To Light the Torch 1942

Referee's Comments

by Michael W. Harris

This scenario is more about movement than firepower. Many scenarios require the player to leave one edge or reach a certain spot on the board, but that goal tends to get lost once the shooting starts. The forces in this game are unbalanced in several ways.

First, the US player, because of superior radar range, knows the German's starting location, while the German is committed to his course and speed until he makes his own detection.

Secondly, the position of the forces is also unbalanced. The US forces are divided, the Germans together. Their central location risks envelopment by the two US task groups, but also gives the Germans the central positon, and the chance to maneuver against only one grooup, if they move aggressively.

Thirdly, the ships themselves are unbalanced. There is no clear match-up, no way to line one side up against another. Tirpitz is more than a match for Texas, but cannot penetrate South Dakota's armor until she reached Medium range. Even combined, the two panzerschiffe are not a match for either battleship, but can easily overpower the US heavy cruisers. The German heavy cruisers must take the place of short-ranged destroyers, but they will have trouble dealing with small, evading destroyers. Several German moves are obvious. Detect the two forces, then zig to starboard and try to cripple Texas and Savannah quickly as you pass, then head south as fast as you can. This is what I saw the first time we ran the game, then the Germans won.

The US moves are also obvious: Close to optimum range, at the same time keeping yourself to the south of the Germans. Although the initial position looks advantageous, neither group is directly south of the Germans.

One rule both sides need to follow: Look at the data! In one game, the US player opened fire way too early. There was no chance to hit, although he did remove the first turn of fire modifier. Much more importantly, he also alerted the Germans to his presence, and they were able to maneuver freely. Look at the visibility ranges and the chance of detection. Understand how that chance is affected by your actions.

In another game, the German player had Tirpitz firing on Massachusetts at long range, and not penetrating. While the player understood the results, he did not use the information he had to either change the range and achieve penetration, or find another target. In this game, it looks like the Germans are in a box, at a tremendous disadvantage. They are, if they let themselves stay there. The US player has to work hard to keep them in the box, to take advantage of his initial position. The win in the games I've run always went to the player who had the best understanding of the dynamics and followed up with aggreessive movement.

More CAS Scenario: Torch 1942

BT

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