Frigates!!! Von Shtupp was being singled out because someone thought the casualties suffered by his Frigate Squadrons was too high!
At least the Emperor had given him a chance to redeem himself. Find a missing Air Fleet that was over-due and bring them home.
"Admiral! The Search Bombers have spotted the Air Fleet! Shall I establish radio contact with the Air Fleet Command Ship?"
"Of Course! Get a damage report and find out why they've been missing!"
"Admiral! The Fleet Officer on the Command Zeppelin has called us! SIR!!! He's warning us to stay clear! They're trying to defect to Antactica!!!"
"Bring the Shield Generator on line! Radio all ships - Battle Stations!"
Well, thought Von Shtupp. Now I can really make up for the tarnish on my reputation. Won't the Emperor be PLEASED! I know I am...
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So, I went to test out a 500pt Prussian fleet (we have plans to try and do a multi-player game for Winnipeg Harvest, the local food bank). What I didn't expect to face was a 500pt Air Force! Especially another Prussian force! Up until recently, I was the only Prussian player in our FLGS.
So I (The "Loyal" Naval Forces!) had:
- 1 X Battleship with Shield Generator
- 2 X Cruisers with Lethal Strike
- 3 X Frigates
- 2 X Bombers
The ("Traitorous") Air Force had:
- 1 X Gewitterwolke (Large) Airship)
- 3 X Pflicht (Medium) Scout Airships
- 3 X Jager (Small) Airships
- 2 X Bombers.
(HEY! I'm writing it! I get to decide who's the Traitor and who's not!) ;)
Using the deployment rules from Hurricane Season, my opponent chose to deploy his bombers as a "Flanking Force"; unfortunately, they wouldn't appear until the third turn! The rest of the Air Fleet deployed in the standard 8" zone, all flying Obscurred.
Myself, I had my bombers deploy as the "Advance Force", 8" forward of the main force, also deployed in the clouds.
Turn 1
Air Fleet get Initiative.
The Gewitterwolke moved forward first, targetting the Loyalist Bombers, but failed to hit. In fact, mostly everything moved forward but failed to hit!
The Air Fleet Advances...
The Loyal Battleship moved forward and with long-range fire, managed to hit the Gewitterwolke, causing a point of damage.
"Take Carefull aim, boys..."
Quick to react, The Pflicht Zepps advanced (still in the clouds) and opened fire on the Loyal Bombers, crippling one!
The Loyal Cruisers advanced and shooting at the Obscurred Air Fleet, managed one of the Pflichts.
Cruisers move forward into the fray.
The rest of the turn was most uneventful.Turn 2:
The Loyal Navy Get the Initiative
The problem now, is I didn't take notes on this battle, so everything is by memory now. What I can say is:
- One of the Loyal Navy Bombers was reduced to a flying Derelict
- The Other Loyal Bomber suffered an HP Damage
- One Frigate was destroyed
- The Frigates attempted to board the Gewitterwolke but failed
- One Pflicht was destroyed
- One Pflicht was critted and suffered 1/2 Attack Dice damage
- One Pflicht received 1 HP Damage
- The Cruisers, the Jagers and the Battleship were undamaged.
The "Fur Ball" begins to form...
Prussians Win Initiative!
(Seriously, not sure who won it - think it may have been the Navy)
- The "Traitor" Bombers arrive
- Another Frigate is destroyed
- The "Loyalist" Bomber over-flies the Gewitterwolke but bombs fail to do damage
- The Jagers move in to attack the Bomber but only do 1 HP Damage
- The Cruisers and Battleship start to circle the Air Comatants from Range Band 2, allowing the use of their main guns on the Gewitterwolke
The Brave Bombing Run
Turns 4+:Do we really care at this point who wins the initiative?
- The Pflichts atempt to board and capture the Battleship. They fail by 1!
- The Boarding attack results in Sabotage: Rolled a 12!
- Battleship teleports forward, just missing a cruiser!
- Cruiser takes a Crit before activation - Nav Lock pointing at the Island!
- Cruiser activates, declaires All Stop as she coasts forward 2"...
- Battleship & Cruisers fire on the Gewitterwolke - getting it down to 2 HP and no AP left!
Multiple Near Catastrophies averted!
- Jagers see the danger and attempt to shoot down Loyalist Bomber! They FAIL!!!- Loyal (BRAVE) Bomber circles around and Boards the Gewitterwolke, Taking it as a PRIZE!!!
- Traitor Bombers attempt to shoot down the Gewitterwolke to deny VPs - get it down to 1HP!!!
The Loyalist Bomber Crew earning the Blue Max!
At the end of the turn, the Air Fleet had suffered 70% Points lost/captured - the Loyalist Navy Wins!
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I wonder who the hero of the match was? Well, that's ONE bomber crew that earned their pay!!!
Normally, you wouldn't have a mismatched battle like this, but as a "What the Heck!" type of game, it was fun!
At first, I thought the Navy would have a rough time of it. The Air Fleet stayed Obscurred as long as they could, making it harder to hit them. Also, being fliers, they didn't have to deal with terrain like islands, etc, as well as being more maneuverable. I fully expected my fleet to get hammered quite a bit!
However, when all the fighting devolved into that big "Hairball" in the center, the airships all dropped to Flying level to get better shots, and I think thats when their goose was cooked. With the exception of the Bombers, none of them had the option "Swift Assent". As long as they stayed low, I hit them the same as any other target at range band 2.
Having their bombers off the table for 2 whole turns didn't help the Air Fleet either. By the time they got into range to do something, it was mostly too late. Knowing what edge the reserves were coming on allowed me to pull my fleet to the other side of the table, limiting the Bombers actions when they did arrive. The Bombers were simply too late and too far away to affect my Battleship or Cruisers. In the Table Center, everything else was being dealt with by the rest of the Air Fleet (with the exception of 1 Loyalist Bomber!)
Von Shtupp was pleased with himself.
He had captured a Renegade Gewitterwolke, and the rest of the Air Fleet had surrendered once the Fleet Commander had been taken prisioner. The Ring-Leaders were all un the Brig, his Prize Crews were in control of the Airships and he even managed to coordinate a very successful Rescue Mission as the fleet searched for survivors from the lost Frigate Squadron. Many of the Officers and Men could already been heard cheering him, praising him.
He had already forwarded communications to Fleet Headquarters - explaining his status and praising the Bomber Crews. Von Shtupp grinned; no reason not to recommend teh Blue Max! They deserved it and it would enhance his appearance in Court as a Fair, Self-less and Brave Officer of the Prussian Empire!
Yes, Von Shtupp had a reason to be proud. His enemies at court just handed him sour lemons from which the most wonderful lemonade was being made. The Emperor would be so pleased...
"Whatever shall I ask for?"
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Von Shtupp was pleased with himself.
He had captured a Renegade Gewitterwolke, and the rest of the Air Fleet had surrendered once the Fleet Commander had been taken prisioner. The Ring-Leaders were all un the Brig, his Prize Crews were in control of the Airships and he even managed to coordinate a very successful Rescue Mission as the fleet searched for survivors from the lost Frigate Squadron. Many of the Officers and Men could already been heard cheering him, praising him.
He had already forwarded communications to Fleet Headquarters - explaining his status and praising the Bomber Crews. Von Shtupp grinned; no reason not to recommend teh Blue Max! They deserved it and it would enhance his appearance in Court as a Fair, Self-less and Brave Officer of the Prussian Empire!
Yes, Von Shtupp had a reason to be proud. His enemies at court just handed him sour lemons from which the most wonderful lemonade was being made. The Emperor would be so pleased...
"Whatever shall I ask for?"
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