In the history of naval warfare the battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia looms large, not because of what it decided strategically, but because of the nature of the ships involved. In this battle, fought in 1862, both ships were ironclads, making this the first battle between such ships in the history of the world. The battle was claimed as a victory by both sides. Neither ship was damaged enough to put it out of action for any extended period of time. Yet after a little reading, it is clear that both ships had certain weaknesses which could have caused them to be incapacitated or even sunk if the other side had known about and exploited them. In reading reports of the engagement by officers on board and articles by the builders of the ships these weaknesses become evident. This gives the wargamer a perfect chance to play the always tantalizing "what if..." questions. There is a bonus for those interested in the history of wargaming, because the best way I could find to represent firing is borrowed from a wargame published by Fred Jane in 1898. It was a famous game in its day and influential on later game developers. Fletcher Pratt says he tried and rejected the Jane firing method while developing his naval game, so he clearly had studied this earlier game while developing his own. The Ames High Wargamers played a number of games using the rules below and found that either ship could win depending on the shooting skill of the respective captains. The basic game is a simple one-on-one, but optional rules open up some historical what-ifs. Sequence of Play. At the start of the game each player rolls a six-sided die (D6). The player with the high score moves first. The order is: First ship moves Other ship moves Both ships fire Damage if any is noted The intent here is to use alternate moves as a convenience, avoiding the order-writing etc., needed for simultaneous moves. For game purposes it is assumed that moving and firing is going on simultaneously. Some of our captains on the Monitor developed a tactic of shielding their vulnerable pilot house behind the turret so the Merrimac could not hit it. In such cases we allowed the Merrimac to move after the Monitor, since the Monitor crew could not see the other ship. Otherwise, after the first cycle each ship moves in its turn. Movement. By alternate turns as specified above. The Monitor moves 7 inches in any turn and can make a turn of up to 270 degrees. The Merrimac moves 5 inches in any one turn and can turn up to 90 degrees. We used a steel tape to measure moves and simply bent it into a curve to trace the path of the ship as it turned. These ships did not turn square corners or turn on a dime. Movements of less than the top speed or maximum turn are allowed but sudden stops are not. My impression is that in the battle both were puffing along as fast as they could go. Firing. Ships fire by jabbing a striker at a drawing of the enemy ship. As nearly as I can figure it out, the original striker used by Jane was 18" long. We sacrificed authenticity for convenience using a straight pin, card, tape and a pencil. First we taped the straight along the eraser end of the pencil so the pin projected about a 1/4" beyond the eraser. Then we cut a circle about 1 1/2" in diameter from the card. This we impaled on the pin and secured it to the pencil using several strips of tape. We usually put the pencil more or less in the middle of the circle, but placement is not critical. The size of the drawing will be determined by the distance from the other ship. See the target illustration. You might want to make some extra copies before you start playing. Be sure to post your target on a soft surface that will not be damaged by several small punctures. We used a school room bulletin board, but mounting on a sheet of corrugated cardboard or Styrofoam would work as well. The number of times each captain jabs the striker at the target is determined by the number of guns that bear on the target, one jab per gun. The Monitor will fire two guns each turn except when the pilot house is in the line of fire. The pilot house is the small structure in front of the turret. The Merrimac fires the number of guns that bear. She has four on each side and single guns fore and aft. The fore and aft guns can cover a 90 degree arc, and the side guns could angle about 15 degrees from the perpendicular. It is very important what part of the target ship is hit. Most shots would bounce off harmlessly, but certain critical hits can win the battle. If the Monitor is hit on the pilot house twice the captain is presumed killed, and she pulls out of action. This would give the Merrimac a victory. If the Merrimac is hit exactly on the waterline she would begin to sink. Roll a single six-sided die to see how many turns she stays afloat. If the Merrimac is hit in a gun port she loses the use of that gun, and the gun crew is lost. Roll a die for the number of dead. If two shots hit the same spot, the armour gives way. Roll a die for casualties. If the Merrimac is sunk, the Monitor claims the victory. Yes, tie games in which both ships sink are possible. They happened twice in the first seven test games. Special Rules. . The above is the basic game as we have played it. If you want to add some specific historic details, or experiment with might-have-beens, these ideas might interest you. This historic battle was fought in a deep channel surrounded by an expanse of shallow water. Your wargame table can include a similar marked channel. The Merrimac had a draft of 22 feet, so she was limited to the channel. The Monitor drew only 11 feet, so she could move into the shallow water at will. If the Merrimac has 1/4 of her length in the shallow water area a die roll 2, 4, 6 means run aground. If half of her length is in shallow water she is run aground, but can back off if she throws a 5 or 6. You could introduce different weather conditions. Weather is a special enemy of the Monitor. The day of the battle seems to have been calm. For each 2 miles per hour of wind, increase the chance of the vent fans failing. If the vent fan fails, the engine crew is overcome by gas, and the engine dies out. The ship stops moving after the next move. The following table gives the idea. Wind Speed MPH Die roll to stop (single 6 sided) 0-2 1 3-4 1,2 5-6 1,2,3 7-8 1,2,3,4 9-10 1,2,3,4,5* 11-12 1,2,3,4,5,6* * If you roll a 6, the Monitor is swamped and sinks. Roll the die after each move. One of the ways to add a lot more action to the game would be to equip each ship with more powerful guns. In the Monitor's case, she was actually using half power loads in her guns because similar guns had exploded during tests. If all parties agree, the Monitor captain could fire his guns at full power. This would enable them to penetrate the Merrimac's protection. It would seem reasonable to insist that he throw a die, and a gun explodes if he rolls a 2,4 or 6. He would then dice for casualties. Just for balance's sake, the Merrimac could be permitted to fire armor piercing ammunition. This would presumably penetrate the Monitor's turret. Casualties would be diced for as done in the regular firing rules. There is the possibility of ramming, although it is a disputed question. The construction of the Monitor was such that it was not easily rammed. It had a deck projection out at water level, while the hull was much smaller. Thus the ram would have to slide under the deck and reach the hull. There is also the fact that the Merrimac had broken off her ram the day before, so there was danger of damage to the bow if she attempted to ram. If the Merrimac rams at 90 degrees and the captain rolls a 2,4 or 6 it penetrates. If it hits at 60 degrees it bounces off with no damage. Monitor ramming Merrimac should roll 1,2,4,6 if at 90 degrees, and 4, 6 if at 60-90 degrees. In either case if penetration occurs, roll a die for the number of turn the victim stays afloat. If the Merrimac rams, roll for leaks. Six means the bow is leaking seriously. Roll for number of turns afloat using two dice. In any case of successful ramming, the ramming ship should roll to see if it can get free. It can unless it rolls a 1 on a single die. One last remaining what-if idea is boarding. The Confederates discussed the idea. It would require that the two ships be grappled together. To grapple, the two ships must be touching, and the grappling captain must roll a 4 or 6 with a single die. After that I can only urge players to fall back on a good set of skirmish rules using model soldiers. Solo. There are a couple of solo methods which could be used. In the simpler of the two the player selects one ship which he controls while the other is controlled by the die. The player moves his ship, then rolls for the movement of the other ship. The code can be 1-2 left turn, 3-4 straight ahead, 5-6 right turn. As you can tell I'm a land lubber and know nothing of port and starboard. Before firing, the player can roll the die for each ship. If either comes up 6 it does not fire this round. The second solo system involves programming the enemy ship. First the player writes orders for his ship, then rolls for the orders given to the other captain. I am a Yankee, so my ship is the Monitor, and the programmed orders are for the Merrimac. Roll a single die. The number rolled determines the captain's orders. Ram the enemy. Fire your gun as possible, but make your major effort toward ramming. In moving, try always to give the enemy a full broadside. Be sure to engage the enemy at close range. Close with the enemy and send a boarding party on to her. Use your guns as you are able until you close. Move in a random pattern keeping up a steady fire. (See random movement above). Engage the enemy at extreme range. Your ship is too valuable to lose. The models used for our games are my own, built from scratch in 1/1200 scale. These models are clearly of a low standard, but I'm a rank amateur. Some people would say very rank. They are solid lead cast in a plaster mould from balsa originals. They are contenders for the prize in ugly model contests sporting a coat of almost black paint. When first cast they also sported an ugly cluster of warts, resulting from faulty mould making. Work with a file smoothed over this problem somewhat. They have only one virtue, being nearly indestructible. There are commercial suppliers of models of these two ships. I have not examined any of the models, so I cannot attest to their accuracy except to note that some may be out of scale. While the Monitor was 172' x 41' and Merrimac was 275' x 38', some models offered have the two ships roughly the same length. If the gamer is not very into models he or she(!) could just use cardboard or balsa silhouettes of the hulls. In that case a 1/1200 scale Monitor would be 1.72" x 0.41" and the Merrimac would be 2.75" x 0.38". if you decide to use the boarding rules you will probably want larger scale ships. The game offers many points of interest, a chance to study a famous naval battle, analyse the design of two famous ships and experience some elements of an early naval wargame. It's an intriguing combination. Bibliography. Davis, William C., 'Duel Between the First Ironclads', Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company Inc., 1975. Featherstone, Donald, 'Naval Wargames: Fighting Sea Battles With Model Ships' London, Stanley Paul, 1975 Gardner, Robert (Ed) 'Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905' New York: Mayflower Books, 1979 Jane, Fred T. (Ed) 'Jane's Fighting Ships 1905/6' New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc. 1970 (This is a reprint which includes the Jane naval wargame rules. The original was by Sampson Low Marston in 1905). Pratt, Fletcher, 'Monitor and the Merrimac and other Naval Battles' New York: Random house 1951 Pratt, Fletcher, 'Fletcher Pratt's Naval War Game' Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Z & M Publishing Enterprises Inc. 1973. Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #113 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1996 by Solo Wargamers Association. 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