Straights of Sicily - June 1940

Setup: Whilst the French army crumbles against the German onslaught, the Marine Nationale doggedly conducts operations in the Mediterranean. In this scenario they are escorting a convoy from Algiers to Aleppo 



Day 1 Morning: Liore et Olivier heavy bombers escorted by Dewoitine fighters take off from Bizerte and sally out across the straights to soften up the Regia Aeronautica at Palermo. They are met by an overwhelming swarm of Italian fighters and three fifths of the sortie are shot down, achieving only superficial damage to the airfield and destroying a handful of aircraft on the ground. 



Meanwhile the Regia Marina take up positions to the north and east of Sicily.



Day 1 Afternoon: The Italian fleet spreads out to the south and west. French submarines spot the light cruiser Scipione Africano accompanied by a destroyer scouting just east of Bizerte. 



After its bloodying the Armee de l'air remains grounded, husbanding its surviving aircraft to remain a threat and deter the Italians from committing to a full air assault. The Italians send out scout planes but fail to spot any French ships.



Day 1 Night: The Convoy slides silently along the Tunisian coast.


Day 2 Morning: Storms kick up east of Sicily. The Italian fleet refuses to move until the Regia Aeronautica identifies the location of the French, but thanks to a miscommunication the Italian flying boats sweep the wrong area of sea. 

Day 2 Afternoon: Patrol after patrol is sent up, but the convoy is no where to be found. Meanwhile the fisherman of southern Sicily tell tall tales of mysterious enemy ships sighted off the coast.



Day 2 Night: The convoy sweeps unexpectedly north, just out of sight along the Sicilian coast.  



Day 3 Morning: Furious telephone calls are exchanged between the Italian Naval and Airforce Commands, running all the way up the Il Duce himself. Confused reports are coming in from all along the coast, but the Italian pilots just cannot find the French force.



Day 3 Afternoon: Finally Mussolini orders the Regia Marina to risk the main fleet and dispatch all forces in the area to the Sicilian coast. With the worst possible timing the air force finally succeed in spotting the French; A powerful taskforce led by the battlecruisers Strasbourg and Dunkerque alongside several modern cruisers and escorting destroyers. 



A second sortie finally unmasks the nearby French convoy. The dive bombers make an attack run, but many aircraft are lost as the obsolete carrier Bearn scrambles interceptors. One small cargo ship is hit however and her crew are forced to scuttle her. 



Day 3 Night: Under cover of darkness the convoy slips past Malta to the south east. A false trail is laid for the pursuing Italians and they are lured due east. 



Day 4 Morning: Realizing their error the Italian fleet course corrects to the south. As the dawn rises lookouts on Bearn spot a large taskforce led by Littorio, the newly commissioned pride of the Regia Marina. She is joined by the modernized dreadnought Andrea Doria, a large cruiser detachment, and several destroyers.  



Battle of Malta
Deployment: The Italians swing onto a parallel course in line ahead just out of range, with the two battleships leading and cruisers following behind. The convoy alongside Bearn shelter to the south whilst the fighting ships form a line to screen them. In the lead are the destroyers, followed by the obsolete dreadnoughts Provence and Bretagne and two thinly armored cruisers.




Turn 1: The Convoy turn due south to escape, shielded by the capitol ships laying heavy smoke. The Italians meander lazily south west. Spotting an opportunity to demonstrate his Elan, the commander of the French destroyers orders them to steam full speed north straight into the Italians. The Regia Marina focus their fire on the convoy, sending shells harmlessly splashing into the sea at extreme range whilst the destroyers bear down on them. Too late they realize their error as torpedoes fill the water. Littorio is struck twice in the same spot. With horror the Italians watch as in a matter of minutes she lists, keels over, and slips beneath the waves.*



As the Italian Admiral goes down with his ship, the convoy successfully breaks off through the smoke**. The individual ship's captain's direct sporadic fire at the French destroyers as they pass close by the Italian fleet.  
 


The Italians recover from their shock they reap a fearsome toll, and only one French destroyer escapes the action. 



Day 4 Morning: As the convoy escapes the Italian fleet has a scant hour to regroup. The captain of Andrea Doria assumes command and is immediately faced with the faster French distant escort moving to intercept.



Battle of Malta 
Deployment: Andrea Doria leads the vanguard accompanied by the light cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli and a destroyer, the rearguard is made up of two heavy cruisers Zara and Trento alongside the light cruiser Duca Degli Abruzzi. Heading straight towards them are the two French Battlecruisers Strasbourg and Dunkerque with accompanying destroyers. Whilst staggered to the west the French have a cruiser squadron consisting of Algerie, Montcalm, Gloire alongside two more destroyers.



The French cruisers steam ahead to cut off the Italians as they attempt to escape to the west. The shaken Italians forget to follow proper discipline with their high explosives. Algerie's opening broadside lands shells on Zara, starting a chain reaction that cascades down and detonates her main magazine!



The French destroyers again prove their worth, sending a swarm of torpedoes towards Andrea Doria. Huge holes are torn into the old ship below the waterline, and soon she is listing so badly that her captain strikes her colors. 



Meanwhile The French battlecruisers carefully circle to the northeast, content for now to harass with long range gunnery.



Turn 2: Torpedo's spent the French destroyers break off. The remaining Italian cruisers slip south west past their French counterparts. Dunkerque and Strasbourg turn to pursue, mauling the Raimondo Montecuccoli and forcing her crew to abandon ship. 

Turn 3: The French cruisers turn due west as the Italians still desperately try to escape. Dunkerque's forward firing main battery comes into deadly effect. Knocking out Trento's engines, leaving her captain no choice but to scuttle her. 



Turn 4: The lone survivor Duca Degli Abruzzi lays smoke and slips away from the engagement with the Marine Nationale in hot pursuit. 




Day 4 Morning: With the Littorio taskforce all but destroyed Italian high command bitterly calls off the operation and orders all ships back to port. Not only do the French convoy pass through to Syria without further molestation, but the Marine Nationale have struck a crippling blow against the Regia Marina. With 238pts to 28pts, the French win!



* We have adapted Nimitz to include some house rules. One of which is to make torpedoes more effective and chaotic by allowing them to roll on the bomb damage table. In this case just the torpedoes of Mogador and Volta were necessary to sink Littorio as one got a lucky 'double' flooding result.
** We have changed how breaking off works to now always give a chance for any ship to successfully escape an engagement. In this case the 'not particularly close' pursuit by the Italians meant the slow French ships had an easy time of escaping.