Here we go. The Battle of the Atlantic as viewed by the Kriegsmarine:
The first few weeks of the war see my U-boats prowl the sea lanes between the United States east coast and England, pushing as far as the north western sector of the Atlantic. At the same time my surface raiders (ala Graf Spree) are heading north to hunt along the African coastline.
My heaviest hitting surface ships are just west of Liverpool; while a pair of light cruisers in Leipzig and Koln prowl the waters of the Azores Islands.
It's here we draw first blood as Koln and her companion spy HMS Velox (a small destroyer) escorting a pair of freighters (1 medium, 1 large).
Tactical map shows everyones' position when the Leipzig first reports contact at a range of 20,000 yards.
Velox is doomed from the start. It's a question of a few 4.7" guns versus 18 5.9" pieces...and the light cruisers, while maintaining line formation during a series of gradual turns to starboard (to keep the advantage of their superior firepower) begin to land consistent hits at 15,000 yards.
The destroyer tries to cover the freighters with a smoke screen. But it's pointless. The German ships turn hard to port and begin a stern chase. The next several minutes see Koln kill Velox (chart table in the tactical screen helped mitigate that smoke) while Leipzig eventually chases down, and sinks, the cargo ships at ranges of 8-10,000 yards.
Waited until then to conserve ammunition.
Both light cruisers took a single hit from the enemy destroyer...hopefully no stays at port will be required.
Tally so far: 13,000+ tons in shipping; HMS Velox.
Hopefully folks aren't too bored with this. Next shots will be better.