Trafalgar Battle Report: Fleet Engagement

by Mark Latham

For most people, the number one reason for starting out in the naval wargaming hobby is the sheer spectacle of a seaborne battle. In the Trafalgar rulebook, we looked at the opening phases of a game between Mark Latham and Gabrio Tolentino. Here we show you the conclusion of that battle.

The Game
The battle was a Fleet Engagement of 2,000 points per side, played on the awesome 6x4 gaming board made by Ray Dranfield for the Trafalgar rulebook. The fleets were roughly based on the ships that were present at the Battle of Trafalgar, with some small liberties taken. Mark and Gabrio agreed to try to maintain a historical ‘line of battle’ for as long as possible.

The Fleets
Mark took control of the British fleet, and had HMS Victory (1st rate flagship, with Nelson on board), HMS Temeraire (2nd rate), HMS Leviathan (3rd rate, large), HMS Bellerophon (3rd rate, large), HMS Agamemnon (3rd rate, small), HMS Euryalus, Sirius and Naiad (5th rate frigates), and the Gunboats Boxer and Badger.

Gabrio took command of an allied French and Spanish fleet, containing the Bucentaure (Flagship, 3rd rate, large, with Villeneuve on board), Redoutable (3rd rate, large), Hortense and Thémis (5th rate frigates), Marseille (Schooner), Santisima Trinidad (Spanish 1st rate), San Justo (3rd rate, large), and the San Real (3rd rate, large).

Recap (Turns 1-4)
Leading with his pride and joy, HMS Victory, Mark formed the British fleet into a line of battle, allowing Gabrio to cross his ‘T’. Unfortunately for Mark, Gabrio’s forethought and manoeuvring gave him the time and space to react to Mark’s plan. Gabrio staggered his vessels from the very first turn, ensuring that the lead vessels moved before those at the rear, so he could bring as many guns to bear as possible at the approaching British. Although Mark’s lead vessels were due to take a considerable pounding early on, his van remained in a good position. Gabrio would have to tack to get back into an offensive position, or else he would end up battling the wind. As long as the wind stayed behind him, Mark had a lot more options open to him later on.

Gabrio’s opening volley reduced HMS Agamemnon to a wreck. The two French ships, Bucentaure and Redoubtable, were kindly loaned to Gabrio for this battle by Matthew Hutson. Gabrio handed his custom-built wreckage marker over to Mark with glee, having taken first blood in the battle. Note also the use of cotton wool as ‘fired’ counters.

 

Turns 5-6
With Mark firmly holding the weather gage, he was able to watch Gabrio’s manoeuvres with interest before responding. Judging by Gabrio’s movement, Mark believed he could break the line with HMS Victory, behind the Santisima Trinidad and in front of the San Justo. Most of his ships were double-shotted in anticipation of this tactic! Getting there wasn’t so straightforward, however. Mark had already lost the Agamemnon to broadsides from the Hortense, Redoutable and Bucentaure, and now the Santisima Trinidad started to pound the bows of his ships as well, inflicting two points of low damage. The Bucentaure and Redoutable added to the salvo, removing Victory’s carronades, scoring a critical hit with its light cannons and placing a May Not Fire counter on Nelson’s flagship. The San Justo managed a similar shot against HMS Temeraire, also resulting a May Not Fire counter being placed. In the End phase, however, Mark passed two Command checks and removed the counters, and restored the Victory’s carronades with a repair roll!

 

In turn 6, after most of Gabrio’s ships had continued their movement, Mark’s gamble paid off – with two shallow turns and only millimetres to spare, he broke the enemy line just astern of the Santisima Trinidad. HMS Temeraire turned to point a broadside at the Spanish giant, and Mark staggered the rest of his line in preparation for the general melee. Gabrio sent the frigate Hortense to the extreme north, hoping to tack around the rocks – his plan was to play the long game and send the frigate to contest the weather gage. Redoutable and Bucentaure, meanwhile, tacked to the south of the rocks, intending to come about and engage the smaller ships of Mark’s line from the rear. Gabrio seriously misjudged the distance, however, and Redoutable became stuck in the shallows! In an action-packed gunnery phase, the Victory treble-shotted at both the Santisima Trinidad and the San Justo – the four-decker lost 2 Crew points and took below the waterline damage from the onslaught, while the San Justo took 4 points of damage and was set on fire. The Temeraire followed suit, double-shotting at the Santisima Trinidad and inflicting terrible punishment. The Santisima Trinidad took a May Not Fire counter as a result. Elsewhere, the Euryalus, Leviathan, and the two gunboats all opened fire at the Redoutable, setting the French ship ablaze and placing a May Not Fire counter upon it. Gabrio’s only recourse was to fire at the Temeraire with the Bucentaure and San Real, punching out the Temeraire’s carronades and wiping out three Crew points.

 

 

Turn 7
As the melee began, some tight manoeuvring was required from both sides to avoid collisions. The Victory declared a ‘Fire as She Bears!’ volley at the Santisima Trinidad, knocking out her carronades and setting her ablaze. The Victory then declared a boarding action against the San Justo, successfully coming alongside the third rater and grappling her. The frigate Thémis attempted to board the Victory in return, but the disheartened crew failed their Command check, and the frigate collided with Victory instead, coming off far worse for the effort. Gabrio’s poor rolling for Command checks then continued in a disastrous sequence – The Bucentaure failed to tack and to apply backing sails, and crashed into the Redoutable, becoming entangled with the stuck ship. The Hortense to the far north also failed to Tack, and was put in irons. In the Gunnery phase, the Temeraire shot out the rudder of the pesky frigate Thémis. The Euryalus wiped out 3 crew points from the entangled Bucentaure, while HMS Sirius, Bellerophon and Boxer picked on the beleaguered Redoutable, setting it afire and wiping out more crew. The boarding action was far closer than Mark had anticipated, and the Victory won by only 1 point, although the two ships remained locked in close action. In the end phase, Gabrio repaired the rudder of the Thémis, and was able to brace for impact to avoid another crash, and then diverted the crew of the Santisima Trinidad to tackle the blaze.

 

Turn 8
The turn opened with Gabrio moving the San Real across the bows of the boarding action, ready to rake the embattled Victory. Gabrio declared a ‘Fire as She Bears!’ volley against the Leviathan with his frigate, Thémis. This bow rake set the Leviathan on fire and a lucky deflection took out the rudder – this is exactly what Gabrio didn’t want, as now the Leviathan was certain to crash into the smaller French ship. Mark averted disaster by successfully called a close action, and prepared to board the frigate! Unfortunately the Thémis was not grappled in the process. The Hortense managed to move off, and Gabrio resumed his plan to grab the weather gage. Mark wore HMS Pickle about to ensure that Gabrio didn’t succeed. This was a costly manoeuvre, as Pickle is of much more use near to friendly vessels, but Mark didn’t want to lose the weather gage. The Euryalus and Sirius plugged away at the Santisima Trinidad, but only scratched it thanks the large ship’s impressive saving throw. The frigate Naiad, however, was far more successful, causing two critical hits on the Bucentaure and sinking the entangled French flagship. Admiral Villeneuve clung to the wreckage, hoping that the Redoutable would finally get moving and come to his aid. The San Real fired a nasty bow rake at the Victory, knocking out her heavy cannons – the shot also hit the San Justo, however, for a single point of hull damage. In the boarding actions, both Victory and Leviathan defeated their counterparts, yet the battle raged on. This time, however, the San Justo managed to cut the grapples, allowing her to move away next turn. In the end phase, the Leviathan’s fires spread, taking out her carronades. She diverted the crew to tackle the blaze. The Redoutable’s woes continued as her fires also spread, killing 3 crew points and spreading to the sails.

 

Turn 9
The turn opened with the wind changing a click clockwise, which is exactly what the players wanted as they continued their race for the weather gage. The Santisima Trinidad was taken aback by the change, but successfully boxhauled, coming about ready to rejoin the fray. The same happened with the schooner, Marseille, which tacked and changed direction. The San Justo moved off from the Victory after taking a beating in the boarding action – Gabrio declared a ‘Fire as She Bears!’ as a parting shot, but Mark called one too! As Mark still held the weather gage, his shot was resolved first, the light cannons failed to inflict any damage. San Justo returned fire, and Mark would have taken two critical hits had he not invoked the Nelson Touch, re-rolling his dice and saving the damage. Mark then moved off and declared a boarding action again, successfully chasing down the desperate Spanish third rate. The San Real finally managed to join the action, parking in front of HMS Euryalus – the lead vessel of Mark’s frigate squadron barely managed to avoid crashing headlong into the Spanish third rate, and was now staring down the barrels of its heavy guns. The Thémis continued its policy of being a thorn in Mark’s side by moving off from the boarding action and moving directly in front of HMS Sirius. Thémis’ movement caused a terrible ‘traffic jam’ – Sirius crashed into the Thémis, causing damage to both vessels, while HMS Naiad then collided into the back of Sirius, finishing off the sandwiched frigate and sinking it! Gabrio sniggered at his mischievousness, while Mark looked on in disbelief. The Santisima Trinidad fired upon the remaining British frigate, HMS Naiad, and inflicted terrible damage with a lucky critical hit. Next, the two players agreed that as Admiral Villeneuve’s wreckage marker was in base contact with the Redoutable, he could clamber aboard – out of the frying pan and, quite literally, into the fire. Redoutable then deployed its boats ready to kedge off from the shallows next turn. In the Gunnery phase, The San Real predictably fired upon the Euryalus. Captain Blackwood’s frigate was blown out of the water by the overgunned third rate. HMS Temeraire sailed around the back of the San Justo and Victory and this time unleashed a broadside at the embattled Spanish ship. The damage caused was immense, and the ship was now one point away from sinking. In the impending boarding action, the Victory won comfortably, and the battle was over – the San Justo was finally decrewed. Cutting the grapples, the San Justo drifted away. In the End phase, the Redoutable’s fires spread once more, while the Leviathan’s fire went out.

 

Turns 10-11
After a turn of carnage, the players took stock of the situation. HMS Victory came to anchor to avoid moving into the nearby rocks, while HMS Temeraire and Leviathan went their separate ways – Temeraire went east to encircle the rocks to the north, while Leviathan wore west hoping to catch up with the Santisima Trinidad and help out the Bellerophon. The Santisima Trinidad headed straight for the Bellerophon, and Gabrio declared a ‘Fire as She Bears!’ at the frigate Naiad as the Spanish ship passed it. Upon a successful command check, the mighty giant unleashed a full broadside at the Naiad and sunk the frigate. The Redoutable was pulled clear of the rocks at last, while Hortense and HMS Pickle continued their race to hold the weather gage.

 

The race for the weather gage was decided in Turn 11 by the fickle finger of fate. The wind changed back to its original easterly position, which suited Gabrio but wasn’t great for the Pickle. Failing her command check, the schooner was put in irons. Poor seamanship then afflicted both players – Mark moved off with the Victory, hoping to avoid the shallows around the rocks, but rolled a 1 and got stuck. Gabrio then convinced himself that he could avoid the errors from earlier and tack the Thémis south of the rocks – what the Redoutable and Bucentaure couldn’t do, he was sure the Thémis could. He was wrong, and the Thémis scraped the rocks, taking several below waterline hits and sinking! Realising that the Bellerophon would pass out of his fire arc this turn, Gabrio decided to ‘Fire as She Bears!’ at the British third rater with the Santisima Trinidad. The shot set the Bellerophon on fire, though this blaze was promptly put out in the End phase.

 

 

 

Turns 12-13
At the start of Turn 12, the Temeraire came about around the rocks to the east, but it looked increasingly unlikely that it would get back into the fighting before the end. Last turn’s change of wind direction pushed the drifting San Justo into those same rocks – Gabrio hoped the ship would sink, because if the game went to Victory Points then it would count as destroyed rather than captured. It was not to be – the ship became stuck on the rocks, and would therefore count as captured. HMS Victory kedged off the rocks, while Bellerophon wore north, hoping to take on the San Real, which would be a much easier target than the Santisima Trinidad. The schooner Marseille attempted to tack windward, but failed and was taken aback. The Leviathan had no such problems, however, and looked on course to rejoin the action. With a shout of glee, Gabrio moved the Hortense to claim the weather gage for the next turn – not that there were many vessels left for it to affect. The Pickle remained in irons. In the Gunnery phase, Hortense added to HMS Pickle’s woes by inflicted two hull hits upon the fragile schooner. The Redoutable then blew the gunboat Boxer out of the water – the two gunboats had spent the battle snapping at the heels of the Redoutable like angry terriers, and now it was time for revenge.

As Turn 13 began, Mark realised that if he lost one more vessel, Gabrio would have won, while he himself had to destroy or decrew two French and Spanish ships. The snag was that Gabrio now held the weather gage, and thus had a considerable advantage for the endgame. The Bellerophon and San Real came alongside each other and slugged it out. HMS Bellerophon called a ‘Fire as She Bears!’, and came out of the exchange with the upper hand, but did not inflict enough damage to sink the Spanish ship. Leviathan and Santisima Trinidad also aligned to begin a duel. The Leviathan declared a ‘Fire as She Bears!’ and pounded the Santisima Trinidad, and would have sunk it were it not for the healthy saving throws of the four-decker. Mark breathed a sigh of relief as Gabrio failed to inflict any damage with the mighty Spanish ship. Finally, Gabrio took aim at HMS Pickle with the Hortense – having aligned for a bow rake against the stranded schooner, he knew the shot could win him the day. With four shots hitting home, the Pickle was sunk. Even as the little ship signalled her demise, Victory signalled the reminder of the fleet to break off the engagement. The Allied fleet was sure to escape, and the British squadron was in no fit state to pursue. The day belonged to Admiral Tolentino!

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