Fairweather
Member
Having narrowly missed the German Battle cruisers, contact was at last achieved on the 29th of January. The German light forces rapidly scurried out of the way, taking up positions 10000m on either flank. My own light forces were held in much closer, the destroyers at 3000m, the leader level with Lion, and the light cruisers about 3000m ahead, and about 6000m apart. To make controlling the force simpler, the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron, along with two destroyer divisions, had been left at Chatham.
The German Battle cruisers, led by Seydlitz, were heading WSW, straight for Lion. My battlecruisers headed due East, as this allowed both forward turrets of the Cats to fire. At 15000m (roughly), both sides opened fire. By 10.00 am, with the range down to 7000m, the I Scouting Group had scored hits on Lion, Princess Royal and Queen Mary, and the threat of a magazine explosion hung heavy over the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. Mercifully, at 10.03 Seydlitz was hit. At 10.06 the Germans were forced to take evasive action, as the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, having closed the range un-noticed to 3000m, launched several torpedoes. All missed, but they sowed great confusion amoungst the German ships.
Both sides were parallel, heading in opposite directions, when a terrifiying message appeared. "BB Konig spotted by CL Galatea, bearing 83, range 35000". The whole HSF was on the horizon, and, thanks to damage to Lion and Tiger (who the Germans were concentrating their fire on), the Battlecruiser Fleet was down to 24 knots. An immediate battle turn was ordered, with most ships turning to port, but with some turning to Starboard, causing some confusion. To cover the withdrawal, the Flotilla Leader Broke lead 8 destroyers into attack the German Battlecruisers. By now, the German fire seemed to have intensified, and Lion and Princess Royal, manoevering close together, were hit repeatedly, while Derfflinger shot up Tiger. Things were looking grim, when at 10.21, Seydlitz exploded.
A stunned silence fell across the sea, but only for a second. Broke's flotilla launched numerous torpedoes, throwing the German force, now lead by Moltke, into chaos. But the three surviving members of I Scouting Group continued the pursuit. Tiger was badly on fire, with nearly half her crew killed or wounded, Lion had lost "Q" and "Y" turrets, and Princess Royal had taken a directed hit to the conning tower, and had lost her Central Fire Control. However, Moltke was being hit repeatedly, and soon showed moderate damage, as did Lion. At this point, around 10.29, Moltke lead Derflinger and Von der Tann round, heading back east. By 10.40, all firing had stopped, and the Battlecruiser Fleet pulled away from the HSF light forces. The battle had lasted barely 45 minutes.
The damage suffered by the Battlecruiser Fleet was, apart from a couple of 6" hits to Cordelia, limited to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. Lion was the worst hit, with two turrets destroyed, while Tiger was gutted by fire, and most of her guns were disabled. Princess Royal suffered light damage, while Queen Mary's damage was limited to 3 11 inch hits, in a perfect line, next to "Q" turret. The after battle report showed, to my intense surprise, the loss of the Moltke, and 4 other German ships were lost, presumably to mines I had laid earlier. Derfflinger seemed to suffer little, despite (or possibly because of), her being targetted by Tiger and New Zealand, the rest of the ships firing on Seydlitz, and then Moltke. Von der Tann suffered no damage at all.
In the interest of fairness, I should point out that I had switched of the flawed AP shells, so as to improve the odds somewhat. Apolgies if this isn't a terribly interesting AAR, but I felt some sort of counter was needed to the German AARs already present.
The German Battle cruisers, led by Seydlitz, were heading WSW, straight for Lion. My battlecruisers headed due East, as this allowed both forward turrets of the Cats to fire. At 15000m (roughly), both sides opened fire. By 10.00 am, with the range down to 7000m, the I Scouting Group had scored hits on Lion, Princess Royal and Queen Mary, and the threat of a magazine explosion hung heavy over the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. Mercifully, at 10.03 Seydlitz was hit. At 10.06 the Germans were forced to take evasive action, as the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, having closed the range un-noticed to 3000m, launched several torpedoes. All missed, but they sowed great confusion amoungst the German ships.
Both sides were parallel, heading in opposite directions, when a terrifiying message appeared. "BB Konig spotted by CL Galatea, bearing 83, range 35000". The whole HSF was on the horizon, and, thanks to damage to Lion and Tiger (who the Germans were concentrating their fire on), the Battlecruiser Fleet was down to 24 knots. An immediate battle turn was ordered, with most ships turning to port, but with some turning to Starboard, causing some confusion. To cover the withdrawal, the Flotilla Leader Broke lead 8 destroyers into attack the German Battlecruisers. By now, the German fire seemed to have intensified, and Lion and Princess Royal, manoevering close together, were hit repeatedly, while Derfflinger shot up Tiger. Things were looking grim, when at 10.21, Seydlitz exploded.
A stunned silence fell across the sea, but only for a second. Broke's flotilla launched numerous torpedoes, throwing the German force, now lead by Moltke, into chaos. But the three surviving members of I Scouting Group continued the pursuit. Tiger was badly on fire, with nearly half her crew killed or wounded, Lion had lost "Q" and "Y" turrets, and Princess Royal had taken a directed hit to the conning tower, and had lost her Central Fire Control. However, Moltke was being hit repeatedly, and soon showed moderate damage, as did Lion. At this point, around 10.29, Moltke lead Derflinger and Von der Tann round, heading back east. By 10.40, all firing had stopped, and the Battlecruiser Fleet pulled away from the HSF light forces. The battle had lasted barely 45 minutes.
The damage suffered by the Battlecruiser Fleet was, apart from a couple of 6" hits to Cordelia, limited to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. Lion was the worst hit, with two turrets destroyed, while Tiger was gutted by fire, and most of her guns were disabled. Princess Royal suffered light damage, while Queen Mary's damage was limited to 3 11 inch hits, in a perfect line, next to "Q" turret. The after battle report showed, to my intense surprise, the loss of the Moltke, and 4 other German ships were lost, presumably to mines I had laid earlier. Derfflinger seemed to suffer little, despite (or possibly because of), her being targetted by Tiger and New Zealand, the rest of the ships firing on Seydlitz, and then Moltke. Von der Tann suffered no damage at all.
In the interest of fairness, I should point out that I had switched of the flawed AP shells, so as to improve the odds somewhat. Apolgies if this isn't a terribly interesting AAR, but I felt some sort of counter was needed to the German AARs already present.
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