A Black and White Battle Report

The Veudeni fleet, after their previous humiliation, had settled on a decisive strike against the north-western Jackewlinese forces. Unfortunately for them, this group consisted of modern dreadnoughts, and three large Fricklander battlecruisers were also attached. The Veudeni selected an all or nothing tactic, and brought their large pre-dreadnought battle squadrons as well.

In the preliminary steps of the battle, the Jackewlinese scouting force, with three modern light cruisers [Novara-class] had managed to cripple one enemy scout cruiser and sink another; the Veudeni  advance guard retreated, while the Jackewlinese could continue harassing the enemy battle line, suffering little damage.

Veudeni OOB

Scout force - 3x light /protected cruisers

Main force

5x modern battleships

11x pre-dreadnought battleships

Jackewlinese OOB

Scout force - 3x light/protected cruisers

Main force

1x superdreadnought flagship

4x dreadnought battleships

5x pre-dreadnought battleships

Detachment

3x Fricklander battlecruisers

The Veudeni battle-fleet attempts to make a pincer movement against the Jackewlinese force. Their faster battleships move in from their right flank, while the pre-dreadnoughts occupy the left. Soon the first salvoes are exchanged.

The lead ships in each respective dreadnought squadron are the first to enter range. The Jackewlinese flagship, to hide its heavier 10-gun broadside, is the second in line - the Veudeni can only make out the larger silhouette and the lack of cage masts - this is something they have not seen before...

Judging the distance to be right, the Jackewlinese pre-dreadnought squadron prepares to cross the Veudeni dreadnoughts' 'T'. Disadvantaged against the enemy ships in both speed and gunnery, they attempt to gain local superiority, working in conjunction with the main battle squadron.

The Veudeni pre-dreadnought flagship orders a left turn, to avoid a torpedo launched by a Jackewlinese cruiser. The second squadron correctly assumes that the order applies to them as well.

The main battle lines start scoring hits against each other.

The Jackewlinese fast cruisers are deployed to their extreme right, supporting the pre-dreadnoughts. The Fricklander ships are signaling that they would be joining the fight in a little while, steaming at full speed to the rendezvous point.

Encouraged by the news of reinforcements, the Jackewlinese dreadnoughts are ordered to form line abreast, and close the distance quickly. Most of them are able to fire six guns, and the rear of the Veudeni line is in broadside arc for some.

Multiple hits are scored, and the Veudeni fleet commander ponders what exactly is happening...

The Jackewlinese pre-dreadnoughts can now shift their fire to the similar enemy squadrons, and the fast cruisers continue harassing them. Both squadron flagships take multiple hits.

The Veudeni battle squadron has trouble finding the range, however, some hits are scored (with lots of near misses).

The Fricklander battlecruisers are sighted by both sides. This brings the two fleets up to equal numbers.

The lead Jackewlinese battleship falls out of line, taking multiple hits and moving to safety. Being effectively cut in half, the Veudeni battle line opts to increase the distance and try to close the gap between the two pincers.

At this point, one of the Veudeni battleships takes a multitude of hits from concentrated fire and sinks. The rest of the fleet, mostly intact, abandons the slower warships and escapes.

One Veudeni pre-dreadnought is sunk while the rest attempts to disengage; the Jackewlinese scout cruisers are out of torpedoes, but they give chase and pepper them from a long distance. A few ships strike, but most of them escape into the dusk.

This was a thorough playest of my rules, and everything worked out to be OK. It was a challenging tactical scenario for both sides, and in the end shows how hard it is to force a decisive battle on equal terms. The ranges and distances I'm working with are quite large (for the moment I have a very large living room to play in), and this affects gameplay in a multitude of ways, resulting in a very believable early 20th century naval combat simulation. The rules are quite simple, about four pages in length, but I guess the spirit they are played in matters more. As my fleets grow larger, so will the game become more and more interesting.