A Black seas game recreating the action on 19th dec 1796 in 1/700 scale

Action off Cartagena, Spain
19th December 1796
Battle area 8x4”
wind from South east
Deployment
The British will deploy 2 Frigates of 4th or 5th rates. One frigate must be commanded by Nelson. 500 points
The Spanish Deploy 2 frigates of 4th to 6th rates 300 points
Starting on turn 2 Spanish reinforcements can arrive these consist of 2 small 5th rate frigates and a standard 1st rate
The British deploy in the red area on the center of the map, Spanish in the yellow area. 13” from the table edge and 16” wide. Spanish reinforcements will arrive with stern touching the edge of the board in the north eastern area marked in yellow 16” from top of the board.
Special
Weather is calm.
After turn 1 start rolling for Spanish reinforcements
Turn 2 on a 5,6
Turn 3 on 4,5,6
Turn 4 on 3,4,5,6
Turn 5 on 2,3,4,5,6
Turn 6 no roll needed
Victory conditions
British victory will be achieved by capturing at least one Spanish frigate and escaping on the map's south western edge marked in red 16” from bottom of the board.
Spanish victory is achieved by either destroying or capturing both British frigates. Or alternatively recapturing a frigate taken by the British before Spanish reinforcements arrived.
Historical background
The action of 19 December 1796 was a minor naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought in the last stages of the Mediterranean campaign between two British Royal Navy frigates and two Spanish Navy frigates off the coast of Murcia. The British squadron was the last remaining British naval force in the Mediterranean, sent to transport the British garrison of Elba to safety under the command of Commodore Horatio Nelson.
Nelson's force comprised HMS Minerve and HMS Blanche. HMS Minerve was a 38-gun former French ship captured at the action of 24 June 1795, commanded by Captain George Cockburn, the crew augmented by a detachment from the 18th Regiment of Foot. Due to carronades not being counted towards the 38, she actually carried close to 50 guns. HMS Blanche was a 32-gun 12-pounder frigate, but also this ship carried a few carronades.
At 22:00 on 19 December Nelson's squadron was off the coast of Murcia off Cartagena when he sighted a squadron of two Spanish frigates, the 40-gun Sabina and 40-gun Ceres. This squadron was commanded by Captain Don Jacobo Stuart, "reputed the best officer in Spain."
Sabina was captured in the following engagement and Ceres reportedly struck its colours but did not stop the withdrawal until it came within sight of a larger Spanish squadron. This force included frigates Matilde and Perla and the 112-gun first rate ship of the line Principe de Asturias. Outnumbered, HMS Blance pulled back as the squadron advanced on Minerve and Sabina.
To prevent the damaged Minerve being overrun, Culverhouse took the prize Sabina into the path of the Spanish, prominently displaying the British flag over the Spanish. Through careful manoeuvres Sabina was able to distract and delay the Spanish enough to allow Nelson to escape, refusing to surrender until the remaining masts had fallen overboard.
We have modified ship stats slightly to better match the historical counterparts. Sabina and Ceres ended up with 40 ship points while HMS Blanche ended up with 32.
We also ran with our usual house rules whereby among other things the British lost their +1 to all gunnery. We have found that this makes for gameplay which we find more fun.
#wargaming #miniaturewargaming #blackseas #shipmodel #navalhistory #miniature #modelship #ship #tallships #napoleonicwargaming #battlereport #nelson

[@philRminiatures]

Looks fantastic! SUperb ships and fire effects, great looking game!👍👍

[@paulbenson9015]

Love these batt reps, so well presented and such beautiful ships. Many Thanks Gents, keep em coming👍

[@LinusNapoleonicShipyard]

@paulbenson9015 Thank you! Next one will probably be from our campaign.

[@modellerphil]

Another excellent sea battle great work

[@LinusNapoleonicShipyard]

@@modellerphil Thank you. We used your rules and cards as a base for our own.

[@aceAltair]

Best sea mat I’ve ever seen. May I ask how you made it?

[@LinusNapoleonicShipyard]

@@aceAltair its actually bought. It's from WarSigil mats. He uses latex paint on canvas. This means the mats can be rolled up.

[@aceAltair]

@ Wow, that’s smart. Thanks!

[@SGusky]

Amazing
Well done!!!
Where did you get all those "extras" from (lights, ship board, etc..)?

[@LinusNapoleonicShipyard]

@@SGusky most I made myself.

[@SGusky]

@@LinusNapoleonicShipyard are you selling them?

[@LinusNapoleonicShipyard]

@@SGusky the gunsmoke?