Matapan: The Naval Battle for Greece. March 1941.

 Over the years I have saved various battles and campaign scenarios I have come across that may be useful for the future. This is one of those campaigns, or rather mini-campaign

I cannot recall where I found this now, my apologies to the authors. It spans 3 days, 27th to 29th, March, 1941 totalling 24 turns each split into 3 phases.

The rules are simple which I have slightly amended for GQ3. Ship movements are rated Slow (convoys, damaged ships), Normal (Battleships), Fast (Cruisers, Destroyers, Vittorio Veneto and HMS Formidable). Movement per turn is 1, 2 and 3 hexes respectively. 

Fuel issues with the Italian destroyers gives them 16 turns at normal speed with 2 turns used at fast speed or in action, and nothing used at slow speed.

Rather than type out the rules in full I will allude to various aspects as the game progresses. 

A brief explanation of the Orders of Battle:

British - Force C can be created by ships assigned from other groups. Greek destroyers are based in Piraeus and will only be activated on a roll of 4,5 or 6 as soon as an Italian force has been positively identified or Ultra/Enigma has cracked Italian code revealing their plans.

AG9 and GA8 are convoys sailing along the allied convoy lane - more of that later.

Italian - The battleships Caio Duilio and Guilio Cesare were not available in the historical battle but they are provided as an option in the rules. I have selected them to provide more balance and hopefully a more exciting game. The British already have the advantage of radar and better night action training along with the presence of an aircraft carrier.

Continued -

Nap Campaign: Map Moves 25th April - 5th May 1808

There are rather more than the usual days of map moves so rather map heavy! As before I will begin with the overall map before zooming on various sectors with more detail. To cut down on the number of maps I will not post those days where there is little to be gained from them.

25th April

Continued -

Nap Campaign: The Battle of Roseberry (France) 25th April 1808

 

The top 2 squares on the map contain the foothills of a mountain on the left and cliffs on the right. The ground is firm land. It contains a cottage and a farm. The French are deploying between the mountain and the cliff with the Spanish approaching from the north.

The large wood at in the bottom square is dense and the coastal section is a pebble beach. The area contains and Inn, fences and hedgerows.

Looking south from the Spanish position.

Continued -

Nap Campaign: Map Moves 24th April 1808

 

An overview at the end of the 24th April 1808 moves which will be covered in more detail below.

Continued -

Nap Campaign: The Siege of Opatow Castle (France) 24th April 1808

 

Gerard with what is left of the 4th Corps infantry are occupying Opatow Castle in the middle of the map. To the right is the village of Opatow. The whole area is described as rocky terrain and to keep it simple, I have reduced move distances by half but otherwise all units move as normal. i.e. artillery can move and deploy and all units are able to maintain formation.

Initial deployment looking north west. It has taken the allied army a half day (12 moves) to fully encircle the castle and therefore there are only 12 moves left for the day. If not concluded the siege will continue the following day.

Continued -

Nap Campaign: Map Moves 23rd April 1808

 

The overall situation after the day's moves on 23rd April.

Continued -

Nap Campaign: Battle of Steffanie (South France) 23rd April 1808

 

If you are new to the blog I would urge you to take a look at the previous post dealing with map moves which will provide context to this battle.

Top of the map is north. The French will deploy within the southern half and the Spanish will approach directly from the north deploying either side of the road.

There is a significant beach along the shoreline which is classed as rough terrain and therefore half movement speed and inaccessible to artillery. The 3 woods on the left are all dense and for the purpose of this game will be impassable. The dotted line is a track but units will still get command bonuses for troops travelling along it.

The buildings indicated are 2 farms.

Looking north west from behind French line.

Continued -

Nap Campaign: Map Moves 22nd April 1808

I will now cover the strategic situation as it unfolded on the 22nd April 1808. You will find previous map moves under the Napoleonic Campaign Map Moves label on the right.

An overview of the situation at the end of the day. 

 Continued -

Nap Campaign: Battle of Sandowa (South France) 22nd April 1808

 

A reminder of the situation at the end of the day on the 21st April 1808. After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Loverna the French Army of the South is split in two.

Soult with the survivors of the 6th Corps (blue 6) are pursued by the Spanish and have yet to halt their rout.

Gerard (blue 4) and what is left of the 4th Corps and 2nd Cavalry Corps retreats north pursued by Wellington and the Anglo/Portuguese army. Gerard sees an opportunity to make a stand behind a river and is the scene for this action. 

The battlefield map. The French occupy the area to the north of the river with Wellington to the south including the village of Sandowa.

Looking north west from behind the allied position.

Continued -

A Blog Update

My aging body is serving as a reminder that I will not be able to wargame in perpetuity and that day when I have to hang up the dice may come sooner than I would like! 

There is still a good deal I would like to do before that day arrives and a reappraisal of how much time I can devote to the blog beckons. As readers will have noted, some of my games which could normally be completed in an evening, or a weekend at most, can take many weeks to complete. 

A significant part of the problem is the blog. I would estimate 80% - 90% of time it takes for each turn to complete is spent on preparing posts. My intention is to cut that down significantly but still maintain after action reports on most, if not all, the games I play.

You will notice a change in the next post, a Napoleonic campaign game, which will be more brief but hopefully still make clear how the action played out. 

The bonus should be more AAR's!