Peter Gade  - May 14, 2008 3:06 am (#22759 Total: 23182)  
(Not the world-famous badminton player) 
	 
Can't help but cross-post a recap of my weekend session with "The Far
Seas" from S&T #125. Naval heads will also spot this in the Naval
Wargaming folder here on CSW. For those unfamiliar with the title, it
covers German cruiser warfare across the globe in the opening days of
WWI. Good fun! 

Finally got around to that "quality time" with The Far Seas -- playing
the Brits and Allies solo using Daryl's chart (available at Grognards),
German AMCs, and the optional coaling rules. My goal was to get the
rules down and gain a sense of balancing the Brit/Allied need to balance
searching with covering shipping and bases from raids. The first bit
wasn't that tough at all. The second, well ... let's just say that
Winston would have probably taken the business-end of his cane to the
nape of my neck on the steps of the Admiralty. 

Read on ... 

Turns 1 - 3 The Germans kick off the fight with a couple of kidney
punches and a poke in the eye. Three AMCs pull off successful commerce
raids in both the Pacific and the Caribbean for 6 quick points while
Emden skulks its way out to Japanese home waters for some merchant
raiding of its own. The big story in Turn 1 comes courtesy of the
tag-team of Dresden and Karlsruhe and their raid on Barbados They earn
their spoils in spades by taking down the station defenders of Bristol
and Berwick with torpedo fire right off the bat—and then finish off
their compatriot, Lancaster, with gunnery. 

In Turn 2, things ease up for the Brits and Allies in the Far East a bit
as the Russians pitch in to take out two AMCs and the French dust off a
third. Still, the German insults continue to heap on. Von Spee manages a
surprise attack on a weak British search force of Yarmouth and
Newcastle, then following up with some successful commerce raiding in
the wake of the exchange. Turns 2 and 3, Emden continues its winning
ways through more merchant prizes and a raid. Still, things are looking
grim for her and the rest of the Germans in the Far East as they’re all
starting to get pretty boxed in by British and Allied squadrons. (It’s
about damn time!) Plus, the Japanese are only getting more and more
involved in the action—bringing more steel to bear with some big guns
joining the search. 

Meanwhile, emboldened by raids along the east African coast in Turn 1,
Koenigsberg follows up with a shot at shipping in the Suez in Turn 2.
And the buggers pull it off. This forces the British hand in turn 3 by
bringing the Cumberland down from the Med into the Canal. The movement
violation points sting the Brits, as releasing ships from the Med carry
VP penalties, but it pays off. K-berg goes down to the bottom in a fit
of hubris, leaving Cumberland free to join the chase in the Indian Ocean
and beyond. 

Turns 4 – 5 So, what’s going on in the Atlantic and the Caribbean? Well,
Karlsruhe is still totally off the hook. She’s evading massive British
and Allied patrols and popping shipping along the eastern seaboard of
the States, the waters off Newfoundland, and up around Ireland. The
Admiralty might as well be swatting at a gnat with a cricket bat. The
news isn’t all bad, though. One of the more successful AMC raiders in
the early game, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, makes its final log entry off
the coast of Africa thanks to a successful search by Monmouth. That
frees up some more forces to cover the Cape should German squadrons in
the Far East make a go west and some additional forces to fumble around
for Karlsruhe. 

Elsewhere, all that bloody bleeding out east is staunched. On Turn 5,
Emden makes a bold run for a raid on Port Moresby and is caught in the
act by BC Australia and BB Triumph who risks the cowardice points for
not engaging in search and rather opting to camp near the station. It
pays off, thus leaving efforts entirely focused on v.Spee’s
squadron—which only gets easier as yet more Japanese ships enter the
fray. Things are looking up … but it is enough? Can the Brits and her
allies still eke out some semblance of dignity? It’s not looking good.
The headlines back home are unkind—only to be matched some 90 years
later by yellow journalism aimed at the Beckhams. 

Turn 6 Again with the Karlsruhe! This time she hits some shipping coming
out of New York and the Admiralty is incensed. “Can anyone make a
blasted search roll?” So, only Karlsruhe remains free in the Atlantic
and v.Spee with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the Pacific. But not for
long. It is here that v.Spee meets his Falklands … so to speak. While
making a run east off the southern coast of New Guinea, his squadron is
spotted by BB Triumph and CA Rainbow. Amazingly, even with full speed,
v.Spee cannot outrun the pre-dreadnought and the aged Canadian cruiser
(originally entering service in the Royal Navy back in 1893). Damnably
humbled, yet determined, v.Spee engages. Triumph gets its big guns going
first, yet doesn’t even manage to straddle its target while v.Spee
boldly closes range—still unable to return fire. Things are tight and
torpedoes from both sides fly. Zip. Nichts. Nothing doing there, but
gunnery on the German side proves absolutely superior. Scharnhorst takes
down Rainbow and Gneisenau dings up Triumph good before meeting her end.
It’s now Scharnhorst and Triumph. Both are engulfed in flame, and no
sailor left standing holds hope for ever seeing home again. And that’s
how it ends. The final round of gunnery strikes mortal blows for both
ships—sending both to the bottom. I guess that gives Robert Ballard
something to plumb the depths for on behalf of National Geographic
someday. 

It ends in the Pacific. I sense restlessness in the Japanese. But that’s
another story. 

Turn 7 – The Final Chapter This game can go to nine turns, but my play
wouldn’t see it. The odds—and the largess of available ship-power in the
Atlantic finally catches up with Karlsruhe just off the coast of
Newfoundland. PC Pegasus and CA Astrea finally catch her and another bit
of seamanship keeps the German ship of soon-to-be legend from running.
The action starts off with a stellar torpedo shot by Karlsruhe on
Pegasus, sending her down with a whimper. It’s entirely up to Astrea
now—and she fares far better than Triumph by landing an early torpedo
shot that heavily damages Karlsruhe. Astrea follows up with crisp
gunnery and finishes her off. 

It’s over. But was it enough? 

Endgame Nope. The Germans racked up 42 points, enough for an
“Embarrassment to the Royal Navy,” just two points from the cutoff for a
draw. Seems that v.Spee’s final act of defiance put the Germans over the
top. Those VPs for taking out Triumph were enough to seal the deal. 

Overall, Daryl’s chart was great, even if you miss out on having the
potential for a f-t-f German opponent making a decided run to home
waters—or just someone who will move ships to deliberately twist your
knickers. I’ll look for that next time around, but will certainly enjoy
breaking this out solo now that I’m past (most) of the mistakes I made
in this play and was able to catch. Great stuff. And thanks to CSW for
making me aware of this game—and helping me secure a copy in the
marketplace. I love them Internets! 

- Pete