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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 19:40:36 GMT -6
Playing on Hard as the Russians (rear Admiral), weekly turns. Turn 1 What started as an easy minelaying operation devolved into a running battle off Dago Island as DD Division VI ran into 2 German CL's and at least one DD. Four Russian DD's along with the minelayer Yenisei were tasked with laying mines off Bornholm Island. Orders were given to avoid contact at all costs. No submarines were on patrol and the rest of the active fleet was tasked with training, so no help could be expected. After successfully laying mines off Bornholm and heading NNW, an unknown ship was sighted between Gotland and the Swedish mainland. In response the Division turned south to avoid contact. It then decided to head north off the east coast of Gotland to avoid "the Slot", where no maneuver could occur. The Division then ran into a German task force off Dago, identified as 2 CL's. Later a 3rd ship was sighted, a V25 class DD. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 19:47:18 GMT -6
The CL's were on an intercept course so smoke was laid down and the course changed to the West. The Germans were making better speed than my Russians due to the Yenisei being able to make only 18 knots maximum.
With the German CL's gaining on me, I decided to change course again and head south. My max speed is only 18 and the Germans have cut me off from Helsinki. Something has to give.
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 19:51:29 GMT -6
The Germans turn south as well and now have the range. I take evasive maneuvers again to the west. The Ukraina is hit and the Turkamen (sic) launches torpedoes
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 19:59:38 GMT -6
Will the torpedoes find their home? The Ukraina is detached after taking hits and is left to her own devices. The Destroyer commander says a prayer for his Tsar and the Ukraina. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:03:17 GMT -6
Torpedo hit! But in the confusion of the battle the Yenisei drops out of line and finds itself in no man's land between both task forces and fires at the German CL. The Ukraina slowly loses speed to contain flooding. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:07:18 GMT -6
Valiant minesweeper Yenisei scores a hit! But it will l have to face the German light cruiser by itself as the Russian destroyer commander has made the decision to run, who knows what lurks beyond those light cruisers? Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:10:02 GMT -6
The deathride of the Yenisei is completed as a German destroyer enters the fray. Both German ships now circle for the kill. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:11:56 GMT -6
Will the effort of the Yenisei be in vain? Can the Russian destroyers escape? The Ukraina heads to port only to encounter a dreaded German CL. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:13:54 GMT -6
The Ukraina fires off it's torpedoes and sinks. No torpedoes found their mark. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:17:32 GMT -6
The rest of the Russian destroyers make for home, unmolested. Unfortunately I put the rest of the Russian fleet in training for the turn so they could not be emergency activated. Those two Russian CL's were needed. A bad move by the staff. Attachment Deleted
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Post by cleveland on Jan 20, 2014 20:26:53 GMT -6
I really needed backup for my destroyers, the German commander proved to be very aggressive even after losing a CL to a torpedo hit. I thought for sure I could break contact after sinking the cruiser. I could've set my remaining destroyers on flotilla attack but had no idea if the German cruisers were part of something larger and instead cut my losses. A real nail biting turn!
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Post by phoenix on Jan 21, 2014 2:12:00 GMT -6
Fantastic account of that engagement. Really liked it, thanks. And appreciated the detail and photos. I too thought the torpedo hit would end the battle.
Would it be possible - for the future - to keep the names of ships in the pics? Easier to see what is what then.
It looks like a great campaign to start off with - a little smaller and more manageable than the big north-sea campaign, perhaps. Plus, we spend a month each year in Hango and Helsingfors on holiday, and sail frequently into the archipelago then (indeed sail straight up past Gotland to get there from Germany), so that will help me imagine it, no doubt. The seascape off Finland and Sweden is superb.
Thanks again.
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Post by cleveland on Jan 21, 2014 7:34:15 GMT -6
thanks! Let me know when you're traveling again and I'll have the Russian fleet stand down Looking back on the turn, I should've set both the Destroyer Division and the Minesweeper as independent forces. Attaching the minesweeper to the DD Division cut their maximum speed by 8 knots and when the shells started flying there was no easy escape. Small request if the designers are reading this: when detaching a ship from a formation I would like to be able to set the destination home port myself. In the above scenario the Ukraina was trying to go to the nearest port (Reval or Hango). It should have turned south to the Gulf of Riga, the way north was blocked by the Germans. Also curious why the TR Raumo was worth so many victory points (7,000). The equivalent of 3 or 4 destroyers.
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Post by randomizer on Jan 21, 2014 11:06:52 GMT -6
This is as intended since the decision to detach a damaged ship should not be a vehicle to facilitate an operational redeployment. Presumably the detached vessel is in some danger of sinking and so the closest port is the only one that makes sense if the aim is to save the ship. Also there is the issue that the AI follows the same logic and it is already disadvantaged enough in that it cannot plan for the next turn. SAI deliberately limits what detached ships are allowed to do because in era before instantaneous ship to ship communications, detachments as you suggest were not considered realistic options for admirals and ship captains alike.
In this era, older torpedo craft including destroyers were relatively expendable assets but FW would need to weigh in on how the actual values are calculated. The average commercial vessel of the times are typified by the Small Merchant (< 1000 GRT) but larger ships were more valuable just because their revenue generating capacity was so much greater as was their ability to carry more war materials as necessary. The old, smaller and slower torpedo craft featured in the Baltic campaign were already obsolescent but could still perform valuable work but as you saw, their fighting capacity and so their relative value is fairly small.
Wonderful AAR and turn summery, thank you for sharing.
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Post by cleveland on Jan 21, 2014 13:49:44 GMT -6
Thanks for the explanations!
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