The Chase of the Bismarck: Operation Rheinübung 1941 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Abbreviations
• 2. Components
  • 2.1. Operational Search Board
  • 2.2. Tactical Battle Board
  • 2.3. Counters
    • 2.3.1. Naval units
    • 2.3.2. Air units
    • 2.3.3. Markers
  • 2.4. Ship Cards & Wooden Blocks
  • 2.5. Player Screens
  • 2.6. Tactical Combat Player Aid
  • 2.7. Hit Record Sheets (optional)
  • 2.8. Dice
• 3. Setup
• 4. Sequence of Play & Victory Conditions
  • 1. Visibility Phase (skip on Turn 1)
  • 2. Shadow Phase (skip on Turn 1)
  • 3. Movement Phase
  • 4. Search Phase
  • 5. Air Attack Phase
  • 6. Naval Combat Phase
  • 7. Chance Phase
  • 8. Admin Phase
  • Victory Conditions
    • Victory Points Table
• 5. Visibility Phase (Skip on Turn 1)
  • Visibility Phase Procedure Summary
• 6. Shadow Phase (Skip on Turn 1)
  • • Shadow Table
  • Shadow Phase Procedure Summary
• 7. Movement Phase
  • 7.1. Movement of Shadowed naval units
  • 7.2. Create or split Task Forces
  • 7.3. Mark and perform repair at sea attempts
    • Repair at Sea Table
  • 7.4. Mark ships in port and refuel them
  • 7.5. Mark ships refueling at sea and refuel them
  • 7.6. Mark naval units performing Patrols
  • 7.7. Move Naval and Air Units
    • 7.7.1. Movement of Air units
    • 7.7.2. Movement of Naval units
• 8. Search Phase
  • Search Procedure
  • Search Procedure Example
  • Search Phase Procedure Summary
• 9. Air Attack Phase
  • • Torpedo & Air Attack Hit Table
    • Damage markers
  • Air Attack Phase Procedure Summary
  • Air Attack Example
• 10. Naval Combat Phase
  • • Position Table
    • Naval Combat Table
    • Die Roll Modifiers
    • Movement Table
    • Abort Combat Table
  • Combat Sequence
  • Naval Combat Example
• 11. Chance Phase
  • 11.1. Submarine Contact
    • Submarine Contact Table
    • Submarine Attack Table
    • Sub Contact Examples
  • 11.2. Random Spotting
    • Random Spotting Table
    • Random Spotting Examples
  • 11.3. Convoy Hunting
    • Convoy Hunting Table
    • Convoy ID Table
    • Convoy Hunting Examples
• 12. Admin Phase
  • Admin Phase Procedure Summary
• 13. Optional Rules
  • 13.1. Hypothetical units
    • Optional unit VP cost
  • 13.2. Crew exhaustion

Abbreviations

• BB - Battleship
• BC - Battlecruiser
• BG - Background
• CA - Heavy Cruiser
• CG - Coast Guard
• CL - Light Cruiser
• CV - Aircraft Carrier
• DD - Destroyer Flotilla
• DRM - Die Roll Modifier
• ER - Evasion Rating
• FP - Fuel Point
• GT - Game Turn
• KG - Kampfgruppe (Task Force)
• LV - Level
• MP - Movement Point
• MVD - Moved
• MVT - Movement
• NP - Not Possible
• TF - Task Force
• TK - Tanker
• VP - Victory Point

2. Components

• Two operational Search Boards
• One Battle Board
• 582 Counters
• 30 Ship Cards
• Two Player Screens
• Two player aid charts
• Two Setup displays
• Two 10-sided dice
• One rulebook
• Several blue and red wooden blocks

2.1. Operational Search Board

There are two identical Search Boards (one for each player) provided in the game. Each player uses his own Search Board to maneuver his ships and air units to try to locate opposing ships and convoys. The Player Screens are used to hide all movement and the location of units on the Search Boards from the view of the opponent.

Printed on each Search Board is a map of the North Atlantic over which the Bismarck operation occurred. A hexagonal grid has been superimposed to regulate movement. One hex equals approximately 137 km / 74 nautical miles from side to side.

Ships may only enter or move through zones which contain a grid-coordinate and must not cross any all-land hexsides. Air units may enter any zone either with or without a grid-coordinate. All significant features of the Search Board map can be found in the terrain legend on the Player Screens.

2.2. Tactical Battle Board

Whenever opposing ships are found to be in the same hex on the Search Board, play may proceed on the Battle Board, where ship to ship combat is resolved.

2.3. Counters

Included in the game is a sheet of die-cut counters which represent all of the major fighting ships and air units that participated in the campaign, plus some optional ships which could have been involved. Also included are different types of markers to be used as playing aids. Here is an overview:

2.3.1. Naval units

Operational ship counters (Allied and German ship counters) show: Class, Emblem, Name, Evasion, Radar, Speed Rating, Movement Cap. & Moved Hexes indicator, with an Initial Status side and a Damaged Status side.

• CLASS: Ships can be classified as warships and tankers (Tk).
  • BB - Battleship
  • BC - Battlecruiser
  • CV - Aircraft Carrier
  • CA - Heavy Cruiser
  • CL - Light Cruiser
  • DD - Destroyer Flotilla
  • CG - Coast Guard
  • TK - Tanker
• EMBLEM: The historical emblem of the ship. Has no impact on play.
• NAME: The specific name of a ship or a flotilla.
• EVASION: Is the speed of a naval unit in knots.
• RADAR: Ships with radar are more efficient in naval combat and in shadowing enemy ships. Radar markings: Radar II*, Radar II, Radar I. *After first round of combat in the game, treat as no radar.
• SPEED RATING: A classification of a ship's speed into one of four classes: F: Fast, M: Medium, S: Slow, VS: Very Slow.
• MOVED HEXES INDICATOR: Can be used to mark how many hexes a ship moved in the last Movement Phase. This helps keeping track of fuel expenditure.
• DAMAGED STATUS: If a Fast ships' total amount of Evasion Effects brings its Evasion number down to 25 or less, replace its counter with the damaged variant. Damaged ship counters are only needed for F ships. Not for all other types. It still spends FP according to the rules for Fast ships but may move only up to a maximum of one hex per turn. If the Evasion Rating of a ship is reduced to '0', the ship is immobile and cannot move at all until repaired.

Task Force counters (TF): These are placeholders for a group of ships which which move together in one Task Force (or German: "Kampfgruppe"). All ships that are part of a TF are placed in the corresponding holding box on the map. The TF marker is used to mark the movement on the map itself. The term "Naval units" includes single ships as well as Task Forces.

2.3.2. Air units

Air unit counters (Allied Aircraft and Axis Aircraft) show: Type, Max. Speed, Base, Recon/BG, and Endurance.

Combat Aircraft are able to choose between dropping Flight Path Attack markers and Flight Path Search markers during their movement. Recon Aircraft may only drop Flight Path Search markers during their movement.

2.3.3. Markers

• Sighted/Shadowed: Used by both players to mark naval units that have been located. One type only marks a Sighted or Shadowed state, while another type also contains ship class denomination.
• 0,5 VP marker: Used to mark VPs for sunken single merchant ships.
• Fuel markers: Used to track the Fuel state of a ship on the Fuel Track. Very Slow and Slow ships do not need to use Fuel and there is no Fuel marker for them.
• Restricted: Marks ships that may not act until certain conditions are met.
• Convoy VP: Used to determine and mark the amount of Convoy VPs the German player has accumulated. (see 11.3)
• Evasion Maneuver: Marks naval units that attempt to avoid a shadow attempt. (see 6)
• Naval Patrol: Marks naval units performing patrols. (see 7.6)
• Flight Path - Search: Marks hexes with improved Search Factors due to an air unit. (see 7.7.1)
• Flight Path - Attack: Marks hexes with shadowed enemy naval units as targets for Air Attacks. (see 7.7.1)
• No Movement (1-2-3-4): Marks remaining turns before a ship may move again. (see 7.7.2 & 11.3)
• Repair at Sea: Marks ships that attempt to repair rudder damage or regain Evasion Factors. (see 7.3)

2.4. Ship Cards & Wooden Blocks

Most ships in the game have a Ship Card that is used in naval combat. Whenever a ship takes damage or combat occurs, players will take the cards of their involved ships to track damage on them with use of the wooden cubes. A ship is sunk if it has taken Hull hits to bring its level down to '0'.

How to mark hits: Two colors of wooden cubes are provided, the blue ones show the current status and the red ones are used to mark sustained damage during a combat round. When a Ship Card is used for the first time, mark the highest value of each category with a blue cube. When the combat round is finished, replace the leftmost red cube with the blue cube and remove all remaining red cubes from the Ship Cards.

2.5. Player Screens

Should be used to hide the operational Search Board from the opponent's view. Also contains most relevant information needed for play.

2.6. Tactical Combat Player Aid

Will only be used during naval combat. The Player Screens also contain all relevant information needed for naval combat.

2.7. Hit Record Sheets (optional)

Instead of using the Ship Cards with the wooden cubes, players can choose to track ship statuses with a pencil on the Hit Record sheets. These sheets are available to download from vucasims.com.

2.8. Dice

A die roll of "0" is always treated as such, not as a ten like in other games.

3. Setup

Place all units and markers on the map as indicated on the setup displays. Place all Damage markers in one cup, and all Evasion Effects markers in another cup for random draw, within reach of both players. The German side player also places all Convoy VP markers in a cup to be drawn randomly. Set aside the Ship Cards (these will be visible for both players once they come into play) and Tactical Ship counters for later.

4. Sequence of Play & Victory Conditions

Here is an overview of the Sequence of Play. All steps and concepts are explained in their corresponding section of the rulebook. Players may use the Phases Track to keep track of the current phase during a turn.

1. Visibility Phase (skip on Turn 1)

• A. Roll on the Weather Change Table and adjust with applicable DR from the Weather track.
• B. Mark Fog status.
• C. Add Time of Day modifier and mark current Visibility Lv.
• D. Roll for special fuel expenditure if Weather at 9.

2. Shadow Phase (skip on Turn 1)

• A. If there's a sighted German ship in the same hex as an Allied ship/TF: Roll on Shadow Table for each naval shadow attempt and flip Sighted marker to Shadowed side if successful.
• B. Remove Sighted markers.

3. Movement Phase

• A. Units with a Shadowed marker must move now and tell opponent the new location.
• B. Create or split Task Forces.
• C. Mark and perform repair at sea attempts.
• D. Mark ships in port and refuel them.
• E. Mark German ships refueling at sea and refuel them.
• F. Mark naval units performing Patrols.
• G. Move naval and air units (except for shadowed ships), drop Flight Path Search OR Attack markers, flip naval counter if appropriate and mark Fuel Point expenditure.
• H. Flip Shadowed markers to Sighted side.

4. Search Phase

• A. Call out all search hexes (Allied player first).
  • Add Shadowed marker if air unit contributed Search Factors.
  • Add Sighted marker if located only by non-air units.
• B. Remove Flight Path Search markers.

5. Air Attack Phase

(Allied first, only in hexes with Flight Path Attack markers).

• A. Roll for hits on the Torpedo & Air Attack Hit Table.
• B. Determine effects by random damage chit draw.
• C. Remove Flight Path Attack markers.

6. Naval Combat Phase

See combat procedure.

7. Chance Phase

• A. Roll for Submarine Contact if applicable.
• B. Roll on Random Spotting Table and apply effects.
• C. Roll on Convoy Hunting Table (German player must choose one hunting ship or TF).

8. Admin Phase

• A. Place Reinforcements.
• B. Move air units from Refit to their airbase / carrier, move units from Landing to Refit.
• C. Flip or remove Patrol, Repair at Sea, Refuel at Sea & In Port and No MVT markers (4, 3, 2, 1, Remove).
• D. Adjust Turn Track marker.

Victory Conditions

The game ends immediately if the Bismarck enters a friendly port (is marked with a Port marker) in France or Norway, if Bismarck runs out of emergency fuel (see 7.7.2) or if the Bismarck is sunk. The game also ends after the Admin Phase of the last turn.

The German player receives a Victory Point (VP) penalty depending on the type of game end condition. Thus, there is a need for him to earn a certain number of VPs during the game. The German player can receive VPs by hunting convoys (see 11.3) or by damaging or sinking enemy warships (see 10). The Allied player however can raise the VP penalty for the German player by damaging or sinking enemy ships as well.

Victory Points Table

Condition	Victory Points
Bismarck sunk	Allied Operational Victory
End of game: Bismarck undamaged at sea with at least 10 FP remaining	-4 VPs
End of game: Bismarck in Port in France	-5 VPs
End of game: Bismarck in Port in Norway	-7 VPs
End of game: End of game Turn Track (applies if no other "End of game" VP conditions apply)	-10 VPs
End of game: Bismarck out of emergency fuel	-15 VPs
Each convoy sunk	Variable (0.5 - 2 VP markers, see 11.3)
Each single merchant ship sunk	0,5 VP
BB, CV, BC, CA: Sunk	VP equal to damaged # of hull boxes
BB, CV, BC, CA: Damaged	1 VP for every two hits on the same ship
All others: Sunk

At the end of the game, a VP total is calculated and if the German player has at least 1 VP, it is a German Operational Victory. If Bismarck sinks two British Capital ships (BB/BC/CV), of which one has to be King George V, Prince of Wales or Hood, and she returns to a port in either France or Norway, it is a German Strategic Victory. Otherwise, it is an Allied Operational Victory.

There is no Victory Points marker in the game, as the VPs that the German player earned by sinking convoys and merchant ships will be kept secret from the Allied player until the end of the game.

5. Visibility Phase (Skip on Turn 1)

Visibility is a core concept of the game. The Current Visibility Level indicates how many Search Factors are necessary to search and possibly locate the opponent's ships in a hex.

The visibility level is determined at the beginning of each turn (after Turn 1). It results from a combination of the current weather status and a daytime modifier.

PROCEDURE: First you roll a d10 on the Weather Change Table:

Die Roll	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
# of Boxes	5 left	4 left	2 left	1 left	0	0	1 right	2 right	3 right	4 right

The result will indicate the direction and the number of boxes that the Weather status marker gets shifted on the Weather Track. On a result leading to the 5-9 boxes of the weather track, Fog will occur. This will be marked with the backside of the Visibility Level marker. If the Weather marker is in a box to the extreme left or right, the following weather change die roll will be modified accordingly (Weather Track: box 1 is +1 DRM, box 2 is +1 DRM, boxes 5-9 are fog boxes, box 8 is -1 DRM and box 9 is -2 DRM, as printed on the track).

If the current weather status is 5-9, fog occurs. Flip the Visibility Level marker to its Fog side to indicate this. If fog occurs, neither searching or shadowing, nor combat is allowed in fog hexes. Remove all Sighted markers and Shadowed markers from naval units in fog hexes (also see 7.1).

If the current weather status is 9, roll a die. On a result of 0-4, all ships must expend 1 fuel point.

EXAMPLE: The weather status is 8 and now we roll on the Weather Change Table. A roll of 6 is modified by -2, so the weather will not change.

Now, take the current weather status and add the daytime modifier which can be found on the Turn Track:

Time of Day	Night	Morning	Noon	Afternoon	Evening
Modifier	+3	+2	-1	0	+1

This will give you the Current Visibility Level which gets marked on the corresponding track (Current Visibility Level = Weather Track Status + Time of Day modifier).

EXAMPLE: A weather status of 4 in a night turn would give a visibility level of 7 and thus 7 Search Factors are needed to conduct a search in a given hex.

No search, neither shadowing, or combat is allowed if the Visibility marker is in the rightmost (X) box of the track. Remove all Sighted & Shadowed markers in this case.

Visibility Phase Procedure Summary

(skip on Turn 1).

• A. Roll on Weather Change Table and adjust with applicable DR from Weather Track.
• B. Mark Fog status.
• C. Add Time of Day modifier and mark current Visibility Lv.
• D. Roll for special fuel expenditure if Weather at 9.

6. Shadow Phase (Skip on Turn 1)

Generally, all naval units with a Shadowed marker must move first in the Movement Phase and tell their location to the opponent. This gives the opponent the opportunity to react to those movements.

The Allied player may shadow with naval and air units. The German player can only shadow with air units (obviously this is a design for effect rule).

The Allied player can attempt to place Shadowed markers on any German naval units that are currently marked with a Sighted marker if he has at least one of his own naval units in the same hex that are otherwise allowed to shadow (see the status matrix on the player screens). To conduct such a shadow attempt, roll on the Shadow Table.

Shadow Table

Die Roll	Result
0-4	Success
5-9	Failure

Modifier	Condition	DRM
Evasion Rating Differential*	+2 or more	-4
Evasion Rating Differential*	+1	-2
Evasion Rating Differential*	-1	+1
Evasion Rating Differential*	-2 or less	NP
Shadowing ship has radar	Radar II	-2
Shadowing ship has radar	Radar I	-1
Visibility Level	4-6	+1
Visibility Level	7-9	+3

NP: Shadow not Possible

* Slowest shadowing ship's ER - slowest shadowed ship's ER.

** Must be declared by the target ship before the die roll. Must spend 2 FP. If target is a TF, each ship must spend 2 FP for the attempt.

*** All ships of the TF must spend 1 FP. +2 only for fastest ship(s) split from the TF.

If successful, any shadowed ship or TF flips the Sighted marker to its Shadowed side.

For each sighted ship or TF to be shadowed, the Allied player must assign at least one naval unit in the same hex. He can split TFs now to do so, unless this Allied TF is also shadowed. There can never be more than one shadow attempt per sighted ship or TF.

A shadow attempt will be successful on a modified result of 4 or less. The die roll is modified by several factors like the Evasion Rating Differential (slowest shadowing ship's Evasion Rating - slowest shadowed ship's Evasion Rating), availability of radar, Visibility Level and Fog status.

Before this die roll is made however, the opponent's sighted ship or TF can declare an Evasion Maneuver or Diversion Maneuver (not both!). An Evasion Maneuver lessens the chance for a successful shadow attempt. To do so, the target ship must expend two Fuel Points. If the target is a Task Force, each ship of the TF must spend two Fuel Points for the attempt. The ship / TF gets marked with an Evasion Maneuver marker and will only be able to move a maximum of one hex in the upcoming Movement Phase.

It is also possible that only a part of a TF conducts a Diversion Maneuver for other faster units in the same TF. To do so, this must also be declared before the die roll. All ships in the TF must now spend 1 FP. The TF is then split into a "slow" and a "fast" part (the slowest unit in the fast part needs to have an Evasion Rating of at least the same as the fastest unit of the slow part). Such a part can be as small as one ship but on the other hand might contain an unlimited number of ships. The Allied player now must decide which part he tries to shadow. If he chooses the faster part, he will receive a detrimental modifier of +2.

A Diversion Maneuver is the only way to split a shadowed TF!

If the Allied player has a TF conducting the shadow attempt, he may split the TF to try to shadow both German parts after a Diversion Maneuver. All successfully shadowed ships or TFs get marked with a Shadowed marker. All remaining Sighted markers are then removed from the Search Boards.

A unit conducting a shadow attempt may not conduct a search in the same turn!

Shadow Phase Procedure Summary

(skip on GT 1).

• A. If there's a sighted German naval unit in the same hex as an Allied ship/TF: Roll on Shadow Table for each naval shadow attempt and flip Sighted marker to Shadowed side if successful.
• B. Remove Sighted markers.

7. Movement Phase

7.1. Movement of Shadowed naval units

All naval units with a Shadowed marker must conduct their movements according to 7.7.2 and tell the new location(s) to the opposing player or do not move at all in order to be able to repair at sea and refuel. If multiple shadowed ships move from the same hex into different hexes, each ship receives its own Shadowed marker. If a shadowed naval unit moves into a fog hex and the Visibility Level marker is on its Fog side, remove the Shadowed marker. The first fog hex entered during movement (only) must be announced to the opponent nevertheless. If both players have shadowed ships, the German player has to move first.

7.2. Create or split Task Forces

Both players may create Task Forces or remove ships out of TFs. To create a TF, all its constituting ships have to be in the same hex and not be marked with a Shadowed marker. Simply place all units that are to create a TF in the respective holding box and move the TF marker into the hex those ships are coming from. Players may also add units to a TF if they are in the same hex as a TF marker. To do so, simply place the unit in the TF's holding box. To move a ship out of an unshadowed TF, place it from the holding box into the hex on the map. A TF should always include a minimum of two ships, otherwise, remove the TF marker from the map. There is no maximum number of ships that can be in the same TF.

7.3. Mark and perform repair at sea attempts

Any ship with rudder damage or with lost Evasion Factors may try to conduct repair at sea. The unit is marked with the corresponding marker and a die roll is made on the Repair at Sea Table. The result is modified by the current level on the Weather Track. The table gives the result.

Repair at Sea Table

A ship must not move / patrol in this Movement Phase to attempt repair at sea.

Die Roll	Evasion Factors Regained
0	+5 OR Rudder damage repaired
1	+3
2	+2
3-9	Failure

Modifier	Weather Track	DRM
Weather Track	4-6	+1
Weather Track	7-9	+2

To mark regained Evasion Factors, simply exchange the Evasion Effect marker with a marker showing the new amount (if not repaired completely). If a damaged ship's total evasion is 26 or more after conducting repairs, replace its counter with the undamaged variant.

A unit conducting repair at sea may not move, search or patrol in the same turn.

Naval units performing any kind of repairs may not contribute their search factors to a search this turn.

Repair at Sea markers are removed in the Admin Phase.

7.4. Mark ships in port and refuel them

Ships that are in a hex with a port icon may now be marked as 'in port' and refuel. Simply add 4 FP to their current Fuel state. A unit refueling at sea may not move, search or patrol in the same turn. In Port markers are removed in the Admin Phase.

A ship may never receive more FP than its Fuel limit indicated on the marker!

Any number of ships may refuel up to four FP in a single port in a given turn. In addition, all torpedoes may be replenished.

7.5. Mark ships refueling at sea and refuel them

Only the German player may refuel at sea. To do so he must have a tanker in the same hex. Both ships are then marked with a Refuel at Sea marker. Simply add 4 FP to the current Fuel state. A unit refueling at sea may not move, search or patrol in the same turn. Refuel at sea markers are removed in the Admin Phase.

A ship may never receive more FP than its Fuel limit indicated on the marker!

Any given tanker can only refuel one ship up to a maximum of four FP per turn. In addition, all torpedoes may be replenished.

Exception: German Destroyers (DD) may only refuel 2 FP per turn.

Naval units performing any kind of refueling may not contribute their search factors to a search this turn.

7.6. Mark naval units performing Patrols

Naval units may be used to conduct a patrol in a hex. This increases its Search Factors by 3 points. Mark the ship or TF with the corresponding marker.

Patrol markers may not be placed:

• In fog hexes during fog weather.
• If the Visibility Level is X.
• If the ship is performing repairs at sea, or refueling in port or at sea.

Each single ship not in a TF may receive one marker. A TF however will also only receive one such marker, restricting the Search Factor bonus to 3 points per TF. The flip side of this is, that a naval unit with a Patrol marker may not move.

7.7. Move Naval and Air Units

In this segment, players move all their air and naval units. Both players do that at the same time and hidden on their own operational Search Board. Remember: Naval units may only enter or move through zones which contain a grid-coordinate and must not cross any all-land hexsides. Air units may enter any zone either with or without a grid-coordinate.

7.7.1. Movement of Air units

Air unit counters show Max. Speed, Type (Recon Aircraft or Attack Aircraft), Base, Recon/BG and Endurance.

Most air units do not have an Endurance Rating on their counter and thus only have an Endurance Rating of one. They must land on their airbase or carrier in the same Movement Phase. Some air units have an Endurance Rating of two however, that means that they can end a Movement Phase in any hex and start moving from there in the next turn. They must land in this second Movement Phase.

Each air unit has a Maximum Speed rating. This is the maximum number of hexes it can move in one Movement Phase. Air units ignore any terrain for movement. During a Movement Phase, an air unit may either drop two Flight Path Search markers or a Flight Path Attack marker "for free" in any hex(es) it moves through or into. To be clear: This is the total limit, not per hex.

Each Flight Path Search marker provides two Search Factors for the hex it is located in. A player may drop multiple of those markers in the same hex. An air unit may even drop additional Flight Path Search markers in addition to the two "free" ones. Each additional such marker costs Movement Points in the amount of the Current Visibility Level.

No Flight Path Search or Flight Path Attack markers may be placed if the Visibility level is (X), or in fog hexes if the Visibility marker shows fog status.

An air unit must move in such way that it is able to land if it needs to do so. It may not drop any additional Flight Path Search markers if this would lead to the air unit not being able to land.

EXAMPLE: An Allied air unit conducts an 8-hex flight. It drops its standard two Flight Path Search markers in hexes 2 and 3 for free and with a Current Visibility Level of 2 it is able to spend 2 MPs for an extra marker in the fourth hex and one more in the sixth hex.

A Flight Path Attack marker can only be dropped into hexes with a shadowed enemy naval unit. The attack will be resolved in the Air Attack Phase. Multiple of those markers can be dropped in the same hex (from different air units of course).

Although the attack itself has not yet been resolved, in most cases the "dropping" air unit will have to land at the end of its movement. This is just a "time jump" for the sake of playability.

An air unit must always land on its own airbase or carrier. It is then placed in the Landing Zone of the Aircraft Refit Box. It is moved to the Refit Zone in the next Admin Phase. In the Admin Phase of the following turn, it is placed back on its airbase / carrier and is ready for action again. This means that an air unit will have to stay idle in the turn after it has landed.

Remember: Combat Aircraft are able to choose between dropping Flight Path Attack markers and Flight Path Search markers during their movement. Recon Aircraft may only drop Flight Path Search markers during their movement.

7.7.2. Movement of Naval units

All ship units are classified into one of four speed classes (F - Fast, M - Medium, S - Slow, VS - Very Slow). The ship counter shows Emblem, Class, Radar, Speed Rating, Evasion, Name, and Movement Capacity & Hexes moved.

The Speed Rating class determines the maximum movement capability and the expenditure of Fuel Points (FP). Naval units may never enter any hex without any hex ID and must not cross any all-land hexsides.

German naval units may move through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, as if there was no impassable land hexside. For gameplay's sake, the canal's path is considered to connect hexes O32 and O33.

VERY SLOW (VS): A Very Slow ship may move one hex every four turns. After moving one hex it gets marked with a No MVT 4 marker. This marker gets flipped to the No MVT 3 side in the Admin Phase. In the Admin Phase thereafter, it gets replaced with a NO MVT 2 marker which is flipped in the following turn. Then it gets removed and the unit is able to move again.

SLOW (S): A Slow ship may move one hex every two turns. After moving one hex it gets marked with a No MVT 2 marker. This marker gets flipped to the No MVT 1 side in the Admin Phase. In the Admin Phase thereafter, it gets removed and the unit is able to move again.

Very Slow and Slow ships do not need to use Fuel and there is no Fuel marker for them.

MEDIUM (M): A Medium speed ship may move one hex per turn. If it moves one hex after having moved one hex in the previous turn, it needs to expend one FP. Shift its Fuel marker down one box on the Fuel Track. (If moving one hex in consecutive turns: 1 FP; if moving every other turn: 0 FP.)

FAST (F): A Fast ship may move up to two hexes per turn. If it moves up to one hex, it does not need to expend any FP. If it moves two hexes after having moved one hex in the previous turn, it needs to expend one FP. Shift its Fuel marker down one box on the Fuel Track. If it moves two hexes after having moved two hexes in the previous turn, it needs to expend two FP. Shift its Fuel marker down two boxes on the Fuel Track. A ship on its Damaged side may move only 1 hex per turn. (Summary: moving 2 hexes in 2 consecutive turns: 2 FP; moving 2 hexes after moving 0-1 hexes the previous turn: 1 FP; moving 1 hex after moving 0-1 hexes the previous turn: 0 FP.)

Movement of air and naval units can be performed in any order. In most cases it makes sense to move a carrier before its air units to increase their total range. This is not always the case though!

To track the number of moved hexes of Fast and Medium speed ships for the next turn, simply flip the unit to the side with the corresponding MVD value after its Movement.

A Task Force moves at the maximum speed of its slowest ship. Each ship from the TF has to track fuel expenditure as per the rules above.

If the Fuel marker of a ship reaches the Out Of Fuel box, the marker gets placed on the Turn Track 10 turns ahead and the ship is marked with an Emergency Fuel marker. It now needs to refuel or reach a port before the Turn marker reaches the Fuel marker. It can do so only without expending any further FP, in fact limiting the speed to free movement only (1 hex per turn). If it does not achieve this, the ship is removed from the game and provides VP to the opponent as if it had been sunk.

OUT OF FUEL EXAMPLE: On the Morning turn of the May 25th, the Scharnhorst moves and expends its last 2 FPs. Its Fuel marker is moved to the Turn Track, ten spaces from the current turn, to the Morning turn of the 27th. The unit is marked with an Emergency Fuel marker, and must now reach port or refuel before that turn, otherwise it will be removed from the game.

GERMAN DESTROYER RESTRICTION: German DD units may not cross the German DD boundary line. However if a German heavy ship (BB, BC or CA) with a reduced Evasion Rating has a Return to Base marker, these restrictions are lifted until the heavy ship is sunk, repairs (so it has its original Evasion Rating), reaches port or refuels at sea. Then all German DD units need to get within the restricted zone as soon as possible. No more convoy hunting is allowed for the triggering heavy ship while the trigger is in effect.

TANKER RESTRICTION: German Tankers may never enter a convoy hex. This means that the German player needs to pay attention where he sets up those valuable assets.

7.8. Flip Shadowed markers to Sighted Side

Lastly, all Shadowed markers get flipped to their Sighted side.

This means that a unit is not automatically shadowed in consecutive turns. To get shadowed again, the opponent needs to either locate the ship again with one of its air units or must conduct a successful shadow attempt in the next Shadow Phase.

EXAMPLE: If a naval unit is shadowed (either by an air unit from the previous turn or from a successful naval shadow attempt), it now moves into a new hex at the start of the Movement Phase, informing the opponent about it. After the movement of shadowed units, all other units can perform movement, thus an air unit could now fly into the new location of the shadowed unit and drop an Air Attack marker there. The Shadowed marker is only flipped to the Sighted side at the end of the Movement Phase and this does not have an impact on the air attack resolution.

Movement Phase Procedure Summary

• A. Units with a Shadowed marker must move now and tell opponent the new location.
• B. Create or split Task Forces.
• C. Mark and perform repair at sea attempts.
• D. Mark ships in port and refuel them (+4 FP).
• E. Mark German ships refueling at Sea and refuel them (+4 FP).
• F. Add or remove Patrol markers.
• G. Move naval and air units (except for shadowed ships), drop Flight Path Search OR Attack markers, flip naval counter if appropriate and mark Fuel Point expenditure.
• H. Flip Shadowed markers to Sighted side.

8. Search Phase

Both players may attempt to locate enemy ships by calling out hexes where they have Search Factors in the amount of at least the Current Visibility Level. The Search Factor total in any single hex is the combined sum of all

• Each ship or Task Force (1 each, this means that each TF only counts as 1, no matter how many ships it includes)
• Flight Path Search markers (2 each)
• Naval Patrol markers (3 each)
• Intrinsic Search Factors (variable)

Naval units that performed a shadow attempt earlier this turn may not contribute any search factors, neither do ships refueling (at sea or in port) or conducting repair at sea.

To conduct a search, players can call out any hex IDs that meet the search requirements. The opponent must announce if there is a naval unit (or several) in the hex or not. If there is at least one naval unit in the hex, he/she must also say how many ships of what classes and if they are in a TF or not. He does not need to state the individual ship's name.

A player whose ships has gone into or through a hex with an intrinsic search value equal to or higher than the Current Visibility Level should self report - thereby avoiding the tiresome calling of the tens of hexes that have such values. Of course, if ships / planes have increased the value to the right level, the regular process is followed.

Remember: No search is allowed if the visibility marker is in the rightmost (X) box of the track.

Search Procedure

Search allowed if Search Factors in the hex at least equal to Current Visibility Level. Search is never possible in fog hexes during fog.

Search Factors in a hex = Intrinsic Search Factors in a hex, +1 for each ship or Task Force, +3 for each Naval Patrol marker, +2 for each Flight Path search marker. (Current Visibility Level = Weather + Time of Day modifier.)

If a naval unit was located, the searching player can place a Shadowed marker (if a Flight Path Search marker was included) or a Sighted marker in the hex on his/her Search Board. The other player also marks his/her own naval unit(s) on his/her own Search Board accordingly.

There is one special case to this: If a hex is called out which a naval unit moved through during the Movement Phase, this must be stated as well (this can only happen in a two-hex movement). The current location of the naval unit(s) that moved through the hex must be announced (the location it is now in), but only the total number of ships (including TFs) must be announced (not the class or names). Also, the units do not get marked as Sighted or Shadowed, unless there are enough Search Factors in the new location as well. In the unlikely event that the Allied player searches in a hex that both has a German ship, and has had a German unit move through, the German player would have to announce the presence of the ship in the hex and also that ships moved through the hex.

The Allied player always calls out all his/her search hexes before the German player.

NOTE: If the Visibility marker is currently on its Fog side, no search may be performed in fog hexes at all!

At the end of the Search Phase after finishing all searches, all Flight Path Search markers are removed from the maps.

Search Procedure Example

The Allied player must always call out his/her search hexes first, and the German player replies (in sequence) whether there are ships on them, their class and quantity. Hexes to be searched must have a Search Factor total that's equal or higher than the Current Visibility Level (4 in this example). The Allied player begins calling out his/her hexes:

• FIRST, hex I28 contains Task Force 3, with a Naval Patrol marker (+3), plus the TF (+1), making the Search Factor total 4. The German player replies that I28 has a TF containing a battleship and a destroyer flotilla. Both players place a Sighted marker in the hex.
• SECOND, hex J29 contains 2 Flight Path Search markers (+2 each), making the Search Factor total 4. The German player replies that J29 contains a single light cruiser, that's not in a Task Force. Both players place a Shadowed marker in the hex, because the searched hex contained Flight Path Search markers.
• THIRD, hex K29 contains Norfolk (+1), as well as 2 Flight Path Search markers (+2 each), making the Search Factor total 5. The German player replies that it contains no units currently, but a ship has moved through it, into hex J30. No other information must be shared by the German player. If a German ship had started the Movement Phase in the hex and moved out, it would not have to be announced. In this case, the players do not mark the hex with Sighted or Shadowed markers.

The German player now begins calling out his/her search hexes and the Allied player answers each in the same fashion. Afterwards both players remove all Flight Path Search markers.

Search Phase Procedure Summary

• A. Call out all search hexes (Allied player first).
  • Add Shadowed marker if air unit contributed Search Factors.
  • Add Sighted marker if located only by non-air units.
• B. Remove Flight Path Search markers.

9. Air Attack Phase

The Air Attack Phase will only take place if there is at least one Flight Path Attack marker on the map (from either player of course). If both players will conduct air attacks, the Allied player resolves all his/her attacks first.

One Flight Path Attack marker will allow for one air attack against a single target ship in the hex. The attacker may choose a ship type with the defender choosing the individual target ship if there are multiple ships from the same type in the hex. If multiple attacks are resolved in the same hex, they can either target different ships or the same ship multiple times. Air attacks are resolved one after the other and the target can be chosen at the start of each attack.

An air attack is resolved in two steps.

1. Determine if and how many hits are scored
2. Determine the damage sustained per hit

To determine the number of hits (if any) for an air attack, roll a d10 on the Torpedo & Air Attack Hit Table and modify the result with any applicable Hit DRMs. For each hit scored, the defending player must draw one Damage marker. A roll of '0' is always at least one hit, regardless of any hit DRMs.

All drawn markers for any single air attack get placed back into the cup after resolving all hits.

An air attack in The Channel (hexes Q29/Q30 - T26/U26) benefits from a -3 hit DRM. Combined with the high intrinsic Search Factors, it makes The Channel very deadly to move through (for both sides).

Tk units are removed from the game as soon as they receive one hit other than a dud!

Torpedo & Air Attack Hit Table

For each hit, one damage marker must be drawn. 0 is always at least 1 Hit.

Die Roll	Result
0	3 Hits
1-2	2 Hits
3-5	1 Hit
6 or more	Miss

Hit DRMs	Condition	DRM
	Target Evasion Rating <25	-1
	Sub Attack	-1
Air Attack	In The Channel	-3
Air Attack	vs Damaged Rudder or Refuel at Sea unit	-2
Air Attack	vs Refuel in Port unit	+1
Air Attack	At night	+2
In Combat	If target is in opening position	-2
In Combat	If target is in breaking-off position	+1

Damage markers

• Dud: No effect.
• Rudder hit: Place a Damaged Rudder marker on the ship's Card. The unit cannot move anymore until successfully repaired.
• Bow or Stern hit: Primary Armament on Bow or Stern is hit. Mark the hit on the Ship Card. If not enough Primary Armament factors of the respective location (Bow or Stern) are left to satisfy all hits, all leftover hits are converted to Hull hits on a one to one basis. Secondary Armament hits never get converted to Hull hits however!
• Hull hit: Mark the hit on the Ship Card. A ship is sunk if it has taken Hull hits to bring its level down to '0'. Randomly draw an Evasion Effect marker and add it to the ship. If Evasion is already at 0, do not draw the marker. If a Fast ship's total amount of Evasion Effects brings its Evasion number down to 25 or less, replace its counter with the damaged variant (when damaged it will move only up to a maximum of one hex per turn). Evasion Effects markers can be accumulated up to the total ER of the ship. Damaged or not, now roll 1d10. If the result is 0-3, one hit is scored on the Secondary Armament. Mark this on the Ship Card as well.
• Critical Hit: Mark two hull hits on the Ship Card without drawing Evasion Effects neither rolling for secondary armament hits. Then, draw and add two Evasion Effect Markers and mark one hit on the Secondary Armament.
• Fire Control Station damage: Place a Damaged Fire Control Station marker on the ship's Card. It gets a detrimental DRM on any naval combat.

The only type of damage that can be repaired in this game are Rudder hits and Evasion losses.

Air Attack Phase Procedure Summary

(Allied first, only in hexes with Flight Path Attack markers).

• A. Roll for hits on the Torpedo & Air Attack Hit Table.
• B. Determine effects by random damage chit draw.
• C. Remove Flight Path Attack markers.

Air Attack Example

On the Night turn of May 29th, both players resolve air attacks. Visibility is at level 6. The Allied player must go first. He/she has two Flight Path Attack markers on KG 2 at hex S23, which contains 2 Battlecruisers (Gneisenau & Scharnhorst) and 1 Destroyer Flotilla (5. Zerstörerflotille). The Allied player chooses to strike the Battlecruiser class, and the German player chooses Gneisenau as the target ship within that class. The Allied player rolls a 5 and adds the DRMs that apply: +2 Air Attack at night, +2 Visibility Lv. 6. MODIFIED RESULT = 9 (MISS).

The air attack misses its target with a 9, and the first F. P. Attack marker is removed from the hex. The Allied player decides to repeat the same ship class as the target. The German player now selects Scharnhorst as the target, and the Allied player rolls again: a 1, plus +2 Air Attack at night and +2 Visibility Lv. 6. MODIFIED RESULT = 5 (1 HIT).

A hit! The German player now draws a single hit marker, a Hull hit, and marks the ship's card accordingly. An Evasion Effect marker is drawn, and an additional d10 is rolled to determine if the Secondary Armaments receive a hit also. Rolling a 2, the Scharnhorst receives a hit and it's marked on the Ship Card.

10. Naval Combat Phase

If naval units from both sides are in the same hex, naval combat might occur. The Allied player must call out all naval combats he wants to initiate before the German player can do so. A player can only initiate combat against a hex if the opponent is marked with a Sighted marker or with a Shadowed marker. It is not allowed in Visibility Level (X), in fog hexes during fog weather, or if the attacker's naval units are restricted by the Status matrix for Combat Initiation. Combats are performed one after the other and players may wait for the result of a combat before calling out the next one.

In any single combat, the initiating player is the Attacker, the opponent is the Defender.

If there are multiple ships or TFs of the Attacker in a hex, one single ship or any one TF may be chosen as the initiating naval units.

If the Defender has multiple ships or TFs in the hex, the Attacker chooses which single ship or TF his/her units will attack. There can always be only one naval combat per hex per turn.

After choosing the initiating and the defending naval units, the combat is resolved on the Tactical Battle Board. Both players take the tactical ship counters and the Ship Cards for all of their participating units.

Some Ship Cards contain special rules / conditions. Please take care to use those properly.

Torpedo markers are placed on the Ship Cards the first time the Ship Cards are used. Torpedoes can only get replenished by refueling. The attacker places all participating attacking ships in closing position (see below) in the starting Movement Zone corresponding to the Current Visibility Level. The defender places all his/her participating units in Breaking-Off position. The position of a ship determines the weapons that can be used to fire in the Fire Segment.

• Closing (towards enemy ship): Only Primary Armament Bow can fire.
• Opening (side to enemy ship): All Primary and Secondary Armament can fire.
• Breaking-Off (away from enemy ship): Only Primary Armament Stern can fire.

The distance between two ships is measured in Sea Zones, which are further divided into Movement Zones.

• If ships are either in the same, or in adjacent Sea Zones, or there is one intervening Sea Zone, they are in Short range distance.
• If there are two or three intervening Sea Zones between the Sea Zones they occupy, they are at Medium range.
• If there are four, five or six intervening Sea Zones between the Sea Zones they occupy, they are at Long range.
• If there are seven intervening Sea Zones between the Sea Zones they occupy, they are at Extreme range.

All participating ships are now placed in the Movement Zones as indicated by the Current Visibility Level. This means, that ships start at Medium range at a visibility of 7 or worse and at Long range at a visibility of 6, 5 or 4, and at Extreme range at visibility 3 or less.

Position Table

Position	Firing Weapons
Closing	Primary Arm. Bow
Opening	Pri. Arm. Bow & Stern, and Sec. Arm
Breaking-off	Primary Arm. Stern

IN STEP 1 of a combat, all ships with Torpedo markers may assign up to three of those to enemy ships, attacker going first. They may split those between different targets or assign them all to one target. The restriction here is that they must be at Medium or Short range to do so.

IN STEP 2 of a combat, all ships may conduct fire. All fire is considered to be simultaneous, but for procedural reasons, the Attacker fires first. Each ship may select one target in range and roll dice as per the restrictions below:

• Extreme range: Only CA, BC and BB classes may fire (Exception: New York may not). Only Primary Armament is allowed. Divide the sum of all Primary Armament factors of a ship that may fire (eventually restricted by position) by 3 (round up). This is the number of dice that are rolled.
• Long range: Only Primary Armament may be used. Divide the sum of all Primary Armament factors of a ship that may fire (eventually restricted by position) by 2 (round up). This is the number of dice that are rolled.
• Medium range: All armament may be used. The sum of all Primary and Secondary Armament factors of a ship that may fire (eventually restricted by position) is the number of dice that are rolled.
• Short range: All armament may be used. Multiply the sum of all Primary and Secondary Armament factors of a ship that may fire (eventually restricted by position) by 1.5 (round up). This is the number of dice that are rolled.

Naval Combat Table

Die Result + DRMs	Extreme* (7 Sea Zones in between)	Long, Primary only (4-6)	Medium, Torpedo R.** (2-3)	Short, Torpedo R.** (same SZ, adjacent SZ or 1)
No. of dice (round up each ship)	Primary x1/3	Primary x1/2	Primary & Secondary x1	Primary & Secondary x1.5
0	Special Damage	2 Hull & 1 Evasion c.	2 Hull & 1 Evasion c.	2 Hull & 1 Evasion c.
1	1 Hull	Special Damage	Special Dam.	2 Hull & 1 Evasion c.
2	1 Primary Arm. Bow	Special Damage	Special Dam.	Special Dam.
3	1 Primary Arm. Stern

* CA, BC & BB only, except New York.

** Up to three Torpedoes per combat round max per ship. Roll on the Torpedo & Air Attack Hit table.

Die Roll Modifiers

Condition	DRM
Target acquired	-1
Firing ship has radar (I or II)	-1
Firing ship closing or breaking-off	+1
vs. closing or breaking-off ship	+1
Fire Control Station damage	+1
CA vs. BC or BB	+1
CL or DD vs. CA	+1
CL or DD vs. BC	+3
CL or DD vs. BB	+5
Visibility 4-6	+1
Visibility 7-9	+3

For each roll of 1d10, all applicable DRMs are taken into account and the final result is read on the Naval Combat Table. The results are resolved as follows:

• Special Damage: Roll 1d10 on the Special Damage Table.
  • Fire Control Station damage: Mark the ship with the corresponding marker. It suffers a negative effect when firing.
  • Fuel Point Loss: Roll 1d10 and divide by two (round up). This is the number of FP that are immediately lost. Shift the Fuel marker down the track accordingly.
  • Roll on Subtable: Roll 1d10 on the Subtable and apply the results. The ship is either sunk or suffers 3 hull hits and receives an Evasion Effect marker.
  • Radar damage: Mark the ship with a radar damage counter. From now on it is considered to not have radar at all.
• Evasion: Draw a random Evasion Effect marker and add it to the ship counter. If it brings Evasion to less than 0, adjust Evasion markers to have it as 0. If Evasion is already at 0, treat as no effect.
• # Hull: Mark the number of hits on the ship's card as explained in 2.4. A ship is sunk if it has taken Hull hits to bring its level down to '0'.
• # Armament: Mark the number of hits on the ship's card as explained in 2.4. The armament is now permanently reduced. If not enough Primary Armament factors of the respective location (Bow or Stern) are left to satisfy all hits, all leftover hits are converted to Hull hits on a one to one basis. Secondary Armament hits never get converted to Hull hits however!
• Miss: No effect.

Whenever any result other than a Miss is rolled, place a Target Acquired marker on the target ship and the corresponding marker on the firing unit. This marker gives a -1 DRM in future naval combat rolls on the same target (beginning with the next combat round) and is removed if the acquiring ship selects another target in naval combat.

After combat, all hits that are marked on any Ship Cards stay on them. This means, sustained armament or hull damage stays on the ship permanently. Only Evasion Effects and rudder damage can be repaired.

IN STEP 3 of a combat, Torpedo hits are resolved. Roll 1d10 for each assigned Torpedo marker on the Torpedo & Air Attack Hit Table (taking applicable DRMs into account) and resolve the effects as described in chapter 9 (Air Attack Phase).

IN STEP 4 of a combat, all ships may move on the Tactical Battle Board. The movement allowance in Movement Zones depends on the current Evasion Rating and can be found in the Movement Table. This means the printed Evasion Rating MINUS all accumulated Evasion Effects determines the number of Movement Zones a ship may move.

Movement Table

Evasion Rating	Movement Allowance
<20	1
20-25	2
26-30	3
>30	4

Ships move in a sequence of slowest ships first, fastest last. If equal, the Attacker's ships move first.

A ship may only move into its front, this means it must be, or can now change to either Closing or Breaking-Off position. It may also change to Opening position if it does not move this combat round.

A ship may change its position and then move in the same combat round but it may not change position after moving.

A ship with Rudder Damage may not move or change position in tactical combat, and is also considered to have an Evasion rating of 0.

If a ship would move off the Tactical Battle Board, all ships in play must be shifted the same number of Movement Zones backwards to prevent this. If a ship that has already moved in this step would be moved off the map on the other edge of the Tactical Battle Board this way, it is removed from combat and its operational ship counter stays in its current location on the operational Search Board. If a ship that still has to move in this step would be moved off the map on the other edge of the Tactical Battle Board this way, it can choose to either get removed from combat or reduce its Movement Allowance by the corresponding number of Movement Zones before moving. It must change to or stay in closing position in this case. If the reduction brings the ship's Movement Allowance below 0, it is removed from combat.

IN STEP 5, a ship may try to abort combat if it is in Breaking-Off position and there are no enemy ships within 6 Sea Zones from it (6 intervening Sea Zones free of opposing ships). Considering the Evasion Rating Differential as per the modifiers in the DRM Table. On a modified roll of 3 or less, the tactical ship counter is removed from the Tactical Battle Board and its operational ship counter stays in its current location on the operational Search Board.

Abort Combat Table

Die roll	Result
0-3	Success
4-9	Failure

IN STEP 6 of a combat (as long as there are ships from both sides left), reinforcements may arrive. Beginning with combat round 3, any ships in the combat hex may roll 1d10 for Reinforcement entry (Attacker first). Roll 1d10 per ship and it enters on a 4 or less. If it enters, place it in the Visibility Level-1 Movement Zone in Closing position.

A ship that aborts combat may not enter the same combat as a reinforcement later!

A combat continues until all ships of one side are either sunk or aborted combat. Ship Cards of ships that took any kind of damage (and have not been sunk) should be kept near the table as a reminder and for later use.

If one side's ships have no Armament factors left and are not able to abort combat (and no reinforcements are available), players can skip the rest of the Combat Phase and just consider the ship(s) sunk.

Tk units do not follow the normal naval combat rules. They cannot be engaged in naval combat. Whenever a Sighted or Shadowed Tk unit is in the same hex as an Allied warship, it is automatically sunk (providing -1 VP).

Combat Sequence

Repeat steps 1-6 until all ships from one side are sunk or have left combat.

• 0. Only at the beginning: Both players add Torpedo markers to their own ships.
• 1. Torpedo attacks: If in range, assign Torpedo marker to enemy target at will.
• 2. Fire: Simultaneous exchange of fire.
• 3. Torpedo hit determination: Roll on Hit Table, draw damage markers if applicable.
• 4. Move: (position ships and move one box at will) Slowest to fastest. If same: Attacker goes first.
• 5. Abort Combat Attempt: (must be in running position) Roll on Abort Combat Table at will.
• 6. Reinforcements: (beginning in round 3) Unengaged ships/TFs in the same hex roll for Reinforcement entry (entering always in closing position).

Naval Combat Example

Prinz Eugen and Norfolk enter combat, initiated by the German player (Attacker). The Allied player is defending and neither have been in combat in the game. The Visibility Level is 9.

FIRST COMBAT ROUND

STEP 0 - INITIAL POSITIONING & SETUP: Both players place Torpedo markers on each Ship Card according to the printed Torpedo number, and place their ships in their starting position. Both ships are placed on the space marked 9, starting from each end of the map. This leaves 3 Sea Zones in between their positions, so the ships are in Medium range of each other.

STEP 1 - TORPEDO ATTACK: Both players could opt to launch Torpedo attacks, because of the ships are at Medium range. Both players decide to wait for a better opportunity with a greater chance to do any damage in Short range however.

STEP 2 - FIRE: The German player's fire is resolved first. Because the Prinz Eugen is in Closing position only Bow Primary Armaments are used. As both ships are in Medium range, the ship's total Bow Primary armament factor is used as dice and rolled on the Naval Combat Table. DRM: +1 Firing ship closing or breaking-off, +1 vs. closing or breaking-off ship, +3 Visibility, -1 Radar. Rolling 9, 5, and a 2, DRMs are added (results 13 miss, 9 miss, 6 Primary Stern Armament hit), resulting in a single hit to Norfolk's Primary Armament Stern, which reduces it to 1. This is marked on its Ship Card. Also, a Target Acquired marker is placed on the Norfolk (the corresponding marker for the firing unit can be left off, as there is only one ship per side).

It's now the Allied player's turn to resolve fire. Because it's in Breaking-off position, Norfolk may only use its stern armament, which has suffered a hit, but this will not be accounted for until both sides finish resolving fire. The same range conditions apply as for the German ship, and its stern armament factor (2) is used. Two d10 are rolled (DRM: +3 Visibility, -1 Radar, +1 Firing ship closing or breaking-off, +1 vs. closing or breaking-off ship; results 9 miss and 4 hull) and after DRMs, Prinz Eugen suffers a hit to its hull and a Target Acquired marker is placed on it.

STEP 3 - TORPEDO HITS: The step is skipped as there have been no Torpedo attacks this round.

STEP 4 - MOVEMENT: Norfolk is the slowest ship by a single Evasion Rating point, and so it moves first. Its movement allowance is 4, but the Allied player chooses to remain in place and take an Opening position. The German player now takes his/her move, advancing Prinz Eugen 4 Movement Zones towards Norfolk, in Closing position.

STEP 5 - ABORT COMBAT ATTEMPTS: Because there is only 1 Sea Zone away from each other, no attempts are possible.

STEP 6 - REINFORCEMENTS: None are possible until round 3 of combat. At the round's end, all hits on the Ship Cards are replaced as described in 2.4.

SECOND COMBAT ROUND

STEP 1 - TORPEDO ATTACK: Both ships launch Torpedo attacks on the other ship, using the maximum 3 Torpedos each. Norfolk has now 1 left, while Prinz Eugen has 9 remaining.

STEP 2 - FIRE: The German player's fire is resolved first. Prinz Eugen is in Closing position, so it uses only Primary Armament Bow factors. At Short range, the factors are rolled as dice x1.5 (rounding up). The German player rolls 5d10 (DRM: +1 Firing ship closing or breaking-off, +3 Visibility, -1 Radar, -1 Target acquired; results 9 miss, 10 miss, 5 hull hit, 7 Primary Stern Armament hit, and one more roll). Norfolk takes Hull and Primary Armament Stern hits.

The Allied player prepares to fire with Norfolk's Bow & Stern factors (3 remaining in sum), giving a total of 5 dice (DRM: +1 vs. Closing or Breaking-off, +3 Visibility, -1 Radar, -1 Target acquired). Three hits miss, and Prinz Eugen takes two hits. The first is a Secondary Armaments hit, which has no effect due to the Prinz Eugen not having a Secondary Armaments factor (Additionally Secondary Armaments hits do not convert to Hull hits when the factor has been completely depleted by damage). It also takes a Hull hit, along with an Evasion Effect marker, drawn randomly. A -5 is drawn and added to the Ship Card along with the hull hit.

STEP 3 - TORPEDO HITS: Each side must now resolve the Torpedo attacks from STEP 1. The German player rolls a 1d10 for each Torpedo marker in sequence (DRM: +3 Visibility C. Level (9), -2 Target in Opening position). The first two miss, but the third one is a hit, and a single damage marker is drawn. A Critical Hit means the Norfolk receives 2 Hull hits, (bringing it a Hull hit away from sinking) and draws 2 Evasion Effect markers (two -5 markers in this case).

The Allied player now resolves his/her Torpedo hit (DRM: +3 Visibility C. Level (9)). A single hit is achieved also, and a damage marker is drawn to determine the result. The marker shows a Rudder hit for the Prinz Eugen, meaning it is now Immobile until it's able to perform repairs. A Rudder Damage marker is added to the Ship's Card.

STEP 4 - MOVEMENT: The German player may not move the Prinz Eugen as it is immobile. Norfolk (with its Evasion Rating now at 21) could move now, but the Allied player decides to remain in Opening position, and so it remains in its place.

STEP 5 - ABORT COMBAT ATTEMPTS: Because neither ship is in Breaking-off position, and they are only 1 Sea Zone away from each other, no attempts are possible.

STEP 6 - REINFORCEMENTS: None are possible until round 3 of combat. As the second round ends, all new hits on the Ship Cards are now replaced as described in 2.4.

THIRD COMBAT ROUND

STEP 1 - TORPEDO ATTACK: Prinz Eugen launches 3 Torpedoes against the Norfolk, which in turn launches its last Torpedo.

STEP 2 - FIRE: The German player's fire is resolved first. Prinz Eugen is in Closing position, so it uses only Primary Armament Bow factors. At Short range, there is no penalty so the factors are rolled as dice x1.5 (rounded up). The German player rolls 5d10 (DRM: +1 Firing ship closing or breaking-off, +3 Visibility, -1 Radar, -1 Target acquired). Norfolk takes a Hull hit, reducing that factor to 0. This means the Norfolk will sink, but because damage is considered to be simultaneous, it can still resolve its fire against the Prinz Eugen. Norfolk has 2 remaining armament factors, and so it rolls 3d10 (DRM: +1 vs. Closing or Breaking-off, +3 Visibility, -1 Radar, -1 Target acquired). It achieves a hit on Prinz Eugen's Stern Armament, and a Hull hit, and they are marked on its Ship Card. Norfolk sinks and since there are no other ships to continue, the combat would end. Before that however its last torpedo hit must be resolved.

STEP 3 - TORPEDO HITS: Further damage to the Norfolk is irrelevant, so the German player's Torpedo hits are not resolved. The Allied player now resolves his/her Torpedo hit (DRM: +3 Visibility C. Level (9)). A single hit is achieved, and a damage marker is drawn to determine the result. The marker shows a Bow hit for the Prinz Eugen, which is marked in the Ship Card. The combat now ends, and the Prinz Eugen will carry on all damage it was dealt during combat, keeping the damage and torpedo markers on the Ship Card.

11. Chance Phase

There is the possibility of a submarine attack in each third turn. If the current turn shows a sub symbol on the Game Turn Track, the German player rolls 1d10 on the Submarine Contact Table. If the result is less than 3, a subsequent roll is made on the Submarine Attack Table:

11.1. Submarine Contact

Submarine Contact Table

Die Roll	Result
0-2	Contact, roll on Sub Attack Table
3-9	No contact

Submarine Attack Table

Die Roll	Result
0	Allied sub: German player reveals one ship (no TK) within Eastern Allied Air Cover Zone. Roll 1d10 on the Torpedo & Air Attack Table against it.
1-6	German sub: Allied player reveals one ship within two hexes of a hex chosen by the German player.
7-9	German sub: As per 1-6. Roll 1d10 on the Torpedo & Air Attack Table against it.

• If the result is 0: Allied sub - Any German warship is spotted by an Allied sub in the North Sea or Norwegian Sea. The German player must now reveal the location of one of his/her ships (not including Tankers here) within the Eastern Allied Air Cover Zone. This ship may be part of a TF, but this must be announced in that case. The Allied player then rolls 1d10 on the Torpedo & Air Attack Table (taking all applicable Hit DRMs into account) and any hits are applied on the target ship as per 9.0. If ships from different classes are available, roll 1d10. 0-2: BB/BC/CV; 3-5: CL/CA; 6-9: DD; if that ship class is not present, it defaults to DD. If a DD is also not present, make a re-roll.
• If the result is 1-6: German sub - The German player chooses one hex, and the Allied player must now reveal the location of one of his/her ships within two hexes. If ships from different classes are available, roll 1d10. 0-2: BB/BC/CV; 3-5: CL/CA; 6-9: DD; if that ship class is not present, it defaults to DD. If a DD is also not present, make a re-roll. This ship may be part of a TF, but this must be announced in that case.
• If the result is 7-9: German sub - The same as above but the German player then rolls 1d10 on the Torpedo & Air Attack Table (taking all applicable Hit DRMs into account) and any hits are applied on the target ship as per 9.0.

Sub Contact Examples

EXAMPLE A: The afternoon turn of the May 29 shows a sub icon, this means the German player rolls 1d10 on the Sub Contact Table. With a 2, the result is a positive contact (it's lower than 3) and so another roll must be made on the Attack Table to determine the outcome. A second roll of 0 means an Allied Sub encounters one of the German player's warships!

The only German ships within the Eastern Allied Air Cover Zone are a TF comprised of Gneisenau and a Destroyer Flotilla, and Lothringen (which, being a tanker, is not a valid target). The German player thus has ships from different classes available. A roll of 1d10 gives a 7, so he/she must reveal the location of the Destroyer Flotilla, also informing the other player that it's within a Task Force. The Allied player now rolls on the Torpedo & Air Attack Table to decide the result of the sub attack against the flotilla (DRMs: -1 Sub Attack, 0 Visibility Lv 5; roll 5, RESULT: 4 (1 HIT)). 5. Zerstörerflotille receives a hit and the Allied player draws a Primary Armament Stern damage marker, so the German player marks it on the Ship Card and proceeds to the Random Spotting step.

EXAMPLE B: After a positive Sub Contact roll, the German player makes a 1d10 roll on the Sub Attack Table. With a result of 7-9, a German submarine might encounter one of the Allied player's ships, within a 2 hex distance of the hex he chooses. In addition, he/she is able to conduct a subsequent attack if a ship is revealed. The German player calls out hex AF23, and the Allied player chooses to reveal the Light Cruiser Arethusa, in AF24 because there are no other ships (If there were more than one of different classes he should have rolled). The German player must now roll on the Torpedo & Air Attack Table to decide the result of the sub attack against the ship (DRMs: -1 Sub Attack, -1 Visibility Lv 3; roll 5, RESULT: 3 (1 HIT)). Arethusa receives a Torpedo hit, and a damage marker is drawn. A dud! It receives no damage or effects. The German player then continues to the Random Spotting step.

11.2. Random Spotting

After eventually rolling for submarine contact the German player rolls 1d10 on the Random Spotting Table for each of his/her ships and TFs. The current location of the naval unit determines the column on the table that is used.

There is only 1d10 for a Task Force, not one per ship included in it! In order not to reveal that there is a TF, a "dummy die" could be rolled for each additional unit after the roll for the TF itself.

Random Spotting Table

Roll 1d10, if result is less than or equal to the spotting value (cross Visibility Lv. and Location), the German ship / TF is fully located. If "0", it's a Huff-Duff instead.

Visibility Level	Within Air Sector Boundaries	Within Air Sector Boundaries AND in or adjacent to a hex with intrinsic Allied Search Factor	Outside of Air Sector Boundaries	Outside of Air Sector Boundaries AND on convoy route
1	7	8	5	6
2	6	7	4	5
3	4	5	3	4
4	3	3	2	3
5	2	2	1	2

• Fully Located: Announce the ship's location and class. If a TF, the number of ships, and of which classes. Add a Shadowed marker.
• Huff-Duff: Announce the naval unit's location only, and no Shadowed marker is placed.

Random Spotting Examples

Visibility is at 5. The German player rolls 1d10 for a Task Force comprised of the Bismarck and the Prinz Eugen, currently hunting outside air sector boundaries but within the Atlantic convoy route line. With a roll of 3 and a Spotting Value of 2, it remains undetected (RESULT: NOT LOCATED).

The German player rolls 1d10 for the Köln, currently adjacent to a hex with intrinsic Allied Search Factors, within Air Sector Boundaries. After rolling on the table, the result (1) is lower than the Spotting Value of 2 and so the Köln is fully located, the German player announces the ship's location (F20) and class (Light Cruiser), and Köln is now Shadowed.

The German player rolls 1d10 for the Lothringen, currently outside air sector boundaries. The roll (0) results in Huff-Duff, so the German player must announce the ship's current location (only), and no Sighted or Shadowed markers are placed on it.

After rolls have been made for all the German player's ships, he/she proceeds to the Convoy Hunting step.

11.3. Convoy Hunting

Then the German player may roll 1d10 on the Convoy Hunting Table if he has any warship of BB, BC, or CA class (or a TF containing such a ship) on a convoy route outside of air boundaries, that is not:

• have been shadowed in the Shadow Phase
• be restricted by the Status matrix for Convoy Hunting.
• A ship (BB, BC or CA) with a reduced Evasion Rating, that's headed to port (causing the German DD restriction to be lifted, see 7.7.2)

Choose the hunting naval unit, roll 1d10 and modify with any applicable DRMs.

Convoy Hunting Table

(Only BB, BC and CA type ships) One ship or TF on a convoy route outside of air boundaries must be chosen to conduct convoy hunting. It must not:

• have been shadowed in the Shadow Phase.
• be restricted by the Status matrix for Convoy Hunting.
• be a ship (BB, BC, or CA) with a reduced Evasion Rating, that's headed to port (causing the German DD restriction to be lifted, see 7.7.2).

Die Roll	Result	Effect if chosen to attack. Otherwise no effect
0	Possible convoy contact	Roll on Convoy ID Table
1	Single merchant ship	Get 0.5 VP, reveal the location of the naval unit, add a Sighted and a No MVT 2 marker
2-9	Nothing but open sea	No effect

Convoy Hunting DRMs
If TF is hunting	-1
If on convoy center line	-1
Night turn	+2

• If the result is 2-9: No effect.
• If the result is 1: A single merchant ship has been sighted. The German player can choose to attack it. If he does, reveal the location, add a Sighted marker and add a No MVT-2 marker to the naval unit and take a 0.5 VP marker.
• If the result is 0: There is a possibility, that a convoy has been located. Roll another 1d10. If currently located on the corresponding Convoy Line, a convoy and possibly some escorts have been sighted. The German player must decide if he will attack the convoy or not. If the German player decides to attack and the convoy contains any escorts, a naval battle between those and the attacking naval unit is resolved now. The Allied player controls the escorts, which may not abort combat, however. Only if all escorts have been sunk, the German player is awarded the VP value from the Convoy ID Table (the value of 1/2 - 2 VP markers which get drawn randomly, based on the convoy ID).

A 1/2 VP marker means drawing 1 random VP marker and putting it in the German Search Board's 1/2 VP section of the Convoy VP box. At the end of the game the VP value of each counter in the 1/2 VP section will be halved (and rounded up).

Convoy ID Table

If convoy is found, decide whether to attack or not. Must sink all Escorts to draw VP markers. After attacking, reveal the location, add a Sighted marker and if drawing VP marker, add No Movement 2 marker.

Die roll	Convoy found if on	Convoy	Escort	VP markers
0	East-West line	Britannic	Rodney	2 VP markers
0	North-South line	WS.8B	Cairo, Exeter	2 VP markers
1	East-West line	HX.127	Ramillies, DD1	1 VP marker
1	North-South line	SL.74	--	1 VP marker
2	East-West line	HX.128	Revenge, DD2

For a single merchant ship, the German player gets 0,5 VP (use the corresponding 0,5 VP marker). For sinking a convoy, the German player draws a number of random (!) VP markers as indicated in the Convoy ID Table.

After attacking a convoy, reveal the location, add a Sighted marker and add a No MVT-2 marker to the naval unit. If any escorts survive the encounter, their operational counters are placed on the Allied player's operational Search Board.

Each convoy may only be located once per game. If the same convoy is located again in a later turn, treat as no result instead.

At most roll once for Convoy Hunting per turn, no matter how many units are on a convoy line. In order not to reveal that there is no ship on the convoy line yet, a "dummy die" may be rolled. Conversely, if there is a unit on the convoy line, there is no need to roll the dice. It is up to the German player.

Convoy Hunting Examples

The German player chooses the TF formed by Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to hunt for convoys at their current location on the Atlantic Convoy Line. DRMs: -1 TF is hunting, -1 on convoy center line. The roll is a 2, RESULT: 0 (modified). With a modified result of 0, the German player may choose to pursue the possible contact.

He does so and now rolls again on the Convoy ID Table. Rolling a 2, the German TF finds the HX.128 convoy, escorted by Revenge, and a Destroyer Flotilla. The German player chooses to attack with his Task Force. A naval combat ensues and the escorts are sunk. The German player draws one random VP marker which gives three VPs and receives seven additional VPs for sinking the Revenge. The TF is marked both with Sighted and No MVT-2 markers.

Let's suppose that the die roll on the Convoy ID Table would have been a 6. Then, the German TF finds the OB.325 convoy, not escorted. The German player chooses to attack with his Task Force, and it's a success (no escort, no battle). The German player draws one random VP marker with its value halved. It's a 5 VPs marker, which is placed in the 1/2 VP section of the VP box in the Search board. It will give 3 VPs at the end of the game. The TF is marked both with Sighted and No MVT-2 markers.

Chance Phase Procedure Summary

• A. Roll for Submarine Contact if applicable.
• B. Roll on Random Spotting Table and apply effects.
• C. Roll on Convoy Hunting Table (German player must choose one hunting ship or TF).

12. Admin Phase

In the Admin Phase, reinforcements are placed, and Restricted markers get removed if their condition is met.

Dorsetshire enters play in the afternoon turn of May 25th. She gets placed in hex AH13.

Beginning with the night turn of May 24th, the Allied player may choose to relieve Rodney from her escort duty. Simply place her operational ship counter in N23. The downside to this is, that the Brittanic convoy is from now on very vulnerable to convoy hunting.

Then all Patrol, Repair at Sea, Refuel at Sea & In Port markers are removed and No MVT markers get flipped, replaced or removed in the following order:

1. No MVT-1 markers are removed.
2. No MVT-2 markers are flipped to their No MVT-1 side.
3. No MVT-3 markers are replaced with a No MVT-2 marker.
4. No MVT-4 markers are flipped to their No MVT-3 side.

Then the Turn Track marker is shifted to the next Game Turn.

Admin Phase Procedure Summary

• A. Place Reinforcements.
• B. Move air units from Refit to their airbase / carrier, move units from Landing to Refit.
• C. Flip or remove Patrol, Repair at Sea, Refuel in port, Refuel at Sea and No MVT markers (4, 3, 2, 1, Remove).
• D. Adjust Turn Track marker.

13. Optional Rules

13.1. Hypothetical units

To create more replay value, we added optional units in the game. Provided both players agree, additional ships may be chosen to start the scenario with.

Optional units cost VPs.

For each optional unit that is "bought", 1d10 must be secretly rolled. This determines whether the opponent will know that the unit is in play or not.

In the following overview, the units are listed in conjunction with their setup locations, VP costs and the dice result at which the participation of the unit must be revealed to the opponent.

Optional unit VP cost

Unit	VP Cost	Setup Hex	Revealed on
Tirpitz	-9	O33	0-8
Scharnhorst	-7	U26	0-7
Gneisenau	-8	U26	0-5
Köln	-3	O32	0-5
US Destroyer Flotilla 1	+1	AE12	0-2
US Destroyer Flotilla 2	+2	H7	0-2
New York

13.2. Crew exhaustion

If a major German warship (BB, CA or CV) is involved in combat twice in one day by aircraft and/or warships and attacked on the second day, due to crew exhaustion apply a +1 to all gunfire.