July 27th, 2011

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.

July 26th, 2011

So today I had the English depart to collect treasure from a far-off island. The Amercs have a full fleet and were looking for a fight, so they scouted the area around their colonies and the Terror sighted the English fleet heading back to their harbour. She stayed submerged and alerted her fleet at the island, then went to the Amerc harbour and asked for some reinforcements, which the admiral of the fleet gladly provided. Then they returned to the island and put many frigates and a trio of subs on surveillance to watch to see if the English returned to take over the wild island. Sure enough, they came back with an impressive force of 20 ships of the line, still unaware of the Amercs’ plan to attack. Hopefully that engagement will happen tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Franco-Spanish prepared for their massive journey to the French harbour, taking all their troops, artillery, and supplies with them. The Pirates prepared quite well for the upcoming battle, which will be by far the largest yet. The Pirates sent the Raven to the Spanish harbour to spy on the Franco-Spanish and report back to the Pirates when they departed, the allies not seeing the Raven in the fog:rolleyes:. The Pirates also staked out the French harbour and are lying in wait offshore with another 30 ships of the line, not including reserves.

If things go as planned, both battles should happen tomorrow, and it will especially be interesting to see who wins the bigger fight, and if the victor can force a decisive action.

Good night! 😀

July 24th, 2011 – The First Battle Report by A7XfanBen

Just a thread where people can share their experiences. A thank you to CCMike for the original inspiration.

So I haven’t talked about it here yet, but my historical fantasy scenario has been going well. I start with 20 points worth of masts(each mast costs 4 gold, so that’s five masts at the beginning). Repairs cost 2 gold per mast. I am currently using a dozen islands. I am using the infantry and artillery units from Risk for land troops on islands and for harbour defense(2 gold for infantry and 6 for artillery).

The fleets built themselves up with some gold-running and launching of ships. The Pirates went after the French in their harbour and though they inflicted impressive damage(over 60 masts lost), the French held on through two raids. The English went after the Spanish in their harbour, but were more timid than usual and the raids were inconclusive(English just feeling out the opposing fleet I guess). The nations repaired and were ready to go today. By the way, the other faction I’m using is the only pre-set alliance, a combination of the Americans, Mercenaries, Cursed, Corsair, and Jade Rebellion (I don’t have enough of these for them to hold their own in a fleet action).

Battle-weary and expecting another raid, the French gathered their troops and remaining gold and made a beeline northwest into unfamiliar territory (their harbour is the furthest east, and due west is the Pirate harbour). Sure enough, the Pirates were approaching with another force. The Raven, out in front of the Pirates’ fleet, scouted the situation and was stunned to find the harbour empty! She immediately hoisted the signal flags, and the Pirate admiral gave the order for a general chase, to the north. As the French sighted the Spanish harbour, they came under attack on their rear by the Pirate van! The Pirates caught up, but they were too late, as the Spanish hastily agreed to a new alliance with their old friends. Disappointed, and facing a superior force (albeit temporarily), the Pirates made the journey home and along the way discovered a treasure-laden island. They used this treasure to increase their store of repair money and ‘complete the fleet’. Now they have all of the 102 ships that I have of their faction, not to mention the scary sea monsters Seleucis and Teach!

Meanwhile, the newly allied Franco-Spanish tried to get organized in the cramped Spanish harbour. The English were somewhat inactive, although they did have a small treasure expedition that netted them a handful of ships, including their three junks. The only faction(s?) not at war is the Amercursedcorsairebels (O_O), and they were also able to complete their fleet, which is certainly the most diverse, containing sea monsters, junks(including the 6-master Divine Dragon), schooners, submarines and galleys.

Any suggestions on how to start wars/battles other than just being overly aggressive? (doesn’t have to correspond to this scenario, just trying to gather ideas) I was thinking of having the Franco-Spanish fleet of 91 ships of the line and 18 frigates going to the French harbour to try to confuse the Pirates (now at 92/10), then having the Pirates get lucky and intercept them, but this would seem to put the French in another unlucky position.

PS: the Divine Dragon was my first big junk, and she is awesome! Soon I’ll build the HMS Grand Temple.