Rules: Form Line of Battle. Figures: Mix of 1/1200 Navwar and Skytrex sailing ships. Situation: The Barbary Coast. A small group of enterprising Barbary pirates have seized the Melinda, a large East India merchantman. With insufficient crew to sail the ship with its military cargo to port, the pirates have sent ashore for reinforcements before a hastily assembled British flotilla to windward can recapture or sink the pirates' prize. Three 2d rate fore-and aft rigged pirate vessels-- Salaam, Algeria, and Al Akbar--are beating out of harbor to bring the pirates'prize home. Four smaller British ships--the brig Flea, the ship-rigged sloop Crab, and two fore-andaft rigged schooners, the Penelope and the Anson-- have position to windward and threaten the Melinda. The winds blow strongly out of the NW, occasionally veering to the NNW. The fight began with both squadrons of ships attempting to close on the Melinda as quickly, as possible--the British from the west and the pirates from due south. The Crabs (Anthony Ates) opening broadside at medium range scored immediately-knocking a mast off of the Salaam (Alan McGahey) and slowing it considerably. The Salaam lost a second mast late in the action, but forced the Crab to strike and sank the Penelope (Scott Wadyko) in revenge after it had been struck by several broadsides from the Al Akbar (Carl Arseneault). Though considerably outgunned by the pirates, the stout British tars pressed home their attacks, quickly shooting way the wheel of the Algeiia (Dan Smith) and wreaking havoc along its gun decks. The Penelope, in a feat of seamanship before going down to Davy Jones' Locker, managed to bow rake the Salaam and broadside the Algeria in the same action phase. Unfortunately for the British, their broadsides missed the hulls. The Algeria sprouted oars after losing its wheel and even with its weakened guns sank the Anson, softened up by extremely accurate shooting from the Al Akbar (Note: Every shot fired by Carl hit something for a change even if he did not sink anything!). As for accuracy, midway through the battle the Algeria poured a broadside into the. Al Akbar, shooting away its wheel and doing more damage to it than the British did the entire game. At one point in the action, three of the seven active ships involved (two pirates and one British) were drifting with the wind. The Al Akbar was still able to launch its boats and send a crew party to the Melinda, ensuring that the prize would bring a handsome profit in the market place. The Flea, sorely damaged in the action, limped away as the Barbary pirates celebrated. The Crab--rudder-less, struck, drifting, and heavily damaged--capsized before a pirate prize crew could board it. Results: F7ea heavy damage; Crab, Penelope, and Anson sunk. Salaam and Algeria moderate damage to rigging and guns; Al Ak-bar light damage. Analysis With the advantage of the wind, initiative, and numbers, the British were able to close fast and score first, but could not follow up on their initial advantage. The bull/ gun strengths of the Barbary Pirates' 2d rates were simply too strong for the smaller British ships. While the British continued to score hits, the hits were not strong enough to materially damage the larger pirates other than reduce gun strength and speed. Shifting from sail to oars, negated the loss of the pirate ships' wheels at the very moment when opposing combatants were so close that maneuver made a difference. With more experienced British crews, the outcome - might have been very different. The British had two veteran and two average crews; the pirates had three experienced crews. Gun strengths were relatively equal: British 7, 6, 4, and 4 = 21; Barbary Pirates 7,7, and 7 = 21. Making the British crews all elite or veteran would have materially increased their chance of success. Back to Dispatch August 2002 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com