My good friend George recently invited me to take part in a marvellous naval campaign set at the outbreak of WW1. I've never taken part in anything like this before so I jumped at the chance! My role was that of Admiral Souchon, the commander of a small German fleet stationed in the Mediterranean. My mission was to (a) disrupt the French as they brought troops back from North Africa in preparation for the European war, and then (b) deliver the ships to Turkey at Constantinople as per a secret pact of mutual support. Two other players (Simon and Rob) would be taking the role of Britian and France.
My flagship was the battlecruiser SMS Goeben, shown here.
George acted as the umpire, giving reports and map updates as the hours and days passed. The players would then give orders, course heading, speed, orders for sighting the enemy, etc. I opened the action by sailing for North Africa with the intent of shelling the ports and sinking whatever ships were being readied for troop transport. A "geographical mix up" nearly saw me shelling Bizerta (Tunisia, not Algiers), but thankfully a sharp eyed officer got us back on track. Sailing along the coast we inflicted plenty of damage before heading for Messina, Siciliy for re-coaling. By then Germany was at war with Great Britain so I knew the Royal Navy would be hunting for me in deadly earnest rather than just trying to keep a watchful eye. With significantly more ships available to the RN ... Constantinople and victory beckoned! However, during the night we encountered enemy ships on patrol. With only vague intel available George offered me the choice of turning back and trying to sail around or going for it and blasting our way past the RN. Of course I chose the latter and battle followed.
Whilst my ships sustained some damage, they fought brilliantly sinking three armoured cruisers before the RN disengaged. With that my valiant Kriegsmarine headed for their rendezvous with the Turks and some well earned shore leave amidst the bars and flesh pots of Constantinople.
All the details can be found on George's blog, here.
My thanks to George for creating and running a splendid campaign, and thanks also to Simon and Rob for joining in the fun.
My flagship was the battlecruiser SMS Goeben, shown here.
George acted as the umpire, giving reports and map updates as the hours and days passed. The players would then give orders, course heading, speed, orders for sighting the enemy, etc. I opened the action by sailing for North Africa with the intent of shelling the ports and sinking whatever ships were being readied for troop transport. A "geographical mix up" nearly saw me shelling Bizerta (Tunisia, not Algiers), but thankfully a sharp eyed officer got us back on track. Sailing along the coast we inflicted plenty of damage before heading for Messina, Siciliy for re-coaling. By then Germany was at war with Great Britain so I knew the Royal Navy would be hunting for me in deadly earnest rather than just trying to keep a watchful eye. With significantly more ships available to the RN ... Constantinople and victory beckoned! However, during the night we encountered enemy ships on patrol. With only vague intel available George offered me the choice of turning back and trying to sail around or going for it and blasting our way past the RN. Of course I chose the latter and battle followed.
Whilst my ships sustained some damage, they fought brilliantly sinking three armoured cruisers before the RN disengaged. With that my valiant Kriegsmarine headed for their rendezvous with the Turks and some well earned shore leave amidst the bars and flesh pots of Constantinople.
All the details can be found on George's blog, here.
My thanks to George for creating and running a splendid campaign, and thanks also to Simon and Rob for joining in the fun.
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