Battle Report
Battlefleet Gothic
A Gathering Of Arms - Part One
Conclusion
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Conclusion
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Chaos
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Imperial
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Destroyed
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460 points
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200 points
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Escaped
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540 points
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-
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Total
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(Chaos escaped + Imperial Destroyed) 740 points
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(Chaos Destroyed) 460 points
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The Chaos Conclusion
Well, this scenario was always going to be very tough for the defender. All that you can do really is try to take
out as much of the attacking fleet in turns two and three as possible and hope that it is enough. The fact that I had two
thirds the defenders fleet rather than half as specified only made things harder for the defender, but I
think that Tim did very well against these odds. Still, this perceived inbalance does put pressure on the
attacker, Tim would never have let me forget it if I had actually lost!
While the points difference at the end of the game is fairly conclusive, with a margin of 280 points, things
were a lot closer in the real world. I had only a couple of cruisers remaining, and the Abigor had taken a
pounding. The game seemed to be quite even, and unusually both of us suffered a plasma overload critical
hit at some point in the game. We could both go on about how unlucky we were, but I think that the luck evened
out over the course of the game, and this is fairly common in a game of Gohtic. In general, I dont think that I
played exceptionally well or displayed tactical brilliance, but I did manage to concentrate my loses and get
points off the table in the form of fully functioning cruisers, which count for a lot in this scenario.
As for my rerolls, all that I will say is that they were a complete waste,
and after I decided on a lower warmaster to get them! I wont do that again, and I dont want to talk about it
any more... What made this scenarion different was that the two fleets started off so close together. This really
turned the pressure up and made for an exciting game, where initial deployment made a big difference. This is
in contrast to our normal games where the fleets are set up out of range. In the end, I only really got a single
turn. My first turn was just out of range and moving onto the board, while turn three became a move to get ships
off the table. Considering turn two was the only really effective turn that I had, I am fairly happy with the amount of
damage that I managed to inflict. As for my tactics, well they mostly disappeared at the end of turn one, and
turn two become a harsh firefight before I made a dash for the table edge.
In the end, the combination of the Murder and Carnage cruiser did very well. As a pair, they took a huge amount
of firepower and still held the line and managed to hit back hard. The fact that they both ended the game with more than
half their damage points is a bonus and just goes to show how effective these ships of the line can actually be.
The loss of the Legion was probably the biggest blow to the fleet. This grand cruiser can usually take a lot of
punishment, and with its strength fourteen broadsides it can really scare the enemy. In the end, it did not
perform as well as it could have, and paid the price for this poor performance. The loss of its shields at the start
of the game did not leave me with much hope as to its survival. My only ironic joy was that Lord Vermilion perished
on the bridge with the ship, he will not fail me to such a level again. To give credit to Tim, when the shields shut
down on the ship he did not waste such an ideal opportunity. He kept striking this vessel until it cracked, and it
really made a difference to the game. While he had the same critical hit with his light cruiser, I did not manage to
deal with it quite as effectively. Although I did destroy the vessel, it did not give me the same level of satisfaction
that vapourising a flagship would have!
In the end, a lot of this battle was in the setup. In general, I was happy with the way that Tim had been forced to
deploy his fleet. If only Cobra squadron J had been sent to the east third of the Imperial setup area, the game would
have been a very different one, and it would have made things a lot more difficult for me. As it was, I dealt with
the few ships in my way and got off the board as quick as I could. I still think that keeping the ships in formation
is a better idea than 'every man for himself' and a break for the table edge. If I played this scenario again, I would
probably place more firepower of the west flank and provide a stronger wall for the Imperial fleet to bounce off. This
would be a bit of a gamble, but if I could deal with ships individually and as they arrived in range, I think that I could
beat them back and take even more with me before I exited the table. If the Repulsive grand cruiser had been in a
better state, I would have liked it to get to the flank fast and hang back slowly, to cover the rest of the fleet. But,
the battle plan is usually the first casualty of a battle, and I think that I did OK.
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The Imperial Conclusion
Curses, foiled by the Reading Space Fiend once again!!! Alas, another loss. To win the battle I needed to take
375 victory points from Iain and not lose any ships myself. In this event I lost 200 points of my own and
failed to make up the difference; even by destroying Iain's escorts and one of the four capital ships Iain
deployed, before, as expected he exited the board within three turns. The reasons for my defeat are, I feel,
as follows:
Surprise
Iain's tactics were excellent. I had expected him to disperse his ships in order to try and sketch my defences
to the limit. Instead he massed his capital ships to assault a single one of my deployment squares, in order
to achieve local superirity. Thanks to chance this was achieved as I had only one capital ship in the square.
Poor tactics in the face of chance
Thanks to chance, my vessels were poorly deployed. Two of my capital ships were in the squares farthest from
Iain's four heavy vessels. As a result, I spent most of the game's three turns trying to bring my capital ships
(Soveriegn of Stars and Pallas) into action rather than actually fighting. Secondly, my tactics in the first two
turns were poor. In the face of Iain's local superiority and facing the almost immediate loss of a capital ship
(Lord Warden), I rushed one hunter/killer squadron into combat with four capital ships. This was a situation
I had not designed them for as they had to fight almost alone for two turns. The Lord Warden was saved but
Iain was able to use his firepower superiority well, and the squadron was predictably mauled, losing a
Dauntless (the Renown) and three Corbas. I also lost a torpedo attack chance as Iain's ships were in line
abreast at this point, which would have been a classic position for torpedo attack.
A better tactic would have been to burn retros on the Lord Warden whilst moving both hunter/killer
squadrons towards that ship rather than the enemy in turn one. This would have boosted my numbers and
possibly forced Iain to change course into my oncoming captial ships further up the table, giving me a
chance to bring more firepower to bare and delay his exit from the board.
What went right
Well, the hunter/killer squadron's worked, up to a point. Both were able to get into action rapidly thanks to their
designed speed. The attack by H squadron and its attached Dauntless (the Repulse) on Iain's escorts was a
classic hunt and kill situation, even if he was offering them as bait. Never let Imperial torpedo vessels attack
you if you are line abreast! Even J squadron worked well after its mauling. The decisive lance broadside from
the Lord Warden cracked open the Chaos flagship just enough for the torpedoes of J squadron to finish it off.
Since this was also Iain's flagship, I consider honour satisfied. However, honour is not enough to win a game
where hits had to be made on the enemy fleet immediately. Since I had the largest force, this should have been
easier. It was my own poor tactics in the first turn that caused my failure.
Closing comments
I would like to note that the short depth of the table meant that the game was especially interesting. It effectively
compressed the game into a very short time period. Ships were coming into action in the first turn. Something
I had not experienced before. This immediately puts the players, especially the defending player, under pressure
(in this case me, hence the mistake) and it added to the excitement of the game.
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Khan allowed himself to relax. The remaining ships from the Chaos battle group had collected just outside
the Viridian system. All told, three cruisers remained, but the fleet had lost the valuable grand cruiser. What
was on the minds of the captains now was the fact that the battle group had lost its commander. Khan was
next in command, but the other cruiser captains would not simply allow this to happen without a challenge.
But, Khan knew that these petty problems would be resolved. He ached to get to the main line. He had
left the previous battle only two hours before, but already he ached for conflict. The three cruisers lay idle just
out system, energy levels at a minimum, and waited for more Chaos vessels to arrive. The entire system would
be theirs. All that was required now was for a dispatch of ships to eliminate or indefinately hold up any
Imperial ships which were heading in this direction.
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Date: 11/05/2002
Written by: CyberShadow
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