| Great War at Sea: Reichsmarine
Scenario Preview
April 2013
Great War at Sea: Reichsmarine includes ten scenarios plus a sheet of counters representing the British and Weimar German navies as they would have existed had the Imperial German High Seas Fleet been divided up between nations rather than being scuttled. Below is a preview of all ten scenarios with commentary. We hope you enjoy them.
Battle Scenario One
Coast Defenders
Summer 1922
Over a stretch of six years, the German navy built a class of eight small and essentially useless armored "coast defenders" to mollify Reichstag members who opposed a high seas fleet. At the end of the Great War some Allied delegates to the Versailles talks advocated limiting the post-war German fleet to ships such as these, but in the end the Reichsmarine was saddled with pre-dreadnought battleships. Several of the coast defenders were converted into merchant ships; after massive wartime merchant losses many shipping lines were desperate for any vessel that could haul freight. Had they remained in naval service instead, they would have been easy prey even for the small coast defense ships of the Nordic navies.
Note: This scenario uses Weimar German pieces from Reichsmarine and Norwegian pieces from Jutland.
Commentary
Here the weakest units of the Reichsmarine take on the strongest units of the Norwegian Navy. The Norwegians outnumber and outgun the Weimar Germans, but they only have two Primaries to their whole fleet while the Germans have more than double that. The Norwegians have initiative so they can close range and get to within secondary gunnery range of the Germans on the first round, but they must hope long-range German Primary fire doesn’t knock out their secondary guns before they can start doing damage to the Germans.
Battle Scenario Two
House of Krupp
Fall 1922
The German ships swaying at anchor in Scapa Flow through the first half of 1919 threatened many interests, both political and economic. Their eventual scuttling served as a reminder that only one group emerged from the naval arms race as unchallenged winners: the shipyards and armaments firms that built the battleships and battle cruisers. In British hands, the ships could conceivably have fought vessels from the same yards.
Note: This scenario only uses pieces from Reichsmarine.
Commentary
This is the opposite of Scenario One: a fast-moving battlecruiser duel where the Germans outgun the Allies and have more hull boxes as well.
Battle Scenario Three
Trade Protection
Spring 1924
Seizure of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow could have sparked a naval war between Britain and America, and in such an event the refitted German cruisers would probably have been assigned to protect convoys and trade routes. There, they might have encountered their successors.
Note: This scenario uses warship pieces from Reichsmarine and transport pieces from Jutland.
Commentary
Rounding out the battle scenarios in this module is a Weimar German raid on an Allied convoy. Each side has a mix of battlecruisers and light cruisers (with some Destroyer Leaders rounding out the convoy escorts), so there will be plenty of hitting and running on both sides while the transports try to exit the board.
Operational Scenario One
Suitable For Coast Defense
Spring 1922
The Versailles Treaties took away Germany's High Seas Fleet, leaving the new Weimar Republic with a small navy of elderly ships, "suitable for coast defense." In this view, the German navy would be on a par with that of Sweden. Between the world wars, a parliamentary faction led by future Prime Minister Rickard Sandler became obsessed that a German threat existed to Finland's Aland Islands, which therefore needed to be brought under Swedish rule. With typical human inconsistency, Sandler wanted to sharply reduce Swedish military spending while preparing for war with Germany.
Note: This scenario uses the map, Swedish and Transport pieces from Jutland, and Weimar German pieces from Reichsmarine.
Commentary
Control of the Aaland Islands has changed more than once in the last two centuries, and in 1922 the islands were autonomous but the population held strong pro-Swedish sentiments. So if foreign powers warring for control of the Baltic were to set their sights on Aaland, the islanders would probably prefer a Swedish occupation to a Weimar German one. For this reason, the outnumbered Swedes can unload their transports quickly at the port of Mariehamn while the Germans must mount an assault landing and have their troops fight the Swedes for control of the islands. Meanwhile, the two nations’ navies must fight for control of the surrounding seas.
Operational Scenario Two
Eider Danes
Summer 1922
Following the Versailles Treaty, Denmark took control of northern Schleswig from Germany. Despite a referendum confirming the locals' preference for Danish rule, the loss grated on German nationalists. The Danes, having fought two wars over the province in the 19th Century, would not have taken German interference lightly. Some delegates to Versailles had wanted to leave the Germans with even less of a naval force than finally agreed; the useless old "coast defenders" had seen so little action during the Great War that they were in remarkably good mechanical shape and several were eventually converted to merchant ships.
Note: This scenario uses the map and Danish pieces from Jutland, and Weimar German pieces from Reichsmarine.
Commentary
A quick scenario (30 turns) in which the old, slow coastal defense vessels of Denmark and Weimar Germany try to score points by bombarding each other’s coasts and ports.
Operational Scenario Three
Under Pressure
March 1923
A powerful Weimar German Reichsmarine would have made it more difficult for
France to put economic and political pressure on the republic in the years after the First World War. But French anger over German failure to pay their reparations and pay them promptly demanded military enforcement, including blockades. With their older but still potent dreadnoughts, the Germans might have found the will to do something about it.
Note: This scenario uses the map from Jutland and pieces from Mediterranean and Reichsmarine.
Commentary
Here a squadron of French armored cruisers raids German merchant shipping in the Baltic while a powerful force of French dreadnoughts blockades German ports to keep the Reichsmarine from challenging the raiders. Should the Reichsmarine get through the blockade, a force of French pre-dreadnoughts is available to reinforce the blockaders.
Operational Scenario Four
A Five-Year Truce
Summer 1923
Hostility between France and Germany did not end with the close of the Great War, and even had the Versailles Treaties left Weimar Germany with a respectable navy the potential for conflict would have remained. With the Royal Navy unwilling to intervene, the narrow sea of "the Sleeve" could have seen naval battle once again.
Note: This scenario uses the map from Jutland and pieces from Mediterranean and Reichsmarine.
Commentary
Here the tables turn, with the Reichsmarine raiding French convoys all along the French and British coasts. The outnumbered French get victory points for transports that unload in their destination ports, while the Weimar Germans get points for sinking them.
Operational Scenario Five
Plan Emerald
July 1924
The American War Plan Red recognized that the British Royal Navy had widespread responsibilities around the globe. Fears that the British would seize the German warships interned in Scapa Flow and incorporate them in their own forces had helped spur the U.S. Navy's war plans, which saw most operations taking place in the Western Hemisphere. But Ireland would have been a tempting target, especially if the first-line British units had been drawn off elsewhere.
Notes: This scenario uses the map and pieces from Jutland, American and transport pieces from U.S. Navy Plan Gold, and British pieces from Reichsmarine.
Commentary
Here an American invasion fleet enters the Jutland map with the goal of capturing British ports on Ireland, while drawing off the Royal Navy with bombardment raids on ports in Britain. Both sides have plenty of dreadnoughts at their disposal and the Irish ports have garrisons, so this will be a bloody fight.
Operational Scenario Six
Beyond the Pale
September 1924
After centuries of English domination, most Irish Catholics would have welcomed an American invasion of with flowers and kisses. Or so the thinking might have gone. In any event, Britain could not have tolerated any other foreign presence on the neighboring island, and driving the Americans back out would have been imperative.
Notes: This scenario uses the map and pieces from Jutland, American and transport pieces from U.S. Navy Plan Gold and Sea of Troubles, and British pieces from Reichsmarine.
Commentary
A sequel to Scenario Five, this one depicts a British counter-invasion of Ireland with the goal of pushing the Americans back into the sea. The Americans control one port on Ireland while the Brits still control the other two, and with their continued control of the roads in the Irish interior it matters little where the Brits land their army. So, the Americans will have to patrol the entire Irish coast to prevent the British from landing enough troops on the Emerald Isle to defeat the Americans there.
 Operational Scenario Seven
Empire's End
Spring 1925
For many years, the Royal Navy held to a "two-power standard" — the fleet should be stronger than those of the second- and third-most powerful in the world, combined. The addition of the interned ships of the High Seas Fleet would have made the Royal Navy proportionately even more powerful, particularly in alliance with the Japanese. But even the biggest bully on the block can find himself threatened.
Notes: This scenario uses the map and pieces from Jutland, and pieces from U.S. Navy Plan Gold, Mediterranean, Sea of Troubles and Reichsmarine.
Commentary
Here the best ships of the old German Imperial High Seas Fleet fight to ensure that There Will Always Be an England. Britain stands alone against an alliance of America, France, Holland and Weimar Germany. Huge navies on both sides fight to protect or cut Britain’s lifelines, with the British player scoring victory points for transports that unload at their destinations while the other player scores points for sinking them.
That covers it for Reichsmarine.
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