Scrivsland: Another North Sea Engagement

Steve and I had another game of WWI Naval Thunder at Maelstrom Games a week last Thursday. Unfortunately, it was a couple of weeks ago I have lost the notes of all the ships involved so this may be a bit sketchy.

This time I would play the Germans and Steve would play the Royal Navy. The scenario was that a squadron of four German Battle Cruisers escorted by a squadron of four German Light Cruisers were returning to home ports when they encounter a flotilla of Royal Navy destroyers at maximum visibility (24").

The Light Cruisers immediately increase speed and chase after the destroyers, who also turn and try to disengage. Chasing the destroyers the Light Cruisers encounter a squadron of three ancient Armoured Cruisers, completely out gunned and out-ranged by these Royal Navy ships the Light Cruiser squadron executes a turn to port and increases the range, eventually getting out of range, but not before one of the Light Cruisers has taken severe hull damage.

Now it is the turn of the German Battle Cruisers to pound the British Armoured cruisers, but the fire is not so effective, knowing that is it only a matter of time before the Armoured Cruisers are pounded to bits, Steve also disengages these and out of the mist a squadron of four old pre-Dreadnoughts appear. With a surfeit of targets the Battle Cruisers start to engage the ancient Battleships allowing the Armoured Cruisers to re-engage and add their weight of fire. The German Light Cruisers wisely stay out of the way as they would add nothing to the engagement

The superior fire-power of the German Battle Cruisers is telling and for little damage to themselves the old pre-Dreadnoughts are soon in a right old state. However, all is not lost for the Royal Navy, the Destroyer Flotilla rejoins the engagement and launches as salvo of torpedoes at the Battle Cruisers, the lead Battle-Cruiser, Seydlitz, is badly hit in the engine room and her speed is reduced drastically.

It was time to end the game, as the German player, what was to be done, should we risk more damage to the Battle Cruisers from the emboldened destroyers and continue the engagement or should we disengage and leave Seydlitz to her fate.

The forces were:

Germans:
4 Battle Cruisers, one was severely damaged, the other three took light damage
4 Light Cruisers, one was severely damaged

Royal Navy:
1 Destroyer Flotilla, lightly damaged
3 Armoured Cruisers, one severely damaged, one heavily damaged
4 Pre-Dreadnoughts, three severely damaged, one heavily damaged

Apologies for the state of the photographs, there seems to be a blur on my lens and I stopped taken shortly into the game .