The Second Battle of Lake Tanganyika, 10th February, 1916….Game Number 78

Whereas the first battle was historically based this action is slightly different, simply because I currently have no Belgian ships built! Instead the Royal Navy will be represented by HMS Fifi (ex Kingani) along with HMS Mimi as well as HMS Toutou. Historically HMS Toutou was undergoing repair and so was not present. The Germans will have the Hedwig Von Wissmann and the Graf Von Götzen.

Newly promoted Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson (Command) will be flying his flag aboard HMS Fifi along with Fundi (engineer) the engineer, whilst Mimi will be commanded by Lt. Wainwright (Gunner). On the German side the Graf Von Gotzen will be commanded by Captain Gustav Zimmer (Command). The descriptions in parenthesis refer to the named individual’s special abilities within the rules.

I shall of course be using Steamer Wars: Hexed for the action and as usual, this will be fought on my 13 x 9 Hotz mat - I now definitely need to get a larger one!

Once again the question of initiative is irrelevant (especially when fought as a solo game!) as both of the German vessels are size 1 meaning they have to move first. HMS Fifi is size 2 whilst Mimi and Toutou are size 3. Spicer-Simson’s Command ability D6 roll comes up as a 4 so incurs no positive or negative benefit to the British force.

Lake Tanganyika, 10th February, 1916….

Following the disappearance of the Kingani (previously captured by the Royal Navy and taken into service as HMS Fifi) the German Commander, Captain Gustav Zimmer, ordered the Hedwig Von Wissman to search for her inshore with the Graf Von Goetzen remaining in support. Unbeknownst to the commander of the Wissmann, the Royal Navy had seen her approaching and had put to sea to engage her, HMS Fifi in the van.

The initial set up. The Hedwig Von Wissmann is steaming directly towards the Royal Navy flotilla, mistakenly believing that they are Belgians. The looming bulk of the Graf Von Goetzen stands out into the lake, ready to support if required.

Turn 1. At a speed of six knots the Wissmann heads toward the approaching ships, confident in its ability to deal with the threat. Her gun crew make ready to open fire when suddenly a cry is heard from the lookout “Britische Kriegsschiffe direkt voraus!” (“British warships dead ahead!”). Immediately her commander orders maximum speed (plus one knot per turn so now at 7 knots or two hexes) and orders the helm hard over to port. 

The Goetzen, seeing the Wissmann turning towards her immediately begins to follow suit (now at 7 knots or two hexes BUT requiring to enter three hexes before turning. The red counter indicates a the point and direction of the tune, in this case red for port) with the intention of providing more immediate support.

Spicer-Simson in HMS Fifi immediately orders full speed (now at 9 knots or 3 hexes )and prepares to engage. Mimi and Toutou prepare to swarm all over the stern of the Wissman, where her firepower is weakest. They both accelerate to 12 knots or three hexes.

Firing commences. The nearest ship to the Goetzen - Toutou, is at range 8. She has modifiers of minus 5 being target size (3 therefore minus 2), target speed (12 knots therefore -2) and firers speed (7 knots therefore minus 1). She rolls an 8 which gives a net score of 3 which is insufficient at that range - 7 plus being required, in other words, no chance of scoring a hit! A great plume of water washes over the little motorboat!

Hedwig Von Wissmann is only able to bring her forward gun to bear on the Toutou at a range of four hexes.Her modifiers are identical to that of the Goetzen - minus 5. The roll of 9 is close but 5 or more is required to hit. Another plume of water drenches the plucky motorboat!

HMS Fifi opens fire with her forward 12pdr. The modifiers are minus 3,  -2 for the target speed (7 knots or two hexes) and -1 for firers speed (9 knots). The roll of 6 is not enough as the adjusted score of 2 was three below the required 5. For firing this weapon HMS Fifi loses three knots of speed due to the excessive recoil meaning she is now at 6 knots or two hexes. HMS Mimi opens fire. 

Lt. Wainwright gains a plus 1 when firing at ships sized at 2 or 3 and +2 when doing so at Size 1. Ordinarily the modifiers would minus 3 (target speed and size and firers speed) but this is reduced to minus 1 due to Wainwrights handiness with artillery. You would not think so though, as the roll was a miserable 2! Toutou rolls at a minus 4. She rolls a 9 which drops to 5 which is just a miss!

The situation at the end of Turn 1. The splash markers serve no game purpose other than to show where the firing has been. Note the red counter in use to mark the turning point for the Goetzen.

Turn 2. The two German vessels accelerate to their maximum speed of 8 knots. The Goetzen completes her turn to port which now means that her forward 4.1” has its optimum firing arc. The Hedwig Von Wissmann heads straight ahead, sacrificing the use of her forward artillery but in the hope that the covering fire from the Goetzen will force her assailants to retire or at least keep their distance. 

The Germans had not considered the calibre of their erstwhile opponent as Spicer-Simsom immediately increased speed to seven knots and bore down on the Wissmann. Mimi and Toutou followed suit with Mimi swinging around the stern of HMS Fifi whilst Toutou, despite her recent drenching, swung around directly onto the stern of the Wissmann.

Turn 2 After Movement. As the Wissmann attempt to both evade her pursuers (unlikely given that she is slower than any of them) and gain a measure of protection under the gun of the Goetzen the Royal Navy continue to dog her wake.

The Goetzen attempts to fire at the largest of the Royal Navy vessels - HMS Fifi. Her modifiers are minus 4 (the usual suspects of firer speed and target size and speed). She rolls a 7 which, adjusted to 3 is not enough. Meanwhile the Wissmann, with only a machine gun at her disposal, opens fire at Toutou. Her modifiers are a whopping minus 6 so she needs to roll a 10 to have any chance of inflicting damage. The roll of a 9 is close, but not enough!

HMS Fifi continues to fire at the Wissmann. Her modifiers are minus 3 and she rolls a 6 which is not enough. She also loses3 knots of speed again due to the recoil taking her down to 4 knots.

Toutou is in the van and so fires at the stern of the Wissmann. Her modifiers are minus 4 in total - Target speed, speed and also for the additional turn she made. She rolls a 7 which is not enough, a 5 or better being required.

Lt Wainwright in Mimi opens fire. His modifiers are minus 2 in total. He rolls an 8! Minus 2 leaves a score of 6 which is more than the required score to hit of 5. A Light Gun gains a minus 1 to its damage roll. Lt Wainwright rolls a magnificent 10! Although this is reduced to 9 it is heavy damage. The Wissmann is suppressed and sustains three rolls on the damage table. The first roll is a 7 which is 1 point of hull damage. The second roll is a 2 which is Heavy Suppression - a minus 2 modifier on any gunnery next turn. The final roll is a 9 which equals engine damage. Her speed in knots is reduced by the roll of a D6. A superb 6 is rolled! Wissman’s speed is reduced to a meagre 2 knots! The Wissmann will need to test her morale.

A D10 is rolled with a minus 1 applied due to the damage suffered. The roll of a 2 is reduced to 1. The result is a Withdraw so she must immediately turn away from the enemy one hex side and move one hex. She must also check her morale again next turn.

The situation at the end of Turn 2. With steam and smoke billowing from her engine room, and with her speed greatly reduced, the Wissmann limps away from her assailants. The Goetzen is steaming as hard as she can in support but the Royal Navy ships are faster and can pick and choose where they attack from. She is outnumbered but could she survive a determined attack from three faster opponents? 

Endgame. I decided to call it at his point which may seem a little early on but I am wearing my semi-historical strategic hat! The Hedwig Von Wissmann was not going anywhere and next turn would be assailed at point blank range by three enemy ships with nothing to reply with (excepting the machine gun which has a minus 2 modifier to start with). The Graf Von Goetzen could make a difference but protecting a vessel in such dire straits more or less on top of the oppositions base whilst fighting off three faster warships would be an undertaking fraught with danger. As it is she would not be able to outrun the opposition if they were determined to follow her. Trusting to luck then, the Graf Von Gotzen reluctantly abandoned the Wissmann so that she could at least maintain the status of being a ‘fleet in being’. She could fight another day and at better odds. 

As her Captain ordered the helm hard over the ponderous bulk of the Goetzen passed close by the hapless Wissmann, the only aid he could offer was to salute her gallant crew. Meanwhile, HMS Fifi, Mimi and Toutou closed in on the Hedwig Von Wissmann and prepared to board her as the white flag of surrender was raised and the ensign of Imperial Germany lowered.

Thoughts

Now I realise that a game of only two moves can hardly be described as an epic encounter but this really was a lot of fun! Shooting from or against fast moving targets is difficult and even a single hit against a lightly built vessel can cause problems way above the calibre of weapon being used. I am happy with how this all works and the all important period ‘feel’. As mentioned, I opted for what I saw as a reasonable outcome to the action. Based on Spicer-Simson’s historical performance I believe that he would have been satisfied with the capture of the Hedwig Von Wissmann (historically she was sunk with the Goetzen taking no part in the action). He had little appetite to take on the Goetzen and spent some time trying to source a larger vessel to engage her with.

Could the Hedwig Von Wissmann have gotten away? Potentially she could have repaired the engine damage (at the rate of one or two knots per turn) but the chances of her avoiding further damage from the three Royal Navy ships hanging off her stern would be slim to zero.

What of the Graf Von Goetzen? There is no doubt that she could have potentially wreaked havoc among the British ships - that ex Konigsberg 4.1” could have ruined Spicer-Simson’s day in no uncertain terms - but at the risk of sustaining damage that could be difficult to repair. Bearing in mind that the action was fought on the British side of Lake Tanganyika so damage similar to that sustained by the Wissmann - major engine damage - could have been fatal to German plans. 

And of the British? The expression ‘low hanging fruit’ springs to mind when one considers how the British set about the Hedwig Von Wissmann and largely ignored the Goetzen - who was a long way out in the lake in any event (probably not as far as she should have been so a larger cloth is now essential methinks!). Spicer-Simson could truthfully report a successful action and so the problem of the large and powerful German ship could be solved another day. Perhaps.

Postscript Next up are the Belgians and I also have in mind something a little different. Suffice it to say it involved a fort….