Background
The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War and the first one of the Battle of the Atlantic in South American waters. The German panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee had cruised into the South Atlantic a fortnight before the war began, and had been commerce raiding after receiving appropriate authorisation on 26 September 1939. One of the hunting groups sent by the British Admiralty to search for Graf Spee, comprising three Royal Navy cruisers, HMS Exeter, Ajax and Achilles (the last from the New Zealand Division), found and engaged their quarry off the estuary of the River Plate close to the coast of Uruguay in South America.
In the ensuing battle, Exeter was severely damaged and forced to retire; Ajax and Achilles suffered moderate damage. The damage to Admiral Graf Spee, although not extensive, was critical; her fuel system was crippled. Ajax and Achilles shadowed the German ship until she entered the port of Montevideo, the capital city of neutral Uruguay, to effect urgent repairs. After Graf Spee’s captain Hans Langsdorff was told that his stay could not be extended beyond 72 hours, he scuttled his damaged ship rather than face the overwhelmingly superior force that the British had led him to believe was awaiting his departure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_River_Plate
The Game
We were a little crunched for time, so we thought we would try a quick WWII naval game. I just bought a new mat for naval gaming and wanted to give it a try. So off to the War at Sea scenarios and I saw Battle of the River Plate. Perfect, small and quick. OK, small…
I ran into the first problem, in that I do not actually have the correct ships painted for this battle. So, had to make due with what was in my collection (hence the “ish” in the title!). No Graf Spee, but I do have the Lutzow painted and it is the same class of ship.
British cruisers were the real problem, as most of my ships are later classes, which would be too strong. So, that left me with the HMS Hawkins and a couple of D class cruisers. So, that was what it was to be!
The game was straight forward and hard fought. The Spee had to split the knot in the scenario, so the German player decided to head straight for the light cruisers and try to overwhelm them before the Hawkins could intervene. The British player noticed his ships had torpedoes and decided it was time to act like a destroyer. The fight was on!
The German plan seems to be going well, as the Spee was able to overcome both light cruisers with moderate damage only. However, not fast enough, as the Hawkins guns started to take a toll. In the end, the winner would be decided by an initiative roll, as both ships were crippled and down to one box each! Alas, luck was not with the Graf Spee, and she would not be able to scuttle herself this time!
- Manteuffel