Naval Battles of WW2 Part IV (West) Sep 41 - Aug 42

My first two scenarios are ready for posting. Unfortunately the project card creator, jakk24, is suffering technical difficulties with his card production. I will post the scenarios with the relevant stats for new units and then add jakk24's cards when they become available.

Operation Halberd, 26-28 September 1941
Operation Halberd was a supply convoy to Malta from the west containing nine transport ships. It was the largest supply effort for Malta to date. The convoy had a powerful escort consisting of Force H, commanded by Vice Admiral Somerville on board the battleship Nelson, plus additional units drawn from the Home Fleet. In total it consisted of an aircraft carrier, three battleships, five light cruisers and 18 destroyers.

The Italians, aware there was an operation pending from Gibraltar, but unsure as to its objectives, prepared an ambush of 11 submarines between the Balearics and Malta. A powerful task force was assembled under the command of Admiral Iachino on the battleship Littorio. It consisted of two battleships, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and 14 destroyers. More ships were available, but the fuel for them wasn’t. Once again Iachino was under instructions to only engage if assured of superiority. Air squadrons on southern Sardinia and western Sicily were also put on alert. In total about 130 aircraft were used.

The crucial day of the operation was the 27th September 1941 as the British sailed south of Sardinia. Air attacks hit Nelson in the bow with a torpedo, but despite a reduction in speed she was able to continue. Iachino, frustrated by a lack of fighter cover and conflicting reports as to how many battleships he was facing, sailed as close as 40 miles to the convoy before ultimately turning away. Somerville, aware of the approaching Italians, detached his two remaining fully operational battleships along with two cruisers and six destroyers to intercept. Ark Royal launched an airstrike but it couldn’t contact the withdrawing Italians. Had Iachino known he had battleship parity along with cruiser and destroyer superiority he may have accepted action, but he didn’t.

The rest of the operation was fairly uneventful. The Transport Imperial Star was torpedoed and sunk by torpedo bombers, while during the night of the 27/28, as the convoy passed southern Sicily, Italian MAS boats tried but failed to make contact. The convoy arrived safely in Malta on the morning of the 28th. When Force H returned to Gibraltar it was attacked by three Italian submarines. No hits were achieved while the Adua was sunk by the Gurkha and Legion. The operation had been a great success, but what if Iachino had been more aggressive?

Set up: Play as a 500 point scenario.

Italians – 441 points, 41 units
BB: Littorio (use Roma).
BB: Vittoreo Veneto.
CA x 2: Trento, Trieste (use Trento).
CA: Gorizia (use Fiume card).
CL: Duca Degli Abruzzi (use Guiseppe Garibaldi).
CL: Muzio Attendolo (use Eugenio Di Savoia or Duca D’Aosta model with Raimondo Montecuccoli card).
DD: Folgore (use Pegaso model with Espero card).
DD x 2: Da Recco, Pessagno (Use Luca Tarico).
DD x 4: Grecale, Gioberti, Maestrale, Scirocco (use Ascari model with Alfredo Oriani card).
DD x 7: Ascari, Bersagliere, Carabiniere, Corazziere, Fuciliere, Granatiere, Lanciero (use Camicia Nere).
MTB x 2: Motor Torpedo Boat.
SS: Dandolo (use Leonardo Da Vinci model with Luigi Torelli card).
SS x 4: Fratelli Bandiera, Delfino, Narvalo, Squalo (use S-37 model with Fratelli Bandiera Sudden Strike card).
SS x 6: Adua, Aradam, Axum, Diaspro, Serpente, Tuchese (use Ambra model with Axum card).
Ftr x 2: CR.42 Falco (use B-239 Buffalo model).
Ftr: MC.200 (use C.202 Folgore).
DB: Ju-87 R2 Picchiatelli.
PB: Z.1007 Alcione (use Z.506B Airone model).
TB x 2: SM.79 Sparviero.

British, unless otherwise stated – 440 points, 40 units
BB: Nelson.
BB: Rodney.
BB: Prince of Wales (use King George V).
CV: Ark Royal.
CL: Edinburgh (use Belfast model).
CL: Kenya (use Jamaica)
CL: Sheffield.
CLAA x 2: Euryalus, Hermione (use Euryalus).
DD: Garland, Polish (use Vasilissa Olga model with Gloworm card).
DD: Oribi (use Bagley model with Sudden Strike card).
DD: Isaac Sweers, Dutch (use Van Galen model).
DD: Piorun, Polish (use Javelin model).
DD x 2: Laforey, Lightning (use Nizam).
DD x 2: Cossack, Zulu (use Cossack).
DE x 2: Farndale, Heythrop (use John C. Butler model with Ledbury card).
DD x 4: Duncan, Foresight, Forester, Fury (use St. Laurent model with Electra card).
DD x 4: Gurkha, Lance, Legion, Lively (use Saumarez model with Legion card).
Aux x 9: Ajax, Breconshire, City of Calcutta, City of Lincoln, Clan Ferguson, Clan MacDonald, Dunedin Star, Imperial Star, Rowallan Castle (use Jeremiah O’Brien).
Ftr: Beaufighter Mk.IC (use Beaufighter TF MkX model with Sudden Strike card).
Ftr: Fulmar Mk.II (use Barracuda Mk.II model).
TB x 2: Fairey Swordfish (use Swordfish MkI model with Sudden Stike card).

Special Rules:
1) Folgore has a Vital Armor of 6.
2) The Camicia Nere card has a Vital Armor of 7 and a point value of 8.
3) Rodney has no Flag 1 special ability and a point value of 57.
4) Edinburgh has the special ability Cruiser Hunter instead of Secret Cargo 4.

Battle of Cape Bon - 13 December 1941
Planes, ships, and submarines operating out of Malta were taking a heavy toll on Axis supplies to North Africa. The Axis forces were in dire need of fuel, and so the Regia Marina committed two fast light cruisers, commanded by Vice Admiral Toscano on board the Alberico Da Barbiano, to each carry 950 tons of aviation fuel along with other supplies. The drums of fuel were stacked all over the decks of both cruisers. The torpedo boat Cigno acted as an escort. Force K at Malta was also short of fuel and so did not sortie to intercept. The four destroyers of the Royal Navy 4th Destroyer Flotilla, led by Commander Stokes on the Sikh, was en route from Gibraltar to Alexandria, and attempted to engage.

The attempt would probably have failed, but Toscano, believing his force had been spotted by British aircraft, had reversed course to return to port and in so doing had left his escorting torpedo boat to his rear and taken his ships towards the allied destroyers. In the dark December night the Italians were taken by complete surprise with accurate torpedo and gunfire and both were soon blazing wrecks as their cargo easily ignited. Cigno replied with her torpedoes but scored no hits. Both cruisers would later sink costing Toscano and over 900 of his men their lives. The Royal Navy had scored another stunning night success in an action that lasted only 5 minutes.

Set up: Use the 1st edition open sea map. Set up each unit in the sector designated below. The battle lasts 3 turns.

Victory: The British player must sink both Italian cruisers without losing any destroyers, otherwise the Italian player wins.

Italians – 23 points, 3 units
CL x 2: Alberico Da Barbiano and Alberto di Guissano in C3 (use Giovani Delle Bande Nere).
DD: Cigno in C2 (use Pegaso model with Lupo card).

Allies (British unless otherwise stated) – 32 points, 4 units
DD x 2: Sikh in B4, and Maori in A4 (use Cossack).
DD: legion in B4 (use Saumarez model).
DD: Isaac Sweers in A4 (use Van Galen model).

Special Rules:
1) The Allies have the initiative for the whole battle.
2) Turn 1 starts with the Second Player’s (Allied) Surface Action phase.
3) Darkness rules are in play for the entire battle, but visibility is only 2 sectors. The ‘Night Fighter’ special ability may be used from the start of the battle.
4) Add the special ability Flammable Cargo to both Italian cruisers.
5) Add the special ability Night Fighter to Sikh, Maori, and Legion.

Special Ability:
FLAMMABLE CARGO – This ship has its armor and vital armor each reduced by 1.

Option: Historical as the above battle is, it’s usually not much of a contest and can be over almost immediately. Set up and play as a Quick Start battle. Ignore Special Rule 2. Note that all ships are set up in their relevant ship deployment area, not the sectors stated above. This gives a bit more of a battle but will still be tough on the Italian player to win.

The Channel Dash (Operations Cerberus and Fuller), 12 February 1942.
By the summer of 1941 the German occupied French port of Brest was home to a powerful squadron consisting of the battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The Kriegsmarine wanted to leave them there, so that they could either sortie into the Atlantic to attack Allied shipping, or at least pose the threat of doing so, and thus tie down vital British naval resources. Hitler feared the ships would eventually be bombed into oblivion by British aircraft based in southern England. He wanted them based on the Norwegian coast where they could protect Norway from invasion and threaten Allied Arctic convoys. Hitler got his way, and so the German navy formed a detailed plan (Operation Cerberus) to bring the ships north through the English Channel.

The Ships, under the command of Vice Admiral Ciliax on board the Scharnhorst, would depart Brest late at night on 11 February 1942 along with six destroyers. This would hopefully give them several hours of undetected sailing. A huge escort of destroyers, torpedo boats and S-Boats would join the three ships along their way, with the greatest concentration occurring in the Straits of Dover around noon on the 12th. A continuous daytime air cover would be provided by 250 Luftwaffe fighters. The British plan to thwart any such attempt (Operation Fuller) was based on massive air attacks by the RAF and Coastal Command, along with night surface attacks by large numbers of MTB’s in the narrow Dover Straits, backed up by two flotillas of destroyers and the radar directed coastal guns at Dover. For the British plan to work however, they needed to know the Germans were at sea. The British assumed that the Germans must attempt the hazardous Dover Straits at night, which would therefore entail a daytime departure from Brest. This would be spotted by their submarine and air patrols outside that city.

Unfortunately, the difficulty of spotting a night departure was compounded by a catalogue of errors resulting from technical failures, bad judgment, bad luck, poor communication and bad weather, which meant that the Germans were not actually sighted until they were almost through the Channel. Poorly coordinated piecemeal attacks by immediately available and then late arriving surface and air forces, despite being bravely pressed home, caused no damage to the three capital ships. Of the approximately 600 aircraft, of which many failed to make contact, 42 were shot down. Of over 30 MTB’s at Dover and Ramsgate only eight went to sea of which only five attacked. The South Foreland Battery at Dover got off only six salvoes before the Germans were past their guns. Only five old destroyers, after a high-speed run across the North Sea that caused a sixth destroyer to break down, were able to make a last-ditch attack off Holland, during which one of them was crippled and another badly damaged. The poor visibility had allowed them all to get close enough to launch their torpedoes, but it simply wasn’t the Brits day.

The British had been embarrassed in their own backyard. Scharnhorst had struck a mine off the Belgium coast and was brought to a temporary halt while she effected repairs, unmolested by any British forces! But the seemingly stunning victory for the Kriegsmarine soon turned into a minor disaster when both battlecruisers struck mines along the Dutch coast before safely reaching Germany. Just over two weeks later, a British bombing raid so seriously damaged Gneisenau that she never sailed again. Scharnhorst was repaired and sent to Norway to meet her end at the Battle of North Cape. Prinz Eugen served briefly in Norway (two days) before being torpedoed and returning to Germany. She thereafter operated in the Baltic. She survived the war only to be sunk in the American atom bomb tests.

Set up: Use the 1st edition coastal map. Do not place any Objective markers. Place island tiles in sectors A5, C5, D6, E6, and E7. Sectors A6/7, B6-8, C6/7, and D7/8 are solid land (England) and are inaccessible to all units. The German player sets up as Player 1. The British destroyers set up as Player 2. Set up the British Installation and Torpedo Boats in the sectors designated below. The battle lasts 6 turns.

Victory: The German player must attempt to exit the Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen off the map via the British ship deployment area. A unit expends 1 sector of its move to exit the map. Units on the map at the end of the game are considered destroyed. Victory is judged at the end of the battle as follows:
All 3 ships exit = German victory.
Both battlecruisers exit = Draw.
Any other result = British victory.

Germans – 183 points, 13 units
BC: Gneisenau (use Cerberus Scharnhorst card).
BC: Scharnhorst (use Cerberus Scharnhorst card).
CA Prinz Eugen.
DD x 2: Z25, Z29 (use Z32 model with Z29 card).
DD x 4: Friedrich Ihn, Richard Beitzen, Paul Jacobi, Hermann Schoemann (use Karl Galster).
Ftr: Bf110 C-4 (use Fi167 model).
Ftr x 2: Bf109
Ftr: Fw190A.

British - 120 points, 18 units
Inst: South Foreland Battery in B5 (use Heavy Shore Battery model with Sudden Strike card).
DD x 2: Campbell, Mackay (use Bagley model with Stuart card).
DD x 3: Vivacious, Whitshed, Worcester (use Witte de With model with Vampire card).
TB x 2: Vospers MTB in B5 (Dover).
TB x 2: Vospers MTB in E6 (Ramsgate).
Ftr x 2: Spitfire MkI (use Sea Hurricane MkIB model).
PB: Hudson MkIII (use B-25H Mitchell model).
PB x 3: Halifax GR MkV.
TB: DAP Beaufort MkVIII (use Beaufighter TF MkX model).
TB: Swordfish MkI.

Special Rules:
1) Add the special ability Channel Dash to the Prinz Eugen.
2) Change the special ability Night Fighter on the Stuart card to Chase the Salvoes.
3) Change both special abilities on the Vampire card to Destroyer Flotilla and Chase the Salvoes.
4) The DAP Beaufort Mk.VIII cannot make bomb attacks.
5) In the Initiative phase of any one turn (only), the British player may declare that either the Gneisenau or Scharnhorst has been mined. That ship then takes 1 point of damage and may not move on that turn. The chosen ship must be on the British side of the map when it is mined.
6) Before the game begins place a rearming token on the Beaufort, Hudson and one Spitfire. Place two rearming tokens on the three Halifax’s and the other Spitfire.

Special abilities:
Chase the Salvoes: Whenever an enemy Battleship makes a Main Gunnery attack against this unit, roll a die. On a 5 or higher, this unit takes no damage from that attack.
Destroyer Flotilla: The sector this unit is in can contain one friendly Ship above the stacking limit if all of the friendly Ships in this sector are Destroyers.

Option: Add the destroyer Walpole to the British force. It has the same stats as the Vivacious, Whitshed and Worcester. This was the destroyer that broke down.

Design Notes:
1) The British order of battle is based on what units attacked or tried to attack. The Germans had huge amounts of ships. I haven’t included all these as they would vastly unbalance the situation and fill the map up while not adding very much to the scenario. The British aircraft and coastal guns could ignore them anyway, and they don’t seem to have stopped the MTB’s and destroyers from closing into torpedo range.
2) The Halifax bombers are representing several different types of heavy bombers such as Halifax’s, Manchester’s, Short Stirling’s, and Wellington’s.

The Breakout of Michel – 14 March 1942
A month after the successful conclusion of Operation Cerberus (see the Channel Dash scenario) the Kreigsmarine attempted a channel breakthrough operation in the opposite direction. On the evening of 13 March 1942 the auxiliary cruiser Michel set sail from Holland escorted by five torpedo boats and nine R-Boats. Michel, commanded by Captain Helmut von Ruchteschell, was heading for the South Atlantic trade routes.

British MTB’s attempted attacks between 04.00 and 07.00, but they were driven off by heavy gunfire from the Michel’s escorts. Later that morning a final attack was attempted by two old WW1 era destroyers, Walpole and Windsor, and three Hunt class destroyer escorts, Blencathra, Calpe and Fernie. This attack developed into a fierce firefight in which the British came off worst with four of their destroyers damaged, the Windsor seriously. In return only Michel suffered some splinter damage and eight men killed. The Germans arrived safely at Le Havre later that afternoon, and Michel departed for the South Atlantic on the 20th. The Germans had once again navigated the English Channel with little serious British opposition.

Set up: Play as a convoy battle. Use the 1st edition coastal map. The British player sets up as Player 1. Note that there are no convoy ships apart from Michel. Michel will use her own stats, not those of a standard convoy ship.

Victory: The German player wins if the Michel exits the map, otherwise the British player wins.

Germans – 50 points, 10 units
Aux: Michel (use Atlantis model with Sudden Strike card).
DD x 5: Falke, Iltis, Jaguar, Kondor, Seeadler (use T27 model with Jaguar card).
Aux x 4: R-Boats (use S-Boats model with Forumini custom card).

British – 46 points, 8 units
DD x 2: Walpole, Windsor (use Witte de With model with Vampire card).
DE x 2: Blencathra, Fernie (use John C. Butler model with Fernie Sudden Strike card).
DE: Calpe (use Samuel B. Roberts model with Ledbury card).
TB x 3: Vospers MTB.

Special Rules:
1) The first 4 turns are played with darkness rules.
2) Michel cannot use its Disguise or Long Cruise special abilities.
3) Sector B5 is open sea. Ignore the island there.
4) Change the special ability Beach Landing 3 on the R-Boats card to Guard the Convoy.

Special Ability:
Guard the Convoy: While this unit is in the same sector as a friendly Auxiliary unit, enemy units can't attack that Auxiliary unit until this unit has been attacked at least once in the same phase.

Attack on Convoy PQ13 – 29 March 1942
Convoy PQ13 with 19 merchant ships departed Reykjavik, Iceland, on 20 March 1942 heading for the Soviet port of Murmansk. On the 24th it was hit by a violent storm. By the time the storm abated on the morning of the 28th the convoy and its escort had been scattered far and wide. As the Royal Navy escorts attempted to gather their charges, the Kriegsmarine dispatched three destroyers from Kirkenes to prey on the disorganized convoy.

By the morning of the 29th the bulk of the escorts had gathered together and had shepherded eight of the merchants into a much reduced convoy. In the early hours they had been joined by one British and two Soviet destroyers from Murmansk. The German destroyers made contact with this reduced group just before 10am. By unlucky chance they ran straight into the strongest escort ship, the cruiser Trinidad. The German flagship, Z29, was soon crippled. Trinidad attempted to finish her off with a torpedo, but in a stroke of luck for the Germans this time, the weapon misfunctioned and circled back to hit and cripple Trinidad. Eclipse finished the Z29 off but was then pounced on herself by the two remaining German ships. Eclipse was driven off heavily damaged, allowing Z24 and Z25 to rescue 88 men from the Z29. The Germans now headed home.

The convoy and the crippled Trinidad, now reinforced by four minesweepers from Murmansk, had driven off the surface threat, but they soon faced the danger of U-Boats. Gossamer and Hussar attacked and drove off U-209 while Fury did the same to U-378. The convoy arrived safely in Murmansk on the next day.

The other merchants of the original convoy were not so fortunate. Split into small groups, or on their own, and with only a few trawlers and whalers for an escort, they suffered badly from U-Boat and aerial attack. Five of these stragglers were sunk before they too reached Murmansk.

Set up: Play as a convoy battle.

Germans – 55 points, 5 units
DD: Z29 (use Z32 model with Z29 card).
DD x 2: Z24, Z25 (use Karl Galster model with Z25 Sudden Strike card).
SS x 2: U-209, U-378 (use U-552).

British, unless otherwise stated – 72 points, 11 units + 5 Convoy Ships
CL: Trinidad (use Jamaica).
DD: Oribi (use Bagley model with Sudden Strike card).
DD x 2: Eclipse, Fury (use St. Laurent model with Hotspur card).
DD x 2: Gremyashchiy, Sokrushitelnyi, Soviets (use Gromkiy).
DD: Paynter (use Type 13 subchaser).
Aux x 4: Gossamer, Harrier, Hussar, Speedwell (use Halcyon).
Aux x 5: Jeremiah O'Brien.

Special Rules:
1) If Trinidad rolls a 1 when making a torpedo attack, the torpedo has hit the Trinidad. This can only happen once.
2) Trinidad has the special ability Destroyer Hunter instead of Cruiser Hunter.
3) Replace the special ability Mines on the Gromkiy card with Sub Hunter.
4) Replace the special ability Evacuate on the Halcyon card with Guard the Convoy.
5) Change the special ability on Paynter to Guard the Convoy.

Special abilities:
Destroyer Hunter: This unit rolls one extra attack die when making Gunnery attacks against Destroyers.
Guard the Convoy: While this unit is in the same sector as a friendly Auxiliary unit, enemy units can't attack that Auxiliary unit until this unit has been attacked at least once in the same phase.