DENMARK STRAIT 1941 AAR

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This is a quick test of my Denmark Strait 1941 scenario. It was played with TOAW 3.6.0.xxx. The scenario is not yet available to the public – awaiting the release of 3.6.

I had intended for my Jutland 1916 scenario to be used to let players get some experience with the new surface vs. surface naval combat features – and it does that. But it turned out to be a more complex scenario than what was really needed for that purpose. I thought something simpler was in order. Well, this one has only one turn and only six combat units. It has to be the simplest scenario yet designed. Let’s take a look at it before beginning:

Attached is a screenshot of the situation. It’s very simple: The Hood and the Prince of Wales are engaging the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen (there are a couple of cruisers on the margins that had been tracking Bismarck and aren’t in range to get involved). Note that the Hood and Prince of Wales have had their supply and readiness reduced enough to model their facing: They were trying to close the distance with Bismarck and so have only their forward guns available. The Prince of Wales is further degraded due to having been thrust into action before even having had her sea trials. Under the hood, the British have had their Critical Hit Scalar tripled from the default, modeling the Hood’s vulnerability.

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Looking at the equipment report for the Hood shows that its accuracy has been slighted by 10% to model its inferior targeting tables (accuracy is 10% less than durability).

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That is not the case for the Prince of Wales (accuracy is the same as durability).

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The Bismarck, meanwhile has had its durability raised by 10% to account for its historical ruggedness (durability is 10% greater than accuracy).

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Now let’s get started.

The Bismarck and Prinz Eugen set up a one-round bombardment of Hood and Prince of Wales. The attached shot shows the British loss report.

Note that the Prince of Wales took 5 damage points while the Hood took 25.

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After the German bombardment was finished, the British ships fired counterbattery. The attached shot shows the German loss report. No hits were registered so no damage occurred to either ship.

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Another one-round bombardment was set up and executed. Here’s the British report.

The Prince of Wales took 49 damage points for a total of 54 while the Hood took 5 damage points for a total of 30. Note that that was a critical hit on the Prince of Wales.

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Here’s the German report. The Bismarck took 8 damage points.

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The third combat round was set up the same way and here is the British loss report.

The Prince of Wales took 8 damage points for a total of 62 and the Hood took 28 damage points for a total of 58.

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Here is the German loss report. The Prinz Eugen took 1 damage point.

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The fourth combat round was set up and here’s the British loss report.

The Prince of Wales took 5 damage points for a total of 67 while the Hood took 27 damage points for a total of 85.

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Here’s the German loss report. The Prinz Eugen took 10 damage points for a total of 11.

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The fifth round is the same. Here is the British loss report.

The Prince of Wales took 20 damage points for a total of 87 while the Hood took 15 damage points for a total of 100. This sinks the Hood.

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Here’s the German loss report. No damage occurred.

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Historically, Admiral Lutjens broke off the combat after the Hood sank, despite the pleas of the Bismarck’s captain to be allowed to finish off the Prince of Wales. Here I chose to finish it off, since it’s close to sinking.

The sixth combat round was set up as before and here is the British loss report.

The Prince of Wales took 13 damage for a total of 100. That sinks the Prince of Wales. Obviously, there was no counterbattery fire.

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While I might have tried to engage the two cruisers remaining, I chose to avoid any chance of further damage to the Bismarck and sailed off. The Bismarck ended with 8 damage points while the Prinz Eugen had 11 damage points. The game result was an overwhelming victory for the Germans. Here is the Victory Dialog:

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Conclusions:

The scenario is reasonably accurate and will give players some quick and easy experience with the new surface naval combat features.