Well, I thought I'd keep this thread seperate from the last one (which I still need to finish by showing better close ups of the completed ships). Alas, the game night came around before the ships were totally completed but nevertheless a great game was had by all.
This was only the second in our Martian aeronef series following on from our giant space squid encounter and most overdue it was. The scenario was basically a three way conflict with the British fleet and Russians being attacked by a Prussian force of much the same size and strength. The British convoy has been sent to Mars with vital re-supplies to beleaguered British forces, mustering the only ships the Admiralty feels it can spare from the impending European conflict. These are mostly converted Ironclads that have been in service for up to forty years. Although still using 'r' matter technology they reflect the dirigible technology of the day more. Three new weapons we thought we'd try out were aerial mines, flame cannons and ship to ship ramming.
The British move first onto the table in order of battle, with their flagship the Cerberus leading the line.
I wanted to fight this one out on more traditional lines and keep the fighting line as long as it was possible to do so. The Russians on the other hand, mostly being composed of smaller, faster and more manouverable ships came on in a more random fashion, forcing the Prussian command to split their forces with a small fleet of torpedo boats being led by the hulking, massive zeppelin taking on the Russians while the other formidable force of armoured cruisers was led by their battleship in line.
The battle opened with the Russians dashing straight into the fray while the two fighting lines eyed each other off to their starboard sides and traded shots, with the majority being directed to the flagships. The game continues with much the same tactics of firing as much as possible at the flagships and in turn two the tactics began to pay off. The Russians managed to touch off the main magazine of the large Prussian Zeppelin, sending it crashing down in flames with their one and only hit.
However, the horror on the Prussians face was soon replaced with glee as the same thing happened to the British flagship at the start of the next turn, though it had by now absorbed so much damage and lost so much speed that it probably would have crumbled to dust that turn anyway.
Still firing at long range the British tried to move in closer and arcoss the stern of the Prussian line. Several aerial mines were fired, causing some good damage and in one case the death blow to an enemy cruiser. However, there were two 'drop shorts', one of which ended up returning to the HMAS Khartoum and caused much gnashing of teeth!
Turn four saw the battle swinging in the favour of the allies with more Prussian firepower being drawn away from the British line by the annoying little Russian flotilla who were proving alarmingly accurate with their aerial torpedos and battery fire. But sheer firepower took it's toll this turn with three of the Russian ships being destroyed. Though 'man of the match' goes to the captain of the tiny Russian torpedo boat who, with all torpedoes fired, main guns destroyed and ship on fire rammed into the lead Prussian frigate and managed to break it in half before being destroyed in the process. The Russians also lost their command ship with their admiral also..hence the battle would forever be known as the battle of the three admirals (all of whom perished).
The last turn saw some interesting evasive actions and a huge hail of fire at close range but finally the Prussian destroyer succumbed to lack of speed and dropped out of the sky. The British lost no more ships thanks mainly to the Russians having drawn off so much fire early on in the game. By the end of the game the Prussians were down to only one (totally unscathed...questions will be asked...) cruiser and some smaller torpedo boats which nicked off quick smart. The British were down their flagship but otherwise fine. The Russians were decimated, with only one of their five ships left to tell tall stories of how they resucued the British fleet!
Didn't get to fire those highly unstable flame weapons but otherwise a great game. For those of you that didn't read the last report the game mat is actually a giant photo print of Mars which I coloured in Photoshop. We're going to add some flat terrain features to it for the next game...probably a city or some-such.
Thanks to admiral Christianski and admiral Von Rabbitz for a great game.
Admiral J. Gatling (deceased) signing off and wishing all a very happy Christmas.
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April 27, 2024, 06:26:04 AM
September 16, 2008, 08:02:13 AM
