THE BATTLE OF WATERVALL BAY (NAVAL)
British v French
Royal Navy: 1 x Ship of the Line (74); 2 x Cutters (8)
French: 1 Ship of the Line (74); 1 x Frigate (36)
Model Scale = 1/2400
11th March 1808
The Location of the Battle N3 v N3
ORDER OF BATTLE
British
French
The 74 gun Ship of the Line, HMS Royal Oak, accompanied by the Cutters HMS Piercer and HMS Bellwort were transporting the 43rd Light Infantry to Portugal when they received orders to intercept a French force that was threatening the shipping lane between Britain and Portugal. Soon after midday on 11th March HMS Piercer signalled she had sighted sail off the port quarter. As the distance closed a masthead lookout on the Royal Oak identified a Ship of the Line and a Frigate.
It was soon confirmed that they were flying the French flag. Piercer and Bellwort were instructed to sail away to safety and their faster speed soon put distance between them.
Bellwort and Piercer head for safety as Royal Oak closes on the French.
British
French
The Royal Oak had the weather gauge and turned to intercept the French ships. Concorde pealed away from the Hercule with the intention of gaining the weather gauge but it proved to be a costly error. The Royal Oak bore down on the Hercule before the Concorde had a chance to turn and join the fray.
Having the advantage of the weather gauge and the superior gunnery of the Royal Navy proved to be devastating. The opening salvo swept away the mainmast and killed several crew. The Hercule could not respond quickly enough as the Royal Oak glided past her stern. The second broadside raked the Hercule causing devastation below decks. The Hercule was not beaten yet however, and her opening broadside caused damage to the rigging of the Royal Oak.
More salvos from the Royal Oak dismasted the Hercule and took away her rudder. The rapidly weakening broadsides from the Hercule could only do more damage to the rigging but not sufficient to cause any serious difficulty for the Royal Oak. Smoke could be seen rising from the hatches of the Hercule as the crew desperately fought to contain 2 fires that had broken out.
The Hercule signalled the Concorde to break away as there was nothing they could do now to alter the outcome. France could not afford to needlessly lose another ship.
With the Hercule barely able to respond to the Royal Oak's broadsides she struck her colours. The crew of the Hercule had managed to extinguish the fires but by now the ship was a floating wreck. The British decided to scuttle the Hercule rather than take her as a prize. It was unlikely she would stay afloat even in the smallest of squals.
With the survivors of the Hercule added to the already packed Royal Oak, she continued on her way to Portugal.
As you have probably gathered this was a very quick action. Hence the lack of photos. As for the men of the 43rd Light Infantry, their role in the action would only have been in the event of the ship being boarded. It was possible that they could have suffered casualties but luckily for them none was caused.
Although the British did not know it yet, this signalled the end of the French naval presence on the western seaboard of the continent. They were hoping to build their fleet on the eastern seaboard before challenging the Royal Navy in any meaningful way.
Result: British victory.
NEXT: MAP MOVES
Naval battles with a purpose are one of the great features of these Warplan campaigns!
ReplyDeleteIn a campaign setting I feel naval battles really do come alive. And as you say Peter, Warplan is a boon to campaigns.
DeleteExcuse my ignorance but what in this context is Warplan? I have a few Napoleonic naval games including Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Close Action, Flying Colo(u)rs and Master & Commander and recently bought and painted up the Tumbling Dice Trafalgar pack but so far have only dabbled.
ReplyDeleteHi Kevin. Warplan is a card campaign system created in the 70's. I have used it on a number of occasions although it is primarily aimed at land warfare. In the context of this campaign I wanted to include a naval element so it is used merely for plotting various ships and fleets. When contact is made I play out the game as per whatever naval rules is used, in my case Warhammer Historical's 'Trafalgar'. Hope this answers your Q.
DeleteCheers, Jon, all is now clear. It's the 5/5 system (which I had never come across before) and not the new Matrix Warplan PC system. I'm surprised no one has republished this or brought out something similar.
ReplyDeleteI derive most of my wargaming enjoyment from campaigns, and as you say you would have thought that something similar would have been produced by now.
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