30 Attachment(s)
AAR - May 2015 Mission Who Fired the First Shot by ShadowDragon
Who fired the first shot
My version of the 2015 Campaign scenario, Who fired the first shot, by Union Jack:
https://sailsofglory.org/showthread....the-first-shot
“No good deed goes unpunished,” muttered Gabriel to no one in particular as he scanned the horizon for the ship that would put an end to the anxious waiting….but start the bloodshed. The British commander, Admiral James Wellesley, had been greatly appreciative of Gabriel’s and Anamaria’s information on the secret collaboration between the Spanish and the French. It could only mean that Spain was joining the war on the side of France.
Until they could be reinforced Wellesley would be outnumbered if French and Spanish fleets should unite. Wellesley could use the help of the pirates, …er, buccaneers – no matter how unsavory it was to deal with their sort. When Gabriel and Anamaria hesitated, he threatened them, “Be sure you choose the winning side.” To which Gabriel replied, “The side we choose will be the winning side.” But Wellesley had more to offer or threaten than just words – a renewed Letter of Marque or cancelling their existing one.
Even if the British were currently in a ‘pickle’ they’d eventually reinforce Wellesley’s small fleet and then they could make life difficult for Gabriel, Anamaria and their pirate brethren. They agreed to support Wellesley. So, it was that Gabriel and a thousand pirates were aboard the Orient at the tail end of a small British squadron of two ships – the HMS Zealous and the HMS Bellona. Captain Alan Cunningham of the Zealous was the squadron commander. He wasted no time in expressing his distaste with a pirate ship joining his squadron, but Wellesley had insisted. The Zealous and Bellona were 74’s and no match for the Spanish 1st raters. They needed the Orient.
Cunningham had the Orient posted at the rear of the squadron in the belief that the action would be over quickly and all honours would accrue to the British ships. It suited Gabriel to be as far as possible from Cunningham.
So it was that two British ships and a pirate ship were sailing parallel to a Spanish squadron of four ships including two 1st rate ships – the Real Carlos and the Santa Ana. Each side waiting for news that war had been declared.
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How peculiar, thought Gabriel, that ‘respectable’ people should worry about niceties like who fired the first shot or not while tolerating the enslavement of fellow human beings. The one good thing that the Jacobins did was to end slavery in all French territories and colonies. At least they recognized the hypocrisy of such an ‘institution’ existing alongside their declaration of rights – of being born free and remaining free with equal rights. Now ‘freedom’ that’s something that spoke to the heart of every pirate.
All eyes scanned the horizon for a ship – would it be friend or foe with news of war or not. First a mast and then the ship…but which ship?
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The Spanish squadron turned to cross the line of the British and pirates ships. One by one they’d come under fire of the large Spanish 1st rates. Why didn’t Cunningham turn to cut the Spanish in half? He had the wind gauge. A pirate enterprise was one of profit and loss and it seemed to Gabriel that there’d be much loss and little profit in continuing with the ‘plan’.
“I’ll be in Hades before I’ll follow the orders of an English gentleman to a glorious disaster. Helmsman, steer us four points to port.”
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“What in blazes is that villain doing – breaking the line? Deserting us, no doubt.” Captain Cunningham was livid.
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To avoid colliding with the lead Spanish ship, the San Juan, the Zealous veered to port – cutting the Spanish line between the San Juan and the next ship the Real Carlos.
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Now, thought Gabriel, fire both broadsides and you’ll rake both the Spaniards.
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Whether Cunningham would have fired the first shot or not will never be known. The newcomer was the HMS Agamemnon. She ran up the signal that it was War and in the San Juan opened fired her. Suddenly all ships in the van of both fleets were ablaze. The Zealous raked both the San Juan and the Real Carlos but the San Juan raked the Bellona who also had to endure the heavy broadside of the Real Carlos. All three of the Bellona’s masts were down. With her crew desperately struggling to fight fires and seal leaks, the Bellona struck her colours – the first loss of the battle. The Bellona had paid a heavy price for Captain Cunningham’s plan.
Attachment 52965
The HMS Bellona after the 'salutes' of the San Juan and Real Carlos.
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The Zealous and the Real Carlos were close and the fire of the marines was deadly. [I forgot that they were withing musketry range until after I put all the chits from the cannons on to the logs. So I needed another photo – otherwise the same turn as the previous photo.]
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The HMS Agamemnon struck back at the San Juan. That would be Horatio Attenbridge, thought Gabriel, a good man – an independent thinker. Good enough to be a pirate. Further down the line the Zealous had passed the Spanish line and was taking fire from both the Real Carlos and the Santa Ana.
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Seeing that the Real Carlos had suffered heavily, Horatio head straight for her. A desperate action was needed for else all three of His Majesty’s ships would be lost.
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The Real Carlos was grappled and the marines and crew of the Agamemnon swarmed over her sides – the Spanish crew was at the mercy of the Jack Tars. The Real Carlos struck her colours – the second loss of the battle.
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The Zealous paired off against the San Juan leaving the Agamemnon to engage the powerful and, as yet, unharmed Santa Ana.
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So where was Gabriel and the Orient while all this was happening? When the firing started between the vans, the Orient was across the stern of the rear of the Spanish squadron – the San Agustin. Did the Orient fired before or after the Agamemnon’s signal? Without a doubt Gabriel would have fired in any event – formal declaration or not, he had seen the evidence of the port of San Los Hope. The Orient was a match for the Real Carlos and the Santa Ana, So with the cry of “hoist the black colours”, she fired and her broadside raked the San Agustin from stem to stern – bodies were smashed and cannons overturned.
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The San Agustin was listing badly. Gabriel could see that the Orient’s help was needed further up the line. He knew and liked Horatio Attenbridge. The Orient would go to the aid of the Agamemnon but that meant dispatching the San Agustin quickly.
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It wasn’t the best position from which to fire, but the San Agustin was badly damaged. A partial salvo from the Orient and the San Agustin struck – the third loss of the battle.
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While the Agamemnon was manoeuvring to engage the Santa Ana, the Orient rounded the surrendered San Agustin and fired on the Santa Ana with her forward, starboard battery. Some damage was done but the Santa Ana was a powerful ship and as yet undamaged.
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The Agamemnon was nearer the Santa Ana and engaged her at close range, but the Agamemnon had suffered earlier from the San Juan and the Santa Ana’s starboard battery had not yet fired. A tremendous broadside took out the main and fore masts of the Agamemnon. She struck – the fourth loss of the battle.
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The Orient avenged the Agamemnon. It was long range but the broadside raked the Santa Ana – taking out her mizzenmast.
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But the Santa Ana still had fight in her.
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The guns of the Orient and the Santa Ana thundered again. A cannonball from the Santa Ana decapitated the Orient’s helm and damaged the wheel, but the Orient’s broadside wrecked havoc on the Santa Ana. With two fires raging and a diminished crew, the Santa Ana struck – the sixth loss of the battle. [Not the fifth? No, sixth – we must return to the fight between the HMS Zealous and the San Juan.]
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Just before the Agamemnon had disentangled from the Real Carlos one last salvo had damaged the San Juan’s mizzenmast. Seeing an easy prize, the Zealous pursued her.
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But the San Juan still had some fight in her. She returned fire. The Zealous was holed below the waterline.
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Cunningham could see no British colours flying – the Agamemnon was lost and likely the battle. With most of the crew killed or wounded he had to make a choice – fire one last broadside or attend to the water rushing into the ship. He chose to fire – and with that the San Juan struck – the fifth loss of the battle.
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The Orient’s crew took time to get her steering working again, and in the meantime the Zealous returned to put a prize crew on the Santa Ana and claim her for His Majesty’s Royal Navy.
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When they returned to port, Cunningham claimed that the Santa Ana had not yet struck until she was boarded by the crew of the Zealous; and that the Orient’s crew had hung back and avoided the fight. Eyebrows were raised but none would take the side of a pirate against an officers in the Royal Navy – except for Horatio but he was badly wounded on the Agamemnon with the wreck of the Bellona blocking his view.
Oh well, thought Gabriel, we didn’t need another lumbering 1st rate ship – the Orient is bad enough. Still she could have been sold for more than a few pieces of gold. At least they had the San Agustin – she’d be a fine addition to their pirate navy.
At the battle's end:
Attachment 52994
Ship logs and notes on surrendered ships
Bellona had 3 mast hits = surrendered (as per rules)
Agamemnon on fire with 1 hull box left with just 1 action available dedicated to firefighting = surrendered (not capable of further engagement)
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San Agustin was down to 1 hull box, rolled a '1' for morale = surrendered
Real Carlos had all crew boxes covered = surrendered
San Juan had all crew boxes covered = surrendered
Santa Ana had two fire hits, so 4 fire chits by the time the crew put out one fire, with limited actions available and needing 2 turns to put out the last fire, and just 2 hull boxes left = surrendered (not capable of further engagement)
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