Das Boot - A "The Hunters" playthrough

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I recently got the board game The Hunters. In this game, you are the captain of a WW2 U-Boat. Your goal is to sink as much tonnage as possible before either being sunk yourself, or U-Boat operations cease (June 1943). It's a solitaire game, with no real board to speak of, so pictures aren't necessary to follow.

The game normally starts in September 1939, but I am going to use a user file which acts as an assignment from above. This means I will have no choice in the type of boat, my start date, crew experience, etc. I think this adds a bit more realism. The problem is that if I get a very late start date, this could be a short playthrough. Of course, I could get sunk on my first patrol, and the same thing applies.

I'll give some minor game explanations where necessary (these will be in parenthesis), and I may even throw in some real life notes, in italics. The game uses real boats, both U-Boats and allied shipping vessels.

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Prologue - Assignment (November '38)

"KapitanLuetnant, please enter." I knew what this was about. As a junior officer in the Kriegsmarine, I have participated with valor during the Spanish Civil War. As a result, I was sent to U-Boat training, and expected to receive command of my own boat. (KaptLt is the second level out of five in rank. Rank doesn't have a huge impact on game play. It gives you a better chance of choosing which patrol, instead of having one assigned, and it can help with refit activities.)

"I'm sure you know why I've called you in. The Fuhrer is giving you command of U-30. She is a type VIIA U-Boat, and has been put through her paces. You will take command, and be ready to use as necessary."

I was uneasy. I knew these boats were being built in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, but I didn't know what the long term plan was. However, this is what I had trained for, and was ready to do my duty.

I began training my crew. They were young and inexperienced, but eager to learn. They took to training well, and it didn't take long before I felt they were ready to patrol, if required. (There are 4 levels of crew experience; green, trained, veteran, and elite. My crew is starting the game trained.)

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Patrol 1 (October '39)

With the invasion of Poland, and the subsequent declaration of war, it was only a matter of time before our training would be put to use. And sure enough, we were given our orders; patrol around the British Isles, and sink as much as we could. We left port with 7 G7a torpedoes (steam) and 4 G7e's (electric). I ordered 2 G7a and 2 G7e loaded in the forward tubes, and 1 G7a in the aft tube. (G7a's were more accurate and had less chance of being duds. However, during the day, the bubbles from the steam torpedoes could give away your location, making detection easier for the enemy.)

Transit through the North Sea was uneventful. Then on the day of October 7th, we spotted a large freighter off of the western Scottish Isles. We identified it as the Sagadahoc, out of the US. Unfortunately, it had an escort. I ordered to follow until night, where our chances of going undetected are greater. (Escorts are what can kill you. While waiting until night reduces chances of detection, there is also a chance you can lose contact with the ship you are following.)

We successfully followed her until the sun went down. I ordered to perform a night surface attack from medium range. I ordered "Fire two forward G7a, and 50 rounds of ammo from the deck gun, then dive." The torpedoes were fired, and I waited for the explosions. Nothing. "KaptLt, first torpedo was a dud, and the second missed its target", reported my weapons officer. The deck gunners were more successful, damaging the ship heavily. But although it was listing, she was still afloat. We executed the emergency dive, and remained undetected.

It wouldn't take much more to sink her, so I ordered the crew to follow her. The damage we inflicted was enough to slow her down to the point that her escort was lost. This was our chance. I bellowed out "Get up close, surface, and attack with the deck guns!" Without the escort, it was an easy kill. We estimated 6300 tons sunk.

Things were uneventful, until the evening of October 20th. "KaptLt, we've spotted a tanker, escorted." We were just southwest of Ireland. We quickly identified it as the British vessel Scottish Standard. This would be fine target. Once again, I ordered for a night surface attack, firing two forward steam torpedoes, and 50 rounds from our deck gun. One explosion was heard, while the other torpedo hit its target, but was a dud. Our deck gunners were not as efficient as last time, doing only minor damage. She had survived a torpedo and our deck guns.

We immediately dove, and were able to remain undetected. As before, I wanted to finish her off, and ordered us to follow her. She was barely moving, and her escort sped off, leaving her behind. With only a few torpedoes left, I ordered us to conduct a close range surface attack using only the deck guns. We finished her off, with an estimated tonnage sunk of 7000.

With no damage to our boat, I requested permission for an at-sea refuel to continue our patrol. This was denied, so we returned home with no incidents.

The VIIA class was the first class of U-Boat, as was inferior to the VIIB class in many ways. Less fuel, meaning less patrol time, less torpedoes, and unable to take as much damage. Our work will be cut out for us.

(We were extremely lucky this patrol. To remain undetected after failing to sink both ships initially was very fortunate. Even luckier was the fact that both ships lost their escorts. The dice are with us early.)

Total tonnage sunk for the patrol: 13300.

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Patrol 2 (December '39)

After a month in refit, we were sent back to the British Isles. The transit went smoothly, but for 10 days in the patrol area, we could not make contact with any targets. Finally, on the evening of the 22nd, we spotted a small freighter with an escort. She was identified as the Erato out of Britain. Not a great target, but with fuel running low, we didn't want to return home empty handed. I ordered another night surface attack, and empty all of the forward torpedo tubes, two G7a and two G7e, and follow it with 50 rounds from the deck guns. We were heading home after this, so I didn't care about conserving torpedoes.

The notoriously unreliable G7e's both missed, as did one of the G7a. We must spend more time training our torpedo men. The second G7a struck its target with a mighty explosion. Our gunners were able to finish her off. We dove and were able to escape detection. I requested a refuel, and was denied.

We went back home to celebrate a late Christmas with our families.

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 1300.

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Patrol 3 (February '40)

We were ordered to continue patrolling the British Isles. As we were crossing through the North Sea, we were surprised by an enemy aircraft, who opened fire. Our engineer was topside, and was slightly wounded, along with several crew members. Electric Engine 2 was also damaged, and the crew reported flooding. We fired the flak gun, but were unable to shoot the aircraft down. I ordered us to submerge, which caused additional flooding. We were able to escape. We stopped the flooding, but the engineer was unable to repair the engine. This will affect our underwater maneuverability.

As we were patrolling east of Hull one evening, we spotted the big one, HMS Eagle, a British aircraft carrier. While the risk was great, sinking her is the stuff legends are made of. I decided to order a night surface attack, firing all torpedoes (two G7a and two G7e) from the forward tubes, and firing 50 rounds from the deck guns in tandem from medium range. Our deck guns did decent damage, and then we heard and saw a massive explosion. The Eagle could not survive, which was a good thing, since two other torpedoes were duds, and the fourth missed completely. We submerged, and managed to avoid detection. Estimated tonnage was 22600!

Late in the patrol, we came across a small freighter with an escort. Since we were ready to head home, we might as well head home with no torpedoes! I ordered a night surface attack from medium range, firing three G7a and one G7e, along with 50 rounds from the deck guns. Two of the G7a's were duds, as was the G7e. The final torpedo missed the target. Luckily, our deck gunners were on point, and were able to sink the ship, with an estimated tonnage of 5000. I ordered the dive.

A might explosion rocked the boat. Damn it, we've been found! The damage reports started to come in from all areas of the boat. Minor flooding, periscope, radio, forward torpedo door, hull. All damaged. We were able to stop the flooding. I made a calculated risk, and ordered us to exceed test depth to escape. (Exceeding test depth helps avoid detection, but increases hull damage, and there is a chance that the boat will implode.)

The second explosion hit us. We still hadn't escaped. More hull damage reported, and this time it's serious. Also, reports that the batteries are damaged as well. We're reaching a critical situation.

With the level of hull damage, I order us out of test depth, and say a prayer. We wait, and wait, but no further action. We have managed to escape detection, and begin to limp back home.

Our engineer is able to repair the radio and batteries, but the periscope and forward torpedo door are now inoperable. We've taken massive damage, but live to fight another day. And we are returning home with a giant kill.

We came home to much fanfare. The reports of the sinking of the HMS Eagle reach far and wide. As a result, I was awarded the Kings Cross. However, the extensive damage to the boat means a lengthy refit period for us. But the crew is proud, and so am I. (Crew upgraded to veteran).

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 27600.

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Patrol 4 (July '40)

Realizing that we were going to be in refit for a lengthy period, and fresh off of being awarded the Knight's Cross, I approached my superior for a reassignment to a newer boat.

"Kommodore, I believe my talents are being wasted on an obsolete VIIA class. I think I could serve the Kriegsmarine much better with the latest technology."

"KaptLt," he replied, "I agree that the VIIA is becoming obsolete. However, you have shown that you can succeed with this class. Your request is denied." That didn't go as planned.

"But since you feel you are in need of a change" he continued, "once your refit is complete, I am changing your home port. Since the annexation of France, we would like you to operate out of Loreint. You will be closer to your operations."

I bit my lip. This meant traveling through the Bay of Biscay, which the RAF was patrolling with greater frequency to combat the U-Boat problem. "Understood Kommodore. Will we continue to patrol the British Isles?"

"No KaptLt. For your next patrol, you will be patrolling the Spanish coast. As before, take out any freighters you encounter."

We managed to get through the bay and to the coast unmolested. Very soon afterwards, just off of the northwest coast of Spain, we spotted a small freighter, unattended. It was identified as the Kumasian, a British vessel. No need to submerge, even though it was daytime. This is a sitting duck. I ordered the G7a fired from the aft tube, and for the deck gunners to open fire. Our German engineering of torpedoes leaves much to be desired, as yet another torpedo struck the target, but was a dud. The gunners were able to damage her, but she stayed afloat.

Our lack of urgency cost us. The Kumasian radioed for help, and a destroyer arrived. We immediately submerged, and were able to remain undetected. I ordered the two G7e's from the forward tubes fired from medium range, staying submerged. One missed, but the other found its target, sending her to the bottom of the sea. The destroyer was unable to find us. Estimated tonnage sunk, 5000.

The rest of the patrol was uneventful. We couldn't come across any other targets, and returned home safely.

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 5000.

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Patrol 5 (Sept '40)

For this patrol, we were ordered to go out into the Atlantic. We managed to get through the Bay unscathed, and made it to our patrol point.

For 20 days, we wandered, but were unable to spot any ships. Low on fuel, we were forced to head home. We made it back, but this was our first unsuccessful patrol.

During refit, I was promoted to Korevettenkapitan (KKpt). Even though we had an unsuccessful patrol preceding it, my body of work over the previous year was deemed satisfactory enough to get the promotion.

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 0

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Patrol 6 (Nov '40)

"Kommodore, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes KKpt. With the recent promotion, we want to make sure that you won't have another patrol like your last one."

"Yes, sir. Perhaps it would be best if I continued patrolling the Spanish coast? There seems to be more traffic there, and it is more predictable."

"Well KKpt, normally we are the ones ordering the patrols, not the other way around. But you had some success there, so we will grant this request."

We made it safely to our patrol point. And as I predicted, we soon spotted a small freighter at night, unescorted. She was identified as the Marcrest. We approached closely on the surface, firing deck guns, and the aft G7a torpedo. All shots fired were successful, and she went down without a fight. Tonnage sunk, 4200.

As we neared the end of the patrol, we spotted another small freighter during the day, unescorted. We identified her as the Blairlogie, a British vessel. We approached to close range on the surface, and emptied both our forward and aft torpedo tubes, as well as the deck guns. It was probably overkill, but we were heading home soon. She went down without a whimper. Estimated tonnage, 1000.

Traveling through the bay, one of the crew shouted "KKpt, incoming aircraft spotted!" "Emergency deep!" I bellowed. We executed a crash dive and waited. Nothing. We managed to escape detection, and returned home safely.

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 5200.

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Patrol 7 (Jan '41)

"Kommodore, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes KKpt. I've got a Christmas present for you. You are being reassigned. The U-30 will be taken out of active duty, and be used as a training vessel. The rest of the crew will be reassigned to various locations."

Part of me was excited. The VIIA class was a death trap, and my time was limited there. But I had grown close with the crew, and wasn't sure what my new fate was.

"You are being assigned to the U-647, a VIIC class, just like you wished. You will find a trained crew waiting for you, and your first patrol will be in the British Isles."

Although I had requested another trip to the Spanish coast, I was excited to take my new boat on her first patrol.

We safely reached the patrol point. But nothing. Day after day, night after night, no contacts whatsoever. As our fuel ran low, I requested a resupply at sea to continue our mission. This request was denied, and I returned home empty handed. The maiden voyage of U-647 was a failure.

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 0

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Patrol 8 (Mar '41)

"So KKpt, let me guess, you are requesting your assignment."

"Yes Kommodore. I request my next patrol..."

"...be on the Spanish Coast. Yes, yes, I know. I shouldn't grant you this request. You'll think you're being rewarded for failure. But you do well there, so off you go."

We traveled safely to the patrol point. At first, we saw nothing. Is this boat cursed, then finally, one night one of the crew members spotted a tanker off in the distance. As we approached, we saw it was alone, and identified it as British Security. We aproached on the surface, got close, and fired one G7a from the forward tube, and flipped around to fire one from the aft tube as well. All the while, we had our deck guns blazing. Both torpedoes struck their target, and the deck guns finished her off. Tonnage sunk, 8500.

A couple of nights later, we came across the Bluefields, a small Nicaraguan merchant ship. We hesitated at first, but decided they were heading north towards Britain, so they were ordered to be fired upon. We approached on the surface, firing one G7a from close range, and following it with deck guns. The torpedo was enough to sink her. Tonnage sunk, 2100.

Late in the patrol, we came across the King Malcolm, a large freighter, and once again unescorted. This is why I love the Spanish coast. It is not patrolled heavily. Two torpedoes from the forward tubes along with our deck guns were no match for her, and our third sinking of the patrol. Tonnage sunk, 5100.

We returned back to our home port safely. The crew was excited for their first successful patrol.

Tonnage sunk this patrol: 15700

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I just realized I have been making a mistake. The instructions say that at the beginning of the patrol, all of the G7a's should be loaded. I have been starting with 2 G7a's and 2 G7e's loaded. I don't think it probably affected the game that much, so I will just use the rule from here on out.

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Patrol 9 (May ’41)

My request to continue to patrol the Spanish coastline was not approved. Instead, we were ordered to patrol the Atlantic. On our way across the Bay of Biscay, reports of incoming aircraft came in. We were spotted before we could dive. We sustained some minor crew injuries, some flooding, and diesel engine #2 was damaged. Our flak gunners were ineffective. I ordered a dive, and the flooding continued, but we were able to escape.

The diesel engine was a major concern. If we could not get that repaired, we would have to abort the patrol before it even started. However, the damage control team was able to stop the flooding, and our L1 (lead engineer) and his men performed admirably and repaired the engine. We would continue to the patrol area.

Our good fortune continued, as on the second night of the patrol, we spotted a convoy! I picked two ships to target; the Carubulle, a small freighter, and the Ville de Liege, a large freighter. I decided to take a little chance, and perform a medium range surface attack. We would fire two torpedoes at the Carubulle, and two torpedoes plus the deck guns at the Ville de Liege. One explosion rocked the Carubulle, and she went down easily. We also saw one explosion on the Ville de Liege. It was wounded badly, and the deck gunners were able to finish her off. We dove, and were able to avoid detection.

I gave the order to follow the convoy. We were able to follow successfully, and this time I chose three targets; the Cape Rodney, the Annavore, and the Leonidas M, all small freighters. We would do another medium range surface attack, firing two G7a at Cape Rodney, one G7a at Annavore, and one G7a plus deck guns at Leonidas M. One explosion was reported from the Cape Rodney, but she stayed afloat. The torpedo given to Annavore also struck its target, but was unable to put her down. We missed with the torpedo at Leonidas M, but our deck gunners continued their exceptional work, and manged to sink her. We dove and waited to see if they knew where we were.

The silence that followed told us we were still safe. However, I had a decision to make. Should I continue to follow the convoy, and see if I could get a good target? Or should I follow the damaged ships, in hopes that they would fall behind and lose their escort, while I finish them off. I decided to let the convoy go, and finish off the damaged vessels. Unfortunately for us, they remained escorted.

It was still dark, so I ordered us to surface, and try a third medium range attack. I would fire our aft G7a at Annavore, while the deck guns would focus on Cape Rodney. The torpedo struck Annavore, and her fiery hull was sent below. The deck gunners managed to finish off Cape Rodney as well. These men will get commendations when we return home.

We dove, and started to quietly slip away, when the boat was rocked by a mighty blast. We had been detected! I waited for the damage reports to come in. Our hydrophones and flak gun were both damaged by the depth charge, and we also had some minor crew injuries. At this point, with the earlier aircraft attack, about half of the crew were dealing with some sort of injury. I ordered us to exceed test depth to try and get away. This tactic worked, and we escaped. The report from the L1 was not as good. Both the hydrophones and flak gun were inoperable. Crossing the Bay without the flak gun is a dicey affair, and losing the hydrophones will affect our ability to avoid the depth charges. The 1WO (second in command) suggested we abort the patrol, and head home to heal and repair. I reminded him that we were a warship, and we were at war. The patrol would continue.

Several nights later, we spotted another convoy. I picked two targets for attack; the Tuva, a small freighter, and the Corrientes, a large freighter. With the state of the ship and crew, I chose to do a medium range submerged attack. We would fire two torpedoes at each ship. Our torpedo men are improving, as all four torpedoes hit their targets and detonated. The Tuva went down easily, but the Corrientes, while burning and listing, managed to stay afloat. We dove, and remained undetected.

We were down to our last torpedo in the aft tube. For that reason, and the fact that the Corrientes was almost down, I chose to let the convoy go, and try to finish off Corrientes. One of the escorts remained with the damaged ship. Returning home with the torpedo was a waste, so I ordered a medium range submerged attack. The torpedo struck the target, and put Corrientes out of her misery. But we had pressed our luck one time too many. The ping of the sonar told me we were detected.

A horrific blast shook the boat. I looked over, and saw the 1WO on the ground bleeding badly. I called for the doctor, but it was reported that he was working on the L1, who had also been seriously wounded. To add even more insult to injury, the report came in that electrical engine #1 was damaged.

We were in dire straits, so I ordered us to exceed test depth for the second time this patrol. We held our breath, but no further damage was reported. Better yet, we had managed to escape. With the L1 injured, I was concerned that the crew would not be able to get the engine repaired. But once again, these young men performed above their abilities, and got it working again. With no more torpedoes to fire, I gave the order to abort the patrol, and head home.

On our way back, we received a report. A Luftwaffe recon mission showed that there was a small freighter in our area, unescorted. We may be out of torpedoes, but we still had some ammo left for our deck guns. We made a close range surface attack, and were able to sink City of Oxford without a fight for our eight boat sunk this patrol.

All that stood in the way of returning home with the best patrol of my career was crossing the dreaded Bay of Biscay, and with no flak gun. Sure enough, aircraft were spotted. I ordered a crash dive. We were successful in avoiding detection, and made it home safely.

The exploits of our patrol were so great, that we got a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht, my second mention (The first was when we sunk the HMS Eagle). We arrived with much fanfare. The celebration was soon muted, after we learned that the injuries suffered by our 1WO were so great, that he would no longer continue with us. He was a good man, and I hope our new one performs as well.

Total tonnage sunk this patrol: 39100