Find Fix and Strike: The Denmark Strait

On 24 May 1941 the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the Battlecruiser HMS Hood fought the German Battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which were attempting to break out into the North Atlantic to attack Allied merchant shipping in Operation Rheinübung.

Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland
1 Battleship
1 Battlecruiser 
2 heavy cruisers

Admiral Günther Lütjens

1 battleship
1 Heavy Cruiser

History gives us some options here.  The British ships could have been reinforced by their covering destroyers and cruisers.  Indeed Admiral Holland wanted to use HMS Norfolk and HMS Suffolk to engage Prinz Eugen whilst Hood and Prince of Wales tackled Bismarck.  Alas it was not to be, but I will make a scenario roll to see what my version of the Denmark Strait looks like.

Given the rough seas during this encounter battle I discount the availability of the destroyer screen but Holland was unlucky in that Suffolk did not maintain an accurate contact and by the time Hood and Prince of Wales were drawing into range of the German ships both Norfolk and Suffolk were too far back to intervene.  

Scenario 2 Hunt the Bismarck

Home Fleet

Battleships Rodney, King George V
Heavy Cruisers Edinburgh, Dorsetshire
8 destroyers

Force H

Aircraft carrier Ark Royal, 
Battlecruiser Renown 
Light cruiser Sheffield.

8 destroyers

Game 1

Contact.  I use blinds to give me some fog of war.  I needed to stretch the folds out of my sea cloth!

The Prince of Wales and the Mighty Hood

Bismarck and Prinz Eugen

As historically the Royal navy initially mistakes the cruiser for the battleship.  Prinz Eugen is straddled.

The Kriegsmarine warm their guns but its a poor effort all round.

Prince of Wales scores on the cruiser just as the targets are identified.  Prinz Eugen loses its rear turret.

But Bismarck is starting to find the range.

Hood hits the Bismarck with heavy damage to her engine room.  Could history be about to be overturned?

Bismarck finds the range and Hood is hit amidships.  The Admiral is killed along with the bridge staff.  

But Hood hits Bismarck again.  A rear turret is destroyed. 

And the roll I somehow knew was coming.  A critical hit on the thinly armoured Battlecruiser.  Hood takes severe damage, she is hulled and sinking.

The Royal Navy cruisers reach the battle.  Not sure that's going to help.

Hood will not stay afloat long.

Prince of Wales moves past Hood to continue the battle.

But its the Germans who start making smoke.  Prinz Eugen covers the wounded Bismarck's retreat

Prince of Wales shooting the last salvo.

Cornwall comes in to take survivors off the Hood.

Too late as I roll another 4 and she goes down.  Cornwall takes survivors from the water, but it's a day of tragedy for the Royal Navy.

Game 2 Force H vs Bismarck

Force H

A Swordfish finds Bismarck

And Ark Royal launches her strike force, six flights

Bismarck catapults one of her Arado float planes to deal with the Swordfish marking her position.

For the first time in the history of the Fairey range of aircraft one of them out-performs a German.

Ark Royal's strike force lines up the attack.

The first flight goes in and I lose six planes.  Bismarck is unscratched.

Second flight goes in.  Bismarck is damaged, again in the engine room.  Speed is down to a crawl.

She limps off followed by the Arado.

Game 3: The Home Fleet and the final fight

The Home Fleet, King George V,Rodney and four Cruisers.

Rodney gets the range with a straddle.

King George V hits.

Bismarck loses her bridge.

Rodney hits.

And Bismarck is on fire.  The British cruisers creep in, readying torpedoes.

Kent fires her full spread.

The two British battleships turn around the bow.  They cease fire.

London and then Norfolk fire into the Bismarck, which rolls over and goes down.  Job done.  

Find Fix and Strike dealt with these games really well, and even the air strikes worked out.  I would have thought that 18 Swordfish carrying 18 torpedoes would have been enough but no, as historically Bismarck survived them.  She could not survive the battering of two Home Fleet Battleships and four heavy cruisers but the Royal Navy needed overkill to put her down.

Three really enjoyable games.