Age of Sail Basic Battles Game

I finally played a game using Grey Army Gaming "Basic Battles" rules and old "Broadsides" sailing ships.

The game uses 20D dice for combat resolution.

The game turned out particularly violent; either side could have won the battle. During the game it was back and forth who would win the battle. In the end the Red fleet managed to sink the last blue ship.

The Odyssey of the Essex

         For some reason every 4th of July a TV station shows " Master and Commander".I can think of better movies for celebrating the fourth, but still it's one of my favorite movies.  I read much of "Master and Commander" was based on the cruise of the U.S.S. Essex. So when I got a copy of " The Odyssey of the Essex" by Frank Donovan, it seemed like a good time to find out about the Essex.  While I haven't finished reading the book, it is a great story that has wargaming potential.
   The Essex can be compared to the "Acheron" in that it rounded Cape Horn to go after the British Pacific whaling fleet. Captain Porter, talking to American whaling captains, was informed that the fleet would be found around the Galapagos Islands. The Essex did just that. The book goes on to tell of the Essex crew exploring the islands and how the ships' surgeon was also an amateur naturalist who spent a great deal of time researching the islands.

  Eventually the Essex starts capturing the ships of the whaling fleet. By this time the Essex has been at sea for a year and was in need of repairs and refitting. Captain Porter decides that the island of Nuku
Hiva of the Maquesas Island chain is ideal for the purpose.  For me this is when the story really gets promising with new ideas.
    The book goes into detail about the island and it's people. It describes the island being divided by a series of valleys, each valley having a different tribe. The tribes were made up of warriors who were constantly at war.  However, rarely did their battles result in anyone dying. The battles involve both sides using slings to throw rocks and darts at each other. Individual warriors would advance to challenge the enemy, who would then focus their rock and dart throwing at this individual.  If he would be unfortunate enough to be hit where he was disabled, both tribes would rush forward towards the downed man. If the enemy got to him first, they would bash his head in with their war clubs, spear him and carry the body off. If his fellow tribesmen reached him first, the enemy would retreat. Battles didn't last more than an hour. It would take the crew of the Essex to show them "civilized" warfare. Captain Porter is drawn into these tribal wars and introduces the natives to "Scorched earth" warfare.

     This story reminds me of a set of rules in a war-game magazine  for tribal warfare. It seems a fun and novel set as, if I remember, the tribal figures are mounted in beer caps and are used shuffle board style and are flicked onto the field which is divided into sections. I have dug out the magazine and plan to study the rules.

Age of Sail Wargame

        I am a custodian at a local high school. One of the more unpleasant tasks for me this summer is discarding books that the school library no longer wants. I believe the purpose is to make room for more computers. If there is a silver lining to this it's that my boss, knowing how much I read, has put me in charge of this detail and I can go "dumpster diving", keeping what I want. At first it seemed they were only outdated books such as almanacs and encyclopedias. However soon it was clear that every part of the library was being purged.
   When I got back from vacation, I went to discard more of the books. The librarian had finished the job, and there before me were stacks of history books!  I went through and picked out quite a few volumes. Right now my stepson is using my truck while he has his car repaired. I have been using my scooter to get to work, meaning I have to store the books until I get my truck back. However, three books I did take home were "The Battle of Lake Erie" by F. Van Wyck Mason, "The Age of Fighting Sail" by C.S. Forester, and "The Odyssey of the Essex" by Frank Dovovan.  This got me thinking of naval battles again.
     Any solo war gamer should get a subscription to the Lone Warrior" magazine. It is filled with ideas and rules for solo wargaming. One of my favorite contributors is Mike Crane. He makes fairly simple rules that can be played in a half hour or so. One game I have played is "Introduction to Fighting Rules for Sailing Ships" in Issue142. It is played using a grid board. There is a little paperwork involved as he uses a roster system to keep track of the damage to ships. So I dug out my model ships, a piece of paper, and playing board and in a few minutes had a game all set up.

Red fleet at top of page: Sultan (Flagship), Surprise, and Rose. Blue fleet at bottom of page:Terror (Flagship),
Typhoon, and Tempest. The Red fleet is entering from the north, the Blue fleet from the south.  The wind is blowing to the northwest, giving the Blue fleet the weather gage.

Red fleet is beating against the wind.

The fleets draw  in parallel lines.

The Sultan starts the battle with a broadside to theTerror.

The Surprise, next in line, dismasts Terror's mizzen,
 but Terror's return broadside  causes much damage to the Surprise.

Both fleets start the general engagement.

Both fleets draw off.

Both fleets come about for the next pass.

The Tempest crosses Rose's "T", causing severe losses to the crew.

Sultan delivers a broadside to the Tempest, Tempest returns fire and demasts Sultan's mizzen mast.

Typhoon follows Tempest and delivers another devastating broadside to  Sultan.

Terror brings up the rear; Sultan then losses it's foremast.

The Sultan staggers off to the north as the Surprise and Rose both turn their guns on the Terror.

As the Blue fleet draws off, the Red Admiral takes stock of the situation. The Sultan only has it's main mast,   over half the crew is down, and the pumps can't stay ahead of the incoming water. What's more, Blue fleet is going to have the wind to their advantage. 

Before Red fleet can do anything, Blue fleet swings around and closes rapidly on the Sultan. The Terrors broadside is too much for the Sultan, which quickly sinks.

As the Sultan goes down, the Surprise and Rose turns south and makes good their escape.

 The Red fleet suffered 25 hits during the battle, the Blue 13.