2016 - March Après la Tempête by ShadowDragon

[ShadowDragon]

Après la Tempête

My version of the 2016 Campaign scenario, Après la Tempête, by Bligh:

https://sailsofglory.org/showthread....s-la-temp%EAte

Scenario Set-Up

A squadron of four French ships of the line have been damaged by a storm and are making for a safe harbour for repairs when they are intercepted by a Royal Navy squadron of three ships of the line. The four French ships each take 1-6 (roll a six-sided dice) ‘A’ / yellow damage chits, which was done as follows:

Robuste: 5 chits including one with fire.
Génèreux: 4 chits, including one with a leak.
Roland: 2 chits, including one with fire.
Éveillé: 3 chits – no critical hits.

Fires are assumed to be put out, but with the ships each getting one hull box marked off with fire damage. The lead is assumed to be repaired and any water from flooding pumped out – so no extra damage from the ‘leak’ chit.

The initial ship damage is shown with the ship logs below.

The harbour has three forts. The main one is Fort Diable guarding the main entrance. On an island across from the Fort Diable is Fort Justice. A third fort, Fort L’Ange guards the inner harbour as well as a passage to the harbour suitable only for small vessels. These forts are shown below along with the initial positions of the two squadrons.




The French squadron – Robuste is the flag ship.




Captain Horatio Attenbridge, on board HMS Bahama, commanded the squadron of three ships of the line. They had been sent to intercept the French ships before they could reach safety. Horatio was proud of his small command. Kent Barham followed in HMS America; Barham was a solid, experienced sea captain. The last ship was HMS Argonaut commanded by Captain Hotspur Wellesley. Any misgivings Horatio had concerned Hotspur. There was no doubt he was gallant and fearless, but he could also be reckless. Those attributes could be a two-sided coin – good fortune on one side and bad on the other, which would it be this time.




Horatio eyed the French squadron. Not only did the British squadron have the weather gauge the French ships were sailing along a lee shore. They were beating to windward to reach the harbour, but Horatio’s ships would be on them before then and the French ships would have little space for manoeuvre.




Every captain in the Royal Navy knew of Nelson’s tactics at Trafalgar and dreamed of repeating the Lord’s success on that Great Day. Horation led his ships directly at the French squadron. The enemy ships would no choice but to tack across the wind and allow Horatio’s squadron the opportunity to cut the French squadron in pieces – à la Trafalgar, but first the French would have the honour of the first blow. Horatio had ordered the guns of his ships to be loaded with double shot – devastating but only good at short range.




HMS Bahama approached the French line. The lead ship, the Robuste, would have a raking shot on the Bahama. Horatio heard the bos’n mutter, “may we be thankful for what we are about to receive”. The French ship roared with a full broadside. The carnage on the Bahama was terrible. “Nothing critical”, thought Horatio as a splinter the size of a goodly spear whistled past him impaling a sailor near the thankful Bos’n.




Horatio ordered the Bahama to port – timing the manoeuvre to sail between the Robuste and the next French vessel, the Génèreux. They were at close range to the Génèreux with a raking bow shot. The Bahama’s crew were gratefully to return some of their blessings - the Génèreux was holed in several places below the waterline (extra rudder hits are treated as leaks). The Génèreux could only reply with her forward battery but it was enough to hole the Bahama.




Bahama had lost a goodly number of crewmen. As they ship came to close quarters with the Robuste and Génèreux, there were not enough crew to man all the battle stations and see to the leak. Horatio had to make a choice – finish off the Robuste or see to the leak. Perhaps a bit of Hotspur rubbed off on Horatio, so he gambled on the former (i.e., broadside, musketry, and boarding). The Bahama’s spit death and destruction - the stern rake of the Robuste took down all three of her masts, but the Bahama’s ordeal wasn’t completely over. The larboard, forward battery of Génèreux toppled the Bahama’s foremast. On board HMS America, Barham steered directly for the Robuste – perhaps to avoid becoming fouled with the Bahama or perhaps to board the Robuste or perhaps a bit of both. Whatever, Barham’s reasoning the America took a full boardside that raked the America. In turn, the America’s revenge was taken on the hapless Génèreux as America’s larboard broadside raked her. Leaking like a sieve, it was too much for the Génèreux and she struck her colours.




With the Génèreux out of action the musket fire was between the badly damaged Robuste and the two lead British ships.




The Bahama’s grapple failed but the America’s crew swarmed aboard. The Robuste asked for quarter and searched for a conscious officer to surrender the ship (the Robuste was down to her last crew box).




The Bahama broke free of the action to make repairs – she had a leak, a damaged mast and two turns of flooding to manage. The America would take some time to disengage from the Robuste. That left just Hotspur on the Argonaut to face the two remaining French ships. Fortune was with Hotspur. To avoid becoming entangled with the rapidly sinking Génèreux, the Roland had to steer to the Génèreux’s port side and straight into a raking broadside of the Argonaut. Like the Roland, Hotspur had little desire to become entangled in the wreckage of the lead two French ships and had steered the Argonaut to larboard, bringing her port batteries in firing arc of the Roland. The Argonaut was no less fierce than her sisters – the Roland suffered a fire, four leaks and a damaged mast. It was too much for the Roland and she too struck her colours.




Argonaut had no option but to veer to port to avoid the shoals on the lee shore. That brought her alongside the Éveillé, which had collided with the stricken Roland. Argonaut’s crew were rapidly reloading, but the Éveillé’s guns were ready and fire first. Again, fortune smiled on Hotspur and the Argonaut – the damage was relatively slight.




(This was a missed round of musket fire. The ship’s were place back, but the manoeuvre cards are for the next turn.)




The Éveillé’s captain had extricated his ship from the flotsam that once was the Roland but the Éveillé was now caught between the recovered Bahama and the Argonaut. (The Argonaut gets a stern rake with the line of fire just barely crossing the rear side of the Éveillé.)




The Éveillé gets off a long-range broadside at the Bahama, but takes a double-shotted, first broadside from the forward battery of the Argonaut – and suffers for it.




The Argonaut’s marines pour their fire onto the decks of the Éveillé, which has not enough crew to return fire.




The Éveillé heads back to pass between the remains of the French fleet and the lee shore while the Argonaut heads windward and the Bahama pursues. A long-range shot holes the Éveillé – with a flooding marker due next turn, the Éveillé stikes.




Horatio was astonished at what his ships had achieved. They had taken some serious damage, but the French fleet was destroyed. The Éveillé could be saved, but the Génèreux and Roland were lost. Robuste was dead in the water but could be towed. However, they would need fair seas if their two prizes could be brought to safety.

Notes: I used Dobbs’ AI for all ships but I used Rob’s (Bligh’s) plan from his AAR for this scenario. A totally amazing fight but full credit goes to Rob's tactics and Dobbs' AI sheets.

Ship Logs

Royal Navy








French Navy

Robuste - initial and final






Génèreux - initial and final






Roland - initial and final






Éveillé - initial and final






French Harbour Forts