What if NLD had modern warships at Java Sea Battle ? (GQ 3.3 Rules)

The Dutch Navy fought with 1920s warships against 1940s Japanese heavy cruisers and destroyers during the 1942 Java Sea battle… Would it make any difference if the Dutch had their intended Battlecruisers, new cruisers and new destroyers available?

What was the Dutch Fleet plan?

The major part of the Dutch Fleet was supposed to defend her large colony Dutch East Indies in Asia (the current Indonesia). Large parts of the Dutch fleet consisted of 1920s licht cruisers and destroyers. Just before World War 2 one light cruiser was added (HNLMS De Ruyter) and 1 Destroyer Leader (HNLMS Tromp). The Fleet didn’t have any heavy cruisers or battleships. Realising the Japanese threat (but also counting on the help of the British and the Americans), a Dutch plan was made in the late 1930s to build 3 Battlecruisers and more modern cruisers and destroyers. The Battlecruisers were supposed to outmatch Japanese heavy cruisers. The Dutch design of project 1047 Battlecruiser was based on the German Scharnhorst class with 3 triple 11-inch turrets, except that the dual purpose 12 cm. secondary armament replaced the German secondary 15 cm. and 10 cm. AA-guns. The Dutch battlecruisers were focused on speed (vice radius) for their anti-cruiser role. Planning for the battlecruisers started in 1938 and several design variants were ready but Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940 and no Battlecruiser was ever build.. It was planned they would be ready around 1944…
Two new light cruisers were planned as well (replacement of the 1920s cruisers). Both ships were in an early stage of construction when the Netherlands was occupied. They should have been launched in 1943-’44. They have been launched early 1950s to a new design. Anyhow the original design had 10 Swedish Bofors guns of 152 mm. in 2 triple turrets and 2 double turrets, which was 30% more than the 1938 HNLMS De Ruyter.
The new fleet destroyers would replace the 1920s fleet destroyers. Those 1920s destroyers were based on a British design of 1600 tons, armed with 4 x 12 cm guns (in open shields, not dual purpose). The new destroyers would be of Dutch design: 2200 tons with 2 modern double 12 cm. closed turrets and one superimposed single 12 cm. turret aft. The machinery increased from 31.000 hp to 45.000 hp. and they would get 8 torpedo tubes instead of 6. Only 2 of the 4 new destroyers had been launched just before May 1940. The Callenburgh was scuttled but HNLMS Isaac Sweers fled to Great Britain (without armament or fire control systems; not yet installed!). The 2 others were destroyed on the spot to prevent German use.

The ‘what if?’ scenario

To play this scenario we were 2 times ‘lucky’. First, General Quarters 3.3 has a Dutch Supplement in which those new Dutch ships are included. So we had ship data on the Battlecruisers, new light cruisers and new destroyers (Callenburgh was repaired by the Germans and used as ‘ZH 1’ (Zerstorer Holland 1) during the war. Second: NAWAR makes all these models in scale 1:3000: N8902, N8911 and N8924A respectively.
So I developed a scenario in which a Dutch modern Taskgroup, consisting of 1 BC (Blue flag), 1 CL (HNLMS Eendracht) and 2 destroyers (HNLMS Callenburg & Tjerk Hiddes) would search for a Japanese covering force of the Japanese landing fleet around 1943/’44. Assuming the war in Asia didn’t start in 1937-’38, but in 1943…. What would be a realistic or playable Japanese Taskgroup? I choose for playability, so 1 BC (the 1930s modernized IJN Kongo, with 8 x 14-inch guns; red flag), 1 CL (IJN Agano, with 6 x 6-inch guns) and 2 x 1940s Kagero-class destroyers (IJN Kagero & Yukikase, each with six 5-inch guns). Both Taskgroups had 35 victory points (VP) and individual ships were comparable (also in VP’s).

Set up

On a 4 x 6 feet table, both 1:3000 scale task groups were 130 cm. apart (26,000 yds), able to see each others smoke. Distance scale: 1 cm. = 200 m. Wind: from Northwest; moderate force. Each Taskgroup had 1 gunnery division (battlecruiser & cruiser) and 1 destroyer div. At the start of the game those ships sailed towards each other at 15 kts.

Turn 1
On the detection of smoke, the Dutch destroyer Div. increased speed towards 25 kts; the Dutch cruiser Div. increased towards 20 kts. and turned 20 degrees to starboard. The Japanese divisions increased speed as well. Both battle cruisers tried to fire at each other with their forward turrets at a range of more than 26.000 yds. but missed.

Turn 2

Both Taskgroups manoeuvred to be able to fire all their main guns at the enemy. The Dutch destroyer div. turned 40 degrees to starboard. The Japanese destroyer division crossed the course line of their cruiser division, partly limiting their free firing sector ….
The Dutch battlecruiser fired with 3 x 11-inch turrets at IJN Kongo at 22,000 yds; miss again! HNLMS Eendracht fired with all her 152 mm. guns at the nearest Kagero destroyer (at 20.000 yds): miss. And HNLMS Callenburgh missed IJN Yukikase at 16,600 yds. Luckily the Japanese were also unable to hit the Dutch Taskgroup.

Turn 3

Both Dutch destroyers increased speed to 35 knots and prepared for a torpedo attack. It seemed that the Japanese had the same idea. The closest distance between both destroyer divisions was still outside 10,000 yds. and the Japanese torpedoes had a much longer reach. The Dutch cruiser div. increased speed to 30 kts. The Dutch BC 11-inch guns did hit IJN Kongo and destroyed her middle double 14-inch turret at a range of 19.000 yds! However IJN Kongo did hit the Dutch BC as well, resulting in 1 hullbox, limiting her speed to 31 kts. The Dutch BC opened fire with her secondary armament at IJN Kagero at 14,500 yds, but missed. Only 1 other Dutch ship (HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes) did hit IJN Yukikase, resulting in an engineering hit, limiting her speed suddenly to 23 kts. The Japanese had much better results: IJN Kongo secondary 6-inch guns did hit HNLMS Callenburgh, taking out one of her 12 cm gun mounts. IJN Agano did hit HNLMS Eendracht, taking out one of her modern 152 mm double turrets. And IJN Kagero did hit HNLMS Callenburgh for a second time, taking out a second 12 cm. gun mount!

Turn 4
In the damage control phase we tried to understand what ‘unit engineering (UE)’ provided to a ship. Anyhow, all damage from turn 3 was unrepairable..
While the Japanese ships tried to close the Dutch, both Dutch Divisions tried to keep a certain distance to the Japanese.. During this phase IJN Yukikaze launched a spread of 8 torpedoes over starboard (which travelled 3200 yds during this phase).
During the gunnery phase HNLMS Eendracht did hit IJN Agano twice, damaging her searchlights and torpedo tube battery. Both Dutch destroyers had closed the Japanese destroyers within 9,000 yds and used rapid fire of their (remaining) 12 cm. guns, resulting in 2 hits at IJN Kagero. One of them was an engineering hit, so both Japanese destroyers slowed down to 23 kts. Both BC’s fired at each other but missed. IJN Agano missed as well! However, the 5-inch gunfire of both Japanese destroyers at this close range was devastating for the Dutch destroyers: HNLMS Callenburgh lost her last 12 cm. gun mount and HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes got 4 hits (picture)! Her bulkhead was destroyed (flooding!), depth charges were damaged and at 3 places fire started. The crew was overwhelmed with damage control! The morale check of HNLMS Callenburgh (no main battery anymore) was still positive, so she stayed in the fight.

Turn 5
During the damage control phase it was clear that the engineering of IJN Kagero was unrepairable. The crew of HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes was overwhelmed with the amount of damage and was unsuccessful to stop the flooding. Result: the destroyer had 3,5 destroyed/damaged hull boxes and the flooding and fires continued…Because it was a more modern destroyer than the actual Dutch types during the 1942 battle, she had 2 more hull boxes than her predecessor.

Both task groups continued to close each other. The Dutch cruiser division maintained 30 kts speed. HNLMS Callenburgh fired 8 torpedoes at long range over port side towards the Japanese and turned away to starboard. HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes tried to follow her course, with limited speed (due to her hull damage and fire). IJN Kagero prepared her torpedo engagement...
During the gunnery phase the Dutch BC did hit IJN Kongo twice at 14,000 yds. She lost another 14-inch double turret! The 12 cm secondary guns of the Dutch BC did hit IJN Yukikaze at 12,000 yds, resulting in a devastating second engineering hit… The destroyer was now dead in the water (DIW)! HNLMS Eendracht did hit IJN Agano at 14,000 yds and destroyed 1 hullbox (picture). HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes continued rapid fire towards IJN Kagero at 7,000 yds, hitting her once. Ofcourse the Japanese returned fire: IJN Kongo destroyed with her remaining 14-inch guns 1 triple 11-inch turret of the Dutch BC! And IJN Yukikaze did hit HNLMS Callenburgh at close range twice, hitting a destroyed gun mount again. HNLMS Callenburgh speedlimit was now 33 kts.

Turn 6

The brave crew of HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes managed to stop the flooding at the damaged bulkhead but the 3 fires raged on… resulting in additional damage to a total of 5,5 hull boxes (and a speed limit of 17 kts.). The compulsory moral check (more than half of her hull boxes) however was positive! IJN Yukikaze remained Dead in Water (DIW).
The Dutch destroyer Div. did split up (picture): the now complete unarmed HNLMS Callenburgh turned port, pointing the Japanese destroyers and showed the smallest silhouet possible (hoping she was more difficult to hit).
During the Torpedo Phase HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes managed to launch 8 torpedoes over port side, towards the Japanese. However, HNLMS Callenburgh came into the torpedo spread fired by IJN Kagero (turn 5). She was hit three times and did sink immediately with a loss of many men.
During the gunnery phase the Dutch BC missed on IJN Kongo and IJN Kagero and HNLMS Eendracht missed on IJN Agano. However at close range HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes executed rapid fire at the DIW IJN Yukikaze (at 7,000 yds) and did hit her 6 times! During this duel HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes was hit once by IJN Yukikaze, resulting in a fourth fire. The many hits on IJN Yukikaze resulted in a huge ammunition explosion. She was sunk.

The Japanese battlecruiser IJN Kongo did destroy HNLMS Eendracht forward 15 cm. double turret with a 6-inch salvo from her secondary battery. And IJN Kagero did hit HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes, who had accumulated now a lot of damage. She was crippled: 7 out of 8 hull boxes were destroyed and her max. speed was limited to 6 kts. Although her main gun battery was still operational, the gun crews were needed the battle the huge damage. The Dutch Taskgroup Commander had no other choice to send her to port for repairs (if she would make it anyhow). It was probably better to disengage completely from this battle; the Dutch BC lost 33% of her 11-inch main battery and HNLMS Eendracht 40% of her 15 cm. battery.
The Japanese Task Group was also in problems and were much further away from port. IJN Kongo lost 50% of her 14-inch main battery (repairs would take at least more than 6 months) and had a speed limit of 26 kts, IJN Kagero had a speed limit of 23 kts. and had to reload her torpedoes. Only IJN Agano was more or less fully operational…with damage to searchlights and 50% of her torpedo mounts.
At this stage the Dutch cruiser Div. was probably 6-8 kts. faster than the Japanese Taskgroup, so the Japanese could not run away, but the Japanese gun mounts were still a threat to the Dutch ships… 

Verdict
This fictional naval skirmish assumed those ships operated without the radar developments which actually took place in the early 1940s and without an air threat. It took us 4 hrs play time to conduct those 6 turns (including making pictures, taking notes and looking for rules). 
The first conclusion is that the game uses very realistic & fast shooting tables (Combat Rating Tables). If you use those CRT’s you can see at once which guns/torpedo’s have which range. The torpedo rules work also very well.

And now the big question: did the more modern Dutch warships made a difference? Yes I think so (although this was just 1 game). First, with 3 triple 11-inch turrets the Dutch battlecruisers had a real chance against Japanese heavy cruisers (with multiple 8-inch guns); even against a 14-inch armed battlecruiser she was able to ‘hold the fort’. The more modern destroyers of the Callenburgh-class had 33% more hull boxes than their 1924 predecessors and better gun & torpedo armament, so it was harder to sink them and they could better defend against the very capable and heavy armed Japanese destroyers. The new Dutch light armored cruiser ‘Eendracht’ didn’t impress very much during this game, and lost 2 double gun turrets due to 2 x Japanese 6-inch hits. As we saw in the actual 1942 Sea Battle, light cruisers are very vulnerable when heavy cruisers or battlecruisers are around…

The Dutch lost 1 destroyer (2,5 VP), 1/3 of the main guns of the BC (1/3 of 16 VP?), 40% of the main guns of the CL (40% of 4 VP?) and probably 1 VP of the crippled HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes. The Japanese lost 50% of their BC armament (50% of 16 VP?), 1 destroyer (2,5 VP) and from both remaining Japanese ships 0,5 VP each (due to damage)?
VP score: the Netherlands: 11 (BC) + 2 (CL) + 1,5 (DD) = 14,5 (out of 35)
                                 Japan:  8 (BC) + 3,5 (CL) + 2 (DD) = 13,5 (out of 35)
Definitely a draw (which is much better for NLD than the actual 1942 battle)…

Idea: next time a fight between 1940s Dutch battle cruisers and 1930s Japanese 8-inch heavy cruisers?

Try-out of 'General Quarters' Rule System in the Baltic (GQ 3.3)

Preparations.
After reading my paper copy of 'General Quarters 3.3' and downloading the 'Soviet Navy' Supplement from the website I got interested to learn more if I would like these Rules. My experience with WW2 Naval wargaming rules was limited: I've played a few 'Victory @ Sea', 'Naval Thunder' and 1 'Pacific Command' games. At first sight the GQ3.3 rulebook looks 'massive': a lot of text, many details to think about, too complex? But after reading I learned that most type of warfares (Surface Operations, Aerial Ops, Submarine Ops, Mine Ops, Amphibious Ops, Convoy Tactics) can be played without any knowledge of the other types of warfare. So, you don't have to read/understand the whole book; you just read the relevant chapter. There are also some suggestions to skip more complex things which you don't like. For instance: if you don't want to play the aerial combat rules of chapter 2, you are suggested to use the air-oriented more streamlined rules of the Campaign section (Chapter 4). Similar for Submarine Operations; a streamlined version can be found in the Campaign section. The usage of detailed different national Combat Result Tables (CRT) and 1 page called 'Flank Speed' (which acts as a Quick Reference Sheet) makes the game indeed very playable and fast. So on second thoughts: I like the array of possible naval actions (fight against surface ships, submarines, aircraft, land targets, sea mines, etc.) and the data on a large volume of ships. Not only major combatants, but also minesweepers, landing craft and loads of merchant ships.

Set Up

I wanted to play with my freshly painted Soviet cruisers, so I came up with a 1943ish scenario of a German convoy in the Baltic which is attacked by a Soviet task group of light cruisers. I didn't want to be bothered about weather, ice, airplanes or whatever. The plan was to go through the motions and apply (& learn) the Rules. To get a proper feel of the GQ3.3 Rule System. In advance I had acquired D12 dice.

    The first challenge was: which groundscale to use on my 4 x6 feet sea mat? The suggested scale was 1 cm. per 100 yds. (for a suggested playing area of 6 x 10 ft!) which was completely different to the scales we were used to in modern Naval Wargames (1 cm. = 1 nautical mile). What would happen when both fleets would sail at each other with a speed of 25 kts each? Anyhow, we tried 1 cm. = 100 yds.

    During the game we 'discovered' my scenario was flawed. We forgot to use a Scenario Log and we hadn't established clear missions for both sides, victory points, atrocity points, wind direction (smokescreen!), etc. With hindsight the USSR had the mission 'patrol', NAZI Germany had 'passage'. Anyhow, it didn't hinder us to get a feel of GQ3.3.

    We used the Soviet Navy & Kriegsmarine CRT's and followed the Basic Game Turn Sequence. Both fleets started in an opposite corner of the seamat, approx. 150 cm. (15,000 yds) from each other. USSR Taskgroup with a speed of 15 kts; the German Convoy with a speed of 8 kts.

    The Soviet Taskgroup consisted of 1 new 'Kirov'-class cruiser, 1 modernized Nakhimov-class cruiser ('Krasny Kavkaz'), 2 WW1-era Nakhimov-class light cruisers ('Krasnyi Krym' & 'Chervonya Ukraina') and 2 brand new Tashkent-class destroyer leaders ('Tashkent' & 'Kiev'). They were sailing in 2 divisions, 1000 yds line abreast of each other. Div 1: Kirov and both Nakhimov-class cruisers (all 1000 yds apart); Div. 2: Krasny Kavkaz cruiser, followed by both destroyer leaders (5oo yds apart). The German convoy of 3 merchants and 1 oiler was protected by 1 brand new heavy cruiser (KMS 'Hipper'), 2 light cruisers (KMS 'Leipzig' & 'Koln'), 2 modern fleet destroyers (Z-24, Z-26) and 2 Torpedo boats (T-23, T-28). 

Turn 1

Tactical plot phase (read: the movement plan). Both Taskgroups have spotted each other and adjusted their course and speed. USSR (cruiser)Div.1 maintain course and accelerate towards 20 kts. USSR Div 2. split up: both Destroyer Leaders accelerate towards 25 kts and cruiser 'Krasny Kavkaz' turns hard starboard to join cruiser Div. 1. The German convoy turns approx. 30 degrees to starboard (to keep her distance, away from the threat), together with both torpedo boats. The German cruisers and destroyers maintain course and speeds towards the Soviet enemy, in order to defend the convoy.

Movement phase: all ships move simultaneously as plotted (as planned). The Soviet combatants move either 25 cm. (Destroyer Leaders) or 20 cm. (cruisers).

Gunnery Phase (simultaneously; results are applied at end of Phase): KMS 'Hipper' opens fire with her

2 forward 8-inch turrets at the Soviet flagship at 12,000 yds but misses. Destroyer Leader 'Kiev' opens fire with her 2 forward 130 mm turrets at a German torpedo boat at 11,000 yds but misses... KMS 'Leipzig' fires her forward 150 mm triple turret at the 'Kiev' at 13,000 yds but misses as well.  'Krasny Kavkaz' gives a broadside over port side with her 4 x180 mm guns but misses, partly because her fire control is influenced by her sharp starboard turn. Everybody fires at each other during this phase, but only the German destroyer Z26 places a hit on 'Kiev' with her forward 150 mm. turret. The damage is 1 hull box.

Turn 2

Damage Control: reading the rules we 'discover' that hull boxes can't be repaired at sea. The good news is that the brand new Italian built Soviet Destroyer Leaders of this class have 9 hull boxes (more than the older Soviet cruisers)! 

Tactical Plot Phase: both new Soviet Destroyer Leaders (Div. 2) accelerate 10 kts towards 35 kts. All Soviet cruisers accelerate 5 kts towards 25 kts. The cruiser 'Krasny Kavkaz' of Div. 2 joins the rest of cruiser Div. 1. The German cruisers and destroyers close the range towards the Soviet Taskgroup. Both German Torpedoboats lead the convoy further away from the Russians.

Movement Phase: during the joining manoeuvre of cruiser 'Krasny Kavkaz', she comes within 500 yds of light cruiser 'Krasny Krym'. According the GQ3.3 rules both ships now have to roll for Collision.

Unfortunately the bow of 'Krasny Kavkaz' hit 'Krasny Krym' midships portside. The bow damage is 2 hull boxes but the damage at 'Krasny Krym' is 3 hull boxes (of a total of 6) & engineering! 'Krasny Krim' leaves with a speedlimit of 13 kts. (cruiser)Div.1, conducts a positive morale check and continues repairs... 'Krasny Kavkaz' has a speed limit of 19 kts. and follows as good as she can (cruiser)Div 1. The German cruisers and destroyers close the range further towards the Soviet Taskgroup, changing their course 20 degrees to starboard. Both German Torpedo boats lead the convoy further away from the Russians.

Gunnery Phase: Kirov opens fire at KMS 'Hipper' with her 2 forward triple 180 mm. turrets at a close range of 8,500 yds. Probably due to 180 mm barrel wear and insufficient training of personnel they misses (again). Although the return fire of 'Hipper's' 2 forward 8-inch turrets miss as well! The old cruiser 'Chervonaya Ukraina' of the 'Nakhimov'-class opens fire at the nearby T23 torpedo boat at 6,700 yds) with a part of her open shield 130 mm guns. Result: 2 hits, resulting in 2 Fires & exploding DepthCharges onboard the torpedo boat. The damaged 'Krasny Kavkaz' cruiser tries to hit KMS 'Leipzig' at 10,700 yds but hasn't any luck. The Destroyer Leader 'Kiev' hits the German 'Z26' at 7,000 yds with 2 hits, taking out 1 of her torpedo mounts and her fire control. Her sistership 'Tashkent' gives a broadside with 3 double 130 mm turrets

towards German T28 but misses at 6,200 yds. KMS 'Leipzig' gives a broadside of 3 150 mm triple turrets towards the Soviet Destroyer Leader 'Tashkent'. Resulting in 7 hits; damaging 1 torpedo mount, searchlights, the rear gun and 1 hull box. Two engineering hits limits the speed to 25 kts and therefor she has to leave Div.2. Her sistership 'Kiev' is now fired upon by the remainder of the German fleet. Only KMS Koln and 1 torpedo boat (rapid fire by T23?) hit the Destroyer Leader (at 9,000 and 4,700 yds), resulting in multiple fires.

End of game, due to dinner.

Verdict & remarks

- Although limited in turns this particular Naval Wargame was interesting, the GQ3.3 Rules are workable & realistic. We had a steep learning curve and the scope of the Rules (and the Combat Result Tables) can support a large amount of possible/future naval engagements.

- a ground scale of 1 cm = 100 yds doesn't work very well on a 6 x 8 ft. table. We sailed during the game on a 6 x 9 nm. patch of water.. during 2 turns (which is supposed to be 12 min. of real time). If we had used battleships (they open fire at 25,000 yds?) we had ran out of real estate! Don't mention searching with aircraft... So next time we use a scale of 1 cm = 200 yds or 1 cm = 500 yds?

- How realistic is the chance for a collision (as happened between both Soviet cruisers)? Looking at the history of both World Wars and the Cold War: yes, that seems realistic at close quarters and during the confusion of a sea battle. The 'Krasny Kavkaz' had made a sharp 90 degrees turn to starboard, had opened fire at the enemy with a full broadside and was in the process of making a sharp 90 degrees turn to port to join the line astern formation of Div. 1. A miscalculation in speed can trigger such a collision. See the picture of the collision of KMS Prinz Eugen into KMS Leipzig in October 1944...

- GQ3.3, especially with a ground scale of 1 cm = 100 yds, has a focus on professional maneuvering of ships. We made 2 'mistakes' during this game: first the collision of the 2 Soviet cruisers, but we also came too close towards each other (so secondary guns will become an issue) and we didn't maneuver sufficiently to bear all our (main)guns towards the enemy. At close ranges of 10,000 - 5,000 yds we were still firing at each other only by the forward guns!

- All Soviet cruisers were outgunned by their German counterparts: in calibre and in age. 'Kirov' with her 180 mm. (7.1-inch) turrets was no match for the modern 8-inch turrets of KMS 'Hipper'. Same with the WW1 cruisers of the Nakhimov-class with their open shield single 130 mm. guns. All German light cruisers and destroyers had 150 mm guns/turrets; mostly in double/triple turrets! 

Sadly we were not able to conduct the Damage Control Phase of turn 3, to see what had been left of the Soviet fleet. Could the light cruiser 'Krasny Krym' after repairs rejoin the fight? Did the 'Tashkent' after all this damage had any chances? So...after turn 2 only 50 % of the Soviet cruisers was still 100% operational and both cruiser types were inferior compared to their German counterparts. All 3 German cruisers were undamaged, 50% of their escort force (destroyers, torpedo boats) was undamaged and non of the convoy was attacked. The Germans could deploy a smokescreen, as the Soviets didn't have radar to look through it. All German ships had some rudimentary radar system and KMS Hipper, Z24 and Z26 had Radar guided main guns as well.