One of the fun parts of moving is getting to meet new gamers at your destination! This is just what happened a while back when I met up with fellow Foruminian Sun-Tzu for a game of War at Sea at Tower of Games in Chesapeake, VA. We settled on playing a 200 point IJN-USN battle, with no other restrictions.

Lists

Since we were not using any year or Order of Battle restrictions, pretty much the entire IJN and USN inventory was open for us to use. Here are the fleets we came up with:

Me (USN)

• New Jersey
• Enterprise
• Cleveland
• Atlanta
• Kidd x2
• Helldiver x2
• Wildcat
• P-40 x2
• PBY x2

Sun-Tzu (IJN)

• Soryu
• Shokaku
• Tone
• Chikuma
• I-19
• Judy x3
• Type 97 Kate x3
• Zeke x4
• Emily

So, my list was a bit of an all-rounder; the New Jersey and the Cleveland were intended to surge forward with the destroyers, while the Enterprise and Atlanta hung back. Sun Tzu’s list, on the otherhand, was a definitely an air-heavy list. From the start, I was a bit worried about facing so much airpower; my lack of figters meant I was going to be forced to rely on my shipboard AA.

Setup

We were playing without islands, so the setup roll wasn’t as critical as it might have been. Sun Tzu set up first, and I set up second.

Turn 1

Given my hefty initiative bonus (Flag 2 plus Carrier Leader on the NJ), it was no surprise that I won the initiative for the first turn. We both moved our forces up two spaces, except for the Enterprise’s group that moved to my left in an effort to dodge the lurking I-19.

Naturally, we were still out of gunnery range, but the Turn 1 air phase was quite eventful. Sun Tzu managed to sink the Cleveland with his dive bombers, aborted both of my Helldivers, and shot down both of my Catalinas (which were making un-escorted attacks on the I-19). In return, I did manage to shoot down one of his Kates as it tried to attack the New Jersey.

Turn 2

I won the initiative again this turn, and we both moved our forces forward. Sun Tzu took a risk by moving the Shokaku’s group within gunnery range of the NJ, banking that he would be able to strip the battleship’s Extended Range during the air phase. Once again, the air phase was dramatic! Both Kates were sent after the NJ, while all 3 of the Japanese dive bombers went after the Enterprise’s group. My Helldivers tried again to attack the Shokaku.

This time, though, the results were less than stellar for the Japanese. The dive bombers were handled roughly between the Atlanta and the Big E; one was shot down, another was aborted and failed its Press the Attack, and the third was aborted. While the third Judy successfully made it through on its Press the Attack roll, it failed to score a hit. The Kates were also unlucky, though it was a good effort. They both made it through the wall of American AA, and with all of the buffs afforded to them by Spotting, Expert Torps, and the like, they got a combined total of 11 torpedo dice at the NJ. Amazingly, not a single one scored a hit on the American battleship! As for my Helldivers, one got through to put a point of damage on the Tone. In the surface phase, the NJ managed to put a point of damage on the Shokaku, narrowly missing a vital hit! The I-19 made its presence known by putting a torpedo into the NJ.

Turn 3

I finally lost initiative this turn, but it was clear where I needed to go. The NJ group entered the center objective, while the lone destroyer headed for the left objective. Having no choice but to contest, Sun Tzu responded by moving the Shokaku group towards the middle objective and the Soryu group towards the right objective.

The air phase was again eventful; a Helldiver managed to score a hit on the Soryu, and my Wildcat was actually downed by a Zeke! The Kates tried for the NJ again, but were shot down in the process. Two Zekes tried to strafe my lone destroyer on the right objective, crippling but not sinking it. The Judys again attacked the Enterprise. One was shot down, but the one that survived scored a hit on the Big E. The shooting phase was quite bloody; the NJ finished off the Shokaku, while her secondaries and the Kidd next to her managed to cripple the Tone. In response, the Kidd on the center objective was sunk, and the NJ took a Long Lance hit and another hit from the I-19, bringing her to 4 damage. I did manage to capture the righthand objective with my crippled DD, though.

Turn 4

I managed to lose initiative again, so in order to hedge my bets I moved the NJ between the center and left hand objectives to cover both. I also started moving my other remaining forces towards the center objective. During the air phase, the remaining Judy pulled off an incredible feat; it was aborted, made its Press the Attack roll, and then vitaled the Enterprise! In return, my Helldivers managed to sink the Chikuma and put another point of damage on the Soryu.

During the surface phase, I managed to mop up the rest of Sun Tzu’s fleet; the NJ managed to vital the Soryu with her mains, while her secondaries finished off the crippled Tone. American victory!

After Action

Though I managed to pull out a win, I think that was due to more than a little bit of luck. I would definitely say that Sun Tzu had a much tighter list; my gut feeling is that his list would beat mine at least 2/3 of the time, maybe even 3/4. However, Sun Tzu’s bad torpedo dice were what did him in; the 11 torpedos thrown at the NJ for no hits on Turn 2 allowed the NJ to survive until Turn 4, when it was too late. As for my list, I think it was a bit too un-focused. I didn’t take enough aircraft to fill out a single sector, and I didn’t have enough fighters to fend off the IJN attack planes.

Overall, though, it was a fun game, and I really enjoyed playing Sun Tzu. Stay tuned, as I’m sure there will be further battle reports to come. In fact, we are tossing around playing a Pacific Theater mini-campaign put together by Neural Dream!