Cape St-Vincent - 1797

During my yearly sojourn in Winnipeg, I had the chance to share some wargaming time and a few beer with the Winnipeg Conscripts at Casa Violago.

I had prepared a scenario featuring some of my sailships: On the morning of 14 February 1797, a British squadron of 15 ships of the line met a Spanish fleet twice as numerous, with 27 ships of the Line, including the giant Santissima Trinidad. The HMS Victory was present, as well as Nelson, but on a different ship, and he was only Commodore at that time but was ready to break the rules of traditional sea warfare. The scenario was played with fewer ships: the British had 9 ships and the Spanish, 14.

The victory conditions for this scenario were as follow: If, after 10 turns,
- The Spanish have no ships striking colours and 1 or more British did strike colours, the Spanish win an outstanding victory.
- 1 to 5 Spanish ships stroke colours, the British win a marginal victory.
- 6 or more Spanish ships stroke colours, the British win an outstanding victory.
Historically, the British did capture 4 Spanish ships.

The rules I used are a modified version of "Trafalgar" that I called "Trafalgar Redux". The original rules are great, but things start to slow down drastically when more than 5 ships per side are used. In "Trafalgar Redux", many elements of the rules are heavily simplified to allow battle with more ships. For example, the saving throw is replaced by additional boxes on the ship. Firepower is integrated into the ship display sheet. Modifiers for firing are limited to 3 and ships can fire at any point of their movement without penalty. If ships are in column, then they all move as one unit, etc.

From left to right:  Sylvain, shaking dice for the sake of shaking dice, Byron and Brian, proud Admirals of the Spanish fleet. The orderly British column, at the bottom, starts its steady progresion towards the Spanish mass of ships, partly visible in the upper right corner of the table.

Kevin and Dave, the British Admirals, smiling confidently as they listen to all the special rules favouring the British side: Spanish roll for morale for each critical hit they receive, British reroll "1"s when firing, etc. etc. etc.

The HMS Britannia, a first rate, 100 gun ship, follows the HMS Victory towards the thick of the Spanish fleet.  The Spanish Admirals are ready to give the order to fire.

First smoke! Furious exchanges of cannonballs resulted in one Spanish ship already striking colours, as indicated by the red marker. Spanish ships can be identified by their yellow stickers at the back of the base while British ships feature white stickers.

A Spanish ship on fire. But this is nothing compared to the HMS Britannia that will later be lit like a torch. Fire from the hull of HMS Britannia will eventually spread to all the masts and the crew had to work frantically for many turns to get everything back under control. Many good sailors were roasted during the event.

Brian assessing the situation from a standing position. The British are rigorously maintaining their line as directed.

Nelson, who was only Commodore at that time, was the only one allowed to break the British line in order to accomplish something awesome. Here HMS Conqueror (playing proxy to HMS Captain) blocks the line of incoming Spanish ships.

Exchanges of fire are getting more numerous as the the fleets are penetrating each other. I just love how the smoke puffs translate the intensity of  the battle at this point. It is also possible to visualize who is shooting who.
 

The last turn played. Five Spanish ships had striken colours at this point, meaning a marginal victory for the British. From the point of view of the umpire, the whole battle was very fun to watch, and I think that if the modified rules did not work perfectly, they worked satisfactorily.

In retrospect, I think that the Spanish fleet should have put the big heavy hitters at the front, and give the officers a more central position in the fleet, to help with the morale checks. With the special rules, the Spanish had to keep their ships very close to each others in order to recuperate from striking colours.

No real sailors or miniature ships were hurt during the game, but the same can't be said about the above bottles, only remain of some delicious beer brought by the participants.

Thanks to the Winnipeg Conscripts, Brian, Byron, Dave and Kevin, who were kind enough to push my little ships around the board for a whole evening!

Spanked! - Naval Action in the War of 1812 (1/1200 sailing ships)

When war was declared with Great Britain in 1812, the American navy was just in its infancy at that time and had nothing comparable to the numerous and large ships of the Royal Navy. However, the Americans built strong frigates crewed by aggressive sailors and commanded by competent captains. In duels, the American frigates would usually win.Well, not this time...

This scenario pitted the USS Constitution against HMS Guerriere in the the famous action off the East coast on 19 August 1812. The rules were a modified version of Trafalgar called Trafalgar Redux and the models were from GHQ.

Captain James Richard "Kevin" Dacres was in command a British 38 gun frigate while Isaac "Sylvain" Hull was steering a strong 44 gun American frigate, specifically built to outperform British ships of the same size.

Sent to investigate, the USS Constitution just identified a British intruder in American waters. Get ready for battle!

The American crew displayed excellent seamanship, keeping a good distance from the enemy, avoiding being shot by moving out of the British firing arc...

... while shooting at the masts to slowly, but surely destroy the enemy's sailing capacity. Everything was historically correct so far.

Then, a series of unfortunate events happened. The American crew failed a first maneuver test, a tacking maneuver, which meant that the USS Constitution was now stationary in the water and the British had the wind in good position. To understand how humiliating the situation was, a comparison is necessary. It's like, for a WW1 soldier, to fall head first into the barbed wires he was about to jump, with the butt sticking out in  the air. Another test for being taken aback resulted in heavy damage to the fore mast and severe casualties among the crew. The British frigate took this opportunity to do a stern rake which resulted in ruinous damage to the hull.

Stunned by how ridiculous the situation was, the American crew probably panicked because, in the next two turns, two more maneuver tests, just to turn the ship back into the wind, also failed. The American butt was still sticking out in the air and the British frigate, after an impeccable tack maneuver, came back for more spanking, right into the stern again. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! This time, the USS Constitution took two critical hits, one resulting into a blaze which reached the reserve of black powder, which exploded, virtually wiping out the crew. The ship was still afloat, but the crew had had enough and the captain had to strike colours.

The rules work quite well for one on one battles, but I think I would like to give captains maybe one or two re-rolls per game to alleviate series of bad rolls.

Thanks Kevin for coming and trying this scenario. The outcome was not historical at all, but it was interesting and funny.

Battle of San Domingo 1806 (1/1200 sailing ships)

Yesterday, Dave and Byron came to my suite for a game pitting British against French ships of the line. The battle of San Domingo was the last fleet battle of the Napoleonic wars to be fought in open waters. Of notice, H.M.S. Canopus was commanded by captain Francis Austen, brother of Jane Austen. One of the most dramatic event of the battle happened when the Northumberland moved between the Impérial and the Superb to protect the flagship. Some shots from the giant French ship went right through the Northumberland and into the Superb. But, of course, wargaming was to redefine history.

At the beginning of this fleet engagement, British and French ships had to be set at least 15cm apart (measured from base to base, not main mast to main mast) in their respective deployment zones, to reflect the scattered aspect of the fleets too rapidly engaged in battle. This included ships from the Louis squadron entering on the map, that will enter the board with a die roll equal to or lower than the current turn number. This made it very difficult to form battle lines.

The objective of the French squadron was to escape to the South West corner with as many ships as possible. The objective of the British squadron was to intercept as many French ships as possible. Victory would be measured as follow:

5 French ships escape    Great French victory
4 French ships escape    French victory
3 French ships escape    Marginal French victory
2 French ships escape    Marginal British victory
1 French ship escapes    British victory
0 French ship escapes    Great British victory

The rules used were a simplified version of "Trafalgar" that I call "Trafalgar Redux". It speeds up the game considerably by halving the number of dice to be rolled.

The British squadron commanded by rear admiral Byron Duckworth, recognizable with the white name tags at the stern, duly proceeded to intercept the  French ships of Dave Leissègues, with blue name tags.

As I forgot my sea board at home, Byron was kind enough to bring his own sea mat from "Dreadfleet". Oddly enough, the mat and the ship bases matched perfectly.

The Agamemnon, a 64 gun third rate, the smallest ship on the board, sails toward the Impérial, the largest ship, with 120 guns. Is this wise?

BOOM! BOOM! After the smoke dispersed, it appeared that the Agamemnon lost two masts while the Impérial was still in good order. Both sides were mostly aiming at the masts at this point of the game, trying to reduce the speed of the opponent's units.

Soon, French and British ships were engaged in ferocious gun exchanges.

The British were able to get the second squadron on board. Rear Admiral Thomas Louis was eager to join the fight visible in the distance.

 Meanwhile, in the central melee, a few ships collided with each other and became unable to fire.

The three ships under the command of Louis, including the 80 gun Canopus, are getting closer and closer. Will this sceal the end of the French attempt to disrupt British commerce with the colonies? What could prevent a British Victory?

Wait a minute. What is this? A wind dial? So the wind changed direction. So what. I beg your pardon? It allowed a French victory? How is that even possible?

Because of the way the ships were positioned, after the wind changed direction, it became impossible for the British vessels still able to sail to catch three of the escaping French ships, including the giant Impérial. This was enough for a French marginal victory. This kind of event could only happen during the age of sail.

 Here are a few images of the last turn of the battle. A British ship caught fire during an exchange of volley causing the reserve of black powder to explode. The ship survived though.

Louis was just about to join battle. One of the French ships, invisible because she is completely wrapped in smoke, caught fire during an exchange of cannon balls, stroke her colours down as a result, then blew up because of an explosion.

On her way to the edge of the table, after an incredibly graceful tack manoeuver, the Impérial sunk a British ship trying to block her way. French sailors can cause surprises sometimes.

The action in the middle, on the last turn played. The black smoke shows were are located the two ships on fire, that eventually exploded without sinking. So the final result was: 3 French ships escaped, 2 were captured, 1 British ship was sunk and 2 were badly damage. The destruction and carnage felt very satisfying to the host.

Byron and Dave, discussing the outcome of the battle after it was decided to end the game when the result became obvious. The mat really made the whole experience look good. I'll definitely need to get one. Again, thanks Byron and Dave for playing this scenario.

Cape St-Vincent, 1797

Yesterday, DaveV showed up at the motorhome for some beer and wargaming. We played the Battle of Cape St-Vincent using a simplified version of Trafalgar, by Mark Latham. Basically, there is only one type of guns, saving throws are converted into extra hull points, opportunity fire can be done at will, all changes that make the game flow much faster.

Here we go: On the morning of 14 February 1797, a British squadron of 15 ships of the line met a Spanish fleet twice as numerous, with 27 ships of the line, including the giant Santissima Trinidad. To make the game playable, the fleets on both side were downsized to about half the original numbers (9 vs 14).

Dave asked what were the objectives for each fleet and I realized that I neglected to prepare clearly defined goals. Oh well, we just pounded each other for about 6 turns, just for fun. As it happened, the direction of the wind and the formations of both fleets kind of dictated the course of the battle. After a single devastating run at each other, both fleets were happy to resume course.

Here are the initial positions of both fleets, from the Spanish point of view. Minding her own business, the Spanish fleet was sailing in two groups, enjoying a well deserved morning siesta. But suddenly, a bunch of sails appeared from the North. The British! Those trouble makers were already parading into a splendid line in the middle of which Admiral Rowe was commanding from the H.M.S. Victory.

Ah, but the Spanish had no fear for within their fleet the plumply Nuestra Senora de la Santissima Trinidad (Santissima Trinidad for short) was sailing majestically. What could possibly go wrong with such a powerful vessel? [The fat Wonder of the Sea, unfortunately, would have an opportunity to vomit raging cannonballs from her 136 guns only on the last turn of the game, and at long range.]

El Grandissimo Almirante DaveV del Winnipego confidently moving his ships forward. Note how convenient wargaming in a motorhome can be: proximity of a counter top for beer bottles and sheets, quick exit, etc.

Admiral Rowe, Earl of Regina, moved his line like a vengeful wedge between the two groups of Spanish ships, just like Admiral Jervis did in the real battle. Wargaming and History, once again, were about to meet for a fabulously accurate re-enactment of the action. Ah, tears come to my eyes!

But wait! Instead of a RIGHT tacking AFTER passing both Spanish groups, Admiral Rowe had his line turning to the LEFT, BEFORE passing the enemy ships. [Note from the British player: my goal was to cross the T in front on the Spanish Lee Division. But some miscalculation regarding the distance occurred...]

Iiiii! Crrrash! Aaaargh! What a mess! H.M.S. Diadem, the leading ship of the line, was quickly dismasted by the Spanish guns aiming high. She can be seen wandering South while the new leader, H.M.S. Prince George, takes the line to the East. Lots of hull rubbing ensued. adding some damage here and there to both fleets. Thanks to raking, a few spectacular dice rolls on both sides resulted in lots of critical hits and lots of damage. H.M.S. Prince George suffered greatly.

Uh oh! The Spanish Weather Division is getting closer and closer. Will the British fleet become trapped like tuna salad between two slices of bread?

Abandoning the H.M.S. Prince George, now crippled beyond repair and useless,  the following ship in line, H.M.S. Orion takes the lead and manages to break through the Spanish Lee Division. The unfortunate San Juan Nepomuceno (with black smoke), because of the direction of the wind, had to come facing the H.M.S. Victory. 50 cannon balls later, the Spanish ship, badly raked and with two fires raging on board, struck down her colors.

The British line tried again to turn, this time BEHIND the Spanish Lee Division and apparently succeeded. Trapped by the crippled hulk of the H.M.S. Prince George, the Principe de Asturias (both ships have red markers), a 112 guns First Rater, became the focal point for the fire of the turning ships, just like sun rays are focused by a concave mirror. Despite all the beating, the Spanish Vicealmirante stubbornly refused to surrender. At the end of the British line, Commodore  Nelson decided that NOW was the time to do something heroic and rolled for a command check... Heroism had to wait and Nelson decided that the best course of action was to stay with the line. Meanwhile, the Spanish ships decided that it would be great fun to remove Commodore Nelson's name  from the Royal Navy's payroll and concentrated all their fire on the H.M.S. Captain. Because of the distance, however, Nelson and his ship survived the onslaught.

In the final turn, the British line continued to perform parade-like maneuvers. Reduced to a few boards and planks, the Principe de Asturias finally struck down her colors. The heroism of the Vicealmirante on board is certainly worth of the highest medal that there is in the Spanish kingdom. The British had one dismasted ship (H.M.S. Diadem) and one completely crippled ship (H.M.S. Prince George). Nelson felt a little shy and did not perform any heroic deeds. The Spanish fleet left behind two 74 guns and one 112 guns. Other ships on both sides suffered considerable damage. Considering the confusion resulting from the melee, the game could have gone either way. And playing with DaveV made the whole experience very enjoyable.

Regarding the rules, there is certainly room for improvement. The simplified stats work well, but bookkeeping proved to be fastidious, especially for the Spanish Almirante with 14 ships. In order to fight bigger battles, I will have to figure out a more intuitive way of managing a squadron with a large number of ships.

Godspeed.

San Domingo, 1806

Last Thursday, I prepared a scenario for the sail ships inspired by the battle of San Domingo. It was the occasion to test a few rules tweaks, most of them taken from Wargames Illustrated n260, but also some of my own, including redrawing the ship display.The display is inspired by Kiss me Hardy!. Numbers in the hull indicate the number of die for gunnery. If damage reaches red zones, the ship must test in the end phase for striking colors. The big change is the suppression of the saving throw, making the combat resolution a little quicker. But let's go back to the scenario.

Leissègues' fleet had the mission to disrupt British shipping lanes in the Carribeans. During a stop in San Domingo, Leissègues decided to leave in haste the safety of the port when hearing the news that a British fleet was approaching. The British split their fleet in two squadrons in order to trap the French fleet. Stacy, briefly helped by Rob, was in charge of the French vessels, while Curt and Allan would share command of the British.

Here is the French fleet, cruising under the nice Caribbean sun, minding its own business. The fleet was lead by the Impérial, a giant 120 gun first-rate under the cmmand of Amiral Stéssy. The green tape represents shallow waters.

Trouble on the horizon! Admiral Allan forms his ships into a line of battle to engage the French.

Amiral Stéssy wanted to demonstrate that French sailors are not just decorative. He ordered a series of tacking maneuvers to confuse the British.

Boum! Boum! Guns are talking. Admiral Allan had his guns readied with double shots and it proved devastating on the Impérial.

More ships are being engaged in the exchange of fire. More shots on the French first-rate.

Hey, what is that black smoke? The Northumberland is on fire! And what is that ship on the horizon? It's Admiral Curt, finally joining the battle after some delays that will later have to be explained back in London.

Badly damaged, the Impérial found the situation hopeless. The French had the option in this scenario to try run aground instead of being captured. So Amiral Stéssy bravely headed for the island and got stuck in shallow waters where his flagship got wrecked.

Admiral Curt is closing in, eager to make sure his ships will be included in any future historical paintings of the battle.
And here is the final situation. A nice tableau of confusion, violence and destruction! Two French ships were grounded, one was captured and two were able to escape to an uncertain future.

I found the rules changes quite satisfying, although a few more adjustments could be made:
- Firing at masts seems futile. No British ships were dismasted as was usually the case after meeting the French. I will have to revisit the rules.
- The article in Wargames Illustrated proposed that the line of fire is blocked if there is a friendly ship anywhere in the firing arc, to encourage captains to adopt the line formation. The approval rate of the rule was quite low. I will have to rethink that one.

Curt wrote his view on the game in his blog.