Movement for A12 is (essentially) over - there's just a few possible reactions and then reserves.

The Gorns attacked most of the Romulan BATS that they could reach that the Romulans couldn't react to. There are 6 that will definitely go down without intervention, and another with a huge number of ships from both sides. Minor 4112 (Justinia) is also being hit, and the Romulans have 2 reserves that can definitely save whichever BATS they choose.

The Federation is freeing 2 Fed planets from Romulan control.

The fleet in 2915 took a trip down to the major in 2518. South Klingon space otherwise has a couple battles where the ships stranded there could fight at an advantage - and otherwise staying put.

BATS 1811 has 15 ships from each side, BATS 1809 has 4 Federation ships (which should be enough to take it down), BATS 1807 has 4 Feds and 7 Klingons, and SB 1707 has 19 SEQ of Feds, 42.5 SEQ of Kzinti, and about 45 SEQ of Klingons. That includes 50 crippled ships.

Most of the action in and around Kzinti space consisted of pinning fleets so they couldn't interfere in 1707. There's still a Lyran reserve (of 13 SEQ) in 1411 which I couldn't pin, but that still leaves a 2:1 uncrippled SEQ advantage for the Alliance over the starbase.

All ships in 1707:

Kzinti: CVA DN 4CV 2BC TGC-V CVL CM 5MEC 3DD CVE 10FF 2EFF 3DF SF
Federation: DN+ CVA TG-B CVB CVS 2CA NCL FF LSC 2SC

Klingon: B10 D7C D6M D7 D6V D6S 3D6D TGB 2D5 AD5 F5L F5V F5S F5 2E4 E4A
Klingon cripples: 2d7c 2d7 d6m 3d6 d5v 12d5 ad5 2d5s f5l f5v 2f5e 4f5 f5s 13e4 e4a
Lyran reserve: DN 4CW CVL CWE DWE 3FF DWS

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Thursday, February 03, 2022 - 12:04 pm: Edit

Assuming the Lyran Reserve does go to 1707.... I don't think the Alliance has enough to take the SB down. Lots of weak hulls in the Alliance and the Alliance seems to be massively short on escorts - Feds especially so?

With a B10 and Mauler..... Alliance carriers could easily die.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Thursday, February 03, 2022 - 02:48 pm: Edit

The Lyran reserve doesn't realistically have another target (it could save BATS 1809, I guess?). But that would change taking the SB from risky to almost certain, so it's not going to happen.

Both Karl and I have shown a willingness to cripple more than might be considered reasonable to achieve an objective. Taking out this SB would make it very easy for me to cut Klingon supply to northern Federation space and further reduce the limited Klingon repair capacity. Blowing the base this turn could mean 10 fewer D5s next turn!

Kzinti CVs could die - it really depends on whether Karl's willing to risk the SB. If I give up a CV group but get the base, it might be worthwhile to me. We'll have to see how I feel afterward.

Total Alliance defpot: 421

Total Coalition ship defpot (non-crippled): 249

Two things are certain: it's going to be interesting, and it's going to be a bloodbath.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Friday, February 04, 2022 - 05:10 am: Edit

Haven't been on here in awhile! RL issues on my part almost derailed this game but we were able to restart after a pause so I thought I'd chime in...

The extra Lyran reserve did in fact go to 1707. It's the only non-pinning battle in the area, and as Sam mentioned the only other realistic target was the one Klingon BATS that was low-hanging fruit for the Federation, but not wroth saving.
1707 is the main event of this turn anyway. The coalition are outnumbered, but given a B10 and SB, the coalition have 72 COMPOT before even thinking about what to put on the line - it's almost like a mini capital assault situation for the Alliance. (Except they don't have maulers and the B10 is different from a PDU.) The Fed/Kzinti joint forces have a CVA and DN each, but otherwise a half-dozen carrier groups and chaff. And with just 2 Fed scouts, EW is a weakness. It really highlights now differently Sam and I play the game, given that we both think we have the advantage here.
I *really* thought Sam was going to kick that Klingon fleet off of Sheboygan (2403) this turn. It's been a pain in the Federation's side for a few turns now, threatening 3 inner Fed planets and (with a few more ships) the 2nd Fleet SB - the off-map territory and with it Kzinti life support. Sam is I guess content this turn to cut its supply grid off from main, to focus on 1707. (It has a PDU so the ships are in-supply regardless, I just have to pay for fighters.)
The Hydran HTO is interesting. I'm honestly not sure what the purpose of this drive to reconnect the capital and Old Colonies is. If he empties the EP stockpile into the capital it can be lost if I take Hydrax next turn, and if he wants to hold the supply lanes open or build up an off-map reserve that's just fever ships to defend the capital. Could just be boredom on the Hydrans part, though. I don't think they've even moved the last few Alliance turns. I have at lately forgotten they were still there.
Gorn entry is a bit anticlimatic. Mostly they're keeping it safe hitting border BATS. The Feds slipping in to hit an undefended Justinia is annoying, but ultimately not enough to send a reserve for. South Romulan space was ignored, the remnant 8th fleet was the only fleet really able to do anything there, and they went for the Klingon border instead. Romulan action has been a coalition highlight this game (excepting the C10 failure to take 8th SB), which is a first for me.
Combat should get underway today.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Friday, February 04, 2022 - 12:06 pm: Edit

Oh, I should probably mention the other interesting thing which is turning out to be rather significant: there are 10 SSCs this turn which involve crippled Alliance ships. Most also have an uncrippled ship, but that wasn't enough in most cases to make it better than even, so I sent a cripple or two to tip the scales in my direction. This also has the benefit of letting me redistribute cripples at the end of my turn rather than the start - though a few might fail to get to a repair facility with capacity because of it.

In regard to the Hydran Old Colonies: I can't move the treasury to the capital except by tug or during my economics phase. So there's no chance that I just lose it all without the chance to spend it.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Saturday, February 05, 2022 - 04:00 pm: Edit

SSC's are the ideal place to put a cripple...

... if a reserve turns up, you lose the cripple.

And if one doesn't - it might make the SSC a couple points more in more your favour.

Wierdly, unlikely normal combat, there is no penalty for 1 low compot unit being used.

i.e. nf a normal Battle - use a Lyran crippled FF and you have 1 point of damage left over - you have to resolve it.

In SSC - no effect!

Ideal SSC force seems to be something like a Kzinti CVL, Kzinti SF and crippled Kzinti FF.

Max ship based 14 OC in effect and 18 DC.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 06:52 am: Edit

This has turned out to be a brilliant tactic that Sam has used this game, and one that has certainly damaged coalition morale (that pile of cripples is supposed to be sulking at the SB/FRD park, not helping province raiders get home safely!)
Sam has carefully minded the SSC limits on OC/DC. As you point out, Paul, if these battles happen in regular combat crippled ships would almost certainly be destroyed. But in SSC you get 1 free pass with the retreat casualty, and even if the enemy gets 2 you can cripple the province raider and not lose SEQ. Most of the battles involve *just enough* cripples to put OC/DC near the limit, so the raiders have little fear of getting the multiple casualty/make a choice on what dies roll.
That said, the Hydrans rolled terribly in SSC this turn against province raiders. Also the Feds vs. Roms in Fed space, particularly frustrating for the alliance with cloaked evasion thrown in. As usual though, the Klingons were not lucky, and at this point *still* have 5 disrupted provinces. This includes 1 minor they're holding near the Tholian border (2216) which, combined with the surprise 7th fleet assault on 2518 has caused a lot of economic headaches for the Klingons...

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 07:51 am: Edit

Despite being midway through AT12 combat, I thought I would post a status update for the peanut gallerty (because I have insomnia and obsessing over F&E is the next best thing to sleeping.)
HTO:
Hydran space is the barren wasteland it should be. Lyrans hold all the planets, and have taken the lead on operations here (I figure they'll be in charge when Hydrans are fully OM so might as well start now.)
I've been content to leave Hydrax intact, with the Hydran fleet holed up. All that's left is the SB, and the Hydran navy is down to 1 DN, 4 cruisers (one a CV), and otherwise CWs and FFs. DDs have been targeted to a lesser extent and there are a handful left.
The current situation leaves Hydrans with 10EPs/turn in the main grid and (relativelY) lots of cash in the Old Colonies. So they can pay the Orion piper to get money to 0617 or, as Sam has done, save up for a rainy day and let Hydrax deal with it. This is a new strategy for me, and I've struggled with it because there are too many Klingon ships tied up for garrison duty that should be fighting the Federation right now. On the flipside, The Hydran navy is mostly powerless to do anything, they do not have an ID (and probably won't given impending economic exhaustion), and most SEQs are frigates. Which of course are mostly the embarrassing Hunter frigate. History will show if this was a good idea I guess.

Kzinti: 1401 still stands, and the Kzinti navy is reasonably strong for one that has repeatedly taken a battering. They have more than 2/3 the SEQs of the Lyran navy, and the Marquis SB still stands (although damaged) so they can get to decent targets. Exchange of planet ownership/province raiders have prevented reinforcements to be stratted in, but the Feds have made up for that by stationing their own small fleet there. Aside from that, the ships in 1401 can't hit much except try to recapture their lost territory, and each Coalition turn the tide swings the other way. The Kzintis are my least favorite Alliance race. I'm not sure that holding 1401 would change much. (Certainly not worth the butcher bill anyway.) Topping my list of boneheaded mistakes was miscalculating planetary recovery in 1401 (thought I had another turn) so tke Kzinti got more cash than they should have this turn. Helped them to build a CVA, combined with the welfare check they get from the Federation semi-annually.

Federation space: Klingons here took a two-pronged approach with a north and south drive, leaving the 3rd SB mostly alone. This left the Klingon belt vulnerable to a raid, which of course happened. On the offensive side, though, south Fed space is barren except the 7th SB. In the north, 4th SB was taken early and the whole breadbasket is captured or raided. The downside to this is that the Klingons don't have the ships to make any kind of attempt on Earth ATM, and Fed production only makes this problem worse each turn. I have learned (most of my games have not gone this far) that the Fed economy is always just fine as long as the capital is untouched. Still, from a strategic perspective, holding 2403 (Sheboygan III) has been very helpful because it can threaten so many Federation assets. And it diverts a significant portion of the Fed fleet away from other objectives simply so they can defend said assets. So from an economic warfare prespective not great, but strategically helpful.
Romulans pursued a similar course and generally have been more successful. 6th SB is on its own private ialand, typically cut off from the grid, but harbors a significant fleet. Holding Vidalia (3210) and Sigma Draconis (3509) has put some pressure on Earth and NE Fed space, respectively. A recent drive up the Fed/Gorn border was mostly foiled by reserves. The biggest failure has been the continued existence of the 7th, SB, again on its own island. A disastrous Romulan assault CT10 left the SB wounded, but the Romulan fleet so damaged it is only now recovered. Action in this theatre is its own separate course of events, as the SB is so far away from any other Fed assets.

Gorn: They joined this turn, and have had a tepid reception by the Romulans. Poor rolling and reserves sent to stymie their offensive have made the attack inconsequential. The 4th fleet is bolstering the Fed/Gorn border, and coordinated Fed/Gorn attacks on the NW corner of Romulan space indicate that holding this area is an Alliance priority. Anyway, CT13 will see what happens when the Romulans go on the offensive.

Overall, though, I'm not feeling optimistic. Really things hinge on an assault on Earth, and any reasonable attempt is still turns away; I'll be lucky to get it in before exhaustion. The Feds do have a huge repair bill, but then so do the Klingons, and the Feds can actually afford it. In retrospect I wish I just made the fall of Hydrax happen, if anything so that (considerable) Klingon fleet could be available against the Feds. But it's still anyone's game I suppose.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 02:19 pm: Edit

Choices Choices Choices

617 is a big one - keeping the Hydrans in 617 on 10 Ep's a turn is low cost (upfront), but might he more cost long term.

Clearly, the tactic could go horribly wrong if a couple of Ep laden Tugs can get from OC to 617....

But - not being able to enter hexes with ships in - and getting a SM route to 617 is even harder - so probably fair to say, not easy.

Building the Frigate and converting a ship a turn will burn up some of those Ep's - so it's something.

I think allowing the Kzinti to hold 1401 is less ideal - even if everything is devastated - the Kzinti can build a modest force each turn - and so will be a pain.

You take your pain now - or later!

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Monday, February 07, 2022 - 09:27 pm: Edit

My original plan was Kzinti first, as it is an economically healthier capital, and the Feds give economic life support anyway after T7. In this game my fleet setup debacle led to me diverting considerable Klingon SEQ to the HTO early on, forcing the issue there.
I also was testing a strategy about dividing up the Hydran fleet with multiple battle hexes, and killing RNs to gut the home fleet/fighter capacity. Turns out that strategy is maybe something to only do for a few turns to soften them up as replacement HRs can still reasonably prop up the fleet. (Direct killing Hydran CCs is highly recommended though.)

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Wednesday, February 09, 2022 - 01:16 am: Edit

Combat is over on A12!

The Gorn rolled exceptionally poorly - their first 4 rolls were 1. They were just fighting undefended BATS for the most part, so it didn't really matter, but it felt bad. The Federation chased the Romulans off of 3711 and captured 3912 and 4112.

The Feds avoided any major battles, just taking 2518. They did kill a bunch of ships in SSC.

Hydran space was mostly about getting to a position where the Coalition is forced to use more ships blocking the offmap. If they manage to bring the treasury on map it could be rather significant, so the Lyrans need to be more careful. Will it matter? Unlikely. But they can't do much else, so...

The Kzinti traded cripples and hulls with the Lyrans. They managed to burn essentially all of their fighters. Both fleets took a few cripples.

And then there was 1707. 8 rounds over the starbase; nearly no directing (a LSC was direct crippled and a SC was mauled); most ships on both sides were crippled. I could have taken it - if it weren't for the huge stack of cripples there. It was a near thing either way, but further rounds would have seen both of us self-killing and I wasn't interested in that. There were only 4 uncrippled ships which attempted pursuit; it failed.

1707 casualties:
Z Crip: 4CV 2BC TGC CM 5MEC 3DD EFF 8FF (38.5EP)
F Crip: CVA DE 2CA NCL LSC 2FF (13.5 EP)
F Dead: FFE SC

L Crip: 2CW CVL CWE DWE DWS 3FF (12 EP)
L Dead: 2CW
K Crip: D7C D7 D6M 3D6D D6V AD5 F5L F5S F5 E4A E4 6SIDS (22 EP plus SIDS)
K Dead: 2D5 E4

I took more casualties, as expected. However, the Kzinti had almost no cripples at the start of the turn, so my ships will start getting repaired A13. The Klingons won't be fixing these ships for a while. Overall, I'm reasonably happy with how things went - and I can probably come back another turn to finish the job. I only had one round where Karl had to choose between the SB and ships (which is how I scored 4 hulls), which was less than I had hoped.

Total A12 casualties:
Z Crip: 4CV CC 2BC TGC 2CM 6MEC CLE 3DD EFF 10FF (47EP)
Z Dead: CLE CL DD 3FF
H Dead: HN
F Crip: CVA DE 3CA 2LSC FFE 8FF (22.5 EP)
F Dead: 2NCL FFE SC
G Crip: BC 2HD BD 4DD (11 EP)
G Dead: CC BC CL 2DD
Total repair cost: 80.5 EP

L Crip: 7CW CVL CWE DWE DWS DW 2CL 9FF (30 EP)
L Dead: 2CW 3CL 2SC 8FF
K Crip: D7C 2D7 2D6M 3D6D D6V D6 3AD5 3F5L F5S 2F5 E4A E4 (36 EP)
K Dead: 3D5 F5L 2F5 5E4
K Bases: BATS(1809) 4PDU(2518) 6SIDS(1707)
R Crip: FAL SP SK K4 (7 EP)
R Dead: KRM KC9 BHE SNB K5L K4
R Bases: 4BATS(4012, 4710, 5010, 5012) 2PDU(4112)
Total repair cost: 73 EP

This turn was the deadliest so far for the Coalition: 32 SEQ destroyed (next closest was C10 at 27 SEQ). Retrogrades etc. still to come.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Wednesday, February 09, 2022 - 08:44 am: Edit

1707 was very bloody. Both sides came away from battle with only a handful of *uncrippled* ships. The real loss for the Klingons was rolling a 6 for pursuit; I had a B10/Lyran DN/D6M/3D6D itching for revenge on the virtual smorgasbord of juicy alliance cripples but alas, it wasn't meant to be. (As it is I had to use the mauler to clear out a scout on the line to regain EW parity, so by the end it wasn't available when pursuit finally did happen. Maybe that's why Sam left when he did?)

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Wednesday, February 09, 2022 - 11:43 am: Edit

Yeah, if you still had 6 uncrippled ships (especially if the mauler was one of them) I might have fought another round. But I knew that I'd have to wait for you to cripple the mauler from R1 when I crippled a CV (these CV are the first crippled all game - in every other combat I only crippled the escorts, though a couple of CVLs have been crippled).

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, February 10, 2022 - 12:10 am: Edit

>> I had a B10/Lyran DN/D6M/3D6D itching for revenge

It takes a lot of personal discipline to hold back a powerful force to pursue....

--Mike

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, February 10, 2022 - 10:24 am: Edit

Too bad you didn't have a C5 or a DNL to replace the DN or a D6D. That would have solved the pursuit roll problem...

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Thursday, February 10, 2022 - 11:00 am: Edit

He actually only had B10 DN F5V D6S at the time of retreat - and he rolled a 5. A fast ship, even if we were playing with them, wouldn't have made the pursuit.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, February 10, 2022 - 11:43 am: Edit

Ah, OK, that makes a lot of sense - I do recall the battle ground both sides almost to dust.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Saturday, February 12, 2022 - 02:28 pm: Edit

It was a bit heartbreaking to have to put those saved ships on the line, but by the last round it was either that or kill hulls, or take more SIDS (which I didn't want to do.) Obviously Sam made the right choice; even though everything got l wrecked, he didn't lose a bunch of cripples in retreat....

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Saturday, February 12, 2022 - 02:32 pm: Edit

Here's the C13 Econ. Let me know if everything looks good. I'm working on cleaning up the map/adding new fleets so will send a backup later this morning before moves.

Y174 Fall, Coalition turn 13 - Lyran Economy
Survey
Prev Total: 114
New Roll: 12
Total: 126

Command Points: 9+1=10

Prev Turn:
0 Field Repair C12
12.75 salvage (2CW, 3CL, SC, 8FF)
5.55 old treasury
18.3 remaining (end of A12)

Income
Maj Planets(9):45
Min Planets(10):30
On-Map Provinces(16):32
Off-Map Provinces(9):18
Captured NZ(10 hexes):2
Captured Provinces:5 (0701, 0901, 0214, 0216, 0716)
Captured Planets (2min): 2 (1001, 0416)
Total: 134

New Treasury: 134+18.3=152.3

Production [70.5]
10 BC
10+6 CV sub CA (3fff)
6 CWE sub CW
15 CWx3
10 DWEx2 sub DWx2
6 DWS sub DW
7.5 FFx3

Repairs [38]
8 (0608) 4D7
6 (0404) BC, TGC, CL
8 (0408) CA, TGA, 2D7C
6 (0509) D6M, 2D5
5 (0411) 2CWE, 2FF
2 (0809) CC
1.5 (0705) CW
1.5 (0707) CW

Conversions [5]
5 CA to DN

Overbuilds [5]
FF (0408)

Other Production [30]
20 transfer to Klingons (tribute payment)
10 FRD

148.5 total expenses

152.3-148.5 = 3.8 remaining


Y174 Fall, Coalition turn 13 - Klingon Economy
Survey
Prev Total:85
New Roll: 4
Total: 89

Command Points: 11+1-1= 11

Prev Turn
End C12 Treasury: 0.2
Field Repair C12: 0
Salvage: 6.025 (3D5, 2F5, E4)
Drone Bombardment: 0.8(C12) + 3.2(A12) = -4
Allied delivery: +20
Start treasury: 22.225

Income
Maj Planets(8 – 2 devastated):34
Min Planets(13 – 2 devastated):32
On-Map Provinces(24, 7 disrupted):41
Off-Map Provinces(4):8
Captured NZ (33 hexes):6.6
Captured planets (4min): 4 (1802, 2403, 2106, 2715)
Captured Prov(5):5(0814, 0116, 1801, 2614, 2004)
Partial grid treasury (0.7EP from Tholian Border cut off C12)
Total: 131.3

Total: 131.3+19.5=150.8 new treasury

Production [105.5]
9 D7C
10 D6M sub D7
11 D6D sub D6
7 D5V sub D5 (6fff)
6 AD5 sub D5
35 D5x7
6 2F5 sub F5L
4 F5E sub F5L
15 F5x5 (2 at 1411, 1 each at 1707, 1716, 2218)
2.5 E4

Repair [40]
30 (1411) D7C, 2CVT, 2D5V, 4AD5, 6D5, 3F5E, 3F5
8 (1707) 2D7C, D5V, AD5, F5E
2 (2318) F5, E4
3(1209) AD5, D5

Activate [2]
2D6
4D6 remaining in mothball

Conversion [0]

Other Expenses [0]
150 total expenses
150.8-150 = 0.8 Pennies remaining

Lyran Homeless supply ships (5/8 lines): 3CW, DW, DWS (1905)


Y174 Fall, Coalition turn 13 - Romulan Economy
Survey: 0+6=6
On-map provinces discovered: 5/5
On-map planets discovered: 2/2

Command Points: 6+1=7

Prev Turn:
-9 Field Repair C12
10.5 salvage (KC9 4, KRM 2, SP 1.25, K5L 1, SKE 0.875, SNB 0.75, K4 0.625)
16.4 old treasury
17.9 remaining (end of A12)

Income
Maj Planets(3):15
Min Planets(11):33
On-Map Provinces(30, 2 disrupted): 58
Captured Planets (2min):2 (3415, 3509)
Captured Provinces(4): (3508,3212, 3214, 3612)
Captured NZ(8):1.6
Total: 113.6

New Treasury: 113.6+17.9=131.5

Production [73]
17 CON
8 FH
8 SPC sub SP
15 SPx3
3.5 SK
9 2SKE sub 2SK
10 FAL sub WE
2.5 SN

Repairs [33]
1.5 (4410) SPF
5.5 (3613) KRC, WE, SNB
8 (4514) KE, 4WE
2 (4214) 2SN
2 (3715) 2SK
14 (3319)(BATS+2FRD) KR, 3SP, SPF, 2SKE, SK, K5, K4)

Activations [6]
2WE, 2BH, 2SN
Mothball remaining: 2WE, 2BH, 6SN

Conversions [17]
5+12 FH to SUB (6fff) (4613) (major)

Overbuilds [0]

Other Production [0]

129 total expenses
131.5-129=2.5 remaining

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Monday, February 14, 2022 - 12:24 pm: Edit

Combat on C13 is commencing.

The Hydrans are losing a couple of CUs in SSC and the capital is attacked once more. Hydrax will not fall, but it's a possibility that the SB could be SIDSed down. While there are a lot of FFs in the Hydran fleet (13 HN and 15 CU of 109.5 SEQ), there are also 13 E4 and 25 F5 in the Coalition fleet (also of 109.5 SEQ), so the total defpot comes out close to even.

2915 is finally going to be blown up; 23 SEQ per side but the Romulans have 3 maulers and only 2 SIDS to direct. The Romulans are also killing a few Fed BATS and being repelled from 3306.

The Romulan attack on the Gorn is somehow more anemic than the Gorn attack on the Romulans. Only 3 BATS are being attacked (4008, 4608, and 5008) and two of those have reserves likely to save them. Even the attack on 4008 is only KE 2WE 2BHE for 28/0 against BATS DD 23/1, so that'll be painful to take out.

SB 2211 is under serious attack for the first time. Even so, there aren't enough Klingons to take the base, but one or both of the FRDs stationed there might get blown up. There are about 60 Klingons to 65 Feds, but 20 of those Feds were reserves so I didn't attempt to pin them out (a few more Klingons could have piled on if necessary).

Kzinti space has a bunch of ships pinned out of 1401, with only 14 allowed in. There will likely not be anything coming from it except a few rounds of open space combat - the Kzinti didn't want to have their capital devastated again.

A pretty quiet turn overall.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 - 09:39 pm: Edit

C13 combat is plodding along. Romulan theatre battles are completed, with the only big news being the fall of the 7th SB (finally) to the Romulans. An inner Fed BATS (3206) also fell unopposed, while next-door Chicago (3306) (which happens to be my hometown) was saved by 2 reserve fleets that went there, losing only 2 PDUs. Tellarite Prime (3706) similarly lost its PDUs, but with the arrival of Gorn reinforcements I decided it wasn't worth the cripples the Romulans would eat to take the planet. Speaking of the Gorn, the Romulan counter-offensive targeted 3 border BATS and the NZ planet Midketh; 2 BATS were saved by the Gorn reserves, which not only saved the BATS but moved those reserve units to the front lines for AT13 (excellent reserve placement by Sam meant I had few good options for the Romulan offensive for this very reason.) Federation raiders were mostly kicked out of Romulan space, and the 6th SB saw a couple of pinning battles which produced some cripples. The 6th still has an FRD over it, but is cut-off from the main Federation grid, so actually using the repair capacity will require some Orion help I suppose.
We are currently working through the Klingon front, with the Coalition assault on the 3rd SB underway. The SB will not fall as I am not willing to pay the butcher bill, but the FRDs there will die, and an LSC that was put on the line to get EW parity got captured by the Klingons...in return Sam has directed nearly every D6D I've put on the line (there *were* 9 in the hex.) Otherwise small battles were also resolved; most Fed raiders were kicked out, with the exception of 2NCLs way behind enemy lines in 1314, who twice in a row have managed to get Klingon rolls that only forced one casualty. Klingon leadership, in a fit of honesty, have recommended these scrappy was cruiser captains to be honored by Federation Command. (As Sam said, "If they make it home.")
Kzinti space is mostly a bunch of pinning battles, plus the fleet that made it into 1401. The last major battle is the Hydrax assault, which is anyone's game.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 11:48 am: Edit

Round 4 over 2211 went poorly for the Feds - I gambled on a 50% chance that the Klingons would only score 7 points (after 11 minus points) and lost, so I didn't get a third D6D. I did, however, kill the captured lsc and an f5e in pursuit. Karl has so many D6Ds that it almost doesn't matter - he's got 16 total now, if I'm counting right. Really nasty for me.

Incidentally (though I didn't score 18 damage so it's moot), can I recapture a ship for triple its uncrippled defense value if it's not on the line? The rules are a little unclear on the point.

I'm tempted to send the pair of NCLs to the Hydrans - it might be easier than getting them home at this point. But they deserve their accolades, and that's not an insignificant consideration.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Wednesday, March 02, 2022 - 05:34 pm: Edit

Kzinti space was pretty low-key. The Kzinti had a couple of ships directed, as did the Lyrans. The Z6M once again proved its worth, killing cwe cl sc in pursuit. The Lyrans managed to devastate Vronkett.

The only battle remaining is 0617.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Monday, March 07, 2022 - 12:32 am: Edit

The assault on Hydrax was weird.  Here are the forces:

Hydran:
SB PAL TG-B DG 2RN 19HR 4TR 7LN 4KN CR 13HN 15CU
TG-S 3PGS 4SC
2TG-V CV 5DE TG-FCP

Lyran:
DN TGC-B 10CW 6DW 2DD FF
3DWS
TGC-V 2CV CVL 4CWE 7DWE

Klingon:
C8 TGA-B D7C TGA D7 D6D 3D5 D6D F5L 25F5 13E4
2D6S
D6V D5V 5F5V AD5 2F5E 5E4A

I didn't want to post this earlier because I figured the response would be something along the lines of, "What is Karl doing?", and I didn't want to dissuade an ill-advised attack.  Here are my thoughts from before the battle:

There's no way the Coalition has the forces to do anything here.  The Hydrans will likely just be trading HRs and fighters for the best Coalition ship on the line until the Coalition forces have had enough.  There's the possibility that killing the PAL and TG-B would cause the Hydrans issues - but the Coalition only have 2 CR10 ships each, so I'd return the favour.

If Karl broke his usual pattern and decided to SIDS the SB down, not only would it be incredibly costly, he'd probably have to kill it completely to keep it from being repaired - with no maulers and poor depth, that means at least 10 rounds (10 SIDS means that it can't be uncrippled in one turn).  With all that damage on SIDS and not ships, the Hydrans might even be able to pin out the Coalition on C14 and repair the base if it's only crippled.

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We're now 6 rounds in.  The Lyrans spent 2CP, the Klingons and Hydrans 1 each.  Devastation of the non-Hydrax planets was unopposed.

R1: Hydrans cripple DN in form, Coalition deal a SIDS (1).
R2: Hydrans kill TG-B in form, Coalition deal a SIDS (2) and cripple DWE.  The Lyrans have no CR10 ships left, and only a pair of CVs as CR9 ships.
R3: Coalition deal a SIDS (3) and cripple 3D5 DWS.
R4: Coalition deal a SIDS (4) and cripple 3CW DWE.  Hydrans cripple HR.
R5: Hydrans cripple TR and kill the dwe, left crippled on the line, and Coalition cripple 3CW.
R6: Hydrans cripple TR, Coalition cripple 3CW DWE.

The Coalition are now struggling to reach 90 compot.  With a -6 and a -2 shift, they need a 5 at BIR 5 to deal a SIDS.  I'm happy with 4 SIDS - 18 damage for 2 EP each is a steal.  The Hydrans still have 95 fighters (not counting the FCP).

In the theatre as a whole, the Hydrans have nearly reached pincount parity and have vastly superior quality.  The Coalition can certainly still crush the Hydrans, but not without sending many ships that way and being at a pincount disadvantage elsewhere.

I'm still not posting this yet because I don't know if Karl will keep going.

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And it's over!  Here's the rest of the battle:

R7: Coalition directs Hydrax for 6 and cripples D7 D6S 6F5.
R8: Hydrans cripple TR, Coalition directs a SIDS (5) and cripples CWE DWE TGA 6F5.
R9: Hydrans kill dwe and cripple TR, Coalition cripples 6F5.
R10: Coalition directs 4 fighters for even and cripples DWS 5F5.
R11: Hydrans cripple HR, Coalition directs a SIDS (6) and cripples 3DW DD F5 4E4.
Pursuit: Hydrans capture d6s; Coalition direct cripple DG and self-kill cw.

Hydran cripples: DG 4TR 2HR 6SIDS

Lyran cripples: DN 8CW CWE 3DWE 2DWS 3DW DD
Lyran dead: TGC-B CW 2DWE

Klingon cripples: D7 TGA D6S 3D5 25F5 4E4
Klingon dead: D6S

A disaster for the Coalition. The dice did favour the Hydrans somewhat, but even if the Coalition managed to get 2 more SIDS I don't think it'd have been worth it. 31 SEQs were lost (mostly to crippling) compared to 5 for the Hydrans, and the Coalition don't have another 26 SEQ in the theatre to make up for the difference. If a dozen new builds/repairs are sent to the HTO this turn, the Coalition might have a chance at not being pinned out - but all the cripples would be needed to pin Hydrans.

As it is, the Hydrans can spend 16 EP and have the SB repaired on A13 (which would require smuggling) or just let the SB have some damage (because the Coalition can't make it in anyway) and complete the repairs on A14. With only 6 of their 23 CWs crippled, it's not an issue for the Hydrans to send them offmap to get repaired (and use a few of the huge pile of EPs there). The captured D6S is just icing on the cake.

I honestly don't know how Karl can recover from this - Hydrax is effectively unassailable without giving up a huge amount of pressure elsewhere, so the Hydrans can afford to start taking and holding some space (like the supply route to the Old Colonies). Before strat movement, the Coalition barely has a full line of CW or better ships in the theatre.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Monday, March 07, 2022 - 01:02 am: Edit

Sam,

Thanks so much for posting. Do you know what the full lines were for Coa & Alliance for the first round of the SB assault? This is a particular interesting area for me. Thanks.

--Mike