VSF Scenario Design Contest Entries

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Battle of the Yellow River (Yalu Chasma)

by Mr Elmo

Scale

1/1200th scale

Rules

Aeronef

Length

See victory conditions

Players

2 sides - British and Japanese

Forces

British Fleet (Lord Admiral Arthur)

Benbow Class Battleship
Exeter Class Cruiser (2)
Audacious class Battlecruiser
Engadine class Dig Heavy Cruiser
Pearless class Bulk Merchant Vessel

Japanese Fleet (Admiral Morimoto)

Yashima class Battleship
Yakumo class Heavy Cruiser
Type S-12 Torpedo Nef (3)
Akashi class Light Cruiser
8-gun position 'convex' (2)

Situation

After a Martian rebellion on the Aurorae Planum (Dawn Plateau), Japan orders Great Britain to withdraw from the area - but she responds by sending in more troops to quell the rebellious natives. The Japanese, in response, ambush a troop convoy and destroy several transports. The English desperately need to get troops into the plateau, but the Japanese have effectively cut off the region.

Lord Admiral Arthur is given information about a native settlement named Weiuphi - located on the cliffs of the Yellow River chasm - that the Japanese are using as their base of operations. Rather than withdraw, the Lord Admiral gathers his remaining ships and troop transport; he intends to attack the port directly in an attempt to drive off the Japanese and regain control of the Dawn Plateau region.

Victory Conditions: The British player wins by capturing the port of Weiuphi. The Japanese player wins by destroying or driving off all the British ships. Any other result is a draw.

Set-Up

The Japanese fleet has just left the Weiuphi anchorage and should be generally line astern. The British fleet is then placed at maximum-range gun range for the lead ship. The troop transport (shaded on the map) is protected by the cruisers.

Special Rules

Beginning with the turn after the one in which the troop transport reaches Weiuphi, the British player rolls the number of d6 shown in the chart below:

First turn after landing 1d6
Second turn after landing 2d6
Third turn after landing 3d6

If the transport is destroyed or if the British player fails to roll a 6 after the third turn, the landing attempt has failed.

The entrances to the Yellow river chasm are protected by barrage balloons. These balloons can be shot down by scoring any damage but if a player wishes, they may attempt to run through the line in-between the balloons. When doing so, the player should roll a d6 for an intact balloon on their right and/or left. If the result is 4 or more, the ship is hit from a torpedo (technically a bomb on the end of a snag line, but torpedo will suffice for game terms).

There are shore batteries on the mountain guarding the mouth of the anchorage. Each of these should have the survivability and firepower/range of a cruiser. They, of course, do not move.

Recommended Figures

Aeronef ships from Brigade Models:

British Fleet

1	VAN-101	Benbow Class Battleship	£5.50 GBP
2	VAN-102	Exeter Class Cruiser	£2.80 GBP
1	VAN-114	Audacious class Battlecruiser	£5.50 GBP
1	VAN-116	Engadine class Dig Heavy Cruiser	£3.00 GBP
1	VAN-5005	Pearless class Bulk Merchant Vessel	£2.00 GBP

Japanese Fleet

1	VAN-602	Yashima class Battleship	£5.50 GBP
1	VAN-604	Yakumo class Heavy Cruiser	£2.80 GBP
3	VAN-609	Type S-12 Torpedo Nef	£0.50 GBP
1	VAN-605	Akashi class Light Cruiser	£2.40 GBP
2	GE1	8-gun position 'convex' (from Langton Miniatures ACW gun emplacements)	£3.30 GBP

Designer’s Notes

Over the past few days, The Miniatures Page has featured various contest entries. Each entry included pictures of the Aeronefs from Brigade Models. As I read each entry, I noticed that none of the entries used the flying ships that were pictured. I felt this was a shame since it was the ships that were piquing my interest. I have a soft spot in my heart for most naval games, especially WWI, and so I decided to enter the contest.

After reading the contest rules, I decided to create a scenario that used Brigade Models' ships and kept myself to a budget of £40.00 GBP. I wouldn't have had to keep to these goals, but I plan on winning and this way, I can just say, "Send me my scenario." I realized the scenario was going to have to be a naval battle and began thinking of naval battles in the Victorian era. I decided that I could meld several details and parts of various battles from the wars in the Far East from 1883-95.

One thing that a Martian setting allows is to bring in period flavor in which world powers fight for dominance "by proxy" using remote locations and the "natives" as pawns to further their goals. I also theorized that while the ships themselves could fly, there was still an upper limit on altitude due to lack of oxygen. So, mountains can still form land obstacles and act much like coast lines and islands.

I am rather pleased with the result and think it would make a fun start into the world of VSF naval gaming. I managed to stay within budget, as well as use Brigade models where possible. I didn't leave allowance for the barrage balloons - these would be an interesting modeling project using Styrofoam balls and stiff wire and the cost should be minimal.