My Axis and Allies War at Sea Aircraft and Fleet

Haguro: Nachi-class Heavy Cruiser, (Imperial Japanese Navy), commissioned 1929

The Haguro played a major role in the conquest of the East Indies and in the Battle of the Java Sea, where she helped defeat the combined fleet of American, British and Dutch navies.

Terutsuki: Akitsuki-class Destroyer, (Imperial Japanese Navy), commissioned 1942

Terutsuki led a short and eventful life. The Terutsuki fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal was sunk by the US PT boat in the same year.

I-25: BI-class submarine, (Imperial Japanese Navy), commissioned 1941

The B1-class submarine was large enough to carry a seaplane in a small hanger on its deck. A B1-class submarine was dispatched to the Oregon coast during WWII to drop incendiary bombs on an Oregon forest.

G4MI “Betty”, Mitsubishi , (Imperial Japanese Navy), introduced 1941

The G4MI was the Japanese Navy, primary land-based, naval attack plane. G4MI “Betties” took part in the attack on Clark filed in the Philippians. Later the Betty was used for torpedo attacks at Guadalcanal.

USS Montpelier (CL57) Clevland-Class Light Cruiser, commissioned 1943

The USS Montpelier served as the flagship of CruDiv under Rear Admiral A. S. Merril. The Montpelier saw action in the battle of Solomon Islands.

USS Taylor (DD 468) Fletcher-class Destroyer, commissioned 1942

The USS Taylor also saw action during the battle of Solomon Island. The USS Taylor went on to sink three enemy submarines and earned sixteen battle stars during WWII.

HMAS Nizam

N-Class Destroyer (Australia),commissioned 1941

HMAS Nizam was paid for by Ali Osman Khan, the ruler of Indian state of Hyberabad.  Although the HMAS Nizam saw some action in the Pacific, she saw most of her action in the Mediterranean.

TBF-I Avenger (US) introduced 1942

The Grumman TBF-I Avenger served as a torpedo bomber and saw action in the Eastern Solomon’s. TBF-I Avengers were credited in the sinking of the Japanese light carrier Ryujo.

Axis and Allies-War at Sea-General Scenario-How to Win

The first player to accumulate 150 points wins. You can score points in three ways:

• When you destroy an enemy unit, you score points equal to the cost of the destroyed unit
• Seizing an objective sector gets you 50 points (There are there 3 objective sector markers on the map)
• You also score point points when the enemy has no ships remaining, other than Torpedo Boats. (Submarines and Aircraft don’t count)-You get a onetime bonus of 50 points

Check your points at the end of every turn. If both players archive there 150 points at the same time, the first player to obtain the highest score wins.

If, at any time, your opponent has no unit left at the end of phase, the game ends.

Taken and adapted from the Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures Rulebook.

Axis and Allies War at Sea Sequence of Play

The game is played in turns, player 1 and then player two. Here are the following phases:

1. Initiative Phase
Roll two die and add the result to your best Flagship bonus. The highest score gets the imitative and goes second. This is beneficial because after watching the other player make their move you know where they might be heading.

2. Sea Movement Phase
You can move ship and submarine the number of sectors equal to its speed.

3. Air Mission Phase
Place you aircraft squadrons in any sector on the map. Both players can move their aircraft into one sector each turn.

4. Air Defense Phase
If aircraft enter a sector where a ship resides, the ship may use its antiaircraft guns to attack the aircraft in that sector

5. Air Attack Phase
Use available Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Bomb, Gunnery, or Torpedoes to make attacks on Ships and Submarines

6. Surface Attack Phase
Attack enemy ships and submarines using either ASW, Gunnery (each particular, when within range), Torpedo or all three.

7. Submarine Attack Phase
Attack enemy submarines with torpedo attacks.

8. Air Return Phase
Return you aircraft to land base or aircraft carrier.

9. End of Turn
Claim victory markers and check victory points.

Taken and adapted from the Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures Rulebook.

Two Interesting Resources for the WWII Naval Historian and War-gamer

British and Commonwealth Navies at the Beginning and End of World War II

As the “British and Commonwealth Navies at the Beginning and End of World War II“ title indicates the page lists the size and vessel types of the British and Commonwealth counties at the beginning of the war. The page goes on to list the losses by the Royal Navy by the hands of the axis navies and visa averse, it lists loses of the axis navies by the hand of the Royal Navy.

Pacific Naval Battles in World War II

War in the Pacific saw some of the largest naval conflicts in history. Across the huge expanses of the Pacific, “two of the most powerful navies in the world found themselves locked in a death struggle.” Battles were fought in the air, on the sea and on many specs of land. Some of the more memorable battles were the battles of Guadalcanal, Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway.

The site breaks the conflicts down by campaigns. Each battle within the campaign is listed along with its history.

Both sites are educational and interesting. They might add insight and historical relevance to the war-gamer.

War at Sea Quick Start Scenario

Set Up:

Use both maps and setup along the long sides. Place one Objective counters in the middle sectors on the center row. Axis ships start at one end while the allies start at the other end. Unless there are aircraft carriers, aircraft start on the off-map air base.

Initiation and Turn Sequence:

Each player rolls two die. The allies get a +1 added to their die roll because the USS Montpelier is flag ship. Add up the die outcomes. The player with the highest outcome gets the initiative and goes second. Going second is desirable in that you can see where your opponent is heading.

Rearming:

Aircraft attacking from off-map airfields and then returning to their airfield can only attack on every other turn. However, some aircraft have special abilities that might affect this rule.

Winning the Quick Start Battle:

The first player to accumulate 3 victory points wins. Points can be earned by achieving the following:

• Earn 1 victory point for each enemy unit you destroy
• Earn 1 victory point if you claim the Objective marker
• Check victory points totals at the end of each turn. If a tie, the player who claims the Objective marker wins, otherwise the game is a tie.

Axis Allies War at Sea, a Review

Axis and Allies War at Sea is a two person game that contains 8 miniatures (four allies and four axis miniatures), 4 die, 2 double sided playing mats, stat cards, a damage counter sheet, and rule book. The game includes several scenarios, full or short game scenarios, which pit two fleets against one another.

Each miniature comes with a set of statistics that holds the miniatures gunnery, amour, and basic movement stats for each of the miniatures. Although each miniature has its pros and cons the axis and allies piece statistics are balanced to provide fair and realistic battles.

My Current Reading List

I am in the middle of reading several books, two of which are technical in nature, for a certification I am studying for and the following texts are for fun.

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (Wold Newton) (Wold Newton Novels), by Philip Jose Farmer is a story about the legendary character of Phileas Fogg. This novel, my first go of the author Philip Jose Farmer, is the third instance of this character I have come upon. Interesting! (more about Phileas Fogg in an upcoming post).

Captain Nemo by Kevin J. Anderson

I have just finished reading this novel in concurrence to a series of posts I would like to make on Captain Nemo. Captain Nemo by Kevin J. Anderson is a story about Nemo in his formative years. (I am writing a review about this book and will be making a post as soon as possible. The story, a deconstruction of the original Captain Nemo, looks at a different aspect of this infamous character.)

Axis and Allies War at Sea, Rulebook

I am in process of reading through this rulebook for this two player game. The rules seems to be relatively easy to understand, not to burdensome, and the game should keep our attention. A full review of this game will follow.

Axis and Allies-War at Sea-HMS Saumarez

The HMS Saumarez was an S-class destroyer that was commissioned in 1943. The Saumarez saw action in the Atlantic and earned the following battle honors for the following campaigns: Arctic 1943-44, North Cape 1943, and Normandy 1944. During operations in the Pacific the Saumarez earned the following battle honors: Malaya 1945 and Burma 1945.


As part of the East Indian Fleet the Saumarez together with four other destroyers intercepted the Imperial Japanese cruiser Haguro and sank her with torpedoes, this fight being the last surface action of the war.
Some of the Axis and Allies-War at Sea statistics for this vessel are:

• Speed (Movement): 2
• Armor: 2
• Vital Armor: 7
• Hull Points: 2
• Rarity: common

Axis and Allies-War at Sea-Nagato-Class Battelship

Two Nagato class dreadnought battleships were built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I, although they were not completed until after the end of the war. The Nagato, served as the flag ship for Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although Nagato saw action in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Nagato did not use her guns on an enemy ship until October 1944, during the battle of Leyte Gulf.
Some basic statistics for the Nagato-Class Battleships are:

Displacement:	39,130 t (38,510 long tons)
Length:	224.94 m (738 ft 0 in)
Beam:	34.6 m (113 ft 6 in)
Draft:	9.49 m (31 ft 2 in)
Speed:	26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range:	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement:	1,333
Armament:
	4 × twin 41 cm guns
	20 × single 14 cm guns
	4 × single 76 mm AA guns
	8 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes

Some of the Axis and Allies-War at Sea statistics for this vessel are:

• Speed (Movement): 2
• Armor: 8
• Vital Armor: 14
• Hull Points: 5
• Rarity: rare

Axis and Allies War at Sea-Flank Speed

I received my Axis and Allies naval miniatures booster pack in the mail not too long ago. The booster pack contains 5 randomly selected collectable miniatures. There are 64 miniatures, 33 Allies and 31 Axis, of these 1/1800 scale WWII pre-painted miniatures in all. They are meant to augment the miniatures that come with their two player starter sets like War at Sea.

In addition, to the five miniatures there are five statics cards, one for each miniature. Each stat card includes the name of the vessel or plane, and what flag it flies. There are also rarity, attack, defense, amour and basic movement figures.

The five figures that I received are:

• HMS Saumarez, England
• Milan, Vichy France
• Pegaso, Italy
• Nagato, Japan
• JU88A-4, Germany

More information will follow about the above vessels and aircraft.

More Toys Have Arrived

I received a package from Amazon the other day with these two items enclosed. I now have more items to review and in which to make posts. The Axis and Allies booster pack contains five randomly chosen pre-painted Axis and Allies miniatures. Each comes with its own statistic card that details the miniature and provides basic moves, attack, and defensive stats.

The other item I ordered was one package of Whizkids Pirates of Davy Jones Curse Pirates game. There are few new additions to be reported on in this edition.

More information will follow…