Category: Miniature Wargames

Heligoland Bight – 1916

This Friday we played a fictitious naval battle set in the North Sea in 1916. The British attempt to sweep the Heligoland Bight to eliminate German patrols. The Germans are supporting their light forces with heavy ships. The scenario includes ships not actually available in the North Sea at the time.

Player briefings

Winds WSW at 3 knots. Sea state 2. Visibility 5 NM toward the SW, 6 NM toward the NE.

Status at the end of the game

Narrative

Player reports:
British
German

Plots of ship movements:
0-30 minutes
30-50 minutes
All

Computer code (described here)

We played for about 4 hours without a decisive result. The British had suffered somewhat more damage. In spite of a lot of torpedo fire from the light cruisers and destroyers, the only two torpedo hits were achieved by the Von der Tann and the Blucher.

TSATF – Sudan 1884

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a Sudan game using The Sword and the Flame colonial rules (20th Anniversary Edition) and the Gunboats and Dhows rules. Six players and a referee fought on the Nile and beside it. The British/Egyptian force was victorious, sinking both dhows and maintaining control of their base.

The boats used were made by Last Stand Dan.

Photos and comments are in this Flickr album.

Seekrieg 5 – Alternate Battle of Samar

This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a Second World War naval game using the Seekrieg 5 rules. The scenario was fictional, but included ships present near Leyte Gulf on 25 October 1944.

US:
Battleships West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Pennsylvania
Cruisers Louisville, Portland, Minneapolis, Indianapolis

Japanese:
Battleships Yamato, Nagato
Battlecruisers Kongo, Haruna
Cruisers Tone, Chikuma

Transport ships of the Leyte invasion fleet were present nearby and provided a potential target for the Japanese.

The models are 1/2400 scale GHQ and CinC. Seven players participated.

We played seven turns in about 4 hours. Of the US battleships, only Pennsylvania was hit and took one tier of damage. Portland took two tiers of damage. Minneapolis took one tier and lost a primary turret. The two Japanese battleships took little or no damage. Kongo took two tiers of damage and lost a primary turret. Haruna three tiers, an engine room, a boiler room, a primary gun and all primary fire control. Chikuma had significant damage and fires. Tone blew up.