AAR - The Honourable Eclipse Company and Indian Raj versus The Chinese Federation

"The Pearl of Borneo, Labuan had operated as a refuelling station and port for many ships in the World War, but largely avoided the fighting. This was to end as a sizeable flotilla of Chinese warships crested the horizon, looking to damage the infrastructure of the Grand Coalition and cut their supply lines. 

Suspecting such a move, the Admiralty of the Britannian Royal Navy had ordered a Battle Group from the Indian Raj to garrison the port, and even allowed the fleet commander a small bursary to supplement his forces with mercenary troops - an investment quickly used to give the garrison aerial defences in form of the Honourable Eclipse Company. 

As the Chinese fleet began their approach, the Indian fleet appeared from behind the derricks and began their bombardment, using their powerful Howitzers to try and dissuade further attack. It did not work, and it seemed that the battle would be decided in closer quarters..."

- The Cauldron: War in the South China Sea

Naval Battles of 1872

Welcome to yet another Battle Report from Full Spectrum Dominance, and a continuation of the South China Sea campaign begun at the end of summer. This week, old foe Mike borrows the Chinese Federation give them another go, practising for his own Chinese fleet, while I run the faithful Indian Raj with some mercenary allies from the Honourable Eclipse Company.

Playing a good size 1,500pt game, we set the board with a large concentration of buildings and derricks to really show off my terrain collection. Pictured below and in the following Report we can see a large refuelling station with accompanying dockyards and landing fields on one side of the board, while two far-flung islands with listening posts anchor the other flank. The Chinese Federation would be continuing their aggressive expansion with an attack on the station, while the Indian Raj would rush to defend it and the Eclipse Company fly overhead.

Drawing Secret Objectives, the Chinese Federation would have to cripple the Grand Coalition's scouts and escort ships - destroying all Small Squadrons. In turn, the Indian Raj were targeting the Chinese flagship, aiming to destroy the Battleship as Mike had foregone taking any other Large vessels.

With the board set and Objectives drawn, we can move onto the game!

First of all, however...

THE FLEETS

Second Element of the Fujian Fleet

Mike's Fleet
Chinese Federation
One Jian-class Battleship with Redoubtable and extra crew compartments

One Guan Dao-class Battlecruiser
Three Dao-class Cruisers
Three Chui-class Support Carriers each with one squadron of four Dive Bombers

One Squadron of four Yue-class Destroyers
One Squadron of four Nu-class Frigates
One Squadron of three Nu-class Frigates

Two Dun-class Bastions

One Squadron of four Luxing-class Aerial Bombards

Two Squadrons of five Dive Bombers

Battle Group Shivaji on manoeuvres

My Fleet

Indian Raj

One Chanura-class Heavy Battleship with Shield Generator 

One Jhasa-class Assault Carrier with Howitzer-Bombard, one squadron of five Dive Bombers and one Reconnaissance Plane

One Canda-class Monitor with one Reconnaissance Plane

One Canda-class Monitor with one Reconnaissance Plane

Three Devak-class Cruisers

One Squadron of three Indus-class Heavy Destroyers

One Squadron of five Veeran-class Corvettes

One Squadron of five Dive Bombers

Mercenaries of the Honourable Eclipse Company

Allied Fleet

The Honourable Eclipse Company

Three Phoenician-class Scout Flyers

One Squadron of five Hades-class Interceptors

One Squadron of five Fighter Planes

DEPLOYMENT

The stage is set

The bulk of the Indian Raj move on from the flank, around the first Landing Field as the Eclipse Company fly overhead

The Destroyer and Corvette squadrons prepare to negotiate the derricks, using their speed and manoeuvrability to speed underneath

A wide shot of the deployment, with the full extent of the dockyards visible

The Chinese Federation pass the old gun platform, heading for the Indian fleet

Aerial squadrons approach from the far flank

The Eclipse Company prepare to engage them

A shot from the other angle, showing the two fleets

TURN ONE

The Indian fleet closes, taking fire but not suffering any serious damage at this range

Their turrets cause several critical hits on the Dun-class Bastion, attempting to break the shield wall

The Luxing squadron swing in from the flank

The Aerial Bombards batter the Canda-class Monitor with their sonic weapons

The Honourable Eclipse Company drift overhead, their cannons readying to fire

The damaged Bastion is knocked from the sky, while the second also takes damage from the powerful guns of the Eclipse Company

Veeran-class Corvettes negotiate the derricks, seeking to ambush the Chinese flagship

The Chiniese fleet swings to port, turning to face the Indian fleet and present their broadsides to the Eclipse Company Scout Flyers

The Honourable Eclipse Company take fire

Hades-class Interceptors swiftly turn to engage the Aerial Bombards

Their Fore Guns cause minor damage to one of the Bombards

Opening moves - the two fleets exchange long-range fire but are largely ineffectual

The Indian fleet move in defence of the station, while the Honourable Eclipse Company move to engage their aerial targets

The bulk of the Chinese fleet advances past the defence platforms, closing on the Indian fleet

Beyond the two Radio Stations, a large force of Chinese flyers flank the Indian Raj

TURN TWO

The Luxing-class Aerial Bombards line up their sonic weapons

The concussive blows from the Aerial Bombards are largely ineffective, but shake the Cruiser squadron

Dogfight! The Interceptors engage the Aerial Bombards and bring one down, while their lighter anti-aircraft weapons destroy a squadron of Dive Bombers. The retaliatory fire brings down one of the Eclipse Company flyers

The damaged Canda-class Monitor prepares to fire

The Battlecruiser bears the brunt of the massive Howitzer-Bombard

The Battlecruiser replies in kind, the three turrets causing serious damage to the Monitor

The second Monitor swings the Howitzer-Bombard round

A shot through the paddles of the Battleship cripples its speed

The Cruisers engage

Anti-aircraft fire damages an Interceptor

The shields of the Scout Flyers protect them from the worst 

The remaining ordnance from the Cruisers damages the Monitor

The flagship of the Indian Raj moves into range of the Chinese Battleship

Raking the vessel with fire from three turrets, it disappears with a huge flash of light and displaced water 

The vessel reappears suddenly to the starboard, smashing onto the gun platform and taking a huge amount of damage as the magazine ignites!

In seconds the vessel has been almost destroyed!

Struggling free from the gun platform, the Battleship works ahead

Flamethrowers wash over the Corvette squadron, dousing two of them in hideous chemical fire

The Indian Raj pile on the pressure, the Jhasa-class Assault Carrier blowing one Cruiser out of the water and finishing the crippled Battlecruiser with a volley from the broadsides

Support Carriers advance

The Devak-class Cruisers move through the tight formation, their turrets causing a reactor leak on one of the Dao-class Cruisers

The Bastion drifts forward menacingly as Fighter Planes from the Honourable Eclipse Company attack the squadrons of Dive Bombers

The damaged Bastion still manages to ruin one of the Corvettes with a blast from the Dragon's Breath

Fire ravages the Monitor on the starboard side

Indian Bombers swoop down on the offending Bastion and finish it

Frigates sweep around the island, their anti-aircraft guns bringing down an Interceptor

Corvettes launch a bold attack on the Chinese fleet, but it is a foolhardy move and their Boarding parties are lost for very little gain

The second squadron of Frigates moves to defend their flagship, destroying two Corvettes

The Phoenician-class Scout Flyers open fire upon the Chinese Destroyers, smashing one and Breaking the squadron

Their attack upon the Scout Flyers is stymied by powerful Shields

Indus-class Heavy Destroyers cautiously advance

The end of the second round of shooting sees the two fleets bloodied, and dangerously close to one another

The impressive Indian formation in the centre is at risk of collision, but the Chinese ships will struggle to break through this blockade

Corrosion ravages the Dao-class Cruiser, and sinks a damaged Indian Corvette

TURN THREE

The Honourable Eclipse Company commit to a bombing run over the Destroyers, smashing two of them apart. Their turrets also damage the Support Carriers below

Chinese Cruisers move against the Indian Cruiser squadron, waves of conscript-soldiers overwhelming the lead vessel and leaving it a ruined hulk, which will cause trouble for the ships behind

The Monitor launches a bold counter-attack, but loses all of it's Boarding parties in the doomed assault

The powerful Howitzer-Bombard still cripples a Support Carrier, however

The Aerial Bombards break off from their pursuers and strafe the Indian fleet

Massive sonic explosions rip through the Indus-class Heavy Destroyers, destroying the second vessel in the squadron

The Canda-class Monitor swings to face the enemy flagship, broadsides raking the damaged Chinese Cruiser as it turns. The vessel begins to sink

A point-blank shot from the Howitzer finished the crippled Battleship

Frigates snake through the islands and finish the damaged Monitor with their Fore Guns, finally bringing it down

The Assault Carrier passes through the wreckage

The immense power of the Bombard almost destroys one of the Support Carriers

The Support Carriers still have teeth, however, passing underneath the Scout Flyers and bringing one down with swarms of conscript-soldiers. Their firepower and brute physical strength smash a Corvette and Destroyer as they coast forward

The Chanura slows, opening fire with all three turrets and crippling a Support Carrier, as well as obliterating the last Destroyer

Dive Bombers swarm the last Heavy Destroyer, sending it to the ocean floor

The Indian Cruisers are forced to collide, taking damage as they ram into one another. The central vessel is destroyed in the chaos

The Nu-class Frigates launch a bold attack in the centre of the maelstrom, destroying the last Veeran-class Corvettes and flooding the decks of the Monitor with their Boarding parties

The vessel is taken as a Prize!

The Hades-class Interceptors make a last ditch attempt to bring down the Aerial Bombards, but lose one of their number in the process

Dive Bombers finish the last Cruiser bloodily

Swirling chaos around the derricks as the two fleets start to mix

The battle draws to a close, as the Chinese have suffered huge losses and their flagship burns

The Chinese aerial forces are largely intact, but crucially the last Eclipse Company Interceptor remains operational, allowing them to carry word of the attack back to  the ruins of Singapore 

The few remaining Chinese vessels are surrounded and damaged, though they have caused significant losses for the Indian Raj

AFTERMATH
At the end of Turn Three, Mike and the Chinese Federation had scored 885 Victory Points but crucially failed to destroy all Small Squadrons as the Interceptor was still alive. In turn, the Indian Raj and their allies had scored a mighty 1,020 Victory Points and Destroyed the Chinese Battleship - VICTORY FOR THE INDIAN RAJ!

CONCLUSIONS AND LEARNING POINTS

• A bloody and close fought game, it was down to the wire who would score the most Victory Points and if Mike would destroy the last of my Small squadrons. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about my Hades-class Interceptors and could not achieve his Objective. In turn, he was also unlucky that I had drawn to destroy his Large squadrons, given that without the Dragon or Dreadnought Fortress, the fleet only had one Large option.
• There was a great deal less fire in this game than in the past, probably due to the poor showing by the Destroyer squadron and the smashing of the Chinese Battleship. It was a bit of a relief not to have to use as many tokens as usual!
• The great debate about Chinese Cruisers versus Gunships continues - some consider the Gunship overpriced and the Cruiser superior with its huge crew complement, but I feel it lacks damage-output without a turret.
• Mike was unimpressed with the Battlecruiser, as it was taken down rather quickly. I have a feeling that Battlecruisers are something that should be taken in pairs, as they are tough, but not tough enough to take a huge beating. As a pair, at least one will get through and get to fire it's powerful weaponry. 
• The Indian Raj were on point as usual, though I still cannot work out a great use for the Heavy Destroyer squadron. Poor placement hurt them today, but the rest of the fleet (well, the Howitzer-Bombards) pulled their weight.
• The Eclipse Company had a respectable showing, though I did use two of their best units. The Scout Flyers are a legitimately great squadron, with their shields, strong turrets and Surface Hunter. The Interceptors were useful because of the Chinese flyers present. I am still dubious about the rest of the fleet, however. 
• Terrain was as dense as ever, and it turned into a brawl in the big open area in the middle once again. I think next time I will deliberately use fairly sparse terrain. Of course, using two close-range fleets like this does tend to result in a melee in the centre, so I shouldn't worry too much. 

THE NARRATIVE
"The Chinese Federation were defeated at Labuan, held off at great cost. With half his fleet in ruin, the commander of the Labuan garrison appealed to any who would listen - they would not resist a second attack. The pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as with the losses suffered at Pilau Tioman, the North Balabec Strait and Banda Aceh, there were simply no ships to spare..."

Thanks for reading,

George