ADDITIONAL FRIGATE SCENARIO

[N.5] ACTION OFF BORDEAUX

December 14, 1798

Forces:

A. French: one 28

B. British: one 32

Wind: NW, Moderate, Oceanic

Deployment:

French: SE, Map B, Speed 7; hex 0706

British: NW, Map B, Speed 0; hex 1108

Victory Conditions:

The British win by sinking or capturing the French ship. The French win a moral victory by escaping (getting 20 hexes away from the British), and a major victory by sinking or capturing the British.

Special Rules:

When afoul, the French ship has six times its printed Gunnery Strength, and the British has four times its printed Strength. The Movement Allowance of the French ship is one less than as given on the chart for all points of sailing.

Effectiveness Ratings:

French

Gunnery CRT #1

British

Gunnery CRT #2

Both Players may ignore Command Control and Preservation Level effects.

Notes:

The British frigate Ambuscade 32 was hove-to in the Bay of Biscay, waiting for another British ship. The French sloop Baionnaise 28 was returning from the West Indies after a long voyage. Each ship assumed the other was friendly until they were about a half-mile apart. Seeing his mistake, the Frenchman tried to run, but due to his weed-grown bottom was soon caught by the British ship. Unable to run or slug it out, the French captain decided to take advantage of his passengers, a platoon of crack infantry, by ramming and boarding. The British captain was a barely competent man who had failed to make much of his ill-assorted crew. When the Frenchman succeeded in ramming, the infantry platoon’s musket fire made casualties of most of the British officers, including the purser in command. As the crew’s morale was already shaky from an earlier gun explosion, this was the last straw. They panicked, presenting the French with an easy prize when all they expected was a glorious death.

The French Player has two choices. He can attempt to use his early speed advantage to get away, employing stern chasers to slow his pursuer, or he can attempt to run afoul immediately and hope for luck in his die rolls. Neither ship can really hurt they other unless they are afoul, and since the French can’t outrun the British, a lot of maneuvering is usually encountered in this scenario.

MOVES #18, p. 22

Transcribed by Mark Kindrachuk

August 2003