Round 2, Match 2 Status Report

Jonathan Lockwood (Allies) vs. Hank Burkhalter (Axis)

Allies win by 2 POC at the end of Turn 8.

BPA 1999 WAS PBeM Tournamemt - Round 2, Match 2 Status

======================================================================== Turn:             1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Axis POC:        +6     +3     +3     +3     +5     +3     +3     +3 Allied POC:      -3     -4     -3     -6     -2     -3     -3     -7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net POC:         +3     -1     +0     -3     +3     +0     +0     -4 Cumulative POC:  +3     +2     +2     -1     +2     +2     +2     -2 ========================================================================

Turn 1

Allied Turn 1 Deployment:
Barents: Ark Royal, Hood, Repulse, Renown, eight 1-1-7s
North Sea: Glorious, Courageous, 5 4-4-3s
NATL: Barham, Queen Elizabeth, Warspite
SATL: Eagle, Rodney, Nelson, Malaya, Valiant
Both speed rollers made it.

Axis response: Admiral Scheer to Baltic
Remaining fleet to NATL
U-boats stay home
Italian fleet divided evenly between Med and Italy

Germans sink Barham and Warspite, disable Queen Elizabeth. Allies sink Blucher, damage Graf Spee for 1 pt, disable and damage Lutzow for 2 pts. Axis wins NATL, no oilers. Axis LBA sinks Repulse, Allied LBA puts 3 pts damage on Andrea Doria. Axis lead by 3 POC at end of Turn 1.

Turn 2

Allied Turn 2 deployment:
Barents: Ark Royal, Hood, Renown, KGV, POW, eight 1-1-7s
North Sea: Glorious, Courageous, 5 4-4-3s, Queen Elizabeth
NATL: Eagle, Formidable
SATL: Rodney, Nelson, Malaya, Valiant
Graf Spee and Lutzow repair damage in Germany. Axis LBA misses targets, as does Allied LBA's attempt to hit the two pocket battleships. Allies gain 1 POC to close gap to Axis lead of 2 POC.

Turn 3

Allied Turn 3 Deployment:
Baltic: Marat activates and deploys
Barents: Ark Royal, Hood, Renown, KGV, POW, DOY, 6 1-1-7s (minus Norfolk and Suffolk)
North Sea: Glorious, Courageous, 5 4-4-3s, Queen Elizabeth, Valiant
NATL: Convoy 1A, Eagle, Formidable, Norfolk
SATL: Rodney, Nelson, Malaya, Suffolk

Axis response:
German fleet to Baltic
Italian 1-1-7s to SATL
5 U-boats to SATL
LBA to Barents
Italian fleet in Med split evenly between port and Med (2 4-3-5s and 1 4-6-6 in Med, and the same setup in Italy).

Axis U-boats disable Malaya while losing 1 U-boat to Allied ASW. In ensuing surface combat, Allies sink Fiume, Gorizia, and Pola, and disable Zara to neutral port while losing Nelson to volley of accurate Italian cruiser fire. Rodney also takes 3 pts of damage. Meanwhile, Marat is sunk in the Baltic while managing only to disable Graf Spee.

Allied LBA misses its 1 in 96 chance of robbing the three Italian ships in the Med of control. Axis LBA puts 2 pts of damage on Ark Royal, necessitating repairs in Russia next turn. Axis lead holds at 2 POC at end of Turn 3.

Turn 4

Allied Deployment for Turn 4:
Baltic: Okt Rev activates and deploys
Barents: Convoy 1A, Formidable, Hood, Renown, KGV, POW, DOY, Anson (makes speed roll), 6 1-1-7s (minus Suffolk and Norfolk)
North Sea: Glorious, Courageous, Victorious, Rodney (-3), 5 4-4-3s, Valiant
NATL: Convoy 2B, Eagle, Tuscaloosa (activated)
SATL: Malaya, Queen Elizabeth, Suffolk, Norfolk
Ark Royal repairs in Russia.

Axis response:
Gneisenau to Baltic
Remainder of German fleet to Barents
LBA to Barents
6 U-boats to NATL
Italians split evenly

Results: Allied ASW kills 3 U-boats in NATL, disabling another, leaving 2 U-boats to return fire. These miss the convoy. Allied LBA misses in the Med, while Axis LBA and airstrikes sink the Hood and put 2 pts damage on Renown. Allied airstrikes disable the Lutzow before surface combat.

In Round 1, the Allies disabled seven of the eight German ships, leaving only Admiral Scheer for Round 2. In addition, they inflicted 2 pts of damage each on Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, and 1 pt on the Graf Spee. German return fire sank the Kent, Devonshire, and Renown, and put 4 pts of damage on the KGV while disabling it as well. Cumberland, Sussex, and DOY were also disabled.

Admiral Scheer elected to withdraw, and the Allies pursued with Anson, POW, Exeter, and Dorsetshire, sinking it in the first volley. Admiral Scheer managed to inflict 5 pts damage on Anson before sinking, necessitating repairs next turn.

In the Baltic, the Germans get away with a dangerous gamble as Gneisenau diasbles the Okt Rev. Okt Rev misses its chance to deprive the Germans of Baltic control by missing its volley. Turn 4 ends with Allied gain of 3 POC to take a 1 POC lead into Turn 5.

Turn 5

Allied Deployment for Turn 5:
US Reinforcements: Washington and New York
Russian Reinforcements: None (Okt Rev stays in port)
Anson (-5) repairs 2 pts damage in Russia
Barents: Convoy 2B, Formidable, Ark Royal, Illustrious, KGV (-4), POW, DOY, Howe (makes speed roll), Valiant (makes speed roll), Malaya (fails speed roll), Cumberland, Exeter, Sussex, Dorsetshire
North Sea: Glorious, Courageous, Victorious, Rodney (-3), 5 4-4-3s
NATL: Washington, New York, Tuscaloosa
SATL: Eagle, Suffolk, Norfolk, Queen Elizabeth

Axis Response:
Prinz Eugen to Baltic
U-boats to NATL
German fleet to Barents with damage
Zara in Italy, rest of Italians to Med

Results:
7 Allied airstrikes sink only the Graf Spee, while 5 Axis airstrikes manage to sink the KGV and put 4 pts damage on Howe. Allied ASW and Axis U-boats trade shots to no effect in the NATL, but Axis breaks control there. Round 1 of surface combat in Barents sees the Allies sink Scharnhorst, Lutzow, and Graf Zeppelin, disable the Bismarck with 1 pt damage, and hit the Tirpitz for 1 more pt of damage (now -3), missing Gneisenau and Admiral Hipper. The Axis return fire sinks Howe, Exeter, Dorsetshire, Sussex, and puts 5 pts damage on DOY, missing the Valiant and POW.

Round 2 sees the POW, DOY (-5), Valiant, and Cumberland trading shots with the Tirpitz (-3), Gneisenau, and Admiral Hipper. The Allies manage to put only 2 pts damage on the Admiral Hipper, while the Axis return fire disables the POW with 1 pt damage, and sinks the Valiant.

Round 3 sees the Allies missing their shots, while the Axis sinks DOY and Cumberland. The Allies withdraw in four groups at this point, 1 aircraft carrier in each of three groups withdrawing at speed 7, while the convoy withdraws at speed 3. The Axis sends Tirpitz and Gneisenau to pursue Convoy 2B and sink it with no further damage to themselves, but the three Allied aircraft carriers escape. Turn 5 ends with the Axis retaking the lead at 2 POC.

Turn 6

Turn 6 Allied Deployment:
US reinforcement: Augusta
Russian reinforcements: None
Barents: Illustrious, Victorious, POW (-1), Anson (-3), Malaya, Suffolk, Norfolk
North Sea: Glorious, Courageous, Rodney (-3), Royal Oak, Royal Sovereign, Revenge
NATL: Convoy 3C, Formidable, Ark Royal, Washington, New York, Tuscaloosa, Augusta
SATL: Eagle, Ramillies, Resolution, Queen Elizabeth

Axis Response:
Adm Hipper (-2) to Baltic
LBA to Barents
Bismarck (-1), Tirpitz (-3), Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen to Barents
7 U-boats to NATL
Zara in Italy, rest of Italians in Med

Results: Allied ASW in NATL disables 3 U-boats and sinks 1, leaving 3 to attack Convoy 3C. They disable it back to the US. Axis LBA in the Barents disables the Malaya before combat, while 4 Allied airstrikes hit the Bismarck for 6 pts of damage and disable the Tirpitz before surface combat.

The first round of surface combat has the Allies sinking the Gneisenau, while disabling the Bismarck (-7) and Prinz Eugen to maintain control of the Barents. Axis return fire disables POW (-1) and Suffolk, while putting 2 more pts of damage on Anson (-5) to reduce it to a 1-0-1.

Turn 6 ends with the Axis still holding a 2 POC lead.

Turn 7

Turn 7 Allied Deployment:
US reinforcements: Texas
Russian reinforcements: Okt Rev (activates and deploys in Baltic)
Baltic: Okt Revolutia
Barents: Ark Royal, POW (-1), Malaya, Anson (-5), Norfolk, Suffolk
North Sea: Glorious, Rodney (-3), Royal Oak, Royal Sovereign, Revenge
NATL: Convoy 3C, Formidable, Illustrious, Victorious, Courageous, Washington, New York, Texas, Tuscaloosa, Augusta
SATL: Eagle, Ramillies, Resolution, Queen Elizabeth

Axis Response:
Bismarck repairs 7 damage in Germany
Tirpitz (-3), Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper (-2) to Baltic
7 U-boats to NATL
Italians to Med, except for Zara in Italy
LBA to Barents

Results:
20 Allied ASW in NATL sinks only 2 U-boats and disables 4 more, leaving 1 U-boat to attack convoy 3C. Its attack strikes home for 3 pts of damage on the convoy, reducing it to a 1-0-1. Meanwhile, Axis LBA misses its attacks in the Barents, as does the Allied LBA's attempt to sink the Zara in Italy. The remaining German fleet units in the Baltic manage to sink the Okt Rev without sustaining additional damage.

Turn 7 ends with the Axis holding on to a 2 POC lead as a severely damaged Convoy 3C limps slowly into the Barents, preparing itself to run the gauntlet on Turn 8.

Turn 8

Allied Turn 8 Deployment:
US reinforcements: None (Wichita sits out the war in port)
Barents: Convoy 3C (-3), Formidable, Illustrious, Victorious, Queen Elizabeth (fails speed roll to Barents, bases in Russia), POW (-1), Anson (-5), Malaya, Suffolk, Norfolk
North Sea: Ark Royal, Rodney (-3), Royal Oak, Royal Sovereign, Revenge
NATL: Washington, New York, Texas, Tuscaloosa, Augusta
SATL: Eagle, Glorious, Courageous, Ramillies, Resolution

Axis Response:
6 U-boats to Barents
LBA to Barents
Adm Hipper (-2) to Baltic
Bismarck, Tirpitz (-3), and Prinz Eugen to Barents
Entire Italian fleet (plus Zara) to Med

Results:
17 Allied ASW sink 4 Axis U-boats and disable 2 more, enabling Convoy 3C to run the first leg of the Axis gauntlet successfully. Axis LBA then attacks, disabling the POW before combat but missing its strike on the convoy, which makes it past the second part of the gauntlet.

The Allied carriers respond by disabling the Tirpitz (-3) before surface combat, leaving the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to take on Anson (-5), Malaya, Suffolk, and Norfolk before they can engage the three carriers screening the laboring Convoy 3C.

Round 1 of surface combat has the Allies concentrating 6 of their eight surface factors on the Bismarck, leaving only 2 for Prinz Eugen. This pays off as the Allies put 7 pts of damage on Bismarck before disabling it back to Germany. Bismarck manages to damage Malaya for 3 pts, but not enough to force it out of combat, while Prinz Eugen misses its shot on Suffolk.

Round 2 has the Allies concentrating all remaining surface fire on Prinz Eugen, damaging it for two pts, while its return fire disables the Malaya.

In Round 3, Norfolk, Suffolk, Anson (-5), and Convoy 3C (-3) combine their fire to finally sink the Prinz Eugen, while suffering no further damage. Convoy 3C makes it to Murmansk to give the Allies a 4 POC gain for Turn 8, enabling the Allies to win with a 2 POC margin. A real nailbiter of a game, I must say.

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