WWI Naval Battle – Strait of Messina 1914

In this hypothetical battle, The German Mediterranean squadron (significantly enlarged from the historical one) is cornered by the British in August 1914.

Scale: 1/6000 miniatures, 500 yards/in ground scale.

Rules: Computer code in development.

Visibility 20,000 yards. Wind westerly at 10 knots. Seastate 2.

Status at the end of the game: Messina Status

Damage output file: Messina-output

Plot of ship movements: Messina-plot

The German squadron heads east out of the Strait of Messina after coaling. Two British battlecruisers pass through the straits and approach from the northwest. Milne, in his flagship Inflexible, approaches from the southeast. The armoured cruisers of the 1st Cruiser Squadron approach from the northeast. The Goeben and the British battlecruisers are limited to 24 knots due to maintenance issues.

The Inflexible is sunk by the Goeben, allowing her to escape to the south with little damage. The German cruisers are all sunk and the British also lose one armoured cruiser.

Milne is posthumously hailed as a hero, and the Goeben reaches Turkey to play her historical role there.