Battle - 1720 - September 11 - Port Battle for Fort-de-France

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

Virgil Kyle - HMS Thorn (Mystique Polacre)

Large group of 22 other British captains, led by Lord Tikkas

ENEMIES:

-French fleet consisting of 12 vessels, mostly fast frigates, wih two Alexander fourth rates

Action Setup:
Prior to the battle hereto forth detailed, I was sailing the HMS Thorn, my trusty polacre, down to Bridgetown to assist Captains Thomson and Vest with some anti-piracy patrols. However, while en route, I received an urgent communique informing me I was needed for the imminent port battle for control of Fort-de-France! Being as how this would be my first port battle, I would have preferred to bring a sturdier, more useful ship to this fight than my light, nimble polacre, but, lacking the means to change ships soon enough, and being assured by fellow captains that my polacre wouldn't be a liability in the battle, I set full sail towards Fort-de-France, not knowing what fate would befall me or my fellow captains.

Upon arriving, I was assigned to the scouting squadron, designated 'Green Group'. We entered the field of battle from the southeast, with the wind to our south, and the port and it's defences were to our northwest. The map was that of the Stingray Islands.

The Action Itself:
Our first course of action was to sail closer to the port's position, and prepare for the attack. Being as how my group consisted of fast scouts, we were assigned to take point. Once we came around to the center island of the map, I was ordered to detach from my squadron and move around south of the island, to act as a forward scout. My polacre served well in such capacity, given it's good sailing characteristics at nearly all points to the wind. I sighted the enemy force about 30 minutes into the battle, clumped in a defensive line around the fort west of the port proper. Luckily for us, they were sailing mostly fast frigates (aside from two Alexander fourth-rates), and we also outnumbered them nearly 2 to 1, as well. When we finally engaged them in battle, they quickly retreated into the fort. I and two others were ordered to wait outside the fort in the off-chance that some of the French captains tried to escape by sea.

The Result:
Victory! Although I was not present for the battles inside the fort, things went quite well by the sound of things. One captain fell, but was merely wounded, and was quickly revived. We ended the battle having killed all 12 of the enemy French captains, and suffered no losses ourselves. Huzzah!

Lessons Learned:
As this was my first port battle, I learned a number of things about the way a port battle actually works. First of all, it's important not to get overwhelmed. When you enter that room full of fellow captains, and when you join the voice chat channel everyone else is on using Ventrillo (a must, to be sure), all the activity can have a tendency to fluster you. This brings me to the most important lesson - OBEY YOUR ORDERS! My first priority upon entering the port battle ready room was to ask for orders from whoever was in charge. Everything was cake from that point on, as I simply followed the orders of the person in charge. I made sure to bring up anything I thought was important, but I didn't clog up the voice chat with useless dribble, nor did I question my superiors' orders once given. Assuming the one in charge is competant, one really can't go wrong doing what they're told. Regardless, it is important to follow your commander's orders regardless of whether you agree with them or not. Criticism and debate has it's time and place, but this is NOT during the heat of a port battle!

Utilizing these lessons, I hope to take part in many more successful engagements in the future.

Huzzah, and God Save the King! Fort-de-France is ours!

Misc.
The following is a screenshot of the map midway through the engagement. This is the point where I was ordered to split off from the main group to scout ahead. The southern route was the route I took, while the two northernmost paths were the approaches taken by the rest of our forces. The 'X's are where I and the main force stopped before our final push on the fort. The fort is the point where all paths end, and the yellow line is the approximate position of the French forces (those who showed up, anyway!)