War at Sea
Allied Nations
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- France
- Greece
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Soviet Union
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Allies stat table
Axis Nations
Neutral Nations/Installations
Sets
- War At Sea
- Task Force
- Flank Speed
- New Starter
- Condition Zebra
- Set V (Fleet Command)
- Surface action
- First Strike (Forumini Expansion Deck A)
- Infamy (Forumini Expansion Deck B)
- Battle Line (Forumini Expansion Deck C)
- All Hands on Deck (Forumini D)
- Action Stations (Forumini E)
- Dead Reckoning (Forumini F)
Unit Card:
Set - Rarity - Number
War At Sea - Rare - 35/64
History:
The Bismarck was the greatest Battleship of the Kriegsmarine. It was the lead ship of its class, which included its sister Tirpitz . It was heavily armed, with eight 15" guns and a great deal of secondary dual-purpose guns. German officials claimed the Battleship was at the legal limits set by the Treaty of Versailes, but in reality, the final tonnage exceeded 50,000 tons.
Following sea trials, the Bismarck linked up with the Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen and made way for the Atlantic to commence Operation Rheinubung/Excercise Rhine, and her destiny.
Unaware, the German ships were soon spotted by a patrolling Spitfire, which spurred the Royal Navy into finding the massive battleship and its escort.
With the news, the British Home Fleet sent HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales to intercept the German ships.
This began a massive running battle, starting with Hood shooting first at Eugen (mistaking her for Bismarck since it was out in front, switched places with Bismarck due to earlier engagements with British ships) Prince of Wales fired at the intended target, forming splashes around the German ships.
At first, Admiral Lutjens was not willing to risk the mighty Bismarck against capital ships, as his orders were to destroy commerce. Finally, a frustrated Captain Lindemann uttered this famous phrase, giving the gunners permission to return fire: " "I will not allow my ship to be shot out from under my a**".
With that, Bismarck and Prinze Eugen opened fire, zeroing in on Hood. All ships in the fight took damage, but then Bismarck's fifth salvo found its target, obliterating the pride of the Royal Navy. Without Hood, Prince of Wales found itself in a bad spot, and retreated after being struck seven times.
After the battle, the Bismarck needed to find sanctuary to repair the damage inflicted by Prince of Wales. It was here that Prinz Eugen split up with Bismarck, to continue commerce-raiding in the Atlantic.
After a game of cat and mouse, Bismarck eluded her pursuers, and was in sight of Nazi-occupied France when Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Victorious attacked. One hit was scored, but it did only minor damage. Afterwords, Bismarck again eluded the shadowing British ships. It wasn't until a Royal Navy PBY Catalina flying boat discovered Bismarck that the chase resumed.
Another flight of Swordfish, this time from the carrier HMS Ark Royal, attacked, one torpedo hitting Bismarck's rudder, crippling the massive battleship. This made steering impossible, and with British battleships HMS King George V and HMS Rodney steaming towards it, the Germans steeled themselves for their final fight.
From this, the pride of Hitler's Kriegsmarine was smashed relentlessly, until reduced to a sinking condition by gunfire from the two battleships, the heavy cruisers Dorcetshire and Norfolk, and their escorting destroyers.
The cause of Bismarck's final sinking is still up for debate, but it proved to extremely well armored, as its hull was still virtually sound as it slipped beneath the waves.
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Reviews:
Lobukia
If for some reason you can't take the Tirpitz, the Bismark is a solid battleship. She offers a flag bonus, range 4 guns, torpedo defense, 5 hull, good armor, respectable anti-air, and both secondary and tertiary weapons. While nothing on this ship sets it apart from all the other 50 point battleships, she also has no glaring weaknesses. I would highly recommend shuffling points and getting the Tirpitz whenever possible, but if you aren't worried about a range weakness against a Warspite, Iowa, Missouri, Richelieu, etc, the Bismark is a very reliable and effective main battleship.
A word of warning: wait until you can gain a slight advantage before closing with any of the Allied battleships above 50 points. Almost all of them have some sort of advantage against the Bismarck. Whether it be just an extra die or two of gunnery, or an armor of 9 instead of 8, these slight differences can tip the scales and should be planned for when using the Bismarck.
Crissie's Critiques
The Bismarck was, at it's time, regarded as one of the best battleships in the world, however in game it does not live up to it's reputation. In game, the Bismarck is a very capable battleship. However, it is completely eclipsed by it's sister ship the Tirpitz. If for whatever reason you can't afford to spare the two points for the tirpitz or simply don't own one, the Bismarck will never disappoint. CC Rating: C (Due to Tirpitz)
Plastic Figure Notes:
The sculpt does contain lots of detail, however, the guns are difficult to move because the inner barbettes are not tall enough for the barrels of the gun to clear the outer guns. Viewed from the front or rear, the hull's sides angle outward much to far.
