Sink The Bismarck

A wargame simulating a major action of World War II

For BBC B Plus Disc Only

History

By May 1941 the U-boat successes in the Atlantic were at their height. The German C-in-C Admiral Raeder realized that this was the time to throw everything at the enemy. To this end an ambitious surface attack was proposed and a formidable squadron was gathered together.

Originally this consisted of the battle-cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the new 8-inch gun cruiser Prinz Eugen and the new battleship Bismarck. Later these ships were to be joined by the super-battleship Tirpitz nearing completion in a German shipyard.

As Churchill said, “A combination of all these fast, powerful vessels in the great spaces of the Atlantic Ocean would subject our naval strength to a trial of the first magnitude.'

To oppose this threat the British commander-in-chief, Admiral Tovey had at Scapa Flow, the battleships King George V and Prince of Wales and the battle-cruiser Hood. At Gibraltar lay 'Force H', the battleship Renown, the carrier Ark Royal and the cruiser Sheffield. Repulse and the new carrier Victorious were escorting a convoy of over 20,000 men bound for the Middle East. Rodney was making slow progress to Halifax for a boiler refit and the aged Ramillies was escorting a west-bound convoy.

Because of recent air raid damage and Hitler's continuing reticence about the operation, Admiral Raeder was forced to reduce the operation to just Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. They sailed north along the Norwegian coast heading for Arctic waters and the Denmark Straits from where they could break out into the Atlantic.

The cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk had the job of patrolling this ice-bound stretch of water, towards the evening of the 23rd first Suffolk and then Norfolk sighted two ships approaching from the north. The news was flashed to Admiral Tovey in the task force out of Scapa - they altered course in pursuit and the hunt was on!

All through the next day the British ships moved on an intercepting course and that evening around 5.52 the first salvo's were fired. Hood took a direct hit immediately and a fierce fire started amidships, then at 6.00 o'clock a shell penetrated her forward magazine and she was blown apart in a mighty explosion. Prince of Wales changed course to miss the wreckage but Bismarck's guns began to take effect on her. Within minutes she received four hits from 15 inch shells, one wrecked the bridge, killing or wounding nearly everyone on it. Prince of Wales, badly mauled, broke off the action and retired under a smokescreen. Bismarck steamed south nothing between her and the convoys.

About The Game

The game is based on historical events and the program has been written to incorporate all the relevant speeds, gun calibre and performance, armour plating and any other necessary factor, like fuel. Allowance has been made in Bismarck's favour, for her superior range-finding equipment.

The British forces starting positions are for some time after the sinking of 'Hood'. However to make the game interesting a random factor is built into Bismarck's position. So each game starts with the German raiders ‘last reported position' at a different co-ordinate, we don't want to make it too easy!

Playing The Game

Insert disc into disc-drive, press SHIFT and tap BREAK, then release SHIFT.

Principal ship movements and tactics are worked out on the main playing board which is set up to show the North Atlantic and relevant coastlines. There are 3 subsidiary sheets that control:

1. Capital ship engagements.
2. Carrier-borne aircraft attacks.
3. Defensive destroyer actions against enemy U-boats.

Playing Board Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, : - Up, ? - Down, SPACE - Select

The object of this sheet is to move your forces to correct tactical positions depending on their particular strengths or weaknesses. It is animated in real-time, where each ship is allotted a specific course and speed. It continues to move on these settings until it reaches an obstacle.

You are able to alter the speed and direction of the ship's heading. To do so move the small cursor around the screen until it is close to the ship you wish to alter (beware of ships in tight-packed groups). Then simply press SPACEBAR. It is not necessary to position the cursor directly over the ship, the program will select the nearest ship to the cursor.

Once a ship is selected, its course relative to true north and its speed will appear in the circular dial bottom right of the screen. Simply use the same keys to alter speed and direction.

Z - Anti-clockwise, X - Clockwise, : - Increase Speed, ? - Decrease Speed, SPACE - Execute

Once you have made your alterations, press the SPACEBAR, and the ship will continue on its new heading.

Sheet 1

The top half of the screen shows information about the British ship and a status or damage card. This is constantly up-dated whilst the ship is in action. The Bismarck's status card is below the British one.

The British ship is shown at the extreme left of the screen, and the position of the Bismarck is marked relative to the British. On the British ship is an elevation marker. This is used to target the fire from the guns of the ship. The controls are as follows:

Z - Move away from Bismarck, Z - Move towards Bismarck, RETURN - Fire, : - Elevation Up, ? - Elevation Down, S - Scuttle

The shots are marked as turret salvoes, so the number depends on the number of turrets on the ship. It is possible to move towards or away from Bismarck, an essential manoeuvre for ships with short range guns, such as cruisers. Moving Bismarck to the far right of the screen effects a retreat and the program returns to the main sheet. The scuttle option allows the premature exit of the sheet should a stalemate situation develop.

Sheet 2

Again the top half of the screen shows the British carriers information and status card and also that of Bismarcks. The aircraft carrier and Bismarck are shown at the extreme edges of the screen. This represents a hundred miles. The aircraft must try and drive home torpedo runs against the flak from the enemy. Bismarck was armed with formidable AA defences, and just to get within range in the 90 m.p.h. Swordfish was a feat in itself.

TAB - Launch aircraft, RETURN - Launch torpedo, SPACE - Turn aircraft around, : - Aircraft climb, ? - Aircraft dive

The torpedoes only have a limited range, so you will have to get close enough before launching. Each attack represents a wave of torpedo aircraft, corresponding to the carriers prepared force (many aircraft will be under repair at any one time). The number of aircraft will decrease as aircraft are used up in consecutive attacks. When the attack reaches its culmination, the program will return to the main sheet.

Sheet 3

Action in this sheet of the program takes place when a British ship is attacked by one or several of the marauding U-boats in the North Atlantic. The screen displays the ship to be defended in the top left hand corner of the screen, accompanied by its protecting destroyer. On the left of the screen is the depth setting marker for the depth charges. The controls are:

Z - Destroyer Left, X - Destroyer Right, : - Depth Setting Up, ? - Depth Setting Down, RETURN - Drop Depth Charge

You must alter the depth setting to match that of the submarine and manoeuvre the destroyer to allow time for the charges to reach this depth. You must be accurate or your charges will explode ineffectually alongside. After the group of submarines has been attacked, the program will return to the main sheet and report on the damage inflicted.

Fuel

One of the major problems of a long sea chase is that of fuel consumption. If warnings come onto the screen informing you of fuel shortages, you can if you wish head your ship to any coastline or edge of the screen When the ship touches, her speed will go to zero and her fuel tanks will be replenished, turn her about and send her out to sea again.

Weather

The vagaries of the weather became another problem for both sides. The program has a random set of clouds which increase and decrease every time you go in and out of a sheet. It is intended that they sometimes cover your ships and make it difficult for you to manoeuvre your pieces!

Convoys

Convoys appear on the main sheet as small circles, and move continuously throughout the game. You have no control over their speed or course. Bismarck will attack convoys at any moment, so it is your task to defend them.

Quiet Periods

The ships move in real-time, each movement is calculated as 3 hours steaming time. Unlike many other games, this one has periods of quiet and not much action. This is meant to simulate those hours or days of boredom and frustration where you see nothing but sea! Other moments will be packed with decisions. Take the real-life example of HMS 'Hood', she spent 2 days steaming through the empty Atlantic only to be engaged and be sunk in about 6 minutes! The program tries to capture that kind of situation.

The Bismarck

The Bismarck was probably the finest ship afloat of her day. Her superior range-finding equipment was to have a telling effect on her foes. If Hitler had allowed the whole flotilla to sail the result might well have been very different. Although many of the Royal Navy's ships were old and no match for the Bismarck, force of numbers influenced events in the end. Bismarck's last reported position is displayed on the screen by a small swastika.

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Disc: SHIFT-BREAK