Not Quite The Battle of the River Plate - 1864 style

Yesterday evening at the club another Portable Ironclads Wargame was fought and as usual, I managed to fail once again in the picture and reporting stakes! The action was based upon the famous WW2 Battle of the River Plate but in this case the Graf Spee was represented by the ironclad CSS Stonewall under the command of Mr Huband. The Union squadron, commanded by Mr Fox, ably assisted by Messrs Kightly and Slater commanded the frigate the USS Wabash and the sloops the USS Watchusett and USS Kearsage. As befitted his seniority, Mr Fox flew his flag in the frigate.

The scenario was a simple one in that the Stonewall had to exit the opposite board edge whilst the Union had to stop her. The action was brief, mainly due to the fact that the Stonewall ‘went for it’ in a big way before finally being stopped in a rather freakish way. As ever, the pictures tell some of the story.

Starting positions. The CSS Stonewall on the left with the USS Wabash bottom right and the USS Watchusett and USS Kearsage top right.

USS Kearsage in the foreground with the USS Watchusett following

CSS Stonewall. I have two of these and they are among the first models I built for this project. They are scheduled to be rebuilt to my current standard and I will make sure that the turret is replaced by a gun house!

CSS Stonewall bearing down on the Union Frigate - who will blink first?

Meanwhile the two sloops (no sign of Julie Waters for readers of a certain vintage!) manoeuvre for position against the oncoming rebel ship. 

It was the USS Wabash and so the CSS Stonewall duly rammed her.

The damage inflicted on the USS Wabash from the ram attack was heavy but not fatal and so both ships pivoted away. Unfortunately for the CSS Stonewall, this left her facing a full broadside at point blank range! Luckily for the rebel ship the gunnery from the Union frigate, no doubt suffering from the after effects of the recent ram attack, was abysmal - the armour of the CSS Stonewall proved to be a tough nut to crack.

Unfortunately this was the last picture I took but the action ended shortly after as the CSS Stonewall succumbed to damage whilst ramming the USS Watchusett. In the rules a ship that damages another from a ram attack has the chance of being ‘attacked’ themselves - the rule represents damage sustained whilst attempting to back away from the target ship. In this case the counter attack was supremely effective - two 6s and a 5 being rolled for 5 points of damage! The CSS Stonewall had already taken damage from gunfire earlier in the action and so the resultant ram attack was enough to sink her. The next move she would have exited the playing area and secured the victory!

The River Plate scenario always plays well in my experience and this was no exception. The firing rules once again demonstrated to my satisfaction the value of armour and just how vulnerable unarmoured ships are. The CSS Stonewall was fortunate to avoid serious damage when at point blank range under the guns of a full broadside from the USS Wabash - the damage rolls were at a net -1 - but her luck turned in spectacular fashion with the final ram attack. The result raised eyebrows and so I have been giving this some additional thought.

At the battle of Hampton Roads the CSS Virginia was nearly lost when she rammed the USS Cumberland. Her ram was stuck fast in the Union ship and was being pulled under when her ram broke off. This was what I had in mind when I allowed for rammed ship, assuming it had suffered damage, to effectively counterattack the ramming ship. I am satisfied with the thought process behind the rule but am mindful that the execution may be seen to be over the top. I have a couple of ideas to try to mitigate this so will see  how they play out before adjusting the rule. Adjusting is the right word for this as a wholesale change of the process is not needed - of that I am certain.

Once again, I would like to extend my thanks to Messrs Huband, Fox, Kightly and Slater for their enthusiastic participation as well as providing me with much to think about. In a good way, naturally!