INWarD 23 Game (Part 2)

 

The second half of the INWarD game was a bit of a close-range slogging match with neither squadron able to inflict a crushing blow. The Chileans moved into a line astern formation and attempted to cross the T of the Argentinian division, concentrating their fire on the rearmost cruiser, the ARA General Belgrano, in an attempt to cause crippling damage. 

They almost succeeded in this but, thanks to some high AP rolls, the damage parties on board managed to keep the Belgrano in action. The Argentinians meanwhile pooled their fire to concentrate on hitting the O'Higgins but consistently rolled low. By Turn Ten, when the Royal Navy protected cruiser HMS Apollo arrived to stop the fisticuffs (here played by the Ministro Zenteno), both the Argentinian and Chilean warships were still in for the fight. 

I think that reads 'Pack It In'

At the last count, all three of the Argentinian cruisers were damaged, but only the O'Higgins was damaged in the Chilean squadron, so I decided it was a narrow win for the Chileans. It was a good game nonetheless and the rules ticked along at a pace, so I really enjoyed playing it solo. The mechanics were familiar which helped a lot when working out the gunnery and damage results.

The damage repair rules are pretty much the same as Broadside and Ram, which I've tweaked to make repairs more expensive in AP's, thereby preventing ships being able to shrug off damage too easily. I may well do the same for small actions using Broadside and Salvo, which would result in a more decisive outcome. I've now used all of my models, except for the Esmeralda, so will have to paint some more for future games.

The Campaign

In campaign terms, the Beagle Channel incident of 1899 is now over, the Royal Navy having put a stop to proceedings on behalf of Her Majesty's government, while the United States government also adds it's weight in diplomatic terms to persuade the Argentinians to back down. The British are worried that the Chileans might overextend and get sucked into a conflict that they can't win, which would weaken a useful regional counter to United States involvement in South American affairs. 

The United States, meanwhile, is concerned that a weakened Argentina and a more powerful Chile, assuming a Chilean victory in a full war with her rival, would stand in the way of plans for the United States to extend its political and military presence in the Pacific. As a result, diplomatic pressure is applied to Argentina to accept a political rather than a military solution to the Beagle Channel question.