the franco-prussian war - Strategy & Tactics

I.D. will be used to plot the movement andcombat for that ship that turn.[10.121 In the next block(s), place one attackcode (if the ship is to attack in that turn) andindicate the Unit I.D. of the target ship. If aship is to make both gunnery and torpedoattacks in a given turn, then two attack blockswill be required.110.131 Following the blocks in which attackshave been recorded (if any) plot the movementof each unit, recording each hex to be enteredby the unit in this turn. If the unit will expendmovement points turning in a particular hex,place a circled number in the block with thehex number to indicate how many movementpoints were expended in turning. See (6.0)Movement for details on how to move.I10.141 After all of the movement points of theunit have been expended, in the next block,place the final speedifacing of the unit, i.e., thespeed facing after completion of all turning,acceleration, deceleration, etc.; this becomesthe initial speedifacing for the next turn.I10.21 ATTACK CODES[10.211 An attack code written in a block with aUnit I.D. commits the given ship to make theindicated type of attack on the indicatedtarget. The attack codes are "G" for gunneryattacks and "T" for torpedo attacks. Attacksare made subject to the limitations ofsection (7.0).[10.221 Decisions regarding combat are final.No changes in attacking units or target unitscan be made after the end of the OperationPlot Phase.[10.31 SECRECY AND HONESTYEach player's Simultaneous Movement PlotChart is to be hidden from the other playeruntil the end of the game. If there is anyquestion about the other player's orders, thePlayer is advised to write them down andcompare them with the SMS Plot Chart at theend of the game. A player who secretlyviolates the rules to gain an advantage in thegame, forfeits that game.[10.41 SIMULTANEITY OF COMBAT[10.411 All combat is considered simultaneous.For this reason Combat Results are noteffective until the Combat Results ApplicationPhase. Then they are applied to all units thatsuffered them.[10.421 A ship that suffers a Combat Result in agiven Combat Resolution Phase must engagein combat in that phase if ordered to do so bythe SMS Plot Chart without any considerationof the Combat Result. The Combat Resultdoes not affect the ship's combat ability in anyway until the Combat Results ApplicationPhase of that turn.[10.51 SIMULTANEITY OF MOVEMENTAll movement is also considered simultaneous.Both players execute all plotted movementduring the Board Movement Phase. All plottedmovement must be executed; ships may neveralter their movement in response to enemyactions.l7.61 SMS NIGHT TIME SPOTTING[7.61 I Most scenarios in "CA" take place atnight. There are special restrictions upon firingat ni~ht Shins may only fire guns or torpedosat target ships that are "spotted."[7.621 Spotting occurs in three manners:(a) Whenever a ship uses its Gunnery Strengthin a turn, place a spotted marker on it. Torpedoattacks do not cause spotting.(b) Whenever a ship is within eight (8) hexes ofan enemy ship, place a spotted marker on it.(c) Whenever a ship has been the target of agunnery attack in a turn, and fulfilled theconditions (a) or (b) above, it remains spottedfor the following Game- Turn only, if it is againunder under gunnery attack, even though itdoes not fulfill the requirements of (a) or (b).I7.631 Spotting is determined only in the SightDetermination Phase. Ships which fulfill thesighting requirements in that phase, and shipswhich make gunnery attacks (see 10.31) arespotted for that turn. Because spotting is onlydetermined in the sight determination phase,the initial contact between two ships may bemade at less than eight hexes.I7.641 Spotted markers are removed at the endof each Game-Turn.Those are all the rule changes necessary toplay "CA" in Simultaneous Movement. Forthose players willing to put up with some slightadditional complexity, the SimultaneousMovement System can be used to add acrucial factor to the game - the simulation ofpreparednesslalertness, which is crucial in allnaval combat, but is particularly important atnight. The method for doing this will bediscussed in a later article if feedback responsewarrants it.Shown, is an example of how to fill out theSMS Plot Chart as indicated in the rules.SPI SIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENT PLOTTING CHARTi.r*gnl 1973 snn~utn~-.amsknr ~.r rolr. NVUNIT MOVEMENT PLOT ,YE, J-Indicated is the first turn plot for the AlliedPlayer in Scenario 1A. In this case, the first hexof placement is written down because the twocapital ships expend their Movement Pointsturning in this hex; otherwise this hex wouldnot be written down, as the information isgiven with the scenario The two capital shipsattack the IJN BC's, though the combat isineffective because of the range (it is merelyincluded to show the mechanics). No torpedoattacks are made this turn. The Allied Playerincreases the speed of all his ships, andmaneuvers to close the range.Qp$'JQAddingThe "CA" article was a relatively well donetreatise on the fighting around the Solomons.Unfortunately, there were a large number oferrors in the article and associated descriptivemodules, some trivial, some technical, andsome just downright erroneous research.Other than the following items, the articlecovers a subject too often overlooked andconsidering what you attempted to do with thegame, you achieved a fair measure of success.ERRA TA:A. MAIN ARTICLE1. Pg. 12. Although IJN training exercises wereconducted under much more rigorous andrealistic conditions, their quartermasters wereno less parsimonious about lost torpedoesthan were ours. Cmdr Hara, Japan's leadingtorpedo expert, states that due to the cost andsecurity considerations, units would spendmany hours searching for just one straytorpedo and that practices were often calledoff due to bad weather and fear of losing anerrant torpedo.2. In the same paragraph, mention is made ofsinking obsolete warships. The USN alsoconducted exhaustive tests, sinking theuncompleted 4th unit of the Maryland Class(USS WASHINGTON 8847) off VirginiaCapes 25/11/24 as well as OSTFRIESLANDand numerous other warships. These testswere quite meaningful and aided considerablyin the design development of subsequentvessels.3. In numerous discussions of the Japaneseand their cruiser development, critics parrotMorrison's sentiments that IJN heaviesexceeded treaty limits by gross amounts thusproducing such superior ships. In fact, the first4 CA's, Hirago's Aoba Class were well belowtreaty limits, the Myokos displaced 10,940 tonswhile the Atogos were only 410 tons heavier.Now these figures certainly do not indicate anygross attempt to circumvent treaty obligations.Now after the treaty expired in 1935 all fourMyokos and two of the Atagos wereextensively rebuilt bringing them up to 13,380and 13,400 tons repsectively, but this was onlyafter the treaty expired. Noting that after allthese many years the facade of our 35,000 ton"treaty" battleships has been finally lifted, itwould not surprise many people if exhaustiveresearch into US treaty cruisers' actualdisplacements might also reveal some eyeopening information.4. Pg. 16. Another mistaken notion which hasbeen perpetuated by numerous writers is increditing Imperial Navy Headquarters with thefirst widespread acceptance of the carrier asthe capital ship of World War II, which is reallynot the case. Kido Buntai was an untriedweapon system whereas Senkan Sentai werethe acclaimed Queens of the Sea. In fact thecarriers were considered more expendablethan battleships early in the war. It was notreally until after Midway that Rengo Kantaiwas willing to begin to accept the precept thatthe "decisive battle" would be fought in the airover the ships and not by the battle line. In facta special paper entitled, Reserach On StrikingForce Tactics, written by Yokosuka Naval AirGroup in May 1943, makes considerablemention of this as if they were trying topersuade higher headquarters as to the deathof the battleship as capital ship. At any rate theobjective of Pearl Harbor was to remove thePacific Fleet as an obstacle to the conquest ofthe Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. . .an objective which in EVERY way was fulfilled.The original strategic plan was to occupy thenecessary territories, consolidate an outerdefensive perimeter and then sit back and waitfor the US to spend itself on the outer portionsof that perimeter. As our good fortune wouldhave it, "victory fever" set in causing theJapanese to overextend themselves and as aresult being defeated at Coral Sea andMidway. Had they struck to their original plan