Fearless and the cutting out ambush.

Historical note

On 7 September 1810 the Balahoo class schooner Snapper spotted a ship among the rocks on the west side of Ushant. She notified HMS Dreadnought, which attempted a cutting out expedition. The British succeeded in taking the Spanish merchant brig Maria-Antonia, which had been taken by a French privateer. However, the success was bought at a cost of six dead, 31 wounded and six missing, as well as two ship’s boats, as a result of an ambush by a large party of French troops with two field guns on a cliff overlooking the anchorage.

Quiberon Bay

In my Quiberon campaign HM Brig of War Fearless is about to poke her bowsprit into Quiberon Bay. She spots the Maria Antonio anchored off the coast. 

The Maria Antonio is off the Etel point, below the Semaphore station.  She has not attempted the Vieux passage into the river Etel.  The French have placed troops aboard a barge, and cannon on the sandy beach behind.

The bottom here is sandy and drops to four fathoms off the beach.  That's not a lot of room.

I just don't have the space to scratch build a brig so I'm using templates.  Hopefully they will work well enough.

The Game

Im using a chart of the Exe for
this game.  If a sea fight game
 develops I'll need more data
 than I have for the Etel.

Fearless puts three boats into the water, and Flash Harry leads in the first.  The Master is left in command of the ship.  My trusty Midshipmen command in the other boats.  Prudently Farthingdale has a swivel placed in each boat.

For my solo game I give the French the option of a barge sized guard boat,  filled with troops, and adding the French crew into the mix.

Also adding in a French Frigate that may or may not poke her nose out of the Etel and make for Fearless herself.

The field of battle.  All a little 2D.

The Navy's here

Young Quilp narrowly avoids grounding the launch.

The Spaniards fire a swivel gun

One at the bow chains, one at the entry port and one over the rear.  It the Navy way.

The fight aboard 

Flash Harry uses his Bolton corporation presentation sword to good effect.

It's a blood curdling fight

Quilp and the Marines take the forecastle 

Midshipman Whitemoore and his chums clamber over the poop

But the French barge arrives and the French army join the fight.

Whitemoore kills the Spanish Captain as the navy now take on the French soldiers.

The French soldiers rout back to their barge and flee.  Master Gunner McTurk sets the fuses.

With the ship ablaze the crew of Fearless escape.  The French Gunner's ashore fire on the ship.

And down she goes.  A win,  but no prize taken.

Returning to Fearless the crew are dismayed to see a French Frigate clawing out of the Etel estuary.   My next game will be a hard fight.