An advantage of naval actions at conventions is ease of transport (no terrain besides a large piece of blue felt) and speed of set up time (no terrain pieces to set up and generally a much smaller number of ships to place than figure stands--especially if most of your figures are individually based, as mine are). Trafalgar had been something of a disappointment to me--the commanders of the rear most Royal Navy ships had not pressed vigorously in support and Nelson (who at least was killed) failed to break the French line. The Royal Navy and the Franco/Spanish lost comparable numbers of ships (I forget now exactly how many), so the action was theoretically indecisive, but in this period an indecisive naval action on the part of the Royal Navy was enough to raise questions in Parliament.
I have continued to tinker with my "As Per Margin" rules (Trafalgar helped there) and sent a copy of them to my old college roommate (John Craig, whose actions have occasionally been included in previous articles), along with some sailing ship forms made of card stock. I was expecting to go visit him after a meeting at another monastery, and this would give him a chance to look over the new version of the rules prior to my arrival as well as easing my transportation situation.
During my visit we managed only a couple of actions. The first was in the nature of a teaming scenario, the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (i.e., between Hawke and Etandiuere, rather than between Anson and La Jonquiere). In the first (3 May 1747), Anson had 14 ships of the line (one 2nd rate, five 3rd rates and eight 4th rates) and La Jonquiere had 10 ships (two 3rd rates, four 4th rates two 5th rates and two 6th rates). In the second (14 October 1747), Hawke had 15 ships (five 3rd rates and nine 4th rates) and l'Etandure had had only 8, but seven were 3rd rates and only one a 4th rate.
Although both battles involved a smaller French force that had no real chance of victory and the French disparity in numbers was actually greater in the second action, the fact that the actual French ships were more powerful in the action between Hawke and Etanduere, we decided to fight that action as it looked to be somewhat more interesting.
Having played "As Per Margin" before, John has a decided preference for the Royal Navy, so, having decided who was who, and prepared our hit charts, we returned to 11:00 A.M. on 14 October 1747.
The wind was out of the southeast and Hawke's squadron, approaching from the south, signaled "General Chase." I, as Admiral Etanduere, formed line to allow a convoy time to get over the horizon and did some damage to Hawke's force on their approach. By the way, John's decision to signal "General Chase" was in contravention of the Permanent Fighting Instructions, as my line had not yet broken. Nevertheless, it was certainly the correct course and I soon decided to flee. This meant that both of us were moving at full speed, plus each ship was allowed to toss an extra die (reflecting individual ship handling and characteristics). To ease play here, we simply moved each ship the amount on one die, as the relative bearing was otherwise unaffected.
I am happy to say that in the finest traditions of the French Navy, my flagship led the way, and I escaped with the loss of six ships--exactly the same number of ships as in the actual engagement. (My comment about French admirals is entirely uncalled for, of course--DeGrasse and Villeneuve were both captured with their flagships and Brueys was killed when L'Orient exploded).
We were quite happy with the course of the game and now ready to move onto something
THE SECOND BATTLE OF FINISTERRE, 14 October 1747: Royal Navy
| Lyon | Monmouth | Princess Louisa | Gloucester | Tilbury | Yarmouth | Edinburgh |
| 4TH RATE | 3RD RATE | 4TH RATE | 4TH RATE | 4TH RATE | 3RD RATE | 3 RATE |
| MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS |
| 000 | 0000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| 000 | 0000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS |
| P:000 | P:0000 | P:000 | P:000 | P:000 | P:0000 | P:0000 |
| S:000 | S:0000 | S:000 | S:000 | S:000 | S:0000 | S:0000 |
| HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL |
| 000 | 0000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| 000 | 0000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
Rear-Admiral Hawke, Devonshire
3RD RATE
MASTS (When top line crossed out DAMAGED: +2 if TACKING)
0000 (When bottom line crossed out = DISMASTED)
0000 (When all crossed out additional hits are misses)
GUNS (When all crossed out = STRIKES)
P:0000 (Port guns, if all crossed out additional hits to starboard)
S:0000 (Starboard guns, if all crossed out additional hits to port)
(Gun boxes are 1st checked off the side receiving fire, but when a ship is raked, boxes are checked off both sides evenly with any odd hit striking the HULL)
HULL (Half crossed out = MAN PUMPS, all crossed out = SINKS)
0000 Ships that have had half their hull boxes crossed out are assumed to have some of
0000 the crew at work manning the pumps. If they are called from the pumps to fire
(optional) or repel boarders (required) immediately toss 1d6: 1-3 & 6 = NO EFFECT, 4
additional HULL hit (the water is gaining), 5 = additional GUN hit (chosen by sinking ship
indicates more men are needed to man the pumps).
| Portland | Windsor | Defiance | Nottingham | Kent | Eagle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4TH RATE | 4TH RATE | 4TH RATE | 4TH RATE | 3RD RATE | 4TH RATE |
| MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS |
| 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 000 |
| 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 000 |
| GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS |
| P:000 | P:000 | P:000 | P:000 | P:0000 | P:000 |
| S:000 | S:000 | S:000 | S:000 | S:0000 | S:000 |
| HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL |
| 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 000 |
| 000 | 000 | 000 | 000 | 0000 | 000 |
THE SECOND BATTLE OF FINISTERRE, 14 October 1747 French Squadron
| Intrepide | Trident | Terrible |
|---|---|---|
| 3RD RATE | 3RD RATE | 3RD RATE |
| MASTS | MASTS | MASTS |
| 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| GUNS | GUNS | GUNS |
| P:0000 | P:0000 | P:0000 |
| S:0000 | S:0000 | S:0000 |
| HULL | HULL | HULL |
| 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
Chef d'escadre M. de Etanduere, Tonnant
3RD RATE
MASTS (When top line crossed out DAMAGED: +2 if TACKING)
0000 (When bottom line crossed out = DISMASTED)
0000 (When A crossed out additional hits are misses)
GUNS (When all crossed out = STRIKES)
P:0000 (Port guns, if all crossed out additional hits to starboard)
S:0000 (Starboard guns, if all crossed out additional hits to port)
(Gun boxes are 1st checked off the side receiving fire, but when a ship is raked, boxes are checked
off both sides evenly with any odd hit striking the HULL)
HULL (Half crossed out = MAN PUMPS, all crossed out = SINKS)
0000 Ships that have had half their hull boxes crossed out are assumed to have some of
0000 the crew at work manning the pumps. If they are called from the pumps to fire
(optional) or repel boarders (required) immediately toss 1136: 1-3 & 6 = NO EFFECT, 4
additional HULL hit (the water is gaining), 5 = additional GUN hit (chosen by sinking ship
indicates more men are Deeded to man the pumps).
| Monarque | Severn | Fougueux | Neptune |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3RD RATE | 4TH RATE | 3RD RATE | 3RD RATE |
| MASTS | MASTS | MASTS | MASTS |
| 0000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| 0000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| GUNS | GUNS | GUNS | GUNS |
| P:0000 | P:000 | P:0000 | P:0000 |
| S:0000 | S:000 | S:0000 | S:0000 |
| HULL | HULL | HULL | HULL |
| 0000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| 0000 | 000 | 0000 | 0000 |
TURN RECORD CARD FOR THE SECOND BATTLE OF FINISTERRE, 14 October 1747
TURN SEQUENCE:
- I. French Fire
II. Boarding Actions
III.Check Wind (omit this step for the first ten turns)
IV. Attempt to Cut Grapples/Fend Off
V. Move: (Rememberto checkfor Failing Aboard whenever ships come within 3")
- VI. All Dismasted Ships
2. French/Spanish Ships
3. English Ships
VI. English Fire
VII. Checkoff 1 turn
The top (narrow) edge of the table is East. The French squadron is in line ahead (6" intervals mainmast to mainmast) steering west 24" from the left edge of the table with the lead ship 24" from the west edge. The British fleet is in line ahead (6" intervals mainmast to mainmast) steering west 12" from the left edge of the table with the rear ship 4" from the east edge.
Initial Wind from the southeast (upper right corner of table) at 4 + 2 = 6
Initial time: 11:00 AM
First ten turns are 1.5 minutes each (cross out I box at the end of each turn)
00: 11:03 AM 00: 11:06 AM 00: 11:09 AM 00: 11: 12 AM 00: 11: 15 AM (first wind
check)
(all following turns are 15 minutes--check wind each turn):
- 0000: 12:00PM
0000: 1:00PM
0000: 2:00 PM
0000: 3:00 PM
0000: 4:00 PM
FLEET WITHDRAWAL/VICTORY CONDITIONS:
Fleets must withdraw upon losing 1/2 of force.
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© Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum
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