BatRep: Kingdom of Britannia vs Prussian Empire (Box Sets - 3rd Training Mission)

Admiral Von Shtupp was back on the flag bridge, relaxed.  It had been too long since he last sailed out.  The refit took longer than expected.  But the Pride of the Prussian Fleet was once more back where it should be: out at sea!

 Now if only he could find something worthwhile to break in the new guns…

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So, this was Training Mission number 3 for Graham.  1^st game was just a single cruiser and frigate squad each (which I didn’t bother to record).  Second mission was Basic Box Sets, but no cards (last mission I documented).  This mission was, again, box sets, but we added the STAR Cards and the Commodore Orders.

 So, both fleets would consist of:

-          1 Battleship
-          1 Squadron of 3 Cruisers
-          1 Squadron of 2 Bombers
-          3 Squadrons of 3 Frigates
-          2 Squadrons of Tiny Fliers

“Commodore Higgins”  (Graham) would command the Kingdom of Britannia (KoB) whereas I would command the Prussian Empire (PE) once again!

Prussian Deployment (Left to Right):

 

3 Frigates

Battleship with the Ultrasonic Pulverizing Generator in the rear turret

3 Frigates with Bombers and Dive Bombers behind it

3 Cruisers with the Lethal Upgrade on their Tesla Weapons

3 Frigates

Squadron of Fighters

 

British Deployment (Right to Left):

 

3 Frigates

3 Cruisers with Engineers, the Battleship behind, carrying an extra Shield Generator

Squadron of Dive Bombers

3 Frigates on Line of Battle formation

Squadron of Fighters,

Bombers

3 Frigates on Line of Battle formation

 

After rolling for missions, both sides decided to go with the Standard 70% captured or destroyed enemy fleet.  The PE fleet was worth 715pts and the KoB was worth 720.  So, for all intents and purposes, whomever got 500 points first would win the battle.

 

Turn 1
PE won Initiative

Except I didn’t really want to go first…

So, PE moved fighters forward at ½ speed.  KoB matched the move.  PE Dive Bombers went next, then the KoB Bombers headed forward, over an iceberg.  PE Frigates on the left, not wanting to be easy targets, moved forward only 4”.  KoB Dive Bombers started to cross to the right to the table center at ½ speed.  PE Frigates in the Center move forward 4”.  

 

Finally, on the left, KoB Frigates raced forward at Full Speed and fired on the PE Frigates on the left, damaging 1.  PE Frigates on the far right advanced, staying in Range Band 2, and fired on the KoB Bombers, causing a Crit (Fusion Leak)!  KoB Cruisers retaliated, moving forward and blasted the PE Frigates, guns damaged 2 Frigates, while torpedoes sunk a 3^rd.  The Frigate Squadron passed their Break Test.

 

PE Cruisers advanced towards the table center at full speed, linked their firing at one of the KoB Cruisers.  In an amazing display of marksmanship, the PE inflicted 19 hits, causing a Triple Crit!  One of the Crits turned into a Sturginium Flare – teleporting the sinking Cruiser in a random direction.  Fortunately for the KoB, it didn’t land on any of their fleet.  The remaining Cruisers passed their Break Test.

 

The KoB Battleship moved forward and Graham played “Veteran Gunners”.  The Battleship damaged 1 Cruiser and Crited another (Shredded Defences).  The PE Battleship moved forward and turned towards the table center, getting a Crit on a KoB Cruiser (Engine Failure).  KOB Frigates in the center moved forward, formed a Line of Battle and sank 1 Frigate from the PE Right-side squadron and damaged the previously undamaged PE Cruiser!  PE Bombers made their attack run on the undamaged KoB Cruiser and caused a Crit (Gun Damage).  In the final activation, the KoB Frigates on the right moved forward and formed a Line of Battle behind the Iceberg, but failed to hit anything.

 

In the End Phase, KoB repaired all Crits on their Cruisers, but failed to repair the Bomber’s Fusion Leak.  PE failed to repair the Shredded Defences of the PE Cruiser.

Losses:
KoB:       130
PE:          97.5

 

 

Turn 2:
PE Played “Radio Intercept”: +3 on Initiative roll and won Initiative!

PE Cruisers started the Activations; “Running Repairs” was played, bringing 2 Cruisers back to full Hull Points.  Moving forward, the PE Commodore gave the order “Close Gunnery” to the Cruisers, allowing the Cruisers to fire in Range Band 1 with no penalty with their Primary Weapons!  At Range Band 1, 1 Cruiser was sunk, but the Battleship’s Guardian Generator managed to save the second Cruiser from damage.

 

What goes around, comes around!  The KoB Played “Running Repairs” on THEIR last cruiser, bringing it back up to full Hull Points!  Maneuvering between the PE Cruisers, Graham discovered he didn’t have any Broadsides (I sympathized – I did the same thing in an earlier match against someone else).  Improvising, both turrets fired on one PE Cruiser and sank it with a Double Crit!  He then attempted to board another PE Cruiser but lost all his Boarding Parties in the attempt.

 

This was too good an opportunity to pass up.  PE Bombers flew forward, sank 2 Frigates with Teslas, and boarded the last KoB Cruiser, taking it as a Prize (worth Double Points)!  The Bombers then passed their tests and both were able to climb into the safety of the Obscured Level.

 

Or so they thought...  KoB Fighters attacked the PE Bombers – both sides played “Mad Minute” Cards and blasted away; 1 Fighter token was destroyed by AA but a PE Bomber suffered Double Crit – falling from the sky in pieces. 

 

 

The PE Fighter Squadron gunned their engines to full speed and shot down the undamaged KoB Bomber with another Double Crit at the cost of an extra fuel count.  The damaged KoB Bomber overflew the PE Cruiser with Shredded Defences.  Neither was able to damage the other.  The PE Frigate in the center moved forward and shot down the last KoB Bomber from Range Band 2!

 

KoB Frigates in the Center move from right to left in Line of Battle and manage to damage the undamaged PE Cruiser.  The PE Dive bomber move to the left, in faint hope of intercepting the KOB Battleship and avoiding the KoB Fighters in the table center.

The KoB Battleship moved next from right to left and played “Barrage From Hell”.  Not wanting to suffer that kind of shooting, PE discarded a card to cancel its effect.  In spite of the card being cancelled, the KoB guns managed to inflict a Crit on the PE Battleship (Hard Pounding – down to 8AP left), though Concussion Charges blocked damage from the Torpedo Salvo.

PE Frigates on the left moved forward and managed to damage 1 frigate and sink another.  The KoB Frigates passed their Break Test.  KoB Dive Bombers attacked and sunk a PE Cruiser with a Double Crit.  The Survivor passed its Break Test.  The PE Battleship moved and, in spite of its damage, sank the last two KoB Frigates on the left with guns.  KoB Frigates came out from behind the iceberg and though they failed to damage a PE Cruiser, they did successfully re-capture the Prized KoB Cruiser – turning it into a derelict.  This action gained the KoB another turn of play!  PE Frigate on the right failed to damage or capture an enemy Frigate in a Boarding Action.

 

In the End Phase, the PE failed (once more) to repair the Shredded Defences on its Cruiser.

 

Losses:
KoB:       450         (If the KoB hadn’t recaptured the Cruiser, the game would have ended this turn!)
PE:          280

 

Turn 3:
KoB Was down to 3 Active Units (plus Fighters and Dive Bombers) so were down to 3 STAR cards.
PE Played “Broken Code” – threw away 2 of KoB’s cards, leaving them with just 1 STAR Card!

KoB Wins Initiative

KoB Fighters attacked the remaining PE Bomber, causing a Crit (Weapons Damage) for the cost of 1 fighter token.  PE Cruiser moved forward minimum move and fired all turrets, broadsides and Teslas at frigates and failed to damage anything.  KoB Dive Bombers, lacking bombs, attacked and shot down the last PE Bomber for the cost of a token.  The PE Battleship, fearing it would be damaged next activation, moved forward and fired turrets at the KoB Battleship, but failed to damage it.  The Teslas sunk 1 Frigate and the Broadsides damaged another.

The KoB Battleship activated next, turrets damaging the PE Battleship (down 3 Hull Points now), but the broadsides and turrets failed to damage.  The Center PE Frigate manages to sink 1 Frigate and capture a 2^nd with Boarding Actions!  The KoB Frigates on the right moved forward but failed to damage the PE Cruiser, thus ending the activations of the KoB.

 

The PE Frigates on the right managed to damage 1 more Frigate, though the PE Frigates on the left failed to cause any damage.

 

In the Final End Phase, the PE Cruiser (STILL) failed to repair its Shredded Defences…

 

Losses:
KoB:       562.5
PE:          347

Prussian Empire Wins!

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Good game and a complete reversal of the last game's result!

 

This time, I managed to be patient and held back my Frigates for a turn or two before committing them to the attack.  My Cruisers held up quite well and did great (even if I couldn't repair the Shredded Defences).  I don't understand why people hate the Prussian Cruisers so much.  When they work, they work great!

 

The only thing that disappointed was the Battleship.  First of all, I would have been better off with either the Tesla Generator (Extra D3" movement or "Zapping" nearby enemies) or the Shield Generator.  Even leaving the guns on the rear turret would have been more useful as it could have fired on targets farther away than the limited 8" of the UPG (Ultrasonic Pulverizing Generator).  However, it did act as a fire-magnet and did manage to damage and sink Frigates when it was needed.

Surprisingly, Boarding wasn't as important in this game as last time.  Yes, I did capture a Cruiser in 2nd turn and if I could have held on to it, it would have ended the game earlier, but that was a target of opportunity, not by design.  I had intended to attack (and hopefully sink) the Cruiser with my Bombers.  However, when the British Boarding failed and left the Cruiser with no Assault Points, well, even a single Frigate could have captured it.  I probably should have held off the assault until my last activation so Graham wouldn't have had the opportunity to recapture the ship.

 

So what happened to Graham's British fleet?  First of all, I was paranoid about them dang Doncaster Bombers with their long ranged torpedoes and made the bombers a Priority Target.  Second, I held my ships back for most of the first turn, denying the British Frigates the opportunity to do a combination of Double Turrets and Torpedoes at Range Band 2.  Finally, I think Graham's dice deserted him at several crucial events.  Graham failed to do double crits or even damage at times by a single hit point. If he had been rolling better, chances are in, it would have been a much closer match.  I cannot really fault the British tactics.  All ship squadrons turned and formed Lines of Battle and coordinated their fire quite well.  They just weren't getting the hits they needed.  Again, my keeping my distance until I had the advantage probably was the deciding factor.

Regardless, it was a good game with Graham not giving up; fighting to the bitter end. 

I'll have to dig out the Russians as Graham has expressed an interest in fighting another fleet soon...