(or the escape of the Junon, depends on you) The Junon, a recently captured French frigate, joins the Royal Navy. A dubious honor indeed as she again confronts superior numbers, but this time, the British are on the short end. On 13 December, 1809, the Junon, captained by John Shortland, with Lieutenant George Vernon Jackson (four of the five Jackson brothers died in the service of the crown, George alone survived to tell this tale) had 38 guns and was considered one of the finest in the Navy. She had the new world duty and was cruising off Guadalupe, when she spotted four ships running low in the water. She sent a shot over the bow of the lead ship, and this is where the game starts… As history showed, the Junon waited too long to identify the French ships (who were flying false colors) and the Renommee let go a withering broadside that almost finished the Junon before she could act. In order to even things for this scenario, let's assume that Junon gets the first broadside against the Renommee. Assumptions: The Loire & Seine will run rather than fight if they have to go head to head with the Junon. The Renommee is heavily damaged after the first "free" broadside from the Junon. Being downwind, the French ships will have a more difficult time maneuvering into a good shooting position. The Wargame: All ships are out of range when the Junon fires the warning shot. The French turn, remaining in their current formation, and follow the line. The Renommee is exposed as it turns back to the South. The Clorinde is blocked on a return shot against the Junon (on the first turn), after that, it is up to the players to determine who comes out on top. As Per Margin Rules Back to The Gauntlet No. 17 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications 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