You are on page 1of 5

PAGE 8

THE GENERAL
By Mick Uhl

SEARCH FOR THE GRAF SPEE


For the Kriegsmarine (Cerman Navy) the war started six years too soon. Hitler had promised Crand Admiral Raeder that he would not commit Germany to a war against Great Britain before 1945. As a consequence,they had only just commenced their ambitious plan'Z' when Hitler sent his troops into Poland on September I, 1939 precipitating World War II. It will never be known whether plan 'Z' would have succeeded or failed as the onset of the war brought it abruptly to an end. In fulfillment, it would have been the culmination of German theory toward waging a victorious war against Great Britain. This theory, distilled from the experiences of World War I and years of military planning, dictated that Britain could most easily be defeated by cutting her off from the supply lines upon which she was totally dependent to wage war. These supply lines emanated from all corners of the British Empire and, becauseof their great length, were vulnerable at many points. To achieve this end, the Kriegsmarine developed a special and revolutionary type of ship, the pocket battleship, as well as a vast armada of submarines. These vesselswould prey on shipping-slowly strangling Britain out of the war. The Kriegsmarine also planned to build a large and powerful surface fleet, spearheaded by eight super battleships and two aircraft carriers. This battle fleet would not confront the British Navy as the German High Seas Fleet had done at Jutland in World War I. but, as a 'fleet in being', would tie down sufficient numbers of enemy warships to give the raiders and submarines the freedom needed to destroy shipping. The large battle fleet would never be built. Instead, by the outbreak of the war, Germany would have only the raiding force with which to wage its aggressive war against Britain. Unfortunately, without the main battle fleet. the raiders would not have the freedom of operation that had been wished if plan 'Z' had been completed. The British and French navies could now afford to institute many task forces whose sole responsibility was to rid the seasof the raiders. Forced to adapt to these realities, Raeder instructed all of his captains that their first and paramount responsibility was to ensure the survival of their vessel. Destruction of enemy shipping should be attempted only when there was no possible danger to his ship. Raeder realized that his forces at this time were not sufficient to knock England out of the war. His only hope now was to tie up as much of the enemy forces as possible away from the main theaters of war. As long as his ships were at large, both Britain and France would be forced to send out their capital ships to hunt them and to escort convoys. The primary weapon of the German raiding force was her three pocket battleships. When first launched, six years before, the pocket battleship represented a revolution in warship design. This class was able to achieve an excellent combination of battleship-sized hitting power with cruiser-sized economy. It was the first to use diesel engines, light weight armor and an electrically welded hull. At 12,000 tons, the pocket battleship was only slightly heavier than a normal cruiser. Its maximum speed of 26 knots was not enough to outrun a cruiser which could steam at speedsin excessof 30 knots. Its battery of six I l-inch guns, though, was more than sufficient to handle any cruiser foolish enough to give chase. Most ships larger than a pocket battleship did not have the speed to catch them. Only a few ships were capable of dealing a mortal blow to a pocket battleship-the three British battlecruisers, Hood, Repulse and Renown, and the two French fast battleships, Strasbourg and Dunkerque. There were not enough of these ships, though, to effectively protect all of the shipping lanes. There was much truth in the statement popular in the German navy at the time that a pocket battleship could outfight any ship she couldn't outrun and outrun any ship she couldn't outfight. The pocket battleship's greatest asset was her range. At a cruising speed of 18 knots, she had an operating radius of 20,000 miles. This permitted her to stay at sea for long periods of time without refueling and range far from port in search of enemy ships. (As the war progressed, newer, faster, and farther ranging battleships plus the increasing role of naval air power would make the pocket battleship obsolete. The Kriegsmarine would be forced to rely more and more upon its submarines to carry on its fight.) As part of the general mobilization preparatory to the invasion of Poland, Admiral Raeder had ordered two of the three pocket battleships, Deutschland and Admiral Graf Spee along with supply ships to their respective theaters of operation several days before the planned day of advance. The Deutschland was stationed in the North Atlantic while the Graf Spee was sent to the South Atlantic. For three weeks after England and France declared war, Hitler and his foreign minister, Von Ribbontrop, insisted that they would back down (as they had so many times in the past). The pocket battleships were ordered to remain hidden away from the convoy lanes. When it was finally realized that there would be no settlement, both ships were ordered to begin operations on September 26. The story of Deutschlandt cruise is quickly told. Within three weeks, she had sunk two merchant ships and captured another. Much to Hitler's chagrin, two of them were neutral (U.S. and Norway). At this time, Hitler was extremely sensitive to world opinion and he was especially concerned about the possibility of U.S. entry into the war. Before the Deutschland could cause further damage, she was quickly recalled home. The Graf Spee's cruise was more eventful. After an initial brief drought, the pocket battleship began to claim victims along both the South American and African convoy routes. She constantly changed her position, attempting to keep the enemy hunting forces off balance. These tactics went so far as to include a trip around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean. After two and a half months at sea. and nine victims, the decision was made by Captain Haus Ludendorff to end the cruise early. The engines and hull neededa complete overhaul and the ship's only spotting plane had a crack in the engine block. Just one more foray into the heavy shipping lanes outside of Buenos Aires and then a quick dash home. The problems confronting Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, were frustrating. Because it was the beginning of war, an inordinate importance was placed on even the most insignificant events. Any decision was immediately and critically scrutinized. Churchill was not sure whether any Gerrnan ships were at sea at the start of the war. This would be an ever present problem as the British Admiralty was never really sure how many German ships they were dealing

with. He planned to divide all available French and British ships into eight hunting groups labelled .F' through 'N'. Each hunting group was composed of ships whose speeds were at least as great as a pocket battleship, and whose combined hitting strength would be sufficient to defeat her. In actual performance, many of these task forces were not powerful enough ro handle the GrafSpee.This would be painfully learned when the three cruisers of Force G confronted the pocket battleship at the River Plate. "The Admiralty believed German assurancesthat the pocket battleships were within the 10,000 ton treaty limit. They were in fact bigger and this led us to underestimating their strength since we (quite correctly) assumed it was impossible to pack 1l inch guns and plenty of ammunition and powerful engines and strong armor into a ship of 10,000 tons-only 1,500 tons more than the cruiser Exeler. ", These remarks by the British Admiralty illustrated the lack of pertinent information upon which they had to base their counter-measures. These task forces were given a dual role. Their primary responsibility was to protect the merchant shipping where it was most concentrated just outside of the major ports. Each task force was designated to protect one of the following ports or regions of heavy shipping activity:

Force Composiiion (Type) F G Berwick (CA) York (CA) Exeter(CA) Cumberland(CA) Achilles (CL) Ajax (CL) Shropshire(CA) (CA) Sussex Eagle(CV) Cornwall (CA) (CA) Dorsetshire Renown(BC) Ark Royal (CV) Dupleix (FrenchCA) Foch (French BB) Strasbourg(French BB) Hermes(CV)

Area of Operations North America and West Indies Rio De Janeiro, BuenosAires, the Falkland Islandsand the coast between Cape of Good Hope Ceylon

H I

K M N

Pernarnbuco Dakar West Indies

These task forces were also to make offensive sweeps in their areas of responsibility from time to time in hopes of coming upon an enemy raider unawares. The greatest liability to these Task Forces was their dependence upon their ports to supply fuel. These ships just did not have the abili ty to stay at sea for the extended periods of time that were within the pocket battleships' capabilities. For most of the Graf Spee's cruise, she was able to stay one step ahead. Each time an emergency distress signal was answered by the nearest force, the Graf Spee was long gone. Her luck, though, was about to change. Ludendorff decided to lift the 'avoid enemy warship' restriction under which he had heretofore been operating. His reasoning was two-fold. His cruise was coming to an end and, therefore, he did not have to worry as much about sustaining action damage. Secondly, he was lucky enough to capture secret documents from his last victim pinpointing the exact location of an assemblypoint off of the Buenos Aires shipping route.
'p, lO3, The Drama of Graf Spee and the Batrle of the River Peter Davies Ltd., c. 1964 Plarei Sir Eugen Millington-Drake,

THE GENERAL
Commodore Harwood commanding Force C was informed of the Grof Spee'slatest victim soon t after the event. From its location, he guessedhat t h e p o c k e t b a t t l e s h i pw a s p r o b a b l y h e a d i n gt o w a r d h i s a r e a o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t yb u t w a s n o t s u r e w h e t h e r i t w o u l d b e t o R i o d e J a n e i r o , B u e n o sA i r e s , o r t h e Falkland Islands. He decidedupon Buenos Aires a s i t h a d t h e m o s t v i t a l c a r g o e so f t h e t h r e e a n d was the most centrally located. Here, two days later, upon the morning of December 13, as his three cruisers, Exeler, Ajox and Achilles, were steaming in line, two masts were sighted on the h o r i z o n a g a i n s tt h e c l e a r m o r n i n g s k y . r Harwood guessed ight and had set his course of interception perfectly. The Graf Spee was heading directly toward his force. He split the Exeter, his most powerful ship, from the line and ordered it to close on the Grof Spee.The Ajax and Exeter were ordered to circle around the Graf Spee a n d c l o s e i n f r o m t h e p o c k e t b a t t l e s h i p ' sp o r t . l n t h e e a r l y s t a g e so f t h e b a t t l e t h e G e r m a n gunnery and weight of shell began to tell. The Exeter was hit several times. It began to list and just one gun of its original eight could still fire. The Graf Spee had receivedlittle damage in return. The Ajax and Exeterhad yet to make much impact since their 6 inch guns could not yet reach the GraJ' Spee. But the pocket battleship was eliminating that problem. It continued to close range on the British ships ralher than staying out where its s u p e r i o r g u n r a n g e c o u l d f i r e u n a n s w e r e dv o l l e y s . The Exeter, was in trouble. Her commander, Captian F.S. Bell, realizedthat to continue the p r e s e n tc o u r s eo f a c t i o n w o u l d s o o n i n v i t e d i s a s t e r t o h i s s t r i c k e n s h i p . I n d e s p e r a t i o n ,h e l a u n c h e d torpedoes at long range. The Ajax and Achilles also began furiously shelling the Graf Spee. Their combined efforts did the trick. The pocket battles h i p t u r n e d t o a v o i d t h e t o r p e d o e sa n d r e d i r e c t e d h e r f i r e t o w a r d t h e l i g h t c r u i s e r s .N o w t h e s es h i p s began to come under heavy fire. The Achilles received the splinters of a near miss and the Ajox lost half of her guns by a direct hit. On the other hand, except for some superficial damage, the C r a f S p e ew a s s t i l l i n g o o d f i g h t i n g t r i m . T h e a g g r e s s i v e n e s s t h e B r i t i s h s h i p s ,w i l l i n g of t o t a k e p u n i s h m e n ta n d s t i l l a t t a c k , h a d a n u n n e r v ing effect on Lundendorff. Just when Harwood was about to call it quits, the Graf Spee turned to flee under the cover of smoke. Ludendorff had had enough. His fear for the seaworthiness f his o v e s s e lp r o m p t e d h i s r e t r e a t . O n e l u c k y h i t a n d t h e p o c k e t b a t t l e s h i pc o u l d n o t b r a v e t h e N o r t h A t l a n t i c ' s w i n t e r w e a t h e rt o r e a c h p o r t . I f d a m a g e d f a r from a friendly port, it wasa sittingduck. His only h o p e w a s t o r u n f o r t h e c l o s e s tn e u t r a l p o r t , e f f e c t q u i c k r e p a i r st o t h e l i g h t d a m a g ea l r e a d y r e c e i v e d and break out before the far flung task forces could close in and trap him. That evening the Graf Spee reachedthe neutral p o r t o f M o n t e v i d e o . H e r e u n e x p e c t e dc o m p l i c a tions arose. The Exeter, Achilles and ,4jax followe d a n d t o o k p o s i t i o n o u t s i d et h e r o a d s . B o t h c o u n m t r i e s ' e m b a s s i e s a d e d e m a n d st o t h e U r u g u a y a n government. The German minister requested that the Graf Spee be allowed to remain in port for at least fifteen days to return her to fighting trim. C o n v e r s e l y ,t h e B r i t i s h m i n i s t e rd e m a n d e dt h a t s h e was seaworthy and not be allowed to stay for more rhan 24 hours. ln compromise, the government gavethe German ship a 72 hour extension o effect t r e p a i r s . D u r i n g t h i s t i m e , t h e B r i t i s h w e r en o t i d l e , e i t h e r a t s e a o r i n d i p l o m a t i c c i r c l e s .A s t o r y w a s planted that the cruiser force had been supplemented by the Ark Royal and the Renown. ln t r u t h , t h e y w e r e s t i l l s e v e r a ld a y s a w a y b u t i t c o n v i n c e d L u d e n d o r f f . H e s c u t t l e dh i s s h i o a n d t h e n committed suicide. For the British, the defeat of the Craf Spee was her first moral uplift in the dark early daysof the w a r . F o r t h e G e r m a n s ,i t w a s t h e f i r s t b l o w t o t h e i r plans to starve Britain out of the war. Although t h e B a t t l e o f t h e A t l a n t i c w o u l d n o t b e d e c i d e df o r another three and a half years, the loss of the Graf Spee marked an auspicious beginning for the B r i t i s h n a t i o n ' s e v e n t u a lv i c t o r y a t s e a . INTRODUCTION This variant game is based upon the B1SM A R C K g a m e s y s t e m . A n y c h a n g e sa n d r e s t r i c tions to the BISMARCK setof rules will be detailed herein. All other BISMARCK rules not covered applv. Components l . M a n y o f t h e s h i p sw h i c h p a r t i c i p a t e di n t h e chase of the Bismarck also participated in the search for the Craf Spee. The following ship counters included in the BISMARCK game will be 'Search used in for the Graf Spee'. a. Exeter b. Renown c. Ark Royal d. Strasbourg (French) e. Algerie (French) 2 . C e r t a i n s h i p s u s e d i n ' S e a r c hf o r t h e G r a f S p e e 'a n d n o t i n c l u d e di n t h e B i s m a r c kg a m e h a v e s i s t e rs h i p s t h a t a r e i n c l u d e d . T h e s es i s t e rs h i p sa r e o f t h e s a m ec l a s sa n d a r e i d e n t i c a li n e v e r yr e s p e c t . U s e t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n so f t h e s i s t e r s h i p f o r t h e following ships. Sister Ship Ship in game Scheer a. Graf Spee Suffolk b. Cumberland London c. Shropshire London d. Srssex 3 . T h e r e m a i n i n gs h i p su s e d i n ' S e a r c h f o r t h e Grof Spee' are neither included nor have sisterships includedin the BISMARCK game. a. Achilles b. Ajox c. Neptune d. Hermes e. Dupleix f. Foch g. Altmork

PAGE 9
4 . A p l a y e r m a y s u b s t i t u t et h e c o u n t e r o f a s i s t e rs h i p f o r a s h i p u n d e r h i s c o n t r o l o r h e m a y handmake a counter using the sister ship's specifications. In the case of the Shropshire and Sassex, the London may be substituted for only one. The counter for the other ship may be handmade using the London specifications. 5 . T h e c o u n t e r sf o r t h e s h i p sl i s t e di n 3 m u s t b e h a n d m a d e u s i n g t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n si n c l u d e d w i t h t h e s er u l e s . 6. The Altmark has only one value. It has a s t r a t e g i c o v e m e n to f l . I t c a n n o t s e a r c h ;i t c a n n o t m p a r t i c i p a t ei n c o m b a t ; i t c a n n o t s h a d o w ; i t c a n n o t e v a d e .M o r e a b o u t t h e A l t m a r k w i l l b e s a i d l a t e r . 7. The Ark Royal has four torpedo bomber c o u n t e r sa n d t h r e e f i g h t e r c o u n t e r s( a l l h a v e 5 a i r craft). The Hermes has two torpedo bomber c o u n t e r s( b o t h h a v e 5 a i r c r a f t ) . PREPARE FOR PLAY B o t h p l a y e r ss e t u p a s e x p l a i n e do n t h e O r d e r o f BattleTable. SEQUENCE OF PLAY Same as BISMARCK sequenceof play except t h a t t h e f i r s t t w o p h a s e s( U n i t A v a i l a b i l i t y a n d V i s i b i l i t y ) a n d t h e l a s t p h a s e( C h a n c e )a r e d e l e t e d . SHIP MOVEMENT l . T h e r e a r e s e v e r a lc h a n g e st o M o v e m e n t . M o s t o f t h e c h a n g e sa r e b a s e du p o n t h e c h a n g eo f scale from that used in BISMARCK. Each zone is 1 8 0 m i l e s a c r o s s .E a c h t u r n i s e i g h t h o u r s l o n g . 2. A shipmay still moveup to its printedmaxi m u m s p e e de a c h t u r n . 3 . A l l a i r c r a f t c a r r i e r s ,b a t t l e c r u i s e r sa n d t h e G r a f S p e em u s t s t i l l a l t e r n a t et w o z o n e m o v e s w i t h o n e z o n e m o v e s .C r u i s e r sm a y s t i l l m o v e t w o z o n e s per turn. 4 . A n y s h i p m a y m o v e u p t o o n e z o n ew h i l e o n p a t r o l . C h a n g i n g t o p a t r o l m o d e c o s t so n e m o v e m e n t f a c t o r o f a s h i p ' s m a x i m u m s p e e d .C h a n g i n g b a c k t o m o v e m e n tm o d e c o s t sn o t h i n g . 5. Thereis no breakout bonus. SHIP FUEL l. Ignore all fuel rules except those listed below. All Allied aircraft carriers and battle c r u i s e r sh a v e a f u e l a l l o t m e n t o f 3 2 f a c t o r s . A l l A l l i e d c r u i s e r sh a v e a f u e l a l l o t m e n t o f 2 8 .

ORDER OF BATTLE
ALLIED Ships l. Cumberland Exeter ATSTART Stsrting Location Falkland StagingArea
Noles

2. Ajax 3. Achilles

4. Shropshire Sussex 5- Renown Ark Royal Dakar StagingArea or within four zonesof 6. Neptune (all Strasbourg(Fr) Pernambuco must stan together). Algerie (Fr) 7. Hermes Sameas 6 above Dupleix (Fr) Foch GERMAN ATSTART Ships l. Graf Spee Altmark Starting Location

Any zone within three zonesof Montevideo or with Cumberlandand Exeter. Any zonewithin threezones Rio de of Janeiroor with Cumberlandand Exeter, Togetherin any zone within four zonesof an Africa coastzone. Togetherin any zone on board.

l. Any and all shipsmay enterboard at designated arrow zoneson first turn. Any ships which remain in stagingareamay enter board at start of any turn. Ship must count zoneof entry as palt of move. 2. If with Cumberland,and Exeter,seenote l, above. and Exeter,seenote l, 3. If With Cumberland above.

6. If shipsstarl in Dakar StagingArea, see note I, above. 7. Sameas note 6, above

Both shipsstart togetherin any one of the zoneswithout a mirchant densityvalue. The zone must be insidethe triangle formed by the densityvalueand zones containing merchant a south of row F.

PAGE 10
MERCHANT SHIP RANDOM EVENT TABLE
Dice Roll ll-16 Resull CAPTURE SECRET PAPERS (Applies only if GrclSpee is within four zones of South America) Craf Spee captures secret papers from the merchant ship revealing location of one of the two merchant ship assembly points (shaded zones). On all subsequentsearchesfor merchant ships in that zone, the Graf Spee uses the next higher merchant ship density column than indicated in the zone, (i.e., the zone off of Montevideo now has a value of 8; the zone off of Rio de Janeiro has a value of 7). Roll one die-a resull of l-3 and assembly point off of Rio is the one located; a result of 4-6 and assembly point off of Montevideo is the one located. CAPTURE CODE BOOKS German player receivesI victory point. He gets this only once in tne game. PICK UP MERCHANT CREW Captain Ludendorff has trouble picking up crew. CrarfSpee must stay in the same zone next turn. FIND TWO SHIPS SAILING TOCETHER Rather than spotting just one merchant ship, the Crof Spee has found two ships sailing in the same area. The German player receives the victory points for two ships instead of one. Roll one die-a result of l4 and the Graf Spee must stay in the same zone for nexl turn only. A result of 5-6 and the Grof Spee may move one zone next turn. The German player must immediately reveal the location of the Graf Spee, NO RESULT

THE GENERAL
2 . E a c h z o n e w h i c h a s h i p m o v e se x p e n d so n e of its fuel factors. A ship which ends irs move on p a t r o l e x p e n d s n e f u e l f ' a c t o ri n a d d i t i o n t o a n y e x o p e n d e di n m o v e n l e n t . 3. A ship may only refuel in a port. 4. Neither the CraJ Spee nor the Altmark need w o r r y a b o u t f u e l . T h e G r a f S p e e i s r e s t r i c t eb y f u e l d i n a d i f f e r e n t w a y . S h em a y u s eh e r m a x i m u m s p e e d only ten times in the game. 5. Both players must maintain a record of their fuel or movementexpenditures. his is kept T s e c r e t ,b u t m u s t b e r e v e a l e d t t h e e n d o f p l a y . a 6 . I t t a k e sa B r i t i s h s h i p o n e f u l l t u r n i n p o r t t o refuel except if refueling in Pernambuco, R i o d e J a n e i r oo r M o n t e v i d e o . A B r i t i s h s h i n m u s t s t a yi n o n e o l t h e s e h r e ep o r t s i o r t w o f u l l t u r n sr o t refuel. 7. An Allied ship may not refuel at the same South American port more than once per game. There are three South American porls: Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiroand Montevideo. 8 . A n y n u m b e r o f s h i p sm a y r e f u e l a t t h e s a m e port simultaneously. STAGING ART]AS l. There are three staging areas: Falklands, C a p e t o w na n d D a k a r . A s t a g i n ga r e a r e p r e s e n l s n a o f f b o a r d p o r t a n d t h e s p a c ef r o m t h a t p o r t t o r h e c l o s e s tb o a r d e d g e . 2 . A n A l l i e d s h i p m a y e n t e ra n d e x i t a n y o f t h e three staging areas.The Grof Spee may enter or exit a n y s t a g i n ga r e a . T h e A l t m a r k m a y n o t e n t e r a n y s t a g l n ga r e a . 3 . A s h i p m a y o n l y e n t e r o r e x i t a s t a g i n ga r e a at one of the edge zonesof that stagingarea ind i c a t e db y a n a r r o w . I t m u s t p h y s i c a l l ye x i t t h e e d g e t o m o v e i n t o t h e s t a g i n ga r e a . 4 . E a c h o f t h e s ez o n e s h a s a s p e c i a l n u m b e r w h i c h i n d i c a t e st h e n u m b e r o f t u r n s i t r e q u i r e st h a t a B r i t i s h s h i p m u s t r e m a i no u r o f p l a y i f i t i n t e n d st o refuel at that port. Just placethe ship on the turn box the proper number of turns aheadof the current turn. When that turn arrives, the ship may return to the board. 5. A ship in a staging area which does nor refuel may return to the board at any time. 6 . E a c h t u r n t h a t a n o n - r e f u e l i n gB r i t i s h s h i p s t a y si n a s t a g i n ga r e a , i t e x p e n d so n e f u e l f a c t o r . 7. Ashipwhich refuelsat noffboardportexa p e n d so n e h a l f o f t h e s t a g i n gv a l u e ( r o u n d e d u p ) t o r e t u r n t o t h e b o a r d e d g e .A n y a d d i t i o n a l t u r n s o v e r the minimum required to refuel that the ship rem a i n s o f f b o a r d c o s t si t o n e f u e l f a c t o r p e r t u r n . 8 . I f t h e G r u f S p e ee n l e r sa s t a g i n ga r e a i t i m m e d i a t e l yg e t sa c e r t a i nn u m b e r o f v i c t o r y p o i n t s a s shown in the victory chart if thereis no British ship i n t h e s a m ea r e a . 9. In any turn that both an Allied shipwhether refueling or not, and the Graf Spee are in the same area, the Graf Spee receivesno points and a battle b e t w e e na l l s h i p s i n t h e a r e a m u s t o c c u r . 1 0 . A n y A l l i e d s h i p i n a s t a g i n ga r e am a y s e a r c h t h a t a r e a i n a n y t u r n w h e t h e r r e f u e l i n go r n o t . l l . A n A l l i e d s h i p i n b a t t l e e x p e n d sa s e c o n d fuel factor if it has not already done so. 1 2 . A n a i r a t t a c k m a y b e m a d e a g a i n s t t h eG r o J S p e ei f a c a r r i e r i s i n t h e s a m e a r e a . N o a i r a t t a c k s m a y b e c o n d u c t e df r o m t h e b o a r d t o a s t a g i n ga r e a and vice versa. 1 3 . l f t h e G r a f S p e es u r v i v e st h e b a t t l e i t m u s t r e t u r n t o t h e b o a r d i m m e d i a t e l ya n d c a n n o t r e e n t e r r h a t s t a g i n g r e a f o r l h e r e s to f l h e g a m e . a AT START FUEL EXPENSE l . A l l i e d s h i p sn o t i n p o r t w i l l h a v ea l r e a d ye x p e n d e ds o m e f u e l a t t h e s t a r t o f p l a y . 2. Each Allied ship counts the number of z o n e sb a c k t o t h e n e a r e s tp o r t ( e x c l u d i n gP e r n a m buco. Rio or Montevideo).To check whether the

2I-33

34.46

4143

44-66

ALLIED MERCHANT SHIP LOCATION TABLE


Dice Sum ll' 3 Merchrnl 4 Density Value 5 6 1 No Radio LOCATE

9 Radio) LOCATE
Radio)

LOCATE
(Delay) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE | (Radio)

tz
l3

LOCATE
(Delay) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE Radio)

ATE
Radio)

(Radio)

l4 l5

LOCATE I LOCATE

t6
2l
(Delay) LOCATE (Radio) LOCATE (Radio) LOCATE

22
23

ATE Radio) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE (Delay) LOCATE (Delay) (Delay) LOCATE (Radio) LOCATE (Radio)
(Radio) (Radio)

u-26

35*-36* 4t46 MODIFICATION

':*

L If the Cermanplayerchooses usespotter planeshift Merchant to Density nexthighervalue(e.g.,4 ro 5, 7 to 8, to etc. ) RESULTS LOCATE (Radio) (No Radio)
(Delay)

One merchant ship sunk. No Result. Merchantship getsoff distress call. Germanplayer.must immediately inform Britishplayerof the Graf Spee'scurrent location. Merchantshipdoesnot get off distress call, nor is it missed. Cermanplayerdoesnot havto inform British player of Graf Spee'slocation.
Merchant ship does not get off distresscall but is missed after a few hours anyway. Germm player writes down location of Graf Spee and the turn of location on scrap of paper. Each turn beginning with the nexi turn, the British player rolls one die for that delay. If the roll is one, the German player gives him the information. First time one of these three numbers ( I I , 35, 36) is rolled the Craf Spee no longer has use of its spotter plane. On all subsequentsearches,it must use the normal merchant ship density column.

THE GENERAL
closest port is possibly offboard, count to the n e a r e s ts t a g i n ga r e ae d g ez o n e a n d a d d h a l f ( r o u n d e d u p ) o f t h e s p e c i a ls t a g i n gn u m b e r t o i t t o d e t e r mine distance of the off-board port. This is the amount of fuel alreadyexpended. 3 . F o r A r k R o . y a la n d R e n o w n a n a d d i t i o n a l a t s t a r t f u e l e x p e n s ei s a c c r u e d . R o l l o n e d i e . T h e v a l u e i s a d d e d t o t h e e x p c n s e l r e a d yd e t e r m i n e di n a 2, above. AIR MOVEMENT l . A i r u n i t s m a y f l y e v e r yt u r n . A i r u n i t s d o not have to rest and refit. Air units have an unlimited number of flights and attacks. 2. An air unit must fly out and return to its h o m e c a r r i e ri n t h e s a m et u r n . A n a i r u n i t i n a t t a c k m o d e f l i e s a s e x p l a i n e di n r u l e 6 . 2 3 . A n a i r u n i t i n reconnaissance ode may fly out to its maximum m s p e e di n t h e A i r M o v e m e n t P h a s ea n d m u s t r e t u r n t o i t s h o m e c a r r i e ri n t h e A i r A t t a c k P h a s eo f t h e s a m et u r n . SEARCH l . T h e v i s i b i l i t y i s a t a c o n s t a n tl e v e lo f t h r e e d u r i n g t h e e n t i r eg a m e . 2 . N o s e a r c hm a y b e m a d e i n a n i g h t t u r n . SHADOW l . T h e r e a r e n o c o u n t e r sf o r c o n v o y s o r m e r a c h a n t s h i p st o p u t o n t h e b o a r d . I f a s h i p l o c a t e s merchant ship through search, it automatically s i n k s i t . T h e p r o c e d u r ef o r l o c a t i n g m e r c h a n ts h i p s is different for the German playerthan it is for the Allied player. 2 . l n m a n y z o n e so f t h e m a p , t h e r ea r e s m a l l n u m b e r s . E a c h n u m e r r e p r e s e n t sh e m e r c h a n td e n t s s i t y v a l u e( i . e . ,t h e p r o b a b i l i t y h a t a m e r c h a n t h i p t i s i n t h i s z o n ea t a n y o n e p o i n t i n t i m e ) . 3 . T h e G e r m a n p l a y e r m a y o n l y s e a r c ht h e s e z o n e sf o r a m e r c h a n ts h i p . 4. The German player may only searchone z o n e p e r t u r n . H e c a n o n l y s e a r c ht h e z o n ec o n t a i n ing the Gra/Spee. The Graf Speemust be on patrol t o s e a r c ha t t h e m e r c h a n t d e n s i t y v a l u e . I f n o t o n p a t r o l i t m u s t u s et h e m e r c h a n td e n s i t y a l u eo f ' l ' v no matter whal the printed valuemay be. 5 . A l l s e a r c h e sf o r m e r c h a n t s h i p s m u s t b e c o n d u c t e di m m e d i a t e l yu p o n c o n c l u s i o no f n o r m a l s e a r c h . I f e n e m y s h i p s h a v e l o c a t e do n e a n o t h e r i n t h e s a m ez o n e , n o n e o f t h e s h i p sm a y p a r t i c i p a t ei n s e a r c hf o r m e r c h a n t s h i p s . 6 . T h e G e r m a n p l a y e r r o l l s t w o d i c ea n d c r o s s indexesthe result with the merchant ship density v a l u eo f t h e z o n eo n t h e A l l i e d M e r c h a n t S h i p L o c a t i o n T a b l e t o d e t e r m i n ew h e t h e rh e f i n d s a n d s i n k sa m e r c h a n t s h i p . l f h e u s e st h e t a b l e , h e m u s t f o l l o w o the results f thetable. 7. If the Gra.f Speelocatesa merchant ship, he m u s t i m m e d i a t e l yc o n s u l t t h e M e r c h a n t S h i p R a n dom Event Table. He must follow the result he r e c eve s . l 8 . T h e A l l i e d p l a y e r u s e sa n e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t procedure to locate German merchant ships. He c o u n t s t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f z o n e si n w h i c h h e h a s a t l e a s t o n e s h i p . H e c a n n o t c o u n t z o n e si n w h i c h a l l s h i p sa r e i n p o r t o r w i t h a G e r m a n s h i p . H e r o l l s t w o d i c e a n d c r o s s - i n d e x ets e r e s u l tw i t h t h e n u m b e r o f h occupied zones on the Cerman Merchant Ship L o c a t i o n T a b l e t o d e t e r m i n ew h e t h e r h e f i n d s a n d s i n k sa m e r c h a n ts h i p . 9 . T h e A l l i e d p l a y e r n e v e r u s e st h e M e r c h a n t Ship RandomErent fahle. 10. The Allied ships do not have to be on patrol. I l . l f t h e G r a l S p e e l o c a t e a m e r c h a n ts h i p , i t s s m a x i m u m s p e e dc a n b e n o g r e a t e rt h a n I n e x t t u r n only. ALTMARK l . T h e A l t m a r k i s a s p e c i a lC e r m a n S u p p l y ship.

PAGE 11
GERMAN MERCHANT SHIP LOCATION TABLE
Dic Roll Number of zones containing Allied ships

l-z
ll It
! J

3-4

5-6

7-E

9-t I LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE

tz-14
LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE

LOCATE

LOCATE LOCATE

LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE

t4 l5 t6 2t-66 RESULTS LOCATE-one merchant shipsunk -no results NOTES

LOCATE LOCATE LOCATE LOCete

ports in his torar containing l. Allied playercannotincludezones

xarE

lleptune Achilles Aiax

14a6 r.F. 8

Hermes

Foch x^r= Oupleix x.F. I I NO B DAB ronps 3

r.F. I I
NO RAD^N ronPs 4

NAO^FNO

ronPsNO

10y
MainGun A
l a I k , - l t r l

19v
MainGun B
^ -

MainGun A

19-u'
MainGun B MainGun A MainGun B

I I - -

II
Main Gun X

!-rEB!
MainGun X M a a nG u n Y

STERf,
Main Gun Y

LL
Main Gun X

STEiT

Main Gun Y

rt,.-

rar

I I
Slarboard Secondarv

f l I

II
Starboard Secondary

LL
Statboard Secondarv

IEtrI
Port Secondary

trtrtr1
Porl Seondary

I I I I
Port Secondary

IEtrT
Superstructure

EEtrI
wffiil
HUII

IIII
tII
Superstructure
Hull

l'_ff;t
Hull

Superstructure

flF?]g.I
u G.tvoeA secrvp" Z
HULL AFNOF R A r r . -TrT6n4" t 6u

I'FffiI
M.G.Type: Sec Type IIULL ARTOR 2' I 1" Beit'
nA.k., _l _

B u.G.Type
Sec Type =

D;;k..

tt2,,

| _

No Armor Rating

GUX ABTOF M.Gun -3Crown--/Secondary-=3PECIAI

/*

GU" ARTOR M.Gun Crown" -/ -l: Secondary---: SPICIAI ARTOR c.T. _=-_ Ptol MFCOir__-:=_ B u d d e r '- / -

NATE OFF|nE Range Targeting Main GunScondarv 1{/A Extrem


Long Hh LOng LOW iildium Hrgh Modium Low Shorl Point Blank

ARXON

Plot MFC Dir auddat'2 1 4"

+ 1 6 _-E_+13 . 6 _ + t 0 t.3 _ 2.5 + 7 -73-+3 +l 18 -.-"--'._

FATE Of FIRE NATE OF FIBE Range Targting Main Gun SecondaryRanoe TaroetinoMarnGun Seondary Extreme lt/A + 16 Lono Hhh

vA *-2- -#ff;r"n J--r +Xt-- -T5r-o{ um +t3 !.! r-sr-* LlediumHQn+ l0 --Tr-;;;;;;'d;;+i l.F"*;"'sn-;16= Mdium - + I Lw 4 ---tTShon -6-- ++65---25- E s n o .
PointBlank

-T7r1.5 3.6 9.7 20 ---zf--

-# :::ir,""*6 -+-+

PAGE 12
2. The German player receives a certain number of victory points if it can exit the Altmork a n y w h e r eo f f t h e n o r t h e d g eo f t h e b o a r d e x c e p ti n t o t h e D a k a r s t a g i n ga r e a . 3 . T h e A l t m o r k i s t o t a l l y d e f e n s e l e s s .I f c a u g h t a l o n e i n a z o n e b y a n e n e m ys h i p o r a i r u n i t i n a t t a c k m o d e , i t i s i m m e d i a t e l ye l i m i n a t e d . I f i n the same zone with the Grof Spee,it is eliminated by a n y e n e m y s h i p w h i c h s u r v i v e sc o m b a t w i t h t h e Graf Spee. It is still eliminated by enemy bombers in a t t a c k m o d e w h i c h c h o o s et o a t t a c k i t i n s t e a do f t h e GraJ Spee. CHANCE PHASE l . T h e r e i s n o c h a n c ep h a s ei n t h e g a m e . 2 . T h e C h a n c eT a b l e i s n o t u s e da t a l l . SPOTTER PLANE l . A t t h e s t a r t o f a n y S e a r c hP h a s e ,t h e G e r man player announces whether the Gra/Spee is using its spotter plane. The Grof Spee may use its spotter plane only if it intends to searchand is able to search for merchant ships that turn. 2. Upon announcement,the German player rolls one die. A resultof one prohibits any Allied searchfor the GrafSpeerhat turn by an enemy ship. The Allied ships may still search for the Altmork but if the zone the Craf Spee occupiesis called out, its location is not revealed. Any other die roll and there is no effect. 3 . T h e s p o t t e rp l a n e a l s o a i d s i n m e r c h a n ts h i p search as explained in the Allied Merchant Ship Location Table. 4 . T h e u s eo f t h e s p o t t e rp l a n e c a n b e l o s t a s a result of merchant ship search as explained in the Allied Merchant Ship Location Table. VICTORY CONDITIONS 1. The game ends when either the Graf Spee\s sunk; it enters a port or play has reached the time limit. 2. German player receives victory points for t h e f o l l o w i n g e v e n t sa s t h e y o c c u r . a. Sinking an enemy ship-the victory points given in the BISMARCK rules manual. All heavy c r u i s e r sa r e w o r t h s i x p o i n t s . A l l l i g h t c r u i s e r sa r e worth four points. The Hermes is worth l4 points. b. Each Allied ship which because of fuel is u n a b l et o r e t u r n t o a n y p o r t - o n e h a l f o f i t s v i c t o r y points. c. Each staging area entered by the Grof Spee-l point. The staging area cannot contain an enemy ship. Once the German player receivesa victory point for entering a specific staging area, it cannot gain any additional points for reenteringthe same staging area. d. Each merchantship sunk within four zones of the South American coast. (The zone containing part of the coast is counted as the first zone)-l % p o i n t s . E a c h m e r c h a n t s h i p s u n k a n y w h e r ee l s e - l pornt. e. Altmark escaping off north edge of board-2 points. 3. The Allied player receivesvictory points for t h e f o l l o w i n g e v e n t sa s t h e y o c c u r . a. Sinking the Graf Spee- l0 points points Sinking Ihe Altmark-2 b. Each Cerman merchantship sunk-l point c. The Craf Spee enters a port. If it is a port other than Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro or M o n t e v i d e o , t h e A l l i e d p l a y e r i m m e d i a t e l yr e c e i v e s l0 victory points. If it is Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro or Pernambuco, the Cerman player rolls o n e d i e a n d c o n s u l t st h e N e u t r a l P o r t E n t r y T a b l e . d. The Allied player receives5 victory points if the Grof Speehas an evasion level of l9 or less.This is over and above any other points he may receive for damage. 4. Any other points assessed due to air loss, and damage are awarded as explained n the BISMARCK rules. 5. At the conclusion of play, the German player musl have at leastfive more victory poinls t h a n t h e A l l i e d p l a y e rt o w i n . A n y t h i n g l e s sa n d t h e Allied playerwins.

NEUTRAL PORT ENTRY TABLE Die Roll t4 GRAF SPEESCUTTLED.The Allied playerreceives points. l0 5.6 GRAF SPEELEAVES PoRT. AII huII and movementdamageis repaired. Roll again and consult the following sub table. The Grof Speemust leave port exactlythat many turns aheadof the currentgameturn. Ignorethe regulartime limit. The gamemust continueto the time of departure. At the time of departure,the Graf Spee must fight everyAllied ship in the same zonewhich could legally get there in that amountof time. Die Roll l-2 3-4 5-6 Result 6 turns 9 turns 12turns

RULES NOT IN USE Certain rules that are not in use and are not already prohibited in this article are Ship Breakdown, Sheffield Factor, Ports, Land-Based F i g h t e r , F e r r o l , a l l w e a t h e rr u l e s , A i r N a v i g a t i o n , Huff/Duff, Troop Convoy, Convoys, Destroyers, F u e l D a m a g e ,a n d S u b m a r i n e s . l;1 \J

BISMARCK VARIANT SEARCIIBOARDS


Readers wishing to play the Battle of the River Plate variation may order additional s e a r c h b o a r d so r t h e m o d e s t s u m o f $ l . 0 0 e a c h . f Merely send us your request for the "BISMARCK VARIANT SEARCHBOARD" and your check for $1.00per board plus l0c postage and handling. Maryland residentspleaseadd 590 state sales tax. NOTE: This variant offer does not includediecut counters.

FACTORYOUTLET
W h e n e v e ri n t h e B a l t i m o r e a r e a f e e l f r e e t o d r o p i n a t o u r F a c t o r vO u t l e ts t o r el o c a t e d n o u r i d e s i g no l f i c e s a t 9 0 0 S t . P a u l a n d 2 0 E . R e e d S t . 'fhis s t o r ei s t h e u o r l d ' s o n h r e t a i lo u t l e t f e a t u r i n g , a c o m p l c t e c l e c t i o n f A v a l o n H i l l g a m e sp a r t s . s o m a g a z i n e s n d a c c e s s o r i e s . a . v .y c a s h o r c h e c k P b. a or bring vour credit card. and if visitingon S a t u r d a y s e e l f r e e t o s t a t a n d a t t e n da g a m i n g f s e s s i o nw i t h I n t e r e s t G r o u p B a l t i m o r e a n d g e t g i n l o l l e d w i t h u h a t e v e rp l a y t e s t i n h a p p e n so b e t g o i n gd o w n .O r j u s t d r o p b y a n d p l a y o r t a l k t h e g a m e so f y o u r c h o i c eo n S a t u r d a vw i t h a n y o f t h e l o c a l sa n d e n J o yt h e c o m p e t t t t o n . Hours: AH Factorl' Outlet Tuesdav thru Saturdal9 A.M. to 5 P.M. ; IGB Plaltesting Saturday:0 A.M. to 5 P.M. l

You might also like