The game itself was played four times and each time it unfolded differently. The first time the British arrival was badly timed and the boats beached at the half tide mark. This bad timing was repeated when it came to evacuate and the tide was full out and the unattended longboats had floated out to sea. Bligh killed the prisoner without interrogating him and made no attempt to take the bridge. The longboats completely lost their way in the dark and the wrong boats ended up at the wrong beaches. In the dark the boats with the guns rowed back out to sea and it was only when visibility was full that they were allowed to row towards the shore. The pirates gave the alarm and the French were alerted so the raid was not a success.

The second attempt was more successful for the British. They landed well but, through good dice on the French part, the French reinforcements arrived early and the British lost heart and withdrew.

On the third attempt the British landed well and drove away the pirates. They then took shelter behind the innocent looking cargo stored beside the pirate ship. The French fired one shot from the heavy guns and British morale faded accordingly. The French reinforcements were late arriving and the militia was overpowered but other than burning the warehouses the raid was not a success.

The last attempt was spectacularly successful. The timing was excellent, the prisoner gave up good information, pirate cargoes were avoided, the warehouses were burned, the big guns were overrun and pushed into the sea, Marshal D'Estrees was actually killed accidentally in a melee and the force evacuated at full tide with the French reinforcements firing volleys from the beach into the escaping longboats.

Overall it is an excellent game providing numerous combinations and permutations. In order to capture the spirit of the game short, simple fast moving rules are essential. The game will not work well if the rules are too complicated and so home grown rules are probably best for this game. Other combinations are possible for example a decision by the pirates to change sides could upset French morale although the military value of the pirates is negligible but they are generally known for their fondness for looting and pillaging. Another possibility is the need to evacuate a civilian population while protecting them from the pirates at the same time. Finally heavy rain would make it nearly impossible to fire the muskets and all combat would have to be decided by melee. This would probably favour the pirates as their are mainly armed with swords, as are Bligh's marines.

Author Profile: Robert McLean

[As part of a new approach "to give readers some idea of who is writing the articles they read. I am asking all new contributions to be accompanied by a writer's profile. This will only appear on the first new article provided, or if there is a long gap between contributions. Robert McLean is the first "victim" but I am including my own background on my Wargamers' Forum article to show there is no prejudice. The Seven Years War is a favourite period of mine and I enjoy the occasional skirmish game but this is the first time I have encountered a mixture of the two.]

Age 47.
Married to Gwen with three school-going children.
From Dublin but now working and living in Belgium just outside Brussels.
Started wargaming in 1970 in the Featherstone / Grant / Bath / Wise era. (Great days but now in the past).
Played in Dublin for years and founding member of the Wild Geese Wargames Club.
Interests from 1700 - 1945 European campaigns involving the French Army.
Currently playing with a club in Brussels but have recently bought a house with a large basement and setting up own "wargamorium" which should be ready soon.
Will play commercial rule sets but usually end up writing his own rules.
Like large games with purposebuilt scenery and rules. Only had one other article published - Battlefields Vol. I No. 4 - "Operation Red: the Somme crossings 1940" (and that was just such a game).

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