Battle - 1721 - March 28 - Attack on Cartagena

Ships in Action:
British Fleet

Captain Robert Middlemore, Reason-class 4th-rate

Captain Nathan Blatchford, HMS Superior, Alexander-class 4th-rate

22 other British ships, consisting mostly of heavy frigates and one squadron of Ships of the Line.

Spanish Fleet

18 Spanish ships, mostly heavy frigates

Action Setup:
The battle took place on the Havana Harbour map, Britain was attacking.

Captains Middlemore and Blatchford was assigned to Black Squadron, together with three Valiants and one Mont Blanc, with Anna Allen as Commodore. The rest of the fleet organized into Red Squadron, White Squadron and Green Squadron.

The Action Itself:
As we entered the battle we had a steady breeze from the NE, and the Fleet formed two lines with Green and White in the larboard line and Black and Red in the starboard. Following the Admiral's signals we set course for a stretch of water (from now on described as "the gap") between a large island and two smaller islands SW of the Fleet. After just five minutes, good lookouts in the masts on the forward ships reported a number of Spanish frigates hull-up in the SW "Hugging the shoreline near the Spanish Fortress". This caused some of the Captains who had seen the Battle of Portobelo to comment that the Dons had learned from said battle, as we now could not cross their line as long as they were flanked by the shoreline.

As we came nearer the gap between the islands, the Dons began setting sail, presumably to close said gap with their line. To our surprise, they cracked on to round the nearest of the small islands and engage the rear of our lines. Immediately, my signal midshipman cried out "Admiral's signalling, sir! Black and Red - Course SSW and engage enemy stern. Green and White - Course SE and engage enemy!", and the two lines began parting. As the Black Squadron set course for the gap (now full of spaniards) the first enemy round-shot came humming through our sails, and the Black Commodore took heavy damage to her rigging. Just as quickly as the first set of orders were hoisted though, new signals broke out on the flagship ordering Black Squadron to plug the gap with our lineships while the rest of the Fleet sailed past us on our larboard side. In the process of positioning, Black Squadron also battered and destroyed a spanish fort that were guarding the gap.

The Fleet was unable to catch up with anything but the rearmost part of the spanish line, while the tip of said line managed to round the island and steered for the Black Squadron. As this became apparent, the Admiral ordered White and Green to sail between Black and a small island on our starboard in an effort to continue the line from Black's rear, and then sail this new line alongside the spanish line (now heading WNW) and set course N to close the gap, giving Black time to tack and join the rear of the british line. At this point, the british had lost four ships while the Spaniards had taken no losses.

When the new line of the British Fleet closed the gap, some of the british ships began breaking the line to chase a few much-battered ships at the rear of the spanish line. Three of these british were quickly sunk by the consentraded fire of the still inctact spanish fleet. The british continued W to wear and sail E, but while this happened the spanish managed to close with the rear of our line, taking down three more ships and closing the gap behind us. The British laid the remainder of the Fleet in a single line alongside the spanish line, hoping to best them with our still superior firepower (Black Squadron had not taken any losses at this time). When this turned out to be ineffective because of consentrated spanish fire and too long range for the rear of the british line, the rearmost british ships tried to manouver N, E and then S to again try to rake the enemy from the rear. This small squadron of ships was soon intercepted, surrounded and brutally sunk by the spanish.

The battle was now hopeless, and as three of the remainding nine british ships tried to escape W, Black sailed ESE to sink the much damaged rearmost spaniard and try to escape to E. As we passed the spanish fleet (now a chaotic knot rather than a line), an immense volume of explosive round-shot began tearing through the Superior's till now untouched larboard broadside, destroying most of her guns and almost clearing the deck of crewmembers. We still managed to reach and sink the spaniard straggler (the sixth and last we sent to the bottom during the battle), but as we looked to starboard we had a renewed spanish line in the SE, and was forced into the eye of the wind to round an island that stood bewteen us and our escape route.

At this time Superior was in the rear of the retreating Black Squadron, and my master and carpenter came up to inform me that the Superior's rigging was as good as destroyed, and that it was a miracle she had all her masts still standing. The carpenter's mate came panting up the companion-ladder and reported to the carpenter that they were unable to plug the numerous holes below the water-line, and that our surgeon was dead. Looking behind me I saw the spanish frigates at the tip of their line gaining a yard to the second, and we all knew how this battle was going to end for the Superior. Ordering the guns to be drawn and reloaded with star-shot, we prepared ourselves to give the remaining ships of Black Squadron a better chance at escaping. Suddenly the crew started cheering madly, and straining my glass on the Black Squadron I see Captain Middlemore's Reason come about and charge the pursuing spaniards in a heroic act of selflessness! As both broadsides of the Superior ripped through the rigging of the first spaniards to come alongside, the answering broadsides of the enemy sent the mainmast overboard, and the remaining crew scrambled to the boats as the ship began to sink.

The Result:
Spanish victory. The British lost 19-20 ships while the Spaniards lost 6.

Lessons Learned:
As I am not an authority on the matter, I will not comment on the tactical decisions made during the battle. It is, however, clear to me that this battle proves that even though one side has superiority in both numbers and firepower, the other side can still win decisively.

Battle Schematic:
Below: Scetch depicting landmarks and initial positions of the fleets.



''Below: The initial plan of action when it was clear the Spanish was planning on rounding the nearest island. This plan was changed immediately though, and the whole Fleet went into the gap. Black stopping to plug the gap, the rest of the Fleet trying to catch up with the spanish line.''



''Below: Black is plugging the gap while Red, White and Green fires a few broadsides on the rearmost ships of the Spanish line, before they wear and head towards Black. The plan is to sail between Black and a small island to continue the line (Eventually making Black, initially facing the wrong way, the rear).''



''Below: The Spanish fleet is faster in getting between the gap, and the jumbled British line suffers under their precise fire. When Red and Black rejoins the Fleet, the Fleet uses a lot of room and time to wear in order to sail E. The Spanish wear faster and heads SE to close the gap and trap the British inside the bay.''



''Below: The British are trapped and make a line at exteme range to try and batter what they can. Black can still deliver heavy firepower, but the rest of the Fleet (The scattered ships facing roughly E with an arrow in front, on the scetch) is out of range and tries to sail N, E and S to come down on the enemy from S inside the bay. ''

''Below: The small flanking squadron has been surrounded and sunk, and as Black chases down a lone Spaniard (roughly where the two routes on the scetch is seen to cross) the remaining three ships of the Fleet retreats to W. While the lone Spaniard is being sunk, the Spanish fleet is able to reorganize and move the line S and then E, blocking the favoured escape route of Black. The Superior is overtaken roughly where the Black Squadron is placed on this scetch.''