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THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
21st
October 1805
Re-enacted
(yet again) in Hong Kong - 2nd November, 1996
by
Andrzej Cierpicki
The November meeting saw the third HKSW re-enactment of the
Battle of Trafalgar, the previous one having been played in 1992 at the
Police Training Unit in Fanling, and the first, at the Mariner's Club in
Tsim Sha Tsui, way back in 1988. As on previous occasions, an amended set of
board game rules, "Wooden Ships & Iron Men" (Avalon Hill) was
utilised, played on several cloths with superimposed hex grid to regulate
movement.
Fourteen admirals, 6 British, 5 French & 3 Spanish, set
sail a little late in 61 ships in an attempt to improve on history.
The gallant crew at the start of the battle; the British are
on the right
Admiral "Horatio" Esland, commanding the British
fleet, chose to emulate his courageous predecessor by attempting to cut the
'T' of the combined Franco-Spanish flotilla, under the command respectively
of Oliver "Take No Prisoners" Silsby and Pedro "que?"
Hunt,. In this, he largely succeeded, and the battle developed into three
essentially separate actions.
The battle soon turned into a confused melee, with the
Allies choosing to fire at the rigging in an effort to reduce the
manoeuvrability of the British fleet. In return, they were raked by round
shot, the British trying to pound the French and Spanish into submission.
The battle was approaching a crucial point, with several
ships dead in water, and others close to striking due to the punishment they
had taken, when darkness descended.
The opposing fleets engaging, the Spanish 74 gun "Monarca"
at the rear
In other words, we ran out of time. The final tally was 4
British ships dismasted, the Africa (64), Temeraire (98), Royal Sovereign
(110) and Bellisle (74) and 1 Spanish ship that had struck its colours, the
Montanez (74). The game was accordingly declared a draw.
In the thick of the action (note the intense
concentration!)
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