Battle - 1720 - November 12 - Port Battle for Matthew Town

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

Leo Davis - HMS Unicorn  -   Deliverance Heavy Frigate

-23 other British ships, consisting of 12 heavy Ships of the Line including a Couronne Galleon and 12 Heavy Frigates. Divided into two SOL groups and two Frigate groups

ENEMIES:

-Pirate fleet consisting of 19 ships, mostly Heavy Frigates, one Treason Pirate Flagship and a Abaddons Will Galleon.

Action Setup:
I was assigned to the white Frigate group at the end of the battleline. Our job was to cover the rear of the black SOL group against any boarding attempts by the pirates.

The Action Itself:
We approached the city entrance from the south east in a long battle line. The Pirates placed themselves in a defensive position in front of the city. We were able to close in without interference because we had cover of a rock formation next to the city and the Pirates stayed in their defensive position. When our leading ships spotted the enemy Treason Flagship order was given out to aim for it as the primary target. After our line had reached the rock formation it made a fast turn to port to move into a line battle with the pirate fleet. All ships of the two leading SOL groups fired directly at the Treason and it went down very fast. Shortly after that we lost one Heavy Hercules Frigate that dived too close into the enemy line.

After the two SOL groups passed the pirate fleet unharmed, the two Frigate groups were ordered to break formation and move into close combat with the pirates. The Pirates trapped between our SOLs and the rock formation were not able to use any of their advantages. In their desperation they tried to board some of our Frigates, but our group was able to sink all pirates that were able to board our frigates, meanwhile the SOLs destroyed the remaining ships that tried to escape. The whole Battle did not last more than 30 Minutes.

The Result:
Victory for the British, Matthew Town has been taken under british control.

The Pirates lost 17 ships including the Treason and the Abbadons Will, only two Pirates were able to escape the battle.

The British lost only one Heavy Hercules Frigate.

Lessons Learned:
It has proven again that against Pirates Frigate groups are essential to protect the vulnerable sides of SOLs. They are pretty useful to prevent any boarding attempts against other ships.

Misc.
On the first picture below you can see the first contact between both fleets. The second picture shows the end of the battle where my ship places a crippling broadside into the last fighting pirate who just returned back from a failed boarding combat with Captain Dius Talon.