Le Banquet des Généraux

Order of Battle: The British Fleet













The British line is somewhat chaotic too, with its centre much closer to the main gap (weak spot) between the French and Spanish fleets than the rest...

INTO THE BATTLE

1. The Approach Phase:

Turn 1



Turn 2



Turn 3



The French initial plan is executed, but the French and Spanish fleets are not regrouped yet.

Turn 5



As you can see, we shifted the miniatures on the board, as I was too close to the edge of the table. It was already clear to me that the British Van had an order to act independently, to turn and rake my ships! At the same time, I had to obey my Admiural's orders, so I chose a "crab move" (a way in the house rules to represent a 30° manoeuvre) to keep my distances from this menacing British Van!

Important note: The wind velocity decreases (from normal breeze to moderate breeze) at the end of this turn! This means that most of our ships will loose one MP in wind attitude A and B.

Last edited by Pascal Antoine (2018-12-11 15:53:53)

3. The French Rear in a difficult position:

Well, I forgot to take pictures... That's what happens to you when you're in a tense situation!

Turn 9



Still no fire exchange between my ships and Wouters': We wait till we are really close to take advantage of our initial broadsides...

Marc is in a very difficult position: He had to move straight in order to let my ships pass... Sorry about that! I confess my moves should have been better coordinated with his!



One of Marc's ships has been reassigned to the Centre: The French Rear has now 8 ships against 10 British ships, to make things worse...

Niek is compelled to adapt his plan: He must now turn in the British direction... See the gap developing between the French Rear and Centre: That's not good at all!





The Spanish fleet is far from where the action takes place!

Turn 10



On the British side: Wouter is regrouping his ships and reforming his line, while Sicco joins him in the fray!

On the French side: Marc is in a very bad position, risking to be fired upon from two directions - and with bow rakes, too! I'm still hoping to outmanoeuvre Wouter, but (in retrospect) I made a mistake, ordering the Borée to lower its full sails - That will prove to be her doom!



Bad turn for the French: The Heureux and Solide (Tu parles, Charles!) have each lost a mast (an entire rigging section) and it is blocking them!



The Spanish fleet is trying to come back, but it will take them quite some time to effectively do so!

Last edited by Pascal Antoine (2018-12-12 11:30:06)

5. The Turning Point for the French Rear:

Turn 14



Having lost a mast due to a critical hit last turn, the Nassau (1203) can only drift. It collides with the Duc d'Orléans (2203 - my flagship): Both ships are fouled! The Stirling Castle (1201) is also trapped...

Wouter will prepare a boarding party, hoping to take my flagship by surprise, but the home rules do not allow that: One must always announce when a boarding party, defensive or offensive (DBP or OBP) is prepared, so there is no surprise any more. When he learns this, Wouter gives up his idea.



Attacked from "every corner", Marc's squadron is steadily pounded to dust:

The Trident (2205) loses a mast while The Eole (2207) the Tigre (2208) The Princess Caroline (1107) and the Berwick (1208) are firing at each other at point blank range: At this game, the French ships can only lose, as both British ships are more powerful!

One might think that the Alcion (2206) is escaping, but that's counting without the Chichester (1104) the Boyne (1105) (see previous picture) and (later) the rest of Sicco's squadron...



The situation is not that bad for the French Centre, as the British do not achieve local superiority.





The Spanish ships are trying to catch every bit of wind they can...

This ends our Saturday play: Both sides will meet again Sunday afternoon...

Last edited by Pascal Antoine (2018-12-11 16:46:26)

Turn 16



Not many tactical changes here: The Stirling Castle (1201) has turned to stern rake the Duc d'Orléans. Fortunately for me, with one exception, Wouter will keep on having bad die rolls there!



The poor Alcion (2206) is fired upon by three British ships!





At last, some Spanish ships are beginning to have a piece of the action!



... Not for Louis' ships, however!

Last edited by Pascal Antoine (2018-12-12 11:29:01)

Turns 19 & 20





The end of the Borée (2201): After several stern rakes, she must strike her colours.
My flagship, The Duc d'Orléans (2203) is free to move, at last! It is time: The Nassau (1203) is sinking!
My other two ships may seem in a strange position, but it is due to a "crab" move, again...





Marc's squadron: The Eole (2207) strikes her colours! The Trident (2205) has lost two masts! The Alcion (2206) has lost a mast and is caught between four British ships!





The wheels are turning for the four isolated British ships in the Centre, as more French ships are attacking them: Will it be enough to turn defeat into victory?





Both Rears are now engaged in their own battle!

Last edited by Pascal Antoine (2018-12-12 13:15:29)

CONCLUSIONS:

The British won a marginal victory, which is better than the historical result. The French fleet has suffered much more than historically. The British had no communication problems, even if several ships of the British Centre and Rear, as well as the Spanish ships, saw little or next to no action... And this is quite historical, too!

Was the French battle plan sound? I think so, but I consider myself not "seasoned" enough to judge anybody! If you look at the turn 3 view of the fleets positions, you'll see that the British fleet was on a heading allowing to turn either way, thus enabling it to react accordingly to the French moves. That is what is called having the "weather gauge": The British fleet had the position advantage (relatively to the wind direction) and was thus able to dictate the battle conditions.

In fact, I wonder how the French made it, historically and I still have to see a fleet not having the weather gauge avoiding defeat, without the "miraculous" help from a wind direction change, of course... I sincerely hope these battles are not predetermined (luck aside) on the sole reason of having the weather gauge or not...

One thing I have learned: It is next to impossible to aid any part of the fleet that is not in the direct vicinity of your squadron! I was even unable to aid Marc's squadron... Next time, I won't let my Admiral's promises convince me to give up my ideas!

I am also wondering if it wouldn't be best to let the Van of any fleet acting independently from the rest of the fleet... Of course, that's the point of view of the Van, not the Admiral's!

I want to thank the Casus Belli Club Nijmegen for their warm welcome and their fair play! Special thanks to Wouter, who forgave my initial mistakes, filling my salvo cards. He was a formidable and gallant opponent! It is also safe to say that, between the two of us, Lady Luck was clearly on my side.

Addendum - Casus Belli WSIM House Rules V4.1:
There are a few inconsistencies between the Rigging Loss Table and the Wind Effects Table, because the MP reductions are not calculated the same way: I did not see that one coming when I made my Rigging Loss rule proposal! Niek and I are going to work on that, but my guess is that V4.2 of the House Rules is going to be the one to play!

Last edited by Pascal Antoine (2018-12-13 16:57:15)