The Turkish Black Sea Fleet:
Scenarios, Part One
By Jim Stear
May 2014

Note: The Turkish Black Sea Fleet appeared in the New Year’s 2014 Golden Journal, a tiny special and very irregular publication exclusively for Gold Club members. These scenarios by Jim "Captain Terror" Stear make use of those ship pieces. We hope you enjoy them.

Operational Scenario Two
The Old Enemy
Summer 1919
The Kingdom of Greece was in a tight spot during the Great War. Initially proclaiming neutrality, yet being forced to accept an Allied military presence in Salonika from October 1915 on, intrigues and struggles between King Constantine I (brother-in-law to Kaiser Wilhelm II) and the pro-Allied Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos eventually led to the abdication of the former and Greece joining the Allies on 30 June 1917. Still, had Constantine trumped his rival, he might have kept Greece out of the war officially (or at least off the Allied side), and hence avoided the wrath of a potentially-victorious Central Powers. Whether this would have prevented further conflicts in subsequent years with the Greek’s old rivals to the east is doubtful, even under watchful German eyes. Especially if the Sultan had received a few Russian prizes as reinforcements to challenge the legendary Averoff.

Note: This scenario requires pieces and the eastern map from Mediterranean.

Time Frame: 60 Turns
Starting Weather Condition: 1 (Clear)

Central Powers (Turkish) Forces
At any Turkish port, need not set up together:
B02 Torgud Reis
B07 Sapienza
B08 Modon
CL01 Hamidieh
CL02 Medjidieh
PC01 Burak Reis
PC02 Murat Reis
GB01 Berk I Satvet
GB02 Peyk I Sevket
GB03 Isa Reis
GB04 Durak Reis
GB05 Hizir Reis
GB06 Aydin Reis
GB07 Preveze
GB08 Sakiz
2 x Yarhisar-class DD
2 x Muavenet-class DD
4 x Satvet-class DD
4 x Tarek-class DD

At Constantinople (O 56) or Smyrna (U 52):
8 x Small Transport

At Constantinople (O 56):
18 x Small Transport

Allied (Greek) Forces
At any Greek port, need not set up together:
BB01 Lemnos
BB02 Kilkis
AC01 Averoff
CL01 Helle
GB03 Acheloas
GB04 Eurotas
GB05 Pinelos
GB06 Alfeios
GB07 Naftilos
4 x Aetos-class DD
4 x Niki-class DD
2 x Keravnos-class DD
4 x Kriti-class DD
4 x Aigli-class TB

At Salonika (P 45) or Piraeus (W 47):
6 x Small Transport

Special Rules
Ports: Rhodes (Y 54) is a Turkish port.

Restricted Waters: No Allied ships may enter the Turkish Strait. No ships may enter the Black Sea.

Fleets: Each player may have up to five fleets, including two decoys.

Turkish Training: All Turkish gunnery and torpedo hits must be confirmed by a second die roll result of 3 or greater.

Old Tub: Treat B02 Torgud Reis as a CD for movement purposes, a ship having just one primary box for gunnery range purposes, and with light armor where heavy armor is indicated.

Soldiers of the Sultan, Defenders of Hellenic Lands: All transports may start the game loaded with cargo (troops). These may be unloaded for victory points. Turkish transports may only unload at a Greek port if escorted by a fleet that includes at least one ship with primary guns. Greek transports may only unload at Mudros (S 49) or Suda Bay (BB 47). Turkish transports that unload may reload troops at Constantinople (O 56) or Smyrna (U 52). Greek transports that unload may reload troops at Salonika (P 45) or Piraeus (W 47), unless 25 or more enemy troops have been landed at the port. At the end of the game, Salonika or Piraeus are considered captured if the Central Powers player has unloaded at least 25 troops at the port location, while Mudros and Suda Bay are considered captured if the Central Powers player has unloaded at least 10 more troops at the port location that the Allied player. Keep track of troops unloaded as the game progresses.

Guns of Terror: Each warship on a bombardment mission may conduct up to two bombardments of enemy ports before reloading. In bombardment, primary guns score a hit on a result of five or more, and secondary guns on a result of six.

Victory Conditions
The Central Powers player scores VPs for capturing Greek ports: five VPs for Mudros, 10 VPs for Suda Bay, 25 VPs for Salonika, and 50 VPs for Piraeus. Each loaded transport sunk is worth three VPs to the enemy, unloaded transports are worth no VPs. Each bombardment hit scored on an enemy port is worth one VP. To win, the Central Powers player must score at least 20 VPs, and score more VPs than the Allied player; any other result is an Allied victory.

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