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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 25, 2023 0:56:49 GMT -6
It would seem that Arena of Steel works better than the standard campaign, because, thanks to the constant addition of new ships, you don't get that imbalance of forces that makes the game boring in the last turns. Is this also your impression?
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 25, 2023 0:27:42 GMT -6
Various ship files are available at the "A new SAI campaign" thread, which include the ships you mentioned. If you encounter other difficulties, I will try to help you further.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 24, 2023 3:34:49 GMT -6
The pincer loses a jaw
December 1Q14 - The losses suffered by the merchant fleet have aroused great concern in Italy, for which, in the absence of other objectives (apart from the usual minefields and a convoy to Lybia), it is decided to carry out a protective cruise in the Tyrrhenian Sea with all the available battleships, which are Viribus Unitis and Dante Alighieri, plus Goeben and a couple of Regina Elenas. CLs Bixio, Breslau and some DDs will sail ahead of the main force, while Horthy will repeat his raids in the western Mediterranean, in search of French troopship. From the very beginning, messages from the Sardinian coastguard begin to arrive which indicate that a French squadron is crossing the Strait of Bonifacio, heading towards the center of the Tyrrhenian Sea. At the same time other ships are reported SE of Sardinia. Evidently the French are trying to repeat the pincer maneuver, which cost Admiral Haus dearly in September. When calls for help come in from some nearby merchant ships Haus decides to face the pincer jaw coming from Bizerte (or Malta) first, sending Goeben and Bixio ahead, in the hope of rescuing the transports under attack. Unexpectedly, a large minelayer is encountered by Bixio and blown up shortly after. Goeben sights then a Danton-class battleship near a sinking mail steamer. An artillery duel at maximum range begins. The French B is gradually demolished but Goeben's ammunition reserve is drastically reduced. Apparently the French ships have separated to pursue the merchantmen, for a second Danton is sighted and engaged by the oncoming Haus. This B ends up meeting the same fate as the first, just in time to allow Haus - without Goeben who has run out of ammunition - to deploy his BBs and Bs in a line to face the second, much stronger, jaw of the pincer, which is approaching from N, with two Courbet-class BBs leading. The overall situation is similar to that of September, but this time the Triple Alliance naval squadron is stronger - and the enemy a bit weaker. The Duca degli Abruzzi bites the brakes: his faster ships are forced to follow Viribus Unitis, which proceeds at 18 knots with the stokers at their last resort as she tries to head towards Palermo. Suddenly the Duke orders: "Full speed ahead! Admiral Haus may well go to hell, it is not for nothing that I am a member of the royal family!" Gradually, the Italian ships take the lead, escaping the fire of the slow French Bs and concentrating their own fire on the two Courbets. It's a critical moment and everyone on the bridges of the Triple Alliance battleships is sweating cold, because a lucky hit from the enemy could slow down a ship. Just then Animoso, the only still intact DD of his flotilla, launches a daring torpedo attack, forcing the Courbets to deviate from their course. Animoso then sinks, but the will of the French to continue the battle seems to fail and gradually the guns are silent on both sides. The British ships, which could have greatly strengthened the eastern jaw of the pincer, did not show up. The Entente is perhaps "cordiale", but up to a certain point. Since Horthy's raid was unsuccessful, while some large Italian transports were sunk instead, the round ends with a moderate victory for the Triple Alliance. Damage received by the dreadnoughts, combined with the bad news from the land warfronts, make the sovereigns of the Triple Alliance more apoplectic than ever. Regina Elena ready to open fire
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 23, 2023 0:35:44 GMT -6
Much ado about nothing
End November 1Q14 - The cries of Admiral Souchon echo under the frescoed vaults of the building of the Navy Headquarters in Palermo. "Verfluchte Hunde! Verdammte Scheiße!.. etc. etc. " The interpreter struggles to find the corresponding Italian phrases. In the end, the German admiral has the upper hand and Goeben shortly after takes to the sea, looking for an opportunity to repeat the feats of " Goeben's day." While confusing sighting reports of enemy ships arrive from various locations of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Goeben's cruise goes as far as the Ligurian Sea, but the only prey she picks up are three unfortunate French minesweepers S of Nice. And Souchon has his lucky stars to thank, because he didn't meet BB France and Paris, which in turn carried out an unsuccessful raid in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The turn ends with a minor victory for the Triple Alliance, because Admiral Horthy has managed to destroy another French convoy and two minelayers have laid a minefield off Bizerta.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 22, 2023 1:28:30 GMT -6
A busy day
November 1Q14 - From radio interceptions it is deduced that an important enemy operation, not better defined, is about to begin. Preempting the enemy, Admiral Haus sets sail with his three BBs and several DDs, moving towards the center of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The Italians support him with BB Dante Alighieri, three Bs of the Regina Elena type and CA Pisa plus DDs. Bixio and Dresden sail ahead as scouts. Earlier in the day reports arrive about enemy battleships off the coast of northern Sicily. The Triple Alliance squadron reverses course and rushes in that direction. Soon, amid rain showers, a large minelayer is spotted and blown up. Shortly after, the silhouettes of two Danton class Bs and four large CAs appear from E. The French made the mistake of sending too weak an escort for its own minelaying mission, perhaps assuming that many BBs of the Triple Alliance were still under repair. Targeted by dozens of 12" guns and other guns of all calibres, the French ships are demolished one after the other. Two CAs are blown up, while the ships of the Triple Alliance suffer overall limited damage, despite the relatively short gunfire range. The DDs are singularly ineffective, on both sides, so that none of the few torpedoes find its target. Bixio, which finds herself in the middle of the DDs attacks, is almost immobilized by a shell hit in her boilers. After this annihilation battle, the BBs head towards Messina, while the three Italian Bs and the CA return to Palermo. Admiral Haus lingers off Messina during the night, to avoid to run aground when entering the port. His BBs are therefore still at sea at dawn the following day, when desperate reports of sightings arrive from various merchant ships in the center of the Tyrrhenian Sea, with requests for help. The problem arises for the Austrian admiral whether to risk a second battle, most likely with the British naval squadron coming from Malta, with fewer ships than before and moreover with damaged ships and with low ammunition. He recalls having read a confidential report, certainly originating from "Mata Hari", in which it was stated that some US Navy officers, sent as observers aboard British BCs, had spoken on a certain occasion of "suicide magazine practices" which were tolerated in the Royal Navy because they allowed firing at a high rate of fire. Haus decides: he will engage in battle hoping for that lucky hit that will blow up a large British ship. Unfortunately the Italian merchantmen sink one after the other before help arrives, but around noon the lookout on Viribus Unitis' crow's nest sights smoke to the NW. The silhouettes of two British BCs soon appear, followed at a distance by Nelson and Agamemnon. The British admiral is very cautious and gunfire is often interrupted while the enemy maneuvers at high speed. In the afternoon, after an inconclusive exchange of gunfire, the contenders separate definitively. Admiral Haus is a little disappointed, but at least the mail steamer to Palermo is saved. It is also encouraging to know that a minelaying mission off Bizerte took place successfully and that Horthy, with his CLs, finally managed to intercept and destroy a small French convoy, partially equalizing the losses of merchantmen suffered in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The turn ends with a major victory for the Triple Alliance, which also put the two British BCs out of action for a few weeks. However all the French BBs are active and, on top of that, the brand new and more powerful BB Bretagne is added to the enemy dreadnoughts. Since only Goeben will be available in the next turn, the sovereigns are again apoplectic.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 22, 2023 1:20:12 GMT -6
I'm flattered, but that capitalized IF makes me think that the hope of having a SAI2 is not going to come true. Is there at least some chance to get a user friendly scenario (campaign?) editor with game mechanics like RTW2 or 3?
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 21, 2023 2:36:39 GMT -6
A day of disappointments
October 1Q14 - Although the high command requests a sweep with six major warships off Libya, the number of modern battleships and heavy cruisers available does not allow for this. The British take advantage of it by conducting a raid from Malta with some cruisers, which intercepts and destroys a small Italian convoy which has sailed from Benghazi. The Triple Alliance admirals intensify the training of the few ready battleships; moreover a minefield is laid off Bizerta and a raid is carried out S of Marseilles, in search of French merchant ships, with CL Saida and 3 large Austrian DDs. Unfortunately, due to bad weather and short daylight hours, no French merchantmen are sighted. Rear Admiral Horthy is in a rage and vents his anger with picturesque curses in Hungarian: he has consumed a lot of excellent coal and uselessly worn out his ships. The turn ends with a minor Entente victory. However, the ratio of available BBs on both sides is approaching unity. The tough take the field
End October 1Q14 - While the sovereigns of the Triple Alliance stop frowning, with five dreadnoughts ready for action, a very interesting piece of information is transmitted by "Mata Hari" (we'll call her that so as not to reveal this person's true identity, suffice it to say that she is well introduced in the important circles of the Entente). The enemy intends to carry out a bombardment of the port of Cagliari on a certain date. It is not known with what forces, but everything suggests that the operation will be conducted by the naval squadron based in Bizerte, which is only 125 miles from Cagliari. It will therefore be a matter of one or two BBs and several Bs, even modern ones ( Danton class). Three admirals, who are entrusted with the task of triggering the trap, gather in haste: Haus has Viribus Unitis and St.Istvan ready, the Duke has Leonardo da Vinci and Dante Alighieri, plus three Regina Elena class Bs, and Souchon has Goeben. Also considering the escort DDs and the CLs needed for reconnaissance, there are very few warships left to escort an important convoy heading from Taranto to Libya. For this purpose, an Italian CA and an Austrian CA just repaired are gathered together. To create a diversion, three Austrian DDs are dispatched to search for French merchant ships SW of Marseilles, while CL Bixio and some DDs patrol off Cagliari. Early in the morning (it's a day with clear skies), Bixio sights two enemy Bs and several DDs.To the surprise of the admirals of the Triple Alliance, these battleships were the old Massena and Suffren, which, overwhelmed by the fire of five dreadnoughts and three battleships, after a valiant fight disappear into the waves together with the brave DDs which tried to protect them. This battle (and also the bad habit of shooting at sinking ships) consumes a lot of ammunition. This backfires on the admirals of the Triple Alliance when they sight Bizerte's squadron approaching from the S with BB Courbet in the lead. The action that now takes place between forces less unbalanced than before, does not lead to any important result. Courbet is damaged, but Leonardo da Vinci receives even greater damage. The new Italian dreadnoughts, in fact, are like those boxers with a hard fist but a glass jaw: they have thirteen 12" guns ( Courbet can shoot, from one side, with only ten 12") but her armor belt is relatively thin (maximum 9.8 inches). As evening falls, it also begins to rain. The action is interrupted and the retreat towards the bases begins, which the two contenders reach without further surprises. Malta's British BCs - reduced to just two after Admiral von Spee's victory at Coronel forced Invincible and Inflexible to depart for the South Atlantic - arrive too late yet again. They also lose CL Dublin, torpedoed by Kapitänleutnant Hersing's U21. Since the convoy and its escort have meanwhile reached Tripoli safely and the Austrian DDs have sighted nothing, the narrative could end here, but there is a surprise ending which - fortunately for the Italians - was not too bad a surprise. In the evening it becomes known that some ships are bombarding installations on the Elba island, in the north of the Tyrrhenian Sea. More precise news do not arrive from the batteries of the island and Admiral Cagni, thinking that they were dealing with a few French warships, decides to set sail from La Spezia with his four old Bs of Regina Margherita and Saint Bon classes, 2 old CAs and a few DDs. In hindsight it appears that he ran the risk of encountering BB France and a couple of modern Bs, which would probably have torn him to pieces. The turn ends with a major victory for the Triple Alliance, which can count, at least temporarily, on a substantial parity with the enemy in terms of available dreadnoughts.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 20, 2023 0:46:14 GMT -6
Goeben's day
End of September 1Q14 - While in the Italian shipyards work is in full swing - so to speak - Rear Admiral Souchon makes a fuss at the High Command of the Triple Alliance, wanting to set sail with Goeben, just repaired. In the end it is decided to try again a raid against the French traffic which is supposed to take place between Algiers and Marseilles. An Italian CL with some DDs will carry out the task of scouts, followed at a distance by the German BC. During the night before, a minelayer from La Spezia will lay a minefield off Toulon. With the few ships available, not much more could be done. The operation proceeds smoothly, but no troop convoys are reported. Instead Sigint announces the presence of various Bs in the area. Souchon decides to attack those ships, relying on Goeben's speed and gunnery. With strong winds and heavy seas, four antiquated French Bs are sighted towards the W. Fire is opened and the slow enemy ships try to close the distances, firing at Goeben with their old 12-inch guns. By keeping a safe distance, Souchon is able to land many hits but Goeben takes some damage and runs out of ammo. The German BC then has to withdraw, but it will later be learned that one of the French Bs sank in a foolish attempt to return to distant Toulon while another B was badly damaged. Sigint and also the Italian coastguards are in the meantime sending news about movements of enemy warships, which threaten to cut off Goeben's retreat towards her base. However, thanks to a timely speed increase, as night falls all the allied ships happily return to Cagliari. The turn thus ends with a minor victory for the Triple Alliance, which also had the good fortune to avoid losses of merchant ships during a raid by French battleships in the Tyrrhenian Sea. A threatening sweep of the British BCs from Malta was rendered useless by Souchon's cautious behaviour. In the coming weeks, some other battleships will leave the repair yards, with the benefit also of the "apoplexy" of the sovereigns.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 19, 2023 0:40:50 GMT -6
The going gets tough
September 1Q14 - Following the news of an imminent enemy operation, not better defined, and as all the BBs of the Triple Alliance are under repair, Admiral Haus decided to set sail with his 3 Radetsky class Bs, 3 CAs and 5 DDs. The Italians can at most add one newly repaired B ( Vittorio Emanuele), 4 CAs and some DDs. These ships, preempting the enemy operation, assemble in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, while various CLs carry out reconnaissance ahead of them. While a morning fog reduces visibility, reports begin to arrive that indicate a movement of French warships from Toulon, through the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia and towards the center of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Admiral Haus expects to meet some French Bs and, at most, one BB and believes that his 4 Bs and 7 CAs are able to sustain the fight, provided they are at a short distance from a base within which to retreat: Palermo. When the CL Quarto, in the fog, runs into a pair of battleships that quickly reduce her to a sinking wreck, Haus steers at full speed to engage the enemy in combat. Unfortunately he is too hasty and makes a serious mistake in trying to cut the enemy's T heading N. When the fog clears he discovers that he is facing, in W direction, the two French battleships that sank Quarto while in direction N a much more serious threat looms, represented by several enemy battleships. The French have managed to carry out a pincer maneuver, moving undetected from Bizerte with two battleships and descending S from Toulon with the bulk of their forces. Even more bitter news is the presence of the new BBs France and Paris, which the Triple Alliance intelligence service believed were still under construction [The game is played in the "Hard" mode]. In the ensuing battle, in which the Austrian and Italian DDs sacrifice themselves in attempts at torpedoing the enemy BBs, Admiral Haus fails to avoid close quarters action, which costs him the sinking of the B Zrinyi as well as serious damage to all his major units. He is saved from complete destruction by nightfall and the proximity of Palermo, as 4 British BCs are approaching from Malta along with the powerful Bs Agamemnon and Nelson. The third turn ends with a clear victory of the Entente, which nearly halves the VP advantage previously gained by the Triple Alliance. In the next turn the Triple Alliance will have very few ships available and will have to suffer the enemy initiative, whatever it is. It goes without saying that the sovereigns are even more apoplectic than before.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 18, 2023 10:31:10 GMT -6
In a future edition of SAI (the famous SAI2 long awaited by some), it would also be necessary to review the repair procedure.
Currently a damaged ship is repaired in the base in which she is located, however small or large, and always in the same number of weeks, eventually returning "as new".
It would be more realistic to envisage both minor repairs, possibly necessary to reach a large repair shipyard, and speeds of repair differing from case to case. It would also be appropriate to allow very urgent and/or incomplete repairs, such as those that made it possible for the USS Yorktown to participate in the battle of Midway.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 18, 2023 3:34:20 GMT -6
Victories at sea and repair work
End of August 1Q14 - While Admiral Haus is gnawing at his guts, with his BBs under repair after the unfortunate action near the British base in Malta, the enterprising Rear Admiral Horthy sets sail from Cagliari with the fast CLs Helgoland and Saida. He hopes to intercept a convoy of French troopships along the route between Algiers and Marseilles and to avoid the reaction of its escort. The 1st Italian BB Division also sets sail from Messina, to rejoin the Duca degli Abruzzi's squadron, which had retreated to Cagliari after last week's battle. CL Bixio is sent to lay a minefield off the coast of Bizerte at night, with the order to then proceed in reconnaissance in case of enemy sightings. It isn't too long before the Triple Alliance's efficient Sigint reports movements of French battleships between Marseille and Algiers. It is easy to assume that the French have put to sea with a powerful squadron to protect the expected troopships convoy. Helgoland, Saida and Bixio converge towards the point signaled by Sigint and sight many warships which, apparently, are heading towards France. Meanwhile it started to rain lightly and the Duca degli Abruzzi's squadron (3 BBs, 3 Bs, 4 CAs plus CLs and DDs) is still far away, being more or less off Capo Teulada SW of Sardinia. Once again the CLs of the Triple Alliance manage to be chased by the enemy, which also includes the brand new BBs Jean Bart and Courbet, which were thought to still be in Brest. The reduced sighting distance, due to the rain, mean that the French shells fall uncomfortably close to the CLs, which dart at full speed, covering themselves with smoke screens. Helgoland is seriously damaged and could end badly, but by now the Italian battleships have arrived and a gunfight between parallel lines begins, in a chaos of rain showers, smoke and columns of water raised by the shells. The French BBs are accompanied by relatively old Bs of the Democratie and Liberté classes, which are easy victims of the 12-inch guns of the Italian BBs. It will eventually turn out that three of them are sunk in this battle. These successes are paid at the price of serious damages to the BB Cesare and minor damages also to the other battleships, which induce the Duca degli Abruzzi to interrupt the action, while the French admiral does the same heading towards Toulon. Some Italian DDs are sunk: a loss that will be felt later, the number of modern DDs being rather limited. As the convoy's heavy escort has been forced to retreat, the still-effective CLs of the Triple Alliance have an easy time intercepting the convoy and sinking most of its ships. In the evening, while the Duca degli Abruzzi retires to his main bases in Sicily, the CL Bixio, loaded with shipwrecked people rescued from the waves, enters the port of Cagliari. The day holds further surprises, when Italian torpedo boats patrolling the gulf of Genoa are attacked by light French forces. The old Italian CAs based in La Spezia are activated and manage to put to sea before nightfall. Despite her slow speed Garibaldi manages to sink the CL Cassard, while also an Italian DD and two French DDs are sunk. The second two-weeks turn ends with another victory for the Triple Alliance, but at this point all the BBs and many Bs of the Triple Alliance are under repair and the Italian shipyards don't shine in their efficiency. The sovereigns of the Triple Alliance, knowing that the enemy has three times as many active BBs and BCs as their own, are (according to a confidential report) "apoplectic".
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 17, 2023 1:34:30 GMT -6
The Triple Alliance to the test of warAugust 1Q14 - The very first operation is the urgent dispatch of a convoy of Italian troopships to Libya, threatened by the French forces in Tunisia. To fend off the threat from the British BCs in Malta, the Austrian Admiral Haus sails from Augusta, in Sicily, with his new Tegetthoff class BBs and various DDs, to escort the convoy which, from Naples and through the Strait of Messina, is heading towards Tripoli. For his part, the Duca degli Abruzzi decides to train his Conte di Cavour class BBs in order to be ready to face the French and to intercept the convoys which are expected to sail from Algiers in the following weeks to transfer to France the bulk of the Armée d'Afrique. The Duke then puts to sea from Messina with the fast Bs of the Regina Elena class, four CAs, a dozen DDs and the powerful German BC Goeben. He intends to get a favorable position to prevent a raid by naval forces of the Entente based in Bizerte against the Italian merchant traffic in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Simultaneously, two fast Italian CLs are sent from Cagliari to lay a minefield at night, off Algiers. At nightfall the Austrians sight some old British DDs patrolling off Malta and manage to sink a couple of them. Pursuing the rest the Austrian BBs arrive outside the bay where the British BCs Inflexible and Invincible are anchored (to the player's surprise!). By now darkness has fallen and the Austrian ships have to close the distances. In the short range action that follows all the Austrian BBs suffer serious damage, also caused by the forts that protect the anchorage and furthermore all the torpedoes of the Austrian DDs are neutralized by the anti-torpedo nets of the British ships (this was another surprise for the player!). Admiral Haus then retreats slowly towards Augusta, after having lost a DD. Fortunately, the Italian convoy has already passed the danger zone and later safely arrives in Tripoli. Meanwhile the Italian CLs, after laying the minefield, head NW of Sardinia, where French ships are reported. Assuming - as it turns out, rightly - that they are old French Bs based in Toulon, the Duca degli Abruzzi decides to try to engage them in battle. The commander of the CL Quarto skillfully manages to make himself chased by the French ships while he directs towards the bulk of the Italo-German force that is arriving from the SW. In the ensuing battle, the balance of forces is decidedly against the French and - moreover - the ships of the Triple Alliance are faster. To top it off, two French CAs blow up. The engagement ends with the almost complete annihilation of the French force, which was engaged in a bombardment mission. At nightfall, while the Duca degli Abruzzi's ships, having almost exhausted their ammunition, enter the port of Cagliari, the damaged DD Borea is surprised by the British BCs departed from Malta, where they had received almost no damage in the previous short battle with the Austrians. The first turn ends with a clear victory for the Triple Alliance, however all Austrian BBs and Goeben are under repair and will remain there for quite some time.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 17, 2023 1:33:36 GMT -6
In order to understand this AAR you should first consult the thread "A new SAI Campaign" on page 2 of these "Discussions".
You will find there the background and the files needed to play a counterfactual campaign in the Mediterranean, based on the hypothesis of a war between the Franco-British Entente and the Triple Alliance, formed by Germany, Austria and (unlike what happened historically) Italy.
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Post by vonfriedman on Aug 12, 2023 9:35:27 GMT -6
How nice it would be if each of us could play some other campaign, for example the Guadalcanal or the Mediterranean campaign, with the game mechanics of RTW2/3....
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Post by vonfriedman on Jul 7, 2023 1:07:40 GMT -6
China allied with Japan at war with Russia. To counter enemy CAs, China uses one of its BCs as a raider in Northeast Asia, in a sea full of Chinese and Japanese naval bases. Message: "BC so-and-so scuttled due to lack of fuel".
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