With the German Squadron's success in the last game, Coronel, I can proceed to the Falklands. Bit of a problem that I don't have any battlecruisers. Time for a little scratch building.
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| The battlecruisers are scaled and outlined. |
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| Taller than Scharnhorst here, but they will lose some of that height. |
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| Basing. Sized against German torpedo boats I was completing at the same time. |
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| Not as detailed as my proper Tumbling Dice models, but a work in progress. |
Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee
Armoured cruisers, SMS Scharnhorst, SMS Gneisenau
Light cruisers SMS Nürnberg, Dresden and Leipzig, Colliers SS Baden, SS Santa Isabel, and SS Seydlitz
Adml Sturdee
Battlecruisers HMS Invincible and Inflexible
Armoured cruisers HMS Carnarvon, Cornwall and Kent,
Armed merchant cruiser HMS Macedonia
Light cruisers HMS Bristol and Glasgow
Visibility was at its maximum, the sea was placid with a gentle breeze, and the day was bright and sunny.
The Game
Spee's light cruisers—Gneisenau and Nürnberg—approached Stanley first. At the time, most of British fleet was coaling, but under short notice to steam. My von Spee has pressed the attack, considering Sturdee's ships easy targets,
Note that two RN ships were under steam acting as guardships.
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| Port Stanley, and the anchorage is quiet as Sturdee's fleet coals. The tripod masts of the battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible stand high over the breakwater. |
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| Von Spee turns up to raid the station. |
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| And Canopus fires over the istmus, with predictable results. |
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| Spee sends Nuremburg and Guisenau ahead. They have an impressive turn of speed. Spee can see the tripod masts but he's gambling he can blockade the RN in the port.. |
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| HMS Kent begins to charge out followed by Bristol. The other RN ships are activated sequentially by that white dice counting the turns. |
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| Spee closed on the port., Dresden gets a hit. |
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| Kent is in the channel and bracketed. |
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| Canopus big guns come close, one good hit is all they need. |
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| And the German light cruisers sweep in to fire torpedoes. This is not going to be a historically correct game I think. Nuremburg lands a great hit on Kent's boilers reducing the great Armoured Cruiser's speed to less than half. She's a sitting duck. |
Up to this point it's all to play for.
Historically the Germans were surprised by gunfire from an unexpected source - the Canopus, which had been grounded as a guardship and was behind a hill. This was enough to check the Germans' advance. The sight of the distinctive tripod masts of the British battlecruisers confirmed that they were facing a better-equipped enemy. HMS Kent was already making her way out of the harbor and had been ordered to pursue Spee's ships. Historically Spee ran but many armchair commentators believe he had a chance of victory by pressing the attack.
I gave my Admiral von Spee a two in six chance of attacking, and rolled a six.
Made aware of the German ships, Sturdee had ordered the crews to breakfast, knowing that Canopus had bought them time while steam was raised. I allocated turn two to Kent, three to Bristol etc.. With the Battle cruisers activating on turn 6.
Si vis pacem, game continues Friday.
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| Kent sunk. |
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| Bristol follows Kent, avoiding the wreck, Cornwall follows her. |
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| Bit Bristol is a light cruiser and gets a battering from the German heavies. |
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| With Bristol slowed the German LCs torpedo her too. |
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| Turn 6 and the BCs get up steam. |
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| Bristol struck and sinking. How unlucky can the RN get today. |
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| German fire slackening. |
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| Cornwall gets into action. |
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| HMS Invincible leads Inflexible out, towards the wreck of Kent |
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| Wreck marker in the Channel, difficulty 3. Is it worth it for Invincible? |
And Saturday Morning it finally comes to a conclusion.
The Historical Battle
To von Spee, with his crew battle-weary and his ships outgunned, the outcome seemed inevitable. Realizing his danger too late, and having lost any chance to attack the British ships while they were at anchor, Spee and his squadron dashed for the open sea. The British left port around 10:00. Spee was ahead by 13 Nmi; 24 km, with the German ships in line abreast heading southeast, but there was plenty of daylight left for the faster battlecruisers to catch up.
Catch up they did, those 12 inch guns reducing the German squadron, even the mighty Scharnhorst, to wrecks.
It's worth noting however that both battlecruisers fired off almost all of their ammunition during the battle. The Germans, at half stocks anyway due to the previous fight at Coronel, also exhausted all of their ammunition, reduced to firing training rounds as the fighting died down. Maybe then, just maybe, my von Spee had a chance.
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