Bismarck Playbook Edition 2022 - Battle Scenario 7 - Mountbatten's Battle
I have always been a fan of Lord Louis Mountbatten so when I saw this scenario, I had to play it. Three German Destroyers and five J and K class British destroyers rushing to catch them. Since my opponent, Peter, and I were playing after work across two time zones (because we can with VASSAL) doing one of the shorter scenarios was appealing. A lot of the scenarios in Bismarck are larger and would take time to play.
So the battle starts with the Axis as the the non-initiative player entering from the northwest and the Royal Navy steaming from the south east in a head to head collision. The weather being cloudy and daylight, the spotting range was 6 hexes and so that is where we started.
The first movement phase we both proceeded in Nelsonian fashion to decrease the range to get into gun range of our tertiary guns. Since we were not in range yet the phase moved on and we decreased the range to two hexes with guns of both sides trained on the oncoming enemy, 8 destroyers each with a bone in the teeth waiting for the range to close enough for the guns, and it turns out, the torpedoes.
First shots from the Germans were good, with the Richard Beitzen and Hans Lody each hitting HMS Jupiter, one a primary and the other, a secondary hit. Through referred damage that ended up knocking out the entire tertiary battery of Jupiter.
The return fire from all five RN destroyers (since the guns on Jupiter don't get counted as destroyed until the end of the phase) started out bad with three ships firing on Beitzen and got worse with HMSs Jackal and Jersey on Hans Lody. Too fast? Drunk gun crews? Who knows but the fire wasn't accurate to even phase the Germans who focused with grim, Teutonic purpose.
In the torpedo combat phase, everything the guns should have done, the torpedoes did and more. All three German destroyers fired their full load down the throats of the British Destroyers and hit three! THREE! RN Destroyers which were all way, way, way over exploded. Off to the Allied Destroyed box. Even so the British fish were in the water and there were more of them...
Four fish at the Beitzen. Four fish at the Hans Lody. Two at the remaining destroyer. One hit on each of Hans Lody and one on Beitzen. And that was enough. Both over exploded too and off they went to the Axis Destroyed box. Now the worm has turned rather convincingly. One German DD with all its batteries ready vs two RN destroyers, one, HMS Jupiter, with no guns.
The British moved the Jupiter away so she wouldn't have to take more damage now that they were reduced to Enfields and Webleys for their main armament. The Jackal put herself side to side with the remaining destroyer and went out in a blaze of glory.
While Jackel had a chance in a one on one battle, it was not to be and she went down with her crew serving her guns to the lase.
My opponent Peter thrashed me soundly, but having lost 2 ships of maybe 20 total German destroyers, his losses might have been more significant, but the savor of four RN destroyers going down was pleasing even if there were a bazillon more RN destroyers to go.
And Lord Louis Mountbatten, member of the royal family, went down with his ship saving the Provisional IRA a job 30 years later.
I am resizing the screen shots here so they fit better, but they will be full size on
www.was-fc.com for you to check out. Also I will have a download of the log file so you can click through the battle in the privacy of your own home and see how we fought it.
All available soon in the Bismarck Playbook Edition VASSAL module. Available for free to owners of Bismarck Playbook Edition at
www.was-fc.com before July 15.
To get access, mail me at hazencroftmatt@gmail you know what goes there at the end... and state that you own Bismarck Playbook Edition and I will send out a link for you.
Note that this game includes all you need for Bismarck and the new Force de Raid. More modules coming till we run out of titles.
