NOT TO BE READ BY THE BRITISH PLAYER

The cutter lost was commanded by Lieutenant Bligh who was washed up on the coast with 15 marines which gives the British side a unique opportunity. The British commander does not know that Bligh survived (in our first game the part of Bligh was taken by a player who arrived late for the game but the Umpire could control Bligh until the British are well established on land and have made contact with him). Bligh can get up to all sorts of mischief and even seize the bridge, although he would need to ensure that he does not alert the French too early.

Neither the French nor the British commanders should be aware of his presence nor should he be aware of the finer details of the British commander's plans. As far as the British Commander is concerned all hands were lost when the cutter went down. Note that the British Commander, in his briefing, was warned to avoid false lights from the shore. Bligh has a signalling lamp and hopes to attract the boats to land near him so that he can lead the assault. The Umpire should ask Bligh to indicate how he intends to attract the boats to land near him and of course the umpire must inform the British Commander of any lights spotted on the coast. The consequences are for the Umpire to decide.

Note also that the British Commander has been made aware of the existence of smugglers and privateers along this part of the coast and that the privateer who sunk the cutter escaped over the horizon. He does not know if the French are aware of his expedition or if their navy will be alerted. It would ruin the game if the French were alerted by the pirates or if the French navy appeared but there is no harm in leaving the British Commander guessing.

BRIEFING FOR LIEUTENANT BLIGH.

Your ship, a cutter, was scouting ahead of the fleet when you engaged a pirate ship belonging to the notorious French pirate Captain Crochet. Unfortunately you came off worst and your ship was sunk. The fleet was still over the horizon when the damaged pirate ship limped away so you presume the enemy does not know that it is on the way.

You managed to get ashore with 15 Marines (Elite status), however their muskets were lost so they can only fight with their cutlasses until they can capture some muskets. You also have a signalling lamp. Obviously losing your ship has done nothing for your career. You have managed to take over a small house where you have spent the night. You must try to encourage the fleet to land near you so that you can lead the assault and hopefully save your career. You have also managed to capture a local villager in the house.

NOT TO BE SEEN BY THE FRENCH PLAYER

Note that the French have only militia to hand and the arrival of reinforcements is controlled by the Umpire. Also the loyalty of the pirates is doubtful. However they have a large consignment of gunpowder stored on the quayside. This could provide a useful aiming point for the French gunners if the quay was overrun by the enemy or if the pirates decided to switch sides.

From the beginning the Umpire should give the French a chance of being alerted by noise from the sea if the longboats commence during the hours of darkness. This should be based upon the time of the night and should increase as dawn approaches and visibility improves. The visibility rules apply on land as well as at sea.

Once the French Commander is alerted he sends a messenger down any road for reinforcements. You could set up a system whereby the French Commander dices for reinforcements and their timing, composition and point of arrival but in view of the unpredictability of the game it might be best if the Umpire controlled the French reinforcements as too many or too few could ruin the game.

The French commander could be asked to throw the dice and the results could be noted by the Umpire so that both sides could think that the dice are deciding the French reinforcement schedule whereas in reality everything could be controlled by the Umpire. In this way the Umpire can speed up or delay reinforcements and decide their composition depending on how the game is unfolding.

Tables A, B and C set out a suggested system if you wish the reinforcement table to be transparent.

INFORMATION FROM THE PRISONER

Bligh should declare he is interrogating the prisoner. If he does not then it is not for the Umpire to tell him. If he does then he should throw 1xD6 per move. The prisoner is just a local who was asleep in the house when Bligh found him. His knowledge of matters would lack precision so the Umpire might like to distort the information supplied. Note that if Bligh scores the same score twice then the prisoner is dead. A score of 6 will also kill him. It will be very difficult to get all of the information from him.

Throw 1xD6 once per move. Same score twice kills the prisoner.

1. Location and status of garrison
2. Reinforcements composition and entry points (when known)
3. Reinforcements time of arrival (when known)
4. Location of ford (The French would be well advised not to use this and make it known to the British as they have no other way of finding out unless they capture another villager).
5. Bridge is mined. (Can only be blown by a French artillery officer).
6. Prisoner killed

If Bligh gets information and the prisoner is still alive then he can continue to interrogate him but the Umpire need not inform Bligh of this. Let him use his own initiative.

The French need never know that a prisoner has been taken or that information has been given to Bligh.

THE BRITISH PLANNING

Briefing for the British Commander is very important. He must decide the time when his boats will first appear on the table. This decision will be based largely upon the movement of the tide and the time of day. Presumably he will want to land when visibility is reduced and at full tide. Table D above sets out the tide times.

The Umpire will need to mark out on the board 1/2 and 3/4 tide lines. The British Commander should then gauge by the speed of his longboats when he can expect to land on the beaches at full tide. If he miscalculates this then the whole game can go wrong. Equally he will need to calculate the time for re-embarking particularly as he may well be under fire at that time. He should also be advised of the wisdom of leaving men with the boats to stop them drifting out to sea. Note from his brief how difficult it is to move a longboat by hand. Table D should be given to the French player as well.

The British Commander should now submit to the Umpire a note detailing the time of day and point of entry of each longboat, numbered 1-9, he may not wish all boats to arrive simultaneously given the anticipated crowding at the beach or the configuration of the coastline. The points of entry should be submitted as points measured form the left edge of the table and the times as move numbers. e.g. Boat no. 1 will enter in move 1 at 22" from the left edge of the board, boat no.2 will enter in move 3 at 33" from the left edge of the board etc. This sounds very organised but things don't always go so smoothly.

THE LONGBOATS ARRIVE

When the game actually starts the Umpire should refer to table E. Firstly he should request the British Commander to throw 1xD6 as each boat is supposed to arrive as per the plan submitted to the Umpire. The Umpire should then refer across table E to see what time it is in the game and under that column the die result will show the actual time of arrival (+2 moves, +3 moves etc.) and the number of inches to left (L) or right (R) of the proposed point where the boat actually enters the board. Obviously as visibility improves the margins of error decrease and this is reflected in table E. The Umpire should record the actual points and times of entry and table F is provided for this.

Note that time delays in arrival can move the boat's arrival or movement into the next time/visibility bracket.

NAVIGATING IN THE DARK

If the boats enter the table between 20.00 to 06.00 visibility is zero (1") and collisions during those hours are very likely. For this purpose the boats are moved according to their number, number 1 moving first and number 9 moving last. Each boat should throw 1xD6. 1,2 veer 45 degrees to the left; 3,4 steer straight ahead; 5,6 veer 45 degrees to the right. A collision causes both boats to lose one move, no damage is done to either boat. Note that if a boat veers 45 degrees and on the next move goes straight ahead then it is in the direction he is now heading. It does not mean that he can correct and point himself towards the coast. Remember his limited visibility and fact that they cannot make noise to guide one another or the coast might be alerted. This means that boats may go around in circles or, as happened in one game, some of the boats turned about and went back out to sea. When visibility is 20" or total they may of course turn to the coast and arrive late but the landing point must be in accordance with their orders.

In one of our games some of the boats changed course and never corrected and so rowed off board or ended up at the wrong beach. The landing points are not always in accordance with the initial orders! From 0600 to 0800 and from 18.00 to 20.00 visibility is 20" and from 0800 to 1800 visibility is 100% so this factor will not apply.

So now, after emphasising to the British Commander the need for cautious planning, things may turn out quite chaotic with boats arriving at the wrong point at the wrong time and colliding with each other causing delays.

RECORD KEEPING BY THE UMPIRE

Finally the Umpire must keep records as the game progresses. Table F is a method for keeping a record of the proposed arrival points for the longboats on the board and their actual arrival points. Table G is a suggested method for keeping a record of the tide and time and the arrival of reinforcements etc.

At all times the umpire must be aware of where exactly the tide is as must the British Commander. If he lands at full tide then there is no problem but if the tide is half or three quarters in or out then the boats will beach further out than he expected and the troops will have to walk at half speed and provide perfect targets for the French if they are alerted. The success or failure of the raid depends upon the timing of move 1. It is essential that the British Commander understands this and that each move represents 15 minutes for the purpose of the tide's activities.

Equally the British have to evacuate and the situation of the tide becomes vital again. The Umpire will have to keep a record of the moves so that the position of the tide can be known at all times. If the British have to walk across the beach at half speed to get to beached boats then they will be sitting targets. The essence of the game is to disembark and reembark at full tide.

Raid on the French Coast 1760

Introduction
British Briefing
French Briefing
Umpire Briefing
Game Tables A-G and Map
The First Four Games: Replay Recaps