Moving Models

Setup: The Vichy French have a vital convoy they must escort from the safety of Algeria to their far flung colony of Syria, through the contested waters of the central Mediterranean. In this campaign we are using an adaptation of the Nimitz 'straights of Sicily' scenario. The French have a small airstrip at Bizerte whilst the British have a more substantial airfield on Malta. British naval assets are assumed to be arriving from the direction of Alexandria.  Day 1 Morning: The British win the initiative and launch an overwhelming first strike. Eight flights of Hudson bombers take off from Malta and proceed to destroy the entirety of the French bomber wing whilst they are still on the runways at Bizerte.* Day 1 Afternoon: Four more flights of Hudson spot the lone French cruiser Gloire scouting the Tunisian coast. She is badly damaged in their attack run.   Day 1 Night: Storms roll out east of Sicily. The hidden British naval assets remain uncommitted off the Libyan coast,...

Deployment: In early 1941 Vichy France has declared war on the British empire and dispatched its fleet to draw off British naval forces ahead of a prospective German invasion. This battle takes in the straights of Gibraltar, so the long board edges are unscrollable. For this scenario both sides have a 100pt starting force, and a 50pt reinforcement force steaming towards the action. The arrival time and location of the reinforcements is randomised between the short board edges, once enemy reinforcements arrive each fleet is permitted to retreat from the opposite short board edge.  The French have their two modern battlecruisers Strasbourg and Dunkerque , three modern light cruisers La Galissonniere , Gloire and Montcalm , as well as four destroyers. The British have three modernised dreadnoughts Warspite , Malaya and Barham , escorted by three destroyers. Turn's 1 & 2: The two fleets cautiously move to engage. The British concentrate their battleships in one squadron with thei...