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Thread: The battle of Pulo Aura.

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    Default The battle of Pulo Aura.

    HEIC merchantmen vs. the French.


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    Artistic representation of the battle of Pulo Aura.
    The Indiamen (centre), engage the French (left), and protect the unarmed merchant ships (right)

    I had not heard of this action until I recently read " The Sea Warriors" by Richard Woodman which Captain Kiwi bought me as a birthday present.

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    The Battle of Pulo Aura, was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, but of some consequence to the British lines of supply, fought on 14 February 1804 off the Malayan peninsular, in which a large squadron of Honourable East India Company (HEIC) East Indiamen, drove off and chased a stronger and more powerful French naval squadron under the command of Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois.

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    While this actions pales in comparison with Trafalgar, the Nile, Camperdown or Santo Domingo it shows that "John Company" was not a push over at sea, and may well figure in one of my AAR's later in the year.


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    The HEIC fleet under the command of Commodore Nathaniel Dance sailing in "The Earl Camden" detached the Ganges Brig, with the Indiamen Royal George and Hope pretending to be ships of the Line, to convinced the French ships to retire.

    Linois later claimed that the unescorted British merchant fleet was defended by eight ships of the line, a claim criticised by contemporary officers and later historians.

    Linois had sailed to the Indian Ocean in 1803 before the Treaty of Amiens was repudiated, under orders to install garrisons in the French and Dutch colonies in the region and to prey on lightly defended British merchant shipping. One of the richest and most significant targets was the "China Fleet", an annual convoy of East Indiamen from China and other Far Eastern ports that carried millions of pounds worth of trade goods. Although these large vessels were accompanied by numerous smaller merchant ships, news of the outbreak of war had only just arrived in the Pacific and the only warship available to defend the fleet was the small HEIC armed brig Ganges. Dutch informants notified Linois of the fleet's destination and date of departure from Canton while he was anchored at Batavia on Java, and he sailed in search of the convoy on 28 December 1803, eventually discovering it on the 14th of February 1804.

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    Commodore Dance knew that lookouts could, from a distance, mistake a large East Indiaman for a ship of the line. He arranged with his captains to raise Blue Ensigns at the Mainmast tops that indicated that his fleet included part of the Royal Navy squadron operating under Rainier's command, stationed in the Indian Ocean at this time, and formed into a line of battle. Although Linois's ships were clearly superior, the British reaction unnerved him and thinking that he was up against at least five 74s he quickly broke off combat. Dance continued his ruse, pursuing Linois for two hours until the body of the convoy was safe. King George III knighted Dance for his courage and various mercantile and patriotic organisations awarded him large sums of money, while both Linois's own officers and the Emperor Napoleon personally castigated the French admiral for his failure to press the attack against a weaker and extremely valuable enemy. Although he remained in command of the squadron for another two years and had some minor success against undefended merchant ships, he suffered a string of defeats and inconclusive engagements against weaker British naval forces. Ironically, Linois was captured at the Action of 13 March 1806 by a numerically superior British battle squadron that he mistook for a merchant convoy.

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    East Indiaman Warley which took part in the action.


    This was a remarkable victory. While "John Company" ships were well armed for merchantmen, carrying up to 36 18 pounders and several Carronades, they were no match for a well armed squadron. It goes to show that Dance, his captains and his men were every bit as resourceful and brave as any Regular Royal Navy seamen.

    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Interestingly, to my eye Warley looks very similar to Bahama... and with the model being a little undersize it just might work. Need custom stats though.
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    Well spotted DB.
    We could now have the impending prospect of three Merchant Indiamen then!
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Of course my eyes are shot to hell anyway... I have to have high-index fisheye lenses because Coke-bottles in my prescription would be so heavy they'd break my nose. (20/400 uncorrected in my good eye, and the worst US mil will tolerate even in cargo-hold aircrew is 20/200 bad eye... not legally blind, but a rather uncomfortable distance from it.)
    --Diamondback
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    At the risk of being redundant this is a post I made to a 1/1200 Naval Flags and Pennants thread here on the Anchorage back on 1/8/2015

    The Battle of Pulu Aor (1804) (Bretwalda Battles Book 2) by Rupert Mathews is only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle.
    At 08:00 on 14 February 1804, with the island of Pulo Aura within sight to the south-west near the eastern entrance to the Straits of Malacca, the Indiaman Royal George raised a signal describing three sail approaching the convoy from the direction of the island. This was Linois's squadron, which had been cruising in the area for the previous month in anticipation of the convoy's arrival. Dance ordered the brig Ganges and the Indiamen Alfred, Royal George, Bombay Castle and Hope to approach the strange vessels and investigate, rapidly discovering that they were enemy warships. By 13:00, Dance had readied his guns and reformed his convoy, with the large Indiamen formed up in line of battle to receive the French attack as if they were warships. During the late afternoon, Linois's squadron fell in behind the slow line of merchant ships and Dance expected an immediate attack, but Linois was cautious and merely observed the convoy, preferring to wait until the following morning before engaging the enemy. Dance made use of the delay to gather the smaller country ships on the opposite side of his line from the French, the brig Ganges shepherding them into position and collecting volunteers from their crews to augment the sailors on board the Indiamen. Linois later excused his delay in attacking the merchant convoy by citing the need for caution:

    If the bold front put on by the enemy in the daytime had been intended as a ruse to conceal his weakness, he would have profited by the darkness of the night to endeavour to conceal his escape; and in that case should have taken advantage of his manoeuvres. But I soon became convinced that this security was not feigned; three of his ships constantly kept their lights up, and the fleet continued to lie to, in order of battle, throughout the night. This position facilitated my gaining the wind, and enabled me to observe the enemy closely.
    —Linois, quoted in translation in William James' The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Volume 3, 1827.

    At dawn on 15 February, both the British and French forces raised their colours. Dance hoped to persuade Linois that his ships included some fully armed warships and he therefore ordered the brig Ganges and the four lead ships to hoist blue ensigns, while the rest of the convoy raised red ensigns. By the system of national flags then in use in British ships, this implied that the ships with blue ensigns were warships attached to the squadron of Admiral Rainier, while the others were merchant ships under their protection. Dance was unknowingly assisted by the information that had reached Linois at Batavia, which claimed that there were 23 merchant ships and the brig in the convoy. Dance had collected six additional ships during his journey, and the identity of these were unknown to the French, who assumed that at least some of the unidentified vessels must be warships, particularly as several vessels had been recently painted at Canton to resemble ships of the line.

    At 09:00 Linois was still only observing the convoy, reluctant to attack until he could be sure of the nature of his opponents. Dance responded to the reprieve by reforming the line of battle into sailing formation to increase his convoy's speed with the intention of reaching the Straits ahead of Linois. With the convoy a less intimidating target, Linois began to slowly approach the British ships. By 13:00 it was clear that Linois's faster ships were in danger of isolating the rear of the convoy, and Dance ordered his lead ships to tack and come about, so that they would cross in front of the French squadron. The British successfully executed the manoeuvre, and at 13:15 Linois opened fire on the lead ship—Royal George—under the command of John Fam Timmins. The Royal George and the next four ships in line, the Indiaman Ganges, Dance's Earl Camden, the Warley and the Alfred, all returned fire, Ganges initially attacking the Royal George in error. Captain James Prendergrass in Hope, the next in line, was so eager to join the battle that he misjudged his speed and collided with Warley, the ships falling back as their crews worked to separate their rigging. Shots were then exchanged at long range for 43 minutes, neither side inflicting severe damage.
    Royal George had a sailor named Hugh Watt killed, another man wounded, and suffered some damage to her hull. None of the other British ships or any of the French reported anything worse than superficial damage in the engagement. At 14:00, Linois abandoned the action and ordered his squadron to haul away with the wind and sail eastwards, away from the convoy, under all sail. Determined to maintain the pretence of the presence of warships, Dance ordered the ships flying naval ensigns, including his flagship Earl Camden, to chase the French. None of the merchant ships could match the French speed, but an attempt at a chase would hopefully dissuade the French from returning. For two hours, Dance's squadron followed Linois, Hope coming close to catching Aventurier but ultimately unable to overtake the brig. At 16:00, Dance decided to gather his scattered ships and return to his former heading rather than risk attack from other raiders or lose sight of his convoy in the darkness. By 20:00, the entire British convoy had anchored at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca. On 28 February, the British ships of the line HMS Sceptre and Albion joined them in the Strait and conducted them safely to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic.

    There HMS Plantagenet escorted the convoy to England. Five whalers and the Carmarthen, Captain Doree, also joined the convoy, with the Blackhouse, from coast of Guinea, joining at sea. The convoy returned to England without further incident.

    Linois's squadron reached Batavia several days after the action without encountering any British ships. He was there joined by Atalante and, after taking on supplies, made sail for Île de France, arriving on 2 April. The Dutch brig Aventurier was left at Batavia and remained there until a raid on the port by a British force in November 1806, when it was destroyed. The French admiral later attempted to explain his conduct during the engagement:


    The ships which had tacked rejoined those which were engaging us, and three of the engaging ships manoeuvred to double our rear, while the remainder of the fleet, crowding sail and bearing up, evinced an intention to surround us. By this manoeuvre the enemy would have rendered my situation very dangerous. The superiority of his force was ascertained, and I had no longer to deliberate on the part I should take to avoid the consequence of an unequal engagement: profiting by the smoke, I hauled up to port, and steering east-north-east, I increased by distance from the enemy, who continued the pursuit of the squadron for three hours, discharging at it several broadsides.
    —Linois, quoted in translation in William James' The Naval History of Great Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Volume 3, 1827.

    This would be a fun scenario for you guys if and when Ares comes out with some merchants. I have EIC flags.

    Regards,
    Vol

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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
    Of course my eyes are shot to hell anyway... I have to have high-index fisheye lenses because Coke-bottles in my prescription would be so heavy they'd break my nose. (20/400 uncorrected in my good eye, and the worst US mil will tolerate even in cargo-hold aircrew is 20/200 bad eye... not legally blind, but a rather uncomfortable distance from it.)
    Sounds like we are both well on the way to being two blind mice DB.
    Why do we always refer to our good eye when we actually mean the one which works better. i find myself doing that whenever anyone asks mew how my eyes are. For years my good eye was my bad one, being very short sighted, until right eye went duff on me.
    Now I rely on my Left eye for everything.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Thanks for expanding on my little post Vol.
    The extra detail may well be of use to anyone wanting to run the encounter as a game.
    I will be interested to see the results if anyone takes it on. With the firepower of the convoy, I'm sure that the French would have quite a battle on even if they took it on seriously.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Bahama Warley
    Rough Length 53.34m LD 53.8m OA
    Rough Beam 14.64m 13.3m
    UD 30x18# 32x18#
    QD and FC ~20x8# equivalent 12x6#
    Bonhomme Richard would probably be a good approximation of the EIM's numbers--use the weaker, "as she sailed" side and even that'll be a touch high on gun-power. Essentially, an 18-pounder EIM would be like a two-deck cruiser or light SOL hull strength but with only one gun deck, bearing a frigate-grade battery roughly comparable to a Hebe. I would not want to go up against Old Ironsides with one...

    BTW, here's ThreeDecks' incomplete writeup.
    https://threedecks.org/index.php?dis..._battle&id=361
    Last edited by Diamondback; 08-09-2017 at 02:14. Reason: cleanup
    --Diamondback
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    Yes I agree it would be a good sinario to play. Ares we need some British East Indiamen.

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    That gives us a very good starting point for the larger EIM ships DB.
    We are already starting to get somewhere with this one.
    Alistair. I am quite happy to adopt the forthcoming French EIM amended for British. I don't expect we will be getting any dedicated ones with all the other ship types being demanded, unless DB can work the oracle again and find some existent sculpts which can be modified.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post

    BTW, here's ThreeDecks' incomplete writeup.
    https://threedecks.org/index.php?dis..._battle&id=361
    I may be able to add a few ships names when I get back later today DB.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Better coverage at Wikipedia, including OrBat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle...ders_of_battle

    Earl of Abergavenny would be very similar to Warley in both model size and stats. Coutts similar size but weaker armament, Cumberland slightly smaller and weaker though Chile did ultimately militarize her as a 64 in 1818 (I'd venture probably similar to our What-If BHR). Exeter, Ocean and Warren Hastings similar to Cumberland.
    Last edited by Diamondback; 08-09-2017 at 02:34.
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    Great DB. That has saved me looking it up and writing it all out.

    Orders of battle
    Honourable East India Company China Fleet
    Ship Commander Notes
    Earl Camden Commodore Nathaniel Dance Flagship of the convoy. Engaged for 25 minutes
    Warley Captain Henry Wilson Engaged for 15 minutes.
    Alfred Captain James Farquharson Engaged for 15 minutes.
    Royal George Captain John Fam Timmins Engaged for 40 minutes. Suffered light damage, with one man killed and one wounded.
    Coutts Captain Robert Torin
    Wexford Captain William Stanley Clarke
    Ganges Captain William Moffat Engaged for 35 minutes.
    Exeter Captain Henry Meriton
    Earl of Abergavenny Captain John Wordsworth
    Henry Addington Captain John Kirkpatrick
    Bombay Castle Captain Archibald Hamilton
    Cumberland[30] Captain William Ward Farrer
    Hope Captain James Prendergrass
    Dorsetshire Captain Robert Hunter Brown
    Warren Hastings Captain Thomas Larkins
    Ocean Captain John Christian Lochner
    Eleven country ships, none of which would engage the French, accompanied the convoy: Lord Castlereagh, Carron, David Scott, Minerva, Ardeseer, Charlotte, Friendship, Shau Kissaroo, Jahaungeer, Gilwell, and Neptune. The HEIC armed brig Ganges also joined the convoy. A Portuguese vessel from Macau and the Rolla from Botany Bay in Australia were supposed to join the convoy but they missed the fleet sailing and never joined.
    Source: London Gazette[27]

    Admiral Linois's squadron
    Ship Guns Commander Notes
    Marengo 74 Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois
    Captain Joseph-Marie Vrignaud
    Belle Poule 40 Captain Alain-Adélaïde-Marie Bruilhac (or Bruillac)
    Sémillante 36 Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard
    Berceau 20 Captain Emmanuel Halgan Dance reported that this vessel was a corvette of 28 guns.[27]
    Aventurier 16 Lieutenant Harang Some records indicate that Aventurier was a Dutch corvette under the command of Captain Vandesande. Dance reported that the fifth vessel was the Batavian brig William, of 18 guns.[27]




    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Now some more pictures.

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    Capture of Merengo by HMS London.

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    Belle Poule

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    Piemontaise.


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    Berceau.

    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Marengo is a straight Temeraire, IIRC Belle Poule is similar to Concorde and Piemontaise is one of the innumerable variations on the Hebe family.
    --Diamondback
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    Cheers DB.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Now some of the Brits ex Warley which I have already done.

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    Captain Henry Wilson.


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    Earl of Abergavenny

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    Cumberland after secondment to the Chilean navy.


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    The French frigate Piemontaise capturing the East Indiaman Warren Hastings.


    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Description: A RARE LLOYDS PATRIOTIC FUND PRESENTATION SWORD OF FIFTY GUINEA TYPE presented in February 1804, blued and gilt blade with broad fuller either side, etched with figures of Brittania, foliage and bouquets, royal coat-of-arms and cypher of George III, long presentation inscription on blade to I Farquharson Esq. The gilt brass hilt with chequered ivory grip, pommel with lion head, the back strap forming the mane with paws, cross guard as fasces with trophies-of-arms and the languets with acanthus foliage, retaining part of sword knot, scabbard of black fish skin with gilt brass mounts, bearing medallions either side with the Nemean lion above a fouled anchor, central panel with Leneon Hydra and suspension loop, locket with a nude male and tiger upon a bench, inscribed above the ships name Alfred 1804, the locket inscribed R.TEED, Sword Cutler, Lancaster court, 36ins, 1804, hilt and scabbard with minor wear, blade with slight wear on one side and to the last line of the inscription, sword knot end lacking, in original mahogany case, escutcheon lacking, retaining label with inscription "Patriotic Fund, Lloyds, 1803 - The Ornamental design for the hilts of the swords, presented from this fund, in reward of British Valour, imports that national union (figured by the roman faces) produces Herculean Efforts (of which that club of Hercules is emblematic) which aided by wisdom (denoted by the serpent) lead to victory (implied by the skin of the Neaman lion - the proudest of that heros trophies), The wreath of laurel denotes that rewards await the brave who stall successfully wield their swords in the cause of their country - in defence of British security, independence and honour" The presentation inscription reads: "Front the patriotic fund at Lloyds to I Farquharson Esq Com The H.E.I Co ship Alfred one of the fleet of merchantmen which on the 15th Feb 1804 defeated & pursued a squadron of French men of war under command of Ad Linois in the Marengo of 84 guns, as recorded in the gazette of 11th Aug." Note: Captain James Farquharson was born 16th of May at Sampford Hall Essex 1764, he sailed as a midshipman on HCS Prime in 1776 and again on HCS Earl of Dartmouth 1779, returning home from Madras as 5th mate of the HCS Rochford. 3rd mate HCS Earl Cornwallis 1783, where he remained for the next voyage (1785/6) as 2nd mate. In 1778 he was appointed 2nd mate of the HCS Duke of Montrose and in 1790 was sworn Captain of the HCS Alfred, then under the ownership of William Fraser, having been built at Northfleet on the Thames by Todd & Pitcher in the same year. Farquharson was therefore handpicked as her commander by Fraser and he remained in the ship when she was sold to Andrew Timbrell The next voyage, being the ships and Farquharsons sixth in command, sailed in May 1803 for "China direct" and it was on the return voyage with Dance as commodore of in the HCS Early Camden, that the action was fought off the Pulo Aur. Farquharson left the sea at the end of his voyage to join the inner circle of the HEIC's Court to become a Principal Managing Owner. A later East Indiaman was named after him in 1820 Alfred was one of sixteen East Indian and twelve other ships involved in Captain Nathaniel Dances victories action against Rear Admirals C.A.L.D de Linois in 1804. Dance managed to convince Linois that three British ships of the line were in the convoy. He ordered the Bay Ganges and East Indian Alfred, Royal George, Bombay castle and those to investigate. On 15th of February both fleets unveiled their colours and Captain James Farquharson of the Alfred engaged the enemy for about fifteen minutes. All the fleet safely returned to St Helena *For an account of the action, see R. Woodman 'Brittanias Realm' Volume 2 of his history of the British merchant navy.

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    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    OOPS. Belle Poule is a Virginie--so you have one SGN102, one SGN105 for Belle Poule (forget Piemontaise, different action), an SGN101 for Semillante, unsure about Berceau and Aventurier.
    --Diamondback
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    It was the only picture that I could find of the Warren Hastings DB.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Right, amigo, just reinforcing that we only need to worry about *one* heavy frigate for scenario planning. Piemontaise was deployed with the squadron, but lost contact before Pondicherry.
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    If this battle was used as a scenario, the French would have a big advantage, which they did not have in the historical encounter,- they would know that they were facing East Indiamen and not Royal Navy ships. Of course, the scenario could be modified by randomly drawing British ships and keeping ship names and flags covered until the fleets were in visual range.

    When assessing the fighting power of the East Indiamen, I suppose that we should take into account the fact that they probably had smaller crews than a comparable Royal Navy ship (despite the extra volunteers from the rest of the fleet), that they may have had less training in handling cannons and that there would not be marines in the fighting tops.

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    David, bear in mind that Dance had also had some of his EIM's repainted while in China to mimic Royal Navy 74's of similar size.

    I would model this by using SGN104 and SGN114 models, with a chit under each base. Merchant = Large (104) or Medium (114) EIM's, Navy = 74 (104) or 64 (114) gun SOL. Reveal chit when French ship reaches 1.5 rulers' distance from ship.
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    Sounds as if we are firming up some ideas for actually putting on this battle chaps.
    What are your thoughts on portraying the country ships which took no part in the action?
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Physically or statistically? What little I've been able to find dimensionally suggests they were around frigate size... so maybe use frigate models with no armament and base objectives on Mission 2 in this:
    http://sailsofglory.org/showthread.p...pite#post39168

    CS's start at center of a double-width map and must exit at center of west edge, EIM's form "battle line" at about map center and Linois's squadron enters at center of east edge. Dance Victory = at least 1/2 of all EIM's and escorted convoy either exited off west map edge or still afloat after [???] number of turns, Linois Victory = he sinks or captures more than half.
    Last edited by Diamondback; 08-13-2017 at 02:37.
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  26. #26
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    I have plenty of Frigates as you may guess DB. They could well be added to the mix with a bit of temporary re flagging.
    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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