James Kramer (Sunday, 01 November 2020 22:35)

Jonathan's account of our tournament final game is a concise report of what happened. I decided to add some thoughts from the axis player's perspective.

The Barents in 1 opening has become the most favored opening in WAS. The axis player has options against it, none being perfect. You can hold back the Germans for fleet growth (attack at full strength), attack the allied fast ships in the Barents (attrition) or attack one of the Atlantic areas (potential traps). As the axis I prefer the SA with a combined German/Italian force and use my subs in the NA for POC denial. I expect losses (3 ships) but look to gain a big POC start and some rear area threats using oiling and the Italians. Unfortunately this game saw 4 German ships sunk and 2 disabled with one CA lost to a UK CA single shot in 2 rounds of combat. This in turn forced me to do the combined German move to the NS. I was very fortunate my Germans were disabled and not sunk.

Each turn I look to use the subs for POC denial. On T2 and T3 that was done. On T4 I took the chance to go after convoy 2B instead of POC denial (SA 5 ASW). That move failed costing me a game score point. Mistake?

T5 more POC denial. T6 another opportunity at a convoy (3C), but only the disabled result. Meanwhile the remaining German ships and Italian CA's were kept repaired and safe and the Soviets were dealt with.

T7 again yielded another sub VS convoy showdown. Using the subs for a breakout then did not make sense to me (blockade too strong). I had 7 subs to use but chose to use 6 in the NA and 1 in the SA. Another mistake? On average the NA should see 2 subs survive. That indeed occurred but my 2 shots failed. I was hoping for Jonathan to have poor ASW in the SA to deny a POC there but no.

The T8 deployment was determined by Jonathan's placement. SA a chance if the subs survived. NS close as long as the allied air failed. Both of those events occurred and my hopes grew. The subs even had 3 positive results but not enough to save the Italian CA's. The NS looked possible until the first exchange of fire.

Did those two mistakes(?) earlier cost me the game? Could I have gone for the last turn POC denial Jonathan mentioned? Would Jonathan have just sent convoy 3C forward to Russia? Last turn, last shots. You can't ask for more from any game.

Jonathan Lockwood (Saturday, 31 October 2020 02:44)

Jonathan Lockwood (Allies 2.5 POC) has defeated James Kramer (Axis) to win the WAS PBEM Championship title for a third time. The game lasted the full 8 turns, and in fact was in doubt right up to the last battle of the last turn.

The Allies deployed in Jonathan's latest variation of the Barents on One opening, which in fact he borrowed from Bruce Monnin's Barents on One opening (giving credit where credit is due). Jim responded by sending the Germans and 4 Italian cruisers to the SATL, leaving Lutzow in the Baltic, and sending 3 U-boats to the NATL and LBA to Barents. Jim took the area and decontrolled the NATL to surge to an early lead of 4 POC (6.5 POC with handicap applied). This came at a heavy cost, however, as the Axis lost 4 German ships (Gneisenau, Adm Scheer, Blucher, and Adm Hipper) to the British loss of Queen Liz and Norfolk! The remaining German ships were stranded in the neutral port.

On Turn 2, Jonathan deployed in all four areas in an effort to split the German fleet and force it to go to the Med. Jim responded by sending the German ships back to the North Sea and rendezvous with new reinforcements Bismarck and Lutzow (Prinz Eugen in Baltic) in an effort to reunite the German fleet with minimal losses. This effort succeeded, and Bismarck took 8 points of damage, but made it back to Germany. Jim decontrolled another area at the loss of 1 U-boat to keep his 6.5 POC lead.

On Turn 3, Jonathan maintained the blockade with strong enough forces to deter the Axis from attacking either Barents or North Sea. Jim successfully decontrolled another area with U-boats to maintain his lead at 6.5 POC.

On Turn 4, the Allies continued to maintain the blockade, while Okt Rev activated in the Baltic. The Axis sent their entire fleet of 5 U-boats to attack Convoy 2B in the NATL and hopefully score a knockout blow. Allied ASW rose to the occasion, however, sinking 3 U-boat wolfpacks and disabling the remaining 2 to control the area. Convoy 1A successfully evaded Axis LBA, while Axis LBA did hit Ark Royal for 1 point damage. The Allies gained 4 POC on Turn 4 to slash the Axis lead to 0 POC (2.5 POC Axis lead with handicap applied). Okt Rev managed to put two points of damage on the Bismarck before being blown to smithereens by the Bismarck and Tirpitz.

Turn 5 saw the Allied blockade still in place. Convoy 2B evaded Axis LBA to score 3 POC for the Allies and enable the Allies to take the lead with 3 POC (.5 POC Allied lead with handicap applied). The Axis successfully decontrolled the SATL with 4 U-boats, and took no losses, guaranteeing a full strength U-boat fleet on Turn 6. They also crippled the Eagle, making it a 1-0-2 ASW platform.

Turn 6 saw the Allies concentrating on maintaining a 20 ASW blockade in the North Sea. 11 Allied ASW were guarding Convoy 3C, which was attacked by 7 U-boats. The Allies sank 1 U-boat and disabled 2 more, leaving 4 U-boats to attack and disable Convoy 3C back to the US. Meanwhile, the Marat came out in the Baltic and managed to cripple the Graf Spee with two points damage. POC count remained unchanged at .5 POC Allied lead.

Turn 7 had the Allies boost ASW protection to 12 ASW in the NATL, with 5 battleships in the SATL. The Axis repaired the Graf Spee. The Axis sent 1 U-boat to the SATL and 6 to the NATL. Allied ASW sank the U-boat in the SATL, and Allied ASW sank another U-boat and disabled 3 more, leaving 2 U-boats to attack Convoy 3C. The U-boats missed, and the Allies decided to put in at England for 1 POC and extend the Allied lead to 4 POC (1.5 POC with handicap applied). This ensured that the Axis would not be able to win the game on Turn 8 by decontrolling two sea areas at once to gain a single POC and take a .5 POC Axis lead.

On Turn 8, the Axis came out in the North Sea, and sending 4 Italian cruisers to the SATL supported by 6 U-boat wolfpacks against 5 British battleships supported by Formidable (-2). In the SATL, 8 Allied ASW missed the U-boats. The U-boats, disabled Resolution and put one point of damage on two other British battleships. This left four British battleships facing four Italian cruisers. On the first volley, the Allies sank all four Italian cruisers. In the North Sea, the Allies missed with all four of its airstrikes, while the Graf Zeppelin hit the Nelson for 4 points damage. On the first Allied volley, the Allies sank the Lutzow and disabled five German ships back to Germany, leaving only the Graf Spee. The Axis did sink the Nelson and disabled two more British ships, but left 4 undamaged British battleships, the crippled Royal Oak (-4), and the crippled Eagle (1-0-2) to face the lone Graf Spee in the North Sea. The Allied sank the Graf Spee in Round 2 to seal the victory for the Allies. The Allies ended the game with a 5 POC cumulative lead (2.5 POC Allied lead with handicap applied).

James Kramer (Monday, 26 October 2020 18:51)

James Kramer (bid 1.5 POC) has defeated Tim Tow (axis) in SF #1. I used Barents in 2 opening.

T1: Allies give up 2 POC to the axis with this opening. Pola damaged by allied LBA. Game score +2 axis.

T2: Allied deploy - NA: 4 BB and a CV. SA: 2 BB, CA, Eagle. NS: 6 BB, 2 CA, 2 CV. Barents (all speed rolls succeed): 2 BB, 2 BC, 5 CA, Hood, Ark Royal. Axis deploy - Italian fleet split MED/Italy and German fleet to Baltic. The 4 subs were sent to the SA. Allied LBA go to Italy and sink CA's Pola and Fiume. Axis LBA damage Repulse (1d). Allied ASW sinks 2 subs and disables a third. The sub missed Eagle. POC is a 3 to 3 push.

T3: Allied deploy - NA: Convoy 1A, 2 CV, CA. SA: 2 BB, 2 CA, Eagle. NS: 8 BB, CV. Barents: 3 4-5-6, Renown, Repulse (1d), Valiant, Hood, 5 CA, 2 CV. Warspite failed speed to Russia. Baltic: Marat sails. Axis deploy - Italian fleet again is split with 3 ships in port. German fleet to the Baltic and 3 subs to the SA. Allied LBA damage a BB, Axis LBA miss. Allied ASW sinks 2 subs and disabled the third. In the Baltic Lutzow and Marat are sunk. Allies gain a POC this turn, game score now axis +1. Convoy 1A moves to the Barents.

T4: No US/USSR arrive. Allied deploy - NA: Convoy 2B, 2 CV, 2 CA. SA: 2 BB, 3 CA, Eagle. NS: 9 BB, CV. Barents: Convoy 1A, 5 BB, Hood, 3 CA, Renown, Repulse (1d), 2 CV. Axis deploy - Italian fleet as for T3. Germans (10 ships) to the Barents with 3 subs in the Baltic. Allied LBA miss. In the Barents allied air disables Tirpitz, axis miss. Surface allied fire damages and disables Bismarck (6d), Scharnhorst (3d), Gneisenau (2d), cripples Graf Spee, sinks Adm. Scheer and Graf Zeppelin. Axis fire sinks KGV and Renown, disables Warspite and Hood. The axis withdraw in 2 groups. In pursuit the crippled Graf Spee and a UK CA are sunk. Allies land both convoys, Russia-England, giving the allies +6 POC for the turn. The game score moves to +5 allies.

T5: Only Texas arrives. Allied deploy - NA: Texas Eagle. Courageous. SA: 3 BB, CA, CV. NS: 8 BB, CA, 3 CV. Barents: Howe joins 4 BB, 2 BC (1 damaged), 5 CA and Ark Royal. Axis - Italian fleet as T4 and Germans repair Bismarck and Gneisenau, fleet to Baltic and 5 subs to NA. Combat rolls see allied air miss in Germany. ASW sink a sub and disable 2. Axis sub fire misses the 2 carriers but axis LBA sinks a CA in the Barents. POC is another 3 to 3 push.

T6: Arriving, 2 US BB and 2 CA. USSR O.R. comes out in Baltic. Allied deploy - NA: 5 US ships, 2 CA and Convoy 3C. SA: 4 BB and Eagle. NS: 7 BB, a CA, 4 CV. Barents: 5 BB, 2 BC (1 damaged), 3 CA, Ark Royal and Formidable. Axis split Italian fleet. Germans send 2 BB and a BC to the Baltic. A BC (repair) and 3 CA stay in port. The 7 subs are split, 4 NA and 3 SA. Allied LBA damage a German CA. Allied ASW: NA - Sink 2, disable 1. SA - Sink 1 and disable 1. The subs return fire misses convoy 3C and Eagle. Axis LBA succeeds in sinking Repulse and Formidable. In the Baltic OR is sunk causing no damage. Convoy 3C lands in England to keep the turn POC at a 3 to 3 push. Game score stays at +5 allies.

T7: The last US CA arrives. Allied deploy - NA: 6 US ships. SA: 4 BB and Eagle. NS: 7 BB, a CA and 3 CV. Barents: 5 BB, a BC, 5 CA, Ark Royal and Victorious. Axis deploy - Italian BB's hold the MED with CA's Zara and Gorizia to the SA. The Germans repair the damaged CA with other 6 ships going to the Baltic. His 5 subs go to the SA. Allied and axis LBA score disables. In the SA the ASW comes up empty. Axis subs do disable a BB. Eagle's air then disables Zara. Surface combat sees Gorizia sunk without any return fire damage. POC is another 3 to 3 push. Game score, no change.

T8: Allied deploy - NA: 6 US ships and a CV. SA: 4 BB, a CA and Eagle. NS: 7 BB, 2 CA, 2 CV. Barents: 5 BB, a BC, 3 CA, Ark Royal and Victorious. Axis deploy - Baltic: A CA. Barents: 2 BB, 2 BC, 2 CA. NA: 3 subs. SA: 3 subs and Zara. The Italians hold the MED. Allied LBA not used. Tim noted ASW would tell the story of the turn and game. In the NA a sub survives ASW fire but in the SA all 3 subs are cleared. With Zara's sinking in the surface round Tim resigned as the Barents battle would not change the outcome of the game. The game score at that point was allies +4, reduced to +2.5 by the bid.

My preferred Barents in 2 worked fine with 2 convoys scoring in England to win. Tim's game options were severely hindered by good allied ASW most turns and the T4 Barents surface results with the damage/disables the allied force caused much greater than the Germans. Those T4 results allowed my allies to take a lead Tim's axis was never able to overcome.

Jonathan Lockwood (Monday, 26 October 2020 00:26)

Jonathan Lockwood (Axis) has defeated Karl Bodenheimer's Allies (2.5 POC bid) as of the end of Turn 3, with Karl conceding due to comparatively heavy Allied losses. On Turn 1, Karl deployed a Barents on One setup, which the Axis declined to challenge, even when the Allies missed one speed roll. Instead, the Axis chose to build up its surface and U-boat fleet and await a better opportunity. That opportunity came on Turn 2, when the Allies failed two speed rolls to the Barents (a 4-5-6 and 3-3-6) and had only a single 1-1-7 patrolling the NATL. The Axis sent its entire fleet into the Barents, and its 4 U-boats to the NATL. The U-boats ended up decontrolling the NATL and sinking the lone cruiser. The Allied initial surface volley disabled the Bismarck, the damaged Scharnhorst (-2), and the Lutzow, leaving 6 German ships undamaged. The Axis return volley was devastating, sinking 4 cruisers, the POW, and the Repulse. By the end of the turn and the pursuit, only the Hood and the Norfolk survived by being disabled. The Axis suffered no losses, and only 2 points of damage to the Scharnhorst. On Turn 3, the Allies sortied into the Barents with its remaining 5 available ships to screen the Victorious, brought in to substitute for the sunk Ark Royal. The Axis repaired Scharnhorst and sailed with its other nine undamaged ships. Axis LBA sank the last remaining British cruiser (Norfolk) before surface combat, while Allied airstrike disabled the Tirpitz before surface combat. In the ensuing combat, the Axis sank the KGV, crippled and disabled the Hood, and disabled the remaining two ships to clear the area. The Axis then pursued the Victorious with its three light cruisers and sank it. At this point, the Axis had a 2 POC cumulative POC lead (4.5 POC lead with handicap applied), and had lost only the Graf Spee and no U-boats. Karl surveyed the comparatively prohibitive Allied losses at the end of Turn 3 and conceded.

Tim (Thursday, 15 October 2020 07:16)

QF#3
Tim (Axis) vs. Dennis (Allies)
Dennis bid 2.5 for the Allies
Axis Victory on turn 8 with the final score (after the bid) 0.5 POC Axis
We have played an AREA game of WAS previously.

The British held the blockade through 4 turns while sinking 5 U-boats at the cost of the Royal Sovereign. The Axis sortie on turn 4 to the Barents was turned back. losing 3 ships to the Allied 4. This battle was so successful that the Allies landed Convoy 2B into England while Convoy 1A puts into Russia.

The Germans sortied on turn 6 and max damaged several of the new British BBs and CAs and only sank 2 cruisers but lose two more ships and a max damaged Graf Zeppelin, but finally control the Barents and while also having the U-boats disable Convoy 3C in the NOATL.

Turn 7 saw the U-boats valiantly attack Convoy 3C leaving it max damaged to dock into England pushing POC to +5 Allies before the bid. The repairing Graf Zeppelin was sunk at its moorings in Kiel, while the Luftwaffe sink the Repulse and the Kriegsmarine dispatches the Marat without a loss.

Turn 8 saw the German U-boats along with 3 Italian CAs go into the SOATL, where the U-boats survive enough to break control, but not save the Regia Marinans. One German PB patrols the Baltic. The Kriegsmarine sorties 4/5 (2 BB's 1 BC, 1 PB) of its fleet to the Barents against a British fleet of essentially 3 BB's and 7 CAs. The German fleet was so small that the British did not have enough targets for their 5 airstrikes. While the RAF missed, the Luftwaffe was able to disable 1 BB and 2 damage a second one.

On round 1 the Germans lose the PB and the BC, but take out both British BBs and 2 of the max damaged BBs, leaving the 2 undamaged German BBs to face the equivalent of 5 British CAs.

Two more rounds saw the two Germans suffer only 5 damage on the Bismarck while sinking 4 of the remaining British ships, leaving just a true British CA, the Suffolk.

Round 4 saw the Suffolk succumb leaving just the 2 CVS and resulting in an ending score of 2.0 Allied before the bid. With the bid applied, the final score was 0.5 POC Axis, as narrow a win as possible.

Mircea Pauca (Wednesday, 14 October 2020 12:14)

Mircea Pauca (Allies, bid 1.5) defeated Mike Kaye (Axis) by concession in Turn 7, at a raw score of 7 Allied (5.5 Allied after bid). We have played before WAS for AREA.

T1: my usual Barents-in-1, one German home in Baltic, all the Axis (3U, 6 Germans, 4 Italians) win SATL. Sunk only 1:1 heavies. Spee and Blucher oiled. Score 3 Axis raw.
T2: Barents remain Allied (8CA,Ark vs 5 Germans) while 3 Germans take refuge in the Med. RAF sinks Gorizia. Allies gain 1 PoC, total 2 Axis raw.
T3: Marat sails and gets sunk while 2 Germans repair. U-boats harass again SATL, minor damages at no loss. RAF sinks Pola. Score stays 2 Axis raw.
T4: A solid blockade. Barents, 7 U face 13 ASW and disable Convoy1A back to America at loss of 3U. RAF sinks Zara! Score stays 2 Axis raw.
T5: Okt. Rev. fights 6 German ships and manages to sink Lutzow before going under! Convoy2B gets heavy damage but radio valves still satisfy Stalin. U-boats keep harassing SATL, Valiant and 2U sunk. Allies gain 3 PoC, total 1 Allied raw.
T6: 7U open North Sea (only 12 ASW because I know the surface threat is weak). RAF damages Scharnhorst in Taranto. Convoy1A finally unloads to Russia. Allies gain 3 PoC again, total 4 Allied raw.
T7: Germans do a desperate final raid to North Atlantic to mess Allied logistics. U-boats disable Washington, airstrike disables Bismarck (and Germans miss) and the smaller German fleet fights desperately to the bitter end, including Prinz Eugen alone vs 1BB,4CA. Luftwaffe misses Convoy 3, it unloads in Russia, Allies gain 3 PoC again, total 7 Allied raw. (5.5 Allied after bid)

Mike Kaye correctly pointed out the ineffective shooting of German ships leading to low attrition.
Thanks for an interesting, quite hard fought game!

Jonathan Lockwood (Thursday, 01 October 2020 03:03)

Jonathan Lockwood (Allies 2.5 bid) defeated Greg Hultgren's Axis when Greg conceded the match at the beginning of Turn 2. Greg had chosen to challenge Jonathan's opening setup in the North Sea with all seven of his starting German fleet ships, but was repelled with a loss of three ships to the Allied loss of the Eagle and a 4-4-3. In addition, two additional German ships suffered crippling damage. As a result, the Allies took an initial 1 POC lead at the end of Turn 1 (1.5 POC lead with handicap applied). However, Greg's assessment was that he would be unable to challenge either of the allied blockading fleets before the Allied buildup became too much to overcome, and so conceded at the beginning of Turn 2.