On campaign - Atlantic Fleet

[33LIMA]

Sea-fights above and below the waves, in the Battle of the Atlantic!

 

This mission report tells the story of my last two missions - or more accurately, battles - in Atlantic Fleet's dynamic campaign. One is a U-Boat action, the other involves only surface ships, but otherwise they have not been chosen specially; they're just what came my way most recently. The campaign plays like a random battle generator, except that the encounters are those which result from the movements and dispositions you have made, of the ships available to you at that point in the war.

 

Like the Second World War itself, the Battle of the Atlantic started on the same day as the war in September 1939 and ran until its end, in May 1945. I never forget that what is essentially entertainment for me is based on the risks and sacrifices run and made by naval and merchant seamen, airmen and everyone else who went to sea, in those dark days. If nothing else, probably like many other players, playing such games increases my respect for those who served, and stimulates a desire to understand their experiences. I've just finished reading Roger Hill's excellent Destroyer Captain and am about to start The Sinking of the Kenbane Head by local author Sam McAughtry, written around the loss of that steamer in 1940, when 'pocket battleship' Admiral Scheer savaged convoy HX-84, sinking five merchantmen, which would have been even worse but for the heroic defence mounted by armed merchant cruiser Jervis Bay.

 

Though the real campaign was effectively won by mid-1943, with serious defeats being inflicted on the U-Boats, the latter fought on and surrendered only when so ordered at the very end, many coming into Lough Foyle and tieing up at the pier at Lisahallly, near the port of Londonderry which played an important part in the battle.

 

 

In my campaign, playing for the Kriegsmarine, I have got to February 1941 and have begun to take more interest in the planning and management of my ships. Your forces are pre-deployed and I had initially treated the campaign more like a random battle generator based on these initial deployments. But I have started to expand and actively manage my fleet, using 'renown' won in battle to add units from those available, sending fresh ships or subs out to the convoy routes and bringing back to base those needing repaired or 'bombed up'. My objective is to win the 'tonnage war' by sinking as much enemy merchant shipping as possible; getting it through would be my aim, were I playing for the Royal Navy. Sinking enemy warships helps to a degree, and while its tonnage doesn't count towards victory, it does earn 'renown', to obtain more ships, up to the limit allowed (30, I think).

 

Here's the campaign map, set to display my dispositions (white ship or sub icons) and reports of enemy warhips (blue ship icon). A turn is 3.5 days and though bombing raids and convoy atatcks can happen anytime, and do, it's not every turn that will generate a battle for the player. In each turn, you can manage your ships in each zone, by leaving them there or moving to an adjacent one. If the zone has a friendly port, you can dock the ships there, for refitting and re-arming ( don't yet know to what extent fuel and ammo loads are dealt with, but torpedo loads are definitely modelled and damage is cumulative, carried forward from turn to turn, with limited repairs possible at sea).

 

 

These zones are named for real sea areas. In the screenshot above, you can see that the active one contains my newly-commissioned Bismarck and Tirptz, accompanied by a destroyer, in the act of breaking out into the Atlantic (the U-Boats in the zone were already there but provide useful cover).

 

The red and blue dashed bar along the top of the campaign map illustrates my progess in the tonnage war. To win, I need to turn it all red, and keep it there, for an unspecified period. I'm quite enjoying the 'strategic' element of Atlantic Fleet, which has more than enough interest to make it engrossing, without so much detail or micro-management that there's a real risk of tedium.

 

France and Norway have fallen to Germany so I now have more, closer friendly ports to which I can return, when necessary. My forces already at sea include Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, operating successfully together against convoys as they did for a time in real life. But further south, I have recently lost a 'pocket battleship' which was hit by two unlucky 16-inch hits from HMS Rodney, before her superior speed could get her out of range.

 

 

Incidentally, this and other encounters have demonstrated to me that the 'Longer start range' option in Atlantic Fleet badly needs an increase. This doesn't so much affect historical battles, but on campaign, it can mean no escape for faster ships, RN battleships being unable to evade U-Boats which start rather close by, and aircraft carriers likewise very vulnerable to gun attack, in good weather and visibility.

 

Bismarck, Tirpitz and Beitzen have just previously had a night action while moving up the coast of Norway, with an RN cruiser and two destroyers, which they sunk with Beitzen getting a single 4-inch hit in return. I'm glad I decided to have a destroyer along, for Beitzen was able to keep the enemy illuminated by starshell, while the big battle wagons found the range and then pounded the enemy into oblivion. Having destroyed the RN patrol, they are now a move closer to the open waters of the Atlantic. The shot below was actually taken the move before the map pic above, after which I moved my force further west, to the next zone en route.

 

 

 

The next battle - U-boat convoy attack

Atlantic Fleet's dynamic campaign (it has a 50-mission static one, too) generates battles based on your dispositions and movements, and my next one came when the campaign engine determined that a convoy had run into a zone with three U-Boats present, in the middle of the North Atlantic between Canada and Ireland.

 

 

You start after any pre-engagement moves have taken place, as seem here, with the U-Boats clustered around the target in some fashion. We can assume that one boat, or a Focke-Wulf Condor long-range recce aircraft, has spotted the convoy, and called in the nearby U-Boats. This isn't Silent Hunter, so you won't need patiently to hook around a convoy at extreme range, at full speed on the surface, then submerge ahead of its track and wait for them to come to you - that's already been set up for you.

 

For this action, it's daylight, and here is the tactical situation at the very start of the fight:

 

 

Ten ships a side per battle is the limit, which results in rather small convoys, here in two columns with three destroyers for escort. One of the latter really should be astern or on the other side. So far, we are undetected. The convoy is zig-zagging, but there are none of the asdic pings which would tell me the escorts have gone into active sub-hunting mode. I have rarely been detected before an attack, although periscopes can be spotted (and shelled!).

 

This is the external view from the position of U-109, a big Type IX boat in a good position on the starboard bows of the convoy. Once you have left the map, the lack of compass bearings means you don't have much sense of location or direction, except in relation to the other vessels involved, which would be nice to have; but my hope and assumption is that this is a fully-loaded convoy, headed east to the UK with valuable supplies whose loss will help win the war for Germany!

 

 

You can just about see my periscope wake, with the three escorts in view, to left, centre-left and right and the merchantment all behind. This may give me a good shot at a destroyer, but sinking freighters is what will win or lose the war, and unless sinking a lone escort enables a surface gun attack on the former, I will usually let escorts alone.

 

From here, my usual tactic is to go to full speed ('flank speed' as the USN and Atlantic Feet call it) and as my submerged U-Boat is much slower, immediately make any turn I reckon I need, to take me into a good firing position. After which, I will pick my targets. Atlantic Fleet has a 'sweet spot' range of about 1,000-2,300 yards which a torpedo will cover in a single turn, pretty well guaranteeing a hit (you can enable 'dud weapons'); what I like less is that there is a very high 1,000 yard minimum engagement distance!

 

And below is U-109 herself, running in at maximun revolutions, at periscope depth. As you can see, she is in mid-war configuration, still carying her deck gun but with an extended wintergarten mounting additional AA weapons (and what looks like a radar antenna or warning receiver on the conning tower, which methinks should be retracted, submerged).

 

 

The sub astern I just sent along in the convoy's wake, slightly to port, ready to catch them if they turn or reverse course. She's U-252, a smaller Type VII boat, and in early-to-mid-war configuration.

 

 

Slowly, we creep in, tightening the noose around our unsuspecting targets, but conscious that poor manouevres could easily put them beyond our slowly-developing clutches. One way or another, it won't be long, now!

 

 

...to be continued!

[33LIMA]

The best-laid schemes 'o mice, men an' U-boats gang aft agley!

 

 

So far, our three-boat attack on the little convoy was shaping up reasonably well. To starboard and abeam, U-269 and U-109 were putting on speed and thought still at long range, were quite well placed to get into decent firing positions, Astern and to port, U-252 was struggling to keep up, but well enough placed to come into action, if the convoy, when attacked by the other boats, turned her way.

 

 

Who would get off the first torpedo? This is the view from U-269's position, as she runs in. The nearest destroyer, apparently oblivious to our presence, is just over 3,000 yards away. Soon, the U-Boat will have the option of attacking her, but I am clear that she will wait for a shot on one of the freighters, even though that will mean a longer approach, at risk of being detected by the escort bringing up the rear.

 

The convoy starts its next zig-zag turn. Had I been lucky, they would have turned towards the two U-Boats to starboard. But no, they turn the other way, to port. Fair enough. Patience is a required virtue, for any virtual submarine captain. I might have to settle for a frieghter at the rear of the convoy, but their next turn should bring them back towards us.

 

 

But It is not to be so simple. I watch and wait, adjusting course as necessary, waiting for the enemy to turn back towards my two subsm stalking up from starboard. Instead, the range just keeps on getting greater, as the convoy steams ever further away. Ach, scheise!

 

 

Throug the periscope, even at medium zoom, the nearest destroyer looks temptingly close, but she is still turning and I decidedto let her go, rather than using up precious tin fish on a chancy shot on a non-priority target.

 

 

The supposed zig-zag is now looking like a major course change, taking the convoy directly away from the bigger part of my little wolf pack. However, there is a consolation prize. U-252, having started astern and to port, is now suddenly being presented with the possibility of a shot at the convoy's port side.

 

 

At the same time, one of the other two boats, U-269 is offered a possible shot, at one of the escorts. At 2,600 yards, HMS Imogen is just outside the upper limit of the 'sweet spot' range, close enough to have a crack - especially as it seemed likely to be the only chance she'd get, before the convoy drew out of range for the foreseeable future. I lined up the shot, aiming two tubes at and just ahead of the indicated firing solution. Hopefully, even if Imogen continued turning, I'd get at least one hit.

 

 

In fact, I got two hits and Imogen was soon on her way to a watery grave. The bad news for U-269 was that the other two escorts were nearby, not best pleased, and soon shooting at my periscope.

 

 

First blood to my U-boats, but I was going to have to act fast and have a bit of luck into the bargain, if I wasn't to allow the Royal Navy to even the score!

 

...to be continued!

[33LIMA]

A parting shot...

 

Even as Imogen is slipping away ahead of U-269 - and realistic or not, Atlantic Fleet's underwater views add to the cinematic feel of this most excellent game - I am planning how to save her from the wrath of the two surviving escort destroyers, who are shelling my periscope.

 

 

The answer is not difficult to arrive at. I dive away at full speed, going deeper each turn, before throwing in a turn. My crew evidently has full confidence in their captain, and show it by having the first tube reloaded even as we are slipping into the depths.

 

 

After a few minutes, we get full a salvo of depth charges for our troubles...

 

 

 

...but we escape, with no serious damage.

 

 

U-109 is further away, too far for a decent shot, even at the escorts. But far enough to be safe...and to get a good look at the rapidly-receeding convoy, with burning fuel oil marking the passing of the luckless Imogen.

 

 

Short of a dramatic course reversal, which I know is most unlikely, my last chance for a crack at this convoy is now going to rest with U-252.

 

 

From this boat, I line up a shot on the nearest merchantman. It's only at this point that I realise that my submarine is down to her last torpedo! I should have checked these things earlier, but I generally send my boats home when they are down to their last fish or two, fromthe campaign map screen; this one had evidently slipped through that net. Such are the hazards of managing multiple resources, rather than a single ship, with no AI First Watch Officer to help the player keep tabs on important details.

 

 

The fish is soon clear of the tube and running straight and true. I know a single hit is unlikely to be enough. If I get one - the range is long and I have to anticipate that my target could make a routine or evasive turn, at any time.

 

 

I've aimed towards the stern of the merchantman, and that's where I get a hit. The frieghter's stern dips, but she's not going to go under, anytime soon. With her last torpedo gone, U-252 dives and turns away.

 

 

The other boats turn away, too. The battle is over...for today. Not much to show for it, but the convoy's course change put us badly out of position...except for one boat, with just a single tin fish left.  At least we all got away, to fight another day...

 

 

...and in the meantime, our boats continue to 'earn their stars', which I believe will help improve performance in furture attacks.

 

 

If there is a way of saving campaigns immediately after a  mission and before the campaign has moved on to the next 3.5 day turn, I haven't found it. So I sometimes get another encounter immediately on the heels of the last one, with no obvious way to say, 'Not today, Cato!', to do anything other than kick off the mission. So it was this time. But this battle was a surface engagement, nearer to home, and that's what we'll look at next.

 

...to be continued!

[33LIMA]

Cruiser -vs- cruiser!

 

Cruisers have always been one of the classes of WW2 warship that I have found most interesting, not least because of their variety. And in Atlantic Fleet, we have a decent selection of these racehorses of the sea, from the stately County class three-funnelled heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy, to the supremely elegant Hipper class equivalents, of the Kreigsmarine, a visual contrast in designs if ever there was one.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, in my current campaign, I have already lost Hipper to a battlecruiser - Repulse or Renown - which she could neither out-shoot nor (even if the starting range had been as long as it should have been) out-run. But Blucher is still at large in the Atlantic and I have yet to commission Prinz Eugen.

 

What else I do have by way of active-service Kriegsmarine cruisers is the three that I was allocated from the beginning of the campaign - both light cruisers, two of the twin-funnelled Konigsberg class, and one of the class's later single-funnelled successors, Nurnberg (represented in Atlantic Fleet by a 3-d model of the Leipzig, as seen in 'Baltic scheme' in the first screenshot in this post). Apparently, in real life these light cruisers turned out to have weak hulls and with their armament of just 5.9-inch guns, I was just as reluctant as the Germans evidently were, to cut them loose anywhere as dangerous as the North Atlantic. So I, too, kept them on a short leash. In fact I sent two back into port while I made up my mind what use they might be. Nurnberg and some destroyers I kept on patrol at the eastern, German Bight end of the North Sea, under friendly air cover and where I hoped no British capital ship would consider it safe to venture (nothwithstanding crazy schemes by First Sea Lords or Prime Ministers, of which more than one has involved doing just such a thing). Mines and minefields I think we don't have to worry about in Atlantic Fleet, so the worst I feared was air or submarine attack.

 

As it happens, my German Bight patrol has had a reasonably eventful war so far. A couple of British destroyer patrols have come snooping around, and the combined firepower of my big, powerful destroyers and Nurnberg has smashed them up or seen them off - mostly, the former. The AI in Atlantic Fleet is agressive but will make a run for it if damaged, though generally leaves this too late, unless the would-be escapee is fast enough. We met a British submarine once, but it was submerged and in daylight. The battle intro screen gave him away before my hydrophones picked him up and we just turned away and left him behind, until he gave up.

 

The next mission after the convoy attack described above involved this same cruiser/destroyer patrol, but it was a different kettle of fish. This time, the Royal Navy had sent along something more dangerous: an 8-inch cruiser, no less. On her own, was HMS Cornwall, but quite capable of dealing with my little force. I really doubt that the British would have risked warhips in daylight in this area. But there she was, and there was I, so I suppose I had to do something about it.

 

 

Checking the map and ranging on Cornwall, I saw that she was about far enough away (in cruiser terms, anyway) to give me at least a fighting chance of running for it. She was in fact just beyond maximum range for the 5-inch guns of my two destroyers, Theile and Schulze, but within range of the 5.9-inchers on Nurnberg.

 

 

I went to maximum revolutions and began to turn away, glad, for a change, of the unusual arrangement of Nurnberg's main battery, with two of the three-gun turrets sited aft.

 

 

Then it was Cornwall's turn - literally, Atlantic Fleet being turn-based. What would she do? I could guess, but I thought, hmmm, maybe she'll think better of it, and get out before the bombers come. I was wrong.

 

 

...to be continued!

[33LIMA]

Condors to the rescue!

 

So, my German Bight patrol, well used to beating up enemy destroyer patrols, is now in a spot of bother, facing an 8-inch cruiser. I'm rather too close to risk running for it, but luckily, close enough for Nurnberg's 5.9-inch guns to return fire, while destroyers Theile and Schulze manoeuvre independently to get into range of their 5-inchers, and later if they're lucky, their torpedoes. And I'll need all the help I can get, as Cornwall's shooting is rather accurate, from the first salvoes...

 

 

Fortunately, we are all within range of friendly air cover and a couple of FW 200 Condors is in fact providing cover just for us. We call them in, for a strike on Cornwall.

 

 

The first bombing run misses, allowing Cornwall to get in some more accurate shooting at Nurnberg, fortunately without doing any damage...

 

 

 

I take a bit more care judging the bomb release point next time, and the second Condor's bombing run is bang on...

 

 

Cornwall has been hard hit and her fire drops off. She sheers away, still burning.

 

 

Now's my chance, to press home this unexpected advantage. My destroyers close for the kill as Nurnberg showers Cornwall with full 5.9-inch salvoes...

 

 

Cornwall gets the fires out but is still in trouble. We already have her range, so her belated smoke screen doesn't help her much.

 

 

I sense victory! The only question now seems to be, will Cornwall survive the barrage of gunfire long enough for the destroyers to get into torpedo range?

 

 

It looks unlikely. With no return fire, Nurnberg closes the range cautiously, salvo after salvo straddling the now-listing Cornwall.

 

 

As the range winds down, the destroyers start shooting, too, adding to Cornwall's misery.

 

 

There's a moment of alarm as Cornwall's two rear turrets resume firing. But her shooting is now erratic and soon she is simply fleeing, under cover of another smokescreen.

 

 

 

Suddenly, there's a massive explosion admidships, as another salvo from Nurnberg finds its mark.

 

 

Just as my two destroyers are coming abeam for their torpedo attack, Cornwall slows to a halt, rolls over to starboard, and begins to slip beneath the waves.

 

 

Thank goodness that co-operation between the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine in Atlantic Fleet seems to be better than it sometimes was, in real life!

 

At any rate, I'm finding the Battle of the Atlantic compaign utterly addictive, like no game I can remember, in fact. There are certainly elements which depart somewhat from historical events, but it's more than sufficiently close to capture the look and feel of its real-life setting. Brilliant!

Some more recent scenes from my Kriegsmarine dynamic campaign...

 

...a wolf pack completes the destruction of a small convoy on the surface, after sinking its escort (which is a bit too easy to do, and those merchantmen with stern guns just have them for show)...

 

 

Here's one less brand-new King George V class battleship for the kinder in the big ships to worry about...

 

 

I gave into temptation when Spring 1941 arrived, commissioned both Bismarck and Tirpitz, and sent them out into the North Atlantic together, with a couple of destroyers for company...

 

 

The little battlefleet's destroyers come in handy, running down merchantmen whose escorts the big battlewagons have smashed...

 

 

We fall in with a fleet carrier, and screened by smoke from escorting cruiser and destroyers, she manages to scramble some Swordfish before going under...

 

 

The 'stringbags' who get off have no-where to land, but that doesn't stop them from attacking...

 

 

Another new day, another battle, somewhere up ahead...

 

 

One time, it's a convoy with a KG V class battleship for company, HMS Prince of Wales. Disengaging well within her range is risky, so even though it's against standing orders to risk a fight with a battleship, we take her on...

 

 

...and win! In the previous battle, against escort destroyers, my shooting was all over the place. But this time, admittedly against a bigger target, I can hardly miss. All but the first salvo gets at least one hit, with only a single 14-inch shell reaching Bismarck, in return.

 

 

I make full use of air cover, where I have it, including Stukas near friendly territory...

 

 

Our Dornier 217s can come with bombs (released in a shallow dive) or torpedoes, but though they are longer-legged, they're not as accurate as the Stukas...

 

 

Longest-ranged of all the friendly aircraft we may have available are the FW 200 Condors...

 

 

As for the enemy, in addition to Sunderland flying boats, we have already started to see some Liberators, even though the USA is still months away from entering the war! Serves them right, if our flak puts paid to them...

 

 

It's May 1941 and while we have lost Scheer, Hipper, Lutzow and several U-Boats, we have sunk two battlecruisers, several carriers, about half-a-dozen battleships, a bevy of cruisers and many destroyers and escorts. And most importantly, the tonnage war seems to be going well for us. Whatever the morrow will bring, both U-Boats and the high seas fleet are ready to meet it.

 

[33LIMA]

Victory can't be far away now...the progress bar has been entirely in the red for the last couple of turns, indicating we have reached and sustained our target rate for the destruction of enemy shipping. Emboldened, while a submerged U-Boat attacks the far side of a convoy, I attempt a Kretschmer-style night surface attack in another boat, from the far side...

 

 

...but am forced to dive when an escort on the oposite side spots me and starts shooting. I have evidently forgotten my Silent Hunter/Das Boot...I should have waited till the moon had gone behind a cloud! We still manage to wreak considerable havoc upon the convoy, in concentric submerged attacks...

 

 

Over the waves, my strike rate is improving with torpedo bombers, even against destroyers, which I usually manage to hit only with Stukas. I even manage to set up an attack with one Do 217 dropping a second fish from starboard while another one is in the water, coming in from port.

 

 

The confused destroyer doesn't seem to know whether to dodge left or right and in the end he does neither; both torps hit home.

 

On the surface, Bismarck and Gneisenau have been repaired and are back in the Atlantic, each one now operating with the other's sister ship (Tirpitz and Scharnhorst). We patrol the seas fearlessly, as so many of the Royal Navy's battleships and battlecruisers are now under the waves, snapping up several convoys.

 

 

 

Truly, these are red letter days for the Kriegsmarine. soon I think, we will be dictating our terms to Mister Churchill!

 

[33LIMA]

It's late October 1941 and we've won - Britain has sued for peace!

 

 

Might have been sooner, but for the first few months, I didn't bother building up my fleet and fought on with what I had at the start. On one of the last missions, my North Sea patrol ran into an  'R' class battleship with a destroyer escort and I thought we were done for! However, by putting about immediately and making smoke, we out-ran the old battleship, called in the Stukas and then turned on and sank the destroyer, which had unwisely kept in contact, after the bomb-damaged battleship fell further behind.

 

 

The final stats were reasonably satisfactory and the balance sheet well in the Kriegsmarine's favour. All hands, slice the mainbrace!

 

 

 

Unsurprisingly, some elements of the campaign are not entirely historicaly, from smaller and rather badly-escorted convoys which don't scatter when they should and have un-manned stern guns on merchantmen, to Do 217s and Liberators in service a bit too early. And it's basically a wargame not a warship simulator, with a lot of things dealt with in the abstract. But the Atlantic Fleet dynamic campaign certainly captures the look and feel of the real thing and as something of a minor student of the period and its ships and battles, I have very thoroughly enjoyed playing it. Now, to try it from the opposite side, and see if Britannia can indeed rule the waves!

 

[Sheriff]

First let me say this IS a great game. I haven't enjoyed a naval game this much since the old "Aces of The Deep". Since the fire control actions are simplified you can spend more time on tactics and strategy. My main beef, aside from ranges at start of battle being too close, is fact that when playing Battle of the Atlantic Campaign as KG it appears that Royal Navy can replace ships independent of earning "Renown" points. As KG I have swept the field in almost every engagement. I have sunk RN order of battle two times over but RN heavy units still appear even though the AI has not sunk enough of my ships to earn enough points to replenish RN fleet. Looking forward to updates . Great job!