Submarine operations in Cruel Seas

[Samuel V. Wilson, Jr.]

I am new to Cruel Seas, having left my starter set to gather dust on my closet shelf for a couple of years. Now, based on a short docudrama on Youtube about MTB warfare, I have caught the i bug about the small boat warfare that went on across and along the English Channel/North Sea. I see a lot of history to be explored as one gets into the scenarios and even create one’s own. I am especially interested in how submarine warfare interacted with MTB/S-Boat type conflicts along the coasts. Was it strictly restricted to coastal submarines? Did U-boats get involved? British subs? And if so how does one sort through the various submarine rules/ variants offered up by the Cruel Seas rule set and the various supplements and variants out there that definitely talk up different rule approaches. Can Dieppe be simulated?  Can someone set me straight and offer up the principles involved and the best rules to follow? Much obliged go anyone who can? Good gaming, Sam Wilson

[invisible officer]

MTB and Schnellboote had DC / Wasserbomben. They used them mainly to attack surface vessels, running close along . throwing them and going away full Speed. The blast broke the Targets back.

They also used them in fleeing before destroyers and similar. Not nice to run over a DC….. .

 

 

Submarine hunting was rarely done. The boats had limited search gear and it did not work in mid – max speed.   Sometimes the boats did escort missions but rarely. The MTB and Schnellboot engines had a very limited lifespan, so only very valuable vessels got such an escort. And it was intended as protection against surface attackers, not subs.

 

A submarine might be located by chance and attacked by an MTB. Late war Radar equiped Allied MTB had a chance to “see” the snorkel or periscope of old style Diesel boats.

 

In D-Day the MTB had some success against the 1 men Neger boats that could not dive.

[Nat]

MTBs /small boats  will have been used to slip under radar to mine channels used by subs and also to clear an area before you sail your own subs / capital ships out of harbour.

Could you do dieppe… possibly… but I wouldnt due to the numbers involved… but the Commando raids (such as the recover of the paras who took apart the german radar site in france) as easily doable.

 

Personally I put Crule Seas in to the ‘frame work’ catergory of wargames… ie its a starting place for you to get the feel of a time period and equipment which you then use to build house rules on.

[Author]

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