Another game using the Black Seas rules, set in our West Indies campaign. This time, a small British convoy is trying to reach the colonies with vital supplies, while a nimble French squadron sails out to intercept them. The French must capture or sink the British merchantmen, while the British aim to break through the French blockade. This time, however, the French have a little surprise in store: one of their brigs is a Privateer, specially trained for brutal boarding actions.
UMPIRING: Jimmy
1. Forces.
2. The Game.
In our game, Jimmy commanded a brig with the Privateer rule on the French side, and I commanded the other two French ships. On the opposing side, Ben commanded a frigate, and Alasdair commanded both merchant ships. The British made one move in the preliminary round, while the French, who had favourable winds, began the first full round. The wind direction did not change throughout the game, except for a single instance when it weakened. We played on a 4-by-6-foot table. To win, the British had to move both of their merchant ships across the opposite short edge of the table. If a ship left the battlefield via any table edge, it had to spend the entire next turn returning to the exact spot where it had exited.
The French plan for winning the battle was straightforward: my ships would weaken the British merchantmen's defences with gunfire, and then Jimmy would move in to board both vessels. We engaged immediately. My ships intercepted the British convoy, but my salvos were highly inaccurate. Ben's frigate advanced on my squadron and fired a precise shot at one of my brigs, setting it ablaze. For some time, I was unable to extinguish the fire, which caused further difficulties.
Meanwhile, Jimmy had fallen astern of the convoy and again attempted to fire on the British ships—this time successfully. At the same time, my squadron tried to hold off the British frigate, which rained relentless fire down upon us. This engagement proved very useful to our plans, as we managed to draw the frigate away from the convoy, allowing Jimmy to carry out his plan. Yet before he could do so, unexpected difficulties arose.
My ships had to commit their entire crews to extinguishing the fires, leaving them unable to manoeuvre. They also ended up dangerously close to Jimmy's brig, which was burning as well. Fortunately, Jimmy's ship quickly dealt with the threat, while mine temporarily withdrew from the battlefield. I managed to put out the fires and carry out some repairs, but I had to wait a full round before returning to the fight, leaving Jimmy on his own. It looked as though the British had gained the upper hand, but that impression turned out to be false...
The British frigate also turned and briefly left the battlefield. Meanwhile, Jimmy boarded a larger British merchantman and, using his special rule, forced the British crew to surrender. My ships then entered the fray, passed astern of the merchantman, and tried to open fire on her. One of them chose to use Red Hot Shot. Such a shot is much more likely to set the enemy ship ablaze, but there is also a small chance that your own ship will catch fire—and imagine what happened: my ship caught fire! That was enough for her to hoist the white flag. In the meantime, the frigate returned to the battlefield and found herself between the captured British merchantman and Jimmy's brig. She fired on both ships, and if she missed Jimmy, she caused the merchantman to sink!
This was not the end of the British troubles. The frigate was hit in return, sparking another fire on board. She was forced to withdraw to fight the blaze, which was eventually extinguished. However, this gave Jimmy the opportunity to attack the second merchantman with impunity. He boarded her again and forced the British to surrender. In the final act of the game, my brig approached my other brig and successfully boarded her at last. The French flag was once again raised over the brig—an undisputed, though costly, victory, given the damage the French ships had sustained.
3. Summary
In this game, we used different types of ammunition on such a large scale for the first time. Although using the Red Hot Ball turned out to be the worst possible choice for me, it could potentially inflict very serious damage on an enemy ship. The most effective weapon proved to be the grape shot, which caused total destruction at close range.
As for mistakes, one was made by the British when Ben fired on his own merchant ship, causing it to sink. For such an act, the British captain will likely face a firing squad...
The French achieved another victory, but it will take them considerable time to get their ships operational again. However, the most important thing is that the British crews on the islands have been deprived of provisions and supplies, which could end very badly for them. So the campaign will continue.
4. Links.
SESWC:
FLICKR:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720333491890
