The Battle of Aden, July 1938 - A Find, Fix and Strike Scenario

I had another idea for a 'What If?' Franco-Italian naval scenario today, a take on the Battle of the River Plate but relocated to the Red Sea. In this scenario, the French battleship Strasbourg has been patrolling the Indian Ocean in search of Italian convoys heading through the Gulf of Aden to Italian-occupied Ethiopia, the Suez Canal having been blocked to Italian shipping by the British and French. The Regia Marina has responded to this threat by dispatching a roving cruiser squadron to hunt down the French menace before it can do any serious damage.

The Strasbourg is operating alone but the Italians will have one heavy cruiser, Fiume, and two light cruisers, Bartolomeo Colleoni and Bande Nere, with which to engage the French battleship. The commander of the Strasbourg has orders to engage any Italian warships he encounters but only if the odds are in his favour, otherwise he must attempt to evade after crippling, silencing or sinking the Fiume and both of the two light cruisers. 

If at any point, the Strasbourg suffers heavy damage he must also disengage and attempt to evade. The British port in Aden is his best chance of a safe refuge if the Strasbourg suffers heavy damage in the engagement. The Italians must inflict at least heavy damage and, if possible, very heavy damage on the French warship at any cost.

The Strasbourg may not launch spotter aircraft as her Loire 130 has been damaged. The Italians may launch spotter aircraft but may only have one in the air at any one time. They start with a Ro43 from Fiume in the air, positioned at any point 18'' from the heavy cruiser. The scenario lasts a maximum of ten turns. The sea state is moderate with a fresh wind from the east and excellent visibility of 30'' plus. The Italian and French crews and commanders are all rated as Average, except for the commander of the Fiume who is Brilliant. 

It will be a tough fight for the Italians but they might just pull it off!