks battery and silenced it. Then they turned toward Fort Pickens and began to engage the Union monitors at long range. 

Confederate heavies take on an earthworks battery

The guns on the monitors didn't quite have the range to damage the hypothetical squadron, so they held their fire for Nashville. But the Confederates were in range and caused a fire and magazine hit on one of the monitors.

Heavy action in the channel

With things very crowded in the main channel, the monitors went to ram Nashville, while Nashville tried to return the favor with a bow on bow ram.

Ramming and fires!

Damage was done to both sides, but everyone was still afloat. At this point we took a break to evaluate what had happened and decide if we wanted to continue.

Confederate decision point

Looking over the current situation; the main ship channel was blocked, two of the three Confederate wooden ships had taken heavy damage and Nashville was not in great shape. But the other Confederate ironclads only had minor damage and could still fight. On the Union side, one monitor was sinking, one fort face had taken heavy damage, and the other monitor had light damage.

 

After talking through the situation, things still seemed undecided. But we agreed the Confederates had an edge at this point with the heavy guns of the hypothetical squadron now able to be turned on the fort. Although it would be a near run thing for either side. 

 

With that, we wrapped up the game and spent the remaining time visiting and talking about current and future projects. Overall it was a fun game and day. It was good to see and game with people in person after a long winter.

 

Crucible Crush Viet Cong

Back in April I posted about the Vietnam U.S. Army figures I got from Crucible Crush. Because I normally like to have forces for both sides of a battle, I ordered the four Viet Cong packs from the same Black Sun range.

 

There was no assembly needed for any of these figure. Although they needed a little more clean-up than the Americans. The figures are stout fellows with good detail, so even I could pick out the details when painting.

 

Like the Americans, most of the figures have packs and other gear. They have a mix of AK-47s, SKS carbines, SMGs, rifles, a RPD light machine gun, and a couple RPGs. I painted most up with the black uniform. The officer figure was done up in Khaki and I gave one other figure Khaki pants.

A group shot of the troops

While painting I had a little trouble getting some shadowing on the black uniforms and some of the faces didn't turn out as well as I hoped. They won't win in painting competitions, but on the game table they will look just fine. Here are some closer look photos.

 

As you can see from the photos, there are several figures that use the same pose but have different hats. That isn't really obvious when looking at the figures on the Crucible Crush website, but was more noticeable when I was painting them up.

 

Now I just need to pick up some jungle type terrain, which I can also use with my WWII Japanese and Australians.