Today I was able to have the battle of the English vs the Amercursedcorsairebels, but not the Pirates vs Franco-Spanish engagement. The English were peacefully sailing through the channel between two reefs and about to skirt around the sprawling Pirate harbour on their way to their new colony, but then they were suddenly ambushed! The Amercs attacked with a roughly similar force (English had 20 ships of the line and three frigates), and took the Britons completely by surprise. With the wind blowing due south, the Amercs attacked from windward as fast as possible, the British forced to fight a uncharacteristically defensive battle (also due to the fact that they had 5 ships with troops/artillery on board that they didn’t want to lose). The British formed a double line of ships on both sides of the five ships packed with troops, but the Amercs did not sail in line-of-battle. They had about six ships attack the British directly, breaking the line and causing chaos. Another half dozen ships went ahead further south to cut off the van of the British line(s).
The battle was not completely pell-mell, as the British were able to keep a disciplined line and protect the transporting ships, but two of their three frigates were captured due to the overwhelming number of Amerc frigates (one-masted galleys, blockade runners, the Griffin (a two-masted galley), and one-masters vs three Bletchleys!). As masts fell and casualties mounted, the British reached the island they intended to conquer and found a Pirate fleet stationed there, in order to cut off the Franco-Spanish fleet! Realizing the venture had failed, the English admiral aboard the Leicester (he later had to shift his flag to the HMS King Edward due to the Leicester being dismasted by the USS Stephens and Louisiana) signaled for the fleet to tack around to the northwest and then retreat west and begin the journey back to their harbour.
As they began to tack, three things happened. The British were determined not to let the entire enterprise be a failure, and their shots began to tell more often. As they tacked, they gained the weather gage and the smoke from their cannons drifted south to confuse the Amerc ships and cover their escape. The third thing was not in the Brits’ favour, though. The Cursed sea monster Lechim Namod arose from the depths 😮 and quickly sunk one of the ships with troops on her, the Belle of Exeter. As the British made their way away from the battle, the Amercs being too weary and blind to pursue (along with gathering up their derelicts so they didn’t drift too far south and be dashed on the rocks), the HMS King John fell behind slightly and was also sunk by the Namod.
In the aftermath of the battle, both sides claimed victory. The Amercs had dealt a huge blow to English morale, and they were able to capture three ships and sink two more. Despite that the English expedition had failed, they had inflicted so much damage that the Amercs had to abandon the island they were stationed at and head home for repairs (only one ship had not lost at least one mast). The English had knocked down 49 masts, and had lost 34 in return.
The Amercs returned to their harbour, only a short journey northward, and shadowed the fleeing English with three submerged subs. Then they put a group of ships that didn’t participate in the battle back on duty at their island. The English returned home disappointed, and after they had docked had no idea they were under surveillance by the three subs.
Meanwhile, the Franco-Spanish finished up their preparations for their expedition under the watchful eye of the Raven. I should have that battle tomorrow.