Tortola, 1806 / Gift Scenario from Blutarski / The Miniatures Page
Cochrane versus Willaumez off Tortola
July 6th, 1806
GAME MASTER CONFIDENTIAL GUIDE
Note
This scenario has been “sanitized” for use with different AoS rule sets.
Background
The two squadrons described below did actually encounter one another on the 6th of July, 1806 in the waters off the south coast of the Caribbean island of Saint Thomas. Neither commander, each for his own reasons, was anxious to engage. British Admiral Cochrane, responsible for escorting the very valuable Jamaica Convoy then assembling at the nearby anchorage at Tortola, had no desire to risk battle against such a powerful opposing squadron. French Admiral Willaumez, for his part, was under orders to avoid pitched battle and to take care to preserve the good health of the impetuous and insubordinate Jerome Bonaparte, younger brother of Emperor Napoleon and captain of one of the ships in Willaumez’s squadron.
In the historical event, Cochrane retreated before a half-hearted French pursuit soon broken off by Willaumez and the moment slipped into historical obscurity. This scenario assumes that the hot-headed Jerome persisted in pursuit of the British squadron, forcing Willaumez to follow up in his support.
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French Order of Battle
Name & Class Tons Armament________________________________________
80 Foudroyant 2300 [30 x 36lb] + [32 x 24lb] + [6 x 12lbr] + [12 x 36lb obusier]
74 Veteran 1900 [28 x 36lb] + [30 x 18lb] + [14 x 8lb] + [10 x 36lb carronade]
74 Cassard 1900 [28 x 36lb] + [30 x 18lb] + [16 x 8lb] + [4 x 36lb carronade]
74 Impetueux 1900 [28 x 36lb] + [30 x 18lb] + [16 x 8lb] + [4 x 36lb obusier]
74 Patriote 1800 [28 x 36lb] + [30 x 18lb] + [16 x 8lb] + [4 x 36lb obusier]
74 Eole 1800 [28 x 36lb] + [30 x 18lb] + [16 x 8lb] + [4 x 36lb obusier]
Foudroyant – Flagship of Admiral Willaumez.
Veteran – under command of Captain Jerome Bonaparte.
Notes –
Tonnages are in British burthen tons, per Winfield and Lavery;
Armament details are from DeMerliac, for year 1806.
French ships fire at one-half the rate of British and cannot perform Hulling Fire.
Treat obusier as carronade.
All French ships = Average crews and average morale
British Order of Battle
Name & Class Tons Armament________________________________________
74 Northumberland 1900 [30 x 32] + [30 x 24] + [6 x 18] + [12 x 32 carronade] +
[6 x 18 carronade]
74 Elephant 1600 [28 x 32] + [28 x 18] + [18 x 9] - no carronades
74 Canada 1600 [28 x 32] + [30 x 18] + [20 x 9] - no carronades
64 Agamemnon 1400 [26 x 24] + [26 x 18] + [8 x 9] + [12 x 24 carronade]
Northumberland – Flagship of Admiral Cochrane.
Notes -
Tonnages are in British burthen tons, per Winfield and Lavery.
Armament details are per Winfield.
All British ships can conduct Hulling Fire.
All British ships = Veteran crews and High morale.
Agamemnon = Elite crew and High morale..
Tactical Situation
Lay out a (minimum for 1200 scale) 6ft x 8ft table with the long dimension running E-W.
The entire northern side of the table represents the reefs and shallows of St Thomas Island; any ship exiting via the northern table edge is considered run aground and lost. The entrance channel to Tortola anchorage lies to the East, with the eastern edge of the table representing the effective range limit of the British forts and batteries. No French ship may exit the table through that side. Open sea lies to the West and South and those table edges may be crossed freely.
Note – I do not know the typical speed of ships at Battle Sail under a Moderate breeze in the SoG rules; nor do I know the degree of in-game lethality of SoG gunnery. The distance (hence number of turns) which the British must sail to reach safety needs to be calibrated to provide a sufficient number of game turns for the French to close plus an ample number of turns for combat to produce an evident result. My games using this scenario typically run for +/- 50 turns, which represent a run of about 15 feet (1.5 to 2 8ft table lengths) ….. so a run of about three historical sea miles.
The wind is Moderate, blowing out of the South.
The British squadron may start the game anywhere in the NW quadrant of the table, in good order, in any formation and at any sail setting desired by the squadron commander.
Jerome’s ship starts in the exact center of the table, with sail setting and heading at the discretion of the player who portrays him.
The remainder of the French squadron may start anywhere in the SW quadrant of the table in any formation and at any sail setting desired by its commander, but will be in disorder. No French ship may start the game closer than 600 yds from Jerome’s ship.
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Admiral Willaumez’s Goals and Considerations
The first and foremost objective of Admiral Willaumez is to ensure the physical safety of Jerome Bonaparte, whose death or capture would likely end the Admiral’s career and perhaps his own life. Secondly, he must take care that his ships avoid serious damage. The loss of a lower mast, without a safe nearby port of refuge for repair, could easily spell the end for French ship struggling home under jury rig in these British dominated waters.
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Captain Jerome Bonaparte’s Goals and Considerations
The sole objective of Jerome Bonaparte is to capture or destroy an English warship. Jerome may at his discretion ignore any orders from Admiral Willaumez while in pursuit of this goal.
Each time Jerome’s ship is required to make a morale check, throw 1D10 in addition to test for personal risk to Jerome. A D10 score of 1 indicates that Jerome has been incapacitated. If so, his successor in command must seek to fall back upon Willaumez and the main body of the French squadron for support. If Jerome is incapacitated, there is a 50pct chance that Jerome has been killed or mortally wounded.
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British Goals and Considerations
Admiral Cochrane must prevent the French from interposing between him and Tortola anchorage where the Jamaica Convoy is assembling for its voyage to England. He must also seek to avoid any loss or damage that might prevent him from carrying out his obligation to escort the highly valuable Jamaica Convoy now assembling at Tortola.
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Confidentiality Note to Game Master
British players must not be aware of the presence of Jerome or of French goals and considerations.
French players must not be aware of British goals and considerations.
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Ending the Engagement, Victory and Defeat
At game master’s discretion, the following criteria may be employed if time considerations call for the game to be brought to an early end.
The French squadron must (if able) withdraw from action if –
(a) any French ship strikes or is destroyed.
(b) more than one French ship suffers loss of a lower mast.
(c) Admiral Willaumez is killed or incapacitated (see Jerome incapacitation rule).
The British squadron must (if able) withdraw from action if –
(a) any British ship strikes or is destroyed.
(b) More than one British ship suffers loss of a lower mast.
(c) the number of fallen/tottering lower masts plus morale test failures within the squadron reaches a total of 6.
When a squadron is obliged to withdraw, the opponent is deemed the victor.
The British win if all Cochrane’s ships safely gain the protection of Tortola.
The French win if they succeed in extricating a living (i.e., alive and not mortally wounded) Jerome Bonaparte from the action.
Byron “Blutarski” Angel
28 Dec 2020
