MZ Campaign report

Last night, a PanMa task force ran into regrouping AEUG carrier elements

enroute to Mercury.

PanMans had finally split their fleet in an attempt to protect their 
assets on Mercury. One gigadreadnought accompanied by a fleet carrier, 
four cruisers and three missile destroyers was dispatched for the job.

Meanwhile badly battered AEUG forces were heading for repairs. With two 
carriers, two cruisers and four destroyers they are only the remains of
a 
navy once proud.

Using a slight amendment of our mid-range rules, both forces decide to 
predeploy panzers before entering table.

PanMa panzers form a defensive line while AEUG races in for the kill. 
They have numerical superiority but the PanMa force consists solely of 
interceptors. There is a total of 20 panzer groups on the table.

PanMa behemoths trod behind their panzers while AEUG remains relatively 
stationary.

The second turn sees the panzers clash. AEUG has to tie down two 
interceptor groups with attack panzers to give his torpedo carriers a 
shot. This is suicidal, but the rest of the action is very bloody too: 
Both sides lose roughly 60% of their panzers. The torps and two
unengaged 
AEUG attack groups hit the PanMa dreadnought wounding it, but the aces 
with the groups fail to take out the screen generators.

PanMa gunnery supremacy kills an AEUG DD and wounds another. 

Next turn PanMa launches missiles. This coy trick works well. His 
launching ships are forward enough to bypass most defending panzers and 
the AEUG force is too slow to properly evade.

Panzers massacre continues. The scraps of squadrons regroup and AEUG 
pulls back to intercept missiles. PanMa gunnery is concentrated on AEUG 
carriers wounding them.

The missiles hit as the battle lines clash. Defending panzers shoot down

three, PDAFs are useless as usual causing an AEUG cruiser to eat three 
and die. The remaining three hit one of the carriers, further wounding 
it. 

Both sides disengage. PanMans are too clumsy to pursue while AEUG is too

shot up. Both sides' heavies will spend months in repairs. This ends the

AEUG career as a combat force for quite some while. It also screws up 
PanMa plans to relieve Mercury. No doubt GUGES or Norway will jump at
the 
chance to strike at PanMa. AEUG also captured a PanMa ace.

The final panzer losses were 90% -- only 12 survived of the 120
launched.
Only 2 or 3 were lost to PDAFs...

Notes: The game is obviously not designed to handle fighter actions of 
this magnitude. We used a house rule to cover movement order. The 
dogfights are also extremely deadly.

I took a look at it and lo and behold, an interceptor gets exactly an 
average of one kill while a regular fighter gets 2/3. This means an 
interceptor group on the average blows away another fighter group per 
turn. Ouch. Add in aces for double ouch...

Move over 8th AF. 25% losses is nothing.

The heavies are a bitch to kill -- but they're also a bitch to repair.

-- 
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