AAR March Scenario: The Commodore's Dilemma HJL

Captain Barnett on the HMS Leopard finished signaling Captain Knight on the Terpsichore. The plans were set. They had spotted their flagship an hour before, it was surrounded by French ships and had its colors down. Somehow the French had managed to capture a first rate ship of the line, and if Lawson Barnett remembered correctly it was supposed to be on a diplomatic mission. HMS Terpsichore signaled down the line, the merchants were to follow the Navymen in line. Captain Barnett knew not to expect much from them, a single broadside each might be enough to push the scales in their direction.

The plans were set. The French sighted the British and guessed their intentions. The British had the wind.

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HMS Leopard charges forwards at full sail, grape shot loaded into the navy warships, the merchant armed with all that they had, ball.

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The wind had thrown the French out of line and they were struggling to get back into formation. Things were looking promising.

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The Artesien pulls alongside the Terpsichore and they exchange broadsides. HMS Terpsichore is loaded with grape and fires the load meant for the Britannia at the French 60gun instead.

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The battle begins in earnest. Smoke fills the air and the screams of the dieing ring out. The French run Britannia lets loose a full broadside at HMS Terpsichore. The damage is horrific and the 1st rate turns the frigate to kindling in a single round of shooting. A few men jump overboard and the ship sinks.

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The Merchantmen make a break for it, they are not trained for combat and their captains and crews break as soon as they start to receiving return fire. They have done their job though.

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HMS Leopard exchanges musket fire with the french captured Britannia and the French strike, they simply dont have the men to withstand a boarding from the British ship.

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The merchants come under more fire from the french ships and increase sail to get away.

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The final shots of the day come from the largest of the British merchantmen, it unleashes its remaining broadside into Le Fortune and sees it start to sink beneath the waves.

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The Artesien feels, it is outnumbered and the day is lost.

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HMS Leopard
Hull 9
Crew 8

HMS Terpsichore
Hull 0
Crew 8

Captain Knight was found alive but wounded along with a large number of the crew around the hulk of the Terpsichore. The ship itself was a severely damaged and is currently being towed back to port by the Leopard to see if it can be salvaged.

The court-martial process has already begun as happens whenever a captain loses his ship.

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Enemy
Le Fortune
sunk

Artesien
Hull 8
Crew 1

HMS Britannia
Hull 11
Crew 0

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Merchants

All escaped with minimal damage. A few crew losses that will have to be compensated for by the navy.

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Goals met
Recapture Britannia
Protect Merchant fleet

Total burden defeated: 7
Total burden lost: 2

That certainly was a rip roaring battle to be sure, and at the start paralleled mine to some extent.
Well done to all your captains.

I will try to get mine posted asap.
Rob.

Due to the severe limitations I decided a single broadside from each merchant ship wasn't too much. If the French had kept some kind of line then it could well have gone differently. The gaming aid calculator sent the Artesien in the other direction though which really saved my bacon.

I lost HMS Terpsichore and they only lost a sloop!

Well done Hugh. A close run thing and nearly went the enemy's way. I do hope your brave merchant captains get at the very least a mention in dispatches and for the captain who sunk the French ship a medal too.

Well done. Very well fought battle!

Thank you both of you!

Another broadside from the Britannia and I fear I would have lost both of my warships. She still had one of her broadsides loaded and almost caught the Leopard with it just before striking.

I must say, looking back i am amazed at how quickly Britannia removed Terpsichore from the battle. I wonder if a single close range broadside would have been enough in real life to cripple an Amazon frigate. It was quite a reality check when i had to remove the Terpsichore after 1 shot!

So can the Terpsichore be repaired, or should i recruit a different frigate?

From what I have read Hugh, it was usual to re commission even a dismasted hulk if it were possible.
I suppose it was a lot quicker and cheaper than building a new ship.
As far as broadsides go there are a few records of just such results, although few and far between, but then it was not often that a Frigate took on a Liner unless the situation was very favourable.
Rob.

Check out the french frigates in the battle of the Nile. I think I remember something like one broadside from a third rate made it strike and ground itself.

From wikipedia: "...Sérieuse opened fire on Orion, wounding two men. The convention in naval warfare of the time was that ships of the line did not attack frigates when there were ships of equal size to engage, but in firing first French Captain Claude-Jean Martin had negated the rule. Saumarez waited until the frigate was at close range before replying. Orion needed just one broadside to reduce the frigate to a wreck, and Martin's disabled ship drifted away over the shoal."

So a 100 gun liner would have reduced a small frigate to matches with ease.

Still, a worthy sacrifice in order to recapture the fleets flagship!

My other two amazon frigates rarely see much action, perhaps ill recruit one of them

Regarding repairability...

As long as you don't have a leak or a fire aboard when a ship strikes you have a salvageable ship.

I'm not sure at what level of rules that appears in but not until you use special damage anyway.

There's an optional rule that if a ship burns when it strikes there's a risk for an explosion.

That is by rules and such. If you find it more fun to let it be completely wrecked for the story I think you should run with that.