Convoy to Arkangelsk, Summer, 1942. It was just after half way through the year of '42 when the convoy set forth from Scotland, bound to bring aid to our Russian allies.

Only a small convoy was able to be formed from the available merchant ships as many were not ready in time. The dockyards were working around the clock to produce some more, but they had not yet arrived. (That is, we had only ordered some more merchantmen recently from GHQ, CinC and Panzerschiffe but they did not have time to arrive yet).

With two opposing fleets assembling amongst the Pacific islands, both sides were probing for weaknesses. Neither fleet was yet ready to take on the other, but they were keen to gain moral advantage before the oncoming battle.

Two cruiser forces were on intersecting courses. A British cruiser force was heading east, patrolling a line past which the Fleet Commander did not want the Japanese to go. A Japanese cruiser force was heading roughly south, mapping out possible lines of advance and probing the Allied picket lines.

1944. The Allies are continuing to push back the Japanese forces. But the Japanese Navy is doing all it can to stem the tide. Amongst the atolls of the Pacific Ocean, an small flotilla of Japanese ships is aggressively patrolling in defense of the likely island targets for the next Allied invasion.

A group of British ships are in transit to join an Allied force, which is assembling nearby. As the Japanese round one of the many atolls in the area, the two groups are surprised to see each other. But both are well trained and quickly swing into action.

Another popular battle which is useful for comparing some of the available World War 2 naval rules is the Battle of the River Plate. The rule set to be used this time is General Quarters 3 - known as GQ3 for short. The battle occurred in December 1939, early in the second world war. The German heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee had been sinking freighters in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The Royal Navy had many groups of warships seeking the Graf Spee. In search of more prey, the Graf Spee ran into one of these groups at the mouth of the River Plate in South America. The British group consisted of the heavy cruiser Exeter plus the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles.