Pocket Battle Game 12 - Operation Cerberus

Printed on a single piece of postcard-sized card stock, with the game map on the front and rules on the back. Pieces must be cut out.

Some would argue that Nazi Germany's investment in surface ships was a poor use of resources. But events like the Bismarck hunt certainly made for some interesting stories, didn't they?

One of the most interesting occurred on February 11, 1942, when, complying with an order from Hitler that the Navy didn't like, Vice Admiral Otto Ciliax led some of Germany's most powerful naval units on a daring run...all the way to the English Channel. It sounds like madness, and in fact, it was so unexpected that they pulled through! The Germans called it Operation Cerberus. The British always called it The Channel Dash.

The Channel Dash, (codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans), was a major naval engagement of World War II in which a German Kriegsmarine squadron, consisting of two Scharnhorst-class battleships and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and escorts, bypassed a British blockade and successfully sailed from Brest, Brittany to their home bases in Germany via the English Channel.

As the German player, you want to push your capital ships across the English Channel, drawing as little attention to them as possible. If necessary, the Luftwaffe will support you, attacking any possible opposition from the RAF or Royal Navy. And hopefully you won't hit any mines...

As a British player, you want to give the alert as soon as possible. Depending on the alert level, you can deploy the RAF and Royal Navy and dash the Kriegsmarine's hopes of escaping unscathed.