PQ-17 v. Operation Rosselsprung

herky80 · **herky80**

PQ-17 v. Operation Rosselsprung

North Atlantic Ocean: June – July 1942

This is a two part scenario. The first engagement involves an Allied convoy sailing from Britain to Russia being attacked by a wolfpack of U-boats. After the convoy reaches (or doesn’t reach) Russia, the Allied covering force engages Operation Rosselsprung, the German task force of surface units. The result of the first engagement will effect the units involved in the second engagement.

Mission One: PQ-17

Allies Close Escort:
SS Jeremiah O’Brien x6
Javelin x2 (Keppel, Offa, Fury)
Samuel B. Roberts x3 (Leamington, Ledbury, Wilton)
Type 13 Subchaser x4 (Flower Class Corvettes Lotus, Poppy, Dianella, La Malouine)

Axis Eisteufel Pack:
U-510 x4 (Type VIIC: U-88, 251, 355, and 376)
U-66 x2 (Type VIIC: U-457 and 657)

Map Configuration
Use the standard ocean map, using letterers A-H from left to right.

Set Up
The Axis U-boats will set up first in rows E thru K from either the top or the bottom but not both. The PQ-17 Convoy units will start in rows A and B and win initiative on the first turn.

Victory Conditions:
The Allied mission is to exit the Liberty Ships across the map through row H and sink U-boats in the process. The Axis mission is to sink the Liberty ships and in the process save as many U-boats as possible.

Scoring:
Each Liberty Ship sunk = 2 German airplanes for mission two.
Each U-boat exited off the map through the opposite side that it entered can be used in the next mission.

Mission Two: Operation Rosselsprung

Axis Forces (145 pts):

Tirpitz
Admiral Scheer
Admiral Hipper
Hans Ludemann x3
Karl Galster x3
S-boat
Aircraft per scoring rules from mission one.
Surviving U-boats from mission one.

Allied Forces:

Close Covering Force (81 pts):
Kent (London)
Canberra (Norfolk)
San Francisco (Tuscaloosa)
Salt Lake City (Wichita)
Arunta (Somali)
Van Galen x2 (Rowan, Wainwright)

Distant Covering Force (258 pts):
Washington
King George V (Duke of York)
Illustrious (Victorious)
Hurricane
Swordfish
Kent (Cumberland)
Jamaica (Nigeria)
Boise (Manchester)
Javelin x3 (Escapade, Eclipse, Marne, Martin, Onslow, Onslaught)
Samuel B. Roberts x3 (Middleton, Wheatland, Blankney)
Van Galen x2 (Mayrant, Rhind)
Haida x2 (Ashanti, Faulknor)

Setup
The Allies Distant Covering Force sets up in row A and Axis forces set up in row H. Surviving Eisteufel pack U-boats enter through rows D-H on turn three from the direction they exited the map in the first mission. The Allies Close Covering Force enters the map on turn six in row A.

Victory Conditions:
Each player’s objective is to destroy their opponents forces. Points are accumulated based on the cost of each unit.
Bonus Points:
Battleships +10
Cruisers, Aircraft and U-Boats +5

Optional Special Rules:
1. Ice Floes
Place an ice floe in the exact middle of row five. This ice floe will move around the map one square per turn. If it reaches an edge and goes off the map, take it out of the game. Roll 1d6 each turn for ice floe drift:
a. 1 = north
b. 2=northeast
c. 3=southeast
d. 4=south
e. 5=southwest
f. 6=northwest
Any ship that comes into contact with an ice floe loses one hull point but submarines are immune. Ice floes do not effect line of sight.

2. Disengagement
A player may exit a unit off the map and out of the game at a cost of 10 victory points deducted from their score. Limit 3.

Designers Notes
The Allied destroyers involved in escort duty are loosely substituted with available destroyers such as the Javelin and Samuel B. Roberts. There were many types of destroyers used throughout the war, and for game purposes, substitutions must be made.
The Eisteufel Pack of six Type VIIC U-boats are substituted with six Type IX U-boats. Although the Type IX had superior range, such ability does not come into play in this scenario.
Optional rules simulate the ice encountered in the Arctic Ocean. The Disengagement rule simulates both side’s desire to avoid combat and preserve their ships.
The first mission is specifically designed to favor the German U-boats. Saving any Liberty ships is desirable but not probable. The German player has to weigh the value of the U-boat vs. Aircraft.

Although this request might be inherent in the nature of the forum, I am looking for feedback both from players who have and have not played this scenario.

Mad Ghost/0331 · **Mad Ghost/0331**

at first glance it looks like the Germans are badly out-gunned. Of course it deserves to be played out, just to see.
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herky80 · **herky80**

Yes, they are outgunned, but near Norway so they have air support and the U-boat menace can, as you know, be deadly. Especially if the destroyers are sunk. I thought the Germans outgunned too at first-
148 pts. for Germans
258 pts. Distant Covering Force
81 pts. Close covering force

But, it isn't too hard to save some U-boats from the first mission and destroy Liberty ships.
I playtested twice and the results:
1- 2 subs saved and 3 Liberty ships sunk
2- 5 subs saved and 6 Liberty ships sunk

If you only sink half the Liberty ships, that is about 42 pts. in planes, which mean more when the Allies have minimal fighter cover.

So, sink half the Liberty Ships and save half the U-boats, and the German fleet is 222pts.
Still a lot less than the Allies forces, but the Allies have no air or sub force...

BasicBob · **BasicBob**

This looks like you put quite a bit of thought into this scenario Herky 80.

Have you been reading anything on this subject that you would care to recommend ?

Why does the "Illustrious" have no aircraft? Is this do to the weather conditions not permitting air operations?

Thanks for presenting this to us!
_________________
"DAMN the Torpedos!"

herky80 · **herky80**

I need to edit the above post to include a Hurricane and Swordfish, but after looking, I noticed they are listed at the end of the distant cover force, so I moved them to be immediately under the Illustrious. I fear the Germans will have too much air power, but it needs to balance the surface strength of the Allies.

I did not list the cost of units because that is mostly irrelevant. However, I did list them when designing the scenario to compare strengths, so I'll edit the costs in the scenario above.

When comparing the forces, the German surface force equals 145 while the Allies have 258 and then the reinforcements equal another 81! I know this disparity is huge, but it must be done to maintain the historical accuracy of the scenario. So to make the scenario playable, I broke it up into two missions- a convoy mission with transports and destroyers (and flower class corvettes) vs. U-boats. Then, the surface units engage with the Germans getting to use any surviving U-boats and planes - the amount of planes they are issued is based on the amount of transports sunk. I thought this was logical and ingenious but so far no response from this crowd....

As for the literature I've been reading, awhile ago Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea and more recently Alistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses. Both are really good, Monsarrat's is longer and is about Atlantic Convoys- it follows mostly a flower class corvette and then other ships after that one goes down. Ulysses is loosely based on convoy PQ-17 and the arctic convoys. That one matches up very well with this scenario.

Thanks for asking, this scenario got no feedback, so it must be slow around here- or a bad scenario!

herky80 · **herky80**

One other note:

When playing this scenario as the German side, I felt a strong sense of urgency to sink as many transports as possible and save at least a few submarines. Because if they don't the surface fleet has no chance. The Germans have to score big in mission one to have a chance in the second mission.

When looking at the possibilities, here is the average:
Destroying half the transports: 6 planes (42 pts)
Saving half the u-boats: 3 subs (34pts)
Total 76pts + 145pts = 221pts (vs. 258 Allies)

Although the Germans still have less points than the Allies, they have subs and planes, which will surely balance the table. Until the close covering force of destroyers and cruisers arrive....