Victory at Sea is the game of naval combat during the Second World War. Throughout 1939–45, the nations of the world duelled across the oceans across the globe, only to discover the fundamental nature of naval warfare changing in the face of rapidly developing technologies. Now you can play out these confrontations on the tabletop with entire fleets drawn...
Two Bismarck-class battleships were built for the Kriegsmarine. Bismarck was the first, named for the Chancellor (Otto von Bismarck). The battleship was laid down in July 1936 and launched February 1939. She and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were two of the largest battleships built by any European power, and certainly the largest built by Germany. Whilst the...
HMS Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy. Built during the early 1910s, she served in the First World War, including at the Battle of Jutland. Modernized in the 1930s, she went on to serve in the Second World War. Warspite was part of the Norwegian campaign of 1940 and subsequently was transferred to the Mediterranean, squaring...
For centuries, Japan's policy of seclusion (sakoku) saw it concentrate on coastal defences in order to repel foreign vessels. However, with the advances other maritime nations were making, it eventually became obvious that no longer would Japan be able to ignore the rest of the world. As an island power, it needed a modern navy. Turning to Britain for...
The Kriegsmarine had to be virtually rebuilt after the First World War. Forbidden to own capital ships and submarines, Germany nibbled away at first one clause of the Treaty of Versailles, then another, until a powerful navy force existed. The Kriegsmarine was not a navy designed to tackle a major fleet head-on in fleet engagements. Instead, it was a...
The Royal Navy of Great Britain was the world’s greatest navy at the outbreak of the Second World War. However, Britain went to war with mainly First World War-vintage vessels. Since the Royal Navy already possessed many powerful units, construction of the most modern designs was limited. This meant that at the outbreak of World War Two Britain had far...
Victory at Sea: Tokyo Express Solo Play Supplement This solo play supplement for Victory at Sea puts you in command of a US Navy squadron, tasked with interdicting the titular Tokyo Express. The Tokyo Express With their isolated garrisons in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands under sustained attack by US forces, Imperial Japanese Navy planners needed a way...
Although the United States of America contains a vast area of land, almost all of its allies and trading partners are overseas, and those interests require a powerful navy to support them. The US Navy possessed some of the largest and most modern battleships in the world at the outbreak of World War Two, and despite losses during the Japanese attack on...
USS Idaho, the third of three ships of the New Mexico-class of Battleship, was the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was launched in June 1917 and commissioned in March 1919. She was armed with a battery of twelve 14” guns in four turrets and was protected with heavy armour plate (13.5” thick in the main belt). During the 20s and 30s, Idaho spent the...
Yamato (大和, "Great Harmony") and her sister ship, Musashi, were constructed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. They were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed; armed with nine 18.1” Type 94 main guns – the largest guns ever mounted on a warship. The battleship’s design was an answer to the numerically dominant US...
At the time of Italy’s entry into World War Two, she possessed a modern and – on paper at least – highly effective fleet. Four battleships and eight heavy cruisers were available, with three more battleships being fitted out. However, there were no aircraft carriers (initially), not least because the Regia Marina was intended to operate near to friendly...
The Battle for the Pacific was only the beginning. Victory at Sea is the game of naval combat during the Second World War. Throughout 1939–45, the nations of the world duelled across the oceans across the globe, only to discover the fundamental nature of naval warfare changing in the face of rapidly developing technologies. Now you can play out these...