This turned out to be an enjoyable, if frustrating game but with a very historical outcome and some exciting moments. The first two turns saw the Huascar and Magellanes steaming toward each other to close the range, the first shots fired at 14'' by the Huascar splashing harmlessly into the sea. The Magellanes replied with her 64pdr smoothbore bowchaser, only for the shock of the recoil to sever a steam line, cutting her speed down by two points (in 1/2400th scale I use inches for gunnery ranges but cm for movement).
In Turn Three the action was at close range, with the two warships circling each other to get in their guns into a firing arc, the first blast from the Huascar scoring a hit and inflicting light damage, once again cutting the feed to the boilers and slowing down the Magellanes by a further point of speed. The Chilean corvette managed to out manoeuvre her opponent, however, with the engine room crew fixing the leak in time for a renewed gunnery attack in Turn Four.
In Turn Four the action continued at close range, the Huascar and Magellanes both failing to score a hit. with the -1 to Gunnery Factors due to low visibility playing havoc when combined with repeated low dice rolls. The two ships were fairly evenly matched, with the Huascar's armour countered by Magellanes manoeuvrability. In an attempt to end the impasse, the Huascar now rammed the Chilean corvette in the stern, but even this failed as both ships glanced off preventing a boarding action.
Turn Six announced the entry of the Almirante Cochrane, which steamed onto the table at a leisurely 5cm per phase due to the fouling in her hull. The Huascar now attempted to withdraw and was chased along by the Magellanes, which managed to hit the Peruvian ironclad with harassing fire but failed to penetrate her armour. The Chilean ironclad meanwhile turned to fire a broadside from her main battery at extreme range but this splashed harmlessly in Huascar's wake.
I decided at the end of Turn Eight that the Chileans abandoned the chase, allowing the Huascar to steam away to the north in the direction of Arica. This was a probable and sensible decision, as a gun burst on the Magellanes in Turn Seven cut her already weak Port and Starboard Gunnery Factor down to only 1, leaving her unable to damage the retreating ironclad. At the same time, the Almirante Cochrane was slipping further out of range as she just couldn't keep up due to her marginally lower speed.
At the end of the scenario, the Huascar escaped to fight another day, while the Magellanes had suffered light damage, a disabled 64pdr smoothbore and some leaky pipework. The Almirante Cochrane was undamaged but didn't exactly cover herself in glory, unlike Captain Latorre who managed to tie down the Huascar long enough for the Chilean squadron to turn up. This is almost exactly what actually happened, so I'm happy with the scenario even if it wasn't as decisive as I would have liked.
I think this counts as a draw!
(apologies for the rubbish photos - crap phone)
Thanks for the writeup! It's always interesting to see how a scenario actually ends up playing out...
ReplyDeleteCheers Dave. Here's the wikipedia entry...spot the difference?
ReplyDeleteAt the sound of the shots, the corvette Magallanes came, the Huáscar undertook to withdraw by mistaking the gunboat for the Almirante Cochrane, but realizing that it was a smaller ship that was approaching, Grau decided to attack the approaching Chilean ship . A fight between the Huáscar and the Magallanes began after the Magallanes was confused for the Abtao.
The Magallanes was under the command of the frigate captain Juan José Latorre and when he was 300 m away, he fired a can of shrapnel at him with his 64- pound cannon, starting the fight between the two, which was between 3:00 am and 3:35 am. A.M. Near the Huáscar and the Magallanes, they fought blindly shooting each other. At all times, the Magellan tried to contain the Huáscar to give time for the Chilean armored Cochrane to come to its aid. Due to the poor aim of the shots, Grau decided to use the Huáscar 's spur to sink the Magallanes ., but the Chilean gunboat was very maneuverable and was well led by Captain Latorre, avoiding Huáscar 's spur on several occasions; the closest was the last one, which passed 10 meters from the stern . A projectile from the 115-pound cannon of the Magallanes hit the Huáscar's hull squarely without piercing it.
The Magallanes fired 1 shot at 115 pounds, 1 canister of 64-pounder shrapnel, 6 at 20-pounders, 1 canister of 20-pounder shrapnel, 2,400 shots from the Comblain rifle and 360 from the Adams revolver; while the Huáscar, 6 300-pounders and several rifles and machine guns.
After the sounds of the cannons and the flares fired by the Magallanes were heard, the ironclad Almirante Cochrane began to arrive. When it was 2,000 meters from the scene of the combat, the Huáscar headed north to avoid it. The pursuit of the Huáscar by the Almirante Cochrane and the Magallanes lasted until 11 a.m. on July 10, when the Chilean ships reached Pisagua, desisting because the Huáscar was faster than the Almirante Cochrane.
The wikipedia fails to mention steam line issues. Tisk tisk. Was the cut steamline as a result of the 64 pound firing some explanatory fiction, or do the rules have this sort of thing happen with big guns firing?
DeleteIt was a Special Event (when an Attacker rolls a 1 and a Defender a 6). I had to explain it some way, so I thought it would reasonable to suggest that the blast or recoil caused a fracture, if only because I couldn't think of anything else!
DeleteExcellent batrep Jim. You can’t argue with an absolutely historical result! The narrative was like something out of Wilson’s “Ironclads at War’…10/10. Good stuff! 👏🏻
ReplyDeleteThanks :O)
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