Democratus
Mongoose
In our current campaign all of the strategic locations have been claimed. Since I hold the Trade Station I decided it was time to attack the Trade Route and reap the rich rewards.
The scenario rolled was this:
Mission: Annihilate
Priority: Patrol
Size: 4 FAP
I wasn't sure what the Centauri would bring, but I knew my small ships were not very good in low numbers. So I brought a carrier in the hopes that I could overwhelm the enemy.
Dilgar Fleet:
Garasoch Heavy Carrier Wrath CQ 6
-- 4 Thorun Dartfighters
-- 6 Thorun Torpedofighters
Centauri Fleet
Maximus Scutario CQ 3
Kutai Slash CQ 4
4 Sentri Fighters
Set Up
The Centauri won the initiative. So the Dilgar set up as forward as possible in the center of the deployment area. The thought was that if the engagement did not go well it would make for the far edge of the board or escape to hyperspace.
The Centauri set up opposite the Dilgar with the Kutai in front surrounded by 4 escorting fighters and the Maximus only 2" behind it.
Turn 1:
Initiative Dilgar. The carrier moved ahead at minimum speed and gave a Scramble! order which was automatically passed. The Centauri also moved forward 10" and maintained his formation. Neither ship was in range to engage so nothing else happened. The remaining 5 fighters disgorged from the hangers of Wrath.
Turn 2:
Initiative Centauri. In order to keep the Centauri from reaching a weaker side arc, Wrath gave an All Stop! order. The Centauri wavered for a moment before deciding to move straight in and risk an exchange in the 11"-15" range bracket. Then my fighters moved in on the attack. Each of his 4 fighters was beset by a Dartfighter with several Torpedofighters close behind to lend support for the dogfight.
Having won initiative the Centauri chose his dogfights first. Two of his fighters would attack and two would support. The following dogfight was at a -3 penalty for the Centarui but he managed to win one and loose one. Then the Dilgar attacked, still with a +2 advantage in each fight. But the Centauri were tenacious managing to win one dogfight and tie the other. No flights were rescued by the carrier. Things were not looking well in the fighter battle.
The Centauri then fired with the Kutai, scoring multiple hits but no criticals. Wrath opened up on the tiny Centauri craft with its bolters but interceptors lent by the Scutario stopped them cold. The Maximus then opened fire and scored a minor engine critical, reducing the carrier to speed 7.
Turn 3:
Centauri initiative. Wrath decided that the fighter battle was going to decide her decision to stay or go, so it plowed forward at maximum speed in order to get near the far edge of the board. If Dilgar fighters got the upper hand then she could come about and rejoin the fight. She gave a Concentrate Fire! order against the Kutai, which she calculated could not escape a short range exchange.
Centauri fighters that were not stuck moved to attack a Torpedo fighter flight. Dilgar fighters piled in to assist their friends. Another two dogfights occured with a -2 penalty to the Centauri but again they prevailed and won both fights. No fighters were rescued by the carrier.
The Kutai was again the first to fire scoring more damage but again nothing critical. Wrath opened fire scoring only minor damage with 14 twin-linked attack dice after interceptor fire and dodge rolls. This was not a good day for Dilgar gunnery. The Maximus then opened fire and scored significant damage, including a 'No Special Actions!' critical. Unless this was fixed quickly, there would be no escape to hyperspace.
The speed critical was repaired by Damage Control parties.
Turn 4:
Centauri initiative. Wrath began to make best speed for the far edge of the board. Her damage prevented any boosting of the engines, however. She was well below half damage and the fighters had simply not performed to expectations. The battle was lost but perhaps the ship could be saved. Despite their agility the fast moving Centauri ships could not come about fast enough to get the Dilgar carrier in their fire arcs. Likewise the Garasoch class has no guns firing to the rear. Dilgar high command frowns on retreat.
Since the decision had been made to simply survive, a last push against the Centauri fighters was performed. Again 2 dogfights occured with a +1 advantage to the Dilgar. Both, sadly were lost. One Dartfighter was rescued by the carrier.
Wrath failed to fix the 'No SA' critical.
Turn 5:
Centarui initiative. Wrath was 2 turns from the edge of the table, so there was some hope as she again made cruising speed straight ahead. The Centauri task force could smell blood and moved to take position behind the damaged carrier.
The Centauri moved their fighters agressively, engaging another Torpedofighter. Defense was of paramount import at this point. All free fighters were moved into defensive positions around the carrier. A minimum few stayed behind to give even odds to the dogfight. Of course the Centauri won the dogfight and killed another fighter. The carrier managed to rescue the flight, however.
Centauri fire was devastating at this point. Both ships were giving Concentrate Fire! orders and raking Wrath with Matter Cannon rounds. A fighter flight was lost while trying to defend the ship, but they performed a brilliant job stopping all but one hit to the carrier. That hit, however, scored a critical to the bridge removed all hope of performing any Special Actions during this combat. Good thing I didn't try and use the Jump Engines. The ship was crippled, though. And would require one additional turn to escape at current speed.
Wrath fixed the non-vital critical blocking Special Actions. It also launched an additional fighter in defensive formation.
Turn 6:
Centauri initiative. Wrath limped toward the safety of the edge of the table, coming within 2" of escape. The Centauri moved in behind at point blank range and again gave the Concentrate Firepower! order.
The Centauri fighters were too far away to be a factor in this battle now. All remaining Dilgar fighters flew defense for the carrier.
The Centauri again opened up with all guns. Despite the best efforts of the screening fighters (and one more lost flight) enough damage got through to finish poor Wrath.
Result:
Dilgar: 2 VP
Centauri: 30 VP
Centauri victory.
Losses:
Dilgar: 1 Garasoch carrier, 2 Dartfighters, 4 Torpedofighters
Centauri: 2 Sentri
Conclusion:
The excellent Maximus class ship is a difficult beast to confront in small battles. It didn't help that my fighters lost nearly every dogfight despite the initial massive advantage I had in numbers. But this is balanced by the fact that my opponent did not know that you could lend anti-fighter to fighter flights. Had he known this I think my losses would have been even worse.
This was a total disaster for the Dilgar. Their weapons simply were unable to penetrate Cenaturi defenses. I will need to formulate new tactics if I have a hope of holding them back in this Campaign. One problem may be that the Dilgar need to have large numbers of ships so their firepower can overwhelm enemy defenses. In this battle such firepower simply wasn't available.
The scenario rolled was this:
Mission: Annihilate
Priority: Patrol
Size: 4 FAP
I wasn't sure what the Centauri would bring, but I knew my small ships were not very good in low numbers. So I brought a carrier in the hopes that I could overwhelm the enemy.
Dilgar Fleet:
Garasoch Heavy Carrier Wrath CQ 6
-- 4 Thorun Dartfighters
-- 6 Thorun Torpedofighters
Centauri Fleet
Maximus Scutario CQ 3
Kutai Slash CQ 4
4 Sentri Fighters
Set Up
The Centauri won the initiative. So the Dilgar set up as forward as possible in the center of the deployment area. The thought was that if the engagement did not go well it would make for the far edge of the board or escape to hyperspace.
The Centauri set up opposite the Dilgar with the Kutai in front surrounded by 4 escorting fighters and the Maximus only 2" behind it.
Turn 1:
Initiative Dilgar. The carrier moved ahead at minimum speed and gave a Scramble! order which was automatically passed. The Centauri also moved forward 10" and maintained his formation. Neither ship was in range to engage so nothing else happened. The remaining 5 fighters disgorged from the hangers of Wrath.
Turn 2:
Initiative Centauri. In order to keep the Centauri from reaching a weaker side arc, Wrath gave an All Stop! order. The Centauri wavered for a moment before deciding to move straight in and risk an exchange in the 11"-15" range bracket. Then my fighters moved in on the attack. Each of his 4 fighters was beset by a Dartfighter with several Torpedofighters close behind to lend support for the dogfight.
Having won initiative the Centauri chose his dogfights first. Two of his fighters would attack and two would support. The following dogfight was at a -3 penalty for the Centarui but he managed to win one and loose one. Then the Dilgar attacked, still with a +2 advantage in each fight. But the Centauri were tenacious managing to win one dogfight and tie the other. No flights were rescued by the carrier. Things were not looking well in the fighter battle.
The Centauri then fired with the Kutai, scoring multiple hits but no criticals. Wrath opened up on the tiny Centauri craft with its bolters but interceptors lent by the Scutario stopped them cold. The Maximus then opened fire and scored a minor engine critical, reducing the carrier to speed 7.
Turn 3:
Centauri initiative. Wrath decided that the fighter battle was going to decide her decision to stay or go, so it plowed forward at maximum speed in order to get near the far edge of the board. If Dilgar fighters got the upper hand then she could come about and rejoin the fight. She gave a Concentrate Fire! order against the Kutai, which she calculated could not escape a short range exchange.
Centauri fighters that were not stuck moved to attack a Torpedo fighter flight. Dilgar fighters piled in to assist their friends. Another two dogfights occured with a -2 penalty to the Centauri but again they prevailed and won both fights. No fighters were rescued by the carrier.
The Kutai was again the first to fire scoring more damage but again nothing critical. Wrath opened fire scoring only minor damage with 14 twin-linked attack dice after interceptor fire and dodge rolls. This was not a good day for Dilgar gunnery. The Maximus then opened fire and scored significant damage, including a 'No Special Actions!' critical. Unless this was fixed quickly, there would be no escape to hyperspace.
The speed critical was repaired by Damage Control parties.
Turn 4:
Centauri initiative. Wrath began to make best speed for the far edge of the board. Her damage prevented any boosting of the engines, however. She was well below half damage and the fighters had simply not performed to expectations. The battle was lost but perhaps the ship could be saved. Despite their agility the fast moving Centauri ships could not come about fast enough to get the Dilgar carrier in their fire arcs. Likewise the Garasoch class has no guns firing to the rear. Dilgar high command frowns on retreat.
Since the decision had been made to simply survive, a last push against the Centauri fighters was performed. Again 2 dogfights occured with a +1 advantage to the Dilgar. Both, sadly were lost. One Dartfighter was rescued by the carrier.
Wrath failed to fix the 'No SA' critical.
Turn 5:
Centarui initiative. Wrath was 2 turns from the edge of the table, so there was some hope as she again made cruising speed straight ahead. The Centauri task force could smell blood and moved to take position behind the damaged carrier.
The Centauri moved their fighters agressively, engaging another Torpedofighter. Defense was of paramount import at this point. All free fighters were moved into defensive positions around the carrier. A minimum few stayed behind to give even odds to the dogfight. Of course the Centauri won the dogfight and killed another fighter. The carrier managed to rescue the flight, however.
Centauri fire was devastating at this point. Both ships were giving Concentrate Fire! orders and raking Wrath with Matter Cannon rounds. A fighter flight was lost while trying to defend the ship, but they performed a brilliant job stopping all but one hit to the carrier. That hit, however, scored a critical to the bridge removed all hope of performing any Special Actions during this combat. Good thing I didn't try and use the Jump Engines. The ship was crippled, though. And would require one additional turn to escape at current speed.
Wrath fixed the non-vital critical blocking Special Actions. It also launched an additional fighter in defensive formation.
Turn 6:
Centauri initiative. Wrath limped toward the safety of the edge of the table, coming within 2" of escape. The Centauri moved in behind at point blank range and again gave the Concentrate Firepower! order.
The Centauri fighters were too far away to be a factor in this battle now. All remaining Dilgar fighters flew defense for the carrier.
The Centauri again opened up with all guns. Despite the best efforts of the screening fighters (and one more lost flight) enough damage got through to finish poor Wrath.
Result:
Dilgar: 2 VP
Centauri: 30 VP
Centauri victory.
Losses:
Dilgar: 1 Garasoch carrier, 2 Dartfighters, 4 Torpedofighters
Centauri: 2 Sentri
Conclusion:
The excellent Maximus class ship is a difficult beast to confront in small battles. It didn't help that my fighters lost nearly every dogfight despite the initial massive advantage I had in numbers. But this is balanced by the fact that my opponent did not know that you could lend anti-fighter to fighter flights. Had he known this I think my losses would have been even worse.
This was a total disaster for the Dilgar. Their weapons simply were unable to penetrate Cenaturi defenses. I will need to formulate new tactics if I have a hope of holding them back in this Campaign. One problem may be that the Dilgar need to have large numbers of ships so their firepower can overwhelm enemy defenses. In this battle such firepower simply wasn't available.
