Ravenna, OH (AP) - In the largest clash of surface combatants of the year, a German battle squadron clashed on the high seas with a scratch Allied task force in the waters off Ravenna, Ohio. The DKM Tirpitz under Captain Bob Amend appeared to be working up, and with her sister DKM Bismarck under captain Roland Gerrick were caught flat footed by the fast Allied force, built around the French battleship FN Richelieu, British battlecruiser HMS Hood and American heavy cruiser USS Salem. A fierce engagement ensued with the Tirpitz experiencing the age old German propulsion problems, went dead in the water. The Allied task force didn't miss their chance. Richelieu swooped in and put paid to the Tirpitz with several hits forward. She went down with her flags flying. Bismarck was chased from the seas, at the cost of extremely heavy damage to the HMS Hood. The end results, a resounding Allied victory with the Germans whipped from the seas in defeat. The french battlecruiser FN Strasbourg arrived later in the day, and participated in operations with the rest of the Allied fleet. Rumor has it that the Axis high command has deployed additional resources to the area to try and wrest control back from the victorious Allies. The next few days should prove very interesting.
Day 2: Once again, the Allies dominated the Axis forces in the waters around Ravenna. The morning line up consisted of Captain Roland Gerrick in the DKM Bismarck, Captain Bob Amend in the DKM Tirpitz and Captain Eric Noble in the SMS Markgraf on the Axis fleet. The Allies fleet consisted of the FN Richelieu under Captain Mike Mangus, FN Strasbourg under Captain Vance Deskin, HMS Hood under Captain Marina Deskin and USS Salem under Captain Mike DeMarco. Tirpitz fixed her propulsion problems, and was extremely deadly. The Allies concentrated their firepower on the Bismarck and like in the song, they found that German battleship and then they cut her down. Tirpitz laid some serious pain on Richelieu, and nearly sank her, but RC combat doesn't count almost in the sink column. In the afternoon, the Tirpitz didnt go out, so just like in the movie, the part of the DKM Graf Spee was played by the USS Salem. Teams were Bismarck, Markgraf and Salem vs Hood, Richelieu and Strasbourg. Bismarck was having issues with guns, and Ersatz Graf Spee had no sidemounts, so the three Allied capital ships declared open season on the Markgraf. All ships survived the first sortie, but in the second, an unseen ram on the Markgraf and the captain shutting off his pump when he shouldnt have caused the Markgraf to settle by the stern. He turned the pump back on, but it was far too late, and Markgraf was for Davy Jones' locker. All other ships survived, The final score for the day was an Axis class 6 and an Axis class 5 sunk, no Allies sunk. A clear allied victory for the day. Can the Axis recover? Only time will tell!
Day 3 Day 3 has shown the most intense battling of the season. We had a few other rookies out there today, the Sloane family from Louisville, who took turns running the Hood and Strasbourg. Josh Finnegan was running his Deutschland panzershiffe, so the mornings teams were Bismarck, Tirpitz, Markgraf and Deutschland for the Axis. For the Allies, Richelieu, Hood, Strasbourg, Dunkerque under captain Bat Masterson and Salem. A brutal two sortie battle followed with no ships sinking. The afternoon battle showed the gloves come off. Bismarck and Markgraf were having some issues and didnt go out for the first sortie, so the Salem once again slipped to the Axis fleet. Hood and Tirpitz came together like rare earth magnets, started swapping punches at close range. The Alllied fleet knowing no other capital ships were out there for the Axis, went after the Tirpitz. Tirpitz had them all surrounded and dealt some serious pain to both the Hood and the Richelieu. After the first sortie, all three capital ships were hurting. Bismarck and Markgraf would be going back in this sortie.The Axis plan for sortie 2 was for the cruisers to go in and soften up the Hood, then let the Bismarck finish her. The plan worked to perfection. The Axis declared open season on the Hood and the cruisers saved their shots and made them count on the big Brit BC. Tirpitz then moved in, and shrugged off the twin sides from the Richelieu and finished the Hood. Hood went down in her first combat sink. The price was high though as the Allies made the Tirpitz pay, and she sank for the second time in three days. Now in Treaty combat, we only count sinks points, and if a 2 ships of the same class sink, tie goes to the side with the most displacement sunk. Since the Hood and Tirpitz are both class 6, but Tirpitz is the heavier of the two, this would be an Allied victory. The Allies were screaming in victory, and saying all they had to do was stay afloat to win. The Axis on the other hand, went for the next most heavily damaged ship, the Richelieu, knowing they were probably going to lose if they couldn't put her down. The Allies made a critical error though. In elation, one captain wasn't paying enough attention to his ship, and the French battlecruiser Dunkerque rammed the German battleship Markgraf. If there was damage to the Markgraf, a ram penalty would be assessed, giving the Axis a victory. The result of the inspection? A small half inch tear, resulting in a ram penalty being assessed to the Allied battlecruiser. The Allies managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and the Axis won the day's battling by the slimmest of margins. Captain Noble who last year had cost the Axis a victory with a ram penalty last year was redeemed by drawing one for a victory this year. How sweet it is, for the beleaguered Axis forces, who really needed a victory today. To win the week, the Axis has a high mountain to climb in the final battles tomorrow. Can they do it? We'll know tomorrow evening!
I do not recall my Tirpitz sinking at all during the past event. Are there any photographs available to back these statements up? Thanks,
