Click on the picture for a better view. |
The Mediterranean is still a confusing mass of water to wage war. Three days before, the Royal Navy battle cruisers Indomitable and Indefatigable passed by the entire Mediterranean Division of the German Imperial Navy -the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau- in opposite directions. Not a shot was fired. So close the British and German formations were that anybody on both sides with naval binoculars could make up the opposite crews in their respective battle stations. The Goeben and the Breslau were steaming east from Philippeville (French Algeria) which they bombarded con gusto after approaching it waving Russian flags. The British pursued, unable to either fire (war was not still declared between Germany and Britain) or keep up with the Goeben and Breslau. The declaration of war caught the British Navy in a hopeless pursuit of the German ships. The evasive German ships coaled up at Messina, Sicily with almost superhuman expedience. There was not neither enough coal, nor enough willingness in the Italians to provide it. The Goeben and the Breslau, under the command of Admiral Wilhelm Souchon steamed out of Messina once more with one and only one objective: reach Constantinople and drag the Ottoman Empire into the war. The British Admiral commanding the Mediterranean Fleet, Archibald Berkeley Milne, had less sharply defined objectives: prevent the Austrian Fleet from helping the German ships, protect French troop transports steaming out of French Algeria and, off course, sink the Goeben.
And this is where this fictional scenario puts me: in the cabin of Admiral Ernest Troubridge, commander of a squadron of 4 armored cruisers and 4 destroyers, with the mission of damaging or sinking the battle cruiser Goeben. The last chance to catch the Goeben before it vanishes east. What a fine mess! I'm outgunned, thinly armored and slower than my target ...
Click on the image for better viewing. This is my squadron of armored cruisers, sailing south east some 50 nautical miles east of the Peloponnese Peninsula. |
To be continued ...
This is a great game. I especially like the way the campaign add on is shaping up
ReplyDeleteI agree. This is a gem in war game design. So simple, so effective!
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