Battle - 1720 - October 20 - Long Shot at Port-de-Paix

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

Virgil Kyle - HMS Vindicator ('Reason' Fourth Rate)

-7 other British ships, namely a 'Mediator' Cutter, 4 heavy frigates, a 'Couronne' Mastercraft and a 'Valiant' Third Rate

ENEMIES:

-French fleet of 12 vessels, including a Triumphant Second Rate, a Couronne MC, as well as numerous fourth rates

Action Setup:
Upon waking early in the morning to grab a bit of breakfast, I was caught off-guard by a summons from the admiralty requesting my presence at the imminent port battle for Port-de-Paix! This was interesting, as I had had very little involvement in the area as of late. However, not being one to turn down a good fight, I accepted, and made my way to the battle's ready room.

Upon arriving, I quickly saw why I had been called on - Hardly anybody had showed up! However, undaunted, we resolved to face the enemy, and take whatever would come in the standard British fashion: head-on and fighting!

The Action Itself:
Upon entering the battle, we immediately started to form a line, and proposing tactics. As we approached the French forces, we noticed that the French had brought a similar number of ships to the battle. They were, however, quite a bit heavier than ours on the whole, and they counted a 'Triumphant' Second Rate among their ranks. However, as we assumed our line (a somewhat ragged one, but it would do) we noticed that the French seemed to be having difficulty organizing, something for which they have become famous. Seeing this, I proposed a bold gambit: we should steam right for them, and sink that second-rate! If we sunk the 'Triumphant' quickly and decisively, it could possibly break the Frenchmen's morale, and turn the tide in our favor. At the very least, if the battle went against us, than we could at least say that we had sunk a valuable second-rate, a substantial victory aginst a nation having the kind of economic worries the French traditionally have had.

We sailed full speed towards them, intent on bringing the big ship down. However, as we got closer, the French started to form up, and although their line was even more ragged than ours, they had a substantial amount of guns arrayed against us, as most of their lineships had secured clear fields of fire on us. But lacking any other alternative, we stuck to the original plan, and we proceeded to batter away at the triumphant as we pulled line-to-line with the French line of battle, with myself assuming the 'priviledged' position at the front. Despite being outgunned, we actually started to chip away at the Triumphant, and as things wore on, we started to take bigger and bigger chunks out of her! As we battered her down to 25-30% of her original structure, with all our ships still afloat, I might add, she pulled out of the line of battle. We were unable to push our attack, unfortunately, as the French quickly surrounded her with ships to protect her. It is here that we started to lose the momentum, as the whole of their line started to focus on ours. Also, a pesky island got in our way, and we were forced to close-haul and chug away from the French. We looped back around to try and get another go at them, but by this time we had lost two of our frigates, and things were looking dire. The French proceeded to carefully split us from one another, and started annihilating the rest of our forces.

After the turn into the wind, I was split away from what was left of our group, and apparently the assumed French commander, Poyraz Kilic Reis, took it upon himself to sink me personally in his Sleek 'Mordaunt'(with the help of a 'Stralsund' MC, I should add). As my mates fought against the main French line, and started to fall, I steeled myself for a battle to the death with Mr. Reis and his friend. Things were looking bleak, as he and his lackey in the Stralsund took turns battering away at my vulnerable stern. However, I noticed he was repeatedly getting quite close to me, and had very little speed, and I quickly realized what I must do. I set 'board' to autofire, and finally succeeded in boarding him as my structure approached 40%. It was a fine battle, my fellow captains, let me tell you! Although I went into the combat down 1 wave, with 6 to his 7, I slowly started turning the tide. Damn it, I would get this frog, and make them pay for what he and his brethren had done! But as I had him down 3 waves to my 5, and it looked as if I may actually win the battle, his lackeys sunk me! The nerve!

I suppose you can never trust a Frenchman for a fair fight, can you? Poyraz Kilic Reis, I will remember you, my little yellow friend...

The Result:
Defeat, in no uncertain terms. Of the 8 ships we brought to battle, 7 fell to the enemy, including my own. However, we fought valiantly, considering the circumstances, and our most expensive ship, the 'Couronne' MC, did escape.

Now, if we had only sunk that second-rate, or the French commander, for that matter...

Lessons Learned:
Looking back, I'm not sure we could have done much differently. We were outnumbered, and substantially outclassed. Also, although our organization was better than at the debacle of Bridgetown, it was not what it could have been. But quite simply, it boils down to this: We took a risk. We gambled that we could take the second-rate down. And we almost did! At the very least, we forced her to withdraw. One thing I do regret is that we decided to turn away from the enemy when we hit the island. Perhaps we should have turned towards their line, once we encountered the island, instead of turning away and close-hauling. We most likely would have died even faster, but at least we would have had a shot, albeit a slim one, to finish off the second-rate. At the very least, we could have done some damage to some of their other ships. This is all 20/20 hindsight, I suppose...

In the end, I am happy about two things. First, our 'Couronne' MC, by far the most expensive ship in our fleet, was able to get away. This means the most expensive ship we lost was a 'Valiant' Third Rate - Not that bad, considering we almost sunk a second-rate. Also, on a personal note, I'd like to think I have inpuned the honor of the French commander. I mean, having me sunk whilst I'm in personal boarding combat with him? Quite dishonorable, if I do say so myself!

Misc.
The following is a picture from a critical point in the battle, as we hammered away at the French second-rate. As you can see, we were doing a considerable amount of damage to her at the time...