81

Round 81 of the War at Sea Ladder

Fnal Matches

Updated 7\05\/2019

Congratulations to Andy Gardner, our new King of the Ladder!

1 Jonathan Lockwood (Allies-3.0) vs Andy Gardner (Axis) Axis Victory

2. Robert Frisby (Axis) vs Greg Smith (Allies-2.0) Axis Victory

3. Avi Solomon vs Greg Hultgren Avi wins by concession

4. Ken Pascoe (Axis) vs Mircea Pauca (Alies-1.5) Allied Victory

5. John Pack (Allies-2.0) vs Bruce Monnin (Axis) Axis Victory

6. Hilton McManus (Allies-?) vs Richard Beyma (Axis) Axis Victory

7. Tim Tow (Axis) vs Dennis Nicholson (Allies-2.0) Axis Victory

8. John Sharp (Axis) vs Karl Bodenheimer (Allies-1.0) Allied Victory

9 Vince Meconi (Allies-2.0) vs Bill Thomson (Axis) Allied Victory

10. Mike Ussery (Allies-2.0) vs Jim Kramer (Axis) TIE

11. Andy Choptiany (Allies-2.0) vs Mike Kaye (Axis) Allied Victory by 6

12. Phil Watkins (Allies-1.0) vs Mike Brophy(Axis) Allied Victory *

13. Bob Jameli (Axis) vs Bob Hamel (Allies-1.0) Axis Victory

14. Rob Drozd vs Jeff Lange. Rob Drozed wins by forfeit

15. Rick Vrost (Allies-?) vs Jim Bodenheimer (Axis) Axis Victory

16. Dave Elkin (Axis)  (vs Lee Kendter (Allies-1.5) Allied Victory

17. Scott Beale (Allies-1.5) vs Pete Shelling (Axis) Axis Victory

EXTRA GAMES

Robert Dragan (Axis) vs Avi Solomon (Allies-1.5) Allied Victory *

Robert Dragan (Axis) vs Jonathan Lockwood (Allies-1.0) Allied Victory *

Robert Dragan (Allies-1.0) vs Jonathan Lockwood (Axis) Axis Victory

Robert Dragan (Allies-1.5) vs Avi Solomon (Axis) Axis Victory

Allied Victories     8      Axis Victories.   10        Ties    1

47 Comments to “81”

  1. Andy Choptiany(Allies) defeated Mike Kaye(Axis) after a hard fought game.The raw score was Allies 8 but the bid of 2 reduced it to Allies 6.

  2. Robert Dragan (Allies, 1.5 POC) and Avi Solomon (Axis) played a second additional game. The end result was a win to the Axis by 2 POC excluding the bid. Losses were heavy for the British and the Germans. The British lost all their fast (Sp 6 and 7) combat ships by T7 as well as 3 CVs and at the end of the game the Germans were left with Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and a CA, all crippled!

  3. Scott Beale (Allies) conceded at the start of turn 7, as he could not win with a 1.5 Axis bid, all 8 Italian BBs in the Med and no Russians to contest the Baltic. He played a blockade strategy, which enabled me to control the South Atlantic on Turn 1 and North Atlantic on turn 2, after which I mostly kept a cruiser ‘fleet in being ‘ in France just to force him to spread out. But the real difference makers were my U-boats, which sank or disabled half of his available surface fleet in the Barents on Turn 5 and a Convoy on turn 6 (after sinking two carriers earlier in the game.)

  4. Vince Meconi’s Allies, bidding 2.0, defeated Bill Thomson’s Axis. The Axis resigned at the beginning of Turn 7. Turn 1 saw the Axis sail their full German surface fleet into the Barents even though both Allied 336s made their speed rolls. Each side lost 3 ships and the Axis won the area. Even attrition seemingly put the Allies in a good position, but their advantage was short lived. On Turn 2 the Axis surface ships repaired but their U-boat and LBA forces sank 3 more Allied ships including a 2nd carrier. Turn 3 saw another battle in the Barents. Allies forces came up short when 3 battlewagons failed their speed rolls; the Axis followed by sinking another 4 ships, losing only 1 in return and taking the area. With Allied losses mounting, things looked grim from their side of the board. But Turn 4 saw yet another dice reversal. The German fleet once again sailed into the Barents but this time the Allies unexpectedly took the area, sinking another 2 German ships while losing 2 of their own. At this point the German fleet was down to only 5 ships. Turn 5 saw the Germans repair again but break the blockade with 7 U-boats in the Barents. However, their surviving U-boats and LBA could not stop the convoy from landing and the POC now stood even after the bid. Turn 6 saw the Axis try a high-risk, high reward strategy by sending all 7 U-boats and the 5 remaining German surface ships against the Allies in the N. Atlantic. Although the U-boats broke control, their return shots missed and the Allied carrier sent one of the German 496s back to Germany. The Allied surface fleet, while not especially strong, quickly dispatched the remaining 4 Germans. At this point the Allied POC margin had swelled to +5 after the bid and they had the blockade, leading to the Axis resignation. We have played previously.

  5. Greg Hultgren (Axis) was playing Avi Solomon (Allies, 1.5 POC) when unfortunately Greg decided he couldn’t continue for personal reasons and to resign at the start of T6 with POC at Axis 2 POC. The situation was unclear because the Germans had only Graf Zep, Tirpitz and three CAs but had all their U-Boats. The Allies had lost only two CVs, Repulse and Renown. Convoys were in the Barents, NAO and the USA. Greg and I have played before.

  6. The game between Jonathan’s Allies(bidding 3) and I ended with Jonathan tossing in the towel during round 6 combat. The second convoy had just been sunk by my surface fleet, which mathematically eliminated him.

  7. The game between Mike Ussery (Allies – 2 POC bid) and Jim Kramer (Axis) ended in a tie.

    T1: Mike chose to use the popular Barents in 1 option to open with. NA has Nelson, Rodney, Royal Sovereign, a CA and Courageous. SA has 4 R-class BB and Eagle. NS has 5 4-4-4 BB and Glorious. Barents has 7 CA, Hood, Ark Royal and Repulse and Renown to make speed. Repulse failed speed. As the Axis there were many options available but the choice was to patrol the Baltic with a CA, send the 3 subs to the NS and send the remaining German ships and LBA to the Barents. The Italian fleet was split between MED patrol and staying in port. In combat allied ASW and air strikes score no hits and disable no Germans in the Barents. In return fire Axis subs score no hits but in the Barents the LBA sink Renown and cripple Hood. Surface combat round 1 sees allied fire score only 1 hit on Scharnhorst for 3 damage. Axis fire sinks 3 CA. Mike chooses to withdraw with 3 CA and Ark Royal together and the damaged Hood alone. During pursuit the allies lose Hood and another CA while crippling Gneisenau and damaging Adm. Hipper. POC for the turn is 5 to 2 Axis with the game score +3 Axis.

    T2: Allied deployment: NA has 3 BB (Rodney and Nelson). SA has 4 BB and Eagle. NS has 5 BB, Courageous and Glorious. Barents gets 4 CA, Ark Royal and Formidable and for speed Repulse, KGV and POW. Again a speed failure occurs with KGV left in England. The Axis seize the Barents opportunity again sending the subs to the NA, the damaged Hipper to hold the Baltic, repairing the crippled Gneisenau and sending the remaining fleet and LBA to the Barents. The Italian fleet continues to hold the MED. Allied ASW and air score a disabled sub and Adm. Scheer with LBA missing the repaired Gneisenau. Axis subs damage Nelson for 1 and sink Royal Sovereign. Axis LBA cripple POW damage Repulse for 2 and sink a CA. Allied surface fire cripple Graf Spee and sink the previously damaged Scharnhorst. Axis fire sinks POW, Repulse and 2 CA with the Ark Royal and a CA disabled. The remaining Formidable is pursued and also sunk. POC is again 5 to 2 Axis with the game score advancing to +6 Axis.

    T3: Allied deployment: NA has Convoy 1A, 3 BB (Rodney and Nelson) and Victorious. SA has 3 BB and Eagle. NS has 4 BB, Courageous and Glorious. Barents gets Ark Royal, a CA and making speed KGV, DOY and Warspite. No Soviets sail. Axis response has the Italian fleet keep the MED, 5 subs to the NA, the damaged Adm Hipper in the Baltic, Graf Spee repairs and the German fleet (2 BB, a BC, 2 PB and 2 CA) with LBA again attack the Barents. Allied ASW sink a sub and LBA miss Graf Spee in Germany. In the Barents Ark Royal hits Bismarck for 6 damage and disables the BC Gneisenau. The subs fire at Convoy 1A but miss. German LBA attack the 3 BB disabling Warspite. Allied surface fire disables Bismarck and Tirpitz. Axis fire only succeeds in damaging the CA. A second surface round sees both PB disabled with one of them damaged for 1. Axis fire cripples KGV and damages DOY for 2. The remaining German CA now retreats. POC for the turn is 3 to 3 with no change to the game score. Convoy 1A will move to the Barents.

    T4: Allied deployment: No US/USSR ships are available. NA has Victorious and convoy 2B. SA again has 3 BB and Eagle. NS has 5 BB (Rodney and Nelson) and Courageous and Glorious. Barents has convoy 1A, Ark Royal, Warspite and the damaged CA and DOY. Attempting speed are QE and Valiant, Valiant fails. KGV stays in Russia to repair. Axis again have the damaged Hipper hold the Baltic, the Italians in the MED, 6 subs go to the NA and the LBA and rest of the German fleet (9 ships including the damaged Bismarck and Lutzow) to the Barents. Allied ASW sink a sub and disabled 3. LBA sink an Italian CA and damage a 4-3-5. Ark Royal disables Tirpitz and puts 2 additional damage on Bismarck. The NA subs miss convoy 2B. Axis Barents air damage Anson for 3 but miss elsewhere including convoy 1A. Surface round 1 allied fire sink Bismarck, Adm. Scheer and Graf Spee. The damaged Lutzow is disabled. Axis fire sinks the CA, Warspite is disabled and damaged for 2. DOY receives an additional point of damage. The Axis chooses to withdraw from the Barents after such losses. POC is 6 to 3 Allies with convoy 1A getting to Russia. Game score is now +3 Axis. Convoy 2B now moves to the Barents.

    T5: No USSR available. US has the 2 old BB and a CA come on. Allied deployment: NA has 3 US ships and Victorious. SA still 3 BB and Eagle. NS has 6 BB and the 2 CV. Barents has convoy 2B, Ark Royal, Illustrious,and 6 BB (4 damaged). Axis forces send 7 subs to NS, repair Lutzow and Adm. Hipper and send the remaining Germans (BB, BC, 2 CA and a CV) to the Baltic. Italian ships stay in the MED. Allied ASW sink 3 subs. Allied LBA cripple Adm. Hipper. Axis subs disable Courageous and cripple Glorious. Axis LBA miss all 3 targets (convoy and 2 CV). POC for the turn is again 6 to 3 allies (2B successful). Game score is now back to zero.

    T6: Again no USSR but the remaining 3 US ships come out. Allied deployment: NA has 6 US ships, convoy 3C, Eagle and Illustrious. SA has 4 BB and Victorious. NS has 5 BB, Courageous and the damaged Glorious. Barents has the 6 BB as before and Ark Royal. Axis send the crippled Hipper to the Baltic, 7 subs and LBA to the Barents, the Italians in the MED as before and the remaining 6 German ships (BB, BC, PB, 2 CA, CV) to the NS. ASW sink a sub. LBA in the MED sink an Italian CA. The NS CV hits Tirpitz giving 5 damage. Axis subs damage Ark Royal (1) and disable 2 damaged 4-5-6 BB. Axis LBA sink a damaged 4-5-6 in the Barents. Graf Zeppelin in the NS disables the damaged Nelson. Allied surface fire sink Lutzow, damage (3 points) and disable Gneisenau and disable CA Blucher. Axis fire sink Barham and Rodney and put 3 damage on Howe. G.Z. withheld fire in round 1. Round 2 sees allied fire hit Tirpitz for 3 more and hit Graf Zeppelin (shooting now) for 1. Both ships were also disabled. Axis fire manages to sink the damaged Howe. With only a CA left to face a BB another German retreat is necessary. POC of 3 to 3 means no change to the game score. Convoy 3C to the Barents.

    T7: After several turns of inaction both Soviet BB now are available and sail into the Baltic. Other allied deployment is the NA the 6 US ships and Illustrious. SA has 2 BB and Eagle. NS has 4 BB, Courageous and Glorious (damaged). Barents has convoy 3C, 5 BB (3 damaged), Victorious and the damaged Ark Royal. Axis has the Italians in the MED, LBA in the Barents, 5 subs in the NS and 2 subs in the SA. The Baltic gets the damaged Tirpitz and Graf Zeppelin with 2 CA. Gneisenau and Hipper repair. Allied ASW miss in the SA. The NS ASW sink 2 subs and disable 2. Allied LBA miss the repaired German ships. Axis sub fire sink Courageous in the NS and Eagle in the SA. Barents LBA miss convoy 3C but disable Victorious and sink Ark Royal. Graf Zeppelin air miss both Soviet BB. Baltic surface combat Soviet fire disables Tirpitz and sinks the firing Zeppelin. German return fire misses both BB. With 2 CA left to face the 2 BB the Germans again retreat to preserve some firepower for T8. With convoy 3C safe in Russia, POC for the turn is 7 to 2 Allies. The game score goes to +5 allies. What looked like a crushing Axis victory 4 turns before now looked to be a crushing defeat. But T8 is still to come.

    T8: Axis hopes were greatly diminished when both Soviet BB again sail into the Baltic. Other allied deployment is NA the 6 US ships. SA has 2 BB and Illustrious. NS, 4 BB and the crippled Glorious. Barents has 5 BB and Victorious. The Axis must gain at least 3 POC this turn to force a tie. Deployment is as follows. NA, 3 U-boats. SA, 3 U-boats, 3 German CA and 2 Italian CA. Baltic, LBA, Gneisenau and the damaged Tirpitz. MED, the Italian BB’s.
    ASW in the NA eliminates 2 subs so no POC for the allies. ASW in SA disables a sub. The remaining 2 subs then target and sink Illustrious. Axis LBA in the Baltic miss the BB’s. Now some tense surface combat. In the SA round 1 the UK BB sink 2 German CA. Axis return fire disable a BB and cripple the other. SA round 2 sees the last German CA also sunk with the Axis ships fire missing. On round 3 the 2 Italians finally sink the crippled BB. In the Baltic round 1 sees the Soviets disable both German ships. With that result the Axis commander was sweating bullets upon submitting his roll requests for the Baltic. The results, Tirpitz hits O.R. for 6 with a disable and Gneisenau scores 2 hits totaling 5 damage. Both successfully eliminated. WHEW! POC for the turn is Axis 5 to 2. Game score reduced to +2 Allies and then adjusted by the bid to zero. A tie.

    I must admit as the Axis player I started counting my chickens after T2. Having caused so much damage to Mike’s forces I was seeing a concession by T4. Instead the combat rolls turned around and I found I could not take the areas l fought for. Mike’s diminished forces stayed in play and the Axis was forced to make tactical withdrawals several times to preserve an effective combat fleet. Also all 3 convoys successfully made Russia. With that and the Soviet BB appearances on T7 and T8 it made for a harrowing last 2 turns for the Axis. My subs managed to keep areas open and not scored for the allies but missed shots at the convoys. The Axis subs and air did come up big on T7 with 3 CV sunk that turn, thereby enhancing axis combat survival odds on T8. I think this game shows that all is not lost for the Allies if early results are bad and the Axis player cannot become overconfident or reckless with his forces as the game progresses. A very interesting and tense game.

    Jim Kramer

  8. In the 81-7 game, Tim’s Axis prevailed over Dennis’ Allies (-2.0) with the score at +6 Axis at end of turn 6 when the Allies resigned. The Allies sought a Barents on 1 strategy which was stymied by the failure of 1 BC speed roll. In the ensuring turn 1 battle, the Allies lost 3 CAs and the Ark Royal vs. a lightly damaged Scharnhorst.

    Taking the North Atlantic on turn 2, the Axis oiled half their fleet successfully while the remainder based in the neutral port with a South Atlantic opened by the U-boats.

    Although no convoys were sunk, the Axis had enough of a lead and enough fleet attrition to last the game. Allied luck was poor and capped by a final 4 Battleship and 2 CA force landing only 1 damage point and a disable on a lone German CA in the South Atlantic

  9. Mircea Pauca (Allies, bid 1.5) won over Ken Pascoe (Axis) by 4.5 points net, 6 points raw.
    T1: Minor variant of “my” Barents-in-1. Ken sends the 3 U-boats to SATL (vs weak 4 ASW), 2U get sunk, delaying the build-up threat.
    1 ship to Baltic and 6 ships to NATL (vs my 553, 4×444) and Adm. Scheer fails its logistics ‘speed roll’. All 4 British ships get damaged (2 critically) while Hipper is sunk, Gneisenau damaged, 2 other disabled and Blucher runs away from Barham (3 damage). Score stays at 0 raw.
    T2: Rodney, Valiant stays home to repair, Gneisenau the other home. Allies keep a complete blockade (even with one failed speed roll, Germans do not dare contest it). Allied raw 1 PoC.
    T3: Allies concentrate a stronger blockade – of which Renown is sunk by Heinkels from Norway. SATL gets only 2BB,2CV and 4 Italian cruisers supported by 3 U’s dare to contest it. Revenge and 3 Italians are sunk. After a long shootout, Eagle disables Zara. Score stays at Allied raw 1.
    T4: The blockade increases vs the growing threat. Graf Zeppelin is so new it does a Baltic test cruise (?) while the Kriegsmarine fights hard for Barents. They sink 5BB,2CA and lose 2 ships (Scharnhorst, Graf Spee) with serious damage on others. Despite the losses, Allies remain in control of Barents, 3 cruisers chase away Lutzow. Allies gain 3 PoC (for the convoy), total 4 raw.
    T5: Both sides are so damaged and stretched out – Queen Elizabeth sails even crippled to keep the blockade. 4 German ships repair and are ‘visited’ by the RAF doing meaningless ‘disable’. Stukas sink Victorious guarding Convoy2B. 7 U-boats split and uncontrol NATL and SATL, where they sink 2 battleships! Axis would have gained 1 PoC but with Convoy 2B landing, Allies are the one to gain 2 PoC, total 6 raw.
    T6: Marat is finally ready and is sunk by Bismarck & Gneisenau. The other Germans finish repairs, this time RAF’s visit blows away Scheer. ASW means are way stretched for Allies, the 7 U wolfpack goes straight to NSea vs 9 ASW, even losing 3 U they open the seas and heavily damage Malaya. Score stays 6 raw.
    T7: Okt. Rev. sinks 1U of the 2 that neutralized it. Other 3U neutralize NATL trade. Allies are now very stretched in gunpower too, having to protect 4 areas. Germans mass sortie to Barents, both side’s preliminary airstrikes remove important enemies (including Convoy3C disabled, will start back from the USA). Crippled Royal Oak and QE pin Bismarck and Tirpitz, allowing Anson and Howe to sink the lighter Blucher and Graf Zeppelin. Germans sink 2 BBs and remain in control of Barents, gaining back 2 Poc. Total 4 raw Allied.
    T8: Allies send 2 extra carriers to be sure to bring Convoy3 to England and keep strong enough blockades. Germans split again the U’s: NSEA escorts (8 ASW) chase away the 3 subs, SATL gets neutralized (2 U vs 6 ASW). A battle of remnants erupts again in Barents, outstanding airstrikes from Ark Royal disable Tirpitz and Gneisenau while the Norwegian strike misses. 2BB cripple Bismarck and 6CA sink Lutzow. Allies gain another 2 PoC (including 1 for England supplied) to a total of 6 Allied PoC raw or 4.5 net.

    Thanks to Ken for his persistence and fair play!
    I promised to ‘lend’ him some LBA pilots to help with next game 😉

  10. Robert Frisby’s Axis defeated Greg Smith’s Allies (bid of 1.5 POC) in a match involving heavy losses from several major surface engagements in the Atlantic and the Barents. The Axis took control of the South Atlantic on turn one, sinking several ships in the process. In several surface engagements throughout the game, the British excelled at disabling and damaging Axis ships while the Axis had more success sinking British ships. Convoy 1A made it to Russia, but the Axis took control of the Barents on turn five to take a 4.5 POC lead (including the bid) at the start of turn six. German U-boats sank Convoy 2B in the Barents on turn six, which led the Allies to concede defeat due to their heavy losses and the remaining strength of Axis naval forces. The Germans would have had all seven U-boats on turn seven, and a good chance of sinking or disabling the remaining convoy. The British lost 3 CVs, 1 BC, 8 BBs, and 3 CAs. The Germans lost 5 U-boats, Bismarck, 2 pocket BBs, and 2 CAs. The Italians lost a BB and 2 CAs.

  11. Karl Bodenheimer (Allies -1) vs John Sharp (Axis +1) – John’s Axis went to the South Atlantic on T1 to their detriment, and the game was downhill from there. The final nail in the coffin lid (yes,John played on into T5) occurred when Karl’s Allies rolled seven (7) 6’s from 18 ASW shots against six U-Boats in the Barents. I didn’t even bother to check the 5’s. Nicely played, Karl, and nicely rolled! End-of-T5-POC would likely have been raw Allies +8, net Allies +7.

    John Sharp (glutton for punishment) is in for the next round.

  12. Rick Virost’s Allies were defeated by Jim Bodenheimer’s Axis forces. The blow-by-blow of the game as follows: Allied disaster began early in turn 1 when the Ark Royal was lost to air strikes. The bright spot for the Allies came when air strikes took out an Italian cruiser and a small battleship. But this victory was overshadowed in the North Atlantic as Rodney and Nelson both went down without causing any damage. POC Axis 3. To make matters worst the Axis attackers successfully refueled at sea. Poor shooting in turn 2 compounded the Allied losses. Hood, Repulse, and four cruisers went to the bottom in the Barents while taking with them the German cruiser Blucher. POC Axis 5. Turn 3 was mostly quiet, disrupted by the failure of the Allies ASW to keep all U-Boats out of the North Sea. POC remained Axis 5. Turn 4 became the death knell for the Allied cause as Axis gained control of both Barents and North Atlantic while sinking Prince of Wales, Norfolk, and Renown and losing only Gneisenau. With POC maxed at Axis 10 and the excessive casualties, Rick conceded.

  13. Lee Kendter (UK, 1.5 bid) vs David Elkin over.

    David conceded round 4.
    This game was decided on extreme hot dice for me. Some games are won / lost purely on dice. This is one of those.

    David won Satl the first round. It was a Pyrrhic victory. UK lost 1 (2 badly damaged) while Germany lost 4.
    As of the beginning round 4 he lost 4 UBoats, 4 Italy Cruisers, and one Italy BC. I was already setting up for UK to med.

    He tried getting lucky going into Barents, but that ended it for Germany. Nothing left to fight with.

  14. Congrats to Mr. Lockwood

  15. John Sharp vs Karl Bodenheimer Karl, I don’t think I have your email address. Please email me at john_sharp@verizon.net. John Sharp

  16. I’ll play
    Thanks for running the ladder
    Mike

  17. Not able to play in round 81, maybe next time.

  18. sign me up

  19. I am in for round 81.

  20. Count me in

  21. Yes, I will play Round 81!

  22. I’m in!

  23. Somebody has to be a bottom feeder. I am in

  24. after two rounds off, I will ply round 81

  25. Alright Johnathan, you are on! (-: Sign me up Greg for rd 81.

  26. Send me in!

  27. Playing

  28. I’m in for rd 81.

  29. Put me in, time for me to get another beating

  30. In for Rd 81 after an extended absence

  31. In for round 81

  32. I am playing in round 81.

  33. I am in for Round 81
    Hilton

  34. Rick Virost will play in War at Sea Round 81 (May-June 2019). Thanks Greg for keeping this challenging ladder going.

  35. count me in

  36. Count me in for round 81.

  37. I will play too.

  38. In for Rd 81

  39. Entering now for Round 81.

  40. I’m in for the next round

  41. Count me in for 81

  42. I am in for round 81

  43. I’m in for next round also

  44. I’m ready to fight again in Round 81! Bring it on!

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