Tuesday 5 May 2020

The Battle of Sable Island Report


I've been tied up with DIY the last few days but got time to play the Broadside and Ram Battle of Sable Island scenario yesterday, albeit on a table in the dingy garage as everywhere else was occupied. It was a fairly evenly matched scenario but in the end the Royal Navy squeezed a very marginal victory at the cost of two of it's latest ironclad turret ships being rather dented.



In the first few turns, the USS Powhatan attempted to slow down the advance of HMS Monarch and HMS Captain but despite some nifty paddle wheel manoeuvres, she was blown to pieces as the ironclads steamed past at close range. In the meantime, USS Oregon, USS Nebraska and USS Colossus had weighed anchor and were steaming a reciprocal course to intercept the advancing British warships.



The initial clash between the monitors and the turret ironclads set the tone for the rest of the game, with both sides circling around each other in an attempt to cross the enemy's T and to combine their firepower, with the aim of crippling or shattering one of the opposing warships. This was almost achieved at different points by both sides but at the end of each turn the damage had always been hastily repaired using AP's.



HMS Monarch took a battering being the ship in the lead position of the British line, while USS Oregon took the brunt of the punishment from the twin turrets of the ironclads. In the end, the game stretched to the full twelve turns, at which point the Royal Navy had to retire due to the need to conserve coal, leaving the US monitors to limp back to the anchorage for urgent repairs.



At the end of the game HMS Monarch and HMS Captain were both Silenced but USS Powhatan had been Shattered, USS Oregon Silenced and USS Colossus was Damaged, leaving only USS Nebraska unscathed. However, this tipped the victory in the Royal Navy's favour, with one VP for sinking the Powhatan and no VP's for the US Navy, as it had failed to Cripple or Shatter either of the ironclads, despite getting close on a couple of occasions.



This leaves the US in control of the coaling station on Sable Island, which will cause the Royal Navy a minor headache but not stop the relief squadron from arriving off Halifax in a couple of days time. The USS Oregon is now out of action, while HMS Captain and HMS Monarch are also hors de combat, at least for the next scenario. This will be the last in the mini-campaign and will be a full on fleet action, with the Royal Navy attempting to break the blockade.

A close run thing indeed!

4 comments:

  1. A bruising encounter, but huzzah for the Royal Navy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure their Lordships will be as impressed when they get the repair bill? :0)

      Delete
  2. Good game, looking forward to the big one. The dark moody lighting suits the North Atlantic setting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It was pretty gloomy in the garage. I'll go along fresco next time if the weather is better.

    ReplyDelete

Labels

Bag The Hun (746) AK47 (488) Books (480) Ironclads (474) Wings at War (392) Back of Beyond (234) Pre-Dreadnoughts (228) Coastal Warfare (225) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) What a Tanker (170) Target Locked On (162) Victory at Sea (155) MiG Alley (150) Knights of the Sky (149) Old West (146) Chain of Command (145) Napoleonic Naval (144) Find Fix and Strike (137) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Bag The MiG (117) Naval Thunder (117) Pirates (116) Indo China / Vietnam (114) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (108) Fistful of Lead (108) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (84) Shows (79) Ancients (78) ACW (77) The Football War (75) France's Small Wars (67) Boardgames (66) Corsairs and Cavaliers (66) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (61) Cruel Seas (60) Saga (60) Air War C21 (58) Journals (57) The Men Who Would Be Kings (57) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Gladiators (48) International Naval Wargaming Day (47) Red Actions! (47) Scramble for Britain (44) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Fortifications (41) Cold War (39) Duel of Aces (36) SCW (36) Thud Ridge (36) Desert Spitfires (34) Flames above the Falklands (34) RCW (34) War of the Pacific (34) Death in the Dark Continent (32) Atlantic Wall (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Lion Rampant (30) Bag the Springbok (29) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (29) Algernon Pulls It Off (28) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) One Hour Wargames (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Ancient Naval (18) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (16) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) 2mm English Civil War (14) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Mad for War (14) Arctic Eagles (13) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Zulus! (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) 633 Squadron (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Jungle Green (10) Sharp Practice (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Bohica (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Cry Havoc (8) Dreadnoughts (8) French Indian Wars (8) HYW (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Frostgrave (7) Target for Tonight (7) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) A Mighty Fortress (5) Air War Angola (5) AirWar:1918 (5) Bombers over Germany (5) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) Arab Revolt (4) Continuation War (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) What a Cowboy (4) Battletech (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Wings Over Suez (3) Blood Red Skies (2) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) Whispering Death (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) Load and Return (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Xenos Rampant (1)