Unternehmen Rösselsprung 1942

[BurningApple3]

This scenario is a fictional scenario themed around an attack on Convoy PQ17.
Currently, ship designs are not keeping up with demand, so some vessels are being replaced by substitutes.
The difficulty of an Allied victory, while not impossible, is currently under testing.

This image was drawn by Gemini.

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Unternehmen_Rösselsprung_ver_0.1.zip

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German side summary
Guided by reconnaissance intelligence from the Luftwaffe and U-boat wolfpacks, the heavy cruisers Admiral Scheer and Lützow have made steady progress on their intercept course. Intelligence indicates the target is a substantially large transport convoy, yet surprisingly, there are no signs of heavy Allied escorts in the vicinity.Soon, an unmistakable cluster of massive contacts begins painting on the radar screens.The time for the hunt has come.

Allied Powers' summary
Convoy PQ-17, dispatched to transport essential supplies to the Soviet Union, was sailing through the freezing Barents Sea near the 25th meridian east. At that moment, a fateful order was given. The Allied cruiser escort force was ordered to withdraw to Scapa Flow, and the convoy was instructed to disperse and proceed to various Soviet ports.sudden abandonment by the escort fleet, an urgent distress signal was transmitted, breaking the radio silence: "We are under attack by German warships!" The Allied forces remaining in the area could not ignore this desperate plea for help.

[pkpowers]

I really like this one , just finishing up first try as AXIS, Bismarck and PE turned south after denmark st. passage and ran into a convoy, tore it up and met the other 2 BB's at the objective, Bismarck was then torpedoed by a swordfish

[BurningApple3]

I really like this one , just finishing up first try as AXIS, Bismarck and PE turned south after denmark st. passage and ran into a convoy, tore it up and met the other 2 BB's at the objective, Bismarck was then torpedoed by a swordfish

I think that probably refers to the Rheinübung in the official scenario.It's a really interesting scenario, and I've played it many times myself.

[pkpowers]

you are correct sir, I played the wrong one originally, tried the right one listed here, I was following orders not to engage a larger force and lost to the allies ; I sank one transport, heavy damage to another, and lost a dd

[BurningApple3]

Given Germany’s doctrine, I believe they would have ceased attacks on merchant ships if large warships had been present, which is why the orders were so passive.Of course, if you think you can fight, go ahead and give it your all.If we disregard the damage, the German fleet has the capability to wipe out the Allied cruisers or sink most of the transport ships.
I’ll think a little more about the wording of the command.

[pkpowers]

I went ahead and disobeyed doctrine and took on the brit CA/cl. Won the victory, and the eastern uboats did a little also

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[AndyHall]

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I also ignored doctrine and took on the British capital ships. Lost ADMIRAL SCHEER. LUTZOW was badly banged up, but got clear for the moment. If LUTZOW makes it to the relative safety of some Norwegian fjord, though, it seems unlikely she will be put back into shape to threaten the arctic convoys again. My escorting destroyers, though, wiped out the scattered transports -- 24 sunk or sinking by the end of the scenario, from all causes. RtW3 called it a German victory, but it was at a heavy cost.

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One amusing thing -- I took the generated game log and asked Copilot to use it to generate a Kriegsmarine-style Gefechtsbericht (after-action report), which it dutifully did -- in German.

1. Auftrag
Der Verband, bestehend aus den schweren Kreuzern ADMIRAL SCHEER (Führer des Unternehmens) und LÜTZOW sowie den Zerstörern Z24, Z27, Z28, Z29 und Z30, erhielt den Auftrag, einen feindlichen Nordmeergeleitzug anzugreifen, seine Sicherung zu binden und möglichst viele Transporter zu versenken.

2. Lage vor Gefechtsbeginn
Ab 21:30 Uhr meldeten die Zerstörer wiederholte Radarkontakte in wechselnden Richtungen. Die Vielzahl der Meldungen deutete auf einen dicht gestaffelten Geleitzug mit starker Sicherung hin. Sichtverhältnisse waren wechselhaft; Schneeschauer und Rauchschleier erschwerten die Identifizierung.

Gegen 21:50 Uhr sichtete ADMIRAL SCHEER erstmals Schatten von Überwasserzielen. Kurz darauf eröffneten unbekannte Einheiten das Feuer auf den Verband, was die Anwesenheit schwerer Sicherungseinheiten bestätigte.

. . . and so on.

[BurningApple3]

I also ignored doctrine and took on the British capital ships. Lost ADMIRAL SCHEER. LUTZOW was badly banged up, but got clear for the moment. If LUTZOW makes it to the relative safety of some Norwegian fjord, though, it seems unlikely she will be put back into shape to threaten the arctic convoys again. My escorting destroyers, though, wiped out the scattered transports -- 24 sunk or sinking by the end of the scenario, from all causes. RtW3 called it a German victory, but it was at a heavy cost.

Thank you for playing this scenario.
It's fun to sink lots of transport ships, like in score attack mode.As you said, considering the situation of the German army at the time and what might happen in the future, if the damage was too severe, it would be difficult for them to return to their home country, and they would likely be stripped of their weapons and used in ground combat.
If you consider future scenarios, you'll likely end up being satisfied with sinking a small number of transport ships as instructed by the mission, and avoid engaging cruisers more often.

[f11supertiger]

Played this from the British side. I lost 8 transports and had my cruisers shot up a lot, but I was able to sink Lutzow and heavily damage Admiral Scheer.

Played it from the German side, sank 28 transports and 1 heavy cruiser. You really need to cripple the escort before you can attack the transports.

Fun enough scenario. I have had thoughts of making a Battle of the Barents Sea scenario, but I haven't got around to it.

[BurningApple3]

Played this from the British side. I lost 8 transports and had my cruisers shot up a lot, but I was able to sink Lutzow and heavily damage Admiral Scheer.

Played it from the German side, sank 28 transports and 1 heavy cruiser. You really need to cripple the escort before you can attack the transports.

Fun enough scenario. I have had thoughts of making a Battle of the Barents Sea scenario, but I haven't got around to it.

Thank you for playing this scenario.
Ideally, I'd like to sink a few transport ships before the escorting heavy cruisers return, but it seems the NPCs aren't affected by the fixed course setting and they immediately return to the convoy.If that were possible, we could choose to sink just a few ships and retreat without engaging the heavy cruisers, but now engaging the escort cruisers is almost unavoidable.
I'm looking forward to the Battle of the Barents Sea. I hope to create a version of this scenario someday that includes battleships.