I played out the third and final game of my 'What If?' mini-naval campaign yesterday, with the Royal Navy and US Navy clashing in a fleet action off the tip of Nova Scotia.
In this scenario, a powerful Royal Navy squadron under command of Admiral Sir James Hope, GCB, is approaching Halifax to relieve the US blockade, when a frigate delivers an urgent dispatch. The dispatch includes a top secret intelligence report, confirming that a US Navy ironclad squadron under command of Rear Admiral Charles S. Boggs, has sailed from Boston to reinforce the weakened naval blockade before the British fleet can reach Halifax.
With this information in his grasp, Admiral Hope immediately orders a change of course to intercept the US warships as they round Cape Sable Island on the southern tip of Nova Scotia. His plan is to concentrate his powerful squadron of superior broadside ironclads and strike a crippling blow against the US ironclad fleet, driving it onshore and destroying it before it can break out into the Atlantic.
However, Admiral Hope is unaware that an allied French squadron of central battery ironclads is approaching from the South West, to escort the US ironclads on their passage to Halifax. This small but formidable squadron is under the command of Contre Amiral Louis Pierre Alexis Pothuau, who has orders to open fire on any British warships, in support of the American squadron.
The game itself was limited to ten turns, after which nightfall prevents any further action, unless the victory conditions have already been met. These are the same as the conditions in the rules i.e. 25% of a fleet crippled or sunk at the end of any one player's move, with the French and US being counted as one fleet and the British as another. If this is not achieved, the total damage inflicted on each side at the end of the last turn will be calculated, with the results compared to determine which side has been defeated:
Damaged = 1 point
Silenced = 2 points
Crippled = 4 points
Shattered = 8 points
Initial Deployment
The Royal Navy squadron deploys on table from the NW corner in Turn 1 as a single battle line, consisting of the following warships:
Van – HMS Warrior, HMS Black Prince, HMS Achilles.
Centre – HMS Agincourt, HMS Northumberland (Flag), HMS Minotaur
Rear – HMS Caledonia, HMS Royal Oak, HMS Prince Consort, HMS Ocean
Each division has a commander rated as +0 with Admiral Hope in overall command at the start of the game, rated as +1. If the squadron is ordered to separate, the divisional commanders will roll their own AP dice for their divisions, in addition to the overall command dice.
The US Navy deploys on table at the centre point of the Eastern end in Turn 1 in one battle line, consisting of the following ironclad monitors:
Van – USS Wyandotte, USS Ajax,
Centre – USS Nebraska USS Dictator, USS Puritan (Flag)
Rear – USS Roanoke, USS Catskill, USS Collossus (damaged)
Each divisional commander is rated as +0, with Rear Admiral Boggs also rated as +0. If the squadron is ordered to separate, the divisional commanders will roll their own AP dice for their divisions, in addition to the overall command dice.
The French squadron will arrive on the turn determined at the start of the game by the roll of a D6+1, entering in battle line from the South West corner of the table, with the following warships:
Revanche(Flag), Provence, Flandre, Guyenne
Contre Amiral Pothuau is in overall command rated as +1, with no divisional commanders required.
Special Rules
There is an area of dangerous shoals extending 12'' from the North edge of the table and 36'' in length. Any ship entering this area runs aground and is Shattered. Any ship that is Crippled will drift at a rate of D6'' per movement phase due North, unless repaired, as will any ship that has been Shattered. This may result in them running aground.
The Game
In the first half of the game, the US monitors managed to slip through the advancing British ironclads, suffering some damage on the way past but also more than holding their own. The Royal Navy squadron split into three separate commands, attempting to encircle the monitors and cut off their escape. This resulted in a double ram attack by HMS Minotaur and HMS Agincourt on USS Wyandotte and USS Ajax, which fortunately caused more damage to the former than the latter.
In the second half of the game we had to move into the shade, but the action was no less hot. The US monitors took a battering from the Royal Navy, with the rear squadron of slower ships being sandwiched between two opposing lines of the British ironclads. This resulted in a lot of damage to USS Roanoke and USS Colossus in particular, although HMS Caledonia also got a hammering. The rest of the US fleet managed to escape at full speed but only nightfall and the end of the game saved the trailing monitors from probable destruction.
The end result was a clear victory for the Royal Navy, who inflicted twelve points of damage for the loss of only six to the US Navy. The French played no real part in the game, although they did get in a single broadside in the penultimate turn. The worst of the damage was suffered by USS Colossus, which was Crippled, but USS Ajax and USS Wyandotte were also Silenced, leaving USS Nebraska, USS Puritan and USS Roanoke Damaged. In return, HMS Minotaur and HMS Caledonia were Silenced, while HMS Agincourt and HMS Ocean were only Damaged.
In the mini-campaign, the result of this final game means that the blockade of Halifax will now be lifted by the Admiral Hope, whose warships will now steam north to relieve the besieged port. The damage inflicted to HMS Minotaur and HMS Caledonia will be patched up in the naval dockyard and both ships will be able to return to Portsmouth for full repairs. The US Navy has been badly mauled and will have lost USS Colossus, which was so badly damaged that she has been scuttled by her crew. The remaining monitors manage to disengage under cover of darkness and slip back to Boston, where Rear Admiral Boggs will shortly be court martialled, albeit on rather unfair grounds. The French squadron makes a discrete but rather premature about turn and steams back to Brest!
More photos and the three earlier campaign games are on the blog:
link
link
link
adds artillery to his soft-plastic Union forces.
