Alex Clarke recalls commanding a raiding force whose Scharnhorst-based capital ships and carriers had an assumed range of roughly 12,000 nautical miles at 21 knots. The figure is an approximate recollection of the game settings. The force included three cruisers, four destroyers and oilers disguised as merchant ships. Those supply vessels entered ports under false national identities, obtained supplies and returned to replenish the force. It took the British player about thirty turns to confine the raiders, after roughly two dozen convoys had been destroyed across the North and South Atlantic. These are simulated events and losses, not historical performance or a forecast.
Notable Point · 59:33-1:01:07
A simulated Atlantic raid supported by disguised oilers
One wargame run illustrates the reach of a diesel raiding force and the replenishment system that kept it moving.