German Campaign 1st week

TacCovert4

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Ok, this is my first campaign, and in order to give me a simpler learning curve I chose Germans without Room 40.

I started off by separating the 2 squadrons of predreadnoughts and older battleships from the HSF, and creating Raiding forces 1 and 2. This was done so that with the Battlecruisers, I can keep a constant capital ship presence in the eastern end of the channel, and heavily bombard the southern British coast at will. This also increases the top speed of the HSF, though they won't be quite as capable of taking on the GF.

Day 1: I sail the Battlecruisers and Raiding force 1 to the English Channel. RF1 only has a cruising speed of 15 kts, so the BCs get a substantial lead as per the plan. I send zepplins to the route between Scapa Flow and the channel, in an effort to spy any fleet sorties against my channel raiders. I also move some of the destroyers from Helgoland to Zeebruge.

Night 1: My Scouting Forces literally run into a heavily reinforced British Scouting party. At the beginning, the British CLs and DDs outnumber my own DDs (2 of my CLs had been transferred to RF1) and take a heavy toll. But I bring the Seydlitz and her sister ships into the fray, and at close range (1-3000 yds) their full batteries rent asunder the British Cruisers and Destroyers. The CL line survived the initial encounter, and out of some misguided sense of honor turned to reengage the mighty German BCs. It was almost reminiscent of Tennyson as the DDs were stormed at with shot and shell, falling one by one as they refused to flee from the BC line. DD Mentor gets an honorable mention for ramming the Derflinger as she sank, causing minor damage. Finally the British line broke, but with their heavy damage, my remaining light forces are able to run down and destroy all but one. Despite the loss of 2 DDs in the chase, the CL Cleopatra escapes. Battle result: Germans loss of 21 DDs. British loss of 22 DDs and 6 CLs.

Day 2: Part of my Scouting Force had become so separated that I detached them (1 CL 5 DDs) to Zeebruge to form yet another light combat element there once repairs were complete. In the late afternoon, the nearly toothless Cleopatra decides to shadow my now homeward bound Scouting Forces, and 2 CLs from the HSF run her down and finish her off. My Raiding Force 1 nets a transport and 2 destroyers in a brisk little engagement just before nightfall.

Days 3-5: My Scouts make it home without further ado, as does RF 1. I send my U-Boat minelayers to mine off Dover, and have my full Unterseebootewaffe move into the channel to take advantage of the temporary drop in British Destroyer activity. My HSF continues their run up the coast to intercept the expected Brit responce to the Raiders, and they seem to run into an endless line of DDs heading south, which results in light damage for 5 enemy ships sunk. Raiding Force 2 with the slowest BBs, is dispatched on a bombardment mission of several towns on the East Coast.

Night 6: A sharp little engagement occurs at dusk, as my forces yet again run into a southward bound enemy destroyer. The engagement picks up with a CL and a second DD being sighted, but fleeing before they can be destroyed. I throw the CL screen of the HSF out another thousand meters and push on in the darkness. At midnight I find that my HSF has quite accidentally, become entangled with the British Battlecruisers and their rear guard. From the outset, I was at a disadvantage, as the Brits had far more light forces, and their BCs started the battle alongside my CL screen. I lost 4 CLs in the first 5 minutes, dealing light damage to the BCs, and cutting their speed down 2 knots with a hit on Australia. My DDs and supporting CLs started off in what is the naval version of a barroom brawl, with ships barely 2000 meters apart. I lost another CL to a pair of Armored Cruisers, and 4 DDs before I could disengage them in a flurry of movements. I accelerated my BB line and yet again plunged them like a lightsaber through the center of the British DD formation, allowing my own DD escorts to lag behind for safety. Over a period of 3 hours I wiped out nearly 30 British DDs, 3 CLs and 2 ACs, at no additional cost to my own units. The Yellow dogs onboard the BCs fled before the invincible might of the HSF, and did not engage my battlewagons, sacrificing their 2 damaged ACs on the altar of speed.

Day 7: With some of my BBs lightly damaged, and most of my forward fleet elements roughly handled, I chose to continue the patrol and not pursue the BC forces towards Scapa Flow. I had no desire to engage the Grand Fleet or even a reinforced BC fleet with only a handful of fresh DD squadrons, and my BBs. Instead I cleaned up yet another straggling DD and sent the HSF back to port to rest and refit.

Night 7: My light forces in Zeebruge (2 CLs and 10 DDs) Fought a sharp little encounter with British Raiding forces. For loss of 1 DD and significant damage to 2 others, I destroyed 3 TBs and 1 DD, driving away a Flotilla Leader and a CL with the assistance of shore battery fire. My ships then moved their port to Antwerp to prevent overcrowding.
 

TacCovert4

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I'm really hoping that my constant raidings with capital ships force the Brits to bring out inferior units into the Channel, like the monitors, so I can put them on the bottom, or make them send out the GF so that I can engage them on more of my own turf.
 

Bullethead

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My ships then moved their port to Antwerp to prevent overcrowding.
Whoops, there's a bug.

Antwerp was useless to the Germans as a warship base because the only way in and out was through Dutch territorial waters. Guess we'll have to fix that...
 

TacCovert4

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Ok, so I'm sortieing the HSF for home, and whaddayaknow, I'm now in a near constant running battle with the Battlecruiser Fleet and the 1st Battle Squadron is playing catchup. Details tomorrow.
 

kotori87

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Ok, so I'm sortieing the HSF for home, and whaddayaknow, I'm now in a near constant running battle with the Battlecruiser Fleet and the 1st Battle Squadron is playing catchup. Details tomorrow.
Gee, that sounds familiar... I seem to remember Gascan had a similar experience. If you haven't already, read about his experience here:
http://forums.gamesquad.com/showthread.php?t=82139&page=3
Good luck, I hope your fleet makes it home safe.
 

TacCovert4

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I'll restart the battle here shortly, but in my first engagement with the BCF of the night I pummelled 3 more of his CLs and 2 DDs, killing one of his ACs as well, for the loss of 1 DD. Took about 40 minutes, and only because his AC, despite catching 6 half broadsides of main guns at under 3000m from my 280s somehow survived for 20 minutes before over 25 secondary battery hits finally killed it. He was also solely responsible for sinking my DD. I got a little overconfident and sent a DD squadron to help finish off the beleagured AC, and his sole surviving 6 incher got in a lucky 2 shots which killed her.

I got to the campaign screen, and about 5 minutes later spotted one of his BCs. Now I actually have to think a little more, b/c my night battle plan against his light forces and ACs has been to turn my BBs by division and increase to full steam, and use their secondaries to helicopter bodyslam the escorts out of the way. Works pretty well in the dark, with his ships appearing already well within range of all guns, and not having a chance to run before they are annihilated. I have recieved some friendly fire damage, but only to unarmored portions of my BBs, the curse of secondaries continuing to fire at sinking enemy ships even when their sisters are interposed on the shot. Now if only my 11 BBs can roughly handle his BCs and put them on the bottom, I'll run for home with a successful patrol by the HSF(minus)
 
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