Forum > VSF Adventures

Castles in the Sky- Indo-China Campaign

(1/3) > >>

Easy E:


One of the features on the Castles in the Sky rules from Osprey is the option to run a campaign with a series of linked games.  I figured since I want to do several battle reports for my loyal readers leading up to the release of the book from Osprey, now would be a good time to run a campaign myself! 

The French Foreign Ministry decided that their colony in Indo-China had an excellent strategic positions via-a-vis the British interests in the South China Sea.  Despite the advent of Airships, the South China Sea was still one of the busiest trading routes in the world.  Both air and naval ships travelled through the area carrying valuable cargos. 

In addition, the area saw a regional war in 1893 that allowed the French to gain further territorial concessions from Siam.  However, the Siam Government had appealed to the British for aid.  At the time, the British left it a local matter between Siam and France.  However, if an opportunity arose like that again, the French government was not so certain the British would not intervene.

To help secure their position, the French sent a pre-dreadnought battleship to the region to act as the Flag vessel for their Indo-china squadron.  The Camot took station in Tourane (Da Nang) with classic colonial fan fare.  However, the British had unsuccessfully tried to thwart the arrival of the Camot, using the nearby independent county of Siam as a cover for their operation.  This attempt was ultimately and disastrously unsuccessful and put the region on edge.

The British themselves hurriedly signed a deal with the independent nation of Siam to help reinforce their interests in the area.  The British gave the Siam government assurances of support, trading provisions, financial support, and limited missionary work in the country.  In exchange, the Royal Navy was also given coaling stations and operational abilities from Siam. 

These moves only heightened tension with the French in the area.  Soon, French eyes were looking eagerly to absorb Siam into their own Indo-China sphere of influence, and controlling the trade and traffic through the region. 

For the record, this is an alt-history campaign and I am by no means an expert on the history, geography, cultures, or much else about the region!  It just seemed like a good place to set-up a colonial brushfire war in the sky that fit in with the time period Castles in the Sky  takes place in.



You can read all about the campaign background and the first battle at the Blood and Spectacles blog.  I hope you choose to follow along!

http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2022/05/castles-in-sky-indo-china-campaign.html

Digger:
Good looking game.  The rules look interesting, do they play well?  I have not had much experience at sky wars other than Space 1889: Sky Galleons.

Pete

Easy E:
Well, I like them but I am very biased!  I wrote them!   lol

Easy E:


Welcome back to the Indo-China campaign for Castles in the Sky from Osprey Games.  The last battle the French tried a raid on British Siam at night.  The raid did not go as planned, and the French command ship took a beating.  They were forced to withdraw and the British took a 2-0 lead in the campaign. 

After the French Cuchinchina was seriously damaged, it managed to limp its way to safety in Saigon.  The French authorities there promptly began to repair the damaged airship.  However, Commodore Duckworth the commander of the Royal Navy of Siam, decided to try and thwart the French efforts to repair the ship by blockading Saigon from receiving shipments of parts needed to repair the Cuchinchina. 

French Commodore Aubre knew that losing the Cuchinchina would tip the balance of power to the British.  Therefore, he needed to break the blockade and prove that it was an ineffective strategy.  This would put diplomatic pressure on Duckworth to lift the blockade and allow the French armored cruiser the parts it would need to be repaired.  [/i]

The British as the blockaders (defenders) are allowed 25 Operational Value from their fleet, but can not have a single battleship.  Meanwhile, the French will be the Attackers with 20 Operational value and no battleships.  The Camot is on station near Tourane (Da Nang).

Forces:

Royal Navy (of Siam)

HMS Malaya- Commodore Duckworth- Command 2
Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship

HMS Achilles- Captain Durham- Command 4
Warrior Class Cruiser

HMS Medusa- Captain Butler- Command 2
Active Class Light Cruiser

HMS Corsair- Commander Montgomery- Command 4
Bull Finch Class Destroyer- Torpedo   

This gives the British 23 Operational Value

L'aire National

Tourane- Captain de Genouilily- Command 2
Descartes Class Cruiser

Tonkin- Captain de Vence- Command 2
D'Iberville Class Cruiser

Hue- Captain Senez- Command 2
D'Iberville Class Cruiser

Fantassin- Captain Valjean  - Command 4
Chasseur Class Destroyer- Torpedo 

Rapier- Captain Sault  - Command 3
Chasseur Class Destroyer- Torpedo

The French have 18 Operational Value.

Set-up:
For today's Raid, we will be playing on a 48MU by 48MU board.  We determined terrain randomly using the chart in the rulebook:

Grid 1 = No terrain
Grid 2 = Alt 3 mountain
Grid 3 = Alt 3 Mountain
Grid 4 = No terrain

We also rolled for complications and got.... cloud cover which is at Altitude 3 for this game.  Rather low!

The British deployed closer to their  right side of the board, and were set to go diagonal across the board.  The HMS Malaya led the way at altitude 4 and speed 4, with the HMS Medusa nearby at altitude 5, speed 4.  Behind them was the HMS Achilles at Altitude 5 and speed 4, paired up with the HMS Corsair at Altitude 6 and Speed 4.  This formation would put them in the center by mid-game and give them good protection against air torpedoes.  The formation is starting to look familiar!   



The French set-up with their Destroyers heading straight for the British ships at Altitude 3, so in the clouds and speed 6.  The rest were in the center of the board in line a stern, with the Tourane leading the way.  They are at altitude 4 and speed 6.



You can read all the details on the blog:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2022/05/castles-in-sky-indo-china-campaign-part.html

Castles in the Sky is up for pre-order on the Osprey website.

The_Beast:
Just an FYI, but checked with FLGS, and I will be getting one, and they'll have at least another on the shelf as soon as it gets to distributors.

Thanks!

Doug

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page