Coral Sea Scenario: 500 points!

[gcrutch]

500 points put to good use - This is the start of my scenario for WaS battle of Coral Sea scenario. There will be a few special rules for victory conditions. The rules to be used are the official WaS rules plus the latest rules clarifications document from July 2007.

I had to interpolate and proxy the existing WaS ships for some of the actual ship class participants Scenario rules will follow orders of battle. Here is the Order of Battle list for the Imperial Japanese Navy:

Imperial Japanese Navy

Carrier Striking Force
Carrier Shōkaku x 2 (40 points)
A6M2 Zeke x 2 - based on a Shōkaku carrier (12 points)
B5N2 Kate x 2 - based on a Shōkaku carrier (26 points)
D3A Vale X 2 - based on a Shōkaku carrier (20 points)
Heavy Cruiser Myoko x 2 (48 points)
Destroyer Yukikaze x 4 (48 points)
Points: 194

Tulagi Invasion Group
Destroyer Yukikaze x 2 (24 points)
Transport Kinai Maru (4 points)
Points: 28

Port Moresby Invasion Group
Light Cruiser Jintsu (19 points)
Destroyer Yukikaze x 3 (36 points)
Transport Kinai Maru x 2 (6 points)
Points: 61

Covering Group
Light Carrier Shoho (9 points)
A6M2 Zeke - based on Shoho carrier (6 points)
Heavy Cruiser Myoko x 2 (48 points)
Heavy Cruiser Tone x 2 (46 points)
Destroyer Yukikaze (12 points)
Points: 121

Submarine Force
Submarine I-19 x 4 (52 points)
Points: 52

Rabaul Land-Based Fighter and Bomber Aircraft
A6M2 Zeke x 4 (24 points)
G4m Betty x 3 (18 points)
Points: 42

Japanese Total Points: 498

[JUNO44]

Can not wait to see this through to end. If you are using two or more maps please descibe how they are joined up.

[gcrutch]

Now with the Allied Order of Battle - special rules forthcoming: seaplane tender rule (Auxiliary ship acts as carrier with basing limit of 4 PBY Catalina). Reminder - ship class proxies are used for some ships in the list as WaS has limited ship classes available.

United States Navy/Allies

Task Group 17-2
Heavy Cruiser USS Salt Lake City x 5 (70 points)
Destroyer USS Fletcher x 5 (35 points)
Points: 105

Task Group 17-3
Heavy Cruiser HMAS Canberra (15 points)
Heavy Cruiser USS Salt Lake City (14 points)
Light Cruiser HMAS Sydney (14 points)
Destroyer USS Fletcher x 2 (28 points)
Points: 71

Task Group 17-5
Carrier USS Enterprise x 2 (50 points)
F4F Wildcat x 2 - based on an Enterprise carrier (14 points)
TBD Devastator x 2 - based on an Enterprise carrier (18 points)
SBD Dauntless X 2 - based on an Enterprise carrier (26 points)
Destroyer USS Fletcher x 4 (56 points)
Points: 164

Task Group 17-6
Oiler USS Jerimiah O’brien x 2 (6 points)
Destroyer USS Fletcher x 2 (28 points)
Points: 34

Task Group 17-9
Seaplane Tender USS Jerimiah O’brien x 1 (3 points)
PBY Catalina x 4 (28 points) *Use seaplane tender special rules
Points: 31

Submarine Patrol
Submarine USS Barb x 3 (36 points)
Points: 36

Australian Land-Based Recon and Bomber Aircraft (proxies except for PBY)
Sea Hurricane Mk. 1B x 2 (10 points) – historical: Aussie or RAF P-40
PBY Catalina x 5 (35 points)
SBD Dauntless x 1 (13 points) – historical: Aussie Vultee Vengeance
Points: 58

US/Allied Total Points: 499

[Thalan]

That can be a pain. My group took two sets of the small single maps that come in the box and tapped them together. We trimmed up the maps and them taped them together. Its a bit of work and you have to make the folds as uniform as possible. They wont fold entire right the first time and its a large bundle once its done.

But double maps are much more fun to play on. Adds a level of maneuver and strategy that you cant do on the smaller map.

Good Luck

[shermanM4A1]

Nice matchups. It'll sure be interesting to see the outcome of this battle.

[Cinnibar]

The one danger with double-sized maps is that the airpower tends to eat everything, and I mean EVERYTHING before surface ships have a chance to engage. It turns into a carrier-fest.

What we've been doing (and you'll see us do it in the ongoing Henderson Airbase scenario online here) is giving every aircraft except the Catalina an extra rearming counter. This means land-based aircraft sortie every third turn, and carrier-based aircraft sortie every other turn.

It also means that aircraft are vunerable when re-arming on a carrier! If the carrier takes a point of damage, we roll survival for each aircraft "on the deck". On a 1, that aircraft is destroyed. Obviously, if the carrier goes down, rearming aircraft meet the seabed. **

Creates an interesting subgame where even someone without air superiority can get a successful strike off every once in a while if the other player doesn't hold aircraft in reserve.

-----

** = in the current online Henderson Scenario, we didn't have this part of the rules in place when we started, that aspect was developed (and tested) later.

[TK421]

Cinnibar,

At the risk of hijacking this thread, that rule (adding the re-arming counter)sounds like a good idea in large-map games. It certainly adds some decision-making for the carriers!

[gcrutch]

No hijacking detected. Something to consider above with the extra re-arming time. Thanks for the comments. Next to work out the map, special rules, custom objectives, and victory conditions. My goal is to use as little special rules as possible.

I'm going to have to playtest this (will be using lots of cardboard ships until I get the actual minis) to see if the US/Allied air isn't too much. The US did have submarines near Papua on picket duty I think.

I had to cut the number of destroyers, transports, and submarines for the Japanese for the 500 point fit. Also just guessed on numbers of land-based air for US/Allies. I did do the research for some of the types of aircraft available, however.

If, for game play purposes, the land-based US/Allied air is too much, I will cut some of that and add a few US/Allied submarines.

[JUNO44]

Your large map air rules would be nice to see in their entire form. Are there ranges for air for example?
Noticed you listed one set of IJN units which included '4' Tone CAs, this is not historical?

[JUNO44]

Just looking at forces again and could not help but notice the glareing lack of a IJN float plane, they flew several very good ones.