Rules: Form Line of Battle Figures: 1/1200 Napoleonic ships The First Sea Lord has confirmed the loss of HMS Broadsword in a series of indecisive sea battles off the Spanish port of Malaga. Between the 16th and 23rd of August, ships of His Majesty's Navy engaged a Spanish flotilla attempting to slip through the Straits. In the first action, ships under the command of Admiral Alan McGahey sailing in the 1st rate Royal George sank the Spanish 3rd rate Alicante (Dan Smith) in a close range gunnery duel, Admiral McGahey's'ships inflicted damage to the 3rd rate Seville (Ken Hajek) and the 1st rates Santissima Trinidad and Santa Anna (Anthony Ates) before weather forced the combatants to break off. His Majesty's ships Orion (Carl Arseneault), Irresistible, and Lady Rose (Scott Wadyko) sustained moderate damage. A week later, Admiral Mcgahey suffered mortal wounds while sailing in his new flagship, the 1st rate Yorkshire, and confronting another Spanish squadron attempting to slip through the Straits. The First Sea Lord reports that HMS Yorkshire suffered significant damage in the battle. In the van of the English line, Yorkshire received the opening broadside of every Spanish combatant save one. The Spaniards only ceased firing on the Yorkshireafter its battle flags were shot away; they mistook the loss of McGahey's ensigns as a sign that the English flagship had struck. Unfortunately, the final Spanish salvo is reported to have mortally injured Admiral McGahey as the Yorkshire heeled out of action. While the Admiralty does not wish it generally known, our reporter has learned that the Spanish pummeled McGahey's ships, taking the Broadsword and damaging two other 3rd rates. In an unusual twist, English gunnery was terrible (pesky dice gods!), moderately damaging a single Spanish 3rd rate, the Cadiz, and light damage to the 1st rate Santa Anna and the 3rd rates Barcelona and Madrid. The Spanish admiral was also reportedly wounded. Miscommunication between the two divisions of the English flotilla, broke the English battle line and exposed the flagship to a merciless pounding. The Broadsword (Alan again), at the stern of the English column, dueled defiantly with most of the Spanish line before striking. Needless to say, we've had lots of fun the last two sessions. At the moment, we plan naval actions again for 30 August. We're still discussing our plans for September, but we'll return to Vietnam in October. Back to Dispatch September 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