The Hunt for the Black Wolf

Captain Nemo knew time was up.  Those damned Russian ships had hounded him all the way since he left port in Tromso, Norway.  He couldn’t go any further, not without risking the wrath of the Russian navy on the rest of the mercenary force.

With grim resolve, Captain Nemo ordered the Death Bringer submarine “Tooth and Claw” to reverse course.  Amongst the dotted islands of northern Norway he would bring sorrow to those who had sought his doom.

A rainy weekend and a meet up with an old friend – what could be added to make this day any better? Well how about a Dystopian Wars game.  Dave didn’t bring his Australian fleet so I decided on a classic match up; the Black Wolf Mercenaries vs the Russian Coalition.

I constructed 1000 point fleets for the battle – nothing special, just enough for a good old fashioned bash.

The Russian Coalition had 1 x Moskva Dreadnought with Target Jammer, 1 x Borodino Battleship with Internal Target Jammer, 2 x Pesets Submarines with Target Painter (Primary Gunnery), 3 x Suvorov Cruisers, 3 x Rostov Destroyers, 5 x SAS fighters with Ace and 5 x SAS Dive Bombers with Ace.

The Black Wolf Mercenaries had 2 x Death Bringer Submarines, 2 x Manticore Support Vessels with Main Turrets, 2 x Nemesis Battle Cruisers with Rocket Batteries, 8 x Fury Frigates (2 x 4 squadrons) and 10 SAS Torpedo Bombers.

At the end of turn 1 the Black Wolf ships had pushed across the board, the twin Death Bringers slid beneath the waves to the deepest of depths.

The Manticore’s skimmed over the waters surface, providing support to the Reaper attack subs.  The mini-subs sped towards the Russian cruisers – two of their number broken by the power the Russian guns.

A squadron of Furies brought their hull guns to bear on one Russian cruiser.  Impressively the guns let loose and scored 20 successes.  Suffice to say, that Russian cruiser didn’t participate much for the rest of the game.

“Transmission from the Savatov Sin Captain” announced the radio operator, “she reports one Russian cruiser seriously damaged by gun fire.”  Nemo knew that Russian ships were notoriously hard nuts to crack.  “Send the following message to the Savatov Sin – stop boasting and sink those Russian bastards. End message.”

The Reaper subs and Manticores closed in on the Russian cruisers.  The skimming cruisers suffered at the hands of the Suvorov’s – sending only one to the bottom of the dark water.  The Borodino ploughed forward, dispatching the Furies quickly.

Using their Kinetic Generators, the Nemesis Battle Cruisers quickly rounded the first island and took aim at the Borodino.  With devastating gunnery they reduced it to within 2 hull points.

With the Borodino crippled, the SAS Dive Bombers closed in for the kill but the sun must of been in their eyes – their damage only inching the mighty ship towards the end.  The Manticores were boarded, one lost to the hands of the Russians.

Suddenly the Borodino lurched forward, knocking the first Nemesis out of the way, destroying the last Fury and launching a boarding action against the other Nemesis.  At the end of turn 3, another ship was in the hands of the Russians.

“Is this a good time Captain”, asked the guest.  “Not now!” shouted Nemo and turned away.  The radio operator reported 2 of his fleet were now in Russian hands.  His Furies were heading towards the bottom of the ocean.  He consoled himself with the fact that the technology lost was nothing new to the Russians; but if they got a hold of his submarine – there would be no place on Earth he would be able to hide from his employer.

Despite being on the bottom of the ocean, a squadron of Russian dive bombers dropped their deadly payload.  The bombs sank and sank then found their mark.  If the Death Bringer had of been any other submarine – it would of remained on the bottom as a wreck.

Finally some good news – the Borodino battleship was gone.  The Reaper subs had found their mark and now thousands of tons of Russian warship was slipping beneath the waves.  Nemo made a mark in his journal, bonus pay for the sub pilots.  In the background, the guest waited.

In what could be described as the strangest tactic I’ve ever seen played – Dave drove his Dreadnought into the island that separated the battles.  It was a risky move – Dave needed the firepower that the Dreadnought could bring to end the game but what would be available to him after 48 AD!  The result, as you can see above caused 6 hull points of damage, 2 x Chaos and Disarray results and a single Shredded Defences.

The best laid plans seldom work out – the Dreadnought survived but its gunnery was badly compromised.  It took no further part in the game.

At the end of turn four, Dave (Russians) called a win.  His field order was 50% + all mediums.  The loss of the my last Nemesis gave him the game.  I also called the game with 50% of his points lost and all smalls.  However his points total was a little higher than mine (1040 vs 560) giving him a narrow victory.

Nemo gave the order to the helmsman – best speed to home.  His fleet was lost; only the two Death Bringers would make port.  The pilots of the Reapers, their support ships lost would have to find their own way home, which would be very unlikely.  

The guest made his way back across to Nemo’s command chair; his quill and pen in hand.  “Very well Mr Verne; where would you like me to start.”