Here is the full slate of Round 2 tournament games - all game results have now been recorded. (All results are listed in terms of the final POC total after the bid has been taken into account - this means the modified total may be greater than +10 POC if the player who lost the bid wins the game.)
Feel free to report your R2 game result and/or submit any comments or after-action reports about your game below. (As a reminder, the end-of-game reporting checklist is available on the homepage of this website.)
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Hilton McManus (Friday, 28 May 2021 00:16)
Alan Applebaum and I played game 3 of Round 2
Alan played the Axis; I played the Allies with a -1 bid.
The Allies won the game after Alan conceded on T3. At that point the score was +3 POC to the Allies, +2 POC after the bid.
Alan and I have never played before
Comments about the game.
Well, this one was over just after it started. Alan was extremely gracious given the complete lopsided nature of the die rolls. On T1, with an Axis push into the Barents, the Ark Royal sank the Lutzow and put 3 damage on the Scharnhorst. This more than evened out the failed speed roll of the Repulse. After T1 Rd1, both German BC were sunk, along with the previously mentioned Lutzow and the Blucher for the loss of 2 RN CA's. Hardly a ratio that the KM could afford.
T2 was a game of the KM patrolling the Baltic waiting on the Tirpitz and T3 was an attempt to break the North Sea with the U boat arm, hoping for the remainder of the surface fleet to run amok during T4.
But, it was not to be, as the Allied ASW rolled the following
> North Sea
>
> ASW
> #13
Roll: 6 6 4 4 4 4 5 6 5 4 6 6 4
13 die rolls, and none under 4, destroying the 5 U boats that were available. At this point Alan correctly conceded.
Robert Drozd (Tuesday, 01 June 2021 20:01)
Game #9
Robert Drozd (Axis) played Tom Meier(Allies)
Tom bid 1.5 POC to play the Allies
Robert(Axis) won
Finished all 8 turns
Final POC was Axis 2.5.
I do not recall that we played against each other before.
Convoy1A was denied access to Russia three times - the first 2 times by LBA and U-Boats on Turn 8.
Michael Ussery (Monday, 07 June 2021 18:07)
Game #11 Rd 2
Michael Ussery Allies vs. Bob Hamel Axis
Bid was 1.5 for the Allies
The allies won by concession at the end of T7, final score after the bid was 5.5 Allies.
The critical battle was in the S Atl on T7 where a stronger Axis fleet was the victim of cold dice.
Michael and Bob have played many times before.
Jim Kramer Jr. (Wednesday, 09 June 2021 06:31)
Jim Kramer Jr. (allies – 1.5 POC bid) has defeated Mark Booth (axis) in an 8 turn game. I chose to use my preferred Barents in 2 opening.
T1: Mark took the safe points for a +2 POC lead.
T2: Combat in the NA sees the allies win a close fight. Game score did not change. German base a BC, 2 CA and 2 damaged pockets in France.
T3: Axis win a NS battle to gain 2 POC for the turn with the game score moving to +4 axis. Convoy 1A will move to the Barents.
T4: A battle in the Barents with 8 allied ships and convoy 1A VS the German fleet of 8 ships sees another close allied win. With convoy 1A getting thru the allies gain 4 POC on the turn with the game score back to 0.
T5: On this turn the axis looks to open the Barents with 6 subs there. Allied ASW in the Barents scores with 5 subs sunk and the last disabled. Convoy 2B lands in England so with the area controls the game score moves to +2 allies.
T6: The axis manage to open the NS with 4 subs. There is no change in game score. With the NS open Convoy 3C moves to the Barents.
T7: The Germans move to the NA and in 4 rounds of combat see another close defeat. Winning this Battle of the North Atlantic was very fortunate for my allies. With convoy 3C on to Russia I gained 3 POC on the turn. Game score moves to +5 allies.
T8: With the game score at +5 in my favor and the Germans blockaded, all I need to do is hold 2 POC this turn. I deploy to hold off the subs. NA – (11 ASW). SA – (12 ASW). NS – (11 ASW). Barents – To make a fight necessary there are 6 ships here. Mark holds the Baltic with a CA and sends the remaining Germans to the Barents. His subs split with 2 in the NS and 2 in the NA. Mark could win the game if the subs break BOTH areas. My ASW in both areas is close but all the subs are removed. The Germans win in the Barents and gain 2 POC on the turn. Game score went to +3 allies with the bid reducing the score to a +1.5 allied victory. The game was close and intense all game long.
Vince Meconi (Saturday, 12 June 2021 15:02)
Don Greenwood (Axis) and Vince Meconi (Allies, bidding 2.0) kissed our sisters. A tie was perhaps a fitting result for a game that both sides thought they were sure to win or lose, multiple times. With the Allies passing all of their speed rolls, the Axis didn't venture from port until turn 4, when they sent the entire German fleet into the North Sea and U-boats plus 4x117 Italians into the South Atlantic. The U-boats broke control in the S. Atlantic but the British surface fleet sent the Italians packing. In the N. Sea, the underdog Allies prevailed. Despite the enormous volume of shellfire, bombs, and torpedoes in both areas, casualties were very light; in fact the Axis did not have a single ship sunk. As a result, the Axis began turn 5 with every ship and sub in their fleet intact save for a single Italian 435. However, the Allies had landed a convoy and now took a commanding 5-POC lead. The Allies were in a position to put the game beyond reach by landing a second convoy on turn 5, but another all-out Axis assault was hugely successful. 4 U-boats and 4 Italian cruisers won the N. Atlantic vs. a heavily favored combined American & British task force, the 11xGermans won the North Sea as expected, albeit after taking heavy damage, and as a coup de grace, German LBA sank the convoy in the Barents. As a result, the Axis gained 6 POC net on the turn. Now it was the Allies who were on life support. The Axis could have won the game on turn 6, but an inferior British fleet defeated the Germans in the Barents, while the U-boats missed the last convoy in the N. Atlantic. By now the Axis were as much depleted as the Allies, to the point where the remaining 3 Italian cruisers presented as much of a threat on turn 7 as the last 3 Germans (496-9, 225-1, 127-2). But the British had enough ships left to stop the Italians in the S. Atlantic and the LBA missed the convoy. Landing the 3rd convoy pulled the game into a tie. On turn 8, each side had a slim chance for a win; the Allies could have sent ships to the Mediterranean and the Axis could have split their U-boats and tried to break control in two sea areas. But in the end both sides opted to give themselves the maximum possible chance of a tie. The Allies did not enter the Med and the Axis sent all 6 U-boats in one sea area with 2 of their 3 ships still afloat (the 3rd remaining in the Baltic). The Allies had only 9 ASW in the Barents, but nearly upset the Axis strategy with a hot roll: 4 sunk and 1 disabled. But when the Allies quickly disabled the 2 Germans, that lone U-boat preserved a tie. A truly great game, down to the last sea area on turn 8. Don and I have played multiple times previously.
Vince Meconi (Sunday, 13 June 2021 03:57)
The above was Game #8, by the way.
Michael Kaye (Sunday, 13 June 2021 13:51)
Mike Kaye edged Scott Beall on the 8th turn by 0.5 POC; Scott Bid 1.5 POC for Allies
Turn 1: battle in NATL: Axis lost Uboat, PB; Allies lost BB but won area by disabling 2 x 553 & CV. POC + 3 Axis
Turn 2: no battles; Gneis, Scharn repair; 3 U to NATL vs 6 ASW: 2 U sunk, 1 disabled; LW sunk Ark Royal and maxed Indomitable in Barents; raw POC cut to 2 Axis
Turn 3: Baltic: OR & Lutzow sunk while 2 U trained in Med; POC cut to 1 Axis
Turn 4: 4 U to NATL vs 8 ASW—2 U sunk, 1 disabled but disabled Convoy; full German fleet ( ships) to Barents vs Convoy, CV, 4 BB, 2 BC, 6 CA; air disabled convoy & Gneisenau; Germans held area, losing Scharn, Spee, Blucher in exchange for Hood, KGV, POW, 2 x BC, CA; POC back to 3 Axis
Turn 5: Germans repair both BB, rest to Baltic; 4 U to SATL vs 6 ASW; no losses to anyone; no change in POC
Turn 6: German fleet to Baltic; 7 U to NATL vs 11 ASW; 2 U sunk, 2 disabled; convoy hit for 2; LBA sinks Italian CA; convoy to Russia cuts raw POC to 0
Turn 7: German fleet (2 BB, BC, 2 CA, CV) to Barents vs convoy, 2 CV, 4 BB, 5 CA: Zepp sunk & fleet repulsed in exchange for 3 BB, CA sunk; 6 U + 3 It CA to SATL in desperate reliance on U boats vs 5 BB, CA. All It CA + 2U sunk in exchange for on 2 damage on BB; Allies put convoys Russia & England to gain 5 POC to go +5
Turn 8: desperate Axis moves take only course for slimmest of chances for victory: Baltic: Hipper, 1 U, Luftwaffe vs Marat—U & LW double-disabled Marat for vital 1 POC; 4 U to SATL vs 8 ASW—1 U disabled, not hits; fleet Bismarck(d5), Tirp(d3), Gneis, Eugen vs 2 CV, Nelson(d2), Rodney, 3 BB; 4 air shots missed; round 1: Tirp disabled, Gneis maxed in exchange for Rod & Nels sunk, 2 BB disabled; round 2 saw remaining BB & Bismarck sunk (with 3 hits/13 damage); Axis gains 4 POC to cut Allies lead to 1; bid of 1.5 put Axis up 0.5 POC for the win
Jonathan Lockwood (Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:15)
Andy Choptiany and I played Game 5 of Round Two
Andy played the Axis, and I played the Allies with a 2.5 POC bid
Andy conceded near the end of Turn 7 with the Allies taking a 6 POC lead before the bid, and 3.5 POC after the bid.
We have played before several times, both online as well as in person
After the Axis took the NATL on Turn 1, albeit with the loss of a heavy cruiser and a pocket battleship, the Axis had a 6.5 POC lead with handicap applied. From that point on, the Axis lead steadily diminished on every turn, as the Allies established a blockade that was never broken for the entire game. With the remainder of the Axis fleet bottled up in the Baltic until Turn 7, when they made a final desperation assault in the Barents against a superior Allied fleet accompanying Convoy 3C, the game was largely a contest of Allied ASW and LBA versus Axis U-boats and LBA, a contest in which the Allies eventually prevailed. It was a most interesting and challenging game.