PDA

View Full Version : Mediterranean Brawl - Scenario


sailmaker0312
03-23-2007, 10:01 PM
Mediterranean Brawl - An Axis & Allies Minis War At Sea Scenario

Introduction
I just purchased my first starter pack and several booster packs of A&AWAS minis. I did not expect to get all the ships needed to create opposing homogenous fleets with only $100, so this is an alternate history type scenario. It is planned to be part of a larger mini-campaign.

Background
This scenario occurs in early 1942. The Mediterranean War at Sea has not gone smoothly for the Allies. Germany has shifted several capital ships, submarines and aircraft to the region in order to support the Italian Navy and support the Axis drive on the Suez.

The French Navy has been split, some units joining the Free French others being taken over and manned by the Axis (I managed to pull 2 Richelieu Class BBs from my $100...).

Malta, Tobruk and Gibraltar remain thorns in the Axis side and must be reduced to further the campaign in the East. These positions must be held by the Allies as bastions from which to mount future operations against the Axis.

Situation
A combined Allied force is running much needed supplies to the British garrison in Tobruk. The main body of the convoy lays to the south of the action depicted in this scenario. Intelligence intercepts have detected several Axis surface groups in the area headed for the convoy.

Map
Use map 4, less the objectives. Use a competitive die roll + flagship modifier for player 1 / 2 startup side. There are no objective hexes on the map.

Mission - Allies
A small taskforce centered around HMS Argus (AKA St Lo) has been detached from the main body of the convoy escort force to intercept the nearest Axis surface group. You are to prevent it from breaking through and intercepting the vital transports.

The Allied fleet is made up of:

Canberra CA X 1 =15
Ajax CL X 2 =26
Truculent SS UK X 1 =12
St Lo (Argus) CVE X 1 =10
Swordfish TB X 1 =10
Javelin DD UK X 1 =9
Catalina MPA US X 1 =7
Huricane Ftr UK X 2 =10
Total =99

Mission - Axis
Your surface group’s mission is to intercept and destroy an enemy convoy en-route for Malta. Ammunition is limited and should be saved for the convoy! You are to push through the enemy’s screening forces, link up with other Axis forces and strike the merchant ships they are protecting.

The Axis fleet is made up of:

Scharnhorst BC 38 X 1 =38
Bolzano CA 18 X 1 =18
U 510 SS 11 X 2 =22
Z 20 DD 8 X 1 =8
Ju87B DB 7 X 1 =7
Kondor MPA 5 X 1 =5
Total =98

Victory Conditions - General
The objective here is not to seize and hold ground. The Axis must break through the Allied screen, fast, while conserving ammo for the attack on the convoy (hence the low points for sinking Allied ships).

Victory Conditions - Allies
The Allies receive the normal points for destroyed Axis units.
The Allies receive the normal points for Axis units still on map at the end of turn 10.

Victory Conditions - Axis
The Axis receive 50% the normal points for destroyed Allied units.
The Axis receive 100% the normal points for their own units exiting the Allied map edge by the end of turn 6.
The Axis receive 50% the normal points for their own units exiting the Allied map edge by the end of turn 10.

The player with the most victory points wins.

Special Rules
Kondor - This scenario is played in 1942 and before Anti-Ship Missiles for the Kondor would be available. Disregard “Anti-ship Missile” SA so the cost is reduced to 5.

Alternate Units
If players want to build their own fleets, limit them to the standard 100 points build. All units should be 1942 or earlier, with no Japanese units. Australian ships did fight in the Mediterranean - check out HMAS SYDNEY on the web.

You may also add the Italian Savoia-Marchetti 79 to your inventory for variety. Here are my suggestions for it:

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 - “Notable for its distinctive 'hump' in the fuselage the aircraft was well liked by its crews. The Royal Air Force fighter pilots nicknamed the plane as "Damned Hunchback" because of the rugged structure, and the machine gun in the 'hump', which made it quite difficult to shoot down. In the Mediterranean attacks by SM.79's damaged the battleship HMS Malaya, the aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable, HMS Victorious and HMS Argus, in addition to sinking 86 Allied ships, totaling 708,500 tonnes by mid-1943.” Wikipedia

Suggested Statistics:

Name: SM.79
Type: Aircraft - Patrol Bomber 1940
Cost: 7
Speed: A
Attacks: 0
Anti-Sub: 2
Torpedo: 2
Armor: 5
Vital Armor: 8
Hull Points: 1
SA 1: Alternate Payload 6 - Once per turn, this unit can make a 6-d Bomb attack instead of a Torpedo attack during your Air Attack step.
SA 2: Capital Ship Hunter - Attacks against a CA, BC, BB, CVE, CVL, CV and Aux roll one extra attack die.

I have only played this scenario twice, with a narrow victory for each side.

Please provide your feed back.

ericdufresne@shaw.ca

Joisey
03-24-2007, 07:22 AM
Hate to be a party pooper, but the St. Lo CVE was of the Casablanca class. This CVE class didn't come into service until 1943:

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-cv.html#cve

Otherwise, seems a very interesting scenario. Perhaps you could work in the Ark Royal as part of the allied fleet?

sailmaker0312
03-24-2007, 08:21 AM
Hate to be a party pooper, but the St. Lo CVE was of the Casablanca class. This CVE class didn't come into service until 1943:

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-cv.html#cve

Otherwise, seems a very interesting scenario. Perhaps you could work in the Ark Royal as part of the allied fleet?

Well aware of that. I just wanted to give the RN a small carrier - HMS Eagle or Argus ish. And I dont have the Ark Royal, yet!

Thank you for the feed back.

TheCygnysGuardian
03-24-2007, 09:10 AM
http://www.acesofww2.com/Bombers/39-41/Savoia-Marchetti-SM.79.jpg
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, in case anyone's wondering. :D

Joisey
03-24-2007, 09:14 AM
Ahh, she's a beauty! :D Are you seeing this, R.B.? The Italian Fans want this in Set II! ;)

Joisey
03-24-2007, 09:27 AM
I propose an alternate Allied force that is more historically likely:

1 x Ark Royal: 22 points

2 x Swordfish: 20 points

1 x Sea Hurricane: 5 points

1 x Exeter: 12 points

1 x Ajax: 13 points

3 x J-class destroyers: 27 points

Suggested tactics: Use the Swordfish against the subs. Use your fighter to hunt down his air. Use your cruisers and destroyers to swarm the Scharnhorst in a torpedo rush. This brawl will be very bloody for both sides.

sailmaker0312
03-24-2007, 10:46 AM
Nice alternate build. Thoughts on my victory conditions and on the SM.79?

Don't worry too much about history;) . Explore and imagine the possibilities. :rolleyes:

Count_Ciano
03-24-2007, 07:56 PM
http://www.acesofww2.com/Bombers/39-41/Savoia-Marchetti-SM.79.jpg
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, in case anyone's wondering. :D

Ohhhhh! Yeah! They gotta do one of these! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/TheCount/smileys/love.gif

Joisey
03-25-2007, 05:36 AM
Tried the scenario last night, using the alternate allied build.

The Axis made a mistake in their first move, leaving Scharnhorst by itself. A torpedo attack by the Swordfish ensued. One was aborted but the second one scored 4 hull damage, crippling Scharnhorst.

The next turn the Axis stacked together, so the Swordfish tried hunting subs, without success. The Axis tried using its air on Turn two, but only succeeded in losing the Kondor to the Sea Hurricane.

Turn three the allied cruisers and a Javelin closed with the Axis surface fleet. The Swordfish attacked too, but were aborted. The allied attack succeeded in getting a torpedo hit on Scharnhorst with the Javelin at range one. Two Javelin were lost to enemy fire, while Exeter was crippled and Ajax took damage. Balzano also was damaged.

Axis conceded at end of turn 3, as it was mathematically impossible for them to win with the loss of the Scharnhorst.

sailmaker0312
03-27-2007, 08:21 PM
Turn 1
Initiative - Allies
Sea Movement - See map
Air Mission Phase - Axis hold air unit off board. Allies send the Catalina and the Swordfish to attack a sub each.
Air Attack Phase - No hits on either sub.
Surface Attack Phase - No units in range.
Torpedo Attack Phase - No units in range.
Air Return Phase - Catalina and Swordfish head home.

Turn 2
Initiative - Axis
Sea Movement - See map
Air Mission Phase - Axis hold air unit off board. Again, the Allies send the Catalina and the Swordfish to attack a sub each.
Air Attack Phase - No hits on either sub.
Surface Attack Phase - Javelin fires at Z20. No hits. Scharnhorst fires at Javelin. 10 hits and Javelin sunk.
Torpedo Attack Phase - Truculent fires at U 510. 3 hit/1 damage and U 510 crippled. U 510 fires on Truculent. 2 hits/0 damage.
Air Return Phase - Catalina and Swordfish head home.

Turn 3
InitSea Movement - See map
Air Mission Phase - Kondor placed to support U 510 attack on Allied SAG. Ju87B attacks the Allied iative - Axis
carrier group. Allies send the Catalina and the Swordfish attack the damaged U 510 that is in the same hex as the Allied SAG. Sea Hurricanes intercept each Axis air groups.
Air Attack Phase - No hits on the Kondor. 4 Hits on the Ju87B, aborting it. 3 hits/1 damage and U 510 sunk.
Surface Attack Phase - Canberra fires at Bolzano. 4 hit/1 damage. Ajax fires at Z20. 2 hits/1 damage and Z20 crippled. Scharnhorst fires at Canberra. 8 hits/1 damage and a close call for Canberra. Bolzano fires at Ajax. 4 hits/1 damage. Z20 fires at Ajax. 4 hits/1 damage and Ajax crippled.
Torpedo Attack Phase - Truculent fires at Bolzano. 1 hit/2 damage and Bolzano sunk. Canberra fires at Scharnhorst. 1 hit/2 damage. Ajax fires at Scharnhorst but misses. U 510 fires on Canberra with the Kondor “pinpointing“. No hits.
Air Return Phase - Kondor, Catalina, Sea Hurricanes and Swordfish head home. Only the Catalina, one Sea Hurricane and the Swordfish will be available next turn.

Turn 4
Initiative - Allies
Sea Movement - See map
Air Mission Phase - Axis aircraft are reloading. Allied Sea Hurricane is reloading. Allies send the Catalina and Swordfish to attack the U 510 and the Scharnhorst that are in the same area. The Sea Hurricane attacks the Z20.
Air Attack Phase - Scharnhorst aborts the Swordfish. Z20 fires at the Catalina. 2 hits but not enough to abort it. The Catalina attacks Scharnhorst with torpedoes but misses. The Sea Hurricane strafes the Z20. 2 hits/1 damage and Z20 sunk.
Surface Attack Phase - Scharnhorst fires her main battery at Canberra. 11 hits and Canberra is sunk. Scharnhorst fires her secondary armament at Ajax. 8 hits/1 damage and Ajax is sunk. Scharnhorst fires her tertiary battery at the remaining Ajax. 4 hits/1 damage. Canberra fires at Scharnhorst. 6 hits/no damage. Ajax fires at Scharnhorst. 7 hits/1 damage. 2nd Ajax fires at Scharnhorst. 5 hits/0 damage. Scharnhorst is 1 point away from being crippled.
Torpedo Attack Phase - U 510 fires on Truculent. No hits. Truculent fires at Scharnhorst. No hits. Ajax fires at Scharnhorst but misses.
Air Return Phase - Catalina, Sea Hurricane and Swordfish head home.

Turn 5
Initiative - Allies
Sea Movement - See map
Air Mission Phase - Kondor attack the Ajax, Ju87B attacks the Argus. Allies send a Sea Hurricane to intercept each Axis air raid. The Catalina attacks the U 510 and the Swordfish attacks the Scharnhorst.
Air Attack Phase - The Scharnhorst scores 7 hits on the Swordfish and it is destroyed. The Ajax scores 3 hits on the Kondor and aborts it. The Sea Hurricane scores 4 hits on the Ju87B and aborts it. The Catalina attacks the U 510. 5 hits/1 damage and the U 510 is crippled.
Surface Attack Phase - The Scharnhorst fires on the Ajax. 13 hits/Bye bye Ajax. Burning severely, Ajax fires on Scharnhorst. 5 hits/no damage. Only Truculent stands in the way of an Axis victory if Scharnhorst escapes…
Torpedo Attack Phase - Truculent fires on Scharnhorst. One hit/two damage and Scharnhorst sunk.
Air Return Phase - No matter, Allies win.

Rokossovsky
03-27-2007, 11:46 PM
Sorry. Had to say it. :cool:

Count_Ciano
03-29-2007, 05:14 AM
Sorry. Had to say it. :cool:

Oh, details! Details! :p I suppose if one wants a little authenticity here, perhaps sub in a Kongo as a Cavour/Duillio class Italian rebuild, since I'd presume the stats are very much the same. ;)

sailmaker0312
03-29-2007, 06:19 AM
Oh, details! Details! :p I suppose if one wants a little authenticity here, perhaps sub in a Kongo as a Cavour/Duillio class Italian rebuild, since I'd presume the stats are very much the same. ;)

That would be an interesing option.

Count_Ciano
03-29-2007, 03:22 PM
That would be an interesing option.

Yeah...even though the mini's no where near close, I'm thinking UWAT* here.
*UWAT=Use What's Available Today. :cool:

sailmaker0312
03-29-2007, 04:27 PM
I like your style!

As i said above, imagination rules. There are only so many ships available in this set. But who cares? If u wana refight the "Battle of the Java Sea", go for it... Who cares if the exact ships are not available? Just make them up, with stats and special abilites in relation to the existing ones.

None of us acctually need WOTC. We just like giving them our money.

Play on gamers

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/assault_gun/

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/

Count_Ciano
03-30-2007, 05:00 AM
I like your style!

As i said above, imagination rules. There are only so many ships available in this set. But who cares? If u wana refight the "Battle of the Java Sea", go for it... Who cares if the exact ships are not available? Just make them up, with stats and special abilites in relation to the existing ones.

None of us acctually need WOTC. We just like giving them our money.

Play on gamers

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/assault_gun/

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/

Actually, I'm thinking a Calabria based scenario, using ships from this OB:

http://www.navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WWII_Mediterranean/OOB_WWII_Punto-Stilo_Calabria.htm

Even though cruisers and destroyers are useable from this set, none battleships are available yet. And since I'm too impatient to see what set 2 holds.....UWAT! I'm thinking the Hood=Warspite (trade off "Fatal Flaw" for "Slow 1" and Kongo=Guillio Cesare(trade off tertiary armament for +1 armor and vital armor). Just wanna see how it plays out first. :)